The World of Darkness is an urban-fantasy/horror game setting created by White Wolf Publishing, best known for its flagship game, Vampire: the Masquerade.
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What alternative models exist for Vampire populations in WoD?
The official WoD sources say that a vampire requires between 50,000 and 100,000 people to support them, giving an upper limit of about 50,000 vampires in the entire world. I've always found this ...
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What are the major changes made to Vampire: The Masquerade for its 20th Anniversary edition?
In October 2011, the 20th Anniversary edition of Vampire: The Masquerade was released to the general public. Although the majority of the work is derived from the game's second edition (1992) and its ...
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Can a vampire survive sunlight exposure?
In Vampire: The Masquerade is there a reliable way for a vampire to avoid being damaged / killed by exposure to sunlight? Anything would go, be it a Discipline power, a technology device or anything ...
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Does killing an enemy in combat count against morality in World of Darkness?
Page 91 of the World of Darkness rulebook:
Morality 4: Impassioned crime (manslaughter). (Roll three dice.)
Does this mean that if the party gets in a fight with someone and end up killing the ...
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How can I have a mixed game of nWoD without having a thematic mess?
I'm planning on starting a full-on mixed nWoD game, but I don't know how to avoid having it feel like a fantasy kitchen sink, since that can easily destroy the feel of a game. What are scenarios or ...
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How to houserule merits?
Merits as a system does not seem to be well balanced. Some merits (such as resources 1) seem like they should be mandatory (or a flaw to not have them). Other merits such as housing ones (haven, ...
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What are the main factors to consider when a PC gains a major airport in V:tM?
Depending on the type of Vampire: the Masquerade campaign, PC's may experience unusual growth in resources. This should generally come with a (potentially complicated) system of pros and cons as well ...
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Do I have an intuitive knowledge of Auras?
In both OWoD and NWoD there are supernatural powers which allow you to see peoples' 'auras', represented as patterns of 'colour'. Is the knowledge of what each colour means innate, or is it something ...
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How can/should I convince my players to use magic other than Rotes?
The last time I ran a game with Mages in it, they were obsessed with only using rotes, leafing through the book to see how they could combine their magic to cast Rotes. They never once even considered ...
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What effects could combine the spheres of Mind and Forces?
So, I'm having difficulty with an Order of Hermes character that likes using Mind magick. My specialty sphere is Forces, and I'm having a tough time combining the two to create magical effects. (My ...
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In-game reason for no multiple supernatural templates in nWoD
Is there an in-game reason for the exclusivity of supernatural templates in the new World of Darkness? (Why can't a werewolf or a vampire awaken and be a mage as well, for example?) If there is, where ...
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Causes of “impossible” things in the World of Darkness universe?
In Mage: the Awakening, casting obviously vulgar magic that can't be explained mundanely causes paradox. This sort of damages the universe and can cascade into more impossible things happening, like ...
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Could Virtues and Vices break my WoD game?
I'm currently running a short World of Darkness mortals campaign using only the core systems rulebook. I soon house-ruled that we weren't going to have Virtues and Vices for our campaign because they ...
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Preventing Post-cognition from becoming Post-Omniscience?
I had a nWoD Mage game a while back with a time mage who had selected Postcognition as a rote. In the book, the spell is a covert, and so provides no paradox. The mages quickly discovered that as long ...
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Depictions of 19th c Vienna for a chronicle
I would like to create a Vampire: the Requiem chronicle set in 19th century Vienna. Are there any good films or books depicting Vienna in this period that I could use to create appropriate scenery and ...
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Repercussions of breaking a Tremere Blood Contract while being dominated or otherwise made to talk/act against the terms
One of the characters in a campaign of mine has a signed a Blood Contract keeping him from talking about where he got a magic item or about any of the details surrounding it.
The V20 Core book states ...
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Using NWoD as general game system
I am planning on using the standard new World of Darkness corebook as a baseline for running a Middle Earth game. Nobody in my game group is happy with MERP or the newer Decipher system.
What do ...
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CoC's Sanity-like rules for the nWoD?
Is there a good adaptation of Call of Cthulhu's Sanity rules to the Storytelling system of the new World of Darkness (possibly replacing Morality)?
(Edited the title to make it more precise.)
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How do you leave the Hedge?
How do you get out of the Hedge?
To quote the core rule book:
To escape the Hedge, a changeling either
needs to find an active (not necessarily open) gateway, or
find a suitable door, ...
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How much information exists about the former Prince of Chicago?
Maxwell Clark is the current Prince of Chicago after the previous Prince mysteriously vanished from the city. The former matron of Chicago is mentioned in the nWoD book, but nothing really about her ...
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Do specters gain angst using arcanoi?
The Wraith: the Oblivion supplement Dark Reflection: Spectres tells you how to play with spectres (evil wraiths). Spectres can use dark arcanoi and regular arcanoi. I understand that they fuel their ...
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How can I deal with a “goof-ball” player in my WoD group?
I am a storyteller in a World of Darkness group, and I'm about to start designing a new scenario. However one of my players (let's call him Eric) is worrying me. Eric usually goes the goofball route ...
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Is destroying another vampire worthy of a Humanity roll in Vampire: the Masquerade?
What I mean is, in the Hierarchy of Sins against Humanity there are entries for "manslaughter", for "murder". However, one might argue that the Kindred are already dead. So, would you argue that ...
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Should Merits be given as rewards when the accomplishments match?
As a storyteller, are merits acquired only through experience after character creation, or do you reward your players with them for accomplishing their goals? Suppose a situation like the following ...
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Creating a group plot arc in Changeling: The Lost
I'm very enamored of White Wolf's Changeling: The Lost for a wide variety of reasons. First and foremost, I love the dramatic character hooks the setting provides - just coming up with variations on ...
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What's the exact sequence of events for an Embrace in Vampire: the Requiem?
I've been digging around in the Requiem book and so far it looks like there's no single entry explaining how the Embrace works. The bit about draining and feeding vitae is in one part of the book, the ...
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Mage population density in Mage: The Awakening
What's the official stance on mage population density in Mage: The Awakening?
Also, what are the best unofficial alternatives (and where can we read about them)?
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Discipline for a bloodline using tattoos
I would like to create a Gangrel bloodline for Vampire: the Requiem, that would embrace using tattoos. I have created a weakness, which was and now I would like to create a separate discipline. I am ...
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Which Mage: The Awakening sourcebook (if any) has info on mages' daily, non-adventuring lives?
I've always wondered what mages in Mage: The Awakening do when they are not "adventuring". What's Jane/John Mage Doe's typical day like? Does an average mage have a day job (to earn money to stay ...
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Afterlife according to the paradigm of the new World of Darkness?
Which books of the new World of Darkness rpg have info on what happens to (the soul of) a person after/upon their death? (Please provide page numbers or at least chapter titles, if possible... or a ...
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How does nWoD's Secret History chapter relate to the other core books?
Chapter 1: The Secret History (Unrecorded History: Voice of the Angel) of the new World of Darkness core book tells a story about a god-machine, angels, ancients, their children and whatnot.
How ...
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NWOD : stats for animals and edge-cases for transformations in Changeling
Well, I tried playing with the title to make it as suggestive as "The Beast-buffing", but since this question may have a wider scope let's keep it straight.
As I was saying in the other question, I ...
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Which Mage: The Awakening sourcebooks are essential?
Which Mage: The Awakening (and perhaps nWoD) sourcebooks do you consider essential for running a Mage campaign (besides the core rulebook, of course), and why?
Edit: Please refrain from recommending ...
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How can Blood Potency 0 creatures heal Aggravated Damage?
In Night Horrors: The Wicked Dead, there is the description of Blood Potency 0 effects. Quoting one of the items on page 11:
Creatures with Blood Potency 0 can spend 1 vitae per turn, and can ...
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A fantasy system with similar dicerolling and levels of success as World of Darkness
The group I play with and I really like the fantasy setting of D&D 3.5. However, we find the rules a bit cumbersome, particularly in complex battles.
We would still want the system to include ...
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Human ignorance kept up in the nWoD
Is there an official sourcebook for the new World of Darkness (not any of the core rulebooks) that elaborates on how humanity remains / is kept ignorant of all the supernatural phenomena that ...
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Does telekinesis do Bashing or Lethal?
I'm trying to figure out what type of damage a direct physical assault with telekinesis would result in. (From NWoD)
From pg. 212 of World of Darkness:
Alternately, the ghost can make a direct ...
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Metaplot of Vampire: The Masquerade V20
The 20th Anniversary edition of Vampire: The Masquerade is, with respect to the rules, almost the same as the (revised) second edition of the game (see the answer here: What are the major changes made ...
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Does a Portal's mana cost cover the sympathetic nature, or is that another +1 mana?
The spell description for Portal (Space***; M:Aw p 238) gives a casting cost of one mana. It also mentions how the number of successes required is based on the caster's sympathetic connection to the ...
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Is a stake in the heart really this difficult?
From the rules errata:
To stake an opponent, an attacker must target the heart. Wielded in
hand, a stake calls for a Strength + Weaponry roll. Fired from some
kind of projection device or ...
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How to learn World of Darkness canon if I'm not using the rules system?
I want to learn history of World of Darkness. I don't need the mechanical part of the gameplay, just the story part. I want to know all about of each setting(for now and for dark ages). Which books ...
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PC characteristics overruling player intent
This question could be generalized (and thus it would probably reach more people) but is easier to consider in a given system, so I'll stick with nWoD's Storytelling.
Is there a good official or ...
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What's Dread Gaze range in Vampire?
Last session in a Dark Ages game I wanted to scare a hunter with my dread gaze (Presence level 2). But the Storyteller told me that I wasn't close enough. We were in a quite big room, but he told me ...
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What does it mean to “harm someone with magic” in nWoD Mage?
In New World of Darkness Mage, the Hierarchy of Sins is less than clear about some cases. Specifically, it is a Wisdom 4 sin to "Harm someone with magic".
In other sourcebooks, is there a more clear ...
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What about Arete / Masteries and Dark Heroes?
I just received World of Darkness: Mirrors, and I'm quite interested in house rules describing dark heroes (usually über humans in a fantasy setting).
Problem is: I just don't understand how the Dark ...
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System for tracking hunger in a World of Darkness game
I'm GM-ing a WoD setting where the players have a very limited food supply(if any) are there any good methods for making sure that they have to eat to survive and applying penalties if they don't?
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So, a mage of the Pentacle and a Seer of the Throne walk into a bar
So, a mage of the Pentacle and a Seer of the Throne meet in a bar.
I know this is very subjective and depends on a lot of in-game and character factors. Let's just assume that we're talking about ...
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Who are the movers and shakers in any larger city in Vampire: the Requiem?
I'm making a list of influential vampire NPCs that will exist in any but the smallest of cities. I do this because I wish to start a sandbox campaign in Vampire, and as such, the players will need to ...
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Can the New World of Darkness be played with kids (11+)?
I used to play WoD many years ago (before the revised editions and the gehenna/apocalypse/etc). Now I want to get back playing WoD with my daughter and my little siblings (11-14)...
They are fine ...
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Where can I find out more about the Tlacique?
Okay, recently I was asked to join in on a Old World of Darkness game. I picked out a race that I was told about that sounded quite interesting. The only problem is that no one really knows anything ...
