VtM - WhiteWolf: Genealogy

VtM - Review: The Time of Thin Blood
revenants (to whom the dhampir is mechanically and biologically identical). I find them superfluous and
simply wrong-feeling.
The other major problem I had with the book is at the end of chapter one. For some reason I cannot
fathom, the authors of the book chose to focus and expand upon the single worst element of the Caitiff
section in Pariahs: A Guide to Outcasts: the generation of Disciplines. I agree that the idea of the thinblood
spontaneously generation Disciplines is interesting, and that their thin, watery vitae might make
the creation of a new power (if only the lower levels) easier, but again and again, Time of Thin Blood
clearly states that Discipline creation is almost exclusively the purview of Methuselahs and thin-blooded
neonates. That I cannot swallow. I have always seen a Discipline as being easier to create than a
bloodline, but Time of Thin Blood all but comes out and says that the latter is merely a symptom of the
former. If so, why the are there "bloodline-less" Disciplines in Vampire: the Dark Ages? I like the idea of
Disciplines being easier to create than bloodlines because a bloodline is a much more drastic change, and
it also serves to keep the number of Kewl New Groops With Speshil Powerz down to a minimum.
Admittedly, Discipline creation is not easy for any vampire, but the mood and direction that Time of
Thin Blood takes with Disciplines I find completely unpalatable.
The second chapter begins with a great in-character appraisal of the Kindred powers of the World of
Darkness from a thin-blooded vampire's eye. It is perfect in emphasizing the lack of education about their
fellows that is such an essential element to a thin-blooded campaign. Following that is an equally useful
objective view on how the thin-blooded react and interact with other vampires, mortals and supernatural
beings. There is also some more information on the dhampir, how they grow up and how they are seen
by the Kindred as a whole.
One of the more amusing bits of the book is in the second chapter as well, a large section of the Book of
Nod annotated in a smart-assed tone by the signature characters Becket and Lucita, as well as a new
Lasombra Noddist, Nahir. The exchanges are quite amusing, especially when Becket asserts again and
again that Lasombra is dead. "Oh, and Nahir, your grandsire is still dead." The one and only
disappointment in this section was the lack of much of really any new material. Other than Nahir's quiet
assertion that the Crone who awakens in the northern woods is not Baba Yaga, there is little that has not
already been mentioned or discussed.
The chapter rounds out with a re-examination of the Gehenna cults presented in Elysium as well as the
clan's reactions to both the coming of the Final Nights and the thin-blooded. Finally, a section on the
history of the Scourge and a letter from "Gracchus" to "Hermia" (undoubtedly two members of some
Gehenna cult) about the Jyhad. This is one of the best sections of the book, the information on the
Gehenna cults and some of the religious manias sweeping the Kindred across the world was very
welcome and exceedingly well-done. Highly useful, the peek at the Gehenna cults of the vampiric world
allows a peek into the minds of Elders, a very useful peek. The religious manias especially were quite
flavorful. The "plague" of weeping blood has wonderful potential.
Then there is the character creation chapter. Like most such chapters, it has its moments but is, for the
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