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Author Topic: Unisystem Magic - Wiitchcraft vs Ghosts of Albion vs Buffy/Angel etcc  (Read 837 times)

Nerhesi

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I guess I had been influenced by my bias against Buffy/Angel TV shows to pay these RPGs much attention, but I'm now finally catching up on how this system probably does Supernatural/Modern Urban Horror+magic pretty well.

I wanted some clarity around Witchcraft vs Buffy/Angel/Ghosts of Albion/Etc together.  I see that Witchcraft pretty much has a pretty good coverage of the genre (you can play pretty much anything, from werewolf to vampire to mage etc etc).

However, I see a lot more love/kudos for Ghosts of Albion/Buffy/Angel magic systems.

Can someone more versed basically break down for me which system or set of books I should be using? I'm looking to basically run a non-whitewolf whitewolf or Dresden files mixed group in a modern urban setting. So here is what is important:

Many options for different character types (and significant variance - not just many different mages, but whether it is vampire, werewolf, ghost, fae, etc)
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HappyDaze

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Unisystem Magic - Wiitchcraft vs Ghosts of Albion vs Buffy/Angel etcc
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2018, 01:48:19 PM »
Are you going with just the magic(k) system, or the whole game? If the latter, then Witchcraft is the "Classic" Unisystem and has considerably more crunch than the "Cinematic" Unisystem of Buffy/Angel. Under Witchcraft, you'll need to keep track of your Essence points and spending allowances, whereas in Buffy/Angel you don't have this bookkeeping (you do get progressive penalties to using magic repeatedly though). With Witchcraft, each supernatural type has unique rules and are not necessarily balanced against one another. With Buffy/Angel you get everything using a fairly uniform set of Advantages/Disadvantages--and with the Angel core rules you can custom-build supernatural characters from scratch--but balance is still not assured. I don't recall the advancement guidelines in Witchcraft, but Buffy/Angel certainly goes with a slow advancement (cinematic characters often don't change dramatically over the series except in the occasional short and temporary burst--like the "Dark Willow" mega-witch story).

I'd personally go with the Cinematic Buffy/Angel myself, but it's really just matter of preference.

Spike

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Unisystem Magic - Wiitchcraft vs Ghosts of Albion vs Buffy/Angel etcc
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2018, 06:37:02 PM »
I don't know the Buffy/Angel stuff at all, but depending on how 'high power' you want to push it I can definitely recommend checking out Armageddon, in fact I'd even say pile it with Witchcraft, as they are specifically compatible though at different power levels, but I like having a bigger tool-kit.

If sticking to just Witchcraft, the Abomination Codex has Werewolf rules in it.

And to blow your mind, there is a third option using Unisystem.... Conspiracy X...






....




You don't want Conspiracy X for this. *



*Caveat: Expanding your toolbox gives options. I'm just saying a world where a Werewolf is a guy who is so delusional he casts an illusion of being a wolf-man on himself is probably NOT a good match.
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Brand55

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Unisystem Magic - Wiitchcraft vs Ghosts of Albion vs Buffy/Angel etcc
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2018, 06:55:35 PM »
For what it's worth, Angel + the magic system in Ghosts of Albion is the best way to do urban fantasy roleplaying, in my opinion. There are a handful of useful Qualities (such as Werewolf) in Buffy that don't appear in Angel, but they aren't necessary. You can actually use Angel to make werewolves and other supernatural templates to suit whatever urban fantasy world you're trying to create.

Both flavors of Unisystem are good. There's a Classic game called Armageddon that I love which is the Witchcraft setting dialed up to 11 billion, so that's something to keep in mind if you ever want to try your hand at really high-powered gaming, too. But in general I think Cinematic is just a bit easier and more fluid than Classic at the table.

Nerhesi

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Unisystem Magic - Wiitchcraft vs Ghosts of Albion vs Buffy/Angel etcc
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2018, 10:55:45 PM »
Quote from: Brand55;1064602
For what it's worth, Angel + the magic system in Ghosts of Albion is the best way to do urban fantasy roleplaying, in my opinion. There are a handful of useful Qualities (such as Werewolf) in Buffy that don't appear in Angel, but they aren't necessary. You can actually use Angel to make werewolves and other supernatural templates to suit whatever urban fantasy world you're trying to create.

Both flavors of Unisystem are good. There's a Classic game called Armageddon that I love which is the Witchcraft setting dialed up to 11 billion, so that's something to keep in mind if you ever want to try your hand at really high-powered gaming, too. But in general I think Cinematic is just a bit easier and more fluid than Classic at the table.


Thanks - over the past few days I've been leaning towards this decision.

Quick question - I see that there is a fan-pdf that... by the looks of it, combined Buffy/Angel qualities and the like into one aggregate? Anyone do this afterwards with Ghosts of Albion? :)

Llew ap Hywel

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Unisystem Magic - Wiitchcraft vs Ghosts of Albion vs Buffy/Angel etcc
« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2018, 06:17:10 AM »
Personally I think Witchcraft is the best iteration. It's a tight little system that works aces, most of the 'classic' set combined well if flavoured to taste. I did a lovely little Dark Fantasy game using this that I'm sorry I concluded.

Ghosts of Albion is all you really need to do Urban fantasy but the other cinematic lines are great for mining, particularly if modern tech is wanted in variety.
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