World of Darkness (Main Rulebook) [Hardcover]

The World of Darkness Rulebook takes everything that made the old Storyteller system great and given it an overhaul. The result is a slick, beautifully written system that is not only simple to use but wonderfully adaptive.
The lack of meta-plot, something at first that actually turned me off it, in fact frees the Storyteller and players from searching through endless source books to make sure their story fits in with the pre-made background material.
It encourages Storytellers to be as creative as possible, making a setting and plot that befits their style of play and in essence, makes for a more enjoyable and fulfilling experience.
To publish the World of Darkness Rulebook separately to the other core books (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage) may at first seem like an attempt to squeeze an extra few pounds (or dollars from our US cousins) out of the gamers’ pocket.
What it does do is enable you to create and tell stories centred around the mortal ilk of the World of Darkness, an unforgettable and sometimes foreboding experience as your near-helpless human characters are faced with unimaginable power and terror.
When it does come to the point where you wish your characters to become one with the darkness itself, you are no longer faced with buying a book that repeats the rules all over again and gives you very limited background and theme material for the said game.
Everything you need is in this one book, and never before has a fully functional slim-lined system been bound under one cover.
The revamped d10 system is near flawless, and enables dice rolls to slip seamlessly in between the drama. No longer does the story and pace have to suffer as you rummage through separate to-hit and wound rolls, counting up 6+ scores and deducting annoying 1’s.
In essence The World of Darkness Rulebook is as near perfect as one could expect from White Wolf.
It’s background has brought back the horror and mystery that the old WoD had started to lose.
The system itself is such a vast improvement you may feel that the game element has been virtually removed as dice rolls happen on the fly.
What is at the forefront now is the drama, the story. And that is way it was meant to be played.
The old World of darkness will always have a special place in my heart, but I can say it’s progeny is a beautiful thing, something White Wolf can be proud of.

The World of Darkness core book is the main system book, detailing the world, the system, and the main population of the World of Darkness - the Mortals. Things in here will look very familiar to long time fans of the WoD; a world in darkness, gothic-punk, hidden conspiracies, things not being as they seem, the supernatural menace etc. So far, it's fairly typical fare, and doesn't give much reason to own the book if you already have all the old WoD books. But this, in my opinion, is only a surface similarity. Let me get this clear, it is similar to the old World of Darkness, it is similar to the Storyteller system...but this isn't a mere update, this isn't a simple revision. This is an overhaul. Ending the old line gave White Wolf the opportunity to start at the beginning, keep some of the things they liked, and completely change things they didn't. The book itself is very stylish, cover to cover, it's a work of art in itself, with a glossy front cover, and incredible artwork, as you would expect from a White Wolf publication. The stories inside are very well done, and the information is portrayed neatly. As far as the system is concerned, there is much here that old WoD players will recognise, but there are still many changes, mainly used to streamline the rules, making it so that when they come into play, they are over with quickly, bringing the focus back to where it should be, playing the game. And i think making the main book concentrate on mortals is a stroke of genius. It brings to mind the fact that although there are super powers at work in the WoD, the world is primarilly made up of normal, human, mortal masses.

I might have given this book 4 stars on it's own, because although it is an astounding fount of information, there are still many common threads that run between this book and the previous WoD incarnations. But I upped it to 5 because of it's potential. With what's changed, to the system and the world, I can't wait to see what White Wolf do with the upcoming Vampire, Werewolf and Mage sourcebooks, as well as any other expansion books. It's a revolution in the Storytelling system, it's not a simple update at all, it opens up whole worlds of possibility now that White Wolf have more or less restarted after the old WoD became too cluttered with metaplot. If you have the old systems, and you like the old systems, then I suppose you could do away with buying this book. But for new and old gamers alike, I would advise buying this book. It has so much potential, and so many possibilities, and new players will be able to slip into it no problem. Even the old players that like the old system may like to get this simply because I believe the rules make a great deal more sense. In summation...only if you're a dyed in the wool old skool WoD player would I advise against this book, as there are quite a few changes...but if you're a role-player, old or new, buy this book, and have fun...

Unlike most of the other reveiwers, I've never encountered World of Darkness before, so this is my first foray into the Storytelling system.

The system is a cinch to learn and use. Rolling all those dice in your dice pool gives a feeling of such power!

The book itself is well written and laid out. The 'snippets' of stories used for background info are excellent. Just creepy and dark enough to whet your appitite and get you looking at the world around you in a whole new light (or 'dark'!)

All in all, a must have for any serious gamer.