| Now now... impatience is bad for the heart. ;-)
As for your question: Many players argue that both clans are not necessarily a good first playthrough.
The Tremere are lined towards maximized use of disciplines, which cost a lot of xp. Dominate and Thaumaturgy (their Blood Magic) make a deadly combo, but the blood to support your disciplines may be hard to come by. Still, with a little practice, in my opinion even a first-time player can manage to get through the game and have a really good time while doing so (and some... megalomanic tendencies at higher levels - or am I the only one to cry "Bow down, mere mortals!" when reaching Level 5 Thaumaturgy?)
Malkavians, meanwhile, are _pure_ fun. Usually newbies are counseled against doing their first playthrough as a childe of Malkav, because it can be somewhat hard to figure out what exactly you're about to say to an NPC (their dialogue lines are... queer, to say the least). I for my part have not found this to be a problem, even though English is not my native language. And there's one thing for new players that's just dead useful with Malkavians: Their +2 perception bonus. Without it, I probably would have been stuck for weeks at a few points, since perception makes many items and clues much easier to spot - and honestly, using xp to buff that skill is just.. wrong.
Aaaand.. there's also dementation. Yes, it's very similar to Dominate - but it's just so much more fun to use. And while many people think Dominate 5 to be the real winner (Mass Suicide) I think that Dementation 5 (can't remember what it's called) is far superior; simply because it leaves help- and hapless bloodsources for you to enjoy. ;-)
So, if you're adept at the language you're playing the game in, you should go with Malkavian, in my opinion.
As for the unofficial patches: They require the official patch 1.2 and are definitely worth using. Many things are more balanced, bugs are removed - for me at least, they greatly enhance gaming fun.
Oh, and firearms: Definitely not useless. In some situations, going up close is all but necessary, but the guns later in the game are just... awesome. Don't let the .38 at the beginning discourage you: The fun starts the second you get your first shotgun. ;-)  |