Game books devoted entirely to the Art of Death, Destruction, and Detective Lieutenant John McClane rarely win me over. It’s a personal taste because I fully know that a handful of the players in my gaming group deeply appreciates the details that good combat manuals can offer. I assumed when diving into this book that it would be an updated version of the Combat book White Wolf released with their original run in the World of Darkness. That book always struck me as too much comic book and too little horror. Even the front and back covers had artwork that never matched anything else in any of the other lines. I must admit there were some flinchingly horrific pieces of art in that book that I’ll call Things You Don’t Want to Happen to You. Even with those minor high points, I felt cheated by that book.

That was then . . .

Armory Reloaded gets away from White Wolf’s Street Fighter RPG rules and tries to remain attached to the grit and horror of the setting. In the introduction, readers are told that “Combat is Horror.” The writers of this book don’t want to make the same mistake the miserable Combat made. The development of this project backs the statement through both its writing and artwork.

In the world of darkness your character may come equipped with fangs, claws, immense strength or dark sorceries with which to engage in combat, but there will always come that time when the weapons and equipment you carry are going to save your life (or unlife as the case may be). This book purports to provide all the supplies that you might need.

It starts with an evocative description of a gunfight when some cops investigating a murder have a run-in with someone decidedly more than human, demonstrating both the strengths and weaknesses of gunplay in the World of Darkness. Then, the Introduction talks about the roles of equipment and weapons - not as a substitute for your own intelligence and skills, but as an adjunct to them. Wise words for any character venturing out into the World of Darkness, human or not.

Night Horrors: Immortal Sinners

Sins of the Ages

So many people wish for fame and renown during their lives — or even for just a little bit of notoriety. But among our Kindred, that’s very nearly a fate worse than death. Don’t take my word for it, though. Go and ask some questions. Find out about who they talk to in the Necropoli of the Nosferatu, and in the perfumed salons of Elysium. Listen to what they say about them, and listen even more carefully to what they don’t say. Then maybe you’ll understand that the worst thing you can do is to stand out in a society of blood-starved murderers, my boy.

Night Horrors: Immortal Sinners is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Freeze! - World of Darkness bundle available for a limited time.

The discipline required to be a beat cop, or in the military trains you to be strong. It teaches you teamwork, how to rely on others and how to rely on yourself. Which is a damn good thing. You need every edge you can get. You’ll see for yourself when you discover what else is out there in the night…

This bundle includes Tales from the 13th Precinct, Dogs of War and World of Darkness: Armory. At regular price these books would be $81.97 - For this week only, download all three for the sale price of $35.99, a savings of 56%.

The Freeze! bundle is available for a limited time at RPGNow.com.

Chicago lies at the center of the web that is the American heartland. Tendrils of power, wealth, and reward stretch outward, ensnaring the selfish, greedy, and unwary. Yet, Chicago attracts its predators, too. Creatures that would have the city for their own, spinning their own webs of malice and intrigue. But among the city’s towering skyscrapers and wind-swept streets, who is the spider and who is the fly?

Normal price for these three products if purchased separately is: $62.97. The sale price for this week is $25.99, a savings of 59%.

The Sweet Home Chicago bundle is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Demimonde, by Justin Achilli, isn’t a pleasant novel to read through. It is coarse, over-wrought, overindulgent in so many ways and unapologetic about all of it. It is Brett Easton Ellis for the 21st century. It is Less Than Zero meets American Psycho, with a dash of Nietzsche, a few sprinkles of Emmanuel Kant and whole lot of King James.

Demimonde refers to the shadowy world of the unvisible, those people gifted with the ability to not be noticed, to be the glimpses on the periphery while feeding their excesses beyond all normal limits. The demimonde is a fae world, where zombies exist because of the faith in their existence but where all-too-human political and religious ideologies rule over both conscious and unconscious thought.

Review by Joe Rixman

To the Flame is one of White Wolfs PDF based ‘adventure packs’ and another in the line of White Wolf’s relatively mature and developed products, specifically for the PDF market. This has been established in a line of products now, so I’ll spend less time praising and talking up the initiative they’ve taken on tailoring to the PDF market and concentrate a little more specifically on this particular product.

To the Flame is intended for Promethean, though, with a bit of work, it could be made to fit a crossover scenario, particularly a hunter based group. While the motivations of some of the ‘bad guys’ might need a little tweaking, as would the introduction, it should - otherwise - work fine.

Review by James ‘Grim’ Desborough

Block by Bloody Block is a PDF book for Hunter: The Vigil. It includes:

• Systems to run a Hunter: The Vigil chronicle on a larger scale, reclaiming parts of your city from various supernatural factions

• Eight urban territories, complete with story seeds and Storyteller characters, ready to be dropped into an existing chronicle or modified to your troupe’s tastes

• Storytelling advice on how to create your own territories, as well as running a Block by Bloody Block chronicle

• Links to a Block by Bloody Block online wiki

Block by Bloody Block is available now at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

White Wolf Publishing has a new eBook bundle available for a limited time only at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop. This week explore the what it means to be a soldier in the World of Darkness. This bundle includes both World of Darkness: Dogs of War and the SAS Adventure Ruins of Ur.

These materials normally retail for $31.98, but in PDF form for the next seven days, you can acquire both products for $18.99 (USD), a savings of 41%.

The service trains you to be strong. It teaches you teamwork, how to rely on others and how to rely on yourself. Which is a damn good thing. You need every edge you can get. You’ll see for yourself when you discover what else is out there in the night…

The World of Darkness: War is Hell bundle is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

White Wolf Publishing has all kinds of new books in the horizon, be sure to pre-order your copies today!

World of Darkness: Slasher

Blood Splatter

There’s a different breed of killer out there. They aren’t driven by the need to drink blood or the pulse of the full moon. They kill because they have to, because murder is the only thing they know. Will you hunt the slashers — or join their ranks?

A Chronicle Book for World of Darkness and Hunter: The Vigil

Pre-Order World of Darkness: Slasher today at Amazon.com.

The Horror Design Essay Project continues today with a little something from freelance writer Joe Rixman. Joe recently took part in our Halloween Horror series with the Tear-Drop Rattler.

Today he is going to tell us a bit about the work he did on a couple of books for White Wolf’s Vampire: the Requiem RPG.

Ancient Vampire Tales

I was lucky enough to be friends with a writer at White Wolf who thought my writing was good enough to open a couple doors. Thankfully, Matt McFarland signed me on for two books that he was developing freelance for Vampire, Ancient Mysteries and its sister book, Ancient Bloodlines. I have to tell you that I am probably the luckiest guy in the world to have gotten this opportunity and grateful to both the developers and the other writers I had the chance to work with on them. As to the actual books…

New Mage Bundle available at RPGNow!

After the Fall of Atlantis, mages wandered as exiles in the wilderness, forced to eke a living without the protection of their grand city. With new eyes, they explored the world they had so long ignored, unhindered by Atlantean creed. They discovered that magic was not born in Atlantis — it had always existed, hidden in the land itself.

These materials normally retail for $53.98, but in PDF form for the next seven days, you can acquire both Mage supplements for $20.99 (USD).

A Candle in the Darkness
The scales have fallen from your eyes. A fire is lit: is it a lamp perched over the inscription upon an ancient blade? Or a roaring conflagration consuming the house in which the howling fiends wait? Things will never be the same after this. You’ve set forth on a damning path. [...]

Requiem for Rome is a historical supplement and setting for Vampire: the Requiem from White Wolf Publishing, much like Dark Ages: Vampire was a historical setting for Vampire: the Masquerade. Requiem for Rome is a beautiful, but dark, book full of cunning aristocrats, noble savages and mysterious monsters. It is a 260 page hardcover (or eBook) filled with history, rumor and legend.

Ken Hite’s Foreward, The Deathless City, sets the mood immediately with a look at the history, secrets and terrors of Rome. Any Storyteller should be able to gather more than a few ideas from this section of the book alone. It is definitely worth the read if you get the chance.

Can You Prevent Another Great Fire?

Something disturbs the slumber of a quiet, rural town. Sixty years ago, this monster scarred the town in a terrible inferno. Now nearly rebuilt, the sightings have returned. The monster, known locally as Moth, was considered nothing more than a boogeyman to scare children. But those older folk who lived through his first visit know better. They know that Moth brings trouble.

To the Flame is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

2008 ENnie Awards

The ENnies voting server is up and running, and the virtual booth will be open from July 28th until Wednesday, August 6th.

White Wolf encourages everyone to take a few moments and participate in the awards process. Voters are tracked by IP address, and limited to one vote per individual, tracked by IP. To cast your vote, please click on the Ennies link below.

We’ve brought you previews of Hunters, we’ve shown you teasers of the Mages.

Now its time to take a look at what the Changelings are up too.

Equinox Road is a new book for the ENnie Nominated Changeling: the Lost.

The road is dangerous, and you may be torn apart by the Thorns. The destination is a risk of death, or the return to slavery. But there’s much to be gained for those brave and clever enough to dare the return — the return to Faerie.

Here is an exclusive preview of this upcoming book…

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.

Beneath the deserts of Iraq, among the ruins of the ancient Babylonian civilization, lie secrets. The ancient servants of a dead god stir again. Forgotten magic waits to be claimed. Evil spirits yearn for souls to consume. At the heart of it all is a terrible hunger – for power, for servitude, but most of all for blood.

A squad of soldiers escorting an archaeologist is thrown into the maw of these ancient secrets, and its men must fend for themselves against an ancient horror beyond their understanding. But survival is not enough, for deep in the ruins of Ur the very tools of their salvation could cost them their souls.

A story in the Storytelling Adventure System for the World of Darkness, inspired by World of Darkness: Dogs of War.

Look for Ruins of Ur and other Storytelling Adventure System eBooks at the Flames Rising RPGnow Shop.

Earlier we brought you previews of White Wolf’s upcoming Hunter: the Vigil RPG. Take a look at Professions, Endowments and exclusive quotes From the Authors.

Today we’re switching over to a new book for Mage: the Awakening. The Silver Ladder is a sourcebook that features the history, methodology and ultimate goals of the Silver Ladder as well as new spells, Artifacts, imbued items, Legacies and more.

Today’s preview offers up a sneak peek at this new book:

The Hunt

The Special Cases Unit of the Philadelphia PD was used to handling strange cases, but when a flesh-eating ghoul killed one of their own, they’re thrown into a new world where literal monsters roam the night. Now they’re working for an organization known as Task Force: Valkyrie, or they will be after they finish this hunt….

This quickstart for Hunter: The Vigil contains everything you need to play through a scenario (except for some 10-sided dice). This story is set chronologically before our other quickstart, One Year Later, but no knowledge of Hunter is needed to play this stand-alone product.

The Hunt is available for free at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.