Jess Lanzillo Joins White Wolf as Creative Director

Jess Lanzillo, the former VP of Dungeons & Dragons that departed the company last month, is joining White Wolf as the creative director for World of Darkness. In a press release, White Wolf noted that Lanzillo will lead IP development for all World of Darkness story worlds, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and others. This includes the TTRPGs, video games, and other projects.

Lanzillo has been a lifelong World of Darkness fan since the inaugural release of Vampire: The Masquerade back in 1991.

“World of Darkness has been my creative north star since the '90s, and I've seen firsthand how these games create communities and inspire storytellers,” Lanzillo said in the press release announcing the news. “My focus is on supporting and amplifying what makes these worlds special—the rich lore, the player agency, the mature themes—while ensuring they reach everyone who would love them. World of Darkness is so much more than just games; it's a cultural touchstone with a passionate community and incredible untapped potential.”

"Bringing Jess on board to shape the creative future of World of Darkness is a big win for White Wolf," said Marco Behrmann, White Wolf Executive Vice President in the same press release. "She’s a world-class Creative Director with deep roots in developing transmedia properties and a sharp instinct for audience-first storytelling. Jess’s experience makes her the perfect fit to lead White Wolf in bold, ambitious ways. Jess is a key pillar of our expanding studio, helping drive a strong and clear creative vision from the heart of our team. Her arrival underscores Paradox’s long-term commitment to White Wolf and our goal to make World of Darkness the number one horror entertainment brand in the world."

 

[GreyLord]

So, she's in charge of all projects with story....or at least a part of it...

When is Bloodlines 2 coming out!!!!

 

[MGibster]

I don't advice to use our real life as setting but if it totally ideological neutral because if you dare to talk about sins by others then other could complain you said nothing about sins by others and that would be a double standars, to measure with two different sticks.

Here's the thing. Someone is always going to complain, so you can't just sit and do nothing out of fear. Someone would probably complain if you did nothing. Since the first Vampire game was published in 1991, the World of Darkness has always been connected to the real world. It incorporates the biblical story of Cain & Abel, historical events like the fall of Carthage, and delves into cities like Berlin, Chicago, and exotic Gary, Indiana. If Vampire had been set in a fantasy world like some imitation AD&D it would likely have never become as popular as it did.

As long as stories are worth setting in the real world then it's worth setting RPGs there as well.

 

[Staffan]

I have read Chronicles of Darkness was cancelled because somebody said something about other country and.. then other person wasn't happy.

You're probably thinking of the controversy surrounding the Camarilla sourcebook for Vampire 5 (not Chronicles of Darkness). Basically, the book had the ongoing persecution of LGBTQ+ folks in Chechnya be a plot by the vampires actually running the place, as a distraction from their other evil deeds. This made Paradox take closer control of the V5 product line, as they basically realized that the people they had doing it were a bit too edgelordy.

While looking this up, I learned that this was to some degree a result of poor editing choices. The writer originally turned the chapter in as an in-character discussion between two vampires with different perspectives, along with sidebars providing a more nuanced view. But as it was too long, the editor took out the sidebars and turned the in-character subjective discussion into an out-of-character objective description.

The players bought WoD mainly for factions and crunch. This part shouldn't mean "only for mature audiences". Of course WotC could start from zero creating its own IP style New Capenna, Innistrad or Duskmourn.

What does Wizards of the Coast have to do with anything? They are a completely different company from White Wolf.

Other point is if there are too many supernatural factions and creatures then keeping the maquerade would be difficult. And now there are too grim conspirancy theories and these could be a wrong source of inspiration for the players.

That's often a problem with long-running IPs: the desire of new writers to put something of their own in the setting will eventually cause it to be overloaded with things, particularly if those things are supposed to be secret. I think there was a mention in one of the original Vampire books that the Camarilla generally tried to keep the vampire population of cities to about 1 vampire per 100,000 people. That makes for a tiny population, and one I can definitely buy staying secret. The problem is when you add werewolves, wizards, fairies, demons, mummies, and whatever else they add to the setting (I'm not counting ghosts because they're basically doing their own thing), the overall supernatural population grows kind of big.

In addition, as mentioned 1 vampire per 100k people makes for a tiny population. The 10th largest metrocomplex (Phoenix) in the US has a population of little over 5 million. The 20th largest (Orlando) about 3 million. After that, you get a lot of them at 1-3 million. But a city+environs of 3 million makes for a vampire population of 30. And in that 30 you're supposed to fit a whole vampire society with a Prince, their Senechal, a Primogen Council, a Herald, a Sheriff, and a Keeper of Elysium, with maybe other positions, plus enough "peon" vampires to be oppressed by the others.

 

[S'mon]

Dragon Age Veilguard... DnD 24... White Wolf. Quite the record.

 

[MGibster]

That's often a problem with long-running IPs: the desire of new writers to put something of their own in the setting will eventually cause it to be overloaded with things, particularly if those things are supposed to be secret.

It is a problem. It's probably why comic publishers like Marvel and DC need to reboot every once in a while. You get to the point where you have a mentally unstable, gut-toting septuagenarian veteran of a war that ended 50 years ago running around looking like a dude in his late 30s or early 40s. A bigger problem is that the audience changes. In 1991, Vampire was something new, exciting, and different. It's tough to be new, exciting, and different when you've been around for more than thirty years. If you change the setting too much you risk losing people, but if you don't change it at all you risk stagnation and losing people.

The problem is when you add werewolves, wizards, fairies, demons, mummies, and whatever else they add to the setting (I'm not counting ghosts because they're basically doing their own thing), the overall supernatural population grows kind of big.

I know we were free to mix and match settings as we saw fit, but I never played in a unified World of Darkness game. i.e. In my Vampire games, werewolves certainly existed, but there wasn't a whole lot of crossover. I didn't import the entirety of Werewolf into my Vampire games and vice versa.

In addition, as mentioned 1 vampire per 100k people makes for a tiny population. The 10th largest metrocomplex (Phoenix) in the US has a population of little over 5 million. The 20th largest (Orlando) about 3 million. After that, you get a lot of them at 1-3 million. But a city+environs of 3 million makes for a vampire population of 30.

The greater Little Rock area would support about 7 vampires under the 100,000 ratio. One of the things I like about the ratio is it supports a setting where you pretty much know all the vampires in your area. You might not know everyone particularly well, but you've seen their faces at Elysium over the years. It's like going to a small high school. You might not talk to that weird kid, but you recognize him and probably know someone who does talk to him.

You're probably thinking of the controversy surrounding the Camarilla sourcebook for Vampire 5 (not Chronicles of Darkness). Basically, the book had the ongoing persecution of LGBTQ+ folks in Chechnya be a plot by the vampires actually running the place, as a distraction from their other evil deeds.

I'm more than happy to have vampires take advantage and even exacerbate the evils men perpetrate on one another. It's always a mistake to have those evils originate with the supernatural. Sounds like the editor really dropped the ball.

 

[hoffrg86]

Honest question: what is "audience-first storytelling"?

Seems like an AI generated response, some telltale clues there.. and one is use of "em dash", another is.. words and sentences just don't make exact sense.. like the last sentence. /shrug. "untapped potential" well yeah, it was the naughty word back in '91/'94, then blunder after blunder.. eviscerating what made it special and unique from the other brands.. esp. d&d.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

It is a problem. It's probably why comic publishers like Marvel and DC need to reboot every once in a while. You get to the point where you have a mentally unstable, gut-toting septuagenarian veteran of a war that ended 50 years ago running around looking like a dude in his late 30s or early 40s. A bigger problem is that the audience changes. In 1991, Vampire was something new, exciting, and different. It's tough to be new, exciting, and different when you've been around for more than thirty years. If you change the setting too much you risk losing people, but if you don't change it at all you risk stagnation and losing people.


I know we were free to mix and match settings as we saw fit, but I never played in a unified World of Darkness game. i.e. In my Vampire games, werewolves certainly existed, but there wasn't a whole lot of crossover. I didn't import the entirety of Werewolf into my Vampire games and vice versa.


The greater Little Rock area would support about 7 vampires under the 100,000 ratio. One of the things I like about the ratio is it supports a setting where you pretty much know all the vampires in your area. You might not know everyone particularly well, but you've seen their faces at Elysium over the years. It's like going to a small high school. You might not talk to that weird kid, but you recognize him and probably know someone who does talk to him.


I'm more than happy to have vampires take advantage and even exacerbate the evils men perpetrate on one another. It's always a mistake to have those evils originate with the supernatural. Sounds like the editor really dropped the ball.

Too much interconnected lore becomes a barrier to entry at some point. It happened to me with D&D back in the day. Walking into a store an seeing all the books, and thinking "I have to buy and read all that?" I had strong completionist tendencies back those days. But I also know of people that avoided certain comic and manga line for similar reasons.

 

[MGibster]

Too much interconnected lore becomes a barrier to entry at some point. It happened to me with D&D back in the day. Walking into a store an seeing all the books, and thinking "I have to buy and read all that?" I had strong completionist tendencies back those days. But I also know of people that avoided certain comic and manga line for similar reasons.

Heck, too many editions can cause some confusion among customers. Imagine trying to explain to grandma the difference between Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia, or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition so she knows what to get you for Christmas. Or explaining to mom you want the Forgotten Realms boxed set not the Dark Sun, Ravenloft, or Birthright boxed sets. Someone completely new to D&D right now could conceivably purchase the 2014 PHB on accident.

I was recently checking out Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game because they're releasing Warhammer: The Old World Role Playing Game. I have no real idea what the difference is. It's confusing.

But, yeah, too much lore can be a problem. I purchased Runequest a few months back in a Humble Bumble. It's got a great setting, but there's so much to it I opted out. Even if I read it all, most of my players would not, and unless they understand the setting the game won't be very fun.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Heck, too many editions can cause some confusion among customers. Imagine trying to explain to grandma the difference between Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia, or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition so she knows what to get you for Christmas. Or explaining to mom you want the Forgotten Realms boxed set not the Dark Sun, Ravenloft, or Birthright boxed sets. Someone completely new to D&D right now could conceivably purchase the 2014 PHB on accident.

I was recently checking out Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game because they're releasing Warhammer: The Old World Role Playing Game. I have no real idea what the difference is. It's confusing.

Much less of a problem, though perhaps this is more of a problem in the internet age than before. Before internet one when into a shop and bought the current books on offer.
D&DBeyond is something similar, there is (I presume ) for a new customer no sign of the 2014 core books.
As for the warhammer, I have no idea, I have not looked at warhammer since the eighties. But if you were not online in places like this would be even aware of the different editions?

 

[bedir than]

Before internet one when into a shop and bought the current books on offer.

I've been in modern stores that were selling 3e, 4e and 5e