Werewolf Pack Creation

[cwj0032]

To recap what we talked about on Facebook:

I want to run a 4-person wolf pack sponsored by the government organization you call Project REDGUARD.
The Alpha of the pack, a Rahu, has an extensive military background. He is an extremely capable warrior and is fiercely loyal to and protective of his wolf pack. Due to his military background, he is quite familiar with the idea of "chain of command," but is not afraid to be a bit insubordinate if he has considerable reason to believe his orders put his team in jeopardy.

The Beta, an Elodoth, also has considerable experience with the military; however, more on the research and development aspect, and far less combat experience than the alpha.

The omega, a Cahalith, is purely an academic, with a vast knowledge and understanding of ancient cultures and mythologies as well as their languages and customs. As the only member of the group who has no military or combat experience, he is more likely to question orders from outside the pack, then play the "dutiful soldier" role.

I'm still working on a character concept for the last member, but he's an Ithaeur and also has a fair amount of combat experience, though not through the military as the alpha has. His experience may come through a time spent as a gun for hire or something of that nature, possibly still having contacts in that field.

[AdminAdmin]

It's REDGARDEN, actually.  One requirement is that all of the pack members be either Iron Masters or Ghost Wolves.  No lodges are allowed (REDGARDEN is, practically, your lodge).

Will you be controlling the entire pack or will other players be joining?

What thoughts did you have regarding your totem? It has to be okay with the idea of the pack taking orders from the government.

How experienced is your pack?

[cwj0032]

I'll control the entire pack. I had a couple friends who expressed interest, but they decided they were too busy.

I think it actually fits perfectly in my original idea for most of the pack to be Iron Masters. The Ithaeur is a ghost wolf. I've started working more on his backstory, which I'll include in a later post, but essentially he grew up in a war zone and when he changed there was no one around to help teach him what he was.

By the time the pack is discovered and approached by REDGARDEN, the pack has been together about a year. During this time, the pack has been teaching the ghost wolf what he needs to know about himself. The Alpha and Beta are still involved with the military doing contract work and things of that nature here at home (maybe that's how they were contacted by REDGARDEN?). The omega works at the local history museum, identifying artifacts and forgeries and occasionally being asked to consult on particularly interesting digs.

[AdminAdmin]

What about your totem?

Also, and this is very important, what kind of plot lines do you want?

[cwj0032]

Right! My bad. I was thinking something along the lines of a spirit of freedom, but not like happy, celebratory, "let's throw a parade" freedom. More like the dark, gritty understanding of what freedom costs: the soldier who's seen too much of the front lines, or the leader who had to make the choice to let hundreds of innocent people die in order to save the lives of millions others. It doesn't have to necessarily be "freedom" per se, perhaps a spirit of sacrifice or something like that would be a little more appropriate, but it's the idea that truth and justice can't always win by standing in the sun. Sometimes, you have to get dirty. I imagine that if the totem thought joining REDGARDEN and giving up the pack's personal freedom was a necessary evil in order to serve some larger purpose, he would feel it was the pack's duty.

As far as story lines, I haven't really thought about that. Honestly, I'm a big fan of your story-telling style, so I was planning on leaving that to you.

[AdminAdmin]

I like the totem idea. Come up with a name, a pack ban, and a totem boon. I don't need exact mechanics for the boon but simply something like, "The totem makes the pack members more resistant to pain."

I'm envisioning the pack as a crisis response squad. Something happens in some city which majorly screws up the Hisil. You're sent in to put things right.

[AdminAdmin]

So...

[cwj0032]

Totem Name: Blood-of-the-Patriots

Since the Totem is a spirit of sacrifice and freedom, I was thinking the ban should require some personal sacrifice for each member of the party. Would you be willing to allow the pack's choice to work for the government instead of enjoying the relative freedom of a typical werewolf pack a large enough sacrifice to satisfy this ban? As long as they are following the orders of Redgarden in order to protect the world from something larger than themselves, this spirit will favor them?

My other thought was a regularly recurring "sacrifice". Maybe something physical and symbolic, like a sacrifice of blood and essence to honor those who paid the ultimate cost for freedom, or perhaps a sacrifice of time; working with veterans who have recently returned home and are trying to cope with physical and mental wounds.

The totem will give the pack the strength to fight their enemies and help protect them from harm.

[AdminAdmin]

I like it. Let's go with the first ban.

What does the totem look like? You don't have to go into super detail.

Give me the names of your pack members and I think we can get this thing stated.

[cwj0032]

The totem appears as a large white pelican with large holes in its breasts, dried blood from the wounds covering its front. (Fun fact if you didn't know, it was believed in much of ancient Europe and up until the 16th/17th centuries that pelicans would stab themselves with their beaks and let their children feed off their blood when no other food was available. So the pelican was adopted by the early European Christian church as a symbol of self-sacrifice and charity)


Alpha: Major Jack Crawford (Rahu)
Beta: Colonel Christina (Chris) Fraiser (Elodoth)
Omega: Dr. Reed Avery (Cahalith)

Since coming to America, the Ithaeur goes by "Murray", for ease.

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