Trickles of new details about the upcoming RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has started to be revealed. A dev stream by Paradox Interactive had on board to talk about the initial starting clan you play as: the Thinbloods.
In the World Of Darkness, Thinbloods are the lowest in the totem pole of the vampires as they don’t belong to any of the traditional vampire clans, and don’t have a clear bloodline. Despite that, there are still powerful than any normal human being and can still develop disciplines (skills).
https://youtu.be/xELjqNZjmaM
In Bloodlines 2, Thinbloods can choose one of three disciplines to start with.
The Chiropteran discipline embraces vampire’s affinity to bats. Its first active power is glide which can be used to reach areas otherwise unreachable, or take down enemies from above. Its second active power, Bat Swarm, will summon a swarm of bats.
The second discipline Thinbloods can use is Mentalism, which is basically telekinesis. Pull will let you grab objects from afar, be it normal objects or weapons from enemies. While Levitate allows you to suspend someone in midair, and thrown them around.
The last of three disciplines is Nebulation, which is mist-related. Mist Shroud is the power to turn yourself into mist. Not only this negates sound from footsteps, but it also allows you to move through tight spaces, or choke enemies. Its other power, Envelop, will let you create a cloud of mist that, once entered by an enemy, will blind and enters its lungs.
The choice to make Thinbloods the default starting clan has both story and gameplay reasons. With the gameplay reason is to have players, especially those unfamiliar with the universe, to have an understanding of how the world behaves and what the clans are before committing to one.
The developers are not talking about the story reasons yet, of course, though vague hints have been thrown. And fans of the pen-and-paper system the game is based on has already floated some theories on why, and how a Thinblood gets to join a Kindred clan.
While Bloodlines 2 still adhere to the Vampire: The Masquerade pen-and-paper systems, certain creative liberties are taken where all the vampire powers are much stronger. As explained on the stream- think of it as Rule Zero where anything the DM says, goes.
Expect to see more of these dev streams weekly as they reveal the first five playable clans (aside from Thinbloods) for Bloodlines 2.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will be out in Q1 2020 for the PS4, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Paradox Store) and Xbox One.