V20 Dark Ages: The Trembling Ones

Vampire: The Masquerade

A lot of Vampire remains essentially unchanged from the modern nights to the Dark Ages. Most of the clans remain the same. Many of the Disciplines are basically similar. But with V20 Dark Ages, one of our biggest goals is to really give you a lot of value for your readership. We want to add little bits and flourishes to add personality and accent to the stuff you’re already familiar with having (probably) read V20.

For things like the clan spreads, this can be challenging. It’s not like we can say, “also, the Tremere are cyborgs”. We want to stick with established continuity as much as is reasonable. Clan concepts remain essentially the same. But, we can use bits of attitude within the setting to flavor the clan. I think one of the biggest hit or miss places for this is in clan nicknames. Clan nicknames can tell you a lot, in just one or two words. They can also speak volumes to the setting’s themes and moods.

We have some subtle theme and mood shifts from Vampire the Dark Ages, to Dark Ages: Vampire, to V20 Dark Ages. I think our Tremere nickname does a lot to evoke my vision for V20 Dark Ages. One of their nicknames is familiar, “The Usurpers”. That’s a classic, it has a lot of gravity. But the new nickname addition, “Tremori,” or “The Trembling Ones”, I think says a lot about the attitudes of the time. It also teases at an etymology for the clan’s name, which I’m a total nerd for. I think our writer, Geoffrey McVey, did a great job of presenting the clan in a familiar but fresh light.

On actual clan names, there’s only been one that’s changed, and it’s subtle. The Giovanni of V20 Dark Ages are The Giovani. Essentially, they’re called “The Young Ones” in Italian.

So here’s the Tremere. As normal, this is an untouched draft. So don’t sweat the specifics. If you share it, share the link, not the text, since it may get some minor changes.