Apr 27, 2017 Hi folks. Earlier this week I was happy to learn that V20 Lore of the Bloodlines, a supplement for Vampire the Masquerade V20 went on general release Wednesday. It is no exaggeration to say that I was watching that site all day until it became available to buy. Upload and convert PDF files, choose from professional templates, or start completely from scratch. Distribute them across all devices Show off your work on Windows, Android, and iOS devices via smartphones, tablets, desktops, and notebooks.

Hi folks.

Earlier this week I was happy to learn that V20 Lore of the Bloodlines, a supplement for Vampire the Masquerade V20 went on general release Wednesday. It is no exaggeration to say that I was watching that site all day until it became available to buy. The physical copy is currently being produced, but I got the PDF yesterday and was able to read through the whole thing and am now am in a position to do a product review. This post will contain an affiliate links to Lore of the Bloodlines.

Lore of the Bloodlines is a sourcebook for the extremely popular Vampire the Masquerade Roleplay game, which is part of the larger World of Darkness Universe. Currently, the 20th Anniversary Edition line of Vampire the Masquerade products are produced by Onyx Path Publishing. Vampire the Masquerade is steeped in detail and lore, with dozens of sourcebooks building a dark and seductive world. Lore of the Bloodlines is one such book, dealing with one of the more fun aspects of the game: Rare Bloodlines. To play the game, each player takes the role of a Vampire in the world. There are 13 main clans to choose from all of which are exciting and interesting, however, sometimes you want a bit more exotic. And sometimes you want exotic as an adversary. Lore of the Bloodlines provides this. Not acknowledged as clans, often cast as outsiders, Lore of the Bloodlines adds something a bit different to your vampire games.

The nine bloodlines covered are:

The Baali – Infernalist vampires that spend their time researching, tomb raiding and summoning demons.

The Daughters of Cacophony – A (failed) experiment mingling bloodlines to create a weapon to infiltrate various other clans; their power derived from the song that is constantly in their heads and on their lips.

Gargoyles – Monstrous creations of the usurper Tremere clan in the earliest nights of their existence. Bred for service, scouting and war.

The Harbingers of Skulls – A bloodline of Necromancers that have traveled the lands of the dead, been baptised in the river Styx and returned with sinister purpose.

Kiasyd – the results of dark experiments to create a perfect being, ruthless scholars with a touch of the fae about them.

Nagaraja – Flesh Eating necromancers, descendants of those that Guard Enoch.

Salubri – Outcasts, Healers, demonised and hunted to near extinction by the Tremere, the Salubri still have a part to play. And there are more of them than you think…

Samedi – Carribean Vampires descended from the Baron, Loa of the Crossroads.

True Brujah – Betrayed by their brethren, they step aside from the vampiric jyhad, hoarding their reasons as close as they hoard their knowledge.

Just a bit of flavour there for you, based on my impressions reading each section. So, it seems logical to explain how the book flows.

Each bloodline has its own section, starting with a bit of story giving you a feel for the bloodline you are about to read. I particularly liked the stories introducing Baali, Kiasyd and True Brujah stories though all were good. That being said, the writing quality was a bit hit or miss. However, I have found people forgive poorer quality writing if the story is to their liking and I enjoyed them. That being said, I compared with a friend of mine and they were utterly unimpressed as they felt that the Baali were not sinister enough, and the Tremere/Gargoyle relationship had been unnecessarily softened. I can’t comment on the Baali, as I have never read their clanbooks, though I could see where he was coming from regards the Gargoyles.

What follows is a description to the reader, where the reader assumes the role of a recently embraced member of the bloodline. The description of the clan history comes from one or more scholars or elders of the bloodline and outlines theories of origin, where things went wrong (if it did) and what is happening with the bloodline in modern nights. It then presents a number of character concepts, some merits and flaws that players can use when playing these bloodlines as well as combination and high level powers available. And then it is on to the next bloodline.

So, let us look at various points about Lore of the Bloodlines. You can decide if they are good or bad.

It has a lot of information that is quite hard to come by (I believe it was out there in dozens of other books, but it is nicely packaged here).

There is plenty of story to get your teeth into with any of the bloodlines.

The Quality of the Physical Copy was fantastic, as expected (I purchased the Hard cover)

Every bloodline, without fail (if I recall) presents its history with an air of uncertainty (This is how my sire taught me…I am not sure if it is true). I was initially a bit meh about that, then I realised it allows me to decide what is true for my games, and prevents players “Knowing” everything. My friend who read it felt it was a bit of a cop out.

There is some good artwork for every bloodline. Some of the best is conglomerated on the cover.

The price is very reasonable, the most expensive version (premium hardback with PDF) was just over $30. There were other, cheaper options that were just as good.

Each bloodline got about 10 pages. This is less than the 13 clans got in V20 Lore of the Clans. However, I presume this is because more than half of the bloodlines are relatively recent (last 1000 years or so) and they are significantly smaller. Personally, I would have liked a bit more on each.

There were nowhere near as many unique merits, flaws and disciplines as in Lore of the Clans. I also thought there could be just a bit more in the way of Necromantic powers given 3 of the bloodlines are necromancers (Ok, technically 2, but the Samedi do practice as well).

There was some inconsistency in Chapter Layouts

I would have liked to see the Nituku bloodline given the same treatment as the True Brujah, as they are to the Nosferatu what the True Brujah are to the Brujah. (Or at least that is what my sire told me, don’t know if it’s true or not…)

I found this book to be a very interesting read. I believe it is intended to be a dip in and read what you need for when your player wants to be a Samedi, or you as Games Master want to have a Daughter of Cacophony impersonate a Toreador. For all that there are some flaws with the book, it did give me ideas for stories that I otherwise would not have had

Is this book worth buying?

If you are planning a Vampire Chronicle that you intend to run for a while, either focusing on a turbulent area over a few years, or leapfrogging characters from the Dark Ages to modern times, where there is the possibility and likelyhood of meeting rarer bloodlines, then it is a great, though not essential, resource. I feel it could have had more in the way of content, and perhaps be a little bit more definitive about clan origins, where the narrators have been vague.

You can visit Drive Thru RPG to purchase V20 Lore of the Bloodlines.

All the best, happy gaming.

First, check out our long list of thank you’s
In this episode, we combine the final two V20 books: Ready Made Characters and Lore of the Bloodlines.
Ready Made Characters brings you a selection of unique and interesting characters from each of the main 13 clans, for use as starting characters or as NPC characters. Additionally, the book includes charts for coteries and ideas for inclusion in your game.
Lore of the Bloodlines continues where Lore of the Clans left off; detailing the rare bloodlines of the World of Darkness. Containing the nine bloodlines of the final nights, including: Baali, Daughters of Cacophony, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd (settle down, Ian), Nagaraja, Salubri, Samedi and True Brujah. Additionally, you’ll find a wide variety of powers, disciplines, merits and flaws, and a ton of other tasty bits about these Vampire: the Masquerade bloodlines (not to be confused with the video game).
Ready Made Characters was written by Matthew Dawkins and produced by Eddy Webb. It was Published July 6th, 2016 for Onyx Path Publishing.
Lore of the Bloodlines was written by Matthew Dawkins, Eloy Lasanta, Andrew Peregrine, Neall Raemonn Price, Eddy Webb, and Rob Wieland. It was published April 26th, 2017 for Onyx Path Publishing.

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V20 Ready Made Characters
Written by: Matthew Dawkins
July 6th, 2016

Running a one-night game of Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition? Wanting to start up a new chronicle, but your players aren't sure what to play? Looking for some examples of how to use the material in Lore of the Clans?

Thanks to our generous Kickstarter backers, these thirteen ready-made characters cover each of the vampire Clans. Each character is provided with background, roleplay suggestions, art, and some potential coteries and plot hooks — everything you need to start your endless nights as one of the Kindred.

Lore of the Bloodlines
Written by: Various
April 26th, 2017
The Clans are not the only vampires that strut, if I might steal from the Bard, upon this great stage of fools. There are the errant Kindred inaccurately collected under the sobriquet of 'bloodlines.' While their role in the eternal conflict between the childer of Caine is small, it is often incredibly impactful.

V20 Lore Of The Bloodlines Pdf Online

As such, I provide this corollary to my original study. It would be the work of several lifetimes to find and document every tiny aberration or fleeting dead end that constitutes a variation from one of the thirteen. Instead, I have focused on nine that I know for certain have an impact in our little culture war of the dead. From the brain-washed abominations of Tremere magic to vampires twisted by demonic will to the remnants of Clans long thought dead, each of these so-called “bloodlines” have their place in society. There is no larger picture for them — for us — to be a part of. Here on the fringes, each vampire’s experience is unique.