Can the Players Kill Luke Skywalker? Or The Evils of Metaplot

           

Tap for pain!

Metaplot.  Does any word draw more condemnation and frustration from the players of World of Darkness games than “metaplot?”  The mere mention of some of the metaplot from the Classic World of Darkness game line draws bile laced gagging from even the most fanatical of fans.  Decreed from on high by the almighty writers and developers of the system, metaplot is the unchangeable grand plot that infiltrates every book, every argument, and every game.  It is immutable, it is sacrosanct, and it is despised.  But why?  Both Star Wars and The Forgotten Realms campaign setting have an existing metaplot that does not bedevil gamers like the metaplot of Vampire:  The Masquerade or Werewolf:  The Apocalypse.  Is there something to be learned from those worlds, where metaplot is known as canon which can be applied to the World of Darkness?  More importantly, is having a metaplot anathema to a good game?  Is the metaplot only a hindrance to Storytellers and players or can it be used to add more depth to a game? 

            What is Metaplot?  A working definition of metaplot might be “the ongoing story in the published materials of a role playing game that creates and moves forward a story that changes elements of the setting and system or explains changes in the mechanics of the game.”  On its face, that definition is neutral, but the first issue of metaplot is that it lacks player agency.  The changes occur regardless of the efforts of the players and perhaps even happen despite the players’ efforts to change those events.  The metaplot is the “Word of God” demanding changes that may or may not be asked for by the players.  The metaplot explains changes to the setting, the inclusion of new options, the removal of other options, changes to well-known and loved character types and updates to the game system.  

            Critics and fans of Vampire:  The Masquerade often regard it as the biggest offender in terms of metaplot interference.  When Vampire:  The Masquerade changed from Second Edition to Revised Edition, a number of changes occurred.  Most notably an Assamite Methuselah, Ur-Shulgi, awakened from Topor and removed the curse that Tremere had afflicted upon the Children of Haqim.  Ur-Shulgi also decreed that Assamites must give up their devotion to other gods and worship only Haqim.  Long associated with the Middle East and Islam, Ur-Shulgi’s decree shocked many Assamites and created a rift in the clan.  Those loyal to Haqim and Ur-Shulgi killed those who refused to set aside their religious beliefs whether Islamic, Christian, or other.  Those who survived the purge fled to Europe and the Americas.  As Gehenna approached, the fleeing Assamites attempted to make peace with Camarilla and join its ranks.         

Tremere-antitribu

            The Tremere are at the heart of another metaplot change.  Tremere-antitribu, who had left behind their clan to join the Sabbat, were all inexplicably destroyed one evening.  During a ritual in which nearly every member of the Sabbat Tremere were in attendance, some force destroyed them all.  No one is sure exactly what happened, only that no more Tremere-antitribu exist.  That event must have been a shock to Tremere-antitribu players at the time.  Suddenly, their characters were gone and nothing could be done about it. 

            The most egregious metaplot changes came from Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand which described another faction of vampires known as the Tal’mahe’Ra or True Hand.  Suddenly the Tzimisce discipline Vicissitude was an extraplanar disease that infected the entire clan and slowly took over the bodies of the Tzimisice and other users of Vicissitude.  The True Hand was dedicated to defeating this other worldly menace and save the world.  Vicissitude no longer worked like other Disciplines and now had special rules that changed not only the cost for learning the Discipline but threatened players with the loss of their characters if they progressed in the Discipline. 

            Metaplot in and of itself is not a bad thing.  Many of the best RPGs have a metaplot to some degree.  Star Wars undoubtedly has the strictest metaplot.  Better known as the canon and released in a series of RPG supplements, books, movies, and TV shows, the Star Wars canon (or Extended Universe) sought to fill in every space of that distant galaxy.  West End Games, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and dozens of writers have sought to define every aspect of Star Wars for good and ill.  Simple mistakes in the wording of a script have turned into entire novels, such as when Han states that the Millennium Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.  Rather than letting a simple screw up slip by, writers defined the Kessel Run as a trip near a group of black holes known as the Maw Cluster.  Traveling closer to the Maw Cluster would decrease the travel time of a ship from Kessel to its destination but with the added risk of the starship becoming trapped in the gravitational pull of the black holes and being destroyed.  Later readers would learn that the Maw Cluster hid an Imperial Research installation where the engineers built and tested a prototype of the Death Star.  Later, some of these elements were retconned by the Prequels.  Role playing supplements had to offer stats and information on these regions or create new regions themselves such as the Corporate Sector which started as an element of a novel, “Han Solo at Star’s End,” which led to a West End Games supplement entitled “Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook” that built on the information from the novel. 

Heroes of the Realms

            The Forgotten Realms has undergone a variety of changes as Dungeons & Dragons has changed editions.  Unlike Vampire:  The Masquerade, the change in edition created a change in the setting.  When Dungeons & Dragons transitioned from 3.5 to 4^th Edition, the developers changed the magic system and included both Dragonborn and Tieflings as player races in the Player’s Handbook.   Although Forgotten Realms was not the core campaign setting of 4^th Edition, it was the campaign setting for Organized Play requiring the developers to explain how the magic system changed and the introduction of two new races into the setting.  Dragonborn were an incredibly popular race from the Eberron campaign setting, and due to their popularity and the popularity of Eberron, they were included in the Player’s Handbook (Update:  Dragonborn orignally appeared in Race of the Dragon and later were included in Eberron  I need to learn more about Eberron).  Introducing them into the Forgotten Realms required a bit more work though, The Spell Plague.   The Spell Plague and the death of Mystra reshaped the Weave, the source of magic in the Realms, and the merging of Abeir, Toril’s twin planet and Toril (Toril is the name of the planet on which Faerun is located.  Fareurn is the continent which is the primary setting for the Forgotten Realms.) brought with it the Dragonborn.  The Spell Plague changed entire regions, made magic items non functional, and brought the Dragonborn whose kingdom replaced the kingdom of Unther. 

            When Dungeons & Dragons changed editions once again, once more the Realms changed.  This event known as The Sundering explained how the magic system changed once again and of course, kept the popular Dragonborn in the setting.  A series of novels about the Realms explained the events of The Sundering in detail, much like previous shifts in editions, such as the Time of Troubles. 

            Another example of the developers pushed forward a metaplot can be found in D&D 3.0 and the novel series, The War of the Spider Queen and its accompanying adventure.  In this series of novels, Lolth, Goddess of the Drow, has effectively disappeared and her clerics, the leaders of the chaotic and evil Drow society, no longer receive spells from her.  Seeking answers to this dilemma and hoping to solve it before an uprising overthrows the priestess who lead the city, a group of Drow travel the Underdark, to the surface world, and eventually to the Demon Web Pits hoping to uncover the mystery behind Lolth’s disappearance.  Lolth has attained enough power finally to create her own realm separate from the Abyss, and she has cocooned herself at the center of the Demon Web Pits to complete her transformation not caring that her worshippers and priestesses suffer in her absence.  In the end, Lolth completes her transformation and creates her own plane which changes the cosmology of the Forgotten Realms.  

Cover to Dissolution from the War of the Spider Queen novel series

            If that whirl of information has left any readers confused, then the biggest problem with metaplot has become apparent:  information overload.  Only the most dedicated fans of a setting would be able to track the minutiae of those changes.  These game lines and settings have been growing and expanding for decades.  Star Wars released in 1977, for example, and novels began pouring out soon after and the damn finally broke in the 1990s with the release of “Heir to the Empire.”  Systems and universes soon bloated with all this material.  And when Vampire:  The Masquerade 20^th Anniversary Edition released, the developers promised a metaplot neutral game, meaning that players could pick and choose which elements of the metaplot they wanted to use and could ignore the rest. 

            Most experienced roleplayers already realize that the best way to deal with elements of a system or supplement that they don’t like is to modify it or ignore it.  That’s the solution that the developers of Vampire:  The Masquerade concluded as they revamped the game for its new release.  Of course, ignoring the metaplot was a pre-requisite for publishing the new edition as White Wolf had decreed that the entire Classic World of Darkness game line had ended with the publication of their end of the world books, Gehenna, the Apocalypse, etc.   

            Can a metaplot be completely ignored?  Or more specifically, can the players kill Luke Skywalker?  It’s an evocative question, and the kneejerk reaction of most players is going to be “No, absolutely not!”  Luke Skywalker is the lynchpin of Star Wars canon.  He destroyed the Death Star.  He redeemed Darth Vader and brought about the downfall of the Empire.  He brought back the Jedi Order. Luke Skywalker is Star Wars.   He has plot armor that no player character should be able to penetrate; yet, by acknowledging Luke Skywalker’s importance in the events of the original trilogy and the Extended Universe, the game master has decided that a metaplot exists and that players lack any agency in interacting with that storyline. 

Father/son elevator rides don't get more awkward!

            Luke Skywalker and his exploits are the reason why most Star Wars roleplaying games take place in distant corners of the galaxy.  The game master pushes the events of the original trilogy into the background and lays out new storylines that run tangentially to canonical events.  Player characters may interact with important figures like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or Leia Organa.  They are much more likely to be given their orders by secondary figures like Mon Mothma and Admiral Piett.  Nevertheless, the players are hamstrung from the outset of the campaign because they are not the most important figures in the greater plot of Star Wars.  Luke Skywalker and his father Anakin are. 

            With that in mind, can players kill Drizzit Do’Urden?  Elminster Chosen of Mystra?  Can players stop the Spell Plague?  Do Dragonborn exist in Forgotten Realms?  Are the Assamites knocking at the doors of the Ivory Tower begging admittance to the Camarilla?   Each of these questions carries the same weight of metaplot as “Can the players kill Luke Skywalker?”  How many times have game masters, dungeon masters, and storytellers defended the metaplot from the brilliant and cunning plans of players? 

            My own experiences are entirely anecdotal, and I cannot speak for all roleplayers.  I have found that players enjoy re-writing the metaplot, making their own mark on a story considered inviolate.  It was a hard learned lesson and left many players completely disenchanted with me as game master.   I heard their criticism, but wasn’t preserving the story of Luke Skywalker more important?  I started roleplaying by running West End Games Star Wars Revised system and immediately railroaded players through events during the Battle of Hoth.  I couldn’t imagine a scenario where the players could actually affect the outcome of that momentous battle.  Just taking part in the battle should be exciting enough for the players, right? 

Who wouldn't want Leia in Cmdr. Shepherd's armor?

            Fast forward over a decade and I’m still running Star Wars although at this point it’s Wizards of the Coast’s Star Wars Saga Edition.   I finally learned my lesson in the last session of the campaign.  The players had been chasing after a rogue Jedi named Kensa Starwind who had become a kind of Old Republic Colonel Kurtz and saw through the false veneer of the Clone War.  She had realized that everything was the doings of Chancellor Palaptine, but the Jedi Council had sent the players to stop her.   My original idea was that the player characters would confront Kensa Starwind and stop her from murdering the “innocent” Chancellor only to be double-crossed by him.  Of course, that meant the players would have to put aside all out of character knowledge.  Instead of fighting Kensa, the player characters talked to her and believed her!  Together with Kensa, the players defeated Palpatine and Anakin/Darth Vader in an epic battle in the Chancellor’s office forever changing galactic history.  I don’t think that I have ever seen players happier or feeling more triumphant than when they thought they had saved the galaxy from the evils of the Empire.

            As the session ended, I added a quick epilogue for each character that showed how they had changed the universe.  It was altogether bleak.  Rather than transforming into the Empire, the Old Republic fractured into a myriad of small and warring states.  The remaining Jedi fought to maintain peace and bring the parts back together.  One of the players whose character had fallen to the Dark Side became a warlord of a region only to be double crossed by his apprentice.   Others had equally dark or heroic outcomes depending on their individual characters.  And this epilogue should have become the prologue for the next campaign that I ran! 

            The lesson that I learned from this campaign was not that I should allow players to do whatever they wanted.  Instead, I finally understood the purpose of metaplot.  Metaplot is not something that must be adhered to with the religious fervor of an extremist or ignored and discarded like an empty soda can.  Metaplot is a river that once the game begins players redirect its course by adding and subtracting elements.   The players’ influence can be subtle or dramatic depending on how their actions in the course of a campaign.  The challenge to storytellers is not to allow players to alter the course of the story to create a utopian state.  Change requires sacrifice and not all change is positive.  Those with the best intentions, such as the group that killed the Palpatine and stopped the rise of the Empire, may not create the best outcomes.  The unforeseen consequences of the players’ changes should lead to new opportunities for adventures and new stories.   Players, as well, must keep out of character knowledge separate and distinct otherwise roleplaying games can devolve into an endless series of killing off the key figures of a setting or random acts for the sake of being random. 

            Turning back to Vampire:  The Masquerade, many roleplayers have lamented the plots and setting updates that players cannot change.  The events happen in distant lands and involve powerful beings that the average player character just cannot fight against.  What can a Neonate in Atlanta do to stop Ur-Shulgi?  What can a San Francisco Anarch do to stop the destruction of the Tremere-antitribu?  Yet, the rise of Ur-Shulgi and the Assamite schism offers players a chance to affect the metaplot in new and vital ways.  Camarilla players can offer their voices in support of the Assamites joining the Camarilla or turn away the dangerous assassins.  Anarchs and Sabbat players can offer other options to those Assamite fleeing Ur-Shulgi.   Certainly, the Assamite-antitribu will be happy to welcome their old brothers into the Sabbat.  And who is to say that Ur-Shulgi actually speaks for Haqim or that this Methuselah cannot be killed?  

Paint a target on that guy's head!

            As for the Tremere-antitribu, why should the metaplot stand in the way of a player’s fun?  A surviving Tremere-antitribu is no less farfetched than surviving Salubri or Cappodoccians and offers many more story opportunities for both the player and storyteller.  As the last remaining member of his or her clan, the Tremere-antitribu would be desperate to hide from whatever power destroyed their clan and simultaneously seek to re-establish that clan by Embracing new members.  The Tremere-antitribu survivor is now the leader of that clan with new and potentially overwhelming responsibilities. 

            Both of these hypothetical scenarios assume that the storyteller and players agree to use the metaplot as written.  That doesn’t have to be the case either.  Ur-Shulgi does not have to rise from Torpor.  The Tremere-antitribu don’t have to be destroyed.   And none of the material in Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand needs to show up in anyone’s campaign. 

            Metaplot should not be the driving force of anyone’s campaign.  Rather, it is one more tool in a storyteller’s toolbox and in the players’ toolboxes to help them create the stories that they want to tell together.  And that book with the terrible metaplot about Tzimisce diseases and vampires traveling to the Deep Umbra is not the final arbiter of whether or not that information should appear in your campaign.  It is your book!  And like John Wick says, you can tear out pages and take a black sharpie to the pages and passages you hate and delete them forever.  It’s your book.   You bought it.  Use it how you like!             

            So, can your player characters kill Luke Skywalker?

Late Review: Clanbook Tremere

Clanbook Tremere

By Keith Herber

1994, 68 pages

            The Tremere are the youngest of the 13 Clans, and more so than any other clan, the Tremere are bound by their rigid hierarchy.  The outward expression of the Tremere’s power has been their mastery of thaumaturgy, or blood magic, but it is the pyramid and the hierarchy of power that is the true strength of this clan of sorcerous vampires.  All Tremere are bound to the clan through not only a blood bond to the seven councilors of the inner circle but also by oaths of loyalty to the clan.  This clanbook offers an intriguing look into the way the Tremere hierarchy operates and the origin of the clan.  Even some of the minions of the Tremere are explained, but these lack the mechanics that would allow a Storyteller to represent them in a Chronicles. 

            The introductory chapter tells the story of the initiation into the clan of a young college student who has been Embraced by a Tremere, and as she is forced to drink a potion made from the blood of the Inner Council, her Sire demands that she recite the Tremere clan’s oath of loyalty.  Later the oath is presented in its entirety along with the author’s comments on the oath and its meaning.  The oath requires obeisance to the clan and to one’s superiors and that the good of the clan must have primacy.  The opening story is problematic because the newly Embraced vampire has no understanding of the meaning of the oath.  If this story is meant to be typical of how all Tremere are initiated into the clan, then their method of induction into the clan is antithetical to the Tremere’s goal of a stable hierarchy.  Much like the shanghaied crews of sailing ships in the 19th Century, those forcefully Embraced into the Tremere would have no reason to maintain this oath except for fear of punishment, and obviously, mutiny would always be a risk.  Instead, if an initiate into the Tremere had an understanding of the oath and its meaning before they were Embraced or before their induction into the clan as a whole, then the Tremere’s initiation ritual would make better sense and lead to a more stable hierarchy. 

Is this guy so 90's it hurts or Skrillex 0.1?  You chose.

            Chapter Two explores the history of House and Clan Tremere.  While every other major clan’s history has been lost to myth and legend, the Tremere have a fully documented history with a progenitor who is still somewhat active in the day to day activities of the clan.  The Mages of House Tremere, as they were known before they became vampires, were a part of the Order of Hermes, a society of powerful Mages, and many of these Mages had extended their lives through potions and other powers.  However, vis, the power that fueled their spells, was fading, and Tremere, the leader of House Tremere, and his closest associates began looking for other ways to maintain their long lives.  It was Goratrix, one of these associates, who located a sleeping Elder vampire, captured him, and had this Elder Embrace two of his unwitting apprentices.  After studying the effects of vampirism on his two apprentices, Goratrix killed the Elder, drained his blood, and then created a potion that would ensure that the Tremere would be able to maintain their long lives. 

            With this information in hand, Tremere summoned Goratrix and his six closest associates who all drank the potion, but it had unintended side effects:  they all became vampires and thus lost their ability to work true magik.  Keeping this secret to themselves, this small cell of Kindred spread vampirism throughout the House, but the appearance of a new clan inspired fear in the existing clans, especially the Tzimisce, Nosferatu, and Gangrel who shared territory with the upstart Tremere.  The Tremere came under attack and although the Tzimisce and Nosferatu had successes in the beginning and destroyed several chantries, Goratrix was able to create guardians in the form of the Gargoyles (rumored to have been created from the bodies of captured Nosferatu and Gangrel) who turned the tide against the allied Tzimisce, Nosferatu and Gangrel.   

Tremere, who studied the power of vampiric blood and how that power lessens through subsequent generations, sought out an Antediluvian so that he could attain the most powerful blood possible.  After locating Saulot, the Antediluvian progenitor of the Salubri, Tremere diablerized him, claiming the power of a third generation vampire for his own.  The entire clan then set out to destroy the Salubri, and now, in the modern nights, only a very few of them remain.  After diablerizing Saulot, Tremere began to going into torpor, resting for weeks, then months, and later years; so he gathered his closest associates, those 7 vampires who first started the clan, and created the hierarchy that the entire clan utilizes even in the modern nights. 

The little known Tremere Japanese School Girl Variant. 

After these initial successes, the clan has had several missteps.  The biggest mistake may have been Goratrix’s attempt to control the Catholic church's Inquisition which had been attacking Mages and other supernaturals.  Goratrix tried to turn the Inquisition against his enemies and the enemies of clan Tremere.  This failed spectacularly, and the Inquisition became so successful that it disrupted the existing infrastructures of the clans and led to the Anarch Revolt.  Elders died, leaving their childer to maintain domains that they couldn't rule while other Kindred were forced from their domains to flee the Inquisition’s forces.  These conflicts created the perfect storm which led to final deaths (possibly) of the Antediluvians of the Lasombra and Tzimisce clans, and eventually, in order to bring the chaos under control, the Camarilla was born.  Like the Toreador and the Ventrue, the Tremere claim that the Camarilla was originally their idea.  

In Chapter Three, the author discusses the Pyramid, the hierarchy of the Tremere by laying out its structure and giving an example of how that structure operates in North America.  The base of the Pyramid is the Apprentices or what other clans would call Neonates.  Above the Apprentices are the Regents who command individual Chantries within a city.  The Lords control a Realm which could be swaths of territory as large as state or province or their governments.  Above the Lords are the Pontifices who control Orders which are regions of a continent; for example, North America is divided into seven Orders each controlled by a different Pontifex.  Like the Lords and their Realms, a Pontifices may control either geographic territory or reign over government, industry or commerce.  These areas of control are called Orders.  Nearing the top, the Inner Counselors rule huge portions of the Globe, often entire continents.  The Councilors are the 7 most powerful Tremere in the clan other than Tremere himself who sits atop the Pyramid and actively controls the clan in between his long slumbers in torpor.  

An astute reader may notice that the Tremere pyramid has six levels, but that the number 7 pops up frequently.  The clanbook makes several references to a level on the pyramid lower than Apprentice called an Initiate, but the author does not explain anything about what an Initiate might be, and the reader can only assume that these are individuals who have been chosen by the clan to become Tremere but have not yet been Embraced.  Including this level would have given the Pyramid seven levels, but sadly Initiates are only hinted at and never explained. 

The Hand should not talk back!

            Clanbook Tremere uses North America as its example of how the Tremere implement their pyramid structure within a territory.  The Councilor responsible for North America is Meerlinda and beneath her are seven Pontifices.  Five of the Pontifices control territorial Orders while the other two Orders are Industry and Government.  The Pontifices who control Industry and Government, John Diamond and Peter Dorfman respectively, are given fully fleshed out character histories and agendas which is extremely useful for Storytellers constructing their own hierarchy for the Tremere.  It’s unfortunate that one of the Pontifices who controlled a geographic Order was not described in detail in order to give a point of comparison between the different types of Orders.  Another issue is that only the highest level of the Tremere hierarchy in North America is discussed, while a complete break down every chantry is impossible it would be nice to have an example of each level rather than just the Councilor and Pontifices. 

            The most intriguing aspect of Clanbook Tremere is the exploration of the many secret orders that exist within it.  These cabals of Tremere are all working ostensibly for the benefit of the clan, but each also has its own individual goals.  Twelve separate secret orders have been detailed; however, the groups are not given equal treatment.  Some lack any reason to exist beyond just that they happen to exist while others have clear purposes.  For example, the Brothers of Absinthe drink a green elixir that gives them visions, but beyond the visions, this group has no agenda.  Conversely, the Elite have a goal that is nearly genocidal.  The Elite believe that all other vampires are inferior and this group plots to destroy them through any means available, even giving information about rival vampires to the Inquisition and other vampire hunters.  Another secret group, the Astors, works as the Tremere’s own inquisition and was given its charter by the Inner Council to seek out corruption within the clan.   Storytellers who want to run a single clan Chronicle could use these secret orders to offer further depth to the clan and more options for their characters. 

More so than the Secret Orders of the Tremere, the minions detailed in this chapter could be useful for Storytellers wishing to focus on Tremere in their Chronicle, especially if a story involved breaking into a Chantry.  The Tremere have three basic types of minions:  Gargoyles, Homunculi, Demon-Bound, and Corpse Minions.  Gargoyles, the guardians of chantries, should be familiar to any fan of Vampire the Masquerade and information about Gargoyles is available in V20 including their Disciplines.  Homunculi are an artificial life form created by a Tremere to serve as a servant and a spy; although they are useful, they are just as often mischievous.  Unfortunately, no stats or mechanical information is given for these little creatures.  The Demon-Bound are demons that have been baited into fusing with a human body that has had its soul driven out.  These creatures can serve a variety of functions from protection to assassination.  Finally, a Corpse Minion is a highly intelligent zombie that is created from an academic or historian for the purpose of advising and helping a Tremere with his/her experiments.  Some powerful and ancient Tremere have used just a few bone scraps of ancient scientist or philosopher for this purpose. 

Some new information is given on Thaumaturgy, but that information is slight at best.  Five new rituals are provided, one for each level, but no new paths are discussed.  Instead, the author offers some help in guiding players through the process of creating their own Paths.  This is especially useful as there are countless variations on Thaumaturgy, but having players create their own Paths is dangerous as it could lead to overpowered or broken Paths.  The author also includes more detailed explanations for how characters learn Rituals which don’t have an XP cost but require the player to earn them through role play. This section is useful, but an additional Path would have added some more mechanics, in the form of an example creation of a Discipline, would have been useful to both players and Storytellers. 

Art by Platonika who can be found on Deviant Art.

The final chapter offers a selection of Templates, but rather than focus on just the mystical aspect of the clan, these templates offer a wide variety of concepts that expand on the possibilities of the clan without limiting the Tremere to just a single archetype.  At first glance, some templates seem better suited for other clans; the Underestimated, a woman used to getting by on her looks but wants to prove her value otherwise, would make a good Toreador while the Pyramid Climber, who is determined to climb to the top of the Tremere hierarchy at all costs, would be a stereotypical Ventrue.  However, along with the Nexus, who is a child prodigy at sorcery, these templates offer a  broad variety of character archetypes that showcases the limitless possibilities of playing a member of this clan.  Playing a Tremere should not limit a player to mystical or sorcerous archetypes, but should offer the potential to do nearly anything within a single clan. These templates reinforce that aspect of character creation wonderfully. 

The Appendix of famous Tremere includes something that no other clanbook does, the progenitor of the clan is described here.  Along with the seven members of the Inner Council, the entire upper echelons of the Tremere are explored.  Although these are just broad sketches of these powerful NPCs, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see the most powerful and important members of the clan described rather than just some random characters that may or may not be useful or interesting.  Also, the Inner Council are NPCs that a player character could encounter during his or her rise up through the Tremere Pyramid.  Two other NPCs are included who are outside of the Tremere hierarchy:  Goratrix and St. Germaine.  Goratrix left the Tremere and became the leader of the Sabbat's Tremere Anti-tribu which may have been completely destroyed.  St Germaine is an enigma, possibly a Mage or possibly a vampire. 

Clanbook Tremere indoctrinates the reader into the world of the Tremere.  Its argument of power, hierarchy, and advancement is enticing to a reader accustomed to the anarchy of the other clans.   Here is a clan where a Neonate understands his or her place and how to advance.  The Tremere believe themselves to be the mediators who helped found the Camarilla and bring peace after the Anarch Revolt.  As good as this clanbook is in bringing the perspective of the Tremere to the reader, it fails to provide enough mechanics to represent these new options in a Chronicle.  The inner workings of the clan are explained and the clan is given enough depth that this book makes it possible for a Storyteller to run a Tremere only Chronicle that would not lack for diversity.  Despite problems with Chapter One’s introductory story and the lack of motivations for some of the Secret Orders in Chapter Three, Clanbook Tremere is one of the better of the clanbooks. 

Clanbook Tremere is available for purchase from DriveThruRPG as a PDF or or you can purchase an original printing from Amazon.