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This is a damned fine companion to a damned good book, despite some really awful artwork. (Leif Jones is not the man for this, gang.) It answers some questions that the first book rose, and it expanded the powers of the Kuei-jin so that they may achieve parity with the greats of Western vampirism. It also fixed those wonky Martial Arts rules.

What's new? New, and heretical, Dharma paths based upon mythologies that don't appear to come from China or Japan. (Yes, the Indian and Indonesian worlds get some attention.) More information about those half-breeds called "Dhampyrs" fall into that section; it's not _Blade_ but you could use it for _Vampire Hunter D_ if you're willing to go against the prohibition of Dhampyr Shih.

What else is there? How about an alternate way to play your PC? You can suffer an eternity as a body-thief, forced to do so because your PC isn't strong enough to successfully reinhabit (or rebuild) the old one. There's plenty of new powers, and this includes high-powered levels of existing Demon Arts as well as new ones.

All that stat stuff got you bored? How about the information about the undead societies of the East? You can read all about the various Courts that the Kuei-jin maintain. Read about their alliances, their enemies, their policies, and much more. (They still have this "Kill the White Man!" thing going, but I really can't blame 'em for being so pissed off.)

How about rules and information on how they're interacting with the Kindred? Read about how they're wiping the boards with the Anarchs on the West Coast of the U.S., or how the Tremere desperately want to do something about them, or how the Nagaraja warn them of a great doom in the West, and much more. And, for all you chop-socky fans, there's the revised Martial Arts rules.

Yes, there are Vampire 3.0 revisions in the back. There's also a long list of crossover summaries. They're also rather boring to comment on, save that they're servicable. Whether or not you'll like them is dependant on your opinion of the new edition/crossover campaigning.

Should you get it? Only if you've got the first, but if you do you will enjoy it.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Kindred of the East Companion
Author: Justin Achilli, Phyllis Bowen, Dawn Bromley, Mark Cenczyk, Jess Heinig, Amy Lindgrin, and Steve Long Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Vampire-The Masquerade/Kindred of the East Cost: $19.95 (US) Page count: 144 pages ISBN: 1-56504-223-9 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 04/23/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Horror Vampire Gothic Asian/Far_East	This is a damned fine companion to a damned good book, despite some really awful artwork. (Leif Jones is not the man for this, gang.) It answers some questions that the first book rose, and it expanded the powers of the Kuei-jin so that they may achieve parity with the greats of Western vampirism. It also fixed those wonky Martial Arts rules. What's new? New, and heretical, Dharma paths based upon mythologies that don't appear to come from China or Japan. (Yes, the Indian and Indonesian worlds get some attention.) More information about those half-breeds called "Dhampyrs" fall into that section; it's not _Blade_ but you could use it for _Vampire Hunter D_ if you're willing to go against the prohibition of Dhampyr Shih. What else is there? How about an alternate way to play your PC? You can suffer an eternity as a body-thief, forced to do so because your PC isn't strong enough to successfully reinhabit (or rebuild) the old one. There's plenty of new powers, and this includes high-powered levels of existing Demon Arts as well as new ones. All that stat stuff got you bored? How about the information about the undead societies of the East? You can read all about the various Courts that the Kuei-jin maintain. Read about their alliances, their enemies, their policies, and much more. (They still have this "Kill the White Man!" thing going, but I really can't blame 'em for being so pissed off.) How about rules and information on how they're interacting with the Kindred? Read about how they're wiping the boards with the Anarchs on the West Coast of the U.S., or how the Tremere desperately want to do something about them, or how the Nagaraja warn them of a great doom in the West, and much more. And, for all you chop-socky fans, there's the revised Martial Arts rules. Yes, there are Vampire 3.0 revisions in the back. There's also a long list of crossover summaries. They're also rather boring to comment on, save that they're servicable. Whether or not you'll like them is dependant on your opinion of the new edition/crossover campaigning. Should you get it? Only if you've got the first, but if you do you will enjoy it. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Kindred of the East Companion