Everything

No more running. No more surrender. Here we stand and here we fight. We do not walk to Gaia’s arms tonight — we will swim there, in a river of our enemy’s blood! Let them hear your howls and know true fear!

The half moon is balance and duality, standing be­ tween two worlds. The Garou is both wolf and human, flesh and spirit, fury and wisdom, savage and savant. The Philodox embraces this duality, attempting to harness it with balance. The Half Moon acts as counselor, mediator and law-keeper to his pack. Where the Ragabash must question the laws, the Philodox must interpret them, finding the wisest answer out of many.

Half Moons are called to judge, for better or for worse. Theirs is the task to set punishment when the Garou stray from the path, and to determine when a werewolf’s actions

are particularly meritorious. They are frequently leaders in times of peace, but often cede command to Ahroun or Galliards when war breaks out.

Initial Rage: 3 Beginning Gifts: Fangs of Judgment, Persuasion, Resist Pain, Scent of the True Form, Truth of Gaia

Stereotype: Buried so heavily in his role as impartial judge and jury, the Philodox may seem aloof, even sur­ prisingly cold-blooded for a werewolf. Those born under the waxing Half Moon may seem unusually serene and disaffected, their emotions only emerging when their Rage comes to a boil. The waning-moon Philodox is more incisive and judgmental, his all-seeing eye always carefully watching his packmates and colleagues for any departure from the expected. The Half Moons’ opinions are somewhat feared, yet highly respected — a word of praise or condemnation means much coming from those born to see both sides of every struggle.

Galliard: The Gibbous Moon, The Moon Dancer

The Galliard sings the soul of the Garou to the near-full moon, howling of their joys and sorrows, their triumphs and losses. She is the voice of the People, calling them to battle and inspiring them to greatness in life and in death. She is also a keeper of traditions, carrying the lore of tribes all the way back to the beginning.

A Galliard can rouse the pack from self-pity and suffer­ ing when their claws are needed for battle. She can speak caution to a Ragabash, draw a Theurge from his reverie, soften the heart of a Philodox, and soothe the anger of an Ahroun. The Galliard’s art and performance may take many forms — she might be a dancer, a storyteller, a musician or a bit of everything rolled into one. She may even be a leader in times of war. When the battle is done, hers is the voice first raised to praise the sacrifices made by the fallen, and the triumphs of those who still live to fight again.

Initial Rage: 4

Stereotype: Where the Philodox is stoic, the Galliard is a creature of unbridled passion. The Gibbous Moon is a fiery muse, and stirs its children into great heights and

depths of emotion. While all Galliards are prone to im­ mense mirth and immense melancholy, those born under a waning moon fall more readily into dark, consuming passions; they are the tragedians of the Garou, mastering tales of doom, ruin, sacrifice and loss. Conversely, their waxing-moon cousins sing of triumph and conquest, of the pounding heart and the love of life. They tend to be the soul of their pack’s morale — when the Galliard is willing to go on, so too are all the others.

Ahroun: The Full Moon, The Warrior

The Garou’s connection to the moon is much more extensive than human legends state. Every phase has its secret, but human myth comes close to understanding the truth in one aspect: the full moon floods the Warrior with Rage. The Ahroun is the living weapon of Gaia, the lord of bloodshed. He is the warrior among a race of warriors, the champion of a martial people. He is ever ready to kill, and to die if need be.

The Ahroun are respected, but also treated with some level of dread. Their killing instinct is inborn; even a Full Moon just past his First Change is more lethal than many

veterans of other auspices. Their elders are few — it’s a rare Ahroun that survives the countless battles that are his birthright — but all the more terrifying for their experi­ ence. Like the Galliard, the Ahroun is an inspiring leader in time of war, but he leads with deeds and action. He is first into battle and last to retreat — if he ever retreats at all. In times of peace, he relinquishes command to others, but remains ever vigilant, knowing his talent for war will be needed again all too soon.

Initial Rage: 5

Stereotype: The Ahroun is the archetype of the werewolf as murderous beast, though they range from unapologetic berserkers to hardened veterans tempering their Rage with discipline. Their high levels of Rage put them on the edge at all times — the Full Moon’s bless­ ing is a hair trigger, among other things. Those closer to the waxing moon tend to exult in the glory of the war, while those closer to the waning moon are more viciously pragmatic, ruthless in their bloodthirst. Every Ahroun is a dangerous individual to be around, but when the forces of the Wyrm attack, their packmates are glad to have a Full Moon warrior at the front of the charge.

The Black Furies are the living incarnation of a woman’s anger. They are the daughters of Luna-as-Artemis, the Huntress of the Moon. Their legends trace their origins back to Greece and Asia Minor, where they were appointed defenders of the Wyld. Wherever there are tales of women who take up arms for honor, vengeance or blood ties, the spirit of the Fury dwells.

The Furies are almost exclusively female. Any human or wolf cub of a Fury who breeds true is sent to another tribe for adoption; Pegasus, their tribal totem, will not accept male Garou. The sole exception is the male metis: Pegasus accepts these disfigured sons, perhaps out of mercy, perhaps out of a desire to ensure the Black Furies remember their own misdeeds. To make up for these losses of potential tribemates, the Furies actively recruit disaffected and angry female Garou who chafe under an­ other tribe’s banner.

The tribe holds that women are worthy of respect, honor, some­ times even venera­ tion. Though no Black Fury will suffer the hand of a man act­ ing as master

or tyrant, the tribe isn’t united by active misandry. Certainly some Furies will never forget or forgive. But others are willing to accept men as partners, helpmates, lovers, equals — but nothing more than equals. Lupus Furies have less of an im­ mediate connection to the hardships of human women, as female wolves have no real discrimination to bear, but they

are deeply tied to the Wyld and learn great empathy

for their human and homid sisters.

Hatred claims the hearts of many Furies, but it’s not a tribal virtue. The true tribal

virtues are honor, pride, the mysticism of

the Wyld, and the will to exact change.

A Fury aspires to keep her word, to

stand tall rather than bend a knee, to

guard and exult in the wildest places, and to fight until her dying breath

to make the world a better place.

The Black Furies’ tribal rituals emphasize tradition and

sisterhood. They hold private tribal moots frequently. Kuk­ lokhoros are informal moots, often where the Furies conceal their werewolf nature and invite human women to at­ tend and learn the particulars of woman’s spirituality. Ulaka magelis are more exclusive moots, open only to the Furies themselves.

These meetings involve more physically,

mentally, and emotionally demanding ritu­ als, exposing the raw and bleeding heart of a wolf-woman’s oaths to Gaia.

Like other tribes, the Black Furies gather in like-minded camps internally (see p. 491).

The Furies call their camps kukloi, or “circles.” Each kuklos answers largely to itself, although all must be held eventually accountable to Inner

and Outer Calyxes, the high councils

of the tribe. The Outer Calyx is the more public one: the elders who sit on this council are publicly initiated

with much ceremony, and their

names spread across the tribe. The Inner Calyx is more of a mystery (or a mystery cult), its members

and their directives unknown to

the tribe at large.

Ancient tradition and mod­ ern attitude frequently clash

within the tribe, though they aren’t

always at odds. Black Furies grow

up aware of the many evils af­ flicting women around the world.

Elders and cubs alike participate

in struggles against modern slav­

ery, sex trafficking, abuse, and

other offenses that are all too persistent. A generation gap

still persists in the tribe

— many of the elders

are crones who, if

rumors are cor­ rect, are at least a hundred years old, and with the set-in-their-ways stub­ bornness to prove it. Some cubs know

nothing of the Wyld places, and want to focus their efforts on the Scabs where they grew up and where their sisters are still suffering. But all the Furies are united in their Rage.

Appearance: Furies with strong Pure Breed have particu­ larly dark fur in Crinos, Hispo, and Lupus, often with white, gray, or silver highlights. Pure Breed is rarer among Fury metis, as their fathers are inevitably of other tribes.

Kinfolk & Territory: The Furies stake vicious claim to many of the last, secluded virgin places of the Wyld. Their spirituality is deeply tied to these sacred groves and islands, but necessity drives them to take territories in more human-settled lands as well. The Black Furies don’t practice much ethnic preference with their Kin. They’re prone to “adopt” the Kinfolk from other tribes’ bloodlines, specifically women who found themselves poorly treated by their relatives. They value their male Kin, even if a male Kinfolk is unlikely to ever participate in any of the tribe’s inner spiritual traditions.

Tribal Totem: Pegasus. The great winged horse-spirit has a strong resentment of men, implying there’s some truth to the myth of Bellerophon. Some Furies use “the bridle of Bel­ lerophon” as a poetic metaphor for the hand of Man as it tries to master the most sacred things of the Wyld. Other totems valued by the Furies include Panther, the Muses, and Medusae.

Character Creation: Black Furies have a proud martial tradition, and encourage training in Brawl or Melee. Survival, Occult, and Rituals are also common among those entrusted with the Wyld places.