VtM - WhiteWolf: Genealogy

VtM - Review: The Time of Thin Blood
I do, however, love, Love, LOVE, the idea that the more vampiric blood that is shed, the closer we come
to Gehenna. Brings in scary implications for the Sabbat war parties, for the Camarilla pogroms against
the Thin Blood, and for the Assamite jihads. The more death, the more likely Gehenna will come.
Excellent.
Review by Derek Guder (29 Jun 1999)
Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
There were few White Wolf books that I have awaited with such trepidation mixed with expectation and
hope than Time of Thin Blood. Only Land of Eight Million Dreams and Wraith: the Great War matched
it, that I can recall. The first was horrendously disappointing and the second very nearly lived up to my
imagined expectations (an amazing feat indeed). Time of Thin Blood was, in a way, very disappointing
as well. Not due to poor material or writing, however, but entirely to a difference of opinion. Very little
in Time of Thin Blood is actually bad, and it is all presented amazingly well, but I just could not agree
with all of it. It was a difference of opinion that kept the book from being damned near perfect.
The opening story is nice enough, although I do not like it as much as most people seem to. It was good,
but since it focused on the dhampir (half-vampires), I did not find it particularly appealing. The allusion
to the story of Jesus (especially in the picture) is very amusing.
The first chapter is the details on the thin-blooded themselves, the vampires upon whom the Curse of
Caine falls, but not as strongly as you might think. It is this chapter that starts of with the priceless
dissertation by Doctor Netchurch on the thin-blooded and their traits and abilities. One of the best written
sections of the book, the essay was a pleasure to read, and I was glad that someone finally applied the
scientific method to vampires, and did it in a reasonable way. Netchurch is, despite his Malkavian
heritage, a scientist at heart. The chapter also delves into the rules for the 14th and 15th generation
vampires. It clarifies the definition of the flaw thin-blooded, directly pointing out that not all Caitiff are
thin-blooded, nor are all 14th generation vampires so either. All of the 15th generation are, however. As
recompense of a sort they endure sunlight as lethal damage instead of aggravated damage. Those of the
15th generation are also capable of siring or birthing children as well, they can get pregnant or
impregnate as the case may be. The children produced are called dhampir (oddly enough, the same name
as the Eastern half-vampires, of which not one mention is made). This was one of the first disagreements
I had with the book. Call me old fashioned, but I like my vampires dead. I can accept the dhampirs in
Kindred of the East (although not the name) by virtue of Yang Chi imbalance and similar considerations
of the genre. In the West, however, White Wolf has gone to great lengths to emphasize the dead nature of
the Kindred, and the half-in/half-out of the world of vampires is already fulfilled both by ghouls and
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