Werewolf: The Apocalypse - The Premise

The Premise

The basic premise of the game is, that the player characters are Garou. Specifically player characters usually are supposed to have undergone some training as Garou and succeeded in an initiation rite known as the Rite of Passage. After this, they are considered of Cliath rank (see Rank). Usually the player characters form a pack and work together to gain renown among the other Garou, so that they can advance in rank.
A Storyteller has a detailed setting to come up with all kinds of stories for the players to live through. On the most basic level the game world is equal to our world, a fictional planet earth. However, it is only a dark reflection, filled with corruption, apathy, violence and hopelessness. The Setting is also described as Gothik-Punk.

For the most part, the Garou battle to maintain this world before all the negativity leads to a total collapse, the Apocalypse. They do so hidden from the public eye and live in secret from humanity in general. In their war the Garou often hunt down and kill humans or supernatural creatures that either actively pursue the Apocalypse or unwittingly contribute to it, due to their parasitic nature. This includes fallen Garou, vampires, evil spirits, mages/sorcerers and humans (and other creatures) possessed by demons or evil spirits. In doing so, the Garou regard themselves as kind of the immune system of the planet.

Other themes of the game include the inability of the Garou to live as/among humans, although they were born in human form due to The Curse, interaction with spirits that today are separated from physical world in a realm the Garou can enter.

In general all archetypes of stories can be incorporated into a Werewolf game. Love Stories or Indiana Jones-like treasure hunts are just as possible as detective stories or basic fantasy themes like escort missions or 'Capture the Flag'-scenarios.