
/pic3740906.png)
The 13 “Antedeluvians” si red a bloodline each, known as a Clan, and the Blood took on a specific incarnation for each. However, infighting bet ween the Generations caused the end of this utopia of the Blood, and divided their society. As he rejected each, they cursed him with one of the archetyp al vampiric curses.Ĭaine created three childer, who in turn created 13 of their own and vampires ruled the earliest of human societies.
#VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE 5TH EDITION ALPHA PDF SERIES#
Their mythology tells that after killing his brother, Caine was cast into darkness in the land of Nod, where a series of angels offered him redemption. The story of the Kindred begins with Caine and Abel. It doesn’t neglect the rules though, but uses them to encourage and foster roleplay. As a game, it focuses on storytelling and roleplay over mechanics. It’s about balancing need and want the divide between morality and monstrosity. Players take on the roles of vampires, known as the Kindred, and tell stories of the eternal nights of their unlives, and how they navigate their Machiavellian world whi le attempting to maintain some semblance of their humanity. It’s a world of secrets and hidden horrors. Vampire: The Masquerade takes place in the World of Darkness, a version of our world where monsters lurk around the corner, shadows grow longer, and misery runs rampant. As a player, you’ll get to experience that on a visceral level, because you can’t ignore it – the rules won’t let you.ĭisclaimer: This title has been provided for purpose of review. This is a game about monsters who try really hard to ignore that they’re monsters. While I rarely do brief reviews, I’m not shortening this one much, because in addition to the usual content I’d include, I want to be sure you, dear reader, know what you’re getting into when you enter the eternal night. The product detail pages for this game have content warnings. Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition makes no bones that it’s about political and personal horror, with huge rule emphasis on the personal part. Earlier V:TM was good about that, but Requiem hit those notes perfectly for me. One of the things I give Vampire: The Requiem credit for was really showcasing the horror of being a vampire, both in the text and in the rules. I was surprised with what I found, arguably the best expression of Vampire: The Masquerade yet. But as time went on the problematic elements seemed purged and things got a little cleaned-up, so after playing Bloodlines I thought to myself that I should at least check it out.

The 20th Anniversary Edition provided everything a veteran Masquerade player like myself would want and I had a preferred toolkit vampire rpg in Requiem already.Īfter its release I read of controversies over certain content and it put me even more on the fence. When I first heard of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition I was admittedly indifferent. As I got older I drifted away from it, enticed by a newer, redder version of vampire roleplaying, and converted over to Vampire: The Requiem. I played some tabletop, LARPed a lot, and played online frequently. As this was the ’90s, metaplot and setting sometimes took precedence over gameplay, and Vampire had a rich setting. I sunk my fangs into every book I could find and delighted with every new plot revelation. When I first got into the game at the age of 14, I was enthralled with the setting. I revisited my favorite ’90s tropes and a World of Darkness I hadn’t visited in a long time. It beckoned me into an alleyway and beat me about the head with nostalgia. Recently, I completed my first run-through of the unfinished but amazingly-modded Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. It brought many more people into the hobby who had not previously been attracted to it. It focused strongly on style and attitude, storytelling and drama, and on playing what had traditionally been the “bad guys.” It was edgy and transgressive, it was also inclusive and progressive. When Vampire: The Masquerade first appeared on the gaming scene it was really different. Some people don’t like horror games, some don’t like vampires, some don’t like it when those vampires are revealed to be the monsters they are.

In saying that I’m not commenting on its quality or trying to make any comparison between it and any other game, but rather that I cannot guarantee that every gamer will enjoy what this game provides, and that’s ok! Not everyone liked the previous editions either.
