Cecily’s new role
Cecily Bain takes over as Prince of Two Cities and immediately has her hands full. Werewolves appear on its territory, which first kidnap and then kill several vampires. While a person in her position could send someone from her retinue on a mission, Bain prefers to handle the matter herself. However, the opponent turns out to be so strong that she needs the support of her old friends. Meanwhile, the lycanthropes fight to regain a certain place with which they feel a strong connection. So begins a clash between two feuding races. What’s worse, the high-ranking Ian Carfax is also involved in the intrigue, which does not bode well for the case. However, the Inquisitor and the wolves are still not all the Prince’s worries.
new series?
After the two comic parts of Vampire: The Masquerade, the time has come for World of Darkness . It is exactly the same universe, and even the same heroes. And yet the publishers promote the title as completely independent. In fact, it is difficult to read this title completely independently. Even gamers of the RPG the album is based on will have a hard time understanding what’s actually going on in it. Because whose voice does Cecily hear in her head? Where are her friends suddenly coming from? Who is Carfax? The answers to this question can be found in the previous volumes, which were really good and worth getting acquainted with before embarking on a new adventure.
However, this is not the only and not the biggest drawback of Scarlet Thaw. Needless to say, the story itself is engaging and has good twists and turns. Although it is mainly a fight between werewolves and vampires, a motif that has been reworked many times, it is told in an interesting and somewhat innovative way. One cannot complain about the heavy, gloomy atmosphere straight from a horror movie, which also reflects what we are used to in a role-playing game set in this very world. The hierarchy prevailing here and all the intrigues that are waged between the individual factions are also quite well presented. So everything looks pretty good. Where are these comments? Well, everything is happening too fast. The writers, we have five here, are rushing with the action as if it were on fire. Some plots do not have a proper development or conclusion. I think that if the story was split into two volumes, we would have a really great work here,
The Prince’s New Clothes
From the graphic side World of Darkness. Scarlet thawit looks really great and it’s hard to find any cons here. More than just praise. Responsible for the art: Julius Otha and Aaron Campbell gave us what we could expect from the series. There is darkness, brutality and blood here. But everything is balanced, dosed in the right way to create the perfect atmosphere. The appearance of vampires is in line with the canon and fans will immediately recognize which clan a given hero comes from. Werewolves also stand out from the crowd here and we can also easily identify each of the lycanthropes. Finally, the robes of Cecily herself were changed, as she had been promoted to one of the highest positions and could not be seen in her old clothes. To this let’s add dynamic fight scenes and a multitude of details in the background. Nothing but admire!
new session?
As with the two volumes of Vampire: Masquerade , published in Poland by Lost in Time , Świat Mroku. The Scarlet Thaw is a comic addressed primarily to people who know the universe at least superficially. It is they who will capture all the nuances and flavors contained in the script and graphics. They will also better understand what drives the characters. They will also appreciate the climate. In addition, the creators once again placed a few pages at the end of the album giving inspiration and help to conduct the session. Yes, it can tempt and attract a new player, but it is those who visit this world for a longer time that will be more interested in both the title itself and the addition included in it.
Overall, the comic is worth our attention, although it has a lot of shortcomings. The graphics here are really great and you can’t comment on the artists. The authors, on the other hand, should slow down the pace, give a little more time to the characters and develop the threads. However, we can hope that this will be corrected in the next volume, which has already been announced. Let’s also add that before we reach for The Scarlet Thaw , we should read the previous issues. Only in this way we will not miss anything and we will not wonder who the individual heroes are.
