I bought Vampire 5e at Gen Con, and I'm roughly 60% done reading it. I've got some thoughts. 1/
I like how they've updated the lore. It feels modern and kind of self-aware, and it doesn't devolve into edgelord bullshit as much as you'd expect. I have, occasionally, rolled my eyes, and yes, it's problematic in places. But mostly the lore is quite good.
I'm sure you've heard by now that the game is transphobic in some way. I'm pretty sure I know the passage being referred to; it's about 200 words long and, yeah, it's not as sensitive as it could be. 3/
However, one 200-word passage doesn't make the whole book transphobic. Vampire is actually a pretty progressive book in many ways, especially considering that it's a game about exploring what it is to be evil. 4/
And speaking of that: it's finally a version of Vampire with rules that support the kinds of stories it's always purported to be about. The rules strongly incentivize complex social interaction, and they constantly push you toward the darker, easier route. Being good is hard. 5/
The system also has a number of cool storygamey touches. It still feels a lot like the original Vampire system in many ways, but streamlined and less complex and obtrusive. Willpower operates a lot like fate points now. The Hunger mechanic is goddamned fantastic. 6/
Also, a thing that amuses me: Ken Hite did a lot of work on this book. He also did a lot of work on Night's Black Agents, a game about spies who fight vampires. In 5e, various government agencies and the Vatican are now aware of vampires, and actively hunting them. 7/
So, in some ways, Vampire 5e is actually the inverse of Night's Black Agents. Both games concern spies and spec ops teams fighting vampires who control the world secretly; you just play different sides in the two games. 8/
That said, that conflict is not what the game is *about*. In fact, 5e gives you a lot of tools and mechanics to help you decide what your specific chronicle is about, what themes you want to explore and what parts of the world you find interesting. Session zero is a big thing. 9/
All that said, is the game problematic? Sure. Vampire's always been problematic, and likely always will be. There's the obvious stuff like Malkavians and the Ravnos clan, but it's also a game in which you habitually violate the autonomy and free will of others. /10
That may not be your bag and, in that case, it's probably not the game for you. But, for perhaps the first time, Vampire is finally *aware* of what it's about. It's aware of the subtext present in the game, the themes it supports. 11/
It's not a game for everyone. It's likely a very hard game to play at times, and absolutely requires an X-card at the very least. But I think it's probably the best Vampire's ever been. 12/12
Addendum: the art. The game's gotten some flack because a lot of the art is photography run through filters and manipulated and stuff. And honestly, I think it mostly works really well. I find the art mostly evocative and creepy, and only occasionally bad. 13/12
