KickStarter Nighthawks - urban fantasy vampire CYOA RPG written by Richard Cobbett and published by Wadjet Eye

[Infinitron]

Gameplay video:



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/753131002/nighthawks-the-vampire-rpg-0/posts/2283338

Nighthawks Exposed #4 - The Melting Pot
Posted by Richard Cobbett


Normally, updates like this are about things that a game has or is. However, sometimes what's just as important is what the boundaries are. So, in this update - we know there are vampires, but what about werewolves, fire elementals, zombies, etc?

In short, nope. And that's not because the 'melting pot' type of universe isn't awesome, as seen in settings like World of Darkness, Dresden Files, and of course, Unavowed. It's simply that for Nighthawks, we want to focus on vampire life, and that's quickly diluted and the supernatural nature of being one made less meaningful when there's also a whole shelf of splatbooks running around as well. The advantage of designing a world with a single game in mind rather than establishing a wider universe is being able to really deep-dive on a subject and explore all of its facets... and vampires offer so many of them!

There are a few exceptions to the rule, of course. Along with a few variants of bloodsucker, such as withered 'feral' vampires, there are ghosts - in the form of echoes of the dead - and the history of the world involves covert sorcery and alchemy and other magical touches beyond vampiric Gifts. Expect a few surprises now and then. Plus, just because the world is about vampires doesn't mean that characters within it aren't going "Okay, so what about werewolves then?" in much the same way that people today hunt for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Who knows, maybe some of them will have discovered something...

For the most part though, Nighthawks is strictly about vampires - about monsters living amongst us, a world struggling to cope with that revelation, and the more individual stories of personal horror, triumph and tragedy that comes from that. It's a big, exciting canvas, and one that offers a rare chance to feel both blessed and cursed, depending on how you see your character and the nature of your new life. Factor in all the different Blood Origins and Gifts and the many choices to be made while exploring the world and establishing yourself, and you won't find any shortage of ways to carve out your niche and make your mark.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/753131002/nighthawks-the-vampire-rpg-0/posts/2283470

Nighthawks Exposed #5 - Morality
Posted by Richard Cobbett


Few vampires have the luxury of a clean conscience. Even today, in a world of soup kitchens and some basic support networks, there's no getting away from the fact that a vampire is a predator. A hunter. Human to a point, but also a wolf amongst sheep. So how do we handle the morality of this? How do you know if you're a 'good' vampire?

Put simply, you don't. There's no morality meter, there's no humanity stat, there's no inner Beast to push against. In Nighthawks, your sins are on you and your decisions, and the game as a whole doesn't judge. That doesn't mean that there aren't consequences. Each major character has their own opinions on right and wrong, and the Traits that you earn - such as Untrustworthy - will soon build up and define your reputation in society. The more suspicion you raise, the more likely you are to face the police and vampire hunters. However, playing it nice has its own downsides, such as not having the reputation to back up your threats.

The Road To Hell
The one thing that you can't be is passive. While we're not going into much of the story at the moment to avoid spoilers, suffice it to say for now that you spend most of the game in charge of Nighthawks, a failing (at first) nightclub in the former market-district of Cradlebridge, and many people are... displeased... that a baby vampire such as yourself controls such a sanctuary and the profits/respectability that comes from it.

The only reason you can get away with it, at least initially, is by proving your use to the current would-be vampire authorities willing to act as your patron and protector, which comes with a price. Essentially, as top dog in Cradlebridge, even just because most other vampires around don't want the gig, it's your job to keep things quiet. To prevent vampire incidents from flaring up and bringing the mortal authorities into your business. To help cover up the use of Gifts that might alert the world to the fact that vampires have secrets. Your superiors don't particularly care how you keep things quiet, just that they remain so, and of course that dealing with them doesn't make things worse.

As such, you're the person who gets called in to handle often difficult situations, while also working on your own to raise your profile, widen your social circle, and otherwise improve your standing to the point that you don't need to submissively follow anybody's orders. That's not the kind of situation where you can just glance at a bar and say that you're on the light side of the Force. All you have is your reputation, whatever humanity lingers in your corpse, and the sinking knowledge that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

The Price Of Hunger
The one exception to all this, the part of your nature that remains firmly out of your control, is self-preservation. Go too long without feeding and you're liable to wake up to find your predator instincts have taken over and sent you on the bloodiest kind of sleepwalk. That's the kind of thing that draws attention from both human and vampire authorities, and is a great way to lose any positive reputation you've built up so far. But since the only way to avoid it is to feed in the first place, even more morally upright vampires set on being the friendly neighbourhood variety often find themselves slipping softly into damnation after a while... and often finding that they like how it tastes.

Certainly, being 'good' isn't impossible, but it does mean fighting against what you are at all times, and there aren't many who have the stomach for that in the long run.

Especially when that stomach starts to rumble.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/753131002/nighthawks-the-vampire-rpg-0/posts/2283917

THIRTY-FIVE PER CENT
Posted by Richard Cobbett


Greetings! So, we've been going for four days, and we're already more than a third of the way to making Nighthawks happen. However, as any Kickstarter watchers know, we're now entering into the quieter part of the campaign, where keeping up that initial momentum is crucial. So, this is a quick request for two things...

First, please share the campaign! Whether it's Facebook or Twitter or Reddit or private forums or Discords or LARP groups or whatever - provided that they're okay with that kind of message, of course! - please, let your friends know. The more people who see the project and go "Oh, cool!" the better - and unfortunately a lot of the tools that previously helped with getting the word out, such as Thunderclap, no longer work. We've still got a pretty long way to go if we're going to hit our target and get into stretch goals. Every little helps!

Second, if you know of any outlets that you think would be interested in covering Nighthawks, please let us know. We're reaching out to quite a few, but the web is a big place and there are definitely going to be ones we haven't thought of. Alternatively, if youhave/create for a site, stream, podcast or similar and you'd like to talk to us about the project, we're here and ready for interviews and previews and anything of that sort.

Want to get in touch via e-mail? Contact Richard at contact@nighthawks-game.com.

All that said, thanks for backing Nighthawks! We've come a long way so far, and that's entirely down to your generosity... and dare we say it, excellent taste. If you think what you've seen so far is cool, wait until you see what we're holding back...

 

[Sacibengala]

Yeah...no, thx!

 

[Urthor]

The premise of this is actually great, haven't read into any of the details but the idea of a really good CYOA game is actually excellent.

 

[Drowed]

"Gameplay" video.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Codex: Every RPG having MC being the Chosen One sucks!

Also Codex: a pleb turned vampire who is out of his depth and needs to find money to survive... also sucks (figuratively and literally)!

 

[Sykar]

 

[Zombra]

Codex: Every RPG having MC being the Chosen One sucks!
Also Codex: a pleb turned vampire who is out of his depth and needs to find money to survive... also sucks (figuratively and literally)!

You say that as if these two views oppose each other somehow.
The issue here isn't the PC's power level or "specialness", it's the lack of compelling genre themes. This is like a "spy RPG" where there is no spying involved, just a guy trying to find a good dry cleaner in his neighborhood BUT IT'S FASCINATING BECAUSE HE IS A SPY.

 

[Big Wrangle]

I mean, to be fair, we don't know if that's gonna be the whole game. Age of Decadence itself started with "just another day at not-Rome haha" before getting into the hook.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

I mean it is mentioned that it is the first chapter of the game out of I don't know how many.

It is pretty much mentioned that you will be running your own club or something in it later in the Kickstarter pitch right?

 

[Zombra]

I mean, to be fair, we don't know if that's gonna be the whole game. Age of Decadence itself started with "just another day at not-Rome haha" before getting into the hook.

Yes, and that was a great beginning because that was kind of the whole premise. if AoD was supposed to be a "superhero RPG", it would have been idiotic to throw away everything interesting and dramatic about superheroes and make it about Roman politics instead.

I mean it is mentioned that it is the first chapter of the game out of I don't know how many.

Yes, but it's still stupid. Again, a "spy RPG" where the entire first act was about finding a dry cleaner would be stupid.

It is pretty much mentioned that you will be running your own club or something in it later in the Kickstarter pitch right?

Yeah ... which also has nothing to do with meaningful genre themes. If they're making Goth Club Tycoon, they should focus on that. Of course if Cobbett made a game called Goth Club Tycoon it would end up being a Tapper clone where you throw ice cream at rambunctious pets.

I know I'm getting hung up on the label here, but there's a reason. I find it very frustrating to see Cobbett approach a genre with the intention to tweak genre tropes, but without any good ideas to back it up. "Let's write a story that would normally be interesting, but instead make it uninteresting! Brilliant!" When you tweak genre tropes, it should be because you have new and creative ideas that shed new perspectives on the old formula. Vampires who are just humans with pointy teeth is not a fascinating new idea - it's simply less than what came before it.

 

[The Wall]

Seems to me like Vampire: The Visual Novel. Seems to belong in Weaboo/Codex Library subforum. Seems to suck

Maybe it'll suck you off your money and time and infect you with boredom OR Mmmaybe it sucks reaaal good...

We'll see how Kickstarter campaign goes. So far the best thing it has going is that it's closest thing to VtMB since VtMB. Which is just so sad considering that this couldn't be further from VtMB

 

[Reinhardt]

Also Codex: a pleb turned vampire who is out of his depth and needs to find money to survive... also sucks (figuratively and literally)!

The only reason you can get away with it, at least initially, is by proving your use to the current would-be vampire authorities willing to act as your patron and protector

You are literally another chosen one from the start.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

You are literally another chosen one from the start.

I mean by that logic AoD has you be a chosen ones because you are proving your worth to guild authorities. Which is dependent on your starting build yes, but narrative wise you are also a nobody given chance in a new organization.

 

[MRY]

We'll see how Kickstarter campaign goes. So far the best thing it has going is that it's closest thing to VtMB since VtMB. Which is just so sad considering that this couldn't be further from VtMB

They're already at 35%.

For a lot of people, the best things going for it are the creators, Dave Gilbert and Richard Cobbett. For others, the simplification of VTMB is probably a huge plus, since unlike the cruel Leonidas who demanded that you stand it offers plot without gameplay friction. Others probably really like Ben Chandler's great art. And others probably enjoy that the game is taking another couple steps leftward politically from VTMB, although it was already a pretty woke game. Honestly, I've never understood the impulse of rooting against Kickstarters: I hope this makes plenty of money, brings another game into existence, and fills the empty niche in its funders' games library. Also, I think the better framework for thinking of this is just a graphically enhanced version of the Choice of X games, or a more character-focused Failbetter/Inkle style game. The setting may be VTMBish, but everything else strikes me as much more like those titles.

 

[Zombra]

For the record, I'm not rooting against anybody; if I sound harsh it's because I'm so disappointed in the direction this took. I have no spiteful desire to see this or anything else fail. I'm actually a fan of Cobbett from the Saturday Crapshoot days so for me Nighthawks is doubly a letdown: once because the genre potential is being wasted and twice because the writing potential is being wasted. Longer term, it's also sad to see Cobbett establish a pattern of genre-wasting - making TLJH deliberately boring could have been a one-time mistake but now it's looking like weak premises are going to be his "thing". Farewell, dear 'Nessa.

As an aside, I agree the art looks good but that's not enough to get my $.

 

[Background Character]

Maybe the chosen one was inside of us all along

 

[CaesarCzech]

Maybe the chosen one was inside of us all along

Quick Cut Him up, FREE THE CHOSEN ONE.

 

[HoboForEternity]

The goal in the entire first act is to make money?

Well that was fast, the last straw came much more quickly than I expected. I'm gone, not even going to pledge $1 for updates.

surviving isnt a bad motivation, but it takes codexer to reduce relatable, common motivation into a bad one.

Nobody become vampire and become lord dracula. Well, there are probably, but It wouldnt make a really good game anyway. In fact, i prefer this. Have the main character suffer his/her early days of being undead, slave for money, eat rats blood, work your way up to power and notoriety.

 

[CaesarCzech]

The goal in the entire first act is to make money?

Well that was fast, the last straw came much more quickly than I expected. I'm gone, not even going to pledge $1 for updates.

surviving isnt a bad motivation, but it takes codexer to reduce relatable, common motivation into a bad one.

Nobody become vampire and become lord dracula. Well, there are probably, but It wouldnt make a really good game anyway. In fact, i prefer this. Have the main character suffer his/her early days of being undead, slave for money, eat rats blood, work your way up to power and notoriety.

The problem is said Power and Notoriety is Running a fucking Club.

 

[HoboForEternity]

The goal in the entire first act is to make money?

Well that was fast, the last straw came much more quickly than I expected. I'm gone, not even going to pledge $1 for updates.

surviving isnt a bad motivation, but it takes codexer to reduce relatable, common motivation into a bad one.

Nobody become vampire and become lord dracula. Well, there are probably, but It wouldnt make a really good game anyway. In fact, i prefer this. Have the main character suffer his/her early days of being undead, slave for money, eat rats blood, work your way up to power and notoriety.

The problem is said Power and Notoriety is Running a fucking Club.

yeah, the implementation could be better, since there are 5 origins, could working in club be just one of the career path?

And as for writings/interactivity which is too early to judge (with dave gilbert's involvement which has been proven to be some of codex's storyfags favorite in the recent years) but if it decent, it would be an ok game on top of the cyoa mechanics that is interesting and interactive (think sorcery! from inkle)

 

[thesheeep]

This is like a "spy RPG" where there is no spying involved, just a guy trying to find a good dry cleaner in his neighborhood BUT IT'S FASCINATING BECAUSE HE IS A SPY.

That sounds like a fairly awesome premise for an adventure game, to be honest.

 

[Zombra]

surviving isnt a bad motivation, but it takes codexer to reduce relatable, common motivation into a bad one.

"Surviving" in a vampire game should involve avoiding detection, hunting prey, staying out of the sun, and coming to terms with what you've become; not scrounging for loose change in your couch cushions to do laundry.

 

[Reinhardt]

"Surviving" in a vampire game should involve running away from werewolves; not scrounging for loose change in your couch cushions to do laundry.

fixed

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Honestly in a lot of Urban Fantasy a club is a lot of time the "magical hub" for a lot of interesting shit to happen. I hope you kinda play a higher political game when you can use your patrons or some such for a greater goals.

Maybe Wadjet Eyes should change the game to Nighthawks - Urban Fantasy Magical Rabies so it will stop annoying Zombra so much

As MRY as mentioned the execution of the narrative has problem (trying to maintain some tropes while also trying too hard to subvert shit), but personally while I am not holding my expectation high, I find the concept of Vampires being know and integrated to society to be interesting. Will there be a path for Vampiric Domination? Can you make mistakes so human decides enough of this shit and wipe the vampire arse? So much possibility.

 

[Zombra]

I find the concept of Vampires being know and integrated to society to be interesting. Will there be a path for Vampiric Domination? Can you make mistakes so human decides enough of this shit and wipe the vampire arse? So much possibility.

See, if that was the pitch - genre bending with ideas - I'd give Nighthawks a lot more benefit of the doubt.