Newsgroups: alt.games.whitewolf
Subject: WORLD OF DARKNESS: FAQ 4 of 5
From: [r j kirkpatric] at [ualr.edu] (RJK)
Date: 17 Jan 94 09:07:21 CST
Date: Sun, 7 Nov 93 20:50:22 -0800
From: [d--r--e] at [efn.org] (Deird'Re Brooks)
To: Multiple recipients of list <[vampire l] at [wizards.com]>
Subject: WoD FAQ, pt 4
VIII. Product List for Storyteller
----------------------------------
FAQ Drudge's Disclaimer: If a name isn't provided in <fnords> I
wrote the review, so any judgments are my opinions. If there is
a name in <fnords> above a block of text, it's their opinion, not
mine. I won't promise that this list is in order of publication.
Each product is listed with a brief description of what it
contains.
VIIIa. Vampire: The Masquerade
-------------------------------
Vampire: The Masquerade
First or Second Edition. The basic rules and background of
the game. The second Edition is a nicely bound Hardcover. If
you are on this list and do not have this book - HEATHEN. Go
buy it.
Vampire: Player's Guide
First or Second, again. Provides some useful expansion on
the Clans, as well as four interesting new Clans and 1 or 3 new
Bloodlines, depending on the Edition. Again, Second Edition is
Hardcover. Also provides information for expanding the
Disciplines beyond level 5.
Vampire: Storyteller's Handbook
First edition. Nice hints for running Chronicles and
Stories. There are some interesting little rulings buried in the
suggestions, too. The sample enemy/ally characters are useful for
a rush job when something happens and the ST needs instant stats.
This book also provides three new Bloodlines and associated
Disciplines.
Player's Guide to the Sabbat
If you want to show the weak Camarilla what evil _really_
means, this book is for you. I feel it is one of the better
products to see the <ahem> light of day. It describes three new
Disciplines, more Thaumaturgical Paths, new Merits and Flaws, and
two new Clans who happen to be the power behind the Sabbat. Also
describes the Antitribu, Kindred who have turned against their
former Clans to become a part of the Sabbat, or descendants of
these sorts.
Storyteller's Handbook to the Sabbat
For hints and suggestions on running Sabbat based
Chronicles, this is book is _very_ usdeful. It describes how to
run a Crusade, the Path of Evil Revelations in its sinister,
infernal glory, diabolical gifts, and plenty more. It also has
NPC archetypes, as per the ST Handbook. One particular addition
which is of particular use are the Revenants, or Ghoul Families.
A group of families which have made Ghoul-ness a genetic trait.
There are also two new Bloodlines, an offshoot from the
Gangrel and one from the Lasombra.
Hunter's Hunted
Too much space at the beginning is wasted with a silly
diary. I would have preferred more background info on the
various groups provided. The Numina on the other hand, were
quite interesting, 'specially if you want to run a Psychic
Investigator/Talamasca type campaign, although the information on
the Numina is sketchy.
Vampire Storyteller's Screen
The first edition screen comes with an adventure: Blood at
Dawn. It's set in Gary and is quite, well, scary. More fun than
a haunted house. The screen itself is useful if your playing
requires reference to a lot of charts. More like a Gamemaster's
screen.
The second edition screen comes with a book of Mortal
archetypes. Police, reporters, ghouls, priests. You name it . .
. There is also a condensed character sheet for NPC allies,
contacts, herd, and retainers.
The screen itself is more appropriate to the Storyteller
idea than the first. It has all the charts, but it also adds a
condensed character creation chart, which _can_ be handy when
dealing with new players.
Clanbook: Brujah
I liked this one. It conveyed a lot of the feeling of
rebellion that the Brujah should provide. And the "Fake Rapper"
archetype is hilarious. Vanilla Ice, a la Vampire.
Clanbook: Gangrel
I read a review of this before I bought it, which said that
it would provide info that would make the Gangrel the most
powerful Clan extant. I've read it several times and haven't
found the information that would imply this. The writing (from
the point of view of a Victorian England type and a Gonzo
journalist a la Hunter S. Thompson) is entertaining, however.
Background material is definitely worth it, and it does provide
enough information to make the Gangrel quite unique.
Clanbook: Malkavian
I laughed my way through this one. It reads like the
Principia Discordia while on drugs. Definitely the best so far.
If you want to discover the true nature of reality, this might be
the book to read. At least, you'll discover what the Malkavians
feel reality to be. I would recommend taking at least two
aspirin before starting this book, however.
A World of Darkness
Except for missing a couple pages in the Haiti section, and
probably a couple in the Hong Kong and Gaki sections, it is
_quite_ useful. The Europe section will be quite usable with
Rage Across Russia, I hope. Several NPCs from around the world
are detailed. There are several locations locales described-
from Hong Kong, moving west all the way to the Vampire Club in
San Francisco.
A World of Darkness: Mummy
Nothing at all like horror movies about Mummies, this book
details a small group of Immortals who exist to fight their part
of the Jyhad, which specifically involves stopping the Followers
of Set (a lot of that going around these days). They have their
own magic system, roughly based on historical Egyptian magic. I
say _roughly_. Definitely an interesting add-on for any or all
of the Storyteller games.
Chicago By Night
The first edition details a rather complex political
situation between many factions-within-factions, etc, and what is
occuring around them. No information on Garou or Mages in the
city, however. Ignore the Blood Pool/per Turn line on most
characters, however. They are a little off.
The second edition is post-Under a Blood Red Moon, and the
situation is quite different. The quality - proofreading, etc -
is much higher than the first. The section on Kindred politics
in the back is worth reading, the information is useful in any
Chronicle.
Milwaukee By Night
An interesting story in the back, and the inter-Kindred
relationships (I hesitate to say politics in this case, they
aren't as political as Chicago) are quite different, I'd say. If
you want to play _in_ Milwaukee, worth buying. If you want the
Lupine info, buy Werewolf. Otherwise, it really won't add much.
Ashes to Ashes
First Story published. This one is quite entertaining,
although in a few places, it's too much of a 'one-true-path' type
of adventure. It introduces the characters to Chicago by having
them go from one place and vampire to the next. Very usable.
Blood Bond
Another Chicago Story. This one can have a fairly grim
ending if the characters aren't careful. It's a good read for
seeing some of the Sabbat methods of recruitment work, however.
Alien Hunger
Half of it is a "Denver by Night" supplement, the other half
is a fairly Sons of Ether-ish mad scientist based story. A nice
change of pace. If you play in this one, think fast because the
Blood Hunt has been declared . . . And you're on the menu.
Awakening: Diablerie Mexico
This is only useful if you want a> a new Methuselah to add
to your campaign, b> some new rituals, c> a detailed lair of a
Methuselah in Torpor. I've played a character in the Story, and
it smacks of Dungeon Crawl. I also get the feeling the Story was
written to make it possible for the characters to easily
diablerize the Methuselah. I'll tell you the group I was with
had no trouble.
Blood Nativity
This was published by Atlas games and details the first
night of life for a group of neonates. The action can get to be
quite dismaying for the characters. <end up in prison without
bail, just before sunrise . . .> It is fun, however. I'm not
certain if this is still in print.
The Succubus Club
A nice layout for a nightclub. It isn't really necessary
for running the Succubus Club, although a few of the stories are
worth running. A very nice supplement detailing the evolution
and mood of a Kindred infested nightclub.
The Anarch Cookbook
This repeats too much of Clanbook: Brujah. It has a few
good points, such as the Anarch Manifesto, but overall, added
little to my portrayal of the Anarch Free States. On the other
hand, the additional combat rules can add detail to your
Chronicle, if you're interested in that sort of thing. It
details how to stage an Anarch uprising in the city of your
choice, as well as a Who;s Who section in the appendix describing
several Anarchs, and Petrodon/Petrondon (they keep changing the
spelling).
Dark Alliance
<Sam Chupp's comments - I still haven''t read this one thoroughly
enough to review it>
For Vampire: Get ready for DARK COLONY. It is the New
England Regional Sourcebook, and it's quite foul. Included is a
really cool adventure that utilizes the Advanced Storytelling
Technique of the Flashback.
The Masquerade
Live Action Role Playing. You too can be a Vampire. Aimed
somewhat at the How to Host a Murder Mystery people, and somewhat
at the roleplaying market, this product has potential. The
system uses hand signals and code words to resolve conflicts,
while seeming to be a fairly normal interaction to the canaille -
so long as they don't hear what you're saying. Its strength is
that it can be resolved fairly rapidly in small confrontations.
Its weakness is if you lose a conflict, you lose the traits you
bid, so you become stupid/weak for the evening. I have been told
that it is quite fun and playable, but I will not know until
halloween.
Well, it's after Halloween, and we didn't play it, so I'm
still in the dark without Protean on this one.
VIIIb. Werewolf: The Apocalypse
-------------------------------
Werewolf: The Apocalypse
The basic rules for Werewolf. A lot of information between
the covers, and at the very least makes good supplemental
material for Vampire. I found the editing errors annoying (see
page XX) but that was only a minor complaint at the time, and has
been corrected in later printings. But if you have the first
printing, remember that Page XX contains all the secrets of the
Universe.
Werewolf Player's Guide
A worthy supplement, this has so much information to add,
some of which (Like the Tribe outlooks) should have been in the
first book, but the various Were creatures and the like that have
been added make it quite a nice addition. Also provided are
various types of Caerns, new Gifts, Rites, Fetishes and the
combat system from Vampire, 2nd Edition.
Book of the Wyrm
Do you want some truly *evil* nasties? This is a very nice
book, especially the sections on Pentex and Malfeas. After
getting this, I sent a pack of Fomori after a Gangrel in my
Chronicle who prides herself on being a combat monster - she
still doesn't know what came after her, but she is a bit more
wary around street gangs.
Ways of the Wolf
<Ananda's Comments>
This was useful...Anyone playing a lupus (wolf-born) Garou
should read this, *especially* if they don't know much about
wolves. Most of the information on wolf society is quite
accurate. Gangrel who spend significant amounts of time with
wolf packs might also find this information useful.
Werewolf Storyteller's Screen
In addition to being much like the 2nd Ed Vampire Screen (or
vice versa, since this one appeared first) this provided a pad of
double sided character sheets, which have been quite handy for my
players who object at using notebook paper for extra stats.
Sigh.
Rage Across New York
First regional supplement for Werewolf, this is very nice in
historical detail, and even thoughtfully provides some truly
*vile* nasties. The linked stories in the back are even nicer,
but not to the PCs.
Rage Across the Amazon
The jury is still out on this one. I'm fairly certain it
didn't really add to anything. On the other hand, for those who
would be excited by such things, this supplement provides the
third appearance of Samuel Haight of Valkenburg Foundation fame.
<Thom Denholm's comments>
Information on Rage Across the Amazon. Haven't read the
storyline (my ST asked me not to) but the resources section
brings the Werewolf product up to specs with the Vampire Players
Guide 2nd ed. Many weapons and rules for weapons (guns,
explosives, chemicals, poisons). Another nifty section is some
Garou "Artifacts" that are quite powerful. (It's always fun
reading about the +5 Holy Avengers, even if you can't use them).
Rite of Passage
First story, and again, too linear for my taste. But I have
neither run it, nor played in it to really be certain.
Under a Blood Red Moon
Truly a mini-Chronicle of frightening proportions,
especially if you are a vampire in Chicago. It's all out war
here!
Valkenburg Foundation
Interesting idea. An asylum for those who have experienced
the first change without the aid of other Garou. As a result (so
the story goes) most Garou go insane trying to deny their Garou
nature. So, the V. Foundation steps in to help them accept their
nature, or release them as functionally normal wolves or humans.
Also the introduction of White Wolf's recurring villain, Samuel
Haight.
Drums Around the Fire
The first compilation of fiction for the World of Darkness.
The stories are divided into Tales of Honor, Glory, Wisdom,
Totems, Umbra and Apocalypse. My personal favorite was
Apocalypse Noir.
Dark Alliance: Vancouver
This is really a crossover supplement for Vampire and
Werewolf, but the cover is that of a Werewolf product, so . . .
This book details a city (Vancouver BC) in which the Kindred
live under unusual rules, where the Prince wants no inter-Clan or
Faction rivalries under any conditions. There is also a peace
treaty between the Kindred and the Garou of the area. The
characters have an interesting variety of motivations, although a
high percentage of NPC vampires are, well, really old. The NPCs
are of such a power level that going against the establishment is
a Bad Idea. It does have a *lot* of potential for mixed Vampire
and Werewolf play, however.
Mage: The Ascension
The Storyteller game which has the most potential for
debate of the three. This one stresses creativity in that magick
can be performed more easily if it is disguised as coincidence,
thus causing the Mage to come up with some fairly wild chains of
events to get the desired results. The errors in the first
printing will be corrected in the second printing, as well as
upon an errata sheet to be provided in the Chantries Book, as
well as White Wolf #38. Or send an SASE to White Wolf Game
Studio requesting the Mage Errata. The address is at the
beginning of the FAQ, and in each of their products.
Mage: Storyteller Screen
This product includes a Story written by Sam Chupp, our own
Ragabash. The roots of the story date back to the time of the
Experiment. It's called Angel of Mercy, and has some odd twists
within. The Paradox Zone idea presented in it is a cool idea, I
think.
The actual screen has too many charts that didn't really
belong, and not enough that did. It is useful, but not as useful
to mage as the other two screens were to their respective games.
The character sheet doesn't even provide any innovations, as did
the pad provided in the Werewolf screen. Overall it could have
been much better.
Upcoming Products for WoD:
New Orleans by Night
This is supposed to be in the stores next spring. Said to
be written by a famous horror author, although the name slips my
mind.
(The following is digested from a post by Sam Chupp, and is
completely his own words.)
The Chantries Book. This will be a 200+ page book on the
various chantries in the world, including a "Chantry Creation
System"
Loom of Fate, a funky story of some kind (still don't
understand it).
The Book of Shadows, the Player's Guide for Mage: This will
have some magick system clarifications/additions as well as
in-depth looks at Traditions, Rotes/Spells, Certamen (magick
duelling), and some secondary Traditions. Should be well worth $$
of admission.
The Technomancers: Progenitors. Guess what it's about?
And an as-yet-unamed Virtual Web sourcebook. Currently, it
will be like Succubus Club, with many short stories.
Later on in the Spring you'll see the first of the Tradition
books.
The Book of Nod is finished, done, end of 2nd draft, finito.
Half of it is 'biblical' style verse and the other half is
footnotes and anecdotes about how the fragments were gathered.
The book is split into three sections, the Chronicle of Caine
(which deals with Caine and the first days, the First City, and
the subsequent time spent in Enoch), the Chronicle of Shadows
(which is kind of like the Chronicle of the Law: it has lots of
"rules to live by" in it, including the 13 Vampiric commandments,
if they haven't been cut by now! :)) and finally the Chronicle of
Secrets (which is kind of the Revelations book) ...after which is
the Appendix which has a brief "Life in Ancient Enoch" essay and
a brief "How to Use This Book" thingy.
There isn't a single mechanic in it.
Not even a stat.
The Book, when released around December 5th, will be tradeback
sized, "leather" bound and have nice paper. It will be suitable
for use as a game prop. I believe it will cost no more than
$10.00, and it has a jamload of incredible art from all of our
artists.
I'm working on the Bone Gnawers Tribal Tome. Any things that
you want to see in it, email them to me. I read the Glass Walker
post about the origin of the Glass Walkers and found it to be
amusing, and potentially useful . (I'll be doing the G.W. too).
Anyway, my take on the Bone Gnawers is that they aren't criminals
necessarily, just dirt poor. To me, they are the living proof
that the Garou have failed their own kind.
Save your pennies for UMBRA: THE VELVET SHADOW if you are a
Werewolf storyteller. You're about to get a giant CARE package
from good ol' White Wolf: a huge flaming chunk of pure 100% story
ideas will assault you upon opening this torrid tome. I read the
thing cover to cover and it isn't even finished laying out yet.
Your players will hate/love you for it.
Werewolf Storyteller's Handbook will be coming out sometime
this Spring. It's rumored to have a spirit and fetish creation
system, as well as lots of cool storytelling hints and helps.
GURPS Werewolf is on the move and will probably be coming
out fairly soon.
Articles in White Wolf Magazine relating to WoD:
Purgatory, by Graeme Davis (#28)
This article details a Vampiric oriented Nightclub along
with several of the Kindred who frequent it. It is established
as a hangout for Anarchs, in general and is neutral ground. A
good starting point for setting up your own Undead Clubs.
The Dark Tower, by Chris Hind (#32)
What happens when a Vampire releases its Beast? What about
those unfortunate Garou who are not fortunate enough to be picked
up by the Sept right at the first change? A rather dark Story
for Vampire and/or Werewolf.
White Wolf #32 - Feature Review: Werewolf
I only mention this 'cause it has the ". . . tragically hip
murderers who can kill mortals simply because they're cooler than
mortals . . ." quote is on page 36. Half baked Nietzchean
philosophy, indeed!
Portrait in Horror: The Vampire's Hunt, by Charles Pierce (#34)
Some interesting ideas on how to make your Vampires feel
guilty and horrified for drinking that blood they need so dearly.
Mind over Matter, by Chris Hind (#37)
An introductory story to Mage designed to bring the
characters right into the middle of things. Worth checking out
to see the style of Storytelling for Mage if nothing else.
The World of Future Darkness, by Deirdre Brooks (#36, #37, #38)
These three articles detail Cyberware in Kindred bodies, the
future and how it relates to the Masquerade, and how to integrate
it with Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. by R. Talsorian Games. The last
article is a Story set in Night City. I won't offer an opinion -
I wrote the articles. But if someone else would like to e-mail
me a review, I'll put it in the next FAQ.
IX. Errata, rules, etc.
-------------------------
<Note: Most of the following _is_ simply opinion, unless it is
stated that White Wolf provided a ruling.>
Where can I get errata for Storyteller products?
<Correction from previous FAQ>
There will be an errata sheet for the first printing of Mage
in White Wolf #38, the Loom of Fate, and/or the Chantries book.
Also, send an SASE to White Wolf requesting the Mage Errata to
receive the sheet. Until then, look in Clanbook: Malkavian for
page XX, wherein all questions are answered.
What is Vulgar Magick, and Coincidental, and how do you tell the
difference?
<Fingers on list collectively hover over delete key>
Vulgar magick blatantly defies the known laws of reality.
Coincidental magick works within reality to make the result look
possible.
This argument has generated several hundred K of commentary
on both sides. I think I will leave this as it sits, with the
prompting to decide for your own chronicle, because I fear this
is one subject that will never reach a conclusive result.
<List breathes collective sigh of relief>
<cont'd>