I’m still very much a neonate when it comes to Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. About twenty years ago, I watched some friends play, and while I never touched the cards myself, I was completely hooked on the crypt artwork. My own nights were busy (mostly rolling dice in TTRPGs), so I never joined in.
Fast forward to 2020. The V5 Core Set drops, I cave, and I buy it. We played a couple of quick games… but nothing that really sunk its fangs into me.
Last weekend changed everything. Five of us sat down to play, and I had a choice: Tremere or Ventrue. My two favorite clans from the RPG. Something about the evening whispered “blue blood”, so Ventrue it was. I shuffled with a smile on my face.
And then I saw my crypt. Brock, Naomi, Oshri, and Chelsea.
What do they have in common? Titles? Nope. Nothing. Nada. Not a Primogen, not a Prince, not even a Deputy Assistant Night Manager. Good luck winning with votes. And what’s every Ventrue’s dream (well maybe not EVERY Ventrue's but certainly the ones I play)? Controlling the table with political actions, of course. My inner elder cried out, but I pressed on. Naomi at least let me play Enchant Kindred on Brock, which felt a little like convincing your roommate to do the dishes.
By the time Sybren wandered in to actually look like a Ventrue, it was already too late. My predator (who also happens to be my lovely wife), a Malkavian, bled me dry with surgical precision, while my prey, a Nosferatu, blocked nearly everything and then gleefully punished me in combat. It was a mess.
But honestly? I loved it. Even in glorious defeat, it felt like the first time I’d really played VTES. Schemes failed, resources vanished, plans crumbled and yet I was grinning the whole time. The Eternal Struggle lived up to its name, and I can’t wait for the next round at the table.
The game never ends, only pauses. I’ll see you at the next move.
Custodian Hargrave
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