Hi.

9 thoughts on “Hi.”

1. I don’t think you currently have it shared.  I’ve found the Wolf to work quite nicely, though I always like to see new interpretations of things.

2. Ops, sorry. Now it should work.

3. Quick Comments:

   -What motivated the +1 Mind for the Wolf? The bonus that would give for ‘figure someone out’ makes some sense, but mislead, distract, or trick isn’t terribly Wolfy.

   -There’s no join a pack option, was this on purpose?

   -Wolf In Human Skin: Not leaving witnesses of a change may be a complicated piece to have in this, if you change while tons of people are watching does this mean everyone has to have died?  If someone did roll 10+ and they are in a situation where this couldn’t work, they no longer get a choice (though the effects are generally positive and powerful enough I’m sure relatively few people would be upset about that).  Also for Wolf, would ‘keep your cool’ be able to be used to prevent hurting/killing people you care about?  That may be doubled up.

   -Bloodhound: ‘They don’t notice you’ can provide a good narrative thing, but I think it’s a bit weak. Given that most investigation for Urban Shadows is done through talking with people rather than finding clues, this may be less useful than it appears to be.

   Oaths as Strong As Blood: Does this mean that you /can’t/ wolf out and rip the throat out of that bastard fae that is dangling Debts over you?

   Scent of Fear: I really like this. 

   Beauty and the Beast: This looks either weak or powerful to me and I’m not sure which.  If you have this, much of the time you won’t need to select ‘You don’t harm anyone you don’t want harmed’ when you Wolf-Out, however on a 10+ of Wolfing-Out, it’s pretty easy to essentially choose this option.

   Grandma: That’s super cute, but doesn’t feel exceptionally werewolf for me.  More discussion lower…

   Corruption Treadmill: Man, this Wolf is going to corrupt FAST.  Scenario:

   -Wolf has to get something done and so pushes themselves to wake their monster.

   -Wolf howls to attract wolves

   -Wolf rolls a 12+ on blood

   That could be 3 corruption with literally one roll.  Yeeeowch.

   I think there’s a possibility I’m not sure what you’re going for with this wolf.  It has several things that make it seem sneaky or manipulative (+1 Mind, Scent of Fear, Bloodhound’s rewrite) which is a werewolf tendency I’m having trouble pointing to source material for.  It also has a couple of things that I think give a noble-savage feel (Oath as Strong As Blood, Beauty and the Beast) which feels slightly counter to that.

   The separation of the wolf as a something that is uncontrolled is interesting in theory, I like the idea of The Wolf being a bit like the Tainted’s demon, you can interact with it a bit more mechanically in this build (I’m reminded of Being Human and confronting the wolf).  In practice, I’m wondering if it would mean a lot of scenes get the MC taking things over and just kind of giving the results.  I love that the Wolf in my game gets out of control sometimes, but I’d never feel tempted to just do the rest of the scene for her which seems to be implied in Wolf in Human Skin.

   Overall, I think this has some really cool ideas.  I personally like the wolf as it currently exists and think it gives more flexibility for how you intend to play it.  There’s not really space within this alt-playbook to ’embrace the wolf’ and get copacetic with it, something that I think would REALLY benefit it given that the stories that focus upon human and wolf embodying the same person tend to focus on that.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with writing a playbook that doesn’t have that option, maybe accepting your wolf and moving out to the wilderlands with a pack IS retiring your character.

   Sorry that this got wall-of-textful!  I have a Move that if I get a 6- I write way more than is necessary.

4. + for Mind, because Spirit should be low (it is a kind of character that isn’t in touch with their supernatural side) and not Heart, ecause then the move for switching Persuade to Blood will be kinda weak.

   Also, I was thinking about Bruce Baner / the Hulk and how nicely the “raging monster inside” archetype works with brainy types.

   And tricking others is a good way to avoid violence.

   No pack: Yep. Packs nicely fit the “I was born a werewolf and that’s kinda cool” archetype. Which I will probably also do as a second alternative to Wolf, because I think this kind of werewolf needs to change at will.

   Not leaving witnesses may mean they don’t remember the event clearly (like in WoD in both Werewolf games you have Delirium / Lunacy). 10+ should give 3 options, I forgot this after I reduced the number of options. Keeping your cool makes sense, I guess.

   Oath as strong as blood: Yes. 🙂

   You don’t have to take this move…  OK, now it may be a bit too much, but I want something along this lines. Your inner wolf is kinda like a demon and it can be controlled by power of oaths, and such stuff. So debts. That helps your friends moderate you, but also helps youe enemies. Maybe I should change it to armor equal to number of Debts…

   I was trying to go Jekyl/Hyde, and classic werewolf movies (unwilling victim of a werewolf bite slowly changing to a feral predator) with some hints to chance of redemption (Beauty and the Beast). All that tracking is because wolves track well, and that’s predatory thing.

   Fail on Wolf in Human Skin doesn’t mean the MC gets to talk a lot and narrate everything for you. It means the MC may cut the scene and describe the results. But I’m open to better ideas for a miss.

   Thank you for your comments.

   I agree that a “embrace your wolf side” way of playing is cool too, that playbook is for people who want to do something else. 

   My problem with the book wolf is mostly that she changes involuntarily and outside of her control, which doesn’t (for me) fit this kind of werewolf the book aims for. And for me, a werewolf without (more or less) control of her change is… well that’s what I tried to do in this playbook.

   I don’t have much experience with US / other PbA games though.

5. Alright, I can see your thinking behind the +1 Mind.  It speaks to awareness which is something you clearly want to add some of.  The fact that you could Explore a Place of Power helps to mean that Alt-Wolves wouldn’t be stopping their marking stream.  

   I think that there’s space between Wolf-Who-Loves-His-Wolf and Tortured-Wolf that packs could still make sense.  The Gang move would perhaps just need to be a different one or the flavoring would be different.  I’m thinking of Wolves that meet a charismatic leader, agree to go to a Wolf-Meet, and then realize that these are people they can learn from and work with.  Buuut mechanically they aren’t able to pick that up.

   The core Wolf is able to change at will using Sun and Moon, a corruption move, which is pretty easy to get.  I’ve seen a wolf rack up 4 corruption in the first session, allowing them to come back with a big, scary, on call wolf nearly immediately in the second one.  The dramatic timing of suddenly being able to wolf whenever rocks pretty hard.  

   Hmm… Still not sure on the leaving witnesses, that’s a mind-control seeming thing that can work well for mortals (denying what they saw because it was too messed up) but what if you change in the middle of a group of wizards? Are wolf-psychic powers that big?

   I think lowering the potency of Oath as Strong as Blood would be a good choice, armor could do that nicely.  Can the wolf fight back if the person who owes them Debts tries to kill them?

   And no worries on not feeling a playbook!  We’ve all got different opinions and takes!  It could be that you don’t agree with any of the comments that I’ve made and that’s no skin off my back either.

6. I clarified the witnesses thing. A group of wizards is not a problem, they already know you’re a were. 😉 Muggles are a problem.

7. Alright, that does clarify it!  It also weakens it a little bit.  A group of wizards seeing you change could absolutely be a problem!

   Scenario:

   Kevin Wolf goes into a Wizard bar with his buddy the Friendly Wizard.  While there, Friendly Wizard introduces Kevin to secretly Unfriendly Wizard.  Unfriendly Wizard does something bad to Friendly Wizard (maybe even kills him).  Kevin goes feral and eats Unfriendly Wizard’s face, but not the faces of Unfriendly Wizard’s cronies.  Now scary wizards (who didn’t know that Kevin was a Wolf)  have seen Kevin turn into Wolf form, know his name, and know that he ate one of their friends.

   With the previous way it was written, Kevin would be protected from this, but the current way no longer has it.  That said, it would help for the same situation surrounded by, say, mundane cops or gangsters.

8. Some interesting choices here. I’ve only skimmed it and plan on doing a more thorough read through later. The first thing that jumped out at me was Oaths as Strong as Blood, it doesn’t seem like a very useful move. Is it only to protect other players from your wolf?

9. I think this version of the archetype can work pretty well with a bit more honing in key places. Here’s some feedback that you’re free to consider or toss out.

   The short version:

   Identify and emphasize the core themes you’re hoping to put into this playbook.

   Consider a name change for the archetype to draw out it’s uniqueness and breakaway from the apparent similarities with the existing playbook.

   Remember to keep in mind how archetypes touch on both the Fantasy and Urban concepts of the genre.

   Make good use of the character creation options to hit home the thematic tone to your version of the archetype.

   With the main themes in sight, the moves can be fitted to highlight the concepts and bring these about in play.

   The long winded version:

   It’s great that you’re writing up a new archetype and looking to emphasize different themes in an existing playbook. As is, this draft has good ideas and ties into the monstrous tone well, but there’s some thematic ambiguity that may be preventing it from reading as a ready-to-play archetype. There’s big distinctions to be made with the original “wolf” and the “werewolf” ideas you’re aiming towards and have touched upon, it’s just important to highlight those concepts and use them to tie together all the underlying pieces that make up an archetype.

   I think you may benefit greatly by fully embracing the differences you’re going for and siding with a different name for this playbook. It’d really drive home the uniqueness of this type of character and better point out what people could expect to see in play, without having to be locked into or getting distracted by the werewolf myths. With their reluctance and tragic nature, the troublesome dark side, and the struggle to stay in control from this ever present compulsion: The Accursed seems like a good title for the archetype, if not too on the nose. 🙂

   This is generally true for all games Powered by the Apocalypse, but the character playbooks for Urban Shadows are aptly named Archetypes, in the literal sense that they are meant to represent concepts from both the Fantasy and Urban genres. The ‘Fantasy’ portion is pretty overt, but all the playbooks work best when they also bring about the ‘Urban’ troupes that are present in any city setting. The Aware is new to a side of the city never before seen. The Vamp is the leech looking to amass influence over all comers. The Fae is the exotic outsider that’s so appealing, but so foreign. The Wizard is the wild card playing a dangerous game with those on a higher level. The Wolf is trying to carve out a small piece to call home. Both sides work on their own, but together they make something stronger and more relatable to a political urban fantasy setting.

   Usually the ‘Monstrous’ natures for archetypes are relegated to the corruptions moves, but your concept is instead emphasizing this as the core of the playbook and should be reflected in the ‘Urban’ themes that would make the archetype feel solid and ready to hook into a game. This is the read that I got from the first draft of the playbook and seems to be missing from key areas of the character creation process: The character is a blight on the city, a pariah for what they carry inside them, the pretender trying to fool everyone that they’re not who they really are, the danger to themselves and others that would be best avoided or people would want seen put down.

   The moves and character options the player has to chooses from should carry those core concepts throughout, painting a clear picture of the things to expect in play. You did a good job of fitting the Demeanor, Stats, Intro and Debts. Maybe they can be revisited once the core themes of the archetype are refined, but the gear is also something that adds great color to a character type and should definitely be fitted to your ideas.

   Here’s a pitch for the gear : Cattle prod( stun-harm hand ), Handcuffs( hand restrain ), Flash-Bang Grenade ( stun-harm close area loud blinding). “These aren’t to stop you from doing anything dangerous. These are to stop me.”

   The moves can and should fall in line once the themes are put into focus, but here are some ideas going off of the “monster within” tone:

   If you do change the playbook name, this’ll allow you to change up the wolf theme names for the moves and make them more in line with your them. You can also swap “Bloodhound” with a new move to help in this and to avoid further overlap.

   Make ‘Oaths as strong as blood’ a default move and the player only chooses one playbook move. The move is good for hooking the archetype into the game and may not like come up other wise.

   The wolf should be a full on npc that the player has to contend with. What better way to show you’re not in control than to put the wolf in someone else’s hands. You’ve got two options with this: similar to the Tainted’s Patron, it collects debts, is of the Wild faction, and when ‘Wolf in Human skin’ is triggered, it gains a debt on you for being a weak vessel. It can spend the debts to let itself take over, triggering the shape shifting move as you struggle to gain some level of control. The funner option is to make the hold instead of debts, hold that anyone at the table can spend to trigger the change. >:D

   If you’ve been struggling with this wolf all along, this may be a more fitting end move:

   When you die, the wolf emerges in your death throws, seeking revenge for it’s demise. Name NPC’s present that it slays equal to its hold/Debts on you(minimum 1) and the MC may choose 1 extra.

   If you get cured from lycanthropy, the wolf escapes your body and you may choose for it to hunt down and kill a number of NPCs equal to its hold/Debts on you(minimum 1) before fading away or for it to kill no one and MC chooses which NPC it will now inhabit.

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