Forsaken Resources

[Second Chances]

Now that the Twelve Days of Wolfmas have concluded, it is time to start this up! This document will (eventually) all of the CofD books either from or directly applicible to the Werewolf gameline. It’s aimed at giving pup Storytellers and Players a place to start, but should be useful for anyone. I’m starting with just the core rulebooks and will add others in time. If you have any suggestions that are not part of the Werewolf gameline, let me know what they are and why they are useful so I can add them to the list.

2e
2e Core

Dark Eras
Dark Eras Companion
Dark Eras 2 (forthcoming)
- Golden Age of Science Fiction
- Necropolis of Hawara
- Western Front
The Pack

Chronicles of Darkness
Hurt Locker

Chris Allen’s Twelve Days of Wolfmas

1e
1e Core
Book of the Dead
Glimpses of the Unknown

Bundles
Starter Kit

Fiction
Tales of the Dark Eras
Three Shades of Night (digital only)

[Vent0]

Is this books only? Content only? Would the various Homebrew threads be fitting? What about widely acknowledged threads on Storyteller or Player advice?

[Second Chances]

Depends on the thread. I've included Chris Allen's recent threads on the boards since he's a prolific Werewolf freelancer. I'll probably end up sticking the First Tounge Translations thread in this too. If you have any others, feel free to suggest them. Even if I don't put them in the main post, people who read the thread will still see them.

[Beekay006]

G’day Folks! I do sincerely hope that I'm not performing any thread necromancy here, & I do apologise if I am.

I’m a first-time poster here on the forums, & I have a serious question to all you incredible WtF players. It relates to this thread set up by Second Chances, & what books are required for a well-established library for 2E Werewolf chronicles.

I’ve been scouring the forums to see if this has been raised before, & here seemed to be the most logical place for my query.

I’ve been listening to the Onyx Pathcast & have had my passion for Onyx Path & their game lines reinvigorated. I have always been a massive fan of the Werewolf games. So I recently bought a copy of the 2E book in PDF & PoD & in the first few pages it mentions recommended published WtF books that are nice & handy to have.

It’s been on my mind as to what I would require for a good “core” set of CoD books that sets myself up for writing & running stories, as well as being a good resource library for my players. Perhaps this might also be a good place for aspiring players & chroniclers to see what their buy-in is as well?

It goes without saying that to play Werewolf the Forsaken, one requires the core titled book. I really love that about the 2nd Ed CoD lines, that the corebook & some ten-sided dice is all you need. Within the book itself it mentions The Chronicles of Darkness core rulebook as being a reference, & I have seen in multiple forum posts that users do recommend buying that one eventually due to expanded merits & also rule systems that get more fleshed out. Predators, & Night Horrors: Wolfsbane are both referenced as having more detail about the adversaries sometimes faced in a chronicle, which both to me seem like promising eventual purchases as well.

May I ask you for your advice?

What books & products do you feel are optimal for the ideal WtF 2E library?

Would you say that The Pack, & The Forsaken Chronicler’s Guide are ones that I should indeed look at purchasing in time? What about Hurt Locker, as referenced above in @Second Chance's post?

I really do appreciate you taking the time to read my post, & I will be ever so grateful for all helpful responses.

[Second Chances]

I would defintely start with the Pack. It is an excellent jumping off point for the themes of Werewolf. Hurt Locker is very well written and applicable to Werewolf, but it is general CofD supplement, not one specifically for Foresaken. Worth the pick up, but you could manage without it.

From 1e, I personally have found Predators, Tribes of the Moon, and The Pure as being valuable. Worth bearing in mind that all three are 1e, and the setting has evolved in 2e, but still useful resources.

[nofather]

The Pack, from second edition.

Predators, like you said. I think some people struggle with Auspice or Tribe, so Signs and Tribes of the Moon are both good, even if you understand them they help flesh them out. I love Blasphemies, it really shows you that Uratha is not just the Forsaken and the Pure, though I'm suspecting Shunned by the Moon will help a lot with that. It may also help with the Pure, which is sort of essential in first edition or for really depicting the Pure in depth. When I was gathering books I felt were necessary, Hunting Ground: Rockies and Chicago were also there. They're both a bit wordy in places but also ready sources for pre-made NPCs and locations with their own motivations. Shadows of the UK is ostensibly a Werewolf book and if I'm counting Chicago I'd count it too.

From there you have things that expand on stuff, but aren't necessarily required, I think. Territories is great for building territories and showing some pre-built territories (they have more pages than the current ones, with write-ups for some antagonists, but are more clearly built for new packs). The Book of Spirits talks about what the spirit world is like and has a bunch of spirits in it, but it's something many may have gotten from Predators and various first edition Werewolf books. Lore of the Forsaken is great for the background and lore of some of the big players (Luna, the Firstborn, the Maeljin), as well as getting across what spirit magic is 'like' but I don't think it's as essential, especially in second edition where they've converted from general shamans to more focused hunters. Similarly the Lodges books were pretty good for setting and variety but will have lost the most usefulness in second edition.

tl;dr
The Pack, Predators, Signs of the Moon, Tribes of the Moon, Blasphemies, the Pure (these last two potentially superceded by Shunned by the Moon), Hunting Ground: the Rockies and Chicago, Shadows of the UK.

[Beekay006]

Thank you both so very much, Second Chances & nofather! I really do appreciate your advice & suggestions, & have already filled my wishlist with the titles you both put forward.

I'm very impressed that some of the 1E titles for WtF still offer value to chronicles, & are considered useful resources.

[nofather]

I'm very impressed that some of the 1E titles for WtF still offer value to chronicles, & are considered useful resources.

Me too, a little surprised to be honest. When we were building up to 2e I went back and thought about things that were left unanswered or uncovered and really got to appreciate how the books covered a wide variety of stuff in a pretty concise and ordered manner. Glad to help.

[Second Chances]

Thank you both so very much, Second Chances & nofather! I really do appreciate your advice & suggestions, & have already filled my wishlist with the titles you both put forward.

I'm very impressed that some of the 1E titles for WtF still offer value to chronicles, & are considered useful resources.

So full disclosure... I actively did not like Forsaken in 1e. It wasn't that I thought it was bad, I just could not wrap my head around it. Then 2e came out and it was like Moses parted the Red Sea of my confusion and I not only got Forsaken for the first time, it is now one of my favorite games. Then I went back and looked at all the 1e supplements I had missed.

1e has tons of good shit.

... which I really need to add links to in the first post. I'll stick it on the to-do list once I no longer have a wedding to plan.