Correction: I make a point saying the Oblivion of the Hecata does not Stain Humanity like the Lasombra. This is false and something that I only recently noticed. Bad lore *slaps hand*. As you were!
One flavor of the Lasombra that I’ve always loved is the more aquatic, Lovecraftian flavor. Like the antediluvian spending eons underwater. The modern bane works perfectly for this. I made a character for a one shot that was a Lasombra that was pretty much a cryptid. High Potence and Oblivion, and I kinda leaned into that inhuman side more. Not to mention living at the bottom of the ocean is a vibe.
My main observation on lasombra is hunger for power vs venture desire to rule and brujah desire to shape. This hunger isn't specially for any one method, an abysmal mystic is just as valid as a shadowy manipulator. What matters is theirs a dark at the core of your being and all that sates it is power. Weither is can be resisted or sated is down to the player.
The mirror trope came from silver being pure and vampires being weak to it. I run Lasombra as being hurt by silver, much like werewolves, and only not showing up in silver mirrors.
In VtM it's more their connection to the Abyss that makes sure they have no reflection. It also interferes with Electronic recordings, which is extremely important to note in modern chronicles
I'm aware of the direction that the game has gone, and it's evolution over time. The abyss was something that rejects the world of light and substance is an interesting concept that has changed flavor over the editions. I would rather not have being unable to show up on camera never be a useful time and focus on the why.
I think the Lasombra bane was one of the most misunderstood things in the v5 reboot. After a discussion with my wife about whether a Lasombra could use a car with a Bluetooth key fob, I personally draw the line at "does the tech you're attempting to use need to know that you're human/alive?" and end it there, especially since Black Eagle Consulting is a favorite pack from revised edition.
On the other hand there is a solid chance of walking into automatic doors... Imo the new flaw is a meta response to players weaponising the old flaw but it wasn't actually that hard to address. In revised/v20 i houseruled the lasombra flaw caused a penalty to social roles ij places witn a mirror as the lasombra was either unsettled or tried to avoid being seen and a botch meant someone saw your lack of reflection. Digital media still records you so most security cameras and phones do.
It's not meant as a cudgel to make your players miserable. It's an interesting quirk (as are all banes) that offer unique rp'ing opportunities. If they want to invest a whole lot into Tech to make it be not as big of a deal, that's fine...it just means they have weaknesses elsewhere. Unless you are taking the same degree of zeal to all your players banes'. I would avoid the approach of making the game unenjoyable. But you do you.
Great clan, and great video! Love this series good job. As for the clanbane with electronics: in my game it gets used as a tool too, but I keep reminding that Lasombra player that its dangerous to use and may possibly breach the masquerade. I express this by having the npc's react to the bane very strongly. So far my player has been very careful with it; he is in control: a true Lasombra. No Second Inquisition or Blood Hunt on my players... Yet Edit: the Lasombra player is playing a stock market legend: Wolf of Wall Street meets American Psycho. Obsessed with getting boons from other vampires
I think that the bane, while it could be a dead giveaway for hunters when looking at a person who has no reflection but a clever use to turn a bane into a strength as a boon for stealth. Breaking into a place with security cameras could turn a bane to a boon as the cameras won’t pick them up
It does pick them up as a static and glitchy disturbance which can mean a number of things to an observer ranging from simply faulty equipment to the more extreme based on any other clues they leave behind at the crime scene. You're not going to be invisible to cameras and tech without flaw. You cause them to malfunction.
I like 5e, let me say that first. The problem with the Bane is however kinda a symptom of the 5e philosophy. The Bane is supposed to be a flaw, but the writers didn't put enough detail into it and it's description and like the how/why which makes it feel cheesy both ways. [For and against] Especially with how they included that a stylus doesn't work on touch screens, which then implies it's a proximity thing. They needed a bit more depth. Then it gets wierd with in world implications like do all lasombra use type writers, and have rube Goldberg machines set up in their houses.
@@MrDarthDread true, especially the Tremere bane. “You mean I can make a ghoul without any moral ramifications and I’m no longer bloodbound? Sweet! I mean, oh the humanity!”
How I imagined their bane was more like a frequency, in their hands phones sputter. electronics go haywire or bluescreen, audio distorts into mumbles and fizzing, popping or crackling. neither a still pond of water nor a fine glass mirror is able to reflect them in the slightest. but there is still a way to find work-arounds to the disruptive aspect of it like having tools (think using a screwdriver or pencil to press the buttons on your answering machine. a layered cap placed over a microphone. or using technology from an older era, making the character a little more then just nostalgic for the things they used to know and understand. ..and in the smartphone era, that'll be all the more difficult or interesting. ...they won't have social media. or even give a fig as to what it is.
I built my Chicago Lasombra to turn the clan bane into a coin flip. He's an insufferable frat boy who got into tech for the money, and he's REALLY good at it. As a result, his roll against bane is a seven die pool against a difficulty of 4. This turns out to be exactly a 50% chance to use his best skill, and I'm just begging for him to fuck up the roll at the worst time possible to amp up the drama lmao.
Tied with Tremere as my favorite clan~ Lovely tips. To answer your question at the end, how would I play this clan... Why, the same way I play all others. By pretending all of 5th edition is another Malkavian prank we're all collectively hallucinating, and oh, how we'll laugh about it when it's over! 💜
I wanna play a cosmic horror artist whos also an abyss mystic shaman worshiping the primordial void, my study bleeding into my art terrible but great art. Thoughts?
@@LoreByNightVtM it's not?! Aww man that'd be so cool if it was.dont have V5 yet. What do they call those lasombra that study oblivion then? They gotta have some form of shadowmancer or shadow mystics, with a power like oblivion they just gotta.
I mean preference is preference and all. I was put off from v5 also after all these lore changes I felt to be detrimental to my old way of interpreting vampire, but I came around eventually after hearing some very creative interpretations and stories from some people. Sometimes we forget that Vampire is still a story telling game shaped by our visions as players. Best to view story book lore as in world rumors then actual meta imposed facts. The lore changes can even make a great story hook to explore in a game.
I tend to think v20/revised does the lasombra better. Its something an elephant in the room that they're very much a sabbat clan in outlooks and culture even when theyre on humanity. This is particularly jarring with the presence of the brujah in the anarchs and the Tower alligned ventrue.
@LoreByNightVtM to be fair the lasombra always had a carmarilla presence and it was interesting exploring how the sect influenced their culture. If anything I thought v5 missed the actual mark with the lasombra by not creating an increased sect presence via stronger links with the ashirra or exploring issues with the neonates frustration with their elders.
Correction: I make a point saying the Oblivion of the Hecata does not Stain Humanity like the Lasombra. This is false and something that I only recently noticed. Bad lore *slaps hand*. As you were!
One flavor of the Lasombra that I’ve always loved is the more aquatic, Lovecraftian flavor. Like the antediluvian spending eons underwater. The modern bane works perfectly for this. I made a character for a one shot that was a Lasombra that was pretty much a cryptid. High Potence and Oblivion, and I kinda leaned into that inhuman side more. Not to mention living at the bottom of the ocean is a vibe.
My main observation on lasombra is hunger for power vs venture desire to rule and brujah desire to shape. This hunger isn't specially for any one method, an abysmal mystic is just as valid as a shadowy manipulator. What matters is theirs a dark at the core of your being and all that sates it is power. Weither is can be resisted or sated is down to the player.
The mirror trope came from silver being pure and vampires being weak to it. I run Lasombra as being hurt by silver, much like werewolves, and only not showing up in silver mirrors.
In VtM it's more their connection to the Abyss that makes sure they have no reflection. It also interferes with Electronic recordings, which is extremely important to note in modern chronicles
I'm aware of the direction that the game has gone, and it's evolution over time. The abyss was something that rejects the world of light and substance is an interesting concept that has changed flavor over the editions. I would rather not have being unable to show up on camera never be a useful time and focus on the why.
I think the Lasombra bane was one of the most misunderstood things in the v5 reboot. After a discussion with my wife about whether a Lasombra could use a car with a Bluetooth key fob, I personally draw the line at "does the tech you're attempting to use need to know that you're human/alive?" and end it there, especially since Black Eagle Consulting is a favorite pack from revised edition.
On the other hand there is a solid chance of walking into automatic doors...
Imo the new flaw is a meta response to players weaponising the old flaw but it wasn't actually that hard to address. In revised/v20 i houseruled the lasombra flaw caused a penalty to social roles ij places witn a mirror as the lasombra was either unsettled or tried to avoid being seen and a botch meant someone saw your lack of reflection. Digital media still records you so most security cameras and phones do.
My head canon is that any technology created/manufactured post-embrace will be worse at picking up the Lasombra, if that makes sense
It's not meant as a cudgel to make your players miserable. It's an interesting quirk (as are all banes) that offer unique rp'ing opportunities. If they want to invest a whole lot into Tech to make it be not as big of a deal, that's fine...it just means they have weaknesses elsewhere. Unless you are taking the same degree of zeal to all your players banes'. I would avoid the approach of making the game unenjoyable. But you do you.
@@icedetail it kinda is otherwise they would have kept the old flaw but it was percieved as 'unfair'.
Great clan, and great video! Love this series good job.
As for the clanbane with electronics: in my game it gets used as a tool too, but I keep reminding that Lasombra player that its dangerous to use and may possibly breach the masquerade. I express this by having the npc's react to the bane very strongly. So far my player has been very careful with it; he is in control: a true Lasombra. No Second Inquisition or Blood Hunt on my players... Yet
Edit: the Lasombra player is playing a stock market legend: Wolf of Wall Street meets American Psycho. Obsessed with getting boons from other vampires
I think that the bane, while it could be a dead giveaway for hunters when looking at a person who has no reflection but a clever use to turn a bane into a strength as a boon for stealth. Breaking into a place with security cameras could turn a bane to a boon as the cameras won’t pick them up
It does pick them up as a static and glitchy disturbance which can mean a number of things to an observer ranging from simply faulty equipment to the more extreme based on any other clues they leave behind at the crime scene.
You're not going to be invisible to cameras and tech without flaw. You cause them to malfunction.
@@Brim_the_Wizard still can be an advantage if played right
I like 5e, let me say that first.
The problem with the Bane is however kinda a symptom of the 5e philosophy. The Bane is supposed to be a flaw, but the writers didn't put enough detail into it and it's description and like the how/why which makes it feel cheesy both ways. [For and against]
Especially with how they included that a stylus doesn't work on touch screens, which then implies it's a proximity thing.
They needed a bit more depth. Then it gets wierd with in world implications like do all lasombra use type writers, and have rube Goldberg machines set up in their houses.
@@MrDarthDread true, especially the Tremere bane. “You mean I can make a ghoul without any moral ramifications and I’m no longer bloodbound? Sweet! I mean, oh the humanity!”
My favorite clan. Thank you for the information
How I imagined their bane was more like a frequency, in their hands phones sputter. electronics go haywire or bluescreen, audio distorts into mumbles and fizzing, popping or crackling. neither a still pond of water nor a fine glass mirror is able to reflect them in the slightest. but there is still a way to find work-arounds to the disruptive aspect of it like having tools (think using a screwdriver or pencil to press the buttons on your answering machine. a layered cap placed over a microphone. or using technology from an older era, making the character a little more then just nostalgic for the things they used to know and understand. ..and in the smartphone era, that'll be all the more difficult or interesting. ...they won't have social media. or even give a fig as to what it is.
I built my Chicago Lasombra to turn the clan bane into a coin flip. He's an insufferable frat boy who got into tech for the money, and he's REALLY good at it. As a result, his roll against bane is a seven die pool against a difficulty of 4. This turns out to be exactly a 50% chance to use his best skill, and I'm just begging for him to fuck up the roll at the worst time possible to amp up the drama lmao.
My 2nd favorite clan first the kiasyd then lasombra then the morbus from "cod" thank you for another great video
Tied with Tremere as my favorite clan~ Lovely tips. To answer your question at the end, how would I play this clan... Why, the same way I play all others. By pretending all of 5th edition is another Malkavian prank we're all collectively hallucinating, and oh, how we'll laugh about it when it's over! 💜
My 3rd favorite clan!!! Ty LBN!!! 🧛♂️
Another good one! Looking forwards to Tzimisce!:)
I wanna play a cosmic horror artist whos also an abyss mystic shaman worshiping the primordial void, my study bleeding into my art terrible but great art.
Thoughts?
Great idea, would not work for 5th edition, as Abyss Mysticism is not a thing in V5
@@LoreByNightVtM it's not?! Aww man that'd be so cool if it was.dont have V5 yet. What do they call those lasombra that study oblivion then? They gotta have some form of shadowmancer or shadow mystics, with a power like oblivion they just gotta.
@TheZenDruid_OftheMist They don't
@@LoreByNightVtM good to know. This is why people need the books. Can I use the concept just not call it an abyss mystic?
Did you mean "Persevere"? "Perceiver" is not a verb.
Obviously, yes
Yeap. This is why I stick to V20.
Exactly the same clan and history, including some membership in the Cam but alright then lmfao
I mean preference is preference and all. I was put off from v5 also after all these lore changes I felt to be detrimental to my old way of interpreting vampire, but I came around eventually after hearing some very creative interpretations and stories from some people. Sometimes we forget that Vampire is still a story telling game shaped by our visions as players. Best to view story book lore as in world rumors then actual meta imposed facts. The lore changes can even make a great story hook to explore in a game.
@@sollbruchstelleamknicklich9495 I mean, there's a reason we don't play D&D 5E but with vampire characters.
I tend to think v20/revised does the lasombra better. Its something an elephant in the room that they're very much a sabbat clan in outlooks and culture even when theyre on humanity. This is particularly jarring with the presence of the brujah in the anarchs and the Tower alligned ventrue.
@LoreByNightVtM to be fair the lasombra always had a carmarilla presence and it was interesting exploring how the sect influenced their culture. If anything I thought v5 missed the actual mark with the lasombra by not creating an increased sect presence via stronger links with the ashirra or exploring issues with the neonates frustration with their elders.