Re: Vampire the Masquerade Chronicle
Yes. Maybe. I am a long time V:tM Storyteller. Been with the system since 94. Unlike the jokers who say that they have been doing it that long and still run games with Giovanni Sheriffs, or 4rth generation Princes, or feel the need to include the Harbingers of Skulls bloodline, and oh yeah, still don't know the 6 Traditions. I actually back it up with encyclopedic knowledge of the system, house rules that improve the game, not detract from it, and make heavy use of influence, status, and prestation - boons and favors. I do not pull punches, but I don't need a 6th generation Gangrel pumped up on max physicals, Fortitude 7, and Wolf Claws to do it.
I treat V:tM like it is very much a dark, dreary, real world thing.
Being a Malkavian, for example, is a bad thing, because every kindred, EVERY kindred knows you are, ultimately, insane! Thus, said Malkavian needs to be locked away in a padded room before given the benefit of any doubt because they are incapable of controlling themselves and will inevitably lose their mind and do something ridiculous.
Being the brute who shows up to Elysium in a trenchcoat and mirrored sunglasses will likewise get you socially ripped to shreds by the Harpies for doing a poor job of impersonating Blade, or the Terminator, etc etc.
Common sense trumps "The Golden Rule" every time in my book. Besides, it has been my vast experience that the only Storytellers who resort to using that phrase are the ones who can't follow their own rules or use the material in the books as is.
I do not use V2.0. It didn't fix any of the problems with Revised Edition and actually made more issues. Making Linguistics a merit, adding Awareness even though it's basically the same thing as Alertness + Danger Sense merit, making Presence even easier to resist now, and that absurd way they handle Celerity are all issues with V2.0 right off the top of my head.
Firearms have always and will always cause lethal damage to kindred in every game I ST. The reasoning for it is simple. You still need your bone and muscle tissue to move and do all that stuff. Furthermore, there is no way on Earth you can tell me a slug from a .45 is less dangerous to a kindred than a mortal child with a butter knife. I am going to give y'all (and anyone else who reads this) a little insight into why that rule for Firearms and Bashing Damage was created in the first place.
The Devs at WW didn't want to have to rewrite their entire combat system. Firearms were, in their minds, OP. It very quickly dawned on the writers after playtesting and that game on WW's site years ago that Brawl, Melee, and abilities (such as Wolf Claws) were all but completely useless if a few bullets from an AK-47 could shred the 6th generation Gangrel to bits before he ever got close enough to do anything. Players were simply doing what players of RPGs do. They were taking the weapons that provided the most advantage with the least amount of drawback, and going to town.
Unfortunately, it isn't what was intended. How awesome is a Prince, really, if a group of Anarchs can show up with Uzis and shoot the place up?
The answer was simple. Outright nerf guns. Players go back to being less combative, etc etc. They still work just fine against everything not a kindred.
I however have an entirely different mentality. This is because I stick true to the game's origins as a horror genre game of politics and intrigue. Bare knuckles, claws, axes, and swords ARE obsolete. That's why every police force, military unit, and organized crime unit in the world use guns. Firearms are the best weapons in the world for personal combat. Bruce Lee can't whip out his Jeet Kun Do if he's shot 4 times from 25' away. Sorry.
And what's more horrific? The fact that the 500 year old Prince can wave a hand and crush the upstart neonates with his claws and a few flicks of his wrist? Or perhaps that said prince must now grit his teeth, own up to the debt his childre owes the handful of Anarchs, and cave into their demands because if he doesn't, there's a pair of SUVs sitting right outside of Elysium waiting to do a drive by on him?
I have 2 potential chronicles. One is Honolulu and the other is a fictional setting I haven't entirely decided on yet but have found a lot of images I like for it.
If you think you can handle my way of doing things and are willing to take this gaming experience seriously, drop me an rMail and we will talk!
-JM007