u/Constant-Ad9560

Confused V5 player here.

I know the Sabbat paths in previous editions were a viable way to hold the beast back, by clinging to a bunch of absolutely inhuman values that are somehow strong enough to allow you to keep the beast in check.

But can you explain to me how the Path of Cathari that is all about indulging into the beast works in that regard? I mean in V5 at least the Cathari have the Ethic "Indulge every temptation; give oneself wholly to the wiles of the Beast". That doesn't sound like a good way to prevent you from falling to the beast. Not at all.

Which part of their creed keeps them away from wightdom? To me it seems like they're on the express line to it.

I mean the Litany says cleary "Eat Not the Flesh of Humans". But if one comes from VtM, the first rule is never the first rule of the list but "There is no crime if you don't get caught". But in VtM there are consequences for the character, even if his crime isn't noticed by others. Loss of humanity for example or a tainted aura when they committ diablerie.

Coming from this I don't want to know what other garou would do if they find a cannibal. It's probably obvious how they will react.

I want to know if there are any lorewise or mechanical consequences for a garou eating human flesh. Do they degenerate somehow? Become wyrm-tainted or something? Do you see it on their aura like a vampire who has committed diablerie?

The most common description of WoD is "it's our world but worse". Many depict this as there are more assholes, sexists, racists, (insert hateful political entity), and in short any kind of bastard around. First part of my question is: How do you balance that with your group's desire to still have fun while playing?

I mean sure, getting antagonized by the evil guy of the scene is a nice reason to act against him. But getting antagonized permanently or being completely immobilized by the setting is certainly no fun. So what to do if the prince is a medieval elder who simply refuses to receive women at court while half your group plays female characters?

I'm asking how you balance such things because I've seen ST's struggling to juggle with things like:

"We had to dig deep into actual primary sources to find a non-noble woman occupation that allows her to do ANYTHING on her own in public in a medieval city."

or:

"You want to play a trans character in THAT country? Your mere existence is basically illegal there! And that's in our world, not the worse WoD version!"

How do you find your balance between giving player's the freedom to express themselves while also keeping up the realism... or the WoD realism in that regard?

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The second part of my question is: How do you lean into the dark side of WoD if your player's Lines put you into a corner? I mean, how do you depict a world that's supposed to be full of sexists, racists, (insert hateful political entity), etc. if your group comes up with this:

Player A doesn't want sexism. Player B doesn't want racism. Player C doesn't want minors included. And so on... And nobody at the table wants nazis.

Sure, I'm depicting an extreme case of overlapping Lines but I want to study the possibilities here. The basic question is still the same. What darkness do you depict safely, so the group still feels comfortable?

This is less about how to solve this specific question but more about your experiences in this regard. Which way did you choose to depict horror (and the non-horror darkness) in WoD while still keeping everything acording to the players' lines and veils and their general tastes? How did their lines influence your chronicles? Did you have any cases that seemed problematic at first but then you found a way to work with it?

EDIT: This is not about how to run a session 0. This is how to run VtM after a good session 0. In which parts of the horror and darkness do you dig after the your players drew their lines?

EDIT 2: As many automacially resorted to talk about kindred society, this is as much about the mortal world and it's depiction. How do you depict the mortal side of WoD in accordance to your players' Lines?

Until now I've only seen packs as the Sabbat equivalent of a coterie. Equal with the number of players at the table. Yet I understand that this doesn't make much sense in most cases, simply for the reason that it would mean that one player would be elevated to ductus and another to priest. Of course, groups can play like that and probably do, but for the sake of this discussion let's assume that all players and their characters are to be equal pack members at start. Which would mean that a group playing Sabbat has by default at least two extra characters in their pack. It's also stated that Sabbat cities usually have several/many packs, mostly with their own territory.

So my two key points are:

1. A pack is bigger than a coterie.

2. A Sabbat city holds many packs.

I'm sure the size isn't going to be a fix number and everybody has their own point what's "average". On top of that kindred die fast in the Sabbat and it's also a rule that a pack members childer becomes part of the pack by default. So we also have lots of fluctuation. But on average, what would be the typical size of a pack in your opinion? The numbers in my head are circling around 10 for now, with some variation. Small lost packs circling around 5 and big established packs in Sabbat strongholds easily 20 and more. But how do you see it?

Frage wie im Titel. Ich habe die Serie vor Jahren mal zu 3/4 durchgesehen und hätte Lust mal den Rest nachzuholen. Aber da ich sie damals auf deutsch gesehen habe, würde ich gerne auch den Rest auf deutsch sehen und nicht als sub.

Edit: Bevor es einer sagt, ich meine die Serie von 1979, nicht die Verfilmung von 2025.

https://preview.redd.it/2p0fx47puiyg1.jpg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10b10ae6166599724494fd34a5c4ff51903ccf5b

https://preview.redd.it/nh8ab57puiyg1.jpg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d279bb59ade938db05bcb37f657a533ee0b3ca8

As this is in a hidden cultist basement behind a barricaded door that can't be opened from outside, under a cabin that nobody has any reason to visit, I'm quite sure not many people have seen these purple beams so far.

We all know that kindred tend to become... weird when they gain age and/or lose humanity. Somewhere in the books is even a list of gifts and dating suggestions for a low humanity kindred. ^^

With that in mind I was just thinking about random stuff I could let such characters as STCs do to show that they have grown distant to humanity and things a normal person would consider... well, normal. Just some things that may seem odd, weird... a little creepy. Not straight up bloody murder horror. Something that might be a suitable hobby or freetime interest for an elder or a slightly deranged younger kindred. Without resulting to on-the-nose things like: Sure I've got skinned blood dolls in my basement, kept alive against all odds to keep me entertained.

Any ideas? Something that came around in your groups already?