Product Review

A big, fancy salon. One, maybe more, beautiful classic statues. A psychotic… err… protector, (should I say “chief of security”?) wielding a pump-action shotgun. A radiant lady in white, with fangs in her mouth and a pink rose in her hands. Some long-haired blonde dude with the face of a maniac, a cross tattooed on his arm, embraces the lady’s legs. A high-class looking suit, with some rings on his fingers, trying to look important. And, not to forget, three baldy freaks with pointy ears and evil grins. Is this the mighty Camarilla? Why, yes of course, this and more! This book is for those who want to know what “this and more” means - exactly.

The Guide to the Camarilla is a thorough (well, as thorough as a White Wolf book can be) explanation of all the ins and outs of the biggest and mightiest vampiric sect in the whole World of Darkness. The sect is better defined than it was in the rulebook. We read about all the Camarilla clans and get some info on the Caitiff (the clanless) and the unusual Lasombra anti-tribu.

I’ll do this review chapter by chapter, so you are aware of all the books contents and my opinions on them.

The book opens with “Roulette, a cautionary tale,” an interesting piece of fiction that has a counterpart on the Sabbat book. Here, the story is viewed from the Camarilla’s eyes. It’s all about Las Vegas by Night and the everlasting war of Sabbat against Camarilla.

The first chapter is “The Basics in Blood: the Sect defined,” where we learn about the Camarilla’s history and present, a deeper analysis on the Six Traditions, how to handle the Masquerade, how its hierarchy works… that sort of thing. This gives the Storyteller and the players a basic framework and understanding on the sect, in what I would call “Camarilla 101.”

Next come the “Thin Traceries of Blood: The Clans.” The new Vampire player learns what some others had known before. The Gangrel, while called a member of the Camarilla in the main book, are no longer part of this society. In my personal opinion, this is a good idea, as I always believed that this Clan had nothing in common with the Camarilla’s ideals and they are far more like the Independent Clans.

This chapter also gives out some more information for each Clan. Then we hear of vampires of other Clans and minor bloodlines within the Camarilla and how they work and prosper within it. Useful info. I love those Samedi. After that, there’s a presentation of the Caitiff, Gargoyles and Lasombra anti-tribu with two pages each, in the style the main book presents all the major clans.

The Caitiff are, for the uninitiated, the vampires that belong to no Clan, and are therefore on the lowest rung of Camarilla society. The Gargoyles (covered also in older books, especially Dark Ages ones) are Tremere creations… very dangerous beasties. The Lasombra anti-tribu are few and ancient, as most of them hail from the time before the sect schism, the time covered in Dark Ages roleplaying game.

The following chapter is called “From the Beginning: Character Creation.” This one was done to have the book analogous to the Sabbat one, but, as I found out by reading it, while the Sabbat have a different character creation system, the Camarilla one is exactly the same from the main book. This chapter’s only good bits are the new things you can use for your character, like new Archetypes, more Secondary Abilities, new Merits and Flaws (most are Camarilla-specific, of course).

Now comes the power-gamer’s dream… Advanced Disciplines! Actually, the chapter is called “Powers Beyond Understanding: Advanced Disciplines.” You want to know what a Methuselah with high Dominate could do to you? Do you want to know why it’s real cool to be 4th Generation instead of 13th? Enjoy and feel the cold crawling your spine… Also, more and more paths for your Tremere’s Thaumaturgy!

How did you think the Camarilla are able withstand the Sabbat’s assaults without the mighty Clan Tremere? There’s also the listing for the Gargoyles’ unique Discipline, Visceratika, and their power of Flight. Finally, the Dark Ages (2nd Edition) rules of powers that combine Disciplines get their revision and you can read it here. Buy your extra cool power before we run out of them! (Note: there are only three examples, but you can always browse other books or invent your own). A final word on this chapter: phew, are the ancients powerful!

Now, for the gamer more concerned with role-playing than with using mighty powers, “The Rhythm of Immortality: Tactics and Systems.” Learn more about the Embrace, Childer’s presentantion, Camarilla customs and justice, social gatherings, war tactics, the Camarilla’s Byzantine system of boons and favours, and a lot more. An excellent source for Storytellers and players interested in realistic portrayal of a Camarilla character. This is one of my favourite chapters in this book.

The next one is more for Storytellers than for players. “The City by Night: Building your Setting.” This is a pool of ideas and questions for the Storyteller who decides to create a city, whether based on an actual city, or creating one from scratch. A very good read for any Storyteller, including those who don’t wish to run Vampire stories. At the end of this chapter is a set of example templates for Camarilla cities, around which you can create your own characters, or just to get ideas from them.

After this, we have another Storyteller resource: “Tales of Imagination and Mystery: Storytelling.” One thing I love about White Wolf is that all of its major books have Storyteller’s sections in them, not so much about ideas but about storytelling itself. The good thing is, all of them have something new to offer, or they at least remind you constantly of things you must have in mind. This chapter also deals with the controversial crossovers and some other useful stuff.

The final chapter: “Allies, Enemies and Others,” covers vampire societies such as the Anarchs, the society of Camarilla Elders and their odd behaviours, the secretive Inconnu (will they ever do a book on this group?) and a short word on the vampire’s servitors, the Ghouls.

This book is a very useful one, and, for me, it had the virtue of giving me respect for the sect it covers. By reading the first half of the Clan Novels, I thought of Camarilla vampires as weaklings and losers, but, I think, if I was a vampire, I’d choose their civilized side over the wicked (but immensely funny, in the worst kind of way) Sabbat. If you want to tell a story that deals with the Camarilla extensively, this is a must-have. It’s also very useful when telling Sabbat stories, obviously. Listen to some Darling Violetta while you read this, I did while writing this review.

Reviewed by Matías Timm