Full disclosure: I have never played Forsaken nor fully read the core book but I am familiar enough to give an unbiased outsider’s perspective.

The Forsaken Chronicler’s Guide Volume 3 is in many ways the less drastic of the four; instead of kits altering rules what you have are deviations from the usual chronicle outlines. The first offering, Hunting Grounds: Ancient Sumer by Chuck Wendig brings a lot of nostalgia for me since it is feels like homage to the First City of Masquerade first edition. The player’s pack is anonymously mailed a very, very old fetish mud brick. The spirit whispers of long-buried ancestral memories of the dawn of civilization. It whispers at first, but then urges to unite it with other brinks becomes more tempting.

The Dog-Kings of Sumer; we’re talking Fertile Crescent where the in thing to wear was linen and farming was a hip new innovation that all the kids were trying. This brick opens up the narrative technique of a flashback parallel story where half the action takes place in the modern World of Darkness and the other in ancient Sumer where Forsaken lived in the open as venerated and feared warrior kings of human and spirit and outnumbered the unrefined bestial Pure. Players create characters for this time period and will find it’s a very different place game mechanically and socially.

What comes next is s sort of compact SAS chronicle. How did these Sumerian Dog-Kings live and what caused their downfall and the scattering of the ziggurat’s bricks? In the parallel story what should the characters do once they experience these visions? Attempt to contact other packs and assemble the bricks together, reforming the temple? And where, in war-torn Iraw? How about political factions wary of this idea? Do you take them by force for the greater good and grandeur of the Forsaken as a whole?

In Everything You Ever Wanted by Filamena Young the taboo against sex with other Uratha is tossed to the wayside letting you ponder what that would mean to werewolf society. It makes them more like wolves, obviously. There often are mated pairs and infidelity amongst the pack. Now make those wolves Uratha and you’ve got a ton of juicy interpersonal conflict. Moreover, you can pair this with the Coming of Age kit from Volume 1 and you’ve got some really good possibilities. Lycanthropy is metaphorically linked to both violence and SEX after all, as well as change (such as puberty). Young gives a lot of suggestions for romance plots or relationship conflicts. I dig the way Renown can shape what sort of lover you are. Finally Uratha get what Kindred have had for some time, Customized Social Combat Rules. Nice.

John Kennedy finishes out the volume with Packs United, giving the Hunter: the Vigil trend to Werewolf in the form of tiers of influence. Tribes and Lodges are the highest authority Forsaken players are used to, but what if political Conclaves were added over them? Some might balk and hiss that this makes their beloved Uratha more like vampires but it’s worth a shot for variety. Be brave, Player Six. Uratha are partly human after all, and humans crave assemblage and factions and argument in large amounts but here with a definite werewolf flavor.

Now what kind of stories could you tell if you used all three, wherein a mystery about bringing Sumerian grandeur and power back to the Tribes unfolds through argument and ceremonial battles for honor in the Forsaken Conclaves hampered by the love (and sex) histories between the movers and shakers. Baby, you've got a stew going.

I do have complaints. Again the Chronicles offers a character type that demands a customized character sheet so you don’t have to scribble all over the standard version. But none was provided so you’ll need to pester creative types in the fan community. What is good about these alternate takes at the game is none of them require rules conversion homework that is not provided in the book. Some light reading on Sumerian culture and history would really help.

‘To transform’ is the latest in the four volumes that will comprise the Forsaken Chroniclers Guide. Whilst initially hesitant at a chapter-level release, I have been reading each instalment a lot more thoroughly than a whole book and have been enjoying this format immensely. This chapter sets up the idea of running a parallel chronicle which both exists at the modern era, but also in the Sumerian City of Bau and gives advice on using flashbacks to tell two concurrent, interwoven stories. It’s a great idea, and certainly not a new one, but this gives the ST two storylines in short paragraphs that can be literally cut-and-pasted onto index cards to build a viable story. There will obviously be a lot of work for the ST in such a chronicle, but a large amount of the grunt work is given to you in this section. The second section explores the ramifications of removing the code that ‘Uratha must cleave to the human’ and some of the practical aspects of keeping the Law and also throwing it out in your chronicle. There are a host of expanded rules, including more developed ‘social combat’, and lots of other advice that makes for interesting reading. Lastly, and the definite highlight of the book is the chronicle of unity. The idea of Conclaves is put forward as ways to unify the Uratha in groups that are dedicated to a common cause. A range of examples are presented that could easily fit into any chronicle. Interestingly, there is discussion on why the politics of wolves are very different to humans and why democracy isn’t a widely-held concept in these sorts of groups. This sets the tone for power struggles and how one gains prestige within theses Conclaves. Top it off with some solid storyteller advice and some new rules and you have by far the strongest chapter in the book (and my favourite next to the Predation Chronicle section in ‘To Rebuild’). Like those instalments before this, it is a mixed bag, but even if you only find one chapter to your liking, the price tag is worth it. I’m looking forward now to seeing what White Wolf does with the last publication for the Chroniclers Guide.