Reddit mentions: The best world of darkness books

The best thing to do is have a good time preparing the material, but don't drive your players crazy sticking to the script. For a first adventure, an open setting like a city adventure can be very rewarding. Let your players develop a character according to whatever restrictions you like, but make sure you outline them clearly.

I am always nervous when DMing; my biggest fear is keeping all the PCs involved and doing something special. My main concern is keeping each player happy by keeping them involved. Obstacles and challenges for each character can be tough to integrate, so make sure you know know their skill sets inside and out. Once again, especially for low-level characters, a city adventure is a great way to get this going.

I have read a few excellent DM / Storyteller books over the years. GURPS Campaigns and the Mage: The Ascension Storyteller's Handbook are both good intros to running a game in general; lost of solid advice.

I will always be a little on edge DMing; for me, it's actually comfortable. You'll find your own comfort zone after a while. Good luck!

I marked things with a [w] if they're on my WL!

1. Something that is grey. China Glaze Polish Ecollection Recycle [w]
   
   
2. Something reminiscent of rain. Hehe, a watering can [w]
   
   
3. Something food related that is unusual. Miracle Noodles - they're these weird low-carb noodles [w]
   
   
4. Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!) LARPing Book for my friend Dennis. His is missing several pages, which is very frustrating to him. He's endlessly dear to me. [w]
   
   
5. A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it! Other People's Love Letters - doesn't that just sound romantic? :D [w]
   
   
6. An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! Mickey Mouse Cookies!
   
   
7. Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...) SmartCat [w]
   
   
8. Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. Triple heart necklace <3 [w]
   
   
9. A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why? Love Me If You Dare. Everyone should have more French film in their lives. It's a beautiful, artistic, funny, romantic movie. The main characters are hot.
   
   
10. Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain. Cast Iron is heavy! [w]
    
    
11. Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. For exercise, way easier on my knees than the treadmill [w]
    
    
12. One of those pesky Add-On items. Awesome fabric softener - and I really want it, too! [w]
    
    
13. The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why? A Roomba. I have pets. I need to vacuum more often. I'm lazy. Also he would be my robot butler friend. I'd name him Alfred or Jeeves or Pennyworth. My cats would be afraid of him. [w]
    
    
14. Something bigger than a bread box. A mattress is quite a bit bigger! [w]
    
    
15. Something smaller than a golf ball. Pearl earrings [w]
    
    
16. Something that smells wonderful. Lilac and Lilies! [w]
    
    
17. A (SFW) toy. Cat toy! [w]
    
    
18. Something that would be helpful for going back to school. Chromebook! It's actually for when my husband starts college. [w]
    
    
19. Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. Filter for my new fishtank! [w]
    
    
20. Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand. Electric bike so, my comment on this is: “Theoretically I would like to bike. Realistically I'd like to bike, except up hills. Oh, here we are!”. Right?! Also what they sell electric bikes on Amazon? Damn! [w]
    
    Bonus:
    
    Oregon Chai!

I'd recommend asking /r/rpg since that's more a question for them. There are a couple board games that are kind of similar (Descent 2E and Mice and Mystics) if you wanted board game suggestions.

My personal suggestion as a table top RPG player is to either go to a FLGS and see if they have weekly D&D games and join in if they do (it's very common among stores to have these events) OR, if the themes appeal to you, try out some of the White Wolf books and the World of Darkness setting. You need the core rulebook to run any of the settings. The rules are pretty simple for character creation and the game itself. You only use 10-sided dice (d10s) for skill checks. You roll the d10s and any 8+ is considered a success and a 10 is a success and a re-roll for another potential success. The books themselves also do a great job of getting new players into the setting by giving a lot of examples and lots of backstory.

Once you have the core set, you can pick one or more of the books to introduce one or more "classes" to the game. There are old and new versions as you'll see on the wiki link I gave you. I've both tried only playing one "class" (Vampires and Hunters both) and mixing them together (I've had a game of 2 Vampires, a Werewolf, and a Mage and similar mixes multiple times). One of my GMs threw my group for a loop: We played a game of Vampires, Werewolves, and Mages and then, a month or so after finishing that campaign, we played all Hunters and we ended up hunting our previous characters as part of the story.

Edit: fixed typos.

First and foremost, it might help to establish whether you are Old WoD or New WoD (old: Vampire the Mascarade, Werewolf the Apocolypse, Demon the Fallen / new: Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, Demon the Descent)

There's some serious deviation between the various games, and I'd hate to think you picked up one book from oWoD and one from nWoD, because then your head will explode and you will die.

Secondly, yeah. Assuming you can talk your players back from the ledge, the best thing to do is pick up the New WoD core materials book (either World of Darkness or God Machine Chronicle) and start them out as plan vanilla mortals. Play, say, a three-game story arc. Run it like a Call of Cthulhu or other pulp horror game. Go for a proper Halloween vibe. Feel free to kill everyone in the final game. They should even have a few out-of-the-box adventures you can run. This can be a prelude or just an intro-to kind of thing, but don't make anyone feel too bad about "losing" or dying or whatever.

That should establish everyone on the ground rules of the game and also give them a taste for the grittery modern setting, the less hack-and-slash friendly environment, and a bit of proper social investigation-style role playing. WoD, generally speaking, runs like a pulpy supernatural murder mystery or survival horror. You shouldn't be marching your players through dungeons or leading armies into glorious battle, but gum-shoeing it on the mean streets and eating beans out of a can between confrontations with mind-melting horrors and underground masterminds.

Finally, once everyone's on an even footing, I recommend picking ONE of the setting books - Vampire, Werewolf, Demon - and spend a week or two soaking it in. Then let your players role up some proper supernatural characters and start the campaign. If you want to rotate through the settings, maybe do another couple of three-game arcs. Run a short Vamp game. Then run a short Werewolf game. Then run a short Demon game. Then if you are still feeling absolutely crazy, try and merge the settings. But by that time, you should have run this game for the better part of a year, and feel a lot more confident in what you're doing.

I wish you the best of luck. WoD is probably my favorite RP setting. Feel free to bug us for hints or hooks or to express the inevitable "WTF, overpowered!" gripes. We're always happy to take in a little... ahem fresh blood. :-)

List of Influential RPG Titles

Dungeons and Dragons - By TSR and WotC

Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition - TSR

• Core Rulebooks
  
• Adventures (Keep on the Boarderlands, The Tomb of Horrors, The Temple of Elemental Evil)
  
  Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition - TSR
  
  
• Core Books (PHB, DMG, MM)
  
• Unearthed Arcana
  
• Campaign Settings (Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun)
  
• Arms and Equipment Guide
  
  Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 - WotC
  
  
• Savage Species
  
• Deities and Demigods
  
• Stronghold Builder's Guidebook
  
  Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 - WotC
  
  
• Core Rulebooks (PHB, DMG, & MM)
  
• Expanded Core (PHB2, DMG2, MM2, 3, 4, 5)
  
• Psionics Handbook
  
• Unearthed Arcana
  
• Complete Series (Arcane, Adventurer, Warrior, Divine, Champion, Scoundrel, Mage, Psionics)
  
• Campaign Settings (Ebberon, Forgotten Realms)
  
• Adventures (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil)
  
  Dungeons and Dragons 4e - WotC
  
  
• Core Rulebooks (PHB, PHB2, PHB3, DMG, DMG2, MM, MM2, MM3)
  
• Essentials (Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms and Heroes of Fallen Lands, Rules Compendium)
  
• Settings (Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun)
  
• Adventures (Tomb of Horrors)
  
  Pathfinder - Paizo Publishing
  
  
• Core Rulebook
  
• Advanced Player's Guide
  
• Advanced Race Guide
  
• Ultimate Magic
  
• Ultimate Combat
  
• Ultimate Equipment
  
• Game Mastery Guide
  
• Ultimate Campaign
  
• Mythic Adventures
  
• NPC Codex
  
• Bestiaries 1-4
  
  Not Dungeons and Dragons
  
  World of Darkness - by White Wolf
  
  
• Vampire the Masquerade - Vampires are so mainstream now...
  
• Werewolf the Apocylypse - Where there are vampires there are werewolves.
  
• Mage the Ascention - and witches and wizards.
  
• Hunter the Reckoning - and someone to hunt them.
  
• Changeling the Dreaming
  
  "New" World of Darkness
  
  
• Core Book
  
• Expanded Core (Vampire, Mage, Werewolf)
  
  AEG
  
  
• Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition Core Rulebook
  
• Legend of the Five Rings 1st Edition Core Rulebook
  
• 7th Sea
  
• Deadlands
  
  Other
  
  
• Shadowrun
  
• Savage Worlds
  
• Dungeon World
  
• FATE Core
  
• Call of Cthulhu
  
• RIFTS
  
• GURPS
  
• Paranoia - Super expensive on Amazon, not sure why.
  
• Elf Quest - Also a very popular graphic novel.
  
  Authors to Look for
  
  
• Gary Gygax - Role Playing Mastery and Master of the Game
  
• Monte Cook
  
• John Wick
  
• Dave Arneston
  
  RPG Related Non-Fiction
  
  
• Confessions of a Part Time Sorceress - Shelley Mazzinoble
  
• Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It
  
  RPG Fiction, also essential
  
  
• Dragonlance - Chronicles Triligy by Weise and Hickman - Set in a D&D campaign Setting
  
• Drizzit's Series - By R. A. Salvatore. Icewind Dale Trilogy and The Dark Elf Trilogy
  
• The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist - It's allegedly the story of the author's long running D&D game.
  
  Other Lists
  
  
• Good Reads Popular RPG titles.
  
• Wikipedia timeline of RPGs
  
  Honorable Mentions
  
  
• Star Wars - d6 Edition, d20 Edition, SAGA Edition, Star Wars RPG (Fantsy Flight)
  
• Star Trek - Various Incarnations
  
• Serenity the RPG
  
• D&D Comic Books
  
• Buffy the RPG
  
• Whatever the heck "Demon" is...
  
  *Please add suggestions below, I'll add to the list as I revisit this thread throughout the day. Adding Amazon links now.

Two years ago White Wolf got out of the traditional print industry, because it's not doing so well. Most of the above books are long out of print, although some places continue to have stock.

We've transitioned to a PDF/print-on-demand model. Now older products never go out of print, because when you order one, a new copy is printed for you. We make it easy for people to get books which were previously hard to find, and even better, we can continue to make money off older stock (traditionally, we'd have made pretty much all our money within the first six months).

It's also a lot easier for us to track sales. If Geist: The Sin-Eaters is selling really well, we can see that and have some solid evidence to support creating additional books for the line.

All the books are the pretty much same as the original print run, but now you don't need to pay astronomical prices for them.

As an example: Kithbook: Pooka had a small print run initially, which drove up prices. It's available on Amazon for $100 new or $61 used.

Now you can get your own print copy from our store for $15.99, which was about the original price of the book. Everyone wins.

If you mean a vRPG, we already have one and it HEAVILY apes Dragon Age Origins. It doesn't have the polish or graphics and the UI is heavily unintuitive, but if you figure that out and turn the graphics to max you will find a pretty good story buried under there. http://www.gameofthrones-rpg.com/

if you mean a tabletop RPG, we have that too although it's out of print. Made by Guardians of Order, the guys who did Big Eyes, Small Mouth, it's every bit as political and unforgiving as the books it's based on. Definitely not a hack and slash RPG unless you want to go through characters like toilet paper. http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-D20-Based-Open-Gaming/dp/1588469425

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1588461254/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1451590153&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0786965606/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1451590031&sr=8-1

For those who don't want to click; used Everquest RPG PHB for $6.50 and $3.99 shipping. Used D&D 5th Edition PHB is $18.50 with $3.99 shipping.

I don't know where /u/downthegoldenstream got the idea D&D was free, nor his claims of $200 dollars to play.

But don't worry, /u/downthegoldenstream, I get it, bro. You don't want to play with me. It's cool. Happy New Years, bro. Peace out.

Best monsters you can have are the ones you make yourself. That is to say, don't be afraid to throw some stats down as you see fit and give dots were you think they should go. As for powers and such, go with the theme of the monster you want them to fight.

Wanna have a werewolf stalking and killing livestock and even members of a small, isolated farming community that the group is passing through? Don't reach for the W:tF source book, go old school 'The Wolfman' on it.

Big bad is a demon? Take a day or two and watch a few exorcism movies (personal favorites are 'The Rite', 'The Last Exorcism', and 'The Haunting in Connecticut' they can give you some great ideas) and then just right down what powers you want to use and how effective most basic exorcisms will be.

Zombie plague can be fun if done right. Use normal NPCs and give them immunity to bashing and extra soak on lethal.

What if instead of a supernatural monster your hunters faced a serial killer like any slasher movie. There is a H:tV source book for that, but I like to make things on my own.

Monsters are always the easy part. The hard part is the tone and atmosphere. Nail those and your group will be seriously happy, I know I would be.

Well - if you want to get super crazy - as in - I can set an entire campaign in this city and basically never have the players leave if they don't want to. Look no further than this:

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1588467899

This is a link to the hard copy - I'm sure you can find a PDF somewhere for cheaper. But yeah basically this book is the single best book I've ever read about a city. You could adapt it to any fantasy or D&D style setting basically and it has hundreds of NPCs, rumors, and dungeons pre-mapped out. In my own mind this is the gold standard of cities.

If you're looking for a city with a more Asian flair I can recommend http://www.rpgnow.com/product/3566/City-of-Lies-Box-Set?it=1&filters=0_0_10109_0_0. Though it is heavily steeped in the Legend of the Five Rings setting - it too is very detailed and has a bunch of stuff going on with it.

If you're looking for something more modern I can recommend the city building book for Vampire the Requiem http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Damnation-City-Requiem/dp/1588462676 - I found this very helpful when I was playing world of darkness.

I'm currently running (at home): A low fantasy low magic gritty GURPS campaign that aims to achieve verisimilitude like ASOIAF.

Tabletop RPGs I'm currently playing (at home) include: A low fantasy gritty steampunk western

I'm currently running (online): See above - some players skype. And Dresden Files Fate game.

Tabletop RPGs I'm currently playing (online) include: none

I would especially like to play/run: A Requiem or Lost Game. Everyone is John. L5R

...but would also try: I'm for anything, but leary of DnD.

I live in: The US.

2 or 3 well-known RPG products other people made that I like: Riddle of Steel, GURPS, nWoD. And L5R.

2 or 3 novels I like: Game of Thrones Series, Southern Gods, Perdido Street Station series.

2 or 3 movies I like: Brotherhood of the Wolf, RED, High Fidelity

Best place to find me on-line: Reddit

I will read almost anything on tabletop RPGs if it's: GURPS related

I really do not want to hear about: Modifications to the standard D and D. Just. Play. Gurps.

I think dead orc babies are ( circle one: funny / problematic / ....well, ok, it's complicated because....) RACIST!

Games I'm in are like (link to something) uh...hrmm...

Free RPG Content I made for Gurps is available here


You can buy RPG stuff I made about Sword and Sorcery here

You can buy RPG stuff I made about Sword and Sorcery here

Seriously 5 bucks for actual copies...

Plus one more coming out in January-February. Kickstarter coming in March...




I talk about RPGs on GURPS forums under the name [redacted]

Actually, I built him as an immobile mage carry, like Ryze. Assassins all have abilities which let them jump on people and move around: see also Ahri, LeBlanc, Zed, Master Yi, etc. ASGORE is a close range mage like Annie, Ryze, and Brand, and I designed him that way because at least 80% of his fight with you is him using fire magic attacks. Sure he looks juggernautish in model, but I decided to go more based on translating the gameplay, so that playing against ASGORE in lane and team fights would feel like fighting him in Undertale.

Thanks for the compliment on my design! I'm actually a professional game designer in real life, having worked on three Vampire: the Requiem books freelance (these three: 1, 2, 3), and released two games of my own (Bad Decisions, Kitsune: of Foxes and Fools), and currently working on some other projects, both freelance and of my own. So I think seriously about these exercises!

Back in 2006 I ran a mercenary campaign using the D20 GoT system. I made a custom world and threw the party members in the middle of a civil war. Mercenaries can do quite well in that sort of environment.

It was a short-lived campaign due to scheduling, but was well received by the players!

One thing that I definitely remember about this campaign: No magic makes healing difficult. So choose your battles wisely.

My players were beset by a pack of wolves and though they survived, had to take several months rest (in game) to heal up to fighting strength again.

None that I'm aware about, but this exists if you ever feel like playing a DnD-esque game with friends:

http://www.amazon.com/Everquest-Masters-Guide-EverQuest-Playing/dp/1588461270

Monte Cook actually wrote a good book called "Requiem for a God" which was about the death of a God. there was a TON of awesome stuff in it and you can usually find the pdf for cheap on some of the game sites.

http://www.amazon.com/Requiem-God-Monte-Cook/dp/1588461041/ref=pd_sim_b_1

this should give you a lot of stuff to work with. :)

I saw you like RPG's, World of Darkness is quite fun, it's a lot more RP heavy than D&D, I find.

I like Baoding balls.

Are you looking for the kind of thing that uses examples to put power levels in perspective? Like, "One dot in Strength = average human, can lift a TV... Seven dots = Able to drop-kick a Hummer" kind of thing?

It's been long enough since I read any of those books that I can't remember if I ever saw one of those examples go past 5 or 6, but if I had to guess I'd say you might find something like that in a Storyteller's Handbook or (Google, Google) Elysium, which had rules for playing elder vampires.

You might be better off looking into something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-D20-Based-Open-Gaming/dp/1588469425

I know how much fun it can be to convert D&D into different settings, but it is a HUGE amount of work. I spent weeks creating a Ghostbusters P&P RPG in the Shadowrun 4th edition system, and it was just to much work.

edit I just saw the price tag, IGNORE ME!

I bought one during the early days of EQ. Maybe it was during Velious or possibly Luclin. I spent hours reading all the info in it. I still have it and pull it out from time to time. Not very helpful for abilities and skills but amazing for some extra lore. This is my copy

Do you mean videogames like Telltale Games series or even Crusader Kings mod?

Or do you mean more of a pen and paper or tabletop or card game?


Or any of the above as long as people liked them?

There are several actually. This appears to be the most recent and best liked

Another from 2005

There may be more.

http://www.amazon.com/OP-Mage-Storytellers-Handbook-Rev/dp/1588464024/ is the ST book I want. The revised tribe book is black not white, with a picture not the tribe logo. Yes I want them. You want the minis in exchange?

i'll just suggest the new World of Darkness because i think it's cool. pretty simple and adaptable system

http://www.amazon.com/World-Darkness-White-Wolf-Studio/dp/1588464849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344394194&sr=8-1&keywords=world+of+darkness

EQ was my intro to RPGs as well. The experiences I had in that game are what I strive to create in my campaigns. Here is a link to an amazon listing of the PHB. I don't think thy had any other sourcebooks for it though sadly.

Perhaps you should get some funny shaped dice and some friends together around your dining room table and play some World of Darkness and make your own zombie story.

The corebook is a little under 30 dollars on Amazon, and you can generally get enough ten sided dice for 5 bucks in any card or hobby shop. Other than that, you only need a couple pieces of paper and some moderate to decent narrating skills and a little creativity. Although these printable character sheets in one, two, and four page versions are useful. And if you're not sure about trying out something new and different from the video gaming you're used to based on the word of some randie off the internet, well, there's this free quickstart campaign.

I would almost, almost be willing to run a game, but I've realized that when I run games over IRC, I tend to ignore real life and become a reclusive hermit, and I'm trying to avoid doing that.

Necromancer Games put out a City of Brass high-level adventure years ago that I played through - had a great time with it. Doesn't look like you can buy it from them any more (they're gone) but it's still on Amazon.

I played an azer-blooded dwarf bard who was there looking for his grandfather so he could get approval for his marriage. The grandfather ended up being an azer slave that was one of the ringleaders for a slave uprising.

I believe that campaign ended with us goading the tarrasque into attacking the City walls by flying away from it at top speed with its eggs, throwing them at the wall, and then flying away. That was done as a distraction so we could sneak into the Sultan's palace and kill him, after we learned his True Name.

Amazon has them under the used section of the listing.
Amazon

There are entire books you can get that are D20 but take place in established MMOs.

[EQ] (http://www.amazon.com/EverQuest-Players-Handbook-Role-Playing-Game/dp/1588461254/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426774878&sr=1-1&keywords=everquest)

[WoW] (http://www.amazon.com/World-Warcraft-Roleplaying-Game-d20/dp/1588467813/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426774925&sr=1-1&keywords=world+of+warcraft+d20)

Do you mean Elysium?

New world or Old? I'd say start by reading the core book for nWod: The World of Darkness and one of the core splats that strikes your fancy: Vampire, Geist, Werewolf, Mage, Changeling, Hunter, etc. Between those two books you'll be ready to run a game. You can also find some SAS (stand alone stories) for your chosen game if you prefer published stories to writing your own.

Just to clarify, you're referring to the now-defunct A Game of Thrones RPG, put out by... White Wolf? Maybe?

They're referring to A Song of Ice And Fire Roleplaying, by Green Ronin.

Make up your own story with these mechanics.

A Game of Thrones: D20-Based Open Gaming RPG

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE ROLEPLAYING
The Game of Thrones RPG