Post originally by Paranoid Obsessive at 2004-07-15 19:21:29
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Ironically enough, I've always considered Vampire to be the most "hopeful" of the White Wolf games (now don't laugh). I freely admit this perception stems greatly from the fact that I have all the original 5 systems 1st editions, and formed my opinions of each system from them, as opposed to later books (granted, in some cases my opinion changed... but that's neither here nor there).

Werewolf has the hopeless war against the Wyrm, where you're told point-blank before even making a character that it's a war you can't win.

The concept presented in Mage is similar - while there IS an Ascension War, the Technocrats have all but won it, and you're like natives trying to fight off a fully-militarized army with rocks and sticks.

Wraith? Well, you're dead, and your own dark side is going to spend the rest of eternity trying to finish the job. Odds are you're going to get sucked into the Oblivion, though you MIGHT just get soul-forged into an end-table or lamp instead. Salvation MIGHT be possible, but any salvation you find will probably turn out to be some other wraith just fleecing the believers (case in point - the Far Shores, which are mostly fake "Heavens" and "Hells").

Changeling establishes that you're a creature of dreams... and then goes on to more or less point out that dreams die. Your only possible outcomes are to either be Undone by Banality (thus losing your Fae side forever and forgetting everything you ever did as a Fae), or hiding in a Freehold until you go insane from Bedlam.

Vampire? Well, sure, there's the whole "Gehenna, when the Eldest will rise and devour their Childer" thing, but who believes in that sort of hogwash in these enlightened days? In fact, the Camarilla goes out of its way to convince Neonates that Gehenna is a myth, and that the present state of affairs will go on forever. Of course, you've still got generations of elders breathing down your neck, and an oppressive social hierarchy that can be stiffling, but the chances DO exist for you to advance, if you're clever (and nearly every Neonate assumes they're far more suited to surviving and thriving in the modern nights than some stuffy old bore from the 1500's who still can't understand the telephone).

Early on, White Wolf certainly seemed to glorify the whole idea of "when you're in a hopeless situation, with no chance of success or victory (beyond the Pyrrhic), how you behave is the true measure of your character". But it probably wound up being TOO depressing for most people, so the idea of hope was reintroduced (perhaps some might survive Gehenna, or even prevent it; perhaps the Garou COULD win against the Wyrm, if only they could stand together; maybe the Traditions could reintroduce the spirit of wonder back into the world; perhaps the Eternal Winter will lead to a new and better Spring).