VEKN Official Clan Tremere Newsletter Nov. 1998Volume 1, Issue 1 November 1, 1998 Please direct all correspondence and commentary to Xian. Blah blah blah, some legal stuff...I wrote all this on my own, so you'd better credit me or ask my permission (ideally, both). Welcome to the premiere issue of the Tremere clan newsletter. I had a lot of stuff I wanted to throw in, so it's enormous. Sorry. At any rate, there's a short story that just kind of popped into my head; maybe in the future I'll take an incident from a game and make a big deal out of it, or pester people to get me involved in the Jyhad On-Line story games. Following that is the first in a series detailing my perception of the strengths and weaknesses of the vampires known to belong to clan Tremere. In this issue, I'll be covering the Basic set, and in future issues, the European and Mediterranean Kindred. After that is a defense of a thaumaturgy card considered by many to be among the worst around; I feel that it has some redeeming value, and try to support that claim. Finally, there is a Tremere example deck which utilizes a combination that I have never seen before, either in real life or posted on the net (admittedly, I didn't do a thorough searching of the JOL games, but I think it is unique enough that it isn't likely to be found there either). And, to make matters even more interesting, it takes advantage of one of the 7/7 rulings. Yes, this deck wouldnít have worked as well before 7/7. So, read on and enjoy. Please let me know what I can improve...but don't bother telling me that it's long. I know it is, but I just couldn't help myself. Short FictionThe two women sat in the combination new-age bookstore and cafe, huddled over their mugs, leaning close together to discuss what appeared, to passersby, to be personal troubles, family matters, and the like. "They're somewhere near by, I'm telling you..." Blythe began, a slight shudder of barely suppressed loathing running through her. "I never said I doubted you. The elders told me you have the sense of it, and I learned a long time ago not to question them unless you have concrete proof they're wrong. Since I can't feel, or smell...whatever it is you do, and they told me to trust you, I might as well listen to your premonitions, huh?" The second woman shifted slightly, the only hint that she was annoyed with her young charge. "At any rate, I've followed some of their less prudent associates here after implanting a few subtle hints..." "Eugh. Sarah, I have trouble even going near their flunkies. They have the same taint of chaos." The younger woman cradled her mug to her chest in an instinctive gesture of protection. "Don't worry, Blythe. I can handle them on my own if necessary. Should you need to, you will defend yourself." Something in the force of Sarah's words bolstered Blythe's confidence. She knew that she would be able to protect herself, now that Sarah had mentioned it. "Thank you, Sarah. You know, I've really enjoyed..." "Before this love-fest rolls on much longer," Sarah interrupted, "it seems you've become distracted enough to let our friend slip your notice," Sarah remarked, nodding towards the door. "What?"" Startled, Blythe nearly stood up as she glanced around. "Sit down!" The sharp whisper cut across the table; grabbing Blythe roughly by the sleeve, Sarah Cobbler jerked the young prodigy, whose talents nearly rivaled her own, back to her seat. The new arrival appeared not to notice. Slightly disheveled, the lanky man quickly spoke to the cashier and walked briskly to the back of the store. Looking like a thoughtful bloodhound trailing a fugitive, Blythe trembled as she felt the wake of the newcomer's thoughts. "He's the one," she intoned, lost in a semi-trance, trying not to allow herself to give in to the fear. Sarah looked deep into her eyes, the force of her words driving home the subliminal commands. "Blythe, only add your power to the fray if you must, but stay alert. Whatever horrors these Kooks inflicted on you in the past, it is over. Although tonight won't change everything, perhaps it will help you find some ease for your wounds." With this, Sarah stood up and approached the door their quarry had just left through. Blythe followed, just slightly twitching as they closed in. A dull-looking employee with a curious glaze to his eyes moved to block the door, threatening like a bouncer, not the creepy manner customary for the bookstore's employees. Seeing that he was not to be swayed by any minor manipulation of his will, Sarah took a more direct approach. Approximately five seconds after his blood reached boiling point, she and Blythe caught the collapsing body and called for assistance. In the rush to aid the fallen fellow, Sarah and Blythe managed to slip into the "employees only" area. A high-pitched, slightly off-balance cackle broke the still air. The musty scent of age-old books clung to the figure who stood before them. Rid of the need to disguise himself, the vampire before them wore clothing almost a century old; his hair was tangled, and his spectacles askew on his sharp, beak-like nose. "That was a good trick! I bet you'd like to try the same on me, but you won't get the chance, for I have read the secrets contained in Sugar Pops!" Still shaking, Blythe muttered as an aside, "I hadn't expected this...something more sinister perhaps. Or more, you know...deranged." "Never expect anything from them," Sarah replied, as she started to make some sort of mystical passes in the air. Their disturbed host shrieked and lunged at the two intruders, bowling Blythe over. She rolled into a corner and started shivering, unable to control herself after the sudden contact with the Malkavian. Turning as she avoided the flying tackle, Sarah stole a small quantity of vitae from the raging madman, taking a little pleasure in knowing that he would feel a slight violation as she did so. As he turned to shriek at her, he drew a large gun from seemingly nowhere. Sarah almost gasped in amazement as she looked down the barrel of the largest hand-cannon she had ever seen, then closed her eyes, hoping the pain wouldn't be too great. She heard a sharp crack and opened her eyes to see the gun rebounding off the floor, the handle shattered, and the madman clutching his head as he rode on the edge of frenzy. Glancing over to where she last saw Blythe, Sarah recognized her young companion using the fourth basic position for inducing the blood rage. Sensing her opening, Sarah focused her efforts to master her most recently acquired knowledge, the Path of Flame. Just as he started to regain control of his nearly depleted body and turned to flee, fire leapt from the madman's hair and forearms. He quickly burned to a smoldering pile of ashes, but not before trying to collect a stack of books, to destroy them as he charred. Blythe halted his leap with her newly budding control over the motion of objects, slamming him into the ground, and holding him there until he stopped struggling and gave in, succumbing to his fiery death. Later, the newly acquired books in hand, Sarah cautiously rehearsed everything once more. Her careful train of thought was interrupted as she heard his footsteps. She could feel his presence, even before the door swung slowly open. Ulugh Beg, as powerful as his name is comical, strode towards her, one hand outstretched. "Give me the books child. There is no need to retell the events, as I have seen them all." "Here they are," she choked out as she curtsied. "As you command." "Is there anything you need to report before I let Muaziz take you under her wing," the tall, dark man asked? "Only that the young one performed better than expected, even during direct confrontation with the enemy," Sarah answered. "Excellent. You are dismissed. I may call on you later," he gestured towards the large door through which she had entered. "Yes, lord." With that, Sarah hastily retreated. Smiling, Ulugh Beg brushed off the cover of the first book and looked out into the clear, dark night where he could feel more of those who would oppose his master gathering their forces... Being a Review of some of the more notable members of the clanAstrid Thomas - aus DOM pot THA 7 Primogen Cardano - ani aus cel DOM FOR THA 9 Prince of Boston Cassandra, Magus Prime AUS cel DOM pre THA 10 Primogen Dr. John Casey aus tha 3 Ignatius aus dom tha 4 Jing Wei dom tha 3 Justine, Elder of Dallas AUS DOM obf THA 8 Primogen Lazarus AUS cel DOM pot THA 9 Primogen Merrill Molitor aus dom THA 5 Roreca Quaid tha 2 Sabine Lafitte aus dom pot tha 5 Sara Cobbler dom THA 4 Ulugh Beg, The Watcher AUS cel DOM for pot THA 10 Justicar Focus on a Card(A defense of Drain Essence)Drain Essence For a long time, Drain Essence has been maligned as the absolute worst of the Thaumaturgy combat cards. "It's so expensive...it doesn't do damage anyway..." I believe that a determined comparison to a number of other strikes will show that Drain Essence is not underpowered for its cost, and is a potent strike in its own right. All things given, this card is much better than it has ever been given credit for. What other card provides the equivalent of 2 unpreventable damage at inferior? Not that I recommend using it at inferior unless absolutely necessary, such as when you have not other ranged strike or your only other choice is striking with hands and your minion has the blood to pay for Drain Essence. At superior, this card, while expensive, is quite attractive. You minion nets 2 blood before resolving damage, the opposing minion loses 4 blood (unpreventable); the only drawback is that it's not real damage (though this happens to work out favorably in the "not-being-able-to-prevent-by-the-stupid-Gangrel" area). As a short run over the more often seen combat cards (I looked at it in more detail, but don't want to use too much space...), I'll present a list of the pros and cons of Drain Essence versus these other cards.
Anyway, I know I put a lot of emphasis on getting the blood back, but that is classically the Tremeres' forte. Without Taste of Vitae (and Theft of Vitae), there are no other methods to get that blood back. Theft of Vitae is quite good as well, and many times is preferable to Drain Essence, but when you need a big strike after the first round, especially if you've got celerity backing it up, Drain Essence is quite worthwhile. Sample DeckTitle: Close Combat...It's Not Just for Breakfast Anymore! Tremere Rush deck Crypt Average: 7 Worst 36 (Big, I know...but there can be enough blood gain to offset this, and you shouldn't need too many vamps out...hmm...well, maybe the deck could use a little more blood gain...) **Optional: I only included Tremere in this deck (this being the Clan Tremere
newsletter), but others that might fit in would be: Library: Notes: This deck is designed to take advantage of the 7/7 ruling on Immortal Grapple. Hit hard first round with Immortally-grappled strikes, using the press to get to second round, then hit with Walk of Flame or other strikes. I mainly designed this because I've had both celerity-thaumaturgy and fortitude-thaumaturgy decks, but thereís never been a way to work potence-thaumaturgy well until now. This deck has a problem with aggravated damage, as do many decks, so I tossed in the Leather Jackets. And yes, that's right. No Thoughts Betrayed. It could go in, but in general, I refuse to play it in my decks. It was obviously broken pre-7/7, and I just donít like to design decks around that card. Plus it would take up valuable room in this deck. And isn't Immortal Grapple good enough? Another option to deal with aggravated damage that doesn't reduce the rushing capability of this deck (too much) is to lose the 2 Rampage, 1 Walk of Flame, all 4 Leather Jackets, 1 Blood Fury, the 1 Death of My Conscience, the 2 Drain Essence, and 1 Undead Strength. Add in 6 Serpentis skill cards and 6 Heart of Darkness (or 4 and 8, or whatever you like). Yes, this is crazy, but it would be very entertaining. If you want to complain loudly about how you don't think you've drawn enough maneuvers for your Tremere to get to long range the first time you get into combat, that would probably be really amusing... That's it for this month! |