Great Britain Forsaken VSS

Part 1: Basic Information

Part 2: Styles of Play

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Style of Play - Description – Rating

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Part 3: Description of Venue

THEME: Mood/Atmosphere

The Forsaken venue is a harsh place – every hand could be turned against you, no matter if it’s your tribemate, your mother, your neighbour or your lover. The Shadow is a hostile place to even the most experienced Bone Shadow, there are foes out there to challenge and best the most skilled Blood Talon, there are puzzles which can stump the most clever Iron Master, places too wild and untamed for the most hardy Hunter in Darkness and more challenges for leadership for even the strongest willed and noble Storm Lord. It is a venue where the needs of fellowship, company and society must be balanced with concern for territory and even survival. Some of the things which lurk in the dark are even worse to meet down a dark alley than yourself.

At its heart though Forsaken is a personal game, the core is the Pack and your characters place within that. Each pack has to make its home, carve out and hold its territory, and survive against the worst that two worlds can throw at it. For those who can seize territory and make it theirs there exists the opportunity to enjoy a taste of fabled Pangaea, the land of Father Wolf.

Outside of the heart is the overwhelming drive, the need, for company and companionship with others of your own kind – Pack are your family, other werewolves are your friends, are your workmates and acquaintances. More than just that though other werewolves are those who you can learn from, who can help to destroy threats before they damage your territory – and who you can, perhaps, learn some trust for.

ANTAGONISTS & SETTING: History

Details are scarce of the true history of Britain’s land and Shadow, myth and legend more than written record act as the memory of the People. Some say that it was Julius Caesar who was the first human to truly affect the lands across the Gauntlet with his failed invasion of Britain. There are tales of Spirits coming across and making Monarchs and Lords into Ridden, of Uratha hunting on four legs at night and robbing the Sheriff’s men by day. History tells of great dogs and wolves fighting alongside Angle and Saxon, Northman and Dane. Of monsters, wyrms and twisted creatures plaguing the lands in times long past.

It is reasonably certain, most Urathan scholars agree, that the second and successful Roman invasion of Britain impacted heavily on the Hisil and upon the Spirit Courts. The fastest, and safest, means of travel through the Shadow of Great Britain remains on the reflection of the roads which were built and which have lasted through century on century.

It was during the centuries of Roman dominance of the British Isles that a warrior cult spread amongst some of the People brought from Rome; a group called the Brotherhood of the Eagle who placed the good of the state above the good of the individual. For a while they were a minor group, a lesser lodge, but they did grow in stature to be one of the first great Clutches to form in Britain.

It is generally agreed that at some time before the Great Fire of London a deal was struck between the pre-eminent Ithaeur of the land and a powerful Spirit named the Rat King.

This deal was to stop the spread of disease, of the plague, and as the Tribes of the Moon worked to aid the Rat King and its Brood to keep spiritual predators from them, and to not drive them back to the Shadow, the Beshilu who were in the country were hunted, and with them all rats. Some claim that the Fire marked the end of the Pact. Others say that it is still followed by some Packs, descended from those who made the deal with the devil. One thing is certain – the Rat King isn’t telling.

Since the days and nights of the 17th century things changed, slowly at first but with increasing quickness, as battles between the varied Spirit Courts changed the landscape of the Hisil and affected the Realm too. As the Industrial Revolution swept into full swing the Court of Cogs formed from a movement amongst certain spirits and became not merely a full Court, but was for many years the paramount of all Britain’s Spirit Courts.

Things changed, suddenly and rapidly, for the People as the twentieth century rolled in. As the war in Europe loomed hostilities between the Tribes of the Moon and the sinister Pure grew until they were barely short of outright war in some areas of the country. As war in Europe became a fact these fights between Uratha turned more vicious, with casualties on both sides becoming not merely a sad fact but a common occurrence. This meant that when the war was finally over and the troops returned home there were not enough of the People to stem the tide of spirits, in both worlds, which accompanied them.

Displaced from the broken lands of Europe at first hundreds then thousands of spirits poured into Britain. The Tribes of the Moon had lost so many warring against the Pure that they could not stand against this tide of spirits – many territories were overrun and lost to the People. Some have still never been recovered – some Cahalith suggest that Spirits in Twilight and Ridden will be commonplace, and that the Tribes of the Moon have a duty to do, but even the most rabid Elodoth realises that there are not the numbers, nor the will, to do anything of it.

However, not all was lost for as Europe tottered towards another great war a council was called, a great War Council gathered Uratha from across the lands, some coming from overseas to hear what was said and to present their own views. It is rumoured that some of the Pure Tribes attended, though none say they spoke any, and there are none who now live who claim they saw them there. After the council was done, a thing of near a moons turning with People coming and going throughout, a decision was made.

Another flood of spirits could not be allowed. Those Packs whose territory was the coast would safeguard those routes. Others of the People would leave Britain for the continent in an attempt to control those spirits who sought the safety of an island nation. Though this was a hard path for many, and a path which saw much Uratha blood spilt far from its territory, it was largely successful. Many spirits had been born within the country, but few had come to it from outside. Britain was saved.

What was even more amazing to those battered survivors is that their territories were in a remarkable state. Houses were levelled, people had been killed, Loci had been destroyed, created, moved. But the Spirit Wilds were contained; there were neither dozens nor hundreds of rogue spirits or Ridden. Most of all though, the Pure had not taken this golden opportunity to seize land from their hated Brothers.

For some things settled down into something approaching civility for a while, then the same old same old thing happened time and again. The People started to look outside their borders with jealous eyes, or started to snap at any who would come and parlay. Once more territories became islands of suspicion, spirit, host, Pure, Tribe of the Moon…any could be a threat. Of course that changed, had to change, in the Bloody ’69.

Its easy to laugh at the name, it sounds like a bad porno film, but the truth is far from that. What actually happened was that the gates of hell opened and we were in the way. No trumpet blowing, no banner waving. It was bad. Three of the biggest, oddest, most downright scary things which anyone had ever seen didn’t just step into existence – they ripped a hole and stepped through it!

Sounds difficult to believe, but it was the truth never the less, look hard in the dark places and you’ll find the Markers. The Memorials. They’re all over. Markers to those who looked outside of their territory and came to do the duty of Father Wolf. Seeing these crazy, powerful spirit things, seeing what they were doing and realising that the Tribes of the Moon were the only things which could stop them.

Many died. Some say dozens, some say hundreds, regardless these monstrous spirits, these Idigam, were finally defeated. Two of them were destroyed, no matter the dozens of Uratha who joined them, and the third was driven into the sea. All in all the Bloody ’69 wasn’t even a full year, 10 months it took from a hole torn in existence till the trio of terror were dealt with. But it was 10 months where the Tribes of the Moon learnt something of working together, and of trust.

Course that didn’t last much more than a decade. The way that the modern world is someone has an idea one place and it spreads like a virus all over. Seemed like the country was caught in some sort of madness – madness which became known as the Brethren War. It was the mid 80’s and for one reason or another, might have been some Rahu from up north pushing things around and trying to make alliances into an empire, or some Cahalith down south spreading stories which were less than true, hell, I even heard one story that it was down to some Bale Hounds pretending to be Blood Talons and starting things off proper good. Anyhow the end result was bad.

For 2 years, near enough, the country was at war with itself. We’d lost some of the brightest and best fighting the Idigam, we lost more of them fighting each other. When the Pure decided it was time to take over there was near nothing we could do – places which had been held by the People for as long as anyone could remember, glades as well as loci, all fell like dominos. The Fire Touched of the Pure tribes really cleaned up – they made a lot of converts and, so says a self-proclaimed expert on them, a Prophet of that tribe rose up to unite the Fire Touched nationally. Bound-in-Flames he called himself, or his Pack, most figure he was killed by a bunch of Irraka back in ’88, but not one of those made it out to tell the tale, and every so often the name comes up. So who can say for true?

Anyhow, the Brethren War had come and hit us hard, near as hard as the Pure, and there was another of those talking councils. People got together from all over – ended up near Buxton they did – and they made an accord. Took long enough but what was said was echoed by everyone there, and when word went back to them as hadn’t gone it was said there too. Simple, but right;

"From this dawn and onwards Brother shall not war on Brother – we are all one People"

So, basically, the Ithaeur there did a big old ritual and the Irraka ran a hunt, and everyone joined in and got a spirit – Ice Wind by name – to bind itself to the statement made. A binding to all of those who had swore the Oath of the Moon. A binding to carry words should war once more visit these shores, to remind all of the outcome.

Well, that was nice, and with folks again starting to talk, and maybe to trust, things progressed further. That was till the midst of the 1990’s, not just a bad decade for music, the People and their territories started going missing. About ’95 and the Winter King, most important of all the Uratha of London, was killed. Rival claimants to the throne started a cold war which became known as the Winter War. Suspicion ruled and the Tribes of the Moon started to eye each other with suspicion. Finally a group of People gathered in the Peak District to find Ice Wind. Turns out it was a semi-organised bunch of the Pure trying to weaken from within before attacking from without. That didn’t matter too much to folks down south though – start of April 2003 and the Uratha of London turned into each other – the cold war had turned red hot, and even more of the People died. Some folks started to whisper the name ‘Bound-in-Flames’ in corners, but nothing came of it. Probably.

We fought, and struggled, as we have since Pangaea was no more, and that’s as it will always be. For sure it’s the way things are now – every day and every night a struggle for survival, and more things out there which want you dead than those who’ll help you, even for a price. Forsaken indeed.

ANTAGONISTS & SETTING: Antagonists

The main Antagonists to the Forsaken are those you would expect. The Pure Tribes are still seeking a final bloody victory over the Tribes of the Moon. If this were not enough the Hisil is full of Spirits who have no love for the half-bred creatures who would try to cage them in, and some of these are mighty indeed. Ridden, spirits who cross the Border Marches to possess people and animals and Hosts, horrific spirit/flesh hybrids whose very nature mocks the Uratha, provide more trouble for the Forsaken in the physical world.

And that’s before we even talk about demon-worshiping human cults (or worse Bale Hounds), mortal occultists or werewolf hunters, Ghosts, Ghouls, Gargoyles, Gremlins and Goblins, things which go bump in the night, lurk under the bed, or in the twisted imaginations of a disturbed populous.

Currently some of the major foes of the People on a national stage are Bale Hounds, particularly the SparrowClaw Circle of Dartmoor and a war has been called on them – the White Hunt of Dartmoor. They are not the only threat plaguing the people though – the Idigam, great exiles from the Spirit Wilds which came to Britain in what came to be called the “Bloody 69” were bound, but Soul-Eater escaped and the Harvester too – both tied back in walls of rock and flesh. The Breathstealer was freed when the blade of the Winter King shattered – and is still loose, still a danger.

The Pure too have caused problems – crusades in Scotland and in the South, great swathes of the country (especially the national parks of the north, and the near-wilderness highlands of Scotland) lie in their hands – and they are ever watching, ever ready to snap up badly held territory. The Beshilu are a constant menace – in a country with more rats than people that bustles with humanity at all hours the Rat-hosts are ever a danger to the Gauntlet. Its notable that the Azlu are often no-where to be seen, but that when they are found they more commonly nest together – out of a need to fight off the rats – than is seen overseas.

Part 4: Storyteller Information

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