The White Wolf version of VtM is stand alone, you buy the book, some 10 sided dice (from a hobby store or White Wolf's website)and you're ready to play. The "Storyteller" rule system is pretty simple and has been revised and improved. There are many other White Wolf products that use the same Storyteller system (Werewolf, Demon, Mage and so on) so your World of Darkness can grow and expand. White Wolf's emphasis on Role Playing instead of dice rolling and complex rules probably make this a great choice for someone new to RPGs. Be warned however, White Wolf's products and website can be very, very dark and profane. Probably not a good choice for children in my opinion. The game itself is very original, imaginitive and popular.

GURPS (Generic Universal Roleplaying System) by Steve Jackson Games is a fairly detailed RPG system. The GURPS version of VtM is NOT a stand alone product. You must first own a copy of "GURPS Basic Set" (availabe here at Amazon.com) to play GURPS VtM. One difference is that GURPS uses 6 sided dice which are readily available (bonus). The GURPS system was developed as sort of an answer to everything thing that was annoying about the grandaddy of RPGs, Dungeons and Dragons. D&D was an immense rules system that spaned many tomes and modules, required many types of dice and was stuck in sword and sorcery mode. GURPS allows you to play any type of character, in any type of setting imaginable all from one book (GURPS Basic Set and some six sided dice). The GURPS rules system is going to be a larger investment in time to master than Storyteller, but it is detailed and logical. I personally like it.

Two last thoughts, you don't necessarily have to play a Vampire character in the GURPS version of VtM. You could play a Psychic or Combat Specialist who gradually learns about the Vampires and begin to unwravel the Masquerade. Eventually the characters could be embraced by Sabbat Vampires or attacked by the Camarillan Vampires. You could play a Vampire who goes into Torpor for a few centuries and wakes up in a post apocalypse future. Only the Game Master would be allowed to use the Vampire book as a source, and the game would run from the Basic Set. The players would gradually be drawn into the shadowy, secretive World of Darkness. Also the GURPS version is toned down a bit and is more appropriate for young people.


An RPG to last through the ages.   January 7, 2003
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Vampire: The Masquerade is by far, the best role-playing game I've ever had the pleasure of playing. Created by the amazing minds at White Wolf, this game is perfect for beginners to role-playing or veterans with years of experience.

First lets explain exactly what V:tM is as a game.
Some of you may be familiar with the biblical story of Caine and Abel (and if you aren't, you will be after reading both, this review and the core-rulebook). Sons of Adam and Eve, Caine slew his brother Abel, and was marked by God and banished from eden. In V:tM, that mark was the curse of vampirism. Over the ages, Caine sired more Kindred, before he eventually fled the earth. These "Childer" of Caine began to sire more vampires, and eventually, they started splitting off into 'clans', thirteen of them. Each clan has it's own unique characteristics, and certain 'disciplines' that they are more attuned to. Disciplines are the vampires' powers in V:tM, and while some mirror the hollywood image of vampires, many are totally different, all creative and a wonderful tool for you to create powerful, intriguing characters that are apart from the normal mish-mash of much of role-playing. If you look at the second part of the title, you may ask yourself what is The Masquerade, and what's it have to do with Vampires? Well simply put, there are two 'sects' of vampires (as well as those clans who fall into neither sect), essentially the 'good' and the 'bad'. Who is good and bad is for you to decide. One, The Camarilla, focus's on the upholding of the Masquerade, the global act put up by Kindred so humans don't find out about them. The second, the Sabbat, cares nothing for the MAsquerade, and believes that Mortals should fear Kindred, and serve them as slaves, blood bags.. All this takes place in the White Wolf, World of Darkness, a techno-gothic punk sort of world, cruel, unforgiving, and extremely real.

Now that that's out of the way, why should you buy it? So it's got a great story, a richly detailed setting with a huge amount of supplement books to enrich it even further, and endless opportunities for fun. On top of all this, as an appeal to beginners, the dice system is excedingly easy to learn, and one need only buy the core rulebook (where in things like Dungenons and Dragons you need to buy -three- books to have a game as successful as one book of vampire). The dice system uses only one dice, and a very basic, but extremely effective 'point' system that allows for any type of game you could desire. While it doesn't require a huge amount of dice rolling and stat checking, you can have a game that revolves entirely around social interaction, or, if battle is more your thing, you need not spend countless hours of rolling just to figure out a simple action.

As an Experienced gamer, you'll find that Vampire: The Masquerade is loaded with creativity which can offer insight to your other games, as well as a vast amount of plot detailing in the core rulebook, definately enough to make a very in-depth campagin with whatever mood you want. In addition, the very way it's written, with examples being 'In Character' often, can be a huge push toward creating your own interesting campaign, an idea describing a simple skill can spark up an entire scenes creation.

Above all else, it's just downright a great read. I bought this game when I had my group of friends that we could all RP with in highschool, but as college came the troupe split up. I still read this book, as well as a great many other books by the White Wolf team, and enjoy every bit of them, even if I don't even play the games.

Besides...Amazon[.com] has a great price on White Wolf products, 30% off most (if not all) their titles..What have you got to lose?...I mean..aside from your time for being addicted to reading and playing this game.


A GURPS Version of WOD   April 21, 2004
 7 out of 19 found this review helpful

This is not a white wolf book, rather it is the conversion rules for people who are interested in playing vampire but not in learning a new system and who are already competent with the GURPS rules. If you are new to role playing and want to play a vampire then I suggest you find the world of darkness rules for this game as they are more expansive and complex.

However, if you already know GURPS and are interested in playing a vampire then I strongly suggest this book. The rules are clearly laid out for people to read and understand. Though it is not a stand alone product, it's not trying to be. And it allows people who like WOD but who don't want to learn a new system to use a system they already know to play it.

For those unfamiliar with vampire I'll do my best to give a rough over view. There are many different types of vampires known as Clans. Each clan has separate special powers which give them an edge up on one another. Some people find this system to be stereotype based, I have found, however, that the point is not to play a typical Brujah, Tremere, Venture, Lasombra or Toreador (just to name a few), but rather to create one who falls with in the lines of the clan but also is a unique individual. The Storyteller then guides the players though an advanture just like any other roleplaying game.

As for the format of the book it is a bit confusing for those who aren't used to the way White Wolf sets up books. Unlike most WOD books, however, the index is surprising useful and can be used to find just about everything that is needed in the book. I do suggest the use of sticky notes for some sections as quick reference or your can write in the margins if you don't mind writing in books.

One last thing for those with young children, Vampire is an intense rather dark game. It's not happy or light and fluffy. The plays are playing vampires who do kill people, and it is a horror based game. The book is dark and intense and probably not suitable for children under the age of 14.


Could be better still.   August 5, 2001
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Since I never used the original edition I can't compare this one to say whether it was an improvement or not. While the basics are all here, it would be nice to have a stronger index. Also the descriptions of how to use the dice, when and why, is confusing. Charts would be better than paragraphs to explain all of this I think. The art work is cool and the little mini-stories are a nice touch. It leaves some unanswered questions but perhaps the sysem is expanding more organically so the makers don't know all the answers -- the clan books suggest this as well as new abilities and disciplines and rules are created.