Fans of Vampire: The Masquerade eager to wait for the release of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 can rely on some new stories to satiate their thirst for life as Kindred. Thanks to Vampire: The Masquerade - Sins of the Sires, fans of Vampire: The Masquerade can immerse themselves in modern Athens as their characters struggle to unravel the mystery behind an ancient threat looming to unleash vampiric hell on Earth.
While not as freeform as an RPG like Bloodlines 2, the text-based nature of Sins of the Sires allows players to determine the fate of present-day Greece exactly on their own terms. What else can they expect in Sins of the Sires?
10 An Interactive Game, Novel
Before jumping into the specifics, it’s important to understand the essential aspects of the game in terms of technical components and mechanics. At its core, Sins of the Sires contains 300,000 words worth of story and choice-driven narrative in it, allowing players to go all out in terms of the choices they make and the paths their characters take in determining the fate of modern-day Athens.
Of course, being a pure text-based game, players shouldn’t expect any sound effects or graphical components. This makes Sins of the Sires more akin to a “Choose Your Adventure” game compared to other choice-based games with graphics like dating sims and visual novels. Gamers might feel averse to the format first, but fans of TTRPGs might find themselves at home with the text-heavy aspect of the game.
9 Not To Be Confused With Other Games
While Bloodlines 2 remains the more “popular” upcoming game set in the World of Darkness, other non-AAA games also exist within both the WOD space and the Vampire line precisely. Games such as Coteries of New York and Shadows of New York (PC, PS4, XB1, Switch) are visual novels or choice-based narrative games but this time accompanied by flashy visuals and sound effects.
Meanwhile, Sins of the Sires belongs to one of the more obscure genres of gaming, the interactive novel. Similar to other works from the same devs such as Night Road, Out For Blood, and Parliament Of Knives, the text-heavy portion of Sins of the Sires falls under the purview of interactive fiction.
8 Players Still Make A Character
Most narrative-type games such as visual novels often feature a pre-made character with a defined history so players can easily get thrust into the game’s story. For instance, the upcoming Swansong narrative RPG for major consoles will feature three original Kindred with their own backstories.
However, Sins of the Sires will let players create their own characters. Instead of a standardized creation process that lets players add stats and the like, players get character creation weaved into the narrative. At the beginning of the game, the player’s character conducts a nightly walk as the game prompts them with questions, slowly helping the player weave a personalized backstory for their character before and after they were Embraced into a vampire.
7 Emphasis On Gender Identity
A key feature of Sins of the Sires is its ability to help the players assign a gender identity to their character, instead of usual games that simply let players choose a “male” or “female” avatar.
In Sins of the Sires, players can choose to play as a non-binary, femme or masc, or even androgynous character.
Players also have the option of being able to play as a queer, gay, straight, or ace vampire. The player’s choice of gender identity may also affect the way the narrative is presented to them, giving player characters acknowledgment of their chosen identity.
6 Athens Is Burning
In this elegy of blood, Athens is burning! Or so the game says on its Steam page. The game is set in Athens, Greece where the player, a vampire or a Kindred, has to navigate their way past one vampire conspiracy after the next while trying to hide their true nature to mortal eyes by virtue of the Masquerade, a sacred Kindred Tradition.
However, the player’s character ends up on the verge of an event that might break the status quo. The central threat of the story comes in the form of Aristovoros, an ancient vampire who apparently wants to “bring a new world” for vampires by ending the Masquerade and allowing all Kindred to feast on mortals. But in the world of Vampire, “threat” sometimes translates into “opportunity.”
5 Being Kindred Is Complicated
As the first vampire Caine (yes, the Biblical Caine) was cursed to immortality, his “children” suffer the same curse. The Third Generation of vampires eventually formed the most powerful Clans in vampiric society, with this Generation (often called Antediluvians) imparting parts of their abilities (Disciplines), attitudes, and especially weaknesses to members of their bloodline.
In the TTRPG, Clan choice affects the disposition of others towards characters due to the long history between them. For instance, player choice determines their Clan in Sins of the Sires:
- Thin-Blooded: These are Kindred that were Embraced so far out of Generations that their blood is “weak” and don’t necessarily “belong” to a Clan anymore. They’re often ostracized in Kindred society.
- Tremere: Originally human mages, the Tremere accessed a spell that imparted vampirism to them at the cost of a weak bloodline. While specializing in blood magic, their secretive nature makes them suspicious.
- Ventrue: Proud Kindred, they have an inclination to enter politics, making them one of the main authority figures in the Camarilla, but not always.
- Malkavian: Gifted (or cursed) with the damning insights of madness, all Malkavian have a derangement and incurable mental instability with mysterious origins.
- Banu Haqim: An independent Clan from the Middle East, they are often mistaken for assassins when in truth they simply want to separate themselves from Kindred affairs.
4 Having A Faction Is Even More Complicated
Being a Kindred in Vampire is complicated enough due to the histories of these bloodlines, but much more complicated are their interactions with the many Sects and factions that Kindred formed out of mutual interest. The influence of each faction may differ from one location to the next, but in Sins of the Sires, Athens is torn between two key powerful factions:
- Camarilla: Perhaps the most “formal” of all Kindred factions, this Sect is responsible for forming all Kindred Traditions, especially the Masquerade. Also known as the Ivory Tower, the Camarilla is often seen as a place of order in the chaotic and unsure nights of the World of Darkness. Some see the Ivory Tower as an opportunity to rise up, while others eventually see the desire of its Elders to maintain an iron fist.
- Anarch: Formerly a “faction” within the Camarilla, the Anarch is a rebellious faction that loathed the Ivory Tower. They are independent groups that uphold the Traditions but hold no heart for the rotten Camarilla. More cities tonight are joining Anarch groups out of revolt against Camarilla stagnancy
3 Threats Can Be Opportunities
Unlike other games, a “central threat” to the story isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for TTRPGs with creative-enough players. Similar is the case of Sins of the Sires, as the threat of Aristovoros arrives when players are at an interesting point in their unlives. Players technically have three main “routes,” but may discover more along the way:
- A favor for the Camarilla: The Prince will likely help the player in investigating the rumors about Aristovoros. With the Prince being the Camarilla leader in a city, this can help players establish power of their own.
- A reputation within the Anarchs: The reputation of the player’s boss within the Anarchs can help them establish a new powerbase and gather opposing powers.
- An untouchable boss: Players in the game find their characters currently working for a mysterious “boss” that everyone respects. This makes players immediately “respected” and untouchable, helping players get immersed in the game and somehow “get away” with more dangerous choices.
2 Fate Is Theirs To Control
One of the biggest appeals of TTRPGs is its ability to help players live fantasies of their own, allowing them to choose choices ordinarily not available within the confines of a game. With this in mind, Sins of the Sires also provides multiple options to players to do “expected” things based on the plot, or stray away from typical choices and do more drastic things.
In the context of the plot, players may even stray away from the core three possibilities above and instead take these into account:
- Make their own name: Carrying the reputation of their boss, a player can soon make a name for themselves and become more appealing to people they interact with compared to their boss. They may even have more power in the city than they realize.
- The matter of Aristovoros: If the rumors about Aristovoros are true, players may have the chance to meet the man himself. What power would Aristovoros tempt the player with?
1 The Question Of One’s Sire
Identity is an extremely important part of any Vampire game, and identifying a Kindred’s Sire or originator is an important part of a character’s development. A lot of times, the presence (or lack thereof) of a Sire can become a plot point for characters. After all, they are responsible for bringing a person from life to the cruel fate that is immortality.
Such a personal crisis is also present in Sins of the Sires, as players will have to figure out who their “true” Sire really is. Based on the game, players have three options, each of which has its own implications:
- Is it Prince Peisistratos? If the Prince of Athens is the player’s Sire, what exactly was his intention? Players may be forced to choose between protecting him or even backstabbing him to end his rule.
- Is it one of the city’s Primogen? A Primogen is a part of the Prince’s inner circle and is often a leader of one of the Clans. If a Primogen is one’s Sire, players may want to help that Primogen assume power. Or perhaps players can destroy said Primogen and take their power for themselves.
- Is it Aristovoros? If the mysterious Aristovoros is the player’s Sire, this might make the player an extremely powerful vampire out of Generation alone. Would players follow in their Sire’s bloody footsteps or seek to protect the Masquerade and their new life?
Vampire The Masquerade: Sins Of The Sires was released on March 24, 2022, for PC, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.