Release Date: April 10, 2006

The Dark Ones and the Shining Ones orchestrate their armies while remaining hidden themselves. Seemingly enemies, these armies can only guess at the schemes and goals of their masters. Hunters, the imbued, the armies of the Shining Ones, are only a recent arrival to the World of Darkness, especially to the perception of a Methuselah. Perhaps other Methuselahs are slow to recognize the threat, and even slower to see their utility. But not you. Or perhaps the imbued were empowered by other Methuselahs to fight you, and you're the latecomer. Either way, the Nights of Reckoning have arrived.

Seven creeds of imbued hunters stand, sometimes united, sometimes alone, to take back the night. See that your prey greets the light first.

Nights of Reckoning

Nights of Reckoning is a mini expansion for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, the tenth expansion set released by White Wolf, and the first to introduce non-vampire crypt cards.

Each booster pack contains 10 cards randomly selected from a set of 60 all-new cards consisting of 20 rares, 20 uncommon crypt cards, and 20 commons. Each booster also contains one rules cards from the set of five rules cards describing the new rules for the set.

For added use in draft or sealed play, each rules card also doubles as a library card as indicated on the card when turned upside down. The library cards represented on the rules cards are chosen from previous sets for their general utility (that both vampires and imbued can use).

Errata

Three cards in Nights of Reckoning are misprinted:

• Smite is missing the "strike" label. It is a strike, as indicated by the rest of the card.
• The reaction effect of Vigilance is usable by a tapped imbued (it would have little use otherwise).
• Elder Library (a reprint found on one of the rules cards) still costs a pool.

Rules

The new rules for this set are given on five rules cards. The rules are given below, with an extension to #5 given in italics. Five other cards from the set are also "previewed" below -- one with each rule.
	1.	Imbued Imbued are new crypt cards. An imbued is considered a mortal ally, not a vampire. Imbued have 1 strength and 1 bleed, by default. Their cost is also their starting life, and it is specified on each card individually (like capacity). They have creeds (like clans). They have virtues (like Disciplines, but only one level). When they have zero life, they are incapacitated (like torpor) instead of being burned (see 5 below). Any "burn ally" effect will still burn an imbued, however.
	2.	Conviction Conviction is a new card type. It is played in the untap phase, so it is an "untap" card, not a master or minion or discard (event) card. During your untap phase, you may play 1 conviction on each of your imbued. You may play these conviction cards from your hand or from your ash heap. When an imbued enters play with no conviction, he may gain 1 conviction from your library, hand or ash heap. In addition to their own effects, conviction cards may be spent (burned) to pay the conviction costs which some cards require. Each imbued has a limit of 5 conviction. Any conviction gained above five is burned instead.
	3.	Power Power is a new minion card type, only playable by imbued. An imbued may get a power as a +1 stealth action, like equipment or retainers. The imbued untaps if the action is successful. An imbued may not have two copies of the same power. Some effects or powers are "always on". Others have a card type icon (action, combat, etc.) indicating when and how the effect can be used. To use one of those effects, you must tap the power card (and pay whatever cost the effect requires). Standard rules for using such effects apply (e.g., a reacting minion must be ready and untapped). "Always on" effects are still on while the power card is tapped.
	4.	Terms and Icons Imbued: a new minion type which counts as a mortal ally. Monster: any vampire or non-mortal, non-animal ally or retainer. Conviction: new card type. Power: new type of action. Avenger   Vengeance Defender   Defense Innocent   Innocence Judge   Judgment Martyr   Martyrdom Redeemer   Redemption Visionary   Vision (click here to show bigger)
	5.	Incapacitated When an imbued has no life, he is placed in the incapacitated region (controlled but not ready). Effects which are not usable by an ally being burned are not usable by an imbued being incapacitated. Any minion may burn an incapacitated imbued and take his equipment as a (D) action. If that action is successful, then each ready imbued may burn 1 conviction to inflict 1 unpreventable damage on that acting minion. An imbued may leave the incapacitated region and gain a life (not to exceed his starting life) by burning 3 conviction during his untap phase. Note that an imbued gains a life (not to exceed his starting life) if he leaves the incapacitated region by any other effect, as well.

Card Rulings

In earlier sets, card effects that deal with crypt cards have generally assumed that crypt cards were all vampires. Now that this is no longer true, some questions arise.

In general, if you (the Methuselah playing the card or activating the effect) can look at the crypt card (e.g., because it is in your uncontrolled region or in any ash heap or in play, or if you're "searching" your crypt), then the target crypt card must match the parameters given by the effect. This usually means that imbued cannot be targets of these effects.

If you target a crypt card "blind" (either an unseen card from the crypt or an unseen card in some other Methuselah's uncontrolled region), then work with whatever you find. If the effect only checks/compares the card's "capacity", then treat the imbued's cost (starting life) as its capacity for that comparision.

Those two guidelines should clear up all the ways of interacting with imbued who aren't in play. But for clarity, individual cases are shown below.

The following effects are imbued-compatible:

• Bear-Baiting (checking cost as capacity from crypt OK).
• Brainwash (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK).
• Cairo Int'l Airport (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK).
• Clotho's Gift at [obf] (moving card from crypt OK).
• Effective Management (moving card from crypt OK).
• Gemini (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK).
• Gisela Harden (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK).
• Goodnight, Sweet Prince (moving card from crypt OK).
• Innocent Bystander (removing card from crypt OK).
• Kindred Intelligence (moving card from crypt OK).
• Lázár Dobrescu (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK, but the recipient must be a vampire).
• Memory's Fading Glimpse (moving unknown uncontrolled card OK).
• Petra's Resonance (checking cost as capacity from crypt OK).
• The Portrait (checking cost as capacity from crypt OK).
• San Lorenzo de El Escorial (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK).
• The Soul Gem of Etrius (can retrieve an imbued, and will even put him in play if he's smaller than the bearer, but he gets no blood or life).
• The Trick of the Danya (targeting unknown uncontrolled card OK, but the recipient must be a vampire).

The following effects are not imbued-compatible:

• Chain of Command (cannot put imbued into play)
• Clotho's Gift at [tem] (cannot target imbued in uncontrolled region)
• Dreams of the Sphinx (cannot move blood to imbued in uncontrolled region)
• Illusions of the Kindred (if the bottom card is an imbued, no new combat begins and the imbued is removed from play)
• Might of the Camarilla (won't force a Methuselah to burn an uncontrolled imbued)
• Recruitment (search as indicated: vampire)

Note: Heaven's Gate text applies in full -- an imbued can be moved to the uncontrolled region, controlled but not ready, and will eventually be moved to the ready region just as a "normal" ally would be.

These rulings go into effect when the set is legal for play.

Checklist (complete)

All imbued are Uncommon (U) rarity.