Product Description

Welcome to the Danse Macabre

Since time immemorial, the Kindred -- vampires -- have stalked their prey, unseen by the mortal masses. Their world is a xenophobic nightmare, populated by tyrannical despots, wildeyed heretics, bloodthirsty rogues and scheming manipulators, all unified by the mysterious curse of vampirism. And you would join them? You would live forever? To play the lusts of mortals like a violinist plays the strings? Then beware, the price is steep to enter the neofeudal hell that the Damned have wrought.

Welcome to Undeath

Join the revival of the Storytelling tradition. Vampire: The Requiem invites you to tell your own stories set within the world of the Kindred. This book includes rules for using vampires in World of Darkness® chronicles, covering everything from the five clans to covenants to Disciplines, bloodlines, storytelling advice and a complete spread of game systems governing the undead. Hardcover. Requires the World of Darkness rulebook for play.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94065 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-21
• Released on: 2004-08-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 294 pages

Customer Reviews

Not new enough, but get over it
The new Vampire game is infinitely superior to its previous incarnations: It kept what worked, and discarded what did not. Requiem is more vicious and more horrific -- gone is the comparative safety of Masquerade; in Requiem, vampires are cold-blooded, megalomaniacal serial killers hiding themselves behind a veneer of civility (well, for the most part) and the game never lets you forget it.

There are only five clans, each representing one of the archetypes of mythological vampires: Passionate Daeva, savage Gangrel, mysterious Mekhet, horrific Nosferatu and domineering Ventrue. Instead of limiting the options of character creation, the reduced number of clans increases them. These clans are much broader in scope than in previous games to allow for more variation. Bloodlines are a nice touch, but emphasizing them detracts from the fact that any vampire concept should fit into one of the five clans. To give you an example of the broader scope, take the Nosferatu. Instead of being limited to physical deformity as in Masquerade, Requiem's Nosferatu merely have a clan weakness that limits their social effectiveness -- and the player is free to come up with any reason as to why that is (anything from physical ugliness to rank odours to a 'general sense of dread'). Nosferatu can be earth-shatteringly attractive... if they have a foul odour or unpleasant presence to offset it.

If you enjoy political games, Requiem shines:

* No global politics -- everything is local, with vampires largely limited to their cities (imprisoned in their 'gilded cages' is a theme the game plays up).
* Five major factions (called "covenants" -- the Carthian Movement, the Circle of the Crone, the Invictus, the Lancea Sanctum and the Ordo Dracul) instead of two (Camarilla & Sabbat), all five of which maneuver roughly equally through the Danse Macabre. City Princes can come from any covenant (it's no longer just a Camarilla thing).
* Tenurial and unconventional domains; Princes can hand out Regent titles to vampires in their cities, granting them domain over areas or spheres of mortal influence (a Regent of the French Quarter, or a Regent of Finance). With more titles comes more jockeying for position, not to mention conflict. As the book points out, what happens when a crime occurs? Is it the responsibility of the Regent overseeing the location of the crime (Regent of the French Quarter, for example) or the Regent of Law Enforcement? The book doesn't answer that question, and indicates that there doesn't exist a hard and fast solution in-game -- thus, tons of conflict.
* More fluid political power: Princes are common, but not the rule. Some cities are ruled by groups of Kindred, or even attempts at mortal democracy. Princes no longer have the authority of an umbrella organization (the Camarilla) to support their power; either they deserve to be Prince, or they're merely pretenders to the throne.

The game certainly isn't as 'original' as White Wolf led us to believe (of course, they couldn't have made as many changes as they did if they wanted to keep calling it Masquerade), but you're doing yourself a disservice if you let that affect your opinion of a great game. Consider this "Vampire: the Masquerade, 4th Edition" if you must, but give it a try.

Less for the Reader, More for the Player
I applaud White Wolf for doing what they have done in releasing Vampire: The Requiem. I was a great fan of the VtM system, with a few minor annoyances, and was initially concerned that "revamping" (so to speak) the system for a new game was just a money grab for the good people of White Wolf (but then again, what isn't, in the end?), and that too much focus would be on making things DIFFERENT rather than on making them BETTER.

After having read the book and preparing my first chronicle with it, I can say that I am thoroughly impressed with the changes made. The "minor annoyances" I mentioned earlier have largely all been dealt with nicely, and the new system seems more user-friendly and gives the potential for better games.

Annoyances that have been fixed:
1) They're Ancient and Powerful, You're Not, So Deal With It: VtM was always a tad frustrating in that the Antidiluvians and Methuselahs (probably misspelled) were so ancient and so powerful that they were as Gods to ants above other vampires of higher generations, and there was nothing the weaker ones could do. Granted, life isn't fair so why should the game be, but I personally like the Requiem system whereupon the oldest and most powerful vampires are losing their minds and memories, leaving them as tortured and twisted as young vampires struggling to survive against more powerful social forces. The added difficulty of life at the top really makes the fact that vampirism is supposed to be a "curse" a lot more prevalent among all Kindred - in VtM, though vampires were aparently "cursed", they had it pretty good once they were among the truly mighty.

2) The Power of the Kine: As an extension of the last point, VtM also bugged me in that though there was occasional mention of how the Masquerade existed because humans would wipe out vampires if they knew about them, the Kindred's control of human society at every level made this seem unlikely. Because the mightiest vampires, as mentioned earlier, had God-like powers, and vampires controlled all of the human infrastructure in full, breaching the Masquerade was made pretty much impossible, and the Kine seemed pretty harmless no matter what. In Requiem, vampires influence society a lot, but don't seem so utterly in control of it. Also, given that the mightiest vampires aren't nearly as God-like as in VtM (pleeeeeeease don't bring out Master level disciplines), they seem much more insecure as a whole, making, in my opinion, for more enjoyable, edge-of-your-seat gaming.

3) You Are What You Are: If I had put more thought into ordering these point, this one should have come first, becuase it was the thing that most annoyed me about VtM. In that system, your clan pretty much dictated your character. With 13 base clans, plus antitribu, bloodlines, and other variations, there was probably a good fit out there for whatever character you wanted to create, but the problem was that your clan was your whole identity, at least in the eyes of others, as well as being your only support network. If you were in good with your clan, then you had to have a character within certain parameters. If not, you were on your own. Clans cast too much prejudice in VtM, wbereas in Requiem, with far fewer clans (five), who knows how many bloodlines, and covenants that you may choose or not choose at will, vampires balance their inherited identity with their chosen one, serve more than one master, and can be a lot more unique without being shunned and hated. The clan/covenant system makes gaming much more dynamic, and there is more moral responsibility on the shoulders of the player than ever before, which is great. Another aspect of "You Are What You Are" in VtM was generation, which was inherited and defined your place on the food chain permanently. The only was to change this was through diablerie, and even then you would be killed immediately if you were found out. Essentially, then, the only way to increase your place on the food chain in VtM was through evil, heinous actions, which really sucked if you wanted to play a character that cared about humanity. In Requiem, blood potency goes up the longer you survive and the more active you are. There is the possibility for real advancement without having to dip into evil to get there, and a driving notion that your character may someday be a powerful elder, as opposed to the VtM belief that one day you'll be a powerful vampire that will always be limited by generation. And finally, the last "You Are What You Are" of VtM was the Camarilla/Sabbat system, whereupon you were one of the other, or an independant shunned by both. "But I want to play a Camarilla Lasombra". Nope. This massive encompassing was of the Kindred was too easy for storytellers and limited what you could do with any given clan or character. In the old WOD, my favourite vampire game was Dark Ages, whereupon every conflict was internal, and there was no grand war between two huge organizations. In modern day, this pre-existant war was ever-frustrating. In Requiem, it is finished. If you argue that the fact that petty squables are all you can do now, laud it if you will - I celebrate the fact.

4) Is There Any Real Mystery?: Though the writers of VtM liked to toss in suggestions that maybe Caine never existed or maybe the Antideluvians aren't real, they clearly were. This mythology was loved by many, not by me, because though it was nice as a piece of mythology alone, this was a game, and the most important thing in a game is the players having fun. Knowing that there were omnipotent and utterly evil people above you who control your every action and who you'll never, EVER, be able to compete with isn't really very much fun. A lot of people have complained that Requiem lacks any Metaplot, but in truth, it's moreso that the Metaplot isn't given. The origins of vampire really is a mystery in Requiem, and one that storytellers should be encouraged to look at for themselves, rather than regurgitating what they read. Earlier in these posts, someone mentioned that the more sourcebooks you buy, the fewer original ideas you have. I agree heartily. In Requiem, it's not that the mythology doesn't exist at all, it's just that there isn't one dominant mythology that can more or less be accepted as fact. I think this can make for much more mystery and fun than the VtM system.

5) The Phony Prince: My last major annoyance that was fixed in Requiem was that in VtM, Archons and other constantly loomed above the Prince, leaving him or her with very little real power. The title of "Prince" was more ceremonial than functional, and Princes could be overturned easily, with so many others above that were eager to step in. Not in Requiem. Now the Prince has real power, and nobody is telling him or her what to do (or are they...). This makes for a lot more struggling with internal politics in individual cities, and more of a struggle to become Prince. In VtM, several times characters I've played with have turned down opportunities to become Prince because it carried great danger but little real authority. This was a problem, and now, blissfully, it isn't.

In closing, many have complained that The Requiem ruins a good thing, calling out that "If it ain't broke, why fix it?". And as the title of this review mentioned, the VtM system gave a lot more for readers, with its emersive and deep mythology that was so interesting. However, I believe Requiem will be more fun for players, and that, in my opinion, is the most important thing. If you disagree, then by all means, keep playing Masquerade. Granted, no new books for it will be coming out, but there were already way too many to begin with. If you don't have the books and mourn that you can't buy them...well, look hard, and ye shall find. But give this game a chance...I really think it keep much of what made VtM great, but makes it freer, more open, and most importantly, more in the hands of the players and storytellers.

New game for a New World of Darkness
I'd like to start this review by saying what many people seem to not understand:

This is not Vampire the Masquerade, 3rd Edition. This is an entirely new game, albeit with similar terms and mechanics.

That is an important distinction, because if you're looking for a newer version of Masquerade, you'll be surprised at this game.

There are no longer any Generations, Antedeluvians, Methuselahs, Metaplot, or Caine/Lillith creation myth.

Additionally, there is no longer any Camarilla/Sabbat fighting, or any Camarilla or Sabbat, for that matter.

What these generally outward aspects are replaced with are the following:

Five clans with a theoretical infinite series of bloodlines. These bloodlines are far more powerful than those in Masquerade, mainly because all Kindred (yes, the term has stayed the same) start with the same basic Blood Potency (sort of the new Generations- after about 350 years of careful feeding and no "naps," you're pretty much forced into torpor) and can change their blood after reaching BP 4... or can activate a sire's bloodline at BP 2.

The clans are now more Archetypes than Stereotypes- no longer do you have to create a hideous info-mongering sewer-dwelling Nosferatu, or a leather-jacket anarchist Brujah (who incidentally are no longer a clan, but now a bloodline.) Now you're pretty much freed up to create a character that you feel will fulfill a more fluid role in Kindred society and in the chronicle.

Additionally, there are now Five Covenants- One is the Ordo Dracul, an occult association dealing with Kindred transcendance (forget that whole "third eye of enlightenment" from Masquerade.) They believe their covenant was founded by the Dracula, Vlad Tepes, who was supposedly cursed by God for blasphemy and chose to follow his own path of transcendence of the Kindred condition.

The second is the Lancea Sanctum, a covenant that holds Kindred purpose to be God's Holy Predators, to accept their place as damned and removed from God's grace, and to remind humans to turn towards God and ask for protection and forgiveness. They trace their origins back to the centurion who pierced Jesus' side with the Lance of Destiny. He was supposedly a truly awful human who nevertheless gained a purpose in undeath, preaching his word to other KIndred.

The third is the Invictus, the inheritors of the Roman Camarilla (a defunct covenant that worked like the Roman Senate and collapsed with the Roman Empire,) who now consider themselves the nobility, the First Estate, among the Kindred. They offer protection at a price- centuries of service to an elder, but with the promise (generally delivered) of greater status, hunting rights, and influence with mortals and other supernatural creatures.

The fourth are the Carthians. Though they haven't recieved a thorough treatment from White Wolf, they are generally explained as a covenant seeking to equalize the power relations within Kindred society. Their ideals were borrowed from the Enlightenment philosophers, and it seems as though they either came into being during the Enlightenment, or during the approximate time of the Boxer Rebellion.

The fifth are the Circle of the Crone. These are the blood-soaked worshippers of the "feminine" aspects of Vampirism- creation, blood in general, and of course, the Crone- itself an aspect of the triumverate Maid/Mother/Crone goddess of life. These vampires gather in covens, offer their blood or sometimes blood of other victims to the Crone, and sometimes even create Kindred in their observances. They also tend to focus on the idea that suffering can create greater understanding. Additionally, they also believe they have a holy mission of sorts- they are on the earth to be the apex predators of humanity.

There are also no more Paths. These have been replaced by a more universal in-game system which, in the World of Darkness rulebook (that you need to play this game, as well as Werewolf the Forsaken and Mage the Awakening) is Morality, and which in Requiem, is Humanity. It's how much you act like a human. If you dip below a certain level, it's hard for humans to not be terrified of you.

Additionally, when you lose Humanity, you have to check for a Derangement.... These levy penalties, as well as often forcing you to do things that your character would not normally do.

There are other changes as well, but this covers a fair number of them.

This game is fantastic, as long as you don't come in wanting a reiteration of Masquerade. I personally liked Masquerade a lot, and can see the merits in that system, but I enjoy Requiem more. It's much less about external struggles and powers, and much more about personal horror and coming to terms with being something that shouldn't exist.

Buy this book, and the WoD core book. You won't be disappointed.