Despite being a commercial failure upon its initial release, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is still growing strong. Although ostensibly causing developer Troika Games to go under several months later and containing a notorious amount of bugs, the game was well liked by critics and continues to have a faithful cult following. One of the things Bloodlines is best known for is its writing. With such a large cast of highly memorable characters, it’s easy to see the reason. Which NPCs really drew you in or repelled you? Read on for a tentative top ten of Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines Characters.

Jeanette/Therese Voerman

The game’s poster girl and archetypal Malkavian, Jeanette, is eye candy and a well-rounded character. Although Jeanette is a disturbed young woman turned vampire, the player sees the flirtatious but childish Jeanette battle with her sister dour businesswoman, Therese.  It is eventually revealed that they both live in the same lovingly rendered body. “Tourette”, as she is otherwise affectionately known, is the best-known character in Bloodlines. She is well portrayed by the lovely Grey DeLisle.

Velvet Velour

Velvet Velour, known to her favorites as simply VV, is owner and star of Hollywood’s most popular strip club, Vesuvius. She is a rival to Jeanette as far as eye candy goes. Beneath her conventionally vampish exterior, lies the gentle, easily love-struck soul of a poet. Seemingly a genuinely nice person, VV is hard to dislike. Additionally, if your character is Malkavian, your mad insight gives you a brief glimpse into her past. That is something she is not very keen to elaborate.

Gimble

Gimble is possibly one of the first opponents you ever face, and also one of the creepiest. You know something is up from the moment you hear his weird, wheedling voice down the telephone line. Once you meet him in the flesh, try not to shudder. He will tell you about how he purposely removed his own hand in order to replace it with a prosthetic… yeaaah. It’s hard to be surprised when he ambushes you with a severed arm, which actually makes a rather serviceable weapon for a little while. One thing’s certain: you certainly feel a lot happier once he’s dead and you’re out of there.

Aleister Grout

Dr. Aleister Grout, Malkavian Primogen, never physically appears during the game. That’s unless you count his ashes after he was staked and left out for the sun. The only way you encounter him is in the form of a series of recordings that are scattered about his mansion. His monologues still give you an excellent sense of his character. Most notably is his rather steep descent into madness shortly after being brought into vampire society. One can blame his Malkavian blood for a good deal of that.

Knox Harrington

Knox is the spectacularly irritating fanboy ghoul of Bertram Tung, who ambushes you shortly after you start playing the game. That’s all you can do to stop yourself from attacking him upon hearing him exclaim “Oh jeez, oh man!” for the fourth time in as many lines of dialogue. However, I still have a grudging fondness for Knox and cartoon vampire-emblazoned jacket, especially as it’s strongly intimated that he’s far smarter than he acts. Think about it; would Tung really have a complete idiot as a ghoul?

Smiling Jack

An ex-pirate turned vampire voiced by John DiMaggio; what’s not to like? Jack, who first appeared in White Wolf’s Los Angeles by Night supplement, has your back from beginning to end as an Anarch and a Brujah. He isn’t afraid of voicing his true opinions on the Prince. He’s also responsible for introducing you to the mysterious taxi driver. Despite his brash exterior, Jack is heavily implied to have done enough behind the scenes meddling to impress even the most conniving kindred.

Nines Rodriguez

While the Anarchs, by their very nature, have no real leader, if they did have one, it would undoubtedly be Nines. He is the one who ensures your continued existence by objecting to Prince LaCroix’s initial plan to execute you, also saving your unlife yet again by rescuing you from a Sabbat ambush. The guy is pretty damn tough. A survivor of the Great Depression, Nines’ brawling expertise can earn you some free combat skills if you play your cards rights. Towards the end of the game, he single-handedly takes out a werewolf.

Beckett

A rare academic Gangrel, Beckett is a historian whose primary goal is to find out more about kindred origins. Having come to Santa Monica to investigate reports of unusual goings-on in the area, he gives the player helpful,  sometimes sarcastic, advice. Beckett also elaborates on his various academic theories. Some of those are notorious among other kindred scholars). With a sweet brown coat, Beckett shades to hide his glowing red eyes and voice acting talent of Michael Gough. It’s hard not to like Beckett at least a little bit.

Officer Chunk

The stereotypical overweight, middle-aged security guard, Chunk’s blissful ignorance and resolutely cheerful disposition makes it hard to feel more than a mild annoyance for him. Your encounters with Chunk frequently put him at the mercy of your disciplines, usually to hilarious effect. He does cut a rather funky figure on The Asylum’s dance floor, doesn’t he? Chunk eventually ends up manning the reception desk at LaCroix’s downtown tower. If you happen to kill him, he is replaced by his disturbingly similar brother. Maybe Chunk is smarter than he’s given credit for…

Gary Golden

Gary used to be known as Gorgeous Gary Golden before his embrace. Once a handsome and arrogant movie star, Gary knew it was only a matter of time before a Nosferatu decided to inflict him with the clan’s personal brand of cruelly ironic justice. He carried on this clan tradition when embracing a child of his own, Imalia. She had been a gorgeous and exceedingly vain supermodel. Disturbingly stealthy, darkly witty and with an appetite for the grotesque, Gary is the undisputed Nosferatu Primogen. He is also a keeper of more juicy bits of Hollywood gossip than he cares to divulge.

Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines Characters Honourable Mention

He is the guy from the Van Helsing test. This poor guy is told to wave across at you in order to see if you react; you don’t. How you deal with him then is up to you, but few vampires would say no to some free blood, even if it is contained inside a rather hefty hazmat suit.

Ella found compiling this list a welcome break from trying to persuade people to buy laptops. Just don’t ask her to put them in any particular order since deciding on one would just be too damn hard. Considering gamers want the best experience, make sure to check out our article Top 17 Best Gaming Keyboard: Features, Price, And More. Don’t forget to read the game’s privacy policy.