Oh I didn’t know about that little tidbit of opposed stat. Is it applied to just this Werewolf game or to also other WoD games as well?
1 Like
Generally speaking, if you see a stat display along the lines of this:
then it’s an opposed stat where raising THIS will lower THAT.
Since it’s a White Wolf game, The Book of Hungry Names shows that with the classic white wolf stat dots, but it’s the same principle.
4 Likes
Finished and posted my review on the iOS AppStore but it isn’t showing?
Five stars: “This is as good as text-based IF gets: deep WoD lore, a rich story with a complex plot and fleshed-out characters delivered by a deft literary hand. It’s a joy to spend time with and to carry with you after.”
Playthrough: I was a Glasswalker that romanced Nin, spared Daphne, saved Nomi, and rode the Tiger. The pack dynamic had a lived-in idyllic FRIENDS feeling that never got saccharine–enjoyable for its own sake. The refrigerator plundering, I’m sure, is essential. And I adore the fact that Tiger’s tactic is to trap the Garou in a vision of false victory while reality degenerates, so that player victory and failure, perhaps, look the same. So many mixed emotions. Masterstroke for the story, the IP, and closing IF branches. I’m so grateful for this game @Moochava . I don’t want to like it better than NIGHT ROAD (because I favor VtM), but I think I do. You’re better than years ago, and you were good then.
Will anyone who has read this far and played the game please take two minutes to review it? (There’s only 16 reviews on Apple AppStore and over 900 posts in this thread.) This signal deserves the boost. Cheers!
11 Likes
I just wanted to join the chorus to praise this amazing experience!
I’ve only got into Interactive Fiction last year, but The Book of Hungry Names has skyrocketed to my top 3 favorites and it’ll stay there for a long while - after finishing my playthrough I’m completely in love with the characters, story, mechanics, writing, everything. Kudos to Kyle Marquis for this masterpiece!
As a random aside, does anyone else think the Eater-of-Names was very much inspired by The Fury from MGS3? Couldn’t help but imagine him with the same voice 
5 Likes
I just noticed something weird: after starting a new playthrough, most social choices now use Composure instead of Charisma for me. I started another one, and, now that COM is higher than CHA again, it uses Charisma once more. Does anyone know why? They’re the exact choices, the only difference seems to be if either CHA or COM are higher.
That’s working as intended - for some choices, there is basically a comparison check that runs and sets the higher stat as the one that will be used for the stat checks (so if CHA is higher, it sets CHA as the stat for the test, otherwise it’s COM etc.)
It’s probably for balancing purposes, to make a wider range of builds viable? 
4 Likes
Yeah that is just the author way to balance the game, can also be seen in Pon Para (same author), a lot of choice there is two stat that get check, if one is higher than the other it use that stat so you don’t get locked out because you didn’t build your character a certain way.
In Pon Para the dialogue even change to reflect which stats that got check, like Scholar vs Priest which is a very nice touch if you build your character a certain way and want the story to reflect that.
Many IFs game that rely heavily on stats usually get very frustrating for the players if they don’t code diving while playing it, some stats barely get check or if you have irregular build you will get soft locked out of choice you want to take. This is a good alternative to solve these problems.
8 Likes
Wow, this quiz is so cool and atmospheric! I’m a ghost council theurge! I wish I weren’t a theurge though. I knew I’m too fond of my city comforts to be a child of gaia, but with all my Kantian ideas of not using humans as a means to an end and being all big on rule of law and justice, I’d hoped for philodox. But hey, at least magic is cool! Now what does ghost council mean anyways?
Edit: Okay, I just checked the wiki and stumbled upon this little tidbit:
Among Ghost Council, it’s not hard to find academics
Damn you, academia!
Bwahahaha! I can imagine Daphne giving them all cybernetic enhancements and lobotomising their personalities and then proudly telling us she took care of them alright! (I always release the doggos myself. How can I not?)
@SparkleGhost that art work is sooo cute!
2 Likes
Is it pretty normal for Garou to live in poverty? Elton isn’t poor by any means, but he is not loaded either. Podge is…well, Bone Gnawer, scavenger, and disowned by his family. And Melodie…she’s kinda in the same wealth level as Elton.
1 Like
Obviously some do well enough for themselves, especially those with lower Rage levels, but on the whole, walking around pissed at the entire human race all the time doesn’t really lend itself to a lucrative career track. Especially if your go-to method for dealing with an asshole boss is turning into a nine-foot monster and ripping his face off. So yeah, I think it’s pretty normal for them to eke out an existence on the fringes of society.
5 Likes
Speaking of dealing with asshole bosses by ripping them apart, I still unable to get the one where we rip apart Udolpho, the garage boss of ours.
@HappyPotato Daphne gets better if you give her the chance! Even starts treating her dogs humanely 
Ngl, calling the mods on her as a Glass Walker and later seeing her redemption was very satisfying.
@RedFromis_9 @AletheiaKnights the Garou we meet are going through a rough time, but I got the impression that the Broad Brook Caern managed to provide for everyone during its glory days.
If you choose the background where you used to steal rare books to sell, Elton even says “we could have paid your way through college, if you hadn’t Changed”. So there was probably enough money around to help the members who don’t exactly thrive in human society.
3 Likes
The Broad Brook Garou had a huge advantage in the Three Families, who were able to accrue the social capital and generational wealth the Garou couldn’t and leverage it on their behalf. That meant they had to channel less time and energy into basic survival and could focus more on their spiritual growth and duties to Gaia. That’s how they managed to thrive as a pack for so long before it all got shot to shit. It was implied that other local packs, although perhaps not so desperately decrepit as Clay’s, had a much harder time of things than Broad Brook.
7 Likes
Thank you so much!!
And I am sorry you didn’t get what you liked! I guess it’s easier to argue a theurge could still fit what you described (handling spirits to protect humans or trying to reach an understanding of spirits so you can better protect humans) but yeah, ghost councils are so ‘we just GOTTA get that KNOWLEDGE’.
Funny though because I did like what I got (ragabash bonegnawer) but I never got to be one in my first game even though I tried. My character barely went actively against the litany according to the stats, but I also wasn’t following it, so I guess it’s a very active pursue of that stat that gets you in. Ended up as a Glass Walker which was my second option so still cool!
1 Like
Melodie is freaking loaded, just not in literal cash. She has stuff like emerald necklaces just lying around. Elton struggles to make rent.
3 Likes
Hmm, I don’t think I ever saw the background of me stealing rare books to sell yet.
On the downside, Melodie doesn’t seem to understand the humanside need for cash in comparison to Podge and Elton.
1 Like
It’s a fun one, gives nice early-game stats if you’re playing a sneaky bookish character like I did. Plus you get to recognize Katherine in the painting for a hilarious reason!
3 Likes
It’s really hard for an honest werewolf to hold down a steady job, much less build wealth, get a bank loan, start a business, etc etc. Many of them have to live on the lam (what with all the gruesome, unplanned mass murdering they do, especially of high-profile earth-murderers like CEOs) with fake IDs and steal or hunt to survive, or rely almost entirely on human helpers like the Three Families.
Plus, living comfortably among humans is decidedly NOT what Gaia created werewolves to do. The job of a werewolf is to be a living weapon for Gaia, to commune with the spirits and use their Gifts to defeat the Wyrm in all its forms. A wealthy (by human standards) werewolf is almost certainly not fulfilling their purpose.
9 Likes
I finally dove into WtA 5th Edition properly and I just hope the upcoming expansion lets us play as a Ghost Council Garou
4 Likes