Little Wolves
review by Kaleb
For fans of: Perils & Princesses, Wanderhome, Land of Eem, and anything of the fantastical and whimsical.
The Enchanted Forest is your home, Little Wolves. You are shapeshifters, able to morph between your wolf and mortal forms as you please.
In Little Wolves, players are shapeshifters - they have both mortal and fae abilities, depending on which form they are in. Each player creates their own wolf mask to represent their wolf forms during play. While creating a character, players may also appropriately mark their masks. Each shapeshifter also has loyalty to one of the four Queens overseeing the Enchanted Forest. The Court of the Witch rules the northern part of the Enchanted Forest, representing the element wind. The Court of the Pumpkin rules over the east, representing fire. The Court of the Troll rules over the west, representing the earth. And the Court of the Mermaid rules over the south, representing water. Each Court Queen that a shapeshifter ties their loyalty to grants specific advantages and disadvantages to that player.
Largely, Little Wolves is meant to be played narratively, but dice rolls are still called for by The Guide (The Game Master) for specific situations that may have an uncertain outcome. In this game, players create dice pools to roll when the time calls for it. Any player can call upon the magic of the elements to guide their rolls. Each element is associated with different skills as follows: Wind (Skill, Precision, Dexterity, Wit), Fire (Warmth, Passion, Energy, Creativity), Earth (Strength, Resilience, Patience, Empathy), and Water (Insight, Charisma, Healing, Curiosity). While in their wolf form, players also have access to their Fae skills: Sniff (Keen senses, Intuition, Recognition), Bark (Communication, Presence, Storytelling), and Claw (Physical ability, Handiness with tools, Grit). When players are building their dice pool, they always start with at least 1 six-sided die to roll and add or subtract from their pool appropriately. Each number on the D6 is associated with an element and requires the character to match the number needed for the element they need to succeed in. 1 = Moon (you gain 1 Luck point), 2 = Wind, 3 = Fire, 4 = Earth, 5 = Water, and 6 = Heart (any element). As an example, if my shapeshifter is loyal to the Court of the Mermaid, my character is proficient in Water and adds 1D6 to the pool when I am using Water skills. In order to succeed on the check, I need to match at least one of my 2D6 to either a 5 or 6. The Guide will present the shapeshifters with challenges, both mental and physical.
When a shapeshifter either fails or succeeds in a challenge, the Guide will instruct them to mark their masks. The masks (and character sheets) act as a physical reminder of what the shapeshifters have gone through, for the better or worse. Passing a trial for the Court of the Troll Queen might result in adding a mark of an antler or moss to a player’s mask.
As for the book itself, the fonts and art inside make it an alluring book to flip through. The folklings of the Enchanted Forest all have lore and personalities, the cities and villages within feel alive, and the characters players can create are unique. This is a breath of fresh air of the werewolf genre of role-playing games.
Little Wolves is available now from our webstore.
