Garou Apps

Other Playable Tribes

Other Tribes may still be appropriate for the game without currently receiving a tribal Incentive XP award.

In particular, Fianna and Silent Striders can fit naturally into Los Angeles with an appropriate concept, but remain uncommon and do not presently receive automatic tribal incentive XP.

The Tribes of Los Angeles

Los Angeles is not a generic Garou Sept. Its Tribes have histories, rivalries, territories, and cultural niches shaped by more than a century of conflict.

The descriptions below are intended as a quick starting point for players asking: “What would playing this Tribe feel like here?”

Children of Gaia

Vibe: Coalition-builders, civic leaders, mediators, idealists, and sometimes frustrated establishment figures.

The Children of Gaia were central to the creation of the modern Sept of the Smiling Angel. When the previous Garou order collapsed beneath the weight of the Wyrm’s assault, it was Gaian leadership that helped bring the Bone Gnawers, Uktena, Black Furies, and surviving allies together into a functioning coalition.

Modern Children of Gaia are deeply invested in the survival of the Sept as an institution. They are particularly well suited to characters interested in Sept politics, diplomacy, community organization, Kinfolk networks, social movements, healing, mediation, and the difficult question of how one pursues peace while fighting an apocalyptic war.

That does not mean every Child of Gaia is gentle. Los Angeles has repeatedly demonstrated that idealism without the ability to defend it does not survive very long.

Bone Gnawers

Vibe: Street-level survivors, angry populists, urban guerrillas, community defenders, scavengers, and people everyone else underestimates.

Bone Gnawers are one of the largest and most important Garou populations in the Southlands. Their packs are especially prominent throughout South Los Angeles and among communities largely ignored by wealthier and more respectable parts of the city.

They often possess a much better understanding of what is actually happening at street level than more prestigious Garou. They know the alleys, homeless encampments, neighborhood grudges, abandoned buildings, informal economies, gangs, activists, and forgotten people who make up enormous portions of Los Angeles.

Many local Gnawers are increasingly skeptical of established Sept leadership. This makes them excellent characters for players interested in grassroots politics, guerrilla warfare, survival, protecting marginalized communities, urban spirits, dirty tricks, or challenging the people who claim to speak for everyone else.

Uktena

Vibe: Urban mystics, secret-keepers, spirit experts, old families, occult investigators, and suspicious allies who remember being forgotten.

The Uktena were in Los Angeles before most of the Tribes that later claimed authority over the city. By the 20th century they had largely been marginalized and forgotten by the dominant Garou establishment until they emerged as a crucial part of the alliance that created the modern Sept.

Their strongest local communities remain associated with East Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, and the Puente and San Jose Hills, supported by extensive Kinfolk networks with deep roots in the region.

Los Angeles Uktena are particularly respected for their Theurges and their expertise with urban spirits. They are a natural fit for players interested in mysteries, the Umbra, spirits, hidden threats, forbidden knowledge, immigration networks, old grudges, and the tension between participation in the Sept and distrust of those who have historically taken them for granted.

Black Furies

Vibe: Warriors, protectors, activists, avengers, defenders of vulnerable people, and uncompromising voices of conscience.

The Black Furies played a heroic role in the wars that created the modern Sept, most famously through the warriors who came south to help drive back the Black Spiral Dancers during Los Angeles’ last great heroic age.

They have never possessed the numbers of the Bone Gnawers, Uktena, or Children of Gaia locally. Their closest major base of support instead lies with the friendly Sept of the Western Eye in Northern California, which maintains close ties with Los Angeles.

A Black Fury PC therefore has established historical legitimacy without being swallowed by a large local tribal bureaucracy. They fit especially well with stories involving warrior traditions, feminism, protection of the abused, activism, sacred places, vengeance, and conflicts between justice and mercy.

Glass Walkers

Vibe: Technologists, corporate operators, hackers, investors, spies, innovators, urban specialists, and dangerous people who understand how modern power actually works.

Los Angeles once belonged politically to the Glass Walkers. Their old Wise Guy establishment dominated much of the city’s Garou society until its catastrophic collapse in the 1960s.

The Tribe eventually returned in force, but the modern Glass Walkers are more decentralized. Their influence can be found among places such as Bunker Hill, Central Los Angeles, Pasadena, technology circles, corporate networks, and other centers of modern institutional power.

Their relationship with the rest of the Sept can be complicated. Some see them as indispensable modernists; others regard them as dangerously comfortable with the Weaver and human systems of wealth and power.

Glass Walkers are ideal for players interested in technology, money, corporate warfare, surveillance, firearms, hacking, political influence, infrastructure, intelligence work, or the question of whether modern civilization can be turned into a weapon for Gaia rather than against Her.

Shadow Lords

Vibe: Strategists, political operators, intelligence gatherers, hard-nosed leaders, schemers, and Garou who believe good intentions are useless without the power to enforce them.

The Shadow Lords are now being encouraged as a growing minor presence in Los Angeles. They do not possess the entrenched Kinfolk networks or territorial power of the Sept’s major Tribes, which leaves considerable room for PCs to establish what a modern Los Angeles Shadow Lord presence actually looks like.

The current Sept is fertile ground for them. It is politically fractured, surrounded by enemies, burdened by old rivalries, and filled with factions that disagree about how the war should be fought.

A Shadow Lord does not need to be a cartoonish backstabber. The Tribe is particularly suited to stories about strategy, intelligence, leadership, realpolitik, manipulation, ambition, coalition-building, identifying weakness, and making difficult decisions that more idealistic Garou would prefer not to make.

A new Shadow Lord should generally arrive prepared to earn influence rather than assume it.

Silver Fangs

Vibe: Fallen nobility, ancestral duty, heroic expectations, leadership, tragedy, old bloodlines, and the burden of living up to legends that may no longer deserve to rule.

The Silver Fangs are not strangers to Los Angeles. Beginning in the 1920s, Russian Silver Fang exiles under Vasily Vasiliev and the Falcon’s Talons became one of the city’s most powerful Garou factions, competing directly with the Glass Walker establishment for influence.

Their strength eventually disappeared through tragedy, attrition, and failure to produce enough new Garou. What remained was memory: old Kinfolk bloodlines, old claims, old stories, and Falcon himself still watching lands once protected by his children.

That makes modern Silver Fangs something very different from simply arriving as royalty and expecting obedience. A returning Fang steps into a city where their Tribe’s greatness is history, and where leadership must be demonstrated rather than inherited.

They are an excellent choice for characters interested in legacy, leadership, Pure Breed, ancestors, tragedy, aristocratic obligation, restoring something that has been lost, or deciding which parts of an ancestral legacy deserve to stay buried.

Get of Fenris

Vibe: Warriors, traditionalists, monster-hunters, competitors, hard cases, and Garou who believe worth should be demonstrated through action.

The Get of Fenris are being encouraged as another growing minor presence. They lack the large local Kinfolk populations and generations of institutional influence possessed by Los Angeles’ major Tribes, but the city offers no shortage of reasons for Fenrir to come west.

Black Spiral Dancers, Pentex operations, corrupted territory, dangerous spirits, and a Sept under constant military pressure provide exactly the sort of enemies against which a Fenrir can prove their worth.

The more interesting challenge is not finding something to fight. It is learning how an intensely martial and often traditional Tribe functions inside a crowded urban Sept where victory regularly requires politics, investigation, alliances, and patience alongside raw violence.

Get concepts are a good fit for players interested in martial culture, personal excellence, courage, traditional Garou values, hunting dangerous enemies, rivalry, tests of worth, and learning when strength means something other than hitting harder.

Fianna

Vibe: Passionate warriors, storytellers, traditionalists, artists, revelers, and Garou whose virtues and flaws both tend to run hot.

The Fianna have never developed a major organized presence this far west. Individual Fianna nevertheless have little difficulty finding reasons to visit or remain in Los Angeles.

They work best as individual transplants rather than representatives of a powerful local tribal faction. Their themes fit characters interested in storytelling, music, passion, family, folklore, heroism, tradition, and the messy intensity of Garou life.

Fianna currently receive no automatic tribal Incentive XP.

Silent Striders

Vibe: Travelers, messengers, scouts, ghost-hunters, outsiders, and Garou who always seem to have one foot on the road.

Los Angeles has an unusual attraction for Silent Striders. Its Shadowlands are dense, its history is violent, and shrines to murdered celebrities, roadside memorials, graveyards, cults, and haunted places are everywhere.

The difficulty is getting a Strider to stay.

They are excellent concepts for players interested in travel, scouting, ghosts, messages, ancient mysteries, the dead, outsider perspectives, and characters whose connections extend far beyond Los Angeles.

Silent Striders currently receive no automatic tribal Incentive XP.

Breed Considerations

Homid

Homid Garou account for the overwhelming majority of Los Angeles’ werewolf population.

This is an intensely urban caern located hundreds of miles from significant wolf populations and dominated by Tribes with strong human and urban Kinfolk networks.

Unless stated otherwise, the tribal Incentive Tiers above primarily assume a Homid character.

Metis

Metis are uncommon primarily because of demographics rather than because they are unwelcome.

In fact, Los Angeles can be more accepting of Metis than many traditional Septs. The Sept has historically been dominated by several Tribes relatively tolerant of Metis, and the constant war for survival makes turning away a capable Garou an expensive luxury.

Bone Gnawer, Children of Gaia, and Glass Walker Metis remain particularly appropriate concepts and may receive Incentive XP depending upon the final application.

Metis characters should still engage seriously with what it means to have been raised within Garou society and to live with a visible manifestation of the Nation’s deepest taboo.

Lupus

Lupus are extremely rare in Los Angeles and are discussed below under Discouraged Concepts.

Uncommon Concepts

Uncommon does not mean discouraged. These concepts can fit the game quite well, but require somewhat more attention to explaining why the character is in Los Angeles and why they remain there.

• Fianna — Individual transplants fit readily, but the Tribe has little organized local infrastructure.
• Silent Striders — Los Angeles attracts them for many reasons, especially its dead, mysteries, and supernatural crossroads, but the Tribe’s wanderlust makes permanent residents unusual.
• Metis — Numerically uncommon, but not inherently unwelcome within the Sept.

These concepts normally receive no automatic incentive unless another aspect of the application independently qualifies.

Discouraged Concepts

Discouraged concepts are not prohibited. They simply require a stronger explanation and greater familiarity with the relevant theme.

If you want to play one, it is recommended that you speak with a Werewolf Director before investing heavily in the application.

Cubs

Cub concepts are discouraged rather than restricted.

Los Angeles is a dangerous place to learn what it means to be Garou. The Sept sits on the front line of a war against the Wyrm, and inexperienced Garou have historically been sent to safer and more traditional Septs for education before returning as Cliath.

However, exceptions absolutely occur.

A Cub concept may be appropriate when the player:

• Already possesses enough OOC familiarity with Werewolf and Liberation’s setting to portray the character’s ignorance intentionally.
• Has a clear reason the Cub cannot simply be sent elsewhere for training.
• Is willing for learning Garou society to become an active part of their RP rather than an excuse to ignore it.
• Has or develops IC relationships with Garou willing to take responsibility for their education.
• Understands that becoming Cliath through a Rite of Passage should be an important early character goal rather than a status indefinitely avoided.

Cub concepts receive no Incentive XP.

Red Talons, Wendigo & Stargazers

These Tribes clash significantly with the present Los Angeles setting.

There is no meaningful local population of them, and each has philosophical or cultural reasons that make joining an intensely urban Urrah Sept unusual.

An exceptional concept may still be considered, but the application should clearly answer:

• Why did this Garou come to Los Angeles?
• Why have they remained?
• Why are they willing to cooperate with the Sept of the Smiling Angel?
• How will the character’s tribal beliefs create interesting RP without making ordinary integration impossible?

These Tribes receive no Incentive XP and retain the applicable increased Renown costs associated with their distance from local tribal support.

Lupus

Lupus characters require a strong application and a player prepared to portray a character who is genuinely wolf-born, rather than a human character who happens to prefer Lupus form.

A Lupus should not be primarily focused on blending seamlessly into human society. Los Angeles is a sensory nightmare for a wolf: millions of humans, constant traffic, artificial smells, noise, pavement, light, and almost no true wilderness.

Every Lupus residing in Los Angeles is unusual enough to be noteworthy within the Sept.

Players considering a Lupus are strongly encouraged to read the Lupus material in W20 Changing Ways and, where available, Ways of the Wolf.

Lupus characters receive no Incentive XP.

Restricted Concepts

These concepts conflict directly with the basic structure of the Werewolf sphere and generally cannot be approved for ordinary Sept play.

Ronin

Garou PCs must be willing to pursue an active relationship with the Sept of the Smiling Angel, either by considering it home or by participating as a resident guest or Anruth.

This does not mean every character must like the Sept, its leadership, or its politics.

Characters may be rebellious, angry, factional, or openly interested in changing who leads the Sept. What does not work is a concept built around permanently refusing Garou society altogether.

A wolf who hunts alone is easy prey for the Wyrm.

Nuwisha Posing as Garou

Nuwisha sometimes infiltrate Garou society in tabletop stories by posing as Ragabash. Such stories work because the deception is temporary and the narrative eventually moves elsewhere.

That model does not work for a persistent MUSH centered on one Sept.

Nuwisha concepts will therefore not be approved as long-term infiltrators integrated into the Sept under a false Garou identity. Nuwisha belong under the game’s Fera framework instead.

Choosing a Concept That Fits

The Sept of the Smiling Angel is an urban Sept in a city of millions, surrounded by supernatural enemies and divided internally by real political, tribal, and philosophical disagreements.

The best Garou concepts generally arrive with something they want to accomplish.

That might mean:

• Protecting a neighborhood or community.
• Hunting a particular manifestation of the Wyrm.
• Restoring a Tribe’s lost influence.
• Challenging the current political order.
• Supporting the current political order.
• Investigating spirits or supernatural mysteries.
• Building a pack.
• Claiming and defending territory.
• Helping neglected Kinfolk.
• Seeking Renown and proving themselves worthy of greater Rank.
• Trying to reconcile their Tribe’s values with an intensely modern city.

You do not need to arrive already loyal to everyone in Los Angeles.

You do need a concept capable of becoming involved with other PCs and with the ongoing struggle for the city.

Recommended Reading

• A Cub’s History of Los Angeles — the history that created the modern Sept.
• The Sept of the Smiling Angel — current territory, demographics, and Sept organization.
• Packs & Totems — useful information about local spirits and Garou culture.
• Werewolf Character Creation — step-by-step chargen instructions.
• Renown, Gifts & Camps — Liberation’s Garou advancement system.