Let’s walk through the book, and examine the contents as we go. After a brief introductory story which is continued in series throughout the rest of the book, Blood Games launches immediately into their version of the secret history of the world. Here we find that a universal savior of sorts (known alternately as Norandon, Prometheus, etc.) has given humanity the ability to fight back the “Creatures of Night”, such as werewolves, vampires, demons, etc. Think “Warlock: The Armageddon” with its hidden society of witches. All in all, the introduction lays out a limited groundwork for the nature of games, including basics of how magic is used and constrained.

True to the standard nature of player’s guides, Wraith’s adds in the usual mixture of extra detail and handy charts. It sets itself apart (like so many Wraith additions) by adding considerably more history and societal analysis than virtually any other player’s guide out there. For a breakdown of what’s added, let’s go to the chapters:

First we come to Traits. As expected, we find new Knowledges, Skills, Abilities, and Backgrounds, but we also come across what became a dominant methodology in Wraith: Merits and Flaws. These simple additions act as a two-fold improvement. Primarily, they give bonuses and/or free up some freebie points (you’ll never get enough of those, even if you’re the Storyteller), but they also aid in the development and growth of a character. New players can select a few Merits, counterbalance those with some Flaws, and by working with their Storyteller add much more depth to their characters.

All Flesh Must Be Eaten (AFMBE for short) is the third game in The Unisystem line. The game revolves around zombie survival horror, a popular sub-genre of horror.

The book starts with a Forward by Shane Hensley (author of Deadlands) on why zombie horror is so popular, in general, and in a gaming context.

Taking several chances with Orpheus, White Wolf not only tries out this new limited series format, they also attempt to revitalize a previous World of Darkness concept, the Restless Dead. Wraith: the Oblivion was a powerful game, full of mystery, horror and extremely dedicated fans. Unfortunately, Wraith did not last; White Wolf ended the line far earlier than other World of Darkness games. Ends of Empire introduced story elements that shook other WoD lines and boldly attempted to bring closure to the Wraith line. Orpheus brings back some of the elements of Wraith, without being Wraith Revised. This is a risky move; are Wraith fans going to enjoy something that is similar to, but not Wraith? Are non-Wraith fans going to think it’s just a Wraith clone and not pick it apart?

Witchcraft is a tabletop role-playing game set in our modern era. The Armageddon has yet to happen. Before it does, your players will create characters that are attempting to guide humanity to their preferred Armageddon. You can play psychics, witches, sorcerers, Mundanes (humans with no magical abilities), Bast (cats with the ability to perform magics and change into human guise), supernatural hunters, secret society members, and MORE!

“The Revenge of the Kine” would also be an adequate name for Dark Ages: Inquisitor, where ordinary mortals are called by God himself to serve their fellow man in the vocation of the secret Holy Inquisition. Hold onto your souls kids, we’re entering a medieval world tormented by the get of Satan — from demons to heretics to blood drinking witches, and we are all that stands between man, and his corruption by evil incarnate. We are the men in black. And white. And red. And the rest.

It was a good theory anyway. The horrors perpetrated in the name of God were little better than the Get of Satan is capable of. Torture, murder and mob violence are the staples of the Inquisition, which at its most extreme will stop at nothing to root out the minions of the Adversary. How could a good Christian stand by and let Satan’s minions run freely around God’s Earth? All sin may be absolved, and what is the odd transgression when you are in the practice of saving souls? What choice do you have when the legions of Hell are here, now and stealing the souls of Innocents? Trust in God, and in his Forgiveness.

Available at RPGNow.com Written by Guy Davis, Andrew Bates, Jackie Cassada, Ken Cliffe, Richard Dansky, Robert Hatch, Michael Lee, Nicky Rea, Sion Rodriguez y Gibson, Ethan Skemp, Cynthia Summers and Fred Yelk, Additional Material by Phil Brucato, White Wolf Publishing (WW2804), April 1997, 189 pgs, US$20.00 It seemed inevitable that White Wolf would eventually release […]

Written by Mark Bruno and Brett M. Bernstein, Unbidden interweaves the supernatural with modern-day life. It forces its players to create characters that are as real as your neighbor next door. Your character, whether it be a member of your local clergy or an average executive, is then transformed as their awareness of the world around them increases. Seeing with new eyes, your character will play in a world dominated by the quintessential fight between good and evil. While the war between the forces of light and darkness is not new to gaming, the idea that you, as a gamer, are forced to play an everyday citizen without the trappings of magic, powers, and other items is refreshing. As you play “Unbidden,” you will find that your character will soon become an extension of yourself.

The Thousand Hells is a supplement for White Wolf’s World of Darkness Kindred of the East (KOTE) role playing game of horror set in modern East Asia. KOTE is a companion to the more familiar Vampire: the Masquerade (VtM) line of games and products. This supplement provides details of the many hells that exist within the mythology underpinning the KOTE setting and includes some details on what it is like to visit or be condemned to some of those hells, denizens that might be found there, methods of entrapping players in adventures in which their characters must visit hell and a variety of additional ideas, including new powers and abilities for vampires and their inevitable assailants. As the name suggests, the supplement is not sufficient to play the game in itself and players will need the KOTE book in order to play, as well as the usual variety of stationery and polyhedral dice.

It seems such a long time ago now, 1992, that so many of us were so naïve we thought vampires could be dissuaded from eating us by garlic or that they would recoil from their appearance (or lack of it) in a mirror. Worse, we believed in our ignorance that vampires were pretty much all of a piece. Since then, we have been educated to understand that there are endless machinations among the numerous tribes and clans of the vampire world that is kept secret from we mere humans – the kine on which the powerful but shadowy kindred feed.

Vampire the Masquerade is made up of a variety of elements that are integrated through both gaming skills and storytelling. A player oftentimes becomes strictly focused on the fighting or “battle” aspect of a game and neglects to take advantage of the other elements of the game. I’m not denying the fact that it’s fun to defeat a challenge using brute force, but I feel the more creatively I can defeat an opponent, the more gratification I receive. If you’re planning on taking a different route from simply ripping your enemies head off, you may consider corrupting his/her small corporation with your influence, or even bankrupting all of his/her bank account. In that case, Gilded Cage is the sourcebook for you.

Ghost Stories: Horror Mystery Adventures is a slim volume (36 pages) that aims to provide an entire horror gaming system for players and referee to use with the minimum of delay. The system is necessarily very light in terms of details and examples and there will be some who consider the lack of artwork as a problem. A straightforward trait and die roll system is provided to resolve tasks of various sorts. Players can play such character types as occultists, demon stalkers, clergymen, archaeologists and similar staples of popular ghost stories. Additional sections briefly cover sorcery, combat, skills and backgrounds.

The first supplement available for Witchcraft, Mystery Codex provides all the information needed to keep your Witchcraft tabletop role-playing game fresh.

First off, time is taken to update anyone still using an older version of Witchcraft to the current version, as published in Eden Studio’s CJ Carella’s Witchcraft. With this information, you DO NOT need to buy the latest version of the main book if you own the previous version of Witchcraft published by Myrmidon Press.

Faith and Fire also brings to the reader a sense of character through its writing. MET’s writers did a tremendous job clearly expressing how to play in the Dark Ages by using a second person voice. You will feel drawn into the medieval world as a player, before you have the chance to pick up your character sheet. While the Clan text was extremely intriguing and well-written, you will find yourself distracted by the artwork. However, the writing is straightforward, and definitely worthy of a careful read. Overall, Faith and Fire’s text was edited well, and intriguing throughout.

The Seventh Seal: Roleplaying Game of Prophetic Revelations is a modern day conspiracy/horror game. In it the player characters take on the role of the Chosen Elect, men and women who have been contacted by an Archangel and charged with the task of defending humanity from the forces of darkness. Unlike other games dealing with this subject matter, this one takes place before open war breaks out between the Heavenly Host and the Rebel Angels. The players must survive in a familiar world, while investigating, hunting and hiding from the Infernal Enemy.

I recently ran across The Seventh Seal: Roleplaying Game of Prophetic Revelations at a local game convention. With all the other games about the end of the world out, or coming out, I wanted to know what made this game stand apart. Initially it appeared that the setting was the major difference. This game did not take place after the apocalypse, or even during the final epic battle between good and evil. Instead this game takes place during the events that lead up to that war. The result is a game that has more in common with our own world, and, therefore, places it firmly in the Modern Horror genre.

InSpectres is described as a “fast, simple and fun game that mixes horror and comedy” and it lives up to that description throughout the entire book. The author has blended the mystery of X-Files and the humor of Ghostbusters and Men in Black. It features an easy system to learn that doesn’t get in the way of a fun night of gaming. No one should expect InSpectres to replace more serious investigation/hunter games like Call of Cthulhu or Orpheus, because that really isn’t the point of this game. InSpectres is about fun, it is full of jokes, one-liners and offers everyone a chance to cut loose for an evening of entertainment.

There are 232 pages. There are six chapters, a section of Archetypes, a Forward, an Appendix, and an Index. The first chapter explains to you what you’ll find in the book. The second chapter describes character generation. A list of well-thought out Archetypes are given – with good artwork to go with them. The third chapter goes over game mechanics. Equipment is discussed in chapter four. The fifth chapter explains zombies, how to create them, and how to use them. Chapter six discusses different Deadworlds that you can use for your settings.

Cthulhu Live is set in the universe of eldritch horror created by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Cthulhu Live is a theater-gaming experience of horror, action and suspense. The participants are both actors and audience. The game is a full evening’s worth of fun every time it is played.

LARP (Live Action Role Playing) offers players a chance to get into costume, test their acting skills and interact with many more characters than the standard tabletop game usually entails. Several different LARP games are available; Cthulhu Live remains one of the most widely played in several countries.