Where Darkness Reigns

World of Darkness

The World of Darkness is a Gothic-Punk setting, using the Storyteller System, published by White Wolf from 1991 to 2004. While not a real game line in its own right, it is the shared setting for a myriad of other games. The setting closed with the long-promised end of the world, and in 2004 White Wolf launched a new World of Darkness

 

The World of Darkness resembles the contemporary world, but darker, more devious, more conspiratorial. Humanity is losing hope as it is secretly preyed upon and controlled by supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves and wraiths. One facet that sets the World of Darkness apart from most other horror fiction is that these creatures are not solitary predators to be hunted down and destroyed, but they are numerous and intelligent; enough so to form secret societies, develop various factions and allegiances, and use humans as pawns in power struggles and murderous games often lasting centuries or millennia.

 

However, the rising power and strength of human civilization has started to restrict their power, and an atmosphere of gloom resides over many of the games as once-almighty supernatural beings, the dark Princes and Lords of previous eras, in their turn face the bleak and unbearable prospect of a future spent struggling and shrinking under the ever-more powerful gaze and control of a worldwide technocratic cabal, which intends to stamp out mysticism - and their supernatural rivals in the same course - by making reason and science paramount. In the meantime, normal humanity, tool or prey of all factions, is oppressed and hounded in this hidden, all-encompassing conflict, barely capable of fighting and for the majority not even aware of their enemies.

 

Interlocking conspiracies, some mirroring those said to exist in our own world, some unique, can be found throughout the setting. Cabals of powerful mages, coteries of cunning vampires, and other, stranger powers vie within their own cultures and with each other for control of the world. The dichotomy between rich and poor, influential and weak, powerful and powerless, is much more pronounced than in our world. Decadence is common and corruption is everywhere. This dark reflection is seen everywhere: gargoyles and gothic construction influence architecture, while the leather look and punk atmosphere crowd the streets. Everything is as gloomy in the WoD as the most pessimistic tabloid headlines present it.

 

The game uses both historical (Wild West, Dark Ages, and Victorian) as well as a modern setting. Any games played in modern settings use the world we know, but with an underlying supernaturals influencing it. While the game is fictional, players should be aware that the game takes place in the "real world" Real world consequences will follow if you break the human's laws, also humans will respond in the way they would normally. The game does not rewrite human society, rather it uses human society as the backdrop for the secret lives of the supernaturals.

 

 

Big Three

These were the three heavy-hitters of the WoD.

Character Archetypes

Most of the Old World of Darkness games use a system of Archetypes to represent the characters personnality. An Archetype must be be chosen for the character's Nature (what he truly think) and his Demeanor (what he wants people to think he thinks, so the mask he wear). The Nature of a person determine what he must do or gain to regain his self-esteem (Willpower). Some creatures, particularly mortals and Garou, have the same Nature and Demeanor. The Changelings have instead a Seelie and an Unseelie Legacy and the Adhene have three of these.

Many of these Archetypes were printed for the various sources (sometimes, depending on the setting, some old archetypes would be given a new name)