vampire world of darkness help

[transmission89]

Hi all,

Am curious about the vampire games, but I'm really, really confused. I've searched on the internet and there seems to be several different versions using different versions of world of darkness book.

How do I get into this, as in, what would I, a new player, need to play the current version of the game?

Also, white wolf seems to be conducting business through drivethru rpg, I would ideally like dead tree rules, how do these guys work with shipping to the UK?

Many thanks for any and all help offered.

 

[Umbran]

Yes, there are several versions of the game out there.

The original game was called "Vampire: The Masquerade" (somtimes referred to as "V:tM"). The game was originally published in 1991. It had a second edition in 1992, and a Revised Edition in 1998. The differences between first and second edition are mostly mechanical fixes of broken stuff - they took a year to let the players hash kinks out of the system, basically. The Revised Edition includes changes (both mechanical and fluff) due to advancement of the setting's metaplot. They also just recently produced a 20th anniversary edition, that I personally have not looked over.

In 2004, White Wolf rebooted all its games - they wiped away the entire world, and started it anew. So, V:tM takes place in what is referred to as the "old" or "original" World of Darkness (typically "oWoD")

In the new World of Darkness (nWoD), the game is "Vampire: the Requiem". Much of the basic mechanic is the same, but so much has changed that Requiem is not compatible with Masquerade.

To play the new game, you need the World Of Darkness core rulebook, and a Vampire: The Requiem rulebook. To play the old game, you just need the V:tM rulebook for its edition.

There are also "live action" rules for these games - the live action rules are created so that players don't need to carry around and use dice, and can often resolve actions without intervention of a GM. While the live action rules are almost completely analogous to the tabletop game rules, the way you resolve things is quite different.

How do you get into it? Find a group that's playing it, and pick up their rules.

 

[transmission89]

Ok, Brilliant, thanks for the reply

 

[Achan hiArusa]

VtM Core Books (all are available as pdfs at Drivethrurpg.com):

Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade (1991)
Vampire: The Masquerade 2nd Edition (1992)
Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Edition (1998)
Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition (2011), currently pdf only

Dark Ages
Vampire: the Dark Ages (1996)
Dark Ages: Vampire (2002)

VtM Quickstarts:
Vampire: the Masquerade Introductory Kit (1997)
Vampire: the Masquerade Revised Quickstart (1998)

VtM LARP:
Masquerade (1993)
Masquerade: 2nd Edition (1994)
Laws of the Night (1996)

Vampire: the Requiem
World of Darkness (2004), required corebook
Vampire: the Requiem (2004)
Vampire: the Requiem Demo: Mary's Child (2004)

VtR LARP
Mind Eye's Theater: the Requiem (2005)

As for dead tree it's probably best to go through Amazon.co.uk or Ebay.com.