An investment in old school
I think anyone who's known me for a few years is aware of how much White Wolf's World of Darkness setting (old or new) has been an important part of my hobby experience for over a decade and a half now. My first purchase for the classic WoD was used copies of Vampire: the Masquerade (2nd Ed) and the Black Furies and Bone Gnawers Tribebooks for Werewolf. (Ironically, those were also my first purchases on my long defunct Visa credit card.)
I was leery in 2004 when the classic World of Darkness was replaced by the new iteration, although some of the lines had run their course. I grudgingly explored the new WoD, and fell in love with Werewolf: the Forsaken, Changeling: the Lost, and Hunter: the Vigil. I also came to appreciate the simplicity of the updated Storytelling System.
I'd sort of written White Wolf off after they went to a PDF only model a few years ago, although their Print-on-Demand system made up for that a bit. I still despise PDFs as gamebooks, but getting physical copies of books was important to me. Also, it's hard to support the PDF model when you are looking at it as an independent retailer; it's hard to get excited about a gaming product you can't sell in your gaming store. When the World of Darkness lines went over to Onyx Path I was cautiously optimistic - especially after reading the Revised New World Order book for my beloved Mage: the Ascension. I decided to take a chance, once again, on a property that I lived, even if it had stagnated in recent years.
I've backed the Kickstarter for the new Mummy: the Curse for the nWod, out of genuine curiosity and a little bit of blind faith. I've also taken advantage of the New Year, New Game sale to purchase the Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition. I'm running a Vampire game using a hybrid of Masquerade setting and Requiem rules, which sometimes provokes headaches.
I'd say these two books are the litmus test for the current White Wolf, but that's a lie. Convention Books Syndicate, Progenitors, and Void Engineers? Yes please. Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition with Phil Brucato at the helm this fall? Shut up and take my money.
I was leery in 2004 when the classic World of Darkness was replaced by the new iteration, although some of the lines had run their course. I grudgingly explored the new WoD, and fell in love with Werewolf: the Forsaken, Changeling: the Lost, and Hunter: the Vigil. I also came to appreciate the simplicity of the updated Storytelling System.
I'd sort of written White Wolf off after they went to a PDF only model a few years ago, although their Print-on-Demand system made up for that a bit. I still despise PDFs as gamebooks, but getting physical copies of books was important to me. Also, it's hard to support the PDF model when you are looking at it as an independent retailer; it's hard to get excited about a gaming product you can't sell in your gaming store. When the World of Darkness lines went over to Onyx Path I was cautiously optimistic - especially after reading the Revised New World Order book for my beloved Mage: the Ascension. I decided to take a chance, once again, on a property that I lived, even if it had stagnated in recent years.
I've backed the Kickstarter for the new Mummy: the Curse for the nWod, out of genuine curiosity and a little bit of blind faith. I've also taken advantage of the New Year, New Game sale to purchase the Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition. I'm running a Vampire game using a hybrid of Masquerade setting and Requiem rules, which sometimes provokes headaches.
I'd say these two books are the litmus test for the current White Wolf, but that's a lie. Convention Books Syndicate, Progenitors, and Void Engineers? Yes please. Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition with Phil Brucato at the helm this fall? Shut up and take my money.