As someone who's a big fan of both games, they're quite difficult to compare.
Ravenloft is more about external horror - the world is a dark, nasty place full of things that want to eat you, and the fact that it's so unremittinly hostile is why it's disturbing. Vampire, in contrast, is more about internal horror - you're a bad person, and you do bad things, and the fact that you as a player sympathise with your PC is why it's disturbing (one of my best moments of gaming from the last few years was breaking off mid-rant with my old Tzimisce Ductus character, because the horrible things he said were satrting to sound reasonable). Ravenloft can do internal horror (powers checks, fall-to-the-dark-side stories), and Vampire can do external horror (the Sabbat book has weapon rules for chainsaws and meathooks), but that's not really their core mission.
In terms of stuff to borrow - the Tzimisce make great bad guys in either game, and Azalin's memory-altering I-win power is a good guide for Vampire STs who want to use Dominate-heavy Elders as antagonists. Really, though, they're not the same game, and not trying to do the same thing, and saying one's better than the other will come down to personal taste.
RAVENLOFT vs. VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE
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vortexgods
- Conspirator
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Age might make a difference here....
I don't know about anyone else, but when the original Ravenloft module came out, it fell into the category of "coolest thing ever." It basically established a brand from there, the module was so cool it spawned a sequel module and later a great campaign setting.
On the other hand, when Vampire: The Masquerade came out, it fell into the category of "Ah, so this is what the kids are playing these days" followed by "Get off of my lawn!"
Of course, for another group of players (dare I say a younger group) Vampire is their introduction to RPGs and they might think it is the coolest thing ever instead. Certainly, I'm impressed with it, and it spawned one of my top coolest PC games ever (Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines).
I think the games take a different approach to horror. VtM immediately makes me think of the novels of Anne Rice (well, not Christ the King, obviously), whereas Ravenloft makes me think of the old Hammer Horror films, if you've ever seen those, like Dracula Has Risen from the Grave or Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. The protagonists in those movies often have a tough time of it and get morally compromised (like Mina Harker in Dracula), they just don't start as full blooded vampires.
Yes, I still think Ravenloft is the coolest thing ever, but there is room for many different kinds of horror games in my cupboard, including Vampire (heck, I just bought My Life with Master because it looked neat!)
I'm just more likely to choose Ravenloft over Vampire, myself, call it personal preference.
Incidentally, I wouldn't say that VtM encourages "embracing the darkness." Your character is likely doomed to become a Strahd-like monster in time, but the game is really about holding onto your humanity despite being damned. Hence, Humanity Points, functionally equivalent (more or less) to Call of Cthulhu's sanity statistic. (both of which I consider to be loosely related to AD&D's alignment system, though completely different ways of expressing good versus evil. Note: In CoC characters with 0 San tend to be working to sacrifice humanity to the elder gods, rather than harmless folk who think they are Elvis Presley. There are exceptions, though.)
On the other hand, when Vampire: The Masquerade came out, it fell into the category of "Ah, so this is what the kids are playing these days" followed by "Get off of my lawn!"
Of course, for another group of players (dare I say a younger group) Vampire is their introduction to RPGs and they might think it is the coolest thing ever instead. Certainly, I'm impressed with it, and it spawned one of my top coolest PC games ever (Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines).
I think the games take a different approach to horror. VtM immediately makes me think of the novels of Anne Rice (well, not Christ the King, obviously), whereas Ravenloft makes me think of the old Hammer Horror films, if you've ever seen those, like Dracula Has Risen from the Grave or Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. The protagonists in those movies often have a tough time of it and get morally compromised (like Mina Harker in Dracula), they just don't start as full blooded vampires.
Yes, I still think Ravenloft is the coolest thing ever, but there is room for many different kinds of horror games in my cupboard, including Vampire (heck, I just bought My Life with Master because it looked neat!)
I'm just more likely to choose Ravenloft over Vampire, myself, call it personal preference.
Incidentally, I wouldn't say that VtM encourages "embracing the darkness." Your character is likely doomed to become a Strahd-like monster in time, but the game is really about holding onto your humanity despite being damned. Hence, Humanity Points, functionally equivalent (more or less) to Call of Cthulhu's sanity statistic. (both of which I consider to be loosely related to AD&D's alignment system, though completely different ways of expressing good versus evil. Note: In CoC characters with 0 San tend to be working to sacrifice humanity to the elder gods, rather than harmless folk who think they are Elvis Presley. There are exceptions, though.)
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Sareau
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I think the whole thing with V:tM was the ability to grow in power until you were a mover and shaker in the politics of first your city, then your sect, and ultimately the Jyhad itself.
Ravenloft has no corrallory, really-unless you've the sort of campaign where someone is going to become a darklord.
I like both systems-though the Storyteller system is very simple, while the d20 is getting simpler as it's gone from tables to formulae. While I do enjoy Ravenloft for adventures, I think for a long-term campaign, you're looking at Vampire:the Masquerade.
This is not a failing on the part of either system, just that Ravenloft is designed as a dark dungeon crawl-not really an emphasis on inner darkness so much as a study in obsession of one individual, and the route it takes him. The classic darklords are object lessons as much as formidable opponents, while in V:tM, you face a level of introaspection that encourages lengthier play as you investigate the motives and soul of your character.
Ravenloft can be as "deep" and introspective as V:tM, but it's not really designed for that. Then again, I can't see a V:tM campaign based on "The Shadow over Innsmouth" either...
Ravenloft has no corrallory, really-unless you've the sort of campaign where someone is going to become a darklord.
I like both systems-though the Storyteller system is very simple, while the d20 is getting simpler as it's gone from tables to formulae. While I do enjoy Ravenloft for adventures, I think for a long-term campaign, you're looking at Vampire:the Masquerade.
This is not a failing on the part of either system, just that Ravenloft is designed as a dark dungeon crawl-not really an emphasis on inner darkness so much as a study in obsession of one individual, and the route it takes him. The classic darklords are object lessons as much as formidable opponents, while in V:tM, you face a level of introaspection that encourages lengthier play as you investigate the motives and soul of your character.
Ravenloft can be as "deep" and introspective as V:tM, but it's not really designed for that. Then again, I can't see a V:tM campaign based on "The Shadow over Innsmouth" either...