Fans of Vampire: The Masquerade know that Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is finally the narrative-focused game adaptation the TTRPG deserves. As such, Swansong plays and feels more like a Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle story than a typical adventure title. And with Swansong using VTM 5th Edition for its gameplay and older editions for its Boston setting, hardcore fans would very well recognize popular names, settings, and concepts unique across versions of the game.
However, newcomers just about to dabble into Swansong may want to be on the lookout for easter eggs that remind them of the game’s TTRPG origins. Just what mysterious secrets did devs place in the game that only eagle-eyed players could spot?
8 Literally From Die Hard
One quite hilarious Easter egg from Swansong that die-hard Vampire: The Masquerade fans ought to notice is something they’d probably see if they’re movie fans as well. In the game, the playable character Caleb of Clan Ventrue is tasked to find Jason Moore, a financial adviser, and fixer, and remove evidence of vampires from his reports.
During his investigation, Caleb stumbles upon Jason’s phone and accesses three voicemails. One of these voicemails is from BNL Corporation, instructing Jason to meet him at Nakatomi Plaza to discuss some business expansions. Movie fans will remember Nakatomi Plaza as the setting of the first Die Hard movie, where NYPD Detective John McClane embarks on a one-man mission to thwart a terrorist attack in Nakatomi Plaza.
7 Lost Memories Within A Room
One of the key plotlines for Emem of Clan Toreador is reclaiming her lost memories, something she works hard to find while traversing the mysterious Tremere Chantry. It's here that players discover Emem’s history: she was raised in a family of performers prior to becoming a vampire, and eventually moved to neutral Boston from Camarilla-dominant Harlem.
Throughout her journey, she slowly unlocks passageways to various parts of her memory, one of which is a room locked by a series of crisscrossing chains with various padlocks. Fans of horror games will immediately recognize the patterns as similar to that of Room 302 in Silent Hill 4: The Room. As fans know, Room 302 is both a sanctuary and prison for protagonist Henry Townshend. The locked door inside the Chantry leading into Emem’s memories is similar to how Room 302 contains a part of Henry’s psyche he needs to reconcile.
6 Boston Updated To The Present
Boston is a rather “new” setting in the context of Vampire: The Masquerade video games, adding the city to other vampire cities consisting of Prague (Bloodhunt, Redemption), Vienna, London, New York (New York City), Santa Monica (Bloodlines 1), and even Seattle (upcoming Bloodlines 2). However, Boston in the context of Vampire: The Masquerade isn’t entirely new.
Fans of the tabletop games would remember Boston being one of the more prolific locations of the Camarilla. Notable for being the setting for 1990s Masquerade books “Dark Colony” and “Giovanni Chronicles,” Swansong apparently uses Boston’s portrayal in the said books but updates it for a modern setting. This is more prevalent in the context of the city’s history and how it affects modern Boston in the context of Swansong.
5 Conflicted Boston Has A Past
Newcomers to the game might think the game is simply using “two conflicting territories being unified” as a plot hook, but this nature of the game’s Boston setting has some footing in its history in the context of Vampire: The Masquerade. In the TTRPG, Boston was originally occupied by the Tremere, courtesy of Madeline Coventry of the Winchester Chantry in 1635. Unfortunately, Boston in the next few centuries would be the site of various power struggles that eyed control over the colony.
First came the Ventrue who forced the Brujah out of the city, who then united with the Gangrel and Malkavians to reclaim Boston during the American Revolution. In this power struggle came the Tremere once again, founding the Boston Chantry which then became at odds with their counterparts at Salem. At some point, the Sabbat eyed Boston as a territory after overrunning Salem, but the growing Malkavian powers kept it at bay.
4 The Dark Colony Connection
Building upon Boston’s portrayal in Swansong is the way its Kindred links both a new generation of vampires with the original canon from Vampire: The Masquerade. This is more prominent with protagonist Leysha, whose Malkavian roots are traced to her Sire Richard Dunham. History-wise, Dunham presently serves as the Malkavian Primogen of Boston, in charge of the Malkavian aspect of Boston's princedom. Although he answered to now-absent Prince Quentin King III, Dunham’s reclusive behavior made him seem less of a threat to new Prince Hazel Iversen.
What’s more interesting is how Dunham’s own history is connected to the tabletop canon. Dunham was sired by William Biltmore, former Prince of Cardiff. In the “Dark Colony” book, a Ventrue scheme forced Biltmore out of his own territory. However, a series of events had him become part of the Triumvirate that rules over New England. While Biltmore seems more active in politics compared to his childer, Dunham’s quiet nature doesn’t necessarily mean passive, especially given the surprising tendencies of Malkavians.
3 The Absent Prince In Modern Nights
One of the most interesting aspects of Boston in Swansong is its former prince, Quentin King III, who originally had a solid foothold in the city from 1825 to the late 20th Century. An NYPD inspector as a mortal, Quentin was brutally Embraced and, due to the Malkavian curse, was convinced he and his coterie of Malkavians were all adventuring knights of the Round Table. Quentin earned the name “The Arthurian” as he was his coterie’s Arthur. Interestingly, as the “Dark Colony” and “Giovanni Chronicles” state, Quentin King III owes much of his rule of Boston to William Biltmore, the same sire of Richard Dunham.
However, for some reason, Quentin vanished during the early 21st Century, to the point where he lost praxis towards Boston in 2014. It’s unknown whether his absence was because of the Beckoning or something else, and current Prince Hazel Iversen took this opportunity to ensure her rise to power.
2 Real History Still Contains Its Mysteries
As players may start to notice, a lot of the characters in Swansong are rooted in the TTRPG’s canon, making their modern Boston portrayal rather consistent with the game’s setting. However, this attention to detail isn’t the only way Swansong has shown its creative prowess. Rather, fans who look into the histories of some side characters may realize that a lot of the game’s characters have roots in real-life history.
For instance, Prince Hazel Iversen is actually a Ventrue childer of Nathan Appleton, implied to be the same Nathan Appleton in history who, in his life as a merchant and politician, became a member of the prolific “The Boston Association” in the 1800s. Another character of note is Journey Atkins, a musician Toreador, and confidant of Emem Louis. Her sire is none other than Zitkala-Sa, a Yankton Dakota writer, musician, and political activist.
1 A Link Strengthens The Character
One tip for players who plan on exploring the TTRPG is that a vampire’s extended longevity means it’s not far off for them to be remotely related to historical figures. In fact, a backstory connecting them to such figures may help enhance their character’s personality and relevance to the plot. Such was the case with Galeb Bazory, one of the main characters in Swansong.
As the game progresses, it’s soon realized that Galeb is actually Sehzade Suleyman, son of Ahmed III of the Ottoman Empire. After being raised by his adopted family of diamond merchants, he became a vampire courtesy of gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Not only that, Galeb even became a student of Toussaint Charbonneau, a renowned explorer. It’s through his centuries’ worth of training that he’s become the most powerful man in Boston, to the point that he’s become Prince Iversen’s right-hand man.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft Windows.