https://youtu.be/f1Fm0g6SWsI
Chronicles of Darkness is at it's core a horror game. What advice do you have for horror? In what way can you evoke the uncanny through text or, at best, voice?
On the last exciting episode of the Chronicles of Darkness General Thread: >>44433912
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Oh, hey, we've got a booru now. Feel free to add stuff, but tag well or you'll make me cry.
http://urbfan.booru.org/
>Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/deluxe-changeling-the-dreaming-20th-anniversary-ed
>The Onyx Path Official Website
http://theonyxpath.com/
>Drive-Thru RPG, for all your legally-obtained book needs
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/
>A Mega bin, for your less legally-obtained book needs
https://mega.nz/#F!wpB0ib4a!EsAU0AE4ihrNlDWzp3-MIw
>The Chronicles of Darkness Core Book(Which isn't in the Mega link)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Abn1a6PgUCa19KbjdNcmNMWms/view?pli=1MWms/view?pli=1
The creatively named Bloodlines ST is also running a game 12 years after VtM:B. Find out more here >>44470126 and shoot him an email at [email protected]
"Chronicles of Darkness" is a retarded name.
>>44477183
It is a retarded game though
>>44477230
It used to be okay
>>44477255
Not really.
>>44476791
>Fiction
I just mean that I vastly prefer the material in the original blue book to the new stories for Chronicles of Darkness. The original fiction was fantastic if you were new to the WoD: now I can look back at what's-her-face's story and say, oh yeah, Nosferatu, Acanthus, Clever Tim's a fucking Beshilu or close to it, but with no idea what I was reading about it just sold the fuck out of the story to me, this spiralling view of secret horror. And then that cascade of crazy-person columns and short stories, the priest and the killer-in-winter, the original God-Machine story. The Mothman guy's line, "each shadow conceals only more shadows," would have been a phenomenal tagline for the entire World of Darkness and I always made sure new players read that story. The idea of a collision of inhuman conspiracies opening the door to his bizarre "catalogue" of winged humanoids spoke to me, I guess, because it was a straight kick to the idea of cliche. Here was someone approaching a mystery the way I imagined I would as a player, and finding out that rather than resolving neatly into "here's the ghost, here's its motive, the circumstances of its murder, the weapon that'll banish it" everything just completely unraveled instead.
I did appreciate the Mysterious Places/Ghost Stories references in the Horror section (there's a Watering Hole reference in Beast, too). I fucking loved those books. I understand why they didn't sell, but honestly, I have no regrets about purchasing them. Really great, evocative stuff.
Chronicles of Darkness isn't BAD, but it didn't make me sit the fuck up the way the original did. Also the opening fiction is kind of cringe until halfway in.
REALLY feeling the loss of those little skill-stories they had. The skill-stories themselves were just random crap, but as an introduction to roleplaying games as a first-time player they were hugely valuable in how they helped me finally understand what the game would look like in motion.
In VtR 2e, is "Requiem" interchangeable with Dirge mechanically, or is it something separate that I missed?
What exactly are the mechanical differences between CoFd and nWod?
>>44477368
Requiem is just another term for "your life as a vampire". If it shows up as the name of a mechanic, that means your pdf is probably out of date.
>>44477116
Shit, forgot to put these in the OP
http://puttingthevigilinvigilantism.tumblr.com/
http://hedgingyourbets.tumblr.com/
http://atlanteanstupidity.tumblr.com/
http://inthenameofthemoonmoon.tumblr.com/
http://whatshouldvampirescallme.tumblr.com/
>>44477449
CofD is nWoD 2e's new name.
>>44477449
If you include the God Machine Chronicles update? Very, very, very little.
It has a few more things included. Like how to make monsters, or the Chase, or Crafting mechanics. Otherwise, it's the same.
The Mega doesn't have the 20th anniversary books, anyone know where I can get those?
>>44477498
The Mega shouldn't have any oWoD shit
oWoDsies keep walking, this is nWoD territory
Reposting this:
So I'm going back through the Geist 2e stuff after almost a month. I'm taking some notes on what each of the Keys should represent thematically and what each of the Manifestations should do mechanically. (Working on paper at the moment, so no updates)
I'm thinking the way I'll handle Manifestations is that each of them need to be activated in the scene first, but most of the time your Unlocks will come along for the ride, usually by spending Plasm during the activation. I might have them all free and unrolled to "turn on". Alternately, it's free unless you want to do it Reflexively.
Either way, I'm making it more clear that you have to turn your power on first, then you can use it.
Some things to note:
-- Stygian Key is going to be part of the ones I figure out; it's also going to have a bit of healing as it's purview.
-- Elemental Keys are going to be just one Key
-- The Stigmata, Stillness, and Stygian Key have a lot of overlap in terms of ghosts/dead stuff/corpses that I'm working out
-- The Boneyard is going to be more of a support ability now, allowing you to give allies bonuses, maybe even just outright "if you can use it on yourself you can do it on an ally".
-- I'm not sure what to do with the Curse; I don't particularly like that it stays "open" longer than a scene.
-- Marionette manipulates the Key's purview in a more reasonable way, as opposed to just weird random shit you get better at
-- Oracle gives specific information about the Key; think of it like Mage Sight or Auspex
-- The Caul gives benefits and does a bit of shapeshifting; it does NOT give any defensive abilities
-- Those are all for Shroud; in 1e half the Manifestations added to Defense or Armour
-- Rage I'm iffy on at the moment. Core idea is that it does something with the Keystone to make it more weapon worthy as the default.
-- Each Manifestation will probably give some "plain" benefit that gets better with a Key.
-- Keys are going to be Ranked, Manifestations are not.
>>44477116
So
At the start of my chronicle there was an unaligned vampire with a powerful court in place in the largest city in the county. There was a powerful third generation werewolf pack, eight strong. Things weren't perfect, but they were stable.
The group found out there was a bale hound in the pack and a maeltinet nearby, but was completely hands off and basically said it was there problem. The pack is now down to four, and their harmony has dropped due to my players actually manipulating them to break their oath to father wolf; they only got the wolves to stop hating them by revealing the identity of the bale hound when they figured it out, but they still aren't on good terms. The players decided that was enough help.
Meanwhile, they've challenged the local prince, and have decimated the court to prop up their own prince, which they are in control of. The sudden power vacuum is going to attract multiple other covenants and though Ordo Dracul is being installed by the players, blood is in the water so to say, and there is actually a small group of radical Lancea Sanctum members in the county that are going to seize this opportunity in a gambit to set up what is essentially the Sabbat, because they hate humans. The vampires also controlled the drug trade in the whole region, and were major suppliers of a potent line of meth. With that being shut down, not only will outside covenants try to take over, but drug cartels will try to take the place of the previous regime.
The group has also been witnessed doing overtly supernatural shit by news reporters. Of course the reporters don't remember exactly what they saw, but the footage has reached Network Zero, along with some security footage that they were threatened with. My players literally told me, 'mortals can't understand what they see on that tape [a were-rhino going warform] and no one will believe it, let him do whatever he wants with it'.
>cont'd
>>44478408
Network Zero, obviously, is going crazy with this footage. It has people in TF:V uniforms shapeshifting. The whole region is about to be crawling with cells of hunters - from Ashwood Abbey, to Cheiron Group, to The Union, to Lucifuge.
My players already said, before creating this mess, that they felt like it'd be easier to just burn the whole county to the ground than to actually try to protect anyone from all the supernatural dangers.
Now they'll be contending with multiple vampire coups, tons of spiritual disturbances the werewolves can no longer manage, The Pure moving in on the weakened Forsaken whom they've long wanted revenge against, drug dealers and gangs, and a slew of hunter cells searching under every rock.
Am I wrong to have nature takes its course? Am I right in anticipating that my players will just give up? Am I right to think they're fucking idiots that got extremely sloppy and powerhungry? What does /tg/ think about all this? Am I being harsh?
>>44474271
>>44474961
Here are the answers reposted from here: >>44478583
>1) Born or made?
Usually made, but sometimes people get spontaneously Devoured.
>2) Sefl-gratifying or "teachers?"
Most of them try to teach lessons, but some fluff heavily implies that it's just self-justification.
>3) Still schizophrenic where every Legend is "poor noble misunderstood Beasts" and every Hunger section starts off with "here is how you are driven to perform Evil on a regular basis?" Specifically, did they keep the line in Hunger for Punishment that regardless of how guilty your target may be, your Beast always demands cruel and disproportionate retribution?
Beasts' aren't really like that so much anymore, but the text kind of flip-flops on it. As far as I can tell, the section you refer to in the Hunger for Punishment section has been removed. Some examples are better, some aren't, most of them are are pretty awful.
>5. Still capable of the god-tier Makara Double Grapple?
I don't know what that combo is, but I'm gonna hazard a guess and say the answer us "yes." The powers still aren't very well balanced. Matt may think game balance is a myth, but that doesn't mean you can have stuff that breaks the system.
>Down and Dirty with Uratha? I thought that only was for when one faced lesser foes...
Gauru form forces others to fight using Down and Dirty (basically, pathetic mortals or a bunch of guard dogs are going to lose, and this makes it happen fast). But as a PC you can choose to do Down and Dirty whenever you want, providing you have some combat capability (it suggests a dicepool of like 3 or 5 higher than the target).
>Speaking of Down and Dirty? How should that be handled when facing groups? Teamwork? Or..?
The book says to use teamwork.
>>44478508
>Am I wrong to have nature takes its course? Am I right in anticipating that my players will just give up? Am I right to think they're fucking idiots that got extremely sloppy and powerhungry? What does /tg/ think about all this? Am I being harsh?
You're doing the right thing because:
>that they felt like it'd be easier to just burn the whole county to the ground than to actually try to protect anyone from all the supernatural dangers.
The funny thing is not trying to keep the supernatural stuff on the down low and not cleaning up methods is burning the county down in a metaphorical sense.
>>44477491
>http://inthenameofthemoonmoon.tumblr.com/
this shit is amazing
>>44477449
A fuckton. Huge new rule systems for social everything, investigations, a full overall of combat and all Merits, a section for building new monsters (Horrors) out of a big-ass toolkit (like the Hunter one, but more nuanced), and also some things like rules for chasing, crafting/organizaton management/planning, and Morality -> Integrity that are a little faster to grasp.
>>44478117
Are you making them work like werewolf gifts still? Or did you scrap that?
>>44478780
>made
Fuck.
>teach lessons
FUCK.
>removed
GOD. FUCK.
>Makara Double Grapple
Their default "hi I'm a Makara" power that they got just for being Makara was they could make an extra move in grapples on every action, including initiating the grapple.
God damnit. Now I wish no one ever complained at all because it apparently motivated the guy to cut out the good fluff in favor of the shit-tier.
>game balance is a myth
This should, honestly, instantly disqualify you from any kind of design work. There's fucking miles between "our goal was not rigorously-based tactical combat between experienced players" and saying something as retarded as "game balance is a myth." You know what's a goddamn myth? That you can put your fucking politics in a game about playing as victimizing superbullies and shake it around until it's magically morally acceptable. I hate so much that they're apparently committed to trying.
>>44479144
They're not completely like Werewolf gifts, but yes, the idea is that each Manifestation will be handled the same way that Shadow and Wolf Gifts are handled, with Keys taking the place of Renown. I'm thinking that if I can spin it, each Manifestation and Key combination will still have five Unlocks, so that each dot of a Key feels like more than just "you get +1 to your things".
The Manifestations won't be ranked, though; so while there might be five options, it's more like you get to pick which one you take next. In a way, I'm going to be giving Sin-eaters the suite of powers that it *looks* like they have in 1e. But at the same time, they actually have to consciously choose to take those powers, instead of getting 2 to 10 upgrades each time they buy a dot.
>>44479194
Cut out the good fluff? There wasn't ANY good fluff.
>>44479237
Some of the monster write-ups were good.
The developer really failed, though, because every writer seemed to think they were talking about a completely different game.
>>44478780
>>44479194
>Game balance is a myth
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2010/08/10/game-balance-is-a-myth/
>>44479197
So, got a plan as to what you're gonna call the Elemental key? I'm holding my breath for you combining them.
>>44479268
Oh shit there's an article, it must be true!
Is there anything definitive I can read or watch to get a crash course into everything partaining World of Darkness?
>>44477491
I got this one
http://whathappeninthechantry.tumblr.com/
>>44479194
>Their default "hi I'm a Makara" power that they got just for being Makara was they could make an extra move in grapples on every action, including initiating the grapple.
I just checked and that's gone now. now they cause people to feel like they're drowning.
>Now I wish no one ever complained at all because it apparently motivated the guy to cut out the good fluff in favor of the shit-tier.
I like it better now, but to each their own. They added information on what the Primordial Dream actually is and a quote from each splat about their experience with Beasts. Mummy gets the best one.
As far as the game balance goes, I agree that it's complete bullshit. You don't need to have everything perfect, but at least check for flaws. At least they removed You Are Meat. I kind of want to try and create a new, non-stupid or broken version though.
>>44477491
>http://inthenameofthemoonmoon.tumblr.com/
>wta
>nothing but gifs from shitty tv shows and one good movie
>sentence fragments acting as captions for someone too lazy to actually edit
>>44479290
No, that's Matt's article. I was linking it for context. I honestly think it might be worse when you piece it together. Honestly, the whole thing is him putting together this very elaborate strawman and completely ignoring any actual arguments against his worldview. His problem is that even if you take him at his word, the issue isn't "in a white featureless plain these things should be equal", the problem is "in literally any situation other than contrived ones that will never come up because of the difficulty in contriving them, this ability is better than that ability, despite being the exact same cost or effort to obtain".
He also ignores that when people talk about "game balance" they don't just mean who could win in a fight, they mean who could solve literally any problem better. If you have a choice between two abilities:
>Solve one problem
and
>Get exactly what you want
And the first one costs 5 Monies and the second ability costs zero monies...
>>44479317
Sweet. I'll add it to the list. I kinda want to make a similar silly blog, but mostly with snippets of Reno911 style conversation from a Hunter cell.
>>44479348
>>sentence fragments acting as captions for someone too lazy to actually edit
Are you really in a position to complain about that when you're using greentext?
>>44479388
>Are you really in a position to complain about that when you're using greentext?
I'm not a tumblr account, so yes.
>>44479237
That's not true. I know you're probably just "fuck the guy fuck everything," but on the off-chance that you're not, a lot of the stuff about being a monster on your own terms and not needing to fuck around with morality was decent. It offered a kind of vicariousness Onyx Path and White Wolf before them tends to shy away from in favor of moral conflicts. Beasts didn't have moral conflicts; you didn't have to be evil (the Eshmaki who creeps into rooms at night, holds a knife blade across sleeping throats, and leaves without doing harm or leaving sign, a ghost with no desire to rattle her chains - satisfies Hunger for Prey just fine) but you didn't have to be good (the Anakim rapist who prefers outwardly powerful, inwardly insecure women - too-young CEOs terrified of their unexpected success, the muscled Muay Thai instructor who never forgets the strange, sharp thrill of fear she felt when her first boyfriend didn't let go of her wrist on their second date, even though it came to nothing) and that was fun. There was interesting space there.
Of course, there were also no OTHER kinds of conflict, and the lack of a real Y-splat is crippling. Monsters need their clubs is something that's become really clear to me, as far as the Chronicles of Darkness goes. That is NOT an optional system element.
So everyone pointed out hey holy fuck what do we even do with these weird crossover-fiending nonsense engines, and rather than give them the things they needed, Matt opted for...more morality, because people kept linking Beasts and bullying and questioning why the fuck the book asserts that Heroes are wrong when, like vampire hunters, what they actually are is INCONVENIENT.
Beasts are still gray because they still don't have a morality gauge and however "clean" the language has been made, their Hungers still work for bad things, but now that all the text is united in calling them the good guys it's extra retarded to do anything interesting with them.
>>44479431
>Beasts are still gray because they still don't have a morality gauge and however "clean" the language has been made, their Hungers still work for bad things, but now that all the text is united in calling them the good guys it's extra retarded to do anything interesting with them.
The language is an inconsistent mess, but you could still play a Beast who didn't care about morality and as long as you didn't leave a trail of dead in your wake most Beasts probably wouldn't do anything about it except maybe chew you out if even that.
>>44479414
>I'm not a tumblr account
My headcanon is that you're actually the guy who produces these tumblrs and when you're not busy heckling yourself, you own and operate a lubricated gloryhole in the basement of a mental hospital for minorities.
>>44479388
>"when I say “game balance is a myth,” I’m being both honest and deliberately baiting the listener. I’ve worked in RPG design for a number of years. Obviously you have to give some consideration to game balance."
I honestly want him to experience some kind of minor but resonant personal tragedy. Fucking...what kind of pus sultan does this shit? You're not a 15-year-old girl flirting with teacher and that kind of cutesy-dumbass snuggletard behavior ISN'T SOMETHING TO ASPIRE TO.
I am so fucking glad Mage, Werewolf, and Vampire all have dependable leads who don't fuck around with this bullshit. When they screw up you know it wasn't on GODDAMN PURPOSE to prove how much of an ASSHOLE you are.
>>44479431
>It offered a kind of vicariousness Onyx Path and White Wolf before them tends to shy away from in favor of moral conflicts.
Not really. It's not like Humanity in VtM was really that big a deal, and making that standard wasn't really true until nWoD.
And even then it's not like you need to worry about Morality now. All of what you just said is still possible. "You teach lessons" is literally there as the vaguest hint of a focus. I mean, it's something, but it's still not really enough to make a game out of. There's no ideas you can put together to say "so this what the chronicle is about".
I don't even understand where you're getting this "more morality" aspect. If anything they've got less morality. People hated that Beasts were bullies not because playing bullies is a problem, but because the book presented them as not-bullies. Vampire books go on about how vampires are performing blood orgies and BABY VERSUS DOG, but they're at least presented as being shitheads for it. Heroes being little more than inconvenient is a problem because the book plays them up as if a) there was any possibility to create them, and b) they were real threats.
Also, aren't you the same person who didn't know what Beast's final draft looked like and was asking questions?
The text isn't united in calling them good guys. It just says that at one point they actually had a purpose and now they mostly ignore that.
>>44479501
>pus sultan
I broke out into giggles.
And baiting the listener is actually a good tactic. I mean, that's the crux of the Socratic method. It's just... he's creating a strawman and not actually addressing the real complaints people mean when they talk about "game balance". So basically he heard it was something other people do, but didn't quite understand why they do it.
>>44479490
This is the part that blows my mind about the whole crossover thing. Beasts are a constant source of Masquerade breaches. If they're not feeding through Family Dinner, they casually use their powers to scare the shit out of people, or hurt or kill them - you know, MEMORABLE THINGS - and they have no inherent society or predators to make them play by the general rules. How is this reasonable? Even their Mary Sue effect shouldn't cover how dangerous they are to most supernatural groups. I mean, maybe you make friends with them to KEEP them from causing mayhem...
The only thing in their weight class are Demons, who are probably happy to have Beasts rampaging around drawing attention while they slip into the local Infrastructure. I don't even understand the Beast/Demon grudge. Is there some actual REASON for them to beef that I'm missing?
>>44479558
>Is there some actual REASON for them to beef that I'm missing?
Matt also worked on Demon, iirc.
>>44479574
I can see so many things in Demon where it's clear to me that it was Matt's doing, and I can only assume all the good parts about Demon were Rose.
I kind of worry about Promethean 2e. Not because I think the way Matt's changed the themes are a problem, because honestly I don't mind them, and Promethean has enough direction inherent in the game that he won't have the directionlessness of Beast. My problem is mechanically. Looking over Promethean abilities, they were kind of a mess to begin with, and I can only hope someone will reign it in.
Also, I think the worst part of his blog article there is that throughout it all he does a bad job at pretending to be Chuck Wendig, and Chuck Wendig only pulls off his brand of humour about half the time.
>>44479558
>even their Mary Sue effect shouldn't cover how dangerous they are to most supernatural groups
That's for Social Maneuvering rules.
>I don't even understand the Beast/Demon grudge. Is there some actual REASON for them to beef that I'm missing?
The Beast's "detect monster" power clashes with the Demon's "I'm a human power," which is an unpleasent experience for both of them. Also Demons don't read as monsters for some reason.
You also don't have to use your powers in an overt way to scare people in order to feed. Plus most Beast powers are pretty subtle when not spending Satiety except when they're really unsubtle (I'm looking at you Dragonfire).
>>44479528
>I don't even understand where you're getting this "more morality" aspect.
Oh, I agree with you completely that there's no mechanical impetus. What I mean is that they rewrote the fluff to cut out references to Beasts being, well, bestial, and restructured things to push and sell the "misunderstood noble teacher of lessons" angle, which I think is despicable.
The cost is not in what you will mechanically have to do, the cost is in swallowing toxic bullshit or dealing with STs or other players who buy into it for the very good reason that that is, in fact, what they were sold. I like Beast. I like its mechanics. I don't like its new fluff, and i don't like the kind of people who are drawn to its new fluff. So there's a problem there for me; the fun toys I want to play with have all been labeled "toys for yeast-garglers" and to play with them I have to sit in a room full of yeast-garglers or drag my toys around constantly explaining that no, I don't gargle yeast, I just like the toys. It's like wanting to be a feminist but not go on Tumblr and encourage minorities to #rapeforequality.
>the book presented them as not-bullies
Yeah, we're in agreement here. My issue is that they are now MORE not-bullies than they were in the leak and the kickstarter preview.
>final draft guy
I have my backer PDF, but I don't know if it's a final draft or if I'm the guy you mean.
>>44479528
>BABY VERSUS DOG
please let it die, anon
please let me die
>>44478858
I just feel like maybe punishing them is the bad GM thing to do. Maybe I should just roll with it.
>>44479657
>What I mean is that they rewrote the fluff to cut out references to Beasts being, well, bestial, and restructured things to push and sell the "misunderstood noble teacher of lessons" angle, which I think is despicable.
As opposed to the "misunderstood repressed monster minority" angle?
I'm failing to see how this version has more toxic bullshit. Like, this whole thing is basically nothing but paint. Beasts are still by and large assholes who at the very best pay lip service to a concept. The new fluff is literally the barest of concessions to give you something to do other than beat people up and take their lunch money and then cry foul when people try to fight back. The main thing the book changed was that Beasts are no longer *as* whiny and petulant.
>>44479301
So I'll take that as a no, then?
>>44479609
>I can see so many things in Demon where it's clear to me that it was Matt's doing
Which ones?
>>44479301
I don't think John Green plays World of Darkness. Hank might, though.
But no, not really. Gentleman Gamer's Guides on Youtube can kind of help, but they're mostly oWoD. And he's quit making Youtube videos to move on to other things.
Honestly, I'd take up the reins and do a sort of Guide To Splats, if I had a camera or video editing software or stage presence or motivation.
>>44479780
Alright then. Thanks then, guess I'll just do some combing.
>>44479809
This thread is the best crash course you'll get.
>>44479754
Search for PDFs of Mysterious Places and Ghost Stories. They're probably in the OP download section.
They have very little rules text and lots and lots of narrative - horror stories all. That's honestly my vote for an introduction. Oh, and watch...mmm...it really does change a lot between gameline. If American Horror Story didn't ever try to be cute, if True Blood wasn't SEWAGE, if every line was Changeling you could watch MirrorMask or read Neverwhere or Stardust.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a good choice of books. The first season of True Detective, if it was more supernatural. If your players are a little sillier, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is like a low-power high-camp WoD game. Hemlock Grove's first season is okay. Books, books, books...a lot of Stephen King, let me think. The Shining, Revival, Duma Key, Desperation. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, the whole series, for an optimistic altruist in the World of Darkness. For Hunter, Supernatural, but it's not a great show. You'd think Buffy but you'd be wrong. For Demon, the Matrix, Shadowrun. For Vampire, the classics - Carmilla, Dracula - and the new classics - Interview with a Vampire, mostly.
Re-Animator. Lovecraft's good stuff. House of (Blue) Leaves, you should read that anyway.
>>44479317
Found this as well http://harpiesgonnaharp.tumblr.com/
All these things are LARP.
I conjure by the dread name of DaveB! DaveB! Thrice I call, DaveB! Hear my summons!
Basically, will the Clue system be referenced within Mage? What about the Chase system? Crafting?
The inclusion of those in the CofD core, while it was left out of Vampire and Werewolf made them feel (rightfully so, perhaps) as ed 1.5.
Is an update to include that what's taking extra time before Layout, perhaps?
>>44479809
If you can find a PDF of the Horror Recognition Guide, it's all stories for Hunter that are just amazing for setting the tone of the world as a whole.
Chronicles of Darkness' inspirational section recommends the Crow, True Detective, Terminator (for some reason), The Exorcist, and two comics, Demo and Fell, which I have not read. Comics and Terminator aside those are all pretty solid.
Get a copy of the New World of Darkness Core (blue cover, vanishing guy on a street, says WORLD OF DARKNESS in a cool font) and read up until page 33 - most of it is short stories, with some tonal stuff. Very good introduction.
>>44479996
>Terminator (for some reason)
Just make the Terminator undead instead of a robot and you have a perfect WoD story.
>>44479996
Terminator is recommended because, despite the sci-fi trappings, it has a horror feel and is also a very God Machine sort of story. They even say in Demon that when an Angel falls, it can look very much like when the Terminator appears for the first time.
>>44479867
>>44479908
>>44479996
Thanks a bunch, I'll bump up my recommended reading and watching.
Say I have a Twilight Familiar, and i want it to tackle a Ghost, is there a way to make this possible, given the separate Twilights?
>>44480265
a) not really
b) same way you'd make yourself able to hit something in spirit twilight.
>>44479996
Seconding Hunter Recognition Guide. Incredible reading from cover to cover. I wish stuff like the Dracula Dossier and The Armitage Files were a thing when the HRG was published, because there's an incredible campaign when you use the book as a in-game prop. There's the little SAS adventures based on each story, but those aren't as compelling as the stories and don't really lend to one united campaign in the DD/AF style.
>>44480316
>the Dracula Dossier and The Armitage Files
The what now?
>>44480305
>b) same way you'd make yourself able to hit something in spirit twilight.
So I need to teach it the Telekinesis numen, or feed it enough death essence that it develops an influence in death / ghosts.
May need to invest in some eyeliner and razorblades.
>>44480333
Gumshoe supplements. They are pretty good even if you don't like the system.
>>44480334
Why Telekinesis...?
No, you just hand it a blessed stick, or use a spell. Ghost essence doesn't even work that way.
>>44480359
Telekinesis numen (not psychic power) lets Twilight spirits affect material things without manifesting, I'd assume this would also apply to other beings in other Twilights.
>Ghost essence doesn't even work that way.
If I feed my pet a strict diet of death essence and ectoplasm, why would it not develop Influence (Ghosts)?
>>44479321
>Mummy gets the best one.
That it does, the cliff notes version for those without the pdf is:
>"I don't think you guys are relevant any more.."
>>44480398
>"I don't think you guys are relevant any more.."
Mummy says to Beast or vice versa?
>>44479301
You'd want to talk to someone well versed in WoD related stuff, I'd say.
>>44480416
Mummy says to Beast, which is funny because most of the Arisen are out of touch old fogeys with Alzheimer's.
>>44480382
Oh, whoops, I thought you were talking about a Ghost Familiar.
Although I think "Influence (Ghosts)" is as unlikely as "Influence (Humans)".
Hey, so I'm in the MEGA right now looking through the nWoD folder and have a few more questions:
1.) Are the files in the WoD subfolder individual chapters or entire books?
2.) Are the rest of the subfolders in the parent file new jobs or something seperate?
3.) Besides the nWoD Core Rulebook (which is a really good read by by the way, I've neglected thrillers for a long time in my life), what would you say are the essentials to get from the bin?
>>44480346
>>44480333
More specifically, the Armitage Files and the Dracula Dossier are sourcebooks about how to set up your own mystery influenced sandbox campaign. This is done by providing the group with a single document: the Armitage Files has it be a document by a high ranking professor at Miskatonic University, and the Dracula Dossier has it be an original copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which in the world of Night's Black Agents is actually an after action report of using Dracula as an intelligence asset and how it all went horribly wrong. Players find leads inside the documents that they want to pursue, and the games help the GM figure out where to go with those leads.
To tie it back to Hunter's Recognition Guide, you could do a really good campaign like those books when you consider the questions the book leaves open: not only the plothooks concerning the aftermath of each story but also the fate of the Support Group. You could still do it with the book at hand and by using creative editing of the HRG SAS adventures that go with it, but a full sandbox campaign guide using it would have been cool as hell.
>>44480565
I actually wanted to run a Hunter game with the players coming into possession of something like the "Dad's Journal" in Supernatural, started by Quincy Harker (son of Jonathan Harker and protoge of Van Helsing in an alternate reality where that's not dumb) and eventually added to by Hunters throughout the last hundred years or so.
>>44479958
Quoting daveb from reddit
>We (well, I and one of the writers) have spent much of this week pondering that, and we've decided it would delay Mage too much to do and properly playtest. We'll cover it in the expansion to Mage Sight's rules in Signs of Sorcery.
>>44480501
Books.
What you need going forward is actually not the nWoD Core Rulebook because it's 1E and we're 2E now. You want: Chronicles of Darkness (the other link; this is the Core for 2E), Demon: the Descent and related, Vampire: the Requiem 2E (or Blood & Smoke if it's still called that), Werewolf: the Forsaken 2E, and...is that it? Is Hunter in 2E yet?
Anyway we're in a state of transition, so essentials are gonna be fluffy things that you'll want to ignore the rules from. Antagonists, Ghost Stories, Mysterious Places, Intruders, Book of the Dead, Horror Recognition Guide, Second Sight, anything with Night Horrors in front of it, Urban Legends, some of the SAS (like adventure paths for D&D) are good but I don't know which...that's mostly it. Oh, if you can find Damnation City (might be in the Vampire section) it's good BUT DO NOT READ THE FIRST STORY JUST FUCKING PASS THAT SHIT BY.
Worth looking at but not really priority reading: Midnight Roads, Asylum, Astral Realms.
>>44480759
I'm glad something's being done with them later. There's a whole bunch of opportunities with the pursuit and crafting rules that Werewolf and even Vampire could have used.
>>44480889
hunter had mortal remains but it's a god machine style rules update, it's also a bit incomplete, a lot of the system updates are left very vague(Trigger points for example, are given about one line of 'yea they're still in' without an explanation for how they work with the new integrity system)
>>44480889
Ruins of Ur for Mortal and Blood Red + Ash Gray for Vampire are good SASes worth looking at.
looking for a piece of nWoD/CofD fiction about a person who bumblefucks into some sort of nightmare landscape with people whose heads are encased in steel cubes and are hanging in racks among other terrible fucked-upedness.
>>44480974
That sounds like you're talking about silent hill, are you sure you didn't mean to click /v/?
are there wolf-blooded merits out for the pure tribes?
Quick clarification on a misconception in the last thread: agg damage does not trigger death rage.
Also that's the first time I have ever seen someone complain about Efficient Killer which I'm pretty sure is one of the weaker and less used merits in the new book.
>>44480974
It's in one of the Vigil books, can't remember which one.
>>44480995
Not yet.
>>44481043
agg damage doesn't, but doesn't taking damage from silver trigger it?
>>44480985
i very clearly remember the story as being included in some published nWoD book and the visuals from it have stuck with me for years. i just want to know :(
>>44481088
Yep, but only silver. Taking or doling out agg in other ways does not unless otherwise specified.
>>44480974
Sounds like something from Changeling.
>>44481122
After a bit more investigation, I think the book you want is the horror recognition guide.
>>44480265
Yes. Grab the Ghost Eater numen.
Reposting my car question from last thread for any stray /o/tist that might be in here:
I'm making Elwood Blues for Changeling out of a cop that the Fae grabbed in the early 80s, and I can't pin down which car he should have. Obviously it's a Chrysler C-Body, but which one? I can't decide between a 1975 Monaco, a 1977 Royal Monaco (like the Chicago PD and Illinois State Police drove in the movie), or a 1976 Plymouth Gran Fury (like the NYPD drove), or a 1974 Plymouth Fury (like the Bluesmobile was in Dan Ackroyd's original draft of the script. The reason I'm not rolling with a 74 Monaco is because they went out of service faster for some reason.
It might just seem like pointless detail autism, but this is going to be his Bluesmobile. It'll help me pin down what city he was from before his Durance (Either Chicago or NYC, which is important for a game set in NYC), and it'll help set down just how much shit he got from his Keeper for his patrol car being "NOT RIGHT!" and how much he bonded with the car over being forced into its role when it did not belong.
To be specific, he doesn't like what he's turned into. He'll still be one of the best drivers in New York with magical powers behind the wheel, he'll still listen to R&B when driving to help him concentrate and to relax, and he'll even play the blues harmonica in clubs to gather Glamour. But he hates it. He hates that this is life now and how his appreciation for literally all other forms of music was taken from him. So a car not being correct and being pressed into service as the Bluesmobile would fit his character.
Which splat would be suited to creating the Legendary Black Beast of -AAARRRRGGHHH!
>>44481313
Horror.
If you want something playable, Beast.
>>44481327
Basically the whole scene with the Black Beast is a group of Hunters wandering into the lair ofa Beast, somehow, and having to face the titular horror, before the Beast karks it due to being a hamplanet.
>>44481363
Nah. The ST figured "shit! the hunter PC's ain't got a chance to defeat this critter!"
>>44481577
either way the end result is hilarious.
>>44480889
Demon: the Descent isn't in the bin. Are the downloads of Werewolf and Vampire in there 2E?
Morality question.
Werewolves in my game are the traditional kind, so transform on full moon/spread by being bitten. When transformed the werewolf isn't a mindless beast, but is essentially a highly intelligent but berserk animal driven to hunt and kill. The next day the human can remember everything they did when transformed.
Several of my players contracted lycanthropy, and have so far managed to contain themselves, but I'm wondering about morality. Say a PC gets loose and kills/eats several people in a rampage. Which would be the best option?
>One morality test at the lowest level sin
>Morality test for each sin committed
>One test at a lower level than the most severe sin due to amount committed
Tests don't happen until they've turned back, as in wolf form you don't give a shit about eating people, but as a human you remember you did it and feel bad about it.
Those of you who use maps, how do you do it?
I'm admittedly using Gotham City instead of New York, so I don't have a Google Maps page to work with, but how do you decide where you want to put things and how far apart they should be and all that junk? What territory people should control, and where they're from.
How do you set up your city? I'm still trying to figure out how to get the six or so different maps of Gotham I've got working together, but I'm also trying to set up my own little "Territories" style write up.
>>44479958
>Is an update to include that what's taking extra time before Layout, perhaps?
It would probably result in full months dedicated to additional playtesting, so I seriously doubt it. The game's already more than a year past its original projected release date, and Dave mostly just wants the damn thing to be out already so he can start talking about books he DIDN'T finish writing months ago.
>>44482761
Also I'm probably fucking it up for myself, but I don't even know which map to use. All of them have things that are a bit silly, like the way the coloured map has text I can't even read, and the uncoloured map isn't even the same place and I should have done this weeks ago when no one was bothering me and off doing their own holiday things...
>>44481218
Source of numen?
>>44482761
>>44483699
Pick a map, in your case, the one with the least stuff you hate. Carve out territory. Make packs influenced by what that area is like (you don't need an in and out knowledge of this, just use basic ideas) and what their original pack ideas were. Then run the game. That's about all the steps to it.
>>44482651
One Morality versus the worst sin is probably the best option. That's going to weigh heavily on their minds post-transformation.
>>44484031
Book of Spirits and Book of the Dead.
>>44482761
Just use a real map and find out where major locations are. Territories aren't like nations, they don't have to fill up all space until they touch one another.
>>44482651
One test, lowest sin.
>>44480974
The Hunter Recognition Guide.
>>44479501
>My headcanon is that you're actually the guy who produces these tumblrs and when you're not busy heckling yourself, you own and operate a lubricated gloryhole in the basement of a mental hospital for minorities.
You're projecting.
>no Dreams of Avarice before the new year
Well fuck me, I guess.
>nWoD 1e was 12 years ago
holy fuck
>>44486365
>I was nine years old
Well that's a sobering thought. People have been shitposting about my favorite game for most of my life.
>>44486030
The big year ending release for OPP is the Mage20 book on how to actually use the magic in Mage20. Something to reflect on as we face a new year.
People who've played/run Werewolf, tell me about your territory and totem
>>44486549
Now you're just making me feel old, anon.
>>44487519
What do you want to know?
Also I hope that "Clue" system would be implented for Hunt in the Werewolf 2ed in books that will be published.
>>44486549
they didn't really shitpost much 12 years ago
>>44487519
Our totem's a bitch, and has effectively become a claimed Territory's big and open, we've had very little in the way of competition, there's a glade in it controlled by a powerful/old spirit. Gauntlet is super thick, loci are rare or tightly controlled.
>>44488182
>>44487519
Speaking of that, are the books in the bin 2E?
>>44488128
Back then, it was flame wars on Usenet. No one really calls stuff "flames" anymore do they?
As a Storyteller, how forgiving are you with take-backs when a player misunderstands something?
Assuming the player isn't the one making mistake s every action for not paying attention.
>>44487993
I just want to see what others have done so that I can fill out my NPCs and give my players suggestions.
Since I'm running with my joke and setting my game in Gotham, I'm tempted to suggest to them that their Totem be some sort of City Bat. Like, something that represents the dark hidden places of the city. But the concept kind of feels Magathy.
>>44489872
I'm pretty forgiving. Some people don't get a grasp of the rules as quickly as other people, so I'm willing to reverse consequences that come out of a lack of knowledge for the rules. Occasionally I'll soften the blow of the consequences instead, especially if the player's fine with the outcome, but I don't think I've ever been in a situation where I say "No, no takebacks".
>>44489872
If someone misunderstands something, chances are it's the ST's fault. You're the eyes and ears of the players.
>>44490587
Yeah, this is my take on it. All players have to go on is the tools and clues given to them by an ST, so an ST has to make sure they're getting the right information across.
>>44477116
> What advice do you have for horror? In what way can you evoke the uncanny through text or, at best, voice?
Imply, don't explain. Make the PCs figure things out on their own. The players' imaginations will come up with things far more horrifying to them than anything an ST could come up with.
As Lovecraft said, “... the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”
>>44490480
The only time I ever did "No takebacks" was when a player would not put down his phone after several session always needed total repeats of everything, but would blurt out stupid stuff all the time.
If mages start rerouting leylines and fucking with resonance, who's going to get mad at them?
>>44493250
The God Machine.
The Exarchs
Hunters (even though they cant do shit)
>>44493250
Ordo Dracul as they use leylines for their experiments. Depending on the leyline in question you may only have 1 angry moderately powerful vampire to the intire covenant to be after your head. Depending on if a crucible was destroyed by the shifting of leylines.
>>44493398
>Hunters (even though they cant do shit)
Just as it should be.
>>44493497
Given what vampires tend to know about Mages and their capabilities (namely that they seem to be able to throw fire around at will, among other things), the Ordo Dracul is more likely to try to negotiate (from a position of safety, through intermediaries) with the Mages in question.
They share an academic interest in ley lines, and can ostensibly both use them in a way that doesn't fuck up each other's projects.
Or they could unleash an unprovoked attack on local Mages and then get their shit destroyed by the local Obrimos, sure.
>>44493587
>Just as it should be.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
>>44493609
I agree that they would most likely make deals with mages about leyline. But if a lone mage is shifting leyline and distrubing the balance of hallows wyrm-nest and the flow of mana. Doubt he would have the backing of entire path of magic.
>>44493685
They wouldn't have their backing, but they'd still have their (kinda) protection.
Mages need to ensure they're seen as people not to be fucked with.
Which includes retaliating against anyone who assaults one of their Consilium (unless they were REALLY fucking asking for it).
>>44493398
>>44493672
As a newcommer of this, are Hunters incompatent or something, or can they just not fight against the power of a mage?
>>44493816
A mage when prepared, is the most powerful splat, but they need prep time. They have trouble with Vampires without it.
But with it, a Gnosis 3 Forces Mage can level half a city block with casual ease.
>>44493798
Well i would say disturbing the leyline that an entire covenant of the city is using. Futher mage society always struck me as reap what you sow. For example a mage can steal a soul stone of another mage and the Consilium does nothing about this.
>>44493845 city block is huge a mage would have huge penalties in destorying a half a cily block
That would be 110 yards, 16 yards is a -8. So not so casual.
>>44493940
>city block is huge a mage would have huge penalties in destorying a half a cily block
>That would be 110 yards, 16 yards is a -8. So not so casual.
If you think you need to blow it up all at once, you're not good at being a Mage.
>>44493845
This has changed with 2e however.
They still get stronger with prep time, however given the way rituals are no longer extended actions there is a MUCH lower cap on their ability, making them much more dependent on dice pools, rather than just spending a few days casting.
>>44493940
>Consilium does nothing about this
Theft is a bronze law, and considering it's of a part of someone's soul, it's likely to be silver as well, depending on the Consilium.
The most important thing about Mage society is Oaths.
If you swear and Oath, you're bypassing Mage law.
If you saw "I shall rescue your daughter from her imprisonment in a Russian detention center, or my soul is forfeit", then the other party can literally ask the Consilium to rip out your soul should you fail and they will help.
>>44493958
Well if you planing it a head of time doi g a ritual would change it from major penalties to only needing more success. And not doibg it all at once give other people to learn of what your doing and intervene. Such as Seers or the God Machine.
>>44478780
>>44474271
>1) Born or made?
>Usually made, but sometimes people get spontaneously Devoured.
It's a bit fiddlier than that. You have to be born with a strong connection to the Primordial Dream in order to be devoured in the first place. In setting beasts argue about weather the devouring made them into beasts or if it was a catalyst that helped them mature. The fact that some beasts "self devour" just adds to the speculation.
>>44493816
Hunters are neither and have a book dedicated to how they fuck Mages up.
They can fuck up mages but I think its more of an issue of them not having the tools to 1. detect leyline manipulation and 2. fix leyline manipulation.
>>44493970
Yay true. I cant wait for mage 2E the game will feel closer on theme. Great power at a high cost.
>>44494011
Fair point.but yhis still does not change that fact that mages hardly do things without demanding favors of those they help. They take about that in I think Sanctum and Sigel the cabal book.
>>44494011
What are these bronze and silver laws from. I need to look into this for my mage player.
>>44494059
I think the theme will still be pretty similar, it's just that there's no more Cover/Vulgar and ritual bullshit.
Now Obrimos who have significant proficiency with Forces can throw lightning without having to give a fuck about Paradox.
I always hated that even minor gravitational, magnetic, fire or electric party tricks risked as much Paradox as extinguishing someone's house.
Now I'll actually PLAY an Obrimos.
>>44494141
Well of course. But what better way to get a Mage indebted to you, than to do something for them?
If they pay you back, excellent.
If they don't, they'd fucking better or everyone sees them as a leech on the Consilium which they put so much effort into.
>>44494181
Sanctum and Sigil goes into detail about Consilium laws.
Gold Laws are those that can be directly traced to Atlantean ruins or records (well, as accurately as you can get with Atlantis).
Silver Laws are those that can be implied from these, or those found across the world in different Consiliums from different cultures, where nobody can remember when they were introduced.
Bronze laws are a reflection of the culture one finds themself in. So in this category is shit like public indecency, theft and slander. Usually they don't give a fuck about these that much.
>>44494238
True i do love the fact vulgar magic is gone. And ritual where the most OP thing of all 1E. But I am a bit conflicted about a mage fighting a vampire in 2E. When a mages spell potency is reduced to 0 the spell fail and with mage dice pool being at best 16 die with 10 gnosis and spell mastery. While a vampire with 10 blood potency and frenzy could reduce that die pool by down to -25 if it against stamina.
>>44494374
>mage dice pool being at best 16 die with 10 gnosis and spell mastery
You're forgetting Rotes and other yantras.
>>44494288
Thank you i need to look into that book more closely but what of theft of magical items. One would think it would rate higher on that. Or is it just how its is stolen. As i would think a mage capable of makeing a soul stone would hide their soul beter from normal theft
So, a changeling is unlucky enough to get picked by a hungry horror for a game of cat and mouse. His dream self gets pulled into a beasts lair. How fucked is he? Relatively speaking, I know he'll wake up the next morning.
>>44494394
Sorry meant to say in 1 round of casting. And do rotes still go by attribute + Skill + Arcane?
>>44494434
As I said, Bronze laws are really just Sleeper laws that the Mages agree with.
Silver laws will depend on the location, but are also found in the beginning of the book, which includes the sanctity of the Sanctum. So really, if anyone steals from your Sanctum then they're breaking Consilium law.
Really though, you can define whatever you like as a Silver Law to suit the story.
>>44494465
They mention in the beast book that changeling are soom of the best ally against beast so i would say it has a good chane of escaping.
>>44494374
>While a vampire with 10 blood potency
Well, of course you're going to fucking lose. Gnosis and BP are two very different things and aren't comparable power stats. A 10 BP Vampire would be more comparable to an Archmaster.
>>44494465
Depends how proficient he is in Dream Combat.
If he's fucking baller, he might even be able to drive the Beast out of its Lair.
>>44494469
Rotes add the rating of the related skill to your casting dice pool, they don't replace Gnosis with attributes, so you don't have to worry about being weedy or meek when blasting someone with a damaging spell.
>>44494469
>>44494493
Hmm thanks.
>>44494508
True mage with high gnosis mostly bring more paradox in play. As i believe paradox die pool is now your gnosis die pool in 2E. Or did i just miss read that bit in the section they mention paradox.
>>44494493
>As I said, Bronze laws are really just Sleeper laws that the Mages agree with.
I thought Bronze Law was precedent based on previous Consilium actions...
>>44494606
I'm going off memory, as I don't have the books on hand. However this sounds likely.
>>44493816
It's expressly suggested by the developer of mage that you do not have hunters go after mages, as mages are very powerful, and simply seeing magic will cause a hunter's mind to shatter (twice, at least) and forget they ever saw anything magical.
>>44494053
>Hunters are neither and have a book dedicated to how they fuck Mages up.
They have a book dedicated to how they fuck witches up, witches being a weaker stand in for mages who are too powerful to hunt and the gameline likes to downplay mages doing bad so there's no reason to hunt them.
Happy new year, thread. May the new year bring many scares and adventures and stuff, and may you all find games, if you're not already in one.
>>44495265
You are several hours behind.
Anyone wana give me Bloodlines advice?
Specificaly which skills are useful and which aren't. I'm going through as a social Toreador. I've got decent enough Melee, but I'm mostly focused on trying to get as many dialogue options as possible, so I picked the WESP patch background that gave me the bonus to Seduction and I've put most of my points into things like Charisma and Scholarship and Inteligence, so that I've got as much coloured dialogue as I can.
Is it worth it to get 10 in all of my Social Feats (Intimidate, Persuasion, Seduction.. I'm rich as fuck from extorting everyone, so I don't need Haggle)? How worth it is something like Inspection?
And will a Melee Feat of 4 or 5 be enough to not die?
Is Lockpicking ever worth it? I know there's a chest in Santa Monica Suites room 1 that I really want to open, but I need Lockpicking 8 and can't Blood Buff.
I'm nearing the end of the Santa Monica section, I think. I just got Jeanette and Therese to reconcile (I may have switched some values in the Console...) and I'm about to finally blow this Sabbat house.
>>44495347
Not in America.
>>44495347
Time is an illusion.
>>44495468
Time is a bitch. Learned that from a time master.
>>44495446
Also, this is my layout so far. Can't make a real picture because I'm in the Steam Browser.
http://vgy.me/UcxKrH.png
>>44495446
just focus on one social feat
Does anyone know some mage 1E hacks. I am trying to look for some but the ones are not what im looking for.
>>44488528
It's a sign of age. Like people saying "whippersnapper"
>>44495720
What do you mean by hacks?
>>44495720
The hacks are all in Armoury Reloaded.
Best hack is Calling the Supernal. Spend a point of Mana and a point of Willpower and do one spell a dot level higher with additional Paradox.
There are also some in the Chronicler's Guide, but they're all for different types of settings, like superscientists who take drugs to cast magic.
>>44495747
Special rules tweaks.
>>44495747
Alterations to the rules. That what they were called. Such as one allowed mages to use thr higher of the arcanum or gnosis for armor spells.
>>44494238
>Now Obrimos who have significant proficiency with Forces can throw lightning without having to give a fuck about Paradox.
Not if there are Sleepers around.
>>44495772
Thanks for that. I was hoping for some more hacks. I know mirrors has some but none for mage.
>>44494374
>mage dice pool being at best 16 die with 10 gnosis and spell mastery.
Yantras. A Mage at Gnosis 10 is going to have access to a ton of yantras. And as a Master, a Rote, which counts as just one of their yantra uses, is going to give them +5 dice (if they have a skill at 5 they're going to encode all their Rotes using that skill), AND Rote Action. That's 20 dice, rerolling all failures, in one turn of casting.
Then you add more dice on top.
Also, Blood Potency (or Primal Urge, or Gnosis, or whathaveyou) does not and has never subtracted dice. It only comes up during contested rolls, where it forms part of the dicepool they roll against your dicepool.
>>44495779
those are housrules, not hacks
>>44495810
Paradox does not stop the spell in 2E. I just hurts the mage or the spell gains additional effects. Such as more targets or summoning a lighting abyss demon.
>>44495848
The house rules were called "Hacks".
>>44495844
>if they have a skill at 5 they're going to encode all their Rotes using that skill
You can take skills above 5 when you have Gnosis 6+
>>44495864
Paradox didn't stop the spell in 1e either, unless you mean the part where Paradox successes reduced the casting pool, which is still the case in 2e if you decide to release rather than contain a Paradox.
Sleepers rolling to erode spells is ALSO still a thing, it's just called Dissonance now instead of Disbelief.
>>44495810
Well obviously.
>>44495844
As i later mentioned the yantra in one turn. But yes your right i deed put down the wrilong thing form that I should have put down that that the potency of a spell is based by ones dot in the arcanum. Which then could be increased safely by the arcanum dots again. So a safe amount of 10 Before paradox,and potency of the spell is reduces by the resistance stat of the target. Which a vampire could boost by freezing.
>>44495894
Fair enough. If you assume this Gnosis 10 Master has a skill maxed out and uses it to encode rotes, then in one turn they can get up to 25 dice, plus willpower.
If they get Potency in excess of that Vampire's Stamina it's fucking obliterated, as well.
Unmakings do not fuck around.
>>44495904
Reread my post it does seem to imply that. My bad.
Why are Magath bad? Other than being hybrid spirits and redheaded stepchildren, how are they worse than any other Spirit?
>>44497447
Are you not aware of the fact that other spirits think they are insane.
>>44497447
Magath are usually made of concepts that don't play nicely with each other. This sort of contradiction will drive the spirit mad and cause it to wreak havoc and try to Claim things. Magath, because of their madness and general mixed-upness, can be pretty hard to reason with. And so, it is important to hunt them down and kill them if necessary.
>>44497510
Ah. So basically just "crazier than normal".
I'm trying to figure guide my group through Totem & Pack Creation.
If anyone is awake and not out drinking, some advice or suggestions would really come in handy. What are your Packs like? What do the extended members think they're doing? Do you have some kind of a cover?
>>44497447
Because due to their instability and frequently conflicting natures, they are highly unstable in their Essence consumption, eating whatever they can find in many cases, becoming corrupted even further.
I mean, you try and find a location which resonates with Cat-Bus.
>>44497550
They're very crazy, and they tend to go crazy and go around eating ALL the essence in an area, because as maggaths they no longer care about "Oh no, can't eat that, i'll turn into a monster", this frequently leads to barrens if they aren't stopped or get too strong.
>>44497805
Whatever garage this is parked in.
>>44497550
>I'm trying to figure guide my group through Totem & Pack Creation.
Nope! That didn't work out... I'm starting to worry that people's schedules aren't as clear as they told me they'd be...
Doesn't help that they kind of seem like they want me to come up with this stuff for them. Or at least, that none of them want to be the one in charge. "I'll go with whatever everyone else picks".
>>44497831
How well would one work as a Totem? Could a Pack keep it in check? Probably a bad idea all the same...
>>44497874
It'd be exceptionally difficult, and I wouldn't attempt it unless you were a buncha pure or bone-shadow ithaur, being completely insane its' VERY hard to reason with them, if you could rope them into some kind of binding contract(probably through a rite of some sort) you might be able to do it. But it's bad for the same reason that having a lune as a totem is a bad idea, they're fucking insane spirits and are unpredictable at the best of times.
>>44497805
>I mean, you try and find a location which resonates with Cat-Bus.
Roadkill
Do the Arrows' Oaths require Fate magic or is it something else?
>>44498181
Nope, it's a Merit.
Same way the Mysterium's sympathetic connection between its members at higher merit ranks doesn't require Space, and the Ladder's interweaving of High Speech and Lex Magicka doesn't require Prime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82k9yXC48nI
For some reason, I saw this and thought "Innocents Japanese Werewolf, but it's not really Werewolf because there are no Uratha on the islands of Japan."
>>44498844
>For some reason, I saw this and thought "Innocents Japanese Werewolf, but it's not really Werewolf because there are no Uratha on the islands of Japan."
Are you the guy who made that JoJo city with Smiling Shade?
>>44498881
I'm not saying that made no sense, but it made no sense.
>>44498896
>I'm not saying that made no sense, but it made no sense.
Right fuck, still boozed. Never mind.
>>44498953
You're boozed and I have a headcold, there's no way anything we say is gonna make any sense to the other person.
>>44499001
>You're boozed and I have a headcold, there's no way anything we say is gonna make any sense to the other person.
It's okay, we should talk about our vision of Arcadia.
>>44499024
>It's okay, we should talk about our vision of Arcadia.Mr Bones is a True Fae.
>>44477359
This anon gets me and I wish to subscribe to his newsletter.
Hi, guys. Would somebody help me find films (or books) that may inspired on games with Demon: The fallen? Excet mentioned in the rulebook
>>44497805
A pre-school with a bus depot nearby?
A question: if a character has blood on their lips but no visible fangs, would you still tag this as vampire? I'm a bit torn if I should
>>44501089
Probably, but I watched Buffy. Did your character?
>>44501089
Depends. Is it just on their lips, maybe dripping a bit, or is it all around their mouth/lower face?
The former, most likely a vampire. The latter, probably a vampire, maybe a werewolf or something else that eats people. Definitely something that needs to die, either way.
How would you guys handle exploiting a gun via hellfire? It's already got a pretty specific effect, how could you limit it for inclusion in an exploited item?
>>44495539
A few thoughts:
1) The computer passwords are always the same, so Computer is more of an RP stat in later playthroughs. (And they can be found online, if you're that kind of player)
2) Celerity and Auspex both lend themselves well to Firearms, making it a bit more preferable to Melee or Brawl. That being said, you're probably better off just sticking to Melee since you've already sunk points into it.
3) Eventually you'll get to a point where you can't talk your way past enemies and will have to fight, so don't neglect Dodge and Melee.
4) I found that whittling down the number of Attributes and Abilities I focus on helps me out a lot in terms of XP efficiency, to the point that not doing so makes the game more difficult. (Think Morrowind and the whole "efficient leveling" thing)
>>44495848
those are toe-may-toes, not toe-mah-toes
>>44501678
What are you on about, that's Ketchupberry.
>>44477498
>>44477766
>The Mega shouldn't have any oWoD shit
>oWoDsies keep walking, this is nWoD territory
Bullshit.
This is a cWoD and nWoD thread, son.
>>44501745
/RoDg/ - Realms Of Darkness General /WoD/ /CofD/
That's the official title, covers all catalog searches
>>44501745
>>44501786
Wait, we are splitting the threads now? Why? The consensus was that there is never enough content to warrant separate threads. Also, if this is nWoD only thread, then why does the OP have CtD Kickstarter?
>>44501864
Of course not, read my fucking post. It's one thread, but you have to put WoD and CofD into the title now because there's no such thing as nWoD anymore
>>44501898
Sorry ladies, but I don't know where you've been.
>>44501898
Take it where?
>>44501898
I would take more than their blood, if you know what I mean.
>>44501898
>just draining their blood into each other
>all those foreign microbes
Blech
>>44501947
Nah, they're legit, I mean one of them is a nun dammit.
>>44501958
I'm not sure they have much else to offer in the present state, all disrobed and stuff.
>>44502182
Oh you sweet, summer Childe.
>>44502320
Ah. Revenants, then?
Well, that's my boner set to maximum.
>>44502256
>one of them is a nun dammit.
... how can you tell?
>I'm not sure they have much else to offer in the present state, all disrobed and stuff.
Don't let his name fool you, he's actually a Nagaraja.
>>44502437
I can tell by doing some nunnery myself, back in the day.
>>44502437
>... how can you tell?
The eyes. Clearly you're not as much of an anime connoisseur as I am.
>>44500187
The OPP forums has a decent enough list: http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/main-forum/the-new-world-of-darkness/demon-the-descent/682753-can-anyone-recommend-anymore-inspirational-for-demon-the-decent
>>44502505
Well I was nun the wiser.
I think we can safely assume that the idea of Tiers in Hunter is going to change or be divorced entirely from the size / endowments. They'll probably shunt tiers into the scope of the game and give a definition of what each group looks like on a tiered scale.
>>44503554
I definitely think this will happen.
>>44503694
I think Hunter's Tier system is just a legacy at this point that was clarified and retooled in Danse Macabre and then again in the GMC book to the point where the term has a grounded place in 2E that is tied directly to the scope of a chronicle.
At this point, though, I'm left with wondering why have Compacts / Conspiracies divided at all? Why not just call them all one or the other and just allow for some to have supernatural benefits? I don't think anyone's thrown their Vampire book into the garbage because the Crones and the Lance get magic powers while the Invictus and Carthians don't. They can all be covenants.
>>44501618
Anyone?
>>44501618
>>44504080
Do you mean the gun itself is a Gadget or just channeling the Hellfire Exploit through a gun? Because if someone is just using Hellfire on their bullets then have the gun melt. If it's a Gadget then it should have built in problems, either a depleting source of Aether or a quirk, but all that shit is covered in FoH.
>>44504147
I mean turning the gun into an exploited gadget, I was sorta struggling with how to modify the original effect in a way that makes sense and isn't just "Hellfire 2 electric boogaloo".
>>44503912
Tell me more about Danse Macabre. Also, Carthians and Invictus DO get magic powers. Carthians can actually turn an Elder into a Revenant through the power of COMMUNISM.
But ultimately the Compact/Conspiracy divide should still be there, I think.
>>44504147
Why would it melt? That's how Hellfire works. You shoot bullets and they're Aggravated.
>>44504317
Not much you can do with it. It's a simple direct combat power. So a Gadget of it would just be a laser rifle.
Hi everyone, I am new to the WOD Universe and I need some guidance.
I would like to run a Zombie Apocalypse using the nWOD system, but I am kinda lost due to the numerous books.
I want the PC's to be regular human beings with no super powers nor magic stuff.
I found the : Hunter: The Vigil and I do not know where to take it from there. Does this book contains the rules for this system or do I need to get the nWOD core rule book?
I am lost
>>44504424
Yea, hence my problem. The current iteration of the gadget itself is just a fucked up revolver that requires some trickyness to be activated and maintains the effect until reloaded. But it's a bit bog-standard, lame and I feel like hellfire could be something much better for an exploited weapon
>>44504428
Core book, Antagonists. Done.
>>44504428
You really only need two, maybe three books to run normal humans. For a zombie apocalypse, I'd suggest the following:
World of Darkness Core Rules - rules for mortals and ghosts (you can also add the free God Machine Chronicles rule download to this to update some rules, like combat hacks). You also need the core book for Hunter to work if you want to use Hunter stuff.
Antagonists - This has an actual zombie creation kit in it.
Armory - Lots of weapons.
Armory Reloaded - Lots more weapons and some hacks like the armor reduction/damage rating automatic damage rules hacks (these are part of GMC's core).
>>44504428
Honestly? You don't really need anything. I'd suggest getting the Chronicles of Darkness book (you can find a copy up top, or buy it from Drivethrustuff.com). That's the most recent version of the rules, and we're going through a bit of a change over from first edition to second edition. Have people make regular human characters. Stat your Zombies as low level Horrors.
There you go. That's all you NEED.
If you really want more ideas, there's a first edition book called Mirrors. It won't really give you much in the way of mechanics, since a) it was first edition, b) a lot of the mechanics in blue books are ass, but it has an entire section on post-apocalypse scenarios and the kind of things your characters might need to keep in mind.
>>44504491
>>44504499
Antagonist's zombies are actually super complicated and kind of unnecessary. Corebook 2e on the other hand has Horrors, which are basically build-a-bear monsters. Zombies and other antagonists don't necessarily need to be complex.
And honestly? You don't need Armoury's weapons, or even the good hacks from Armoury Reloaded (which is mostly fighting styles).
For someone's FIRST GAME, especially as an ST, the less complicated the better. Chronicles of Darkness core. That's it. Nothing special is needed. I can't think of a more simple starting game than "zombies are everywhere, survive".
>>44504501
>>44504499
>>44504491
Much, much appreciated, thank you guys !
>>44504569
>rattles your bones
https://i.4cdn.org/wsg/1451682389839.webm
>>44498844
Wohoo...that's really kinda werewolf-y.
>>44504424
>Tell me more about Danse Macabre
They introduced the idea of looking at the covenants through a tier system that scaled up or down, with very localized or even personalized versions to global conspiracies, what they'd look like and how they'd be structured. It was pretty awesome, especially for the Invictus and the Lance (VAMPIRE POPE).
>>44505089
There was also some very solid alternative factions that I hope get a shout out in VtR 2e. I'm genuinely surprised Radio Sickness didn't show up in DtD proper.
>>44495138
>the gameline likes to downplay mages doing bad so there's no reason to hunt them.
The gnosopharm story in horror recognition guide is the best example i've ever seen of why hunters should body dickass wizards at any and all opportunities.
>>44504501
Is CofD the only book that's revamped book so far? Nothing on Demons, Werewolves, or Hunters?
>>44506312
The books with full 2e rulesets are:
CofD (Mortals)
Vampire
Warewolf
Beast
Demon
Beast
Hunter doesn't have a full 2e corebook, but it does have a supplement called "Mortal Remains", which contains guidelines for running hunter with the 2e rules.
Mage has been "right around the corner" for a few months now.
Promethean is a bit behind mage in terms of how done it's 2e is.
Changeling and Hunter are both having their 2es actively developed as well, but they're both quite a ways off.
>>44482651
>Werewolves in my game are the traditional kind, so transform on full moon/spread by being bitten.
I hate to quibble, but that is only 'traditional' after Werewolf of London in 1935 introduced those ideas. It's 4 years younger then Batman.
>>44498844
Izzat that new Pokemon Shin-Megami Shaman King thing?
Oh God, what is with this song?
>>44506281
For real. There's afucking Strixin that story with a stronger moral compass than the mages in Gnosopham.
>>44506590
Theme songs involving cartoon ghosts have to involve bizarre songs involving rap. It's a law: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WFoUchg6sw
Granted this one's a bit more...down to earth, I guess?
>>44506410
You listed Beast twice. Is there another Beast or something?
>>44506091
Radio Sickness?
>>44495138
>>44506281
Mages have the least reason to just outright be dicks.
>>44505089
The Conspiracy-level Sanctum is a batshit insane apocalypse cult that's trying to make the world as terrible as possible until God has no choice but to come down and fix it in person (at which point he'll forgive the vampires and let them into Heaven for some reason????)
