Don Draper: Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound.” It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.
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Beckett: If I see so much as a flickering shadow, I’ll be moving to rip your arms off.
Talley: I’ll be on my best behavior. Consider this an exploratory expedition into the heart of darkness. The horror. The horror!
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The Beckett’s Jyhad Diary Kickstarter only has nine days left on the clock. As we pass some stretch goals and reach others, Neall and I reflect on the work we – and the excellent crew of writers and artists – put into this book. It’s with some pride we realise how well-received the backers are finding the texts I’ve been uploading for preview (you can view them on the Kickstarter page). We knew this book would be popular, just by dint of its subject matter. We strived to ensure all the content would be useable in chronicles, exciting to read, and the kind of text to ignite all those lovely mental nostalgia centres. Judging from backers’ responses, we seem to be hitting the mark.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/deluxe-v20-becketts-jyhad-diary/
Every Vampire player can name what it was that drew them into this fantastic game. Whether the Gothic-Punk aesthetic, the rich setting, the complex characters, or the intriguing powers and mythology – everyone has a story. For me, it was the combination of personal and external horror, applied across books, video games, card games, and at our tabletop. I recall a game in which I portrayed a fledgling, violently Embraced into Clan Toreador by an uncaring sire. I remember the Embrace scene for its intensity, and the horror of its aftermath. I recall feeling my character’s horror at all she had lost, and the vengeance that consumed her. As my play of this character went on, she grew more deeply involved in the World of Darkness. She encountered Princes, Bishops, Hierophants and Infernalists. She trucked with characters from the novels like Beckett and Talley the Hound. She fought bloody battles, engaged in political intrigues, and brought her sire low through a protracted revenge scheme. That chronicle awoke something in me that never died, but my strongest memory is of that brutal, terrible Embrace.
My nostalgia for this game is great, and ever fed by the constant support of its players, Storytellers, artists, and writers. This book is fuelled by nostalgia, so your games might benefit from our accumulation of lore and experience. Every paragraph contains a plot hook. Every dialogue exchange evokes a part of the setting we want to see used in games. We’ve pulled from the books, the video games, and the card games (including adding characters who only appeared in Vampire: The Eternal Struggle). There are no depths we have not plumbed to make this book as strong as it can be, and I want you to enjoy it, use it, and find it the ultimate in Vampire resources. A Storyteller with this book should have enough plots at her disposal to last years and years. I want readers to find the easter eggs we’ve planted, referring to obscure books and undeveloped plots from historic works, seeing a character referenced for the first time in over two decades. I want that feeling of nostalgia to wash over every backer as they open their copy of Beckett’s Jyhad Diary.
More importantly still, I want this book to appeal to new players and Storytellers. Beckett’s Jyhad Diary contains new material, new expansions to the existing metaplot, and enough grounding to make the game accessible to anyone – old hands and fresh fledglings alike. The Kickstarter backers have responded incredibly well to the bringing back of characters like Marcus Vitel and Cappadocius. They have responded stronger still to the idea of vampires of the South American continent, Clan allegiances changing, and deeper explorations of Clans, bloodlines, and Sects. There is more to come as stretch goals pass and more chapters are added to the already sizeable text. I ask that you engage with us, and the other backers, in the Kickstarter comments. Have a say on what you like and dislike about the book so far. We are listening, and will respond.
Below I will post several of the plot hooks from across the book, to give examples of the kind of signposted content a Storyteller might use. Note however, there are plenty more between the lines of Beckett’s text, in the dialogue between characters, in the emails he’s printed and added to his diary, the chat logs, faxes, police reports, and everything else.
Let me know what you think of the book, and if you’re still unsure about backing, tell me why! I would love to try and convince you to get involved with Beckett’s Jyhad Diary. If you are already backing, then I thank you. Please share the Kickstarter on all social media. Remember – the more stretch goals we hit, the more content this book receives, and it’ll all be thanks to you.
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- (From “The Dead Walk”) Prince Sergio Bueno of Santo Domingo seeks a capable coterie for the task of recruiting the Lasombra antitribu of the Caribbean islands. The Magisters are notably hard to pin down given their near-constant persecution by Sabbat brethren, yet Bueno is adamant their assistance is required in routing the Serpents of the Light from Haiti. Outside the Dominican Republic, the Camarilla is unsure whether Bueno acts in the interests of his Sect or his Clan, so a secret counteroffer has been laid on the table by Justicars Lucinde and Iadanza for the coterie prepared to work for Prince Sergio. They’re to ensure the Setite doesn’t claim power in Haiti once the insurrection is complete. A competent Ventrue or Toreador must instead be placed in power.
- (From “A Split City”) Khalid, the Nosferatu Primogen of Chicago, is one of the few Kindred independent of the games of Helena and Menele. He became aware that two Methuselahs control the city some time ago. Through his tremendous powers of Obfuscate, Khalid has kept his independence. It was years before Helena and Menele became aware of him and, by that time, each assumed the other controlled the Nosferatu. Recently, things came too close. In a fit of paranoia, Khalid vanished. He doesn’t attend Primogen meetings. He’s faded from view, and in some cases memory. He tries to subtly direct and guide vampires still independent of the Methuselahs. These wild cards usually include neonates, including a particular coterie creeping beneath the notice of the ancients.
- (From “War Across Dixie”) Lawrence Meeks’ worst fears come to pass. Prince Calbullarshi falls, not to a Camarilla-led coup or even a Sabbat siege, but to a new vampiric Sect devoted to Vodou. New Orleans is now truly the City of the Dead, and the Masquerade groans and creaks under daily reports from terrified mortals who have encounters with the zombies who form the armies of the Necropolis. Perhaps the only obstacle to this dark outcome is to find a Camarilla candidate for Prince who can speak to the Vodouists in their own language, or perhaps one who can bypass them and speak directly to the dead.
- (From “Planting the Eye”) The Sabbat Bishops of Detroit have been struck down and chaos ensues. If Detroit seemed like a postapocalyptic nightmare before, it’s on the verge of actually becoming one now. Without so much as nominal leadership to keep them in line, packs rage across the city in an unrestrained orgy of violence. The Camarilla wants to insert a proper Prince, but first they have to bring it under their control, and for that they’ll need soldiers and diplomats: the former for obvious reasons, and the latter to leverage Setite favor to their advantage. The Followers can play kingmakers here, but what will it cost?
- (From “The Fall of the House”) The Universidad del Tercer Circulo del Serpiente Dorado ranks as one of the largest Chantries in the world, yet remains abandoned. Sabbat Cainites who have attempted entry without Thaumaturgical protection have fallen afoul of cruel traps and curses, but now that the Tremere from all factions have discovered the Sabbat are giving the location a wide berth, various expeditions are being planned by parties representing each bloc. The increased interest around the former Chantry of Goratrix leads to a race to see which Thaumaturges can claim the greatest prizes before the entire complex is stripped.
- (From “Dreams and Nightmares”) An elder vampire named Zoe appears in the local court, claiming to be a survivor of Constantinople. Despite her apparent age and power, she begs alms from the local ruler, and sanctuary against those seeking to do her harm. She explains she witnessed the collapse of the Dream in the Dark Ages, saw the first Trinity implode, and the second scatter. Upon hearing of a third joining, she journeyed to Istanbul to bear witness, only to be horrified by what she encountered. Since that time, she’s fled the protectorate of the new Trinity and its assassins. She’s willing to share knowledge of what’s taking place in Istanbul, but warns anyone that such knowledge could easily spell their doom.
I’m really tempted to back BJD, but as it stands the section on Dhampir is a mess of bizzare rules interpretations. I know it’s a work in progress, but the “progress” looks pretty backwards right now.
That section is pretty important to me, amd while the rest of the book will no doubt be interesting, I’m not going to spend money on a product that’s so slipshod it takes perfectly serviceable rules from Time of Thin Blood and reduces their clarity. It makes me question the work done on the rest of the document.
If that section is given more serious treatment (and dhampirs aren’t royally screwed over as they currently are), I’d be happy to contribute.
We can easily address any highlighted issues at errata stage, so that’s not a problem. I find it intriguing that you won’t back a book due to one part you dislike – it’s interesting to me why backers back some books, and not others.
May I ask – Have you read any of the rest of the text? What makes this single feature a dealbreaker behind your backing a book of this size?
” it’s interesting to me why backers back some books, and not others.” I think it’s mostly because this is a book of metaplot aimed at storytellers not characters. As a player you’d rather not know what awaits you (oh yes, the magic of the first edition, the unknown … hehe). So this book is primarily supported by storytellers, perhaps as a character you buy it later after having played and buy it for collection.
For my part, I prefer books centered on a city or in a particular area. With more details and not a collection of superstars and possible stories. I still like the idea of the book as a summary of all previously published books. Although I miss Dark Colony and especially Montreal by Night. And finally, the language, I am not native English, so in the end would end with two books, one in English and another in my language later. So I would support the project with a book in pdf. I hope my opinion will help you.
I agree that there is more of a Storyteller slant to this book. Certainly we’ve not arrayed a whole new list of powers or bloodlines, or the like. I think for a player, the best they can get from Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is a feel for the world in which they’re playing. A Storyteller can use this book as a resource for characters, plots, and settings. A player can use this book to understand what the World of Darkness is like.
You’ll be pleased to know the Hands of Darkness stretch goal will be set in Montreal!
I have read the other sections, and I find the writing pretty damned good, but I was getting concerned that perhaps you were all taking on too much and the edges were starting to fray.
To answer your question, while I am a storyteller and a player, I’ve never much cared for signiture characters. While I enjoy the metaplot to an extent, I don’t use it. Vampire, for me, is about crafting stories around the player characters and their exploits.
I do understand that your aim is to present this material in such a way that it provides story seeds for players rather than the kind of “do what your told and go watch NPCs be awesome” experience provided by books like Nights of Prophecy, and I’m glad of that.
The short of it is, the dhampir section affects me personally (I have a dhampir character) while the rest is only mildly useful to me at best. I’m a fringe case, sure, but in this situation, that one chapter would be enough to tip me one way or the other.
For the record, I love yhe introduction of 16th gen vampires. There’s stuff for me to look forward to, just please be more mindful of those of us who actually play these characters before you make changs to the rules that govern them (especially rules tat restrict dather than expand the concepts).
Thanks for chiming in! I wrote the section, so let me reply.
From your forum post, I gathered you have two specific problems with this section.
The first is with dhampirs not being able to heal aggravated damage. Regarding that (I’m gonna copy paste from the forumthread for ease):
I don’t really agree that a dhampir is basically a revenant. I agree that they are very close kins, but I think it reduces the uniqueness of both to simply equate them. Hence the differences. As for your question about Aggravated damage – that goes back to exactly that section of Time of Thin Blood that you refer to. It explicitly states that they can heal Bashing and Lethal, yet is mum on Aggravated. From that I decided to go with B yes, L yes, A no. Thematically I also feel that fits since Beckett’s Jyhad Diary views them as hewing closer to mortal than vampire.
And the second was about confusion that arises from them becoming ghouls:
This again goes back to dhampirs in BJD being unique from revenants, and closer to mortal than vampire. Hence they can become ghouls. But you have a point that it might make the mechanics more difficult than they need to be for such a small change. I’ll talk to the developer and see if we can replace it with “Revenants can serves as ghouls and be blood bond, though mechanically they remain the same” (or equivalent).
I hope that clears things up.
Thank you for replying! I appreciate the explaination and knowing at least that someone listened (and thoughtfully at that).
I’m actually thrilled that you are expanding on dhampirs to highlight the differences between them and revenants – the fact that it’s hewing more toward the mortal side not so much,but that’s a matter of aesthetics.
I understand whete you’re coming from concerning aggravated damage.However, I have two main (constructive!) criticisms here:
From a player perspective, this is a “nerf” – rules that were previously unstated but implied (dhampirs are revenants so they heal like revenants) are now clarified in a way detrimental to dhampir characters. A rules nerf should exist to counter a problem with the mechanics, not (amd this is purely opinon) to confirm the suspicions of an in-fiction NPC at the expense of players at the table.
My second dissent is a thematic one: revenants have their vampire blood filtered through generations of mortal ancestors. No matter how human dhampirs are, no matter how week the blood of their vampiric parent, they’re still closer to the curse than a revenant. This is part of why I always found it strange that they were basically treated like “caitff” revenants.
I would suggest putting in the “Can’t heal Aggravated Damage With Blood” restriction as a flaw, rather than as the baseline. Or, alternatively, add a 3pt merit that allows them to do so (and bump them up to 21 freebies so that a dhampir with that merit starts at the Time of Thin Blood level og 18 freebies.)
I can easily house rules my own game, but if I ever play a dhampir in someone else’s game I’d rather not feel like I was less survivable for the sake of highlighting how smart Beckett is 😉
Thank you again – I’ll look at the kickstarter levels tonight.
So a Dhampir can never heal any aggravated wounds they suffer? Ever? They just have a gaping wound for the rest of their lives?
They heal like mortals, so it takes as long to heal as Lethal does without blood.
The notion that dhampirs are more human than vampire is being invoked to justify the ruling that they can’t heal Agg with blood specifically. It’s a rather weird justification though: Ghouls and Revenants are both also more human than vampire, and they have no issues.
Basically it’s a nerf that isn’t needed, isn’t supported narratively, and weakens existing characters who are already at a disadvantage (fewer starting freebies and vastly more expensive discipline costs), but is likely to remain in the book because why bother changing it back?
I imagine they figure no one actually plays dhampirs so no one will care (but then why reprint the rules?)
Something worth keeping in mind (and apologies for invoking ‘the Golden Rule’ here) is that you are in NO WAY obliged to follow the rules as written any more than you are to follow the ‘metaplot’ in any way.
You wanna ignore the ‘nerf’? Go nuts.
You wanna kill off Beckett (or Aristotle de Laurent, as my chronicle did, only to have him replaced by a quasi-mythic ‘first daughter of Eve’ who was both Caine’s twin sister AND the very first ghoul who was kept ignorant of her true identity by a fanatic band of Inconnu ‘grail knights’ waiting for the start of Gehenna to reveal the truth to her)? Again, go nuts…
It’s your game once you start playing. No book can force you to accept something you don’t want to do.
Oh I know, I have my own take on dhampirs that I use in my chronicle, and have no trouble ignoring rules changes.
But the issue there is that I’m also a player, and I actually like playing dhampir characters. I don’t have control over other people’s games,and it’s been hard enough for me to convince other storytellers to let me play a halfblood character.
Now I have to try and convince them to also let me heal agg with blood? Do you see where I’m coming from?
If there was a good reason for the change, I wouldn’t be making a fuss about it, but the explaination given doesn’t hold up and dhampir’s healing agg before wasn’t a problem that needed fixing.
In proper Spanish it would be: Universidad del Tercer Círculo de la Serpiente Dorada. 😉 Other than that, very excited about this book.
I will ensure that gets corrected at errata stage! Thank you for highlighting it. Serves me right for using the terminology used in previous books.
I believe Gentleman Gamer has put forth a request for a new chapter on the elusive Caitiff Stone man, he and the Caitiff need a chapter in the book. If so, I will vote with more money .
I certainly hope to get a chapter added in which more Caitiff and the infamous Stoneman appear. As we’ll be attempting to cram as much into a chapter as possible, don’t hold out for a Caitiff-specific chapter – expect that they could appear in any one of the upcoming stretch goals.
haha dat great…
haha excellent…Caitiff need love too..
On the one hand, I love Caitiff and would like to see as much material gor them as possible (just nothing that adds unnecessary mechanics like how and when a Caitiff arises- the more nebulous they are the more easily they give cause for concern to other vampires).
On the other hand, I love how little attention they get. It’s so fitting 🙂 when they are treated, its as an afterthought, and thatcs perfect.
That’s pretty much my thought pattern too. If they become the focus, they’re no longer Clanless scum 😉
Anyways on the Detroit plot hook haha yep Detroit has always been an interesting sabbat city to me. Urban decay coupled with barely restrained(now apparently unrestrained) sabbat vampires. Wonder what struck down the sabbat bishops. Well in the Mage Techonocracy books a few instances point to the Technocracy hunting down sabbat in Detroit or at least using the sabbat there as testing grounds for their latest toys. Also form hunters hunted v20 , talk of a criminal org which hunts down vampires manipulated by a Old Clan Tzimisce imagine that.
When that chapter gets teased, you shall find out!
As for the Tremere anti tribu chantry, well there is still that nagging plot hook from Children of the Revolution, that Tremere experiment in exterminating the Tzimisce clan, Desmondus is still active out there, wonder what they are and what became of them. Also the Tremere antitribu chantry is very interesting .
There are definitely several Tremere antitribu still active. Technically House Carna now constitutes a form of Tremere antitribu…
Zoe from Constantinople by night, hey how about mary the black, what she up to , hey maybe she is actually zoe, Mary the black has brain problems, not surpirsed she got schitzophrenia now that she has diablarized michael from constantinople by night, not surprised if mary is masquerading as Zoe…and how about Michael actually takne over Mary from the diablere or fighting over her brain space and Michael is trying to bring out the dream of Constantinople again.
What do you think Mary the Black would be up to in these modern nights?
I admit I’m mostly intrigued by the developments in Chicago and while I would have preferred something a bit more dramatic, I think making Critias defacto Prince (yes, the Primogen rules but one member is older than all of them combined) was a good choice. I hope we’ll see a full Chicago V20 write-up as a future supplement.
I’m most excited about Lucita and the Black Hand and I’m hoping it’s my favorite Autarkis joining the True Hand since I think she’d fit it very well.
Can you see Lucita worshiping the Antediluvians like other members of the True Black Hand? That’s interesting..
It would be an awful mixture and yet Lucita hangs around Anatole the Prophet of Gehenna who is similarly an alien inhuman creature who, nevertheless, is devoted to protecting humanity. Her other bestie is the world’s greatest Noddist scholar. Kind of funny how they’re the biggest Black Hand types in the world except never seem to have encountered them.
I look forward to seeing what they’re like.
Anatole is the Prophet of Gehenna, but he never seemed to revere the Clan Founders. Hopefully we’ll get more True Black Hand in some of the stretch goals!
I wonder if BJD will contain any actual game mechanics, and if so how much.
Anyway, I happy to see Chicago is getting some more attention. The battle between Helena and Menele and how it affected Chicago is one of my favourite parts of the metaplot. I’d happy to see their Jyhad continue.
We are scant on game mechanics. There’s a little in the chapters – The Blood Matures and Transvaal Nights (I believe), but otherwise it’s all lore.
I recall Menele and Helena’s battle being one of the original plot threads that brought me into the game. It’s fantastic to revisit it.
I see.
Well it’s still got the lore, and that’s great.
And regarding Chicago, is Menele going to wake from Torpor and change the dynamic of his war with Helena.
That’s something you’ll need to read to find out 😉
Although I love the possibility of adding such amazing looking chapters to the via stretch goals, I have to say that it feels incredibly sad to see the chapters that are finally left behind once the KS finishes. That such chapters will never get into the book is kinda cruel.
That’s not the attitude! We’ll get enough backing to incorporate them – just you wait and see.
Ah, but is it -really- Melinda Galbraith? 😀
You’d have to ask her 😉 Of course, if she’s an unfortunate Tzimisce imitator, she may not stick around to answer.
The ONE thing that bugs me (as a pedantic prat, mind you) is that Beckett’s entries are written in American rather than British English. Beckett is presented in the Victorian Age novels as a bloke not out of place in London (unlike the very American Theophilus Bell), AND in the Bloodlines game as a Britt…
So FIX IT, dang it all! Um, otherwise I LOVE the book so far. Srsly. 10\/3$ it!
That is something I’m aware of, and we discussed when writing. As he seems to spend the majority of his time around American Kindred, he may have adapted his written language. Notably, Angus’ journal in The Hag chapter, is written in British English.
Something else that comes to mind, which may or may not be helpful, is that chapters could have incorporated into them a ‘bibliography’ of sorts. That is, the ‘Dreams and Nightmares’ chapter could point us towards Bitter Crusade and Constantinople by Night as ‘further reading’ grist? On the other claw (as Beckett might put it), this could already be covered in the book’s ‘On Metaplot’ chapter…
I love that idea! Admittedly given the sheer number of sources we’ve pulled upon, it may take up page count we could dedicate to other things.. We’ll give it some thought.
I think the true beauty of this supplement is that it’s a shining example of just what you can do with the Vampire: the Masquerade setting.
So much of my experience with VtM up to this point has been struggling creatively against the established history and methodology of the Sects and Clans. This mold has been shaken thanks to some recent releases like Lore of the Clans, but nothing has allowed for such unadulterated creativity from the setting as the stories written about in this book. Even if none of the characters and stories are used in a Chronicle I now have more than enough context to make stories of my own based around powers, personalities, and themes presented in this supplement.
I cannot thank you and the rest of the writers enough for putting together this supplement. This really is the book for new players interested in VtM.