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Post by ericfromnj on Nov 7, 2012 23:30:47 GMT -8
OK, after running a Savage Worlds 1610 zombie apocalypse, my next one off will be nWoD. Yes, Hyvemynd, I am going from the system you hate to the system you love. While you could probably care less it is fun to think about with w wry smile on my end so play along. Well, mostly because my wife loves Law and Order and asked if there was anything like that. I enjoyed the Tales of the 13th Precinct (Though I have not run anything I enjoy the standard world stuff much more than the various "monster" books. I like normal people getting in over their heads which is why my choice for occult horror before this was always Unknown Armies...) and thus figured I wanted to actually give nWoD play through (yeah, I know. It's about time.) Obviously I want to play to the strengths of the system, so here is the simple groundwork I have laid out for a one shot (nothing really set in stone yet) and I would like feedback on how to play to the strengths of the system itself. Possible PCs include uniformed cops, detectives, perps, lawyers (defense and DAs). - First call something simple. Maybe a few minor calls just to have some simple dice rolling. Some foreshadowing possibly that there will be cult activity in this story. Otherwise just domestic disputes or a mugging.
- Call that involves a well dressed older man who has killed what looks like a biker with a handgun. Well dressed man confesses to the crime and states he had to kill the man because he was the leader of an evil cult. WDM gets taken to the station.
- WDM has lawyer sent by brother. Lawyer claims guy is obsessed with evil and the occult. WDM put in holding cell. Glassy eyed bikers show up to kill WDM. Firefight in station.
- WDM leaves note saying he has to show the world the horrors that are out there. They find WDM dead like blood just emptied from his pores. Various sigils are in place on the cell walls. Station house no longer in any space known to PCs. Chittering shadowy beings try to make their way into the station.
- PCs now in fight for survival and try to find way back. Ideally WDM has items taken on his person that included rituals they can go through. They summon powerful entity to return station at the cost of a soul of one of the PCs.
It's late so I am hoping this makes sense. This is sort of the mash up of 13th Precinct and Second Sight along with the Core Book.
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HyveMynd
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Post by HyveMynd on Nov 8, 2012 19:09:08 GMT -8
Alleluia! Lose the Savage Worlds and come one over to the ( World of) Dark( ness) Side! Sounds like a nice scenario. My first question is, what books do you have for the nWoD system? You only need the core book since all your PCs are mortals. I might recommend changing the supernatural threat to something ghost related (possessed person, haunted building, etc.) because of the great ghost section in the back of the nWoD core book. It's easy enough to reskin the ghosts as demons too, if you want to go the Exorcist route. As for the system itself? I think a major strength of nWoD is the mix & match aspect of attributes and skills. Really make that clear to your players. We went an entire Vampire: the Requiem campaign with one player thinking that the Attribute + Skill combos were "set" and he did a huge face palm when we explained that they weren't. Make sure everyone knows this right out of the gate. Print out or photocopy the two pages towards the front of the book that list the most common combinations. Maybe even give a copy to each player. But make sure to tell them those are suggestions only. The PCs are cops, so investigating a crime scene will probably happen fairly often. The common combination to search a crime scene for clues is Wits + Investigation. But if someone has a high Firearms skill, suggest they use Wits + Firearms to examine bullet casings, bullet wounds, or bullet holes to determine the type of gun, likely spot the shooter stood, etc. This dones't only go for skill choice, but for attribute choice as well. The suggested combo for Intimidating someone is Manipulation + Intimidate. But if a guy walks into the interrogation room and rips a phonebook in half with his bare hands without saying a word, use Strength + Intimate instead. The rule of thumb my Storyteller used was this: If a player can't explain or think of how their character's "specialty" comes into play for a given situation, then just use the suggested Attribute + Skill combination. If they player gives a reasonable explanation of why a certain skill would be useful and what the character did to make it useful, then use whatever combination they come up with. The other strength of the nWoD system is the Morality Scale. Use it. Don't be draconian about it, but hold your players to whatever Morality level they select. I think it's the best system I've ever seen for representing that slow slide from indifference, to callousness, to brutality, and possibly even to monstrousness. As you're PCs are cops, they've probably seen some bad stuff while on the job and would likely be Morality 6. Cops who've had to take down a lot of criminals with lethal force might even be Morality 5. As I said, don't be a bastard about it. But if one of your players does something (or allows something to happen due to inaction) that violates the tenants of their Morality level, make them aware of it. The first time it happens give them a chance to retcon their action. If they still go forward, make the Morality roll. Part of the fun of nWoD (for me at least) is watching the characters actions change them; seeing them get beaten down and becoming the monsters they were trying to protect people from, or struggling to stay good people despite everything going to shit around them. It's called the World of Darkness, so people know what the tone of the game is. But it's also worth pointing this out to your players one more time just so they're absolutely clear on what they're in for.
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Post by ericfromnj on Nov 9, 2012 5:19:14 GMT -8
Morality Scale and attribute combos, got it. We did a little Vampire tabletop in oWoD what seems like 20 years ago but I am sure we didn't really hit the themes of anything worthwhile back then so this advice is invaluable.
As for books, somehow I have a small collection, which is interesting considering I never ran it. I have the core book, Second Sight, Asylum, Tales of the 13th Precinct, Vampire, and Mage (the latter 2 were gifts from family members who said "OH, you are into these books, right?" and since I had the core book I kept them).
I had some ghost ideas in an earlier idea for a one off but decided to go with the more Lovecraftian idea just to stick with the horrors I know...
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Post by ironnikki on Nov 9, 2012 13:16:36 GMT -8
I can't tell you how happy I was to see the WoD section get a new post :-)
Another great aspect about nWoD is the vice/virtue system. These are excellent roleplaying hints and also toys for the ST. If you know that one of your players struggles to control his Wrath, maybe that faceless corpse that they're going to encounter bears a familiar name tag. If another character is helplessly greedy, said corpse perhaps is wearing an enchanting, and certainly expensive, watch.
Enjoy, and let us know how it goes!
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Post by ericfromnj on Nov 24, 2012 20:22:38 GMT -8
I will as soon as I run it. Turns out my players want a more regular campaign instead of one shots, so I will be holding this and GURPS for when we have a game night where multiple people can't make it...
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Post by ironnikki on Nov 26, 2012 14:21:59 GMT -8
I guess that means that you've got time to plot a more... interesting foray into the World of Darkness!
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HyveMynd
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Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
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Post by HyveMynd on Nov 26, 2012 22:46:19 GMT -8
Boo. Why anyone would want anything else over a nWoD campaign is beyond me.
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Post by ericfromnj on Nov 27, 2012 19:54:54 GMT -8
Boo. Why anyone would want anything else over a nWoD campaign is beyond me. It may have something to do with the fact that I have run WEG Star Wars for 25 years on and off. Newer groups of friends have heard the stories and now want to see for themselves. Don't worry, I will get to WoD...
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on Nov 27, 2012 21:14:07 GMT -8
Well, that sucks. But I get it. Certain kinds of games appeal to certain kinds of people. If you pitch a game and nobody bites, well tough luck. You can't run a game without players, and if none of the players are into the type of game you want to run, you either have to find new players or pitch a new game. Or browbeat them into playing and hope they eventually get into the spirit of the game. I've got my fingers crossed that you find your way back to the Darkness.
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Post by ericfromnj on Nov 28, 2012 8:04:29 GMT -8
Well, that sucks. But I get it. Certain kinds of games appeal to certain kinds of people. If you pitch a game and nobody bites, well tough luck. You can't run a game without players, and if none of the players are into the type of game you want to run, you either have to find new players or pitch a new game. Or browbeat them into playing and hope they eventually get into the spirit of the game. I've got my fingers crossed that you find your way back to the Darkness. Oh, we will. Like I said it's not a vote against WoD so much as when they said they wanted to have a campaign for now with my son's wrestling season and other general family craziness it's a lot easier to go with a system I can run without any books... WoD will be the first one shot when we are short a player or two, and my wife is pushing for it, so I think it will happen...
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