Position:
Website Coordinator
Address:
Spain
Send an Email
Miscellaneous Information:

Nickname: Damnans
Year of Birth: 1971
Occupation: Art teacher, painter
Other Games Played: Vampire: The Masquerade RPG
Number of Cards owned: 111,000 cards
Number of Decks ready to play: around 100 decks
Play in: Palma de Mallorca, Spain


Q1: How (and when) did you begin your career as a VTES-player? Who introduced you to the game? Where did you play originally?
A1: A friend of mine taught me to play Jyhad at a GenCon in Barcelona (1994). However, since I was studying in Barcelona at that time, and I did not know any Jyhad players there, I could only play Jyhad on holidays, when I was back in Palma de Mallorca. For several years I tried to find V:TES players in Barcelona, unsuccessfully. In time, I met people to play with sporadically, until I finally found a real playgroup in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), where I had been playing V:TES until 2000, when I returned to Palma de Mallorca (where I currently play two days a week).


Q2: Which of the Sets and Expansions to VTES is your favorite, and why is it your top choice?
A2: Bloodlines, because it gave birth to new strategic support (still to be explored) and, above all, because Bloodlines released the most powerful clan in existence: the Baali clan >:-), which is now even more powerful with the toys they got in Heirs to the Blood.


Q3: What is your favorite deck to play, and why?
A3: I have many favourite decks, especially Baali decks, but none of them are combat decks. My favourite decks tend to be proactive, since that's my style of play.


Q4: If you could add something to the game, what would it be?
A4: VTES being published again.


Q5: What do you do to help promote the game?
A5: I have helped keep V:TES alive in Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca during the time between Sabbat and May of 2000, by organizing tournaments and setting up a fix place in Barcelona where people could trade V:TES cards. When I finally came back to Palma, I kept on organizing V:TES tournaments, including the Camarilla Conclaves (from 2001 to 2010). I also helped organize the two Spanish Qualifiers for the European Championship (2001, 2002). On the 10th of July of 2000 (once I was back in Palma), I published my web site: "Damnans' V:TES Page" (http://www.almadrava.net/damnans), which at the beginning contained all the unofficial cards I had been designing until then, and card creation tools. Now, my site also contains unofficial cards submitted by players from all around the world.

I have also translated the following V:TES resources into Spanish: V:TES Rulebook, V:EKN Tournament Rules, V:EKN Penalty Guidelines, V:TES FAQs, V:TES FOCS, Judges Notes. In addition, I have created a V:TES English-Spanish dictionary of V:TES Terms: http://www.almadrava.net/damnans/viehome.htm

  • On the 23rd of February of 2001, I created the "V:TES Hispania" Yahoo Group, a Spanish forum dedicated to V:TES, which currently has 609 members: http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/vteshispania
  • On the 9th of September of 2001 I published the first version of the "real time" Transcription System for V:TES Games I developed: http://www.almadrava.net/damnans/vtests.htm
  • Since May of 2002, I was the editor of the Spanish Baali Newsletter
  • In November of 2002, I co-founded the HISPANIC CONCLAVE: Spanish V:TES Association, which I currently preside. This national organization's goals are promoting V:TES and organizing and supporting tournaments throughout Spain.
  • In October 2003, I co-organized the European Championship held in Barcelona.
  • In November 2003 I became the National Coordinator of Spain.
  • In December 2003 I gave support to the creation of vtes.net (the Spanish national website for VTES), and since then I was helping maintain it until 2006.
  • In 2006 I became webmaster of the new vtes.net, which currently has 2000+ members, and several months afterward I created the online cardmaking tool called CardMaker / Creacartas.
  • In November 2009 I organized the European Championship held in Palma de Mallorca.


Q6: What is your favorite deck style for casual play / tournament play?
A6: CASUAL PLAY Experimental decks such as all kind of Baali decks >:-). And, when I do not play with Baali decks, then I prefer to play with political or funny theme decks.
TOURNAMENT PLAY I specially like political decks for tournament play, since they are versatile, give you access to many resources, and allow you to take cross-table actions (if necessary).


Q7: Is there a difference between your casual play and tournament play?
A7: Yes, because while my casual play depends much on our metagame (which is usually combat-oriented), my tournament play depends on the strategies I think that are the best to win (which are not usually combat-oriented).