[possibly controversial]What is wrong with Vampire the Masquerade 5E?

[ersatzphil]

The one case of photo-based art I really like is Ironsworn. I recommend it to all who want to see the power of well-chosen art and extremely disciplined manipulation. A lot of it looks like how I was imagining fantasy scenes when first learning D&D, except better.

My basic hang up with 5e is how often it seems to be saying no to me. Not that faction, not those clans in those ways, not that sort of chronicle, not that sort either, not those sorts of characters, not that approach to the vampiric struggle for self-mastery, etc. I like a significant fraction of what’s there, but it seems really hard to expand past the approved choices without more intensive work than I can do right now.

By contrast, I learned after the fact that at least in the Revised era, developer Justin Achilli outright hated (among others) the Lasombra clan. But he didn’t tell me all through the time I worked on the revised clanbook. He let me pitch a Lasombra trilogy when he was gathering fiction pitches, and chose it as one of the pitches to approve, and gave good guidance all through the process of writing them. I didn’t learn his take on the clan until he sent around some of his metaplot files to his freelancers, and later made some of them public.

I genuinely couldn’t tell. And on the flip side, I don’t think you could tell his favorite clans - they didn’t get any preferential treatment, mechanically or setting-wise. He and Richard Dansky and Ethan Skemp really stamped an ethos on me. I feel like V5, and even more so Hunter 5th, steps down from that a bunch, and I don’t like it.

Just out of historical curiosity, what clans did he like and not like?

 

[Autumnal]

All I remember off the top of my head is that Ventrue were his favorites and Lasombra on the bottom tier. I’d have to look around for the rest.

 

[Mark Hope]

Yeah there's no way that Anne Rice wasn't a major influence. I mean, she coined the term "World of Darkness", never mind anything else. But then yeah, you have the Near Dark vampires in there as well, the Stoker vampires, the Count Orlok vampires, the Necroscope vampires - it's a wonderful undead smorgasbord and just a joy because of it. And like @Autumnal says, that's my main turn-off with 5e. It takes half the courses away and tells me that I must like only the cheese fondue and the flan or I am Not A True Fan. But I want my hog's feet and strudel and fermented herring as well, dammit!

 

[Reynard]

Yeah there's no way that Anne Rice wasn't a major influence. I mean, she coined the term "World of Darkness", never mind anything else. But then yeah, you have the Near Dark vampires in there as well, the Stoker vampires, the Count Orlok vampires, the Necroscope vampires - it's a wonderful undead smorgasbord and just a joy because of it. And like @Autumnal says, that's my main turn-off with 5e. It takes half the courses away and tells me that I must like only the cheese fondue and the flan or I am Not A True Fan. But I want my hog's feet and strudel and fermented herring as well, dammit!

I mean, The Lost Boys came out in 1987.

 

[Mark Hope]

I mean, The Lost Boys came out in 1987.

I thought I told you to stay off the boardwalk!

 

[Reynard]

It is interesting when something emerges out of a wider zeitgeist only to become symbolic of it. So many people discovered vampire fiction and goth subculture because of VtM that there is sometimes a misconception that VtM created or inspired them.

 

[teitan]

The one case of photo-based art I really like is Ironsworn. I recommend it to all who want to see the power of well-chosen art and extremely disciplined manipulation. A lot of it looks like how I was imagining fantasy scenes when first learning D&D, except better.

My basic hang up with 5e is how often it seems to be saying no to me. Not that faction, not those clans in those ways, not that sort of chronicle, not that sort either, not those sorts of characters, not that approach to the vampiric struggle for self-mastery, etc. I like a significant fraction of what’s there, but it seems really hard to expand past the approved choices without more intensive work than I can do right now.

By contrast, I learned after the fact that at least in the Revised era, developer Justin Achilli outright hated (among others) the Lasombra clan. But he didn’t tell me all through the time I worked on the revised clanbook. He let me pitch a Lasombra trilogy when he was gathering fiction pitches, and chose it as one of the pitches to approve, and gave good guidance all through the process of writing them. I didn’t learn his take on the clan until he sent around some of his metaplot files to his freelancers, and later made some of them public.

I genuinely couldn’t tell. And on the flip side, I don’t think you could tell his favorite clans - they didn’t get any preferential treatment, mechanically or setting-wise. He and Richard Dansky and Ethan Skemp really stamped an ethos on me. I feel like V5, and even more so Hunter 5th, steps down from that a bunch, and I don’t like it.

Revised was really the best edition, if only they had all the great music quotes in it though. I learned so many new bands playing 2e because they included so many quotes.

 

[teitan]

Yeah there's no way that Anne Rice wasn't a major influence. I mean, she coined the term "World of Darkness", never mind anything else. But then yeah, you have the Near Dark vampires in there as well, the Stoker vampires, the Count Orlok vampires, the Necroscope vampires - it's a wonderful undead smorgasbord and just a joy because of it. And like @Autumnal says, that's my main turn-off with 5e. It takes half the courses away and tells me that I must like only the cheese fondue and the flan or I am Not A True Fan. But I want my hog's feet and strudel and fermented herring as well, dammit!

Yeah but it's all back from what I can tell. They just focused like they did in pre-Revised Vamp.

 

[teitan]

It is interesting when something emerges out of a wider zeitgeist only to become symbolic of it. So many people discovered vampire fiction and goth subculture because of VtM that there is sometimes a misconception that VtM created or inspired them.

wrong information, deleted it out

 

[ruemere]

Could anyone recommend a modern take* on a vampire theme? What would that be?

A literary or a film source would be nice.

Modern take - essentially, a vampire capable of loving (and living in) modern times. A Lestat of sorts.

My tentative estimate would be that a modern vampire would have to be warm blooded, less inconvenienced by sunlight and ultraviolet, and less prone to manic hunger. So yes, they could probably travel on an economy business flight.

At the same time time, they would probably be closer to Hannibal Lecter, less passionate, more alien.

So, any recommendations or suggestions, or different takes?