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 Castle (Colchester Castle, Colchester)
Caern Leader: Mr Ruston Totem: Stag
Caern Guardian: 'Pilsner' Secondary Totem: Grand Father Thunder
Theurge: 'Call of the Wyld' Location: Colchester Castle
'Mr. Rushton' (Matt): Fianna, Ahroun, Rank 4, 5ft 8’ tall, 33 years old, A round faced annoying ginger bloke with long hair tied back. He is a spiteful individual with a chip on his shoulder about being ginger. His rage is close to the surface, even for a ahroun, a nasty streak and is the leading part of the Fianna tribe here. He is called the Shadow Lord's Fianna, mainly due for his deep seated cunning and ruthlessness. Now that Matt has come into power he has become more confident and more indulgent, showing openly his love of women and beer. It is said though, it would be unwise to under-estimate him as doing so once toppled the Shadow Lords. He wears second hand shirts and trousers, and only pays out for a small selection of ties. In court he appears with his make shift suit, at rest he wears slacks and loose tops. He loves his ale, which makes him more violent and has had several kinfolk mates over the years.
'Pilsner' (Alexis) : Fianna, Ahroun, Rank 4, 6ft 3’ tall, 35 years old. A black haired, dark skinned french man with an abundance of body hair, which rides up his back even in homid. His body is covered in tattoos and he rarely wears a top. His garou names springs from his use of improvised weapons, once beating a bane away with a broken beer bottle in a manner not disimiliar to the movie 'Riddick' with his cup. The story gets more ridiculous with each telling. He is strong, irrational and often in arguements with the caern leader, allowing heated debates to ride through the castle walls. He shares Matt's love of ale, less so his love of women and he keeps mates only to the French kin. He is the leader of the French garou here and tends to only listen to them. Depsite his lack of approval of the leader, who he will openly call dishonest, they seem to be both working towards a common goal.
'Call of the Wyld' (Antoine): Children of Gaia, Theurge, METIS, Rank 3, 5ft 11’ tall, 38 Years old. A white furred Children of Gaia with circular goat horns and cloven hooves, often seen in his breed form and rarely in homid where he retains the horns. His appearance at the caern caused a stir. Formally he is here to help support the caern as the main theurge while the Fianna find one of their own. He comes from a French Gleaming Eye caern and this has led to rumours that they have sponsered the uprising. The Silver Fangs say that their actions were enforing the Litany and to ensure a 'neutral' member of the caern helps to oversee it. Antoine is cold, often aloof and distant. He never partakes in celebration and seems to have a look of one that knows too much. He normally goes by his homid name, rather than his garou name and it is common practice in the caern. He is treated as a full member of the caern and no one comments on his parentage or appearance apart from the many Silent Striders who visit the caern looking for juicy gossip. Antoine wears yellow ochre robes when in glabro, hemmed with gold and folds his arms into his sleeves.
'Skull Crusher' (Vladenna): Fianna, Ahroun, Rank 4, METIS, 6ft 6 tall, 40 Years old, a huge man-mass hermaphrodite from Poland with neat cut blonde hair, huge breasts, perpetual scowl and has a unnaturally large body. 'She' is a beast or low cunning and high violence and has superhuman strength even in her homid. 'She' seems to follow Antoine and Matt loyally and shows him a small amount of affection which is not well received. It is rumoured 'she' killed some of the Shadow Lords by pushing 'her' claws into their eye sockets, then crushing their skulls and anyone spending time with 'her' does not doubt the story. Like Antoine, no one calls her a metis but here from fear and not respect. It is suspected 'she' would win a combat with the guardian, but 'she' is kept away from such thoughts as her low cunning would make 'her' a poor guardian. Her appearance means 'she' cannot interact with the human world and is only given clothes for other viewers consideration. In crinos she slouches onto fours because of her huge body weight, but still 'crouches' as tall as another standing garou.
‘Calico’: Fianna, Ragabash, Rank 4, 6ft tall, 42 years old, a thick curly haired ginger man, with freckles and a long thing skeletal like body. He is Cormac’s step brother from the Caern of Lost Pups but he has disowned by his former relative when he brought dishonour to their family. Calico never wanted to join the Caern of the Lost Pups, staying with the capable Shadow Lords and working his way up the ranks. He admits he was right too - he is still alive. He is the Septs joker and main spy with skills in stealth and integration and he has made a name for himself in the garou world. He can even make himself look like he is Wyrm tainted by the aid of a fetish and is often away undercover. In Shadow Lord days he was one of the few of this caern that is allowed to attend court out of official dress and ironically he is now the only one wearing a suit.
'Carrion' (Serge): Fianna, Galliard, Rank 3, 5ft 11’ tall, 33 Years old. A tall, bearded man with thin arms and legs. His face is gaunt and he speaks little. Quoted as 'The World's Worst Galliard', which was put forward as his garou name. The title comes from his lack of interest in talking, growing up with wolves, he has learned to speak only when it is important to do so. In fact he seems almost uncomfortable in the company of man. He keeps two grey wolves with him and keeps the largest quarters in Lord Gilliat's old rooms to allow them more space, as it is too dangerous to allow them to run in the penumbra and the physical grounds is likewise out of consideration. Carrion will spend most of his time with them and those that know him, expect the quiet galliard to leave sometime in the future due to the needs of his 'pack'. For this reason, he was given the title of 'Keeper of the Land' expecting duty to hold him for a time. Carrion is a grey wolf and when in homid he will wear simple, practical clothing.
Spike: Silent Strider, Metis, Philodox, Rank 3, 6ft, Age? A grotesque Metis who looks like a burn victim in all forms but who commonly is seen only in his war form. Unable to fit into human society, it is not sure where he has gone since St Albans fell to the Wyrm. His appearance makes him very difficult to hide in most societies. If handled sensitively he can be a caring Garou who is loyal to his friends without fault. If handled badly he makes a bitter enemy who never forgets and will constantly work against you. His standing at St Albans was very low and Swan does not like him, denying hope of rising further rank or a position. Since his near death and the fall of St Albans he has been finally granted a home at Colchester for his services granted at 'The Caern of Lost Pups'. He wears bandages or nothing in his garou form and spends most of his time in the penumbra. He was commonly used for guard watches.
Agnes Cortez: Fianna, Ragabash, Rank 2, 5ft 7’ tall, 28 Years old. A smallish French garou with dark hair and a lithe and flexible body. She was of Children of Gaia kin stock, but found acceptance in the Fianna. Her travels have led her to Spain and America before she settled at this caern. Despite her low rank she is one of the most vocal of characters during moots and is a flood of new ideas and suggestions. Some of her opinions are not liked though and she often suggests to the council that they may have made a serious error dealing such a blow to the Shadow Lords...something that is likely to never to be forgotten. Despite being active in sept life, she spends time and offers kindness to Spike, which has helped the garou to come more into his own. She even has started to teach him how to read. Agnes wears a large selection of clothing but prefers bright colours and fashions.
Florestan 'coeur d'incendie' Marquisses of Baux of the House of Grimaldi: Silver Fang, Philodox, Rank 4, 5ft 9’ tall, 45 Years old. The representative of justice and a temporary resident and chief investigator of the Gleaming Eye. She is currently investigating the claims and holdings of the Fianna and their actions that caused them to grab the caern from the Shadow Lords. Her own schedule keeps her busy but she has weekly meetings with the leaders to better understand their claims of persecution under Shadow Lord rule. The investigation has had many twists and turns and the longer the investigation takes the harder it becomes to bring any kind of justice to the fallen Shadow Lords. The Marquisses of Baux will not rest though until every answer has been probed and every rock unturned. She has agreed to help undertake caern actions while there to help support the place and ensure it remains a place of Gaia.
The Caern: The Shadow Lords have always held Colchester since the fall of the Fianna here in 85 BC the caern here has been a beacon of their strength in England until just recently where a hostile Fianna take over has caused the caerns future to become unsure. The caern was original wrested from the Gleaming Eye a house of Silver Fangs through political manipulations and it seemed appropriate for the totem to never change. Although due to the recent dishonorbale acts of the caern members Falcon has left the site totally and it became easy to bring in GrandFather Thunder who has always been present, with the old secondary spirit becoming the main totem. The secondary totem though has always changed and Stag was originally brought in via deals with the Fianna to keep the strength and political support of the caern strong. It is the only caern in Europe to have two tribal totems present within its shield. Through the years the status of their families has ebbed and waned but have always been present in garou politics and the caern has always had a strong place with the leadership of the isle. Never once has the place fallen to the Wyrm and its walls have always stayed strong despite the corruption of modern Colchester rising up around the ancient but small caern. The site is a fortified Castle both in the physical and the penumbra, while the physical version looks like a fortified house, while the penumbral version looks like a legendary castle of old and on a greater scale than its physical counterpart. Access is limited to both garou and humans in the physical with only limited areas being open to the public. Many wonders are rumoured to be hidden in their halls, supposedly the largest collection of ‘lost’ Klaives, the severed and preserved head of Lord Lucan, and even a page of the infamous ‘Book of Nod’, as well as a font of Garou law and rituals in its only written format. There is also a font of old and mystic garou lore. If there is truth to any of this the current owners are not saying but the castle is a regular location for Uktena, Silent Striders and galliards on the quest for knowledge. It has a good area for potential visitors to spend time, but access to the most of the caern areas is not allowed. The change in tribes have brough an end to the 'Shadow Moot' once famously hold here. Sept of the Tower has long wanted to place a Glass walker in a position of power at the caern but they still have never succeeded getting Lord Gilliat to agree to this, though now it looks likely that a member will be accepted to ensure the caern stays strong. The caern has a huge kinfolk network, which has expanded now to include French and Polish members. Some of the Shadow Lord kin still remain.
Visitors: Most fosterns and garou of higher rank in Europe can claim to have visited this caern at least once and it has been host to several Grand Moots in the last hundred years, although non in recent years due to the strength of Sept of the Glade. It is on the main highway of garou visitors and it has moonbridges to many other caerns. The Shadow Lords have a strong presence in Germany and France and the caern was set up to receive visitors of this ilk with most of the caern residents being forced to learn French and German as additional languages. Oddly enough, most of the old Shadow Lord visitors have stopped coming and the halls are quieter than they once were.
