I was a big fan of oWoD. I skipped right over nWoD because, frankly, I didn't want to have to buy massive amounts of new books all over again. Now, however, I'm thinking of at least reading through a good part of it if not getting into some games outright.

Any recommendations for books, or lines, I should peruse? I was into Vampire, Wraith, and Mage before (in roughly that order). What game core books should I check out - are Vampire, Mage and !Wraith-Equivalent in nWoD worth reading? Are any others? And what supplements should I bother with?

Of course, the flip side would be: What lines or books should I ignore altogether? What's the bottom of the barrel for the nWoD lines?

From what I understand the Promethean the Created is a very good book. I rather liked the Core book, but didn't care for any of the settings/monster divisions  that I read (Werewolf, Vampire), but people have repeatedly recommended Promethean. I've also heard good things of the Changeling book.

Quote from: Géza Echs;711291What game core books should I check out - are Vampire, Mage and !Wraith-Equivalent in nWoD worth reading?

With Vampire: The Requiem, you might want to wait until Blood & Smoke: The Strix Chronicle comes out before making any decisions, since that'll effectively be "Requiem Revised" with the basic rules bundled into the same book. The core for Mage: The Awakening is considered something of a dull slog to read but said to improve with supplements. There's no nWoD Wraith as such: even Geist: The Sin-Eaters is actually about people who've been resurrected after agreeing to take along weird über-ghosts to the lands of the living, making it somewhat similar to the old Mummy: The Resurrection. (The new Mummy: The Curse technically introduces the possibility of playing a "lucid ghost", though.)

Changeling: The Lost was the dark horse of the nWoD lines, turning out to be surprisingly popular, and remains my personal favourite.

The 13th Precinct book for Mortals is pretty good. I ran a grimy cops'n'crooks game with it and the information was damn handy.

The best "lines" in nWoD are Hunter the Vigil and Changeling the Lost.  

The main three lines get bloated fast and there is a fair few misses in their books. Promethean is good if a little obscure. Geist is great but consists of a line of just two books. Mummy has mixed reaction. Demon looks good, but isn't out yet,

Actually, that raises a secondary question: How versatile is the straight World of Darkness line for gaming? I know there's quite a few books for the plain "no monster PCs here" WoD line - I had no idea how many until I heard of Slashers (or whatever its called). Potentially, it could be the best of all of them. How is it? Any other recommendations thus far?

Thanks so far everyone. I'm a bit annoyed to hear that there was bloat in the 'main' lines, and even more annoyed that there's an all-but-in-name nVampire revised coming out. I'm glad that setting books improve the Mage line. And I'm shocked that Promethean is the leading recommendation (with Changeling coming second!). I'll make a point to check those two lines out first.

Are there any books that I should skip quickly over? Any true dogs in the nWoD grouping, from any of the lines?

I am a huge nWoD fanboy. Mostly because I usually ran low-key and small-scope games, compared to the general gonzo zaniness of stuff like Chaos Factor or Transylvania Chronicles or Time of Thin Blood, so the nWoD changes were a great fit for my playstyle.

For all big three (Vampire, Werewolf and Mage) I've come to prefer the nWoD versions for these reasons. Changeling: the Lost and Hunter: the Vigil are very different from, and in my opinion, far, far superior to their oWoD counterparts; but then I was lukewarm on Dreaming and frankly disliked Reckoning. I am not familiar with Promethean, Geist, Mummy or Demon. I hear Promethean is kick-ass.

Last, but certainly not least, the "mortals" game was my favorite game to run with the oWoD, and nWoD has a lot of "core" supplements to support it, though arguably it's morphed into the (also excellent) Hunter: the Vigil line.

Hard to pick favorites, but if I had to choose it would be Hunter: the Vigil. If you do get H:tV, do not pass the opportunity to pick up World of Darkness: Slasher, and Block By Bloody Block.

For V:tR, Damnation City, Danse Macabre and let's keep an eye out for the Strix Chronicle.

For W:tF, Territories, Predators, War Against The Pure and the utterly kick-ass Night Horrors: Wolfsbane (second best entry in the Night Horrors series).

For M:tA, Tome of the Mysteries (a.k.a. core rulebook II) and Intruders: Encounters with the Abyss. Plus Seers of the Throne, and/or Summoners, and/or Astral Realms, and/or Banishers... Boston Unveiled is surprisingly good too... like you've heard the core game is a tough read and it really comes alive in the supplements.

For C:tL, fucking everything, but especially Night Horrors: Grim Fears. What an amazing book.

Have fun! Let us know what you like and whether you'll run any of it.

Promethean is great. I love that game.

Quote from: Géza Echs;711314Actually, that raises a secondary question: How versatile is the straight World of Darkness line for gaming? I know there's quite a few books for the plain "no monster PCs here" WoD line - I had no idea how many until I heard of Slashers (or whatever its called). Potentially, it could be the best of all of them. How is it? Any other recommendations thus far?

Pretty damn versatile. Good for shit-your-pants investigative horror. The actual "core/mortals" line is all but dead nowadays, actually; there are some great early books (off the top of my head: Ghost Stories, Mysterious Places, Precinct, Asylum, Immortals, Inferno; also Armory and Armory Reloaded for combat bunnies and Book of Spirits is a very handy supplement for a Mage or Werewolf game. Antagonists used to be mandatory but if you're getting Hunter: the Vigil there's a build-a-monster system in there, not to mention the other game lines).

The last few great releases under the World of Darkness "core" line, have been more or less explicitly aimed at one of the game lines. Slasher is clearly written with Hunter: the Vigil in mind, and Book of the Dead, while strongly Geist-centric, has lots of good stuff for a Mage game too.

Quote from: Géza Echs;711314Are there any books that I should skip quickly over? Any true dogs in the nWoD grouping, from any of the lines?

I found the V:tR and M:tA entries to the Night Horrors series (a series of books with individual antagonists detailed) rather uninspired. Also much of the early V:tR stuff .

Quote from: The Butcher;711315I am a huge nWoD fanboy. Mostly because I usually ran low-key and small-scope games, compared to the general gonzo zaniness of stuff like Chaos Factor or Transylvania Chronicles or Time of Thin Blood, so the nWoD changes were a great fit for my play style.

I loved reading all the gonzo zaniness... But I enjoyed playing in the smaller-scope games.

QuoteFor all big three (Vampire, Werewolf and Mage) I've come to prefer the nWoD versions for these reasons. Changeling: the Lost and Hunter: the Vigil are very different from, and in my opinion, far, far superior to their oWoD counterparts; but then I was lukewarm on Dreaming and frankly disliked Reckoning. I am not familiar with Promethean, Geist, Mummy or Demon. I hear Promethean is kick-ass.

Huh. I hated the oWoD version of Hunter but really enjoyed Changeling. The Big Three are what I was tempted to look at first, since they're what I followed fairly extensively in the oWoD era (though, to be honest, I only dipped my toe into Werewolf. It never gelled for me, somehow).

QuoteLast, but certainly not least, the "mortals" game was my favorite game to run with the oWoD, and nWoD has a lot of "core" supplements to support it, though arguably it's morphed into the (also excellent) Hunter: the Vigil line.

Hard to pick favorites, but if I had to choose it would be Hunter: the Vigil. If you do get H:tV, do not pass the opportunity to pick up World of Darkness: Slasher, and Block By Bloody Block.

Huh. As I just mentioned, the 'mortals' aspect is something I'm intrigued by (though I'm a bit gun-shy now that you've said it blends into the new version of Hunter). What's Block by Bloody Block? A spin-off from Slasher (which did look cool to my eyes)?

QuoteFor V:tR, Damnation City, Danse Macabre and let's keep an eye out for the Strix Chronicle.

Are any of the... what're they called, covenant? Let's call them covenants. Are any of the covenant books worthwhile? Fuck it, are any of the clan books worthwhile?

QuoteFor W:tF, Territories, Predators, War Against The Pure and the utterly kick-ass Night Horrors: Wolfsbane (second best entry in the Night Horrors series).

Cool. What's the Night Horrors series?

QuoteFor M:tA, Tome of the Mysteries (a.k.a. core rulebook II) and Intruders: Encounters with the Abyss. Plus Seers of the Throne, and/or Summoners, and/or Astral Realms, and/or Banishers... Boston Unveiled is surprisingly good too... like you've heard the core game is a tough read and it really comes alive in the supplements.

Should I even bother with reading the core book first? Or dive right in with Tome of the Mysteries and refer to the core book as needed?

QuoteFor C:tL, fucking everything, but especially Night Horrors: Grim Fears. What an amazing book.

Nice. I'll make sure to put a lot of emphasis on Changeling, then.

QuoteHave fun! Let us know what you like and whether you'll run any of it.

I will! Though I likely won't be able to run anything - or even play in anything for that matter (still haven't found a gaming group here in Tampa, despite haunting a few stores for Netrunner tournaments and the like).

That raises a good point - you seem to be suggesting books on the basis of their utility for gaming (and pure entertainment value as well, of course). Are there any books you'd recommend on the basis of reading pleasure alone? Since I likely won't be able to game any time soon, I'm tempted to prioritize on the basis of what's simply fun to read.

And, as I've said, if there's anything you can recommend me away from, I'd appreciate it. I'd prefer not to waste time!

Quote from: Géza Echs;711314Actually, that raises a secondary question: How versatile is the straight World of Darkness line for gaming? I know there's quite a few books for the plain "no monster PCs here" WoD line - I had no idea how many until I heard of Slashers (or whatever its called). Potentially, it could be the best of all of them. How is it? Any other recommendations thus far?

The mortals only line morphed into Hunter the Vigil, and Slashers (whilst pitched and dressed as a mortal line book) actually was written for HtV.

The mortal line and HtV are superb. HtV has a supplement for each monster type (Vampire, Mages, Werewolves (and spirits)) with a shorthand system for all three which is superior in some ways to the full system As such, with HtV alone, you can do all of the three main lines as well in a much simpler yet darker light.

Quote from: Géza Echs;711320Huh. I hated the oWoD version of Hunter but really enjoyed Changeling.

Hunter the Reckoning is nothing like Hunter the Vigil. The former is almost superheroic Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The later is more Fringe or Supernatural at brightest and usually much grimmer.

Quote from: Géza Echs;711320Huh. As I just mentioned, the 'mortals' aspect is something I'm intrigued by (though I'm a bit gun-shy now that you've said it blends into the new version of Hunter). What's Block by Bloody Block? A spin-off from Slasher (which did look cool to my eyes)?

Block by Bloody Block is a book on creating neighbourhoods, nominally for Hunter the Vigil.

Quote from: Géza Echs;711320Cool. What's the Night Horrors series?

Its a series of antagonist books.

Quote from: Skywalker;711331Hunter the Reckoning is nothing like Hunter the Vigil. The former is almost superheroic Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The later is more Fringe or Supernatural at brightest and usually much grimmer.

That is, the nWoD hunters are by default just mortals who've learned to adapt their Willpower and professional skills to dealing with the supernatural, not a special splat in the same sense as for example vampires or werewolves. While the top-tier hunter organizations, the Conspiracies which basically range from the Inquisition to the Men in Black, have access to a variety of mystic resources and weird science, the characters themselves aren't fundamentally different from any other human beings.

Note that HtV uses simplified mechanics for supernatural beings, designed to make them suitable opponents for mortals and often scaling them down accordingly. As the result, it doesn't always "play well with others" where the rest of the lines are concerned.

(For instance, the changeling leader from BbBB is weaker than a starting CtL PC.)

Quote from: The Yann Waters;711335As the result, it doesn't always "play well with others" where the rest of the lines are concerned.

Very true. They are brought in line with each other.

Then again, none of the nWoD lines play particularly nicely with others anyway

I did not like the nWoD Werewolf compared to the original. There was something raw and vital that I feel got neutered, but I never went beyond the core book for nWoD's Werewolf.

But I really enjoyed the nWoD Mage incredibly more than the original. It was really impressive in actual play, but our campaign only lasted about a year and I didn't follow the line too much afterwards.

I am surprised about the love for Promethean. The book didn't grab me at all, but I keep hearing that people seem to love it in actual play.