Yes, after a long, long, long hiatus, I've returned to the Grimdark Parking Lot. I've no proper excuse for my lack of updates other than laziness, but, like my cat, nature abhors a vacuum. Although, to make it up, between my last post and this one, my mind has been putting a good deal of blog post ideas on the back burner so expect to see more posts than normal in the following weeks.
Alas, the muse has returned to me, so let's get drunk!
Full Sail Session Black Lager - Like most dark beers, I can smell that strong and familiar chocolate/mocha scent. It’s like opening a box of dark chocolates and taking a huge sniff . It’s surprisingly much smoother than I anticipated. It still has a bit of bitterness to it but not enough to distract from the coffee-like taste. The taste does linger on the tongue for quite a while though.
Redbridge Sorghum Beer - On the bottle, it says that this beer was made without wheat or barley and is gluten-free. I still don’t know what a gluten is but apparently a lot of people aren’t fans as I see gluten-free products everywhere. I don’t smell anything in particular when opened. Not sure if that’s a good sign or bad. It has an odd taste. Not bad, mind you, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it reminds me of. Sort of fruity with a tart taste. Overall, it goes down well though with no bad aftertaste.
(Note: This is the 230th beer I’ve tasted!)
Pedernales Classic Hefe-Weizen - This is Redbridge’s Bizarro double as it’s chockfull of wheat. It has a bit of a bread-ish smell to it upon opening. Like other hefeweizens, it has that dark wheaty taste, although, like some other wheat beers, it doesn‘t taste like liquid bread. It’s easy to drink but there is a slight bitterness when it hits your tongue.
Woodchuck Private Reserve Pink - This cider’s labeled pink not just because it looks cute but it’s for a good cause. Every purchase of this particular cider raises money for Dragonheart Vermont, a support group for cancer survivors. Right away as I open it, it smells like I walked into an orchard. Although a little tart at first, it’s quite smooth with a pleasant and sweet apple taste.
Dogfish Head Festina Peche - I’ll be honest, what first drew me to this beer was the artwork on the label: an angry, almost rabid-looking raccoon holding a peach like how Gollum holds the One Ring.
Aw, look at this little guy...
I can smell a very slight hops scent but nothing that reminded me of peaches. This one also has a tartness to it but not nearly enough of the sweetness that the Woodchuck had. It definitely has a fruitiness to it but it’s hard to pinpoint the peach flavor. Aside from the taste, it goes down easily with no aftertaste.
Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy - I can smell a strong citrus-y smell, particularly lemons. It tastes a bit sour at first when it hits your tongue but it mellows out pretty quickly for a smooth drink. Perhaps a bit too quickly as after that sourness goes away, there’s not a whole lot of flavor to go out on.
Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I’m going to have to give it to the Woodchuck Private Reserve Pink with Redbridge coming in at a close second. The sweetness of the cider really stuck with me in a good way. This is a drink I’ll be trying to get my hands on again. Plus, unlike its awesome Fall Seasonal cousin, Woodchuck Pink is available year-round!
Don’t call it a comeback ‘cause I’ve been here for years! (Or months in my case.)
I hope everyone had a fun and joyful holiday season. First things first, I apologize for the hiatus these last few months. I was recently hired for a second job at FedEx. While I’m getting more money overall, my free time has dwindled quite a bit. That and I had a bad case of procrastination (“I’ll write tomorrow”, “I’ll write on the weekend”, etc.).
With that said, hopefully I can start anew as I already have some ideas for future posts lined up. And what better way to start with a new Beer Thoughts!
These beers are courtesy of my local HEB, and by local, I mean nearly 20 minutes away from my house. Some of these are winter beers so they’re a little out of season, but thanks to old Punxsutawney Phil, I have six more weeks to enjoy them. Let’s get to it!
Drink up, Phil. You've earned it.
Saint Arnold Winter Stout - As with most stouts, it has that burnt coffee-ish, very dark chocolaty smell. It starts with a bitter taste but not enough for me to turn it down as it goes down easily with no real aftertaste. I think you’ll notice a pattern with me when it comes to these beers as when I let them sit for a while, the initial taste starts to improve. I think if it was a bit sweeter, it’d remind me of an iced coffee.
No Label Brewing Co. Ridgeback Ale - The smell reminds me of an IPA with a scent of hops but a bit sweeter. It tastes somewhat similar to the last beer but not as sweet and it does have an aftertaste that didn’t quite agree with my tongue. It’s not bad when you knock it back but when you actually let it sit in your mouth to taste it, it’s quite bitter.
Leinenkugel’s Creamy Dark - Its smell was very slight but what was there was similar to the coffee smell of the Saint Arnold’s. The Creamy Dark lives up to its name as it starts a bit bitter but has the sweetness to prevent it from taking over. It’s much smoother than the last two beers, both on the palate and going down.
Shock Top Chocolate Wheat - It seems that Shock Top likes to experiment with wheat beers as the last two I’ve tried from them being Pumpkin Wheat and Apple Wheat. Like the Pumpkin Wheat, I followed the instructions on the bottle on “how to drink it“. It has a very chocolaty smell when opened. This is the beer version of chocolate milk as it’s not bitter at all and has nothing but a sweet chocolate taste all the way down.
Jacob’s Best O’ The Bunch! - It seems I picked the dark beer collection as all the beers were similar in taste and look. However, the Shock Top Chocolate Wheat is by far the Best O’ The Bunch. It appears I picked the best for last as it really lives up to its name. I wonder if you were to warm it up European-style, would it taste like hot chocolate? I hope this is still around by Valentine’s Day as it would make a perfect drink for all those sweets.
Guten Tag, my faithful readers. It’s October and you know what that means: Oktoberfest! And you know what Oktoberfest means: Beer!
Lucky Germans...
It’ll be a quick post today as I only have four beers to try courtesy of World Market. Although I have no German beers to sample, I’m curious about ones I do have. Particularly, as two of them are fall seasonal beers. I don’t know about you but Autumn beers tend to taste particularly well in my book.
As the Germans say, Prost!
Kona Brewing Co. Fire Rock Pale Ale - Although the hops scent is strong with this one, I also smell a sweet fruity smell as well. It has a bitter taste when it hit my tongue. The aftertaste is not too bad though as it has an almost coffee-like flavor overall. As I go along, either I’m getting used to the taste or it’s losing its bitterness as it sits.
Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat - The cinnamon-y smell hits your nose quickly upon opening. Unlike how I usually drink my beers (pop the cap, drink), I actually followed the instructions on the side of the bottom to pour the beer in a glass until ½ inch remains, swish the remains around for a bit then pour into the glass to “release the flavor”. The spices (cinnamon in particular) in the beer give it a real sweet flavor as it goes down quite smooth.
Harpoon Brewery UFO Pumpkin - As the name suggests, it has that spiced pumpkin smell to it, reminiscent of a pumpkin pie. Although I was expecting a little more of a spiced kick to it, the taste is overall smooth with only a slight spiced flavoring. I do like the label design, very appropriate for the season.
Lucky Drink Co. Lucky Buddha - I gotta be honest, this is probably my favorite bottle design ever. It’d be one thing if they had Buddha on the label but the entire bottle is shaped like Buddha! Although the beer is brewed in China, the smell reminds me of a Corona or any Mexican beer for that matter. The beer goes down quite smooth, but it really reminds me of a Corona in taste as well. There is a slight fruitiness I detect, but just barely.
Jacob’s Best O’ The Bunch! - Although Lucky Buddha’s bottle design is the best in this bunch (and all the others before it), in terms of actual beer, I have to give it to the Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat. The sweet taste and smell might make it an autumn staple for me alongside Buffalo Bill’s Brewery Pumpkin Ale and Woodchuck Fall Cider.
This is a whammy of a Beer Thoughts post as I have nine beers to review, all of them from either HEB or HEB Plus. Ranging from “I’ve been longing to try this beer” to “This beer sounds so fucked up, I have to try it”, these brews are a motley bunch. Without further ado, let’s boldly go where I’ve never gone before(Taste-wise that is).
Goose Island Honker’s Ale - Dedicated to my friend, Anthony “Goose Man” Guzman, I try these first two beers. When opened, it has a dark, but not too overpowering hops smell. The taste is actually quite smooth and much sweeter than I anticipated for it being labeled a “bitter”.
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale - As the name suggests, it has a slight wheaty smell when sniffed. Very smooth taste with a bit of both fruit and wheat flavoring to it. A fine companion beer to the Honker’s Ale.
El Hefe Weizen (No Label Brewing Co.) - The smell is like a stronger version of the Urban Wheat Ale, almost similar to cooked wheat. The flavor of this beer has a very wheat taste but overall, goes down smooth. It does have a very slight aftertaste, but not enough to detract it.
Rahr & Sons Texas Red - It has a “dark” but kind of sweet smell, if that makes any sense, like burnt caramel. Although, there is an aftertaste, its taste reminds me of mocha and is quite delectable to my palate. It reminds almost like a light version of Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin: Same type of taste but weaker flavor than the Hobgoblin.
Woodchuck Summer Cider - Brewed with blueberries, this apple cider has a sweet but tart smell. The blueberries don’t stop at the smell as it has a strong blended flavor of both fruits, making it very sweet and refreshing to boot, something I don’t get with most alcoholic drinks.
Flying Dog UnderDog Atlantic Lager - It doesn’t really have a very particular smell aside from a light hops scent. I can taste the hops, but rather than give the beer a bitterness, it has a slight fruit flavoring, making it a bit sweeter than expected.
Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout - Remember the beer I said was “so fucked up I have to try it”? This is that beer. Brewed with actual oysters, this is defiantly one of, if not the strangest beer I’ve ever seen or tried. It doesn’t smell like seafood, more like a strong coffee smell. It tastes rather like an ordinary stout, dark and slightly bitter. However, there is a slight sweet aftertaste, but nothing that tastes of oysters. Bit of a disappointment as I thought this would be the beer you could dare someone to drink.
Third Shift Amber Lager (Band of Brewers Co.) - Smells a bit sweet, but reminds me of Miller, Bud, etc. (your usual domestic beers) It’s slightly sweet but altogether, reminds me of Budweiser. It’s very smooth to drink, though.
Lobo (Pedernales Brewing Co.) - This beer has a strong dark, almost fruity smell. It has a citrusy taste, but like its smell, it’s a little bitter. It goes down smooth though with no distinct aftertaste. Again, like Third Shift, it reminds me of the more standard domestic beers.
Jacob’s Best O’ The Bunch! - I‘m not sure to label this a tie, but of the actual beers, I have to give it to Goose Island Honker’s Ale. I really should remember the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” as just because the beer is labeled a “bitter” doesn’t mean it will be bitter. I was quite surprised at its pleasant taste and will definitely be looking for this one again. It wasn’t technically a beer, but I have to give this brew props as my other pick for Best O’ The Bunch is Woodchuck Summer Cider. Like I said before, I don’t usually have my thirst quenched with beer, but this one was very refreshing and would be great to drink on a hot summer day. Get it while you can before Summer leaves us for another year.
Long time no see! Sorry for the lack of updates but with real life (and lack of motivation :P) wanting to jump me at every turn, it’s been hard trying to put up a post recently.
But the show must go on! With nothing but a six-pack from the dark heart of World Market at hand, a keyboard in front of me and a song in my heart, allons-y!
Victory Prima Pils - It has a peppery hops smell to it when opened. Slightly bitter at first taste but goes down smooth. Strange that when I let sit in my mouth to taste it, it has a strong aftertaste but when I drink it normally, it doesn’t taste as bad.
Alaskan IPA - Has the same smell as the Prima Pils but more mild. Very smooth taste with a bit of a hoppy kick. (Holy crap, this is a huge milestone as this is the 200th beer I’ve tried! )
Left Hand Brewing Co. Sawtooth Ale - It smells a bit like mocha, sweet but dark. Tastes quite smooth to the taste buds. It still has a bit of a mocha taste but it’s not overpowering enough to distract the overall smoothness of the beer.
Deschutes Brewery Twilight Summer Ale - Has a very slight hops smell, I had to really put my nose to it in order to smell it. It has a pleasant taste with a fruity smooth flavor. Like the smell, it has a very slight aftertaste as well.
Baja Brewing Co. Cabotella - Despite being a Mexican beer, it doesn’t have the skunky smell that comes with cerevezas, more of a domestic beer smell you get with Miller or Budweiser. Although it has a light aftertaste, it’s goes down quite easy with a mild flavor.
Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale - Surprisingly, this one does have the skunky smell I expected with the Cabotella. However, it smells more sweeter than a Corona does. The agave really stands out in the flavor as it gives a uniquely sweet taste to the beer.
Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I’m going to have to let Sawtooth Ale take the award as I was really fond of the dark mocha flavor it had over the others. It had the right balance of flavor that went beyond my expectations. But the Agave Nectar Ale and Alaskan IPA both take a close second as they both had a unique taste I never tried before with other beers.
Or I could just tell you about these new beers I found. Yes, I’ve returned with a new make-your-own six-pack. However, these beers are courtesy of Liquid Town, a liquor store with multiple locations across Corpus Christi. I felt like a kid at a candy store as they had a very diverse selection to choose from. I’m definitely going back for another six pack as this one’s only a fraction of a taste of what they were selling. ¡Vamanos! ¡A la embriaguez!
Alaskan Freeride APA - Has a sweet fruity smell to it and can also smell the hops in it as well. Despite smell, it has only a slight hoppy taste and, for the most part, is quite smooth with a bit of a fruity aftertaste. As I’ve said before, I normally don’t care for pale ales but this particular brew is an American Pale Ale (Most pale ales I’ve tried before were Indian Pale Ales) and tasted much more palatable to me.
Red Hook Copper Hook - Doesn’t have a very distinct smell at all. Has a strong bitter taste at first but a relatively smooth aftertaste. After drinking awhile, it gets less bitter and descends into a more smooth taste all around.
New Belgium Dig Pale Ale - I can smell a faint but sweet citrus scent after opening. A very mild bitterness when it first hits your tongue but you can definitely taste the fruitiness as it goes down. Strange that I find not one, but two pale ales that aren’t bad at all with this six-pack. (Either that or I’m just getting more and more used to pale ales)
Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale - It has a light pleasant smell and a sweet taste that’s hard to pinpoint at first. After a few gulps, it tastes sort of lemony to me or at least a citrus flavor that I detect.
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. Hefeweizen - It has a burnt wheaty smell that reminds me of bread. The smell carries on to the taste buds with a “burnt” sort of taste, if that makes any sense. But, overall is quite smooth from start to finish.
Cerveza Caguama - Has the same skunky smell that most South-of-the-Border beers have like Corona or Landshark. I was expecting an aftertaste but it’s very smooth and goes down quite easy.
Jacob’s Best O’ The Bunch! - Not since Christmastime has there been a tie, but I’m going to go with both Alaskan Freeride APA and Cerveza Caguama. I swear, Alaskan Brewery can do no wrong with me as every beer I’ve tried with them, I’ve enjoyed thoroughly. Gordon Biersch Hefeweisen came as a very close third contender but Caguama beat it out by having a more smoother taste.
With Iron Man 3 fast approaching, everyone’s getting into an Iron Man craze. New toys are on the shelves, Marvel’s putting ads for it on every other page in their comics and an anime movie starring the armored hero went on sale entitled Iron Man: Rise of Technovore.
The movie is a continuation of Marvel Anime, a joint project between Marvel Comics and Japanese animation studio, Madhouse, responsible for beloved animes such as Death Note, Trigun and Ninja Scroll amongst others. They even did two of the segments in Batman: Gotham Knight (specifically, my two favorites, the Scarecrow and Deadshot segments).
In this project, they did four short anime series based on Marvel characters: Iron Man, Wolverine, Blade, and X-Men. The reaction has been sort of…mixed, to say the least, to all of them. But sales were apparently good enough to warrant a full-length anime movie starring Iron Man.
Iron Man A.K.A. Tony Stark has just built a new satellite named “HOWARD”, after his father, which will be able to connect with any satellite and computer system in the world making an effective anti-terror monitoring system. However, before the launch, the site is attacked by a new villain called the Technovore. He also wears a suit of armor but unlike Tony’s, his is a liquid metal that he can control with his thoughts. Unfortunately, Tony’s long time friend, James Rhodes A.K.A. War Machine is presumed dead in the aftermath.
S.H.I.E.L.D., specifically its director, Nick Fury, is suspicious of Tony’s involvement in the attack and brings him in for questioning. When Tony refuses and escapes, he sends S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best agents, Black Widow and Hawkeye, to bring him in.
Along the way, Tony seeks out the Punisher, who happens to be in the area and has extensive knowledge of the criminal underworld, on who the Technovore is and how to stop him.
While the movie is beautifully animated, hand-drawn this time unlike the earlier Iron Man anime which had a CGI Iron Man suit, the story’s kind of confusing, particularly the villain’s motives. At one point, he wants to “liberate humanity”, then later on, he wants to destroy humanity. While I don’t want to reveal who the villain really is, he’s actually a very prominent bad guy in Iron Man’s rouges gallery. But his appearance and characterization are so utterly different, he might as well be a brand new bad guy.
I only heard the English voice cast, but only a few actors really stood out for me. While Matthew Mercer was all right as Iron Man, my favorites were Norman Reedus as the Punisher and Clare Grant as Black Widow. Grant actually sounded very close to Scarlet Johansson who played Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. While Reedus, who most people know as Daryl from AMC’s The Walking Dead but I know him best as Scud from Blade 2 and Murphy McManus from The Boondock Saints, does a surprisingly good job as Punisher. I was afraid he would sound too teenager-ish, but his voice was just right for the brooding anti-hero.
Also, the one thing that really bugged me was that they never really explained what was the deal with Technovore’s suit. (MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!) While Tony ponders that it might be some form of nanotechnology, he dismisses it as seeing that it’s “too simple” of an explanation. But it’s clear from a few scenes that the suit has a mind of its own either from a very advanced A.I. or, my personal theory, some sort of alien technology. Either way, they never explain why it lashes out at its owner from time to time.
My reaction to this movie is, well, “meh”. It’s not horrible, the fights scenes are cool to watch, plus the idea of Iron Man teaming up with Punisher was an interesting idea I’d never seen before but the way the story flows is weird. It’ll be intense action at one scene then weird somber reflections of humanity the next. You know you’re watching an anime when there’s those long moments of no dialogue or action and all you hear is just ambiance in the background.
Also, I’m still upset this movie and the Iron Man anime were not THIS.
This was the teaser when they made the announcement that Marvel had teamed up with Madhouse and were going to create an Iron Man anime. I don’t even know what’s going on in this scene but nothing of that epicness happens in either Iron Man features.
Iron Man: Rise of Technovore’s definitely worth a watch but buy it only if you really love seeing Iron Man in action. (I do :P)
Hey, sorry about the lack of updates. Work’s been keeping me busy since last week and I was under the weather the week before that. But now, I return and have brought back a bounty of new beers with me from World Market!
Onwards, Lads and Lasses! To inebriety!
Tona - This beer from Nicaragua hast the typical “cerveza” smell and taste like Corona or Modelo with a slightly more darker taste akin to an English dark ale. Pretty good since I’m a fan of beers south of the border.
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA - It has a spicy hop smell when opened. Very strong hoppy taste at first but seems to lessen when left sitting. It has a bitter aftertaste, though.
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier - Although it looks like I smashed my fingers on the keyboard, this beer (and long name) is from Germany. Has a smoky kind of smell to it. I’m not sure why but its taste reminds me of BBQ at first. Taste becomes smoother and less “BBQ-y” as it sits. (Fun Fact: According to the bottle and website, Weihenstephaner is the world’s oldest brewery, founded in 1040 A.D.)
Shiner Premium Beer - A wheat-y smell to it when first opened, very pleasant. Very smooth taste with no aftertaste. Though to be truthful, it doesn’t taste particularly different from a regular Shiner Bock. (After some research, I've found out that this is merely the new name for Shiner Blonde. Deceived again!)
Milk Stout Nitro - It has a rich mocha scent, very much like coffee. Smooth at first but the coffee taste kicks in strongly after. While it does have a bit of a bitter aftertaste, it’s not too overpowering. I’m not sure if it was letting it sit or my mouth got used to the taste but it tasted more smoother and less bitter after a while. (Another milestone, this is the 190th beer I’ve tried!)
Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat - Very sweet apple scent when opened, probably one of the more pleasant smelling beers I’ve encountered. Tastes very similar to a hard cider and smooth all the way down with nearly no aftertaste at all.
Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I’ll admit I was a bit biased with this lot but it’ll have to go to the Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat. I had been looking forward to this one ever since I first saw it and, boy, it didn’t disappoint. It had exactly the right amount of sweetness I was expecting with this flavor. Even if one isn’t a beer drinker, I’d imagine you could pick this beer up without any trouble to your taste buds.
(Finally, here's Part 2 of my Werewolf posts. I suggest reading them both back to back so you can better compare them. Here's the link for the last Werewolf post.)
While Werewolf: The Apocalypse ended along with the original World of Darkness (or Classic depending on who you ask) line, the monsters wouldn’t be down for long as in 2004, White Wolf Games came back with a new, rebooted version of the World of Darkness.
Gone is the “Gothic-Punk atmosphere, settling with a world more closer to ours albeit with monsters lurking in the shadows. One of the biggest changes between gamelines is that all games share the same rules and mechanics. In the Old World of Darkness, every game had their own rules and style of playing. Not so in the New World of Darkness. All you need to play is the WoD corebook and whatever game (i.e. supernatural beings) you want to play as.
Overall, the gamelines so far are:
The World of Darkness (This is the book you need to play the others)
Vampire: The Requiem
Werewolf: The Forsaken
Mage: The Awakening
Promethean: The Created
Changeling: The Lost
Hunter: The Vigil
Geist: The Sin-Eaters
Mummy: The Curse
(An untitled Demon game has been announced)
Another key difference between the Old and New WoD is that humans are much more playable in the New. In the OWoD (except for Hunters who still have supernatural powers to combat monsters), humans were pretty much cannon fodder and wouldn’t have stood a chance against the other more powerful beings. The World of Darkness, however, lets you play as an average human who slowly discovers the mysterious world around him or her. The game also supplies ways to fight back such as magical objects for example.
As with all the gamelines, Werewolf: The Apocalypse was rebooted into Werewolf: The Forsaken. Here, you play as a werewolf called a Uratha, one of the half-human, half-wolf spirit offspring of Father Wolf, formerly the most powerful hunter spirit and Luna, Spirit of the Moon.
Their backstory was that the world was once Pangaea, when the Spirit World and the Mortal World were one and the same. Father Wolf was the spirit in charge of maintaining the peace between spirits and humans. After a time, the Uratha, seeing that Father Wolf was growing old and weak, attacked and killed their father. After his death, a barrier called the Gauntlet rose between the worlds, making it near impossible for humans to travel to the Spirit World and vise versa. In maddened anguish, Luna curse her children so her sacred metal, Silver, would kill them. Having fallen from grace, Father wolf’s killers were called by the denizens of the Spirit World “he Forsaken“. Ever since then, the Forsaken have taken their father’s place in protecting the mortal world from malevolent spirits that manage to break through the barrier.
While the Uratha don’t have much mortal oppostion, the Spirit World provides plenty of enemies out for the werewolves’ blood. One of the three major enemy groups is actually other werewolves. Of the eight first children of Father Wolf, only five actually rose up and killed him. Vowing vengeance against their father’s death, the other three and their descendents called themselves the Pure, plotting against and slaying any forsaken they come across.
Another group of rouge werewolves, neither with the Forsaken or the Pure, called the Bale Hounds also terrorize all in their way as they serve spirits of pure evil whose agenda is unknown other than to spread chaos and corruption.
While the Forsaken have to be on the watch for any spirit that breaches the Gauntlet (as they could possess an unassuming human similar to Werewolf: The Apocalypse’s fomori), there are two groups of spirits named the Hosts that are a particular pain in the ass.
Once they were two of Father Wolf’s foes, the Spinner-Hag and the Plague King. Rather than die at Father Wolf’s fangs, they both escaped by breaking down into thousands of pieces, embedding themselves into the bodies of spiders and rats in the Mortal World.
The Azlu, the spider pieces of Spinner-Hag and the Beshilu, the rat pieces of the Plauge King both grow bigger and stronger by devouring others of their kind. When they get big enough, they kill a human, skin them, and wear the skin like a suit so they can blend into human society kinda like Edgar in Men in Black.
However, despite their similar origins, the Azlu and Beshilu have very different goals. The Azlu spin webs near the Gauntlet, making it stronger and harder to get to the Spirit World. Meanwhile, the Beshilu gnaw away at the Gauntlet making it easier for spirits to slip through.
So as, you can see, the Forsaken have their work cut out for them. And that’s just their own enemies. There’s also all the other denizens of the World of Darkness to worry about.
As for the stars of the game, the Forsaken are very similar to the Garou of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. They still have the same five forms to transform to and the same auspice positions. The names are different though. Like the word “Uratha”, they’re in the First Tongue, the ancient language of Pangaea.
For reference, here’s the forms and auspices side by side:
Ragabash Irraka
Theruge Ithaeur
Philodox Elodoth
Galliard Cahalith
Ahroun Rahu
There are differences though between the Garou and Uratha. Namely, their relationship with the Spirit World. While the Garou were friendly with most spirits (except Wyrm-spirits), the Uratha’s relationship, at best, would be called hostile. Due to killing Father Wolf, most spirits fear or outright hate the Forsaken. While they can still have powers from spirit-gifts, the Forsaken really have to cajole a spirit to teach him or her a gift.
Also, all Uratha start out as humans and there’s no longer any wolf-born werewolves or deformed Metis offspring. Taking the Metis’s place, though, is the Unihar or “Ghost-Child”. Because of their spiritual nature, when Uratha mate, they give birth to a spirit that retreats into the Spirit World. However, what makes them particularly scary is that none of the Uratha powers work on them.
Now, like the last post, we move onto my favorite part: the Tribes. The big difference between the Tribes in both games is the number. While Werewolf: The Apocalypse had 13 tribes, Werewolf: The Forsaken only has 5, plus one grouping of werewolves I’ll talk about in a bit. Another minor difference is that none of the Forsaken Tribes are of any ethnic group or nationality like the Garou tribes so you can find any tribe member anywhere in the world. Plus, you can join any tribe you please, no longer restricted by bloodline.
Rather than a random spirit as a totem, the Forsaken follow one of the Firstborn, Father Wolf’s first children before the Uratha and powerful Wolf Spirits in their own rights.
The Five tribes are:
Blood Talons - The fierce warriors of the Uratha, they take pride in their combat skills and only accept the strongest and toughest werewolves amongst their ranks. Their totem is Destroyer Wolf, the most aggressive of the Firstborn and might have been the inspiration for Fenris, the giant wolf from Norse mythology.
Bone Shadows - Mysterious and curious, the Bone Shadows dedicate themselves to finding out the secrets of both the Mortal World and the Spirit World, passing them on to their brothers and sisters. The Bone Shadows follow Death Wolf, the Firstborn that has been to the realm of the dead and returned with its secrets.
Hunters in Darkness - In tune with nature, the Hunters in Darkness feel more comfortable in the wild with wolves. Most rejecting human society, these werewolves take upon themselves to stop humans from despoiling nature. Black Wolf is their totem, the most primal of the firstborn and protector of wolves.
Iron Masters - Opposite of the Hunters in Darkness, the Iron Masters are more comfortable in the cities, blending in the hustle and bustle of the urban environment. They make sure to keep up with Man’s progress lest they fall prey to more and more advance technology. They follow Red Wolf, the Firstborn with the best adaptation skills, capable of blending in any environment or situation.
Storm Lords - With the best leadership skills, the Storm Lords try their best to guide all Uratha. Restoring Pangaea is their ultimate goal as they feel that the Uratha need to return to their place as the apex predators they once were. The Storm Lords follow Winter Wolf, a harsh but strong Firstborn who despises weakness either in combat or politics.
If none of these Tribes appeal to you, there is one group of werewolves that don’t belong to any tribe, both Forsaken or Pure.
Ghost Wolves - Kicked out of a Tribe, leaving a Tribe or not choosing to be with a Tribe at all, the Ghost Wolves are the true lone wolves of the Uratha. They follow no tribal totem as a result. That being said, the other Forsaken will gladly take them as allies, better they be with them rather than the Pure or Bale Hounds.
If the Tribes don’t seem diverse enough for you, there are always Lodges to join. Lodges are subgroups of the Forsaken Tribes, following a particular ideal or goal, whether it be preserving a local culture or studying a type of spirit. There are too many Lodges from the gameline to list here but you are free to create your own Lodge if you don‘t find one that interests you.
Now onto my thoughts in general about this game. I read the book for Werewolf: The Forsaken not long after I finished the book for Werewolf: The Apocalypse and the one thing I noticed right off the bat that really set these two apart was the tone. Gone was the environmental message and righteous fury of the old game and was replaced with a game that focused more on being a predator, more in tune with the wolf aspect of being a werewolf, rather than maintaining a balance between the two (although that’s still important). Rather, W:tF wants you to play as a wolf in human’s clothing rather than the other way around.
Another big difference between the games is that it’s not so black and white as W:tA. In W:tA, it’s clear that the Garou are the good guys (albeit violent ones) and the forces of the Wyrm are clearly evil. Here, the antagonists aren’t quite that bad. The Pure are acting out of revenge for Father Wolf’s death and are trying to restore the world back to Pangaea much like the Storm Lords. Hell, even the Hosts are acting more out of instinct rather than any real malevolent goal. Not the Bale Hounds, though. They’re just assholes.
Now that I think about it, you could sum up the relations between all these factions with this inspiring little speech from Team America: World Police with the Forsaken and Pure being dicks, Hosts and spirits being pussies and the Bale Hounds and evil spirits being assholes.
One thing I hadn’t mentioned is an aspect of the game, even the New World of Darkness in general I particularly enjoy: the customization. See all the info I just dumped on you about Werewolf: The Forsaken? You’re more encouraged to pick and alter any element of the game as you see fit. While in Werewolf: The Apocalypse, you can alter some rules but they wanted you to more or less to follow what was written down. But in this game? Feeling too surrounded and want to take an enemy group out of the game? You got it! Want to limit how and when the werewolves transform? Go ahead! Feeling really ambitious and want to change the origin of the Uratha? Go for it! That last one alone really blew my mind as even suggesting that the Garou might have a different creation story would have gotten you exiled, if not outright killed.
In conclusion, Both Werewolf: The Forsaken and Werewolf: The Apocalypse have been a source of inspiration and fun reading for me these past few years. Seeing my favorite monster getting the spotlight has been a great source of joy for me. If you feel like getting these books, especially since getting them outside of Gaming stores is quite hard as of late, you can get them all at DriveThruRPG.com in both PDF and physical copies. I’m also pleased to announced that White Wolf Games with help from Onyx Path have just released a special 20th anniversary edition of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. You can be sure I’ll be trying to get my hands on that. When I do, I’ll let you know what I think.
But enough from me, reading these two posts back to back, which Werewolf game do you prefer? Also, what type of werewolf would you be, with your choices of tribe, auspice and other selections?
