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Werewolf: the Apocalypse is unfortunately viewed as the junior game to the all-powerful Vampire line (which never captured my interest that much.) Werewolf, on the other hand, works much better, but it also has more potential for abuse from players who don't understand the setting (or don't care) and it suffers from a peculiar schizophrenia.

The Mechanics

These start out fairly simply in the vein of the entire Storytelling system, with three "classes" of attributes (with three attributes each) and a number of skills/abilities to pick from, all based on a point allocation system rather than a die-rolling system (meaning you can create characters at work before you play, assuming you have time to and think rolling dice at work looks weird.) There is a "race" (breed -- three options) another "race" (tribe -- thirteen options) and "class" (Auspice -- five options.) Juxtoposing the three of them leads to an almost unlimited-feeling array of options. In addition, the classes and races aren't really that limiting, allowing an experienced role-player with an odd concept to come up with all kinds of variations and methods to fit the concept into being. Unfortunately, this also leads to one of the first of the commonly abused aspects of the game -- the blatant stereotyping that is so easy (and almost seems to be encouraged, although the game designer's swear that it isn't so) characters.

Other aspects of the mechanics include the werewolf characters changing forms. This is also been abused, as one form in particular can turn the werewolf into a real combat monster. Since the game's flavor seems to favor combat already, this has earned the game the not entirely undeserved reputation as a combat freak's paradise. However, the background is deeper than that, at least, and good RPers can do better.

When the combat mechanics (and other mechanics that deal with actual gameplay) start to show up, I was actually quite disappointed. They are fairly standard fare for the Storyteller system, I'm told, yet they seem to present a cross message. Up until now, we've been told that the game is all about role-playing and telling stories. The character creation mechanics emphasized that, by being flexible and option-heavy while retaining a streamlined and easy system. However, the combat mechanics seem to forget that the goal of the Storytelling system is to focus on stories not mechanics. Don't get me wrong, it's no RMSS, but it is fairly clunky and rule-heavy for a game that's supposed to focus on story and plot. I'd like to see it simplified even further. No doubt many RPers disagree with me, but I still stand by my guns that a game that professes repeatedly to be story-driven should streamline the mechanics of combat so that it doesn't interfere with the story, expecially for newer players. Nothing interferes with story more than having to flip through books to find out what kind of bonus a given skill has on completing a certain action, or how many successes are needed to pull of this combat maneuver. Of course, a good GM can fix this, assuming he has players who are willing to just roll what he tells them to rather than argue rules-based questions.

Atmosphere

This is where the game shines as well as where it fails the most. The concept of the werewolf as a primitive being, an anachronism on the modern world is an interesting one. The werewolf culture is developed fairly well, and except for the stereotyping that it can fall victim to, works well. The game itself is supposed to be the "Gothic punk" darkness that we all expect from White Wolf.

But that's where it gets schizophrenic and makes we wonder exactly what the theme is supposed to be. The designers themselves (and many serious players I've talked to) can't agree on whether or not the werewolves themselves are monsters or heroes. The game can be played as shiny do-gooders (which the developer himself seems to do at times, in direct defiance of both what I would consider Gothic-punk and World of Darkness) or as hack-n-slash against cardboard over-obviously evil villians.

Overall

I like this game, despite the gripes that made up a large portion of the review. It needs just a few tweaks to the background and theme to make it really work. The mechanics are problems inherent (mopstly) in the Storyteller system, which Werewolf was most likely forced to use anyway, so I can't hold them against it either.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Werewolf: the Apocalypse
Author: Ethan Skemp Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Werewolf Playtest Review by Joshua Dyal on 08/23/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern day Horror Vampire Gothic Superhero	Werewolf: the Apocalypse is unfortunately viewed as the junior game to the all-powerful Vampire line (which never captured my interest that much.) Werewolf, on the other hand, works much better, but it also has more potential for abuse from players who don't understand the setting (or don't care) and it suffers from a peculiar schizophrenia. The Mechanics These start out fairly simply in the vein of the entire Storytelling system, with three "classes" of attributes (with three attributes each) and a number of skills/abilities to pick from, all based on a point allocation system rather than a die-rolling system (meaning you can create characters at work before you play, assuming you have time to and think rolling dice at work looks weird.) There is a "race" (breed -- three options) another "race" (tribe -- thirteen options) and "class" (Auspice -- five options.) Juxtoposing the three of them leads to an almost unlimited-feeling array of options. In addition, the classes and races aren't really that limiting, allowing an experienced role-player with an odd concept to come up with all kinds of variations and methods to fit the concept into being. Unfortunately, this also leads to one of the first of the commonly abused aspects of the game -- the blatant stereotyping that is so easy (and almost seems to be encouraged, although the game designer's swear that it isn't so) characters. Other aspects of the mechanics include the werewolf characters changing forms. This is also been abused, as one form in particular can turn the werewolf into a real combat monster. Since the game's flavor seems to favor combat already, this has earned the game the not entirely undeserved reputation as a combat freak's paradise. However, the background is deeper than that, at least, and good RPers can do better. When the combat mechanics (and other mechanics that deal with actual gameplay) start to show up, I was actually quite disappointed. They are fairly standard fare for the Storyteller system, I'm told, yet they seem to present a cross message. Up until now, we've been told that the game is all about role-playing and telling stories. The character creation mechanics emphasized that, by being flexible and option-heavy while retaining a streamlined and easy system. However, the combat mechanics seem to forget that the goal of the Storytelling system is to focus on stories not mechanics. Don't get me wrong, it's no RMSS, but it is fairly clunky and rule-heavy for a game that's supposed to focus on story and plot. I'd like to see it simplified even further. No doubt many RPers disagree with me, but I still stand by my guns that a game that professes repeatedly to be story-driven should streamline the mechanics of combat so that it doesn't interfere with the story, expecially for newer players. Nothing interferes with story more than having to flip through books to find out what kind of bonus a given skill has on completing a certain action, or how many successes are needed to pull of this combat maneuver. Of course, a good GM can fix this, assuming he has players who are willing to just roll what he tells them to rather than argue rules-based questions. Atmosphere This is where the game shines as well as where it fails the most. The concept of the werewolf as a primitive being, an anachronism on the modern world is an interesting one. The werewolf culture is developed fairly well, and except for the stereotyping that it can fall victim to, works well. The game itself is supposed to be the "Gothic punk" darkness that we all expect from White Wolf. But that's where it gets schizophrenic and makes we wonder exactly what the theme is supposed to be. The designers themselves (and many serious players I've talked to) can't agree on whether or not the werewolves themselves are monsters or heroes. The game can be played as shiny do-gooders (which the developer himself seems to do at times, in direct defiance of both what I would consider Gothic-punk and World of Darkness) or as hack-n-slash against cardboard over-obviously evil villians. Overall I like this game, despite the gripes that made up a large portion of the review. It needs just a few tweaks to the background and theme to make it really work. The mechanics are problems inherent (mopstly) in the Storyteller system, which Werewolf was most likely forced to use anyway, so I can't hold them against it either. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)