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Beckett's Jyhad Diary
It’s ever been a loaded word among vampires. Jyhad is in force everywhere from lofty, perfumed Elysium to cloying, smoke-filled blood feasts. Jyhad’s the eternal game played by elders, Methuselahs, and worse — it’s the agenda of beings so utterly beyond humanity, one such as yourself could scarcely understand its movements.
Luckily for you, you’ve picked up a copy of my diary. With my help you may just take a step on the first rung of understanding. Information worth having is information you must earn through blood, and oh, how I’ve bled for what’s contained within these pages.
— Beckett
Beckett's Jyhad Diary serves as the definitive book of setting and plot for Vampire: The Masquerade, containing 30 chapters spanning different geographical regions, encountering vampires of every clan, profiling obscure and profound segments of the mythology, and providing countless story hooks on every page.
Masterfully written by the likes of Neall Raemonn Price, Joshua Alan Doetsch, Myranda Sarro, Steffie de Vaan, Malcolm Sheppard, Alan Alexander, Renee Knipe, and Matthew Dawkins, Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is as fascinating to read as to use for your game Chronicles.
Luckily for you, you’ve picked up a copy of my diary. With my help you may just take a step on the first rung of understanding. Information worth having is information you must earn through blood, and oh, how I’ve bled for what’s contained within these pages.
— Beckett
Beckett's Jyhad Diary serves as the definitive book of setting and plot for Vampire: The Masquerade, containing 30 chapters spanning different geographical regions, encountering vampires of every clan, profiling obscure and profound segments of the mythology, and providing countless story hooks on every page.
Masterfully written by the likes of Neall Raemonn Price, Joshua Alan Doetsch, Myranda Sarro, Steffie de Vaan, Malcolm Sheppard, Alan Alexander, Renee Knipe, and Matthew Dawkins, Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is as fascinating to read as to use for your game Chronicles.
559 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2018
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85 people want to read
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September 29, 2018
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE remains the most influential of all tabletop roleplaying games in my life and is pretty much under DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS for influence on the world as a whole. The Blade Trilogy, Underworld, True Blood, Dark, Vampyr, and a huge number of other works were all influenced by it. Recently, 5th Edition Vampire: The Masquerade came out and electrified the fanbase. However, 5E didn't cover what a lot of people most remember about the game: the metaplot.
Metaplot for those unfamiliar with it is basically an ongoing story carried from book supplement to book supplement. In, say, Book 1# you'd meet a character called Lucita who is a vampire assassin and in Book 2# she'd show up again, only to be on the run from her sire and in Book 15# we'd find out she'd killed her sire. The metaplot of the vampire books covered everything from the oncoming vampire apocalypse, a war between vampire secret societies, conflict with Asian vampires, and who ruled what cities.
The problem with metaplot was that it often disrupted people's games. If you were playing your home game, the sudden discovery 1/13th of the vampire race was destroyed by a magical order to kill yourself was kind of a big deal. At least if you cared about fitting in with official material (and if you didn't then future supplements would be worthless). It also often set up huge dramatic plot points then completely dropped them. A 6000 year old vampire wakes up in the Middle East, declares jihad on all non-believers in the Blood God, and then is never heard from again.
BECKETT'S JYHAD DIARY is a chronicle of virtually every single metaplot raised by the gameline from the conflicts in Milwaukee (yes, seriously) to the attempt to unearth the tomb of a 2nd generation vampire (that's a big deal). For about a decade, V:TM was a dead line in publication and all of these plots were put on hold. This basically brings them to the present and gives the Storyteller some idea how to use them. It also uses an excellent framing device in Beckett to tell the story of how all these things may go down.
One of the most endearing characters about the V:TM setting was Beckett. Beckett was a sarcastic vampire archaeologist who traveled around the world, looking in dark tombs and crumbling castles for the secrets of vampire history. I'd always felt he was a better signature character for the Gangrel clan than the somewhat generic Ramona but I suppose we needed a Neonate somewhere. Basically, vampire Indiana Jones, Beckett was used by supplements to talk about vampire stuff in-universe. This book is a chronicle of his year-long traversal around the globe, finding out absolutely everything there is to know about these plots.
Beckett's journey is hilarious as he goes from meeting one angry godlike elder vampire to another and never fails to tick them off with his attitude. He's completely fearless and more than a little stupid in the way he snarks at beings who could crush him with a single fist. Beckett gets nearly killed more than a dozen times and inexplicably always gets rescued, only to plunge into another insane situation. At one point, he's possessed by the Antediluvian (big deal vampire) underneath Jerusalem and another, he's made into Dracula's bride (yes, seriously). Only a few chapters aren't entertaining just for the ridiculousness of his situation.
There's one serious downside, though. This book is going to be completely incomprehensible for anyone who is not a Rhodes Scholar of Vampire: The Masquerade. I'm talking 5 Dots of Occult: Vampire: The Masquerade specialization with maybe a few dots of Lore as well. If that doesn't make any sense to you, then you should stop reading because you're already well outside of this book's target audience. I'm pretty incredibly well-versed in V:TM trivia and know the setting only slightly less than I know Star Wars' Expanded Universe--which I could get a doctorate in. Here, there were chapters I was going, "Who, what, when, where, how? Is this a new character? Who is making these annotations? What book was this in?"
My knowledge of setting trivia actually worked against me in some places because the book wasn't afraid to retcon and change things at will. Ur-Shulgi didn't awaken in 1999, no, he might be awakening now. The Anarch Free States are back after being apparently destroyed, conquered, and restored with nary a Cathayan in sight. Again, if you have no idea what that's about then this isn't the book for you because this is a story which includes references to books I think sold like 30 copies as major plot points.
It is a grand guginol of fanservice with people I never expected to show up, showing up again and references ranging from Necropolis: Atlanta's vampires to city supplements on Carthage (destroyed millennia before any edition of the game is set) and Constantinople. I loved the heavy focus on fan-favorites like Lucita, Jan Pieterzoon, Anatole, and others, though. It also canonizes video games Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines and Redemption as part of the mainstream universes.
Favorite moments of the book that will make sense only to fans of the series:
* A return to Chicago to find out what the hell has been going on there for 20 years after Chicago by Night 2nd Edition.
* Lucita stealing Beckett's plane for an emergency trip to Montreal.
* Beckett getting a car ride from the "tutorial on how to make a character" Malcolm the drug addicted vampire vigilante.
* An Anarch Tremere faction led by a feminist revolutionary.
* An obnoxious stenographer rewriting an angry meeting with Beckett and Jan Pieterzoon as yaoi fanfiction.
* The return to life of Marcus Vitel, one of the setting's most over-the-top brilliant villains.
* Lucita getting her character fixed after the hatchet job of the Clan Novel: Lasombra trilogy. I am uncomfortably obsessed with this character.
* The aforementioned canonizing of the video games.
* The fact they actually manage to replicate Cristof the vampire knight's incredibly obnoxious Shakespearian speech patterns.
* Ecaterina the Wise getting back some of her mojo.
* Acknowledging that Carthage was simultaneously a center of ancient glory and kind of a horrible bunch of child burners.
* The appearance of Helene (of Troy) in all her horrific ancient glory.
* Victoria Ash managing the Succubus Club. It's so brilliant, I'm surprised I didn't think of it.
* The Ravnos are no longer extinct but aren't Romani stereotypes anymore either.
* Rebekah the Chicago Monitor explaining the Inconnu and Golconda are not nearly as weird as people think, making them actually usable in-game.
* The whole Dracula section where Beckett drops all his usual snark because he's genuinely unsettled.
* Anatole! Back alive and as crazy-sane as ever.
* The True Hand are nicely re-imagined as those crazy cult guys from Indiana Jones protecting all the torporous elders.
* The Setites joining the Camarilla.
* The Cappadochians back on their feet.
* The Laibon (African vampires) getting a seat at the big boy's table. Ditto the Ashirra (Middle Eastern vampires).
* Vykos and Beckett being forced to work together.
There are some mistakes in the book, like the fact Cristof is reported as dying during the events of V:TM:R despite the fact he's alive and talking to Beckett throughout the chapter. The fact they name Kevin Jackson as Prince of Chicago when we know he's not in 5E Chicago by Night (it may not be a mistake depending on how they write him up). There's also the fact the book is already outdated by 5E with major events of that book's opening completely uncovered by this despite the book having some allusions to it. I really wish they'd managed to insert a scene about the Second Inquisition, the Anarch takeover of Berlin, and the assassination of Hardestadt the Younger by Theo Bell at the end. Then again, the book is already a mind-numbing 500 pages so I understand why they didn't. Still, we needed like a metaplot update for what's already a metaplot update.
Which is a shame.
The book is beautiful with fantastic art and many wonderful hidden homages, winks, nudges, and excellent game advice. It's extremely well-written but I actually think, in retrospect, it's many met Kickstarter goals may have hurt it a bit. The book has some bloat in it that I think might have benefited from splitting it into two products (say, Beckett's Jyhad Diary Volume 1# and Beckett's Jyhad Diary Volume 2#). I found the whole, "The Sabbat try to take credit for 9/11" plotline to be in horrendously poor taste despite it being less than one chapter and the fact it's stated to be an overt lie by Archbishop Polonia. I also had difficulty reading the handwriting of some of these Elders, which is problematic in a supplement. Still, it's probably my second favorite of all time supplement after Chicago by Night 1st Edition.
9/10
Metaplot for those unfamiliar with it is basically an ongoing story carried from book supplement to book supplement. In, say, Book 1# you'd meet a character called Lucita who is a vampire assassin and in Book 2# she'd show up again, only to be on the run from her sire and in Book 15# we'd find out she'd killed her sire. The metaplot of the vampire books covered everything from the oncoming vampire apocalypse, a war between vampire secret societies, conflict with Asian vampires, and who ruled what cities.
The problem with metaplot was that it often disrupted people's games. If you were playing your home game, the sudden discovery 1/13th of the vampire race was destroyed by a magical order to kill yourself was kind of a big deal. At least if you cared about fitting in with official material (and if you didn't then future supplements would be worthless). It also often set up huge dramatic plot points then completely dropped them. A 6000 year old vampire wakes up in the Middle East, declares jihad on all non-believers in the Blood God, and then is never heard from again.
BECKETT'S JYHAD DIARY is a chronicle of virtually every single metaplot raised by the gameline from the conflicts in Milwaukee (yes, seriously) to the attempt to unearth the tomb of a 2nd generation vampire (that's a big deal). For about a decade, V:TM was a dead line in publication and all of these plots were put on hold. This basically brings them to the present and gives the Storyteller some idea how to use them. It also uses an excellent framing device in Beckett to tell the story of how all these things may go down.
One of the most endearing characters about the V:TM setting was Beckett. Beckett was a sarcastic vampire archaeologist who traveled around the world, looking in dark tombs and crumbling castles for the secrets of vampire history. I'd always felt he was a better signature character for the Gangrel clan than the somewhat generic Ramona but I suppose we needed a Neonate somewhere. Basically, vampire Indiana Jones, Beckett was used by supplements to talk about vampire stuff in-universe. This book is a chronicle of his year-long traversal around the globe, finding out absolutely everything there is to know about these plots.
Beckett's journey is hilarious as he goes from meeting one angry godlike elder vampire to another and never fails to tick them off with his attitude. He's completely fearless and more than a little stupid in the way he snarks at beings who could crush him with a single fist. Beckett gets nearly killed more than a dozen times and inexplicably always gets rescued, only to plunge into another insane situation. At one point, he's possessed by the Antediluvian (big deal vampire) underneath Jerusalem and another, he's made into Dracula's bride (yes, seriously). Only a few chapters aren't entertaining just for the ridiculousness of his situation.
There's one serious downside, though. This book is going to be completely incomprehensible for anyone who is not a Rhodes Scholar of Vampire: The Masquerade. I'm talking 5 Dots of Occult: Vampire: The Masquerade specialization with maybe a few dots of Lore as well. If that doesn't make any sense to you, then you should stop reading because you're already well outside of this book's target audience. I'm pretty incredibly well-versed in V:TM trivia and know the setting only slightly less than I know Star Wars' Expanded Universe--which I could get a doctorate in. Here, there were chapters I was going, "Who, what, when, where, how? Is this a new character? Who is making these annotations? What book was this in?"
My knowledge of setting trivia actually worked against me in some places because the book wasn't afraid to retcon and change things at will. Ur-Shulgi didn't awaken in 1999, no, he might be awakening now. The Anarch Free States are back after being apparently destroyed, conquered, and restored with nary a Cathayan in sight. Again, if you have no idea what that's about then this isn't the book for you because this is a story which includes references to books I think sold like 30 copies as major plot points.
It is a grand guginol of fanservice with people I never expected to show up, showing up again and references ranging from Necropolis: Atlanta's vampires to city supplements on Carthage (destroyed millennia before any edition of the game is set) and Constantinople. I loved the heavy focus on fan-favorites like Lucita, Jan Pieterzoon, Anatole, and others, though. It also canonizes video games Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines and Redemption as part of the mainstream universes.
Favorite moments of the book that will make sense only to fans of the series:
* A return to Chicago to find out what the hell has been going on there for 20 years after Chicago by Night 2nd Edition.
* Lucita stealing Beckett's plane for an emergency trip to Montreal.
* Beckett getting a car ride from the "tutorial on how to make a character" Malcolm the drug addicted vampire vigilante.
* An Anarch Tremere faction led by a feminist revolutionary.
* An obnoxious stenographer rewriting an angry meeting with Beckett and Jan Pieterzoon as yaoi fanfiction.
* The return to life of Marcus Vitel, one of the setting's most over-the-top brilliant villains.
* Lucita getting her character fixed after the hatchet job of the Clan Novel: Lasombra trilogy. I am uncomfortably obsessed with this character.
* The aforementioned canonizing of the video games.
* The fact they actually manage to replicate Cristof the vampire knight's incredibly obnoxious Shakespearian speech patterns.
* Ecaterina the Wise getting back some of her mojo.
* Acknowledging that Carthage was simultaneously a center of ancient glory and kind of a horrible bunch of child burners.
* The appearance of Helene (of Troy) in all her horrific ancient glory.
* Victoria Ash managing the Succubus Club. It's so brilliant, I'm surprised I didn't think of it.
* The Ravnos are no longer extinct but aren't Romani stereotypes anymore either.
* Rebekah the Chicago Monitor explaining the Inconnu and Golconda are not nearly as weird as people think, making them actually usable in-game.
* The whole Dracula section where Beckett drops all his usual snark because he's genuinely unsettled.
* Anatole! Back alive and as crazy-sane as ever.
* The True Hand are nicely re-imagined as those crazy cult guys from Indiana Jones protecting all the torporous elders.
* The Setites joining the Camarilla.
* The Cappadochians back on their feet.
* The Laibon (African vampires) getting a seat at the big boy's table. Ditto the Ashirra (Middle Eastern vampires).
* Vykos and Beckett being forced to work together.
There are some mistakes in the book, like the fact Cristof is reported as dying during the events of V:TM:R despite the fact he's alive and talking to Beckett throughout the chapter. The fact they name Kevin Jackson as Prince of Chicago when we know he's not in 5E Chicago by Night (it may not be a mistake depending on how they write him up). There's also the fact the book is already outdated by 5E with major events of that book's opening completely uncovered by this despite the book having some allusions to it. I really wish they'd managed to insert a scene about the Second Inquisition, the Anarch takeover of Berlin, and the assassination of Hardestadt the Younger by Theo Bell at the end. Then again, the book is already a mind-numbing 500 pages so I understand why they didn't. Still, we needed like a metaplot update for what's already a metaplot update.
Which is a shame.
The book is beautiful with fantastic art and many wonderful hidden homages, winks, nudges, and excellent game advice. It's extremely well-written but I actually think, in retrospect, it's many met Kickstarter goals may have hurt it a bit. The book has some bloat in it that I think might have benefited from splitting it into two products (say, Beckett's Jyhad Diary Volume 1# and Beckett's Jyhad Diary Volume 2#). I found the whole, "The Sabbat try to take credit for 9/11" plotline to be in horrendously poor taste despite it being less than one chapter and the fact it's stated to be an overt lie by Archbishop Polonia. I also had difficulty reading the handwriting of some of these Elders, which is problematic in a supplement. Still, it's probably my second favorite of all time supplement after Chicago by Night 1st Edition.
9/10
July 20, 2021
Here it is: the motherload for Beckett fans everywhere. When I started my journey through White Wolf Publishing, I was equal parts excited and intimidated by this massive tome. On the other side, I’m happy it happened and a little glad it’s over.
Launched as Kickstarter campaign back in June 2016, Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is an adventure supplement for Vampire: the Masquerade – Corebook, 20th Anniversary Edition. It updates the meta-plot to 2005. Each chapter begins with an epistolary novella chronicling Beckett’s latest adventure, and afterwards the book provides possible scenarios for Storytellers to run. With a whopping thirty chapters, no Kindred is left behind—if you have a favorite legacy character, they’re here. Discounting the Arctic poles, no continent is left behind, as Beckett globe-trots with an ease untouched by 2000s gas prices. This man gets around—in more ways than one. I have a friend who calls the diary “Beckett’s Little Black Book” and they’re not kidding. I’m delighted.
If you’ve read or played anything else from White Wolf, you know what the major drawbacks are going to be: lots of racism, sinophobia, xenophobia, and Islamophobia. I mean, read the title. Shockingly less misogyny in this one, but that’s probably thanks to the female writers. Some chapters were a slog to get through, like the one set in the USA’s Southern States. Take care of yourself while reading.
My other complaint is down to organization. The overarching plot of the Diary (nominally) is Beckett’s quest for The Book of the Grave-War. The first six chapters follow this thread clearly, as Beckett is yanked around by Elders and rumor. But then it just…drops. Two or three chapters will follow a separate arc, like “Beckett goes to LA” or “Sabbat drama” or “returning Hazimel’s contact lens,” but not much lines up nicely. As someone interested in playing through the Diary with a traveling Noddist coterie, it’s going to take a lot of creativity and effort to link these stories together. I tried by continent, artifact, or chronology, and the results were unsatisfying each time.
In addition, the authors make some plain fumbles that could happen to anyone trying to write White Wolf lore, because the lore is sooooo loosey-goosey. For example, “The Anarch Freefall” chapter tries to be ambiguous enough to take place before or after the Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines video game, but that leaves the reader at loose ends as to why Jeremy MacNeil, Salvador Garcia, and the New Promise Mandarinate are still kicking. “A Brief History of Beckett” is an honest mess. It raises more questions than it answers, and the provided plot hooks ignore those questions. Somehow Emma Blake fakes her death again. I’m expected to believe Beckett did nothing while a Giovanni tortured her soul for twenty-five years, and the Diary fails to explain why the Giovanni stopped. Beckett writes an online article conflating Kindred with Freud’s psycho-sexual stages, when that theory’s been disproven six ways to Sunday by now. Beckett did something for the Inner Council, and they framed him as betraying Aristotle? Hello??? Why bring these events up if they’re not story hooks?
The discontinuity’s effect on Beckett’s character isn’t complimentary: he comes off scatter-brained, cold, and disorganized. Sure, there’s an element of seizing opportunities as presented, or, in Hesha’s case, dropping everything to rescue a beloved from the Fire Court. But it stretched my understanding of the character that Beckett left off trying to find/save/protect Carna to visit Russia on a whim, or attend an art gallery opening. Like. Dude. Are you trying to find your ex-girlfriend or not.
The lack of continuity can partly be chalked up to the fact that the Diary isn’t a series of novellas, but a collection of player hooks for a tabletop rpg. Storytellers are encouraged multiple times to take what they want and leave the rest. Major plot points lack resolution. There’s a hazy, dream-like quality to the writing at points, and Beckett is continuously kidnapped, drugged, and invaded mentally, physically, and spiritually. There’s nothing too graphic on page, but, uh, some encounters could be interpreted as rape. But the point of Beckett’s incapacitation is so the Storyteller can decide what really happened. Players can decide how the World of Darkness shakes out.
And there’s just so much to shake. Beckett touches many an unlife and many a plot. The White Wolf wiki was beside me as I read, because Beckett will drop a buzzword without preamble and send me on thirty-minute rabbit hole research chase. It was a lot of fun, to discover so much, and I was excited about potential fanfic or chronicle ideas much more than I was frustrated. Beckett’s interactions with the Nod Squad are heart-wrenching, hilarious, and adorable in turn. Queer elements become queer canon, as Beckett becomes the Bride of Dracula and is named Hazimel’s consort and falls for Serenna the White and slices through centuries long sexual tension with Sascha Vykos. And more! Which I won’t name here because it’s a long list, haha. Rest assured that #BisexualBeckett is canon.
I have ideas upon ideas, and I’ve finished Beckett’s diary. Despite some major drawbacks, it’s a buzzing, fascinating read. I heartily recommend it to Vampire: the Masquerade fans after they have some video games, books, and/or chronicles under their belt. You know, after you’ve had that initial bite, and you’re ready to slowly nibble a bloody feast.
Launched as Kickstarter campaign back in June 2016, Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is an adventure supplement for Vampire: the Masquerade – Corebook, 20th Anniversary Edition. It updates the meta-plot to 2005. Each chapter begins with an epistolary novella chronicling Beckett’s latest adventure, and afterwards the book provides possible scenarios for Storytellers to run. With a whopping thirty chapters, no Kindred is left behind—if you have a favorite legacy character, they’re here. Discounting the Arctic poles, no continent is left behind, as Beckett globe-trots with an ease untouched by 2000s gas prices. This man gets around—in more ways than one. I have a friend who calls the diary “Beckett’s Little Black Book” and they’re not kidding. I’m delighted.
If you’ve read or played anything else from White Wolf, you know what the major drawbacks are going to be: lots of racism, sinophobia, xenophobia, and Islamophobia. I mean, read the title. Shockingly less misogyny in this one, but that’s probably thanks to the female writers. Some chapters were a slog to get through, like the one set in the USA’s Southern States. Take care of yourself while reading.
My other complaint is down to organization. The overarching plot of the Diary (nominally) is Beckett’s quest for The Book of the Grave-War. The first six chapters follow this thread clearly, as Beckett is yanked around by Elders and rumor. But then it just…drops. Two or three chapters will follow a separate arc, like “Beckett goes to LA” or “Sabbat drama” or “returning Hazimel’s contact lens,” but not much lines up nicely. As someone interested in playing through the Diary with a traveling Noddist coterie, it’s going to take a lot of creativity and effort to link these stories together. I tried by continent, artifact, or chronology, and the results were unsatisfying each time.
In addition, the authors make some plain fumbles that could happen to anyone trying to write White Wolf lore, because the lore is sooooo loosey-goosey. For example, “The Anarch Freefall” chapter tries to be ambiguous enough to take place before or after the Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines video game, but that leaves the reader at loose ends as to why Jeremy MacNeil, Salvador Garcia, and the New Promise Mandarinate are still kicking. “A Brief History of Beckett” is an honest mess. It raises more questions than it answers, and the provided plot hooks ignore those questions. Somehow Emma Blake fakes her death again. I’m expected to believe Beckett did nothing while a Giovanni tortured her soul for twenty-five years, and the Diary fails to explain why the Giovanni stopped. Beckett writes an online article conflating Kindred with Freud’s psycho-sexual stages, when that theory’s been disproven six ways to Sunday by now. Beckett did something for the Inner Council, and they framed him as betraying Aristotle? Hello??? Why bring these events up if they’re not story hooks?
The discontinuity’s effect on Beckett’s character isn’t complimentary: he comes off scatter-brained, cold, and disorganized. Sure, there’s an element of seizing opportunities as presented, or, in Hesha’s case, dropping everything to rescue a beloved from the Fire Court. But it stretched my understanding of the character that Beckett left off trying to find/save/protect Carna to visit Russia on a whim, or attend an art gallery opening. Like. Dude. Are you trying to find your ex-girlfriend or not.
The lack of continuity can partly be chalked up to the fact that the Diary isn’t a series of novellas, but a collection of player hooks for a tabletop rpg. Storytellers are encouraged multiple times to take what they want and leave the rest. Major plot points lack resolution. There’s a hazy, dream-like quality to the writing at points, and Beckett is continuously kidnapped, drugged, and invaded mentally, physically, and spiritually. There’s nothing too graphic on page, but, uh, some encounters could be interpreted as rape. But the point of Beckett’s incapacitation is so the Storyteller can decide what really happened. Players can decide how the World of Darkness shakes out.
And there’s just so much to shake. Beckett touches many an unlife and many a plot. The White Wolf wiki was beside me as I read, because Beckett will drop a buzzword without preamble and send me on thirty-minute rabbit hole research chase. It was a lot of fun, to discover so much, and I was excited about potential fanfic or chronicle ideas much more than I was frustrated. Beckett’s interactions with the Nod Squad are heart-wrenching, hilarious, and adorable in turn. Queer elements become queer canon, as Beckett becomes the Bride of Dracula and is named Hazimel’s consort and falls for Serenna the White and slices through centuries long sexual tension with Sascha Vykos. And more! Which I won’t name here because it’s a long list, haha. Rest assured that #BisexualBeckett is canon.
I have ideas upon ideas, and I’ve finished Beckett’s diary. Despite some major drawbacks, it’s a buzzing, fascinating read. I heartily recommend it to Vampire: the Masquerade fans after they have some video games, books, and/or chronicles under their belt. You know, after you’ve had that initial bite, and you’re ready to slowly nibble a bloody feast.
April 20, 2019
This book is an awesome resource for any fans of Vampire: The Masquerade, but this comes with a caveat - it assumes that you have working knowledge of a lot of the existing lore and especially the various factions, obscure bloodlines and some signature characters. While a lot can be gleamed from just this book alone, it will constantly reference much of the setting's rich backstory and politics without really explaining what's what and why it matters. Usually, it's not an issue, but several chapters end up being really confusing because of it - and that's coming from a person who was familiar with the setting as presented in the core rulebook and some ancillary materials.
Still, it's a riveting read, as we follow the book's "author" Beckett around the world and witness him uncover dark secret after shadowy enigma after shrouded mystery. He brushes shoulders with most of the setting's heavy-weights, and gains much knowledge that can potentially shake the very foundations of the mythos that Vampire is built upon.
The book took me back to a time when I was really into VtM, and it felt good to again dip my toe in that world's excellent backstory.
Still, it's a riveting read, as we follow the book's "author" Beckett around the world and witness him uncover dark secret after shadowy enigma after shrouded mystery. He brushes shoulders with most of the setting's heavy-weights, and gains much knowledge that can potentially shake the very foundations of the mythos that Vampire is built upon.
The book took me back to a time when I was really into VtM, and it felt good to again dip my toe in that world's excellent backstory.
February 26, 2019
Having been a fan of the old World Of Darkness books going back to 2001, the rich metaplot is always what sold me about the setting. Reading this book as a sort of culmination of all those stories and plot twists I followed up on right up to the Gehenna event, was like coming home after an arduous day of work to find an old love waiting for you to take you back into her embrace.
Want to read
August 23, 2020Boiiii, I really want to get my hands on this copy and read it
March 14, 2018
Uno se marea de la cantidad de información que hay aquí.
Básicamente, este libro trata de ser una actualización de la metatrama de Vampiro: la Mascarada, marcando el límite temporal para la línea 20 aniversario, justo antes del comienzo de la nueva edición (Vampiro 5ª o VV). En este sentido, la idea es dejar el escenario listo para la transición entre ambos juegos, de modo que quien quiera pueda utilizar los acontecimientos aquí descritos.
Es un poco como el Tiempo de la Sangre Débil. La información se presenta a través de Beckett, uno de los irritantes personajes no jugadores canónicos del Mundo de Tinieblas, que va viajando, teniendo aventuras y topando con más personajes canónicos, y rascando lo que ya está ocurriendo. Beckett es un poco como Scully de Expediente X, que aunque tiene la Gehena en la cara sigue siendo escéptico sobre ella. En fin.
El libro parece avanzar, eso sí, la tesis de que la Gehena es un acontecimiento cíclico más que un apocalipsis, que no tiene por qué significar el fin de todo. A nivel de estilo, muchas de las piezas son muy buenas o excelentes, con los autores haciendo un verdadero esfuerzo por no dejar un cabo suelto en todos los libros de la serie del juego (maravilloso el guiño a Malcolm el Gangrel, el personaje de ejemplo de la 1ª edición, incluso), y en muchos casos las ideas son originales y bien escritas. Otro potente punto a favor es que al final de cada pieza hay un epílogo con muchas ideas de cómo integrar la información de dicha pieza en una campaña, o cómo sustituir a los personajes canónicos por los personajes jugadores. Eso ha estado muy muy bien.
La razón por la que no le doy 5 estrellas es porque la maquetación del libro y las 500 tipografías utilizadas (una por cada fragmento y personaje) hacen en ocasiones muy complicado leer el texto, especialmente en una pantalla (que es la versión que he manejado). La lectura del libro es lo bastante interesante para ser ágil, pero el diseño no facilita nada nada la tarea. Así que lo dejo en 4 estrellas y aseguro que es un muy buen producto, aunque sea de unas dimensiones intimidantes.
Básicamente, este libro trata de ser una actualización de la metatrama de Vampiro: la Mascarada, marcando el límite temporal para la línea 20 aniversario, justo antes del comienzo de la nueva edición (Vampiro 5ª o VV). En este sentido, la idea es dejar el escenario listo para la transición entre ambos juegos, de modo que quien quiera pueda utilizar los acontecimientos aquí descritos.
Es un poco como el Tiempo de la Sangre Débil. La información se presenta a través de Beckett, uno de los irritantes personajes no jugadores canónicos del Mundo de Tinieblas, que va viajando, teniendo aventuras y topando con más personajes canónicos, y rascando lo que ya está ocurriendo. Beckett es un poco como Scully de Expediente X, que aunque tiene la Gehena en la cara sigue siendo escéptico sobre ella. En fin.
El libro parece avanzar, eso sí, la tesis de que la Gehena es un acontecimiento cíclico más que un apocalipsis, que no tiene por qué significar el fin de todo. A nivel de estilo, muchas de las piezas son muy buenas o excelentes, con los autores haciendo un verdadero esfuerzo por no dejar un cabo suelto en todos los libros de la serie del juego (maravilloso el guiño a Malcolm el Gangrel, el personaje de ejemplo de la 1ª edición, incluso), y en muchos casos las ideas son originales y bien escritas. Otro potente punto a favor es que al final de cada pieza hay un epílogo con muchas ideas de cómo integrar la información de dicha pieza en una campaña, o cómo sustituir a los personajes canónicos por los personajes jugadores. Eso ha estado muy muy bien.
La razón por la que no le doy 5 estrellas es porque la maquetación del libro y las 500 tipografías utilizadas (una por cada fragmento y personaje) hacen en ocasiones muy complicado leer el texto, especialmente en una pantalla (que es la versión que he manejado). La lectura del libro es lo bastante interesante para ser ágil, pero el diseño no facilita nada nada la tarea. Así que lo dejo en 4 estrellas y aseguro que es un muy buen producto, aunque sea de unas dimensiones intimidantes.
April 23, 2018
Hold da op, det her er en moppedreng. Den her bog er en næsten 600 siders opdatering på Vampires metaplot. Ja, nærmest alle de plottråde, der på noget tidspunkt har været nævnt i en bog, bliver opdateret til at være up-to-date i dag. Det er meget sjovt med en metaplot-bog, til en udgave af Vampire, som ellers blærer sig med at være Metaplot-frit.
Bogen er bygget op i kapitler, hvor vi først har vampyr-arkæologen Beckett, som skriver sin dagbog, om de ting han oplever - og i slutningen af hvert kapitel fortælles det så, hvordan det kan bruges i dit rollespil: Der er altså både opdateringen af dit metaplot, men også en masse plot-hooks, til at få den del af metaplottet ind i din kampagne.
Det kan være en smule tungt at komme igennem en gennemgang af samme situation 2 gange efter hinanden, og det er klart mest interessant at læse fiktions-delen af teksterne, end det er at læse regel-teksten.
Der er dele af bogen, jeg kunne finde på at bruge, men også dele, jeg ikke kunne. Det er en meget fin, omend en smule ujævn, bog.
Bogen er bygget op i kapitler, hvor vi først har vampyr-arkæologen Beckett, som skriver sin dagbog, om de ting han oplever - og i slutningen af hvert kapitel fortælles det så, hvordan det kan bruges i dit rollespil: Der er altså både opdateringen af dit metaplot, men også en masse plot-hooks, til at få den del af metaplottet ind i din kampagne.
Det kan være en smule tungt at komme igennem en gennemgang af samme situation 2 gange efter hinanden, og det er klart mest interessant at læse fiktions-delen af teksterne, end det er at læse regel-teksten.
Der er dele af bogen, jeg kunne finde på at bruge, men også dele, jeg ikke kunne. Det er en meget fin, omend en smule ujævn, bog.
August 29, 2020
A wonderful romp through the old battles of the World of Darkness through the eyes of everybody's favourite vampire archeologist Beckett as he manages to meet, be manipulated by or severely piss off basically everybody of consequence in the vampire community around the globe. More of a splatbook and lore obfuscater than an actual novel, while Beckett excels at getting into situations and laying out the basic groundwork of a scenario, the book is frustratingly open-ended (deliberately so, seeing as it is written for people probably wanting to run a table) about actually resolving most of these conflicts. It's also occasionally hard to actually read things, given the presentation aspect of handwritten notes, etc. A fun read for those already steeped in V:TM lore, though I doubt it will make much sense to anyone else.
March 5, 2021
was in the mood for a roadtrip story
July 9, 2018
This is an interesting update of a number of WoD books - both the sourcebooks & the story collections. The plot hooks & settings are interesting, you’d struggle not to get a few ideas from this. Where I have some minor gripes is that a number of potentially new (or obscure) ideas are introduced, such as a brujah path of enlightenment, with no mechanics or further development. It would be helpful if there is an online mapping of where further detail can be found.
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