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

Prime 6 Archmage > Caine

but then I have to GM, and I still have no idea how to GM even after reading Forsaken 2e cover to cover and listening to multiple actual play podcasts

staaahppp

As soon as magefags stop defaulting to "m-m-muh archmages."

Oh right, PLAYING. That thing. Sorry, I've gotten too used to the world being in a state where games just don't exist at all if I don't GM, my bad.

Objective truth incoming

>Patrician tier
Wraith

>Great
Demon

>decent
Vampire
Hunter
KotE
Mage

>meh
Mummy
Changeling

>pleb
Power wanking Mage

>kill on sight
Werewolf

>literally who
Orpheus

mages < the knot

So your hipsterism takes the form of sort of a bell-curve rating of how often the games are played, with the never-played-ever games at the top and bottom?

I wouldn't be opposed to GMing but I'm hesitant to jump in, as well as being kind of lost as to the mechanics of it, to it because I haven't played any ttrpgs. but if you had any pointers or resources I could take a look at that would help bridge that gap between player and GM that would be great

Hypothetical scenario: how different would WoD games be with NO rape or subtext thereof at all? As in nothing rapey or even thematically-rapey happens.

>werewolf
>never played

Aw hell, you should at least somehow find a way to play a game in this forsaken hopeless dimension, you can't GM if you've never played any TTRPG before.

More like:

>Good
Vampire
Werewolf
Mage

>Meh
Demon
Hunter
Changeling
Wraith
Mummy

>Shit
KotE
Gypsies
Orpheus

Here's a crunch question.

I establish a Ban. I want to add a caveat with Mind to designate, say, anything with the mind of a werewolf out.

I have been told by some that the only way a Ban would work with Mind is to keep things like astral projections out.

Who's right?

Fucking with bans is the purview of spirit magic. Mind would only work with astral entities.

Thanks man.

He means a space ban

Refusing physical entities access is life, spirits is spirit, goetia is mind, ghosts is death, physical matter is matter, forces is forces.

I'm doing what i can, it just doesn't seem to be enough

thoughts are also the perview of mind so you can probably ban certain thoughts/types of mind.

Just be aware if you dont have matter to let air in/out anything you ban might suffocate..

I only just realised.
Seers are even MORE suscpetible to Wisdom loss than a comparable Mage performing the same action.

The Mystery Commands condition granted by a Prelacy requires you to complete your Exarchal Obsession before you can pursue your own. An Obsession which almost always involved Wisdom-lowering actions. But since you're pursuing an Obsession, you decrease your Widom pool even further.

I would imagine Inuring and Legacies which help in performing your duties would be of extreme interest for the Seers.

>Crossing old and new

Furniggers go home.

They out and out state that in the 1E Seers book, they love Legacies because it gives them another set of Oblations and such that they can perform to insulate themselves from Wisdom loss. It's also less important for them because there's no one to really call them on it unless they start going Scelesti, and maybe not even then.

Did you really think people serving super wizard hitlers were the most rational bunch?

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Hey can we start posting something like 'new thread' whenever we link to the new thread from the old? I like being able to search for something instead of just guessing and scrolling down.

Can I just say that as an aside that I adore the Seers, even more than the Technocratic Union. Their motives are just so relatable at the end of the day, "These dudes are God's God, I'd be a fuckin' idiot not to serve," is a really, really effective and compelling sales pitch.

Don't the Seers forcefully coerce mages into joining them? Or track down newly Awakened and convert them.

Gangrel and werewolves and life mages are allowed here. If nothing else, the total lack of awareness they show can be cute only if they're girltistic, boytists are out of luck.

>the mind of a werewolf
Is...that a thing? I mean there are differences in say the soul of a werewolf compared to a human sure, but is there any difference between a werewolf mind and human mind?

There are many mages that never meet any one outside of their own little Magic Social Circle, and Seers are no different. They focus on trying to prevent Awakenings if they can, but will definitely try to recruit others hard, even Pentacle partisans, since they see it as a pragmatic as well as religious imperative.

Oh totally didn't pick up on that.
In this case if you're trying to ban a werewolf from entering you'd probably need a mix of Life and Spirit.

What you could do with Space and Mind is ban all thoughts of murder or killing you to create a zone where once you enter thr mere thought of instigating violence is banned.

Are you kidding? The Pentacle isn't even fighting a losing battle. They lost the war before it even began.

The Seers of the Throne might not be the most palatable bunch, but they made the rational choice that it's better to serve under the tyrannical, all-power assholes, than flail ineptly in the dark.

It's only when they've entered the organisation that they truly understand what they've signed themselves up for, and the true cost they must pay for their power. But now they're in too deep, and they've even started to LIKE it.

Interesting. Thanks for the reply.

I need to know

Dude, you're killing me, it's bad enough UA has the same basic themes as M:tAs but better.
Couldn't you ban certain essences of other supernaturals using say, Death for Ghosts, Prime+Spirit for Wolfies, etc?

what is UA about? I thought it was a 40k thing

The exarchs/seers are definitely much better antagonists than the technocracy Since the technocracy is unarguable doing the right thing.

I also love how they serve as a warning about the hubris of magic. If I can get any of my players to take pause and ask themselves "How are we any better than the Seers/Exarchs?" I'm happy.

You did it.

Unknown Armies is a game about Magic at a price. It's a lot more trailer trash feeling than Mage, magicians in the setting are like batteries, they charge up by performing obsessive, paradoxical actions (Playing Russian Roulette and Chicken to gain control over Fate, Slicing and Cutting yourself up to Heal and Enhance your body) or they gain power by finding a piece of the universal unconsciousness (called an Archetype) and aping it, gaining abilities based thematically around that.
I always felt that the Technos relies too much on indoctrination, whereas the Seers are more compelling because they rely on simple human nature, every one dreams of having dominion over their fellow man. The Seers start with that and go Up from there.

Werewolfs are both spirits and physical.

You could use a Matter, Life or Spirit spell to keep them out but there's probably some way for them to turn intangible like a spook ghost to bypass Matter or Life barriers. Probably, a Life + Spirit + Matter barrier would be best but you could get away with a Life + Spirit barrier.

Does anyone have any interesting stories involving Salubri in your vampire games? I'm playing in a new V20 game and I'm thinking about playing as one.

I wouldn't say the Seers are making a rational choice they just made the all too human decision when one is given godlike power and knowledge saying "Fuck it, I'm going to snort wizard coke off the ass of a vampire stripper who I'll turn into a lawnchair when I get bored of 'em."

Might wanna ask your DM before you put too much thought into it - Salubri are VERY rare in modern settings.

Because it is easier to give up your agency, even if it's the agency to basically be a God. It's easier to play and frolic in a game under rules someone else designed than to actually realize that you're accountable for your actions and wits and that you're succeeding or failing due to your own merits. The Seers are cowards, but they're the cowards which exist in all of us.

Why? They're so flat on substance other than "we're the good guys".

Don't, unless you're playing Antitribu, and then probably don't. They come with a fuck-ton of baggage, and due to their rarity and in-setting infamy the ST will essentially be forced to make your nature as a Salubri one of the focuses of the campaign due to your simple inclusion.

Have you never met a furry before?

I wouldn't say that. They're the Vampires the closest to 'The Truth' of the vampiric condition and how to solve it, but the idea that they're froofy and loving is off-base; V20 Dark Ages mentions how one of the primary reasons that the Salubri and Tzimisce are allies is that the Salubri often are used to patch up the poor Fiend's Ghouls. That doesn't sound like the actions of a very ethical person to me. Furthermore, you're only referring to the healers, the warriors (and watchers, I guess, even though I think they're kinda stupid) are a whole other kettle of fish. There's also the fact that the Baali are one of their bloodlines.

A salubri is about as rare as a methuselah. Don't bring one to a game.

1. The Technocracy are infinitely better antagonists then the Seers, precisely because the Seers are so flat and one dimensional by comparison.

2. The Technocracy isn't unambiguously doing the right there. Their Paradigm has a very good chance of destroying the universe if carried to its logical conclusion, and the world they're creating, while safe and prosperous, is also dull, restrained, and to a large extent RUN by the Technocracy. They're only doing the right thing if you value being safe more then anything else.

Anyone have any tips on getting normies who are interested in occult stuff but have never played an RPG interested in playing WoD?

Start with a basic mortal hunter game so they can get a handle on the core basics of the system and get the hang of making the regular human baseline that most of the other splats build ontop of.

You can also throw whatever kind of monsters you can think of at them.

That's more or less what I had in mind. I meant more to the point of convincing them that this is something they'd like to try.

>Fuck it, I'm going to snort wizard coke off the ass of a vampire stripper who I'll turn into a lawnchair when I get bored of 'em."

Indeed.

However, always choose changeling strippers. unless you're into necrophilia

You'll find a lot of normies are keen to give tabletops a go because it's such a pop culture icon.

But if you offer it and they just have no interest at all then you can't really rope them in.

theonyxpath.com/what-if-the-salubri-survived-v20-dark-ages-companion/

You're not allowed to play Salubri because you're not allowed to play weenies in a fucking vampire game, Steve.

Please post some of your favorite low power stories and adventures

I turned a vampire into a lawn chair once.

True story.

This was back in 1st ed CofD. Played Gangrel, took Protean up to 3. Because Claws of the Wild still did agg, you can ignore durability and deal damage straight to size. Built entire underground complexes for the Invictus this way. Cheesy as fuck, but gotta have that Status, man.

>that uniform
>google his name
>see this
Jesus christ, it's like a poorly-written Hunter character.
>combat boots with service dress
>a green beret with rank insignia
>literally every medal and some repeated, cross service
>army badges on an air force uniform
Might as well go all the way and wear the Medal of Honor.
>ended up discharged at E-1 for drug use
Kek

So who/how do the modern nights Lasombra embrace? Back in the Dark Ages, they went after clergymen, what with their focus on the Catholic church.

En masse.

Pedophiles
So really not much has changed

First text-page of Wraith Doomslayer, found this gem "death fondling life like a molester fondling a sleeping child".

Beautiful prose in oWoD.

Very pretty professional wrestlers

Is there anyone here that have actuall played or run Wraith? I'm am intrigued by it, but I'm worried about the shadow mechanics. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to have the ST handle the shadows, but then again that would possibly remove some of the uniqueness of it.

Go suck on some flubber, Etherite.

Seriously though, that's all well and good, but the stultifying clutch of the Weaver is demonstrably better than the shitshow with the Garou in charge, the demon-roving mess of the Dark/Middle ages, being under the wrong magickal paradigm, or really living in the World of Darkness.

The Crats are smoothing out the wrinkles so you can't think, but none of the other Trads except the former Technocracy members have any plan for change. The Verbena, Euthanatos, OoH and Akashics actively want to rule over the masses just as much as the 'Crats do, too. GttT Revised puts it at the feet of the technomages, who are closer to the 'Crats than the Trads, paradigm wise.

The Technocrats aren't good, but they're certainly the lesser evil. Shit, after SPD gets cut, they may be the least evil. Everything's fucked, the Technocracy is unfucking it with technocratic authoritarianism.

Edgy oWoD storytime

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Was this Giovanni stuff published under Black Dog?

So this was our second session of VtR. One player was carthian and the other one ordo draculand they were both sent to the same human trafficing auction by their bosses. Other important people there were carthian fledling who served as a driver and 2 seers of the throne.

Long story short: fledling is unhappy about whole human trafficing stuff and leaves. Some thugs acost him because he looks like half starved college student. Carthian player goes to help and goes overboard with violance. Decides mils is already spilled so steals delivery truck and rams it through the barn in with auction was taking place.

All in all
>got the girls, saved the money, even gave the seers a good laugh at russian gangsters being inept enough to not be able to take out 2,5 neonate

Nah just the 2nd ed clanbook. IIRC it came shrinkwrapped but I bought it a long ass time ago. I think the Giovanni Chronicles was published under the Black Dog imprint though.

Yeah, just checked. GC are Black Dog publication. But what the fuck goes on in there?

Honestly I don't remember GC being that edgy. I think they just came up with Black Dog to sell more books. For me, peak edgy WW was basically everything pre-Revised.

I remember that one Tzimisce, Doktor Totentanz. That was fucking hilarious.

Less than you might expect. Lasombra and Tzimisce both think their blood's too good for the False Sabbat and leave shovel parties to antitribe rabble. Spotting a Lasombra in a Sabbat incursion is supposed to be an indicator shit's turning real.

Didnt Dave recently state that Archmages arent even mages any more but a whole new supernatural entirely?

It seems like everyone thinks 1st/2nd ed VtM is garbage, but they really turned the edge up to 11 and I can't thank them enough for all the fond teenage memories.

Using Werewolf: the Forsaken (with a few touchups) for magical girls. Good idea?

In our Vtmda game my companions managed to light a mansion on fire twice, while sneaking in and out of it.

While me and another player were inside talking to its Brujah lord

Can't be any worse than the Princess fan-splat/autism convention.

Do you get to keep attribute dots over 5 if you drop your Wyrd below 5?

I can totally see the Uratha being some splinter cell of magical girls trying to fight against the greater magical community that is the Pure Tribes. Go for it!

Keep the cannibalism.