The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Tired of those unending Kindred political machinations night after night? Finding you don't care if you've managed to gain control of the newspapers just to lose control of the television studios after weeks of subtle manipulations? Do you actually want to have an -impact- on the Vampire storyline?

Got a book for you if you do.

Transylvania Chronicles I: Dark Tides Rising starts the players off on a journey through history, spanning 800 years. Depending on what the characters do, they can forge control of their own cities (and have them stripped from them, but them's the breaks), discover things only suspected by other vampires (like interesting things about Saulot), and plenty of other things.

I feel compelled to point out this should only be run for those players who aren't of the "Role-playing, red in tooth and claw" school. Your characters will be meeting some very powerful Kindred, and attacking them is, in a word, DUMB. Besides, turning the Transylvania Chronicles into a dungeon-crawl slaughterfest is criminal. It's that good. You don't -have- to start with the first book, either. You could just leap into TS II: Son of the Dragon, but I think that's also an extreme disservice. Whatever floats your gaming boat, though.

The book has six chapters, three of them sessions. You also get a large bit of history on what was happening in Translyvanian history when your characters play, plus notable NPCs and help for running such an undertaking for your players. All are well-written, in my opinion, and they manage to make such a monumental task not quite as overwhelming as one might think.

The art's serviceable, if a little murky in places. I'd like more from Ron Spencer, but that's just me.

All in all, I think this provides Storytellers and players the chance to see how their characters can affect not just parts of a city over the course of a few years, but Kindred society itself over the course of eight centuries. All for 15 bucks American. Can't go wrong there.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Transylvania Chronicles I: Dark Tides Rising
Author: Brian Campbell and Nicky Rea, w/ Jackie Cassada Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Vampire: The Dark Ages Cost: $15.00 Page count: 119 ISBN: 1-56504-290-5 Playtest Review by Matt "Muttley" Penn on 04/21/99. Genre tags: Historical Horror Vampire Gothic	Tired of those unending Kindred political machinations night after night? Finding you don't care if you've managed to gain control of the newspapers just to lose control of the television studios after weeks of subtle manipulations? Do you actually want to have an -impact- on the Vampire storyline? Got a book for you if you do. Transylvania Chronicles I: Dark Tides Rising starts the players off on a journey through history, spanning 800 years. Depending on what the characters do, they can forge control of their own cities (and have them stripped from them, but them's the breaks), discover things only suspected by other vampires (like interesting things about Saulot), and plenty of other things. I feel compelled to point out this should only be run for those players who aren't of the "Role-playing, red in tooth and claw" school. Your characters will be meeting some very powerful Kindred, and attacking them is, in a word, DUMB. Besides, turning the Transylvania Chronicles into a dungeon-crawl slaughterfest is criminal. It's that good. You don't -have- to start with the first book, either. You could just leap into TS II: Son of the Dragon, but I think that's also an extreme disservice. Whatever floats your gaming boat, though. The book has six chapters, three of them sessions. You also get a large bit of history on what was happening in Translyvanian history when your characters play, plus notable NPCs and help for running such an undertaking for your players. All are well-written, in my opinion, and they manage to make such a monumental task not quite as overwhelming as one might think. The art's serviceable, if a little murky in places. I'd like more from Ron Spencer, but that's just me. All in all, I think this provides Storytellers and players the chance to see how their characters can affect not just parts of a city over the course of a few years, but Kindred society itself over the course of eight centuries. All for 15 bucks American. Can't go wrong there. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)