The Cities of Darkness Chronicle Guidelines are live on DriveThruRPG through the Storytellers Vault. Whether you're a player looking to join the network or a Storyteller thinking about starting your own game, this is the foundational document for how Cities of Darkness works.
Here's what's inside.
What the Chronicle Guidelines Cover
Admissions and Territory. Cities of Darkness is a shared universe. Each game picks a primary city and surrounding counties as their Game Map, and all game events take place within those boundaries. The guidelines explain how territory works, how to coordinate with other games when your story needs to reach beyond your map, and which cities are reserved because of their significance in World of Darkness lore or Darkness Emergent events.
The admissions section also covers the rules for using canonical World of Darkness characters, real people, and keeping stories appropriately scaled. The general rule: if your plot would make national news instead of just local news, check with the Organizational Storyteller first.
Rules and Source Material. Cities of Darkness builds its shared world from V5 books, Darkness Emergent events from By Night Studios, and the Cities of Darkness Lore Guide. The guidelines lay out which rules sources are approved for play, how older edition material can be used for lore (with the understanding that details may shift), and the policy on house rules. House rules are encouraged as long as they don't conflict with the official errata and published rules conversions.
Character Creation. Characters in Cities of Darkness start with 120 experience points instead of the standard 20 from the book. That extra 100 points gives you room to build the character you actually want to play rather than a stripped-down version you'll spend months catching up with.
The guidelines also cover what happens when a character dies or is retired. Your next character gets the standard 120 starting XP plus 50% of the experience your previous character earned during play, rounded down. Character loss matters, but it doesn't send you back to square one.
Everything goes through the website at citiesofdarkness.com. Character sheets, XP spending, and approvals all happen there to keep things consistent across all connected games.
Ongoing Experience. Players earn 5 experience points at the end of each game session, keeping characters growing steadily through play.
Darkness Emergent Integration. If you already have a Darkness Emergent character, you can bring them into Cities of Darkness at their current experience level (minus any purchased XP that wasn't earned through play). Character deaths during Darkness Emergent events are honored in the Cities of Darkness shared universe to maintain continuity.
Errata and Rules Alterations. The guidelines include Cities of Darkness-specific errata and clarifications drawn from official developer rulings and network-level balance decisions. These cover topics like the Salubri Bane interaction with passive Disciplines, Hunger and Rouse Tests at session start, Blood Potency 0 healing, Fame restrictions, Herd clarifications, coterie Territory, and more. This section will continue to grow as new rulings and conversions are published.
The Game Application. For Storytellers who want to bring their game into the network, the guidelines include the full application process. It covers everything from your game's territory and schedule to its themes, mood, and premise. Once approved, your game's information is published in the public database so potential players and travelers know what to expect.
Who This Is For
If you're a player, the Chronicle Guidelines tell you what to expect when you join any Cities of Darkness game: how character creation works, how XP is earned and spent, and what the shared universe means for your character's story.
If you're a Storyteller, this is your handbook for running a game within the network. Territory rules, approved sources, errata, coordination protocols, and the application process are all here.
If you're curious about Cities of Darkness, this is the best place to start understanding what the network is and how it operates.
Where to Get It
The Cities of Darkness Chronicle Guidelines are available on DriveThruRPG through the Storytellers Vault. You can also learn more about the network and start building a character at citiesofdarkness.com.
Cities of Darkness is a fan-run chronicle network using Laws of the Night V5 by By Night Studios.
Cities of Darkness material is not official World of Darkness material. Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information please visit worldofdarkness.com.