Celisasu
I'm trying to decide if I hope Werewolf: The Forsaken comes out soon or if it never comes out at all. I was a big fan of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Only liked Wraith, Orpheus, and Mummy better(notice a theme among those three?). But all the rumors flying around about Werewolf concern me. Especially the ones about the Werewolves becoming big furry non-blood sucking vampires. Aka angsty. Angst is for Vampire. I liked my werewolves as heroes! Maybe tragic heroes but heroes nonetheless.
It's out already!
biggrin
They're no longer Heroes... At least not Big Players in the World, but more like personal, localized heroes (tragic anti-heroes as well?). I think the word "Hunters" fits them better now... The essence of Forsaken is the act of The Hunt: Their purpose in life, to Hunt down and keep rebellious spirits where they belong, in the Spirit World, or in the strange cases in which humans cross the Gauntlet, to bring said person back into the material world.
Of course, they are Forsaken, which means they're besieged by enemies on all sides... Most spirits are resilient to cooperation with Werewolves, and some will mostly hinder the Uratha (The First Tongue name for Werewolves) before even thinking of lending a hand. Then, there are hordes of hidden spirits that threaten to devour humanity one person at a time, and the Pure Tribes, the Forsaken's Werewolf enemies, and usually supporters of Spirits that want to control the Physical world.
Does this mean they will sit down and cry in angst because no one will help them? Heck no. They are still somewhat human, and in fact many keep somewhat of a social connection with the world... But in the end, even if they find human love and acceptance (As long as they hide their Werewolf nature... The Uratha are quite wary about revealing themselves to humans, but not as much as vampires, thanks to the Lunacy their 3 unnatural forms inflict on people
razz ), they will only find themselves in Packs, in the Hunt.
Vampire is mostly a game about politics, brutality, conspiracies, and social power. It's a complex game of old yet beautiful monsters that will do anything to remain human enough to continue un-living, yet inhuman enough to keep others of their kind at bay. They are wary of each other, yet rely on each other nonetheless. It's their social nature.
Werewolves, on the other side, are not social creatures, at least not in the human sense. They are feral and primal, but rely and trust each other because they *are* the same: Hunters, Man and Spirit, Werewolves. It's a physical and spiritual connection, one that helps them survive against all odds and fulfill their chore as Primal Hunters.
An example of a situation that makes a huge difference...
Vampire is following a subject, a rogue ghoul, and suddenly, a couple of cops get in the way... The vampire must either fight the cops or run away. If he fights them cops, there's a chance he might enter Frenzy and kill the cops (And therefore lose his humanity). He could also try to scare them or use some scarring Disciplines, but that would be risking the Masquerade and possible punishment. So, the Vampire will try to run away and pray he doesn't get too wounded...
Werewolf is following a subject, a Claimed human with a malicious spirit inside. A couple of cops get in the way... The Werewolf cannot be stopped now: he may be tracker of his pack, and they should arrive anytime soon, but he must not lose the Prey. He can either fight the cups or run. If he runs, he must be able to do so without getting too hurt (Not much of a problem anyways, werewolves heal relatively easily), possibly by changing shapes (Which will most probably trigger Lunacy on those poor cops, anyways). However, if the cops aren't really going to get away or run scared, the Uratha will have to kill them as swiftly as possible, as they are a hindrance to the Hunt, and Werewolves must persue the Hunt no matter what. No Harmony (The Werewolf "parallel" to Humanity) loses, as the werewolf HAD to kill the poor sods in order to continue the sacred Hunt. After a couple of seconds, the cops are certainly intimidated by the 8 ft tall warform that is about to shred them to pieces.
