Denizens of Darkness Vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG. Which should I get?

[Green Knight]

Here we go again.

Yes, I'm an indecisive bastard. And right now I can't decide which I'd prefer to own, first. Bit tight on cash, right now, so I can only get one. So which should I get? The choices are:

Denizens of Darkness

Bloodsuckers and Other Beasties
Fiends prowl the oppressed world of Ravenloft, inflicting their whims on a terrorized populace. From the cunning blood goblins to terrible artificial constructs to the monstrous lords of the domains, evil dominates the night. This tome compiles the haunts that scourge the realm.

Fearsome Foes for Hardy Heroes
In the grand tradition of the Monster Manual and Creature Compendium, Denizens of Darkness presents a whole new host of enemies for adventurers in the Ravenloft world to face. Malevolent and malign, these creatures lurk in the darkness, to be challenged by noble heroes fighting to take back a world that should belong to them.

Essentially a Monster Manual for Ravenloft. The other choice...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Core Rulebook

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Corebook
The graveyard is cold and still. Bright moonlight deepens the shadows. The silence is disturbed by a throaty moan. Breaking through the soft, recently packed earth, a claw extends, sharp and grasping. A sickly sweet stench rises with the corpse. Desperate hunger is etched on it cadaverous face—a hunger for your blood!

Buffy: Alright, I get it. You're evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?
-3.10, Amends

No we don’t. It’s time to slay. Get ready for action and adventure—Buffy-style.

Now you can join the Slayer's world!

Inside these lustrous covers, you will find:

• An introduction to roleplaying and the Buffyverse
• A guide to character creation, including pre-constructed Heroes and White Hats, as well as the entire Original Cast, for your quick-play pleasure
• The Buffy Unisystem, streamlined for cinematic slayage and sneakage
• A primer on magic mojo, for those who dare
• A guide to the hotspots of Sunnydale
• The monsters of mayhem, all stat-ed out and ready-to-slay, and the skinny on the first five Big Bads
• Blow-by-blow instructions for creating Buffy roleplaying Episodes, Seasons and Series
• A complete Episode to get slaying fast and easy
• A guide to Buffyspeak to add sparkle to your dialogue

I'm a really indecisive bastard, so help me out here, folks. Thanks.

 

[Hand of Evil]

While I like Buffy is a different rule set, Denizens is D20 and can be used in all my games.

 

[Bagpuss]

Has to be Buffy. Reasons...

Stops you overdosing on D20 stuff, one-system for everything is not a good idea IMHO, although I do like D20 I like a change now and again.

Eden Studios have exceptional production values and I have yet to be disappointed by a single thing they have published.

The Uni System is a pretty simple and quick system and excellent for mimicing film/TV type action.

Erm I bet there are more babes in the Buffy core book.

Its not yet another monster book. Come on with the Monster Manual, Monster Manual II and Creature Collections I & II, etc, etc how many monsters do you really need?

 

[Voadam]

Denizens of Darkness has tons of templates, lots of vampire variations (including a humanoid non energy draining one) and lots of horror variety. It is mostly recycled 2e ravenloft monsters, but they are still neat. You can check out my review in the review section for a more complete breakdown and analysis.

I don't own buffy so I can't say much about it.

 

[Darkness]

Buffy.

And here's why (on Nutkinland and rpg.net):

http://pub115.ezboard.com/fnutkinlandfrm21.showMessage?topicID=1585.topic
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13224&perpage=40&pagenumber=1
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13407&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

(Note: Be aware that these boards don't have a language filter. )

 

[Xarlen]

I so want to play this.

 

[Crothian]

I'd go with Buffy. I don't own it but I read a bunch today at the gaming store and it looks great.

Denizens, though I was very disappointed in. None of the monsters really leapt off the page or seemed really cool. I just was not impressed at all by this book.

 

[Psion]

Denizens of Darkness has some okay stuff in it, but there are better monster books.

I'm not a Buffy Fan, but if you are, it is probably a more essential purchase.

 

[Xeriar]

I'm not much of a Buffy fan, but I do enjoy the show once a year or so.

I bought the RPG anyway, because I'm compulsive like that. It's great - the rules are a kind of a Storyteller/Deadlands (not d20) combo, while the the feel is that of a very, very light-hearted World of Darkness/7th Sea (Drama Points versus Drama Dice, and all).

The basic system is pretty simple, and the quotes are a riot.

I wouldn't call it flawless, but it shines compared to d20 in that regard, anyway.

 

[BadMojo]

So, Green Knight, what did you get? I was just reading through my copy of the BtVS RPG and thought of this thread.

If you haven't decided yet, I'll place a late vote for the Buffy game. IMO, this is one of the few RPGs based on licensed material that actually emulates the source perfectly. It's obvious that some talented folks with a genuine love for the Buffy show spent a lot time getting this one right.

I really need to write up a review of this game (and post it somewhere, I suppose).