Redemption is presented in the first- and third-person perspectives. The player controls Christof and up to three allies through a linear structure, providing the player with missions to progress through a set narrative. Certain actions committed by Christof throughout the game can raise or lower his humanity, affecting which of the game's three endings the player receives. As a vampire, Christof is imbued with a variety of abilities and powers that can be used to combat or avoid enemies and obstacles. Use of these abilities drains Christof's supply of blood which can be replenished by drinking from enemies or innocents. It includes multiplayer gameplay called "Storyteller", which allows one player to create a narrative for a group of players with the ability to modify the game dynamically in reaction to the players' actions.
The main character of Redemption is French crusader Christof Romuald, a once-proud, religious church knight who is transformed into a Brujah vampire.[9][26] With his religious faith destroyed, Christof is forced to reassess his understanding of good and evil as he acclimates to his new life.[4] Christof's anchor to humanity is the nun Anezka, a human with a pure soul who loves Chrisof even after his transformation.[26] As a member of the Brujah under Ecaterina the Wise,[27] Christof allies with Wilhem Streicher,[28][29] the Gangrel Erik,[4] and the Cappadocian Serena[28][30] during his journeys through 12th century Prague. Other characters in this era include the slaver Count Orsi,[31] the Tremere Etrius,[32] and the Ventrue Prince Brandl.[33]
In 1141 in Prague, crusader Christof Romuald is wounded in battle. He recovers in a church, where he is cared for by a nun called Anezka. The pair instantly fall in love but are restrained by their commitments to God. Christof enters a nearby silver mine to kill a monstrous Tzimisce vampire who is tormenting the city. Christof's victory is noted by the local vampires, one of whom, Ecaterina the Wise, turns him into a vampire to prevent another clan from taking him.[26]
In 1999, the Society of Leopold excavates the site of Vyšehrad Castle; they recover Christof's body and take it to London, where he is awoken by a female voice. He learns that the events at Vyšehrad and the resulting human uprising divided the vampires into two sects: the Camarilla who seek to hide from humanity and the Sabbat who seek to regain dominion over it. The Society's excavation also enables Vukodlak's followers to recover Vyšehrad.[42] After escaping, Christof meets Pink, who agrees to help him. They learn that the Setite clan has been shipping Vyšehrad contraband to New York City and infiltrate a Setite brothel to gain information. They kill the Setite leader Lucretia and recruit Lily, an enslaved prostitute.[22]
The ending of Redemption varies depending upon the quantity of humanity Christof has retained during the game. If the quantity is great, Christof kills Vukodlak, reconciles with Anezka, and turns her into a vampire, sparing her from death.[48] If his humanity is moderate, he surrenders to Vukodlak and becomes a ghoul; Vukodlak betrays Christof and forces him to murder Anezka.[49] A lesser quantity of humanity results in Christof killing Vukodlak by drinking his blood. Greatly empowered, Christof forsakes his humanity, murders Anezka, and revels in his new power.[50]
The Nihilistic team used their experience adapting an existing property for the Star Wars games to design Redemption. Reasoning that most people would be familiar with vampire tropes, the team wrote the game assuming players would not need an explanation of the genre's common elements, while enabling them to explore White Wolf's additions to the mythos. When translating the pen-and-paper RPG to a video game, the team redesigned some of the disciplines to make them simpler to understand. For example, in the pen-and-paper game, the "Protean" discipline includes the abilities to see in the dark, grow claws, melt into the ground, and change into an animal, however in Redemption these were made into individual disciplines to make them instantly accessible, instead of requiring the player to select Protean and then select one of the sub-abilities.[4]
In the game's storyline, the crusader Christof falls in battle, and is left in the care of the convent in Prague. Anezka, a nun in the convent, tends Christof's wounds, and in a atmosphere charged with their compatibility, the closeness of the patient-healer relationship, overflowing sexual tension, and resulting temptation to break the rules of chastity and propriety of their Christian faith, they fall into a love that seems doomed from the start. Christof, not fully recovered, ventures into the Bonn Silver Mines (near Prague) to kill Ahzra the Unliving, a twisted Tzimisce (WP) vampire.
His glorious return to Prague doesn't go unnoticed by the local vampire leaders and soon he is "embraced" (turned into a vampire) by Ecaterina the Wise, leader of the Brujah (WP) clan, as to boost the ranks of vampires in preparation for a brewing battle between vampire clans. Having been made one of the undead, the passionate crusader has to realize that he deviated from his religious mission long ago; being only a mundane soldier, he was easy prey for the vampires. His rebellious nature, however, urges him to find a way to redeem his soul, perhaps by regaining his mortal state. But before long, in a move designed to torment Christof (in retaliation for dispatching Ahzra), the nun is kidnapped and turned into a ghoul, a servitor to vampires addicted to vampire blood. This changes Christof's part in the course of events, since he is now being wracked with guilt as he feels his affection towards Anezka led her down a path of sin. Christof swears to face the vampires who took her and restore her life as human.
In his quest, being a powerful vampire, he must learn to conquer his dark side and gain experience with his new powers (vampiric disciplines, similar to spells) to fight against a world of darkness that unfolds before him, as he learns more about this new world he is now a part of, while struggling to maintain his humanity and the faith he once had as a holy knight.
Twelve of the thirteen great vampire clans (from the original storytelling game) feature in Redemption, in one form or another. The exceptions are the absence of the gypsy Ravnos clan, and the addition of the Assamites.
Erik - a giant Gangrel (WP) who is imprisoned at Ardan's Chantry and being prepared to be turned into a gargoyle. He is rescued by Christof's coterie just before the final stage of transformation. He joins the group as to repay this "life boon". Erik, as most Gangrels, is physically stronger than vampires of other clans and possesses the Disciplines of Protean and Animalism (shapeshifting into a wolf, drawing out and quelling the beast). A rather moody but absolutely honorable and reliable character, he will fight alongside Christof until he meets his tragic destiny upon his return to Prague from Vienna.
Lily - A Toreador (WP) singer who was kidnapped by Setites (WP) and blood-bound to work in their London Brothel. The nature of her work there is not expounded on beyond Lily's statements about the Vampiric Kiss of blood drinking ("most mortals love the delirium that comes from being a blood donor to a vampire. especially the way I do it"). Christof and Pink rescue her (and eventually her Sire), making for an additional team member. She is not that powerful at first, starting off as barely a Neonate, but she has a lot of branches where she can develop. Like Serena before her, she seeks to alleve Christof's pain at his separation from Anezka.
As the game progresses, third person combat replaces more of the character model and voice file 'movie' scenes and CGI that introduce the vampire world, but it remains true to or above the standard of roleplaying in computer games. The Storyteller mode in multiplayer allows full roleplaying, of course.
Though celebrated as the hero of Prague, Christof soon learns that Ahzra was a Tzimisce vampire, and not without allies; revenants attack the convent. Fearing that Christof has brought this evil upon them, and also jealous of his burgeoning love for Anezka, the archbishop Geza banishes Christof from the convent and charges him to defend the town after dark. His heroics have not gone unnoticed by Prague's Kindred; Ecaterina the Wise, a Promethean Brujah, Embraces him before the other clans have a chance. Christof laments his lost soul, but pledges himself to the Promethean cause, hoping to find redemption and his love, Anezka.
Blood may be gained by feeding on mortals or other vampires, including other members of the party, or by finding or buying vessels of blood, which include decanters of vitae, blood packs or rats. Killing a mortal while feeding lowers the player's Humanity; drinking a vampire to death does not, and diablerie is not implemented in the game, with a pair of exceptions. Committing it has narrative impact and also lowers the Humanity rating. Frenzy is faithfully reproduced; a vampire in its grip is no longer controlled by the player, and will attack enemies or attempt to drain the nearest vessel (including his or her allies) when low on blood. Rötschreck is not implemented, though fire increases a character's Frenzy rating dramatically (adding to the potency of the Lure of Flames).
Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, possibly the first game in PC history to use two different forms of subtitle separation in the title, has finally arrived. It is also the first game I have seen with a dedication."Dedicated in loving memory, Paul Kraaijvanger Sr."It tells the story of Christof Romuald, a Crusader in Prague, 1141 A.D. who falls in love with Anezka, a novice nun, and so loses the faith that might protect him from the vampires fighting over the city. Drawn into a conflict he can barely understand, Christof is driven on by his love for Anezka for over eight hundred years, fighting the Beast within and struggling to retain his Humanity and sanity. It is a classic Vampire: The Masquerade story writ large. Unusually for a computer RPG it is centred around a character's emotions, rather than a quest to save the world. There is a quest to save the world, but it's the human story that maintains interest.
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