The World Of Darkness. Officially known as a dark, "Gothic-Punk" reflection of our own world. A world where vampires, werewolves, mages, wraiths, changlings, and other evil creatures live, lurk, and kill.
So, why is it that the majority of the White Wolf players resent Storytellers or other players that "take it too far". One would think that, reasonably, the World Of Darkness would be much more extreme then White Wolf makes it out to be. This is a World that is, apparently and almost obviously, dying. It is a World where everybody is trapped between a rock and a hard place, and are becoming more and more desperate. As everyone knows, desperate times call for desperate measures.
I ask again, why is it that the majority of the White Wolf players resent Storytellers or other players that "take it too far". Can their be such a thing in the World Of Darkness? A Storyteller who has a well-liked (or even well-hated) NPC raped is looked at as a sick, evil pervert. A player who tries to convince his Storyteller to introduce AIDS into a herd is considered a disgusting example of human decency dead. Meanwhile, no one is looking at the real meaning behind the World Of Darkness.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Lilith was cast out of Eden while pregnant. According to White Wolf, she is the creator of Magic and the mother of all Lycanthrope races. According to anyone with any sense at all, God's a sick, twisted prick, abandoning his or her daughter because the first human, whom God created, asked his creator to?
Well, let us continue. Cain, who merely wanted God's favor, was shunned because God is a vegatarian? Abel, so smug and uncaring, becomes the first Wraith, ensuring not only a chance at revenge, but a longer life then is presumed even Cain(e) and Lilith had?
I think that's about as Dark as one World can get. However, I digress.
I do not imply that every character should be raped by a Werewolf in Crinos form, nor do I imply that a Vampire should run about infecting the World's Mages because one of the Herd is either a junkie, a whore, or a homosexual. Indeed, I believe those stories should be used sparingly, because they are -=powerful=- Storytelling tools, but they should be used. This is not a happy little world where no one is violated, but a dark, evil, twisted version of our own world.
Stop and look at the world, the real world. So many atrocities were and are committed often enough that we are jaded to their impact on society. They are ever-present, and we've almost accepted that as part of the status quo. A large minority of the world has been affected by rape and/or HIV/AIDS, if not the majority. Let us not forget the other various (sadly) uncurable diseases. Even the famous and widely-respected Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's Disease. Magic Johnson has AIDS. We can't forget one of the members of MTV's television show, The Real World, Pedro Zamora, who said, "I am not dying of AIDS, I am living with AIDS, and I will be living with AIDS until my last breath." Though he appeared in MTV's Real World back in 1994, Pedro will not be forgotten. He alone put a human face on AIDS for many people.
If anything, this will set the mood for not only this page and it's content, but for the game as a whole, at least for those who frequent this page. Let us realize that our world is darker then most people will ever know, and the World Of Darkness should do more then reflect that, it should emphasize it.
