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In Short

The Physical Thing

The Ideas

Under the Cover

Chapter 1 A History of the Invictus 12 pages.

Possible origin stories, legends surrounding ancient deeds, and how the Invictus have evolved into the modern nights are all included here. The most interesting of these to me is a tale involving the first (and only) Invictus Emperor, who united the Invictus across the world while also standardizing titles and turning many ancient legacies into one supreme power. These hooks provide a variety of interesting ideas for Storytellers who want to include legends or seemingly outrageous claims by ancient elders in their game.

Chapter 2 Unlife in the Invictus 54 pages.

Invictus society is highly structured, with class and status being more important than anything. This chapter explains how it all works, from noble titles to moving up and down within the Covenant.

Noble titles are broken down into three categories. Titles of Esteem are sex and age based, one example being Mister. Titles of Tribute are status based, usually derived from doing something spectacular such as conquering a domain. One example is Viscount. Titles of Function represent the role a vampire plays within Invictus society, such as Notary. The titles are all combined in various ways depending upon the relative status of the addressee to the addressor. This reviewer knows nothing about how titles work, but the system presented here is easy to grasp and interesting. It allows for a lot of small social slights and empowers the sort of casual group politics one imagines occurring in the Invictus.

Invictus etiquette and philosophy are presented next. High social etiquette is the norm at all times, with lessers deferring to their betters. Everyone knows who their betters are, and to break from this system is a horrible insult. Invictus philosophy revolves around power acquisition, that the elite should lead, and that status should be respected. This discussion naturally leads into another discussion of how favors are exchanged, patrons gained, and generally how the high society of the Invictus works. In short, while the Invictus are loathsome fiends they are honorable and tend to keep their word. This is driven home even more through the Blood Oath mechanics introduced in Chapter 5.

Duty, obedience, and retribution are discussed next. The Invictus tend to handle personal grudges on their own (they don’t delegate the important things) and these grudges are often resolved through non-lethal means. Losing face is far worse than suffering even horrific injuries, and it could take a vampire decades (or forever in some instances) to recover from such a loss. The game of courtly politics is constantly being played, though the Invictus strive to make certain it does not interfere with the overall goals of the Covenant.

Dynasties are also presented in this chapter. Dynasties form where one vampire is growing old and realizes she will have to enter torpor soon. Rather than leave all of her holdings to fate and fickle mortals she takes on a young protégé to groom for the specific purpose of managing her estates. Later, when she awakens from torpor, her protégé has had decades to increase her holdings and now may be the more powerful member of the pair. The two then take turns managing their collective holdings, secure in their collective benefit (and use of blood bonds). These arrangements often involve more than just two vampires, and become known as Houses. The various advantages and problems associated with Houses are discussed and several pages of interesting example Houses are presented.

The rest of the chapter focuses on how Invictus politics and high society works. Most Invictus find a niche for themselves in the world, from banking to the legal system or any other established institution. They vie for control of influential mortals, and the various problems surrounding this are presented. Invictus high society is largely as a reader would imagine, a patron-oriented system that is interested in the lineage and accomplishments of every member but even more interested in how much power they hold. Social events tend to resemble court life from hundreds of years ago, and even such modern ideas as recorded music (played on a phonograph perhaps) are looked down upon by the elders who would rather use live musicians or pass the time with their old vampire games.

Chapter 3 Invictus and the Danse Macabre 40 pages.

This chapter begins with a discussion of the Embrace. Invictus tend to select successful people who will further their own power and who have the potential to go even further as they continue to age. Invictus typically spend years selecting just the right person to Embrace, and make their plans known to the Prince far ahead of time. The Embrace of a new vampire and their welcoming into the Covenant is a welcome event, as it continues to increase the power of the Invictus, but that vampire has a long way to go before being treated as an equal.

Newly embraced members of the Invictus and those rare members who join later in life (who must obtain a patron and prove their loyalty) spend a considerable amount of time as a slave and errant runner to their mentor and perhaps other members as well. It is expected that these new members are learning the ways of the Invictus, absorbing what may be alien ways of life (courtly etiquette from hundreds of years ago), and otherwise striving to make a name for themselves. A ceremony is performed when the vampire has “come of age” and is ready to join her fellows.

The Invictus makes use of Guilds, specialized groups of vampires led by a master in a given field who learn as much as they can. The Speaker’s Guild, for example, would be run by a master orator who instructs other Invictus in how they can improve their speaking ability. Joining a Guild is a very prestigious thing for many younger vampires, and being acknowledged as a master in a field and allowed to start a Guild is an honor for any Invictus member. I really like Guilds because they’re simple and make a lot of sense, especially for a vampire Covenant concerned with continually increasing its power. What better way than by continually educating members of the Covenant? Guilds occupy a significant amount of the chapter, and a variety of sample Guilds are included.

The chapter wraps up with the Invictus’ views on other Covenants and how Merits (which tend to represent raw power in the form of allies and assets) are acquired. The Invictus tends to get along poorly with the Carthians and Circle of the Crone, adequately to well with the Ordo Dracul and Lancea Sanctum (though they are often in competition with the Church), and maintains a generally superior (though cautious) attitude towards other groups and supernaturals.

Chapter 4 Factions and Bloodlines 48 pages.

This chapter presents quite a few Factions and Bloodlines. I’m a fan of these because they tend to be more flavorful than some presented in other Covenant books, both occupying a niche (in the case of Bloodlines) while also having a very Invictus feel.

The Ghouls supplement is not necessary to understand the two Ghoul families presented.

Factions

The Cherubim are true lovers of art, spending significant portions of their unlives attending galleries and hunting for talented new artists. Once, they were rich patrons to the artistic elite, hiring the greatest painters in the world back when such rare talents demanded a king’s ransom. Tonight they still commission and collect art, but with so much more to choose from its more about the parties than anything else.

The Most Noble Fellowship of Artemis is a society of hunters, in the old English fox hunting sense, who spend much of their leisure time preparing for and engaging in hunts from horseback. While the progenitor of the fellowship was undoubtedly interested in hunting, it has long since been an arena for politics and debate with the actual hunt being a by product of the gathering.

The Octopus is an overtly political organization that involves itself in mortal politics – specifically in blue collar working interests. Members organize unions, back employee-rights issues, and generally make themselves invaluable assets to the average worker. In return they exert incredible power over local elections and in many domains can simply choose who will be in office thanks to the incredible number of votes at their disposal.

The Most Honorable Order of the Thorned Wreath is a powerful martial order which exists to defend the Invictus and the interests of individual members. These highly trained vampires have spent decades or even centuries perfecting the art of death dealing and answer every Invictus request for aid. These soldiers are bodyguards, front line combatants, assassins, and even recruiting tools at times (for they demonstrate the physical might of the Invictus).

Die Nachteulen is a secretive order of occultists focused on uncovering the strange vampiric secrets known to other groups. Theban Sorcery, Coils of the Dragon, the magical practices of mortals, and all other sorts of arcane power interest the group. The mission statement is to secure these powers so as to put the Invictus on the same footing as other organizations, which can often call upon strange and unpredictable abilities to change the balance of power. Unfortunately a lack of communication between different Die Nachteulen cells prevents the Invictus from learning more than a few secrets here and there.

Ghoul Families

The Hostewicks are a grotesquely thin breed specialized for house work and butler oriented duties. With extremely weak vocal chords, these mostly silent creatures go about their duties with grace and dedication.

The Bulls are a powerful breed created to be a sort of hound. Small in number, these Ghouls often function as bodyguards and heavy lifting specialists – ideal physical servants for many vampires. Their largest disadvantage is that their enormous upper body size cripples their legs.

Bloodlines

The Annunaku are the ultimate hosts, ultimately descended from vampires who inspired such fear in the communities they ruled over that the peasantry could not leave. Tonight they enjoy entertaining guests and overseeing real property, and their unique Tenure Discipline gives them an edge over administering estates. This Gangrel based Bloodline gets Animalism, Protean, Resilience, and Tenure – a new Discipline that allows them to easily find people and objects within their domain. In return they suffer the standard Gangrel Weakness along with a -2 or -1 penalty to all rolls made outside their home turf.

The Kallisti are coldly beautiful narcissists, obsessed with being the most impressive people in a room. That is, unfortunately, the whole of this Bloodline. Why the Bloodline embraces others at all is an open question, as it seems against their interests to create more beautiful vampires to compete with. A simple Daeva concept that some players may enjoy, this Bloodline gets Celerity, Dominate, Majesty, and Perfidy – a new Discipline which makes it likely the target will give in to indiscretion and vice. In return they suffer the standard Daeva Weakness along with the Narcissism derangement and the Narcissism derangement.

The Lynx is a Bloodline descended from a person who whiled away the hours writing down the thousands of connections between peoples, places, and things. While doing so he came to realize that many behind the scenes players existed, and due to his snooping was found and Embraced. Members of the Bloodline are obsessed with uncovering hidden knowledge by looking for missing parts in complex information webs. This Mekhet Bloodline gets Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate, and Web – a new Discipline that allows the vampire to mystically examine and change Webs, ultimately creating, altering, and destroying personal relationships. In return they suffer the standard Mekhet Weakness along with a risk of Frenzy whenever the Lynx feels disconnected from their network (often an actual internet connection in modern nights).

The Malocusians are a Bloodline of extremely reclusive vampires, similar in concept to the Annunaku above but instead of having “home turf” they have bonded with one apartment, house, or estate. This Ventrue Bloodline gets Animalism, Presence, Resilience, and Domus – a new Discipline that allows the vampire to physically merge with their home, bring the home to life, and vampirically feed off of the surrounding area through the home. In return they suffer the standard Ventrue Weakness along with a strong compulsion to never leave their home. Malocusians must spend a point of Willpower just to step outside the door.

The Sotoha Bloodline originates with bushido practicing Japanese-American immigrants. This Bloodline preserves bushido and related customs, making it a natural part of the conservative Invictus. Members of this Ventrue Bloodline gain Animalism, Dominate, Resilience, and Kamen – a new Discipline that principally allows a vampire to resist and control Frenzy. In return they suffer the standard Ventrue Weakness along with extended Frenzy durations.

The Spina Bloodline represents high society warriors and duelists who show impeccable manners and a willingness to use martial force to resolve disagreements. This Daeva Bloodline gets Celerity, Majesty, Vigor, and Courtoisie – a new Discipline which allows the vampire to replace physical abilities with social abilities and otherwise improves martial prowess. It strikes me as a powerful Discipline relative to the others presented in this product since it can easily give a Social attribute heavy character significant martial prowess. In return they suffer the standard Daeva Weakness along with a penalty to resist Frenzy when it is inspired by rude behavior. Spina must expend 1 Willpower to behave in a rude manner.

Chapter 5 Blood Oaths and Disciplines 38 pages.

This chapter begins with Blood Oaths. As one would imagine, Blood Oaths involve swearing to do or not to do something and having some sort of mystical enforcement occur when the Oath is violated. A lot of different ones are presented, doing everything from creating a compulsion in the oath taker to setting a condition under which their blood turns into fire. The Oaths are purchased much like Devotions, typically with several Discipline (often Auspex) requirements. Purchasing one of these techniques allows the vampire to witness and enforce Oaths, no doubt making them a much sought after resource for many Invictus members. Eleven Oaths are presented.

New Merits called Dynastic Merits are introduced, each of which represents membership in one of the Dynastic Houses discussed in Chapter 2. Generally they allow House members to share strength with one another. Virtue’s Twin, for example, allows a vampire in Torpor to treat their Humanity as equal to the House member with the highest Humanity. So in a House with Humanity 3 and 7 vampires the sleeper with this merit treats his Humanity as 7. Six new merits with similar bonuses are included.

The chapter then introduces the new Disciplines described above and concludes with four new Invictus focused Devotions.

Appendix Allies and Antagonists 17 pages.

A variety of detailed but generic NPCs are presented to aid Storytellers. From business sharks to knights, every major Invictus concept is presented as an example NPC.

My Take

The biggest downside here is that the product suffers from a few fluff areas typical of supplements. Too many examples of Dynastic Houses are provided. While they’re all flavorful, I’m not sure how useful they will be. Additionally, some of the Bloodlines and other additions are very narrowly focused and don’t support group play very well. No doubt vampires confined to their territory/homes make for neat NPCs, but as a player choice it has the potential for problems.

Nevertheless, given the entertaining discussion of Invictus society, frequent plot hooks, and excellent motivations for Invictus vampires to be active in the world this is an excellent addition to any Vampire: The Requiem library.

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