Garou Nation

The Garou are a nation divided. The Desert Shadow Sept of Maricopa County find themselves split into two competing factions, and while the groups have managed to put on a united face for outsiders, internal divisions undermine their position in Phoenix and threaten their long term survival. Elsewhere this division might be native tribes against European, and these differences are present, this dynamic has been replaced with a new one: Traditionalist vs Futuristic.

The Traditionalists, led by the Uktena Gilead, have power in the areas outside Phoenix. Composed of three different and diverse packs, it is to Gilead’s credit as a leader that he has found a way to bring Silver Fang and Wendigo together into a single sept in order to defend it from the Worm of the Sands.

The Desert Morning Pack, of which Gilead leads, traces its history back to before the coming of the Europeans, and stories suggest that it has been here always to guard the desert and all of Gaia’s creatures, including man, from the terrible depreciations of a powerful entity buried beneath the sand.

The Coyote Skull pack is a group of bikers who operate primarily in Maricopa County but travel across the state of Arizona. Formed after World War 2, this group helps to link the Desert Shadow Sept with neighboring Garou packs and Septs, sharing both information and resources and helping the Nation to draw upon additional resources.

The Quiet Thunder Pack, composed mostly of Wendigo with some Red Talons, chafes at the tolerance of the Sept for humanity’s encroachment and dislikes sharing the Caern with European Garou. However, the Desert Shadow Sept’s Caern is unique. Like a dandelion, there are many points where the spiritual power of the caern bubbles up, but all of these points share a single “root” system. Defending the Caern is impossible without the aide of as many wolves as possible, though even this tolerance does not extend to the Upstarts of Phoenix City.

Within the city resides the newcomers, a group of Garou who have abandoned Tradition and the old ways, embracing humanity and everything they bring. Even their name, We Blame Our Parents Pack, is a mocking attack on the Garou’s past and their noble history. Lead by a Glass Walker with the name “Hand Me A Gun and Ask Me Again,” (Gun) the upstarts eschew the traditional definition of territory and look to expand in spheres of influence rather than geographic areas. They seem content to live alongside the vampires in favor of a stable environment in which to operate, their focus has been as much on national and international issues as it has been local.

In the end, circumstances have required each group to cooperate with the other. The Traditionalists are not at home within the city proper, but cannot avoid entering when chasing banes or if their young wish to blow off steam and enjoy their youth. The Upstarts support is required to guarantee safety.

One of the Caern’s points of power is within Phoenix itself, and the Upstarts are needed to secure and protect it. There is also the presence of a spirit portal somewhere in the city, a gateway

And the Upstarts powerbase can be skeletal thin. They lack the numbers to protect themselves from the Camarilla should the vampires wish to push them out of Phoenix permanently. So Gilead and Gun, keeping friction “within the family,” try to figure out how to work together while politicking for the position of Alpha Pack.

Changes:

Although the Garou in Mage Phoenix are based upon the game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, in the end this is a Mage game. When there’s a conflict in rules and setting, Mage supersedes Werewolf every time.

Additionally, I’ve made three changes on the werewolf game:

1. The Wrym is a generic term rather than a specific entity that refers to the various gods and deziens that exist outside our world and seek to consume it. These are the same beings whom the Nephandi worship and serve.

2. Vampires do not come across as Wyrm tainted. This means that in the eyes of the Garou they are not inherently evil like demonic spirits. BUT, the Kindred are seen as competitors as apex predators and vice versa. The Beast and the Wolf make existence as equals impossible. One must always be subservient to the other. There are no exceptions. In Phoenix, the Vampires are dominant. 3. For the pack We Blame Our Parents, all of the assumptions about Werewolves should be thrown out. I will keep the rest of the Sept familiar to fans of Werewolf, but for the Upstart pack I'll be drawing inspiration from the Matthew Swift books and try to create a new, modern twist on the classic setting.