Tribe: Glasswalkers

Glasswalkers

Totem: Cockroach

There came a time when members of all the tribes grew weary of constantly traveling with their human herds. Around the same time, some of the humans decided to establish themselves in regions that were geographically sound and that offered both land to farm and shelter from the worst of Gaia's wrath. Gradually, over the course of a few decades, the tribe that would eventually call itself the Glass Walkers began to form. They reveled in the changes affecting the world. They thrilled at the building of cities and towns. And they continued to protect their herd from the predatory vampires.

In the growth of civilization, the newly formed tribe, called the Warders, found fresh challenges to meet and innovative new ways to work within the strange cities built by humans. The strong always survive, the weak always perish: That is nature's way. But the cities made survival of the fittest a puzzle that had to be solved. By watching the humans and associating with the ones who could gain strength in the cities, the
Warders became more powerful themselves.

They solved the riddle of the cities and flourished, where others would surely have fallen. As certain factions
among the Silver Fangs and Shadow Lords took command over the upper echelons of society, the Warders merged with the merchants and the criminal elements to establish their own roots of power. In time, the
glory of the nobles fell, and the Warders were there, once again using their human connections and weaving lines of power in human society. With more complex governments forming, the Warders worked their way from the bottom toward the upper levels of power, never taking charge of the countries where such changes happened, but always making certain the tribe had enough influence to sway these changes. As always, the working class continued, as it continues today, in a constantly shifting world — and the Glass Walkers are there.

The robber barons were replaced by harsher, more business-savvy types such as the Mafia. In true survivor fashion, the Warders met with these new powers and imitated them. Sometimes they even joined with these groups and guided much of what followed. However, always present as a thorn in the Warders' collective side, the vampires vied for these same power bases. From time to time, a brief truce between these supernaturals comes to pass, but it always breaks apart. The two groups are too different in their
approaches and their beliefs. When humanity captured the power of steam and iron, the Warders were there, though they'd changed their tribal name (as they'd done several times previously) to something
more appropriate: the Iron Riders. When the human world industrialized itself, the tribe, now known as the Glass Walkers, changed with it yet again. Nuclear power, a terror to most in its early days, quickly attracted the tribe's scrutiny. So, too, did computers and the Internet.

Whereas other Garou are still puzzling out just what the cities are good for, the Glass Walkers have found their niche. They still watch over and guide their herds, though they do so with a frightening subtlety worthy of the Weaver. Perhaps the Glass Walkers are no longer as wild as they once were, but time has proved their vision worthy, and they have survived and excelled.

Recent History
The expansion of the human race has been a boon to the Glass Walkers. They hold influence throughout the world, and their money is certainly more immediately useful than the claws and fangs of their more savage counterparts. These days, the Glass Walkers hold an incredible amount of power in the form of information. With its hidden files and its spy programs, the tribe gleans information about what Pentex is working on
and how best to stop other megacorporations from serving Wyrm. There are whispered rumors that the Glasswalkers plan to throw a major assault against Pentex in the near future not a physical attack, but a financial one. Individuals iKtne know are whispering that someone is planning a hostile takeover of Pentex. The Glass Walkers aren't they're doing a great deal of smiling.

NAFTA marks one of the Glass Walkers' most recent failures. Despite their most strenuous attempts to force environmental issues into the trade agreement, the best they could manage was a promise by each country to monitor such situations. While the tribe considers the legislation a major blow against Gaia's protection, the Glass Walkers are also working on other projects to aid in cleaning the environment.

One of the greatest struggles the Glass Walkers face at present is the gradual, painful collapse of the old Mafia and its replacement by Young Turks with guns and a profound lack of morality. Although it took some time to find out who was behind this recent turn of events, the Glass Walkers are now convinced that the Sabbat vampires are the culprits. The tribe's next step involves revealing the threat that the vampires represent, but given the Kindred's media campaigns and increase of horror-related shows, many people
now lean toward sympathy for the vampiric figures they see as fiction — or, in some cases, as perfect models to emulate. Obviously, a new method of attack must be found.

Organization
The Glass Walkers follow a "family" method of management. One or two powerful Garou in every city hold sway over the rest by means of offering promotions, favors and information in exchange for loyalty. The leaders of these families are called "Dons" or "Lords," and their power is immense. Few can hope to stand alone against the political and financial power of a local Don, and in the information age, it takes remarkably little for one of these giants to shatter the entire livelihood of any rival. Angering the Don
could mean a slap on the wrist or an audit by the IRS, with all the offender's assets being seized in the interim.

Most Dons are enthusiastic about the ever-changing age of computers, and they give a great deal of leeway to their younger associates, while simultaneously making certain that the elder members of the family enforce tribal loyalty by any means necessary. In the world of the Glass Walkers, everything is business, and that includes saving Gaia from the Wyrm. Just as in business, the Glass Walkers are often ruthless
with anyone foolish enough to consider betraying them.

Camps
Glass Walker camps are less violent than most, but they are just as hungry for control. It's not unusual for the influence of the different camps to switch from day to day, and that's exactly how the Dons like it. Competition keeps everyone working hard, and hard workers produce results.

• City Farmers: The City Farmers are working quietly and diligently to bring about a different sort of urban renewal. They are behind several of the recent trends toward planting trees and bushes inside buildings, and they've been instrumental in granting the funding necessary for development of effective hydroponics gardens. Most Glass Walkers see their own efforts as transitory, but the City Farmers are beginning to believe that the other Garou are right and that the Apocalypse is indeed at hand. It's this camp's hope that the developments it creates now might save the cities in the future.
  
  
• Cyber Dogs: The Cyber Dogs, a new faction of the Glass Walkers, are a cross between the Urban Primitives and the Random Interrupts. They've decided the best way to handle the changing world is to meet it head-on. The Cyber Dogs are very fond of cybernetics and are actively enhancing their bodies, even going so far,as to attack hidden establishments that deal in advanced wetware to get the technology they want. One of the camp's greatest sins is trying to recruit lupus Garou to its beliefs by forcing enhancements on them. So far, of the 15 attempts to build a better lupus, seven have died and three have gone mad from the changes. The Cyber Dogs' record in this area is scandalous.
  
  
• Random Interrupts: The ultimate computer hackers, these Garou often communicate with the Information spirits of the World Wide Web, thus foregoing the need for computers and moving directly into the spiritual realm of the Internet to obtain information and hack into files that would otherwise be inaccessible. No files are secret or sacred in the eyes of the Interrupts, and they've begun to learn things about other organizations that could prove very interesting to the right buyer. Things about a powerful group called the Technocracy and several of its factions....
  
  
• Urban Primitives: Disdaining the computer age, these Garou seek to grow stronger and more influential by using their wits and physical prowess. To this end, many of them have begun forming gangs and seizing control of areas where most Glass Walkers wouldn't consider dwelling. Most often tattooed, pierced, scarred and shaved, the Urban Primitives have their own set of challenges to face every day, from finding places to live to eating regularly. Of all the Glass Walker camps, the Urban Primitives' members are the ones most likely to draw weapons and go for actual blood in a fight. They're also the Glass Walkers most likely to win in any such combat.

Quote
Civilization is inescapable. Why hide in the eradicated woods and lament the loss of the world? Instead, why not adapt, assimilate and conquer the new world that is coming?
-Junius Datatree, Glass Walker Philodox

Book: Tribe Book

Example: Philodox Glasswalker

Cockroach

The cockroach and those spirits it has created as its brood are known for their cunning and survival instinct; to them, "flight" is better than "fight". To those not familiar with these often underrated spirits, it comes as a shock to learn of their honor, knowledge, and intuitive abilities. Cockroach takes great pains to secure spirit forces from throughout the Umbra to establish and protect its influence. These spirits throw themselves into battle against both Weaver and Wyrm when needed, committing themselves to their duties with unwavering dignity even in the face of insurmountable odds.