@crusader Okay, I'll answer then. Being someone who has helped people through Chargen, helped make totems, helped stat out loci, helped define an area's shadow, TL'd spirits, ST'd spirits and werewolf content and handled fetishes.
- Loci are a needless complication.
Loci aren't even that complicated. They're nexi on leylines (where multiple leylines intersect - even if white wolf will never say this. This is going to spark a major debate but whatever.). This is a place where the gauntlet is weak and essence bleeds through. They are also places where werewolves can move into the shadow. I have never met a player that didn't at least understand what a loci is. it was more likely they had issues with the stepping sideways mechanics than understanding what a loci is.
- Auspices are a needless complication
Auspices are literally what defines a forsaken werewolf. Through Luna, they are given their place. The roles expressed in the book are examples, these are the most expected roles, but even the book says that there is nothing stopping the rahu from being a non-murderous werewolf. Werewolves will experience and apply their auspice differently depending on their personal experiences, both before and after the change. This is normal. Both books said this was normal. They're less about 'shut up and act like how I tell you' and more about 'You were given a gift, determining how you best use that gift is part of your struggle.'
- Gifts are too tribe/auspice dependent
There is a thematic reason that these gifts are locked to specific tribes and auspices. When you gain a tribe/auspice, you are sworn to a specific spirit or group of spirits. That's who you learn from. There's a totem at work here. All gifts are given from spirits and can be learned from spirits. There's nothing actually stopping a werewolf from learning gifts outside his tribe/auspice what have you, it's just extremely unlikely, in the sense that a werewolf suddenly manifesting the ability to cast mage spells is unlikely. However, if you want to run a campaign where players go to great lengths to convince these great totems to teach them these gifts, then shit, no one here cares.
- Current Renown expectations are unenforceable.
Raising renown costs the same as raising an attribute because it has the potential to raise several attributes at once. There is an overabundance of gifts that raise attributes, health, whatever based on your renown. Renown is infinitely more useful than an attribute purchase. In that respect, renown is actually cheap in terms of an xp to benefit look. I would posit renown should be more expensive, but if it was, no one would buy it. I would almost rather give renown for free at a capped rate based on scenes.
As for the other issues, that's bad staff. Not bad players. Staff shouldn't be giving honor to the twink ass. Staff should have been aware based on logs that the guy asking for 5 honor was a twink ass. And if they weren't, they didn't read his logs. And if no logs are required for renown, that's even more retarded.
As for deciding what gives renown, that's a per game per staff decision. Even the book says that the GM should sit down with players and talk about what gives renown. the book suggestions are just that: suggestions. It calls them baselines.
- Tribes are a thematic atavism from the 1990s (Lore Hack)
There's not really anything to respond to here. You think the tribes in the book are racially inclined. Fine, I get it. You want to make your own tribes up? Fine, whatever. It's not like anyone had told you that you weren't allowed to. Knock yourself out.
- Primal Urge should be more of a 'way of life' and less a power stat.
This boils down to 'I don't like the drawbacks of this stat, so it shouldn't be a stat.' Which is silly of course, but also ironic since you were all over the werewolf forms for not having enough drawbacks. In any case, I can't really respond to 'I don't like the drawbacks' and you didn't provide alternative draw backs. Given that I don't have any issue with primal urge, I have nothing to say on it.
- Harmony (and Integrity/Humanity) is a needless complication (Morality Hack)
Who needs morality? Am I right? I would be wrong. You would be wrong. On Kingsmouth, we enforce humanity. It works just fine. People roll breaking points all the time. Cruac is the most frequent cause of them. People RP their low humanity, they take their licks in social penalties. I have not seen this 'people ignore their humanity.' On the other hand, what you need to realize is that humanity/harmony, as presented in the books, is not an absolute. As the book states, I'll use an example from the WoD Core: A serial killer's humanity chart is going to be different than a mother of 3's humanity chart. And you know what? Per Core, that was totally fine. This was reiterated in 2.0.
- The terror and thrill of shapeshifting is diluted by too many forms
I've already touched on this. The book is clear that each form is fundamentally different. It's a fundamentally different change each time. So I don't think it's diluted at all.
