Line #29 TabletopGame/MonteCooksWorldOfDarkness


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5	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/McWODcover_8183.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:330:The end of the world? No, it's just the beginning.]]
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8	''Monte Cook's World of Darkness'' is a TabletopRPG set in a world much like our own, albeit with one not-so-small difference. Thanks to the intrusion of an EldritchAbomination, the [[WorldWreckingWave fabric of reality has been weakened]]. However, the intrusion was (mostly) [[BarrierMaiden halted thanks to the collective resistance of a few thousand minds]]. In the wake of this initial failure, the entity has created various brands of horrors, monsters, and supernatural phenomena around the world. This CosyCatastrophe is nonetheless subject to a {{Masquerade}} as the world is only dimly aware of the true nature and repercussions of the event that devastated a large chunk of the US. In this world, shadows run deeper, mysteries exist in every corner, and humanity [[WorldHalfEmpty is not quite the master of the world]] ''or'' its fate.
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10	Humans share the Earth with various supernatural creepy crawlies that prey on them like cattle, use them as pawns, and kill them when convenient (or at whim). In an interesting tightrope walk, individual humans have little power, but the minds of those who resisted the intrusion gained various powers that they use to fight the influence of the entity and its unwitting and willing servants.
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12	Much like the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' and the ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'', in this setting there are several supernatural creatures, albeit here they all share the same MassSuperEmpoweringEvent and have a shared cosmology rather than the sometimes [[CrossoverCosmology conflicting backgrounds]] and FantasyKitchenSink of the original setting. Utilizing the MediaNotes/D20System, it allows for a good deal of customization with other supplements and materials outside the ''World of Darkness''. This conversion of Creator/WhiteWolf's PointBuildSystem into a ClassAndLevelSystem also allows a way of porting some ''[=WoD=]'' concepts and mechanics into other games.
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15	!! This role-playing game provides examples of:
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17	* AfterTheEnd: Anything set in Minneapolis, the largest inhabited area in the Annihilation Zone.
18	%%* {{Animorphism}}: Werewolves.
19	* ApocalypseHow: Focused metaphysical annihilation at the Conflagration, surrounded by regional societal collapse, for a net effect of global societal disruption.
20	* AstralProjection: Vampires and mages can both learn this trick.
21	* BeastMan: Werewolves, naturally. Demons may have a natural form that might resemble a beastman in bad lighting.
22	* BadassNormal: The Awakened are regular humans who just so happen to be really, really competent.
23	* BarrierMaiden: Every human mind that helped push back the EldritchAbomination. It's now actively pursuing the murder of each and every such human to weaken the resistance enough to enter for good.
24	* TheBeautifulElite: True to the World of Darkness, some {{vampires\|are sex gods}} try to be this, particularly the Daeva.
25	* BecomingTheCostume: All of the costumes at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis function this way.
26	* BlessedWithSuck: It is ''not'' fun to be a supernatural being in the Monte Cook's WOD. Vampires are humans who've had the soul of a murderer put in them, for example.
27	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Iconnu don't have any conception of human morality.
28	* BodyHorror: The Nightmare Wave has some pretty nasty effects on regular life that's exposed to it. Demons, being made of Nightmare, are walking {{Brown Note}}s in their true forms.
29	* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Reality continues to be real because enough people expect it to be. The servants of the Iconnu want the clapping to stop.
30	* CompetitiveBalance: Between the supernaturals and the awakened humans.
31	* CosmicHorrorStory: Nobody knows what the Iconnu are, how they do what they do, or even if they're aware of life on Earth -- and there is no way to take the fight to them.
32	* CrapsackWorld: Not quite as bad as the other gamelines, but the good guys are still badly outnumbered, and there's still that EldritchAbomination trying to crack the wall of humanity.
33	* CursedWithAwesome: Quite a few people have literal {{Curse}}s affecting them. Some turn out to be quite useful though.
34	* DarkIsNotEvil: PlayerCharacter and NPC vampires, werewolves, and mages can potentially be a DefectorFromDecadence.
35	%%* DarkWorld: Right there in the title.
36	* DealWithTheDevil: Demons are happy to provide. Unusually, mortals don't actually forfeit their souls, although they might believe themselves to be.
37	* DemonicPossession: Several variants, actually:
38	** Vampires. Although the human may be TooSpicyForYogSothoth, leading to FightingFromTheInside and the human taking the driver's seat, and given how the "demon" in question is a human ghost, there's no particular reason why they won't decide to side with their living brethren.
39	** Werewolves are what you get when you take a rage-filled bestial spirit from another dimension and stuff it into a human body.
40	** Demons, despite the name, are ''not'' a true example of this, as they are animating nonliving material and not a person.
41	* EldritchAbomination: The Iconnu. On a smaller scale, demons.
42	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Adjustable to GameMaster desire, no less.
43	* EnemyWithin: The second soul possessing a vampire -- or, depending, the original human soul, fighting against its possessor.
44	%%* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: Mages, awakened humans.
45	* EvilVersusOblivion: A lot of the supernatural splats who fight the Iconnu do so because they need the world to exist to enjoy their particular brands of fun.
46	* ExtraStrengthMasquerade: Depending on the game, you're sometimes left wondering "okay, how the ''hell'' can they cover ''that'' up?"
47	* FantasticDietRequirement: Every demon has either a KryptoniteFactor or a daily craving for a specific odd substance, which can range from alcohol to uranium. It's a side effect of the power they use to create their earthly bodies.
48	* FantasticFragility: Most supernaturals can get ''all'' the new powers they want, and more cheaply and quickly than working honestly would bring... at the downside of getting loaded down with (usually permanent) potentially crippling weaknesses. Have we mentioned being a supernatural is BlessedWithSuck?
49	%%* FunctionalMagic: Mages.
50	%%* GameFace: Vampires can do this. Werewolves and demons have game ''bodies''.%%Meaning?
51	* {{Glamour}}: Many supernaturals can make themselves seem beautiful, trustworthy, desirable and invincible to onlookers.
52	* HermeticMagic: One way that mages can do their thing, thanks to the Nightmare Wave. It aids the mage in concentration but [[WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic isn't intrinsically magical]].
53	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: With the soul of an evil dead person animating each vampire, this crops up. One of the characters is hosting the [[TortureTechnician Marquis]] [[TheHedonist de Sade]].
54	* HorrorHunger: Vampires and blood. Some demonic cravings get pretty nasty as well.
55	* HumanShifting: Demons can take any human or human-like form they want, from {{Big Red Devil}}s to LittleGreenMen to [[AWolfInSheepsClothing a frail old lady]] to [[ParanoiaFuel your estranged father]].
56	%%* HybridOverkillAvoidance: Used to avoid template stacking.%%What is?
57	%%* HypnoticEyes: A specialty of vampires.%%Is?
58	* ImmortalityImmorality: In part because some of the more horrible people from history are coming back.
59	* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: The servants of the Iconnu do ''not'' want the world to know what is threatening it, or how important the Awakened are to it.
60	* TheMenInBlack: Humans fighting the supernaturals usually form part of these. In particular, the Intrusion Defense Agency.
61	* MindControl: Every supernatural group gets this to a greater or lesser degree.
62	* MrViceGuy: Potentially any and every player and character.
63	%%* MundaneUtility: Mage powers are ''quite'' flexible.%%Meaning?
64	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Demons are alien spirits from another dimension that inhabit non-living matter and take on a hideous form, which they can alter. Normal humans who see a demon's true form become terrified.
65	* OurSoulsAreDifferent: They can be stuffed into new bodies, fused with primal spirits, and tapped for power by demons.
66	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Vampires are human bodies possessed by the ghosts of sinners. The type of sin tends to determine the "clan" of vampire.
67	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Werewolves are humans sharing a body with a bestial, primordial spirit. Possession tends to turn even the most milquetoast of hosts into a snarling badass.
68	* RedRightHand: All of vampire Clan Nosferatu. Mages that identify very closely with their Path can gain these as well, which can cause problems for a [[GoodIsNotNice Warlock]] who starts to look like a BigRedDevil.
69	* RomanticizedAbuse: Common in the relation between vampires and their ghouls, among other things. Their body-sculpting powers them to reshape victims into house furniture, while keeping them alive and aware of their condition.
70	* SplitPersonalityTakeover: Crossed with DemonicPossession, how vampires operate.
71	* StagesOfMonsterGrief: Just about every {{splat}} has members who deny, love, hate, or go off the deep end after changing from mere human. Except Demons, who weren't human.
72	* SuperSliding: Demons, being otherworldly spirits projected into [[FightingAShadow temporary physical shells]], can learn to control their "stickiness" at will, zig-zagging the trope - one could slide frictionlessly across the floor and then switch to a WallCrawl.
73	* UnEqualRites: Mages' powers are by far the most versatile of all the {{splat}}s.
74	* TheUnfettered: Demons, thanks to being completely alien to human morality.
75	* TheUnmasquedWorld: The book gives you several suggestions on doing this and the possible consequences thereof.
76	* UrbanFantasy: The result of the Nightmare Wave making the normal world a bit... unreliable.
77	* VanHelsingHateCrimes: When you can't tell if a supernatural being has [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch gone good]], thinks it has but is an UnwittingPawn for the Iconnu, has struck out on its own but is still evil, still wants to bring down reality, or some combination of the above, this crops up.
78	* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The borders between the physical realm and the spirit worlds.
79	* WeaksauceWeakness: A demon with a Bane could be a nigh-immortal agent of [[TheCorrupter corruption]], who [[TheChessmaster deals in the wealth of nations]] and runs from the word ''Belgium''.
80	%%* WolfMan: Werewolves in their hybrid forms.
81	%%* WolverinePublicity: ''Monte Cook's'' World of Darkness.
82	* WorldWreckingWave: The Nightmare Wave left a lot of BodyHorror and {{Eldritch Location}}s in its wake.

Context TabletopGame / MonteCooksWorldOfDarkness