Welcome to the Church of Righteous Reviewing, my brethren. Collect your thoughts and take a pew, for today's sermon is about to begin. Your preacher today is the Reverend Mao Chapman.
White Wolf's World of Darkness is a phenomenon in the role-play industry. It has introduced more people to role-playing than anything since TSR began, and it might even have beaten the well-known D&D ampersand in terms of recruiting numbers. It has also produced more dedicated followers and goobers (some would say socially dysfunctional pretentious losers) than anything else. Love it or hate it (and many do), the WoD is a monster. Pardon the pun.
Unlike many, I am not a die-hard WoD fan. I have played and enjoyed extensive WoD games including Mage, Werewolf and of course Vampire. But I always took White Wolf's "give a carrot or two of truth but keep 'em guessing" style of publishing a little wishy-washy and irritating. That is, until I got this new 3rd Edition of Vampire: The Masquerade.
Now, preaching to the hardcore aficionados of Vampire would be futile. They had their copy on pre-order with desposits for months. They got their hands on the horrendously over-priced limited edition covers. They have read and absorbed every sentence, every word and every nuance in the new book and have probably already got their new campaigns going. Or are already finishing them.
No, my sermon today goes out to those members of the congregation who are NOT already big fans of Vampire. I'm going to give this baby the best review I can: give people who have written off Vampire (like I almost did) a reason to give it another look. And make no mistake, it's worth it. I am talking to people who like good RPGs, who see V:tM's potential but not its execution.
Vampire 1st and 2nd editions always suffered because in its original incarnation Vampire catered (primarily) for a relatively small cult following of gothic-type adolescents who thought it was 'cool' to play black-clad boodsuckers. This is what made the game so full of that WW rhetoric, never giving a straight answer to anything and justifying lack of clarity with "Storyteller freedom". As it developed, it got better, but there were still the remnants of this attitude that prevailed. I suspect this is what created the outspoken critics of the WoD.
I am pleased to say that the 3rd edition has finally thrown off what may have been its death-shroud had it remained. The first impressions of the text is that it is clean-cut and to the point. Paragraphs rarely contain meaningless gibberish but set out to explain and detail specific concepts. Similarly, information on one topic tends to be in one place rather than scattered throughout, another criticism of previous WW publications. Sure, there are details left out and hints at greater conspiracies but this time that feels like a proper design decision not at attempt to be 'cool'. Everything in the book has been put there after a conscious decision. In short, the whole thing has been completely re-vamped. Pardon the pun.
>From a production point of view, the book is difficult to fault at all. I am assuming that this edition is an attempt to reach all those who wrote it off after the first two editions (it converted me brothers, it converted me). In that sense, production mistakes would be fatal so they've been careful removed. The text is readable, the layout is straightforward and the artwork is good. As a lover of fine books, I personally find the high quality paper and hardcover binding a joy.
The content is pretty much the same as far as detail goes. There have been some changes which bring the WoD up to 1999 but I don't need to go into those now. All the information is set out much better however, making it interesting and not annoying. With the clean-cut text has come a subtle change in tone of the book. It is less Gloomy Gothic Punk more ABOUT Gloomy Gothic Punk. The difference is that now the game shows you the setting rather making you live it on every page. The information is there, the pretension isn't
There have been some rules changes as well. It's still the basic Storyteller system (so if you can't stand than then you're still screwed) but the subtle changes do ease combat up a bit. It's still a little clunky, but better. Some discipline powers have had a subtle makeover as well, presumably the writers took the chance to iron out some creases in the original concepts.
Overall, Vampire: The Masquerade 3rd Edition is the best new edition for a game I have ever seen. Not only does it conquer the little bugs in the previous edition, not only does it take new angles on the setting like any new edition should, but it completely renews the feel the game takes. This allows me to say without reservation that if you didn't play Vampire before because of White Wolf's style (repent, brethren, repent!) then give it another look. You will be impressed.
Go brothers and sisters, and may the Almighty Grace of Role-Playing go with you in Harmony!
- Reverend Mao Chapman, Church of Righteous Reviewing
Thank you, brethren, thank you. Please leave your cushions under the seats and the prayer books at the end of the aisle as you leave the church.
Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)
