History TabletopGame / WerewolfTheForsaken

* WillNotTellALie: The Fire Touched are bound to the rule "Never let a false statement lie". Since this includes their own false statements.

* MultiformBalance: Whether the Uratha's five forms are better balanced than those of its spiritual predecessor is debated by many; but the effort is there.

* Partial Transformation: Aside from their three hybrid animal-human forms werewolves can learn a gift that allows them to shapeshift one body part at a time.

* ItGotWorse: Merciful Storytellers may not want to pick up the ''Spirit Slayers'' splatbook, advertised as suitable for both werewolves and [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil hunters]]. Why? Task Force: VALKYRIE has a bomb that does in the spirit realm what a nuke does in the material world, intended specifically for use against werewolves and their spirit allies. And they intend to use it.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The whole premise, in a way. Altough the Forsaken adopt a staunch IDidWhatIHadToDo stance about it, the fact still remains that they ruined Pangaea, killed their own father, sent a large part of their brethen into exile for NOT partaking in the murder, and apparently, the world has only [[ItGotWorse got worse]] after that point...

* BigBadassWolf: Beyond the obvious connotations, there's the Urshan form for werewolves. Likened at least once to the dire wolves of Earth's prehistory, a werewolf in Urshan form stands 3 to 5 feet at the shoulder and can be 6 to 8 feet long. For comparison, a regular wolf usually stands 2.5 feet at the shoulder and 3 to 5 feet in length.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: One werewolf lode, the Lodge of the Fallen Idol, is dedicated to bringing an end to all religions because they view them as the most dangerous and destructive of all human concepts. They began as a lodge for "alternative beliefs" in medieval Europe, but after Christian werewolves helped the inquisition kill off most of the members, the survivors regrouped, took a serpent spirit of truth as their totem, and vowed to bring down religion by any means neccessary. Their symbol is even a snake coiling around a shattered cross.
** Also kind of a case of flat-earth atheism, given that there are a number of spirits and a rank of mages that can be and are unironically referred to as gods, who can pretty easily one-up the old testamtent when they're feeling crotchety.

** Also, they have four non-human forms, whereas most depictions of werewolves give them one or, at most, two. The Dalu (Near-Human) is the classic "wolf-man" of cinema (bigger, stronger, hairier, bestial features, fangs and claws). The Gauru (Wolf-Man) is the anthropomorphic wolf common to more modern depictions of werewolves. The Urshul (Near-Wolf) is a gargantuan, but otherwise mundane-looking, wolf. Finally, the Urhan is a standard run of the mill wolf.

** Dire Wolf is a savage beast. Death Wolf is obsessed with the dead. The patron of the [[BigBad Bale Hounds]] tribe is named "Soulless Wolf". [[CompleteMonster Guess why]].

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: The Pure believe that Luna slept with Father Wolf and birthed the Firstborn specifically to drain his power, so she could take over the world by proxy when they killed him. [[ItGotWorse It didn't quite work out]].

* {{Lunacy}}: Each werewolf has his role in society determined by the phase of the moon (Auspice) when he first changes -- full moons are warriors (Rahu), gibbous moons are bards and prophets (Cahalith), half moons are judges and arbiters (Elodoth), crescent moons are mystics (Ithaeur) and new moons are spies and tricksters (Irraka). One weakness of the Pure Tribes is that they do not have Auspices, said to be because they refused to accept any guilt for Father Wolf's death and thus never got back on Luna's good side.
** They also actively hate Luna, and reject any association with her or her laws. One of the conditions for Forsaken uratha to defect to the Pure is to undergo a ritual which permanantly destroys their auspice.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: The Forsaken are far from saintly, and the Pure don't go out of their way to sin against Harmony: they see sin as a regrettable, often-necessity to stop the Forsaken's false balance. Notably, both sides will quickly work together against the [[CompleteMonster Bale Hounds]] or [[EldritchAbomination idigam]].

* '''Ivory Claws:''' Also known as ''Tzuumfin'', the Ivory Claws maintain their purest of bloodlines among humanity, free of all Forsaken taint; they alone do not accept Forsaken converts, and follow a serious of rigorous codes to keep their purity. They closely follow their Honor and have unparalleled mastery of pain. Followers of Silver Wolf.

While not officially a "limited cycle" like the later lines of ''PrometheanTheCreated'', ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' and ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'', Werewolf did have the fewest official sourcebooks of an "unlimited cycle" (like ''VampireTheRequiem'' and ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'') released before White Wolf declared they were giving up physical books for [=PDFs=]. The total list of sourcebooks is...

* Hunting Grounds -- another mini-line of sourcebooks, intended to cover specific areas of America as they apply to werewolves. Only one, focusing on the Rocky Mountains of Colorado (and simply called "The Rockies"), was produced.

* '''Blood Talons:''' Also known as ''Suthar Anzuth'', these warriors focus on the wild fury of the Forsaken. They seek Glory in all things, and vow to offer no surrender they would not accept. Followers of Destroyer Wolf.

** And then we have [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Belishu Hosts]], for whom spreading disease ''is'' their reason for existing, more or less.

''Werewolf: The Forsaken'' is the second game in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness line and the spiritual sequel to ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse''.

''Werewolf: The Forsaken'' is about playing one of the titular Forsaken -- werewolves who threw away the closest thing they had to paradise millennia ago because they believed it could not be maintained. Their duty in life is to serve as "border patrol" to the Spirit World, keeping voracious spirits from riding humanity like toys. At the same time, they have to protect their territories and fend off the Pure, werewolves who view all Forsaken as murderers for their complicity in the death of Father Wolf. It's a hard, bloody, and usually short-lived experience... but someone has to do it.

* '''Blood Talons:''' Also known as ''Suthar Anzuth,'' these warriors focus on the wild fury of the Forsaken. They seek Glory in all things, and vow to offer no surrender they would not accept. Followers of Destroyer Wolf.
* '''Bone Shadows:''' Also known as ''Hirfathra Hissu,'' these shamans study the Shadow and the Spirit, gathering the Wisdom of the spirit courts and swearing to pay each spirit in kind. Followers of Death Wolf.
* '''Hunters in Darkness:''' also known as ''Meninna,'' members of this Tribe focus on protecting the wild and focusing on their animal natures. They vow to protect the sacred places of the world and reinforce the Purity of these areas. Followers of Black Wolf.
* '''Iron Masters:''' Sometimes called ''Farsil Luhal,'' they blend into the human herd and learn from its ways. Their Cunning is great, and they wield mortal technology with clever skill. An Iron Master swears to honor his territory in all things. Followers of Red Wolf.
* '''Storm Lords:''' Also called ''Iminir,'' the Storm Lords seek to rule the Forsaken in strength – or to ensure that others do so. They are bound by their Honor in all interactions, and swear to allow no others to see or tend to their weakness. Followers of Winter Wolf.

* '''Fire-Touched:''' Also known as ''Izidakh,'' the Fire-Touched are among the most religious of the Uratha, seeing the Pure cause as a holy quest from their totem, Rabid Wolf. They fill themselves with his Wisdom, and learn Gifts of faith and disease; they maintain a sacred law to let no false statement lie.
* '''Ivory Claws:''' Also known as ''Tzuumfin,'' the Ivory Claws maintain their purest of bloodlines among humanity, free of all Forsaken taint; they alone do not accept Forsaken converts, and follow a serious of rigorous codes to keep their purity. They closely follow their Honor and have unparalleled mastery of pain. Followers of Silver Wolf.
* '''Predator Kings:''' Also known as ''Ninnah Farrakh,'' the Predator Kings reject human society in all its forms, wearing none of humanity's trappings and fighting vigorously for the return of the unspoiled wilderness of Pangaea. In doing so, they strive to earn great Glory. Followers of Dire Wolf.

'''Terminology, with translations:''' Every ''Werewolf'' (Character) experienced his ''First Change'' into a werewolf under one phase of the moon, determining his ''Auspice'' (race). Most werewolves choose to join a ''Tribe'' (class) of like-minded changers for instruction and support. Werewolves learn ''Gifts'' (spells) from spirits, and power them with spiritual ''Essence'' (Mana) Any given territory will only support one ''Pack'' (party) of Werewolves. Some Forsaken join a ''Lodge'' (PrestigeClass) to support a goal or gain the patronage of a new spiritual ''totem,'' or patron.

This game contains examples of:
* {{Animorphism}}--Werewolves. Of course.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification--Nearly everything -- animal, plant, landmark, machine, emotion, belief, memetic -- has a spirit. And they're ''hungry''.
* BigCreepyCrawlies--The Nidmuzug, from the ''War Against the Pure''. They're human beings who can turn into either a swarm of five hundred plus 4-6 inch long cockroaches... ''or'' a human-sized and crudely anthromorphic cockroach. They're surprisingly pitiable creatures, because they didn't ask to be like this (all they did was eat a perfectly ordinary piece of food...but there had been another Nidmuzug within a mile or so, so it was tainted and turned them into more were-roaches) and they're still fairly human in terms of mentality--they don't even get the healing powers that all other shapechangers do. Their name translates as "the Unclean".

* BigScrewedUpFamily--Wolfblooded lineages are often like this, but Ivory Claw ones tend to be the biggest and screwiest.
* BolivianArmyEnding--Part of the horror of this game line is that werewolf packs rarely get a happy ending. The Uratha world is a cruel and ruthless one. As members grow older and weaker, a pack is commonly wiped out by its enemies (Spirits, Hosts, Pure Tribes, or even [[WeAREStrugglingTogether rival Uratha packs]]).
* CanNotTellALie--Fire-Touched. They can't even let anyone within earshot tell one.
* CityOfAdventure--Denver and the surrounding areas.
* ChurchMilitant--Fire-Touched again. They're quite happy to receive conversions from the Forsaken instead of just killing them, but that doesn't make their preaching any less militant.
* LesCollaborateurs--The Bale Hounds. They're a group of werewolves who, seeing how malevolent spirits are continually gaining ground, came to the conclusion that the world is naturally inclined to evil. And they want to be on the winning side. They became Maeljin cultists and act as TheMole among other tribes. For the record, both the Forsaken ''and'' the Pure loathe them with a burning passion, and with good reason...
* CultColony--The Pure are both an army and a cult, and they regularly make bunkers/forts in the deep Hisil.
** The Lodge of the Lake. That is all.
* CrapsackWorld--Part of the horror of this game line comes from the fact that all Uratha are painfully aware that the spirits of anger, hate, and excess are more common and more powerful than spirits of love or joy.

** Not to mention that the wolves themselves are cut off from humanity and can easily lose their temper and kill everything within reach.
* EldritchAbomination--The ''idigam'', spirit-things that are ancient, powerful, and mysterious - they appeared in the mid-twentieth century, and took over entire regions of the Shadow, turning them into twisted abominations. Oddly, unlike other spirits, the idigam don't have analogs in the physical world - in spirit terms, they have no natures of their own, which should be impossible. They've been hypothesised by fans to be linked to the [[CosmicHorrorStory Abyss]], from [[TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening Mage]]. The final books revealed that the idigam originated on Earth, but were banished and imprisoned on the moon by Father Wolf and Luna, until they managed to escape their prison in the wake of the moon landings.

** And then there are Maeljin, spirits that are revered by the Bale Hounds who've become twisted inwards to the point that they're just ''wrong''. The SevenDeadlySins are well-represented among them.
*** Fun fact about the Maeljin: they got mentioned in ''Inferno''. You know what that book's about? ''Demons.''

* EmotionEater -- Some spirits embody emotional concepts. Mind you, being spirits, they don't have any idea of restraint; they just know that things like love, anger or sadness ''taste really good''.
* {{Expy}}--One of the supplement books, ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Skinchangers-World-Darkness-Chris-Campbell/dp/1588463354 Skinchangers]],'' has a character in it called Shuichi Kurama; who is possessed by a fox-spirit named Yoko. The manga/anime series ''YuYuHakusho'' has a fox demon named Yoko Kurama who was mortally wounded and took refuge in the womb of a pregnant woman, Shiori Minamino, and was reborn as her son, Shuichi Minamino. Even the description of Shuichi Kurama -long black hair, a pleasing face, a friendly demeanor, dresses in traditional clothes when he can get away with it and school uniforms when he can't- matches the one of Yoko Kurama in the manga (anime changed his hair color from black to red).

* FetusTerrible--If two werewolves have sex and bear a child, they produce an ''unihar'', or ghost child. Once it bursts forth from its mother's womb, it takes off to the SpiritWorld, where it waits until it's powerful enough to return and wreak havoc on its parents. For extra fun, it's immune to werewolf Gifts, making an already powerful spirit even nastier.

* FunctionalMagic--Gifts and Rituals (Theurgy, learned from spirits).
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen--The Pure believe that Luna slept with Father Wolf and birthed the Firstborn specifically to drain his power, so she could take over the world by proxy when they killed him. [[ItGotWorse It didn't quite work out.]]
* GreyAndGrayMorality--The Forsaken are far from saintly, and the Pure don't go out of their way to sin against Harmony: they see sin as a regrettable, often-necessity to stop the Forsaken's false balance. Notably, both sides will quickly work together against the [[CompleteMonster Bale Hounds]] or [[EldritchAbomination idigam]].
* HealingFactor--Werewolves have quite a potent healing ability, being able to recover from blunt trauma in a matter of seconds, and injuries like cuts, burns or bullet wounds as though they were bruises ([[{{Mana}} Essence]] can be spent to make healing even faster).
* IDidWhatIHadToDo--How most Forsaken view the death of Father Wolf. If someone did not take Father Wolf's place, one of the nastier spirits might have killed him and caused all kinds of hell to break loose. It was a horrible thing, but it beat the hell out of the alternative--according to the Forsaken, anyway. Course, the Pure don't give a shit and still want them dead.

** Note that werewolves have no compunctions against killing humans if it's necessary, and no convenient memory erasure powers. As an example, in one game, an entire village had to be wiped out because "[[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade The Herd Must Not Know]]."
*** They have Lunacy on their side, it pretty much sends PrimalFear through all the nearby humans and makes them forget what scared them so much, but there are those who have enough willpower to resist or outright ignore Lunacy, THEY usually are the ones getting killed to uphold things.
* IThoughtItMeant--A Fetish is a magic item. [[{{Fetish}} Get your head out of the gutter]].
* ImmuneToDrugs--An extension of their HealingFactor makes them virtually immune to all manner of drugs and poisons. Many werewolves get very frustrated by this.
* InTheBlood--Werewolf-ness is inheritable. Also, exclusively how Ivory Claws add new recruits, which is why their tribe is by far the smallest of the Pure Tribes.
* ItGotWorse--Merciful Storytellers may not want to pick up the ''Spirit Slayers'' splatbook, advertised as suitable for both werewolves and [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil hunters]]. Why? Task Force: VALKYRIE has a bomb that does in the spirit realm what a nuke does in the material world, intended specifically for use against werewolves and their spirit allies. And they intend to use it.
* KarmaMeter--Harmony, a measure of how well a werewolf balances his human and spirit halves. Notable among TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness games in that it emphasizes how different werewolves are from normal humans -- for instance, killing humans isn't ''necessarily'' a sin, just killing them for no good reason.
* {{Lunacy}}--Each werewolf has his role in society determined by the phase of the moon (Auspice) when he first changes -- full moons are warriors (Rahu), gibbous moons are bards and prophets (Cahalith), half moons are judges and arbiters (Elodoth), crescent moons are mystics (Ithaeur) and new moons are spies and tricksters (Irraka). One weakness of the Pure Tribes is that they do not have Auspices, said to be because they refused to accept any guilt for Father Wolf's death and thus never got back on Luna's good side.

** Then there's the more traditional interpretation of "Lunacy": werewolves ''politely'' refer to their patron goddess as "Ever-Shifting Luna," and the reason no werewolf packs try to take a Lune as a totem is because continued exposure to the Lunes makes you crazy.

* MagicPants--The shift from human to 900-pound killing machine usually destroys clothing utterly, but werewolves can learn a ritual known as the Rite of Dedication that allows clothing to become a part of their identity, causing it to change with them. Needless to say, [[FanNickname it's often referred to as]] the "Rite of Pants."
* {{Masquerade}}--One of the basic laws of werewolf society: "The Herd Must Not Know." In addition, werewolves have the gift of Lunacy bestowed on them by Mother Luna -- people who see them in their war form automatically go into a fearful panic, then forget what exactly it was they saw. [[HeroicWillpower Most of the time.]] There's a reason they have to consciously suppress their existence.

* MeaningfulName--The children of Father Wolf, who also lead the tribes, have names that are a dead give-away to what they are or what they do.
** Dire Wolf is a savage beast. Death Wolf is obsessed with the dead. The patron of the [[BigBad Bale Hounds]] tribe is named "Soulless Wolf." [[CompleteMonster Guess why.]]
* MultiformBalance--Whether the Uratha's five forms are better balanced than [[strike:the three]] those of its spiritual predecessor is debated by many; but the effort is there.
* MysteriousAntarctica: The aforementioned Lodge of the Lake was originally dedicated to keeping something locked in Lake Vostok. Then they found something that may be a Maeljin, went collectively nuts, and started alternating between refined salons and slaughtering whatever expeditions they find.
* NatureHero--The Hunters in Darkness tend to be like this.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero--The whole premise, in a way. Altough the Forsaken adopt a staunch IDidWhatIHadToDo stance about it, the fact still remains that they ruined Pangaea, killed their own father, sent a large part of their brethen into exile for NOT partaking in the murder, and apparently, the world has only [[ItGotWorse got worse]] after that point...
* NoBiochemicalBarriers--Averted; shifting to wolf form right after drinking coffee is a ''very bad idea''.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent--They're part-human, part-wolf spirit. Their society is divided up into five major tribes, and the phase of the moon under which they change determines their basic role in society.
* {{Plaguemaster}}--Some Fire-Touched are like this; even the ones who aren't masters of disease literally view faith as a metaphorical disease, in how easily it spreads. And every ''Izidakh'' is enthusiastic about spreading their faith as far as possible.

* PostModernMagik--The Iron Masters are ''all'' about this. Their driving ethos is blending with the Herd and learning from it, they favor Gift lists that allow them to command technology spirits, and their Lodges are dedicated to everything from "creating an online database of assembled Uratha lore" to "use the Internet to become Big Brother."
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy--Storms Lords and Blood Talons.
* SilverBullet--Silver is precious to Luna, which means it turned against the Uratha when she cursed them. Silver makes the Forsaken's blood boil on contact, dealing aggravated damage. On top of that, in rare cases it turns their HealingFactor cancerous. They still get a better deal than the Pure, who never sought Luna's forgiveness; the Pure can't even ''touch'' silver without getting hurt.
* SnakesAreEvil--The Razilu snake-hosts are among the most evil of the hosts...[[AmbiguouslyEvil maybe...]]
* TheSocialDarwinist--The Predator Kings. The Blood Talons have some shades of this as well, though a bit more restrained.
* SpiritWorld--The Hisil (also known as the Shadow, or the Other). Given that it's the twisted reflection of the ''World of Darkness'', it's not really surprising that it has more in common with SilentHill than most. To give you an idea of the things that happen in there, mall-spirits lure other spirits and Werewolves into them. Where they are then devoured by the greater building spirit.

* StoryboardBody--A werewolf's Renown appears as silver brands on their body whenever they enter the Hisil.
* UnstoppableRage--When a werewolf enters war-form, he automatically goes into Rage; he fails all mental or social tasks, and must attack ''something''. Then there's Death Rage, where the werewolf can't distinguish friend from foe and must attack ''everything''.
* YouDirtyRat--All the Beshilu.
* YouKilledMyFather--The Pure tribes' thoughts on the Tribes of the Moon.
** The Predator Kings are the exception. They aren't angry about Father Wolf - if you can't protect yourself, then you die, it's how nature works. What they're pissed about is that Pangaea was lost in the process. They used to ''rule'' Pangaea, and they want it ''back.'' The problem with that is that it just CAN'T come back, the Spirit World and Human World are separate, and cramming them back together is gonna cause some serious problems even if its possible at all.
* ZergRush--The Pure tribes outnumber the Forsaken roughly 2 to 1. The Fire-Touched in particular command a ''huge'' army of followers which makes the other tribes look tiny by comparison, so their default war tactic is to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers.

''Werewolf: The Forsaken'' is the second game in the New WorldOfDarkness line and the spiritual sequel to ''[[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse Werewolf: the Apocalypse]]''.

* KarmaMeter--Harmony, a measure of how well a werewolf balances his human and spirit halves. Notable among WorldOfDarkness games in that it emphasizes how different werewolves are from normal humans -- for instance, killing humans isn't ''necessarily'' a sin, just killing them for no good reason.

* SpiritWorld--The Hisil (also known as the Shadow, or the Other). Given that it's the twisted reflection of the ''WorldOfDarkness'', it's not really surprising that it has more in common with SilentHill than most. To give you an idea of the things that happen in there, mall-spirits lure other spirits and Werewolves into them. Where they are then devoured by the greater building spirit.