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Is Libellus Sanguinis 2 not a sign that Vampire: The Dark Ages is running low on creativity. It is my sincerest hope that this is not a harbinger of books to come.

If you get the feeling that it took three people to write Libellus Sanguinis 2, you would be correct. Libellus Sanguinis is a muddled and vaguely useful supplement for Vampire; The Dark Ages and you would do well to avoid it unless you must have information about the three clans covered in the book.

The first section of the book, focusing on Clan Toreador is a fine example of what went wrong with the supplement. If you wanted to know more about the clan, you might come away with more questions than answers. The flow of the Toreador section is fairly awful and much of the text seems redundant. Had the information been better presented, this might have salvaged the section.

There however is a good point to this book and that is the second section, which focuses in on the clan Tremere. It covers the clan more in depth than I remember in the core book for Vampire: The Dark Ages and presents itself fairly well. However for being a chapter on covering the details of unlife in clan Tremere, it could have been more in depth. For example the sections detailing the clan's chantries could have been rich with detail and story, but rather it read much like a real estate advert.

The last section of the book took a look at clan Brujah. Like the first chapter it was not well organized and could have had much more exciting than how it was presented. On the plus side the loss of the Brujah's cities of Hellas and Carthage was well covered. But that in and of itself was intimated in the core book and hardly saves the chapter.

I suppose I can appreciate and tolerate the concieted holier-than-thou artistic feel of the book (and other White Wolf products) when it is well done and conveys the mood. The stories in Libellus Sanguinis 2 that mark the beginning of a chapter were a fine example of this. Had the supplement really hooked me and the stories as they were might have been good mood setting material.

Libellus Sanguinis 2's art had some good pieces, but overall it was mediocre. The cover definitely did not sell me either. I think there must have been a better way to portray the clans Toreador, Tremere and Brujah better. Rtaher the cover art just said (to me), "Hey this is a Vampire supplement." I will say the art did not overwhelm the content of the book, such as it was. The interior art was placed well in the book and for the most part portrayed the setting well.

Overall Libellus Sanguinis 2 could have used a better editor and kept the book from becoming jumbled and meandering. Unless you have a serious need for information on the aforementioned clans, this book can probably be avoided.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Libellus Sanguinis 2
Author: Jackie Cassada, Richard Stratton and Cynthia Summers Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $15.00 Page count: 112 ISBN: 1-56504-294-8 Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 01/24/99. Genre tags: Historical Vampire Gothic	Is Libellus Sanguinis 2 not a sign that Vampire: The Dark Ages is running low on creativity. It is my sincerest hope that this is not a harbinger of books to come. If you get the feeling that it took three people to write Libellus Sanguinis 2, you would be correct. Libellus Sanguinis is a muddled and vaguely useful supplement for Vampire; The Dark Ages and you would do well to avoid it unless you must have information about the three clans covered in the book. The first section of the book, focusing on Clan Toreador is a fine example of what went wrong with the supplement. If you wanted to know more about the clan, you might come away with more questions than answers. The flow of the Toreador section is fairly awful and much of the text seems redundant. Had the information been better presented, this might have salvaged the section. There however is a good point to this book and that is the second section, which focuses in on the clan Tremere. It covers the clan more in depth than I remember in the core book for Vampire: The Dark Ages and presents itself fairly well. However for being a chapter on covering the details of unlife in clan Tremere, it could have been more in depth. For example the sections detailing the clan's chantries could have been rich with detail and story, but rather it read much like a real estate advert. The last section of the book took a look at clan Brujah. Like the first chapter it was not well organized and could have had much more exciting than how it was presented. On the plus side the loss of the Brujah's cities of Hellas and Carthage was well covered. But that in and of itself was intimated in the core book and hardly saves the chapter. I suppose I can appreciate and tolerate the concieted holier-than-thou artistic feel of the book (and other White Wolf products) when it is well done and conveys the mood. The stories in Libellus Sanguinis 2 that mark the beginning of a chapter were a fine example of this. Had the supplement really hooked me and the stories as they were might have been good mood setting material. Libellus Sanguinis 2's art had some good pieces, but overall it was mediocre. The cover definitely did not sell me either. I think there must have been a better way to portray the clans Toreador, Tremere and Brujah better. Rtaher the cover art just said (to me), "Hey this is a Vampire supplement." I will say the art did not overwhelm the content of the book, such as it was. The interior art was placed well in the book and for the most part portrayed the setting well. Overall Libellus Sanguinis 2 could have used a better editor and kept the book from becoming jumbled and meandering. Unless you have a serious need for information on the aforementioned clans, this book can probably be avoided. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)