Well, it's been a while since we were here, hasn't it? Last time, I was trying to make a Mary Sue concept work in D&D. This time, however, I'm happy to say I'm here for something far more passionate and pure - corporate shilling!
Just kidding. I'm not actually affiliated with either White Wolf or Paradox Interactive, I'm just a fan of Vampire: The Masquerade.
As if that wasn't something comically obvious.
However, now we have a brand new (and free!) addition to Vampire: The Masquerade's 5th Edition!
Released from Paradox just yesterday, we have the Vampire: The Masquerade Companion. It's sixty-five pages that involves rules for making mortal characters, rules for making Ghoul characters, some notes on clans and coteries, and - the true draw of this supplement - the re-introduction of three of the Clans of the Masquerade as playable. Those being the Tzimisce, the Ravnos, and the Salubri. The last of those is my third favorite clan in the entire game, so you know I'm psyched about this.
The companion is kind enough to begin with an introduction to each clan, giving their origins and what their state is in the World of Darkness as it stands now as well as telling about their new Disciplines, Banes, and their Compulsions for when the Beast rears its ugly head. Disciplines are of particular note and are arguably the biggest change from earlier editions of the game. The Disciplines of Vicissitude, Chimestry, and Obeah/Valaren for the Tzimisce, Ravnos, and Salubri respectively have all been folded into one of the already existing Disciplines in the game as a power to be gained at a certain tier. For example, Chimestry for the Ravnos is now part of Obfuscate, and so on.
I don't see this as a bad thing, honestly. In previous editions of the game, the number of Disciplines one could rack up were impressive, but it took ages to get anywhere due to the leveling system of the game (something which I've long wagged my finger at) with just the main Disciplines you're given by Clan. V5 has gotten through some of this concern by both folding Disciplines neatly into others and by giving you a bit more of a boost to start with two dots in one Clan Discipline and the ability to gain more at character creation through your Predator archetype.
So, let's go through the clans and take a good look at each.
Ravnos
Clan Ravnos. If that name seems familiar to you as a Vampire player, it should: their Antediluvian was the one that rose up and started the Week of Nightmares, what V5 has termed as the opening shot of the later Gehenna War. Ravnos use Obfuscate to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses of their victims, usually but not always to steal everything they desire out from under them.
Their Disciplines are Animalism, Obfuscate, and Presence, which is fitting for their status in Kindred society as spies, charlatans, and conmen. The companion is quick to point out that Animalism is more useful to a Ravnos than you might think. After all, Kindred who know a Ravnos is in their city might just be a bit more tight-lipped when they notice that a raven on a streetlight up above may just be listening in on what they have to say...
The Ravnos Bane is a bit of an odd one until you remember just how their Antediluvian was killed during the Week of Nightmares. The sun burns within them, and they take aggravated damage if they sleep in the same haven in the same week. Because of this, they are unable to take the No Haven flaw at character creation. The Ravnos compulsion forces them to have to take the most daring and dramatic solution to a problem possible within a scene. After all, they're doomed anyway, why not go out with a bang?
As the companion states that the Ravnos often say "Tomorrow we may burn, but tonight we're on fire!"
Salubri
Arguably the most tragic clan out of all those in Vampire: The Masquerade, the Salubri were once a clan of healers and mystics. One of the original thirteen clans sired by Caine's childer's childer, the Salubri were called the Unicorns and were the Kindred closest to Humanity. Say what you will of the Brujah and their passions or the Toreador and their love of beauty and art, the Salubri were concerned with the souls of not only mortals but also their fellow Kindred. Saulot, their founder, put his clan upon the path to Golconda - a mythical and enigmatic state where a Kindred could be entirely at one with their Beast, no longer under the effects of its malignant desires.
...and now, in the modern nights, they are a pariah to the Kindred, their former benevolence believed by many to be nothing more than an affectation. Saulot is dead, found in his slumber and diablerized by the Tremere. The crimes more accurately applicable to the Tremere have been pinned upon the Salubri, Tremere propaganda calling them "soul-eaters" and accusing them of the very diablerie that they themselves committed to acquire their power and standing in Kindred society. Unfair? Alas, yes, but history is written by the victors.
...but did the Tremere truly win? While rumors persist of only seven Salubri that exist into the modern nights (no more and no less), there are stories of others popping up elsewhere, particularly in the Sabbat. Instead of the traditional peaceful third eye that rests on the Salubri forehead, these Salubri have one that burns with pure, blinding rage...and they delight in hunting down Camarilla vampires, particularly the Tremere...
V5 clocks the Salubri clan Disciplines are Auspex, Dominate, and Fortitude. Not too dissimilar from their V20 counterparts. If you're wondering about Obeah and Valaren, they've been folded into Auspex and Fortitude, respectively, both at Level 2. This does allow a Salubri to actually have both Disciplines rather than just one or the other as in previous editions.
The only real criticism I can give for the companion comes in here - while the Ravnos and the Tzimisce get archetypes for players to build a character off of, the Salubri do not. This is justified in the book by saying the Salubri are so few and far between that no real archetypes have stuck out, just saying that a Salubri appearing in a chronicle is usually for "a purpose". It's really only a minor complaint, but I have found those archetypes to be very useful to play off of when creating my own characters, either for actual games or for Seattle By Night and I think other players might as well.
Not that this will stop me (much to my Storyteller's exasperation, I'm sure).
Also, the Salubri have the Bane their blood being incredibly tasty to other vampires. Their third eye also now actively weeps vitae when they activate their Disciplines - rather than in earlier editions where it was activated by Obeah or Valaren. The Salubri Compulsion is empathy - focusing on a problem had by a mortal or one of their fellow Kindred and the need to do what they must to help them solve that problem, regardless of how big or small it was.
Tzimisce
Clan Tzimisce, possibly the most outwardly ugly clan (sorry, Nossies) in all of Vampire. The strong backbone of the Sabbat, they have their origins in Eastern Europe, where many of them still rule as feudal lords from dark and dreary castles that tower over their domains. Most in the Camarilla in the Anarchs would tell you one thing about the Tzimisce, however: they are fleshcrafters. With the power of their vitae, they are able to tear a person apart cell by cell and rearrange them into new and terrifying shapes. If you've been reading Seattle By Night (which, why haven't you?), you may remember the flower with the human eye within its petals that was found by Ben.
That's the least of the things that a Tzimisce can do, and some of that Clan might even laugh at the lack of imagination. They can use this power not only on others, but upon themselves. Many older Tzimisce only very barely resemble the humans they once were in life, a physical embodiment of the monsters they have become.
The Tzimisce have the Disciplines of Animalism, Dominate, and Protean in V5. That last one in particular is where Vicissitude and Fleshcrafting are hiding for those of you who are wondering. Folding it into Protean was a really ingenious idea. Some of the powers of Vicissitude have always felt like a corruption or a darkened mirror of the powers of Protean - such a creating claws, merging with the Earth, or taking on a more animalistic form - so this doesn't feel at all out of place.
Again, criticism time, but the one thing about the Discipline spread (not just for the Tzimisce, but all the clans in the companion) is the inner connectivity with other Disciplines. If you want a certain Discipline at a certain level, you need to have another Discipline at a certain level as well. As I said earlier, though, this is less of a problem and really only seems to apply to the lower level powers. Juggle your points around in character creation and you really shouldn't have any problems.
The Tzimisce weakness was originally needing to sleep in an area with dirt from their homeland, drawing from one of Dracula's weaknesses in the Bram Stoker novel. Now, their Bane is the need to sleep in an area or around a people or object of importance to them. That something can be as esoteric, but has to be clearly definable. So it could be dirt from one's homeland or sleeping beneath an Elysium for the Anarch movement or sleeping in the basement of a comic book store. The possibilities are pretty broad for how to interpret this Bane and I think that's really great. It gives a player a great deal of wiggle room to work something out when creating a character.
The compulsion is one of covetousness - the Tzimisce have a desire in their blood for power and control over that which they do not have. Like how their Bane can be varied, this coveting can be for a person or an object or anything in between.
The Tzimisce also have stats for two of their creations - the Szlachta and the Vozhd. Not for the squeamish, but the Tzimisce aren't for the squeamish to begin with and honestly neither is Masquerade as a whole.
There's also some notes on clans and coteries, giving merits specific to certain clans for their coteries as well as a few words on being able to work together and all that that means - along with trying not to backstab one another with reckless abandon. It's some good stuff!
The third and final section involves mortals and ghouls and how to play them - both as NPCs and as player characters. Yes, you can now play regular mortals in Masquerade. If your Storyteller is worth their weight in salt, you're likely to either die or be Embraced (and pray you don't get a Thin-Blooded sire) soon enough.
I mean, unless you're playing a Second Inquisition game, and even then...
Basically, though, you roll up a character just as your normally would for Masquerade, just don't choose a Clan or Predator type, it works pretty much the same as character creation in the Core Rulebook. If you're a Ghoul, you can get Disciplines so long as your domitor has them, but you can never go beyond Level 1 even with all the vitae in the world unless you get the Embrace. If a ghoul does get Embraced, the player gets the merits and flaws that are specifically Ghoul-related refunded to them to use for new ones, so that's pretty sweet.
A few new merits and flaws are listed in the companion, of course.
The companion ends with a few notes on erratas and rule updates. The biggest to note is that the Lingering Kiss power of Presence cannot be taken by vampires with the Unbondable merit, which does make sense.
With that, let's wrap up. We have some neat additions with the three new clans to play around with. We have old powers reintroduced in ways that are more streamlined and accessible, and we have some new rules on playing as a mortal or a Ghoul. Given that this was a free download from the Paradox Interactive website, the fact that we got so much is pretty cool. There's a lot to work with, and I'm already vetting several ideas for both my own games and for Seattle By Night.
Sign up for a Paradox Interactive account and pick it up!
...that's it. That's the review. Go do something.
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