[Non-d20] Witch Hunter: Invisible World - my impressions

[Paradigm]

I am still reading and absorbing your feedback on Witch Hunter, but I want to just point a few things out.

The Yahoo Group you are on isthe Witch Hunter Dark Providence campaign group. As a result, it is going to be campaign dominated.

The Living Arcanis website was set up by a software developer. The Dark Providence campaign website was set up by a computer-savy gamer. As a result, the Living Arcanis site is just so much nicer.

The lack of an index is entirely our bad, we were behind schedule and had to make Origins with the book, you may find that this is likely a common occurance.. I am also going to put the form-fillable character sheet and the index from the campaign site up on the Paradigm Concepts website.

 

[Crothian]

I didn't play this at Origins, but those who did really seemed to enjoy it. Origins this year there was no one thing people were talking about so I heard from a lot of people about a lot of different things. Witch Hunter was mostly all positive. People really had fun with the games and there seemed to be a little compitition going on with what groups could accomplish the goals of the adventrue the best. It was fun hearing people talk about that.

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

I am still reading and absorbing your feedback on Witch Hunter, but I want to just point a few things out.

The Yahoo Group you are on isthe Witch Hunter Dark Providence campaign group. As a result, it is going to be campaign dominated.

Thanks for taking the time to post here. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm just criticizing things. I'm honestly not trying to do that. I figured I'd post how things came across to me, and maybe point out stuff that other folks might not know of.

Or that I could be corrected about, and that way anyone else coming along would be able to benefit as well.

The Living Arcanis website was set up by a software developer. The Dark Providence campaign website was set up by a computer-savy gamer. As a result, the Living Arcanis site is just so much nicer.

Yeah, Brian mentioned that. Like I said, the Witch Hunter site seemed fine to me, it was only when I happened to go over to the Arcanis site that I was like, "Wow. That's nice. That's reeeealy nice." I've got no real experience with Paradigm so my impressions could be pretty far off base from what other folks have.

The lack of an index is entirely our bad, we were behind schedule and had to make Origins with the book, you may find that this is likely a common occurance.. I am also going to put the form-fillable character sheet and the index from the campaign site up on the Paradigm Concepts website.

I completely understand how a deadline can _really_ mess with a project. My own life at work is... interesting... right now, since we've got several projects all struggling to meet their deadlines.

I do appreciate that you're putting the sheet and index up at the regular website. Little stuff like that does help out for those folks that may not have the patience to parse through things, or that tend to be less easy-going in their expectations of products.

Oh, and since I've got your eyes for a sec? More Orders please. Or some guidelines for creating 'em. It'd be nice to be able to import some other cultures into Witch Hunter. I seem to recall you've got plans for this sort of thing at some point, but I just thought I'd put out a friendly request.

I didn't play this at Origins, but those who did really seemed to enjoy it. Origins this year there was no one thing people were talking about so I heard from a lot of people about a lot of different things. Witch Hunter was mostly all positive. People really had fun with the games and there seemed to be a little compitition going on with what groups could accomplish the goals of the adventrue the best. It was fun hearing people talk about that.

That's cool.

I'm looking forward to the next game. I think I've got a better handle on stuff then I did the first time around, and even with my ham-fisted running of the adventure, people had fun.

Sidenote: Witch Hunter has an appeal that may not be immediately obvious to some people... dice. You can get up to 10 dice in your hand to toss.

Now, some people _really_ dislike this. Others are neutral.

And then there's folks who's faces light up with glee as they start counting their dice and then sling 'em all onto the table.

My wife is one of 'em. "Ooooo....I'm not sure I've got enough dice.... can I borrow some of yours?" She had a big ol' grin on her face as her little hands scooped more dice into the pile before she dumped 'em all on the table and watched 'em bounce about.

I admit it, I'm not entirely immune to it myself. It's hard not to grin as I count out the dice I'm going to toss. I roll out in the open, so everyone's attention was right on that dice pile. I'll even admit to a bit of cruelty... when I first rolled Penney's attack? It's 8d. I counted up 6d with a big smile on my face, picked my hands up as if to shake and went, "Whoops. Almost forgot..." and then counted, "7, and 8. _Now_ I've got 'em all." There was an audible groan at the table which immediately turned to chuckles and ribbing as I proceed to suck.

Next game is supposed to be Sunday. I'm thinking/hoping that we'll finish off Storm Tide, and then move on to Swans.

It'll be interesting to see how the group deals with the rest of the adventure, given how effective bible-thumping was.

 

[Toben the Many]

I'd second some of the folks' recommendation for the Adversaries book, because the back of the book contains all of the powers and talents for the bad guys in alphabetical order and are easier to look up. I think that alone would help your games out a lot. Plus, many of the powers have been updated in the new book.

Plus, the artwork is completely sweet!

 

[Crothian]

Does anyone have the Lost Child modules, opr whatever it was called? I'm wondering how that is.

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

I'd second some of the folks' recommendation for the Adversaries book, because the back of the book contains all of the powers and talents for the bad guys in alphabetical order and are easier to look up. I think that alone would help your games out a lot. Plus, many of the powers have been updated in the new book.

Plus, the artwork is completely sweet!

I wish I could, but for various reasons I can't get the book until Jan/Feb of 09. So for now I'm just going to have to rely on either my own homebrewed bits or the corebook.

 

[BluSponge]

Ah, now see... instead of folks getting into a system war, I think it'd be cool if a couple of "counter points" were offered up. Sure, I plan on talking about Witch Hunter in this thread...that's what I made it for.

snip

I don't intend to threadjack my own thread with a Solomon Kane vs. Witch Hunter thing... someone like Crothian who's got both books (played both games?) can make their own thread if they feel the need to do that. But I don't mind hearing why Solomon Kane would be considered "superior", unless it's a case of "Because Savage Worlds rocks!!"; I don't have anything against Savage Worlds, I'm just interested in trying to put Witch Hunter through its paces.

As someone who has both and has played both, I'm going to tell you flat out that both have big differences that add up to a subtle feel to the game. Personally, I prefer Solomon Kane because I don't like the "alternate history" of Witch Hunter. I prefer the horror creepy and on the edges of the map, beyond the scope of the average pion. Witch Hunter tweaks the world to make allowances the level of magic involved. The Aztecs are kicking Spanish butt in the New World, for instance.

I was also put off a bit by the omnipresence of religion in WH. ALL of the heroes have ties to religious institutions and "holy orders." In SK, heroes can come from all walks of life, and be as heretical and agnostic as the player prefers. (I am sure there are ways to do this in WH, too. But the fluff doesn't encourage me).

I also prefer the SW rules to those in WH.

I should also point out that if SWoSK did not exist, I would be all over WH. I wouldn't even consider my above points to be criticisms so much as personal preferences. As it is, I'm making a point to follow WH as I can adapt just about anything in the game to SK, and I don't expect that book to get near the volume of support of WH (though I could be wrong).

WH is more fluffy by miles, so there is far more it can lend to SK than vice-versa. However, the plot point of SK would fit quite well into WH. You would have to make a few allowances for the advanced timeline (1610 vs. 1689), but most of SK's adventures take place in forlorn places where the effect would be minimal. And there is always the bestiary.

Anyhow, keep us informed as to how your game proceeds!

Does anyone have the Lost Child modules, opr whatever it was called? I'm wondering how that is.

A Child's Game, you mean? I picked it up at Origins over the weekend. I haven't made much headway through it, but it seems pretty solid so far. It's a travelogue adventure, designed to give the players something of a tour of the WH world, beginning in London and ending in the New Netherlands area of the New World. I won't spoil you much as to the villains, other than that they were the key selling point on the adventure for me -- well that and the 30 minutes or so the Paradigm guys spent chatting with me and the passion they have behind their game lines. Great guys!

Tom
who still wants to see a few Muslim orders of Witch Hunters

 

[Paradigm]

Thanks for taking the time to post here. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm just criticizing things. I'm honestly not trying to do that. I figured I'd post how things came across to me, and maybe point out stuff that other folks might not know of.

I have no issue with criticism, as long as it is not critical for critical's sake. There are always things that can be improved upon. I am happy that you are sharing your experiences with the community, and it is pretty clear to me that you are having fun.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Platypus, awesome that you are enjoying WH. I've also gotten hardcore into it and have been running a play-by-email game for the past couple of months, though we started with Swans instead of Storm Tides.

I want to reiterate some of the points brought up:
The Yahoo! group is very much the DP campaign list, though it is a good place to check for rules clarifications and news. For those of us doing home play only, there's been some growing traffic over at the WH forums on PCI's website. You'll find me there as Highmoon, as well as others who are grokkin' WH at home (though we're all taking advantage of the great resource that is the DP site). Drop by there as well.

Thanks for the great updates you have been posting. Since I'm running via email, we don't have that immediacy of reaction though as soon as we're done with the first adventure, I'll be writing up a report of the whole thing. WH is a game that I want to see gain more of a following (especially of the home play-type, whether exclusive or in conjunction with DP) and nothing does that better than folks like us who are enjoying the game sharing that enthusiasm with others.

I know there's a lot more material coming soon to expand the world of WH (though I also love the fact that it is very much a one-book-to-play game) so keep an eye out for info from PCI. And hey, feel free to share any homebrewed hacks and creations, whether here, RPG.net or the WH forums (or all!).

I'm looking forward to the continuing reports from your game, so keep it up.

 

[malladin]

I think the alternate history and setting for Witch Hunter is great. I find the mechanics a bit crunchy which is why I'd use, and will be playing a game using, the Savage Worlds rules but thats purely personal preference. A lot of people seem to think its a Solomon Kane or Witch Hunter choice but really both are quite unique and excellent games.