The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Disclaimer: I loved the first edition of this book. I think it's one of the best things White Wolf has ever put out. I also maintain the Malkavian Web Page, which means I'm a bit biased.

There is, of course, the obligatory bit of opening fiction. We see once again the esteemed Dr. Netchurch, author of Ghouls: Fatal Addiction. It's not bad, but not great.

The book proper begins with a history of the clan, as told by the voices in the head of a young Malkavian. I found it to be well-written and told in the proper ancient tone. There are some interesting bits of vampiric societal development which get credited to the Malkavians. I enjoyed these; you may not. An explanation is given for why Camarilla Malkavians have Dominate but all other Malkavians have Dementation; it is as plausible as any of the others I've seen. Reference is made to the recent metaplot events surrounding the rise and fall of Ravnos, and of course we're reminded that Gehenna is happening Real Soon Now and when Malkav wakes up everyone will be well and truly screwed. The "famous Malkavians" from the back of the first Clanbook are all mentioned, but most are in new forms. Vasantasena gets fleshed out some more; I was pleased to see that, as I've always found her to be an interesting character.

The second chapter is point-of-view from a different speaker, a younger Malkavian giving a running commentary of his day-to-day life. The usual issues of vampire politics are discussed, plus a brief section on traditional Malkavian extras such as pranks and prophecies. Personally, I wish that particular section had been a bit larger; the average gamer could, IMHO, use some more guidance in pranking. (Not that I'm perfect myself.)

Following this exposition, we shift to the out-of-character section of the book. This begins with a discussion of picking a good Derangement and meshing it with a hundred-year-old vampire's ingrained view of madness. Some extra Derangements are given, including one that only a vampire could develop. Mechanics junkies will be interested to know that Malkavian Time is now a Talent rather than a Knowledge. LARP rules are provided for many of the unique Discipline effects; I cannot comment on how good or bad these are, as I have little to no LARP experience. The new powers are not something I'm likely to ever see a character of mine using, but they're reasonable elder-level abilities. Unfortunately, "Visit Fairyland" has been yanked. Some new Merits and Flaws are also given; they aren't blatantly imbalanced and might be appropriate for certain characters. Overall, the additional rules are about what you'd expect. Nothing's broken and nothing's amazingly revolutionary; if all you want is new rules the book isn't worth the price.

The obligatory template section is much larger than that of the first Clanbook. Once again, LARP sheets are given as well as tabletop. I'm kind of annoyed by the fact that the LARP sheets get full-page layouts, whereas the tabletop sheets get a quarter-page on the same page as the template description and the character artwork. They're printed clearly enough to be legible, but as someone who's a pure tabletop gamer, I feel a bit slighted. None of the templates from the first book are reproduced; in fact, I found that the more chaotic side of the Malkavians wasn't really represented by these templates. Then again, I've never seen anyone actually make use of the damn templates in one of these books anyway.

Also included is an entire coterie (five) of NPC Malkavians patterned vaguely after the Fates. They're generic enough to fit into most chronicles (once again, something that I personally wouldn't use, but I know many people are likely to find useful). There's also a listing of more "traditional" back-of-the-book NPCs: an Archon, Dr. Netchurch, Anatole (star of the Clan Novel), Vasantasena (again), and others. I will warn you that Anatole's bio entry is a plot synopsis of the novel, so if you plan to read it, don't read that part of the Clanbook.

The overall tone is very different from the original Clanbook --- this is coherent exposition, not frenzied ranting. No mirror writing, upside-down pages, "deleted" text, Page XX, or Greek font on the back cover. The clan madness is continually referred to as an infection or fever; the Madness Network is now the "Cobweb". The picture is much darker --- this is now a clan with some nasty secrets, and I got the impression that the ones who know hard facts about Malkav are scared of him even as they worship him.

The book is definitely a reaction against the "light and fluffy Malkavians" which drive most players into berserk rages. In this, it has succeeded. One will not find fluffiness here. These Malkavians are clearly part of something only their elders have a hope of understanding, and many of them are scary little bastards. The book also focuses heavily on the horror aspect and seems to mostly ignore the "reality-breaking" aspect of the clan. I for one find this to be a flaw. The new version is definitely not as philosophically interesting as the original, but still a good read and a good resource. I have to admit that it will probably work much better as a guide for the newbie gamer, as a Clanbook should be.

I'm giving it high marks for being a well-written book on a tricky subject, but I intend to keep using everything that was written in the first edition to complement this one. It's best looked on as an expansion, not a replacement.

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

Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)
Author: Ethan Skemp Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Vampire: the Masquerade Cost: $14.95 Page count: 100 ISBN: 1-56504-268-9 SKU: WW2353 Capsule Review by Alik Widge on 06/15/00. Genre tags: Modern day Horror Vampire	Disclaimer: I loved the first edition of this book. I think it's one of the best things White Wolf has ever put out. I also maintain the Malkavian Web Page, which means I'm a bit biased. There is, of course, the obligatory bit of opening fiction. We see once again the esteemed Dr. Netchurch, author of Ghouls: Fatal Addiction. It's not bad, but not great. The book proper begins with a history of the clan, as told by the voices in the head of a young Malkavian. I found it to be well-written and told in the proper ancient tone. There are some interesting bits of vampiric societal development which get credited to the Malkavians. I enjoyed these; you may not. An explanation is given for why Camarilla Malkavians have Dominate but all other Malkavians have Dementation; it is as plausible as any of the others I've seen. Reference is made to the recent metaplot events surrounding the rise and fall of Ravnos, and of course we're reminded that Gehenna is happening Real Soon Now and when Malkav wakes up everyone will be well and truly screwed. The "famous Malkavians" from the back of the first Clanbook are all mentioned, but most are in new forms. Vasantasena gets fleshed out some more; I was pleased to see that, as I've always found her to be an interesting character. The second chapter is point-of-view from a different speaker, a younger Malkavian giving a running commentary of his day-to-day life. The usual issues of vampire politics are discussed, plus a brief section on traditional Malkavian extras such as pranks and prophecies. Personally, I wish that particular section had been a bit larger; the average gamer could, IMHO, use some more guidance in pranking. (Not that I'm perfect myself.) Following this exposition, we shift to the out-of-character section of the book. This begins with a discussion of picking a good Derangement and meshing it with a hundred-year-old vampire's ingrained view of madness. Some extra Derangements are given, including one that only a vampire could develop. Mechanics junkies will be interested to know that Malkavian Time is now a Talent rather than a Knowledge. LARP rules are provided for many of the unique Discipline effects; I cannot comment on how good or bad these are, as I have little to no LARP experience. The new powers are not something I'm likely to ever see a character of mine using, but they're reasonable elder-level abilities. Unfortunately, "Visit Fairyland" has been yanked. Some new Merits and Flaws are also given; they aren't blatantly imbalanced and might be appropriate for certain characters. Overall, the additional rules are about what you'd expect. Nothing's broken and nothing's amazingly revolutionary; if all you want is new rules the book isn't worth the price. The obligatory template section is much larger than that of the first Clanbook. Once again, LARP sheets are given as well as tabletop. I'm kind of annoyed by the fact that the LARP sheets get full-page layouts, whereas the tabletop sheets get a quarter-page on the same page as the template description and the character artwork. They're printed clearly enough to be legible, but as someone who's a pure tabletop gamer, I feel a bit slighted. None of the templates from the first book are reproduced; in fact, I found that the more chaotic side of the Malkavians wasn't really represented by these templates. Then again, I've never seen anyone actually make use of the damn templates in one of these books anyway. Also included is an entire coterie (five) of NPC Malkavians patterned vaguely after the Fates. They're generic enough to fit into most chronicles (once again, something that I personally wouldn't use, but I know many people are likely to find useful). There's also a listing of more "traditional" back-of-the-book NPCs: an Archon, Dr. Netchurch, Anatole (star of the Clan Novel), Vasantasena (again), and others. I will warn you that Anatole's bio entry is a plot synopsis of the novel, so if you plan to read it, don't read that part of the Clanbook. The overall tone is very different from the original Clanbook --- this is coherent exposition, not frenzied ranting. No mirror writing, upside-down pages, "deleted" text, Page XX, or Greek font on the back cover. The clan madness is continually referred to as an infection or fever; the Madness Network is now the "Cobweb". The picture is much darker --- this is now a clan with some nasty secrets, and I got the impression that the ones who know hard facts about Malkav are scared of him even as they worship him. The book is definitely a reaction against the "light and fluffy Malkavians" which drive most players into berserk rages. In this, it has succeeded. One will not find fluffiness here. These Malkavians are clearly part of something only their elders have a hope of understanding, and many of them are scary little bastards. The book also focuses heavily on the horror aspect and seems to mostly ignore the "reality-breaking" aspect of the clan. I for one find this to be a flaw. The new version is definitely not as philosophically interesting as the original, but still a good read and a good resource. I have to admit that it will probably work much better as a guide for the newbie gamer, as a Clanbook should be. I'm giving it high marks for being a well-written book on a tricky subject, but I intend to keep using everything that was written in the first edition to complement this one. It's best looked on as an expansion, not a replacement. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)