By charlottevtes
Know Your Kindred – Conrad Adoula
Name: Demra Makemba Adoula, “Conrad”
Clan: Lasombra
Generation: 10th
Embrace: 19th Century
Demra lived along the banks of the Congo during the Belgian occupation of the 19th century. She grew up around European technology and culture. Her intelligence and leadership potential caught the eye of a 200 year old Lasombra named Elias Bruylant.
When Demra’s brooding European lover died suddenly, she fell into a blind panic. Elias then brought her to his haven in the Congo River. There he explained very politely what he as going to do to her, then he forcibly Embraced her.
Demra adapted quickly to being a vampire, since she already despaired of life. Elias took Demra to his homeland in Europe and Demra was dazzled. She’s never returned to the Congo since. While in Europe Demra joined the ranks of the Sabbat. In the 1920s, she began calling herself “Conrad” in honor of a Polish-English writer whose poetry inspired her to reshape the world.
During the Great Depression she came to the New World, where her natural flair for rhetoric gave her many opportunities in black communities in North and South America. She dreams of one day organizing a Sabbat effort to provoke white governments to see if more people like herself would emerge.
Conrad has a deep hatred for mortal society – for the conquerors who destroyed her hopes and for the people who won’t rise up and fight back. She considers Gehenna ludicrous to believe in. It seems like somebody’s world is always ending.
Conrad is a tall slim woman with extremely dark skin. Her face is scared with ritual marks overlaid with western symbols. When dealing with mortals, she uses Obfuscate to slightly alter her features just enough to allow her to belong in whatever community she’s manipulating.
– Source: Clanbook: Lasombra (Revised), pg 98-99
Know Your Kindred – Fakir Al Sidi
Name: Fakir Al Sidi
Clan: Gangrel
Generation: 4th
Embraced: Unknown
According to legend, the Laibon descend from Fakir Al Sidi, who the Assamites speculate was an undocumented Methuselah.
It is believed that Fakir migrated down to the African desert, where he Embraced just one childe, Kamiri wa Itherero, and taught him the magics of blood and earth. Thus the Laibon was formed. Only 10 Laibon are known to exist. They remain loyal to one another and do not create childer on a whim. Their hierarchy follows typical tribal structure.
– Source: A World of Darkness (2nd ed.), pg 127
Know Your Kindred – Kamiri wa Itherero
Name: Kamiri wa Itherero
Clan: Akunanse
Generation: 5th
Embraced: Unknown
Kamiri wa Itherero is the first Laibon sired by Fakir Al Sidi. All Laibon history and knowledge has been passed down from Kamiri. He is respected by the Kenyans, who often seeked his advice. The people called Kamiri “the official poisoner” and hired him to posion their enemies. But Kamiri, being a fair man, would contact the victim beforehand and warn him, giving him the opportunity to correct the wrong he had committed.
Kamiri was last seen 1,000 years ago, meditating at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean. Traditionally, the Laibon living near Mombasa takes the name of Kamiri wa Itherero, in honor of the Founder’s son. The current Laibon known as Kamiri was Embraced in 1582.
– Source: A World of Darkness (2nd ed.), pg 127
Know Your Kindred – Rafael de Corazon
Name: Rafael de Corazon
Clan: Toreador
Generation: 5th
Embraced: 1182
Many Toreador see Rafael as the symbolic heart of the clan. Though he is not the eldest, most powerful or most talented of the Toreador, he is the most influential. He won their hearts and minds during the Inquisition.
Rafael de Corazon is the author of the 5th Tradition – “Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the blood.” His passionate speech reached even the most closed minds and prevented the Kindred from launching an all-out-war with the mortals. Instead they covered their tracks and many believe it was Rafael who saved their kind from extinction.
Rafael is exceedingly vain, loathing anything that is more beautiful than himself. As such, he surrounds himself with people of lesser beauty.
He is also a mediocre artist and was not respected by the other Toreador. So he used his power to damage and embarrass them. Since he can not create great art himself, he uses his wealth to sponsor many talented artists.
Rafael hates the anarchs with a passion and wants to destroy them.
In life Rafael was a simple altar boy, resented by the other boys for his beauty. He used his favor with the bishop to lash back as his bullies. This was his first taste of power.
Rafael found little success as a priest, as he lacked the talent and knowledge needed for the job. Passed over again and again for important positions, he began to oversee the creation of mosaics and illustrated manuscripts. Rafael claimed credit for the finest pieces the monks created and threatened anyone who challenged him.
Rafael was embraced by Callisti y Castillo, a mysterious noblewoman the other clergy said was a pagan witch. She was taken by Rafael’s beauty and the illustrations he claimed to have made.
Callisti took him to her lair and embraced him. When she asked him to make more drawings, he tried, but they were mediocre at best and he admitted deceiving her earlier. She almost killed him in anger, but he begged for his unlife, arguing that his lies were a form of great art. This excuse amused Callisti and she spared him.
Eventually Callisti traveled to India and left Rafael to run her affairs while she was away. He wasted no time in exploiting her power, using her authority to propose treaties, form alliances, launch territorial wars and create numerous childer.
Sources: Children of the Inquisition, pg 35
Know Your Kindred: The Ankou
Name: The Ankou
Clan: Malkavian
Generation: Perhaps 5th?
Embraced: Unknown
There are many tales about the being known as Ankou. It is an ancient terror that stalks the night and appears in Malkavians’ dreams as a remorseless, lifeless monster that silently treads country roads with an ox-cart and scythe.
Most reliable visions hint that it is a Methuselah, grandchilde of Malkav and faithful servant of his 4th generation creator.
The Ankou can roam through Lupine territory untouched, through a busy downtown unseen, and even vanish from one place and appear miles away, visible to only it’s victims.
Malkavians vanish from their hunting grounds all the time, but sometimes after a disappearance, the Madness Network vibrates with whispers repeating “Ankou.”
Source: Clanbook Malkavian (Revised), pg 100
The Ten Commandments of V:TES
VTES designer LSJ recently posted the following on his Facebook page:
The Ten Commandments of VTES
- I am the prey to your left. You shall have no other goals before me.
- You shall not make for yourselves proxy cards, whether in the form of the crypt nor the library.
- You shall not make wrongful use of the call for a judge.
- Remember the Edge and keep it handy.
- Hinder your predator and prey, so that your nights may be long.
- You shall not mark cards.
- You shall not commit collusion.
- You shall not stall.
- You shall not limit your cards.
- You shall not repeat the actions of bleeding, political actions, or any card-based actions.
The Lost V:TES Guild of Warcraft
World of Warcraft for a time had some VTES crossover. A few players from the VTES usernet group got together and carved out a spot on the US WOW server Runetotem by forming the guild “Protect Thine Own.”
The guild met most Monday nights to play. Players created Horde characters named after their favorite vamps or cards. But slowly as time went by the guild’s activities dwindled to non-active.
I myself created a troll priest named Saulot, after the Salubri antediluvian. But I only got him up to lvl 14 before continuing on with my regular WOW duties. Eventually my WOW Salout suffered the same fate as the V:tM one.
Thankfully, some record of PTO’s existence still remains at Wacraftrealms
VTES on YouTube
V:TES Content on YouTube:
- DJ Fengshui has been posting short reports about local VTES events in Columbus, Ohio.
- Midnight Academy has a few videos up, interviews at the 2007 EC and a Negral deck clinic.
- And of course there is some completely lunacy.