The Unihar

Has anything new been published about Ghost Children besides what we have in the Core, Predators, and Blood of the Wolf?  

I've had the vague idea of running a game that dealt with them in some respect, but I noticed that in the books I have, there just isn't a whole lot dealing with them.  Not even myths, which I find odd, since practically everything else in the Uratha's lives has some sort of mythology associated with it (an aspect of this line I absolutely love, by the way).  

The ideas I've seen in the books are that it's an intrinsic aspect of being half=spirit.  There's also the suggestion that Luna did it (to teach some sort of lesson or other).  And there's the idea that it's a curse Urfarah laid on them before the Fall.  

What other ideas have you seen?  How have you used the Unihar in game?  Have you used them in game?  What sort of stories have your Caliath told about them? 

Interesting.  I don't have good answers to your questions because I've never used them in my games.  Probably because there is less written about them.  For all the times we've said they've covered everything in the core, the Unihar actually stand out as something they haven't said much about.

The only other mentions of unihar are in Night Horrors: Wolfsbane, where they are mentioned in connection with a few of the werewolf enemies listed, such as Bloody Mary and Brother Peyton.

They're very, very rare.  They hate werewolves and are unaffected by Uratha Gifts.  They don't form a society, what's more to know.

Wolfsbane would have been a good place to give a named Unihar write-up, along with a sample Unihar Ridden/Claimed.

Darksider:

Wolfsbane would have been a good place to give a named Unihar write-up, along with a sample Unihar Ridden/Claimed.

You get a Ridden/Claimed on War Against the Pure, Silver Chain.

Darksider:

They're very, very rare.  They hate werewolves and are unaffected by Uratha Gifts.  They don't form a society, what's more to know.

How the Uratha view them.  Where they fit into the werewolf cosmology.  What explainations, wrong or not, werewolves use to contextualize the way they seem to break the conventional rules that spirits operate under. 

How the rest of the spirit world regards them.  Do they have a place in some choir?  Are they regarded in the same way as the Magath?  Do any of the spirits ally themselves with them? 

Where do they come from?  What does their existence say about the nature of the Uratha?  What is the origin of their inborn hatrid for their parents?  Are there prophecies spoken about them in hushed tones, or blasphemous theories that the elders suppress? 

Spirits come into existence based on a set of relatively clear rules.  Spirits of greed or lust or cars come into being when large concentrations of that type of essence appears.  What type of essence is generated in werewolf mating that leads to this sort of creature?  Are they even spirits at all or something altogether different that simply uses spirit rules for convenience? 

It just seems to me that even given the vast numbers of enemies the Forsaken have, the existence of a class of beings who's sole reason for being seems to be the anihaliation of your species would be something worth thinking at least a little about.  It almost feels like they're in denial, deliberately avoiding thinking about it and the implications. 

And that seems to me like it could make for an interesting story exploring these questions.  If there were any other stories out there, it'd be a useful starting point. 

Here's a question: is Werewolf mating taboo amongst Bale Hounds?  Might the Maeljin be able to acquire the loyalty of Unihar?

Of course the following are just my opinions, but I've studied the lore found on the books and base these assuptions on them. Besides, I have used them once in my chronicle.

Howlin:

How the Uratha view them.  Where they fit into the werewolf cosmology.  What explainations, wrong or not, werewolves use to contextualize the way they seem to break the conventional rules that spirits operate under. 

I think majority of the older Uratha might see the unihar as just punishment for the two that dared to mate. In my games the Uratha as whole see Unihar as reminder that the gene-pool of the species must be kept fresh (as the Uratha are seen more relative than their wolf-blooded family ).

Howlin:

How the rest of the spirit world regards them.  Do they have a place in some choir?  Are they regarded in the same way as the Magath?  Do any of the spirits ally themselves with them? 

I think most of the spirit-world fears them. But if I recall right, Blood of the Wolf states that the birth of such a creature attracts the attention of many angry, violent and menacing spirits, ready to either be consumed by the powerful newborn or aiding it in escaping. The Unihar, when fought alongside, could provide a good ally to any spirit that wishes to get rid of the local Uratha. To my knowledge, Unihar are a wildcard when it comes to choirs. They are loners and stalkers, with only mission to kill the ones that made them be.

I think what I most like about the damned beasts is that there is NOT much official lore about them. One can easily come up with cool ideas and own, blasphemous lore about them! The Ghost-child is scary because it's so mysterious. And I think it works best in a chronicle when it's "something that had happened to my friends' cousin many miles from here". 

Hope this helps or gives ideas.

ps. Oh, and yes! There could be a Bale Hound that'd curse a female-werewolf to bear an Unihar. Just think of the social and physical trouble the pregnancy and birth would bring.... hurrr!

As for reasons why an Unihar would hate werewolves let's make a list.

Werewolves can exist in either world, Unihar are restricted to the hisil.
Werewolves have a pack and family structure, the Unihar will be forever alone.
Werewolves don't feel Rage constantly, Unihar get a nice big concentrated dose of it.

If more info is presented on them I'd like to see how "they" feel about Luna and her servants other than werewolves.  I'd also like to see if there are legends of them before the fall of Father Wolf.  I don't need it to use them, but new material is always nice.

Two people mate, the resulting offspring receives one randomly chosen gene from each of its parents' gene pair. What you get is still based on the genes of the mother and the father.

Two werewolves mate, the resulting offspring is 500 pounds of raging wolf-death with an unstoppable thirst for genocide.

Lycanthropy is recessive. Every living werewolf bears human blood (lots of it) in addition to what little is left of Father Wolf's lifeblood. With every continuing generation, Father Wolf's bloodline is further diluted.

Now, if two werewolves mate, what they should produce is a child with a lot more of Father Wolf's blood than what's common these days, right? Instead .. we all know know what happens.

Makes you think about the nature of lycantrophy and of Father Wolf, doesn't it?

Christian A:

Makes you think about the nature of lycantrophy and of Father Wolf, doesn't it?

Awesome! Makes me want to think of blasphemous thoughts of Father Wolf as a beast mad with uncontrollable rage and spite! That kind of thinking is bound to agitate several nearby Uratha.

"What is our ban, boy?"

"Ban? But... I thought only spirits got those!"

"Oh but we are half spirit ourselves... Like Father Wolf with us, we cannot defend ourselves from our murderous offpring. Since we arent fully spirit, and bans are spiritual things, this applies to our gifts and rites. Thus why these doesnt work of the Unihars."

Ephsy:

"What is our ban, boy?"

"Ban? But... I thought only spirits got those!"

"Oh but we are half spirit ourselves... Like Father Wolf with us, we cannot defend ourselves from our murderous offpring. Since we arent fully spirit, and bans are spiritual things, this applies to our gifts and rites. Thus why these doesnt work of the Unihars."

That is awesome.  Exactly the sort of idea I was hoping would come out of this thread. 

Ephsy:

"What is our ban, boy?"

"Ban? But... I thought only spirits got those!"

"Oh but we are half spirit ourselves... Like Father Wolf with us, we cannot defend ourselves from our murderous offpring. Since we arent fully spirit, and bans are spiritual things, this applies to our gifts and rites. Thus why these doesnt work of the Unihars."

I hate the phrase, but that is so full o' win it's not funny.

Great post.

Christian A:

Lycanthropy is recessive.

It's caused by having two copies of a less functional protein?  ^VVVVV^