Ventrue: Lords Over the Damned (Vampire the Requiem)
by Will Hindmarch, Chuck Wendig, Russell Bailey
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chuck Wendig, Russell Bailey, Will HindmarchEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-02
ISBN: 1588462730
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: White Wolf Publishing
Book Reviews of Ventrue: Lords Over the Damned (Vampire the Requiem)
Book Review: Could have been better.
Summary: 3 Stars
I find myself wondering where I should start the review for this product. Do I talk about the amazing art and the sudden change to color or do I discuss the mechanics or lack thereof? The book has great qualities but they seem to be obfuscated by an alarming number of bad qualities.
The art is simply beautiful. Many of the pictures really bring to life the imagery of what is being discussed in the text. I found myself looking at the art like it was a coffee table book.
Like older white-wolf clan books, nothing in this book is in stone. The book is masterfully put together to create an illusion that the book you are reading is a compilation of a vampires years of investigative work. If this is the design that white -wolf was going for, it worked. The book does feel like a collection of works from a historian. Even the art and page layout gives the impression of a work is progress.
The writing is top notch and completely consistent throughout the paperback tome (an odd change from the normal hardcover) however the story seems to suffer from a major problem; it's unnecessarily contradictory to other white-wolf products and is in many places simply pedantic. Rather than having a clear cut story or an easy to understand account, we are given a rather boring ancient text that suggests that divine forces did not like a king and cursed him. After you get through page after page of this, you begin to wonder why you just did not make up your own history.
If you have read Requiem for Rome, you most likely had questions on the Julii. After all they looked just like the Ventrue, minus the flaw. Are they Ventrue? Are they a new clan? Where did they come from? The Ventrue books slaps together some short hypothesis on the issue but does little more than what your gaming group could come up with in fifteen minutes. Yet another mystery unsolved.
One of the new things added to this book is the Malkavians of the old game. Are they a new clan? No. Why? I don't know. Instead, they feel more like a "D&D template" that you apply to your vampire. It's a disease that can be spread and it is causing fear throughout the vampire community. I'm not going to lie, the Malkavians seem interesting and they have many plot devices, however, they would have been much more appealing as a bloodline or (heaven forbid) a new clan. Having them be a "D&D Template" that you apply to your vampire seemed a little forced, even in the text. (More on their Discipline later)
If you have been wondering why the Ventrue are considered the lords of men and Vampires and why they have not been consistently overthrown by the Daeva, then unfortunately (to my great surprise) this book does not help. This leads me to Game Mechanics. I was hoping that after all these years; we would see some interesting Bloodlines and devotions for the Ventrue who consistently get little of both in all of white-wolfs books. This does not happen here.
The first thing we are introduced to in the "crunch" section is the new bloodline called the Adrestio. They are without a doubt the most uninteresting bloodline I have ever read. With over 2000 years of the Ventrue history, we get a 20 year old bloodline that is an unprofessional (sex, drugs and rock n'roll) Ventrue that gets protean. At the very least, they could have tossed in a few other Ventrue bloodlines from the different ages. Very disappointing.
Next we get Merits. The merits are both interesting and seem to add flavor to the Lords. Rather than going through all the different Merits that are here, I will say this. The merits are the best additions to this book. Not only are they easy to implement into your game, they also add many role play opportunities.
The Devotions are fascinating but nothing that you would write home about. By the time you're done reading them you are not sure if you like them or you don't. The Devotions are not bad, but they seem like an afterthought. I can see using any of them but not necessarily going out of my way to put them on my character sheet.
The new Discipline is for the Malkavians. If you played the old game then you know what this power is. Dementation, is a mixture of Nightmare and Dominate with a unique flare to it. If your PC's aren't crazy yet, they will be.
Summery:
Is the book bad? No. Ventrue Lords over the Damned does what it set out to do. It has unknown history mixed with fun vampire interviews with eccentric elders and unique individuals. The problem with the book is that really there isn't much more there. Where amazing opportunities could have been grasped by the writer in describing the Ventrue, I continuously wondered why other vampire did not simply wipe the Ventrue out. They were weak and really have not proved that they are Lords of anything.
Then when we get to the "crunch" section, I find nothing but cobwebs and an "IOU". I understand that this book is supposed to be an information supplement but...really? Nothing at all to distinguish the Ventrue from other clans? Wow.
In closing, I will say this. If you like the Venture you may be disappointed in this book. It just doesn't have the kick that was really needed for them. If on the other hand, you are indifferent about the Ventrue, you may like this book. There is a lot of usable material that can be placed in your game right now. I for one am going to use very little from this book.
Summary of Ventrue: Lords Over the Damned (Vampire the Requiem)
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