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Clan Tremere have always been the odd ones out in Vampire: The Masquerade. Their roots as a House of magi in Ars Magica gave them a more complex back story than the other lines, and their unique Discipline of Thaumaturgy, blood magic, made them more powerful on aggregate than any other Kindred of equivalent age and generation. This was balanced by making them inflexible and hierarchical, thus less attractive to players seeking power and the freedom to use it. In the first edition rulebook they were all fully Blood Bound to the elders of the clan. This was later lessened to the current level of being a single step (of three) towards the Bond, more or less equalled out by establishing just how draconian the elders of the clan could be, not least in Keith Herber's original Clanbook.

The first Clanbook contained enough information to run the Tremere hierarchy, but more space was given to occult mysteries and conspiracy plotlines, probably making the Tremere stand out still further from the other lines. It was not helped by Herber, until shortly before writing it the developer of Call of Cthulhu, inserting a number of Lovecraft in-jokes.

By comparison, the new book covers much of the same essential ground but brings the clan more into the setting as a whole. The mysteries within seem part of the Vampire background, rather than additions just for the Tremere. The material on the society of the line is enough to detail them, while not as thorough as the equivalent for other clans. This is because the section is given less space due to the Thaumaturgy sections that must also be included.

Thaumaturgy, a Discipline that branches off into multiple paths making it the most flexible and dangerous of all vampires' powers, has already received its own sourcebook, Blood Magic. This is a strong indication of why the Tremere are given so many background restrictions.

The book also contains secret rituals and paths of Thaumaturgy that can give Tremere an advantage over characters of other clans. The main problem with secrets like these is that players read Clanbooks as well. While not all will use out of character knowledge, many will be tempted to push their characters to investigate so they can learn what the players already know. Because of this, non-Tremere characters will probably regard Thaumaturgy with even more suspicion after their players read this book.

Conversely, Heinig does a good job of giving individual Tremere more freedom than has previously been inferred, making Tremere characters more viable in typical player groups. While the canon setting has seen the Tremere of the Sabbat destroyed, the new Clanbook indicates that Tremere anarchs (generally young Kindred who turn their backs on Camarilla society and fight for greater freedom, and a very common PC type) are not uncommon, and that any clan member can opt out of the power structure if they choose.

Another new development is that the Tremere presented here generally favour modernisation. Coupled with the generally scientific viewpoint applied to Thaumaturgy, this makes the clan appear more forward thinking than has previously been the case. This fits in with Heinig's work as developer of Mage: The Ascension, where even the occult Order of Hermes are adapting to the modern world, the better to change it.

Curiously, Mages are given very little attention in the book, and the "narrator" of the section on views of other supernatural groups appears entirely ignorant of them. This is especially noteworthy because the Mage sourcebook Blood Treachery dealt with a war between the Tremere and the Order of Hermes. While the Tremere play an important supporting role in Mage, the Mages have little more than a cameo in Clanbook: Tremere.

Heinig is especially good at pointing out game concerns, giving a good sense of "what you can get away with" in one sidebar and covering the destruction of the Tremere antitribu, clan members who defected to the Sabbat and were destroyed in the Transylvania Chronicles series, in another.

In structure, the book follows the Revised Clanbook standard. The Thaumaturgy section leaves some of the other chapters with less space than normal, but the Mages aside nothing is given insufficient attention. The character templates are all reasonable and seem playable, the sample coterie is based on a good idea and develops it effectively, and the material on the clan founders notes their previous appearances and leaves other details up to individual storytellers. In terms of production, the book is of White Wolf's usual good standard, while allowing a few minor errors to slip in. Tenacious is repeatedly misspelled in the templates' live-action character sheets, a few words seem to have gone missing from sentences, and so on. The most glaring error is that the Toreador rose symbol appears on the spine of the book in place of the Tremere Mars insignia.

Artistically, there are stylised chapter frontispieces by Alex Shiekman somewhat reminiscent of Mike Mignola but not as dark (possibly not dark enough for Vampire in my opinion), atmospheric but sometimes muddy watercolours by Drew Tucker, faux woodcuts by Eric Hotz, character portraits by Christopher Shy, whose work is developing with each book, and art for the templates by Leif Jones, who is similarly improving in my opinion. Compare the Nightclub Owner on page 83 with earlier work for example. That said, I can't let his picture of Tony Soprano on page 75 pass without comment.

In all, Clanbook: Tremere integrates its subject clan better into the Vampire setting and game, making them more diverse and playable than they have previously appeared. As such, I recommend it to Vampire players and storytellers interested in them.

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

Clanbook Tremere
Author: Jess Heinig Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Vampire Cost: $14.95 Page count: 104 ISBN: 1-56504-254-9 SKU: WW2357 Capsule Review by Craig Oxbrow on 11/28/00. Genre tags: Modern day Horror Conspiracy Vampire Gothic Live-action	Clan Tremere have always been the odd ones out in Vampire: The Masquerade. Their roots as a House of magi in Ars Magica gave them a more complex back story than the other lines, and their unique Discipline of Thaumaturgy, blood magic, made them more powerful on aggregate than any other Kindred of equivalent age and generation. This was balanced by making them inflexible and hierarchical, thus less attractive to players seeking power and the freedom to use it. In the first edition rulebook they were all fully Blood Bound to the elders of the clan. This was later lessened to the current level of being a single step (of three) towards the Bond, more or less equalled out by establishing just how draconian the elders of the clan could be, not least in Keith Herber's original Clanbook. The first Clanbook contained enough information to run the Tremere hierarchy, but more space was given to occult mysteries and conspiracy plotlines, probably making the Tremere stand out still further from the other lines. It was not helped by Herber, until shortly before writing it the developer of Call of Cthulhu, inserting a number of Lovecraft in-jokes. By comparison, the new book covers much of the same essential ground but brings the clan more into the setting as a whole. The mysteries within seem part of the Vampire background, rather than additions just for the Tremere. The material on the society of the line is enough to detail them, while not as thorough as the equivalent for other clans. This is because the section is given less space due to the Thaumaturgy sections that must also be included. Thaumaturgy, a Discipline that branches off into multiple paths making it the most flexible and dangerous of all vampires' powers, has already received its own sourcebook, Blood Magic. This is a strong indication of why the Tremere are given so many background restrictions. The book also contains secret rituals and paths of Thaumaturgy that can give Tremere an advantage over characters of other clans. The main problem with secrets like these is that players read Clanbooks as well. While not all will use out of character knowledge, many will be tempted to push their characters to investigate so they can learn what the players already know. Because of this, non-Tremere characters will probably regard Thaumaturgy with even more suspicion after their players read this book. Conversely, Heinig does a good job of giving individual Tremere more freedom than has previously been inferred, making Tremere characters more viable in typical player groups. While the canon setting has seen the Tremere of the Sabbat destroyed, the new Clanbook indicates that Tremere anarchs (generally young Kindred who turn their backs on Camarilla society and fight for greater freedom, and a very common PC type) are not uncommon, and that any clan member can opt out of the power structure if they choose. Another new development is that the Tremere presented here generally favour modernisation. Coupled with the generally scientific viewpoint applied to Thaumaturgy, this makes the clan appear more forward thinking than has previously been the case. This fits in with Heinig's work as developer of Mage: The Ascension, where even the occult Order of Hermes are adapting to the modern world, the better to change it. Curiously, Mages are given very little attention in the book, and the "narrator" of the section on views of other supernatural groups appears entirely ignorant of them. This is especially noteworthy because the Mage sourcebook Blood Treachery dealt with a war between the Tremere and the Order of Hermes. While the Tremere play an important supporting role in Mage, the Mages have little more than a cameo in Clanbook: Tremere. Heinig is especially good at pointing out game concerns, giving a good sense of "what you can get away with" in one sidebar and covering the destruction of the Tremere antitribu, clan members who defected to the Sabbat and were destroyed in the Transylvania Chronicles series, in another. In structure, the book follows the Revised Clanbook standard. The Thaumaturgy section leaves some of the other chapters with less space than normal, but the Mages aside nothing is given insufficient attention. The character templates are all reasonable and seem playable, the sample coterie is based on a good idea and develops it effectively, and the material on the clan founders notes their previous appearances and leaves other details up to individual storytellers. In terms of production, the book is of White Wolf's usual good standard, while allowing a few minor errors to slip in. Tenacious is repeatedly misspelled in the templates' live-action character sheets, a few words seem to have gone missing from sentences, and so on. The most glaring error is that the Toreador rose symbol appears on the spine of the book in place of the Tremere Mars insignia. Artistically, there are stylised chapter frontispieces by Alex Shiekman somewhat reminiscent of Mike Mignola but not as dark (possibly not dark enough for Vampire in my opinion), atmospheric but sometimes muddy watercolours by Drew Tucker, faux woodcuts by Eric Hotz, character portraits by Christopher Shy, whose work is developing with each book, and art for the templates by Leif Jones, who is similarly improving in my opinion. Compare the Nightclub Owner on page 83 with earlier work for example. That said, I can't let his picture of Tony Soprano on page 75 pass without comment. In all, Clanbook: Tremere integrates its subject clan better into the Vampire setting and game, making them more diverse and playable than they have previously appeared. As such, I recommend it to Vampire players and storytellers interested in them. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Clanbook Tremere