I've never played Kult, only heard it mentioned in fearful whispers. So I cannot compare the two books.

The idea that there is another reality beyond/behind/underneath our own and occasionally people fall through cracks isn't a new idea at all.

The attraction of GMC I think is that, like the Mythos, it does not have roots in Judeo-Christianity.  Kult drew from Gnosticism and Kabbalistic lore.

Since the Cosmology is not Lovecraftian or J/C then WTF is it?  The mystery of it, the idea that you may never find out exactly what it is, is the same kind of mystery that kept shows like X-Files and Lost going for so long.

I haven't looked at Demon though, so I don't know know the perspective of beings who actually serve/fight/whatever the God-Machine.

Personally, I think it's best used in a human-level campaign.  If you look at some of the weirder threat dossiers for Hunter the Vigil, or a SCP entry you can get lots of fuel for GMC.

Quote from: vytzka;686397Actually, in this era of Kickstarters, I dearly wish whoever the fuck holds the KULT license to get their head out of their collective rear hole. Because I would pay all of the money even though I'm unlikely to ever play it.

YES.

I would buy a new KULT based on reputation alone. I've never read or played the original, I've just heard the same fearful, hushed, reverential  whispers that the others speak of. It kind of reminds me of how people spoke of Empire of the Petal Throne back in the 80's & 90's (i.e. "Lost masterpiece").

Quote from: smiorgan;686388Yes, of course, KULT. Never really played it so doesn't figure highly in my head, but spot on.

So, WW are differentiating their stuff from the Mythos by ripping off another game that differentiated itself from the Mythos 20 years ago?

I see the Mythos, Kult and GMC to be a continuum. The same concept of the unknown and unknowable framed in terms of whatever strikes a chord at the time.

Quote from: BarefootGaijin;686386When I read this, and the comment above about Clive Barker, I too went 'KULT' in my head.

There are some similarities between how humanity unknowingly lives on the streets of the Metropolis in Kult and in the Infrastructure of the God-Machine in GMC, but I'd say that those are mostly due to the whole "secret machinations behind the facade of the everyday world" schtick which the games share. What the Machine has in common with the Cthulhu Mythos, in turn, is the idea that it doesn't specifically care about humanity at all except as tools, raw materials, or occasional inconveniences in its plans. It's not a prison, except in the sense that the human species is stuck on the same mudball that it's been reworking for its own purposes for a very long time. It is, however, utterly amoral: for instance, it may well devastate a country with earthquakes simply because hundreds of years later those events will then inspire a certain architect to invent new building structures that complete some ineffable grand scheme.

And as mentioned before, the demons resemble the rogue programs from The Matrix far more than, say, Cenobites. (Both them and the angels generally take on false human identities while interacting with the rest of the world, and demons keep those "Covers" when they go AWOL.) Then again, the World of Darkness isn't any kind of an illusion, a computer simulation or otherwise, so maybe Dark City would be a better match for the setting: it's the physical reality that's being reshaped, after all.

(Actually, one of the mini-scenarios in GMC, "The Squares of the City", is heavily reminiscent of that movie, as practically no one except the PCs realizes that the city where they're staying has begun to rearrange itself at every midnight, with buildings sliding around until one of them vanishes each time with the people still inside.)

Demon: the Descent KS is up. If you interested to see where GMC leads its here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/demon-the-descent-prestige-edition

Quote from: Killfuck Soulshitter;657931It's no wonder that RPGs are dying out. This stuff is fine for jaded old timers long since bored with vampires with katanas, but for potential newcomers it's completely opaque. In the 90s, the basic concepts of WoD could be understood by anyone in 5 seconds.

My group of new gamers (all newly brought in with my Rogue Trader campaign, no prior exposure to RPGs) have had no trouble understanding what the GMC is about and are looking forward to trying it out.

Please, if you're going to share an anecdote, at least tie it back to some kind of real life or made up experience instead of just sharing some half assed opinion.

Quote from: Skywalker;707558Demon: the Descent KS is up. If you interested to see where GMC leads its here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/demon-the-descent-prestige-edition

They put up the full text of the draft up on Google as a freely downloadable PDF, as well. The signature city for demons is Seattle, and that setting section pretty much continues from where "Sister City" in GMC left off.

Quote from: The Yann Waters;686851There are some similarities between how humanity unknowingly lives on the streets of the Metropolis in Kult and in the Infrastructure of the God-Machine in GMC, but I'd say that those are mostly due to the whole "secret machinations behind the facade of the everyday world" schtick which the games share. What the Machine has in common with the Cthulhu Mythos, in turn, is the idea that it doesn't specifically care about humanity at all except as tools, raw materials, or occasional inconveniences in its plans. It's not a prison, except in the sense that the human species is stuck on the same mudball that it's been reworking for its own purposes for a very long time. It is, however, utterly amoral: for instance, it may well devastate a country with earthquakes simply because hundreds of years later those events will then inspire a certain architect to invent new building structures that complete some ineffable grand scheme.

And as mentioned before, the demons resemble the rogue programs from The Matrix far more than, say, Cenobites. (Both them and the angels generally take on false human identities while interacting with the rest of the world, and demons keep those "Covers" when they go AWOL.) Then again, the World of Darkness isn't any kind of an illusion, a computer simulation or otherwise, so maybe Dark City would be a better match for the setting: it's the physical reality that's being reshaped, after all.

(Actually, one of the mini-scenarios in GMC, "The Squares of the City", is heavily reminiscent of that movie, as practically no one except the PCs realizes that the city where they're staying has begun to rearrange itself at every midnight, with buildings sliding around until one of them vanishes each time with the people still inside.)

Dark City wants their plot back

Using the excellent NWoD book Damnation City allows one to create an excellent sandbox environment for NWoD style horror gaming. I'm sure this can be easily applied to Demon.