WW:tA re-think: Black Spiral Dancers
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 8:48 pm
I did a re-think of the BSD concept last summer for a WoD LARP I was helping to run at Burning Man. I said to people, "You can play any Fera character you want, including BSDs" and then I thought about it. But, since I was the Werewolf storyteller for the game, I gave myself permission to toggle with the concept. Here goes:
What I kept:
1) They started out as White Howlers,
2) They're allied with the Wyrm,
3) Their main caern is located in the Scottish Highlands,
4) They live underground in what is called "Hives,"
5) Their Metis are fully integrated in their society.
Everything else got thrown onto the WW Golden Rule sacrificial altar and burnt to cinders. STs might want to take notes and see how this plays out for them.
The White Howlers did descend into the cave in the Scottish Highlands to fight the Wyrm. When they got there, however, they found the Black Dragon of the Wyrm suffering terribly from being caught in the Weaver's webs. The warriors of the White Howlers said, "This is no worthy adversary, it's half dead already. Killing it would be beneath us."
The Dragon spoke to them, revealing itself as a powerful avatar of the almost-lost Balance Wyrm and said if they helped it escape from the webs, it would ally with them and the two would go on to fight the Weaver and restore the balance in the World of Darkness. The White Howlers agreed, and Black Dragon became the tribe's totem.
The BSD Theurges healed the Black Dragon and they all went deep down into the earth, severing their ties with the topside world. They still consider themselves a Gaian tribe, if not more so since they live their lives out in the embrace of Gaia, and they carved out of the living rock of the earth great cities. They use captured methane, bioluminescent fungi, and fire to power their cities and it's all nicely lit, of a comfortable temperature at all times of the year. They often make mosaic murals on the pathways and walls of their cities using semi-precious gems uncovered in the excavation and there is a black labyrinth at the heart of every BSD city. It is like the labyrinth in the cathedral of Chartres, vis-a-vis it is a flat mosaic on the floor. There exist NO clocks of any kind in these cities as they've been deemed as too Weaverish.
Since they've forsaken Luna and wholly embraced Gaia, they've adopted earth-based auspices. They are:
Ragabash = Sand
Theurge = Gem
Philodox = Rock
Galliard = Lava
Ahroun = Earthquake
They are not evil, insane or twisted: they are still Garou, tragic, noble, and dark. They're ruthlessly practical: those fallen in battle, either on their side or the opposing, get <i>used</i>. Bones burnt and ground down for porcelain, fur/hair taken for textiles, skin tanned for leather, etc.
Their tribal disadvantage: For each rank they go up, they lose a permanent health level. Cliath start with no Healthy level, they are Bruised. This reflects the pain of the Black Dragon, who's become a spiritual symbiont to them. It's not exactly Permanent Wound, it's more like a general malaise. Yes, the elders are fairly decrepit and creaky, physically anyway. Their minds do not suffer, though: they stay sharp throughout the ordeal.
Tribal Advantage: Hive Mind. Every member of every Hive knows what the spiritual/mental condition of any other member in that group. This is kind of an adaptation that's kept them from falling to the Corrupter Wyrm, the whole Hive knows when someone's starting to lose it and can take action to either pre-empt or correct it. This is also how they sort out renown and it helps to coordinate group activities. Treat it like the pack totem advantage of thought-sharing for free.
Yes, it's kind of creepy when you go to battle against these guys and their attacks are perfectly coordinated without even a pause to huddle and discuss tactics. It's even creepier when they talk to you as one but they tend to avoid that: it smacks of the Weaver.
Image: Darkly handsome and somewhat anachronistic. For all intents and purposes, time stands still in their domain. Many of the warrior types wear dragon-scale armour and nearly everyone wears a fine piece of jewelry of some type, particularly the Theurges. BSD jewelry rivals that of the Silver Fangs and Fianna. Their weapons are terrible but well-crafted and beautifully-wrought. Horned metis occasionally scrimshaw their horns and inlay/dedicate thin gold or copper wire.
High-ranking warpack leaders sometimes go into battle riding materialized Black Dragon Jagglings.
Organization: BSDs gather in Hives. Females enjoy a good deal of influence in their tribe but it's not as militantly feminist as the Black Furies. Kinfolk live there with them and no, they're not insane or corrupt, either, and rape is a rarity (though the weres clearly dominate their Kin no less for that). Each Hive is connected with the others via an extensive system of tunnels; these go everywhere under the earth's surface, even under the oceans.
Garou Relations: The Concordiat didn't take long to learn of the White Howlers' transformation. The BSDs came out with the news as soon as things settled down with their situation and brought the Concordiat up to speed. They brought gifts from the earth and participated in the worship of Gaia as a goodwill gesture. Most topside Garou were really wary of them, however: friendly neighbour or antagonist, they still registered on Sense Wyrm. Many in the Concordiat breathed a sigh of relief when the BSDs declined a diplomatic invitation to join up. The Black Furies rather like the attitude they have towards the female half of the tribe. The Shadow Lords were jealous. The Silver Fang were secretly grateful that they weren't getting involved. The Fianna loved their artwork. The Silent Striders were practically falling over themselves at a chance to explore their underground network of tunnels. The Stargazers were worried about the effects of living in timeless underground spaces. The Fenrir said, "Name the place, name the time, name the weapons and we will GLADLY meet you in combat" (emphasis on the "gladly" — meaning, "Anytime you're in the mood to spar, give us a shout"). The Bone Gnawers remain skeptical. The Children of Gaia were somewhat rankled by the BSDs claim that they live closer to Gaia than they do. The Red Talons didn't care either way. The Uktena started making inroads to study the Black Dragon and inquired extensively about how they deal with Corrupter Wyrm spirits; the Wendigo upbraided them for abandoning the open air and concentrating too much on the earth. The Glass Walkers thought carving cities out of the living rock of the earth and harnessing geothermal and methane power was a stroke of brilliance.
Stereotypes aside, the BSDs offered a sort of "exchange student" parlay with the Nation. They'd host one member of the Concordiat in a Hive of their choice for the winter every year as an honoured guest, and teach that Garou their arts. In exchange, that Garou would bring them up to speed on what's happening with the war topside. At the spring equinox the Garou would send down a pack to pick up the guest and bring them back topside. The Garou could select this individual however way they wish: via volunteerism, via challenge, et alia. This Garou would be known as either Orpheus or Persephone, depending on their gender; it would be considered an honour to be selected and the elected could look forward to Wisdom and Honour renown on both sides. The elected Garou's pack and/or Kin would be welcome as well.
The Plot Twist — Dun-Dunn DUUUUUNNNNNN!
In my game, Ennoia, the Gangrel Antediluvean, sank into the Earth's core, and the BSD tunnels and hive system will have riddled the earth's crust like holes in a well-fermented ciabatta. By the time of the Apocalypse/Gehenna, the mantle of the planet is within an ace of crumbling altogether; when Ennoia goes buggy and decides to burst out of the earth, she'll have a *very* easy time busting through, turning whole continents and faultlines into sinkholes.
Just because you don't <i>intend</i> to destroy the earth doesn't release you from culpability
What I kept:
1) They started out as White Howlers,
2) They're allied with the Wyrm,
3) Their main caern is located in the Scottish Highlands,
4) They live underground in what is called "Hives,"
5) Their Metis are fully integrated in their society.
Everything else got thrown onto the WW Golden Rule sacrificial altar and burnt to cinders. STs might want to take notes and see how this plays out for them.
The White Howlers did descend into the cave in the Scottish Highlands to fight the Wyrm. When they got there, however, they found the Black Dragon of the Wyrm suffering terribly from being caught in the Weaver's webs. The warriors of the White Howlers said, "This is no worthy adversary, it's half dead already. Killing it would be beneath us."
The Dragon spoke to them, revealing itself as a powerful avatar of the almost-lost Balance Wyrm and said if they helped it escape from the webs, it would ally with them and the two would go on to fight the Weaver and restore the balance in the World of Darkness. The White Howlers agreed, and Black Dragon became the tribe's totem.
The BSD Theurges healed the Black Dragon and they all went deep down into the earth, severing their ties with the topside world. They still consider themselves a Gaian tribe, if not more so since they live their lives out in the embrace of Gaia, and they carved out of the living rock of the earth great cities. They use captured methane, bioluminescent fungi, and fire to power their cities and it's all nicely lit, of a comfortable temperature at all times of the year. They often make mosaic murals on the pathways and walls of their cities using semi-precious gems uncovered in the excavation and there is a black labyrinth at the heart of every BSD city. It is like the labyrinth in the cathedral of Chartres, vis-a-vis it is a flat mosaic on the floor. There exist NO clocks of any kind in these cities as they've been deemed as too Weaverish.
Since they've forsaken Luna and wholly embraced Gaia, they've adopted earth-based auspices. They are:
Ragabash = Sand
Theurge = Gem
Philodox = Rock
Galliard = Lava
Ahroun = Earthquake
They are not evil, insane or twisted: they are still Garou, tragic, noble, and dark. They're ruthlessly practical: those fallen in battle, either on their side or the opposing, get <i>used</i>. Bones burnt and ground down for porcelain, fur/hair taken for textiles, skin tanned for leather, etc.
Their tribal disadvantage: For each rank they go up, they lose a permanent health level. Cliath start with no Healthy level, they are Bruised. This reflects the pain of the Black Dragon, who's become a spiritual symbiont to them. It's not exactly Permanent Wound, it's more like a general malaise. Yes, the elders are fairly decrepit and creaky, physically anyway. Their minds do not suffer, though: they stay sharp throughout the ordeal.
Tribal Advantage: Hive Mind. Every member of every Hive knows what the spiritual/mental condition of any other member in that group. This is kind of an adaptation that's kept them from falling to the Corrupter Wyrm, the whole Hive knows when someone's starting to lose it and can take action to either pre-empt or correct it. This is also how they sort out renown and it helps to coordinate group activities. Treat it like the pack totem advantage of thought-sharing for free.
Yes, it's kind of creepy when you go to battle against these guys and their attacks are perfectly coordinated without even a pause to huddle and discuss tactics. It's even creepier when they talk to you as one but they tend to avoid that: it smacks of the Weaver.
Image: Darkly handsome and somewhat anachronistic. For all intents and purposes, time stands still in their domain. Many of the warrior types wear dragon-scale armour and nearly everyone wears a fine piece of jewelry of some type, particularly the Theurges. BSD jewelry rivals that of the Silver Fangs and Fianna. Their weapons are terrible but well-crafted and beautifully-wrought. Horned metis occasionally scrimshaw their horns and inlay/dedicate thin gold or copper wire.
High-ranking warpack leaders sometimes go into battle riding materialized Black Dragon Jagglings.
Organization: BSDs gather in Hives. Females enjoy a good deal of influence in their tribe but it's not as militantly feminist as the Black Furies. Kinfolk live there with them and no, they're not insane or corrupt, either, and rape is a rarity (though the weres clearly dominate their Kin no less for that). Each Hive is connected with the others via an extensive system of tunnels; these go everywhere under the earth's surface, even under the oceans.
Garou Relations: The Concordiat didn't take long to learn of the White Howlers' transformation. The BSDs came out with the news as soon as things settled down with their situation and brought the Concordiat up to speed. They brought gifts from the earth and participated in the worship of Gaia as a goodwill gesture. Most topside Garou were really wary of them, however: friendly neighbour or antagonist, they still registered on Sense Wyrm. Many in the Concordiat breathed a sigh of relief when the BSDs declined a diplomatic invitation to join up. The Black Furies rather like the attitude they have towards the female half of the tribe. The Shadow Lords were jealous. The Silver Fang were secretly grateful that they weren't getting involved. The Fianna loved their artwork. The Silent Striders were practically falling over themselves at a chance to explore their underground network of tunnels. The Stargazers were worried about the effects of living in timeless underground spaces. The Fenrir said, "Name the place, name the time, name the weapons and we will GLADLY meet you in combat" (emphasis on the "gladly" — meaning, "Anytime you're in the mood to spar, give us a shout"). The Bone Gnawers remain skeptical. The Children of Gaia were somewhat rankled by the BSDs claim that they live closer to Gaia than they do. The Red Talons didn't care either way. The Uktena started making inroads to study the Black Dragon and inquired extensively about how they deal with Corrupter Wyrm spirits; the Wendigo upbraided them for abandoning the open air and concentrating too much on the earth. The Glass Walkers thought carving cities out of the living rock of the earth and harnessing geothermal and methane power was a stroke of brilliance.
Stereotypes aside, the BSDs offered a sort of "exchange student" parlay with the Nation. They'd host one member of the Concordiat in a Hive of their choice for the winter every year as an honoured guest, and teach that Garou their arts. In exchange, that Garou would bring them up to speed on what's happening with the war topside. At the spring equinox the Garou would send down a pack to pick up the guest and bring them back topside. The Garou could select this individual however way they wish: via volunteerism, via challenge, et alia. This Garou would be known as either Orpheus or Persephone, depending on their gender; it would be considered an honour to be selected and the elected could look forward to Wisdom and Honour renown on both sides. The elected Garou's pack and/or Kin would be welcome as well.
The Plot Twist — Dun-Dunn DUUUUUNNNNNN!
In my game, Ennoia, the Gangrel Antediluvean, sank into the Earth's core, and the BSD tunnels and hive system will have riddled the earth's crust like holes in a well-fermented ciabatta. By the time of the Apocalypse/Gehenna, the mantle of the planet is within an ace of crumbling altogether; when Ennoia goes buggy and decides to burst out of the earth, she'll have a *very* easy time busting through, turning whole continents and faultlines into sinkholes.
Just because you don't <i>intend</i> to destroy the earth doesn't release you from culpability