Trying for a more streamlined opening post.
http://pastebin.com/mxLKGGi9
Previous thread >>44718237
I'm currently working through the Geist 2e Manifestations, creating one Unlock for each Manifestation and Key combination. Soon I should also have a playable 2e base Sin-eater template, including updated 2e versions of their innate powers.
No joking here. Do people really believe that we'll see Awakening 2e in February?
>>44748072
Do I think it WILL happen? Not really.
Do I think that it's possible that it might happen? Sure. It's very nearly done. All that's required for an early-February release is the remaining steps going smoothly.
>>44748072
>>44748099
Are we on this again?
Apparently, layout is waiting on the approved text. How long approval takes is unpredictable as we don't have a lot of data points for White Wolf approvals yet and it depends entirely on what's in the book, but unless they find something really objectionable and throw it back in DaveB's face it shouldn't take too long.
Layout consists of the layouter making a proof, sending it to DaveB to look through, and repeating it until both think it's good. How long this takes is tough to predict - Werewolf seemed to take a bit under a month, going by Monday Meeting posts? Maybe?
After the book is done, it gets sent to dtrpg, where it takes a while for it to be put up. I think a week or two is usual?
Advance pdf in January is a pipe dream. February is optimistic. GenCon or later release meme is just as unrealistic as those two.
>>44748179
So.. April is a realistic idea?
>>44748072
As someone who would constantly say "GenCon or later", that term's just for hedging our bets. The text's at White Wolf, and final layout is getting ready. February looks highly likely, and unless Dracula decides he needs to go LARPing in an underground bunker for two months or keeps sending the text back with "needs more pshhhhh" or something, we're bound to get it by the end of Spring.
>>44748234
April feels a bit pessimistic to me, but who knows.
I'm just tired of all the "February 9001 AD" bullshit. Yes, it was announced for 2014. I get it. It's old. Have a picture of a Thyrsus or something instead.
>>44748072
Yeah.
The big question is whether you'll ever shut the fuck up about things not coming out.
>>44748324
Dude, sorry. I wasn't aware it had been brought up THAT much.
I mostly saw the joking about, and wondered when people thought it would actually come out.
So which splat has the easiest time as a pacifist? I know it would be suffering as a werewolf
>>44747641
If Dave's still here: Out of curiosity, do/did you do any writing for Mage2 or Signs of Sorcery yourself, or are you purely the developer?
>>44748353
Mage or Changeling.
Werewolves and Vampires both have destructive frenzies, and both are predators.
>>44748421
Awakening 2e, I officially wrote the Introduction, the core rules chapter (Attributes, Skills, Combat, etc), and the spellcasting flowchart. In other words, the really boring bits to write.
Unofficially, Developers tend to rewrite a lot of their books, (some more than others), and from experience of the other side of it I'd say I turned out to be one of the heavier "I'll fix that myself in post" Devs, which is no reflection on my writers but more on my relative inexperience back when I outlined the book. And Mage has been playtested more than many of our other games are, with the changes happening in my Dev pass.
Signs of Sorcery, I'm writing the introduction.
>>44748571
I assume most of the re-writing is for continuity's sake (i.e. establishing a sense of tone, getting rid of ideosyncracies in the freelancer chapters, etc?)
>>44748350
>apologizing
really?
>>44748897
Look. I didn't know it was such a sore subject!
>>44748897
Just because we're an anonymous board doesn't mean we can't apologize. We're not cavepeople. Not even wizard cavepeople, going on adventures into spirit land.
>>44748651
So, as has been pointed out, Awakening 2e has been in progress for a while. A long while. An "I got approval on it's outline in 2013" while.
When we started writing it, it was going to be a fat supplement to Awakening 1. My proposal, much as makes me laugh now, even addressed the fact that it wasn't going to be a corebook because CCP didn't want one.
It changed to be a corebook before the final outline, after we'd finished Blood & Smoke. It changed title to Awakening 2nd ed just after the first draft arrived. Then it changed to refer to the new corebook instead of God-Machine, then that corebook (and the gameworld) changed when we rebranded nWoD to CofD.
The biggest time-sink, though, has been that it was outlined and contracted before the layout style of our new corebook editions settled down. So various things ended up too long or too short, requiring text to be moved about and then re-re-re-Developed. Some of the information in the Paths previews is now in the setting chapter so that the Paths would fit to splat formatting, for example. But the biggest drain has been that corebooks have two pages of fiction between each chapter, while all other books have one. Both Mage 2e and Promethean 2e were into Development by the time word on that came down, so they both had fiction roughly half as long as they needed. On Promethean, there was a writer free to do the work to change it. On Mage, I had to do it myself.
I look forward to what's going to go wrong with Deviant!
(But also, yes, a lot of "I cannot fault this rule on its writing, but when combined with this other thing in another chapter it turns out to break the game in half" adjustments.)
>>44749110
>The biggest time-sink, though, has been that it was outlined and contracted before the layout style of our new corebook editions settled down. So various things ended up too long or too short, requiring text to be moved about and then re-re-re-Developed. Some of the information in the Paths previews is now in the setting chapter so that the Paths would fit to splat formatting, for example.
God damn it.
The layout style of the new corebook editions is significantly worse than the old ones.
>>44749313
Really? I think they are a vast improvement, myself.
>>44749379
I'm not the guy who's been bitching about the issue nonstop for at least a week, but it's difficult to actually find shit in the new cores. As reference books they're significantly worse than the first edition ones, and Mage's first edition core was already notorious for shit being impossible to find.
>>44749471
we've had no problems with it
>>44749110
You added an entire page to other people's works of fiction? How did they feel about that?
>>44749483
Not him, but I had a problem with it just last night. We needed rules on breaking points and it wasn't in the integrety bookmark.
I don't know if its really the formatting or the fact that there is a lack of cheat-sheet summeries and poor bookmarking.
>>44749532
what book are you talking about?
So when do you think we'll get the Deviant kickstarter? This year? Next?
>>44748301
>Thyrsus
>It's titled Worship
>And is someone cutting a monster's head up
It's clearly a SEast Asian Faithful of Shulpae.
>>44749313
>>44749471
Ironically, I am the guy who's been bitching about it, and I actually like that Paths and Orders would be in the first chapter. That's one of the changes I've liked.
>>44749501
DEATH RAGE
Imagine you're a writer, anon, you've submitted your work, you get the thumbs up, all's good, you're done, and then latestage development you hear they need to double the length of everything so there's a guy who's gonna pad out your stuff.
Obviously you're not being dicked over in any way and obviously it's not a criticism on you. Why be upset? It was a page's work and probably went through revision and developer commentary as-is. Maybe the finished product isn't what you would have wanted, but it's not like your name is on the actual piece and if you need it in a portfolio you can use the original draft and a short cover to explain.
>>44749598
Mage 2e isn't out of the door yet, so I'm going to put on my Acanthus hat and predict that Deviant doesn't even start production until June. Kickstarter comes in February or March 2017.
>>44749744
>Obviously you're not being dicked over in any way and obviously it's not a criticism on you.
You're being screwed out of half your salary.
>>44749532
>>44749483
I couldn't figure which heading the Merits were under. Think you know it? Write your answer on the back of a postcard!It's Triggers, because the sidebar headers throw everything off
>>44749774
You're getting what you were hired to write. Someone else is doing the rest.
>>44749805
Go to Table of Contents
Click on first thing that says Merits
>>44749744
I doubt that they're just adding on to the narrative of the original writer, that sounds like an editing nightmare depending on the two writer's tones.
>>44749602
I thought he said chunks of the Path writeup were going into a completely different chapter?
It's splitting up information like that that's one of the things that bothers me about the new cores.
Just had my players roll up their characters for my Mage game! We'll be doing our first session soon, either Sunday or next week. I've got a Moros drug dealing pharmacist, a Mastigos academic who steals books and a Obrimos radiologist who's going to concentrate on fucking with other people's spells (he's got a weaving Praxis that can change one element of a spell if he beats their successes). The Moros and the Obrimos are Free Council, with the Mastigos is Mysterium. Should be fun! It's going to be themed around espionage against the Seers.
>>44749850
Then I have to go to a different page to find what I want then go to that. Fanning out the bookmarks accomplishes the same thing while scrolling up and down trying to figure it out.
Also, "The first thing that says merits" is Step Six: Add Merits, because for some reason that needs to be a level two heading so that I know what order character creation is done in, even though I've never seen anyone do character creation in order.
>>44749897
Oh, I misunderstood. That's shit, yeah. I hate when I have to jump between two (or even three) sections to work out what I need.
>>44749971
>Then I have to go to a different page to find what I want then go to that.
Yes, that's how tables of contents work.
>Also, "The first thing that says merits" is Step Six: Add Merits, because for some reason that needs to be a level two heading so that I know what order character creation is done in, even though I've never seen anyone do character creation in order.
That's how we do it. Maybe your problem is you're not reading the book and just skipping from one part to another.
Also, if you go to the link in the ToC for "Step Six: Add Merits" there's a link in that section that takes you directly to the Merits section.
>>44749897
In this case, it's that the cool example Awakenings from the preview have moved to the part of the setting chapter where we talk about Awakenings. So it's actually... Better? For finding them.
>>44750081
>Yes, that's how tables of contents work.
Yes, but the bookmarks are supposed to cut that step out.
>Also, if you go to the link in the ToC for "Step Six: Add Merits" there's a link in that section that takes you directly to the Merits section.
You've now gone through three different sections of the book! You've flipped through three pages! Just to find one piece of information.
Do you not see how much of a problem this is? Do you not see how frustrating that is? Especially when there's a tool that is supposed to make that much easier, but doesn't? I'm SUPPOSED to be able to skip from one part to another. It's a reference manual.
>>44750111
Iunno, sounds worse. An example of an Awakening to a Path should be in the Path section. They shouldn't need to be split up just to follow some kind of format.
>>44750203
>Do you not see how much of a problem this is?
No, I don't. I wouldn't classify it as a problem at all.
>>44750278
>This feature does not perform as intended
>Not a problem
We get it. You don't think there's anything wrong with breaking information up across several different sections. Understand that other people do find these minor inconveniences frustrating.
>>44749570
CofD core
>>44749913
You'll probably be able to finish the entire campaign by the time Mage 2e is out.
>>44749744
Mage2e confirmed for having shit fiction. Every story is double the intended length, half of it being written by a different author. I can't see it turning out well.
>>44750418
That's fine! As long as we have fun, I don't mind!
>>44750324
The table of contents performs as intended, for the most part.
The bookmarks should be changed if they're erroneous, but that's often a side effect of piracy.
If you're finding it frustrating, I'd suggest you get off of the internet and stop socializing, because turning pages is going to be the least of your issues.
>>44750363
Table of contents works fine, I'd suggest using that until the work is finished.
>>44748353
Mortals. Prove me wrong.
You can't.
>>44750517
Yeah because all those mortal pacifists have it going on.
>>44750504
I was using the table of contents. The bookmarks are named for the same titles as the table of contents so I don't see how it makes a difference.
The problem is that I want all the info about breaking points and integrity but they are mentioned at the start of character creation, then detailed later on. Integrity and breaking points shouldn't be 20 pages apart.
>>44750517
Yeah but mortals are lame
>>44750443
You never know, doubling the size of a story could actually work out fine, if that's what they're actually doing.
>>44750657
Making short fiction longer is almost never a good thing. Look at Flowers for Algernon as an example.
Besides, having two different writers, with one trying to emulate the voice of the other, will most definitely end in disaster.
>>44750504
>that's often a side effect of piracy.
No it isn't. What?
Also? Grow the fuck up. The ToC isn't all that great to begin with, and if people not wanting to put up with extra frustrations in getting things done for their happy fun time games bothers you so much, maybe YOU should get off the internet and stop socializing, because clearly you don't understand how other human beings work.
>>44750696
Well ideally they'll all be writing in the same voice.
>>44750731
>triggered
>>44750696
I feel like a decent editor could still make it work. I'm afraid I haven't read Flowers for Algernon, so I can't use it as a reference point. One of those high school lit books I missed out on, I guess.
>>44750803
don't bother, it's shit. the simpson's episode is better.
>>44750731
Emulating voice is easier said than done. A simple short parody can work, but a longer fiction piece is a challenge.
>>44750778
The last thing we need is someone posting in Basu-Im.
>>44750843
Yeah, but when multiple authors are writing a book, it should be edited to keep roughly the same voice.
>>44750874
This is fiction we're talking about though. Ideally, each story should have it's own voice. Unless its all the same story with recurring characters like 1e's stories.
Which reminds me, why was Gloriana a starting mage in training when she is Forces 4? I remember one bit where she's fighting indoors and her opponent mocks her for being unable to call down lightning then she says something to the effect of "i make my own lightning" and zaps him.
>>44750983
Could have been a Fraying spell, that's Forces 3, or she could have used Weaving to arc electricity from something electrical within the building she was in?
I guess we won't be hearing from atamajakki anymore
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/isis-supporter-joins-ammon-bundys-armed-occupation-as-resident-computer-expert/
>>44751079
What?
Also, that reads like an Onion story.
It was all one story broken up into ten parts, and it was all in first person narrative.
Everything anons have said here crossed my mind within the first two minutes. I didn't want to pad the original story as it would ruin its pacing and have a "voice" clash. I didn't want to throw it away and write a brand new one as we've already paid the author and they deserve to see their work in print.
So I wrote a second story in the same setting, *also* in first person but from a different character, that goes before and after the first one, the pieces of which have been combined so that they make up fewer chunks now of the right length; where in drafts the fiction was a mage telling a story to an unknown audience, the finished piece is her telling the story to someone else, who we see beforehand giving the backstory and afterward ruminating on it and talking to people who featured in her tale. Making the difference between the original author and me work to our advantage.
If it were a *third* person story, this would not have been possible. I'd have probably just gone for writing an entirely different story, also in ten parts, and have each chapter open with one page of each.
Please do continue freaking out, though.
>>44751115
It's a joke about an OPP forums poster who posts here on occasion. Outside thread drama.
>>44750874
I've always imagined that posting and talking in Basu-Im is a lot like a parent trying not to blow their lid when their kid busts up the produce section in a busy supermarket.
>>44751242
See, I had a feeling this was the case. Why give the editor more work than necessary?
>>44751036
Don't think so. The one liner was that she creates her own lightning and doesn't have to call it down from somewhere else. Or I could be misremembering since its been 3 years since I last touched the Mage corebook.
>>44750983
Isn't calling down lightning actually easier than making your own lightning?
>>44751542
Yes, but you have to have Lightning available.
>>44751554
Will the new Investigation mechanics in the CofD core be incorporated in Mage 2e? Considering Mages are effectively the "detective splat," it would seem important and necessary.
>>44751638
No, they didn't have time to implement it, it might be in Signs of Sorcery or something.
Hey guys, one question. There are Dragons in the World of Darkness? And if there are, in what book or splat? I was looking into Changeling and Mage, but I couldn't find any.
>>44751638
No. They were written too late, and Mage gleefully runs end-runs around it with first-dot spells and Mage Sight.
They're not *incompatible*, though, as the Investigation rules handle the course of a whole inquiry, glossing over individual clues, while the 2e Mage Sight rules are all about deeply examining individual objects of interest.
Joining the two up - how many Clues you get per Revelation roll success or Deep Information - will be in Signs of Sorcery, once we have time to playtest it to the point that Awakening doesn't just make Investigation trivial but still retains the feeling of mages being walking CSI labs.
>>44751723
Dragons are the source of the Mage's powers.
There's a Dragon in the Changeling Night Horrors book.
>>44751723
>>44751797
... Beast has a Dragon splat.
>>44751819
But the Ugallu aren't really dragons, are they?
>>44751869
they're dragons in the sense that they embody avarice and all that fun stuff.
>>44751819
Yeah, but they don't get to actually be dragons.
>>44751869
>>44751892
>>44751916
I thought he was talking about the Eshmaki. Ugallu are more "I'M A BIRRRRRRRD" as a splat.
>>44751869
>>44751916
>>44751947
A dragon is more a concept than a being. Just chose your atavisms to look draconic [Dragonfire, Wings of the Raptor, Limb from Limb, That armour one and the +size one and then you've got your own smaug]. Family can be selected from what source of mythology you want to put in the forefront - primordial guadians of the underworld and Irish marshs? Natmaru. Flying furnace? Ugallu. Sea serpent? Makara. Big fuck-off 'im the boss' like... Lofwyr or whatever? Anakim.
Then just merge with your horror and or sit in your lair all day and you can eat all the maidens you want.
>>44750843
It's a good thing it's literally two fucking pages. I'm sure it'll be fine.
>>44752022
Any splat can mix and match powers until they seem like a dragon. But Duraghaz the Deathless is... a DRAGON.
>>44751242
See, and now that sounds really interesting. I'm sure it'll at least be solid and hopefully be really good; the preponderance of short fiction is one of my favorite things about the World of Darkness and what hooked me into roleplaying in the first place.
Sorry, I derped. So, uh about Dragons. They mentioned "Beast". Is this a splat book?
Anyone got a link to the latest version of beast? I can only find the first draft on the 4shared.
>>44752104
Yea, newest one. Living nightmares and primodial mythical beasts and such.
>>44752043
Become incarnae or go rampant! Be all the dragon you want!
...I say this because I have a draconic Beast character in play right now. Woo.
>>44751735
How will spell tolerance work in the second edition?
>>44752180
>...I say this because I have a draconic Beast character in play right now. Woo.
You poor bugger.
Any gay werewolf stories lately? I haven't been in a WoD general for a bit and it's basically all I'm interested in.
>>44752268
NO.
>>44751542
Yes, that was the point. The dude she was fighting assumed she was Forces 3, when really she was Forces 4.
>>44752268
Why not improve this thread by posting some of your own gay werewolf stories?
>>44752243
I'm actually really enjoying myself, so you know. Whatever.
>>44752300
fairy nuff.
>>44752104
Yes, Beast: the Primordial. The reason "..." went in front of it is that it has gone through a VERY CONTROVERSIAL development period, and here in particular people are very angry about one or another aspect of it. It's managed to piss off like four or five distinct factions of people in completely different and contradictory ways, but it's also pretty cool and the mechanics are fun, which is why people continue to care, probably.
The current state of the narrative is a bit, uh, schizophrenic, but basically you used to be a human with a recurring nightmare, and then Something Happened to quote King's Revival and the nightmare reversed perspective and you woke up with a nascent god-monster stuffed in where your soul used to be.
You have a Hunger that can be slaked in five broad categories that basically boil down to fucking with people on a scale that goes from harmless mischief, past outright murder, into the truly disturbing "what makes a life worth living? nothing you have left to you" category of psychological brutality.
You have a Lair, a metaphysical Astral Realm where you can be your true and monstrous self, and you can...sort of meditate in weird places (like Wyrm's Nests in Vampire) to expand your nightmare kingdom over time. You have a lot of powers split between things that push nightmare principles onto other people to fuck them up and things that manifest your true nature in typically violent, very physical ways for a moment. Becoming a monster in the real world all the time is one of a few long-term Golconda-esque goals you can have.
What else...oh, if you don't feed, you overwrite normal people into obsessive psychopaths you're expected to dispatch pretty casually, you have a TON of crossover stuff (Beasts are designed to act as weird cuckoo's egg style den mothers to other supernaturals, sort of worming their way into other groups with a supernatural "no it's okay I'm cool" effect you get inherently), and no one knows what Beasts DO.
>>44752211
It was first against the wall when the revolution came.
My entirely scientific polling of several long-term Mage Storytellers revealed that most people either remembered spell *control* or spell *tolerance*; 1e control is how many spells you can maintain, 1e tolerance is that a subject can only have so many spells cast on them.
2e doesn't track spell tolerance, and we made spell control have a lower limit (Gnosis instead of 1e's Gnosis +3) but allow mages to risk more paradox to go over their limit.
>>44752127
Check around one of those other places on the internet, maybe one of the ones that start with 7. I hear that there's a request thread there with one dead link and another labeled "its the latest" or something like that that will take you through a BREATHTAKINGLY shady pseudoEnglish file-hosting site that does actually have what you're looking for.
>>44751735
>No. They were written too late, and Mage gleefully runs end-runs around it with first-dot spells and Mage Sight.
Those silly mortals and their "investigations." They are so limited with their meager "science" and "intuition." The more they speak of their purported knowledge or insight, the more they demonstrate their endless ignorance.
I cannot believe there was a time before my Awakening when I too was so blind to the Truth. My soul was strong, and I pierced the Lie. I now grow increasingly tired of dealing with pitiful weaklings...
What Path would you Awaken to?
>>44752363
Oh well, this is not exactly what I was looking for. I was looking a Dragon, as a NPC monster, like say an antagonist creature with stat blocks. But I'll check this Beast out. Thanks, guys.
>>44752278
That sucks. I always wondered what happened to that guy using his twink wolf blooded to seduce someone by proxy.
>>44752298
Unfortunately I don't have any fresh material. Teen Wolf: The Forsaken had a very brief revival with everyone doing some flash fiction, essentially, which only ended in confirming that two years into the future, the homo OTP is still trapped in unresolved sexual tension.
It's hard out here for a gay werewolf fan.
>>44752363
>What else...oh, if you don't feed, you overwrite normal people into obsessive psychopaths you're expected to dispatch pretty casually, you have a TON of crossover stuff (Beasts are designed to act as weird cuckoo's egg style den mothers to other supernaturals, sort of worming their way into other groups with a supernatural "no it's okay I'm cool" effect you get inherently), and no one knows what Beasts DO
Ah, that's all changed now in the lastest drafts because of... implications. Heroes are now blessed by the primordial dream, like the beast and spontaneously appear. Being a complete bastard or mind raping you way across reality merely ATTRACTS them, rather than CREATES them. (which is far better, becuase otherwise you're saying that abuse victims shouldn't ever fight back and 'deserve' it).
What beasts 'do' is to teach 'lessons' in leiu of what you find in mythology (i.e. respect the earth, you can't escape your crimes, there are things in the dark, but you can overcome them etc.)
>>44752469
Beast has rules for 'god' characters (i.e. end game high level beasts, and one example charcter is an actual dragon. It also gives rules for beasts that exsist in spirit and such.
If you want the 'magical' dragon, try mage's rules for spirits and bygones.
>>44752415
My eternal lament is that I don't want BOTH of the Arcana in any given Path, but it's gotta be Mastigos, psychonaut or bust. Mind is so good, and while Space doesn't typically excite me in the FUCK YES way, the things it does are very, very useful (I would say that even as flexible as all the Arcana are Space probably wins out as an all-purpose problem solver) and I like having access to them.
But mostly I just want to fuck around in the Astral.
>>44752469
Check out Grim Fears, the Changeling: The Lost antagonist book. It features precisely what you need.
>>44752469
Don't despair. The new CofD corebook has an entire monster creation system where you could easily create any dragon that suit your tastes.
>>44752415
>What Path would you Awaken to?
Either a materialist philosophy themed Obrimos or an Acanthus.
>>44752480
Is it really? Isn't gay furry stuff really prolific? Sure, furies aren't werewolves but surely there is some overlap around there.
>>44752526
You don't need to be a Mastigos for focus on Mind or the Astral. Choose any Path you like, and then pick a Legacy with Mind as an additional Primary Arcana.
For instance, I've played an Obrimos Ascended Adept who explores Astral Truths as well as any Mastigos.
As an aside, when discussing Mage, do you ever get the feeling like every other word needs to be capitalized. It's like reading German.
>>44752526
Its not about what Arcana you like. You awaken to the path that fits your personality.
>>44752516
>lessons
The thing that keeps this from working is really the lack of Y-splat organizations interested in doing this and with codified philosophies about it. As it stands, there are all these questions, like...why are you compelled to teach, exactly, given that you used to be a person who wasn't? How are you picking your lesson plan, just out of a hat? Who's actually learning anything, given that half the time you either kill people or break them in ways they're explicitly not meawnt to stand up against? The Anakim home invader example might be theoretically interested in someone who can stop him, but he's a fucking Anakim, so someone who can stop him means he accidentally walked in on one of the Unchained. It doesn't help that the "teaching" is inherently self-gratifying and often profoundly anti-human - even worse than just being sneak-murdered by an Eshmaki is stuff like "stay in your fucking lane" or "never feel safe again ever" or "you can't have precious things, but I can." It's all hypocritical schizo nonsense, and it doesn't seem to be DELIBERATELY so, unlike, say, Vampire, which handles all the metaphysical justifications and philosophies really well by having them call each other out as a bunch of ravenous two-faced pieces of shit who just want a framework to hang the tatters of their humanity on as they slurp their way across decades and centuries.
Beast really, really, really needs Y-splats to provide some fucking direction. What do you think would be some good angles for fanwritten ones?
>>44751735
>Joining the two up - how many Clues you get per Revelation roll success or Deep Information - will be in Signs of Sorcery
Interesting, don't think you spoiled the names of Scrutiny and it's many faces yet. Sounds cool!
I really like the investigation mechanics, so good luck on integrating them in SoS.
>>44752680
My personality is that I awaken to the Path that contains the Arcana I like. Which happens to be a pretty Mastigos attitude, ayyyyyyy
>>44752671
Granted, but Mastigos are better than other Paths by flavor. I'd rather just steal Prime or Death than have to give up the Devil Tarot.
>>44752714
Singular of Anakim is Anak. The "-im" suffix is Hebrew for denoting plurality. Except when it's not. It's a complex language.
>>44752542
>>44752469
Seriously it's a fucking godsend. Hunter had it, but it could be a little wonky at times, and now it's all updated, "full-featured" rather than just a power grab-bag (even if that is most of it, and right in the fucking core. Glorious.
>>44752363
way to be a drama llama
>>44751735
>>44752394
Though doesn't that just mean mages can get around mundane investigations? For instance, how many supernatural things will be harder to scrutinize with mage sight and first dot spells? I love the idea of mages initially thinking they can now access all knowledge only to immediately run up against the walls of cosmic horrors man was not meant to know.
>>44752714
>so someone who can stop him means he accidentally walked in on one of the Unchained.
And if he threatened the one they care about, and the Unchained in question was a Destroyer before they fell, someone is going to die.
>>44752714
There's nothing you can do that will salvage Beast, it's just bad. Let it die quietly, the way it deserves.
>>44752714
The way beasts are written now the 'reason' to teach is pretty much cultural expectation. You don't have to though,a nd many don't.
I agree that they need a 'y' splat a lot though.
If you want to get mythological about things, many mythical monsters guarded something - gate to the underworld, Ladron and his golden apples, gate to god's domain etc. Thus a 'guardian' could go well for moralistic or ritualistic beasts.
Possibly a more modern 'urban legend' type splat? Like blood-mary 'call my name three times' or something, you gain powers for acting within a certain way, more so than just gaining willpower, but you HAVE to work in that particular way (Bloody mary can be sumoned in your mirror or what have you). The really -old- myths tend to have a odd duality to them - like Life and Legend, in that say, the Greek Furies/Erinyes were utterly relentless and merciless, but also would NEVER harm the innocent or rightous, and would often help and bargain with such. Probably a splat that amplifies your vice/virtue stat or something? Gain a anathema on behaviour but gain a bonus for doing something else?
So, /wodg/, I understand that True Fae are statless. Was it ever clarified if Huntsmen will be?
I ask because I'm about to run an arc involving a "council of Elrond"-esque alliance against an overpowering foe (a Mummy wakes up and decides to conquer the world), and I want one of the participants to be a Huntsman representing a True Fae.
Being as the Huntsman may show up a few times, and the PCs will definitely be shown how his mistress treats people (she's constantly attended by a choir of singing children, and the children are prevented from aging only on the outside. Think being permanently trapped in a straightjacket that tightens every day), it stands to reason they may come into conflict. Is this possible within gameplay?
If it matters, the PCs are high-level Hunters, representing mortals on the Council of Elrond.
>>44752714
>>lessons
The "lessons" shtick was hurriedly tacked-on to Beast after Matt finally realized that Beasts were little more than abusive self-deceived assholes who had no purpose.
However, as the other anon mentioned, without some greater philosophical background, usually reinforced by social groups, the "lessons" motivations seem empty or incomplete. You can only enjoyably running so many games relying on ideas like "only you can prevent forest fires" or "give a hoot don't pollute."
>>44752867
That's your opinion, anon and that's fine. I like beast and I'm having fun with it so I'm not complaining.
>>44752363
So what you're really playing is a malevolent entity from the Astral Realms that is possessing a human? This would be very interesting if mixed with the cover mechanic from demon, though this case involving said "cover" being the currently possessed human, and instead use spirit-like mechanics for our character.
>>44752911
>So, /wodg/, I understand that True Fae are statless.
They're not statless, it's just that they're so ridiculously more powerful than you that giving you their stats is pointless.
>>44752469
I don't see why you can't have a dragon npc as either an encounter in the Astral Realms or something sufficiency dragon-like in a supernal verge. For instance, I think one of the emanation realms in Imperial Mysteries had tree dragon hybrid spirits.
>>44752853
>Though doesn't that just mean mages can get around mundane investigations?
I expect that most mundane mysteries will usually not present much of a challenge to an experienced mage. However, once you Awaken, you're usually not concerned with such trivial matters as who killed Col. Mustard with the candlestick in the library. You seek Mysteries, with a capital "M," that are more esoteric, usually supernatural (although not necessarily supernal), and almost always very, very dangerous.
>>44752671
>For instance, I've played an Obrimos Ascended Adept who explores Astral Truths as well as any Mastigos.
That sounds very interesting. How do you actually play an ascended archmage? The only way that comes to mind might be switching between purely narrative interactions with other supernal beings at "home" and playing the avatars you send "down."
>>44753148
From what I remember becoming an archmage allows you to "free" your soul from previous legacies and paths.
How exactly does it work when you make promises to changelings? I'm running a hunter game and am thinking that the party will take the changelings wyrd as a penalty towards actions that would break the promise, but I wasn't sure if there was any rules.
>>44753148
"Ascended Adept" is an Obrimos legacy, he's not talking about playing an Ascended character.
They're a Mind/Prime legacy that focuses on Astral travel. He's saying that you don't have to be a Mastigos to specialize in Mind.
>>44753291
I see, very intriguing. What book had this legacy listed in it? I'd love to convert that to 2e once it comes out.
>>44753036
It's not necessarily -possessing- you, though yu can make the argument that the 'horror' devoured your soul and in so doing, now believes itself to -be- you, and you can easily fit this into the narrative if it works.
The horror is -meant- to be something that was always a part of you, it's lietrally your soul, just bigger, dumber and hungrier. Wheteher it 'came across' you or you were born into it is up to the player and DM, really.
Someone was asking for a Beast PDF in the last thread, I have it...the first original draft :^)
Enjoy
>>44753364
>:( That was me and anon that's not very nice!!!
>>44753364
>first draft
Anon, Stop!
>>44753381
It's better this way
>>44752911
Huntsmen don't seem to fit the bill; as it stands, they're there to hunt a specific Changeling. I'd say a True Fae could be in the council in person, with the following caveats:
If the council takes place in the mortal world, the Fae is dangerously powerful, but not statless.
The Fae is very likely to have more Titles than its name, so the actual being is more than just the creature attending the council.
>>44753148
>>44753291
The "Ascended Adepts" are an Obrimos Legacy with Mind as an additional Ruling Arcanum. They are not necessarily ascended archmages.
The Legacy can be found in Tome of the Watchtowers. However, you can easily create any Path and Legacy with Mind as a Ruling Arcanum and with Attainments that focus on whatever you believe is important and necessary for your character.
>>44753444
As I understand it, True Fae exist as many different beings at a time, yes. So probably a manifestation of it representing an ambassador. Where would I find stats for fae in the mortal world?
>>44753526
Just use Spirit rules and give it Changeling powers instead of numina
>>44752714
There's some fan written Y splats in this thread, along with some ideas on how to run it: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?769133-Beast-The-Big-Analysis-Thread
>>44753381
Here's the advanced release PDF of Beast. I don't believe the final book with collected errata has been released, and there is significant errata.
https://www.sendspace.com/file/45vj17
>>44753526
If I remember correctly, there's also an example or two in the Changeling core book. You may also want to look at Autumn Nightmares, Grim Fears, and The Equinox Road.
>>44753590
Wait, the final book isn't out yet?
What the hell am I reading then?
>>44753036
Beasts aren't possessed. They are, if you like, to Goetia as Sin-Eaters are to ghosts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVf1ZoCJSo
This REALLY made me think of Demon. It must be this line
>Cover me when I run
>Cover me through the fire
>Something knocked me out ' the trees
>Now I'm on my knees
>Cover me, darling please
>>44753617
It's the advanced PDF copy, just like every OPP release for the last few years.
They release a "final" PDF book, solicit errata, and then release the "final, final" book which is usually also available in print. Unfortunately, the Beast book has a lot of material that needs to be corrected.
>>44752911
Huh? Pretty sure I remember some books having True Fae statted. It's not that they are ridiculously OP, the only place where they are basically invincible is Arcadia itself. There are plenty of True Fae who actually have Wyrd less than 5. They are considered weak by other Gentry, yes, but they do have stats and aren't unbeatable. Can't remember, maybe Autumn Nightmares of Grim Fears had a bunch of True Fae.
>>44753281
Get the Changeling corebook, there's an entire section on how Pledges work though I'll admit it's not easy to get at first. You can probably simplify it, but basically there are 4 main punishments for breaking the pledge:
1. Bad luck (from "no 10s again" to the severe "only 10 counts as a success on a roll")
2. The Changeling's contract will activate as soon as the pledge breaks (so you can be zapped by lightning for example)
3. Your merits get destroyed (your bank account gets compromised, your ally accidentally thinks you're an asshole, etc. It's all about the pwoer of fae magic manipulating the world)
4. Death (extremely severe and can be negated if the changeling forgives the oathbreaker)
Check page 175 for the Pledges section
>>44753396
>>44753381
Nevah faget
>>44753640
>Beasts aren't possessed. They are, if you like, to Goetia as Sin-Eaters are to ghosts.
Considering Geist was one of the worst received and selling books in the nWOD/CofD, that might explain some of the problems with Beast.
Dave, didn't you hint that you might be in the running to develop Geist 2e?
>>44753747
He's developing Deviant. Not bloody likely.
>>44753735
>uh? Pretty sure I remember some books having True Fae statted
True Fae are statted in some of the Changeling supplements. Note they are supposed to be weaker in the material world than in Arcadia, and likely to receive a significant power bump in 2e.
>>44753783
>Dave, didn't you hint that you might be in the running to develop Geist 2e?
What is "Deviant?"
>>44753640
Hey Dave, one of the McGuffins in my 2e Hunter game is an Artifact of "Transmute Gold" that goldifies everything it touches. Since I obviously don't have the 2e Artifact mechanics, how would that one effect (transmute inanimate object to gold on contact) work with Reach, Mana, Paradox, etc.?
>>44753747
No, I simultaneously hinted that I was the Dev for one of the next wave of games (which I am: Deviant) and that I know what a hypothetical Geist 2e would be about. Which I do, as I read the pitch and know the person who would be Dev in the event of it getting approved.
>>44753783
Dave can develop both. It's not unusual for some developers to run multiple game lines, and since Geist 2e hasn't even been announced, the corebooks probably will not even overlap.
>>44753036
>So what you're really playing is a malevolent entity from the Astral Realms that is possessing a human?
No. You always felt like an outsider, somehow not in tune with the rest of your peers who were so comfortable with their genitals matching teir mindset, until one day you discovered the term genderfluid online and suddenly you realised who you truly are and anyone who doesn't like it is going to get their head bitten off.
Except instead of being trans you were actually born with a sleeping dragon/slaad/unicorn/etc. instead of a soul, instead of finding reddit you were raped by a nightmare that awoke the monster, and instead of biting people's heads off you....well that one pretty much holds.
>>44753791
Yeah I know, that's what I meant. They are only invincible in Arcadia, and if you need to go there you are already not going to have a good time. both in the Hedge and in the mortal world they are way weaker and have stats.
>>44753747
All he said when asked how he would develop Geist was "ask me after GenCon", which seemed to be an oblique hint to him being announced as the developer for Deviant.
It seems, however, that there IS someone who may be developing Geist 2e and has ideas about it, as David Hill mentioned in an earlier thread. As there is no official annoucement for a Geist 2e and there probably won't be one for a while, we'll see if that person actually becomes Geist 2e's developer.
>>44753815
You're a victim of some sacrifical rite or science experiment, and now you're pissed. You we the virgin sacrifice and you responded by punching the head cultists in the face. Or something. Body horror, science and wibbly stuff.
>>44752469
I'm pretty sure there's a literal dragon NPC antagonist statted up in the Changeling Night Horrors book. Grim Fears, I think that one's called?
>>44753882
>both in the Hedge and in the mortal world they are way weaker and have stats.
I doubt this will be the case in 2e.
Maybe I'm being retarded, but where is the Beast version of this in the book?
>>44753826
I'd really really like a Geist that wasn't lame incoherent bullshit, so count me as cautiously optimistic for Geist 2e. The concepts behind Geist were good, but the execution was incredibly wonky.
>>44753946
I think it's under 'Lairs' as Lair is your power stat.
>>44753827
I did, actually, offer to co-Develop Geist (assuming it happens) the way Matt and Rose share Demon, but Rich asked me to do Deviant instead.
>>44753815
The next game, which hasn't started writing yet. It's slightly ahead of where Hunter 2e is at the moment - we have a detailed pitch and a lot of ideas that are turning into specific mechanics.
It's about people who have been altered into being supernatural creatures by human action - sometimes their own, sometimes other people, sometimes voluntarily, often not - who are on the run from, and fighting against, the human conspiracies that created or seek to acquire them.
In gothic lit terms, it's the Jekyll and Hyde and Invisible Man game, but it's influenced by tv shows like Sense8, Dollhouse, Dark Angel, and Orphan Black, the movies of Cronenburg, and lots of J-Horror like The Iron Man and Guyver.
>>44753946
I think the Beast powerstat is their Lair?
>>44753815
>What is "Deviant?"
It's the next scheduled major game line release from WW, and DaveB is the developer.
You play a human being changed by an corporation/cult/etc., escape, and now seek vengeance on you tormentors.
It's basically David Cronenberg meets the CofD.
>>44753826
Well hot damn, that's exciting news! Here's hoping it does get approved. Now time to go to my corkboard and string wall and attempt to tin foil who this theoretical developer might be.
>>44753946
>>44753961
It is. Page 93.
>>44753967
>>44753978
So you're evil Inspector Gadget?
>>44753882
So if they are statted in the mortal world, where are they statted?
>>44754019
More morally ambiguous than evil but pretty much.
>>44753904
This is now my go-to short explanation of my game. Thanks, Anon.
>>44754072
Hey Dave, any answer on this?
>>44753823
>>44754019
Why did I picture the one from the live action movie? No, not the main character, the evil version made by Doctor Claw.
>>44754076
Not without spoiling the Artifact rules, which I'm not gonna do, sorry.
>>44753783
>>44753826
>>44753967
I, for one, would fully support DaveB as our new WW developer overlord, handling as many WW lines as is (in)humanly possible with just one simple caveat - nothing may take any time or attention away from Mage 2e.
>>44754121
Aww. Alrighty, I'll just use the 1e rules. They're not Mages, they don't need to know the specifics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ihHn6c7JG0
I am now convinced that Bill Cipher is a Psychopomp who hit the Fallen World so hard he fell through it and landed in a Lower Depths without Prime.
>>44754131
>I, for one, would fully support DaveB as our new WW developer overlord, handling as many WW lines as is (in)humanly possible with just one simple caveat - nothing may take any time or attention away from m̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶2̶e̶ updating The Man Comes Around.
>>44754019
Go Go Gadget Cthulhu...
>>44753904
>>44754072
I still think Cronenberg the RPG is a better pitch.
>Given their instinctive connection to the Primordial Pathways, Beasts are capable of opening otherworldly gateways they come across. Whether it’s a secret door to the Hedge, an Avernian Gate to the Underworld, or a verge into the Shadow, a Beast can make use of any gateway.
>>44754254
I think the former is better for backstory and what a character does, and yours is better for what the aesthetic is. I'm just going to say this again, though: if I cannot re-enact the last few minutes of Scanners in Deviant, it's dead to me, ya hear me? Dead!
>>44754308
Demons have the same shit, and don't even need actual gateways, but they do need to buy a power for it.
>>44747653
>The changes needed for archmages are probably less words than the ones needed for the Mad. I'll likely get to them eventually on the blog.
I personally would love to see updated archmages before conversions of a lot of the old legacies.
>>44754329
>if I cannot re-enact the last few minutes of Scanners in Deviant, it's dead to me, ya hear me? Dead!
+1 on the Scanners thing, although I also expect a good dose of Guyver.
Didn't someone get a hold of a open development pdf about huntsmen? I didn't pay attention when it was going around and now i really wanna read it, if anyone has it or a link. I can't find it on the OPP blog.
>>44752268
I have a lesbian werewolf in my upcoming game. She tried to kill the popular girl in high school during her First Change, but ended up saving her from Scarecrow and she's now the young Bone Shadow's Wolfblooded. They might bang.
>>44752911
>So, /wodg/, I understand that True Fae are statless.
Actually they're not, they're in Equinox Road. There's even a game where everyone is True Fae dicking each other over.
Huntsmen just got their write up released. They're basically Mr Meeseeks created by jealous pissed off Fae who want their toys back. And probably forget immediately afterwards.
Check the latest Changeling DevBlog.
>>44754506
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2K8R3qXyDyoXzJKNkVaSzlvMFU/view
>>44754336
I probably wouldn't be nearly as annoyed by everything if I didn't know the history of the game.
I'm not proud of it.
>>44753826
>>44753900
>Implying Geist 2e is getting a developer
This excites and frightens me. I wonder if I should bother with this Geist 2e homebrew, or if it's coming way too late...
Then again even under the best circumstances I don't expect Geist 2e before 2018.
>>44753747
Geist was really well received and got a lot of praise. In retrospect I'm wondering if they just gave all new WW books accolades, but still.
>>44753640
What does that even mean, Dave.
>>44754507
Not on the dev blog yet. Some one already linked the file but it came from this OPP thread: http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/main-forum/the-new-world-of-darkness/changeling-the-lost/805704-meet-the-huntsmen
>>44753735
That is perfect, thank you. and yea, I planned on simplifying it considerably, but even non-pledge promises hold some degree of power, no? Obviously no as much "as" a pledge.
>>44754402
I'm adding Saikano to the list - you said I can be Dr. Manhatten, I might as well start as a little Japanese girl shitting AMRAAMs
>>44754185
It's at the point now that Jon (he plays Cowl) has offered to *pay* me to update that thread. Which, sadly, would be in breach of my contract.
>>44753953
How was Geist incoherent? It was perfectly coherent, just directionless with bad mechanics. But if you are interested, by the end of the night I should have a playable Sin-eater template (not powers) for 2e. Because I'm clearly not going to be able to sleep since people keep fucking calling me.
>>44754308
Demons literally can do that shit better than Beasts, because they can straight punch a hole in reality. They can go bodily into the Temenos. That doesn't even make any fucking sense.
>>44754631
>Saikano
I told myself I wouldn't cry.
I cried.
>>44754663
It would be a breach of your contract to update your Actual Play for money?
>>44754581
Do I have to post the video? Just do it, if nothing else it's good practice. It's not like Geist 2e is approved and officially in development.
>>44754691
>It would be a breach of your contract to update your Actual Play for money?
Mage 2e rules.
>>44754691
Demons actively enjoy not making any fucking sense. That's why they're demons in the first place, for one thing.
>>44754691
Cry as my character shits AMRAAMS and pisses 25 mm shells
While being adorably fragile and vulnerable
>>44754691
No spoiling Mage 2e rules beyond what OPP approved. There's no way that group's not playing the complete Mage2e by now.
>>44754663
>It's at the point now that Jon (he plays Cowl) has offered to *pay* me to update that thread. Which, sadly, would be in breach of my contrac
What would be a breach of your contract, updating the AP or doing it for profit?
Absent breaches of NDA's, I cannot imagine why OP or Paradox would not want more mage material from the developer. It's basically free advertising.
>>44754748
Wouldn't Chise be more like a Demon?
Though then again even at her very, very lowest power levels, literally first episode, she's already got abilities that shit all over Processes (and Embeds, and Exploits). I get the feeling even Destroyer demons weren't actually meant to fight in WARS. The most powerful conventional weapon on the list (Eliminator Cannon with Hellfire) is frankly downright pathetic compared to most anything modern day armies would put on a vehicle (or even some things they'd give troopers), Rain of Fire is still completely eclipsed in its potential for widespread destruction by even very weak ordnance and there's no combination of Form Abilities that could make a demon anywhere NEAR a match for a fighter plan in a straight up fight.
Late series Chise... Likely beyond stats. Girl can casually blow up planets and create matter from nothing. We're talking high ranking spirits, archangels and shit.
>>44754712
Do Actual Plays explain those?I still haven't read it
>>44754703
Probably true. I've got the main thing broken up into other non-public Docs at the moment. I'm mostly going through the Manifestations and creating one Unlock per Manifestation at the moment. Bit tripped up on some of them, but I've got all the Boneyard other than Stigmata/Primeval/Stillness. Bit iffy on whether the Stygian Boneyard should create the Underworld Gate Condition, and what that entails.
>>44754748
And also becomes the last living thing in existence--if you can call what she has life--and destroys the world while her boyfriend stays alive inside of her for all eternity, unchanging and unaging as the world outside of your cold fleshy metal hull experiences nuclear winter and suffers your wrath for it's hubris and man's inhumanity towards man.
>>44754764
Yeah, but again... do Actual Plays explain those? He's been playing a version of 2e for a while now. Plus, I thought it was up to him how much he spoils, at least that seemed to be the point behind Open Dev.
>>44754847
But can she make the killing stop?Yes. Yes she can ;_;
>>44754826
Doing it for profit. They would give no shits if I updated it (hell, many of them read it) - and it's many, many recaps to go before 2e's rules stabilize and get spoiley. The recaps are currently at the "we were playtesting GMC" point.
>>44754867
>And also becomes the last living thing in existence--if you can call what she has life--and destroys the world while her boyfriend stays alive inside of her for all eternity, unchanging and unaging as the world outside of your cold fleshy metal hull experiences nuclear winter and suffers your wrath for it's hubris and man's inhumanity towards man.
That is if you choose to interpret the ending literally rather than as Seiji's dying hallucination/a happy illusion granted to him by Chise while she euthanizes the world.
That said, I would like to be able to play Chise in Deviant. Heck, now that I think about it, when you deal with the higher levels of "Experimental Superweapon/Supersoldier Gone Wrong/Rogue", fighting and defeating the military is a genre STAPLE. I'll be very disappointed if there aren't at least token rules for shit like taking out entire battalions, throwing tanks in the air, dogfighting jets and surviving drone strikes. Whether or not you get to actually do the striking with biomechanical cyborg missiles.
>>44754948
>That is if you choose to interpret the ending literally rather than as Seiji's dying hallucination/a happy illusion granted to him by Chise while she euthanizes the world.
Why wouldn't you? Chise is clearly insanely powerful, and I wouldn't call "mass human extinction and an eternal static existence" a happy ending.
>>44754981
Because it's too lighthearted for Saikano that way.
>>44755017
I think the literal interpretation is the more depressing one.
>>44754141
Just say it makes things into gold. It's a macguffin that just does that thing, so it's not like it really needs rules.
>>44754926
Has writing actually started on Tome of the Pentacle and are any other Mage 2e books in the pipeline whose titles have not been released.
Now that the release of the Mage 2e core actaully seems within reach, and the Paradox situation has been resolved, I'm starting to get a little greedy and hope to see a lot of Mage books in 2016. I'm sure OPP also wouldn't mind taking my money or you earning some extra cash.
>>44754624
Yeah, they do. It's all about if the Changeling can rope a mortal into making a promise, no matter how ridiculous or unreasonable it is. The Wyrd can then just say "yup, that's a pledge since there's a changeling present" and bind a human, without him even realizing that there is a pledge at all. That's why this is a Clarity (kinda like Morality) breaking point on higher levels.
>>44755510
Sorry, should have clarified: It is completely possible to make a real, official pledge without the official full pledge making. You basically get someone to make a promise and then it will become a real pledge. It's just that the punishment/duration/etc of the pledge will be detemined by the Wyrd (think of it as Fate that manipulates everything and everyone).
Say a human says "I promise to protect you" to a Changeling. The Changeling decides to use this to her advantage and bind the human in a pledge. If the human breaks a pledge, the Wyrd might punish him by giving him a derangement like sociopathy or possible give him an illness so that his body is punished for no protecting the changeling. Stuff like that, it is often very thematic and ties into the promise itself.
>>44755629
>>44755510
Works roughly how I thought, aye. Boy, I can't wait for the changeling plot-arc in this game, gonna be GREAT
>>44755488
No, and yes.
>>44756038
Do you anticipate that we will see SoS, TofP, and possibly other Mage supplements all in 2016?
Geist 2e Homebrew Question:
How do you all feel about the Silent? I feel like as written they're not very proactive in doing stuff. The core version has the Silent as people who are a) quiet, and b) want stuff. The first one is fine, but leads to characters who don't do much, while the second is better covered under Bonepicker as a Casket (the Sin-eater version of Dirge or Bone).
Actually, how do you guys feel about the original Thresholds as a whole? I've already tweaked the Torn to be more iconoclastic and outgoing. They're basically like the Carthians: loud firebrands who want change, mostly because they've experienced violence and abuse firsthand. I'm also channeling the folks at the Last Round in Bloodlines, pic related.
Prey also will probably need some kind of tweaking. I personally have never really liked their whole "patterns" thing. It feels more like something the Forgotten would focus on, and is classic Gambler's Fallacy. I want to make them feel more naturalistic, less shamanistic. Survivalists, not hippies.
>>44757081
Also, the write up.
>>44757081
>Survivalists, not hippies.
Same shit, different aesthetic, when you look closely.
>>44757806
How so?
I mean the "everything happens for a reason, MAN" sort of hippies. In the corebook the Prey are all about looking for patterns. It doesn't really fit all that well with "death by natural means". Sure, nature has patterns, but not "See? The rocks fell and broke his bones the same way they broke hers... and his. Every time. Every time, a pattern." Which is the quote for Prey.
>>44757081
The Prey should ideally be more about fatalism, cycles and consistency. It has happened, and it will happen again, NATURE IS FOREVER.
I just had an opportunity to more fully review the Demon Storyteller's Guide. The crossover sections were excellent.
I really liked the part involving the Seers of the Throne on p. 130. If you want the GM to be an Exarch or in league with them, it certainly supports that belief.
"The activities of the Seers of the Throne often resemble God-Machine projects. Occasionally too frequently for it to be an accident — a Seer will actively assist a God-Machine cult in the construction or defense of Infrastructure. It isn’t clear whether the God-Machine contracts these mages’ services as needed through Its usual intermediaries, or whether It has entered into some kind of alliance with their Exarch masters."
>>44747941
So I'm building a blood bather character for a mixed game.
I'm really tempted to build it so that I have 12 strength, so I can lift a wrecking ball and toss cars.
But I could also just end up with 7 strength and 7 stamina, which would mean 12 health boxes. If I just focused on having 12 strength, I'd have 7 health boxes, which is about average. The blood bather can regenerate and return from death (so long as the body is mostly intact).
What do you guys recommend?
>>44758577
>What do you guys recommend?
Not playing a Bloodbather.
>>44758577
/wodg/ is severely anti-fun.
I'd say go with the Stamina, 7 strength is enough (with brawl or weaponry) to fuck up almost anyone as it is
>>44753967
>Dark Angel
But you said you didn't even watch that show.
>>44758784
He didn't watch it when I suggested it, but he either got around to it or read the Wikipedia summary and agreed that it fits.
Probably the second, because apparently it got more episodes than I remember.
>>44756038
I wonder what everyone else wants to see in terms of 2e supplements. I don't even know what I want, since the only thing I can think of is rules for artifacts and perfected materials to flesh out the power smiths but thats already coming in SoS.
>>44758870
In light of the new Summoning Attainments and the fact that the Supernal World of 2e is a lot more pervasive and accessible than the Supernal Realm focus of 1e, I would like to see an update to Summoners. The book was great, and there's no doubt there's ample room for more material.
Ugh. Seriously, I kind of hate the original Sin-eater Thresholds now.
Reading over them, the attitudes and themes so rarely fit with the actual Threshold.
Quick. Without looking it up, tell me what you think these Thresholds' attitudes should be like:
Torn (Death by Violence, The Bleeding Ones, Victims of Malice, Marked by Murder and Conflict, Chosen of the Red Horseman)
Silent (Death by Deprivation, The Starved Ones, Victims of Neglect, Marked by Starvation and Need, Chosen of the Black Horseman)
Stricken (Death by Pestilence, The Ravaged Ones, Victims of Plague, Marked by Poison, Virus, and Bacterium, Chosen of the White Horseman)
Prey (Death by Nature, The Eaten and the Drowned Ones, Victims of the Elements, Marked by Claw, Wave, and Earth, Chosen of the Pale Horseman)
Forgotten (Death by Chance, The Lightning-Struck, Victims of Misfortune, Marked by Fate's Injustice, Chosen of the Gray Horseman)
Just by the titles and what they died from, how do you think they'd act?
Why is the Hedge never mentioned in any Mage books? You'd think they'd be all over those goblin fruits. Is it not part of the phenomenal world?
>>44759510
The Hedge is BAD NEWS for Mages.
Space Magic cannot transport you outside of it, the thorns tear at your soul which damages your Magic, any sight spell has a dice pool capped at your Wisdom.
Within it Mages, are disturbingly fragile and without a Changeling to guide them or sufficient knowledge of Fate Magic, they may be just as lost as any Sleeper.
There are also few benefits from it.
Aside from getting Arcane Beats/Experience from learning of its existence, and of certain things within it, the actual items themselves are woefully inferior compared to what Mages could create should they put their minds to it, or bargain for from the Consilium or their Order.
Plus you're wandering into a location full of crazy Fey God-beings who want to drag you off and turn you into one of these charming fellows.
>>44758695
Is 12 health boxes going to make that huge of a difference you think? Admittedly, the most I've ever heard of a character having was 15 (a changing breed).
>>44759698
>Plus you're wandering into a location full of crazy Fey God-beings who want to drag you off and turn you into one of these charming fellows.
Oh no
>summon iron bullets
>slaughter anything that tries to fuck with you
>>44759795
>summon iron bullets
You can't summon Iron from outside the Hedge, and any Iron you make within the Hedge is mystically created Iron, which is really weak compared to true Iron.
>>44751735
I hope that you blog the playtesting for us.
>>44759944
you're thinking cold iron
regular iron goes through fae defenses
>>44760004
Well sure, load up on iron bullets, grab your Freedom Stick, and wander in with a small party of people willing to shoot anything that moves.
Even then the question is still why?
What could you possibly hope to gain from entering the Hedge.
Every problem the Hedge poses has somewhat of a countermeasure, however the question of your reason for entering still exists.
Almost everything the Hedge offers can be provided for you by your own power, or another Mage.
>>44760004
Cold iron=iron
Cold iron is just a fanciful thing, any iron that is hand-worked is cold iron, the only thing that doesn't count is mass produced or machined iron. If it's hand-made AND beaten into shape with nothing but raw muscle and like...a hammer, it has the added bonus of doing aggravated to the others.
>>44759510
>>44759698
That's all likely to change in Changeling 2e. DaveB doesn't like to support (or really doesn't have room in his books to support) crossover, particularly with Changeling after the grief of the Changeling Arcadia vs. Supernal Arcadia debates. He's even explicitly stating they aren't the same place in Mage 2e.
Similarly, DavidH is not keen to deal with Awakened mages in Changeling 2e for the same reasons as DaveB, and recently stated he doesn't even see why mages would even want to enter the Hedge.
How and why mages and changelings and/or the Hedge interact will be largely storyteller fiat.
See:
http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/43960473/#43971599
http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/44592522/#44614865
http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/44592522/#44615590
>>44760227
>he doesn't even see why mages would even want to enter the Hedge.
Simple curiosity. I see no reason why mages would completely ignore it from their cosmology.
It breaks my heart that we could have had a Geist done by Dave, because of one major reason. Geist was lacking direction, to the point of not having, well, any. Dave has said several times that he likes mechanics that reinforce the theme. It could have been so amazing.
>>44760299
Well yeah, sure.
But after they've wranged a few Arcane Beats out of entering it and experiencing some of its weird power, there's no real benefit to entering the Hedge.
Which means there's no real reason to put it in any of the Mage books.
>>44759510
>Why is a thing from changeling not talked about in Mage?
>>44760004
>>44760146
Cold Iron isn't just iron, at least not in 1e. And summoning it definitely doesn't do anything.
>>44760376
It's not like there are only a handful of Arcane Beats to be had in the Hedge. You could get billions and still find new things. It's like Skyrim.
>>44760362
I'm trying to take lessons from Dave and Chris and apply them to this Geist 2e fan stuff.
But it's kind of hard... >>44759159
>>44760401
>It's like Skyrim.
But exactly like Skyrim, finding those things has no real benefit other than that experience.
Mages get many more benefits through hunting down stuff from their own cosmology, you get both Beats and stuff to actually use, like tass, or imbued items.
Pretty much any other faction gives Mages more stuff to work with.
>>44759159
How thematically are we supposed to be interpreting these? Are Geists supposed to learn from them and try to reject violence and conflict from experiencing them? Are they supposed to embrace them and live them fully? Or only partly?
Either way
>Torn
Violent, bloody powers. Unsubtle, and mostly used to harm living beings.
>Silent
Powers based on being unnoticed, or potentially invoking sensations of desperate need in others.
>Stricken
Plagues and resiliece and stuff
>Prey
Fang, claw, fire and storm. Natural forces and their manipulation.
>Forgotten
Fucking with luck and making improbable shit happen. Curses and boons, that kind of thing.
I think the implication of his comment is less "There are no Mysteries to be had in the Hedge" but rather coming from the position of Changeling, which as a non-Changeling certainly seems like it'd be "why the hell would you even WANT to go here if you're not 'safe' like us?"
>>44760401
Cold iron IS just iron in 1E, it's just relatively pure iron beaten into shape by hand.
>>44760533
I suppose I wasn't clear. I mean what do you think the attitudes of those X-Splats would be.
In terms of POWERS, the set up is like this:
>Torn
Blood/ghosts and Emotions
>Silent
Darkness/corpses and Cold-Wind
>Stricken
Illusions and Water/Tears
>Prey
Animals and Dirt/Graves
>Forgotten
Fire and technology
I'm talking about the attitudes, though. Like how Ventrue are domineering and egotistical, Obrimos are justice paladins, and Irakka are sneaky paranoids.
>>44760579
Yes... and there's several bits that talk about how pure and heat forged iron is not "cold" anymore. You can't use regular iron the way you'd use regular silver on a Werewolf.
>>44760672
Mundane Iron still works fine, it just doesn't work as well as Iron that's never been heated in its smithing.
>>44760918
What the fuck does that have to do with anything?
>>44759795
>Wander forever until you've run out of ammo and are insane.
Perfect plan. A+
