Customer Reviews

*OP Transylvania Chron 1: Dark Tides (For Vampire, the Dark Ages)

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

 

 

WOW! Transylvania Chronicles I: Dark Tides Rising is one of the BEST (if not THE best) campaign style modules I have ever read, and I have been playing RPGs since the Chainmail packet in 1976! The authors take you through at least 300 years of gaming in a flash, planning for just about all contingencies. Besides that, there are storyteller hints from how-to style through atmosphere, and they include dozens of (slightly altered for fantasy) historical incidents to throw in as filler throughout the game! All I can say is, since I am currently storytelling this game. In closing, if you are interested in Storytelling Vampire: The Dark Ages at all, this is DEFINITELY the book to pick up. Just be ready to switch to Vampire: The Masquerade at some point, since this 4 module series runs the transition between both games, and details over 800 years of Kindred history!

Though I played in a Dark Ages chronicle, it was years ago and I wasn't running it. I wanted to see how the "pros" did it rather than learn on my own (the hard way), so I picked up this book.

A good story that will let you shape it to what you want it to be, I've found it the best way to get started in the Dark Ages (both from a Storytelling and a character creation standpoint).

This is an excellent book to start with if you are just starting out as a story teller. Has all possibliltes already planned out for you and has nasty little turn abouts in it to keep players on their toes. One thing it lacked was some tiny details about some characters that would have been useful.

Imagine my surprise when I find that the LARP chronicle that myself and four others had been planning had essentially just been published by White Wolf. This series is an incredible resource in material and mechanics. Now if only they could do a MET version...

This is probably one of the best Vampire the Dark Ages Chronicles out there. The story is very intriguing and fun for both the storyteller and players. Assuming your players haven't read anything from this book and Transylvania by Night, and are not very into the Vampire history, it is very amusing to watch their ups and downs and reactions to the events in this chronicle: one day they might feel like they are on top of the world, the other they are desperate for their unlives (*evil grin*). This chronicles gives the players the chance to witness a lot of important events on Cainite history be active in them, and also gives them the chance to shape their destiny via several choices they must make along the way. The NPCs that participate in this chronicle have some of the best stories I ever read, and as ST you may pick on them and offer small quests to fill in the gaps of time.

Although I give it a 5 star in general, I have some issues with Transylvania Chronicles that I feel I must point out in case you plan on running this chronicle. First, I wouldn't consider it a "stand alone" chronicle. Transylvania by Night is nearly obligatory if you plan on running this, most of the big NPCs, their motives and activities are there. Second, this is chronicle that spans for 8 centuries, with gaps of about 100 years in between events. Players might feel the time is going way too fast, and will easily feel "pushed" into an unspeakable destiny they can't escape. I recommend you try to fill the gaps in between with other stories, either from Transylvania by Night, Bitter Crusade or Under a Black Cross (this is supposed to be a grandiose chronicle anyway). Third, I found that if players make the least savory choices through this chronicle, they might end up missing out on lots of valuable information and making you skip some acts (or tweak them severely). And lastly, I got an overall feeling this chronicle was way too filled with "big famous vampires". This may not seam like such an issue at first, but once you open the door to the Antediluvians you know you are threading on shaky sand. You can either present them as respectably as possible, or try to hide their true presence until the big moment, but any way you do it players might get mixed feelings out of it.
(=SPOILER ALERT=) I don't see how it was really necessary to subject the party to the antediluvians so blatantly (Act 2 comes to mind...). Also, if you are very unlucky your players might get ideas of diablerizing the "big names" that you will need for other acts further down the road. How you handle those situations is up to you, but you might have to either spank the neonates really hard for their foolishness or do severe adjustments along the way. Whatever you do I suggest "handle with care", it is important the players feel they are part of something big through this chronicle and feel accomplished for their achievements, but when something goes wrong... it has the potential for disaster. (/SPOILER)

Overall, I would recommend this chronicle to experienced storytellers and players who have a bit of experience with role playing games. This is not an epic fantasy chronicle with dragons and quests for treasure, it's a very intricate and grim story with political conflicts and powerful Cainites. It takes you from 1197 to Gehenna, and through some of the most remarkable events of Cainite History. I find it best when players aren't very familiar with the lore of VtM, so they don't know certain events or NPCs by name and you get the element of surprise. You might have to dig around for more information and background on certain events, but in the end if you step up for the challenge you'll find it's pretty much worth it.

Transylvania chronicles is one of the most rewarding campaigns I have ever played in Vampire. It takes the characters in a 800 - year long journey through all major events in vampire history, and gives you a lot to think about. It is structured to be an adventure that quickly escalates to epic proportions,with characters that are bound to become important.

The only major flaw of the series is that the storyteller may easily find himself in the situation that he know TOO LITTLE of the plot. Regarding the prophecy of Gehenna, for example, the first three books hint on the apocryphal signs of Gehenna. What these are, the players should not know until the end... but the storyteller? There are various times that you will find yourself not knowing the importance of the events you are playing, the role of major npcs in the story- you will have to improvise, and chances are, the next books in the series will make you have to adjust your earlier options heavily.

For people wishing to go into transylvania, take this campaign seriously. It needs a lot of play time to enjoy it. It took me more than 90 sessions to complete, and I enjoyed every one of them. If you can, buy all the books before starting the campaign - if not, book 4 is a must.