# The 10 Most Anticipated Tabletop RPGs of 2021



## imagineGod (Jan 2, 2021)

Incredible! 

Is this the first year with a joint winner? 

Dune by Modiphius Entertainment and Twilight 2000 by Free League (and I only mentioned Dune first because of the alphabet).


----------



## Tyler Pickering (Jan 2, 2021)

Congrats to the winners!


----------



## Ulfgeir (Jan 2, 2021)

Congrats to all entries.


----------



## Aldarc (Jan 2, 2021)

I must be out of touch. Nothing I voted for was in the top 10.


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

Aldarc said:


> I must be out of touch. Nothing I voted for was in the top 10.



But at least nominated, which is more than many games got. For example, I was disappointed with Grimmerspace for Starfinder being delayed so much, I did not nominate that, nor did anybody else. 

Which games did you vote for? That  could help elevate the profile for others to try out now that voting is over.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Jan 3, 2021)

Aldarc said:


> I must be out of touch. Nothing I voted for was in the top 10.




Or you are just channeling the Niche very well.   

All my votes made the top 10 and I did not vote for either of the winners.


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

A bit surprised the ENWorld crowd did not back *Worlds without Number *in large enough numbers to make top ten.


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

And suddenly, I am a fan of BRANCALONIA - THE SPAGHETTI FANTASY RPG


----------



## opacitizen (Jan 3, 2021)

Well, those who voted for *SLA Industries 2nd edition*, rejoice. It seems like it's already out in pdf over at drivethru (if I'm not mistaken.) Apparently, it was released December 31, 2020.


----------



## marroon69 (Jan 3, 2021)

Is it weird to have a winner two years in a row??? Congrats at all the games..some I never heard of


----------



## Mercador (Jan 3, 2021)

Congrats to the winners

Would someone explains me how Dune could be an interesting TTRPG? I understand that the Dune universe is quite something but I don't see it in a TTRPG at all.


----------



## Eyes of Nine (Jan 3, 2021)

I'm with @Aldarc, neither Urban Shadows 2, Worlds without Number, nor Troubleshooters placed...

Funny that Dune came in 1st 2 years in a row lol... And Rivers of london made it onto the list 2 years in a row too.

I agree with @Mercador that Dune is a great fun piece of fiction, but as an RPG? meh. Unless you really play up the political angles with the houses...


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 3, 2021)

Good list. My three picks were in it (Pendragon, The One Ring and Twilight: 2000), although I am also anticipating some other games (Everway 2nd Ed) not on the list, deliberately didn’t pick Dune because I picked it last year, and am still interested in Werewolf: The Apocalypse to see how it develops on from V5.


----------



## Mortus (Jan 3, 2021)

Mercador said:


> Congrats to the winners
> 
> Would someone explains me how Dune could be an interesting TTRPG? I understand that the Dune universe is quite something but I don't see it in a TTRPG at all.



My advise is to kill off protagonists of the IP or pretend they never existed. You could also run a game in time and/or place in the IP universe that has not yet been fully explored.

In one of my most recent Star Wars FFG games, the heroes of the Rebellion all died and the players were Jedi clones of the padawans Anakin had killed. They were in a Force trance inside Force pods and were stirred awake by Luke’s death in the blast of the Death Star and freed as Yoda’s last act while alive. We all enjoined playing our alternate original trilogy over the course of a year.

For Dune I plan on running a game set before the  events of the first novel. The players will be members of an isolated Femen cult lead by a pair of rogue Matron Mothers presumed dead ages ago. One has become their living oracle and the other can fold space in a small cave area of Arrakis - not sure how mutated I’ll make them look. Together they have been viewing events among the political players in the setting and sending especially trained teams of Fremen (the PCs) to ensure the survival of Arrakis and the cult. Kind of mixing Dune and Stargate SG-1.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 3, 2021)

Mercador said:


> Congrats to the winners
> 
> Would someone explains me how Dune could be an interesting TTRPG? I understand that the Dune universe is quite something but I don't see it in a TTRPG at all.



The answer, outside of the background lore which has precisely the same appeal to sci-fi fans as Middle Earth has to fantasy fans, lies in the proposed Troupe style play. That is, you can play the game at different levels - possibly co-currently, with two sets of characters - where you devise political strategies at Architect level, and then then carry out missions at the Agent level. 

The idea of troupe style play goes way back in gaming - Ars Magica RPG was a notable pioneer of the idea - but it hasn’t generally been built in as a core idea in many RPGs. It fits the Dune concept like a glove, however. 

Finally, aside from anything else, if the book is likely to follow Modiphius’ previous releases, it will be a beautiful and well researched coffee-table book, that will tie in with a big movie release as well as the books.


----------



## MidnightBlue (Jan 3, 2021)

Wow...2 of my 3 votes made #1!  I backed Twilight 2000 and preordered Dune.  Sad that a couple others didn't make the top 10, but can't all be there.  Looking forward to a lot of goodness from 2021.  (It has a lot to make up for 2020's madness!)


----------



## Dragonsbane (Jan 3, 2021)

Great list. The same game won two years in a row?


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

Dragonsbane777 said:


> Great list. The same game won two years in a row?



It was fortunate the pandemic delayed it to qualify for nomination again.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 3, 2021)

imagineGod said:


> It was fortunate the pandemic delayed it to qualify for nomination again.



Or unfortunate, depending on your outlook. 

At least it won’t be delayed till October!


----------



## MarkR (Jan 3, 2021)

opacitizen said:


> Well, those who voted for *SLA Industries 2nd edition*, rejoice. It seems like it's already out in pdf over at drivethru (if I'm not mistaken.) Apparently, it was released December 31, 2020.



Nice try! 

it was set to be available at 00:01 on the 1st Jan 2021. Now that time is different in different countries. So your 00:01 will be someonelse’s 01:01.


----------



## opacitizen (Jan 3, 2021)

MarkR said:


> Nice try!
> 
> it was set to be available at 00:01 on the 1st Jan 2021. Now that time is different in different countries. So your 00:01 will be someonelse’s 01:01.




Sure, time zones and everything. 

I'm sorry, but I'm not really getting your point, though. The drivethru page of the book literally says "This title was added to our catalog on December 31, 2020." (in the Product Information column on the right edge of the page.)


----------



## Doc_Klueless (Jan 3, 2021)

Yahoo for Pathfinder for Savage Worlds!


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

opacitizen said:


> Sure, time zones and everything.
> 
> I'm sorry, but I'm not really getting your point, though. The drivethru page of the book literally says "This title was added to our catalog on December 31, 2020." (in the Product Information column on the right edge of the page.)



I am curious now to know what RPG is at number 11 and whose fans are trying to disqualify SLA Industries 2e at number 10 to sneak into the Top 10.


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

Doc_Klueless said:


> Yahoo for Pathfinder for Savage Worlds!



Or like we say "Savage Pathfinder".


----------



## MarkR (Jan 3, 2021)

imagineGod said:


> I am curious now to know what RPG is at number 11 and whose fans are trying to disqualify SLA Industries 2e at number 10 to sneak into the Top 10.



Probably not a fan of another game tbh.

it was set up at UKs 00:01


----------



## Marc_C (Jan 3, 2021)

Interesting. Twilight 2000 has my vote. Earlier this year I was looking into Pendragon. I'm aware of this game since it originally came out but never played it. I think it's time to try it out using the new edition.


----------



## MidnightBlue (Jan 3, 2021)

Heh feels like just yesterday that I got my Pendragon 5.2 Edition, Prince Valiant, and Paladin.


----------



## MarkR (Jan 3, 2021)

There is some cool games here, that I’m interested in, congratulations to all!


----------



## MarkR (Jan 3, 2021)

See below. Quote hadn’t worked


----------



## MarkR (Jan 3, 2021)

opacitizen said:


> Sure, time zones and everything.
> 
> I'm sorry, but I'm not really getting your point, though. The drivethru page of the book literally says "This title was added to our catalog on December 31, 2020." (in the Product Information column on the right edge of the page.)



Ok so. DriveThruRPG is American. Nightfall Games is Scottish. NFG added the SLA 2nd Ed PDF to DT at 00:01 GMT on the 1st Jan 2021. America is something like 6hrs behind GMT. Therefore 00:01 GMT has registered on the American site as 31st Dec.

we deliberately held release to Jan 1st because of SLAs nomination on this contest, so I am fully, 100% aware of when the product was released.

hope that helps?


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 3, 2021)

MarkR said:


> Ok so. DriveThruRPG is American. Nightfall Games is Scottish. NFG added the SLA 2nd Ed PDF to DT at 00:01 GMT on the 1st Jan 2021. America is something like 6hrs behind GMT. Therefore 00:01 GMT has registered on the American site as 31st Dec.
> 
> we deliberately held release to Jan 1st because of SLAs nomination on this contest, so I am fully, 100% aware of when the product was released.
> 
> hope that helps?



Well played. 

And, honestly, everyone, when has our hobby descended into timestamps to disqualify great games? Let us not get so petty and just enjoy the fact so many different games are popular these days, not just D&D 5th, though it remains mega popular too.


----------



## BookTenTiger (Jan 3, 2021)

Wow, that Brancalonia looks like so much fun! I just read through the whole quick start guide.


----------



## Mercador (Jan 3, 2021)

TrippyHippy said:


> The answer, outside of the background lore which has precisely the same appeal to sci-fi fans as Middle Earth has to fantasy fans, lies in the proposed Troupe style play. That is, you can play the game at different levels - possibly co-currently, with two sets of characters - where you devise political strategies at Architect level, and then then carry out missions at the Agent level.
> 
> The idea of troupe style play goes way back in gaming - Ars Magica RPG was a notable pioneer of the idea - but it hasn’t generally been built in as a core idea in many RPGs. It fits the Dune concept like a glove, however.
> 
> Finally, aside from anything else, if the book is likely to follow Modiphius’ previous releases, it will be a beautiful and well researched coffee-table book, that will tie in with a big movie release as well as the books.



I will probably buy it just for the lore anyway, it'S not like I was an active player right now.


----------



## Dragonblade (Jan 3, 2021)

Of that list, I'm interested in Savage Worlds for Pathfinder and ENWorld's own Level Up!


----------



## Eyes of Nine (Jan 3, 2021)

I will say that Level Up was my 4th pick; but then I figured on THIS board, it was going to make it to top 10 - and I guess I was right for once - so I voted for other things.


----------



## Hurin88 (Jan 3, 2021)

Any chance we can get the full list with votes? I would be interested to see all the ones that got votes.


----------



## Morrus (Jan 3, 2021)

Hurin88 said:


> Any chance we can get the full list with votes? I would be interested to see all the ones that got votes.



They all got votes.


----------



## Hurin88 (Jan 3, 2021)

Morrus said:


> They all got votes.



Oh right, thanks. I meant though the ones beyond the top 10 -- any chance of seeing the vote counts for each RPG that got votes?


----------



## Morrus (Jan 3, 2021)

Hurin88 said:


> Oh right, thanks. I meant though the ones beyond the top 10 -- any chance of seeing the vote counts for each RPG that got votes?



Nope, sorry. Like with the podcasts poll I don’t feel comfortable sharing negative or discouraging stuff for no discernible benefit. Let’s just congratulate the top 10 on doing so well and assume everybody else is in 11th place by a whisker.


----------



## Ulfgeir (Jan 3, 2021)

Was the number of nominees and votes comparable to previous years? And has there ever been an entry that did not get any votes?


----------



## Eyes of Nine (Jan 3, 2021)

Ulfgeir said:


> And has there ever been an entry that did not get any votes?



It would be interesting for a game to be nominated, but the person who nominated didn't vote for it...


----------



## Hurin88 (Jan 3, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Nope, sorry. Like with the podcasts poll I don’t feel comfortable sharing negative or discouraging stuff for no discernible benefit. Let’s just congratulate the top 10 on doing so well and assume everybody else is in 11th place by a whisker.



Ok, it's your website, and you call the shots. For the record though, I was not trying to discourage anyone; I was just wanting to see some lesser known games (like my own favorite, Rolemaster) get a shout out.


----------



## Ulfgeir (Jan 3, 2021)

Eyes of Nine said:


> It would be interesting for a game to be nominated, but the person who nominated didn't vote for it...



Exactly. I do not expect it to have happened though.


----------



## Mistwell (Jan 3, 2021)

Would love to see a top 25?


----------



## Stacie GmrGrl (Jan 3, 2021)

Only one of my votes made the list, which is Werewolf. I am surprised Worlds Without Number didn't make it considering how huge the Kickstarter was and it's looking to be his biggest selling game to date (and it's fully compatible with Stars Without Number).


----------



## Stacie GmrGrl (Jan 3, 2021)

imagineGod said:


> Or like we say "Savage Pathfinder".



This just has a nicer, more Savage ring to it.


----------



## opacitizen (Jan 4, 2021)

MarkR said:


> Ok so. DriveThruRPG is American. Nightfall Games is Scottish. NFG added the SLA 2nd Ed PDF to DT at 00:01 GMT on the 1st Jan 2021. America is something like 6hrs behind GMT. Therefore 00:01 GMT has registered on the American site as 31st Dec.
> 
> we deliberately held release to Jan 1st because of SLAs nomination on this contest, so I am fully, 100% aware of when the product was released.
> 
> hope that helps?




Yes, it does, thanks, especially the bit where you explain that you held back the release, and that this contest had, in fact, a release date restriction.

See, I'm also from Europe. In fact, I'm an hour ahead of Scotland. I simply thought the makers of this list/contest weren't aware of SLA2 having been released. I also thought the producers of SLA2 weren't aware of this contest. (Don't ask me why I thought that possible. I was probably damn tired or something. I still am.) Finally, as I've said, I didn't even consider a late December release date could somehow disqualify a game. I simply thought it a strange and happy coincidence that a long-awaited game on this list got released just a few days prior to the publication of this list, and is already available.

It's never been my intent to work against SLA2. I'm glad it's been released, and I'm rather glad it's on this list now.

That's why I didn't understand why you said "Nice try!", and why I didn't understand why my initial comment seemed... I don't know... antagonistic?

So: sorry about the misunderstanding, congrats, and good luck with your release!


----------



## Dungeonosophy (Jan 4, 2021)

I added Lords of the Middle Sea and TOR/Middle-earth 2E to:
The world's most complete directory of tabletop RPG depictions of fictive worlds which originated in other media​


----------



## Stormonu (Jan 4, 2021)

Savage Pathfinder?  Who put chocolate in my peanut butter?!?  I was not aware of this, but I now want it.

And Free League to do Twilight 2000?!?  More chocolate in my peanut butter!  Although, 2E Twilight 2000 has long been the game I've wanted to play (ever since I saw the library RPG group playing it), but could never get anyone to try it.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Jan 4, 2021)

opacitizen said:


> See, I'm also from Europe. In fact, I'm an hour ahead of Scotland. I simply thought the makers of this list/contest weren't aware of SLA2 having been released. I also thought the producers of SLA2 weren't aware of this contest. (Don't ask me why I thought that possible. I was probably damn tired or something. I still am.) Finally, as I've said, I didn't even consider a late December release date could somehow disqualify a game. I simply thought it a strange and happy coincidence that a long-awaited game on this list got released just a few days prior to the publication of this list, and is already available.




The owner of this site is also in the UK, so I think he knows about the time zone stuff.  Right @Morrus ?


----------



## MarkR (Jan 4, 2021)

opacitizen said:


> Yes, it does, thanks, especially the bit where you explain that you held back the release, and that this contest had, in fact, a release date restriction.
> 
> See, I'm also from Europe. In fact, I'm an hour ahead of Scotland. I simply thought the makers of this list/contest weren't aware of SLA2 having been released. I also thought the producers of SLA2 weren't aware of this contest. (Don't ask me why I thought that possible. I was probably damn tired or something. I still am.) Finally, as I've said, I didn't even consider a late December release date could somehow disqualify a game. I simply thought it a strange and happy coincidence that a long-awaited game on this list got released just a few days prior to the publication of this list, and is already available.
> 
> ...



Thanks for explaining. It did seem like you were trying to derail us, and that was sad and took a bit of the joy from making this list.

we are well aware of this comp, having discovered it last year. I’m a big fan of Judge Dredd so know EN well.

Any way we have over 1200 backers now with the PDF and have just won the Copper award on Drivethru and just overtaken WHFB on the bestselling list, so all is gravy!

cheers
Mark


----------



## stadi (Jan 4, 2021)

I wonder if people will actually play Dune. They will definitely buy it, but I wonder how many will actually play it regularly.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 4, 2021)

stadi said:


> I wonder if people will actually play Dune. They will definitely buy it, but I wonder how many will actually play it regularly.



Well, I have played/ran the playtest/intro scenario.

I think our group might play a modified version of the game in time, but we do have a Call of Cthulhu campaign to finish, a Vampire game in the offing and also a Traveller game planned.

So many games, so little time.


----------



## Ilgiallomondadori (Jan 4, 2021)

TrippyHippy said:


> Well, I have played/ran the playtest/intro scenario.
> 
> I think our group might play a modified version of the game in time, but we do have a Call of Cthulhu campaign to finish, a Vampire game in the offing and also a Traveller game planned.
> 
> So many games, so little time.



I bought and have the intro PDF, but feel pretty overwhelmed at actually running it.  Would love an overview / examples of combat, and advice on running it.  I'd love to listen/watch and actual play, as at this point...this might stay on the shelf.


----------



## RSIxidor (Jan 4, 2021)

Ulfgeir said:


> Exactly. I do not expect it to have happened though.



It definitely happened as some of us didn't see the voting was up. Whoops.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 4, 2021)

Ilgiallomondadori said:


> I bought and have the intro PDF, but feel pretty overwhelmed at actually running it.  Would love an overview / examples of combat, and advice on running it.  I'd love to listen/watch and actual play, as at this point...this might stay on the shelf.



Ok. Our group played it as is, but we felt it got a bit complicated with the meta currencies. There are three of them:

*Momentum* - the player group pool, which starts at zero and has a maximum of 6.
*Threat* - the GM/NPC pool, which starts at two per player.
*Determination* - An individual score, which starts at one, and is replenished by challenging the Drives.
So, if you want to strip the game down to a simpler engine, as baby steps, my advice is to pull the GM pool, Threat, and just have the single Determination point replenished every session. The Momentum pool is the only one you need to keep, in my view. If you get confident in using Momentum, then you can add Threat and Determination rules later.

Each Character is defined by their *Drives* (Duty, Faith, Justice, Power, Truth) and *Skills* (Battle, Communicate, Discipline, Move, Understand). Each of these can have specializations - Statements and Focuses respectively - which customizes them. They are all rated from 4 to 8, and you add a Drive and Skill number together to get a *Target Number *(from 8-16).

When a player rolls their D20 pool (which is a default of 2D20), they gain a success whenever they roll under their Target Number. This is compared to a *Difficulty* which is the required number of successes to carry out an action. The default average Difficulty is 1, but it can be lower (a really unchallenging 0) or higher (up to 5 which is ‘Epic’). When you roll dice, you can convert any excess successes to the *Momentum Pool* (up to a maximum of 6).

You earn a *Critical Success* whenever a die rolls a 1, or when the task lies within your Skill speciality in which case the *Critical Range* is equal to the Skill Score. A Critical Success is worth two successes. You also get a *Complication* whenever a die rolls a 20, which is sort of like a fumble except it doesn’t mean that the Task can’t be completed from other dice rolled.

Any player can make use of the Momentum Pool, and the simplest way of using them is to simply allow players to dip into it to get more D20s to roll in their pool, when it is their turn. Players can work in teams, to set up Momentum for other characters to get an advantage on their turn. Momentum points can also be used to buy off Complications or possibly adjust the scene or create some other narrative advantage (like Fate). If you want to keep it simple, ignore the narrative uses.

*Determination* points, of which players can just have one to spend per session, allow players to re-roll a pool if they like.

In a Conflict, (duels or skirmishing particularly), the Action order is, by default, a nominated player first. A GM can use Threat to take the initiative, but if we aren’t using it, it doesn’t matter. The first player can keep the initiative by spending 2 points of Momentum and either go again one more time, or nominate another player to act. If they don’t spend Momentum, it alternates to a GM controlled character. This continues to alternate unless somebody spends Momentum (or Threat).

Each attack is a contested roll, where the defender rolls their dice to set the Difficulty for the attacker to overcome. If they hit a mook, then the book is out of combat. If they hit a named character, then it becomes an extended task to reduce the appropriate skill score (Battle in the case of a physical conflict) to zero by increments equal to the number of Success in each attack.

Combat also has range Zones and Assets (weapons) to consider, but I’ll just leave it at this for the moment. It’s worth noting that there is no difference, rules wise between physical conflict or mental or social conflict rules.


----------



## imagineGod (Jan 4, 2021)

TrippyHippy said:


> Ok. Our group played it as is, but we felt it got a bit complicated with the meta currencies. There are three of them:
> 
> *Momentum* - the player group pool, which starts at zero and has a maximum of 6.
> *Threat* - the GM/NPC pool, which starts at two per player.
> ...



That is a pretty neat one page summary of the Dune RPG. So why was Modiphus charging exorbitant prices for the pre-orders?


----------



## Eyes of Nine (Jan 5, 2021)

TrippyHippy said:


> Ok. Our group played it as is, but we felt it got a bit complicated with the meta currencies. There are three of them:
> 
> *Momentum* - the player group pool, which starts at zero and has a maximum of 6.
> *Threat* - the GM/NPC pool, which starts at two per player.
> ...



What are you supposed to do? In what way do these rules encourage that type of play? 

Again, I don't see Dune as being an adventure game, where you go with your band of Fremen and capture spice ships. I mean I guess it could be? But that's not really what caught my fancy with Dune back in the day.

I've ordered the book (Dune the novel) at the library, so maybe after I read it again I'll have a clearer picture of the core loops available in the game.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 5, 2021)

Eyes of Nine said:


> What are you supposed to do? In what way do these rules encourage that type of play?
> 
> Again, I don't see Dune as being an adventure game, where you go with your band of Fremen and capture spice ships. I mean I guess it could be? But that's not really what caught my fancy with Dune back in the day.
> 
> I've ordered the book (Dune the novel) at the library, so maybe after I read it again I'll have a clearer picture of the core loops available in the game.



The Dune game is more about intrigue than out and out adventure. Your characters are either Architects (strategists) or Agents of a particular House. You can play both simultaneously, potentially, in a scenario set up that way (with alternating scenes). The players can collectively design a House together if they want. The use of Drives rather than Ability scores as in D&D means that your stories can alternate between different scales of conflict. The game play is based upon high level tactical maneuvering between Houses (Architect) down to carrying out low level missions (Agents).

As I say, all conflicts essentially work with the same sort of system, using Momentum and Threat and so on at different levels (Dueling, Skirmish, Warfare, Espionage, Intrigue), but utilizing different maneuvers and assets respectively. It doesn’t play like Traveller or Star Wars, and not really like Star Trek either.


----------



## corwyn77 (Jan 5, 2021)

Stacie GmrGrl said:


> This just has a nicer, more Savage ring to it.



Just like Savage Rifts.

My most anticipated game, if it comes out this year, would be GURPS Girl Genius, but I am very excited about Savage Pathfinder (interesting setting but hate the ruleset), and Enworld D&D (Is there really enough new stuff to be a new game?).


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 5, 2021)

Stacie GmrGrl said:


> Only one of my votes made the list, which is Werewolf. I am surprised Worlds Without Number didn't make it considering how huge the Kickstarter was and it's looking to be his biggest selling game to date (and it's fully compatible with Stars Without Number).



Sounds like he has found his market - but it’s not necessarily the market that votes on this site.


----------



## Fenris-77 (Jan 5, 2021)

I don't have enough plaid left in my wardrobe to be excited about Werewolf. YMMV.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 5, 2021)

Fenris-77 said:


> I don't have enough plaid left in my wardrobe to be excited about Werewolf. YMMV.



Thing about Werewolf 5 is that it could be interesting to see if they use a Hunger Dice type of mechanic for Rage.

Like previous editions of Vampire, one of my criticisms was the way in which Blood points worked. They were basically just power points that you had to replenish from time to time - so you were never compelled to play a monster trying to come to terms their vampiric nature (as per the descriptions in the supporting text and fiction). With Hunger dice, you gain them when you Rouse (50/50 chance) or when you use Disciplines (also 50/50 chance) and the dice gets substituted to _every_ dicepool you roll - you can’t get away from them, it affects every thing your character does! While I know some fans of previous Vampire editions have complained about this, for me, it truly transforms the game into something like ‘personal horror’ as the Hunger comes to the fore.

I could see it doing something similarly transformative in the Werewolf game where, again, previous rules didn’t really push the idea of the primal rage at the heart of the Werewolf condition. If Rage dice become a thing, it will be worth a new edition for me and a nice complimentary game to the V5 chronicle I am due to be running this year. If its just a rehash of the environmentally themed urban fantasy - well, I already have that in other editions, so it's of less interest to me.


----------



## Fenris-77 (Jan 5, 2021)

Well, my only playing exposure to WW was 1st edition, and at the time the whole eco-warrior thing seemed super gimpy (and still does), the rest was pretty cool. If the focus was going to be more on elemental rage and trying to contain the beast within without the green peace ads I'd be way more interested.

Also, I lied, most of my shirts are plaid. So there's that.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 5, 2021)

Fenris-77 said:


> Well, my only playing exposure to WW was 1st edition, and at the time the whole eco-warrior thing seemed super gimpy (and still does), the rest was pretty cool. If the focus was going to be more on elemental rage and trying to contain the beast within without the green peace ads I'd be way more interested.
> 
> Also, I lied, most of my shirts are plaid. So there's that.



Precisely, my thoughts. Although my shirts need ironing.


----------



## embee (Jan 5, 2021)

As down as I am for Werewolf, I'm a bit confused with the state of the publishing rights.

Modiphius released Vampire 5e a couple of years back. But if Renegade has the WoD rights, then does that mean that there is going to be either a 5e Renegade version, a 6e that tosses out Modiphius, or other such nonsense?

The main worry I have is that the 5e's won't play well together.


----------



## TrippyHippy (Jan 5, 2021)

embee said:


> As down as I am for Werewolf, I'm a bit confused with the state of the publishing rights.
> 
> Modiphius released Vampire 5e a couple of years back. But if Renegade has the WoD rights, then does that mean that there is going to be either a 5e Renegade version, a 6e that tosses out Modiphius, or other such nonsense?
> 
> The main worry I have is that the 5e's won't play well together.



It is confusing. This is my best explanation:

White Wolf, owned by Paradox entertainment, released Vampire: the Masquerade 5th edition in 2018 to some fanfare - it was the most anticipated game of 2018 here on ENWorld.

Modiphius was White Wolf’s distributer, while there was Third Party support from companies like Onyx Path - a company formed from ex White Wolf staffers when White Wolf was sold off to CCP just over a decade ago. Onyx Path had released some 20th Anniversary books under license during the previous decade. However, when CCP sold White Wolf to Paradox Entertainment in the interim, this is what sparked the drive for a new edition - V5.

Unfortunately, V5 accumulated some controversy through its development and release and, ultimately, Paradox decided that they had to dissolve the original White Wolf team, leaving V5 up in the air. This is when Modiphius stepped in to take over the license. There is strong evidence that, despite the controversy, V5 was Modiphius' best selling release, and they didn’t just want to let it go. As such, after obtaining the license from Paradox directly, they put together a program of scheduled releases and revised/edited some of the controversial supplements for re-release.

From a raft of scheduled releases, they only managed to produce one sourcebook, however - The Fall of London - and a PDF starter set. At the same time, Onyx Path who were also licensed to produce V5 supplements produced Chicago By Night, and several other supplements which seem to have been popular too. So they were a bit more productive.

During this time, Paradox advertised for, then appointed a new White Wolf development team - now led by Justin Achilli, noted as the experienced developer of Vampire: The Masquerade Revised, Vampire: The Requiem and V20. The new White Wolf team decided to take the development of WoD properties back in house. There are some more V5 supplements planned for release - via Onyx Path and White Wolf. A free Vampire Companion was released to fans in December, last month.  It appears that Modiphius are either no longer licensed or are just letting the old license fade out.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5 was licensed out to Hunters Entertainment for development, and a new publishing partnership was established by Paradox/White Wolf with Renegade Game Studios, which is also who will be publishing all the V5 stuff.
We know that Werewolf 5 will retain most of the signature V5 rules (and be compatible), as it has been stated in press releases, but will also develop their own themed mechanics to do with playing Werewolves accordingly.

There is no scheduled 6th edition or any such things being suggested. There are no advertised plans, as of yet, for any of the other classic WoD lines (Mage, Wraith, Changeling) - although they may come.


----------



## MNblockhead (Jan 16, 2021)

Aldarc said:


> I must be out of touch. Nothing I voted for was in the top 10.




Better than being out of date, I suppose. 

I seem to discover "new" games after they've been out for a few years.


----------



## MidnightBlue (Jan 16, 2021)

MNblockhead said:


> Better than being out of date, I suppose.
> 
> I seem to discover "new" games after they've been out for a few years.



Tell me about it.  I just bought heavily into the Warfighter and Doomtown: Reloaded card games.  I knew of them, but it took years for me to get dragged in.  Then down the rabbit-hole I fell...along with my wallet...


----------



## corwyn77 (Jan 16, 2021)

MidnightBlue said:


> Tell me about it.  I just bought heavily into the Warfighter and Doomtown: Reloaded card games.  I knew of them, but it took years for me to get dragged in.  Then down the rabbit-hole I fell...along with my wallet...



Is anyone still playing these? I stopped seeing Doomtown in my flgs long before the lockdown.


----------



## MidnightBlue (Jan 17, 2021)

corwyn77 said:


> Is anyone still playing these? I stopped seeing Doomtown in my flgs long before the lockdown.



You can still get the product at the company store Pine Box Entertainment | Official Home of Doomtown: Reloaded as well as Drive Thru Cards, and of course other online outlets.


----------



## BRayne (Jan 17, 2021)

I think the generally expected mechanic to Werewolf 5e would have rage behaving much like hunger in V5 but instead of replacing dice it would instead add additional dice at each level of rage


----------



## Zaroden (Feb 16, 2021)

Do we have a calendar of all the release dates for this year?


----------



## Morrus (Feb 16, 2021)

Zaroden said:


> Do we have a calendar of all the release dates for this year?



I didn't make one, but if anybody wants to that would be super useful!


----------



## Zaroden (Feb 16, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I didn't make one, but if anybody wants to that would be super useful!



I'm surprised we don't have one yet, though that's no fault of anyone; I take it that this is still a growing community anyways.

I guess we'll play this all by ear throughout 2021.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 16, 2021)

Zaroden said:


> I'm surprised we don't have one yet, though that's no fault of anyone; I take it that this is still a growing community anyways.
> 
> I guess we'll play this all by ear throughout 2021.



A lot of companies don't publish release dates.


----------

