General World of Darkness Discussion Thread QQ Edition

[shadowdice]

I think the Strains from Oblivion are the only ones you can't talk away, because they don't happen because you go against you own moral guidliines, they happen because you tap into the power of Oblivion and you may "leave a part of yourself behind", again I need to reread that part, but I'm pretty sure that's how it was layed out.

As for Marcus Vitel, that is as far as I aware a rumor, something someone heard someone else say. So could be true could be false.

Ah yes Rouse Check aka the Double or Nothing version. Half the Bloodpoints the player have, but now they only use them up 50% of the time. Doesn't sound bad on paper, but need to play a longer campaign with it to see how it plays out, it may make people less likely to use their powers which would be a shame. Resonance is okayish, I think I will only handle the boost to players on special occasions and I like Hunger Dices the visual representation of your Hunger is nice and the fact that you can't willpower them because your beast controls them, I just would have liked a "willpower" like mechanic for them too, so that if you are "riding your beast" you can use that to only reroll your Hunger dice. So you beast wants you kill someone and you attack, you can use these "Beast Points" to reroll your hunger dice. But I guess I can see where you are coming from.

Also nice Lore you have there, would be a shame if someone came around and stole it. (Nah got my own Headcannon, but I may take some inspiration for later chronicles)

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I am fully okay with other people using the lore I make.

In my chronicle I very much play things as a soap opera when it comes to relationships (INFINITE DRAMA and people being horrible at communicating) which is how I ended up making that lore.

A willpower mechanic on hunger dice would make it better. In general, I just prefer blood points rather than rouse checks since it leads to my players thinking heavily about when to use certain powers since it can take far more time for the more powerful ones.

Also them going, "Fuck, I don't have enough." And going to extreme measures to fill themselves, such as eating a body or being fully willing to plant their fangs in another player and risking blood bonds.

One session

Gangrel Player: *low on blood, got shot multiple times, has used multiple powers, has two prisoners* I really need blood.

Me: There are two people down there

Gangrel Player: Well, we need one alive

Me: You might

Gangrel Players: Not sure what to do

Me: I will let you get extra blood points by eating organs, but you will need to make path and conviction checks.

Gangrel Player: *horrifically traumatizes the surviving guard by unhinging his jaw and ripping out the organs of the other guard, then then tied up the survivor with the dead one's clothes*

They proceeded to leave their prisoner in the building they infiltrated and burned it to the ground with him inside of it, got in a car chase with an FBI hunter (they evaded him for a while), got found by the FBI hunter in a Super 8 Motel, had to flee the motel after the hunter burned it to the ground, then got into a gunfight with a Set worshipping Brujah while wearing police uniforms in a parking garage while the police and Ghouls were in a gunfight above, diablerized the Setite, fought the FBI agent, and were saved from a pipe bomb thrown by the FBI agent when a Tremere Gargoyle telekinetically caught the bomb and threw it back.

Then they blew up the FBI agent's corpse and used disciplines to lie to the police about what happened, styling everything as being a terrorist attack

No, this is not a Sabbat game.

The First Session had the Lasombra player punch out an Inquisitor's car door and hang onto it while the car was moving whilst the Gangrel clawed apart the engine block and a Ghoul used a hunting rifle to headshot the priest.

The Lasombra then burned due to trying to drink from the priest's corpse and getting burned by true faith.

a later one had the Tremere player drop a statue of herself on a mage. Several sessions later she dropped a fish tank full of abyss monster parasitized sharks on fairies.

 

[shadowdice]

Has anyone read the Winter's Teeth VTM comic being made by Vault?

It is...fairly good. A lot of the character/side plots are hit and miss, but I like the main ones.

 

[gereh]

Has anyone read the Winter's Teeth VTM comic being made by Vault?

It is...fairly good. A lot of the character/side plots are hit and miss, but I like the main ones.

Click to shrink...

Sadly no, in my country there are literally only two shops, you can get them from and they don't even stock them you have to order them, than it takes one to two weeks until they arrived, go through all that pain didn't really felt worth it, but I heard good things about them.

I just prefer blood points rather than rouse checks since it leads to my players thinking heavily about when to use certain powers since it can take far more time for the more powerful ones.

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That's fair, I would have guessed it's the other way around, because with three bad rolls you can get to hunger 4 in V5 and risk a frenzy while feeding (or still be at 1 if you have good rolls), so yes you can use you power (even when low on blood) but it's becomes be a bit of a gamble. Better to stock up on Blood beforehand so you don't risk frenzying.

I personally just like the visual representation of your Hunger via Hunger Dice, so it's always present whatever you do. Thought that was really fitting.

 

[S.I.N]

I am fully okay with other people using the lore I make.

In my chronicle I very much play things as a soap opera when it comes to relationships (INFINITE DRAMA and people being horrible at communicating) which is how I ended up making that lore.

A willpower mechanic on hunger dice would make it better. In general, I just prefer blood points rather than rouse checks since it leads to my players thinking heavily about when to use certain powers since it can take far more time for the more powerful ones.

Also them going, "Fuck, I don't have enough." And going to extreme measures to fill themselves, such as eating a body or being fully willing to plant their fangs in another player and risking blood bonds.

One session

Gangrel Player: *low on blood, got shot multiple times, has used multiple powers, has two prisoners* I really need blood.

Me: There are two people down there

Gangrel Player: Well, we need one alive

Me: You might

Gangrel Players: Not sure what to do

Me: I will let you get extra blood points by eating organs, but you will need to make path and conviction checks.

Gangrel Player: *horrifically traumatizes the surviving guard by unhinging his jaw and ripping out the organs of the other guard, then then tied up the survivor with the dead one's clothes*

They proceeded to leave their prisoner in the building they infiltrated and burned it to the ground with him inside of it, got in a car chase with an FBI hunter (they evaded him for a while), got found by the FBI hunter in a Super 8 Motel, had to flee the motel after the hunter burned it to the ground, then got into a gunfight with a Set worshipping Brujah while wearing police uniforms in a parking garage while the police and Ghouls were in a gunfight above, diablerized the Setite, fought the FBI agent, and were saved from a pipe bomb thrown by the FBI agent when a Tremere Gargoyle telekinetically caught the bomb and threw it back.

Then they blew up the FBI agent's corpse and used disciplines to lie to the police about what happened, styling everything as being a terrorist attack

No, this is not a Sabbat game.

The First Session had the Lasombra player punch out an Inquisitor's car door and hang onto it while the car was moving whilst the Gangrel clawed apart the engine block and a Ghoul used a hunting rifle to headshot the priest.

The Lasombra then burned due to trying to drink from the priest's corpse and getting burned by true faith.

a later one had the Tremere player drop a statue of herself on a mage. Several sessions later she dropped a fish tank full of abyss monster parasitized sharks on fairies.

Click to shrink...

This sounds like a genuine good time.

And fuck the second inquisition dumbest fucking thing I've ever seen.

 

[shadowdice]

Me: You see the city of enoch rising through the waters, spires like jagged teeth sending waves out as it arises from the underworld, rippling as it approaches your boat while a Baali summoned tentacle monster crushes buildings in the city burning from the Laibon controlled zombie army rampaging. You still hear the screams of the pregnant thin blood who will soon be giving birth to Set's reincarnation. The surfer you picked up earlier jumps out and is swimming towards the First City

My players: We keep a hold of the stone inscription that was chipped off of its walls and sail into the vampiric underworld city

Me: *sends them into the underworld*

My players: We use the rocks given to us by two antediluvians that can summon them

Me: the ones given to you by the Mehket who wants to kill Lilith and Ilyes who worships her?

My players: Yes

Me: Mehket immediately calls for Lasombra. The surfer rises up and tentacles Ilyes before he can stop time.

My Players: We are in Enoch with a depowered Lhiannan, three full powered antedeluvians, and baby Set is about to be born?

Me: You wanted to be the main characters of the apocalypse

 

[gale]

shadowdice Thoughts on Lasombra Faithful?

 

[shadowdice]

shadowdice Thoughts on Lasombra Faithful?

Click to shrink...

They are an interesting concept

The Path of Heaven and other ideas already exist in universe, and the Lasombra have been deeply entrenched in religious institutions which would result in a subfaction that cling to it and base their worldview around the faith of their human lives

I have used it in my campaign, though the example is a radical who believes that his clan are all Satanists who have corrupted the Catholic Church

which, isn't entirely wrong

 

[gale]

They are an interesting concept

The Path of Heaven and other ideas already exist in universe, and the Lasombra have been deeply entrenched in religious institutions which would result in a subfaction that cling to it and base their worldview around the faith of their human lives

I have used it in my campaign, though the example is a radical who believes that his clan are all Satanists who have corrupted the Catholic Church

which, isn't entirely wrong

Click to shrink...

I see. It also makes me wonder. You using

Spoiler: Thing

becaues it one of the most fun powers they can get there hands on.

 

[shadowdice]

I see. It also makes me wonder. You using

Spoiler: Thing

becaues it one of the most fun powers they can get there hands on.

Click to shrink...

The character has it but has yet to appear directly outside of flashbacks

He had been made as the sire of one of the PCs but the player switched to a new character

 

[shadowdice]

The VTM comics have concluded winter's teeth and begun a new one that follows up called Red Thaw or something like that.

I have...complaints

Spoiler: Red Thaw WTF

Vampires: We have lupines in the city, they don't do that

Me:...What? No, they do, it tends to go poorly for everyone

Vampires: We have no idea how lupines work, but if we have a couple of people, we can just talk to it, we're sure that there is only one wolf

Me:...What?

Vampires: OH GOD WHY ARE THERE MULTIPLE WOLVES?

Me: It is almost as if they are WOLVES you dumbasses

more things

Tremere Seneschal: A prince doesn't simply choose the primogen on her council

Me:...Yes, yes they can. The Camarilla are not a democracy, and different cities work differently, so yeah, a Prince can. The issue wis if that holds up and if someone ganks them

Lone Brujah: I can take on a werewolf by myself

Me: You are an idiot

Lone Brujah: *gets nearly ganked, an Anarch fires an RPG at the werewolf*

Me: Where did the Anarchs get an RPG, these guys are living in a van driving cross country

*more characters dying due to doing stupid shit/upping the stakes*

Me: Writers, you had an entire arc about all but one member of the primogen getting offed in various ways and are now at the point where there are like, less than ten named vampire characters. Slow the fuck down, my response to your *Everything is exploding and horrible* stuff is essentially just so what because I just expect it now and am tired, waiting for you to actually have the pace slow down for a second. Falling action is a thing.

Spoiler: general things

The MC is hearing the voice of the woman she diablerized in her head and thinks she's gone crazy. She has been a vampire for like 50 years and somehow doesn't know about how diablerie can make it so you have a person inside of you.

While having been an anarch

One who was in a war party against the sabbat for a long fucking time

How does she not know this shit?

She spends a bunch of time complaining about having become prince and the job, which annoys me because she took the job by choice, it isn't as if she was backed into a corner or anything.

Despite complaining about everything involving the camarilla and anarchs, she was upset about her adoptive Childe using everything in the situation in a plot to kill off vampire hunters and have them ascend the camarilla ranks, calling it monstrous

when, well, vampire. She already killed multiple people to prove a point about being a vampire to said Childe and essentially told her to kill a teenage boy who wasn't even like 15.

After outing her childe for that to get her killed for some reason, she agrees to said Childe's plan to let MC-Chan diiablerize her to make everyone afraid and get her the title of prince, when...MC-Chan already denied the Childe's plan for ascending the ranks due to it being "Monstrous"

Because "Eat a soul" is somehow a better deal than "Use the vampire hunters who were already plotting to kill all of us and in the city kill the opposition, then wipe them out to come up without any enemies left"

 

[Ragura]

That is not even Mary Sue anymore - that is concentrated stupid!

 

[Maragas]

Oh yeah, I heard bad things about that. Winter's Teeth was fun enough with weirdness but I will skip the sequel.

The VTM comics have concluded winter's teeth and begun a new one that follows up called Red Thaw or something like that.

I have...complaints

Spoiler: Red Thaw WTF

Vampires: We have lupines in the city, they don't do that

Me:...What? No, they do, it tends to go poorly for everyone

Vampires: We have no idea how lupines work, but if we have a couple of people, we can just talk to it, we're sure that there is only one wolf

Me:...What?

Vampires: OH GOD WHY ARE THERE MULTIPLE WOLVES?

Me: It is almost as if they are WOLVES you dumbasses

more things

Tremere Seneschal: A prince doesn't simply choose the primogen on her council

Me:...Yes, yes they can. The Camarilla are not a democracy, and different cities work differently, so yeah, a Prince can. The issue wis if that holds up and if someone ganks them

Lone Brujah: I can take on a werewolf by myself

Me: You are an idiot

Lone Brujah: *gets nearly ganked, an Anarch fires an RPG at the werewolf*

Me: Where did the Anarchs get an RPG, these guys are living in a van driving cross country

*more characters dying due to doing stupid shit/upping the stakes*

Me: Writers, you had an entire arc about all but one member of the primogen getting offed in various ways and are now at the point where there are like, less than ten named vampire characters. Slow the fuck down, my response to your *Everything is exploding and horrible* stuff is essentially just so what because I just expect it now and am tired, waiting for you to actually have the pace slow down for a second. Falling action is a thing.

Spoiler: general things

The MC is hearing the voice of the woman she diablerized in her head and thinks she's gone crazy. She has been a vampire for like 50 years and somehow doesn't know about how diablerie can make it so you have a person inside of you.

While having been an anarch

One who was in a war party against the sabbat for a long fucking time

How does she not know this shit?

She spends a bunch of time complaining about having become prince and the job, which annoys me because she took the job by choice, it isn't as if she was backed into a corner or anything.

Despite complaining about everything involving the camarilla and anarchs, she was upset about her adoptive Childe using everything in the situation in a plot to kill off vampire hunters and have them ascend the camarilla ranks, calling it monstrous

when, well, vampire. She already killed multiple people to prove a point about being a vampire to said Childe and essentially told her to kill a teenage boy who wasn't even like 15.

After outing her childe for that to get her killed for some reason, she agrees to said Childe's plan to let MC-Chan diiablerize her to make everyone afraid and get her the title of prince, when...MC-Chan already denied the Childe's plan for ascending the ranks due to it being "Monstrous"

Because "Eat a soul" is somehow a better deal than "Use the vampire hunters who were already plotting to kill all of us and in the city kill the opposition, then wipe them out to come up without any enemies left"

Click to shrink...

Like, there is a lot of weirdness I chalk up to it being V5 but yeah.

Spoiler

Like how in a city with 200 vampires, the strongest one is basically Celerity 3, Potence 3 Ancilla aka the main girl of the comic. At least until that Tremere Elder arrived. With Werewolfs not purging the city with that many weak vampires.

Though I completely gave up on 5th Edition. After the news of W5 and H5. Here are some quotes from the SB thread.

So watching the Twitch stream explaining how they ruined what's going on with Hunter the Reckoning. Key details:

• Reckoning Hunters are still the newest Hunters on the block, being a street level force comprised mainly of either independent Hunters and Hunter Cells.
• Traditional, large scale Hunter Orgs such as SAD, Project Twilight, Society of Leopold, and just the Second Inquisition in general are antagonists, if not outright enemies of Reckoning Hunters. They seek to maintain some form of the status quo while Reckoning Hunters want to bring actual change.
• The Imbued, at least as they existed in Hunter: The Reckoning, will not appear in Mortal Hunters Hunted 3: The Vigil.
• Creeds are still around in a form. Wasn't very specific but sounds very different from the Virtues (Zeal, Mercy, and Vision). Seems to have a much bigger effect on your Edges.
• Speaking of which, Edges have basically been turned into Endowments and maybe Numina/True Faith. They say some BS about how they come from a Hunter's Creed and drive and whatnot, but that's what it really is.

H5 can go f**k itself.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

Some samples:

The Apocalypse has come and gone and we live in its aftermath. The Garou among us, dying out like their mother. That is the world itself is dying--these are the times of the Malady, of the world's warming and the waters rising.
A symbol of the Malady, Gaia's Howl, reverberated among the wilds and the spirit-places and even in the cities of humans as the Malady fouled the Earth. It has been perceptible by the Garou ever since and werewolves can see, hear, taste, and small, and even its waning pulse.
...insisting that the Apocalypse is yet to come and will be a glorious battle, or that the Garou have already won it!
Until recently, a fragile unity bonded the tribes but that unity has been broken. The Garou Nation is shattered and the very Litany it once upheld is itself in question. What use are pacts and promises when the Mother existed to protect breathes her last.
One of the tribes has abandoned the others entirely, so convinced are they of the truth of their cause and the inaction of the other werewolves. Another tribe has lost faith in the Garou and has withdrawn to seek other allies in the fight against Gaia's foes. Now, the only grasp a werewolf can trust is their own pack.

Before there was at least the faintest chance that the Apocalypse could be won, or that the Garou would be able to go down in a blaze of glory. Now it seems like they're going "there wasn't even a battle. It's all hopeless. You might as well lie down and die already."

Edit: A comment I saw elsewhere that pretty much sums it up:

The problem is that this isn't something like the Vienna Chantry getting smashed in terms of majorly shaking up the status of vampire politics.
I understand that you like that Paradox is willing to make some major changes and all. But to WtA is more on the level of Lucifer publicly murdering Caine while proclaiming Christianity the one true religion of the WoD, killing every 8th Gen and lower vampire instantly, ,and turning the remaining vampires all into 15th gens or thinbloods. If you think the "V5 isn't VtM because it changed too much," was bad... this is going to be so much worse.

Click to shrink...

After that I made my very own, pessimistic and in tone M5 prediction;

"Magic is dying across the world because I don't know, people are stagnating. Even the Technocracy lost their hypertech. While this is happening Second Inquisition busted down the classic Tradition and Technocracy strongholds from Ivory Tower to Horizon to The Copernicus Research Center Dyson Sphere. This happened because they hacked into the intelligence network of the Technocracy and learned all about them. But they are still calling them "Cultists" because they don't believe in Mages nor Enlightenment. They even thought Tremere and Vienna were Mage Capital and all mages were ruled by Blood Sorcerers.

Marauders have all killed themselves from the boredom of stagnation and Nephandi is unaffected because Stagnation only makes them stronger. (Which is true by the way, Static is a Void concept)."
You have to play severely weakened Mages that can barely do parlor tricks compared to the past and have to survive under the Second Inquisition.

Click to shrink...

Note, I should update this thread...tomorrow now that I remember this existed.

 

[shadowdice]

Oh yeah, I heard bad things about that. Winter's Teeth was fun enough with weirdness but I will skip the sequel.


Like, there is a lot of weirdness I chalk up to it being V5 but yeah.

Spoiler

Like how in a city with 200 vampires, the strongest one is basically Celerity 3, Potence 3 Ancilla aka the main girl of the comic. At least until that Tremere Elder arrived. With Werewolfs not purging the city with that many weak vampires.

Though I completely gave up on 5th Edition. After the news of W5 and H5. Here are some quotes from the SB thread.



After that I made my very own, pessimistic and in tone M5 prediction;


Note, I should update this thread...tomorrow now that I remember this existed.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, if they buffed Cecily, I could see her winning a lot more of the fights,

just

She fought the Sabbat on the front lines in an actual war scenario, the situation where the Camarilla go "Yup, go ahead and eat the other dude." but the writers have that whole "You need to be the underdog" bit which makes everything stupid in a lot of these kinds of stories.

That werewolf thing for W5 makes me wonder what the fuck you are even supposed to do if that is the scenario

Fucking 40k has the faint glimmer of hope when hit comes to Primarchs coming back, Big E.

Reckoning Hunters still being the newest doesn't make sense since a lot of these government groups are coming in late to the party.

 

[Maragas]

Reckoning Hunters still being the newest doesn't make sense since a lot of these government groups are coming in late to the party.

Click to shrink...

Nah, that part makes perfect sense. I actually mentioned it when I was going over it.

So let me get this straight;


Not that strange. In fact I would expect something like this. The Messengers only started to Imbue hunters because the world was going to end and they were needed. I wouldn't be surprised if the oldest Imbued was created in the 2000s at best in 20th Edition timeline.


Eh...why? This does disservice to them. I can't see why they would be forces of some form of "Status Quo" while they were literally kicking vampires shit in and destroying the status quo. This even gets stranger when Hunters aren't even Imbued and thus basically mortals. Why would they oppose the Reckoning Hunters then? Fucking Technocracy doesn't oppose Hunters unless they get in the way or cause collateral damage.


So...they removed the main thing that made Hunter The Reckoning, Hunter the Reckoning? So they are no longer heroes created with the purpose to oppose the coming end times because there is no one else. Just a bunch of dudes. Fuck. Combined with the W5 news how the heck can you be this grimdark even compared to the 90s.

I don't care anymore.

I thought they did a nice attempt with V5 but messed it up but seeing W5 and H5 news I can wash my hands with 5th Edition outside of ideas. I personally would suggest everybody to either play 20th Edition WoD (and older stuff) or Chronicles of Darkness.

Click to shrink...

Seeing as Reckong Hunters were created when the Messengers felt the world needed them in the upcoming end times after toning down from the Exalted levels of previous ages, it would make sense for them to create the Imbued in what, the last two decades at most in 20th and 5th Edition timeline.

Though now that Imbued isn't a thing, who knows.

 

[gale]

Note, I should update this thread...tomorrow now that I remember this existed.

Click to shrink...

Welcome back. Also considering linking a bit of a wild thing I did.

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

Nah, that part makes perfect sense. I actually mentioned it when I was going over it.


Seeing as Reckong Hunters were created when the Messengers felt the world needed them in the upcoming end times after toning down from the Exalted levels of previous ages, it would make sense for them to create the Imbued in what, the last two decades at most in 20th and 5th Edition timeline.

Though now that Imbued isn't a thing, who knows.

Click to shrink...

This is complete bs, yes.

Also, have you ever tried playing oWoD with the CofD system?

 

[Maragas]

Also, have you ever tried playing oWoD with the CofD system?

Click to shrink...

Nope, but I heard there are some conversions.

Welcome back. Also considering linking a bit of a wild thing I did.

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately, I don't know what you are talking about but you are welcome to post anything WoD/CofD related here. This is a general thread, everybody can discuss, rant and post about WoD/CofD.

 

[Maragas]

Mummies! If there is one force of good I have to name in World of Darkness it would be the Mummies. They are the only splat that is 99% good. (Fallen mummies are so pitiful that they barely last more than a few weeks and even then, much weaker than non-fallen Mummies)

No really, they are so full of Life and Balance that any vampire who drinks their blood gains a temporary point of Humanity for every Blood point they ate. Even if they have another path.

Spoiler: There is JUSTICE in my blood!

So, how do you become a Mummy?
Well, it really depends. If you aren't using Dimensional Anomaly/Avatar Storm then you have to be lucky enough to be a follower of Isis and Osiris in Egypt and then get chosen to become a Mummy. You then go through Mummification ceremony and get the Spell of Life used on you.

Spoiler: Mummies Before

But if you are using Dimensional Anomaly/Avatar Storm, things get tricky. You have to be a fucked up soul who looks for a chance for a good life or redemption, get chosen by a tem-ahk, survive a trip to Egypt with your now half alive, half dead body and find followers of Isis and Osiris in Egypt for them to Mummificate you and then use Spell of Life.

Spoiler: Mummies After

Yeah, things got complicated. Keep in mind that if Dimensional Anomaly didn't happen, all mummies are the first type and many are thousands of years old while if Avatar Storm happened the majority of Mummies are the second type and young. Though there are a few ancient Mummies who managed to endure or simply escape the Avatar Storm


Now into Mummy types, depending on which type of tem-ahk become a Mummy. These are based on the second, Avatar Storm Mummies. Old Mummies are usually even more diverse and can be anything that is not fucked up. Old Mummies are also straight-up chosen for this sacred position and can be as old as 5000 Years.

Spoiler: Kher-Minu-Tomb Watchers-Pillar Men

Do you know what it means to self-destruct hard? Do you know the temptations of the vices? When mortal these Mummies died from them, so Ka tem-ahk choose them to give them a second chance. They now know the beauty of life and how precious it is and they are the best damn guardians of life you can think of. For themselves and for others.

If you ever feel like you need a shoulder to lean on, these guys will happily lend you a shoulder.
They are also great at creating protective artifacts and magic.

They usually have the strongest Ka Background, incredibly incorruptible bodies and the strongest "Mummy Curse" basically. Keeping their bodies imprisoned is nearly impossible and acting against them downright lethal. And I mean it when I mean they have incredible bodies, high Balance Tomb Guardians have Physical Attributes similar to Methuselahs. There is a reason why I say they are the Pillar Men.

Spoiler: Khri-habi-Scroll Bearers

They are basically the thinkers and nerds of the Mummies. Ba tem-ahk finds people who just went with the flow or even barely considered sapient and turns them into thinkers, philosophers and intellectuals. They are also considered the favorite of Osiris, seen by the fact that they basically rule over the Dark Kingdom of Sand as priests of Osiris.

They usually have the strongest Ba trait among the mummies. (Which means even if you kill them, they will be back to the land of the living in a day. Yes, even if you destroy their souls. Oblivion is not permanent for Mummies)
They are also great Alchemists.

Spoiler: Mesektet-Vessels of Ra

They are the reformers. Sahu tem-ahk finds people who were corrupt pieces of shit who have a chance of redemption and turn them into good people. They are the mummies who get involved with their past life most, fixing the wrongdoings of their former self. They are also inspired by the Sahu to the Celestial matters and they are usually the most spiritual and magical of the mummies.

They usually have the strongest magic aka Hekau but specialize in Celestial.

Spoiler: Sakhmu- Spirit Scepters

Khu tem-ahk find people who failed creatively or reached a dead end in their inspirations and turns them into boundless forces of creation. They are the artists, they are the spirit guides and they are basically Toreadors but actually healthy and good. Tomb Guardians might have the best protective artifacts but Sakhmu are all-around better crafters.

They are also great architects and are incredibly perspective. Along with the fact that if you have any problem related to Dead, they got you covered.

Spoiler: Sefekhi- The Unbandaged Ones

Khaibit tem-ahk finds people who were unconfident, timid and unassertive and gives them limitless drive along with animalistic urges and anger. They are usually the best fighters among Mummies. If you find one, they are either a beacon of calm because they are keeping their emotions in check and reserving them for a fight or they are spending their boundless energy on something constructive.

They are basically Werewolf Mummies. If you need a hammer, they are the hammer.
They are also eunuchs.

Spoiler: Udja-sen- Judged Ones

Judged Ones are born when the tem-ahk chooses a soul who is deemed corrupt without a chance of redemption by the Judges but also not enough for destruction. So they gauge the corrupt parts of the soul, use the failed tem-akh to fill it. Resulting Mummy is a confused, pained mess and lacks any guidance from his tem-ahk because it's currently a mindless bandaid to Mummys soul.

They are extremely rare and some don't survive past a few years. Either giving up their Mummy-hood by asking Osiris or falling to Apophis and then regretting it before dying.
If they last long enough, they basically stabilize and realize that just because the start was rocky doesn't mean it needs to be rocky all the way to eternity.

And this is the basic overview of Mummies! Hope it was informative. I had a lot of fun reading Mummy for this post.

 

[Maragas]

Now the only splats I haven't covered are Demon, Hunter and Changeling. (Geist...well Geist can wait.)
I don't like Changeling and D.D. Spectator already covered Hunter pretty well I think.

Now Demons...well Demons are tricky business. I will mostly go over why, and show some very...interesting bits here. Along with the dreaded Earthbound. You can say this is simply...Demon: The Musing post. The actual Demon info post will come later.

The Former Angels aren't all bad, half the Demons are no worse than your average Vampire, some are so saintly that they are nearly their Angelic self while some are straight up the Devil. But what they are is being fucking terrifying.
The only reason why Mummy edges out over Demon when it comes to starting power and relative safety is that Mummies are immortal and can come back the same. Demons are similar but they either need to find a host to possess, which can be much weaker, choose to become Earthbound or go back to the Abyss. They are similarly impossible to kill without using their True Name or getting eaten by another Demon.

As for why Demon is so good, well, benefits are endless. Just the starting advantages are great. Impossible to Mind Control, Impossible to Possess, Impossible to Impose Supernatural Fear

Spoiler

But more importantly, Power they have access to are bonkers. Especially at high levels.
This is doubly true for Earthbound. They are terrifying. They might pale compared to their former power when they were Angels but my god they put even Antediluvians to shame in some ways. With only Archmages beating them in their range. (Even then consider that Earthbound can do it again and again while Archmages have to suffer paradox)

Let me tell you what I mean.

Spoiler: Lore Mastery

Earthbound are Masters of Lore. They can increase the effects of any Lore they have up to 100.000 except for Damage.

Here is an example. Let's take Decay.

Spoiler: Decay

This is an incredible ability. At high torment levels it Auto Hits around you and deals Aggravated damage equal to your success.
If an Earthbound with Mastery 5 uses this, they will kill and destroy everything in a 91km radius around them. 100.000 yards around them basically.
And Earthbound are always Torment 10.

Another example, You think Malkavian the Antediluvian is the shit? Try Masters of Chaos

Spoiler: Hell on Earth

Let's say Faith 10 Earthbound, Mastery 5 casts this. 9144km radius of reality breaks down. This basically means the whole Earth is now basically in Warp and every mortal, hell EVERYONE is fucked.


Hell, just the books example is fucking insane.

Spoiler: Are you shitting me?

Belial here just murdered everyone in Los Angeles. Each turn every single person will have a 1 in 5 chance to suffer a 10 Lethal lighting bolt. Which if you read the example, means it will happen to every single person in 80.000 yards 80.000 times.
Mortals can't soak Lethal by the way. And this is a hurricane with 9 Strength, so no building will remain.


So yes, if you are looking to make an Earthbound villain for your campaign. Think very carefully.
Angels are even more BS by the way.

 

[Maragas]

It's been a while since I did a Vampire-themed info post, so might as well continue with Vampire Clans! This time for the main members of the Sabbat!

When you talk about Sabbat, you can't forget about two clans. Lasombra and Tzimisce. They are a vital part of Sabbat since they basically created the central foundation of Sabbat. The main reason why Sabbat's rankings are from Bishops to Archbishops to Cardinals is because they are directly taken from Lasombra who basically dominates Spanish Catholicism.

Hell, Lasombra created the Spanish Inquisition. (And the general Inquisition but they are centered in Spain)

Spoiler

Anyway, let's start with Lasombra.

Spoiler: Blood on the Waves

You could say they are the dark shadow of Ventrue. When Ventrue was ruling over cities, Lasombra was ruling the waves, being pirates and conquerors.

Spoiler: A Lasting Legacy

When Ventrue ruled over Rome, Lasombra turned to Religion, Christianity, and helped to make it the religion of the empire to build their power base.

Spoiler: The Sabbat

And when Ventrue created Camarilla, Lasombra moved to create Sabbat. (As you can see, they are ever humble and understanding. I swear they are the most egoist clan, even more than Ventrue.) ((They also think they killed their Antediluvian, cute.))
They are Sabbat's beating heart, at the center of every level of organization.

And how are they these days? Well, the book tells it perfectly.

Spoiler: An Affiliation of Renegades

If you think normal vampire politics are deadly and complicated, you haven't seen what Lasombra do to each other. That's what you get for being social darwinists, power hungry murderers, thieves and selfish bastards.

Now, this doesn't mean they don't have any "good" factions inside them but the majority are bastards. Being a Faithfull among Lasombra requires balls of steel.

Spoiler: The Faithful

Oh yeah, they also specialize in Obtenebration, a power they draw from the Abyss which is most likely the Void Nephandi worships. Here is my favorite ritual from it. (Also my favorite ritual in the whole VTM)

Spoiler: Cry That Slays Light

They are pretty fun if you want to play Game of Thrones. Political campaigns and even some Dark Ages Pirate campaigns are recommended for Lasombra players. What can I say, they are Edgy Ventrue. The barbarians to Roma's civilization.
In fact, considering the Game of Thrones reference I made, I can confidently say that you can recreate Euron Greyjoy perfectly with Lasombra.
...
...
The book version, not the show. If you want the show one try a Malkavian. I will even throw Guardian Angel and Nine Lives merit for plot armor. ( I swear if I hear one more "Finger in the bum" I will shove my fist to their "bum")

Now into the Tzimisce. They are usually the most gentlemanly and eloquent vampires but beneath their manners and hospitality lies the most alien vampire clan. Hell, even an Archmage said this for the Tzimisce clan.

Spoiler

And what's their specialty? Viccisitude or Fleshcrafting or Biological Manipulation. Whatever you want to call it. It's also most likely [Tzimisce] himself, spreading through it.
This even caused the clan to split, Eldest Tzimisce usually never use Viccisitude because they know for a fact that they will be the first ones to be consumed by the Antediluvian. (Which they bragged about killing, like Lasombra. Cute.)

Spoiler: Old vs New

And what is Modern Night for Tzimisce? Well, it's their enlightened road to their alien Transcendence and while Lasombra might be the Heart of the Sabbat, Tzimisce is the soul of the Sabbat. They are the ones who made Sabbat culture, the packs and the bonds that keep them together, Vaulderie.

Spoiler: Transcendence and the Soul of the Sabbat

They are honestly incredibly fun to play. RP alone will be great if you enjoy playing polite but alien abomination. I once spared a lowlife neonate because it was tea time with biscuits. (Made out of 90% Blood and I had "Eat Food" merit) And even offered some to now confused, half-broken neonate. They are Intellectual, Spiritual The Thing Aliens. How can you say no to that?

So, which one would you play as?

 

[Maragas]

Crafts or Disparates! In my opinion, they are one of the most overlooked things in Mage the Ascension though it's not surprising

Spoiler: Crafts

What are Crafts? Well, they are all sorts of smaller magical orders and sects that didn't join the Grand Convocation that formed The Traditions. Whatever it be because they refused outright, left during the negotiations or simply was too small or isolated to even get invited or even hear the news.

Now, there is one important thing to stress, they are not Dead Magic. They are in a strange place between The Traditions/The Technocracy and being a Dead Magic. They may have small numbers, a dying paradigm or culture or even be hunted down by others but they are still in use in World of Darkness. Dead Magic on the other hand you would need to do Umbral travels to even learn and maybe has one or two people alive in the world that actively uses it if you are lucky. Things like Aztec Blood Magic or Norse Rune Magic. (Norse Rune Magic got even harder to learn if you are using Revised and leading into Time of Judgement as Ragnarok is happening. I might get into it if I ever do Dead Magic posts)

The thing that makes Crafts Crafts is that they are incredibly proud loners that even when the Ascension War was incredibly heated didn't join one of the factions. They will live and die by their culture and paradigm rather than compromise with others like the Traditions if it means they can keep their way.

In M20, they somehow got together to make the Disparate Alliance against the Traditions and the Technocracy. How so many different and even hostile to each other Crafts came together to even agree upon it I have no idea. (And it definitely missed the fundamentals of Crafts in my opinion. By turning them into a mini Traditions)

Spoiler: Importance of Secrets

The most important thing to know about them is that most of them are extremely low profile and most don't even know they exist. If they are revealed to the four factions they will most likely get destroyed. (Especially if you are using M20 where even the Traditions are actively gunning them down because Hollow Ones betrayed them or you are using Fallen Technocracy)
The only notable exception to this is Taftani because they are incredibly proud show-offs that don't even care about Paradox.

So, let's start examining several Crafts. Starting with the Templars;

Spoiler: Templars

The defenders of Christianity, from infidels, unholy supernatural creatures or Infidel Sorcerers of Ahl-i Batin. They were heavily involved with the Celestial Chorus and Cabal of Pure Thought (Predecessors of the New World Order) but they were originally their own thing. They later entirely joined the Cabal of Pure Thought when they themselves were declared heretics and Cabal offered them the deal. How was it for the Templars?

Spoiler: The New Order and the Fall

It was pretty great at the start, especially for the first few centuries. Incredible resources, finest weapons and armor made from the forerunners of modern Primium (especially the power armor variety). It was honestly a great alliance, it even changed the Templars for the better. Rather than Fire and Blade and they turned into Religious Humanism for converting people. Templars burning fewer heretics? What kind of heresy is this?

Then it all broke. With the Reformation, The Cabal of Pure Thought, which will later become the New World Order, had internal strife. No more they could argue for One Faith, One Church, One World because even their Faith become splintered. This is most likely the main reason why The Technocracy removed God or really, any religious or spiritual belief from their paradigm. The old "None other but God may stand in Our way in this Great Mission." turned into " None may stand in Our way in this Great Mission"

What happened to the Templars? When in the Cabal "No Religion" faction won the debates they were ordered to abandon their faith and even turn on it. They were given the Judas Edict and they refused it.
As a result, they got slaughtered in mass. Especially because Artifecers aka future Iteration X revealed Hyper Intelligence Mark IIIs in this siege. Only a handful survived.

Nowadays they are alone but keep their way. Especially because they still have some of their famous wealth, funding sympathetic universities, think tanks, and political candidates/causes. Weapons of old still had some use but in modern times modern weapons were required so they become expert manipulators and leaders.
As a side note, they thought about joining the Celestial Chorus but it had too much pagan and infidel for them.

While I never personally played them they look like they are pretty fun, a mix of Hunters and the New World Order.

So, what's next? Well, we talked about the Templars so might as well talk about the infidel Ahl-i Batin.

Spoiler: Ahl-i Batin

You could say they are a mix of Akashic Brotherhood and Celestial Chorus, not surprising since they are partly created by an Akashic faction. Their founders created the Ahl-i Batin when they accidentally become One with each other while dancing under the moonlit night. When they split apart, they understood the Unity.

They were the ones who gathered all the Traditions in the name of the Unity for who else but Seekers of Unity could do the nearly impossible task of gathering several completely different magical societies together?
But ironically, they left the Tradition after feeling abandoned by the Traditions to defend their homelands against the Technocracy forces.

They are also the creators of the Web of Faith, one of their few remaining achievements.

But what are their Beliefs?

Spoiler: The Doctorine of Unity

Unity, The One. Unity of People, Energy, Physical and Spiritual, Thoughts and Ideas.

These are the founding principles of Batini. We are all of the same cloth so why are we so focused on our differences? A Batini Ascension is becoming one with the Tellurian, the One, God, Allah.
And to be fair, they are actually pretty close to the Truth. So props for that.

(Now, I want to explain something. The main book of Ahl-i Batin and Taftani, the Lost Paths is shit. It includes things like how Taftania are sexually abused sexual abusers that disdain civilization, and how Ahl-i Batin created Islam with Quran being their inspiration, which as a Muslim...well offensive might as well be an understatement. (They even got the wrong Muhammad rather than the Prophet Muhammad.) Not surprising since it's been published in 2003. Moving on)

Spoiler: The Entropy Problem

They are also the only mages I know of that can't use a Sphere without getting corrupted by Nephandi. As in they can't even use an alternative version of it like Void Engineers.

So, now I gave examples both from the Tradition and The Order of Reason, let's examine a Craft that is incredibly small and has nearly no connections with either side.

Spoiler: Kopa Loei

Local mages of the Hawai'i, they were formerly royals and priest elites that governed the island for not only benefit of the people but also for the benefit of the land and spirits. And of course, to maintain their social positions as well.
They refused the invitation to the Traditions, thinking they have nothing to fear. Well...these days there are only a few handfuls of them left.

Spoiler: Magickal Style

Their paradigm is very interesting. They don't see Spheres as Spheres and can't use Technological Foci. Their foci is usually a natural item or tool along with prayers to Deities and Nature.
They are all about bending and diverting the natural channels of the world but never create or destroy. For example, they can't create fire from nowhere.

I wish I could go on and on but I am once again at the image limit. (Man at this rate I will subscribe to Spacebattles for that 20 Image limit rather than 10)
I couldn't cover everything but the essentials but I hope this gave you a decent idea of what Crafts are supposed to be and how diverse and intriguing they could be. They might not be big players and hell, they might be near extinct but they are an interesting part of Mage the Ascension.

(Though good luck finding a Craft game. I never did.)

 

[gale]

Unfortunately, I don't know what you are talking about but you are welcome to post anything WoD/CofD related here. This is a general thread, everybody can discuss, rant and post about WoD/CofD.

Click to shrink...

Made a OWoD quest here, a Archmaster one.

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

Made a OWoD quest here, a Archmaster one.

Click to shrink...

Sounds nice, but I don't do Quests, sadly. I don't like voting and not getting the option I want.

 

[gale]

Sounds nice, but I don't do Quests, sadly. I don't like voting and not getting the option I want.

Click to shrink...

Which is fair. Just working on it, and hoping folks get the system I am using.

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

Which is fair. Just working on it, and hoping folks get the system I am using.

Click to shrink...

I wrote a Fate/Apocrypha and Mage the Awakening Crossover, but people avoided it because it's Yaoi, sadly.

 

[gale]

I wrote a Fate/Apocrypha and Mage the Awakening Crossover, but people avoided it because it's Yaoi, sadly.

Click to shrink...

That takes guts, I don't mind Yaoi myself. But its not my thing if that makes sense. I might take a look.

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

That takes guts, I don't mind Yaoi myself. But its not my thing if that makes sense. I might take a look.

Click to shrink...

Here's the fanfic - Note that while it has underage characters, any 'mature content' is between adults (and happens much later on).

 

[shadowdice]

They are honestly incredibly fun to play. RP alone will be great if you enjoy playing polite but alien abomination. I once spared a lowlife neonate because it was tea time with biscuits. (Made out of 90% Blood and I had "Eat Food" merit) And even offered some to now confused, half-broken neonate. They are Intellectual, Spiritual The Thing Aliens. How can you say no to that?

So, which one would you play as?

Click to shrink...

I have used a bunch of Tzimisce and Lasombra NPCs in my campaign, the latter due to one of the players starting off with a Lasombra before ditching that character

for the Lasombra

Christian Socialist Calvinist Pack Priest. The sire of the player's original character who managed to convince his pack (well some of them) that the Lasombra were all demon worshippers who had crafted the Catholic Church to be a tool of Satan. The Catholic Church made the schools which people like Stalin and Castro went to along with a lot of other communist thinkers and therefore all previous socialist countries were actually extended tentacles of the Catholic Church and not true socialism, so they had to kill all of the Catholics and socialists to purge the Satanic taint and create a true utopia.

The Toreador pack leader and Tzimisce koldun in their pack let him do what he wanted since they enjoyed the rampant chaos he incited.

another was a Russian officer from WW1 who went Anarch and made a media corporation, running his media empire from the comfort of his office where he had ghouls to handle each and every one of his features including a personal mustache groomer, hair specialist, officer of the wardrobe, and so on.

When Chicago got taken over by a Tzimsice Methuselah, a Faithful Lasombra betrayed the sabbat and joined her as a representative of the clan, taking his Prince of Shadow (humanity Lasombra) protege along with him while sinking ships that the Sabbat were using to transport people. The players were surprised by sudden Giant African Man Lasombra with a great sword jumping from a ship and using high level potence to rag-doll people. The protege, who ended up in the players coterie, is a doctor and wrote books to popularize vampire ideologies among mortals (the players actively helped in this)

La Maupin the French actress, and acts like a total toreador, but is more akin to the sailor Lasombra, just very extravagant in it

for tzimisce, far fewer have shown up

The main one is who the players like to call Voivode Mommy as she is super physically affectionate and domineering *showing up in their havens unannounced before they wake up*

They went along with it with no questions when she started talked about the cleansing of the city of any and all Gaian werewolves and every single wererat complete with the intent to kidnap the former's children and brainwash them. Instead asking her if she wanted the dead to be turned into a new wardrobe. No arguments or complaints when wyrm garou preaching a weird form of gnosticism showed up.

Voivode Mommy: The bloodlines of those who swear loyalty to me in this time of war shall be given a higher status, for they are a step above the common breed of their clans

Gangrel Player: That sounds a bit Eugenicist or Nazi-like

me: She has no idea what you are talking about due to being asleep since the Chicago Fire.

Players: *do not even try to explain that, sit by and watch while a Revenant coaches ancient viking-esque tzimisce warlord in 'nicer' language to use*

Revenant: It is not forced relocation, it is giving people new homes. This isn't indoctrination, but good religious learning. We aren't kidnapping werewolf children, we are saving them from their fanatical cults. It isn't immoral to work with fairies, ghosts, mages, and werewolves, we are making a new inclusive Masquerade that benefits all supernaturals. Using koldunism to blood bond ghosts isn't enslaving the spirit, we are helping them stay grounded since none of them want to go off yet. Destroying the will of criminals so they can be possessed isn't a crime against humanity, we are repossessing their bodies and so that the less fortunate can have new chances. It is just like organ donors.

Players: *aide in the rise of Voivode Mommy for headpats and help from the blood-bonded city spirit*

The only other tzimisice I can think of that they interacted with is a Polish trap nun who they initially ran away from screaming after loitering outside of the Tzimisce's church, then came back and needed to be coached through bargaining (they knew that the Tzimsice fought for Poland in WW1 and 2, they knew about Nazi Vampire Himmler being alive, but did not see why the POLISH Tzimisce might want to kill Himmler) and were promptly so weird, and horrible at explaining themselves that THE TZIMISCE decided to name a successor among his childer, and skip town to run to another continent with the excuse of killing Himmler.

That Tzimsice is going to scream if he meets them again.

 

[Maragas]

Revenant: It is not forced relocation, it is giving people new homes. This isn't indoctrination, but good religious learning. We aren't kidnapping werewolf children, we are saving them from their fanatical cults. It isn't immoral to work with fairies, ghosts, mages, and werewolves, we are making a new inclusive Masquerade that benefits all supernaturals. Using koldunism to blood bond ghosts isn't enslaving the spirit, we are helping them stay grounded since none of them want to go off yet. Destroying the will of criminals so they can be possessed isn't a crime against humanity, we are repossessing their bodies and so that the less fortunate can have new chances. It is just like organ donors.

Click to shrink...

I have to say, that player is amazing at justifying everything.

I wouldn't be surprised if a Tzimisce kept his decapitated head alive and brought it up whenever he felt bored.

Or a Giovanni doing the same but just binding their soul into a skeleton head for amusement.

 

[shadowdice]

I have to say, that player is amazing at justifying everything.

I wouldn't be surprised if a Tzimisce kept his decapitated head alive and brought it up whenever he felt bored.

Or a Giovanni doing the same but just binding their soul into a skeleton head for amusement.

Click to shrink...

Oh no, The Revenant is an NPC I made to act as the daytime advisor/minder of the Voivode, not one of the players. She is one of the canonically dead revenant families (Basarab) that was fleshcrafted and fed lots of drugs/dominate enforced learning to be artificially aged/trained

Most of her points are in theology, custodian, empathy financial,and seneschal to run everything for her domitor.

Just, a really weird stat distribution with points in a lot of different skills and relatively few in attributes with social as primary (4 cha 3 in the others)

Due to drinking the blood of a 4th Gen Tzimisce her discipline limit is higher, so she has fairly high level dominate and presence. Her animalism is low, but her highest skill is animalism. So she is always spying on EVERYONE and is operating the secret police.

For politics, it is low, but she has a specialty in progressivism and couches everything in those terms when talking to young vampires.

The Anarchs are terrified.

Instead we have this

Tremere Player: I assume that Voivode mommy is trying to kill me

Me: Oh no, she considers the Tremere to be a bloodline of Tzimisce and is very happy that you study magic. And also reminds you to come sit at her parties and learn.

Tremere: I am worried

Me: She often pats your hand and reminds you to pick up some kind of weapons training, because some one will definitely try to use Countermagic against you, and at that point you need to be ready to put an ax in their skull. She is just concerned about your safety.

Tremere: Her appearance is nine correct

Me: Yes

Tremere: Yeah, I am just following her like a puppy

Me: *brings up the werewolf thing*

Tremere: I can make an entire wardrobe out of their pelts for you. *endless talk with her about clothes, makes fashion designs to spread noddism among humans*

Me: the Voivode is incredibly happy about your dedication to religion

Tremere: *Considering if she should learn a ritual which requires tearing a baby in half to create a perfect servant*

*at a party where Tremere meets two other high ranking members of the Voivode's entourage*

Tremere: You spend a lot of time with other female vampires, you'd think that people would care less about that as time goes on

Voivode Mommy: You would be surprised, and these are my very dear friends. Can I introduce you to my son, sadly, it was Vycos who turned him. Vycos, who is a man not a woman

Tremere: But didn't Vycos remove those bits.

Voivode: Removing one's genetalia and throwing at people as an act of protest while accusing them of attempting to neuter you is ultimately demeaning. Even if he was unmanly and constantly submissive to others. *Viking Culture murderhobo*

Revenant: *considering if she should argue with Voivode or not*

along with the Toreador player accepting a deal to keep a revenant knight of the Voivode's as a retainer, then plotting to betray the Voivode's inner circle right in front of said knight while plotting to murder a Tremere Revenant.

Tremere Revenant Scholar: They just forget that we exist don't we

Tzimisce Revenant Knight: Do not worry, I am making notes for my report. This will be remembered.