Deviant Kickstarter

[xiongrey]

A few questions for people who have pledged on previous CofD Kickstarters: what are these hardcovers like? Are they worth the cost quality-wise? Have you used them at the table, or do you see them more as collector's items?

DtD and CtL were definitely worth. tbh getting the prestige edition through kickstarter is cheaper than getting premium from DtRPG since you get the PDFs with them.

But to answer your question, in my opinion they are definitely worth.

[Evil Midnight Lurker]

At last, At long, long last.

Allow me to present my credentials: I named and wrote the first version of the Phlebotinum Rebel page on TV Tropes. As you can imagine, I am about as hyped as it is possible to be for Deviant without spontaneously Diverging into a new. terrifying form.

Standard batch of inspirational quotes:

"It is the nature of men to make monsters, and it is the nature of monsters to destroy their makers."
— Dr. Harlan Wade, F.E.A.R.

Kamen Rider, Takeshi Hongo, is a modified human. He was altered by Shocker, an evil secret society with aspirations for world domination. Kamen Rider fights against Shocker for the sake of human freedom!

"A devil's body with a human heart. I am Devilman!"

"Do you know what 'Guyver' means in the language of the Creators? 'Beyond control.'"

"His embrace is death... the slightest contact, decay. Fear his touch, for he is... Baoh!"


...let's rock.

[Grimmi05]

So reading the preview and I like what I see so far. One problem.... they didn't put the Six Million Dollar Man under tv shows for inspirational material

[Dataweaver]

If I recall correctly, they also didn't put Buffy the Vampire Slayer in there.

[Grimmi05]

If I recall correctly, they also didn't put Buffy the Vampire Slayer in there.

Never really watched Buffy. but I would put her more into the Hunter line. while Six-Million Dollar Man had a Unwilling. granted he was more devoted but come on the classic "We can rebuild him, we have the technology."

[Leliel]

Weirdly, the bit on the Web of Pain, actually made me excited for the playable Devoted (Deviants loyal to the conspiracies) guide they've teased.

It's made very clear what makes the conspiracies evil is their refusal to consider Remade human or at least valued agents. Presumably a player conspiracy is more ethical than that, hence why Devoted are presumably able to influence its political agenda. The Web of Pain, though, is an entire subculture of shadows dedicated to exploitation and dehumanization. How do you retain your ethics in such a ruthless and toxic environment and yet survive?

[Dataweaver]

Never really watched Buffy. but I would put her more into the Hunter line. while Six-Million Dollar Man had a Unwilling. granted he was more devoted but come on the classic "We can rebuild him, we have the technology."

Nope. Buffy is a Genotypal Deviant, Born with abilities that had been engineered into her lineage.

[nofather]

Seriously, people constantly wanted to take her apart or control her too.

[Primordial newcomer]

well I did my 5 dollars in lol. wish I could put more in and looking forward to this game finishing up tomorrow

[glamourweaver]

I hope the Chiron Group gets mentioned as a Conspiracy.

[Dataweaver]

I'm sure they will be. That said, I'm expecting a “build your own conspiracy” setup, with one or two examples of what a Conspiracy might look like; and if the Chiron Group isn't mentioned, it will be easy enough to use it anyway.

[ArcaneArts]

Because I can, Beast/Deviant Stereotypes:

Anakim: Meteorites break up, too.
Eshamki: You could disappear like a shadow? Not if we kill the lights.
Makara: I thought I was drowning too. Turns out I was just learning to swim.
Namtaru: It's not fear, love, it's jealousy. Unless you want it to be fear, of course.
Ugallu: I do adore someone who wears hearts on their sleeves. Yours, theirs, not much difference.
Inguma: Let me show you what went wrong.
Talassi: Your body is a cage? What do you put in it, then?

Autourgics: You got it together. I almost did.
Epimorphs: You make it sound like a sweet deal, but is that what you actually got?
Exomorphs: I wouldn't have said yes if I had a chance. I'm not sure why I should say yes now.
Genotypal: See, you chose to be Bluebeard. I was Bluebeard the minute he decided to have a kid.
Pathological: Easy to extoll your yellow brick road when no one threw a tornado at you.

[Eric Zawadzki]

Reading the preview:

Not a criticism, but, uh, how many fans of shonen and seinen are there at Onyx Path? Because this is the most gleefully hot-blooded thing they've ever done. There's even lore justified season progression (the Web of Pain, the realization the evil organization you just crushed has superiors and/or lieutenants that want to reform it, or worse rivals).

I've been known to indulge in some "anime and wine" nights with my housemate (currently working through My Hero Academia), so the DNA is in there. But in truth, there are so many books and movies and shows that work as "Deviant stories" that it's surprisingly easy to find them.

So reading the preview and I like what I see so far. One problem.... they didn't put the Six Million Dollar Man under tv shows for inspirational material

As I allude to above, OMG, you guys, I was already over word count by like 8,000 words! Yeah, the inspirational media list is ridiculously short just because we had to cram so many other things into the core that I fantasized about TTRPG books that use Time Lord technology so they're like a TARDIS, except with words. Dave gave me a list of something like 100 different media characters that inspired him, and I barely recognized a quarter of them, but the more I worked on this game, the more it seemed like I saw Deviant stories everywhere I looked, and I could probably give you a separate list of 100 media examples of Deviant characters or Deviant stories.

Weirdly, the bit on the Web of Pain, actually made me excited for the playable Devoted (Deviants loyal to the conspiracies) guide they've teased.

It's made very clear what makes the conspiracies evil is their refusal to consider Remade human or at least valued agents. Presumably a player conspiracy is more ethical than that, hence why Devoted are presumably able to influence its political agenda. The Web of Pain, though, is an entire subculture of shadows dedicated to exploitation and dehumanization. How do you retain your ethics in such a ruthless and toxic environment and yet survive?

*whistles innocently*

Nope. Buffy is a Genotypal Deviant, Born with abilities that had been engineered into her lineage.

A Genotypal Coactive, specifically, yes - starts out Devoted and becomes a Renegade in later seasons. She was one of the ones on Dave's list that I knew well enough to go, "ah yes, of course!"

I'm sure they will be. That said, I'm expecting a “build your own conspiracy” setup, with one or two examples of what a Conspiracy might look like; and if the Chiron Group isn't mentioned, it will be easy enough to use it anyway.

One of the cardinal rules of CofD is that we don't do crossover in core books (Beast being a notable exception, for obvious reasons), so Cheiron doesn't get a mention, although it is a pretty easy one to tie in. If I get to do a Storytellers Guide (the traditional place for crossover mechanics), the Conspiracies of Hunter are almost universally shining examples of potential Web of Pain conspiracies (as I've gone on about at some length in the large Deviant thread on these forums). And "build your conspiracy" is a part of character creation. The core doesn't have one or two example conspiracies. It has *11* (plus a twelfth that makes a guest appearance). They're in Chapter Six, though, so it will be awhile before the previews reveal them.

[Leliel]

Lemme do you one better.

Blood Talons: You are the epitome of Ivory Claw philosophy. Yes, they are assholes, how could you tell?
Bone Shadows: Some rites should not be attempted....
Hunters in Darkness: So that's what's causing those Wounded loci. Want some hunting tips, terror to terror?
Iron Masters: So, should we follow your lead, or mine?
Storm Lords: The difference between us is the source of our enemies. Sometimes not even that.

Autourgics: You didn't chose your duty. So why are you happier?
Epimorphs: At least we know the people who chose us hated us.
Exomorphs: Careful, Fido. I know your patrons' type. They aren't friends.
Genotypal: ...I'm sorry. I can't think when I'm envious.
Pathological: Genetic time bomb, nuclear reactor accident, tomayto, tomahto.

----

Spring: First: Calm down and live a bit. I think I know their type, which means we can bait them.
Summer: Well. I didn't expect to punish Keeper cosplayers today...
Autumn: Proposal; you teach me a little about you, I make your makers regret the day their parents met. Teaching optional.
Winter: You know the reason we remain quiet.

Autourgics: Us from the mirror universe. I'm from the bad one.
Epimorphs: Watch it. I'm not a fan of sudden deals.
Exomorphs: Look on the bright side. You can relax.
Genotypal: You had a life before the empowerment - and the abuse.
Pathological: Fuck, any door? Welp, if someone Diverges with thorns, we know who to blame.

[ArcaneArts]

I feel like if you're gonna do Changeling, it's gotta be Seeming to Clade.