Play with centuries of history in Vampire: The Masquerade legacy game Heritage

Bloodsucking RPG Vampire: The Masquerade is sinking its teeth into board games with the announcement of a legacy game based on the long-running World of Darkness series.

The main hook of Vampire: The Masquerade – Heritage is its sprawling timespan, which plays out over 700 years of history from 1306 to 1990.

Players take on the roles of vampires living out their endless lives across the centuries, influencing famous events in the past and watching the effects of their decisions on both human and vampires in the decades after. For instance, you might lend Joan of Arc a hand at Orleans, which also happens to shift the power balance of the underground vampire society.

Players’ achievements and actions over the years will contribute to the conclusion of the campaign, as well as unlocking different missions and characters throughout each playthrough.

That’s not where Heritage’s legacy ties end. One of the most promising ideas that designer Babis Giannios has embedded in the game is the conversion of humans to denizens of the night. Character cards come in sleeves and are flipped around to reveal their vampire side when turned into immortal bloodsuckers, granting new abilities and returning in future games to be recruited by the players. You’ll also be able to name your new vampire buddies and give them extra talents by applying stickers to their cards.

Each game of Heritage is said to only be 20 to 40 minutes long, making its episodes one of the quicker legacy experiences out there. Nice Game Publishing, which is working on the game, says that its still finalising the details of how the legacy aspects will work, but hopes to make the game as easy to revert to the beginning as possible without the need for extra purchases, such as a reset pack.

Vamprie: The Masquerade’s fifth edition is out this year, but Heritage will be taking its time to arrive on tables, with a release pegged for October 2019 followed a Kickstarter towards the start of the year. It’ll be demoed at this year’s Essen Spiel – hopefully we’ll be able to get a closer look soon.