Re: Werewolf the Forsaken (Was Re: The group (was Re: Guild Wars MMORPG))

In message <pan.2005.11.29.00.48.57.447355@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Loz Hensel <lozhensel@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes

Personally I thought the old werewolf was the weakest of the old WoD
games, but I always preferred Mage, and went off the entire setting before
the end anyway.

I liked it a lot, although that no doubt had as much to do with the campaign, GM and fellow players as the game itself. I also played in a first edition Mage campaign, which I also liked. Unsurprisingly, those are my favourite oWoD settings, although I was very impressed by Wraith and later Orpheus.

The rules I think I prefer as they seem clearer and cleaner,
although based on past experience with several systems and settings, I
have to wonder for how long.

On reading only, my feeling is the same. The old system worked fine for me as a player, but the new one does seem an improvement, and I suspect it's easier to GM.


As far as setting goes - a lot has changed, and, as I was not a fan of the
original, I think for the better. Werewolves are no longer eco-terrorists,
it's no longer splatterpunk and has less of an emphasis on Monster of the
Week, but that of course depends very much on how it's run.

How it's run. Yup, I think that's always what it comes down to with WoD. I know a lot of people believe that rules and setting define play, but that's not been my personal experience. I tend to view systems and settings as toolboxes or paint sets, or whatever similar metaphor you like.


The new setting itself hasn't grabbed me so far. However, I started reading appendix two, which sets up the Rockies campaign setting, and I felt it was started to take off a little.

The new Mage setting hasn't grabbed me either, although, again, the new system looks better (though I'm not far into the book). I can't help wondering if the magical society that exists in the new game could be slotted into the old setting as an alternative belief system, but it might be two tight a squeeze to be comfortable.


The game is currently in danger of folding due to miscommunication with
players and people not turning up,


Ha! I know that feeling! I hope it keeps going for you.


Could you adapt the old setting to the new rules? Yeah, and without much
trouble to get a basic setup, but it would take a lot more work to really
reset things with the new rules. The biggest single difference, rules wise
though, would be to make the werewolves sufficiently more dangerous.

Yeah, the revised Crinos/Gauru form is significantly toned down. I was a little disappointed by this, but I suddenly realised that my problem was really with the lack of a form with a humanoid body and a wolf's head that you stay in for long periods. Pure appearance, nothing more. I could easily fudge it and allow the Glabro/Dalu form flexibility to opt between the standard feral human's head and a true wolf's head.

Rather than making werewolves more powerful, I'd just weaken the old foes, or perhaps try to keep the sense of danger you're finding in the new game.

With
a couple of supplements I think you'ld probably have most of the rules for
Formori without too much trouble, and either reworking the old gifts or
altering the setup of the new ones would probably be fairly
straightforward, if time consuming.

I think you're right, especially regarding the Fomori. Gifts can be done piecemeal as they're needed. I think the problem would be choosing between the two gift sets and they way they're handled. It might be easier to take the new set as they are, and just add setting-specific gifts (such as Sense Wyrm). However, I'd have to read the new ones and get a proper feel for them.

Regards

Robin
--
Robin Low
.

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