Authors: Ari Marmell, Dean Shomshak and C.A. Suleiman
Release Date: 2004-08-01
On Sale: Yes
Price: 34.99
ISBN: 1-58846-247-1
Product Type: Core Book
Product Style: Hardcover
Page Count: 304
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Review by: Eloy Lasanta
Rating: 8/10
Vampire comes back, bigger, better and with more bite.
The tackling of Vampire: the Requiem was a grand undertaking. How do you take the most acclaimed and loved game line, strip it down to nothing and build it back up? Well, this is exactly how you do it. The boys (and girls, we don’t want to be sexist) have taken the game we love and made it the game we have fallen in love with.
Chapter One: Society of the Damned covers many of the most essential things you need to know about the new World of Darkness for the Kindred. It covers the Danse Macabre (the existence of the vampire), the Clans (their blood), the Traditions, and essential concepts for domains, hunting, and roles in the city. Hounds are my favorite addition.
Perhaps the most debated addition, however, has been the Fog of Eternity. This addition make perfect sense to me, but many don’t like the fact that they can’t play a thousand year old vampire with perfect knowledge of every moment in their life. I mean, we’re just regular people… I can barely remember what I did last night.
Then this chapter covers and breaks down the Covenants, the secret societies that the Kindred participate in. These have become the thing that separates them, not clan. This makes a lot of sense, though. The guy standing next to you may be of the same clan, but you could hate his guts. But the guy across the hall believes all the same things as you. Wouldn’t you rather be with the one that shares your views on life (or unlife)?
Chapter Two: Character lays out exactly what you need to do to make a Kindred character in the new World of Darkness, supplying the templates and their mechanical effects. I enjoy the concept of Blood Potency much more than that of Generation. Who here agrees with me? I thought so.
Also, the 5 new clans are outlined in this chapter. I believe that the streamlining of the clans into just the five (instead of the outrageous 13 from the old World of Darkness) is one of the best changes this game will ever see. The Daeva, the Gangrel, the Mekhet, the Nosferatu, and the Ventrue. These are the best collection of clans around. Each with their own disciplines and weaknesses.
The disciplines have been rewritten for the new system, but also are much more balanced than before. The Coils of the Dragon have been the big hit among players, as it lets the characters evolve out of their cursed states. At the same time, the Lancea Sanctum use their Theban Sorcery to exalted their curse into a blessing.
Chapter Three: Special Rules and Systyems gives new rules for pumping attributes, waking during the day, healing, Diablerie, feeding, Ghouling, staking, frenzy and Humanity. We’ve seen most of this before, but it is as fresh as ever with the new rules backing it up.
Chapter Four: Storytelling and Antogonists gives tips on how to start a campaign and keep it going, as well as a few sample stories, hooks, and themes. I found the explanations to be very helpful, actually. In a game like this, as open as it is, it is sometimes helpful to have a starting point.
The second part focuses on possible antagonists for the Kindred, from animals to clubgoers. The thing that made me the happiest is the lack of Gargoyles as Vampire Bloodlines. I didn’t like the idea from the old World of Darkness and I am glad that they did not recreate that mistake.
Appendix One: Bloodlines and Unique Disciplines is, I think, the chapter that most of us turned right to. I know I did. It gave 5 new bloodlines (one for each of the Clans) and gave descriptions of their unique disciplines. Yeah, pretty much what the chapter promised. But it also gave detailed information on bloodlines, how they work, and how to make your own. Yay!
Appendix Two: New Orleans then gives a brief overview of the city that later got it’s own book. It gives a timeline of World of Darkness and Kindred events that effected the city, as well as a cast of major players for your characters to interact with.
Overall, I was very happy with Vampire: The Requiem and couldn’t have hoped for a supplement this good. Of course, nothings perfect, but I’d have to give this book 8 out of 10 (It would be 8.5 is halves were available). Go buy it, if you haven’t already.
