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

Since one of their themes is their magically/occult-scientifically fucked up bodies breaking down on them over time and the whole sand slipping through an hour glass theme, only the Yuki Yuna Is A Hero kind.

Heroes and Alchemists. Both appear to be better player characters than the cartoonish mustache-twirling villains we got in the Beast and Promethean Cores

even better.

Signs of Sorcery when? I want better alchemy rules to make a Moros alchemist with.

The only thing we're getting anywhere close to rules for Alchemy is rules for imbuing Charges of spells with Prime 3.

>What's your least favourite antagonist and why?

For Requiem: The Strix because duh.

For Forsaken: The pure because the game sells you this "superheroes dont kill bullshit", and while it doesn't necessarily hurts your Harmony anymore it does brand you as an oathbreaker. All this wouldn't piss me off about them if they were characterized as sympathetic as neo nazis. Not even regular "maybe he is a soldier just send to fight" nazis but muricah neo nazis. They made a group and function as a hate group and them told me not to kill the because reason (of course killing ANYTHING else is fine though)

For Awakening: The Seers of the throne. Cool methods boring motivations. See that rat guy in harry potter? Yup, thats the Seers in a nutshell.

>if they were characterized as sympathetic as neo nazis.

*Werent*

>Missing the points this hard.
user pls.

>Yup, thats the Seers in a nutshell.
Pretty wrong, really. Some Seers do have the Beni mentality of "Better to be in the right hand of the devil than in his path", but just as many are indoctrinated, ignorant, power hungry, pining for Ascension, or just flat out indifferent and only care for the benefits of Seer life. Which are plentiful. I guarantee you that if most of the people in this general lived in CofD, Awakened, and were approached by the Seers first, they would join. It's not like the Seers pitch it as "Hey come work for tyrannical god kings". They outline all they can give you, all the power you can have, how they can help you reinvent yourself and live a fulfilling life. Why, all you have to do is a couple of things here and there to help us against a bunch of backwards contrarians who want to ruin things for all of us. But the rest of the time your free to use our (yours now, champ!) resources and your free time and power to pursue whatever kind of life you want. And hey, if you want to help out even more and climb the ranks, that's GREATLY encouraged. The big guys themselves might even notice and congratulate you, if you catch my drift. Join us, and you can BE somebody.

Practically everyone would take that deal.

And please nobody get on me for larping because I talked like a Seer recruiter to outline my point.

>It's not like the Seers pitch it as "Hey come work for tyrannical god kings".

That's basically how it's pitched in the Seer entry in 2e to be fair, albeit with an addition of "...who *really* know how to reward their servants".

That does not break the lore in VtM, no.

Lupine vitae is unusually potent, to the point where a single Lupine carries a full 20 blood points worth in their system. This, as opposed to the 10 blood points in the average human. Werewolf vitae also has other supernatural properties, in that ingesting it makes it harder for a vampire to resist frenzy (Every blood point of werewolf blood ingested increases the difficulty to resist frenzy by one).

But could that be picked up by human forensics? If I recall correctly, the energy vamps get from blood is more metaphysical than actually physical, right?

Yes, Werewolves dont have x2 more blood in them, its just provides more life force.

stop larping now

I picked up V:TM on the last steam sale, and so far I'm really digging the varying clans, the "known" history, and particularly the curses, and their effect on the mentality of anyone involved.
I only saw a Werewolf game once, but even just the character sheet was interesting, even if the people at the table weren't.
My group is really into... collective(?) roleplay stuff. Thematic shit, I mean, like lets be Pirates/Ninjas/PinkMohawk, ect and (hopefully) vampires.

Would you fa/tg/uys reccomend the PnP version for my group? Looking at the megas, I'm seeing Masquerade and Requiem, and both are comparable in file size, is there a rundown on the differences?
Second: any Tips for getting into GMing this? I tend to let my groups murderhobo it out for a bit, but if either isn't really available, I'll have to think of something.
Lastly: any podcasts/youtube channels that run through the WoD history enough that I could at least explain Why they'd want or not want to pick certain character traits/clans/ect in chargen, and flesh a bit out?
Thanks.

>Masquerade
The OG, in which Bloodlines is based off of. It's a bit clunky at times, the metaplot gets silly at times, so if you do pick Masquerade, minimise the use of the metaplot, lest your group become the undead Justice League
>Requiem
The revamp (kek) of Masquerade, think the difference between normal marvel and Ultimate, it's much less gonzo, no metaplot and easier to run. But the ST has to improvise more.
>Tips
I haven't had the opportunity to ST because my friends are pretty slow with their PF campaign Look into the ST guide for advice
>youtube
I like Gentleman Gamer, but some of his videos are for his games personally (pretty sure he doesn't like the Kuei-Jin, so he made new clans of Cainites to replace them)
youtube.com/user/clackclickbang/videos

Well since Beasts and Prometheans are whackos and trannies the only people diametrically opposed to them are normal, functioning members of society.

Does blood from other supernaturals have special properties in Requiem?

Yes, but you need a merit to drink it, and it's mostly just like taking drugs.

Mage blood grants Mage Sight, which is a bad trip, basically.

>ST
?????
>undead justice league
While that sounds pretty funny, thanks for the advice, that would be shitty.
>revamp (kek)
elaborate, please.
>Keui-jin
Off of a quick google search, I'm not quite sure I like them either.
Can't easily make more so bad for PCs, rotting instead of burning is gross as fuck, stakes don't paralyze... I don't like any of that, they sound like a homebrew race made by a teen weeb.
Can understand why someone who isn't would like them anyway, though.

Don't hold your friends slowness against them, a good PF game should be savored.

>?????
Storyteller.

Cool which merit/book.

Changeling blood is literally psychedelic. Unlike Mage Sight, which makes you see shit that's there as it truly is, Changeling blood makes you see shit that's there IN ARCADIA.

It's not so much a trip like changeling blood as it is sensory overload. Since you aren't able to interpret the information the sight is giving you.

Eh. Don't look at anything in Bloodlines to match up one for one. I mean, it's a CRPG, things were adjusted to make it fit.

Oh. I have no earthly idea how I've never picked up that acronym before.
Thanks.

Probably. What was the one where the magical girls were murdering each other for magical girl power?

fun fact: one of the Assamite big boys is called "al-ashrad," and mentioning him to certain mages can get you out of trouble with them ... once.

The dislike of Kuei-jin at this point is almost universal, to the point v20 won't even cover them.

Not that guy, but in 2004, the Masquerade world had an 'end of the world' book published. After that, WW published a new World of Darkness game. This is the blue WoD book, then Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, etc.

These are not like 4th editions of the earlier games. Requiem is an entirely different animal and should be treated as such. It pares down the clans to five broad archetypes (and bloodlines fill the crazy niches of Masquerade clans like 'I am a clan of nutjobs' or 'I am a clan of shadow manipulators'.), expands the sects to five ideaologies (noblesse oblige, any government style other than noblesse oblige, pesudo-Catholic 'monsters of the night', pagan blood sorcerers who venerate female deities, and magic-science vampires who seek to move beyond vampirism).

It also removes the metaplot (IE: book A leads into book B, etc.) It has a setting, but the world is more of a toolbox, so the ST has to come up with more things on their own.

It's definitely open for a super-creative type to do a lot of awesome stuff with.

Name: Stand
This often takes the form of a Tattoo Gadget, but others stylish fashion items and weird equipment are also common. They often incorporate symbols and Hardware related to art and occultism, but mostly music, Tarot and mythological gods. A few have been made in the form of projectiles intended to forcibly awaken a Stand at great risk to to the target. The one who wears it has an invisible and incorporeal guardian by their side at all times, which may materialize at a moment's notice to defend them.

Exploits: Terrible Avatar + Stowaway + Fate Entanglement + Inflict Stigmata

Trigger And Activation: All that is required is simple reflexive concentration to summon or dismiss the Stand, but many Stand Users choose to be over the top (e.g. striking a cool pose, giving a badass one liner or acting in accordance with the symbology of the Stand). Also, when the Stand User is ambushed, the Stand may roll Wits + Composure to notice the danger for the Stand User and activate itself.

[Continued In The Next Post]

Effect: Once Implanted, this Gadget makes the wearer a Stigmatic, with a Stigmata symbolically related to their Stand. The Stand works like a normal Terrible Avatar, but it does not prevent the Demon who created the Gadget from using their own Demonic Form, and it may use Exploits. Once per scene, the Stand user may spend 1 willpower point or suffer 1 lethal damage and roll Resolve + Composure, with each Success giving 1 Aether to their Stand (one Aether is gained even if the roll fails).

The Stand has a Maximum Aether/Per Turn determined by the Primum of the Demon who created the Gadget. Stands and their Users are considered to have a Supernatural Tolerance equal to the Primum of the Demon who created the Gadget. Stand Users may spend either their own Willpower or the Aether of their Stand to activate their Supernatural Merits. The Stand regains Aether per day equal to the highest between the Resolve and Composure of the Stand User (although the method for this restoration of Aether may vary depending on the Stand User)..

The Stand exists in the Twilight frequency for the Astral and must remain near the target as per the Fetter Manifestation (but may mimic the Unfetter and Materialize Manifestations by spending Aether instead of Essence). Any damage suffered by either of them is transferred to the other. Rumors exist of Stigmatics who have found ways to make their Stands “evolve” beyond their initial parameters, or even Stigmatics who have different versions of this Gadget as a “natural” part of their transformation, but have not been confirmed. There is also evidence that this Gadget is viral and hereditary in some way, and possibly a side-effect of particularly intense and/or spontaneous transformations into Stigmatics.

Also note that if you go Requiem, you need the WoD core book. NWoD (the new World of Darkness) is built on the concept of 'build a human' (which is the blue World of Darkness book) and then add supernatural template. At least in 1e. It's recommended in 2e but no required.

And the WoD book itself is really good for just running a mortals game (my favorite NWoD was a 3+ year mortals-only game).

Interesting. Really wishing I had gotten into this when I had a better FLGS 2 years ago, could have maybe had a little bit of introduction in person.
Requiem sounds more my style, but also 5 clans=5 archetypes sounds pretty lame, and the build a human>supernatural template sounds... difficult to say the least, if you're trying to get into the game on your own.
Will think on the mortals game, however. sounds like a good time.

The five archetypes are actually, to me, a better way to do it. The archetypes are the lordly vampire, the sensual vampire, the animalistic vampire, the monstrous vampire and the secretive/sneaky vampire. These are your Clans. Within each, you have refinements of the blood (called, appropriately enough, Bloodlines). The refinements of the blood will be stuff like 'this bloodline is descended from a crazy huntsman, and his family/bloodline developed powers all about messing with ghouled animals' or 'this bloodline is descended from vampires who were specially-bred to kill Dracula and so their blood is acidic' and such like that. It takes the 'I am a worldwide clan of from Masquerade and makes them make more sense.

The 'build a human, then add vampire template' actually works well for NWoD. It puts all your 'core rules' in one book (again, not necessary for Requiem 2nd Edition) and gives more room in the vampire book (and other splat books) for... vampire-specific stuff instead of retreads of the core rules.

If you have questions, let me know. I'm gonna be hanging out for a while.

Don't really remember, never actually played Requiem, just remember seeing it in one of the books.

Apparently it's primarily used by Elders to avoid having to drink Vampire blood to survive as it gets around the "no humans" policy.

What happens when a Mage wanders into the Hedge?

They find it very interest for all of about 3-4 arcane beats, then they realise how dangerous it is, how little there is there to interest them, and hope to find a way out.

My last group made a deal with a hedge-being that looked like a coat-wearing frill-neck lizard for it to guide them out after finding themselves in a goblin market.

You said if I had questions:
>'this bloodline is descended from vampires who were specially-bred to kill Dracula and so their blood is acidic'
Ok, what?
You're gonna have to explain that. I know that vamps can feed on each other in WoD, and the the Giovanni family Embraces each other a lot for varying reasons, but that's about all I know on that subject.

Now that I can read examples over whatever I had in my head before, I actually do like the bloodlines over the 'worldwide generalization of X clan', like you said. Thanks for that.

I actually do wish I had more questions to ask you (other than the above), I liked all the answers you've given, but I really don't at this time.
I guess the only other thing is if WoD has any decent premade storylines for pickup games/oneshots/what have you. Like We Be Goblins for PF/Food Fight for SR.

I'm guessing not of your Mages was sufficiently proficient in Fate?

You can force your way in and out with that.

Bloodlines are blood families. All Ventrue have the same powers, and their general 'lord over all they survey' methodology. A Ventrue Bloodline would be a single Ventrue, making his blood strong enough that he actually changes it, imparting his own ideals, benefits and curses into it. For example, there's a Ventrue bloodline called the Sotoha, that is descended from a Japanese man who was all about societal and social decorum, and his bloodline has a power that makes them fit any social situation due to his adjustments to the standard Ventrue blood.

As far as 'acid blood' guys, there's a bloodline in the Ordo Dracul book called the Azerkatil. They were bred by Turkish vampires after Dracula insulted them and started messing around in their business, in order to kill Dracula.

On the note of Dracula, he's a mythical figure in the Kindred world in Requiem. The Ordo Dracul is one of the factions in Requiem; they claim to be founded by Dracula and his three brides, and their concept is pseudo-mystical pseudo-science combo to move 'beyond vampirism'. Their covenant benefit is a power called Coils of the Dragon, which offsets/changes some of the vampiric weaknesses like how often you spend blood to wake up, or how you react to fire and sunlight, for example.

Also, there are very few premade scenarios for the NWoD.

Wormwood was great you fuck.

Yeah, if you're a MASTER of Fate.
Otherwise you've got to try and force the Wyrd to lead you to a Gate (Fate 2) to open (Fate 3).

There are quite a few SASs and then you have Urban Legends and Ghost Stories, not to mention the premade stories in the back of almost every core rulebook.

I hate this shit.

You shouldn't be able to just waltz in and storm out of the Hedge.

All that's cool as shit. I might just have to surf the web for a week or two just reading.
Mind filling me in on Urban Legends and Ghost stories?
>SASs
Why am I coming across so many acronyms I don't know today this is getting retarded.

youtube.com/watch?v=R_aXElv_HEc

Did you even listen?

It takes fucking Mastery to just create a gate out of nothing.
Mastery. The same level of proficiency which lets you freeze time, create entirely new planes of existence, generate new sentiences, return to the Dead to life, or turn someone into a Supernatural being (Fate).
And to earn Mastery, you first need to get your Gnosis to 5, which can take quite a while.

Otherwise you're pointed on a path, but the obstacles are still there.

So no, it's not just "waltzing in and storming out".

SAS means Storytelling Adventure System. And I'm glad you like. Requiem is what got me really back into the WoD, really. I love it as much as I love Masquerade (which is to say, a lot).

Yeah, but many of the SASes, and those two books, aren't specifically vampire. Which is what I thought he meant, my bad. Ghost Stories is really good, though, yeah. There's also some scenario-type stuff (and some really good monsters to use) in the Antagonists book. The Aswang (another type of blood sucker) is in there, as is essentially The Crow-edquivalent.

Urban Legends is a nWoD book that takes some of the more prominent urban legends and turns them into one shots(Kidney thieving, Bloody Mary, Jersey Devil, and a few others. Ghost stories does pretty much the same thing as urban legends but gives you haunted places to drop into your game. These were aimed at vanilla mortals but if I remember correctly they give you tips on using it in the other games. Check out the pastebin, it has those two books.

Doesn't matter. I don't care for your "mastery" as it's stomping on another splat.

You don't even need mastery to leave you can just force open an existing entryway . it's fucking retarded

For all those Geistfags with their panties in a twist about missing out because of glorious Mage/Changeling voters.
You can untwist your panties.

They're redoing the voting, with better security.

Good thing you can't, unless you're a goddamn Master of Fate. People seem to think Mages are totally unstoppable gods. They aren't. The most bullshit things Mages can do take Mastery, if not Archmastery, of an Arcanum, or bullshit powergaming.

>Stomping on another splat
What else should reality-warpers do to little half-broken dolls that barely escaped their owners?

And I almost forgot about Mysterious Places. Gives you some mystical places to plop into your world at will.

See

Because lupines are Catholics their blood is materially indistinguishable from human blood but the essence of the blood is transubstantiated.

Changelings are "Getting Stomped On: The Splat". Quit crying that the upper echelons of an Arcanum can outright bully things under its purview. It doesn't affect you or the games you run at all.

>implying you need mastery to be an unstoppable god

buddy, you're baiting

Do you have a cite for that? I recall it too but want to see if I can track down any in book canon mentions of the experience of drinking other splat's bloods.

I think it was in Requiem 1e. Searching for Mage only gets three hits in 2e, one in the trademark bullshit, another in some kind of perception merit, and the third about Strixes possessing Mages but not having any access to their magic.

>On the note of Dracula, he's a mythical figure in the Kindred world in Requiem

I like how on Vampire's Chronicle Guide they talk more about Dracula and his secret ring.

If you read the prop book Rites of the Dragon, it also gives more insight into him as well, as well as hints that he was self-Embraced.

It just lets them go in and out of the hedge, who gives a shit man, it's not Arcadia, normal humans find their way into the hedge every so often for fuck sake. They still have to deal with the thorns.

>bloody mary
>Kidney stealing
ooooh, I might have to run that, then. Mary is one of the few urban legends that actually freaks me out a bit.
Haunted places are iffy, my friends are mostly thickheaded/immune to that kinda environment in games, but I'll check it out. What do you mean by "mystical" places?

>people who don't check out the pastebin before entering a new thread.
Those people are garbage, I already have, but thanks.
Ah, yeah. Didn't mean vampire specifically, might have subconsciously thought it.
Good to hear that Requiem is good enough to get people back into it, and more monsters are always nice.

So my character is an adamantine arrow instructor/leader for new promising recruits. How many dots in status should I get?

Status 3+, also consider the Inspiring Merit

Make sure not to fuck any of your students or imply that using mind perfecting makes jailbait okay.

Shes more like teams big sister, sempai like figure.

I support other user, Status 3 is a good level for a teacher, a trusted one at least, you might be able to get away with status 2 being like, "Mage 101" kinda guy.

He was entirely black. Teeth, eyes, hair. The moment he offered up his Name.

Mages are literally Nothing is Sacred, the splat. Death isn't sacred. Time isn't sacred. The soul of humanity isn't sacred. Even their own magic isn't sacred. Why would the hedge be any different?

This is the gods damned Adamantine Arrow, not the Rotary Club. Forget about the "big sister" garbage and only take your training cues from the best - Swole Jawa.

Death isn't sacred, once someone dies they're nothing, ghosts are just fake pictures of a humans soul before it passes on to... somewhere.

>Mages are literally Nothing is Sacred, the splat. Death isn't sacred. Time isn't sacred. The soul of humanity isn't sacred

What? It's the exact opposite.

Did you even read the Path description?

Adamantine Arrow are about challenge, not pigeonholing themselves into Order of Steroids.

How does Yuki Yuna compare to Madoka?

>Adamantine Arrow are about challenge, not pigeonholing themselves into Order of Steroids.

No steroids, just ample proficiency in Life.

Also, I dare your "big sister" to insult Swole Jawa to his face. You'll face all the "challenges" you can handle, like eating through a straw.

What AA Status is King Tut?

Tell that to Geists. They might not be right, but they might view things very differently.

I was referring to the mechanical implications of the Arcana, as they relate to the fluff of the other splats. Mages consider different things sacred, but none of them are necessarily correct. The existence of Arcana trivialities practically everything that other splats hold sacred though.
Out of curiosity though, which path are you refering to?

Not the weeb.

AA aren't exlusively about Life though. Their poster children, maybe, but there's challenge to be found in all Arcana.

That's what the Duel Arcane is for. Even eating through a straw is a •••• spell away from being a non-issue. Hand to hand combat with mages is hilarious.

>Out of curiosity though, which path are you refering to?

Any of them, but Moros stand out the most. The acceptance and necessity of death and transition is integral to the perspective of Stygia.

>What Status is King Tut?

Mystery Cult 5: Batman's Rogue's Gallery

>What's your least favourite antagonist and why?
The ones that aren't really from any one place or another, that don't fit into any category. The strange monsters that roam around in the dark places.

Re:Creators can work as a plot in WoD right? Fictional characters come to life and their powers and abilities ar linked to the Astral collective conciousness?

Anyone have PDF of building a legend yet?

Specifically the Death portion then? The Moros may hold to it, but I think even they would have doubts. Aging someone to death or bringing them back from the dead does leave them without a soul, but it's also within the domain of death to move souls around.
Stygia does confer a certain insight and appreciation towards death and transition, but their Inferior Arcanum - Spirit - complicates that worldview. They're entities of concepts and while transition is natural to some, it is actually anathema to many. Spirits feeding off resonance that does not match their own become the mad and reviled Magath. They're testaments to the shortcomings of the Stygian perspective.

Sure, but who cares what a Geist thinks? They're mutants, THINGS that fused with spirts to make something that spits in the face of death as well. A picture with some editing is still a picture.

In Demon, it says that if the physical contract of a pact is destroyed, the pact is immediately nullified.

But what happens if a demon dies, or the pactbound dies? Does any book say if that has any effect or no effect on the pact's terms?

Also, it says if a cover hits Cover 0, "any humans who knew the character’s Cover identity lose their memories of it." But if a demon dies, does anything like that happen to its other Covers? And does its body revert to its true form on death or remain in cover?

I thought these might at least get a mention in the books but I can't find them.

Do you just hate all blue books?