|
unseenlibrarian posted:I just tend to run with 'Really patriotic vampires, possibly founding fathers with fangs" Vampire Dad Abraham Lincoln
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 03:46 |
|
|
# ? May 9, 2024 10:00 |
|
Pope Guilty posted:Kind of mad this is just somebody's campaign instead of a setting you can buy in paperback at the local game store. I'm actually very happy you think that. I wasn't going to say anything but this experience has springboarded me to make my own book. I know a little about the process and my job has enough down time that I can do a lot of writing.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 03:49 |
|
Inzombiac posted:Oh, huh, I suppose so. Myself and the cyber guy used to play a lot of Shadowrun so we set this Hunter game in the future. I had to invent a lot of stuff that Bleeding Edge didn't cover. Yeah. See my point? Ugh my phone is lovely but also wanted to affirm gia quote that I'm sad that this isn't just a thing. Just cause I said it was 90's ain't mean I don't still love it yo.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 05:23 |
|
Okay, cool. I'm very comfortable with criticism, I just have a hard time discerning tone on The Internet, sometimes. Glad you like the idea. It's a loving hoot to write. We go from horror to 80s cyber glam sometimes between sessions, sometimes between scenes. It's keeping me on my toes. Because my players aren't the best at pulling plot threads and are happy to gently caress about for a few hours, I've devised something to get them back into a plot at almost any time. Every now and then, they would find dead bodies here and there. Being the dark future, this wasn't SO weird. They eventually noticed that, among other injuries, there was always one part that was always missing. I let that simmer for a bit until a lull in the story. They then come across someone being attacked in an alley by a... well I just call them Fiend. Basically a hellish humanoid attack dog. They attack and it escapes by climbing the wall and breaking into a locked building. They examine the body and find claw marks but the ears have been chewed off. Once they finally get inside, they don't find the fiend, but they do find a pulsating flesh sac that has suspended itself with flesh ropes lashed to the walls and ceiling. They cut it down and then open to find the fiend in a strange gestation and it looks pregnant. Once killed, they slice open the belly to find a ball of semi-solid flesh. Splicing that, they find layers of skin and blood that have covered a single, perfect human ear. They keep it. Last time we played, they hit a big club for fun and were going to party with some Transhumanists they met. One of the guys goes around to puke and they see him getting pounced. A similar situation unfolds but this time they find a foot. Leaving the scene, the Alchemist gets an exceptional spot check and thinks she sees a cloaked figure but it pains her to look at it for more than a round but they pursue it. The characters are smashed balls out drunk and ready to fight. The plot thread is that a wraith or some hellish ghost has risen to the mortal plane but, because of an earlier pact, cannot ride a morals body. Instead, it commands these Fiends and uses their unusual biology to harvest parts of people and make new parts. If it's allowed to fulfill its quest, it will essentially be a self-made Promethian. Inzombiac fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Oct 13, 2015 |
# ? Oct 13, 2015 05:47 |
|
I want to use that wraith/promethean thing in my game now... That's awesome
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 08:06 |
Inzombiac posted:And the Brian Poeshen run of Deadpool, for what it's worth. Also, Ben Franklin's ghost seduced Dr Strange's girlfriend.
|
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 09:27 |
|
TF:V is secretly headed up by OWOD Hunters who escaped to this dimension during whatever Armageddon finally hit the OWOD.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 12:45 |
|
Idrin posted:I want to use that wraith/promethean thing in my game now... That's awesome Go for it! I haven't read the Promethian book so I don't know all the rules but I do know the themes. I have yet to write the villains end game if they get a body but it's designed to be a long time from now so I'm not worried. Edit: phone posting is hard with a glitchy phone, it turns out Inzombiac fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Oct 13, 2015 |
# ? Oct 13, 2015 15:52 |
|
So I noticed God Machine Chronicles actually changed some rules, like Morality and Experience. What are people's opinions of the new rules if they've played them? Should I use the 2nd ED rules or stick to what I know? Integrity looks neat at least.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 16:16 |
|
Conditions are great, I love them. Some of them are a bit over-specific and you should have index cards at the ready to make them on the fly, but they're a simple, easy way to boost an Exceptional Success or penalise a Dramatic failure. As for XP, flat costs make things a lot simpler, but with a few downsides. First up, it gives characters a huge incentive to specialise in the things they already have, and second they'll focus on buying their cool powers, simply because they can cost like half the price of an attribute dot and get you so much more. I kind of wish they'd found a way to allow you to invest 1 XP in skills, attributes, merits, or powers and get something good out of it - it's just a bit inelegant that getting +1 dice in a pool can cost you anything from 1 xp (specialty) to 4 xp (attribute). On the other hand, group beats are great and provide a big incentive to hit dramatic failures and aspirations. Well worth a try.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 16:27 |
Alien Rope Burn posted:
Didn't the official requiem larp end up with a lancea sanctum/carthian merged covenant taking over south america? i always thought that sounded badass. Re:task force. I actually think they're more interesting with not being run by supernaturals, but until recently were and their tech reached a point where they managed to purge themselves
|
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 16:31 |
|
Little_wh0re posted:Didn't the official requiem larp end up with a lancea sanctum/carthian merged covenant taking over south america? i always thought that sounded badass. I'd like to hear more about this as well if anyone knows more, Vampire Communist Liberation Theology is a way cooler idea than I'd expect to emerge from the LARP scene
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 16:36 |
|
zeal posted:I'd like to hear more about this as well if anyone knows more, Vampire Communist Liberation Theology is a way cooler idea than I'd expect to emerge from the LARP scene Yeah, that fairly rules.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 16:49 |
|
Yeah it does. I'm looking to buy hardcovers of the 2nd edition books. Is DriveThruRPG my best bet? I've never purchased from them before. I asked around my local huge game store and they said that they may never get the 2nd editions because Onyx Path have been non-communicative and bizarrely controlling.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 16:56 |
|
Inzombiac posted:Yeah it does. If they didn't kickstart a book, DriveThru is your only option. The print-on-demand stuff they do is fine, I got the cheaper PoD version of Mage 20th the other day and it's perfectly usable, it just doesn't have glossy paper stock.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 17:06 |
|
Swagger Dagger posted:If they didn't kickstart a book, DriveThru is your only option. The print-on-demand stuff they do is fine, I got the cheaper PoD version of Mage 20th the other day and it's perfectly usable, it just doesn't have glossy paper stock. I'm seeing Vampire and Werewolf but not WoD corebook. There is this http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/113340/World-of-Darkness-The-GodMachine-Chronicle?src=hottest_filtered&filters=0_2140_0_0_0 But it says the WoD corebook is required. Like, the old one or what? Halp I'm dumb.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 19:05 |
|
Inzombiac posted:I'm seeing Vampire and Werewolf but not WoD corebook. The Second Edition books are stand-alone, you don't need a core World of Darkness book to use them. Vampire and Werewolf 2nd Ed both include the full (albeit truncated) basic game system. There is a core World of Darkness Second Edition book coming, which will have more stuff and expanded rules with more examples and systems and such, but it's not out yet. In the meantime, you can use the first edition World of Darkness book along with the free rules update: World of Darkness Rulebook, First Edition Free 2nd Edition Rules Update for World of Darkness Rulebook.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 19:19 |
|
Ooookay. That makes more sense. I would have figured that the WoD book would come out first... oh well.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 20:23 |
|
Inzombiac posted:Ooookay. That makes more sense. I would have figured that the WoD book would come out first... oh well. It goes back to licensing issues with CCP, who still own all the WoD IP that Onyx Path licenses. For a long while, Onyx Path didn't have the rights to produce a Second Edition line, so they hit on the idea of doing "Chronicle Books" which would present a combination of rules revisions and updates and a chronicle hook to help new STs hit the ground running. It was, in essence, a Second Edition in all but name. God Machine Chronicle [(the "core" nWoD one) i]was[/i] the first Chronicle Book, followed by Blood & Smoke: The Strix Chronicle for Requiem. But between the publishing of B&S and what would have been the Idigam Chronicle for Forsaken, Onyx Path negotiated the Second Edition rights, Blood & Smoke was rebranded Vampire: The Requiem Second Edition, and on we went. Requiem 2e and Forsaken 2e were already being developed as stand-alone products, so basically nothing had to be done to them to make them Second Editions. But because integrating the GMC rules updates into the full core rulebook was a more extensive job (and because the focus was on getting Requiem, Forsaken, and Awakening 2e out to players), it's taken longer for the core World of Darkness 2e book.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 21:00 |
|
Yeah, the 2e rules reference a lot of stuff in the old core that will need to be entirely rewritten for the new core. There's a lot of work to be done that actually isn't already covered by the rules revisions because in many cases the rules revisions just point back at the WoD core and go 'but different in this way.'
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 21:18 |
|
Thanks for the lengthy explination. I wish beyond wish that the WoD franchise sees a surge of money and better management. From what I've read of the 2e books, they have talented writers and artists, they need to be dicked around less. Hopefully things have settled down. General question, aside from Hunters, Vampires and Mages, has anyone run a fun and successful game with the other creatures as the PCs? My group may move to a mix-creature game in the style of Buffy/Angel (sortof) and wonder if there are any pits I should watch out for or any rules that should be augmented.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 21:21 |
|
Mors Rattus posted:Yeah, the 2e rules reference a lot of stuff in the old core that will need to be entirely rewritten for the new core. There's a lot of work to be done that actually isn't already covered by the rules revisions because in many cases the rules revisions just point back at the WoD core and go 'but different in this way.' Also there's some cool new stuff coming in nWoD 2e that just wouldn't fit in the chopped down core rules chapters of the other 2nd Edition books.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 21:23 |
|
Flavivirus posted:Conditions are great, I love them. Some of them are a bit over-specific and you should have index cards at the ready to make them on the fly, but they're a simple, easy way to boost an Exceptional Success or penalise a Dramatic failure. Giving Beats for resolving Conditions and Dramatic Failures is pretty bad, as the game will derail completely as players keep chasing that sweet sweet disaster XP. Great if you want to play the WoD version of Archer, bad for everything else. That's my only major complaint with the system though.
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 23:31 |
|
sounds like a problem with your players as most I have encountered never went that route O.o
|
# ? Oct 13, 2015 23:39 |
|
MonsieurChoc posted:Giving Beats for resolving Conditions and Dramatic Failures is pretty bad, as the game will derail completely as players keep chasing that sweet sweet disaster XP. Great if you want to play the WoD version of Archer, bad for everything else. Sounds like maybe you're over-relying on dramatic failure equating to "bumbling incompetence" rather than "poo poo suddenly gets dramatically worse." In my experience, players chasing that sweet disaster XP leads to players digging their characters into holes, pursuing things they want even though they know it's terrible for them in the long term, and generally creating tons more drama. And drama is a good thing. (EDIT: Also don't forget that you can only convert a failure to a dramatic failure for a Beat/resolve a condition for a Beat once per scene.) GimpInBlack fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Oct 14, 2015 |
# ? Oct 13, 2015 23:52 |
|
I've written some simple aspirations for the "tutorial day" that I'll let them pick from so they can get an idea of how the game works and then I'll let them create their next aspirations (if they want to) for the next session.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 00:06 |
|
GimpInBlack posted:Sounds like maybe you're over-relying on dramatic failure equating to "bumbling incompetence" rather than "poo poo suddenly gets dramatically worse." In my experience, players chasing that sweet disaster XP leads to players digging their characters into holes, pursuing things they want even though they know it's terrible for them in the long term, and generally creating tons more drama. And drama is a good thing. I did try to make Dramatic Failures be bad poo poo instead of just incompetence or bad luck, but that doesn,t stop players froms tacking as many conditions on themselves as they can so they can resolve them in stupid ways to get more beats. If your players don't care about the XP and won't try to abuse any system they find, then sure, it works. But there's a lot of players that, when seeing a loophole, will jump right through it. My players are like that.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 05:20 |
|
GimpInBlack posted:Also there's some cool new stuff coming in nWoD 2e that just wouldn't fit in the chopped down core rules chapters of the other 2nd Edition books. For example: cats and dogs that are no longer the most terrifying foes in the game.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 05:25 |
|
Mors Rattus posted:For example: cats and dogs that are no longer the most terrifying foes in the game. Hahaha. I forgot about Cats: Murder blenders.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 05:32 |
|
Inzombiac posted:Hahaha. I forgot about Cats: Murder blenders. Well in certain circumstances... quote:Condition: Bathing The Cat
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 05:44 |
|
Mors Rattus posted:For example: cats and dogs that are no longer the most terrifying foes in the game. The very first time I ran WoD, my players got to have pretty much Literally Scooby Doo as a dog. I figured, hey, Scooby Doo is a big dog, might as well use the stats out the back of the blue book, right? That was a hell of a dog.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 06:28 |
|
MonsieurChoc posted:Great if you want to play the WoD version of Archer, bad for everything else. I mean now that I've read this, I have a difficult time imagining why you would want anything else. In fact, this should be combined with that notion of Task Force: VALKRYIE being run by Vampire Ben Franklin immediately.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 09:59 |
|
Cabbit posted:I mean now that I've read this, I have a difficult time imagining why you would want anything else. I agree but it would take such a miraculous mixture of extremely creative GM and players that are quick and good at rolling with the punches. Such groups exist is myth and legend. Or my group needs to drink more, haha.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 10:33 |
|
MonsieurChoc posted:Giving Beats for resolving Conditions and Dramatic Failures is pretty bad, as the game will derail completely as players keep chasing that sweet sweet disaster XP. What my group has been doing for vampire is just a default 0.5 xp that can only be spent on attributes/skills/merits, and 0.5 xp that can only be spent on disciplines/BP/merits. Instead of giving a beat, conditions give some minor benefit when resolved, e.g. a WP point or making your next use of X discipline cost no vitae. It's been working pretty well.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 14:56 |
|
I'm going through Dark Ages Europe at the moment and just hit the section on Vienna and I don't even know what the gently caress. It's talking about Matthias Corvinus's capture of Vienna as past-tense - but it's set in 1230, and that doesn't happen until 1485.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 15:05 |
|
I think it's good to encourage creating characters whose lives are rife with conflict and trouble, but I don't like incentivizing players to inflict misfortune on their own characters mid-game, or incentivizing players to have their characters make self-endangering decisions to achieve metagame rewards. I definitely appreciate the idea that there could be consolation prizes for getting owned in various ways, but when those prizes are per-scene XP they tend to make for mandatory checklists.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 15:24 |
|
Cabbit posted:I mean now that I've read this, I have a difficult time imagining why you would want anything else. That sound sgreat, but the chronicle that got derailed by the new XP rules was going for a 80s Michael Mann take on Requiem.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 15:36 |
|
If nothing else changing it to "the ST can offer a dramatic failure for a Beat" rather than "the player can choose a dramatic failure for a Beat" would help.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 16:58 |
|
Loomer posted:I'm going through Dark Ages Europe at the moment and just hit the section on Vienna and I don't even know what the gently caress. It's talking about Matthias Corvinus's capture of Vienna as past-tense - but it's set in 1230, and that doesn't happen until 1485. I wouldn't be surprised if that was originally a part of a present-day VtM character's backstory in an earlier book (probably one of the German-language ones that touched on the area), and the Dark Ages Europe authors copy-pasted that backstory in without a second thought.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 17:29 |
|
|
# ? May 9, 2024 10:00 |
|
Pope Guilty posted:If nothing else changing it to "the ST can offer a dramatic failure for a Beat" rather than "the player can choose a dramatic failure for a Beat" would help. Ehhh - if there's an experience point (or a fraction of one) on the line I still don't think it's much of a choice. I'd as soon do away with it all together and just make dramatic failures more common if we actually want to see them more often. "At least one 1, no dice come up higher than 5" or something.
|
# ? Oct 14, 2015 17:53 |