Bookshelf Tour: Dark Vigil Quickstart
At 2:13pm on March 15th 1839, there was an eclipse. This eclipse never ended.
The eclipse brought with it supernatural, baleful darkness, corrupting people and animals into monstrous reflections of their former selves. Most people keep to the towns and cities, surrounding massive lanterns burning spirit oil to keep the dark at bay. A bold and/or foolhardy few venture beyond the walls to gather resources their community desperately needs. These people are known as venturers, and our player characters join their ranks.
Welcome to this supernatural vision of the 1800s: Dark Vigil!
Dark Vigil's world immediately reminds me of one of my favourites- the world of Blades in the Dark. The atmosphere is very similar but the focus on travel beyond the cities brings greater certainty that you will be irrevocably changed by your experiences.
I had the pleasure of trying out this game at Chaosium Con Melbourne, with the game designer herself as my GM. I played a sunny and optimistic alchemist named Miss. Her optimism got her into some serious trouble when she sought the aid of a creature of the dark in passing through an abandoned city. She was almost lost to the dark, her corruption metre one step away from retiring her to mutated NPC status. Before that could happen she was killed by a massive eldritch wolf. She only returned to life because of a bargain: one which required her to leave the door to safe haven open when we reached it...
While this book is labelled Quickstart, it is a comprehensive guide to running and playing Dark Vigil. As well as rules for creating characters and playing the game, it contains a short adventure with five pre-generated characters for those seeking a quick entry point into the game.
