Previews: Kindred fo the Ebony Kindred
White Wolf has now posted on their website a preview for the upcoming expansion: Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom.
White Wolf has scheduled the weekend of May 30th for the Ebony Kingdom Launch Event.
In related VTES KotEB news. Artist Heather V. Kreiter has posted four paintings she did for the expansion online.
Bama - “An African Vampire (e.g. Mamadou Keita) embracing an African mortal, turning him or her into a vampire (e.g. Arriette Sylla)”
Bestial Vengeance - “A Nagloper (e.g. Adhiambo from Legacies of Blood) with a pet cormorant into which the vampire has cast his or her beast (his or her frenzy nature). The bird’s eyes have gone wild yellow or red and it is giving a shrill battle cry as it flies to attack something (but not it’s owner).”
Mapatano Utando - “A view through a spiderweb in the extreme foreground of a pair of shadowy figures meeting and concluding a deal in a moonlit alley or beside a warehouse or similar in Africa. One of the figures is an Akunanse vampire (e.g. Umdava from this expansion).”
Despiral - An Ishtarri (e.g. Elizabeth Conde from this expansion) hosting a party for other African vampires, with plenty of blood dolls (groupie humans who willingly offer themselves for feeding).
For more of Heather’s artwork, visit her web site at ShamanSoulStudios.com
CardMaker Contest 2009
The Undying Thirst Blog is hosting a card creation contest. You have until May 15th to submit your entries.
There will be two competitions, one for the best created set and another for best created deck, in which you will have to make a deck with the cards you have created.
More information and details can be found at The Undying Thirst
Warcraft VTES Cards
Over at The Undying Thirst blog, several fan-created World of Warcraft VTES cards are on display. The cards are well designed and are in keeping with Warcraft’s lore.
My favorite is Malfurion Stormrage.
Know Your Kindred - Victoria Ash
Name: Victoria Ash
Clan: Toreador
Generation: 8th
Embraced: 1650
Victoria Ash is a singer, dancer and one-woman spectacle. She had a number-one pop hit on the charts for one week in 1997. The song entitled “The Unique Technique,” was played everywhere - on radio stations, in supermarkets, even on late night TV. But the song vanished as quickly as it appeared. Nonetheless, Victoria had everyone in the world listening to her. It only took her three centuries to get that far.
In life she was the bastard daughter of an alewife. When she was 13, she ran away with a solider who later abandoned her. She then became a prostitute, selling sex to soldiers. But she separated herself from the other women with her beauty, singing voice and the fact she was very good at her work.
Her singing attracted the attention of a vampire and known pimp named Maximilian. He made her his ghoul to preserve her beauty. Within five years she was the campaign concubine for Louis II, Prince de Conde. War and conflict between England and France continued and Maximillian was nearly killed by a rival Toreador guild. Victoria managed to save her sire’s life and they fled to the Netherlands. Once Maximilian recovered from his injuries, thanks to Victoria’s blood, he repaid her by embracing her in 1650.
After returning to England in 1660, Maximillian was killed by his former rivals. Victoria barely managed to escape by stowing away in a ship heading to the New World. She was one of the first Kindred on the continent. She’s spent the last three centuries getting to know America. She enjoys its wealth, selfishness, hypocrisy and honesty in equal measures.
Victoria is extraordinarily beautiful and she knows it. Even male Kindred who have long forgotten the passions of the flesh turn their heads when she enters a room. Victoria has one flaw on her body, a small mark branded on her neck by a Tzimisce named Elford. Victoria tries to avoid looking at it in the mirror and wears hairstyles that cover it from view.
Sadly Victoria’s life came to an end during the nights of Gehenna when a Nosferatu named “Samuel” slit her throat and carved her to pieces in an attempt to frame his mortal enemy, the Gangrel Beckett, for her murder.
Sources: Clanbook: Toreador, pg 93-94. The Final Night, pg 69, 172
Know Your Kindred - Thetmes
Name: Thetmes
Clan: Assamite
Generation: 5th
Embraced: 25 B.C.
Thetmes was a young Egyptian recruited to fight against Cleopatra and her Roman allies. The battle ended in defeat and Thetmes was sold into slavery as a gladiator. He excelled in the ring and caught the eyes of many wealthy spectators. He was eventually sold to a rich Syrian who offered Thetmes the opportunity to join the Web of Knives.
Thetmes rose to lead the Web and many thought he epitomized the stereotype of the Assamite assassin - no longer a solider or gladiator, but an artist whose chosen craft was death.
After the disastrous assault on Vienna in 1529, that saw the destruction of 30 warriors and a dozen sorcerers. Thetmes returned to Alamut and challenged the Caliph who commanded the assault to an unarmed fight to the death. The duel lasted just long enough for Thetmes to shatter each of the Caliph’s major joints and twisting his head from his shoulders and presenting the crumbling skull to Jamal before it turned to dust. Thetmes was then named the new Caliph of Alamut.
Thetmes was at odds with Jamal’s adherence to the Muslim faith, but he never censured anyone who professed Muslim beliefs. When ur-Shulgi returned, Thetmes disappeared. Rumors spread that he was killed in a manner similar to Jamal, or that he was on a covert mission for the Eldest. Infact Thetmes is ur-Shulgi’s right hand man. Thetmes is troubled that during one of his many periods in torpor was when Haqim left the clan for the last time. Thetmes believes serving ur-Shulgi will atone for that shortcoming.
Thetmes carries himself like a hunting cat: eyes constantly in motion and his body is still. When dealing with non-Assamite vampires, he uses Obfuscate to blur his features and uses cosmetics to lighten his jet-black skin, downplaying his age and clan in order to create a false sense of security.
- Source: Clanbook: Assamite, pg 96.
Know Your Kindred - Fatima Al-Faqadi
Name: Fatima Al-Faqadi
Clan: Assamite
Generation: 6th
Embraced: 1102
Fatima is widely regarded as one of the most proficient killers among the Children of Haqim. Yet she lives in exile from the rest of her clan. Like Jamal, she too is a dedicated Muslim, who regards Haqim as only a guide for affairs on earth.
After completing a contract to kill the Sabbat Archbishop Ambrosio Moncada, Fatima received word from her sire that she must choose between Allah and Haqim or face destruction. She never returned to Alamut and simply vanished. Ur-Shulgi declared her a renegade and must be destroyed. Fatima cares little about this now. After a year of meditating in a cave near Mecca, she renewed her faith in Allah.
Fatima is the definition of beauty. She is very graceful and posses a lean, muscular build and large, almond-shaped eyes. Usually she dresses in a manner that suits the current contract she is pursuing. Otherwise she wears traditional Arab garb.
Fatima was a former lover to the Lasombra Lucita. The two sparked a romance long ago during the Crusades. But the two women were often at odds. Over the centuries they’ve fought for and against each other. Although their affair has ended, Fatima still has strong feelings for Lucita and has often saved her life. When the Elders put Fatima on a contract to kill Lucita, she leaked word back to Lucita of the impending danger. When Fatima showed up to strike, Lucita was ready and sent Fatima to torpor. It is the only contract Fatima ever failed to complete.
When other Assamites engage Fatima in combat, they found themselves staked and shipped to Baghdad with the warning “mercy is sharper than any knife” ringing in their ears.
In the final nights of Gehenna, Fatima was visited by Haqim himself. The invisible Antediluvian whisked around her unseen, like a desert wind. Terrified beyond belief, Fatima bravely explained she had no regrets about her faith. All she ever did was to serve her clan and give glory to Allah and also to Haqim when possible. After she was done the Antediluvian circled around her, then vanished. Fatima was very grateful and fell to the ground crying tears of joy, for Haqim had declared her worthy.
- Source: Clanbook: Assamite, pg 95. Children of the Night, pg 80-81. The Final Night, pg 293-294.
Know Your Kindred - Jamal
Name: Jamal
Clan: Assamites
Generation: 4th
Embrace: Unknown
Jamal was a warrior from Africa who rose to prominence among the Assamites in the 12th century. Jamal distinguished himself as a leader, master swordsman and archer during the Crusades.
But during the Anarch Revolt, Jamal would suffer his greatest failure. The Eldest sent him on a mission to destroy the Tzimisce elder Dracula, who was standing in the way of the proposed Assamite-Tzimisce alliance. Jamal disappeared for a century, returning to the Alamut bearing the scars of a vicious battle. He spoke to no one, except the du’at and Eldest of his defeat, and they never made the details public.
Five years later the Treaty of Tyre was signed with the Camarilla and the Eldest committed suicide to expiate his shame. Jamal, then the oldest active fourth generation Child of Haqim, assumed the Black Throne in 1497.
Jamal proved a cunning and effective Eldest. But his practice of the Muslim faith troubled many Assamites who followed the Path of Blood. They didn’t believe a mortal religion could reconcile with Haqim’s codes.
In the end, Jamal’s faith would be his undoing. When ur-Shulgi arose, Jamal refused to recant his faith in favor of utter devotion to Haqim. Ur-Shulagi staked him and impaled his body above the Black Throne for a month. After draining his body of all its blood, ur-Shulagi scattered Jamal’s ashes across the sands of Petra. But the message did not intimidate the Muslim Assamites as ur-Shulagi thought. Instead they now use Jamal’s name as a rallying cry.
- Source: Clanbook: Assamite (Revised), pg 95
Know Your Kindred - Gerard Rafin
Name: Gerard Rafin, aka Uncle Smelly
Clan: Nosferatu
Generation: 9th
Embrace: 1899
The Nosferatu called Uncle Smelly is something of a Johnny Appleseed among the Kindred. Using New York as his base of operations, he wanders from city to city and coast to coast, to find the Nosferatu of Canada and America and link them into the SchreckNET.
A French tinkerer who was on the verge of starving among the thronging immigrants on the Lower East Side at the turn of the century, Rafin was instead Embraced and thoroughly Americanized by the Nosferatu of New York.
Rafin grew obsessed with two things: technology and the legends of the Nictuku. It was he who came up with the notion of turning New York into a fortress against the other childer of the Antediluvian, he who kick-started the SchreckNET itself and he who came up with the Uncle Smelly persona as a way to spread the gospel. Now he hits the road for eight months out of the year with a sack full of boards and wires, returning to home base with a batch of new stories he didn’t trust to go out online with and, inevitably, news of new links for the SchreckNET.
Uncle Smelly himself is something of a legend among the Camarilla vampires of North America. Everyone knows who he is and nobody bothers him for two simple reasons: One, he’s reputed far and wide to be harmless; two, he’s kicked the asses of the last half-dozen sheriffs who’ve tried to mess with him. That combinationusually ensures Uncle Smelly entrance into any city he pleases, where he can tell stories and dirty jokes, bend the ear of the local prince a bit and coincidentally maintain the system that houses the local SchreckNET node.
Uncle Smelly has ears that are large enough to cast distinct shadows, mismatched with an oddly shrunken head and no chin to speak of. He does have a straggly goatee and a few odd wisps of hair on his head, but the warts outnumber the hairs by about three to one. Rafin likes to affect a “dirty old man” pose, complete with a spattered trenchcoat and a battered fedora. He even keeps some candy in his pockets for little girls, just to keep up appearances.
Source: A World of Darkness (2nd Ed.), pg 12-13
Know Your Kindred - Sergei Voshkov
Name: Sergei Voshkov, The Eye of Baba Yaga
Clan: Nosferatu
Generation: 5th
Embrace 1991
Sergei Voshkov was the most brutal and effective spy in the business. A premiere KGB agent with the CIA and MI5 close on his heels. But by the late 1980s the KGB was mothballed by the Gorbachev government and Voshkov went into retirement.
Then one night “The Hag” appeared before him in his study. It was the legendary Baba Yaga, the Mother of Russia. Voshkov expected an agonizing death, but instead she spoke soothing words and offered him the opportunity to command her armies of the night. Despite the horrible cost it would carry, Voshkov gladly accepted.
Voshkov is fanatically loyal to Baba Yaga; he is her eye. He informs her of everything that goes on. His formidable mortal prowess in espionage and warfare, combined with the supernatural powers makes him a deadly opponent.
Voshkov is an extremely ugly old man who is still in good shape. He hides his face behind an upturned collar, dark glasses and a large hat.
Source: Rage Across Russia, pg 96
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
