Welcome

"Alas! it is delusion all:
The future cheats us from afar,
Nor can we be what we recall,
Nor dare we think on what we are."
- George Gordon, Lord Byron

Note to visitors: I am currently selling a significant portion of my White Wolf collection, so come have a look!

      In 1991, White Wolf Game Studios released a roleplaying game called Vampire the Masquerade, in which anyone could create a character that was, in essence, a monster - a vampire.  That in itself wasn't revolutionary or even rare; we've been creating monsters for our own entertainment since the beginning.  What really stood out was the way that White Wolf's vampires developed and were distinguished from the myriad vampires that came before.  Across a multitude of books, the "Kindred" were given their own history, "family" groups, society, politics, and special powers.  They were quickly joined by other creatures of the night that were just as fascinating to play: werewolves, mages, changelings, and more besides. 

      All of these monsters and bizarre creatures lived together, hidden from mortals, in a twisted reflection of our own world called the World of Darkness, and as each new book was released, that universe became more distinct.  It was shaped with deliberately Gothic intentions to enhance the dark and forbidding corners of mundane life, in order to create a place where themes of pain, loss, and violence could be explored (from the safety of your own home, no less).  That's not to say that there was no light or love to be found in the World of Darkness.  If anything, the milieu could highlight the beautiful and sweet more poignantly because it had such dark shadows.  But while other settings might have utterly villified the dark, the World of Darkness encouraged many shades of gray and opened the gates to the grim.  While other settings were made as stages upon which heroic characters would do the Right Thing, the World of Darkness was the neon-outlined stage for flawed characters to question the Right Thing or fail to do it altogether.

      Some people might ask how such an experience could be fun.  Why play a monster when the real world can already be so depressing?  Why roleplay personal failures when we deal with our own flaws enough?  By and large, the supernatural characters in the World of Darkness are alluring mixtures of folklore, with enough powers and struggles to make them very interesting to portray.  Their difficulties and failures can make victories all the more satisfying, and a good Storyteller blends events so that players walk away feeling content, not depressed.  The World of Darkness has had a wide following, not confined to "angsty goth" types but open to people with an appreciation for gritty stories.  For some, the World of Darkness will never fit the bill, but for others, it will offer experiences to be enjoyed and remembered.  And for some, like myself, the World of Darkness will influence other systems and settings, spreading blood and rust across the shiniest milieus.

      The power of the World of Darkness endures, even though White Wolf officially "ended" it in 2004 and re-envisioned it as the "new World of Darkness."  While there are significant differences between the two worlds, there are also similarities and relationships worth bearing in mind.  Both stem from an appreciation for the darker side of roleplaying.  Both settings are defined by the groups that use them, for good and for ill.  Both are populated by supernatural creatures that endure similar patterns.  Old or new, World of Darkness characters undergo a forcible transition that sets them apart from the bulk of humanity.  They become part of a dangerous, mystical underworld that most people don't know about and their lives can never really be the same.  These characters have to deal with what they've become in a setting that both threatens and beckons.  The new World of Darkness benefits in many ways from its late birth.  The old World of Darkness lost much of its mystery and surprise, as a territory will when it's been painstakingly mapped, from end to end. 

      Some gamers gave up on the setting because it had been so thoroughly explored, and I was one of them.  But as time has gone by, I've gone back and seen a world of possibilities that I'd missed.  I've been expanding my collection of old World of Darkness books in recent years, and giving the new World of Darkness more quarter, because I see that both settings can lead to the subconscious, to the world of dreams and nightmares where the best stories are formed.  That is why this site has become "Kismet's World of Darkness," when for many years it has only been "Kismet's Vampire: the Masquerade."  This site will still embrace Vampire and provide information about it, but the playing field will broaden to include other corners of the milieu.  It was never just Vampire that I loved, but the feel of that place with such long, enticing nights.  After several years on hiatus, I realized that I had never left that world behind - I've taken it with me through my entire roleplaying experience.  So I'll walk through well-worn, well-loved streets of information and thought with you, and then I'll detour into unexpected places to see what's there. 

      To get the best view of this site, please download the Clairvaux and Coffin Nails fonts.  Unzip them 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 toward the top of the page.  Should you have any comments or questions, feel free to use the guestbook or send me an email.    

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