Novels?

[Dylan]

So I heard about vampire the masquerade novels but i have no idea where to get started. Anyone know where to start? Are there even novels?

[Touch of Oblivion]

There are some old VtM novels, but they've been Out of Print for years. Like over a decade. You'd basically have to find them at used bookstores or on ebay or maybe amazon. As for where to start, I suggest trying to google a list. I'm sure there's an order to them. Just make sure they're VtM novels and not Vampire the Requiem novels.

[Dylan]

Thanks for your help. I'll google a list a look on amazon.

[Reban]

As a humble advice, if you liked the lore in Vtm Bloodlines I recommend you to look for the actual role playing books, there you will find more enjoyable stuff than in the novels, I can tell by my experience.
Novels are OK but they tell a long story arc and aren´t as engaging and interesting as the short tales in the rulebooks, the texts explaining the ambience and background are very neat too, for the most part.

[Dylan]

Thanks any advice is appreciated :D where could i find the role playing books to buy and what order are they in?

[Reban]

The original core book of Vampire the Masquerade is the best source of information, you should be able to get a copy in pdf format here:
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/index.php

and if you want them in physical format you should try your regular local store, or amazon, or any book store that delivers to your place, the core book isn´t out of print i think

Also, be aware that there is a couple of different "versions" of the vampire universe, you should avoid monte cook´s world of darkness and vampire the requiem, they are different from vampire the masquerade.

In any case, you should do some research before buying anything. it´s quite a story with this Vampire and World of Darkness setting , give it some Google

[Dylan]

thanks m8000

[Doctor Proteus]

Most of the lore information is from the World of Darkness source books.(Vampire the Requim, Vampire the Masquerade, etc...) if you're after actual information on the setting, those are what you're after.

[Lady of Levin]

Fantastic info guys, I was wondering myself where to start.

I have a question myself - I've never played a tabletop before, but would V:tM be okay to start with or is it very complicated and better to try something simpler first?

I just absolutely loved the world and lore in this game and I'd love to immerse myself in it even more.

[Jack Deth]

VtM is a perfectly acceptable place to start and is really easy to use. Each dot in something gives you a d10 dice to roll against a set difficulty (which changes based upon what you are doing). You have other things (like extended action and contesting rolls) but they follow the main concept of rolling your dots to a difficulty and trying to get the most successes possible.

Really the largest issue (which I never had a problem with) was conflicting mechanics between games. Werewolf the Apocalypse (my preferred game) had things like Rage and Gnosis while lacking things like Virtues and Humanity, but if you are playing strictly with one system it is easy to make a werewolf in VtM using the VtM structure.



I also second the best place for information about the setting and the best fluff stuff comes from the reoleplaying books themselves. DrivethruRPG is a great place to look and I recommend the 20th Anniversary books as they do a great job of collecting massive amounts of info that originally was spread across multiple books.

VtM and VtR are indeed sperate systems and if you are interested in VtM (ala the game) I'd recommend sticking just with books relating to that setting (I myself prefer Old World of Darkness over the New World though Promethean is a really neat game).

I suggest snagging clan books if you have an interest in that clan as they are characterful and help fill out the stereotypes in the books.

Lastly, info about Kuei-jin (or Eastern "Vampires") can be found in the Kindred of the East supplements which I recommend highly (they are very different from Kindred).

[Reban]

Keep in mind that Vampire the Masquerade is what we would call "pen and paper RPG", not a tabletop game.
I recommend the core book just as a read, seriously, It´s a manual to set a game with your friends but the information is displayed in a way that I find inspiring in many levels, and entertaining as well.
Sorry if I did some grammar errors, English It´s not my first language

[Bloodartist]

Originally posted by Obtenebris:

There are some old VtM novels, but they've been Out of Print for years. Like over a decade. You'd basically have to find them at used bookstores or on ebay or maybe amazon. As for where to start, I suggest trying to google a list. I'm sure there's an order to them. Just make sure they're VtM novels and not Vampire the Requiem novels.

Basically all VtM novels can also be bought as PDF versions from the link above, ie. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/. I definitely recommend the clan novel saga[www.drivethrurpg.com] which you can get as chronologically organised version from there as well. (it takes all the parts of the clan novels and puts them into one volume in chronological order). This version has never existed in print. Its only a PDF. Its massive, over 2000 pages I think, so well worth the price.

[Bebop]

The original 13 clan novels werent really to read in order. They tell roughly the same story from different clans around the world. Just pick up any you want to read about and go from there. I think it all revolves around the fall of one city to the carmarilla sacking of new york.