A solid set of rules and lore, with a lot of potential, but it lacks the edge that made the original Vampire so compelling. First off, the rules are just better. Sorry to everyone who loved 20th anniversary, but the double rolling to soak and varying difficulty was both hard to parse as a player and it was hard to figure out how difficult something actually was as a storyteller. This rolling system is much more straight forward, and the 2 crits into 4 successes actually works pretty well. I understand hunger dice aren't hugely popular, but the hunger system is definitely more visceral than blood points, and helps create the urgency of feeding.

The layout of this book is alright, not to write home about, but better than early World of Darkness books. Not that that's saying much, but at least this book has an actual table of contents and index. For the PDF, you can click on the page numbers in the ToC and jump to that page, which is nice. The actual pages are less impressive. The writing isn't terrible, and the powers and mechanics mostly make sense, but the layout on the page is bad. Splitting pages from one column into 2 or 3 was not a great decision.

The art: I like the atmosphere the photographs create, but the clothes in the Clans section feel less useful than any previous art. Plus, the clothes end up looking pretty similar, which reduces the uniqueness of each Clan.

I don't hate the lore developments, I think they reinforce the themes of the setting pretty well, although I do wish there was more actual guidance about how to use this metaplot in stories, which we ended up getting in entirely separate books.

The reason this book loses a fifth star is primarily from that problem: the book introduces an interesting concept, but doesn't give us enough real content to justify it. I know its just a core book, and it does the mechanics part well, but the lore is just lacking something(which again gets covered in later, better books like Chicago by Night and Children of the Blood. Not Anarch or Camarilla though.)

Overall review: workable core book, solid mechanics that are clearer than previous editions, and lore that captures the imagination but doesn't quite give you enough to work from to actually make a stronger setting than you'd make reading the bullet points of the metaplot changes.

By far the best Vampire the Masquerade 5th edition product on the market. It has characters who are both interesting in concept and having emotional depth. The world is a creative development from previous Chicago by Night books, combining the 5th edition metaplot developments with the elements unique to the World of Darkness's Chicago. All the characters feel believable, while having plot hooks aplenty, and the coteries and other relationships are fantastic as both plot hooks and ways to improve the complexity of any vampiric plot. 5/5 stars, for sure. A must buy even if you're not running games in Chicago, just to see how deep a vampire setting can be.

+++

A good lorebook (except for the Cybertron war story, not much too learn here) if you want to learn more about this world and characters. Buy the Decepticon sourcebook as well.

Lots of nice and cool (comics) art.

There is an introductory scenario.

Some good lore and scenarios ideas inspired by places around the world.

Lots of NPCs and baddies.

However the rules are an alternate version of d20 system. Instead of the easy advantage/disadvantage rule, they added another layer: you can change the dice type (like Savage Worlds) up or down. It’s slowing the pace of the games.

Obviously a level-based system don’t match this kind of action movie stories. We need to be big heroes from the start. So you need to start at level 5 or 10 to have a cool character with cool powers you expect from Transformers.

You can’t really play Dinobots without some tweaks. Bummer. Perhaps a future book?

There are no interesting and narrative chase rules, no catalog of cool cars and planes to choose from. No list of places and towers to destroy. The massive and impressive scale of the Transformers movies seems missing here.

Some editing problems like a mistaken reference to a table (even with the updated PDF version), unfortunately this publisher seems famous for editing errors.

Have just finished running this campaign for my RPG group so finally feel qualified to write a review. We played once a fortnight (barring the odd break for holidays) starting in June 2023 and finally finished last night so definitely value for money there. The players and myself as GM all enjoyed the campaign immensely. It provides huge detail on London circa 2012 and is both a detailed campaign and something of a sandbox as players are encouraged to follow personal agendas as well as the main story line. As someone who has lived and worked in London in the past it felt oddly nostalgic to be playing in the city. I would say that the nature of the campaign, e.g. players and GM can decide on the order several chapters are played in, means that no two groups will ever have the same experience, even though playing with pre-generated characters. While the characters are pre-gen they can be developed in different ways depending on player interests and wishes so likely to end up quite different in different play throughs.
A warning to GMs, the campaign is large and complex, so do read and plan carefully. Focus on what will interest your players. There were several sections and background information that I chose to ignore while others may choose to explore these at length. Why 4 and not 5 stars? Because the complexity clearly got too much for the authors on occasion and you could find inconsistencies in the story and characters in some places. No spoilers so I'll mention a couple of trivial examples, what colour is Regina Blake's hair and why does Ayse have several different surnames? There are more serious examples that affect the plot. Hence GM needs to read carefully and make editorial decisions about their interpretation of the plotline. I changed several details to be what I considered consistent. Sure other GMs will make different decisions from the ones I took. Also the campaign gives detailed statistics and write-ups for some characters who are really irrelevant while giving nothing for some other characters I considered central to the story.
Overall brilliant campaign that I strongly recommend but will require some serious work from the GM to run properly.

From monsters to characters and back again - a Mephisto review

If there is one sourcebook for Vampire V5 that is at best controversial in current discussions, it is Sabbat: The Black Hand. As with other books and concepts in the fifth edition, this sect is significantly changed regarding systems and background. In some respects, the game returns to its beginnings. If you look at how the Sabbat as one of the major sects in Vampire: The Masquerade has developed over the editions since the beginning, you can see that the sect has been slightly reinterpreted with each edition.

In the first edition, the Sabbat or the Black Hand was only touched on as a horror story to scare player characters, where you learn little more than that Sabbat vampires are evil and dangerous. The second edition of Vampire went a significant step further in this respect, with the Player's Guide to the Sabbat not only introducing this sect, but also making it playable. By the third edition, at the latest, Sabbat vampires were integrated into the setting on an equal footing with Camarilla vampires. The background of the Sabbat was expanded further and further, becoming more and more complex with concepts such as the Black Hand sub-sect, which then became entangled with entirely different power groups and metaplot intrigues. As in the first edition, for Vampire V5, the term Black Hand became again just an alternative name for the Sabbat and no longer a sub-sect in its own right.

But back to the current edition: A lot has happened in the Vampire V5 timeline lately. Thanks to the Beckoning, the elder vampires are moving to other places, apparently to take part in the Gehenna War. This development has also affected the Sabbat. In addition, the Lasombra clan has surprisingly left the sect and joined the Camarilla, at least as far as the influential members are concerned. As a result of these changes, the Sabbat has lost many of its domains, and indeed, most of the sect's vampires are drawn to the sites of the Gehenna War. While the Sabbat once had organized cities under its control, these domains now serve at best as temporary bases to find resources, especially new vampires and food. Cities that are permanently controlled by the Sabbat are practically non-existent, as the sect's vampires are constantly on the move.

The mentality and organization of the Sabbat are also redefined in this book. While the earlier version of the Sabbat still had complex hierarchical structures from the Regent down to individual packs, in the new edition, the pack (the counterpart to the coterie), is the only relevant form of organization. The Sabbat therefore operates in groups of a few vampires who work together, led by the so-called Priest. Here, too, there is a simplification in that the dual role of leadership within the pack has been reduced to one person. As the Pack Priest is now also the leader, all packs focus on a common path of revelation (see below).

Although formal titles such as Bishop and Archbishop still exist, and even the Regent is still mentioned as a title, these positions are vaguely outlined and, in some cases, not filled at all. Another innovation is the importance the book places on the paths of enlightenment. Since the actions of Sabbat vampires cannot be reconciled with humanity, the paths, as inhuman moral codes, are supposed to keep the beast in check for Sabbat vampires. While the paths have always been an important aspect of the rules for Sabbat vampires, their significance will be further adjusted for Vampire V5.

The existing paths are reduced to significantly fewer options, and a path that is popular among the thin-blooded is newly introduced. A significant change is, however, that within packs, all members generally follow a common path that influences their actions. While the Cathari are hedonistic seducers, the followers of the Path of Caine appear as diableristic lone wolves. In fact, the paths, and therefore the vampires that follow them, are described in a much more inhuman way, so you get the feeling that these vampires can barely interact with humans. This is toned down a little in the later chapters. For each path, it is indicated how it behaves in encounters with player characters, i.e., how the corresponding packs of the path behave during preparatory scouting, during a full siege, or when dominating a domain. There are also several profiles for characters.

What is also special is that Sabbat vampires define themselves almost exclusively by their path, and clans play no role in the Sabbat, as belonging to a clan represents a connection to the hated Antediluvians. In fact, the Sabbat's main mission is to destroy the treacherous Antediluvians to gain the favor of Caine, whom they see as the perfect vampire. Sabbat: The Black Hand devotes a lot of space to the question of how Sabbat vampires think and how they differ from regular vampires in that they are much more inhuman. My impression is that the book not only tries to bring these aspects closer to the reader by repeating them over and over again, but also likes to use the same formulations and images, such as the comparison to sharks. 

Sabbat: The Black Hand is clearly designed as a game master resource. This means that the new version of the book in no way envisages players taking on the role of Sabbat vampires, but clearly makes them non-player characters. Accordingly, while the paths are described in terms of their ideas and alignments, they are not backed up with rule mechanics to replace the regular system of humanity.

The only rule material is some additions to the discipline powers, which, depending on their disposition, might also be suitable for Camarilla or Anarch vampires, but on the other hand, often use dark powers that would endanger the humanity of the player characters accordingly. The new discipline powers only take up eight pages of the book. This is followed by the so-called Ritae, which were already present in previous editions of the book. These rites describe the various practices of the Sabbat, from the Vaulderie, i.e., the communal blood blond of a pack, to the creation rites and the like. These sections also contain a brief hint on how to incorporate these rites into your chronicle, but do not include any rule mechanisms. The player characters should either only witness these rites or have to deal with their effects. This means that the rites provide interesting descriptions but have an entirely different significance than they had in the days when player characters could play Sabbat vampires. The various titles of the sect are also touched on, and some illustrious personalities are mentioned in very short sections, whereby at least some signature characters of the earlier editions are mentioned here. 

It is not until late in the book that it finally turns to the Gehenna War, and it is only at this point in the book that the history of the Sabbat's origins and some of its background are explained. The book also takes a look at several regions, such as Mexico City, Brazil, Russia, the Maghreb states, and Alamut in the form of in-game texts. However, these descriptions are presented in such a way that, at best, they convey a mood but, in no case, any concrete information. Anyone hoping for answers about the Gehenna War will learn nothing essential. 

There is a storyteller chapter at the end, where various elements are described for incorporating the Sabbat into a chronicle, be it as a siege or as an infiltration of the sect. In addition, some narrative techniques are explained, as well as some approaches to combining the Sabbat with the Second Inquisition, for example. These different techniques and elements provide a few more ideas for incorporating the Sabbat into the game. Again, I felt the book was a little inconsistent, as in many places, Sabbat vampires are described as not being able to really interact with vampires or humans at all. However, the scenario in which Sabbat vampires infiltrate the city and try to convert other vampires to their cause is, in my view, a much more fitting approach for Vampire than the combat-oriented sieges. 

That the Sabbat sourcebook will divide opinion is probably an understatement. On the one hand, the book chooses an interesting way to simplify the sect and consistently develop it further. The new Sabbat bears much less resemblance to the Camarilla. The more nomadic packs that only occasionally take over cities and devote all their attention to the Gehenna War fit the Sabbat's alignment, even if this transformation comes relatively suddenly and is not really described or explained in detail. Nevertheless, the whole background of these vampires facing off against the Antediluvians, whom they see as a dangerous threat, is quite coherent.

On the other hand, players will be put off by the fact that, after many years in which Sabbat vampires were a game option, this possibility has been censored out because Sabbat vampires are suddenly too strange or dark for players. Of course, Sabbat campaigns have always run the risk of degenerating into violent splatter orgies. However, the third edition sourcebooks in particular have shown perspectives on playing the Sabbat as an exciting, intriguing, and dangerous sect. And indeed, the concept of the Sabbat vampires facing off against the overpowering ancestors and Antediluvians is also a coherent option for player vampires. On the other hand, it can, of course, be argued that the Sabbat vampires here (as in the first edition) should appear as mysterious opponents who are not available to players in order to create a counterpoint.

Of course, this means that the usual information on clans, disciplines, etc. falls by the wayside, as this is not a playable option. So anyone hoping for the so-called anti-clans and their disciplines will be disappointed. In fact, clans no longer play a role in the Sabbat, which is a very intriguing approach and a plausible interpretation of this sect. While I think that those who really want to play Sabbat vampires should be able to find their own way from the existing material or, if need be, resort to alternative supplements in the Storyteller's Vault, this limitation is still what did not convince me about the book. While there is a strong attempt to emphasize the perspective and strangeness of the Sabbat vampires, the book often remains extremely vague otherwise. Neither the development that led to the disappearance of the Lasombra and the complete reorganization of this sect is described, nor do we really learn anything concrete about the Gehenna War. Of course, it can be argued that this keeps secrets for which each Storyteller can find their own truth, but this leaves the material vague at best and could have been summarized even shorter than the 130 pages. I could have done without dozens of example profiles for Sabbat vampires, for example. 

In short, I think Sabbat: The Black Hand offers some very exciting approaches. The new Sabbat stands out because it is clearly different from the Camarilla and the Anarch sects, and thus provides a consistent alternative. However, I find it lacking in usable material for the chronicle, and the fact that the Sabbat is primarily dedicated to the hotspots of the Gehenna War and otherwise only gives minor and short-term importance to Anarch and Camarilla cities makes it much more irrelevant as a threat. Sabbat: The Black Hand thus offers a few interesting ideas, but often remains too vague and is therefore not an essential sourcebook. Players hoping for a playable sect or expecting further metaplot elements similar to Cult of the Blood Gods to appear will definitely not enjoy this new form of sect. In the end, the book remains dispensable in my view and only relevant for a few gaming groups.

(Björn Lippold)

There simply isn't a system that does political horror better! And it is so easy to introduce new players to the mechanics (once you get past the obligatory lore dump). I have told so many amazing stories with this system, and I can't wait to tell more.

Very interesting reimagination of the older werewolf editions. I like the new and simple rage system. The rules are simpler and faster than in the older versions.

I originally wasn't going to buy this game, but honestly I'm glad I did. It's actually a pretty cool game with an interesting premise. It's self contained and doesn't follow the previous metaplot, so it's easier for people new to WOD (like me) to get into. If it seems like a cool game to you, then go for it. If it doesn't maybe try W20 or Werewolf the Forsaken (which is pretty good as well.) But decide that on your own. Most negative reviews are just people who dislike the new changes.

Sadly to me, this new version seems like a massive departure from a lot of the fun and interesting aspects of the older versions. In total, it feels like a very different game using the same or similar names and themes of a game I have enjoyed gming for over twenty years. That is not to say that all is bad or lost, but it simply isn't for me

First, the good:

• Changing the names of certain tribes, especially the Gale Stalkers (former Wendigo) and Ghost Council (former Uktena) is a step in the right direction and is something I will most probably incorporate into my own games
• the rage dice are an interesting idea, though not that well implemented in my opinion
• tying gifts to renown is a really neat idea that was only vaguely explored in a handful of gifts before, but something I really like
• doing away with the always hard to use appearance attribute for composure makes certain rolls rather interesting and is again something I like quite a bit
• I also like the implementation of the Rage dice, though I must admit that it feels like a not that well thought through translation of the hunger mechanic of the V5 mechanic
• adding tribal totem favors and bans is quite cool and is something I will likely take back to the "previous edition" in some way
• the addition of touchstones is a nice touch (no pun intended)
• shifting forms a lot can cause damage
• the artwork is beautiful
• the pdf is well bookmarked, but does not allow the adding of own bookmarks

Next the different but still alright:

• the Cult of Fenris (former Get of Fenris) being a group of Garou who have fallen in a different way to the Black Spiral Dancers is rather interesting and not as bad as it seemed at first, not quite my cup of tea, but I can see the reasoning behind it and it can be used as an interesting story hook, though branding the entire tribe as fanatics who see problems everywhere and want to remain "tribally pure" is a bit strange when this is something many tribes had in common
• the rewrite of the Black Furies and Red Talons seems strange to me, but again, can give out some interesting stories. For those who played the W20 or older versions, they are basically the Get of Fenris with a few tweaks, no more female only or wolf only tribes
• other tribal rewrites are less drastic, but still present, but again, a thing for personal preference
• some gifts were changed in their level, which I have not fully gone through yet, but that seems alright in general, as nothing stops an "old school" gm (or a "new shool" one for that matter) from rearranging them once more
• Willpower as a "mental" health track is cool in general, but it has issues as I will list further down below
• a "native gift list" for all Garou is quite cool, but it came at the cost of breed gift lists
• the claws of a Crinos wolf only do superficial damage, only the bite does aggravated, seems strange once again, but hey, punching or clawing is the same

Lastly, the stuff I dislike

• Renown as traits that are raised with experience instead of something that organically increases next to renown
• the removal of Gnosis in favor of Gifts costing Willpower or a Rage check, the former seems excessive, since it doubles as a frenzy stop and health pool...
• the removal or rank in favor of only using total renown
• the removal of Metis and Kinfolk
• the removal of pack totems
• the seeming removal of most other Changing Breeds (though this could just be a slight retcon, that they are no longer known)
• the ridiculous swiftness one frenzies in Crinos (you frenzy, unless you have killed something last round or spend a point of Willpower)
• forcing rage checks to regenerate in every form, which means that a few bad rolls ensure that you cannot regenerate, as you have lost the wolf
• gifts are "only usable in the supernatural forms" but just about every other gift I looked up seems to circumvent this rule
• the experience cost of gifts increases with each gift known, this is interesting in theory, but will force many players to simply ignore a "fluff" gift, since is would not only be rather expensive, but increase the cost of "useful" gifts as well
• having two "if this fills your character becomes unplayable" tracks seems both excessive and reductionist, and having a "your mental health will deteriorate" track is something I will definitely not add to any game I run that is not Cthulhu, as only few players I know would be alright with roll mandated mental breakdowns. As for the "callousness and brutality" track, I prefer to keep stuff like that behind the gm screen so player's are unsure how "tainted" they are
• the "Gaia is dead or the apocalpyse has already started" storylines are not something I like that much

All in all, I think this might be an interesting buy for those who want a nihilistic modern system about werewolves fighting a lost war where they will ultimately succumb to depression or callousness. For those who enjoyed the previous systems, I would reccomend sticking to the W20 edition and possibly taking a few things from this edition (Galestalkers and Ghost Council will be my pick and I will probably run a storyline using the some of the Cult of Fenris ideas)

It was a great isght to Vampire society and how they Unlive each Night !!

This is the second core book for Vampire the Masquerade that I've had, my first being the 20th aniversary, while I'm rather new to the series I actually prefer this one more, this book is easier to navagate, has far better art, a more fleshed out system for the thin-blood vampires, and while it doesnt have the chat system to show the various other clan's opinions of certain things it is easier to understand and doesn't feel like it pushes players to enbrace vampiric stereotypes, and I also genuinely appreciate the first page warning avalible on it.

Again, I'm new to it, I can't say as much as people who have been playing it since back when I was born back in the early 90's, but I can say what I personally see and enjoy about it, and I genuinely enjoy how well made this one is. two thumbs up.

Start to finish this is absolutely top quality. Content, art, layout and writting qulaity are all superb.

When I buy pre written adventures, it's because i don't trust myself to write a good story and good NPCs, and events I cannot have without a lot of thinking. A good chronicle book will save me a lot of time and thinking. In this book none of the stories gave me surprising or inspiring ideas. Exemple: the "monster in the field" story is just a poor Call of Cthulhu adventure without any surprise, there is even a baaad ritual at the end!! The other chronicles are just not inspiring or compelling either. Trails of Ash and Bone is a lot better, if you really want a good chronicle book for Vampire or the WOD.

Four really good adventures for Vampire! I didn't like at all the poor ideas of other recent chronicle books (Chicago Folios, Let the streets run red) but this one is stellar. Each adventure offer something new or surprising for your players. A weird cult, a necromantic murder investigation in Florence, a mysterious vampire who performs true or false miracles and a modern thriller. Lots of detailled NPCs, even ready-made characters to play immediatly!

I bought this just to leave this review. I was disappointed in this book, though not as bad as I thought it was.
V5 Hunter's Hunted (or the 2nd Inquisition) was a complete disappointment, though THIS book helps a bit.

You can re-build your old smite & cleave Avenger from the orange books. But they aren't as great as they used to be. So 3 stars, because I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would have been, though still plenty of room to improve.