World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 - VTMB sequel from The Chinese Room - coming Fall 2024

[Caim]

Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf.

Tzimisce Elders also could, so I would assume those of the other Clans would also find their ways.

Yeah, Vicissitude 4 gives access to the Horrid Form (+3 to all Physical attributes, all Social ones go to 0), but at that point you're just evening the playing field.

Come to think of it, a well-tuned changeling might also be able to defeat a Garou, but that's less about fisticuffs and more about yeeting that motherfucker into space.

 

[Fedora Master]

Garou very rarely come alone since wolves are, you know, pack hunters.

 

[Irxy]

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It's not. You can degrade any setting and concept like that but it's just stupid.
VtM specifically has been created to handle a wide array genres (that's what the clans have been originally designed for), and it does work, both with individual styles and as a whole.
Bloodlines is the prime example of this. Sadly, all other derivative works have been shit so far, but I wouldn't blame in on the setting. Kindred: The Embraced was fine as well I guess, if only handling the setting too loosely.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

That describes things they will no longer be doing. Non-combat gameplay will be "things only a vampire can do," whatever that will be.

Which does sound ridiculous. I mean, using vampire abilities in non-combat situations is fine & expected (unless it is a shitty game like Vampir from another walking-sim dev), but saying that every single situation is going to be resolved via those, come on.
The only examples which come to mind of such a gameplay are all comedy-level, like your pc turning into mist to come through a door instead of just pulling the handle, and then we get an off-screen laughter.

Now I think the game is going to be a mix of this

and this

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It was supposed to be erotic. But the best laid plans...

When I think back to VtMB and what made it work for me, was that it played the world straight, but was very self aware when talking to the audience. It knows it is extremely silly, but the characters in the game do not. To them, this is all very srs bsniss.

That is a tone that works with this setting. Serious, yet not serious. The voice acting nailed that tone as well. Serious, but not serious.

Oh yes, erotic vampires are the best vampires.

And there's nothing sexy about this incarnation of Bloodlines.

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It's not. You can degrade any setting and concept like that but it's just stupid.
VtM specifically has been created to handle a wide array genres (that's what the clans have been originally designed for), and it does work, both with individual styles and as a whole.
Bloodlines is the prime example of this. Sadly, all other derivative works have been shit so far, but I wouldn't blame in on the setting. Kindred: The Embraced was fine as well I guess, if only handling the setting too loosely.

I really like the aesthetic of horror, but it's hard for me to take it seriously. I'm not saying that all horror movies are comedies (or should be), but if you don't first understand their hidden ridiculousness, then the creators will certainly make fools of themselves.

 

[Häyhä]

That describes things they will no longer be doing. Non-combat gameplay will be "things only a vampire can do," whatever that will be.

Which does sound ridiculous. I mean, using vampire abilities in non-combat situations is fine & expected (unless it is a shitty game like Vampir from another walking-sim dev), but saying that every single situation is going to be resolved via those, come on.
The only examples which come to mind of such a gameplay are all comedy-level, like your pc turning into mist to come through a door instead of just pulling the handle, and then we get an off-screen laughter.

Now I think the game is going to be a mix of this

and this

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It was supposed to be erotic. But the best laid plans...

When I think back to VtMB and what made it work for me, was that it played the world straight, but was very self aware when talking to the audience. It knows it is extremely silly, but the characters in the game do not. To them, this is all very srs bsniss.

That is a tone that works with this setting. Serious, yet not serious. The voice acting nailed that tone as well. Serious, but not serious.

Oh yes, erotic vampires are the best vampires.

And there's nothing sexy about this incarnation of Bloodlines.

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It's not. You can degrade any setting and concept like that but it's just stupid.
VtM specifically has been created to handle a wide array genres (that's what the clans have been originally designed for), and it does work, both with individual styles and as a whole.
Bloodlines is the prime example of this. Sadly, all other derivative works have been shit so far, but I wouldn't blame in on the setting. Kindred: The Embraced was fine as well I guess, if only handling the setting too loosely.

I really like the aesthetic of horror, but it's hard for me to take it seriously. I'm not saying that all horror movies are comedies (or should be), but if you don't first understand their hidden ridiculousness, then the creators will certainly make fools of themselves.

Shut up faggot.

 

[Tao]

Yeah, Garou are bad news for just about anything you can think of in oWoD in a melee fight. Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf. That's why you don't fight them head on.

There are some interesting nuggets of information from the devblog, besides the usual boilerplate stuff.

With non-combat gameplay, we found early on we were doing the RPG tropes: find a keycard to open a door, turn on a generator to restore power to a lift. We put in a rule that the non-combat gameplay should be about something only a vampire could do; keep it aspirational.

And

When we were exploring combat, it started off playing like Dishonored (which we love), but that didn’t feel right for a vampire: players were very cautious and afraid of the enemies they encountered. To us, a Kindred should stalk its prey and strike fearlessly like a predator. We want to build an action experience where players feel confident, almost trolling the enemies with their disciplines.

This makes me assume that combat will be very easy against most enemies, with possibly the supernatural/hunters providing the challenge.

If they take the "only solve non-combat problems in a way a vampire can" thing far enough it means that every time you encounter a locked door you have to do this:

I thought Tzimisce in their war forms were a good match too.

Edit: sorry im retarded. I replied without reading the following comments.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

That describes things they will no longer be doing. Non-combat gameplay will be "things only a vampire can do," whatever that will be.

Which does sound ridiculous. I mean, using vampire abilities in non-combat situations is fine & expected (unless it is a shitty game like Vampir from another walking-sim dev), but saying that every single situation is going to be resolved via those, come on.
The only examples which come to mind of such a gameplay are all comedy-level, like your pc turning into mist to come through a door instead of just pulling the handle, and then we get an off-screen laughter.

Now I think the game is going to be a mix of this

and this

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It was supposed to be erotic. But the best laid plans...

When I think back to VtMB and what made it work for me, was that it played the world straight, but was very self aware when talking to the audience. It knows it is extremely silly, but the characters in the game do not. To them, this is all very srs bsniss.

That is a tone that works with this setting. Serious, yet not serious. The voice acting nailed that tone as well. Serious, but not serious.

Oh yes, erotic vampires are the best vampires.

And there's nothing sexy about this incarnation of Bloodlines.

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It's not. You can degrade any setting and concept like that but it's just stupid.
VtM specifically has been created to handle a wide array genres (that's what the clans have been originally designed for), and it does work, both with individual styles and as a whole.
Bloodlines is the prime example of this. Sadly, all other derivative works have been shit so far, but I wouldn't blame in on the setting. Kindred: The Embraced was fine as well I guess, if only handling the setting too loosely.

I really like the aesthetic of horror, but it's hard for me to take it seriously. I'm not saying that all horror movies are comedies (or should be), but if you don't first understand their hidden ridiculousness, then the creators will certainly make fools of themselves.

Shut up faggot.

Same energy, egdelord:

 

[Delterius]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

 

[Atlantico]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

a show described as a mixture of the Godfather and Melrose Place

how dare you

 

[Jedi Exile]

Visceral, right. Seems that the game made by other guys was cancelled because it wasn't visceral enough. And TSR wants to make things right, lol. Add 'visceral combat', and the game will sell well.

Some speculation: in the cancelled game, we were going to play as a thinblood. Does it mean that the player is going to be an Elder now? The trailer mentions 'an Elder who awakened', it could be the player. Because playing as a thinblood is not visceral enough.

 

[lukaszek]

Some speculation: in the cancelled game, we were going to play as a thinblood. Does it mean that the player is going to be an Elder now? The trailer mentions 'an Elder who awakened', it could be the player. Because playing as a thinblood is not visceral enough.

we will play barely sired spawn, illegaly and our sire will be executed on the spot. Elder in question will be mcguffin thing in the coffin

 

[Delterius]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

a show described as a mixture of the Godfather and Melrose Place

how dare you

its more like charmed with a vampire homebrew

 

[Tyranicon]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

a show described as a mixture of the Godfather and Melrose Place

how dare you

its more like charmed with a vampire homebrew

So it has chicks with milfy-vibes? Nice.

Actually World of Darkness would make for some excellent television, but there's no way it would get done competently ever.

I'm imagining True Detective S1 in old WoD.

 

[Spukrian]

Kindred the Embraced was this typical 90s jank show. Sad the main actor died so we couldn't suffer through season 2.

 

[NecroLord]

I thought Tzimisce in their war forms were a good match too.

They are, but it is a flagrant Masquerade breach.
Besides, Tzimisce generally focus on scholarly pursuits, not physical ones.

 

[santino27]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

Getting a vampire-themed tv show in the mid-90s (pre-Buffy) that at least tried to deal with clans, politics, and more was a win, so people watched anyway. But yeah, Melrose place but with the undead was a good summation.

 

[jackofshadows]

At this point the only hope it'll be amusingly bad, not just bad. I strongly doubt it will, though.

 

[Irxy]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

Well, it's old. Probably still better than any other vampire themed tv shows.
The articles say the show was considered too complex for the general audience due to 5 clans and many characters... '90s sure were a weird place, were people really that dumb?

 

[HeatEXTEND]

I really like the aesthetic of horror

uh......what?

 

[santino27]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

Well, it's old. Probably still better than any other vampire themed tv shows.
The articles say the show was considered too complex for the general audience due to 5 clans and many characters... '90s sure were a weird place, were people really that dumb?

Geek culture was only starting to hit the mainstream, so anything that wasn't spoonfed lowest common denominator was considered too complex, yeah.

 

[Roguey]

Well, it's old. Probably still better than any other vampire themed tv shows.
The articles say the show was considered too complex for the general audience due to 5 clans and many characters... '90s sure were a weird place, were people really that dumb?

Sounds like the average daytime drama, really. Housewives could understand those things just fine.

 

[Delterius]

i'm watching kindred the embraced and wow its baaaaaaad

Well, it's old. Probably still better than any other vampire themed tv shows.
The articles say the show was considered too complex for the general audience due to 5 clans and many characters... '90s sure were a weird place, were people really that dumb?

Nah, the articles are wrong and so are WoD fans who talk about this show. The writing is pretty much incompetent and the pacing is atrocious. The articles probably claim that the plot was too complex because that's what the production company believed of the setting when they started adapting it. And besides, the end result is rather simple. Meanwhile WoD fans will say that the show could have been good if it used the full wealth of the setting. They are right but only incidentally. Yeah, fully utilizing the setting might have prevented some dumb decisions here and there but the problem is that dumb decisions were being made anyways. Really, the show wasn't about to adapt much of anything, it was using vampire as a source of inspiration for a stock show.

Case in point, they decided to make the prince the protagonist but needed to make him sympathetic in a straightforward way. So you have this inexplicably powerful nice guy vampire, who respects humans, who's trying to do the right thing against the odds, and I can't buy him as a mafia boss. It's also kinda funny how most of the primogen (except the bad one) live with him in the same house.

That said, the scene of a nosferatu stealing a baby in a park in broad daylight is hilarious and straight of a tabloid and I'm glad the show had it.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

I really like the aesthetic of horror

uh......what?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics

 

[The President]

Kindred the embraced wasn’t that bad for a 90’s show. The only other vampire show I remember from that period was Forever Knight. I was a kid during the 90’s but I remember all the crap my parents were into that they would be embarrassed to admit they liked back then. Gotta remember too even HBO was young then and modern big budget shows with long running seasons and plots didn’t really start until the Sopranos.

I actually do think with the proper showrunners and plot line VTM could do better than Anne Rice’s adaptations. The IP now though has too many cooks in the kitchen and even someone who could do it right would get overridden by all the bullshit. If it was me doing it, I’d probably start a season following a new embrace of a clan and really introduce that clan’s culture and slowly tie it to the bigger setting. I also think they’d have to commit early to how exactly dark they want it to be.

 

[Dadd]

Vampires can't not be utterly gay