Guide to the Sabbat Sourcebook for Vampire: The Masquerade | |||||
Justin R. Achilli, with W.H. Bourne, Anne Sullivan Braidwood, Joanne FitzRoy, and Jess Heinig | |||||
White Wolf, 224 pages | |||||
A review by Don Bassingthwaite
Contradictory? No, not really. The Sabbat is one of the most complex elements of the
Vampire: The Masquerade and World of Darkness mythology. Sabbat Primer 101
(heavily simplified): the Sabbat is a sect of vampires (no fussy "Kindred" for them -- they
know what they are and don't shy from it) that rebelled against their elders, rejecting their
games and actively declaring war on them. They are the anti-heroes of
Vampire: The Masquerade -- horrible and monstrous, yes, but also free and
vibrant. Compare and contrast with the Vampire standard-issue Camarilla, creators
and promoters of the Masquerade that keeps vampires hidden from human knowledge, a strict hierarchy
where Sires rule their Childer, Elders rule Neonates, and ancient Methuselahs and Antediluvians
manipulate everybody from their earthbound slumber. Small wonder that the Sabbat has been a
popular fascination with players from the first edition of Vampire: The Masquerade. The
first full survey took the form of The Player's Guide to the Sabbat (1992), followed by
The Storyteller's Handbook to the Sabbat (1993) -- both excellent books that
allowed players to taste the forbidden fruits of Sabbat unlife and brought some of the first deep
mysteries of the World of Darkness into the game. They also presented a fuller picture
of the Sabbat that exposed the contradictions of the sect. Yes, the vampires of Sabbat were the
wild and bloody creatures they had always been portrayed as, but the Sabbat also had a deeply ritual
side and a strong hierarchy that kept the anarchic sect from flying apart.
With the release of a new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade and the growth of the
World of Darkness over the years, it only makes sense to take another look at the
Sabbat. Enter the Guide to the Sabbat, companion volume to the Guide to the Camarilla,
and everything you wanted to know about the Sabbat but were really afraid to ask. If you
already own and love the old guides, you probably won't find too much here to surprise you. The
basic information is still much the same: Sabbat history, Sabbat structure, the anti-tribu
clans of the Sabbat, and the traditions of the Sabbat. All of it, however, has been expanded on.
The section on history has more detail, building on previous histories and drawing on information
presented in other World of Darkness sourcebooks to present background on the Sabbat from
its roots to the present. The section on structure and politics is likewise more detailed,
although unfortunately the detail here is overwhelming and not in a good way. Is it, for example,
really necessary, to describe supporters of the status quo, moderates, and ultra-conservatives
as "factions"? Certainly characters of these views have a place in politics-driven games, but
the weight of detail takes away the oomph that the other factions deserve. I think something
similar is happening in the section that details the traditions and ritae of the
Sabbat. There's just too much detail presented, maybe to satisfy the rules lawyers that want
mechanics for everything or maybe just in a well-meant attempts at completeness, but either way
it doesn't work. The rituals are reduced to game stats and lose some of their mystery, which is
unfortunate because the ritualism of the Sabbat was one of my favourite things about it and
what really underscored the paradox of the sect in my mind.
As with the previous guides, though, the real shining stars of the Guide to the Sabbat
are the descriptions of the clans. These are the standard clans you know and love with a savage
twist guaranteed to tweak your interest. The descriptions of the clans have again been expanded,
with more history, more detail and some great art to illustrate the archetypes. One slight
disappointment for me was the removal of the long descriptions of clans Lasombra and
Tzimisce -- they have been shifted to the main Vampire: The Masquerade
gamebook. Still, that's a small thing compared with the information that has been added: expanded
information on the horrific Blood Brothers and eerie Kiasyd, the mass defection of the Gangrel
to the Sabbat (I'd love to know when this happened and get more information -- a reference to
the appropriate sourcebook or novel would be very welcome), and the appearance of the frightening
Harbingers of Skulls (née clan Cappadocian of Vampire: The Dark Ages -- sorry, it's
just a little too obvious) and equally revenge obsessed Salubri antitribu (a very nice
touch). The Ventrue antitribu have also been reworked nicely. The original guides presented
them as obsequious brown-nosers, but the new and improved version restores their dignity and paints
them as "grim knights and paladins" who believe that Camarilla Ventrue have fallen away from their
noble roots and become moneygrubbing merchants. Gone are the Tremere antitribu, bumped off
in mystical attack by their parent clan (as with the Gangrel defection, a reference to the
appropriate sourcebook for the event would be nice). Something else that those familiar with the
old guides will notice is the relative absence of Infernalism -- the threat of demonic corruption
has been removed. A sidebar makes specific note of this in fact, stating that the infernal "is no
longer as important to the sect, or to the game." Good choice -- I always found the original
presentation of Infernalism in the Storyteller's Handbook to the Sabbat somewhat out of
place and the further development of the World of Darkness has simply rendered demons out
of place in its cosmology.
The Guide to the Sabbat is certainly a very worthy reference book for any Chronicle that
involves the sect -- and absolutely indispensable, of course, if you want to run a Sabbat-based
Chronicle. The extensive section on creating Sabbat characters remains very strong, updated to
conform to the revisions in the game, and the advice to Storytellers on running a Sabbat Chronicle
is excellent. Potential drawbacks to the book? Storytellers may want to monitor players' access
to information in the book if you want to keep any secrets from them. The original format of
separate player's and storyteller's books was nice for that, although admittedly the storyteller's
book did have a lot of chaff that is thankfully done away with in the new Guide. The format
might also put off some would-be consumers -- another big hardcover rulebook to buy
at US$25.95/Cdn$40.95. If you are going to run a Sabbat Chronicle though, it will be money well
spent on a really solid product. And that hard cover should provide much need durability because
this is a book you will find yourself referring to a lot.
Don Bassingthwaite is the author of Such Pain (HarperPrism), Breathe Deeply (White Wolf), and Pomegranates Full and Fine (White Wolf), tie-in novels to White Wolf's World of Darkness role-playing games. He can't remember when he started reading science fiction, but has been gaming since high school (and, boy, is his dice arm tired!). |
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