Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
Required reading [playing a lupus]; Acting like a wolf
Topic Started: Mar 5 2010, 10:22 AM (103 Views)
MrofMist
Administrator
This is an excerpt from Laws of the Wild. Read it and take effort to knowing it and incorporating it into your roleplay. Sorry about the bad copy and paste job, the pdf didn't want to put out well. If anyone would like to put some effort into cleaning it up I would greatly appreciate that.



Acting Like a Wolf

Most live-action roleplayers are human and have very little idea about how
wolves get things done. These notes are provided for players of lupus Garou or wolf-
kin so that they may bring a taste of the wild to a game. Various aspects of wolf behavior
will be discussed and how they might relate to your game, Garou in general and the
roleplaying experience.
Keep in mind that some aspects of wolf behavior are harsh and, when seen in
terms of modern human social behavior, quite objectionable. Make sure your players
are comfortable with them before bringing them into your game. Only allow the more
extreme instances if you trust your players to handle them sensitively and well.
Otherwise you may tone them down if you wish or simply disallow them.

Wolf-Hu man Relations

Behavior: In general, wolves are quiet and shy, particularly around humans; they
will flee from humans in the wild. While wolf cubs easily form social relations with
others, including humans, in their first three months, after that they become very
resistant to socialization. The socialization of an adult wolf may take six careful months
of work- or more. No one is entirely certain of why this is. One theory states that most
wolves spend their first three months with their own pack. During this time it’s good
for them to easily form bonds with others. After that, when they explore the world with
their pack and occasionally meet other wolves, the easy formation of social bonds
would be detrimental, even dangerous.
Oddly, cubs do not tend to form lasting bonds with those they meet, even though
they have an easier time adjusting to people. While adult wolves take longer to adjust
to people, they form lasting bonds - when you’ve befriended a wolf, odds are you’ve
made a friend for life. The best way to make friends with a wolf is to spend time with
it from childhood into adulthood, so that it becomes adjusted easily to the person’s
presence and then forms a lasting bond. The Garou are well-aware of this (most of
them), and make use of it when possible.
In roleplaying terms: An adult wolf or lupus Garou, particularly one who did not
meet any humans inits first three months, should beverydiffkult tomake friends with.
She would view others with suspicion and some amount of fear. Physical proximity to
strangers might make her physically ill if she hasn’t really dealt with humans before.
Because of this, Garou do their best to acclimatize their lupus Kin to human presence
while they’re young.

Wolves and Physical Activity

Behavior: A wolf may become so exhausted after a night’s hunt that she won’t
even acknowledge the presence of an intruder in her den for the next few hours.
Because of this, most septs have learned to put homid Garou on watch after long hunts
or fierce battles. Wolves have a tendency to throw their all into physical activities,
particularly those that satisfy base needs such as food and protection. This makes lupus
Garou very dangerous foes as they will fight long past the point of exhaustion.
In roleplaying terms: Wolves and lupus Garou throw everything they have into
a fight. At the Storyteller’s discretion, lupus Garou and wolves may have an extra
Willpower to spend during combat or hunts. Once the fight or hunt is over, the wolf
will not be able to do anything but return home and sleep for the next four hours -
even combat will not awaken him. An actual wound will awaken him, but he will be
down two Physical Traits for the duration of the combat. This is an optional rule, and
the Storyteller may prefer to leave this element of wolf personality strictly to
roleplay ing.

Dominance

Behavior: There is a strict pecking order in wolf packs. It is linear - wolf A is
dominant to B; B is dominant to C, and so on. Usually there are two lines in each pack,
one male and one female. The alpha male tends to be dominant to the alpha female,
except after the alpha female has given birth, when she is dominant to the alpha male
for a short time.
In roleplaying terms: Wolves and lupus Garou believe in a strict order of rank \s
even more so than other Garou do, and theirs is more gender-specific. This is
something you’ll need to think about very carefully. You may decide that you can get
a good story out of a lupus Garou who just doesn’t understand that a homid female of
supposedly equal rank is not actually subordinate to him. However, some male players
may take this as an opportunity to lord it over women and the women will, for very
good reason, resent this.
Behavior: Usually wolf packs form around a mated pair of wolves, the alpha male
and alpha female. While either wolf may occasionally mate with a different wolf, their
position at the top of the pecking order remains. If a wolf leaves the pack, however,
for whatever reason, when she returns she will be at the bottom of the pecking order
rather than at her old position, even if she had been the alpha.
In roleplaying terms: The dominance and rank order of lupus packs is more pack-
specific than in standard Garou society. A homid Garou might be very surprised to
return to his old pack (made up of mostly lupus Garou) and find out that he’s
subordinate to Garou of lower rank. Luckily, he may achieve his status again in the
same way as always - by defeating those above him in challenges or in other ways
proving himself to be their superior.
Behavior: There are four basic types of wolves in a wolfpack. First, the alpha pair.
Second, mature wolves who rank subordinate to the alpha pair. Third, “outcasts,” who
rank very low and must stay near the fringes of the pack. Fourth, juvenile wolves, who
don’t officially join the pack until they reach age two.
The pecking order establishes two things: privilege and leadership. Higher-
ranked wolves may take the best pickings of prey, for example. Higher-ranked wolves
also make decisions for the pack. There is an exception to the privilege rule, however
- any wolf is considered to “own” any item within one foot of its mouth; obviously
this usually refers to food.
In roleplaying terms: Anything that a Garou does not have on his person is
considered to be fair game for a higher-ranked Garou to take. Homid Garou may take
strong exception to this point of view. The whole reasoning behind this “rule” is that
possessions are considered to belong to the pack as a whole. The higher-ranked Garou
get best pickings because it is believed that they may put things to better use than
lower-ranked Garou would. A player should not use this as an excuse to randomly take
items she desires from other characters.
Behavior: A wolf pack is run as a cross between an autocracy and a democracy.
While the alpha male technically makes all of the decisions, he is expected to take the
needs of the other wolves into account. For example, if he notices that the other
members of the packare tired and can’t keep up, he won’t push them to keep traveling.
In roleplaying terms: The alpha male is considered to have final say on any
matter. However, he is expected to be fair and to have the best interests of the pack
in mind. If he breaks this unspoken rule too often, he may find his pack doesn’t listen
to him.
Behavior: When a pack is stable (i.e., the membership does not change and does
not undergo particularly hard times), the dominance order is likely to be stable. The
more shake-ups there are, the more challenges there will be, and the more aggressively
dominant the high-ranking wolves will be.
In roleplaying terms: Characters should not be jockeying for positions of
dominance during times of peace, when the composition of the pack is stable. Such
challenges and shows of strength should be common, however, during times ofstruggle
and changing pack composition.

The Lowest Member of the pack

Behavior: The lowest member of the pack can be very low indeed, forced to
follow as much as a mile behind the rest of the pack. He is chased away from kills, and
there may be no food left by the time he gets to feed. In times of peace, when the wolves
have no release for their aggression, they may take it out on this unfortunate wolf. In
rare instances they may kill this wolf.
In roleplaying terms: The lowest-ranked member of the pack will not be treated
well by any lupus Garou. He will be pushed around, denied food from a kill and forced
to walk separate from the pack in some instances (particularly in larger packs). He will
probably be the butt of any jokes or pranks initiated by a lupus Ragabash. Before you
decide whether to pay attention to this aspect of wolf behavior, talk to the player of
the lowest-ranked member of the pack and find out whether he's willing to deal with
roleplaying this.

Body Language

Behavior: Dominance and submission are both displayed in body language. If a
dominant wolf approaches one of a lower station, the lower-ranking wolf displays
submissive behavior.
Dominant behavior may include growling with teeth showing, confident stance,
a fixed stare, wrinkled forehead, standing tall. Of course it also includes various bits of
body language that humans can't replicate, but almost any confident body language
will do. Emotionally speaking, the dominant wolf will display self-confidence and
occasionally aggression toward to the subordinate wolf.
Submissive behavior may include closed mouth, a crouched posture, lowered
head and a smooth forehead with slitted eyes. When the subordinate wolf is very
subordinate (such as the lowest-ranked wolfwith respect to the alpha), he may roll on
his back and expose his throat. Emotionally speaking, the subordinate wolf will display
friendliness and tolerance toward the higher-ranking wolf. The more subordinate the
wolf, the more pronounced the behavior.
In roleplaying terms: A little physical expression of rank can certainly make life
interesting, especially as it may be misinterpreted by homid Garou. In simple terms,
high-ranking wolves display confidence and sometimes even aggression. Low-ranking
wolves display a shrinking stance, friendliness and a giving over of control. In a stable
pack, the displays are likely to be simple self-confidence issues. In an unstable pack,
aggression is more likely. The strength ofdisplay of dominance or submission is related
to the difference in station between the two wolves, more than simply which is of
higher or lower rank.

Territoriatism

Behavior: Wolves tend to be hostile to intruders of their own species. If a pack
finds a lone wolfor a duo in an area they consider their territory, they will likely chase
it away. If they catch it, even if it displays submissive behavior, they will likely attack
it, and perhaps even kill it. Most outside wolves survive such attacks only by breaking
away and fleeing.
Every once in a while, though - and no one is quite sure why - a pack might
take a lone wolf in and make it a part of the pack.
In roleplaying terms: One of the first things homid Garou learn to cure lupus
Garou of is the tendency to attack others of their kind who are not of their pack. Lupus /
Garou take some time to adjust to septs that include more than one pack, and even \
once adjusted can often be rude anddismissive toward Garou of other packs. Lone
packs of all-lupus Garou may sometimes kill lone Garou who have strayed into their
territory, or at least chase them away.
Lupus Garou don’t like Garou or wolves who stray into an area they consider their
territory. Lupus Garou who live in multi-pack septs have at least learned not to act on
this dislike, although they may still feel it. This may result in rude or hostile behavior
on the part of the lupus toward members of other packs. Some lupus come to consider
the entire sept honorary members of their pack, and simply react this way against
outsiders to the sept. This antagonism may be one way to encourage pack politics in
your game.
Edited by MrofMist, Mar 5 2010, 10:27 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Character Creation · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Theme Café Eclectic created by tiptopolive of IDS