Setting
Las Vegas is a mere shadow of what it used to be.
Hidden Meaning is no more. It became the unfortunate prey of an insane Weaver out for blood.
Gaia's Dirge has also been reduced to a tainted memory. Once an intimidating Wyrm Hive, it's now an uninhabitable, treacherous Blight in the Penumbra.
Many infamous Garou have long since come and gone; some peacefully, some forcefully. Yet all of them have ultimately failed to stem the entropic tide that has made this decadent city such a chaotic pillar of spiritually stagnant despair.
Unable to escape, or unwilling to concede defeat, the Fera who still remain are scattered, even lost, but not forgotten.
Black Spiral Dancers once claimed the whole of Las Vegas, but that is no longer the case. They still cling to crumbling ghettos and derelict industrial sites, but they are isolated, anarchic, the demented echoes of a far more sinister threat now searching for the throat of this Fallen Protectorate like an executioner's blade.
Ananasi have come.
Enslaved to the Mother-Queen, Ananasa, these Fera pose an enigmatic menace to all.
For instance, Hatar are largely responsible for an ominous resurgence of Pentex in Las Vegas.
And since they no longer stand on the edge of economic collapse, its Wyrm Tainted subsidiaries are desperate to regain dominance over the Sheep that infest Las Vegas. Consolidex Worldwide has been feeding on failing businesses like a parasite. Ardus Enterprises is turning cheap real estate into even cheaper toxic landfills.
It's getting worse every day.
There are Tenere to cope with as well.
Once content to mend the Weaver Web, they now appear determined to tighten it like a vice around the remaining Insect Races. Not long ago, the Web was catastrophically damaged in a vicious Wyld Storm that tore across the Umbra, summoned by the calamitous will of Coyote in a violent attempt to rout the Weaver.
The Wyld Storm was supposed to wipe away an unpleasant yesterday and declare a better tomorrow.
It failed.
However, a glimmer of hope still managed to surface among the wreckage, but only time will tell whether or not the Fera of Las Vegas will unite on common ground to defend Gaia. Or stand aside and watch her fall before the madness of the Weaver...or the Wyrm...
It has yet to be decided.
Either way, a nameless Caern with no Sept to preserve it has come under siege. Many consider it the last sanctuary of the Wyld in Las Vegas, locked away under the neglected shell of an abandoned community center in Old Henderson near St. Rose Hospital. Bound to Rat, it has somehow managed to survive this long, but it won't for much longer.
It can't.
Aside from the Fera courageous enough to reside inside Las Vegas, the closest source of aide lies in a remote valley of Snow Mountain, near the Paiute Golf Resort. North Star is controlled by clandestine Uktena, but all they can really do is stand vigil. It's a last-ditch line of defense to keep the cancer of this Fallen Protectorate from spreading elsewhere.
Maybe.
The Wyld Storm has passed, but now the calm is finally breaking...
Caern Name: Endless Passage
Type: Stealth - Wisdom
Rank: 2
Gauntlet: 4
Location: Red Rock Canyon
Description: Endless Passage is a small caern residing within the winding walls of Red Rock Canyon. Situated in the desert hills west of Las Vegas, the caern was once home to a small band of Wendigo and Uktena. At some time, the spiritual power of the land began to wane, and the caern's defenders were dispersed. The Wyld retook the area, safeguarding it from corruption and detection.
Recently reopened, the caern hosts some of the surviving shifter disparates from the Las Vegas protectorate. While not as impressive as some of the other sites that dotted the region, the caern has the advantage of being small, forgotten, and well-hidden. It is a refuge; a safe haven for Gaia's protectors from the ravages of the Weaver and Wyrm forces that saturate the City of Sin. Over the years, Wyld energies infused the land both in Gaia's realm and the Penumbra, making it very difficult to detect and hiding it from view. In the spirit realms, the area is washed away, appearing as a desert vista and blending in with the rest of the landscape. In the material realm, random windstorms, plays of light and shadow, and mirages confuse and disorient those who have not been attuned to the caern's heart. Most do not even realize that they are subtlely thrown off-course or directed away from the twisting canyon region. Those determined to press on sometimes become so lost that they disappear into the desert, never to return. In the deepest reaches of the canyon sits a cabin; living quarters for a handful of individuals. Several caverns wind into the canyon walls, descending into unknown darkness and emerging in unexpected places. The heart and spiritual center lays within a large, bulbous cave, and within it a natural spring provides water.Caern Totem: Kadra, the Night Serpent
Nature: Sensualist
Demeanor: Sage
Rage 5 / Gnosis 8 / Willpower 7
Spiritual Correspondences: Cunning, Secrets, Communication
Personality: Reserved, Inquisitorial, Pragmatic, Cold
Demand: Inhabit - Kadra sometimes demands to share the sensory experiences of a member of the Caern. It makes seemingly-random requests for action that range from mundane
(listening to music) to unusual (feeling a genuine, specific emotion); even embarassing or extremely intimate acts (use your imagination). While it exercises no control over the
body during an Inhabit, the spirit gains full access to the host's senses and can communicate telepathically. Successfully completing an Inhabit earns the Totem's favor; doubly so
if the act requested was bizarre or emotionally-intense.
Other Spirit Guardians: Snakes, Rock elementals, Air elementals
Permanent Rite Effects:
Rite of the Shrouded Glen, The Badger's Burrow
Other permanent Effects:
Dust Whorls (perception checks for intruders are made at +2 difficulty; attack dice pools are -2 as biting sand races through the air).