Camarilla games
Prince Samantha is dead and a new person is needed to manage vampires in Minneapolis and St. Paul. So the court considers elections, and the superiors send Executor Carfax to test the candidate for the throne. Meanwhile, our main character, Cecily Bain, is still investigating the murder of the previous ruler and training a newly baked vampire to live among bloodsuckers. The trail leads to the vampire hunters, who call themselves the Mortuary Army, who plan a real coup in the Two Cities. The Anarchists are also involved.
According to plan
The creator of Vampire: Masquerade – Winter ‘s Fang , Tim Seeley, had an idea for the whole adventure from the very beginning and realized it perfectly. The plot is thoughtful, full of twists and adjusted to the World of Darkness. Yes, the comic is divided into two volumes, but it is one coherent story that must be read in its entirety. Due to numerous secrets, conspiracies and plots of the main characters, the recipient must really focus to understand everything, but certainly will not get tired or bored. We are dealing with a great, bloody crime story in which bloodsuckers play the main roles. The notebook also includes Stories of Anarchists, created by Tini and Blake Howard to complement the events of the main storyline. This part was also presented in a very interesting way and will certainly draw us even more into the universe known from the famous RPG. It is also worth adding that the creators closed the story in some way, which can also be praised in this case. At one point, I was afraid that in a moment they would decide to give representatives of each clan, and such a multitude of heroes in an intricate plot would certainly not be good. And so we have a great adventure. However, the door to the next story was left open, which was also announced on the occasion. It will be the World of Darkness: The Scarlet Thaw , introducing werewolves to the story.
Nothing changes
As in the case of the first volume, also Devmalya Pramanik and Nathan Gooden are responsible for the visuals in the second part. Both artists continued their work started in the previous issue. So it is bloody, brutal and dark. The characters’ emotions are clearly visible thanks to the perfect capture of their facial expressions. The chill that surrounds us is also almost felt. The action of the comic takes place in winter (which we can guess from the title itself). We are dealing with blizzards every now and then, and the falling snow seems to go beyond the frames and fall on us as well. All this introduces an amazing atmosphere and helps us get drawn into the adventure even more.
The fans will be delighted, but …
Vampire: Masquerade – Fangs of Winter is a comic book aimed primarily at fans of the role-playing game who had to deal with the World of Darkness. It is they who will appreciate all the references to RPGs , the behavior and appearance of individual vampire clans and will easily understand the games played by Camarilla members. They will also be delighted with the accompanying additions in the form of presenting the heroes in such a way that you can make an NPC out of them and introduce them to your own campaigns. In addition, we have added four alchemy recipes for special potions, which can also be used during the session. This faithful capture of the atmosphere will make every lover of the title appreciate it and will add it to their own collection without hesitation.
Unfortunately, people who do not even briefly know this universe may have a big problem with the reception of history. First of all, there is no mini-glossary explaining such terms as, for example, “primogen” or at least briefly describing clans occurring in history and presenting the vampire hierarchy. It’s also hard to feel the adventure without knowing the rules of the masquerade itself or the motives of the Anarchists. The creators probably wanted to attract new people to the World of Darkness with the comic, but by presenting a story that will not be fully understood by novices, they may have scared some people away.
Summary
The Fangs of Winter comic is a real treat for fans of the Vampire: Masquerade . The first volume was already excellent, and the second one completed it, giving it a great, atmospheric story. If anyone knows the universe of the Dark World, he will find everything that he could count on. The Lost in Time publishing house is also worth praising, which brought and released the notebook on our market less than a year after its world premiere. It is not always possible to bring a title so quickly to our country. Certainly, fans will be pleased not only with the plot itself, but also with add-ons that may prove to be a source of inspiration for Game Masters. It is worse, however, if someone does not know RPG and it will be his first meeting with the local bloodsuckers. Unfortunately, no appropriate cheat sheet has been prepared for them, which would introduce them to this world, which may make them feel lost, and thus discouraged from getting to know the adventure.
PS. If you would like to learn a little more about the first issue of the comic, we invite you to our lecture from the Poznań Festival of Comic Art 🙂
