Your name is Sam and you've just woken up naked and covered in someone else's blood in the middle of an abandoned coalfield.You're just an ordinary high school senior, the only child of a single mother who never knew his dad. Born and raised in a shitty rust belt town called Eastchurch, you've never had it easy. Ma has always struggled to pay the bills while you've wrestled with anger issues and have never gotten along with other kids. You've always been an outcast.That's how you ended up in this situation. A couple of assholes from your school who enjoy beating the shit out of you decided to chase you down on your way home. You're used to it, it happens once or twice a month. This time, you tried to lose them by running into the old coalfield. It didn't work. The shitheads caught up to you and... you don't remember what happened next.The mutilated bodies in front of you look a lot like them though. One's missing an arm, the other's disembowelled, it looks like something has bitten chunks out of them and their blood's everywhere. It looks like something out of a horror film and the smell's so bad that you almost want to vomit.You find your clothes nearby. They're all shredded and useless. You're able to salvage your phone, wallet and keys from your jeans but they're ruined, as though someone ripped them off of you. Why would someone tear your clothes off like that? What the fuck is going on? Two people have died and you're covered in their blood. Did you kill them?Stop. You're not going to get anywhere by panicking and asking yourself a million questions. You need to calm down and figure out what to do next.>Get out of there. The longer you stick around, the more likely it is that you'll get caught.>Call the cops. Two people just died, you've got to tell the police.>Hide the bodies. There's plenty of rubble nearby to bury them in.>Call your mother. In a situation like this, you can't rely on anyone but family.>Write-ins are always welcome.
>>5514043If there is no one nearby and activity is not likely to occur, hide the bodies. If the opposite is true, distance yourself.
>>5514043>write in"What.... the..... FUCK?!WHAT THE FUCK?! WHATTHEFUCK" *repeats while we run away*>Get out of there. The longer you stick around, the more likely it is that you'll get caught.>Call your mother. In a situation like this, you can't rely on anyone but family.
>>5514043>Get out of there. The longer you stick around, the more likely it is that you'll get caught.
>>5514043>Get out of there. The longer you stick around, the more likely it is that you'll get caught
You could always stick around and hide the bodies. The assholes followed you pretty far into the coalfield so it's not like anyone's going to stumble across you while you're burying them - unless some dumbass kids decide to explore the place on a cold afternoon in the middle of winter.In the end, you decide that it's not worth the risk. No, you should get out of here before you're caught with the bodies. You'll need to wash off all of that blood and find some clothes too. Not only will your nudity raise a few eyebrows, but you'll freeze your ass off unless you find some way of keeping warm. The adrenaline is starting to loosen its grip on your senses and slowly but surely, you're beginning to feel the chill.The gravel and rubble strewn across the mining site doesn't help either. Every step that you take painful, thanks to your bare feet. It's slow going and you only get a couple of hundred yards before you come to a stop. At the very least, you're out of sight of the bodies. If someone comes across them now, they won't catch you with them.You need to decide where exactly you're going.Your mom's house is the most obvious destination. Once you're out of the coalfield, it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes to walk there through the outskirts of town. That's the problem though, you'll almost definitely be spotted by someone.Maybe you'll have a better chance at getting home if you wait until nightfall. It's only like an hour until sundown. If you can find a safe place to hide, you can stay there until it's dark enough for you to get home without being seen - hopefully. Finally, there's always the woods that surround Eastchurch. No one will be able to find you there and you might even find a stream or something that you can wash yourself in. When it's really late, maybe then you can head home. The only problem is the wildlife - you've heard stories about bears in the woods. Maybe that's what killed those guys?>Make a dash for home. It's risky but it's better than being caught in the same place as a bunch of dead bodies.>Hide somewhere and wait for nightfall. You don't want to risk being seen running around naked and covered in blood.>Go in the woods. No one will find you there, except for maybe a hungry bear if you're really unlucky.
>>5514133>call mom to pick you up
>>5514133>Hide somewhere and wait for nightfall. You don't want to risk being seen running around naked and covered in blood.
>>5514133>>5514143Support, if that doesn't work, go to woods.
>>5514133>Go in the woods. No one will find you there, except for maybe a hungry bear if you're really unlucky.
Now that you've created some distance between yourself and that gory bloodbath, you decide to call your mom. If this doesn't work out, then you'll just hide out in the woods until the time's right. You crouch behind a mound of excavated earth that's taller down your house and take a closer look at your phone. It doesn't seem to have suffered any damage during... whatever happened. You still don't know what to think about all of the carnage you woke up to. It's easier not to think about it at all.You call her number. With nothing to do but wait for her to pick up, you're left shivering in the cold and listening to that same tone repeat itself over and over again. She doesn't pick up and you go through to voicemail, but there's no way in hell that you're just going to leave a message for her. You terminate the call and try again. She finally answers after your third attempt, but the first thing that you hear from her is an exasperated sigh."Sam, I've told you not to call me while I'm working."In the heat of the moment, you completely forgot. She's got a job at a diner that keeps her working until six almost every day of the week. She's only able to come home for an hour or two, to cook dinner and change clothes before she's out the door again to do some cleaning job - at least, that's what she tells you. You try not to think too much about the lengths she goes to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head."Hey Ma," you begin. Your voice is a little hoarse but otherwise, you manage to hold yourself together. "Something's happened. Could you pick me up at the old coal mine?""The old... God damn it, I've told you to stay outta there," she chides. The irritation in her tone is pretty apparent. "It ain't safe in there. Look, I really oughta finish up here, my boss won't be happy if I just drop everything to come get you. You're seventeen, you're not a kid any more, you can walk yourself home."Didn't she hear you say that something happened? She's not listening to you, she never listens. How are you going to get her to take you seriously?>Be honest with her. You just woke up in the middle of the mine next to a couple of corpses, covered in their blood. You think you might've killed them.>Put the blame on someone else. There was this bear that killed a couple of kids. That won't explain some of the details but she doesn't need to know everything.>Try to avoid saying too much on the phone. You don't want to go to jail over this. Just keep on begging for her to pick you up and pray that she'll acquiesce.>Hang up. She's always been too wrapped up in work to actually be there when you need there. You'll just have to take care of yourself. Time to go innawoods.
>>5514623>>Try to avoid saying too much on the phone. You don't want to go to jail over this. Just keep on begging for her to pick you up and pray that she'll acquiesce.
>>5514623>Hang up. She's always been too wrapped up in work to actually be there when you need there. You'll just have to take care of yourself. Time to go innawoods.Fuck yeah, a World of Darkness quest
>>5514623>Hang up. She's always been too wrapped up in work to actually be there when you need there. You'll just have to take care of yourself. Time to go innawoods.Fuck you too bitch.
>>5514623We can tell her SOME of the truth. We can tell her about those guys following and beating us up and we can add they stole our clothes to explain the nudity. Kind of awkward and humiliating but it would be a decent explanation. We'll definitely need a way to clean ourselves up though.
just to check is this old world of darkness/werewolf 20th anniversary, or the nulore they brought out recently?>>5514686I'm not saying shit on a pentex gizmo (meta I know but still)
>>5514623>>Hang up. She's always been too wrapped up in work to actually be there when you need there. You'll just have to take care of yourself. Time to go innawoods.Say " I love you mama" before you hang up. this might be the last thing we ever say to her.
>>5514623>>Put the blame on someone else. There was this bear that killed a couple of kids. That won't explain some of the details but she doesn't need to know everything.
>>5514705+1 on the write-in
>This quest shall use the 20th Anniversary setting with some minor changes whenever I see fit."... Yeah, alright. I love you, Mama.""I love you too, Sam." Her voice has softened a little. She's a little taken aback by that. "Hey, we can talk about whatever happened when I get home, okay? I really gotta get back to work though...""Sure. Okay."With that, you end the call and let a sigh of your own rattle past your lips. That might have been the last time that you will ever hear her voice. Once you have steeled yourself, you collect your things and get up. Slowly and carefully, you navigate your way through the old coalfield, using heaps of rubble as cover whenever you get the opportunity. You learn to tread lightly to avoid getting any sharp chunks of rock embedded in your feet. The sun's almost down by the time you finally find a slope that leads out of the mine and into the wild woodland that surrounds Eastchurch.After walking on all of that hard gravel and debris, the loamy soil feels wonderful beneath your feet. You still need to worry about stepping on the occasional stick or stone but it's a hell of an improvement. While a lot of the trees are bare, the majority of them are evergreen and give you the cover that you need. Not that you need it, there's almost no chance of anyone actually passing through these woods. With no need to worry about hiding any more, you pick up the pace and begin your search for a stream or a pond, anything at all that you can wash yourself in. The blood has dried and become sticky by now.By this point, the sun has set. The sky's growing darker by the moment and you can even see the brightest stars, shining bright now that twilight is here. Yet all of the stars in the world couldn't compare to the moon. Not only can you see it but you can feel it as well, pulling at your soul just as it pulls at the tides.>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 1/10.>Rage is a resource that you gain at the start of every night and in situations where you experience failure, humiliation or confrontation. You can spend Rage on abilities that will be described when they become relevant. If your Rage reaches 10/10, you will frenzy.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 1/10.>Will is a resource that you gain at the start of every night, during interaction with certain entities and in situations where you experience victory or self-reflection. You can spend Will on abilities that will be described when they become relevant.You look up at the sky and behold...>A new moon. The sign of the one who cuts the high and mighty down to size.>A crescent moon. The sign of the one who is bound to the very soul of the land.>A half moon. The sign of the one who brings balance and wisdom to the world.>A gibbous moon. The sign of the one who battles despair in all of its forms.>A full moon. The sign of the one who will slay the enemy, no matter the cost.
>>5514806>A full moon. The sign of the one who will slay the enemy, no matter the cost.Shame there's no blood moon out tonight...
>>5514806>A full moon. The sign of the one who will slay the enemy, no matter the cost.Ahroun time
hey just a tip since it works well for me, Hench, but I think its good practice to let the thread know when voting closes, what the winning vote is, and you're working on the update (even if you don't post it that day)just streamlines things and keeps communication going
>>5514806>A full moon. The sign of the one who will slay the enemy, no matter the cost.Warrior time
>>5514834>I try to limit the amount of OOC communication with players for the sake of some peoples' immersion, but I'll give it a shot.>Voting's locked, going with:>A full moon. The sign of the one who will slay the enemy, no matter the cost.>Update is in progress.
It's a full moon. It's so bright that you don't even need to use your phone as a flashlight to find your way through the woods. At this time of night, the forest seems to come to life. Small mammals scurry between the roots of trees while nocturnal hunters swoop between the branches high above your head. It's pretty majestic and in any other situation, you'd pause to take it in. You don't have the time for that though. You need to find a body of water to clean yourself in and then somewhere safe where you can wait until Eastchurch is asleep.Finally, you hear the sound of running water and follow it to a stream. It looks like liquid silver in the moonlight. It's pretty shallow, a little muddy and really fucking cold, but it's your only hope for washing off all of that blood. You drop to a crouch beside it, put your stuff down next to you and start scrubbing off the gore that you're stained with.It's hard work. The dried blood clings to you like a second skin in some places and you really need to scour it to get it off. Handful of grass help with the scrubbing, even if they leave your flesh streaked with dirt and chlorophyll. It's better than looking like you just walked out of a horror movie.You hear the sound of dead leaves and grass rustling nearby. When you look up, you expect to see a fox or a raccoon or something.Instead, you see a wolf only a few yards downstream, staring right at you. You freeze.>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 2/10.It's way closer than you would like and its fangs are bared in a silent snarl. What the fuck is it doing here? There aren't supposed to be any wild wolves in Pennsylvania. Your human mind screams at you to turn and run before it pounces on you, but you feel more than fear right now. New instincts roil inside of your brain and demand that you establish dominance or kinship, in ways that you don't quite comprehend. >You can spend 1 Rage to temporarily enhance your strength, stamina and speed. This will enhance a roll that you make with a +10 modifier.>You can spend 1 Will to adopt another form. Each form comes with unique advantages and disadvantages. Reverting to your human form costs no Will.The wolf skulks closer, one step at a time. Its eyes gleam and its body is as tense as a compressed spring, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice.>Run for your life. (This will require a roll after voting is locked.)>Hold your ground. Anything you do will just antagonise the beast.>Scare it off. Punch its snout, as hard as you can. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)>You sense a kindred spirit in this animal. Adopt the form of the wolf. (This will spend 1 Will.)>Assert your dominance and reveal your true strength. Adopt the war form. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5514913>Assert your dominance and reveal your true strength. Adopt the war form. (This will spend 1 Will.)Crinos time, let's go!
>>5514913>Assert your dominance and reveal your true strength. Adopt the war form. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5514913>>Assert your dominance and reveal your true strength. Adopt the war form. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5514913>You sense a kindred spirit in this animal. Adopt the form of the wolf. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5514913>Hold your ground. Anything you do will just antagonise the beast.
>Voting's locked, going with:>Assert your dominance and reveal your true strength. Adopt the war form. (This will spend 1 Will.)>Starting work on update.
>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is currently 0/10.You have been taught all of your life that animals like wolves are dangerous predators, thoughtless and driven by hunger. Now that you're looking into the eyes of one, you don't see that. Instead you see a rival, a competitor trying to muscle you out of its territory. It doesn't want to eat you, it just wants to scare you off. After everything that has happened today, you refuse to be scared any more.Your bones crack and your flesh warps but you don't feel any pain. You just feel more powerful and confident than ever as you grow in size and sprout a coat of mottled black and brown fur. The growth spurt only takes a couple of seconds but by the time that it's done, you're over nine feet tall. Claws like knives jut out from your fingertips and your fang-filled maw is far more fearsome than your opponent's. You don't even need to look into a mirror to realise that you have become a monstrous fusion of man and wolf. You should be frightened or confused by what you have become, but you're not. This feel rights. This is what you are meant to be.>Crinos is your war form. It enhances your rolls concerning strength and stamina with a +30 modifier and your rolls concerning speed with a +10 modifier. While you are in this form, your Rage gain is doubled, you rapidly heal outside of combat and you are particularly vulnerable to silver. Human interaction in this form is not advised.>Homid is your human form. It is the only form you have that does not possess rapid healing outside of combat or a particular vulnerability to silver. It is the ideal form for human interaction.The snarling brown wolf suddenly seems so small. You almost want to laugh when it starts backing away from you and you can't resist taunting the beast."That's right, fuck off!" Your bestial mouth distorts the words so much that they barely sound human any more. "Get outta here, you little bitch!"As soon as you say those words, the little brown wolf rears back on its hind legs and starts to change. Its bones crack and its skin shifts just like yours did. It's your turn to snarl as the wild animal transforms into a lumbering behemoth, only a couple of inches shorter than you but just as deadly.>You gain 2 Rage. Your Rage is currently 4/10."Say that one more time, cub." The wolf-man seems to struggle with English even more than you, as though the language is foreign to it. Every syllable is rough and clipped. All that matters is that it's squaring up to you, ready for a fight.>Strike first and strike as hard as you can. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)>Say it one more time and start running. (This will require a roll after voting is locked.)>Demand answers. What the fuck is going on? It was able to transform like you did, so it's got to know something.>Apologise and back down. You didn't realise that you were talking to another one of... whatever you are.
>>5515102>Strike first and strike as hard as you can. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5515102>Demand answers. What the fuck is going on? It was able to transform like you did, so it's got to know something.
>>5515102>Strike first and strike as hard as you can. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)Don't back down, its important to establish dominance early on.Don't be a bitch.
>>5515102>>Demand answers. What the fuck is going on? It was able to transform like you did, so it's got to know something.
>>5515102>>Demand answers. What the fuck is going on? It was able to transform like you did, so it's got to know something.QM if we kill it, can we eat it?
>WoD QuestPlease, QM. Please.
>>5515102>Demand answers.Did you do this to me? Because you owe me new a shirt and pants if you did, you ass.
>>5515102>Apologise and back down. You didn't realise that you were talking to another one of... whatever you are.
>Voting's locked, going with:>Demand answers. What the fuck is going on? It was able to transform like you did, so it's got to know something.>Starting work on update.
"What the fuck is going on? What are you?" You don't want to antagonise the other wolf-man any more than you already have, but you need answers."A dumb cub is stinking up my woods with ape blood," the tawny monster growls at you. "A dumb cub who has just Changed and has no Kin-Fetch. That is what is 'going on.' I am Sees-Forest-For-Trees. I am Garou. I fight for Gaia and so will you. You will come with me.""Hold on." You take a step back as the monster lurches closer, in an effort to try and maintain a little distance between the two of you. You don't understand half of what it just said. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain some of this shit. What the fuck is a Garou? Did you do this to me? What do you mean, fight for Gaia? Why the fuck would I want to do that?""A dumb cub cares too much about knowing. I did not make you Garou. You were born Garou. You came of age and you Changed. Garou are ape, wolf and spirit, all in one body. We are born to fight for Gaia, for our mother, for the soul of the world. It is what you live for, cub." It takes another step towards you. You take another step back and almost lose your balance as your foot ends up in the stream, with cool water flowing around it."Stop calling me a cub. It's fucking weird. My name's Sam and why the hell should I fight for this hippy shit? Don't I have a say in this?""That is not a name. 'Sam' is an ape sound that has no meaning. You are a dumb cub and have no name until you earn one. No matter what you do, you will fight. It is what you were born to do. If you do not fight for Gaia, then you will fight for your dumb ape urges. Then the foe will find you and make you fight for it." Once more, Sees-Forest-For-Trees lumbers towards you and you stumble back, with both of your feet now in the stream. It's a pretty disadvantageous position to fight from. "I will not let that happen.""Far as I can tell, you're trying to make me fight for you. That doesn't make you any different from this foe of yours.""We fight to save the world. The foe fights to kill her. No more talking. I will take you to my pack. They will know what to do with a dumb ape-born cub. But will I have to break you first?">Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)>Run the fuck away. You want nothing to do with any of this. (This will require a roll after voting is locked.)>You will follow Sees-Forest-For-Trees. If there are other Garou, maybe they'll be more helpful than this asshole.
>>5515582>Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)This is probably a bad idea, but I'm doing it anyway.
>>5515582>Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5515582>Run the fuck away. You want nothing to do with any of this. (This will require a roll after voting is locked.)I don't feel we really want to deal with this right now. We can always come back later if we have to, but for now we have to much to process to get dragged into some tribal mumbo jumbo by a grumpy werewolf.
>>5515582>Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)Ahroun don't back down
>>5515582>Run the fuck away. You want nothing to do with any of this. (This will require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5515582>Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it.Fucker called us an ape, we should chimp out on his bitch ass. We're going to lose, but you know this is normal for uppity cubs.On the off chance we win though...
>>5515582>Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)Swiggy swooty, coming for dat booty.
Rolled 75 + 50 (1d100 + 50)>Voting's locked, going with:>Kick its ass. If it wants a fight, so be it. (This will spend 1 Rage and require a roll after voting is locked.)>I want three rolls of dice+1d100+30 and I will accept the best of three. The higher the roll, the better - but you will also need to beat my roll.>The modifiers for your roll are:>+30 for fighting in Crinos form.>+10 for spending a point of Rage while fighting.>-10 for disadvantageous terrain (starting off the fight standing in a muddy stream)
Rolled 74 + 30 (1d100 + 30)>>5515773The only way to beat this is to roll in the 90s. This is a lesson; if we did not try to fight, then we would be viewed as cowardly. The goal here is not to make a poor showing of ourselves.
Rolled 13 + 30 (1d100 + 30)>>5515773
Rolled 93 + 50 (1d100 + 50)>>5515773
>>5515823Nice. If not for the bad ground we would have won with that roll. Any wiggle room qm?
Glad that worked, that guy deserves to get smacked around a bit for picking on newbies. He's now going to learn the hard way, since there's no way we'll follow him, especially after holding our own in a scuffle.>The overgrown mutt wants a fight? Let's give him one. Use our size to pin him and use he river to our advantage. Faceplant him into the water and mud until he stops moving.If tactics write-in are allowed.
I am surprised we did not get a bonus for our Auspice.>>5515829
>>5515833Not sure what that is, I'm only vaguely familiar with Vampire: The Masquerade, and bits of Werewolf and Mummy lore.So far, this feels like VtM with the amount of smugness this guy is exuding. I mean, seeing the forest for the trees? Dog's high on his own supply there. Putting him down would be community service at this point!
>>5515823>>5515820>>5515818>I asked for three rolls of dice+1d100+30. That last one had a +50 instead. I'll accept the roll of 93, but with a modifier of +30 instead.>That means that your highest roll was 123, against my roll of 125. You put up a hell of a fight. I'll start work on an update. I'll take >>5515829's suggestion into account too, though it won't quite work out that way.>>5515833>From an IC perspective, you just went through your First Change and are yet to discover everything that you are capable of. From an OOC perspective, I don't want to just info-dump all of the mechanics from the very start.
So the wiki is pretty extensive. >>5515839If you understood the lore then you would know that by Garou standards this guy not attacking us on sight and even being able to speak in the war form is pretty impressive. Garou once upon a time ruled over and purged humanity routinely and drove multiple other changing tribes extinct. They are a very prideful people because they are among the most deadly creatures in WOD. Ex. One werewolf can kill multiple vampires and one v. one tanks/mechs.
>You spend 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 3/10."I'd like to see you try!" Your words are spoken rather than roared as you fling yourself out of the stream at the arrogant wolf-man. The slippery mud of the riverbed makes this a little difficult and you end up slamming into Sees-Forest-For-Trees, rather than pouncing on top of it like you planned. The impact is enough to knock the asshole off of his feet and send both of you sprawling on the grassy bank.What follows is a violent wrestling match, chaotic and unorthodox. Primeval fury overpowers any rational thought as you follow your instincts, raking at your enemy's hide and rending its flesh with knife-like claws. The monster howls in agony before it leans in and buries its fangs in your shoulder. It's your turn to scream when it rips a mouthful of meat out of you, but the pain just fuels your rage. For every wound that you receive, you give one in return and the two of you spend what feels like an eternity tearing each other apart in a maelstrom of fur and gore.At one point, an idea enters your rage-addled brain - the water, you can use that to your advantage. Shifting your weight, you manage to roll yourself and your foe into the water of the stream, with the intention of pinning it beneath your mass and burying its head in the muddy water. It doesn't end up face-down like you planned though. You have to deal with its teeth snapping at you as you try to force its snout under the surface and at one point, it manages to lock its fangs around one of your forearms. You scream as the pressure of the beast's jaws shatter the bone, rendering that arm useless.That's when the tide turns. It's your turn to be rolled over and pinned beneath the weight of your adversary as you find yourself unable to keep it under you with just one working arm. The monstrous Garou manages to straddle you and wrap its claws around your throat, squeezing the breath out of you as you struggle to keep your snout above the water level."Give it up cub, " Sees-Forest-For-Trees snarls. It's giving you the chance to surrender but even as your vision starts to darken, you can feel primordial fury bubbling away at the back of your mind. All you need to do is cede control to your instincts.>If you are losing a fight, you can choose to frenzy. This gives you a second wind, reduces your Rage to 0/10 and give you a +50 modifier on your next roll. The downside is that you will lose control after that roll and go on a murderous rampage that you may regret.>Tap out. Sees-Forest-For-Trees has won this fight. You'll play along and let it take you to its pack.>Spit in its face. You might have lost but you still have your pride. You'll never surrender.>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)
>>5515874>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)fuck him up.
>>5515874>Spit in its face. You might have lost but you still have your pride. You'll never surrender.Time to take responsibility for our violence1 concussion please
>>5515874>Spit in its face. You might have lost but you still have your pride. You'll never surrender.
>>5515874Its easy to give into frenzy. It gives power. But the more you do it the easier it becomes. This is one of the greatest traps of being garou.>Spit in its face. You might have lost but you still have your pride. You'll never surrender.Rage. But rage contained.
We will challenge him publicly later. There is no benefit in going all out now.>>5515874
>>5515866I know how terrifying Garous are to vampires, just not the rest. And this guy is guilty of being a dick, regardless of what Garous are supposed to act like.Sam is done being pushed around, just ask his last two bullies what happens when he loses it.>>5515874>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)We've already done it once apparently, and if he didn't want us to frenzy, he shouldn't have been riling us up!Sam is done being pushed around, just ask his last two bullies what happens when he loses it.
>>5515874>Tap out. Sees-Forest-For-Trees has won this fight. You'll play along and let it take you to its pack.It was a good show for someone first fight.
So here's the thing. This is a test. Garou are heavily tribal (i.e. racially divided, highly traditional and gender conservative). Hell the entire way to rise up the Garou Nation ladder is through reputation. this guy is probably a rank 2 or rank 3. We are not even rank 1 yet. Btw the system goes from unranked all the way to rank 6. he protecting his rep right now. There are probably other garou observing this.>>5515894
>>5515874>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)RAGE THE CAGE
>>5515874>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)
>>5515874>>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)
Rolled 74 + 70 (1d100 + 70)>Voting's locked, going with:>Succumb to your rage. (This will require a roll after voting is locked and will result in you frenzying.)>I want three rolls of dice+1d100+70 and I will accept the best of three. The higher the roll, the better - but you will also need to beat my roll.>The modifiers for your roll are:>+30 for fighting in Crinos form.>+50 for spending a point of Rage while fighting.>-10 for disadvantageous terrain.
Rolled 71 + 70 (1d100 + 70)>>5516053
Rolled 69 + 70 (1d100 + 70)>>5516053
Rolled 23 + 70 (1d100 + 70)>>5516053dice are rigged.
>>5516053>The +50 was from frenzying, not from spending a point of Rage. My bad.>>5516058>>5516061>>5516063>Your highest roll was 141, against my roll of 144. Again, it was extremely close and I'll be taking that into account in the update. I'll be able to work on the update in a few hours.
>>5516072If not for the terrain we would have won, but I like this narratively more. We did not shame our ancestors and made a good showing of ourselves. As I said before this is all about rep and the fact we pushed a much older wolf this far without any training is as best as could be expected. Even if we had a higher roll there is still a chance we would not have won since sometimes beating the DC just means lasting another round or enduring a blow. Let this fight be a lesson.
>accidently kill a bunch of people>tell mother the location of said bodies>get kidnapped and indoctrinated by a wolf tribeNo way we won't be convicted for murder and plastered onto TV screens everywhere. Police will be looking for us and we'll be in the center of Humanity vs. Werewolves.
Dude relax this is world of darkness. Didn’t you hear about that those deaths were caused by a cougar attack? There’s like 5 different things responsible for keeping mortals ignorant. Did you know that if a mortal sees a werewolf in its war form that the brain literally forces the body to run away and delete/edit the memory? Our boys fine.
>>5516104Doesn't Pentex want to keep up the mascarade so they can continue to corrupt the world in secret? While revealing werewolves would get people to go on a purge, it would also make their own plans harder.I may be mixing things with factions from other White Wolf splatbooks though.
>>5516116>>5516132Forgot that there was an actual setting for a moment. I only thought this was a generic Werewolf quest and didn't take those things into account.
>You frenzy. Your Rage is currently 0/10.You aren't about to give up. You refuse to surrender even if you've run out of options, and you still have one last trick left up your sleeve. You let your humanity slip away and allow your anger to take the wheel. The rage infuses every fibre of your being, knitting your wounds back together and causing that shattered limb of yours to snap back into place. The only sound that leaves your maw is an inhuman scream of hatred as you take a swipe as the wolf-man's face with your once-broken arm. The impact is enough to send Sees-Forest-For-Trees toppling off of you and violently dislocate its jaw.You scramble upright, only to witness the Garou's jaw pop back into place of its own accord with a sickening crunch. All of the gashes and gouges you carved in its hide seem to seal shut before your very eyes. With a horrid and unearthly wail, the monster throws itself at you, all fangs and fury.You don't remember much after that. It's a blur of teeth, blood, fur and anger. You've never felt so much loathing in all of your life. It leaves no room for thought. The rage doesn't even allow you to use your own senses until it finally ebbs away and allows you back into your own brain.When you wake up, you're back to your old naked human self and covered in blood. This time, plenty of it is yours. You don't have any wounds though, with the exception of a nasty scar on your forearm where Sees-Forest-For-Trees sank his teeth into it and fractured the bone. You can feel it throbbing painfully beneath your skin - you're not sure if it healed properly.You look around. You're still by the stream. A couple of trees have toppled over and where there was once a grassy bank by the water, there is now just a mire of blood and mud. You manage to push yourself to your feet with a lot of effort. Every fibre of your being aches with pain and exhaustion, but from the look of Sees-Forest-For-Trees, it's not doing any better. It has reverted to the form of the wolf and lies next to a fallen tree, panting for breath. Its lower jaw doesn't seem to line up properly with its snout any more - you aren't the only one who was left with a battle scar.Neither of you are in any condition to continue the fight so after everything that happened, it looks like it's a tie.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 1/10.>You're going back to Eastchurch. Take your leave as soon as you've cleaned yourself again, maybe sling a few insults at the wolf for good measure.>You will accompany Sees-Forest-For-Trees to meet its pack. Hopefully it will be a little more respectful in the future, after that show of force.>You better stay innawoods for a while. Going back to town isn't such a good idea but you're not about to join a crazy wolf cult either.
>>5516166>You will accompany Sees-Forest-For-Trees to meet its pack. Hopefully it will be a little more respectful in the future, after that show of force.
>You will accompany Sees-Forest-For-Trees to meet its pack. Hopefully it will be a little more respectful in the future, after that show of force. (this way lies Lore).Also, nice we got our first battle scar and based on that picture we may be Get of Fenris which would be awesome.
>>5516166>You better stay innawoods for a while. Going back to town isn't such a good idea but you're not about to join a crazy wolf cult either.
>>5516166>You're going back to Eastchurch. Take your leave as soon as you've cleaned yourself again, maybe sling a few insults at the wolf for good measureRassafrassumhippydogs.
>>5516166>You will accompany Sees-Forest-For-Trees to meet its pack. Hopefully it will be a little more respectful in the future, after that show of force.I want to know what tribe we are
>>5516166>You're going back to Eastchurch. Take your leave as soon as you've cleaned yourself again, maybe sling a few insults at the wolf for good measure.
>>5516166>You're going back to Eastchurch. Take your leave as soon as you've cleaned yourself again, maybe sling a few insults at the wolf for good measure.If we don't even get home moms probably going to think we murdered those kids and ran away from home.
>>5516166>>You will accompany Sees-Forest-For-Trees to meet its pack. Hopefully it will be a little more respectful in the future, after that show of force.Call him names, like mangy-furred mutt and decrepit old-timer. He deserves it for the cub bit. And his name is still really pretentious. Apart from that, compliments to him on a good fight. I'd be willing to let this go if he is, and hear him out about this whole mess. But if he pull the crazy hippy press-ganging us for the Earth-Mother's service speech again, we're out.
>>5516212Then again, >>5516211 makes a point. We have a human life to talk about. In Sam's not entirely stable mind, this can wait.Changing vote to:>You're going back to Eastchurch. Take your leave as soon as you've cleaned yourself again, maybe sling a few insults at the wolf for good measure.Refer to my last post for the insults/compliments, and do say we'll be back soon, and not to come find us unless he wants a rematch.
>You will accompany Sees-Forest-For-Trees to meet its pack. Hopefully it will be a little more respectful in the future, after that show of force.
>>5516176This is me, but if nobody else wants to be a lone wolf, I vote instead for:>>5516166>Eastchurch
>>5516166>Have a sick, bloody fight with an older werewolf, and fight them to a draw>Follow them home to their little commune innawoods, to where all their friends are, to get ganged up onGalaxy brain plays, already. I vote that we wash up once again, go home tonight, and make plans to meet with the talks-shit-gets-bit and his tribe tomorrow, since we need more answers than we can learn right now anyway.
>>551633Let's also see if we can pull up basic knowledge on werewolves. With any hope, we've got something made out of silver we can grab and test on ourselves, at least. Maybe file it into a point? Shanking with that means inflicting a wound that won't heal during the fight. If we aim well and strike muscle, or even nerve, that would make things much easier.
>>5516339I think you deleted the last number of the post you to to reply to anon
>>5516339We are also a werewolf, carrying silver objects will hurt us, or just weaken us if we are in human form.And we can't just carry it and then drop it as needed, since it last for a day after contact.Atleast that's how I remember it. But I guess in a non-meta perpespective it ok since Sam doesn't know how werewolves work other then mister asshole, much less that he was right about Gaia.
>Voting's locked, going with:>You're going back to Eastchurch. Take your leave as soon as you've cleaned yourself again, maybe sling a few insults at the wolf for good measure.>Starting work on an update now.
You're going home. If this werewolf went out of its way to try and conscript you into its weird new age army, who's to say that its pack won't try and do the same thing? You struggled to hold your own against one of them, so you're pretty sure that a group of them would kick your ass. No, you're better off making your way back to town and taking a break from all of this madness."Crazy ass wolf," you mutter as you go back to washing off all of the blood, just like you were before it interrupted it. Sees-Forest-For-Trees bares its teeth at you once more, but it doesn't approach you. Just like you, it's worn out and isn't in the mood for another fight. Instead, it just lingers nearby and watches you from the shadows. When you finally finish cleaning yourself, you manage to find your things in the mud. Your phone's screen is cracked but at least it still seems to work. According to it, the time is 21:38. Shit. You must've been fighting for far longer than you thought.An audible growl comes from the wolf as you begin to walk away, but you just flip it the bird."Fuck off. I ain't joining your cult."You half-expect the asshole to follow you, but it doesn't. It just lets you walk away. After a few minutes of trudging through the wilderness, you hear a mournful howl that pierces the night with incredible clarity. It's enough to make you pause and glance over your shoulder, but there's still no sign of Sees-Forest-For-Trees. After a little hesitation, you pick up the pace a little. If it's calling for back-up, you don't want to be around when it arrives.Nevertheless, you can't help but think about what it said. Apparently, you are Garou - part man, part wolf, part spirit. You don't feel like a monstrous hybrid though, you feel human. You are human. You look like one, you think like one, you're walking like one. You're nothing like that brainwashed beast back there, you're a man, civilised and cunning, the apex species. Sees-Forest-For-Trees can call you an ape all it wants, but you're so much more than that. There's power in your heritage, in your humanity.
>As a werewolf, you have access to a selection of special abilities known as Gifts. The Gifts that you have access to are determined by your heritage, the moon that you changed under and one other factor.>Here is a list of Gifts tied to your human heritage. At this point in time, you can only choose one Gift. You may be able to acquire the other Gifts (and many more) in the future.>Apecraft's Blessings: You can spend 1 Will to enhance any roll using a human-made tool with a +10 modifier. This will scale as you grow stronger.>City Running: You can spend 1 Rage to effortlessly traverse any urban environment. This includes obstacles like rooftops, cluttered alleys and the sides of most buildings.>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.>Persuasion: You can spend 1 Will to give your words an unusually strong impact, allowing them to shake long-held political beliefs or challenge addiction. This only works on humans.>Smell of Man: Wild animals fear you and will stay away from you as much as possible. Domesticated animals see you as a friend and will never attack you, except in self-defence. This is permanently active.
>>5516419>Master of Firethis also include human form?
>>5516419>City Running: You can spend 1 Rage to effortlessly traverse any urban environment. This includes obstacles like rooftops, cluttered alleys and the sides of most buildings.
>>5516422>Yes.
>>5516419>>City Running: You can spend 1 Rage to effortlessly traverse any urban environment. This includes obstacles like rooftops, cluttered alleys and the sides of most buildings
>City Running: You can spend 1 Rage to effortlessly traverse any urban environment. This includes obstacles like rooftops, cluttered alleys and the sides of most buildings.So cainites make their homes in the cities and if we dont plan on running off into the forests we need this to better hunt them down. They think themself safe in their cities. We will show them how wrong they are.>>5516419
>>5516419>City Running: You can spend 1 Rage to effortlessly traverse any urban environment. This includes obstacles like rooftops, cluttered alleys and the sides of most buildings.I really hope this Quest doesn't die like all other WoD Quest last year...Also i really like Master of Fire, but if we can pick it later then it's a really good Gift. Yeah, we won't be attacked with fire in each fight, but being able to being basically inmune to that damage even in human form it's nice
>>5516419>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burnspeople don't realize how fucking dangerous fire is to werewolves if they're giving up master of fire. its as bad as silver.
>>5516428hunting vampires is not a particularly major responsibility of the garouwe should be more concerned with banes
>>5516419>Apecraft's Blessings: You can spend 1 Will to enhance any roll using a human-made tool with a +10 modifier. This will scale as you grow stronger.
>>5516477Oh yeah, fire is one of werewolves's weaknessesChanging to>>5516480>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.
As much as i like fire resistance so far we have lost primarily due to terrain minuses. Logically, being able to better fight in urban environments will negate this minus and possibly give us a bonus.
>>5516419>City Running: You can spend 1 Rage to effortlessly traverse any urban environment. This includes obstacles like rooftops, cluttered alleys and the sides of most buildings.Can all of these be activated in every form?
>>5516419>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.So you're telling me that the best way to fight cainites is to set myself on fire and go into war form
>>5516419>City RunningThough I also like Smell of Man
>>5516419>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.
>>5516419>Master of Fire
>>5516419Changing to >Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.it's an actual weakness, apparently
I wonder if this is bringing us closer to the Bone Gnawers or Glass Walkers.I'm hoping for the urbans, but the underdogs isn't that bad
>>5516637I'll take being a Bone Gnawer over being a fucking nerd
>>5516419>>Smell of Man: Wild animals fear you and will stay away from you as much as possible. Domesticated animals see you as a friend and will never attack you, except in self-defence. This is permanently active.
>>5516637Unless ma fucked some homeless guy, or at least some guy that didn't look or smell bad like the regular Bone Gnawer we can expect for it to be any other tribeFrom the description of the fur we can be a Bone Gnawer, a Glass Walker, maybe one of the indigenous Tribes, or even a 0 Pure Breed Shadow Lord.Who knows, but at the end we can still try and go for any of the tribes after we pass the rite
>Voting's locked, going with:>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.>Starting work on an update now.>>5516507>Can all of these be activated in every form?>Yes, though some of them are less useful in certain forms.>The wolf form and the yet-to-be-seen dire form do not have hands to use human-made tools for Apecraft's Blessings, nor are they capable of human speech for Persuasion.
Fire. Humanity's drawn so much of its strength from fire over the years. It's how you cook your food, it's how you stay warm, it's how you light up the night. Fire is your ally. All you need to do is ask and it will stay its hand for a while. You don't know how you know this, or even how to ask - you just feel this truth in bones. It's something that is woven into the very fibre of your being, just like your newfound ability to shift between shapes. It's a part of who you are.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 2/10.You're suddenly snapped out your reverie by the pinging of your phone. It looks like you must have lost signal while you were out in the woods because as you make your way back to civilisation, your phone's showing a whole bunch of missed calls and texts from your mom. They range from asking where you are, to begging you to call back, to asking if you had anything to do with those boys found at the old mine, to just praying for you to still be alive.Shit. Someone must have found the bodies. Now the whole town's probably freaking out over it and if you know your mom, she's probably called the cops to let them know that you're missing and about that weird call that you made. They're probably looking for you right now. This isn't good.>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 1/10.What makes matters worse is that you're shivering like crazy. You somehow managed to stave off hypothermia for a while but after all of those hours of nudity during a cold night, it's starting to set in. You can't afford to stay out in the cold for much longer - or maybe you can, just in a different form. If Sees-Forest-For-Trees was able to change into a wolf, maybe you can too. From a distance, most people might just mistake you for a husky or some other big dog and a fur coat is sure to keep you warm.>You're going home. Adopt the form of the wolf and take the long way around. Cops are probably swarming all over the old coalfield right now. (This will spend 1 Will.)>You need clothes. Some people might have been dumb enough to leave some out overnight on their clothes lines. You could steal some, in order to stave off the cold.>Hand yourself in. Trying to avoid trouble will just make things worse. You have no idea how you will explain everything, but it's not like you have any other choice.>Abort. This new information changes everything. Going back to Eastchurch is no longer an option. Become the wolf and find some shelter for the night. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5516768>You're going home. Adopt the form of the wolf and take the long way around. Cops are probably swarming all over the old coalfield right now. (This will spend 1 Will.)Mum's got to be kinfolk, right? she might know what's going on.
>>5516768>first call mom back or at least text her to let her know we're alive and coming home Then>You need clothes. Some people might have been dumb enough to leave some out overnight on their clothes lines. You could steal some, in order to stave off the cold.
>>5516768>You're going home. Adopt the form of the wolf and take the long way around. Cops are probably swarming all over the old coalfield right now. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5516768>You need clothes. Some people might have been dumb enough to leave some out overnight on their clothes lines. You could steal some, in order to stave off the cold.
>>5516768>>You're going home. Adopt the form of the wolf and take the long way around. Cops are probably swarming all over the old coalfield right now. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>Going with:>You're going home. Adopt the form of the wolf and take the long way around. Cops are probably swarming all over the old coalfield right now. (This will spend 1 Will.)>Starting work on an update now.
>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is current 1/10.Your flesh warps and your bones crunch as you take on the form of the wolf. You don't feel the same surge of strength that you did when you assumed the war form. Instead, you feel a little overwhelmed as your senses are bombarded with new input. Where there was once silence, you can now hear the rustling of every leaf and the scurrying of every tiny mammal nearby. Where there was once only a faint earthy smell, you can now identify the individual odours of compost, droppings, blood, musk, urine and so much more. You spend your first moments in this new shape gagging as you grow accustomed to the onslaught of new smells and tastes.By the time that you have recovered, you have become a large wolf with a dappled coat of black and brown. From a distance, you might be mistaken for some breeds of dog but up close, you won't fool a lot of people.>Lupus is your wolf form. It enhances your rolls concerning speed and stealth with a +20 modifier. While you are in this form, your senses are greatly enhanced, you rapidly heal outside of combat and you are particularly vulnerable to silver.Your instinct is to pick up your stuff with your hands, but they're now paws - useless for anything other than burrowing. You're forced to gingerly try and pick up all of your things in your mouth, one by one, and it's really fucking difficult. Just when you're leaning down to try and pick up your wallet, the keys slip free from your jaws. It doesn't help that they all taste awful.When you finally achieve this nigh-impossible feat, you make your way through the woods. You avoid going straight back to the old mine and take the long way around instead. By the time that you glimpse signs of civilisation through the trees, you're by the road that leads out of town, a couple of kilometres away from the coalfield.You thought that the forest smelled bad, but Eastchurch smells far worse. The air around here stinks of gasoline, oil, rubber, tar, smoke... It smells like death. You stick to the trees and the long grass whenever you can but every now and then, you need to make a break for it across the asphalt, especially as you make your way further into town. Whenever you hear a car in the distance, you keep to the shadows until it's passed you by. You encounter a couple of humans but you stay so far away that they can't see anything but a silhouette against the street lighting, if they see you at all.The streets start getting more and more familiar until you finally arrive at the tatty single story house where you've spent the past five years. It's not much, but it's home. You can see your mom's car in the driveway so you decide to sneak in through the backdoor instead. The last thing you want is to surprise her by turning up naked on her doorstep.
After you have hopped over a couple of fences and arrived in your overgrown backyard, you revert back to the form of man. You can't help but sigh in relief as the stench of civilisation recedes and your useless paws become hands once more. It's good to be people again. You unlock the backdoor as quietly as you can and slip into the kitchen, which doubles as a laundry room. There's a basket of clean clothes still waiting to be ironed that you decide to rummage through. Some underwear, some jeans, a t-shirt and you're good. You weren't as quiet as you hoped. You're barely dressed before your mom suddenly bursts into the kitchen. She's still in the uniform that she wears at the diner, though her frizzy brown hair is a mess and her distress in plainly visible on her face. She just gawks at you, torn between anger and relief for a couple of seconds before she finally settles on anger. That's what she usually does whenever you get in trouble."What the hell, Sam?!""Ma, it's okay, I - ""No, there is nothing okay about this! Do you have any idea what sorta trouble you've gotten yourself into?! The police are out there looking all over for you right now! What the hell were you doing down there with those boys?! Do you even know they're dead?! What were you even thinking, coming back here at this time of night after pulling a stunt like that?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the cops right now!">Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.>Figure out what she knows. Ask about Garou and Gaia, does she know anything about them?>You'll turn yourself in, just as soon as she tells you more about what's going on.>Beg for her to not call the police. You didn't do anything wrong, you promise.>Hug your mom. Honestly, you're just happy that she's okay and that you got to see her again.
>>5517073>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.>Figure out what she knows. Ask about Garou and Gaia, does she know anything about them?You got me into this mess by shagging that dogman you bitch.
>>5517073>Hug your mom. Honestly, you're just happy that she's okay and that you got to see her again.>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.>Figure out what she knows. Ask about Garou and Gaia, does she know anything about them?Can’t blame her for that reaction.
>>5517086This.
We can say the truth... But in case our Dad is an asshole and our mom isn't a kinfolk we can show the huge bite in our arm and go for the bear/wolf/something attacking or something.
>>5517073>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.>>5517101would be fucked up if he was a black spiral dancer
>>5517073>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.
>>5517110>would be fucked up if he was a black spiral dancerI mean... Unless he turned in one AFTER got mom pregnant, See-Forest-For-Tress would have killed us outright, or we could had a much more shitty life.But, Hench said at the start he would change lore stuff that he saw fit, so it's still a possibility until we're told otherwise
>>5517073>Hug your mom. Honestly, you're just happy that she's okay and that you got to see her again.>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.Transfrom into a wolf again if nescessary.Just not the warform, just in case she isn't a kinfolk and our birth was one of those rare cases that of breeding true.
>>5517086+1I say we first need go test the waters with what she knows, then if she actually doesn't know anything we just tell her the truth
>>5517073>Hug your mom. Honestly, you're just happy that she's okay and that you got to see her again.Then:>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.If she doesn't believe us...>Turn into our Lupus form
>>5517086Supporting.Also, good pick on the Gift. We can pick Apecraft later, fire both shores up a weakness and allows us to wield fire offensively.Easier to get a burning stick than to make War form sized guns and silver bullets.We'll need to see how much it hurts, comparatively, and if it affects supernatural healing like silver might.
>Going with:>Hug your mom. Honestly, you're just happy that she's okay and that you got to see her again.>Tell her the truth. It's crazy, but she deserves to know. She's got to believe you.>Figure out what she knows. Ask about Garou and Gaia, does she know anything about them?>Will be able to start work on an update in an hour or two.
"Ma, it's alright! I'll explain everything, I swear."You throw your arms around your mom in a hug. A few years ago you didn't even come up to her shoulder, but now you loom over her. As always though, a little love from her son is enough to douse her anger. It's funny how quickly some things change, while others stay the same."... Okay, Sam. I'll give you a chance."Once you've let go of her, you tell her your story. You start from the very beginning, with those assholes chasing you into the old coal mine. Next you describe how you blacked out, only to wake up covered in their blood. She looks baffled. When you tell her about your journey through the woods and your encounter with a wolf, her expression becomes exasperated. As soon as you bring up the shapeshifting and try to explain the things that Sees-Forest-For-Trees told you, she loses her patience and her fury is rekindled."Enough! Just stop! I don't wanna hear another word of this bullshit!" You flinch. Your mom always tries to avoid cussing around you, but this time you've pushed her over the edge. Any good will you might've earned with your filial affection has been lost. "If you're not gonna tell me the truth, maybe you'll tell it to the cops instead, 'cause they sure as hell won't believe a word of this crap!">You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 2/10."I swear it's the truth! You gotta believe me, Ma!" You rush after her as she marches into the hallway to grab the house phone. "Don't you know anything about Gaia or Garou?""I said enough! I don't wanna hear it, Sam!" You don't think she knows anything about this werewolf stuff. If she does, she's doing a damn good job at hiding it. Right now, all that matters is that she's half-way through dialling the number of the Eastchurch Police Department. If you let her go through with this, you'll have to deal with the cops.>Let her. You can't run from justice forever. You might as well get this out of the way now.>Stop her. Use force if you have to. (This will require a roll after voting is locked. Please state if you want to spend Rage on this roll or not.)>Get out of there. If she wants to call the police, you sure as hell won't be around by the time that they get there.>Assume the form of the wolf. She won't have a choice but to believe you when she sees it for herself. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5517329>Assume the form of the wolf. She won't have a choice but to believe you when she sees it for herself. (This will spend 1 Will.)Lupus form, not warform.Don't want her to have a panic seizure.
>>5517329>>Assume the form of the wolf. She won't have a choice but to believe you when she sees it for herself. (This will spend 1 Will.)
I don't remember if there's some weird Masquerade law that will get our mom killed if she knows about the Garou.Either way, I think that if mom doesn't call the cops after we turn in wolf form, once the cops come to interrogate her things are going to get worse, maybe end up something like in Terminator where Sarah Connors ends up in a Psych Ward screaming about the robot apocalypse
>>5517329>Assume the form of the wolf. She won't have a choice but to believe you when she sees it for herself. (This will spend 1 Will.)>>5517366We have more pressing concerns right now than masquerade rules our MC doesn't even know about. besides, we can tell her to keep quiet about this. it almost goes without saying, right?
>>5517366I think the Veil does not extend to family members, since Kinfolk are a thing.Althought here is still the chance she isn't kinfolk, and we vreed true despite how rare that would be.Anyway, what we should be on the lookout is Pentex, Banes and Formori. They could be infiltrated in the police force and get her.
>>5517329>Assume the form of the wolf. She won't have a choice but to believe you when she sees it for herself. (This will spend 1 Will.)
>>5517376Thinking about it, the fact she didn't know anything is more or less a garantee she is kinfolk.
>>5517465Isn't, sorry
>Going with:>>Assume the form of the wolf. She won't have a choice but to believe you when she sees it for herself. (This will spend 1 Will.)>I'll start work on an update when I have the time. Locking now since it seems unanimous so far.
>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is current 0/10.Before your mom can finish calling the cops, your bones start to crunch and your flesh shifts. She screams and staggers back, falling flat on her ass and dropping the phone. All of the clothes that you just put on flop uselessly off of your body, as they don't exactly fit your new shape. You'll need to figure out a solution to this problem - you can't keep on having a wardrobe malfunction every time that you change form.By the time that your transformation comes to an end, your mother is just gawking at you in horror as you just stand there on all fours. Where there was once her son, there is now a wolf. You're not sure how you feel about the fact that you can literally smell her fear and bewilderment, along with so much else."Oh shit," she mumbles as she stares at you, bug-eyed. "Oh shit, oh god, oh fuck..." In an effort to try and alleviate her concerns, you revert back to your human form. As soon as your paws transform back into fingers, you grab your clothes and hurriedly put them on again. "So you... The police told me that a bear that killed those boys but... That was you, wasn't it?" You don't like the way that your mom is looking at you. She's not angry any more, she's afraid."Ma, listen, I don't even know what happened. If I did it, I wasn't myself. You know me, I'd never do something like that!" A little bit of desperation creeps into your voice. Other than your mom, there's no one you can turn to. If she thinks you're a murderer, where the hell do you go from here? "Please, you gotta believe me! I didn't want any of this to happen!""I know. I didn't raise a killer. It's just... This is a lot to take in." She rubs her temple with one hand as she uses the other to push her back to her feet. She's having a hard time processing this, and for good reason. "But you gotta go to the cops, Sam.""What? Why?""Listen, you're not gonna be in any trouble," she insists. "No one thinks you killed them. Everyone's saying it was a bear. But there's a lot of folks out there looking for you. Hell, there's a photo of you all over the news right now. You gotta put this to rest. You don't have to do it now, you can just... show up in the morning when you're ready, alright? All I know is there's no way in hell you can go back to a normal life if the whole town thinks you're dead.">Hand yourself in tonight. You better get this out of the way, as quickly and painlessly as possible.>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.>You can't stay here. Not after everything you've done and everything you've learned. You've got to leave.
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.I feel handing ourselves in is handing ourselves over to Pentex, but I don't want to be meta about it
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.Either this or tonight is okay for me. If our arm it's still broken/damaged we already have kind of a cover: We we're running from the bullies, we falled and then when they we're picking us some bear appeared maybe because of the noise. The bullies we're picked, we played dead and once we could we make a run, hide, and later we came Home.
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.We don't know about Pentex, since the furry was more concerned about being a dick then explaining things.Maybe we will luck out and they won't notice
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tonight. You better get this out of the way, as quickly and painlessly as possible.
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.>”Mom, we need to talk about Dad. Whatever kind of weird nightmare puberty this is, I think it involves him, and this Gaia lady I’ve heard about.”
>>5517676>Hand yourself in tonight. You better get this out of the way, as quickly and painlessly as possibleIt was a bear. EZ
>>5517676>>Hand yourself in tonight. You better get this out of the way, as quickly and painlessly as possible.
>>5517775+1, what happened to our dad? They have got to be a part of this.
>>5517814Our shredded clothes are with the bodies, remember?
>Going with:>Hand yourself in tomorrow morning. You need time to come up with a plausible cover story.>I'll get to work on an update in a couple of hours.
>>5518111you're a good dude Hench
>>5518111>I love you mom... Dad had to bee such a dog
"I'll do it in the morning," you say. You need some time to process all of this and figure out how you're going to explain yourself to the cops. "But Ma, that wolf-man in the forest, he said I was born this way... Do you think Wade has anything to do with this?"Bringing up your father is usually a quick way to rile up your mom. She has never had anything kind to say about him. Even now, mentioning the guy is enough to cause her expression to sour and her lips to be drawn in a thin line."I don't know," she finally says with an exasperated sigh. "He weren't in my life for all that long, only a couple of months. All I know is that I was head over heels for that man. He was wild, dangerous, mysterious... I shoulda known better. Soon as Wade knew I was pregnant, he got outta town fast as he could. I never saw him again. I don't regret having you, but everything else I did with that jagoff was a mistake.""He never said anything about Gaia, nothing like that?""Not a word. Wade didn't like being around a lot of people, took me outdoors much as he could. He had all of these weird scars but he never told me how he got them, no matter how much I asked. That was part of his mystique, I guess. Never said anything about any of this stuff though." Another sigh. "Look, Sam, let's just focus on the here and now, okay? We need to figure out how what you're gonna say to the cops.""They all think a bear ate me, right? I'll just say that I ran away and got lost in the woods for a while.""Oh yeah? What about your clothes? They're gonna be suspicious if you turn up like that after leaving tatters in the coal mine." She folds her arms as she points out all of the flaws in your plan, one by one, like she always does. "How the hell did you manage to get away from a bear? Where were you hiding out all night? How did it manage to tear your god-damn clothes off without leaving a scratch on you?"Before you can answer your mom, the phone starts to ring. She hurriedly gestures for you to scram, since you can't afford to be overheard over the phone. For now, you better hide out in your room and put together a real plan.>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.>Rip up your clothes and go back out into the woods so that the cops can stumble across you. The plan will fall apart if you're caught on your way out of town.>Rough yourself up a little. See if you can give yourself a few scratches here there, maybe a few bruises. It's not much but combined with the new scar on your forearm, hopefully it will convince the cops that you've had a rough night.>Get serious. It's been a couple of years since you last self-harmed, but it's the only way to make it look like you've been mauled by a bear. You're bound to upset your mom though and it might be a while until you're able to heal those wounds.
>>5518181>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.>Get serious. It's been a couple of years since you last self-harmed, but it's the only way to make it look like you've been mauled by a bear. You're bound to upset your mom though and it might be a while until you're able to heal those wounds.
>>5518181>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.>Rough yourself up a little. See if you can give yourself a few scratches here there, maybe a few bruises. It's not much but combined with the new scar on your forearm, hopefully it will convince the cops that you've had a rough night.Our clothes are ragged because we ran away and ripped then while doing it. We got lucky and the bear only really got us in the shoulder.While the bear was too busy mauling the other two, we ran and ended up in the forest, we didn't look back. Eventually found our way back into town after we saw the bear didn't follow us.Got back home and spend the night here, we were in too much panic and dazed to go to the police right away.
>>5518187Forearm, not shoulder
how does the Veil work in this setting, Hench. Same as canon?
>>5518181>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.>Get serious. It's been a couple of years since you last self-harmed, but it's the only way to make it look like you've been mauled by a bear. You're bound to upset your mom though and it might be a while until you're able to heal those wounds.Make it look convincing.
>>5518189>Humanity at large does not believe that the supernatural exists.
>>5518181>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.>Rough yourself up a little. See if you can give yourself a few scratches here there, maybe a few bruises. It's not much but combined with the new scar on your forearm, hopefully it will convince the cops that you've had a rough night.We need to say that the boys torn our clothes and the bear came after. That way we can explain why all our clothes are shredded at the place of incident and we don't have to look for excuses why we aren't fucked up by bear or hurt ourselves.
Also I would advocate against getting serious. Consequence of that can land us in hospital on observation where potentially we will have to explain rapid healing and how we got home without loosing much blood.
>>5518223if this follows old world of darkness canon, pretty sure we can't rapid heal in our homid/base form (or that might just be for aggravated damage? need to look it up)
>>5518226yeah, looked it up. garou can't soak lethal or aggravated damage in their breed form (which for us is homid). not sure if shapeshifting would change that though, and it sounds like something a lot of arguments have been had over.
>>5518228>yeah, looked it up. garou can't soak lethal or aggravated damage in their breed form (which for us is homid). not sure if shapeshifting would change that though, and it sounds like something a lot of arguments have been had over.They can soak lethals, at least in 20th.Hence the reason why they are more resilient to silver bullets in their breed form.Cuz they at least can soak it.Ag they need to soak in any other form.
>>5518187>Support
>Going with:>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.>Rough yourself up a little. See if you can give yourself a few scratches here there, maybe a few bruises. It's not much but combined with the new scar on your forearm, hopefully it will convince the cops that you've had a rough night.>Will work on the update in a bit.
Your mom can call the cops in the morning. When they come around and ask what happened, you'll tell them that your clothes got torn up during a fight with those assholes.You must've disturbed a bear that had wandered into the old mine. The commotion riled it up and it attacked.You managed to get away with it just biting your arm and shredding your clothes up even more, before it turned on the other boys.You ran, ended up in the forest and eventually came back to town when you were sure it was safe. You'll scratch yourself up a bit, just to make it really look like you really spent some time in the woods.Finally, you got back home and spent what was left of the night recovering from the ordeal.Once your mom's done with the phone call, you share your plan with her. She's not so sure about saying that you spent the night at home. That would mean that the cops wasted the night looking for you and could get both of you in trouble - especially since that was them on the phone just now. She thinks it would be better if you came home in the early morning, so she can claim that she called the police as soon as you showed up.Honestly? You're too tired to argue with her. Now that you're finally home, exhaustion is starting to kick in and all you want to do is lie down and sleep. It's almost midnight by this point, so you better catch some shut-eye while you have the chance.Your slumber is a restless one. You dream of Eastchurch, but the whole town is covered in cobwebs. There's spiders crawling all over everything, but they pay you no mind. It's the snakes that worry you. They erupt from the earth all around you and slither towards you. You've got no choice but to run but they never stop bursting out of the ground, no matter where you go.You eventually find yourself trapped, surrounded by a sea of serpents converging on you. Just as you're about to drown under them, the clouds part and reveal the full moon, shining brighter than ever. It burns away the snakes, the spiders, the webs - everything. Nothing can resist the fury of the full moon.>Here is a list of Gifts tied to your connection with the full moon. At this point in time, you can only choose one of these Gifts.>Falling Touch: You can spend 1 Will to cause a target to topple over with the lightest touch. This does not require a roll.>Inspiration: You can spend 1 Will to give a nearby packmate 1 Will. You do not currently have a pack. >Pack Tactics: You can spend 1 Will to gain a +10 modifier on a combat roll for each packmate fighting alongside you. You do not currently have a pack.>Razor Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.>Spur Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to cause your claws to break off inside of a target after a combat roll, inflicting a -20 modifier on their rolls until they remove them.
>>5518508>>Spur Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to cause your claws to break off inside of a target after a combat roll, inflicting a -20 modifier on their rolls until they remove them.>Falling Touch: You can spend 1 Will to cause a target to topple over with the lightest touch. This does not require a roll.I'm between these two, because for the moment our guy Sam it's kind of a strategist (?), so something to get an advantage against our enemy it's good after we grabbed the inmunity to fire
>Also, a quick rule change to the Rage-based ability I mentioned in >>5514913.>For the sake of informing you guys what you are spending your Rage and Will on, I will now call that ability "Exert" and its modifier will scale as you grow stronger.>So right now, your abilities include:>Exert: You can spend 1 Rage to temporarily enhance your strength, stamina and speed. Your next roll related to those attributes will gain a +10 modifier. This will scale as you grow stronger.>Shapeshift: You can spend 1 Will to adopt another form. Each form comes with unique advantages and disadvantages. Reverting to your human form costs no Will.>Master of Fire: You can spend 1 Will to gain significant resistance to heat and fire. You could be set on fire for a minute and still only suffer first-degree burns.
>>5518508>Razor Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.Pack tactics is the stronger one, but it would require us making friends. Spur claws is better if we deal with only one enemy and can take them down before they remove their debuff. Razor Claws is weaker, but more reliable.What I take from the dream is that the Weaver is ok with us because we are close with our human side, and therefore technology, but the Wyrm is closing in. I may be reading to much into it.
>>5518508>Razor Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.
>>5518508You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.
>>5518508>Razor Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.Nice to finally see a WoD quest, I gotta be honest I'm more of a vamp/mage guy but I'd take anything at this point and werewolf: the apocalypse is cool just my least favourite out of the main 3 WOD trio.
>>5518508>Razor Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.Being a Werewolf sounds like fun, I hope we can fuck up Pentex and find out who our dad is
>Going with:>Razor Claws: You can spend 1 Rage to sharpen your claws on a hard surface, gaining a +10 modifier on combat rolls until you rest.>Starting work on an update.
You raise your hands above your head, in an effort to hold the beauty of the full moon in your hands. Luna's radiance washes over your fingers and soaks into your skin, blessing you with her power. It seeps into your nails, transforming them into claws as the Change overcomes you. You become her warrior, her weapon to wield against the great foe.You wake up.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 1/10.You rub your head and groan as you sit up. When was the last time that you had a dream that vivid? It almost feels like it was something more than that. You look down at your hands and flex your fingers. The strength of the full moon still lingers in them and somehow, you know what must be done to summon it once more.A glance at your alarm clock reveals that you weren't asleep for long. 05:12. It'll have to do. Still stained with the sweat and dirt of the night before, you get work raking your nails all over your body in an effort to cover yourself with scratches and bruises. You even break the skin here and there, just to make it a little more convincing. You still don't look like a bear attacked you but hopefully it'll be enough to satisfy the cops.When you meet your mom in the lounge, one look at her is all that it takes to figure out that she's been up all night. Apparently a cop has been calling her all night long, asking if she's seen any sign of you. Maybe they're on to you? There's no way of knowing for sure and besides, it's too late to back out now.She makes the call. Your mom's always said that she wanted to be an actress when she was growing up and listening to her, you think that she'd be pretty good at it. She sounds like she's on the verge of crying as she gushes about how relieved she is over the phone. Maybe she really is. When she hangs up, you don't have much choice but to wait for the cops to arrive and rehearse your story in your head. Fifteen minutes pass. You hear a car pull up outside. The doorbell rings and your mom goes to answer it. A few moments later and she comes back with a man in uniform. He's in his forties with a buzz cut and chiselled, clean-shaven face. The cop takes one look at you and shakes his head in disbelief. He can't keep himself from grinning a little."Samuel Pullman, in the flesh. I can't believe it. I'm Jack Wilkes, chief of police here in Eastchurch. Did you know that I had six officers looking for you all night in those woods? We've been searching high and low for you, son.""Sorry," is your awkward response. You're not sure how you're supposed to reply to that."Don't be sorry, son! I'm just glad you're alive. There's been enough tragedy today, no one needed to hear that a third Eastchurch boy had lost his life last night. I just need you to tell me what happened, whenever you're ready. You're not in any trouble, all I need is a clear picture of what happened to those young men at the coal mine."
You tell him your story. How you got chased in the coalfield, how a bear attacked the three of you, how you ran and spent most of the night hiding in the woods. By the end, he's shaking his head in disbelief."Son, you have no idea how lucky you are. You must've had a guardian angel watching over you, because I've never heard of someone outsmarting a bear in its own woods before. Don't you worry though, the state's called in the professionals to bring it justice." You wonder how long it'll take them to figure out that there was never a bear at all. "All I need is for you to come by the station later today so you can give an official witness statement. The folks from animal control might want to have a chat with you too.""Sure," is all that you're able to say. You're too relieved to think of anything else. He actually fell for it."Well, I'd say you deserve some rest after a night like that. You two..."The sound of a fist hammering on the front door interrupts his farewell. A baffled Wilkes goes to answer it, only for another cop to barge in through the doorway. This one is lankier and looks a lot less professional than the chief, with a long and stubbled face that's locked in a scowl."What the hell are you doing here, Murphy?" When the chief says that name, your mom gives you a sharp, meaningful look. This must be the cop who was calling her all night."Sorry, chief. I've got to have a word with the kid. Go back to the station, I'll take care of this." There's something strange about the way that Murphy talks. There's power in his words, strength that demands respect. It's enough to compel Wilkes to obey, even though he's supposed to be the senior officer."Well, alright. You better have a good excuse for this though," the chief grumbles as he leaves. Murphy turns to your mother next and fixes her with a glare."This is just between me and Sam," he snarls, though this time his words lack that unnatural authority. "Get out.">You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 3/10.Are you just going to let this asshole talk to your mother like that?>Stick up for your mom. This is her house, she's not going anywhere and neither are you.>Take this outside. This could get ugly and you don't want your mom to be caught in the crossfire.>Run for it. This guy's bad news. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.) >Strike first, strike hard. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5518861>Stick up for your mom. This is her house, she's not going anywhere and neither are you.>"If you wanna talk to me you can just ask, instead of acting like an asshole not only in front of my, and even less doing it in our house">Then before he answer, pass him and signal him to come with you outside the house.
>>5518861>Stick up for your mom. This is her house, she's not going anywhere and neither are you.
>>5518870In front of me*I know the first vote is against the other two, but just take the part of "stick up for your mom"
>>5518870This is better actually, since it's sticking up but also letting him have want he wants.Also easier to run away or fight outside if he is a Formori.
>>5518861>”She stays. We go.”>(Calmly to Mom) “I’ll be fine. I promise.”>Take this outside. This could get ugly and you don't want your mom to be caught in the crossfire.
>>5518861>Take this outside. This could get ugly and you don't want your mom to be caught in the crossfire.>Outside tell him if you catch him talking to your ma like that, you'll tear off his goddamned head.
>>5518861>Stick up for your mom. This is her house, she's not going anywhere and neither are you."Legally, I don't think you can do that. Do you even have a warrant?"
>>5518883Supporting. The man's magic. Maybe he's the wolf from yesterday? A member of his cult?>>5518861
>>5518870+1
>>5518861>>Strike first, strike hard. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5518870This, actually, take it outside
>Going with:>Stick up for your mom. This is her house, she's not going anywhere and neither are you.>"If you wanna talk to me you can just ask, instead of acting like an asshole not only in front of my, and even less doing it in our house">Then before he answer, pass him and signal him to come with you outside the house.>Starting work on the update.
"If you wanna talk to me you can just ask, instead of acting like an asshole in front of my mom, inside of her own house."Before he can answer, you just walk past Murphy and bump him with your shoulder. For a moment, you think that he might throw a punch at you but instead he just bristles. You can almost hear his teeth grinding as he marches out after you. Something has him on edge. Once Chief Wilkes has driven off, it's just the two of you standing in the darkness of the early morning. Dawn is still a few hours away and Eastchurch is still fast asleep."You know, normally I've got a lot of patience for someone who has gone through all of the shit that you have tonight, but I've just about ran out of that." Murphy's voice is sharp, stern and simmering with anger. "You've got no idea how badly you've screwed up. What does your mom know?""What the fuck are you talking about?" You suspect that you already know but you're not going to talk about werewolf shit in the middle of town."I'm talking about seeing the forest for the trees," he growls. "Yeah, I know about your little scuffle with him. We've been looking high and low for you all night." We? Is he another werewolf? You expected that any other Garou would be new age freaks, just like Sees-Forest-For-Trees. You didn't think that one of them would be a cop. "What does your mom know?""Are you going to try and drag me into your weird-ass cult as well? I'm not interested." You dodge the question. You don't know what Murphy will do if he finds out that she knows the truth."Listen to me, Sam! In a couple of hours, a team from Hampton & Holt will be here. They pose as a wildlife removal company but they're way more than that, way worse. Whatever story you told Wilkes might've been enough to satisfy him, but they'll see right through it. They'll figure out what you are and you'll end up dead or worse. Depending on what your mom knows, so will she.">You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 4/10."So quit stalling and tell me what you told her. We're running out of time.">Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.>Lie. Say that she knows nothing. You don't her to get involved in this werewolf business.>Refuse. You're not going to say anything until you get some answers out of Murphy.
>>5519424>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.
>>5519424>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.Oh.Shit.
>>5519424>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.Do Garou give enough of a shit about hiding the supernatural from mortals?
>>5519452Yes, there is the Veil.
>>5519424>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.Which is honestly not that much in the grand scheme of things
>>5519424>Lie. Say that she knows nothing. You don't her to get involved in this werewolf business.Could be bluffing us to figure outnhow much Mom knows. Why trust this douche?
>>5519424>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.>>5519467>Could be bluffing us to figure outnhow much Mom knows. Why trust this douche?Because instead of acting like our mom (that being not knowing shit about the Garous) he actually straight up told us about our fight with that other Garou, say he was looking for us all night while constantly calling our mom, and just him instead of some organization or "agent", it would be ten times suspicious if some guy in suit and a fake police ID comes to our house making question too close to the truth without any record of them looking for us.
either this guy is kinfolk or a pentex goon
>>5519424>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.>which is honestly Jack fucking shit other than they exist.
>Going with:>Tell the truth. You told her everything, she knows as much as you do about this Garou shit.>Starting work on an update.
"I told her everything that the asshole in the woods told me," you finally confess, "which wasn't much. I'm Garou, whatever that means, and I was born to fight for Gaia according to your buddy. Ma didn't believe me until I turned into a wolf.""Holy shit." Murphy buries his face in his hands. "Are you seriously telling me that you... No, I can't blame you for this. It's not like you knew any better." His hands fall back to his sides and he lets out an exasperated sigh. "Look, you're both in danger. As soon as Hampton & Holt get here, they'll want to detain her for interrogation. They'll use her to bait you out, maybe turn her against you. They've got ways. Handing yourself in won't help either, they'll just off her as soon as they've dealt with you.""Bullshit. There's no way that some assholes from pest control can just kill people like that and get away with it." "They're not just 'pest control,' Sam. Hampton & Holt is owned by Full Force Solutions, a weapons manufacturer that's a subsidiary of... You know what, the names don't matter. What's important is that they're way bigger than anyone realises. They could make this whole town disappear and no one would bat an eye." The wild look in Murphy's eyes makes it difficult to believe all of the tinfoil hat nonsense that's pouring out of his mouth."Okay, so what the fuck am I supposed to do against something like that?""We've gotta get you and your mom out of town. After the stunt I pulled on Wilkes, I'll have to ditch Eastchurch too. Folks will figure out that I had something to do with you disappearing. I've got a few connections, they might be able to get us some new names, maybe even put together a new life for your ma.""Seriously? First you chew me out for all the trouble I've caused, now I'm supposed to believe that you'll throw away your job to keep me safe?" It doesn't make any sense to you. Why would he do that?"You're Garou, born to protect Gaia." You can't help but roll your eyes. For a moment, you thought that Murphy was above this hippy shit. "The old girl's dying and we're the only ones who can stop it. I'd tell you the whole story but we don't have the time. Now go get your mom and pack your shit, 'cause we're getting out of here.">Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.>You want to fight. If the Garou are supposed to be born warriors, why does he want to run away?>Turn him down. You're not going to throw away your life just because of some tree-hugging cult.
>>5519668>You want to fight. If the Garou are supposed to be born warriors, why does he want to run away?>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.
>>5519681I wanted to mix both so one leads to the other.We are not running away, we are choosing the battleground.
>>5519668>>You want to fight. If the Garou are supposed to be born warriors, why does he want to run away?>>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choic
>>5519668>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.
>>5519668>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.Who would win: 1 wolf boi vs 100 MTF Alpha?GTFO
>>5519668>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.I don't fancy our boy's chances against actual trained soliders
>>5519668>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.>”Y’know, your pal in the woods did a really crappy job explaining things, especially with him slinging ‘Ape’ around like that.”>”Also, please tell me we’re not going by “An American Werewolf in London” rules, because those guys were assholes.”
>Going with:>Do as he says. If Hampton & Holt are as dangerous as he says, you don't really have a choice.>Starting work on an update.
"Fine. You better give me some answers later though."Murphy follows you inside to help you break the news to your mom. It goes about as well as you expected. First she spent all night worrying that her son had gotten eaten by a bear, then she found out that he was actually a werewolf, now she's being told that she's got to leave Eastchurch behind if she wants to live. Her reaction is justifiably fiery."I am not gonna abandon this house just because some crazy conspiracy theory you've pulled outta your ass!""Gimme one good reason why I oughta believe a word of your bullshit! None of this makes any goddamn sense!""Do you have any idea what I had to go through to build a life for me and Sam in this town? I ain't throwing that away!"So on and so forth.Nothing that Murphy says is able to convince her. Even when he loses his patience and threatens to just carry her off, your mom doesn't relent. She only backs down when you present her with an ultimatum."Listen to me, Ma. Maybe Murphy's right, or maybe he's wrong. I ain't sticking around to find out. If you wanna stay here and see for yourself, go right ahead. All I know for sure is that I can't stay in Eastchurch, not after everything that's happened. So if you think you can live with never seeing me again, you go ahead and stay right here."You're not sure if you could really bring yourself to leave your mother behind, but thankfully she doesn't call your bluff. She would rather sacrifice everything that she has in Eastchurch than live a life without her baby boy.By this point, Murphy is really in a hurry. He only gives you enough time to pack a single bag, so you focus on the essentials - food, water, clothes and hygiene. As soon as you're done packing, you're out of the door and in the back of his cop car. He only takes you as far as the edge of town before he pulls up at the side of the road."Get out, we're walking from here.""What the hell?" Your mom's pretty puzzled by that. "I thought we were supposed in a hurry! How are we gonna get anywhere by walking?!""Use your goddamn brain, lady. Do you know how easy it would be for Hampton & Holt to track us down if I drive us all the way there in a police vehicle, after I've gone AWOL? Besides, we've gotta rendezvous with the others first.""Where is 'there' anyway?" She's clearly not satisfied with that answer. "You ain't said a thing about where we're going. And who are these 'others' you're talking about?""I'll tell you when we get there," he snaps back at her, "and they're my pack. Now can you stop asking so many questions and get a move on already?"From there, Murphy leads you into the forest. It's an unpleasant reminder of last night, but at least this time you've got some clothes to keep you warm. For a while he needs to light the way with a flashlight, but the sky gradually grows brighter and the sun's rays can be seen between the trees when dawn arrives at long last.
You must have spent almost an hour trudging through the woods by the time that your guide finally brings you to a stop. It seems that his destination was an abandoned ranger station, a log cabin that has obviously fallen into disuse judging from the rotten timber. A pair of men can be seen sitting on its porch. You recognise one of them as a hobo that you've seen on the streets of Eastchurch plenty of time before, a middle-aged man with a great big bushy beard and far too many coats. The other is a short and slender boy roughly your age with swarthy skin, unruly hair and dishevelled clothes that are too big for him. His jaw doesn't seem to line up properly with the rest of his face.If you weren't sure before, the way that the kid glares at you cinches it. That's Sees-Forest-For-Trees."Tally ho!" The homeless man pushes himself to his feet and offers a cheerful (and very yellow) grin as he waves. The way that he speaks is obnoxiously British. "I say, you certainly took your time, old chap! I see you that brought along Samuel, but who is the lovely lass at your side?""I'm his mother," she snaps before Murphy is able to reply, "but you can call me Emma. So what, this is your pack? Just the three of you?""Why bring her, Sheepdog?" Thanks to his misaligned jaw, Sees-Forest-For-Trees seems to have even more trouble speaking than before, even in his human form. "Ish she Garou or Kin?""She's not one of us," Murphy replies. "I don't think she's even Kin, but she knows about us thanks to the kid. There's no telling what H&H would've done if they got their hands on her." At that, the tanned boy scowls fiercely. Even the hobo throws his hands up in anger and lets out a humourless laugh."Oh, how terribly generous of you, old bean! And how many more strays are we going to pick up on the way to the caern, pray tell?" His voice oozes with sarcasm."The caern? Is that where we're going?" For once, you take the opportunity to speak. "And why did that asshole call you Sheepdog?""Yeah, it's about a hundred kilometres from here. If we wanna get there by nightfall, we better get a move on. As for Sheepdog..." He lets out a sigh and rubs his face. "... It's my deed name. Jasper over there goes by Talks-Fancy, Sees-Forest-For-Trees already introduced himself and I'm Sheepdog. It's a Garou thing. Now we've gotten introductions out of the way, we need to get going - now.""What we need are some goddamn answers!" Your mom's temper is flaring up again "Who are you really?! Why are you so scared of these Hampton & Holt people? We're not going anywhere until we hear the truth!">Murphy (or maybe you should call him Sheepdog from now on) is right. You need to focus on running rather than talking.>Stick up for your mother. You've already gotten a pretty big head start, surely that gives you enough time for a little exposition.
>>5520146Let’s compromise. You save your whole speech for later, and you tell us who the hell Wade was as we walk. Asshole has a lot of explaining to do for all of us.
>>5520146>Murphy (or maybe you should call him Sheepdog from now on) is right. You need to focus on running rather than talking.
>>5520146>Murphy (or maybe you should call him Sheepdog from now on) is right. You need to focus on running rather than talking>"Ma, this is really frustrating, I know. Now imagine what I went through last night. I'm also pissed, but if Murphy is right we should be scared of those assholes. Apparently they have some soldiers or something with Big guns that are going to kill us.">"It's insane I know! But if they're right we need to run, because maybe us 4 aren't enough for them. All they are doing is for my wellbeing, and also of yours because I fucked up by telling you what I am and I basically marked a huge target on your back because of it. So please, we're running out of time before they come and catch us, so let's run, hopefully we get to this Caern stuff we're getting answers, and you're going to be safe, I'M going to be safe, and surely that's more important for you while for me it's the other way around."
>>5520146>Stick up for your mother. You've already gotten a pretty big head start, surely that gives you enough time for a little exposition.>>5520163 at the very least.
>>5520146>Murphy (or maybe you should call him Sheepdog from now on) is right. You need to focus on running rather than talking.>"Mom, werewolves are a thing and we never knew about that before. I think there being some sort of conspiracy in the government and companies to deploy death squads isn't that farfetched anymore.">"Maybe we can talk and walk? Just the bullet points for now?"
>>5520163>Support
>>5520169support
also if our mum has successfully birthed one garou, expect more to come sniffing around after her
>Going with:>Murphy (or maybe you should call him Sheepdog from now on) is right. You need to focus on running rather than talking.>But I will be taking >>5520163 and >>5520169 into account.>Starting work on the update in a bit.
"Ma, I know this is a lot to deal with. I'm just as pissed off as you are, but if a bunch of goddamn werewolves don't wanna mess with these people, I think that we better be scared too. I know this is crazy, but they're doing this to save our lives.""How do you know you can trust a word that comes outta their mouths?" She's not entirely convinced. Murphy opens his mouth to speak but you cut in first."'cause they're taking you with them too. I'm the one they want but I fucked up by telling you about this shit. Murphy could've just kept his mouth shut and left you back in Eastchurch to die. He didn't. He's risking his neck for you and I gotta pay him back by having a little faith in him. We've got enough time to ask just one thing but then we really gotta get going, Ma.""You wanna know about your dad," your mom quietly surmises, having simmered down a little. You nod."Why the hell would we know anything about him?" Murphy is bewildered. "Just because he might've been a werewolf too, that doesn't mean I've got any clue who the guy was. At least give me a name to work with.""He's called Wade," you reply. "He came through town about eighteen years ago. I thought he might be a part of your pack or tribe or whatever. Tall, mysterious, lots of scars. None of that rings a bell?" Your question causes Jasper to guffaw."My dear boy, you just described over half of the Garou population! Fear not however, for I just so happen to have a trick or two up my sleeve that may help you with your conundrum." No wonder that they call him Talks-Fancy. The bum loves the sound of his own voice. "Ah, but that will have to wait until later. Right now, we should well and truly be on our way!"Before you can answer him, Sees-Forest-For-Trees shapeshifts before your very eyes. Some of his clothes tear while others fall off as his shape changes into that of a wolf - a really fucking big wolf, so big that you would think it was a bear from a distance. From this angle, you can see a shock of red fur on his flank, disrupting the animal's otherwise brown coat. Your mom yelps at the sight of this transformation, and again when Jasper adopts the form of the dire wolf as well. His many coats somehow meld into his body as he becomes a lumbering beast covered in ragged, patchy fur."We won't make it in a day if we run with human feet," Murphy explains before he turns to your mother. "Ma'am, you'll need to choose one of us to ride and you better hold on tight, for your own sake." The look on her face is priceless. You'd laugh if the situation wasn't so grim.>You want a ride too. You're still not all that used to shapeshifting and you'd rather conserve what little energy you have.>Put your faith in Murphy. This will be your first time in this form, so you might be a bit clumsy. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift].)>You will carry her. You barely know any of these guys, you don't trust them to look after your mom. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift].)
>>5520781>You will carry her. You barely know any of these guys, you don't trust them to look after your mom. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift].)
>>5520781>Put your faith in Murphy. This will be your first time in this form, so you might be a bit clumsy. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift].)
>Going with:>You will carry her. You barely know any of these guys, you don't trust them to look after your mom. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift].)>Starting work on update.
>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is currently 0/10."I'll take care of her," you insist. Your mother doesn't protest. You have no doubt that she'd rather entrust her safety to her son rather than these men that she doesn't know. Murphy doesn't argue with your choice. Instead, he shapeshifts into a great wolf like the other two, ruining his uniform in the process. Though his fur is surprisingly well-groomed, it's a brindled mess of many colours, red and black and brown and grey all bleeding into each other.You are the last one to transform, after you've shed your clothes and packed them away. Your bones deform and mottled fur sprouts all over your body as you become as big as a bear, only with the features of a wolf. Your senses aren't nearly as keen as they were in the form of a true wolf, but your body is far stronger. This is a shape that is perfect for travel and chasing down prey.>Hispo is your dire form. It enhances your rolls concerning combat with a +20 modifier and your rolls concerning speed with a +30 modifier. While you are in this form, you rapidly heal outside of combat and you are particularly vulnerable to silver."This is goddamn crazy," you hear your mom mutter as she gingerly climbs on your back. You lie down to make it a little easier for her. She grabs handfuls of fur around the base of your neck and clings on for dear life as she straddles your spine. "Okay, I'm ready," she says once she's finally steel herself. Murphy takes the lead, bounding ahead with Sees-Forest-For-Trees and Jasper bounding after him. You chase after them, as best as you can.It's not easy. Every couple of minutes, you can feel your mother's grip start to slip and you need to slow down so that she can stabilise herself. It doesn't help that this is your first time in this form and you don't know how to run properly. It's a learning process and a slow one at that. All too often, the other Garou have to stop for a little and wait for you to catch up, snarling impatiently all the while.A lot of Pennsylvania is untamed woodland, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of roads dividing it up. Every now and then you come across a stretch of asphalt that forces your pack to slow to a halt. Sees-Forest-For-Trees is the one who takes point in these instances and furtively looks in both directions for any sign of a human presence. Only once he's certain that there are no cars nearby does he deign to lead you across and allow Murphy to take the lead once more. Despite how different these werewolves are, they work well as a unit.You come to a stop around midday. Long enough for the other Garou to hunt for lunch while your mom helps herself to some of the food that she had packed. In this form, it doesn't smell appetising at all. The deer carcass that Sees-Forest-For-Trees brings back smells a lot more appealing. He even shares some of his kill with you, but only after Murphy snarls at him.
The second half of the day is the same as first. A lot of bounding through the woods, only stopping whenever there's a trace of civilisation or your mom's about to slip from your back. It's tiring but it feels good, as though you're working out a part of yourself that has never been exercised before. For the first time in your life you feel complete, and it's when you're running alongside a bunch of assholes who you've just met.The sun is dipping towards the horizon when you come to an unexpected halt. Jasper slows to a stop and shifts back to his human form, with his shabby clothes reforming around his body. At some point, you'll need to learn that trick so you don't have to strip naked every time you transform."Alright, chaps! That is quite enough for today! We are not going anywhere near fast enough to reach the caern by nightfall. In fact, I am certain that we are not even halfway there, thanks to how slow young Samuel has been." You let out a low and guttural growl at that accusation, which causes the bum to backtrack a bit. "Not that I can blame him, of course! He has had to carry the burden of his dear mother and he is quite new to all of this. None of us can expect him to travel as fast as a seasoned veteran but the point remains - it would be wise for us to stop for today.""There's nothing wise about that," Murphy growls as soon as he is finished his transformation and is human once more. Unlike Jasper, he's as naked as the day he was born. His lean and lanky physique is littered with small scars from where he's been raked by claws and punctured by bullets. "We need to get the kid and his mother to the caern. They won't be safe until they're in the sept's custody.""But what is the rush for? The fiends from Hampton & Holt have no reason to suspect that he has come so far, nor do they have the means to catch up to us even if they have found our trail! If they have, then it would be an excellent idea for us to cover our tracks - and if we do that, then we most certainly shan't make it to our destination tonight." Jasper then gestures towards you. "In any case, we should at least run him through the basics before we arrive. I could even test the lad a little, just to see if the spirits favour him.""Absolutely not," Murphy snaps. "We're doing this officially. We don't have the... Oh goddammit, don't tell me you're taking his side." It seems that Sees-Forest-For-Trees has pointedly chosen to sit beside Jasper. Murphy turns to face you. "Listen, we've gotta keep going. We might've gotten a head start but we can't afford to lose our momentum.">Side with Jasper. If you're not in immediate danger, you'd like to spend the night learning whatever the hobo has to teach you.>Side with Murphy. You can learn about Garou shit when you're in the safety of the caern. You're not going to put your mom at risk.>Go with your mom's opinion. She's involved in this mess as well, you refuse to make this decision without her input.
>Just want to apologise for this lull in the quest. Lots of travelling around and busywork in this segment. After this decision, things should hopefully pick up and we can get to the meaty bits.
>>5521118>>Side with Jasper. If you're not in immediate danger, you'd like to spend the night learning whatever the hobo has to teach you.>"Honestly, I'm completely out of my depth here, and if H&H can arrive at Eastchurch, find our tracks and catch up to us this quickly, then there is no hiding from then.">"Unless this caern place is magic too."
>>5521118>Side with Murphy. You can learn about Garou shit when you're in the safety of the caern. You're not going to put your mom at risk.This is just asking for something unexpected and bad to happen.Murphy's law people, it's good to follow it's wisdom.
>>5521127+1I’m not too confident that the other Garou will accept our mother’s presence, perhaps even deeming it necessary to kill her to preserve the veil. We should learn as much as we can to prepare for such an eventuality.
>>5521118>>5521127+1
>>5521127+1
>>5521127Supportan
>>5521118>Side with Murphy. You can learn about Garou shit when you're in the safety of the caern. You're not going to put your mom at risk.
>Going with:>Side with Jasper. If you're not in immediate danger, you'd like to spend the night learning whatever the hobo has to teach you.>"Honestly, I'm completely out of my depth here, and if H&H can arrive at Eastchurch, find our tracks and catch up to us this quickly, then there is no hiding from then.">"Unless this caern place is magic too.">Starting work on an update.
>>5521118>Side with Murphy. You can learn about Garou shit when you're in the safety of the caern. You're not going to put your mom at risk.We're a hotheaded werewolf but we don't fuck around when it comes to Mom.
>>5521382Darn, missed the vote. On the other hand, this IS what I would have voted for. Maybe we can mend our relationship with Sees-Forest while we're at it?
You nudge your mother to clamber off of your back and shift back to your human form. While you dress yourself, you give them your answer."If these people could track us half-way across the state and still catch up to us that quickly, then no matter where we go, we'd still be screwed. Besides, I'm completely out of my depth here. It's about time that we got some answers from you guys.""I guess we better find some shelter for the night then," a deflated Murphy grumbles. "Here I thought I supposed to be in charge of this operation.""Chin up," Jasper retorts. "A good leader always knows when to defer to the wisdom to his subordinates, and you've done just that!"After a little searching, Sees-Forest-For-Trees finds a good spot that's sheltered from the wind. Once Murphy has borrowed one of Jasper's coats, the two men get to work putting together a bivouac from branches and leaves. You even manage to get a small fire going. By the time that the sun's set, the five of you have put together a comfy little camp.>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 5/10.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 1/10.As soon as everyone has settled down, you finally get the explanation that you've been waiting for."Let me start with Gaia," Jasper begins. "Our world is bloody lovely, but it takes a lot of work to keep her that way. There's two sides to her, you see. You're familiar with her physical half, you've lived in it for all of your life. You've never seen her other side though, the Umbra. That's where the spirits dwell and the magic happens.""Oh this is such goddamn nonsense," your mom grumbles. "What the hell does this gotta do with werewolves?""I'll get to that, my fair lady. For you see, three deities reign over the Umbra. Gods of creation, order and destruction. They are supposed to keep each other check, but the balance was broken a long time ago. Now the destroyer god has taken the wheel. We call him the Wyrm and all he wants is to kill beautiful Gaia once and for all. His influence has spread from the Umbra to our reality, where his countless servants conspire to rape our planet and bring about the apocalypse.""Get to the werewolf part, for god's sake." Your mom has buried her face in her hands by this point."As you wish, dear Emma. We Garou are Gaia's contingency plan! Our sole purpose is to correct the balance whenever it is disrupted. Each of us was born to fight the Wyrm and avert the apocalypse. The agents of destruction know this and hunt us down at every opportunity, but have no fear! In the end, we shall win this war!"You don't let your emotions show on your face, but right now you feel...>... furious. This is bullshit. Your life has just been ruined by an insane hippy cult.>... uncertain. It sounds crazy but there might be some truth behind the story.>... intrigued. If werewolves exist, why not spirits? You wonder what they're like.>... excited. For the first time in your life, you feel like you can make a difference.
>>5521552>... intrigued. If werewolves exist, why not spirits? You wonder what they're like.Maybe there are vampires, fairies and wizards too. Wouldn't that be crazy?
>>5521552>...intrigued. If werewolves exist, why not spirits or other supernatural beings? You wonder what they're like.>You say your at war so who or what are you guys fighting?>So the planet is alive or has a spirit does that mean other planets have one as well. lets say we get off world and colonize mars or some shit would we have to deal it's spirit waking up and trying to tell us to fuck off?
>>5521552>... intrigued. If werewolves exist, why not spirits? You wonder what they're like.>”So, if there’s actual real life werewolves in the world, what else could be out there that we thought didn’t exist? Vampires? Wizards? …zombies?”
>>5521580+1
>>5521580Support
>>5521552>...uncertain. It sounds crazy but there might be some truth behind the story.
>>5521580I'll support the write-in, make the OOC setting joke into a IC question
>>5521580+1>"Damn... So all those creepy stuff are real? The world really is that cruel?">"I guess... This is a World of Darkness">Title appears on the screen followed by a "boom" Vine sound effect. It all turns Black and then the scene change into the Wyrm Agents searching on the Woods.
>Going with:>... intrigued. If werewolves exist, why not spirits? You wonder what they're like.>”So, if there’s actual real life werewolves in the world, what else could be out there that we thought didn’t exist? Vampires? Wizards? …zombies?”>Starting work on an update.
... intrigued. You became a lot more open-minded about this stuff as soon as you accepted that you were a werewolf. If you can magically transform into a wolf, who's to say that there isn't a spirit world and a malevolent god who wants to destroy the world?"So if werewolves actually exist, what about all of the other monsters and stuff? Vampires? Wizards? Zombies?""Some humans are given magical power by spirits," Murphy says, "I guess you could call them wizards. Some of the others back at the caern swear they've run into vampires but right now our theory is that they're just dead bodies that have been possessed by Banes, which sorta makes them zombies. So yeah, it's all real.""Shit," is the only answer you can come up with. Your mother is still silently despairing over the situation that she's found herself in."A Bane is a lesser spirit that serves the Wyrm, you see. One of their most common tactics is to possess creatures in order to enter the physical world." Jasper's explanation has resumed. "This fusion of spirit and flesh causes their victims to mutate into horrid monstrosities that we call Fomori. Yet many of the Wyrm's servants are mortal! I speak of corporations and the villains in charge of them.""What, like Zuckerberg and Musk?""Nah, those two are in the clear. He's talking about the ones that you don't hear about on TV - especially Pentex. They're a multinational with their fingers in every pie. Fossil fuels, fast food, big pharma, big tech, you name it. On the surface it looks like they're just trying to make a profit, but they won't stop until they've brought about the apocalypse. They're the ones who pull the strings of Hampton & Holt.""So I gotta worry about evil spirits, mutants and corporate death squads. Anything else to add to the list?""BSDs," Murphy replies, "Black Spiral Dancers. It's a fancy name for the Garou who've gone bad. They're Wyrm-worshipping maniacs and if H&H got to you before I did, they'd probably turn you into one of them." So the bad guys have werewolves too. Great."Now, now. Let us not focus on the insurmountable odds." Jasper seems to eager to lift the mood. "I told you that I might be able to help you with your paternal conundrum! For you see, I can perform a little seance of sorts and ask the spirits what they know about your dear father. All I shall need from you is a little blood and it's off to the races!" The bum fishes a syringe out of his pocket and pops the cap off. "Now, why not tell us a little about yourself, Samuel?">You threw yourself at your studies so that you could get a place at a good college.>You spent most of your time on the internet to try and escape from reality. >You fell in with a bad crowd. It was the only way you could make any friends.>You used sports and athletics as a way of getting your anger out of your system.>Nope. You are not letting this hobo get anywhere near you with a fucking needle.
>>5521877>Nope. You are not letting this hobo get anywhere near you with a fucking needle.Needles scary.
>>5521877>You fell in with a bad crowd. It was the only way you could make any friends.
>>5521877>You spent most of your time on the internet to try and escape from reality.how else are we going to meme?and>You threw yourself at your studies so that you could get a place at a good college.to give the bullies a reason to bully us.
>>5521877>You threw yourself at your studies so that you could get a place at a good college.
>>5521877>You used sports and athletics as a way of getting your anger out of your system.
>>5521877>You used sports and athletics as a way of getting your anger out of your system.Could have played college ball ya know?
>Going with:>You threw yourself at your studies so that you could get a place at a good college.>Starting work on an update in a bit.
So far we appear to be the more calm and logical breed of Garou except when it comes to combat with other Garou. I feel that we may actually be a shadow lord based on the intelligence, planning, and choices we have made. This also seems like on of the choices that influence our breed. Ex. the escape reality option is obviously the glass walker option. BTW shadow lords are often the rich werewolfs who are politicians or work in finance.
"There's not much to tell. I've been in Eastchurch pretty much my whole with my mom. I never knew Wade 'cause he ran off before he had me." You wince a little when Jasper jabs the needle into your arm, which causes your mother to give him a withering glare. He suddenly looks pretty sheepish. "I guess I've been focusing on school a lot, been trying to get a place at a decent college." Mostly because you didn't want to end up like your mom did, working a bunch of crappy jobs in a rust belt shithole for the rest of her life."It sounds like you had a marvellous future ahead of you, dear boy. It is deeply unfortunate that Gaia had other plans for you. Though I know that it is worth precious little, I assure you that you have my sympathy and understanding." Once he has drawn enough blood, Jasper withdraws the syringe from your arm and begins rolling up his trouser leg."Hey, what do you think you're..." Before your mom can finish asking that question, the bum promptly sticks the needle in his calf and pushes your blood into his veins. Almost immediately, he begins to spasm. "What the hell?!""Hold him down," Murphy snaps at the two of you as he rushes over to the convulsing hobo and pins him to the ground. "Don't panic, just make sure he doesn't hit his head on anything. It's all part of the ritual, but this showboating asshole didn't feel like warning us before he started."The three of you hold Jasper down while a disinterested Sees-Forest-For-Trees watches the scene from a safe distance. Not like he would be much help anyway, since he shifted back into a wolf as soon as you stopped to camp. While your mother cradles Jasper's head, the man begins to babble and groan. The bizarre noises he makes are somewhere between throat singing and speaking in tongues. You have to endure almost ten minutes of this before his seizure finally comes to an end and the bum lies back on the forest floor, panting for breath."What the hell were you thinking, you goddamn sicko?!" As soon as the hobo has come to his senses, your mom gives him a resounding smack across the face and lets his head fall back against the earth. "You've got some explaining to do!""Wades-In-Blood," Jasper croaks. "His name is not Wade, it is Wades-In-Blood. He is Lupus, Ahroun, Ronin and Emma... Emma is not Kin.""Care to explain what any of this shit means?" You turn to Murphy as you ask that question. His expression is pretty grim."Jasper just did something called the Rite of Heritage. He spoke with the ancestors and asked them about your parents. Your father's deed name is Wades-In-Blood and uh... I don't know to break this to you, but he was never human. Your dad was a wolf before he became Garou, just like Sees-Forest-For-Trees over there." The little brown wolf grumbles quietly to himself. As for your mom, she seems pretty horrified by this revelation.
"Just like you," Murphy continues, "he went through his First Change during a full moon. That makes both of you natural warriors, at least according to tradition. That's the Ahroun bit.""What did Jasper mean when he said 'Ronin?'" That's the part that confuses you. "Isn't that some sort of samurai shit?""It means he was an outcast. See, the Garou are split into twelve tribes. Each tribe defends a different part of Gaia in a different way. But your dad, well... He must've done something real bad. He pissed off his tribe so much that they disowned him. He's a lone wolf now, if he's still alive at all.""And what was he talking about when he said that I ain't Kin?" Your mom is eager to move past this news about your dad. You can't say that you blame her."It's sorta like genetics," Murphy tries to explain. "Kin carry the Garou gene. When they breed with a werewolf, there's a good chance of the kid being a werewolf too. You don't have that gene, so any kid that you had with Wade should've been a carrier, not a full-blown werewolf. The odds of Sam turning out this way are one in a hundred.""Aren't we lucky." Her voice oozes with sarcasm. "You certainly are," Jasper groans as he sits up and rubs his cheek. "Every Garou is a blessing from Gaia! Alas, as the son of a Ronin, poor Samuel has no tribe to call his own. But fear not, for I know of a solution!""No! No goddamn way!" Murphy is scowling again. "You aren't putting the kid through a Rite of Passage! The elders can judge him for themselves once we get to a sept and decide which tribe is right for him. We're doing this by the book, Jasper.""Come on, old chum, let the lad decide for himself. In any case, it shall not be a true Rite of Passage! It shall just be a quick trip through the Umbra, to see if any of the totems approve of Samuel. Nothing particularly official or binding, I promise!" The bum turns towards you with a disarming and extremely yellow smile. "Think of it as a vision quest! Have you not ever wondered what your spirit animal would be?"Before you can answer, your mom cuts in: "Is it gonna be dangerous?""Possibly, yet the chance of the dear boy dying is infinitesimal! I assure you that he shall be just fine. The experience in its entirety should not take much long than a few hours at most! You shan't have to wait very long for his safe return.""Are you telling me that he's gonna have to do this on his own?" Now she's angry. "No. No way. No more crazy magic. We're going straight to this caern place and that's final.""I never thought I'd ever hear your mom agree with me on anything," Murphy wryly remarks. "You agree too, right?">Yes. You want to meet the elders and see what all of these different Garou are like before you join a tribe. There's no need for any more risks or weird rituals.>No. You want to see the Umbra for yourself and meet your spirit animal. If it helps you figure out what tribe is right for you, you'll go on Jasper's vision quest.
>>5522074>No. You want to see the Umbra for yourself and meet your spirit animal. If it helps you figure out what tribe is right for you, you'll go on Jasper's vision quest.
>>5522074>Yes. You want to meet the elders and see what all of these different Garou are like before you join a tribe. There's no need for any more risks or weird rituals.It's probably best to do this shit the 'proper' way with people that actually know their shit.
>>5522074>Yes.“As much as I’d like to do this trial right now, we’re pushing our luck already, especially with your fit back there. Let’s get Mom safe first, then we’ll figure out the rest.”
>>5522074>Yes. You want to meet the elders and see what all of these different Garou are like before you join a tribe. There's no need for any more risks or weird rituals.
>>5522074>Yes. You want to meet the elders and see what all of these different Garou are like before you join a tribe. There's no need for any more risks or weird rituals.Yeah, let's not. Tempting as it is, more magic might attract the unwanted kind of spiritual attention. I'd rather not risk anything happening on the physical side of the world while we're off gallivanting with spirits.So my WTA lore is spotty but a Lupus born Garou shacking up with a human seems really odd to me. Maybe Wade got disillusioned with the war for Gaia and his fellow werewolves?
>>5522074So I have been holding this bit of info for a while but I feel I should share it now. Pentex has literally armies of Banes (demons) and Famorie (demon hosts) at its disposal, in addition to BSD hit squads. Further, the sooner we do the rite of passage the better because if we don't do this now we will still be at risk of becoming a BSD. They have a bad habit of taking the initiative and turning them into their kind. Also, our ods of possession go down if we do this as well because we have neglected our spiritual defense. We need to do this.>No. You want to see the Umbra for yourself and meet your spirit animal. If it helps you figure out what tribe is right for you, you'll go on Jasper's vision quest.
>>5522074>Yes. You want to meet the elders and see what all of these different Garou are like before you join a tribe. There's no need for any more risks or weird rituals.>"You got a full 10 Seizure just to tell me about my father. We're not 100% safe out here and if something happens I wanna make sure mom's safe">>5522098Tho it sounds weird, it really isn't.In the WTA 20A (Or I think it was in a Kin book), in the section of the Red Talons, the PoV of the Red Talons that talks about the reproduction of the Wolf and Human kin, it says that the Red Talons would be more than willing to reproduce with a Human if that part of the Kin it's near extintion or their numbers are low, and then talk about how the Homid Garous are hypocrits because they wouldn't do the same for the Wolf Kin, neither and it shows because of the low numbers of Wolf Kin in each other TribeAnd a fun fact: One of the other reasons why the Lupus Garou and Kin are fewer, it's because those Lupus Garou/Kin see that their sons starts to act weird (thanks of profetic dreams or spirits they saw thanks to their Garou Blood connecting them to the Umbra), the Wolf Garou/Kin eat those childrens, because like in Nature, they don't wanna risk that the rest of the cubs get some disease just like in the real world, and unfortunally, some warriors of Gaia doesn't fully mature and reach their First Change because of that.So yeah, while the Homid Garous feel uncomfortable with fucking with wolfs, the Lupus see this more like a duty than something else
>Going with:>Yes. You want to meet the elders and see what all of these different Garou are like before you join a tribe. There's no need for any more risks or weird rituals.>Starting work on an update.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass. I'm not gonna fuck off on some 'vision quest,' not when we've got a goddamn death squad after us and my mom's life is at risk." Jasper doesn't seem particularly offended when you refuse your offer. He just shrugs and smile."As you wish, young Samuel. I merely thought that you might prefer making your own choice to being thrown into the deep end, so to speak! There is something else that I can do for you however, if you do not object. Fear not, for I do not speak of a rite. All I wish to share with you a method of channelling your rage into positive energy."This time no one objects, so the hobo takes you aside and teaches the basics of meditation. You find it a little dumb to start with but once you start taking it seriously, you find yourself slipping into a mindful and introspective state. It's a chance for you to focus on your own thoughts and clarify them, to organise your mind. With no external stimuli for your anger to fixate on, it begins to dwindle. It doesn't disappear entirely, but an hour of self-reflection in the serenity of the wilderness leaves it significantly diminished.>Once per day, you may choose to meditate for an hour.>If you meditate in a location where human civilisation has a significant presence, you lose 1 Rage and gain 1 Will.>If you meditate in a location that is wild, natural and devoid of human civilisation, you lose 2 Rage and gain 2 Will.>If you meditate at a caern or any other location that is infused with spiritual energy, you lose 3 Rage and gain 3 Will.>You lose 2 Rage. Your Rage is currently 3/10.>You gain 2 Will. Your Will is currently 3/10.By the time you return, your mother is already asleep. She's been up for almost two whole days, so you can't blame her. Sees-Forest-For-Trees is napping as well and before too long, Jasper settles down to slumber. This leaves just you and Murphy awake."Sam," he says, keeping his voice down to avoid awakening the others, "we need to talk. It's about your mom. There's a few details that Jasper didn't mention earlier.""I'm listening.""See, no one thinks werewolves are real and we'd like to keep it that way. That's why we've got something called the Veil. It's a law that means that we can't tell anyone the truth unless they're Garou or Kin. Your mom isn't either. That means you broke the Veil and she's a liability." You don't like how he says that. "It gets worse. The form that you used to fight Sees-Forest-For-Trees has a nasty side-effect. If a normal human sees it, they go nuts and forget everything they saw. As long as she's around Garou, she's in danger."
"Okay, so what do you want me to do about this?" "There's an Amish community not far from the caern. Plenty of the folks who live there are Kin, they'll take her in and look after her, provided that she does her fair share of the labour. You've got to convince her to stay there though and whatever you do, don't tell any other Garou that she's just a normal human. Some of them are pretty ruthless and if they think she's a threat to the Veil, they might kill her. You can't afford to keep on dragging your mom around like this, especially not into the caern. That'll be a death sentence for her and even though she's not my biggest fan, I don't wanna see her get hurt. She doesn't deserve to be in this mess.">You'll do your best to convince your mom. She won't like it, but she doesn't have a choice.>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.>You will stand by your mother. If she got to live with the Amish, so will you. You won't abandon her.>Secretly consider running away with your mom. The Garou are sounding more and more like assholes.
>Just letting you know, my schedule is going to be disrupted. Do not expect another update for the next eighteen or so hours.
>>5522358>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.
Mmm. Rough options all around honestly. But I would hold that Sam *needs* to learn. Even in character I'd say he has an inkling of how out of his depth he is so just running for it with mom is a bad idea.>>5522358>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.Just dumping her off with Amish is just a smidgen too far, the culture shock would make her stick out like a sore thumb.
>>5522358>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.and if he can't>You will stand by your mother. If she got to live with the Amish, so will you. You won't abandon her.
>>5522392+1It's the new identity or we go our own way, and if Murphy lied to us, then he needs to go the extra mile to maybe erase Mom's memories so she isn't a liability. And if some Garou asshole touch her, we Riot
>>5522358>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.>You will stand by your mother. If she got to live with the Amish, so will you. You won't abandon her.>The Garou are sounding more and more like assholes.Yes, they are Sam, half the problems on the setting is their fault. Only thing is worse than assholes are incompetent assholes.
>>5522358>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.if he refuses then I would honestly vote for our dude to fuck off with his mom. I don't think it would be fair for her to hide away in a shitty amish community just because she didn't happen to be born kin and I don't think the MC would put up with it either even if it got him into conflict. It's a shame that woofs can't casually enslav- I mean ghoul a person like vamps can to potential masquerade breaches
>>5522358>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.I’d rather get Wyrm’d than become Amish tbqh
>Going with:>Murphy said he would get a new identity for her. He made a promise, hold him to that.>Starting work on update in a bit.
>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 4/10."What the fuck, Murphy?! You told me that we'd get new names! You said you had connections!""Keep your goddamn voice down," he hisses. "I know what I said, okay? It's just difficult to justify going through all that effort for someone who's only human. I thought that she might've been Kin, that's why I made that offer in the first place.""It doesn't matter if she's Kin or not, she's my fucking mom." It's your turn to snarl and scowl as you jab at a finger at his chest. "You're gonna give her a new life, just like you told me you would. I'm not gonna let you just dump her with the goddamn Amish. I don't care how much work it takes, I don't care how many strings you've gotta pull. Make it happen.""I can't just snap my fingers and make it happen," he retorts. "Look, listen to me. I'll make some calls when we get to the caern and see what I can do. It might take a while, a couple of weeks, maybe a month. She'll still have to stay in the commune until I can sort something out for her but I'll make it happen, alright? Just convince her to stay put and keep her nose out of Garou affairs until I've got this shit sorted out.""You've got one month," you growl, "one month to get it done." You're not sure what you'll do if he fails to live up to this promise. Maybe you'll live in the commune with her, or maybe you'll run off with her and leave all of this Garou bullshit behind.After that, Murphy skulks off to get some sleep and you grab some shut-eye as well. The damp bed of woodland detritus beneath you isn't exactly comfortable, but you've been running through the wilderness all day long. You fall into a deep slumber almost as soon as you've laid down and this time, your sleep is dreamless. You wake up shortly before dawn. There's no sign of Hampton & Holt or anyone else. It looks like your decision to stop for the night wasn't punished. You help yourself to some of the food that your mom brought along, while Sees-Forest-For-Trees shares his morning kill with the other two. Murphy doesn't seem all that comfortable with eating raw meat, while Jasper chows down with great enthusiasm. As soon as you're done eating, your journey resumes.>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is currently 2/10.Most of the day is a repeat of yesterday. It's a whole lot of running through the wilderness in the form of a dire wolf, with your mother desperately trying to cling on to your back for dear life. A steady downpour of rain doesn't make the journey any easier, but at least the deluge will transform any tracks you've left behind into mud. The sun rises and begins to fall as morning turns into afternoon but not long after midday, you arrive at your first destination.
The trees begin to thin out as Murphy leads you away from the vast forests of Pennsylvania and towards idyllic pastures. The verdant fields are only disrupted by the occasional country road or quaint white farmhouse. Before you venture down towards the commune however, Murphy reverts to his human form and so does Jasper. You do the same and start to get dressed, while the leader of the pack explains the situation to your mother.She takes the news better than you thought she would. You expected her to explode with outrage and go on another one of her angry tirades but instead, her lips remain sealed shut in a thin and inscrutable line while she listens to Murphy's explanation. When he's finished, she just makes a calm and quiet request."If this is gonna be the last time that I see Sam for a while, then I wanna talk with my son - alone."Murphy hesitates a little, but he knows that there's no way that he could turn her down without looking like an asshole. He leads the other two away, leaving you and your mother to chat by the outskirts of the woods while they get a head start. You can catch up when you've finished talking."Sam," she says, "I can't let you go through with this.""What?""I ain't about to let you join some army of crazy werewolves who think that the world's about to end! Now I get that you wanna trust them because they're like you, I understand that. But have you been listening to the stuff that comes outta their mouths?! They're insane!" She takes in a breath and tries to compose herself. "Look, I've got my phone. All I gotta do is call the cops and let them know where we are. We can go back to our old life and everything can go back to normal.""What about Hampton & Holt?""Did you really believe Murphy? Do you really think that a goddamn pest control company is secretly a bunch of werewolf hunters controlled by the devil? Come on, Sam. It's a load of bullshit. I'm calling the police and we're going home, 'cause there's no way in hell that I'm gonna live the rest of my life with the Amish while my son gets press-ganged into some cult!">Assure her that everything is going to be okay. You trust Murphy and so should she. >Get that goddamn phone off of her. There's no way she's getting out of this alive if she does anything stupid.>Tell her to wait for a month. If Murphy doesn't live up to his end of the bargain, then she should make the call.>Run away with her. You can't go home, but you refuse to join the Garou either.>Let her make the call. She's right. This entire situation is crazy and you don't want to deal with it any more.
>>5523512>Get that goddamn phone off of her. There's no way she's getting out of this alive if she does anything stupid.She has a fucking phone?!Fucking destroy it, now!Does she not know how easy it is to track people with those things?!
>>5523512>Tell her to wait for a month. If Murphy doesn't live up to his end of the bargain, then she should make the call.>"You should probably remove the phone's battery phone and keep it hidden. Those things are easy to track, and I don't think you will find a charger anywhere here">"To be honest, the hardest part to believe it's that only one multinational conglomerate works for the devil. I expected all CEOs to not have souls."
>>5523512>Get that goddamn phone off of her. There's no way she's getting out of this alive if she does anything stupid.and transform into Crinos form afterward to prove how serious this all is
>>5523535You want to cause Delirium on mom? She's not going to remember it
>>5523539Actually, she probably will remember it because she already know it's true that werewolves exist..It's just going to make her uncomfortable around us, damage our relationship and may make her slightly insane or deranged
>>5523512>Tell her to wait for a month. If Murphy doesn't live up to his end of the bargain, then she should make the call.
>>5523545better an uncomfortable relationship than her becoming a tool of pentex
>>5523512>Support >>5523526It's just difficult to justify going through all that effort for someone who's only human.Man Murphys an asshole
>>5523512>Tell her to wait for a month. If Murphy doesn't live up to his end of the bargain, then she should make the call.I have a funny feeling that she won't wait that long...>>5523612>Man Murphys an assholeSure is, but I feel that it's also a question of how he's gonna use pack/tribe resources to hide a human without his elders and leaders starting to ask questions.
>>5523526Support.So, what do we do if we fuck off? I quite like the idea considering how our interactions with the Garou have been. Our dad probably was an asshole, but there's two sides to most stories, and I can see why he left.Also, how bad is Pentex? Because if the Garou are responsible for half of the current situation, it means Pentex is responsible for at most the other 50% and since Pentex has werewolves...well I hate corpos as much as the next guys but if you make me choose between the asshole hippie cult that lives in the woods and the multicorp that would probably be okay with renting a house or penthouse someplace nice for mom and paying us on top of that, and then tell me they're both equally incompetently evil...We owe the Garou nothing, as the hobo said. Our dad may have given us one good thing after all. A lot of power and none of the attachment.On a lighter note, should we make fun of mom for being a furry now, or would we get the Pennsylvanian version of a chancla?
>>5523512>>5523526Support>>5523639I agree, given the choice between incompetent asshole hippies, and competent evil corpos, I'll take the one with stock options. Better to be on the winning team.
>>5523639>>5523655>Also, how bad is Pentex?Imagine every bad thing that people say that rich people do, and make it true.Rape, cannibalism, pedofilia, murder, torture. Conspiracies to actively make the lives of everyone worse, subliminal messages. A formori is created when a Bane possess a human. For that to happen, their soul has to be corrupted first. And Pentex executives are full of them.You want corporate werewolves? Go for Shadowlords or Glass Walkers. Shadowlords are politicians that work behind the screen, while glass walkers have techies, mafiosos and corporations. The other city type of werewolves would be the Bone Gnashers, but you already met them.
>Going with:>Tell her to wait for a month. If Murphy doesn't live up to his end of the bargain, then she should make the call.>"You should probably remove the phone's battery phone and keep it hidden. Those things are easy to track, and I don't think you will find a charger anywhere here">"To be honest, the hardest part to believe it's that only one multinational conglomerate works for the devil. I expected all CEOs to not have souls.">Starting work on update in an hour or two.
>>5523639I would like to point out that joining up with Pentex would VERY likely mean being forcibly inducted into the Black Spiral Dancers - which means becoming spiritually corrupted, mentally insane and horribly mutated because of either radioactive fire or the aforementioned spiritual corruption. Just FYI.Taking that into account I would rather stick with the hippies - at least long enough that Sam learns how spirit shit and Garou society works.Somebody feel free to correct me if I got my blurp about the BSD's incorrect, my info comes purely from wikis
>>5523658>GlasswalkersI am 100% down with the weaver, lets be cyberwolf.
Counter Point.>>5523664
"Ma, we gotta give them a chance. If Murphy lives up to his end of the bargain, you ain't gonna be with the Amish for more than a month, tops. But if a month passes and he goes back on his word, or if they don't let me see you, or anything like that... You go right ahead and make that call, alright? Tell the cops everything. But we gotta give them time first, to show us they're more than a bunch of crazy assholes.""... Okay, Sam. One month is all they're getting though. I won't wait a day longer, you hear me?""I got it. You ain't turned your phone on though, right?" Fortunately, she hasn't. You were smart enough to leave yours back at Eastchurch. "You better take out the battery and keep it hidden. Phones are easy to track and I don't think you'll find a charger around here." You even try to inject a little humour, just to lift her spirits a bit. "Besides, the weirdest part of all this is that only one big corporation works for the devil. Who would've thought that CEOs could have souls, huh?"That gets a smile out of her, the first one you've seen in a while.You catch up to the others before too long. At this point, there's no more need for running, as the caern isn't too far from here. The five of you catch some odd looks from a few farmers that you pass by and one guy coming down the road in a horse-drawn wagon even stops to ask if you need any help. Murphy, wearing nothing except for one of Jasper's many coats, just smiles and gives him a 'no, thank you.'You don't have to walk for too long before you finally get the farmstead that you're looking for. A sheepish housewife who introduces herself as Esther answers the door when you knock and unlike the other Amish, she seems unperturbed by your eclectic group. Murphy gets straight to the point: Your mom is Kin and Esther is going to look after her and treat her like family until he comes back. She doesn't ask why, or for any sort of payment - she just meekly agrees.You can't keep yourself from hugging your mom when you say goodbye to her. She demands a whole lot of promises from you, that you'll keep safe, that you'll come see her as soon as possible, that you won't do anything stupid. She almost cries at one point and so do you, but you both manage to keep the tears at bay. Life has been tough on you both and even though this is the hardest challenge that it's thrown at you yet, you'll get through it together, as family.Once that farewell is out of the way, it's time for you to move on and leave your mom at the farmstead. According to Murphy, it shouldn't take you more than an hour to reach the caern by foot. On your way there, the four of you have one last conversation.
"Now I know I lied back there about Emma being Kin, but I don't want a word out of any of you about that," Murphy says. "If you've got to mention her at all, say that she's Kin. Do not tell anyone that she's just another one of the herd. As the alpha of this pack, that's a goddamn order and while I usually listen to what you two have to say, I am not gonna budge on this. Have I made myself clear?""Of course, old bean." Jasper seems completely unperturbed by the command that he has been given. "I was never even dreaming of it in the first place! It would simply not be proper to endanger the life of a lovely lass like that, regardless of her lineage.""Good. Sees-Forest-For-Trees?" The werewolf who you brawled with a couple of nights ago has reverted back to his lupine state. He just lets out a low grunt in response to Murphy's question. "I know how much you hate it, but could you please be a human for just two seconds? If you've got something to say, I wanna hear you actually say it. I'm sick of all your goddamn animal noises."Reluctantly, Sees-Forest-For-Trees shifts into his human form and trudges alongside the rest of you, frowning with his misshapen mouth. You're starting to get used to all of the nudity."If the cub ish strong and serves Gaia well, I will say nothing." The boy's words are slightly slurred, thanks to the misaligned jaw you gave him. "If the cub is weak, we should tell the truth. The ape mother is a threat, but the strength of the cub may do more for the Garou than the words of the ape mother could harm the Garou. That ish why I say nothing for now.""I didn't ask you for your thoughts," Murphy snarls, "I gave you an order. Are you gonna do what I say or not, kid?""I do what is good for the pack. I am Ragabash. I show the alpha of the pack when he is wrong, when he does not see all things and when he does not think when he acts or speaks. That is why you gave me the name Sees-Forest-For-Trees, ish it not? It is a dumb name. A forest has trees. That is why it is a forest." His nostrils flare in irritation. "You care so much for the health of the ape mother that you do not see the harm that her words could do. If the cub ish weak, we should kill her. It is wise.">You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 5/10.You don't like the way that this asshole is talking about your mom.>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.>Stand up for Murphy. He's the leader of this group and this asshole should show him more respect.>You're not gonna let him talk about your mom like that. Punch him in the goddamn face. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.) >Threaten him. If your mother dies, the first thing you're gonna do is hunt the fucker down and kill him.>You accept his challenge. You're gonna become the strongest Garou this caern has ever seen and then he'll regret ever calling you a cub.
>>5523777Nice trips
>>5523779>Threaten him. If your mother dies, the first thing you're gonna do is hunt the fucker down and kill him.
>challenge accepted. You promise yourself one day to take his fangs and wear them around your neck.
>>5523779>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.We don't need to prove ourselves to him after all we already beat his ass.
>>5523779>You accept his challenge. You're gonna become the strongest Garou this caern has ever seen and then he'll regret ever calling you a cub
>>5523779>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.Murphy’s been a real one so far, we should let him assert his authority.>>5523790SFFT also beat our ass, remember? It was a draw and we both left the fight pretty fucked up.
>>5523802yeah and that was our first time transforming while he is walking around with a fucked jaw and we are walked away with some scratches.
>>5523779>Stand up for Murphy. He's the leader of this group and this asshole should show him more respect.>See forest for trees mean is an expression that means someone that can't get the general understanding of things>Your names means your an idiot, idiot.
>We got pulled to a draw by a Trickster auspice GarouJust goes to show how inexperienced Sam is. I'm still lightly seething about it though.>>5523779>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.>But one day you'll see him beaten before you, this you swear to yourself.>>5523803>he is walking around with a fucked jaw and we are walked away with some scratches.nah Anon, SFFT broke our arm and it most likely didn't set correctly so it's a bit fucked. Not sure if World of Darkness uses a Wound system but in some tabletops we'd probably be down one.
>>5523779>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.
>>5523812Another weird part is the Ragabash, the one that is meant to be contrarian and light hearted, is the one acting like a traditionalist asshole.
>>5523779>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.>But you promise yourself one day to take his fangs and wear them around your neck.
>>5523779>>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.Bottle it up. We'll have access to the best possible way of transmuting Rage into Will at the caern, I'm all for maxing out both gauges as far as possible. We'll need them, no matter what happens.>>5523812I think that's underestimating Garou regeneration, but I'll let the QM be the judge of that. And I'd call it a draw in our favor. We walked away stumbling a little, he had to lay there a while and then most likely crawled away like a kicked puppy. Since we were both exhausted, going further would have been a coin toss as to who would kill who, and we could very well have traded. So mutually agreed draw. >>5523658>>5523664 Well that's not the most encouraging thing, but large megacorps usually are so byzantine in their organisation we could maybe get away being an outside contractor or some crap. As for the rich people crap, we can see about it if we're ever in a position to do something about it, which we probably won't be if we stay in the lower rungs and don't get fully indoctrinated. I guess a lot of that will come down to what the QM decides to do lore-wise.
>>5523827>I think that's underestimating Garou regeneration, but I'll let the QM be the judge of that.It was Frenzy regen boost that let us heal the snapped arm in an instant, so I'll have to disagree about underselling Garou regeneration. As for letting the QM be the judge...>>5516166>You don't have any wounds though, with the exception of a nasty scar on your forearm where Sees-Forest-For-Trees sank his teeth into it and fractured the bone. You can feel it throbbing painfully beneath your skin - you're not sure if it healed properly.I misremembered a bit and thought our arm being fucked was a fact, instead it's just Sam making assumptions In-Character. We'll probably need a Garou Shaman or healer to take a look at our arm just to make sure.I do agree it was a draw though! Maybe we'll have a chance to settle this particular score with SFFT later down the line >>5523821I wonder if SFFT is from the Red Talons. By my understanding, that tribe is the epitome of Garous being assholes.
I love are we are seriously discussing voting(?) to become evil werewolfs due to just how stupid, incompetent, and confrontational these guys are being. That dicks also lying. He knows we blessed by the full moon and that dad was a murder machine. hes keeping his mouth shut because he knows that if theres another fight we have a decent shot at winning. As for whether to sign up with Pentex it really depends are how the garou as a whole view humanity. We are very intouch with our humanity and whats more human than siding with humanity against a bunch of beasts who view humanity as lesser creatures? My vote is to say fuck you to Pentex and the Garou nation and take a third option. Go to a city, finds some delinquents, start a gang, and go full monster hunter.
>>5523842An interesting proposal, and one I would support. I still like the idea of being a captain planet villain corpo wolf, but this seems like the best option for our protagonist.
>>5523842So we go for the Weaver? I'm down for it.Next best thing are the Glass Walkers, find a city with a city father that care for the inhabitants instead of the building themselves and get some sweet cybernetics.Unless we find some hunters willing to work with a werewolf.
Another thing to consider is that in WOD demons are real and they may or may not be what banes are. i'm talking the fallen angel kind of demon that fought along side lucifer and were trapped in the lowest layer of the afterlife that happens to be adjacent to the labyrinth where the Wyrm is trapped. I've seen ttrpg sessions where Pentex is literally run by demons.
>>5523842Only SFFT has been a confrontational dickhead thus far, Jasper has been pretty helpful and Murphy is just trying to do right by everyone. I don’t think that’s reason enough to consider Wyrm-ification.
>>5523779>You accept his challenge. You're gonna become the strongest Garou this caern has ever seen and then he'll regret ever calling you a cub.But also...>Threaten him. If your mother dies, the first thing you're gonna do is hunt the fucker down and kill him.
>>5523869Murphy seems like he only barely in control, and we've only met two of his pack. Sure he might be a nice guy, but he's no leader. Jasper is a bit harder to nail down. I don't trust him, kind of have the impression he's gunning for Murphy's position, and will try to use us as leverage, or something.
>>5523869I'm afraid to say SFFT may be the baseline and Murphy the exception here. He's going behind everyone else's back to try and do righ by us, and while I respect him for it, the fact he has to do so is pretty telling, in a bad way. A lot of these guys would have the same discourse as SFFT, and Sam isn't about to let that shit about killing his "only human" mom fly, methinks.>>5523842It do be like that sometimes. I wouldn't mind going 3rd option, but me asking about Pentex comes from the fact that we can fight off one side, but probably not two. We can skim with Pentex for a while, maybe gather moderates from both sides into our own gang. Reasonable marines, Werewolf Edition, you know? Our tactics would include arming werewolves most likely, so the comparison stands. No matter what, I eagerly await the opportunity for Sam to learn some metalworking and gunsmithing and kitbash guns and flamethrowers for his war form! Combat against werewolves at that point would just be Apecraft's blessing+ Master of Fire+ Exert spam. Get terrain advantage, cut off their retreat, set them on fire, and they are done. Also, silver bullets in a war form-sized hand cannon!
>>5523779>Threaten him. If your mother dies, the first thing you're gonna do is hunt the fucker down and kill him.This quest is so cool
>Going with:>Stay silent and contain your anger. See how Murphy reacts. This is his pack, you shouldn't butt in.>Starting work on update soon. Loving the conversations, by the way.
>>5523905silver bullets in a war form-sized hand cannon!A picture is forming…https://youtu.be/72essOdKJIU
You keep your mouth shut and just keep on listening."Let me put it this way," Murphy hisses, "you are going to tell everyone who asks that his mom is Kin. If I learn that you said anything else to anyone, if you even hint that she's anything other than Kin, I'll carve out your tongue with goddamn silver and make sure you'll never talk again. You got that, kid?""Yes." Sees-Forest-For-Trees remains unphased. He just keeps on frowning."Good." The fuming pack leader turns and leads the way, while the Lupus shifts back to his wolf form. Before too long, you stray from the beaten path and continue walking over the wild and overgrown fields on the outskirts of the commune. Your journey takes back towards woodland but this time, as soon as you step past the trees that mark its border, you feel a strange sensation. You just crossed a threshold.You have spent the last day and a half running through the trees, but this forest has a different vibe. You swear that you can see figures moving about in the shadows and that the birdsong has gotten a lot louder. Murphy sheds the coat that Jasper gave him and hands it back to its owner, only to transform. His bone crack, his skin sprouts fur of many colours and he grows much, much larger. Where there was once a human mere moments ago, there is now a fearsome wolf-man who stands almost ten feet tall. He lets loose a long, piercing cry that sends a shiver down your spine. After a few seconds of silence, you hear someone else howling, somewhere in the distance."From here on out, do as I do," he growls, barely able to speak with that bestial mouth.You've got no idea how Murphy knows where he's going, but you follow his lead through the undergrowth. Eventually the trees start to thin out and at last, you step into a wild glade. Wild flowers blossom among the long grass and the only signs of civilisation are the primitive shelters along the outskirts of the clearing, much like the one you slept in last night. You count a dozen Garou in various forms, performing various duties. At the heart of the meadow is a great big boulder that has absolutely no reason to be there.On top of that stone sits a werewolf in his war form. His pristine white fur shines so brightly in the sunlight that it almost hurts to look at him but here and there, it is disrupted by vicious scars and strange glyphs that mar his skin. All sorts of talismans dangle off of his arms and throat, while a sheathed sword that is easily as long as he is tall rests in his clawed hands. He looks regal and absurd, all at once.That doesn't stop Murphy from dropping to a knee a few feet from the boulder and lowering his head. Jasper bows with a flourish, while Sees-Forest-For-Trees grovels."Prince Gregor Pureheart," Murphy intones.>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.>Bow. Honour him, but don't humiliate yourself.>Stand. He's done nothing to deserve your respect.
>>5523973>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.May as well follow Murphy's orders since he's doing us a big one.
>>5523973>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression
>>5523973>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.
>>5523973>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.Murphy probably has the right idea
>>5523973>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.Thanks Murphy, you have a temper but you are a good guy
>>5523973>Bow. Honour him, but don't humiliate yourself.
>>5524122>You see, Treeboy, I'm the chad wolfjak and you're the virgin wolfjak. I win.
>>5524122Jesus... Van Helsing peaked the monsters design in the media in that time and from then it all looked shit. Except for (and i'm not joking) Twilight for the Werewolfs worm that it could be awesome for a Hispo form, and the Vampire/bugs from The Strand (I think that's the name of it, some Vampire series of FX), and a honorable mention to Darkest Dungeon for the videogames part
>>5523973>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.>>5524132Thank god we didn’t pick the internet option earlier.>>5524133Skyrim’s designs for werewolves and vampire lords are quite nice, too.
>Going with:>Kneel. You've gotta make a good first impression.>Starting work on update.
You drop to your knees and bow your head. It's pretty embarrassing but if everyone else is going out of their way to debase themselves before this 'prince,' you should too. It still feels wrong though. Your instincts scream for you to stand tall and proud, not kowtow like a slave.>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 6/10.A pleased chuckle rumbles out of the throat of the great white werewolf. He opens his maw to speak, but the sounds that emerge aren't human. Instead, the prince grunts and snorts and makes all sorts of bestial noises. You're a little surprised when Murphy starts to respond in kind, barking and growling and uttering guttural syllables. Jasper kneels beside you and tries to explain, as quietly as he can."That would be the high alpha of the Susquehanna Sept," he whispers, "the werewolves who protect this caern. Right now they are talking in the High Tongue, the only language that can spoken in every form of the Garou. The prince happens to have a few... idiosyncrasies, you see. He refuses to sully his tongue or his ears with any other language. Once you have passed your Rite of Passage, you shall be taught how to speak it, along with many other things."The conversation continues, but the noises that they make don't sound like words, let alone a real language. To your human ears, it just sounds like a pair of wolves snarling at each other. Every now and then, they make gestures in your direction, with the prince's stare lingering on you for a few moments before he turns back to Murphy. This goes on for a couple of minutes before the hobo starts to whisper again."As you may have surmised, you are the subject of their discussion. The prince has been made aware of the disruption that your absence has caused in Eastchurch and he is not particularly pleased with the publicity that surrounds you. Despite this, he shall welcome you in the sept. They are simply deciding how you should be educated and prepared for your Rite..."Jasper's explanation is cut off by a vicious bark from Gregor, who jabs a clawed finger in his direction from his perch. The monstrous Murphy immediately rises from his knees and strides to the bum, who he gives an almighty kick. The force of the blow is enough to send the bearded man sprawling on the floor, groaning and clutching at his ribs. This draws another chuckle from the prince, who simply resumes his conversation with Murphy.Eventually, the two of them fall quiet as the high alpha focuses his attention on you. You just keep your head down and stay on your knees, while Gregor decides what to do with you.>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.>You will be taught by Murphy's pack. Their tutelage will be less thorough, more contemporary and coloured by their opinions, but it will probably have less propaganda.
>>5524535>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.We are smart enough to know what is substantive and what is likely bullshit. Also, its pretty fucking obvious that traditions matter here so we should not rock this boat since they already pissed. We will also learn more lore which is likely the main reason we came here.
>>5524535>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.
What we are witnessing right now is what the Garou consider politics. Point at them and laugh. Gaia is dying because they are not capable of the higher thoughts or labyrinthian scheming that is common in the WOD.
>>5524535>You will be taught by Murphy's pack. Their tutelage will be less thorough, more contemporary and coloured by their opinions, but it will probably have less propaganda.>>5524554The Prince and other traditionalists DO seem like pricks so far.
>>5524535>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.This animals will learn in the name of civilization even if we have to drag them there kicking and screaming.
>>5524563To be fair if you found out that you could rip a tank in half, taught strength is all that matters, can regenerate from pretty much any wound, and have been blessed by a god to fight a holy war would you not also be a dick? I think its pretty clear in that we are not going to drink the coolade. What we want is a transactional relationship.
>>5524535>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.Remember to not take the cool-aid Sam. Learn but don't believe it all.>>5524554Atleast this time they are just fighting between themselves instead of genociding other Feras or the human population.
>>5524535>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.I love jingoism
>>5524621>Going with:>You will be taught by the den mother. This shall be a very traditional and comprehensive education that will teach everything about the Garou Nation - or what it should ideally be.>Before I start writing the next update, I want to run another vote. If I actually write out everything that Sam gets taught, it will probably take a few days to get through the lore dump and most of the voting will be to decide how Sam feels about the different topics that crop up. So, I'd just like to hear what level of detail you guys want.>Skip over the learning process and just bring up whatever Sam has been taught whenever it becomes relevant.>Try to summarise and compress the learning process into a couple of updates, focusing on the stuff that matters. >Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.
>>5524632>Try to summarise and compress the learning process into a couple of updates, focusing on the stuff that matters.
>>5524632>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.
>>5524632>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.I like to read lore like I like to eat ass.A lot.
>>5524632>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.I know some of the lore already, but other anons might not. Also lore dumps are a guilty pleasure
>>5524632>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.I’m only really familiar with Vampire and, weirdly enough, Wraith.
>>5524632>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.Why not, WoD lore tends to be pretty good most of the time. Especially the dark age stuff.
>>5524632>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.Wanna see what changes you've made of the lore
>Going with:>Go ahead with the deep dive into Garou lore. It will take a while to get through it and there won't be much action or interaction.>Starting work on update in a bit.
Once he has come to a conclusion, the prince barks a command and dismisses Murphy with a simple gesture. The alpha bows before Gregor one last time before he goes over to Jasper and helps the hobo to his feet. As for Sees-Forest-For-Trees, the wolf is content to stretch a little before he wanders off to do whatever wolves do. You give chase after Jasper and Murphy, taking care not to speak until you're sure that the great white werewolf won't be able to hear you."What did he say?""You're gonna be taught by the den mother," Murphy grunts at you. "I'll come by to check up on you when I can but from now on, you're out of my hands. As a cub, you'll be kept here until you've passed your Rite of Passage. Hope you can get used to living like a hippy 'cause I know I couldn't. Me and Jasper will be staying with the Amish at Ladberg until I can get these new names for us - for you, me and your mom. I'll make it happen, Sam."He goddamn better.A short trip through the woods takes you to a separate, much smaller clearing. A couple of kids around your age can be seen brawling with each other, while another two are busy listening to a lecture from a middle-aged woman in an austere dress. Her outfit is a little dirty but otherwise, the sour-faced blonde looks like she could fit right in with the Amish. Whatever lesson she was teaching is interrupted when Murphy introduces you as her latest student. As soon as he has departed and she has sent the other cubs away to practice their glyphs, the den mother turns her attention to you."I am Tilly Harrower," she states in a sharp tone, oozing with authority. "Homid, Galliard, Get of Fenris. By the end of today, you will understand what each of these terms means. By the time I am finished with you, you will understand what it means to be Garou and you will be ready for your Rite of Passage. Until then, you are not Garou. You are a cub and you will give your superiors the respect that they are due. Have I made myself clear?"You know how to play the part of a model student. Biting back any clever comments you were thinking of, you quickly reply with a 'yes ma'am.'Harrower begins with a well-practised lecture about the nature of werewolves. According to her, the Garou are defined by duality.They are human, yet they are also wolves. They must strive for a balance between civilisation and wilderness, forsaking one for the other will lead to the loss of oneself and inevitable defeat.They are physical, yet they are also spiritual. They cannot afford to solely focus on the physical world or the Umbra, they must always take both sides of Gaia into consideration, at all times.They are mighty, yet they are also wise. They must temper their discipline with anger. Without rage, they are worthless as warriors. Without gnosis, they lose their connection to the spirit world.Over the course of your tutelage, you shall learn how to be all of these things at once.
Before you can do that, you will need to know about the fundamental aspects of the Garou. Almost every last werewolf has three things, without which they would not be Garou: Breed. Auspice. Tribe.Werewolves are not made, they are born. Whenever a werewolf breeds, they grant their unborn child a fraction of their spirit.If the werewolf's mate is a mundane human or wolf, this gift is not enough to make the child a true werewolf. Instead, the child will be Kin and despite their fortified spirit, they will always be human or lupine. They will never be Garou.If the werewolf's mate is Kin, there is a chance that the strength of their collective spirits shall be enough to produce a true Garou. Unfortunately, the majority of such children are still only Kin. Only one out of ten are Garou.If a werewolf breeds with another werewolf, the child shall always be a werewolf. However, such a union is unholy and abominable, a sort of spiritual incest that cannot be allowed to happen. Gaia forbids it.Homid is the term for the Garou offspring of a werewolf and human Kin. Almost every werewolf you have met so far is one of these. They are adept at handling tools and existing among the herd, which is what the Garou call humanity. Unfortunately, their connection to civilisation means that their spirits are stunted and they are ill-equipped for life in the wilderness.Lupus is the term for the Garou offspring of a werewolf and lupine Kin. Sees-Forest-For-Trees is the only one of these you have met. Their connection to the land means that their spirits are strong, while their bestial nature means that they make excellent hunters and trackers. Unfortunately, they possess a poor understanding of humanity and higher concepts.Metis is the term for the monstrous offspring of two Garou. So far, you have met none of these and for good reason. They are sterile abominations who are born and grow up in Crinos, the war form of the Garou. For this reason, they must be hidden from the outside world and raised in secrecy. If this was not bad enough, every single one of them is born deformed and insane.These are the three breeds of werewolf that you will encounter. This also serves as your introduction to the first of the thirteen rules of the Litany, the code of law that the Nation is built upon: Garou Shall Not Mate With Garou.How do you feel about this?>Make a note to never shack up with another werewolf. You don't want to risk being ostracised, nor do you want to be the father of a malformed child.>What an old-fashioned and draconian law. It doesn't take birth control into consideration at all. Haven't these people heard of condoms, or the pill?>Disregard everything you just heard about the Metis. It sounds like a bunch of bullshit. You'll judge them for yourself, if you ever meet one.
>>5525003>Make a note to never shack up with another werewolf. You don't want to risk being ostracised, nor do you want to be the father of a malformed child.>Disregard everything you just heard about the Metis. It sounds like a bunch of bullshit. You'll judge them for yourself, if you ever meet one.Well, she already got it wrong right away by saying "They will never be Garou.", so saying that every single one is "deformed and insane" is wrong.But I have no intention of shaking up with a werewolf anyway.They are deformed OR insane OR deformed and insane. Expect the Perfect Garou that will appear before the apocalypse.
>>5525003>What an old-fashioned and draconian law. It doesn't take birth control into consideration at all. Haven't these people heard of condoms, or the pill?
>>5525014you realize never shack up and disregard everything don't mix right.
>>5525003>Make a note to never shack up with another werewolf. You don't want to risk being ostracised, nor do you want to be the father of a malformed child.
>>5525025I was thinking of mixing parts of it, not the whole thing>Make a note to never shack up with another werewolf.>You'll judge the Metis for yourself, if you ever meet one.
>>5525003>What an old-fashioned and draconian law. It doesn't take birth control into consideration at all. Haven't these people heard of condoms, or the pill?>Disregard everything you just heard about the Metis. It sounds like a bunch of bullshit. You'll judge them for yourself, if you ever meet one.
>>5525003>Make a note to never shack up with another werewolf. You don't want to risk being ostracised, nor do you want to be the father of a malformed child.into>You wonder about meaning of the words "Gaia forbids it" Was it commandment from their god or is it outcome of observation that mating between two Garou produces fucked up offsprings.into>Who the fuck you are kidding. As much as you don't want to produce habsburgian abomination chances are second someone flashes pair of tists you fucking them. No animal fucking tho.
>>5525003>Disregard everything you just heard about the Metis. It sounds like a bunch of bullshit. You'll judge them for yourself, if you ever meet one.
>>5525030Backing this.Our guy seems to reserve judgment for himself, except when he's in a fight. Then he freaks out.
>>5525014>>5525030+1 to this. Sam doesn’t know (that is, hasn’t seen for himself) that producing Metis is generally a bad idea yet, but I feel like he’d retain a healthy caution about the subject until he can meet a Metis and decide for himself.>>5525003Looks like the Homid is giving that Metis the side-eye.
>>5525003+1 to >>5525030
>Going with:>Make a note to never shack up with another werewolf.>You'll judge the Metis for yourself, if you ever meet one.>I confess that I've already been working on the next update, as this is mostly just a lore dump, so I'll try and get as many updates out as regularly as possible to speed this along.
While you definitely won't screw around with other werewolves, you're not about to blindly believe everything that your teacher just said about. If you ever run into a Metis, you'll judge them for yourself.With breeds out of the way, Harrower moves on to the subject of the moon.Like Gaia, the moon is a powerful goddess that the Garou know as Luna. There are many legends and theories that surround her and connect her to werewolves. Some believe that she is the one who created the Garou in the first place, as guardians born to protect her beloved sister. Others say that she is the one who gave the Garou their rage. Rather than focus on such conjecture, Harrower is only interested in the facts. Specifically, the fact that Luna empowers the Garou according to their auspices.The auspice of a werewolf is tied to the phase of the moon during which it experienced its First Change. Not only does it dictate the Gifts that Luna shall bestow upon the werewolf, but it also determines the role that they shall play in Garou society.The Ragabash is the werewolf who Changed beneath the new moon. They are the tricksters and agitators of the Garou. They delight in questioning the orders and challenging the assumptions of their superiors. They are not afraid of being unpopular. Sees-Forest-For-Trees is one of them.The Theurge is the werewolf who Changed beneath the crescent moon. They are the mystics and dreamers of the Garou. Their connection to the Umbra is stronger than any other werewolf's and for that reason, the Nation entrusts its spiritual affairs to them. Jasper Talks-Fancy is one of them.The Philodox is the werewolf who Changed beneath the half moon. They are the mediators and judges of the Garou. They are responsible for preserving the balance and upholding the laws of the Nation. They must remain fair and impartial at all times. Sheepdog Murphy is one of them.The Galliard is the werewolf who Changed beneath the gibbous moon. They are the artists and chroniclers of the Garou. It is their duty to embolden the Nation, to remember the fallen, to praise the victorious. They must never allow tradition to be forgotten. Tilly Harrower is one of them.The Ahroun is the werewolf who Changed beneath the full moon. They are the warriors and the greatest of the Garou. They are the first in and the last out. Though every werewolf is a soldier, the Ahroun is the strongest among them and in times of war, their word is law. You are one of them.What do you think about this?>You dismiss it out of principle. It's as stupid as assigning someone a job based on their star sign.>You won't judge anyone by their auspice. So far, no one you've met has behaved according to theirs.>You can see how Luna's Gifts could make werewolves more suitable for certain roles. It makes sense.>You're pretty happy with this. If it means that you're top dog, you'll play along with this system.
>>5525128>You can see how Luna's Gifts could make werewolves more suitable for certain roles. It makes sense.but again>You won't judge anyone by their auspice. So far, no one you've met has behaved according to theirs.
>>5525128>You dismiss it out of principle. It's as stupid as assigning someone a job based on their star sign.They kind of have acted according of their auspices, but only if you stretch the definition a lot and only take the most basic definition.
>>5525140That being said I would accept this too>You won't judge anyone by their auspice. So far, no one you've met has behaved according to theirs.
>>5525128>You can see how Luna's Gifts could make werewolves more suitable for certain roles. It makes sense
>>5525138+1, keeping with the theme of accepting the knowledge we’re given without allowing it to affect our judgment overly much. There’s more than five personality types.
>>5525138+1But something is clear: it looks like most of them act like assholes because of this
>>5525138Supporting. It's more like cultural or ethnic stereotypes. Yeah, sure, they may be rooted in some broad pattern that's worth acknowledging, but if you meet people who don't fit the stereotype (as we have so far in this game), you make allowances and judge them individually.>>5525128
>>5525138>+1Werewolf magical caste system is plausible, but it probably suffers in similar ways to actual Caste Systems
>>5525128>You can see how Luna's Gifts could make werewolves more suitable for certain roles. It makes sense.
>Going with:>You can see how Luna's Gifts could make werewolves more suitable for certain roles. It makes sense.>You won't judge anyone by their auspice. So far, no one you've met has behaved according to theirs.>Update coming shortly.>>5525266Not an inaccurate depiction of WtA.
There is some sense in it. You know from personal experience, at least based off of your dream, that you were empowered by Luna so that you might be a better warrior. If other Garou receive similar blessings based on their auspices, then they should be more suitable for certain roles. Despite this, you refuse to judge people or put them in boxes based off of the phase of the moon that they associated with. You will come to your own conclusions. Once Harrower is finished talking about auspices, she starts to speak of tribes.In the beginning, humanity was nothing but roaming bands of hunter-gatherers. Likewise, the Garou were nothing more than wandering packs who enjoyed their status as the apex predators of the prehistoric world. As the millennia passed, this changed. Mankind became agrarian and divided itself into many cultures scattered across the land. The Garou followed their human Kin to their new homes and were split apart as well.There is more to this story that you shall be told later, but at this point in time, all you need to know is that sixteen tribes were born, each with a unique perspective, culture and purpose. Two of the sixteen are now extinct, and another two no longer belong to the Garou Nation. Today, Harrower will only speak of the twelve that are relevant.The Black Furies are a peculiar bunch whose origins can be traced back to Ancient Greece. They are fiercely protective of spiritual places such as caerns and devote themselves to serving primordial spirits of life and creation - or so they claim. Their strange traditions exclude most male Garou from the tribe and in North America at least, they have become obsessed with women's rights to the point where they have forgotten their original purpose. At least they fight well, when push comes to shove.The Bone Gnawers are scavengers with no pride who exist in the gutters of human society. They have abandoned whatever culture they once had and forgotten their origins. They live without any regard for anything but their own lives. If nothing else, this has taught them how to blend in among the downtrodden and destitute, but their tenacity does not make up for the fact that they have no dignity and often put their own survival before that of Gaia. Jasper Talks-Fancy is one of them.The Children of Gaia do not claim any ancestral homeland. Instead, they are egalitarians who will accept anyone into their ranks. Garou who join this tribe do so in the pursuit of peace and justice, though they do not seem to realise that they have to fight for a things. They spend so much time talking about making the world a better place that they have forgotten how close the apocalypse is. If nothing else, these hippies have a talent for healing Gaia's wounds and easing her pain.
The Fianna are the first tribe that Harrower views in a positive light. They are descendants of Celtic Kin who cherish every moment of their lives. Whenever they are not revelling and celebrating the accomplishments of their heroes, each of them fights valiantly for the chance to prove that they are heroes too. If they have any flaw, it is that they enjoy themselves a little too much when they are not at war. How can they be ready for battle if they spend every waking moment carousing and breeding?The Get of Fenris has produced the finest warriors and the greatest heroes that the Garou Nation has ever known. Thanks to the combination of a brutal training regimen, the patronage of a mighty spirit and the strongest breeding stock in the world, this Germanic tribe is responsible for winning countless battles in Gaia's name. Anyone who speaks ill of them is merely jealous of their achievements. Tilly Harrower is one of them and the Susquehanna Sept was belonged to them, until recently.The Glass Walkers have forsaken the balance that the Garou require in order to remain effective. They have embraced humanity and civilisation, to the point where they have forgotten the power of nature. They rely so heavily on the herd's technology and society that without these things, they are useless. It is true that they are able to accomplish things that most other tribes are not able to, but at what cost? Can it really be said that they still serve Gaia? Sheepdog Murphy is one of them.The Red Talons lean a little too heavily in the other direction. They haven't forsaken the herd, because they never mingled with people in the first place. These Garou only breed with lupine Kin and live in the wilderness as wolves. Their distaste for humanity is so strong that it can only be described as hatred and many of them believe that the only way to save Gaia is to exterminate mankind. At least they produce plenty of capable killers. Sees-Forest-For-Trees is one of them.The Shadow Lords are a tribe of Eastern European origin who are renowned for their ruthlessness. In this war to avert the apocalypse, there is no one who is willing to sacrifice as much as them. They are even willing to sacrifice their morals, which is why they have a reputation for being scheming backstabbers who will gladly deceive other Garou if they think that it will help Gaia - and it often does. They are as brilliant as they are sinister, which is why so few people trust them.The Silent Striders came from Egypt long ago, though they have no attachment to that land any longer. They are a tribe of messengers that serve as couriers for the Garou Nation, travelling between septs and disseminating news across the world. They are vital, yet they are also reclusive and lonesome. Many of them operate without any pack at all, which causes other werewolves to wonder if they can be trusted, especially when they see these nomads talking with the dead.
The Silver Fangs are the true rulers of the Garou. Tradition dictates that all werewolves bow before this Russian tribe but in the eyes of many, that is not enough. A true alpha must earn their respect, which is something that these born leaders are more than capable of. These white-furred aristocrats are the product of centuries of carefully orchestrated breeding, which only bolsters their right to rule but may have left them with a few eccentricities in the process. Gregor Pureheart is one of them.The Uktena are one of the two remaining Native American tribes. They delve deeper into the secrets of the Umbra than any other tribe, to the point where they have uncovered dark things that should have remained buried. The knowledge that they have gained allows them to excel at binding and destroying spirits, but they have opened themselves up to corruption in the process. Unless the war is won soon, their open-minded methods will lead to their destruction - or their conversion.The Wendigo are the second of those Native American tribes. While they are savage warriors, their rage is also misplaced. They possess a great deal of hatred for the other tribes who aren't native to the Americas, who they accuse of invading their land, killing their Kin and stealing their caerns. There is some truth to this, but they have only themselves to blame. They should have been strong enough to protect these sacred places. The Susquehanna Sept once belonged to them, long ago.If you are going to serve the Garou Nation, you will eventually need to join one of these tribes. Harrower's descriptions are obviously biased, but at least you've got some idea of the political landscape now. Some of these tribes would deny you due to your gender, nationality or breed, but you still have plenty of options. Which ones have caught your interest?>Bone Gnawers.>Children of Gaia.>Fianna.>Get of Fenris.>Glass Walkers.>Shadow Lords.>Silent Striders.
>>5525306>Glass Walkers.Urban werewolf.
>>5525306>Shadow Lords.or>Glass Walkers.because we actual want to do shit other than sit on our ass jerking off to our own superiority.
>>5525306>Bone Gnawers.
>>5525306>Silent StridersIf Sam is a strider, then he will get to see a much broader range of the Garou Nation. I view this as a significant positive. Since he's a powerful Ahroun he should be able to somewhat safely operate independently.
>>5525306I know glass walker will probably win (cyborgs, gangsters, and space explorers) but I like shadow lords for they are some of the few Garou that get shit done. They are also part of a secret shadow war with the ventrue over who gets to rule and they act as spies and infiltrators among rival supernatural's like vampires and BSDs.
I'm down for hunting down and slaying BSDs, Cainites, and banes.
>>5525306>Silent StridersA good pick for an independent tribe. This also opens us up to interact with as many tribes as we want.
>>5525306>Glass WalkersOr >Silent StridersThe idea of joining a hippie terrorist cell for our entire life is probably unappealing to us so early into it, but these seem like good fits for us.
>>5525306>>5525316I'll switch to Glass Walker.
>>5525322Don't forget the Glass Walkers are the ones trying to create city caerns and try to push for more parks in urban development. Just ignore that their current leadership is full of internet shitpostersI didn't expect the Silent Striders to get so much support, but it could be interesting. Shame we would have to completely leave mom behind, but it might be for the best.
>>5525306>Glass WalkersAlso>Jasper>Bone GnawerI knew he seemed shady. Probably should have guessed from his hoboness though.
>>5525306I was really hoping we'd wind up doubling down into Get of Fenris, since we're already kind of spec'd for being stupid-strong in combat as an Ahroun. Since it doesn't seem popular, though-- I'd probably go with either Shadow Lords or Silent Striders over Glass Walkers. Dropping everything to be an eco-terrorist might not be ideal for Sam, but sticking to the city (and losing out on our connection to nature in exchange) seems kind of backwards to me as a Werewolf. We were never really popular, or well liked before we turned-- our only real human connection is our mother. That's not a whole lot of benefit for what seems like a semi-permanent decision.
>>5525306>Shadow Lords.One of the based tribes
>>5525306>Shadow Lords
>>5525306>Bone Gnawers.>Glass Walkers.Murphy and jasper have been pretty decent fellows so far, especially compared to every other Garou we've met, and they don't require us to live inna woods as part of some weird hippie doomsday eugenics cult.>Silent Striders.These dudes role solo, which might be even better, since we don't need to submit to byzantine pack politics. Do they accept non-Egyptians/non-Roma?
Ok, after a quick trip to the wiki I seem to have misremembered things, sorry.I deleted my last posts.
New to this quest. Would Shadow Lords even make sense for Sam? They sound coolest but they're all about ruthlessness and sacrifice in service to Gaia from what lore I've been reading and Sam seems somewhat too detached from that cause, at least for now, to really pull that off; I think Glass Walkers would be the better fit, especially considering that Murphy's the most bro out of the characters we've met. I'm going to still vote Shadow Lords though.
>>5525366Well right now, it's just which ones we have INTEREST in, right?
>>5525369I'm gonna add>Glass Walkers>Silent StridersEven if i'm biased because that's My favorite tribe, Sam doesn't seem all that ruthless like the normal tribe. Normally it inicially depends on what Tribe your Garou father or mother come from, and that also affects a little every cubs tribe after the Passage Rite. I honestly don't like we make this decision this early without knowing what tribe initially our dad is and because of our Pure Breed.
>>5525306>>5525306>Shadow LordsI refuse to play a nerd
>>5525306>Silent Striders
>>5525435changing to Silent Striders just so we aren't a fucking nerd
>>5525631when asked what mostly do in our free time we answered>You threw yourself at your studies so that you could get a place at a good college.that ship has already sailed. tell me that doesn't sound like glass walker.
>>5525306>Get of Fenris.
>Shadow lords
Just confirming my vote for shadow lords.>>5525688>>5525322
>Going with:>Glass Walkers.>Shadow Lords.>Silent Striders.>Starting work on update soon.
Though you still aren't sure about devoting your life to eco-terrorism, some of these tribes appeal to you. If you look past Harrower's biases, it is clear that the Glass Walkers are the best choice if you want to retain as much of your humanity as possible. On the other hand, there is something appealing about the ruthless efficiency and pragmatism of the Shadow Lords. The Silent Striders are another option that you consider, as a nomadic lifestyle would allow you to distance yourself from most Garou.These are just idle musings, as you will not be able to join a tribe until you have passed your Rite of Passage. With that subject out of the way, Harrower focuses on the innate properties of a werewolf.The Garou have five forms that they can shift between, each of which has a specific purpose. You are familiar with all of these by now, except for one: Glabro, the savage form. While you wear this shape, you will appear human at first glance - just stronger, faster, hardier, a little bigger and a lot hairier. It is ideal for any situation where you must fight without revealing your true nature to the herd.>Glabro is your savage form. It enhances your rolls concerning combat with a +10 modifier. While you are in this form, you rapidly heal outside of combat and you are particularly vulnerable to silver. It is suitable for human interaction and complex tool usage.Everything else she covers is something that you've already experienced, already been told about, or could've guessed on your own. You regenerate in any form other than your breed form. You're vulnerable to silver in any form other than your breed form. Frenzying gives you great strength at the cost of self-control. Gifts are supernatural abilities granted to you by spirits. Delirium is the name of the madness that humans suffer when they see your war form. So on and so forth."That's enough talk for today," she concludes. By this point, the sun's setting and twilight has almost arrived. "I want to see how you fight. Ella!"One of the teenagers that Harrower was lecturing early stands up, rising from the mud where she was drawing glyphs with a stick. She looks a little older than you, but not by much. The drab grey dress that she wears is almost identical to her teacher's, her blonde hair is carefully braided and her soft, dimpled face could be pretty if she wasn't so sullen."It's been a while since I last taught two Ahroun. Clothes off, both of you. Assume Crinos and show me your strength. Hold nothing back!">You refuse to fight this girl. It just seems wrong.>Pull your punches. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)>Fight her fairly. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.) >Kick her ass without Crinos. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5525750>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5525750 #>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5525750>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.) It's starting already bros
>>5525750>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.) Time for an awoogaloo.
>>5525750>Fight her fairly. (This will spend 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5525750>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)Give the lady what she wants.
>>5525750>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)She's a werewolf, and an Ahroun besides. Holding back would be insulting her, no?
Rolled 42 + 40 (1d100 + 40)>Going with:>Hold nothing back. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert], 1 Will [Shapeshift] and require a roll after voting is locked.)>I want three rolls of dice+1d100+40 and I will accept the best of three. The higher the roll, the better - but you will also need to beat my roll.>The modifiers for your roll are:>+30 for fighting in Crinos form.>+10 for Rank 1 Exert.
Rolled 33 + 40 (1d100 + 40)>>5525897
Rolled 80 + 40 (1d100 + 40)>>5525897Time to be the best furry we can be
>>5525897"100d+40" I'm trying
Rolled 31 + 40 (1d100 + 40)>>5525897
>>5525901>>5525902>>5525906>Your highest roll was 120, against my roll of 82. A sound success.>Starting work on the update in a bit.
>>5525902Sam's hands are rated E&E for Everything and Everyone
>>5525905"3+1d100+40"Test
>>5525905>>5525913You got to type dice+1d100 int he Options field anon
>>5525917Newfag is Rollin
Rolled 75 (1d100)>>5525917
>>5525972Test
>>5525976Now the dude who owns the house won't stop talking,I think I've got it. I'm trying.
>>5525981Are you capitalizing the d in dice because it needs to be lower case like dice+1d100
Rolled 22, 54, 30 + 40 = 146 (3d100 + 40)>>5525913Also don't add anything in front of the dice part if you want to roll multiple you replace the 1 for number of dice like this dice+3d100+40
>>5525981If you still don’t understand, there are instructions on how to roll in the stickied thread, which is to say the first thread in the catalog.>>5525956You love to see it.
>>5525972You did it, nice.Also, if you want to roll with a modifier, you got write dice+1d100+40.If you want it to be negative, then you write dice+1d100+-40. Just writing dice+1d100-40 will not give you a ngetaive.And you can change the amount of dice by changing the first number so dice+2d100 will roll two 1d100s, and you can change the type of dice by changing the second one, so dice+1d20 will roll a 20 sided dice.A modifier will only add to the fine number, so if you roll dice+2d100+40, it will be the sum plus 40, not the sum plus 80.
>>5525994Let's see if I did it right, I want this werewolf too do his own thing.
>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is currently 1/10.>You spend 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 5/10.Though you got used to nudity around Murphy's pack, you can't help but feel a little anxious about stripping down in front of a girl. She seems just as self-conscious because she angles her body away from yours and keeps her eyes averted at all times. It doesn't matter too much though because as soon as your clothes are off, you both shift into your war forms. Hers has a dense grey coat and is absolutely massive, even though she was shorter than you as a human.While she seems to hesitate, you hold nothing back.There is no such thing as technique when it comes to fighting in this form. It's all instinct. You throw yourself at your opponent in a flurry of fur and send her crashing down into the mud. A startled cry bursts from her maw but almost immediately, Ella starts to fight back. She doesn't manage to get more than a couple of scratches in, though. From your advantageous position on top of her, you're able to score hit after hit, raking your claws through her arms and torso effortlessly and carves deep rifts in her flesh. By the time that Harrower calls for you to stop, your hands are soaked with Ella's blood. For the first time, you are truly victorious.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 2/10.As soon as you have reeled your rage back in, you clamber off of your opponent and offer a hand to help her to her feet. She either doesn't notice or doesn't want your help, because she ignores your offer and tries to stand on her own while her wounded body knits itself back together. Even in this form, she seems despondent."Why am I not surprised, Ella?" Harrower marches over to the girl with a scowl on her face. She doesn't seem to care that the student she is berating is currently a killing machine. "You're the Get of Fenris. You've had over six months to hone your skills. You know the enemy that we face, even if you failed to best its servants during your Rite. This boy has none of these things, yet he still made a joke out of you. What must I do to beat the weakness out of your worthless skull?""Oh, can you just leave her alone for one fucking second?!"This interruption comes from another teenager, one of the two who were fighting earlier. This one is a scrawny, bug-eyed brunette with thin lips and traces of green dye in her hair. The jeans and tank top that she wears are tattered and full of holes."It's your tribe's fault that Ella turned out like this! She was brought up thinking that all she'd have to do was look after her husband and have his babies! If you don't want girls to turn out that way, maybe you shouldn't leave them to be raised by fucking crazy-ass Amish people!"
Harrower's face darkens. She strides over towards the girl who just called her out, growing bigger and hairier with every step as she shifts into her savage form. The brunette flinches but doesn't apologise. She just steels herself for the impending ass-whooping. As for Ella, you can't help but notice that she's trembling. Her breathing is ragged and her fur bristles as she watches helplessly. You can almost smell the rage building inside of her, it's about to reach a boiling point.>Make some distance and don't interfere. Whatever is about to happen, you don't want anything to do with it.>Stand up for the girl. She's right, you can't just turn a girl into a warrior if she's been raised all their life to be a housewife.>Earn some brownie points with Harrower. Kick the girl's ass for insubordination. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.>Act fast. Try and incapacitate Ella before she's able to freak out and frenzy. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
>>5526057>>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.
>>5526057>Act fast. Try and incapacitate Ella before she's able to freak out and frenzy. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)Sheesh, now I feel kind of bad. I didn't expect her to be a harmless Amish flower.
>>5526057>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.>Stand up for the girl. She's right, you can't just turn a girl into a warrior if she's been raised all their life to be a housewife.We tell Harrower to stop her shit for a moment for Ella, and when she's calmed down we can tell Harrower that the other girl is right, it's hard to change the chip of a person when they have been taught to act certain way all their short life.
>>5526057>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.Don't take sides, just point out the problem that's about to happen. As for if we agree or not, well, Harrower's kind of right, we're a nerdy kid, and we've managed to do well in every fight so far. From all that's been said so far, you're either a fighter, or not. I think the girl, Ella, is on the wrong path.Also I've been thinking, we should talk to Murphy about being a Glass Walker later, get his opinion on it. Maybe see if he knows any Shadow Lords, or Silent Shadows we could also speak to.
>>5526057First,>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.Then,>Stand up for the girl. She's right, you can't just turn a girl into a warrior if she's been raised all their life to be a housewife.
>>5526069>Support
>>5526057>Act fast. Try and incapacitate Ella before she's able to freak out and frenzy. (This will spend 1 Rage [Exert] and require a roll after voting is locked.)
Hmm, I'd kind of want to try calming her down ourselves but we'd probably have to shift back to Homid for it. I'd rather not do that in front of someone about to Frenzy, she might end up mangling us.>>5526057>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.Not gonna lie I kinda feel like a hypocrite, kek>Sam: "I won't judge anyone based on their Auspice>TFW I vote to go all out on a girl 'cause she's an Ahroun
>>5526057>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.Werewolves, man. Incapable of not being incompetent and/or assholes
>>5526078I don't think its hypocrisy, we aren't judging her on her auspice. We full send every fight, just how we roll.
>>5526078Tbf, the last time Sam fought a werewolf he had to go all out to even have a chance.
>>5526070>we're a nerdy kid, and we've managed to do well in every fight so far. From all that's been said so far, you're either a fighter, or not. I think the girl, Ella, is on the wrong path.I mean, we forced a Draw against See-Forests-For-Tress in our first change, and we were raised in a city with normal education and all. it's enterally different that already when compared with how Amish kids are educated. And still, we already had some bottled up rage because of our bullies, while surely Ella life wasn't that violent.
>>5526087Sure sure, Sam isn't a hypocrite but my point was *I* am one. "Oh she's Ahroun, obviously she can fight!"
>>5526064>>5526078I voted to not hold back because we were asked to, and this is just sparing.
>>5526094Alright, that's fair.
>>5526095I voted not to hold back because I attribute to Sam the seething anger of a bullied kid that makes a vicious fighter.
>>5526091>Surely Ella life wasn't that violent.You don't know shit about Amish.
>>5526057>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.Jesus, werewolves suck.
>>5526057>Stand up for the girl. She's right, you can't just turn a girl into a warrior if she's been raised all their life to be a housewife.>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.Ella and Murphy are the two Garou who were pretty okay when we first met, I'd like to stick up for her since they're so rare
>>5526057>Stand up for the girl. She's right, you can't just turn a girl into a warrior if she's been raised all their life to be a housewife.>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.>>5526113It's kinda amazing as to how much of a fuckup they are. At least with vampires they have a decent excuse (they are literally cursed to be petty sociopathic predators). The Garou on the other have zero excuses since they're supposed to be spirtual jannies and continue to be a fucking embarrassment
>>5526198to be fair some caerns are better than others
>Going with:>Ask them both to calm down for a moment and point out that Ella's on the verge of frenzying. They're not helping.>Stand up for the girl. She's right, you can't just turn a girl into a warrior if she's been raised all their life to be a housewife.>Starting work on update in a bit.
>>5526198The worst part is that they are just one of the jannies, and then decided to beat up the other ones.Because they are obviously the best and the only wyrm free beings in existence and have the right to destroy whatever they want, whenever they want.
>>5526217The War of Rage and its consequences have been a disaster for the Fera.
>>5526216Hey, this is my first time posting on /qst/, and I've read everything posted in this thread over the past few days. This board seems pretty cool, and I've been captivated by this amazing story in particular. Incredible work so far, your dedication is inspiring! Is all of /qst/ usually this good, or is this just an unfortunately rare experience?
>>5526352>Yes, there's plenty of great quests out there. Just check out any thread that has a concept that interests you, there's a decent chance that the writing will be good. I also suggest browsing suptg as well and finding quests that you like the sound of and/or have a lot of votes.https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html
>>5526352Obviously not QM, but /qst/ is my favourite board because of the creativity and atmosphere quest threads inspire. The quality of English here is generally quite good. Truly good quests are fairly rare, I find, but your definition of “good” will affect which quests you like. There’s plenty on the board right now and lots more in the archive, I can recommend you some if you’d like.
>>5526352Its uncommon. The most successful threads tend to be like this one, or the spiderman one, or the Mechanicus Primarch one. Established IPs with QMs who don't disappear, post regular updates, and are decent storytellers. Most quests tend to be short lived, because the QM flakes, the thread is filled with shitposts, or the subject is too niche that they aren't sustainable.
>>5526352it depends. I would recommend the 3 Warhammer 40k Primarch quest (IMO ranked 2nd, eleventh, Mechanics), and the two longest run quest on the board (his schedule is sporadic) Hero Academia Quest and Saiyan Conqueror Quest 189 (he has runs almost every weekend)
>>5526352dc henchman quest is good, the archives are full of good stuff just sort by +20,
"Enough!" That word is enough to stop Tilly Harrower in her tracks. When she turns around to bare her teeth at you, you gesture towards the still-healing Ella. "Neither of you are helping. If you keep this up, she's gonna frenzy.""Let her," the den mother growls as her as she turns to face the trembling werewolf, who looks like she's on the verge of a panic attack. "Let her prove yet again that she is unworthy of becoming Garou, that she is a disgrace to her tribe and her ancestors, that she will never be able to make her parents feel anything other than disappointment."That does it.Ella looks up so sharply that you can swear you just heard her neck snap. For a second, she just stares at Harrower, dead still and utterly silent. Suddenly her jaws part and an inhuman scream bursts from her maw as she throws herself at her teacher. Any wounds that you gave her disappear, as if they were never there. The pair of them go tumbling to their ground before anyone can interfere and Ella manages to bury her fangs into Harrower's arm. It looks like she's about to rip it clean off.While you and the other students rush over to intervene, the den mother plants her free hand against Ella's skull and says... something. The guttural noises that leave her mouth are strangely soothing.The furious werewolf recoils. She releases Harrower's arm and scrambles off of her, looking fearful and anxious. The rage that was churning inside of her mere moments ago has vanished. Somehow, Harrower was able to cut her frenzy short."I'm sorry," Ella says, first in her war form and then again once she has shifted back to Homid. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it back! I tried, I really tried, I swear!" Her apology is cut short as Harrower gives a mighty backhand, causing the girl to yelp."If you only hated the Wyrm as much as you hate me, you might've had a better chance of passing your Rite. Get dressed.""Maybe she's not meant for this kinda life," you suggest as you shift back into your human form as well. You hold your ground even when the den mother wheels around to glare at you. "You can't expect her to just transform into a warrior over night. She wasn't brought up to be one.""I wasn't either," Harrower growls a second before she gives you an almighty smack across the face. All of a sudden, your head is ringing and you can taste blood. "I had the very same upbringing, but I didn't let it define me. When I found myself face-to-face with adversity, I didn't cower and sulk. I embraced every challenge and grew stronger. It doesn't matter what she was before the Change. She must become Garou, as must you all. I will make a soldier of Gaia out of each and every one of you, no matter what it takes!">You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 6/10.
Not long after that motivational speech, Harrower leaves the five of you to rest for the night. This muddy little glade is to be your home until you pass your Rite of Passage. Thankfully there are a few rickety bivouacs to provide you with a little shelter and one of the other kids has finished cooking something in a pot over a campfire. Once you've got your clothes back on, you head over to see if you can help yourself to some."Thanks for kinda taking my side back there," the scrawny girl says once you've arrived. "I'm used to being the only one who talks back to that bitch. It'll be nice to share the concussions with someone else, y'know? I'm Alex, by the way.""Don't worry about it, you made a good point so I thought I'd back it up. I'm Sam." When the cook takes the lid off of the pot to stir around the contents with a ladle, you lean over a little to try and catch a glimpse of whatever is inside. It smells pretty good, but maybe that's just because you're damn hungry. You haven't eaten anything since the morning. "Hey, what's in there?""A couple of rabbits I caught and some wild herbs," the chef replies. He's a skinny boy around your age, clad in jeans and a wife beater. He's got a pretty good tan but the most striking feature about him is that he's totally hairless. He doesn't even have eyebrows or even eyelashes. "I even managed to get a few potatoes from the stockpile, so it should be a little more filling than usual.""Mind if I have some?" You can't help but stare a moment. He does look pretty weird."Sure, it'll be ready soon. Call me Marley." The three of you engage in a little more small talk while another boy has a quiet chat with Ella. Like her, he's got blonde hair, blue eyes and dirty Amish attire. In his case, that means a white shirt, black pants and suspenders. Out of the five of you, he's probably the youngest. They both come over to join you once the stew's done."Hey there! I'm Isaiah." His tone's a little too enthusiastic for your liking, but at least he's trying to be friendly. "You did great in that fight earlier. Harrower said that you're not Get, but I could've sworn otherwise. What tribe are you from?""Thanks," you say, figuring that he's probably trying to give you a compliment. "I don't really know though. My mom's Kin but my dad's Ronin, so I dunno what that makes me.""Oh." He's not sure how to respond to that. "Well, here's hoping you find a tribe that suits you!"The chatter continues, with regular input from everyone but Ella. They all seem friendly enough, but how should you act around them?>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.>Assert your dominance and make it clear you're in charge. You're the alpha.>Be honest about your feelings and encourage the others to do the same.>Remain aloof. You don't want to get attached to them. Maintain your distance.
>>5526352There's a bunch of good quests, but there are not many that update as frequently as this one.The most regular QM either do it every three to five, while the ones that update the quickest tend to have sessions, one or two days where they write a bunch of updates with a short voting period.There are a few others that write nearly as much as Hench that I can think of the top of my head, being MachineQM of Mechanicus Primarch, Scorekeeper of Maximum Spider, Contolist of Mobile Suit Gundam and MedivhQM of Alterac Resurgent
>>5526543>Be honest about your feelings and encourage the others to do the same.>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.Either of these are fine.
>>5526543>Be honest about your feelings and encourage the others to do the same.>what you think made Harrower such a bitch? or do you guys think it's just Garou culture in general?
>>5526543>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.While I think we could easily start collecting a pack, its probably way too early for that. We don't know if we're sticking around once the month is over, and shouldn't be getting too attached. Get to know the other cubs a little, see what they think of this whole garou thing.
>>5526543>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them
>>5526543>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.
>>5526543>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.>Apologize to Ella about the fight, you made an assumption and made an ass out of yourself.
>>5526576+1let's get closer to Ella
>>5526577Do you want to end up in a meat grinder? Because that's how you end up in a meat grinder.
>>5526543>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.We're still learning the ropes here. Better to listen and learn while they talk. Already, we've gotten a taste of Garou "education" for the regressive half-assed bootcamp/camping trip that it is. Sam would no doubt start noticing that the culture is hurting their success as much as helping it.
>>5526352Same bro, I love this board! My friends don't want to play anything white wolf and this thread is dope.
>>5526584I don't mean romanticallybut without real friends I feel Ella more than anyone is in danger of walking the Black Spiral
>>5526576Supporting. But no, not romantically, I agree >>5526543
>>5526584>>5526658Jesus, no, I didn't imply anything romance related, even if werewolves could mate with each other, Sam might have some issues with becoming a father in his teens.
>>5526661While I don't want to date her (yet, at least), romance doesn't mean immediately having kids.
changing to>support >>5526576
>Going with:>Be friendly but avoid the spotlight. Keep the conversation focused on them.>Even though it doesn't have a majority of votes, there's decent support for it and it's relatively minor so I'll also put in:>Apologize to Ella about the fight, you made an assumption and made an ass out of yourself.>No romantic implications either, just an apology.>Starting work on an update but it'll take several hours. This is going to be a chunky one, since I'm resuming the exposition dump.
You try your best to be friendly without saying too much about yourself. Whenever you say something, it's usually just to ask about them or encourage them to talk about themselves. The only to notice this is Alex, who can't resist giving you a crooked smirk as she makes a point about how much you love to ask questions. Ella is the only exception to this rule, as you do want to apologise for what happened earlier."Hey, Ella? I'm sorry about the fight. When Harrower said you were Ahroun, I made some assumptions and thought you'd be up for it. If I knew it was gonna end like that, I wouldn't have gone all out like I did.""It's okay," she says. You even manage to get a sad little smile out of her. "I need to learn, right? There's no going back to how things were. This is what I am now and I just have to deal with it. I'll do better next time." You're not sure if she's trying to convince you or herself, but either way she's failing. Her words are hollow and you can't help but feel that she's already given up.With a little bit of prying, you manage to get her to open up a little, along with the others.You already know that Ella is an Ahroun and Get of Fenris, at least by blood. Alex insists that she should think about abandoning them for the Black Furies as soon as she passes her Rite, but that just causes the Amish girl to frown. Apparently she went through a Rite of Passage just a few weeks after her First Change, during which she ran from battle. She doesn't want to go into details. Ever since then, she's been stuck here with Harrower.Alex is a Galliard of Shadow Lord heritage, but she was picked up by a Black Fury after her Change. She's pretty certain that she's gonna join them when she passes her Rite of Passage. She's quite open about how almost every Garou she's met has been an asshole, but some of their beliefs still resonate with her. That's the only reason why she hasn't run away, because she wants to fight for Gaia rather than the Garou Nation.Marley is a Galliard but more importantly, he's Metis. The offspring of two Children of Gaia, he has spent his whole life at the caern, being looked after by the sept. You can't imagine what it must been like for him, being raised by a bunch of people who thought he was an unholy abomination. He just shrugs and says that he managed to get by. If you ever need any help understanding Garou culture, he's more than happy to lend a hand.As for Isaiah, he's a Theurge of Get heritage, brought up in Ladberg just like Ella. His First Change was just a couple of weeks ago and he's still trying to wrap his head around everything. In particular, he's trying to reconcile his beliefs with those of the Garou. His interpretation of Gaia as God, spirits as angels and the Wyrm as Satan makes Marley grin a little. At least he's managed to overcome the Amish proclivity for pacifism.
Honestly, you can't describe any of them as bad people. They've all got flaws and issues but none of them are assholes. You shouldn't have any problems with any of them for as long as you're stuck here.>You gain 1 Rage. Your Rage is currently 7/10.>You gain 1 Will. Your Will is currently 3/10.By the time that you're done with your meal, night has well and truly fallen and the gibbous moon is up in the sky. You can feel the rage slowly starting to bubble up inside of you so to keep that in check, you say goodnight to the others and find somewhere quiet to meditate, where you can focus on the sounds of the forest and let the wild serenity of the caern engulf your mind. It actually feels pretty good. Your heart is at peace and perhaps for the first time in your life, you feel like you have found somewhere you belong.>You lose 3 Rage. Your Rage is currently 4/10.>You gain 3 Will. Your Will is currently 6/10.But as soon as your trance comes to an end, you recall all of the assholes that call the caern home. Sees-Forest-For-Trees. Gregor. Harrower. No, this isn't where you belong, not with people like that.You follow the directions that the others gave you and make your way down to a fast-flowing river where you're able to wash yourself and sate your thirst. It's not like there's any other water source for you to drink from and it seems a lot cleaner than the muddy stream where you fought Sees-Forest-For-Trees. Once that's done, you return to the clearing and lie down under the shelter of one of the bivouacs. It's cold and a little damp, but eventually you're able to drift off to sleep.You wake up to find that the sun has started to peek over the horizon. Once again you venture down to the river to clean yourself and drink from the water. Last night Marley told you that he doesn't cook in the mornings and it's up to the rest of you to hunt for yourselves, since Harrower doesn't like him coddling other cubs too much. So you shift into Lupus and before too long, you track down an unfortunate rabbit and make a meal out of it. You only have a few minutes to relax once you've returned before your teacher arrives.>You spend 1 Will. Your Will is currently 5/10.You begin the day with a history lesson, though Tilly Harrower isn't the one who will be giving it. She's leaving that job up to Alex, though she will be judging the girl. As a Galliard, it is her duty to memorise the oral history of the Garou and to be able to recite it at any moment.The story of the Garou begins long before the birth of human civilisation. In the distant past, they ruled over Gaia and did their duty as protectors of the balance. They kept all of the species and spirits of the world in check and made sure that none of them grew too powerful. Unfortunately, the Garou of this age were a bunch of arrogant assholes who never thought about their own impact on the balance. Harrower gives Alex a slap for saying this.Anyway, that's what led to the Impergium.
The Garou saw the potential in humanity and policed them with extreme prejudice. It is said that werewolves left such a scar in the psyche of prehistoric man that it still lingers to this day, in the form of Delirium. Some say that this is what led to humans establishing settlements and banding together in communities, but they weren't the only ones to suffer.There were once many different types of shapeshifter, collectively known as the Fera. Each served Gaia in a different way, but the Garou did not approve of this. They did not see the others as a necessary part of the balance, so they waged a War of Rage against them. Many breeds of Fera were driven extinct, while others managed to escape this fate by hiding in the forgotten places of the world. In short, ancient Garou really loved their genocide. Harrower gives Alex a slap for saying this.Not long after that war, humanity began to fight back. It had learned how to build walls, assemble armies and wield silver. This development troubled the Garou and they gathered to discuss how to resolve the situation. After much bloodshed and discussion, they finally reached an agreement that is called the Concord. They would leave humanity to its own devices and linger in the shadows, never to directly interfere with human affairs again.This decision is what led to the formation of the tribes, with each one representing a different reaction to the growing strength of humanity. The Garou didn't interfere when men built their first great cities. They didn't interfere when they began to wage wars against each other either. They went from being bloodthirsty monsters to lazy cowards too scared to stop humanity when they had the chance. Harrower gives Alex a slap for saying this.Yet as humanity grew stronger, so did the Wyrm. In the first century, a Scottish tribe called the White Howlers launched a crusade against it, only to end up corrupted and transformed into the Black Spiral Dancers. A Native American tribe called the Croatan sacrificed itself in the sixteenth century to defeat a manifestation of this dark god. More and more Garou were dying.By that point, some of the European tribes had tied themselves so closely to their human Kin that they joined them in colonising foreign lands and gladly stole territory from native Garou. This is what led to the extinction of the Bunyip tribe in Australia and the Wendigo's hatred of other werewolves. The Garou had relearned how to be genocidal assholes. Harrower gives Alex a slap for saying this.From there, everything got worse with every century that passed. Humanity became unstoppable and so did the Wyrm. The Garou just couldn't keep up and now the world is on the brink of destruction. The tribes only agreed to work together as one people - as one Garou Nation - in the last hundred years, but it might be too little too late. Regardless, they'll do whatever it takes to avert the apocalypse and make up for their past sins.
And that's the abridged history of the world, as the Garou know it. There are details that Alex skipped over, but you'll learn those in due time.How do you feel about what you have just learned?>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?>They might have screwed up along the way, but at least the Garou seem to be getting their act together now. At least they're trying.>You can't blame the Garou for what they did. Their only mistake was the Concord. They surrendered the title of apex predator to humanity.>Alex is just trying to make werewolves sound like a bunch of assholes. Dismiss what she has said and seek a less biased source.
>>5526971write in: Sounds like the Garou really fucked up along the way, genociding all the other Fera and pissing off any potential allies. They're fighting the right fight, but doing it all wrong.
>>5526980emphasize that there's a real problem with the way garou are doing things without going full 'wrong team' about it
>>5526971>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?>They might have screwed up along the way, but at least the Garou seem to be getting their act together now. At least they're trying.They're fighting but half the fight is from their own mistakes.
>>5526980>>5526981+1Garou Nation needs to clean house.
>>5526971>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?>They might have screwed up along the way, but at least the Garou seem to be getting their act together now. At least they're trying.Sins of the father, being an edgy cringelord is built into garou culture
>>5526971 #>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?>They might have screwed up along the way, but at least the Garou seem to be getting their act together now. At least they're trying.
>>5526971>>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?No, they're really not getting their shit together, not with people like Harrower in charge of training. And if it was just that!Garou should probably look up human words like original sin and eugenics. Maybe cult indoctrination and echo chamber as well.And really, how does Sam know they're really fighting the bad guy? From here, the Wyrm situation looks like the Greek Gods circlejerking about how Prometheus was an asshole and they weren't."Oh no, humanity banded together against us because we're cunts and have fancy weapons to kill us so we can't bully them anymore! It's totally because they're controlled by Earthworm Jim Satan! I swear dude!"For all we know, the apocalypse is just the Garou's sins catching up to them, and everyone else will be fine. Also, it bear repeating that there are two meanings to apocalypse. Especially relevant with prophecies, that.Again, we can't tell Kool-Aid from water right now. Careful what you drink.Also, we've just gotten confirmation that the caern has mental alteration effects going on. Really inspiring confidence there, guys.
>>5526971>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?>Alex is just trying to make werewolves sound like a bunch of assholes.>They might have screwed up along the way, but at least the Garou seem to be getting their act together now. At least they're trying.Careful not too go too far the other way, Alex is clearly biased even though we may agree with her. What I find telling is the parts Harrower didn't slap her for. All the bits equating the wyrm with humanity, and not that Sam would know this, no mention of the Weaver. To my limited knowledge of werewolf lore this caern seems extreme even for garou.
>>5526980Support.A bunch of them aren't even getting their act together
>>5526971>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?I'll vote for this as well, if the other doesn't get much support. Weaver is the better one anyway
>>5526980Supporting.
>Going with:>Sounds like the Garou really fucked up along the way, genociding all the other Fera and pissing off any potential allies. They're fighting the right fight, but doing it all wrong.>So basically, the Garou are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Are you sure you're on the right team?>They might have screwed up along the way, but at least the Garou seem to be getting their act together now. At least they're trying.>In other words, Sam appreciates that the Garou are trying to save the world, but he can see that they're responsible for a lot of the shit that's wrong with the planet and they're not exactly doing a good job, even now.>In the process of writing up the next update, should be out shortly.
Okay, so the Garou have fucked up - a lot. They might be fighting the good fight now but that doesn't change the fact that they're responsible for half of the shit that's gone wrong with the world. They haven't learned from their mistakes either, based off of everything you've seen so far. They've got to start working smarter, not harder. If they don't, there's no way that they're going to put a stop to this apocalypse of theirs.Now that you have learned about the earthly history of werewolves, it is time for Garou cosmology. Normally Harrower would have a Theurge teach this part of the syllabus, but she's still trying to beat the Amish dogma out of Isaiah. Marley is given the job instead, as he's so familiar with all things Garou.No one knows what really happened in the beginning. Some believe that Gaia came first and that she created the Triat, others believe that it was the other way around. The Triat is the term used for the three god-like spirits that maintain the cycle of birth, growth and death.The Wyld is the force of creation. It is chaotic, unknowable and solely responsible for producing all of the matter and energy that we enjoy today. Every living thing harbours a spark of the Wyld which can be thought of as its soul and in the case of more intelligent lifeforms, this little piece of madness is the source of all inspiration and free will.The Weaver is the force of structure. She meticulously sculpts the chaos of the Wyld into coherent shapes, categorises them and establishes laws to dictate how they can function. Her desire to organise and improve everything she sees is what led to the development of complex life and eventually intelligent entities that could share her desires.The Wyrm is the force of destruction. He corrodes the perfect patterns that the Weaver designs and ensures that they cannot last forever. By doing this, he is supposed to prevent reality from becoming too crowded and collapsing under its own weight. The influence of this destroyer is responsible for the limited lifespan of all things.Ideally, these three forces should have balanced each other out and produced a perfect system, yet something went wrong.The most common myth suggests that the Weaver was responsible. She was trapped between the other two, an endless font of life and an unstoppable force of death. Everything beautiful that she made ended up being ruined by the Wyrm and replaced by the raw chaos of the Wyld. Imagine a mother who had no choice but to constantly pump out children, raise them and then watch them die horribly, again and again, for all of eternity.It's no wonder that she went insane.The Weaver wanted to put an end to birth and death. She wanted a static Gaia, where nothing new was made and nothing could get destroyed, where her children could live perfect lives for evermore. That's why she tried to weave the Wyld and the Wyrm into her pattern, to trap them so that they could no longer perform their divine duties.
The volatile Wyld escaped effortlessly, but the Wyrm wasn't so elusive. Once he was ensnared in her web, the Weaver was free to create more and more complicated life, that lived for longer and longer and was capable of so much more. This eventually led to the emergence of humanity, her favourite children, who sought to emulate her in every way.The Wyrm's confinement drove him as mad as the Weaver. He no longer cared about balance. All he wanted was the end of all things. To this end, he turned his fangs on himself and shed his blood, which seeped into the pattern that was wrapped around him. Over the course of history, the corruption of the Wyrm has spread throughout the Weaver's web and eaten away at it from the inside. It's only a matter of time until it all falls apart and the destroyer shall be free to bring about the apocalypse.Now that's just a story but ever since humanity's rise to power, the Garou have noticed an obvious link between their technological progress and their capacity for destruction. The more complicated and advanced human society becomes, the more pain it inflicts on Gaia. This is reflected in the Umbra, as the Wyrm's servants seem to prosper wherever humanity thrives. Fortunately, so does the Weaver's brood and these two factions of spirits often come to blows with each other. The point is that whenever mankind grows stronger, so does the Weaver, but so does the Wyrm.As for the Wyld, the spirits that serve it have become rarer as humanity has spread the Weaver's web and the Wyrm's corruption across Gaia. Fortunately, they still exist in regions where mankind's influence is limited and in sacred places such as this caern, they're even quite numerous and powerful. Though the Garou often turn to such spirits for aid, it must never be forgotten that the Wyld is chaotic, unknowable and alien. Such a primal force can never truly be considered an ally.Marley's about to delve into the technical side of things concerning the Umbra and how the Garou are able to use it but so far, how do you feel about what you've heard?>You finally understand why the Garou care so much about fighting the Wyrm. There really will be an apocalypse if he wins.>The Weaver sounds just as dangerous as the Wyrm and she's responsible for this mess in the first place. Why aren't they fighting her as well?>The Garou should be serving the Weaver. All she wants is to create a better world and she's actively fighting the Wyrm, so why not?>You honestly sympathise with the Wyrm. If you were put in his position, you can't say that you wouldn't end up going crazy too.>Disregard mythology. Most of what you've just heard is irrelevant, you're more interested in the technical stuff.
>>5527252>Disregard mythology. Most of what you've just heard is irrelevant, you're more interested in the technical stuff.Our guy is a nerd who does nerd things, this fits.
>>5527252>You finally understand why the Garou care so much about fighting the Wyrm. There really will be an apocalypse if he wins.
>>5527252Eh. Mostly disregard until we poke around the Umbra a bit more ourselves to verify things, but a bit of sympathy for the Wyrm. Not enough to go worshiping a spirit of death or whatever, but it's still a sad story and it isn't sane enough to be at fault. The Weaver is ambiguous, but of course Sam would emphasize with her and her desires. He's human after all.Overall, this system was screwed. An apocalypse is likely, it was always going to happen anyway from the look of things, any one of the three was almost guaranteed to go loony at one point. What matters is who makes it through, in what state, and what lessons are learnt. Also, if there's an Earth left, or if humanity's advanced enough to fix it. That could be a way forward, complete the Weaver's plan. Put the Wyrm out of its misery, channel the Wyld without killing it or letting it go insane, and go from there? But this is basically a theological debate, and way down Sam's current list of concerns.
