Preview art by Krasen Maximov for a upcoming library card.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,

HECATA IS IN STORES!

February 28 was the official release date for the Fifth Edition Hecata preconstructed deck, and that is also, as per the new ways, the official tournament legality date for all the new cards in the deck. No idea what this is? Take a look at the Blackchantry.com product page, which has a full content list and all the new cards depicted!

THE NORTH AMERICAN CUP CONTINUES!

By now you surely know of the spectacular Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix series of tournaments in southwest USA, but maybe you have missed the North American Cup series? Two events has already been played:

In Gap, Pennsylvania on January 18, Albert Presto won with a Tzimisce G6 stealth-bleed deck (winning deck here).

In Los Angeles, California, on February 16, Mark Jasper won with an Unmada bleed deck (winning deck here).

Next up is Dallas, Texas, on March 22-23.

After that: Montreal, Canada on April 26-27 and then Madison, Wisconsin on May 17-18, and a final played sometime during the 2025 Week of Nightmares in Columbus, Ohio.

Thanks to Darby Keeney, Mark Loughman and Matt Hirsch for coordinating this. Do you have questions about the North American Cup? Check out this thread at VEKN.net forum, it has more details and you can post your queries.

REMEMBER: PROMO CARDS ARE AVAILABLE ON PRINT-ON-DEMAND

If you are a VEKN volunteer, for example organising a tournament or demo games, remember that you can have your National Coordinator order promotional cards on print-on-demand from Drivethrucards (USA) or Gamepod (Spain). The selections on the two sites are a bit different, for example on Gamepod you can get some German language promos. Ask your NC to get hold of the special links needed to have a look! Some examples are depicted above.

 
VERY EASY RULES QUESTIONS

Really easy ones ... huh? How many of these could you answer correctly?

Q: I bleed. My prey attempts to block with Unleash Hell´s Fury. Can I play Where the Veil Thins on superior to get pass it?
A: Yes, as Unleash Hell´s Fury cannot burn blood. (ANK 20230226)

Q: A vampire with Fame on them is in combat and receives aggravated damage enough to burn. Does the vampire´s owner burn 3 pool?
A: No, as the vampire never goes to torpor, but is instead burned.

Q: Do my vampire have to be unlocked to play Obedience?
A: Yes. Unless the card says otherwise, reactions can only be played by ready, unlocked minions (or a ready minion under a Wake effect). (see "Summary of the course of an action" in section 3 of the rulebook).

Q: Can I play Freak Drive on my vampire´s action after I played Mirror Walk and the action is blocked?
A: No. Mirror Walk ends the actions, so no further modifications are possible. (RTR 20180719)

Q: Does the "take over" effect of Puppet Master trigger if the vampire who played the Puppet Master is banished by a Banishment?
A: Yes. That trigger effect has nothing to do with the status of the vampire who played Puppet Master.

Q: My minion tries to enter combat with my prey´s locked minion with a Ambush card. My prey uses Sense the Savage Way to unlock the targeted minion. What happens? Does my Ambush action "fizzle"?
A: Yes, if the action is unblocked when it resolves and the target is unlocked, the action fizzles (cost, if any, is paid, and it is considered successful, but has no effect). But Sense the Savage Way forces a block attempt, so both minions may end up in combat anyway, although without the maneuver that Ambush would give the acting minion. (ANK 20210124)

Q: I have a Pentex Subversion played on one of my prey´s minions. I am ousted by my predator. What happens with the Pentex Subversion card?
A: It is removed from game, because you are ousted, all the cards you control are removed from the game - see rulebook section 5.

Q: I have an Anarch Revolt in play. Someone tries to use the built-in political action to burn it. Can I play Delaying Tactics on this referendum?
A: Yes, Delaying Tactics cancels the referendum as per card text, and no minions controlled by the acting Methuselah can perform the same political action again this turn.

Q: I am at 1 pool. Can I put 1 pool damage on myself with a Kine Resources Contested, but recoup with a Voter Captivation up to 2 pool and survive the action?
A: No, as Voter Captivation is played after the referendum is resolved. If the effect of the referendum ousts the acting Methuselah, there is no time to play it to prevent the ousting. (RTR 19951110)

Q: I play an Alastor political action, and the referendum is successful. But when I look through my deck I can´t find a single equipment card left. Can I get the Alastor card on my vampire without any equipment?
A: Yes, finding equipment is optional. (LSJ 20050331-2)

Do you have VTES rules questions? The easiest way to find answers, except for checking the rulebook, is probably to ask at the VEKN forum, at the VEKN Facebook page, at the VTES subreddit, or in the VTES Discord.

BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: FEBRUARY 2025

• The Fifth Edition Hecata preconstructed deck is in stores (see above).

• “Preview season” of New Blood Hecata and Lasombra packs is a bit delayed, but will commence soon. They will look like this:

• It looks like the next batch of legacy cards for print-on-demand will be available mid March, both on Drivethrucards and Gamepod. Follow Black Chantry in social media to not miss this!

• The third round of playtesting of the 2025 Sabbat cards is ongoing, ending on March 30. Much art is delivered as this is written, looking AWESOME in a dark and grim way that reflects the terrible nature of the sect. If you are a playtester, please take your time to play some test games and leave feedback!

• Do you want to know more about upcoming VTES releases? For the general plan, read the roadmap article.

• Currently these Black Chantry products are available through Gamepod, Drivethrucards.com and other stores:
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)

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

Some highlights from the World of Darkness team at Paradox Interactive in February:

• For all you lovers of live-action vampire roleplaying, By Night Studios now has two new books up for crowdfunding. "Enemies of Darkness" and "Laws of the Reckoning" introduces new powers, new enemies and new loresheets as an expansion of Mind's Eye Theatre: Laws of the Night.

• "Wyrmtide" is a sourcebook for Werewolf: The Apocalypse from Renegade Game Studios now available for preorder. It covers enemies (Black Spiral Dancers, Pentex, Banes, agents of the Weaver and Wyld), how to fight them, sample stories, as well as more Loresheets, Gifts, Advantages and Flaws for your characters.

• Two new Dev Diary entries for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 were published. In number 26 you get to learn more about how the tradition of the Masquerade works in the game, and in number 27 we meet some of the very interesting mortal NPC´s of the game.

Subscribe to the World of Darkness channel for more news!

CALENDAR

Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Australia
Brazil x13
Czech Republic
Deutschland
Finland
France
Hungary
Italy x3
Lithuania
Mexico
Online x2
Poland x2
Portugal x3
Spain x11
Sweden
USA x6

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.

Thus he learned what sorrow does mean: To love his fortune all too keen.