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Has anyone developed a "lite" version of nWoD's Storytelling system? (One of the main criticisms the game received, as far as I know, was that the core book had too much "padding" -- rules included only to fill up pages so that the book could be sold as a stand-alone product.)

If there's no such stripped-down lite version, what would you cut away from Storytelling's basics to get one?

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Got references for that? I don't recall seeing that as a criticism when it came out? (The big points of contention were one-roll combat and the need to buy two books when all you wanted was to play Vampire. – Jadasc Oct 31 '11 at 22:59
@Jadasc A quick google search brought up this, for example: rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10629.phtml (see the related forum posts as well.) – OpaCitiZen Nov 1 '11 at 7:00
Fair enough. Reading the comments that followed suggest that the reviewer's idea of "padded" refers to things covered by system that he believed should be left up to Storyteller discretion. (The durability rules, for example.) But I'm willing to accept the premise. – Jadasc Nov 1 '11 at 12:43

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Veteran White Wolf writer/designer Malcolm Sheppard designed the skeleton of such a system, called it "Fast Darkness," and posted it to his Mob United blog. It's at least as complete as the Microlite20 version and has a better pedigree.

Other stripped-down versions of the nWoD system can be found in the World of Darkness: Mirrors sourcebook, which is dedicated to hacking the Storytelling System in a variety of ways.

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White Wolf put some quickstart rules in the last iteration of Free RPG day. You can download them along with the adventure from here:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=92564 (The PDF is free, but you need a DriveThruRPG account)

It's a pretty pared-down version of the ruleset so you could just start playing that adventure on Free RPG day.

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You're in luck, an ENWorld member made a Microlite version of the Storyteller system. Three pages, no nonsense.

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-1: the microlite presented, as with microlite20, is a different game from its progenitor by virtue of different number of attributes and resulting differences in stat/skill relationships. It might be similar in task system, but it's not really nWoD. – aramis Nov 1 '11 at 8:31
Eh, someone's going to argue that if you cut or change anything from the Holy Designers it's not really the game. But that's the frame of the question. – mxyzplk♦ Nov 1 '11 at 14:24
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It cuts so much that it's not even close to the designer's game. – aramis Nov 1 '11 at 23:05
And it's the better for it. – mxyzplk♦ Nov 1 '11 at 23:20

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