RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
I'm going to be running my first game in the new World of Darkness this upcoming weekend. I have years upon years of experience with the old WoD but this new critter is something completely alien to me. I'm sending this out to get some advice from anyone out there who has gotten themselves familiar with the new setting and system.
I'm going to be running a one-shot game to familiarize myself and my players with the way things work now. All of us are old WoD players and love the crap out of White Wolf's products. In order to familiarize ourselves with everything all at once, I have three players - one playing a Mage, one playing a Werewolf, and one playing a Vampire. We're dispensing with things like plotlines and character histories for the time being because this game is designed only to test out the new system and figure out how things work, so figuring out a reason for these three characters to be working together is easy: they just are.
The plot I've designed involves the group investigating a haunted asylum. I've compiled some blueprints from an actual asylum built in 1885 and will be using them in this game. I plan on having various types of supernatural encounters within the building including spirits, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and mages. It doesn't really need to make sense because, as I said, this game is just a playtest to learn the mechanics.
Here's what I need the help on: How do various spirits function? I want to create some Madness spirits, a few Pain spirits, and a handful of Fear spirits that will wander the halls of this asylum to antagonize the PCs. I can't seem to find any one source that describes what powers spirits have access to. There are 'sample spirits' in the Werewolf book, but where can I find the rules for building a spirit from scratch? What powers do they have access to? I own several of the new WoD books and, admittedly, I haven't had the opportunity to go through all of them yet, but if the rules can be found in one of the books I own, that would be awesome.
I have the following: All 4 Core books (WoD, Vamp, Were, Mage), Armory, Tome of Mysteries (Mage), Bloodlines 1: The Hidden (Vamp), Blood of the Wolf (Were), and Antagonists. Help is appreciated. Thanks!
|
Since 2000 I have not been able to find a Group to play World Of Darkness (Same time I joined the Air Force). But I have kept up with the books and Own all of them. As you I am still unfaimler with the new rules but I am faimler where you can find them.
For Sprits I Suggest picking up this book.
World of Darkness: Book of Spirits
It has all the info you need on Spirits.
As for your other question... I can not help you there..sorry.
|
|
Something else I was wondering: Can Mages use countermagic to oppose supernatural powers that don't originate from a Mage? Like... could a Mage with the Mind Arcana undo the effects of a Vampire's Dominate? If it is possible, how does it work?
Unless they've completely changed how Mage effects work in the game world, I'd say he could reverse the dominate effect. That said, I've not played whitewolf in about 8 years. I was just thinking the other day that with the new edition they would integrate the different systems from Mage, Vampire, and Werewolf so you would have a better idea how they equate or interact with each other.
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
For Sprits I Suggest picking up this book.
World of Darkness: Book of Spirits
It has all the info you need on Spirits.
Thanks. I actually ordered this book the same day I made the above post. I noticed that it was out after I had already posted the question. I thought it was still a month or two away.
Tessius, the new systems have been integrated fairly well and all of the 'supernatural' mechanics have been reasonably standardized. I suppose the amount of success the Vampire had with the original Dominate would serve as the 'Potency' the Mage would have to overcome with his counterspelling attempt. Still, I'm uncertain what degree of Mind mastery would be required for such an attempt. My gut instinct says it should be possible at 3 dots, but I'm not sure.
For Sprits I Suggest picking up this book.
World of Darkness: Book of Spirits
It has all the info you need on Spirits.
Thanks. I actually ordered this book the same day I made the above post. I noticed that it was out after I had already posted the question. I thought it was still a month or two away.
Tessius, the new systems have been integrated fairly well and all of the 'supernatural' mechanics have been reasonably standardized. I suppose the amount of success the Vampire had with the original Dominate would serve as the 'Potency' the Mage would have to overcome with his counterspelling attempt. Still, I'm uncertain what degree of Mind mastery would be required for such an attempt. My gut instinct says it should be possible at 3 dots, but I'm not sure.
Just so you know the Book of Spirits coves just spirits not ghost
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Just so you know the Book of Spirits coves just spirits not ghost
Yeah, I thought that would be the case. I think ghosts are covered reasonably well in the 'Antagonists' book, but Spirits are a little fuzzy. The Werewolf book has been pretty much my only resource for spirits so far and it seems like they play a pretty heavy role in that game anyway, so the Spirits book will be nice to have. Thanks for the input!
Something else I was wondering: Can Mages use countermagic to oppose supernatural powers that don't originate from a Mage? Like... could a Mage with the Mind Arcana undo the effects of a Vampire's Dominate? If it is possible, how does it work?
Ok supernatrual conflict specfically mage vs. X is discussed in this book: Tome of the Mysteries. Please forgive I don't know how to do links.
On pgs. 45-49 It explains the reason why a mage DOES NOT get a reflective action to counterspell or even is aloud to counter another supernatraul beings power. The reason is a balance in that mages have passive ability to cast spell that make them basically immune to the effects of werewolf gifts and vampire disicplines.
Here is were it explains that from the book:
* "Two of the greatest strenghts of the Arcana are that they are versatile, and they can augment resistance to the supernatural abilities of others.....A high-Potency Mind 2 'Alter Aura' spell, for instance, can render a mage virtually immune to the Auspex 2 power 'Aura Perception.' Likewise a Mind 2 'Mental Shield' spell serves to counter the Kindred Disciplines of Dominate, Majesty and Nightmare, as well as various werewolf Gifts, sucj as the Evasion Gift of 'Loose Tongue' or the Father Wolf Gift: Primal Howl. ....."
This immunity in affect balances the mages physically weakness when compared to the other supers. I highly recommend buying this box is it has many other useful items such as new spells, items, and the most useful of all how to make custom mage spell.
And so to answer your question NO a mage does get a reflective save to counter the Discipline, he/she should have perpared ahead.
Sucks to be them.
* taken from Tomb of the Mysteries 2006
Just so you know the Book of Spirits coves just spirits not ghostYeah, I thought that would be the case. I think ghosts are covered reasonably well in the 'Antagonists' book, but Spirits are a little fuzzy. The Werewolf book has been pretty much my only resource for spirits so far and it seems like they play a pretty heavy role in that game anyway, so the Spirits book will be nice to have. Thanks for the input!
Best of luck to you- Hope you game rocks,
We are getting ready to start a WOD Larp out here in sunny SD So I would love to hear how it works for you
http://www.freewebs.com/clandestinecrusade/
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Ok supernatrual conflict specfically mage vs. X is discussed in this book: Tome of the Mysteries. Please forgive I don't know how to do links...
And so to answer your question NO a mage does get a reflective save to counter the Discipline, he/she should have perpared ahead.
Sucks to be them.
* taken from Tomb of the Mysteries 2006
Awesome! That is actually one of the books I currently own (see first post). I'll take a more detailed look at it now. I appreciate all the help and, as I said, I'll try to remember to throw up a summary here on the boards once we try it out. Thanks a lot!
Director of Sales
|
...
and the most useful of all how to make custom mage spell.
...
* taken from Tomb of the Mysteries 2006
They must have really overhauled how Mages perform magic for this edition if they have to have an explanation for how to "make custom spells".
IIRC, there were no set spells and the players came up with their own effects based on a set power level indicated by the number of "dots" they had in a particular sphere.
If this is no longer the case, then I'm already disappointed in the new system.
cos
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
They must have really overhauled how Mages perform magic for this edition if they have to have an explanation for how to "make custom spells".
IIRC, there were no set spells and the players came up with their own effects based on a set power level indicated by the number of "dots" they had in a particular sphere.
If this is no longer the case, then I'm already disappointed in the new system.
Oh no, Mage is still dynamic and complicated. They list a whole crapload of 'examples' for spells at each level of the various Arcana and give sample rotes used by the various Orders, but 'custom spells' are still very much a possibility. Honestly, the magic system itself is largely the same but they managed to codify the indivdual Arcana levels a little bit better than they did with Ascension. Also, they completely revamped Paradox. Completely.
...and I think it's better this way.
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Okay, we've got the character concepts for this playtest campaign as of last night! I have 4 players and I told them that I wanted at least one of each of the supernatural creature types (Vamp, Were, and Mage) so that we would get a chance to test out ALL of the rules systems at once. It's going to be a plot-free campaign entirely devoted to the characters escaping from a haunted asylum filled with all kinds of bad stuff. The characters are:
A Daeva Vampire - Toreador bloodline - Blood Potency 4, Celerity 2, Vigor 3, Weaponry 5 (Sword Spec.). Dual-wields katanas. He exists to test out the melee combat system, though he keeps a MAC-10 under his jacket 'just in case.'
A Blood Talon Werewolf - Irraka Auspice (new moon) - Primal Urge 3. Character is currently unfinished, but plans to excel at stealth and reconnaisance.
An Acanthus Mage - Free Council order - Gnosis 2. Also unfinished. Currently plans to excel at Time magic.
A Moros Mage - Mysterium order - Gnosis 2, Death 3, Matter 5, Occult 5. Plans to animate zombies and perform unspeakable acts on the building's infrastructure including (but not limited to): dissolving walls, making doors transparent, creating explosive devices from thin air (and using them), and solidifying air (to entrap people).
This oughta be fun!
So Fatespinner
How did it go? Do we get an update? Just Wondering. Been thinking about picking up the new Spriti Book but I don't know of how much use it would be for me, Since Im running a Currrent Rules /Old Setting game? Any thoughts on this?
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
So Fatespinner
How did it go? Do we get an update? Just Wondering. Been thinking about picking up the new Spriti Book but I don't know of how much use it would be for me, Since Im running a Currrent Rules /Old Setting game? Any thoughts on this?
The playtest went well, though we didn't have enough time to get through all the stuff I'd planned.
Valuable lessons we learned:
- Autofire is very effective in the new system. The Daeva vampire shredded a pack of spirit-claimed by discharging the entire contents of a 32-round magazine into them, dropping two and leaving two others badly damaged for the werewolves to finish up.
- Combat is much more streamlined and much more fun than the oWoD now.
- Werewolves seem to have lost a lot of their power in the transition. Whereas before they were the unrivaled masters of melee combat, now they've been taken down a notch to be on a more level playing field. This is not a bad thing (they were too powerful before, IMO), but one of the werewolf players (who had been a werewolf buff from the oWoD) got himself torn up pretty badly by the manifested form of a gluttony spirit because he thought he was a little tougher than he actually was.
- Mage is still complicated, but we managed to make it work. The players of the Mage characters (thankfully) stuck to their rotes for the most part and only attempted two improvised spells over the course of the night.
Oh, and going back up the thread a bit: The Spirits book doesn't cover ghosts. Nor does the Antagonists book, much to my chagrin. Ghosts are found in the main WoD book, but it's not terribly detailed.
As far as picking up the new Spirits Book, I highly recommend it. The Shadow works a little bit differently in the nWoD than it used to and there's a whole lot more integration involved in how spirits interact with the world, what effect certain things in the material world have on the spirit world, etc. It's not like the old Umbra where you have the 'regular' Umbra, the 'dark' Umbra, and the 'deep' Umbra. It's all one thing: the Shadow. There's no multiple layers to it (thank God). The Book of Spirits is a great resource because, in the nWoD, spirits mess with...
Thanks for the great feedback, want out and got the Spirit Book from my FLGS. As for ghosts they really are lacking. I plan on porting over Wraith. Since ghosts will focus heavy in my storyline and I wanted more detailed NPCs/Ghosts.