When Dungeons and Dragons announced a Vampire: The Masquerade crossover, many roleplayers were skeptical. One system is known for its nuanced narratives and social complexity, and the other is a combat-fuelled meat grinder. How can you map one system onto another that’s so fundamentally different? And why has Ghostfire Gaming turned VtM’s Kindred into a 5e class?
“There’s always going to be a little hesitancy about putting the chocolate in the peanut butter”, Ben Byrne, creative director at Ghostfire Gaming, tells me at Gen Con. “But most people who have played it have had really good reactions.” “It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but as we saw in the D&D keynote, the approach at the moment is a product for everyone, but not every product is for everyone.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bound By Blood certainly makes choices that players of its namesake system would balk at. There’s barely a Masquerade to maintain (but, since this takes inspiration from 1996’s Vampire: The Dark Ages, a medieval setting where belief in vampires is common, that’s not too shocking).
Lore, one of the main reasons Vampire remains so iconic, is sparse, too. Ghostfire’s supplement establishes the key vernacular for novices, but most of its limited page space is saved for a short adventure – and that controversial Kindred class. “We looked at doing it as a species or a feats tree”, Byrne says, “but we felt it needed to be a class, because that’s where the chunk of mechanics for 5e sits.”
A Kindred’s signature feature is its ability to feed on the blood of mortals. Feeding is an action on targets that are willing or limited by a specific condition. You roll your Feed Dice (a pool which increases as you level up), add your Constitution modifier, and deal that much necrotic damage to your target.
Feeding can restore another signature resource for the class: Blood Points. These are spent to regain HP, activate feat and subclass features, or stave off the effects of The Beast. This classic Vampire concept is reimagined for D&D as a bonus action that gives you advantage on D20 tests for a turn – but sends you into a bloodlusted frenzy if you fail a roll.
Other aspects of Kindred biology include taking five radiant damage if their turn starts in sunlight, vulnerability to fire and radiant damage, Charisma spellcasting (with concentration that isn’t broken by damage), and automatic successes on death saves. At higher levels, they make more effective unarmed strikes, have advantage against being charmed, and can Feed more efficiently. Other than this, the class is mostly defined by its subclasses and Kindred feats, which are taken at levels two, seven, 10, 13, and 17. “We wanted a feeling of variety so everybody could play a Kindred at the table”, Byrne tells me.
“The hardest thing was sitting down and deciding how to do the clans as part of the class”, he adds. “Something you can’t do is flip-flop – you can’t be a third-level Brujah and a second-level Ventrue. It doesn’t work that way.” “So we did it as a subclass, because you can’t change that path once you’ve decided it’s where you’re going.”
There are six Kindred subclasses: Brujah, Gangrel, Lasombra, Nosferatu, Toreador, and Ventrue. Vampire veterans will see traces of their original DNA, although this is often mechanically realized through D&D spells. Gangrel and Nosferatu make regular use of Animal Friendship, while Brujah and Toreador rely more heavily on Charm Person.
The first thing I noticed about the subclasses is the amount of crossover. Despite Ghostfire’s apparent aim to make each subclass stand out in an all-Kindred party, there’s an awful lot of similar traits. Most subclasses have some way of inflicting Charmed or Frightened, as well as using darkness to their advantage, even if they achieve these results in slightly different ways.
Most Kindred also get a subclass feature that lets their unarmed strikes deal extra damage (though the type and amount varies). Shared spell effects are also common. Toreador can spend Blood Points to cast Sanctuary at level 15, while the Ventrue has a level-18 feature that functions almost exactly like Sanctuary.
And if you’re playing neither, you can use the Supreme Discipline Acquisition feat to (checks notes) spend 3 Blood Points to cast Sanctuary. Many signature subclass abilities can be acquired through this feat tree, which acts as a replacement for the original Storyteller system’s Disciplines.
This is quite the design faux pas in D&D, where distinct class identity matters a fair bit. Brian C. P. Steele, lead designer of the supplement, says this was an intentional move.
“Making those classes feel like the clans means the powers they have are going to be variable, like disciplines”, he tells me. “The whole point was that no clan was strictly about combat or spellcasting.” “Everybody had a bit of everything, because, in the old Storyteller system, you could choose where to put your dots.”
“It means you might look at a subclass on paper and say ‘he’s got two combat powers – one is mobility and one lets him read minds. That’s weird if you approach it with a min-max thought process.” “The subclasses don’t necessarily make sense on paper”, he adds, “but as soon as you start playing and taking some Kindred feats, it’s rock and roll.”
Kindred are bane to min-maxers in another way, too. Each subclass comes with a distinct setback, whether it be disadvantage on certain skill checks, feeding restrictions, or more expensive Blood Point features.
Steele says Kindred has “a bit more of a learning curve, because we try to put that narrative element into the class and subclass”. “Playing a vampire is about risk versus reward – and always fighting the inner monster – and the Kindred class reflects that.” “Almost all of your benefits have a drawback to them.” “You’re walking that razor’s edge, and a lot of D&D classes don’t have that.”
Those initial weaknesses are counterbalanced by high power levels later on. Extra spells, half damage, animal swarms, mental manipulation, you name it. Almost every ability you unlock, however, relies on you having Blood Points to spend, which you can only gain through feeding. This reliance on fresh blood is a great motivation for roleplay, but from an optimizer’s perspective, it puts a situational ceiling on your class’ power levels.
Despite this, Byrne still believes the Kindred can “go toe-to-toe with other classes”. Steele backs up the claim by sharing stories of a Kindred Halfling in his current, mixed-class game. At later levels, “he’s not starting to outshine the others, but he’s definitely competing with the rest of the group”, Steele says.
Ghostfire’s crossover class is a fascinating experiment in the space between two systems. I’m not sure the Kindred entirely succeeds as a new, playable class for the masses. I’d love to play an all-vampire game with the Kindred class, where I can revel in its complexities and drawbacks, but I’d hesitate to bring it to my regular D&D table.
However, I think Ghostfire achieved exactly what they set out to do – give D&D players a sip of Vampire the Masquerade’s vitae, framed in the context of a more familiar game.
“Vampire is 35 years old,” Steele, a longtime player, tells me. “This is an opportunity for D&D players to experience some of the stuff we’ve loved since the ’90s.” “People sometimes see Vampire, and they’re intimidated by 30+ years of lore and game”, he adds. “This is a great way for them to experience some of that, and if they dig it, move onto even more.”
Got your own thoughts on the crossover? Share your takes in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
