The State of the Chronicles of Darkness

[HelloRaptor]

I turn on an 80s pop music channel on XM when on long drives. My wife and our housemate want to murder me for it sometimes, but to hell with them. ^_^

[tragedyjones]

I don't really like a ton of 80s music. My formative years were all 90s alternative, industrial and grunge.

That said, fuck yeah hair metal.

[tragedyjones]

Updates:

The new 2nd Edition Core Book appears to be in First Drafts. This is both good and bad.

It is good, because there will be a single book once more with all the rules, no need for a 2004 Core Book + GMC supplement.

It is bad because people will probably need to buy a new book.

[Arkandel]

So far their planning seems to be horrible. Starting with the repeatedly broken deadlines, the massive rebranding in the middle of development and their confusing release schedule, it seems like they are just making things up as they go along.

Even their promotional material meant to generate word of mouth (spoilers, sample Gifts, treatises on what theme will be like in 2nd Edition etc) is buried where people have to look hard for it. Their web site is a mess too, it looks okay but finding what you're looking for is no exercise for the meek of heart.

[tragedyjones]

That is one of the reasons I am trying to keep this thread up to date now, @Arkandel . They also have not had a significant WtF preview in many months, which is excessively frustrating. They really should hold back some on the open development window, I feel.

[Arkandel]

@tragedyjones Yeah, and many of us appreciate that.

What's Onyx Path anyway? I mean I read their wikipedia entry but it doesn't make its purpose very clear - are they actually separate from White Wolf? Does it exist only to handle its World of Darkness lines and in that case, why didn't they just have an internal department handle that?

[tragedyjones]

Ok, based on my understanding of the situation:

White Wolf no longer publishes Roleplaying games. They own the rights to the World of Darkness (and I believe Exalted).

The Onyx Path is an independent studio formed primarily of former WWGS employees and freelancers. Onyx Path has licensed (but does not own) the World of Darkness IPs (cWoD and nWoD). They also either own or license Exalted, and they own outright the rights to Scion and the Trinity-verse.

In short, WWGS no longer makes games, they just own them. Onyx Path is a new company that develops the games from the old WWGS IPs.

Also, OP only makes tabletop products, all LARP material is developed by 'By Night Studios'

[Kireek]

If your looking fo Wtf Previews- they don't exist becuase there isn't much to tell...

If your looking for a preview- as much as there is one.. There won't be, the book is being worked on, better to have htem release it 1 day sooner then spend a day giving us a preview IMO. HOWEVER, there is a little tidbit that might be interesting. Depending on how well the WtF 2e sells, here is a quote from the primary author of the book about future book ideas. Notice there wasn't much response from the OP's publishers, this is probably due to a wait and see approach or the like, if WtF 2e sells well, I'd expect the pitch put into development
@Acrozan

Pitch season was, what, two or three months ago? I did pitch the idea, but I don't know if they liked it and haven't yet seen any more of the future Werewolf book schedule than you guys.

My overall idea for how the books might play out would be:

Kinslayers:- Blood Talons Tribe coverage; full new coverage for the Pure and their updated 2e mechanics; heretic and schismatic werewolf groups (weird wolf-cults, strange subgroups of Uratha who follow different ideologies, etc) for Blood Talons and Forsaken in general to clash and interact with; extensive rules for challenges and conflict between Uratha whether for dominance, battle or other things, from the individual level to packs clashing with each other all the way up to Protectorate-scale conflicts; an examination of the pure 'fluff' side of Uratha vs Uratha violence, the taboos, the implications, the different ways various regional Uratha go about these things and their traditions; new fighting styles, Gifts, Rites etc around clashing between Uratha.

Shadow Hunters:- Bone Shadow Tribe coverage; definitive coverage of the Shadow, including Deep Shadow, all sorts of phenomena and weirdness, piles of hooks and descriptions of varied Shadow manifestations, more information about Resonance and the interplay between Flesh and Shadow, basically all the creative and mechanical support a GM needs to run the Shadow side of the game; a much deeper look at spirit organisation and politics than ever before to turn spirits into key characters and influences in a game; Totems, dedicating more wordcount to both the ideas and inspiration side of things, but also heftily expanding their mechanical side and offering a new framework to help cover the ascent and growth in power of a totem alongside its pack, the ways the totem and pack affect each other on even a subconscious level, etc; an examination of hunting spirits for the Uratha, with tools, tricks and traps that the Uratha can use against spirits and vice versa; and a section on some Big Names in the Shadow, going into more detail on some Lesser Incarnae, the Firstborn Totems etc, to help GMs with bringing such beings into the game rather than leaving them as distant entities that are never really interacted with.

Sacred Ground:- Hunter in Darkness Tribe coverage; new rules for territory and the surrounding issues, such as shaping your territory, making territory a key element in clashing with other Uratha, more info on Loci, the role prey take in the territory, etc; more information on the Gauntlet itself, exploring how to bring it into a game not just as a basic boundary but as a place with strange phenomena, discussion of what lies within it, etc; full new coverage of the Hosts, with more detailed rules than are present in the corebook and a better examination of Host society, their goals and how they go about them, including coverage for what happens when the Hosts are successful and begin to regain the divine power of their progenitors; coverage of how Uratha interact with certain other peripheral realms (possibly including the Hedge and Underworld); and maybe new Hunting Ground write-ups or examples of specific Sacred Places that the Uratha and Hunters in Darkness hold as sacred ground.

Watchdogs:- Iron Master Tribe coverage; more rules for humanity as prey, including specific prey-groups from cultists to corporations and how they can both be a threat to and be threatened by the Uratha; rules for human shamen expanded out of the Rites system; an examination of the difficulties of maintaining a human cover amidst society for an Uratha, the challenges of hunting in dense urban areas and amongst human communities in general, and how humans drastically shape the spiritual reflection of the world; changes in technology and science, and both the challenges Uratha can face from these, the challenges they faced in previous technological eras, and the ways technology and change contribute to the benefit of the Uratha and the Iron Masters; and coverage of Uratha trying to affect the human population on a much larger scale, like trying to shape the destiny of nations or enslave entire regions to the machinations of spirit-gods or whatnot.

Heirs to the Hunt:- Storm Lord Tribe coverage; deeper coverage of Claimed with more mechanics, as well as new types of Claimed horror; an examination of other weird elements of possessions and otherworldy invaders, including new antagonist types; Forsaken politics, including on a wide scale, including traditions and cultures around thereof, how Tribes and packs and Lodges interact to affect the balance of power; more extensive coverage around Protectorates, including how and why they form, system support for Protectorates and their effects, etc; and wordcount and more mechanical support for high Primal Urge werewolves, the paths available for them to take, how they affect the world and how they, in turn, are changed.

If you like these kinds of ideas and want to see them happen, then the best suggestion I have is to contact my corporate masters Let OP know that you like the notion. Can't guarantee that it will make these books happen or anything, but worth at least communicating to OP what you want to see in the line in future!

That said, be aware that:

• I have no idea what books are currently planned for the Werewolf line.
• They may have looked at my pitch and gone 'We don't want to do that because (good reasons X, Y and Z)'.
• If you do send a message in, please be polite and pleasant in your enthusiasm for my pitch

Reminds me a bit of 1st edition changling publishing schedule. If you're super desperate for some sort of information beyond stuff far in the future? Say in 2e? Eh.. there are now three separate 'wolf' gifts with 5 facets each. (Think Mother Luna/Father wolf gift lists- theres now a third that everyone can buy. Keeping in mind that Mother Luna and Father wolf are probably totally different, if not scrapped entirely.) From what I can gather, its based around scenting and tracking, the hunt. Death rage is also distinctly different somehow, but no more information was given. Coy bastards

[Wizz]

@Kireek said:

Death rage is also distinctly different somehow, but no more information was given. Coy bastards

It's here. For future reference, it's fairly simple to find this stuff; you can filter the blog by game line.

[Kireek]

Forgot they even did a Death Rage Forsaken Friday, oh well

[HelloRaptor]

Lots of people go straight to heavy metal for songs to rage to, but for Forsaken’s focus on the pack and the infectious nature of Kuruth, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton is far more representative.

....ahahaahaha what I don't even...

I would have gone with Party Up for Kuruth, if he really wanted to go with rap.

Y'all gon' make me lose my mind
Up in here, up in here
Y'all gon' make me go all out
Up in here, up in here
Y'all gon' make me act a FOOL
Up in HERE, up in here
Y'all gon' make me lose my cool
Up in here, up in here

Or... really anything by DMX, I guess.

[Wizz]

Yyyyyyyeah, almost every single music pick he made for Open Development made me roll my eyes, haha!

[surreality]

@HelloRaptor Or for the 80s junkies in the audience, just go full on 'yes that lyric is 'Daleks of god', you did hear that right', with it and forget the rap entirely.

Goddammit. Now it's going to be a youtube 80s video deathspiral of a morning.

[tragedyjones]

@Wizz said:

Yyyyyyyeah, almost every single music pick he made for Open Development made me roll my eyes, haha!

I really like Howl by Florence + the machine

[Wizz]

@tragedyjones
There's Florence & the Machine, and then he fucking lists Shakira.

....
....

what

[The Tree of Woe]

@Arkandel said:

So far their planning seems to be horrible. Starting with the repeatedly broken deadlines, the massive rebranding in the middle of development and their confusing release schedule, it seems like they are just making things up as they go along.

I get the impression that there's a lot of meddling from CCP, who're consistently inconsistent. "This isn't going to be Requiem 2nd Edition. Oop, no wait, it is."

[Bobotron]

@The-Tree-of-Woe
That's more or less what happened. CCP mandated that it couldn't be 2nd Edition, which is why it originally came out Blood & Smoke: The Strix Chronicle (and the plans for the others). Then last year they said 'oh, hey, you can do them as 2E now'.

As far as deadlines? Eh. That's why they have the model they have now; so they can actually get their product done and handled, rather than having to rush things through (and we ALL know what the rush causes in other games). Remember, it's three fulltimers and a bunch of freelancers.

[The Tree of Woe]

Honestly, I just hope the bottom doesn't fall out of Eve anytime soon. Because if it does, CCP will go belly-up, and Onyx Path will be screwed.

[Bobotron]

@The-Tree-of-Woe
CCP might fold as a company in that instance, but they'd still own the IP unless they sell it outright. WoD books make them a small chunk of money, nowhere near as much as The Space Spreadsheet Simulator, but still a chunk. I don't think much would happen unless CCP immediately tries to offload all IPs they own.

[The Tree of Woe]

Well from what I've heard the company is so badly run there'd almost certainly be a divestment of some sort, but almost certainly additional complications to go with it folding.