"Twists of Obscenity: Esoterica of The Baali" is a Must-Have Vampire Supplement!

I first came to Vampire right after the release of Vampire: The Requiem, and I remember enjoying the experience, but being told there was an older game that offered a lot more in terms of history, lore, and options. And while I gave Vampire: The Masquerade try after try, it never really caught hold of me. Every game I played felt indistinguishable from a Requiem game, except for the fact that the mechanics were a lot more slipshod, and less codified, which left me feeling confused and frustrated.

I was certain I was missing something, and every time I asked an old hand why they kept coming back to this game they kept telling me it was for the richness of the lore and the depth of the story... but those things never seemed to manifest in any game I was a part of. It was the same old machinations, the same old brooding, and the same old aversion to actually solving plots in favor of just waiting for whatever the current threat was to die of old age... or so it seemed to me.

Well, now that I finished my 100 Kinfolk project for Werewolf: The Apocalypse (which had 100 Stargazer Kinfolk and 101 Savage Kinfolk as encore supplements for those who missed them), I circled back around to Vampire to try to stretch my horizons a bit more. I also asked a friend and fellow designer Clinton Boomer (That Boomer Kid on Tumblr) who is a huge fan of Masquerade to help me find what's captivated so many other players over the years.

While he helped guide me to a lot of things that had completely slipped under my radar in my previous endeavors, one thing that really lit the spark was one of his latest projects... Twists of Obscenity: Esoterica of The Baali.

Got to say, I think I'm getting it now.

And if you don't have a copy, get one now!

Delving Into The Mythology Behind The Masquerade

One of the major differences between Requiem and Masquerade has always been that the former is very cagey with universe specifics, never really committing to an origin story of the kindred or saying who or what created them. The latter makes it very clear they are the spawn of Caine, and they fit into a very specific place, mythologically speaking. There's some wiggling here and there, a touch of ret-conning every now and again, but it is a lot more definite regarding what the kindred are, where they came from, and what they represent.

That seems like a very small thing, but it opens up a huge world of possibilities. This is particularly true when you start delving into some of the more feared names from mythology in and around the Middle East, including beings like Moloch, Nergal, and Lilith... which leads us back to the Baali.

And the raw awfulness behind them.

The Baali typically fall into that category of content in World/Chronicles of Darkness games that are reserved only for storyteller use. This is where game elements deemed too disruptive (either mechanically, or thematically) go, and if I'm honest, I can see why so many storytellers don't want to touch them. The sheer horror of the Baali, and what they represent, isn't going to appeal to every group... or even to most of them. Vampires with a lineage that goes back to the ancient times, when fallen angels walked the Earth, and when the things that slept in the Darkness from before creation were nearer to the waking world than might be imagined are heady ideas, and that can cast a big shadow over your game. The Baali incorporate true, cosmic horror in a way that I've rarely seen brought to the forefront in any edition of Vampire, making us ask what kinds of forces could make even the worst predations of the most monstrous of kindred look like nothing more than a show on the stage of a bloody circus.

And Twists of Obscenity brings this home in a big way.

While there's the usual stuff you expect from a supplement like this, with fun additional powers and tweaks on rituals and Disciplines, it's written in a way that gives you a glimpse behind the curtain of entrails and debasement. It gives a perspective on the Baali that can allow them to be real characters in the ongoing play of dark theater that takes place in the setting, rather than just being an excuse to throw in body horror and gallons of blood. It adds weight to them, and provides a way you can make them feel like more than just a cheap scare.

In short, it brings across the very real horror of the corner of the setting that the Baali, their allies, and their servants occupy. And it lets us see the doorway they keep closed, implying what might happen if it ever opened to release the things that pre-date not only the kindred, but the creation of the world as we know it.

And that is the sort of story you can get out of Masquerade that you simply cannot out of its successor... at least the last time I checked, anyway.

Lastly, before I go, I wanted to let everyone know that my latest supplement New World Nights: 100 Ghouls For The American Camarilla is also out! It won't be the last such piece, so if you enjoyed my kinfolk supplements, you should definitely give this one a look. And to stay on top of all my latest content and releases, make sure you sign up for my weekly newsletter!

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That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

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