WHITE WOLF NEWS
The White Wolf Email NewsletterSubject: White Wolf News!!!!!!!
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 13:35:23 -0400Greeting True Believer!
Let me start out by saying that if you are getting this message, you have done this to yourself. If you want to unsubscribe to this list, simply hit reply to this message delete the body of the text and subject and type the word Unsubscribe as the body and subject. That's it! Or, you can look at that monthly help file, you know, the one you get more often than this newsletter!
Ok, now onto business.
The big news, Aberrant has arrived in store and is getting rave reviews! You can read a whole slew of excerpts on our website http://www.white-wolf.com or order the book from us directly. Here are some Aberrant design notes written by the games designer Rob Hatch. Rob was the Vampire developer for a number of years and has always wanted to do a "superpowered humans" game.
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It Takes One to Know One
Aberrant Design Notes and Smarminess by Rob "Quintessential Studmuffin" Hatch
Aberrant is here. Since the superpowered game of the summer has arrived, we thought it timely to get developer Rob Hatch"s delicate insights into the game, among other things.
Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Gautier, Skullcrusha, DarlingÕ Names, Names, Names! There"s a misconception that we here at White Wolf are a bunch of effete, pretentious, gothic douche-bags. Well, dammit, I take exception to that demeaning stereotype, particularly as it seems to come primarily from a bunch of stinky, overweight*, gamer-T-shirt-wearing douche-bags. And it"s just so, so, so unfair. I mean, hey, I like Switchblade Symphony, lace skirts and bondage balls as much as the next red-blooded American male, but for a long time the man"s man in me has been clamoring for release from my monochromatic, mascara-lined prison of Gothic-Punk.
So, when I got a chance to turn Vampire over to that nancyboy Justin Achilli and work on Aberrant, White Wolf"s game of superhumans and sacrifice in an eerily familiar near-futureã, I jumped over the entire White Wolf office with a single bound. You see, I wanted a break from the angstboy routine. And, in particular, I wanted to make sure my next book was chock-full of so much virile heroic manliness that testosterone would ooze off the pages.
To that end, I carefully avoided some of the superheroic conventions that have always made me cringe. I was tired of the comic-book clichÌ of a bunch of people gaining incredible powers, yet having absolutely zero impact on the world around them. None of that "Dr. Doom invents a time machine but the rest of the world still can"t fix Y2K" BS. None of that "Superman has the power of a god but has no influence beyond beating up muggers in Suicide Slum" crap. Uh-uh, nohow, nosirree. The aberrants Ú or novas as they are commonly referred to Ú would be few, far between, but important. And their powers would reflect their essential ass-kickitude.
So I designed Mega-Attributes Ú exponentially more powerful versions of normal Attributes Ú and quantum powers based on, among other things, artillery rules. Want to roll 20+ successes on an attack roll? Want to inflict an automatic 25 health levels of damage with that punch? Cool. Be warned, though, that other freaks can dodge your punch, or soak 30 health levels automatically. Bummer.
Once we got to the setting, however, I had already OD"ed several times on my own seething masculinity, and my natural hormonal balance was beginning to assert its catty head. To that end, I put down those trashy comic books and went back to source material more befitting my sensitive side Ú stuff like Absolutely Fabulous, Boogie Nights and (God help me) Network.** I mean, after all, when you"ve got the eyes of the world on you, you simply cannot go out in last year"s lines! In Aberrant, Traits like Style, Etiquette and Subterfuge matter as much as Melee (even with that Automobile specialty), and the most important battles may well be fought between your agent and the licensing rep from the toy company.
And you thought roleplaying was escapistÕ.
* Well, I shouldn"t throw stones here, as I have ballooned all the way up to 143 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal. At this rate, I can be Stevie Ray for Halloween this year. Rule!
** Well, yeah, Nitro and Warzone, too. Pass me one"a them Miller Lites.
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I was recently at E3 out in LA. After a little run in with Ponch and John outside the local strip club and a lot of booze, I finally made it to the show floor where the Vampire:The Masquerade Redemption game was being shown. Now I've seen the game all along the process so I know how good it is, but this was the first time it was shown the the public. The press was overwhelmed and the game won a whole slew of show awards, including beating out games like Diablo II and Final Fantasy 8 for Best RPG of E3! You can find a whole slew of things over at the Activision web site. http://www.activision.com. The one element of the game tat is not getting as much coverage is the one that will most affect White Wolf fans. It was kept a secret for a long time and has only just been revealed. Most folks haven't quite grasped what a revolution in gaming it will be. For the first time ever, this game will have what is called a Storyteller Mode. This means that you will be able to play Vampire online with up to eight players including a Storyteller. The storyteller will be able to take over the role of and character in the game. If the players decide to talk to the bartender, then the storyteller simply takes the role of the bartender. The storyteller can drag and drop enemies on screen. Control night and day so that time passes, set up pre-scripted events that occur when the characters trigger them and a slew of other options. This is true online roleplaying. You will be reading a slew about this in the future, so keep your eyes open for more info.
Speaking of websites, we've got lots going on over at our website, http://www.white-wolf.com . We just posted our first full length original release book online. Oceania for Trinity. It is totally free, so go check it out. We also have a link to info and movies about the upcoming Werewolf PC games from ASC games. Coming Next week, we will begin posting the Top 10 most requested character sheets as per the votes taken on the website a few weeks ago. We will post one a day for 10 days. We also will be having a few special offers in the next few weeks including an opportunity to buy a Pentex Corporate polo shirt - an online only item. Plus, more book excerpts (including a big preview of the new Laws of the Night Revised) and more Clan Novel exclusive chapters cut from the books. Here's a teaser for the Laws of the Night Preview:
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The End Times Approach
While mortals plan for New Year"s Eve and worry about the Millennium bug, forces stir in the shadows. The Camarilla struggles to retain its cities while the Sabbat gains ground nightly. Rumors abound of anarchs crying for aid against an invasion of mysterious Asian vampires. Masses of thin-blooded Caitiff, untaught and heedless of battle lines, huddle in the shadows of skyscrapers. Prophecies are whispered in the Elysiums, and none know where change will take them. It is a time of fear and suspicion Ú with a promise of more to come.
Where do you stand amid the chaos?
Times Change
And with them comes Laws of the Night Revised Edition, a new rendering of the popular Vampire: The Masquerade game for Mind"s Eye Theatre. Let these redefined rules be your guide as the millennium winds to a close. Will you stand with the Camarilla, which shakes from within even as it defies the monstrous Sabbat? Will you side with the Sabbat, assaulting strongholds of Antediluvian pawns? Or will you stand among outsiders, seeking only survival in the maelstrom? Laws of the Night Revised Edition is available in September, 1999. You"ve been warned.
The New Face of Night
by Cynthia Summers
A new era of live-action, nightstalking roleplaying begins in September with the revised edition of Laws of the Night. Game developer Cynthia Summers stops practicing her patented "scissors" gesture (that"s what she told us it was) to explain further.When Laws of the Night was released in 1996, it gave live-action roleplaying a new burst of life (unlife?), like a vampire rising from torpor to face a new era. Now, after the re-release of Vampire, tabletop undead have had time to shake off the grave dirt and take up their night lives. It"s only fair that live-action bloodsuckers should get the same opportunity.
Laws of the Night has done an excellent job and has served in good stead for years as a veritable bible of many LARPs. However, with story advances, Discipline changes and time ticking down to the millennium, the original digest rulebook looks a little moth-eaten. In addition, several rules holes and oversights have plagued me over the years, both as a player and proponent. The short-span, one-shot games for which the original Laws of the Night was intended have given way to long-term chronicles. The upshot of all these changes is makeover time for the grand old lady.
As our flagship Mind"s Eye Theatre book, Laws of the Night Revised Edition is going to be the prego of the line. Put your nose up to the jar and look Ú it"s in there! New players will find setting material and clan descriptions to help them jump right in, while veterans will find plenty of updated material from the new edition of Vampire. Disciplines are being reworked to bring them more in line with the tabletop game (check out Dementation for Malkavians and updated Quietus for Assamites). Character creation is being tweaked to include Backgrounds and a means to measure Ability prowess. Whether your chronicle is Camarilla or Sabbat, this book will be all you"ll need to get a story up and running.
Storytellers aren"t neglected, either. We provide setting material and a new storytelling chapter, both rich with material for novices and veterans alike on how to keep a game running in and out of character. Also look for corrections for rules problems that have cropped up in the past few years.
Laws of the Night Revised begins with a special limited-edition, hardbound rulebook with a leatherette cover, silver images and ribbon bookmarks Ú stylish enough for a Tremere regent"s grimoire or a prince"s library. That book is followed by a regular edition Ú with all the same text and photographs Ú in the usual soft-cover format.
In September, the night has a thousand new eyes.
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http://secure.white-wolf.com/interaction$/shop/onelist.html (some are already available):July
VAMPIRE:THE MASQUERADE
The Time of Thin Blood
The Time of Thin Blood allows you to portray the hunted childer of high-generation vampires in the Year of the Reckoning. The Final Nights are upon us and this book offers Storytellers a glimpse at one of the events of the unfolding Gehenna.
Stock #2101, ISBN 1-56504-245-X, $15.95 U.S.Vampire "Final Nights" T-Shirt
Stock #5980 (L), 5981 (XL), 5982 (XXL); $19.95 U.S. (L & XL), $22.95 U.S. (XXL)Clan Novel: Setite
Stock #11103, ISBN 1-56504-804-0, $5.99 U.S.Setite T-Shirt
Stock #5859 (L), 5860 (XL), 5861 (XXL); $19.95 U.S. (L & XL), $22.95 U.S. (XXL)Jerusalem by Night
Stock #2821, ISBN 1-56504-299-9, $17.95 U.S.WEREWOLF :THE APOCALYPSE
Chronicle of the Black Labyrinth
Stock #3404, ISBN 1-56504-314-6, $12.95 U.S.Werewolf T-Shirt
Stock #5983 (L), 5984 (XL), 5985 (XXL); $19.95 U.S. (L & XL), $22.95 U.S. (XXL)MAGE: THE ASCENSION
The Traditions Gathered 3
Stock #4055, ISBN 1-56504-447-9, $20.00 U.S.Mage T-Shirt
Stock #5986 (L), 5987 (XL), 5988 (XXL); $19.95 U.S. (L & XL), $22.95 U.S. (XXL)TRINITY
Alien Encounter: Deception
Stock #9105, ISBN 1-56504-621-8, $17.95 U.S.ABERRANT
Aberrant (Limited Edition)
Stock #8550, ISBN 1-56504-625-0, $29.95 U.S.Aberrant (Unlimited Edition)
Stock #8500, ISBN 1-56504-626-9, $24.95 U.S.WHITE WOLF
White Wolf T-Shirt
Stock #5989 (L), 5990 (XL), 5991 (XXL); $19.95 U.S. (L & XL), $22.95 U.S. (XXL)August
MAGE:THE ASCENSION
Guide to the Technocracy
Guide to the Technocracy contains all the information needed to run a Technocracy-based chronicle and characters. Explore the defenses of Technocratic bases, their corridors of political power and their hopes for the future. Learn the Union"s beliefs and goals and how it plans to empower all of humanity in the Year of the Reckoning. Hardcover. Stock #4014, ISBN 1-56504-417-7, $25.95 U.S.VAMPIRE:THE MASQUERADE
Transylvania Chronicles 3: Ill Omens
Stock #2813, ISBN 1-56504-292-1, $15.95 U.S.Clan Novel: Ventrue
Stock #11104, ISBN 1-56504-805-9, $5.99 U.S.Ventrue T-Shirt
Stock #5862 (L), 5863 (XL), 5864 (XXL); $19.95 U.S. (L & XL), $22.95 U.S. (XXL)WEREWOLF:THE APOCALYPSE & WILD WEST
Rage Across the Heavens
Stock #3110, ISBN 1-56504-309-X, $19.95 U.S.Kinfolk: Unsung Heroes
Stock #3074, ISBN 1-56504-308-1, $15.00 U.S.MAGE:THE ASCENSION
Mage Coffee Mug
Stock #5299, $12.95 U.S.MET
Mind"s Eye Theatre Journal #3
Stock #5403, ISBN 1-56504-779-6, $7.95 U.S.ABERRANT
Aberrant Storytellers Screen
Stock #8501, ISBN 1-56504-627-7, $14.95 U.S.BOREALIS
Corum: The Coming of Chaos
Stock #12522, ISBN 1-56504-196-8, $16.99 U.S.This news release is a reprint of the White Wolf email newsletter. It is reprinted with permission.
Copyright © Conrad Hubbard