<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

The second of White Wolf Game Studio’s World of Darkness Games, Werewolf: The Apocalypse introduced the Garou, a new take on the mythological werewolf. Where Vampire: The Masquerade introduced themes of violence and sexuality into the realm of role-playing games, Werewolf explored themes of activism and the use of violence to achieve ostensibly noble ends. Unlike literary and cinematic portrayals of werewolves as mindless predators, the Garou were a dying race locked in a doomed struggle against the forces of civilization and corruption. Originally created to maintain the balance of forces within creation, the Garou had failed in their duty and now fought to stem the Earth’s inexorable march towards an all-consuming apocalypse. This struggle most often brought the Garou into conflict with mankind, whose efforts to strip-mine and exploit Earth’s resources hastened the end of the world. As the Garou watch the natural world eaten away by clear-cutting and toxic pollution the pressure mounts to take action before it’s too late. The Garou are a warrior race, predators without peer, but in the modern age mankind possesses tools and numbers to level the playing field against them. In ancient times the Garou held humanity in check with a reign of violence and terror, but that is no longer an option. The only real hope for Earth is to change mankind’s destructive ways, but can the warlike Garou see past their ancient hatred and the short term solutions of violence and murder to create real change before it’s too late?

Of all the World of Darkness games, Werewolf: The Apocalypse generated some controversy as a game that glorified violence, which is understandable given that the central theme of the game revolved around the lure of violence and extremism. The game’s themes of stewardship and activism were largely ignored in favor of apocalyptic fatalism. Despite this, the game remained highly popular until its demise in 2004 along with the other World of Darkness games. A completely revised game titled Werewolf: The Forsaken was released in 2005 that did away with the apocalyptic themes of its predecessor in favor of a tighter focus on werewolves as guardians of the balance between the spiritual and physical realms.