Werewolf: The Apocalypse FAQ


I have a supplement that gives first-edition Renown awards. How do I convert these to second-edition Renown?

There's no hard and fast rule, much as some would like. An old-form Glory Renown of 500 doesn't neatly convert to one temporary dot of second-edition Glory.
The Werewolf Storytellers Handbook contains some guidelines for converting Renown, but they're generally guidelines and nothing more. Presume that smaller rewards (50 or 100, for instance) convert into a dot or two of temporary Renown, and larger rewards (1000, 2000 and such) are more like four or five dots of Renown. Generally speaking, tailor any Renown gains to be like similar rewards in the second edition rulebook; compare Renown gains and penalties between totems, or for various deeds.


Are there live-action rules for Garou?

Yes, and not yet. The supplement The Apocalypse was the first system for live-action Werewolf, but it has gone out of print and is hard to find. The revised rules are going to be fully compatible with Laws of the Night. Tentatively titled Laws of the Wild, they will be available in the summer of '97.


Can werewolves be Embraced? Where do I find rules for vampire werewolves?

Yes, they can, but a werewolf has to botch a Gnosis roll (difficulty 9) at the time of the Embrace. If the roll is successful, the Garou dies painlessly, instead. If the roll fails, the werewolf lingers on in agony and eventually dies. If the roll botches, the werewolf becomes vampiric: an Abomination. Rules for Abominations are found in Under a Blood Red Moon, which was reprinted in Chicago Chronicles Volume 2.


What about the other Changing Breeds? Can they become vampires?

Depends on the shapeshifter in question. Some, yes, although the rules vary. (Bastet Abominations, for instance, lose one permanent Gnosis point per month, and can no longer increase or replace their Gnosis with experience points. Once the Gnosis is all gone, the Bastet Abomination can no longer use any Gifts or Rites, although she may still step sideways and shift forms.) Others, no. (Nuwisha, for instance, cannot be Embraced at all; they consider this protection a blessing from Trickster.) Basically, this should be resolved on a case-by-case basis by your Storyteller.


Can werewolves be Awakened or use Sphere magick?

Garou are already considered Awakened creatures. Their communal "Avatars" are already set in Gaia's service, and grant them the use of spiritual powers (considered static magick). So no, shapeshifters can't use Sphere magick.


Can a dead shapeshifter become a wraith?

Not usually. Some with high Wyrm-taint can linger on, but generally speaking, any shapeshifter who has served Gaia well (or the Wyrm, for Black Spiral Dancers) passes on to the Umbra upon death, usually to become an Ancestor-spirit. Since werecreatures are largely spirit as well as flesh, their spirit portions have to be dead or atrophied (via Wyrm-taint or the like) before they can linger on in the Dark Umbra.
Those that do become wraiths (usually Ronin) retain none of their Garou abilities, such as Gifts, rites or shapechanging. They're limited to using Arcanoi, just like other wraiths (although some might find a decent affinity for Moliate, given their once-shapeshifting natures).


Can a werewolf be a changeling?

No. Changelings are fae souls born into human bodies. Shapeshifters are shapeshifter souls born into shapeshifter bodies. The two are incompatible.


Can members of two different Changing Breeds have a shapeshifter cub with the abilities of both races?

No. The cub must be born with the spirit of one or the other; there are no Garou/Bastet hybrid spirits, for instance. The cub of a Nuwisha/Garou pairing, for example, will either be a Nuwisha who's technically Kinfolk to Garou, a Garou who's Kinfolk to the Nuwisha, or Kin to both groups (most likely). In any event, the child born will be the breed of the mother (human, or homid to a homid mother, for instance).


Where can I find official stats for the White Howlers?

There aren't any. This is the tribe that's been dead for the longest time; there's really no chance of running into one of these folks, even in the time frame of Vampire: The Dark Ages.


But when a Black Spiral Dancer is born with enough Pure Breed, isn't he a White Howler?

Nope, not any more than a non-metis male Garou born to a Black Fury is a Black Fury. Your tribe is more than simple genetics; you have to be adopted into a tribe to become a full-fledged member of said tribe. Even if a Red Talon had a homid cub, Griffin and the Talons wouldn't take that cub into their ranks. The "pure bred" BSD wouldn't be a White Howler, since there isn't a tribe to adopt him. If he escaped, he would be Ronin, unless another tribe (such as the Fianna or Children of Gaia) took him in.


What about the Bunyip?

Some general Gifts and totems of the Bunyip are presented in Rage Across Australia (reprinted in Rage Across the World, Volume 2).


And the Croatan? Won't they be in Werewolf: The Wild West?

The Croatan sacrificed themselves a couple of centuries before the time period of Werewolf: The Wild West. Some sample rules were written up in Inphobia #56, but nothing truly official has yet been published on their full capabilities.


Hey, the description of the Past Life Background sounds like you aren't possessed by your past lives at all. What's up with that?

Past Life is something of a misnomer. Garou don't reincarnate as such; rather, they tend to join the spirits of their ancestors - effectively becoming Ancestor-spirits themselves. Past Life is the primal link you retain with the spirits of your forebears - and yes, it isn't a great name.


When I botch my roll to step sideways, where does my character go? Is he half-visible, with his butt hanging out in the physical world?

Relax: Gaia's defenders are thankfully blessed with a little more dignity than that. He is literally between worlds, locked into the "neither here-nor-there" that is the Gauntlet. Of course, he's still vulnerable to spirits that skate the Gauntlet, and his packmates will have to be precise if they want to rescue him.


What are the "hengeyokai"?

Hengeyokai is a generic name for the native shapeshifters of Asia, including the Kitsune, as well as certain Asiacentric groups such as the Hakken Shadow Lords and certain Bastet. Generally speaking, the hengeyokai have a slightly different outlook on the war for Gaia, and their differing cosmology makes them strange and alien to Western shapeshifters.


Hey, how much starting Gnosis does my Ananasi character get?

Whoops. Presume 2 Gnosis for homids and 4 for Arachnos.


Nuwisha and Ananasi don't get any Rage. Is that possible? How do they shapeshift?

Sure it's possible. Not all werecreatures are meant to be warriors. Nuwisha are rumored to take their form-shifting powers from the shapeshifting blood of the Trickster; they don't "lose the coyote," because the coyote's response is always to laugh rather than fight. Similarly, Ananasi are the exception to many rules, the least of which is the devotion to the Wyld, and their purpose is rather more arcane than the warrior's path.
Naturally, the absence of Rage is sort of a drawback, but the lack of any allergies to silver makes up for it. However, Nuwisha and Ananasi still don't do well in human society; although they may not be berserkers, their priorities are quite different than those of the people around them.


Nuwisha are considered Ragabash; shouldn't they get a starting Rage of 1 like all other New Moons?

Nope. Nuwisha can't have any Rage short of using a special Gift.


Are there any plans for introducing were(insert favorite animal)s?

Generally speaking, no. With the exception of the hengeyokai, the werecreatures already published are likely to be all we're going to publish. There are plenty of net supplements and unofficial shapeshifter writeups; if you find one you like, by all means use it. However, if we were to publish all the wereeagles, weredogs, werebats, wereapes, werescorpions, werecattle, wereboars, werestags, weredolphins, weresloths, wererhinoceri, werewhales, weremoose and weresquirrels that have been requested, there wouldn't be any standing room in the World of Darkness for the normal people and animals, let alone werewolves, mages and the like.


Can vampires or mages use Garou rites?

Absolutely not. They can learn the Rituals Knowledge, which grants them an understanding of what to do, but the spirits won't acknowledge their efforts as valid and won't charge their rites with any power. Mages can mimic Garou rites (or even use them as foci in some rare instances, such as a Kinfolk Dreamspeaker can), but must use Sphere magick to get results. And yes, this includes the Rite of Sacred Rebirth, so not even Kinfolk vampires nor mages can become Skin Dancers.


In the Players Guide, the Kailindo moves chart and text don't match in all cases. The number of actions for several moves is different. Which is correct?

The text; the chart has typos.


The klaive's difficulty to hit is 5 in the Players Guide and 6 in the rulebook. Which is correct?

The second edition rulebook supersedes the Players Guide in all instances. It's 6.



Werewolf: The Apocalypse Section


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Copyright © 1996 - 1997
Created by Wolf Pack Inc, Friday, August 29, 1997
Most recent revision Tuesday, September 30, 1997