Hengeyokai: Shapeshifters of the East Sourcebook for Werewolf: The Apocalypse | ||||||||||||||
Brian Campbell, Harry Heckel, Deena McKinney, Ethan Skemp and Kathleen Ryan | ||||||||||||||
White Wolf, 92 pages | ||||||||||||||
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A review by Don Bassingthwaite
And just in case you didn't get the point, Hengeyokai is a damn fine book. It's
part of White Wolf's Year of the Lotus series, sourcebooks for the various
World of Darkness games that highlight that world's Orient -- or
as the books themselves so nicely phrase it, the Middle Kingdom. All of the
books are steeped in wonderful mysterious and exotic flavours, with twists and
surprises and incredible settings galore. But having read over all of the
Year of the Lotus products, I have to say that Hengeyokai is head and furry
shoulders above all of the rest. Why? Well, for one thing, it looks good. For
another, it's imaginative, very playable, and complete. Most of all though, I
really, really like the way that it meshes with the rest of the
Werewolf game. Where the Kuei-jin and Shinma are entirely different
species from the Kindred and Kithain that they are matched with, the hengeyokai
are basically variations on the existing Changing Breeds. If you want to experiment
with Kuei-Jin or Shinma, you need to learn what amounts to whole new games. The
hengeyokai have a few new Gifts and a whole new attitude, but the systems for
running them are the same. I think there's a certain elegance to that.
So what's inside this book that has me gushing praise like a commentator at
the Rose Bowl Parade? Well, let's start with what's on the outside first.
Hengeyokai has one of greatest cover designs I've seen in a while.
There's good cover art out there, but this is great cover design. Basically
the design mimics the Werewolf Tribebooks and Changing Breed
books with monotone glyphs on a white background. Where the other books
have the Changing Breed glyphs as decoration, however, Hengeyokai has
Asian characters -- I can't say if they're Chinese or Japanese, but they
look good. Do they actual mean something? I'd love to know. Gold foil is used
for the title and central column of characters to very good effect. Okay, they
say never judge a book by its cover, but in this case I'll make an exception!
The first thing inside the cover is one of the eight page comics that has
become de rigeur for Tribe/Changing Breed books... except that this
one is done manga style, complete with colour splash page. Hee-hee!! It's
great! The characters, one from almost each of the hengeyokai "tribes," are
represented as colourful costumed heroes. Plenty of explosions, snappy side
comments, and even a little romantic mooning about. After that, the book does
get down to business, with a "Legends of the Garou" story that introduces the
hengeyokai (and their relations with the Western Changing Breeds they call
the Sunset People) and an Introduction with a good glossary (almost
unnecessary -- there is less dependence on Asian vocabulary here than in other
Year of the Lotus books and a greater use of rather flowery English phrases
that are easier to remember and just plain fun). The next two chapters describe
the history of the hengeyokai, their philosophy, the physical world they
inhabit, and the unique characteristics of the Umbra that they know.
These chapters are where the hengeyokai really begin to develop the flavour
that set them apart from both the other Changing Breeds. What comes out most
is the interrelatedness of the "tribes" of the hengeyokai. Notice how I keep
putting tribes in quotes like that? There doesn't seem to be a convenient word
that distinguishes one type of hengeyokai from another. Unlike the Changing Breeds
of the West, the hengeyokai work together in the great Beast Courts of the
Emerald Mother. They may have their opinions (not necessarily very high) of
each other, but they all know that they have their place. All of the hengeyokai
follow the same code of conduct, emphasising honour, balance, and
responsibility. The hengeyokai remember the War of Rage (when Changing Breed
fought Changing Breed) as the War of Shame, when the Okuma (eastern were-bear
healers) were made extinct. Sentai, the hengeyokai version of packs, often comprise
hengeyokai of different "tribes." An outside Garou character brought
into this setting will probably be shocked.
All of this background and history comes together in the section of the book
that presents the hengeyokai "tribes." In fact, it's very nicely done -- you
really get the feeling that these creatures belong to the world that has just
been described. Each "tribe" is described in some detail, beginning with a
short "mood piece," tribal history and organization, and specific game stats
including traits, Gifts, and Forms. Naturally each description is also includes
some nice art so you get an idea what the hengeyokai look like. The art is
almost just an extra here -- the descriptions are very evocative and going
over them gives you a sense of the book as a whole.
There are nine "tribes" of hengeyokai, eight of which are variations, as
mentioned, on the more familiar Changing Breeds. The Hakken are a Japanese
line of Garou descended from the Shadow Lords and slowly losing touch with
their lupus nature. The Khan are, of course, tigers, a powerful but fading
breed. The Kumo are goblin-spiders, kin to Ananasi save that they never left
the service of the Wyrm -- no, you probably won't see them in sentai, but
they are still recognized as part of the hengeyokai. The Nagah, were-serpents
believed extinct in by the Sunset People, live on in the Middle Kingdom as the
judges and executioners of the hengeyokai, while the Nezumi are Ratkin, with
the same duty as Shepherds of Man. Same-Bito are weresharks, but quite different
from the Rokea, being almost civilized by their contact with the Beast
Courts. The Tengu are Corax, ravens, and probably more tied to their Western
cousins than any other of the hengeyokai. Finally, there are the Zhong Lung,
the Middle Dragons, Mokolé tied so strongly to the Beast Courts that their
Archid forms aren't dinosaurs, but Oriental dragons. The ninth tribe of the
hengeyokai, however, is new. The Kitsune are foxes, highly magical creatures
whose legends say that they are the chosen ones of the Emerald Mother and her
youngest children, born in the wake of the War of Shame. Appropriately enough
for a new breed, the entire final three chapters of the book are devoted to
the Kitsune in what is billed as a "complete Changing Breed book." This means
that the description of the Kitsune is separated a bit from the descriptions
of the other hengeyokai -- in between is a section on adversaries -- but it's
nothing that makes much difference. I barely noticed -- it's all very smooth.
Looking back over the book, I don't think there's anything negative I can say
about it. It's just incredibly good and incredibly evocative of the whole Year
of the Lotus series. If you buy any of the other Year of the Lotus books, you
absolutely must buy this one as well. It's the key that will open up the others.
If you're playing Werewolf and you haven't bought this book yet, what are you waiting for?
Don Bassingthwaite is the author of Such Pain (HarperPrism), Breathe Deeply (White Wolf), and Pomegranates Full and Fine (White Wolf), tie-in novels to White Wolf's World of Darkness role-playing games. He can't remember when he started reading science fiction, but has been gaming since high school (and, boy, is his dice arm tired!). |
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