by daedaleus@lycos.com

My name is Jacob Cassidy, but most call me Jake or just Cas’; short for Cassidy, of course. My family well that’s all part of the story, your family always tends to be… Makes up part of who and what we are. Another always ends up being our job and hobbies in life… And boy oh boy can I tell you that all mine seem to be mixed in together. Yeah it’s a long story, but what ain’t these days? Things get complicated and yeah stuff happens to throw ya off track but sometimes ya just gotta keep on truckin’, believe me I’m tired, oh lord am I tired of things. But we are what we are and even if I do miss my brother, I can’t bring him back. Nothing and no-one can, even if I have seen some things to make me wonder. And trust me working for the NSA you see lot of things, but not near as much as my family does. But perhaps this story might help…

Things had been going pretty well that day, Me and my brother Bran (Brandon) were out at the mall. We were both pretty young I admit, and had been out as usual just trying to hit on ladies. Bran and I always were after the ladies back then, what can I say, hell we’re Irish! Anyway we had just finished picking me up a pack of smokes and as usual bran was lecturing me. He was pretty big on the environment and health, but hey the whole family was in a way. It’s in our blood I guess, well along with all the rest…

Anyway where was I, oh yeah he had been lecturing me on the Poison of cigarettes and such and I was not really arguing just admitting to myself; yeah, I should quit someday. But hey, it’s a habit. And we all know how habits go.. Well as I was saying he kept on lecturing and out of nowhere he turns and sniffs the air. About that time I began scanning the crowd myself, my senses ain’t near as sharp I guess and I must of missed whatever it was he’d keened in on. So Bran just takes off down the escalator mumbling something about " Not here.. not like this.. too many people…" I as quickly as I might tried to follow suit, he is my brother after all and well if he was about to get into something I figured I at least owed him enough to back ‘em up. We’re family after all, even if he had developed a lil’ more than myself. Ya see thing is my brother was a full-blooded garou, or rather what most call werewolf. Myself on the other hand I was just a kinfolk as they say, and I don’t just mean blood-relative. Well thing of it is, it meant he could shapeshift ya know do the whole half-man half wolf deal. He had it all and I admit, I envied ‘em. But then again most of my family was pretty much like that. He wasn’t the first of us Cassidy’s to be born with it. I am just lucky I was born with part. He did teach me a few tricks he’d been learning and over time I perfected ‘em a bit, but at the time neither me nor him knew a whole lot about it all.

Well I am getting off track again… Well bran he’s finally bolted off the escalator and things are already kind of hairy. So I jump on to the side railing and pull a slick move. I wound up down to the end as fast as I could and rolled up and onto the floor by bran. By then he handed me something as I could see he wasn’t too pleased. It was this strange dagger-like object and he looked me dead in the eye and I knew it was something of importance, something from our family. He then spoke to me some of the last words I ever heard from ‘em. Bran locked me dead in a stare half snarling and spoke:

"Jake, dear brother, something bad is gonna happen here, and I may not make it out of this. Just take this, and keep it with you always; mom will instruct about it later, but you have to promise me something; Our family is just one of many. And there are more of us out there and we don’t get along so great. You gotta try brother, try for me and for us all, there is gonna be a big fight and gaia, our mother earth, she can’t defend herself. We’re getting sick but we have to step up and defend her. You gotta lead the way, I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen your heart dear brother. We can’t let ‘em win.. we have to fight. Now you gotta promise me, you gotta take my place and fight this fight, that is if I fall here. Take this, keep it with you brother and may luna protect you."

After that some guys tore into a local girl, I didn’t much know her but the look on her face, when it went ghostly pale, and they poured the blood from her body to the floor lapping at it like wild animals. It was then I knew the first feeling of a frenzy wave over me, if there was evil, wyrm as my mother once called it, then this was definitely it and well, I couldn’t just live and let be- Neither could bran.

Next thing I know bran was in a pile of these thugs in full blown crinos. All I can recall of him at that moment was a bit of glory as he charged in fur flying and teeth and claws glittering in the neon lights. He took a good handful down with him and roared, a almost feral primal sound I’ll never forget. It seemed to weaken all these thugs somewhat. I soon after learned just what it was he’d done but still at the time it was amazing.

Well like I said it was after seeing that girl get butchered right there in broad daylight, well it was that evening but still, bear with me, that I just let go of something deep inside me. I soon found myself atop one of the slower of their group and threw a knee into his gut. He reeled from it momentarily but this guy was some kind of monster even by vampire standards. Oh did I forget that small detail, sorry.. Back to what I was saying; He reeled from the blow for a moment and then came up slashing at me with a switch-blade. Typical punk-style I thought then and still say today. Well I side-stepped right as he thrusted and then felt it at my wrist, tied there; the ritual knife bran had given me. Now I had no idea what it did then but all I knew is he had a knife and I wasn’t sure how long I could go toe to toe with this guy. So I gripped it in my hand and knocked him off his balance with a well placed blow to his lower back. This guy he fell off to the side and twisted around to try and catch me in the gut and just by natural reflex I twisted a lil and caught him in the side with the blade I had.

This punk whaled at the top of his un-dead lungs and seemed to really be in major pain. So I pulled the blade free and stumbled back. The guy was concentrating or something, he was just standing there concentrating for a moment and then he charged me again. He swung at me as well as he could from about as far as he could safely try to reach and I just dropped. Dunno how or why I thought of it but I ain’t complaining. I rushed upwards with the blade in hand and caught the guy right in his right side of the abdomen. Oh man he started to shriek again as if it hurt as bad as a fraggin’ red hot poker. So I look ‘em dead in the eye as terror sweeps over the guy and I says to ‘em "Say hello to hell for me," and pulled the blade clean across his midsection. He pretty much dropped after that. So I went ahead and finished it; to make sure I cleaved his head right off his shoulders. Figured hey, even if yer dead ya need a head right?

By this time most of the people in the mall were off in shock somewhere and my brother was taken a major beating of his own. I tried to get to him and help but it was too late. There wasn’t much of anything left I could do and by then what was left of the thugs ran off. Seems bran had taken about 3 or 4 down by himself and wounded the rest. Guess they must of been pretty young themselves… But my brother still died right then and there. Plus it took some explaining to the cops too, oh man back then the local police wouldn’t of believed any of it. So they just chalked it up to 2 nice kids trying to step in on a gang’s lil’ mood swing. Things worked out alright I guess, I lost bran that day though. But the way mom explained it he would always be with us helping to guide us and watching with all he might that I’ll succeed as he wanted. That and a lil’ piece of him is always with me. Besides, gave me something to do. I hunt the kind of things that attacked my brother and me, I lost him to them but I figure a good way to relieve stress is just take me out about half a dozen of ‘em at a time or better. Makes me feel better every time…

by mirober@lascruces.com

“For millennia, the Empire has handed down its commandments to all of Gaia’s chosen. It claims that only through it’s actions and influence has the Apocalypse been held off for so long, and that only through it’s unity shall Gaia survive the coming time of darkness. This is a lie. The Empire has become corrupt, it’s structures weak, and it’s leaders insane. We can no longer afford to ignore the cancerous chain that the Empire has become, as it threatens to drag us all down into the mouth of the Wyrm. Any protection it once afforded is gone. The time has come to shred the net of humanity we have bound ourselves in. It is time to decide: will you be led like sheep, or will you stand up and reveal yourself as you truly are? No more lies. No more hiding. Show your true face to the enemy, and release your Rage!” -Daniel Hayden, Ratkin

The War of Extinction: To understand the beginnings of the Empire, one must know about the two great wars between the Changing Breeds. The exact cause of the first war is debated, though believed to have stemmed from resentment between those Breeds who knew the secrets of extending their life, and those who lived only as long as humans. Whatever the reason, the results of this disagreement are universally accepted: a civil war erupted between Gaia’s children in Europe and Africa. The war itself lasted nearly a century, not ending with a bang or any grand final battle, but as a slow, drawn out scattering and destruction of the losing forces. The survivors were those Breeds who allied with one another during the War, who were predisposed towards working in groups. These were the Garou, the Simba and Ajaba Bastet Tribes, the Corax, and the Ratkin.

The War of Dominance: Soon after the War of Extinction finally ended, a second war between the surviving Breeds came about. If anything, this one was even more brutal, as realization of what they had done during the first war settled in, and developed into accusations and recriminations against their former allies. For a time, it appeared that the results of the first war would become reality once again, this time for all participants involved. On the eve of what was likely to be the last great battle, however, something happened. Most legends refer to a great hero stepping forward, who spoke with the voice of Gaia, and who commanded all those involved to end their hostilities. Which Breed this individual came from is the most highly disagreed upon point, but in the end it doesn’t matter. Reason triumphed, a cessation of hostilities was declared, and the foundations of the future Empire were set down.

The Empire’s Beginnings: Of all the Breeds, the Garou came out of the two conflicts as the strongest race. They were at the forefront of efforts unite (some say control) the surviving Changing Breeds. Special Caerns were designated as places for several different Breeds to control jointly. These quickly became the diplomatic and leadership hubs of the formative Western Concordiat. Behind most of this effort was a single Silver Fang hero known in legend as The First, who is believed to be the inspiration behind many of the tales of King Arthur. He is generally recognized as the first Emperor, though at the time not called as such. Under his leadership, many of the hurdles that stood in the way of unification were crossed. Nonetheless, many Shapeshifters continued to work against old enemies, refusing to give up old grudges held from the time of fighting. Though circumspect, many members of the new Concordiat worked against one another, and passed down these hatred sand rivalries to future generations. Additionally, intermittent conflict between the western Breeds, the Hengeyokai, and many South African holdouts continued on, waxing and waning throughout the centuries.

[Amnesty - Occasionally, individuals or small groups of Breeds thought destroyed during the War of Extinction would turn up. In an effort to atone for past deeds, these shifters would be offered citizenship. Almost always this was accepted. Many find this somewhat suspicious, and wonder if some group (or groups) aided and hid the enemy during the War of Extinction, only to slowly bring their charges out of hiding later on. In any case, almost all of the Changing Breeds have a few members in the Empire, though they are not fully trusted.]

Establishment of the Church: Eventually, it became apparent that the greatest cause of strife within the new Empire would be due to disagreement over religious belief. In order to try and resolve this conflict before it could become an insurmountable rift, the Church of the Earth Mother was formed. Originally, it more resembled a Greek Forum than anything else, a place for the Breeds to argue and debate metaphysical matters. Over time, it became more regimented and organized, in response to the changes in human society. In order to protect those Changing Breeds and Kinfolk who worshiped Gaia from human religious purges, it was necessary to accrue influence and power over those self-same human institutions. The Church has become the main spiritual force within the Western Concordiat, and all Shapeshifters who concern themselves with spiritual matters are expected to pay homage to it, of one degree or another.

The Expansion: As the human populations and governments the Empire hid itself within spread to other countries, the Changing Breeds followed. In these new lands, it insisted on the indigenous shapeshifters swearing allegiance to it and it’s leaders. The natives declined, and once again Shapechanger fought Shapechanger. Unlike the previous wars, this conflict was made up of small-scale attacks and skirmishes between individual native communities and the forces of the Hidden Empire. Old hostilities and feuds kept the Natives from uniting with one another until the end of the 1800’s. By then, it was too late. They had suffered too many losses, and faced an enemy too well organized. Their Caerns were annexed, and had citizenship in the Empire forced upon them (though they were relegated to a lower social status, and regularly discriminated against).

The Current State of Affairs: Despite its efforts (some say because of them), the Empire finds itself on the doorstep of the Apocalypse. Hiding amongst the governments, religions, and corporations of the modern day, it still finds itself losing the struggle to try and curb humanities excesses. From without, the agents of the Wyrm continually maneuver against the Empire for control and influence over the human world. Within, ancient rivalries and factions oppose and undercut one another, which just serves to weaken the Empire as a whole. The Silver Fangs, seeking complete impartiality and balance so as to prove they truly are the greatest of Gaia’s leaders, have become removed, nearly-emotionless, and as hard and cold as the metal they name themselves by. The Black Fury and Shadowlord heads of the Church set plans in motion to assume control of the Empire, rationalizing that they are best aware of Gaia’s wishes, and as such most suited to leading the Empire through the coming Apocalypse. The Bastet are making motions towards secession, and are already forming a loose Coalition with the Ananasi and Mokole in Africa. The Ratkin have split into several different sub-factions, each with it’s own plans and vision for the future of the Earth. Finally, the descendants of those Shapeshifters native to the Americas form an ever-growing number of those openly rebelling against the Empire. The Apocalypse is looming, and in the face of it everything is falling apart for Gaia’s chosen.

[The Point - The alternate history presented above is intended as a background setting for a game in which the PC’s can build characters using any of the Changing Breeds. While the vanilla Werewolf setting requires quite a few story acrobatics to justify a Mokole, a Garou, a Ratkin, and a Gurahl forming a group, the above setting can easily handle such an alliance. It is also meant to add a different sort of conflict to a game of Werewolf, as the former stabilizing force of the Empire slowly crumbles away, just when unity amongst Gaia’s chosen is most needed. Politics beyond the Sept level become both more important and more pressing, as the ties that bind the Changing Breeds weaken and snap in ever increasing numbers. Most of the actual details for the organization of the Empire is left deliberately vague, up to the Storyteller to decide upon. Is the Empire run by a King, or a Council? The decisions made about this will largely be tied to how the ST wishes to present the Empire, and the level of darkness and corruption she wants in her Chronicle.]

by The Malkavian Teddy Bear

History: When Gaia was talking with her children and assigning each of her special children roles, they all took them happily. However, once they had all left to set out their appointed tasks, one small voice came from behind the Mother.
"What about me, kind Mother?"
Gaia saw little Rabbit, flustered and out of breath.
"And where have you been hiding, my child?
"I was .. preoccupied elsewhere Mother, but now I wish to help you however I can."

Gaia smiled down on little Rabbit and looked around slowly to see that everyone else was gone. She then leaned down and told Rabbit that he had an important role.

"You, my little Rabbit will be the healer of my other Children. When they become wounded or start to stray from the path, you will nurture them and help them find me once more."

Rabbit jumped for elation then hurried back to his warren to beget children to help in his task as Mother Gaia’s nurse. The only problem is that the other of Gaia’s protectors didn’t believe little Rabbit. They did not hear their Mother bestowing such an important task and thought that the wily little Rabbit was making it up for a laugh at their expense. And since then, they have all despised little Rabbit, some even taking it up to personally abuse them.

Since then, Rabbit has only been able to heal each other, bringing them to the path and allowing them to understand Gaia’s real meaning for them. For all the abuse given them, when another shifter comes to a Lagos, they still will help them.

Background: These careful animals are little known and even less seen. They are a mystery to most and to the more corrupted changers, a fine delicacy. These finicky and flighty little creatures have not known a human born Lagos in centuries. They were bred out long ago and since then, the rabbit born Lagos are few and far between.

Whenever a Kinfolk rabbit bears a true Lagos, it takes some time before the shapeshifting ability comes out. Therefore, there is a good chance these frail little things will be eaten before they can even realize their true potential. This has also hurt them in recent times when they are hunted more and more by humans, Black Spiral Dancers and a few deranged Beté.

Even if a Lagos manages to come to age so that it can change into it’s own Crinos form, the resulting shock is usually enough to send a wererabbit off a cliff or into the maws of one of its predators.

If a Lagos manages to live through it’s First Change and is found by an elder wererabbit, then the training begins. They are taught the basic tenets of their own Litany, which include such things as to remain hidden for their true form is not hidden by a shroud of lies and never to harm any creature that is defenseless. The Lagos live a life of quiet observation and harmonious existence. They remain in the woods mostly, defending dens from predators of all sorts and fornicating as much as possible to help ensure they continuae of the line.

A very few, however, will venture into the cities, using their various combat skills which are tailored for their unique frames. These rogue Lagos are normally destroyed quickly, for they must hide all traces of their existence. If they are lucky, they can work a truce with the untrusting Garou and stay with them. The septs who have Rabbit as a totem will find themselves without the favor of their totem if they turn away one of the quiet Lagos.

The Lagos worship Rabbit with a passion, and their only request to their totem is that they remain a secret to the others. For, as long as they are unknown, they are in much less danger. They have no interest in the coming Apocalypse, and only care to tend to the health of Gaia and try to nurse their dying Mother back to health. In the end, these creatures will die in the Armageddon, but hopefully they will have served their purpose by then. That is their only wish, that they can help Gaia survive through the hell that is to come.

Appearance: As rabbits, they are very similar to their normal cousins. The only difference, however, is that the Lagos is a fine specimen of the species. Their hind legs are well developed, their ears are large and firm and their teeth are solid and healthy looking. This is another reason why they are so desperately hunted, they are the most prized of the species. However, this also helps in mating and allows them to be picked over others more often.

When in their Crinos, they become an interesting crossbreed of human and rabbit. Their hind legs adapt to upright walking, but are still powerful and thick, ready to thrash out against people. Their arms are not as developed, but still firm and able to aid in defense or attack. Their body is sleek and covered in healthy fur, the head is elongated and slimmed some. The eyes move away from the center of the head just enough to allow better perception, the teeth do not grow any larger, they merely grow to accommodate the new size. The body will increase one and a half times from their homid form, and gain about twice their body weight, due to the drastic muscle increase in the legs and back.

The glabro form of the Lagos is unappealing and rather silly to those wererabbits who know what normal humans look like regularly and have seen themselves in this form. The legs become those of a weightlifter with a glandular problem, large and powerful. The eyes become wider and doe-like, while the ears start to show signs of extended hair and elongation. The nails grow slightly, becoming harder and longer while the teeth gain a characteristic commonly known as "bucktoothed."

The hispo form is merely a rabbit doubled in size. The Lagos becomes quicker, stronger, and more alert. The only problem is they become more cautious. The instincts inside them are still strong and if they sense any sort of danger, they normally run in terror. This form is normally used for escape and quick strikes to incapacitate a stronger foe.

The interesting aspect of the Lagos is the homid form. Due to the centuries of lacking a homid born half to the species, the Lagos’ human form has become a mere adaptation to the rabbit one. The human form has a cute appearance, although slightly harrier than a normal person. The legs are almost always better built than the arms and the eyes always carry an innocent quality in them.

Stats (base creation on Lagos):

Gifts
The Lagos can take any gift from anyone, a blessing from Gaia for their punishment from her other children. The only problem, is that they usually only learn ones from rabbits and other lagomorph spirits. Most Shifters would just as soon kill them out of suspicion than teach a gift to them. They also have one special gift, at level 2.
Gaia’s Kiss, Level 2
This blessing from Gaia is another apologize for her other children’s behavior. When in trouble and badly wounded, a Lagos may evoke it’s Mother’s kiss. This healing, spiritual energy bleeds away the powers that make an aggravated one such. They become normal wounds, healing at such a rate.
System The Lagos rolls Stamina+Primal Urge, diff 8, for every 2 successes the power lasts a scene. If only one success is scored, then the power will heal one level of aggravated wounds. If the roll is botched, the power backlashes and raises the Lagos’ soak roll difficulties by 1 for a scene. This power costs 2 Gnosis or 3 Rage, depending on the mental state of the Lagos(I.E. Storyteller’s discretion).

by Kabael

Well everyone, I’m back. I bet a lot of you didn’t even notice I was gone (I’ll punish you later), but I was. And in my absence a lot of things happened. I got three job offers, started playtesting for 3 different gaming lines, finally began the long, hard road of crafting a useful webpage (in progress now at kabael.8m.com and had to get a whole new slew of email addresses (my present one being kabael@yifan.net). Oh, and I moved in with my girlfriend, as seeing as I have no home of my own. Quite a lot, eh?

So, to begin the with the news. The great and wonderful people (for hiring me) at Eden Studios have given me lots of work to do. Not only am I playtesting on all of their Unisystem lines (those being WitchCraft, Armageddon and the much-to-fun All Flesh Must Be Eaten), but I’m also going to be writing for WitchCraft. I’m in charge of pulling together the sourcebook on the Twilight Order, a group of rather benevolent necromancers. I’ve also been hired by the Apophis Consortium to be an ideas consultant on their game Obsidian: the Age of Judgement, mainly because of a very negative review of the game I wrote on RPGnet. Lastly (at least in the business news), I’ve also been hired by Gamers.com, a site that intends to make a comprehensive list of all the gaming links all across the net. Right now the site is just up in preview, but I find it to be pretty nice-looking and useful already (plug plug).

That’s about it for the off-topic news that I just can’t keep to myself. Not my fault if I’m excited, right?

Anyway, on to this week’s topic: Neutering the Furries: ‘Fixing’ Werewolf: the Apocalypse. I thought that a column that is sure to piss off lots of people is just what I should write when I finally return to De Vita In Excessum. So then, let’s begin class.

Before we go full-tilt, however, I feel it necessary to state up front that Werewolf: the Apocalypse is, by far, my least favorite White Wolf game (repeat after me: Street Fighter does not exist, Street Fighter does not exist). Why is that? For many reasons, primarily among them is the lack of distinctive culture between the tribes and how the game really seems to lend itself to “Argh! I am angry! I rip your arms off and stuff them down your throat! Now I am happy and you are wrong!” Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really like “Good ol’ hack-n-slash.” I never did. I’m not saying there is something wrong with people who do, or that anyone who runs out and plays some game just to rack up the kills is not a “real gamer,” I’m just saying it never appealed to me. It’s like video games that way. You can play whatever you want, but playing Werewolf just so I can rip 12 fomori a new asshole each round just seems really damned boring to me. Go figure.

So Werewolf always remained low on my list of favorite World of Darkness games. I really love so much of it (and damn if I ain’t a Bastet, laziness and all), but the rest of it just kind of drove me off (a situation similar to my love-hate relationship with Trinity). For a long time (and through flame-wars on the werewolf-l mailing list), I’ve said “Werewolf is broken!” but I usually just said “C’mon, just look at it! Can’t you tell?” so I’ve decided to sit down and try to lay this out logically. So bear with me and try to understand what I’m saying (and that I’m not saying it from above the business end of a flamegun), deal? Deal. Great. Let’s move on.

In broad, general statements, there are three major problems facing Werewolf, I think. They are (in no particular order) tribal homogeneity, an over-emphasis on combat and a disturbing clarity of purpose
(really, I mean that last one).

• When I say “tribal homogeneity,” what I mean is that I really think that there is much too little difference between the tribes. Sure, the Get of Fenris aren’t all lovey-dovey like the Children of Gaia, but beyond that, how much of a difference is there? For an even more extreme example, what about the differences between the Get and the Wendigo? I’m sure that any Werewolf fan is ready to jump up and count off lots of difference, but when you boil it down, they are more similar than, say, Sparta and Athens were, and the two tribes were supposed to have been separated from each other for millennia. Their Umbral cosmologies are almost identical! This makes absolutely no sense to me.
• The problem of overemphasis on combat is simple one, however. Maybe it’s just me again, but I find the pages of combat moves in the basic book really boring. I’ve always been a proponent of freeform combat in all my games. Why should Werewolf be any different? I can understand why some people would want them, however, so that isn’t much more than a burr up my butt. Another problem, however, is the Garou’s bonuses to attributes, which border on the obscene. I would nearly half all of their physical attributes, bringing them a little bit lower on the whoop-ass-itude scale. I think that more information on the culture and traditions of the tribes would help this as well. The Tribebook: Wendigo, for example, was nice in that it showed a side of the tribe that had nothing to do with smushing fomori like bugs under their feet. The things like the rituals for purification and whatnot were great. I think that Werewolf needs a whole Hell of a lot more 1/2 point rituals, the kind that provide culture and detail but only the mildest of mechanical benefits.
• The “clarity of purpose” may be the touchiest of Werewolf’s wounds, in many ways, because I hold strong to the idea that the world the Garou live in is almost completely black-and-white. It’s not really a World of Darkness, it’s more the World of Darkness - and I have a flashlight. The Garou are right. Their methods are right. They are fighting a war where any atrocity is justified because their enemy is that bad. On top of that, the entire Garou race knows that Gaia came down and said “Here, have a combat-machine for a body and go kill people. I’m God. If I say you can do it, it’s okay.” There are no sects to the Garou Nation (and the idea of a unified Garou Nation kinda bugs me as well) that question that. There are no renegades. There are no heresies. They get hunted down and killed. But that’s okay. ‘Cause Gaia said so.

Within this broad category of issues there are many smaller problems that rear their heads, from a lack of difference between the European tribes to a startling similarity between the Pure Ones and the Wyrmcomers, tribal culture is something that has plagued Werewolf for a long time.

Fie upon the Europeans! (and all the others) - Starting small and working our way up, let’s begin within the tribes. Many of the tribes, even when just taken alone, are bland and vanilla in many ways. For some reason, almost every tribe is directly tied to one Auspice or another, often making the Auspice pretty much redundant. “Get of Fenris Ahroun.” “Uktena Theurge.” “Fianna Galliard.” Doesn’t anyone else get bored of this? What’s the point of having a difference between tribe and Auspice when there pretty much isn’t one as far as the source material goes?

When I read the (horrible) Tribebook: Get of Fenris, I wanted information on Nordic magic and gifts and culture and Gods. I want to play a Get Theurge who is dripping so much flavor that he drowns small children if he stands in one place for too long. The Tribebook didn’t help me (except to decide not to simply buy every other Tribebook). The problem is that like many other splats (both from White Wolf and not), the tribes are much too narrow, at least within the source material.

How do you fix that? Research and ideas. If I had my way, each Tribebook would have been filled with tales and legends of the tribe, and then a great deal of information on how the Auspices work within the tribe, as well as how members relate to (and view) the various Incarna and Totems. I don’t think that a Silent Strider and a Fianna are going to call all the totems by the same name. The realization that each tribe has a slightly different “religion” is a late unto Werewolf, but it did appear in Rage Across the Heavens, and it was one of the reasons I loved the book so much.

Kill Whitey! (and the red-skin!)- Moving one step above each tribe, we reach the Garou nation. What’s the problem here? Look at Europe. Then look at North America. Look again. Get a better map if you need to, this is really important. Do you see the sheer distance between the two lands? Yes? Good. Why are the Garou pretty much identical on both sides of the pond? You don’t know either? Well I’ll be, ’cause I certainly don’t either.

I could understand this if Werewolf made specific mention of how the tribes used Moon Bridges to hop here and there and everywhere (we are the gummi bears!… ahem…), but I’m fairly certain it says the opposite, that they were not used to frequently cross the Atlantic and that the distance between the Pure Ones and the Wyrmcomers was part of what set the stage for the bloody conflict between the tribes that followed. Note: this is also what made Werewolf: the Wild West so absurdly cool. Screw the Apocalypse, gimme my six-shooter, pahtna.

So the tribes are separated by thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Yet after all of that, they still have the same society and the same cosmology and religion. Does anyone else find that hard to swallow? Don’t give me the “they’re actually right and the spirits in the Umbra told them about how everything really worked and stuff” excuse because that’s just a weak cop-out. I don’t want any group “really” knowing what’s going on. That just doesn’t fit the World of Darkness. It’s hard to retain ignorance when you can just steal the teacher’s cheat sheet, isn’t it? So why is it that the Pure Ones and the Europeans worshipped the same deities, had the same totems, and had the same cosmologies (as in the same lay-out for the spirit worlds and hierarchies)? I certainly can’t think of a reason.

So how would I fix this one? I’d come up with broad, continental cosmologies (because remember, each tribe should have a different spin on it) that are different from each other in as many ways as possible.

In generalities, I would give the Europeans a much more structured view of spirits and the Umbra. Complicated hierarchies and specific regions of the Umbra would be in order. A spirit’s brood would be very important, determining just how the theurge should interact with it. For the Native American tribes, I think that a much looser, symbolic organization would work well. Sometimes their classifications of brood would differ greatly from those of their European brethren and questions like “Can you draw me a map of the Umbra?” would be met with blank stares.

Note: I just did this with the most cursory of thoughts. This is obviously a stereotype on both Europeans as well as the Native Americans. That’s what research is for, however, to provide that extra detail that takes it beyond stereotypes and into something both useful and cool.

It’s a good thing Gaia left this-here book of short-cuts to reality - Argh. This ties in directly with the problem of Werewolf being much too clear about nearly everything, but is more of an effect of that than a root.

For some reason, Werewolf, the World of Darkness game with the most potential for rich, unique cultures, seems to have the least amount of it. In Werewolf, things that should be central to each character and caern are left as afterthoughts and add-ons. Totems should be like personal Gods. Imagine how much it would affect your life it you could just say “Hey, God, Can I ask you a question?” and you hear a rumbling voice that says “Sure, why not? I kinda like you.” How would you react? As far as I can tell in Werewolf, most of the Garou react by turning their totems into nifty slaves to do their bidding. That says something about humanity’s relationship with their Gods, I’m sure, but that’s another game. For some reason I’m not able to fathom, the Mokol&cute; are able to have a more distinct culture between their “streams” than the Garou do between their numerous tribes - and the Garou don’t have an over-riding racial memory to tell them what do. Breedbook: Mokol&cute; really did a good job with the Mokol&cute;, the kind of work that should have been done on the Garou from the beginning.

Much more energy in Werewolf should have been spent in defining their culture, providing holidays, superstitions, minor rituals, religions, heresies (such as were
mentioned in Breedbook: Ratkin) and whatnot instead of Rage Across East Bumfuck. The tribebooks should have been filled with sections on cosmology, religion and heretical sects. Like Clanbook: Assamite, most of the tribebooks have astounded me with their ability to be completely empty.

So what about the “overemphasis on combat?” What do I mean by that? Well, maybe it has something to do with the obscene combat abilities of the Garou, but that might just be me. I have to wonder why the special Werewolf dice don’t have upwards of 20 dice in there. Some characters need that many dice, even when down due to wounds.

Sure, the Garou are Gaia’s warriors and pledged to defend her and yadda yadda yadda, but do we need to make every Garou a ginzu-fighting machine? When you start out as a death-dealing god, it’s hard to have some feeling of progression, you know what I mean? Even without Gifts, Garou are monstrosities, giving new meaning to “handfuls of dice.” With Gifts, they can just get disgusting, and I’ve seen many Werewolf games devolve into “Ayaih! I can do more aggravated damage than a sun going nova! Wahoo!” That’s not really that fun, I don’t think.

So just what do you do about that? Surprisingly little, actually. Drop the attribute bonuses a bit, cut some of the more outrageous combat Gifts and replace them with something else and have lots and lots of material on how to bring the game away from being that red in tooth and claw.

Like I said, this is a relatively minor and easily fixed quibble, but it’s one that I’ve seen ruin many a game, sadly.

Now is the time for my biggest beef with Werewolf, and the one that is the hardest to fix, because it lies at the very heart of the game.

So what is this Big Nasty Bad Thing? The fact that the Garou have no reason to doubt that what they are doing (and how they are doing it) is right. They have no reason to feel guilty for committing murder (or even mass murder) on a daily basis. I have to say that there has never been a game more in need of being played within Powerkill - it’s the best way to show just how absurd and immoral the Garou act. Even the token nod at accepted morality that the Children of Gaia are doesn’t help much. They are just too “nice” and set into the fringe.

My problem here ties in with the first issue I dealt with, that of culture. Werewolf needs more cultural deviation, but that is kinda hard when the book comes right out and hands you the objective truth and says “That’s okay, I’ll do the thinking for you. Go kill the baddies for Mommy, ‘kay?” Again, not really my kind of game. I do not like anyone in the setting of a game having a direct “in” on how everything works. The Garou know they’re right. They know that they are justified in committing murder.

People have argued with me saying “How can you say that they aren’t right in fighting ecological destruction?” I can’t. But does that mean every Garou can’t either? There are people in the world who could care less about the environment, or to whom other things take precedence. Why should the Garou be any different? Why don’t we have more focus on how the Bone Gnawers have turned to helping the down-trodden man, or how the Black Furies have tried to change society and help women?

Le sigh. Let me try to rephrase. Werewolf (and Kindred of the East and Land of Eight Million Dreams) suffers from a clarity of vision. The “right and true way” is much too obvious in the setting, it pretty much over-rules everything else. That is a bad thing, in my opinion. Sure, the fight against the Wyrm is damned important, but so is world peace, and how many people really work towards that? It just seems unrealistic to have so many people so intently focused on one thing. It’s hard to have a character who just wants to have a good ol’ life breaking the law when he’s abandoning the War. You can’t say “Hey! It’s my life and my decision, ain’t hurtin’ nobody else if’n I wanna live here and hunt ‘coons.” It is, because the Garou were so obviously created for a purpose. I don’t like that restriction on characters.

A friend of mine (hey Joe!) once told me that he thinks Werewolf is too subtle. At first, I was confused by what he said but after he explained it, I have to agree. In many ways, Werewolf is a game about just what it means to be evil and the role of religion in our lives. Unfortunately, the fact that the Garou are themselves racist, callous hate-mongers with “IMPULSE CONTROL PROBLEM” tattooed across their forehead is, generally, completely missed by the players, as is the religious side of the game, because it is relegated to just what each totem provides you and how many background points it costs. Don’t bother with worship or veneration, you paid the points… right?

Werewolf tries to show the horror that man can be by having the players take on the role of horrible monsters that have managed to rationalize all their atrocities until they think that they are holy warriors fighting for their God. The problem is, almost no one reads the fine print (written in the blood of innocents that just happened to “be in the way”) and instead of making the players ask themselves “Just how far is too far?” the game says “Yes! Step right to be decapitated!”

I don’t like being spoon-fed myself, and I’m in the “if you answer it yourself, you’ll remember it better” camp myself.

Not by a long-shot. There are other problems I have with the game, like the mere existence of the Veil (argh! I hate it!) and the proliferation of boring Gifts, but those are problems that are solved even easier than that combat situation. Just cut them right out. Simple.

So those three major problems are what I see as Werewolf’s major elements of gimp nature. Those are the things that keeps the game from being the best damned shamanistic spiritual horror game out there. I mean, it’s Call of Cthulu meets werewolves, or at least it could be.

In the ideal, Werewolf: the Apocalypse would be a game that is just as philosophical as Mage: the Ascension (just what is evil?) and as much about personal horror as Vampire: the Masquerade (screw “lest the beast I become,” you already are the beast - what does that mean?). Spice it with Call of Cthulu and Kult (so I like “your life is a lie” kinds of games, so what?) and you have a winner. A game that makes people go “You play Werewolf?
Wow…..”

But again, that’s just me…

I’ll try to be back next month, ain’t that great! What will I be doing? I haven’t the faintest idea, really. Please, send me your comments and suggestions - that’s why I do this column, you know, for the response mail.

Some people liked the character idea column from long ago, maybe I’ll continue that. For the non-Camarilla Clans or for a new game line? Maybe I’ll look at Changeling: the Dreaming the same way I did Werewolf this week. I know that there has been some really nice work done on the web with Changeling.

Wait! I know! I’ll do a special column looking at resources on the net for the World of Darkness. What I think was good and bad and what I have links to. That sounds good to me, but if someone has a better idea, I’m all ears… :)

by Hastu the 7th

Paligon is the new rave of the video game on the market. In the game, in the game, the players seek too catch all 600 paligons and beat 7 "camp leaders" and become a "Paligon champ".

What the public doesn’t know, is that this game is the latest thing from tellus enterprises too spread the will of the wyrm. This pentex spawned game is designed too create new fomori too assist the wyrm in his battle against the garou. As the children play the game, they become more and more obsessed with "catching them all"; dropping out of school, running away from home, even locking themselves into there rooms if need be. Eventually, after several days of playing, the child undergoes a bizarre transformation, slowly changing into one of the creatures from the game. After the transformation, they go out, and begin too act out the game; attacking and killing anything they can get there hands on and destroying Gaia.

DRAGOGON: this is a dragon like Paligon. It looks like a tiny blue t-rex with a barbed tail.

POLYDRAK: this Paligon looks like an armadillo with sharp spikes on its back.

BLUMPADOR: this Paligon is a fat fish with a single unicorn like horn.

BUZZAGIM: this Paligon looks like a bumblebee and is the most popular Paligon

STATS: the stats are the same for all the Paligons. The main differences are the fomor gifts.

ATTRIBUTES: strength: 6 dexterity: 5 stamina: 3 perception: 5 wits: 5 intelligence: 1 all others zero

Abilities: brawl: 5 melee: 4

BACKGROUNDS: none

DRAGOGON: fire breath (diff. 7, 4 dice damage, aggravated) claws and teeth, immunity too delirium.

POLYDRAK: hide of the wyrm, claws and teeth, immunity to delirium

BLUMPADOR: gills (can breath under water and on land) horn (can ram for strength +1 damage) immunity too delirium

BUZZAGIM: electricity, (diff. 7, 5 agg. Damage) wings (flight at speed dex. +3) claws and teeth, exoskeleton, immunity to delirium.

WILLPOWER: 6

EQUIPMENT: none.

IMAGE: dragagon: appears as a tiny gaunt blue tyrannosaurus.

Polydrak: looks like a red armadillo with long claws.

Blumpador: looks like a green fish with a white belly, and a unicorn horn.

Buzzagim: looks like a large, bee like animal.

ROLEPLAYING NOTES: you’re a Paligon, you have too serve your "trainer" (a black spiral dancer or fomor) and defeat enemy Paligon (garou, mages, changelings and vampires) screech your name instead of talking.

STORYTELLER NOTES: storytellers should feel free too make new types of Paligon by using the guidelines above. They are a good example of what type of resources pentex has and shows how low they can really sink (most of these fomori are children) they also make excellent shock troops and are usually underestimated by there opponents.

by Father Deitrich Lenoj

I personally have always had a hard time gettng into Werewolf: The Apocolypse. I felt the Garou lacked a lot of the "horror" that Vampire and Wraith had. I always liked the werewolf though, and so decided to make a few changes to reflect my favorite legends. The rule modifications given below are best used when ran along the same lines as a Vampire game. They make cross-over games a little easier and work well if a Storyteller has access to Werewolf but wants to introduce them differently into another World of Darkness Game. The rules below are the ones I use in my Vampire games. Enjoy!

The Changing breeds (namely Werewolves) are created through the awakening of a recessive gene transmitted through generations by an ancestor who has been infected by the Lycanthropy disease. The disease is spread through the contact of the infected blood of a Lycanthrope and the pure blood of one that is not infected (much like the AIDS virus). The "gene" as it is called is not exactly like any normal gene. Instead it is both a curse and a disease. A sort of "spirit gene" undetectable by most means of DNA study.

Upon infection the host does not become a Werecreature. Instead the "gene" lies dormant in the hosts DNA structure. The "disease" passes on to the victim’s children then their children and so on. It tends to skip generations and there is only about a 15% chance that a infected infant will ever exhibit any signs of the disease.

In those that the "gene" awakens, it usually never becomes obvious until the host reaches puberty. Some clues are given though, such as: exceptional senses, odd eye color, slightly lengthened canines, and hardened nails. Also the child will reach puberty at a young age (around 13) and males will always develop body and facial hair early.

The first transformation usually occurs near the end of puberty (17-20) and it is unlikely the Werecreature will remember much about it other than the sensation of a very "real" dream in which he feels free and truely alive. It usually takes about a year for the youth to master his transmogrifications and after that time he will begin to develop his "Gifts".

Not long after the first transformation, the youth will be approached by a "Mentor" and this will usually dictate the outcome of the fledgling’s Tribe. The Auspice is not determined by the phase of the moon he was born under, but the same as the original lycanthrope that "infected" his ancestor. Initialy this is called the "parent" lycanthrope.

The changes made from the original rules are as follows:

• A Rage point must be spent to shift forms. Though in times of great stress ( Roll Rage; diff: 6, four successes indicate an uncontrolled change)the shift to crinos will be unintentional and a willpower roll (diff: current Rage)must be made to halt it. The spending of a willpower point grants automatic success. "Stress" is considered bloodlust, anger, passion, full moon (made on first sight of the moon), fear, and excitement. In addition, on nights of the full moon the werecreature’s difficulty on Rage rolls is decreased by -2. And the difficulty on willpower to resist Rage is increased by +1.
• Werewolves are incapable of stepping into the Umbra. Though this ability may be taken as a Level 3 Gift.
• The transmogrification to another form takes one round (takes all of the round and nothing else can be done except dodge with half dice). Though changes to Glabro or Hispo allow actions to be taken with half dice pool. (+1 penalty to all difficulties.)
• Gnosis can be spent to heal damage from silver at a rate of one Gnosis per health level. (Note: Only one point can be spent per round this way.)
• Breed is no longer a factor in character creation. Therefore only the Gifts from the character’s Tribe or Auspice can be learned at a lower XP or Freebie point cost. (Breed is now identified as Garou, Bastet, Guraul, etc.)
• Werewolves no longer worship Gaia or any other such thing though it is still held as some to be the origin of the "Gene". Let it be known that no Werecreature worships her persay except the Children of Gaia. The Wyld, Weaver, and Wyrm also no longer exist . All former creatures of the Wyrm are now considered to be a form of demon or other magical creation.
• Rank is still a factor, but is viewed differently. When a character gains XPs he also gains Renown points to add in. When a werecreature gains enough Renown to advance to the next Rank, the transition is made as his superiors see he has progressed and they begin to teach him the more potent "Gifts".
• A werecreature’s natural Attributes can never exceed 5, as the creature’s human form retains it’s human limitations.
• All werewolves start out with a Gnosis score of 3. And though more can be purchased with freebie points, a character can have no more than 5 at the start of the game.
• The Backgrounds: Kinfolk, Past-life, and Totem can no
  longer be taken. Fetishes are now very rare and 1 point of Fetish costs 2 points of
  background. (NOTE: Almost all fetishes can be used in Homid or Glabro form only.)
• Totems are no longer relevant. The pack’s totem will now be considered the pack’s basic philosophy.
• Werewolves are no longer considered part spiritual and part material. Therefore they suffer the same limitations as others when dealing with spirits.
• The delirium is no longer relevant. Werecreatures must follow a "Masquerade" much like vampires now.
• Werecreatures and vampires are no longer mortal enemies and can work together or against each other as per individual or pack.
• Werewolves no longer detest the city and many see it as the ultimate hunting ground. Though many still prefer the open country, the thirst for human flesh usually bring them back to civilization eventually.
• Though not immortal, werewolves usually live quiet longer than do normal humans. The average life expectancy is around 475 years. Assuming they are not killed prematurely due to the violent lifestyle of most.

by DoxWire

(Dave Hairy is a Glasswalker Galliard, His column has been read in many Sept newsletters nationally)

So I’m waiting in line to at Blockbuster video, Not because I was going to rent anything, but because we got a tip from the locak sept leader that the company was owned by Pentex and the staff were all Fomori. So basically we were going to purge the place of evil (read: spill some blood) Ok So I’m waiting in line with a video I’m pretending to rent (Dusk Till Dawn, I always laugh when the vampires die.) Anyway this guy bumps into me, and doesn’t even say excuse me.

I mean, talk about rude. He made me drop my tape on the floor, and didn’t even help to pick it up. What really erked me about this guy was the way he was dressed. You could tell by looking at him that he wasn’t a mortal. This guy had "Supernatural" written all over him. First off.. he was wearing a trenchcoat. Who wears a trench coat anymore? honestly? No one. and not only was this a trenchcoat, but he had a face concealing haircut and a pair of sunglasses.

To top it all off, he had a sawed off shotgun concealed in his coat. (I could tell because he decided to pull it on me after he bumped into me.) Oddly enough, none of the typical mortals seemed to notice the sawed off shotgun being pulled out of his jacket. Unfortunatley for me, I had already used my gifts to short out the cameras in the store so they wouldn’t see me killing the fomori clerks. Anyway, I cut the gunman in half and then went up to the counter and killed the two clerks. I got lucky on the second one, he ripped his tentacle out of his shirt and had me by the collar when my late as usual packmates came in and ripped it off of him.

Anyway, back to what I was saying, I can’t beleive how rude people are nowadays. I mean, even though this guy wasn’t a mortal, he didn’t have to pull a gun on me, I was just trying to kill some video clerks, it’s not like I was doing anything that might hurt this guy. Of course, once I realized he was going to shoot me I had to do something. But after I separated his torso from his hips, I apologized.

Anyway, It took about an hour to clean up the blood from trenchcoat boy and the two Fomori. So we decided to go relax at a bar. Unfortunatley, EVERY bar we came to was exactly the same. for some reason no mundane people hung out at ANY bar. There were nothing but supernaturals, Breaking the veil here and there. And there were at least 10 damn Trenchcoats in every single one of them. Of course.. Its hard to hang in clubs when 22 year old Elder garou come in, along with their so-ancient-they-are-gods Vampire dates. Hell, one time I saw some guy come in saying he was Caine.. Who I Guess is the leader of the leeches.

We separated his head from his collarbone. But you know what? We apologized afterwards.