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by Thomas Ribault - February 1, 2014

At the dawn of the 1990s, pen-and-paper RPGs were trying to reinvent themselves by going off the beaten track. Mark Rein-Hagen, who already conceived Ars Magica, White Wolf's first success a few years prior, raised some good questions: what if the character's nemesis wasn't a powerful dragon or some other monster but rather, simply himself? What if the setting focused on internal conflict rather than classic power fantasy? Those questions would end up being at the core of his next game: Vampire - The Masquerade. A huge success at the time, V:TM puts the players in the shoes of newborn vampires discovering the joys of (un)life.

In this setting, vampire physiology is a bit different from typical pop culture representation. Turning a human into a vampire is a complex process that can't be done accidentally. Stakes only paralyze them. Without blood, a vampire won't die but instead fall into torpor for a very long time...years, centuries, even longer. Like wine, vampiric power is defined by age - the older one is, the stronger it gets. Still, a "true death" can be offered via fire, sun or extreme damage.

Each undead is bound to an amoral compulsion called "The Beast", symbolizing its predatory essence. If the vampire doesn't feed, is insulted or confronted by fire, the beast might "take over" and try to fulfill inhuman urges. To prevent loss of control, each vampire follows a strict moral path based on the concept of "humanity". The more humanity a vampire has, the more human he acts and feels. Doing gruesome things tend to lower that score and brings them closer to The Beast. Therefore, drama comes from the slow but inevitable descent into the depravity of a vampire. "I am a monster lest I become a monster". The second core element revolves around politics. Indeed, the "Kindred", as they call themselves as opposed to the human "Kine", have a complicated political life based upon clans, sects, and taboos. All of these rules come from ancient history.

Vampires are born from Cain, the slayer of Abel, cursed by God to wander the earth for eternity. The closer a vampire is to Cain (the first generation), the more powerful they are. Technically, the 13th generation is the weakest and the last one to appear. Beyond that, the curse of Cain is too weak to spread. Each of the grandchildren of Cain, called the "Antideluvians", created its own clan, passing specific blessings (and a curse) through its own lineage. Vampire blood is a powerful drug for mortals, turning them into "ghouls", thralls to their vampiric master. Drinking blood from another vampire produces a similar effect, slowly "blood-bonding" the drinker to his savior.

So why is it called the "Masquerade"? Well, after being sucked dry for centuries, humans couldn't bear it anymore. Around the 14th century, the Inquisition eventually set ablaze Europe's vampiric population. Young vampires saw an opportunity to free themselves from the old ways and from their sires. Old vampires realized that humans could be dangerous after all and that action should be taken. From the ashes of the old world, two ideological sects were born - the Camarilla and the Sabbat.

The Camarilla believes that Kindred should stay hidden from Kine and manipulate it from the shadows. To enforce their belief, the Camarilla created a chart of rules called "The Masquerade". Embracing vampires is a granted permission, feeding must stay hidden, humans shouldn't be killed, and so forth. Those rules are very harsh and punishment is swiftly applied by the representative of Camarilla in each city, known as the Prince.

On the other hand, the Sabbat believes that personal freedom, harshly earned through the Inquisition, is more important than everything else. Sabbat members reject humanity and enjoy more inhuman moral codes. After all, you are a monster, what's the point of mimicking cattle? But this ideological struggle isn't what it seems like. Indeed, the most ancient vampires (Antediluvian and Methusalem) use the youngest as pawns and proxy soldiers in THEIR own byzantine power games. This is called the "Jyhad", the eternal struggle. Honestly, it sucks to be the cannon fodder, but the good news is usually you don't even know that someone is pulling your strings. Note that the book of Nod (the vampiric bible) speaks of a time when Antediluvians will rise and eat their own children and all sorts of terrible stuff will happen. This vampiric apocalypse is called Gehenna, and is supposed to occur very soon in the modern setting of Vampire: The Masquerade.



Malkavian - Every member of this clan is affected with a different form of insanity: schizophrenia, paranoia, the possibilities are infinite. Apart from that, they don't have any real coherence as a clan. Like mad men in human history, Malkavians also act as seers and prophets, offering hidden truths beneath their babble. Their unique discipline, Alienation, allows them to spread the madness.
Nosferatu - As their name implies, those Kindred look like Murnau's creature and share a distinctive ugliness. They can't live among humans and usually live in sewers. Nosferatus are experts in hiding and the discipline Obfuscate can make them completely invisible. Their trade is mainly  investigation and research, making them precious spies.

Lasombra - Spaniards who love to play kingmakers. Dark reflection of the Ventrue, they destroyed their own Antediluvian after the Inquisition's attack and created the Sabbat. They can control the shadows themselves through the discipline Obtenebration. Ironically, they don't reflect in mirrors.
Antitribu -Title given to any Camarilla affiliated clan member who joins the Sabbat.
Giovanni - A long time ago, the Cappadocian clan ruled over the secrets of the dead. This monastic clan was cannibalized by one of its own bloodline - a wealthy venetian family of necromancers. The Giovanni are a family first and then a clan, embracing neonates among its ranks. In the modern world, they are pretty much the Corleone family with necromantic powers.


Lastly, it's good to keep in mind that Kindred aren't the only supernatural creatures roaming around the globe. It's a real "world of darkness" out there. Kuei-Jin, Asian vampires with their own rules and abilities, are slowly taking over west coast cities. Wilderness reeks of werewolves - shamanistic shapeshifters who can tear even powerful vampires to shreds. Kine society is infiltrated by Mages, fighting for control over reality (think The Matrix). And then there are the mortal hunters, ghosts, mummies and fairies.



Vampire : The Masquerade - 2nd edition Corebook (1992)

The Camarilla (Art by Bill Sienkiewicz - 1998)


The Sabbat  (Art by Bill Sienkiewicz - 1998)

Vampire : The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire : The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire : The Masquerade - Bloodlines (Windows)


Macintosh Cover

After the brief summary offered about the setting, you might think that only a Western RPG cleverly mixing choices and political intrigue can be true to Rein-Hagen's lovechild. Nihilistic Software, for their first game, thought otherwise or maybe they didn't have a choice. Anyway, they turned the setting into an heavily story-driven hack'n slash. While that might sound blasphemous to pen-and-paper RPG fans, the game is actually quite enjoyable for many reasons.



After the first fifteen hours (it's a long game) of Redemption, Christof is finally reunited with his mortal love but things get even worse. Anezka had been turned into the ghoul of a crazy Tzimisce Methusalem who is about to rise from torpor. Rocks fall and everyone dies... or so it seems. Our undead hero wakes up in the headquarters of the Order of Leopold, the remnants of the Inquisition, in London five hundred years later. Lost in this brand new world, the Crusader will have to gain new allies to slay the nefarious Methusalem and take back Anezka.






Despite being taking place during the dark of night, Redemption's graphics are vivid and display an impressive work on textures for the times. Clever lighting work recreates the torch-lit cities of Prague and Vienna. The animations are impressive as characters snatch each other or literally turn to dust. The pathfinding is terrible and AI companions often make very dumb moves. Don't use the aggressive stance, ever. At the center of your interface, 3D heads of your party give you direct feedback of the situation - watch them change armor, feed or go into frenzy. The character models themselves have aged badly though, and appear extremely blocky.

Disciplines are extremely well done and fun to use. Like everything in Redemption, they are mostly the same as in the PnP but have been adapted for practical issues. Their range is extremely wide - invisibility, raising dead enemies, growing sharp claws, making blood boil, and so forth. While some are overpowered, the game is never difficult enough that it forces you to use them, so you're free to experiment. Having four characters in your party can also help in that matter. That is probably one of the best aspects of the game - finding the disciplines you like and abusing them. Most disciplines offer successively unlockable powers for variety's sake.


While the equipment is classic, weapons are divided in three specific categories related to the original pen and paper game. Bashing weapons (fists, maces) don't do much damage, lethal (swords and guns) weapons are the most common type, and aggravate weapons (fire, disciplines) are rare and hurt substantially. The panel of weapons is quite large (polearms, swords, guns, explosive) and offer some exotic examples such as a stake-launcher. Still, it's a bit sad for a game focused so much on a Diablo-like experience to give players such a bland loot. With a few exceptions, magical items are lackluster and the best equipment has to be bought from merchants.



In retrospect, Redemption suffers greatly when being compared to Bloodlines, which was released three years later. It's obvious that the games tackle very different approaches but adaptations crave for comparison and a hack-n-slash opposed to a real RPG made by the makers of Fallout is going to be crucified by the fans.

Quick Info:


Nihilistic Software






Period: Middle-Ages

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (Windows)

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