A crossover is, in the context of the World of Darkness game lines, an event where characters or factions from one game line appear in another.
Example: A pack of werewolves confronting a vampire in a Werewolf: The Apocalypse chronicle, or a Wraith appearing in a game of Orpheus.
World of Darkness[]
The World of Darkness games were not designed as a unified whole. As a result, while the games share a common system, crossing over elements tends to require a highly involved Storyteller.
In addition, the various supernatural entities of the World Of Darkness are fairly ignorant of each other, meaning that in canonical campaigns there should be minimal, if any interaction between the different groups - generally as a rare antagonist or a cameo. Crossover is used generically to refer to both mechanical or plot situations where characters from two different games interact.
Wraith: The Oblivion suffers the most in crossover chronicles, as wraiths exist in a different state of being from the other characters and have great difficulty interacting with the world of the living at all. Conversely, while the mages of Mage: The Ascension adapt easiest to the needs of any other game line, their default level of power and versatility can easily enable them to dominate the narrative and edge out non-mage characters in crossover games.
Crossover publications[]
Few White Wolf publications provide any guidelines for crossovers between the games set in the World of Darkness. These books, however, do feature crossovers:
- Under a Blood Red Moon for Werewolf and Vampire
- Dark Alliance: Vancouver for Vampire and Werewolf
- The Chaos Factor for Mage, Werewolf and Vampire
- Necropolis: Atlanta for Wraith and Vampire
- Axis Mundi: The Book of Spirits for Werewolf and Mage
- Rage Across Appalachia for Werewolf and Changeling
- Ghost Towns for Werewolf: The Wild West and Wraith
- Isle of the Mighty for Changeling: The Dreaming and Mage
- Book of Lost Dreams for Changeling and most other game lines
- Blood Treachery for Mage and Vampire
- Hunter: First Contact for Hunter: The Reckoning and the antagonist factions spotlighted in the Year of the Hunter
- San Francisco by Night for Kindred of the East and Vampire: The Masquerade
- World of Darkness: Blood & Silk for Kindred of the East and Vampire: The Dark Ages
- Sunset Empires for Kindred of the East and Victorian Age: Vampire
- The Red Sign for Vampire and Mage
- Dark Ages: British Isles for the Dark Ages games (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage and Inquisitor)
Additionally, a handful of novels featured crossovers between game lines:
- Pomegranates Full and Fine for Changeling and Vampire
- Year of the Scarab Trilogy for Mummy: The Resurrection, Hunter and Vampire
- Predator and Prey series for Hunter, Vampire, Werewolf and Mage
Chronicles of Darkness[]
Crossovers are much easier to create and coordinate in the Chronicles of Darkness thanks to the unified Storytelling System and the similar baseline level of power and ability among different game lines' various supernatural beings. As such, it's not uncommon to find (for example) vampires attempting to manipulate a Sin-Eater, or an Uratha working with a mage adept of the spirit arcanum to fight against creatures of the Shadow.
Beast: The Primordial is the first Chronicles of Darkness game explicitly designed with crossovers in mind. Beasts regard most other supernatural beings as Kin, and have certain powers designed to complement or interact with non-Beasts, such as the Mother's Kiss.