Long long time ago…
In the early 1990s, a certain Mark Rein-Hagen invented a horror RPG and called it the World of Darkness . In order not to keep his idea in a drawer, he gathered a few people and together they founded the White Wolf publishing house. In 1991, the first edition of the game Vampir: Masquerade was released on the market . As you can easily guess, there are famous bloodsuckers who live on Earth and feed on people. One of such creatures is also played by the player. The title was well received by fans. Thanks to its popularity, the world described in the textbook developed and evolved, and new editions were issued in the following years. Currently, thanks to Alis Games, we can reach for the fifth version of the product in our country. So let’s check out what it’s like to be a vampire.
Find your place
If you thought being a vampire is easy and all about killing people and enjoying power, then you are wrong. At least in this world it is completely different. But from the beginning. As we already established in Vampire: Masqueradeyou will play as one of the undead. A very classic path has led you to this point – you have been transformed by another representative of the species. As history goes, Cain was the first bloodsucker, and the next generations are his descendants. The farther from the Allfather, the weaker our heroes are. However, they still possess extraordinary powers that allow them to be stronger than humans. But also mortals do not intend to be merely a meal. In the following years, they learned to fight the beasts. And the vampires themselves fought for influence among themselves. Therefore, they decided to hide from the world and founded clans, thanks to which they grew in strength. It is here that we will meet, among others rebellious Brujah, wild Gangrel, terrifying Nosferatu, loving the beauty of Toreadors or aristocratic Ventrue. In total, we will find as many as thirteen different clans, of which more than half belong to an organization known as Camarilla. It is a type of sect that has a leader and seeks together to gain power over others. By the way, he dictates terms and rules that other vampires should follow. Of course, internal games, disputes and intrigues are bread and butter here, and everyone plays their own role, hoping to get to a higher rank in the hierarchy. So you have to be able to behave properly, mask your own mistakes, fight for influence, and also for survival. The task is therefore not easy at all … and everyone plays their own role, hoping to move up to a higher step in the hierarchy. So you have to be able to behave properly, mask your own mistakes, fight for influence, and also for survival. The task is therefore not easy at all … and everyone plays their own role, hoping to move up to a higher step in the hierarchy. So you have to be able to behave properly, mask your own mistakes, fight for influence, and also for survival. The task is therefore not easy at all …
How to start?
If you decide to take a session in Vampire: Masquerade , you will need a few things, but most of all you will need an experienced Game Master.World of Darknessit is huge, and over the years many stories have been written in it that are worth knowing to feel the right atmosphere. Besides, you will need someone who knows all the nuances and intrigues of the Camarilla and vampire customs. Of course, this is primarily to be fun for you and you don’t have to stick to the rules, but they make the game more interesting. At the same time, everyone has to start sometime, so the novice will also lead the appropriate game, but first he definitely has to get a textbook (we will discuss it in a moment) and read it from cover to cover. As usual in RPGs, you will also need pencils, character cards and ten-sided dice (they can be ordinary, but it’s definitely better to get special, created for the Vampire). It is also worth taking chips and something to drink! Before starting, you also need to create a character. And here get ready for a longer journey. You have to rethink your human life before the transformation, and then figure out how long you’ve been undead and how your story has been so far. Another thing is to choose one of the thirteen clans (in the manual you will find a detailed description of eight of them), distribute your attributes and physical or mental skills, choose your own ambitions, adjust the type of food, add strengths and disciplines. And although there is a lot of it, I will add to your consolation that a lot will tell you a lot at the beginning of choosing a clan. Whether you choose Ventrue or Malkavian will have an impact on your strength, ability to transform, or your blood bond.
In conclusion, of course, you will also need to learn the rules. Here, in many cases, dice will decide, as it is in RPGs. Depending on your skills and throws, it will be determined whether or not you will complete the target. By the way, they can mess up a lot, drive your character into a frenzy and have an unintended effect. The scale of hunger will also be important, because a hungry vampire is a pissed off vampire. You should also get to know the character you have prepared. Selected disciplines and skills used at the right moment can save lives. Although it is not really easy for an undead to die. I know from experience that even a bazooka shot at your feet and being torn to pieces does not have to mean the end of the game. Our attitudes will also be determined by our humanity or ties with other members of the clan.
On the pages of the textbook
“Don’t judge a textbook by its cover!” – such a slogan would fit perfectly for a Vampire: Masquerade. The set of rules and description of the world published in Poland by Alis Games may not be tempting. The cover is reminiscent of harlequins or even erotica published in the 90s. However, this is a deliberate procedure and the entire book has a similar graphic design. Inside you will find photos cut out as if from adult films, frames from vampire productions, people dressed in rather unusual costumes, panoramas of night cities and cemeteries, and pictures showing the appearance of characters. With each page, we come to the conclusion that this is how it was supposed to be and we begin to appreciate the visual layer. However, the content is much more important, and this cannot be objected to from the very beginning. You have nearly 430 pages to read, where you can find rules, stories, clans, skills and vampire conflicts. Everything arranged so that you can enter step by stepWorld of Darkness and prepare you to become vampires. There are also a character card, cheat sheets for the guide or a very helpful index. There are also a few letters to build the atmosphere, as well as ideas for starting the adventure. It is also worth putting a plus for the facilitation of the Game Master in the form of names, surnames and random NPCs on the front pages, ready to play a greater or lesser role. So you get pretty much anything to start a session.
However, if you want to learn more about this world and feel the undead with blood (not necessarily yours) and bones, there are also a few extras available. The Camarilla and the Anarchists fell into my hands. From the first one, you will learn more about the hierarchy of vampires, the places they live, their faith and the purpose of the organization itself. It’s also a great opportunity to discover more details about the most important clans and add another one in the form of Banu Haqim. The second title is, as the name suggests, information about rebels who do not intend to submit to the authorities and want to change the system. In addition to describing the clans rejecting the Prince’s sovereignty, you will also find some adventure ideas for players here. Both accessories are therefore a great source of inspiration. They can be played without them, but true fans must have them in their collection. They have been published similarly to the main textbook, so they are an ideal supplement. They not only build the atmosphere, but even enrich it and suggest new ideas.
Comparisons
I must admit that in the World of Darkness I am a rookie, a novice who has only recently started his adventure with vampires. So far, the fifth edition has been the first and only one that I have had the opportunity to play. Fortunately, I had my MG who was happy to tell me how the latest version compares to the rest. With a twinkle in his eye and a flushed face, he gave me this account:
The Camarilla’s ossified structure shuddered. Driven by an unknown nature, the Call from the Middle East, the Elders departed. Unchecked, humanity gradually discovers the secrets of the Kindred, and the New Inquisition takes a bloody toll. Camarilla and whether the Sabbath tremble in their foundations, which creates more room for maneuver for the Anarchists. So much for the introduction. The new edition is shaking up the World of Darknessoverthrowing marble statues that hitherto were unmovable. Jyhad (the age-old war between the Cainites) is relegated to the background. Survival becomes more important than ever before, but the world that has long been divided between the Elders with a cake opens up a chance for young people to sit at the table. So much for the world. Accustomed to previous editions of MG, they may feel a bit lost in this reality, because the axis of the coterie (team’s) theater is no longer Jyhad and running on the lines of more powerful protectors. The character creation system in this edition is even more refined, but it should be noted that this version of the Vampire draws the attention of players to further generations, because the role of these powerful Elders is taken over by … the ninth.World of Darknessfor the first time, it allows even Dawnborn to play a role. Some things may seem shocking at first – no attitude / nature, not even pathways. Some disciplines (including those related to non-Camarilla clans described in other additions) have been combined into one, but this is rather a plus for the mechanics. Rather, because some malcontents will surely turn their noses at this point. Therefore, instead of describing a character by choosing an attitude and nature at the beginning of its creation, we empathize with its atmosphere by choosing the type of predation (examples from the handbook would be useful here, e.g. whether we create an idol of a nightclub audience or a tomcat lurking in the dark). This choice can also define access to disciplines or unusual abilities within a given clan, of course, each of the choices has a price. Next we have the samplers. Simply put, they are people or ideas that allow our heroes to keep the beast in check. We choose them, or invent our own, and in combination with the type of predation, they define more or less what the path and attitude / nature were in earlier editions, and this has its specific reflection in the mechanics of behavior / loss of humanity. At this point, it is worth mentioning the types of coterie. This collective choice made at the end of character creation by all players somehow determines its specific code. Thus, the Path known from previous editions (for the unfamiliar, a kind of internal decalogue keeping the figure in check) becomes, in a way, a resultant of sampling, personal goals and common coterie. Therefore, it is a playable element that binds the team together at the stage of its creation. Let’s move on. The latest edition strongly emphasizes the variety of vampires within the clan, because the power of the clan curse can be strengthened or softened. Similarly, clan disciplines, much better and more precisely described, have a specific forks in many places, which means that the level of discipline does not necessarily mean the same abilities. Disciplines have been described factually and accurately, linking similar ones. Finally, although not everyone will like it, contrary to previous editions, generation is not an indisputable indicator of its effectiveness, various factors are important (to put it simply, we have opposing pools of dice). Low blood alchemy, that is, the thing about the last generations, is the culmination of the 5th edition’s bow towards playing with these. On the occasion of the disciplines, it is worth mentioning one of the most important positive changes in the latest edition. It is the mechanic of Hunger. The use of disciplines or the desire to strengthen the physical abilities of our character has no specific value in points, and only provokes the so-called agitation (specifically the agitation test), the result of this test determines whether the Kainita is beginning to feel hungry. So there is no known situation from previous editions that the player will calculate how many blood points he will spend on specific actions, and this procedure is definitely conducive to the story itself. Following the mechanics of hunger, it is worth mentioning that it fits perfectly into the created story. Well, each hunger level means that the next dice from the test pool is replaced by the red hunger die. In addition to normal results, some of the walls have been replaced with a bloody win / lose icon, respectively. This leads to the description of a new situation in which the vampire, carried by the thirst for blood, loses some control over himself. Speaking of satisfying hunger, it is worth mentioning the dependence “you are what you eat”, which has never had such a literal meaning. Well, a permanent or temporary type of a vampire’s “diet” has a significant (plot and mechanical) effect on the character himself. As for the mechanics, the holes have been patched – it’s more consistent and transparent. The list of skills has been shortened, and the disciplines, although close to the fifth level, are more clearly described and sometimes more powerful, because some of them come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince. what do you eat ”that has never had such a literal meaning before. Well, a permanent or temporary type of a vampire’s “diet” has a significant (plot and mechanical) effect on the character himself. As for the mechanics, the holes have been patched – it’s more consistent and transparent. The list of skills has been shortened, and the disciplines, although close to the fifth level, are more clearly described and sometimes more powerful, because some of them come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince. what do you eat ”that has never had such a literal meaning before. Well, a permanent or temporary type of a vampire’s “diet” has a significant (plot and mechanical) effect on the character himself. As for the mechanics, the holes have been patched – it’s more consistent and transparent. The list of skills has been shortened, and the disciplines, although close to the fifth level, are more clearly described and sometimes more powerful, because some of them come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince. or a temporary type of “diet” of the vampire significantly (plot and mechanically) affect the character himself. As for the mechanics, the holes have been patched – it’s more consistent and transparent. The list of skills has been shortened, and the disciplines, although close to the fifth level, are more clearly described and sometimes more powerful, because some of them come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince. or a temporary type of “diet” of the vampire significantly (plot and mechanically) affect the character himself. As for the mechanics, the holes have been patched – it’s more consistent and transparent. The list of skills has been shortened, and the disciplines, although close to the fifth level, are more clearly described and sometimes more powerful, because some of them come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince. and sometimes more powerful, because some come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince. and sometimes more powerful, because some come “eye” lower. And here is a note, it is worth sticking to the textbook pool of experience points, because in this edition everything is at your fingertips. The development may seem a bit slow, but the created Cainite characters are competent at the beginning of the game and can be a challenge, for example for the Prince.
Thanks for your help, Bartek!
Summary
If you would like to step into the shoes of Dracula, Blade, Eric Northman or Selena, then Vampire: Masquerade will allow you to do so. With such an extensive system and a whole lot of choices, you will certainly create your perfect undead. Of course, you don’t have to be inspired by movies or books. The World of Darkness will accept any bloodsucker and let him have a lot of fun. However, you will need an experienced Game Master who will skillfully show you all the games played between the heroes. The manual will introduce you to the atmosphere and explain step by step how to start your adventure. So let yourself be transformed and enjoy the nights full of excitement!
