Brainstorming a WoD abomination

I'm talking about something horrible, really bad. The kind of thing your parents warned you about.. The kind of thing that even most depraved, crusty Elders do not dare to whisper in the most sacred halls of Elysium. I'm talking, of course, about the infamous, the terrible, THE CROSS-SPLAT CHRONICLE. Oooow!

Anyway, after the NYBN fiasco, i figured i might as well try doing this. I've got the main idea locked and i think it is quite fun one.. well, scratch that, two ideas, but then there are a lot of uncertainties about both. So on the agenda:

1) Too many rules in the kitchen!

2) Make Changeling good, i guess.

3) Thousand expressions of a clown, or settling on the theme and mood

4) Those are my friends! - or what types of critters to allow (from CtD, MtAs, WtA)

5) I'm in the Umbra! No, i'm in the Umbra! - or who can go where and which is which.

6) Fantasy (bleh) Isekai or capture the tower? - picking between 2 ideas.

7) Well-oiled machine or how and why will they be working together.

All i can think of for now.

So in order:

1) Given the broad reach of chronicle, the amount of books and rules from them will likely be significant, and i'm really not the rules guy. Anyone else run cross-splat monstrosities? How did you reconcile/remember the different rules/power levels?

2) Changeling core ideas are good - glamour/banality, dreaming/chimeras and the dreams/myths manifesting as changelings. The rest of the high fantasy crap - the houses, courts, kings, quests? Utter rubbish. Which means it will all need to be replaced. And while i do have ideas for that already, the question stands - would that still qualify as CtD for people? And if not, is there any point in including it at all?

3) So with that many different lines, each having their own flavor - what is the main mood/theme to be? The Mage will be of the Revised setting variety, which, i suppose, sort of fits with Werewolf's themes. But then there are hordes of Changing Breeds AND Changeling, which even after the makeover might be an outlier. A bit. Or a lot. So what do?

4) Give people enough of a freedom to choose what/who to play, without inviting the inherent lore madness that comes with cross-splat affairs.

5) Werewolves can hop in and out at any time. Mages sorta technically could.. before all the Maelstroms and Avatar storms or whatever was the problem there. Bunch of Breeds can't go to no Umbra. And then there are Changelings with their Dreaming trods. Maybe Kinain/enchanted as well? So someone will be left out. Or inevitably stuck. There are ways for both scenarios to alleviate it, i suppose, but it feels like it'll break somewhere along the way or feel pointlessly restrictive.

6) So the two ideas would be an isekai/transported to another world type ordeal or PCs (and maybe their factions) working together to secure. or at least repel invaders, from newly manifested Node/Cairn/Freehold tower. Leaning towards the tower one, since it would be easier being urban, probably, but then there are a lot of mileage in the isekai idea.

7) Easiest to solve, i guess, but then wouldn't you have to bend the line's intrinsic qualities to coexist? With that amount splats especially.

If you have sage advice for running this heresy or any other thoughts, feel free to share. I'll be meditating on how to make this frankenstein crawl in the meantime.

Isekai/Transported to another world route

It was a day like any other. At least you think it was. Looking back, you can't remember any signs or omens of what what were about to occur. Maybe you were napping when you Transported. Or hiding in the toilets of your office building, scrolling through social media, avoiding your boss. Or eating a papaya. The Summoning Ritual/Spell took you by surprise, pulling you from our world and into their's. But there was a reason. You know it now. You have deeply offended a being of insurmountable power, supreme intelligence and unrivaled might. You did not know it - it wasn't your fault! If only you knew.. Looking back, you see your mistake - maybe you plowed right into one of the Mad God's metallic perfections or yelled disrespectfully - "get out the damn road! motherbleeping trucks!". It doesn't matter now. For you have already suffered the wrath of TRUCK-KUN - a monster of a God, the ruler of all trucks and lorries in existence - big and small, fast and slow.

Your troubles did not end there. As the court magicians would explain to you later, taking you on an equivalent of Ripley's walk through the room of failed hybrids in Alien 4, simply summoning people marked by the God of Travel and Carriages did not work. Instead, a certain catalyst, binding material so to speak, was needed. Which turned the summoning into more of an transference. Only your mind and soul had made the trip, arriving right into the bodies of handpicked individuals. So while you, Mia the Soccer Mom, inhabit the body of Hrrng the Goblin Shaman, Hrrng the Goblin Shaman is inhabiting your body, in the "real" world, doing Gods know what. Until you can fulfill some vague prophecy under tenets of which you were summoned, you can't go back.

So the obvious choice for this scenario are Mages and Changelings. Shifters don't really fit, so they will be left out, most likely. Mages do the transference, while Changelings are stuck in their Fae Miens. Both undergo their respective transformation during the travel - Awakening and Chrysalis.

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Whether to use the "rpg" element of isekais is undecided. Using a status screen with MtAs and CtD sheets or a "special" new sheet is another question. Regardless, all or majority of these rpg-type skill and ability boosts will probably be dropped/removed after the return, setting a potential stage for a more down to earth/gloomy survival of the Revised Mage, pissing people off in the process.

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Isekai tropes to keep and drop:

Keep - guilds, ancient tech/aeronauts, magic, weird races, exploration, ??

Drop - harems, slavery and contracts, op skills, slapstick, bandits, race discriminations, dirty royalty/nobles

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Pros and Cons:

Pros - 1) openworld - since the prophecy is open ended the group can be free to pursue multiple angles of inquiry, joining bunch of different guilds, etc
2) lots of water/underwater/naval themed - not a lot of that going around. On the other hand i don't have sea anything, legs or vocab, so.
3) lost civilization/tech/signs of former Mage conflict in the world - both techno-mages and techno-changelings will fit in somehow.
4) build-in desire for return, plus the crazy mess to deal with upon arrival back irl

Cons - 1) fantasy world, for the most part. horses and their.. crap.
2) harder to fit Shifters
3) set the prophecy or leave it ambiguous? will it end with a whimper or simply annoy haters of the open endings?
4) party spreads out completely and barely communicates, splintering into multiple solo chronicles, essentially.
5) what is the tone exactly? it's not going to be a depressive, dark fantasy, not the happy-go-lucky comedy. plus there is the return to the Revised Mage world. people might hear "isekai" and think "slapstick! a fun dnd adventure!" while the Mage players be putting their old Cure cd's in.

Tower Defense route

High-rise N in the city M used to be a pretty mundane tower. It wasn't the prettiest, or most modern, or prestigious. Just a regular building, housing mostly office spaces. Now there is hardly anyone who hasn't heard of the N Tower - both amongst the regular people and the supernatural.

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It all started with a pair of brothers. Some particularly conspiratorial folk say that it started way before (or way-way before), but we shall give the paranoid no thought, for they may be right. The duo run a Youtube channel called "paraNormal Bros" - doing all the things that such a name implies - visiting haunted houses, sites of supposed ritual sacrifices, spending the night in scary places. It was a pretty mediocre production - oft sloppy videos full of exaggerated expressions, questionable "tools" for detecting "presences", and, as a result - medium performance - not enough to stand out in any way, but enough to keep the show on the road and going. So in the summer of last year the brothers decided to do a video in the N Tower, citing some rumor of people missing from a particular office on 13th floor (the police records have since proven that these rumors were simply made out by the brothers themselves). Drawing inspiration from the infamous Backrooms, the clip-makers drummed up interest in their future video of spending the night in the empty office space, which they managed to rent. The video of the night, unedited, would not be posted for almost a year, due to the brothers disappearance.

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At first the friends and fellow "parapsychology" creators thought this to be a script to gather attention - Rich and Doug disappear, only to turn up later, shook from their "experience" and ready to "tell their truth". Multiple videos been posted, from "where are they?" types to videos of people trying to convince the security to let them into the building. But as days went by and no communication from brothers came, the relatives and friends began to worry. The parents came down to the M city to file an official report and an investigation began. It took about a month for the mainstream media to pick up the story, when it became apparent that this was not some publicity stunt and federal authorities were called on.

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The case turned into a massive public ordeal, starting with reports, facts and interviews with the investigators and slowly turning into a massive nation-wide event, with podcasts, docu-series, internet and network pundits discussing the case on a daily basis. The company owning the tower had to increase the security, for the amount of people - from hawkers to citizen-detectives became overwhelming. Slowly but surely, the tower itself began gathering attention, with myths, legends and stories surrounding the place growing in intensity, popularity and appeal.

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Ask a dozen denizens of the night what happened exactly and you will get two dozen different version. The simplest, and therefore the most logical, is that the massive amount of attention and focus, combined with intense belief in the tower's unusual properties is what led to the creation of a power source inside. To Mages this is a massive, powerful Node. To Changelings - a grandiose Freehold, with numerous Trods inside. To the Shifters it is a one-of-a-kind Caern, awakened by a spirit of a highest order (or vice versa). Regardless, everyone wants a piece of N Tower and it's power. As the Technocracy makes its play for the Node, the rest of the opposing factions swarm to try and gain control of the tower, learn of its secrets and impose its will on it. But of the tower itself? What does it want?

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Pros/Cons:

Pros - 1) modern - simpler to run and more interesting
2) everyone can have a place in the struggle, including Tradition inducted Mages
3) openworld and open-ended (potentially)
4) ??

Cons - 1) lots of rules involved
2) a lot of moving pieces, lore/metaplot crap
3) similar problem as with the prophecy - make the tower's nature apparent and it loses its mystique, don't reveal it - and folks are mad - "where are my answers?!"
4) ??

Changing the Changeling.

The old ways of medieval feudal hogwash are long gone. The Changeling society of today is as advanced and progressive as the mortal one, incorporating ideas, thoughts and dreams of a better tomorrow.

To remove:
● Courts
● Houses
● Titles
● Distinction between Dauntain/Thallains/Gallain/Dark-kin, etc - they all just Changelings of a different dream-type
● Escheat
● Evanescence/Resurgence - just no. Why?
● Motleys - silly word
● Oaths - there are contracts for that
● Saining - unneeded, silly
● Shatterings/Sundering/other ings.
● Tuatha/Fomorians - bleh.

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To replace/change:
● Arcadia - gone and done, maybe only relevant to eurokiths.
● Seemings - replace with a group's motive.
● Loosening the Glamour/Banality rules to allow for more comfortable play - none of that "vampire touched my big sword and it vanished" crap
● Freeholds - make them more akin to the chantries/constructs, having both normal and umbral parts; or caerns - each is under patronage of a powerful chimera/bygone
● Kiths - heavily encourage creation of new Kiths based upon modern myths and legends.
● Voile - it seems to mostly appear at Chrysalis to fit the new form, but that's pretty boring. Would be more interesting to make a ritual of sorts, perhaps, or a actual rite of passage instead of Saining
● Nightmares?

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To keep:
● Seasonal methodology - Autumn People, Long Winter, etc.
● Arts and Realms, cantrips
● Glamour and Banality; Bedlam - ?
● Chimera, Dreaming, Trods
● Chrysalis?
● Enchanted mortals, Kinain
● Miens
● Mists

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To add:
● Distinction by group - either reflecting or distorting the Triat/Trinity idea, for example: The Makers seek to shape the dreams and brings them forth to the Autumn world (your more tech/science/logic oriented changelings), The Wild seek to bring more creative chaos, breaking conventions, rules and the world itself in the process (hang out with Marauders, Bygones and Shifters), The Eternals seek to remove and catalog obsolete and outdated concepts and ideas, either changing them to renew or moving them into archival pockets of Deep Dreaming.

Why not play changeling the lost, then?

There's a lot to process in these four posts, and I don't think I have the time to do it right now.

But I will say that "mixed-splat" games are not abominations and are totally doable (and fun!) if done "right". (Loaded words, I know, sorry.)

I've played in a couple over the years, and my gaming circle (which included some venerable oWoD LARPers) called them "Zoo" campaigns.

If you're inclined to observe the world lore and various metaplots, you'll really just have to pay attention to the "alignment" of the various splats along the "Cosmic Powers" spectrum (Triat, Technocracy, etc). And not stock character together that are opposed along that "spectrum" (I know, spectrum isn't a good way to characterize it, but maybe you get my point)

Werewolves, Changelings, and Mummies - even Wraiths - are all pretty compatible. The right Mage concept with the right Path and a (non-Hunter) Mortal with Numina could even group up with those 4. That was basically the character types in one of the games I played (minus the Mage). We were all going up against an Earthbound (and lesser Demons). That's potentially 7 splats there in one game, all lore friendly.

Another was a couple Vampires, a Mage (setting was actually Dark Ages, and we used the Sorcerers Crusade rules - concept was a necromancer/pre-Cappadocian), and a non-Hunter Mortal with Numina (actually a "Gypsy" from infamous said-named splat). We were playing a flashback to the progenitors of a Vampire Coterie in that one, fighting with a Werewolf.

Even more common than that, in my experience, is having the players be all one splat, but bringing in other splats as enemies and NPCs. Vampire campaigns with Wraiths and/or Werewolves and/or a Mummy and/or a Mage and/or a Hunter sect, etc as antagonists are all common in my experience.

So yea, point is... do it!!

Mix the splats! :)

Haven't read that one, though i did hear that out of all CoD splats it is the only one to supposedly outshine its predecessor. Plus, having never touched CoD, i'm not sure how well the rules will mesh together. Also not sure how i feel about picking up even more homework. Out of all CoD stuff Lost and Geist did seem the most interesting last time a checked it out.
Mhm. I actually thought it would be interesting to mix. Plus it's not like it's not happening withing the different splats already - various Werewolf tribes subscribe to different aspects, same with breeds and Traditions.

Note to self: don't forget about the wereroaches.

My cat is amazing, he can play the guitar..! - on Shifter and shifty things.

Wolves:

Tribes that are good fit:
● Furies - searching for the tower's mysteries
● Gnawers - urban scavengers/predator, fit right in in the city
● Children of Gaia - actually receptive to working with other supernatural
● Fianna - include the Changeling connection?
● Glass Walkers - corporate battles for tower supremacy

"Maybe" Tribes:
● Shadow Lords - as a planner/schemer/negotiator, but in general are kinda unsavory
● Silent Striders - they'd striding along, most likely
● Silver Fangs - too much potential prideful bravado. better to leave hubris to mages.
● Skin Dancers/Kinfolk looking to skin dance

Not a good fit tribes:
● Stargazers - why are they here and not at some beast court?
● Wendigo
● Uktena
● Ronins - too cool for school lone wolves. on the other hand a lot of their restrictions and foibles from "Outcasts: Guide.." are pretty stupid.

"F these guys" tribes:
● Talons
● Get

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Garou tropes to remove/adjust:

● do away with petty bickering of tribes in and outside Caerns**
● Gnosis over Rage - more of an exploration/subterfuge than physical fighting
● Remove or heavily tone down the Litany - the social crap goes, the war stuff stays
● Remove Renown and Ranks, update the social order to be more relaxed and chill; instead of Ranks, all Garou have find and petition Spirits for Gifts, the more advanced the Gifts, the harder it is to obtain, as Spirits ask for increasingly more difficult tasks or outright Pacts, akin to Totem's Banes. Increase the importance of Rites, making them more like Thaumaturgy/Sabbat rituals/ritae***
● Camps, at least as listed***
● The great spirit Pact***

Would all these changes run into similar problem to the Changeling's changes - that the line loses its "core" concepts and people lose interest in it because of this?

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Breeds.

● Wereroaches (the Mocking Breed one) - great concept all around, just needs a bit of polish (what book were they in again?)
● Other Mocking Breeds maybe?
● Ananasi - might have an interesting dynamic with the roaches given their history
● Bastet: Bubasti, Ceilican, Qualmi, maybe others. would need to reread/skim the breedbook.
● Corax
● Kitsune
● Nuwisha
● Ratkin - maybe.

Keep similar system for Ranks replacement as with wolves.

There's a lot to say, considering all of my IRL WoD games mixed splats pretty effectively. Unfortunately, it will have to wait a bit (stupid job).

I'll say this though: Stargazers are easy to include. Personal pilgrimages are a thing, and going out to gather information for the courts is a reasonable task for emissaries to be tasked with.

As for NWoD (I prefer the 1e over the CoD/2e changes) I actually prefer the system overall compared to OWoD. The lack of metaplot was refreshing, the rules were robust enough to allow good customization but streamlined enough to not be cumbersome. The only drawback to PbP is the dice penalties. The ST has to tell you what the penalty/bonus to your dice pool is before you roll, which would drag in PbP.

I too prefer 1e NWoD over 2e, however in the case of Changeling the Lost, 2e is about the only line where 2nd edition improved every aspect of the first edition.

I didn't read 2e too much. I started to, realized there were too many changes I didn't like, and went back to 1e NWoD. That said, if we were crossing splats, even if 2e was arguably better I'd say 1e is probably the better pick overall.

The biggest benefit to NWoD games (IMO) is they were designed to be more crossplay-compatable. And while some lines certainly showed power creep (looking at you, Geist) it was still a welcome design choice.

Adjusting the Transported route (probably should drop the isekai term altogether).

Drop most of the setup - it just reads too.. parody or surreal comedy. Would be hard to convince people of the game's more somber tone with an opening like that. It would work well for a more light-hearted campaign in Cypher maybe? Or 7th sea.

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Beginning:

● Summoned by a conspiracy, rather than royals. Awoke in a dingy stone basement, the cultists give basic explanation: they adhere to an old prophecy, by which you, the summoned, are supposed to do something. There is no consensus what that something is, and if there even is something - perhaps the point of the prophecy is the summon itself. The ritual used a lot "magic", making a big esoteric flash, so you are invited to quickly abscond lest you all are discovered. After quite respite at the inn or home of one of the cultists, you are given basic necessities - clothes to fit in and some money and are released into the wild, "to do gods/'s work". Additionally equipped with some manner of code/mark to identify others conspiracy members, who will act as your introductions into various places/collectives of interest, after you (a particular PC or a group) decide on your course of action.

● Drop body switching in favor of actual transportation. Should they still be unawakened before the summon? **

● Communication devices are available at all guilds, plus local authorities (mayors, governors, etc), noble houses, army headquarters.

● Pick an area of inquiry, pursue it while keeping in contact with the other transportees.

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Theme and Mood:

● Tone it down - down to earth rather than High Fantasy

● Themes: mystery, conspiracy, exploration, survival, horror

● Moods: positive: freedom, excitement, hope; negative: loss&grief, paranoia, suspicion, terror****

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Setting



● The archipelago is where the characters are summoned to. From there they can make their way north to the continent. Only small part of it is still above water, rest is under. Southern parts, including 3 ports (black dots) are still hospitable, the rest is a mess, filled with ruins, monsters, strangeness and god knows what else. Waters of the archipelago are safe - too warm for the evil creatures to swim in. Regular waters are fine, for the most part. To the north lie Deep Waters, where various dangers and creatures lurk. That what most modern maps from this era cover.

● Southern part of the continent is mostly covered in jungle, top one is mixed with different types of ruin. Update map **

● The evil has been defeated long ago, but most of the continent was lost in the war. Most consider this acceptable and have no interest pillaging the bones of the Ancients. Various guilds do venture around the southern part of the continents, but hardly anyone goes to the north. The conspiracy believes that there is still some unfinished business left - some think of evil's return, others think it is still lives and needs to be finished off. Still, some desire the glorious return to the Empires of old.

● Guilds in play: adventurers, mercenary, merchant, mage, crafters alliance, thief, assassins. Maybe to add: librarians, naval, agrarian.

● Rule of city-states. Scattered across the archipelago, and 3 main areas on the southern tip of the continent, centered around the 3 big ports.

● Start with medieval fantasy, slowly turn the weirdness factor in, with references and finding of different technological eras, races and places.

● Horror on and under water.

● Different races and sentient creatures. The less of the regular kinds - the better.

● Native Magic - pick some form of Magic for the denizens of the Realms **

● Maybe include debt slaves and bandits? There probably'd pirates on water, so it would make sense for bandits to be on land. And captured bandits can be made into a indentured work-force.

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Era and High concepts to include (mix, all or none):

● A former construct - the whole realm is former Technocratic construct that gone to hell and have been living its own life for hundreds/thousands of years

● Deep Dreaming is a cousin of Deep Umbra - this Far Dreaming Realm is located on the border with the Deep parts, and the Dreams of Others is what took hold of the Northern part of the world.

● Deep Dreaming/Abyss reaches from below - the horrors sleep deep below the ocean's waters

● Monsters and races are Progenitors work

● Metal men and gods of metal

● The Realm has been visited by countless beings, who left their mark on it. Cue Ancient/Stone Aeronauts

● The living garden - the Progenitors/Void Engineers work in the Realm on samples of Others has spawned a biotech creature/creatures. This would include PCs merging with living things, bio-space tech, mutations, etc.

● Abandoned and Destroyed Stone Forests - dead cities to explore, with half-destroyed high-rises and labs.

● Fanged monsters stalking the night on the continent

● The Realm is the body of a dead Celestine/Powerful spirits which spawned life on itself/the ancient people found it and burrowed themselves inside it

● The Prophecy is a lie/revolving prophecy/multiple steps prophecy

● Metal Island (crashed starships, subs) and Living Islands (bioships, semi-sentient bio-masses)

● Evil Traditions, good Technocracy - traditionalists destroyed construct full of medical research, causing plagues and such, for example.

● Home of Bygones and Marauder/s

● Natural catastrophe, emergence of new land

● Exploration via expedition of rumors of other continent to the west/east

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Places of Interests:

● Jungle - filled with monsters, caves and danger. Hard to traverse, no established roads left.

● Dead Forests - in various states - some barely recognizable as cities, other still standing, just abandoned.

● Ports Cities - bustling with life and trade.

● Smaller islets scattered around the coasts of the continent.

● Statues and Monuments both in cities and outside in the wild.

●