For more than ten years, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle players have enjoyed this richly complex and intriguing game. Its unique social experience and innovative game design continue to captivate new players and inspire its loyal fans. The Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide is the perfect resource for new players and veteran players alike, providing the tools you need to increase your enjoyment and understanding of the game.

This book includes:• Strategy and tactics articles from the world’s top

players to help you improve your game• A comprehensive guide to deck building and playing

for each clan and Discipline. Learn some new tricks for your favorite clan.

• A visual encyclopedia of the entire Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card catalogue. Over 2,000 card images provide the ultimate reference for deck building and collecting.

ISBN 1-58846-648-5 WW2699 $34.99 U.S.

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By Robert Goudie, Ben Peal and Ben Swainbank with Tracy Simmons Bitonti,

Joshua Duffin, Jay Kristoff, Mike Nudd, Carl Pilhatsch,

David J Tatu, and David Wilson

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CreditsWritten by: Robert Goudie, Ben Peal and Ben Swainbank with Tracy Simmons Bitonti, Joshua Duffi n, Jay Kristoff, Mike Nudd, Carl Pilhatsch, David J Tatu, and David WilsonDeveloped by: Robert GoudieProject Coordinator: Steve WieckEditor: Tracy Simmons BitontiArt Director: Becky JollenstenLayout & Typesetting: Becky Jollensten & Mike ChaneyFront & Back Cover Design: Becky JollenstenV:TES Design: Richard Garfi eld, with contributions by Matthew Burke, Skaff Elias, Andrew Greenberg, Rhias Hall, Bob Kruger, Jim Lin, Chris Page, Paul Peterson, Dave Pettey, and Mark Rein•HagenV:TES Developer: L. Scott JohnsonOriginal Design for Vampire: The Masquerade: Mark Rein•Hagen

©2005 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduc-tion without the written permission of the publisher is expressly for-bidden, except for the purposes of reviews. White Wolf, Vampire, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, and Vampire: The Masquerade are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights re-served. All characters, names, places, and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc.Wizards of the Coast is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. Deckmaster is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. U.S. Patent #5,662,332 and used under license from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This game uses the supernatural for settings, characters, and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fi ction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This game contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised.

For a free White Wolf catalog, call 1-800-454-WOLFCheck out White Wolf online athttp://www.white-wolf.comand rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad

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1554 Litton DriveStone Mountain, GA30083USA

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PG#Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide 3Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide

Introduction 4

Section One: Guide to the Disciplines

Animalism 6Auspex 8Celerity 10Chimerstry 12Daimoinon 14Dementation 15Dominate 17Flight 19Fortitude 20Melpominee 22Mytherceria 23Necromancy 24Obeah 26Obfuscate 27Obtenebration 29Potence 31Presence 33Protean 35Quietus 37Sanguinus 39Serpentis 40Spiritus 42Temporis 43Thanatosis 44Thaumaturgy 45Valeren 47Vicissitude 48Visceratika 50

Section Two: Guide to the Clans

Ahrimanes 52Assamite 53Baali 55Blood Brothers 57Brujah 59Brujah antitribu 61Caitiff 62Daughters of Cacophony 64Followers of Set 65Gangrel 68Gangrel antitribu 69

Gargoyles 71Giovanni 73Harbingers of Skulls 75Kiasyd 76Lasombra 78Malkavian 80Malkavian antitribu 82Nagaraja 84Nosferatu 84Nosferatu antitribu 86Pander 88Ravnos 90Salubri 92Salubri antitribu 94Samedi 95Toreador 97Toreador antitribu 99Tremere 101Tremere antitribu 103True Brujah 105Tzimisce 106Ventrue 108Ventrue antitribu 110

Section Three: Deck Construction

Basic Deck Construction 113Constructed Format Play 128Draft Format Play 132

Section Four: Strategy and Tactics

Table Dynamics 138Postures 140Tertiary Resources 143Improvised Tactics 146The Master Table Talker 147Resources 151

Section Five: Visual Card Encyclopedia Crypt

Abominations 152Ahrimanes 152Assamites 152

Baali 154Blood Brothers 155Brujah 156Brujah antitribu 158Caitiff 160Daughters of Cacophony 161Followers of Set 162Gangrel 164Gangrel antitribu 167Gargoyles 169Giovanni 169Harbingers of Skulls 172Kiasyd 172Lasombra 172Malkavian 174Malkavian antitribu 177Nagaraja 178Nosferatu 178Nosferatu antitribu 181Pander 183Ravnos 184Salubri 186Salubri antitribu 186Samedi 187Toreador 187Toreador antitribu 190Tremere 191Tremere antitribu 194True Brujah 196Tzimisce 196Ventrue 198Ventrue antitribu 200

LibraryAction 203Action Modifi er 219Ally 226Combat 231Combination 246Equipment 248Event 255Master 257Political Action 280Reaction 288Retainer 294

Table of Contents

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One is required to take notice when a trading-card game is still actively produced ten years after its release. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle has this rare distinction and cannot simply be dismissed as a fad or even a money-making scheme by a clever marketer. Heavily produced poor-quality games, no matter what the marketing budget, have come and gone while V:TES continues to defy conventional wisdom with its success. At the core of this success and the secret to its powerful allure is an original and intriguing game design.

V:TES rewards good play and not big pocketbooks. Its most powerful cards are usually easy-to-acquire common cards. As well, its lack of card limits allows for the great-est possible number of original and interesting deck designs, while its card designs and mechanics maintain a balanced play environment. Its predator and prey relationship pre-vents a wild free-for-all but doesn’t turn the game into stale, multiplayer solitaire. However, its most important accom-plishment is that V:TES inspires social interaction. The game’s political system and multiplayer design create an environment that is rich with discussion. This unique com-bination of a social game with rich mechanics typically puts V:TES out of the purview of kids chasing foil cards and into the realm of adults. As such, V:TES players are all part of a rewarding social community where tournaments are also so-cial gatherings with friends who share a common hobby. It is against this backdrop of fun and camaraderie that the Vam-pire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide is presented.

As would be expected with any book written about a richly complex topic, this player’s guide scratches the surface of only a handful of subjects dealing with V:TES. Many of these topics could themselves fi ll a book of this size. Some sections will have experienced players nodding their heads

in agreement with the obviousness of some comments. Of course, few things about this game are obvious to players who are, for the fi rst time, attempting to understand the roles of each clan or Discipline or the ramifi cations of a new card. Those of us who have been around a long time may recall our early experiences, which often resulted in bizarre local interpretations of how the game should be played. These many years later, new players have the benefi t of precon-structed starter decks, a fi nely crafted rulebook, organized play, and online communities. While these resources assist with learning the game, new players must also take in all of the new clans, Disciplines, and card types as well as absorb an increasing universe of cards.

Our goal here will be to provide a fi rm foundation for new players while hopefully stirring the imaginations of existing players. Many of the sections will act as head-starts, giving new players knowledge that may otherwise have taken them months or years to obtain on their own. It is also important to recognize that the guide is written from the perspective of creating competitive, tournament-viable decks. We won’t spend much time on cards that are merely humorous, nor will we focus on cards that have nice artwork as their only positive characteristic. What players will fi nd are overviews of each clan and Discipline and a quick guide to some basic deck designs, as well as an introduction to multiplayer strat-egy. We’ve intentionally avoided some of the cutting-edge deck ideas and strategic issues, instead opting for generally accepted strategies and tournament-winning deck designs. Of course, one of the greatest draws for longtime players is the ability to continuously create new and successful decks. As part of your learning, be sure to experiment and ignore some of the things you read here.

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5Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide 5Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Player’s Guide

Returning to the Game

If you are returning to the game after a hiatus, you’ll be happy to know that V:TES is widely played, and there’s a strong likelihood that you can fi nd players near you. Take a look at the Appendix and you’ll see a list of resources that direct you to several online forums where you can look for players in your area. In addition, there is a contact list of local volunteer game promoters (called princes) on White Wolf ’s V:TES page. Send one of them a quick e-mail, and you are on your way.

If you fi rst started playing back when the card backs had the word Jyhad on them, you’ll have the most to catch up on. You’ll be pleased to know that those old cards are still playable and may even be freely mixed in with the new cards. You’ll also be happy to know that the game play is essentially the same, and many of the rules and cards are easier to understand. All of those original cards have been reprinted, but many of their texts have been adjusted for clarity or game balance. You will want to search out the current card text lists and and the text migrations on White Wolf’s website to see how some of those original cards may function a little differently than you remember. Again, you can still play with the old cards, but you will want to make sure they function the way you think they function. A complete catalogue of the current card texts is available on White Wolf’s V:TES page.

With more than ten years of history under its belt, V:TES has a large universe of cards. Also, since V:TES allows players to use cards from all of its expansions and not just a sub-set of cards from the most recent expansions, you’ll al-most certainly see cards that you are not familiar with. Take your time and feel free to read the cards or ask questions when they are played. You’ll also fi nd that the expansions have introduced entirely new card concepts, new clans and Disciplines, and even a new card type. While all of this new information may seem daunting at fi rst, know that with a good playgroup and a little patience, you’ll be up to full speed in no time.

Two of the most important changes are that minions are now prohibited from bleeding twice or voting twice in the same turn. Political actions also are done a little differently. The voting rules were changed to keep players from play-ing multiple political action cards from their hands during a single referendum. The new rule allows each player to play only one political action card for a vote during a single ref-erendum. These big changes and several smaller ones along the way have resulted in a much cleaner version of the game than the one you originally played.

Within These PagesRemember that this guide is a snapshot in time—de-

scribing a moment in the state of a living and breathing game. New expansions will be created and new cards de-signed. As well, metagame shifts will occur, and the hot deck style this month may be passé the next. However, while the future may create additional Top Cards or Win-ning Strategies, it is our hope that the concepts presented within these pages will remain useful throughout the life-time of the game. In some cases we have provided sample decks. While space did not permit commentary on each deck, we believe the explanations of the individual library and crypt cards should make the deck’s function mostly self-explanatory.

In Section One, you’ll fi nd a complete review of each Discipline. For more prominent Disciplines, we discuss some of the better cards and hopefully steer you in the right direc-tion for using the Discipline on its own or in combination with other Disciplines. In some cases, we provided a sample deck for the Discipline. Only Disciplines suited to a mono-Discipline deck will have decks included in this section.

In Section Two, you will fi nd a review of all of the clans. We examine each clan’s best library card and crypt card options and explain how best to use them. For the smaller bloodlines, the review is more complete, and even less-desir-able cards are discussed. The decks found in this section are intended to show a typical use for the clan. Often the decks will use more than one Discipline, and they may even in-clude a couple of advanced card combos. Some of the classic World of Darkness signature characters are highlighted to show you their translation into V:TES.

In Section Three, you’ll fi nd a guide to the major deck archetypes and an explanation of how to build and play them. We understand that the modular way in which we present the art of deck construction is only one way in which decks can be built. While this section is a great tool for new play-ers or as an entrée into a new deck style, we understand that in the long run, deck creation and tuning is done through a more organic approach.

In Section Four, you will fi nd a discussion of strategies and tactics to make you a better player. These will be valu-able to new and veteran players, either reinforcing good hab-its or teaching them for the fi rst time.

Section Five is a visual encyclopedia containing a picture of each card’s current text and art—the per-fect reference tool.

In the Appendix you’ll find a list of valuable re-sources that will lead you to a world of online activity and information.

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