MOON CIRCLE DANCERS

By Beth Bartley

Description

Over a thousand years ago, the Moon Circle Dancers were a tribe of Garou who above all loved life. They fought the Wyrm when it came to them or when their aid was asked, but their primary purpose was aiding the Wyld, and though sometimes this involved fighting the Wyrm, more often for them it involved tending nature and more often still simply spreading joy. They were probably the most joyous of the tribes, and loved tales and songs and above all dancing. They had no particular enmities among the tribes, though Uktena and Moon Dancers tended to keep at a distance by mutual consent. They were closest to the Children of Gaia and the Fianna; indeed, the first permanent mixed packs were Fianna and Moon Dancers. They were not entirely taken seriously and their lack of respect was second only to the Bone Gnawers', but they were loved.

In years of old, The Moon Dancers were the sole seagoing tribe; they all travelled by sea when needed, but the Moon Dancers were known to voluntarily live on boats for years on end. This is not to say they spent their lives on the ocean; the forest and plains were more central even to that tribe of Garou. But they did truly love the sea, and it was a rare Moon Dancer that did not spend years travelling on it.

The Moon Dancers also loved exploring and simple adventure, and in the end this was their downfall. The Wyrm corrupted them through offers of new dances and new lands to travel beneath the ground. Not all of the tribe accepted the Wyrm's offer; in fact, most did not. But virtually all considered it, and those who did not were imprisoned while the rest thought. Then before all were done and the decision could go against the Wyrm, the corrupted by deceit killed the uncorrupted -- and those few who were corrupted but yet not corrupted enough to kill their bethren. Then they slew their Kinfolk, so that nothing of the tribe remained, and fled the vengeance of the other tribes to the new lands the Wyrm had promised.

For whatever reason -- whether Gaia's dire need, the Wyrm pressing its advantage, fate fulfilling itself, the totem making a final attempt at regaining its children of Gaia before Gaia is destroyed, or simple coincidence - a few lost cubs of the tribe have been found. In our campaign, a pack of Garou received permission from the Chicago Camarilla to establish a pack in Chicago in return for helping defend it against an assault of the Sabbat aided by the Black Spiral Dancers. Shortly after the war, Fiona (a Theurge of Fianna) and Peter (a Glass Walker Galliard) were singing in a park, and a shy nineteen-year-old wandered by. They invited her closer and spoke briefly with her, introducing themselves (her name was Laurie). Fiona recognized her as Garou, and called Ferik (Bone Gnasher Ragabash; almost unparalled at sneaking) to tell him to follow Laurie home. Meanwhile, Peter spoke with her; the conversation turned to dreams, and both Laurie's race and her tribe quickly became evident. Once Laurie was found, the Glass Walkers turned to researching her distant relatives to see if there were other lost cubs among them.

Totem

The Dolphin

Initial Willpower

Old 3; New 5

Backgrounds

4, which may be be spent on any but Pure Breed. However, there are conditions on many of the others. A Moon Dancer with Past Life will have memories of both Moon Circle Dancers and Black Spiral Dancers, and will probably be sorely confused. Fetishes, Rites, and Totem can only be taken if they make sense within the campaign. Mentor may certainly be taken, but the Mentor will be watching the Moon Dancer closely. (There are no conditions on Allies, Resources, Contacts, or Kinfolk. GMs should consider charging a lower price for Past Life and Mentor.)

Beginning Gifts

Sense Wyrm (Metis). This does not come particularly naturally to Moon Dancers, but virtually all uncles will insist that the Moon Dancer learn Sense Wyrm as soon as possible, for protection both from the Wyrm's attacks to corrupt and the Black Spiral Dancers' attacks to kill.

Wolf Form

The ancient Moon Dancer form was a small, incredibly graceful white wolf with a mother-of-pearl sheen to its fur; it is no coincidence that this type of wolf is unknown today. Homid Moon Dancers will have this wolf form. Lupus Moon Dancers may have any wolf form, with a slight pearl shimmer in their fur like a very thin coating of silver. The tribe has just been rediscovered and there are no Metis Moon Dancers known. (They are expected to have the wolf-shape of the less-classic parent and the coloring of the more classic parent.)

Organization

Before the destruction, Moon Dancer packs tended to have a clear leader and several clear subordinates in ranked order who led when the leader was absent -- but rank played a minimal role in anything other than chain-of-command. Now there are no packs of Moon Dancers, or even mixed packs dominated by Moon Dancers, both because there are so few Moon Dancers and because they realize this would prompt paranoia from the other Garou. When modern Moon Dancers are in contact with each other, they tend to provide emotional support for the loneliness of not fully fitting in even among the Garou, tips on where to find the most acceptance, and the like.

Habitat

In olden times, the seacoast and the sea were theirs, and they wandered what forests they chose in return for letting all Garou wander their coasts and sea. Now, they live with whatever pack (preferably mixed and tolerant ones) will take them in; for fear of the Black Spiral Dancer's attacks and their own selves, no Moon Dancers has yet lived alone. Most are suspicious of Moon Dancers, remembering the fate of the previous tribe. However, some will take in Moon Dancers because of that suspicion. Get of Fenris, Red Talons, and Black Furies might well take a Moon Dancer as Black Spiral Dancer bait. Fianna might be induced to take them out of the combination of BSD bait and for memories of the past alliance between the two tribes.

Protectorate

In ancient times, the sea. Now, while there are too few Moon Dancers to have a full protectorate, individual Moon Dancers tend to be most interested in combating Black Spiral Dancers and the Wyrm's corruption of people.

Gifts

If the GM wants to use only playtested Gifts, here are the Gifts in Werewolf which fit the Moon Circle Dancers best; choose from them as you find appropriate.

Heightened Senses (Lupus One), Mindspeak (Galliard One), Persuasion (Homid One), Spirit Speech (Theurge One), Glib Tongue (Fianna Two), Sound of Sight (as Lupus Two Scent of Sight, but through hearing rather than scent), Dazzle (Children of Gaia Three), Speak With the Sea Spirits (as Wendigo Two Speak with the Wind Spirits, but against a difficulty of 6 and with water spirits), Spirit of the Fish (Uktena Two), Eyes of the Cat (Metis Three), Attunement (as Bone Gnawer, but this version only functions on the seacoast, in water, on the water surface, or on small islands), Phantasm (Fianna Four), Shadows by the Fire Light (Galliard Four), Speed Beyond Thought (Silent Striders Four), Fabric of the Mind (Galliard Five)

Gifts

Persuasion (Level One): As the Homid power.

Sense Wyrm (Level One): As the Metis power. This Gift does not come any more naturally to Moon Dancers than to most Garou; their uncles insist they learn it anyway.

Speed of the Sea (Level Two):

Speak With the Sea Spirits (Level Two): As the Wendigo Gift Speak with the Wind Spirits, but with water spirits and the difficulty is only 6.

Spirit of the Fish (Level Two): As the Uktena power.

Dazzle (Level Three): As the Children of Gaia power.

Attunement (Level Four) : As the Bone Gnawer power, but this version only functions on the seacoast, in water, on the water surface, or on small islands.