(I apologize about the format of this entry, for some reason Wordpress is not letting me change the color of the font or it’s layout without breaking the entry.)

First, take in the above photo. Lets check the CRITERIA OF COOL SHIT to see where it falls on there:

• Werewolves fighting Vampires? Check! (Bonus for not being Twilight)
• Pyramids in the background with a full moon? Check!
• Half serpent vampire coming up to a werewolf with Egyptian paraphernalia? Check!

In short, this picture is indeed, in layman’s terms, Cool Shit.This picture comes from Werewolf: the Apocalypse, an “RPG of Savage Horror” from White Wolf Publishing. It’s was published in the 90s after the release of Vampire: the Masquerade and featured tribes of Werewolves fighting the demonic hosts of the Wyrm and the Weaver in a never ending battle doomed to end in fire. In other words, you get to be a werewolf that wields three foot blades of fury.

Also, some Werewolves use big ass silver swords in addition to their claws. But Why am I bringing up Werewolf: the Apocalypse? Why would I bring up the game people love to hate or tend to love too much? Cause I really God damn miss it. W:tA was one of the first RPGs I ever played.

My best friend picked up the book at the local comic shop and he was the first to become obsessed with it. We were sitting around the gaming table one night when he tried to introduce us to something new. I believe the pitch went something like this…

Him: Hey, you guys want to play Werewolf: the Apocalypse?Us: I dunno, that sounds dumb. What sort of werewolf can I play?Him: Dude, you can play as a WEREWOLF.Us:…..can I play a werecat instead? Or a wereshark?Him: I don’t have the books for those, but you can play as a Wendigo or a stealthy kungfu warrior.Us: SOLD!He ran our first game but I soon took over and ran a game for three years. I ran a game for almost the entirety of high school, and had three separate chronicles. It was one of the first games I ever ran and it gave me some of the best memories. I still miss those guys as well.

Was it a perfect setting? Not really. I think what drew me most to it was that it reminded me of a lot of movies I watched when I was a teenager. It was a game that reflected the 90s in a sense; you could play werewolves with long pony tails or dreadlocks who wielded overly long swords that cut muscular demon princes in half. It’s setting reflected some of the weird existentialism that the 90s seemed to offer.  You traversed the Umbra, a great shadowy realm where echos of fallen cities sat alongside pocket dimensions full of winged bird creatures. It was almost a superhero game when you think about it. At the drop of a hat you could turn into a giant muscular killing machine that fought guys who belched hellfire and were covered in scales.

The game also had an interesting metaplot. The game’s story revolved around the werewolves (or Garou) being the chosen warriors of Gaia. You fought against the forces of the Wyrm and tried to preserve the natural balance while asserting dominance. Each book added something new to the metaplot, such as when Sam Haight and Blacktooth first appeared as big menacing foes that threatened to turn the world on it’s heel to their eventual defeat. BTW, kudos to the WW staff for working with the players and leaving Blacktooth’s downfall something that could be worked into a campaign.

Back then I thought all of this was cool and I admit, part of me still does. What part of giant sword wielding werewolf doesn’t sound cool? But certain other aspects are dated, and no longer appeal to me. The complicated storyline was full of plot holes unless you could afford each and every book and at times it took turns that didn’t appeal to me. Villains were introduced that just seemed to be world enders and yet they were hard to work into the average campaign. Finally, the “We must all work together for Gaia” storyline locked players in. While intertribal conflicts could still occur it still became a game of “Gaia is the world, you must fight monsters until you die, and believing anything different is just impossible.”

Still, I’m nostalgic for the way things were. I even admit I liked the game. I reread the old Tribebooks and smile when I remember some random tidbit I forgot about the setting. I still have my favorite Tribes and wonder which was cooler, a Shadowlord Philodox or a Ratkin Twitcher.

For all it’s faults the game was entertaining and I remember when my players cheered and high fived each other when they defeated Alzagor and drove his spirit from Earth, when they actually showed fear when the Scottish Get of Fenris King Sweet Tooth declared war on them, or their intrigue into the mystery of the Spirit Shards of Charon. Good memories, good memories indeed.  

In Other News…

Chuck Wendig has a good point about movie theaters.   Movie theaters sound like the place where you can go spend an evening watching a movie on an enormous screen in comfort and with great food to eat. The reality is as different as night and day.

I live on the Eastside of Indy, where going to see a movie in a crowded theater is literally more a pain in the ass. Besides the seats which frequently give you a pain in the ass because they’re cut up or worn down, it’s really hard to enjoy a movie when the audience is talking amongst itself. I live five minutes from the Washington Square Theater but my main issue with seeing a new movie there is the noise. Seriously, the fucking noise.

You know the signs that say to turn off your cell phones, to talk amongst yourselves in a soft voice, and to be considerate of others? They do not apply there. When I went to see the Wolfman, an old woman kept talking loudly to people who called her on her cell phone. A mother brought her three young children who started screaming in fear during the trailers before the movie. While we sat off on our own in the theater a trio of men sat behind us reeking of cigarettes and between spilling their sodas down the aisle on our feet, talking over the movie so that they could hear each other, and laughing inappropriately during the film.

“But that’s just one movie,” you might say. “You should not judge a theater by one bad experience!” Unfortunately, I”ve had too many movies where I’ve had to deal with crap. Push, Avatar, one of the Star Trek showings, etc.

Do I go to some other side of town? Will that let me escape the noisy theater goers here on the Eastside? No! Unfortunately, I’ve had the same experience everywhere else. Watching Push while I had a head cold at the theater downtown was a treat when the rowdy group of teens in the back started a food fight. Driving all the way to the theater in Castleton was nice when all the reasonable movie times for when I wanted to see Avatar were sold out. And I won’t even go into detail about the time I tried to see a movie and the woman at the concessions stand decided to get on her soapbox and complain about my “Free Comic Book Day” t-shirt (a noble cause worth arguing against if there ever was one. Or not.)

I like going to Landmark out in Keystone but the problem is the price, the drive, and the fact that few people want to go with me. It’s a small but really nice independent theater that has the luxury of having a bar inside the theater so you can enjoy a drink when you watch a film. It lacks the convenience of other theaters however and I’m not convinced I won’t run into a bad time there at some point in the future.

Will I still see movies at theaters? Yeah. I love seeing them so much. I like going with friends to see the latest release even if the audience gets loud. I’ve had some really good experiences as well, especially if I can go really early on a weekday to see a film or if I wait until the movie is at the end of its run. I just hate how for something that should be considered a luxury usually turns out to be a pain in the ass. It’s a $9 ticket to mediocrity, with $15 of stale or poor food added on top. 

This Just In…

Gen Con is upon us. In two weeks I will be attending the Geekiest Place on Earth, here in my hometown of Indianapolis. Gen Con is one of the largest gaming conventions in the US and for 5 days I’ll be hanging out with fellow geeks, playing the latest in RPGs and video games, and relaxing with my friends. Is anyone else going? What are you looking forward to this year?