WOLFEN

Description

What came first, the chicken or the egg. Fae that encounter one of the elusive Wolfen are often left wondering this. The more scholarly Wolfen and Vampyr claim that Wolfen are born of humanity's primal fear of predators in the earliest ages of man. They claim that it was during this period that the other 'Primals' were born as well: the Satyr, from dreams of lust, the Vampyr, from fear of disease, and the Redcaps from fear of human predation. They also claim that the current garou species are prodigals of their species, who have completely forgotten their true heritage and thinned their fae souls to almost nothing. No one has ever asked a a garou what they think.

Many of the Wolfen's claims however, have an unsettling ring of truth. Their bonds are more like the legendary werewolves than those of many of the more spiritual Garou. They are capable of passing on their glamour in a variety of ways, all of which are mentioned in many medieval tomes: everything from the infamous bite of the werewolf, to the smearing of one's self in baby and animal fat and clothing one's self in the skin of a wolf.

The Wolfen live on the edge of society, continuing their ancient urge to act as predators of man, though Wolfen interpret this urge in many ways. Some prowl the woods as man-beasts, inspiring legends of wild-men. Others prowl the urban arena, as more urbane predators. Those who have confronted the Wolfen on this constant predation, have received little respect in return. The Wolfen question, and possibly rightly so, that if they stop enacting the duty that birthed them, won't they soon cease to exist; and as long as Wolfen return to this world, isn't it proof that mortals still have those same dreams and nightmares.

The Wolfen employ certain chimera to train new Wolfen in their new lives. These chimera take a wide variety of forms, eveything from wispy ghost-like forms, to the new Wolfen's dead friends. The grump wolfen scholars employ a variety of means to train and teach these chimera. Fae in the know about Garou, find this similarity to Garou fetch spirits unsettlingly similar. Wolfen tend to specialize in the Art of Primal, and treasure and chimera that allow them to turn into wolves are not uncommon.

Legacies

Wolfen do not follow the western courts at all, and have their own dominant legacies. While most changelings have a Seelie and an Unseelie legacy, Wolfen have a Human and a Beast Legacy that seem to be similar to normal legacies in many ways. Wolfen following their human legacy tend to socialize and see the interaction with mortals as primary. Many following this legacy deal quite amicably with mortals and other fae until the nights of the full moon. Those following their Beast legacy tend to break everything down into terms of food chain and care little for human trappings. Social fae legacies are usually categorized as Human, while anti-social are usually categorized as Beast, but almost any legacy can be can interpreted into the two categories with some imagination.

Pelt Transfer

New Wolfen are born in a manner similar to selkies, but with a wider range of possibilities. Wolfen souls are not only given in the form of pelts, passed down from generation to generation, but there are other methods. A wolfen on the verge of death, unable to pass on its pelt in a normal manner will instinctively seek out a small body of unmoving water, and pass their final breath, and remaining glamour into the pool. Eventually, someone will drink from the water, and the Wolfen soul will attempt to anchor on to him. These pools are avoided by most animals and will not naturally evaporate. Also, trained hedge magicians can snatch floating wolfen souls with long rituals and cause themselves or others to become Wolfen. Wolfen are also able to transfer their glamour to another through a bite, though the methods for this vary, and is considered the last resort, since the vacation of the original wolfen's fae soul usually results in her death. Wolfen refer to the various products of glamour transfer as 'Pelts' (ie. The Magic Pelt, the Bitten Pelt, the Skin Pelt, The Mad Water Pelt, etc)

Appearance

Wolfen range in appearance depending upon the state of the moon. At their best, during a new moon, Wolfen tend toward muscular, feral looking near humans. As the moon progresses to full, so does the bestiality of the Wolfen until they become hulking beasts of muscle, hair and sinew with canine heads and rows of sharp, brutal teeth.

Seemings

Childling Wolfen tend towards the feral child stereotype. Childling Wolfen are often the targets or cause of 'raised by wolves' legends.

Wilder wolfen tend to prowl the urban jungle, looking for prey. At this stage they develop a a certain level of animal magnetism, and use it to its full effect. Wilders are most distanced from the wilderness, and most in tune with their bestial human aspects.

Grump Wolfen are few and far between. Most wolfen succumb to lunacy (moon bedlam) long before they reach this age. Those who do survive this long rarely maintain enough of their 'human-ness' to interact with society and become hermits or savage beasts in the wilderness. The Human legacy of this age, often take on the scholarly duties of researching and passing on the stories of the Primals. This is mainly due to the fact that the 'Pelts' mostly likely to survive to this age, are those who sought the pelt for themselves, usually by way of ritual magic.

Lifestyles

Wolfen feel a primal urge to hunt and cause terror in mortals. The extent to which they follow this urge depends mainly upon their legacies. (See Legacies). some wolfen, mostly those following the Human legacy tend to see terror as a purely psychological state, and rarely have need to ravage, or cause physical harm. Not so for those following the Beast legacy. These brutes often go so far as to take the food chain concept literally and ravage without compunction.

Affinity

Nature

Birthrights

Resilience of the Beast: Wolfen recover quickly from damage, healing one level of damage every hour. Damage caused by silver is healed at one level per day. Unlike other fae, Wolfen seem to be unaffected by Cold Iron, but are instead hurt by Silver in the same ways; the reasons for this are unknown. Wolfen shrug off most human poisons and disease in a matter of hours, the most deadly sometimes taking a few days. The only way to destroy the fae soul of a wolfen is to destroy its 'pelt.' Neither silver or cold iron has iron's soul shattering effect on them.

Feral Terror: The Wolfen's abilities to terrify others are reduced by at least one, depending on the circumstances, as are their ravaging abilities. Wolfen may cause a mortal, regardless of the mortal's banality, to see the Wolfen's fae seeming without expenditure of glamour. The mortal must make a willpower roll to avoid being inspired to terror by the wolfen. Use of the latter half of this ability invokes the mists in mortals.

Frailties

Lunacy: Wolfen suffer the vagaries of the moon more than most. Already discussed is the change of their seemings by the phase of the moon. Wolfen must roll Willpower on nights of the full moon to avoid carrying out their base, savage instincts. On nights of the full moon, humans are naturally affected by the Wolfen's Feral terror Birthright, and most Human legacy Wolfen will seek to bind themselves during these crazed nights. Other lunar effects on the wolfen are at the Storyteller's discretion. Wilder wolfen have a -1 to any social trait, and grumps lose one additional point. This point can be from any social attribute.

Quote

"Isn't it a little dangerous to travel through the park all alone... "

Outlook

Boggans: I have no use for the little dwarves, but hold nothing against them. Their ways are not our ways.

Eshu: Manifestations of wanderlust. I deal well with these primal creatures.

Nockers: They were more useful as goblins; they try to be what they are not. That way lies madness.

Pooka: I have hairballs cuter and with better personalities.

Redcaps: Our urban cousins. Man's predation on man.

Satyrs: Why they live under the rule of the sidhe baffles me. The Primal spirits should know no master.

Selkies: In ways they are much like us, though I know not what birthed them.

Sidhe: They are no better than us; they have just succumbed to their own delusions. Fortunately, they are as easy to terrify as most mortals.

Sluagh: They smell bad and taste worse. People say they were once fearsome horrors; how far they have fallen. They are a fading dream with no validity.

Trolls: As interesting as the rocks they spring from.

Garou: They have forgotten their legacy; they are no long predator's of man, they are politicians. They are worthless bags of skin that have lost their true purpose in foolish spirituality and twisted ideas. I am not sure our prodigal brothers can be saved.

Skindancers: Proof that the garou are our distant brothers. But it takes five of them to create a Skindancer, proving the thinness of their glamour. How many skindancers would it take to make on of us.

Vampyr: I do not like them, but they are born of the same stuff as we, with much the same purpose.