WMG / Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Your character will somehow increase in power as the game goes on

We already know the new PC is a Thin-Blood, but I seriously doubt they will restrict us to the weakest type of vampire, let alone not allow us to pick a Clan. So my guess is that at various points in the game, you will get the opportunity to upgrade to an actual Clan, likely by committing Diablerie.

• Confirmed. It has been stated pretty explicitly that you only start as a thin-blood, and will get to make the conscious decision of which clan to join at a later time. The devs pretty explicitly stated that character creation happens in two stages, first for the initial embrace, and then another when you get to choose which clan to be, allowing for the potential to see your potential Nosferatu or Gangrel vampire before their clan curse changes their appearance.
  • Ironically, neither Nosferatu nor Gangrel are a playable clan at launch.

The player will be given the option to join the Sabbat

One of the complaints about the first game was the inability to join the Sabbat. The sequel will give players the chance to.

• Uhm, isn't this game based on 5th edition, where the Sabbat is pretty much out of order?

The player will be given the option to remain Caitiff

Rather than joining a clan, they'll drink the blood of a Caitiff, and remain clanless.

• Could allow you to specialize in Thin-Blood Alchemy.
  • Jossed; Word of God is that you will have to join a Clan at some point.

Smiling Jack will appear.

Because it's John DiMaggio and was one of the highlights of the first game.

Beckett will appear.

He has the worst habit of showing up when things get crazy, and with his interest in Gehenna and thin-bloods...

• One wonders if the character in the logo is Beckett himself.
  • Jossed. Guy on the cover is a Malkavian.

Pisha will return.

Of all the possible cameos from the original, this seems like one of the most obvious. She's always on the move pursuing her research into the occult, she's a fan-favorite, and she's a unique quest giver from a bizarre and horrifying clan who can connect with a vampire no matter their alignment or morality. I'd be more surprised if she wasn't doing her thing in Seattle.

Yukie will return

Likely as an elder, more experienced hunter. She might also mention her adventure in LA.

• Let's hope they grab someone who can actually pull off her accent, this time.

The man on the promotional logo is Vandal Cleaver

A more sophisticated Vandal Cleaver, presumably having upgraded from ghoul to vampire in the interim between 1 and 2, but as crazy as ever. The resemblance is there. And come on, the guy's carrying a cleaver.

• Jossed. His name is Mr.Damp and he's a Malkavian Serial Killer.

The Fledgling from the first game will make an appearance

Or at least will get a mention. Though the question of which ending is canon and the clan they're from is up for debate.

• At the very least, we know that the nigh-destruction of the LA Camarilla, which happens regardless of the ending you choose is going to reverberate into the "modern day", with the game's chronology having as long a gap as the two games themselves did.

Caine will lower the player's generation

It's widely speculated that Caine lower the Fledgeling's generation during the event of the last game, so perhaps the same thing can happen here. The protagonist will impress Caine so much that the father of all vampires decides to give them a little boost just to see what they can do.

Caine will have nothing to do with the game, nor will he appear

Partly because the Fledgling will be given a Camarilla-authorized diablerie to lower their generation, and partly because the whole Caine thing was already done in the first game.

The voice from the trailer belongs to an Antedilluvian

At the very least, the final line about waiting to see it for so long gives the vibes of an elder who's been out of the game for a while. If not full-on teasing for an ancient bloodsucker, it's entirely conceivable a major player that might be interested or even responsible for the plot of the game is an elder getting out of Torpor.

New Clans will be made available as DLC

Most likely the initial game will only grant access to Camarilla (and, if they're generous, Sabbat) Clans. The DLC content will be used to grant the option to play as various other Clans.

• Confirmed. However, they have stated that all post-launch Clans will be available as Free DLC.
• Jossed in that Brujah are not Camarilla.

Guesses for clans available at launch

I've heard somewhere that there will be five available clans at launch, with more being added later on. Since they seem to be focusing on giving each clan a unique style of play and content, here's my guesses for which will be included:

• Brujah or Gangrel: The Brujah and Gangrel are the two clans most focused on combat, so I see one of them being included for that type of playstyle. Gangrel might be slightly ahead since they have more interesting powers, but the player's thin-blooded status may work around this.
  • Brujah Confirmed.
  • Gangrel Jossed.
• Toreador or Ventrue: Similarly, the Ventrue and Toreador occupy a similar niche as the "social" clan, so one of these might be left out for later. This would be the go-to for a playthrough focused on manipulating and mind-controlling NPCs.
  • Toreador and Ventrue Confirmed.
• Tremere: The vampire wizards. Seems like a solid pick.
  • Confirmed.
• Nosferatu: Nosferatu have a unique playstyle that would require levels to be designed around them, since they cannot go out in the open without violating the Masquerade. So I can see them being included as the "stealth" splat.
  • Jossed. However, they are in the game as non-playable characters for now.
• Malkavian: One of the best parts of the original game was the Malkavian playthrough. It'd be a disservice not to include them at the start.
  • Confirmed.
• One of the clans that weren't playable in the first game, like Lasombra or Tzimisce.
  • Jossed.

There will be a Kindred Of The East DLC

It will be a separate adventure and your char in the main game will get a cameo.

Corvo is the PC's sire

The Thin-Bloods from the original game will appear to help the new PC

Since it's been confirmed that the Caramilla were driven out from Los Angeles (even if you played a PC in the first game that supported Strauss), there may be other story aspects from the first game that would be set in stone regardless of what individual players went with. One of this could be how PCs dealt with the Thin Bloods on the Santa Monica beach. E and Lily might still be hiding out in Oregon, but the new PC can run into the others.

The man on the cover is the Player Character's Sire

Jossed.

Alternatively, the man on the cover will be this game's version of Smilin' Jack

AKA a loner vampire who decides to take the player character under his wing to show them the ropes, while they hide from the authorities and try to figure out who Embraced them and why. And like Jack, he'll know a hell of a lot more than he lets on...

• Jossed. The developers have confirmed that the man who pours the PC a blood bag into a cup in the trailer will be this game's Smilin' Jack, and his name is Dale Telley.

The man on the cover is both your Sire and the Big Bad

He sires the Player Character to be a pawn in his plot to bring about Gehenna, the Kindred version of the apocalypse. In the existing lore, signs of Gehenna include an increase in Thin-Bloods, the Antideluvians (vampire ancestors) waking up to devour their children, and an 'ocean of blood' that rises up to destroy the world. The plot kicks off with a Mass Embrace that begets a large number of Thin-Bloods and what's the final shot of the announcement trailer? A wave of blood, tall enough to loom over and potentially sweep away the whole of Seattle. Now look at the promotional cover again: the man is sitting on a ledge that's just a little bit higher than the ferris wheel (the tallest structure in the trailer that nearly gets dwarfed by the tsunami of blood), and outstretching his hand towards you. Perhaps inviting you to sit with him and watch Gehenna destroy everything...

After Thin-Bloods, the clans will be revealed as Toreador, Ventrue, Brujah, Tremere, and Malkavian, in that order

On the VTMB 2 website, each yet to be revealed clan is alluded to with a screenshot to accompany their respective ‘coming soon’ marker. The first is a dapper sitting room, the second is a man staring out at the city from what looks to be a high-rise office building, the third is a smashed up bar drenched in blood, the fourth is a laboratory covered in occult symbols made from blood, and the fifth is the same empty hallway from the trailer where we saw a hallucination of a tidal wave of blood a la The Shining coming at the camera.

• Partially Jossed: At least in the order of release. It went Brujah, Tremere, Toreador, Ventrue and Malkavian.

The child of Grünfeld Bach will make an appearance as a hunter

Bach had a grandfather and father who were both hunters, it's a family tradition, and it is fifteen years later...

The player's sire will change depending on what clan you pick

Since the tabletop game doesn't really have any mechanics for changing your clan, maybe they'll have a Schrodinger situation regarding the identity of your sire. Depending on which clan you end up joining, they'll turn out to be a member of the same clan.

Either they're a discrete character whose clan changes depending on your choice, or they can turn out to be a different character in every clan playthrough.

• The developers have said you actively seek out a clan to join at a certain level.

The main story will revolve around the Tremere recovering their power.

It seems that the Pyramid has collapsed, which may explain why even the Camarilla ending has been overcome. The main plot could be that of the Tremeres recovering the Pyramid.

Bertram Tung will appear.

They used his voice actor (Dee Bradley Baker) for the Tremere trailer (albeit without the Nosferatu rasp). It seems unlikely they'll just hire him for a trailer.

• Hell, I'll raise the stakes and say Bertram will appear as one of the 'Council of Three' that rules over the Unseen faction.

The vampires in the clan shorts are the blood hunt targets

That is, the blood hunt targets who the thin-blood pc would have to eat to join their respective clan.

The obvious exception to this being the thin-blood.

So far, of the rest of the clan reveals in the Brujah, Tremere and Toreador - all have done things that could ‘’potentially’’ get one called on them.

Brujah: loud and not very masquerade discrete looking arson and murder.

Tremere: A very messy blood ritual

Toreador: ‘’Filming herself’’ eating a target in a high class setting.

So, as such they could perhaps turn out to be the in-game targets.

• The Malkavian introduction has the vamp just standing around being crazy and extending a hand, so possibly Jossed.

Alternatively, the vampires in the clan shorts are your potential clan sire.

Not-so-subtly hinted at with the Malkavian extending his hand in a "join me" gesture. The other murders are probably the sire showing the neonate they're not fucking around.

There will be character romances

This has already been kind of alluded to.

There will be an NPC of Clan Salubri

Florian referenced them recently in the Clan Toreador podcast and I'm taking a stab in the dark with this one.

• Maybe as an antagonist? a Salubri Big Bad sounds nice, for some reason.

Malkavians will be DLC.

Just a guess here, since Malkavians in the first game were most entertaining for people who already completed the game. Could be Malkavians will be a New Game Plus sort of thing.

• Jossed, as they are one of the base clans.

Season of the Wolf will be Gangrel DLC.

Judging by the title, it'll introduce the Gangrel and will feature Fur Against Fang with the Seattle Garou (werewolves).

The Malkavian depicted in the clan intro trailer is Vandal Cleaver.

And your potential sire.

• Jossed. It's a new character affiliated with The Baron.

The characters shown in the Clan reveal trailers will be diableried by the PC in order to become a true vampire

The PC will become a true vampire at some point, so they will have to diablerie someone. There isn't really any reason why the vampire characters shown in the trailer couldn't be the targets. They are already introduced in the trailers, so the game doesn't have to put too much focus on them. The protagonist will be offered to go after one of these characters, who have offended the Camarilla or whatever the player's faction in Seattle is in some way, and allowed to diablerie them.

• You will get to choose your clan through via legally diablarizing your sire, who will have a Blood Hunt on their head for the mass embrace. Credit to Outstar for this theory. As mentioned in other WMGs, the devs have confirmed you will choose your clan a few hours into the game, but start off as a thinblood. However, there is only one way for a thin blood to become a full-fledged vampire: diablerie. Apparently, the only way the Camarilla allows diablerie is if it is performed on someone with a blood hunt on their head. Your sire and all of the other perpetrators of the mass embrace are very likely to have one, as the embrace was seen as a terrorist attack.

Your character will be called the Diablerist.

The PC from the first game was known as the Fledgling. In this game, you'll get an opportunity to legally diablerize someone in order to join their clan, and your moniker will be the Diablerist.

The white-haired man in the Extended Trailer in front of a statue is the father of Therese and Jeannette.

In the new V5 book, their father is still alive, and writing them letters. In the bonus content, the Voerman family portrait shows someone exactly resembling him with the two girls.

Dale Telley is a Malkavian Thin-Blood

Since he's a Thin-Blood, he doesn't manifest insanity so much as a detached quiet lunacy and Genre Savvy. He keeps himself in your and his Haven because he's too frightened to step outside thanks to his being Properly Paranoid.

There is a secret ending where the player can revert back to human mid-way through

It's possible per V5 for thinbloods to become human again if they do something that escapes this troper's memory to their sire. As a nod to this, the devs can add a secret Non-Standard Game Over ending where the protagonist becomes human again, only to be killed 5 seconds later because they are now a liability to the masquerade.

• Or, they become a Hunter, which could lead to a cinematic with one hell of a Badass Creed ending.

One NPC, Lou, is based on two Public Domain Characters, Mother Damnable and Lou Graham

According to Outstar, she was Mother Damnable, and turned up again as Lou Graham, both famous madames from the turn of the century. According to Urban Legend regarding Mother Damnable's death, "when her coffin was dug up, it was unreasonably heavy, so the workers opened it. The legend states that her body had turned to stone." Sounds like Mother Damnable was dug up, and she left a statue in her place. Also, Mother Damnable died in 1872, while Lou Graham arrived in Seattle in 1888. Mother Damnable's year of death is often mistakenly 1887 (thanks to the grave being moved three years earlier.) What if it's not a mistake, and the truth being hidden?

• Lou is confirmed as the Pioneer leader. Whether she's Lou Graham or Mother Damnable too is to be seen (her last name in the game is "Grand", but that could just be an adopted last name, and it's awful close to "Graham".)
• Graham's brothel was burned down during The Great Seattle Fire. Maybe an assassination attempt?

The game's factions will be revealed as The Pioneers, The Camarilla, The Anarchs, The Tremere, and The Sabbat

I won't even go for calling them in order of release this time lol

• Well, the devs already revealed them in their vodcast and E3 demo.
  • The Pioneers
  • The Camarilla
  • The Baron
  • The Newcomers, aka The Tremere
  • The Unseen, aka The Nosferatu

Who is The Baron?

The new faction isn't named The Anarchs, and looking to replace Cross:

• The Baron leads a splinter Anarch faction that is into money and power, but as The Mafia.
  • Alternatively, the Baron is a corrupt Anarch Baron, and you will potentially be able to dethrone them from their position. A common complaint about the original game was how it was weighted in favor of the Anarchs and took greater lengths to portray them as good guys, while the Camarilla was decidedly more morally grey. Moreover, the main plot was basically one giant show of a) how the Camarilla system can fail with a power-hungry and incompetent Prince at its helm b) the Anarchs outsmarting the Camarilla in their own game. Perhaps The Baron is going to be a demonstration of how the Anarch system can fail or become corrupted, and much like you could by dethroning LaCroix and replacing him with the much more qualified and competent Strauss, you'll be able to throw your support behind a less corrupt person to take the position of Baron. The Baron may potentially be some sort of meta counterpart to the original game.
• The Baron leads a splinter Camarilla faction that has delved into organized crime.
• The Baron leads a Sabbat organization.
• The Baron leads a Caitiff organization.

The Baron is secretly female.

• The background figure wearing a hat in The Baron page looks vaguely female.
• Alternatively, The Baron him/herself doesn't exist and is just a figurehead since only his/her lieutenants have claimed to have met him/her.

The reason the factions will be more open to recruiting you is because of the manpower shortage each of them is facing following the destruction of the vampire courtroom at the start of the game

Perhaps getting all those vampires in the same room together so the trap could be sprung was even part of the reason for the Mass Embrace to begin with. The factions all get thrown into chaos and everyone starts blaming each other.

Either Carson the bounty hunter or Flynn the sleazy porno guy will make an appearance.

Because damn it, why not?

In regards to the "Thin-Blood disciplines"...

It's this troper's understanding that a new discipline is kind of a big deal, they're a fairly well-understood part of the vampire experience by Kindred society, yet we have Thin-Bloods of all things presenting not one, but three entirely new abilities? I have a couple of theories about how this could be.

1. Simple Achievements in Ignorance- nobody told the Thin-Bloods they couldn't turn into mist or move things with their mind, until they had already figured out how to do it...

Or more interestingly, in my opinion:

2. The perpetrator of the Mass Embrace, your sire or grandsire, was a Thin-Blood who got lucky and was able to make a snack of an Antediluvian. We've seen in canon before, new clans spawning this way, most famously, the Tremere made their clan out of the Salubri Antediluvian, it wouldn't be out of the question for it to happen again, and a newly empowered vampire could very well want to mass embrace to establish their clan as a presence... but this time, the new clan's flaw would be how weak it is. They all look like Thin-Bloods, smell like Thin-Bloods, and as far as everyone, they included are aware, they are Thin-Bloods, down to being able to be "reembraced" by another clan, completely ruining whatever plans the would be clan founder would have had, and only a handful of new disciplines being there to show for it.

3. Based on Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition - the Thin-Bloods have learned to use Thin-Blood Alchemy, and thus have been able to "design" new disciplines even the Tremere couldn't master - the downside being, due to not being "full" Vampires, they take more damage and have a weaker healing ability, and possibly an upper cap to the generic disciplines without chugging a TBA "potion" first.

Mercurio will show back up as a vampire.

He's been Embraced since the first game.

The playable character at the end of the game will be much weaker than the playable character in the first game.

Even taking into account that the character will turn into a "real" vampire, the playable character will probably only be of the 13th generation. Compared to the PC from the first game who was of the 8th generation, so it will not get to the point that they have to fight an army hunting-vampires or raiding a Sabbat base on their own.

A PC Malkavian's dialogue will be more "subtle" than Bloodlines 1... with one exception.

Considering the backlash from VTM Tabletop players of "fishmalk" players using Malkavians as an excuse to be The Loonie rather than seriously engage with the setting, and the Malkavian trailer emphasizing a more serious, less comedic take of being a Mad Oracle, it's likely that most Malkavian dialogue would be (relatively) dialed-down from the full-on Deadpool-level Cloud Cuckoolander dialogue that Only (Barely) Makes Sense In Context as in Bloodlines 1. However, there will be one exception - if the game provides Histories, a Malkavian taking the "Completely Batshit" History will make things jump up to Wild Wasteland-levels of crazy, violently angry arguments with non-sentient Stop Signs and all.

To summarize, there would be at least two, and possibly three, levels of Malkavian PC dialogue:

• "Batshit" Malkavian Dialouge - Bloodlines 1-level over-the-top, with most non-player characters assuming the PC is high off their rocker, the PC's television constantly emphasizing how YOU were responsible for each scene they're reporting on, straight-up Breaking the Fourth Wall, etc., etc.
• "Subtle" Malkavian Dialogue - May potentially be chosen by taking the "Subtly Insane" History, the dialogue is basically the same as most other Bloodlines 2 PCs... barring the "Subtle" Malk PC occasionally having a surprisingly creepy or Surprise Silly slip-up that makes whatever NPC they're talking to have a verbal Double Take with what the Malk PC just said.
• "Normal" Malkavian Dialogue - Taking most of the Purple Prose, but having a more somber, subdued tone as opposed to the over-the-top and nonsensical version of Bloodlines 1. In this case, most NPCs, rather than think the Malk is a high-as-balls junkie, is instead an Emo/Goth sadsack weirdo.

If Histories from Bloodlines 1 return, they'll have a narrative impact in addition to gameplay impacts.

The various Histories the Bloodlines 1 PC can have could cast them from any corner of society, from hobos and Gangbangers living off of the streets, to socialites and business lobbyists rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful, to police officers, SWAT operators, and black ops agents having been trained with weapons before becoming vampiric - however, basically the only thing that changes dialogue are Vampire Clan choices, i.e. Nosferatu being remarked on for their hideousness, Malkavians being remarked on for (seemingly) nonsense dialogue, Toreador and Ventrue being, respectively, Cultural and Financial snobs, etc.

If Bloodlines 2 brings back histories, choosing some may impact relationships with other NPCs, especially human NPCs - a Generalissimo or War Profiteer history may have special interactions with other NPCs who were/are in the military, while a Teamster/Union Boss may be familiar with worker union members, etc., etc. Even if a PC will have to shed nearly all of their former friends and family ties in order to uphold the titular Masquerade - Samantha was unfortunate proof of that in Bloodlines 1 - they may be able to exploit at least some of their pre-vampiric History in some instances.

The player character's identity was changed to address Gameplay and Story Segregation.

One common complaint about Bloodlines 1 was that the experience system didn't make sense, making a fledgling vampire as powerful as a 300-year-old elder in a matter of weeks in-game. The new version of the sequel has changed the PC from a fledgling thin-blood to a reawakening elder to explain how they can know as many Disciplines as are in the game, perhaps "remembering" them.