#shadow lords

Werewolf: the Apocalypse is a tabletop roleplaying game that is part of the Old World of Darkness franchise. OWoD is a series of TTRPGs that share a setting, but can be played independently of each other. It is a dark urban fantasy setting like the real world, but worse: with monsters thriving in the shadows. Werewolf is a game about duality, rage, and the struggle to protect what is precious against all odds. This post is intended to be an introduction to the lore for someone wanting to get into the setting.

Something to note is the history of the game. In their original run, all the OWoD games were building up to an apocalypse. In 2001, the apocalypse happened, with all the games getting supplements to let players roleplay the end of the world. The franchise was then discontinued to make way for the New World of Darkness. Then in 2011, the games were brought back for a 20th anniversary edition, which assumed that the apocalypse didn't happen. Now there's a 5th edition, which had radically changed large parts of the lore. For the purposes of this post, I will discuss both versions of the lore.

In the world of spirits, known to shapeshifters as the Umbra, three spirits reign supreme: the Wyld, the Weaver, and the Wyrm. The Wyld represents creation, nature, and chaos. It creates raw, unfiltered, and chaotic reality. The Weaver represents stasis and order. It takes the chaos the Wyld creates and orders it into the Pattern Web of reality. FInally, the Wyrm represents entropy and destruction. It destroys the Weavers ordered reality, breaking it down to its raw components so the Wyld can create anew. When the Triat, as they are known, are in balance, the universe is in harmony. Unfortunately, the Triat is not in balance. The Weaver was driven mad by despair over the Wyrm constantly destroying its perfect order. Thus it imprisoned the Wyrm within the Pattern Web. This drove the Wyrm insane, changing from its original purpose into a spirit of corruption and destruction that is actively trying to destroy reality in an attempt to escape from its prison. The great spirit of Earth, Gaia, sensed the threat and (in collaboration with other powerful spirits) created the shapeshifters to oppose it. Known as the Fera or Changing Breeds, they were simultaneously beings of spirit and flesh, human and animal. Part of many worlds but not truly at home in any of them. Each Fera species was given a different task with the intention that they would work together to defend Gaia. That is not what happened. Instead, the werewolves ended up going to war with the other Fera, a terrible conflict known as the War of Rage that drove many Fera to extinction and the rest to near-extinction. The werewolves are now the most common of the Fera and are pariahs amongst the Changing Breeds. They still want to protect Gaia, but can't agree on how to do it. Meanwhile, the Wyrm has extended its influence and gained such a foothold that it seems like the Apocalypse is a matter of when instead of if. This changes in 5e. The Apocalypse already happened and Gaia is dead, or at least on her last legs. The Wyrm's victory is all but assured and the werewolves are unsure what to do in this new world.

Werewolves call themselves Garou and they are born, not made and they can be born as a human or a wolf. The way you become a werewolf changed in 5th edition. Prior to 5e, lycanthropy was an inherited trait. Both humans and wolves could be born as Kinfolk and would pass that trait to their offspring. Occasionally, a child of a Kinfolk would be born with the ability to become a Garou. However, a Garou must always be born from Kinfolk or a Garou and a Kinfolk. If two Garou mate, the child will be a deformed Garou called a Metis. Metis are not inherently evil, but they endure a lot of prejudice and many are driven to the Wyrm out of rejection. In 5th edition, Kinfolk and Metis don't exist and nobody knows why some people or wolves are born as Garou. A new Garou will be indistinguishable from a Kinfolk or normal person/wolf until they undergo their first change. This is not linked to the moon, but is usually caused by some kind of traumatic event. Garou change at will and have five forms that form a spectrum. On one end of the spectrum is the Homid form, a normal human. On the other is the Lupus form, a normal wolf. The Glabro form is human but with a bit of wolf. A Garou in this form is larger, stronger, and hairier than their Homid form, with fangs and claws. On the other end of the spectrum from Glabro is Hispo. This form is a wolf the size of a small horse. In the middle, the harmony of wolf and human is the Crinos form. Resembling a huge, bipedal wolf, Crinos is a form meant for one thing only: destroying enemies with overwhelming force. A Garou in Crinos is a barely-restrained wellspring of rage that, at any moment, could snap and enter a frenzy that won't stop until they have slaughtered everything nearby. No Garou enters Crinos lightly. When a non-Kinfolk human sees a Garou in Crinos, they are affected by Delirium, a state of primal fear that drives them into a full fight-or-flight response. Should the human survive the experience, Delirium ensures they will forget about it or rationalize it away. Delerium is the result of the Impergium, a past state where Garou ruled over humans and would brutally cull them. Though the Impergium has been dissolved for millennia, the collective trauma inflicted on humanity was enough to survive as a genetic memory that triggers Delirium.

All Garou are heavily linked to the moon. Luna, spirit of the moon, collaborated with Gaia to make the Garou, and her blessings were gifted to them. However, with those blessings came weaknesses. Such is the way of spirits. All Garou are highly vulnerable to wounds caused by silver, unless they are in their Homid or Lupus forms. All Garou also have an innate rage within them. This rage is weakest in Homid or Lupus form and overwhelmingly powerful in Crinos. This rage is both a blessing and a curse. Anger is certainly a powerful motivator for action, but rage alone cannot make for lasting positive change. A werewolf can certainly get pissed off and go slaughter a crew of miners polluting a river, but that's only a short term solution. The executives who ordered the mining aren't affected, they'll just send more people with more equipment that will damage the environment somewhere else when it is being made. This is ultimately one of the big reasons the Garou failed. They are great at destroying immediate threats, but terrible at building the kind of long-term, systemic changes that would really be able to solve problems and protect the world. While Garou transformations are not linked to the phases of the moon, they are still important. Every Garou has an Auspice, a role they are intended to fulfill in Garou society. This is determined by the phase of them moon when they are born (pre-5e) or experience their first change (5e). The number of Garou in each Auspice is roughly equal. Many Garou view the Auspice as a duty from Luna and think that even if an individual's personality and talents don't fit their Auspice, it is still the path they need to follow to fulfill their purpose. The Auspices are:

Ragabash: Auspice of the new moon. The Ragabash are tricksters and provokers given the duty to question traditions to ensure only the best bits are kept. Their pranks are supposed to teach important lesson and make people question their assumptions. Unfortunately, many Ragabash just act like assholes whose pranks have no meaning, giving them a bad name.

Theurge: Auspice of the crescent moon. Theurges are mystics and scholars who delve deep into the lore of spirits and the Umbra. Their job is to find out the information needed to fight the Wyrm and act as mediators between Garou and spirits. Theurges have a reputation for getting lost in their work and their packmates often have to drag them back to reality.

Philodox: Auspice of the half moon. The Philodox are mediators and counselors for the Garou. They are supposed to be neutral judges who resolve conflicts and act as diplomats between packs. Their traits make them natural leaders, though many are suspicious of them and accuse them of playing politics.

Galliard: Auspice of the gibbous moon. The Galliard are bards and lorekeepers. They are supposed to be the ones who inspire other Garou to greatness and who keep the histories and secrets of the Garou in the form of stories and songs. Many do not trust them, believing they will twist the histories to get a better story.

Ahroun: Auspice of the full moon. The Ahroun are warriors among warriors. They are the ones who are first to charge into the fray and the last to retreat. Amongst the auspices, their rage is the most potent and as such, they are always ready to charge into battle and quick to condemn those who urge caution as cowards. Tempering their rage can be a full-time job for their packmates.

Prior to 5th edition, the Garou were organized into a society called the Garou Nation. In 5th edition, the Garou Nation has collapsed due to the death of Gaia. The Nation was always a very loose and fractured organization, even when a king was ruling it. The laws of the Garou Nation are the Litany, inch includes such commands as fight the Wyrm, respect territory, respect your position in the pack, keep humans ignorant of the existence of the Garou, and so on. The Nation is a distant organization to many Garou. Instead, their societies consolidate into localized groups called Septs. The Sept has an innate hierarchy (though any Garou may challenge their leaders during a time of peace) and often consist of Garou from many Tribes living and working together. Garou who join together through bons of friendship or shared goals are called packs. There usually many packs that make up a Sept. Septs are almost always focused around sacred spaces called Caerns. Caerns are natural conduits between the physical world and the Umbra through which Garou can gather spiritual power and heal themselves. Caerns are of vital importance to Garou, who will protect them with their lives. The majority of Garou are members of a Tribe. The Tribes are the most important groups of Garou, combination political parties and social groups united by common cause and ideology. The vast majority of Garou are members of a tribe, though tribeless Garou exist, by choice and exile. Membership in a tribe is a personal choice one makes based on their beliefs and goals. Tribal membership can be changed, though it is rare to do so. Each tribe has a powerful patron spirit that grants boons, but these come with a Ban, a behavior the totem forbids in its followers.

Many of the Tribes were vastly revised in 5th edition, with some being dropped entirely some new ones others being introduced. Pre-5e, the Tribes all originated in a particular culture and carry traits of that culture even though they have expanded well beyond their places of origin. A big part of the 5e changes removed those cultural bases, apparently to remove stereotypical and possibly offensive elements. I will cover both versions of the tribes.

The Black Furies burn with righteous anger and a desire for justice They were one of the tribes that changed radically in 5th edition. Prior to 5e, they exclusively consisted of women. They believe that patriarchy is a tool of the Wyrm and rail against oppression. To them, femininity is divine and any from of discrimination must be destroyed with great prejudice. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for Black Furies to become so extreme they become the abusers, oppressing and abusing men out of a misplaced sense of revenge and supremacy. The more moderate members of the tribe try to push back against such thing, but even among them, the idea of protecting a man is seen as wrong. They originated in Greece and had a strong amazon aesthetic. Their totem is Pegasus, who carries women on his back. The 5th edition version of the Black Furies dropped the women only aspect and instead became a Tribe who oppose any form of systemic oppression and social injustice, viewing them as tools of the Wyrm. One Black Fury could be a patient activist while another is a vigilante hunting down and killing abusers. Naturally, the Black Furies all have their own ideas of what is injustice and they will argue heavily over which disadvantaged group actually needs help or what actually counts as oppression. Their totem is Gorgon, a spirit who was abused in the past and now refuses to let injustice stand. Her Ban punishes any Black Fury who sees an injustice and does not take action to correct it.

The Bone Gnawers are scavengers and outcasts who know that there is great power in being beneath notice. They originated as a group of exiles and outcasts from the other Tribes who bonded together for safety and power. Now, the Bone Gnawers make their homes amongst the lowest classes of humans: the poor, the servants, the homeless, and the forgotten. They take pride in being the underdogs and have a strong sense of unity with other disadvantaged people. They are also highly pragmatic, spurning many of the more outdated Garou traditions and being far more democratic than most Tribes. The Bone Gnawers are one of the two tribes most comfortable living amongst humans and are masters of urban warfare. Their patron spirit is Rat, a spirit of cunning who takes what others overlook and turns it to his advantage. His Ban forbids passing up an opportunity to give the disadvantaged a boost. The Bone Gnawers are mostly unchanged in 5e.

The Children of Gaia are the mediators and pacifists of the Garou. They believe that peace is the ultimate goal to be sought and espouse nonviolence and cooperation whenever possible. While most Garou embrace their rage, the Children of Gaia believe it is a tool that should only be released when absolutely necessary. Thus, they repress their violent urges. When a Child of Gaia does give into their rage, it is said to be all the more terrible for being repressed. While believing in peace, the Children of Gaia are not so foolish as to refuse all violence. They know fully well that sometimes a fight is necessary and thus train in marital arts so that when they do battle, they can finish the fight quickly. Amongst other Garou, the Children act as mediators, diplomats, and peacemakers. They also seek out the secrets of Gaia in the natural world, believing that doing so helps them learn how best to save her. Their patron spirit is Unicorn, a spirit of mysteries and peace that must always be sought out. Their Ban forbids lying for personal gain. In 5e, the Children of Gaia have their role of seeking out Gaia's secrets expanded upon. They also vehemently refuse to believe Gaia is dead and are trying to save her.

The Fianna are passionate warriors and defenders of their homes. Originating amongst the Celtic tribes and unified by the expansion of the Roman state. Though they see Ireland as their homeland, they have expanded across the world. They are the most extroverted of the Garou, friendly and passionate. The Fianna are famous for their love of parties and festivals, which are always raucous and open to all allies. Of the Tribes, the Fianna are the most likely to be willing to interact with other types of supernatural beings. Indeed, they claim that they were allied with fairies in ancient times and may even be descended from a powerful fairy. They are also known as hopeless romantics who fall in love at the drop of a hat. The Fianna also famed for their belief in defending their homes and Caerns at all costs and in the practice of hospitality and the right of guests. Their patron is Stag, a wild and virile embodiment of the power of nature. His Ban requires the Fianna to help fairies and changelings. The Fianna do not exist in 5e.

In 5e, the Fianna are replaced with the Hart Wardens. They are fiercely dedicated to protecting their homes and kin from danger. Because of this, they are often charged to protect Caerns. Hart Wardens also practice a form of sacred hospitality. Guests to their lands can expect protection as long as they follow the rules. Those who try to defile their lands will be punished. The Hart Wardens practice an oral tradition of using stories and performances to remember history. They encourage people to go find new purposes and treat the world as a bounty to be protected and shared. The Hart Wardens are somewhat less traditionalistic than many Garou. They often meld historical garb and traditions with new ideas. Their totem is Stag, who is mostly unchanged. His Ban is changed to prohibiting a Hart Warden allowing someone under their hospitality to be harmed.

The Galestalkers were introduced in 5e. Of all the Garou, they are the most predatory, being focused on hunting. To them, the hunt is a sacred act that is the epitome of what it it means to be Garou. They are always on the lookout for prey and pay close attention to whatever is around them. Many Galestalkers will pick a territory and intensely monitor and explore it, knowing every detail so they can masterfully hunt prey. While they are respected by the other Garou, many find them distant and unnerving. If you absolutely need an enemy slain, pointing the Galestalkers at it as a good way to do so. However, the Galestalkers often run into the problem of there being far too many enemies, making it hard to choose which ones are the priority. Their totem is the North Wind, a spirit of power, endurance, and patience. Its Ban requires the Galestalkers to partake in a fresh kill every day, though it doesn't have to be their kill.

The Get of Fenris changed as of 5e. Prior to 5e, they were mighty warriors prizing conflict and personal strength above all. Descended from Nordic cultures and still practicing the old ways, the Get were among the finest warriors of the Garou nation, but were also famously prideful and hard to get along with. They respected strength over everything else and often considered all the other Tribes to be weaker and therefore less deserving of respect. Infamously, many had an obsession with purity that led to a large portion of the Tribe siding with the Nazis during World War II. This led to a purge orchestrated by the rest of the Tribe and a reevaluation of values. In 5e, the Get have been changed to the Cult of Fenris. The whole Tribe is caught in a state of collective Hauglosk, a state where a Garou is controlled by their rage and becomes obsessed with destroying anything seen as even a slight threat. The Cult are now obsessed with purity, seeing all other Garou as being impure because they do not dedicate every second of their lives to violently purging the influence of the Wyrm. And those who don't oppose the Wyrm in everything might as well be its agents. Its indicated that the Tribe falling to Hauglosk and leaving the Garou Nation was the main cause for its dissolution. Prior to 5e, their patron spirit was Fenris, but in 5e it was changed to Wolf. In both cases, he is a powerful and unrelenting warrior. Fenris's Ban prohibits the Get from passing up a chance for a worthy fight. Wolf's Ban isn't stated.

The Glass Walkers are the wolves of the cities. Most Tribes prefer life in nature and are uninterested in or hostile to human society and technology. The Glass Walkers embrace technology and civilization and are very fond of humans, viewing their creativity as admirable. Thus, they live amongst humans, placing themselves positions of power like politics and business. They also tend to act as scientists and engineers. Many other Garou distrust the Glass Walkers, seeing them as fools or even servants of the Weaver. The Glass Walkers also defended humans during the Impergium and have never been forgiven for being in the right about that. While all Garou deal with spirits, most prefer to commune with spirits of nature. The Glass Walkers know that there is great power in spirits of technology and concrete and they are best as exploiting these resources. And as much as the other Garou may dismiss them, there are none better than the Glass Walkers at spotting the influence of the Wyrm in cities or bringing modern weaponry to the fight. Not much has changed as of 5e. Prior to 5e, their totem was Cockroach, a spirit of survival who has come to thrive in cities. His Ban was that Glass Walkers could not kill cockroaches. In the transition to 5e, Cockroach fell to the Wyrm ad had to be put down by the Tribe. They then chose Spider as a new patron. Spider is also good at surviving in cities and encourages development and long-term planning over raging and destruction. Its Ban prohibits the Glass Walkers from destroying complex technology.

The Red Talons are the antithesis of the Glass Walkers. They despise humanity, viewing humans as the cause of all the world's problems. To them, the Impergium is not a mistake to be learned from but a failure because humans weren't exterminated. Most Garou view killing innocent humans as a breach of the Litany. The Red Talons are disgusted by the very idea that a human could be innocent. Naturally, they only allow wolf-born Garou to join, as well as the occasional Metis. The loss of so much of the wild wolf population to human activity has drastically cut down on the number of potential members and made the Red Talons even more extreme in their hatred. A common belief amongst the Red Talons is that it is the Weaver not the Wyrm who is the imbalanced part of the Triat and that all the other Garou are making her victory easier by focusing on the wrong thing. Some even use Wyrmish rituals in their battle with the Weaver. The Red Talons are mostly the same in 5e, but they do accept human-born members due to wolf populations being too low to sustain them. Their patron spirit is Griffin, a wild and free predator who despises the encroachment of human civilization onto nature and the damage it causes to ecosystems. His Ban forbids the use of human technology unless it is used to destroy other technology.

The Shadow Lords are cunning and underhanded manipulators and politicians willing to do whatever it takes in the fight against the Wyrm. They believe that raw power is not enough to win and so they place themselves is positions of power and use that power to gather resources, gain intelligence, and manipulate allies and enemies alike into the right position for the Shadow Lord's plans. They tend not to rule outright, instead preferring to act as shadow rulers, advisors, and the power behind the throne. To the Shadow Lords, physical combat is a measure of last resort and they are one of the least martially inclined Tribes. Most other Tribes view the Shadow Lords with a measure of suspicion and disrespect, seeing them as dishonorable tricksters and cowards. The Shadow Lords are fine with this. Being underestimated is a powerful tool and they will happily do the things that need to be done but that other Garou would find too dishonorable or horrible to do themselves. Their totem is Grandfather Thunder (renamed to Thunder in 5e), a powerful and fearsome spirit who demands respect and courage. His Ban requires the Shadow Lords to pay others no more deference or respect than they have earned.

The Silent Striders are nomads forced ever to wander. They originated in Egypt and joined an alliance of other supernatural creatures called the Osirian League to battle the incredibly powerful and malevolent vampire Set. In turn, Set cursed the Silent Striders, banishing them from Egypt and scattering them across the world. Unable to return to their homeland, the Striders have become nomads, travelling the world and the Umbra alike to learn secrets and share them as they travel. Not all Silent Striders cross continents, some are more than satisfied cycling between a few cities. However, they never stay in the same place for long. This makes if hard for the other Tribes to get along with them. Garou are social creatures that naturally trust their pack and distrust outsiders. This poses a problem for the Silent Striders, who are outsiders by necessity. While any Sept would welcome the new knowledge the Striders bring, they also distrust the Striders for learning their secrets and taking them along to spread to others. More than any other Tribe, the Silent Striders delve into knowledge of ghosts and the underworld due to believing that the way to break their curse lies there. 5e leaves the Silent Striders mostly unchanged, but state that their curse was caused by an unknown spirit or being of the underworld rather than Set. Their patron spirit is Owl, a spirit of stealth and wisdom with ties to the underworld. Prior to 5e, his Ban required the Silent Striders to disable rodents and leave them for his kin to eat. In 5e his Ban requires the Silent Striders to ritually commemorate any deaths they witness or participate in.

The Silver Fangs are the alphas of the Garou, born leaders that are confident in their power to rule over other Garou. Legend says that Gaia herself appointed the white-furred Garou as the leaders and the SIlver Fangs still bear ivory pelts to this day. According to another story not shared outside of the Tribe, Luna demanded that each Silver Fang king only rule for seven years. When one tried to get around this rule by pledging himself to another spirit, Luna cursed all Silver Fangs, ensuring that any who tried to rule past their allotted seven years would be stricken with madness. The Silver Fangs recruit from royal blood, favoring several lineages with family members who have historically been European royalty. Their characteristic white fur is inherited by these lines. However, centuries of royalty mixing with commoners means that new Silver Fangs may be born of seemingly common Kinfolk. Historically, a Silver Fang has been placed as the king of the Garou Nation. They believe in a sense of noblesse oblige, where those who have power are obligated to do right by their subjects. Just as with human rulers, how much any individual follows this code varies considerably. Many Silver Fangs believe that they know best and everything would be better if everybody else just did what they said. In 5e, the removal of Kinfolk means that Silver Fangs no longer exclusively recruit from noble families and the white fur is a grift by their patron spirit. The collapse of the Garou Nation has cost them a lot of power and many seek to rebuild it. Their totem is Falcon, a spirit of nobility who leads by example. Its Ban forbids the Silver Fangs from dishonoring themselves.

The Stargazers are the smallest and most introverted Tribe and are heavily disconnected from the ways of the other Garou. Claiming descent from Asia, they preferred lives of meditation and contemplation, seeking unconventional ways to fight the Wyrm and focusing on gaining wisdom over brute fury. They are experts at keeping their rage under control and rarely frenzy, something that makes other Garou accuse them of being weak. They have very often been neutral parties in conflicts like the Impergium and War of Rage, which has given them a reputation for being fence-sitters and indecisive cowards, something no Garou worth their rage would want to be accused of. Stargazer numbers dwindled greatly in modern times and they were eventually offered a seat on the Beast Courts, a multi-species organization of shapeshifters based in East Asia. The Stargazers accepted and formally left the Garou Nation, much to the shock of the other Tribes. In 5e, the Stargazers still left the Garou Nation before it fell but they appear to have gone independent instead of joining the Beast Courts. They withdrew from the fight against the Wyrm, stating that they had found another way. Many Garou think they have decided that the Wyrm's victory is inevitable and have shifted their focus to shaping whatever will come afterwards. Prior to 5e, their patron was Chimera, a spirit of mystery and enigma. Her Ban required the tribe to seek enlightenment through whatever means they found worked for them. In 5e, their patron is unknown to all outsiders.

The Uktena are one of the self-described Pure Tribes, who are native to the Americas. They were the largest of the Pure Tribes, with territory encompassing large parts of North America, all of Central America, and the northernmost part of South America, where conflicts with other changing breeds and a lack of wild wolves prevented them from migrating further south. The Uktena were a very diverse tribe who drew Kinfolk and Garou from many cultures of indigenous Americans and who welcomed new viewpoints and opinions. They lived closer to humanity than any other Garou tribe and delved deep into lore of the Umbra and supernatural. When Europeans colonized the Americas, European Garou came along and claimed pure tribe Caerns, driven by greed and the same racism that their human counterparts had. The Uktena were demonized as Wyrm-worshipers due to their habit of imprisoning Wyrm spirits below their Caerns. Their numbers were drastically reduced by the loss of their human and wolf Kinfolk, but the Uktena survived. They also opened up membership to other racial minorities in their lands, allowing non-Native American Garou to join. Their totem is Great Uktena, a horned serpent spirit representing mystery and hidden things. Its Ban requires the Uktena to seek out secrets. The Uktena do not exist in 5e.

The 5e version of the Uktena are the Ghost Council. They are no longer tied to Native Americans, but are worldwide. They are defined by a burning need to learn. All Ghosts are obsessed with uncovering mysteries and learning secrets. They delve deep into the Umbra to learn from the spirits there and are more likely than most Garou to interact with other supernatural beings like vampires and ghosts with a lowercase g. At the same time, the Ghost Council encourages its members to explore new paths and ways forward. They use unique and innovative ideas in the fight against the Wyrm and aren't afraid to violate taboos and break with tradition. No option is off the table for them when the alternative is extinction. This makes them among the most ideologically diverse tribes who accept ideas from many different cultures. The more traditional tribes often view the Ghosts as subversives and dangerous fools poking that which should be left alone. Their totem is Horned Serpent, a spirit of mystery that hides in the darkness. Her Ban forbids passing up on the change to indulge your curiosity.

The Wendigo are the other surviving Pure Tribe and lived primarily in the colder regions of North America. They were warriors first and foremost who defended their lands and Kinfolk and had a zero-tolerance policy for anything even slightly Wyrmish. The Wendigo were also rigid traditionalists who viewed change as suspicious and to be avoided. When the Europeans colonized the Americas, the Wendigo refused to adopt foreign ideas or cede any territory, fighting to the last. Unfortunately, the colonizers had the advantage of numbers, technology, and foreign diseases and eventually forced the Wendigo back to the coldest and northernmost territories in a war that benefited none but the Wyrm. The Wendigo never forgot this and view foreigners as Wyrm-tainted monsters that should be driven out of their lands so balance can be restored. This attitude makes them notoriously hard to get along with, with only the Uktena being on their good side (and even then, the Wendigo think the Uktena were tainted by their adoption of foreigner ideas and Kinfolk). They only accept members of Native American descent with no foreign ancestry, leaving the tribe as one of the smallest. Their totem is Wendigo, a fearsome and terrifying spirit of war. Its Ban requires the Wendigo to give aid to Native people. The Wendigo do not exist in 5e.

Older editions also listed a number of minor or extinct Tribes. The Hakken are members of the Beast Courts of Asia who are warriors that practice the samurai art of Bushido and are falsely believed by western Garou to be a branch of the Shadow Lords. The Croatan were a third Pure Tribe who went extinct after sacrificing themselves en masse to prevent the Wyrm from manifesting physically. The Bunyip were a tribe from Australia who used thylacines as Kinfolk instead of wolves. They went extinct due to colonization and foreign Garou claiming their Caerns, something that is remembered by the Garou of Australia as a source of great shame.

The Black Spiral Dancers are the lost tribe of Garou who have turned to the Wyrm. They were originally a tribe of Pictish Garou known as the White Howlers. After the Romans invaded their homelands and destroyed their Kinfolk, the White Howlers chose to invade Malfeas, the Wyrm's domain in the Umbra, for a great final battle. Instead, they became trapped in the Black Spiral Labyrinth, a realm of unimaginable horror where visitors are exposed to the Wyrm at its worst. By the time they emerged, the White Howlers had been driven fully insane and were steeped in the Wyrm's corruption. Now, they are fully enslaved to the Wyrm's whims, spreading corruption, destruction, and hate as a matter of divine mandate. Their corruption seeps to their bodies and souls. Between rampant mutation and ritual self-mutilation, many Black Spiral Dancers barely resemble humans or wolves anymore. Since their creation, the Black Spiral Dancers have bolstered their ranks both by recruiting other corrupt Garou and forcing regular Garou to join. In both cases, the new members are forced into the Black Spiral Labyrinth, where the only choices are corruption or death. Prior to 5e, their totem was Whippoorwill, a spirit of death and cunning whose Ban prohibited the harming of birds. In 5e, their totem is Bat. Bat was a Wyrm Spirit who defected to Gaia after the Wyrm went mad and became the totem of the Camazotz werebats. When the Camazotz were exterminated by the Garou, Bat went mad with grief and flew into the Black Spiral Labyrinth, becoming one of the tormenting spirits that reside there. Its Ban is unknown.

Spirits are central to the Garou. They range from barely-sentient sparks of power to gods like Gaia and the Triat. Everything in the physical world has a spirit in the Umbra and there are many spirits who no longer have a counterpart in the physical or may never have had one at all. The Umbra is a reflection of the physical world where everything is more wild and primal. A grove of trees in the physical world could appear in the Umbra as a stand of trees that dwarf redwoods, crawling with the spirits of animals as spirits of pollen and wind wrap their way between the trees like snakes. A landfill could appear in the Umbra as a toxic mass of corruption slowly expanding and sending out spirits of decay and disease to grab outsider spirits and drag them in screaming to be devoured. Even concepts have spirits that manifest physically in the Umbra. All changing breeds have a spirit and physical element, making them skilled at dealing with spirits. Many spirits follow arcane rules that make no sense to outsiders. Theurges spend a lot of their time studying spirits and their behavior so when the time comes to negotiate with them, the Garou don't accidentally gain their enmity. Spirits are living hierarchies, each one being independent but part of a greater whole. For example, each board in a wooden house will have its own spirit, but all of them are part of the spirit of that house, which itself is part of the the spirit of all houses, which is part of the spirit of shelter, and so on. Not all spirits directly serve the Triat, but all of them are aligned with at least one of them. For example, a spirit of a honeybee colony is aligned with the Wyld because it is part of nature, but also with the Weaver because honeybees follow an order with a hierarchy and defined roles. A spirit of a janitor is Weaver-aligned because they are a part of society, but also Wyrm-aligned because they deal with refuse and decay. Spirits corrupted by the Wyrm, such as spirits of pollution, murder, and rot, are called Banes and they are major enemies of the changing breeds. Most changing breeds have the natural ability to pass between the physical world and the Umbra at any reflective surface using a technique called stepping sideways. 5e changed stepping sideways to a ritual.

Spirits normally can't interact with the physical world. To do so, they need to possess a physical object. Normally, only powerful spirits can reach pass the Gauntlet (the metaphysical barrier that separates the physical world from the Umbra) to possess something, but less powerful ones can be summoned by changing breeds or human mystics and shamans. Spirits are better at possessing things that share qualities with them. A spirit of a jaguar would be best at possessing a jaguar, but it could also possess a lion or a house cat because they're cats, a bear because they're predators, a green beret because they're both stealthy, a plush tiger because it's cat-related, a bulldozer because they're both powerful, etc. Possessing inanimate objects is generally easier than possessing living beings as living things have willpower and can fight back. Once a spirit possesses something, it will alter its physical form to something more suitable for the spirit. A car possessed by a rhinoceros spirit may have its grill enlarge into a horn while its tires take on a leathery texture. A boxer possessed by the spirit of a landslide may get rocky skin and a voice that sounds like rocks sliding together. When Banes possess something, it will eventually become a monster called a Fomorian, whose changes are especially gruesome. A gluttonous person possessed by a Bane could develop a jaw that can expand to impossible sizes, allowing him to swallow people whole and torture the victims in his cavernous and acidic guts. A vain starlet possessed by a Bane could be covered by warts and seeping pores that can only be removed when she uses her sucker-covered tongue to drink the beauty off of other people, disfiguring them to temporarily restore her beauty. Exorcising spirits from the things they possess is a major duty of the Garou.

Many Garou powers come from making bargains with spirits. The main way of interacting with spirits are through rituals called Rites. Rites often act as bargains, sacrificing something to a spirit in exchange for its help. Many rites are formalized and ceremonial, being practiced by certain Tribes or Auspices. The knowledge of how to perform Rites is often closely guarded, for they are sources of great power. Rites can range in power and complexity from using a few hand signals to invoke a minor spirit of light to act as a flashlight to vast and intricate ceremonies requiring whole Caerns to work together and possibly human sacrifice. Gifts are powers a spirit imbues a Garou with in exchange for some kind of payment. The main difference between Rites and Gifts is that the Rite must be performed every time the power is desires whereas once a Gift is bestowed, it can be used over and over again until the spirit decides to cut the Garou off. Spirits grant Gifts in accordance to their natures. A Garou seeking a Gift of incredibly durable skin would likely seek to bargain with the spirit of a turtle, boulder, or riot gear, as those spirits share the trait of durability while a spirit of a breeze or a cardboard box does not. Once the Gift is bestowed, the Garou instinctively understands how to use it. The last major form of power is called a Fetish (pre-5e) or Talisman (5e). They are created by using Rites to bind a spirit into an object, granting that object a form of power. For example, a Garou may bind a spirit of fire to a candle to allow it to throw fireballs. It is easiest to create a Fetish by binding a spirit to an object related to its nature. If you want to make a powerful weapon, binding a spirit of violence to a sword works a lot better than binding it to a surfboard. While it is possible to make a Fetish out of an unwilling spirit, most Garou would consider that an evil act.

A major threat to the world is Pentex, an international megacorporation that directly works for the Wyrm. Despite being one of the wealthiest organizations in the world, the average person has never heard of Pentex. It acts through innumerable shell corporations, fronts, and subsidiaries and has its fingers in virtually every industry. They specialize in making products imbued with Banes that possess customers and turn them into Fomori. From pharmaceuticals that come infested with Banes of disease to weapons that compel those who hold them to commit violence to overly dark tabletop role-playing games that teach gamers how to do actual dark magic. The majority of Pentex's actions are very much the mundane type of evil. Unsustainable resource harvesting, pollution, exploitation of workers, and encouraging mindless consumption are all methods of spreading the Wyrm's influence that don't require any supernatural influence.

Kit (37) Shadowlord Ragabash

The last piece of communication between the Tava packs. Tolerated by all enough they’re able to keep tabs on the status of the packs.