Lost Tribes: Setting

The Tribes have always existed, and always shall. They fight for the glory of their totems, for control and power, as they always have. The Eagle kings tried to exterminate them before, covering their corpses with robes or purple and gold and blood red, but the totems still speak to those of the blood, even today. In New York, the Tribes continue their struggle for dominance under the guise of gangs and under the veils of masks, hidden from the public view.

Fight for your Totem

Fight for glory

Fight to win.

Lost Tribes: A game of totemic street gangs in an ageless war.

==

So Totem Tribes fighting for things both material and immaterial.

If you have your mask, you can use a very simple ritual to enhance yourself via your totem power.

You would think the big animals would rock this, but really, they are losing strength as their numbers diminish. Thus Dogs, Cats, and Mice rule this secret world. (Alligators, Kangaroos, Rabbits, various Birds, are out there as well).

In each area, the tribes find their own way of being.

IN some places they are "secret societies" behind the places of powers. In some places they are "the organized crime". In some places they are part of the anitquities community, as older items have power. In some places they are just gangs of people mystically bound together by their totem.

(really you can have all the above ... those who have been playing the game longer move up the food chain into the various other elements. )

There are nodes of ley power in the city. This power charges various items in that area. You can tap that power to enhance yourself (your totem power) or give it to your tribe's totem (thus allowing access for anyone who needs it).

The Tribes

Cat, Dog, Mouse (maybe Rat), rule the cities. In the right backwoods town though you don't want them to pull out their masks...

There are rumours that in Buckingham palace, a group of guards have masks with the faces of lions, all bedecked in gold and jewels... They have enslave proud, cunning Raven for their own ends, it is said

And remember that the ravens three are bad luck. That the raven on the battlefield is an ill omen. Perhaps that is why the raven is enslaved by the lion.

Tribe Raven is enslaved by the Lions, but Tribe Crow is free.

Of course the question is, are they separate tribes, following separate totems, or do they follow two different masks worn by the same being?

"They say that they're different, but they all look the same to me. Crows, Ravens, practically the same bird, really. But if they're all the same, how did one get caught? Are they really even the slaves of the Lions, or do they just use their position to influence things? Or is there really no connection, outside of smoke and shadows?"

"No, mate, they're different. The Ravens are crazy. I've seen them, all masked up at the Tower, murmuring, cackling about something big and dark and buried under London, something trying to wake up.

"Crows are crass and nasty, but Ravens are insane"

The Unicorn is like Keyser Söze. He's the Big Bad monster in the fairy tales crooks tell their children. Some say he's a myth; some say he's the secret master of all the tribes. One thing that all the tribes agree on though: if the Unicorn declares you his enemy, you are doomed, but if the Unicorn hires you for a job, you'll soon wish you were merely his enemy.

The cat tribe's motherhouse is located in the ancient city of Venice Italy and even the Pigeons of St Mark's Square are forced to admit that Venice is, was and forever shall be a feline domain. But like their brethren abroad the Pigeons know all the dirty little secrets so they've been able to broker a deal with the Queen of the Canals. The cats pretty much leave the Pigeons alone and the Pigeons don't share all those catty secrets with the rest of the tribes.

Pigeons don't have a motherhouse, as no city will claim the dirty lil bastards. They're rats with wings. They're flying vermin who are just as happy begging from tourists at Trafalgar as they are shitting in the Queen's tea over at Buckingham Palace. There's not a tribe out there who wouldn't like to see the whole damn lot of them wiped out or at least driven out of their town. The problem is the fucking birds know too damn much and are more than happy to share it, for a price that is. So what can ya do? At the end of the day even the most refined feline is forced to suck it up and pay a visit to some shit stained statue and deal with the flithy fucks if she wants to get anything done.

"It's funny how people hate rats with wings more than other rats... " - Big Sally, Rat Tribesman

Rats at least have the decency to stay out of sight of polite society.

The Eagle Kings took control of America, and cemented it- what, you thought the revolution was about Democracy? Why is it then that every president has come from the Eagle Bloodline? What about the rumors of some strange, exotic bloodline the Eagles are courting with their current pick for face of the country?

We've got a few of our brothers over there, but they're fighting a lost cause.

The humans are winning. They steal our masks, and our powers. With profane magics, they rework our masks. Our totems scream in pain. Every mask we loose makes the thrice damned humans stronger, and us weaker. There is no tribe of man. Instead of being born to their totem, they choose and initiate their members, and gift them with a perverted mask, stolen from one of us true tribes. [[ Don't fuck with the rabbits]]http://i.imgur.com/uREBv.jpg

Masks

To take another's mask is the ultimate sign of defeat, a fate worse than death in fact, for with the Mask goes the power the totem spirit provides. Also to lose one's mask is to lose one's place within the Tribe, for if your enemy has seen your true face then your entire tribe is put in danger.

now im just seeing the Ram masks... their leader with golden fleece. and i know someone has a set of minotaur masks out there somewhere.... also, those kitties need boots.

Nono, masks only. Faster that way, to hide one's identity. Remember, once you've been unmasked you are a pariah, a danger to your tribe and all you care about. Masks are good.

So question, how do humans react when they see a bunch of people wearing animal masks weilding weapons in public? Do they see someone wearing a mask? Do they see the animal the mask represents or do they not see the mask at all?

And most importantly what powers does ones mask afford the wearer?

In the city, no one notices cats, dogs or rats. It all fades into the background.

No one notices, except for the occasional animal lover who sees what they expect to see.