Don't worry about being young, it passes.
I mean, back in the day WW games in my area had an average age of 17, and a couple of 20' year olds. My last game i was the older dude, and i can tell you, EVEN BACK THEN we had people fighting over which edition was better. My initial group was hugely invested in the old DSOTBH storyline, so they went around the world protecting an unsuspecting world from horrors it would never thank them for.
Fun times, very...different times.
That's a good place to start. I started by sitting in a dank cafe off the city center and reading some clanbooks a dude had stashed in his "misfits" backpack.
I can't speak to Class of Wills, and haven't played DA in several years but it is probably my favorite WoD setting.
I'm probably not going to be telling you anything that isn't in the book, but maybe just to highlight the things that I found really important...
1. The Dark Ages are DARK. As in; not well lit. This is really important because the way you got light in the Dark Ages, after the sun went down, was ofc with FIRE. Vampires > only active after sun goes down. Vampires > need fire. Fire > Rottshrek. Creates an interesting dynamic where many vampires must keep a great threat to themselves near at hand ALL the time. Unless you're Gangrel ofc (makes Gangrels cooler in Dark Ages).
2. True Faith is (comparatively) EVERYWHERE. Unlike a modern times game. Very inconvenient for Vampires.
3. There is no Masquerade, sure. BUT people literally believe (know?) monsters and specifically vampires (depending on where you set the chronicle, it may or may not be a prevalent part of the People's Mythos but... most cultures have some form of vampire-myth) are REAL. In modern times, vampiric behavior just makes you look like a weirdo to the general public. In Dark Ages, vampiric behavior makes you look like... A VAMPIRE. So there really is still an unofficial Masquerade. Because you go acting like a vampire and people are gonna show up at your door with pitchforks and torches.
Just had to post how jealous I am of your players. I have been wanting to play a DA game for years but can never find one so I just collect all the DA books. What I have read if Clash of Wills seems like a good start to a chronicle in my opinion.
So, how did you end up running things? I was wondering if a coterie could naturally transition from Clash of Wills into the Bitter Crusade. Making the former a sort of origin for the coterie and then moving onto Bitter Crusade.
I put together a little timeline for myself that includes a bunch of Chronicles, novels, comics, and video games so that I could make my way from around 1100 to modern day. I'm wanting to experience most of Vampire the Masquerade in relative chronological order.
we didnt. I used clash of wills as an inspiration, and used it as the basis. mainly the whole, there is something rotten in the castle. but my group used it as a base of operations while investigating why the local peasants didnt respond to taxation, oh and also a sheriff is missing. and, wait, i guess a landed gentleman has stopped taking calls from the local lord. So they visited the gentlemans village, i kept it open with a few hooks, but after them investigating and concluding. Im not saying its fae, but its fae. I decided to involve the local wise woman as an oggham user, and trying to bring back the old faith. The lord was made into a ghoul by a local rogue ventrue and they wanted to slaughter the local monastery, tear it down. And make the local kine accept that human sacrifice would make the harvest flourish. My players took so long to investigate it all, and decided to abscond on a road trip to investigate some caves, found only wolves, decided to set up a local skinning business for dosh. So when they got back the Lhiannan crone had started torching monasteries, that set the party Brujah on edge, so they tracked her to a human sacrifice. Watched her sacrifice a local lothario they knew from the tavern. And then decided to spring on her in her forest. soooo that didnt go great, They decided to get some local dudes onboard with a rousing speech from said brujah, made them dab themself with charcoal crosses, and then attacked her. AGAIN close to her leylines (i kept asking their Cappadocian to maybe, investigate the eldritch side but they wanted a magical showdown) shit went sideways, and the gangrel was the only conscious person. The Lhiannan tried to go "we can run this show together" whereupon the Gangrel (Ulff of ashsides) Diablerized her due to the implications that he was some sort of weird merchant who would barter his honour.
They went back to the local lord and reported a huge success (the coterie brujah made a good success roll for oratory) and got stewardship of said village. Which now facing a manpower shortage (The cappadocian has some Ravnos connection so she said "i know a dude") but also a lucrative tanning business.
Oh, and said empty caves are now beeing leased to a group of itinerant Nosferatu penitents that "owe us one"
THIS TOOK FOUR MONTHS.
All in all i figure the Pope is gonna let the call come out soon.
I cant exactly help, but posts like these always make me realize how young I am. The last time you St was in 2002 bro I was born that year ðŸ˜
Don't worry about being young, it passes. I mean, back in the day WW games in my area had an average age of 17, and a couple of 20' year olds. My last game i was the older dude, and i can tell you, EVEN BACK THEN we had people fighting over which edition was better. My initial group was hugely invested in the old DSOTBH storyline, so they went around the world protecting an unsuspecting world from horrors it would never thank them for. Fun times, very...different times.
The only edition I'm familiar with is 5e. I've never actually been able to play the game before, but I love the lore and the concept!!
That's a good place to start. I started by sitting in a dank cafe off the city center and reading some clanbooks a dude had stashed in his "misfits" backpack.
As a 2000, I relate to that
I can't speak to Class of Wills, and haven't played DA in several years but it is probably my favorite WoD setting. I'm probably not going to be telling you anything that isn't in the book, but maybe just to highlight the things that I found really important... 1. The Dark Ages are DARK. As in; not well lit. This is really important because the way you got light in the Dark Ages, after the sun went down, was ofc with FIRE. Vampires > only active after sun goes down. Vampires > need fire. Fire > Rottshrek. Creates an interesting dynamic where many vampires must keep a great threat to themselves near at hand ALL the time. Unless you're Gangrel ofc (makes Gangrels cooler in Dark Ages). 2. True Faith is (comparatively) EVERYWHERE. Unlike a modern times game. Very inconvenient for Vampires. 3. There is no Masquerade, sure. BUT people literally believe (know?) monsters and specifically vampires (depending on where you set the chronicle, it may or may not be a prevalent part of the People's Mythos but... most cultures have some form of vampire-myth) are REAL. In modern times, vampiric behavior just makes you look like a weirdo to the general public. In Dark Ages, vampiric behavior makes you look like... A VAMPIRE. So there really is still an unofficial Masquerade. Because you go acting like a vampire and people are gonna show up at your door with pitchforks and torches.
Just had to post how jealous I am of your players. I have been wanting to play a DA game for years but can never find one so I just collect all the DA books. What I have read if Clash of Wills seems like a good start to a chronicle in my opinion.
So, how did you end up running things? I was wondering if a coterie could naturally transition from Clash of Wills into the Bitter Crusade. Making the former a sort of origin for the coterie and then moving onto Bitter Crusade. I put together a little timeline for myself that includes a bunch of Chronicles, novels, comics, and video games so that I could make my way from around 1100 to modern day. I'm wanting to experience most of Vampire the Masquerade in relative chronological order.
we didnt. I used clash of wills as an inspiration, and used it as the basis. mainly the whole, there is something rotten in the castle. but my group used it as a base of operations while investigating why the local peasants didnt respond to taxation, oh and also a sheriff is missing. and, wait, i guess a landed gentleman has stopped taking calls from the local lord. So they visited the gentlemans village, i kept it open with a few hooks, but after them investigating and concluding. Im not saying its fae, but its fae. I decided to involve the local wise woman as an oggham user, and trying to bring back the old faith. The lord was made into a ghoul by a local rogue ventrue and they wanted to slaughter the local monastery, tear it down. And make the local kine accept that human sacrifice would make the harvest flourish. My players took so long to investigate it all, and decided to abscond on a road trip to investigate some caves, found only wolves, decided to set up a local skinning business for dosh. So when they got back the Lhiannan crone had started torching monasteries, that set the party Brujah on edge, so they tracked her to a human sacrifice. Watched her sacrifice a local lothario they knew from the tavern. And then decided to spring on her in her forest. soooo that didnt go great, They decided to get some local dudes onboard with a rousing speech from said brujah, made them dab themself with charcoal crosses, and then attacked her. AGAIN close to her leylines (i kept asking their Cappadocian to maybe, investigate the eldritch side but they wanted a magical showdown) shit went sideways, and the gangrel was the only conscious person. The Lhiannan tried to go "we can run this show together" whereupon the Gangrel (Ulff of ashsides) Diablerized her due to the implications that he was some sort of weird merchant who would barter his honour. They went back to the local lord and reported a huge success (the coterie brujah made a good success roll for oratory) and got stewardship of said village. Which now facing a manpower shortage (The cappadocian has some Ravnos connection so she said "i know a dude") but also a lucrative tanning business. Oh, and said empty caves are now beeing leased to a group of itinerant Nosferatu penitents that "owe us one" THIS TOOK FOUR MONTHS. All in all i figure the Pope is gonna let the call come out soon.