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House of Tremere
Dark Vampire takes you to the nights before the Camarilla, when kine truly had reason to be afraid of the dark. The vampires of this bygone age ride the dark as lords, play their games with the crowned heads of Europe, and travel to the mysterious lands of the East as they wage their ages-old war. The diablerie of Saulot, the waking of Mithras, the destruction of Michael the patriarch, the return of the Dracon -- it all means the time of reflection is over. The Inquisition stirs and the time to act is now. Across Europe, monarchs of the night set princes and barons at each other's undying throats. Young vampires take to the field ready to claim their domain and become powerful lords in their own right. Blood calls to blood. Secrets and conspiracies in the haven of Clan Tremere.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 11, 2000
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About the author
Robin D. Laws
149 books195 followersWriter and game designer Robin D. Laws brought you such roleplaying games as Ashen Stars, The Esoterrorists, The Dying Earth, Heroquest and Feng Shui. He is the author of seven novels, most recently The Worldwound Gambit from Paizo. For Robin's much-praised works of gaming history and analysis, see Hamlet's Hit Points, Robin's Laws of Game Mastering and 40 Years of Gen Con.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 22, 2020
Wow. This was terrifyingly old-school, even for the time it was written. The book came out in 2000 during White Wolf's "Year of Revelations"; around that time I stopped buying everything they put out and actually started selling off large parts of my collection, so I wasn't certain whether I had read this book back then or not. Parts of it seemed very familiar.
Anyways.
"The House of Tremere" mainly deals with the Transsylvanian chantry-fortress of Ceoris, formerly Goratrix' chantry, now under the rule of Etrius and the resting place of Tremere himself and presents the history of the Hermetic House (and later Clan) Tremere as it relates to the place.
The history section of the book I liked a lot, though it left out quite a bit of history or allusions penned down elsewhere, narrowing too much down to the Kupala element of the Transsylvania setting.
With the conflict between Etrius' people and Goratrix loyalists and the need to keep their existence as vampires from the still-existing mortal mages of the chantry while fighting off their Tzimisce besiegers, the book offers a lot of story potential. Which I think mostly falls flat while the book presents the reader with floor plans and a room by room walk-through of the chantry and its inhabitants that reads like an old D&D manual. That impression is supported by new rules and creatures, powers, potions, etc. (most of which player characters will most likely not be able to use), trying to show what horrible creatures the Tremere are (well, that part works; at least someone got a bit of his grimdark out of his system...)
The book also briefly touches upon a few other houses/chantries of the clan to round out the picture, which all show the problem of a clan that is also an actual organisation: there are too many concentrated in places to really be able to hide, considering the amounts of blood they not only need to get through the night but also to power their blood magic and nightly experimentation with such.
While this was not an uninteresting read, I prefer the original Clanbook: Tremere and the Etrius as written in Children of the Inquisition, who was Tremere's loyal conscience as opposed to the petty lickspittle presented throughout this book.
I guess there were reasons I stopped collecting back then.
Anyways.
"The House of Tremere" mainly deals with the Transsylvanian chantry-fortress of Ceoris, formerly Goratrix' chantry, now under the rule of Etrius and the resting place of Tremere himself and presents the history of the Hermetic House (and later Clan) Tremere as it relates to the place.
The history section of the book I liked a lot, though it left out quite a bit of history or allusions penned down elsewhere, narrowing too much down to the Kupala element of the Transsylvania setting.
With the conflict between Etrius' people and Goratrix loyalists and the need to keep their existence as vampires from the still-existing mortal mages of the chantry while fighting off their Tzimisce besiegers, the book offers a lot of story potential. Which I think mostly falls flat while the book presents the reader with floor plans and a room by room walk-through of the chantry and its inhabitants that reads like an old D&D manual. That impression is supported by new rules and creatures, powers, potions, etc. (most of which player characters will most likely not be able to use), trying to show what horrible creatures the Tremere are (well, that part works; at least someone got a bit of his grimdark out of his system...)
The book also briefly touches upon a few other houses/chantries of the clan to round out the picture, which all show the problem of a clan that is also an actual organisation: there are too many concentrated in places to really be able to hide, considering the amounts of blood they not only need to get through the night but also to power their blood magic and nightly experimentation with such.
While this was not an uninteresting read, I prefer the original Clanbook: Tremere and the Etrius as written in Children of the Inquisition, who was Tremere's loyal conscience as opposed to the petty lickspittle presented throughout this book.
I guess there were reasons I stopped collecting back then.
April 19, 2013
This book is not just a sourcebook. It is the entrance to a dark and terrible part of White Wolf's vampire history. It tells the story of the first stronghold of the vampire wizards called the Tremere. Their stronghold is a dark place full of magic. Their servants are dangerous and terrible, or just plain monstrous.
In this book you not only learn about the Tremere but also about the hideous servants their alchemy and vampiric powers have created. You learn about the gargoyles, how they were created, how they are born and even information about their society. Despite being a line of artificially created vampires the Gargoyles do not tend to get at each others' throats all the time but actually have a strong instinct to flock together. All well… well… until you learn how they actually are created. ;)
Even for those not familiar with the game line, this is a recommendable book on good old horror.
In this book you not only learn about the Tremere but also about the hideous servants their alchemy and vampiric powers have created. You learn about the gargoyles, how they were created, how they are born and even information about their society. Despite being a line of artificially created vampires the Gargoyles do not tend to get at each others' throats all the time but actually have a strong instinct to flock together. All well… well… until you learn how they actually are created. ;)
Even for those not familiar with the game line, this is a recommendable book on good old horror.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews