Anybody care for an alternative to World of Darkness?

[VelvetViolet]

You could take that and use it write a very cool in-game fortune telling mechanic using the tarot deck. The game would have to be more on the side of play to find out, but it would be an awesome way to set things in motion and foreshadow events.

IIRC, Nephilim actually provided suggestions for doing that. I have no idea how one would go about doing that, tho. I’m no occultist.

I do think some of the suggestions could be useful for designing coherent mini-settings. (The Chariot, for example, could be the basis of a technophile/techgnostic setting loosely based on the virtual adepts, nosferatus, glasswalkers, unchained, etc from World/Chronicle of Darkness. Basically, the rebels from the Matrix, vampire computer hackers, cyberpunk werewolves, and Agent Smith team up to fight the Safeguard from BLAME!.)

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

I've seen some pretty impressive fan creations for urban fantasy using Blades in the Dark.

Pam Punzalan melded the world of the Grishaverse novels with the city of North Hook from BitD in her One More Notch hack, which includes setting material, playbooks and expansion material.

One More Notch by Pammu

A Blades in the Dark x Grishaverse Hack

thedovetailor.itch.io

Pam has also created a Filipino counterpart to the World of Darkness, Waking the Dead, which is inspired by Hunter: the Vigil but goes in very different directions, also running on the BitD engine. Nearly 200 pages long!

Waking the Dead by Pammu

A FitD HUNTERDREAM set in an alternative Metro Manila.

thedovetailor.itch.io

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

Speaking of tarot-based game mechanics, Jamila R. Nedjadi, a professional tarot reader and really prolific designer who just started up last year, has designed Oathbreakers, using Avery Alder's Belonging Outside Belonging system, but with tarot card mechanics.

OATHBREAKERS

is inspired by the urban fantasy genre and Vertigo comics from the 90s. This game is the demon playing the piano in a rundown bar, the magic that breathes between life and death, the hunt for the truth.

It is also inspired by the tarot, and my 20 years of experience of using it personally and professionally. I wanted to distill some of the creative and intuitive themes of the tarot in a game for everyone to enjoy!

It's in playable Beta now.

Oathbreakers by Rae Nedjadi

Kill the Conspiracy with your Magic

temporalhiccup.itch.io

 

[VelvetViolet]

So here are some ideas for worlds in a shared setting.

• "Earth" resembles contemporary Earth. It was inhabited by magical creatures until most left during the Renaissance or around that time, and at the same time magicians lost their power. In more recent years, magical creatures have been returning from the other worlds and magicians have started regaining their power.
• Uberwald is a country on another world where magic has remained stronger compared to Earth. The country is ruled by nobility composed of vampires, werewolves, wizards, etc. A number of these creatures have emigrated to Earth and brought their feuds with them.
• Circuit City is a virtual reality city. It outwardly appears much like a 90s cartoon interpretation of a cyberspace world and plays host to a hidden underbelly of viruses, anti-viruses, and reality hackers fighting for control. Their virtual nature doesn't stop them from visiting Earth in physical form.
• Fairyland is exactly, or not exactly, what it sounds like. It's a terrifying place subject to the capricious whims of fairy lords that more closely resemble Lovecraftian deities than Tinkerbell. Most of the emigrants from this place are refugees and exiles.
• Time Police Headquarters is exactly what it sounds like. The worlds aren't fixed in time, and somebody has to stop malicious time-travelers and time-displaced monsters from wreaking havoc.

Let me know what you think.