
Lukas Reimann, Rahu Blood Talon member of the Lodge of the Black Woods
For more than half a century now, the Lodge of the Black Woods (or as they call themselves, the Sippe des Schwarzen Walder) has kept dominion over a swath of southwestern Germany. The lodge members have effectively resisted attacks from the Pure, coordinated multi-pack hunts against the Hosts and the Ridden and done what they can to keep humans from overrunning their most sacred places.
The spirit that watches over the Lodge of the Black Woods is a wolf-spirit of shadowy, empty form called Wolf-That-Walks-Behind.
Overview[]
In the aftermath of World War II, the Shadow across much of Europe was in many places a living nightmare. Many packs died during the conflict surrounding the war, but many others suffered great losses while attempting to leash the forces that had spilled out of Shadow in the wake of the war. Germany was of course no exception. The Nazis had poured out destruction, and destruction had come back on the land, and those Uratha who still believed in their duty to restore the balance were slowly being driven mad by the task. Then something slightly unusual happened. Under the leadership of Greta Hundred-Wounded, a Bone Shadow of tremendous will and keen insight, a number of packs agreed to cooperate for the greater good. This level of cooperation was, in itself, not the peculiar thing — a raw and immediate threat has often galvanized rival packs into a strong, if temporary, common front. What was unusual was that the cooperation lasted.
The Lodge of the Black Woods is governed by no one individual — a decision reinforced by long years of experience. As the lodge members figure it, one of the reasons that it’s so hard to get multiple werewolf packs to rally behind a banner when their lives aren’t immediately at stake is because no one person is charismatic enough. Charismatic leaders have a harder time of it among the People than they do among humanity. Consequently, the lodge has established a council of five tribal masters, each one speaking for the members of his or her tribe. Formally, the council has the authority to order every pack within the lodge on a tribal basis; the Blood Talon master can give orders to the other Blood Talons within the lodge, and so on. In practice, this chain of tribal authority isn’t frequently exercised. Packs are generally kept advised of potential trouble and then left almost entirely to their own devices. The practice seems to reinforce the idea that the council intervenes only when necessary — and therefore, when they do intervene, it must be for a good reason. When the council is required to take action, the lodge takes it all the more seriously. The lodge meets regularly, usually holding a gathering every full moon on a communally held tur. The gathering begins with the alpha of each pack formally announcing the pack’s arrival, with the assembled werewolves replying with a greeting of respect. It’s sadly not uncommon for rival packs to work in a few muted gestures of disrespect when “greeting” one another, but it’s rare when an insult is so open and rude as to trigger a brawl. The order in which alphas step forward is not set, but rather based on a loose understanding of who is more powerful and influential. From time to time, a higher-ranking alpha will defer to a lower-ranking alpha, allowing the junior to step forward first as a mark of respect for recent deeds or the like. This can be an intricate affair of face, and the more politically savvy werewolves of the lodge can sometimes earn themselves some temporary status by playing the game properly
When all the packs present have announced themselves, the five ranking tribal masters gather at the center of the tur and discuss business. They deliver the news to one another rather than the assembly, speaking as though in a private meeting — but loud enough that all others can hear the news for themselves. Once their “conversation” is complete, the five invite the remaining pack alphas forward to join the discussion and raise points of their own. Sometimes a lesser alpha will bring news to the group’s attention, but it’s considered more polite to bring news to a tribal representative and let them pass on the information to the gathering. Usually, when a lesser alpha raises news not given to an elder, it’s out of some (potentially misguided) desire to make a personal impression on the gathering. It’s also possible that a tribal master might receive news and refuse to share it with the others, perhaps deeming it too insignificant for a gathering meant to dwell only on serious issues. When an alpha decides to raise an issue that their tribal master has declined to pass on, it’s certainly seen as a sign of disrespect. Sometimes the alpha has been in the right, when the tribal master has underestimated the threat — but then again, sometimes they haven't.
From that point, the gathering becomes less formal. If a clear and present danger has been established, the packs organize into hunting parties, often under the direction of the Blood Talons and Hunters in Darkness masters. If things are more under control, the various packs may leave when they like. Many choose to linger and “do business” with one another — sharing personal greetings or settling minor debts, and so on. It can be an intimidating sight to see so many werewolves carefully conversing, restraining their territorial instincts just a bit longer while the gathering lasts. Even when the topic of conversation is as mundane as one werewolf fixing up a member of another pack with her wolf-blooded sister or cousin, there’s always the subtle tension of knowing that both sides in any dialogue is both armed and on a hair trigger. Unlike other lodges, membership in the Lodge of the Black Woods is not exclusive. The lodge is not seen as being in conflict with the other lodges of the Forsaken; a werewolf is under no obligation to share his “true” lodge’s secrets with his fellow Schwarzwalders. The lodge is more of a social contract than an elite brotherhood, somewhat like being part of a community watch as well as an initiate into the Freemasons. The Lodge of the Black Woods has many members of other lodges within its ranks; in particular, the Lodge of Garm, the Lodge of the Seasons and the Lodge of Winter are well represented. Of course, the lodge is still far from perfect. Although demonstrating an unusual amount of cooperation for werewolves (who normally see compromise as a form of submission, and are instinctually given to resist submitting to anyone but the strongest alpha), the Black Forest werewolves are still creatures of hair-trigger savagery. Packs can and do fall to brawling at gatherings, and they’ll still scuffle at one another’s borders over a perceived slight. Another flaw of the lodge — though most don’t see it as such — is a slightly higher level of prejudice against Ghost Wolves. Some Ghost Wolves see this as simple powermongering from the tribal masters. They don’t want anyone in the lodge that they can’t order around with clear authority, right? Although there might be a grain of truth to that theory, it’s not just the tribal masters who aren’t thrilled about having Ghost Wolves around. The bond of the lodge is a fairly difficult commitment — it’s a promise to fight down your instinct more frequently in the name of something that is not as “true” as the pack bond. It’s not an easy promise to make or to keep. And the Ghost Wolves just don’t have the reputation for making a commitment. As a result, the tribeless aren’t explicitly forbidden from the lodge, but they do have a harder time earning respect from their fellow lodge members.
Membership[]
The Lodge of the Black Woods traditionally prefers to induct members as entire packs, though this isn’t always possible. Sometimes there just aren’t enough new Uratha to form a new pack, and a freshly Changed werewolf is placed with an existing group. The initiation ceremony does not typically involve ordeals or rigorous testing. It takes the form of a simple blood oath, in which the initiate slices her palm and shares blood with a representative from each of the other packs in the lodge. It’s considered a sign of particular respect if an alpha chooses to represent his pack in the oath, and this is usually the case when an entire pack is brought into the fold at once.
The slight prejudice against Ghost Wolves that pervades the lodge tends to affect a Ghost Wolf’s initiation as well. The oath is more complex and binding for a Ghost Wolf, in part because he cannot swear by his Firstborn totem. When a Thihirtha Numea takes the blood pledge, usually the omega or youngest of a given pack acts as representative; sharing blood with a Ghost Wolf is even seen by some as a punishment.
Game Mechanics[]
The following are an overview of the game mechanics.
Prerequisites[]
Harmony 4 or higher. As the Lodge of the Black Woods is more of a social than spiritual construct, the lodge requires little common ground — only that the members be of reasonably solid spiritual standing.
Benefits[]
Lodge members are encouraged to deal fairly with one another, and a higher level of trust pervades the lodge than in a region of otherwise unaffiliated Uratha. Lodge members all receive +1 to all Social rolls made when dealing with one another, including Resolve + Composure rolls made to resist Death Rage.
Merit[]
Howl Code •: Your character has learned a number of special vocalizations and code-sounds intended to imbue a howl with a hidden meaning. These sounds are notable to any werewolf who hears them, but are an artificial construct devoid of emotional emphasis. The howl code for “An elder summons you” will only sound urgent if the werewolf howling personally injects a note of urgency into the howl. Using howl code, you may imbed relatively simple concepts into a howl. “Danger from the north,” “a hunt is called,” “the roads are unsafe,” “all is well,” “the Pure are near” and “danger from the Shadow” are all sufficiently simple; “a rogue car-spirit is causing trouble on the highway” is not. This Merit could theoretically be taken by a non-werewolf character who has been inducted into a social lodge such as the Lodge of the Black Woods. In such a case, the Merit would allow the character to understand the encoded meanings in a fellow lodge member’s howl, but the character would not be able to howl their own coded messages unless they are able to mimic a wolf’s howl accurately.
Fetish[]
Map of the Pact (•••) This fetish is fashioned for the alpha of each pack within the lodge. Map of the Pact is meant to serve as a formal reminder of the number of packs that both rely on her and that may come to their aid in times of great danger, but the fetish is also a highly practical item. The map is inscribed on carefully tanned skin, usually of some prey animal within the lodge’s territory; the Lodge of the Black Woods makes theirs from deerskin, with a minor bird-spirit bound within. The map depicts the territory held by the lodge in relatively sparse detail, marking out only the most prominent landmarks or boundaries. More importantly, a glyph representing each pack of the lodge is marked on the map, giving the reader clear knowledge of pack territories. When activated, the map divines the status of the other packs within the lodge, and grants some hint as to their status. If a pack is healthy, its glyph appears in bright, fresh ink. The glyph of a pack in immediate or near-immediate danger wavers slightly, as if seen under water. If a pack is currently embroiled in a violent conflict, the edges of its glyph “bleed” slightly, and if a pack has been badly hurt or nearly decimated, its glyph breaks into several pieces. The death of a pack causes its glyph to burn off the map entirely, leaving a scorch mark that remains until a new lodge pack is formed and takes the old pack’s territory. The werewolves who devised these fetishes are well aware that it would be dangerous for an enemy to capture a Map of the Pact. If any werewolf or other entity that is not part of the lodge attempts to activate the fetish, the entire map catches fire, destroying itself.
References[]
- WTF: Lodges: The Splintered, p. 37-42