Instead, this is jumping in at the deep end of the desperation, confusion and madness of the end of the world, as the vampires see it. Fourteen and fifteen generations later, the power of Caine's curse is wearing off, and vampires are being created who are more human and less vampire than those who have come before them. They aren't masters of the night, they aren't capable of living as humans. They're pathetic creatures living in fear and ignorance, not even knowing that there's an entire World of Darkness ready to do them in for reasons they won't live long enough to learn.

Instead of the high Gothic opera of most "Vampire: The Masquerade" games, "Time of the Thin Blood" is a squalid, brutish and brutal game supplement that stinks of fear sweat and, along the way, gives reasons for the rest of the vampires to be sweating blood along with the thin-blooded.

And, of course, there are some bitchin' new powers: The thin-blooded can't do much of what more potent vampires can do, but they can do some things that none of their elders (and betters) can do, including make babies. The rules for these half-human/half-vampire dhampires are also given. Would a player want to play one? Not most players in most games. But "Time of the Thin Blood" works best on its own (with the core rulebook, of course) or for the rare player who doesn't want to be a Lestat-like master of the night.

And there's also some answers to the big questions, or at least an apparent answer that poses some bigger questions. The game master-only section at the back tells a brief tale: Something very old and very nasty wakes up in India, the supernatural world rises against it, and the world of VtM changes, getting more desperate and somewhat less populated ...

This is the stuff of nightmares and urban legends. Good stuff. Pick it up.


At last it's the beginning   September 6, 1999
 5 out of 12 found this review helpful

At first ,i must admit that this book seems useless:why roplaying some weak vampire in this dangerous world?ANd ten i read the book:surprise,it's very well wrote,interesting and even useful! First,you had a clear view of the mood in 1999 in the world of darkness,it's nice because now you can imagin the mess that is taking place month after month. Second ,the 14th and 15th generation have strange new capacities:with these they can manage to survive and they are fun to play if your are bored of your "lasombraelderwhokillallwhoopenthelightintheroom"kind of characters. And third:you have it:the first real fact on the incoming Gehenna...After reading the end of the book(and some of the fact buried inside),you will lock at your old W-W books and say:"oh oh..it's really a time of time blood". So buy it if your are following the event of the World of darkness or if you want to come back to what vampire was thought to be:a game to have fun.Else?But "Children of the night" and good hunt!


Fair but it could have been so much more!   November 14, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Ok, I love the beginning and for those who've read the "ghoul book" you'll recall the fine Malkavian doctor and his ghoul assistant as they now share their research into the "thin blooded" vampires and these strange new creatures some of them can parent. I also loved the insights from the thin-blooded themselves. However, I still had some questions such as when these 15th generation vampires first appeared and any connections to other ancients arising. Also I felt that the "story-like" sections were merely repeated in later sections and that the insights on character creation is not as strong as in other books. Also why would 13th or 14th gen kindred even be trying to make others? And why are 15th gen so interested in sex when supposedly other gens aren't? How much of this is propaganda? I know, I'm a stroyteller, I can make this stuff up, but I had hoped for better guidelines.


Not too shabby   December 21, 1999
 2 out of 7 found this review helpful

The part about 14th and 15th Gen Vamps was almost as interesting as it's supposed author although the "brief" format is a bit unwieldy. Although I can't actually see anyone wanting to PLAY a 14/15 gen vamp the data is good resource material. If you overlook the GLARING contrast with what is written in the KoE Companion (RE: Ravnos) the last section is VERY interesting and provides a nice bit of backdrop for any campaign.