Clanbook: Tremere

Rating:
Summary: Night life takes off
Review: An interesting book with great insight into the Tremere Clan. A must have for all who play Tremere

Rating:
Summary: Adequate, not Great
Review: First, I liked the fact that the history of the Tremere was laid out nicely. However, this book fails to mention the struggle between Tremere and Salout for the control of Tremere's body. It also fails to mention WHY the Tremere Antitribu were destroyed. I may be wrong, but I think that is part of the history of Clan Tremere.

Still, I liked to see how well organized Clan Tremere is. It's obvious why their enemies fear them, as the most powerful and cunning Tremere are the ones in charge. Also, I thought that the various rituals presented in this book were interesting, especially the one that helped other vampires to learn Thaumaturgy. However, I bought this assuming that I would get a better understanding of the discipline of Thaumaturgy, which I did to a point, but not as much as I would have liked. For instance, what seperates Tremere blood magic from, say, Assamite or Setite Sorcery? Also, I would have liked a clarification of how exactly you advance your Thaumaturgy rating as opposed to the various paths that you have. Vampire: The Masquerade rulebook attempted to explain it, but I still avoid creating Tremere characters simply because I'm not sure how to advance in their most important discipline.

Also, on the outside binding of the book, there is always the "clan symbol" that goes along with the given clan. I was surprised to see, for this book, a rose! If you're familiar with Vampire: The Masquerade at all, you'll realize that the rose is the symbol for Clan Toreador, not Clan Tremere! Obviously, this isn't a big thing, but I still thought I'd bring it up. To me, it just takes away from the overall presentation of the book; since basically I buy some of the books just to say I have them. I like having the various clanbooks all next to each other, but then when you see one that has a flaw like that (especially on the outside!) it takes away from the, again, presentation.

Overall though, it explains a lot about Clan Tremere and it's inner workings, which is probably what most people expect from this book. So therefore, if you're looking for that, you will be pleased. If you want a sprawling history of this clan, however, you should look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Not as different as a newer edition should be
Review: I have two "Clanbook: Tremere" books -- one is the 1994/98 edition and one is this 2000 edition. While the feeling of the book is different as one reviewer states because it is told from a different viewpoint, the facts, the information, and the descriptions are pretty much the same. In terms of new paths and new rituals, I found "Blood Magic" and "Guide to the Camarilla" more informative. I think the new view of this book follows very neatly into the overall changes in the tone of the game books. Something very useful are the examples of character design and info on how to fit a "Mind's Eye Theater" player into a table-top game or the reverse. Frankly, our game is a bit of both -- I have had some really really great players/actors so it gives me reason to continue collecting and reading the books for this game. I just feel a bit like this one wasted some of my money because so much is a repeat.

Rating:
Summary: Not as different as a newer edition should be
Review: I have two "Clanbook: Tremere" books -- one is the 1994/98 edition and one is this 2000 edition. While the feeling of the book is different as one reviewer states because it is told from a different viewpoint, the facts, the information, and the descriptions are pretty much the same. In terms of new paths and new rituals, I found "Blood Magic" and "Guide to the Camarilla" more informative. I think the new view of this book follows very neatly into the overall changes in the tone of the game books. Something very useful are the examples of character design and info on how to fit a "Mind's Eye Theater" player into a table-top game or the reverse. Frankly, our game is a bit of both -- I have had some really really great players/actors so it gives me reason to continue collecting and reading the books for this game. I just feel a bit like this one wasted some of my money because so much is a repeat.

Rating:
Summary: Not as different as a newer edition should be
Review: I have two "Clanbook: Tremere" books -- one is the 1994/98 edition and one is this 2000 edition. While the feeling of the book is different as one reviewer states because it is told from a different viewpoint, the facts, the information, and the descriptions are pretty much the same. In terms of new paths and new rituals, I found "Blood Magic" and "Guide to the Camarilla" more informative. I think the new view of this book follows very neatly into the overall changes in the tone of the game books. Something very useful are the examples of character design and info on how to fit a "Mind's Eye Theater" player into a table-top game or the reverse. Frankly, our game is a bit of both -- I have had some really really great players/actors so it gives me reason to continue collecting and reading the books for this game. I just feel a bit like this one wasted some of my money because so much is a repeat.

Rating:
Summary: Tremere Made Playable!!!
Review: This books recounts Tremere history yet again. However, unlike the original CLANBOOK TREMERE- a classic source book, revealing the secrets of a mysterious clan- here a young Tremere narrates. Since most player characters tend to be young Tremere getting a sense of just how much such a character would know is very helpful. There are sidebars from a more ancient Tremere, hinting at how the narrator has been influenced by propaganda. (This assumes some background knowledge. You can find that in both the original CLANBOOK: TREMERE and TRANSYLVANIA BY NIGHT. The Tremere legend develops further in NIGHTS OF PROPHECY and TRANSYLVANIA CHRONICLES IV: DRAGON ASCENDANT.)

While Clan Tremere is still highly organized and authoritarian, the description of Tremere society here allows more freedom. It's now possible to play an anarch Tremere with no clan contact and easier to imagine what interests more traditional Tremere would have beyond clan business. Basically, there's less internal politics and more to make Tremere playable in a mixed coterie. However, there's still detailed description of Tremere organizational structure. There's also a bit about the destruction of the Tremere antitribu and (now that they're gone) details on how the curse marking the antitribu worked. (Gee, thanks.)

There are many good features- Tremere derangements, merits and flaws, a generous Thaumaturgy section with new rituals (some repeated from the original, some important to Tremere operations) and paths (one revived from DARK AGES), as well as explanations of how Tremere use clan disciplines, an all Tremere coterie, notable Tremere and character templates including spooky occultists and anarchs. MET statistics are often given. The only failings are small organizational problems (we hear about the "Transubstantiation of Seven" long before there's any explanation of what it is) and the need for familiarity with other material to appreciate the full picture.

Rating:
Summary: Tremere Made Playable!!!
Review: This books recounts Tremere history yet again. However, unlike the original CLANBOOK TREMERE- a classic source book, revealing the secrets of a mysterious clan- here a young Tremere narrates. Since most player characters tend to be young Tremere getting a sense of just how much such a character would know is very helpful. There are sidebars from a more ancient Tremere, hinting at how the narrator has been influenced by propaganda. (This assumes some background knowledge. You can find that in both the original CLANBOOK: TREMERE and TRANSYLVANIA BY NIGHT. The Tremere legend develops further in NIGHTS OF PROPHECY and TRANSYLVANIA CHRONICLES IV: DRAGON ASCENDANT.)

While Clan Tremere is still highly organized and authoritarian, the description of Tremere society here allows more freedom. It's now possible to play an anarch Tremere with no clan contact and easier to imagine what interests more traditional Tremere would have beyond clan business. Basically, there's less internal politics and more to make Tremere playable in a mixed coterie. However, there's still detailed description of Tremere organizational structure. There's also a bit about the destruction of the Tremere antitribu and (now that they're gone) details on how the curse marking the antitribu worked. (Gee, thanks.)

There are many good features- Tremere derangements, merits and flaws, a generous Thaumaturgy section with new rituals (some repeated from the original, some important to Tremere operations) and paths (one revived from DARK AGES), as well as explanations of how Tremere use clan disciplines, an all Tremere coterie, notable Tremere and character templates including spooky occultists and anarchs. MET statistics are often given. The only failings are small organizational problems (we hear about the "Transubstantiation of Seven" long before there's any explanation of what it is) and the need for familiarity with other material to appreciate the full picture.