Pyramid Review
The World of Darkness Storytelling System Rulebook
Published by White Wolf Game Studio
Written by Bill Bridges, Rick Chillot, Ken Cliffe, & Mike Lee
Illustrated by Thorn Ang, Sam Araya, Tim Bradstreet, Jeremy Jarvis, Becky Jollensten, Michael Kaluta, David Leri, Jason Manley, Mark Nelson, Jean-Sebastien Rossbach, Greg Ruth, Christopher Shy, Durwin Talon, Josh Timbrook, & Jamie Tolugson
226-Page Black & White Hardback; $20
The World of Darkness is dead. The setting that spawned a handful or two of RPGs, made roleplaying cool, and in the "live" versions made it really hip, is no more. White Wolf began the process with Gehenna and continued through the other Time of Judgement titles. Of course, this was not a case of pulling of the plug, but a mere click of the reset switch.
Thus it returns, this time in a "One book to rule them, and in the World of Darkness bind them" format. The World of Darkness Storytelling System Rulebook provides the mechanical nuts and bolts along with a little philosophical musing that together underpins all future releases, beginning with Vampire: the Requiem and followed by Werewolf: The Forsaken and Mage: The Awakening.
Presented in an attractive dark blue hardback, the rules for the new World of Darkness are not wholly new, but drawn from previous iterations, including Vampire Revised and Adventure! They are clearly written and explained, and the overall impression is that this volume allows the rules space to breathe and exist on their own away . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: August 5, 2005
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