The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I must say first that I was torn about Hengeyokai. On one hand, it was part of White Wolf's 99 special schedule, Year of the Lotus. I liked the YotL stuff quite a bit; I loved Kindred of the East, and the city books were both decent.

But... This book had Kitsune in it.

Enable: RANT

Now, I don't know how to put this, but I don't like Kitsune. The reason for this is purely emotional. In my life I've known a few gamers, and some of them have been good people, fun to hang around with. Others have been.. not so fun. It seems like of all the guys that have been utterly annoying, the worst were Fox/Kitsune fans.

They have these strange obsessions with Kitsune that I find, to be honest, kinda scary. As well as somewhat annoying. They'd find strange ways to insert them into every game. One tried to play one in a Werewolf game I ran once; the fact I'd turned down three other players who had wanted to play Bete. Noooo. He took it personal, and cajoled, pleaded, begged, and threatened to play his Kitsune. Why do these guys not want to take No for an answer?

It gets worse when they start throwing their bushy ass tails around, too. Suddenly, you've got these nine-tailed monstrosities that can consume every other pc alive, just cause. And then the other one decided to run the Fox clan as the greatest establishment on Rokugan. Good thing he wasn't finicky about canon or anything. It's not just their pushiness, it's their lack of sense of humor. And their smell.

And why are they all named Jeff?

Disable: Rant

Of course, the book itself is very useful for socially well adjusted members of gamerdom. The setup of the Western shapeshifters is quite interesting. Missing is the inter-Bete warfare that's common in the west. The Werewolves aren't the dominant species in Asia; all the changing breeds are equal members of the animal courts.

Whereas the average Werewolf game will centre around a pack o' Garou hopping through the wilderness, Hegeyokai Sentai (trans: Pack) can have Wolves, Ravens, Tigers, and Dragons. The game will be something old and something new. The Wyrm (or Centipede) has its servants, such as Fomori/Bakemono and corrupt shapechangers, although the Black Spiral Dancer tribe is notably absent. The majority of the Wyrm's servants seem to be Goblin Kumo (corrupt Anansi).

There's a nice description of Hengeyokai society, and their perception of the Umbra; I am sure the inclusion of Godzilla as an NPC isn't quite true to the ideals upon which the world of darkness was based. This isn't an 100% bad thing.

The character section briefly describes each character type; there's some info from the PG reprinted from each race, but you'll need the Werewolf Player's Guide as well as the main rules to run a Werewolf game set in the east.

The various types are all different from their western cousins in one way or another; the asian Mokole, ferexample, look like Dragons in their War form, instead of dinosaurs. There's also gifts universal to Eastern shifters, which is nice.

There's also new totems, fetishes, rites, and merits & flaws, all the standard stuff to be found in a Splat book.

There's also a Kitsune book. It's mildly interesting.

To wrap it up, Hengeyokai is an interesting book. I figure it could have contained a bit less reprinted info. The book has a sidebar that says "We couldn't print it with only new info, neither could we reprint all the older stuff". The wishy washy solution isn't that great a compromise, guys. We're all gonna own WW:PG, anyway.

The introductory story is a goofy little Manga "Battle of the Planets" thing that succeeded in annoying me more than anything else.

On the good side, Hengeyokai does make me long to try playing a game set in the Beast Courts, so I guess that's a good thing.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Hengeyokai: Shapeshifters of the East
Author: Brian Campbell, Harry Heckel, Deena McKinney, Ethan Skemp, Kathleen Ryan Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Games Company Cost: $20 US Page count: 190 ISBN: 1-56504-338-3 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 03/23/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Horror Anime Gothic Asian/Far_East	I must say first that I was torn about Hengeyokai. On one hand, it was part of White Wolf's 99 special schedule, Year of the Lotus. I liked the YotL stuff quite a bit; I loved Kindred of the East, and the city books were both decent. But... This book had Kitsune in it. Enable: RANT Now, I don't know how to put this, but I don't like Kitsune. The reason for this is purely emotional. In my life I've known a few gamers, and some of them have been good people, fun to hang around with. Others have been.. not so fun. It seems like of all the guys that have been utterly annoying, the worst were Fox/Kitsune fans. They have these strange obsessions with Kitsune that I find, to be honest, kinda scary. As well as somewhat annoying. They'd find strange ways to insert them into every game. One tried to play one in a Werewolf game I ran once; the fact I'd turned down three other players who had wanted to play Bete. Noooo. He took it personal, and cajoled, pleaded, begged, and threatened to play his Kitsune. Why do these guys not want to take No for an answer? It gets worse when they start throwing their bushy ass tails around, too. Suddenly, you've got these nine-tailed monstrosities that can consume every other pc alive, just cause. And then the other one decided to run the Fox clan as the greatest establishment on Rokugan. Good thing he wasn't finicky about canon or anything. It's not just their pushiness, it's their lack of sense of humor. And their smell. And why are they all named Jeff? Disable: Rant Of course, the book itself is very useful for socially well adjusted members of gamerdom. The setup of the Western shapeshifters is quite interesting. Missing is the inter-Bete warfare that's common in the west. The Werewolves aren't the dominant species in Asia; all the changing breeds are equal members of the animal courts. Whereas the average Werewolf game will centre around a pack o' Garou hopping through the wilderness, Hegeyokai Sentai (trans: Pack) can have Wolves, Ravens, Tigers, and Dragons. The game will be something old and something new. The Wyrm (or Centipede) has its servants, such as Fomori/Bakemono and corrupt shapechangers, although the Black Spiral Dancer tribe is notably absent. The majority of the Wyrm's servants seem to be Goblin Kumo (corrupt Anansi). There's a nice description of Hengeyokai society, and their perception of the Umbra; I am sure the inclusion of Godzilla as an NPC isn't quite true to the ideals upon which the world of darkness was based. This isn't an 100% bad thing. The character section briefly describes each character type; there's some info from the PG reprinted from each race, but you'll need the Werewolf Player's Guide as well as the main rules to run a Werewolf game set in the east. The various types are all different from their western cousins in one way or another; the asian Mokole, ferexample, look like Dragons in their War form, instead of dinosaurs. There's also gifts universal to Eastern shifters, which is nice. There's also new totems, fetishes, rites, and merits & flaws, all the standard stuff to be found in a Splat book. There's also a Kitsune book. It's mildly interesting. To wrap it up, Hengeyokai is an interesting book. I figure it could have contained a bit less reprinted info. The book has a sidebar that says "We couldn't print it with only new info, neither could we reprint all the older stuff". The wishy washy solution isn't that great a compromise, guys. We're all gonna own WW:PG, anyway. The introductory story is a goofy little Manga "Battle of the Planets" thing that succeeded in annoying me more than anything else. On the good side, Hengeyokai does make me long to try playing a game set in the Beast Courts, so I guess that's a good thing. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Hengeyokai: Shapeshifters of the East