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Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade is the original and ultimate roleplaying game of personal and political horror. You are a vampire, struggling for survival, supremacy, and your own fading humanity—afraid of what you are capable of, and fearful of the inhuman conspiracies that surround you.
As a vampire you suffer the pangs of the Hunger, the relentless and terrible thirst for human blood. If you refuse to deal with it, it will overcome your mind and drive you to terrible acts to slake it. You walk this razor's edge every night.
Dark designs, bitter enemies, and strange allies await you in this World of Darkness.
The classic that changed roleplaying games forever returns! This fifth edition features a streamlined and modern rules design, beautiful new full-color art, and a rich story experience for players. Powered by the innovative Hunger cycle, the game also includes rules for creating system supported character coteries, Loresheets to directly involve players with their favorite parts of the setting and The Memoriam, a new way to bring the character's detailed backgrounds and expand on them in-session.
V5 is a return to Vampire's original vision, moving boldly into the 21st century. While the rules have been redesigned, this new edition honors the deep story of the original, advancing the metaplot from where it left off and detailing exactly what has happened in the world of the Kindred up until tonight. The terror of the Second Inquisition, the conspiracies behind the Gehenna War, and the rekindling of the War of Ages: these are the building blocks of the modern V5 chronicle.
As a vampire you suffer the pangs of the Hunger, the relentless and terrible thirst for human blood. If you refuse to deal with it, it will overcome your mind and drive you to terrible acts to slake it. You walk this razor's edge every night.
Dark designs, bitter enemies, and strange allies await you in this World of Darkness.
The classic that changed roleplaying games forever returns! This fifth edition features a streamlined and modern rules design, beautiful new full-color art, and a rich story experience for players. Powered by the innovative Hunger cycle, the game also includes rules for creating system supported character coteries, Loresheets to directly involve players with their favorite parts of the setting and The Memoriam, a new way to bring the character's detailed backgrounds and expand on them in-session.
V5 is a return to Vampire's original vision, moving boldly into the 21st century. While the rules have been redesigned, this new edition honors the deep story of the original, advancing the metaplot from where it left off and detailing exactly what has happened in the world of the Kindred up until tonight. The terror of the Second Inquisition, the conspiracies behind the Gehenna War, and the rekindling of the War of Ages: these are the building blocks of the modern V5 chronicle.
427 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2018
113 people are currently reading
483 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Hite
128 books115 followersKenneth Hite (born September 15, 1965) is a writer and role-playing game designer. Author of Trail of Cthulhu and Night's Black Agents role-playing games, Hite has been announced as the lead designer of the upcoming 5th edition of Vampire: the Masquerade.
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December 17, 2023
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VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE 5TH EDITION is a book I never expected to see. I was a huge fan of Vampire: The Masquerade in the nineties. I was about as big a Gothic Punk as a tabletop roleplaying gamer could be in the South with no Goths around him, no black clothing in his wardrobe, and a restrictive Catholic high school. I loved pretending to be 8th generation Elder Lord Sirrius of the Ventrue and Erasmus Von Prague the Tremere Knight. It was a game inspired by INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, LOST BOYS, and BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA. I traveled from the seedy streets of Chicago to Prague during the Dark Ages to the end of the world before the line ended in 2004.
Its difficult to overstate just how influential Vampire: The Masquerade was in a post-Twilight era when vampires have so much shade thrown on them. Ironically, it's in part because of the tabletop roleplaying game that the undead became so over-saturated. BLADE, TRUE BLOOD, UNDERWORLD, and other works all drew from the lore of the game. There was a badly made Aaron Spelling TV series that I still have a fondness for and a couple of awesome video games. It was an influence on my STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON and I WAS A TEENAGE WEREDEER books and I can name many other urban fantasy authors who had some experience with the game.
The premise of the game is extremely simple: you are a vampire in the modern world. At some point in the last fifty years, your character was a normal human being transformed into one of the undead. You are part of an undead society that exists behind the scenes and must maintain a constant vigilance so humans cannot find out about your existence. This is the titular Masquerade. Nightly unlife is a constant struggle against the vampire nobility, vampire hunters, werewolves, and your dwindling humanity. If you give into the killing urge too often, you'll eventually degenerate into a mindless beast that has to be put down.
The 5th Edition of the game opens up with thirty pages of in-universe fiction that is designed to appeal to the now 30 and 40 year old fans of the game who played it in high school. The opening story is a letter from Mina Harker, a real person in the setting, who is addressing one of her descendants she's Embraced (turned into a vampire) out of loneliness. Other fiction talks about how the Camarilla (vampire society) has fallen and a Second Inquisition of ABC agencies globally has started a massive purge of the undead. Yes, the Masquerade is partially broken and now vampires have to fear drone strikes as well as thermal-vision equipped Special Forces.
The idea of the government knowing about the undead is probably the only way you could believably do the Masquerade in the 21st century. In an age of cellphone cameras, cloud servers, instant global communication, and satellite networks--it's slightly more believable the intelligence communities want to avoid a global panic from the revelation the supernatural is real. I also like how the gameline says humanity is kicking the collective asses of vampiredom. Setting juggernauts like the Tremere Inner Council and Camarilla's leadership are wiped out to remind people why the Masquerade is so important.
Previous editions were criticized for overly relying on their metaplot. So much so that the 20th anniversary edition of Vampire: The Masquerade (4th Edition by my count) actively removed all references to it. However, while the metaplot was overdone, I think it's one of the chief reasons to upgrade to a new edition. Seeing how old favorites and characters you had an attachment to growing up is something worthwhile. I've already heard they have plans for a 5th Edition of Chicago by Night and I'd enjoy discovering what the characters within have been up to for twenty years.
Gameplay-wise, the biggest change is the focus of the game is shifted. Previous editions were a power fantasy where the majority of focus was on your disciplines. Many characters were built like Connor Macleod with a trench coat, a katana hidden underneath it, and a bunch of awesome superpowers. Now, the game greatly broadens the focus on hunger and feeding. Many pages are spent discussing how a vampire feeds, what they feed on, and how they feel about who (or what) they eat. There's also a change to Humanity in order to make what a character cares about and how they stay sane more varied.
Fans of all thirteen clans may be disappointed to discover the book contains descriptions of only the original seven clans, Caitiff, and Thin Bloods. There's some light revisions to them like the fact the Gangrel's flaws are no longer as severe and the Malkavian's insanity is not related to any "real" mental illness (as they had previously been depicted as tricksters and doomsaying prophets--not really things you want to associate with the mentally ill). We also get updates to Disciplines (vampire powers), which are much more versatile. Perhaps the best rules revision is that its much harder to feed on animal blood or blood bags if you're a vampire of power. Vampires also become more powerful as they age in terms of Blood Potency.
Fans of the Sabbat, Followers of Set, Giovanni, Ravnos (they exist, or so I hear!), and Assamites will wonder why they didn't do all thirteen clans. Also, why there was no focus on the Paths of Enlightenment that serve as alternatives to Humanity. While I imagine part of this is a space issue, I think it's actually a thematic issue. The above clans are the most inhuman of Kindred and they're really beating the drum of V:TM as a game about coping with the horror of one's condition. Besides, they have to get you to buy the supplements somehow. That's good business and I'm not just saying that because I leave cliffhangers in my books for the exact same reason (bwhahahaha!).
The book has beautiful artwork spread throughout, using photos and touch-ups to give impressions of how the gameworld looks. Some of the artwork isn't great, like the Nosferatu look like poor college students and runaways than horrifying monsters in their Clan write-up, but most of it is incredible. The game is clearly intended for an older, more mature audience. This is a good thing as we finally get straight answers on everything from whether Kindred can have sex (High Humanity vampires can) to how to make a Herd of mortals.
The general tone of the book is dark and edgy in a deliberately overdone style that implies Kindred are selfish monstrous creatures at every turn. One of my favorite pieces of art is a Ventrue debutante with her slave sitting underneath her as she wears a slit dress while posing over the city. Beside her, she has a little speech about how being rich made her life a party but being undead has made the world her bitch. There's some questionable choices but the general sense is the game is trying to be politically aware in a time when punk is feeling out of fashion but never so relevant. Whereas the original books were Gothic Punk written for sixteen-year-olds, this feels more like it was written for people who watch HBO and FX.
There's some bad decisions in the book, I think. For one, there's a short story about how the Sabbat tried to claim credit for 9/11 despite having nothing to do with it. It's an attempt to refute the "vampires behind everything" of previous editions but I don't think anyone really needed a story about in the first place. I'm also not sure how Thin Bloods, a bunch of almost human vampires in the modern age, ended up making their own path of alchemy. The absence of a opening adventure like Gencon's Rusted Veins was a mistake, IMHO, as that was incredible. I also think making rules about how nice a vampire has to be to have sex is a bad decision.
Gameplay mechanics-wise, I think 5th Edition suffers a bit in design. The Predator types, basically how and what you feed on, are a major part of the new game. However, they aren't very well described and sometimes the mechanics doesn't make sense for what you're eating. For example, one kind of vampire only feeds from other vampires but it doesn't explain how you do that--especially with the Blood Bond being a thing. Some players will also object to the changes to favored clans like the Tremere who have gone from the Clan which everyone is Blood Bonded in to the Clan which can't do Blood Bonds period. The absence of Paths and Sabbat clans feels wrong, especially as they have a role as both antagonists as well as players. Given the Lasombra have supposedly joined the Camarilla, their presence is sorely missed.
Still, I think the game is fantastic. Vampire's 20th Anniversary Edition was great but it didn't feel sufficiently distinct from Revised. Every game is going to carry a heavy bias on "how you should play it." I think this manages to improve on Vampire: The Requiem, which also wanted to bring gamers into deeply personal horror stories but I feel failed in the fact it didn't provide a strong enough direction on how to do that. 5th Edition feels like it not only knows what it wants but is capable of showing gamers how to do it.
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE 5TH EDITION is a book I never expected to see. I was a huge fan of Vampire: The Masquerade in the nineties. I was about as big a Gothic Punk as a tabletop roleplaying gamer could be in the South with no Goths around him, no black clothing in his wardrobe, and a restrictive Catholic high school. I loved pretending to be 8th generation Elder Lord Sirrius of the Ventrue and Erasmus Von Prague the Tremere Knight. It was a game inspired by INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, LOST BOYS, and BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA. I traveled from the seedy streets of Chicago to Prague during the Dark Ages to the end of the world before the line ended in 2004.
Its difficult to overstate just how influential Vampire: The Masquerade was in a post-Twilight era when vampires have so much shade thrown on them. Ironically, it's in part because of the tabletop roleplaying game that the undead became so over-saturated. BLADE, TRUE BLOOD, UNDERWORLD, and other works all drew from the lore of the game. There was a badly made Aaron Spelling TV series that I still have a fondness for and a couple of awesome video games. It was an influence on my STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON and I WAS A TEENAGE WEREDEER books and I can name many other urban fantasy authors who had some experience with the game.
The premise of the game is extremely simple: you are a vampire in the modern world. At some point in the last fifty years, your character was a normal human being transformed into one of the undead. You are part of an undead society that exists behind the scenes and must maintain a constant vigilance so humans cannot find out about your existence. This is the titular Masquerade. Nightly unlife is a constant struggle against the vampire nobility, vampire hunters, werewolves, and your dwindling humanity. If you give into the killing urge too often, you'll eventually degenerate into a mindless beast that has to be put down.
The 5th Edition of the game opens up with thirty pages of in-universe fiction that is designed to appeal to the now 30 and 40 year old fans of the game who played it in high school. The opening story is a letter from Mina Harker, a real person in the setting, who is addressing one of her descendants she's Embraced (turned into a vampire) out of loneliness. Other fiction talks about how the Camarilla (vampire society) has fallen and a Second Inquisition of ABC agencies globally has started a massive purge of the undead. Yes, the Masquerade is partially broken and now vampires have to fear drone strikes as well as thermal-vision equipped Special Forces.
The idea of the government knowing about the undead is probably the only way you could believably do the Masquerade in the 21st century. In an age of cellphone cameras, cloud servers, instant global communication, and satellite networks--it's slightly more believable the intelligence communities want to avoid a global panic from the revelation the supernatural is real. I also like how the gameline says humanity is kicking the collective asses of vampiredom. Setting juggernauts like the Tremere Inner Council and Camarilla's leadership are wiped out to remind people why the Masquerade is so important.
Previous editions were criticized for overly relying on their metaplot. So much so that the 20th anniversary edition of Vampire: The Masquerade (4th Edition by my count) actively removed all references to it. However, while the metaplot was overdone, I think it's one of the chief reasons to upgrade to a new edition. Seeing how old favorites and characters you had an attachment to growing up is something worthwhile. I've already heard they have plans for a 5th Edition of Chicago by Night and I'd enjoy discovering what the characters within have been up to for twenty years.
Gameplay-wise, the biggest change is the focus of the game is shifted. Previous editions were a power fantasy where the majority of focus was on your disciplines. Many characters were built like Connor Macleod with a trench coat, a katana hidden underneath it, and a bunch of awesome superpowers. Now, the game greatly broadens the focus on hunger and feeding. Many pages are spent discussing how a vampire feeds, what they feed on, and how they feel about who (or what) they eat. There's also a change to Humanity in order to make what a character cares about and how they stay sane more varied.
Fans of all thirteen clans may be disappointed to discover the book contains descriptions of only the original seven clans, Caitiff, and Thin Bloods. There's some light revisions to them like the fact the Gangrel's flaws are no longer as severe and the Malkavian's insanity is not related to any "real" mental illness (as they had previously been depicted as tricksters and doomsaying prophets--not really things you want to associate with the mentally ill). We also get updates to Disciplines (vampire powers), which are much more versatile. Perhaps the best rules revision is that its much harder to feed on animal blood or blood bags if you're a vampire of power. Vampires also become more powerful as they age in terms of Blood Potency.
Fans of the Sabbat, Followers of Set, Giovanni, Ravnos (they exist, or so I hear!), and Assamites will wonder why they didn't do all thirteen clans. Also, why there was no focus on the Paths of Enlightenment that serve as alternatives to Humanity. While I imagine part of this is a space issue, I think it's actually a thematic issue. The above clans are the most inhuman of Kindred and they're really beating the drum of V:TM as a game about coping with the horror of one's condition. Besides, they have to get you to buy the supplements somehow. That's good business and I'm not just saying that because I leave cliffhangers in my books for the exact same reason (bwhahahaha!).
The book has beautiful artwork spread throughout, using photos and touch-ups to give impressions of how the gameworld looks. Some of the artwork isn't great, like the Nosferatu look like poor college students and runaways than horrifying monsters in their Clan write-up, but most of it is incredible. The game is clearly intended for an older, more mature audience. This is a good thing as we finally get straight answers on everything from whether Kindred can have sex (High Humanity vampires can) to how to make a Herd of mortals.
The general tone of the book is dark and edgy in a deliberately overdone style that implies Kindred are selfish monstrous creatures at every turn. One of my favorite pieces of art is a Ventrue debutante with her slave sitting underneath her as she wears a slit dress while posing over the city. Beside her, she has a little speech about how being rich made her life a party but being undead has made the world her bitch. There's some questionable choices but the general sense is the game is trying to be politically aware in a time when punk is feeling out of fashion but never so relevant. Whereas the original books were Gothic Punk written for sixteen-year-olds, this feels more like it was written for people who watch HBO and FX.
There's some bad decisions in the book, I think. For one, there's a short story about how the Sabbat tried to claim credit for 9/11 despite having nothing to do with it. It's an attempt to refute the "vampires behind everything" of previous editions but I don't think anyone really needed a story about in the first place. I'm also not sure how Thin Bloods, a bunch of almost human vampires in the modern age, ended up making their own path of alchemy. The absence of a opening adventure like Gencon's Rusted Veins was a mistake, IMHO, as that was incredible. I also think making rules about how nice a vampire has to be to have sex is a bad decision.
Gameplay mechanics-wise, I think 5th Edition suffers a bit in design. The Predator types, basically how and what you feed on, are a major part of the new game. However, they aren't very well described and sometimes the mechanics doesn't make sense for what you're eating. For example, one kind of vampire only feeds from other vampires but it doesn't explain how you do that--especially with the Blood Bond being a thing. Some players will also object to the changes to favored clans like the Tremere who have gone from the Clan which everyone is Blood Bonded in to the Clan which can't do Blood Bonds period. The absence of Paths and Sabbat clans feels wrong, especially as they have a role as both antagonists as well as players. Given the Lasombra have supposedly joined the Camarilla, their presence is sorely missed.
Still, I think the game is fantastic. Vampire's 20th Anniversary Edition was great but it didn't feel sufficiently distinct from Revised. Every game is going to carry a heavy bias on "how you should play it." I think this manages to improve on Vampire: The Requiem, which also wanted to bring gamers into deeply personal horror stories but I feel failed in the fact it didn't provide a strong enough direction on how to do that. 5th Edition feels like it not only knows what it wants but is capable of showing gamers how to do it.
January 21, 2024
Qualità manuale:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ambientazione: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sistema regole: ⭐⭐⭐
È Vampiri, se non lo conoscete avete vissuto sulla luna.
Ambientazione: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sistema regole: ⭐⭐⭐
È Vampiri, se non lo conoscete avete vissuto sulla luna.
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December 6, 2019
Would you like to play one of a half-dozen different kinds of Hipster Millennial self-inserts? Would you like a book that seems to think even the Vampire Clan DEFINED by being monstrously, inhumanly hideous should look like gorgeous runway models? Or that the Vampire Clan DEFINED by its rigid hierarchy enforced via blood-bond CAN'T make blood-bonds? Would you like all the depth & detail of even the earliest V:TM edition replaced by shallow pre-made splats created by folks who seem to know jack-squat about the game? Would you like to see the original Camarilla Clans made the only playable ones for some reason that doesn't even make sense in the new continuity, yet altered sufficiently that you wonder why they even decided to keep the Camarilla intact? If so, then this is the book for you!
There's a reason I'm NOT shelving this under "Horror" and a reason I AM shelving it under "young-adult." This feels like it was made by someone who just gave a cursory glance at the Wikipedia page for "Vampire: The Masquerade" and said "Yeah, sure, I've got a quinoa salad and chai latte with pumpkin spice to get to. I'll just crank out whatever! Twilight's still cool, right?"
But hey, at least the author of this book takes the time to dismiss the "gothic-punk" setting that DEFINED every other World of Darkness game because the author feels it's not "current-year" enough, and apologizes repeatedly for how "icky" the subject matter can be. So...yep.
Enjoy, I guess, or whatever?
There's a reason I'm NOT shelving this under "Horror" and a reason I AM shelving it under "young-adult." This feels like it was made by someone who just gave a cursory glance at the Wikipedia page for "Vampire: The Masquerade" and said "Yeah, sure, I've got a quinoa salad and chai latte with pumpkin spice to get to. I'll just crank out whatever! Twilight's still cool, right?"
But hey, at least the author of this book takes the time to dismiss the "gothic-punk" setting that DEFINED every other World of Darkness game because the author feels it's not "current-year" enough, and apologizes repeatedly for how "icky" the subject matter can be. So...yep.
Enjoy, I guess, or whatever?
December 25, 2018
When it comes to this edition of Vampire, I had a number of psychological shifts. When it was announced, also involving some of the original designers, I was excited. When I first laid eyes on it, I was disappointed and somewhat worried. The one point I will not argue, is that it has stupendously poor art direction, opting for photo collages and montages instead of drawn art (to an extent of 90%).
When I finally got my hands on it and started reading it, I got a really bad feeling from the get go, but I did not have the time to study it thoroughly, so I discussed with others, read online reviews etc. One thing started emerging as a pattern: this was Vampire for hipsters. Also, it was a Vampire game that wanted to please everyone and not offend anyone in this all-pervasive political correct trend; at the same time, it wanted to seem and sound "more adult and edgy". I am sorry, you cannot have both.
At the end of the day, however, only reading the whole damn thing could justify any judgment. Or rather, playing it. Hence, the 2 stars instead of 1, since I have not played it yet and I hold on to some vague hope that I might be somewhat wrong.
I cannot and will not try to review it cover to cover, since I have found such reviews boring myself. Rather, I will tell you what I find wrong with it.
1st and Foremost: Lazy, LAZY writing, whereby the Elders are gone because something (The Beckoning, I mean, how original) calls them away to fight some unknown war in the Middle East. Not to mention it forgets or retcons its own history. For instance, there is an "immersion piece" that is a letter from Mina Harker to a Fledgling, where she talks about Dracula. Mina comes across as quite empathetic and even talks about her sire mildly, when in fact Dracula was a terrible Tzimisce Elder and therefore, she would have been of 7th Generation, therefore, per the new rules, akin to a maddened monster that in any case would have succumbed to the Beckoning. This is just an easy example. Other than that, while the 2nd Inquisition is an interesting idea, what caused it it laughable.
2nd: Only Camarilla clans, with the Tremere being basically nerfed. To put it simply, half the options of the previous vanilla Vampire the Masquerade. If they plan on a later book, it is shameless milking. If not, they just trashed half the fun. Oh, and the Sabbat is basically destroyed because of, guess what, The Beckoning.
3rd: Disciplines. Forget the interesting effects of yore. They just copied the powers from Vampire: Bloodlines (right down to the symbols) and added Thin-blooded Alchemy. Whoop.
4th: Hunger, feeding, frenzy. You basically risk frenzy if you do anything interesting that goes beyond human abilities. Also, now Blood has Resonance and gives different benefits if you feed from people of different psychologies, etc. etc. In short, if you follow the rules, you are forced to micromanage EVERYTHING.
5th: More micromanaging. The book has the standard hefty size of White Wolf tradition, but with so many things missing, you would wonder what's in there. Well, more micromanagement, from pointlessly complex Discipline allocation (oh, did I mention, there is no more Dementation - it is now half-assed as a Discipline Combination Effect), to Chronicle Tenets (the things that will cause you to lose Humanity, pre-agreed, on a Chronicle to Chronicle basis), to Relationship Diagrams, Coterie Styles blah-blah-blah. Basically, they created micromanagement for roleplaying. The example given is that, for instance, you could lose Humanity for healing yourself, because, you know, that's not something humans do. So... why even play this game?
There is more, but to me, that is enough. I can only imagine a very skilled Storyteller making use of this mess and creating an interesting story, but here is the thing: a skilled Storyteller does not need all this mess. As I read in another review, this game is made for those who did NOT (and would not) play Vampire before.
This sums it up better than all my ranting.
For extra annoyance points: ugliness is not allowed. All the Vampires shown are basically models and in the rare instance of actual artwork, they ALL look like the dress-up doll style used in the old Zynga Vampire Wars game - or put simply, clothes-designer sketches.
When I finally got my hands on it and started reading it, I got a really bad feeling from the get go, but I did not have the time to study it thoroughly, so I discussed with others, read online reviews etc. One thing started emerging as a pattern: this was Vampire for hipsters. Also, it was a Vampire game that wanted to please everyone and not offend anyone in this all-pervasive political correct trend; at the same time, it wanted to seem and sound "more adult and edgy". I am sorry, you cannot have both.
At the end of the day, however, only reading the whole damn thing could justify any judgment. Or rather, playing it. Hence, the 2 stars instead of 1, since I have not played it yet and I hold on to some vague hope that I might be somewhat wrong.
I cannot and will not try to review it cover to cover, since I have found such reviews boring myself. Rather, I will tell you what I find wrong with it.
1st and Foremost: Lazy, LAZY writing, whereby the Elders are gone because something (The Beckoning, I mean, how original) calls them away to fight some unknown war in the Middle East. Not to mention it forgets or retcons its own history. For instance, there is an "immersion piece" that is a letter from Mina Harker to a Fledgling, where she talks about Dracula. Mina comes across as quite empathetic and even talks about her sire mildly, when in fact Dracula was a terrible Tzimisce Elder and therefore, she would have been of 7th Generation, therefore, per the new rules, akin to a maddened monster that in any case would have succumbed to the Beckoning. This is just an easy example. Other than that, while the 2nd Inquisition is an interesting idea, what caused it it laughable.
2nd: Only Camarilla clans, with the Tremere being basically nerfed. To put it simply, half the options of the previous vanilla Vampire the Masquerade. If they plan on a later book, it is shameless milking. If not, they just trashed half the fun. Oh, and the Sabbat is basically destroyed because of, guess what, The Beckoning.
3rd: Disciplines. Forget the interesting effects of yore. They just copied the powers from Vampire: Bloodlines (right down to the symbols) and added Thin-blooded Alchemy. Whoop.
4th: Hunger, feeding, frenzy. You basically risk frenzy if you do anything interesting that goes beyond human abilities. Also, now Blood has Resonance and gives different benefits if you feed from people of different psychologies, etc. etc. In short, if you follow the rules, you are forced to micromanage EVERYTHING.
5th: More micromanaging. The book has the standard hefty size of White Wolf tradition, but with so many things missing, you would wonder what's in there. Well, more micromanagement, from pointlessly complex Discipline allocation (oh, did I mention, there is no more Dementation - it is now half-assed as a Discipline Combination Effect), to Chronicle Tenets (the things that will cause you to lose Humanity, pre-agreed, on a Chronicle to Chronicle basis), to Relationship Diagrams, Coterie Styles blah-blah-blah. Basically, they created micromanagement for roleplaying. The example given is that, for instance, you could lose Humanity for healing yourself, because, you know, that's not something humans do. So... why even play this game?
There is more, but to me, that is enough. I can only imagine a very skilled Storyteller making use of this mess and creating an interesting story, but here is the thing: a skilled Storyteller does not need all this mess. As I read in another review, this game is made for those who did NOT (and would not) play Vampire before.
This sums it up better than all my ranting.
For extra annoyance points: ugliness is not allowed. All the Vampires shown are basically models and in the rare instance of actual artwork, they ALL look like the dress-up doll style used in the old Zynga Vampire Wars game - or put simply, clothes-designer sketches.
September 2, 2018
The game's target is not the people who play or played Vampire the Masquerade, 20th or earlier, but people who don't play Vampire the Masquerade, instead. Or for people who like Zack Znyder's over-production and pseudo-substance, Marvel movies' shiny colors and teenage jokes. This game is not mature, this game is for younger millennials who (like to?) feel offended by everything and anything. The book even contains an apology for it's delicate content, something a mature audience would not need. I mean, I played Vampire first in '95 or '96, when I was 15, and not even once I though the game was an invitations to murder, rape and cannibalism, it was just a fucking game about being monsters, like when you played cops and robbers and you were the robber and it didn't mean you would grow up to become a politician or an illegal criminal.
This game is the portrayal of modern politics, but not of its dark side, not the corrupt corporate power and wild capitalism and modern slavery, no, but about being politically correct and asking for permission to be a fiction monster for a couple hours a week.
Then there's the artwok. It's photographs of real peplpe cosplaying like vampires. If you wanted to protect the Masquerade, it just went to hell. Bad. Stupid. Like a fashion magazine. Like Paris Hilton with fangs. There are illustrations, but these reflect the same style.
The rules? Well, who cares about the rules after that? It's a solid system, it's based on the original with some new ideas that seem good. I would have liked to use them (even when Vampire is a game about ignoring the rules completely and focusing on the story and psychodrama--something that the new creative team must somehow be ignorant of--there are many rules, then lore, then more rules, then more rules), these make sense and not over complicated, but the game lore and setting is garbage. I expected the lore to advance, I even wanted that it was about the consequences of Gehenna and what the few vampires remaining alive were doing, but it ignored all that, it is a sequel of a game that doesn't exist! Who wrote this?
Vampire 5 is a bad bland game. BAD!
This game is the portrayal of modern politics, but not of its dark side, not the corrupt corporate power and wild capitalism and modern slavery, no, but about being politically correct and asking for permission to be a fiction monster for a couple hours a week.
Then there's the artwok. It's photographs of real peplpe cosplaying like vampires. If you wanted to protect the Masquerade, it just went to hell. Bad. Stupid. Like a fashion magazine. Like Paris Hilton with fangs. There are illustrations, but these reflect the same style.
The rules? Well, who cares about the rules after that? It's a solid system, it's based on the original with some new ideas that seem good. I would have liked to use them (even when Vampire is a game about ignoring the rules completely and focusing on the story and psychodrama--something that the new creative team must somehow be ignorant of--there are many rules, then lore, then more rules, then more rules), these make sense and not over complicated, but the game lore and setting is garbage. I expected the lore to advance, I even wanted that it was about the consequences of Gehenna and what the few vampires remaining alive were doing, but it ignored all that, it is a sequel of a game that doesn't exist! Who wrote this?
Vampire 5 is a bad bland game. BAD!
January 18, 2020
Fabulously looking rulebook. I was a little surprised that some of the more revolutionary system changes that were in alpha release / plays-test did not survive into published version. So it is quite faithful to old VTM we remember and love. Good fine-tuning of the rules we saw before, not something radically different.
Still, great reincarnation of the cult game. Recommended
Still, great reincarnation of the cult game. Recommended
February 18, 2020
The only thing I like about the new edition is the Modiphus Dice Set. It's basically a VTM for college kids who don't like VTM and would like to play something else entirely. I'll stick to playing the 20th Anniversary Edition.
January 12, 2022
Eras un humano mundano y corriente pero te han quitado todo lo importante: la vida. Ya no eres un humano, te has convertido en un monstruo, un ser de la noche, en un vampiro. Tendrás que afrontar la maldición de Caín y cambiar por completo tu vida y tu hábito alimenticio. Conocerás la corte vampírica, un mundo lleno de intrigas, mentiras, rivalidades, clanes y príncipes enfrentados unos con otros, conociendo además la historia real de la humanidad. Además tendrás que huir de la Segunda Inquisición e ir escalando peldaños de poder en la corte. Un juego de rol narrativo donde el horror personal es la clave principal.
El libro comienza con unas cartas y unos informes donde se plantean el mundo que vamos a jugar. En ellos se habla de Caín y su maldición, convirtiéndose en el primer vampiro, y en cómo este engendró a la primera generación de estos seres. Conoceremos términos como el abrazo, el ansia, los vástagos y retoños, etc. Es un buen comienzo, donde se mezcla realidad y "mito" bíblico que calzan a la perfección con nuestro mundo, además de presentar los cimientos de este mundo oscuro.
El primer capítulo que encontramos es el de "Conceptos". Al igual que la anterior, te introduce en una historia narrada de una fiesta donde, aunque parezcan humanos, no todos lo son. En Vampiro vamos a interpretar a personajes vampiros, que se alimentan de sangre humana y tienen poderes. Aquí se nos dice que no interpretamos a los buenos y que podemos poner esta excusa para investigar sobre los horrores, pues creamos un personaje imaginario que no tendría nada que ver con nuestra propia personalidad y principios morales. Y eso es lo maravilloso del rol, ser otras personas distintas a la que somos en realidad. La interpretación y la experimentación. Los límites individuales los pones tú mismo. También se presenta un breve recorrido histórico, presentando a tu enemigo: la Segunda Inquisición, un grupo religioso de humanos que van a la caza de vampiros (o personas con sospechas) y los aniquila. Acaba con un ejemplo de juego bastante ilustrativo.
El siguiente capítulo es "Sociedad vampírica", donde conoceremos realmente la sociedad de los vampiros y la historia real y original de Caín y la primera generación. También sabremos que es la jyhad, una guerra entre engendrador y engendrado, la camarilla, la organización más influyente, las seis tradiciones inquebrantables, la moda vampírica y un extenso léxico de términos.
Siguiendo un poco este hilo, el siguiente habla de los "Clanes". En la sociedad vampírica hay hasta 9 clanes distintos, cada uno con motes y sobrenombres. Todos ellos, con subcapítulos propios, tienen la misma estructura: información de quiénes son, qué hacen, qué buscan y sus personalidades más destacadas, sus arquetipos, sus disciplinas y sus prohibiciones. Estos clanes son:
Brujah: aquellos que empatizan con la contracultura y la revolución y que cuestionan las ideas normativas: punks, pandilleros, inmigrantes rechazados, alborotadores violentos.
Gangrel: parias, nómadas, rufianes y cazadores.
Malkavian: creen fielmente en los orígenes y buscan personas que posean algo visible para ellos. Todos sufren enfermedades mentales.
Nosferatu: sufren deformaciones visibles y, por sufrir tanto, son los más humanos dentro de los vampiros.
Toreador: tienen una sensualidad desbocada y están obsesionados con la perfección y la moda, además de tener un gran ego propio.
Tremere: usan la magia y la hechicería.
Ventrue: creen en la fuerza del linaje y de la tradición.
Los caitiff: los que nacen distintos a sus clanes y, por ello, son desterrados o exiliados.
Los sangre débil: los vástagos de vampiros de decimotercera y decimocuarta generación. Su sangre vampírica es muy diluida y pobre, por lo que son más humanos que vampiros, pero obligados a tener el modo de vida de estos últimos.
El siguiente capítulo se centra en las "Reglas", el funcionamiento de la historia y cargado de ejemplos prácticos para entenderlas. Creo que Vampiro emplea un sistema bastante sencillo de jugar, aunque con muchas reglas, usando un dado de 10 caras. El tiempo en Vampiro transcurre como en nuestro mundo real. El tiempo en el juego se sirve de cinco unidades básicas: turno, escena, sesión, historia y crónica. Sabremos qué es y cómo funcionan los rasgos, las reservas, dificultades, los resultados de las tiradas, las contiendas y conflictos, la curación, etc.
Le sigue el tema de "Personajes" y cómo crearlos, comenzando por el concepto básico y la importancia del papel del narrador y la preparación de las partidas. Al comienzo tenemos un resumen de la creación de personajes con las cosas importantes que tendremos que dotarle, ya que a continuación irán explicadas de forma pormenorizada. Fundamental es también el mapa de relaciones. Además, según qué opciones elijamos, el manual nos ofrece unas recomendaciones de otras elecciones afines. Los personajes comienzan siendo humanos pero luego reciben el Abrazo y se convierten en vampiros. También es muy importante los poderes y habilidades extraordinarias.
Otro capítulo es "Vampiros", donde presentan las verdades y mentiras de los vampiros y conceptos como el Ansia (el apetito, la codicia y la adicción) y sus dados (pues hay dados especiales y se pueden usar los normales), explicando los distintos resultados, cómo saciar el ansia, las compulsiones (con los fallos bestiales), la sangre y todo lo que esta conlleva (las generaciones, la potencia, los dones, los precios) y la caza. Pero también los estados de condenación, como el vínculo de sangre, la diablerie (en relación con la religión) y la humanidad.
"Disciplinas" representa un capítulo propio. Estos son los poderes que cada vampiro tienen. Tenemos un catálogo muy extenso de distintos poderes y sus distintos niveles. Además del sistema planteado aquí, tenemos unos "Sistemas avanzados" algo más complejos y extendidos. Acaba el manual con "Ciudades" donde se nos presenta cómo crear la ambientación en las ciudades, la ubicación de los clanes, las calles, etc.; "Crónicas", para saber cómo plantear una crónica, el uso del mapa de relaciones, los distintos tipos de juegos, la estructura, el realismo, los ganchos, en definitiva, cómo sacar un juego adelante; y "Herramientas", con un arsenal de elementos que ayudarán al Narrador a introducir en sus crónicas: antagonistas, otros vampiros, criaturas y seres y objetos. Acaba con una serie de "Fichas de conocimiento".
En cuanto al apartado artístico, encontramos dos tipos de ilustraciones: fotografías más o menos retocadas e ilustraciones propiamente dichas. El estilo de estas es difícil de calificar, entre un estilo urbano y callejero con toques oscuros y alternativos. Creo que sería buena descripción. Aunque es un arte que llama la atención y que concuerda bastante bien con el mundo que se nos presenta, creo que ha quedado como algo secundario en este tomo.
El texto del manual se presenta con una buena edición y, sobre todo, con una buena corrección. No encontramos apenas errores (siempre se puede escapar alguno), aunque sí se tildan palabras que desde hace una década no se tildan ya, pero poca cosa importante. Sobre la edición, el texto se presenta en doble o triple columna.
¿Qué me ha parecido? Vampiro nos presenta un mundo oscuro bastante completo y extenso. Los personajes que vayamos a construir tienen la suficiente profundidad como para hacerlos nuestros y poder interpretarlos como si fueran reales. Además, que el Mundo de las Tinieblas es igual que el nuestro real. Me ha parecido también sencillo el sistema de juego (aunque con muchas reglas) pero fácil de poder jugar y el tiempo de cada sesión es moderado (aunque esto ya depende del grupo de jugadores). Y sobre todo, quiero resaltar la gran variedad y dinamismo que hay en las partidas, al mismo tiempo que el interés que produce este manual.
https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...
El libro comienza con unas cartas y unos informes donde se plantean el mundo que vamos a jugar. En ellos se habla de Caín y su maldición, convirtiéndose en el primer vampiro, y en cómo este engendró a la primera generación de estos seres. Conoceremos términos como el abrazo, el ansia, los vástagos y retoños, etc. Es un buen comienzo, donde se mezcla realidad y "mito" bíblico que calzan a la perfección con nuestro mundo, además de presentar los cimientos de este mundo oscuro.
El primer capítulo que encontramos es el de "Conceptos". Al igual que la anterior, te introduce en una historia narrada de una fiesta donde, aunque parezcan humanos, no todos lo son. En Vampiro vamos a interpretar a personajes vampiros, que se alimentan de sangre humana y tienen poderes. Aquí se nos dice que no interpretamos a los buenos y que podemos poner esta excusa para investigar sobre los horrores, pues creamos un personaje imaginario que no tendría nada que ver con nuestra propia personalidad y principios morales. Y eso es lo maravilloso del rol, ser otras personas distintas a la que somos en realidad. La interpretación y la experimentación. Los límites individuales los pones tú mismo. También se presenta un breve recorrido histórico, presentando a tu enemigo: la Segunda Inquisición, un grupo religioso de humanos que van a la caza de vampiros (o personas con sospechas) y los aniquila. Acaba con un ejemplo de juego bastante ilustrativo.
El siguiente capítulo es "Sociedad vampírica", donde conoceremos realmente la sociedad de los vampiros y la historia real y original de Caín y la primera generación. También sabremos que es la jyhad, una guerra entre engendrador y engendrado, la camarilla, la organización más influyente, las seis tradiciones inquebrantables, la moda vampírica y un extenso léxico de términos.
Siguiendo un poco este hilo, el siguiente habla de los "Clanes". En la sociedad vampírica hay hasta 9 clanes distintos, cada uno con motes y sobrenombres. Todos ellos, con subcapítulos propios, tienen la misma estructura: información de quiénes son, qué hacen, qué buscan y sus personalidades más destacadas, sus arquetipos, sus disciplinas y sus prohibiciones. Estos clanes son:
Brujah: aquellos que empatizan con la contracultura y la revolución y que cuestionan las ideas normativas: punks, pandilleros, inmigrantes rechazados, alborotadores violentos.
Gangrel: parias, nómadas, rufianes y cazadores.
Malkavian: creen fielmente en los orígenes y buscan personas que posean algo visible para ellos. Todos sufren enfermedades mentales.
Nosferatu: sufren deformaciones visibles y, por sufrir tanto, son los más humanos dentro de los vampiros.
Toreador: tienen una sensualidad desbocada y están obsesionados con la perfección y la moda, además de tener un gran ego propio.
Tremere: usan la magia y la hechicería.
Ventrue: creen en la fuerza del linaje y de la tradición.
Los caitiff: los que nacen distintos a sus clanes y, por ello, son desterrados o exiliados.
Los sangre débil: los vástagos de vampiros de decimotercera y decimocuarta generación. Su sangre vampírica es muy diluida y pobre, por lo que son más humanos que vampiros, pero obligados a tener el modo de vida de estos últimos.
El siguiente capítulo se centra en las "Reglas", el funcionamiento de la historia y cargado de ejemplos prácticos para entenderlas. Creo que Vampiro emplea un sistema bastante sencillo de jugar, aunque con muchas reglas, usando un dado de 10 caras. El tiempo en Vampiro transcurre como en nuestro mundo real. El tiempo en el juego se sirve de cinco unidades básicas: turno, escena, sesión, historia y crónica. Sabremos qué es y cómo funcionan los rasgos, las reservas, dificultades, los resultados de las tiradas, las contiendas y conflictos, la curación, etc.
Le sigue el tema de "Personajes" y cómo crearlos, comenzando por el concepto básico y la importancia del papel del narrador y la preparación de las partidas. Al comienzo tenemos un resumen de la creación de personajes con las cosas importantes que tendremos que dotarle, ya que a continuación irán explicadas de forma pormenorizada. Fundamental es también el mapa de relaciones. Además, según qué opciones elijamos, el manual nos ofrece unas recomendaciones de otras elecciones afines. Los personajes comienzan siendo humanos pero luego reciben el Abrazo y se convierten en vampiros. También es muy importante los poderes y habilidades extraordinarias.
Otro capítulo es "Vampiros", donde presentan las verdades y mentiras de los vampiros y conceptos como el Ansia (el apetito, la codicia y la adicción) y sus dados (pues hay dados especiales y se pueden usar los normales), explicando los distintos resultados, cómo saciar el ansia, las compulsiones (con los fallos bestiales), la sangre y todo lo que esta conlleva (las generaciones, la potencia, los dones, los precios) y la caza. Pero también los estados de condenación, como el vínculo de sangre, la diablerie (en relación con la religión) y la humanidad.
"Disciplinas" representa un capítulo propio. Estos son los poderes que cada vampiro tienen. Tenemos un catálogo muy extenso de distintos poderes y sus distintos niveles. Además del sistema planteado aquí, tenemos unos "Sistemas avanzados" algo más complejos y extendidos. Acaba el manual con "Ciudades" donde se nos presenta cómo crear la ambientación en las ciudades, la ubicación de los clanes, las calles, etc.; "Crónicas", para saber cómo plantear una crónica, el uso del mapa de relaciones, los distintos tipos de juegos, la estructura, el realismo, los ganchos, en definitiva, cómo sacar un juego adelante; y "Herramientas", con un arsenal de elementos que ayudarán al Narrador a introducir en sus crónicas: antagonistas, otros vampiros, criaturas y seres y objetos. Acaba con una serie de "Fichas de conocimiento".
En cuanto al apartado artístico, encontramos dos tipos de ilustraciones: fotografías más o menos retocadas e ilustraciones propiamente dichas. El estilo de estas es difícil de calificar, entre un estilo urbano y callejero con toques oscuros y alternativos. Creo que sería buena descripción. Aunque es un arte que llama la atención y que concuerda bastante bien con el mundo que se nos presenta, creo que ha quedado como algo secundario en este tomo.
El texto del manual se presenta con una buena edición y, sobre todo, con una buena corrección. No encontramos apenas errores (siempre se puede escapar alguno), aunque sí se tildan palabras que desde hace una década no se tildan ya, pero poca cosa importante. Sobre la edición, el texto se presenta en doble o triple columna.
¿Qué me ha parecido? Vampiro nos presenta un mundo oscuro bastante completo y extenso. Los personajes que vayamos a construir tienen la suficiente profundidad como para hacerlos nuestros y poder interpretarlos como si fueran reales. Además, que el Mundo de las Tinieblas es igual que el nuestro real. Me ha parecido también sencillo el sistema de juego (aunque con muchas reglas) pero fácil de poder jugar y el tiempo de cada sesión es moderado (aunque esto ya depende del grupo de jugadores). Y sobre todo, quiero resaltar la gran variedad y dinamismo que hay en las partidas, al mismo tiempo que el interés que produce este manual.
https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...
March 3, 2019
Fabuloso, sorprendente y original. Esta nueva versión del juego coge el clásico y le da la vuelta, tanto a nivel de ambientación como de mecánicas. Hay tantos cambios y tan excelentes que es difícil listar todos.
A nivel mecánico, se da mucha más relevancia a las características de la alimentación y el hambre, haciéndolas parte integral y constante de cada tirada. Los niveles de poder se han equilibrado, permitiendo por un lado que los vampiros puedan hacer más cosas que antes en algunos ámbitos, al tiempo que se recortan ciertos excesos de ediciones pasadas. En conjunto, el juego es más sólido, más humano y la adicción deja de ser algo que atender entre escenas importantes para ser algo central. Por ejemplo, el tipo de sangre y el estado emocional de la presa tiene efecto mecánico, con lo que ya no vale cualquier mortal. Hay un incentivo para buscar al mortal adecuado y llevarlo donde uno quiere.
A nivel de ambientación, se adelanta la continuidad hasta 2018, y se cambia todo. La Gehena ha llegado y está en marcha, aunque no es lo que nadie esperaba. La humanidad ha descubierto a los vampiros, y ha lanzado una Segunda inquisición que ha diezmado la especie. La camarilla ha dejado de ser esa organización que trataba de controlar el mundo mortal para ser un club privado enfocado en esconder a los vampiros, dejando a los anarquistas para arder ante la inquisición, a condición de que mantengan la Mascarada. El Sabbat se congrega en Oriente Medio, decididos a encontrar las tumbas de los Antediluvianos y llevar la guerra a sus moradas, mientras que todos los Antiguos del mundo son llamados a la defensa de esos lugares.
Es un juego nuevo, en un mundo nuevo. A nivel mecánico es probablemente la versión definitiva, tomando muchos elementos de Réquiem y aprovechando casi 30 años de avance en diseño de juegos. La ambientación se actualiza. No se puede pedir más, y probablemente a este juego le quedan otros treinta años más de vida nocturna. Me parece bien.
A nivel mecánico, se da mucha más relevancia a las características de la alimentación y el hambre, haciéndolas parte integral y constante de cada tirada. Los niveles de poder se han equilibrado, permitiendo por un lado que los vampiros puedan hacer más cosas que antes en algunos ámbitos, al tiempo que se recortan ciertos excesos de ediciones pasadas. En conjunto, el juego es más sólido, más humano y la adicción deja de ser algo que atender entre escenas importantes para ser algo central. Por ejemplo, el tipo de sangre y el estado emocional de la presa tiene efecto mecánico, con lo que ya no vale cualquier mortal. Hay un incentivo para buscar al mortal adecuado y llevarlo donde uno quiere.
A nivel de ambientación, se adelanta la continuidad hasta 2018, y se cambia todo. La Gehena ha llegado y está en marcha, aunque no es lo que nadie esperaba. La humanidad ha descubierto a los vampiros, y ha lanzado una Segunda inquisición que ha diezmado la especie. La camarilla ha dejado de ser esa organización que trataba de controlar el mundo mortal para ser un club privado enfocado en esconder a los vampiros, dejando a los anarquistas para arder ante la inquisición, a condición de que mantengan la Mascarada. El Sabbat se congrega en Oriente Medio, decididos a encontrar las tumbas de los Antediluvianos y llevar la guerra a sus moradas, mientras que todos los Antiguos del mundo son llamados a la defensa de esos lugares.
Es un juego nuevo, en un mundo nuevo. A nivel mecánico es probablemente la versión definitiva, tomando muchos elementos de Réquiem y aprovechando casi 30 años de avance en diseño de juegos. La ambientación se actualiza. No se puede pedir más, y probablemente a este juego le quedan otros treinta años más de vida nocturna. Me parece bien.
November 9, 2021
4.5 stars.
After a long hiatus from the World of Darkness, I'm pleased to dive back in with the flagship title. (I was an avid fan of the Original World of Darkness, but dropped off when they introduced the New World of Darkness.)
In reading this, I found much that was familar, but also much that was streamlined, changed or updated. There is STILL ostensibly a "Metaplot", but hopefully this new line will be less reliant on it in their supplements.
There's been some adjusting of the clans and the hierarchial institutes, but the bones remain solid and familiar. (Camarilla and Sabbat are still there, but there's a newfound focus on Anarchs and Indepenedents.)
This is a dense, information and rules-packed book, with some evocative art (especially the cover) to draw people in. I'm not sure if this will necessarily attract NEW players, but it should certainly bring back some lapsed players like me.
After a long hiatus from the World of Darkness, I'm pleased to dive back in with the flagship title. (I was an avid fan of the Original World of Darkness, but dropped off when they introduced the New World of Darkness.)
In reading this, I found much that was familar, but also much that was streamlined, changed or updated. There is STILL ostensibly a "Metaplot", but hopefully this new line will be less reliant on it in their supplements.
There's been some adjusting of the clans and the hierarchial institutes, but the bones remain solid and familiar. (Camarilla and Sabbat are still there, but there's a newfound focus on Anarchs and Indepenedents.)
This is a dense, information and rules-packed book, with some evocative art (especially the cover) to draw people in. I'm not sure if this will necessarily attract NEW players, but it should certainly bring back some lapsed players like me.
March 23, 2020
I love this update. It stream lines play to be faster and more efficient. I did struggle with some of the advanced tactics. I still don't think I grasped it. That being said I like the emphasis on story rather then rules. The sections and tools on consent are becoming standard in RPG books and I couldn't be happier.
September 19, 2024
the book is gorgeous, V5 as a system and setting is fascinating, but the formatting is atrocious. finding things is a thunderous nuisance.
white wolf why do you hate us i am a little innocent gremlin trying to run games over here
white wolf why do you hate us i am a little innocent gremlin trying to run games over here
September 24, 2025
I felt like the set-up wasn't always the most clear to figure out where to find what you were looking for, but overall it was a pretty user friendly rulebook. I loved the artwork and overall design aesthetic, and the lore/creative writing pieces that assisted sections of rules really helped bring the mechanics to life. Let's go play a vampire game 🦇
June 24, 2021
Great ttrpg & a fun read, but horrible & confusing layout.
November 15, 2021
It's an RPG rulebook, but I'm definitely adding it given that it's about 400 pages!
Read
October 17, 2021Perhaps I have passed some notional line where now I find myself asking "why does this need to exist?" of every new thing I encounter.
Though is this new? Vampire has existed for 30 years, and it was ground-breaking and community-building in the '90s -- like Neil Gaiman's comment on Sandman being a sexually transmitted comic book because it was popular with both men and women (so if comic book nerd A dates person B and introduces them to Sandman, then after the breakup, B can introduce Sandman to person C), Vampire really brought in to roleplaying a lot of people who weren't midwestern white college guys (the historical epicenter of D&D). It was, like many games in the 90s, interested in edgy transgression and angst: the central dynamic of Vampire isn't "kill monsters and take their stuff" but "how can I keep my monster self in control just enough to get what I want." Or: "oh woe is me, cursed forever!"
Groundbreaking works often suffer their own curse: they get absorbed into the ground so much that they eliminate the need for themselves. So the "maybe the PCs aren't heroes" angle gets reworked into Greg Costikyan's 1999 Violence, where the PCs are dungeon-crawling, killing and looting, only its in a modern apartment building, and you're a moral monster for not recognizing the players are murder hobos. (Heck, even TSR has a few notes in their books about the relative morality of killing on sight any species that you think is "evil.")
So let's start there: Vampire was a ground-breaking work, with a huge amount of lore and metaplot (that's the story that advances in canon adventures and books, not the adventures your PCs get up to, which is, I guess, just "plot"), and a very striking art style. Then the company that made it went through a few hands, resulting in some newer versions with slightly different takes, a revision and reprint of the original as the 20th anniversary, and now this, billing itself as the 5th edition. (There was also maybe a problem a few years ago with Nazis and some over-the-line content.)
And I just don't know why this exists? Sure, the world is updated (including Ken Hite's love of spies vs. vampires angle that was Night's Black Agents); yeah, this book incorporates some ideas from modern gaming. But, like, is this very popular right now? Was bringing this back and updating it someone's passion project? Are people buying this to play, to read, to incorporate in their other Vampire editions? I just don't know.
I read the core book, the Camarilla and the Anarch sourcebooks (which are almost entirely in-world documents, e.g., essays and interviews from vampires about what they think they're doing, which is interesting from a player standpoint, and I guess is meant to give the GM some guidance without locking them in, since who knows who is reliable here).
Oh, and one thing that is almost certainly a product of the difference between reading the original in the 90s and reading this now: the art here involves a lot more photographs, but feels more glossy than the gritty photos in the original. To me, this art is a little less atmospheric.
Though is this new? Vampire has existed for 30 years, and it was ground-breaking and community-building in the '90s -- like Neil Gaiman's comment on Sandman being a sexually transmitted comic book because it was popular with both men and women (so if comic book nerd A dates person B and introduces them to Sandman, then after the breakup, B can introduce Sandman to person C), Vampire really brought in to roleplaying a lot of people who weren't midwestern white college guys (the historical epicenter of D&D). It was, like many games in the 90s, interested in edgy transgression and angst: the central dynamic of Vampire isn't "kill monsters and take their stuff" but "how can I keep my monster self in control just enough to get what I want." Or: "oh woe is me, cursed forever!"
Groundbreaking works often suffer their own curse: they get absorbed into the ground so much that they eliminate the need for themselves. So the "maybe the PCs aren't heroes" angle gets reworked into Greg Costikyan's 1999 Violence, where the PCs are dungeon-crawling, killing and looting, only its in a modern apartment building, and you're a moral monster for not recognizing the players are murder hobos. (Heck, even TSR has a few notes in their books about the relative morality of killing on sight any species that you think is "evil.")
So let's start there: Vampire was a ground-breaking work, with a huge amount of lore and metaplot (that's the story that advances in canon adventures and books, not the adventures your PCs get up to, which is, I guess, just "plot"), and a very striking art style. Then the company that made it went through a few hands, resulting in some newer versions with slightly different takes, a revision and reprint of the original as the 20th anniversary, and now this, billing itself as the 5th edition. (There was also maybe a problem a few years ago with Nazis and some over-the-line content.)
And I just don't know why this exists? Sure, the world is updated (including Ken Hite's love of spies vs. vampires angle that was Night's Black Agents); yeah, this book incorporates some ideas from modern gaming. But, like, is this very popular right now? Was bringing this back and updating it someone's passion project? Are people buying this to play, to read, to incorporate in their other Vampire editions? I just don't know.
I read the core book, the Camarilla and the Anarch sourcebooks (which are almost entirely in-world documents, e.g., essays and interviews from vampires about what they think they're doing, which is interesting from a player standpoint, and I guess is meant to give the GM some guidance without locking them in, since who knows who is reliable here).
Oh, and one thing that is almost certainly a product of the difference between reading the original in the 90s and reading this now: the art here involves a lot more photographs, but feels more glossy than the gritty photos in the original. To me, this art is a little less atmospheric.
May 8, 2025
I’m 22, but I was introduced to Vampire: The Masquerade through 2nd Edition, one of those old, worn books that felt like they belonged in a coffin. The writing was moody, raw, and totally unafraid to be ugly. It treated vampirism like a curse, not a superpower. It didn’t want to make you feel cool, it wanted to make you uncomfortable. So when I got into 5th Edition, I was hoping for a modern evolution of that same energy. Instead, what I found feels like a streamlined, stylized reboot that’s lost a lot of the original's emotional grime. V5 looks great. The layout, photography, and production are top-notch. The Hunger system is a smart mechanical update, it keeps tension high and reminds you that the Beast is always there, just beneath the surface. But that’s kind of where the boldness stops. The game talks about personal horror, but it doesn’t quite make you feel it. It’s like it’s referencing something that used to be scary, but doesn’t want to scare you anymore. To me, it feels like Vampire got a generational tone shift. V5 leans hard into emotional storytelling and identity, but it does so with gloves on. It’s cleaner, more curated, and far more cautious. And while I get why that works for a modern audience, it just doesn’t hit the same. 2nd Edition felt like a slow, poetic collapse. V5 feels like a horror-themed character drama with built-in safety rails. I don’t hate this edition, it’s solid. It just doesn’t haunt me the way Vampire used to. And honestly? I think it should.
August 7, 2018
La 5ª edición de Vampiro: La Mascarada llega con muchísimos cambios. A nivel de reglas y de mecánicas ha aprendido muchísimo de Requiem y le imita en algunas cosas, a la vez que añade una serie de reformas que lo hacen más narrativo. En general, todo son grandes aciertos y obligan al jugador a pensar en todo tipo de detalles de la vida de su personaje.
A su vez, la metatrama avanza cancelando algunas cosas de la Gehenna y admitiendo otras, y prepara el juego para niveles mucho menores de poder, dando protagonismo a generaciones más altas y vampiros menos antiguos.
Se nota que la idea es que sirva de iniciación para mucha gente, porque es un manual muy básico que se deja muchas cosas en el tintero, pero la sensación en general es muy positiva y los cambios sirven para abrir la ventana y que entre algo de aire fresco en un juego que necesitaba renovación.
A su vez, la metatrama avanza cancelando algunas cosas de la Gehenna y admitiendo otras, y prepara el juego para niveles mucho menores de poder, dando protagonismo a generaciones más altas y vampiros menos antiguos.
Se nota que la idea es que sirva de iniciación para mucha gente, porque es un manual muy básico que se deja muchas cosas en el tintero, pero la sensación en general es muy positiva y los cambios sirven para abrir la ventana y que entre algo de aire fresco en un juego que necesitaba renovación.
October 8, 2024
As much as I love D&D, I believe that their modern books lack a special something. They read like instruction manuals, which I suppose they are, and yet they lack a quality that the setting or characters may have. Vampire: The Masquerade chooses a different approach. The first 30 or so pages are dedicated to fictional letters and documents through which you piece together the World of Darkness for yourself, one of personal horror, Gothic rebellion, and of course, vampires.
Even when the book continues to lay out the game mechanics and systems in a more traditional manner, it still carries a narrative voice that is itself enjoyable to read. And the art is gorgeous!
Even when the book continues to lay out the game mechanics and systems in a more traditional manner, it still carries a narrative voice that is itself enjoyable to read. And the art is gorgeous!
January 29, 2019
Pros:
The first half of the book is devoted mainly to introducing the reader to the world and the clans. The second half holds most of the rules and systems you'll need to play. This is a massive improvement, imo. From the very beginning, the sourcebooks for VtM (as well as other WoD) have been arranged counterintuitively. You had to make super heavy use of the index to find anything with suggestions for rules of play scattered every which way. It still leaves something to be desired, imo, but this is much better. Kudos for the improvement.
Along with that, there's a dedicated table of contents, y'all. Has White Wolf ever made anything like that? Noope. Even if I find the 20th Anniversary Edition superior in gameplay, that table of contents made me giddy. You can find things with such ease now instead of throwing your hands in the air and saying "Fuck it, we'll do this live. You pass. Who gives a shit?"
I think it streamlined things to the game's benefit like certain clans and disciplines, for instance. As an example, I enjoyed dementation as a discipline but it was never completely separate from dominate. I like the idea of it being a mutation (?) of dominate available only to Malkavians.
I've always enjoyed the different clans and their weaknesses and archetypes but a lot of them felt not so distinct or overpowered or underpowered in comparison to other clans. I really feel like they made the playing field much more even, while getting rid of some of the more problematic aspects of the clans. Like the Ravnos, for instance. I enjoyed the clan with heavy editing and detouring from the canon. The fact that they are now a foot note is bittersweet but also much appreciated.
It's also very friendly to new players who might not be used to the heavy roleplaying of VtM in comparison to other tabletop games. (aka focusing more on character development as a means of driving the story than battles and skill progression). The writers went more in depth with character concepts that a new player can easily bounce ideas off of.
I don't necessarily like the inclusion as an actual game mechanic, but the idea of relationship maps, touchstones, predator types, and coterie types are actually really conducive to helping players who might not be used to the genre or type of game.
Tangential to that, I actually really liked the inclusion of convictions. Belief tenants that you choose for your character during creation. I think using that as opposed to the humanity chart is actually a far better way to track a character's, well, humanity and how close they have come to the beast.
I also liked that they've mostly ignored the conclusion of gehenna. An interesting plot point, maybe, and certainly something that the original VtM was building up to. But we already had a sourcebook for gehenna, we don't need more. I'm not quite sure if this is a less fatal interpretation of the end times or a prelude to it, or just a reimagining/parallel universe. I don't really care, honestly. It's good for a set piece of VtM in present time.
Cons:
The biggest and most fatal con to this corebook that I can think of is the actual gameplay. I can't imagine actually running this or attempting to play it. The best thing about VtM, for me, was how intuitive so many of the gameplay mechanics were. This new edition has added a lot and it is a cluster fuck, imo.
Though I liked the inclusion of relationship maps, I find it completely unnecessary for players to do have to make them. A ST? Yes, definitely, depending on how many NPCs they've got going, I would definitely recommend something of the sort, but as it stands for PCs. No, no way. Touchstones are also super sus to me, in the same line of thought. Same with lining out a PCs ambitions and desires as a mechanic or blood potency or humors. It's a helluva lot to go into in an hour long session. Can't forget humanity "stains" as well. Maybe I'm just dumb, but I'm having a hard time understanding how that works. And that's totally ignoring the advance systems, which I flipped through with glazed eyes.
So much of this stuff seems so unnecessary and/or in the realm of actual roleplay. I would hesitate to enforce any of these rules. While I might think it's a good idea to have players think of what sort of goals their character might have, I wouldn't necessarily make it a game mechanic. Allowing the PCs to grow, and that means outgrow their character concepts, has always been a very important and fun part of VtM. I think some of these systems really lend themselves to rigid roles and unfun play.
Shit, I think humanity is pretty unbalanced and just, I'll be real here, not great in this edition. The stains on humanity, while an interesting idea, just don't seem to mesh well with me. Take into consideration a PCs tenants, right? Why would blood bonding a mortal be a stain on their humanity if that is not a core of their morality?
Did I mention I disliked touchstones? Well, I do. I really dislike that a PC's humanity and playability can be heavily damaged by a mortal character and that as a mechanic, you're supposed to have a touchstone. It ignores PCs whose backgrounds couldn't and probably shouldn't have a touchstone like that in the first place. Once again, it's making a portion of actual, honest to god roleplay in to a game mechanic which is just silly.
Conclusion:
I find it decent and in some ways an improvement, at least from the writers. But I think I'd much rather continue with the 20th Anniversary Edition instead.
The first half of the book is devoted mainly to introducing the reader to the world and the clans. The second half holds most of the rules and systems you'll need to play. This is a massive improvement, imo. From the very beginning, the sourcebooks for VtM (as well as other WoD) have been arranged counterintuitively. You had to make super heavy use of the index to find anything with suggestions for rules of play scattered every which way. It still leaves something to be desired, imo, but this is much better. Kudos for the improvement.
Along with that, there's a dedicated table of contents, y'all. Has White Wolf ever made anything like that? Noope. Even if I find the 20th Anniversary Edition superior in gameplay, that table of contents made me giddy. You can find things with such ease now instead of throwing your hands in the air and saying "Fuck it, we'll do this live. You pass. Who gives a shit?"
I think it streamlined things to the game's benefit like certain clans and disciplines, for instance. As an example, I enjoyed dementation as a discipline but it was never completely separate from dominate. I like the idea of it being a mutation (?) of dominate available only to Malkavians.
I've always enjoyed the different clans and their weaknesses and archetypes but a lot of them felt not so distinct or overpowered or underpowered in comparison to other clans. I really feel like they made the playing field much more even, while getting rid of some of the more problematic aspects of the clans. Like the Ravnos, for instance. I enjoyed the clan with heavy editing and detouring from the canon. The fact that they are now a foot note is bittersweet but also much appreciated.
It's also very friendly to new players who might not be used to the heavy roleplaying of VtM in comparison to other tabletop games. (aka focusing more on character development as a means of driving the story than battles and skill progression). The writers went more in depth with character concepts that a new player can easily bounce ideas off of.
I don't necessarily like the inclusion as an actual game mechanic, but the idea of relationship maps, touchstones, predator types, and coterie types are actually really conducive to helping players who might not be used to the genre or type of game.
Tangential to that, I actually really liked the inclusion of convictions. Belief tenants that you choose for your character during creation. I think using that as opposed to the humanity chart is actually a far better way to track a character's, well, humanity and how close they have come to the beast.
I also liked that they've mostly ignored the conclusion of gehenna. An interesting plot point, maybe, and certainly something that the original VtM was building up to. But we already had a sourcebook for gehenna, we don't need more. I'm not quite sure if this is a less fatal interpretation of the end times or a prelude to it, or just a reimagining/parallel universe. I don't really care, honestly. It's good for a set piece of VtM in present time.
Cons:
The biggest and most fatal con to this corebook that I can think of is the actual gameplay. I can't imagine actually running this or attempting to play it. The best thing about VtM, for me, was how intuitive so many of the gameplay mechanics were. This new edition has added a lot and it is a cluster fuck, imo.
Though I liked the inclusion of relationship maps, I find it completely unnecessary for players to do have to make them. A ST? Yes, definitely, depending on how many NPCs they've got going, I would definitely recommend something of the sort, but as it stands for PCs. No, no way. Touchstones are also super sus to me, in the same line of thought. Same with lining out a PCs ambitions and desires as a mechanic or blood potency or humors. It's a helluva lot to go into in an hour long session. Can't forget humanity "stains" as well. Maybe I'm just dumb, but I'm having a hard time understanding how that works. And that's totally ignoring the advance systems, which I flipped through with glazed eyes.
So much of this stuff seems so unnecessary and/or in the realm of actual roleplay. I would hesitate to enforce any of these rules. While I might think it's a good idea to have players think of what sort of goals their character might have, I wouldn't necessarily make it a game mechanic. Allowing the PCs to grow, and that means outgrow their character concepts, has always been a very important and fun part of VtM. I think some of these systems really lend themselves to rigid roles and unfun play.
Shit, I think humanity is pretty unbalanced and just, I'll be real here, not great in this edition. The stains on humanity, while an interesting idea, just don't seem to mesh well with me. Take into consideration a PCs tenants, right? Why would blood bonding a mortal be a stain on their humanity if that is not a core of their morality?
Did I mention I disliked touchstones? Well, I do. I really dislike that a PC's humanity and playability can be heavily damaged by a mortal character and that as a mechanic, you're supposed to have a touchstone. It ignores PCs whose backgrounds couldn't and probably shouldn't have a touchstone like that in the first place. Once again, it's making a portion of actual, honest to god roleplay in to a game mechanic which is just silly.
Conclusion:
I find it decent and in some ways an improvement, at least from the writers. But I think I'd much rather continue with the 20th Anniversary Edition instead.
September 22, 2019
So far I have read the 1st and 2nd -revised- edition of VTM.
I read this one because I wll take part in a LARP chronicle (my very first one OMG).
This was far more different than I expected...
There are huuuge changes in mechanics and the whole "living" as a vampire thing.
But you know what? I LOVE IT!
It needs focus and a bit of dedication to completely understand everything, at least for me as a noob ST, but it's worth a shot!
I want to try V20 first but this baby will be the next one for sure!!!
Also STUNNING ARTWORK!!!
I read this one because I wll take part in a LARP chronicle (my very first one OMG).
This was far more different than I expected...
There are huuuge changes in mechanics and the whole "living" as a vampire thing.
But you know what? I LOVE IT!
It needs focus and a bit of dedication to completely understand everything, at least for me as a noob ST, but it's worth a shot!
I want to try V20 first but this baby will be the next one for sure!!!
Also STUNNING ARTWORK!!!
December 31, 2022
Un livre de jdr très intéressant.
On y joue des Vampires vivant à notre époque, devant de nourrir et surtout respecter la Mascarade, qui consiste a garder l'existence des vampires secrets.
De bonnes règles dont notemment ceux de la Soif que je trouve excellente en jeu.
Un univers distillé petit à petit dans ces pages, qui rend la lecture un poil chaotique par moment, mais quel univers fantastique.
Bref, mis à part le chapitre sur les Sagas qui reste encore trop flou pour moi le débutant dans cet univers. Le reste est rempli de bonnes choses dont un chapitre aidant à créer sa propre Cité et ces Chroniques, ainsi que des aides de jeu pour jouer avec bienveillance malgré l'univers dépeint.
De bonnes idées, mais qui pour moi ne suffisent pas à se lancer directement en jeu. A creuser pour faire jouer cet univers.
On y joue des Vampires vivant à notre époque, devant de nourrir et surtout respecter la Mascarade, qui consiste a garder l'existence des vampires secrets.
De bonnes règles dont notemment ceux de la Soif que je trouve excellente en jeu.
Un univers distillé petit à petit dans ces pages, qui rend la lecture un poil chaotique par moment, mais quel univers fantastique.
Bref, mis à part le chapitre sur les Sagas qui reste encore trop flou pour moi le débutant dans cet univers. Le reste est rempli de bonnes choses dont un chapitre aidant à créer sa propre Cité et ces Chroniques, ainsi que des aides de jeu pour jouer avec bienveillance malgré l'univers dépeint.
De bonnes idées, mais qui pour moi ne suffisent pas à se lancer directement en jeu. A creuser pour faire jouer cet univers.
May 1, 2020
In general, the most playable version yet. Both a more evocative set of rules, a metaplot that leaves room for more player agency and a main political conflict more in line with the current geopolitical climate.
The relegating of the Sabbat to be a mostly NPC phenomenon was saddening though.
The relegating of the Sabbat to be a mostly NPC phenomenon was saddening though.
August 29, 2025
Very interesting system, something I'd like to run more often. While the worldbuilding and the lore were amazing, I struggled to read through the copious amount of text given the language they were using.
November 18, 2025
Not much to say! Good base VTM book. Also why aren't all yhe clans listed!!! White Wolf you fickle guys...
December 18, 2025
This has lead to many entertaining books and programming.
October 23, 2023
I got into the World of Darkness by playing the video game "Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines". I really love this take on vampire mythology and picked up the Core Rulebook so I could run some RPG games in the future. What I loved the most about the book is the worldbuilding aspect. The first 30 pages alone is pure worldbuilding, but it isn't a coherent introduction to the World of Darkness - that comes later. Instead, it is presented as a collection of documents, starting with a letter from a very iconic character in vampire stories and then moving on to transcriptions, journal entries, obscure passages from books etc. The cool thing about this introduction is that the reader slowly pieces all the information together, getting the picture of what this world is about. The book also does a really good job at introducing the clans and sects of the hidden world of vampires, and there is lots of gorgeous and atmospheric artwork throughout the book. I can't wait to put these elements to use in an actual game some time. The roleplaying system also has a nice balance of simplicity and complexity - one can run the game very simply with minimal dice rolling if one wants to, or one can run advanced combats or elaborate heists if one wants to. I also like that social encounters can be played similarly to how one would play a combat encounter. I don't know how much I would use that over just roleplaying and rolling a couple of dice once in a while, but I like that it's an available option. However, the reason I give this book a mediocre score is while the worldbuilding and explanations of vampires and their powers is great, the book itself is a long and sometimes confusing read. A lot of information is repeated throughout the book. A concept will be introduced, often because it has some relevance to what is being written about at that moment. However, at the point the concept is introduced, the reader has no prerequisite for understanding why it's relevant until much later where the concept is properly elaborated on. The layout is also somewhat disjointed and confusing, changing rapidly throughout the entire book. There are also a few layout errors and typos throughout, but I really can't blame those who had to proofread this book - it is very dense, and a lot of information is thrown at the reader. While the book serves as an introduction to the World of Darkness, it goes especially into details that are new to the 5th edition - for example the Second Inquisition and their role as a possible antagonist. However, there are still references to lore and near-extinct clans that veteran players might know of, but new players won't. For example, it is explained that while the Tremere clan used to have a rigid hierarchy, they don't anymore. However, that hierarchy is stilled referred to as a pretty important part of the clan's backstory, so it would have been nice to have some more information about what the hierarchy used to be about. Finally, one element I have very mixed feelings about is how they try to place vampires in a post-9/11 world. I'll mark the following as a spoiler in case you don't want to know, but . On one hand, this is a really cool way to place vampires in modern times while also changing some things up for veteran players. On the other hand, it almost borders on being a bit insensitive, especially since the historical events mentioned in the book has impacted and still impacts a lot of people today, a lot of people even having lost their lives in those events. The good thing about this is that it IS a roleplaying system, not a novel. One can simply choose not to elaborate that much on those aspects when running a game. In sum, this book is very uneven, but the World of Darkness remains fascinating, and I can't wait to explore it with some friends and a whole lot of dice.
February 11, 2019
I'm writing this review as someone who is not very familiar with the other versions of Vampire and has not had much opportunity to play this revision. I only played in two short games hosted by a local tabletop store, and even though the games were advertised as for "beginners," there was clearly one dude at the table who knew way more than everyone else and wanted to ensure that the story was all about his very cool, edgy and unpredictable vampire cyberhacker. Yeah, that was kind of a shite introduction to this game, but I was intrigued enough to purchase this hefty rulebook and plow through it cover-to-cover - the first non-Dungeons and Dragons tabletop tome I've done so for.
There's a lot of fascinating lore in here that is initially assaulting to newcomers but pretty easy to process after a few pages. Stuff about the Second Inquisition and Gehenna makes the mind bubble with possibilities, and I found the descriptions of all the clans (Malkavian and Nosferatu are the most compelling to me personally) to be useful. Hidden amomgst these lore bits is some possibly cringe stuff that has earned this edition of the game a lot of blowback online, such as a sentence about how the Brujah court both the alt-right and people obsessed about social justice and how vampires tried to take credit for 9/11. Your mileage may vary, but I didn't find the stuff in here to be as bad as the internet made me believe - though I dunno if I'd be able to say the same about the Camarilla and Anarch sourcebooks, which are now discontinued because of the hubbub they created. (Worth Googling if you're interested; it's kind of hard to describe all the commotion within the span of a Goodreads review.)
Lore aside, the actual game mechanics seem solid though character creation isn't laid out all too well. I kept finding myself flipping back and forth between sections, and frequently wished that the book had a nice TABLE OF CONTENTS to make the search easier. (Maybe the edition I picked up is an early one, since I didn't get a title page either. I dunno.)
Once again, all of this is from the perspective of a Vampire noob, and maybe if I was a massive fan of older editions I might find this one lacking. For someone whose tabletop experience is primarily composed of fantasy stuff, this served its purpose as a fine introduction into a darker, blood-spattered world - one that I dunno I'll ever run actual games for, but I certainly would be interested in playing in...as long as the Storyteller is competent and there isn't some overexcited dude trying to make his bloodlusting hacker the coolest cat at the table.
There's a lot of fascinating lore in here that is initially assaulting to newcomers but pretty easy to process after a few pages. Stuff about the Second Inquisition and Gehenna makes the mind bubble with possibilities, and I found the descriptions of all the clans (Malkavian and Nosferatu are the most compelling to me personally) to be useful. Hidden amomgst these lore bits is some possibly cringe stuff that has earned this edition of the game a lot of blowback online, such as a sentence about how the Brujah court both the alt-right and people obsessed about social justice and how vampires tried to take credit for 9/11. Your mileage may vary, but I didn't find the stuff in here to be as bad as the internet made me believe - though I dunno if I'd be able to say the same about the Camarilla and Anarch sourcebooks, which are now discontinued because of the hubbub they created. (Worth Googling if you're interested; it's kind of hard to describe all the commotion within the span of a Goodreads review.)
Lore aside, the actual game mechanics seem solid though character creation isn't laid out all too well. I kept finding myself flipping back and forth between sections, and frequently wished that the book had a nice TABLE OF CONTENTS to make the search easier. (Maybe the edition I picked up is an early one, since I didn't get a title page either. I dunno.)
Once again, all of this is from the perspective of a Vampire noob, and maybe if I was a massive fan of older editions I might find this one lacking. For someone whose tabletop experience is primarily composed of fantasy stuff, this served its purpose as a fine introduction into a darker, blood-spattered world - one that I dunno I'll ever run actual games for, but I certainly would be interested in playing in...as long as the Storyteller is competent and there isn't some overexcited dude trying to make his bloodlusting hacker the coolest cat at the table.
August 23, 2022
El peor manual de vampiro que he tenido q leerme para dirigir.
La maquetación está muy chula y las fotos también. Muy moderno todo. Pero las reglas de un juego de rol con dados y matemáticas de por medio no se pueden dejar a un grupo de actores que no van a usar las reglas que hacen.
El sistema es muy lento. La acción se limita al ansia y a la caza porque el uso de los poderes mata las opciones.
La nueva temática de la Segunda Inquisición hace que la neurosis sea tan alta que todo es muy limitado.
En resumen, muy bonitas las fotos, las reglas inútiles.
A parchear en casa como llevamos haciendo desde la primera edición.
La maquetación está muy chula y las fotos también. Muy moderno todo. Pero las reglas de un juego de rol con dados y matemáticas de por medio no se pueden dejar a un grupo de actores que no van a usar las reglas que hacen.
El sistema es muy lento. La acción se limita al ansia y a la caza porque el uso de los poderes mata las opciones.
La nueva temática de la Segunda Inquisición hace que la neurosis sea tan alta que todo es muy limitado.
En resumen, muy bonitas las fotos, las reglas inútiles.
A parchear en casa como llevamos haciendo desde la primera edición.
August 7, 2018
Sin duda, la edición definitiva del juego. Coge las mejores ideas de Mascarada y Réquiem, a ese genio que es Kenneth Hite, y han creado una caja de herramientas maravillosa para jugar historias de vampiros. Imprescindible.
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