GHULON
  by Peloquin (staninvest.sweden@karlskrona.mail.telia.com)

Prelude

     "The name's Logan. I'm the best at what I do. But what I do ain't
pretty."
          -- Wolverine

     The forest's of the Umbra in our parts of the world were lush and
green, full of joyous spirits, and not a trace of Wyrm-taint anywhere.

     We of the Ghulo thrived, and in the comfort of our huge lands, we grew
proud and fat.

     Then the wolves came.

     Changers like us, but far more savage in their ways.

     They saw our lands, dined at our camps, and then they said "This land
by right belongs to the Garou."

     And they begun slaughtering us.

     We of the Ghulo are solitary creatures, and even though our prowess in
battle can defeat the mightiest Garou Ahroun, we are almost helpless
alone against whole packs of the Garou.

     We fell.

     Those of us who survived heard tales of how the usurper wolves had done
the same to the other tribes, to the cats, the ravens, the lizards, the
bears, the spiders, the thorned ones, the plant-eaters, even the rats.
Stories of how some of them had turned towards their brethren to fight
for our sake, and how they had finally worked a truce, of sorts.

     The years passed.

     The wolves forgot how cruel and petty they had been, and soon began
saying that we had been the ones in the wrong, that they were the
rightful owners of all lands, and how the Bete had failed because of
this. Soon they sent smug-faced envoys, Garou with the opinion "we
defeated them so soundly they have to fight for us".

     And we sent them home in pieces. Because we never forgot.

     Now we walk among them, learning their ways, seeing how their own folly
has betrayed them in the end, as they find that they are losing their
battle against the Corruptor, losing because the ones who might have
helped them are dead and gone.

     Not all gone, though.

     We still hate them.

     But we have to fight the Wyrm.

     Even if it means joining the foul, pea-brained wolves.

History

     "I'll wait the signs to come.
     I'll find a way.
     I will wait the time to come.
     I'll find a way home."
          -- Enya, Exile

     Once...well, no, the Ghulon never were numerous. But once there were a
whole lot more of them. And then the War of Rage came, and nearly wiped
them out.

     It took a long time for them to heal, and an even longer time to
swallow their pride enough to stop killing every Garou they got their
hands on. But when they finally did calm down they realized that the
Garou would never defeat the Wyrm single-handed, even if they thought
so.

     So they have started finding their ways into the cities.

Culture and Kinfolk

     The Ghulon have their closest ties to North America, and more often,
the Northern Hemisphere areas of Scandinavia and what was previously
the USSR. Their Kin are often of the Lapish or Northern Indian tribes,
sometimes even of Mongol heritage. But as they have increased in
numbers, their Gulo (wolverine) Kin have dwindled, hunted by ignorant
and all too knowing humans. These days, if one meets a Ghulon, there is
a 99% chance it is Homid.

Character Creation

     The usual 7/5/3, 13/9/5, 5 Backgrounds.

     Rage: 5

     Base Willpower: 5

Breeds

     The Ghulon have three Breeds, Homid, Metis and Gulo.

     Homid Gnosis: 3

     Metis Gnosis: 4

     Gulo Gnosis: 5

Forms

     All forms except Homid gets +3 dice on all Perception rolls.

     Homid: No change

     Morid (Glabro): Str:+2, Dex:1, Sta:3, Man:-2, App:-2.

     Crinos: Str:+4, Dex:+1, Sta:+5, Man:0, App:0.

     Rukh (Hispo): Str:+3, Dex:+2, Sta:+5, Man:0, App:O.

     Gulo: Str:+1, Dex:+2, Sta:+3, Man:-, App:-.

     The Morid form of a Ghulon is the form of the half-apeman, where the
human traits are rapidly disappearing, already the body turns hairier,
the ears grow slightly pointed, and the eyes become a yellowish color.
The brow becomes more prominent, and the hair on the head grows rougher
and has a tendency to fall back to the shoulders. The facial hair
increases, and the Ghulons speech becomes rougher and more guttural.

     The Crinos form is the half-man, half-wolverine shape many a lone Garou
has learned to fear. Now the Ghulon grows several feet, and even if it
doesn't gain the huge size of a Garou in Crinos, the foot-long claws
ond their hands more than compensate for it, not to mention the
seemingly endless reservoir of sheer determination. Once a Ghulon has
gotten a grip with his teeth, he does not let go until you or he is
dead.

     The Rukh shape is an almost wolflike form, but the brown-and-black fur
tells it apart from their Lupine "cousins". The very shape of a Ghulon
in Rukh form is enough to cause a Black Spiral Dancer to turn tail and
run.

     And finally, the Gulo form. This is the average wolverine, with stumpy
legs, excellent climbing capabilities and a temper to match any Garou
Ahroun.

     Now, the claws of the Ghulon do a substantial amount more damage than a
Garou's. Basically, since the claws grow in proportion to the
hands/paws, the claws become footlong instead of inch-long, and
slightly jagged. They do +4 Aggravated Damage.

Mentality

     The Ghulon value solitude above anything. In fact, that is their main
Renown trait, Solitude, which determines how many victories or services
to Gaia without any outside help. Unfortunately, this was also their
downfall in the War of Rage, as even the most pumped Ghulon cannot
alone defeat a whole pack of werewolves.

Tribal weakness

     Ghulon have a severe temper; they need to roll against Frenzy every
once in a while. Every time they fail they grow a little more bestial
in their manners.

Outlook

     Garou: Snivelling weasels. They should be severely spanked and then
clawed across the nose.

     "The Ghulon? Weren't they some kind of were-badgers or something like
that?"

     Bastet: They understand Solitude. We respect them for that. Even if we
have to teach the occasional young Puma kit the lesson that appearances
deceive...

     "Ah, yes, interesting, aren't they?"

     Kitsune: Werefoxes? Never met one.

     "Never met one..."

     Corax: The ravens. We co-operate occasionally.

     "They're handy as hired muscle."

     Nuwisha: Most amusing. If the Garou would just sit down and think about
the pranks and tricks played on them by the children of Coyote, they
might just learn something...

     "They understand most of our jokes..."

     Gurahl: The mighty healers of old. Damned Garou. Another sin on their
conscience.

     "Huuurrr, yyees, I know what they are..."

     Rokea: I don't like water.

     "They never come into the waves. And good riddance to them, too..."

     Cristata: The porcupines. They're...nice, I guess...

     "The wolverines...well...they can fight?"

     Erinaceus: Hedgehogs? Bwahahahaaa!

     "Wolverines? Like in the comic books? Only more of them? Cool!"

     Gaalodi: The Turtles do not bother us, we do not bother them. "We don't
bother them, they don't bother us..."

Quote

     So you're really impressed by that Get's claws? Huh...check these
out...*snikt*

Gifts

     The Gifts of the Ghulon are often very simply named, and very physical
in their powers. It is not until the Ghulon reach the later parts of
their lives they calm down and concentrate on the metaphysiocal side of
the Shifter abilities. The Ghulon get one Breed gift, (As the main
WW:tA books), one Auspice gift, and one Tribal Gift.

     Sniff (Level One) - The Ghulon can track a single set of scent
through any terrain, with the roll Perception + Primal Urge, Diff:6.

     Claw (Level One) - The Ghulon may use a set of foot-long claws in
their Homid form. These claws may only be used in Homid, and cannot be
used as "extra" claws in any other form. Due to the nature of the claws,
the Ghulon has a +1 difficulty on all Combat related Dexterity rolls
involving these claws.

     Hide (Level Two) - The wolverine rolls Stealth diff:7 and spends a
Gnosis point. Until he moves again, or if someone accidentally or
coincidentally finds him, he is effectively invisible.

     Rake (Level Two) - The wolverine gets an extra claw swipe without
having to split his dicepool on his first Combat roll. This only works
once per Combat.