World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs

[Prime Junta]

There is only 5 to start, i'll dare to expect a bit more complexity from the clans.
Brujah's Potence description says they can break down walls (only specific ones I'm guessing), though that could just be flavor text.

But they've cut social discipline Presence from Brujah and made them warrior only class, so it's hard to believe Hardsuit Lab is aiming for clan complexity. Both dialogue and gameplay wise.

Presence was a combat discipline in B1 too (and a really good one at that).

 

[Zer0wing]

Presence was a combat discipline in B1 too (and a really good one at that).

I know, just pointing this out in a context of expecting "clan comlexity". BL1 despite all its rich design and flavour couldn't cover every single detail from original PnP game. It'd be a good chance to focus on different details in the sequel but we get what we see.

 

[Grunker]

There is only 5 to start, i'll dare to expect a bit more complexity from the clans.
Brujah's Potence description says they can break down walls (only specific ones I'm guessing), though that could just be flavor text.

But they've cut social discipline Presence from Brujah and made them warrior only class, so it's hard to believe Hardsuit Lab is aiming for clan complexity. Both dialogue and gameplay wise.

nope, there's no rose tinting going on with regards to og bloodlines and disciplines at all folks

 

[SpaceWizardz]

But they've cut social discipline Presence from Brujah and made them warrior only class, so it's hard to believe Hardsuit Lab is aiming for clan complexity. Both dialogue and gameplay wise.

I don't remember Presence affecting dialogue.
Complexity was the wrong word to use though. Devs likely slimmed down to 5 clans so that they could improve on the unique aspects of the clans they did choose, not so they had less work.

 

[Zer0wing]

nope, there's no rose tinting going on with regards to og bloodlines and disciplines at all folks

Funny that you've said this since social element of Presense is out of BL1's competence so it's a call-down on both Bloodlines games.

I don't remember Presence affecting dialogue.

It's wasn't implemented in Bloodlines.

 

[Grunker]

such a tragic loss of astonishing complexity

 

[SpaceWizardz]

Funny that you've said this since social element of Presense is out of BL1's competence.

Development of the first game was a notorious mess, I don't know why you think they just didn't bother with it.
It's irrelevant anyways, Troika != Hardsuit. Hardsuit will make mistakes that Troika didn't and Troika made mistakes that Hardsuit will avoid.

 

[conan_edw]

 

[Zer0wing]

Development of the first game was a notorious mess, I don't know why you think they just didn't bother with it.
It's irrelevant anyways, Troika != Hardsuit. Hardsuit will make mistakes that Troika didn't and Troika made mistakes that Hardsuit will avoid.

I didn't say they didn't bother, I said it was a good chance for Hardsuit Lab to add up to this 'complexity' thingy but they went a totally different direction:

Complexity was the wrong word to use though. Devs likely slimmed down to 5 clans so that they could improve on the unique aspects of the clans they did choose, not so they had less work.

Devs likely went on a road of hard specialization that is, hence I wrote class, not clan.

 

[SpaceWizardz]

I didn't say they didn't bother, I said it was a good chance for Hardsuit Lab but they went a totally different direction ... Devs likely went on a road of hard specialization that is, hence I wrote class, not clan

My bad, I misread.

 

[Wesp5]

LOL the footage of the Tremere exploding someone looks even worse than the earthquake shit from last week

I don't know what you mean. It looks much better that the Bloodlines 1 effect...

 

[Child of Malkav]

That's blood boil right? Because if it is, then yeah, looks pretty good or as good as it would look as envisioned by someone who thought how a human body might........well, explode. Meh. The least of my concerns.

 

[Vibalist]

So Tremere have Thaumaturgy (obviously) + Auspex according to VentureBeat.

It makes me wonder what the Toreador will have, seeing as two of their disciplines have already been 'taken' by other clans. Provided they are playable, of course.

 

[Infinitron]

This time VentureBeat gets the early reveal: https://venturebeat.com/2019/05/08/...2-with-the-tremere-there-will-be-blood-magic/

Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines II: With the Tremere, there will be blood (magic)

For any vampire, blood is life. It’s history. But for one group in the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing series, a mere drop of blood is so much more — it’s unlocks true power. These vampires are the Tremere Clan, and they practice blood magic — the power to manipulate blood.

And the Tremere are coming to Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines II, publisher Paradox Interactive announced today. As a Thinblood, you’ll be able to join this sect of warlocks. Vampire: The Masquerade is part of White Wolf’s “World of Darkness” RPG setting, where werewolves and other monsters live among us. Bloodlines II is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2020, and it’s a continuation of the excellent 2004 cult-classic from the defunct Troika Games.

“We manipulate the blood. It obeys our command. I can make it turn on you, become your worst enemy,” a voice says in the Tremere Clan announcement trailer. “We seek knowledge. And knowledge is true power.”

And it’s because these warlocks can turn blood into a weapon that makes the rest of vampire-dom distrustful of the Tremere. And they’ve only recently come to Seattle, the setting for Bloodlines II.

Arterial arcana
Blood magic is different from the spells you know from other fantasy RPGs. Bloodlines II senior product manager Florian Schwarzer explains how it works.

“In Vampire: the Masquerade, the blood in a vampire’s veins — called ‘Vitae’ — has supernatural powers. For one, it animates these undead; for another, it allows them to perform extraordinary feats, like lightning speed or superhuman strength. The Tremere have taken a quasi-scientific look at Vitae and discovered some of the principles by which it works its miracles,” he said over email. “This in turn allows them to create and come up with new supernatural effects using their own, or others’, Vitae.”

Above: A warlock of the Tremere Clan wields great power with their blood magic.


The Tremere’s blood magic comes in two forms. The first is Thaumaturgy, sorcery that uses blood to destroy. Using it in front of witnesses is a big no-no in the Vampire universe, violating the rules of the Masquerade (in which the vamps hide among humans, doing their best not to reveal themselves). Three of its powers are, according to Paradox:

• Skewer: This launches a small portion of the vampire’s blood at the feet of their enemies, where it erupts in a patch of razor-sharp spikes. Once they dissolve, a stream of blood flows back to the caster.
• Purge: This enables the vampire to make their victims vomit blood, damaging them heavily. A stream of blood flows back to the caster.
• Blood Boil: A master of Thaumaturgy may cast Purge for a second time on an affected NPC, causing the blood in their veins to sear. The wretch explodes within moments; bystanders in a large area are damaged. Blood from each victim streams back to the caster.

The other is Auspex, and this opens the warlocks’ minds and expands their senses. This is where history, secrets, and knowledge plays into blood magic. Its use does not violate the Masquerade (these aren’t so flashy and thus easier to hide). Two of its powers are:

• Aura Sense: This enables the vampire to spot NPCs even through walls, read crowds at a glance, and mark individuals to keep them in their sights over long distances. It also enables the vampire to spot the weaknesses in a marked NPC’s attack and defense.
• Psychic Projection: This detaches the vampire’s mind from their body. Untethered, they can explore the area in astral form, remaining free to use Aura Sight to mark any character they spot. Beyond that, the vampire’s mastery of their own senses has grown to such an extent that they can telepathically overwhelm the senses of others for a short while.

The Tremere-style warlock isn’t like what we’ve seen from other franchises like Dungeons & Dragons, in which otherworldly patrons provide the magic user their power.

“Very often, the ‘dark wizard’ is an outsider and loner, exiled to some sinister tower far away. Playing as a vampire, as a monster among monsters, flips that on its head,” Schwarzer said. “The Tremere are often one of the centers of vampire society. It’s exchanging the dank dungeons and craggy mountain tops for old-school reading rooms and scientific conferences.

“Of course, the subjects discussed in those gatherings might unsettle even a hardened sword-&-sorcery warlock.”

Where they fit
The Tremere were in the first Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines. And the clan was involved in one of the so-called “good” endings, Schwarzer said.

“That game introduced you to L.A. in an uneasy peace after a civil war among vampire factions. In that world of wary fighters, ambitious upstarts and broken monsters, the Tremere’s chantry was a place of stability and purpose. Of course, you could never be quite sure what that purpose really was — they’re vampires, after all. … ” Schwarzer said.

The traditional role of the Tremere in Vampire: The Masquerade is of a power behind the scenes, one that could be more foe than friend.

“One of the things that make the clan interesting to me is that the Tremere have changed over time. When you go back to the very beginning of Vampire: the Masquerade, the Blood Sorcerers felt a bit like antagonists: the soft-spoken, cultured ones that you’re never quite sure haven’t already decided which arcane experiment to bleed you dry for. Add to that the rigid, inscrutable organization — the ‘Pyramid’ — that backs them up, and you’re looking at a real menace even among vampires,” Schwarzer said.

But this resonated with players. So the Tremere evolved (which kinda fits their kit).

“Thing is: That also made them really interesting to players. So things shifted a bit,” Schwarzer said. “The Tremere are still distrusted — arguably for pretty good reasons. At the same time, they’re too powerful (and useful) to ignore: In many cities, they’re advisers or the proverbial power behind the throne. Very recently, the leaders of the Pyramid were assassinated. Suddenly, unlife as a Tremere has become a lot more dangerous — but also more free than ever before.”

 

[Wunderbar]

pink hair, american mcgee's alice steampunkish outfit - look more like malkavian than tremere.

 

[Prime Junta]

not sure if the hair is pink, could be the fabulous pink light she's standing in

 

[Prime Junta]

old-school reading rooms

I think that clears up the comfy room with the fireplace and the nicely-upholstered couches.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Yea p sure it's the fabulous light, or it's two really muted pink strands.

So Tremere have Thaumaturgy (obviously) + Auspex according to VentureBeat.

It makes me wonder what the Toreador will have, seeing as two of their disciplines have already been 'taken' by other clans. Provided they are playable, of course.

I'ma say Celerity and Presence, and Presence will actually be comparable to Dominate in terms of dialogue.

another thing that's been kind of missing with Cam is that there isn't a Clan that actively wants to be Ventrue instead of the Ventrue.

I'm fairly certain the Tremere at one point were aiming exactly for that, even if they weren't 100% focused on that. Think it might be mentioned in the revised edition of their clanbook.

Ultimately the thing with Trems that doesn't really make them work in this sense is that they are basically run as a parallel society within the Camarilla (or rather, they were, before Kwan secret services did a drone strike that leveled the Vienna Chantry and made the Pyramid collapse), that is primarily interested in its own security, part of which is provided by their work as sole in-house blood sorcerers of the Camarilla, and secondly to keep their own secrets secret. After all, they'd really prefer the whole matter of their origins to just be dropped and memory holed. They also don't really do longterm and deeply rooted mortal society infiltration the way Ventrue and Lasombra have done, in secular institutions (business and politics) and Catholic Church respectively.

 

[Vibalist]

old-school reading rooms

I think that clears up the comfy room with the fireplace and the nicely-upholstered couches.

But I thought Tremere were the ones with the blood hexagon.

 

[Infinitron]

Yep. After this it's going to be Toreador, Ventrue, and whatever the heck this is:

 

[Vincente]

pink hair, american mcgee's alice steampunkish outfit - look more like malkavian than tremere.

Those stockings though.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

pink hair, american mcgee's alice steampunkish outfit - look more like malkavian than tremere.

Those stockings though.

Absolute territory.

 

[ZVERMIX]

So they took away Tremere Dominate and included a bit of its effects into high-level Auspex.

Makes sense, since they are clearly going for a class-like specialization of clans. I'm guessing Dominate will be the cornerstone of Ventrue.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

The use astral projection as one of the Auspex abilities is definitely another case of "hey they're doing some interesting stuff with disciplines here."

 

[Rahdulan]

I always found it interesting how Tremere got shoehorned into sexy goth mages during modern nights. Sure, they're prone to draw from the likes of Wicca practitioners or other New Age stuff, but they're about as likely to embrace a chemist or mathematician. Obviously it clashes with the idea of a video game, but most Tremere are chantry-bound doing their chores and research if they advance enough.