Running this 5 times gave me a few chances to approach the introduction of each of the core NPCs in various ways. I used different accents, voice inflection, and presentation for each of them every time. This helped me to differentiate the games in my mind. It also helped me to see various ways an adventure like this can be adjusted to create more tension, or allow the tension to fade, as thematically appropriate.
Vampire: The Masquerade is a tabletop role-playing game in the World of Darkness series, in which players take the roles of vampires. It was originally released by White Wolf Publishing in 1991, and with new editions released in 1992 (second edition), 1998 (Revised Edition), 2011 (20th Anniversary Edition), and 2018 (fifth edition),[1] each of which updated the game rules.[2] These have been supported with supplementary game books, expanding the game mechanics and setting.[2][3]
The supplements include the By Night series, each covering a city as portrayed in the setting; the Clanbook series, covering the vampire clans; guides to the game; sourcebooks for sects and factions; and various other books.[3] The supplements often introduce gradual change to the game's setting, advancing the overarching narrative.[2] Adventure modules have been released, but only rarely, as White Wolf Publishing has preferred to let storytellers[a] construct their own adventures, an uncommon choice in tabletop role-playing games that they could afford due to the World of Darkness series' success and longevity.[7] In the mid-1990s, new World of Darkness books were often top sellers,[2] and by 2001, Vampire: The Masquerade was the second best selling tabletop role-playing game after TSR, Inc.'s Dungeons & Dragons.[8]
Players must also fight against losing their characters losing Humanity for doing the terrible things vampires need to do to survive. Striking a balance between these two sides of the vampire coin is key to many stories in the game. Complicating matters is the condition of Frenzy, where vampires lose control from hunger or fear and tear apart their carefully assembled lives sometimes literally
Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition updates the setting to the modern nights. It reshuffles clan alliances, changes some clans to better fit their original concepts and strives to make the game a better entry point for new players. Many elder vampires have disappeared to answer a mysterious Beckoning, leaving control of many cities up in the air for the first time in decades.
The Anarch cause struggles against those who claim to rule. The Elders are disappearing so why should vampires hold to tradition? These vampires are ready to explore new ideas on everything like leadership and morality.
This book details the alliance vampires call Second Inquisition between government agencies and Vatican secret socities ready to burn any vampires that step out from behind The Masquerade. This book is built as a book of enemies but it includes several excellent tools and techniques vampires can use in their struggles. Most people expect vampire hunters to use stakes and crosses, but what about gentification?
Sabbat illuminates the most radically changed sect in the most recent edition of the game. Once a dark mirror to the Camarilla, these vampires have given up politics with a renewed religious fervor to terrorize human and mortal alike until Caine returns. As such, they are framed as antagonists in the book, though an enterprising Storyteller might yet tell the tale of a Sabbat pack tonight.
There are more sourcebooks and accessories available such as specialty dice that speed up game play and PDF sourcebooks that include deeper setting info and additional stories but this is a good start. Vampire also thrives in the realm of actual play. New York By Night currently tells the tale of two different groups of vampires, one Camarilla and one Anarch in the City That Never Sleeps.
When I first heard of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition I was admittedly indifferent. 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.
Who your character was in life will affect your choice of Clan. Of the 13 total, only 7 are described in the core rules, the core of the Camarilla and the Anarchs. Others are being introduced in supplements. Clan determines your starting Disciplines, how the Blood Curse manifests specifically in you, and your general role in Kindred society.
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