To be fair though, Lasombra did merge his mind with The Abyss itself... But It could be said that the Gangrel AnteDiluvian did the same with Gaia itself. Depends on the story you want to play lol
Good one. If anyone can be "table," only the Malkavians know how. :) I'm not so sure about the universality of this claim, though. The Nosferatu have never seemed to have much in the way of delusions of grandeur. Sure, they'll proclaim to the rafters about how much the Camarilla treats them like dirt yet invariably relies on them to do their dirty work (and if they say "Without us, the Camarilla would fall apart," it's probably because that's an unmitigated fact). But between their horrid appearances (and all the social ostracism which comes with that), the rejection from their own Antediluvian and the Nictuku stalking them from the shadows and picking them off from time to time, the Nosferatu have never had any reason to think of themselves as being the greatest among the Kindred; on the contrary, their self-image tends to be pretty shabby. But Clans like the Ventrue, the Lasombra and the Tzimisce...oh, yes. _Do they ever_ think that they're the greatest.
I have to side with laaombra, only cause that was my first clan, and because anyone who can fight off a group of attackers by standing properly in one spot like a gentleman badass deserves it ^,^
Ron Raum Well, Lasombra do have that charm. Why bloody your own knuckles when you can fix your necktie, conjure up some shadow tentacles and have them do the dirty work for you? Of course, Ventrue do have a similar charm too. "We're here to kill you, vampire!" "Stop." "...okay." "Now shoot your friend." "Okay." *BLAM!* "Now come here." "Okay." *Sluuurp!* "Very good. So much for _that_ ruckus." >:-)
Oh my god as creepy as this sounds I could seriously listen to you read from a phonebook and be completely entranced. I am really digging your videos by the way. I have yet to play my first game but they have been a big help!
"What was he feeding on, what was it that was making him more murderous that were so alien?" At the bottom of the ocean? Calling it now, Lasombra was feeding on a sleeping Cthulhu.
The Lasombra antitribu for a game I made was extremely ambitious but had one vital skill. She could bite back her pride and do the grunt work. She was given an insult posting by the Cam to essentially be a grunt for thw Nosferatu for a century if she wanted to join. But she was never defeated. She came out being on very good terms and began climbing that ladder, doing jobs and fixing probpems because it won her favors and built her reputation. By the time the leader realized that she was a threat, she had too many friends to remove
THANK YOU...I have been anxiously awaiting this guide to the Lasombra. I have only recently found your channel, however, it has become my premiere source for VTM, and other macabre games which nurture such an important part of our inner selves
Awesome job! (with this and the entire series) You give excellent, detailed, yet concise summaries of the clans that really bring them to life beyond their basic stereotypes. Perfect for new players just getting into VtM or advanced players getting back in touch with their clan's roots. I especially enjoyed your attention to the aspect of horror and mystery that surrounds this clan (and their signature Discipline) rather than just focusing on "Oi! Superpower-shadow-control!!! So OP, koolz!" Well done, sir.
Is there a new game out or is he talking about a mod ? And what are those comics are they based on the game? I've only played the basic game Vampire the Masquerade bloodlines and this clan is not mentioned I think :).
It's funny that you should mention connections between Clan Lasombra and the Muslims/Moors back in the Middle Ages. I've never played a Lasombra myself, but I remember being a brief part of an eight-player troupe (including Rachel, the young lady who was usually our Storyteller) back around 2002. It was a Camarilla campaign, and the other four players were your usual Ventrues and Toreadors (I think it was two of each, though it may have been three of one and one of the other; it was hard to tell). And _then_ there were two other players and myself, the "Expendables" of the Coterie; I was the Assamite for hire, the other two of my trio were both Lasombra Antitribu and we all had come to work for the Camarilla for whatever reason; my Assamite's motivation was "Vitae is good payment, but I find cash to be an acceptable substitute, and the Camarilla has _plenty_ of that." So her interests were purely mercenary. (Our trio also had a bit of diversity to them; the corporate Lasombra guy was American, the Lasombra cat burglar woman was French and my Assamite was Iranian (and the designated Fighter of the trio, to borrow a D&D term). Despite all that, the three of us got along like peas and carrots, and as I'll divulge later, we also complemented each other quite nicely with our respective abilities. But I digress.) So one of our Ventrues got wind of a Sabbat cult headquartered in an abandoned church down in the slums, and the four of them got to work on asking questions, figuring out who their Bishop was...basically gathering a ton of information, requisitioning supplies and calling in allies before they moved against the Sabbat. Meanwhile, all that the three of us mercenary outsiders heard was "There's a Sabbat pack in such-and-such abandoned church," we waited until nightfall, we split off from the other four and we got right to it. Between the Lasombra Antis' Obtenebration and my Quietus, the three of us went completely undetected as we crept all around that church, picked the lock securing the double-door entrance and eavesdropped everything that we could. "Oh, their Bishop's _here?_ Well, we'd better make our move tonight!" So we did. Well, we were able to pick the lock because one of our Lasombras was a professional art thief and cat burglar (who, despite her Clan's weakness, had a fixation with collecting fancy mirrors). The other Lasombra was a corporate major domo with tons of connections and some really deep pockets; he had outfitted the other Lasombra and my Assamite with several goodies that we otherwise couldn't get our hands on ("Whoa, explosive slug rounds for my Remington 870P? Awesome!"), he drove a really nice Mercedes-Benz and he so generously allowed my Assamite to stash a mess of bomb-making materials in the trunk beforehand (after repeated assurances that nothing in the trunk would spontaneously blow us to Kingdom Come while he was driving the three of us around). My Assamite had been an Islamic terrorist before her Embrace (in a ceremony which she'd punctuated by burning her hajib), and of course, women have to work ten times harder than the men to prove their worth in Islamic cultures, so she had shown some initiative and picked up a few things about brewing bathtub explosives and building bombs while she and the rest of her terrorist cell were harassing the Israelis back in the 70's, and she had three points in the obscure Demolitions skill to back it up. So the three of us nicked a shopping cart from a nearby supermarket, and my Assamite got to work turning it into a rolling bomb with a mercury impact switch as the detonator. So with that done, we went back to the church, where the Bishop was still rallying the troops into a frenzy, initiating a few new shovelheads, draining some poor hobo dry...typical Sabbat shindig. So our corporate Lasombra sneaked up and stood about twenty feet from one of the double doors, and he fired up Arms of the Abyss. The art thief Lasombra sneaked up and stood twenty feet beside the _other_ door, and _she_ fired up Arms of the Abyss. And then my Assamite fired up both Quietus _and_ Celerity, she armed the detonator and she ran at the church's front doors, pushing the shopping cart bomb at Mach 1. The moment my Assamite was ten or twenty feet from the doors, the Lasombras and their tentacles each grabbed a door and ripped them wide open, revealing a _very_ surprised Sabbat pack gathered around a bloody altar. My Lasombra buddies then let go of the doors and started running as far away from the church as they could, and with Celerity still running, my Assamite ran right into the church, shoved the shopping cart bomb right at the altar and hightailed it right back out of there. I aced all my rolls, and the bomb hit the altar, detonated on impact and leveled the church; not one of the Sabbat Kindred survived (well, possibly except for their Tzimisce overlord of a Bishop -- _possibly_ -- but a Bishop's nothing without a pack following him anyway, so screw that guy). So in the end, the three of us second-stringers, with a little initiative and a bit of teamwork, managed to wipe out an _entire Sabbat pack_ while our high society friends were still asking around about that same Sabbat pack. And yes, the three of us each got a fat paycheck and a bonus for that. My Assamite's bonus was a pair of MP5's with full-auto actions and extended 40-round magazines. That was a great game. :)
***** ...and _you_ might want to include some specifics to your contention. You can start by mentioning where and how I alluded to _actual_ history (as opposed to the altered histories which comprise the timeline and backstory of your typical World of Darkness game). ...unless, of course, you _earnestly believe_ that *vampires* are what provoked the Romans into sacking Carthage, in which case, I can't help you.
I have been watching your videos for several years now, and always find myself coming back to watch them again and again to try and catch anything I may have missed before. Thank you very much for providing such thorough looks at the clans ( along with your other equally excellent videos, I enjoyed your video on the the red wizards of thay immensely!). I remember asking you several years ago if you thought it possible to record one of your sessions so that maybe through showing some of my friends I could get a vampire game going , at the time I believe you mentioned you didn't feel your group would be comfortable being recorded, but I see you have since then recorded such videos which I enjoyed very much watching ( it really looked like you guys were having a lot of fun). Anyhow I just wanted to say thanks once more for posting these videos, I still hold out hopes I can play a Lasombra at some point,and even if it never happens at least I enjoy the hell out of learning more about them.
I originally started to watch your videos on the Masquerade because a friend made a reference to the Lasombra. I'm now a complete addict and shall be attempting to get a game going soon. Thank you for that! Your videos are great stuff, fascinating and well delivered.
Thank you for helping me find the books I needed if I can’t join a game then I will just expand my knowledge so when that time comes I’ll be ready but I really do miss playing
I don't know why I keep watching your videos; it only reminds me of all the fun I'm missing out on. As far as I'm concerned, Vampire the Masquerade vampires are the ONLY true type of vampires. I'll admit, I did scoff at the fact that, when I heard you say it, the Sabbat's leader is a toreador.
I have just recently discovered your videos and wished to thank you for taking the time to go through the different clans in depth. Found you through your clan videos, subscribed for the videos you have made and what videos are to come.
Let the Keepers and Patricians of both the Sabbat and the Camarilla remain locked in conflict, the Regent and Inner-Circle self-assured in their illusions of singular primacy, while the Sects war in bitter never-ending conflict. Balance may drastically shift at time over the centuries, but through the eyes of the truly ancient the war is ultimately static, with necessary strings pulled or adjusted when necessary. The Sects exhaust themselves upon one another but gain little ground, like dancers swapping the same floor space nightly, grinding away to the music of the Tal'mahe'Ra, the True Hand unseen and therefore unfettered, weaving the web of the propaganda machine and the ideological directives which feed the ongoing conflict. As for Gratiano, did pride and ambition truly drive such a cunning young upstart to believe he could consume the Father of Shadow? With the help of his anarch brethren, he somehow defeated his sire, and bypassed the vengeance of his brother, the ancient Montano. Gratiano alone managed to then survive the diablerie of his sire. If one feasts upon oblivion, are they not still devoured by the abyss, simply from the inside-out? The mystery is that anyone survived. Is the Lasombra progenitor playing a long-game, temporarily removing himself from the board, choosing to become Gratiano's seeming 'victim', and really becoming Gratiano's shadow reflection, thereby a part of the burgeoning Anarch Revolt instead of its target? Perhaps Gratiano's ambition and very capacity for treachery provided a convenient opportunity, and the Lasombra antediluvian, one of the world's greatest master's of subterfuge was not as caught off guard by his newly embraced, young childe as we're lead to believe. Perhaps he even needed to mentally nudge Gratiano in the right direction. Gratiano's shadow may contain a sleeper, like a tiny seed disappearing into the soul of Gratiano, to slowly take root and eventually regrow, inside one of the most powerful and influential leaders of the new movement. Nestled inside Gratiano, he could have subtly hidden but continued to maneuver over centuries, helping the Anarch Movement evolve into the Sabbat, one of the most powerful Sects of the modern age. When will the Shadow Father finishing feeding what's left of Gratiano's true identity to the Void, and fully subsume him in mind and body, reawakening fully as great Erebus once again? And how surprised would Montano be if his greatest foe approached him one night, but spoke the words of his long lost, dead father.... [I'm joking, tongue-in-cheek, channeling a very paranoid ancient with some conspiracy based derangements. But that doesn't mean it's not all true!]
Great review of the greatest of the clans! I love the fact that the Lasombra are the refined monsters of the Sabbat; not a gang of diablerising rabble but evolved predators that are organised, intelligent and dress to impress. In the dark ages they made the power of the Ventrue look so artificial from their manipulations in the shadows. But I couldn't help but notice that there was no mention of Les Amies Noir, the inner circle of the clan.
I used to have a Lasombra that carried around a mirror on a pendant. Whenever I wanted, I could look in the mirror to see whatever was behind me. Except another Lasombra.
I love how insightful this video is, so I thought I would ask for your guidance. I am trying to run a LaSombra that uses Obtenebretion to "forge" or give the form of weapons to shadows (Swords, knifes, maces etc) and I was wondering if you (or anyone here) could point me towards the source material that could help me with this, or give me ideas as to how to go about it. Thank you for your time.
I had a player in a campaign I ran a long time back who played a Lasombra Antitribu, I remember when he got into a fight he would use his Obtenerbration to form small tendrils within a human/vampire targets body, as there is no light within the body, then expand the tendrils outward and essentially burst his opponents open with potence heavy black tentacles. Good times.
I completely lost it at 00:40 when after describing each clan's strengths, you mentioned the Toreador and how "they can make art out of anything" in a completely straight face. Like, "oh shit, he's got a paintbrush, run!"
They're not in the New World of Darkness, although a bloodline that resembles a cross between them and the Setites is in one of the books and is called the Khaibit. They even have Obtenebration.
Most RU-vid web casts are either boring or overtly nerdy with little content and depth. yours sir was most entertaining and educational. Many thanks. would really like to see the Gentleman's guide to the Garou? pleeeease.
must agree with clackclickbang. A Lasombra would make good use of Serpentis but the clan would not stop till they found a Settite that even rumored to have thier signature dicipline. The Setites would try to use the lesombra to thier benifit. So there is just two different ways to do things. One will kill the other and the other trying to figure out how to manipulate the former.
I had my first game of masquerade the other night. A friend of mine who's been rping a good...16 years? before the rest of "well since we forgot dresden files, why don't i do a one night masquerade game?"...lasombra are now my new favorite clan, sorry gangrel. Masquerade as well just allows you to have so much more fun than requiem to me.
good discussion on clan lasombra, one of my favorite clans. Though I do not believe that you discussed abyssal mysticism that much nor their weakness of having no reflection. But good video on the less :)
"So it is with the Lasombra. Strings run from their hands off into the blackness, and they believe that they are the ones who do all the pulling." Also, it was kind of creepy at 10:00 when dogs started barking in the background as though increasingly disturbed by what you were saying and seemed to stop about a minute later when you talk about hitting their enemies hard... spooky
@@TheGentlemanGamer were you involved in the design process for v5 lasombra, some of the decisions seem....odd and I'm curious of the mindset behind it.
You know what Dominate, Obten, and Potence have in common? They are the shortest three distances between the Lasombra's ego and the world around him. Dick Cheney would be a Lasombra.
Certainly, but I do think that as one of the original clans they are deserving of mention (especially seeing as you already covered Clan Cappadocian, another nearly extinct clan). Beyond that, perhaps the Baali could be interesting.
I live in the darkness.... When my love left me (that torreador bitch) I screamed both against life and its infinite possibility and the darkness. I tossed and turned. Entropy on one hand, eternity on the other. 40 years and 40 nights I screamed. Mr gentleman gamer... thanks :)
Assuming of course they knew he was a Settite, funny thing about those snake folk, they lie, and well, a subtle use of Obtenebration (assuming it was control over shadow and not just summoning some thing not totally part of the universe) is they can use it to keep settite curse at bay.
Haha, I've been insisting like a child and you responded me just like a parent. LOL. Actually, I was repeatedly requesting about that because I wasn't sure whether you see my comments. Now, I know you do and you will do a nagaraja clan. Anyways, thank you so much and please don't make us wait too long :)
i'd always wanted to try a lasombra. However in the new world of darkness, they don't seem to have a clan book. We fought a sabbat one early on, myself and a morbus, then i had the fun of trying to hunt another that kept leaping to and from the shadows. Thankfully a string of goodluck meant my gangrel just impaled him before he finished me off haha.
A clan of black-clad European gentlemen? With a keen interest in the crusades? They have control over finance? Famous for their use of words? And a fascination with the sea and what came from beneath it?! This sounds like someone we all know! Brady!
You gotta feel sorry for the human bastards that have caught the eye of a Lasombra. It will systematically ruin the human's life only to see if he will pull through it and attain some power again. Which will then be destroyed once more, with the cycle continuing until the Lasombra is satisfied. Sometimes comes back to bite the Sire in the ass though. My own Lasombra char Diablerized his Sire, and then left the Sabbat to (sort of) join his WoW raiding buddy he met at a Blizcon, a Tremere.
