Story Ideas

The Embrace: The characters are newly created vampires, and may even begin the game as mortals. In this story, the characters and Storyteller play out the (sometimes ecstatic, often horrific) Embrace, and establish the relationship between the characters and their sires (the vampires who transform them into undead). Were the characters transformed knowingly or against their wills? Do they get along with their sires or hate them for what they have done? How do the characters react to their newfound state (the need to drink blood, the pain and fear inspired by sunlight, etc.)? How do they deal with the fact that they are forever severed from their mortal lives?

Power Struggle: The characters are new in town and must wrest their nightly livelihood from established undead. In this story, the characters and Storyteller play out the gritty realities of establishing one's niche in a hostile town. Must the characters fight for hunting grounds? Make deals with established vampires who are also seeking to raise their status? Use mortals to undermine their rivals power bases from within?

Love Story: A character falls in love with a mortal or another vampire. If the object of affection is mortal, is the love requited - and if so, does the character inform his love that he is a vampire? (Doing so, remember, is a violation of the Masquerade and punishable by both parties' deaths.) If the beloved is another vampire, does she return the love - or merely use the character as a convenient pawn? And what if a hideous Nosferatu falls in love with a beautiful Toreador or Ventrue?

Fight for Survival: Something wicked this way comes. Perhaps the Sabbat stages a raid on the city; perhaps a rogue, bloodthirsty Methuselah appears and being wreaking havoc like the pagan god he effectively is. In any event, the characters must outwit or outfight this threat to their domains.

Other Storytelling Games in the World of Darkness

While vampires play their night-games in cities, there are other creatures who lurk in the shadows, and even Kindred fear them.

All of the following games are set in the World of Darkness, and use Vampire's Storyteller game system, so you can play them alone or stage crossover adventures of horrific proportions.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse

Werewolf: The Apocalypse is about anger over the loss of what werewolves hold most dear: Gaia, the Earth itself. Corruption by the Wyrm has caused the destruction of not only werewolves' environment, but of their families, friends and culture - and the corruption spreads. The time for reconciliation is past. This grave insult against Gaia can end in only one way - rage.

Mage: The Ascension

Magick is not dead. It slumbers beneath the disbelief of our modern age. In the shadows, sorcerers, mad mystics and technological wizards conspire to rule. The future they plan may be darker or more wonderful than we can imagine. Mage: The Ascension places you in the midst of supernatural intrigues and inner struggles. Mage drags spirituality and metaphysics screaming through the streets of a postmodern hell.

Wraith: The Oblivion

Just because you're dead doesn't mean your problems are solved. With Wraith: The Oblivion you journey into the lands of the Restless Dead, where ghosts walk and passions sustain life after death. From loved ones left behind to dens of spectral monsters born at the dawn of time, Wraith: The Oblivion is a game of nightmarish horror and stunning beauty.

Changeling: The Dreaming

The gates to Arcadia, the original paradise, are closed. Only the world of humanity remains. Unaware of our true nature, humankind crushes us beneath its banal heel. We are changelings, the forgotten ones, neither fully fae nor wholly mortal. The last of our kind on Earth, we have built ourselves an invisible kingdom. With the power of our Glamour, we exist in a real world of make-believe where "imaginary" things can kill, and "pretend" monsters are real.

Vampire: The Masquerade is elegantly simple, but you can explore its World of Darkness setting further by delving into some of the vastly detailed source material available for it.

Vampire: The Masquerade

This hardcover rulebook, a few dice and your imagination are all you need to begin your adventure into Vampire: The Masquerade.

Core Supplements

The Vampire Players Guide and Storytellers Handbook each offer a wealth of information for expanding and detailing your nocturnal adventures.

Clanbooks

The clanbooks give the ancient history and darkest secrets of the children of Caine.

The Chicago Chronicles

This three-volume set is a collection of source material for epic Vampire chronicles set in and around the Windy City.

Vampire: The Dark Ages

The vampires of the Dark Ages were not bound to secrecy like the Kindred of today. The power of the 12th-century vampire was overwhelming - as were the dangers he faced. Vampire: The Dark Ages is a stand-alone rulebook that allows you to play vampires at the height of their power.