In Multiplayer, players can create their own vampires from one of most of the Clans in the game.
The player creating a multiplayer game has the Storyteller tools available. A single player can create a game in multiplayer mode. As long as there is a network available to play on; these days with Won.net down, this is done on third-party networks.
Storyteller mode is only active in multiplayer, as opposed to Console commands, which are inactive until enabled, but thenceforth can operate in both single and multiplayer.
WON.net, sponsored by the makers of the game, has been offline for years, but the online community revived, and there are new games operating on Tunngle as of late 2016. The Storyteller option is available to the player that creates a new game on LAN or online; LAN can also be run as a single player game.
As of 2017 https://neuwon.com NeuWON supports the original Match making services for this game. With it you can use the original multiplayer features that were incorporated into the game, without any extra programs or VPN's.
Chronicle[]
It is highly recommended to get a nice London Hub or Prague map, throw Rats and Szlachta all over it, and a merchant or two, with the Storyteller, and then make a Save on it, to use to level up your characters a bit and give them some cash before throwing them into even, To Curse the Darkness. Definitely before Leaves of Three. Or you could make a Save with just, gear lying on the ground, or both. Whatever works. Games work best when they allow their players to operate on the Honor System. A challenge, a feat of endurance, a mindless slaughter; it's YOUR game.
Pay close attention to the NPCs. Neither of the single player scenarios hold your hand, as can be seen by looking at the Backstories: there is a huge wealth of information that can be INFERRED from the stories, but is never overtly stated. This is not only an understanding of the surrounding events, it can even be critical gameplay information: NPC speeches commonly hold facts relevant to the next objective which are never marked on the mission objectives.
To Curse the Darkness[]
Reclaim for a Nosferatu, the magical prize stolen from him by a Toreador
Medieval Setting, Nosferatu Tunnels and the Jewish Quarter of Prague
To Curse the Darkness text and screenshot playthrough by Gatz
- Playthrough with three players, German speakers, Storyteller adjusting difficulty with both equipment and challenges (adding Gargoyles)
There are many points in favor of beginning your character's journey here: it makes sense to begin in the Dark Ages and progress to the present day, the challenges are considerably less, and the story is accessible to only reasoning and perception, without much need for vampire lore. On the other hand, the story may be a bit much to take in while having to assimilate gameplay information at the same time.
Other than the ones using swords, Nosferatu all do 15 Aggravated damage; Ahzra does 5 Aggravated. And characters will be spending an awful lot of points on Auspex that they would really want to be putting elsewhere. The money supply is harsh even with this chronicle as a start. Most characters don't even have access to Auspex. This is, putting it mildly, not the first game to give as a reward for a challenge, something that you would have wanted to use to complete the challenge, and sadly, it probably won't be the last. Consider using the console to add the Monocle of Clarity: not being able to use a helm but being able to see what is killing you is probably a fair and just adjustment. On the other hand, there are many scrolls of Auspex to be found.
As with Leaves of Three, making a Save of the beginning of the game makes it possible to avoid getting too much experience and having to restart a new character before you were even attached to the last one. However, this is much less of a problem with To Curse the Darkness, with much less XP being thrown around.
Ragwick's love Rebecca hides around the corner at the T-junction on the route to Sorvena; if she does not give her speech about Ragwick's disappearance, he is too obvious to miss anyway
To Curse the Darkness Backstory[]
- Spoiler alert: Spoils just about the whole tale, a mystery revealed only by thinking about what other people say: few characters actually give exposition, so reading this is one, taking away the whole process of deduction and two, arguably necessary if you were unable to figure out what was actually going on. Since the clues are given separately, it may also be satisfying to hear the entire tale at once as the authors envisioned it.
Backstory by Ray Gresko and Daniel Greenberg, part of the "To Curse the Darkness" pdf by Nihilistic Software
- "Temesvar is an small village off the beaten track, nestled in the heavily forested mountains of Eastern Europe. The area has recently become home to a large cairn of Lupines, effectively trapping all Cainites within. Traditionally, it has been home to Thelonius, an old Nosferatu who has maintained a nest within the catacombs beneath the town. René Le Comte is the most recent visitor, a Toreador from France who has made an alliance with Thelonius, trading ‘art instruction’ to the former sculptor in return for the uncovering of various artifacts within the closed off remains ofthe ‘old church’, upon which the newer church has been built. Thelonius has allowed him a small haven within the antechamber of the old church in which to do his work."
- "Le Comte came looking for a certain painting depicting a grotesque and bloody scene, the creation of a famous Toreador painter, Louis Dacré. His works are rumored among the clan to contain secrets and Le Comte believes he’s uncovered the key within the shapes and order of brushstrokes within the seemingly innocuous (though disturbing) images. Since Dacré disappeared mysteriously, a half-finished painting torn to shreds within his haven, the rumor has blossomed and gained more credibility. The usage of his lens, the Monocle of Clarity, has given Le Comte the ability to decipher the paintings, which he believes hold the secrets of attaining Golconda. Each painting references the others, so acquirement of all of his works is necessary for revealing the true message (hence their name, the ‘Dacré Sequence’). Le Comte has traveled far across Europe to retrieve his works, and is delighted to have found ‘The Last Caress’ in the collapsed remnants of the old church."
- "When the Nosferatu delivered the painting to Le Comte, Melmoth was among them, and immediately noticed the Monocle, which Le Comte fingers lovingly. He stole into Le Comte’s chamber one evening and stole the lens, using it to uncover secrets within the town and those of his master, Thelonius. This included learning of the secret entrance to Thelonius’ ‘Chamber of Skulls’.He entered there to read from Thelonius’ journal, but was caught one evening by the clan leader and summarily expelled from the haven. Thelonius wondered incredulously at Melmoth’s ability to find the entrance, since none besides himself had such ability in Auspex, although Melmoth’s Obfuscation talents were remarkable."
- "Melmoth took up residence in the abandoned ‘Oubliette’ within the foundation of the old churchremains. He also took Ragwick, a local stableboy, as a ghoul and servant to his needs. The boy is horrified at the disfigurement he receives from the Nosferatu blood, and bemoans his fate and inability to now face his love, Rebecca. Melmoth harshly quells the boy and bonds service to him by hinting that he could also ghoul the young girl as well. Meanwhile, Le Comte discovers the missing Monocle and begins his search for the thief. He hasn’t told Thelonius of its power, but when his searches prove fruitless, he arranges to meet with Thelonius in an empty cottage on evening. Unbeknownst to them both, Melmoth has learned of the meeting by spying on the sequence of events, and plans to gain his revenge against Thelonius during the meeting. When the two are within the cottage, he applies pitch to the doors and lights the cottage afire. Inside, Le Comte mentions that he has had an item stolen, and cautiously mentions his suspicions of Nosferatu involvement. Theolonius denies the theft, but then mentions Melmoth as a possible suspect. At that moment, the flames enter the interior and burn Theolonius to ash. Le Comte barely escapes with his life. The death sets the Nosferatu clan into disarray, and without Thelonius’ guidance, feeding and embracing has increased without restraint, putting a heavy toll on the mortal residents of Temesvar."
- "Now with a name to go on, Le Comte learns of Melmoth’s haven-place and commissions Sorvena, a powerful local gypsy witch, to create a cursed gift for the Nosferatu (she is unaware of his vampiric nature, he tells her the package will be retribution for an man who has been overly amorous towards his wife). Sorvena gives Udolpho, a gravedigger that does odd jobs for her, the instructions that Le Comte has imparted, to deliver the package to the dilapidated church tower door. Ragwick discovers the package, giving it to his master. Melmoth sniffs it over, and sensing no danger, opens it. A blinding flash fills the Oubliette, and the curse blinds Melmoth almost entirely."
- "Luckily, the Monocle’s power still allows him decent sight, giving him an Auspex-enhanced view of the world that exceeds normal sight. Before his charred face has the chance to heal, Le Comte bursts into the Oubliette and snatches the Monocle back. Now nearly incapacitated, Melmoth sends Ragwick to attempt to steal back the monocle. Le Comte takes pity on the boy’s pitiable attempt to retrieve the monocle, and promising to ‘heal his Nosferatu wounds’ in return for serving him in his work. He sets the boy to aiding the Nosferatu that uncover other works of art beneath the church."
- "It is in this state that the players come to the village. Melmoth has hidden in pain, healing his charred face and bemoaning the loss of the ghoul. His burns heal, but his sight does not return, the gypsy’s curse was strong indeed. Eventually, the hunger exceeds the small population of rats within the Oubliette, and Melmoth ventures out to attempt to feed, disguising himself as a poor beggar. He sees the meeting with the coterie as an opportunity to regain the Monocle and destroy Le Comte, and seizes upon it. He uses the coterie’s pity and sense of justice to spur them into serving him, in addition to the false hints that he knows of a safe passage through the mountains, without interference by the lupines. He plans to regain the lens, kill Le Comte (if the coterie doesn’t do it), and ghoul (or embrace) Rebecca. He’ll effectively rule the town at this point, and his Nosferatu clanmates will need to bow to him or die.
Gallery[]
Leaves of Three[]
The player characters are framed for a murder. Escape, evade the bloodhunt, fight to clear your name, avenge the crime.
Tome of Dementation in the Malkavian Warehouse. Tome in the Sewers
New York, all areas except for the Cathedral of Flesh
Characters[]
Roughly in order of power:
- Vukodlak the Tzimisce Antediluvian (literally, before the Flood, as the Book of Nod declares such grandchilder of Caine were begotten in the [First_City First City of Enoch]) is only mentioned in the Backstory; despite his state of torpor, all the forces of the Sabbat are at his command
- Ventrue Justicar Lucinde
- Ventrue Prince Michaela
- Count Orsi, only mentioned in the Backstory, nonetheless conspires with both Vukodlak and the Sabbat triplets
- Dominic, Malkavian Seneschal to Michaela, and secretly Antitribu.
His clan is not stated in the Backstory, but Bill Campbell says, of the Warehouse and its Malkavian inmates: Dominic's "been training his childer there for months, and their (sic) all a bunch of crazies, lifted from the asylum". However, it was doubtless intended that the script was written for him as a Ventrue, since he shows no sign of madness, merely squeamishness neurotic enough for him to care more about the prospect of landing on the floor than being felled to it by HeavyG: "No! No! The floor is so dirty! Oof!" This could just as easily be an effete Ventrue trait, or a habit born from centuries of affectation. His irritation at the amount of blood spilled at the Hotel could as easily be because of the risk to their plans and effort to clean.
Also, Nihilistic painted themselves into a corner on this one, portraying Dev/Null as occasionally incomprehensible; being able to understand Dominic, let alone portray him as someone reliable enough to be Seneschal, would have diminished their image of Malkavians.
- Mirabilis, Tremere Regent of Barnard College Chantry
- Kazi, Teta and Zil, the very same Sabbat as in Redemption, and still Orsi's creatures. Where they stood silent as a brick wall in Redemption, and offered only invitations to parties, modern life seems to have made them more willing to strike a deal
- Mr Shreck, Nosferatu Primogen. The story shows him being ahead of Johnston in line for Prince
- Johnston, Regent Secundus to Mirabilis
- HeavyG, Brujah Primogen
- Toreador Primogen
- Michaela's Ghoul
- Luke, Michaela's Blood Doll
- Smashface, Mr Shreck's Childe
- Traci, HeavyG's faithful fledgling
Gameplay[]
Leaves of Three text and screenshot playthrough by Gatz
There are really no points in favor of beginning your character's journey here: it makes sense to begin in the Dark Ages and progress to the present day, for one thing. First and foremost: there is no place to buy anything before you face deadly challenges. There is no alternative to using the Storyteller to equip new characters. Other challenges are outrageously high for a multiplayer scenario: New York is the final chapter in the whole story. The Factory is quite far along in that chapter. Leaves of Three starts its dungeon crawl at the END of the dungeon, where Orsi stood! If you are a glutton for punishment, and well, the last gamers left standing do tend to be that, then resurrecting over and over when you move left instead of right, facing down Advanced War Ghouls with an automatic pistol, can be quite stimulating. But it is not to everyone's taste.
Enter, all too often, the Flame Sword. Modern creatures have zero resistance to Fire, and so this weapon of extravagantly magical origins and seemingly humble power actually is the toughest weapon in the game against them. Lure of Flames, sure. OP. It might be better to attempt to approximate the single player game's progression more closely. And careful of Saving if you DO have a flame sword or any other light source for that matter: it will leave traces in the saved area.
Huge amounts of XP are thrown around at every turn. If you take the Storyteller head to all the location triggers, and advance the story to the end, while leaving all the creatures intact, you can make a Save of that game state, so that you can avoid getting too much experience and have to restart a new character before even feeling like you know the last one. Obviously you will have to forego all of the story until the XP gained by it is better matched to your advanced character. Alternatively, a higher blood pool is all the power that is mandatory to acquire with experience: just don't spend all of the XP.
The story of Leaves of Three throws players in at the deep end of vampire society as well. Hence the Backstory is somewhat less of a spoiler and more of a briefing.
Leaves of Three Backstory[]
- Spoiler alert: Much less of a spoiler than TCtD. Most of the action in Leaves of Three is very straightforward, and the value of the enhancement this backstory gives to the setting is arguably well worth losing a few plot twists if you cannot wait to read it
Backstory, by Ray Gresko, part of the Nihilistic Software pdf on Leaves of Three:
- "The tumult in the small territory is beginning to cause severe problems in the Camarilla hierarchy. The Tremere (maintaining a chantry in Barnard College) are the main defenders of the region, and have experienced a devastating turnover rate as a result. The Regent that heads the chantry, Mirabilis, is contesting Michaela’s rule, on grounds that he is not only more qualified and deserving of the title, but because of Michaela’s lack of dynamic action to thwart the Sabbat. The other Primogen of the region have similar disputes, but mostly with the reasoning that ‘something’ should be done. They are also driven by the fact that Michaela has been given free reign by the Inner Circle to create childer at will (to protect the area), and don’t much like the idea of having their region filled with 8th gen Ventrue..."
- "Lucinde, the Ventrue Justicar, has called the Conclave in NYC to settle the dispute. She is irritated at the time she needs to take away from her hunt for the anathema of the Red List (and her never-ending search for once-domitor Setite, Kemintiri). But she has suspicions that the situation in NYC involves more than just a squabble over power. The Camarilla cannot afford to lose their precious section of NYC, and she has also heard rumors of betrayal involving the Sabbat. Her request for the Conclave has greatly disturbed the Prince, since she is well aware of Lucinde’s debts to the Tremere for acknowledging her Blood Bond to Kemintiri, and she believes that this will sway her decision in Mirabilis’s favor (even though she is Ventrue)."
- "The Prince has actually set up this whole affair with the coterie, and the plans to set them up for the murder, after guided hints from Dominic. The Seneschal willingly agrees with the plot, since, if the murder occurs and the characters are successfully set up, he will maintain power in the city (he wouldn’t remain as Seneschal if a new Kindred became Prince). He is also then one step closer to the throne. If the murder is botched, or the plan revealed, the Seneschal can claim ignorance and possibly take the place of the Prince if he is terminated. He can always expose the Prince through the confession of his security ghoul, Bill Campbell, who was involved in the plot."
- "In addition, the Prince doesn’t trust the Seneschal, and would rather be rid of him. She has learned through one of her blood-dolls (Luke) that the Seneschal has been meeting secretly with someone downtown, and likewise will be happy with either outcome."
- "The Seneschal has another scheme in operation, however. He is in league with the Sabbat that surround the tiny Camarilla foothold in NYC. Promised a fiefdom and high ranking as an antitribu, he seeks to eventually destroy the Prince and the Camarilla presence within the city. He plays the game well, and does not entirely trust his new Sabbat friends. He’ll hang on until it becomes obvious which plan will pay out the best before making a decision. The Sabbat has secretly funded his operation to amass a small squad of Kindred within a deserted warehouse in the docks area, which he hopes to use first in destroying the Triplets and the first staged Sabbat incursion."
- "Likewise, his Sabbat ‘handlers’ do not fully trust Dominic. The triplets, Kazi, Teta and Zil are representing the Sabbat’s interests in this matter, through their master, Count Orsi. Orsi seeks to prove his devotion to the Sabbat cause through this manipulation (he is Ventrue antitribu). The corruption-play taking place also pleases his secret master, Vukodlak. Orsi and Vukodlak do not play a part in this story, however, the main Sabbat characters are the Triplets."
Gallery[]
London Hub[]
One of the most widely distributed and most useful maps, it contains the entirety of London from the single player game. Entirely empty, which probably has more advantages than disadvantages in the end, although it is a little hard to see how there might be some drawback to simply deleting enemies as needed and then Saving. Once they were deleted, the ST would even be in a good position to add a different enemy.
London is the first place we see any of the modern NPCs. Few of them are repeated in Leaves of Three's New York, so they are also some of the few NPCs that get used as Multiplayer character models. Foremost among these is the Prostitute from the Setite Temple, whose counterpart in the chilly streets of West London gets a nice warm leather jacket.
Gallery[]
Links[]
Map[]
Custom maps:
The Tunngle link shows sites that at the time had and may still have maps and packs of multiple maps free to download
Skin[]
Tunngle[]
Tutorial: Using Tunngle to Play Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption Multiplayer - PlanetVampire
Walkthrough[]
- Part 29: To Curse the Darkness: Vampire: the Masquerade - Redemption by gatz
- Part 30: Leaves of Three: Vampire: the Masquerade - Redemption by gatz