VtM - WhiteWolf: Genealogy

VtM - Review: D.C. By Night
Ventrue prince. BOOOOOOORING! Sure, it's the norm. But we already KNOW the norm! Making the
prince a non-Ventrue suddenly gives every Ventrue PC an automatic goal: become the prince! (Not
really, but you get the idea). Besides, there are some cities, like New Orleans, that screams for a
Toreador or Tremere Prince. And you can bet your ass that this hypothetical prince's assistants are
Ventrue. That's how they fit in. They're good at running things. The only problem with the Ventrue is
that they want to run everything.
Here there be SPOILERS!!!!
Of course, DC is a major political city. Having a non- Ventrue prince would be silly, nay stupid. And of
course, the prince isn't a Ventrue.
He's cooler.
It's a wonderful set-up, with something for everyone. There's a lot of high-powered vampires in this city
to run into, including a delightful Ventrue who's a lapsed Malkavian, and a Gangrel Justicar wannabe
with Archons to boot! I used my standard test to see if I liked the city book. I picked a vampire from each
clan at random, and imagined a plot that would make the players run into each. The more twisted, the
more evocative it was, the more I liked it. And I liked the one I came up with a lot.
The explaination of Washington and its environs was also excellent, with a brief run down of the reasons
why you should run a Chronicle in Washington. There's a lot of stuff that the average ST wouldn't think
of, and the author nicely detailed the specific problems and perks of being a vampire in DC. It's the little
things like this that really make me like a book. It shows the author was thoughtful enough to throw a
few bones, not only to the beginning storyteller, but also to the experienced ST who doesn't know how to
insert a major plot point without it seeming forced. Right there, it says, "Parking is hard to come
by...Most people park a few blocks away and then walk a short distance to restaurants and clubs." Right
there, we have all the reasons we need for a clandestine meeting. Fodor's wouldn't tell you these things,
but they fit perfectly in a campaign setting.
The thing I love MOST about this book, besides a good setting that, if not authentic, feels "real" enough
to be okay in my book, great characters, and an interesting history, is the Story Seeds. Oh, how I loved
these things from CbN v 1.0! Instant night's plot. The best part was that the plot was driven 100% by the
characters. Something happens. What do you do? Great stuff! The specific storyseeds here are very good,
but not enough are specific to Washington. I can "dummy down" most story seeds to any location. Let
me see what the setting can do! Something along the lines of, "A group passing by Lincoln's Memorial
hears someone talking, ostensibly to himself. He's asking Mr. Lincoln for advice on how to handle
corruption in a senator's office. The players get a few tidbits. Then, a second later THE STATUE
ANSWERS! After the stranger leaves, a second approaches, and the scene is repeated. In fact, the force
here is a Malkavian who's a little too fond of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He's obsessed with
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