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Vampire: the Masquerade
Caine's Chosen: The Black Hand
Hidden behind veils of secrecy and mystery, the Black Hand serves as the martial arm of the Sabbat. When the blood and fire of the sect's packs and prisci fail to win the night, the Black Hand arrives like a grim cavalry on the cusp of the night. With all its autonomy and authority, however, the Black Hand has turned upon itself - does it truly serve the Sabbat or has it become a Gehenna cult?
Caine's The Black Hand offers new setting and rules support for playing and storytelling the sect-within-a-sect. As agents of a martial order whose authority supersedes almost every other faction of the Sabbat, Cainites of the Black Hand face the most brutal challenges of the sect.
Caine's The Black Hand offers new setting and rules support for playing and storytelling the sect-within-a-sect. As agents of a martial order whose authority supersedes almost every other faction of the Sabbat, Cainites of the Black Hand face the most brutal challenges of the sect.
100 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2018
Imagine, if you will, a group of vampires devoted to Caine and to the coming Gehenna. Structured into cells and spread around the world, they fight a religious war, secretly training and using their fanaticism as their weapon. They are the enemy of anyone devoted to the Antediluvians and their pawns, removing obstacles by any means necessary. They conduct strange rites and have fearsome powers, waiting until their commanders call them to action and then springing into battle with a fearsome rage that makes their enemies quail.
The Sabbat? What, no, don't be ridiculous. I'm talking about the Black Hand!
And that's the major problem with the Black Hand as an organization. Say what you will about Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand--and there is certainly a lot to say--at least its vision of the Black Hand was unique. The Revised decision to have both the Tal'Mahe'ra and the Black Hand left the Black Hand as kind of the kid brother without much to do, and so a lot of its structure and goals replicate those of the Sabbat. If they're also a Gehenna cult, if they also organize themselves into cells, if they also spend all their time killing people to make it easier for Caine when he returns during Gehenna, what's the difference? Their cool tattoos and the value of being a secret society? The difficulty of integrating a single Black Hand member into a group of Sabbat vampires due to the separate command structure, need to keep secrets, and the possibility that they'll be called up at any time to go on missions?
That said, Caine's Chosen does provide some ways to deal with these problems. One possibility is obviously that the entire group of players are Black Hand members. Another is that members of the Black Hand are given considerable latitude in how they deal with any specific mission, so it's possible for them to enlist their normal, non-Black-Hand-Sabbat packmates into their adventures if they think it's warranted. The Black Hand's practices are secret, but its existence isn't, and neither does its membership have to be. There's nothing wrong with a Black Hand vampire telling their packmates about their allegiance. Due to the Vaulderie, it'll probably come out anyway eventually.
One interesting aspect of the Black Hand are the Aljusuri rituals. Though the Black Hand's membership was primarily composed of Assamites, there have always been several different strains of blood sorcery in its ranks, from Tremere Antitribu to Tzimisce kolduns. Because of that, most Black Hand sorcerers design their rituals to function with multiple different disciplines of blood sorcery, as long as the appropriate modifications are made. This really sells the Black Hand as a cross-Clan organization willing to work together and share knowledge, but for the same reason it also seems like something that should be part of the base Sabbat toolset. It could contrast Camarilla depth of occult knowledge with Sabbat breadth.
That's about it, though. Sure, there's a lot of opportunity in the Black Hand now because most of the leadership and elders have left with the twin catastrophes of the return of Ur-Shulgi and the call back to Alamut and the Tal'Mahe'Ra losing Enoch in the Shadowlands, but the Sabbat is also a place where younger vampires can rise up to positions of authority on the basis of their personal prowess (if they live). I'm giving the book three stars because it's well written and interesting within its premise, but the premise isn't sufficiently different from its parent organization to really wow me.
The Sabbat? What, no, don't be ridiculous. I'm talking about the Black Hand!
And that's the major problem with the Black Hand as an organization. Say what you will about Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand--and there is certainly a lot to say--at least its vision of the Black Hand was unique. The Revised decision to have both the Tal'Mahe'ra and the Black Hand left the Black Hand as kind of the kid brother without much to do, and so a lot of its structure and goals replicate those of the Sabbat. If they're also a Gehenna cult, if they also organize themselves into cells, if they also spend all their time killing people to make it easier for Caine when he returns during Gehenna, what's the difference? Their cool tattoos and the value of being a secret society? The difficulty of integrating a single Black Hand member into a group of Sabbat vampires due to the separate command structure, need to keep secrets, and the possibility that they'll be called up at any time to go on missions?
That said, Caine's Chosen does provide some ways to deal with these problems. One possibility is obviously that the entire group of players are Black Hand members. Another is that members of the Black Hand are given considerable latitude in how they deal with any specific mission, so it's possible for them to enlist their normal, non-Black-Hand-Sabbat packmates into their adventures if they think it's warranted. The Black Hand's practices are secret, but its existence isn't, and neither does its membership have to be. There's nothing wrong with a Black Hand vampire telling their packmates about their allegiance. Due to the Vaulderie, it'll probably come out anyway eventually.
One interesting aspect of the Black Hand are the Aljusuri rituals. Though the Black Hand's membership was primarily composed of Assamites, there have always been several different strains of blood sorcery in its ranks, from Tremere Antitribu to Tzimisce kolduns. Because of that, most Black Hand sorcerers design their rituals to function with multiple different disciplines of blood sorcery, as long as the appropriate modifications are made. This really sells the Black Hand as a cross-Clan organization willing to work together and share knowledge, but for the same reason it also seems like something that should be part of the base Sabbat toolset. It could contrast Camarilla depth of occult knowledge with Sabbat breadth.
That's about it, though. Sure, there's a lot of opportunity in the Black Hand now because most of the leadership and elders have left with the twin catastrophes of the return of Ur-Shulgi and the call back to Alamut and the Tal'Mahe'Ra losing Enoch in the Shadowlands, but the Sabbat is also a place where younger vampires can rise up to positions of authority on the basis of their personal prowess (if they live). I'm giving the book three stars because it's well written and interesting within its premise, but the premise isn't sufficiently different from its parent organization to really wow me.
February 22, 2014
I particularly enjoyed getting the story from the other side of the fence. I had always come up against these people when playing the game before. I can pretty much understand where they're coming from now, in conjunction with the Sabbat modules, as well. As for creating my own stories, it's actually pretty much a life-saver that no self-respecting storyteller should go without. :)
Down with the 3rd gen!
Down with the 3rd gen!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews