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My absolute favorite vampire game was a Dark Ages game set in Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade, so when I heard about this book I was very excited, even though my characters tended to be academics rather than knights. Once I got my grubby little paws upon it, I was thrilled. Like Cainite Heresy, this is an outstanding resources, mixing excellent historical research with insights about how vampires interact with the mortal world around them.

The Introduction appears, at first glance, to be the standard fare except until you note that the recommended reading list is almost entirely period. That's right, for examples they point you to the epic poems and stories of the chivalric world. This is excellent because not only are these the best resources, but they are also the ones most valuable to know by name in order to find them. It's easy to look up knighthood in the card catalog, its a bit harder to figure out which epic poems of the 12th and 13th centuries best typified the chivalric creed. Also, they choose only four films as recommended viewing and yet still manage to get a very good mix, from the brutally realistic to the fantasic to the epic.

Chapter One gives the basic historical context which the rest of the book is based upon. It deals with the question of what it means to be a knight, from the chivalric virtues to the particularities of knighthood in various regions of Europe. One minor bit of disappointment for me was that I was told that this book would give a little more detail on some of the major European cities important to chivalry (like Toulouse), but the section on parts of Europe turned out to be very sparse. However, it isn't particularly important to the topic, so I can't really blame them. What is here is a very good introduction to what it means to be a knight -- socially, politically, economically, and spiritually.

Chapter Two deals specifically with being a Cainite knight and all the problems inherent, from how to explain your absence from events during the day to the difficulties of travelling with crusading armies full of holy relics and people with True Faith. It is a very thoughtful and thorough look at the topic and ties in well with the sidebars from the previous chapter, which speak of the Cainite theories for the origins of knighthood and opinions on chivalry according to age.

Chapter Three discusses the knight orders, from the two largest (Templars and Hospitalars) to several minor and even a few imaginary ones. Their histories and relationship to the Cainites is covered, leading into the section on Cainite orders. There is a lot of interesting stuff here, from the leper knights of the Lazarene Order (with their Nosferatu patrons) to an all female order founded in recognition of the defenders of a Spanish city by women armed only with hatchets. Lots of good history and numerous plot hooks.

Chapter Four deals with the largest group of Cainite knights, the Order of the Bitter Ashes. This is outstanding stuff. With a history stretching back to before the first glimmering of monotheism in the ancient world, it is the plausible and fascinating story of Cainites searching for the truth of their condition and the larger question of God and religion. The Order itself is composed entirely of knights embraced through the use of a cup which may or may not be the Grail, but which is certainly holy and possessing of great power. The Grail Knights roam the world, collecting and protecting relics, helping Cainites searching for enlightenment and release, and fighting against the forces of darkness. There is so much potential for plots in this group that I don't even know where to begin. It ties into the same mixture of religion, occultism, and mystery that I loved about the Albigensian game and I was tickled pink reading it. My Storyteller even dug out all his notes and began working on the sequel.

Chapter Five deals with character creation and offers up the usual fare of new abilities, a new background, and a host of merits and flaws relevant to Cainite knights. On the plus side, they make a point to note that many of these are just not applicable to a game not centered on the chivalric world, which made me happy. The Path of Chivalry is also redone (much better) and notes are even given so that it can be used by non-Christians (which complements a bit in the first chapter discussing chivalric figures from Jewish and Pagan history). Also, there is some nice stuff on equipment quality and maintanence near the end.

The Appendix has four templates, which are decent but not particularly interesting, and a collection of notable figures. A minor gripe about this last. Two of them are given full stats, the rest have no stats at all. Now, while I appreciate that leaving stats up the Storyteller, particularly when powerful NPCs are concerned, isn't a bad idea, I would like at least some information. Generation, sire, year of embrace, nature and demeanor, and path would be helpful.

All in all, this is a fantasic supplement. The art was generally good and didn't take up too much space. There weren't large swaths of flavor text detracting from the 'meat' of the material. Definitely worth the money I paid for it. On top of this, it is fantasically well researched and thought out. With Cainite Heresy, this keeps up the excellent trend of supplements giving history from a Cainite perspective and putting them into their proper context.

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

The Ashen Knight
Author: Robert Barrett, Bruce Baugh, Richard E. Dansky, and Wendy L. Gash Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Vampire: The Dark Ages Cost: $17.95 Page count: 128 SKU: WW2826 Capsule Review by Eric Christian Berg on 04/25/00. Genre tags: Historical Horror Vampire Gothic	My absolute favorite vampire game was a Dark Ages game set in Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade, so when I heard about this book I was very excited, even though my characters tended to be academics rather than knights. Once I got my grubby little paws upon it, I was thrilled. Like Cainite Heresy, this is an outstanding resources, mixing excellent historical research with insights about how vampires interact with the mortal world around them. The Introduction appears, at first glance, to be the standard fare except until you note that the recommended reading list is almost entirely period. That's right, for examples they point you to the epic poems and stories of the chivalric world. This is excellent because not only are these the best resources, but they are also the ones most valuable to know by name in order to find them. It's easy to look up knighthood in the card catalog, its a bit harder to figure out which epic poems of the 12th and 13th centuries best typified the chivalric creed. Also, they choose only four films as recommended viewing and yet still manage to get a very good mix, from the brutally realistic to the fantasic to the epic. Chapter One gives the basic historical context which the rest of the book is based upon. It deals with the question of what it means to be a knight, from the chivalric virtues to the particularities of knighthood in various regions of Europe. One minor bit of disappointment for me was that I was told that this book would give a little more detail on some of the major European cities important to chivalry (like Toulouse), but the section on parts of Europe turned out to be very sparse. However, it isn't particularly important to the topic, so I can't really blame them. What is here is a very good introduction to what it means to be a knight -- socially, politically, economically, and spiritually. Chapter Two deals specifically with being a Cainite knight and all the problems inherent, from how to explain your absence from events during the day to the difficulties of travelling with crusading armies full of holy relics and people with True Faith. It is a very thoughtful and thorough look at the topic and ties in well with the sidebars from the previous chapter, which speak of the Cainite theories for the origins of knighthood and opinions on chivalry according to age. Chapter Three discusses the knight orders, from the two largest (Templars and Hospitalars) to several minor and even a few imaginary ones. Their histories and relationship to the Cainites is covered, leading into the section on Cainite orders. There is a lot of interesting stuff here, from the leper knights of the Lazarene Order (with their Nosferatu patrons) to an all female order founded in recognition of the defenders of a Spanish city by women armed only with hatchets. Lots of good history and numerous plot hooks. Chapter Four deals with the largest group of Cainite knights, the Order of the Bitter Ashes. This is outstanding stuff. With a history stretching back to before the first glimmering of monotheism in the ancient world, it is the plausible and fascinating story of Cainites searching for the truth of their condition and the larger question of God and religion. The Order itself is composed entirely of knights embraced through the use of a cup which may or may not be the Grail, but which is certainly holy and possessing of great power. The Grail Knights roam the world, collecting and protecting relics, helping Cainites searching for enlightenment and release, and fighting against the forces of darkness. There is so much potential for plots in this group that I don't even know where to begin. It ties into the same mixture of religion, occultism, and mystery that I loved about the Albigensian game and I was tickled pink reading it. My Storyteller even dug out all his notes and began working on the sequel. Chapter Five deals with character creation and offers up the usual fare of new abilities, a new background, and a host of merits and flaws relevant to Cainite knights. On the plus side, they make a point to note that many of these are just not applicable to a game not centered on the chivalric world, which made me happy. The Path of Chivalry is also redone (much better) and notes are even given so that it can be used by non-Christians (which complements a bit in the first chapter discussing chivalric figures from Jewish and Pagan history). Also, there is some nice stuff on equipment quality and maintanence near the end. The Appendix has four templates, which are decent but not particularly interesting, and a collection of notable figures. A minor gripe about this last. Two of them are given full stats, the rest have no stats at all. Now, while I appreciate that leaving stats up the Storyteller, particularly when powerful NPCs are concerned, isn't a bad idea, I would like at least some information. Generation, sire, year of embrace, nature and demeanor, and path would be helpful. All in all, this is a fantasic supplement. The art was generally good and didn't take up too much space. There weren't large swaths of flavor text detracting from the 'meat' of the material. Definitely worth the money I paid for it. On top of this, it is fantasically well researched and thought out. With Cainite Heresy, this keeps up the excellent trend of supplements giving history from a Cainite perspective and putting them into their proper context. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Ashen Knight