/cofd/&/wodg/ Chronicles of Darkness and World of Darkness General

Yeah. The only girl in there that wasn't a train wreck to deal with was drills.

Pretty sure that Scarface is worst girl, m8

Tzimisce waifus

>Drills
>Not selecting comfort
Oh user. . .
===========
On the subject of World of Darkness however, I'm still writing out a little game set in a rural area. Any suggestions on what to do? It's kind of Rural Oregon/Washington-ish, lots of little towns and four big ones (Biggest town has 21,000 people).

Pic possibly related

Living in Washington... I like to imply games are in Eastern Oregon. I mean, I went to school in Eastern Washington, and between Central and Eastern Washington there are a ton of small towns. But I guess Oregon has actual ghost towns, places that actually dried up and are still sitting there because logging and such dried up on them. That blows my mind and always seems like good fertile ground.

But for the area in general. We are considered prime big-foot territory. We did have the Green River Killer. Plus Washington is great for over-privileged and paid bumpkins since our minimum wage is so high.

>Black Mage Laws

I think they prefer to be called Mages of Color

Where do you guys go to for character concept inspiration?

I really want to play in a CofD game, dunno which splat, and haven't started looking for games to join because I can't think of anything I'm excited to play. I kind of want to play a Gangrel that wants to become the physical embodiment of The Beast, and eventually be able to transform into a fuckhuge chimera-like monstrosity, but I have no idea after that.

I just want to plat, and I've no idea what to play. Any wisdom is appreciated.

You're asking us to do the best part of the game for you?

I usually build from a core meta-idea; my favorite Changeling came from "what if the core PTSD metaphor of the game was viewed through a military veteran rather than an abuse survivor," while my current Scion was "how can I semi-plausibly make a classic myth as clear as possible." Sometimes it's a mechanical question (what does a potent Shadow Name and Destiny 5 do to someone?) or desire (I want to make a Gangrel who is a Mental character).

tl;dr find a novel core idea or question or build out. If all else fails, steal an existing character and take them in a new direction; I did this for Scar from The Lion King and had a blast.

Queer, not clear. I hate posting from my phone.

No, I'm not asking you to do the best part for me. I'm asking for advice on direction for thinking up a new concept. Like, the stuff that was in your post. Thank you for the input, I'll keep trying.

I tend toward characters based loosely on one or more tv show characters
EG, right now I'm playing a VtM Vampire who's a combination of Hal from Being Human and Cassidy from Preacher(I read up on the comic to get more ideas, even)
Alternatively, like atamajakki said, figure out a good core idea for the character, and build from there
EG, I had a character in a Werewolf game a while ago who started from the idea of being a hipster with a guitar who only knows how to play Wonderwall. He became a very different character, by the time the game actually happened, though, and ended up becoming the Pack's self-proclaimed Alpha.

Sometimes, If I can't think of anything, I hit 'random' on TV Tropes a couple of times, and see how I can combine that into a character concept.

I just read through all the previews for hurt locker since I was after explosives rules.

Most hype 2e book, all books.

That said, how does armour (and firearms defence) apply to things like this in 2e, where you have a single source dealing both Agg, autolethal and lethal?

Armor stops as much of the worst type of damage that it can.

So downgrade lethal to bashing, then absorb Agg, then leathal, then bashing.

While I realise this is a little fringe, does this then mean Armor > Durability once more?

Because Agg bypasses durability. (I think this is still true in 2e?).

If so, how might one apply Armor, rather than durability, to an object?

I was simulating some anti-tank situations was all.

What? Drills was a shitty person. Also, probably had brain problems.

Firearms defense only applies if you're magical.

>Most hype 2e book, all books.

>not Dark Eras Companion, Thousand Years Of Night, or the new Promethean, Changeling, and Hunter cores

I can't remember, is Thousand Years of Night the VtR Methusela/Elder sourcebook?

Well yeah, and who do you think I'm going to have fight a tank?

What I'm saying is, does magic firearms defence only apply to the rolled component? Does it at all?

Also, I could easily live without these. They're NICE and all, but they don't add nearly as much to a typical campaign.

Changeling, I really just don't know whether it's going to be good. And as it stands, Hurt Locker may well be a better Hunter book than Hunter 2e core ends up being.

The very same!

In that case, get out of my brain damn you! :) Not sure about Promethean. I didn't get into 1e Promethean. But TYofN, Hunter, Changeling, Dark Eras Companion. Chomping at the bit.

Is any of the WoD fiction not completely terrible?

You actually read thise? I thought they were page fillers.

The mage fiction anthology is pretty great, actually. Best story doesn't even have a mage in it.

The one re-used from Intruders?

Yuuup. "The wheel" is soooooo good.

Hmm.. I think there are some mages at the very end...

Oh, wait, the Wheel? Yeah. I was thinking about the other one from Intruders.
Now that you mention it, yeah, the Wheel is awesome. Reads like one of Stephen King's better short stories.

Also reminds me of Lovecraft, the whole unseen horror bit. But, yeah. Love that one.

Oh, awesome.
Imperial Mysteries is my favorite Mage supplement, and I loved Autumn Nightmares

Did any other lines have a similar book?

Equinox Road comes close. So does Book of the Deceived, technically.

When Stephen king is (ok, was, he doesn't write short stories like that any more) at his best, he's emulating Lovecraft, but with actual writing skill.

>Equinox Road

Yeah, that's the one I meant.

Which line is Book of the Decieved for? Mummy?

It's a Mummy book from an antagonist group's perspective, but those antagonists happen to be half made of the insane shards of the divine necromancer-priests the Arisen served while alive. It has some neat insights into the underlying mythology of the game.

There's also Dreams of Avarice, which is a bunch of religious texts and journal entries from a NPC who has basically peeked behind the curtain of the universe.

Both are amazing.

>It has some neat insights into the underlying mythology of the game.

This is my main problem with Mummy, I have avoided reading much about it because not knowing/Remembering stuff seems to be a core element of the game.
But I might as well spoil myself, it's not like I will ever fing a gaming group willing to run it...

I don't get that complaint. You can know things your character doesn't; every single game and setting does that, too.

I like Lovecraft's prose a lot. But it's not amazing. Good at building suspense, though.

Sure, but he couldn't write people worth damn. Which is a shame, since most of his stories are framed as recollections.

So despite the fact that it's the one that requires the most work from me, Suicide Squad seems to be the game that gets the most interest for my group.
Those of you who don't spend your lives in these threads might be asking.
>What is the Suicide Squad game?

The players will take the role of monsters under the employ of Taskforce: VALKYRIE who are implanted with cranial bombs, have their phylacteries under lock and key, are mystically bound, or otherwise restrained from general mayhem and used to hunt monsters worse than they are.
The twist to this crossover game is that it will only use Hunter and the core CofD book.

How do I provide some guidelines and standardization to all of this to make my life a little easier when it comes to creating these character templates?

Will the kill targets be provided, or are they doing the investigations too?
What will the relationship with their handler be like?
Any motivations besides survival?

Haven't actually decided any of that yet!
Ideally they'll be shitty people who aren't entirely evil (otherwise they wouldn't be useful as assets).
I'm planning for it to mostly be a standard Conspiracy tier Hunter game, where they're going to be jaunting from place to place and living in motels while trying to solve whatever problem it is that they're sent to solve.

Haven't really thought of how to handle their handling. I know in the movie, Rick Flag is following them on missions and watching over them to make sure they don't kill civilians or whatever (though the trailers also make it seem like they're going up against a city wide problem or something), and the Assault on Arkham animated movie (which is most of my Suicide Squad experience) just has The Wall on intercom threatening to blow their heads off.

I'm hesitant to give them someone super hands on as a handler, mostly because having an STPC type leader character means the players pick their noses as the NPC does all the social work for them. I may have one player take that role, either as someone who's human or otherwise science augmented instead of a prisoner, or just have them be someone who's supernatural but wants to do good.

How do you make it so that Manipulation/Presence no longer encroach on each other's territory?

It isn't, and I have no idea why people think it is. You might as well merge Strength and Stamina.

There is actually no situation in which you shouldn't be able to use Manipulation in place of Presence. The two most common arguments for Presence are crowds and non-lies, but having to use Presence just because you're lying to more than one person is moronic, and having a harder time convincing someone with the truth instead of a lie is also incredibly stupid.

>having a harder time convincing someone with the truth instead of a lie is also incredibly stupid.
Not really. For some people that's easier.

Persuasion, Intimidation and Socialize can all use either Presence or Manipulation to achieve the same goals. Meanwhile, Manipulation gets to be the primary attribute of Subterfuge, Streetwise and Empathy, while Presence only gets the niche Expression and Animal Ken. The divide is not only pointless, but actually somewhat disadvantageous for people whose characters lean towards Presence.

I think the "truthful leader/deceptive manipulator" divide is better left up to roleplaying and how people use their gifts of charisma rather than this arbitrary mechanical divide.

Athletics, can use Dexterity or Stamina, while Dexterity covers Drive, Firearms, Larceny, and Stealth. Strength covers only Brawl and Weaponry, but you can take a merit to change that.

Intelligence covers most Academics, Computers, Medicine, Occult, Politics, or Science rolls when you're researching, while Wits covers the rest and when you're in-the-field.

Everything isn't going to fit neatly, and Power/Finesse isn't really an arbitrary divide to begin with.
You're also ignoring things like the fact that Presence has less chance of blowing up in your face because you're lying to people.

In general, I just find it a lot easier to go with your gut on which Attribute+Skill combination works best.

>Resolve+Academics for research
What?
u wut book?
Why would they make that a dicepool? That isn't what it was in 1e. Although I guess that does give Resolve something to roll.
I do like that the combat skills are given non-combat roll examples in this section. Although "Identify a fighting style" used to be a Wits roll. Or at least I could have sworn it was.

>You're also ignoring things like the fact that Presence has less chance of blowing up in your face because you're lying to people.
This isn't a fact. You don't have to lie when using Manipulation, and there's nothing that states you have to, with the exception of when you're using Subterfuge to lie.

Does anyone think it would have been flavourful to have a mechanic here that was Threshold based on Creature type?
"If you have X creature types in the graveyard" instead of Delirium. It'd be a great way to show that everyone is working together, but still dying. Maybe if we had a middle set to ratchet up the tension, instead of going from subtle spooky to Tentacle Invasion.

>Sigardian Priesthood is forming around Sigarda
Yiss
>Flight of Nightmares comprised of maddened angels bent on purging
Yiss

I think you two done-diddly-derp-derped.

You saw nothing.

I saw everything.

Nice job senpai

I had a question since one of my friends is GMing a Beast crossover game. He wanted to create a villain that could put actual fear into a Beast and he asked me for help. I was reading the Beast book and Heroes seem to be a minor template for mortals therefore it could stack with other minor templates.

Therefore I created The Gourmet, a Legend Slasher made by the Faithful of Shulpae in their own twist of "Family Dinner".

"Don't worry there's enough calamari Makara and Ugallu Katsu to go around. Let us pray in joyous choir as we accept the offerings Shulpae. Let us rejoice as we become one with the gods of palatable fear!"

It is a hidden tradition within The Faithful of Shulpae, something even most neophytes hear in whisper. Gods who are the embodiment of fear walk among us and carry it's very essence in it's flesh. The legend goes that a prophet of the order had a dream in which an eldritch god appeared before him. They gazed upon the gaping maw of the Beast they did not fear it, in fact they saw the perfection of their worship in the "Gods". A hunger that can only be sated by devouring a person in it's entirety, mind, body, and soul to bring yourself closer into the realm of the Gods. In worship of this apex being The Gourmet was created, a mortal who would hunt Beasts for the Faithful of Shulpae and bring their meat to meet the faithful at their own "family dinner".

I'm working on the finer details but his "Tale" is similar to that of the Wendigo in which whenever a Shulpae hunter is the target of a Beast's nightmare, especially if it makes them a Hero, they begins to seek out the "Gods of palatable fear". After killing the beast and feeding from it they will become the next Gourmet. The frailty is that after tasting the flesh of a Beast everything else taste's foul and is actually toxic to the Gourmet. Force feeding or tricking the Gourmet into eating non-beast material will cause Aggravated damage and it must feed once a day or take an agg damage.

Demon campaign.
Japan 80s-90s.
BBEG - demon, CEO of a game developing company. He captures some "spirits" (Its actually Beasts, players just dont figure its out yet) and trap them inside master copies of games. His plan is to use their digital copies as a training groud to bruteforce easiest way to combat beasts.
So we are close to an end and in the end is obviously videogame boss fight inside weird cyber-dreamspace. "This is not even my final form" clishe is allready there.
What videogame boses you personaly want (Or do not want in that case) to come alive out of your catridge?

Obviously the answer is Giygas

>if it makes them a Hero
But that's not a thing that happens.

Get the Mortal Remains book. It's a Hunter-specific game that gives a lot of insight on how humans view monsters. And I can't remember if it's Mortal Remains, Witch Finders, or both that has unique Hunter templates that allow you to apply supernatural dread powers.

I'm using Mortal Remains, and tweaking their monster template a bit (instead of Potency allowing them to have and spend more Willpower, they'll have a normal "9+X/X per turn" energy meter). I don't remember a unique Hunter template, though (unless you meant Hunter the gameline, not Hunter the character type).

Since everyone already knows it's me, I might as well link this post:
forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/main-forum/the-new-world-of-darkness/hunter-the-vigil/914553-help-with-simplified-templates-for-players?p=915538#post915538

Trying to decide where to set a game. I want it set in a moderately sized city about an hour from a large, nationally recognized city. It's also a Demon game, seems a lot of them are going around. The reason I'm thinking this is that I want it to start out in that there's a few large Agencies set up in the larger city, but not much as far as Demon existence in the satellite city, so when the ring arrives on the scene of the satellite city, an Agency approaches them to investigate some things the G-M seems to be starting up there. Doesn't start them off directly under the thumb of an Agency, but if they do the work for the Agency allows them to have an ally there.

I just have no idea what these cities will be. I'm considering going the comic book route and just making up my own cities, but then I still have to make a decision on the region.

>I'm considering going the comic book route and just making up my own cities
I prefer that.
>but then I still have to make a decision on the region.
Simpsons never did. Well, they did, but were intentionally inconsistent. That kind of thing isn't ever going to come up. Unless you're like me.

I had a WWI hospital and a Speakeasy in the same city. My player got pissed and acted like he suddenly wouldn't know the firearms laws or something, and that not knowing would be important. Not that he used firearms, or they ever came up, or it would have mattered. Not that he knew beforehand.

>I had a WWI hospital and a Speakeasy in the same city
Uh, what's the issue with that?

Overall I think this would be a Legend Slasher that would also be a Hero. Here is an overall overlook of how it would work out.

Life: Familial
Legend: Predator
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 4, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 3 Dexterity 4, Stamina 5
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Occult 4 , Crafts 3 (Cooking), Investigation 2, Medicine 1

Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Drive 1, Stealth 3, Survival 2, Weaponry 5 (Culinary Knives)
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Expression (Oration) 2, Persuasion 2, Streetwise 2

Merits: Contacts (Shulpae Sects) 1, Danger Sense, Fast Reflexes 3, Iron Skin 2, Fighting Style: Spetznaz Knife Fighting 4, Iron Stomach 2, Murder Expert 3,

Gifts: Legendary Hunter, Loremaster, Open Gate, Chosen Weapon (Chef's knife made of the bones, teeth, etc of devoured beasts)

Talents: Working the Room; Strength from the Tales:

The Gourmet can use these talents when fighting multiple beasts or their "kin" in battle. Whenever a Faithful of Shulpae or The Gourmet feeds on the flesh of a beast The Gourmet has prepared, The Gourmet may recover willpower, health, etc per feeding.

Frailties: Nothing but the Mission; Trapped in the Story: The Gourmet cannot feed off the meat of anything other than beasts. If it feeds or is force fed non-beast materials then it takes an Agg damage per item consumed. Also The Gourmet must feed at least once a day on the flesh of Beasts or take an Aggravated Damage that cannot be healed until feeding.

It's Life is Familial in which it regains willpower when it stops to help other Faithful of Shulpae with their endeavors, especially when it's between hunting a beast and saving the Faithful.

It's Legend is Predator: The Gourmet lives to hunt and consume beasts to stay closer to the gods. It regains a willpower as it hunts down a beast with ravenous zeal.

Health: 10
Willpower: 6
Size: 5
Speed: 12
Defense: 7
Initiative: 10
Integrity: 3

Those two things didn't happen in the same country.

I would suggest not using the actual Slasher template, but then again this is for a combat villain, so five dots doesn't really matter.

changelings have Catgirls and Vamps tend to kill their lovers or get them killed (moreso than others). I'd switch the two around

A Hunger Like Fire is still one of the best CofD/WoD novels ever. Some of the older VtM anthologies had stories by Robert Bloch and Harlan Ellison, so I assume those are good.

CofD Inferno when

Looking at their policies of not making old books out-dated? Never.
Then again, just looking at their production schedule: Never.

With some luck, CofD work will pick up when WW starts publishing 1WoD stuff, since that seems to take up a lot of work time.

If we do get any update to blue books, it'll be in books around more general themes and less "X book, second edition". Hurt Locker's about violence in the CofD but also serves as an update to the Armory book and some portions of Second Sight.

So what's stopping a vampire from just not paying back a favor?

Same thing that happens in real life when you don't.

Maybe we'll see it in Dark Eras 2? Skinchangers and Second Sight got in.

Everyone gets really catty and pissy?

Yep. Now imagine ageless predators being catty and pissy.

What's the Vampire equivalent of the passive-aggressive note on the fridge?

Dead ghoul's head infront of the coffin?

Probably sending a childe to beat up the other guy's ghouls.
Forced expenditure of Vitae, shows that you are angry, but nothing that really matters happens.

Waking up at the bottom of a river

>train wreck to deal with
>lily
nah m8

Baltimore to Washington DC is about an hour drive.

google.com/search?espv=2&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS697US697&q=baltimore to dc drive time&oq=balti drive time&gs_l=serp.3.0.0i7i30l10.15637.16707.0.19200.5.5.0.0.0.0.93.417.5.5.0....0...1c.1.64.serp..0.5.416.OpgY_zZIrm8

Also
>San Jose to San Francisco
>Fort Worth to Dallas

Which of the fighting merits are the strongest?

Used to be Combat Marksmanship. Dunno what it is now.

For unarmed combat, probably Close Quarters Combat.

>he doesn't ban fighting styles
What are you, a munchkin?

>She limits character options

For whom?

Depends on the situation. I quite like Kindred Duelling, myself.

Oh no! More variety in combat! Anything but more options!