Vampire: The Dark Ages
Encyclopedia
Vampire: The Dark Ages is a role-playing game
originally published by White Wolf Game Studio
in 1996. Later, in 2002, the gameline was replaced by Dark Ages: Vampire. Additionally, with the release of Dark Ages: Vampire, several other game lines were added, Dark Ages: Werewolf, Dark Ages: Mage, Dark Ages: Inquisitor, and Dark Ages: Fae
, each contributing to the shared setting. Vampire: The Dark Ages is a spin-off from the Vampire: The Masquerade
game, also published by White Wolf, the latter set in modern times.
. The setting lives from both its differences to the historical facts and to the predecessor game Vampire: The Masquerade.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
originally published by White Wolf Game Studio
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
in 1996. Later, in 2002, the gameline was replaced by Dark Ages: Vampire. Additionally, with the release of Dark Ages: Vampire, several other game lines were added, Dark Ages: Werewolf, Dark Ages: Mage, Dark Ages: Inquisitor, and Dark Ages: Fae
Dark Ages: Fae
Dark Ages: Fae is part of a series of role-playing games, re-envisioning the popular White Wolf titles in the medieval past; it is the precursor to Changeling: The Dreaming...
, each contributing to the shared setting. Vampire: The Dark Ages is a spin-off from the Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade
Vampire: The Masquerade is a role-playing game. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, it was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness role-playing games, based on the Storyteller System and centered around vampires in a modern gothic-punk world....
game, also published by White Wolf, the latter set in modern times.
Setting
The original game was set in the year 1197, while the 2002 edition updated the setting to the year 1230. Both, however, are set in a dark medieval EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The setting lives from both its differences to the historical facts and to the predecessor game Vampire: The Masquerade.
- In Dark Ages, vampireVampire (World of Darkness)A vampires is a fictional creature in the role-playing games and books based on the World of Darkness setting by White Wolf Game Studio. The concept of a vampire in WoD takes many elements from the folklore surrounding traditional vampires in Western culture, and adds a number of specific features...
s rule the night openly and some are even revered and worshipped, though the powers of the InquisitionInquisitionThe Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
and other mortal foes restrain their freedom. - A large number of vampires, as the rest of the European population, are deeply religious. The Cainite HeresyCainite HeresyThe Cainite Heresy is a fictional heretical cult, practised by some vampires and their human subjects in the setting of Vampire: The Dark Ages, a role-playing game by White Wolf Game Studio....
tries to infiltrate the Church. - The major vampire sects, the Camarilla and the Sabbat, have not been formed yet. The vampire society in Europe is ruled by Princes and other fief holders, although their power rarely extend beyond their city or domain.
- The TremereTremereThe Tremere are a clan of vampires in the Classic World of Darkness setting.The Tremere backstory is heavily based on Ars Magica, and the original House Tremere appeared as a Hermetic house in that game system. As the World of Darkness progressively diverged from Ars Magica's medieval Europe,...
clan is in its infancy. Their clan leader has slain the founder of Salubri clan, Saulot, only few decades ago. The Tremere are at war with a number of other clans, notably with the powerful TzimisceTzimisceThe Tzimisce are a clan of vampires in White Wolf Game Studio's books and role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Dark Ages....
. - The Blood Curse has not yet been imposed on the AssamiteAssamiteThe Assamites are a clan of vampires, from White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade books and role-playing games.In the original version of this clan the Assamites are a group of skilled, select assassins who often commit contract killings in exchange for the blood of other vampires...
clan. - The CappadociansCappadocian (World of Darkness)The Cappadocians are a clan of vampires from White Wolf Game Studio's role-playing games Vampire: The Dark Ages and Vampire: The Masquerade....
are one of the major 13 clans. The GiovanniGiovanni (World of Darkness)The Giovanni are a clan of vampires, from White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade books and role-playing games. In the newest version of White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem role-playing game they are a bloodline of the Mekhet Clan called the San Giovanni .The usurpers of clan Cappadocian and...
are a bloodline of the Cappadocian clan.