Witch Hunter: Are you playing? Yes? No? Why?

[HalWhitewyrm]

While the story of the Witch Hunter: The Dark Providence is really good (since they grabbed the best Living Death authors), the mechanics in the book are mostly terrible.

Care to expound a bit more on this by providing some examples?

The book editing is also terrible.

Again, could you perhaps expound a bit more? I read the core book a while back already, but my recollection is that, though there certainly were a number of typos, it wasn't anything cringeworthy).

PCI does not want to issue ANY errata for anything,

Witch Hunter Errata: http://darkprovidence.net/Files/WH-Errata-v1.1.pdf

Unfortunately that file is not available from their main website, so many won't find it unless they also decide to check out the Dark Providence site.

just sell more books with terrible editing.

This is a snide attack and I'd rather not have any of those, so please don't. I'd rather you present and expound your opinion, good or bad, so we can discuss it and hopefully give valuable info to both prospective players/buyers and the company about the product.

 

[Paradigm]

Great thread! I just have a bit to add:


Our summer releases were at Origins, there is nothing more for GenCon as we treat the two shows like one big event. Gates of Fire, an adventure anthology, should be out for November, and Blessed and the Damned is a 2009 release. I don't know who you spoke with at Origins, but they were a bit off on our production schedule.

More Witch Hunter orders will be available for Blessed and the Damned, including some that are asked for here. There will also be new types of magical traditions. I can confirm that we intend to include Voodoun / Santerian stuff there.

Witch Hunter is selling in numbers that Dark Providence cannot account for, and that includes a brisk export rate to Europe.

Our default position is that errata is for significant issues that effect gameplay, not a random mispelling. We don't consider "read the entire rule" to qualify as erattum.

Henry is a big softie, so if you are worried about your ethnic / racial / religious / gender group being discriminated against in a wide-spread way, don't be. We get enough grief about the title as it is. Virginia is a region where we kept to the historical trend (VA was the first area to move away from indentured servitude and into racial slavery) but that is as a potential drama building conflict. We want heroes to be offended, to fight injustice. I also entirely understand not wanting to go there with your group.

 

[Paradigm]

Love the game, but the reality is that I can't run that many campaigns concurrently.

But you're HellHound... you're Jason F****** Parent... if you can't run that many games, nobody can.

 

[LeaderDesslok]

I personally love Witch Hunter but have not been able to get my group to play, mainly because we just don't have time for more than one campaign. We're still playing in the Midnight campaign setting, a game that's been running since spring of 2003, and everyone wants to "get to the end" before starting anything else. Plus, between work schedules and families, we can't really get together more than once a month.

That being said, I buy all kinds of games and picked up WH and the screen at GenCon 07. Great stuff. I should point out that I also contributed some work to the upcoming Blessed and Damned book, which I'm very excited about and eagerly anticipating.

 

[HellHound]

But you're HellHound... you're Jason F****** Parent... if you can't run that many games, nobody can.

heh.

And I didn't mention the Lacuna Part 1 campaign that I am running at special events (Lacuna is currently my biggest RPG obsession).

The two games I miss most from dropping d20/3e from my RPG sessions? My DragonStar / Rokugan setting ("The Stars, My Empire") and my Arcanis Campaigns ("Three Rogues of Arcanis" and "Dark Envoys"). If I were to add a new game to my campaign roster right now, it would be Arcanis again, not Witch Hunter.

 

[Dextra]

gamer senses... tingling...

The two games I miss most from dropping d20/3e from my RPG sessions? My DragonStar / Rokugan setting ("The Stars, My Empire") and my Arcanis Campaigns ("Three Rogues of Arcanis" and "Dark Envoys"). If I were to add a new game to my campaign roster right now, it would be Arcanis again, not Witch Hunter.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

As much as Witch Hunter appeals to me, if not playing it means we can resurrect our Arcanis campaign, I guess I'll have to hold off trying it for awhile yet!

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Great thread! I just have a bit to add:

Thanks for dropping by, Eric.

Our summer releases were at Origins, there is nothing more for GenCon as we treat the two shows like one big event. Gates of Fire, an adventure anthology, should be out for November, and Blessed and the Damned is a 2009 release.

Scoop! So we have A Child's Game, Grand Tome of Adversaries and WH Character Journal for Origins/Gen Con, Gates of Fire in Nov., and Blessed and the Damned next year; sounds great!

More Witch Hunter orders will be available for Blessed and the Damned, including some that are asked for here. There will also be new types of magical traditions. I can confirm that we intend to include Voodoun / Santerian stuff there.

I knew a bit about this, but it's great to know this for sure from you. I know I can tell others that have been asking and probably get their interest in the game increased a notch or two.

Witch Hunter is selling in numbers that Dark Providence cannot account for, and that includes a brisk export rate to Europe.

Argh, we need to get those people posting about the game as well.

Our default position is that errata is for significant issues that effect gameplay, not a random mispelling. We don't consider "read the entire rule" to qualify as erattum.

Speaking of Errata, Eric, would it be possible to get the Errata file I linked to above (the one in the DP website) posted also to the PCI website? And perhaps also the character sheet and some of the quick-play characters. Some of those resources should definitely be on the main WH website as well as the DP site.

Henry is a big softie, so if you are worried about your ethnic / racial / religious / gender group being discriminated against in a wide-spread way, don't be. We get enough grief about the title as it is. Virginia is a region where we kept to the historical trend (VA was the first area to move away from indentured servitude and into racial slavery) but that is as a potential drama building conflict. We want heroes to be offended, to fight injustice. I also entirely understand not wanting to go there with your group.

My impression of the book right from the start was "it went there, but tastefully." The themes of the era are mentioned and touched upon, but they are left up to the GM to bring to the forefront and to what degree. I personally would have been sorely disappointed if it hadn't, because otherwise why make it an alt-historical setting in the first place? The game is meant to elicit mature storytelling out of its players, but the degree to which you touch on things (on screen, off screen, allusion, gritty exploration) can vary without loosing the emotional core that is embedded there. Aside from the cool setting and trappings, this is what really brought me over on WH.

I personally love Witch Hunter but have not been able to get my group to play, mainly because we just don't have time for more than one campaign. We're still playing in the Midnight campaign setting, a game that's been running since spring of 2003, and everyone wants to "get to the end" before starting anything else. Plus, between work schedules and families, we can't really get together more than once a month.

As an aside (and perhaps something to be explored in a forked thread later on), I am surprised at the number of long-running campaigns people have been citing as their reason for not having tried a new game (and by long I'm talking 2-5 years). I used to do that, but I've switched to a 1-year max in order to get more games played and avoid burnout. But again, a digression worthy of its own thread later on.

That being said, I buy all kinds of games and picked up WH and the screen at GenCon 07. Great stuff. I should point out that I also contributed some work to the upcoming Blessed and Damned book, which I'm very excited about and eagerly anticipating.

Then dude, you really need to get a game in. Are you coming to Gen Con this year as well? Let me know.

 

[LeaderDesslok]

That being said, I buy all kinds of games and picked up WH and the screen at GenCon 07. Great stuff. I should point out that I also contributed some work to the upcoming Blessed and Damned book, which I'm very excited about and eagerly anticipating.

Then dude, you really need to get a game in. Are you coming to Gen Con this year as well? Let me know.

I wish I was going this year. I went in 2006 and 2007, but I'm finally getting out of a loooong period of unemployment (almost 18 months!) and there's no way I could afford it. I'm hoping to attend next year.

 

[sasseyfrass]

I have been playing the organized WH campaign since the debut at Orgins 2007. It is a lot of fun and has a lot going for it. I've only missed about 3 modules so far and hope to pick those up soon.

Anyone who enjoys role-playing and historical fiction will likely enjoy this campaign. The modules (and campaign) have continous opportunities for role-play. The rules are there for a good framework, but it is obvious (at least to me) that the rules are not supposed to get in the way of the game or the role-play. So if a d10 (that is a simplification of the game mechanic, it does use d10 dice though) system isn't your cup of tea, don't let that sway you. I've played with GMs where the rule mechanics are invisible to the role-play and module.

Some specific things it has going for it:
1. The author (Rucht) of the Tome of Adversaries was one of the best LD judges I ever had the pleasure of playing with. He is also apparently involved in the modules, other works, etc...
2. A lot of the old LD judges and players play the campaign and in my experience, those are some of the best role-players out there.
3. The story that the Paradigm team has written including the alternate history portions is very compelling. The various orders that have been written are really cool. They invoke all kinds of great module ideas on their own.
4. The fact that Paradigm is the company behind this is important. As shown by the LA campaign and their support of The Gathering, this is a company that supports the gamers and the gaming community, not just out there to make a buck (although there is certainly nothing wrong with making a buck too). They really remind me of the old,old TSR.

The fact that the modules are free and available for download off the website rocks. Even if you don't want to play the organized campaign, they can be used for home plays. Like I said, I have played most of the modules and have thoroughly enjoyed all but one (which is a great ration. Heck, I barely enjoyed 2 out of 3 LC modules).

/cheers!

-Dave (neutral observer

 

[Eloiwyn]

Love the game

Witch Hunter is the only non-D&D game I've played-- it's popular in our locale, and after 25+ years of exclusive D&D play we were finally talked into trying it. I'm extremely glad we did, as we've had a blast with it.

In many ways, the "weird" (to me) rules mechanics and d10 system has been a plus-- unlike D&D, where I can quote rules out of dozens of books and have prolonged arguments on the finer points of just about any situation, in Witch Hunter I haven't a clue, and it is strangely liberating. I say what I want to do, roll whatever dice I'm told to roll, and react to whatever happens-- in other words, I get to just play the character!

I've also quite enjoyed the "historical" setting. Yes, it takes liberties with real history, but it's familiar enough that I can really picture the character and the environs, and can have fun with accents that are actually relevant (sure, dwarves always had Scottish accents, but I would have felt a little embarrassed putting on a thick French accent for one of my elves...)

We've only played the organized Dark Providence version, not home campaigns, but the stories have been great-- very creepy, and every one when it's come to the big baddie I 've been really convinced that there's no way we can take it and we're all going to die horribly.

As for the questions about minorities, it seems to work. Witch Hunters are exceptional people. They can transcend normal limitations. And, they always recognize their own. I've known folks to play Jews and Muslims-- their fellow Witch Hunters know what side they're on, and as for the locals, they can either be kept in ignorance, or the more "acceptable" Witch Hunters can run interference. And, of course, slavery is a very real element of the times, but again Witch Hunters are exceptions. You can be a freed Black slave, if that's what you want, or even a character from Africa-- there's not a lot in the core rulebook to cover it, but also nothing to prevent it, if you've got a good character concept it and role-play it well. The state of women of the time has also not stood in the way of any of us playing female characters-- I've known folks playing school marms, nuns, "grannies from hades", prissy academics, and in one case a Russian thug who was tough enough that no one was going to argue the inappropriateness of it with her. My own is a half-Indian folk healer who got sent off to be educated by nuns in Quebec. She can excuse any lapses in her French accent to the Algonquin influence, and packs enough pistols and heathen magic that the sailors don't hit on her for long.

--Eloiwyn