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Just out of curiosity (not as if I wanted to run a game like this these days): Are there any good alternatives to Vampire: The Requiem/Masquerade that (instead of just making them available optionally, as Kult does, for example) focus on playing modern day vampires in a contemporary, occultish setting? (Please let's avoid D20-based games. Thank you.)

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Would "modern day supernaturals in a contemporary, occultish setting" work, so long as vampires get real support? I'm thinking of games like the Dresden Files or NightLife — well, NightLife isn't good, but it's otherwise appropriate — where vampires are a spotlighted option but not the exclusive focus. –  Jadasc Nov 13 '10 at 20:04
Related: List of occult modern world settings –  yhw42 Nov 13 '10 at 20:13
Jadasc: Thanks, but such games would count as "semi-answers" to the question. :) I know a lot of occult modern games myself - it's whether there's one about PC vampires that is not VtM/VtR that I missed... [Btw, thanks for the edit, it's better this way.] –  OpaCitiZen Nov 13 '10 at 22:05
@OpaCitiZen: The one I have in mind is Jared Sorensen's Vampires, which was eventually adapted into the Monster Garage game published in the Requiem Chronicler's Guide. Although it's derived from the WW games, it's not tied to the World of Darkness, and uses a slick reinterpretation to deconstruct the nature of playing as vampires. It's a little indie, and doesn't follow your rules strictly, but it's worth investigating. Presuming you were actually running a game like this, that is, which you say you're not. :) –  Jadasc Nov 13 '10 at 23:44
@okeefe Asked above. :) What the OP is looking for is a game "about" vampires in the same way that Top Secret, Spookshow, and Spycraft are "about" spies, but in very different ways. –  Jadasc Nov 14 '10 at 14:01
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5 Answers

Good alternatives? I don't know what you think is good! Try these:

There are games that you could use to play vampires that aren't specifically vampire games. Try Sorcerer, for example.

I also think that My Life with Master would be a fantastic game for playing vampires. You'd have a Master who gave you orders and you could all be minion vampires doing awful things. You could struggle to keep your humanity as you did more and more terrible things.

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A vampire-themed MLWM game would be fun. –  Jmstar Nov 15 '10 at 14:17
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Vincent Baker's Hungry, Desperate and Alone focusses on playing modern day vampires in a contemporary setting. It's a short game, just a blog post.

I don't know whether it's good. I imagine, given that it hasn't been formally released, that it's only half-baked: an interesting game, rather than a polished one.

At the least, though, it's packed with ideas you can use in other games.

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Annalise by Nathan Paoletta is a really interesting and playable take of vampires. Not a perfect fit for your specific need but a great game.

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I've looked into Annalise; if I'm correct, you don't play the vampire in that one. –  Jadasc Nov 14 '10 at 20:37
@Jadasc You can play vampires, but they'll somehow be in danger from The Vampire of the system. So, children of an elder vampire or something. It could do it, but not being designed to do it, that might not fit the OP criteria. –  SevenSidedDie Nov 14 '10 at 23:26
@SevenSidedDie I hadn't heard that. Thank you. –  Jadasc Nov 15 '10 at 13:40
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Your question sparked a vague memory, and I went off looking for what I seemed to recall. I didn't find it, but I found two other things that might be of interest. I can't actually recommend any of them, as I haven't played them, so bear that in mind.

Death's Shadow: The Book of Vampires "combines the vampire mythos with the unique multiverse view of Karma system to bring Storytellers everything they allow their players to take on the roles of vampires"

Nameless Streets is a Heroquest-based game that includes the option of vampire PCs. It appears to be a sort of modern-day paranormal noir, if that makes any sense. Probably not focused enough on vampires to be useful.

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Of those three, only the last satisfies all the requirements of the OP — the first is a game that's not exclusively about vampires, and the second is Modern OGL, which is a synonym for d20. –  Jadasc Nov 16 '10 at 16:30
Thanks for spotting the OGL thing, Jadasc. I'm not a d20 gamer, so I didn't realise. I've taken it out. I will leave in Nameless Streets, however, as it may be able to meet the OP's requirements. although rereading the question, I see this is probably no better than Kult. –  Dave Hallett Nov 16 '10 at 18:17
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Sorry just a link, because i have never played nor heard much of this RPG.


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Although the lead character of the television show is a vampire, the Angel game isn't "about" vampires in a way that satisfies the question. –  Jadasc Nov 14 '10 at 13:59
@Jadasc - However, I have run a Buffy game with vampire PCs - it works nicely. Never bothered with the Angel game though. –  gomad Jun 9 '11 at 15:29
@gomad - Certainly. However, the OP asked for a game that was "focused" on vampires. I played a mummy in a Bureau 13 game using the BESM rules, but that doesn't make BESM a game about monsters. (Cold Hands, Dark Hearts notwithstanding.) –  Jadasc Jun 9 '11 at 17:50
@Jadasc - Of course. And that's why I didn't +1 this answer or add an answer espousing the use of Buffy for this purpose. Comments have lower standards than answers, right? –  gomad Jun 9 '11 at 18:00
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