"Ooh! Guess what I saw on TV last night! That would make a good World of Darkness game!"
All right, it's not that bad; in fact, some of these are pretty good. What we're really testing here is the judgement of the person who wanted to adapt their favorite movie/T`V show/comic to the World of Darkness. (Note: These are only the media-based supplements which didn't fit well into the other categories.)
The Darkness
Based on the Top Cow comic series of the same name. I'll leave it to fans of the comic to decide how faithful a rendition it is; all I can say is that the character creation rules seem balanced, if simple. Background is sketchy, but again, a fan of the comic series will be able to fill in the gaps. While even the name is evocative of the World of Darkness, the ease with which a wielder of the Darkness fits into an existing chronicle would depend on the character of the wielder, not on the Darkness itself. A stand-alone chronicle would be a solo player campaign; best to mix a Darkness character with others of similar goals.
Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 1/2
Gargoyle. The Guarding By David Austin Peters
Yup. Gargoyles from the Disney series of the same name. Okay if you like that kind of thing... Concept: 1/2 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 1
Gargoyles. The Vigil 2nd Edition
By Lee Garvin
Another version of the Disney series. A lot more extensive (and thus more playable) than the other one, but you'd have to be a fan of the series to judge fairly which one is more authentic.
Concept: 1/2 World of Darkness: 1 Background: 1 1/2 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 1 1/2
Nightbreed
From the Clive Barker movie of the same name, a melange of hideous undead monsters, now wandering the world after the destruction of their city Midian in the movie.
With the awesome variety of the Nightbreed seen in the movie, this supplement is way too short to be useful. Only a full-length supplement (such as Highlander: The Gathering) could give enough social structure, abilities and powers, flaws, and other material to make the Nightbreed work. And that's a shame, because they could work beautifully.
Concept: 1 1/2 World of Darkness: 1 1/2 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1/2 Stand-alone: 1/2
Scanners: The Madness
By Mark J. Janecka
Takes the Scanner characters from the five movies didn't you know there were five?) and integrates them with the World of Darkness, most specifically with Mage: The Ascension (did you know that Biocarbon Amalgamate works with the Technocracy?). Manages to harmonize powers and abilities from all movies, even the panacea Eph-4 from the second Scanner Cop film. One could reasonably run a standalone Scanners chronicle with this supplement (and given access to the Mage: The Ascension and Vampire: the Masquerade rules). A Scanner character would most easily fit into a Mage chronicle, but I'm sure you could figure out how to work one in a different game -you're creative, aren't you?
Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1 1/2 Background: 1 1/2 Integration: 1 1/2 Standalone: 1
Sleepwalker: Passion Eternal
By Rasmus Hansson
Based on the Stephen King movie, Sleepwalkers are ancient were-cats, cursed by sorcerers and rejected by Gaia. They travel in pairs with their mates, seeking those few humans from who they can suck lifeenergy while seeking release from the curse. Fitting Sleepwalker PC's into a standard chronicle would require some mental gymnastics on the Storyteller's part to give them a goal which would mesh with that of the other characters. A stand-alone would be even harder, as Sleepwalkers care about no creature except their mates. Sleepwalker NPCs, however, could enliven just about any chronicle.
Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1 1/2 Background: 1 Integration: 1/2 Stand-alone: 1/2
Spawn
By Ryan Panders Lance
One of several versions of the comic book character, this one is the most recent and playable. If you like the comic book, and you think a HellSpawn would fit into your chronicle, go for it. Not recommended for stand-alone play, unless you run a solo chronicle.
Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 1 1/2 Background: 1/2 Integration: 1 Stand-alone: 1/2
Time Lords
By Andrea Cook and Jonathan Woods
Firstly: Doctor Who-style Time Lords don't belong in the World of Darkness. No way. Uhuh.
Secondly: If you're a Whovian, and you want a simple system to do a Doctor Who chronicle, this is probably it. Of course, you'll need to have memorized the episodes or read the novels, as no amount of included background could replace firsthand knowledge.
Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 0 Background: 1 Integration: 0 Stand-alone: 1 1/2
Werewolf Revised
By John R. Harford
Bear with me here: Let's say you're running Vampire: the Masquerade, and you want a werewolf character, either PC or NPC. But you don't want to have to go out and buy all the Werewolf The Apocalypse books and learn about the Weaver and the Wyrm and Gaia and everything -- you just want a movie-style werewolf. What to do? You use this supplement, which is based directly on folktales and Hollywood. True, there's not as much depth, and it couldn't work as a stand-alone game, but it codifies a werewolf which would be familiar to anybody.
Concept: 1 World of Darkness: 11/2 Background: 1 Integration: 1 1/2 Stand-alone: 0
More Homegrown: The Proliferation
Part 2: Immortals, Superheroes, & Dragons
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