From the Q&A following the World of Darkness News on October 27th, 2022 on the Official World of Darkness Discord server.

Justin (Jachilli) is a Brand Creative Lead for World of Darkness, responsible for the direction of Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition.

What was the thought process behind changing the glasswalkers patrion to spider.

With the repositioning of the Triat, we wanted there to be able to be a more overt suspicion for one of the Patron Spirits to be "Weaver-aligned," the better to create low-level conflicts among individual werewolves but high-level conflicts among the society.

Will Kinfolk exist, and if so what role will they play?

Kinfolk do not exist in the legacy sense, as they're part of the breeding component of the world that's not part of W5. Instead, the roles of legacy Kinfolk are accomplished through Allies, Retainers, Contacts, etc. while "Kin" itself means a werewolf who hasn't yet discovered they're a werewolf.

Will Auspice be decided by the phase of the moon on the first change or other factors?

Auspice is probably decided by the phase of the moon at your First Change, but as with all things spirit and the other mysteries of werewolf genesis, it's impossible to confirm.

Is there a reason the Fianna have the only non-English tribe name?

Fianna is just a word, and it stayed because it gives a sense that werewolf cultures have occurred all around the world and been named in local languages. Much like "Garou" is French-based and "Gaia" is Greek, or in Vampire "Toreador," "Camarilla," etc. are Spanish but the greater concepts don't have any association with them. (I also like that "Fianna" helps break up the rest of the tribe names, which are more overtly "thing-doer" in construction.)

Can you say anything about how gnosis will be handled including if it exists?

Gnosis as a concept isn't present in W5, and the function it previously had is subsumed by Renown and a few other systems (some Gifts cost Rage or Willpower, for example).

Are other Changing breeds, such as Bastet, Gurahl, Corax etc still in the rebooted setting?

Other shifters are present, but the core book focuses on wolves proper. That said, we want people to be able to use local expressions of shifter legends, and will hopefully expand these at some point in the future production schedule. We know people love them.

Will there be any technical distinction at all between garou who were human or wolf before the first change?

There's no significant (systemic) distinction between whether you were human or wolf before the First Change. It's a character detail you can express as you wish.

Are camps still a thing?

Camps aren't in the core book, but there's definitely room for factions of werewolves within tribes. Maybe a Loresheet built on this concept...

How will pack patron spirits work, if they exist? Relatedly, is guidance for pack types (like coterie types for VTM) planned, especially in connection with pack patrons?

Pack Patrons give some benefit to the pack as a whole, but are contingent upon being courted to grant that favor. You might have Stag's favor this scene and Turtle's in another, depending on what you're trying to accomplish and how.

How is thinking going about non-human Touchstones referenced in a prior interview / Q&A?

I've changed direction a bit on Touchstones — they can be non-human or even a spirit, but no longer places, because places aren't at risk in the same immediate way as Touchstones, and they can't go places or take actions. We have a separate system in development to get you invested in your location. W5 assumes that most packs will eventually have and develop their own caern, which is more and broader than individual location Touchstones.

Can you reveal anything about Pentex - eg do they exist as a single entity, do they exist at all, are they intended as a (secondary) antagonist?

Pentex Group is very much an active antagonist, but moves to a more from-the-shadows role in its original concept as a holding company. It operates through fronts — no Pextex van showing up disgorging fomori in Pentex-branded jumpsuits. Instead a local energy company has been putting the river at risk and if you dig deeply enough you'll find that they're owned by Pentex.

That said, Pentex is playing at a bigger game, and is itself aware of the animistic nature of the world, so they have advantages and perspectives that "just a corprate entity" doesn't.

Will Rites exist? And if so, how will they work?

Rites exist — they're critical to the social fabric of Garou culture. They create certain effects (some are purely social effects) and the more people you have contributing to them, the likelier they are to succeed, but you also risk some Rage-y werewolf disrupting it.

We have noticed hints that the Garou Nation has been scaled back or has been shattered. To what extent does this state of the Nation go in this reimagining?

It's less "the Garou Nation" and more "what remains of the Garou Nation." It's something the elders invoke when they want you to do something, or an appeal idealistic Garou make to fix something.

Can you share anything about how Rage mechanics will work at this stage?

Still in active development. Everything touches it or vice versa, so it's a lot of work. The general target is "great for when you want a violent outcome, awful for when you want any other outcome."

Can you elaborate on how the shapeshifting mechanics will work? Will forms and shifting be tied to Rage, perhaps into a Rage Dice mechanic?

Still in development, but emphasizes Rage being a double-edged sword. You don't want to be overwhelmed by Rage, but you don't want to "lose the wolf" in a critical moment.

How will players be encouraged and supported to seek out non-violent solutions to the problems facing their characters when that is the better solution?

This goes back to the narrative premise of WoD5, which is consequences for one's actions. Many of these will be social, but there's also a system called chagrin by which you can lose Renown (and therefore risk your legend, but also immediately affect your Renown-tied abilities like Gifts) if you take actions others hold you suitably accountable for. Killing those fomori might yield Glory, but if you've now alerted everyone to the location of the caern, that's obviously not a Wisdom act.

How does the Umbra look in W5? What Realms, if any, will we be able to explore in the Core Rules?

There's no concept of Realms, instead each "location" (sic) in the Umbra is its own place, there for a reason (because someone or something cared enough about it to make it so), and might have specific methods to visit.

Which playable Tribe has gone through the most changes?

It's less about "changes from" and more about remaining true to its own edition. No event happened in the diegetic world that made the W5 era occur, so it's better to think of it as a clean break that intends to remain consistent with itself rather than legacy editions.

Is Gnosis still a thing, renamed or otherwise, and if so how does it work in the new edition?

The functions of Gnosis are largely replaced by Renown, in the interest of fewer trackers, stat-bookkeeping, and streamlining.

Which of the old 'main characters' (Albrecht, Mari etc) are making a return? Can you tell us anything about any new ones?

Probably none, or only as occasional references. There's a quote attributed to Mari Cabrah in the rulebook, but that may or may not make it. We want to emphasize more the importance of your pack and locality over an ongoing metaplot. There are occasional characters who represent ideas or present in-world lore, but no one you will specifically need to keep "up-to-date" with.

I'd love to know how The Wyld, The Weaver and The Wyrm exist in the W5 content; have their been any major changes since prior editions or will they more or less remain the same as far as their grandiosity?

Wyrm: Full-tilt, still a primary antagonist, spun out of balance by the prevalence of human greed

Weaver: Stasis, "development" and the status quo — many people acting in accordance with Wyrm principles use tools of the Weaver to maintain their positions of privilege

Wyld: Seems at risk of being snuffed out in a world of infinite consumption but finite resources (overly reductivist there, but thematically)

Can you tell us if Werewolves will still be born or will there instead be some form of 'a bite' that creates Werewolves?

Even the Garou themselves don't know, but are ever on the lookout for Kin (werewolves who don't know they're werewolves), and some may attempt things like biting or otherwise provoking possible Kin into their first change (a very fraught approach).

The garou are on the losing end of the war, and their overreliance on rage and combat prowess have proved detrimental (or insufficient, at best) to their cause. How much does the core book touches on possible ways to turn the war? Or does it leave that question mostly open, for groups to find their own answers?

The focus is on the immediate and personal, individual battles rather than winning the war (which may well be done at this point). "We hold on to our caern for another few weeks and the ragabash may even survive" instead of "we saved the planet and destroyed the Wyrm."

Will Abominations (kindred-garou) return?

There's not one in the core book. I don't see a place for them, honestly. Doing a vampire werewolf doesn't let you hit the core themes of each well. More effective to evoke the desired tragedy with one or the other and other circumstances.

Will talens and fetishes/klaives still be in the game?

Certain revered items are still present in W5, klaives among them. There's a different focus on crinos being the war-farm, though, so a klaive is probably something you'd use in only homid or glabro form — crinos is already its own murder factory.

What narrative role will Get of Fenris play in W5 chronicles? More of a cautionary tale, or active antagonists?

Both. The Get of Fenris represent the threat of hauglosk (extreme urgency) as a cautionary example, and you may find yourself facing one or even a pack of them.

Will any characters from the previous metaplot like Gogol Fangs-First, Albrecht, or Mother Larissa be appearing in W5? And will the Vanir's Wrath (the none Fenris Aligned Get) be playable?
Less attention on signature characters, more attention on stuff your characters can do, with occasional cameos to make a point. The Get aren't one of the 11 player-facing tribes; Vanir's Wrath is a legacy concept.

Are there any side references to the Bastet, Corvus, or other types of werecreatures, or have they all vanished in the new edition with no plans to ever reimagine them, either?

There are a few other shifters present in the antagonist chapter, but none of the other shifters are playable in the core, which focuses on wolves. Hoping to get regional legend and indigenous animal shifters out at some point.

Will there be any mentions of Croatan tribe?

There's a section on lost tribes and if you know what to look for, they're there.

What’s Pentex now?

More of a holding company funding various activities for its fronts than an active raid-their-headquarters sort of antagonist. There's plenty of Pentex Group activity, but none of it overtly labeled Pentex.

What are the powers of spirits in the Umbra?

There's an entire chapter subsection devoted to this, which you can use to customize the as-written spirits.

From what I've noticed, V5 has its own specific style of play emphasizing the preservation of Humanity. Per my experience, H5 manifests as a mystery/survival style game. Is there a style of play that W5 will emphasize?

From the introduction to the book, what do werewolves do?:

• Fight to take back what has been lost

• Building their own legend

• Define their relationship with Gaia

• Explore the mysteries of the Umbra

• Look out for others of their kind

When will Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition be released?

2023 is the most accurate I can say. Too many external factors, to much still in development to be more specific.

As Tribes ( is that word actually fitting at all now?) are completely distinct from any and all Human cultures and have no real points of origin anymore was there any consideration given to simply using Patrons as the third axis and doing away with tribes all together as they have no social or historical function any more?

The social function of a tribe relates to being mentored or just having commonality with those of a shared perspective. Tribe is sociological and anthropological but not necessarily familial for the Garou.

What type of changes have occured with major corporations such as Pentex, Endron, Tellus, Black Dog Games, etc?

These legacy groups don't exist in W5; the front structure Pentex Group uses is different from the legacy subsidiary structure.

How much can you tell us about the reimagining of the Umbra in W5? How different will it present itself compared to Legacy in both its lore, characterisation and mechanics?

Super-reductive here, but:

• Harder to get there

• Much less "known" by Garou as a cultural assumption

• Traversal is a significant part of being there — how do you get from spirit-place to spirit-place?

• High degree of use as a tool for the Storyteller to set events and reinforce themes

Touchstones. There's been a few questions about them so far, and it's been said WoD will be about consequences and your relationships with others. Will touchstones have a reason mechanically to interact with them positively or even at all in Werewolf given that was taken out in Hunter for some reason?

Touchstones have a number of big and small effects. Small stuff like "gain willpower or mitigate Rage when you spend time with them," big stuff like ending up in Harano or Hauglosk if you have none.

Will the Fianna still have fey connections?

Not as an inherent function, but the Fianna are very strongly tied to specific places, so if there's a fae spirit of that place, the relationship could definitely emerge.

Does W5 still follow the assumption that werewolves only operate in countries where wolves exist in large numbers (that is, the northern hemisphere)?

No, W5 assumes that most Garou are human, and that anywhere humans are, werewolves can exist. In places with different indigenous species, for example, I'd like to have some supplementary material in place, but W5 core is focused on werewolves.

Is W5 being made to include crossover compatibility with the other game lines such as V5?

Core systems are the same as V5 and H5, but certain thematic systems don't crossover. Werewolves don't have Disciplines, for example, and vampires won't accumulate Renown.

In regards to factions, how easy or hard will it be to create faction conficts, such as those written about in "Under a Blood Red Moon", Dark Alliance: Vancouver, "Necropolis: Atlanta" or "The Chaos Factor"?

The way WoD5 handles crossover, the core systems all work across the board, but systems specific to individual supernatural types don't. So in general vampires don't know tribes and werewolves don't know creeds or clans, etc. So while the potential for crossover is present, it will likely make one supernatural type focal and filter everything else through the "lens" pf that creature type. So werewolves don't know "Nosferatu" but they understand vampires like this guy.

Will we be seeing Antagonist stat blocks and gifts for the Fenrir (Or whatever they are called), as well as the Black Spiral Dancers?

Yes.

Are there any interests to expand the WoD to other areas then games, playthoughs and TTRPG? Like books, movies, series and so on? A fiction book set into the WoD for example.

I can answer this one already - yes! As first you can check out the trio of novels published by HarperCollins, Walk Among Us https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52383444-walk-among-us (Answered by Outstar)

Hi! Can you tell, please, if there is Russia in WTA 5th edition? Will the information from book "Rage Across Russia" be used in WTA 5th edition? If yes, what information? Will the famous phrase "Welcome to Russia. The wyrm is waiting." will be used in WTA 5th edition?

Easiest approach to this is to assume that nothing from the legacy editions is true. Certain concepts or perhaps even individuals may share names, etc. but little of what has gone before remains true.

Why still keep the 5 forms instead reduce it to only 3 basic forms?

Werewolves have five forms. If you're talking about the Retaliation board game, that's for the sake of their rules, I figure.

Given Tribe is now something you Choose in a moment of spiritual clarity and you mentioned there was an "Ex-Get of Fenris"-Loresheet, is it possible for Werewolfs to change Tribes (e.g. in response to a pivotal event that changes their outlook on life and spirituality)?

Very clever thinking. (Not in the core book, but an overall metaphysical yes to this.)

How are recent advances in Science reflected? Genetics etc have changed quite a bit since the last edition? Meant as in a sense of tools for antagonists. Mocking breeds etc. Tracking who would turn, regeneration, aging technology... etc.

Core book doesn't delve into this, but if you want to use a gene-science based antagonist (surely someone is out there trying to derive profit from it), it could be built as a fomori or even modeled as a Bane, perhaps.

Are Metis going to be in W5?

No. No elements of the breeding themes or systems remain.

Justin could we see stargazers as a playable tribe in a future product.

Nothing prevents this, but I don't see it as a high priority.

Could we have a weaver tainted company similar to pantex?

Entirely possible. Pentex Group is an outlier because it's actually aware of the animistic nature of the world, so it wouldn't be just a general antagonist, but rather a company that has been able to discern the spiritual truth of the universe and court some Weaver-spirit or something like that.

Second Inquisition / Coalition is mainly a vampire thing, but are there any hints that they're aware of werewolves as well?

As someone who is trans I'm curious as to whether there might be something similar to the gift 'Luna's Embrace' from Werewolf: The Forsaken which allowed a werewolf to permanently change their sex?

We don't have a Gift specifically for this, but this is behind a lot of the conceptual changes going into W5, including cutting the breeding elements and certain portions of the Litany. W5 and the Garou don't place any setting stigma on gender, sex, disability, or other identity elements. Trans werewolf? Rock the fuck on.

Are the black furies going to be changed into a more activist type tribe that stands against all kinds of oppression rather than their more gender focused theme in previous versions?

Black Furies are broadly opposed to injustice (and therefore oppression), not any specific expression of it. So you could easily have a feminist Black Fury just like you could have Black Fury war protestor or a Black Fury against the carceral state or a Black Fury who wants to kill that one diner owner for groping his serving staff.

Can you talk to spirits without a Gift?

Great question! Yes, you can speak to spirits when you're both in each other's presence. From a design perspective, this comes so every Garou can interact with some of the key personalities in the game, and to avoid imposing a "must-take" Gift on what effectively became a "must-take" auspice. (You might not always understand what the spirit is trying to communicate, but the communication itself is available to all Garou.)

If tribes are no longer really tied to cultures then how will they format more now? Are they more tied to specific ideologies or more so ethical viewpoints?

From a game design perspective, tribes are driven by verbs, so the in-world ideology and culture emerges from those. Ethical outlooks are more complex, and each tribe certainly has different viewpoints centering around the what you do that tribes represent. Sharing a tribe with a Garou is no guarantee at all that you're going to get along with that Garou.

Will the gift system still be tied to the honorary rank ? Or there will be a total different gift system, maybe similar to Forsaken 2nd edition ?

Still in development, but one of the key components of Gifts in W5 is that they're not inherent to the Garou anymore, but performed "at runtime" by spirits. So just knowing the Gift is only part of the equation, and invoking the Renown-based relationship to actually make the Gift happen is important.

Are the Ananasi present in the world?

Spider-shifters are present in W5, and there's one in the antagonist chapter.

Do the black fury's accept anyone who thinks they are fighting injustice? Does this lead to infighting within the black furies due to opposing viewpoints who each think the other one stands for injustice?

It's not up to the tribes to "accept" individuals, as you propose above. Tribe is all of the Garou pledged to a particular Patron Spirit, so as long as you make the pact with Gorgon, you're a Black Fury. Which is no guarantee that you'll be all buddy-buddy with other Black Furies, of course.

How old or young can a person be when it comes to the First Change? Is there a set range people typically undergo it or can it happen to anyone at any stage of life?

Great question — the First Change can happen at any time for a Kin. You might be 50 years old when the First Change hits you. Gaia and Luna work in inscrutable ways. (In game design terms, this is to open up a greater range of character concepts than legacy editions assumed.)

Will there still be deed names?

This is one we're leaving in the hands of individual player groups. There's a section on Garou names and exploring your identity once you come to know your Garou nature, but there's no common assumption of deed names in Garou culture as a whole. There are also a few examples of what might sound like deed names among the wolf-born Garou, largely owing to human translations of wolf-talk, presumably. One of the quotations comes from a Red Talon known as Eats Eyes, for example.

Will 'Chronicle Tenets' feature in W5? If yes, will they be a gameplay-element like in V5 or more of a mix of gameplay and 'Safety Tool' as in H5 (which I think has some problems)?

Still in development. Werewolf has a lot of "moving parts" systemically, and the more systems in place, the more of a challenge to uninfluenced play there are. Werewolves don't have Convictions, for example, for that very reason, while the tribes have Ban and Favor suggesting key attitudes and values.

Will septs still exist? If so, will they play an important part in Garou society and typical W5 chronicles?

Septs do still exist. A sept might consist of a single pack guarding a lonely caern, or a sept might consist of a dozen packs and fifty-plus regional Garou at a legendary caern.

On a more practical level, could you offer some insight if longer chronicles, spanning multiple in-game years will be feasible with what the core book presents or is it more of a "live fast die young" approach?

Either is doable. The premise of building one's own legend can revere a live-fast-die-young pack, or it could be informed by a pack with intentions on building things of lasting value over time. One of the assumptions is that most player packs will have a caern at some point, which itself leads to a more build-stuff-over-time approach... assuming you don't build it and hand it over to another pack as you rush off to some momentous battle.

Last question, is there a tiny chance to see something like LA by night or New York by night for W5?

Would love to see it, I agree.

Will the Auspices be more customizable in their approach ? For example, social Silver Fang Ahroun who fights using his leadership and aggressiveness, or a punisher-like Galestalker Philodox , cold and ruthless , judge and jury

Absolutely. Maybe you've got some king-hell ahroun who jumps into battle in crinos form at the slightest provocation while another player has a more withdrawn ahroun who doesn't get anywhere near a fight but picks off foes with a rifle from a thousand yards away.

From the themes of My Legend and personal horror, and the Patron being malleable, what’s in this system to encourage/ support Pack dynamics/ play/ benefits?

One example system is that your tribe's Patron Spirit is automatically available as a pack patron, so you'll be able to grant certain of your benefits to the pack as a whole. In game design terms, this is a sort of "largesse system" that gives you no additional benefit but grants benefit to everyone else because of your actions (which you can enjoy either transactionally or altruistically...). Another example is Rites — they're easier to perform with your packmates. Etc.

Will Rage still be a barrier for basic contact between mortals and Garou?

Not a mechanically-enforced hard system. More a question of risks, because of the volatility of the Garou.

If Tribes are about being pledged to a given spirit, and the assumption is that spirits are many and varied, do we have the option of just seeking out our own spirit patron and starting our own tribes then?

If that's the story your troupe wants to tell, run with it. The setting as written assumes that Patron Spirits of a significant place in the hierarchy are "the ones that exist," but there's nothing stopping you from rolling your own.

What happens now in Garou x Garou relationship? Is it like Werewolf The Forsaken where they both can have a child or they can't have child at all?

W5 doesn't make any statements on this. Have whatever relationships you choose.

Will W5 support playing as Kin (hopefully from the get-go), and is it possible for them to have Gifts?

Not in core, but I can absolutely see that in a supplement. Although you could also build that into a session zero or prelude-style pre-story.

Will character be able to be under age?  I know that's caused troubles in previous eds.

“First Changes in the early- to mid-teens are exceedingly rare, and unheard of before that." That said, I don't see any reason for official materials to feature an "underage" character, and even that above statement is subject to change.

Is there a system in place for changing Patron Spirits?

Not currently a system, as we want people to focus on tribe identity as part of their "playing piece," but it's absolutely something we have in mind for supplementary support.

What are you most excited about for W5 that you haven't already told us about and are allowed to tell us about?

The breakthrough moment for me in development was the mid-Apocalypse framing, which led the way to "let's make this a clean break rather than extending the legacy continuity." Because it tipped the scale for me in being able to offer a new experience in playing Werewolf. I've always been a more here-and-now enthusiast as opposed to an epic storyline enthusiast, so "deal with the Apocalypse you're partially responsible for" drove home the WoD5 perspective for me.

How does the Litany look as of right now?

Eleven tenets, cutting the ones about who you're allowed to fuck and the attitude you're supposed to have about "disability." Much emphasis on the Litany being abused by outsized personalities, and the inherent hypocrisies and gray areas in it. Big takeaway is "If this Litany is so great, why are we living in the Apocalypse?"

Will there be a visual identity to the wolf form of each tribe like in previous editions, for instance silver fur for Silver Fangs or black and white fur for Black Furies?

Not inherently, but you could certainly have them occur as part of the pact with the Patron Spirit. Definitely good for telegraphing clues to the players!