WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
So here's the general idea. Gaia wove the primal spark through the spirits of all her creatures, that they might be protected and kept in balance. It remains dormant in most, scattered through populations, and can be brought to the fore by need or by the actions of those who've already had it awakened. The cosmology is otherwise the same. The Tribes and Changing Breeds are all the same, at least on the basic-stereotype level. (cont)
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
I still need to figure out how metis happen, because obviously I'm throwing out the first clause of the Litany.
Or maybe reversing it.
"Garou shall mate with other Garou as much as possible, eagerly and joyfully, assuming everyone involved consents" ;)
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
Looking through character creation to see what needs changing.
Metis I already addressed...
Backgrounds:
Kinfolk are people who've become trusted enough that they've undergone a rite to spare them from Delerium
Pure Breed is cut, it doesn't really do moch other than provide a different sort of social cachet.
Ancestors seems fine TBH? Just consider them ancestors of spirit rather than blood. (And it's a cool mechanic)
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@indi *NODS to the last part*
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@indi First thought: reverse it. Eliminate deformity. Metis are people whose self-identity simply isn't human (or feral). Non-kin feel weird around them because the Otherness shows even when they cover for it, so they're at risk of discovery. Perhaps they don't inspire the Veil as strongly because they don't see themselves as alien.
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@literorrery That runs along my thoughts too: Metis are already purportedly that way because they have 'more Wyld' than others. Maybe they (randomly) have more of the aforementioned spark within. And yeah, make deformities cosmetic or treat them as regular flaws and add some merits in too.
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@indi How would you handle the War of Shame? Did it not happen, or happen differently? I can see possibilities but I'd like to hear your thoughts before I jump in.
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@literorrery TBH, the notion that Garou have historically been intolerant dipshits who still have a lot to answer for is something I see as more feature than bug. I'd say that the Australian shifters in general just ended up being different enough that colonialism happened, and while they're not eradicated, they're in the same situation as lots of other indigenous peoples.
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@literorrery This actually gives might give a means by which to contend with the other uncomfortable Noble Savage tendencies in the game, actually; what if the other Native-derived tribes had something similar happen?
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@indi Oh, I'm all for keeping it in. Now it's spiritual discrimination, not just familial. And I can see people still having legitimate grievances about it that a game could and should address.
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@literorrery Yeah, this exactly. I acknowledge that it runs a bit against my 'tribes are freely-chosen and affinity-based' a bit, but I think there's room for some variance in there, and the cultural effect of being a racial outgroup (which would still exist, especially for homids) shouldn't be erased.
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@literorrery I'm going to mostly leave the native stuff aside and let it be tackled by people who want to engate with it dorectly to tell their own stories though, because I already feel like I'm rapidly swimming into waters I don't know much about. ;)
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@literorrery (dang I make a lot of typos when I talk about stuff that makes me anxious. c.c)
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
@indi so I've come up with a background story to explain why my character is a werecorvid. I might be interested in this game a whole lot yes
WtA thoughts, please poke holes in this if you know the lore
Weretype is determined by temperment/destiny/whatever else (in other words, player choice)
Auspice (if your weretype has one) is determined by when you changed, which itself is usually tied to some defining emotional moment (a bite can kindle the spark, but it ignites fully on its own).
Tribe/camp/etc is generally self-chosen based on ideology. Factions still bicker for the same reasonable and unreasonable reasons, of course.