Constantinople by Night (Vampire - The Dark Ages)

Rating:
Summary: The City of Constantinople, the geography, the art and the p
Review: An excelent source guide for any who wants to lead a cronicle on this particular citie. All the history, the myths und the "dark secrets" are here. Starting for a detailed description of each area in constantinople, as well each clan and vampire of importance in the city. A remarcable historical und fantastical work. Make your imagination goes free trought this historical city.

Rating:
Summary: The City of Constantinople, the geography, the art and the p
Review: An excelent source guide for any who wants to lead a cronicle on this particular citie. All the history, the myths und the "dark secrets" are here. Starting for a detailed description of each area in constantinople, as well each clan and vampire of importance in the city. A remarcable historical und fantastical work. Make your imagination goes free trought this historical city.

Rating:
Summary: A Bit Outdated But Still Excellent
Review: Okay, this is an older book, intended for use in the original Vampire: the Dark Ages, but it still is an excellent source for use in a revised Dark Ages: Vampire game. Just mess with the time line a bit and adjust the NPC stats and your pretty much set. This book bascially covers the undead night life in Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Basically, Constantinople is ruled by an unholy trinity of ancient vampires (Michael the Toreador, the Dracon of the Tzimisce and Antonious the Ventrue), and is horribly mired in plots and conspiracies of the undead. The introduction gives you some basic information on life (and unlife) in Byzantium, and a few recommended sources which I strongly recommend you read if you want to learn anything about the Byzantine empire.
The next two chapters cover History and Geography, in that order. The section on history presents a (somewhat brief) overview of Byzantine history, including events involving the undead in the city of Constantinople. The timeline goes all the way up to 1204 AD, but the main setting is supposed to be 1197. However, as I said, storytellers can feel free to alter the setting or time line however they please (indeed, the history section even includes a side bar about alternative histories). The next chapter, geography, covers all the important (and interesting) areas of Constantinople, as well as some brief mention of Asia Minor, Greece, Crete, Maceadonia, Thessaly, Thrace, Bulgaria, the Balkans and the Aegean Sea.
The next chapter goes into politics and literally Byzantine alliances between the three major factions in Constantinople, as well as numerous minor factions. The main idea here is that each of the elders (Michael, the Dracon and Antonious) have created their own families, with smaller lineages pledging fealty to them. Hence, the major clans are the Michaelite Toreador, Antonian Ventrue and Draconian Tzimisce. Each smaller lineage owes loyalty to one of them, such as the Children of Judas (Setites) and Magnus Orthodox Lasombra, who owe their loyalty to the Michaelite Toreador. Numerous smaller factions (which are not lineage based) are also presented, such as the Inconnu and the Dream Circle.
The next chapter covers the undead denizens of the city, giving stats for many of them (including Micahel; fortunately no stats are given for the Dracon or Antonious) so you can add them as NPCs. Each clan is presented, along with the Baali, Salubri, Caitiff and even a Mage (who appearently has been embraced and become the Ravnos signature character by revised). Many of the characters are of high generation, so be warned. All of the characters are also provided with a note on their Future Fate as well. Following this are some plot ideas for STs, divided into three sections: the Son (stories for new players or characters not from Constantinople), the Father (the intrigue that grows as the Fourth Crusade approaches) or the Holy Ghost (mystery and the bizarre). Some of these plot ideas are actually pretty good too.
And finally, the book closes with a simple map of Constantinople. Personally, I think this would have been a bit more helpful in the section on Geography, but thats just me. Anyway, if you can get your hands on this book, go for it. With just a bit of re-working, you can easily squeeze it into any Dark Ages: Vampire game.

Rating:
Summary: Second Best By Night Yet!!!
Review: The best By Night is still of course Chicago By Night, but Constantinople By Night is excellent. If you are looking for a twist on your Dark Ages game, and want something a little different from the typical Germany/Transylvania campaign I highly recomend this book. The vampric storyline is compelling, and offers a city founded by a "trinity" of Methusulahs determined to surpass both Rome and Carthage. Of course this has gone terribly wrong in typical World of Darkness style, and the supplement places the characters in a decaying empire on the verge of collapse. The NPC's are generally quite interesting and often very old and powerful. Many of them have a unique "Byzantine" outlook on their unlife, and religion plays a major factor in this Christian Empire. I have been running a game in Constantinople for nearly a year now, and my players are thouroughly caught up in the various intrigues and are enjoying it. This is THE place in the Dark Ages to have a political campaign, and thanks to the strength of many of the elders you will not have to put up with the players killing every Cainite that annoys them. The main problem with this book is that while it gives a very interesting vampric society it does not give nearly enough detail on mortal society in 12th century Byzantium. Therefor expect to do a fair amount of research if you want to be historically accurate. All in all an excellent book, and one that I am enjoying immensely.