City Politics
Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Rural Garou
Overview: In nearby Smithville Woods, the Sept of the Moon Lake is found. Many werewolves gather near this strong caern, but their interests seem to be limited to spirit world activities. Indeed, the caern's Moon Bridge is a major track and its maintenance and guardianship is one of the caern's primary purposes. Consequently, the Sept's members seem to isolate and do little in the area: fighting leeches is hardly their greatest concern. Most gather at Moonshade in the Smithville area, and outside of Smithville is not these Garou's concern.
Infrastructure: The Sept is dominated by Fianna with Shadow Lords always on the rise -- and always knocking themselves back down with their ambitions get ahead of themselves. This may be in part due also to a small but firm Children of Gaia contingent, who have no issue with exposing Shadow Lord schemes when they're discovered. Other Tribes include a few Get of Fenris, Black Furies, Silent Striders, and even a couple Uktena. A total of thirty-five or so Garou, with five established packs, hold the caern down. About as many Kinfolk dwell in the caern or bawn area.
Current Goals & Conflicts: Maintenance of the Moon Bridge that connects Chicago (and then the East Coast) to San Francisco, this central caern sees a lot of traffic. Most Garou just pass on through, paying the small tithe required to upkeep the Moon Bridge's constant use. Fianna have managed to stay in power for the most part, the Get and Furies keeping each other in brutal check. The Children of Gaia have an ambition, it seems, only to keep the Shadow Lords in check. Fianna are obviously preferable, to their minds. The couple Uktena are actually Banetenders, concealing an ancient, regional secret entombed deep beneath the earth...
Key Locale: The caern and bawn area in Smithville Woods are key, obviously. The powerful caern (Level 4) bears Yale as a totem.
Urban Garou
Overview: The Bone Gnawers have procured a small caern located in the city's junkyard, naming their Sept the Memory Lane. Located in the Projects of the Kansas half of the city, they have taken to viciously guarding their downtrodden territory from supernatural expansion -- another reason the Sabbat have not recovered. The small Glass Walkers have no caern of their own, but from their financial towers and corporate skyscrapers they scour the Umbrascape for spirit allies, both new and generous ones. They remain a strong competitor in the supernaturals' battle for financial superiority.
Infrastructure: The Sept of the Memory Lane is by far Bone Gnawer-dominated. A few Fianna washouts have found their way here, but most don't stay once they hear about the unofficial alliance the Gnawers have with the local Ratkin Burrow. About twenty Garou come and go through the Memory Lane caern. The Glass Walkers, as always, structure themselves like a corporation, and number about a dozen.
Current Goals & Conflicts: The Bone Gnawers aren’t sure why the leech population has declined but they sure aren’t going to lose the opportunity. They have strengthened their protective territory in the poor ‘hoods of Kansas City. The Glass Walkers don’t share the sentiment, fiercely battling the undead in the corporate world.
Key Locale: The Summer Heat Junkyard is the Bone Gnawers’ home-base. It’s well-enclosed from public eye. The Totem is the City Father who curiously is Father of only the Kansas side of the city; a City Mother is the representative spirit of the Missouri side, and the Bone Gnawers have been unable to persuade her to side with the Father in the Junkyard’s (Level 2) caern. The Glass Walkers hold their “business” moots in the Jeremiah Industries skyscraper, found in the heart of the Financial District.
Other Fera
Overview: Of all the other Changing Breeds, Ratkin are more populous than any other. Corax are in second place. There are one or two Gurahl deep in the woods, Ananasi maneuvering in the city, a few wandering Bastet and Nuwisha, and not much more. All of them avoid the Garou like the plague (except the Ratkin who occasionally deal with the Bone Gnawers) and wouldn’t really know how to communicate with the hengeyokai in Little Asia.
Infrastructure: No real communication and certainly no organization exists between the various Changing Breeds of the region. The forty Ratkin or so are populous enough to maintain a strong Colony, known as the Shattered Door. The dozen or so Corax meet regularly.
Current Goals & Conflicts: The Ratkin are interested in expanding their numbers, but have no current ambitions for the city at large. The other Fera are interested in whatever personal ambitions may drive them.
Key Locale: The Ratkin boom throughout the sewers of the Kansas half of the city. Their burrow is dug deep beneath an old, abandoned set of sewerways only a few blocks down from the Summer Heat Junkyard. The Corax’s usual meeting spot is among the trees of Fleming Park.
