[pennypincher]

Well, I'd have to dissagree with much of this Faust. I think "cleaned up" and "simpler" and "logical" could be reaplced with "basic" "inane" and "tripe"... But thats just me. The set difficulty is FAR too high, and modifying that for circumstances was already an option in all the White Wolf games to date. Increase or reduce the target number, or the number of Sux's required in order to represent an easy or more difficult task... Now the game plays like a D&D style action rampage, where you need to find bigger and better "magical items" to reduce your target number down to something reasonable or max out your dice pools to allow you to achive simple tasks. We have rolled out this system a number of times, and always found that 8 is too hight to represent a standard human ability to do basic things. I shouldn't need the aid of objects around be to perform every day tasks that I'm more then capable of doing... nor should I need to be AMAZINGLY good at those tasks in order not to need to roll to do them.
I also find it confusing how you can call the combat system logical, given that most wounds are healed at a rate which your local GP would call "inhuman" and actualy hitting someone has become a comical effort of missing and, on an average of 1-10 times, missing so drasticaly that you hurt yourself or your friends. The last I saw, very few people end up winning fights just by backing away a little.

Your right about the mixing of the games being a headache no longer, that was nice of them... Now if only they had done it in a setting and system I didn't feel insulted playing, I would have been over the moon.

The new fighting systems make NO sense at all. Once I've spent my points in Brawl, why am I still swingging at people with Strength?? Am I a well trained idiot?? Do i just constantly bend my head down and run at my enemy hoping my overpowering strength and the firmness of my skull will triumph? Once you've taken Brawl 3, if you say to me "I'm a well trained martial artist" I say "Yes, yes you are!" I shouldn't be required to pay extra points that go into giving my character life and a personal touch just to not be a thug who doesn't know how to place a punch despite his brawl 5. Also, it focuses everything on strength too greatly. Before, being strong could be good, being dexterous could be good and being tough could be good... Now You could quite happily just be tough and strong and not worry about your speed or ability to swing dead on target, after all.. Sux's to hit AND damage are both the same trait now. Basicly, in a story telling system, if my player says to me "I take both hands and just slam hard into him" I should be at my discression to decide he's using Strength to hit... Not be sitting around hearing people try and find ways to describe using dexterity to hit.. What do you say? "I.. You know.. Punch AT him!"
Finaly, why should a person be forced to spend points to be individual? If you want to say "I learnt Judo" and you have decent brawl, then fine... If you want to say it was Boxing... Then fine.. Hell, if you want it to be "Pulling hair and slapping" you do your thing, why should you have to spend points beyond getting the ability?

As for missing the hobo, it happens all the time. Observe the new system in action:
Police office: Str 3? Melee 1 maybe 2 if he was speicalised for some reason... But normaly about 4 dice. Walks into alley, goes to hit Hobo.

Hobo: Dex 2 dodge 2.. Lets face it, he lives on the street, mostly running away and getting out of the way. 4 dice defense.

Hobo: I'll go full defensive, that doubles my defense total, for some reason.
Cop: Damm, that 8 defense reduces my attack below 0, that means I get one "fate" dice, that if it comes up a 1 botches... At diff 8, my chances of hitting are slim to none, and 1 time in 10 if the averages work out I should accidently club myself in the face knocking out most of my teeth.
ST: Um, that makes no sense, so.. Have +2 dice for having a club!
Cop: Well, thats still not enough, so now 1 time in 10 I'm clubbing myself in the face and doing +2 dammage. How about I just shoot him, it's less risky!
ST: Okay, Hobo you can't use defense against ranged attacks
Hobo: Why not?
ST: Because... Um... Nobody, er, ever... Makes themselves.. A harder target, by moving.
Hobo: Oh, clearly, I see the error of my ways.

And lets say the cop DOES mannage to get his 1 sux.. Hmm.. str 3, club +2.. 5 dice.. Take away Hobo soak of 2 and 1 for a big old trench coat and two under shirts he wears to keep from dying of cold.. so 2 dice.. at diff 8? 1 sux if your VERY lucky SOMETIMES.. And with the new healing times, a cop could club at a hobo for hours, maybe even days, without knocking him out. Homless people of the world, if your reading this, UNITE!

As for the contacts merit... Um, why am I paying good points to KNOW people?? Was I kept in a cage all my life? Before we got starting background points, which we could spend on basic human things.. I know people, I have a job.. Done... Now I have to spend the extra points that normaly go to filling out the character to even KNOW someone?! So my choices are... Have friends, or know how to work a computer better but have been tied to the computer chair your entier life. Oh I'm sorry, did you want to start with money?? Say from your job and your family? Well TOO BAD! You either had a high school education OR a job, make up your mind.
However, I agree with the 7th Sea-esque rewards system for flaws. FINALY!

Bloodlines urk me as well. For Vampires, who are meant to be eternal and unchanging, they sure do.. You know... Change an awful lot! And evolve into new groups...

The new powers are like some video game! Most (including the physical ones) now require blood to power them, meaning vampires have to become walking, vcumus blood bags pausing mid fight to refule, leaving 8 second intervals of ferice fighting before each combatant backs away and grabs the nearest mortal, re-fills and goes at each other again. Also Nosferatue now get the cool powers Presence USED to have, like fear, which seems right in theory, but just sucks the fun out of being majestic and beautiful and terrible at once for the other clans.

Sadly, blood potency is as bad as you fear. While you retain your powers and stats, your blood pool and ability to spend drops right back to neonate status. Worse yet, you are FORCED into the elder torpor every so often, so you can never really have powerful elder vampires, only whimpering neonate vampires with a lot of powers they can't afford to spend to use. This also means that things like Great Old Vampires from the old world awakening are no longer amazing and terrifying events, now the clanless dog from down the street could bump into this newly awoken Elder, pump faster then him and have more blood left in him for healing, whoop him sensless and send him on his way, dusting his hands off disdainfuly.

Yeah, Gehenna made me whimper like a little puppy.