Other
by Nathan Shumate
Artwork by Michelle Carter
Well, what did you think I would call this section? These are the supplements that are too weird, too funny, or just too unlike everything else to be shoehorned into any of the previous categories. Enjoy. Alien: The Invasion This is not, repeat, NOT a World of Darkness game. This is a game of space exploration and combat against aggressive alien races in the future. While there is a degree of completeness and creativity in the setting and alien races, this is not something that can be used as a supplement to, or source for, any other World of Darkness game. Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 0 Background: 1 1/2 Integration: 0 Stand-alone: 1 Deity: The Worship An intriguing addition to White Wolf supplements, using Mage: The Ascension rules. How would one play a god in the modern world a pantheonic god whose worshipers have all but vanished? Rules are given for character creation, as well as information regarding the Greek, Norse and Egyptian pantheons (anything beyond would be from your own research). Also given is how gods gain power through their worshipers. I think this would be an intriguing concept to play, and the dying faith of the world (and thus dying power of the gods) brings in the "hope against the darkness" theme found in much of the World of Darkness (more so if you play the Norse gods or some other pantheon with a Ragnarok-like prophecy). I only find two major deficiencies in the rules: 1) How do the pantheons relate to one another? Now that worshipers are not localized as they once were, do conflicts between different religions equate with conflicts between their gods? 2) Are new pantheons created? This could be an extremely interesting angle to explore - would a new pantheon have gods in the image of alien greys? A goddess of serial murder? A minor god desperately seeking worshipers would fit well into one of the standard games, and a standalone chronicle of gods from a common pantheon trying to drum up worshipers and prevent encroachments by other pantheons would be fascinating, if research-intensive. Concept: 2 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 1/2 Stand-alone: 1 1/2 Dreamwalker. The Unity Dreamwalkers are humans who have been "unified," i.e., they exist simultaneously in the material world and at least one Umbral realm. They draw power from this, and most use it to help create other Dreamwalkers or fight against evil in preparation for The Unity to come, when the entire material and Umbral plans will be united. A nicely done supplement, but you'd better own the entire set of the World of Darkness. You'll need descriptions of the Umbral realms and their inhabitants from Wraith: The Oblivion and Changeling. The Dreaming. Dreamwalkers are good friends with the Garou; and, unless they're tracking down random Soul Rippers (detailed given) or engaging in politics between their Fellowships, they'll probably be fighting other evil supernaturals (mages, vampires, etc.). Of course, all of that means that a Dreamwalker could fit into an existing chronicle more easily than being in a stand-alone chronicle ? in fact, a stand-alone would end up being pretty anemic. Concept: 1 1/2 World of Darkness: 2 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 1/2 Stand-alone: 1/2 Healers Healers are just that ? mortals born occasionally with the power to heal others' wounds. Having been persecuted as witches or buried with impossible requests every time they show their abilities, they tend to be secretive, but when an injury occurs near them, they just can't help themselves. Again, more of a sketch than a true supplement, without enough material for a standalone chronicle (as if that would be interesting anyway), but there's enough material to create a Healer PC or NPC and attach him to a standard chronicle. Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 1/2 Mecha: The Invasion How to add anime?style giant robots to your White Wolf chronicle? I suppose there are some Mage. The Ascension chronicles where Mecha would be appropriate short?term NPCs, but I can't see any situation for long?term play. Still, if you ever need it, here it is. Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1/2 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 0 Mortis: The Grieving The Mortis are mortals chosen to collect the souls of the dead - or rather, to act as a conduit for the soul to pass over, leaving the Mortis with a full recollection of the person's memories and personality. The Mortis are irresistibly drawn to the site of death of anyone in their domain (the 10,000 people closest around them). It sounds good at first, but how could this character participate in a chronicle? The only power they have is knowing where someone is about to die, and that doesn't lend itself well to longer stories. Can you imagine an otherwise normal human participating in a chronicle, and at random times that person has to leave the action and go to collect a soul? Concept: 1/2 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1/2 Stand-alone: 0 Seekers: The Step Sideways Seekers are those who, by force of will or just plain dissociation, become uncoupled with this reality. They can explore the Umbra, teleport, travel through time, or enter The Shadow, a nonexistent realm inhabited by other Seekers. Maybe I'm just missing something, but if the core of the character is his lack of interaction with his surroundings, how do you roleplay him? If his existence is so meaningless as to be nonexistent, then what goal could he have? The supplement sheds no light on these things, and instead bestows godlike powers on static people. Not recommended. Concept: 0 World of Darkness: 1/2 Background: 1/2 Integration: 0 Stand-alone: 0 New Ager: The Second Dawn Like Mages, the New Agers are Awakened, but instead of Paradox-producing magic, they draw their ESP-like powers from harmony with the structure of reality. In addition, their goal is to help all Sleepers Awaken. New Agers would (in my humble opinion) work best as NPCs in a Mage. The Ascension chronicle, or as PCs in a Werewolf The Apocalypse chronicle; any other chronicle would have to be fairly nonstandard. As a stand-alone, I think the supplement too unfocused (somewhat like the real New Age movement) to play. Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 0 Yavelins What do vampires fear? What is their bogeyman? The Yavelins - a powerful, secretive race of tunneldwellers with a sick sense of humor. It's an intriguing idea and an evocative supplement, but, like most of Peloquir's output, it's too damned short. Any Storyteller would have to fill in the multitudinous blanks before they were remotely playable, either as PCs or NPCs. Concept: 1 1/2 World of Darkness: 2 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1/2 Stand-alone: 0 Devil Bunnies: The Fluffing Based on the efforts of the alt.devilbunnies writers. I recommend that every Storyteller have this supplement for the night when a key player doesn't show up and the chronicle is stalled. What to play? How about humans protecting the world from intelligent, man-eating conspiracy spawning bunnies who control the psyches of men through their power of "kyOOtness"? This stand-alone supplement (not really meant to be played in the World of Darkness, though you can try if you're a masochist) had me laughing out loud. Concept: 2 World of Darkness: 1/2 Background: 2 Integration: 1/2 Stand-alone: 2 More Homegrown: The Proliferation Part 2: Immortals, Superheroes, & Dragons Back to Masters of Role Playing #7 Table of Contents Back to Masters of Role Playing List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Chalice Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |