By Jason C. Marshall ([email protected]) and Abe Dashiell ([email protected]) (19 January 1995)
The Doryli were given unto the Wyrm to act as custodians for the reality that the Wyrm would destroyed and decay in order to mantain the balance between itself and the others of the Triat. The Doryli went about their work with the same zeal that their progenitor creature did its work with. Methodical and never stopping, the Doryli were the work horses of the Wyrm.
When the Triat fragmented, the Wyld swept into the areas of the Wyrm, seeking to absorb the dead places and bring a new uncontrolled life to them. It was in one of these dead areas that the Wyld came across the Doryli. In a fit of anger, the Wyld took the Doryli from the Wyrm.
The Wyld kept the Doryli hidden, teaching them the ways of the Wyld and taming the Wyrm within them.
When Insect called out to its grandchildren, for their aide in the coming Apocalypse, Ant, the Doryli Father Totem, travelled to it. Ant refused to help, siting that it was happy with the Wyld and that Insect's predictions were mistaken. Ant returned and summoned its children. All Doryli would stay with the Wyld. The Wyld had saved them from the Wyrm's corruption in the beginning and so they would stay, protect, and serve the Wyld.
In the late 1920s, the Doryli decided to expand into the world, to see if the Weaver was as powerful as the Wyld had said. 3 Doryli left the Wyld enclave, travelling into the world in order to find a place for their people.
Rejection, fear, and destruction seemed to loom at every turn until a lone Ronin of the Children of Gaia, lost and without much left to his life, discovered them.
The Ronin had been kicked out of his tribe and pack for the crime of loving another Garou. Choosing exile, he wandered the world until at last he came across a small town where he built a cottage and began to live the life of a hermit. It was upon this house that the 3 Doryli stumbled, hungry, cold and frightened. Intrigued by the strange creatures, he took them in and nursed them back to health.
Months passed, as the Ronin taught them knowledge of the world and what lived where, gifts to help them and ways to defend themselves.
The Doryli thanked the Ronin and returned to their home.
Years later, as the Ronin lay dying, he suddenly found himself being cared for by dozens of Doryli, who had come to repay his kindness to them by seeing him through his last days.
With their ministrations and help, he died in peace and without pain, under the full moon. Many Doryli say that Gaia herself came down and took the Ronin by hand and led him to his final resting place.
Today, the Doryli use the cabin as a staging point/nest. From here they perform missions for the Wyld, protecting their lands and people and standing vigil over the grave of the Ronin, the first creature to show kindness to them.
At rank one, Doryli are either workers or soldiers. Whether a Doryli becomes a worker or a soldier depends on how it is fed in larval form. Those Doryli larvae chosen to become warriors are fed a special jelly which triggers their development into soldiers. Similarly, homid breed Doryli who are fed this substance before their first pupation become soldiers as well. Those destined to become workers never partake of the jelly.
The workers perform menial labor but are extremely vital to the function of the Hive -- if something needs to get done, they do it. Soldiers are actually specialized workers, but they don't concern themselves with menial tasks; their only purposes are to defend the hive and destroy their enemies. For both workers and soldier, gender is unimportant; they take no part in reproduction so are sterile and sexless. They may display some signs of gender (especially homid breed Doryli) in human form, however.
When workers reach Rank 4, they shapechange into larval form (a feat possible only two other times during their lives), then promptly enter pupation. In this state, the Doryli undergoes a transformation; in a few days when it emerges, it has become a drone. Drones look similar to workers in Dorylus and Crinos forms, but are slightly larger and have wings. Also, to fulfill their roles as mates, they develop gender, becoming male. They are the advisors and mates of the queens performing many of the same functions as elder garou.
When a drone reaches rank 5, it again enters larval form and pupates. Security at the hive triples and all Doryli in the field are called back to protect the royal pupa. For several weeks, the hive will remain on high alert, until the pupa opens and a new queen emerges. Her crinos and especially her dorylus forms will be massive, even larger than the soldiers, though she is far less mobile. In homid form she looks like a normal human woman, but at least in the eyes of the Doryli (though not necessarily to anyone else!) she is breathtakingly beautiful. Soon, the new queen leaves the hive, taking some of the workers, warriors and drones with her and establishing her own nest.
It is rumored that there may be rank 6 and above "Over-Queens," but this has yet to be substantiated.
The soldiers never become drones or queens. They are pure warrior and want nothing to do with the irksome tasks of day to day maintenance of the hive. They maintain their own militaristic hierarchy, separate from the workers and answerable to the queen alone, never to the drones. Typically, there is only one Rank 5 soldier in a hive and in matters of war, its word is law. At all other times, it defers to the queen
Non soldier Doryli gain rank via the following renown chart.
| Rank | Honor | Glory | Wisdom | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 | |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
Soldier Doryli gain renown and rank as the Ahroun auspice.
Crinos: Workers and drones are humanoid ants about 8 feet tall, with the drones having wings. Soldiers stand nine feet tall and have immense mandibles. Queens, also winged, are bloated and massive, standing a full ten feet tall.
| Auspice | Str | Sta | Dex | App | Man | Per |
| Queen | +5 | +3 | +0 | 0 | -3 | +1 |
| Worker/Drone | +3 | +3 | +2 | 0 | -3 | +1 |
| Soldier | +4 | +3 | +1 | 0 | -3 | +1 |
Dorylus: Drones and workers in this form are immense, seven feet long ants; the drones having wings. Again, the soldiers are larger, usually eight feet long, and with large mandibles. The Dorylus isn't any less physically impressive than the Crinos; its just built like an ant rather than a biped and is their preferred form while in the hive. The Dorylus isn't quite as strong but being able to scramble around on all six legs, it is very agile. The queen, in ant form, is even larger than she is in Crinos, a full 12 feet, but she is too bulky to move around much. Whatever her breed, she always gives birth in this form.
| Auspice | Str | Sta | Dex | App | Man | Per |
| Queen | +5 | +4 | -1 | 0 | -4 | +2 |
| Worker/Drone | +2 | +3 | +3 | 0 | -4 | +2 |
| Soldier | +3 | +3 | +2 | 0 | -4 | +2 |
Flight: Drones and Queens are capable of limited flight in either Doryli or Crinos forms, though the Queen has a hard time of it in ant form (-2 to rolls for maneuvers and flying at half normal speed)
Mandibles: The powerful mandibles of dorylus or crinos soldiers do str+4 in aggravated damage. The mandibles of workers, drones and queens are smaller and only do str+3 damage, though they are capable of more precise cuts than the soldiers'.
Coup de Grace: (Level 2) ---- As the Black Fury gift.
Calm: (Level 2) ---- As the Children of Gaia gift.
Mental Speech: (Level 2) ---- As the Metis gift.
Fly Feet: (Level 3) ---- As the Ragabash gift.
Spirit Friend: (Level 3) ---- As Children of Gaia gift.
Infest: (Level 4) ---- As the Bone Gnawer gift.
Unicorn's Grace: (Level 4) ---- As Children of Gaia gift.
Reach the Umbra: (Level 5) ---- As the Silent Strider gift.
Halo of the Sun: (Level 5) ---- As the Children of Gaia gift.