Actual Play – Killing in the Name of (2/22/2009)

System: Werewolf: The Apocalypse

Last night our questing pack went on another mission for the crazies who lock up other crazies. His opinions were very much reflecting what his tribe (and for that matter most tribes) thought. If the runt is weak, it’s got to die. It isn’t nice, it isn’t compassionate, it’s effing reality. Werewolves are natural predators, they have a wolf nature to them despite their human upbringing (assuming they even had one of those). Francois looked at the “reintegration” that the foundation was doing and was disgusted, he said he would rather die than be neutered like that.

And then things changed… With half a mind to kill the runts himself Curb Stomper and the rest of the pack continued looking into the rumors of wolves attacking farmers. It turned out to be quite the opposite and when we discovered the rest the pack they had been brutally tortured, murdered and defiled. It was a horrific scene and Francois was instantly set on vengeance.

What ensued for me was a very graphic description of killing the eight red neck hillbillies that perpetrated the crime. Francois’ revenge was severely brutal. He raged (as per the rules) but his rage wasn’t the raw primal one, it was full of cruelty and vindictiveness, clearly something struck a very strong cord in him.

After that we perused Sam Haight, the one that got away, but he disappeared down a mine shaft.

What rocked

I got to have a couple scenes with Worm, one were Francois set him up to get laid and another were they pulled an A-Team on the busted up truck. Both very fun. I was even humming the theme song.

I like the uneasiness of the foundation, I don’t’ think any of us fully trust them, and yet, we’re acting as their questing pack. I know that something very bad will come of this.

Francois has had some moment of reflection. He claimed that the wolves should have been put down, like a dog with rabies. He said that sympathy for them would be giving then a clean kill. And yet, when he saw the massacre, it stirred something inside him. I don’t’ think Francois is nearly as over his own issues of abandonment as he says he is.

What could have been improved

I was really tired and didn’t bring my A-game. Just need more sleep.

Down to four of six players. Considering the pack was originally eight it felt very small. In some ways that is good, you get a more personal game but as I wasn’t expecting it last night, it took me some time to adjust my mode of play. (Mostly from being a peanut gallery to actually trying to take part in the decisions we made).

The Storyteller dropped a bomb on me at the start of game. He needed to go home to get character sheets so I had to give another player a challenge to rise in rank. I’ve got no problem with this in general, but because I was so tired I think I did a crappy job. I really had no idea where I should take it so I made up some trickster riddle that raccoon pulled on Races, forcing him to judge people’s intentions. It was okay, but I was just making it up as I went along and knew it could have been better.

The adventure does one of those things that I don’t like. The module says “and now he gets away” and leaves it to the Storyteller to figure out how. This is one of those cases where I really wish we had aspects from Fate. With an aspect, the GM can just compel us to do something. “Francois, you’re so filled with rage that you waste time killed the hillbillies and he slips away” or “Dick, you’re such a cocky SOB that you don’t look down and step on a caltrop, maiming you long enough that he gets away” and then you follow this up with a cookie of some sort (a fate chip, or in this case maybe a point of renown) and the players are satisfied…. Hmm… actually that is a pretty good idea. Aspects in Werewolf. Hmm…

Edit, details added by the storyteller that I forgot.  More stuff that rocked.

Francois getting ripped off regarding weapons.

My prop. A smashed bud can left by the hunters, who were drunk as skunks.

I thought they were both great. Francois knows nothing at all about guns (no dots in Firearms, no reason to really know more than which end you point at people) and I had a blast getting ripped off. The can, especially for it’s acoustic qualities when you tossed it on the ground was great. I think the fact that my floor was really dirty with leaves that had been tracked in helped as well!