The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Another product from the label where "games for mature minds" White Wolf dumps their "adult" stuff. For the most part, this has resulted in more gore and not much else (Freak Legion, Spectres), but occasionally the freedom is used to good effect, like their thoughtfully-done book on the effects of the Holocaust. Thankfully, Cainite Heresy is more the latter than the former.

This book is a good, useful exploration of how vampire imagery can infiltrate (and sometimes overlap with) Christian imagery, as well as an inspiring trip through the evolution of the Church (with special attention given to various Gnostic sects). This book is dense with plot seeds and general inspiration; it's small, but there's no wasted space on any page. Even the glossary is fascinating.

First thing is the "for mature readers only" analysis; overall I'd give the book an R rating. Aside from Cacek's rather uninspired opening story (I'd be a bit more kindly disposed towards it if it had had anything to say besides "Look what vampires can do to already-corrupt priests". As an aside, I wonder if WW is planning on putting gratuitous priestly pederasts in all their historical Black Dog books, as we saw that in the Clanbook Baali opening as well), the book isn't very explicit. Actual gore is fairly low, but the theology is often disquieting in several senses. Now, this is the desired effect, and it succeeds brilliantly, but if you don't feel that the Christian Church is an appropriate subject for role-playing games, I suggest that you forget this book even exists.

As far as the art goes, it's generally good, but occasionally a trifle hard to make out through the heavy blacks. Similarly, one IC religious manuscript is a chore to make out thanks to gratuitous "bloodstains" and a wavery font. Eric Hotz's stained glass/woodcut pieces lend a particularly nice feel, though.

The real joy of this book is in the details. Readers of Hite's work know that he does his homework, and he especially shines in the chapter devoted to genuine historical events and beliefs. While some of it should obviously be taken with a grain of salt (due to the way he seamlessly inserts vampiric influence here and there), it's also abundantly clear that he didn't have to invent the most interesting parts. I can't describe quite how well done this is, so I'll let the text speak for itself:

"By the middle of the sixth century B.C.E., Greek intellectuals no longer accepted the myths of their Olympian gods. Some retreated into hollow agnosticism, but others strove to reconcile the rational mind with the experience of the mystical. These 'mysteriosophes' founded cults devoted to the living, religious expression of beliefs such as those of Empedocles and other pre-Socratic philosophers. Empedocles claimed that daimones, divine beings composed of superior power, had fallen from the spiritual world into the world of matter ... The Orphic and Dionysiac cultists adopted the Empedoclean dualist concept of the human spirit incarcerated in a tomb (sema) of flesh (soma) as a central tenet of their belief. Only by performing secret rites could the soul briefly escape the tomb and realize its godhead. This communion left the body and mind irrational, and the Orphics designed many of their rites (ingesting sacred mushrooms, fasting, strong wine, inhali! ! ng herbs) to bring on this mystical insanity. Hysterical Orphics often ran wild across the countryside to tear animals and luckless passersby to shreds. ... Individual vampires may well have served as mystagogues, leading the elites of Hellas in mind-shattering rites through carnage and madness and into blood oaths. Even now, some foolhardy vampires attempt to hunt lupines and drink their blood in order to plunge themselves into frenzied ecstasy more than slightly reminescent of the Dionysiac 'divine madness'. These Cainites ... may be survivors of such a tradition, or they may be recreating it from the same half-understood urges."

I think that's pure gold in terms of game fodder, and there's plenty more like it on every page. Personally, this inspires me to go out and do my own research, just to find the stuff he didn't have room to include.

Another three chapters are devoted to the Cainite Heresy itself, a vampire-backed conspiracy to infiltrate and subvert the Church. The Heresy's doctrine (in short, that the only salvation from the base material world is through a vampiric Communion), iconography (a section I particularly loved; details on how Heretics communicate with each other by stressing certain Scriptural passages and putting extremely subtle distortions in the art and masonry; which can be used to subtly tip off PCs that Something is Amiss in this church), practices, internal tensions (between devout believers and those using the belief of others for power), organization, enemies, and plans are lavishly detailed and are recognizably influenced by the Gnostic and proto-Gnostic beliefs from the historical chapter, which adds to its believability. The Heresy is an intriguing secret society that's easy to spin plots or even campaigns off of, and also a great example of How To Do Evil Cults Right. I think ! ! Call of Cthulhu Keepers really need to read this book and take notes.

Of particular interest to Vampire: the Dark Ages GMs is Bergstrom's appendix examining and expanding the Road of the Devil (a vampiric code of conduct holding that if they're damned, they should act the part), with special attention to integrating Devilish PCs into a mixed group, and how various personality types interpret the Road. Pretty good stuff.

Langlois finishes the book with a handful of well-crafted NPCs that oppose the Heresy for various reasons.

I highly recommend this book to fans of Gnosticism, especially ones familiar with Vampire; while there isn't any real amount of rules material as such, there are a good number of references to specific Clans and such. The price is quite steep for the number of pages, but I feel the book worth every penny.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Cainite Heresy
Author: Ken Hite (hit2@mindspring.com), R. Sean Bergstrom, Jason Langlois, and P.D. Cacek Category: game Company/Publisher: Black Dog Game Factory (www.white-wolf.com) Line: Vampire: the Dark Ages Cost: $15.95 US Page count: 96 ISBN: 1-56504-296-4 Capsule Review by Joe Iglesias on 04/14/99. Genre tags: Historical Horror Conspiracy Vampire	Another product from the label where "games for mature minds" White Wolf dumps their "adult" stuff. For the most part, this has resulted in more gore and not much else (Freak Legion, Spectres), but occasionally the freedom is used to good effect, like their thoughtfully-done book on the effects of the Holocaust. Thankfully, Cainite Heresy is more the latter than the former. This book is a good, useful exploration of how vampire imagery can infiltrate (and sometimes overlap with) Christian imagery, as well as an inspiring trip through the evolution of the Church (with special attention given to various Gnostic sects). This book is dense with plot seeds and general inspiration; it's small, but there's no wasted space on any page. Even the glossary is fascinating. First thing is the "for mature readers only" analysis; overall I'd give the book an R rating. Aside from Cacek's rather uninspired opening story (I'd be a bit more kindly disposed towards it if it had had anything to say besides "Look what vampires can do to already-corrupt priests". As an aside, I wonder if WW is planning on putting gratuitous priestly pederasts in all their historical Black Dog books, as we saw that in the Clanbook Baali opening as well), the book isn't very explicit. Actual gore is fairly low, but the theology is often disquieting in several senses. Now, this is the desired effect, and it succeeds brilliantly, but if you don't feel that the Christian Church is an appropriate subject for role-playing games, I suggest that you forget this book even exists. As far as the art goes, it's generally good, but occasionally a trifle hard to make out through the heavy blacks. Similarly, one IC religious manuscript is a chore to make out thanks to gratuitous "bloodstains" and a wavery font. Eric Hotz's stained glass/woodcut pieces lend a particularly nice feel, though. The real joy of this book is in the details. Readers of Hite's work know that he does his homework, and he especially shines in the chapter devoted to genuine historical events and beliefs. While some of it should obviously be taken with a grain of salt (due to the way he seamlessly inserts vampiric influence here and there), it's also abundantly clear that he didn't have to invent the most interesting parts. I can't describe quite how well done this is, so I'll let the text speak for itself: "By the middle of the sixth century B.C.E., Greek intellectuals no longer accepted the myths of their Olympian gods. Some retreated into hollow agnosticism, but others strove to reconcile the rational mind with the experience of the mystical. These 'mysteriosophes' founded cults devoted to the living, religious expression of beliefs such as those of Empedocles and other pre-Socratic philosophers. Empedocles claimed that daimones, divine beings composed of superior power, had fallen from the spiritual world into the world of matter ... The Orphic and Dionysiac cultists adopted the Empedoclean dualist concept of the human spirit incarcerated in a tomb (sema) of flesh (soma) as a central tenet of their belief. Only by performing secret rites could the soul briefly escape the tomb and realize its godhead. This communion left the body and mind irrational, and the Orphics designed many of their rites (ingesting sacred mushrooms, fasting, strong wine, inhali! ! ng herbs) to bring on this mystical insanity. Hysterical Orphics often ran wild across the countryside to tear animals and luckless passersby to shreds. ... Individual vampires may well have served as mystagogues, leading the elites of Hellas in mind-shattering rites through carnage and madness and into blood oaths. Even now, some foolhardy vampires attempt to hunt lupines and drink their blood in order to plunge themselves into frenzied ecstasy more than slightly reminescent of the Dionysiac 'divine madness'. These Cainites ... may be survivors of such a tradition, or they may be recreating it from the same half-understood urges." I think that's pure gold in terms of game fodder, and there's plenty more like it on every page. Personally, this inspires me to go out and do my own research, just to find the stuff he didn't have room to include. Another three chapters are devoted to the Cainite Heresy itself, a vampire-backed conspiracy to infiltrate and subvert the Church. The Heresy's doctrine (in short, that the only salvation from the base material world is through a vampiric Communion), iconography (a section I particularly loved; details on how Heretics communicate with each other by stressing certain Scriptural passages and putting extremely subtle distortions in the art and masonry; which can be used to subtly tip off PCs that Something is Amiss in this church), practices, internal tensions (between devout believers and those using the belief of others for power), organization, enemies, and plans are lavishly detailed and are recognizably influenced by the Gnostic and proto-Gnostic beliefs from the historical chapter, which adds to its believability. The Heresy is an intriguing secret society that's easy to spin plots or even campaigns off of, and also a great example of How To Do Evil Cults Right. I think ! ! Call of Cthulhu Keepers really need to read this book and take notes. Of particular interest to Vampire: the Dark Ages GMs is Bergstrom's appendix examining and expanding the Road of the Devil (a vampiric code of conduct holding that if they're damned, they should act the part), with special attention to integrating Devilish PCs into a mixed group, and how various personality types interpret the Road. Pretty good stuff. Langlois finishes the book with a handful of well-crafted NPCs that oppose the Heresy for various reasons. I highly recommend this book to fans of Gnosticism, especially ones familiar with Vampire; while there isn't any real amount of rules material as such, there are a good number of references to specific Clans and such. The price is quite steep for the number of pages, but I feel the book worth every penny. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)