How do I choose a Mood for my game? [closed]

Question

The books make lots of suggestions for moods the game can be played in, as in its feel and atmosphere, and it seems to be a fundamental and important choice when starting a chronicle. But how do I decide which mood is right for my chronicle?

I realize that could be answered with "it's up to you", but I'm hoping for more concrete methods for narrowing it down and matching chronicle with mood. For example, "How would I know my chronicle is a good fit for the paranoia mood?" seems like it should have some concrete criteria I can match against what I want from my chronicle.

To be clear, these are my assumptions, please correct me if I'm wrong:

• Mood is something to be selected (meaning all should not apply)
• Mood should be pervasive in your chronicle
• Mood shouldn't change frequently

What this question is not about (but may be present in an answer):

• How to portray a given a mood
• What the options for mood are
• Which mood I should choose

Answer 1

This is a tricky one, because as you've expressed in previous questions, it's often hard for you to get buy-in when it comes to even the less esoteric elements of World of Darkness gaming from your group:

• "How can I encourage the use of Willpower?"
• "How can I get my players to 'do their homework'?" (defined as learning their characters' specific rules or selecting a Virtue/Vice — in other words, completing character generation.)
• "Should I give players post play insights to assist them in future playing?"

Given that, I'd choose a mood that stimulates your desire to be a Storyteller — since, as you've expressed elsewhere, you're in the role sort of under duress. Because you're the person most likely to appreciate the mood you've chosen, pick something that inspires you or provokes you. If you're enthusiastic about portraying your World of Darkness using a particular "color palette," that enthusiasm could be infectious and carry over into greater engagement from your players.