Clanbook: Ventrue

Rating:
Summary: Noble Blood
Review: There is good material in the new edition of CLANBOOK VENTRUE including many of the new CLANBOOK series' standard features- clan disciplines explained, discipline variations given, a new merit, a sample brood, noteworthy Ventrue, player character templates, and MIND'S EYE THEATRE stats. There is exploration of Ventrue history (and its revision over the years) and detailed description of the clan's organization. The "Secret Masters" material from the original book seems to have been dropped, though- a problem only because of discontinuity with the Dark Ages Ventrue material in LIBELLUS SANGUINIS I.

The Sabbat material, although limited, is OK and includes territory shifts between Sabbat and Camarilla in the 19th century US. Templates include an antitribu follower of the Path of Power and the Inner Voice (no Honorable Accord, though) and a really mean anarch who could easily be Sabbat instead. (This installment's Sabbat typo is omission of the designation "antitribu" on the appropriate templates' sample character sheets.)

A major problem is that, like the original, this new book lacks specifics about the Ventrue weakness. Although it examines how Ventrue neonates develop their restricted feeding preferences and how preferences change, specific preferences are not listed either for the player character templates or the noteworthy Ventrue. (This is omitted in most VtM supplements, unfortunately- a notable exception being NEW ORLEANS BY NIGHT, if you can find it.) No examples of or guidelines for playable feeding preferences are discussed.

However, to be fair, there is helpful, practical discussion about how Ventrue establish and conceal their herds. (To offer more explicit advice: playable Ventrue characters generally require strong Herd ratings.) Also, except for the "Vitaephile", you can probably guess prey restrictions for the player character templates from their descriptions. Still, contrast this with the much clearer handling of derangements in the new CLANBOOK: MALKAVIAN.

Rating:
Summary: Noble Blood
Review: There is good material in the new edition of CLANBOOK VENTRUE including many of the new CLANBOOK series' standard features- clan disciplines explained, discipline variations given, a new merit, a sample brood, noteworthy Ventrue, player character templates, and MIND'S EYE THEATRE stats. There is exploration of Ventrue history (and its revision over the years) and detailed description of the clan's organization. The "Secret Masters" material from the original book seems to have been dropped, though- a problem only because of discontinuity with the Dark Ages Ventrue material in LIBELLUS SANGUINIS I.

The Sabbat material, although limited, is OK and includes territory shifts between Sabbat and Camarilla in the 19th century US. Templates include an antitribu follower of the Path of Power and the Inner Voice (no Honorable Accord, though) and a really mean anarch who could easily be Sabbat instead. (This installment's Sabbat typo is omission of the designation "antitribu" on the appropriate templates' sample character sheets.)

A major problem is that, like the original, this new book lacks specifics about the Ventrue weakness. Although it examines how Ventrue neonates develop their restricted feeding preferences and how preferences change, specific preferences are not listed either for the player character templates or the noteworthy Ventrue. (This is omitted in most VtM supplements, unfortunately- a notable exception being NEW ORLEANS BY NIGHT, if you can find it.) No examples of or guidelines for playable feeding preferences are discussed.

However, to be fair, there is helpful, practical discussion about how Ventrue establish and conceal their herds. (To offer more explicit advice: playable Ventrue characters generally require strong Herd ratings.) Also, except for the "Vitaephile", you can probably guess prey restrictions for the player character templates from their descriptions. Still, contrast this with the much clearer handling of derangements in the new CLANBOOK: MALKAVIAN.

Rating:
Summary: Lots and lots of history
Review: This book covers a lot of ground. It looks at disciplines, some info on the feeding restriction, some example characters and history and history and history and history. More than half of this book looks at the history of the clan. Much of the description of the clan is taught in terms of the history around the lesson learned by the clan. As history goes, this is well done, but if you are wanting a consice description of the clan you will not find it here.

Rating:
Summary: YOU WANNA BE RICH??? OK BUT REMEMBER ..YOU ARE A VAMPIREEEE!
Review: This book seems like a guide to the busisness guy...BOY don't you remenber that you are a creature of the night? The history part of the book is poor conpared whith the other clanbooks and even whith the old one,the large part of the book explains the so call :ventrue society,something pretty booring after reading the same stuff in all the white wolf books that spell the word VENTRUE....guys.. the clan has a lot of potential for many things not ongly to be a large corporation owned by inmortals there are almost no new disciplines ,and one merit...the art wasn't great except shy's portraits and other ventrue of note could have been added...for such clan whith that much potential this book coul have been MUCH better