3 comments about *OP Dharma Book: Devil Tigers (Kindred of the East).

1. This is a good book for the most part. The introductory story and much of the book focuses on explaining that the Devil Tigers are Demons or think that they are Demons. This makes for a pretty dark book. On the other hand, the thing that distinguishes them from western vampires is that they have something to do--punish the wicked. The only flaw is the pages on using Crimson rituals and artifacts in a live action game--the information appears identical to the info on how to run these artifacts in a standard game.



2. This books introduces you to the followers of the Devil Tigers Dharma. For those of you unfamiliar with the Kindred of the East system that means Clan. This guys really make look each other nasty of the World of Darkness like children. While all the other Tradition, Clan, Tribe books always have someone who assures you that they are the meanest of all the groups, they are ussually lost in their own schemes and petty politicing. That's not the point with the Devil Tigers, they have their feets firmly planted on the ground and of all the supernaturals around the World of Darkness, they have the realest agenda. Worth the reading even if you don't play on this system. Be warned though, you may not like all that you read.



3. I really like the KoE system, but unfortunately the Devil-tiger book seems to be going into a lot of what White Wolf has been doing lately - let's get more graphic and outrageous when it's not really needed, and we'll sell more stuff. I like the CONCEPT of the devil-tigers, but frankly they go into unnecessary depth. It's one thing to involve violence such as rape in a plot, and say it happened, it's another to actually go and play it out in painful detail. Hope they get better with the next one.

No comments about Vampire The Eternal Struggle Players Guide.

3 comments about City of the Damned: New Orleans (Vampire: the Requiem).

1. City of the Damned: New Orleans is a city sourcebook for Vampire: the Requiem, detailing vampiric politics in the Big Easy.
   
   This is not a popular book, and I don't understand why. I've seen reviews where people have complained about missing stats for Storyteller Characters (even though the developers have stated that the abbreviated stats are intentional), spelling errors and minor inconsitencies in flavour text, and based on that they have given the book poor ratings.
   
   Isn't the content more important than insignificant flaws like this?
   
   And City of the Damned offers solid content.
   It presents New Orleans as an exciting, deeply political city, with complex layers of intrigue that are nonetheless easy to understand and modular enough that the ST can include those parts of it he/she likes while happily ignoring the rest or letting it play out in the background.
   
   The three-way political struggle between Vidal, Savoy and Cimitere is just as complicated as the ST wants to make it, and there are sub-layers and smaller factions that can be involved if a more complex political atmospere is required to tell the stories the ST wants to tell.
   
   The book starts with one chapter detailing New Orleans history in deeper detail than the Appendix in teh core book does, and this chapter is littered with plot-hooks and story-seeds; enough to fuel several chronicles.
   Theres also a chapter about the city geography, which is somewhat lacking, as it requires a certain level of pre-famniliarity with New Orleans; nothing that can't be dug up easily enough on the internet or in the library though.
   There are three chapters devoted to the major Storyteller Characters in New Orleans: One for Elders, one for Ancillae and one for Neonates. This chapter gives stats, as well as deeper studies of the characters motivations and goals and some nice plot hooks that are easy to flesh out into stories.
   Then theres a chapter on Storytelling that focuses on helping Storytellers evoce the specific themes and moods most suited for New Orleans, as well as fleshing out the Storyteling hints provided in the core book and how they relate to New Orleans specificaly.
   
   Lastly, there is a pre-made story titled The Dead Travel Fast, which is designed to introduce the players to the three main movers and shakers of the Crescent City, Vidal, Savoy and Cimitere. This story is short and a little cheesy, but it gets the job done and finishes off with enough unanswered questions that it serves perfectly as an opener for a chronicle.
   
   All in all, I liked the book very much, and give it 4 out of 5. It doesn't quite reach to the greatest heights, but it's definately a very good city book, and if used correctly it can serve as teh basis for tons of interesting roleplaying.



2. I'm not very impressed by this book or it's content. After reading it I did not want to either play or story tell in this city. It contain what most of the city books from White Wolf does: History, Place Description, NPC and a Story. None of them was very good.
   
   The only nice thing I'm going to say is that it did not copy to much of the content in the Vampire: Requiem book, it supplemented it.



3. City of the Damned: New Orleans is the quintessential setting for Vampire the Requiem, a setting book for the New World of Darkness game. It is not essential to play either WoD or Vampire, but it does present a fully developed and fleshed out setting for both games.
   
   The opening fiction is entitled "The Coming Storm,". Written as though it were being spoken to a Kindred, it does a great job of establishing the mood for a city populated by vampires, their politics and their struggles.
   The introduction gives an overview of the book, as well as explaining to readers discrepancies found between this book, the V:tR demo, and the overview of New Orleans in the V:tR rulebook.
   
   "A Look Back at the Big Easy" is the first chapter of the book, and details the history of the Kindred in New Orleans. From the Choctaw vampire who first preyed on the mortals of the region (and who goes from being an elder vampire preying on the Choctaw to the Elder of the Choctaw Indians with no explanation later in the book) to the modern nights when Prince Vidal rules, there's a lot of detail here. It sets the social scene for the Kindred detailed later in the book, and provides several good adventure hooks for Storytellers to build upon.
   
   The second chapter, "Points of Entry," details modern New Orleans, covering its layout, points of interest, as well as detailing transportation and culture in the city. As in the last chapter, there are a few references to real-world things which readers will need knowledge of New Orleans from outside the book to understand. I really think this chapter is worth of praise for its (admittedly brief) description of the area around New Orleans--a lot of authors seem to forget that there are cities, towns, and other things within driving distance of New Orleans, and it was nice to see them remembered here.
   
   Some of the Kindred culture of New Orleans is covered here as well, with how the Prince handles crime and how the Lancea Sanctum of the area do things differently from their brethren.
   
   The third, fourth, and fifth chapters of the book are devoted to New Orleans' elders, ancillae, and neonates respectively. There's a lot of detail regarding their plots, interactions, and personalities, and aside from few minor quibbles (such as a racist American Kindred who seems to have a lot of respect and no problems following a foreign-born prince) the writing is good. Presented are sample NPC's that can be further detailed by individual storytellers.
   
   Chapter six of the book, entitled "Storytelling," in which tailoring of the setting is presented. Overall this chapter covers how to expand upon the setting and add depth to make individual chronicles more flavor.
   
   The final chapter of the book is a story to run your characters through. As it turns out, the opening fiction of the book was an introduction to the adventure, namely this one, and after reading it to your players/adapting it for a pre-game session this chapter continues the story.
   
   This book offers a lot of nice material that a Storyteller can use in his or her chronicle, but for them to do so they're going to have to do a lot of work on their own. For those expecting to have a setting handed to them without adding to it on their own may be disappointed. This book is a toolkit, dont expect to have a setting handed to you without YOU doing some work. Many of the new World of Darkness books are toolkits, they offer suggestions, ideas, story seeds and inspiration, NOT a monolithic book that TELLS YOU how to play. Overall this book is excellent if you plan on doing YOUR own work and developing the content therein to satisfy your chronicle and your players.

3 comments about Constantinople by Night (Vampire - the Dark Ages).

1. The best By Night is still of course Chicago By Night, but Constantinople By Night is excellent. If you are looking for a twist on your Dark Ages game, and want something a little different from the typical Germany/Transylvania campaign I highly recomend this book. The vampric storyline is compelling, and offers a city founded by a "trinity" of Methusulahs determined to surpass both Rome and Carthage. Of course this has gone terribly wrong in typical World of Darkness style, and the supplement places the characters in a decaying empire on the verge of collapse. The NPC's are generally quite interesting and often very old and powerful. Many of them have a unique "Byzantine" outlook on their unlife, and religion plays a major factor in this Christian Empire. I have been running a game in Constantinople for nearly a year now, and my players are thouroughly caught up in the various intrigues and are enjoying it. This is THE place in the Dark Ages to have a political campaign, and thanks to the strength of many of the elders you will not have to put up with the players killing every Cainite that annoys them. The main problem with this book is that while it gives a very interesting vampric society it does not give nearly enough detail on mortal society in 12th century Byzantium. Therefor expect to do a fair amount of research if you want to be historically accurate. All in all an excellent book, and one that I am enjoying immensely.



2. An excelent source guide for any who wants to lead a cronicle on this particular citie. All the history, the myths und the "dark secrets" are here. Starting for a detailed description of each area in constantinople, as well each clan and vampire of importance in the city. A remarcable historical und fantastical work. Make your imagination goes free trought this historical city.



3. Okay, this is an older book, intended for use in the original Vampire: the Dark Ages, but it still is an excellent source for use in a revised Dark Ages: Vampire game. Just mess with the time line a bit and adjust the NPC stats and your pretty much set. This book bascially covers the undead night life in Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Basically, Constantinople is ruled by an unholy trinity of ancient vampires (Michael the Toreador, the Dracon of the Tzimisce and Antonious the Ventrue), and is horribly mired in plots and conspiracies of the undead. The introduction gives you some basic information on life (and unlife) in Byzantium, and a few recommended sources which I strongly recommend you read if you want to learn anything about the Byzantine empire.
   The next two chapters cover History and Geography, in that order. The section on history presents a (somewhat brief) overview of Byzantine history, including events involving the undead in the city of Constantinople. The timeline goes all the way up to 1204 AD, but the main setting is supposed to be 1197. However, as I said, storytellers can feel free to alter the setting or time line however they please (indeed, the history section even includes a side bar about alternative histories). The next chapter, geography, covers all the important (and interesting) areas of Constantinople, as well as some brief mention of Asia Minor, Greece, Crete, Maceadonia, Thessaly, Thrace, Bulgaria, the Balkans and the Aegean Sea.
   The next chapter goes into politics and literally Byzantine alliances between the three major factions in Constantinople, as well as numerous minor factions. The main idea here is that each of the elders (Michael, the Dracon and Antonious) have created their own families, with smaller lineages pledging fealty to them. Hence, the major clans are the Michaelite Toreador, Antonian Ventrue and Draconian Tzimisce. Each smaller lineage owes loyalty to one of them, such as the Children of Judas (Setites) and Magnus Orthodox Lasombra, who owe their loyalty to the Michaelite Toreador. Numerous smaller factions (which are not lineage based) are also presented, such as the Inconnu and the Dream Circle.
   The next chapter covers the undead denizens of the city, giving stats for many of them (including Micahel; fortunately no stats are given for the Dracon or Antonious) so you can add them as NPCs. Each clan is presented, along with the Baali, Salubri, Caitiff and even a Mage (who appearently has been embraced and become the Ravnos signature character by revised). Many of the characters are of high generation, so be warned. All of the characters are also provided with a note on their Future Fate as well. Following this are some plot ideas for STs, divided into three sections: the Son (stories for new players or characters not from Constantinople), the Father (the intrigue that grows as the Fourth Crusade approaches) or the Holy Ghost (mystery and the bizarre). Some of these plot ideas are actually pretty good too.
   And finally, the book closes with a simple map of Constantinople. Personally, I think this would have been a bit more helpful in the section on Geography, but thats just me. Anyway, if you can get your hands on this book, go for it. With just a bit of re-working, you can easily squeeze it into any Dark Ages: Vampire game.

2 comments about Laws of Elysium (Vampire: The Masquerade).

1. A comprhensive guide to elders in a L.A.R.P. format Laws of the Elysium is a must have for any one who is serious about Vampire role playing.



2. I have been an avid vamp roleplayer for a couple of years. In this time I have run into a lot of tough spots. What got me through them was this book. Whether it was a new discipline or ability, it helped. I thouroghly recomend this book.

1 comments about The Giovanni Chronicles II: Blood and Fire (Vampire: The Masquerade).

1. Need I say more . This book continues the great work done by woodruff. loved it

2 comments about Kult: Beyond the Veil (Kult Roleplaying Game).

1. Kult is the kind of role playing game that I used to hear about in high school! The kind of horror rpg that you hear whispered rumors about. It has devil worshipping! Read on though. We're talking about a game of gut wrenching horror that makes you want to turn on lights in the house not because its really scary. But because the concepts it raises within the confines of the game are. This isn't Vampire or Werewolf here its a game about normal people getting thier view of reality splatted across the landscape. Kult has had a checkered history to say the least. But the latest installment in the series is great for doing a Clive Barker Style campain. This isn't a game for children period. LET ME REPEAT- DON'T GET THIS FOR ANYONE WHO ISN'T 17 or OLDER.
   This is a game of True Occult horror whose introduction in a small way changed the horror rpg field forever. It never caught on this side of the pond but it has a cult status among us who love the genre. The art is so so but the content is excellent. Do me & yourself a favor buy this book. Take some of it with a ton of salt.Thank God it isn't D20 but thats another review.



2. Kult - Beyond the Veil
   From Seventh Circle Games
   Reviewed by PeterAmthor
   
   Beyond the Veil is the second English book released from Seventh Circle for the Kult RPG line. The first was a players guide called Rumours that came out over a year ago. Originally this book was to be the GMs guide but with the delay of its release it appears that they have instead turned it into a core rulebook for the game. Which is fine by me.
   
   Originally this was said to be a hardback. But, according to their distributor, there was a mix-up in communication with the printer and it was done in soft cover instead. I'm not to overly concerned about this since 35 dollars for a 300+ role playing game is not a bad price to pay in today's market.
   
   First off the cover is quite nice looking with art by Didier Florentz. The back has a nice run of description about the theme of the game and the section of the book itself. Another blurb near the bottom states that this edition contains the complete Magic system including the Conjurer's guides. This is one excellent step up from the 2nd edition version of the book, which did not include the details of the magic system that provides a lot of the flavor to Kult. There is an inside flap for each cover, the front one lists the table of contents and the back lists the credits. I thought this was a neat little touch that ended up looking very well.
   
   It is illustrated throughout in black and white with a lot of grayscale. Most of the art is stock from the previous editions and the collectible card game. The grayscale has an odd affect on various pieces that were originally used in full color on the card game. But by owning a complete set of the CCG and its expansion I will say that some of them look better in this medium than in full color. But there are a few that loose some appeal at the same time. The borders of every page are the same with a new design that tries to capture some of the mood of the game. It shows various occult objects, a partial skeleton and archways near the top. The amount of space it takes up is not that great and helps give a uniform look to the pages.
   
   The layout is clean and simple. Standard double column with inserted pictures and charts. It stays consistent throughout so there is no variance.
   
   Section one: The Lie.
   
   This part of the book begins with a general description of the game world a quick overview of the basics of the cosmology. A lot of this is stock, word for word, from previous editions. But it is necessary and is probably about as well written as one could get. The rest of the section covers character creation, how skill checks work, combat and experience. Everything needed, system wise, to run the game is present so no one should have a problem in that area.
   
   Here is a quick overview of the game mechanics. Characters have a skill rating from 1 to 20, the goal is to roll a twenty sided die under that number. The further under the number the better you did. There are also rules for automatic successes, perfect and disastrous rolls. Combat works pretty much the same way except you check the difference on a chart for a bonus or negative to a weapons DEF stat, this helps determine the amount of damage done.
   
   There are also advantages and disadvantages. Advantages are beneficial to your character in the game and mentally while the disadvantages are detrimental to your character in both aspects. They do this by affecting the characters mental balance. The higher you go the more stable minded they are with a better chance of controlling themselves. While the lower they are the more unstable the characters become mentally and their control continues to slip away.
   
   I do have a few complaints in this section though. One is the presence of only nine archetypes. Although this is remedied on the Seventh Circle website with a pdf download of fourteen more. The skill list is incomplete to match the character sheet provided in the book. Basically the character sheet is the one from Rumours that had a more extensive skill list. Either the character sheet could've been changed or those skill descriptions included.
   
   Section two: The Rumors.
   
   In this section we have the details of creating characters that are beyond the normal level of humanity. They purchase various powers at the cost of gaining limitations. This enables the creation of such things such as vampires, werewolves or an endless variety of creatures.
   
   After that is an area talking about how to handle terrifying events and how they affect the characters themselves. When confronted with terror or something completely out of the laws of reality there is a chance that the mind of the PC could be affected. This could put them into a state of shock, cause them to flee in terror or drop their mental balance lower. When ones mental balance starts dropping there is a chance of gaining new disadvantages or, if they are already down pretty low, physical changes could occur. Also the lower your mental balance the harder it is to cope with some of these events, so be wary.
   
   Following that is the section covering a lot more rules of damage. This is mostly the damage that occurs from things such as electrocution, suffocation, fire, smoke, falling and others. Also covered here are the rules for drugs and poisons.
   
   Time and travel covers how to work time scale within the game. From actions to combat rounds to how much distance a character can cover. General information in other words.
   
   Finally there is the section covering magic. In the Kult world magic works through long and complicated rituals that test the mind and body of the caster. This is no easy feat and those who practice magic are dedicated to it more than anything else in their lives. It all falls into five categories called the Lore's, they are as follows: Death, Time/Space, Passion, Madness and Dream. I feel that the magic an essential element if just to get the person running the game into the right mind set of the setting. Not only did they include the complete system in this edition, but they also included all the extra material that was released in the Conjurers Guides for 2nd edition.
   
   Besides the Lore's you also have seven occult sciences that help the conjurers unravel the way the world works. Each has their own special abilities and information on how to use them in the game. Here there are also eleven more archetypes for those who wish to play a ritualist.
   
   Each ritual is detailed with information on the necessary equipment, protective circles, gestures, visualization and much more needed to perform them. The more the ritual dose the longer it takes for a character to perform. The longer it takes to perform the more of a toll it takes on the conjurer's body through endurance loss.
   
   Section three: The Truth
   
   Finally is the section of the book that lays out the true reality of the world of Kult. I will not go into great detail here because it may take away some of the surprise of new players. But I will cover a few basics.
   
   The Illusion. Mankind is trapped within a prison that we cannot see, one that exists all around us always. We see only what we are supposed to see. But that prison is starting to have cracks in its walls. The true reality is being exposed a little at a time and there are those who can find their way through them.
   
   Metropolis, the eternal city. Our former home, a city that all cities are based off of since it is engrained within our subconscious, one that we want to reclaim. It's streets are endless, it's dangers are overwhelming at times, but in it are the secrets that may set us free.
   
   Inferno. Where are souls go after we die. The hell where our former memories are purged from our minds so we can be reborn into the world.
   
   The Demiurge. The god who imprisoned us in the Illusion long ago, who is now missing, and without him the illusion crumbles. Astaroth the Demiurges dark half, the ruler of Inferno, who hates mankind. The Archons, former servants of the Demiurge, who are now fighting among each other to see who will become the new leader among them. The Death Angels, the opposites of the Archons, who fight a similar battle as their counterparts.
   
   There are various creatures that exist between the various worlds. Some stalk us down, while others wish to rule over us, each with their own end goals. A few have the ability to warp the Illusion itself.
   
   Finally there is the truth of humanity. The fact that we all used to be gods in our own rights, with powers beyond anything we could imagine. There are those who have found their lost divinity called the Awakened.
   
   All of the detail of the world and its creatures is crammed, and I mean crammed, into eighty or so pages. There is plenty here for source material to run an endless amount of games with, all with very little chance of repetition. It is all quite a read and it will take some time to take it all in.
   
   Following all of this there is a gamemasters section on how to run the game itself. With notes on how to handle combat, rules, horror affects and other such things. Information on how to set up and run a campaign and keep it flowing. Finally ending with an introductory adventure called `Frozen Moments' that was originally presented in the 2nd edition rulebook.
   
   A few problems to note at the end.
   
   There is no index. With a world with this much detail, creatures, places and other information an index is almost a necessity. I feel that this will make it a little tougher on first time Kult GM's using this book.
   
   The character sheet. There are numerous problems with the character sheet itself. First off is the presence of skills that are not in the book as noted earlier. The weapon slots are set up for the first edition combat rules that don't use the DEF stat. In the armor section there aren't slots for the protection type of the armor. Add into that the gray scale pictures in the background make the character sheet very photocopy unfriendly. But you can use a character sheet from the 2nd edition rules since they are fully compatible. These are available on a few Kult fan sites online.
   
   So in the end I recommend this book to anybody interested playing in this type of dark horror game. By the rules it can be used to run several types of horror from splatter punk to psychological terror. The rules are complete and the few errors here and there do not break the system or even come close to it.

No comments about Victorian Age: Vampire Companion.

1 comments about Mexico City by Night (Vampire: the Masquerade).

1. This sourcebook describes the Sabbat's capital city. It reads like most Vampire city source books and has a ton of information on the Sabbat that live there. Though it isn't as good as Montreal by Night, it still serves as a valuable resource for the Sabbat. Considering the fact that it describes the one city that will never fall to the Camarilla. Montreal by Night created a sense of gloom and mystery, this book overwhelms the reader with its long sections on the various vampires. There are still plenty of story hooks in the book, but none seemed to be as serious as the ones presented in Montreal by Night, except of course the stories regarding the Sabbat Regent.

1 comments about Counsel of Primogen.

1. Normally I enjoy taking turns ripping White Wolf apart for their inability to write consistantly from book to book. In one book you read that the Giovanni are at war with the Sabbat and the next you read that it's all pin feathers and gullyfluff. Or the Ventrue are in league with the Shadowlords only to find out that it's about to be creatively writtenout of existance.

   That actually does not happen here and I am -quite- happy. White Wolf has long supported it's clans, tribes, sects, etc with volumes of novels and suppliments, but never anything quite as definative as this.

   This book takes a long hard look at subject material longing for a hard edge break down. The Primogen Council and it's officers. While this book does the standard White Wolf about face at times (like never truly defining if certain clans can or cannot have Primogen)it does leave all sorts of possibilities. One of the gems of this book is it's break down of how the council works in tandem with the Prince of a city. It's most helpful when you are in a large group of gamers and find yourself debating the semantics of in-character Camarilla politics.

   One of the nice touches (and makes it useful for the other suppliments from Vampire) is the history they give behind the idea of the "Primogenature" and the formation thereof. Making it useful for people who want to use Dark Ages: Vampire or Victoria Age Vampire.

   I gave it 4 instead of 5 because once again, White Wolf tossed in a couple of concepts in the book that they will probably never follow up on. They should flesh out their plot hook and define them. Don't use them for filler or eye candy for rule mongering players.

   While I only gave it 4 stars I would HIGHLY recommend this book for -anyone- trying to form a solid Camarilla Vampire game. I would also recommend this book to newer players as a means of learning the inner workings of kindred politics.

   With a few minor flaws, this is a book that should be added to any serious Vampire player's library