Time Of Judgment
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''Time of Judgment'' is a series of
roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pi ...
book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
s for the
World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apoca ...
settings of
White Wolf Game Studio White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant
. These scenarios are presented as the semi-
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...
ical endings of the original World of Darkness, as preparation for the new version of the setting. As the Time of Judgment approaches,
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s cease to exist,
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
fight their last battle against the
Wyrm Wyrm may refer to: Folklore * Germanic dragon, a creature from which the modern word originated * Dragon * Sea serpent Media * ''Wyrms'' (comics), a six-issue comic book mini-series by Orson Scott Card and Jake Black * ''Wyrms'' (novel), a ...
, and
mage Mage most commonly refers to: * Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources * Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction *Mage, a character class in s ...
s face their last test. The series ran for four hardback books; one for '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apocalypse'', and ''
Mage: The Ascension ''Mage: The Ascension'' is a role-playing game based in the World of Darkness, and was published by White Wolf Game Studio in 1993. The characters portrayed in the game are referred to as mages, and are capable of feats of magic. Magic in ''Ma ...
'' respectively, with the fourth book delegated to each of the remaining settings. Each setting received between three and six potential scenarios.


Roleplaying scenario books


''Vampire: Gehenna''

''Vampire: Gehenna'', released in January 2004, began the Time of Judgment chronicle, providing four different scenarios and tips for Storytellers to end their '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' game sessions. Its scenarios are; * "Wormwood", which is similar to the biblical story of Noah's ark, in which God silently eradicates vampiric life from Earth. The focus is on character interaction as the Player Characters are among the sole survivors in an abandoned sanctuary, as all other vampiric forms are cleansed, with the Player Characters given a chance to interact with each other, reconcile and turn to God before 40 Nights are over. * "Fair is Foul", which concerns the mythology of Lilith and the struggles of her own descendants against those of her enemy, Caine. * "Nightshade", a large-scale story which follows up on many metaplot hooks such as the rising of the antediluvian and rebirth of Saulot. * "Crucible of God", is best described as a post-apocalyptic monster epic, with the antediluvian having completely rewritten the world to their ideals.


''Werewolf: Apocalypse''

''Werewolf: Apocalypse'', released in February 2004, providing four different scenarios for '' Werewolf: The Apocalypse'' game sessions. * "The Last Battleground" covered the apocalypse as a great battle, taking place in the spirit realm, where the players would seek for any support before the final battle. * "A Tribe Falls" covers what events could occur if one of the existing thirteen tribes fell 'to the wyrm', like the Black Spiral Dancer tribe. * "Weaver Ascendant" essentially places the Weaver as the source of all problems in the cosmos, and throws the characters into conflict with it. * "Ragnarok" outlines what would happen if a giant asteroid were to collide with the world, igniting an apocalyptic war with the forces of the Wyrm.


''Mage: Ascension''

''Mage: Ascension'', released in March 2004, providing five different scenarios for ''
Mage: The Ascension ''Mage: The Ascension'' is a role-playing game based in the World of Darkness, and was published by White Wolf Game Studio in 1993. The characters portrayed in the game are referred to as mages, and are capable of feats of magic. Magic in ''Ma ...
'' game sessions. * "Judgment", the most metaplot-heavy of the lot, features many current strands (rogue councils, forgotten traditions, the avatar storms), which ultimately leads to all characters ascending while the universe becomes one great singularity. * "The Revolution Will Be Televised" outlines a civil war in the Technocracy, with a view from the inside. * "The Earth Will Shake" outlines what would happen if a giant asteroid were to collide with the world, in a different manner to the event in Werewolf. * "A Whimper, Not A Bang" dealt with a threat from an alien lifeform, which had not previously been mentioned within the game for many years. These creatures are gradually consuming the world's magic, not much affecting humans but essentially producing the extinction of mages. * "Hell On Earth" outlined what would happen were the Nephandi to win the battle and bring chaos to the world.


''Time of Judgment''

''World of Darkness: Time of Judgment'', also released in March 2004, covered '' Changeling: The Dreaming'', '' Demon: The Fallen'', '' Hunter: The Reckoning'', ''
Kindred of the East ''Kindred of the East'' is a tabletop role-playing game book and game line released by White Wolf Publishing in February 1998 for use with their horror game '' Vampire: The Masquerade''. It is part of the ''World of Darkness'' series, and is th ...
'', and '' Mummy: The Resurrection'', with each receiving between three and four scenarios. ''
Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
'' also got its final book, ''End Game'' in 2004, but it was not considered part of the Time of Judgment. '' Wraith: The Oblivion'' had already ended in 1999 due to lack of sales.


Mind's Eye Theatre

''Laws of Judgment'' ended the ''
Mind's Eye Theatre ''Mind's Eye Theatre'' is a live action role-playing game (LARP) based on the White Wolf World of Darkness universe, sharing a theme and setting with the table-top role-playing game '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' and with two revisions, '' Vampire ...
'' line of World of Darkness
live-action role-playing game A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...
s. ''Laws of Judgment'' is a condensed adaptation of the Time of Judgment books, as well as the final ''Wraith: The Oblivion'' book, ''Ends of Empire''. ''Laws of Judgment'' omitted the "Rising of Mount Meru" scenario for ''
Kindred of the East ''Kindred of the East'' is a tabletop role-playing game book and game line released by White Wolf Publishing in February 1998 for use with their horror game '' Vampire: The Masquerade''. It is part of the ''World of Darkness'' series, and is th ...
'' (from ''World of Darkness: Time of Judgment''), on the grounds that its themes did not fit with those of ''Mind's Eye Theatre'', as well as the entire '' Demon: The Fallen'' scenario from ''World of Darkness: Time of Judgment'', as ''Demon'' was never adapted to ''Mind's Eye Theatre'' format.


Novels

There are also three fiction novels that picture the end of times for '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apocalypse'', and ''
Mage: The Ascension ''Mage: The Ascension'' is a role-playing game based in the World of Darkness, and was published by White Wolf Game Studio in 1993. The characters portrayed in the game are referred to as mages, and are capable of feats of magic. Magic in ''Ma ...
'', respectively. These novels are "Gehenna", "The Last Battle", and "Judgment Day". None of these are considered to be the canonical ending of the line, as the storylines are left open for each group to end them as they please.


References

* Sean Riley ''et al.'' (2004). ''Apocalypse''. Stone Mountain: White Wolf Game Studio. * Dean Shomshak ''et al.'' (2004). ''Gehenna''. Stone Mountain: White Wolf Game Studio. * Jackie Cassada et al. (2004). ''Laws of Judgment''. Stone Mountain: White Wolf Game Studio.


External links

* {{World of Darkness World of Darkness