You might hear the terms 'old' World of Darkness, 'classic' World of Darkness, 'new' World of Darkness, 'a' World of Darkness, and Chronicles of Darkness and you might be wondering: "What does this mean? What does any of this mean?! I've covered my body in complete and utter gibberish nonsense!!!" - maybe not that last bit (unless you're a tattoo or red dwarf fanatic). But, I'm sure if you're reading this post you are feeling rather confused about all these annoying titles and need a little reassurance. It's ok, we've all been there. These are the only two terms you need to worry about: World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness.
You see, once upon a time, White Wolf created World of Darkness and a game mechanic called the storyteller system. Then the brand split between two separate companies (and I'm simplifying this a lot!) they both obtained licencing to publish World of Darkness content, and with the split came new naming conventions. The first company were branded: old or classic World of Darkness, and the second company were branded: new World of Darkness. IMHO it was a very confusing time!
SO, to tidy up this confusion the second company decided to re-brand their content Chronicles of Darkness and for added effect they also created a new gaming mechanic called the storytelling system (supposedly an improved version of the storyteller system).
The storyteller and storytelling systems each employ different mechanics (I haven't decided which one I like better yet, 'er or 'ing... they are both really great ways to play RPGs using D10 dice). Now I bet you are wondering who's who in Whoville? So to make it extremely easy on both your eyes and my fingers I've created this table:
Brand: | Systems they use: | Publishing rights: | Owned by: |
Chronicles of Darkness | Storytelling | Onyx Path Publishing | Paradox Interactive |
World of Darkness | Storyteller | Renegade Games Studio | Paradox Interactive |
Yep, Paradox owns the lot. Onyx Path often still publishes under the name White Wolf and Renegade Games Studio recently took over the selling of World of Darkness content on their website. Even if it still seems confusing, you still only need to remember two terms:
Chronicles of Darkness and World of Darkness.
I like being helpful so I'm going to add one more table in this post: - this in no way represents 'all' the games available but it is an extensive list.
Chronicles of Darkness Games: | World of Darkness Games: |
| |
vampire: the requiem | vampire: the masquerade |
mage: the awakening | mage: the ascension |
werewolf: the forsaken | werewolf: the apocalypse |
changeling: the lost | changeling: the dreaming |
geist: the sin eaters | wraith: the oblivion |
demon: the decent | demon: the fallen |
hunter: the vigil | hunter: the reckoning |
beast: the primordial | hunters hunted |
mummy: the curse | mummy: the resurrection |
promethean: the created | kindred of the ebony kingdom |
| |
(storytelling system) | (storyteller system) |
If you are struggling to decide which game to play next consider the two game systems and which one you are already familiar with. If you are brand new find out what your friends are playing or want to play. I would suggest starting with the latest versions. For example if you decide to play Vampire: the Masquerade start with 5th edition and read through the rules, join a group or ST for your friends, I recommend a quick-start or one-shot for beginners.
Once you are familiar with the storyteller mechanics you may want to explore older versions such as the 20th anniversary edition. If you are really struggling to decide which version to play have you considered flipping a coin or rolling a dice? after all, dice will determine your fate no matter what RPG you decide to play.
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