Customer Reviews

The Invictus, A Sourcebook for Vampire - A Requiem (White Wolf Game Studio)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Invictus is the fourth covenant sourcebook for the RPG Vampire: The Requiem (the others before it, in order of release, have been The Lancea Sanctum, The Ordo Dracul, and The VII), and probably the most useful. The information in here, and there is quite a lot of it, goes beyond just the context of the Invictus and provides essential information for crafting a society of Kindread.

Ch.1: History
The Invictus history presented in the book should serve to entertain any who have come to appreciate the fiction and mythos that the White Wolf games present with their product. The ancient Roman Covenant, the Camarilla, is discussed and the Invictus is in many ways the heir to the Roman sect (one view presented is that the Invictus is the Camarilla following the split of secular and religious powers, namely the division of the Invictus and the Lancea Sanctum into separate factions). In the dark ages that followed the fall of Rome and the Camarilla, the Invictus flourished and many heroes arose from this dark time (the legends of a few of these heroes are presented in the book). Later, the Invictus experiment with central government and its failings is described, mainly in the story of the Invictus Emperor. The history ends with a description of the Covenant's migration out of Europe and their position in modern nights.

Ch.2: Unlife in the Invictus
This chapter possesses a wealth of information that will revolutionize characters that make use of it and provide comprehensive structure to the governments and societies of the Kindread city-states. Protocol, titles of address and office, deals, dealings with mortals, politics, and doing business are all described at length, but the major innovation presented here is the concept of Cyclical Dynasties. Anyone who has seen the movie Underworld will be familiar with the concept (the succession/cycle of rule by the three elder vampires). The Cyclical Dynasties are also called Houses, and several sample Houses are presented. A House usually has 2 to 4 members, and they are formed for the purpose of protecting the power and assets of Elders, and the sleeping Elders themselves, during torpor, with either half or two-thirds (depending on the size) of the members of the House active while the other(s) slumbers.

Ch.3: Invictus and the Danse Macabre
In this chapter the concepts of Guilds and Orders are described. A Guild is sort of like a small school with in the Covenant. A master/mister tutors a small number of pupils in the pursuit of perfecting a specific talent or skill. Orders are basically Guilds but with a military element whose members are called Knights. Chapter 3 also provides information related to joining the sect, either before the Embrace, or after it, either by default through one's sire or joining up later on.

Ch.4: Factions and Bloodlines
This supplement, like all the others dealing with major Covenants so far, presents six new bloodlines that are primarily found in the Invictus. The bloodlines presented here are for the most part run of the mill and uninteresting, but each meshes well with the Covenant. The sects, which are like larger versions of the Guilds, are much more relevant to the Invictus than the sects presented in previous Covenant books are to their respective Covenants, as they provide information on organizations that do what the Covenant does (entering into business ventures, manipulating politics, etc...), rather than being defined by differing political or philosophical views. Also, Ghoul Families are discussed, and two sample Ghoul Families are presented.

Ch.5: Blood Oaths and Disciplines
The portion on Disciplines deals mainly with the unique powers of the Invictus bloodlines, and although the bloodlines are a little dull their powers are extremely cool and useful for any vampire lord.
The Blood Oaths are also a great concept, as they present a system to ensure trust between Kindread that isn't just the enslavement of one party involved by the other. This highlights one aspect of Requiem that I enjoy over the way things were in the Masquerade: although scheming and backstabbing is an element in the story, it is not a given- vampires are actually able to resist turning on one another simply because they can.

All in all, anyone who is a fan of Vampire: The Requiem, Invictus players in particular (and fans of the Masquerade's Clan Ventrue and Camarilla sect), will find this book both entertaining and useful. The books dealing with the Lancea Sanctum and the Ordo Dracul (initially I found both Covenants much more interesting than the Invictus) are pretty much only useful for developing characters and the unique powers of their respective Covenants (but they also have cooler blood-lines and histories), but the Invictus book provides information for building a Kindread society, a powerbase, and the means to survive throughout the ages. This book second only to the core volume in importance and necessity for a Vampire: The Requiem chronicle.

I haven't been much of a fan of the Invictus since I started reading about and playing Requiem. So when I went to my local gaming store and started reading through this book, I was expecting to not be surprised at what was inside.

However, this book ended up being one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever run across in gaming. Of course, the book mostly focuses on power structure, since that's the nature of the Invictus covenant. Yet there are also enormous details about the Invictus' relations in the World of Darkness, the history of the covenant, why and how one joins, what happens as time goes on, and bloodlines and factions- including the very interesting cyclical dynasties. There are also portions of the book that deal with the treatment of Ghouls, a few Ghoul Families created by the Invictus, and Blood Oaths.

This book is fantastic! I can't recommend it enough. Even if you're not going to have any characters in the Invictus, it can be used for NPC creation, or for storyteller information. Get this book, it's worth it.

This book rocks! Every writer on this project knows how to create an image of the Invictus. Its just like I imagined it but better. The Blood Oaths are incredible and will add so much to my game. The subtlties of dress as outlined in the beginning of the story are already a part of my elysium and the book came out a scant week ago. This book will make your chronicle rock if the invictus are your antagonists they will be much better for you having read this if they are the majority of your PC's (Like in my game) Get it now and tell your players to do the same. This is a must have for anyone who really wants to portray the byzantine politics of the Requiem.

I usually write detailed reviews of my gaming books, but the "Dazed Genoshan" already has a great detailed review of INVICTUS, so make sure that you read his review.

As far as my own opinion, I definitely think that INVICTUS is the best of the line of covenant books:
-First is its value; the Invictus are everywhere, and the PCs will most likely have to interact with them. So there needn't be Invictus PCs in your chronicle to get a lot of use from this book.
-Second is its originality. I thought of the Invictus as filling the "political power" niche while other covenants got the "mystic power" niche. This is not completely true - the Invictus have blood oaths that carry occult force, while a house dynasty can create a mystic bond. I thought that giving the Invictus occult abilities would be cheesy, but it is pulled off well and really fits the flavor of the covenant.
-Finally, it's just well written. I could have easily imagined a book written about "bad guys" or The Man holding people down. Instead of being described from such a simplistic point of view, the Invictus do what they do because it's safe, efficient, and produces results. It's the sort of dictatorship I could imagine lasting millenia.

I think INVICTUS is one of those books that every VAMPIRE: REQUIEM player and storyteller should own.

I just finished reading this and I have to say Im sold. Vampire is one hell of an rpg setting. Of all the covenants in the new game this is the best one. It exemplifies the kindred like no other covenant and it has rules on how to expand on classic vampire merits like herd and status.

I also love the rules on managing fog of eternity and how vampires live for hundreds and thousands of years to lay out their plans. I also like the rules for vampire dynasties where a group of vampires rules the estate of an elder who is in torpor to lower his blood potency. This rule makes it possible for players to have power early in the game, the potential for great storytelling is excellent.

The book also gives details (foggy at best) regarding the origins of the covenant after the fall of the Camarilla which was the ruling body of vampires during the time of Rome. It also has rules for ghouls who serve this clan and a few bloodlines.

I cannot wait to use this covenant in my games. Next to Ordo Dracul its my favorite. Great supplement!

Presenting the vampire Covenant (political faction) known as the "First Estate," Invictus provides well thought out insights and clever plot hooks for the oldest and most powerful vampire Covenant. New Factions, Bloodlines, Disciplines, Devotions, Merits, and Ghoul Families are presented along with a substantial amount of descriptive setting material. In every instance the new game mechanics support organizations and ways of thinking within the Invictus, and provide more than just a list of new toys.

The Invictus crave power as an end unto itself. They think they are the only vampires worthy of note, and they want to tell you all about why they should run everything (or do). Invictus was the least interesting covenant to me from the get-go because they struck me as the most basic political organization White Wolf could have come up with. But if you want to be a Ventrue without actually rolling the clan (or you just wanna be more Ventrue than Ventrue), this is the book for you. That said, I'll refrain from bashing the covenant and proceed to my review of the book. A caveat: Unlike the other covenant books, which I enjoyed for the most part, I read this one only out of a sense of obligation by dint of having two Invictus players in our troupe.

CONS:
Most of it. I really don't even think a Covenant book for this group is necessary. Beyond what was already presented in the core book, the first two sentences of this review tell you everything you need to know about Invictus for the purposes of most games. If more material is needed, reference anything in your library about clan Ventrue (old WoD or new), as many of the covenant's ideological underpinnings draw from that clan's worldview.

PROS:
Some of the cultural information on the covenant was more interesting than I expected, but not shockingly so. The chapter on Unlife in the Invictus contains the book's best material in my opinion, covering etiquette, titles of address, patronage, ceremony and other snobbery. The section on covenant relations was interesting, but it always is. The artwork is pretty good.

If you're already attracted to the Invictus (which is presumably why you're on this page), you may find much to like. One of our players threw himself into roleplaying the material from this book, applying Invictus parlance and attitude at every opportunity. This was certainly flavorful, but given the air of superiority, often annoying as well. If you as a storyteller find yourself in a similar position, this book may offer means to using the player's choice of covenant against them, but in my opinion you aught to be able to figure that out yourself. Many Invictus players seem psyched about the book's presentation of the concept of circular dynasties, a system of rule whereby "family" members rotate between torpor and waking leadership, similar to that presented in the movie Underworld.

I personally don't care for the covenant or this book, and would rate it at two stars, but gave it a bump on account of our players' initial enthusiasm (it should be noted that both Invictus players dropped out of our game later) and the fact that it slightly exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low. If you love the Invictus idea, knock yourself out. If you come to this book just to round out a Covenant collection or because you feel obligated to, save your time and money.