- Location
- Canada
How is the world still standing with that sort of power being flung about?
White Wolf's World of Darkness
How is the world still standing with that sort of power being flung about?
- Location
- Canada
because it isn't through their active use of their powers, but because the world itself hates Prometheans for being less then human.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'm pretty sure it actually isn't that bad because there are plots mentioned in the book which involve Prometheans staying in one place for weeks and months. Like, I know it does bad things to an area, but I don't think 'destroy a city in a few days' is quite up to accuracy.
What Xyzarach said, plus there are a very small number of them, maybe as few as five.
As long as they keep moving around? Sure.
But if they stay in the same spot?
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- Pronouns
- They/Them
The backstory/stuff for the social splat talks about people starting to talk and gossip and blame them over a matter of weeks or months, as one particular outcome of their wassname.
That is a separate effect.
And it relies on the Promethean not doing something like staying in the same building for a week straight.
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AshenFox
Copy Control, we are a go.
- Location
- Sector 13
Technically, no.
If you have the right people to pull, and spells to cast, NWOD mages are just as potent. However, removing such an incident would require Archmage level power, and thus would have a massive cause and effect chain.
Or, would require a massive ritual of unprecedented length and power, and would likely rip an Abyssal of truly horrifying magnitude out into the world with the effect.
It is generally easier to change the story that propagates, then it is to straight up undo the event itself. I liken this to a "Law of Conservation Of History". Namely that there is a tendency for events to resist change or to continue to play out regardless, if they have already happened before, and that the energy requirements to overcome this force is directly proportional to the amount of time that has past since the event occured.
Honestly if something like that happened in the NWoD the "Powers that Be" would hit the reset button so damn fast it'd make your head spin. There's too many powerful entities that hold a vested interest in keeping the world just as it is.
... so, the more I read Panopticon the more I want to play Mage.
Is there anyone around here with the inclination and ability to run such a game? I understand that part of the reason PQ runs as well as it does is that there's been a lot of work by MJ12, ES, and Aleph to hack the system together, so I'm not sure how much I'm asking here.
Is there anyone around here with the inclination and ability to run such a game? I understand that part of the reason PQ runs as well as it does is that there's been a lot of work by MJ12, ES, and Aleph to hack the system together, so I'm not sure how much I'm asking here.
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
I could probably run oMage, though I'd prefer it to be a solo game (maybe up to two-three people. At most.) because I like to customize spheres based on paradigm, which gets hard to balance when you have to care about that sort of thing. Also, a good portion of the actual system would be my own homebrew/stealing from other games like a magpie.
- Location
- Italy
Actually, insofar as there's a "canon" in Awakening, there was such a coverup in nMage: The Halifax Explosion. Seers of the Throne doesn't give a lot of details, except that it's the result of what mages call "The Battle of the Marittimes", an example of when the Ministry of Paternoster goes full Holy War on somebody.
Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Nope. I had nothing to do with that; I just play it.
*Gasp* You mean "Aleph-and-EarthScorpion" is not, in fact, a single mind in two parts? Damn, there's my headcanon gone.
I'd be quite thrilled, obviously!
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So the New World of Darkness is now the Chronicles of Darkness, for... reasons.
I guess that's the most begnin outcome of Paradox's "one World of Darkness" statement.
I guess that's the most begnin outcome of Paradox's "one World of Darkness" statement.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
It's not that big of a deal. But I do think I'll probably stick to calling it nWoD.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
To be fair, that might be the best way to seperate the oWoD, nWoD and the post gmcWoD
Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
Now that's not true, you added all the bits from Cat RPG.
I think it actually works better as a descriptor, because the nWoD really wasn't a coherent setting as much as a set of games with shared themes and rules. And arguably, they might have been better off embracing that-IIRC @EarthScorpion has talked about how if you have wizards in a Changeling game they should be different from wizards in a Mage game who are different from wizards in a Vampire game.
Honestly, I would have really enjoyed having more Setting/Shard books.
QB Homebrew: Cybernetics Sphere
Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
So, tried my hand at writing up a full Sphere spec based on @MJ12 Commando's ideas, putting it here for critique (writing, intersphere balance, whatever):
Cybernetics
Example Specialties: Augmentation, Repair, Manufacturing, Organics, Giant Robots
The body is just a complex machine, made of nanotechnological components; in a way, non-vitalist Technomancers and Unionists all hold this as simple fact. Some factions, however — notably the Biomechanics and occasionally other Science Convention members — take this a step further than the simple rote acknowledgement. The field of Cybernetics specializes in the understanding of machines, how we use and interact with them — and how we, too, are machines. It spans between what others might term as 'Matter' and 'Life' to acknowledge that all machines have commonalities that may be used to understand them.
Users of this Sphere tend to have a very materialistic view of things, obviously, and also view others less as unitary beings and more as collections of interworking parts that also interwork with their surroundings. They operate on human bodies in ways that are almost eerie to more typical engineers and surgeons — and at times seem to treat their inorganic machines almost as people. Even though Iteration X is prohibited access to Spirit or Dimensional Science, some programmer-priests seem almost animistic in how they deal with machinery; this is even more pronounced in Mind specialists and defectors who learn Spirit.
Note that by its nature, Cybernetics is capable of working on what are more commonly considered 'Life' and 'Matter' patterns alike, as well as hybrids. Life can be operated on, repaired, and augmented much like other machines, though creating and properly transforming it is substantially more difficult. Cybernetics counts as both Life and Matter with respect to what creatures it can affect, so vampires, cyborgs, and liches are affected the same way as baseline humans. Other supernaturals (such as Werewolves, Chimerical entities, and so on) require conjunctional Spheres as normal, and some entities such as Digital Web constructs can be influenced with conjunctional Forces or Data.
Without an external source of mass (such as conjunctional Spheres producing things ex nihilo), this Sphere is subject to conservation of mass and the periodic table; only material that already exists may be included in this Sphere's effects by default, and prior to Mastery gross material properties are likewise conserved.
As a relatively young Sphere, Cybernetics (like Data) has not yet been divorced from its originating paradigm to any substantial degree, and so nearly all users are Iteration X Biomechanics, former members of that Methodology, or members of other Conventions who work closely with them such as Progenitors focused on medical nanotechnology.
• Analyze Machines
Mechanisms and tools are the key to the cyberneticist's craft, and at this level he learns to discern their function (or malfunction) at a glance. He may quickly diagnose how a broken machine might be fixed, areas where it is underperforming or exceptionally efficient, and whether a particular replacement part can withstand its stresses.
•• Create Simple Machines, Repair Self
In gaining further understanding of tools, the cyberneticist learns to sculpt raw matter into simple, functional structures and components; a knife may be crafted from a lump of bronze and piece of ivory, a pulley from wood and hemp, a circuit board from silicon and plastic, and a syringe from glass and surgical steel. Likewise, such machines may be refined and repaired by 're-creating' them into the desired result.
Most systems made with multiple interconnected working parts remain beyond the mage so far, but the one most familiar - her own body - may be restored to working order or re-calibrated within normal parameters. Hormone regulatory systems can be triggered or suppressed, temperature regulated through the usual processes, and so on.
••• Create Complex Machines, Repair Others, Self-Augmentation
Now, raw materials may be formed into working wholes made from complex interlocking parts, from guns to laptops to small robots, as long as they aren't substantially bigger than an ordinary human. Any technologies which can be made through 'mundane' effort may be assembled by the cyberneticist, and their grasp of how machines function and malfunction is so comprehensive that they may repair and calibrate any type of machine - including living bodies - in the same way as was previously only possible for herself.
Also at this level, she may go beyond the normal operational parameters of her own body, altering parts to perform more efficiently or integrating synthetic components and subsystems wholesale. Physical Attributes and Appearance may be increased with either biological or inorganic enhancements, as may other properties; equipment may be fused with the body without impairing either's function.
•••• Create Large-Scale Machines, Augment Others, Transform Machine
At this level, the cyberneticist can design and build machinery of substantial size and complexity, creating vehicles, large weapons, giant robots, and so on. Any machine short of nanotechnology may transform into another shape of similar mass and composition (including nanoscale properties), such as a car turning into a bipedal robot, a laptop into a skateboard, a prosthetic arm into a machine gun, or a suit of armor into a suitcase. They may also be merged or reworked to improve their functionality well beyond original design specifications; harder, better, faster, stronger is only the beginning.
••••• Develop Nanotechnology, Perfect Transformations, Cyberize
Finally, the Master of Cybernetics has comprehended machinery so well that they may craft nanotechnological mechanisms from appropriate precursors; self-replicating mechanisms operating at such scales may be crafted on the molecular level, including life from the smallest bacterium or virus to megafauna and anything in between. Full-organ replacements and augmentations may be produced in much the way a biological Life scientist might craft such things, and non-cellular nanotechnology can be developed to create molecular-scale symbiotes and mechanical organisms.
Masters of Cybernetics fully understand how to integrate biological and inorganic machines, and may transform the one into the other (again, respecting material constraints and conservation of mass), meld them flawlessly, and recombine the functionality of different machines freely.
In conjunction with a sufficient understanding of Matter, the Master may create nanofabricators and assemble things on a molecular (or with Matter 5 even smaller) scale to create metamaterials. Other Spheres can embed these technorganic creations or materials with even more exotic properties. With Mind 3, they may passively maintain their mental state on otherwise-insufficient hardware, similar to Life 5. With Correspondence 5 or Matter 3, machines may be miniaturized to the nanoscale without losing functionality.
Sample Rotes:
Equipment Transfer (Correspondence 3/Cybernetics 3): Reaching out across distance, the Mage partially transports their presence to the location of a tool she wants, links it to her self, and shifts back with the new portion in tow. The tool may be detached afterward, or used in vivo. This is the equivalent of Apportation for any small object; living things and large objects require Correspondence 4/Cybernetics 4.
Cybernetics
Example Specialties: Augmentation, Repair, Manufacturing, Organics, Giant Robots
The body is just a complex machine, made of nanotechnological components; in a way, non-vitalist Technomancers and Unionists all hold this as simple fact. Some factions, however — notably the Biomechanics and occasionally other Science Convention members — take this a step further than the simple rote acknowledgement. The field of Cybernetics specializes in the understanding of machines, how we use and interact with them — and how we, too, are machines. It spans between what others might term as 'Matter' and 'Life' to acknowledge that all machines have commonalities that may be used to understand them.
Users of this Sphere tend to have a very materialistic view of things, obviously, and also view others less as unitary beings and more as collections of interworking parts that also interwork with their surroundings. They operate on human bodies in ways that are almost eerie to more typical engineers and surgeons — and at times seem to treat their inorganic machines almost as people. Even though Iteration X is prohibited access to Spirit or Dimensional Science, some programmer-priests seem almost animistic in how they deal with machinery; this is even more pronounced in Mind specialists and defectors who learn Spirit.
Note that by its nature, Cybernetics is capable of working on what are more commonly considered 'Life' and 'Matter' patterns alike, as well as hybrids. Life can be operated on, repaired, and augmented much like other machines, though creating and properly transforming it is substantially more difficult. Cybernetics counts as both Life and Matter with respect to what creatures it can affect, so vampires, cyborgs, and liches are affected the same way as baseline humans. Other supernaturals (such as Werewolves, Chimerical entities, and so on) require conjunctional Spheres as normal, and some entities such as Digital Web constructs can be influenced with conjunctional Forces or Data.
Without an external source of mass (such as conjunctional Spheres producing things ex nihilo), this Sphere is subject to conservation of mass and the periodic table; only material that already exists may be included in this Sphere's effects by default, and prior to Mastery gross material properties are likewise conserved.
As a relatively young Sphere, Cybernetics (like Data) has not yet been divorced from its originating paradigm to any substantial degree, and so nearly all users are Iteration X Biomechanics, former members of that Methodology, or members of other Conventions who work closely with them such as Progenitors focused on medical nanotechnology.
• Analyze Machines
Mechanisms and tools are the key to the cyberneticist's craft, and at this level he learns to discern their function (or malfunction) at a glance. He may quickly diagnose how a broken machine might be fixed, areas where it is underperforming or exceptionally efficient, and whether a particular replacement part can withstand its stresses.
•• Create Simple Machines, Repair Self
In gaining further understanding of tools, the cyberneticist learns to sculpt raw matter into simple, functional structures and components; a knife may be crafted from a lump of bronze and piece of ivory, a pulley from wood and hemp, a circuit board from silicon and plastic, and a syringe from glass and surgical steel. Likewise, such machines may be refined and repaired by 're-creating' them into the desired result.
Most systems made with multiple interconnected working parts remain beyond the mage so far, but the one most familiar - her own body - may be restored to working order or re-calibrated within normal parameters. Hormone regulatory systems can be triggered or suppressed, temperature regulated through the usual processes, and so on.
••• Create Complex Machines, Repair Others, Self-Augmentation
Now, raw materials may be formed into working wholes made from complex interlocking parts, from guns to laptops to small robots, as long as they aren't substantially bigger than an ordinary human. Any technologies which can be made through 'mundane' effort may be assembled by the cyberneticist, and their grasp of how machines function and malfunction is so comprehensive that they may repair and calibrate any type of machine - including living bodies - in the same way as was previously only possible for herself.
Also at this level, she may go beyond the normal operational parameters of her own body, altering parts to perform more efficiently or integrating synthetic components and subsystems wholesale. Physical Attributes and Appearance may be increased with either biological or inorganic enhancements, as may other properties; equipment may be fused with the body without impairing either's function.
•••• Create Large-Scale Machines, Augment Others, Transform Machine
At this level, the cyberneticist can design and build machinery of substantial size and complexity, creating vehicles, large weapons, giant robots, and so on. Any machine short of nanotechnology may transform into another shape of similar mass and composition (including nanoscale properties), such as a car turning into a bipedal robot, a laptop into a skateboard, a prosthetic arm into a machine gun, or a suit of armor into a suitcase. They may also be merged or reworked to improve their functionality well beyond original design specifications; harder, better, faster, stronger is only the beginning.
••••• Develop Nanotechnology, Perfect Transformations, Cyberize
Finally, the Master of Cybernetics has comprehended machinery so well that they may craft nanotechnological mechanisms from appropriate precursors; self-replicating mechanisms operating at such scales may be crafted on the molecular level, including life from the smallest bacterium or virus to megafauna and anything in between. Full-organ replacements and augmentations may be produced in much the way a biological Life scientist might craft such things, and non-cellular nanotechnology can be developed to create molecular-scale symbiotes and mechanical organisms.
Masters of Cybernetics fully understand how to integrate biological and inorganic machines, and may transform the one into the other (again, respecting material constraints and conservation of mass), meld them flawlessly, and recombine the functionality of different machines freely.
In conjunction with a sufficient understanding of Matter, the Master may create nanofabricators and assemble things on a molecular (or with Matter 5 even smaller) scale to create metamaterials. Other Spheres can embed these technorganic creations or materials with even more exotic properties. With Mind 3, they may passively maintain their mental state on otherwise-insufficient hardware, similar to Life 5. With Correspondence 5 or Matter 3, machines may be miniaturized to the nanoscale without losing functionality.
Sample Rotes:
Equipment Transfer (Correspondence 3/Cybernetics 3): Reaching out across distance, the Mage partially transports their presence to the location of a tool she wants, links it to her self, and shifts back with the new portion in tow. The tool may be detached afterward, or used in vivo. This is the equivalent of Apportation for any small object; living things and large objects require Correspondence 4/Cybernetics 4.
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- Pronouns
- They/Them
Having just been reminded of it in the Exalted thread, I still think someone should do a style-hack or the like in the style of the Exalted thing here for nwod. It possibly needs it less, but it's just pretty cool. Of course, I should probably do it for myself, rather than saying someone else should do it. 
I'd need to have a burst of creativity to think of Styles. Hrm, it'd almost be easier if I had a pre-set character and then asked 'How do they go about doing the things they do?'
"They talk to people and play politics, sure, but how does this four dots of Politics and 4 dots of Manipulation be used."
Whereas thinking about them in general might be a little harder for me.
Also, I feel like a Necromancer.
I'd need to have a burst of creativity to think of Styles. Hrm, it'd almost be easier if I had a pre-set character and then asked 'How do they go about doing the things they do?'
"They talk to people and play politics, sure, but how does this four dots of Politics and 4 dots of Manipulation be used."
Whereas thinking about them in general might be a little harder for me.
Also, I feel like a Necromancer.
Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You might wanna talk to @EarthScorpion about his "Profession" system-concept and see if it can be applied to the nWoD engine.Having just been reminded of it in the Exalted thread, I still think someone should do a style-hack or the like in the style of the Exalted thing here for nwod. It possibly needs it less, but it's just pretty cool. Of course, I should probably do it for myself, rather than saying someone else should do it.
I'd need to have a burst of creativity to think of Styles. Hrm, it'd almost be easier if I had a pre-set character and then asked 'How do they go about doing the things they do?'
- Pronouns
- They/Them
That sounds cool. I've thought of a style or two, including one that's literally 'has taken self-defense classes/think they have and now everyone looks like a mugger.'
One idea for the 2-level would be a +1 bonus to aiming and hitting 'non-lethal' areas on the target's body. "I'll just shoot this mugger in the leg, like they do in the movies. He'll be fine!"
One minute later.
"Oh god, oh god, uh...fuck. Hey, George, you know how you said you were my best friend and you'd bury a body for me if need be..."
But yeah, you kinda sorta did ping him for me, so should I just wait for him to come around, or start a convo with him?
Edit: On an unrelated question, is there a list somewhere of the 'Availability' of something? I mean, for the Resources Merit. Of course, I could probably eyeball any of that, if need be.
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ES Homebrew: Simplified Mechanics
It's fairly simple. It came out of playing with system concepts for Cyborg Theory, one of my many dead quests. Rather than Attributes and Abilities, you have Traits, Talents and Training.
The pertinent area here is Talents and Training, which replace Abilities. Rather than nWoD Abilities, which go to 5 + 1 speciality, Talents go to 3 and Training goes to 3. Hence, you've got the same overall dice cap of 6 dice from them (because Cyborg Theory is basically a nWoD hack, stripped down as a test to see how I could optimise it for Quest running).
Talents are nWoD Abilities, in essence. There's a bunch of pre-defined fields, rated from 0-3, and they cover things like Firearms, Science, etc. They're general, broad field knowledges. With three dots in Science, you're incredibly well read and can talk at a studied level about pretty much any field of science. However, you're not a specialist.
By contrast, Training is the innovation here. Trainings are essentially short job/role descriptions - things like "Corporate Media Shark" or "Charity Store Volunteer" or "Political Activist" or "Couch-Surfing Moocher". And they're not pre-defined - basically, between the GM and the player they agree how acceptably broad that is. They're also rated from 0-3, and they can be applied to any roll where that role is something that is applicable. Essentially, they're there for the sort of less focussed way that humans tend to accumulate knowledge. Someone with British Soldier 2 can add 2 dice for things like shooting a weapon, resisting tiredness from long marches, understanding tactics, keeping their head under gunfire, etc etc.
As an also entirely deliberate side effect, it means you can't make super-polymaths as easily. You can't take Science 5 + Physics anymore - you have Science 3 + Solid State Physicist 3, which makes you worse at non-physics Science (and even potentially at obscure areas of non Solid State physics). But as a bonus, you can use that Physicist 3 as a bonus for things like doing academic research ("I know how to read scientific journals and even if this isn't in my field, I still know how to read the lingo"), helping someone write a grant application, and so on.
And yes. It is entirely deliberate that this helps with the fast-statting of NPCs. Training is designed to be pulled straight from a character's Concept - are they a GP? Well, they're pretty experienced, so let's give them General Practitioner 2. Let's say they served in the army when they were younger but are now out of shape - let's give them Retired Soldier 1 and Field Medic 1. And... yeah, let's say they're part of a motorcycle club, so let's give them Hobby Biker 1. Now you've got someone who can do all the things a GP has to do (including listening to people and getting information from people who might want to talk about how they got that rash), in extremes can muddle through if someone gets stabbed right in front of them (possibly by a PC), and can ride a motorbike, because why not?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Interesting! Is there a usual amount that a person would be getting, or is it holistic? Like, some theoretical 'average' to work with in that respect? Also, are Traits basically Attributes? You mention them, but talk about Talents and Training only.
Also, while of course the first focus of a system is on the more average cases, how would you pair Talents and Training with the ability for supernatural beings in both WoD's to go beyond some theoretical human maximum?
Thanks for sharing, by the way, it really does sound interesting.