Bone Gnawers

*"You see this shit? This is where the war's always been at its worst. This is where the Wyrm kills and twists and fucks up people because it knows that nobody cares. We're the bastards who've been on this battle field forever. Remember that."*

Many disdain the Bone Gnawers as living proof of how far the Garou have fallen from grace. Ragged and luckless, hunting territories no other tribe wants and breeding with Kin no other tribe claims, the Children of Rat come across as mongrel scavengers taking whatever castoffs they can. The Bone Gnawers see it differently. They’re the most populous tribe in the Garou Nation. They’re not the picture of failure — they’re the picture of success, because they’re playing the game of survival.

The tribe’s actual origins likely lie somewhere in or across a band of land that stretches from Northern Africa to India, but the Gnawers stopped keeping track a long time ago. They spread out to follow humanity, and always attached themselves to the wretched and downtrodden. Their oral history is full of revolutionary stories of the oppressed defying and overthrowing their oppressors. Bone Gnawer folk heroes are creatures of the Robin Hood and John Henry mold — if somewhat more bestially violent when dealing out retribution and social justice.

The tribe’s mongrel reputation is bolstered by their seemingly haphazard traditions. Their septs are usually surprisingly democratic. Their fetishes and rites are scavenged from Gaia-knowswhere. They propitiate bizarre totems like modern urban legends or strange pop-culture zeitgeists. They strike odd alliances with other supernaturals lurking in the lower strata of human society, maybe even Leeches or wererats, if the stories are true. They thrive in cities, occupy decaying suburban wastelands, even prosper in run-down rural backwaters. The Bone Gnawer creed is “Whatever works.”

But it does work, or at least it has so far. The Children of Rat have access to all manner of interesting secrets that come from listening to people other Garou disdain as part of the herd. They’ve mastered a variety of vicious guerilla tactics suited to their hazardous environments. They know where to find food, or even how to conjure it out of trash. The Gnawers’ major weakness is that the other tribes tend to keep them at a distance, so they have fewer true allies. But even this weakness has contributed to their strength of selfreliance, out of necessity.

Another unfortunate weakness is a gradual thinning of the wolf blood. The Bone Gnawers have some lupus Kin, but not many, and have kept up their numbers mostly with human partners. They’re also thick with metis, which accusers claim shows little respect for the Litany. There’s a hint of truth in that — plenty of Bone Gnawers have given in to forbidden desires — but the Gnawers are also prone to adoption. Many a metis was abandoned by its parents in other tribes, but brought in to be a good soldier of Rat.

Bone Gnawer pragmatism doesn’t overrule Renown, however. Honor, Wisdom and Glory still matter to them, and, the slurs of other tribes to the contrary, they aren’t all Ragabash. Admittedly, their catch-as-catch-can character shines through even in these higher ideals. An honorable Bone Gnawer Philodox isn’t afraid to lay down an unorthodox twist on a law. Likewise, a sagacious Theurge might be mistaken for a filthy homeless person, babbling to herself about the voices of trash and desperation.

Even though they might build shrines to fallen celebrities or hold sacred rites tied to human sporting events like the Super Bowl or World Cup, the Bone Gnawers zealously guard some very old traditions at their heart. They honor hospitality and generosity as a measure of a Garou — the Gnawer who has very little but gives it away freely is as esteemed as was any gift-giving Nordic king. They treat their tribe like a family; their elders consider “mother” and “father” the most prestigious forms of address. On the surface, their traditions look like reflections of the patchwork nature of modern culture — deep down, they represent the bonds that have allowed humans and Garou to survive as long as they have.

## History

The Bone Gnawers claim to descend from the underdogs of Garou society, their name itself being an insult from the alphas and more noble werewolves in the Garou Tongue. Many of the earliest Bone Gnawers were banned from their own tribes, seeking to redeem themselves by joining the lowliest among them who always fought on the front lines against the minions of the Wyrm. It was only during the Concord that these poor bastards joined and eventually formed the Tribe, but they refused the separation of Garou and humanity. Instead, they prefer to prowl in their cities, far from the houses and influences of the Warders of Apes. As a result, most of the more feral Garou saw the Bone Gnawers as Urrah, although the Bone Gnawers still avoid the webs of the Weaver as best they can.

### Early History

Many of the early Bone Gnawers can be traced back to North Africa and India. It is recorded that they shared territory with the Silent Striders in Egypt, breeding with the scavengers native there and aiding them from time to time in their struggles against the Followers of Set. The result was that Set, even if he didn't curse the tribe as he did with the Striders, shattered their homeland and drove them off, forcing them to seek shelter in the territories of other Garou or even in some vampire-claimed areas. The Greek concept of democracy held special interest for the tribe and within Rome, they were known to fight against slavery and vie for influence with the other tribes and even sometimes claim it.

### Dark Ages

When Rome fell, the tribe scattered once again, all over Europe. Some served along the Get of Fenris and the other tribes in their war efforts, while others integrated into the downtrodden and outcast, protecting them and sometimes even making them Kinfolk. When the Plague ravaged the medieval world, the Bone Gnawers tried their best to aid the poor who suffered most under the illness, with the result that many Kin were accused of witchcraft during the Inquisition and put to the pyre. This decreased the tribe's enthusiam to help, although it didn't extinguish it.

### Victorian Era

When the first ships sailed off into the New World, many Bone Gnawers followed, hoping for a better world where they wouldn't be oppressed, aiding various revolutions in hopes to gain a little bit more influence for themselves. Using the American Revolution as a way to relieve themselves and found some Septs of their own, Bone Gnawers fought side by side with humans, in human form and without supernatural aid in order to preserve the Veil. In Europe, they tried to do the same with the French Revolution, but they did not succeed like they did in the USA. They also supported the Russian Revolution, although they quickly came to regret this when the vampiric Brujah installed the Soviet Union.

### Modern Nights

Most Bone Gnawers were involved with the World Wars in one way or the other. They were among the first to recognize the danger humanity now posed. More than any other tribe, the Bone Gnawers realize that these are the Final Nights, their chance to prove their worth to the Nation and the greatest battle against the Wyrm that will ever come to pass. Some shy away from this notion. Others embrace it to let it inspire them to heroic deeds, and most strive to survive, as they always have.

## Appearance

Bone Gnawers’ wolf appearance is ragged, often mismatched or particolored; some can be mistaken for dogs at a distance, though even a Gnawer who looks something like a yellow dingo is clearly an animal that was never tame. Their blessings as Garou make them surprisingly healthy in comparison to impoverished humans: most have strong (if crooked) teeth and wiry muscle under the dirt.

## Kinfolk and Territory

The Children of Rat interbreed with the savviest, toughest and meanest people that have been ground down by society. Lupus Kin are rare, and tend to be found in hardscrabble rural territories. The Gnawers also stake out territories that are difficult to challenge — places that nobody else wants, but that they can defend easily enough. Urban decay supplies plenty of junkyards, abandoned buildings, underpasses, burned-out wrecks and other patches of real estate that anyone in their right mind avoids. Rural Gnawers prefer isolated valleys or mountain-tops, swamps, and deadend roads. But the tribe also feels protective of institutions established for the average citizen’s betterment: museums, homeless shelters, public libraries and so on.

## Tribal Totem

Rat. The Bone Gnawers venerate their tribal totem as a maternal figure, queen of a brood of ragged survivors. They also strike pacts with bedraggled spirits such as raccoon-spirits, Lost Dogs, and spirits of junk and rust.

## Character Creation

Bone Gnawers have a penchant for Traits that represent adaptability, such as Stamina, Wits, and Manipulation, and Abilities such as Survival. Ancestors and Pure Breed are restricted Backgrounds; Resources are discouraged.

**Initial Willpower:** 4

**Beginning Gifts:** Cooking, Desperate Strength, Resist Toxin, Scent of Sweet Honey, Trash is Treasure

## Organization

Since the days of Ancient Greece, Bone Gnawers tend to organize themselves in democratic communities. Experienced Bone Gnawers are elected to act as an "Elder" for a sept. This Elder is in no way obliged to listen to other sept members, but most do so, knowing that it is the support of the people that gave them their station. The most accomplished Elders are accepted as Tribal Elders, and usually addressed with the honorific "Father" or "Mother".

## Camps

Gnawers care more about causes than they let on. They may feel a need to help unfortunates around them, explore the world, spread culture and knowledge, or muster packs of Garou for war. Some camps’ members are formally initiated and accepted; others support a camp’s cause for personal reasons, regardless of whether others accept them. Finally, just as other tribes have elite camps, the Bone Gnawers have a few that are so secretive or illegal that they recruit covertly.

### Deserters

Surrounded by poverty, despair, and a dying planet, Deserters fled into the Umbra, eventually becoming experts at navigating the spirit world. Their elders led great quests for forgotten and mystical realms, seeking a utopia that could hide them from the coming Apocalypse. The Deserters still search for pathways to undiscovered worlds, both in the Penumbra and the physical realm. They undertake expeditions deep into the spirit world, sometimes followed by packs of enthusiastic and gullible Garou.

### Frankweilers

Frankweilers protect culture and its availability to the common man. Many are esteemed as scholars and educators, or great storytellers. The camp lays claim to places where the “common man” can find art and education: galleries, libraries, museums, theaters, etc. Others reach out to communities, watching over people instead of places. They may volunteer to teach, work in needleexchange programs, or even share their legal or medical skills. Since the Wyrm often exploits the ignorant, suffering, starving, or desperate, the Frankweilers help fight it through prevention, protection, and education.

### Hillfolk

Rather than endure scorn and poverty in the big city, Hillfolk have learned to survive in the rural wild. The densest concentration of this camp is found in the Appalachians. Hillfolk families are even more extensive and territorial than their urban kin. They shun modern technology and mainstream education, both of which they see as an attempt to eradicate of their own unique culture.

### The Hood

The Hood has three primary goals: robbing from the rich, giving to the poor, and protecting the innocent of the city. The camp has its own version of tough love, never giving a second chance to those who try to exploit their help or take it for granted. They’re not out to save everyone — just those who are actually worth saving. Some claim that Robin Hood himself belonged to their camp while others admit “rob from the rich and give to the poor” is just dialogue they ripped off from old movies. Nonetheless, the ideal endures.

### Maneaters

Originally a cannibal cult within the Gnawer tribe, most of this camp’s “converts” were Garou who had succumbed to frenzy too often. The Bone Gnawers have diligently hunted any possible inter-sept organization of this hidden society, killing most of their anthropophagous brethren. Still, the Maneaters endure by being craftier and more secretive. Few are foolish enough to join a sept, although any major city may harbor one or two of them among the local rabble.

### Rat Finks

Rat Finks trade in information. They gather secrets both directly and through their Kinfolk, who often work as janitors, clerks, garbage collectors, busboys, etc. Some camp members infiltrate companies and corporations known for exploitation or environmental devastation, where they wait and watch, gathering enough information to them down from the inside. Finks are famous for their exotic communication networks: drop points, one-word phone calls, cryptic faxes, secret codes, even notes pinned to children’s jackets. Other supernatural creatures sometimes interact with the camp as well: Nosferatu vampires, Ratkin spies, and even Corax messengers.

### Road Warders

You’ll find Road Warders taking long bus routes, riding the rails, or languishing deep in the holds of tramp steamers; hitchhiking is an art to them. For Warders, the journey is always paramount, and they refuse to tie themselves down to jobs as messengers, couriers, or diplomats. If they see a fellow traveler in trouble, they make it their business to get involved. When they finally make it to a tribal moot, this Code of the Road earns them Honor, and their stories serve as a reminder that the world is much larger than the bawns of its caerns.

### The Swarm

The Swarm serves as Rat’s teeth in the war against the Wyrm, specializing in dirty fighting and underhanded strategy. Tribal elders call upon the Swarm when the politics of compromise prove useless, although they publicly disavow the camp’s activities. Some of the Rat God’s most fervent warriors only associate with the Swarm camp in secret, spending most of their time as upstanding citizens in a Garou caern.

## Bone Gnawer Caerns

* Sept of the Awakening (Hain's Point in East Potomac Park, Washington, D.C)
* Sept of the Green (Central Park, New York City, United States)
* Sept of the People's Will (Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia)
* Sept of Shagarat al-Durr (Cairo, Egypt)
* Sept of Whispering Shadows (Dar-al-Salam slum, Egypt)
* Sept of Crocodile Nést (Havana,Cuba)
* Sept of the Mountain Watch (Lookout Mountain, Tennessee)
* The Rock Caern (Basement of the King's Arms Hotel, Sydney, Austrailia)
* Sept of the Forgotten Waters (Murepas Wildlife Refuge. New Orleans, Louisiana)
* Sept of Bloody Teeth (basement of an abandoned building, Boston Massachusetts)
* Sept of the Strength of Many (natural cave udner football stadium in Skopje, Maceddonia)

## Tribal Culture

Freedom and practicality rule above all else when it comes to the Bone Gnawers. They care little for the supposed superiority of Garou and are content to remain in the alleys, gutters, and sewers of man as long as it means they can live on their own terms.

Most Bone Gnawers are extremely savvy when it comes to surviving in the streets of man. No other tribe is as accomplished at urban fighting as the Bone Gnawers, and surprise is considered their primary tactic. Many Bone Gnawers encourage the ideas of their lesser status, as it can be turned into an advantage when their enemies underestimate them.

Although rare, there are septs of rural Bone Gnawers. They tend to lead simple lives, but still hold strongly to the ideals of freedom that their urban cousins share.

### Political Culture

Bone Gnawers tend to be the most democratic of the tribes, often giving everyone an equal voice at a moot. Though renown and rank can be important to Bone Gnawer septs and packs, respect is usually given to the oldest and/or most experienced member of the tribe present. Many Bone Gnawers share their resources with their tribesmen freely, but this is not always consistent, particularly with the Rabble.

### Religious Culture

The rites and traditions of the Bone Gnawers are seen by other tribes as extremely strange and bizarre. Even though their rituals are unusual and rely strongly on human practices and pop culture, the Bone Gnawers take them as seriously as any of the more naturalistic rites of the other tribes, particularly as many of them grant advantages for survival as much as they do spiritual comfort.

Since 1540, the Bone Gnawers practice something called the "Ban of Man", in order to avoid becoming too entangled in humanity's affairs to successfully accomplish their task as Gaia's servants. The Ban is recited in the beginning of tribal moots, but its enforcement depends on the standards espoused by the local Elder.

## Sterotypes of Other Tribes

### Black Furies

Shit yeah, fight the power. Help people! Oh wait, you’re just gonna help half of them? Well, I guess it’s something.

### Children of Gaia

Some of ’em like to talk about dreams and better times and compassion and all that bullshit and some of them get down in the trenches with us. Guess which ones are worth anything?

### Fianna

You must have it pretty good if you can even pretend that life’s a party.

### Get of Fenris

First thing you do is find a reason to cut one. Then you try to survive him kicking your ass. Sure, your ass will be kicked, but he’ll treat you better from then on if he thinks you’re not a coward.

### Glass Walkers

These guys get cities, same as we do. They just deal with the comfy upper-crust side where you always know where your next meal’s coming from. Who can blame ’em?

### Red Talons

Holy shit. You’ve never met a human you liked? That fucking scares me, and not for the reasons you think it should.

### Shadow Lords

Fighting dirty? Yeah, awesome, about time. Catching other tribes in the blast radius? Uh-huh, same shit, different day.

### Silent Striders

Freaks. How do you spend so much time outside of any one territory and wind up knowing so much? Ain’t right.

### Silver Fangs

These bastards have been using us as an object lesson since there were sixteen tribes. Well, who’s the healthy ones now, huh?

### Stargazers

I don’t even know what in the fuck you’re talking about. Can you put that in “here and now” language?

### Uktena

Pretty savvy folks, all taking whatever they need from wherever they can. Wouldn’t be surprised if their ethics work the same way.

### Wendigo

You’ve had a fucking man-eater for your totem since the Impergium and you haven’t fallen to the Wyrm yet? Cold and hard as ice, man.