Gangrel
A hunger older than mankind burns inside the wolves. When other Kindred curse their appetites and choose the gilded cage of the city and the leash of social hierarchy, the wolves accept the Beast as a part of themselves and run free. Crossing borders between species, nations, and domains with the ease of perfect predators, they belong to the wild and the wild belongs to them. To think of them as noble savages is perilous, as the animals have little respect for the arrogance of civilization, and only the strongest survive their bloody hunts and savage initiations. Trading stories of war and the secret histories of their kind around campfires lit with the bones of their oppressors, they have turned their backs on the Camarilla and fight tooth and claw to escape the endless plots of their fellow Kindred.
Clan Gangrel are outcasts, wanderers, rogues, and hunters. They make havens in the poorest parts of the city and feel no shame for doing so. They claim few domains as their own but defer to no prince. If a feral enters a city, the prince will either accept it or have to fight the feral to get them to back down.
Gangrel Embrace from the ranks of survivors and fighters: leaders of prison crews and gangs, explorers (urban and otherwise), and any kine who sees the world as something to traverse instead of something to hide from. They care not for looks or title, but for accomplishment and reputation. A childe may be a challenge, but the clan follows rituals and initiations to ensure the fledgling is worth the time. Success means a new, honored member of the clan. Failure means simply a forgettable reject or a pile of ash.
Any mortal capable of projecting their will onto others, leading a group from disaster to success, or fighting impossible odds draws the clan’s attention. This fact results in a symptom known as “too many chiefs,” when the clan consists of more leaders than followers. Customs encourage fights for dominance, but these rarely last until final death, as Gangrel elders advocate against taking competition for authority personally, instead encouraging a culture of healthy rivalry.
Disciplines:
Animalism: A Gangrel can use Animalism to take on an animal companion, sometimes called a famulus. The animal companion can be used for hunting, spying, and attacking. Some Gangrel will turn pets on their owners, hound vagrants with packs of dogs, or lure strays to them for a quick feeding.
Fortitude: As longtime bodyguards and soldiers for the other clans, the Gangrel have benefited hugely from Fortitude. The Discipline can give them a sense of fearlessness, as it allows them to hunt across harsh terrain and take bullets and knife blades without worry. The Gangrel who emphasize growth in Fortitude likely expects a lot of harm to come their way.
Protean: Gangrel are known for their mastery of Protean, as few other clans possess its gifts. Straddling the line between vampirism and shapeshifting, the Discipline allows a Gangrel to take on the physical properties of another creature, or in other ways change their physical shape. Gangrel who feed as animals often consider this the truest, or at least the best, of kills.
Clan Bane: Gangrel relate to their Beast much as other Kindred relate to the Gangrel: suspicious partnership. In frenzy, Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic. These features last for one more night afterward, lingering like a hangover following debauchery. Each feature reduces one Attribute by 1 point – the Storyteller may decide that a forked tongue or bearlike musk reduces Charisma, while batlike ears reduce Resolve (“all those distracting sounds”). If nothing immediately occurs to you, the feature reduces Intelligence or Manipulation.
The number of features a Gangrel manifests equals their Bane Severity. If your character Rides the Wave of their frenzy (see p. 219) you can choose only one feature to manifest, thus taking only one penalty to their Attributes.
Related Organizations
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