Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

logical position, given that most werewolf stories are horror
tales. Yet this game puts the werewolf — the source of the
horror — at the front of the story, rather than relegating it
to the role of antagonist. The werewolf is the protagonist
of this tale. So, if the horror of being chased by a werewolf
isn’t available to you as an option, where does the horror
in this game come from? Well, the dictionary definition
of “horror” suggests that it’s a particularly intense feeling
of fear, shock or disgust. That raises the question: “What
do werewolves fear?” If you know that, you’re on the right
path to telling truly compelling Werewolf stories.
WHAT DO WEREWOLVES FEAR?
Werewolves are intimidating creatures: fast, deadly
and able to heal quickly. What can make a creature like
that afraid? In the World of Darkness, the answer is “any
number of things.” Werewolves can heal quickly, but
they’re not immortal — they’re strong, but they’re not the
strongest things in the world. They can suffer, and not just
physically. Werewolves aren’t ravaging brutes, they’re intelligent,
thinking creatures who have people, things and
causes they care for. Whenever you care for something
— even just your life — there’s the horror of potentially
losing it and having no power to save it. Ironically, for a
race that allegedly had to put down its own progenitor,
much of the horror in Werewolf: The Forsaken revolves
around the concept of loss: of territory, of people, of balance
and of control. Oh, and if you remember your werewolf
movies, you’ll know that all too often, it’s the most
unlikely of foes who ends up bringing down the werewolf.
So, who do werewolves fear?
THEMSELVES
It wouldn’t be a game about werewolves if the
Forsaken weren’t afraid of themselves. They’re afraid of
the uncontrollable predatory instincts that boil within
them. They’re afraid of the damage they can do to those
around them when Rage overtakes them. They’re afraid
of becoming little more than cunning, ravening animals,
lost to the killing urge with a fury that disturbs the wildest
of animals. Uratha grow up believing themselves to
be nothing more than ordinary humans, but the shock
of their First Change — the visions and life changes that
precede it and the dramatic change of perspective that follows
it — leaves many werewolves on edge. They wonder
if their whole world can be turned upside down like that
again. Every time they lose control to the Death Rage, the
chance is there. Only sheer luck and perhaps the intervention
of packmates can prevent a werewolf in Kuruth
from brutally dismembering innocent victims, a total
stranger or his pregnant wife.
This is at the root of the Forsaken’s constant fear for
their loved ones. Yes, there’s the ordinary fear that they
might bring trouble to their families through their enemies,
but many people live with that fear: criminals and
law enforcers, for example. Much more profound is the
fear that the werewolf’s own nature will be what hurts
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