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[Iduno]

When they write about rape and the like in every book, it only implies that's on their mind, and there could be a few reasons for it. But when they go online to defend rapists and Nazis (or defend themselves when they get caught), that shows who they are.

It's not a "people who write about rape are always bad" thing. It's a non-apologetic Nazis and rapists are bad people thing. When they complain that rapists and abusers are only being outed and punished because of SJWs, they are saying they are enemies of human decency. When a game line has to completely fire everyone working for it, because they're all Nazis and can't quit writing about it for 3 pages, you're dealing with White Wolf.

[Persus13]

When you make broad sweeping statements about a company that's been around for 25+ years in various forms without any sources, people are going to disagree with you.

However, I believe Iduno's more specifically referring to the series of mistakes that culminated in the Chechnya debacle last year that caused White Wolf to get shut down, but is exaggerating for dramatic effect.

[Cruxador]

The Chechnya thing isn't Nazi-related though. Based on googling, the only thing I can see that would spike this is that they had a passage stating that skinheads would typically be brujah. That doesn't seem very supportive of nazis to me; acknowledging that they exist isn't the same as endorsing them, and it's not like vampires are supposed to necessarily be good guys.

[Persus13]

The Chechnya thing isn't Nazi-related though. Based on googling, the only thing I can see that would spike this is that they had a passage stating that skinheads would typically be brujah. That doesn't seem very supportive of nazis to me; acknowledging that they exist isn't the same as endorsing them, and it's not like vampires are supposed to necessarily be good guys.

Yeah, I don't disagree. I think incompetent edgelords is a far simpler explanation. But Iduno isn't the only person I've seen calling White Wolf a bunch of Neo-Nazis/alt-right for those controversies. Which includes the skinhead thing, and iirc, there were references to neo-Nazis symbols as being used by the Brujah too.

I mainly interjected because bringing up stuff like Werewolf the Apocalypse, when it first came out in 1992, isn't really a good counterexample. This also isn't the first time Iduno's talked about WW like this in the thread. He had a much more coherent argument the last time he did this on page 1.

[nenjin]

I mainly interjected because bringing up stuff like Werewolf the Apocalypse, when it first came out in 1992, isn't really a good counterexample.

Point being is when you talk about WW the time frame is relevant. I stopped paying attention to WW after Requiem, when I thought? they sold the company and WW stopped being a thing other than to consult CCP on their aborted attempt at a VtM video game.

So when someone goes "WW is racist because of something they did in 2018!" I go "What about the other 20+ years of White Wolf?" The WW that existed before the internet outrage machine was a thing.

[MorleyDev]

I think everybody is forgetting to truly important question here: Will we get the epic dance moves? Not a Bloodlines game without the epic dance moves.

[Cruxador]

I think everybody is forgetting to truly important question here: Will we get the epic dance moves? Not a Bloodlines game without the epic dance moves.

inb4 we do and people accuse Paradox of hopping on the Fortnite bandwagon.

[George_Chickens]

i wanna see dynamic vampire moshing but my dreams will never come real

[Iduno]

However, I believe Iduno's more specifically referring to the series of mistakes that culminated in the Chechnya debacle last year that caused White Wolf to get shut down, but is exaggerating for dramatic effect.

Around the same time, but I'm trying to avoid being off topic.

[Mech#4]

Next video is up: Clan Ventrue.

Clan Introduction: Ventrue.
Image

Spoiler: More Information (click to show/hide)

Historically, Seattle has been the site of many industrial booms, and of course, the Ventrue have been there to capitalize on its fortunes. As more and more billion-dollar corporations shape the local and global landscape, enterprising Ventrue have entrenched themselves in the businesses of the 21st century, paving the way for a prosperous future for their clan… and making enemies of the residents who preferred the way things used to be.

The blood of rulers has flown in the veins of the Ventrue since time immemorial - be they high priests, emperors, investment bankers, or chairmen of the board. No surprise then that lineage and loyalty are held in high esteem; even less that others might mistake them for pompous nepotists. The Clan of Kings sees the truth: they are the architects of vampire society, the guardians of the Masquerade. In these modern nights, they are the only thing to stand between the Kindred and extinction. Knowing this, how could they not stick together, to better weather the onslaught? To command the right to rule, for everyone's betterment? And to swiftly deal with anyone to fall short of these exacting standards?

Disciplines:
Dominate
Guardians of the Masquerade and Princes of uncounted cities, it runs in the Ventrues’ blood to be obeyed. Their signature Discipline allows them to Dominate the actions and memories of others.

Dominate: Mesmerize:
(Blood Cost: 3), the primary Dominate power, allows the Ventrue to place one NPC in a brief hypnotic trance. The person so affected is oblivious to the world around them, ignoring sound, touch and even pain. The • • slot intensifies Mesmerize’s effect.

Dominate: Command:
(Blood Cost: 0), the secondary Dominate power, significantly extends the Ventrue’s control over the Mesmerized NPC. They can now be ordered to move, remove obstacles, or even attack others. The • • • • and • • • • • slots upgrade Command.

Using Dominate powers is not a Masquerade violation.


Fortitude
Few things truly worry the vampire who masters Fortitude, the Discipline of physical resilience. After all, why fear the battle when you are certain to outlast your foe?

Fortitude: Absorb:
(Blood Cost: 2), the first active, allows the vampire to take a brief defensive stance in which they may deflect all attacks they can see, healing their wounds for every would-be strike. The • • slot increases Absorb’s effects.

Fortitude: Personal Armour:
(Blood Cost: 2), the second active power, hardens the vampire’s skin into a stone-like barrier. The • • • • and • • • • • slots upgrade this power to the point where a true master becomes impervious to attacks, causing attackers to stagger back from the recoil of their own strikes.

Allowing a mortal to witness your Fortitude under attack is a Masquerade Violation.

The Dominate disciplines seems much more interesting from how it was in VtMB1. I think in the first game it mostly made people forget what was going on and was present more in dialogue then in actual gameplay. Command mentions being able to get NPCs to move obstacles as well as attacking people which puts to mind things like dominating a security guard to open a locked door and the like.

Fortitude seems more interesting as well. Whereas previously it game additional points of soak (armour), in VTMB2 Absorb seems more like a counter ability and Personal Armour, while giving more defense, also allows for staggering which makes it more than just being able to stand there taking damage for longer.


After the Ventrue, there's one other clan listed to be revealed still. The remaining clans are Gangrel, Nosferatu and Malkavian, unless they plan to add a clan that wasn't playable in the first game.


Edit: I'll also mention. Paradox have a channel here that has ~30 minute talky videos about the clans, though I haven't watched any of them to be able to say what they're like.

[A Thing]

I'm going to bet on Malkavian since they were such a popular and interesting one in the first game. If not, Gangrel, because sadly Nosferatu aren't too terribly popular even if they were a lot of fun in VTM:B 1. It could also be a wild ass pick like Giovanni, or Settites, or Tzimizce, but I doubt it.

[nenjin]

Or Lasombra.

There haven't been enough VtM games for me to bitch about the underrepresentation of the other clans. I was happy to at least see the Tzimisce character in Bloodlines 1, and the Giovanni quest. But yeah, lots of other cool clans that if we don't get in the base game, I'd hope we see as DLC.

[Rolan7]

Based on the original I'm not going to do Malkavian or Nosferatu first.  They're too different (well, hopefully heh).  My first run of the original was Nosferatu, which actually worked because I wasn't overwhelmed with missions (and combat/feeding was relatively easy).  Made second run was even better as a result, as I realized how much I'd missed out on.
 
I'll probably start with Toreador.  It sounds like they're trying to make sure all clans can handle combat (unlike certain Ventrue builds in the original), so I'd like to try this:

Spoiler: In case we're actually no-spoiling the powers (click to show/hide)

Presence: Awe:
(Blood Cost: 2), the first active Presence power, allows the vampire to strike a pose that freezes all before them into adoring wonder. For a short while after, these new admirers will be oblivious to anything but what they just saw. The • • and • • • • • slots upgrade Awe.

But if not, I mean, Celerity.  I seriously doubt this will be the first White Wolf property where Celerity isn't incredibly powerful.

[nenjin]

Yeah, I played Toreador in Bloodlines first simply because of Celerity. (That and I've never fancied Brujah.) Not only was it the most powerful discipline in the game IMO, the bullet time effect was probably the most interesting thing mechanically that your powers could do in that game.

[Mech#4]

@ Rolan7: The spoilers are just to prevent large post length, no need to spoiler stuff yourself if you don't want to.


I think my first playthrough was as Malkavian. Dementation was interesting with a lot of different effects for each level but during boss fights it really wasn't that helpful. I think I had to rely on melee and guns which, with no defensive disciplines aside from maybe Obfuscate, made several bosses a huge pain.