#chronicles of kai and ave

[enddaysengine]

Non-Fiction Resources for Chronicles of Darkness by Gameline

June 6th Update: It seems that Tumblr has a limit to how many links you can put in one post. As a result, I’ve moved the resources for Dark Eras, as well as the links organized by topic, to a separate post that you can find at this link. 

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Much like I did for Eberron, I’m putting together some links to non-fiction materials you could use for Chronicles of Darkness. Since CofD is set in a dark mirror of our world, there are a lot of materials that could go in this post, but I will try to be selective. While I am keeping Chronicles in mind while I do this, you could use these links for any other RPG that is set on historical Earth (I’m looking at you, Call of Cthulhu!) Some links may show up more than once if they fit in multiple categories.

This post is very much a work in progress and probably will never be complete because of the broad availability of applicable materials. If you know of a resource that you don’t see on my list, please feel free to reblog/reply/DM me to say what the resource is and why it should be included on the list. I’ll do my best to add it in.

General Websites

Crash Course: It’s free, it’s on Youtube, and it’s in a ten-minute episodic format. 

Coursera: Coursera is a website where university level classes are available for free. You can also get certifications from Coursera for a fee so you can build your resume while planning your next chronicle. 

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: Dan loves historical “What if?” moments, and with good reason. If you want to hear the most badass historical stories, examine how drugs, alcohol, and human stupidity impacted history, or get a sense of what it was like to live through the most brutal historical eras, this is the place for you.

edX: Another excellent site with free courses that you can upgrade for a certificate. A good place to look for courses in the humanities and religion. 

Great Course/Great Courses Plus: GC and GC+ are not free services, but they have such an extraordinarily high production value that you can understand why. History, science, culinary theory, economics, anything you can think of is covered in the Great Courses catalogue. Great Courses Plus is their streaming service, which at $15/month for an annual subscription is a killer deal.

Google Books/Google Scholar: My first goto for research of any kind, and the first place I advise my students to begin their research. Seriously, I’ve written papers, then had them published just using these two. Use them. 

JSTOR: If you have operated in any kind of academic circle for the last two and a half decades, you know JSTOR. Full access is tough to come by unless you are currently enrolled in a university, but you can still sign up for free to get access to journals on topics you just can’t find anywhere else (like the Mutapa Empire). Sign up with multiple users if you have to. It works. Trust me. 

Open Yale Courses: University classes, taped lectures, and course materials, all from one of the best educational institution in the world. Take advantage of them. 

The Vault: Declassified FBI documents. A lot more of them involve the paranormal than you may expect. An excellent source of inspiration both for things that actually happened or that people think happened. 

Writing with Colour: The best place to go to check yourself for unintentionally problematic depictions of POC in your games. Also a great read if you are looking for details and cultural beats for NPCs you don’t share a background with. They are awesome and you’d be surprised how many chronicle ideas you can get just by binging their archive. 

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Mortal Chronicles

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Maya to Aztec - Ancient Mesoamerica Revealed: Awesome resource if you are planning to run a Skinchangers game using the Aztec Dark Era. 

Medical School for Everyone - Pediatric Grand Rounds: A good place to look for ideas for Innocents 

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

Beast the Primordial

General

Ancient Marine Reptiles: Yeah, I know, Beast is supposed to be about dragons and monsters, but I guarantee you that plenty of ancient reptiles are also stalking the Primordial Dream. Plus, aquatic reptiles are awesome and don’t get enough face time with the public, so you might want to think about your next Beast being one. 

Dino 101: The ultimate course about Dinosaurs. Very beastly. 

Early Vertebrate Evolution: What’s so scary about ancient fish, you ask? Only razor jaws and bone for skin. 

Secrets to Sleep Science

Theropod Dinosaurs and the Origins of Birds: At five lessons long, this course is pretty short, and the content matter is fascinating (says the biology teacher).

Dark Eras

African-American History: From Emancipation to the Present

The Civil War and Reconstruction Eras

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Signature Settings

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Mountains 101: If you are going to visit Kathmandu, you better be thinking about how mountains will impact your Chronicle!

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

Changeling the Lost

General

Secrets to Sleep Science

Successful Negotiation - Essential Strategies and Skills: A very, very Changeling course. 

Dark Eras

Atlas Historique de Paris: I can’t read French, but I am assured by people who do that this is an excellent resource. 

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Underground Atlas of Paris

Signature Settings

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

Demon the Descent 

General

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies

Crash Course Computer Science 

Crash Course Games

Digital Signal Processing

Internet History, Technology, and Security

Inventions That Changed the World

Robotics - Ariel Robotics

Successful Negotiation - Essential Strategies and Skills: Also a very, very Demon course. 

Dark Eras

Living in the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon

Maya to Aztec - Ancient Mesoamerica Revealed

Ottoman Empire

Signature Settings

Cultural Competence - Aboriginal Sydney

A History of Hitler’s Empire

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Hollywood: History, Industry, Art

Ottoman Empire

World War II - A Military and Social History

Geist the Sin-Eater

General

Death: Seriously, that’s all the course is called. It’s Yale, its good, the name is just to the point. 

Soul Beliefs 1 - Historical Foundations

Soul Beliefs 2 - Belief Systems

Soul Beliefs 3 - How Does It All End?

Dark Eras

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

The Great War

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Indigenous Canada

Signature Settings

The Early Middle Ages (284-1000)

History of the United States 2nd Edition

World War II - A Military and Social History

Hunter the Vigil

General

Introduction to Forensics

Aegis Kai Doru

Archaeology - An Introduction to the World’s Greatest Sites

Introduction to Ancient Greek History

Ahl al-Jabal (Source)

Ismaili Gnosis: Okay, breaking alphabetical order here, but this one is special. If you have a passing familiarity with Islam, you may have had the initial thought that the write-up of Ahl al-Jabal doesn’t look like anything you’ve seen before. That’s because Ahl al-Jabal are Nizari Ismaili Shiites and trust me when I say it is extremely accurate (minus the vampire hunting). Ismaili Gnosis is an excellent source for current events, history, and particularly metaphysics as it applies to Ismailis. 

Assassin Legends: The Assassin State of the Crusades is legendary, but what most people know about them is just that: legend. If you are using the Ahl al-Jabal, either in historical or modern chronicles, let Farhad Daftary bust the myths about the Nizari State for you. This link only gives you a preview on Google Books, so some pages will be missing, but it is still worth a read. 

Ama-San (Source) 

Oceanography- Exploring Earth’s Final Wilderness

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History 

Ascending Ones

History of Ancient Egypt

Ashwood Abbey

Wine Tasting - Sensory Techniques for Wine Analysis: Are you really part of the Abbey if you aren’t a wine connoisseur? 

Ave Minerva (Source)

The History of Rome Podcast 

Azusa Miko (Source)

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History 

Barrett Commission (Source)

Crash Course US Government & Politics 

The Bear Lodge (Source) 

Mountains 101

Bijin (Source)

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History 

The Cainite Heresy (Source)

Gnosticism - From Nag Hammadi to the Gospel of Judas

Lost Christianities 

Cheiron Group

Critical Business Skills for Success

Economic History of the World Since 1400

Division Six (Source)

Crash Course US Government & Politics: Division Six may not actually be a part of the US Government, but they sure think they are, so understanding how they think they fit in isn’t a bad idea. 

The Faithful of Shulpae (Source)

The Ancient Near East - History, Society, and Economy

Habibti Ma  (Source)

The United States and the Middle East - 1914 to 9/11

Hototogisu (Source)

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History 

The Hunt Club (Source)

Forensic History

Illuminated Brotherhood (Source)

Addiction and the Brain

The Addictive Brain

Drugs and the Brain

Keepers of the Source (Source)

Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behaviour

Keepers of the Weave (Source)

Indigenous Canada 

Knights of Saint Adrian (Source)

Why Evil Exists

Knights of Saint George (Source)

The History of Christianity

Les Mysteres (Source)

Crash Course Mythology 

Cultural Literacy for Religion

Great Mythologies of the World

Les Voyageurs (Source)

Indigenous Canada 

The Long Night

The Apocolypse - Controversies and Meanings in Western History

The History of Christianity

Lost Christianities 

The Loyalists of Thule

A History of Hitler’s Empire

World War II - A Military and Social History

The Lucifuge

Why Evil Exists

Maiden’s Blood Sisterhood (Source)

How to Become a Superstar Student

The Modern Political Tradition

Malleus Maleficarum

The History of Christianity

Lost Christianities 

Why Evil Exists

The Merrick Institute (Source)

Medical School for Everyone - Pediatric Grand Rounds 

Secrets to Sleep Science

Network Zero

Internet History, Technology, and Security

Night Watch (Source)

Why Evil Exists

Null Mysteriis

Animal Behaviour

Introduction to Forensics

Mountains 101 

Otodo (Source)

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History 

Why Evil Exists

The Promethean Brotherhood  (Source)

Decoding the Secrets of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Greek 101

Latin 101

Miracles of Human Language - An Introduction to Linguistics 

The Story of Human Language

Protectors of the Light (Source)

Indigenous Canada 

The Reckoning (Source)

Heroes and Legends - The Most Influential Characters in Literature

The Scarlet Watch (Source)

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Task Force VALKYRIE

Crash Course US Government & Politics 

History of the United States 2nd Edition

World War II - A Military and Social History

Talbot Group (Source)

Psychological First Aid

The Union

Cities Are Back in Town - Urban Sociology

Utopia Now (Source)

Great Works of Utopian and Dystopian Literature

Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit (Source) 

Introduction to Forensics

The Vault: The FBI’s online archive of popular declassified documents. Lots of weird stuff, and the perfect source of inspiration for VSCU.

Yuri’s Group (Source)

De-Mystifying Mindfullness

Healing with the Arts

How Music Can Change Your Life

Dark Eras

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of Ancient Egypt

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Indigenous Canada

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

Signature Settings

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Mage the Awakening

General

Addiction and the Brain: Mage 2e’s theme is “Addicted to Mysteries.” Understanding that addiction is a good place to start. 

The Addictive Brain

Ancient Philosophy - Aristotle & His Successors

Ancient Philosophy - Plato & His Predecessors: If there is one course on philosophy you take for Mage, it should probably be this one. At four lessons, this is a pretty quick one to complete. 

Gnosticism - From Nag Hammadi to the Gospel of Judas

Magic in the Middle Ages

Dark Eras

Great Zimbabwe in Historical Archaeology

History of Ancient Egypt

Introduction to Ancient Greek History

Politics and Long-Distance Trade in the Mwene Mutapa Empire

World War II - A Military and Social History

Signature Settings

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Hollywood: History, Industry, Art

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

Mummy the Curse

General

Archaeology - An Introduction to the World’s Greatest Sites: Let’s go find some Relics!

History of Ancient Egypt

Introduction Ancient Egypt and Its Civilisation

Soul Beliefs 1 - Historical Foundations

Soul Beliefs 2 - Belief Systems

Soul Beliefs 3 - How Does It All End?

Dark Eras

The Early Middle Ages (284-1000)

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

The Great War

Great Zimbabwe in Historical Archaeology

Ottoman Empire

Politics and Long-Distance Trade in the Mwene Mutapa Empire

Signature Settings

The American Revolution

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Promethean the Created

General

Introduction to the Biology of Cancer

Understanding Cancer Metastasis

Dark Eras

African-American History: From Emancipation to the Present

Epidemics in Western Society since 1600

Signature Settings

Antarctica: From Geology to Human History

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of the United States 2nd Edition

National Geographic Polar Explorations: Follow the steps of Doctor Frankenstein. 

World War II - A Military and Social History

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

Werewolf the Forsaken

General

Animal Behaviour

Dark Eras

African-American History: From Emancipation to the Present

The Ancient Near East - History, Society, and Economy

Cybele: The Great Mother of the Augustan Order

The Great War

Hardcore History - Punic Nightmares

The Early Middle Ages (284-1000)

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Signature Settings

The Civil War and Reconstruction Eras

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Mountains 101: An awesome course in general, but especially useful for Werewolf’s signature setting, the Colorado Rockies. 

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

War for the Greater Middle East

Vampire the Requiem

General

Clans

Animal Behaviour

History of Ancient Egypt

Introduction Ancient Egypt and Its Civilisation

Carthian Movement

Circle of the Crone

Magic in the Middle Ages

Invictus

Lancea et Sanctum

Magic in the Middle Ages

Ordo Dracul

Ottoman Empire

Dark Eras

African-American History: From Emancipation to the Present

The Civil War and Reconstruction Eras

The Early Middle Ages (284-1000)

Epidemics in Western Society since 1600

The Great War

Living in the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon

Ottoman Empire

Digital Tour of Tutor London

Signature Settings

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

History of the United States 2nd Edition

Introduction to Ancient Greek History

Understanding Japan - A Cultural History

[writeoutofmysoul]

Umbracatta Chronicles - pt 1

Inspector Rouen Tarrow of Saesneg Special Agency of Llundain, or SSA, walked down Umbracatta street cautiously. He had never been one for fairy tales, but the horror stories that he had heard so many times from the insane police officers that had been rescued from only a few miles of this area, each mangled and distorted, chilled his very bones. It was all horrifying, yes… very much indeed, but it only fueled his insatiable curiosity for new things. So on he walked, feeling the sting of his tired feet and ignoring it quite comfortably, a ten-mile walk was nothing. The street was gloomy he could give its creepiness attribute to that, but it was not something that would send him crawling back.

The place he was headed for was set out on a long strip of concrete, a flat and triangular little place that looked smaller from his approaching angel than he would have thought it to be. A worn sign swung soundlessly from above the door that was once painted black but was now peeling and moldy. Rouen stopped in front of the door, looking up at its overall appearance from under the brim of his black pinstripe fedora. He had to admit, it looked almost charming.

The door was a long glass panel covered with sun-washed stickers and posters along the edges, leaving the middle a smudgy piece of scraggly glass with a frame of pealing black painted wood. An old brass envelope door was tucked under the window and looked rather unused for a place with so much reputation of underground correspondence. Most definitely far too much character that anyone bookshop he'd entered in his twenty years. Rouen took a step forward, under the old threadbare awning and pressed his hand to the window to look inside the dark room. There was a long hallway covered shelf to shelf with all sorts of books. From his distance, he could make out titles on occult, magic, and demon summoning, all which were banned in the Cubus Act of 2133. The rest seemed to be the odds and ends of spell-casting demons.

Rouen straitened himself up and pushed open the door. An old bell clanged as the door opened, making Rouen feel a chill run down his back, but he stately ignored it. He turned instinctively to the desk half hidden with books that reached to the ceiling, with odds and ends sticking out every which way. A few old photos of a happy young couple were pasted to the bookshelves' exposed edges. Rouen to a step forward to look closer at the images, the woman appeared more often than the man, so Rouen was left to suppose that it was the shopkeeper’s daughter, naturally.

“Welcome, govna'. What may we do for you, 'ere at Umbracatta.” An elder woman popped up from behind the counter, a happy innocent smiles her accent distinctly Earthian anglium. The woman looked disheveled, like waking up from a brief unplanned nap, the wispy white hair escaping her unkempt bun and falling like spiderwebs about her head, her glasses cocked at an odd angle and her tattered shawl draped over one shoulder. “Is there something you need, young man?”

Rouen returned the smile with his trademark devilish grin, planning to flatter her, he knew when little tricks like that might come in handy. “Why, yes. I’m looking for artificial and mechanical life, A.I., if you will.” Rouen leaned suggestively against the counter and looked down at the old woman.

the shopkeeper gave a throaty chuckle. “Ohh, you n'ughty boy, you. What would chr' mum t'ink?” the woman hobbled out from behind the counter and over to a curiously unoccupied shelf. Her old cracked hands picked up a small silver bell and rang it twice.

At this point Rouen had already taken in that she had a weathered face, a scar on her lower lip, and sunken eyes, understanding that it meant she did a lot of reading and was once hurt by her occult practices. Her hands were cracked and stained black between cracks exposing that she did not have all day to sit about and read but she did hard work. This was reinforced by fresh scabs along her knuckles. Lastly, about her hands she wore cloth armlet around her wrist that bulged slightly, revealing her practices of dark magic with blood sacrifice as her own. This woman was deep in her dark arts Rouen confirmed.

Rouen pretended to watch the woman with anxiousness, but he kept his calm trained stance ready, though he looked to be casually lounging against the desk. He scanned more book titles from his angle, reading off random titles such as Awakening the Dead, A Once in a Lifetime Experience by Jeraman Jacobs. , Toads of the Twelve Quadrants and Their Uses in the Darker Arts by Suliman P. Whitaker, and Madusa Featherstone's Guide to Unnatural Beauty by Madusa Featherstone and Philip Kay.

There was a sudden collapse of books behind Rouen that made him jump in spite of himself. He looked down as a could of dust rose up off the pile of dislodged books, he happily noticed that sprouting out of the pile was an arrangement of arms and legs. Rouen sprang to attention and began digging through the books to clear a path for the clobbered person. A new unknown he would know in only a few seconds.

"Janessa!" The old hag screeched as Rouen uncover a beautiful pale face. She looked like a porcelain doll, wide brown eyes framed by lashes and a sweet bow-shaped mouth the color of a strawberry malt framed by a boyish haircut of growing out white-blond hair. She looked shocked, mostly frightened that Rouen was trying to help her up and that she ruined her beloved books.

Rouen decided that this Janessa must be the daughter of the woman in the photographs earlier. She had the same pale complexion and doll-like face. This little girl clearly was not a bookworm either. Both frauds, Rouen rutted silently. He distinguished this by the boyish cut of her hair and the similar armlets mostly hidden under her dark jacket. She too had freshly pink knuckles that were in need of bandages by not immediately. So Rouen deduced that she must be related to the shopkeeper. Most likely… grandmother.

"I'm sorry grandmum." Jenessa said automatically, still in a state of repulsion at her mistake. Rouen was inwardly smug at his correct assumption. The girl seemed to clutch on Rouen's arm in a daze of shock. Rouen was thoroughly enthralled by how much he did not know about this new person. This was like describing a feast to a starving man for him. It had been three weeks since he'd had this much fun.

"May I help you, Miss Janessa?" Rouen offered, eagerly awaiting her reaction to him in his abrupt and nonexistent introduction. Rouen had a reputation as a bit of a ladies man and could not help but to offer his assistance to such a sweet girl, even though she may be too young for his usual tactic of female charming.

The girl Janessa turned her head slowly to look at him and didn't start or push away from his hold. She merely stared back at Rouen. He was dumbstruck, he didn't know what to do next. Janessa had him at a crossroad, and she wouldn't give so neither would Rouen.

"Young man, kindly tike your 'ands off me granddaughter." The shopkeeper thumped a large stick on the floor that Rouen had not previously noticed. At a glance, he could see carved runes of a which embedded in the wood, highlighted by the light from the door window.

It was Janessa who let go first, diligently attending to the books that she had strewn across the floor. Rouen stood patiently and watched her. Her reaction absolutely fascinated him.

"Janessa we 'ave a valuable customer and 'e means to buy from us. Leave 'em and go find the A.I. Section if you will." The grandmother shopkeeper thumped the threatening knarled stick again and Janessa gave her a brief defiant look before hopping over the pile of books. This did not go without Rouen's notice where he was left to wonder about the two women's quarrel, though he had learned a valuable lesson not to ask openly.

"This way, sir." She said without looking back, her pale form moving deeper into the many shelves and piles of books. Rouen led at the shopkeeper and she gave him a strangely encouraging nod to follow. Rouen did, and the darkness of the many shelves enveloped him. There were only brief glances of light as Janessa led him further, a glimpse of a foggy street where bookshelves covered the windows, and an orangish fluorescent light every yard fastened to the ceiling.

"How old are you, Janessa? Much too young to be working in a dusty old bookshop, you should be at school." Raouen said with parent-like concern.

"I'm eleven and a half and I homeschool. I learn all I want to learn and grandmum teaches me the rest." She replied smoothly.

"So, your grandmother," Rouen said to Janessa's back, hoping to start a conversation, learn a small detail. But she merely confirmed it with a glance over her shoulder and a nod of her head. Rouen pursed his lips, he was insanely intrigued by the prospect of this case. He'd experienced such tightness only from his mother and two informants he kleptomania close at hand, plus it was strange from a child her age. "Is she…" they turned a corner, allowing Rouen to ask another well thought question. "Is she the father's mother or mother's?"

"Mum's side." She replied without looking back this time.

Rouen smirked. She'd slipped with her careful words slightly, she'd grown up with her grandmother most likely. "How long have you been living with your grandmother?"

"Long." She said. Janessa paused to look at the titles on one side of a shelf, and then the other. Janessa defied to follow her first choice and proceeded down the shelved space. Almost lovingly, her fingers ran along the spines of the books as she trailed deeper. Then Janessa abruptly stopped. She pointed to the yard wide shelves stretching from floor to ceiling. "Here."

Rouen smiled and tipped his hat to her. "Thank you, … Janessa." though he focused his attention to the books, his eyes followed her small form running to the opposite side of the hall, poking her head around and then quietly walking toward him again.

"Sir, don't move or look at me. Cameras are watching us. Just listen to me." Her voice cut through the air though it was merely a whisper. This thickened his problem, what a lucky day for him.

Rouen pretended to peruse the books and look confused as if he could not find the very book he had so needed. "I'm listening." Rouen managed to say

"You need to leave. Now. Say you left the name of the title at home. You need to go." Janessa's voice was calm. It did not plead or whimper as it should. But this Janessa of Umbracatta seemed to be a very seasoned and defiant child.

"I will. On one condition." Rouen said with vaniloquent skill. His face became even more perplexed as his well-sought title became lost to him completely.

"There is no condition. Staying long here will mean your death." Janessa spoke harsh words but her childlike voice still remained monotone and unemotional.

"That does not concern me at the moment. Facing death is nothing new,…" Rouen continued to frown at the books before him, taking a step back to look at them. "I will leave if you shall allow me the convenience of a meeting. Anywhere you like, and answer twenty questions."

"The Gilded Bird," she said as he turned to look at her, his face a mask of disappointed inquiry. "Be there at eight. Ask for Miss La Prucelle." With that, she started her path back to the front door through the endless maze of books. Rouen followed her obligingly, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. When they arrived at the desk and the entrance, the old shopkeeper was strangely, no longer in sight.

"I'm sorry to inconvenience you, I will return for my book at another time." Inspector Tarrow said with a curt nod and an unhappy glance at Janessa before stepping out back onto Umbracatta street.

Rouen shoved his hands into his khaki raincoat pockets with a smug smile speed across his face. He slid off to a side street and ran toward an old fire escape and scrambled up the rusty metal ladder and climbed carefully up it. He pulled himself up and rolled across the flat roof, getting up and crawling over to the roof edge. The long bookshop stood seemingly smooshed under a dark planked building above it, seemingly the lodging for the family below. Rouen reached under his coat and pulled out an extendable spyglass from his carefully engineered leather belt. He opened it and put the smaller end to his eye. He saw the door, the ugly black sign, and the windows were unfortunately covered in books. Rouen closed the spyglass with an irritated frown.

"Well, Miss Janessa La Prucelle. You are one interesting character." Rouen whispered.