Post Gen Con Update

            GenCon just wrapped up and The Onyx Path and White Wolf Publishing have announced their plans for the next year.  There are some great things coming up!  And some changes to their schedule. 

The biggest news is that Wraith 20th Anniversary Edition has been announced!  In Wraith the Oblivion, players take the roles of ghosts (or Wraiths) as they try to negotiate the dangers of the World of Darkness.  I only played Wraith once or twice back when I was in college.  It was a great experience, and I’m hoping I can get my hands on a copy of 2nd Edition Wraith just so I can read through the book again.  I loved the mechanics of Wraith especially the Shadow, which is your character’s darker self.  When the Shadow takes over, another player is given control of your character.  I’ve always thought that was a great system for exploring what happens when your character loses control of himself or herself.  The Facebook page is located here!

In November, Mage the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition Kickstarter is scheduled to start!  I’m excited about this one too!  I only played Mage once in college, and that game didn’t turn out too well.  Mage offers the chance to really explore a system of magic where anything is possible.  Unlike Dungeons and Dragons, the spells aren’t written down in the book in simple forms.  Instead players get a chance to design their own spells based on what types of magic they’ve chosen to learn.  Time, Matter, Forces, etc all represent the various types of magic a Mage can learn. 

Another big release to be excited about is V20 Dark Ages in April 2014.  Dark Ages Vampire was one of the first RPGs that I ever played!  Many of you had heard stories about how my first character was ripped to giblets by a village of werewolves.  I’m not looking to relive that experience, but V20 Dark Ages should be a great addition to the V20 line.  The release of this book is a sign that Vampire the Masquerade and the World of Darkness is back in a big way! 

Vampire the Masquerade will get several new supplements.  Anarchs Unbound will explore the culture of Anarchs as they fight against their oppressive Elders.  Rites of Blood will offer new paths of Thaumaturgy including the eldritch rituals of the Tal’mahe’Ra (True Black Hand) or the Inconnu.  Finally, V20 Ghouls has been added to the release schedule.  Like Hunters Hunted II this looks to be another great supplement for playing a mortal in the World of Darkness, but in this case you are blood bound to a vampire and must serve his or her will regardless of your love or hate for your master. Also The Red List, the list of the Camarilla's most wanted, will be coming back to print in an updated book that also includes information on Alastors, those who hunt these dangerous Kindred. 

Werewolf the Apocalypse will also receive a series of supplements over the course of the next year.  The Changing Breeds Kickstarter has ended and that book should be available for Print on Demand buyers in the next few months for those of who didn’t get a chance to contribute to the Kickstarter.  The next supplement will be W20 Rage Across the World that will explore the World of Darkness through the eyes of the Garou.  Next, Book of the Wyrm will provide more antagonists for your game, and perhaps even offer a chance to play as Wyrm tainted Formori or Black Spiral Dancers.  W20 the Umbra will follow that, with an exploration of the Umbra and dangers of travel there. 

Mage the Ascension will not be left out!  Digital Web 3.0 will finally offer updates to the digital realms that undergone so many changes since the release of the Mage Revised so many years ago.  Convention books for the Technocracy factions will continue to be released with Void Engineers being the next to go to press.  I haven’t read any of them, yet, but I have heard nothing but great things about these books! 

The only book that hasn’t been announced is Changeling the Dreaming, and I’m sure that announcement will be coming soon!  All of these books are going to be made available through The Onyx Path’s open development system so that we, the fans, can contribute and make these books even better!  It takes fans and developers working together to make a game great! 

The next year will be exciting for World of Darkness fans!  Make sure to support the forthcoming Kickstarters and if you miss the Kickstarter like I did with W20 Changing Breeds buy the books on DriveThruRPG!  It’s our responsibility to support these great games!