So it appears that White Wold is working on a sixth edition of the venerable Horror/Urban Fantasy game, “Vampire the Masquerade”. I haven’t tried it, but every single person I’ve listened to have had mostly complaints about the Alpha test that was sent out.
That is called a “Bad Sign” in the industry. But that really isn’t my point.
You see, I’m an old-school Vamp, as is My Lovely Bride™. I’ve been playing and Storytelling in the ‘World of Darkness’ since 1st edition VtM, and my wife cut her teeth with 2nd and 3rd editions. We’ve played all of the older titles in the WoD: Werewolf, Mage, Changeling, and Wraith, be they 1st or 2nd editions, as well as many variants.
But when it comes right down to it, if you had to press us on one WoD game to play or run, it would be “Werewolf: The Apocalypse” 2nd Edition. But if we had to default to a VtM game, it would be the 2nd edition, or maybe the 3rd if we had to.
I never really understood why White Wolf felt the need to keep revising these games, as they – in our minds, at least – are just fine. Aside from selling more books, of course, but they could do that releasing supplements and alternate settings.
I’m just going to say it: “Vampire: The Masquerade” 2nd edition isn’t perfect, but it damn near is, and certainly is the best edition of VtM I have ever run or played. While my preferred WoD game has always been “Werewolf”, VtM2e does a damn fine job. The mechanics are understandable and easy to use, and the setting and lore works great for this sort of game.
So why mess with a good thing? Simple… White Wolf wants our money. It’s why they eventually blew up the original World of Darkness (oWoD) line in favor of the New World of Darkness (nWoD) series of games. It’s why they released 3rd, 20th anniversary, and 5th editions, and why they are now working on the sixth edition.
Yes, they may believe they are modernizing the mechanics, updating the lore, and so forth, but that could be done with supplements. The core mechanics of 2nd edition VtM were fine. Additions can be added, just like with changes to the lore, via new supplement books.
Look, normally I would ignore this new edition, just as I have every edition past 3rd (My Lovely Bride™ bought me that core book for Christmas one year, and after trying it we went back to 2nd). I have my favorite editions of the WoD games, no need to upgrade in my mind. But, friends and neighbors, I have to tell you…
My Lovely Bride™ is PISSED.
We’ve been watching reviews of the V6 alpha from various YouTubers, and the more they talk about this change or that going wrong, the angrier she gets. When it comes right down to it, her core argument is this:
Why change a perfectly fine tabletop roleplaying game?
Now I get her anger on the subject, VtM2e was basically my wife’s first love, when it came to TTRPGs. We played a lot of different games back when we were first dating, but she loved “Vampire” the most. It was the first game she organized a group for, outside of our normal players. It was a game that she still wants to go back to more than any other, and we’ve played a LOT of TTRPGs over the last 30-odd years together.
A sixth edition of “Vampire”, after all of the other unnecessary editions past 2nd plus the nWoD, just feels like a kick in the gut to her. It is a blatant money grab by White Wolf, and my wife is absolutely livid about it!
While I understand her anger, I also understand where White Wolf is coming from. They need to sell new books, 5th edition was a controversial mess, and so it would seem natural to just release a fresh new edition, right?
No.
Why not go back to the best edition – Second Edition – and release a revised version of that core book? New artwork, with the same great game within, as well as some appendices in the back with optional new rules to spice things up some? This would give players a reason to buy this book, even if they don’t need or want those additional optional rules, and make WW a ton of money in the process!
I know I’d buy that, and it might actually mollify My Lovely Bride™, and her Brujah soul.