Customer Reviews

*OP Masquerade 2nd Ed. (Mind's Eye Theatre)

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

 

 

This is a great piece of work and details sufficiently enough for gamers and storytellers to interpret rules and such when need be. Nice intro to clans, backgrounds, etc. and character guides that you can photocopy. I originally gave this 5 stars but I have to reduce it to 4.5 for a few reasons (which wouldn't bother someone of any experience): A completely inexperienced reader/player who is reading the book on their own could become confused I think since the game is of a relatively complex nature as far as rules and challenges. Even the background and terms will probably be a little difficult to understand at first for a complete novice, if not in the presence of someone more experienced. The other thing is, and I don't know if they reprinted ever to fix this but my copy is an original printing from around 1995 and contains multiple typos and formatting errors which would likely confuse a n00b. Re-reading it myself, I was able to pretty easily see the typos and such and understood the material regardless but I noticed one heading which is in the wrong font size and unbolded. Probably most people would realize it's a mistake. Because of the complexity of certain disciplines and the dependencies they have, reading over the sections more than once is probably necessary if a person wants to start memorizing all the rules.

But anyway, overall, this book is a masterpiece and work of genius and serves as the foundation for what is probably the most fun and interesting game I have ever played. The depth to which history and backgrounds are detailed and the level to which story chronicles and characters may be customized are almost unlimited. I think there are some miscellaneous terms and references which might not be initially explained as fully as they could be (Again, for n00bs.) but as I said, this book contains the complete foundation for understanding, joining, or creating a game. There are many other books and sources of information which supplement what is in this book, and if you are going to *really* try to become a very advanced player (which will probably take years of consistent play), then it is probably advisable to supplement your materials, particularly those which deal with historical game elements such as the origins of certain figures, institutions, practices, and the like.

One interesting thing about The Masquerade is that different cities' storylines from players' meetings can intersect and weave a worldwide or at least regionwide tale if the members want it to. This is probably not the norm and storylines usually take place within one city itself, primarily (although storytellers will outline what is happening in the upper worldwide echelons of the vampire sects). Attempting to merge members or whole groups from different cities is possible but may come with a conflict in storylines or even conflicts of interests between the storytellers. On that note, it is important that storytellers in the game understand the neutral nature of their role and are not mediating with bias or a sense of dictatorship. The game is specifically designed to evolve on its own at the will of all players without blatent and forceful direction by storytellers or narrators. And when the basics laid out in the book are followed in general, this can happen very nicely, weaving a moving and changing story and characters that the player literally becomes immersed in, creating, as I said, probably the most fantastic gaming experience on the planet.

I started LARP'ing a few months ago, and decided to grap a copy of this book. The book is very well put together, following logically from basics to the more complicated stuff very easily. The only problem that I have with the book is in the Clan Malkavian section, derangements are discussed (due to their design) but there is no list of derangements anywhere in the book. Other than that oversight, it plays quite well.

This book provides you with all the background information and rules you need to start or play a live-action role-playing game in White Wolf's World of Darkness. White Wolf has produced the best RPG to date, with hundreds of expansion books and tons of stories, art and resources. This game is the BEST!!!

I have yet to read this Edition, however all other editions have been wonderful. This game has been great from the get-go. The book is easy to understand and a lot easier than the dice form of the game. Thumbs-up for a job well done

A great system for Live Action Role Play, although it is not as great a system as the actual Role Playing books, it is a good system and can run upwards of 5 to 100 people. Great work White Wolf, Keep at it.