I was reading Of Wolves and Men by Barry Lopez and I thought, how can I make an RPG about wolves?

Because wolves are my favorite animals and for years I had the idea to write a game inspired by the atmospheric anime Wolf’s Rain (anyone remember it?). Spoiler: I didn’t succeed this time either.

Instead, I started to think: a single RPG about wolves is a good idea, but what should it contain?

1. Survival: The player has to hunt, find shelter and protect himself from danger in order to survive. The availability of food varies with the seasons.
2. Family: Find a pack or create your own family, protect the young and teach them to survive.
3. Territory: Expand and defend your territory from other predators and rival wolves.
4. Resources: Manage food, energy, and health. Each activity (hunting, scouting, fighting) consumes resources.
5. Natural and Random Events: Encounters with other animals, sudden weather changes, snowstorms, avalanches and the discovery of new areas.

In short, a survival and exploration game with a wolf as the main character. And I immediately thought of Firelights SRD by Fari Games, it seemed to be born for this purpose!

But how to begin this journey? The modern age, although it presents considerable challenges for wolves, did not seem suitable.

As if to capitalize on their misery and shrinking habitat.

When did wolves thrive instead? Surely before humans settled down and competed to defend herds.

So, working backwards (but don’t think of it as a rigorous process!) and combining my passion for wolves with my passion for paleoanthropology, I thought: but of course, the Ice Age!

When wolves had not yet been domesticated into dogs, and a possible encounter with a human could be both a danger and a strange opportunity.

At this point, the core of the game was ready, and all I had to do was fill out the excellent Creator Kit provided by Fari Games.

But the game does not end here; this first release is intended as a preview.

I will continue to develop it by adding random tables to enrich the experience, but most importantly, I plan to provide a comprehensive guide to the setting to allow for greater immersion.

Those who follow me from other projects know by now that my design philosophy is “rules-light setting-heavy”, and I want Wolfsoul to develop in that direction as well!