Assembly Area

Soooo, yep, I generally don't allow players play Lupus Garou in my games. Metis is the most I'm willing to allow experienced players play, but not inexperienced players. Why? Well for Metis characters, player must have experience in the game mechanics and background to play them correctly. They must know how the Garou society works, it's innuendo, it's structure and how the Caern works. They HAVE been raised in one. It's hard and time consuming to interrupt a session to explain how, what, who to a new player. And it will slow down the game pace to do it, so I normally (but not always, if the player shows dedication and willingness to learn outside the gaming sessions) do not allow Metis characters to new players. Lupus on the other hand... Is strictly forbidden unless you can prove me otherwise that you know. It's hard. I've always had a deep understanding of the woods. Heck I even go out to the woods in new moons or full moons and let me say that it's darn scary at the beginning. Until you get used to how to hear and see in the dark. (And no, I do not see in the dark now. No special powers.) I'm trying to teach all this to my daughter (she's 14) but she's not really inclined to learn and the woods are scary at night. And it's even harder to explain how the world feels to those who have never experienced it. It's a type of connection that is lost to us. You have to focus on ALL your senses at once, at the same time, you must ignore most fears your own brain conjures because you do not have the experience of what you're sensing. It's like when you're listening to an entire orchestra playing and you focus on all the instruments. It's easy to pick one at the time, but trying to pick all individually AND listen to the entire composition takes time and effort. It takes experience. It's a sense of awareness that takes practice to achieve. Some are more inclined than others to have this disposition but it still takes time. And that is only the perception and awareness. Wolves are not Feral Dogs. As it's a total different mindset that would distinguish us between a modern city human from a primitive islander in Malaysia. And this background is different in every aspect. You must be aware of every subtle difference around you, and you're NOT STUPID. You might not know the "How" something works, but you understand it's purpose quite fast. Quick learning is an evolutionary advantage that many animals share, especially those that learn from mimicking others. Wolves are not different. Cause and effect are understood pretty fast. Planning and reasoning are grayer areas if planning is more than the practical use of the issue. Planning is done on factual things and not about "monkey issues". It takes years to teach a child to organize it's day or responsibilities for its future growth, immagine teaching a cub on something less evident than "present". And this is not to make the mistake to think wolves do not plan. They do. A lot. I could go on and listing how wolves think, how different is from dogs and us, but then again, there's a very good book that can show you the ropes. "Changing ways" What do you think? Do you allow Lupus players? How do your players play them?