The Lasombra are the counterparts of the Tzimisce, and together they rule the Sabbat. That's about the amount of information I had on the Lasombra. The clanbook was very welcome in that respect. As it turns out, this beautiful supplement does a good job of defining the Keepers and is rather focused, something Clanbook: Tzimisce (Revised) lacks.
As before, I won't discuss the general structure of the book, or the differences of this structure with the second editions of these clanbooks. You can read about this in my review of Clanbook: Ventrue (Revised).
The presentation
In my previous two reviews of the revised clanbooks, I didn't mention the covers but for this one I'm willing to make an exception. I don't know what, but something in John Van Fleet's representation of Lucita, Lasombra's signature character, strikes a chord in me. She depicts the duality in the clan "fallen from grace" motto, as she is both beautiful and wields the powers of Obtenebration.
The interior art is also excellent, this time done by Drew Tucker (introduction and frontispieces), Michael Gaydos (first chapter), Andrew Trabbold (second chapter) and clanbook-regulars Christopher Shy and Leif Jones (final chapter). Drew Tucker's murky watercolours are seriously lacking in detail, but the mood is appropriate. Gaydos' work is absolutely eerie. The fine lines of Andrew Trabbold are very good. He's used an image-manipulation program to great effect to get the proper Obtenebration feel. The result is a good match of old-fashioned lines with modern effects.
The layout and typesetting by Becky Jollensten is excellent, with no discernable errors and good use of the available space. One annoyance here: the font of the introductory fiction is difficult to read — when do people realise that handwriting-style fonts look cool, but are unreadable, unless the font size is large?
Bruce Baugh has a very fluent style of writing and the book is a treat to read. Bruce isn't shy of introducing a character, Andrew Emory, in the introductory fiction, and then using it in the following chapters. In the first chapter, the interleaving fiction is about that Andrew, and in the second chapter, he directly refers back to that fiction. In the final chapter, Bruce even goes so far as to base a template on Andrew. This approach makes the clanbook very focused and ties the various elements together in a very fluent way. Excellent, and something I'd like to see in more books.
The contents
The fiction that opens the book is called The Darkness Claims You. As I said, it introduces the character Andrew Emory, and tells about his Embrace.
The first chapter, An Unmirrored Corridor, is presented as a series of lectures by several Lasombra to Andrew's pack. It goes through the history of the clan and also discusses the Lasombra presence in the world.
Of course, there's a lengthy discussion about the diablerie of the clan's Antediluvian and Gratiano's part in it. It can be understood without any reference to other books: a sidebar even bluntly states that this account differs from other accounts. I did miss something here, and that's Montano's role in the matter. After this, we get the construction of the Sabbat and the Paths of Enlightenment. (Of course, the Lasombra claim credit for the latter, just as the Tzimisce do. It wouldn't be the World of Darkness without this...) The history lessons continue into the Final Nights and also contemplate the different ways the Lasombra are represented all around the world.
Interestingly enough, the chapter ends with the antitribu's point of view. The previous lack of information on Montano is somewhat remedied here, but still I direct you to the excellent Children of the Inquisition.
An interesting piece, but I did think that the clan somehow misses focus. Even before the destruction of the Antediluvian, the Keepers are a bit directionless. The only thing that defines them is that they want "grace under pressure".
That latter concept is discussed at length in the second chapter, called The Keepers' Unlit Halls. A Lasombra will make life difficult for his prospective childe, to see whether she is capable of dealing with hardship. (The introductory fiction shows this also.) After the Embrace the natural selection is not over: Mr. Baugh even provides some numbers, and the winnowing rather harsh. Let's just say that as a neonate you must be rather good, or Final Death will come soon.
The clan is not a unity, and the various subsections get about 4 pages. There's also a strange sidebar about private submarines, controlled by vampires. Huh? Say what? After this we finally get to the organisation of the clan, by the informal Friends of the Night and the Courts of Blood. I say finally, because there are dozens of references to these organs before they're actually discussed, something the author does more. You can also find a brilliant little piece here on what a vampire actually does (and does not) in all those nights.
The outlooks on the other clans and supernaturals are okay, but Mr Baugh falls into the trap of describing all the other supernaturals of the crowded World of Darkness. On the bright side, the dismissive explanation of hunters matches perfectly with that given in the Hunter books: "We hear reports of mortals with unfamiliar aptitudes in recent nights. So? Mortals are constantly coming up with something new."
Rounding out the chapter are the rules and mechanics. Lasombra can get a variation of the Occult Knowledge, that is focused on the Abyss. The clan's signature Path of Night is given some variations, reasoning that a Path that existed so long could well be more diversified than others. Obtenebration is given much space and includes useful directions on how to play/use it to its fullest.
The 'characters' section that is chapter three is called New Shadows and includes the usual assortment of templates, sample brood and Lasombra of note. The templates are generally grounded in reality (or whatever passes for reality in RPGs, anyway). I found the Successful Mass-Embrace is very refreshing: an elderly woman that gets Embraced and "watches over the kids".
The sample brood is called Black Eagle Consulting, Inc. and is a very loose pack, with members operating all over the world. Indeed, the members only meet face-to-face a few times in a year. The Black Eagles make up for this by using modern communication techniques. They are security specialists. The members individually work as consultants, providing security measures for both mortal and Kindred. When a member knows enough, she'll call the rest of the pack and raid the target. An original idea, and well executed.
The closing section, Lasombra of Note, is likewise excellent. We get a write-up of the late Cardinal Monçada and of his childe, Lucita. The author apparently took the complaint of some Vampire players that she was an uber-character seriously. This vampire has real emotions, and her actions have repercussions. The author furthermore follows through on the character of Andrew Emory, by providing the characterization of his sire.
Conclusion
I love what Bruce Baugh has done with this clanbook. He has made this supplement something more than yet another clanbook, by doing some cool things. By focusing on one character, he made the fiction actually worthwhile, and provided a focus. Some of the author's innovations are a bit goofy (private submarines?), but I'm willing to overlook this. This book has some really inspiring writing, the kind of "oomph" I was missing in Clanbook: Ventrue (Revised). On the other hand, that clanbook had a proper "neonate primer" in it. And that's about the only thing that keeps me from giving it full marks in Substance. See this 4 as a 4-double-plus, and you get the idea.
Some minor flaws mar the otherwise excellent presentation, like the awkward choice of font in the introduction, and the tendency of Mr. Baugh to refer to things before they are properly introduced. Still, because of the beautiful art, the seamless layout and typesetting, and the cover, I give it a Style rating of 5- out of 5 — okay, it's a 5. See?
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