Infernal Plague Storyline Announcement
Posted: 11 Sep 2004, 04:32
Infernal Plague Storyline Announcement
THE INFERNAL PLAGUE
Barbaro hadn't officially been welcome at the Vatican for centuries but made
it a point to be owed favors by no fewer than two stewards of the church's
archives at any given time. His scandalous behavior and subsequent
excommunication from the church were ancient events and it was unlikely that
anyone there today would recognize the name Barbaro Lucchese.
A young priest named Anthony gave Barbaro full access to the archives
whenever Barbaro visited. Barbaro was a knowledgeable historian and scholar
and taught Anthony many things in exchange for his hospitality and
unfettered access to the church's ancient texts. Tonight, however, Barbaro
neglected the lesson and quickly sought the solitude of the dusty ledgers
and worn leather volumes.
Barbaro pecked at the keyboard with his index fingers, duplicating and
simultaneously translating the venerable manuscripts. He tore the printed
sheet off the printer and penned several diagrams on the page before locking
up and leaving the sleeping Anthony a pint low but otherwise intact.
* * *
Archbishop of Rome was certainly not a respected position and Sela's claim
on that title amounted to little more than squatter's rights. Rome was
essentially abandoned, as it had long been inhospitable to Kindred due
chiefly to the activities of the Society of Leopold. In addition, any kind
of a successful operation in Rome would require a subtlety that most Sabbat
were unable or unwilling to pursue. Sela, however, saw Rome as a shortcut
to power and worked feverishly to make the best of the situation.
Sela's first taste of fortune came when she enlisted the help of Barbaro
Lucchese, a Tremere antitribu and former priest who knew much about Rome's
inner workings. In less than a decade, Sela created an infrastructure that
would allow them to thrive in relative safety within the Society's backyard.
With the aid of sewer-dwelling Nosferatu antitribu, Sela created a niche for
herself as an information broker, her Rome listening posts helping Kindred
around the world stay beyond the Society of Leopold's lengthening reach.
Entering Sela's office unannounced, Barbaro said, "I have completed the
instructions."
"Let us not sit idle then. The Society of Leopold's noose tightens with each
passing night," replied Sela.
Barbaro sensed rightly that there was no longer any need for pretense and
freed a leer that had been fermenting since the day he first met the
power-hungry Sela. He offered Sela his arm, saying, "Walk with me this night
my Lady, and you will receive power from the god of both this world and the
world below."
* * *
Alan Sovereign produced yet another stack of bank statements for Quentin
King, saying, "Lorance had knowledge of these accounts as well and withdrew
all of the funds with wire transfers to numbered accounts overseas."
"Have you stopped the bleeding?" asked Quentin.
"Yes, I believe so. All of the remaining accounts were closed and balances
redistributed," Sovereign responded.
"Are we sure that Lorance is the culprit?"
Sovereign explained, "Lorance's main haven was torched two nights ago. He
probably did it himself to cover his tracks but the fire department
extinguished the flames fairly quickly. Based on some of the notes we found
there, it seems Lorance is part of a cabal of infernalists that has spent
centuries infiltrating the Camarilla and Sabbat."
"Have the primogen account for every one of their clan in the city," ordered
Quentin.
"I will do so immediately." Sovereign added, "I've also arranged that
meeting for you with Prince Vargoss in St. Louis. He has been victimized by
the demons more than most - his sheriff and two of the city's primogen were
found to be in with the infernalists."
Quentin looked away and muttered, "How deep is this wound?"
***************
INFERNAL PLAGUE STORYLINE TOURNAMENTS
=====================================
Between October 15 and November 30, 2004 results of special Vampire: The
Eternal Struggle tournaments from around the world will create the next
chapter of this story.
Each player attending a designated storyline tournament will receive a
special promo-only card of Barbaro Lucchese. The Barbaro Lucchese
promo-only card will remain in tight circulation for at least one year
before being released into general support packages.
THE RULES
=========
Except as noted in these instructions, the tournament will follow the
Standard Constructed Tournament format and current V:EKN rules.
* At least 75% (e.g., 9 out of 12) of the vampires in a player's crypt must
be the same clan.
* Players will each receive one Barbaro Lucchese and may add him to his or
her crypt before play begins. Only one Barbaro Lucchese may be used in each
crypt. For purposes of this event only, Barbaro Lucchese's group number is
ignored, and he may be mixed with any otherwise legal crypt. The resulting
crypt must still meet the 75% rule above.
* Recalled to the Founder is banned (due to the clan focus rule above).
* Players will participate in an auction (as described below) to determine
who plays for the infernal faction and how much pool each player in the
infernal faction receives.
INFERNAL AUCTION
================
After players select their decks and before play begins, the event organizer
will attempt to split the players into two factions, infernalists and
non-infernalists. It is the event organizer's goal to have one-half
(rounded down) of the tournament participants voluntarily choose to play for
the infernalists. Players who are playing Baali clan decks must choose to
play for the infernalist faction. Players who join with the infernalists
(including Baali players forced to join) will pay the infernal pool penalty
as described in Section 4 of the V:TES rulebook for each of their own crypt
cards that enter play. If card text already identifies a minion as
infernal, the infernal pool penalty is doubled for that minion.
Initially, it is unlikely that the event organizer will reach his or her
goal of one-half of the participants playing for the infernalist faction. If
that goal has not been met, the event organizer will conduct an auction.
The event organizer will offer an additional amount of starting pool to lure
players to play for the infernalist faction. The organizer will increase
the amount of additional pool until enough players accept the offer and the
goal of one-half of the field (rounded down) is met. The organizer will use
a random method to decide among players who accept infernalism for the same
bid amount. After the auction, each player who is now part of the
infernalist faction will receive an amount of additional starting pool equal
to the bid amount of the last player to accept the infernalism offer.
Sample Auction:
John's event has 17 players so it is his goal to bribe 8 players (one-half
of the field, rounded-down) to join the ranks of the infernalists. One
player is playing a Baali clan deck and is automatically counted among the
infernalists. John now needs 7 volunteers to choose infernalism. Two
players volunteer to play for the infernalists without any further
inducements, leaving John the task of finding 5 additional players who are
willing to "sell their souls".
John begins the auction by offering 2 additional pool to each player who
joins the ranks of the infernalists. He gets no volunteers at this level.
John sees that he has a tough crowd on his hands and raises the offer to 8
pool. John gets one more volunteer. 4 more to go! John tries 10, 12, and
then 14 pool, at which time 5 players raise their hands to volunteer. Since
John only needs 4 additional volunteers and he has 5, John has each player
roll a die to randomly determine which 4 of the 5 volunteers will get to
play for the infernalists.
Now John has his 8 volunteers. Each of the infernal faction players will now
receive an extra 14 pool at the beginning of each round (the amount is
determined by the bid amount of the last player who accepted the infernalism
offer).
THE WINNING CLAN
================
For the purposes of our tally of the winning clans, players who play for the
Infernalists will be considered separate clans. For example, a player who
wins an event with a Ventrue clan deck will achieve a win for the Ventrue.
If however, that player played for the Infernalists, "Ventrue (Infernal)"
will be given credit for the win.
The winning clan for each faction will each receive a special reward in the
next available expansion.
FINDING AN EVENT NEAR YOU
=========================
Check out the event calendar [http://206.65.59.246/vtes/calendar/events.tpl]
to search for Infernal Plague events near you. Many tournaments will not be
listed on the calendar until early October, so be sure to check back often.
Also feel free to contact the V:EKN Prince
[http://206.65.59.246/vtes/calendar/princes.tpl] or tournament organizer in
your area to help them organize your local event.
Princes please see details on the Conclave mailing list for information on
how to organize your event. Other tournament organizers please e-mail Robert
Goudie at infernalplague@vtesinla.org for details.
THE INFERNAL PLAGUE
Barbaro hadn't officially been welcome at the Vatican for centuries but made
it a point to be owed favors by no fewer than two stewards of the church's
archives at any given time. His scandalous behavior and subsequent
excommunication from the church were ancient events and it was unlikely that
anyone there today would recognize the name Barbaro Lucchese.
A young priest named Anthony gave Barbaro full access to the archives
whenever Barbaro visited. Barbaro was a knowledgeable historian and scholar
and taught Anthony many things in exchange for his hospitality and
unfettered access to the church's ancient texts. Tonight, however, Barbaro
neglected the lesson and quickly sought the solitude of the dusty ledgers
and worn leather volumes.
Barbaro pecked at the keyboard with his index fingers, duplicating and
simultaneously translating the venerable manuscripts. He tore the printed
sheet off the printer and penned several diagrams on the page before locking
up and leaving the sleeping Anthony a pint low but otherwise intact.
* * *
Archbishop of Rome was certainly not a respected position and Sela's claim
on that title amounted to little more than squatter's rights. Rome was
essentially abandoned, as it had long been inhospitable to Kindred due
chiefly to the activities of the Society of Leopold. In addition, any kind
of a successful operation in Rome would require a subtlety that most Sabbat
were unable or unwilling to pursue. Sela, however, saw Rome as a shortcut
to power and worked feverishly to make the best of the situation.
Sela's first taste of fortune came when she enlisted the help of Barbaro
Lucchese, a Tremere antitribu and former priest who knew much about Rome's
inner workings. In less than a decade, Sela created an infrastructure that
would allow them to thrive in relative safety within the Society's backyard.
With the aid of sewer-dwelling Nosferatu antitribu, Sela created a niche for
herself as an information broker, her Rome listening posts helping Kindred
around the world stay beyond the Society of Leopold's lengthening reach.
Entering Sela's office unannounced, Barbaro said, "I have completed the
instructions."
"Let us not sit idle then. The Society of Leopold's noose tightens with each
passing night," replied Sela.
Barbaro sensed rightly that there was no longer any need for pretense and
freed a leer that had been fermenting since the day he first met the
power-hungry Sela. He offered Sela his arm, saying, "Walk with me this night
my Lady, and you will receive power from the god of both this world and the
world below."
* * *
Alan Sovereign produced yet another stack of bank statements for Quentin
King, saying, "Lorance had knowledge of these accounts as well and withdrew
all of the funds with wire transfers to numbered accounts overseas."
"Have you stopped the bleeding?" asked Quentin.
"Yes, I believe so. All of the remaining accounts were closed and balances
redistributed," Sovereign responded.
"Are we sure that Lorance is the culprit?"
Sovereign explained, "Lorance's main haven was torched two nights ago. He
probably did it himself to cover his tracks but the fire department
extinguished the flames fairly quickly. Based on some of the notes we found
there, it seems Lorance is part of a cabal of infernalists that has spent
centuries infiltrating the Camarilla and Sabbat."
"Have the primogen account for every one of their clan in the city," ordered
Quentin.
"I will do so immediately." Sovereign added, "I've also arranged that
meeting for you with Prince Vargoss in St. Louis. He has been victimized by
the demons more than most - his sheriff and two of the city's primogen were
found to be in with the infernalists."
Quentin looked away and muttered, "How deep is this wound?"
***************
INFERNAL PLAGUE STORYLINE TOURNAMENTS
=====================================
Between October 15 and November 30, 2004 results of special Vampire: The
Eternal Struggle tournaments from around the world will create the next
chapter of this story.
Each player attending a designated storyline tournament will receive a
special promo-only card of Barbaro Lucchese. The Barbaro Lucchese
promo-only card will remain in tight circulation for at least one year
before being released into general support packages.
THE RULES
=========
Except as noted in these instructions, the tournament will follow the
Standard Constructed Tournament format and current V:EKN rules.
* At least 75% (e.g., 9 out of 12) of the vampires in a player's crypt must
be the same clan.
* Players will each receive one Barbaro Lucchese and may add him to his or
her crypt before play begins. Only one Barbaro Lucchese may be used in each
crypt. For purposes of this event only, Barbaro Lucchese's group number is
ignored, and he may be mixed with any otherwise legal crypt. The resulting
crypt must still meet the 75% rule above.
* Recalled to the Founder is banned (due to the clan focus rule above).
* Players will participate in an auction (as described below) to determine
who plays for the infernal faction and how much pool each player in the
infernal faction receives.
INFERNAL AUCTION
================
After players select their decks and before play begins, the event organizer
will attempt to split the players into two factions, infernalists and
non-infernalists. It is the event organizer's goal to have one-half
(rounded down) of the tournament participants voluntarily choose to play for
the infernalists. Players who are playing Baali clan decks must choose to
play for the infernalist faction. Players who join with the infernalists
(including Baali players forced to join) will pay the infernal pool penalty
as described in Section 4 of the V:TES rulebook for each of their own crypt
cards that enter play. If card text already identifies a minion as
infernal, the infernal pool penalty is doubled for that minion.
Initially, it is unlikely that the event organizer will reach his or her
goal of one-half of the participants playing for the infernalist faction. If
that goal has not been met, the event organizer will conduct an auction.
The event organizer will offer an additional amount of starting pool to lure
players to play for the infernalist faction. The organizer will increase
the amount of additional pool until enough players accept the offer and the
goal of one-half of the field (rounded down) is met. The organizer will use
a random method to decide among players who accept infernalism for the same
bid amount. After the auction, each player who is now part of the
infernalist faction will receive an amount of additional starting pool equal
to the bid amount of the last player to accept the infernalism offer.
Sample Auction:
John's event has 17 players so it is his goal to bribe 8 players (one-half
of the field, rounded-down) to join the ranks of the infernalists. One
player is playing a Baali clan deck and is automatically counted among the
infernalists. John now needs 7 volunteers to choose infernalism. Two
players volunteer to play for the infernalists without any further
inducements, leaving John the task of finding 5 additional players who are
willing to "sell their souls".
John begins the auction by offering 2 additional pool to each player who
joins the ranks of the infernalists. He gets no volunteers at this level.
John sees that he has a tough crowd on his hands and raises the offer to 8
pool. John gets one more volunteer. 4 more to go! John tries 10, 12, and
then 14 pool, at which time 5 players raise their hands to volunteer. Since
John only needs 4 additional volunteers and he has 5, John has each player
roll a die to randomly determine which 4 of the 5 volunteers will get to
play for the infernalists.
Now John has his 8 volunteers. Each of the infernal faction players will now
receive an extra 14 pool at the beginning of each round (the amount is
determined by the bid amount of the last player who accepted the infernalism
offer).
THE WINNING CLAN
================
For the purposes of our tally of the winning clans, players who play for the
Infernalists will be considered separate clans. For example, a player who
wins an event with a Ventrue clan deck will achieve a win for the Ventrue.
If however, that player played for the Infernalists, "Ventrue (Infernal)"
will be given credit for the win.
The winning clan for each faction will each receive a special reward in the
next available expansion.
FINDING AN EVENT NEAR YOU
=========================
Check out the event calendar [http://206.65.59.246/vtes/calendar/events.tpl]
to search for Infernal Plague events near you. Many tournaments will not be
listed on the calendar until early October, so be sure to check back often.
Also feel free to contact the V:EKN Prince
[http://206.65.59.246/vtes/calendar/princes.tpl] or tournament organizer in
your area to help them organize your local event.
Princes please see details on the Conclave mailing list for information on
how to organize your event. Other tournament organizers please e-mail Robert
Goudie at infernalplague@vtesinla.org for details.
) Vorschau auf die neue Promo-Karte...
