The game starts out with an introductory story about a werewolf that has gone through his first change. Then he begins his journey as a werewolf. The story explains a few things, then we get into the game. One of the designers is Mark Rein·Hagen, so you know you're in for a treat. Also, there is a disclaimer about the game. It basically states that Werewolf is a game, and not a work of spirituality (the game doesn't talk about True Reality anyway). So it's just a game, a violent one at that, not something that defines the occult. So on to the review.💎
The book is divided into nine chapters. Each chapter describes how the Storyteller game works and how to create a character, and the twelve tribes of the Garou nation. A werewolf in Werewolf is not somebody that can just change into a wolf, but a spiritual being that straddles the bridge between humanity and the animal world. There are five forms a werewolf can take: Homid (human), Glabro (neanderthal), Crinos (a large blend of human and part wolf), Hispo (a dire wolf form), and Lupus (true wolf). Each one has it's strengths and weaknesses.
Your character is a werewolf, not a human. The center of the game is the storyteller, a person who acts like the game master in other games (or Dungeon Master from Dungeons and Dragons). He judges the game and tells the story. And like any story, it has a beginning and an end. Although the linking of stories is called a Chronicle in Werewolf.
As a character, you choose your breed (homid, metis, or lupus), which means you either have a human parent or a wolf parent, or werewolf parent. It's a sin for werewolves to mate with each other, because that would produce a metis. Which has mutations to define it.
You then choose your Auspice. There are five auspices, each made according to the five phases of the moon (it's what you've been born under). The first is Ragabash, the trickster. They are the jesters of the world of the werewolf. The second is Theurge, which are mystics. The third is Philodox, the judge. The fourth is Galliard, the bard. And the last is Ahroun, the Warrior.
Each has a role in the game. The auspice of the werewolf is basically his profession in the Garou nation. How his profession is defined, that is defined under what phase of the moon he or she was born under. Next comes the tribe.
In the original Werewolf: the Apocalypse roleplaying game, the number of tribes are thirteen. While the thirteenth -- the Black Spiral Dancers -- are considered to be NPCs and Villains only. The tribe defines you. Some tribes are opposite of each other. Like the Glass Walkers' opposite are the Red Talons (Glass Walkers are usually bred from humans, while the Red Talons are an all lupis tribe). The tribe functions as your race in Werewolf: the Apocalypse. The tribe helps defines who you are in the game. Each tribe has it's own gifts (from Gaia, that comes from the spirituality in the game), and weaknesses (certain tribes cannot take certain skills -- the Red Talons -- being an all lupis tribe, can't take the skill drive at the beginning.)
After that, the spiritual side of the werewolf is descussed, as well as the world of Werewolf is also discussed.
HITS AND MISSES
The game is one of my favorites. However, the Storyteller system is pretty ridged. You get five dots to fill in each skill, and you seek Renown, a measure of how heroic you are. The game is violent, more violent than other White Wolf games. Although you can play a very involved game in Werewolf politics, you are battling the Wyrm and it's creatures -- so violence is a part of the game. So if you aren't looking for violent over the top action, Werewolf: the Apocalypse may not be your game.
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