Image[]
The appearance of a Heap can range from a pile of compost in the garden in the backyard of a house to a giant garbacious monstrosity shambling in a suburban landfill. Once roused from their Slumber, Jaggling leviathans appear as animate shoggoths of cardboard and aluminum. Heap Gafflings aspire to such grandeur, but will never attain it. In the last century, the Great Trash Heap has become an Incarna of its own (a god of garbage, if you will). The immense Heap Jagglings have become part of its collective consciousness, but many of the smaller Heap Gafflings still have an affinity to Rat.
History[]
Heaps were once the guardians of the wealth scavengers envied. In early Africa, for instance, Ivory Heap Jagglings watched over the fabled elephant graveyards, and Bone Gnawers would undergo epic journeys to find their treasure and vast wisdom. As the Urban Wylderness became more polluted, smaller Heap Gafflings became far more common. They still value their treasures, but the impressive nature of the Heap Jagglings declined as their numbers decreased, and their standards of quality were lowered.
The number of Heap Gafflings has steadily increased over the last century, and their once impressive sagacity has deteriorated into the type of advice one would expect on a Saturday morning cartoon show. It is these lesser spirits that humbly serve as the brood of Rat instead of finding the wisdom to commune with the glory of the Great Trash Heap.
Habitat[]
The bigger the pile of trash, the more attractive a suitable nesting ground becomes to a Heap Gaffling. Garden compost piles, dumpsters or even messy rooms are all favored by these spirits.
Once settled in, they refuse to move unless they can be promised a more attractive demesne. A homeless shambler who lacks a material trash pile will slowly reduce in size until it can find a good home. If the spot it chooses is free of trash, it will slowly build a hoard, as humans nearby will feel a subconscious urge to litter and give it their Junk.
Correspondences[]
- Spiritual
- While Heap Gafflings are slothful and egotistical, they are also connected with advice, generosity and material possessions.
- Material
- Heap Gafflings are easy to please. They are quite willing to take any Junk a petitioner has to offer, and they are eager to advise Garou on items that can still be of use to mortal creatures. Bone Gnawers who develop a friendship with these spirits are more likely to find useful Stuff.
Gift Lore[]
These spirits can teach Gifts involving temporary wealth or prosperity, as well as rites for gathering Stuff, such as the Rite Of The Shopping Cart.
Taboos[]
Anything taken from a Heap must be put to good use. Unlike Heap Jagglings, who like to hoard their wealth, Heap Gafflings are willing to give up their trash. They should, however, be assured they will receive more later. They are saddened to see perfectly good Stuff wasted and will try to recycle truly good Stuff by offering it to any who will treasure it. ("Look at this perfectly good milk carton! How can you not appreciate such a fine specimen of wax and cardboard?") Carrying the Stuff a Heap Gaffling offers you will put you in favor with it. Refusing such a kind gift will earn the spirit's enmity. (This explains why some Bone Gnawers carry vast amounts of garbage for no discernible reason.)
Attitude[]
Friendly, and somewhat lonely. Smaller Heaps tend to enjoy the company of Garou. The largest Heap Jagglings are known for their epic loneliness and tend to amass a number of Gafflings to entertain them. These attendants will endlessly posture and pose to amuse their benefactor, who in turn watches them like her children. (For more ideas, watch an episode or two of Fraggle Rock.) Smaller Heaps are envious of their massive brethren, but lack the ambition required to attain such epic bulk.
Sample Gaffling[]
Rage 4, Gnosis 3, Willpower 3, Power 20
- Charms
- Healing, Materialize, Noxious Gas