Customer Reviews

Transylvania By Night (Vampire: The Dark Ages)

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

 

 

It is really fascinating, how american people think about our region... I have to tell, that I have some wrong feelings about reading this book, but it is far better that I excepted. In the In-game terms everithing is all right. I find the story quite well. But there is some great problem with the history... If someone is interested in early Hungarian history, I gladly tell to him/her more about it, but just the core: 1) the so-called dako-roman continuity theory - whichis in the book, too - is laughable. The first sign of the "roman" really: vlach people is about the 13th.century in Transylvania. they were sheperds not serfs, and have quite wide liberties. 2) i know, that the ethnical struggle is because of dramatically purposes, but I waited for a short column, which said about the true problem: that there was no "race" "ethnicum" before the 18th. century. Nationalism in hungary was invented by that time. Before that there was a "Hungaro-mind": every people in the country regardless of nation(this word was not exsist), language, religion were the part of the Crown of Hungary. Rivalies were bethween nobles and peasants, or bethween nobles, or bethween different countries, but NOT in bethween "races". this is the inventment of the modern area, and sorrowly it affects most of the people of this region -today... But despite of this the book is really great!

Ps.: If you want to make an other book, which contains hungarian names, please try to find somebody, who can write them right down.:)) Ps2.: Sorry for my wrong English - I know it far to be acceptable in high societies.

This is an great source book for anything in the dark ages. It has anything that you will need for any Dark age chronicle you would be running. Has all the important charcters from the Dark ages in it including the stand point of two of the most powerful clans in it.

Transylvania by Night is a remarkably informative source material for White Wolf's Vampire: the Dark Ages. It indulges the reader in the lifestyle, religion, daily life, and many other factors within Eastern Europe in the Dark Ages. This is a must have for storytellers who wish to set their chronicle in Eastern Europe.

This book provides a ton of material about what the various vampire clans of White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade RPG were up to in Eastern Europe at just around 1200 AD. Geographically, the countries and regions that we know as Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Transylvania, and Bohemia are covered, and some small amount of their histories (retrofitted to factor in how they were influenced by vampiric machinations) is included. Details about certain major cities such as Prague and Budapest are also presented, along with assorted minor adventure seeds.

There is a ton of profiles on major vampires of the time. Practically every clan is represented (except the Giovanni, since the Cappadocians are still extant at this time, and I don't believe anyone from Toreador or Followers of Set made it in, either). The most famous figure is Lucita of the Lasombra. Vlap Tepes/Dracula does NOT make an appearance, since this is set before his time. Most of the vampires are of the sixth through eighth generations, but there are a handful from the fourth and fifth.

The major focus is on the newly-formed Tremere and especially on the loathsome Tzimisce, including their cultivation of revenant families.

The best feature, to my way of thinking, is that each profile ends with a Destiny section, a "Where are they now?" blurb to tell readers what became of these creatures. A few make it to the 20th Century and beyond. A lot do not, especially the Cappadocians, and some just disappear into legend. I would've liked to have something similar in the "London By Night" book for the Victorian Age setting.

An enjoyable book with a lot of value and fairly good art. It probably would've benefited from more plot hooks, city information, and non-vampire NPCs (the golem-controlling rabbi is one of the few to be described). Worth it, though, for the vampire profiles alone, which are quite detailed.