Ten Curseborne reactions from a longtime WOD fan

 
Hey folks,

I just finished my read through of Curseborne's manuscript and being the longtime fan(atic) of the World of Darkness I am, I thought I'd share ten thoughts as my initial reaction. Overall, I really like it and think that it'll probably be my World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness substitute even if it's very distinct.

1. It is a lot easier to run mixed groups

One of the persistent struggles of World of Darkness was the fact that all of the gamelines might as well have been separate. Vampire: The Masquerade supplements were fairly useless for Werewolf players and the same for Mage ones. You could do crossover but it was strongly discouraged with everyone going, essentially, "if it's not like us, kill it." This is not the case for Curseborne and all of the supernatural Lineages basically can get along even if they don't necessarily do. As such, this has a lot more potential for mixed groups of wizards, vampires, and werewolves.

2. It is a very weird world

If I had to use video game references, I'd say Curseborne is far more Alan Wake and Control than it is Bloodlines. The world is full of inexplicable uncontrollable magical phenomenon that can't be explained but only dealt with. I'd argue it's more Doom Patrol than even Hellblazer. For the most simplistic example, in Bloodlines, you deal with a haunted hotel based on the Overlook from The Shining. It's haunted because it has a serial killer's ghost in it. In Curseborne, you may actually be dealing with the hotel itself being evil and actively working against you.

3. It is more Chronicles of Darkness than World of Darkness

I feel like this description is almost cheating as its true but due to the other things listed here. However, it's something that should be stated upfront. Chronicles of Darkness was a horror game set in the "real" world with disorganized supernaturals wandering among us and weird phenomenon. World of Darkness was heavily organized conspiracies in a stylized Gothic Punk world. The fact Curseborne is way more the former than the latter shouldn't be expected since, well, OPP really developed the Chronicles of Darkness world in the first place.

4. Characters are antiheroes not monsters

A big difference drawn starkly between the Accursed and the vampires of, say, 5th Edition is that the Accursed have some serious problems but aren't automatically required to flip out and kill everyone. They're significantly more able to keep their humanity (for whatever value that is) and are far more "people with powers that have serious drawbacks" versus "alien in human suit" as sometimes Werewolf and Changeling were. They aren't required to use their powers to help people but the gameworld doesn't imply a Blackhart who eats the addictions or withdrawal pain of addicts is Doing It WrongTM. The game also provides a bunch of truly alien beings to contrast against the more human-like PCs. I should note that there's some Lineages and Families that are much worse about this than others and Damnations that do push you to the "monster" side of things but the line is much, much further.

5. It makes a delightful mockery of the Masquerade

One of the revelations of the 21st century has been the fact that not only do people believe all of the utter insanity that a lot of the conspiracy theories are built upon (as in millions of people) but none of this actually matters in day to day life. Barbara Jones the soccer mom may well fully 100% believe in vampires controlling the world but this won't trigger a Second Inquisition because no one is going to pay for it.She probably wouldn't support it either since she'd rather not be taxed for it. After all, it'll probably be someone else's kids getting eaten. The Accursed may keep their activities secret so they get chopped up in a lab but if a guy goes on Youtube proclaiming he's a werewolf, well, is that video footage real or AI?

6. Street level versus International Conspiracy

While I'm sure this will change with later supplements, the implications are that the Families are about the highest level of organization you get in this world and they're disorganized as fuck. There's no Camarilla or Technocracy here but you might have a local vampire mob or court of supernaturals tun by a literal god in human form. As such, I expect the adventure you'll run will be far more like, "rescue girl from a kidnapper who feeds on fear" or "close up portal to Hell in basement" versus "ancient vampire rises in the East and wipes out your Clan." Ironically, this makes international play far easier as there's no massive nation states of supernaturals to deal with. Weirdness in Tokyo will not have much effect on weirdness in New York, unless it does.

7. The system is simple and functional

I'm more of a lore man than a crunch man but the system is unified and flexible in a way that wasn't the case with the Storyteller system past 1st Edition. Curseborne aren't as complicated as each individual splat and while I have annoyingly specific questions like whether the Hungry have fangs or not, whether subjects remember being bitten, and so on, the general fact is they are mostly humans plus a certain number of traits unique to each Lineage. You can make a character in about thirty minutes fitting just about any type of supernatural and gameplay should be extremely fast. 

8. Supernaturals are far more varied

One of the annoyances of the World of Darkness was trying to reconcile the mythology of all the world's vampires with the explicitly Judeao-Christian myth of Caine. Which is fine for some games but a non-starter for others. Here, the Lineages are explictily more, "we're kind of like X but have a origin related to Z." It's also implied by groups like the Hydes that new ones can be created at any time and we're only scratching the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, the Antagonists section makes it clear there's just a lot of outright WEIRD shit out there that defies description. This is a game that would allow you to make a Lineage or Families about guys who become werekoalas or music eating vampires in an hour and play them.

9. Otherdimensional weirdness

it should come as no surprise that the gameworld has a lot of Gnostic influences and ideas of other realities breaking into this one. It's always been a big feature of OPP's Chronicles of Darkness and some of their other games too. These worlds are portrayed as wholly alien and can mess up parts of the world in ways that turn them into miniature Silent Hills or Twin Peaks. I always liked Horizon Realms in Mage and the Penumbra in Werewolf so these can both be present.

10. This is a labor of love

This is something I am going to end on as I believe it deserves to be mentioned. A lot of recent products from a certain company (not naming names) feel like they weren't done by longtime fans and devotees of the product. They feel very corporate. This is something that clearly is the result of people who have a decades-long love for urban fantasy/horror gaming and it shines through in every page. OPP probably didn't have the opportunity to pursue every idea they wanted when working in someone else's sandbox that they clearly have the chance to do so now.