Paradox Interactive (the Crusader Kings people, not the Conan/Mutant Chronicles ones) buy the White Wolf properties [Merged x10]

[Dawngreeter]

There are Strix (which don't have to be used at all). V:tR 2nd ed doesn't develop their origin or the precise nature of their relationship to Kindred. Which is all to the good in my opinion. They're mainly presented as potential antagonists without any particular metaplot.

Modular game remains modular.

I wholly agree, I love it that way.

So. I can imagine an "event" of sorts where a book or four deal with a certain development regarding Strix in a random location location and some NPCs involved. You can like it and use it, you can completely disregard it. So long as it is encapsulated in those releases and not used as a gospel in everything subsequently published, all's well. Basically - it would would be Requiem's Orpheus. Everything remains modular.


EDIT: Also, I agree with stylanski.

[stylanski]

Ehh, I wouldn't mind a series of metaplot books. The Invictus proclaims itself to be the Camarilla? A new covenant rises that possesses its own, unique Blood Sorcery? That's all nice and well, if they're neatly packaged in the series, where each major event is its own book and contains its own changes. Seeing metaplot developments in the main gameline? No, simply because it would shift the focus of the game and make bookkeeping difficult.

History and setting depth, however, I'm all for. It makes reading the books fun, like revealing hidden truths about the world I'm about to explore in my game. That's because in case I actually want to heavily modify parts of the setting and come up with my own, unique mix, I will do it anyhow. I don't see the difference between "What are the Strix's relationship to the Ventrue? * Maybe [a]. * Or is it [b]. *Wait, [c] looks interesting too!" and a proper backstory. We can get both, as V20 demonstrated. As a paying customer of OPP, I really can't imagine why I'd ever request that I am given less material for the same $$$, simply because more might make me feel uncomfortable about picking/changing/erasing bits here and there.

[Jacob]

Well, the Strix thing is fairly well established as the "default" history at this point, so Requiem for Rome is basically "right", etc. Though you can pretty easily disregard it in your game. And Mythologies is still an awesome source of alternatives.

There are Strix (which don't have to be used at all). V:tR 2nd ed doesn't develop their origin or the precise nature of their relationship to Kindred. Which is all to the good in my opinion. They're mainly presented as potential antagonists without any particular metaplot.

Modular game remains modular.

[blackwingedheaven]

Other than that, I can't think of a single bit of metaplot in the entire New World of Darkness.

And thank goodness for small favors. Heavy reliance on metaplot to keep grinding the supplement mill was one of the worst things about virtually every game in the 90s, World of Darkness included.

[Dawngreeter]

Well, the Strix thing is fairly well established as the "default" history at this point, so Requiem for Rome is basically "right", etc. Though you can pretty easily disregard it in your game. And Mythologies is still an awesome source of alternatives.

[Jacob]

Classic. It's for Classic World of Darkness, which is how some people refer to the Old World of Darkness.

And there are no metaplots in nWoD. History? Sure, with the caveat that the players don't have to use any of it. Ongoing story with each book that affects gameplay? Hell no.

Honestly even the way that history is presented in nWoD is more of a personalized mythology. It can easily be the case that that mythology is incorrect. The field is wide-open for storytellers and players to weave their own WoDs using the nWoD gamelines.

[Dataweaver]

You have this chronicle that you're running, see? And it's set in the World of Darkness. Then a new supplement for the World of Darkness is published in which some sort of event happens; and in the wake of that event, the setting is noticeably different. As the Storyteller, you're put in the position of deciding whether to adjust your chronicle to conform to this new development, or to ignore it and risk not being able to use portions of future supplements that assume that the new development has taken place.

That's metaplot. The Original World of Darkness was (in)famous for this sort of thing, with the events of the Year of the Reckoning being the most egregious example. But the only example I can think of where the new World of Darkness did this was in the Promethean series, when the ongoing Water of Life featured chronicle visited New Orleans. Between the time Vampire: the Requiem described New Orleans and the supplement in question was published, Hurricane Katrina radically altered the city; and the Story in question incorporated Hurricane Katrina into its plot. Other than that, I can't think of a single bit of metaplot in the entire New World of Darkness.

[Second Chances]

Wasn't there a big (mandatory) metaplot campaign/event for the Wild West Werewolf game, run by White Wolf? I seem to remember hearing about one involving that giant storm bane, and about how the Children of Gaia players screwed up the hidden victory condition.


Isn't that kind of par for the course for Forgotten Realms, though? Every year or so, they'd have some major event that forced everyone to go out and buy the new edition of the box set. The Time of Troubles, where all the gods were exiled to Earth. The Mongol-like invasion from the East. The great orc horde, and the new drow city (along with the death of Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun)?

Or has it spread to the other settings, too?

It's the exact same model Paizo uses, except with in big difference: all of Paizo's Adventure Paths are non-cannon by default. Things may certainly have changed at WotC since I stopped buying their products, but it makes a world of difference for me at least.

[One Vorlon]

Wasn't there a big (mandatory) metaplot campaign/event for the Wild West Werewolf game, run by White Wolf? I seem to remember hearing about one involving that giant storm bane, and about how the Children of Gaia players screwed up the hidden victory condition.

Basically, Wizards is doing one "story" every six months, as a kind of transmedia thing. For example, right now their storyline is Rage of Demons: a drow archmage flubs a major ritual, summoning a bunch of Demon Lords into the Underdark, where they each start creating their own kind of mayhem. As part of that storyline, there's the Out of the Abyss campaign, where PCs travel through the Underdark - first in order to survive, and later to actually deal with the problem some of these demon lords pose. Another part is the CRPG Sword Coast Legends, which deals with some other demon lord. A third part is the new Drizzt novel Archmage which deals with Drizzt's battle with yet another demon lord. A fourth part is the Adventurer's League campaign which is D&D's organized play thing. The PCs are doing one thing in Out of the Abyss, while Drizzt is doing another in Archmage, but they're all dealing with madness-inducing demons in the Underdark.

Isn't that kind of par for the course for Forgotten Realms, though? Every year or so, they'd have some major event that forced everyone to go out and buy the new edition of the box set. The Time of Troubles, where all the gods were exiled to Earth. The Mongol-like invasion from the East. The great orc horde, and the new drow city (along with the death of Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun)?

Or has it spread to the other settings, too?

[Resplendent Fire]

I'm still somewhat new to them.

[ArcaneArts]

Believe me, I know. I've been around the arguments since they've begun.

[Resplendent Fire]

Classic. It's for Classic World of Darkness, which is how some people refer to the Old World of Darkness.

And there are no metaplots in nWoD. History? Sure, with the caveat that the players don't have to use any of it. Ongoing story with each book that affects gameplay? Hell no.

For some reason some people think "The God-Machine Chronicle" or "The Blood and Smoke Chronicle" constitute a metaplot.

[stylanski]

I don't follow. Bloodlines was a Masquerade game.

Well the year was 2005. I had finished playing bloodlines as a member of each Cam clan, and was still in awe by the awesome wealth of the setting. I was 15 at the time, so a few weeks later I heard some classmates of mine talking about Vampire amd Ventrue during recess.

I jumped into the conversation, they eventually took me to our hometown's only rpg store, and Requiem was the hot new thing.

That's how I got into nWoD (and metal music but that's another story) anyway...

[ArcaneArts]

Classic. It's for Classic World of Darkness, which is how some people refer to the Old World of Darkness.

And there are no metaplots in nWoD. History? Sure, with the caveat that the players don't have to use any of it. Ongoing story with each book that affects gameplay? Hell no.

[Omegaphallic]

I'll point out that NWOD 2e products seems to have some metaplots going on, abit not on the scale of OWOD.

Btw I see cwod sometimes, what's the c stand for?