Another day, another clan reveal by Paradox Interactive for the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. This time around, it’s the ultimate bloodsuckers in the form of the Ventrue, a bunch of royals and suits propping up and feeding off of the system. The Ventrue founded the Camarilla, the largest vampire sect, and they wouldn’t be mistaken for being humble.
Unusual for the clan, the Ventrue of Seattle were drawn to the dream of building their own power structure without oversight from elder generations. Now that the Camarilla has gained control, many Ventrue have realigned to join these new rulers, or have doubled down on their autonomy. Enterprising Ventrue have entrenched themselves in the business of the 21st century, paving the way for a prosperous future and making enemies of anyone who prefers the old ways.
Given their need to be rulers, Ventrue employ two disciplines: Dominate and Fortitude.
Dominate includes the Mesmerize ability, where the Ventrue place one NPC in a brief hypnotic trance. The person so affected is oblivious to the world around them, ignoring sound, touch and even pain. The other ability is to Command, where the Ventrue’s control over the Mesmerized NPC is extended to the point where they can now be ordered to move, remove obstacles, or even attack others.
The Fortitude discipline includes two abilities. The Absorb ability, which allows the vampire to take a brief defensive stance in which they may deflect all attacks they can see, healing their wounds for every would-be strike. The other is Personal Armor, where the Ventrue’s skin hardens into a stone-like barrier.
Using Fortitude while under attack constitutes a Masquerade Violation, whereas using Dominate does not. You can check out more about the Ventrue and their abilities in the video below.
Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 is set for release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next year.
