Revisiting VtM: Bloodlines

[Zombra]

The real question is : why would Caine even *care* about L.A ?

Even gods have to keep themselves entertained somehow.

 

[baturinsky]

I was thinking which of modern games is most similar to this, and it's probably Dishonored.

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is now on GOG.

 

[Puukko]

That's neat. But Troika remains dead and the price is high.
Also, no goodies beyond the manual? I guess including the soundtrack would be a licensing hell.

 

[Xor]

Don't really need a way of suppressing earlier-gen power levels. You're a neophyte that has massively powerful blood, not a 700 year old vampire with full knowledge of his abilities.

That's pretty much what I've been saying. Being a lower generation than someone is not the only way to resist dominate. Your character is just not powerful enough to resist, or by the PnP rules, your willpower is too low.

Of course, the fact that LaCroix can dominate you would make him 8th gen too, which is fairly low for an American prince. We know LaCroix only around 200 years old which would typically make him around 10th-11th gen IIRC. It's not completely out of line to think his sire was 7th gen, but I think it's more likely he engaged in diablerie before, maybe when he was traveling in Africa. It would certainly be in character.

The canon explanation is that the taxi driver is a Malkavian who thinks he's Caine, and working from that premise I think a reasonable argument can be made that he is the player's sire. The entire plot with the sarcophagus is implied to be his idea by Jack at the end, after all. Siring the player could have easily been part of that, and it certainly wouldn't be out of line with the kind of crazy convoluted plan a Malkavian would come up with.

I like the idea that the vampire who is executed in the opening cutscene was just a fall guy, maybe even dominated into believing he had embraced the player so it would be convincing. Otherwise, if he actually was 7th gen, I doubt LaCroix would have been able to execute him that easily, and there's no way he'd let the player live afterward - an 8th gen vampire is potentially a huge threat.

Edit: Eh, thinking about it again (and I have no idea how I missed this) that only makes sense if the player is also a Malkavian. I don't know of any way for a vampire to embrace a childer into another clan, except as a caitiff.

 

[Karwelas]

The real question is : why would Caine even *care* about L.A ?

Even gods have to keep themselves entertained somehow.

And everybody know that best kind of entertainment for that kind of people is big game. Game with real pawns that can act in many unexpected ways.

After all, even gods can feel boredom.

 

[Excidium II]

Your character is just not powerful enough to resist, or by the PnP rules, your willpower is too low.

Or they needed a railroad device. Sheesh.

 

[Lacrymas]

This specific railroad makes sense in the context of the lore though, so it's not an egregious blasphemy.

 

[Excidium II]

It's not, but it's just funny seeing people try to justify it as anything else. "The player's blood was diluted" "His willpower was low" etc

 

[superstepa]

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is now on GOG.

Activision still get the money from this right?

 

[Old One]

Some levels do have multiple solutions and routes. The early warehouse level is one, the boat one is too (I remember 2 distinct ways you can see that the sarcophagus has been opened). They just get progressively more linear as the game goes along.

That's a good point, particularly about the warehouse. The hubs are also non-linear by nature. Still, it would be nice to have more levels with less linearity. In particular, the sewers, the Sabbat hotel, and the Chinatown temple would all benefit a lot from less linearity.

 

[Delterius]

The real question is : why would Caine even *care* about L.A ?

Caine cares for all of his children.

 

[Excidium II]

Nuke LA.

 

[Old One]

You can always tell when a thread about Bloodlines has reached the end of its useful lifespan when it turns into an unwinnable debate about which generation the PC and his sire belong to.

 

[Roguey]

Must've missed that, but then I didn't watch much TV. Which club?

I don't remember that part either. Shooting is not a Masquerade violation. And if you are, say, Malkavian, you have no obviously supernatural abilities.

Chinatown, when you have to go talk to that guy who shoots you, then you heal. There were witnesses.

A shootout at a popular Chinatown underground club tonight left several dead and wounded after shots were exchanged between a local gang and an unidentifed assailant. The club, Glaze, was a known hangout for one of Chinatown's largest street gangs, but was also a popular hangout for local club kids. One witness stated that the lone assailant acted like quote 'something out of a an action movie. I couldn't believe one person could do that' end quote. Police suspect a rival gang may be behind tonight's violence.

 

[Athelas]

There aren't any witnesses because that encounter happens in a closed room.

Also, you still get that news report even if you Obfuscate entirely through that area.

 

[Roguey]

"several...wounded"

 

[Prime Junta]

It's not, but it's just funny seeing people try to justify it as anything else. "The player's blood was diluted" "His willpower was low" etc

Man you must be a lot of fun at parties.

 

[Tacgnol]

"several...wounded"

True, but none of them necessarily saw any obvious vampiric abilities. The bit with the mandarin happened in a closed office.

 

[Barbarian]

I'm surprised Wesp's patch is still getting regular updates. Last time I played I think it was on version 8.2 or something like that, now it is 9.5.

How much restored content and etc has been added since then? Enough to warrant a replay? Also, how the hell does the guy keep finding content to restore after all these years?

 

[Barbarian]

I'm also wondering if any of the other mods is worth a damn. Man, I just feel like replaying the game after checking this thread out.

 

[Sjukob]

I'm also wondering if any of the other mods is worth a damn. Man, I just feel like replaying the game after checking this thread out

Clan quest is quite good . It mainly solves balance problems , but also adds a few quests .

 

[ZagorTeNej]

Clan quest is quite good . It mainly solves balance problems , but also adds a few quests .

In what way? New content aside, what are the gameplay changes in Clan quest?

 

[vivec]

It's not, but it's just funny seeing people try to justify it as anything else. "The player's blood was diluted" "His willpower was low" etc

They are at least trying to make it clear to the player that it is a railroad. I remember very vaguely dialogue to that effect. I don't hold that against them at all.

 

[Excidium II]

I don't either, it is better than pretending you have a choice.