W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

BHERNOCHTA Gurahl who willingly (i.e., not underduress) fails in his duties or abandons his responsibilitiessuffers a one-point loss of Willpower andloses the advantages gained from Adamant Will.His Willpower decreases by one point per day (notincluding deliberate expenditures of Willpower)until he resumes his responsibilities. Whether theresponsibility is protecting a person, guarding anarea, or accomplishing an appointed task, theloss continues until the Gurahl either resumeshis duty or finds an appropriate replacement. Ifthe Gurahl’s Willpower reaches zero before hehas stopped the process, he enters Bhernocht.Similar to a Garou who has fallen intoHarano, a Gurahl in Bhernocht experiences aprofound depression, becoming fixated on hisown worthlessness and feeling unwilling (or unable)to do anything about it. Unless the Gurahlfinds some way to overcome this state, either byhimself or through the assistance of others, heeventually enters a state of deep hibernation andcan only be awakened through sustained forceor by the Gift: Waken. If awakened, he muststill find a way out of Bhernocht. This processshould involve role-playing rather than dice rolls.groups exist in limited numbers, although the Okuma —the werebears of Japan and lower Asia — were entirelyannihilated during the Eastern lands’ War of Shame.Because they are so few, Gurahl recognize that limitingtheir breeding based on racial backgrounds or Kinfolkspecies is an impractical impediment to one of the Breedsmost pressing goals: increasing their numbers. Whilesome werebears still carry a great deal of pride related totheir ancestral ties, nowadays a Gurahl is likely to takea mate wherever he or she finds an appropriate partner,rather than limiting themselves to an also-dwindlingpopulation with historic ties. Thus, a modern Gurahl’stribe is as likely to relate to the geographic region towhich they feel the strongest affinity and dedication asit is to the particular breed of bear their family line isconnected with. Still, each tribe has peoples and speciesit traditionally calls its own. These are generallyconsidered to be its native Kinfolk, regardless of howdiverse populations may become.Forest WalkersSome of the earliest Gurahl to inhabit the PureLands, the Forest Walkers migrated across the NorthAmerican continent, settling mainly in the eastern andsouthern woodlands of what is now the United States.Many withdrew from the world as Europeans ravaged thecontinent’s wilderness, although some remained hiddenand slumbering in what habitat was left to their ursineBEARS OF MANY NAMESThe bear family tree has many diverse (andsometimes convoluted) branches. Modern scientistshave identified many sub-families, genus,species, and sub-species in attempts to specificallylabel exactly where each individual and groupbelongs in the viney forest that is bear taxonomy.These attempts are only further muddled by thecommon vernacular for each species, often basedon visual cues that can overlap broadly — orvary widely — between species.Gaia, on the other hand, has no such confusion.Supernaturally speaking, each Gurahl is theembodiment of Bear and is equally blessed bytheir Mother, regardless of whether that manifestsas a massive Arctic white or a diminutiveAsian sunbear.While certain tribal associations haveevolved in the Breed over time, these separationsare more a product of regional speciesassociating predominantly with their own kindthan of any supernatural differentiation. Thiscan be evidenced by the presence of the RiverGuardians, whose members traditionally spana vast variety of bear species, due to the globalfocus of their sacred duties.Thus, while it is tempting to label the ForestWalkers simply as “black bears”, or the IceStalkers as solely “ursus maritimus”, these aregeneralizations at best.Those who would truly understand the Gurahlwould do well to avoid following too closelyin human taxonomer’s footsteps, and focus onwhat is important to the werebears — their rolesand responsibilities within the spirit and mortalworlds — rather than their genetic makeup andscientific designations.GURAHL109