Bone Gnawers

As hungry mutts, the Bone Gnawers have survived for centuries using their canny ability to sniff out food and sneak about unseen. It’s possible that they were originally of jackal stock, although their legends say that they were the "runt" of the litter back in the old days: young, tough, and stringy. Today, they tend to be play the role of convenient scapegoats, although the Children of Gaia tend to stick up for them in septs. A few Bone Gnawers have gained enough Renown on their own to form their own septs. They often discover or build caerns in the secret places of the city they use on their own.

Throughout history, Bone Gnawers have followed the dispossessed and the homeless. They hate slavery and oppression in general, but they’re usually too busy just surviving to care about most of Garou politics. Because they are allied with all the dogs in any given city (through a complex system of communication called the "Barking Chain"), and because they know many secrets about the sewers and the tunnels underneath the city, the Bone Gnawers are pretty much in the know about what goes on in any metropolitan area. This is as much a survival tactic as it is a strategic activity: they need to know when it’s time to flee a sinking ship once things go wrong.

Totem: The Rat

Initial Willpower: Two Traits

Tribe Advantage: Finking
Bone Gnawers always have an inkling as to what is going on in the city in which they live. As a result, they can gain an instant Influence Trait in any area for the purpose of gathering information. This can be done once per session per level of Rank.

Tribe Drawback:
Bone Gnawers are often regarded as filthy, secondclass Garou because of their lifestyles. Because of this, a Bone Gnawer must first gain the approval and sponsorship of an elder who is not a Bone Gnawer before he can gain any Honor, Glory or Wisdom Renown.

Backgrounds: Bone Gnawers may not take the Pure Breed Background or the Finance Influence.

Beginning Gifts: Scent of Sweet Honey, Odious Aroma

Wolf Form: Bone Gnawers look much like large street dogs. They often pass for them in open view of humans, although this has its own dangers: many Bone Gnawers have been caught by Animal Control units and taken to city pounds, where they orchestrate stealthy and ingenious breakouts. Their coats have reddish-brown or gray fur, and they’re usually smaller than other Garou in that form.

Organization: Bone Gnawers live together in family groups that are usually the result of choice, not breeding. Because they are generally despised by the rest of the Garou for their apparent breeding (they’re mongrels) and because of their smell, they tend to flock together and even form septs all their own. They are ruled by their Mothers and Fathers, respected elders who gain Renown among them by providing food (Honor), collecting interesting things (Glory) and staying alive (Wisdom).

Because of their status and the places they live, the Bone Gnawers often have positive relations with Nosferatu vampires. Indeed, it is believed by some that they often work together to achieve common goals, although the details of this are carefully guarded secrets.

Habitat: Bone Gnawers live wherever the homeless live. Some of them move out to the country to join their hillfolk cousins, but for the most part, they live and thrive in the city.

Protectorate: Bone Gnawers look after the people they live around: the homeless, dispossessed, insane and drug-afflicted peoples of the cities. Although they have rules against interfering in their lives, they usually interfere anyway.

Outlook: The Bone Gnawers like anyone who will give them half a shred of respect, but they can sense whenever someone is attempting to take advantage of them. They are very practical and tend to ignore the more high-minded tribes, even making fun of them from time to time. They don’t care much about prophesies or even the Wyrm; they’re usually too busy surviving on a day-to-day basis.

Quote: "Whatcha gonna do, send ‘em chocolate and roses? Two days ago, I saw an entrance that could get you into that Pentex factory. If you want in there, you talk to me. Yeah, that’s right... me. Ya got any grub?"

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