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Let's Compare Editions!

One of the things I’ve wanted to do for a while now is to go through and compare and contrast the various editions of Vampire: The Masquerade from 1st Edition through V20. Well, with the recent announcement of a forthcoming 4th Edition, now seems as good a time as any. For now, this will only be focusing on the core books for each edition. Other, far better writers than I, have already gone through a lot of the supplements. I recommend checking out Read the Damn Book’s reviews and analyses of the various Clanbooks.  

Now, the first question is, where do I start? Each edition had it’s own format, and they rarely agree with each other on what should be where. For example, here’s the Chapter listings:

Introduction

Book One: The Becoming
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Rules
Chapter Three: Character
Book Two: The Hunger
Chapter Four: Traits
Chapter Five: Development
Chapter Six: Drama
Book Three: The Riddle
Chapter Seven: Setting
Chapter Either: Chronicle
Chapter Nine: Storytelling
Epilogue: The Release


Introduction Book One: Background Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Setting Chapter Three: Storytelling Book Two: Becoming Chapter Four: Rules Chapter Five: Character Chapter Six: Chronicle Book Three: Permutation Chapter Seven: Traits Chapter Either: Systems Chapter Nine: Drama Appendix


Prologue Introduction Chapter One: A World of Darkness Chapter Two: Clans and Sects Chapter Three: Characters and Traits Chapter Four: Disciplines Chapter Five: Rules Capter Six: Systems and Drama Chapter Seven: A History of the Kindred Chapter Eight: Storytelling Chapter Nine: Antagonists Appendix Epilogue: Under the Horns of Blood

Book One - The Riddle
What the hell happened to
 the rose?
Introduction
Chapter One: A World of Darkness
Chapter Two: Sets and Clans
Book Two - The Becoming
Chapter Three: Characters and Traits
Chapter Four: Disciplines
Chapter Five: Rules
Chapter Six: Systems and Drama
Chapter Seven: Morality
Book Three - The Permutations
Chapter Eight: Storytelling
Chapter Nine: The Others
Chapter Ten: Bloodlines
Appendix


So, the question is, do I go through it Book by Book? As in, first do a read through and do posts on 1st, and then go through each subsequent edition and how it’s changed? Or, do I go through it in chunks and look at how each edition handled the various issues?

For now, I’m thinking of going through it Book by Book. I haven’t really read all the editions carefully in quite a while, and it’d be nice to really go through them, and not just rely on my memory or quickly looking up various things as needed. If I went through it chunks, I might miss out on somethings. But, if I go through it book by book, I might miss out on very subtle changes which might become far more apparent if I focused on just those?

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