 Goto [ Index ] |
Not so much a stand-alone game as it is a hardback sourcebook on the Victorian Age, this book sets out to provide all the necessary resources to allow a group of players to run a Vampire: The Masquerade game set during this classical period of gothic literature.
So does it work? Or is White Wolf too Goth to be Gothic?
Style and Appearance
One of the first things noticeable about the general visual style of Victorian Age Vampire is that it does look decidedly gothic. The general design and art manages to mostly succeed in harkening back to the aesthetic of the Victorian Gothic romances.
Split into a prelude and six chapters, the book has a clean appearance and layout of two columns to a page with a liberal spread of images and art. One attractive element was the integration of a diamond image to represent each chapter - usually showing something like a shadow in an alleyway, a grinning vampric mouth or a bat with its wings spread out.
Art-wise, special mention must be made of Andy Trabbold's work - whose style many will recognise from Adventure! Mr Trabbold's art is both evocative and manages to truly capture the period of the game. I also feel that Guy Davis - who is a long time regular artist for White Wolf - deserves especial praise for the Clan pictures. He manages to capture the nature of each clan perfectly - the best being the Malkavian, who is dressed as a victorian mental patient complete with head cage, and is crushing a bird in his hands.
Each chapter is prefaced by Christopher Shy's trademark artwork that combines computer collage with photographic images. Oddly enough contrary to what some may think for the most part this actually works to provide the appropriate mood and atmosphere.
Contents and Layout
Rather than providing many rules, most of the book is dedicated to providing resources that allow a group to play a Vampire: The Masquerade game in the "Gothic Victorian Age."
The prelude of the book is a well written, if somewhat predictable, tale of a Vampire arriving in Victorian London. Nothing too ambitious, but successfully helps to set the mood.
Next follows an introductory chapter that covers the Victorian Age in broad sweeping strokes. This is mostly a player-friendly chapter that briefly covers Victorian society - and mostly chooses to explain the differences with Vampric Society, linking the book to both Dark Ages: Vampire as well as Vampire: The Masquerade.
Providing a very brief look at the World stage and Victorian Innovations and invention, the chapter closes with a short list of resources for the game's genre. While there isn't that much meat in this chapter - most of it is familiar material from Vampire: The Masquerade - it succeeds in providing a clear overview of what is different in the setting.
The second Chapter goes into more detail about each of the clans. I find it of particular interest that White Wolf mention that the clans are deliberately written to match certain Victorian Archetypes. Rather than the usual scope of Vampire, White Wolf recognise that one of the tropes of the Gothic genre is that of the Archtypal character.
However these archetypes manage to remain broad enough to provide plenty of scope to work with. I did think it was amusing to see the Giovanni as being implied as having connections to the Doctor Frankenstein archetype. I would love to see a game with a Giovanni Mad Scientist trying to make a golem to house the spirit of a dead adversary...
Chapter Three is the most mechanics heavy providing the usual character generation rules and mentioning how some abilities, skills and backgrounds need to be adjusted to account for the setting. There are also some new merits and flaws - most being roleplaying based.
It is in Chapters Four and Five that the real meat of the book can be found. Chapter Four is a wonderfully written narrative that describes the Victorian World. Oddly enough I was reminded of Castle Falkenstein while reading this chapter. It doesn't have much of a storyline, being more a running narrative of various locations with certain events occurring that serve to help inspire adventures. I liked the choice of style - it made reading about the geography a lot more engaging and interesting, unlike most of these kinds of chapters in other books which often bore me senseless. Also of note are the sidebars which provide important detail that isn't biased by the narrator's views.
The Storytelling Chapter, the fifth chapter of the book, Gives a nice briefing on the origins of the Gothic genre - then proceeds to to list the various elements the genre consists of. This is an invaluable resource - especially for those people who might mistake the goth movement for being the gothic movement. (While the two are related, there are some distinct differences, one being that the Goth movement was formed in the 1980s from a mix of Punk and eighties fashion...)
I would find it surprising if after reading this chapter a storyteller found it impossible to generate a reasonably gothic adventure for her players. It is very comprehensive and even valuble for running games other than Vampire - which is always a good thing in my view.
The book ends off with a great chapter on antagonists. Again, this keeps very much with the entire feel of the genre - also providing some great inspiration for secret societies and other gothic tropes such as the doppleganger and serial killer.
In Conclusion
Victorian Age Vampire managed to do something that I never thought it would. It made me want to play Vampire: The Masquerade all over again. While it is nothing innovative or new, it never really intended to be. Like any good game, the book sets itself a goal and achieves it with a good deal of class and style.
Managing to be truly gothic and engaging, I was quite taken by the quality of the writing and design. From the cover, right through to the character sheet, Victorian Age Vampire remains consistently enjoyable and resourceful. On the downside it is unlikely to convert anyone who doesn't like the normal Vampire setting. The differences are there, but I am somewhat uncertain as to whether they will be enough for many detractors of the modern setting.
Nevertheless, I liked the product and also liked the approach White Wolf has taken with making these resource books that "plug-in" to the existing gamelines. All in all this is one product that succeeds in achieving everything it sets out to do.
Should I buy it? If you like the idea of reliving your favourite gothic tales or want to add a sense of evil to your existing Castle Falkenstein campaign... then this is the book for you. Worth it for the Storyteller section alone...
Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
