These Are the Questions That Make History Come Alive!
I missed the Vampire phenomenon because I was out of the hobby when it was new and cool. So I'm curious: in terms of "illusionism" and GM as auteur and such, how much of that was really new to the hobby? How much of it was not already in, say, the James Bond 007 RPG, Dragonlance modules, the GM advice in Prince Valiant? Again, I was not around, so
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1) Focus on in-world communities and social networks.
2) The "my town by Night" model.
3) Relationship maps as seen in Chicago by Night
4) Firmly situating class/faction as an in-world thing, instead of something less coherent.
5) Willpower as a hero point mechanic that actually represents an in-world character trait, rather than meta-control from the player.
"Illusionism" is . . . largely illusionary. All games have enforced a template of how events generally transpire in play. Even free-wandering fantasy games develop a basic procedure for grinding through a new hex. Vampire replaced the linear flow of dungeon-style expeditions with a linear flow grounded in narrative conventions, but these don't have much functional difference, except that dorks feel less oppressed by physical dungeon walls. This was not new, however, and adventures like Masks of Nyarlathotep use much the same structure. "Narrative" games just code the walls right into play procedures - I can't play the Mountain Witch if I don't want to climb the mountain, can I?
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