Black Dog Game Factory was a label used by White Wolf, Inc. for the publication of a number of books in their original World of Darkness RPG line.
According to Shannon Appelcline, the game HoL was "sufficiently adult that it might damage White Wolf's reputation as a publisher of entertainment intended for young adults" so White Wolf published the game under a new imprint, the Black Dog Game Factory, named after a fictional corporation in the World of Darkness setting. White Wolf also used the Black Dog imprint to release more adult-themed supplements for 'Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, and Wraith in 1995, and then the imprint decreased to publishing an average of two books a year through 2000.[1]: 25 Appelcline explained that "In many ways, these Black Dog books represented a return to form for White Wolf. They offered up new ways to present innovative material, just as Vampire had been cutting edge back when it appeared on the gaming scene in 1991. Some of that innovation was noticed. Charnel Houses of Europe: The Shoah (1997) — which adapted the Holocaust for Wraith — and the four-volume, award-winning Giovanni Chronicles (1995–1999) — which traced a family from the 1400s to the modern day — both earned attention and acclaim for White Wolf."[1]: 25 However, Appelcline also noted that "Despite that critical acclaim, Black Dog's smaller audience and the chance that it could still damage the reputation of White Wolf with its more intense and grittier subject matter eventually spelled the end for the imprint. Like Streetfighter, Black Dog was another attempt to break new ground in the late '90s that ultimately went nowhere."[1]: 25
Books published by Black Dog had adult or mature themes, though not all Black Dog-published books dealt with sexual material. Some are labeled as adult because they deal with themes of strong violence or evil (such as Hunter Book: Wayward), religious themes (Cainite Heresy), or controversial subject matter (the Holocaust-based Charnel Houses of Europe: The Shoah).
Books published by Black Dog include:
| Name | Game Line | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
The Giovanni Chronicles, a four-part series
|
Vampire: The Masquerade | |
| Montreal by Night | Vampire: The Masquerade | November 1, 1996[5] |
| Clanbook: Baali | Vampire: The Dark Ages | June 1, 1998[6] |
| The Cainite Heresy | Vampire: The Dark Ages | February 24, 1999[7] |
| Freak Legion: A Player's Guide to Fomori | Werewolf: The Apocalypse | December 1, 1995[8] |
| Destiny's Price | Mage: The Ascension | December 1, 1995[9] |
| Charnel Houses of Europe: The Shoah | Wraith: The Oblivion | February 1, 1997[10] |
| Dark Reflections: Spectres | Wraith: The Oblivion | December 1, 1995[11] |
| Dead Magic | Mage: The Ascension | July 2000[12] |
| Hunter Book: Wayward | Hunter: The Reckoning | January 28, 2002[13] |
Black Dog also printed Hol: Human Occupied Landfill and its lone supplement Buttery Wholesomeness. HoL itself was designed by Dirt Merchant Games. The imprint also published Eternal Hearts, an erotica novel set in the universe of Vampire: The Masquerade. A book for Aberrant, titled Cults of Personality, was planned for release, but the game line was cancelled before the book made it to print.
Additionally, Black Dog Game Factory is the name of a company that appears in various World of Darkness supplements as a gaming company owned by Pentex. It publishes many games that are parodies of White Wolf's own lines, such as Revenant: The Ravishing (a parody of Vampire), Deviant (a parody of Aberrant), and so on.