Nightlife (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Nightlife is a horror
-themed role-playing game
first published by Stellar Games in 1990. Many of its innovations would be seen in later games such as White Wolf's
World of Darkness
.
in the then near-future of the 1990s. Players take on the roles of monsters, divided into several races and collectively referred to as "Kin," living secretly among human society, whom they refer to as "The Herd."
All of the Kin have certain attributes in common. They are immortal
unless killed by special methods, immune to most diseases, and cannot be photographed. Most importantly, Kin have the ability to steal the life force
of humans in order to survive, through a process called Drain. The Kin are divided into a number of groups, called Factions, who vary in their attitude toward humans and their willingness to be discreet about their activities. Players are generally encouraged to play Kin who prefer to defend Herd as well as Kin society, and to not kill mercilessly or wantonly.
The nightlife of Kin in New York City is one of the primary foci of the game. Kin spend much of their time preoccupied with subculture music and fashion, and the game's lists of equipment and clothing available to players assumes that they will adopt underground, cutting-edge, and designer styles. The city contains several important nightclubs which are run by and for Kin. In addition, a large part of the game is the constant streetfighting between members of various Kin factions.
in Nightlife must belong to one of several races of Kin. Each race has access to different Edges and suffers from unique Flaws (see below).
Kin also suffer from Flaws, supernatural weaknesses determined by their Race, such as a vampyre's vulnerability to the sun. Flaws do not change throughout the course of play.
One of the ways in which players are encouraged to play Herd-sympathetic Kin is the use of the Humanity score. As a character's Humanity drops, he begins to suffer the effects of his Flaws more severely (such as a werewolf taking even more damage from silver than normal). New Edges cost Humanity to purchase, and raising the character's Humanity by performing humane deeds causes the character's abilities to increase at the end of each adventure. (Nightlife, unlike many role-playing games, does not use experience points.)
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-themed role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
first published by Stellar Games in 1990. Many of its innovations would be seen in later games such as White Wolf's
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
.
Overview
Nightlife is set in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the then near-future of the 1990s. Players take on the roles of monsters, divided into several races and collectively referred to as "Kin," living secretly among human society, whom they refer to as "The Herd."
All of the Kin have certain attributes in common. They are immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
unless killed by special methods, immune to most diseases, and cannot be photographed. Most importantly, Kin have the ability to steal the life force
Vitalism
Vitalism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is#a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from biochemical reactions...
of humans in order to survive, through a process called Drain. The Kin are divided into a number of groups, called Factions, who vary in their attitude toward humans and their willingness to be discreet about their activities. Players are generally encouraged to play Kin who prefer to defend Herd as well as Kin society, and to not kill mercilessly or wantonly.
The nightlife of Kin in New York City is one of the primary foci of the game. Kin spend much of their time preoccupied with subculture music and fashion, and the game's lists of equipment and clothing available to players assumes that they will adopt underground, cutting-edge, and designer styles. The city contains several important nightclubs which are run by and for Kin. In addition, a large part of the game is the constant streetfighting between members of various Kin factions.
Races
CharactersPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in Nightlife must belong to one of several races of Kin. Each race has access to different Edges and suffers from unique Flaws (see below).
- Animates: Animates are dead or inorganic matter that has somehow become sentientSentienceSentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
. Prominent examples include Frankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
, golemGolemIn Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
s, homunculiHomunculusHomunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
, GalateaGalateaGalatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white".Galatea or Galathea may refer to:-In mythology:* Galatea :**Galatea, a woman who prayed for her daughter to be turned into a son, Leucippus...
, or other humanoid and non-humanoid constructs which become possessed by spirits of the dead. Animates are rare among the kin. They are vulnerable to fire and sunlight, and automatically provoke hostility in nearby humans. They are also incapable of breaking a promise, once made. Many of them treat humans with outright contempt and join anti-Herd Factions. They can only feed by Draining, and do so by touching humans and sucking out their life force. - DaemonsDemoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
: Daemons or extra-dimensional creatures who are trapped on earth. They resemble humans with small wings and horns and red-tinged skin, but have an Edge which allows them to change their shape in order to blend in. They are vulnerable to flintFlintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, holy relics, and fire, and can be controlled through magic rituals. Like Animates, they Drain life force by touch. - InuitInuitThe Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
: Inuit are Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
spirits native to western North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. They are easily recognizable because they suffer a compulsion to dress in an extremely flamboyant manner. They are vulnerable to fire and repulsed by holy relics. Like Animates and Daemons, they Drain life force by touch. - GhostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s: Ghosts are the most common kind of Kin. They are humans who died by violence or with some important task unfulfilled. They are normally incorporeal and invulnerable unless they choose to manifest themselves in solid form. They are vulnerable to cold iron, can be permanently banished through exorcismExorcismExorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
, and are bound to an object of significance to them in life, to which they must remain close for several hours each day. - VampyresVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
: One of the most common races of Kin, vampyres Drain by feeding on the blood of their victims. They are vulnerable to sunlight, running water, garlicGarlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, wood, fire, and holy relicRelicIn religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s. They can also infect humans, turning them into vampires, and must sleep on a bed of earth. - WerewolvesWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
: Humans who have been infected by another werewolf and gain the ability to transform into a wolf. Werewolves do not need to Drain in order to survive, but can still do so in order to heal their injuries. They do this by assaulting humans and inflicting pain and injury. Werewolves are especially vulnerable to fire and silver. - WyghtsWightWight is a Middle English word, from Old English wiht, and used to describe a creature or living sentient being. It is akin to Old High German wiht, meaning a creature or thing.In its original usage the word wight described a living human being...
: Wyghts are hideous creatures who cannot pass for human without a great deal of disguise. Their hair is white, and their skin resembles that of a gray, emaciated, dried-out corpse. Wyghts can be killed by fire, sunlight, and silver, and create more of their kind through infection, like vampyres and werewolves. They Drain their victims by touching them and leeching away their youth, causing them to age prematurely.
Edges and Flaws
Kin have various superhuman powers called Edges. A character's Race determines his Beginning Edges, with which he starts the game, and also his Racial Edges, which he does not possess automatically but can learn later. Some Edges can be learned by any Kin, regardless of Race.Kin also suffer from Flaws, supernatural weaknesses determined by their Race, such as a vampyre's vulnerability to the sun. Flaws do not change throughout the course of play.
Factions
Kin are divided into a number of factions. While there are numerous small factions, gangs, and splinter groups, a handful of Factions commands the loyalty of most Kin.- The Commune: The Commune believes in (relatively) peaceful coexistence with Herd society. The Commune battles against other Factions who carelessly and indiscreetly kill humans, or attempt to destabilize human civilization. The Commune has no qualms about engaging in vicious street battles with members of other Factions, but tries to conceal the fact that the fights are going on between superhuman creatures.
- The Complex: The Complex believes that the Herd is only fit to be ruled, exploited, and fed upon. Although merciless, they are generally discrete and less of a threat than the more radical factions. The Complex gains power by working toward gaining control over organized crimeOrganized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in New York City. - The Morningstar Corporation: The Morningstar Corporation wants to conquer humanity, and believes that the best way to do so is from within. They attempt to destabilize human civilization by infiltrating high society, politics, and big business, and attempting to cause financial and economic chaos. They are believed to be responsible for the Wall Street Crash of 1929Wall Street Crash of 1929The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
. Their membership consists mostly of vampyres and daemons. - Red Moonrise: Red Moonrise is a terroristTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
organization who believe that humanity must be subjugated through acts of random, wholesale slaughter. They are the most dangerous of the Factions because of their ruthlessness, sadism, and unwillingness to adequately conceal their superhuman nature. Their exploits resulted in the secret extermination of Kin society in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
by the U.S. Government. They are made up almost exclusively of werewolves and wyghts.
Game mechanics
Nightlife rules use only ten-sided dice, or d10s. Rolls are usually made by adding one of several Attributes to a Skill, and then attempting to roll less than the total on a percentile die. In some cases, several d10s are rolled and then added together, as in rolling attributes and skills at character creation, or gaining new skills and bonuses at the end of each adventure.One of the ways in which players are encouraged to play Herd-sympathetic Kin is the use of the Humanity score. As a character's Humanity drops, he begins to suffer the effects of his Flaws more severely (such as a werewolf taking even more damage from silver than normal). New Edges cost Humanity to purchase, and raising the character's Humanity by performing humane deeds causes the character's abilities to increase at the end of each adventure. (Nightlife, unlike many role-playing games, does not use experience points.)
Supplements
- In The Musical Vein: Focuses on the musical subculture of the Kin. The supplement provides a campaign setting which assumes that the protagonists will play members of a rock band. The supplement also introduces us to "Resurrection music," a fictional genre of music created by Kin which combines and exaggerates the extremely fast-paced elements of jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rapHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, and speed metalSpeed metalSpeed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
.
- Kinrise: An alternate-setting supplement wherein the Kin try to survive in a post-nuclear holocaust landscape.
- Magic: Introduces sorcerers as a playable Race, along with spells, as well as more rules for gangs, cults, organizations, and monsters.
External links
- http://members.cox.net/the_underworld/Home%20Page%20of%20the%20Underworld.htm (City Planner/Player supported web-site. Stays active and constantly updated. Please sign guestbook & let me know wikipedia got you there)