Revision as of 03:10, 25 January 2008

Backstory

The once plentiful Gurahl have now nearly all gone to Gaia, and the birth of a new Gurahl pup would be cause for great celebration among the werebears . . .

. . . if they knew about it.

Robert Walker

Robert Walker was eccentric, a quality he embraced and shared openly with the world. As a successful-enough writer, whose literary fantasy novels had a cult following, and a sometimes professor of creative writing, he had the luxury of being able to live all alone on the edge of the woods, outside of a small town in eastern Washington, and do little but read, write, and make worlds.

It was strange for Robert to meet a Native American woman (a park ranger, no less) in a bar (he rarely hung out in bars), stranger yet that she invited herself home with him (conversations with women were not his strong suit), and beyond strange that she kept stopping by occasionally, finally staying long enough to become quite pregnant and give birth to their son: Christopher Robert Walker. But, Robert was generally pretty accepting of strange things.

The woman moved on (which seemed rather normal to Robert), though the toddler Christopher would occasionally come back from time spent in the yard (i.e., the woods behind their house) claiming that he had been playing with “bear mama”. Robert’s only real response to his son’s growing obsession with bears was to legally change his middle name to Robin on Christopher’s third birthday.

As Christopher grew up, Robert let him do essentially whatever he wanted. This was all for the best, since Christopher was remarkably mature & level-headed from an early age, not to mention seemingly immune to serious harm (he was a big, strong kid from the beginning). Christopher did his homework, broke up fights at school, and spent a lot of time tromping through the woods. Robert and Christopher got along well, and often hiked, made up stories, and played chess together. More than one of Robert's plotlines were drawn from the crazy things Christopher would get into his head after some time off in the woods.

Tragically, Christopher was killed by a rampaging bear in front of Robert's eyes during one of their hikes. Even his body was dragged away. Deeply saddened, Robert moved away from his longtime home and got a job teaching in Spokane. Fairly recently, he got married and started writing seriously again. Many fans are excited over his newest trilogy, dedicated to his son's memory.

Christopher R. Walker

Christopher's story is somewhat different than his father's, though not inconsistent with it (until the end).

Christopher was always quite comfortable living between worlds. He loved the forest as well as his father's collection of academic books. He enjoyed school, was smarter than almost everyone, and even played football freshman and sophomore years of high school. He spent much of his childhood attempting (and sometimes succeeding) in working out pieces of mystical lore and ritual based on bits of information gleaned from his werebear mother's infrequent visits, intense and recurring visions, and occasional hints from a totemic spirit he called Uncle [insert totem name here]. You know, the usual northwest childhood.

For most of his youth, Christopher didn't know he was gurahl, just that his mother could change into a bear and that he shouldn't tell daddy. But when he was approaching the Change, his mother told him of his nature, and said that she would return to help him through the hard times. Soon after his sixteenth birthday, he Changed alone in the woods, and only Uncle [totem] was any help in the transition that followed.

Needless to say, Christopher was a little angry when his mother showed up six months later (in bear form) while he was on a hike with his father. It is important to say, though, that Christopher's anger drove him to change (unconsciously, his control over himself not being yet firm) to Crinos, sending his usually accepting father into a state of semi-delirium. In this delirious state, Robert was convinced that his son was viciously attacked by a bear (and in some ways he was), but also began to connect the dots of some of Christopher's strange behaviors over the years. The cognitive dissonance was starting to drive Robert mad when Christopher's mother stepped in to perform the Rite of the Ban, locking any suspicions deep in Robert's mind and convincing him that Christopher was dead. She then went on to explain to Christopher that she had come back because she wanted to see him one more time before she went off on a crucially important mission (and no he couldn't come). Christopher hasn't seen or heard from her since.

Saddened, jaded, and as of yet unready to embrace his heritage. Christopher snuck off into the woods, spent some time getting used to being a bear (and half-bear, and the rest), then moved to Seattle. He applied early admission to UW, and graduated four years later with a dual degree in Religious Studies and Comparative Literature. He never had to pay rent in the summers, which he spent roaming around in the mountains, pulling up trees, eating salmon, and the like.

Character Sheet

General Info

Name: Christopher R. Steps-Forward (or Tears-the-World)
Breed: Homid (Gurahl)
Auspice: Rishi (Half-Moon/Philodox; formerly Arcas/Ragabash)
Tribe: Forestwalker
Pack Name: ?
Pack Totem: Bear?

Rage (3), Gnosis (3), Willpower (6)

Attributes

Physical [5]:

Strength (4), Dexterity (2), Stamina (2

Social [3]:

Charisma (3), Manipulation (1), Appearance (2)

Mental [7]:

Perception (3), Intelligence (4), Wits (3)

Note: I have 5 freebie points saved to boost up one attribute, but I’m not sure which one to pick.

Backgrounds

• Past Life (1)
• Totem (Bear?) (2)
• Rites (4)

Rite of Rending the Gauntlet [lvl. 1]

Breath of Gaia [minor]

Greet the Sun [minor]

Rite of Cleansing [lvl. 1]

Rite of the Questing Stone [lvl. 1]

Note: I spent 4 freebie points on Backgrounds (since Gurahl only start with 3 background points)

Gifts

• Mother’s Touch [breed gift]
• Blur of the Milky Eye [Arcas auspice gift]
• Scent of the True Form [Rishi auspice gift]
• Sense Wyrm [breed gift]

Note: I spent 7 freebie points to buy an extra gift (Sense Wyrm). But, if it were possible, I’d probably replace either Blur of the Milky Eye or Scent of the True Form with Sense Wyrm and spend those 7 pts. elsewhere.

Abilities

Talents [9]:

• Alertness (1)
• Athletics (1)
• Brawl (3)
• Empathy (3)
• Expression (1)
• Primal-Urge (1)

Skills [5]:

• Etiquette [2]
• Leadership [1]
• Survival [2]

Knowledges [13]:

• Enigmas [4]
• Linguistics [2]
• Medicine [2]
• Occult [1]
• Politics [1]
• Rituals [3]

Note: I spent 2 freebie points on Abilities, to raise my brawl to 3.

Languages

• English
• Gurahl
• Garou
• Latin [I may change this if another language would be more appropriate]

Flaws

3 points of secret flaws

Renown

Succor [1]
Honor [2]
Wisdom [0]

Forms

Note: these numbers differ from the player’s guide (I got them from the white wolf character sheets on-line)

Homid

no change (always +1 body level)

Diff: 6

Arthren

Str +3
Sta +3
App -2
Man -2
Per +1

Diff: 7

Crinos

Str +5
Sta +5
Dex -1
App 0
Man -3
Per -1

Diff: 6

Bjornen

Str +4
Dex -2
Sta +4
Man -3
Per +2

Diff: 7

Ursus

Str +3
Sta +3
Man -3
Per +2

Diff: 6