If you have been playing Vampire: The Masquerade for any time, you probably have a stack of clan 'splatbooks' giving you the low-down on the various clans of vampires (especially if you are an experimental role-player and don't stick to identical characters all the time). Here notes on all thirteen clans have been gathered together into a single sourcebook containing a wealth of vampire history, tradition and outright lies, all ready for you to delve into.

Each chapter addresses the nature and traditions of a single clan from the standpoint of a vampire who is a member of that clan. How truthful are they? Well, about as truthful as any vampire is, and most of them make politicians look vaguely honest. Starting with the history of the clan, the chapter also contains information about how the clan operates tonight, and provides a range of new powers, merits, flaws, and other rules information which can be used to customise a typical clan member as you please.

The approach is vaguely scholarly, and proves quite an entertaining read. Most could be gathered by a curious vampire of any clan who is prepared to research and talk to members of other clans - after all, any vampire has a lot of nights to fill and needs a good hobby! Of course, for older vampires it's not history, it is something through which they existed although memories may not be as sharp, or may be coloured by later events and opinions. Only the Storyteller knows for certain what is fact and what is fiction in his own campaign... and he may not be telling!

With appendices covering the Caitiff and the Antitribu and a selection of notable vampires, this work provides a fascinating insight to vampire society and is well worth reading, especially if you enjoy all the details that take this game to a high level of absorbing role-playing and storytelling.

Return to Lore of the Clans page.

Reviewed: 27 June 2016