W20: Shattered Dreams and Changing Ways

[Laughing Hyena]

WTA – Shattered Dreams: Presents the wars between the Garou and Fera, as well as the time before that. Invaluable for owners of Changing Breeds as well as W20. 264 pages. PDF/PoD/Possible Deluxe Edition.

WTA – Changing Ways: Explores the psychology of Garou as archetypal hunter and religious fanatic, the mindset of a character that wasn’t born among humans, and the strange and sometimes disturbing powers that our protagonists derive from the spirit world. 160 pages. PDF/PoD.

Source: Classic World of Darkness: Jan-Aug 2015

Thoughts?
As someone that's part of the Rage CCG Forums, I'm looking the most forward to Shattered Dreams (Since the card game involves a Combat deck). In addition to outlining wars between Garou and Fera, I'm hoping the book talks about how each group and faction wages war against other opponents (Human, Wyrm, Weaver, Wyld, Vampire, Mage, Garou vs Garou, mass etc.), war tactics, and combat moves. Not to mention more details on the very first War of Rage and other wars throughout history.

As for Changing Ways, it sounds like a part of it is Ways of the Wolf 2.0 and/or how Metis see things. And how to get into the role of being a Garou.

[PaladinDemo]

I better hide Shattered Dreams from my roommate's wife. She's a "psychologist". I can see Shattered Dreams being Way of the Wolf/Guardians of the Caern 2.0.

[Kat]

religious fanatic

Furry Ecoterrorist Al Quaeda rather than Homicidal Furry Captain Planet?

[Arag]

While I don't care about Shattered Dreams I see Changing Ways as something I'll probablty buy. It reminds me of the late revised books for Vampire where WW tried to analyze Vampires in a deeper way, those were some of the best books for VtM.

[Zelbinnean]

I assume these might have some of the old Totems and Tribe/Camp Gifts and Rites that weren't printed in the W20 core, Rage Across the World, or Changing Breeds?

[Taci]

Shattered Dreams sounds very interesting indeed. What I'm really hoping for is some of the forbidden/lost powerful Balam magic, that they're supposed to be rediscovering now, while the Uktena try to prevent it.

[DigitalRaven]

Those one-line blurbs can be slightly misleading.

Shattered Dreams is a supplement covering the time before the War of Rage, the War itself, and the second War of Rage. It's got a whole framework story running through it for putting packs of Garou or Changing Breeds into those other time periods, and a whole bunch of advice on running a historical game in any of those periods. If you want to run a game in the dawn of humanity, when all of Gaia's children worked together, or you really want to change the world by having the Garou lose the first War of Rage? This is the book for you.

Changing Ways asks: What is it like to be a werewolf? You're not a human even before your First Change. What does that moment feel like, deep down? How does your body react to have your bones fuse together after all but the most grievous wounds? It's about how Garou society uses rituals to control warriors who would otherwise kick off at the slightest provocation, and how they convert people who grew up among humans to spiritual fanatics willing to kill and die for their goddess. What tactics do they use? It also will cover lupus and metis characters, but with the benefits of modern understandings of canine cognitive processes.

[Saur Ops Specialist]

It also will cover lupus and metis characters, but with the benefits of modern understandings of canine cognitive processes.

If only one could get a wolf into a functional MRI to compare with the dog results.

[Ana Mizuki]

Those one-line blurbs can be slightly misleading.

Shattered Dreams is a supplement covering the time before the War of Rage, the War itself, and the second War of Rage. It's got a whole framework story running through it for putting packs of Garou or Changing Breeds into those other time periods, and a whole bunch of advice on running a historical game in any of those periods. If you want to run a game in the dawn of humanity, when all of Gaia's children worked together, or you really want to change the world by having the Garou lose the first War of Rage? This is the book for you.

Changing Ways asks: What is it like to be a werewolf? You're not a human even before your First Change. What does that moment feel like, deep down? How does your body react to have your bones fuse together after all but the most grievous wounds? It's about how Garou society uses rituals to control warriors who would otherwise kick off at the slightest provocation, and how they convert people who grew up among humans to spiritual fanatics willing to kill and die for their goddess. What tactics do they use? It also will cover lupus and metis characters, but with the benefits of modern understandings of canine cognitive processes.

Both sound great. Rage across the World was a great update to Ways of the Wolf, and Metis need a bit more updated info, since they are very unique as a breed. How does the canine and human mind mix in the metis? That is something I like to RP. So, looking forward to Changing Ways ^^

Shattered Dreams is..well,damn. So we FINALLY get to see the ACTUAL garou prehistory? awesome!

[DigitalRaven]

Actual Garou prehistory is still quite fuzzy even with this book — conservatively, the War of Rage could have happened anywhere in the neolithic to the end of EBA I, so a range of about 10,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE. It could stretch back past Mesolithic I, giving us a range from before 20,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE. That is, to put it mildly, a shitload of history to play with. As a result, we're not fixing anything in time. Instead, bits of "If you want to set it after X, here's what you might want to include" will show up throughout the book. We're also going to offer elements for which we (as in, humanity) have no historical evidence, because they can spice up the period. Everything from representative language to (for the period) large-scale human settlements. The War destroyed a lot of things, and time destroys even more.

Such things will be called out, to avoid annoying historians.

[Ana Mizuki]

Actual Garou prehistory is still quite fuzzy even with this book — conservatively, the War of Rage could have happened anywhere in the neolithic to the end of EBA I, so a range of about 10,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE. It could stretch back past Mesolithic I, giving us a range from before 20,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE. That is, to put it mildly, a shitload of history to play with. As a result, we're not fixing anything in time. Instead, bits of "If you want to set it after X, here's what you might want to include" will show up throughout the book. We're also going to offer elements for which we (as in, humanity) have no historical evidence, because they can spice up the period. Everything from representative language to (for the period) large-scale human settlements. The War destroyed a lot of things, and time destroys even more.

Such things will be called out, to avoid annoying historians.

I meant simply that it is presented as a setting, since we haven't really explored that time peroid outside myths and tales much. Seeing what kind of world it -actually- was is something I've been curious about. Every tribe/breed has their own myths, but what was the reality, you know.

Changing Ways still is what I'm most looking forward to the most ^^

[Traveller]

Oh good! I was running out of new books to /really really/ look forwards to. I'm having fun screwing around with very short campaigns set in different places in Garou history...it'll be a blast putting players on the front lines in first War of Rage.

Changing Ways could easily turn into required reading for WtA MUSHes, where really getting into your characters' heads is even more important than tabletop.

Kind of ecstatic to see all the new territory that reviving the line is covering.

[DigitalRaven]

I meant simply that it is presented as a setting, since we haven't really explored that time peroid outside myths and tales much.

I know, I was building on what you said rather than refuting it.

[Lewis]

I'm really looking forward to Changing Ways. One of the things that interests me the most about the W:tA setting is that the society of the Garou is an extremely alien one, hide bound and as fanatical as any real world fundamentalist organisation. Anything that addresses the fact that Garou society is a very different, and actually quite terrible, place, rather than one of pure ecologically minded intentions, is going to make for a far, far richer game.

[Saur Ops Specialist]

I'm really looking forward to Changing Ways. One of the things that interests me the most about the W:tA setting is that the society of the Garou is an extremely alien one, hide bound and as fanatical as any real world fundamentalist organisation. Anything that addresses the fact that Garou society is a very different, and actually quite terrible, place, rather than one of pure ecologically minded intentions, is going to make for a far, far richer game.

Even divested of politics and such, it would still be horrifying for humans, because it doesn't accord them any more importance than the next animal over.