Augusto Ponce de León is the 2026 champion of Portugal!
This national championship was played in Coimbra on March 7 with 57 participants. Reported by Tiago Gonçalves, VEKN Prince of Coimbra, with comment from the champion:
Here's the final table with standings from preliminary rounds and final results:
1. Alejandro Rodriguez (Spain) 3 GW 11 VP
2. Augusto Ponce de León (Spain) 2 GW 8 VP
3. Marco Mata (Portugal) 2 GW 7 VP
4. Raúl Perfecto (Spain) 2 GW 7 VP
5. Sandro Rodrigues (Portugal) 2 GW 6.5 VP
Augusto Ponce de León kindly provided a report of the final:
I had played before against Alex's deck and I know how fast it is, so had little expectations about the final. Being second seed allowed me at least to be predator of the 2 ravnos decks. If spectres wanted to be my predator, they would have to fight with Raul's brujahs: I hoped maybe that would reduce some pressure over me. Alex placed himself as my predator.
I was 4th player to influence (really bad as I got no Dreams to get Juliet out on the second turn). My crypt wasn't brilliant as I got 2 Juliets, 1 Andi and 1 Donny (only Juliet with superior OBF).
Juliet got out at 3rd turn and next turn played Govern superior, so Andi was out. By then, my situation was already bad: Only 8 pool and 3 vampires and 3 Spectres behind...
I asked the other players if any chance to collaborate in ousting Alex, as next turn I was dead and the 2 Ravnos had little chances as prey.
Raúl asked Sandro to not to put pressure on him til Alex was dead and Sandro accepted. Sandro bled for 5 and was deflected by Raúl to Alex, who was left on 10 pool. Then, Raúl played 2 Reckless Agitation that ended Alex: A new world opened in front of me.
I started doing malkavian things getting Donny out thru Govern superior and putting some pressure on my prey. Raúl had accepted to leave me alone a couple of turns to defend himself against his predator. My prey, Marco and Sandro had been putting a lot of pressure on their preys and Sandro was low of pool so that any mistake could be the last.
Final was decided really fast: Raúl rushed me with his 2 vampires but I had in hand 1 Second Tradition and 2 Obediences so he could not torporice my vampires or rotate cards.
My prey ousted Sandro and I deflected twice back to Raúl (I didn't mind who died as I only had to get 2VPs to win). Finally ousted my prey and Raúl was only 1 pool left. He torporized Juliet and bled.
I was left with only the 2 princes and no stealth in hand and Raúl had 2 barons and the edge. I had 1 KRC in hand and Camarilla Conclave in play, but no stealth in hand, so no big chances to take his last pool. I chose go big or go home and Donny launched the KRC... Huge surprise: Raúl said "No block..." KRC passed as I reduced the votes of his barons with Camarilla Conclave and I won the final.
Thanks a lot to all players that came to Coimbra to enjoy a great VTES weekend and to Tiago for taking care of us and organizing a great NC. Hope I didn't bore you too much and see you in Alcalá!
Tournament winning deck: “Malkavian Pols” by Heghemon
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Juliet Parr 9 AUS DOM OBF cel pot justicar Malkavian:7
3x Alexander Silverson 8 AUS DOM OBF pre prince Malkavian:6
2x Jason "Son" Newberry 7 AUS DOM OBF pre primogen Malkavian:6
2x Andi Liu 6 DOM aus obf pre prince Malkavian:6
1x Donny Kowalczyk 6 AUS cel dom obf prince Malkavian:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (10)
2x Camarilla Conclave
1x Dark Influences
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Jake Washington
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
Event (1)
1x Waiting Game
Action (14)
14x Govern the Unaligned
Political Action (17)
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancilla Empowerment
5x Camarilla's Iron Fist
1x Expulsion
4x Kine Resources Contested
1x My Kin Against the World
4x Parity Shift
Action Modifier (24)
2x Bonding
3x Conditioning
5x Elder Impersonation
2x Faceless Night
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
4x Forgotten Labyrinth
5x Lost in Crowds
2x Telepathic Vote Counting
Action Modifier/Combat (1)
1x Hide the Mind
Reaction (23)
8x Deflection
2x Eyes of Argus
1x Mental Maze
4x Obedience
3x On the Qui Vive
1x Redirection
4x Second Tradition: Domain
And, since I'm allowed to add a few words, my own wrap up:
As the long night of Æminium unfolded, the fate of the Regent, and perhaps of the city itself, was finally revealed.
On March 7th 2026, 57 Kindred heeded the call of Æminium and gathered to discover the Regent’s fate. The Custodian welcomed them and moderated the heated discussions, but as the night progressed and the intrigues unfolded, only five remained when the final hour approached. And then, as the ritual concluded, four faded into torpor… and only one remained to learn what the future held for the city.
The event took place at Taberna TopDeck, with players attending from five different countries, all eager to claim the title of Portuguese Champion.
Participants faced each other across three preliminary rounds, where some players quickly stood out, securing strong game wins and accumulating impressive victory point totals.
In the end, congratulations go to Augusto Ponce de León, the new Portuguese Champion, for his victory. We look forward to welcoming you again next year to defend your title.
As a final note, I would like to thank all the players for their excellent sportsmanship throughout the entire event. Their attitude greatly contributed to the friendly atmosphere and helped make the tournament an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. I'd also like to thank our sponsors: Cónclave Ibérico, Estalia Córdoba, Tokens & Tales and UltraPro for their awesome prize support and Meeple Armor for the finalist deckbox and trophies.
Thanks to Tiago, Augusto and everyone else involved in this event and report!
Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter February 2026
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
The eternal struggle continues into March 2026, and we have yet another card art preview from Krzysztof Bieniawski - pretty nice huh? This one too is for a reprint of an older card, maybe you can guess which one? This one is pretty obvious.
European Grand Prix update!
The European 2025-2026 VTES Grand Prix circuit has been updated, and now we think all dates are set:
• November 29, 2025: Lisbon, Portugal
• April 18, 2026: Zagreb, Croatia
• May 2, 2026: Bolgona, Italy
• May 30, 2026: Vitrolles France
• July 18, 2026: Vienna, Austria
• July 26, 2026: Helsinki, Finland
• September 18, 2026: Vilnius, Lithuania
A fancy website for major VTES events is in the works, but for now, check out the rules at VEKN.net.
Adam Horvath is the new champion of Hungary!
The Hungarian championship was played on February 6-8th with 52 players.
Read the full report: National Championship Hungary
Federico Ferrarini is the 2026 champion of Italy!
This tournament was held in Trento on February 28 with 47 players.
Read the full report: National Championship Italy 2026
Povilas Zinkevičius is the 2026 champion of Lithuania!
42 Methuselahs gathered for this tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania on February 28, won with a TOOLBOX deck.
Read the full report: National Championship Lithuania
Reminder: The Black Chantry promo policy (Now updated!)
We reminded about this in the last newsletter, and there was immediatelly great confusion. Yes, Black Chantry has a policy for promotional card production. It is available in full on Blackchantry.com, and has now been updated a bit. The key part: "Black Chantry Productions is open to making new promotional cards to support larger and special events where we can. This will generally be for Grand Prix, Nationals or Continental Championship events."
Seizing the Praxis in a New City - Recruitment Exercise: Finland
Words by Peetu Makkonen, the Methuselah behind the excellent site Garou Rim Gazette:
My year of 2025 was very hard to navigate, hobby-wise, with evening and weekend shifts at work. That meant it was hard to get in games of VTES, but there are various ways to engage with hobby time. I’ve always had a soft spot for bringing in new players, so I turned my sights on neighboring cities.
If I can’t find time to join local games, why not travel an hour or so for some games next town? And if there’s no players yet – well, time to embrace some!
Steps to Demos
I have experience in running demos in conventions and events, but tackling a whole new city was an exciting challenge. Thankfully, with a bit of planning and methodology, kickstarting new groups is something anyone can do.
1. Identify local actors (gate keepers) and contact them
2. Learn about local communication platforms through those gate keepers
3. Agree on a venue
4. Promote within platforms (online) and at the venue (fliers and posters)
5. Form partnerships with local game stores
6. Bring hand outs
You have to start from somewhere. Often local game stores, LARP associations and board game groups and student associations are your best bets to learn about local cliques – and most importantly their forums or communication platforms.
Once you know where locals congregate, it’s important to agree about a date with the venue or organisers. Do not undersell the importance of cross-platform marketing: social media, local player forums and even posters.
You’d be surprised how often local game stores will allow handing out discount coupons if you discuss it with them, and of course bringing something to remember the event by and bring home with players enhances the experience. In my case, Black Chantry Productions was kind enough to send some hand out material for demos my way – thank you so much!
It all can sound a bit much, but just doing the bare minimum of each step can result in a great event! Perfectionism is the anathema of “finished”.
Praxis of Kuopio
My demos to the Finnish city of Kuopio included each of the aforementioned steps. I marketed over local Discord servers, starting with contacting Kuopio’s Fantasiapelit. The process peaked with two demo game sessions in December 2025 at a local trading card game association. Thank you to all participants and Kulttuuriareena 44 for being so accommodating!
Remember that getting demos going is one thing. Another is longevity and staying power. Come to the demos prepared with a Whatsapp group or a Discord server so that people can start getting organised immediately.
After all was said and done, I’m now delighted to follow the life of the new group, at the time of writing housing ten or so VTES initiates with an anointed prince of their own! I Can’t wait to meet all of them in events and tournaments.
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Player Aides
I will skip tips and pointers of actually hosting a demo event, since it would be a topic in and of itself, but I would like to share the material I used to help with the demo games. We all know VTES can be a lot, and even demoing with simple decks like New Bloods won’t change that.
I made the following posters to help players navigate the steps. I printed them in colour in either A4 or A3 size and attached to some cardboard to flip out for everyone to see during relevant phases.
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Please feel free to use them and share to friends! They’re not rulebook-levels of accurate, but rather should provide visual assistance to basics.
If you enjoyed these themes, you can find more detailed tips and tricks of hosting demos over at Garou Rim Gazette.
Recruitment Exercise: Cannes 2026
Some words based on the volunteer team feedback:
This February 27 to March 1, the VEKN France of Anteros, Nathan, Sigil, Thibaut, Theo and Vincent brought Vampire: The Eternal Struggle to the Festival International des Jeux in Cannes, one of the biggest board game festivals in Europe. Thanks to Black Chantry Productions covering the stand costs and The Red Question handling equipment and merchandise, our belowed game had a stunning 18 m² booth right in the main hall, alongside the As d'Or award-winning games.
Over four days and 31 hours of demos, this awesome team ran back-to-back introductions, welcoming curious festivalgoers to the world of VTES. Sunday turned out to be the highlight; a smaller, more passionate crowd meant fantastic energy and memorable games. Many introductions led to a sales, meaning new cards in new hands!
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Key takeaway: Enthusiasm is contagious. The best demos were lively, dramatic, and full of roleplay – insult the Tremere, laugh at the Malkavian, and never let a deal stand unbroken.
A huge thank you to all involved for making this happen. Local communities should be welcoming some fresh faces soon, and many more players now know VTES exists!
Do you also want to host demonstration games of VTES and become a hero of the community? Send a mail to to get help with materials!
Great VTES content
Long gone are times when you actually could keep up with all good VTES content published, but here are some things we really would like to highlight this month:
• The community has been screaming for a English-language VTES podcast, and Bloodcast International from TCGwebshop seems to be the answer so far. These guys have a lot of knowledge and strong opinions – check out the latest episode!
• The Information Highway blog is in a streak of good updates, with deck reviews of both the Sabbat precons and the new New Blood packs.
• Reading Between the Lyons with Kelly Lyons is another steady supplier of high quality content; interviews, strategy tips, news commentary and other stuff. The last piece is on voting, check it out!
• Inconnu.dev has funny games on VTES cards. This might seem corny at first glance, but knowing cards is actually a key factor for an excellent player!
Do you have any tips on VERY GOOD VTES content, please contact the editor at . Please only VERY GOOD VTES content!
Reminder: Please join the World of Darkness Community Map!
Please advertise your VTES playgroup and/or VTES events on the World of Darkness Community Map! This is important to help the game grow. But only things that happen in public places where anyone is welcome (nothing played at someone´s home) and no online events.
Check out the map here: World of Darkness Community Map
Submit here: Map submission form
Black Chantry Summary: February 2026
• The New Blood packs for Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce are in stores since February 28! Take the opportunity to add new crypt cards and more guns, ghouls and other tricks to your decks of these clans.
• Black Chantry sponsored some more demo events, for example FIJ in Cannes – see above in this newesletter. Want to help demo VTES you too? Talk to !
• The upcoming Brazil and New York themed sets are a little bit delayed, now scheduled for May or June release. Round 2 of playtesting is being digested by the design team and almost all artwork is done.
• The two-player set is aimed for release in the third quarter of this year. A new VTES rulebook will accompany this – new layout and minor tweaks only, as the aim is to keep the same rules for two players as for normal VTES. Please join the open playtest at VEKN.net!
• Want to know more about future releases? Check out the product roadmap article at Blackchantry.com!
• The following Black Chantry products are currently available through Gamepod, Drivethrucard
Lost Kindred bundle (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Anthology I bundle
VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
25th Anniversary
First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 3 (For promotion only)
Promo Pack 4 (For promotion only)
VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
VTES card sleeves
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Stores only)
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)
Fifth Edition: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
The Fall of London (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Echoes of Gehenna
Shadows of Berlin (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ravnos (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Salubri (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French)
30th Anniversary (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Caine (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Cathari (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Death and the Soul (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Power and the Inner Voice (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ravnos (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Salubri (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French)
Do you have opinions about or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook, Instagram
Recent news in the World of Darkness
Our picks this month:
• Interesting VTM sourcebook alert! “Courts of the Damned” will be a guide to politics for Vampire: The Masquerade, released in August 2026. It will feature, straight from the ghouled horse´s mouth:
- Political intrigue! Understand how to make intrigue/politically focused characters or setting for your Chronicle.
- Advice for portraying leaders and power players in your city, as a player or the Storyteller
- Ways to understand the stakes Kindred fight over
- Expanded options for social combat
- An overview of the internal and external feuds of Anarchs, Camarilla, and independent factions
• “Icons of the Night” is the title of a community art contest that will go on for a full year, until February 12th 2027. A panel of judges from the White Wolf team will pick their favourite illustration each month, based on artistic quality, adherence to theme and how well it fits within the World of Darkness. For details, see the full announcement.
Looking for more World of Darkness in your channel of choice? Check out the Linktree!
Calendar
Major events coming up:
March 7: National Championship Portugal, Coimbra
March 7: Grand Prix Lafayette, USA
March 21: Grand Prix Auckland, New Zealand
April 11: Grand Prix Dallas, USA
April 18: Grand Prix Zagreb, Croatia
April 25: National Championship Finland, Vantaa
April 25: National Championship Ireland, Dublin
May 2: Grand Prix Bologna, Italy
May 23: National Championship Brazil, Campina Grande
May 30: Grand Prix Vitrolles, France
June 20: North American Championship, Columbus, USA
June 27: National Championship Spain, Madrid
July 18: Grand Prix Vienna, Austria
July 26: Grand Prix Helsinki, Finland
September 18: Grand Prix Vilnius 2026, Lithuania
September 19: European Championship 2026, Vilnius, Lithuania
December 13: Grand Prix Cearense, Brazil
Tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Brazil x17
Chile
Croatia
Czech Republic
Deutschland
Finland x3
Greece
Italy x3
Netherlands
New Zealand
Online
Poland
Portugal x3
Russia
Serbia x2
Spain x12
Sweden
USA x6
For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar. Also, check out the World of Darkness Community Map.
Remember: Online tournaments are possible - just check the box "Online tournament" when you add the event to the calendar!
Contact VEKN
You can contact the VEKN Inner Circle members using the contact forms at VEKN.net. Also follow the official VTES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, the official VEKN X account @VEKN_VTES and the official VTES Discord server.
Live every day of your life.
Federico Ferrarini is the 2026 champion of Italy!
Reported by Miro Albertazzi, VEKN National Coordinator of Italy:
During the weekend of February 27 to March 1, the Italian community of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle gathered in Trento for one of the most anticipated events of the year: the Italian Championship 2026. The event took place at Hotel Paoli, in Lochere, that became for three days a true domain for 47 Methuselahs from all around our country, filled with intense games, old friends meeting again, and new players ready to face their first great challenge!
The tournament was organized by Giulio De Cicco (Prince of Trento) together with the National Coordinator Miro Albertazzi.
In the three preliminary rounds the gamewins were spread amongst a lot of players, proving that competition was very high and tables had different balances across the rounds. The race for a spot in the final was tight until the very last victory point!
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So this was the final standing:
1. 1 GW 7 VP - Federico “Rip” Ferrarini (180 TP)
2. 1 GW 7 VP - Daniel “The fresh demon” Pergola (162 TP)
3. 1 GW 6 VP - Damiano “Dam” Ghiaroni
4. 1 GW 6 VP - Filippo “Taxi Driver” Del Re
5. 1 GW 5,5 VP - Giulio “The elevator’s wizard” Roffi
As you can see, there were a tie for first and second place, a tie for the third and fourth, both resolved with the Table Point… but also the fifth place was a total tie: Giulio Roffi and Dario Manzo had the same GWs, VPs and table point too! So it was a coin toss to give Giulio the final table, a special mention to Dario, who couldn’t reach the final for a pinch of luck!
The finalists: Daniel, Filippo, Federico, Giulio and Damiano.
The fear of the Ravnos deck put the politicians on the defensive, leaving an easy point to Federico. After that, the !Ventrue! grinder put up a talkative strategy that filled the game of uncertainty, Daniel was a bit unlucky and suffered from an unexpected lack of stealth for all the game long, so Giulio got his VP at last; but with few minute left on the clock the game ended at the time, and Federico Ferrarini from Bologna emerged victorious, claiming the title of Italian Champion. Federico piloted his deck, an old archetype, with patience and built his victory around table control, steady offense and defense, and strong long-term resource management.
The tournament winning deck: “ventrue grinder” by Federico Ferrarini
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Owain Evans, The Wanderer 8 AUS DOM FOR cel pre Ventrue antitribu:3
2x Blackhorse Tanner 7 AUS DOM FOR Ventrue antitribu:3
1x Edward Neally 7 DOM FOR aus pre Ventrue antitribu:3
1x Jefferson Foster 6 AUS DOM for tha bishop Ventrue antitribu:4
1x Mariel St. John 6 AUS FOR dom pro Ventrue antitribu:4
2x Neighbor John 5 AUS dom for Ventrue antitribu:4
1x Jephta Hester 5 DOM FOR aus Ventrue antitribu:4
1x Lana Butcher 3 dom for Ventrue:3
1x Ulrike Rothbart 3 dom for Ventrue antitribu:4
Library (90 cards)
Master (15; 5 trifle)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
1x Channel 10
1x Corporate Hunting Ground
1x Coven, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Effective Management
1x KRCG News Radio
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
3x Vessel
1x Wider View
Action (14)
13x Govern the Unaligned
1x Under Siege
Equipment (2)
1x .44 Magnum
1x Heart of Nizchetus
Action Modifier (8)
4x Bonding
3x Conditioning
1x Daring the Dawn
Combat (23)
1x Aura Reading
4x Hidden Strength
1x Lessons in the Steel
8x Rolling with the Punches
3x Soak
6x Weighted Walking Stick
Reaction (28)
5x Deflection
4x Delaying Tactics
1x Eagle's Sight
5x Eyes of Argus
3x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection
During the weekend, there was also time for the traditional Saturday evening dinner, which concluded with a VTES-themed cake celebrating the event.
The Side Event took place the day after, with the 33 remaining Methuselahs. In the final, the Trento player Thomas “Thomu” Marchiori, successfully defended the honor of the host city and won the awesome Signpost ready to be torn!
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A big thank to the organizers, a bigger one for Mistlore, the Italian VTES distributor, for sponsoring and supporting the events, along with Black Chantry, Ultrapro and CardGamegeek.
The biggest thank goes to all the players who attended, and to the Italian community that continues to keep the game alive, amusing and competitive.
And congratulations again to Federico Ferrarini, the new Italian Champion, and see you all at the next major Vampire: The Eternal Struggle event!
Thanks for this report Miro, and thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!
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