See, I don't see that from Werewolf. The Werewolf I see has little option but to "be a Werewolf, oh and you can do some other things". The way Changeling is written and presented the option is "to be a person, oh and you're also a mental rape victim with the possibility of magic powers". The focus of the rules and the theme tell us these things, which is why I started this thread.
I see nothing about this in Werewolf to insult, but to explain what it seems to be. I have found nothing in any of the nWerewolf books to say:
regular dude/dudette who has some bizarre part-time obligations
Nothing. Not even the core book, which I believe is the only book that should really matter.
I don't mean this as a bad thing, but as simply how it is. I've also said (perhaps repeatedly? this discussion feels like it's gotten circular more than once) that if you want to not engage the primary theme and setting of a game, go for it, but that you're not really playing that game unless you're using it as the exception to prove the rule.
My brain has tangented from the concept of the "toolkit". I recall when WoD 2.0 (sigh, the original "official" name of the nWoD set) came out, the goal was to let each table create their own game. The stigma of the metaplot was huge and each table was supposed to be its own world with its own conditions and social politics and so forth.
I buy that. I do. I was excited about it back then. But a few things happened.
First: White Wolf's business model relies on pushing out books at a certain rate. This is probably true of all full-time RPG companies. What I saw filling the books reversed this promise. X-Axis group is A, B, and C.
"Toolkit", I would counter myself by saying. Well, yeah, but no, Armory was a toolkit. Spelling out the history of a bloodline from day 1 and who's currently leading it and so forth ... is not. It's deep, and it's entertaining, and it fills the pages, but it takes the butterfly of freedom that toolkits are meant to be about and pins it down.
"Father Wolf" is not a toolkit element, but honestly I don't mind because it answers the "what is a Werewolf" question. A toolkit that's too open is not useful, and I've complained about Changeling similarly.
Secondly: Take the above and throw about 50 strangers into the mix. Someone above mentioned it, but you can't really afford to explain every detail of what the game is about if the books didn't already say it.
I mean, we're back and forth enough about it that I'd be tempted to say that Werewolf is about ... nothing. When Basic D&D, the blue box, can be more certain about what it's about than the fifth version of a single game line, that's horrible.
(Werewolf, Werewolf 2nd Ed, Werewolf Revised, Werewolf 2.0, Werewolf Chronicles.)
And sure, it's a bonus, too. Part of the draw of Changeling is that it's not about anything, but it's also it's largest weakness. A Werewolf can say, "Hey, let's go fuck up some spirits, because that's one of the things that gets us power and power's awesome." What can a Changeling say? "Hey, you want to go fuck up Arcadia?" What, are you mad?! "Okay, the Goblin Market?" Stop it; you're insane. "Want to hang out at the mall and drop pennies on people until the security guards chase us out, so we can get some power pool points and mess with them tomorrow?" Okay.
I don't believe Werewolf is a game about nothing. If's a game about something, then all the characters in it are geared to do that something. A Werewolf is a Werewolf. And for Mu*s, that's a good place to be.
Alas.
