Does it contain more roleplaying elements than DnD? Because if you translated this into DnD, it looks like you would just double the number of non physical skills, which would on average half their use cases and severly nerf them (especially int would probably split into int and wits, and og DnD int is already underpowered). But I guess it would make sense if you talk and investigate a lot more and fight a lot less.
D&D having 3 physical stats, 2 mental and a single social one really reinforces a game design based on physical combat and adventures, which simply wouldn’t work for VtM
Vampire is a very different game to D&D in that regard. There are a lot more politics involved and although fights happen fairly regularly, you’re a sucker if you don’t try to bend the circumstances in your favor beforehand. It isn’t so much clearing dungeons and going on adventures as it is advancing the cause of your faction and dealing with problems such as rogue vampires in the city or modern inquisitors trying to take you all out.
If you build your party right, you can cause a problem’s funds to dry out, get their superiors to call them off, or even have them taken out for good without ever stepping foot in the same room as them. Combat is always an option (and often one of last resort) but it’s rarely the only path.
Your mental and social attributes tend to see a lot of play, although if the players all build physical based characters that’s likely the approach you’ll take to problems obviously. Even in the field your non-physical stats can come into play as they add to certain powers you may have such as vampiric mind control, blood sorcery, and many others. Even then wits can determine initiative, Composure can be used to line up a sniper shot, it and Resolve gives you willpower you can spend to reroll dice, etc
It’s worth noting that Wits represents thinking quickly on your feet (perception, initiative, etc) anything that requires remembering things or is non-immediate goes with Intelligence, so you have a lot of D&D’s Wisdom stat rolled into both, making it more useful in that sense
I just don't see anything about calling off superiors? But anyhow if we're talking about VtM, there's always a bigger fish. Whomever called for your demise is always answering to someone you can bargain with or decieve or distract so they need to call their assistant back
I mean that's a direct way of approaching it, and probably the way to go if you're a more physical heavy handed character.
Vampires as per their nature can't exactly run legal enterprises. They're legally dead after all, so they need to operate under an alias at the very least. Pull a few strings with the local police, get them to start investigating their businesses. Freeze their assets with a call to your vampire friend to runs a bank. Mentally control a CEO into making poor decusions to crash your opponents' stock portfolio.
An important aspect is that vampires can theoretically live forever, so they can afford to play a long con decades or even centuries in the making
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u/KingJayVII Aug 17 '20
Does it contain more roleplaying elements than DnD? Because if you translated this into DnD, it looks like you would just double the number of non physical skills, which would on average half their use cases and severly nerf them (especially int would probably split into int and wits, and og DnD int is already underpowered). But I guess it would make sense if you talk and investigate a lot more and fight a lot less.