Comparative Examination of the Clans *possible mild spoilers*

[Jhereg]

Introduction
Several years ago, when I first started playing VTMB, I did the ritual thing and tried playing all of the Clans through once. Back then, playing any Clan wasn't an easy thing, as I was still learning about the game, and having my character's abilities changed radically from the outset between games wasn't helping me to learn. The questionairre originally pegged me as a Tremere, and that became my favored Clan for a very long time. Recently, I played through a game as a Tremere - in about 8 hours. It finally became too easy.

So I thought, "Why not try the other Clans again?" So I did that. With my now-profound knowledge of the game, it was time to start examining how to play other clans within that game world. I was now in a much better position to evaluate one clan against another, since I could play objectively and systematically through the world. I could concentrate not merely on survival, but on how the the different clans worked within that world.

This, then, is an comparative examination of that experience. These are merely my own observations, and should not be taken as a definitive examination of any clan, much less all of them.

I have made some observations below that VTM P&P purists may object to as not being a proper fit with the VTM P&P game world. These are my observations about the VTMB computer game, not the WoD behind the P&P game. Kindly keep such comparisons and/or objections out of the thread. Thank you.

Ventrue
If playing Ventrue taught me one thing, it was not to get too loose with my use of blood points. The fact that Ventrue cannot gain sustenance from animals and may vomit from feeding on lowlife makes it important to keep an eye on your consumption at least until you get the Odious Chalice. That artifact provides a means to sidestep the restriction on feeding on animals.

By and large, Ventrue make for better covert operatives than warriors. Sneaking and Ranged are handy feats for a Ventrue, and helps keep them from getting their hands dirty. The ability to use Dominate in conversation is a very handy intelligence gathering tool. The Ventrue are culled from the ranks of power brokers, so while perhaps pompous and arrogant, Ventrue are, if nothing else, politic, so they have no major problems dealing with other vampires.

Toreador
Toreador, like Ventrue, make for better covert operatives than warriors, and thus Sneaking and Ranged are handy feats for them, as well. Don't dismiss them in combat, though - Celerity can make them effective in unarmed and melee combat, although less so than the Brujah. While Seduction may make life easier among the Kine, it is less useful among the Kindred. Toreador are culled from the un-self-absorbed Beautiful People so, while perhaps not overtly offensive, they can be seen by other Kindred as somewhat prissy, which can complicate their interactions with other vampires on occasion.

Tremere
The Tremere are physically weaker than other Kindred, which limits their utility as warriors. Consequently Ranged is a useful feat for them. Perhaps one of the reasons why the Tremere are so feared by other vampires is Thaumaturgy, which allows them to sidestep the restriction on diablerie by actually feeding off vampires (and zombies) through Blood Magic. This is perhaps a necessary evil, as two of the three Tremere disciplines are blood-expensive, so the ability to feed during combat while simultaneously injuring their foes is, for practical purposes, a survival trait. The down-side of Thaumaturgy, however, is that it is not only supernatural, but magical to boot. Used in public, the Kine definitely know that something extremely weird and nasty is happening, and any Kindred in the vicinity know beyond any doubt that there's an angry Tremere in their midst. The Tremere are culled from the reticent scholarly, so while they may occasionally produce what might be seen as 'affected' speech, this is a product of intellect rather than condescension, and not generally taken as offensive in their interactions with other vampires.

Malkavian
Playing a Malkavian can be an interesting experience. The odd conversation with 'talking signs', or the guy on TV can make for some funny moments, and trying to figure out exactly what the heck you are saying can be, shall we say, tricky.

Malkavians make for better covert operatives than warriors, so Ranged is a handy feat for them. Malkavians are insane, so their interactions with other vampires are about as complicated as they get. Their cursed insight can be very upsetting for other vampires, and their limited mind-altering effects in dialog can be very useful. Having a conversation with a Malkavian can be a little like listening to Cockney rhyming slang which, while perfectly comprehensible to an insider, can quickly have an outsider wondering what a conversation that is apparrently about fish has to do with automotive repair. Malkavians are culled from the condescending scholarly, which is why their infatuation with their intellectual prowess in life renders them all but incomprehensible in undeath.

Brujah
The Brujah are died-in-the-wool street-fighters. The combination of their disciplines effectively allow them to beat an opponent to death or slice them to ribbons with blinding speed and incredible strength, while at the same time making them all but impossible to hit, even with a gun. Their street prowess, however, can backfire on them when using mechanical devices such as guns. A gun can only move as fast as a gun can move, regardless of how fast or powerful the wielder is. The Unarmed and Melee feats are a Brujah's friend. At the same time, with a high Sneaking feet, the Brujah can sneak almost as fast as a speeding bullet, which renders them, for all practical purposes, invisible. The Brujah are culled from unaffected, down-to-earth humans, so they have no difficulty interacting with other vampires, although their prejudices against the so-called 'elite' in life tend to follow them into undeath.

Gangrel
Gangrel are tough, powerful, and can call upon their communion with animals to deal damage at a distance. This makes them formidable foes on the battlefield. Their Protean discipline can get in the way of using ranged weapons, as it's a bit tricky sticking a six-inch claw through a trigger-guard. Unarmed and Melee feats work well for the Gangrel, and they are the only one of the seven clans that can deal lethal damage without a blade, which means that any bashing soak their opponents may have is useless to them in unarmed combat. The insularity of the humans from which the Gangrel are culled can on rare occasions complicate interactions with other vampires, although this is, for the Gangrel, a matter of individual choice.

Nosferatu
Playing a Malkavian is sometimes good for a giggle, but there are few things that are as hilarious as some of the reactions you get from the Kine as a Nosferatu. It's worth it to play a Nossie just to listen to some of those remarks in context.

Nosferatu have an odd combination of disciplines. Animalism allows them to deal damage at a distance, while obfuscate makes them exceptional covert operatives. At the same time, Potence can make them formidable in unarmed or melee combat. Combining disciplines can make them exceptional spies, assassins, or even warriors. This is perhaps the best reason for not angering a Nosferatu - there is noplace you could be that could be construed as entirely safe. The ability to gain x3 from feeding on animals makes acquiring blood almost laughably easy for the Nosferatu. While their appearance can be a hindrance at times, a high Sneaking feat, combined with Obfuscate, can enable them to move about undetected with a substantial degree of freedom. In interactions with the Kine, however, it frequently proves to be a major debilitating influence, as having a Nosferatu pop up and say, "Hi!" to most kine is pretty much the definition of the "Boogy Man". The Nosferatu are culled from the self-absorbed Beatiful People for the most part, and this self-aborption follows them into undeath, although the appearance that caused it does not. This makes them generally feckless, greedy, and selfish.

[fable]

Now a thread sticky coming to a theater soon, near you!

Good job. If anybody wants to add their lengthy experience to this...

[Soutamo]

This is a really interesting thread. This is a good thread to read before playing the game. Good Job !

[prof. Moriarty]

Very well written, and it is even rather good for people playing the PnP-game, with only some minor tweaks.

God wills it!
P

[Sergius]

Good writing! I would say that my favorite clan is Ventrue, even if means vomiting when feeding from rats or bums. Secondly, the blood magic of the Tremere clan is a powerful (and, sometimes, very gore ) discipline. Good job on this thread! Keep up the good work!

[TheInvoker]

Ventrue and Tremere?? I don't like them.
Ventrue has both presence and Fortitude....1 of them is enough.Dominate in dialogues is nice.
My personal preferences

1)Gangrel
2)Nosferatu
3)Malkavian
4)Brujah
5)Ventrue
6)Tremere
7)Toreador (never used)

[KaOSoFt]

Hello there.

I just registered to comment that I've enjoyed your essay about the clans. Now, to stay on topic...

Well, my first character was a Ventrue. With a Toreador as my second playthrough, I realized I can't say much about my blue blood (nickname for Ventrues), just that I loved it. I had a lot of dialogue options, I could Dominate everyone... I really liked it. As for the Toreador... well, I really liked Celerity and Auspex (saved me points on Wits), but I felt like Seduction did nothing.

For instance, the well-mannered man in black suit just outside Santa Monica's haven (first mission) wouldn't give me his blood unless I seduced him, and that's even trying with Persuasion to high levels. I think Persuasion's got more... like "real" options when speaking, while you wouldn't really go seducing every person you needed information from.

In any case, after reading your post and some others in this forum (and PV's), I think my next playthrough will be with a Tremere.

I like Strauss' style, and Tremere's Thaumaturgy kind of appeals to me. I'm kind of done with close quarters comb... wait, wrong reference —with melee Vampires.

Thank you, it was a nice reading. I hope to share some more insight with you people after some more playthroughs.

Goodbye!

[Tenser]

I strongly recomment to get these subclans or whatever, for example with the unofficial patch. This allows to make the clans even more different from each other.

Also:

1. Ventrue: I would like to add that Ventrue is the only clan that can use ALL their vampire powers in public with no problem.

Also, while Dominate is fun esp in dialogue, never underestimate the power of Fortitude and Presence. Unlike their rather boring description might suggest, those two are easy to use but mighty powerful and will help you against the really tough opponents.



2. Toreador: Play female - or seduction isnt really that useful.

Also, the Toreador are actually the better Brujah. Unlike those, they start with good social skills - when you need them. Later in the game, when you got your Strength, Brawl/Melee etc high, they have the two good vampire powers that Brujah have - but avoid the crappy Potence. Not that Auspex is really that more useful, mind, but at least thats obvious from the start.

There is one subclan of Toreador that can legally start with a whooping +9 in Seduction (if you invest everything in Appearance and Subterfuge), for a reduced time of Celerity (11 sec instead of 14 sec). Not powerful, but extremely stylish.



4. Malkavian: I strongly recomment playing as another clan first, because its often hard to understand what the malk is talking about.

Also, beware this clan is really weak in combat.



5. Brujah: Personally I recomment playing any other clan for having more fun. Brujah are combat machines out of the box, but the combat at the beginning is just not that hard yet. In the end, once they raised their corresponding skills (Strength, Wits, Brawl or Melee, Celerity, Presence), Toreador will be combatwise exactly the same as Brujah, but will have more fun on the way.

Ignore Potence, for your total bonus from Strength + Brawl/Melee + Potence can never be more than +10. As compensation, Celerity is just insane, and Presence is a very good one too.



7. Nosferatu: While otherwise even more extreme and probably even more fun than Malk - you have to keep covered all the time in public - the Nos also suffers from a lack in sheer combat power, as none of their powers work against the really tough opponents.

[happy15]

Favorite clan
1. Malkavian it reminded me of Batman Joker. Yeah agreed Malkavian are much more operative than warriors also i have much more fun playing them

2. Brujah if you really wanted to feel like immortal rambo like vampire try this one.

3. Gangrel love the warform i really wish when some clan goes frenzy they turn to warform showing the beast of the vampire.

4. Nosferatu enjoyable gameplay also makes the gameplay little bit harder.

5. Tremere love all Thaumaturgy skills

6. Ventrue ability kind a the same with Malkavian disciple but much better.

7. Toreador least my favorite

[Kendrel]

After playing this game over and over i guess my list would be

1. Gangrel: For combat, the best option is the Anda Gangrel. Have Animalism 2 by the beginning and leave it there until Becket gives you the 3rd point. That way you will have a Killing Beast in combat who can do insta kill on distance with the Spirit Wolf. IMO the best melee choice.

2. Tremere. They can do a LOT of damage with the Thaumaturgy, and can dispatch large groups of enemies using Dominate and Thaumaturgy. Keep Auspex in 1 and invest the xp on the other disciplines, it will work wonders.

3. Nosferatu. These are the kings of stealth killing. You can literally pass most of the missions without taking a single blow or shot. If you don't want to be seen you won't be seen. Couple that with the ranged power that Animalism offers and it will do wonders. (best story: Blunt Fangs.)

And those are my choices.