Once a part of the Camarilla, the Gangrel seceded abruptly. Theories as to the reasons behind this departure abound; in their usual detachment, the Gangrel do not discuss the matter, however. This is not to say that all Gangrel are without affiliations — some remained

in the Camarilla out of loyalty or friendship, while antitribu still claim allegiance in the Sabbat — it’s simply that the clan as a whole no longer bothers with politics, after several centuries of Camarilla support.

Naturally, this withdrawal makes Gangrel suspect in Camarilla courts, and without the support of a justicar or Inner Circle member, they can be subjected to political persecution — but few Gangrel really care.

Survivors, woodsmen and animal-lovers make up the ranks of the Gangrel clan, so it’s no wonder that they have little use for political

infighting or social maneuvering.

 

Typically, a Gangrel watches a potential recruit for some time, judging the individual’s ruggedness, determination and wanderlust. Those who fail the selection process are either ignored, or they become an evening meal. Those few who are chosen are Embraced and then left to fend for themselves. The Gangrel sire typically watches from afar, only intervening in dire situations and waiting until the new childe has proven her merit before introducing himself and undertaking the process of instruction.

 

Roleplaying Hints:

You come from a long line of hardy explorers, both living and undead. In the Dark Ages, the Gangrel were Norsemen and warriors; in the

modern age, you are still explorers, and you maintain the warrior spirit. You don’t care about politics, or the Jyhad or sects, because they just don’t matter to you. With all of eternity, who wants to waste immortality on foolish social maneuvering? There are new horizons to see and realms to conquer. The animals are your kind and your kingdom, and you give fealty only to those worthy of the warrior’s heart.

 

 

Disciplines:

 

Animalism, Fortitude, Protean 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advantage:

While most vampires are uncomfortable outside of the cities, the Gangrel are hardy nomads, capable of survival in any territory. Although Lupines make travel dangerous for any Kindred, the Gangrel are better equipped than most to take to the open road or hide in the wilds outside of humanity’s civilization. This wandering nature means that Gangrel hold to the requirements of any societies to which they may claim allegiance only rarely. Camarilla and Sabbat alike tend to give free rein to Gangrel wanderlust, and the sects rarely demand any sort of presentation or recognition. Few princes or bishops could really enforce a ban on the movements of the Gangrel in any case, so they rarely try. The Gangrel are known to deal with the Lupines from time to time. Though any individual Gangrel probably risks much in confronting Lupines, most Gangrel at least know how to stay out of Lupine territory and what to do to avoid antagonizing the shapechanging killing machines. Gangrel who spend time in the wilds can learn Lupine Lore by observing (and hopefully evading) the Lupines. This fact doesn’t grant that Lupines are any more favorably disposed toward Gangrel, but a Gangrel is more likely to know how to encounter a werewolf and survive.

All Gangrel gain a free level of Ability in each of Animal Ken and Survival.

 

Disadvantage:

The marks of the Beast make themselves known on a Gangrel’s visage. Whenever a Gangrel frenzies, she gains an animalistic feature.

Further frenzies cause such features to become more pronounced, or introduce new features. Elder Gangrel often barely resemble humans, with cat- or doglike ears, sharp nails, tufts of fur, slitted eyes or stranger features. Each time the Gangrel frenzies, the character gains a new Negative Social Trait of Bestial, Feral or Repugnant. These Traits can never be bought off or removed without some sort of magical assistance (such as Vicissitude or Obfuscate). No more than five Negative Traits can be gained with this Disadvantage.

 

Bloodlines:

Within the Sabbat exists a small urban group of predators known as the City Gangrel. These Gangrel trace their heritage to one of the two original Gangrel to join the sect, and they Embrace from among those who survive in the cities — criminals, street people, lower-class laborers and the like. The City Gangrel possess the Disciplines of Celerity, Obfuscate and Protean. Although they manifest the same weakness as the rest of the clan, they tend to feature animalistic traits from urban beasts, such as rats’ whiskers, cat tails and the like.

 

History:

There are many different approaches to the history of the Gangrel. The disparate nature of the Outlanders and their mostly oral recorded histories make an exact depiction of their early history difficult, but it seems certain that the Gangrel were always wanderers, who followed nomadic tribes around, sleeping in the earth to escape the sun. Although some Gangrel tell the myth ofCaine and how Ennoia was cast out due to a betrayal of the Ravnos Antediluvian and forced to live with the beasts, there are many other tales. The Gangrel of Scandinavia tell tales of the Einherjarand Canarl, who was cursed by Odin, while another popular myth was that Ennoia and her twin brother Churka were demigods that warred against each other, Ennoia with the most bravest warriors and Churka with the most cunning, at night, so that the other gods would not learn of their feud. After Ennoia, however, was betrayed by two of her lieutnants who left her, she and her army were driven to the East, where Ennoia left them on their own. By battling Churka's get and the demonic giants that served him, they would do penance for the betrayal of their chieftains. After a long series of battle, the Gangrel were driven into the West, in the civilizations of other Kindred. Other stories tell that Ennoia was the mother of Gypsies and both the werewolves and the Gangrel descend from them. Most among the Clan, however, do not know or care any longer about creation myths of their kind, instead focusing to survive in the present. The mystery remains.

The Gangrel shunned many of the civilizations of antiquity, instead roaming the woods and preying on tribal socities who regarded them as evil spirits that were meant to appease. They had almost nothing to do with the development of the Roman Empire, though occasionally a Brittaniac, Gaulian, or Gothic Gangrel would nose around Rome in the hopes of catching a young neonate off-guard. If there were any Gangrel in the city itself, they were likely attached to any one of the "slave" races - mainland Europeans, Africans, Middle Easterners, or even more exotic peoples. 

Gangrel fought on both sides of the Punic Wars, although in the end, most flocked to the Ventrue. In Scandinavia, the Methuselah known as Odin, the All-High, held the northmen in a tight grip and ruled as a corporal god, sending them down to raid the civilizations he despised in order for his warriors to earn the right of the Embrace.

Dark Ages:

The North-Western Gangrel during this period, regarded as members of the Low Clans by their high-blooded peers, were experimenting with expansionism and traveled to the four winds to far off lands to conquer, explore and trade. As paganism was on the decline and many Gangrel could not pose as normal humans due to their growing abnormality, they instead prowled the countryside, feeding from peasants and travelers. During these days, the Gangrel allied themselves with the Tzimisce against the nascent Tremere in theOmen War.

The Islamic Gangrel of the period were called Wah'Sheen, and were essentially straightforward nomads, masters of the deserts and wastelands of Arabia and North Africa. A few of the Wah'Sheen felt differently, and eventually split from the main part of the clan, calling themselves the Taifa Gangrel. These were generally more scholarly and adept with civilization than the rest of the bay't.

The Renaissance and the loss of woodland made unlife complicated for the Gangrel. TheMasquerade and the heavy decline of pagan religions made hunting difficult for them without drawing notice and the growing anger of the Lupines against human encroachment found more often than not a ventil within a lone Gangrel. Many Gangrel left the Camarilla during this time, instead traveling as Autarkis, leaving Europe completly in search for untouched wilderness or receded into those few tribal societies still existing.

Victorian Age:

In the rapid growth of cities and technology that marked the Victorian Age, very few Gangrel had any interest in staying in towns and hamlets that became industrial centers almost overnight. Additionally, though there were few documented cases of mortals possessing "true faith", the growth of religious influence made many Gangrel cringe, wary of another round of the vicious Inquisitorial practices of the Dark Ages. Only the scholar and theology debator Beckett was known to have any regular dealings with "proper" Kindred society during this period; most other clanmembers hied it to the wilderness to wait out this newest burst of human ingenuity and religious fervor. Some claim that the City Gangrel began to evolve during this age, due to urbanization and the desolate situation in most fabrics.

Final Nights:

Following the Sabbat invasion of the East Coast, the Camarilla suffered another blow with the departure of the Gangrel. The reasons for their withdrawal are unknown; it is rumored then Justicar Xaviar went before the Inner Circle, uttered a single sentence, and left. Word spread through the clan, and over the course of a month the majority of the clan abandoned the sect and became independent.

 

Organization:

Status in general among the Gangrel is decided by rites, and these rites involve one of two things: combat or boasting. Combat is usually basic and unarmed; two Gangrel who know each other well may simply spar, but those who are strangers battle until one of the fighters is incapacitated or surrenders. Boasting involves the two Gangrel making larger claims until one Gangrel backs down or asks for proof. The challenged Gangrel must then show proof of their claims or lose the rite and their status.

What little formal organization the Gangrel has is placed around the aptly-named Gather, which are occasional meetings at which local and visiting Gangrel can exchange news, information and stories and decide on local matters. Gathers usually involve notice weeks in advance, as news travels more slowly among the limited network of the Gangrel. Once begun, Gathers usually involve the rites demonstrating status to decide on leadership for the meeting. The rites can take days to accomplish, and must be redone for every Gather, as no two will have the same Gangrel meeting under the same circumstances. Once the hierarchy for the Gather is established, the business at hand can be dealt with. No matter the circumstances, Gathers always break up after a week.

Gathers can also be used to form Revels, which are essentially calls to battle. The Gangrel who participate in a Revel form parties to track down and destroy enemies, such as enemy kindred, Garou, or others who have dared to invade the clan's territory.

There are also meetings called Great Gathers. As a Great Gather relies on a powerful Gangrel who is respected by most of the clan to be called, they are extremely rare. When one is called, any member of the clan who can must travel to the meeting place. There, similar rites of strength and status that are found in a regular Gather take place; however, there are no time limits to either the rites or the Great Gather. Even more rare but related are Grand Revels, which are essentially wars and battles involving the entire clan. Both are considered to be signs of bad luck by most Gangrel, and the fact neither have been called in centuries is seen as a good sign.

 

Cultures:

The Gangrel are considered the most feral and predatory of the kindred, and because of their reclusive natures, animalistic tendencies and loose organization, are the least social of the Cainites, preferring solitude to society. They also tend to be extremely territorial and possessive and to enter a Gangrel's territory without permission is certain death. They do have their role and reputation among the kindred as fierce warriors, but to get a Gangrel to agree to work with others, even other Gangrel, can be a difficult, if not impossible, task.

Most of the Clans legends and myths, as well as the ways to garner prestige within the Clan, are done orally. Storytelling and being able to hold a crowd are considered fairly valuable social currency, as there is little else to do in gatherings out in the wilderness besides entertain each another with bravado and song. Most of these stories are true, but a good, satisfying tale is regarded as more important than the facts of the details. Gangrel don't lie, precisely, but embellishing the truth is a good way to sound much more impressive, in the same way a cat puffs up its fur to look more threatening. Keeping to one's spoken word is also highly respected, as when all is said and done, the only thing stopping another vampire from screwing you over is their own sense of honor. This is not to say that the more socially-inclined Gangrel can't learn to playJyhad. In fact, many enjoy (or at least grudgingly accept) the great masquerade ball of betrayal, conspiracy, and power struggles that define so much of Kindred existence.

The Gangrel also have ties to the Roma, and therefore will protect and shelter them, especially from other Kindred. The Ravnos would also lay claim to the Roma, however, and as a result the two clans have a mutual hatred for each other that goes back centuries.

Given the distinctly rural nature of Clan Gangrel, the observer may be surprised to learn that many higher-generation Gangrel are adept at managing modern technology such as cell phones, computers, and cutting-edge vehicles. Clan Gangrel has realized that knowledge of technology is an important aspect of survival in the modern nights, and even the eldest Gangrel know how to work a microwave.