u/RayLiottaFan420

I played the V6 playtest with a couple of friends. I'll split this post into The Good, The Bad, and The Neutral

The Good:

I really liked the dice pool system and the clearly defined tests for most actions. It really let me build a character with a clearly defined niche. I also like the combined health and blood system, it didnt stop me from using my powers and blood surging and meant that in the combat encounter I had to weigh doing damage vs. maintaining enough juice to shrug off combat. In fact both combat systems were really fun to engage with

The Bad:

There really isnt a mechanism to reinforce roleplaying your clan, at least not from what I've encountered. The Bestial Compulsion/Outburst system didnt come up because the player has so much control over when they tick off their dual trackers. If you want to really embody a clan you have to do it narratively instead of the system incentivizing you to do so.

The Neutral:

I thought I would have hated drama, but the drama complications in the playtest encounters were really fun. They were used to introduce a 3rd enemy during a brawl and to both heal during and bring a new participant into the social combat encounter. I can see how going into Elysium with the ST having a lot of drama can turn into a harrowing social combat as like, harpies and hangers on begin chiming in in a way that doesn't feel like a contrivance. The drawback is that as it stands the drama system is mega inelegant and I think needs a major rebalancing.

In conclusion:

I think the system has good bones! Tonally, it couldnt be more different than the previous edition. Instead of being focused on new vampires struggling to maintain their humanity, it seems the system wants you to play neonates or ancillae who have already found a way to balance their natures interacting with vampire society. It's a much more generic ttrpg power fantasy, and if you like the personal horror that the IP is predicated on instead of being superheroes with fangs this edition might not be for you