Paul Bode's Roleplay Game
Werewolf the Apocalypse
A big thanks to all the players and groups over the years who have contributed to the game.
Caern of the Giant’s Chair (Staffa Island, Scotland)
Caern Leader: Dr Spendlove Totem: Seal/Walrus
Caern Guardian: Dave Salmon-on-Sea Secondary Totem: Puffin
Theurge: ‘H’ Location: Staffa Island, Scotland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffa
Dr Spendlove: Fianna, Ahroun, Rank 5, Age 50, 5ft 10’ tall, Midsized, balding who has now taken to wearing glasses as old age approaches. A well educated Ahroun; he has a masters in Electronics and is a founding member of the revolution in Design Technology education. He is highly creative, manipulative as a Shadow Lord, focused as a Black Fury, mysterious as an Uktena, yet as arrogant as a Silver Fang. He remains a potent force in any conversation and a man that should not be lightly dismissed. His prowess as a warrior is not debated, but it is secondary to his other skills making him an unusual Fianna ahroun. Certainly he has been blessed with the gift of the gab. He cannot not be underestimated or ignored, yet he chooses a secret secluded caern to lead, shunning it away from Garou society and ensuring it stays that way. Many critisce his motivations and in dark circles of whispers they claim wild rumours like he has a harem of kinfolk on the island to the fact he participates in dark rites forbidden to all others. He is a disliked and not trusted figure in Major moots, and never invites guests to stay at the caern, even those who seek shelter; he forces them into a rite that causes people to forget their stay. He dresses smartly and his motivations are unclear and guarded.
‘H’: Star Gazer, Theurge, Rank 5, Age 49, 5ft 9’ tall, wears a turban and is of Indian origin. He occasionally gets confused with the Uktena 'H' at 'Caern of the Camper's Tent'. This is rare though as this 'H' rarely leaves this caern and is not seen as often as the other. The reason for the garou name is the same though, it is the shortening of their human name into something easier to say for the native tongue. Colourful and comical, he is the centre of conversations and makes up for the Caern leader who tends to be dark and brooding. 'H' always has a story to tell as well and tries to keep himself busy to stop his pondering of what to do to repair the damage by his broken tribe. He receives no help or sponsorship from them as he decided to not go to the East and he is considered by some to be of 'no tribe'. He can be unjust though with some of his decisions and his motivations always gravitate to the caern and the protection of the native spirits. He again is well educated and also a doctor and a great theurge and seer. Some seek him out as a mentor; a few of these join the Caern, stocking the caern with new blood. He is one of the few people in England who can teach meditation and one of the first goals to getting it is to find the caern and remember your lessons. He will wear orange robes and tends to have bare feet. He prefers his homid and lupus forms and is rarely seen in other forms.
Joe and Nick: Fianna, Ahroun, Rank 3, Age 36, 5ft 11’ tall. Dark orange-brown hair, freckled, stocky twins, whom fight tooth and claw. They have an intense hatred of each other and this often cause problems at the caern and forces them to stay out of each other’s way. In combats there is an intense competition between them with the primary focus to prove that one is the better over the other. Often one or the other will win, but it is always too close to have a clear deciding victor when infuriates them more. They often try to ‘accidentally’ kill each other being spurred on by their Fianna passion, and when one of them finally succeeds probably returning the caern to balance. There kinfolk mother also lives on the island and is brought to despair through all of this. She remembers when they were close friends and the exact reason why the hatred spread is lost to time. They wear polar necks and fishing clothes (both being active fishermen) and are in love with the same Kinfolk lady, complicating things more.
Leanne: Children of Gaia, Philodox, Rank 3, Age 28, 5ft 6 tall. A petite pretty garou who was a failed Colchester pup, and was picked up by the caern when on holiday in Oban. Although new to the Caern she is very experienced and does her best to solve the problem of the twins. She always has a bad word to say about Gordon Newell when at caern and yet she seems eager to please him when they share the time at grand moots. She has been reminded that it is not good to speak ill of any garou and the hatred of Gordon is said to be related to a quiet infatuation that has never been fulfilled. Her lax attitude to certain aspects of the Litany cause problems for her, and it is not sure how long she will stay as the elders here are not very tolerant to indiscretions with the Litany. It is rumoured though that if she does leave, Dr Spendlove would rather kill her than do the Rite of forgetfulness on her, to ensure the caern’s secrecy as the rite is being stretched to remove memories over years. She is a sexy lady wearing revealing dresses and has no qualms about being naked. She is well liked by the male kin there and is now expecting a child.
Tracey Locks 'Sorrow': Fianna, Galliard, Rank 4, Age 43, 5ft tall 6 tall, greying orange brown hair, with a constantly saddening expression. Her loving kinfolk husband died slain by the beast of Alnwick, losing her three sons at the same time when their boat went down and depsite the beast being sent back to the Abyss from which it came, the sons could not be remade. She has never recovered from this loss and now suffers from worsening Harano which now claims to take her life as well. Although the Beast of Alnwick is destroyed her vengeance continues often going on voyages looking for the beast, her mind cannot except it is destroyed, if so the last link to her lover would be gone. She has a few years left of valuable service before she may be forced to take the 'Rite of the Winter Wolf' and as such Dr Spendlove is now on the hunt for a galliard at this caern being prepared to lose his only one. She wears mismatching clothes, mainly baggy jumpers and jeans. She opens the moots with the opening howl. There have been several attempts to match-make her with other kinfolk, but this has failed.
'Bastard': Fianna, Ahroun, Metis Rank 4, 6ft 1’, Age 33, Joe and Nick’s younger brother and original the runt of the family, now, although younger he is much stronger than the others and is a testimony for the family. He is from a family that can claim all their children have been blessed with the werewolf gene and they have been pushed to have more. He regrettably is disliked by his father being a constant symbol of his indiscretion with another woman...and garou at that; this is how he got his garou name. He has webbed feet and gills and little fur and it is claimed he can breathe underwater for a limited time. Regardless he is a strong swimmer his ‘gift’ is frowned upon when used as it and he is an abomination of Gaia. He spends most of his time in the umbra and in Crinos, needing no clothes and he functions as 'Keeper of the Land' at the caern.
James McDonald: Fianna, Ragabash, Rank 3, 5ft 10’, Age 32, A red headed Irish lady-killer, who charms and woos the ladies, attractive and athletic he smiles his way through life. Has a terrible drinking habit that is amplified by the ‘resist toxin’ gift and is often in pubs and clubs. In recent years his reputation has calmed down and has finally been captured by a kinfolk girl who has given him a bonny bouncing baby. His rebel nature is still noticeable, but he is easily controlled when his kinfolk wife calls his name. This often brings laughs around the caern heart 'Yes, she sure changed his ways!' He has slowly warmed to his auspice roll and is a likable character, occasionally getting a smile out of 'Sorrow'. The elders like him but they are often a little strained by his constant testing of the bounds of the ragabash. With little other choice to fulfil the role though it seems James will remain a constant on the roster.
David Salmon-on-Sea: Uktena, Ahroun, Rank 4, 6ft 1’, Age 39, A huge hulking native American Indian, who after a personal gripe with Uktena (the totem) left the 'Sept of the Lake' caern and settled here. He was guided by ‘H’ in his time of need and now has adopted him as a mentor. From then he has come on in leaps and bounds and rose to the post of Caern Guardian and has had to make important decisions of his own. He still has not settled his dispute with Uktena and is likely to remain at this Caern for the rest of his life. Despite the bad feeling, he remains an active member of the tribe and will speak for them at open moots and has even advised them when they have come to the caern. Overall though, he is a moody and dark character whose anger is always close to the surface and waiting to boil over. He recently completed a challenge to raise his rank. He tends to wear native American attire and sells some interesting native carvings of animals on the mainland where he is a well known character.
Jenny O’Hara: Fianna, Ahroun, Rank 2, 6ft tall, Age 37, A skinny but attractive Irish girl, who is a bit nervous and unconfident. She keeps her hair short and out of the way and has a male aspect to her, notably when viewed from behind. She has a long-term boyfriend whose relationship is sketchy and has slept around on occasion this behaviour is not well liked by the leadership and she has had a few rites of punishment to educate her on correct behaviour. She has fought off her love of ale in the later years and has had a child with her kinfolk. She remains a good friend with James and has packed with him when it has been required for the caern to form an active pack. Her skill has improved over the years but she has struggled to earn the renown and Rites of Acknowledgments to speed her progress through the ranks mainly due to her poor behaviour over the years giving prejudice against her. She will wear male baggy clothing that hides her form and her growing stomach.
The Caern: The Caern is prehistoric being formed from a volcanic eruption and held here for a long time. It has been 'lost' from the mainland for eons and the company of garou there have kept it hidden and safe all this time. It is a tourist attraction now, with the best example of columnar jointing in Great Britain and a strange magical nature. The site has been hotly contested in the physical world for purchase by Jock Elliot Jr gifted it to the National Trust to help protect the island. A book on the island has been written that helps promote it to the World - written by Colin McDonald and this presents what is known about the site. The land is also a bird protected area and landings on the island are strictly controlled by the Scottish National Trust to ensure that they are protected. This is ideal for the garou as well as the puffins that call this place home. Many visit the Island, with no one knowing what lies in the Umbra and in the unlucky chance of finding out a mind alteration to make them forget what they would find. It is a mighty caern with gnosis power over flowing from the energies of the visitors in the physical a such its penumbra is rich in colour and emotions, many of joy and wonder at the site. The ‘hidden glade’ rite hides it and Dr Spend love, the current sept leader fiercely keeps it secretive. Few Garou have visited it, none remember it due to a modified rite and this keeps it real location secret. The general garou world believes the site to be in Oban but many Silent Striders can directly disprove this fact. Its spirit defences are great and although Seal is a friendly lovable totem, when Walrus (it’s alter ego) appears it defends the caern viciously. The Caern has little Wyrm taint to contend with, Spendlove argues that this is due to their actions and the site is one that will protect an area of Gaia till the end days. Many argue that this is an essential wartime resource and it should be used for directing actions against the Wyrm to protect other caerns and sacred areas. Spendlove counter argues that its beauty and serenity is because its location remains unknown to all - especially the Wyrm and to make it open is to allow the site to become under threat - and no action should allow a caern to be violated.
Visitors: The caern has none...the few who do visit lose any memory of the last few days. They tend to wake in Oban being dumped at McCaigs Tower.
