Announcing Werewolf: The Apocalypse (KS launching Sept 7th)

[ddavison]

Most of the work on the ruleset is now done, but we have some more stuff to wrap up. One of the things we wanted to accomplish with the ruleset is to build out a shared ruleset where you could play Werewolf, Vampire, Hunter, and other World of Darkness content within the same shared universe.

As part of this goal, we were planning to move everything into a World of Darkness ruleset and then have different themes for Vampire, Werewolf, etc. As Vampire GMs and customers, would this make sense to you? You would choose World of Darkness for the ruleset and then choose your theme as Vampire the Masquerade.

Here is a link to Werewolf to be notified once the Kickstarter goes live on September 7th.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smiteworks/werewolf-the-apocalypse-fifth-edition-for-fantasy-grounds?ref=1scjzv)

[viresanimi]

Would this be a totally new, from the ground up new ruleset? I would welcome that, because the Vampire one is so so very slow in some places. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot of nice things, such as the two types of NPC's. And if you do make a new one, will you please please please incorporate the Influence system from the Camarilla book? It is baffling to me, that that wasn't included. Especially for that price!

Also... using the word "theme" is kind of misleading to me. Does that mean I, as a storyteller choses which campaign it is, to the exclusion of the others? That would be a terrible idea! The point of World of Darkness, it to be able to play the different versions simultaneously.
In the old community Vampire ruleset it was possible to simply make a character than then choose if it was a vampire, werewolf or what have you. That is what I want from a combined system.

Do I want a World of Darkness ruleset, which incorporates it all? YES PLEASE!!!

[ddavison]

Dominic rebuilt it, but is porting over all the old data from VTM so that people can transition their campaigns to the new, shared ruleset. The ruleset itself would support all the WOD variants in a single setting. The theme would just change some of the graphical appearance.

[viresanimi]

The theme would just change some of the graphical appearance.

Ah, that makes sense.

Well. Here... take my money and my sister's third born! I want it! heheheh

[superteddy57]

Would this be a totally new, from the ground up new ruleset? I would welcome that, because the Vampire one is so so very slow in some places. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot of nice things, such as the two types of NPC's. And if you do make a new one, will you please please please incorporate the Influence system from the Camarilla book? It is baffling to me, that that wasn't included. Especially for that price!

Also... using the word "theme" is kind of misleading to me. Does that mean I, as a storyteller choses which campaign it is, to the exclusion of the others? That would be a terrible idea! The point of World of Darkness, it to be able to play the different versions simultaneously.
In the old community Vampire ruleset it was possible to simply make a character than then choose if it was a vampire, werewolf or what have you. That is what I want from a combined system.

Do I want a World of Darkness ruleset, which incorporates it all? YES PLEASE!!!

Are you asking about the Institution Conflict system? Not sure what you mean by influence system. If you are referring to the Institution Conflict system, then I have a solution that might be a welcome sight for that. We will show off more of the system as time moves on.

[viresanimi]

Yes, sorry. Institutional conflict. It is essentially a replacement for the old influence system. 30 years habit dies hard...

[Lensman]

2 questions:

1) what will this mean for current owners of the Vampire 5e ruleset? What will change once Werewolf is released?
2) will the new ruleset contain Effect coding's that work in a method similar to D&D 5e?

[superteddy57]

2 questions:

1) what will this mean for current owners of the Vampire 5e ruleset? What will change once Werewolf is released?
2) will the new ruleset contain Effect coding's that work in a method similar to D&D 5e?

The owners of Vampire will get a ruleset update to work with the new system and the campaigns will attempt to be converted to the new system. Not sure what will change, might need more specific concerns to address. As for effects, what effects were you hoping to have in the previous rendition of Vampire?

[Lensman]

The owners of Vampire will get a ruleset update to work with the new system and the campaigns will attempt to be converted to the new system. Not sure what will change, might need more specific concerns to address. As for effects, what effects were you hoping to have in the previous rendition of Vampire?

Thank you for the response.
My biggest concern was if my vampire ruleset would work with the new ruleset you're creating. However are there plans to include features such as:

A Relationship Map
B Coterie forms (Which could be modified for cells or packs, depending on the ruleset)
c) Custom cult creation (cults of the blood gods chapter 5)
4) Homestead traits (found in Chicago by night pages 66-60)

In regards to effects, I'm thinking of how some spells in the 5e system when targeted put effects on the target, (a roll may be required, but I hope i'm working this well). I would love to have that ability in the new ruleset, along with effect and modifier presets. For example effects for dominate's control abilities, presence powers such as lingering kiss.

[superteddy57]

A) Can be done with a blank image and shared with the party, so no dedicated relationship map system
B) Coterie types are suggestions that provide some guidance on how the group will play. You can add anything the coterie would provide to your character sheet.
c) That would need to the release of the book as its currently not released, but a organization record would be provided to help track such things.
4) Homesteads are a location type and part of another product not released quite yet. But as with organizations, locations will have a record to help the GM keep track of such things.

The effects like in 5e work due to most being combat oriented and the ones that you would see with Lingering Kiss would be sheet adjustment passive effects. These can be done with the new system with misc fields to tweak the sheet to help build pools, or simply adding a modifier to the modifier box to adjust your pool. Many are just situational and would need to be adjusted on the fly based on the circumstances of the session. So I would say that kind of system might not be there to facilitate an effect to automatically adjust your sheet. But that could change based off of testing and if new ideas come to surface to make this happen.

[Lensman]

Thanks for the insight.

I would also ask that you build in a roll request feature. as the ruleset is locked, there is no way for an extension such as mccartysr's Requested Rolls to be made compatible with the ruleset. This could make it easer for the DM to instruct new players, and (in an ideal world, coding to be added that would allow a gm to customize discipline powers and rituals to auto-request the necessary rolls when the spell is activated).

Are there plans to include the ruleset for 5th edition Hunter, or is that separate?

Finally, Please consider adding supplement books, (and pre-releases) as add-ons to the campaign. I myself would happily pay to pre-order Chicago by night, Cults of the Blood Gods, Sabbat, Lines drawn in blood, and many others....

Thanks again,
Lensman

[ddavison]

We want to have a framework for integrating Werewolf, Vampire, Hunter, and future properties all into a single ruleset. The work SuperTeddy has done already has paved the path for that. Long term plans will depend upon how well each of these releases does. Similarly, we can look into adding more and more functionality based on how well the project funds. SuperTeddy is very passionate about this project and I would love to be able to just set him loose on it for a while.

We have had to rework some modules to support the new shared ruleset and we should have a bunch of add-ons we will be able to add -- or that we will be able to release in the store afterward.

Anything you can do to share the Kickstarter page and help spread the news will help us achieve those goals.

[viresanimi]

One thing that came to mind, that would also be very good in a World of Darkness, is an integrated Theater of the MInd system, ala the extension. Storyteller games are not D&D, that uses battlemaps, so things to help organize encounters, would be very in line with the system and how it is run.

I really hope this takes off, when it comes to Kickstarter. The reason why I love FG, is that it isn't just a D&D platform. I recognize the Dragon in the room, but other system's needs some love too. And I love the Storyteller games.

Very excited for this.

[pablomaz]

I'm looking forward to it! The Kickstarter will go live on the Brazilian Independence Day (our 201st), so I'll be totally free. hehe
How would it work, though? One ruleset with every book (V5, W5, etc) being sold as modules?

[ddavison]

If you buy Werewolf OR Vampire the Masquerade, you would get the universal ruleset that works for either one. The core rulebooks for each would only come from the individual purchases of those products though. W5 and V5 modules would be available for purchase for anyone who wants that content preloaded.

[pablomaz]

If you buy Werewolf OR Vampire the Masquerade, you would get the universal ruleset that works for either one. The core rulebooks for each would only come from the individual purchases of those products though. W5 and V5 modules would be available for purchase for anyone who wants that content preloaded.

Got it. Tks! See you on September 7th!

[Naurthoron]

I hope you will update the ceremonies / rituals distinction, and that all former modules will remain compatible.

[superteddy57]

You mean as in that a ritual is a Blood Sorcery thing and Ceremony is for Oblivion?

[Naurthoron]

yes indeed, at least the split in the way the database is set

[Fear Grounds]

As a Storyteller looking in, I have to ask:
Are there going to be extensions, to change how the special dice work, for each splat(Gameline)?

Hunger dice in V5, replace regular dice, as hunger grows. Dice crit on 1 and 10. Hunger increases as rouse checks are failed.

Rage dice in W5, replace regular dice, as rage grows. Dice crit on 1, 2, and 10. Rage decreases as rage checks are failed.

Desperation dice in H5, add dice, instead of replacing them. Dice crit on 1 and 10. Dice are not used automatically, and are a shared resource for all PCs.

[superteddy57]

As a Storyteller looking in, I have to ask:
Are there going to be extensions, to change how the special dice work, for each splat(Gameline)?

Hunger dice in V5, replace regular dice, as hunger grows. Dice crit on 1 and 10. Hunger increases as rouse checks are failed.

Rage dice in W5, replace regular dice, as rage grows. Dice crit on 1, 2, and 10. Rage decreases as rage checks are failed.

Desperation dice in H5, add dice, instead of replacing them. Dice crit on 1 and 10. Dice are not used automatically, and are a shared resource for all PCs.

Yes, those systems will be in place and used per their specific rules within those books.

[Fear Grounds]

I don't have a clue how you manage to do the things that you do!

I can't wait to see, what the future of the World of Darkness, looks like on Fantasy Grounds.

[superteddy57]

Just me being me :)

[viresanimi]

Speaking of dice rollsl. Would love to see a dicebox - ala what you find in the excellent Genesys ruleset - implemented. The current way Vampire does it is a bit confusing at tiimes for my players. The workaround for adjusting the dicepool is kind of insane... hi hi

Also, can we have equipment for npc's please? Instead of having to make notes of them. Could be very useful!

[superteddy57]

i have developed a new system to replace the old way of doing dice. Also have a way to track equipment.

[vegaserik]

I can't wait to see this!

[superteddy57]

Lots of new things incoming. Just have to wait for a sneak peak. I haven't given it to Doug yet cause don't want him to ruin the surprise :P

[vegaserik]

Lots of new things incoming. Just have to wait for a sneak peak. I haven't given it to Doug yet cause don't want him to ruin the surprise :P

We like it when he ruins surprises :)

[Laerun]

https://renegadegamestudios.com/game-worlds/werewolf-the-apocalypse/

https://www.youtube.com/live/Pa8USL7dqAQ?si=NfXNFep_AoEZ-VgO

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smiteworks/werewolf-the-apocalypse-fifth-edition-for-fantasy-grounds?ref=7qfbxv

58784

[Doomsmythe]

I have a quick question. Will y'all actually be adding all the Clans and Oblivion so that it can actually be fully playable? Those books aren't there to purchase so if I am going to have to constantly do data entry because y'all can never seem to do this one, exact thing? If not I'll keep my money and continue to wait and see if it was actually worth spending. The original V5 stuff just released 2 books charged at an absolutely outrageous price in comparison (I could have bought the books in hardcover and saved money.) Then absolutely nothing for years. I bought this system when it came out. I am giving y'all money so that I don't have to keep doing this. So when y'all fix that MAJOR problem I'm gonna sit it out for now. I'm not giving anyone a further dime to anyone until I can have the most basic things in the entire game, I could care less about any other system. Fix it first, then maybe. I use VTT's in my job so if I am going to make a business purchase I need assurance that it will be usable. Because y'alls track record on this system straight up sucks.

[Laerun]

I have a quick question. Will y'all actually be adding all the Clans and Oblivion so that it can actually be fully playable? Those books aren't there to purchase so if I am going to have to constantly do data entry because y'all can never seem to do this one, exact thing? If not I'll keep my money and continue to wait and see if it was actually worth spending. The original V5 stuff just released 2 books charged at an absolutely outrageous price in comparison (I could have bought the books in hardcover and saved money.) Then absolutely nothing for years. I bought this system when it came out. I am giving y'all money so that I don't have to keep doing this. So when y'all fix that MAJOR problem I'm gonna sit it out for now. I'm not giving anyone a further dime to anyone until I can have the most basic things in the entire game, I could care less about any other system. Fix it first, then maybe. I use VTT's in my job so if I am going to make a business purchase I need assurance that it will be usable. Because y'alls track record on this system straight up sucks.

Okay, who knows. However, buying the hardback books would still make it even more difficult to enter the data into Fantasy Grounds, regardless of that pricing. The pricing is set by the publisher. Also, I would imagine if I was threatening Smiteworks to create a "pizza button" for Fantasy Grounds Unity, I'd likely be ordering pizza manually... And my request (demands) would likely go to the bottom of the proverbial pile.

[ddavison]

What books are those items in?

When Superteddy started working on Werewolf and tying it in with Vampire, he did a re-vamp (pun intended) of that ruleset and a bunch of the products. There are a few other products that he converted and we have ready for release now as well.

[Fear Grounds]

I believe what Doomsmythe is referring to, is the additional clans added by other books.
The core book has the following clans: Brujah, Caitiff, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Thin-Bloods, Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue

The others are:
Banu Haqim in the Camarilla book
Ministry in the Anarch book
Lasombra in Chicago by Night
Hecata in Cults of the Blood Gods
Tzimisce, Ravnos and Salubri in the free Companion.

Or ???

You could have all the extra clans with the V5 Player's Guide?

[Lensman]

A few questions:

1) About what time will the campaign launch? (odd are, I'll be at work, and don't want to miss this)
2) will a ruleset for Hunter v5 be included as one of the stretch goals?
3) any hints as to when the update for the Vampire ruleset will go live?
4) if we choose to use the leather theme, would that keep the original character & NPC sheets, or will they be permanently removed from the ruleest?

Any help is appreciated!

[ddavison]

Thanks for the info. Anarch and Camarilla are out already. Cults of the Blood Gods and the Player's Guide is done and in the pipeline for release. They will also be available as add-ons for the KS.

Launch time is targeted for 9:00 to 9:30 am EDT tomorrow.

Hunter v5 might end up being a stretch goal. Stay tuned.

The Vampire ruleset will be going live mid-September (we are considering either Sept 12 or Sept 19) so that people can look at it before deciding on Werewolf and see if they like where we are taking things.

I don't know what you mean by question #4. We will have a basic WOD theme, a Vampire theme, and a Werewolf theme. I believe you should be able to use the stitched leather theme if you prefer.

[ddavison]

The Kickstarter Campaign is now Live.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smiteworks/werewolf-the-apocalypse-fifth-edition-for-fantasy-grounds

Let us know what you think of the page and if there is anything we need to add or change.

[vegaserik]

I believe what Doomsmythe is referring to, is the additional clans added by other books.
The core book has the following clans: Brujah, Caitiff, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Thin-Bloods, Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue

The others are:
Banu Haqim in the Camarilla book
Ministry in the Anarch book
Lasombra in Chicago by Night
Hecata in Cults of the Blood Gods
Tzimisce, Ravnos and Salubri in the free Companion.

Or ???

You could have all the extra clans with the V5 Player's Guide?

All those clans are in the Player's Guide.

[Doomsmythe]

All those clans are in the Player's Guide.

Yes and no. There is way more Information on the clans from Chicago By Night and Cults. Like ALL the lore as well as a full Clan write up. The Player's Guide doesn't really cut it. Tell ya what. If someone can just put those 2 Clans and Oblivion in, i'll chuck in $5. I don't do Kickstater anymore after Flyos bent me over with a sandpaper condom over Vampire: Chapters. (Don't but from the company. They REALLY ripped us backers off.) I don't care if it's just a stupid file y'all can give me. Because if I have to do Data entry i'm probly going to pass it around until it's fixed.

[Naurthoron]

While Flyos was a new company beginning in the area, Smite Works has proven records on delivery (I also ordered Chapters which took forever to be delivered and caused many frustration, but in the end the product is quite good). It is the difference between pre-order and investing in a new product where there is uncertainty in the success of its final development.

I decided to back this campaign and the add-ons that haven't been published yet, even though I could have waited a bit for a -20% discount, just because backing this campaign will encourage Smite Works to release additional modules like Chicago by Night, Fall of London and the others yet to be published. It should show there is a market worth the investment. Well, some people even bought Fantasy Grounds on top of the ruleset showing that the WoD brand may attract new users to the whole Fantasy Grounds product family.

While there is more lore information in the original books on Clans and even other aspects, at least the player's guide will allow to make all of them playable in one module.

[vegaserik]

Yes and no. There is way more Information on the clans from Chicago By Night and Cults. Like ALL the lore as well as a full Clan write up. The Player's Guide doesn't really cut it. Tell ya what. If someone can just put those 2 Clans and Oblivion in, i'll chuck in $5. I don't do Kickstater anymore after Flyos bent me over with a sandpaper condom over Vampire: Chapters. (Don't but from the company. They REALLY ripped us backers off.) I don't care if it's just a stupid file y'all can give me. Because if I have to do Data entry i'm probly going to pass it around until it's fixed.

I have found I have no need for the extra lore when I run. I can refer to the book or pdf before I run if need be and jot down any names or notes I may need. It's copyright material so I can't give it to you, but I'd be more than willing to help you put them in. At this point I'd wait until the ruleset has been updated.

[Fear Grounds]

I have found I have no need for the extra lore when I run. I can refer to the book or pdf before I run if need be and jot down any names or notes I may need. It's copyright material so I can't give it to you, but I'd be more than willing to help you put them in. At this point I'd wait until the ruleset has been updated.

I'll second that.

The time for reading lore is in game prep. Not with players "at the table".

The extra books, being released in the near future, are quite a gratifying sight. If for nothing else, seeing that Renegade/Paradox are allowing the content to be shared officially. In the time since this ruleset's original release, I like many others, have input most of the useful information from these books. But it will be even nicer to see the licensed products available for purchase.

I have all these books, both physically and digitally, so don't really want to buy them again. But, Fantasy Grounds makes game prep significantly easier for me. So much so, that I use it in both, in person and virtual games equally.

Having to only purchase two books, the Core and the Players Companion, makes Fantasy Grounds more attainable for a larger audience. Two books and you're good to run games with all the information needed. There's not many games that can say that.

Werewolf, on the other hand, looks like we'll only need one book to play. Crazy right? I'm sure there will be many other books for Werewolf in the future, since it is a popular branch of the World of Darkness. But there are always extra books added, to help flesh out the settings. They're nice to have, but not required.

With the addition of Hunter 5, the World of Darkness ruleset, has great potential. One ruleset, to rule them all...

[ddavison]

We just posted another update with a stretch goal to add Hunter as an add-on. We also have a new sweepstakes to win an Ultimate license, Werewolf the Apocalypse, and a full dice bundle.

[Muagen]

I've pledged to several successful Kickstarters in the past, including many of Pinnacle's products and Fantasy Grounds Unity's Kickstarter.

I've also pledged to this one. Initial momentum on this Kickstarter has carried us over the goal line, but the first stretch goal is 300% of the original and results in the ability to buy another product. Granted, another product a number of us are excited to see, but it feels (to me) less like an achievement for the crowd-funding audience and more like a thermometer.

I'm no crowd-funding specialist, but it might be a good idea to come up with some smaller, freebie goals along the way that add perceived value. Maybe a free gothic letters and number token pack, or some built-in scene backdrop art pack, or alternate character sheet skins as an extension. I realize that it's easy for me--the person who is not making the things they are asking for-- to say small, but some small value-added features along the way might smooth the ascent. Turn a jump from the ground to the roof into a climb up a ladder.

And that's me done flapping my gums about something I barely understand.

[Lensman]

@superteddy57

In regards to the Custom Dice feature in the Current ruleset:

1) Would you be able to expand the Custom Dice Roll selection to include:
1a) the Types of damage (Bashing, Lethal, Aggravated, and Incendiary (Fire)).
1b) a way to customize dice for each special ability, For example:
1b1) Dice assigned to each individual Discipline, Ritual (Blood Magic, and Thin-Blood Alchemy), and Ceremonies in vampire, individual Drives, Edges and Perks in Hunter, and Gifts, Rites and Spirits in Werewolf?*

As an example of what I'm envisioning, I would like to be able to set a specific dice for each discipline. When a roll is made using a power from that discipline, the dice used are the ones setup for the discipline itself. (I keep looking at how 5e allows you to set dice for types of damage, and I think a modified version of that would work well here to expand the choices available).

With the upcoming release of the Blood Dice Pack, I find myself wishing for more options within the ruleset to allow us to access the full range of customization the Dice Pack will allow when released.

[superteddy57]

No, I won't be able to expand it to cover everything you have listed. The system works with static lists and those (besides damage) are not static. More powers and such are added with each new supplement and would need to be updated with each new supplement at the ruleset layer. Content could not update the system. Damage could be added, but combat isn't tracked and items don't apply damage. So no list of damage types to latch onto.

[Lensman]

I have a few questions about the upcoming conversions:

In regards to the Hunter ruleset, I am wondering if you will include the Storyteller's Handbook. The Vampire Ruleset, by comparison, appears to contain not only the converted rulebook, but the Storyteller's handbook for Vampire as well. I am wondering if the Storytellers Toolkit for Hunter will be included with the ruleset?

Also, please consider adding in the STORYTELLER SYSTEM Expanded Mechanics and Permutations. This is a collection of a lot of edge cases to help Storytellers adjudicate… some of the stranger events that could occur during a game session. It in intended to aid and inform other judgments by providing a baseline. This is material which would be repeated among the core games, and having it available in Fantasy Grounds could be a help to players. The file is available for free from Paradox Interactive: https://paradoxinteractive.files.com/f/715e7a0ccdd6032f

Finally, have any plans been discussed about converting other titles, Both Chicago by Night and Cults of the Blood Gods have additional supplements, as well as "Lines Drawn in Blood" for Hunter, Newly-Released Blood Sigils for Vampire, as well as a few additional titles from Paradox and Renegade. Is there anything we can do to encourage ongoing conversions of these materials?

Thanks for reading,
Lensman.

[superteddy57]

The Expanded Mechanics and Permutations are just dice pools for those situations. Which also include a ton of 'what if' scenarios. Those could be created as custom rolls in the actions areas for those that wish to use them. If the product is converted, it could contain those, but that is not something I have personally converted and wouldn't know what the final product would look like. As for the other conversions, those were listed in what is coming in the kickstarter. Chicago by Night did make the cut. Cuts of the Blood Gods is completed and was part of the kickstarter as well. You can see the extensive list here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smiteworks/werewolf-the-apocalypse-fifth-edition-for-fantasy-grounds/description

[J0e S.]

I want to say thank you. I logged in and claimed my rewards today, and reviewed the interface and tabs in the new module. Yeah, that's a long way from setting up a chronicle and I am sure there's a lot to work on but I wasn't sure I'd ever see Werewolf and Hunter in a VTT, much less FGU. And before my Halloween game at that! Thanks for making these titles more accessible for online play.

[superteddy57]

Was a pleasure! Happy Gaming!