5 comments about *OP Clanbook: Toreador (Revised Ed) (Vampire: The Masquerade Clanbooks).

1. This is a good book with some problems. Unfortunately, it doesn't have all the features usually included in the new CLANBOOK series. There are discipline variations and noteworthy Toreador but no merits and flaws. By contrast, the original CLANBOOK: TOREADOR stood out in terms of features offered including an impressive merits and flaws list. (Some resurface in the DARK AGES Toreador material in LIBELLUS SANGUINEUS II.) The original also included the often referenced legend of Toreador and Nosferatu (new CLANBOOK: NOSFERATU and DRAGON ASCENDANT). If this new CLANBOOK series is intended to replace the original, it should have been here. The new CLANBOOK: NOSFERATU, for example reused much important material from its original but, for some reason, the new TOREADOR resists that.

   The book offers two perspectives on Toreador history- one from a recently awakened Medieval elder (ignorant of modern BOOK OF NOD scholarship) and another from a young, African Toreador. Other Toreador give insiders' perspectives. These various voices are differentiated but often not starkly enough (despite intriguing multicultural names) to add interest.

   The text is, however, generally well written and engaging. Between post-modern aesthetic theory (yes, really) and political ruminations, there is interesting discussion of African Toreador, the Toreador strategy of encouraging others to underestimate their clan and welcome development of the Toreadors' relationship with the mortal world. Apparently, Toreador can use their absorption in beauty and involvement with mortals to prevent degeneration of their own humanity. Involvement in the mortal world even gives them a different, more human, more urgent time sense.

   There is relatively little about Toreador antitribu beyond a player character template for a follower of the Path of Cathari (apparently- they misspelled "Cathari" and listed incorrect virtues). Unfortunately, this antitribu character is a rather generic Sabbat. (See MONTREAL BY NIGHT for better Cathari characters.)




2. I've been an avid player of V:tM for a few years now and I think that in contrast to the first clanbook, I think this one has a little more to it. I own both books and was extremely happy to see the added features to the new book. Although I was a tad bit upset over the lack of certain elements. I think that if you indeed, decide to purchase this book, also get the older version.



3. I have to admit, this is the first of the new Clanbooks that genuinely disappointed me. I pored over Tzimisce, Ventrue, and Lasombra, and was delighted with what I found in Tremere and the others I've seen. In contrast to the non-Revised edition, I found Clanbook: Toreador to be a pale imitation. As other reviewers have stated, gone are the additional Merits and Flaws of the first edition. Similarly, the guidelines for creative expression in the game, which provided an interesting framework to see if artistic pieces met with the standards of their creator, have similarly been removed. I'm sure an argument could be made that they were overly mechanical in their treatment of art, but it's nice to have a framework to examine, even if individual Storytellers or players disagreed with the system.

   There's been a recent move in the Revised Edition Vampire books to make ancient history more nebulous, which is probably a good decision. Not every Clanbook has to reveal the ultimate secrets of the Antedilluvians, but the Revised Toreador book heads too far in this direction, I believe. The history insinuates that famous figures from Greece and Rome were Toreador, seeming to fly in the face of the Revised Edition's move *away* from making every celebrity a Vampire.

   The medieval elder who narrates the clan's ancient history spins a yarn that I'm sure was designed to shake up our conceptions of what Noddist history is all about... but just ends up falling a little flat. There isn't enough there to make me think we have the story wrong... only enough discrepancies to make me believe our first-person narrator is misinformed. Similarly, the focus on moving away from Eurocentric conceptions of Toreador is overdone. What was handled elegantly in Clanbook: Tzimisce Revised (with its treatment of Indian and African methusalehs), now reads like a sophomoric attempt to apologize for previous editions by overly focusing on Africa. There's little to no treatment of Toreador in the Middle East, ignoring a fascinating period of the Toreador's development that the Dark Ages books are expanding almost monthly.

   In the end, Clanbook Toreador Revised failed disastrously for me. It's the first of the Revised Clanbooks that I wouldn't recommend to anyone, and would instead direct you to its predecessor.




4. The best thing about the revised clanbooks is that they are mainly focused on improving the game's setting and literature.

   Clanbook: Toreador is not an exception. Compared to the previous clanbook, this one almost brings no mechanics and game systems. I think this is OK, since in the main Storyteller rulebooks we already have more rules than we might be able to explore in a lifetime.

   As a storyteller, what I really expect from a clanbook is to give me a deeper view on the clan, and this book does it very well.

   The text is mature and intelligent, and avoids wasting much time with silly statements such as "the Toreador divide themselves into two groups, the Artists and the Poseurs", and things like that.

   The reading is also interesting and fun. This Clanbook tells us a lot and still keeps many things mysterious, as it should be.

   Read the original clanbook too, if you like. You will find some useful rules and system that are completely absent here.

   But, if roleplaying is the most important part of the game for you, and if you like to have a good time reading, this one is the book for you.

   It's an inspiring and charming view on the most passionate of clans.




5. The best thing about the revised clanbooks is that they are mainly focused on improving the game's setting and literature.

   Clanbook: Toreador is not an exception. Compared to the previous clanbook, this one almost brings no mechanics and game systems. I think this is OK, since in the main Storyteller rulebooks we already have more rules than we might be able to explore in a lifetime.

   As a storyteller, what I really expect from a clanbook is to give me a deeper view on the clan, and this book does it very well.

   The text is mature and intelligent, and avoids wasting much time with silly statements such as "the Toreador divide themselves into two groups, the Artists and the Poseurs", and things like that.

   The reading is also interesting and fun. This Clanbook tells us a lot and still keeps many things mysterious, as it should be.

   Read the original clanbook too, if you like. You will find some useful rules and system that are completely absent here.

   But, if roleplaying is the most important part of the game for you, and if you like to have a good time reading, this one is the book for you.

   It's and inspiring and charming view on the most passionate of clans.

5 comments about Ghouls (Vampire The Requiem - World Of Darkness - WOD).

1. This book is a great supliment for Vampire: The Requiem. It includes creation rules for starting ghoul characters in a World of Darkness chronicle.
   
   This book is a must for V:tR fans. There are many interesting supliments to ghoul characters, including ghoul family lines (much like vampire bloodlines), and even ghouled flora and fauna.



2. This is a very interesting, informative and entertaining read on ghouls. Especially good are the sections on ghoul families (expanded upon in the covenant books) and how to create/maintain a ghoul character.
   
   Recommended, even if it's a pretty specific subject matter.



3. Ghouls is a supplement for playing the daylight servitors, bodyguards, street informers, thugs and muscle of immortal vampires. Usually a vampire needs servants that can operate during the day, providing eyes and ears to the goings on of the mortal daylight world. However, being that vampire blood is highly addictive and carries with it mystical properties, playing these characters poses great role playing challenges to any troupe or chronicle. Overall, I'm glad to say that Ghouls is an excellent sourcebook on including ghouls in a chronicle that addresses most of the aspects of ghouls that Storytellers might be concerned with, and a few they might not have thought of before.
   
   The introduction of the book, as you might expect, gives an overview of what Ghouls contains. I found it odd that two paragraphs are devoted to explaining the World of Darkness, as though Ghouls might be someone's first WoD book. Also, in a section entitled "Ghoul Myth and Fact," which is said to be a "summary of the basic facts of ghouls existence," the author appears to be working from notes from the original WoD, as according to this section drinking three times from a vampire automatically makes someone a thrall, making no mention of how it is still possible (with good dice rolls) for someone to resist the Vinculum. Being in the primer on what it is to be a ghoul this mistake stands out quite a bit.
   
   The first chapter of the book discusses how it is a person becomes a ghoul, how disciplines work for ghouls, the way the various clans and covenants look at ghouls, and gives a look at animal ghouls, plant ghouls, and ghoul families. Consisting of 50 pages, this chapter is very, very good-except for the first 11 pages, which were so bad I had to put the book down every page or two, and seriously considered asking someone else to review the book, fearing the rest of the book would be like this.
   
   These 11 pages, covering what it is like to become a ghoul, how disciplines work for them, and how the clans see ghouls, do have a few nice bits. Mention is made of how ghouls feel real emotions, unlike the hollow echos that vampires have-a nice idea from the rulebook that I haven't seen addressed in any other supplement. And the threat of disease being transferred to a ghoul from a master is handled well, and little bits (such as how the temperature of a vampire's blood is cooler than a human's) can easily add to a chronicle's atmosphere.
   
   The second chapter concerns the creation of a ghoul character. New merits and derangements are included here, as well as rules on exactly how Disciplines use by ghouls differs from that of their vampire masters. One thing different from the Vampire rulebook is that here ghouls start with two points in Disciplines, to reflect characters created with the rules here are to be more experienced beings.
   
   Some space is devoted to explain the ghoul life, combining role-playing advice with the rules system that ghouls work from, and it's entertaining and helpful read. Even such things as the limits to enhanced vitality that come from ghouldom are covered, with explanation of how disease affects a ghoul; those thinking ghouldom is a cure to their physical ailments will be in for a shock.
   
   The subject of ghoul bloodlines is then covered. A portion of the section is devoted to the game system for both conception and maintaining a ghoul pregnancy. On the one hand, I like this being here so that once a Storyteller decides to allow players to try and create a bloodline there is an impartial rules system for these things to occur. On the other hand I crack up every time as I read over the charts and imagine telling a player "Well, you did synchronize your attempts at conception with her ovulation cycle, but she has the Protean discipline, so you end up getting no bonus dice on this conception roll."
   
   Further detail is given on the five ghoul families mentioned earlier, and each family has its own unique weakness and strength, such as reduced experience costs for certain merits or a mandatory derangement. I had a few minor quibbles with these descriptions, such as the Alley Men existing in large numbers as to be found worldwide, given the problems in ghoul procreation, and the Crassus are mentioned to have some choice in who their undead masters are, which goes against their earlier portrayal as slaves without rights to those Kindred who get to own them.
   
   The chapter rounds out with a little more on animal ghouls and lacrima, with rules given on how each clan's plant ghouls produce a different type of lacrima. It's interesting, but still doesn't do enough for me to be impressed by the plant ghouls.
   
   The third chapter of the book is devoted to storytelling ghouls. Covering such topics as the nifty things ghouls can do during the day for their masters and how to properly roleplay the Vinculum, as well as ways Storytellers can work ghouls into their campaign in ways other than having their players' vampires using them, this section is another excellent read, even if the idea does come up at one point that all ghouls voluntarily choose their state.
   
   The fourth chapter of the book has some ghouls a Storyteller can drop into their campaign. The problem of how to assign dots in the Retainer Merit based on how powerful a ghoul is brought up, but sadly is answered with the reader being told that no game mechanic exists to quantify it. You can tell me all the dice pool modifiers that can apply to trying to get a ghoul pregnant, you can't set up a rules system for this?
   
   
   The last chapter covers creating ghoul families, formulating a background to them, their unique flaws, how they might be structured, etc. This section wasn't as interesting to me as the previous chapters in the book, and I found myself flying through it as I read.
   
   I would like to comment on the art of the book. Other than the cover I felt the artwork of the book was of a consistently high standard, keeping in tune with the subject material and being consistently well-done throughout.
   
   All in all, I think Ghouls is an excellent addition to the World of Darkness. It gives a lot of useful advice, both rules-wise and setting-wise, and after reading it I feel very comfortable allowing my players to have ghouls in my chronicle.



4. I have often thought that the VAMPIRE lines can lapse into treating the stars (the vampires) as humans with super abilities and a few tough super vulnerabilities. Ghouls, that is the human blood slaves of vampires (think Renfield serving his master), serve as excellent foils for the inhumanity of vampires. The mistreated ghoul, the mentally abused ghoul, the tortured and mutilated ghoul bring into sharp relief the fact that vampires are no longer part of humanity. Just as people have few qualms about the suffering of lower life, so too vampires use people as servants, blood donors, and as one-sided relationships to staisfy whatever lingering human needs a vampire still experiences.
   
   Make no mistake, there's some really debased content in this book. It describes how vampires interact with and treat their blood-servants, which includes torture, mutilation, emotional sexual and physical abuse, and any other kind of messed up abuse you can imagine. I think the authors successfully portray the ghouls as victims so that the readers identify with the ghoul's suffering rather than the vampire's power trip.
   
   The core-book explains the mechanics of a vampire making a ghoul, but GHOULS also describes how to make ghoul characters. The idea of playing a ghouls game is an interesting one. There's also plenty of information on how the different covenants and clans view and treat ghouls, how to make bloodlines of ghouls, and how to play games using ghoul characters. There is also information on creating ghouls of animals or plants (!)
   
   So, I found this to be a very interesting supplement. Beyond the role-playing aspect of creating ghouls in-game, there is also playing a game where some or all are ghouls. I had never given it much thought before, but playing ghoul characters seemed like an interesting twist on the game (and this part is very well documented). All the parts on mistreatment of ghouls seems very useful to me in portraying the vile depths to which vampires regularly sink. Vampires seem much more monstrous to me now than before I read GHOULS.



5. It is not the most necessary book in the V:tR series but it does show Kindred in a much darker light and gives much more details about ghouls.

2 comments about New York by Night (Vampire: the Masquerade).

1. This book is what you need to run a good chronicle in NYC.
   It covers all you need to know about the city through the eyes of the kindred, including:
   a brief history of the city as the kindred know it, a full guide to new yorks "hot spots" (including maps of the boroughs and even the subway!), a big section dedicated to the storyteller characters, including some surprisingly familiar faces ;)
   and more
   I recomend this book with all my heart, VIVA NEW YORK!



2. This book skipped all of the interesting things I was looking forward too in a New York book. You'd be better to invest in a travel guide of the city. There was so much opportunity to make this book come alive with faction feuds, garou tie ins (did they forget they already published a new york book? 'Rage across New York") or maybe even an interesting character of two.

1 comments about *OP Three Pillars (Vampire: The Dark Ages (Paperback)).

1. This book provides lots of background for Vampire: the Dark Ages. It has what's going on with the different classes (Nobility, Clergy, and Peasantry) also it has background on the Italian City-States which was the largest cities at the time and allows the GM to have large campains that's in the city and in the countryside. It was a great start for my Venice game and recomend it for other GM's that want to set their game in or around Italy.

2 comments about Wind From East Mongols (Vampire: The Dark Ages).

1. Wind From the East is an interesting and informative addition to White Wolf's hugely popular World of Darkness books. Giving information about the Mongol Hordes, it allows you to expand and enrich any of the games you play in the Dark Ages setting. It adds new possible plot elements, as well as loads of new character ideas, and some stuff that, like any White Wolf RPG Sourcebook, just generally makes for a good read.

   As I stated earlier, Wind from the East focuses on the Mongols, but also allows for other easterners, namely the Kuei-Jin and a werewolf tribe called the Stargazers, to be added into your stories. It also gives you some insight into what the east was like in the Dark Ages and allows for whole chronicles there. This book is great and keeps White Wolf's tradition of awesome Sourcebooks going.




2. Following on the steps of Wolves of the Sea comes this source book for adding Mongol vampires to your Dark Ages game. Although originally written for Vampire: the Dark Ages, it was so close to revised that there is no real need to change anything for Dark Ages: Vampire.
   This is an excellent book, intended for both Cainites and Kuei-jin. After a nice little work of opening fiction, the book gives us some basic ideas of the theme, mood and the like, including a brief primer on Kuei-jin and the Middle Kingdom (helps to have Kindred of the East here). There is also a Mongolian lexicon, some recommended books, magazines (pull out those back issues of National Geographic), films (including Aleksander Nevsky! Woohoo!) and even websites. All useful if you want more info about the Mongols and their doings.
   The next chapter is the good stuff, covering the history, geography and culture of the Mongols. Theres lots of juicy tidbits on mythology, food and drink and all that other stuff that better helps you understand the Mongols as an actual culture rather than as a "horde of barbarians". Brief notes are even made about various Mongol tribes! There is also a timeline of the Mongol invasion, and even a map of the Mongol empire, compared to some of its contemporaries. A good chunk of this covers Ghengis Khan, but theres other stuff as well. Beyond this, there is also some information on other empires such as Russia, Persia and China; all of whom are threatened by the Mongols.

   The next chapter covers things from a vampiric perspective. A brief overview is given of all the Cainite clans (and some bloodlines) and how they react to the Mongols. Some clans, like the Assamites in Khwarazm and the Tzimisce in Russia find their territories threatened by the Mongol horde. Others, like Gangrel and Ravnos, find wandering with the Horde to be to their liking. Next we are given some notes on two other bloodlines exclusive to the Mongol empire. One is the Anda, a bloodline of Mongol and Central Asian Gangrel that has wandered the Steppe for milennia. The other, the Wu Zao, are forgotten Salubri that Salout abandonned in Asia.
   Also in this Chapter are details on the Kuei-jin. The Kindred of the East have long claimed all of Asia as their domain and do not take kindly to outsiders, like the Anda, in their midst. This section covers the traditions and beliefs of the Black Tortoise Court, including some prominent corpse families and their interesting relations with the Hengeyokai and spirits of the earth. Following this is a chapter on mechanics and other juicy stuff. Some unique Animalism powers are given for the Anda, and some unique Mongol rites are given for the Black Tortoise Court. Also given are some new Merits and Flaws and a new path, focusing on Mongol concepts of honor and warfare. Some information is also given for combat and the like as well.
   The book closes out with some pre-made characters, some of which are quite interesting like the yam courier and the wise woman. Some sample NPCs are given in the back as well. However, there is a definate focus on Cainites over Kuei-jin here.
   All in all, this is an excellent source book for including Mongol characters. Enough stuff is given where you could even use this for playing other supernaturals like Mongol Dreamspeakers, Sons of Tengri, Hengeyokai, Shadow Lords, hsien, Eshu and who knows what else. The possibilities are really endless. If you want a historical game with Mongols, you really should get this book.

3 comments about Jerusalem by Night (Vampire: The Dark Ages).

1. I must admit a book like this has been needed long ago. I myself prefer to play Vampire, the Dark Ages over Vampire, the Masquerade. The book shows Jerusalem as the center of faith in the dark ages, which is somewhat true since to all of the three main religons in the world, Jerusalem is a city of holy importance. How can a vampire survive with all this faith around? How much of the vampire's faith is twisted for the character to survive? The book gives a decent picture of the past situation of the religons involved with some twists. Highly recommended.



2. As an avid player of Vampire, a history major specializing in the ancient near east as an undergraduate, and now as a graduate student studying biblical studies, I was very excited when I got my hands on Jerusalem by Night. Jerusalem certainly is a great place to set a vampire game, and I thought this book would open up the door to a lot of ideas for a campaign.

   However, the book is lacking in many key areas. Most specifically, the history section of the book, in which over 2000 years are summed up in a few dozen pages, is some of the most dry and uninspiring writing I have ever read in a white-wolf product. Concepts are sketchy at best, mostly glossed over, and of questionable accuracy. In addition, there is almost no attempt by the author to tie vampires into the history--only some feeble mentioning of vampiric activity that was misinterpreted as acts of God or the introduction of a character only to say that said character came to the city at this time. The vampires do not seem to manipulate Jerusalem as they do other cities.

   Another complaint I have is the way in which the author defines the religious groups of mortals who live in the city without going into detail on any of them. We don't know who controls the groups, what they want, how they operate, etc. And some ways in which they are defined is not only incorrect, but offensive to those groups. Take, for example, the name by which the author refers to Jews. He routinely calls them "Followers of Yahweh". While technically that may be correct (as God's name is given as Yahweh in the Torah/Old Testament), Jews are forbidden to use the name of God in speech and would refer to him only as God (in Hebrew: Elohim) or Lord (Hebrew: Adonai). If they were reading God's name, they would say only "The Name" (Hebrew: ha-Shem). When referring to them, you should say Hebrews, Israelites, Children of Israel, or Jews, depending on when in their history you are referring.

   My final complaint is that in one of the oldest cities in the world, the author does nothing with the myriad of possibilities tying vampires to the religious world. I am not sure if he was afraid to offend or if he just lacks true vision of what could have been.

   All in all, this book takes what could have been a great concept for a campaign and does not do anything with it. It is dry and inaccurate, and doesn't really give you too much to work with. The only value I see in it is that it does give you some non-player characters to steal for your game, but that is not enough to make it worth it. Do yourself a favor, if you want to run a game in medieval Jerusalem, go and by a basic history book on the city and make up your own stuff about the vampires who populate it. Your money will be much better spent.




3. This slightly outdated setting book for Vampire: the Dark Ages covers Jerusalem before the Fourth Crusade. If your following the Dark Ages metaplot (as presented in Dark Ages: Vampire and the Bitter Crusade) then this book might need a bit of an overhaul. If your just using it as a general guide book, then its not as big a deal. Anyway, after an average peice of fiction the book gives the standard introduction. A short list of recommended reading and some common Arabic terms are given as well, but nothing you couldn't find elsewhere.

   The bookest strongest point is the first chapter, a very brief history of Jerusalem from the Hebrews onward to the Dark Ages timeframe from a vampire point of view. Brief mention is made of periods of Roman, Muslim and Latin rule, and its chock full of interesting little quotes and sidenotes. However, I really feel like such an ancient city deserved to have a bit more... mystery, exoticism or even more supernatural elements. The next chapter focuses on society and religion, going into overviews of Judaism, Islam and Christianity (including mention of the non-Catholics in the Middle East such as the Nestorians, Greeks and Armenians). The most interesting part was some information on how Cainites follow Islam and Judaism, particularly about getting around the prohibitions about consuming blood.

   The next chapter, Geography, was another strong point for the book and detailed the many sites infused by True Faith in the city. It then goes on to give profiles and stats for a variety of Cainites in Jerusalem, sorted by clan. It was interesting to see how the clans are almost all split between Muslims and Christians and some characters (like a dog-like Gangrel methusaleh, an out of place Viking, al-Hakim and the Bashirite Ravnos) were quite interesting. Most however struck me as so-so but thats just me. The book then closes out with some useful advice for running chronicles set in Medieval Jerusalem.

   With the writing of the Bitter Crusade, games set in Jerusalem are going to be a little different. Still this is a decent book for running games in Jerusalem before the fourth Crusade. My only comments are that it doesn't cover enough culture, history or religion. Other supplements (like Veil of Night and Libellus Sanguinus III) cover the region even better, or better yet you could even go to your library and do research on the Middle East, Jerusalem and the Crusades and come up with more stuff. But if you come across this book its still worth taking a look.

1 comments about *OP MET: Sabbat Guide (Mind's Eye Theatre).

1. If your looking for new disciplines, rules and additions, then go somewhere else. If your looking for a dark look into the mind and motives of a Sabbat member; then this is your book. The Sabbat guide answers long awaited questions, and expands on this dark sect, without making you go back and recreate your character due to totally new rules. All in all, a good book.

3 comments about Libellus Sanguinis 3: Wolves at the Door.

1. I was nerviously awaiting this book. I had hoped byond hope that it would give a better representation of my favorite clan in the Dark Ages setting than the original Clanbook for the modern setting. Needless to say I purchased the book as soon as it was available, and I was taken away as I dove into the first section. I feel in love with Clan Gangrel all over again. The feel of the introductory tale gave both the feel I believe is Dark Ages and the smooth but violent purpose of nature's predators of the night. The rest of the book also holds the World of Darkness's history from some of the farthest points from the Dark Ages eurocentric world. Tales and truths decorate the Assimites' Islamic culture as well as the the Setites' Egyptian name-based society. The book was wonderous, but it was all icing on the cake for me after the woodland feel of the Gangrel world. Now all I have to wait for is the forth book in this series so I may know more about the feud between the Gangrel and Ravnos.



2. Continuing WW's Libellus Sanguinus series, which details three Dark Ages vampire clans per book, this book details the three non-European clans in the Dark Ages setting. Essentially, each book is a mini-clanbook, covering the clan's history, outlooks, practices and disciplines during the Dark Ages. Considering that my favorite clans are covered in this book, I found it very exciting.
   After an introduction saying what is in the book and why, we get to the first section, "Animals", which covers the feral and animalistic Gangrel barbarians. Probably the shortest book in this collection, it goes from the Gangrel's distant roots on the steppes of Central Asia to the Dark Ages, covering the Gangrel's outlook and practices like the revel and the survival test new embraces are subjected to. A brief section on views on other Clans and the wild places in Europe is followed by a section full of game mechanics, from wilderness oriented Merits and Flaws to new Protean and mixed discipline powers. It closes out with two new bloodlines (Greek Gangrel and the Mariners), brief mention on the "animal forms" that different Gangrel might assume and a few sample templates. There is also a "dark secret" concerning the Gangrel's connection to the Ravnos.
   Following this is the chapter on the Assamites, which did quite a bit to clear up old stereotypes. After a really cool fiction piece, we get to learn about the Children of Haqim, from their homelands in Arabia, Persia and North Africa to distant Iberia, Byzantium and even into India, Asia and Africa. This is followed by some info on Alamut, Haqim's whereabouts and other clan specific info, as well as a nice section on the Clan's relatiosnhip to religions (and Viae). No longer is the Clan stereotypically associated with Islam, but now with many religions from Christianity and Judaism to distant Eastern religions to the ancient faiths of Greece and Persia. After getting Haqim's Laws (the Assamites code as it were) and views on other clans, it also goes into detail on the three Assamite castes: the Warriors (not just assassins, but also soldiers, judges, hunters and strategists), Sorcerers (specialists in Mid-Eastern magic) and Viziers (scholars, theologians, politicians and artists), as well as the clan's organization and secret societies.
   Some really neat mechanics (like the Multicultural Merit, Quietus powers and some more info on Assamite blood magic) were included, as well as really original character templates, like th Sea Witch and the Reluctant Crusader. The Assamite's "dark secret" involves the Clan's connections, real and imagined, to the Hashashyinn and is a suprisingly clever twist.
   The final chapter, "Serpents", focuses on the Followers of Set, and finally connects them to Egyptian magic and mythology. The Setites are presented as crusaders on a holy task, no longer mere tempters and corrupters. And they don't believe in Caine like other vampires, literally believing in Egyptian mythology and religion. The Setite backstory goes that they believe they are liberating man (and vampires) from the oppressive tyranny of Ma'at (law or balance). Info on the Setite's history, doings in Egypt and beyond, as well as the schism between the older Egyptian priesthood and the younger Decadents (primarily in Byzantium and Europe) were also really neat.
   There were also plenty of mechanics for running Setites. Aside from the Merits and Flaws, there was also more information on Setite blood magics, including a new Path. There was also a new Via (Via Serpentis), designed off attaining the "original" or "natural" state of man, and it is presented as the ORIGINAL Setite Via. Pretty cool stuff. The character templates weren't bad but didn't particularly interest me. The dark secret for the Setites, involving a dark conspiracy concerning the Assamites, Setites and Baali, was pretty neat, but not really unexpected. Overall, this was an excellent book and a long needed overhaul for all three Clans really. Check it out, even if you don't use the Dark Ages setting.



3. Good source book for clans Gangrel, Assamites, and Followers of Set. Had new merits and flaws like nameless, pied piper, lokis gift. New higher level disciplines for protean, also has Assamite sorcery, and a new discipline for Setites calledimmanence of set...but its really setite sorcery.

1 comments about Liege, Lord, and Lackey (Vampire: The Dark Ages Companions).

1. LL&L is the Year of the Ally book for Vampire: the Dark Ages. While I'm a fan of White Wolf, this product doesn't offer much to make it stand out from the "average" WW sourcebook. Sure, you get the nice art on the cover and the interior, but you expect that from WW. What's important is the substance.

   Liege, Lord, and Lackey does have substance. After the expected opening piece of fiction, you get an entire chapter on how each Clan treats its ghouls and retainers (and why sometimes you don't want to be a ghoul, or to ghoul all of your allies) and what kinds of followers they tend to attract. It can be useful for kickstarting the imaginations of GMs and players, although a lot of it could be inferred from other books (specifically Ghouls: the Fatal Addiction). The chapter is amusing to read, though. Each Clan gets its own paragraph or two of flavor text (to borrow a term from CCGs).

   The second chapter is a fairly in-depth explanation of how medieval society works in the WoD, which can be useful for those of us who aren't familiar with "realistic" medieval society or who don't want to lug their copies of Pendragon or old Ars Magica supplements to our Vampire games. The information has a good home here, although it probably would have been better placed in the main rules (perhaps distilled and replacing that wierd bit of text on vampires building labyrinths). Bits in this chapter include criminals, the poor, Jews, and explain just what the heck a seneschal does. Important stuff if you want to run in Medieval England instead of the Forgotten Realms. Tips for all-Ally chronicles and adventures round out the chapter.

   The third chapter is character creation, and again I'm left with the question "Why would I want to play a mortal in Vampire?" Sure, there's new Hedge Magic (how about just publishing one book with all the hedge magic in it and then dropping it?) and a couple of new merits and flaws which would be useful in the game even if it's rather unclear why a character would be soothing *only* to Frenzying vampires. And new skills, of course.

   The fourth chapter explains the other Creatures of the Night (or early dusk) and what kind of servants they make (pretty poor ones, in general). It's nothing revolutionary, although it turns out that werewolves can be Blood Bound in the Dark Ages, but not in the modern world. At least one White Wolf staffer has said this is not an accident or a mistake. Hm....

   If you're interested in playing or running a Ghoul-heavy Dark Ages campaign, you might want to pick this one up (along with "Ghouls", which is referenced at least once that I remember). If you're only interested in the bits on the functioning of medieval society, there was an Ars Magica supplement called, IIRC, The Medieval Handbook (or maybe Guidebook) that went into much more detail, it just may be hard to find since that was a couple of editions ago. A better route for White Wolf might have been to make a Dark Ages World of Darkness book and then puff up Ghouls a little more with a few paragraphs of Dark Ages information. As it stands, though, LL&L is a useful if not great supplement for V:tDA.

5 comments about *OP Children of the Night (Vampire, the Masquerade).

1. I found the information in this book very useful, however I don't think that it was necessary to give this much detail on some major powers in the world of the Vampires and taking that power from the individual Storytellers.



2. This is a wonderful gallery of important storyteller run characters, with full stats and background histories that give a good feel for the characters' personality and outlook. There are exquisite portraits of each character by artist Christopher Shy (which earned this book another whole star from me.)

   The book still does maintain mystery about powerful figures like Caine (of course) or the Regent of the Sabbat (no more information about her or her predecessor either, apparently) but they have some really well detailed Sabbat cardinals as well as the current crop of Camarilla justicars and their archons. Some of these are characters who have been mentioned in past source books but never detailed. (The Gangrel Xaviar, for example, or Cardinal Strathcona.) There is also an independents section with examples of the Inconnu monitors for various cities. They assume that you can fiddle with these as needed and provide a basic formula for calculating the typical level of abilities for ancient vampires so that storytellers can make their own.

   My main nit to pick with this book is the fact that the selection of the characters listed seems arbitrary. Some are favorites culled existing source books and fleshed out or updated here. Others seem to have been made up just for this book, perhaps because there are future plans for them in or because they would seem to make interesting story hooks or because they are examples of a bloodline or character type. There seems to be a disproportionate number of Assamites- even a Methusalah whose stats are supposed to be mere suggestions of what it can do. (I guess they have plans....) Omissions are curious, too. Theo Bell is here, for example, (he's an archon) but Jan Pieterzoon is not. There are Setites but not Hesha. Or how about this- three of the four figures on the cover are Anatole, Lucita and Beckett. Their stats are NOT GIVEN in the book (? ) but those for Lucita's friend Fatima are given (she's an Assamite, right?) And these are just examples.

   So go figure. But don't worry. You'll find lots of uses for what's here.




3. This is an excellent resource, but, as stated in the book itself, if your players characters are powerful veterans, these archtypes don't have a chance against a PC with a Shotgun and Level 7 Celerity, but if you're players are mature, which they should be if they've played long enough to achieve Level 7 Anything, its wonderful to roleplay politics within the World of Darkness and this book helps a lot with the key NPC's.



4. This book contains detailed backgrounds and portraits of some of the most powerful cainites around. While some of the vampires such as caine and the regent along with the inner council aren't here (for obvious reasons) it is still very uselful for playing politics and when your players start killing everything they see just have a justicar roll on in and whoop his arse. If they can take the justicar then just spruce him up a bit so he can "compete". The information in this book is not meant for players and they should probably not read it if you plan on incorporating any of these power forces into a chronicle.



5. The way that Vampire: The Masquerade works gives a storyteller a lot of freedom to create. But sometimes it is good to have the help of a few pre-created characters too, especially lower gen ones. A very helpful section of this book gives guidelines for designing low-gen characters which I wished I'd had sooner. The book is divided into three sections: Sabbat, Camarilla, and Independent important/powerful figures. But it could really use an index so you can find clans or roles more easily. I'm intergrating into our game this summer in fact.