Post by Moonlight on Mar 15, 2009 9:50:28 GMT -5
This'll work as a kind of introduction into the themes and moods that will be set when playing this game. While this is not nessariy to read, it does serve as a nice introduction to the game. Also, in the transfer of texts some of the symbols were annoyingly changed. Please treat akward symbols as if they were what they should be (apostrophes, quotes, etc)
This book presents rules for playing a type of
roleplaying game called Storytelling. In this type of game,
the traditional elements of a story Ñ theme, mood, plot
and character Ñ are more important than the rules themselves.
The rules serve to help you tell stories about your
characters in an interactive experience. They help prevent
arguments and provide a solid basis for handling elements
of chance, but they donÕt overshadow the story itself.
The triumphs and tragedies of your characters as they
try to survive and even thrive in the World of Darkness
are the main focus, not dice rolls or lists of traits.
Storytelling games involve at least two, although preferably
four or more players. Everybody involved in the
game participates in telling a group story Ñ the players
create and act out the roles of their characters, and the
Storyteller creates and reveals the plot, introducing allies
and antagonists with which the playersÕ characters interact.
The playersÕ choices throughout the course of the
Storytelling experience alter the plot. The StorytellerÕs
job isnÕt to defend his story from any attempt to change it,
but to help create the story as events unfold, reacting to
the playersÕ choices and weaving them into a greater whole,
introducing secondary characters and exotic settings.
Here are some of the key elements that both players
and Storytellers should keep in mind when telling stories
in the World of Darkness.
Every story has its own theme, a summation of what
itÕs about. Sometimes called the ÒmoralÓ or ÒlessonÓ of the
story, a theme doesnÕt have to involve a definitive answer
to the questions raised. Merely asking overarching questions
is enough to capture a theme.
The overall theme of the World of Darkness is Òdark
mystery.Ó The world is one of shadows within shadows.
Those who participate in these conspiracies should uncover
as much of them as they can, lest investigators become
unwitting pawns in the games of greater forces. But
drawing back the curtain on one mystery reveals even more
curtains, each hiding new secrets. ItÕs not possible to uncover
them all. Yet, characters can certainly work to reveal
more than would otherwise be known, and so free
themselves from these dark influences.
While each story has its own central theme, the looming
theme behind them all explores the dramatic ramifications
of a world of supernatural secrets. Storytellers and
players alike should be mindful of this theme when they
feel the need to return to the roots of the game.
People fear what they donÕt know or understand. On
some level, most people suspect that things arenÕt right,
that theyÕre being lied to. Rather than confront this terrible
truth (ÒWhoÕs lying to me? Where are they?Ó), they
choose to repress it. People pretend nothing is out of order
and go about lives as usual. Whether this behavior
can be traced back to the ancient depredations of supernatural
creatures or to fear of the occult, people refuse to
recognize it. They are asleep to the realities around them
and refuse to open their eyes.
Even those who do confront the shadows do so with
a sense of dread. Exploring the unknown promises rewards,
but also risks unforeseen consequences. Are the potential
rewards worth the risks? Every step into mystery is onto
unsafe ground, and few march boldly into the night.
Combine theme and mood in the fog-bound streets,
rave clubs, towering penthouses, midnight woods and
cloistered sanctums of the World of Darkness. Add a hint
of the otherworldly bleeding through the walls of reality
now and then, and youÕve got the perfect atmosphere for
chilling horror Storytelling.
Everything in the World of Darkness has foreboding
significance. Nothing is necessarily what it seems. A dead
tree might secretly harbor a bitter spirit. A car might be a
reservoir for magical energies that could kill the unwary.
Everything is a cipher for something else, lending mysterious
significance to otherwise coincidental events. Is it
just chance that you receive a letter from a schoolmate
you havenÕt seen or heard from in years, and you read the
next day about his horrifying death by exsanguination?
Dare you open the letter?
The World of Darkness rarely communicates its secrets
directly. Instead, mysteries can be read in places and
things all around Ñ symbols of deeper, unsettling truths.
ItÕs easier to ignore these signs than to face them. Many
people are willfully blind to these messages, fearing what
they reveal. ÒItÕs just coincidence. Meaningless happenstance.
Ó Just keep telling yourself that...
The World of Darkness is not about someplace long
ago and far away. ItÕs our world today, but different. Looked
at from a global perspective, it seems the same. Looking
closer, though, the details differ. That house down the
street isnÕt just abandoned, itÕs haunted. Nobody goes to
the old quarry anymore. Some teenagers didnÕt come back.
That new nightclub is so cool, but creepy. Did you see
that guy who kept staring last night?
The advantage to playing a game of contemporary
horror is that it can take place in your own backyard, literally.
You can populate your hometown with all manner
of secret terrors, imagining how the local conveniencestore
clerk might really be the thrall of a supernatural creature.
Perhaps he helps his master to feed by collecting the
corpses of the homeless people who sleep in the bushes
out back. Or your blowhard mayor might be a member of
a secret society dedicated to keeping the spoils of power
within a small clique, preventing others from awakening
to their true potential.
Characters in the World of Darkness can blur the line
between reality and the occult. Indeed, thatÕs what itÕs all
about. Exploring a world of mystery that tries to keep itself
hidden. A world that punishes those who look too
deep. But those who refuse to look suffer even worse.
TheyÕre rocked on seas of conspiracies of which they go
unaware. HONKed if you do, HONKed if you donÕt. There
are no easy answers, and knowing is not half the battle.
ItÕs only the first shot in a long, grinding war against the
shadows.
The Elements of Stylish Horror
This book presents rules for playing a type of
roleplaying game called Storytelling. In this type of game,
the traditional elements of a story Ñ theme, mood, plot
and character Ñ are more important than the rules themselves.
The rules serve to help you tell stories about your
characters in an interactive experience. They help prevent
arguments and provide a solid basis for handling elements
of chance, but they donÕt overshadow the story itself.
The triumphs and tragedies of your characters as they
try to survive and even thrive in the World of Darkness
are the main focus, not dice rolls or lists of traits.
Storytelling games involve at least two, although preferably
four or more players. Everybody involved in the
game participates in telling a group story Ñ the players
create and act out the roles of their characters, and the
Storyteller creates and reveals the plot, introducing allies
and antagonists with which the playersÕ characters interact.
The playersÕ choices throughout the course of the
Storytelling experience alter the plot. The StorytellerÕs
job isnÕt to defend his story from any attempt to change it,
but to help create the story as events unfold, reacting to
the playersÕ choices and weaving them into a greater whole,
introducing secondary characters and exotic settings.
Here are some of the key elements that both players
and Storytellers should keep in mind when telling stories
in the World of Darkness.
Theme- Dark Mystery
Every story has its own theme, a summation of what
itÕs about. Sometimes called the ÒmoralÓ or ÒlessonÓ of the
story, a theme doesnÕt have to involve a definitive answer
to the questions raised. Merely asking overarching questions
is enough to capture a theme.
The overall theme of the World of Darkness is Òdark
mystery.Ó The world is one of shadows within shadows.
Those who participate in these conspiracies should uncover
as much of them as they can, lest investigators become
unwitting pawns in the games of greater forces. But
drawing back the curtain on one mystery reveals even more
curtains, each hiding new secrets. ItÕs not possible to uncover
them all. Yet, characters can certainly work to reveal
more than would otherwise be known, and so free
themselves from these dark influences.
While each story has its own central theme, the looming
theme behind them all explores the dramatic ramifications
of a world of supernatural secrets. Storytellers and
players alike should be mindful of this theme when they
feel the need to return to the roots of the game.
Mood- Dread
People fear what they donÕt know or understand. On
some level, most people suspect that things arenÕt right,
that theyÕre being lied to. Rather than confront this terrible
truth (ÒWhoÕs lying to me? Where are they?Ó), they
choose to repress it. People pretend nothing is out of order
and go about lives as usual. Whether this behavior
can be traced back to the ancient depredations of supernatural
creatures or to fear of the occult, people refuse to
recognize it. They are asleep to the realities around them
and refuse to open their eyes.
Even those who do confront the shadows do so with
a sense of dread. Exploring the unknown promises rewards,
but also risks unforeseen consequences. Are the potential
rewards worth the risks? Every step into mystery is onto
unsafe ground, and few march boldly into the night.
Atmosphere- Threatening Symbolism
Combine theme and mood in the fog-bound streets,
rave clubs, towering penthouses, midnight woods and
cloistered sanctums of the World of Darkness. Add a hint
of the otherworldly bleeding through the walls of reality
now and then, and youÕve got the perfect atmosphere for
chilling horror Storytelling.
Everything in the World of Darkness has foreboding
significance. Nothing is necessarily what it seems. A dead
tree might secretly harbor a bitter spirit. A car might be a
reservoir for magical energies that could kill the unwary.
Everything is a cipher for something else, lending mysterious
significance to otherwise coincidental events. Is it
just chance that you receive a letter from a schoolmate
you havenÕt seen or heard from in years, and you read the
next day about his horrifying death by exsanguination?
Dare you open the letter?
The World of Darkness rarely communicates its secrets
directly. Instead, mysteries can be read in places and
things all around Ñ symbols of deeper, unsettling truths.
ItÕs easier to ignore these signs than to face them. Many
people are willfully blind to these messages, fearing what
they reveal. ÒItÕs just coincidence. Meaningless happenstance.
Ó Just keep telling yourself that...
Setting- A Sense of Place
The World of Darkness is not about someplace long
ago and far away. ItÕs our world today, but different. Looked
at from a global perspective, it seems the same. Looking
closer, though, the details differ. That house down the
street isnÕt just abandoned, itÕs haunted. Nobody goes to
the old quarry anymore. Some teenagers didnÕt come back.
That new nightclub is so cool, but creepy. Did you see
that guy who kept staring last night?
The advantage to playing a game of contemporary
horror is that it can take place in your own backyard, literally.
You can populate your hometown with all manner
of secret terrors, imagining how the local conveniencestore
clerk might really be the thrall of a supernatural creature.
Perhaps he helps his master to feed by collecting the
corpses of the homeless people who sleep in the bushes
out back. Or your blowhard mayor might be a member of
a secret society dedicated to keeping the spoils of power
within a small clique, preventing others from awakening
to their true potential.
Characters in the World of Darkness can blur the line
between reality and the occult. Indeed, thatÕs what itÕs all
about. Exploring a world of mystery that tries to keep itself
hidden. A world that punishes those who look too
deep. But those who refuse to look suffer even worse.
TheyÕre rocked on seas of conspiracies of which they go
unaware. HONKed if you do, HONKed if you donÕt. There
are no easy answers, and knowing is not half the battle.
ItÕs only the first shot in a long, grinding war against the
shadows.
