Customer Reviews

Ordo Dracul (Vampire: The Requiem)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Vampire Requiem first came out I was dissapointed with the core book because I felt that it lacked depth that had been developed in the Masquerade over the years. After picking up this book and bloodlines, my enthusiasm for this new game was rejuvenated. The Ordo Dracul details the history of this covenant, but does not bog you down in the past. Instead, it focuses on what the Order is. The book goes into detail on what it is the order does, other than creating or studying coils. It also covers: a secret code hidden in the titles of the dragons, new coils, new bloodlines, new devotions, and society organizations. If you like the Ordo Dracul and are either a storyteller or player--get this book!

The Ordo Dracul, I have to be honest, is my least favorite covenant. Its position as a hermetically sealed organization causes me to cringe, and the thought of spending centuries in Slave status, serving undead monsters who look down on you, is terrifying.

However, that's also some of the appeal of this book. It deliniates the structure of the Ordo Dracul, its purposes, some bloodlines and factions within the covenant, and shows just what makes the Dragons tick.

The terror that a reader of this book SHOULD feel is ever-present as you search through the pages, touching on the various practices of the Dragons, and looking into the eerie bloodlines that the Order has created over the centuries.

This is a great book, well-planned and thorough. I highly recommend it, especially for those who have an interest in the Order itself.

Ordo Dracul provides a detailed presentation of the Covenant of the same name. The Ordo Dracul is similar to a cross between hermetic mages, philosophers, researchers, and Masons all rolled together into one large organization focused on understanding and mastering the vampiric condition. An overview of the history of the Covenant, its beliefs, traditions, factions, government, and other similar information is provided. New Bloodlines, Disciplines, Devotions, and Coils are logically connected to new and existing groups within the Covenant.

The best thing this product has going for it is that the Ordo is interesting. The internal government is unique and fun, the actual ways Covenant members go about studying vampirism are clever (and at times unusual, embracing weird and ancient science), and the factions lurking on the periphery are such that many players will find something of interest. On the downside, the focus on the extremely inhuman deeds that Dragons regularly perform may turn some players off to the product and otherwise shift a campaign's focus away from Humanity and on to vampiric society and science. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, but the Covenant does tend towards murder (in order to engage in social science) and extreme self mutilation (in order to create a new mental state).

ORDO DRACUL is a sourcebook for the roleplaying game VAMPIRE: THE REQUIEM by White Wolf. It is meant for both players and storytellers, to provide information on the vampire covenant and occult society, the Ordo Dracul (or Order of the Dragon). The covenant is one of the most important groupings in VAMPIRE: THE REQUIEM, because membership reflects a philosophical choice by the characters rather than the vagaries of circumstance. The Ordo Dracul is probably the most secretive of the five major covenants, using its occult teachings to actually remake the vampiric physiology. Although this is a relatively small and recently-formed covenant, it has a lot of secrets. ORDO DRACUL reveals those secrets to both storytellers and players.

ORDO DRACUL, like all White Wolf books, begins with introductory fiction to help set the mood. Like the other covenant books, the intro fiction is printed on distinctive paper, separate from the rest of the book. I wouldn't say that the intro fiction of ORDO DRACUL adds a lot to this book, but it is good in its own regard. The following chapters, like the other covenant books, describe the history of the covenant, night-to-night activity within the covenant, relations between covenant memebers, factions, bloodlines, disciplines, special abilities, and sample characters.

The history of the covenant is short, as befits its relatively recent nature; although the reader picks up much more history in chapters on other subjects. This can be irritating when you need to find some critical bit of historical info but can't remember in which section it was related. There is some historical and fictional information on Vlad Dracul, and then some history of his three brides and their establishment of the covenant in the Victorian period as a real force. And above all, the overriding belief in the power of change.

the chapter on night-to-night unlife is large, and deals with many different topics. The philosophy of the covenant is discussed: change, when it is useful and when it isn't, and the pursuit of the Great Work. Wyrm's nests are discussed, as well as the uses and identification methods used to catalog them. The idea of Coils of the Dragon is discussed, what they mean, how the covenant views them, and how to achieve them (or fake having them). There is a lot of information on the Ordo Dracul as a secret society; the positions, factions, competing lodges. There are titles, ranks, codes, and oaths as any good secret society should. There is also information on the dealings of the Ordo Dracul with other covenants and even other supernatural creatures.

The chapter on relationships details the duties and privileges of the Ordo Dracul ranks (as indicated by Status and Coil dots). Probably the most interesting part of this chapter is exploring the prospective student's virtues and vices with Tarot cards. Each card represents a binary choice, and the choice differentiates between one virtue and another, or one vice or another. The Course of Darkness tests are quite interesting, because the choice is only between one vice or another.

The chapter on factions and bloodlines is longer than that in LANCEA SANCTUM. The bloodlines have some unique aspects, like power over ghosts, but they stand out because of the amount of flavor text with each group. What I really like about the BLOODLINES books was not their direct applicability but the ability to serve as plot ideas, and the bloodlines in ORDO DRACUL serve that purpose well. There are also two factions of particular interest; the Sworn of the Locust and the Ladder (followers of Mara and Anoushka). One is based on the purging of morality, while the other seeks its greatest potential. Both are considered heresies to be stamped out. The bloodline disciplines are listed in the next chapter, along with the apocryphal coils of Anoushka's Ladder and the Way of the Locust. There are also many devotions based on a coil + a discipline, which can have unique results. Finally, there is a chapter on pre-generated characters, including "fake" Draculas.

I thought that ORDO DRACUL is a great sourcebook, with information that is necessary for characters planning to be members of the Order. There is plenty of secret society stuff that will make roleplaying a dragon very interesting. It isn't as useful, though, as books on the Lancea Sanctum or the Invictus because the covenant is small and secretive, which means that it has less potential to be part of the background unless players want to actively investigate it.

The Ordo was the first covenant to really strike my fancy in the core book. The combination of Dracula and the alchemical worldview is marvelously done, and the background set up by The Rites of the Dragon sets the stage pretty well for the structure of this covenant. This is one of the better covenant books in my opinion, second only to Belial's Brood.

The book does an excellent job of explaining the covenant's beliefs, practices, and structure. My observations from conversation with other players who are less interested in the covenant and its alchemical philosophy have led me to believe that this sourcebook would be extremely useful to Storytellers running troupes that include Ordo characters, and that there's apparently some room for confusion about the covenant to those without this resource. It offers all the standard covenant book sections, covering history, structure, titles and positions, beliefs, intercovenant relations, factions, and powers.

It also offers a few unique highlights. The entry on Wyrm's Nests (aka loci, haunts, places of power) makes for good story hooks and settings, and is supplemented by a later section detailing rituals and Merits related to these locations. A tarot-inspired Paths of Fate section serves as a helpful character-building tool, examining one's motives and actions in order to help flesh out characters. It too serves as a springboard of story hooks. A section on schools of methodology offers other means by which Dragons pursue the Great Work beyond alchemy, and offers tools, theories, and playing tips for each. A subsection presents several brief but very stylish "transcendental camps" representing conceptions of what comes with completion of the Great Work, including cthonians! This book includes the best selection of bloodlines found in any of the covenant books. The Azerkatil are the closest thing to Assamites yet offered in nWoD, the Dragolescu add ghost-influencing power to the Ventrue, and the history of the cursed Moroi is among my favorite entries in any vampire sourcebook.

For someone who plays an Ordo character, I'm not a huge fan of Coils, but this book offers a great chapter of Coils and Disciplines. Several new Coils are presented, and fourth tiers are offered for new and extant Coils. Tips on creating Coils of your own are offered as well. The Disciplines that accompany the new bloodlines are awesome, without exception. Bloodline Devotions are included. New Merits and rituals related to Wyrm's Nests are given, and a Discipline of Blood Alchemy offers a variety of powers that resemble Devotions tied to proprietary clan Disciplines.

I strongly recommend this book, primarily to Ordo Dracul players and Storytellers. If you enjoy the flavor of Dracula, alchemy, or the Tremere of old, you'll definitely find the aesthetic appealing. If you just want a covenant book bursting with cool bloodlines and powers, this sourcebook will provide you with the variety of crunch you're looking for.

Just purchased and read this and I am very glad to add this book to my vampire the requiem collection. It does an excellent job of incorporating the Dracula mythology into the vampire the requiem mythos. Great companion piece to the fiction book Rites of the Dragon, also for Vampire the Requeim game.

Along with Circle of the Crone and Invictus this is a great covenant book.
For anyone who wants to play an Ordo Dracul vampire or for any storyteller who wants a deeper understanding of the goals and motivations of this enigmatic vampire coven, this book is indispensible.

It was inspiring to read and gave me a better view of the Ordo Dracul. It had just enough history and enough about the current workings of the covernant. It really made me want to tell a story with the Ordo Dracul as a main covernant.

I just recieved this book in the mail today and it is everything the other reviews have said. Just excellenct. The history, the bloodlines, the new coils, all of it.

The Ordo Dracul book was a great read all around. Gave you a look into those that search for the "Great Works" and life beyond vampirism.

With the new Coils and secretive subsect "Sworns" and new bloodlines, it is a great book. Definately a good read for those just interested in the covenent or wanting to play a Dragon character.

The thesis for these fictive vampires is that Dracula, Vlad Tepes II, was a hypocrite to both faith and people. This is hardly true, as history and culture can show. Vlad Tepes II was recipient of a sacred order of chivalry and was very concerned for the safety and strength of his people. This being said, Ordo Dracul does not provide a persuasive fiction, although that is its intent. The history of this order in no way excels over the least credulous of New Age crackpot ideas and is reminiscent of Scientology to an extent.

So, I advise against purchasing this product to enhance your game of Vampire: the Requiem and against using it to provide some insight on vampire methods and approaches for a game in the World of Darkness setting that occasionally features vampires. For those who seek a good indepth description of the vampires they'll be meeting, try Lancea Sanctum (for religious vampires), Mekhet (for a typical vampire outlook), or Belial's Brood (for antagonist vampires).

Ordo Dracul can be used straight for a system to describe vampires who are fools and the decieved, members of a cult that use a system of magic that functions but without any idea why or how. There are people in the world who might be drawn into such a cult -- especially if it promised actual occult power.

Ordo Dracul can be altered so that it seems more accurate: the Order having been founded in Constantinople during a meeting of vampires of sorcerous bent and with no actual link to Transylvanian royalty, the movie concept of Dracula being a metaphor often used by members but known as a metaphor even by most of those vampires outside the Order.

However, Ordo Dracul when taken straight with no recognition of its silliness can only spoil any but a comedic approach to World of Darkness. Personally, I would only order it should a player want to play Ordo Dracul even after being told of their variance from the given information in my particular game.