Fianna:

Tribal Totem: Stag

Initial Willpower: 3

Background Restrictions: No restrictions.

Beginning Gifts: Faerie Light, Persuasion, Resist Toxin

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It's said that the first Galliard was a Fianna. The more humble of this tribe shake their heads and say, "No, not the first one, just the best one." 

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Hailing from Western Europe and the British Isles in particular, the Fianna are a tribe that indulges in its passions for music, drink, love and fighting (not necessarily in that order). The tribe also includes the finest lorekeepers and bards of the Garou, for they learn the tales of other tribes as well as their own. None can match the memory of a Fianna master bard, who can recite a clan generation by generation easily back thousands of years. Garou from other tribes come to the Fianna to learn the old stories of heroes and battles, lists of lineages and tales of tragedy. 

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Members of Stag's tribe are often called to be judges, for their memories are long and they are familiar with Litany precedent as few others are. Fianna have quite a reputation for enjoying themselves to excess. Music, dancing, drinking, love and general merriment are more than simple pastimes. Stag's tribe is very serious about the fine art of the good time. For this reason more than any other, the Fianna are taken less than seriously by other Garou. Fianna tend to be extroverts who enjoy parties and gatherings of all kinds. They can also be deeply moody; Harano strikes the Fianna more often than any other tribe save the Silver Fangs. No, the Fianna never do anything by halves! 

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Their mercurial personalities, coupled with their Creativity, are often linked to their ancestral ties with the fae folk. In fact, many Garou (including the Fianna themselves) suspect that a touch of faerie blood runs through Fianna veins. While not every tribe member can carry a tune, most members of Stag's tribe are encouraged to be creative. It's the rare Theurge that doesn't embellish a fetish with curling designs representing the spirit housed within, and many Ahroun can forge weapons that are works of art as well as death-dealers. Other tribes have painters, dancers, writers and musicians, but the Fianna have them in spades. 

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In addition to being sociable, the Fianna are the most likely of all werewolves to fall in love, either with humans or (all too frequently) other Garou. Such romances end in tragedy far more often than not, supplying grist for ballads and stories to fill a thousand heart-breaking nights. Should an illicit union bear tainted fruit, have nothing but pity for the offspring. Fianna are hard on their metis, for it's traditional wisdom that a twisted body mirrors a twisted soul. Metis never hold positions of power within the tribe, custom forbids it. It's a sad irony that abusive treatment sometimes drives the metis to the Wyrm, which only proves the metis' taint in the eyes of the more hard-line elders. 

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Despite their rowdy reputation, it would be a bad idea to think of the Fianna as merely drunken sots who can spout stories. Those who have thought so have learned their lesson quickly. The joy of battle is not the least of their joys! Time and again their ferocity has surprised the Get of Fenris or other interlopers who expected that lovers couldn't be fighters. Some say that the world is better for the drinking and dancing; without an outlet for that passionate energy, the Fianna would probably be more battle-mad than the Get! 

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Now, a tribal divide is opening — the age-old schism between old and new. Many Fianna and their activist Kinfolk are using the influx of European Union capital and environmentally friendly parties to repair some of the damage done by chemical dumps and general land wasting across the British Isles as well as the rest of Europe. The other faction sees that the so-called Celtic Tiger economic boom has created a flurry of unrestricted growth and development. "What's the use of cleaning the Wyrm-taint from a forest if the trees are leveled and an apartment complex covers the land?" they ask. This quandary is being noticed among the other tribes these days, but it is especially painful for the traditionalists of the Fianna. If one uses the tools of the Weaver to fight the Wyrm, what can he use to fight the Weaver?

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Thoughts on other tribes:
Black Furies: Be careful around these ladies; they can't take a joke.
Bone Gnawers: They're looked down on, but show 'em a little kindness and they'll be your friend for life. Can't ever have too many friends.
Children of Gaia: A smile will go a long way, and these folks always have one for you. They'll fight with the best of them; it just takes longer to piss them off.
Get of Fenris: They're battle-mad. They'd attack a tree if you wrote "Wyrm" on the side... assuming they can read.
Glass Walkers: If you need to find your way around a city, a Glass Walker will give you a hand. But don't expect a free lunch.
Red Talons: Better than the Get, because they're pickier. They're discriminating psychopaths.
Shadow Lords: Arrogant bastards. Don't shake one's hand, there's likely poison in his ring.
Silent Striders: Strange lot, and a little spooky. But invite one to your fire and you're in for a night of many tales.
Silver Fangs: Respectable, traditionalists to a fault, but a bit stiff and overbearing sometimes. Still, one's king is one's king.
Uktena: Pretty unfriendly, unless they think you know something they don't. Then they're only slightly unfriendly.
Wendigo: We've got some history. We don't get on too well.
Stargazers: Too wise for us mere mortals. They're probably happier hanging out on their mountaintops.