General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

[Mr.Bookworm]

So. Uh. How about that there WoD release list?

Spoiler

August 2012

VtR/nWoD- Silent Knife- A novel of the nWoD and VtR. 300+ pages, 6 x 9 PDF/PoD/ePub.

Vampire the Requiem- Blood Sorcery– This book explores the secrets of how vampires use blood in mystic rituals: new powers, in-depth histories of blood cults and infamous sorcerers. . 80 pages. PDF/PoD.

V20- Book of Nod: Restoration Edition– For the first time, the Book of Nod has been restored with new files that perfectly replicate the first edition but cleaned up- so that the text can all be read and many details of the art are finally able to be discerned. PDF/PoD

September 2012

Mummy the Curse– The nWoD from the point of view of the deathless, ancient keepers of the Curse. 264 pages. PDF/PoD/ Deluxe Kickstarter

Mummy the Curse- A separate release of the SAS contained in the main book– 40 pages. PDF/PoD.

V20- Children of the Revolution– This book explores the lives of vampires created during or part of moments in history where Revolution ran wild. Woven throughout are more secrets and hidden history of the already established background for VtM. 120 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

October 2012

MtAw- The Left Handed Path- The Legacies disdained and feared by doctrinaire mages. Heretics and Apostates, The Mad, the Scelesti, and Reapers. They embrace madness, steal souls, or worship the Abyss. 96 pages. PDF/PoD.

Werewolf the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition– In style and philosophy a matching volume to V20. Developed by Ethan Skemp w/ Bill Bridges and Eddy Webb. 500+ pages. PDF/PoD/ Deluxe Kickstarter

W20- The Skinner SAS– An SAS adventure to be playtested and used by the official playtest team The Wrecking Crew at conventions throughout convention season. Features the arch-villian Sam Haight as he was originally: a driven mortal willing to slaughter Garou in order to become one by wearing their skins. 40 pages. PDF/PoD.

November 2012

Mummy the Curse- Guildhalls of the Deathless– This book delves deeper into the factions within the Mummies: the Guilds, with new Merits and powers and detailed background information. Also offers the first “chapter” of a three part adventure designed to lead from supplement to supplement in a three part story arc. 160 pages. PDF/PoD..

V20/cWoD- Hunters Hunted 2– One of the seminal CWoD books revised and updated for V20 featuring a look at the organizations around the world who hunt, study, hide the truth about, the Kindred. 120 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

MtAs- Convention Book: New World Order– As promised, this book is one of those in the Convention Book series that wasn’t finished when cWoD ended and which has been clamored for ever since. 84 pages. PDF/PoD.

December 2012

WoD- God Machine Chronicle Fiction Anthology–. This volume combines already published stories from previous nWoD sourcebooks, and unreleased ones leading up to and hinting at the God Machine Chronicle that touch on the fear and horror that lurks within the World of Darkness. 300+ pages. 6” x 9 “ PDF/PoD/ePub.

W20- Book of Changing Breeds– A deeper look at the Fera building on the info in W20. 160 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

V20- Anarchs Unbound- A revisitation of the old Anarch Cookbook, Anarchs Unbound examines the large scale of the Anarch experience (domains, the Movement inside other sects’ domains, overthrowing tyrants) on down through the local and personal scale of the Anarchs (being in an Anarch brood or coterie, “growing up Anarch,” converting from other sects, and maintaining deep cover or nomadic Anarch ideals). 120 pages. PDF/PoD. Deluxe Kickstarter

January 2013

Mummy the Curse- Book of the Deceived– The sixth, Lost Guild that are the dark reflections of the Arisen. Here is where we explore their true history and beliefs and provide all the info necessary for them to be played as characters. Also contains the second “chapter” of the story arc adventure with focus on the Sixth Guild menace 120 pages. PDF/PoD.

February 2013

VtR Strix Chronicle Fiction Anthology–.As with the nWoD Anthology, this one contain classic and new VtR fiction that teases the new Strix Chronicle and provide a richer look at the terror created by the fear of these malevolent spirits. 300+ pages.6” x 9 “PDF/PoD/ePub.

W20- RAGE Across the World– Similar in content to the V20 Companion, this book will pull together lose ends and expand on several topics from W20, all based on a “travelogue” that provides deepened backstory to the struggle of the Garou.. 120 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

March 2013

nWoD- The God Machine Chronicle- This book combines both setting and rules info to create a default Chronicle for nWoD that still allows the sandbox play that nWoD is known for. The Chronicle focuses on the legends of the God Machine that first captivated readers’ interest in the nWoD core rulebook and presents a world darkened by its presence. The general history and specific rules changes of this Chronicle set the stage for the release of Demon: The ??? in August. 264 pages. PDF/PoD/ Deluxe Kickstarter.

MtAs- Convention Book: Progenitors–As promised, this book is one of those in the Convention Book series that wasn’t finished when cWoD ended and which has been clamored for ever since. 84 pages. PDF/PoD.

April 2013

Mummy the Curse- Sothis Ascends– This book examines the Sothic Turn; the cycle of existence that the Mummies live and die within. Since their creation, there have been five Turns and each is examined: one part historical setting, one part grab-bag of artifacts, powers, and antagonists. Also presents the final “chapter” of the three part adventure, with thematic content relating to the Turns. 160 pages. PDF/PoD.

V20- Rites of Blood- In simplest form, this is a collection of rituals practiced among the various Kindred sects but this isn’t just powers, but an examination of the sects themselves and how they use their eldritch mystical arts. There’s room for the major and minor sects: The Thaumaturgy of the Camarilla Tremere, the priestly rites and witchy sorcery of the Sabbat, the creepy and alien practices of the Tal’Mahe’Ra, “street” rituals from the Anarch contingent, and some of the mysterious ways of the Inconnu. And, of course, the sorceries of the Assamites and Setites, and new necromancies for the Giovanni. 120 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

May 2013

MtAw/MtAs- Mage Translation Guide– Provides the ability to translate characters from Mage the Ascension to Mage the Awakening and visa versa. 50 pages. PDF/PoD..

W20- Book of the Wyrm –.Creatures and spirits to challenge the Garou, including revised and collected info and backstory on such things as Pentex and Black Dog Game Factory. 160 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

June 2013

VtR- The Strix Chronicle- This book combines both setting and rules info to create a default Chronicle for VtR that still allows the sandbox play that nWoD is known for. The Chronicle focuses on the legends of the Strix- the owl spirits that prey on vampires. A threat unique to VtR and used to great effect in the historical Rome books, this book will show the effects of a world where the threat of their return has warped vampire society. Will contain default tweaks to the rules and in-depth history and backstory of just such a setting. 264 pages. PDF/PoD/ Deluxe Kickstarter

MtAs- Convention Book: Syndicate– As promised, this book is one of those in the Convention Book series that wasn’t finished when cWoD ended and which has been clamored for ever since. 84 pages. PDF/PoD.

July 2013

Demon Translation Guide –.Provides the ability to translate characters from Demon the Fallen to Demon the ??? and visa versa. 50 pages. PDF/PoD..

MtAs- Convention Book: Void Engineers– As promised, this book is one of those in the Convention Book series that wasn’t finished when cWoD ended and which has been clamored for ever since. 84 pages. PDF/PoD.

August 2013

Demon the ???– A new game line- answering many fan requests- a new look at those creatures of fire and darkness: fallen angels, nightmares from the nether realms, servants of the God Machine or something else entirely? Includes codified rule sets of those rules developed over the last few years including: Shards, SASs, Tiers, as well as a rich background for players to immerse themselves in. 320 pages. PDF/PoD Hardcover/ Deluxe Kickstarter

V20- Blood Diaries of the Clans- This volume would revisit the Clans as a collection of mini-clanbooks, with each clan’s subsection arranged in the same format. This title would give many new story hooks, character concepts, history, and clan-specific crunch that pairs rules with setting. In particular, the combo Disciplines, which were not covered in V20 but have been requested again and again. 240 pages. PDF/PoD/Deluxe Kickstarter

You would not believe how excited I am for the God Machine book.

[The Glyphstone]

So what's the God Machine?

[Mr.Bookworm]

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

So what's the God Machine?

Read the intro fiction of the core book! Starting on page 26, Voice of the Angel. It's pretty cool. I believe there's also a couple of references to it scattered throughout various nWoD books, but I'm not positive about that.

Also probably a veiled shout-out to Autochthon.

Also:

The god-machine built our world as a resting place for its First Children, whom men called angels or Ancient Ones. After a time, the ancients desired servants to dwell with them, servants who walked upright and had pleasing shapes, and who could speak. They sent the proper prayer-signals to the god-machine and were granted leave to do so. First the Ancient Ones took the beasts of the field and granted them the knowledge to speak and walk. But these animals retained their wildness and did not make good servants. They grew wicked and violent, and were cast into the wilderness. They were the Second Children, whom men called demons.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

But the Demons: the ??? book isn't coming out for a while after the God Machine book, so I don't know how closely the two will be linked... it's be awesome though!

[comicshorse]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bookworm

So. Uh. How about that there WoD release list?



You would not believe how excited I am for the God Machine book.

Oh god they're bringing back Samuel Haight

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Originally Posted by comicshorse

Oh god they're bringing back Samuel Haight

At least it says that he's "only" trying to become Garou by slaughtering them and wearing their skins. Could be worse.

[Morty]

Hm. First Mummy, now Demon? White Wolf is on a roll with new nWoD gamelines. I'm looking forward to finding out more about it. It's a shame there will be no more Hunter releases, though. It's my favourite gameline.
Speaking of Hunter, I have more about the Conspiracy I mentioned on the first page. Their Endowment is slowly taking shape. I decided to have it work like Goetic Gospels - three categories with up to 5 dots in each, but not more than 5 dots in total. Each dot would give you a new application of the Endowment. The three categories would be:

• Strength - Invoking the legendary physical power and combat prowess of heroes like Heracles and Cuchulain. The powers from this category would give the Hunter increased strength and combat ability. At higher dot levels, they'd probably also get bonuses to fighting against multiple enemies. However, using those techniques would afflict the Hunter with madness and extreme anger. Pretty straight-forward.
• Invincibility - Reflecting the nigh-invulnerability of men like Achilles or Siegfried, this category would bestow upon the Hunter great physical endurance. Not nearly close to real invincibility of course, but it'd offset the natural squishyness of mortals. The downside would be that every effect would come with one specific, crippling vulnerability - a literal Achilles' heel. However, I think it might be tricky to balance.
• Cunning - This category would call back to the trickster-heroes of antiquity, like Odysseus. It'd give the Hunter abilities to help with solving problems and outwitting enemies. The pentalty would be terrible luck, bordering on divine curse.

What do you think? It's still rough and I don't have the name for the Endowment.

[CN the Logos]

Originally Posted by Selrahc

If so, you've heard wrongly.

Werewolves have some weaknesses that make them certainly amongst the weaker supers. But they do have a lot of positives.

Weaknesses-
Gauru form is very fleeting. For most non-combat focussed wolves, it will only last 3 turns.
Silver weakness is something that basically any non-werewolf foe can quite easily exploit, and negates some of their biggest strenths
Shapeshifting relies on luck and takes, or becomes a big essence sink.
In order to learn higher level powers, werewolves need to pay a premium by first increasing renown. Massive XP sink and less choice. Comes with a roleplay restriction(you want Honour renown? You have to act exceptionally honourably.)
The totem mechanics as written, are kind of ludicrous. I think if WW was doing werewolf now, they would probably have created something similar to pledgecrafting.
In general, the Gifts and Rituals that werewolves have access to are on the lower end of the power curve of supernatural abilities. Not useless, but generally rather specific in function.
Social penalties and Rage checks mean it is very hard to function in mortal society for any werewolf not particularly socially adroit.

Positives-
Alternate forms provide even the weakest werewolf with basic combat competence akin to a fairly combat focussed mortal.
Lunacy means that mortal antagonists basically can't confront werewolves.
Harmony is easily one of the more flexible and forgiving of the Morality meters.
Regeneration against everything but silver(and other agg. damage) is quick and handy, with easy in combat healing.
Access to the spirit world gives a whole other angle for attack against all spirit blind foes. It also gives a source of allies and information that outclasses anything in the mortal world.
Werewolves operate as a society a lot more readily than most supernaturals, and will attempt to compensate for others weaknesses. Dedicated pack fighting is something werewolves actively learn.
Once the Renown requirement is done, Werewolves have free access to gift lists and can cherry pick gifts at any level without having to learn prerequisites.


I'd happily put Werewolves on a level with Vampires and Prometheans, and the only reason I'd put Changelings above them would be pledge crafting.

Hm, so we're talking low end of the power curve but workable with houserules. Has anyone here looked at the Werewolf Translation Guide? I've heard OWoD werewolves were super awesome; does it carry any of that over or was that due to other things that I, not knowing OWoD, am not aware of?

Originally Posted by Yuki Akuma

It's not as if WoD vampires are particularly close to any folklore, either - how many stories have you heard about vampires activating their special powers using the magical powers of blood? At best, vampires will heal by drinking blood, but often it's just food.

That's not mentioned in folklore, but it's not much of a stretch either. Humans eat food to stay alive; vampires drink blood to magically stay unalive. Humans burn calories in their food to do things; vampires burn magic in their blood to do magical things. Even explicitly drinking blood is far from universal though; a lot of vampires just spread illness and general badness throughout the area, and some return nightly to their former home and cause their spouse to gradually weaken as if he or she was losing blood, or not getting any rest. The unfortunate implications in that last part are probably intentional... and bear in mind that the typical description of vampires at the time involved signs of decay.

WoD vampires also lack most vampiric weaknesses, but that's forgivable; there are so many local variants on what vampires are and can('t) do that the best way to deal with it without saying "it's all true" or "nothing is true" is to have the traditional weaknesses be bloodline/clan specific. Maybe I should bring back some variant on True Faith for my house rules, but I'm still considering how I'd implement that.

Originally Posted by Mr.Bookworm

So. Uh. How about that there WoD release list?

You would not believe how excited I am for the God Machine book.

I greet this news as I greet all potentially interesting news from White Wolf: with great trepidation. This is either going to be the wonderful fulfillment of everything potentially good about the New World of Darkness, or the biggest anticlimax since the end of the Dark Tower series. It could go either way, although I hope they're at least kind enough to give a number of possible answers to the questions they've been dangling since the corebook, rather than enshrine the one true way into the Holy White Wolf Canon.

I feel exactly the same about New Demon. Part of me is daring to dream wonderful dreams, and part of me is wondering how they're going to reconcile PC demons with the Abrahamic cosmic horror thing from Hunter and Inferno.

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

So what's the God Machine?

Blasphemer!

Originally Posted by Mr.Bookworm

Read the intro fiction of the core book! Starting on page 26, Voice of the Angel. It's pretty cool. I believe there's also a couple of references to it scattered throughout various nWoD books, but I'm not positive about that.

Also probably a veiled shout-out to Autochthon.

Also:

Veiled? I'm halfway wondering if they'll have advice for crossovers with 3rd edition Exalted.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

From what I've heard, werewolves are the best at direct combat.

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah. Pretty much nothing can go mano-a-mano with a combat-focused werewolf in Garou form, and a non-combat werewolf can still go war-form and kick the crap out of their non-combat opposite number from another splat (except Mages because they're hax). Werewolves are still one of the weakest splats specifically because combat in WoD is risky (even for a werewolf, enough dudes with shotguns could blow through its health boxes too fast to regen/kill them) and they have an incredibly small toolbox for dealing with non-combat situations outside persuading spirits to enact change for them.

[SiderealDreams]

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

Yeah. Pretty much nothing can go mano-a-mano with a combat-focused werewolf in Garou form, and a non-combat werewolf can still go war-form and kick the crap out of their non-combat opposite number from another splat (except Mages because they're hax). Werewolves are still one of the weakest splats specifically because combat in WoD is risky (even for a werewolf, enough dudes with shotguns could blow through its health boxes too fast to regen/kill them) and they have an incredibly small toolbox for dealing with non-combat situations outside persuading spirits to enact change for them.

Though take this with a grain of salt however as one of the major complaints about how weak Uratha are in NWoD is the relative weakness and limited combat viability of their war form especially against ranged specialists.

The other being things like that Gifts are generally crappy, and a crippling xp structure. Hopefully for the WtF fans they have even more hacks for them in the God Machine chronicles.

[The Glyphstone]

Well, pretty much anybody loses to a ranged-combat specialist with a big gun, that's just how the system is designed. Even a powerful Mage who doesn't have exactly the right rotes up can be taken down in one or two hits by a sniper, and Combat Marksmanship is just beastly...but I don't hold that against werewolves because it's universal.

[Morty]

I've seen a big thread with Gift hacks on the White Wolf boards. Didn't tell me much, since I don't have Werewolf, but it's there.
Speaking of hacks, does anyone have any experience with Danse Macabre? I don't really intend to use it just yet - it's not a good book to use for the first Vampire chronicle - but I'm curious about it.

[SiderealDreams]

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

Well, pretty much anybody loses to a ranged-combat specialist with a big gun, that's just how the system is designed. Even a powerful Mage who doesn't have exactly the right rotes up can be taken down in one or two hits by a sniper, and Combat Marksmanship is just beastly...but I don't hold that against werewolves because it's universal.

It's less about the specific example of a ranged specialist and more of that the warform often looks with an eyeball test as much more impressive than it actually plays out. And that as time has passed since the release of the Werewolf hardcover. A number of fans of the game have zero'd in on the form being rarely as advantageous in combat as the benefits of forms with less obvious raw bonuses.

[The Glyphstone]

There are forms better suited for melee combat that Garou warform?

[Selrahc]

There are forms better suited for melee combat that Garou warform?

Gauru lasts a very short amount of time, and removes control from the character. It's great if you're up close and personal, and you don't have much combat specialization. If you do have combat specialization, then control and stability of Urshul or Dalu might well outweigh the bonus attributes from Gauru.

To give a basic example, one of the best 1 dot werewolf gifts is crushing blow. It allows Lethal damage with bashing, and lasts for an entire scene for 1 willpower. In Dalu form a combat focussed wolf can be doing things like Kung-Fu or Chain Fighting or some other dangerous martial art. In Gauru they're just limited to clawing and biting at the foe.

Similarly on the defence. Gauru gives bonus stamina and size, but is so unsustainable that this is likely to prove a problem if the character actually needs to use it. It is also too big for mortal armour to fit it, which is a big disadvantage against Dalu for a kitted out pack.

Urshul on the other hand, is almost as good as Gauru in terms of raw stats added, but can also be used for wolf based fighting styles, and is ungodly fast.

[Fouredged Sword]

The thing that makes werewolves the best in combat for their power level is that they don't have to expend anything to heal very quickly. It just happens automatically. Vampires are of comparable power, but healing can get expensive. Werewolves just have to go sit down for a few hours to go from full unconscious from lethal damage to perfectly fine.

Even Agg damage is not as bad for a werewolf, because he will almost always start a fight with no lethal or bashing damage. This makes one or two Agg a penalty that hands around for 7 days, but not a crippling event. Mix in a little modern medical treatment you can downgrade that Agg to lethal and be fine in a day.

Werewolves can push harder in combat. They can risk taking on targets that will drop two or three members of the pack so long as the last one can kill it. Werewolves can afford to fight every fight like a desperate last stand and survive. This is dangerous, as you must be able to take a werewolf on with odds very in your favor to not come out crippled. A werewolf just needs an edge, and gifts and shape shifting provides that most of the time.

[The Glyphstone]

Originally Posted by Selrahc

Gauru lasts a very short amount of time, and removes control from the character. It's great if you're up close and personal, and you don't have much combat specialization. If you do have combat specialization, then control and stability of Urshul or Dalu might well outweigh the bonus attributes from Gauru.

To give a basic example, one of the best 1 dot werewolf gifts is crushing blow. It allows Lethal damage with bashing, and lasts for an entire scene for 1 willpower. In Dalu form a combat focussed wolf can be doing things like Kung-Fu or Chain Fighting or some other dangerous martial art. In Gauru they're just limited to clawing and biting at the foe.

Similarly on the defence. Gauru gives bonus stamina and size, but is so unsustainable that this is likely to prove a problem if the character actually needs to use it. It is also too big for mortal armour to fit it, which is a big disadvantage against Dalu for a kitted out pack.

Urshul on the other hand, is almost as good as Gauru in terms of raw stats added, but can also be used for wolf based fighting styles, and is ungodly fast.

Hrm. Fair enough. I clearly don't play Werewolf enough.

[Cirrylius]

Would Mind 4 be sufficient to allow a Mage to enter (or drive another Mage into) his Oneiros outside of a Demense or Hallow?

[Yuki Akuma]

I'd conjunction it with some Spirit and/or Space to be on the safe side.

[SiderealDreams]

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

Hrm. Fair enough. I clearly don't play Werewolf enough.

Update!

With the release of the new schedule. RB and co. are really pushing people on the upsides of the Strix Chronicles. Which will include overhauls for various systems for Vampire:the Requiem. Including Disciplines and other systems. During his pitching on the forums of that he mentioned they are pitching something for Werewolf as well.

[Morty]

I have to say I'm really looking forward to the Strix Chronicles. Vampire: the Requiem could use something like that.

[The Glyphstone]

Indeed. I, as a LARPer, am particularly interested in if it'll end up being adopted as canon material for organized live play, since one of the biggest problems with New World organized play is the lack of a coherent setting.

[Cirrylius]

Originally Posted by Yuki Akuma

I'd conjunction it with some Spirit and/or Space to be on the safe side.

Really? Crud. I had a sweet idea for an Archmage's Threshold, but the mechanics are getting out of hand. Basically, a Moros descends into the Ocean of Fragments, de-identifies for several months, and just as his ego vanishes have a pair of contingent spells go off. The first pushes him into his own Oneiros, and the second basically reboots a copy of his own mind. His reasoning is that since the Oneiros is a combination of the Mage's own mindscape and the MtA cosmology as a whole, if he has no personal identity while inside his own Oneiros, he'll be able to see the pure, unaltered topography of the universe, and witness the Supernal World with nothing in between. The mental reboot then lets him DO something about it (and also prevents his complete dissolution in the Ocean of Fragments, so, y'know... important step). I was hoping the mechanics wouldn't be too involved beyond requiring contingency.

[Yuki Akuma]

It strikes me that leaving your body unprotected in the Underworld is a bad idea...

Then again, prospective Archmaster. Since when were they sane?

[Cirrylius]

Originally Posted by Yuki Akuma

It strikes me that leaving your body unprotected in the Underworld is a bad idea...

Huh. Could you enter your Oneiros while projecting yourself as a ghost?

In any case, the only thing down in the Ocean that could mess with you would be the Leviathan, and he just enforces the laws of the realm. Plus, one of the domain laws is "Leave other travelers in peace", so Leviathan would actually keep meddlers away. Hell, considering that another of the laws is "No obscuring vision", it miiiight be inclined to actually help a Mage attempting to see the Truth (no way in hell I'd count on that assistance, of course). The worst issue would be retaining your identifiers again when you re-arrived in the Ocean after crossing your Threshold and rocketing back to the surface. Assuming you came back at all, of course.

[CN the Logos]

Originally Posted by Cirrylius

Huh. Could you enter your Oneiros while projecting yourself as a ghost?

In any case, the only thing down in the Ocean that could mess with you would be the Leviathan, and he just enforces the laws of the realm. Hell, considering that one of the domain laws is "No obscuring vision", Leviathan miiiight be inclined to actually help a Mage attempting to see the Truth (no way in hell I'd count on that assistance, of course). The worst issue would be retaining your identifiers again when you re-arrived in the Ocean after crossing your Threshold and rocketing back to the surface. Assuming you came back at all, of course.

Well, you can, theoretically, just hold them, but good luck remembering why you're doing that (or even that you're doing that at all) when the mental concept of "I exist" keeps falling out of your brain.

Then there's the complication that, IIRC, one of the other laws of the Sea of Fragments is that you can't cheat the waters by possessing more identity than you should have for the depth you're at. Which doesn't cause you any problems right up to the point where you regain your identity at the "I am" level, and then you have the unstattable ghost of Great Cthulhu on your ass. While you're literally trying to hold on to your psyche.

Yeah, I don't see anything good coming of that plan.

[Cirrylius]

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

Well, you can, theoretically, just hold them, but good luck remembering why you're doing that (or even that you're doing that at all) when the mental concept of "I exist" keeps falling out of your brain.

That's the other reason I included a contingent Mind hard reboot; theoretically, it should replace all your identifiers without having to hold 'em in a net, or getting the Admiral to do it for you for, like, four months.

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

one of the other laws of the Sea of Fragments is that you can't cheat the waters by possessing more identity than you should have for the depth you're at.

Oh. I see. No, the law states that you have to lose all your identifiers in order; IOW, you're not allowed to dive deeper than your identifiers would allow. Which means that Leviathan would actually chuck you back to the surface himself

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

...and then you have the unstattable ghost of Great Cthulhu on your ass.

Aw, he's not that bad. The only time he gets really rough is if you try to take Ocean water away with you. Which of course now has me dying to know what it does.

I of course realize that this plan would only occur to even a semi-sane Mage if he knew pretty much everything there is to know about the Ocean of Fragments. TO THE AETHENAEUM!!

[Morty]

An interesting tidbit: I don't know how many of you frequent the White Wolf boards, but in one of the threads there Russell Bailey said that one of the changes to the Vampire rules they're considering for Strix Chronicles is having vampires take only bashing damage from any mundane weapons. I think it's pretty interesting.

[Selrahc]

It's a fine house rule, depending on how deadly you want your vampire game.

In crossover play Vampires are definitely on the "meh" side, so I don't think it would hurt things there to give them a bit of a boost.