Gangrel
A hunger older than mankind burns inside the wolves. When other Kindred curse their appetites and choose the gilded cage of the city and the leash of social hierarchy, the wolves accept the Beast as a part of themselves and run free. Crossing borders between species, nations, and domains with the ease of perfect predators, they belong to the wild and the wild belongs to them.
To think of them as noble savages is perilous, as the animals have little respect for the arrogance of civilization, and only the strongest survive their bloody hunts and savage initiations. Trading stories of war and the secret histories of their kind around campfires lit with the bones of their oppressors, they have turned their backs on the Camarilla and fight tooth and claw to escape the endless plots of their fellow Kindred.
Who are the Gangrel?
Clan Gangrel are outcasts, wanderers, rogues, and hunters. They make havens in the poorest parts of the city and feel no shame for doing so.
They claim few domains as their own but defer to no prince. If a feral enters a city, the prince will either accept it or have to fight the feral to get them to back down.
Gangrel Embrace from the ranks of survivors and fighters: leaders of prison crews and gangs, explorers (urban and otherwise), and any kine who sees the world as something to traverse instead of something to hide from. They care not for looks or title, but for accomplishment and reputation. A childe may be a challenge, but the clan follows rituals and initiations to ensure the fledgling is worth the time. Success means a new, honored member of the clan. Failure means simply a forgettable reject or a pile of ash.
Any mortal capable of projecting their will onto others, leading a group from disaster to success, or fighting impossible odds draws the clan’s attention. This fact results in a symptom known as “too many chiefs,” when the clan consists of more leaders than followers.
Customs encourage fights for dominance, but these rarely last until final death, as Gangrel elders advocate against taking competition for authority personally, instead encouraging a culture of healthy rivalry.
Gangrel Archetypes
Uncaged jailbird
This Kindred spent most of their mortal life in prison or was once incarcerated for a severe crime.
Such a past conveys a reputation and a jaded attitude toward authority leavened with a desperate taste for freedom and opportunity to exercise liberties formerly denied them.
Adventurer
The Gangrel are no strangers to the wild, spending much of their time beyond city limits and communing with creatures and clans outside those in the Camarilla. In life and undeath, the adventurer has seen and experienced something few could comprehend. They have walked from place to place, spending their life on the road, living only by wits, a stranger’s kindness, and a rich curiosity.
This wolf has no fear of the path ahead, wherever it might lead.
Folk favorite
Clan Gangrel practice the traditions of storytelling around the fire, although they are the furthest from boy scouts. Whether around a burning barrel, tire fire, or at a great convocation, this animal knows the songs and the stories to celebrate the names of fallen heroes and enemies who must never be forgotten. In their mortal lives they might have been singers, entertainers, or independent artists.
Director of the board
This Gangrel believes in power wielded not merely with physical blows, but through social presence, authority over others, and command of a group of people such as a club or a corporation. The boardroom Gangrel is an alpha who thrives on causing fear and respect, who does not play by the rules, and who is capable of commanding others to perform the most unethical actions with threats of personal and professional losses. They stalk their prey through office corridors at night and in five-star hotels paid by company card.
Unrepentant beast
The Gangrel relish their animal features and feral natures, and many behave as wild beasts do – leading unlives dominated by immediate physical drives and desires. The unrepentant beast behaved like an animal already before the Embrace. Perhaps they were a predatory criminal or an individual who used legal means to let out their dangerous desires. As a vampire, they are little better.
Disciplines
Bane
Gangrel relate to their Beast much as other Kindred relate to the Gangrel: suspicious partnership. In frenzy, Gangrel gain one or more animal features: a physical trait, a smell, or a behavioral tic. These features last for one more night afterward, lingering like a hangover following debauchery. Each feature reduces one Attribute by 1 point – the Storyteller may decide that a forked tongue or bearlike musk reduces Charisma, while batlike ears reduce Resolve (“all those distracting sounds”). If nothing immediately occurs to you, the feature reduces Intelligence or Manipulation.
The number of features a Gangrel manifests equals their Bane Severity. If your character Rides the Wave of their frenzy (see p. 219) you can choose only one feature to manifest, thus taking only one penalty to their Attributes
Compulsion
Returning to an animalistic state, the vampire regresses to a point where speech is hard, clothes are uncomfortable, and arguments are best settled with teeth and claws.
For one scene, the vampire gains a three-dice penalty to all rolls involving Manipulation and Intelligence. They can only speak in one-word sentences during this time.