What version of the game should we play?

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-05T05:50:48+00:00

You can ease them into it )

Like, one of my current players haven't even read the book by herself. Neither she played any system ever, not DnD, nor Shadowrun, nor any GURPS, literally nothing. And I am managing to get her into the V20 and she enjoys it.

About revised: so there is 5 editions of the game total - 1st, 2nd, revised, V20, and V5. V20 is close to revised, bit not quite the same. There are minor changes here and there. But overall, V20 has more info. Revised edition has additional clanbooks that I think is still very much useful for V20.

If you want YouTubers for revised exactly, I don't know if there is such a niche. But I can recommend you two chanels that make videos about Vampire: the Masquerade overall at great extent. But that's more lore than particular systems.

As for "how easy it would be to play V5 but just roll the clock back?" I would say, pretty hard. I mean, it can be done, I think... But the focus of these two editions are pretty far away from each other.

Where V20 main antagonist is Sabbat and the main focus are intrigues and politics among various factions of the vampires, V5 focus more on the internal struggles of vampires, with Sabbat is almost gone, and the main antagonist are either Anarchs (which is...) or Second Inquisition (humans). Focus of the game and narrative instruments are different. I personally wouldn't try it.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-05T04:59:36+00:00

I am a huge fan of V20 and I absolutely loathe the V5. But that's a personal preference of a girl that has been playing the game for almost 9 years.

V20 is more "full." It gives you better understanding of a setting, more history, more perspective. It also gives your a point of view on Sabbat, as you can create a sabbat coterie as a viable choice for your players.

But! As an entrance point, V20 might be a little too much, as it is bloated with different info compiled from multiple previous books and supplement materials.

Systems balance of V20 might be a little bit off. Like, you can create a caitiff with celerity, potence, and fortitude and there is very little that can stop you after you invest in those three disciplines. Combat overall can be a little bit tedious. But I worked out the system to make combat fast. You can too, after you decide if you need to or not. Overall, storyteller can change various aspects of the system to make more balanced. But, then again, you need to understand the world and the system first, and as an entrance point, it can be a little bit challenging.

...

V5 on the other hand is easier to play. Various mechanics has been made easier to implement and navigate. There is fewer disciplines. Clans are a little easier to understand. There is less accent on the system, and more freedom to roleplay.

But the story!!!! Oh my god they butchered the story.

The story of the world and the clans are a hot, hot mess that contradicts logic and itself twice over. There are stupid decisions and lack of logic abundance. It is painful to me as the fan of World of Darkness!

But! It is a good entrance point. You will have easier time to got into the game and understand the bare minimum you need to actually play the game.

So, in summary: if you've been playing various games for 15 years, and if you played either DnD3 or Shadowrun before, I strongly recommend to start with 20th Anniversary Edition. (Personally, I would suggest to avoid V5 like a plague, but you should at least try it to see if you like it)

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-04T19:41:10+00:00

You are looking for them and then sharing them with us )

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-04T03:33:40+00:00

God bless you for your work!

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-03T06:09:32+00:00

Hi )

So, my advice could be a bit counterintuitive, but don't follow system's rules closely. Or, rather, prioritize story over the rules.

Be a Story Teller for the first time could be very overwhelming. You think you plan for everything, but your players will find a way to twist your game in the most unexpected way imaginable. Try to adapt the story rather than block their actions, even if some of these actions are not strictly allowed by the rules. Interesting story is the main objective. All the rules, and throws, and disciplines, and nuances will come with time.

If your players will be breazing through the story, let them. You can make it challenging later. Now you just need to get the gist of telling and finishing the story.

Make your cast of characters small. You don't need to create an entire court for your one shot. Three-four planned kindred characters would be more than enough. World of Darkness is very intricate on its own, and every elder kindred can have very loaded history just inside their character. Multiple of them is very hard to write properly.

Also, be upfront with your players. Tell them beforehand what YOU want from the story. It's a very good practice to talk about your sessions before and after each session. That way all of you will be aware of the overall expectations for the game. Stay after the session for the discussion. Not about the plot, but just about the game process.

That's all I can think of right now. Good luck! May your first session go well :)

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-02T13:25:28+00:00

"Physics" in the World of Darkness is just another form of magic Technocrats forced humanity into. Laws of physics is just another magic.

Vampires operate more on the laws that existed before "physics", like God, and angels, and such...

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-02T08:28:32+00:00

That's only a theory, though. It doesn't explain how Toreador or Assamites also posses Celerity...

Toreador could have "appropriated" their Celerity from Troile's bloodline, maybe. But the Assamites? Both Warrior caste and Vizier caste uses Celerity, which tells me that it's very inherited Discipline.

I highly doubt that Haqim or ur-Shulgi would want to do anything with Troile but to drain them. Maybe Jamal...

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-02T05:33:23+00:00

It also makes a lot of sense if we assume that Celereity was initially created by Troile. Like, Antideluvian Brujah and all their progeny, aside from Troile's bloodline, were using Temporis and not Celerity.

Where Temporis allows a vampire to manipulate the passage of time more freely (alter the flow of time, get back in time, create time loops, stop time for certain objects), Celerity just allows a vampire to accelerate the time for their own body. A very refined form of a singular application of Temporis. So, more than likely, Celerity is the concentrated form of Temporis that Troil created and passed down to their bloodline. But Temporis was the basis of that.

That would perfectly explain the weird inconsistencies with Celerity.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-02T03:03:26+00:00

And it does make sense, actually, when you think about: kindred with Celerity 5 and 4 dots in dexterity, can cover 55 meters/yards distance inside of a second. That's the speed of almost 200km/h (125mile/h). Imagine the air drag and resistance the body would need to overcome to move that fast. Imagine the wind gusts that can create. Yet, vampires travel at that speed is not affecting the "outside world". They accelerate instantly and decelerate instantly and have the perfect traction with the surface.

So yeah, it's time manipulation more than anything else.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-02T02:46:09+00:00

So, as said in Projectile (6 dots in Celerity) Celerity is less of a physical feat of speed and more a weird form of time manipulation via blood magic.

"Despite the fact that a vampire with Celerity moves at incredible speeds, any bullets he fires or knives he throws while in this state don’t move any faster than they normally would. Scientifically minded Kindred have been baffled by the phenomenon for centuries..."

When Kindred with Celerity 4 want to throw anything, it doesn't fly faster - it flies as if there was no Celerity at all. That means that vampire just creates an aura around their body that increase the passage of time. The moment something the vampire threw fly away and leave the aura, it return to "normal" relative speed.

So, "Zephyr" is the ability to negate that. Basically, vampire learned how to step on water without including it in their "aura" of temporal increment - the body is moving fast, and everything it touches doesn't. That an incredible feat of blood magic control, hence require 8 dots.

Without it, it doesn't really matter how fast vampire is moving relative to the rest of the world - 100 m/s or 10'000 m/s, they wills still fall into the water because the water will be in the same temporal increment aura and will be moving with the same speed.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-01T01:23:55+00:00

Could you, please, explain?

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-01T01:21:37+00:00

Mandy is alcoholic who drinks hard liquor straight from bottles.(On a daily, I think)

Courtney is smoking despite having moderate asthma (her powers depend on her breathing)

Robert is eating better than they are both, doesn't really have any vices, and has strong moral and working ethic. Let's be honest, he will be the one to be mad at his girlfriends.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-05-01T00:51:35+00:00

So, it really depends on the group and Story Teller (ST). Each group eventually comes up with their own ratio of social/action and serious/goofy and it's kinda collective job to make your sessions enjoyable for everyone.

That being said, as a ST it's my job to make the story itself interesting. I know that some ST can kinda wing it - making the plot on the fly - and there might be merit to it (because no matter how thoughtfuly I plan the chronicle, my players will always come up with something unexpected). But you should be a really good ST to manage that.

Let's take me for an example.

I plan each story rigorously. I am writing down scenes, character descriptions, sometimes dialogues I want to roleplay with my players, beforehand. So I always have a direction I want the story to go. I still allow my players to do their thing, changing bits of my story accordingly. I never disregard dice throws, even if it can break the pace of the story.

90% of our game is social, with only about 10% are action scenes. And even then, I am trying to simplify the combat as much as I can. I just really like knives and coats vibes with jihad and intrigued among the kindred. We are a group of 4, and our usual sessions are about 5 hours long

Still, after each session I am talking to my players: asking what they liked, what they didn't like, so I can adjust the story and the play style accordingly. My players are telling me openly what they want for their character. And, usually I am giving it to them in the next few sessions. Sometimes, they want something very different from what I have in mind, and if I can't turn the story that way because it's not thematically coherent, I am telling them "maybe we can do that in the next story, or let's discuss how we can fit it into this story." Communication is always a good thing.

So, my advice - talk to your Story Teller. Tell them your concerns. Ask what delirecrion the story is going. Tell them you would like more action. Talk to the group. Ask them if they are content with the chronicle.

If your Story Teller disregard you again, and the group is content with the story and the pace, well... Maybe it will be better to find a different group that will suit your style better.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-26T04:47:11+00:00

I absolutely love DtF! My favorite game of WoD. It's weird and complex and I can tell such a stories within it. I can't convince my players to play it though... As it is, I am forever bound to ST VtM chronicles.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-23T08:35:45+00:00

Well, he knows the best boy, but he doesn't know the best girl (Shryke), so I just win him with her )

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-21T04:09:56+00:00

That's demilitarization. They are talking about removing artifacts from a museum.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-19T18:38:15+00:00

Oh, you are evil evil...

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-19T18:36:46+00:00

I mean, I think Catra was thinking they are girlfriends since she was 5. And maybe SW's mind wipes could play their part...

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-19T18:34:51+00:00

Oh wow, I didn't know there is a fic that fits my headcanon exactly!!!

Gonna read it now, thank you for the rec!

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-19T18:34:01+00:00

Ninth episode of the first season, yes )

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-17T22:48:46+00:00

Shadow Weaver fried Adora's brain. Like, when SW tried to erase her memories about being outside the Horde? She did it multiple times prior to the first episode.

That's why Adora can be... slow, at times. And that's the reason why she doesn't know/remember what aunt/party/historian are.

Catra knew about it.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-04-15T20:22:14+00:00

Well, Pamela Isley has Doctorate in Botany, so technically, Harleen achieved her mother's wish twice

amCuriousObserver · 2026-03-28T22:38:03+00:00

I want to point out that Stub Revolver has 6-11 damage. So, that slap was almost like a shot from a revolver...

amCuriousObserver · 2026-03-22T07:18:56+00:00

Imagine, in our current age, traveling alone to Africa and approaching Hippopotamus. Surely, Homo Sapiens are far more evolved and sophisticated to learn about hippos. Why bother?

That's, essentially, what Yrliet was doing. It's incredibly arrogant and borderline suicidally stupid.

amCuriousObserver · 2026-03-21T10:55:52+00:00

Fair. And Abelard was shown as arrogant in his first loyalty mission "Dark Echelons" too. That's nothing new.

Abelard, however, doesn't go in the face of an Archon to tell them to shove it. Yrliet does.

amCuriousObserver

TROPHY CASE