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>>98010861
I've never gotten the chance to use em but the Funeral Mountain Terrashot, they're giant walking coffins that when they trip fucking explode. They're often treated as suicide bombers by those that get their hands on them but they're extremely dangerous to handle given their volatility. Best not to disturb them and give them a wide berth lest you get caught up in the blast.
I'd also just make em literally walking coffins with four legs.

Any cool stories about weird/mad kindred embracing people to form a "family"?
Like, a "mom/wife", a "son" a "daughter"?

>>98010861
>What sort of cryptids exist in your chronicles?
Cave monkeys and sentient ants.

>>98010861
>What sort of cryptids exist in your chronicles?
I don't know if it counts, but an NPC told my character that she and her friends found an ankylosaurus in the Backrooms (and named him 'Bonk').

>If Vampire A diablerizes Vampire B, Vampire A gains Vampire B's Generation rating (expanded blood pool, raised caps and all) and the full use of all of Vampire B's Disciplines
>after X months, Vampire A loses all he gained from his diablerie except for (standard rewards of diablerie as per core)
>Vampire A also has to fight to restrain the mother of all power trips for the duration as Vampire B's power burns in his veins
What changes if you introduce this house rule, gameplay and lorewise? Can also work for Requiem as well, tell me what if anything changes in that game too.

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>>98011034

>cryptozoology
Every moment brings me back to that city with the phasmid... Something Disco about it...

>>98000315
I skimmed a bunch of different depictions of the underworld in different mythologies and belief systems looking for the ways they described the geography and such. It's kind of given me this idea of the underworld as basically a combination of One Piece and Dark Souls: there's a ton of different depictions of rivers, that may or may not be of water, more giant cosmic trees than I expected, and a buch of gates are sometimes (but not always) literal separating different areas and layers (which in this case might also work as separation of the realm of the dead from the world of the living and the Dark Below of demons - plenty of mentions of evil spirits and demonic characters in those underwolds too, giving me this thought that as you go deeper and lower into the underworld you reach the foundations of the world from which wisps of darkness drift towards the Skinlands before gaining sapience).

And if one is worried about a weird and cthonic underworld dragging too much of the focus away from interaction with other ghosts and with the world of the living, all the dangerous hazards and gates that might be secret or locked could help with that.

Like, your ghost arrives to an island in the underworld that has its own society, and if they don't like it they have to either try to chart a way to another island themselves (and incredibly perilous odyssey), enlist with a major faction that has a relatively safe method to travel (the valkyries might have Ships of Nails that allow them to spread their influence across many islands, for example, and they are always in need of fresh meat to throw at their struggle against Ragnarok)... or you try to bypass the hazards by using the Skinlands as a shortcut: different pathways between the realms of the living and the dead leading to very different areas would serve as a reason to give the factions of the underworld stakes in having a certain amount of control over parts of the world of the living

>>98000315
>>98011318
Some of the geographical details I saw mentioned:
>Glowing ashes
>The word for Hel's hall means "sprayed with snowstorms" or "damp with sleet or rain"
>A sunny region where hemlock grows
>Dark misty clouds
>A deep well, dark, stinking, and extremely narrow, with demonic monsters (xrafstars) the size of mountains at the smallest nearby
>Demonic xrafstars such as frogs, reptiles, scorpions and insects like ants or wasps
>The underworld as a reflection or inversion of the dome of the upper heavens, narrower the deeper you go
>The Duat has realistic features such as rivers, islands, fields, paths, and lakes, but also lakes of fire, walls of iron, and trees of turquoise
>A crossroads where travellers had to choose from among four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and beguile
>A mountain range where the mountains crash into each other
>A different area where giant fiery mountains collide with each other
>A field with wind that blows flesh-scraping knives
>Giant cosmic trees that prevent the Earth, Heavens and Underworld from collapsing into one
>Immense corpses of giant creatures and beings that helped make up the world at the beginning of time
>Pits of fire
>Yellow springs (literally what Huangquan means - it could be due to water rich in iron like Yellow Springs Ohio, due to sulfur, or something much more supernatural: could be just that water itself is yellow in this area)
>Shoals (one of the names associated with the Japanese underworld is "firm/hard-packed shoal land of origin")
>Pollution: Izanagi noted that Yomi is a "polluted land" (kegareki kuni)
>Deadly acrid smoke
>A forest of thorny trees
>A forest with sword-like leaves
>Brine and thorny rattan>
>Hot molten metal
>A dark, frozen plain surrounded by icy mountains and continually swept by blizzards
>Pandanus trees that you might need to climb to escape man-eating pigs
>Underwater sections
>Black swans that sing death spells

>>98000315
>>98011323
>Halls woven out of serpent spines, with drops of vemon leaking through the roof
>Volcanoes, and they are describe as entries to the underworld in multiple mythologies
>A region of peace and light "where darkness is unknown" (might be best to keep that away as a metaphor for Transcendence or something like that, but I could see a region of the underworld where it's just perpetually daylight)
>Swamps and huge green plain—pastures
>Pomegranate trees
>Trees that bore precious gems as fruit
>Trees with fruit that gives secrets or skills
>Deserts and steppes
>Walled and gated locations (again)
>Asphodel meadows
>Extreme darkness
>"The roots of the earth and of the unharvested sea"


And of course a ton of rivers too:
>A dark wild river that must be crossed either by a bridge, by swimming, or by boat
>Rivers of leaden water
>A river of blue-black water that is fast-moving, full of rapids, and filled with various weapons
>A river of scorpions
>A river of blood
>Another river of blood AND jaguars and snakes
>A river of pus
>A river of Sharp/Caustic Water
>Living rivers
>A river of hatred
>A river/lake of mysery and woe
>A river of blazing fire
>A river of wailing
>A river of forgetfulness
>More rivers that just don't seem to have anything special

>>98000315
>>98011318
One last thing: it could also be interesting to link stuff related to the speculations about the existence of Lemuria with ghosts.

Because Lemuria isn't just a word for a lost continent invented to explain lemur fossils, but also for a Roman festival for placating and exorcising the restless dead (lemures).

Not too personally familiar with Lemuria or theosophy's take on it, but it seems fitting that in an "all myths, superstitions and conspiracy theories have a grain of truth" world it's no coincidence that the two concepts share a name

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...Why are you guys re-inventing Shadowlands with a bit of other parts of the Umbra?
>>Giant cosmic trees that prevent the Earth, Heavens and Underworld from collapsing into one
We literally have one already in WoD

>>98011318
The more "hellish" places in the Underworld that resemble myths of punishing sinners could also be places with heavy infestations of demons. The local ghost rulers aren't often in contact with the Deathlords and major factions, or don't get enough support from them, and are forced to make deals - or they get outright deposed by a demon who wants to rule even a petty kingdom (iirc there was a mythology where 10 out of 12 rulers of the underworld were demons, for example).

Evil spirits ascend to the Skinlands from the deep darkness below the Underworld, but not everyone can cut it there: so if the Underworld doesn't try to banish demons like the Skinlands do (or at least not with the same strength) it'd become a refuge in which to build up power for the "losers" of demonkind (not necessarily actual losers, sometimes bad luck happens or you just happened to be the target or collateral of a powerful elder)


This could create a dynamic where demons aren't subjected to the same environmental pressures in the Underworld but are more vulnerable to the full military force of the Deathlords, who wage full war against them.

Meanwhile, in the Skinlands most ghosts don't have bodies, might or might not have their own issues if the Shroud is a thing, and definitely have to contend with organizations of humans corrupted by demons to act as their pawns.

And mortals are caught in the middle, between demons that manipulate them and don't care about them and ghosts that care a little more but... well, dying means that either you move on (which a lot of ghosts would envy) or become one of them (and veterans of the war can forget the traumas of their early ghosthood and their mortal lives), so the forces of the Deathlords are more cavalier with killing mortals than most humans would like.

>>98011602
Since this is a reboot I had a whim to look at mythological depictions of underworlds to see what stood out.

And between all the rivers and lakes, multiple giant trees (four in Aztec myth alone), the ash and volcanoes, I kind of began to be reminded of Ash Lake in Dark Souls. With some One Piece thrown in for all the islands that are each doing their own thing a lot of the time.

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This shit? Worthless.

>>98011848
(•▽•;)
What are you smoking?

>>98011860
Social stats don't belong in a roleplaying game. I shouldn't have to roll when I can just convince the ST myself.

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>>98011860
That was fast.

>>98011860
Social interactions and the success of persuasion and diplomacy is predicated on external circumstances and not decided by magic words.

>>98011870
>Physical stats don't belong in a roleplaying game. I shouldn't have to roll when I can just punch the ST in the teeth myself.

>>98011894
I can't simulate having superior strength. I can simulate being a more or less charismatic person.

>>98011870
By that reasoning your character should only be able to perform a feat of strength if you can go bench press 300 pounds.

>>98011896
>>98011894
The abstract representations of physical feats is possible to have in a game because physical feats are inherently simplistic, their outcomes are simple, predictable, and one dimensional.

Meanwhile human social interactions are infinitely complex and these complexities are inherently understood by human beings, making any attempt at abstraction and simplification seem ridiculous and uncanny.

>>98011883
What did you expect? There's nothing to talk about.

>>98011870
>>98011888
Charisma is not about what you say, but more personal stuff, like body language, "vibe", etc, that's where the stats come in. If a weak person is trying to act assertive or intimidating, it won't be convincing, even if they say the perfect things. Same goes for if an awkward person is trying to seduce, etc.

>>98011982
It's not about much of anything because you can just say stuff.

>>98011925
Must be nice to not be (or to be) autistic

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Since we are on a "we don't give a fuck" mood, what's your experience with ERP using WoD and what kind of scenario do you gravitate towards with each splat?
Pic related is what I imagine the average Wraith character is like because of how much of a masochist you need to be to play the game as intended.

>>98012011
Kek, I remember this being posted some weeks ago. I feel like Wraith is more for depressive and angsty nonsense more, like Romeo and Juliet's ending

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>>98012011
You are fuckers are actually erping?

>>98012036
Fair enough but the pic reminded me of some ancient kings killing slaves to bring them to the afterlife and that seems perfect for the template.

>>98012054
No nigga, I fantasize about WoD related scenarios and bust a nut before writing anything down.

>>98012063
Based.

>>98011987
If you can "just say stuff" what's the points of having stats for anything then?

>>98012036
Wraith is less angst and depression, and more macabre black humour and boundary-pushing edge. When I think of Wraith, I think of that one piece of art for it that features a bunch of mouldering corpses in a seedy club watching the bottom half of a bisected stripper dance.

>>98012102
Because you can't say stuff that needs doing.

>>98011925
Mate, this is a RPG. A pretend game in the end.
You, me and others in this thread, in real life at most have 2, maybe 3 Dots at best like most humans. But characters you play can and will be above that.
If you can't grasp that, you are way more autistic than most people.

>>98012109
No, you HAVE to knock the ST out if you want those 5+ successes.

>>98012134
But in reality, they can't. The dissonance is irreconcilable. There's subconscious pushback even when you try really hard to lean on these shitty mechanics.

>>98011987
It doesn't matter what you say if you can't sell it, and that's something that depends on the character.

>>98012148
You absolutely can.

Even if you're not going to roll for social interactions, having values for the social competence of your character is useful, because it gives you a reference point to refer back to when roleplaying the character and serves as a guideline for how you should roleplay your character. Without that reference point, there's nothing stopping a player from shifting around how charismatic their character is based on however they're feeling at the time, which leads to inconsistent roleplaying and an increased likelihood of the character just serving as a vehicle for the player, instead of a role that the players plays.

>>98012160
It doesn't do that at all. There's absolutely nothing stopping you from acting however you want regardless of your social stats.

It's just a way to scam you out of XP.

>>98012144
If you can't even manage that, how the hell are you even going to roleplay anything but an aevrage mortal. You aren't a vampire, Mage or whatever else. Even 50 year old Neonate is probably beyond you since they lived lives longer than you and faced more adversery than you ever could.

You can never be anything but other than yourself, and unfortunately, no one is as awesome and capable as their character.
(Also, get yourself checked if you really can't do it. I am not joking nor baiting, that sounds like a problem in the making if you can't)

>>98012185
>>98011925

>>98012176
That's where the ST comes in, who is supposed to be a referee in situations like this and point out "hang on, your roleplaying and your character sheet don't seem to match up."

>>98012189
>ummmm your character doesn't act like he has 3 in charisma, he's acting like more of a 4 or 5
shit no one has ever said

and if someone ever does, RUN