Skill books are items in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. When read, they increase a specific stat by one point. Reading a book is possible only when the fledgling's stats meets a minimum and a maximum requirement, and when their research skill meets a minimum requirement.
Merchants will produce and sell back duplicates of the books sold to them. An exception to this is Trip in Santa Monica — while the two books carried by him will reappear in his stock on subsequent visits, new books sold will vanish permanently.
Skill books[]
| Title | Stat increased | Minimal stat. req. | Maximum stat. req. | Research req. | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peepin' – A Voyeur's Field Guide | Stealth | 0 | 1 | 2 | Classic: Santa Monica, Pawnshop Lodgings, under and to the right of the kitchen sink in apartment 507
Unofficial Patch Plus: Apartment 505 instead of 507 |
| Computers for Grandma | Computer | 0 | 1 | 2 | Classic: Santa Monica, Trip's Pawnshop (can be bought x2) Unofficial Patch Plus: Santa Monica, Medical Clinic, first floor |
| So You Wanna Shoot Things? | Firearms | 0 | 1 | 3 | Classic: Santa Monica, Trip's Pawnshop (can be bought x2) Unofficial Patch Plus: Santa Monica Suites, Carson's room |
| Scarlet Torkelson: Circus Performer | Dodge | 0 | 1 | <=3 | Classic: Grout's Mansion, on the floor in the Library. Unofficial Patch Plus: Santa Monica, Ocean House Hotel room 211 |
| Brawling Manual (♀ No Means No) | Brawl | 2 | 3 | 5 | Classic: Downtown, Empire Arms Hotel, Boris' penthouse Unofficial Patch Plus: Jezebel Locke's suite |
| Kendo for Advanced Students | Melee | 2 | 3 | 5 | Downtown, Skyeline Apartments, apartment no. 2 |
| ABC - Always Be Closing | Finance | 2 | 3 | 6 | Classic: Downtown, Empire Arms Hotel, Jezebel Locke's suite Unofficial Patch Plus: Boris' penthouse |
| Sobchak's Guide to Personal and Home Security | Security | 2 | 3 | 6 | Museum of Natural History, basement, security room |
| Bad Monkey. No Banana! | Dodge | 4 | 4 | 9 | Giovanni Stronghold, library, located in a desk |
| The Cowboy's Guide to Cyberspace by Case | Computer | 4 | 4 | Classic: 9 Unofficial Patch Plus: 8 |
Hollywood, Ground 0 |
| Art of the Quick-Draw by Ned Nederlander | Firearms | 4 | 4 | Classic: 10 Unofficial Patch Plus: 9 |
Society of Leopold Monastery, second floor |
| Bustin' It: Harmful if Swallowed Hint Book | Melee | 4 | 4 | Classic: 10 Unofficial Patch Plus: 9 |
Chinatown, Fu Syndicate |
Tips[]
- Subjective: The following section is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
For build optimization, one has to weigh the costs of increasing the research statistic to meet the reading requirement versus the cost to raise the desired statistic directly or through a benefactor. This is likely obvious for books that require a research of up to 6, but beyond that it may be better to leave the books alone. The Saulocept, which can give additional exp for quests worth 3 or more, can help, but requires avoiding certain missions until later in the main story, and requires 8 research to use.
Trivia[]
- If the fledgling does not meet the requirements to read a book, it will be labeled as "Unknown" and say "You need an x ability of at least y to use this item." The item descriptions will also vary.
- "Wow, you really wish you knew what “antidisestablishmentarianism” meant."
- "You squint at the wiggly markings on the page, but can't quite make out what they say. Despite this, something in the back of your mind is thinking they say "illiterate dumbass"."
- "You've been feeding on too many teenagers, go suck on a librarian and maybe you'll be able to figure this out."
- "As you are a product of the American public education system, this tome is beyond your comprehension."
- "In the World of Darkness, there isn't enough illumination to read this book... at least for you, duncemeister!"
- "In the game of life your reading skills are ET for the 2600."
- "Bad Monkey. No Banana!" is described as "A handbook from Les Assasins de Roullents[...]". This is a reference to "Infinite Jest", which features a Québécois separatist faction called Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents [sic].
- "The Cowboy's Guide to Cyberspace by Case" is a reference to computer hacker Henry Dorsett Case from "Neuromancer", a 1984 cyberpunk novel.