Decline So Vampire: The Masquerade 5e is going to be a thing.

[Caim]

A few days ago there was the 25th anniversary of the World of Darkness. Here they announced the 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade (after First Edition, Second Edition, Revised Edition, 20th Anniversary this will be the 5th) as well as a few changes:

* Disciplines and Feeding will work by the "You are what you eat"-philosophy.
* Core institutions and concepts like "The Camarilla", "the Beast" and others will have have changed or shifted in meaning or operation in varying degrees.
* The metaplot for 5th edition will start right before the event known as Gehenna.
* Metaplot going forward will focus on real life players being the main characters. Transmedia will be huge focus.
* The game (and it's mechanics?) will treat humans not as blood bags but as individuals that matter.
* All licensees of the franchise will get the same "bible" to help unify the world and game universe. Helps the metaplot stay relevant and consistent.

I think it's telling that they want to overhaul basic stuff in the game and they let the metaplot be decided by the players instead of the writers. It means they have no idea what they're doing.

 

[Delterius]

They've been talking about these things for a long time now. They want to bring in feedback from the way the game is played into the writing process. Seems like an interesting experiment.

 

[Popiel]

* The game (and it's mechanics?) will treat humans not as blood bags but as individuals that matter.

Aaaand they dropped it. Fuck.

 

[Caim]

* The game (and it's mechanics?) will treat humans not as blood bags but as individuals that matter.

Aaaand they dropped it. Fuck.

I wonder how they're gonna implement it. Regular humans don't really matter in any oWoD game outside of Demon: The Fallen, in which humanity as a whole is important to all of Fallen in some way or form, depending on their Faction and general ideas. Some merely use them for their Faith while others want to uplift Humanity and help it realize its divine potential it has always had.

 

[Xathrodox86]

Good news. I hope that the supporting products will do the game justice.

Bloodlines 2 better be good.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

A few days ago there was the 25th anniversary of the World of Darkness. Here they announced the 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade (after First Edition, Second Edition, Revised Edition, 20th Anniversary this will be the 5th) as well as a few changes:

* Disciplines and Feeding will work by the "You are what you eat"-philosophy.
* Core institutions and concepts like "The Camarilla", "the Beast" and others will have have changed or shifted in meaning or operation in varying degrees.
* The metaplot for 5th edition will start right before the event known as Gehenna.
* Metaplot going forward will focus on real life players being the main characters. Transmedia will be huge focus.
* The game (and it's mechanics?) will treat humans not as blood bags but as individuals that matter.
* All licensees of the franchise will get the same "bible" to help unify the world and game universe. Helps the metaplot stay relevant and consistent.

I think it's telling that they want to overhaul basic stuff in the game and they let the metaplot be decided by the players instead of the writers. It means they have no idea what they're doing.

Was that all in some presentation or something? I haven't followed WoD news much after Paradox acquisition. Stopped doing it since White Wolf fucked all up and killed oWoD. I wonder if "going forward" metaplot will be tied to other lines, WtA, Kindred of the East and others.

 

[Havoc]

Shit son. The only thing I want is KotE and D:tF 20th Anniversary editions (and some more books in the Dark Ages, like Mage, Crusader or Werewolf).

 

[Caim]

The only thing I want is [...] D:tF 20th Anniversary edition

Demon: The Fallen is the best game out of the oWoD bunch. Its 20th anniversary book needs not be a "Greatest Hits" collection like the first three, just bundle all of the rules from the various books together. Cut out all the stories told from the Fallen's point of view, stick all the rules you got together, add the rules for rituals and making relics, put in the rules for creating both Earthbound and Thralls, slap in how Courts work and you got yourself the entire game.

Also, I demand that the Demon 20th Anniversary Edition is exactly 666 pages long. There is no other way.

 

[Rahdulan]

Should my SJW alarm be going off?

 

[mondblut]

* Metaplot going forward will focus on real life players being the main characters.

I smell a trolling opportunity, though. Who'll be the first to diablerize ol' Tzimicze and tentaclerape everyone else? Tabletop MMO FTW!

* Transmedia will be huge focus.
* The game (and it's mechanics?) will treat humans not as blood bags but as individuals that matter.

Transmedia will approve, I bet

It will go down in history as VTMCE, or "cuck edition".

 

[Caim]

Should my SJW alarm be going off?

We're talking White Wolf/Onyx Path here. You should have mercy killed your SJW alarm at this point.

 

[mondblut]

Should my SJW alarm be going off?

Like a tolling of some great bell, dude.

 

[Severian Silk]

Guys, SJW is okay!

 

[Rahdulan]

Makes sense.

 

[Caim]

So there's some more info from Facebook, and, well...



Copypasta in case of dingdong bannu:

Spoiler

Tempus Tenebrarum shared a post.
Tales and Rumours continue to trickle in, these will have to tide all us curious folk who missed out until such a time that we hear official releases/transcripts.

Other information:
- Fan Publishing will be a thing, for example people writing about their Hometowns ( as we've hoped in discussions with Nação Garou - Lobisomem: O Apocalipse)
- they will be looking for "inclusion" of Real Events into the WoD timeline, but remain "authentic" and avoid "historical falsification"
- expect 2 mobile apps this Winter
- integrating new/current themes with previous concepts (handling the challenges of our current times vs 90s)
- going to be working on a Fanclub Policy to coordinate the various existing groups, and to help bring in new blood
- encouraged interactions and feedback from players to help mould the setting (as we've seen from the White Wolf Team's willingness to respond to questions and statements in social media)

Thank you Jennifer Fuss for passing on as much information to us, as well as Derek Burrow's information shared below. Cross our claws, we'll aim to have one of us at next year's Gather! - Jake V
Derek Burrow > ‎Edmonton Modern Nights

I return from Grand Masquerade with tidings of...well...stuff.
As you may know, White Wolf was bought by a company called Paradox. Paradox, White Wolf, and By Night Studios held a joint presentation at Grand Masquerade to discuss the future of the World of Darkness.
The gist:
1) White Wolf is a content IP licensing company now. Their sole business is the control and licensing of the World of Darkness IP. They will be controlling the overarching metaplot, which will be consistent across all media (so novels, RPGs, computer games, TV or movies, etc will all use the EXACT SAME continuity). From one of their execs "Netflix show by 2020 or bust".
2) By Night Studios is going to keep producing the WoD RPGs. I saw some of the new Masquerade, Mage, and Werewolf books they had on display and they are GORGEOUS.
3) Vampire the Masquerade 5th Edition (V5...or just VV, as they're calling it) is being worked on with an unspecified 2018 release date. This will bring tabletop Masquerade in line more with the rules style By Night Studios uses in the new MET books (the current Masquerade LARP, and the upcoming Apocalypse LARP, which finished its Kickstarter a few months back).
4) V5 is just the start. WW and BNS are planning on revised 3rd/4th/5th editions of all the WoD game lines, including Mummy the Ressurection (maybe the bad guys will finally get stats!).
5) The new books will all be designed to fit together in the universe, similar to New WoD/Chronicles of Darkness. They will feature a fully canon timeline which will advance the metaplot to the modern day. Phrases like "The New Inquisition" and "The Forever War" were used, along with the suggestion that the games may see supernaturals go further underground, with most Vampire Elders dead and the streets largely belonging to the Neonates. The Vampire rules will apparently have new rules for how powers work, tying Disciplines into feeding and acquisition of blood, with more game focus on the exploration of the vampire psyche.
6) White Wolf will be doing a big push to better assist the overall fan community, though its unclear how they intend to do that. However, they want to find a way to allow for their officially supporter LARP clubs (of which their are currently six), plus potential video games and tabletop campaigns, to have some influence on metaplot directions in the future. HOW they intend to do this is unclear.
...then the Paradox CEO threw the horns and told the audience to embrace their Beasts and go forth, the audience shouted "PRAISE CAINE!" (....ok, a few of us did), and that was it.

Hoo boy, we're in for a shitshow. Never trust a company that goes from writing stuff to licencing its IP. Either they don't give a shit, lack the creativity to write their own stuff, don't want to spend money or have the higherups want to run the company into the ground.

 

[Rahdulan]

Main thing I'm getting from what they've been doing recently is that everything's becoming a branding clusterfuck. You had oWoD and nWoD and that was a simple clear-cut division. Now only god knows what they're doing with "bringing properties into line" and new editions, not to mention licensed products that will follow. They can talk all they want about a single continuity, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Caim]

They started to fuck up when oWoD and nWoD were rebranded into Classic World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness, aka cWoD and CofD, the latter of which gets called CoD by pretty much everyone despite the best efforts to push CofD.

 

[Xor]

They started to fuck up when oWoD and nWoD were rebranded into Classic World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness, aka cWoD and CofD, the latter of which gets called shit by pretty much everyone

Fixed.


The changes to the Mage20 lore were all awful, so yeah, I fully expect this to be a clusterfuck.

 

[Caim]

The changes to the Mage20 lore were all awful, so yeah, I fully expect this to be a clusterfuck.

Ah yes, the lack of commitment to anything and instead have a load of options flung at you because they were too afraid to offend anyone by picking one of a few options and rolling with it. Instead of giving a blowjob they tried to suck several dicks at the same time, making the whole experience less fun for everyone involved. And if you want to have fun you're expected to masturbate instead.

 

[Night Goat]

They should've set this in the 90s. The Masquerade wasn't plausible even then, but it was a lot more so than it is now.

 

[Irenaeus]

They should've set this in the 90s. The Masquerade wasn't plausible even then, but it was a lot more so than it is now.

They could be creative and make it work for the twitter and liveleak times.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

They should've set this in the 90s. The Masquerade wasn't plausible even then, but it was a lot more so than it is now.

Eh, they just need to tweak old "vampire and mirrors" rule, handwave it as a psychic effect on mortals rather than on tech, invoked by some Methuselah or other - and voila. No problem with state surveillance. Or say that the Technocracy indirectly supports Masquerade, to enforce the mundane reality and strengthen Paradox. Just a couple ways for Masquerade to work even in our surveillance based society. Of course a common Cainite need not to know it, and Masquerade can still be breached, it's simpler for non-humans to avoid detection.

 

[Havoc]

I've always made that "excuse." If the vampires aren't in control of the world's media, then who is? Why would be in their best interest to hide this fact? A wizard did it.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

A wizard did it

Yep.

 

[Leechmonger]

That fucking font.