Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 News

Warlocks, Usurpers, Haemetics, Thaumaturges
Clan Tremere embraces scholars, academics, researchers, and other relentless pursuers of knowledge. These Kindred have an obsession with blood and vitae — vampire Blood — beyond even that of other Kindred, an obsession which extends to its control. Whether the blood coursing through their enemies veins, or a Tremere’s own vitae, a drop of red can turn into a deadly weapon in the hands of an experienced Warlock.

[h2]Playing a Tremere in Bloodlines 2[/h2]
As a Tremere in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, you use your arcane powers to control your own Blood and that of your foes. The playstyle is rewarding when keeping your distance in combat, making enemies scream in agony as you boil their blood, shaping your own vitae into projectiles, or even ripping the blood from their veins.

In vampire society, Tremere are often mistrusted. Some characters in Bloodlines 2 may respond differently in dialogues depending on whether you reinforce or challenge their expectations of your clan.



[h2]Abilities[/h2]
As you select your clan, you unlock the clan’s unique passive ability. By spending Ability Points, you can then unlock abilities from the Ability Tree, starting with your chosen clan. Ability Points are earned when completing missions, combat and exploration. When you’ve unlocked all abilities for a clan, you can unlock the clan Perk, a permanent passive upgrade for those dedicated enough to unlock all abilities for a clan.

[h3]Corrosive Touch[/h3]
Clan Passive: Bodies will dissolve away after being fed on.

[h3]Cauldron of Blood[/h3]
Torture your victim by boiling their blood slowly from the inside, making them drop to their knees screaming. Nearby enemies/civilians are drawn to their screams.



[h3]Recall[/h3]
First Use: Mark your current location with a ward.
Second Use: Deconstruct yourself, and explosively reconstruct yourself at the marked location obliterating any enemies standing in that spot.



[h3]Blood Curse[/h3]
Curse a victim. The next time they take damage, their body swells horrifically and they explode, doing damage to all around them.



[h3]Blood Salvo[/h3]
Conjure a set of blood daggers that can be thrown at enemies.



[h3]Greed[/h3]
Clan Perk: A chance when feeding, that the last used ability receives twice as much blood, increasing the rate you can perform abilities.

[h2]Customizing your playstyle[/h2]
In Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, you can play your character in different ways. Tremere are a ranged, glass-cannon type, and the clan abilities are focused around supporting that playstyle. We want it to be straightforward playing a clan, and this is therefore not an ability optimization game where you have to go through a multitude of abilities and weigh them against each other.

For those who prefer a more advanced playstyle, you can customize your playstyle by visiting important Seattle vampires that are sworn to assist the Sheriff (you) , including offering their Blood to help unlock abilities from their clan. Abilities from other clans may cost more AP depending on how well they align with your clans Disciplines. The Tremere Disciplines are Auspex (the supernatural ability to become aware of more than meets the eye), Dominate (the power to mesmerize and control the actions of others) and Blood Sorcery (the ability to control blood with your arcane knowledge). If another clan has a Dominate ability not part of the innate Tremere kit, it would cost less AP to unlock than an ability for a Discipline Tremere don’t have, such as becoming faster which is a part of the Celerity Discipline. Clan Perks stack, and unlocking several elevates your power much closer to elder level.

In contrast to the activated abilities and Clan Perk which can be learned from the other clans, your clan passive can not. This means that you can combine features from other clans in hundreds of different ways, but your Tremere playthrough will remain unique from playing as another clan who branches into Tremere abilities.

Ability tree for Tremere with all clan abilities and the clan perk are unlocked. An ability from the Banu Haqim branch has been equipped, replacing Recall.

Allow us to introduce another Vampire clan in Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. world of So definitely different from Brujah!

We hope you enjoy this collection of testimonies from a few of our departments and how they have approached crafting the formidable, legendary Tremere.

[h3]Designing modern Tremere for Tabletop[/h3]
“While the vampire-as-sorcerer is rare outside of Hammer Horror films, the hubristic magician is an archetype strong enough to sit comfortably alongside the scheming undead of Vampire: The Masquerade. But for the game’s fifth edition we wanted to look beyond their signature powers, exploring the driving characteristics beneath.

Given that their concept implies — even necessitates — the practice of mystical arts, the Tremere are almost synonymous with Blood Sorcery. However, this is only one aspect of the Warlocks. Digging deeper we find that their defining trait, regardless of supernatural abilities, is raw, irreverent ambition. Their history is a tableau of temerity. Unwilling to settle for mortality, they clawed their way into undeath. Chafing at the limits of their condition, they turned a primordial curse into their instrument. And, once despised as pretenders, they now count themselves as pillars of the Camarilla.

Yet, for all the Tremere’s accomplishments, their triumphs are also their tragedies. Seeking eternal life, they found only an eternity of death. They are masters of the Blood, yet their own vitae is lacking, bereft of fundamental qualities. And even as they roam the halls of power, they are assailed by whispers: Blood-Thieves. Pretenders. Usurpers. A Tremere vampire walks an ill-fated path — challenged by their peers, haunted by suspicion, and doomed to risk every prize crumbling to ash in their hands.”

– Karim Muammar, Designer of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition and Brand Editor for the World of Darkness



[h3]Mrs Amelia Thorn [/h3]
“There is an order and protocol to things around here, my dear. One must conduct oneself with proper decorum if one doesn’t want to get fucked over.”

Amelia Thorn does not suffer fools, gladly or otherwise. You'll find her at the Wake the Dead all night coffee-bar, where she serves up bitter grounds and biting criticism in equal measure.

Mrs Thorn serves as the Tremere Magister for Seattle's Court. She credits her longevity, both as a mortal and as a Kindred, to loyalty and knowing one's place. Work your way into her good books, and you'll find a powerful ally who can provide insights into everything from Camarilla secrets to arcane thaumaturgical rituals. Spill coffee on her books, and she is perfectly capable of turning your innards into outards.

[h3]Writing the Tremere[/h3]
“We wanted Mrs Thorn's personality to reflect some of the history and archetypes of the Tremere clan; perfectionism, the influences of the Pyramid with its dedication to order and hierarchy, and of course, the grim experiments with blood rituals.

We were inspired by themes of Victorian occultism, which inform the character's backstory, and allow us to really revel in the stark contrast between propriety and order with black arts and violence. That's what makes Mrs Thorn so fun to write - she's a bloodthirsty anachronism, and what's more vampiric than that?”

– Cherish Goldstraw, Writer

[h3]Combat Discipline Design[/h3]
“Tremere's Gameplay was designed to befit a more careful, scheming, and perhaps for a sadistic kind of player. Their combat abilities are all centred around Blood sorcery, and allow them to manipulate with pain, kill quietly from afar, and set up a cascade of gory death at a time and place of their choosing!

Tremere are at their strongest when they are patient and have a plan. This makes the clan ideal for players who want to take things at a slower pace, avoid direct (or fair) conflict and make use of vampiric abilities on a regular basis.

Cautious players should find appeal in the ability to dissolve dead bodies with acidic touch, keeping enemies unaware, while their recall ability (which allows you to quickly transfer and reassemble yourself at a previously marked location) gives you a great way to escape when your schemes don’t work out as planned...

Sooner or later though, the Tremere lust for knowledge will push you beyond caution. What happens to somebody standing where I'm going to recall to? What tactical uses might boiling blood torture have? Exploring and developing on these “what-ifs” has been the best part of building the Tremere’s combat toolset for me.”

– Max Bottomley, Senior Game Designer

[h3]What does a Tremere sound like?[/h3]
"For the Tremere audio, I wanted to focus on the haunting sound of blood and gore as the players manipulate the enemy's vitae. When you boil an enemy's blood from the inside, causing them to explode, you will hear the chilling sounds of guts and gibs splattering all around you. The enemies’ pained screams will morph and distort, echoing hauntingly as they are consumed by the inferno within. For full immersion, subtle arcane whispers and the eerie pulsation of blood magic will be heard, intensifying the macabre spectacle, and hopefully sonically reflecting the Tremere's mastery over blood sorcery.”

– Marcus Bagshawe, Sound Designer

[h3]What does a Tremere look like?[/h3]
“In crafting the visual identity of the Tremere clan for Bloodlines 2, we delved deep into the essence of blood magic and its enigmatic allure. Our Tremere are envisioned as beings that combine agility and fervour, also reflecting their preference for engaging in combat from a distance. This approach not only informs their abilities but also ensures their physical portrayal appears formidable, predatory, and adaptable while oozing ancient mystique. All this works in tandem when casting spells with intricate hand movements or unleashing their power from afar.



The Tremere wield their abilities to not only inflict direct damage, but also to apply offensive and passive effects by manipulating the vitae around them. This focus on ranged combat and blood sorcery will be visually represented through their movement, the visual effects of their spells and their outfits.
The attire of the Tremere is a tapestry woven from the threads of various cultural influences, most notably the New Romantics, Baroque fashion, and Nu Goth. We tried to convey a sense of the ancient, and the energetic, modernised; mirroring the Tremere's rich history and the vibrant, living essence of their blood magic arts. The goal for our department was to encapsulate an aesthetic that speaks to the Tremere's arcane roots, with outfits that hint at an opulent, mysterious past, and a potent, otherworldly presence. We hope you like them!”

– Ben Matthews, Associate Art Director

Rebels, The Learned Clan, Rabble, Hellenes.

The Brujah are known for their impetuous tempers and defiant natures, and the clan contains some of the most violent vampires. Visionaries and brutes both, the Brujah have fallen from their stature as the Learned Clan to a motley lineage of radicals, troublemakers, and firebrands — all as much at odds with each other as with the systems they claim to oppose.



[h2]Playing a Brujah in Bloodlines 2[/h2]
If you’re a player who leaves the shadows to the cowards, knows the frontline is where the fun is, and rebels against the establishment, Brujah is your clan.

In Bloodlines 2, Clan Brujah will offer a brutal brawling playstyle with its abilities (in Vampire: The Masquerade, known as Disciplines), getting you into the fray and rewarding you for staying there. The Brujah control the dance of combat by making enemies drop their defenses, knock them around on the battlefield and increase their damage by feeding for powerful finishing strikes.

In social environments, the Brujah are often expected to have a short temper. In Bloodlines 2, certain characters you meet may treat you differently depending on your clan, and while clans have access to angry, violent or threatening dialogue options, throughout Bloodlines 2 you will find unique dialogue sequences for the Brujah. And if you play against the archetypes, characters in-the-know will react.

As a predator of the night, hunting for blood is always a challenge, but the Brujah can often rely on their ability to influence pedestrians’ rage to make them chase you into an empty alley and have a midnight snack.



[h2]Abilities[/h2]
When you choose your clan, you will start out with a passive ability unique to each clan. You are then able to unlock abilities from the Ability Tree, starting with your chosen clan. Each ability requires spending Ability Points to unlock, which are earned from completing missions, combat and exploration. At the peak of the Ability Tree, you can unlock the clan Perk, a reward to those dedicated enough to unlock all of the abilities for a clan, giving a permanent passive upgrade.

[h3]Brutality[/h3]
Clan Passive
After feeding, become flushed with vampiric strength, temporarily increasing the power of all your melee attacks.

[h3]Taunt[/h3]
Use your supernatural Presence to enrage an opponent or civilian prey, compelling them to attack you. While enraged, the target takes increased damage.



[h3]Charge[/h3]
Surge forward with preternatural speed and rage, grabbing an enemy you collide with to use as a battering ram to knock down others in your path.



[h3]Lightning Strikes[/h3]
Target multiple opponents and unleash an unstoppable hail of punches, with the final strike dealing increased damage.



[h3]Earthshock[/h3]
Slam the ground with explosive force, flinging surrounding enemies into the air.



[h3]Pulverise[/h3]
Clan Perk
Killing enemies without feeding still activates your Clan Passive.

[h2]Customizing your playstyle[/h2]
In Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, you can play your character in different ways. Brujah are a more brawler type, and the abilities are focused around supporting that. We wanted to make sure that this is not an ability optimization game where you need to go through a multitude of abilities and weigh them against each other. Playing a clan should be straight forward if you want it to be.

While this is true, you can also dive deeper into the customization of your playstyle. This is done by visiting important Seattle vampires that are sworn to assist the Sheriff (you) including offering their Blood to help unlock abilities from their clan. Abilities from other clans may cost more AP depending on how well they align with your clans Disciplines. The Brujah Disciplines are Celerity (speed enhancing abilities) Potence (strength enhancing abilities) and Presence (the supernatural ability to attract, awe, or terrify)) so if another clan has a speed enhancing ability it would cost less AP to unlock than an ability for a Discipline Brujah don’t have, such as becoming stealthier which is part of the Obfuscate Discipline. Unlocking additional Clan Perks will make them stack, so you can collect them all if you wish, elevating your power much closer to elder level.

Ability tree for Brujah. All clan abilities and the clan perk are unlocked. An ability from Banu Haqim has been equipped. Each clan has hundreds of different ability combinations.

While the activated abilities and Clan Perk can be learned from the other clans, your clan passive can not. This means that you can combine features from other clans in hundreds of different ways, but your Brujah playthrough will remain unique from playing as another clan who branches into Brujah abilities.

Silky, Brujah Primogen in Seattle

For those who are new to the Vampire the Masquerade universe, the Brujah are a Vampire Clan. They are all descendants of the same bloodline that gives them similar strengths and weaknesses. They have access to supernatural Strength, Speed and Charisma. Their curse is that they are easily riled to anger and often use this reputation to their advantage with intimidation and threats. All these traits make them deadly opponents on and off the battlefield.

When we looked to adapt these rebels and philosophers into a video game, we were inspired by real world culture and vampiric fantasies to help you get immersed in their playstyle.

Here are some perspectives on building different Brujah from across the studio and an introduction from Karim from World of Darkness on how Brujah was developed for Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition.

[h2]Designing modern Brujah for Tabletop[/h2]
“With the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, we wanted each clan to primarily embody a vampire archetype out of fiction and popular culture, rather than looking to their powers and fictional history alone for identity. Fortunately, for the Brujah this was easy.

The Brujah clan represent one of the oldest and most recognizable vampire archetypes: that of the eternal rebel. Brujah vampires identify fiercely with a personal cause, and cannot resist picking fights for the sake of this conviction. Explosive strength — of body as well as personality — thus becomes a defining asset of the clan. In previous editions of Vampire: The Masquerade the Brujah were often overshadowed by other clans in martial acumen, at least in practice, so we now made sure that their unique combination of Celerity and Potence would allow them to dominate most physical altercations.

However, in a game of personal horror, each archetype should be defined by their flaws just as much (if not more) than their powers. The tragedy of the Brujah is that beneath their surface idealism lies a deeper need — an addiction — for conflict. Mortals Embraced into the clan come from all walks of life and champion any number of causes, savory and less savory, united only in their belligerence. While many Brujah would claim to fight for the downtrodden, the perception of “downtrodden” is as varied as there are Brujah. And if a Brujah vampire would ever see their cause triumphant, they often find themselves championing the other side, the cold fire in their dead hearts goading them back into the fray — forever caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of destruction.”

– Karim Muammar, Brand Editor for World of Darkness

[h2]Simeon Ladock - “Silky”[/h2]
"Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven, right? Name's Silky. This is my place, these are my people."

“Phyre won’t be the only Brujah in town. You can butt heads with several other characters that share this clan. Silky is one that we’d like to share today and you’ll learn more about him in the next post too.

He may look like he thinks with his fists, but assumption makes fools of us all. Silky is eloquent, persuasive, and a man of letters, quoting Milton, Shakespeare, and the Sex Pistols with equal reverence.

Silky is solid, the one you want on your side, clear-sighted and unimpressed by the posturing and drama of the establishment. He was the only one the Camarilla could name as Primogen for the Brujah because he's the only voice the rabble will listen to.

You'll find him holding court in The Dutchman, his beloved bar. Stay on his good side and you won’t see trouble there.” - Cherish Goldstraw, Writer



[h2]Writing the Brujah[/h2]
“It was important to us when designing our Brujah characters to show the variety of the clan - it’s not all about brutality, and clan members have very different ways to challenge the status quo and champion their causes, yet must still co-exist within Seattle’s Kindred society. Silky came in from one of our writers at the design stage feeling fully-formed and someone we wanted to spend time with. We knew who he was very quickly, and that makes writing him a joy.” - Ian Thomas, Narrative Director

[h2]Combat Discipline Design[/h2]
“Designing the Brujah's in-game powers, we first had to consider the kind of player that best fits the Brujah archetype. Bloodlines 2 pits the player against overwhelming odds, and while Phyre is exceptionally powerful, these situations are often best approached quietly and carefully to begin with. Most clans have tools at their disposal to sustain and exploit stealth, picking apart large groups of opponents and remaining unseen until the time is just right... But for some players, the time is right now and the tool is blunt force.

These players rebel against the planning and tension of stalking, instead preferring to trust their skills and instincts in the chaotic flow and dance of combat. With that in mind, the Brujah clan gives them the tools they need to get in people's faces and come out on top!
All the Brujah powers are offensive in some capacity. There's no easy way out, no help in staying alive, it's kill or be killed, so you'll need to be aggressive to survive. While that may sound simple, it won't be enough on its own. Each ability is designed to have utility beyond simple damage, so as you get to grips with combat, you'll find yourself using these more as tools to keep the flow of conflict under your control, which is where Brujah's real strength lies.

Your abilities allow you to crash through groups of opponents and drag enemies into a more isolated spot for a fairer fight or a safer feed. You’ve already seen a video of how to quickly deal overwhelming damage to a single target, but an even better tactical use is for bringing multiple opponents to the brink of death for a lethal follow up.

Brujah will also make use of Presence to taunt and enrage opponents, this makes them predictably aggressive, and is great for motivating a heavily armed mortal to try and club you to death with their firearm instead of shooting you! There's also a big explosive use of Potence, which can be used as both a crowd control and combo tool.

With all of the player's powers (and Brujah in particular), we've aimed to give them all a punchy, rhythmic feeling that makes them weave right in with your regular attacks and punctuates the chaos. My favourite's got to be the Presence-based power- Slagging opponents off to weaponise their emotions really puts you in the mindset of a belligerent Brujah troublemaker.” - Max Bottomley, Senior Gameplay Designer

[h2]What does a Brujah look like?[/h2]
“When it came to designing the look of the Brujah we really wanted to capture their chaotic and rebellious nature. This direction naturally led us to drawing inspiration from many real-world archetypes and movements that equally encapsulate that same vibe; punks, bikers, metalheads for example. All counter-cultural movements that stem from an anti-establishment and anarchic look on life, movements that we felt really captured the same feeling of being a Brujah. The punk and biker culture we wanted to incorporate has that same feeling of rebellion and conviction that is so prevalent within these movements. It was important to capture the unconventional and distressed clothing that punks tend to wear like the military surplus wardrobe, all the things that really show a disdain for conformity. These things we felt go hand-in-hand with what the Brujah represent, a rebellious and fiercely individual spirit.

We wanted the areas the Brujah inhabit to reflect their anarchic nature too. The Brujah will likely be found in dive bars, shady sections of Seattle away from the other more authoritative clans who also reside in the city. From this, we wanted their world to be messy, chaotic, with furniture tipped over from a recent brawl and graffiti covering the walls. We wanted the Brujah and their environment to reflect other rebellious pieces of imagery from real-life. Scrawled symbols of anger and defiance. Bright, non-conforming colours. A general sense that, at any point, something unpredictable could happen.” - Jordan Grimmer, Senior Concept Artist



[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]
Over the next few months, you’ll learn more about the playable clans through our upcoming Clan Highlights. Following a dev diary much like this one, where the team at TCR lets you in on their approach to create the clan in question, a Clan Highlight will showcase specific abilities and how the clan choice impacts roleplaying in the game.

Every fourth week, you’ll be able to follow TCR in a new dev diary regarding a specific clan. Following each diary, a Clan Highlight with material related to the clan presented in the previous dev diary will be released, with the Brujah Highlight coming in two weeks.

Hello again,

This is my 3rd dev diary, and I have used the last two to talk about the 1st and 2nd pillars of the game: Feel Like a Vampire, which covered the player fantasy; Visceral Immersive combat, which covers the action gameplay. Today I want to tell you about our 3rd and final game pillar: "Explore The World of Darkness," which covers the setting, society, characters, story, and RPG elements of the game. We'll be talking in-depth about RPG elements at a later date, so today I am going to focus mainly on the setting, society, and characters.



The World of Darkness is the larger umbrella for the Vampire The Masquerade IP and the related games. It handles the supernatural in a mature and grounded way, basing it on the premise that vampires, werewolves, and ghosts are actually real, but are hidden from our contemporary human society. Video games offer a unique perspective on this world that other mediums don't, being able to walk around it and explore it. Our goal with this pillar was to create a version of Seattle that is authentic to The World of Darkness IP and makes you believe that this hidden side of Seattle, where vampires are in control, could be real and that in contrast the human world feels more alien to you and potentially unreal. To that end, we didn't set about making an exact replica of Seattle, as our priority wasn't to represent the human world, but the vampire one. The Seattle you experience in Bloodlines 2 is a kind of "best-of" Seattle where we've taken key landmarks and brought them in closer together. For example, Pioneer Square is a key location, and it speaks to us of the old city and its founders (some of which were vampires that you will meet), but we also have volunteer park, which in reality is on the outskirts of the city but we loved the idea of doing a creepy mission there that reveals something sinister beneath this iconic conservatory.

We want you to feel like you are seeing Seattle through the eyes of a vampire, so we have also made buildings taller, lights brighter, and alleyways darker to give an overall heightened feeling to what you are seeing as if you are looking through the eyes of an apex predator. For a better explanation of this, I suggest you read Ben Matthews dev diary on our neo-noir art style.

In Bloodlines 1 you were a new vampire in a city with a large Anarch presence where the Camarilla don’t have complete dominance. For Bloodlines 2 we have flipped this on its head. You play Phyre, an Elder vampire (~400 years old) in a city where Camarilla has been dominant for decades, and any hint of Anarch sympathy is squashed. Phyre's number 1 loyalty is to herself, but she is wise enough to respect the power of the Camarilla and, more importantly, the Masquerade. Within the story Phyre earns a seat at the top-table of the Camarilla as the court's Sheriff, giving her the court's protection but also a powerful authority within Seattle's vampire society. This is an RPG, of course, so you can roleplay Sheriff in multiple ways, maybe you are a loyal Sheriff of the Camarilla, or an Anarch sympathiser working from within to undermine the court, or maybe you're a self-centred Elder vampire playing the different factions off each other to your advantage.



Phyre's motivation in the story is driven (at least initially) by regaining her power - she has awoken after 100 years in torpor (vampire hibernation) 6000 miles from home with markings all over her body which are limiting her powers. This sets up the narrative context of the ability tree (which we will show in due course) which instead of being about adding new powers to Phyre, like levelling up in the pen-and-paper RPG, you are unlocking her existing powers. Over her 300 years roaming the old world, Phyre had gained many powers, not only those from the disciplines of her clan.
An important part of the Masquerade is that vampires are hidden in plain sight in our society. There are several vampire hangouts in the city which, to a passerby appear innocent, but to those in the know, are important places in vampire society. For example, the little old lady who runs the all-night coffee shop may not be as sweet and defenceless as she seems at first glance. A key location the player often returns to, is Weaver Tower, a Seattle corporate HQ that is actually the front for the Camarilla, inspired by the downtown skyscrapers in Seattle and giving the city's Prince a skyline view over their domain.

Lastly, there can be no World of Darkness without light - the world of humans. The city is populated with "civilians," unaware that you are a vampire walking among them. Whilst this may seem great to a vampire - free-ranged food on every street - it also comes with risk, as using your vampiric powers or feeding in front of witnesses can trigger a Masquerade breach, and while you are Sheriff, even you are not above the law and could have the court's Scourge sent to deal with you if you are reckless on the streets of the emerald city. So make sure to hunt like a vampire: stalking from rooftops, hunting in alleyways, isolating your prey and if you are observed, deal with witnesses swiftly.

I hope you enjoyed hearing more about the setting and world of Bloodlines 2. We look forward to sharing more information with you in future dev diaries.

Good night!
Alex Skidmore, Project Creative Director