Customer Reviews

Vampire Bloodlines The Legendary (Vampire: The Requiem)

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Well I had initially bought this book in the hopes that it was on the same level as Bloodlines the Hidden, but this book fell short of what my hopes were. There were only a few intresting bloodlines that really stood out to me that I think I'll use in my chronicles. However to start with, the opening story that was put into this book was lacking and wasn't really that good, in fact after reading it I went back and reread another one of the better ones in the books (that being the Lancea Sanctum and Bloodlines:The Hidden). The only Bloodlines that really stood out to me are The Children OF Judas, a group of Deava who were born out of Suicide, The Galloi, a group of horrificly beautiful Nosferatu, The Macellarius, A group of Gluttonous Ventrue who weigh 300+ pounds and can eat human, werewolf, vampire or any other flesh, And Finally the PLayers, a bunch of Mekhet who get off on being the stereotypical vampires (they have the nicknames of: Wannabes, Posers, and other less printable names. And there character concepts made me laugh!. The other down side was the lack of Gangrel and Nosferatu bloodlines (it seems as though those are few and far between anyway) If however you really need to add more bloodlines, then Buy Bloodlines:The Hidden, thats the better book. However if you TRULY need this book, at least buy it used to save you some heartache and wallet ache out of the dissappointment you'll receive.

I don't know what it is with White Wolf but they seem to be having a really hard time coming up with bloodlines that players will actually want to play as. This book is filled with interesting possibilities, but they are ultimately largely used solely by the storyteller to make colorful NPCs, as the majority of players don't really see much appealing in the chapters. My favorite bloodline out of this book is the "Players," where their disciplines are geared toward pretending to be something they aren't, which I find appealing from a player character standpoint. Otherwise, though, the book's use has been largely limited.

What can I say, when I reviewed Bloodlines: The Hidden I said that if Legendary was even half as good as it, I would be pleased. Well, this book blows The Hidden out of the water, completely. The descriptions to the new bloodlines are more in depth, even more elequent, and extremely informative. The added Disciplines are a major plus, and even the illustrations are remarkable. The introduction does state that the bloodlines are "legendary" due to certain stories, not because they maybe over powerful (although a couple of them are extremely powerful). The "legends" that come with the bloodlines are in depth and descriptive, and they truly do make the bloodlines what the book titles them as. This book is a must have for anyone who runs a World of Darkness game. And those players who wanna sneak something unique into the game, this is what you need. The introduction also leaves it up for yet even more Bloodlines books which is some what disappointing and exciting. Again, I reiterate what I have said before, White Wolf knows how to market well, and yes, with these two books, I would buy everyone that comes out after them.

Bloodlines: The Legendary presents nine new Bloodlines for Vampire: the Requiem, all focused around the theme of "legendary." Think more in terms of urban legends than epic Bloodlines and you're on the right track. The Bloodlines here are creepy and odd, the sort of Bloodlines vampires whisper about and give a wide berth. Stories of their odd powers and often horrific origins precede them and, in many cases, make it difficult for the Bloodline to interact with Kindred society.

Most of these Bloodlines are, however, very playable which is a strong mark in favor of this product. Additionally, their histories and the bits of fiction and rumor associated with them are all very well done. While it is a small number of Bloodlines, each one is given enough attention that they feel very cohesive and escape some of the vagueness often found in other Vampire products.

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I love to make wacky, "out there" characters, and I was hoping that, with bloodlines: hidden being mostly unimaginative templates, I had high hopes for the Legendary. And I was disappointed. I know that many complained about the brevity of the Bloodlines listed in Hidden, and that Legendary was trying to overcome that. However, when most of the fewer bloodlines in this book, less than in hidden, are ridiculous and just plain gross, and not the good kind of gross either. I think my biggest disappointment was the lack of Tremere, which I was hoping would be in this book. There ARE a few exceptions, that are better than even those in (the good ones) in hidden, but overall, it was a disappointment. For those who want more story about a bloodline, this book doesn't disappoint.