In a world of vampires, werewolves, mages, and even stranger creatures, it can be hard to stand out. For White Wolf’s line of creature horror RPGs, it can be harder still to keep the formula fresh. The new World of Darkness series (later renamed Chronicles of Darkness) was built with uniformity in mind. Each creature type had 5 subtypes and 5 social groups that defined them. Therefore, even though some mechanics and flavor would change between, say, Vampire and Werewolf, much of the experience felt tired and formulaic. Enter Mummy: the Curse, one of the last of the creature RPGs to be released before the Chronicles shake up. Though it shares the same basic structure as the others in its line, Mummy wildly alters the game’s feel. Here I’ll discuss why it’s worth a look, even if that look is a brief one. 1) Inversion Of Power In most RPGs, characters raise their power levels through experience and fight to accomplish greater and greater tasks. In D&D, this means leveling up and going from protecting the town to saving the world. In World/Chronicles of Darkness, this means watching your creature gain dots in a powerful supernatural trait (Blood Potency for Vampires, Primal Urge for Werewolves). This gives them access to stronger supernatural abilities and allows them to eventually increase their attributes beyond normal mortal limitations. The creators of Mummy needed a different style, else their undead beasties would basically just be Vampire reskins. When the Mummy wakes, they begin play with the highest level of supernatural power available to them (called Sekhem). They still gain experience and can acquire new power or raise their skills, but their sheer capacity for supernatural influence begins at near divine levels. Over time, the Mummy loses its raw might, eventually returning to slumber once more until called again, This makes for a mighty opening to a campaign; players can take their Mummies to an ancient enemy’s stronghold within the first few sessions and accomplish the incredible with little planning. There must, then, be a balance to this power. This comes with Memory, the antithesis to the Mummy’s almighty Sekhem. 2) Limitations Of Memory In another major change, Mummies begin play with only 3 dots of their “morality” trait, less than half that of their creature counterparts. Memory not only serves as the morality rating of the Mummy, dictating what actions they can accomplish without compromising their human values, but also how much they recall about their previous awakenings and their origins. At 3 dots, they care little about inflicting harm on mortals, and can recall only vagaries about their previous existence. They know their name and their purpose, but little else. As the Sekhem wanes over time, Memory can increase. This replaces supernatural might with the personal history of the Mummy, uncovering the identities of past lovers, friends, and joys. The descent into madness and inhumanity that often accompanies World/Chronicle of Darkness games is here reversed, allowing for bursts of strength followed by a softening of one’s heart and one’s muscle. Will the Mummy break from their curse of unlife and find apotheosis amidst a world they scarcely recognize? Or will they ignore their relationships and connections in favor of accomplishing their duty, that they may again sleep? Suffice it to say this change has implications far beyond the mechanical. 3) Redesign Of Format It is possible to play Mummy: the Curse in the same fashion as other World/Chronicles games. Each player takes the role of a Mummy and works, mostly in concert, to secure vessels of power and combat supernatural foes. However, Mummy lends itself quite well to a distinct design. In our game, for instance, only one player controls a single Mummy. A second player is playing his timeless companion, a Sadikh. And all the other players are cultists, normal humans with little to no supernatural power. Because the Mummy is so powerful, it can be cumbersome to have a group of 4-6 of them running around, wrecking a city within hours of game start. With this new format, the Mummy must choose when to apply their power and when to use more subtle means. Cultists can make deals, get the Mummy on planes, and exploit important resources. This becomes even more meaningful when we take into account the fact that the Mummy cannot interact with most of humanity within the first few days of their reawakening. The cult acts as that important medium. And while they are fanatically loyal to the Mummy, they are still independent actors; their will is their own. It’s unwise to disobey the great master, but not impossible. If you play a lot of White Wolf or Onyx Path like I do, then you tend to know what to expect when you open one of their books. Mummy pleasantly surprises, and while the lack of a major power progression keeps it from being an effective years-long campaign, it certainly makes for a satisfying and interesting short one. David Horwitz is a gamer and freelance writer with an obsession for exploring new forms of leisure. If you’re looking for an inquisitive mind and a deft hand, or just want to chat about gaming, contact him at www.davidhorwitzwrites.com/contact. Picture Reference: http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/chroniclesofdarkness/mummythecurse/ ![]() You’d be hard pressed to find a tabletop RPG that veteran game designer Kenneth Hite hasn’t touched in the last few years. Like D&D 5e? His name is on the credits page of the Player’s Handbook. World of Darkness, he’s contributed to plenty, not to mention being brought on as the lead designer of Vampire the Masquerade 5th Edition. Cthulhu? In addition to contributing to Delta Green, Ken only wrote Trail of Cthulhu, widely considered one of the best versions of Call of Cthulhu on the market. Google his bibliography, the point is, he’s widely sought after because he’s good at what he does and he knows what he’s talking about. Vampires have become a fairly ubiquitous subject in tabletop RPGs. Even outside of the obvious culprits Vampire the Masquerade/Requiem, D&D 5e got a playable vampire race in Planeshift: Zendikar, (and before that Vampire was a class in Heroes of Shadow) and just about any game can feature a vampire as a villain. In another of his creations Night’s Black Agents, (a game of super spies versus vampire conspiracies, and yes it is as awesome as it sounds) regarding the possibility of vampire agents as player characters, Mr. Hite says rather definitively, “If it were up to me, nobody would ever get to play the good vampire again, in any medium.” If that’s the first time you’re reading that sentiment, I know what you’re thinking. It sounds like totalitarian drivel from someone who’s trying to tell me how to run my game. I felt the same way, but, given the pedigree involved, I decided to give it some thought. Do we humanize vampires too much? A vampire is a predator. A vampire is undead. A vampire doesn’t belong in nature. The question that needs to be asked is, how do these experiences shape the character? How do they affect the way the character thinks, acts and sees the world? 1) The Vampire Is Fundamentally Alone “When the last vampire is extinct, who will mourn our passing? Will she? Will anyone? Can anyone understand this pain, this loneliness?” - Meier Link, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust Do you have a “safety blanket?” Have you ever tried to turn to something familiar after a traumatic or life changing experience to try to regain some feeling of normalcy? Imagine a freshly turned vampire, who has not only faced their own death but come through the other side. What would they turn to for that sense of normalcy and comfort? Doesn’t matter, it’s all gone. All of it. A vampire is cut off from that which would bring them comfort in a way that we who will live and die as humans will never understand. Their relationship with anyone they could turn to is now forever one of predator and prey.Their loved ones are in danger any time they’re in each other’s company. Should they ignore that fact and selfishly seek them out anyway, they will always feel that pull, that urge to rip open their veins. Depending on the specific folklore, they may not be able enjoy their favorite foods any longer, or any others for that matter. Even if they can, it will never be as satisfying as it once was, never as satisfying as what flows through someone’s veins. Smaller things like a favorite movie or a sentimental gift can sometimes tend to lose their impact for a time following a sufficiently traumatic experience, but even if they don’t, it was made for a world the vampire no longer belongs in. From the moment they reawaken,the vampire has only themselves to lean on, except maybe, if they’re lucky, an even more inhuman monster monster that’s already completed their slide to Hell; the one that turned them. 2) Violation Is A Matter of Survival “Evil is a point of view, God kills indiscriminately… and so shall we.” - Lestat, Interview With The Vampire Consider, for a moment, all the institutions put in place to facilitate your survival. If you are hungry, there is very likely a store within a few blocks where you can go to purchase food. If you can’t afford to purchase food, we have programs in place like food stamps and WIC to help you afford it, or at the very least there’s a soup kitchen or a mission somewhere where you can get something to eat once in a while. We as a society have made absolutely no provisions for the survival of vampires (ignoring the fact that it would be absolutely ludicrous to do so). Ergo, a vampire has no legal means whatsoever of securing the sustenance they need to survive. It has to be taken. It has to be stolen. Even if a vampire decides to prey solely on animals, the animals have to come from somewhere. They might be able to live off pigeons and sewer rats for a time, but there’s a litany of studies out there to show what happens to a population when a new apex predator is introduced into an environment. It’s only a matter of time before little Timmy’s puppy goes missing. It’s only a matter of time before the neighborhood runs out of puppies. Let’s say our fledgling vampire was lucky enough to find a human friend that consents to letting them take blood from them. What happens if one day the vampire needs more blood than their donor is willing or able to give? What happens if the vampire desperately needs blood and their donor isn’t around? Just by drinking blood or killing animals, the vampire has most likely already made a compromise they never saw themselves making. As much as we’d like to think of ourselves as paragons of morality, the sheer fact of human nature is, once you start giving an inch, the next compromise is only just another inch. Eventually, just to continue “living” the vampire is going to have to break the law. To continue “living” the vampire is going to have to completely disregard the law. They give another inch, and they’re attacking people. They give another inch, and they’re killing people. 3) Eternity Fans The Flames “Gazing out across the plains of possibility, do you not feel, with all your soul, how we have become like gods? And a such, are we not indivisible? As long as a single one of us stands, we are legion. That is why, when I must sacrifice my children to the void, I can do so with a clear heart.” - Kain, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver You can only have never killed someone before once. You can only not be used to killing people for so long before it becomes just another Tuesday. At this point the fledgling has long ago discarded the rules and moralities of others as a matter of survival. They’ve seen human lives come and go, and they realize that they’ll most likely see the cycle continue for generations to come unless they’re destroyed. A vampire at this stage would have absolutely no respect for human life. It’s just a human, and we would reproduce like rabbits to their worldview. This is why so many elder vampires think nothing of killing indiscriminately, either a stranger or a servant. It’s just a human, and humans are a dime a dozen. Consider the casual disinterest of Rudolph Hoss, the Nazi commandant of Auschwitz who, when tried for his crimes expressed that his only regret was not spending more time with his family. He was 46 when he died. What would someone be like who’s had hundreds of years to become desensitized? Looking back So, do we humanize vampires too much? Honestly, when we create a “good guy vampire,” I think the problem is that we don’t humanize them enough. What if the real horror of the vampire is not that they’re inhuman, it’s that they might be too human. It may be as small as the guy who cuts you off in traffic, or the guy on the internet who feels comfortable displaying his cruelty behind anonymity. It could be as big as the drug pushers and human smugglers we see on the news. Either way, does humanity not constantly display how callous and self serving it can be? What if the nature of the vampire is simply what happens when mankind is forced outside of its societal obligations and tribe mentality, no longer forced to uphold a false veneer of empathy? Never forget, humans tell stories of monsters to reflect upon humanity. What does the vampire reflect about us? Chaz Lebel is a fiction author and member of Caffeinated Conquests, a YouTube channel dedicated to nerd comedy and tabletop gaming. He and his team once produced some promotional videos for High Level Games that they probably wish they could forget. Chaz can be found on Twitter @CafConIsOn Picture Reference: https://lefturn.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/vampire-art-wallpapers-by-artist-avelina-de-moray-vampires-9800318-1600-1200-jpg/ ![]() Fomori: not just a mythological people from Irish myth, the fomori in World of Darkness are human beings (and other creatures) that have been infested by Banes. For those of you who might not know, Banes are the spirits of the Wyrm. They are the corrupting, destructive, and corrosive spiritual servants of the ultimate nihilistic force of oblivion. They are also mainly a feature of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. That said, why keep them only as antagonists for those furry chainsaws? Here are four story hook ideas for you to use in your games. 1) Fomori Against The Kindred A group of Brujah move into a set of dilapidated buildings in the center of Gary, Indiana. They’ve decided this will be the site of their next Rant. As they are sifting through the building, they notice a group of ‘homeless’ people that have a makeshift camp in the center of the space. That’s the last anyone heard from these Kindred. The only hints to what occured are the puddle of worms in a heap in the burn barrel. As the coterie investigates they discover that other young Kindred are being killed throughout the city, with little puddles of worms being found near their ashes. This is likely a collection of vampires infected by Thirster Banes, called Bloodworms, but perhaps it is some other form of Fomor. The options are numerous. 2) Quintessence Spiral The cabal has had a hard time of it lately. They have been chased by a cadre of Men in Black for nearly a month, finally settling into a small hotel far away from anything on an old tourist route. The group initially feels a sense of peace here. They set-up wards that they hope will ensure the MiBs don’t find them. As the days pass, one of the cabal notices that the hotel manager is a tad… eccentric. One of the other members discovers a small font of tass hidden in an old shed. Wait, there is a node here? Wait, is that the…. Ahhhhhhh! Ahhhhhh!!! This version of the Bates Motel is run by an Enticer or some other form of Bane that creates an initial sense of peace and tranquility. Then it feeds on the impending terror of its victims. This is great for a LARP idea too. 3) Dreams; Dark, Dark Dreams “Is it a Thallain?” the Pooka asked. “No, Michelle, no it’s something stranger... worse, maybe,” the Troll responded. Together they shivered as the creature crawled along the heads of the sleeping people. It had their brains exposed, but they were still alive, and it buzzed with glamour, even as it dripped with blood. I’d argue that Changelings themselves can’t become fomori, as they already are beings possessing a body. Still, they may be forced to interact with the powerful and evil forces of the Wyrm as it seeks to corrupt the world. Where do the Dark Dreaming and Malfeas meet? This is a Dream Devourer, a being that feeds off the dreams of the dying. Worse, they can merge with a human body and become something akin to a Dauntain, using a mix of Wyrm tainted gnosis and glamour to wreck havoc. 4) The Devil’s In The Details What is a Demon? What is Fae? What is a Spirit? These beings all share similarities and differences and it is nearly impossible to discern one over another. A group of Demons think they are battling against one of the ancient Earthbound. Instead they face a talon of the defiler Wyrm itself. Locked on Earth for millennia the talon has grown its own awareness, building up an Army to fight, destroy, and scour the world. How do the Demons react? Do they care? Do they destroy it as if it were an Earthbound? The fomori offer demons a challenge that appears familiar, but is mechanically different from the norm. What other ideas do you have for using Fomori in your games? Josh is the intrepid Chief Operations Officer of High Level Games. With 20 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He runs, www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s running a Changing Breeds game. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. You can also find Josh’s other published adventures here and here. Picture Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomorians#/media/File:The_Fomorians,_Duncan_1912.jpg ![]() Editor’s Note: If you like what you read here and want to help support our efforts to create a strong, inclusive community of gamers, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Every dollar helps! For the month of April, High Level Games has decided to give a test for another themed month: The Creature Feature! This month is dedicated to monsters and minions of all kinds in this beloved hobby of ours. Though with a name like that, and 2018 being the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein being published, I felt there was an opportunity we’re missing. So with that said, I’ve decided to take this time to bring some attention to my favorite line in the World of Darkness; that game about our modern world, fraught with all manner of otherworldly creatures, some of which you get to play as! Let me tell you about Promethean: The Created! (Note: This article was written in regards to the 1st Edition of Promethean published by White Wolf in 2006. As a result, some details may be different than what is reflected by its 2nd Edition.) 1) The Premise Promethean is a game about humanity. It’s about what it means to be human and what it takes to create a human. It plays with the idea that there’s something more than just the physical makeup of our bodies that make us human, something more than just the psychological paradigms we possess and develop. It takes that assumption that there’s something else needed, and puts the player in the position of being something that certainly could be a human. Something that technically has the quantifiable parts (Water 35L, carbon 20kg, ammonia 4L…) but might not have been put together right. They’re not complete, and because of this, the whole of reality rejects them. People and animals are driven into a frenzy when they spend too much time around them, and even the very landscape withers at their presence. A promethean’s facsimile of life is one fraught with torment, but they’re one of the few creatures in the World of Darkness who can have a comparatively happy ending. 2) The Lineages Prometheans can be classified based on how they were created, known as their Lineage. These Lineages are inspired by various real world myths regarding irregular creations of human life, such as the Tammuz, Golems of Hebrew lore, or the Frankensteins, borrowing from Mary Shelley’s novel of the same name, as well as myths of rebirth such as the ancient Egyptian tale of Osiris. Being supernatural creatures, prometheans have some fantastic powers, some of which are determined by their lineage, such as a Frankenstein having immense physical strength, or how Golems never seem to grow tired. Lineage also determines the shape of the various trials and tribulations a promethean will inevitably face on their journey to become human. 3) The Horrors This wouldn’t be a World of Darkness game if there wasn’t some horrific downsides to the creature you were playing as. Prometheans arguably have it the worst; the bulk of their problems can be summed up as “they shouldn’t exist, and reality as a whole rejects them.” The first such effect is Wasteland. The very environment around a promethean begins to decay around them if they hang around too long, usually within a matter of days. The results differ depending on what the promethean’s lineage is, since each lineage is associated with one of the four classical elements (and spirit.) Tammuz are ruled by Earth, so as a result of their Wasteland effect, the land around them becomes blighted and unsuitable for vegetation. Plants wither and die, the ground itself becomes difficult to till, and buildings appear to be crumbling and ready to collapse at any moment. Compounding this is the phenomenon of Disquiet, which affects the minds of the communities that the promethean interacts with, spreading derangement like a disease. It always starts small, affecting only a few people they interact with at a time. To the chagrin of prometheans, the more time they spend around these few people, the more likely those people will spread that mental illness with each other. Much like Wasteland, the specific effects vary by lineage; Frankenstein’s will sow paranoia, pettiness, and desires for revenge among the populace they find themselves in. Once friendly neighbors become jealous of one another, constantly aiming to sabotage each other. Trust and cooperation become things of the past, at least until the mass revelation that everything was fine until THAT PERSON showed up. This revelation predictably ends with an unruly mob convinced that the Frankenstein is the cause of their civil unrest, armed with the proverbial pitchforks and torches. 4) The Refinements As all supernatural creatures in the world of Darkness are wont to do, ideologies form about the nature of their condition. For prometheans, whose end goal is to become human, such ideologies are part and parcel to their journey. These are known as Refinements, and they answer the question: “What is it that would make us human?” Each of the refinements has a different answer. Aurum, the Refinement of Gold, believes that the best way to become human would be to blend in with humanity and to attempt to copy them. Meanwhile, Curprum, the Refinement of Copper, asserts that the answer lies not within human society, but rather the seclusion of being a promethean. Since change is a recurring theme throughout Promethean: The Created, the core rulebook describes that many prometheans eventually find that there isn’t any one particular answer to what would make a promethean human. With that said, it isn’t uncommon for prometheans to change their refinement throughout their life. A promethean that encounters other supernatural creatures that were once human might adopt Argentum (Silver), a Refinement revolving around living with and studying supernatural creatures who were once human. Or a promethean that spends more time amongst their fellow created might adopt the philosophies of Aes (Bronze), which pertains to prometheans forming their own societies (but does not require having been in the Copper or Tin refinements first.). 5) The Subtext Horror is often described as being a medium with more meaning than what is initially presented, with even Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein having numerous interpretations, some which still ring true today. With this in mind, interpreting literature or other works of fiction is a very subjective matter, and one interpretation doesn’t necessarily invalidate another. What we have in Promethean is a bunch of people who certainly should be like anybody else, but something is off. Despite how swiftly prometheans learn, they never quite get what being a human is like; even if they can describe it in perfect detail, their execution is always just a little bit off. Additionally, when things go wrong they tend to overreact, and even if things don’t go wrong, a promethean inevitably winds up being rejected by the communities they find themselves in. Which is a shame, since the ultimate goal of a promethean is to be a part of and accepted by the human world. These are challenges that are similar to those faced by people on the autism spectrum; a place I find myself, complete with the same harrowing experiences. It’s rather upsetting to watch one of your peers be praised for something you were moments earlier just punished for. Or when fighting back against other demonstrably unfair treatments, being met with dismissive attitudes such as “it’s not that big of a deal” or “don’t be weird and this wouldn’t happen.” Even with just this basic understanding of Promethean, there’s still plenty for you to work with if you’re the sort that enjoys making your own monsters for horror games that your player characters can brave mowing down. Assuming you can ignore the allegory that these socially disruptive monsters are people with autism, that is. ...but if you can’t, is it really horror if it doesn’t make you uncomfortable? Aaron der Schaedel is on the autism spectrum, and this may or may not be related to why he refuses to use his real name on the internet. Or why he’s always changing his biography blurb. If you want to shame him for giving this article such a downer ending, you can find him on twitter @Zamubei. Picture Reference: http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/chroniclesofdarkness/prometheanthecreated/ ![]() Editor’s note: Enjoy reading articles about your favorite hobby and engaging with fellow gamers? We do too, but hosting and producing our site isn’t free. Please consider visiting our Patreon page and supporting us at any amount. We put every dollar back into the site and its production, and your help has allowed us to have certain paid article months for our contributors (such as this month). Thank you for your continued readership and your support! -David, Blog Manager Pentex is the everpresent servant of the Wyrm corporation in Werewolf: The Apocalypse. You might also find references to Pentex in other World of Darkness books, but on the whole the evil Wyrm Corp is designed as a nemesis for Werewolves. What follows are a few suggested ways to use Pentex in your games, particularly non-Werewolf chronicles. 1) Ventrue Bait Imagine you are a centuries old vampire who has made careful planning and sound investment your watchword from day one. You’ve amassed a fortune that is unparalleled, even as it is held in various shell corporations and by various minions. Now imagine there is a force working against the interest of your corporation. At first you assume it is another foolish Ventrue, or one of the Toreador muscling in on your action. Then you slowly uncover evidence that this hostile takeover is being performed by a subsidiary of Pentex. You start trying to seed your ghouls into the organization only to find them having ‘accidents’ soon after they take their new job. Pentex has been planning this operation for 100 years. They know this Ventrue has power over an entire conglomerate of economic authority. The trap is set. Will the Elder put his foot farther into the deep end, or will they leave their hard-earned wealth? This Elder is smart, of course, so they hire a coterie of Kindred to investigate this… King Breweries to see what sort of mischief they are about. 2) Take Your Medicine, Young Woman Being a Changeling is amazing. You’ve finally started to feel alive again. You are discovering what it means to be you, and after several rough years feeling like you at 18 feels like an accomplishment. Of course, all of the requirements at court make taking college seriously really hard. In fact, you’ve flunked your entire first semester. Now, thankfully the school is willing to give you another chance and they’ll even expunge the entire semester’s grades if you are able to get a B or higher in your second pass through. Oh, and the school nurse suggests you take some new medication from Magadon Pharmaceuticals to help your concentration. A month later, the motley comes looking for their young Pooka friend. But now she’s hardly herself. Her fae mein seems to have disappeared completely. Where she once felt like herself, now she feels like she has to try and be someone everyone else expects her to be. The only clue the motley has is the daily dose of MagLoft the Pooka takes. How did they do this to her? Why did they? Do they do this to all the Fae that come to this school? 3) Omnipresent and Helpful The hard-pressed cabal of Mages decides to take the night off. They pull into Ten Tickle Ales’ brewpub and have a few drinks. The next morning they take a handful of Magadon Migraine Mauler, and they roll off to face the Technocracy another day. On the way they pass a sign for O’Tolley’s. Man, their burgers aren’t the greatest but you sure get a craving for them whenever you see the ads. After they escape the clutches of another group of Men in Black with their Hit-Mark associate, they fuel up their car at the Endron station at the end of the block. That’s when someone in the cabal starts to think. Who owns all of this? Are these corporations owned by the Technocracy? If not, by who? Do they control part of the consensual narrative? If so, how and why? Why do I feel like I always need a drink when I’ve stopped at the Endron Mart for gas? Is that because I’m actually thirsty or because there is a subtle mind-control effect going on? Wait, did something just slither out of the gas line into my car? Pentex is Everywhere, Pentex is Good. 4) Profit Is Good The Avalon Toy Company makes a lot of great toys. The Red-Eye Air Rifle you got on your 12th birthday is still one of the things you love. You gave it to your son when he was 12, and now it’s your fetter. However, since coming to the other side of the shroud you’ve noticed something about the gun. It has a… sheen on it. The look in your son’s eyes changes when he holds it. It’s not joy, its something… sinister. You can feel something akin to the Tempest upon the whole thing. When you investigate Avalon-R-Us you notice most of the toys are the same. The factory is the same, and the factory on 5th and West Ave sits on the edge of a Nihil. Does Avalon have a connection to Oblivion? Does it want to kill children, adults, or does it want to corrupt the world? Should your son even have the air rifle? The one you love, the one that helps you stay connected to him? Can you convince your friends to help you investigate Avalon, and figure out what is going on? Or will they shrug their shoulders and focus on more pressing matters related to the Hierarchy? Hopefully you can get some mileage from these plot hooks. Pentex is one of my favorite elements of the World of Darkness. Josh is the intrepid Chief Operations Officer of High Level Games. With 20 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He runs, www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s currently running a Changing Breeds game and writing a lot. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. You can also find Josh’s published adventures here and here. Picture Reference: https://nerdarchy.com/world-of-darkness-enemies-garou-pentex/ ![]() I love the storyteller systems. I’ve loved them for many years and they are my go-to games. However, the element I dislike the most are combat mechanics. Over the years White Wolf, Onyx Path, and other variations on these companies have tried to establish effective methods of running combat. Chronicles of Darkness was a little better, but I think the dice pool system is inherently a little frustrating when it comes to combat. Dice rolls are usually pretty straightforward in WoD games, and they run smoothly in every situation outside of fighting. In combat, things slow down to a crawl, which is particularly problematic in games like Werewolf, where combat is an essential element of the storyline. Here are a few ways I’ve streamlined combat over the years to make it run a little smoother. None are perfect. 1) Initiative D&D and other fantasy RPG players are used to the idea that initiative goes from top to bottom. White Wolf games have introduced the idea of lowest to highest initiative in multiple games, but most people I’ve played with ignore this rule. So, let me give you two suggestions for the price of one for initiative. Give players a set score – Wits+Dex+Attribute is my suggestion. This attribute can be different for mental, social, or physical. For example, a player could have three scores written down, Wits+Dex+Awareness (mental), Wits+Dex+Dodge (physical), Wits+Dex+Etiquette (social). These three scores are static; the player gets one based on which action they first choose to do in combat. If they use a social power or action, then they get that initiative order for the whole encounter. Same for the physical one, and the mental one. This saves everyone from rolling and gives the social player an advantage in certain situations. Always run combat from lowest initiative to highest. Highest gets to react to everything else around them in the round. Have the entire group declare their actions, and then roll to see what happens. DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THIS. If you do, you actually throw a lot of the nuances of WoD combat out, and this actually slows down combat. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but getting into this groove will make things much smoother. 2) Soak And Damage Traditional combat requires a roll to hit, a roll to do damage, and then various rolls to either dodge or parry, and then a roll to soak the damage. This could mean a back and forth of 4-6 dice rolls, depending on different factors, splitting dice pools… it goes on and on. I recommend using a standard soak amount. There is a roll to hit, then standard set damage from an attack or weapon plus any additional successes from the to hit roll. (2d10 to hit, both successes 3 damage standard +2 for the successes = 5 damage) Then soak is a static amount, half of Stamina+Fortitude or other similar power. I usually will arbitrate how much a specific discipline or gift will add to this number based on the way the power is written. That player then auto-soaks that amount of damage. This makes things more straightforward, and reduces confusion over what to roll, when, and for what. 3) Splitting Dice Pools Usually, I just don’t. There is nothing wrong with splitting pools to have multiple actions, but it really does slow things down. Particularly if you have newer players or players that don’t have the best understanding of the mechanical systems work this out themselves. These are often amazing roleplayers and story folks, so I want to make things easy for them. I want them to engage in what they are good at in the game. I don’t want them to get frustrated with things that seemingly don’t make sense or are complicated for unclear reasons. So, I often eliminate the idea of splitting dice pools from the game. If a player wants to do something that would normally require this, I take it on a case by case basis. There are ways to storytell dodging and attacking in a thematic manner which I am comfortable with. I still allow the dice to play a part in the process, but I reduce the overall amount of rolls to focus on the important elements to the players and to the overall story. What ways do you streamline your game’s combat? I’m sure you aren’t all happy with the reasons behind why I do what I do. I’m also sure some of you have come up with a better work around that is even more streamlined and effective. I’m thrilled to hear feedback from either side. Josh is the intrepid Chief Operations Officer of High Level Games. With 19 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He runs, www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his other gaming projects. Josh is also the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s currently running a Changing Breeds game and CHARIOT digital LARP. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. You can also find Josh’s published adventures here and here. Picture Reference: https://www.polygon.com/2014/5/2/5674352/World-of-darkness-cancellation-CCP-Fanfest ![]() The World of Darkness books are filled with great NPC ideas. Sometimes though, you want just the shard of a concept to help build your own. Here is a list of concepts for you to flesh out. Some are serious, some are ridiculous. Run with what works for you. 1) Clinton Perry: Ragabash Red Talon Clinton was born in the National Zoo. He was freed by a pack of Bone Gnawers. His deed name is “Breaks All the Shit.” Clinton wants to travel far away from home. Something is calling to him. 2) Jung-Ho Park: Ventrue 13th Gen Madame Park was embraced during the Korean War by a Ventrue who had attached himself to the US military operation. Park is frustrated by her lack of blood power (generation). 3) Miles Morales: Ananasi Hatar Miles is from Queens. He ate his parents during his change and now struggles with a reduced emotional connection to that act of horror. He pretends to be a superhero to assuage his dwindling conscience. 4) Professor Jazz: Troll Prof. Jazz is a blues man by nature, and a jazz drummer because it pays the bills. He gets his glamour from watching people watching his videos on their phones. 5) Keshia Jackson: Salubri Antitribu Keshia was embraced less than a year ago, but she's made the most out of that time. She is encouraging the Salubri to drop the anti label and declare themselves the 3rd Sabbat pillar Clan. Both the clan, and the Panders are listening. 6) Mary Tandy Moore: Unknown Mary finds themself caught dealing with drug dealers and college professors fighting over a plot of land which holds value to each side. They want nothing to do with it, but they can't stop being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are looking for help from multiple sources. 7) Joaquin Scheder: Sidhe Joaquin is way out of his element. He doesn't understand why he can see the world the way it is. A dragon is stalking him, and he doesn't know if it is friend or foe. 8) Casper: Haunter Casper was killed as a child. He really wants to play with the other children, but they run when he shows up. He is particularly fond of Little Mike. 9) Lupus: Black Fury Gangrel Abomination She doesn't remember who or what she is. She knows she needs blood, and she cries when she sees the moon. A pack of Sabbat and a pack of Werewolves are stalking her. 10) Charles Maddox: Arcanum Scholar: Maddox is a strange character. He's been a member of the Arcanum for 10 years, and he claims he's onto a major breakthrough related to the Disparate Alliance. Whatever that is… So there you are 10 basic character sketches that can get you started. What would you like to add? With 18 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He recently launched,www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s a player in Underground Theatre LARPs and is running a Mage game and a D&D 5th Edition campaign. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. Image Source: John van Fleet ![]() A few months back, I reviewed Vampire: The Masquerade 1st Edition for my website, Keep on the Heathlands. One of the most fascinating elements of this original edition of VtM, at least to me, was the concept of The Rebirth. What was this? Why did it exist and moreover, why was it removed in Revised and Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition? Will we see it again in 5th edition when it is released from White Wolf’s crypt? In 1st Edition and 2nd Edition Vampire, The Rebirth was this idea that it was possible to somehow escape the Curse of Caine. Or more succinctly, to become human again. Such an idea is anathema to almost everything I thought I knew about White Wolf’s flagship game, and I’ve never heard of any group using the plotline in their games. The idea of becoming human once more was the bailiwick of high level rare disciplines of the most rare of bloodlines. That being said, I think The Rebirth deserves a place at the Blood Feast. 1) The Rebirth is Human Vampire: The Masquerade is a game about humanity. I don’t mean Humanity, the statistic on your character sheet. I mean people. VtM and vampires in the World of Darkness need humans. They must live among them to feed and survive. Imagine being a person living among pigs. Now, imagine being the type of person who randomly kills, eats, and or tortures pigs when the mood strikes you. You don’t hide it, you do it in front of the other pigs. You think those pigs are going to like you, or trust you? Not likely. Now imagine being a Vampire, you used to be like the humans around you. You are told that being humane is the most important thing, that doing so prevents you from becoming a beast. Yet, you must feed. You hunger. Without the blood of your fellow man you will die; even animal blood only sustains weakly, and not at all for elder Vampires. The Rebirth is a way for you to rejoin those you feed upon. The Rebirth is a hope, ever so infinitesimal, that you can cease being a monster. 2) The Rebirth is Horrific Sit down for this. Or not; whatever, I’m not your father. The Rebirth is personal horror at its best. I’m your Storyteller, you are playing in a small group of recently embraced Kindred. I offer you a story tidbit: you can become human again. You just have to kill your Sire. I don’t tell you how. I drop this information in a small fragment of the Book of Nod. An elder confirms, “Yes, in the old country I heard of such a thing happening. Surely you don’t want that, as such a thing steals from you all the benefits of immortality.” Now you plot, you plan, you create an entire masterpiece detailing how you are going to kill your Sire and be Reborn! Oh, did I forget to mention how you had to do it? Did I forget to mention that you need to do it within a month after being embraced? Did I forget… oh sorry… you failed your Willpower roll. You think diablerized your Sire seems like a fantastic way to ENSURE they are dead. The sun begins to set on your hope to be Reborn. 3) The Rebirth is Hope I know, I know, the WoD is darkness on darkness with no hope or light. I think that is reductive. The darkness is only terrifying when there is light for you to retreat to. Despair is only poignant when hope still exists. Those that lose hope don’t care about Rebirth. They care about Blood, and they care about their unlife continuing for another year, or decade, or 1000 years. To have the hope Rebirth is to have the hope that one can escape the Beast, escape the hunger for blood and feel again. The emotions of humanity are stripped away from a newly embraced Vampire. Love, friendship, and empathy are things that are only memories for the Kindred. The Rebirth offers a small potential to return to true emotions once more. That is hope; that hope is something that should be cherished and cared for. Only then should it be dashed and destroyed on the altar of the Cathedral of Flesh. Use the Rebirth in your games. It is an underused idea in Vampire and it offers all kinds of wonderful plot hooks. Let us Rebirth this torpid story idea and bring it into the new era. What harm can it do? With 18 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He launched,www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s a player in Underground Theatre LARPs and is running a Mage game and a D&D 5th Edition campaign. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. ![]() The concept of Autochthonia in the World of Darkness was first introduced for Iteration-X. Void Engineers discovered a machine planet on the opposite side of Earth’s orbit of the Sun. The Computer, an Artificial Intelligence that is guiding Iteration-X, is based there and a powerful element within the Convention wants to live in communion with The Computer and Autochthonia. The story goes: The Computer is a spirit inhabiting the physical computer, and since It-X has no capacity for Dimensional Science, they fail to realize this. I think this is an interesting story hook, and it's one I’ve always wanted to use in a Technocracy game. Iteration-X and the Void Engineers are my two favorite Conventions, hands down. A side note, this concept of an Alternative Earth on the other side of the Sun comes to us from the Greek philosopher Philolaus who hypothesized the presence of an Antichthon (Counter-Earth) which has been used in various works of speculative fiction over the years. It’s a pretty simple, yet engaging concept. In Exalted, Autochthon and Gaia side with the Gods during the Primordial War. Autochthon is the being that created Exaltation. He ultimately leaves Creation and takes hundreds of thousands of human beings with him, to help control the processes of his body. The Alchemical Exalted and the Autochthonians are forced to return to Creation because their Godworld is dying. I bring this up because it creates a ton of cool ways to make Autochthonia in Mage even more interesting than it already is. 1) Alchemical Ascension: In a previous article, I talked about the possibility of using Sidereal Exalted as the source of Avatars in Mage. Their control over Fate is similar in many ways to Mage. However, what if Avatars are instead a creation of Autochthon? For this plotline, the Age of Exalted ends with the Death of Autochthon. His Alchemical Exalted escape to Creation, attempt to save him, but they fail. Moments before his death, Autochthon briefly reawakens and puts into place his last protocol. He creates a method by which he could be reborn. He recalls and absorbs all his Exalted, then splinters himself into a seemingly infinite amount of soul shard/Avatars. He plans for these Avatars to survive the dark times approaching and to work toward the inevitable rise of science, reason, and technology to restore him to life. Control is the combined Avatars of 10 powerful Aspects of Autochthon himself, who are close to enacting their plan: the death of Gaia and the rebirth of Autochthon on Earth. 2) The Computer Is the Wraith of Autochthon: Imagine, if you will, that the Malfeans are the lasting essences of the dead Primordials. This is one of the plotlines from Exalted, and it fits perfectly with Wraith: The Oblivion’s unanswered questions on who or what these beings are. Now, one of the plotlines in Exalted: The Autochthonians is, if Autochthon dies, does he join the ranks of his fellows whom he plotted against and killed, or do they trap him in some form of eternal torment? This plotline requires that Autochthon has some method of keeping himself separate from the other Malfeans, after his death. He retains control over his Spectre, perhaps, and has been plotting a way to escape the Underworld and possess his body. The Mage books posit the idea that The Computer is not a true AI, but instead is a Spirit. Instead of an Umbral spirit, what if it is possessed by Autochthon’s Wraith? He would be a planet sized, mechanical Risen. What does this mean for Iteration-X? Maybe nothing bad, but… what if Autochthon didn’t have as much control over his Spectre as he thought? 3) Autochthon Never Died: The Alchemical Exalted succeed. They find a way to bring more souls into the world of their Machine God, and they save him. He continues to slumber, but he does not die. Thousands and thousands of years pass, and the Machine God begins to transform from a contained flat world into a sphere orbiting an external Sun. Internally, the Humans and Alchemical Exalted within Autochthon notice no changes. Until the Machine God, once more, begins to run out of resources and therefore starts dying from a form of starvation. Unlike eons before, Autochthon has moved far from Creation/Gaia/Earth in the Void and the method previously used to invade Creation is impossible. Brave Autochthonians find a way to send an emissary to Earth, an early Craftmason or some form of Artificer perhaps? Over thousands of years, these Autochthonians infiltrate society and lead humanity to finally find the body of Autochthon in the Void. The leader of the Void Engineers, Tychoides, is himself an Alchemical Exalted, who has been working to return home. Yet, he is tainted and not allowed to return. These are just a few story hooks I thought might make sense. I’m sure you might have others, or think my ideas are terrible. Tell me what you think and if you think you’d use these. With 17 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He recently launched,www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s a player in Underground Theatre’s and One World By Nights Vampire LARPs and is running both a Mage game and a Dark Ages: Vampire game. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a recent graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. ![]() When Exalted was first released, it was outright designed to be a precursor universe to the Classic World of Darkness. On the back of the 1st edition books you can see the slogan, “Before there was a World of Darkness, there was something else.” Now, as Exalted moved into its 2nd and now 3rd editions it slowly edged away from being an obvious background to the WoD, but that doesn’t mean we can’t latch onto that idea to help create plot hooks and meta-plot for WoD games that tie into that pre-history. What follows are a few ideas you can steal from me. Really, I grant you permission! 1) Lunars Survive: In Exalted, Lunars are the stand-in for Garou and other Fera in the World of Darkness. Lunars can shift into various animal forms (if they’ve devoured the heart’s blood of that animal or person), and they are the progenitors of beastmen, who can only shift into one animal form. Now, the Garou myth is that Gaia made them and Luna blessed them, and that they are servants of the Wyld in the fight against the Wyrm and the Weaver. In Exalted, the Lunars hid in the dangerous Wyld, but they are the Exalted of Luna who are supposed to protect Creation. They also can live for millennia. So, here is what I suggest. Create a single Lunar who survives whatever destroys Creation and brings about the World of Darkness. This Lunar is one of the progenitors of the Garou, or perhaps the Ratkin. Have a pack discover them on a quest deep into the Amazon, or into Antarctica. They are dying, after millennia lived, and they pass on some small wisdom to the pack. “They Wyld is more dangerous than anything else. You think you serve it? No… children, you were designed to serve the Weaver.” 2) Sidereal Avatars: Now, the Sidereal Exalted are not exactly Mages as we know them in the World of Darkness. Probably the closest beings by the book are Lunars/Werecreatures and the Fair Folk/Changelings. That being said, the Sidereal have the ability to manipulate the Loom of Fate, they manage the Celestial Bureaucracy and they have access to Exalted Sorcery. As beings of the 5 Sisters, the close planets to Earth, they act as controlling agents to Creation. In the Cataclysm that destroys Creation, the Sidereal are broken alongside the Loom of Fate. Each Sidereal Exalted’s soul is shattered into pieces and cast into the universe. These shards occasionally fuse themselves with human beings in the new world. Those humans then gain a small portion of the ability to manipulate, shape, and alter the World. Heylel was the first full reborn Sidereal, but when they remembered their past lives, and saw what Creation had become, they set out to destroy this mockery. In the 21st century, more and more Mages are being born almost whole, and soon… more fully reborn Sidereals will awaken. 3) Arcadia Doesn’t Exist: In Exalted, the Fair Folk or Rakshas live within the Wyld, and they hate everything that is Creation. They are ruled by unformed beings, barely capable of being conceptualized by human thought. Yet, some of the Fair Folk are enamored with the idea of Form and the benefit it can bestow upon them. Eventually, these Raksha are cut off from the Wyld and become the Fae, and eventually Changelings. However, they are sad reflections of the beings they once were. These memories of Arcadia, a land of Fae power, are myth. A motley is sent on a quest into the Deep Dreaming because there is a rumor of a great Chimera wreaking havoc, slowing making its way toward Earth. When the motley arrives, the being stops, inspects them, and laughs. He smells a small amount of true Wyld essence upon them, and offers them a choice. “Join with me, or die, so says… Arcadia.” There are probably thousands of plots you could pull out of Exalted to work into your World of Darkness games; these are three small suggestions and you can do with them what you will. Please comment with your own Exalted into WoD plotlines, because I’d love to hear them. With 17 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He recently launched,www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s a player in Underground Theatre’s and One World By Nights Vampire LARPs and is running both a Mage game and a Dark Ages: Vampire game. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a recent graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. ![]() During the last Leveling Up Podcast I talked about some of the surveys I use for my games. I send these surveys to my players using Survey Monkey. Now, I play with all of my players in person, and you might wonder why I use surveys instead of just asking them in person. I do this for two reasons. The first is that I like to give my players a chance to think about answers to some questions. Asking at the table may get a quick response, but it might not be a very considered response and that may not be how they actually feel about something in the long-run. The second is my issue, I don’t always remember the details of my player’s sheets or elements of their character. I remember bits and pieces, but sometimes they have things that I forget about that are drastically important, but don’t come up in play frequently. I use these surveys to check-in with my players too. If a session was rough, deep, or really awesome I want to hear about it. The table feedback is great, but using these tools helps me to be holistic. A player might think of something awesome to include in the game while they are sitting at work and want to pop that information into the survey. What follows are two survey examples I’ve used recently. Vampire Survey Q1: Where is your character from? Q2: How does your character dress? Q3: What goals does your character have that you would like me to take into account? Q4: Are there aspects of Vampire that you would like to have addressed in our game? (example, descent into the Beast, feeding on other Vampires, Golconda) Q5: How much combat do you want? Q6: Is there anything you absolutely do not want to deal with in game? Mage Survey Q1: Character Name Q2: Where was your character born? Q3: What Flaws do they have? Q4: What are some of your character's goals? Q5: What goals do you have as a player? Q6: The World of Darkness can be dark, are there any elements you'd like to avoid in our game? Q7: What is your highest level skill and why? These surveys act as a second and third order way of communicating with my players. I want to run the games they want to play. I also want to run games that I find interesting. So these surveys act as another layer of making sure we are both having our interests met by the game. I also do regular conversation check-ins with my people, but those have their limits in social environments if people were to become uncomfortable with answering any of the various questions I have for them. That’s not common, but it has happened before and this is another way of avoiding those situations for the social conflict averse person. You can also check-out a much more in-depth survey here, which I found to be a great resource. With 17 years of playing rpgs, Josh started with Mind's Eye Theater LARPs and loves the World of Darkness. He recently launched,www.keepontheheathlands.com to support his gaming projects. Josh is the administrator of the Inclusive Gaming Network on Facebook. He’s a player in Underground Theatre’s and One World By Nights Vampire LARPs and is running both a Mage game and a Dark Ages: Vampire game. He’s a serious advocate for inclusive gaming spaces, a father, and a recent graduate from the International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate program at American University in Washington, D.C. ![]() Welcome back to the Ravenloft Corner! Veteran gamers are familiar with the horrible dread that accompanies every sudden fog, knowing it could whisk them away from their comfortable campaign setting and into the nightmare that is Ravenloft. This is far from an isolated event, of course: most of the iconic NPCs of the setting are drawn from one or more existing campaign worlds, including Darklords such as Soth, Harkon Lukas, and Hazlik. Faerun, Greyhawk, al-Qadim, Dragonlance, Birthright: all these realms and more have been harvested for human occupants to bring to the Demiplane of Dread. However, the Mists are not limited to D&D settings--they can reach anywhere. This makes Ravenloft the ideal realm for crossover stories. The sinister possibilities are endless. Jedi, gunslingers, or mad scientists: the sky's the limit if you really want to bring elements from one game setting into your Ravenloft campaign. Alternately, instead of bringing another game into Ravenloft, you can introduce Ravenloft to another setting. Back in the day, being snatched away to the Demiplane of Dread for a single adventure was a common enough occurrence that it even had a name: Weekend in Hell adventures. For many other tabletop RPGs, this type of adventure can be just the thing to break up a stale routine. To get you started, here are a few of my favorite possibilities for locations that you could bring an NPC or two from without breaking the setting egregiously. 1 -Star Wars While lightsabers and blasters would be horrendously out of place, a single force-user would not be. Imagine the horror for a Jedi who escaped Order 66 only to find himself consumed by a bizarre stellar phenomenon which spat him out in Ravenloft. Now alone, in a world without the technology to which he is accustomed, he must battle against strange and arcane threats, with the inescapable feeling that this entire realm throbs with the pulse of the Dark Side. He can always sense malignant beings pulling the strings behind seemingly mundane misfortunes, but can never quite pin down their presence. Of course, the Dark Side would be much easier to tap into in Ravenloft, presenting him with an eternal temptation of vast power in exchange for his allegiance. 2- Doctor Who Although all the Time Lords in our universe are gone (save for a couple), there were many at one point. As a race with a penchant for getting themselves stuck in pocket dimensions or alternate universes, it's not inconceivable one of them could have made it to Ravenloft. (It seems quite likely that at least one of House's victims might have had the wherewithal to fashion some means to escape House's pocket dimension, albeit to the even-less-inviting environment of the Mists.) Stuck with only the technology of the era, such a being might embody the nobler instincts of their kind, traveling the domains and righting wrongs. Of course, they might also fall prey to the obsession and hubris that frequently grips their race, drifting towards Mordent and the possibility of finding a way home amid the 'new science' of Dr. Mordenheim. 3- World of Darkness Even without the Mists capturing someone against their will, the World of Darkness has plenty of ways for an unwitting character to find their way to Ravenloft. The Deep Umbra, the Far Realms, and arcane accidents of any variety could land a character in the setting. Characters from Vampire: The Dark Ages or Werewolf: The Wild West wouldn't even find themselves horribly out of place. Many tradition mages or changelings would be right at home as well. A pack of werewolves would have the fight of their lives in Verbrek, where virtually every inhabitant is fighting on the same level as they are. On the other hand, how much more dangerous would Strahd be while served by a small clan of Revenants, their own innate disciplines augmented by his potent blood? 4- Deadlands Another setting with many gateways to alternate settings (crossovers with Call of Cthulu and Werewolf aren't just possible, they're canon adventures), posses from the Weird West could easily find their way to Ravenloft. Perhaps they even discover some dark connection between the Dark Powers and the Reckoners? Although their technology might be a bit out of place in, say, Darkon, the firearms of the period aren't so odd as to be fantastical to those of the western core. To fit with the diabolical nature of the realm, of course, 'black' magic such as hexes, mad science, and the undead abilities of the Harrowed should be more potent than normal, with the concurrent penalty of attention from the Dark Powers. Maybe it's even more likely to come back as Harrowed, if not so easy to maintain Dominion... 5- Harry Potter Let's face it, magical accidents are obscenely common in the world of Harry Potter. Fortunately, magical denizens of that realm will find Ravenloft to be no huge adjustment. The need to hide themselves from non-magical beings will already be second nature, but the existence of the supernatural will be as well. In many ways, these witches or wizards might have an easier time blending in than outlanders from standard D&D settings do! 6- Warhammer 40k While this one might seem unusual for such a high-sci-fi setting, it's actually fairly easy. Remember that the many worlds in the Imperium have a huge technological spectrum, broader even than that in Ravenloft. Characters from low-tech worlds (Inquisitorial retinues or Imperial Guard conscripts) make the easiest possibilities, since they are already ready to accept magic as fact, and are perfectly willing to accept having been pulled through a warp storm into a demon world with belief (although maybe not much happiness). The immensely powerful psychics of the Eldar race might send a single advance scout through a forgotten Webway gate, hoping to find a new location to colonize. Of course, such a scout could never report back and would be stranded in this strange new world. Perhaps most frightening is the notion of a transpossession victim manifesting not the aura of a succubus or the spikes of an osyluth, but the weeping sores of a plaguebearer or the mind-numbing allure of a keeper of secrets. 7- Mayhem The world of the Mayhem game system bears much in common with Ravenloft and other D&D settings: there is a general medieval feel, the presence of magical beings, and a general lack of advanced technology. The Crimson Realms, as they are known, are far more open about their strangeness than other settings and Outlanders from that world would face several challenges. The bestial races would have to conceal their true nature, or be mistaken for escapees from the clutches of Frantisek Markov. The demonic and celestial races would be pursued diligently by hunters familiar with transpossession, or by Darklords, respectively. Even the fae or elemental races would find persecution in places like Darkon or Tepest. In Closing That's far from an exhaustive list, of course. Crossover potential is ripe in some of the best known franchises of nerd culture, such as Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, the Dark Tower series, or Middle Earth, as well as some more obscure ones that your PCs might not be familiar with, such as John Peel's Diadem series or the worlds of Robin Hobb. Whether you draw PCs or NPCs from such realms, crossovers remain an integral part of the Ravenloft formula, and the Weekend in Hell will remain a constant threat to PCs in any and every other game. Hopefully, Frankie Drakeson will be back from his sabbatical next month, but until then, safe travels. Jim Stearns is a deranged hermit from the swamps of Southern Illinois. In addition to writing for the Black Library, he puts pen to paper for High Level Games and Keep on the Heathlands. His mad scribblings can frequently be found in Quoth the Raven, as well as anthologies like Fitting In or Selfies from the End of the World, by Mad Scientist Journal. Follow him on Twitter @jcstearnswriter. |
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