Garou glyph signifying "caern".
A Caern is a sacred place to the Garou, where they can meet among themselves and make contact with the spirit realms. A desecrated caern is called a "Pit", and Black Spiral Dancer caerns are referred to as "hives".
Overview[]
5th Edition caern glyph. "Location treasured by Gaia".
A caern is a location that has a natural upwelling of Gnosis, the spiritual energies of Gaia, used by the Garou to power their gifts. Caerns also have a very thin gauntlet, allowing easier congress between the physical world and the Umbra. It's possible that a caern's Gnosis actually comes from the Umbra in this fashion.
Caerns often feel as if they have their own personalities, which stems from the demeanor of the beings that tend them, and from the spirits drawn to them. A caern favored by an avatar of Falcon would have a much different mien from one guarded by a Wyld-spirit, much less from a blood-soaked Cult of Fenris caern or a disorienting ruin protected by a Black Spiral Dancer pack. Packs and their tribal makeups, the spiritual attendants, and the physical circumstances all do much to make a caern unique.
Caerns are extremely holy sites to the Garou and to many other Fera, and they will work to their utmost to claim and protect them. Occasionally, this will mean claiming it from another group who isn't looking after it responsibly. As a result of this significance, the Garou social unit of the sept tends to be centered around a caern. Moon bridges may be opened within as well, allowing for rapid travel between certain allied caerns.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Vampire Storytellers Handbook, p. 97 (Early Mention)
- WTA: Werewolf: The Apocalypse Rulebook, p. 29, 46-47, 52-53, 148
- WTA: GURPS Werewolf: The Apocalypse, p. 143, 148-149, 169-171, 203
- WTA: Werewolf Players Guide, p. 113-121
- WTA: Caerns: Places of Power
- WTA/MET: The Apocalypse, p. 23, 103
- WTA: Werewolf: The Apocalypse Second Edition, p. 26, 32-33, 170
- WTA/MET: Laws of the Wild, p. 208-209
- WTWW: Werewolf: The Wild West Rulebook, p. 42-43, 61, 193-194
- WTA: Werewolf Players Guide Second Edition, p. 101-111
- WTWW/MET: Laws of the Wyld West, p. 248-249
- WTA: Guardians of the Caerns
- VTDA: Werewolf: The Dark Ages, p. 18
- WTA: Werewolf: The Apocalypse Revised Edition, p. 36, 50, 53, 225-226
- WTA/MET: Laws of the Wild Revised Edition, p. 198-202, 227
- WTA: Players Guide to Garou, p. 101-110
- DAW: Dark Ages: Werewolf Rulebook, p. 18, 29, 164-170
- WTA: Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 52, 55, 69, 151, 248, 309, 310-311, 386
- WTA: Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition, p. 190-191