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

[Darker Days Mike]

Actually can I ask, did Bloodlines occur in Masquerade Canon or at least something like it. My understand is that it is a "sequel" to LA by Night.

Bloodlines is referenced in Ari Marmell's Gehenna novel. However, Bloodlines also ignores essentially everything from LA by Night except Smiling Jack...

[An Fhuiseog]

The two Masquerade PC games are indeed weren't connected to the main metaplot, but both are builded from the shared setting. both have Sabbat, both have the same clans with the roughly same dynamics and troupes, both have the Book of Nod and the gehenna. If you want games based on Requiem, you would need ONE official setting as above.

Actually can I ask, did Bloodlines occur in Masquerade Canon or at least something like it. My understand is that it is a "sequel" to LA by Night.

[Ephsy]

Your LARP views are completely lost on me.

[stylanski]

I don't think CofD wouldn't make a good franchise for video games or pretty much anything else. There's just a very real problem of first impressions, and how these will take some time to phase out.

I see this in the covenants, the impression and vibe I get from them in 2e (including the Blood Sorcery book), and how this contrasts with real-world LARP experience.

The Invictus, for example, have less anachronistic imagery than in 1e. They do make conspiratorial use of a web of dated practices, because they work for the Traditions and the furthering of their own agendas. Most players treat them as the Camarilla, or an anachronistic organization stuck in Napoleon's time (for some reason), and develop character concepts for them accordingly.

The Lancea et Sanctum? They got that awesome, theurgic and gnostic vibe about their sorcery. They maintain hidden archives, a la the Vatican's secret collection. Most Sanctified ascribe to a harsh worldview of damnation, punishment, and carrot-and-stick where the carrot is that you die, the stick that you die and rise as a vampire. Players stick to the 1e corebook's segment, and translate this into characters that differ little from real-world religious nuts or fundamentalist theocrats.

How about the Circle of the Crone? A web of cults dedicated to chtonic Mother figures, with plenty of blood, sex, and magic to go around. They want to awaken or create primordial Vampires, and hasten the return of an older, idealized status quo. Players downplay the creepy, primal, eldritch elements, and instead go for Acolytes who are just Wiccans whose magic works.

Either I have grossly misunderstood the covenants, or many people have retained some of the weaker aspects of 1e. Oh, and players hate to read, so they'll assume not much has changed since 1e.

Edit:

Your LARP views are completely lost on me.

Do I make more sense now?

[haren]

The main villain of the Hunter video games was the Specter (Carpenter) that infiltrated Hunter.net. That's about as tied to the Hunter metaplot as you get.

I'm thinking that what makes WoD seem attractive compared to CoD is that it's easy to "brand". Throw in some big name character they know and people will happily devour a game. It's basically the same thing as why there are so many games based on a movie. If you don't actually have to care about being "loyal" to the nature of the character/world, even better. Easy money.

But when you have an investment in the continuation of the name, a detailed and in depth history/story with a wardrobe of characters isn't necessarily a positive, so much as a potential landmine that would blow up with fans if you "do it wrong".

[Darksider]

The main villain of the Hunter video games was the Specter (Carpenter) that infiltrated Hunter.net. That's about as tied to the Hunter metaplot as you get.

[Fat Larry]

Does it, though? Like I said before, the Bloodlines games, even the Hunter the Reckoning games were, for the most part, entirely separate from the mythology of the rest of the World of Darkness. There was nothing there, for instance, you couldn't have with a Vampire the Requiem or Hunter the Vigil base for the game.

I disagree. While both Bloodlines and Redemption utilized their own separate stories for each game, there were still numerous things in it that could only be found in a cWoD game.

Redemption had characters that were referenced in actual physical Masquerade sourcebooks numerous times. Redemption and Bloodlines both used powers and abilities that could not be found in Requiem.

Hunter the Reckoning(All three of them) had powers and abilities that, too could not be found in any Vigil book. They also referenced numerous characters that could only be found in the Reckoning universe, including the Hunter net.

I'm not saying there weren't parts of them that could be used in a CroD game, too. But there were certainly many elements to each game that was symbolic of the universe they were pulled from.

[PMárk]

Yes, people keep saying that as if it's obvious, but why? Stand-alones could go either way but larger projects can't? But even going with the MCU example, the movies just take the basic ideas of the characters and put them together on their own. Age of Ultron, the movie, was nothing like Age of Ultron, the comic. Really the same is with every movie and tv show based on Marvel or DC. Even the Game of Thrones doesn't stick to the books. But I'm reasonably sure that the idea isn't 'Take a World of Darkness novel and make a movie out of it.' It's taking aspects of the World of Darkness and telling a story with it, which, it seems obvious to me, can be done with either setting.

Because the WoD has codified background, mythologies, history and notable caharacters and their stories (with timeline), the very things that some (most?) fans of CofD found straining. While the CofD is a sandbox, where everything is an option an nothing (almost) realy set in stone. You could take, for example the Strix chronicle and the Chicago crew and elaborate it to a fully fleshed-out setting, but this would make it codified, taking away the sandbox approach. Because in the future, what happened in X book, or in Y game would be set in stone for the future (I'm exaggarating a bit). I don't think it would be good, or the fans of CofD would like it.

The two Masquerade PC games are indeed weren't connected to the main metaplot, but both are builded from the shared setting. both have Sabbat, both have the same clans with the roughly same dynamics and troupes, both have the Book of Nod and the gehenna. If you want games based on Requiem, you would need ONE official setting as above.

Also:

I didn't say can't, I said easier. And it is easier, because there's already a plot line to follow, with iconic characters already written. It's just easier to adapt an existing story than to write a new one. They could totally do it with CofD if they wanted to, but it would take more work.

There's also the fact that the WoD is the more popular setting, particularly outside of the US, and it has greater brand recognition. If they went with CofD then they'd have to resell the whole setting rather than build upon an existing fan base. That's really what makes it easier to use. It isn't about RPG mechanics, it's about brand recognition.

I think both notion are very tue. And it helps, that the WoD has those big antagonisms between factions, makes it easier to write stories for books, comics, games, tv shows etc.

[Darksider]

There's also the fact that the WoD is the more popular setting, particularly outside of the US, and it has greater brand recognition. If they went with CofD then they'd have to resell the whole setting rather than build upon an existing fan base. That's really what makes it easier to use. It isn't about RPG mechanics, it's about brand recognition.

[Charlaquin]

I didn't say can't, I said easier. And it is easier, because there's already a plot line to follow, with iconic characters already written. It's just easier to adapt an existing story than to write a new one. They could totally do it with CofD if they wanted to, but it would take more work.

[nofather]

Yeah, but they were fairly standalone games. White Wolf is trying to create a multimedia icon here like the MCU. For something like that you don't necessarily need a detailed mythos, but it sure makes it easier.

Yes, people keep saying that as if it's obvious, but why? Stand-alones could go either way but larger projects can't? But even going with the MCU example, the movies just take the basic ideas of the characters and put them together on their own. Age of Ultron, the movie, was nothing like Age of Ultron, the comic. Really the same is with every movie and tv show based on Marvel or DC. Even the Game of Thrones doesn't stick to the books. But I'm reasonably sure that the idea isn't 'Take a World of Darkness novel and make a movie out of it.' It's taking aspects of the World of Darkness and telling a story with it, which, it seems obvious to me, can be done with either setting.

I'm not saying they should. The guy running White Wolf seems to want what he wants and that's good. But every time the subject comes up, it's paired with comments of how 'obvious' and 'easy' it is to do something based on one setting, as opposed to the other. As if someone could look at the clans and sects in Masquerade and stories would just spawn from them without any effort, but if you looked at the clans and covenants in Requiem you would just sit there with no idea what to do with any of it.

[Charlaquin]

Does it, though? Like I said before, the Bloodlines games, even the Hunter the Reckoning games were, for the most part, entirely separate from the mythology of the rest of the World of Darkness. There was nothing there, for instance, you couldn't have with a Vampire the Requiem or Hunter the Vigil base for the game.

Yeah, but they were fairly standalone games. White Wolf is trying to create a multimedia icon here like the MCU. For something like that you don't necessarily need a detailed mythos, but it sure makes it easier.

[nofather]

Do you think so? Bloodlines (and its predecessor, Redemption) hinged heavily on the ambiguous legitimacy of the Gehenna prophesy and the apocalyptic tone evoked by it. This is one component Requiem definitely lacks.

The strix are coming. Alternatively, the VII are here. Also both the gonzo variants of the Lancea et Sanctum and the Circle of the Crone have admittedly lesser known apocalypse prophecies.

[Ephsy]

Do you think so? Bloodlines (and its predecessor, Redemption) hinged heavily on the ambiguous legitimacy of the Gehenna prophesy and the apocalyptic tone evoked by it. This is one component Requiem definitely lacks.

And meanwhile the God Machine cults have like a dozen Infrastructures deployed to avert end of the world scenario from extra-universe entities.

Tone & atmosphere is easy to set.

[Crumplepunch]

Does it, though? Like I said before, the Bloodlines games, even the Hunter the Reckoning games were, for the most part, entirely separate from the mythology of the rest of the World of Darkness. There was nothing there, for instance, you couldn't have with a Vampire the Requiem or Hunter the Vigil base for the game.

Do you think so? Bloodlines (and its predecessor, Redemption) hinged heavily on the ambiguous legitimacy of the Gehenna prophesy and the apocalyptic tone evoked by it. This is one component Requiem definitely lacks.