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The Tribes

With such great losses in the Battle of the Umbra and in subsequent attempts at raids in the Penumbra, the Garou Nations focus has began drifting away from the factions that once governed them as whole. While Tribes still exist they are viewed more as a bloodline rather than a separation of extreme ideals and Tribal dominance. The focus has shifted to the Garou Nation as a whole. The threat of extinction is very real and with the loss of Tribal Elders it is rare to find a die hard Tribal fanatic (though they do exist). This is not to say all has been lost, the Garou are still very proud creatures when it comes to their heritage. Tribal stories continue to this day but there is a shift in the attitude of those that now listen. While they admire the diversity and the heritage of their own and those around them, Garou are more aware of the importance in banding together and uniting under the single ideal of survival.

There are still debates of how Garou were created, who came before the other and who was to blame, but rarely does it come to the desire to divide oneself from the Nation. Garou are far from stupid and know that their best bet at surviving is to stick with their own species. Tribes are not as important as they once were. It doesn't matter if one comes from the Bone Gnawers or of the great Get of Fenris. What's important is that each and every Garou are able to put teeth and claw to a battle, able to pack and live with their brethren, and have a chance at creating and raising the next generation - if there is a next generation. With such high stakes, generally Tribes are viewed as family pride in heritage and bloodline gifts specifically bred and taught from parent to child.

But there is still those Tribal few that remain staunch Traditionalists and hold on fiercely to what it means to be part of their Tribe. They hold the reigns to their past tightly and refuse to let it slip through their fingers. These Garou are proud creatures and desperately try to keep the ancient Traditions in modern day, even if they remain the minority of the whole Nation.

Adopting into a Tribe is practically unheard of. To be of a Tribe one must have one parent that carries the blood. Even those that marry into or mate with a Tribal Garou does not become part of the Tribe, but their children (if applicable) will be, as it's strictly a bloodline and genetic heritage. In the case of those that have a parent from two different Tribes they will be raised with knowledge of both (depending on the parents views). Garou born with two different Tribal parents will often follow the closest Garou relative in way of learning gifts.

Players can still choose a Tribe to be affiliated with and its up to the players on how they want to play their Tribal views in game. The above is just the views of overall changes for this game setting.

The Hybrids (Non-Tribal Garou)

With the very real threat of extinction the Garou have had to look beyond their own blood in order to breed. With the numbers of the living so low, and the discovery of life-mates, it has become socially acceptable for inter-Tribal relations. With the focus on successful conceptions, who and to what Tribe the parent belongs has become irrelevant. If a Garou or Kinfolk child is the result of a union, what does it matter of which Tribe the parents originated? It's through these inter-relations and diluted pure breed that the term Hybrid has come. These Garou are of no particular Tribe and carry no blessings/curse or gifts from a Tribal heritage.

With Pure Breed dying out, Hybrid Garou are becoming the more numerous of the population. There are mixed feelings about this. Some of the Tradtional Garou have been voicing their concerns over the rights or ability that these Hybrid Garou have to lead, pointing out that the Tribal Spirits have even turned their back on these Garou. While other Garou argue that it shouldn't matter if a Garou is well bred, that even those of high breeding have not been successful in breeding a new generation and are suffering the same results as other Gaia's children. They also argue that Hybrids are born whole and healthy, surviving beyond their First Change, and that they are helping keep the species of the Nation alive; what is a small sacrifice of Tribal Gifts compared to the other alternative.

Needless to say, there are some debates over the new generation of Garou. Hardcore Traditionalists can make it difficult for a Hybrid, the worst of them thinking Hybrids of little more than mongrels, and while they cling to their hopes for the rebirth of pure bred Tribal Garou there are the general population that take the threat of their dying species as a very real reality, welcoming these Garou as any other.

Hybrids are more common in this day and age and players are more than welcome to make their player character one of these Garou. They are the same as all other Garou, they simply do not have a Tribe but nor are they considered Ronin. Ronin are considered Garou, not of the Wyrm, that work against the Nation - they are rare and hunted.