Book of the City

Book of the City is a sourcebook for Werewolf: The Apocalypse. It provides resources specifically for chronicles that bring packs to urban settings.

Summary[]

From the Back Cover:

The Urban Jungle

The cities of the World of Darkness are a dangerous place to be. Rampant crime and widespread corruption are only the tip of the iceberg - the cities are also the homes of the vampires, and breeding grounds for the spirits of the Wyrm and Weaver. But there's also life in the cities, and where there's life, there's hope. The modern-day city is an urban battleground - and a hunting ground. And the werewolves are on the hunt.

Rage in the Streets

In Werewolf, cities aren't what they seem. Book of the City takes a long look at the perils of city life in the World of Darkness. From the dangers of the urban spiritscape to the unexpected totem allies, from the supernatural threats of vampires and Pentex to the minor problems such as law enforcement and Animal Control, this sourcebook is every Werewolf player's guide to how to survive taking the fight downtown.

Book of the City contains:

A detailed look at the hidden spirit nature of cities
New urban threats for use in any chronicle
new gifts, rites, totems and fetishes to help survive the urban war

Contents[]

Legends of the Garou: Just Another Good Stop[]

What happens when a pack used to rural and wilderness life is forced by necessity to enter the city, and the troubles and opportunities they find there.

Introduction: City Limits[]

Sources
- Book of the Weaver
- Umbra
- Ratkin
- Ananasi
- New York by Night
- New Jack City
- Fritz Lang's Metropolis
- Law and Order
- NYPD Blue
- The Sopranos
- Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere
- China Mieville's King Rat
- Grant Morrison's The Invisibles
- Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan
- Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell
- Will Eisner's Dropsie Avenue
Internet
- Urban Legends Reference Pages

Chapter One: Writing on the Wall (Cosmology)[]

Begins the book proper with a look at the cosmology of cities in the world of Werewolf - how they began, how they have developed in the spirit world, and what sort of greater purpose they might play in the vast struggle between Gaia and the Triat. This chapter focuses less on the hard facts of urban animism, and more on the potential spiritual aspects of the city, each one a potential direction for a Storyteller to take a chronicle.

Chapter Two: The Grind (Hazards)[]

Presents the nitty-gritty details of potential threats Garou may have to face in the city, from mundane dangers like the media and animal control to supernatural threats that are unlike any to be found in the wilderness.

The Men in Black - Drones, Stats
O'Tolley's Burgermen Powers:
- Blasé
- Collector's Frenzy
- Hot Hands
- Iron Stomachs
- The Smell
Weaver Corporations
- Pleasant Homes
  - Covenant Spiders - Weaver-Spirit, Stats
    - Charm: Conformity
- Star-Marts
  - Starlight Spiders - Weaver-Spirit, Stats
    - Charm: Craft Merchandise
City Monsters
- Big Bad Rats - Stats
- The Catcher
- CHUM (Cannibal Humans/Underground Mockeries) - Stats
- Freakers
- Radio Elementals - Spirit, Stats
- Tower Guardians - Weaver-Spirit, Stats

Chapter Three: The Neon Web (The Urban Umbra)[]

The Neon Web goes into greater detail about the actual urban Umbra - its layout, its denizens, and what Garou might expect from the place. Also included are several handy tips for survival in the Scans that no pack should be without.

New Spirits of the City
- Urban Will-O-Wisp - Stats
- Recycling Spirit - Stats
- Wireless Bats and Cellular Sparrows - Stats
- Ambulance Chasers - Stats
- Packrat - Stats
- Snare-spirits - Stats
- Bl'Dye M'ree/Bloody Mary - Stats
- Legal-spirits - Stats
- Mersenne - Stats
New Spirit Charms
- Acquisition
- Appear
- Flee
- Information Flow Tap
- Kindle
- Snatch Wireless Packet

Chapter Four: Urban Legends (Storytelling)[]

Devoted to the Storyteller, providing advice on how to select, modify and elaborate on the urban setting, whether for a short story or an extended chronicle.

Appendix: Riot Gear[]

Features a collection of Gifts, rites, totems, fetishes and other resources aimed at helping Garou survive the urban jungle - or helping their enemies make life even more difficult for them.

Gifts
- Homid Gifts
  - Climb Like an Ape - Level One
  - Stench and the City - Level One
  - Rooftop Sprint - Level Two
  - Gaia's Toolbox - Level Three
- Theurge Gifts
  - Web Walker - Level Three
- Bone Gnawer Gifts
  - Stench and the City - Level One
- Glass Walker Gifts
  - Weaver's Eyes - Level One
  - Encrypt - Level Two
  - Overclock - Level Two
  - Web Walker - Level Three (Gnosis is 1 point cost)
  - Call the City's Wolves - Level Four
  - Song of the City-Beast - Level Five
Rites
- Rite of Accord
  - Clear the Miasma - Level Four
- Mystic Rites
  - Appease the Traffic Gods - Level One
  - Rite of Feeding the Wolf - Level One
  - Read All About It - Level Two
  - Rite of the Ziggurat - Level Two
  - Rite of Tying the Snare - Level Two
  - Rite of the 13th Floor - Level Four
  - Rite of the Reefweaver - Level Four
  - Rite of the Wyld Machines - Level Four
  - The Ending Game - Level Five
- Minor Rites
  - Appease the Prey-Spirit
  - Greet the Lady of Justice
Fetishes
- Gaia's Phone Book - Level One, Gnosis 1
- Leadfoot License Plate - Level One, Gnosis 6
- Moon-Watch (Sun-Watch) - Level One, Gnosis 5
- Veil of Sin - Level Two, Gnosis 5
- Telegraph Klaive - Level Three, Gnosis 5
- Umbraphone/Umbrapager - Level Three, Gnosis 3
- The Infinite Appliance - Level Four, Gnosis 7
- Glass Shank - Level Five, Gnosis 6
Talens
- Attire of Desire - Gnosis 3
- Clay Contract - Gnosis 6
- Letter from Hell - Gnosis 6
- Untraceable Bullets - Gnosis 6
Talen & Fetish Combo
- Tick Trace Talen and Fetish Radio - Radio: Level 2, Gnosis 6, Talens: Gnosis 5
Totems
- Totems of Respect
  - Sodals
- Totems of War
  - Momentum
- Totems of Wisdom
  - City Father/Mother
  - Invisible Hand
- Totem of Cunning
New Merits and Flaws
- Moon-paint (5 pt. Merit)
- City-Panic (1 point Flaw)

Background Information[]

This book was originally supposed to come out back in 1992/1993 as "Ways of the City" as a companion to Ways of the Wolf (Also originally titled as Ways of the Wilderness). They are both listed in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse Rulebook under the Upcoming Products section.
Ads at the back of the book include: Players Guide to the Garou, Werewolf: The Apocalypse Revised Product List and Demon: The Fallen (11-02).

Memorable Quotes[]

"If we don't have it, you don't want it!" - Star-Mart advertising slogan

Characters[]

Legends of the Garou: Just Another Good Stop
- Armored Eagle - Glass Walker Ahourn, Mystic Raptors Pack
- Peregrine - Garou, Alpha of the Mystic Raptors Pack
- Lauren, "Watcher" - Black Fury, Mystic Raptors Pack
- Owlbite - Uktena, Mystic Raptors Pack
- Mamatas - Mortal
- Astram - Garou, Rush Hour Pack
- Stormcrow - Theurge, Rush Hour Pack
- Nosewhistler - Bone Gnawer, Rush Hour Pack
Introduction: City Limits
- Kevin
- Popping Trees - Uktena
- Solomon McKarkle - Fianna
- Doggie K - Bone Gnawer
- Longtooth - Get of Fenris
- John Oldway - Wendigo
- Mephi Faster-than-Death
- Hotclaw - Red Talons
- Susan Anthony
- Antony Wall-Opener - Shadow Lord
- Soldier-of-Paradise - Children of Gaia
- Gleaming-Silver-Mane - Silver Fang
- Mariko Ten
Chapter One: Writing on the Wall (Cosmology)
- Stephan Longknife - Silver Fang Galliard
- Amy Hundred Voices
- Bloody Man - First Vampire, Silver Record
- Dr. Steven Stirling - Children of Gaia Kinfolk
- No-Joy - Uktena Theurge
- Yossaly Rage-Bound - Silver Fang Theurge
- Orson Half-foot - Black Fury Theurge
- Queen Ananasa
Chapter Two: The Grind (Hazards)
- Phreak - Metis Glass Walker Theurge
- Midnight Charley - Bone Gnawer Ahroun
- Aaron Brokers-With-Spirits - Glass Walker Theurge
- Grandpa Spinner - Bone Gnawer Galliard
- Cruncher - Glass Walker Galliard
- Jimmy "The Claw" Claussen - Glass Walker Philodox
- Zhyzhak
- Jason Steel-Towers - Glass Walker Philodox
- Hawk - Glass Walker Ahroun
- Night-Eyes - Garou
- Smashes-Steel - Garou, Alpha, Died
- Griffin's Red Song - Garou
- Eric Anderson - CEO of Safe Haven Construction & Hi-Quality Builders, Pentex
- Ben Rushing
- Chris Tapiador - Manager of Hi-Quality Builders, Pentex
- Mrs. Goldberg - Mortal
- Jimmy - Mortal, Goldberg's Son
- Doctor Greenfield - Works for Aunt Charlotte's Child Care, Weaver
- Walter Starr - Mortal, Kentucky businessman, owns Star-Mart
- Dot Bomb - Homid Black Spiral Dancer Galliard, Alpha, Freakers Pack
- Simlac - Metis Black Spiral Dancer Galliard, Freakers Pack
- Artful Splatter - Homid Black Spiral Dancer Ragabash, Freakers Pack
- T'Lexlon - Metis Black Spiral Dancer Ahroun, Freakers Pack
- Steve - Black Spiral Dancer Kinfolk/Fomori, Freakers Pack
- Jackson - Mortal
Chapter Three: The Neon Web (The Urban Umbra)
- Drinks-From-Klein-Bottles - Glass Walker
- Diego - Garou Cub
- Counts-On-Fingers - Garou Cub
Chapter Four: Urban Legends (Storytelling)
- Frederick Law Olmstead
Appendix
- Mr. Vincenzo - Vampire alias
- Diane Stone - Glass Walker Theurge, creator of the Infinite Appliance Fetish

Terminology[]

Anthelios, Aunt Charlotte's Child Care (Weaver Corp.), Baghdad, Berlin (Umbral Wall), Black Swamp Caern, Blight, Boston, Buffalo, Caern, Cairo, Calcutta, Camps: Frankweilers, Generation Hex, Order of the Merciful Mother; Capetown, Carthage, Casablanca, Charm, Chicago, Chiminage, Chronicle of the Black Labyrinth, City Father/Mother, Cleveland, Climb Like an Ape, Constantinople, Corporate Father (CSO, Chief Spirit Officer), CyberRealm (Computer Web: Macro Level, Micro Level; Cyber Wolves, Downtown, Old Town, The Pit, Spider City, Uptown), Delirium, Denver, Detroit, Digital Web, 'Dodge City, Kansas', Domain, Drone, Dublin, Ed's Beds, Epiphling, The First City, 'Gary, Indiana', Gauntlet, Ghosts, Glade, Great Trash Heap, Hellhole, Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Houston, Hunters, Invisible Hand, Kiev, Kosovo, Las Vegas, Leech, Litany, London, Los Angeles, Louisville, Machine Messiah, Mexico City, Miami, Momentum, Near Umbra, New Orleans, New York City, Ningxia, Oklahoma, O'Tolley's (Action Bill, "Braney Fun Pals", Burgermen, Family-Burgers, Family Pack, Fry-A-Lator, O'Jobs, Power Meal), Packs: Freakers, Mystic Raptors Pack, Rush Hour Pack; Paris, Patriarch, Pattern Web, Pentex, Penumbra, Pittsburgh, Pleasant Homes Planned Communities (Weaver Corp.), Red Star, Rio de Janeiro, Rite of Spirit Awakening, Rome, Safe Haven Construction & Hi-Quality Builders (Pentex), San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sarajevo, Scab, The Scar, Sept of the Great Wheel, Sept of the Green, Singapore, "The Snare", Sodals, Spider Bullets, Spirit, Star-Marts (Weaver Company; "the Big Star", Moon-Strands), Stench and the City, St. Louis, Tammany Hall, Termite, Tokyo, Toledo, Trapped Gauntlet, Treaties, Umbra, Urrah, Vampire, Veil, Virginia, Vision of the Stars (Walter Starr's biography), Washington, D.C., Weaver, Web-Net (Level 2, Gnosis 6; The Catcher's Flyflot) Webs, Wyld, Wyrm, Zombies,

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