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57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OUTSTANDING VEHICLE FOR STORYTELLING, May 19, 2006
Let me begin by saying that I have never read or played any of the World of Darkness games before now. I suppose that is a good thing, since I won't be comparing WORLD OF DARKNESS to any previous incarnations. As I understand it, this book has no analogue from the old World of Darkness; this book, the WORLD OF DARKNESS Storytelling System Rulebook, collects all of the mechanics for playing World of Darkness games so that none of the other gamebooks are cluttered with repetitions of the rules. While some people see that as a cynical marketing ploy to sell more books, I see it as a brilliant marketing ploy to sell more books. The core rules, WORLD OF DARKNESS, describes the mechanics and flavor of playing a mortal, regular human in a horror game. Judging from fan response, the "mortals" game has been a big hit, with supplements such as GHOST STORIES, MYSTERIOUS PLACES, and ANTAGONISTS to help new storytellers develop their chronicles, with other mortals books like ARMORY and SECOND SIGHT to add more depth to playing mortals. WORLD OF DARKNESS is more than just a collection of rules; it is its own game line. In case you are new to White Wolf games (as I was a few months ago), the systems are designed around telling a story rather than war gaming. You can tell (or play in) a good story no matter what system you use; it really depends on the players and the StoryTeller (ST). WORLD OF DARKNESS is, however, designed and packaged around the concept of telling a story or acting out a drama. The book opens with a fictive narrative which helps set the mood. Each chapter opens with a short story or segment that serves to ispire the ST and players. And most interesting (to me), each attribute and skill is explained by a short horror snippet to serve as an in-character example. It's very well done and should be employed by every game system for the clarity it provides. The great portion of the book is spent on building a character, as this information is used when building and playing supers in VAMPIRE, WEREWOLF, and MAGE. You start by developing a character concept and then explains choosing your attributes, skills, and merits. You choose a virtue and vice to define your character (from the 7 heavenly virtues and 7 deadly sins), calculate your health and willpower, and set your starting morality. For those who, like me, never played this system before, let me explain how these work. Your health has 3 levels: bashing (bruising damage), lethal (cutting and tearing damage), and aggravated (supernatural or really horrific damage). If you have more bashing than health points, it turns to lethal damage; too much lethal turns to agg. If all your bashing points are full, you pass out; full lethal is bleeding out, full agg is dead. The different wound levels are interesting to me. Willpower is also a fun idea - you can spend a point of willpower to add 3 dice to the pool that you roll (which is roughly 1 success). Willpower isn't easy to get back, but sometimes you really need to pass your check. There's a section on the ordinary mechanics; what you roll in what situation, how to contest someone else's actions, etc. The chapter on combat is well explained with good examples. And there's a good chapter on how to tell a dramatic story (as opposed to one that falls flat?). It outlines the components of a good story, the pacing, and sample antagonists. There is a good description of ghosts as antagonists. And at the end is one page on XP. Things I particularly like about WORLD OF DARKNESS: 1. Every player can use everything in the book. There is no big section on spells that is useless to fighter-types. In this sense, the book is very immersive because I don't compartmentalize as I read. 2. Every attribute and mechanic has an in-game example of how to use it and how you might interpret successes and failures. Much better than some systems that left me wondering how to actually roll the dice. 3. Willpower - for when you just ABSOLUTELY have to make your roll. Problems in WORLD OF DARKNESS 1. The morality mechanic needed more explaining. This is probably the least understood aspect of the book. I really can't reccommend WORLD OF DARKNESS highly enough, either as a game or as a standalone book. It is highly flexible, well-explained, and has a vivid atmosphere.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mature theme, and now also a mature system, October 25, 2004
Although most of the old players of the World of Darkness settings might argue that the system is overall unimpotant to the game, my group has always been interested in the game system and its relation with the roleplaying. And I must say, unfortunately, although we always loved the Vampire setting and overall mood of the World of Darkness as a whole, we always felt that the system was not very well thought in some aspects, specially combat and characters balance. Also, it was hard to do certain things in the game, as many times there wasn't enough explanation about important actions in most roleplaying games, like the use of vehicles, social interaction and so on. And thus, we migrated to Gurps (I know, not the best for roleplaying, but still more balanced in terms of system). Three editions of Vampire the Masquerade came out, and they all felt the same. Now, I find that the new World of Darkness brought, in this first book, a deep concern in game mechanics, as well as with mood and organization of the information available. I couldn't be more pleased. First off, of course, the changes on the system. Relevant and necessary changes were made, making the game more realistic and controlled. It finally makes some sense! You can add situation modifiers without making it impossible or too easy to perform any task. Combat is more realistic too -- now, if you're any good, you get to actually hit your foes, not only suck because they all got Dex 4 + Dodge 4. Still about the system, now, unlike the old editions, there IS a core rulebook with all basic system mechanics. Because so far, they always had to repeat themselves in all settings, with pages and pages of rules they should have concentrated in a single book to start with. This grants the system mechanics the space it actually demands, making it possible to suggest rules to, for example, chasing someone in a car, or seducing another character. The atmosphere of the game is still incredibly well shaped and introduced by some of the best horror/grungy/mistery tales ever written. It's not just more of the same fantasy work anyone could write (and don't get me wrong, I love the medieval fantasy setting). The stories told in this book can actually keep you reading and reading. So, we got here an effort to make a better system, a good one, though without complicating it -- after all, WoD players don't like to have to memorize hundreds of pointless tables -- and without losing the old breath-taking atmosphere. It's all the game needed all these years, in my opinion. On a side note, the artwork in this book is some of the best you'll ever see in any book. It's beautiful. I feel this kind of book needs decent art to show exactly how the setting feels, and they took the care here. Finally, I must say, this book is a must-have. You don't see this mix of atmosphere and game mechanics in most games. If you're a roleplaying gamer, and specially if you're an old WoD player, have a look on it, and try not to fall in love with it.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
World Of Darkness 2.0 -- Much Better Than You Might Think., May 29, 2006
When I heard that White Wolf Games was going to re-invent their classic "World of Darkness" game line after a little over a decade, I, like many others, was concerned that the new game lines and setting wouldn't measure up to the original "World of Darkness" and the classic games it produced, such as Vampire: the Masquerade, Mage: The Ascension and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. I was pleasantly surprised with the World of Darkness core rulebook, primarily because the "Gothic-Punk" setting which was the hallmark of World of Darkness 1.0 because it so deftly summed up the mood of the world as we ended one millennium and began another, has been replaced with a more natural, interesting (imo) and realistic setting, which is much closer in spirit and context to the "ordinary" world in which Stephen King spins his supernatural stories, and in the core rulebook, there are nods to Mr. King in a couple of chapters. Also, because there's no "metaplot" like there was with World Of Darkness 1.0, anyone who wishes to play the game can create stories which have their own unique flavor and style. With the focus on "everyday" horror, instead of a metaplot, the stories which can be told within the new World Of Darkness will be much more enjoyable. The rules (including the use of dice) are more streamlined and comprehensive, and makes it easier to play mortals who are introduced to this "other world" through various experiences with the supernatural which are detailed in two other WoD 2.0 books which I recommend -- GHOST STORIES and MYSTERIOUS PLACES. This streamlining of the rules, especially when it comes to the use of dice, makes the game much easier to play, and even manages to silence those annoying "rules lawyers" -- the people who have to quibble over every little rule in the game -- because the rules for combat, health and overall character development are clearly defined and simplified enough for anyone to follow. I agree that the "Morality" chapter needs a bit more work on it to make it a little clearer, especially when you apply it to a specific character and/or situation which the character may find himself or herself in, but overall ... I like the new "World of Darkness", and I recommend the core rule book highly.
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