You are dead. You died the night someone sank their fangs into your throat and fed you their own blood in return, and you woke up hungry in a way you have never been hungry before. The city outside your haven hasn't changed — the El still rattles over the Loop, the lake wind still cuts through the streets, the skyline still glows against the dark — but you have. You are Kindred now. A vampire. A monster wearing the skin of your former self.
What This Game Is
Chicago Modern Nights is a chronicle of personal and political horror set in the World of Darkness. You play a vampire struggling to survive in a city fractured between the iron grip of the Camarilla, the desperate rebellion of the Anarchs, and the ever-present threat of mortal hunters who know you exist and want you to stop. This is not a game about heroes. It is a game about what you are willing to do to survive one more night, what lines you will cross, and whether you can hold onto anything human while your Beast howls for blood.
You will hunt. You will scheme. You will attend court and smile at vampires who would stake you for a minor boon. You will make terrible choices and discover that the worst monsters in the city are not the ones with claws.
The World of Darkness
On the surface, the World of Darkness looks like our world. The same office buildings, the same dive bars, the same late-night food trucks and early-morning commuters. But beneath that surface — in the abandoned warehouses, the hidden speakeasies, the Gothic halls of the University of Chicago after hours — the real nature of the world reveals itself. Vampires are real. They have been real for millennia, hiding behind the Masquerade, pulling the strings of mortal society from the shadows. And now you are one of them.
This world is corrupt, violent, and hypocritical. The elders who rule it were born in an age of kings and plagues, and they have adapted poorly to smartphones and satellite surveillance. The younger Kindred — the neonates, the thin-bloods, the ones with something to prove — sense that the old order is cracking. The question is whether you help break it, or whether you climb it while it still stands.
What You'll Do
Every night in Chicago presents a web of choices. You need blood. The Beast demands it, and the Beast does not negotiate. Where do you hunt? Whose territory are you in? Who sees you feed? Then there is court — the Prince holds session at the Reynolds Club every Friday night, and attendance is expected. The Harpies track every slight and every favor. Your sire wants something from you. Your coterie needs you to watch their back. And somewhere out there, a mortal with a badge and a kill list is one clue away from your haven door.
Between these pressures, you make your mark. You build alliances, call in boons, learn Disciplines, protect your Touchstones, and try not to lose yourself to the Beast. Some nights you win. Some nights you lose. Some nights you burn.
The Tone
This chronicle is dark. It draws on the gothic-punk tradition of Vampire: The Masquerade — personal horror, political intrigue, and the slow, grinding tragedy of trying to stay human when everything about your existence screams otherwise. Chicago in 2024 is a city of neon and shadow, of corporate power and street-level desperation. The humor is gallows humor. The victories are temporary. The cost is always blood.
But it is also a game, and the point is to have a great time telling a story together. You are not your character. Their terrible choices are not your terrible choices. The table is a safe place to explore dark territory, and the Storyteller is there to make sure everyone walks away satisfied — even if your character doesn't walk away at all.
Before You Begin
Read the rest of this handbook. Make a character. Draw your connections on the Relationship Map. And then step into the night. Chicago is waiting.
