When wandering the world, the Striders have an uncanny tendency to poke their snouts in where they don’t belong  and come out with trouble on their tails. This may be the reason they are so widely distrusted. Most Striders make a living

acting as couriers  or  messengers  between caerns; they  know the hidden byways well enough, and, it is rumored, afew secret Moon Bridges to boot.

 

With the usual exception of Banes aand Black  Spiral Dancers, the Striders hold their greatest hatred for vampires. Tribal legend holds that the Striders fought an army of vampires led by a dark undead godling called Sutekh. Sutekh supposedly cast a great curse on the tribe that drove them from Egypt, scattered them to the winds, and worst of all, severed their bonds with their ancestors. Since then many Striders take  Egyptian names as a link to their past, and search the Umbra in vain for some sign

of their forbears.

 

The Silent Striders do have a relationship with the Restless Dead. The origin of the relationship is unknown, but Striders tend to attract ghosts' attention when passing through the Gauntlet 1into or out of the Umbra. Rare is the Silent Strider who doesn't have at least one wraith tagging along as he travels Out of a sense of respect and politeness, the Striders will generally avoid mentioning such ghosts in front of strangers.

 

Tribal Totem: Owl -- swift and silent, a gatherer of mysteries.

 

Advantage: Your experiences on the road have made you especially alert. You may freely cancel any retests called against you for the purposes of Surprise.

 

Drawback: An ancient curse on the tribe draws the restless dead to you at inopportune moments. When you lose a challenge to step sideways, you may (at Narrator discretion) attract a ghost -- treat this as the Haunted Flaw. The ghost won't leave until you perform a service for it.

 

Restrictions: You may not take the Ancestors and Resources Backgrounds; your past is lost to you and you can't put down roots.

 

Beginning Tribal Gifts: Sense Wym, Silence, Speed of Thought

 

Starting Willpower: Three

 

Wolf Form:  The Silent Striders have the look of the jackal about them, lean and muscular. They have  black coats and yellow  eyes, appearing as though they just sprang from the hieroglyphs on a tomb’s wall. However this is open also, if your character comes from another area of the world and you feel a Jackal would not represent this, talk to your storyteller and make a note on your character sheet.

 

Organization: The Silent Striders are loners, without explicit hierarchy or titles, but they do occasionally gather ingreat moots. Typically these moots take place alongside barren, empty  expanses of road, although outsiders remain mystified about how the tribe knows where and when to meet. More commonly, rather than congregating, the Striders leave one another messages on roadsigns or in subway tunnels, using a pictographic scrawl whose meaning is generally kept secret.

Habitat/Protectorate: Whether as individuals or as a tribe, the Silent Striders do not have a single homeland. They are wanderers, travelers, born to the road. They may stay in one place for an extended time, but for the most part they do not congregate for long periods at any particular caerns, save for a rumored caem in Casablanca. Their Kinfolk are likewise disparate -Rrom, circus troupes, nomadic tribes, truckers or hitchhikers.