Book Reviews

Bone Gnawer Tribe Book Review!!

By Strides-through-the-Dark

The Bone Gnawers, a pariah tribe if there ever was one. In fact, the book points it out in the very beginning that the term Bone Gnawer was an insult to Garou. It meant that you were the bottom of the picking order, Gnawing on the bones left by your betters. The book starts off not with the Impergium, but a look at the scavangers that were the Bone Gnawers before it started. However the tellers of the story switch between multiple speakers giving different points of view, as the Tribe has a far more informal Moot called a Recitation. Any Gnawer can interject and take over the tale as Rat moves them to do so. Narratively I found it interesting to read other ways of reciting the past from the teller’s point of view.

So, what do they say about the Impergium, well not much, they almost completely skip over, neither claiming to end it or wanting it to continue. They did what they were told and it was far easier to just follow the flow and pick at the scraps then ignore the orders of the elitist tribes. This is a recurring Theme with this tribe, that they are more focused on survival then fight against the odds.

The next surprise for me was about their early history in Khem, that’s right the Strider Homeland. I have theory that the children of the Rat and Owl are closer related then either wants to admit. From the Bone Gnawer perspective, they had a lot of cast offs from the striders. They also claim to have not been city Garou at this point but more akin to the scavengers of northern Egypt, lying on the outskirts of cities and rural communities. They claim, that when the striders came to them for help, they did nothing, after all they knew the striders would lose. The only Gnawers that helped were those from Jackal septs or totems for their packs.

Here is the interesting thing, The Bone Gnawers were affected by the curse like the striders, to a degree. They left Egypt and wandered for a bit before settling down in Italy, among other areas. Also the Bone Gnawers are not able to reach their ancestors, now they claim it is because they are such a mongrel bunch, however I wonder if it has more to do with their shared history with the striders in the Egypt. I would love to see it explored more. The Striders and the Gnawers seem to have a similar relationship as Uktena and Wendigo.

Not going to hit every major point in their histories, but it does make a point that Bone Gnawers believe they finally found a Home in the New World. Bone Gnawers fought in the war of Independence, on the side of the Monkeys. To do so, they came up with a new law called the High Ban, which bans a Garou from shifting outside of the Umbra. They still use it in the cities to this day, as a means to maintain the Veil during troubling times.

Next they go into the Tribal Customs. The Bone Gnawers have Lupus and Metis, like most tribes, however they are far more understanding or at least Tolerant of Metis than other tribes. Should come as no surprise as the Gnawers have almost always sided with the little guy. Their elders are even voted upon internally and everyone gets a vote. The Oldest Elder in a City is called the Tribal Father or Mother. What is interesting is just how they go about deciding things at time, its not the norm for Garou at all.

The Tribe really has two different groups of Bone Gnawers, the Heroes and the Rabble. The Rabble are those who joined the Bone Gnawers and then just decided to say, ‘ Screw this, I am doing my own thing.’ Essentially those who have cut most of their ties with other Garou, maybe coming to a Sept once in a blue moon or when they want to learn a gift or gain a favor.

Heroes on the other hand, are those Bone Gnawers who stay engaged with the Garou nation and attempt to better themselves and their communities to some extent. They Fight for their ideals and assist the Tribe or Sept as needed. While in the book it states that some cannot tell the difference between the two groups, I find that hard to believe. Unless you just lump all the bone gnawers in a group and can’t tell the difference between them, you would notice one Bone Gnawer coming and going to moots, compared to one who is almost never seen and wants less than little from you.

The Litany is discussed as well, portrayed as a trial between a shadowlord and a bone Gnawer. I would recommend this section for a read because the play between the two could be felt. The Shadowlord wants something perhaps not even what he is hinting at, while the Bone Gnawer defends each point of the Litany when accused of breaking it. It is well done while showing some of the discord between the Gnawers and other tribes.

Towards the end of the chapter there is a section that talks about odds and ends that other garou don’t typically deal with. Like Subway Surfin… Yes there are rules for surfing the subway, covertly going from one station to another to travel great distances in the cities. Just don’t screw it up, you could loose your head or end up a crispy wolf on a third rail. They also go over, very briefly, the Code of the road or hitch hiking.

The Gifts and Rites section is really awesome, if they are a bit Niche in application. I would give it a good read over. Face In the Crowd is pretty cool, allows you to direct an angry mob to vent their frustrations at a target, even if that is kill vampires! However, who would they know are vampires and aren’t could end up being pretty horrific if the mob turns in on itself. Still only really usable in certain situations and mostly in large cities. The Rite of the Shopping cart basically lets you create a bag of holding, 10 extra pounds per success. Once again a little Niche but still cool.

Bone Gnawer Fetishes are pretty appropriate for the tribe. A ring of lost keys, which can open almost any mechanical lock, if you can find the right key on the ring. Also Spirit radio reminds me of a bunch of Garou sitting around a busted old radio listening in on the coming and going of spirits in their area while sitting around a camp fire.

Merits and Totems are interesting, though most of the merits seem to come with some drawbacks. Struggling merit gives you a home, but you have to keep a day job or night job to keep it from being taken by the bank. Jackal’s blood is the most interesting, as it ties into the curse that effected the bone Gnawers and got them to leave Khem.

In the end, I feel this is one well put together book. It does a good job telling the history of the tribe while setting up the present threats the tribe faces, both internal and external threats. The added Rites and Gifts are very urban focus but if a game focuses on the urban environments then the book is a great source to open up for ideas on how the urban Garou live. For this I give it a 8 out of 10, for the amount of information provided along with the gifts that it brings to those inclined to play urban garou.