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Clanbook: Tremere | ||
Author: Keith Herber
Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $10 (US) Page count: 72 pages ISBN: 1-56504-115-1 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 06/09/98. Genre tags: none |
This is book isn't needed, either by players or Storytellers, to make the Tremere better or more interesting. You'd probably be better off grabbing some Ars Magica books and converting that material instead, but that might not be a viable option. So, here's what this clanbook has for you.
Chapter One is the introduction. It shows a new member swearing the Code of Tremere; this is an outgrowth of the Code of Hermes, and it incorporates the latter's text into itself. (Ars Magica fans will be familiar with said code.) The ideals and realities of each facet are addressed, and that is something I always appreciate. This brief chapter ends with a sidebar about Tremere and the Blood Bond; they don't practice it often, and unauthorized uses are usually considered a crime. Chapter Two covers the clan's history. The mortal days as one of the thirteen houses in the Order of Hermes gets a brief mention, but this is quickly shunted aside. What matters is the vampiric history, so that's where the real story begins. House Tremere went undead as a result of the decline of the Mythic Age. They achieved this by the toils of Goratrix, who used Transylvanian Kindred to attain the formula he needed. (This earned the ire of the Tzimcise.) He and Tremere cast the ritual, and both- along with a few others- became undead. Within a century, so did the rest of the Tremere. This earned the hatred of mages and Kindred alike, but the House/Clan survived everything thrown at them. (This is also when the Gargoyles came about.) Tremere consumed Saulot, then he led the clan to aid the Kindred against the Anarchs and the Assamites- where they cursed the latter group, and won favor in the nacient Camarilla. This led to their contemporary state of affairs. Chapter Three covers Tremere ways. They are the most hierarchal of all Camarilla clans, and the many levels described within show that quite clearly. This chapter also shows the recruiting practices of the clan, how chantries are usually run, how tribunals work, what internal factions exist and how they interact, a word about hedge magic, new rituals and the ever-popular rundown of how the clan views the rest of the World of Darkness. Chapter Four has the character templates. Nothing spectacular here, save the Conspiracy Theorist, Psych Major and The Underestimated- this quartet managed to stretch the stereotype for Tremere characters. The appendix covers the movers and shakers within the clan, except for one- the Comte de St. Germain. He's an alleged member, much like how Rasputin gets around, but since he's not been claimed by nearly so many group I'm inclined to let it stand. (There's that four-page character sheet too, but you'd expect it by now.) You need it not, but it's an entertaining read despite there being nothing meaty about the book. It's all frosting, and no cake.
Style: 3 (Average)
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