VtM - WhiteWolf: Genealogy

VtM - Review: Jerusalem by Night
majority of the characters described are given as Sired after the alleged birth of Christ, and over half date
from only the last three centuries of history. Most have colourful backgrounds, and there are a few twists,
but there is very little mention of any involvement in the religious or political affairs of the city, except in
most recent times. No space is given at all to how the characters should interact with one another, and to
what extent they may have shared histories and/or motives. No explanation is given to why there is no
overall ruler of the city, or how the city's Kindred should appear to outsiders. I find myself frowning, and
again I feel that White-Wolf has been overly conservative at the expense of the material.
The last chapter is again brief, covering several bases in regards to Storytelling in Dark Age Jerusalem.
Few novel ideas are offered, and to me it seems clear that either the section was tacked on as an
afterthought, or was edited down from a much richer chapter of material.
In terms of presentation, the book is laid out well, as can be expected from all Dark Ages products. The
art on the cover is very good, and quite inspiring. The pictures inside, however, leave a lot to be desired.
The character portraits are passable, but the full-page plates are atrocious, and seem tawdry and lacking
compared to those used in the other Vampire books.
Overall the book is good, although I feel not quite good enough to satisfy me. There are many questions
left unanswered, and the book avoids all issues that could be considered even remotely controversial. To
my mind, the events described by all three religions are more mythic than historical, and that a more
inspiring take on the book would have been to throw a different (and perhaps a more sinister or
mysterious) light on the origins of all three religions. Controversial issues aside, it would have been more
profitable for them to split the book into three sections, as per the two Libellous Sanguinus books
released so far - each section could have been devoted to each religion, and each could have explored the
faiths and lives involved in each. The histories of each religion could have been explored without bias,
and yet the ambiguity of true events could have bee obscured in the true White-Wolf tradition. In fact, as
mentioned above, it does look like the editor has been heavy with his hand, and that much useful,
additional material is missing. I am forced to re-write the material from the book to suit my own needs
and tastes. I only hope that if the developer of the Dark Ages line chooses to explore another city of the
period (Rome, Alexandria?), I hope it is done with a more daring creative hand.
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