- Joined
- Apr 19, 2019
So werewolf testicles could essentially be a form of currency like Bitcoin.
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 2 - I want to believe, but...
- Thread starter mindlessobserver
- Start date
-
Want to keep track of this thread?
Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
Create account
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2020
Flatten them with a hammer first, that's how you get DogeCoin.
Emperor Julian
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
I dunno but it sounds odd coming from Sasha "I threw my dick at Hardestadt" Vykos.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
Na, real fun is when your retired Marine meatshield Caitiff who got turned into a catboy (don't ask) has the dice fail him and two Russian mercs fill him and his buddy full of holes in a Los Angeles sewer before their eventual victory. Fortitude is a hell of a
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2020
The raw for this has already been out for a while, and there are interesting game mechanics, but nothing spectacular. A bit more SJW bullshit tacked on too. The biggest problem though is that it absolutely shits on previous V5 game design decisions and balancing. Hecata and Lasombra are now the most broken clans in the game since they have access to the most content between them, and they can also overlap since Obtenebration and Necromancy were combined into Oblivion.
Now, what everyone believed was going to be the case was that basic discipline spread we got in Chicago was going to be it—Hecata were just going to use more of the rituals while Lasombra focused on the discipline powers, but this raised an interesting concern. If that was the case, why in the FUCK would you play a Hecata and level up Oblivion if you couldn't use the default discipline powers? If Hecata could, what was stopping them from being Lasombra but better? Could Lasombra learn rituals too? Then what the fuck does each clan do?
They answered this problem by doing the absolute worst thing possible. They DOUBLED the discipline powers of Oblivion, and added an entire new set just for Hecata players, as well as giving Hecata rituals. Now, you'll ask the question, "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU COMBINE NECROMANCY AND OBTENEBRATION IN THE FIRST PLACE THEN?!" And the answer is who knows. Matthew Dawkins probably was upset his favorite clan didn't feel unique enough. It gets worse though, because there is still, technically, nothing preventing a Lasombra from taking those powers other than needing Auspex for amalgams, and vice versa with Potence for Hecata.
The end result is that Lasombra and Hecata now have so many different play styles there is no reason to not play them. They have, arguably, the coolest aesthetic, the coolest power, and 60% of the content. So once again, we're getting into a scenario where most players will just pick Lasombra and Tremere. Made even worse because Lasombra are Camarilla vampires now, meaning you can't say, "Cam clans only."
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2017
All I can say is I'm glad I still have my old books.
At my gaming table, V5 and all that metaplot stuff that led to its fucktard setting changes never happened. Ever.
I think people should stop feeding the beast and make a point of using the older rules and the older setting as it existed before V5. Don't support V5 or at least sail the high seas if you're gonna keep playing V5.
If we're lucky, Paradox will eventually sell off the IP to some other group and maybe those guys can unfuck all this.
Hell, you could probably buy the license for Chronicles of Darkness away from Onyx Path with a well-done crowdfunding campaign and the proper paperwork. That IP's even deader than the old World of Darkness is and last I checked, the guys at Paradox explicitly won't allow any spin-off media adaptations outside of the tabletop books.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2020
I actually like the idea of the Gehenna war, so I include that in my games. I think making the Sabbat get off their asses and do the whole, "killing the Elders to stop the Jyhad" thing is a pretty good idea. The difference is I'm not using it to write them out of the scenario. The presence of the Sabbat is felt all over the world, and I hype them up constantly. Sabbat packs will occasionally return from the East bloated on power, and even their neonates put the average Camarilla ancilla to shame. Once these packs are stopped, their last words are always letting the players know they're just the beginning—that the true Sword of Caine will soon return and wipe them from the Earth.
Also gives me an excuse to run Sabbat games where my players play shovelheads thrown into hellish warzones with the goal of, "finding Methuselah X and eating them for dessert. And oh yeah, the Camarilla are sending some PMCs to try and stop you. Do what you guys do best."
All in all, I like it. But that's the only V5 plot point I like. Though I have to admit I also use the revised stuff involving Time of Judgement, like Ravnos getting ate up. I've only ever played V20 because everything else was far before my time. I'm a zoomer.
Also gives me an excuse to run Sabbat games where my players play shovelheads thrown into hellish warzones with the goal of, "finding Methuselah X and eating them for dessert. And oh yeah, the Camarilla are sending some PMCs to try and stop you. Do what you guys do best."
All in all, I like it. But that's the only V5 plot point I like. Though I have to admit I also use the revised stuff involving Time of Judgement, like Ravnos getting ate up. I've only ever played V20 because everything else was far before my time. I'm a zoomer.
And yeah, Chronicles of Darkness is pretty dead besides Changeling lol. That said, Spilled Blood released recently for Requiem 2E. Wasn't bad imo. Introduced a lot of cool bloodlines. Requiem, ignoring the fluff, does Vampires better as far as making everything feel like Vampires. Everything a vampire can do or does in Requiem is in some way tied to their vampirism. All their disciplines reflect this, and there isn't anything like Tremere who just are basically vampire mages. That said, I still prefer Masquerade, for all it's flaws. It's a really unique take on vampires and gives you a lot of leeway to play the type of Vampire you want.
This is off-topic though. We need a World of Darkness general.
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2017
I'm a Late Millennial who didn't get into WoD until like 2008 or so when I was in high school.
I'll admit, I love a lot of the early setting from before Revised and I like to incorporate a lot of the game's "early installment weirdness" from the first and second edition into the V20 one-shots I occasionally run.
And yes, we do need a World of Darkness general.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2020
Yeah it's probably a good idea, not everyone who played Bloodlines decided to dive into WoD as a whole. So here.
- Joined
- May 30, 2018
I called this shit the moment it was announced since A) I work in games and can spot a fucking dud game a million miles away and B) am a VtM autist to the max.
I will be vindicated when this shitshow crashes and burns. That said, not all the Paradox selling the license to the cheapest bidder tactics seem bad as a result. Swansong is a clear small scale contender if it actually does what they expect and its an actual investigation game with 3 different ay styles and a mystery to solve. I'm following that one closely.
The other I think might be alright is the new WtA game since that studio actually has a track record of actual games unlike the dudes doing Bloodlines 2.
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2019
If this game winds up sucking it'll be a huge tragedy as a Bloodlines 2 has got to be one of the more unlikely sequels in gaming history.
An against all odds game coming out only to fall flat on it's face, it breaks my heart, especially considering that first teaser trailer was awesome.
On a side note, can someone explain to me why Activison felt like the first game just had to release in fall of 2004 when it so obviously needed more polish and fall of 2004 was so absurdly crowded? What would it have hurt for the game to come out say spring of 2005?
An against all odds game coming out only to fall flat on it's face, it breaks my heart, especially considering that first teaser trailer was awesome.
On a side note, can someone explain to me why Activison felt like the first game just had to release in fall of 2004 when it so obviously needed more polish and fall of 2004 was so absurdly crowded? What would it have hurt for the game to come out say spring of 2005?
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2020
WtA was the wokest game in the original lineup, don't expect any good out of it.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2020
History is sadly repeating itself. The biggest tragedy is that if Bloodlines 2 does flop, this time we'll just have a bad boring game rather than a broken good game.
From my understanding, Activison wasn't happy with them by the end of development. They had gone over budget and past their initial delivery date. If you're bored I would recommend this video as it covers some information about Bloodlines 1's history and development.
Gravityqueen4life
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- May 29, 2019
it cant get any worse.
but it did get worse
but it did get worse
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2020
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2018
Shame, it does look nice, especially the hunter in full riot gear whooping the vampire-bitch's ass.
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2017
So, uh, how about that Masquerade?
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2020
It went to shit ages ago. Specifically, the moment White Wolf started jacking off to the Sabbat.
Zaryiu
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2017
Well Paradox licensed three tie-in with a company named Choice of Games LLC that sell text games made with Choicescript (I purchased some of their own text games and the ones they publish made by members of their forum, similar to gamebooks i guess. Anyway they publish games made by their employees under the name Choice of Games and by Freelancers from their forums. Quality wise it varies from stuff you expect from a company based in California that has a clientele (i hope thats the right word) partially made of sjws while others are really good with others games falling in between)
Here's someone playing the first tie-in, sorry it was the first complete play through i found and oh yeah all the tie-ins are/will be based on V5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Hkx9U86aM&list=PLV0o1nXCAcPTX5FZ5uty0ovcxRcddINiG&index=1 (It doesn't want to embed)
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2020
Im currently playing through all of those interactive novels they keep releasing and the Choice of Games one is actually probably the best of its genre. The rest varies.
But from the top:
Werewolf the Apocalypse: Heart of the Forest - somewhat gamified, with a few alternative paths, most advanced graphically out of all of them
Good setting initially, gets real contrived real fast, the story is boring and very predictable, its also centered around activism with shoehorned LGBABCDE+ characters. It has an interesting gimmick with "rage" - a stat you increase and decrease by certain actions that influences how you act in positive or negative ways. you're basically supposed to manipulate your anger for it to be useful to you, but it falls flat mechanically.
VTM: Coteries of New York - somewhat gamified, very little divergence (so far), pretty graphically developed
Its a introduction to VTM just like VTMB was, retreads a lot of ground for me but does so pretty well. The story revolves around its charters heavily and is pretty good overall, its tone is pretty sharp, not pozzed at all. You can pick from 3 predefined characters each from a different clan and profession, it influences the game very little from what i can tell. Its pretty much just a book with pictures, i haven't played a lot of it but i doubt that changes much later on
VTM: Shadows of New York -pretty much the same, haven't touched it yet. Doesn't look like a continuation, you're just playing form Anarch perspective instead of Camarilla like the first one.
VTM: Night Road - actually a videogame, lot of alternate paths, its just text with a few pictures
Very interesting setting, you're a courier in texas, the game doesn't spend a lot of time introducing the world but somebody completely unfamiliar with VTM can piece things out from what is said, the game ports the entire RPG system, probably V5, you have inventory, disciplines, cash, exp to spend, there are lots of skillchecks with an option to show what stats they require or keep it hidden, you can fuck up a lot, piss people off, backstab the camerilla or your "friends" the story is very well written, your character has a predetermined past (partially) but you can pick from i think 6 clans and create your guy in a neat flashback sequence. Again, probably the most impressive game of its genre, it reads like a script for a better VTMB2 and i highly recommend it.
PC version:
