Looks Like Paradox Did It Again (The Fallout Over "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" 5th Edition)

Over the past several years I've put together quite a number of supplements for the World of Darkness setting, and of the pieces I've written a majority of them have been for Werewolf: The Apocalypse. From my 1,600 NPCs in The 100 Kinfolk Project, to a list of potential antagonists in Evil Incorporated: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries, and I even helped push through an anthology of short fiction titled Tales From The Moot, where I wrote both the introductory framing short, as well as the Silver Fang tale Late Bloomer. I say this to establish that I've played my share of Werewolf as a game, that I am quite well aware of the issues it had with racism and representation, and that I tried to do what little I could to mitigate that with my additions to the world.

I had not been keeping up on the changes made to the setting as it was updated to the 5th Edition... but seeing the behind-the-scenes from J.F. Sambrano left my jaw on the floor with how badly the ball was fumbled in trying to "improve" this game's less-than-stellar record.

Younger Brother cannot believe this shit.

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So What The Hell is Going On?

For those who haven't seen it yet, check out Sambrano's detailed post about what went on. And, if you can afford to, I'd recommend becoming his patron to help him out as a creator. But for those who just want the short version, I'll do my best to sum it up.

All right, deep breath...

In its original incarnation, Werewolf: The Apocalypse was a game that drew on a lot of Native American ideas of spirituality and legend, but it did so in the most crass, poorly-understood way you could. The short version is that while it was really unique having native representation at all in a major property in the 90s, a lot of it can be summed up with a sigh, and then following it up with, "Well... you did your best, I suppose."

This didn't stop the game from being successful, of course. Far from it, Werewolf is probably one of the best well-known parts of the World of Darkness, just behind the flagship game Vampire: The Masquerade. So when the 5th Edition came along and it was time to update the game and setting to bring it more in-line with modern sensibilities, and to make it a more inclusive product, designers like Sambrano were brought on board...

Only, it seems, to be promptly ignored.

Those are all great ideas... we're not using any of them.

From what was shared in the above post (which has already made the rounds), it seems like the design team made two, major errors. The first is that they kept too many of the problematic relics of the past (even when a lot of the designers they explicitly hired to help them fix these problems told them to chuck said relics), and the second is that they seem focused on including as little complexity and gray area as possible... which has led to them, once again, have problems with white supremacists, eugenicists, and Nazis.

Now, just for clarity, Nazis make great bad guys. If the goal had been merely to add white supremacists, nationalist terrorists, and other groups to the game as servants of the Wyrm in much the same way the original game did with capitalism in the form of Pentex, that would have actually been a smart move. Especially since the 5th edition release of Vampire: The Masquerade was plagued with problems regarding the inclusion of racism and white supremacy as story and game design in certain books (largely due, if memory serves, to a designer who was part of those communities). The wrong way to do this was what they chose, which was turning the Get of Fenris (arguably one of the most popular tribes among the player base) into a Nazi-majority tribe. Because, as Sambrano points out, this is inevitably going to lead to players trying to figure out how to keep the characters they had and liked to play, while attempting to include this new story element, rather than all players just letting the Get of Fenris go as a player option and relegating them entirely to villains.

Honestly, it just feels like bad design choices were made all around, and I'm glad I chose not to step into any of the 5th Edition releases for the World of Darkness as a whole.

While We're On The Subject...

I've been talking a lot about World and Chronicles of Darkness projects of late, and I wanted to take a moment to clarify something that got some folks asking questions. As I said recently in Why I Will Have Fewer Community Created TTRPG Products Coming Out, I'm going to be taking a small break from working on platforms like Pathfinder Infinite, Storyteller's Vault, and even on Call of Cthulhu titles, simply because of the increased rate-of-pay my publisher agreed to for my work on other, non-CCP products.

However, I also posted recently about "Windy City Shadows" A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, talking about putting together a long-form audio drama podcast set in the world of the Chronicles of Darkness. For clarification, the podcast is a separate endeavor from my supplements set in the World/Chronicles of Darkness, and even if I'm writing fewer supplements (which people have to buy in order for me to get paid as the creator), I would still like to put together the podcast (which will be free to anyone who wants to listen to it).

So if it's something you'd interested in, check out the article above, and the video below, for how you can help make it happen!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers, or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Remember, Elves Need Blacksmiths and Dwarves Need Fletchers

Archetypes are everywhere when it comes to tabletop RPGs, and the stories we tell with them. All you need to do is mention a class or race you'd see in a fantasy game, and you immediately have an image leap to your mind. When someone says elf, you probably picture a long, lithe figure holding a bow, a scimitar, or both. They probably have long, flowing hair as well. When someone says dwarf you probably picture the opposite; a bulky, bearded figure with an ax or a hammer, likely bearing armor and a shield and ready for battle (assuming you're not a Gotrek and Felix fan, that is).

If you haven't read it yet, seriously, go check it out!

This applies to other games, as well. If you say the word Ventrue to a Vampire player (Masquerade or Requiem) they'll also have a very particular image immediately spring to their minds. Likely a man in a power suit, or a woman in an elegant sheathe dress. If you say to a Werewolf: The Apocalypse player Get of Fenris that immediately calls up images that are one part Boris Vallejo and one part Harley Davidson.

To be clear, these traditional images we have of classes, clans, tribes, fantasy races, etc. in our games are not wrong. From the paladin who is a handsome, holy knight in shining armor, to the half-orc barbarian who's allergic to shirts, those archetypes became archetypes for a reason. However, at the same time, it's important to remember that they are not a requirement by any stretch of the imagination. There is more beneath the surface-level reading of what characters can be, and choosing to disregard some (or even all) of a stereotypical imagery associated with your rules chassis doesn't make you a "special snowflake" who's trying to be different.

Because if the rules don't say you must be, do, or have X,Y, and Z, then it's not a requirement for your character.

Elves Need Blacksmiths, and Dwarves Need Fletchers

Thurandill shall be your name, and you'll be as deadly as you are beautiful.

This phrase was a gold nugget that someone dropped at my feet in the White Wolf subreddit, and it's become a part of my personal philosophy (permission was granted to steal it, which is why I'm sharing it with you fine folks). Basically, any time there is a role that would be common to a society, a race, a clan, etc., there is going to be someone fulfilling that role. The dwarven smith might be the stereotypical image you think of, but there are smiths among the elves, among the orcs, the halflings, gnomes, and humans, too. There will be differences, sure, but there will also be similarities. Elves may be the ones we associate with archery, but there are half-orc and halfling longbow snipers that may be just as deadly.

And so on, and so forth.

Despite what sounds very obvious on its face, there are a lot of DMs, GMs, STs, and others who will immediately lose their cool if someone proposes a character they deem too far outside that stereotype. A character who is, "too special," "too weird," or, "too unique," so they throw on the brakes. If you find yourself in that position, I would recommend taking a step back and asking yourself why you're doing that? Because as long as a character concept follows all the rules, and is consistent with the lore and physics of a setting, what do you gain by denying your players something they want to play?

Think Deeper, Think Broader

The stereotypes in our games are meant to be a starting off point, but they're by no means the law of the land. Unless the rules expressly state something is required, then enforcing that status quo does nothing but narrow the potential of your setting, your characters, and your players. It puts additional limits on our flights of fancy, whose only limits should be the agreed-upon rules of the setting and game.

And we've got enough of those to deal with as is.

To be clear, I'm not saying you can immediately ignore anything that gets in the way of your character concept. If there's a particular form of magic only accessible to those of elven blood, then only characters who have the proper DNA can learn and harness that magic. If you can only learn a certain fighting style at a particular temple, and from a particular teacher, then you need to have that as part of your backstory. And so on, and so forth.

But if there is nothing in the setting or rules that creates a requirement for a character to possess the skills they have, or to look or act the way they do? You get a lot more out of disregarding the stereotype in favor of saying to your players, "All right, lay it out for me. How did they get like this?"

If someone wants to play a half-orc barbarian who was adopted and raised by the duke and his husband, where does it say in the setting rules that this mounted fury who's infamous on the melee field during tournaments isn't a valid concept? If someone wants to play a Ventrue in your vampire game, but instead of a business suit and a red tie he wears leathers and runs a motorcycle gang of ghouls like a pack of Old West desperadoes, what do you gain by telling the player they can't do that? If a player has a broad-shouldered armorer with rippling thews and a grip that can crush a man's skull, why would you insist they play a dwarf instead of an elf if their concept is based entirely around being an elven smith who maintains old elven relics while attempting to recreate the styles of the old masters?

Pick your battles, and work with your players so that they can be happy with the characters they're bringing to your game. It really does set the tone for everything else.

Additional Reading and Thoughts

This isn't exactly a new concept, so I thought I'd leave some links to times I've talked about this before. Not to get too repetitive, but I thought it would be of interest to some folks. Also, while I have your attention, my new supplement A Baker's Dozen of Fantasy Vigilantes just dropped today! I'm pretty excited about that, and I wanted to bring it up. Also, if you want to make sure you never miss any of my updates and fresh content, consider signing up for my newsletter! One update goes out every week, recapping all the news and releases in a single missive.

- DMs, Learn To Take Your Foot Off The Brake: One of my more recent talks on this subject, a DM looking for reasons to say no instead of reasons to say yes is one of the most common causes of table enthusiasm flagging, then going out entirely.

- Everything is Weird in Fantasy RPGs (But That's Not How You Make a Character Stand Out): A reminder that just because something is weird or unusual in your experience, that doesn't mean it's all that strange by the standards of the setting.

- DMs, Please Stop Arbitrarily Limiting Race Choice in Your Games: There are few things more frustrating than showing up to a game that is full of possibilities, and then being told you can only play characters of X, Y, and Z races, for reasons. You want your players enthused, and you don't do that by narrowing down their options for no reason.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

100 Kinfolk: A Werewolf The Apocalypse Project

If you've ever played Werewolf the Apocalypse, then you know there is a lot to take in when it comes to that game and its setting. There's the centuries-spanning lore of the world, hundreds of monsters of flesh and spirit alike, factions, camps, allies, threats, and all of the dark nooks and crannies of the World of Darkness that always seem to hide another rabbit hole for you to fall down.

One of the more interesting elements of the game that often gets overlooked, though, are kinfolk. The little brothers and sisters of the garou, these humans and wolves help pass on the potential to become a shapeshifter to their children, but they also act as the support staff (and in many cases the backbone) of the nation. They're the ones that run the guns, stamp the papers, move the supplies, and clean up the messes left behind by werewolf packs, and it's a largely thankless job.

Garou are the rock stars, but kinfolk are roadies, stage hands, mixers... you get the idea.

Something I noticed, as well, was that a lot of storytellers (and players if I'm honest) sort of forget that kinfolk are even there, except as a nebulous force that can sometimes help out. Like shoemaker elves. And even when people do try to include kinfolk, they can often feel at a loss as to where to begin with them. Who are they supposed to be, what are they supposed to do, and how is it supposed to help the nation?

Well, hopefully I've got some answers for you.

The 100 Kinfolk Project

I've been writing storyteller supplements for a few years now, and of all the disparate project I've put out, I noticed that the most popular ones were always lists of background characters. Characters the storyteller doesn't really plan for, because they aren't an important part of the current campaign, nor do they function as a set piece. Collections like 100 NPCs You Might Meet at The Tavern, along with 100 Merchants to Encounter, for example, are the ones that have some of the biggest consistent sales.

You see a man sitting at a table. What's he look like? Ugh... he's... smoking...

Since I wanted to stretch my wings a bit, I thought I'd put together something that took that basic premise, but extended it into Werewolf. The idea was to create 100 unique kinfolk for every werewolf tribe, thereby ensuring that no matter who was at your table, or where your campaign was taking place, that there would be a list you could draw some background characters from. I reached out to High Level Games, pitched this project, and we got cracking on making some kinfolk!

So far the completed tribe lists includes:

- Get of Fenris

- Black Furies

- Glass Walkers

- Bone Gnawers
- Silver Fangs
- Red Talons
- Fianna

- Children of Gaia
- Shadow Lords
- Uktena
- Silent Striders
- Wendigo

- Black Spiral Dancers

At time of writing I'm elbow-deep in the Silver Fangs, and already making notes on the Shadow Lords. Additionally, if you don't see your favorite tribe up right now, check back later, as I'll be updating this list whenever a new collection comes out!

What Makes These Collections Useful?

When I first started writing NPC collections, I wanted to make sure they were more than just a general collection of names and descriptions; I required them to be useful in some way to the people who were bringing them to the table.

In my fantasy gaming collections that meant including characters with knowledge about the local area, who could lay out rumors, identify magic items, sell the party sundries, or who might be hired to tail a notable NPC. Some of them were meant to act as security, and a few of them were just for local color, but the majority had some purpose they fulfilled, and some use they could be turned to in order to help you keep the story moving forward.

I wanted to do the same thing with my kinfolk collections.

Sometimes you just need the right cog to keep your machine ticking away.

The kinfolk in these lists aren't here just for set dressing. From private detectives and tech gurus, to police officers, snipers, soldiers, and nurses, they're here to help make sure that any pack has support in its endeavors to fight the Wyrm. You'll find investigative journalists, stock brokers with insider information on enemy organizations like Pentex, and even models, entertainers, and diplomats who can all ease the red tape associated with getting into places that could otherwise prove to be quite a chore. Some of them can wield gnosis, and some of them are expert crafters, capable of furnishing garou with items they wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.

And since many werewolves started their lives as just kinfolk before their first changes, these lists can also act as inspiration for people who aren't sure who their character should be.

What You Won't Find In These Collections

The World of Darkness is a horror setting. Full stop, no questions asked. It is a crumbling world where the shadows are deeper, the mean grow cruel, and where suffering has teeth. It's a world of blood and guts, where even a moment's distraction could send you howling into a blood frenzy, corrupting your soul in ways that will haunt you for the rest of your days.

However, those who read through these kinfolk collections will notice a decided lack of those kinds of themes. Instead you're more likely to find characters with tight communal relationships, who have living spouses, children they care about, and a decided lack of self-destructive coping mechanisms (for the most part, there are a few stand outs). You'll also find that, contrary to a lot of World of Darkness supplements out there, that characters in these collections are not shunned for their ethnicity, or punished for their identity. Nor will you find problematic allies of the sort who support atrocious causes or espouse hateful ideologies, expecting you to tacitly put up with them if you expect their help.

And you lost me...

Why do that, you might ask? Doesn't that seem like it would be the opposite of a supplement that would fit a horror game?

Well, there are two reasons.

The first, and most important, is that kinfolk still have the blood of the garou running through their veins. They are communal people (and animals), and what makes them different from normal people brings them together. They are part of a great secret, and that can be binding. They are tribal, and that means you defend your own. Especially when you're a rare resource that's precious for the continued existence of the garou nation as a whole. There are mechanisms in place to help kinfolk resolve their differences that aren't available to normal people, as well, ranging from mediation by garou, to bringing their troubles before their community elders. So while there are certainly resentments, frustrations, differences of opinion, and the occasional grudge, the kinfolk presented here are much more like average people who are banded together in a common cause.

The second is that kinfolk need to have something that's actually at risk to make it matter when they're in danger. If a character's entire life has been one long tragedy after another, and they've been kicked down the stairs at every turn, then it just isn't going to have any real impact when yet another terrible thing happens to them. That's true with PCs who try (often unsuccessfully) to walk that grimdark edge, and it's especially true for the supporting characters along the way. You want players to care about these NPCs, to want to protect them, and to feel responsible for them. Which is why a majority of them tend to be likable, willing to help (if not always eager), and why most of them are busy living lives filled with goals, drives, and plans.

Because cutting all of that short is a much bigger fall, and your players will feel a much heavier impact if the hammer comes down.

Also, while we're on the topic of World of Darkness stuff in general, and Werewolf in particular, you might find the following posts quite useful for your upcoming games:

- Have You Tried Using "Spiritual Bleed" in Your RPG?

- Want To Run Better World of Darkness Games? Then Watch John Wick!

- The Best Idea White Wolf Ever Had (Villain Design 101)

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you do check out any of my guides, please leave a review once you've had a look!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!