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I did a thread like this a while back, long before 2e came out; I'd like to try again with 2e in mind. The idea is to port something akin to WtA's Breeds into the metaphysics of WtF.
First, we probably need a different name than “Breeds”. Unlike WtA and WtF1e, WtF2e doesn't have a hard-and-fast rule that one of your ancestors had to be a Werewolf; all that's required is that you are a Wolf-Blood. And while that usually requires that at least one of your parents was a Wolf-Blood, it's entirely possible for a perfectly ordinary human being to become a Wolf-Blood by being exposed to Lunacy. So the notion of breeding is significantly downplayed, and the uglier aspects of it can be bypassed entirely. So, what to call them if not Breeds?
Also, let's get this out of the way right now, so it doesn't bog down the rest of the topic: introducing something like Lupus to WtF2e does not require anything remotely like bestiality, unlike WtA; all that's required is to introduce the equivalent notion of Wolf-Blood for wolves. And if you want to firmly slam the door on anything like bestiality, you can reintroduce WtF1e's notion of Ghost Children in cases where such perverse cross-breeding is attempted, and/or add other punishments such as a loss of Renown (e.g., Purity) for attempting such a thing. So please, please, please do not bog this thread down with arguments about how sick you have to be to like the notion of wolf-born Uratha, or intimations about furries being sexual deviants, or any of the other arguments that derailed the original version of this topic.
With that (hopefully) out of the way: during the spoilers for WtF2e, Stew posted mechanics for Urhanu (Forsaken's equivalent to Lupus) in this Blog post, which covers the mechanics of the Urhanu in 2e. The only issue I see with this involves Harmony: I don't have my copy hand, so I forget which way “acting like a wolf” Breaks; but if it Breaks toward Spirit, then the Urhanu should probably start with Harmony 4 (the same distance from the middle as 6, but on the spirit/instincts side) or 3 (mirroring man-born Uraha starting at 7). If it breaks toward Flesh, the rules look fine as is. The main thing that would be useful here would be advice on how to get into a wolf's mentality.
As for Metis equivalents: I could see a place for them in WtF similar to the place held by Banishers in Mage. That is, you get a Metis-equivalent if you botch the First Change. Again, it has nothing to do with breeding; but it does represent a messed-up werewolf. In particular, the Metis-equivalent would not be “something between human-born and wolf-born”; there would be human-born Metis and there would be wolf-born Metis, since “Metis” has nothing to do with which form you grew up in before tge First Change. Instead, the “Metis Breed” would represent an Uratha who rejected the change, and still considers himself a human or wolf, as the case may be. As such, it might make sense for it to keep Integrity instead of switching over to Harmony. Not that it's likely to keep its Integrity for long…
(Clarification: by “human-born” and “wolf-born”, I mean that you were born as, and grew up as, a human or wolf, respectively — that is, those two “Breeds” represent what your life was like before the First Change. By contrast, the “Metis Breed(s)” would represent a “fail-state” of the First Change itself.)
This splitting of “Metis” into two “Breeds” also resolves the dilemma brought about by the temporary nature of the Gauru form: there are no “Breeds” associated with that form. Instead, “human-born Metis” would default to the wolfman form, while “wolf-born Metis” would default to the “dire wolf” form.
So: four “Breeds”, corresponding to four of the five forms a werewolf can take. Two of them represent normal werewolves, two represent twisted werewolves; two of them represent werewolves who grew up as humans, two of them represent werewolves that grew up as wolves.
Thoughts?
First, we probably need a different name than “Breeds”. Unlike WtA and WtF1e, WtF2e doesn't have a hard-and-fast rule that one of your ancestors had to be a Werewolf; all that's required is that you are a Wolf-Blood. And while that usually requires that at least one of your parents was a Wolf-Blood, it's entirely possible for a perfectly ordinary human being to become a Wolf-Blood by being exposed to Lunacy. So the notion of breeding is significantly downplayed, and the uglier aspects of it can be bypassed entirely. So, what to call them if not Breeds?
Also, let's get this out of the way right now, so it doesn't bog down the rest of the topic: introducing something like Lupus to WtF2e does not require anything remotely like bestiality, unlike WtA; all that's required is to introduce the equivalent notion of Wolf-Blood for wolves. And if you want to firmly slam the door on anything like bestiality, you can reintroduce WtF1e's notion of Ghost Children in cases where such perverse cross-breeding is attempted, and/or add other punishments such as a loss of Renown (e.g., Purity) for attempting such a thing. So please, please, please do not bog this thread down with arguments about how sick you have to be to like the notion of wolf-born Uratha, or intimations about furries being sexual deviants, or any of the other arguments that derailed the original version of this topic.
With that (hopefully) out of the way: during the spoilers for WtF2e, Stew posted mechanics for Urhanu (Forsaken's equivalent to Lupus) in this Blog post, which covers the mechanics of the Urhanu in 2e. The only issue I see with this involves Harmony: I don't have my copy hand, so I forget which way “acting like a wolf” Breaks; but if it Breaks toward Spirit, then the Urhanu should probably start with Harmony 4 (the same distance from the middle as 6, but on the spirit/instincts side) or 3 (mirroring man-born Uraha starting at 7). If it breaks toward Flesh, the rules look fine as is. The main thing that would be useful here would be advice on how to get into a wolf's mentality.
As for Metis equivalents: I could see a place for them in WtF similar to the place held by Banishers in Mage. That is, you get a Metis-equivalent if you botch the First Change. Again, it has nothing to do with breeding; but it does represent a messed-up werewolf. In particular, the Metis-equivalent would not be “something between human-born and wolf-born”; there would be human-born Metis and there would be wolf-born Metis, since “Metis” has nothing to do with which form you grew up in before tge First Change. Instead, the “Metis Breed” would represent an Uratha who rejected the change, and still considers himself a human or wolf, as the case may be. As such, it might make sense for it to keep Integrity instead of switching over to Harmony. Not that it's likely to keep its Integrity for long…
(Clarification: by “human-born” and “wolf-born”, I mean that you were born as, and grew up as, a human or wolf, respectively — that is, those two “Breeds” represent what your life was like before the First Change. By contrast, the “Metis Breed(s)” would represent a “fail-state” of the First Change itself.)
This splitting of “Metis” into two “Breeds” also resolves the dilemma brought about by the temporary nature of the Gauru form: there are no “Breeds” associated with that form. Instead, “human-born Metis” would default to the wolfman form, while “wolf-born Metis” would default to the “dire wolf” form.
So: four “Breeds”, corresponding to four of the five forms a werewolf can take. Two of them represent normal werewolves, two represent twisted werewolves; two of them represent werewolves who grew up as humans, two of them represent werewolves that grew up as wolves.
Thoughts?
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