>>10127265Well that is close to every core book, you're just missing Demon (which is fucking phenomenal) and Deviant (also amazing). You might have missed those as they don't have 2e versions but that's because they didn't get released along 1e but 2e, so they use all the same rules. Speaking of being able to tell, they should all just say second edition on the covers, and have tables of contents that are more than chapter headings. They'll also have appendices for Conditions and indices (so long as they're not backer copies) too. The core book won't but will be called Chronicles of Darkness, the 1e core book was World of Darkness.
The 2e stuff is generally way way better across the board. There are little bits here and there in some games that could be considered downgrades but those tend to be minor or in service of better changes. Like the VtR2e core book has the Circle of the Crone being much younger than in 1e which is kinda bleh, but it's not a big deal. CtL2e has pledges be much weaker and less of the forefront of your ability set, but that's partly because 1e pledges were busted and there is a bigger focus on Contracts being your main powerset. None of that is a deal breaker for me, or most people, YMMV but it's not something I'd worry too much about to start with. You can go back to 1e books when you've worked through the pile of other stuff. Speaking of, almost all of the 1e books are compatible with 2e. Some little bits of fluff won't line up, some mechanics will need tweaking, but generally you'll be good to use anything you'd like. I'd definitely recommend digging into stuff like the VtR Clan and Covenant for example.
If you have a current gaming group you don't have to GM to play something new. If one of the CofD games really grabs you I'd just pitch it to your group, see what people think. I'd probably go with VtR2e or HtV2e as those are easy to get into, but you'd know the best game for them better than I would.
>>10137589Rules-wise? Almost entirely Chronicles of Darkness at this point with little bits of 1e mixed in for weapon stats as she's pulling from the Vigil core book. Even people who are primarily oWoD fans will tell you that CofD has better mechanics, so this is only a good thing. Much better ruleset, especially for a newb group. Way easier to grok. You're totally right that there was a big clusterfuck of rules at the start but that's mostly been sorted out. She's pulling primarily from oWoD lore right now, at least from the few bits of setting we've seen. Hard to say how she's handle any mechanics thereof though.
