Millennium Cultist Epilogue
Results of the Millennium Cultist storyline are tallied
Horatio Ballard watched the truck roaring closer. Lights off, it raced along the long private road, past the fallow fields of tobacco, illuminated by the clear stars and bright moon above. Despite the assurances he had received, Horatio was beginning to regret his decision to be here and take delivery personally. Having recognized the threat and advocated for this course of action, he felt obligated to see it though.
The vehicle screeched to halt in front of the main plantation building. Horatio nodded to the guards on either side of him, lined up along the long wrap-around porch, before he began to descend. He gripped the railing to steady himself as he lowered his considerable bulk, step by step, and marched forward to meet his guests.
The old Ventrue's heart sank as the doors to the truck swung open. Joseph O'Grady climbed out flashing his distinctive red hair and toothy grin. Clearly not everyone was interested is making this go smoothly.
"Well, well, look who showed up to sign for this crap." O'Grady strode forward. Horatio looked over his left shoulder as another figured stepped from the other side of the cab, but remained in shadows. Ballard peered into the darkness and thought he recognized him from their files on the Sabbat. Sutphen?
"I do not know how the…"
Horatio cut O'Grady off. "No. I suspect you don't."
As the two stood facing each other, there was loud clang as a steel case landed beside them on the pavement. Three more men, ghouls probably, had emerged from the back of the truck and were busy tossing crates and boxes from the covered cargo area. Most of the containers were labeled: Danger, Explosive Materials, Handle with Care, Hazardous Materials, Horatio struggled to maintain his composure as each came crashing down next to him.
A wooden crate smashed open as it landed, spilling Russian knock-off assault rifles onto the ground. O'Grady scooped up one of the rifles and clacked the ammo clip back into place.
"Yep. It's all here. In gooood working condition. I can provide a little demonstration if you like." He gripped the rifle and extended it, pointing it one-handed at Horatio so the barrel hung there a few inches from his nose.
The corpulent Ventrue regarded him coolly. He heard the guards behind him lunging for their holstered weapons and extended a hand to his side to calm them.
"That will be unnecessary… and unwise." Horatio stared down the barrel of the gun for long seconds until a black tendril, a shadow, came from behind the red-headed gunman, and wrapped around the barrel of the rifle. O'Grady let go and the shadow swung around and flashed away, the rifle going with it.
O'Grady turned and walked to the back of the truck. He pulled out a large cloth sack.
"Oh. I almost forgot." He tossed it high into the air. The sack flipped end-over-end before landing with a wet thud on top of the pile of hardware and tumbling to the ground.
The men climbed back into the truck. O'Grady flashed his grin at Horatio before starting the engine.
"This isn't over."
The engine started and Horatio watched them drive off, sighing under his breath.
"It never is."
He reached down to the large sack and pulled it open from the top, revealing a shaggy and bloody face.
"Hello, Reverend. How nice of you to join us."
* * *
Jan Pieterzoon regarded the bulging eyes and clenched teeth of the man sitting across the hard steel table from him. He had considered a more comfortable setting for this meeting, going the flowers and candy and comfy chairs route. But now he was thinking the ambiance in this police interrogation room would serve his purposes.
Jan slapped the newspaper down in front of the man let him get a good look at the picture on the cover.
"Have you seen the paper? A big fire. 37 dead, including the dear Reverend. The authorities are still trying to work out if it was a suicide pact or if someone went nuts with all that artillery. Tragedy. I'll let you know if anyone says anything nice at your funeral. Don't count on it though."
The Reverend barked at him "You! You are a monster and a murderer!"
Jan snorted. "You must be new to this club. But, in this case, you've got the wrong guy. I wasn't even there. Although, I'm about the only one who missed out on that barbeque. By the end there you probably had as many infiltrators as actual converts. You should be more discriminating next time. I think everyone wanted a piece of you. We employed quite a bit of leverage to reel you in. I hope you're worth the effort."
Reverend Adams glared at him while Jan pressed ahead.
"Let's get down to business, shall we? We were onto you from the beginning. We've got your sire. We got people into your little cult. And now you're here. The reason, the only reason, we let things go as far as they did is because we have questions about you, Adams, and questions about these prophecies of yours. There are plenty of folks issuing prophecies of doom and damnation these days. Most of them are nuts. In your case, we have reasons to believe that the source of these visions of yours may be something other than your fevered imagination."
Jan looked into his eyes, deep into his eyes. The Reverend didn't even blink. Jan reached out with his consciousness, boring through with no resistance until he felt like he was holding the young preacher's mind on the end of his fingertips like a crystal ball.
"So, you are going tell me where these prophecies of yours are really coming from."
"My visions and my sermons are the work of The Lord. My message is the message of truth. My words come from Him, the One True Lord, the creator of all and the destroyer of all."
Pieterzoon sat back in his chair, but maintained his gaze. "Ok. Right. I'm going to give you some names. You are going to tell me if any of these are familiar to you, if the One True Lord mentioned them in any of his prophesies. Ready?"
He listed the names, slowly, measuring the preacher's reaction to each. "Hazimel. Helena. Semsith. Lilith. Nergal…"
The Reverend nearly leapt from his chair, pointing an accusatory finger at Jan. "You cannot escape His judgment. There is nowhere you can hide from His righteousness!"
"I'll take that as a… yes…"
"Your precious blood will not sustain you! It will turn to dust. The ancients will rise and feast on your flesh! All will feel the mighty force of His wrath!"
The Reverend was in full fervor. Jan let the tirade continue for a minute or two before he reached forward and grabbed the preacher by the collar, hauling him halfway across the table until they were nose to nose.
"Enough. I have a little message for your Lord. Next time you talk to him, you give him a message. Think you could do that for me? Tell the One True Lord that we will be ready for him. We're not going down without a fight."
He gave the Reverend little double-pat on the cheek before sitting back down and straightening his tie.
"Now, where were we…?"
* * *
The results of the Millennium Cultist storyline are tallied. The Ventrue were the most successful in special storyline tournaments held around the world, edging out the Lasombra and Ventrue antitribu. Look forward to seeing an Advanced Ventrue version of Rev. Adams in a future expansion.
Cultist Storyline Rules
(Updated October 23rd)
Rules for the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Millennium Cultist Storyline Event
Recently, we posted an announcement of the Millennium Cultist storyline event. Between November 1st, 2006 and January 31st, 2007 results of special Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournaments from around the world will create the ending of this story.
Each player attending a designated storyline tournament will receive a special Reverend Adams promo-only card. These promo-only cards will remain in limited circulation for at least one year before being released into general support packages.
THE RULES
Except as noted in these instructions, the tournament will follow the Standard Constructed Tournament format and current V:EKN rules.
• At least 75% (e.g., 9 out of 12) of the vampires in a player's crypt must be the same clan.
• Each player will receive one Reverend Adams promo-only card. This card is not legal for the storyline events.
• Recalled to the Founder, True Faith, and Seeds of Corruption are banned.
• Each round of the event will be played using a specially designed Reverend Adams, Millennium Cultist deck. All cards in this deck are illegal for play outside of this event and are clearly identified as such. The operation of this deck and rules for play are presented in detail below.
THE CULTIST DECK
All of the library cards in this deck are variations of existing library cards and have been modified in various ways to represent the resources of Reverend and his cult. Read the card texts carefully and don't assume the cards work the same way as the legal-for-play version. Changes to card text are in red. The crypt consists of only one vampire which is also illegal outside of this event.
PLAYING WITH THE CULTIST DECK
The Cultist deck is used at each table in every round of the tournament. The following rules apply while playing with the Cultist deck:
1. At the beginning of each game, draw the first 5 cards from the Cultist deck and place them face-up in the center of the table. This is the Cultist deck's hand of cards. The remaining cards in the Cultist deck become the Cultist deck's library.
The Cultist deck's hand of cards is always face-up. Whenever the Cultist deck's hand has fewer than 5 cards, it is replenished from the Cultist deck's library. Cards burned from the Cultist deck are placed in the Cultist deck's ash heap. If a card from the Cultist's deck is sent to any hand, ash heap, or library, it always goes to the Cultist's hand, ash heap, or library. If at any time the Cultist deck's library is empty, reshuffle the Cultist deck's ash heap into its library.
2. The Cultist's hand size cannot be changed (by Jan Pieterzoon or Aristotle de Laurent, for example). Cards played from the Cultist's hand are always replaced, even under Meddling or Blood Weakens or when played by Nedal.
3. The Reverend Adams, Millennium Cultist crypt card begins play face-up in the center of the table. Reverend Adams begins play with 3 blood from the blood bank and is initially uncontrolled and out of play.
4. If you control the edge, a vampire you control may call a referendum to give you control of Reverend Adams (stealing him from his controller, if any) as a +1 stealth political action. You must burn the edge when that action is announced or the action fails. When control of Reverend Adams changes (by any means), he untaps and is moved to the new controller's ready region and gains 1 blood.
5. If you control Reverend Adams, you (and your minions) may play cards from the Cultist's hand as if from your own hand (and it may be canceled as normal for cards played from your hand). If you are to move a card from your hand to play (for example, with Concealed Weapon), you may move a card from the Cultist's hand instead.
6. The Cultist's ash heap and library are not your own, however, and cannot be targeted by effects which target your ash heap or library. Other Methuselahs are also limited to targeting your hand and may not target the Cultist's hand (for example, with Cull the Herd).
7. Discards must only come from your own hand. If you have to discard, whether at random or chosen, cards are only discarded from your own hand. You may not use a discard phase action to cycle the Cultist's hand.
8. Reverend Adams can play any minion card from the Cultist deck--even if he does not meet the requirements of that card. If a card requires a Discipline, Reverend Adams may play the card at the basic or superior level. This only applies to cards from the Cultist's deck. He may play cards from the player's own hand only if he meets the requirements, as normal.
9. Cultists (minions with the Cultist keyword) cannot block other Cultists and cannot take actions to enter combat with Cultists.
10. If Reverend Adams would leave the ready region, he becomes uncontrolled (and out of play) and is returned to the center of the table instead. All cards and blood on Reverend Adams remain.
11. Once per turn, Reverend Adams' controller may burn a card on Reverend Adams.
12. Any Methuselah can use a master phase action to put a manipulation counter on Reverend Adams. During the referendum to change control of Reverend Adams, each manipulation counter represents a vote in favor of the referendum. Burn all manipulation counters whenever control of Reverend Adams changes.
THE WINNING CLAN
We will keep a tally of the winning clans from each event. The clan that obtains the most storyline victories will be rewarded with a special reward card in the next available expansion.
REPORTING
After your event, please send the date and location of your event along with the name of the winning clan to .
QUESTIONS
Millennium Cultist
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Storyline Event
Beginning this November, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (V:TES) players around the globe will participate in the latest V:TES storyline event. V:TES storyline tournaments are player favorites and attract veterans and new players alike. Players are required to build and play decks with crypts composed mainly of a single clan of vampires. Results from events around the world are then tallied and the clan that wins the most events is typically rewarded with a card in a future V:TES expansion.
Compared to previous storyline events, the Millennium Cultist events will allow greater participation for each of the tournament's players. Storyline Director, Robert Goudie said, "In the past, much of the fun of storyline events was experienced only by the finalists. This time we wanted to extend the experience to all players."
As with last year's successful Infernal Plague storyline event a custom deck, legal only for this storyline tournament, will be provided to players. However, this time a special deck will be used at each table throughout the event. "Putting a custom storyline deck in each 5-player support kit seemed like a great way to let everybody share in the experience," said Goudie.
The story revolves around the unauthorized Embrace of a small-town Kentucky pastor, Reverend Daniel Adams. After his rebirth as a vampire, Reverend Adams tries to reconcile his religious beliefs and the hideous acts he performs under the control of the Beast. His professional life also takes a turn. The further Reverend Adams' sanity slips, the more popular he becomes. His charismatic sermons and end of the world prophecies result in a compound full of followers and a growing armed militia, none of which has escaped the notice of the Camarilla and Sabbat.
The special storyline format will revolve around a Daniel Adams, Millennium Cultist crypt card that will begin play in the center of the table. Players will take actions to take control of Reverend Adams. While controlling Reverend Adams, players may use cards from the special Millennium Cultist deck. The deck contains cards that represent the strength of the cult's financial resources and the militia's growing weapons cache.
In addition to the custom storyline legal decks, the support kit also contains 5 copies of a legal-for-play version of Revered Adams.
The following is the Prologue for the Cultist Storyline Event
LOCAL PREACHER'S PERSONAL REVIVAL SPURS GROWTH
by Liz Schall
Staff Reporter, Lexington Post-Dispatch
Among the many small churches of Clay, Kentucky is also found the fastest growing church in the Eastern U.S. Over the course of just a few months, the Millennium Church of the Coming Kingdom has grown from a small, mostly elderly, congregation to a community bursting at its seams.
Led by its young, enigmatic pastor, Rev. Daniel Adams, the Millennium Church has outgrown the 100 year old church building in which it formerly resided. In response to the growth, the congregation has temporarily moved outdoors and acres of land are now peppered with tents used for church activities and for housing many of the church's members.
It is this recent move to a communal living style that has some outsiders worried. One woman, who asked that we not identify her by name, said that the Reverend's followers were selling all of their possessions and giving the proceeds to the church. She continued, "The church created an armed militia to get ready for the end of the world." Many local residents have also blamed the church for a recent spate of livestock killings. Local police said that the animals were killed in an "unusual manner", but refused to elaborate. Officials were quick to say that they have not established any connection between the killings and the Millennium Church.
The most startling aspect of the church's growth is the speed with which it has come about. By all accounts, Rev. Adams was, at best, a mediocre preacher and a man nearly devoid of charm. His installation at the Millennium Church was his first stop after ordination and his struggling ministry consisted mainly of ministering to Clay's elderly and sick. Yet Rev. Adams is certainly at the root of this tremendous growth and his personal transformation is mirrored in his congregation.
In June of 2006, Rev. Adams attended a denominational conference in New York City. After attending a show, Rev. Adams fell prey to a mugger and was badly injured. When he didn't return from New York on-time, many of the congregants assumed he'd chosen not to continue as their pastor. Church members noted that a previous pastor had abandoned them in a similar fashion and this contributed to their outlook. Reverend Adams did return, however, and the changes were apparent almost immediately.
"Rev. Adams' disappearance a few months ago was a frightening time for all of us," said Michael Dean, one of the church's eldest deacons. "I was headin' home in my pickup from a friend's place in Fredonia when I saw the Reverend walkin' on the side of the highway. I picked him up and brought him home. He said he'd been mugged; maybe even poisoned. He sure didn't look good."
The first signs of Rev. Adams' transformation occurred during his convalescence. "It took him quite a while before he felt up to going back to preachin' at the church, but some of us elders would go to his house in the evenin' and he'd teach us," said Deacon Michael.
It was at these impromptu services where the deacons first noticed the renewed spirit of Rev. Adams. It was also during these first nights that they reportedly witnessed Rev. Adams perform miracles and heard him speak his prophetic visions of the end of the world. Since that time, many of the church's members claim to have personally witnessed Rev. Adams work miracles.
In recent weeks the church has begun to build walls around their compound. "We're in the last days, and Rev. Adams says we're gonna be ready," said Deacon Michael.
However, the church's next battles are more likely to be legal, than spiritual. Some Clay residents have promised a lawsuit to try and stop the church's expansion. The Millennium Church had no comments on the threatened lawsuit.
Horatio Ballard tired as he neared the end of his nightly web search for pertinent news stories. He knew that this was one of those menial tasks that he probably should have delegated to some underling, but Horatio found comfort in the routine. In earlier nights, Horatio would have newspapers snatched from the printing presses across the Midwest and would have them hand-delivered to him. Back then, there was not enough time to review the papers and react before they were distributed. The internet, however, changed all of this.
Local news from Kentucky was rarely relevant and Horatio only followed the link by accident. He had already closed the browser window when his mind recalled a few words that he'd just seen on the screen. Horatio re-opened his web browser and retrieved the news article. He re-read the section about the dead animals and knew something was awry.
Horatio would need to find out more, certainly, but he felt that he'd stumbled upon a situation with the makings of a major Masquerade breech. He was also aware of the value of a nice cache of arms--something a growing militia was sure to have.
Jacob Votaux reached Clay in August and had already begun to carry out his orders--get close to Reverend Adams. He carefully catalogued every detail about the militia; the weapons storehouses, when additional arms shipments would arrive, and who was delivering them. Jacob also perfectly recorded every utterance Rev. Adams made when he'd preach. After a time, Jacob's superiors stopped asking him about weapons and told to focus on the prophecies. Each time Jacob reported-in to his Sabbat superiors, he could sense that the information he provided was important and useful--and frightening.
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