Packhunter Power Groups

Listed below are six of the many, many Vundarkin Packs. These groups are not the leadership of the Packhunters, though they have won influence and renown in recent years. 

Player Characters may come from any Power Group. It is recommended that those willing to write backstories intertwined with the Packs below contact Game Staff for further information/guidance.

It is the requirement of Game Staff that players who create their own Packs as part of their backstory submit a profile of that group to Game Staff (for further use in plot if need be).

The Brood of the Stonefathers: Nomadic warriors that seek out enlightenment in the wild and have beast totems. Worshippers of the appalachian mountain range.

The Circle of the Green Leaf: A medium sized Pack of spiritualists and survivalists that eschew most technologies and seek to purge corruption and vileness from the land. 

The Pack of the Devil Cats: A Pack of cunning outcasts and scouts, never truly part of any community except their own.

The Pack of the Pale Wolf: A quiet Pack that venerates a deathly Whisper and practices death rites on all that pass from this life. 

The Pack of the Red Path: This is a bloodthirsty, belligerent Pack of warriors, slayers, and devourers.

The Pack of the Serpent River: Worshippers of the Serpent River, travelling up and down its length in an eternal pilgrimage.

The Brood of the Stonefathers

Stonebrood

“We are the children of the mountains. Strike us and be broken.”

Basic: Nomadic warriors that seek out enlightenment in the wild and have beast totems. Worshippers of the Appalachian mountain range (aka the Stonefathers).

Symbol: Their tents and banners have three mountains painted on them. 

Territory: The Stonebrood do not claim any territory, but are one of several Packs that roam the Appalachian range. However, they believe that many places are too sacred or too dangerous for them to travel through. 

Overview: The Brood of the Stonefathers are the biggest and bloodiest Pack of those that wander the Appalachian range. Their history is rife with strife and violence as they not only fought the monstrosities that laired in the shadow of their “Greatfathers of Stone” but also the depredations of the vampiric Night Kings. As such, many of them are accustomed to the rigors of guerilla warfare.

As to be expected, these people are a hardy Pack, as enduring as the mountain range they venerate. Their woodwisdom is strengthened by their spiritual insight and incredible cunning. Each carries a runed stone (aka a stoneheart) on their person or hangs it as a necklace -- this represents their legacy as the mountains’ children. Though the Pack and each individual is free to live their lives, they believe that their fates are inextricably tied to their ancestors and they will always return to it. 

The Stonebrood only offered their strength to the Free Tribes because the Night Kings had been scattered by the Templar and the Hellhounds several decades in the past. Though they sought to ally and learn from those groups, they proved their worth against the Harbinger Hosts time and time again in small skirmishes and swift raids. Though the War over Embers is over, the Brood of the Stonefathers regards the other groups with grim regard. While they have largely returned to their mountain wanderings, they occasionally send out individuals to the other parts of Mid-Atla to learn new things and bring back knowledge to the Elder.

Leadership: Hill Mountaincloud is the Pack Elder of the Stonebrood. A Bestial Chimera, he is known for the ragged mantle over his shoulders and for his skill with Longarms and machetes. Of significant note are his necklace of Necrotic fangs, each of which belonged to a Night League minion that he and his ancestors have slain.

Hill is a man of warmth and friendliness, willing to share food and fires with strangers. He is wise enough to know that not all Necrotics are of the Night League, but becomes wary and cold when they are around. It is said that his Pack has tracked down and slain several groups that they believe are Night League spies and diplomats -- this has run them out of several towns in Mid-Atla. 

The Circle of the Green Leaf

Greenleaves

“Corruption and abominations have no place in this world”

Basic: A medium sized Pack of spiritualists and survivalists that eschew most technologies and seek to purge corruption and vileness from the land. 

Symbol: Their tents and banners feature a green tree or a broad, green leaf

Territory: The Circle of Greenleaves travel all over Mid-Atla but they are drawn to areas where there is an infestation of Eldritch energies, such as Shroudlands or similarly affected regions.

Overview: It comes as little surprise that the Circle of Greenleaves venerates the Green Oak. They have an intense hatred for that which they consider corrupted and unnatural  (as opposed to things that have merely adapted to the unnatural). To that end, they seek out places where the Eldritch has taken root and expunge it from this world with spell and prayer. Their methods are slow, seeding an area with holy trees and allowing those arbors to bring harmony to an area afflicted with otherworldly energies.

The Greenleaves and similar Packs came to the aid of the Archfactions against the Harbinger Hosts. Though their magics had been honed by generations of practice and the favor of the Green Oak, the Greenleaves could not triumph against the Harbingers alone. When the dust settled, the Circle of Greenleaves were the only Pack of their kind to survive and not without significant losses. 

Reduced to approximately fifty people, the Greenleaves remain dedicated to their cause. A new generation of the Circle rises to meet their latest challenge: the Shroudlands. These regions are afflicted with foul magics. It was these Shroudlands that swallowed the Grailguards’ old fortress and the area west of Snakewater. Others such pestilent regions are rumored to exist across the continent, even as far as the Mojave. These corruptions have resisted the Greenleaves’ efforts at reclamation and have even claimed some of their lives. In desperation, the Circle seeks wisdom from every source they can, even the Eldritch using Templars. This exchange of ideas and lores has resulted in several Greenleaves becoming Dryadic Eidolons. 

Leadership: The Greenleaves call their Pack Elder the Archdruid or “His Verdancy”. He is a mysterious figure of great Arcane power, having taught the Greenleaves much of their magical skill. His Verdancy is an individual of great reverence, almost equal to the Green Oak themselves. The Archdruid’s teachings demand that his followers reject most of the trappings of technology and embrace discipline and simplicity. Thus, the Greenleaves use beasts of burden and avoid the use of firearms or magnatech in their daily lives.  

The Pack of the Pale Wolf

Pale Wolves

“And in the twilight of her breaths, she beheld a Pale Wolf and was gladdened of its arrival”

Basic: A quiet Pack that venerates a deathly Whisper and practices death rites on all that pass from this life. 

Symbol: A Wolf Skull is painted upon their tents and banners.

Territory: The Pale Wolves travel in the wilds of the northern Mid-Atla, straying toward New England at times. As it is with anyone with any sense, they steer clear of the New Amsterdam ruins.

Overview: It would be easy to mistake the Pale Wolves from Carrion Cults and Cannibal Gangs that hunt humans for their flesh. The white or grey ashes that mark their faces make them look like the living dead and do little to recommend them to others. Their use of Necrothergy and bone weapons only fuel suspicion from others. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that when the Ember War came, the Pale Wolves fought alongside the Archfactions with dark magics and devilish tactics.

Like the Carrion Cults that spring up across Mid-Atla before immediately being wiped out, the Pale Wolves believe that they gain power from death. However, what puts them apart from mere cannibals is the respect they give to the dead -- they do not revel in suffering or in cruelty. Foes are cremated and their ashes are baked into blackened bread. Their blackened bones are wrought into weapons or worn as ornaments alongside their grey or white furs. The Pale Wolves’ prayers to the deceased and to their shadowy Whisper grant them power against a cruel World that was upended by calamity.

Surprisingly, few of the Pale Wolves are Risen folk. As one of the larger Packs, they are rostered by Chimerics and by Seraphs. Those touched by death or incredible grief sometimes seek them out. Far from being dark zealots or ravenous savages, the Pale Wolves are quiet, calm, and reserved. Besides the lonely horns they blow and a messenger said ahead of time, they arrive with little fanfare and leave with the same silent grace.

Leadership: Ashen Snowfallen is a Seraph and the Pack Elder to the Pale Wolves. She is learned in Animancy and Necrotherugy, balancing spiritual power and deathly magics. As her father before her, she is also a Speaker-to-Whispers and communes with the Shadowmane. In times of doubt, she lets the Whisper speak through her, pulling down her Animus Crown upon her face and intoning guidance over a smoky bonfire. The Pack listens to the Shadowmane closely for his ways are their ways and there will come a time where he will lead their souls into the great beyond. Sometimes, she sends them individually or in small groups to different parts of Mid-Atla to learn things and come back to her -- all at the behest of their shadowy Patron. 

The Pack of the Red Path

Redpaths

“To eat its meat, you must hunt the deer”

Basic: This is a bloodthirsty, belligerent Pack of warriors, slayers, and devourers.

Symbol: An open-mouthed wolf’s head (or a similar beast) is painted upon the Redpaths’ tents and banners.

Territory: The Redpaths’ wanderings take them across the entirety of Mid-Atla. They have been reported as far south as Tidewater and as far north as the Templar’s Bastion du Rachat. 

Overview: A sibling Pack to the Godslayers (now the Cartel’s Peace Makers), the Redpaths are regarded by many as insane. They are obsessed with the hunt, whether it is to chase down the migrating herds of deer or tracking a particularly deadly Horror. Doing the latter has led to the nigh obliteration of the Pack time and again as they attempt to strike down a monster too powerful for them. But it has not stopped them from trying nor has it stopped people from joining them, though these are often survivors of monster attacks or those with more bloodlust than sense. 

One of the more insane practices of the Pack of the Red Path is their consumption of fallen monsters. Not interested in fragile humanity, the devouring of the inhuman is a mark of triumph among the Pack. It is not enough to defeat a monster, but to feed its strength and spirit to one’s allies ensures that the Redpaths remain powerful. Unsurprisingly, beneath the bloodstained furs that they favor, many of them have the Necrotic Stigmata from surviving deadly encounters. 

The War over Embers proved an immense challenge for the Redpaths. Knowing their predilections, the Pack was prevented by their allies from engaging the Harbingers themselves. Instead, they were unleashed upon smaller groups and engagements to devastating effect. However, they could not be denied forever -- during the Battle of the Broken Bell, the Redpaths fell upon the Harbingers with savage fury. Their warriors and hunters were annihilated almost to a man, with a handful of survivors. The Redpaths’ only regret is that they were unable to taste the flesh of the Harbingers.

Leadership: Fenroc is the current Pack Elder of the Redpaths. He barely survived the Battle of the Broken Bell by being flung several dozen yards away by a sorcerous explosion. Fenroc awoke hours later with the Necrotic Stigmata and a hunger for flesh. The current era has the Redpaths roaming the land looking for monsters to eat, as per usual. Getting paid by a community for “pest control” is also acceptable, though banal to them. However, what would truly whet their appetite is the emergence of a new Harbinger -- Fenroc believes that devouring such an entity would bring him and his Pack divinity.

The Pack of the Serpent River

Serpentfish

“River, river, take my soul

With your currents, bring me home”

Basic: Worshippers of the Serpent River, travelling up and down its length in an eternal pilgrimage.

Symbol: A serpentfish (eel) is usually found painted on their tents and banners 

Territory: The Pack of the Serpent River is one of several communities that wander along the banks of the Serpent River. Swollen and purified by the Long Fall, this river cuts across Mid-Atla, passing by the ruins of Libertina and terminating into South Bay. 

Overview: The Serpentfish are a people on an eternal pilgrimage. They are one of several communities that venerate the Serpent River. In particular, the Serpentfish and walk along its shores, always returning to it whenever they leave it. Though once poisoned by the sins of humanity, the River now sustains its children in body and soul, whether it is through the fish or through ritual bathing. While, they give deference to other rivers that they encounter, but these are little siblings to their patron Whisper.

The Pack of the Serpent River are more martially inclined and more socially inclined than their fellow river children. Throughout the history of Mid-Atla, they are known to have traded with nearby settlements for weaponry and news. They are not always welcome however because they are said to attack those they perceive to be defiling their river with dark magics. The rumors of them drowning passersby to gain the river’s blessing are unfounded, but did much to tarnish their reputation with other communities.

These Packhunters were drawn to the Ember War not by the aggregation of the Archfactions, but when the Harbinger Hosts finally brought war to their sacred river. The Serpentfish lent intelligence and support at first, but as the battles raged bloodier across Mid-Atla, they had no choice but to bring spear and rifle to bear against this unnatural invader. 

Leadership: Min Kalchild was born under an auspicious moon and thus was wrought into the form of a Seraph, capable of breathing water as easily as one breathes air. Her father was the previous Elder for several decades, but it was a surprise that she was chosen to replace him. She proved herself well in the Ember War, stepping up to a temporary leadership role when he was slain. The Elder of the Serpentfish leads her people along their divine pilgrimage, but she wishes she could search for her father’s killer -- her investigations into the matter have yet to yield any results and Min usually directs her efforts toward managing the Pack instead.