History TabletopGame / ChroniclesOfDarkness

Originally known as just ''The World of Darkness'', the new ''[=WoD=]'' was created as a [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] for the old ''[[TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness World of Darkness]]''. While ''Chronicles of Darkness'' shares many tropes with the ''[=WoD=]'' it also has many differences, since it was rebuilt taking into account many criticisms of its predecessor. The biggest change was that the new Storytell'''ing''' System had a unifying (though not always balanced) set of rules [[labelnote:note]]In contrast with the old ''[=WoD=]'' which lacked unifying rules, a CrossoverCosmology, or {{Metaplot}}.[[/labelnote]] for all the following "gamelines" to build onto. The first gameline that came out detailed ordinary humans (and ghosts in brief), while also serving as the core rule-book, creating a modular design meant that a [[GameMaster Story Teller]] could run a game with all or no supernatural creatures from other gamelines. Because of this, some see the new setting as a {{retcon}} of the old, looking to fix mistakes and imbalances. Indeed, the ''Translation Guide'' series of books allows using old settings with the new rules, or vice-versa.

** Prometheans don't care about religion one way or another; they may adopt a faith, but usually to find some comfort or to try and understand humanity.

* CanonWelding: White Wolf is releasing "translation guides" which give guidelines for mixing-and-matching New and Old World of Darkness material.

* WeaponOfChoice: Quite a few of the fighting styles provided in supplementary material for the New World of Darkness focus around these, including [[KnifeNut knife fighting]], sword-and-shield, and [[{{BFS}} heavy sword]].

* AncientConspiracy: The Seers of the Throne. While the exact power they wield over ordinary humans varies between stories, ''every'' human institution is being manipulated by them to an extent to keep the setting a CrapsackWorld. Depending on the Seer in question this is either out of a selfish desire for power or to stop an [[HumansAreBastards evil]] WitchSpecies [[WellIntentionedExtremist from destroying each other]].

* WitchSpecies: [[LaResistance The]] [[AntiHero Diamond Orders]] claim that all humans naturally can use magic and accuse the [[EvilSorcerer Seers of the Throne]] and their godlike masters of breaking reality to stop most humans from doing so.

'''''Chronicles of Darkness''''' is a TabletopRPG published by Creator/WhiteWolf. The setting is a world much like our own, albeit darker. Shadows run deeper, mysteries exist around every corner, and [[PunyEarthlings humans aren't at the top of the food chain]]. The Earth is shared with various supernatural creepy crawlies that [[WarmBloodbagsAreEverywhere prey on humans like cattle]], [[MurderIsTheBestSolution kill them out of convenience]], and [[AncientConspiracy use them as pawns in eternal conflicts]].

* {{Not So Harmless Villain}}s:

** The Malleus Maleficarum, Lucifuge, Aegis Kai Doru, Ascending Ones, Cainite Heresy, and Knights of Saint George all bring considerably less conventional tools to the fight. Or recall ''where'' the Cheiron Group gets the things they implant into their agents. In no particular order, the Conspiracies mentioned use things like mini-[[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] on a leash, on-the-spot divine intervention from God, blood magic rites even vampires don't understand...

** In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'', we have ''two'' Gangrel Bloodlines: the Mystykoi, whose {{Personality Power|s}} lets them [[CrazyAwesome gain insight from]] [[EnemyWithin the Beast]], and the Maghreb Taifa scholars.

* FinalDeath: Possibly the TropeNamer.

* AbilityDepletionPenalty: [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent Spirits]] have a pool of [[{{Mana}} Essence]] points that they spend to fuel their supernatural abilities. If they run out completely, they fall into slumber until they somehow regain a point. A spirit at zero Essence also suffers FinalDeath if its HitPoints are exhausted.

* WrongContextMagic: Just about anything from the perspective of a different gameline. However anything related to the Divine Fire is in a league of its own for being incomprehensible to other forms of magic. Faerie magic isn't nearly as far out of context but still plays by different rules to most other magic.

* MugglesDoItBetter: {{Subverted}}. While there ''are'' advantages to technology like it being easier to use and more reliable, the sheer power of [[RealityWarper Atlantean Sorcery]] eclipses almost anything mortals can accomplish. Adept mages can already turn lead to gold, observe anyone from a distance, give themselves a GenderBender, see the future and cure cancer. Later on Master Mages can trap souls in ashtrays, move between dimensions, make themselves [[WindsOfDestinyChange supernaturally lucky]] or ''time travel'' amongst many other things. Also this can be done without needing equipment. Mages use tools like magic wands and staffs or incantations spoken in the Atlantean language to focus their power, but in an emergency can use magic even while BoundAndGagged. In the end this gets {{Reconstructed}}. The [[LaResistance Pentacle Order]] (who make up the majority of Mages) are the 'good' Mage faction because they want to share magic with mortals by making them Mages too. Their just split on whether they should give magic only to those who prove their worthy (Adamantine Order), give it to everyone but with themselves getting high positions in the new Awakened Society (Silver Ladder) or give it to everyone period (Free Council).

* MugglesDoItBetter: {{Subverted}}. While there ''are'' advantages to technology like it being easier to use and more reliable, the sheer power of [[RealityWarper Atlantean Sorcery]] eclipses almost anything mortals can accomplish. Adept mages can already turn lead to gold, observe anyone from a distance, give themselves a GenderBender, see the future and cure cancer. Later on Master Mages can trap souls in ashtrays, move between dimensions, make themselves [[WindsOfDestinyChange supernaturally lucky]] or ''time travel'' amongst many other things. Also this can be done without needing equipment. Mages use tools like magic wands and staffs or incantations spoken in the Atlantean language to focus their power, but in an emergency can use magic even while BoundAndGagged. In the end this gets {{Reconstructed}}. The [[LaResistance Pentacle Order]] (who make up the majority of Mages) are the 'good' Mage faction because they want to share magic with mortals by making them Mages to. Their just split on whether they should give magic only to those who prove their worthy (Adamantine Order), give it to everyone but with themselves getting high positions in the new Awakened Society (Silver Ladder) or give it to everyone period (Free Council).

* EldritchAbomination: Many of the New World of Darkness game lines offer them - Maeljin and magath spirits in ''Werewolf'', Abyssal entities in ''Mage'', the Strix in ''Vampire'', the qashmallim (particularly Lilithim) in ''Promethean'', the Kerberoi in ''Geist'', and the [[TheFairFolk True Fae]] in ''Changeling''.)

* VillainWorld: The world of darkness is controlled by ''two'' evil powers, the [[MechanicalAbomination God-Machine]] and [[RealityWarper the]] [[TranshumanTreachery Exarchs]]. While neither is unassailable and resistance against them is possible, no one has figured out how to break their hold on humanity.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Most of them, though ''Requiem'''s Invictus fit the stereotype best. And Lost's Gentry.

* FiveRaces: And five factions.
** Averted in ''[[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Hunter]]''. Since all Hunters are still human (or as human as you can get in some circumstances), they are instead split into various groups based on what they believe, or who found them first.