General World of Darkness thread

All Nines

Since we have more than a few people around these parts who are familiar with this RPG, in one edition or another, I feel like we ought to have a thread for it beyond a signup for a game here.

One question, to start things off: I haven't looked at oWoD rules, and I'm wondering if anyone here could give me their opinion on it as it compares to nWoD, both systematically and thematically.

And one statement to start with: I've only looked at V:tR so far, since I love vampires more than the other monsters presented. That reminds me that I ought to read/watch Salem's Lot.

ClockworkUniverse

I'm not too familiar with WoD (been interested but never actually played, and won't get to until some people sign up for that V:tM game here), but as I understand it, systematically the rules are almost identical, but a bit streamlined for nWoD.

Thematically, I think nWoD's supposed to be similar, but without the metaplot, which got so convoluted in oWoD that it started hurting sales.

All Nines

So in other words, nWoD is better? :P

Anyone else have opinions to offer, whether on the Old vs. New war, or on the game as a whole?

Malkavian

I actually feel that NWoD is a lot more stagnant, a lot less imaginative, and a lot more obsessed with how 'reality' works in their games of werewolves and faeries. 

There are some advantages (mostly the streamlined system) but I feel a lot of the games, especially Mage, lost a lot of their -ahem- magic in the reboot.

Also, the fandom for V:tM is so crazy big that Whitewolf eventually caved and brought it back.

Probably won't do it with Mage though. =/

All Nines

"I actually feel that NWoD is a lot more stagnant, a lot less imaginative, and a lot more obsessed with how 'reality' works in their games of werewolves and faeries."

Examples? Telling me that one edition of a game is more "stagnant" than another when they're both supposed to be imaginative, interactive experiences doesn't tell me much.

MadassAlex

I only have experience with nWoD. I'd be willing to sign up for a game, if we could work out a timeslot that was alright for everyone.

All Nines

Actually, @Malkavian, since you have more experience with this and have apparently looked at nWoD, would you be able to convert my character sheet from Requiem to Masquerade? I keep finding stuff on how to do the opposite, but I'm not sure if the opposite conversion works out as well.

All Nines

I'd post the character sheet, but the formatting got all fucked up.

ClockworkUniverse

You could save it as a PDF or take a screenshot and save it as an image file or something.

All Nines

Name : Peter Hesse
Clan : Mekhet
Covenant : Unbound
Apparent age : 30
Mental attributes : Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2
Physical attributes : Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 1
Social attributes : Presence 1, Manipulation 1, Composure 4
Mental skills : Academics 3 (English), Craft 1 (Firearms), Occult 3
Physical skills : Athletics 2, Firearms 4 (Pistol), Larceny 2, Stealth 3
Social skills : Subterfuge 4
Merits : Gunslinger 3, Resources 3, Haven Security 1
Willpower : 6
Humanity : 7
Virtue : Prudence
Vice : Pride
Health : 6
Initiative : 8
Defense : 3
Speed : 12
Blood potency : 1
Disciplines : Celerity 3
Vitae/per turn : 10/1

Backstory:

Peter Hesse was an avowed believer in the existence of the supernatural since the age of seven, where he could have sworn that he had seen a person moving "as fast as light" out of an alleyway. In hindsight, it was a relatively unfounded claim, but by the time Hesse had given this memory any scrutinizing thought, he had already read up on all things horrific and mystical and convinced himself besides. His love of these arcane matters, and his deep desire to express his thoughts on the subject of the unknown, led him to pursue a career in writing. Failing that, he became an English professor at a city university and an editor for a horror magazine on the side.

For all of the "learned" professors and wide-eyed students that Hesse met, he found his favored scholarly companion in a night janitor that worked at the university. Hesse lived on campus, and he would frequently edit his magazine submissions in his classroom. When the janitor walked in, they would begin a conversation on who was reading which book, without fail. The man knew more about any book that Hesse asked about than the university staff combined. Old though he may have been, the man surely couldn't have read this many books in his lifetime.

Curious as to the man's origins, Hesse inquired, and the man was all too happy to reveal that he was linked with the supernatural in his own special way. Hesse asked the man if he could divulge any information on this subject, but the janitor only told him to meet in a rarely-used room in the university. There, the janitor Embraced him and was never seen again. The act of transformation caught Hesse completely off-guard, but he quickly put the pieces together and became even more reclusive, so as not to give himself away, but he was fortunate enough to not have to change his lifestyle too drastically, like some neonates. He also began to seek out contacts that could supply him with illicit items (guns, specifically) so that he might defend himself from malcontents like his former best friend, the janitor.

Having trained his powers, Hesse seeks like-minded individuals who wish to become more knowledgeable about the true nature of the world.

ClockworkUniverse

Or you could do that...

Malkavian

Well, basically the old world of darkness was sprawlingly massive. There were tons of things in it with detailed history and so many fascinating things. The key difference is in their versions of Mage. Mage was one of the most expansive games I've ever played drawing from history, mythology, philosophy, and conspiracies from all around the world.

In the reboot, Mage simple became about hermetic magic and Atlantis. It was serious scale-down that was not as interesting and in comparison to old Mage felt needlessly western-centric. The book itself is filled with little things about how doing this or that with magic would just be silly.

Old Mage was a game of "Yes you can." New Mage is a game of "No, you can't."

Also, if you PM your sheet I should get around to it sometime this week.

Oh you already did. I'll edit it later and post in in the providence thread.

ClockworkUniverse

^Um...he posted it. Two posts up from yours.

Ninja-edit'd.

MadassAlex

IJBM: I only ever hear discussion of Vampire.

ClockworkUniverse

I'm interested in the other two, but haven't ever had an "in" to them like V:tM:B was.

Malkavian

^^Well, vampire's more popular.. and easier to get into.

MadassAlex

I mean, we've got vanilla, Mage, Changeling, Werewolf, Hunter... heaps of interesting options.

Malkavian

Hunter is pretty bad....

All Nines

I'll see if I can edit Hesse's backstory into my other post without exceeding the character limit. If not, I'll post it here.

^ It is? I've seen nothing but praise for it. Then again, I'm still not convinced by your other post that there's explicitly more to oWoD than nWoD. Mage, maybe, for all I know, but I believe it's on the Storyteller to synthesize and create the world he runs chronicles in.

MadassAlex

^^ I'll take your word for it, but I love the idea.

ClockworkUniverse

Well, I wasn't even able to get into Vampire until I played Bloodlines.

I kinda wish there were something like it for the other lines.

SUDDEN THREAD EXPLOSION TRIPLE-NINJA

Malkavian

^^Oh, I love the idea but old hunter is an unbalanced mess and new hunter adds bugger all except one new gimmick, some fluff, and a couple of superpowers which it advises against giving players anyhow.

ClockworkUniverse

Ah, that's sad. It sounded really interesting.

Malkavian

The only really interesting addition was slashers, but that hardly needed a $40 corebook.

(has the book, but it was a birthday gift)

ClockworkUniverse

Thoughts on the upcoming MMO?

MadassAlex

Since it's based on a TTRPG, I'll forgive it for having turn-based combat.

Otherwise, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Malkavian

Gonna wait and see more of the product because I've heard companies say their MMORPG is different before.

All Nines

When is it supposed to be released?

ClockworkUniverse

Likely late 2012 at the earliest.

The fact that it's the creators of EVE Online makes me optimistic (though as Alex said, cautiously so), since they seem capable of doing nontraditional.

MadassAlex

Do we know if it's based on any particular game, or is it holistic?

I'd be interesting if the first section of the game was essentially WoD vanilla and it branched out from there.

ClockworkUniverse

It's apparently oWoD, and they've said that it will start out being Vampire, then expand to the other lines.