SHADOW LORDS

For countless centuries, they have endured the rule of weaker Garou. They have sacrificed their own honor to further the goals of the Garou Nation, and received nothing but scorn in return. They have fought battles nobody else was willing to fight, and made allies that nobody else would approach. Now they are ready to come into their own.  - Tribebook: Shadow Lords

OVERVIEW

The strong dominate; the weak submit. This is the core of Shadow Lord philosophy. Intensely political and coldly pragmatic, the Shadow Lords practice a rigid internal hierarchy and promote an equally unforgiving value system for the Garou Nation. Their very presence is divisive. Other tribes view their manipulative tactics as a reason to distrust the Lords, or complain that anyone so ruthless is marked for eventual corruption. Some would argue that they should be cast out of the Nation entirely — but the Shadow Lords are far too valuable. Their methods are often dishonorable and sometimes cruel, but they get results.

SHADOW LORD SOCIETY

Life among the Lords is one part oppressive and one part inspirational. Cubs are taught to fear their elders as much as revere them. But the tribe is also a meritocracy — those who have the ambition and skill to succeed will go farther than those who rely on a misguided sense of entitlement. The lupus of the tribe usually start by mastering this instinctive dominance before they begin to hone their more humanlike capacity for deception and politics. Metis begin with the deck stacked against them — but are in a unique position to begin learning the tribe’s manipulative tricks almost as soon as they can talk.

The Shadow Lords’ tribal strength is that they produce very strong, cunning champions; their elders and leaders have earned their position by constantly honing themselves. Their tribal weakness is that every Shadow Lord contends against his brethren. Those below you covet your position; those above you don’t want you coveting theirs. Their constant struggles for dominance have dealt them more than one setback in their ongoing quest for power.

This ruthless tribal philosophy has been at the tribe’s heart ever since its founding in what is now Eastern Europe. During the Impergium, they showed no mercy in culling their charges — and when the Impergium ended, they still believed it necessary that humans fear the dark. Over the years, the Shadow Lords have made all manner of alliances, only to turn on their compatriots when the opportunity and the excuse were there. Many of these alliances were even with other creatures of the night such as vampires. Of course, it’s not fashionable to be seen consorting with a Leech, even if you plan to eventually turn on it — because of course it will eventually turn on you — so the Shadow Lords aren’t seen doing so. Not if they can help it.

As ambitious and callous as they are, most Shadow Lords are still loyalists to the Gaian cause. They work to undercut and dethrone weak leaders, but a strong and cunning leader earns great loyalty from the tribe of Grandfather Thunder. They play one Garou against another, testing the loyalties of both. If someone in a sept is close to turning to the Wyrm, more often than not it’s a Shadow Lord who finds out first — and then exploits the information in the most advantageous way possible. As they reasonably point out, only the weak and corrupt have anything to fear from their investigations. The fact that it’s the Shadow Lords defining “weak” and “corrupt” does little to allay concerns. A Philodox of Grandfather Thunder rarely errs on the side of compassion.

In these dying times, though, the Shadow Lords see weakness all around them. The Silver Fangs are doddering and foolish at the time they’re needed most. The tribes are splintered and squabbling where they should be unified against the Wyrm. The authority of royal blood has failed; the calls for reconciliation have failed. Perhaps the only thing that will unite the Garou Nation is fear. If that’s what it takes — if the Garou need an iron claw to bring them together — the Shadow Lords will certainly take the opportunity when it presents itself. 

APPEARANCE

Shadow Lords with high Pure Breed often lean toward the saturnine in all forms. In Lupus form, they are notably thick and stocky, with the dark coats that reflect their tribal name.

Moody and inherently mysterious, their human form reflects these qualities. Typically dressing in dark clothes, the Lords still have a sense of fashion and are always meticulously well groomed.

KINFOLK & TERRITORY

The oldest Kinfolk families are of Eastern European stock, but the Shadow Lords are drawn to humans that demonstrate intelligence, power or excellence. They don’t coddle their Kin; they don’t breed with people (or wolves) that need it. 

Their Apex Kinfolk are known as Domini (or the singular Dominus) and are treated with as much consideration as the rest of humanity, that is until they prove themselves worthy of notice. Human Domini are highly attractive and charsimatic, which makes it much easier to manipulate the wills of others. Their lupine Apex Kinfolk are wily and extremely intelligent, making them almost impossible to entrap or hunt.

Once a Dominus has risen sufficiently in power, wealth and influence in the human world, they gain the interest of their Garou cousins. Most Domini are self-made and successful in business. While highly influential in politics, they very rarely seek office for themselves, preferring to pull the strings of others from the shadows for their own benefit.

Shadow Lords are fairly opportunistic about territory but prefer caerns in starkly beautiful settings, like wildlands from a Gothic romance. It is not beyond their manipulations to put events into motion in order to take advantage of claiming weaker territories. It is so much easier to ride in as a liberator than to storm in as an invader.

SHADOW LORD GIFTS