The main incentive for this game was to fix the Quick’s concept by utilizing Fail Fast ideology.
I spoke with TK about the premise and the first extended Shade and we concluded two things. Firstly the premise is too vague and secondly the Family sounds like a cheap VtM Giovanni/Assamite rip-off. As VtM:s lousy way of handling ghosts and hauntings is one of the things I’m trying to avoid, this is quite annoying.
As happy I’m that the Fail Fast method works with game design… There is limited time to fix the broken parts before first pilot game.
About the premise
This game is bit like early Hellblazer comic. Nasty things want to come to our world and only thing that stand in their way is our not so shiny heroes. Who will probably burn badly as they try to keep the gates of hell closed.
About the family
Firstly: the family is not a death cult. And its not influential. Some members are interested in death and death magick, but mostly the family is just a family with a name in the organized crime circles.
edit: JT had an excellent idea: death cultist but not necessarily necromancers. This fits both the VEIL setting and the game premise quite well. And the not necromancers evades the “why should non-mortals like vampires/mages look to escape death anyhow” trap of the WoD setting”.
Firstly: the family’s background and origin story will be written out. The family is descended from a single Enlightened World Weaver known as “John the Undying”. He escaped the Angel of Death numerous times like an escape artist. Because of his sins against the Angel – all family members are cursed.
Secondly: the family is a death cult with numerous different beliefs on death and misinformed esoterica. Most family members accept the core belief on the family curse: Should a family member stop aiding the touched and closing the Hallows: they will be cursed in afterlife (or next incarnation, or be thrown to Hel, etc).
Thirdly: the Family’s proximity to death and callous attitudes towards life make them excellent at killing people for hire. This is the source of the Family’s resources. They are not involved in any underworld or criminal activity directly as a family.
These amendments should become part of the core game text before the first session.
Vastaa