The book opens with an in-character short story featuring some of the major characters and I was highly impressed, to say the least. The first and second chapters continue with more in-character discussions about the "Shadow Inquisition" and its place in the World of Darkness.

Most of us are familiar with the history. We know that the Roman Catholic Church sponsored the Crusades to take back the Holy Land, and about the politics and greed that motivated them. We also know about the history of the Spanish Inquisition, and the so-called "demons" burned at the stake during that period. This game is set before the Spanish Inquisition, during a different Inquisition. This Shadow Inquisition was motivated not by political or social desires, but rather by Chosen men and women granted special powers ("Blessings") by God to fight the Adversary and his minions. For those of you familiar with Dark Ages: Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage, these groups are lumped together as demons and heretics.

The Shadow Inquisition is broken into 5 different Orders, with each order given a full write-up in chapter 3. Briefly, the Orders are as follows:

• The Poor Knights of the Passion of the Cross of Acre—the military arm of the Shadow Inquisition



• The Oculi Dei—a network of spies and commoners who quietly support the Shadow Inquisition



• The Sisters of St. John—a sect of church visionaries



• The Red Order—a group of church theologians and practioners of the "Holy Art" (read: magic)



• The House of Murnau—a noble house with a legacy of hunting demons

What struck me as particularly interesting is that each Order has their choice of a specialty, and their choice of a related curse.

The remaining chapters deal with the new Abilities and Advantages available only to Inquisitors, Role-playing, and some sample adventures. For character creation, you will need the Dark Ages: Vampire core rulebook.

So, should you buy the book? Absolutely! Unlike other "Hunt the Hunter" genre games, this system really focuses on the anti-hero aspect of Inquisitors. It took me a week to read through the book and get used to the special rules for playing an Inquisitor, but my Monday night gaming group is really enjoying the game so far. No other White Wolf game, to date, gives as good an opportunity for good role-playing and the occasional killing spree.