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New World of Darkness
The World of Darkness
We live our days completely ignorant of the true terrors lurking around us. Only rarely do our experiences draw back the veil of shadows and reveal the horror in our midst. These glimpses into the supernatural can cause us to retreat into comforting lies - 'There are no such things as monsters' - or stir our morbid curiosity. Only a few, however, can overcome their fear and dare to look deeper.
The World of Darkness Rulebook introduces a version of our contemporary world where the supernatural is real. Players join to tell tales of mystery and horror, where theme, mood and plot are more important to a character s experiences than his weapons or equipment. Inside are rules for character creation, task resolution, combat and any activity your character attempts as he delves into the shadows.
The World of Darkness Rulebook introduces a version of our contemporary world where the supernatural is real. Players join to tell tales of mystery and horror, where theme, mood and plot are more important to a character s experiences than his weapons or equipment. Inside are rules for character creation, task resolution, combat and any activity your character attempts as he delves into the shadows.
222 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2004
13 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Bill Bridges
124 books57 followersBill Bridges is a writer and game designer, most known for developing White Wolf’s World of Darkness setting and the Fading Suns science-fiction universe.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 16, 2015
Of all the things the New World of Darkness got right, I think this shines as an achievement. Rather than spend each corebook rehashing common stats, that precious page space can go to more important/unique material.
It's a shame you have to pay for basic info, of course, but even this book alone tries to make it possible to role-play a decent, engaging game. I just see it as White Wolf trying to avoid clutter and over-saturation with redundancies and it is a great indicator of how sexy and sleek the WoD is now for new blood and old fans.
It's a shame you have to pay for basic info, of course, but even this book alone tries to make it possible to role-play a decent, engaging game. I just see it as White Wolf trying to avoid clutter and over-saturation with redundancies and it is a great indicator of how sexy and sleek the WoD is now for new blood and old fans.
August 15, 2008
This is another somewhat dishonest review, since I don’t know that I actually read this whole book. Well, I think I did, but I did so in two parts. I read the setting stuff (“fluff”) a while back, and thought it was well-written, but basically just standard White Wolf World of Darkness stuff. Not BAD, mind, just standard. Didn’t make me say “damn, I want to run this game”.
This time, however, I was looking at the systems, because I was considering using this game to run some sort of Dark Ages fantasy game of unknown content or setting, and wanted to see if this seemed workable. Also, I was just impelled by curiosity, because White Wolf tends to put out stuff that I really like conceptually, but then falls apart when I start rolling dice.
To my pleasant surprise, the new “Storytelling” system seems pretty robust on the surface. Granted, this book deals primarily with playing normal people, but for that function, it seems like the system works pretty well. It’s straightforward, seems reasonable easy to remember, combat looks like it should be really fast, and there aren’t too many weird exceptions. I’m sure once you start piling powers and shit onto that, it gets much more complicated and confusing real fast, but fortunately, if I’m running a low fantasy game, that shouldn’t be a huge issue. And I’m not quite up for trying to run a modern nWOD game yet, though I suppose the upcoming Hunter: The Vigil could change that. I think I’m going to look over a couple more options, and then start to try and make some kind of decision.
In any case, it seems like a neat system, and could be fun to run/play at some point. I’m sure there’s broken stuff in it that I’ve missed, but no system seems completely free of that sort of shit…
This time, however, I was looking at the systems, because I was considering using this game to run some sort of Dark Ages fantasy game of unknown content or setting, and wanted to see if this seemed workable. Also, I was just impelled by curiosity, because White Wolf tends to put out stuff that I really like conceptually, but then falls apart when I start rolling dice.
To my pleasant surprise, the new “Storytelling” system seems pretty robust on the surface. Granted, this book deals primarily with playing normal people, but for that function, it seems like the system works pretty well. It’s straightforward, seems reasonable easy to remember, combat looks like it should be really fast, and there aren’t too many weird exceptions. I’m sure once you start piling powers and shit onto that, it gets much more complicated and confusing real fast, but fortunately, if I’m running a low fantasy game, that shouldn’t be a huge issue. And I’m not quite up for trying to run a modern nWOD game yet, though I suppose the upcoming Hunter: The Vigil could change that. I think I’m going to look over a couple more options, and then start to try and make some kind of decision.
In any case, it seems like a neat system, and could be fun to run/play at some point. I’m sure there’s broken stuff in it that I’ve missed, but no system seems completely free of that sort of shit…
January 21, 2009
I think there are a number of things to balance in RPG rulebooks.
Too little fiction leaves the novice gamer stranded, and even the experienced gamer has to work to get the world feel intended. Too much gets in the way of the nuts and bolts, and delays the 'good part' creating a character or scenario and actually playing the game.
Too much emphasis on combat in the rule book tends to indicate that the game designers aren't really interested in role playing, and aren't likely to create materials which support the style of play I prefer. True, a talented GM (DM/Storyteller/whatever) can run a game with a different slant than the game is designed to, but it's still discouraging to read a book which devotes three paragraphs to character development and background, and dozens of pages to bullet weights and impact ratios.
The World of Darkness rule book, to my mind, is too heavy on fiction, but very reasonable in terms of amount of space devoted to combat. I'm looking forward to getting a chance to play in it.
Too little fiction leaves the novice gamer stranded, and even the experienced gamer has to work to get the world feel intended. Too much gets in the way of the nuts and bolts, and delays the 'good part' creating a character or scenario and actually playing the game.
Too much emphasis on combat in the rule book tends to indicate that the game designers aren't really interested in role playing, and aren't likely to create materials which support the style of play I prefer. True, a talented GM (DM/Storyteller/whatever) can run a game with a different slant than the game is designed to, but it's still discouraging to read a book which devotes three paragraphs to character development and background, and dozens of pages to bullet weights and impact ratios.
The World of Darkness rule book, to my mind, is too heavy on fiction, but very reasonable in terms of amount of space devoted to combat. I'm looking forward to getting a chance to play in it.
March 4, 2014
Fun addition to the WOD universe, retold slower, more intensely.
December 28, 2016
I've owned this rule book for over ten years and have dipped into it before but not in any great depth. I recently played a game run by the London Darkness Roleplaying Club and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also picked up a mini iPad at the Same time so I thought I'd read the whole book cover to cover. I haven't done that since Call of Cthulhu 4th Edition came out.
I admit that I'm a big fan on the old (classic World of Darkness) games and I'm not too keen on the re-imagined books of the new series. However, I have to admit that this is a very good rule book and these rules are much "neater" than the old games. It's a shame that they didn't think to bring out classic WoD modules to accompany it. I still can't see myself playing the new Vampire, Werewolf, Mage or Changeling but this book covers playing mortals; something the original series didn't do.
All in all, I think I'll try these rules out with my group and see if they like them.
I admit that I'm a big fan on the old (classic World of Darkness) games and I'm not too keen on the re-imagined books of the new series. However, I have to admit that this is a very good rule book and these rules are much "neater" than the old games. It's a shame that they didn't think to bring out classic WoD modules to accompany it. I still can't see myself playing the new Vampire, Werewolf, Mage or Changeling but this book covers playing mortals; something the original series didn't do.
All in all, I think I'll try these rules out with my group and see if they like them.
December 2, 2015
utter garbage, a system that doesn't work, does not offer procedures on how to use it (when do we roll? Why do we roll? Who decides what happens in the shared imaginary space? Answer: the GM, at his whim, ignoring rules when he pleases, as they're expected to get in the way of fun anyways, hence the golden rule) and the most ridiculous guidelines on how to be a GM make this steaming pile of manure a shining example of how to not create a game, any game.
March 27, 2010
Possibly the best role-playing game system I've ever seen, a core rulebook allowing one to tell almost any kind of horror or ghost story imaginable, incredibly customizable (the use of Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Promethean, Changeling, Hunter, and Geist is only the barest edge of possibility with this system).
October 31, 2019
An interest source book, introducing the mechanics of the New (or Chronicles) or Darkness. However, it rather dry of setting - that must come in other source books. It looks are more the nuts and bolts of game. But, worth the read if you're into this.
June 30, 2016
It tries to pull away from crunchy systems but in doing so removes easy to decipher rules in favor of obfuscated systems. It could learn a lot from OSR and PbtA systems.
April 13, 2018
It's a little hard to review this since I read it in two parts with a fair bit of time between them, so I can speak more to the latter half of the book than the former. The game fiction was generally nice, and I found myself especially intrigued by the piece on the God Machine, so I'll definitely be reading the God Machine Chronicle at some point. The mechanics overall seem fairly good. I've encountered dice pool systems before in Shadowrun, and I appreciate the way that it seems like WoD, especially in combat, requires fewer rolls. The way attributes is set up is fairly intuitive, which is nice. There's a fair selection of merits and other things to make the character stand out and be special. I'm sure supplements will add more of that sort of thing. Combat was fairly well explained. It somehow feels a bit simpler than in a lot of other systems, as there seem to be a smaller amount of rules, but I think that's probably a good thing. Special powers are lacking, but that's what the different games about playing supernatural creatures are for. The storyteller focused chapter had some nice, albeit basic, advice, and I really like the format for presenting NPCs. It makes me at least somewhat interested in getting the monster book for reading rather than just having more foes to use. I was a little disappointed that the only supernatural thing there was ghosts. They're well done, but I'm not that interested in them and I would have liked an example werewolf, vampire, and mage, since I imagine any mortal chronicles are far more likely to revolve around those. Overall, though, this seems like a fairly good system and a good introduction to the setting, since it's definitely gotten me interested in reading more of the books and running a game at some point.
Upon rereading, I largely agree with what I had to say four years ago. I do like ghosts a little more, since I can see some story potential for them, but I still feel that the antagonist selection is weak. Also, I don't really care for the way Morality is done here for a variety of reasons, especially given how losing morality can give your character various mental illnesses. I do think the second edition has a new version of Morality, though I might ignore the mechanic altogether. I'm not sure. On the plus side, I really like the little vignettes in the attribute and skill descriptions, and in general rereading this really makes me want to dive into more of the blue books and run a mortals game. I'm still interested in the supernatural game lines, but mortals seem like they have some good potential for stories too, which is nice. I'm hoping to run for some friends soon, and I think I'll definitely have a lot of fun. After all, as the book itself says, it's easy to ignore the rules I don't like for the sake of the story.
Upon rereading, I largely agree with what I had to say four years ago. I do like ghosts a little more, since I can see some story potential for them, but I still feel that the antagonist selection is weak. Also, I don't really care for the way Morality is done here for a variety of reasons, especially given how losing morality can give your character various mental illnesses. I do think the second edition has a new version of Morality, though I might ignore the mechanic altogether. I'm not sure. On the plus side, I really like the little vignettes in the attribute and skill descriptions, and in general rereading this really makes me want to dive into more of the blue books and run a mortals game. I'm still interested in the supernatural game lines, but mortals seem like they have some good potential for stories too, which is nice. I'm hoping to run for some friends soon, and I think I'll definitely have a lot of fun. After all, as the book itself says, it's easy to ignore the rules I don't like for the sake of the story.
November 15, 2015
What really happens at the end of dark alleyways? Is there an actual monster under your bed? Is the house at the end of the street really haunted? All these questions can be answered with this book in your hands. This is the World of Darkness(WOD) Core Rulebook, which kicked off the WOD RPG setting in 2004. The setting that this book puts forth is our world, our life, through a fractured mirror. You wake up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat a meal, go to bed, rinse and repeat. The same life still goes on but you share it with many other things that go bump in the night. In this reality everything is much darker, people are much more corrupt, night seems to stretch on forever, and the light of day is a brief respite from the night. This game let's you craft a story where regular, mortal humans get their first glimpse of the supernatural. Being that this is a role playing game, a good chunk of the book is the mechanics of how to play the game and how everything in it works. Please don't let this discourage you though, it is a very simple system that only requires a character sheet (free online), some 10 sided dice, and a group of people to play with. Also, with this being to core book for the game, it is also the main rule book for the other lines in the WOD universe. Those are Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Promethean, Changeling, Hunter, Mummy, and Demon, which are all good RPG games in themselves that let you tell a more specific story for one of those creatures. This is probably my favorite RPG and this is the book where it starts.
December 8, 2012
I've played a lot of pen and paper RPG's and this is hands down my favorite. I think a lot of that has to do with he kind of game I enjoy: one centered on story and not necessarily on combat. There are countless table top and video games that can fill my desire for hack-and-slashing, but the nWOD rules give near limitless tools for collectively telling a story with other people.
I've heard a lot of people criticize this book and system for being too much of a "blank slate" but isn't that what you want when you sit down to play an RPG? As someone who normally plays as the story telling I like the freedom of being able to come up with any world filled with any characters I want, and this very minimalist setting of "our world but darker where monsters are real" is perfect.
And as far as rules go they are fairly simple and straight forward. In fact aside from the very minimalist combat rules almost and roll of the dice can be figured out intuitively simple by looking at the top of a character sheet. There are no endless charts or real need to look stats up. you just pick your dice up, roll, and see if you get a success.
The Graphic design of the book is also very nice, and it along with the mostly stellar art really help set the mood of the game. The little vignettes spread throughout the book also help set the mood as well as giving potential ideas for stories.
I've heard a lot of people criticize this book and system for being too much of a "blank slate" but isn't that what you want when you sit down to play an RPG? As someone who normally plays as the story telling I like the freedom of being able to come up with any world filled with any characters I want, and this very minimalist setting of "our world but darker where monsters are real" is perfect.
And as far as rules go they are fairly simple and straight forward. In fact aside from the very minimalist combat rules almost and roll of the dice can be figured out intuitively simple by looking at the top of a character sheet. There are no endless charts or real need to look stats up. you just pick your dice up, roll, and see if you get a success.
The Graphic design of the book is also very nice, and it along with the mostly stellar art really help set the mood of the game. The little vignettes spread throughout the book also help set the mood as well as giving potential ideas for stories.
February 2, 2019
This has to be one of the best books I have ever used to play a RPG. I am currently giving it away by leaving it at the college and hoping that they use it as much as I did back in the day.
July 11, 2019
A great story telling game engine. Well written with fiction included to set the mood. Recommended!
November 3, 2022
Messy first attempt at relaunching the World of Darkness, undermined by two contradictory drives - on the one hand it clearly wants to do something new, on the other hand there's evidently a desire to maintain at least some continuity with the "classic WoD" way of doing things. Chronicles of Darkness, the 2nd edition of this rulebook and setting (note the name shift to distinguish it from the classic World of Darkness), is significantly better simply because it doesn't need to keep one foot in two different camps the way this book attempts to. Full review here: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
May 12, 2019
An amazing book for (like it says) the new version of world of darkness. I no longer have time to play so, rather than let the book sit on a shelf forever, I am giving it away.
January 3, 2020
Prepping for our Busan Casino Heist RPG tonight!
August 11, 2014
Note: My rating for this has nothing to do with World of Darkness's value as an RPG product. It deals only with its readability as a text.
RPG corebooks are not typically regarded as fine pieces of literature, and this book does not buck that trend. When they made the New World of Darkness, White Wolf decided to make a unified system to avoid all the problems they had in the past with crossovers and to avoid reprinting basic information over and over in different game line books, so they released World of Darkness to have one solid core. As such, the book is even drier than usual, because there is barely any hints of a setting or world in here--it's almost entirely rules and some generic advice about running an RPG. It seems like it was deliberately scrubbed to be as neutral and dry as possible.
I think that's actually my main problem. Something like the AD&D Player's Handbook, even though it was also entirely filled with rules because it served the same purpose, was still a lot more fun to read because of its authorial voice. In the chapters about assembling an adventuring party or the polearm fetishism or the alignments, there was plenty of flavor that made them fun to read even with the dense rules text that it accompanied.
I might even have given this book one star except for the bits of flavor that do stick out in my mind--the examples and inter-chapter fiction. From the long story about the God-Machine (which is so popular they're expanding it into an entire book) to the mini stories, like the girl stabbing the mugger/rapist in the eye with an umbrella for the Weaponry skill or the guy in the Irish bar yelling, "May Ireland's enemies never meet a friend!" to stave off a seemingly-inescapable brawl for the Expression skill, those really stuck with me even as my eyes glazed over the dry-as-dust descriptions of what happens when two people ram their cars into each other or how long it takes to heal after being beaten into unconsciousness. Though maybe I should have paid more attention to the last one, given how often I nearly fell asleep reading this.
As the foundation for a gaming system, World of Darkness does a good job and serves as a proper foundation to build on. As a text to read for enjoyment, don't even bother.
RPG corebooks are not typically regarded as fine pieces of literature, and this book does not buck that trend. When they made the New World of Darkness, White Wolf decided to make a unified system to avoid all the problems they had in the past with crossovers and to avoid reprinting basic information over and over in different game line books, so they released World of Darkness to have one solid core. As such, the book is even drier than usual, because there is barely any hints of a setting or world in here--it's almost entirely rules and some generic advice about running an RPG. It seems like it was deliberately scrubbed to be as neutral and dry as possible.
I think that's actually my main problem. Something like the AD&D Player's Handbook, even though it was also entirely filled with rules because it served the same purpose, was still a lot more fun to read because of its authorial voice. In the chapters about assembling an adventuring party or the polearm fetishism or the alignments, there was plenty of flavor that made them fun to read even with the dense rules text that it accompanied.
I might even have given this book one star except for the bits of flavor that do stick out in my mind--the examples and inter-chapter fiction. From the long story about the God-Machine (which is so popular they're expanding it into an entire book) to the mini stories, like the girl stabbing the mugger/rapist in the eye with an umbrella for the Weaponry skill or the guy in the Irish bar yelling, "May Ireland's enemies never meet a friend!" to stave off a seemingly-inescapable brawl for the Expression skill, those really stuck with me even as my eyes glazed over the dry-as-dust descriptions of what happens when two people ram their cars into each other or how long it takes to heal after being beaten into unconsciousness. Though maybe I should have paid more attention to the last one, given how often I nearly fell asleep reading this.
As the foundation for a gaming system, World of Darkness does a good job and serves as a proper foundation to build on. As a text to read for enjoyment, don't even bother.
June 12, 2013
(New)World of Darkness has always been my favorite role playing Game (Rpg) ever sense I first got into the hobby. I would argue that is even better than Dungeons and Dragons, which is supposed to be the go to RPG whenever talks about Rpgs.
World of Darkness is not your typical RPG where you are supposed to kill the monsters in the dungeon, save damsels in distress, and then get more gold than you can carry. World of Darkness, like any truly good horror story, takes a hard look at the human condition.One can say you can do the same with D&D but that is a matter of who your Dungeon Master is. What makes WoD stand out with it comes to the exploration of the human condition is that it's very system is built to force players to take on roles not of the great hero out to save the world. It puts you more into the role of the everyman,The single mother, the recovering alcoholic, the soldier who has seen to much.
These people are simply trying to survive in a world full of suffering and pain, where everything can and will get worse. In the World of Darkness, the skies are always grey and almost always threatening to storm, the shadows are longer, deeper, and hide the monsters from our worst nightmares. The rich truly get richer and the poor truly get poorer, and most of the times the rich aren't even human.
As a character, you have a choice, you can ether fight the futile fight against the darkness and maybe go mad because of it, or you can embrace it and maybe become one of the monsters you fear. Even then, sometimes that choice made for you and you are never given a chance.
To summarize, World of Darkness in my opinion is one of the best RPGs because it simply more really than most RPGs out there. D&D is fantasy epic where you are the Hero. World of Darkness explores characters who are more tragic, and are more like people you meet everyday, and are up against situations that our truly out of their control or understanding.
World of Darkness is not your typical RPG where you are supposed to kill the monsters in the dungeon, save damsels in distress, and then get more gold than you can carry. World of Darkness, like any truly good horror story, takes a hard look at the human condition.One can say you can do the same with D&D but that is a matter of who your Dungeon Master is. What makes WoD stand out with it comes to the exploration of the human condition is that it's very system is built to force players to take on roles not of the great hero out to save the world. It puts you more into the role of the everyman,The single mother, the recovering alcoholic, the soldier who has seen to much.
These people are simply trying to survive in a world full of suffering and pain, where everything can and will get worse. In the World of Darkness, the skies are always grey and almost always threatening to storm, the shadows are longer, deeper, and hide the monsters from our worst nightmares. The rich truly get richer and the poor truly get poorer, and most of the times the rich aren't even human.
As a character, you have a choice, you can ether fight the futile fight against the darkness and maybe go mad because of it, or you can embrace it and maybe become one of the monsters you fear. Even then, sometimes that choice made for you and you are never given a chance.
To summarize, World of Darkness in my opinion is one of the best RPGs because it simply more really than most RPGs out there. D&D is fantasy epic where you are the Hero. World of Darkness explores characters who are more tragic, and are more like people you meet everyday, and are up against situations that our truly out of their control or understanding.
January 11, 2014
It took me some time to check out the nWoD. For years, I was unwilling to give it a look, I was a cWoD fanatic. I didn't want a new world, so I wasn't even going to give it a try.
Now older, wiser perhaps, I'm able to look, in a new light, on this ruleset for what it is, a distillation of the classic World of Darkness rules, made with crossover balance in mind.
I can't wait to play a game on this new system! That being said, the metaplot of the cWoD was one of my favorite things, and I dislike the new take on vampires. I've yet to read the new werewolf or mage game, but suspect my feelings will be the same. The new changeling game is interesting, but not my cup of tea. Where I'm finding the most enjoyment is the new game lines that run with this system. I'm currently reading Promethean, and loving it, with Mummy next up on the list.
I can say that the rules are concise and streamlined, and although there is little in the way of metaplot, this is a good system. I have over looked it for so long. Do yourself a favor and don't make the same mistake I did. get rid of your preconceived ideas of what this game and system are, and give the book a good honest read.
Now older, wiser perhaps, I'm able to look, in a new light, on this ruleset for what it is, a distillation of the classic World of Darkness rules, made with crossover balance in mind.
I can't wait to play a game on this new system! That being said, the metaplot of the cWoD was one of my favorite things, and I dislike the new take on vampires. I've yet to read the new werewolf or mage game, but suspect my feelings will be the same. The new changeling game is interesting, but not my cup of tea. Where I'm finding the most enjoyment is the new game lines that run with this system. I'm currently reading Promethean, and loving it, with Mummy next up on the list.
I can say that the rules are concise and streamlined, and although there is little in the way of metaplot, this is a good system. I have over looked it for so long. Do yourself a favor and don't make the same mistake I did. get rid of your preconceived ideas of what this game and system are, and give the book a good honest read.
December 30, 2015
Genial mejora del Viejo Mundo de Tinieblas. El nuevo sistema simplifica el combate sin quitarle peso y enfoca la narrativa hacia el terror y lo macabro. Además es un libro que sirve para jugar con humanos normales, en caso que no se quiera jugar con vampiros u otros seres sobrenaturales
December 30, 2023
I thought this was a well written rulebook that gets across the rules for the core game in an easy to understand manner. Consider it a gateway book to the various White Wolf settings like Hunter, Vampire etc.
December 11, 2011
Good one. Gives a solid base upon the rest of the series may be settled.
April 15, 2012
The World of Darkness book (effectively making 4th Ed. for the banner games possible) did everything possible to fuck up both the setting and the mechanics. Just awful.
October 3, 2013
One of he greatest rpg settings of all time. I highly recommend it.
March 13, 2015
Where all the WoD begins-- necessary if you're running an offshoot, for sure.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews