The first page I read was the last page, which has coloured my understanding and appreciation of this book.
I'd not seen it explicitly stated anywhere else, which is surprising, but according to the afterword written by Rich Thomas, the World of Darkness RPG line is effectively discontinued, with 'Mirrors' being the last actual physical book that White Wolf, or more correctly CCP, intend on publishing.
In fact, I believe they have ceased the production of all gaming books. Looks like they're in the MMO business now.
Which made me look at the book differently.
World of Darkness: Mirrors is an 'option' book, focussing on alternative systems, settings and play options so gaming groups can 'open up' their enjoyment of the game and try different things. It presents alternative character creation, experience, character and general play options (or 'Hacks', as they are now commonly known), a whole chapter on different combat options - from diceless to miniatures, second by second expanded combat to streamlined fudging - a chapter on alternative settings and several essays on ways to alter your playing experience with house rules and different modes of play.
It's a legacy book. The line is ending, so let's produce a document that may empower the fan base to keep trying new things and keep the game fresh, so hopefully the system and setting will remain in use and in play despite the lack of new material.
It's a good book. It has real merit and should provide inspiration and/or depth to any World of Darkness game. It just makes me sad. I would class White Wolf and the World of Darkness as fairly high profile casualties of the recession and implosion of the RPG publishing market (for which I am currently blaming D&D, because i'm bitter).
- The World of Darkness Revealed - discussions on how the supernatural might go public, and how the world would react
- The World of Darkness Destroyed - ways to blow up the world
- The World of Darkness Dark Fantasy - ways to adapt the setting to different fantasy genres - high fantasy, sword & sorcery, modern fantasy, weird fantasy etc, and also includes three playable 'races' (sub races inspired by the 3 core game lines, so Dhampires, Wargaz [beast men] and Atlanteans), a new supernatural template - Heroic Mortals (for those Conan moments) and a named setting that can be used in a modern game: Woundgate.
The third part, Fantasy and Woundgate, could make a whole new game in itself. I think it needs a fair amount of further polishing, but there's definitely something there. It's very Gaiman - Neverwhere, Stardust, Mirrormask etc. The Woundgate setting introduces the idea of pocket realms of fantasy weirdness into the game. Lost worlds and secret parallels.
I'm in two minds about it. Whilst I can definitely see how these remnants of the shattered Pangea could be used in the World of Darkness, it feels very 'old' WoD to me. Back when Mages could travel between alternate universes, pocket realms, spirit plains and alien worlds in a lunch time, when any mad idea could be shoe-horned into the setting because reality is malleable and multi-faceted.
I'd wanted a 'New' WoD Dark Ages game for some time, so I had high hopes for this setting. What they've given us is World of Darkness D&D, which is very different.
Included in the first chapter is the option to play 'Extraordinary Mortals', your Holmes', Bond's and House's. Otherwise normal people who possess a rare and exceptional skill focus. The system presents a selection of enhancements that can be taken to augment and support each skill, which allow a near superhuman level of achievement when certain criteria apply.
Extraordinary Mortals get to select three enhancements, and that's it. They do not develop any more unless through extreme and life changing challenges.
All in all, I can see World of Darkness: Mirrors adding depth and fresh twists to games that have gone on for awhile, or for groups that have played their normal game to death. At the moment I would say that I don't have an amazing amount of use for it. Yes, I'd happily use the Fantasy Shard occasionally, and may use some ideas from the character creation section the next time I run a WoD game. No, I wouldn't draw heavily on this book for a new campaign or group. I see it as a tool box for seasoned players and storytellers.
The developer, Chuck Wendig, posted a long dissection of the book on his blog, which I feel is well worth the read. Several of the contributing writers have commented and added to the discussion, and Chuck has taken the time to answer various questions from readers and writers alike. Check it out...
From Google Buzz:
ReplyDeleteArwel Griffith - White Wolf are done? I was never a huge fan, but to see such a huge name disappear from publishing RPGs is sad. Was new WoD a flop for them?
Nanouk Harper - I feel particularly betrayed, having invested so much in them and choosing the World of Darkness as my setting of choice.
It wasn't a failure. They were bought out by CCP, who make EVE Online, with the express purpose of making a WoD MMORG (is that right?)
I believe that the printed RPG line was discontinued because the RPG publishing industry has imploded recently. The market was totally unable to maintain the level of output that it saw at the height of D&D 3.5 mania, and as the main publishing houses and retailers decided that books wouldn't sell unless they were hard back, shiny covered and full colour works of publishing artistry, the kids stopped buying in bulk.
It's kind of telling that the new D&D Essentials line is paper back
Copied from Google Buzz:
ReplyDeleteArwel Griffith - The lush hardback thing seems to work for FFG, and I'm glad it does as I prefer something that's reasonably hard wearing if I'm going to be carting it around gaming.14 Jan
Nanouk Harper - I get what you're saying. I don't drive, so I have to cart my books around in my bag. The bag now weighs a ton. Back when I ran Vampire at your house, and I used to bring about ten books along each session, it was manageable getting a train, a bus and walking for half an hour, because some books were hard back, and some were paper back.
Now, if I want to carry the same number of books, I have to use two bags and expect bruises on my shoulder.
I think Ars Magica 4th Ed and In Nomine had it right. They published a hard back and paper back version of their core rules, so you could choose
I've actually heard this lament several places on the interwebs, and initially I thought the same thing when I read the back of the Mirrors book. I also hope I'm not the first person to mention this, but the important sections of that afterward are the making of _physical_ books. As Nook Harper posted, the publishing industry everywhere is imploding; eBook printing did a number on everyone's business models, and as such companies have had to adapt or go under.
ReplyDeleteWhite Wolf, with its already heavy investment in DriveThruRpg, decided that the best way to go was a hybrid printing structure in which all of their new releases go up as eBooks/.pdf first. Should that release sell a certain number of copies, then it gets printing and distributed traditionally.
The developers have talked about this a lot since Mirrors was published, mostly in interviews that are posted/linked on the main site.