A love letter to Werewolf: the Apocalypse

[tenzil]

I loved Werewolf: the Apocalypse. I’m not ashamed to say so, but it’s funny how hard that is hard to write. I really did adore the game, but the cynicism that my generation got so good at during its collective twenties still kind of nips at me. It still feels sort of dorky to have unabashed affection for something. I admit that the game had

Comments

[rfrancis]

Unabashed affection for something cool is no vice. Despite the fact I'll probably never play Werewolf (I only ever played Vampire, and not much of it), I enjoyed reading this because it was so, you know, Sturgeon's Law. I like reading people explaining why they think something is awesome, unless it's their political party or rich lifestyle.

*looks sadly at "write review of Star Trek Online" buried on his todo list*

[eyebeams]

I think it's an excellent game that did exactly what it was supposed to do

[tenzil]

Thanks for the lengthy and thoughtful response. I agree with just about everything you have to say.

About Pentex -- Ethan (or somebody) did a Pentex book well into the game's run, and that book was absolutely brilliant. The corporations in it were very clearly real companies with the serial numbers filed off -- the human and nonhuman evil was all in there. What frustrated me about the earliest stuff is how it seemed like a lot of it was written by people who hadn't worked for giant corporations. It wasn't that it was implausible, it just lacked verisimilitude.

It's interesting to me that the global scope of the game was a draw for you. I actually didn't use much of that stuff; I preferred a more local approach, and a focus on a given pack's territory. I did appreciate having a setting where stuff is happening all over the world (this was also one of the things I liked about Torg). I just didn't use most of it.

[bruceb]

Well, dammit, Jim, you've got me once again wanting to give Werewolf GMing a try.

In counterpoint...

[cmdrhobbes]

I have never been a fan of White Wolf games. This is not news. Here's why I didn't like Werewolf in particular

Re: In counterpoint...

[cmdrhobbes]

I'm not saying it is impossible, and as I point out in my last paragraph, many game systems lock you into roles more-so than WW games.

That said, I look at the character creation rules and get the "fit in this mold" vibe much more than some other systems.

[princeofcairo]

And one of your problems is actually a feature: werewolves are supposed to be able to kill vampires. Right from the get-go, that was why all the vampires lived in cities.

For me, Werewolf didn't really come alive until Werewolf: Wild West, but yep that was one good game.

[tenzil]

Fascinating -- what was it about Wild West in particular that turned you (and you, Eddy) on? I had mostly stopped playing Werewolf by the time Wild West came out.