Authors: White Wolf
Release Date: 2005-11-25
On Sale: Yes
Price: 26.99
ISBN: 1-58846-330-3
Product Type: Splat Book
Product Style: Hardcover
Page Count: 144
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Review by: Prax
Rating: 7/10
If you want a big collection of lodges of every size and shape this is the book for you. If you want something else, then I’d purchase something else.
Lodges: The Faithful written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Matt McFarland, Adam Tinworth and Ethan Skemp is pretty much just what it sounds like: a big book of lodges. The book begins with a short piece of fiction titled Blooding that I rather enjoyed. In a nutshell it’s about the end of a dysfunctional pack. Following that is a short introduction before Chapter 1: Foundations goes into the whys, wherefores and hows of lodges. While it is a fairly basic chapter it is also fairly dense and it does its job well, by the end of it you’ll have a pretty good idea how to create your own unique lodges or how to work the creation of a lodge into your ongoing Chronicle.
Chapter 2: Tribal Lodges and Chapter 3: Other Paths are basically just write-ups of various lodges ranging from fairly straightforward to the truly twisted. Each lodge gets an explanation of its philosophy, practices, how it came to be, patron spirit, how you join, benefits of joining and an example member with full trait write-ups. And that is the entirety of the book, so I’ll spend the remainder of this review on some highlights and reasons to consider purchasing this book.
Let’s start off with what I got out of the book. I gained a greater understanding of the sheer diversity that’s possible within the same tribe and among werewolves as a whole. If you ever considered all werewolves of a particular tribe, auspice or even nationality to be exactly the same then you might want to give this book at least a casual read through. To illustrate let’s look at my top six Lodges from this book in alphabetical order.
The Cult of Bones is actually a lodge of the Pure Tribes and can be found in Chapter 3: Other Paths. Before anyone gets too excited I’ll point out this is the only Pure lodge in the book, but it is a neat one. The Cult of Bones concerns itself with gathering the relics of Father Wolf. That is actual pieces of his body. They hope that by gathering enough of these pieces as well as enough of Father Wolf’s essence (contained within his descendents,) they can eventually resurrect him and stand by his side when he exacts his vengeance upon the Forsaken. Overall the philosophy just really speaks to me as a neat outlook for some of the Pure.
The Lodge of Arms is an Iron Master lodge and can be found in Chapter 2: Tribal Lodges. The lodge concerns itself with armed combat. Each member focuses upon mastering one specific weapon which they actually craft themselves with help from their fellow lodge members prior to initiation into the lodge. The weapon itself is both a fetish as well as an awakened item that is then soul bound through a special ritual to its creator. The intensity of these guys is creepy when it comes to their weapon, which they may have a closer bond to than their packmates, but their elite combat skills are undeniable.
The Lodge of Ashes is a Hunter in Darkness lodge and probably my favorite lodge in the entire book. You will find it in Chapter 2: Tribal Lodges. The Lodge of Ashes believes that no spirit should ever be bound and that to do so is a violation of everything that Father Wolf stood for. They follow a number of additional tenets known as the Ashen Way that prohibits the enslavement of spirits or harming spirits simply for the sake of personal glory or power. Those who join this lodge are always dedicated to these beliefs going so far as to destroy any fetishes they come across no matter whose possession the objects might be in. That said, they do not force their beliefs on others knowing that most werewolves will not agree with their beliefs. However, while others may not believe in the Ashen Way it does not give those werewolves the right to enslave another entity against its will. Muktar Al-Ahsan the example character for the Lodge of Ashes is a great example of what could prompt a werewolf to taking on this extreme view of the world and is a also just a neat character all on his own.
The Lodge of Doors is another lodge you can find in Chapter 2. Its members hail from the Bone Shadows and they endeavor to uncover secrets, but not only that, they hold to the tenet that any knowledge not earned by the seeker is dangerous. The patron spirit of this lodge, the Lurker in Doorways is probably my favorite lodge patron in the whole book. The spirit is a small, ugly little thing that constantly creeps and crawls and peers and lurks. It is a spirit of discovery and freedom. The idea of a lodge devoted to the discovery of the unknown combined with their unique patron spirit makes this a very appealing group to me and probably one of the few I’d consider making a player character to specifically join rather then just using as an NPC organization.
The Lodge of Ruin is another Hunter in Darkness lodge found in Chapter 2 and they follow Coyote-Who-Howls a spirit that believes the world is ending. The simplest way to describe the Lodge of Ruin is that its members are nihilists. Everything comes to an end eventually and this end is present in every moment of a thing’s existence. Its members have to bleed, break and truly suffer before they can even join the lodge. It probably has the most brutal initiation of any lodge contained within the book. Each Rust-Walker, as the members call themselves, lives in the moment. If something is not of immediate benefit it is typically ignored. If something is simply a waste of space it is disposed of. That brutality, that focus and the bittersweet outlook held by its members is what appeals to me. There is definitely something to be said for the satisfaction and catharsis reached at the end of the road.
And to end this review I share with you the Lodge of the Grotto, which can be found in Chapter 3: Other Paths. Not truly a lodge its members are rather more of a disturbing sub-culture, werewolves who grow up beneath the surface of the earth with no love or need of the surface world. I like this group because under-dwelling cultures always have a certain appeal to me. I also enjoy the weird, the freaky and the odd and that’s definitely what the Lodge of the Grotto is. It’s unique, slightly twisted and not overly antagonistic. I also enjoy the new Grotto Gift List its members have access too.
So, yeah that’s a small taste of what you’ll get out of Lodges: The Faithful. If you’re truly interested in lodges, how they work and what sorts of possibilities they have, by all means purchase this book. However, it is by no means a necessary book and if you’re strapped for cash there are plenty of other Werewolf: the Forsaken books you should purchase first such as Blood of the Wolf, Predators and Lore of the Forsaken. So in conclusion I’ll give Lodges: The Faithful a 7 out of 10, it does what it does well and exceeded my expectations.
