Defiant is a roleplaying game about being powerful sexy supernatural nobility. It's the end of the world, and various supernatural beings (angels, devils, dragons, pagan gods) have returned to Earth. You play rebels against the apocalypse, living in cities protected by powerful arcane seals. Part of what powers the seals is living life to the fullest, so your characters party, compete, have affairs, intrigue against other nobles, and generally have a good time.
The cast of Lost Girl, my guilty pleasure show about sexy supernatural nobility
I like how the rules of the game explicitly support the premise. Your character comes with a consort and a court, of group of other nobles you can order around, and who's flaws will get you in trouble. You're also bound by the principles and commandments of your society, and the general need to advance your reputation. While you aren't at the very top of the ladder, with a Princepas above your district, house elders, and a handful of officials at the top of the city, you're powerful enough that you can't easily be pushed around, and most lesser beings have to do what you say.
Sessions are similarly structured, with court scenes at home, and then two threads, major events which change the setting. NPCs are built with secrets and an agenda. Character creation is card based, shuffling out origins and roles, and then picking options from a list for customization. The system is a simple dice pool, starting at 3d6 and bumping a dice up by one size per bonus based on applicable words on your sheet until you max out 3d10, with anything rolled over 5 being a success. A consumable resource called Shards lets you gain a bonus d8 to any roll or ask a powerful theme question to tilt the story in your direction.
Defiant is upfront about its goals and successfully achieves them. This is a game about drama and characters, and your characters are very much at the center of the story. The rules are simple and get out of the way. I've never been a World of Darkness guy, but my sense is this game is Vampire as it's played rather than as it's written, and well-refined by decades of design advances. I like a lot of the setting material, though I could have used some more guidance on what kinds of arbitrary rules are imposed from above, since it seems a major way that the play experience is shaped, how supernatural beings relate to the mortal world, and if there are any magical or occult forces characters can call upon.
The writing is a little lengthy and repetitive in places, but the player and GM advice is top notch, and while the book is over 600 pages on my screen friendly copy, the text is generously sized and easy to read. Art is modified stock photos, cast to a dream-like orange and purple blur with added supernatural elements like horns and wings, and does a solid job getting across what the game is about with consistency.
This isn't the type of game I typically play, but it's so well-done I'd consider playing it.