Good recent nWoD / Exalted books?

[ProfessorCirno]

Hunter: the Reckoning was spectacularly abysmal. Glad to hear HtV is working out well for folks though. Might look into it sometime, if the local WoD-heads (er, the ones I happen to know, anyhow) come to like it.

What's so dark about Slasher? Apart from [presumably] being about serial killers and the like, obviously.

Well, in part it's the serial killer nature. Remember, this isn't just supernatural Jason-esque serial killers, it covers the lower spectrum too. The fluff in the book is fantastic, if a bit disturbing at times. I'd say what makes it so much darker is 1) It's serial killer through the eyes of a very aware audience, unlike most serial killer movies. Don't get me wrong, it sets itself perfectly to play a Dead Teenagers game, but the emphasis is on human beings bringing out the wanton destruction and death of other human beings. 2) It talks about how to play as a Slasher. 3) it focuses heavily on the theme of hunters who burn out becoming Slashers. Vampires, they look just like humans, don't they? And mages, hell, they ARE people - just ones that effect the world differently. How long until things start to turn black and white? How many mages go down until you start to see patterns that may not even be there - and then innocent people that fit your pattern no longer seem so innocent? There's so many people out there who don't know and don't care about those monsters. Maybe they're the monsters. Or maybe you've just been killing for so long that it's becoming a second nature, deadening your senses.

The opening fluff really does set the stage perfectly. To catch a Slasher, they have to think like one, begin to act like one. But once you've begun harming innocents, even if it was to catch a monster, what does that make you?

 

[Darkness]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

Ah, so Slasher is for Hunter rather than general nWoD. Hey, I was close. Anyway, ProfessorCirno killed (pun intended) any possible doubts about this book, so it goes on my shopping list.

So, Inferno. Are the demons in Inferno built like spirits? Are there a lot of them?

While I'm on the topic of general nWoD books, did anyone like Midnight Roads or Tales from the 13th Precinct?

Immortal Sinners? *tries find out more* Ok, so this is from of a series of books, probably one for each game line, called Night Horrors: [individual title] and the first two are Grim Fears for Changeling and Immortal Sinners for Vampire. Apparently, they contain really nasty characters and such. Sounds promising.

Promethean is great, but I already have all of it. I probably should have mentioned that.
(Unless they ended up making more books after the original half dozen.)

Changeling... Which of the supplements is the most generally useful for running the game? (IIRC, I have Autumn Nightmares and Winter Masques.)

 

[Crothian]

While I'm on the topic of general nWoD books, did anyone like Midnight Roads or Tales from the 13th Precinct?

Midnight Roads offers what I feel to be the best kind of WoD book. It is full of horror and easy to use in any WoD game. It is the horrors one can find on the backwater roads of America. That might be its only flaw for you, it is America centric. As I read it I understood exactly where the book was coming from in that I've taken many long road trips and ended up in some remote places.

13 Precinct is good, and police focused. I haven't used it as much as the others.

Changeling... Which of the supplements is the most generally useful for running the game? (IIRC, I have Autumn Nightmares and Winter Masques.)

I assume then you also have Changeling?

Rites of Spring is maybe the best in the line. It has mant optional rules that are easy to implement and is mostly about running the games.

Lords of Summer is about freeholds, and much of the courts. Also, very useful.

Equinox Road is more about the high level game and also the possible end games of Changeling.

Night Horrors: Grim Fears is for WoD but inspired by Changeling. Basically Changeling like monsters and NPCs. Very creative.

 

[Darkness]

Ok, many thanks, Crothian.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

So, Inferno. Are the demons in Inferno built like spirits? Are there a lot of them?

Demons are built exactly like spirits. There aren't anywhere nearly as many of them as I'd liked. Interestingly, spirits can become demons.

Also, there's a sidebar (well, a "side page") dedicated to flipping things and playing people possessed by angels (essentially, it's "take all the demony things and turn them angelic")

While I'm on the topic of general nWoD books, did anyone like Midnight Roads or Tales from the 13th Precinct?

They're both good reads, IMHO. 13th Precinct is very useful if you're playing a police officer character, as Asylum is for a medical-type character. Midnight Roads has some good fluff, but not enough crunch IMHO. I wanted a lot more vehicle improvements.

Promethean is great, but I already have all of it. I probably should have mentioned that.

Promethean is cool. It's difficult to run a Promie in a mixed group, however, as I painfully found out (even with houserulling things regarding the..oh, I forget what it's called...the thing where everyone wants to kill the Prometheans after a while...)

Changeling... Which of the supplements is the most generally useful for running the game? (IIRC, I have Autumn Nightmares and Winter Masques.)

All the Changeling books are generally useful to the game. As for the "most" part, I suppose that depends on what you're looking for. Equinox Road, for example, is very useful for high-powered Changeling games and includes stuff like becoming one of the True Fae and such.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

I'm disappointed in the lack of Mage: the Awakening talk. It's easily my favorite WoD game, and the most recent book in the series (Seers of the Throne) is simply amazing.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I'm disappointed in the lack of Mage: the Awakening talk. It's easily my favorite WoD game, and the most recent book in the series (Seers of the Throne) is simply amazing.

Personally, I found nMage not as good fluff-wise compared to oMage. But then again, I just love the Sons of Ether.

 

[Mercule]

Personally, I found nMage not as good fluff-wise compared to oMage. But then again, I just love the Sons of Ether.

I'm torn. I like the system for nMage much better. It's just tighter and easier to use. I also complained about oMage not being about mages (read: Hermetics, shamans, and mystics) as much as people with nifty powers.

But, I find myself strangely missing the Etherites (less so, the VAs). Having a philosophic bent, I also miss that aspect of the game -- though I never found a group with more than maybe one other person who cared.

I do not miss the Technocracy and the Ascension War. The concept of the Technocracy was somewhat interesting, but the implementation was spotty and I always felt it could use a separate setting.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Personally, I found nMage not as good fluff-wise compared to oMage. But then again, I just love the Sons of Ether.

nMage suffers terribly from having a weak core book. But the quality of it's suppliments puts it at the top of my list. It's just a shame that you need those to fully enjoy the game.

For instance, you'll find almost no mention of Sons of Ether-style technomancy in the main book. You've got to check out Tome of Mysteries for that.