Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE CONTINUES
… most notably by a HUGE number of organised events. November had 75 events registered in the VEKN Calendar, in 22 different nations! That is a massive number indeed, possibly the most for a single month ever in the history of the game. A record number of these were also National championships or other high level events, reported in this newsletter. Good times to be undead!
Another preconstructed deck is now at the print shop, and we would like to do another preview from the upcoming Fifth Edition Hecata preconstructed deck. The fantastic art is by Francisco Tébar, depicting a character from the "Trails of Ash and Bone" sourcebook for Vampire: The Masquerade. The Hecata crypt card template is by Ginés Quiñonero.
MIGUEL VEGA WINS THE IBERIAN GRAND PRIX 2024!
89 players participated in this event in Palma de Mallorca on November 16.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Iberia Mallorca 2024
34 players turned up for this tournament on November 30.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Santiago 2024
JONAS STÅHLE IS THE 2024 CHAMPION OF FINLAND!
30 participants played this event in Kervala on November 9.
Read the full report: Finnish National Championship 2024
EDUARDO MATEUS IS THE 2024 CHAMPION OF PORTUGAL!
33 players appeared for this event in Lisbon on November 2.
Read the full report: Portugal National Championship 2024
TOMASZ KLOCZKO IS THE 2024 UK CHAMPION!
26 Methuselahs battled it out on November 9 in Leeds.
Read the full report: UK National Championship 2024
ROY OPITZ IS THE 2024 NETHERLANDS CHAMPION!
24 players on November 24 can´t be a coincidence right?
Read the full report: Netherlands National Championship 2024
JUDGE RULINGS: NETHERLANDS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Hugh Angseesing, VEKN Chairman among other things, helps judge this event:
In November I was fortunate enough to travel to the Dutch nationals in Wijchen. As well as playing some excellent VTES with players from Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany and of course the Netherlands, I was lucky enough to visit Wijchen Castle where they were also holding a Circus exhibition as well as enjoying some Dutch craft beers courtesy of Robin, our host.
I only had to answer two questions but they’re both very common ones, so I repeat them and their answers here.
Q: Can a locked vampire play superior Cloak the Gathering to give another minion + 1 stealth?
A: Yes, generally a minion will be locked when playing action modifiers. Contrast this with Veil the Legions, which has explicit text “Only usable by a ready unlocked vampire other than the acting minion. Only one Veil the Legions can be played each action.”
Q: Can I play a Direct Intervention on the same turn as I played a Wash?
A: No, even though the Wash is giving you back a master phase action in your next turn, this does not allow you to spend a second out-of-turn master phase. See page 9 of the rulebook.
TROY ESPIRITU IS THE 2024 ASIAN CHAMPION!
15 players turned up for this continental championship in Singapore on November 2.
Read the full report: Asian Continental Championship 2024
VTES RULEBOOK IN JAPANESE NOW FOR DOWNLOAD
The rules of the game are already available for download in English, French, Spanish and Latin, but now also Japanese is added to this list of languages. The translation is by Kazuyuki Okuda - many thanks to you Kaz! Check it out at blackchantry.com > Utilities > Rulebook.
VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE ARTIST IN FOCUS: LAWRENCE SNELLY
In the long row of VTES 30 years celebration activities, Black Chantry published an interview with Lawrence Snelly, an artist who has been with the game since the very beginning in 1994. Check it out at Blackchantry.com!
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: NOVEMBER 2024
Apart from stuff you could see above (Hugh visited the Netherlands Nationals, Ginés organised the Grand Prix on Mallorca), the ghouls are working hard:
• The Fifth Edition Lasombra preconstructed deck is now in stores, and legal for tournament play since November 30. One of those fancy 1-page strategy guides is available now.
• The second round of playtest of the four 2025 Fifth Edition Sabbat decks has started! This time 98 cards was presented to the playtest groups to try out and give feedback. This round ends January 2.
• The Fifth Edition Hecata preconstructed deck preview season is ongoing, and the product page will be up soon at Blackchantry.com. The deck is scheduled for a January 2025 release.
• The five next New Blood packs (Lasombra, Hecata, Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce) are planned for late first quarter 2025.
• Sadly, more old legacy single cards for print-on-demand will not be up for Christmas shopping. Early 2025 is the new aim, with Dementation and Temporis stuff first.
• The 2-player VTES variant is still on hold for now.
• A reminder: Draft is coming back to VTES! Black Chantry has given VEKN National Coordinators the chance of testing a print-on-demand draft kit for 8-10 players. Are you interested in testing this experience?, talk to your National Coordinator.
• Currently these Black Chantry products are available through Gamepod, Drivethrucards.com and other stores:
Lost Kindred bundle
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2
Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
Anthology I bundle
VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
25th Anniversary
First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
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)
Do you have opinions or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
This month our friends at the World of Darkness crew over at Paradox Interactive published a FREE Vampire: The Masquerade story: "Reins of Power" available for PDF download at Renegade Game Studios.
"It is New Year’s Eve, and the times are changing. The old Baron, a corrupt and wicked fellow, has been unseated by the players’ coterie, leaving a power vacuum that must be filled. The characters must replace the Baron immediately. They may seize the city for themselves or assume the role of kingmaker, throwing their support behind another Anarch."
A one session scenario made for Anarch player characters with this setup, sounds very interesting!
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Austria
Australia
Brazil x16
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Greece
Italy x2
Japan
Mexico
Online x4
Philippines
Poland
Portugal x3
Serbia
Spain x11
Sweden
USA x7
For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar.
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 contact forms at VEKN.net. Also follow the official VTES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, the official VEKN X (Twitter) account @VEKN_VTES and the official VTES Discord server.
One day you will die. All of this will end. All there is to do is play.
