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Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
Vampire: The Masquerade - Cults of the Blood Gods
Cults of the Blood Gods is a new style of source-book for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition that introduces the pernicious horror of twisted beliefs. Be sure to head on over to Kickstarter to check it out!
· An in-character breakdown of the rise of esoteric beliefs among the ranks of the undead and how faith drives many of the major aspects of vampire culture.
· A host of religions — from historic theocracies and globe-spanning conspiracies to fringe cults and mortal beliefs arising in the modern nights — introduced for incorporation into your character backgrounds or as supporting casts and antagonist groups in your chronicles.
· The history, structure, and ambitions of the Hecata, the vampire group known as the Clan of Death, as well as a chapter dedicated to playing a vampire among the Necromancers, and the ceremonies for their death-defying Discipline: Oblivion
· Guidance on how to use ecclesiastical horror and construct cults in Vampire, making them a vivid backdrop for your own stories, including new coterie styles focused on cult play.
· Faith-based story hooks and a full chronicle centered on the activities of the Hecata, involving walking corpses, ghosts, ready-made characters, and the secrets of the most twisted family in the World of Darkness.
· New Loresheets, Backgrounds, and Predator Types for inclusion in your chronicles, encouraging player characters to engage fully with the material presented in this book.
· An in-character breakdown of the rise of esoteric beliefs among the ranks of the undead and how faith drives many of the major aspects of vampire culture.
· A host of religions — from historic theocracies and globe-spanning conspiracies to fringe cults and mortal beliefs arising in the modern nights — introduced for incorporation into your character backgrounds or as supporting casts and antagonist groups in your chronicles.
· The history, structure, and ambitions of the Hecata, the vampire group known as the Clan of Death, as well as a chapter dedicated to playing a vampire among the Necromancers, and the ceremonies for their death-defying Discipline: Oblivion
· Guidance on how to use ecclesiastical horror and construct cults in Vampire, making them a vivid backdrop for your own stories, including new coterie styles focused on cult play.
· Faith-based story hooks and a full chronicle centered on the activities of the Hecata, involving walking corpses, ghosts, ready-made characters, and the secrets of the most twisted family in the World of Darkness.
· New Loresheets, Backgrounds, and Predator Types for inclusion in your chronicles, encouraging player characters to engage fully with the material presented in this book.
276 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2020
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77 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 10, 2024
Just absolutely filled to the brim with flavor information. Stunning visuals, lots of backstory.
Also, the formatting is 5 stars. They really put a lot of work and care into this. If it had more information for the price point it would be a 5 star across the board from me.
Also, the formatting is 5 stars. They really put a lot of work and care into this. If it had more information for the price point it would be a 5 star across the board from me.
December 16, 2023
CULTS OF THE BLOOD GODS is a somewhat controversial topic to begin with as it is a book that reflects Kindred (vampire) religion. One of the elements that makes V:TM so interesting is that it doesn't shy away from presenting a dark Christian mythology-flavored universe where God cursed Caine only to have said being spread his curse across Abel's descendants. This has not always sat well with atheist or other religious gamers and is a topic some prefer to be left out of their power fantasy of bloodsucking monsters.
I personally have always loved the occult aspect of the World of Darkness setting. Speaking as a liberal Christian growing up in the fundamentalist Bible Belt, I've enjoyed the satirical element of the setting as well as its hidden mysteries. Cults of the Blood Gods doesn't just focus on the Caine myth, though, and expands significantly on the options for those who wish to play polytheistic, pagan, drug, ancestor, and other forms of religion cultists.
I am also a stalwart defender of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. I believe it is the best edition to come out since 1st Edition and the original Chicago Chronicles. However, I'm going to be honest in that I also feel like it's been really hit or miss. The two best things to come out of 5th Edition so far have been the LA by Night web series and Chicago by Night 5th Edition as well as its supplements (The Chicago Folios, Let the Streets Run Red). Sabbat: The Black Hand and The Second Inquisition, though? Yeah, they were honestly terrible. How is Cults of the Blood Gods? Fantastic.
A warning for those who are reading this book in hopes of getting new material for the Sabbat, the largest blood cult among vampires, that this book doesn't contain any information about that organization or rules for Paths of Enlightenment. While it does offer some options for inhuman convictions, the book is primarily devoted to other cults as well as updating the Giovanni as well as Cappadocian Clans to the modern era. Personally, I'm content to wait for the Sabbat to get their own recently-announced book.
Its difficult to pick out the best parts of the book so I'm just going to list some of my favorite elements of the new cults presented as well as give some short thoughts:
* The Church of Caine: I've always been a fan of the Cainite Heresy and hated how the Sabbat had warped our vampiric lord, the First Murderer's, ministry. This provides a revival of the organization with some hints of Sabbat defection. It also provides a coherent mythology for the undead as well as an updated to the Lure of Flames Path as a pyrotechnic set of rituals.
* The Church of Set: The Church of Set and Ministry split was confusing to me so it was nice to have it spelled out to be an ideological conflict between the Set purists versus the polytheistic chaos worshipers of the Clan. The Church of Set are fundamentalists of a religion devoted to freedom and that is an interesting twist to me. They're also archenemies of the Church of Mithras as well as Ministry.
* The Cult of Mithras: I've long been a fan of cult favorite, Mithras, the 4th generation Prince of London. This expands on his in-universe cult and adds plenty of new rituals as well as world-building for those who want to use him as background flavor. Mithras, himself, is probably dead as of The Fall of London but that doesn't mean his cult doesn't live on. I also like how he's set up as another archenemy for the Church of Set (alongside the Children of Osiris, Kemintiri, Mummies, and Silent Striders--guys are hated worse than the Tremere).
* The Nephilim: An interesting character from the Dark Ages was Michael the False Archangel of Constantinople. The Nephilim are what remains of his cult and they are the most Toreador that ever Toreadored. They're arrogant, beauty-obsessed, obnoxious hedonists that are basically Toreador + another Toreador. I don't think they'd let the Nosferatu into the club, though. That's just not their bag, IMHO.
* The Dread Cult of Eligos: I'll be honest, this is probably my favorite of all the cults in the book and one that I want to use in my next Chronicle. It is a Satanic cult of blood sucking lunatics who are worshiping a vampire methuselah. Except not. It is a front for the Second Inquisition that has gotten completely out of control.
* The Sevitors of Irad: I've always liked the Servitors of Irad ever since the Elysium supplement. They were eventually expanded into a group allied with the True Hand. This group write-up doesn';t mention the True Hand but I'm inclined to think that's because they're still rebuilding/being co-opted by the Baali. I love Antediluvian worshipers is all I'm saying.
The biggest part of the book is the update of the Cappadocian and Giovanni bloodlines. The Harbingers of Skulls, Samedi, and Nagaraja are all merged together via a mystical rite with the former to become the Hecata. Augustus Giovanni has apparently been destroyed and many of his closest cronies have been assassinated but the majority of the Giovanni clan remains intact. It is more a reorganization than a genocide.
I honestly think the book went a bit overboard with the mystical binding but I think the Hecate being a micro-sect akin to the Camarilla of the "Necromancy" clans is a pretty cool idea. The Nagaraja may not be related to the Cappadocians but them joining together with the Harbingers after the Black Hand's destruction is a pretty good idea. I also like the greater focus on the Giovanni branch families versus the debased Italian banking clan.
Rule-wise, there's a lot more here than in Chicago by Night. We have the rules for creating Hecata characters as well as expansions on how to use Oblivion in your chronicle. Not everyone liked merging Necromancy with Oblivion but I think it works well. We also have information on the aforementioned Bloodlines and some cool Loresheets.
Cults of the Blood Gods also contains a cool little chronicle called "Styx and Bones" that is about the resurrection of a Cappadocian Elder gone horribly wrong. I'm a little nonplussed by, "wait, people can be raised from the dead in the setting now?" However, it's a pretty great story all round and I will eventually run it.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic supplement that is a must for any campaign that wants to deal with extreme religion in Cainite society, the Giovanni, Cappadocians, or the Underworld. It's probably better if you're going to run an all-Hecata Chronicle but I also think that it's perfect for those who want to play one of those pale medium types.
I personally have always loved the occult aspect of the World of Darkness setting. Speaking as a liberal Christian growing up in the fundamentalist Bible Belt, I've enjoyed the satirical element of the setting as well as its hidden mysteries. Cults of the Blood Gods doesn't just focus on the Caine myth, though, and expands significantly on the options for those who wish to play polytheistic, pagan, drug, ancestor, and other forms of religion cultists.
I am also a stalwart defender of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. I believe it is the best edition to come out since 1st Edition and the original Chicago Chronicles. However, I'm going to be honest in that I also feel like it's been really hit or miss. The two best things to come out of 5th Edition so far have been the LA by Night web series and Chicago by Night 5th Edition as well as its supplements (The Chicago Folios, Let the Streets Run Red). Sabbat: The Black Hand and The Second Inquisition, though? Yeah, they were honestly terrible. How is Cults of the Blood Gods? Fantastic.
A warning for those who are reading this book in hopes of getting new material for the Sabbat, the largest blood cult among vampires, that this book doesn't contain any information about that organization or rules for Paths of Enlightenment. While it does offer some options for inhuman convictions, the book is primarily devoted to other cults as well as updating the Giovanni as well as Cappadocian Clans to the modern era. Personally, I'm content to wait for the Sabbat to get their own recently-announced book.
Its difficult to pick out the best parts of the book so I'm just going to list some of my favorite elements of the new cults presented as well as give some short thoughts:
* The Church of Caine: I've always been a fan of the Cainite Heresy and hated how the Sabbat had warped our vampiric lord, the First Murderer's, ministry. This provides a revival of the organization with some hints of Sabbat defection. It also provides a coherent mythology for the undead as well as an updated to the Lure of Flames Path as a pyrotechnic set of rituals.
* The Church of Set: The Church of Set and Ministry split was confusing to me so it was nice to have it spelled out to be an ideological conflict between the Set purists versus the polytheistic chaos worshipers of the Clan. The Church of Set are fundamentalists of a religion devoted to freedom and that is an interesting twist to me. They're also archenemies of the Church of Mithras as well as Ministry.
* The Cult of Mithras: I've long been a fan of cult favorite, Mithras, the 4th generation Prince of London. This expands on his in-universe cult and adds plenty of new rituals as well as world-building for those who want to use him as background flavor. Mithras, himself, is probably dead as of The Fall of London but that doesn't mean his cult doesn't live on. I also like how he's set up as another archenemy for the Church of Set (alongside the Children of Osiris, Kemintiri, Mummies, and Silent Striders--guys are hated worse than the Tremere).
* The Nephilim: An interesting character from the Dark Ages was Michael the False Archangel of Constantinople. The Nephilim are what remains of his cult and they are the most Toreador that ever Toreadored. They're arrogant, beauty-obsessed, obnoxious hedonists that are basically Toreador + another Toreador. I don't think they'd let the Nosferatu into the club, though. That's just not their bag, IMHO.
* The Dread Cult of Eligos: I'll be honest, this is probably my favorite of all the cults in the book and one that I want to use in my next Chronicle. It is a Satanic cult of blood sucking lunatics who are worshiping a vampire methuselah. Except not. It is a front for the Second Inquisition that has gotten completely out of control.
* The Sevitors of Irad: I've always liked the Servitors of Irad ever since the Elysium supplement. They were eventually expanded into a group allied with the True Hand. This group write-up doesn';t mention the True Hand but I'm inclined to think that's because they're still rebuilding/being co-opted by the Baali. I love Antediluvian worshipers is all I'm saying.
The biggest part of the book is the update of the Cappadocian and Giovanni bloodlines. The Harbingers of Skulls, Samedi, and Nagaraja are all merged together via a mystical rite with the former to become the Hecata. Augustus Giovanni has apparently been destroyed and many of his closest cronies have been assassinated but the majority of the Giovanni clan remains intact. It is more a reorganization than a genocide.
I honestly think the book went a bit overboard with the mystical binding but I think the Hecate being a micro-sect akin to the Camarilla of the "Necromancy" clans is a pretty cool idea. The Nagaraja may not be related to the Cappadocians but them joining together with the Harbingers after the Black Hand's destruction is a pretty good idea. I also like the greater focus on the Giovanni branch families versus the debased Italian banking clan.
Rule-wise, there's a lot more here than in Chicago by Night. We have the rules for creating Hecata characters as well as expansions on how to use Oblivion in your chronicle. Not everyone liked merging Necromancy with Oblivion but I think it works well. We also have information on the aforementioned Bloodlines and some cool Loresheets.
Cults of the Blood Gods also contains a cool little chronicle called "Styx and Bones" that is about the resurrection of a Cappadocian Elder gone horribly wrong. I'm a little nonplussed by, "wait, people can be raised from the dead in the setting now?" However, it's a pretty great story all round and I will eventually run it.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic supplement that is a must for any campaign that wants to deal with extreme religion in Cainite society, the Giovanni, Cappadocians, or the Underworld. It's probably better if you're going to run an all-Hecata Chronicle but I also think that it's perfect for those who want to play one of those pale medium types.
September 26, 2021
Cults of the Blood Gods trae mucho material para Vampiro: La Mascarada en su quinta edición. Tanto, que se mezcla el que funciona con algunos trozos con menor calidad. Por un lado es una especie de libro de clan Hecata (los "nuevos" Giovanni unidos al resto de líneas de sangre necrománticas), por otro trae un catálogo de Sectas vampíricas donde están los imprescindibles Bahari o la actualizada Herejía Cainita junto con otras menos interesantes y además trae reglas y consejos para crear tus propios cultos.
Aunque hay material de 3ª edición que ya lo trata, no hubiera estado de más dedicar un poco a hablar de religiónes mortales (esto lo cubre "Estado de Gracia") o a continuar algunas de las propuestas en ese suplemento o "Pecados de Sangre". Al no recuperar nada es un poco frustrante, porque parece enmendarlo, aunque lo preocupante es que se olvide del tema de la religión corriente y moliente. Obviamente pretende cubrir cultos de sangre, pero no estaría de más repasar de manera muy básica lo que puede sentir un vampiro judío/musulmán/jainista/budista o qué herejías puede presentar.
Incluye también un montonazo de poderes nuevos de "Olvido", la nueva-vieja disciplina que ahora comparten con los Lasombra, de ceremonias y de loresheets para diferenciar aún más a los personajes. Y una aventura con Hecata en Munich para quien quiera jugarla.
En defintiva: un suplemento muy interesante, con mucho material muy aprovechable, pero mejorable en algunas cosas.
Aunque hay material de 3ª edición que ya lo trata, no hubiera estado de más dedicar un poco a hablar de religiónes mortales (esto lo cubre "Estado de Gracia") o a continuar algunas de las propuestas en ese suplemento o "Pecados de Sangre". Al no recuperar nada es un poco frustrante, porque parece enmendarlo, aunque lo preocupante es que se olvide del tema de la religión corriente y moliente. Obviamente pretende cubrir cultos de sangre, pero no estaría de más repasar de manera muy básica lo que puede sentir un vampiro judío/musulmán/jainista/budista o qué herejías puede presentar.
Incluye también un montonazo de poderes nuevos de "Olvido", la nueva-vieja disciplina que ahora comparten con los Lasombra, de ceremonias y de loresheets para diferenciar aún más a los personajes. Y una aventura con Hecata en Munich para quien quiera jugarla.
En defintiva: un suplemento muy interesante, con mucho material muy aprovechable, pero mejorable en algunas cosas.
December 13, 2020
It’s funny: while the 5th Edition ambiance of VtM doesn’t hit me in the guts the same way previous editions have, I can’t deny that Onyx Path have been creating some of the best Vampire sourcebooks I’ve ever seen in nearly 25 years of gaming.
Everything’s so well thought out and conceived. I love the way that Bloodlines are dealt with here (as an additional form of Lore Sheet, essentially): very clever design conceit. I love the voice of the book, and I love the unification of the Hecata, which surprised me. I haven’t been completely sold on how consolidates the disciplines have become (ie, Oblivion for both Lasombra and Hecata), but I can’t say that the choices are slapdash. There’s a method to the madness, and I’m enjoying watching it unfold.
The campaign and story hooks were terrific too: lots of good options, here. Overall, about as good of a follow up to Chicago by Night as one could hope for.
Everything’s so well thought out and conceived. I love the way that Bloodlines are dealt with here (as an additional form of Lore Sheet, essentially): very clever design conceit. I love the voice of the book, and I love the unification of the Hecata, which surprised me. I haven’t been completely sold on how consolidates the disciplines have become (ie, Oblivion for both Lasombra and Hecata), but I can’t say that the choices are slapdash. There’s a method to the madness, and I’m enjoying watching it unfold.
The campaign and story hooks were terrific too: lots of good options, here. Overall, about as good of a follow up to Chicago by Night as one could hope for.
March 6, 2020
4.5 stars
March 21, 2023
one of the best source books for V5 hands down
November 11, 2025
Great resource for adding that bit of occult, religious zest to your bloodsucker fantasy. This monster of a resource is stuffed full of lore and tools to help you craft elements in your game. Formatting is also quite accessible, and the art?! Chef's kiss!
October 21, 2025
Całkiem sensownie opisane kulty, z przykładami miast, czasami z jakimiś pomysłami na fabułę. Sekcja o Hekacie sensowna, tylko nie podoba mi się pomysł z ujednoliceniem klanowego przekleństwa. Linie krwi jako podklany chyba były lepsze od tych śmiesznych kart fabuły. Przygoda dla Hekaty dobra, jak na standardy Wampira. Tylko grafika słaba – zwłaszcza ta okładka bardzo brzydka, jak z Requiem, a i środek nie jest tak ciekawy wizualnie jak podstawka, czy niektóre dodatki.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews