New World of Darkness core book free on DTRPG!

[Staffan]

Also, using dots instead of numbers makes it more clear that 5 is the maximum (at least for the 95% of characters that aren't elder vampires).

 

[Turjan]

Do you really want it to go elsewhere and have somebody say something that somebody else will take offence to only to have them start a war of one line arguements back and forth till the moderators close the thread? ;-)

No, I don't really want to talk about the merits of the Storyteller system. That's lastly a very personal thing, but I see that it is the second most popular system around. Maybe, I should add that I'm not really a fan of WoD games; I don't have much interest in modern horror games of this kind, but I appreciate the opportunity to have a good look at the new version.

However, I find it quite remarkable that the current core book of that system was now made available for free. Just think of WotC making a pdf version of the Player's Handbook available for free; do you think this might ever happen?

 

[buzz]

However, I find it quite remarkable that the current core book of that system was now made available for free. Just think of WotC making a pdf version of the Player's Handbook available for free; do you think this might ever happen?

Uh...

http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd35

 

[Storyteller01]

Ok, I downloaded it and read quite a bit. Pretty cool, but I have one question for those who have played the storyteller system before (I'm a newb).

Why are * (dots) used instead of numbers?


joe b.

It looks better, and is more in keeping with their Storytelling system (more story, less numbers).

My guess anyway...

 

[Turjan]

Uh...

http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd35

Oh, I'm aware of this . That's why I didn't say "system" but "core book" .

 

[nerfherder]

I think the reason is probably something along the lines of "It was different from everything else out there when we created Vampire!", which was subsequently rationalized away with the "film rating" explaination I seem to recall running across at one time or another.

The film rating explanation is actually there right from the start.

Vampire: the Masquerade (c)1991, p32:
"A character is described by his or her Traits, numbers essentially, which allow them to interact with the rules. Each Trait has a rating from 1-5, which desribes how good the character is in that particular Trait. One is pretty lousy and five is superb. This scale of 1 to 5 is the "star" system made famous by movie and restaurant critics."

Cheers,
Liam

 

[wingsandsword]

Also, using dots instead of numbers makes it more clear that 5 is the maximum (at least for the 95% of characters that aren't elder vampires).

Or Legendary Werewolves, or Archmages, or extremely powerful Sorcerers. . .

One nice thing about NWoD/WoD 2.0 is that it really reset things on power creep, like having no godlike antediluvian elders. I always thought it was kinda silly about Masquerade vampires, that a curse from god Himself was able to give them the power to destroy entire armies, ravage cities, and become nigh infinitely smart/strong, with the huge set of "I win" powers they got, it almost looks more like Cain was rewarded instead of being punished.

I also like how they intentionally balanced Vampires, Werewolves and Mages against each other, and expect crossovers. They already happened in a lot of games. Old World of Darkness alternated unpredicatably between "They are separate games made by the same company in a similar setting" to "they are just different aspects of the same world", and how poorly they crossed over to each other mechanically.

I think the "dots" thing was just to be different, just like how White Wolf tried to rename every gaming term when they came out, Gamemaster became "Storyteller", Gaming Group became "troupe", Campaign became "Chronicle", levels you have in a skill/ability became "dots".

 

[buzz]

Oh, I'm aware of this . That's why I didn't say "system" but "core book" .

Gotcha. Given the breadth of the SRD and what the OGL has made possible, I think WotC has done their part for the "cool free stuff" effort.

 

[Tiberius]

The film rating explanation is actually there right from the start.

Vampire: the Masquerade (c)1991, p32:
"A character is described by his or her Traits, numbers essentially, which allow them to interact with the rules. Each Trait has a rating from 1-5, which desribes how good the character is in that particular Trait. One is pretty lousy and five is superb. This scale of 1 to 5 is the "star" system made famous by movie and restaurant critics."

Cheers,
Liam

Well, I suppose that's what I get for not wishing to wake my wife while rummaging through my bookshelf for Vampire 1e. I KNEW I saw that explaination somewhere...

 

[Umbran]

I don't recall anything that lets you lose dots.

Well, while the basic nine are fairly static, remember that for some stats you can gain and lose dots fairly regularly. For them, the dots (and occaisonal checkboxes) make some sense. And from there you get some sense in having the graphic representation be the same for all...