new Storyteller, lover of the World of Darkness

Hi, you can call me Happy Medium!

My partner encouraged me to become a GM and I started my first game about 7 months ago. I’m proud to say that it’s still running–it’s play-by-post over Discord.

I’ve been enjoying the PbP format. It avoids a lot of the issues of scheduling meetups that plague TTRPG players. It allows for a collaborative storytelling experience that takes it slow, allowing the narrative to unravel over months, if not years.

My partner DragonDweller is a regular of Gamer's Plane and she's been telling me about the games she part of here for months--pretty much since the beginning of our relationship. Again, I really like PbP and I've been feeling the itch to play and run more games, especially with people I don't know.

- I run Vampire: the Masquerade (20th). I use my studies of 19th and 20th century American history to furnish my games (which is why I tend towards political horror, lol.)
- I'm interested in playing/running Werewolf: the Apocalypse (5th) and Mage: the Ascension (20th).

Furthermore, I enjoy using TTRPGs to explore my identities as a Filipino-American, indigenous (Ifugao), and queertrans person.

Please feel free to ask me anything, I'm excited to meet fellow players and get to know folks here.

Hi Happy Medium! Do you also like HM? I'm happy to see you here! Thanks for taking my recommendation; I really believe this is such a lively and supportive community. I'm just getting into the WoD side of things here (as you well know) but it's very expansive and I've been able to find all my favorite editions so far! I've really enjoyed our VtM home game so I think you'd do really well on GP!

I look forward to seeing you around the site, and happy gaming!

I'll probably use HM as an abbreviation when I run games, but in conversations such as these, I like being called Happy!

Yesss, I'm so obsessed with the WoD and its lore. I'm excited to play some games in this setting here on Gamers Plane.

Thank you, and you too!! I'm very excited hearing about the WtA game that you're in...

Welcome to Gamersplane valentine_teddies

We seem to be getting several WoD playets of late.

If you want to see how GP functions, here are links to the New GP Member Guide, the forum rules, this video introduction made by user Qralloq and a little helpful formatting guide made by user Adam. You might also be interested in looking through some public games as well to get a feel for the site.

If you have any questions about how to use the site, you can put them into our Questions and Help subforum.

To join a game, keep your eyes on the Games Tavern, where GMs advertise their games and look for players.

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Welcome, Happy!

As a fellow lover of WoD, we've been discussing some of our common joys here. Most recently I've been polling players for a new VtM game, which I might end up starting soon.

Thanks for pointing me to the discussion, Qralloq! I'm consuming it now--interesting that it seems that V5 has not been run on this site.

I actually was introduced to the WoD through V5, and then fell in love with 20th. Do you prefer any particular edition, and/or splat, in the WoD?

welcome, both of you

Welcome :)

I slightly prefer V20 to other editions of VtM, but honestly love them all. I do like the system for v5 but I struggle with the lore changes. Do I struggle mightily? No, and I often incorporate parts in my V20 games. I'd really like to give V5 a proper go.

For the other 20th editions. I've not given them a good run through either. Currently running Changeling: the Dreaming, and I've ran WtA before. But there's so much to explore.

Welcome Aboard!

WoD/CoD is a popularly discussed/loved system on GamersPlane. I think you'll find plenty of welcoming folks around here interested in your experiences with the various WoD games!

I find it interesting that you've delved into 19th & 20th century history to inform your games. Verisimilitude can be good for the immersive experience of games based in the 'real world'. I'd be interested in hearing more about what you termed 'political horror'.

That's interesting, I'm the inverse: I'm interested by the lore changes (I like some of them, but don't love them all) and I struggle to understand V5's system. But this might be because I've only played one session; I would like to give V5 a proper go as well.

There is so much to explore, I love the multitudes that the World of Darkness contains. I've been getting into Werewolf and Mage lately--which share a cosmology, all the more helpful in building my understanding. What's running Changeling like? I think that may be the splat I know the least.

Welcome Happy! I'm curious about your thoughts on learning about the WoD and VtM systems through the Choice of Games medium, a text-based multiple choice game that tries to imitate some of the TTRPG systems.

Hey, welcome aboard! It's great to see another WoD devotee in our midst! The "WoD megathread" was already linked by Qralloq, so do stop by to chat there too! It's always great to hear from other STs about their experiences, ideas and thoughts!

Welcome aboard! Fellow Filipino-American here—it's not often I get to explore that myself. I feel...idk, nervous? Weird? when I think about running a game that might explore that since I'm usually the only Filipino in a given group. Been really contemplating a Mage the Awakening (Chronicles of Darkness, not WoD) game set in Manila, but no idea if that would automatically be the sort of exposure I'm looking for.

Anywho, hope to run in some games with you!

Hi, witchdoctor! Thank you for the welcome!

Absolutely, I'm a longtime fan of historical fiction (books, movies, TV shows) so I'm familiar with balancing that sort of verisimilitude.

Well, V5 calls itself "a game of personal and political horror." V5 was my entrance to the WoD, so my perspective has been colored by that experience. I think that V5 especially considers the vampire and its relationship to/how it symbolizes power and predation--because of that, those of VtM are often tied to, and exploring, their relationships to power and hierarchy, especially historical systems of power.

My first V5 game was run by a Black man who was exploring the Roaring Twenties. One session involved a lynch mob, forcing the co-players to act. I vividly remember the dread and stress at the table--none of us wanted to sit back and be complicit to the violence unfolding. I think that experience showed me how powerful TTRPGs could be in exploring historical trauma.

My home game is centered on two historical events: the Watsonville race riots of 1930 (which targeted Filipino immigrant men) and the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 (where white Angelenos and servicemen assaulted mainly Mexican-American youths.) I am particularly interested in the former event as a Filipino-American--and it's a way of educating my co-players and friends about American history and sharing a piece of history I'm deeply connected to.

I hope that somewhat answers your question--I know that there are rules regarding discussing politics in the forum, I have a lot of thoughts on this. I suppose that the alternate history of VtM interests me greatly as a student of American history, there are a lot of interesting and creative ways to explore slavery, colonialism, segregation, etc. through the game.

Hello, LazyFlux!! Always hyped to meet another Filipino-American in my spaces of interest! I hope I can run in some games with you too!

I totally get that, as someone who's usually the only Filipino in the group. I'm also pretty assimilated into American culture and in the middle of reconnecting to my heritage, so I worry about representing Filipino culture inaccurately. It's definitely a challenge.

MtA set in Manila sounds like it would be a lot of fun. In that vein, I've been reading Hunter: the Reckoning 5th edition and the rulebook has a surprising amount of Filipino representation. I would highly recommend.

If I may ask, do you create often create PCs who are Filipino, and share your identity that way? That's what I often do to explore my identity.

I'm rarely a player, but to date I've only created two Filipino characters. One for City of Mist and another for Mutants and Masterminds.

And then I'm "guilty" of not really introducing Filipinos into my games. There's a Filipino character in Metro:Otherscape, however, that was I thinking of introducing in this Discord-based pbp I've been running, so that'll be fun. She's an official character in the core rulebook where she has the powers of the Mambabarang that she uses to help her community, so I was going to port her over to the Tokyo setting we're at playing in.

Hello Happy! I'm actually just starting to get into VtM. I don't know what edition I like best, I actually just applied to my first game a few days ago. I've always liked representing my trans lesbian self in my TTRPGs but I feel nervous doing it in a game where the GM and other players might not understand those issues. I hope you have a lot of fun gaming!

Welcome to the community, Happy Medium!

Welcome to GP!