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Dark Ages:
Vampire is a second-edition cousin to the now-gone Vampire: the Dark
Ages, Masquerade's historical setting offspring. Using the Revised Storyteller
system, Dark Ages: Vampire covers the world of the Dark Medieval with
a lens focused on its vampiric side.
Vampires
in the Dark Medieval follow a loose feudal system of lord and lackey,
prince and province-without the whole waiting for the master to die
mentality, though. As undead creatures, vampires get to be host to the
night, as sunlight does the typical burning sensation. Medieval vampires
play at king and country during the starlit hours, hunting humans as
prey, holding court in empty throne rooms, and influencing the thrust
of the world with their vampiric powers (Dominate, Presence, etc.).
Dark Ages:
Vampire reads like a novice (neonate) vampire's primer. Discussing the
rules and systems behind each vampire's station. The time period is
set up to allow a conflict, called the War of Princes, to filter down
into the way a player might shape their character in this game. As a
time of vampire struggle, with the feeling that the end of their world
is near, most people may be put into epic roles in their stories.
Those
familiar with Masquerade's Camarilla-Sabbat wars will find that this
conflict (retroactively) stems from a caste separation of vampire clans
(into High and Low Clans, based on European mentality). Those coming
to the book for the first time may see an interesting, if biased, view
on the workings of medieval Europe during the Crusades.
Clans
forming the High Clans are the Brujah, Cappadocian, Lasombra, Toreador,
Tzimisce and Venture. Those clans form the rough concepts of fighter,
magic-user, rogue, artisan, demonic cultist, and knight. This is only
a very rough view of the clans and shortchanges them to a word, or two,
descriptor. (Tzimisce, are renowned for their body sculpting powers,
as are the Lasombra for their shadow-walking ability.)
The Low
Clans come from the world outside Europe, or are just from outsiders.
These Clans are the Assamite, Followers of Set, Gangrel, Malkavian,
Nosferatu, Ravnos and Tremere. Roughly, these clans are assassins, serpent
cultists, barbarians, lost souls, hideous spies, gypsies and blood sorcerers.
This, as well, is only a very rough view of the clans and shortchanges
them to a word, or two, descriptor. (Malkavians are well known for the
madness that their bloodline possesses, as even the Tremere are known
to have stolen their vampiric nature.)
After
the discussion of the vampire's station, several views of vampiric morality
are presented. Pursuit of a Road (ideology), a vampire has a set hierarchy
of sins and ideals that they fail or follow through out the game. A
Road has a set of virtues that it extols so that a player may follow
with varying dice rolls (or dice penalties, should they fail their path).
Of the several Roads talked about, the Roads of Sin, Kings, Humanity,
Heaven and the Beast, have full descriptions that give players a better
idea of how their character might follow or fail one ideology. (e.g.:
Showing mercy to an enemy, from the Road of the Beast is one sin. As
is turning down a chance for material gain, from the Road of Sin.)
The book
then turns its attention to game mechanics, covering the whole from
forming dice pools, to enumerating skills and abilities to details on
the various vampiric disciplines (powers). Dice pools are formed from
adding two ratings together from a character's attributes and abilities,
such as Strength and Law (for strong arming your way through a castle
gate). Using d10s, a player rolls against a number value (say 8, as
it's past sunset and the guards are nervous at the sight of someone
wanting out at this time of night) and counts successes that are that
value and above.
Disciplines
are harder to adjudicate, as the ratings have varying effects per each
discipline. One level has enhanced eyesight at the first rating, while
another discipline has the enhancement at the third rating. Some add
to the character's speed based on ratings (Celerity) while another adds
to the number of successes in feats of strength (Potence). The hardest
disciplines to work with are the magic-using ones. In place of spell
lists and effects, Dark Ages: Vampire has a number of thaumturgic spell-like
effects that certain characters may use. Mortis, the Cappadocian wizardy,
focuses on necromancy. Each path in Mortis has one way or another to
deal with the dead or their corpses. Thaumaturgy is the Tremere (mainly,
as there are others who use it as well) blood sorcery. A number of paths
deal with weather, blood theft and various other things.
The book
ends with various additions to the character in way of merits and flaws.
Merits take points from creation to give one benefit or another, while
flaws give points for creation at an impediment or other handicap.
Dark Ages:
Vampire does a good job translating Vampire: the Masquerade revised
into a historical frame, though the feeling is less than complete as
Dark Ages doesn't quite feel as though it wanted to be historical. As
one of the stated lines in the book, it succeeds at giving both player
and storyteller something to work from in terms of historical ideas.
It feels like fantasy, but uses a real world time period as stage dressing.
Overall,
Dark Ages: Vampire is a Vampire player's book. I don't see how this
book could carry a game line not focused on vampires (say, Dark Ages:
Mage, or Werewolf) but as a core book for Vampire, it runs well. Those
wanting a departure from their typical fantasy, or even modern, games
may want to give this book a once over. Those wanting to add more horror
to their historical games might glance over it as well. Not a bad beginner's
book, Dark Ages: Vampire is just better geared for those already involved
with the Storyteller System.
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