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Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






How do!

I am incredibly hype right now. Went out on Saturday afternoon for some gentlemanly drinks, walked away with three players for a long nascent Vampire The Masquerade game.

We’ll be using the 20th Anniversary edition, as that’s the one I own, and indeed the one two of the players already have fond memories of.

The gents are currently knee deep in character creation. Other than stipulating Camarilla, I’m being very hands off at this stage. I’m confident in that, as my initial campaign kicker offerer is broad enough to be adapted to most character archetypes.

Yes. I’m finally getting to do a London set campaign, where it starts to become apparent that the tunnels that riddle that city aren’t necessarily manmade…

The opening hook? The setting is mid-90’s, when the Jubilee line extension was being built. Because it seems a suitably historical event to explain why, after more than a century of The Underground existing, it’s never really been noticed before.

I figure the Court of London would take pride in knowing a great deal about what lies under their feet (abandoned stations, miles and miles and miles and miles of tunnels, hidden vaults, smugglers dens etc), so something new turning up? What made it? How made it? Why made it? Is it something to be feared or destroyed? Exploited or covered up?

I’ve a pretty wide idea of what could be behind it, but likely won’t settle on anything until I see the player reaction, so I can better entertain them.

I’ll do posts to tell folk what happened, and perhaps even ask advice if I’m in two minds about something, just to get different opinions without spoiling it for my troupe.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/06/13 22:24:12


   
Made in fr
Fresh-Faced New User




I'm so jealous. I desperatly want to play that game. I own the book but don't have any players, or GM :(
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






I’ve always found the game and setting itself a pretty easy sell.

Most folk have some appreciation of Vampires. The system itself is nice and straight forward. And being set in the Modern World (or at least Actual History), folk new to it can wade into the Vampire Society side of things without first having to figure out the world and setting.

I don’t know if it helps, but try social media and local game shops. I’ve one just down the road from me, where I’ll also be running a Necromunda Campaign in due course. I’ll be asking them if there’s anyone wanting to join in.

I don’t want a particularly large Troupe, and three is enough to get started (odd numbers are always good!!, though I could handle five.

   
Made in us
Norn Queen






I always leaned more towards Mage for White Wolf (though I also have really fond memories of a way too brief Demon game). Vampire never struck the right chords with me.


These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
The Main Man






Beast Coast

I'm a big fan of White Wolf games. Looking forward to reading about how your chronicle goes, MDG!

   
Made in gb
Frenzied Berserker Terminator




Southampton, UK

Awesome, I absolutely loved V:TM. Hope it goes well, please do fill us in!
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






So far, I know I’ll be tormenting a Malkavia and a Ventrue. Not sure what the third is going with…


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Currently leaning toward the tunnels being Wyrm made, as in European Serpentine Dragons.

Will any still survive? What happens if you feed from one? Who else is aware of them?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh my….one of the Troupe, the Malkavian, believes she can speak with spirits.

In London. Underground. Where nobody is quite sure where Plague pits might lie….

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/06/14 20:42:36


   
Made in eu
Frenzied Berserker Terminator




Southampton, UK

I'm not quick enough to play a Malkavian. Have played with some genuinely awesome people that pulled it off incredibly though. Never would have thought his going all-in on circus skills would save the day...
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Good luck! This is a system that was super popular when I was in college, perhaps bigger than D&D yet I have never played it.

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Really productive pre-chronicle chat with one of my troupe this evening.

Got a really good feel for their character, and it’s really starting to inform my plans.

Two more such chats to go and we should be all set.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also need to buy in a few bits. Specifically a standing white board, a chart pad thing and writing implements, so we have an incident board all can refer to.

Not just during a session, but for me after, so I can tweak and adjust plots and plans. Not to Gotcha, but to keep things interesting.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I really like WoD as a setting because the setting itself is so familiar, and one that’s difficult for players to Game.

Being set in the pretty much modern world (well, the main game anyway), the troupe will be instantly at home, and know what’s what. They don’t need to spend time figuring that bit out.

This typically in my experience allows them to dive into the Supernatural side nice and quick, and learn the politics of their adopted species etc.

Compare to say Star Wars or Star Trek. Not everyone’s knowledge of those settings will be equal - and passions for them will differ as well. That can open them up to “well. actually” type arguments. I mean they’re far from unavoidable, but WoD pretty much does away with it.

Eeeeh I’m psyched for this!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/06/15 19:54:02


   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Final setup session….turned into the first gaming session. Kind of.

Reasons for the group to be formed settled and pretty organically. Pre-scenes run through, and They’re Off To See The Prince at the start of the first proper session.

Oh I have such plans!

   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






This….this might turn into a general “Thread In Which I Torment My Players Through Various World of Darkness Games”…..

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/115332/Complete-Collection-Demon-the-Fallen-BUNDLE

I….I mean……

   
Made in us
Norn Queen






feth Demon The Fallen is probably the best time I ever had playing World of Darkness.

I played an Angel of Death who we decided was the Escort of the Malicious Demise. He was a Lucifarian who bonded with a druggie who committed suicide.

So, fully loved and believed in humanity, but his torment came from seeing all the worst things they did to themselves and being torn apart by demonic thoughts of them not necessarily being worthy of the love he felt for them.

Then like 3 sessions in we realized that my Angel would have been created when Kane killed Able and he would have escorted Able as the first malicious death.

Mind. Blown.


These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Demon is an awful lot of fun. But, where Vampire is arguably the most accessible for new players, Demon needs people quite engaged with the spirit of the setting and the game for best results.

Your description there is an excellent example, especially if the Demon itself doesn’t have Legacy to start with, as that gives the GM some real options for interesting angles and that.

It’s definitely, 100% getting ordered. Probably the core rulebook this month, then the big old bundle next month.

The joy of Drive Thru RPG of course is being able to Drop Box the files for player access.

As I’ve said before, I really love World of Darkness as a setting. Because it’s Pretty Much Our World, it’s easy for people new to the setting, or TTRPG as a whole, to key into and find their feet. And each game has a differing level of complexity.

I’ve been enamoured of Promethean ever since it came out, but boy is that a game for experienced and sensible players. It asks a lot of them. I mean, to portray a character with no moral compass, and to learn that step by step, via trial and error is difficult. Bloody rewarding though should one achieve humanity in the end!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh for heaven’s sake.

My brain has been fizzing away…and I think I have A Plan.

There’s an old, somewhat obscure U.K. TV series called Urban Gothic. It aired on Channel 5 around the turn of the millennium.

Whilst it’s broadly an anthology show, it does have some running threads, such as the Story Teller. Someone chosen by London, which has a certain level of sentience, as it’s…well….Story Teller.

That is something I’m pinching and adapting. The Malkav than can talk to spirits (or at least believes she can) is now, unbeknownst to her player, the next in line. It’s not just spirits talking to her, but London itself.

This is kind of a B Plot, as it won’t be much fun for the other three (we recruited another newbie!) if it all focuses on her. But it’s something I can build up and have some decent fun with.

As The Conduit (the means by which London explores itself and it’s inhabitants, natural and supernatural) I have a loose plan that, at one point, she’s going to completely involuntarily Spirit Bomb something or someone to resolve a situation.

Think of her in 40K terms as an Unsanctioned Psyker. I don’t necessarily want her to fully control London’s influence, but at least learn to communicate with it.

And that Spirit Bomb? That’s how the Demons are awoken….

Reason behind this is that London is of course old, with ongoing archaeological studies showing some form of developed settlement or other dating back to at least 4500 BCE. Now, being predominantly wooden structures we’re lucky to have those. But given its along the banks of a major river? It’s likely to have had some form of settlement even older.

And I like the idea of such cities being psychic sponges. Kind of nascent Chaos Gods, but more….not ambivalent…neutrals not quite the right word either. Perhaps…animalistic? I dunno, I’m not describing this very well.

But definitely edging toward consciousness. And given the multiple cultures involved in historical London (Pre-Roman, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Norman, Modern English) and it’s near eternal status as multi-cultural, I want it to feel confused, as all the world views and worship of the various peoples across the Millenia comprise it. Not to mention the various wars, slaughter (oh hai Boudicca!) and disasters it’s borne witness to.

And so via The Conduit, the coterie will need to learn to guide London, to help it channel its thoughts. Not to harness it as such, or control it. But to help it rationalise and mature, that sort of thing.

Man I can’t wait to get the ball properly rolling!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/07/18 15:58:38


   
Made in eu
Frenzied Berserker Terminator




Southampton, UK

Ooh yeah, I like that very much. Makes me think of stuff like Neverwhere, and Reaper Man... Is that maybe an avenue to follow? If cities are essentially alive, do they have predators?
   
Made in us
Norn Queen






Crispy78 wrote:
Ooh yeah, I like that very much. Makes me think of stuff like Neverwhere, and Reaper Man... Is that maybe an avenue to follow? If cities are essentially alive, do they have predators?


Or are they predatory?


These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Bit of both.

As ever I want to let it play out at the player’s direction/discretion, as it’s often their action or inaction that provides the more interesting hooks and developments.

It could become predatory I suppose, and I’m intrigued to see how things develop given The Conduit is a Malkavian, known for insanity as a clan.

Plus, having the coterie teach it places a lot of responsibility on them. They could, if they wish, weaponise it in some way. Perhaps to drive out other Supernatural Creatures, or take over as Prince of London.

It’s definitely going to tie into a following Demon game, with the formal awakening of its consciousness breaking the barriers.

   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Aaaand that’s the first session done!

Quite light on the mechanics, as we’ve all got ring rust for the system, and someone Completely New to setting and system.

I greatly enjoyed playing The Prince. Whilst I’ve not yet decided her name, she’s part The Goblin King, part The Patrician.

The players seemed invested and receptive, which is always a relief for the GM. They even came up with suggestions better than my own concepts, which were of course seamlessly blended in.

God I love pen and paper RPG! It’s kind of free form theatre.

   
Made in us
Norn Queen






Any further session Mad Doc?

I have recently gotten back into a white wolf kick. Both because I got a screaming deal on Aberrants blue leather hard cover and I dug into the mechanics of Vampire 5e and It has me compiling pieces of different editions to make a less complex and more playable Mage using 5e Hunger mechanics for Paradox.


These are my opinions. This is how I feel. Others may feel differently. This needs to be stated for some reason.
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





I liked the Storyteller system so much, I developed a D&D version of it. Toned down the power levels and kept the combats very tense.

I also wrote a book about vampires inspired in part by a Vampire The Masquerade campaign.

https://www.ahlloyd.com/2020/02/now-available-the-vampires-of-michigan.html

Want a better way to do fantasy/historical miniatures battles?  Try Conqueror: Fields of Victory.

Do you like Star Wars but find the prequels and sequels disappointing?  Man of Destiny is the book series for you.

My 2nd edition Warhammer 40k resource page. Check out my other stuff at https://www.ahlloyd.com 
   
Made in gb
Highlord with a Blackstone Fortress






Adrift within the vortex of my imagination.

Used to play Werewolf a lot in the 90's.

Moved away, also in the 90's, this campaign is still running regularly.

n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.

It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





 Orlanth wrote:
Used to play Werewolf a lot in the 90's.

Moved away, also in the 90's, this campaign is still running regularly.


Werewolf was a much more permissive environment (you could go abroad in daylight, have a job, etc.) and had about 1/3 as much angst as the Vampire game.

I played both, and I'm pretty sure some of the campaigns are going on, but as far as I know, the players are the folks in our old group who didn't have kids. There was a gradual split around the early Aughts between them with children and them without.

I started Vampires of Michigan while still playing in a campaign, and when I picked up the manuscript almost 20 years later, I ended up cutting out half of its 20,000 words and doing a substantial re-write because I'd learned a lot more about life since I was in my 20s.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/11/26 14:59:23


Want a better way to do fantasy/historical miniatures battles?  Try Conqueror: Fields of Victory.

Do you like Star Wars but find the prequels and sequels disappointing?  Man of Destiny is the book series for you.

My 2nd edition Warhammer 40k resource page. Check out my other stuff at https://www.ahlloyd.com 
   
 
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