From the introduction: Welcome to the World of Darkness. It is a world very much like your home world, but viewed through smoke-tinted glass. On the surface, everything seems much the same; but bleaker and more cynical. Gothic style buildings loom ominously over rain slick streets. Gruesome and violent crimes happen on a daily basis in every poorly lit alley, and the vast majority of people turn a blind eye to it. However, if you dive under the surface of this world, you will find true darkness. Vampires, werewolves, and far worse lurk in every shadow. They wage ancient wars and weave elaborate conspiracies to the woe of humankind. If this world is left to its own devices, it will inevitably spiral down into Oblivion; torn apart by petty, secret power struggles and long forgotten antediluvian horrors reawakened from their deathless slumbers.