Exalted vs the World of Darkness

[Childofthesun1]

So a recent thread on the subject got me thinking, is anyone interested in writing a fan supplement that handles everything for the crossover of the two universes? Seriously, I've always wanted to run one of these games, and there have always been rumblings among the devs on wanting to do this, but they've got more important things to do right now. Is anyone else interested in making this happen?

[ElfSpeaker]

I doubt it would be something I'd run but I'd be interested to give it a read.

[Odd_Canuck]

Challenge: They operate on very different scales of power and style.... that's aside from the mechanical issues.

You would not be able to do a crossover. You'd have to either drastically power up or power down one world or the other, rewrite large amount of the abilities they have, OR go completely nuts and rewrite both into a new system where they're on a more equal footing.

[wonderandawe]

Challenge: They operate on very different scales of power and style.... that's aside from the mechanical issues.

You would not be able to do a crossover. You'd have to either drastically power up or power down one world or the other, rewrite large amount of the abilities they have, OR go completely nuts and rewrite both into a new system where they're on a more equal footing.

It would depend on which group of characters you want to focus on. If you want Exalts to run wild in World of Darkness, the write up vampires, werewolves and the like as QC. If you want to run WoD splats against Exalts, then keep to WoD mechanics and convert over some iconic Exalted charms.

Balancing a mixed group of WoD and Exalted PCs sounds like a storyteller's nightmare. I'd rather try to balance a Solar in an Ex2 Dragonblooded game than run that.

[Ghosthead]

Always feels very tricky to do anything with the concept I think.

Modern occult horror-conspiracy is just a very hard place to me to imagine larger-than-life supernatural kung fu pulp sorceror-epic-heroes living in. They can live in it, with a power dip (and I tha shift to a less elaborately, aesthetic wuxia and more brutal, ugly and direct MO), but then don't they feel a bit superfluous to all the WoD splats who exist to cover about any concept that can exist in that world and that they've grown from inspiration from?

Same issue if you move WoD splats to Exalted; they can stay the same size, in which case they're mostly just curiosities within Exalted's world, or they can grow to become relevant in their environment and then, well, they overlap a lot with the Exalted who are already inspired by them, or could overshadow the Exalted...

tl:dr, different genres plus overlap in character themes (like maybe an opposite of an the ideal smooth crossover scenario where you have two different universes, with a similar genre, but the characters just haven't met...)

[Childofthesun1]

I always assume the standard crossover would be Solars or whatever being dropped into the World of Darkness with no balance changes. I figured you'd rely on Methuselah and Antidiluvian level threats to keep things interesting. Those types can drop hefty devastation so maybe it's as easy as writing up some quick characters using elder disciplines as inspiration for their "Charms".

[Lundgren]

Luckily for me, I never cared much about balance in the first place.

One of my "Really brain? You think I need another project to thinker with?" ideas has been just this. Not entirely sure if I will go with WoD or CofD though... Started with trying to figure out how I would be interested in keeping anything from Demon: the Descent, and how to fit Demon: the Fallen into CofD. That train of thought ended up with that Authocthon created Earth as a side project way back, but abandoned it when he started to work on the exaltations. So, somewhere in Authocthon's workshop, there is a door/portal/tunnel/thingie leading to modern Wod/CofD.

For me, it would be trying to translate the Vampire/Werewolf/Demon/Mage stuff into Exalted terms. As I'm going for 2.5-ish, I can at least use or take ideas from the modern shard. I guess most of the vampire and werewolf stuff would be fairly equal to god-blooded powers.

[Aranfan]

I would like to have this kinda thing for 3rd edition.

[Saur Ops Specialist]

I would like to have this kinda thing for 3rd edition.

I already started trying to convert WoD stuff into EX3's system. Not with or for Exalted crossover, just to clean things up... and make Spirit of the Fray and Ocean's Peace even more pants-shittingly terrifying.

[webkilla]

If anything it'd be easier to have the players be WoD vampires, and then pit them against a Solar NPC that you just don't stat... the Solars stats would simply be "he is better than you... at everything - and hits harder than you"

Other way around - Solars dicking around in WoD? again, I wouldn't bother stating out too many of the vampires and such. Most of them are roughly just as squishy as an extra. If anything I might stat out a powerful vampire or very combat oriented ones as low tier abyssals

[Guitar Longcat]

One thing that I'd be morbidly fascinated about is whether Archmaster magics count as Shaping and/or Sorcerous for the purposes of Exalted perfect defences. They'd almost certainly qualify for Undodgeable or Unblockable effects though. Then there's the question of whether high ranking spirits, idigam, Astral beings, Abyssals, Lower Depths entities, True Fae and Kerberoi count as Creatures of Darkness for the purposes of certain charms.

And there's Demon the Descent's Show of Power, which lets said demon replicate ANY supernatural power they observe. Or worse, Shift Consequences.

[SoulGambit]

Hmm... done iff the cuff

Vampires
Blood Potency = Essence
Vitae = Motes (max Essence x2)
Health Levels: -0/-1 x2/-2 x2/-4/-Incap (Torpor)
Healing: Can reflexively spend 3m to heal a Bashing Health Level, 5m to heal a Lethal health level, and 10m to heal an aggravated health level. Aggravated damage may only be healed while the vampire is asleep. If a vampire is able to cure their incapacitated health level then they don't fall into torpor.
Intensity: May spend motes to add to any dicepool like an excellency. Vampires may only spend a number of motes equal to their Essence. They automatically gain the full benefits of Intensity at no cost during a frenzy.
Undead Physiology: All attacks deal bashing unless that damage came from a magical source or one of the vampire's banes. Vampires do not respire motes or heal damage naturally. They don't even recover 5 essence per turn of combat. Vampires dont need to eat, sleep or breath. They are immune to poisons and disease (although they may pass on certain diseases through their bite). Ignore all damage in excess of their incompacitated health level. Vampires may cause themselves to bleed from any part of their body for 1m, which causes no damage to the vampire.
Vampire Senses: Add Essence in automatic non-charm successes to any roll to notice or track by blood. This includes hearing someone's heartbeat. These bonuses apply all the time against someone whose blood you have tasted since you last slept. Ignore all penalties from darkness or low light.
Frenzy: Functions as a limit break for the exalt. Gain Intensity on all rolls for free while in a frenzy.
Feeding: During a grapple, may feed as a savaging attack. This restores one mote per initiative stolen for withering savaging attacis. For decisive savaging attacks you gain 1 mote per health level, multiplied by the victim's wound penalty (minimum 1m per health level). If the victim willingly lets the vampire feed, then the Vampire deals one Health Level of damage per thurn and they gain a number of motes equal to the wound penalty of that health level (minimum 0). The victim must roll Wits + Integrity at a difficulty equal to the vampire's Essence to break free of the bite or remember what actually happened. Otherwise the victim just remembers pure ecstacy and gains a minor positive intimacy towards that feeling. Subsequent feedings act as Instill attempts to strengthen this intimacy without requiring further reason or citing other intimacies.
Blood Bonds: Drinking a Vampire's blood causes a person to gain a minor intimacy of devotion and obsession towards the vampire, or strengthens an existing one. The only way to remove or alter this intimacy is to go a year without drinking the vampire's blood (which causes it to disappear completely) or to kill the vampire. Once atthe defining level, all other intimacies from blood bonds are removed and no more may be formed.
Vitae Addiction: Vitae is highly addictive. Roll Stamina + Integrity at a difficulty equal to the Vampire's Essence to avoid the addiction. If the addict fails, they gain a defining intimacy towards drinking more vitae from any source.
Banes: Fire deals aggravated damage to a Vampire. Sunlight counts as an environmental hazard to Vampires that deals two dice of Aggravated environmental damage every (11 - Essence) minutes. Many vampires also develop other banes, which become nore effective as the Vampire's Essence increases.

Charms
Vigor (-- (2m), Uniform): Gain +1 Strength and reroll 6's on feats of strength and rolls to jump. When a vampire makes a withering or decisive attack, they may spend up to 2m to add one automatic success to the damage roll per 2m spent. A vampire may repurchase this charm up to four additional times. Each purchase betond the first adds +1 Strength, allows the vampire to reroll the next number down on feats of strength (reroll 5's, then 4's, then 3's, then 2's), and spend an additional 2m on the damage dealing effect of this charm.
Fortitude (--, 2m): The vampire gains a -0 Health Level, 2 Hardness, and 1 Stamina per time they purchase this charm (up to a maximum of five times). A vampire reduces one level of damage from a decisive attack a single category (Aggravated to Lethal, Lethal to Bashing, Bashing is negated) per time this charm is selected at a rate of 2m per level. This applies to magical attacks and to banes, but not damage from sunlight.
Celerity (--, 2m): The vampire gains +1 Dexterity per time they select this charm. In addition, they may spend up to 2m per time you select this charm per turn to enhance this charm's effects in the following ways.
* Every 2m lets you move an additional range band whenever you move by any means. This movement is instantanious, without seeming to pass through the space inbetween. This can allow a vampire in stealth to move from cover to cover without penalty.
* You may reflexively move one range band upon a successful dodge.
* You may choose to take your turn reflexively instead of on your normal tick.

Gonna cliffnotes other powers. Will expand if people want.

Animalism: Passive charm that lets the vampire social animals, who are treated as having an automatic major tie of respect for the vampire. Second charm allows the vampire to raise zombie animals. Third charm creates a battlegroup out of animals. Fourth charm is an aoe Charisma + Presence roll to force people to spend a willpower or attack targets of your choice (vamp can choose withering or decisive) on their next turn. Spend willpower to negate. Fifth charm lets a vampire claim an area as described in VtR2e.

Obfuscate: Easily overlooked method for the furst charm. Upgrade charm that lets you apply it to others. Upgrade charm that makes it inly break for the person you attack instead of everyone when you perform a violent action. Seperate charm that lets you make simple action disguises without equipment that automatically work unless the targets guile is more than the disguise--which just lets them roll. Capstone charm claims an area as described in VtR2e.

Dominate: Intelligence + Dominate vs Integrity. First charm grants a defining intimacy of "Obey the vampire" until the end of the scene. An upgrade charm increases the cost to extend the duration until sunrise and to suppress all of the target's other intimacies. Re-instilling one of the major intimacies (which the victim must fight against) ends the effect early. Another charm that is basically hypnotic tongue method. Capstone charm lets the vampire possess the target like that stealth charm, but its just Intelligence + Presence against someone with a defining tie of obedience.

Majesty: Scenelong charm that +1 Appearance (does NOT stack with Nightmare) and anyone with an Integrity less than the vampire's appearance is treated as having a minor tie of love or adoration for the vampire while in their presence. The intimacy's rating applies as a penalty to notice anything other than the Vampire. The intimacy always benefits the Vampire when the Vampire is making rolls to create an emotion, and those rolls can happen without any obvious outward signs. A repurchase improves the appearance bonus by +1 and if the Vampire's appearance is at least 2 higher than the intimacy created by this charm is major. A third repurchase increases appearance by another +1 and if the vampire's appearance beats onlooker's integrity by 4 then the tie is defining. A seperate charm lets the vampire use a Charisma + Presence roll to render the target unable to succeed at a read intentions roll against the vampire for a scene. A capstome charm renders all onlookers unable to attack or offend or disobey the vampire. This costs 1 Willpower to negate (+1 if the target has a minor tie towards the vamp, +2 at Major, +3 at Defining).

Protean: Sink into the earth to gain total concealment and cover automatically. Another charm to give your unarmed attacks the traits of any weapon, or have your hands count as exceptional tools for any task, with another charm to make it artifact weapon traits. Another charm to become an animal. Anotger animal to become mist, which downgrades all damage not from banes by one levels and allows for flight, etc.

Auspex: Use read intentions against a crowd. Extra successes (based on the highest guile affected) can be spent to ask questions in line with Auspex 1. Upgrade charm expands what questions you can ask. Upgrade charm lets the vampire use this ability against locations ane objects (with guidelines to set difficulty). Seperate charm that lets the vampire read minds via a read intentions roll (one roll to establish link, further roll and mote expenditure to get memories). Seperate charm that lets the vampire astrally project. Vampire gets +1 Perception per Auspex charm they learn.

Nightmare: Scenelong that grants Hideous Appearance and +1 Appearance per Nighmare Charm (does NOT stacj with Majesty). Can cause illusions which allow to make Appearance + Presence intimidation rolls that seem to come from other sources. Seperate charm that lets you force someone to flee (ala that SVN charm). Seperate charm that lets you give someone a belief in something terrible attached to a major intimacy. The belief can go away when the intimacy does. Seperate charm that lets you create an illusion. Seperate charm thats an Appearance + Presence Decisive attack that also gives a Defining Intimacy towards being Craven. Those affected are permanently marked as a crippling effect.

Cruac / Theban: Just use Sorcery. No cap on how many motes can be spent to boost the roll via intensity, but frenzy doesnt supply a free intensity.

[ParanoiaCombo]

So this will probably go like it does in all other crossover arguments:Paws of the Newborn cub has no resistance vector, ergo, Werewolves win all crossovers where combat is assymed. If they are running up the score, they will just start taking your powers and making them into gifts, in addition to taking yours away. All else fails, they do have a perfect defense (Sidestep Death). This isn't even counting all the dumb broke stuff in the changing breeds or hengeyokai.

Fun idea, though. Maybe the devs could just make Lunars are cool as Werewolves... though I'd prefer Forsaken ones at this point.

[Elfive]

Paws of the Newborn cub has no resistance vector,

Paws of the Newborn Cub is about to meet Integrity charms.

[ParanoiaCombo]

Paws of the Newborn Cub is about to meet Integrity charms.

I, too, love flag waving.