Post by Khyron1144 on May 9, 2004 22:01:00 GMT -5
This was composed and originally posted on the Vampire: the Masquerade forum as a sort of look back at the WoD when the Time of Judgment thing was first announced. I'd welcome others's opinions on this, and would like to see other people's thoughts reagarding the WoD and its demise. Some of it is out of date, but I'll stand behind most of it:
I'm going to kind of review the WW games I own, however some warnings:
1) I judge mainly on the text. The pictures are nice, but they aren't essential elements to my way of looking at things.
2) I will be reviewing some stuff that I've only read but not played.
3) I may rate the portion I've read of books that I'm half or three-quarters of the way through.
Werewolf: the Apocalypse second edition was the first White Wolf game I bought. At the time I had a small amount of experience playing and DMing D&D, but I was inexperienced at both. I was also in my early teens at the latest (I'm 22 now, you tell me if the math works out). My attempts to run the game with my dad as the only player kind of crashed and burned. The earliest supplemental material I remember getting for Werewolf were Project Twilight and The Werewolf Player's Guide. My opinion of the overall game is that it would take a very dedicated storyteller to come up with good adventures for it, but the mechanics are solid. If players aren't mature enough, werewolf could get twinky very quickly because garou are very powerful in combat without the aid of a rules-lawyer min-maxer. Some of the most promising supplemental material include the changing breed books (I own and have read cover to cover Corax, Rat Kin, and Gurahl) and the Book of the Wyrm second edition. Why are those my picks? Detailed information on a new character type always interests me (that's for the changing breed books). And monster books are essential to any RPG (that's the Book of the Wyrm) and Werewolf has the creepiest monsters of them all.
Changeling: the Dreaming is the second WW game I bought. It was until yesterday the only game that I have more than one version of the core rule book for. Despite that fact, which is pointless trivia to anyone but me, I have never run an actual game of Changeling. Oh sure, there's a full crossover game where the majority of important NPCs are Changelings, but no Changeling PC has been at my table for some reason. I bought it after reading a positively glowing review in Game Shop News intending to use it as a supplement to Werewolf. The color artwork and slightly more hopeful theme were a breath of fresh air. Some things are confusing such as: is the Dreaming a place like Werewolf's Umbra or a special mode of perception or both? Do things become chimera because people thought of them or do people think of things because there is a chimera for that concept? And so on. Confusing or not it is a beautiful game. My favorite books are the two core books. First edition for the card based cantrip system, an interesting concept. I even bought a few packs of the cantrip cards. Second edition for some concrete ground rules for Chimerical companions. Also the Player's Guide ( I liked the Native American changelings, but I'm not that familiar with what they should be like, so my objections to them are few). Also Shining Host, Shadow Court, and Fool's Luck (inside info on the most important groups of changelings).
Then came Vampire. I bought it as an enemy book for Werewolf, but I ended up playing and running it the most. What's so special about it? It's easy to make adventures for. Feel like combat? The prince wants you to hunt down a dangerous intruder in his city. Feeling social? The Toreador are having a party. Feel like intrigue? You find out how nasty the prince really is and beginning to work towards his downfall. Feel like a treasure hunt? The Tremere offer you a boon in exchange for a rare ingredient needed for a ritual. Up until yesterday I didn't have a copy of the revised core book (see I caved for details). Some of my favorites include Clan Book Malkavian (both old and new; new for making the Network easier to use; old for the very weird feel with the backwards page and the artwork that looked like the work of either a crazy adult or a troubled five year old and other such things), Clan Book Giovanni (both old and new for much the same reasons, revealing their true history and goals, and making them such despicably interesting bastards), and Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand (sue me for criminally bad taste, but I found a creepy, evil, well-hidden secret society to be a cool idea).
Mage: the Ascension second edition was the next core game book I bought. Mage's greatest asset is infinite scope and flexibility. Mage's greatest flaw is infinite scope and flexibility. I don't think I've ever even made use of a mage NPC in a crossover game I've run. My favorite books for it are Book of Crafts (inside information on the little guys you might otherwise overlook), Book of Worlds (places to go and things to fight), Book of Madness (more things to fight, or even be in an unusual game).
Wraith: the Oblivion second edition is the last of these games I bought. Another one that looks so hard to run that I've never even made a serious attempt to use Wraith NPCs in crossover games. Any game where everyone multiplays, and the game is automatically a combination of the typical good party and an evil party at the same time is a bit complex. My favorite book is Ends of Empire (although it was kind of strange to see the game go as soon as I took an interest in it, and what an end it was, that plus the inside info on Ferrymen).
Other Stuff:
Mummy: the Resurrection, a great idea, well carried out. The WoD needed heroes.
Kindred of the East. I have two books for this, the core one and Dhampyr. Both are intriguing enough that I've made use of concepts from them in games I run.
WoD: Combat. I liked it. The weapon techniques were much needed. The maneuvers and styles were cool. The expanded weapon list was appreciated. The start of good crossover rules was a boon.
WoD: Pariahs. This isnpired me to play a Caitiff with the clan weakness flaw. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I'll leave up to your discretion.
WoD: Midnight Circus. An interesting setting/ adventure/ NPC book that I might never actually use. Then again, I might. I don't know. It was an interesting read though.
I'm going to kind of review the WW games I own, however some warnings:
1) I judge mainly on the text. The pictures are nice, but they aren't essential elements to my way of looking at things.
2) I will be reviewing some stuff that I've only read but not played.
3) I may rate the portion I've read of books that I'm half or three-quarters of the way through.
Werewolf: the Apocalypse second edition was the first White Wolf game I bought. At the time I had a small amount of experience playing and DMing D&D, but I was inexperienced at both. I was also in my early teens at the latest (I'm 22 now, you tell me if the math works out). My attempts to run the game with my dad as the only player kind of crashed and burned. The earliest supplemental material I remember getting for Werewolf were Project Twilight and The Werewolf Player's Guide. My opinion of the overall game is that it would take a very dedicated storyteller to come up with good adventures for it, but the mechanics are solid. If players aren't mature enough, werewolf could get twinky very quickly because garou are very powerful in combat without the aid of a rules-lawyer min-maxer. Some of the most promising supplemental material include the changing breed books (I own and have read cover to cover Corax, Rat Kin, and Gurahl) and the Book of the Wyrm second edition. Why are those my picks? Detailed information on a new character type always interests me (that's for the changing breed books). And monster books are essential to any RPG (that's the Book of the Wyrm) and Werewolf has the creepiest monsters of them all.
Changeling: the Dreaming is the second WW game I bought. It was until yesterday the only game that I have more than one version of the core rule book for. Despite that fact, which is pointless trivia to anyone but me, I have never run an actual game of Changeling. Oh sure, there's a full crossover game where the majority of important NPCs are Changelings, but no Changeling PC has been at my table for some reason. I bought it after reading a positively glowing review in Game Shop News intending to use it as a supplement to Werewolf. The color artwork and slightly more hopeful theme were a breath of fresh air. Some things are confusing such as: is the Dreaming a place like Werewolf's Umbra or a special mode of perception or both? Do things become chimera because people thought of them or do people think of things because there is a chimera for that concept? And so on. Confusing or not it is a beautiful game. My favorite books are the two core books. First edition for the card based cantrip system, an interesting concept. I even bought a few packs of the cantrip cards. Second edition for some concrete ground rules for Chimerical companions. Also the Player's Guide ( I liked the Native American changelings, but I'm not that familiar with what they should be like, so my objections to them are few). Also Shining Host, Shadow Court, and Fool's Luck (inside info on the most important groups of changelings).
Then came Vampire. I bought it as an enemy book for Werewolf, but I ended up playing and running it the most. What's so special about it? It's easy to make adventures for. Feel like combat? The prince wants you to hunt down a dangerous intruder in his city. Feeling social? The Toreador are having a party. Feel like intrigue? You find out how nasty the prince really is and beginning to work towards his downfall. Feel like a treasure hunt? The Tremere offer you a boon in exchange for a rare ingredient needed for a ritual. Up until yesterday I didn't have a copy of the revised core book (see I caved for details). Some of my favorites include Clan Book Malkavian (both old and new; new for making the Network easier to use; old for the very weird feel with the backwards page and the artwork that looked like the work of either a crazy adult or a troubled five year old and other such things), Clan Book Giovanni (both old and new for much the same reasons, revealing their true history and goals, and making them such despicably interesting bastards), and Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand (sue me for criminally bad taste, but I found a creepy, evil, well-hidden secret society to be a cool idea).
Mage: the Ascension second edition was the next core game book I bought. Mage's greatest asset is infinite scope and flexibility. Mage's greatest flaw is infinite scope and flexibility. I don't think I've ever even made use of a mage NPC in a crossover game I've run. My favorite books for it are Book of Crafts (inside information on the little guys you might otherwise overlook), Book of Worlds (places to go and things to fight), Book of Madness (more things to fight, or even be in an unusual game).
Wraith: the Oblivion second edition is the last of these games I bought. Another one that looks so hard to run that I've never even made a serious attempt to use Wraith NPCs in crossover games. Any game where everyone multiplays, and the game is automatically a combination of the typical good party and an evil party at the same time is a bit complex. My favorite book is Ends of Empire (although it was kind of strange to see the game go as soon as I took an interest in it, and what an end it was, that plus the inside info on Ferrymen).
Other Stuff:
Mummy: the Resurrection, a great idea, well carried out. The WoD needed heroes.
Kindred of the East. I have two books for this, the core one and Dhampyr. Both are intriguing enough that I've made use of concepts from them in games I run.
WoD: Combat. I liked it. The weapon techniques were much needed. The maneuvers and styles were cool. The expanded weapon list was appreciated. The start of good crossover rules was a boon.
WoD: Pariahs. This isnpired me to play a Caitiff with the clan weakness flaw. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I'll leave up to your discretion.
WoD: Midnight Circus. An interesting setting/ adventure/ NPC book that I might never actually use. Then again, I might. I don't know. It was an interesting read though.