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This is one of the lame ducks in White Wolf's series of cookie-cutter suppliments. It does the bare minimum possible to expand upon the clan, give it some history and make Assamites compelling characters to play. This doesn't bode well for the remaining books in the clanbook series.

This book has a separate introduction. It uses the premise of a series of internal memos by members of the Inquistion; thankfully, these are short and easily ignored. The other half is a glossary of terms, all of which are used extensively throughout the book. I'll give the author credit for doing so, since the reader can appreciate how much more style than substance went into this product.

Chapter One presents Assamite history. It starts with the founder- Haqim- killing his vampire lords and Embracing himself in order to fight off Caine. That encounter begins the Holy War by Haqim's childer against the Kindred. Diablerie was the means to the genocidal end this clan had in mind, and until the Convention of Thorns they did a damn good job doing so. (They call this "The Path of Blood" and it is a Path of Enlightenment.) The Tremere put a curse upon roughtly half of the clan; the others- called "Unconquered" joined the Sabbat and continue to wage war from that sect. (Both halves are still loyal to the clan first; "Sabbat" Assamites are moles and nothing more.) This leads to their contemporary situation, which is weak- yet stable.

Chapter Two delves into Assamite tradition. Selection begins the training process, and that covers 14 years- half mortal, half undead- and failured trainees get destroyed for security purposes. Once accepted into the clan, there's a brief- but stable- hierarchy that guides all clan dealings. The rest of the chapter goes over new Merits, Flaws, the Path of Blood and optional rules for gear and combat manuevers.

Chapter Three delves into clan politics. This is the easiest part, since they split along an Old Guard/Young Turk division. The rest is the usual party line regarding the rest of the World of Darkness.

Chapter Four has the character templates. This is where the most notable work occurred, as the book makes a great strive to show all sorts of members and how they work for the clan's goals. Some are very stereotypical, but many are not- like the Gamester, Mercenary and Sportsman.

The "Who's Who" appendix has no one of note, and then the usual four-page character sheet applies. Like I said above, this book is quite lightweight. You need it not, so don't buy it unless you get a good deal on a used copy.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Clanbook: Assamite
Author: Graeme Davis Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $10 (US) Page count: 72 pages ISBN: 1-56504-214-X Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 06/08/98. Genre tags: none	This is one of the lame ducks in White Wolf's series of cookie-cutter suppliments. It does the bare minimum possible to expand upon the clan, give it some history and make Assamites compelling characters to play. This doesn't bode well for the remaining books in the clanbook series. This book has a separate introduction. It uses the premise of a series of internal memos by members of the Inquistion; thankfully, these are short and easily ignored. The other half is a glossary of terms, all of which are used extensively throughout the book. I'll give the author credit for doing so, since the reader can appreciate how much more style than substance went into this product. Chapter One presents Assamite history. It starts with the founder- Haqim- killing his vampire lords and Embracing himself in order to fight off Caine. That encounter begins the Holy War by Haqim's childer against the Kindred. Diablerie was the means to the genocidal end this clan had in mind, and until the Convention of Thorns they did a damn good job doing so. (They call this "The Path of Blood" and it is a Path of Enlightenment.) The Tremere put a curse upon roughtly half of the clan; the others- called "Unconquered" joined the Sabbat and continue to wage war from that sect. (Both halves are still loyal to the clan first; "Sabbat" Assamites are moles and nothing more.) This leads to their contemporary situation, which is weak- yet stable. Chapter Two delves into Assamite tradition. Selection begins the training process, and that covers 14 years- half mortal, half undead- and failured trainees get destroyed for security purposes. Once accepted into the clan, there's a brief- but stable- hierarchy that guides all clan dealings. The rest of the chapter goes over new Merits, Flaws, the Path of Blood and optional rules for gear and combat manuevers. Chapter Three delves into clan politics. This is the easiest part, since they split along an Old Guard/Young Turk division. The rest is the usual party line regarding the rest of the World of Darkness. Chapter Four has the character templates. This is where the most notable work occurred, as the book makes a great strive to show all sorts of members and how they work for the clan's goals. Some are very stereotypical, but many are not- like the Gamester, Mercenary and Sportsman. The "Who's Who" appendix has no one of note, and then the usual four-page character sheet applies. Like I said above, this book is quite lightweight. You need it not, so don't buy it unless you get a good deal on a used copy. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Clanbook: Assamite