Pyramid Review
World of Darkness: Mafia
Published by White Wolf Game Studio
Written by Ari Marmell, Matthew McFarland, C.A. Suleiman, and Ed Hall
Illustrated by Mike Danza, Andy Trabbold, Kirk Van Wormer, and Kieran Yanner
128-page perfect bound softback; $17.95
For the World of Darkness, 2002 is the "Year of the Damned," in which the lengths to which its inhabitants are prepared to go in fulfilling their lofty ideals -- or darkest cravings -- are explored. It asks if the ends justify the means and what true price is there to be paid for the acquisition of power. This theme will run across supplements for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Kindred of the East, Hunter: The Reckoning, Vampire: Dark Ages, and Vampire: The Masquerade, before culminating in the next RPG for the World of Darkness, Demon: The Fallen.
The first release in the series is World of Darkness: Mafia, which examines the place of the "men of respect" alongside, as well as within, the supernatural that is the World of Darkness. There has always been a certain fascination with the Mafia, mostly fueled by the romantic vision we see on screen in such Hollywood films as The Godfather (and its sequels), Goodfellas, plus more recently in the award-winning television series The Sopranos. This has lead to supplements for RPGs such as Shadowrun and Cyberpunk 2020, and even a complete RPG in the form of the excellent Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai. Across the various World of Darkness core games, there have been plenty of suggestions . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 19, 2002
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