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A Descent Into the Maelstrom

"And much of Madness, and more of Sin, 
    And Horror the soul of the plot."
- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Conqueror Worm"

      In an essay aptly named "Why We Crave Horror Movies," Stephen King discusses the appeal of watching nightmares come true on film.  He gives some reasons why people like horror, such as the need to face death, to re-establish what it means to be normal, to experience a touch of adrenaline, and to "keep the gators fed."  He's speaking about the subconscious parts of ourselves that can enjoy murder, mayhem, and sin, at least from a distance.  It's not about watching things you would want to happen, or even things that could plausibly happen, but about experiencing the catharsis of the gothic tale.  When the gators are fed, we experience a kind of release, and the real benefit is that we can leave our fantasies and go back to normal life. 

      Horror films are akin to roleplaying games that focus on dark themes, such as crime and fear.  Part of the fun is that you can be Frankenstein or Dracula for a while and affect a world in all kinds of mystical and even terrible ways, and no one needs to get hurt.  You can make the World of Darkness what you need it to be - the claustrophobia of the Amityville Horror, the haunted town of IT, or the sleek metropolis of The Matrix - and paint it red.  You can build your own myths and intertwine them with things you see every day.  You can question what it means to be human and to be humane, if that's your desire - and then, when the curtain falls, you get to walk away.

      But the World of Darkness, as a name, doesn't mean the same thing to all people.  The Old World of Darkness was developed over a series of games, such as Vampire: the Masquerade and Werewolf: the Apocalypse, between 1991 and 2004.  It was a gothic-punk setting for badass people, lit by neon, cruelty, and the flash of fangs.  It had its own rules system, supernatural character types, and a setting that was recognizable without being completely uniform.  The system was put out in three editions, but the World of Darkness' feel remained largely unchanged.  I fell in love with Vampire: the Masquerade in 1995 and it was all I needed for several years.  It brought together so many things I enjoyed that it put most movies and books to shame.  

      Then the New World of Darkness emerged and supposedly put an end to the old.  Everything was re-imagined from the ground up and though some things were familiar, the system was decidedly different.  Like many, I didn't see the need for a new game, and I discovered how much was left to enjoy in the old.  But with time, I started to give the New World of Darkness a fair shake.  I have found the new setting to be open and intriguing, and there are things to love in both versions.  They come from the same spring and they feed many of the same needs, so this site will respect and expand upon both.

      To get the best view of this site, please download the Ruben font.  Unzip it and install them in your Windows Font directory, then refresh or reload this site.  It won't take but a moment, and it'll enhance the whole look of the place.  To navigate the site, use the links in the lefthand sidebar.  Should you have any comments or questions, feel free to use the guestbook or send me an email.    

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