W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

these groups from acting in an effective and organizedfashion on the wererats' urgings, but that could changeat any time.Most of the land-dwelling Rokea (which is still avery small number) dwell along the coastlines in theUnited States, where they seek answers for the threats totheir kind and to Sea. Recently, a few brave weresharkshave begun exploring further inland, seeking to betterunderstand human civilization. Their miniscule numbersand ignorance of human ways limit their effectiveness,however, unless they can find allies among the otherChanging Breeds.The American SouthwestIn addition to being the homeland of the Nuwisha,the sunny Southwest is also home to most of the Nagahin the United States and many foreign Mokolé. Thoughboth Breeds lived in North America before the firstWar of Rage, during that conflict the Nagah werelargely driven out, and the Mokolé nearly wiped outand forced to hide from the other Changing Breeds. Inmodern times, Asian and African Mokolé immigratedto the United States and found the native Mokolé lostin sun-warmed dreams. The new arrivals have tried toenlist the aid of local weresaurians, but most have littleinterest in working with outsiders.The American Northwest & CanadaThese regions are home to the majority of the Coraxand Gurahl in North America. The wereravens keepcareful watch on this region and execute swift retributionon any who threaten wild raven populations. This is alsoone of the only places in the world where the Gurahlare holding their own, and even making a comeback.Today, many of the werebears work to save local salmonpopulations, and some of them have sabotaged dams thatkeep these fish from their spawning groups.MexicoThe Wyrm is powerful here and getting more so,especially in the regions near the US border. Desperateand violent criminal gangs traffic in illegal drugs, highpowered weapons, and human lives, killing anyone whogets in their way. The Ratkin are a major force in thisconflict. Several violent and half-crazed wererats havecreated their own criminal gangs, composed of Ratkin,their rare human Kinfolk, and hired human criminalswho don't worry too much about who or what they areworking for. Filled with violent urges and a certaintythat the end times are here, these gangs have acquiredmilitary grade weapons, escalating some of the localinter-gang violence to the level of small wars.Some of their targets are agents of the Wyrm,including both fomori and their twisted human allies. Inaddition to making money and spreading chaos, some ofthe Wyrm’s criminal gangs also sell illegal drugs laced withspiritual toxins that gradually convert regular users intosemi-human servants of the Wyrm. By attacking these,the Ratkin are making great progress fighting the Wyrmin their own way, even if their efforts contribute morechaos to an area that is already a powder keg of conflict.A few Balam have used the chaos as good cover fortheir own activities, either independently or through oneof the gangs; the pack that controls one of the region’slargest criminal armies now contains both Ratkin andBalam in an uncomfortable alliance.Mexican shapeshifters have also had some clearvictories away from the gang war. In several large Mexicanforests, greedy profiteers have slaughtered entire nativevillages in order to lay unfettered claim to the valuabletimber on their properties. Nuwisha and Corax havedriven off or hunted down the illegal loggers, and drawntheir clear-cutting to a rather messy, if humorous (at leastto the Coyotes and Ravens) halt. At the same time, anest of Nagah have begun hunting the agents of theWyrm who sponsor this logging, and exacting justicefor the village murders.The ArcticNot wholly North America or Europe, the frozenzone surrounding the North Pole faces many challengesin modern times — as do the shapeshifters who make theirhome there. Global climate change has badly affected allportions of the Arctic. Polar bears are rapidly headed forextinction due to territory loss and food shortages, andother arctic bears are seriously threatened. One resultof this decline has been a similar reduction in the birthrate of the local bear-born Gurahl, leaving the werebearsin the area to turn increasingly to their human Kin toattempt to stave off extinction.Similarly impacted, the arctic Khan, once a thrivingpopulation, are now almost extinct. Only the Coraxare thriving in the Arctic, and even they face growingchallenges as mining and oil drilling are on the rise,creating growing numbers of banes and fomori that stalkthe long arctic nights.Central & South AmericaIn the southern portion of the western hemisphere,shapeshifters are fighting a war on all sides. Agents ofthe Wyrm, in the guise of human developers, continueto destroy the jungles that used to hide local ChangingBreeds from Garou predation. As their territoriesCHAPTER ONE: THE CHANGING WORLD 27