What is a typical Renown reward per game?

Question

For years I played Werewolf the Apocalypse, but we never bothered to track Renown, because it was complex and a bit confusing. There's three and a half pages of example rewards and penalties, but they're far from exhaustive.

And of course, this hampered play because without gaining renown you can't gain rank, and thus higher level gifts.

What is a typical amount of Renown to award at the end of a session?

I know this will vary heavily with what went on in the actual game session, but even a ballpark estimate is good enough for me.

Answer 1

I've typically tried to make renown tracking part of the game. Packs generally nominate one member (usually the galliard) who is in charge of bragging about their accomplishments to the elders at a moot. If they've screwed up or offended someone in the sept, they can expect to have to defend themselves against negative renown as well. Gives the social characters a chance to really benefit the group.

I also typically subtract their (current rank - 1) from renown rewards in the book. So when a deed would only warrant 1 glory, a 2nd rank character would get nothing (this is expected behaviour at your rank! what do you want, a cookie?). This can help slow down the often meteoric rise in ranks that many players would otherwise have.

As for average per session, it can vary depending on what you're doing. The more major and climactic sessions should probably also have more renown - its a good way to reward accomplishing major goals, good ideas, etc.

Answer 2

My group tracked our renown in two of our longer running Werewolf games (1.5 years and 3.5 years). It was more difficult for us the second time because we were playing a massive crossover WoD game.

We house-ruled together a 5 page renown chart using the main book and the Player's Guide renown charts.

Each PC would track their own positive renown from one moot to the next which was sometimes 10 sessions or longer. By this point they would often hit the limit of 1 renown level (10 points) in each category.

I would track negative renown and make them talk their way out of it at the moot (in the form of a Ragabash or Philodox of their camp).

Per session renown was extremely variable. Many sessions would produce literally 0 renown change, others would add 7 or more. Glory was almost always the first Renown to cap (much to the dismay of the Ahrouns in the group).

Remember that the group's Totem affects Renown awards too. That can make gains significantly faster or slower (depending on the Totem).

Answer 3

As a player of a game that runs since over a decade, the answer would surprise you:

Renown is exemplary deeds - you don't gain it every day

Sure, Renown is nice and unlocks the next rank with new toys, but in essence, not every evening contains things that shall award renown. There are game days when the players sit down and describe their PCs learning new rites or gifts. There are sessions when the PCs do the boring legwork that leads them to the BSD Hive or Pentex Lab. Those sessions don't carry renown rewards. As such, the lowest Renown is 0.

Temporary Renown is capped at 10

And then there are combat rounds when the actual attack on the Wyrm happens. Those actions reward Renown. Those sessions get compared to the appicable renown charts, and could lead to 10 temporary renown per type. Then you absolutly need to to the Rite of Accomplishment and any more renown in that type is only counted once you have turned 10 temporary to 1 permanent renown with the rite.

Sure, you might just have ticked the boxes for 18 points or temporary Glory... but you only can bank 10, anything more goes poof unless the GM oks you to keep the extra ones for they handle the Rites of Accomplishment more loosely.

Screw tracking, make it Storytelling!

There is another way that worked for our group when there was a dry spell of forgotten tracking: Make the renown application a task for the Moots. Award the renown in a mix of temporary and permanent points at the moot matching to how they tell their story. Assume they have rites of Accomplishment running.

Do they put emphasis on the raw fury or the wisdom of their actions? Reward accordingly.