The Gaming Den

Well, technically it's "WTF, Onyx Path".

I've opened VtR: Strix Chronicle

Merit: Undead Menses (••)
Effect: Throughout history, various cultures attributed mystical significance to the menstrual cycle. Many of these myths carried stigmas against menses, due to the unhealthy fears of men in power.
With this Merit, your character still produces menstrual blood. Once per night, she can produce a viscous, dark blood. If she uses this blood in casting a Crúac ritual, she benefits from the 8-again quality. If she touches it to a person before affecting them with a Discipline, they suffer her Blood Potency as a penalty to his Resistance.
Drawback: The character must identify as female. If she draws forth her Undead Menses multiple times in an evening, each beyond the first causes her a level of aggravated damage. As well, any attempts to identify her by her menstrual blood gain a +5 die bonus.

I'll give White Wolf this: Onyx Path is way, way worse.
(looking at you, Exalted rapeghosts)

fectin wrote:I'll give White Wolf this: Onyx Path is way, way worse.
(looking at you, Exalted rapeghosts)

The only reason I opened the book is because people keep saying that it's the best thing since sliced bread. I refuse to ever play any VtR game ever

Meh, that's not a wtf to me. Ancient cultures did ascribe mystical power to menstruating women, and Crúac rituals come from the Circle of the Crone- the spooky witch vampires. This is actually a merit that makes perfect sense, thematically, anyway. Mechanically... does VtR not use blood points? Because this should cost vitae.

I just love that it's a merit to let undead transgendered men get a period. You don't even need a vagina-like orifice.

Yeah, it was interesting that it doesn't require one to be physically female. I kind of want to play a non-disphoric genderqueer vampire who actually pisses blood at their enemies now.

Longes is being ironic, right ? Because that merit is awesome. It evokes more color than 150 pages of generic D&D spell lists.

silva wrote:Longes is being ironic, right ? Because that merit is awesome. It evokes more color than 150 pages of generic D&D spell lists.

Silva, you would love Black Tokyo.

I can see a flood of Drag Queen vampires. Is it enough to just tell the person you want to affect you are a lady? Or do you actually have to believe to be a lady? Do you have to present yourself as a lady all the time?

The flavour (PHRASING!) of this merit is fine, but the way they have written this, it is easily abusable. Of course Vampire players are above such things... "My character is a second generation süper vampyre and tours with his band through eastern europe right now"

K wrote:I just love that it's a merit to let undead transgendered men get a period. You don't even need a vagina-like orifice.

The trans thing just makes this merit magical.

My first three thoughts on this:

1) I'm pretty sure in oVampire you could basically do this without a merit by spending a blood point. They had a whole thing where vampires could simulate certain aspects of being alive like popping a boner by spending a blood point.

2) This would be an interesting ability to fuck with players on by giving them that derangement from Ghouls: Fatal Addiction that made them freak out every time they had their period.

3) Man, I'm glad they haven't written a pour to force others to spontaneously menstruate...yet.

Ancient History wrote:1) I'm pretty sure in oVampire you could basically do this without a merit by spending a blood point. They had a whole thing where vampires could simulate certain aspects of being alive like popping a boner by spending a blood point.

Oh, you can do that in nVampire too. It's called Blush of Life. You spend a blood point and look like a real boy for a scene.

silva wrote:Longes is being ironic, right ? Because that merit is awesome. It evokes more color than 150 pages of generic D&D spell lists.

I sincerely doubt that, considering the implications from merely the Wish Spell. Let alone stuff like Legend Lore, that tell a world where 11th/20th are beings of "legend" and greatness. So if ye can't find flavor, "evocativeness" in it all, you're either just focusing on crummy evocation spells, or you're not trying very hard (considering how impressionable you are, that's saying something).

Everything is wrong with that writeup.

Let's start with language mechanics. The object of the sentence is referred to as "they" and subsequently as "he." It's fine to use gendered and non-gendered pronouns, but not for the same person in the same sentence.

Now let's go to game structures. Vampires do not make blood. They drink blood. If they drop blood somewhere, they need to spend some of their blood to do that.

Now let's talk game mechanics. The 8-again quality increases the likelihood of getting extraordinary success at the direct expense of an equal reduction of the likelihood on non-extraordinary success. If you go through Cruac rituals, a fuck tonne of them don't make meaningful distinctions between those two states.

Now let's talk theme. Menses means "month." If it comes every night, it's not really "menstrual blood," it's just vaginal bleeding.

This is completely fucked. It fails thematically, mechanically, structurally, and linguistically. Anyone passingly familiar with the Vampire game, the English language, or lady parts should have rejected this draft outright.

-Username17

Let's start with language mechanics. The object of the sentence is referred to as "they" and subsequently as "he." It's fine to use gendered and non-gendered pronouns, but not for the same person in the same sentence

No.

If she touches it to a person before affecting them with a Discipline, they suffer her Blood Potency as a penalty to his Resistance.

"She" refers to the Vampire, "they" refers to the victim.

Longes wrote:

Let's start with language mechanics. The object of the sentence is referred to as "they" and subsequently as "he." It's fine to use gendered and non-gendered pronouns, but not for the same person in the same sentence

No.

If she touches it to a person before affecting them with a Discipline, they suffer her Blood Potency as a penalty to his Resistance.

"She" refers to the Vampire, "they" refers to the victim.

And "his resistance" also refers to the victim. Should be "their resistance" if the victim was introduced as "they," which they were.

-Username17

I would never accuse the writers of WoD of being familiar with lady parts.

FrankTrollman wrote:
Now let's talk theme. Menses means "month." If it comes every night, it's not really "menstrual blood," it's just vaginal bleeding.

Well thematically mensturation is related to the lunar cycle and crazy ass moon magic so this really should be something of interest to werewolves.

However, I have to say that you're being intentionally obtuse here. Menstruation as a medical term and as an English word refers to the process of the lining of the uterus sloughing off and flowing out. Menstrual blood is defined as liquified uterine lining.


Of course, the real kicker is the potential implications for vampire pregnancy.

Holy juvenile writeups, Batman... I guess somebody at Onyx Path thought Apocalypse World was outEXTREEEEEEMEing them and felt it was time to up the ante.

Now, consider how this was meant to be used for Cruac, a discipline exclusive to vampire witches, and they also get bonus points for othering.

I'm hung up on the phrasing "Drawback: The character must identify as female." I know what they meant, but...

silva wrote:Longes is being ironic, right ? Because that merit is awesome. It evokes more color than 150 pages of generic D&D spell lists.

Says the guy who also likes PedoWorld.

jadagul wrote:I'm hung up on the phrasing "Drawback: The character must identify as female." I know what they meant, but...

yeah, me too.

oh my god what the fucking fuck

no
no
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a thousand times no

"If she touches it to a person before affecting them with a Discipline, they suffer her Blood Potency as a penalty to his Resistance. "

OH MY GOD DOES THIS MECHANICALLY INCENTIVIZE RUBBING YOUR PERIOD BLOOD ON A MOTHERFUCKER?

i am vomiting uncontrollably all over myself

So? Is rubbing your regular vampire blood on people any different? This is one of those "farting is funny, queefing is disgusting" things, isn't it?

Rawbeard wrote:"farting is funny,

Citation fucking needed there. Breathing is barely tolerable, and it only gets worse from there.

Rawbeard wrote:This is one of those "farting is funny, queefing is disgusting" things, isn't it?

Shouldn't it be the other way round?