The Picayune Press

THE PICAYUNE PRESS: AUGUST 2002
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CONTENTS:
1. Editorial: Peer Pressure in VTES
2. Talk of the Town: Camarilla Edition
3. Fiction: Bygones
4. Create a Caitiff(tm): Yotsmax, The Procurer 
5. Create a Pander (tm): Zeynep
6. Vampire Spotlight: Alfred Benezri
7. Deck of the Month: You can call me Al
8. Deck Spotlight: "The Friendmaker" by Kevin Scribner
9. Statistics & Strategies: The Embrace
10. Finale

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1. EDITORIAL
 
It's been a long time since my last issue, so let's get things Rolling.
A topic on my mind today is Peer Pressure in VTES and how it affects our
gameplay and play groups.
First off, what exactly is Peer Pressure? By definition it's;

"Pressure from one's peers to behave in a manner similar or acceptable
to them".

In context of this article I'm going to expand the definition to
include;

"An alteration of a person's behavior in trying to conform to a group's
set of standards".

Where I'm going with this is highlighted by the example to follow.

A fictional playgroup has been playing V:TES a couple of years now and
has set up some self-imposed behaviors.

1. Nobody really plays stealth-bleed as it's considered unimaginative
and degenerate.
2. Bobby always plays Assamites, so nobody else plays them as it's
"Bobby's" clan.
3. Joey hates "x" card. If anyone plays that card, he will get up and
leave.

If a player performs contrary to the above, other members in the group
get irate, and berate the person for straying from these unwritten
guidelines.

So how do we deal when someone crosses that unseen boundary?
Per the examples above;

1. Stealth/Bleed is a part of the game.  If you don't like it, build
your decks with a stealth/bleed defence in mind.  Even if said strategy
is not to block. Stealth/Bleed is one of the game's basic building
blocks, be an adult and take your punishment and remember to refine your
defense strategy for the next play session. 
Creativity is in the eye of the beholder.  Is a deck really that
creative if it can manage to play Twisting the Knife?  Or is it better
to Oust your prey in a creative manner whereby they lose pool/minions?

2. Don't be afraid to play "that clan" just because someone else has a
wierd clan focus.  In fact, you have an advantage by planning on how to
deal with possible contestations.  If the other player gets bent, feel
free to remind him/her that there ARE 32 other clans available to pick
from. In a tournament environment, you won't have the luxory of being
the only person playing "that clan".

3. If there is a justifiable reason why Joey believes "x" card to be
broken, have him send a letter to the NewsGroup detailing the problems
with "x" card and why it's broken.  Discontented apathy doesn't do
anything except suck the fun out of the game for everyone.  Joey doesn't
even need to follow the progress of his NewsGroup thread, as 70 other
people will pick his arguement apart if there's any valid thought behind
it.

In conclusion, when you have a player that has a personal reaction to
a game event you should.
1. Let the player vent and get it out of their system.
2. Offer a constructive way to deal with the event.
3. Remind yourself that it's just a game after all.

_____________________________

2. TALK OF THE TOWN: Camarilla Edition (CE)

At GenCon 2002, some fortunate players were able to lay hands on the
new Camarilla Edition slated for release on August 19th.

First impressions were mostly favorable, though a few items are of
concern.

FIVE GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE CAM. EDITION

1) Vampires

Looking at what product I have from GenCon, the new Vampires are really
cool and offer a fair choice between Group 1 or Group 3 crypt.
Some deck types will definitely benefit more from Group 1, than Group 3
and vice versa.  

2) Art

Stands head and shoulders above some recent sets.  Old favorites make
a comeback with new art (many players commenting about including
Gird Minions because they like the art).  Shy and Snelly have more
art for this set, but from what I've seen their work looks good here.
Especially Shy's artwork.  Could it be that with less overall pieces to
produce, he has more time to polish off his work before print?

3) Layout

This is the Love/Hate relationship. The new layout is basically fine,
though should have had a touch more thought before finalized.
It does what it sets out to do, puts most of the important information
in an easy to identify location.  One wonders though why they felt a 
set symbol needed to be printed in the new base set?  Anyone that
couldn't tell that this is the new Camarilla Edition needs to be caned
(or given a cane as necessary).

4) Starter Decks

Very playable right out of the box.  Card choices aside, they serve
their designed purpose in giving new players a good base of cards
to start from.

5) RuleBook

Each new rulebook gets a bit more polished.  This one finally includes
the "No Repeat Action" (NRA) rule that has been a tournament staple for
some time now.  Note, that the NRA rules in the CE work a bit
differently than the previous incarnation.


FIVE POOR THINGS ABOUT THE CAM. EDITION

1) Master Cards are to be identified by the lack of a symbol in the Bar

While this sounds good on paper, it will take players some time to get
used to the new layout.  Most of the players I spoke to wished that
Master Cards retained a one-color background for quicker idenification.

2) No Rarity Indicator

Not a game breaker by any means, though the point in having a rarity
indicator is for card resale and trade.  No card resale or trade value
will keep this game from ever gaining in popularity at hobby stores.
Many retailers do not have the time to invest into a game they will
never play to determine fair pricing on singles which have determining
marks.

3) Misprints

Some misprints were noted at GenCon.  Brachah was reprinted with
superior Potence instead of superior Presence.  Woops!
Some other cards had minor misprints (missing the group number).

4) Preconstructed Decks

The contents of the starters are pretty cohesively managed, though the
power level of these decks are arguably much stronger than the Sabbat
and Independent pre-cons.  It would be nice if White Wolf could attempt
to keep the power levels as close to even as possible with the other
starters.

5) Card Backgrounds

Backgrounds in the CE are vastly changed from the art used in all
previous card sets.  Why this change?  Would it really have been so bad
if combat cards still retained that red background (for instance).
Players really would like an answer to this question.
  
_____________________________

3. FICTION: Bygones

No fiction this month.  Read a book!

I'm currently reading "An Hour Before Daylight" about ex-president 
Jimmy Carter.

_____________________________

4. CREATE A CAITIFF(tm): Yotsmax, The Procurer

YOTSMAX, The Procurer
--- (no discipline)
2 cap
Caitiff

When Yotsmax equips, he may burn a blood to reduce the cost
of the equipment by 1 Pool.  He may do this once per turn. 

Creator Notes: Having no "Create a Caitiff/Pander" submissions
for some time now, you'll just have to do with mine this time around.

Yotsmax is used to fetch equipment and reduces the amount of
pool loss accrued over time.  He should be balanced by not being
able to use his ability more than once per turn.

Point of interest, Yotsmax is an anagram for XmasToys.
_____________________________

5. CREATE A PANDER(tm): Zeynep

ZEYNEP
ANI
2 cap
Pander

If Zeynep enters combat, tap all other ready Vampires 
you control which have the animalism discipline.

Creator Notes: Zeynep is obviously great for those Aid from 
Bats/Carrion Crows decks.  She has great skills, with a
potentially wicked drawback. Personally, I think she's spiffy!
_____________________________

6. VAMPIRE SPOTLIGHT: Alfred Benezri

Whilst The Camarilla Edition set does NOT contain any new Caitiff,
we did recieve a nice little bonus of a brand new Pander.

Alfred Benezri
PRE THA aus dom
Bishop
6 cap
Pander

-1 Strength when in combat with an Ally

This bad boy rocks the house with his cool discipline spread.
6 points of disciplines, a title, and a minor disadvantage

With the new grouping system, there are only a handful of
Caitiff available to mix in with Alfred.  

+ Antoinette DuChamp, pre cel
+ Franciscus, aus
- Julius, ser qui
+ Magdelena, THA

Looking at our choices above for potential crypt mix (outside
of the Pander sandbox), we have three caitiff that match into
Alfreds discipline spread.  Not too shabby.

Only downside I see to playing with Mr. Benezri, is the likelyhood
of being contested is better than average.
Looking at his discipline spread and specials, he'll be included in;
- Presence Vote Decks
- Tremere decks
- Legacy of Pander decks
- Ventrue Politics

And a number of other toolbox decks looking for discipline matches
_____________________________

7. DECK OF THE MONTH: You can call me Al

Deck: You can call me Al
Creator: Bernie Bresnahan
Type: Toolbox Vote/Bleed Control
Format: Standard
Created: 08.15.2002

CRYPT
4x Alfred Benezri (6) PRE THA aus dom; Bishop, -1 strength v. Allies
1x Lena Rowe (3) pre obf aus; cannot gain titles
1x Christine Boscacci (2) dom vic; -1 intercept v. bleed
2x Angela Decker (1) pre, lose 2 pool if she's burned in combat
1x Royce (1) dom; -1 stealth when bleeding
1x March Halcyon (1) for; If diablarized, no bloodhunt
1x Samson (2) dom
1x Frederick (2) pre

LIBRARY: 90 Cards

MASTERS: 16 Cards
3x Information Highway
2x Powerbase: Madrid
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Hungry Coyote
5x Blood Doll
1x Tribute to the Master
2x Presence
1x Barrens -or- Dreams of the Sphinx

PRESENCE: 27 Cards
1x Aire of Elation
2x Awe
7x Bewitching Oration
1x Disarming Presence
7x Voter Captivation 
9x Staredown

DOMINATE:14 Cards
10x Deflection
4x Conditioning

AUSPEX: 2 Cards
2x Aura Reading

THAUMATURGY: 5 Cards
3x Rutors Hand
2x Magic of the Smith

BASIC: 8 Cards
6x Wake with Evening Freshness 
2x Change of Target

EQUIPMENT: 4 Cards
2x Palatial Estate
1x Ivory Bow
1x Sports Bike

POLITICS: 14 Cards
2x Legacy of Pander
1x Crusade: Toronto
1x Crusade: New York
1x Crusade: Detroit
1x Crusade: Chicago
1x Crusade: Mexico City
1x Crusade: Atlanta
4x Kine Resources Contested
1x Domain Challenge
1x Justicar Retribution

CREATOR'S NOTES:
The star of this deck is obviously Alfred Benezri.
Let's take a look at how it handles the 3 basic archetypes
1) Vote: Get quick votes early, either to gain vote lock or become a
contender
2) Combat: No real offensive combat, defence mainly from Staredown
3) Bleed: Deflect all day long

"You can call me Al" has the potential for 
1) Vote Lock, with occasional Vote pain.
2) Fair combat defence if Alfred gets Ivory Bow & Rutors Hand
3) Suprise Bleed via Aire and Conditioning

So while a bit toolboxy, covers all the bases.

One odd thing I noted when building this deck, is that there is
only one Sabbat vampire in group 2 that has superior presence with 
capacity less than six (Rigby).  
_____________________________

8. DECK SPOTLIGHT: "the friendmaker"
created by: kevin scribner
performance record:
2nd place:  vekn northeast regional qualifier
totalcon, 23 feb '02

EDITOR'S NOTE: Kevin requested that his commentary remain uncapitalized.
So without disregarding his stylistic sensibilities, here it is.


crypt [13]:

royce [1, dom]
march halcyon [1]
smudge [1]
navar mcclaren [1]
antoinette duchamp [1]
marcianna giovanni [2, dom]
ohanna [2, dom]
samson [2, dom]
christine boscacci [2. dom]
mustafa rahman [2, dom]
brooke [3, dom]
jing wei [3, dom]
cameron [3, dom]

min = 4  /  max = 11
average = 1.8461538


library [90]:

master [30]:
4  effective management
6  misdirection
8  information highway
4  the parthenon
4  anarch troublemaker
2  tribute to the master
1  the barrens
1  gird minions

action cards [22]:
22  computer hacking

action modifiers [8]:
4  command of the beast
4  conditioning

reactions [22]:
8  deflection
6  wake with evening's freshness
8  delaying tactics

combat card [8]
8  fake out


commentary: by kevin scribner

this deck is absolute filth, and i'll be the first one to admit it... 
some players in our group have actually asked me to play it in, "bring
it!!!" level games, and i still refuse...  i cannot justify playing
this thing outside of a tournament that REALLY matters...

there's a funny story behind this one, though...  i'm still a fairly
new player, so i was working my way through the weenie phase, and had
an animalism weenie deck, a tremere/!tremere & their allies weenie dek,
and an assamite/!assamite [don't ask...!] weenie deck going in my
regular circulation case...  each one uses 10 computer hackings with no
modifiers...  well, this one guy in our group, peter jehlen, who is
famous for playing inner circle memeber decks and monstrous bloat
machines [his nickname is "gigantor"] started giving me crap about
playing computer hacking decks...  specifically, "computer hacking
decks with no backup..."  a huge flame war ensued, replete with "f-u
, scribner" -style dialogue, and i finally lost my cool and said,
all right, you mickey-fickeys...  i'll build you a computer hacking
deck with no effing backup...  you wanna cry, i'll give you something
to cry about...

and thus was born the friendmaker...  i never played it before the
qualifier, though -- i was scared to...!  i knew it was ugly on paper,
and i didn't want to face the wrath of the 35+ member boston
playgroup...  what i did, though, was, when jonathan wilson, one of our
veterans who has expatriated to colorado [for love, god bless him...!]
came out for a visit, i handed it to him to try out...  and i sat as
his prey, playing a pretty good necro-ninja style giovanni deck...  he
ousted me in like 9 minutes...  the table was yowling so bad, i could
still hear 'em downstairs and outside while i was smoking a post-ousting
cigarette...!  and that's when i decided to shelve it until the
qualifier...

where it rocked the house, not to blow my own horn...  i went into the
finals with 12 vp [i played at 2 four player tables and 1 five-banger],
and was the only finalist with 3 table wins...  i felt REALLY REALLY
dirty when my first prey in the first round, playing a fair tzimisce
intercept combat deck, packed her cards and counters up exactly 6
minutes after the tournament officially started...  case in point: 
speed kills...!  and i know in my heart that if i had made a slightly
different decision about seating in the finals, i'd have had that table
as well...  knowing what i know now, though, if i had to make the same
decision with the same lack of information, i'd have made it the same
--
 it was a smart decision with stupid resuts, and peter bakija played a
great game and a great deck -- i don't want to take a thing away from
him...  i actually felt really bad about my games afterwards -- i
played against some really great and cool people from all over the
country, most of them i was just meeting for the first time, and they
had to take it up the hole from this...

anyway, the deck kind of speaks for itself...  the night before the
qualifier, the fake outs were all dodges, but i changed them out on the
off chance of facing some kind of torpor-machine style deck...  which
is pretty much just what happened, and it still didn't help...  i
wonder, too, if 8 information highways is more than i really need to
insure pulling one within the first turn or three...  if they come out
at some point, it's more conditioning, i think, or more command of the
beast [which could just as well be threats, i suppose -- i just had the
commands handy at the time]...  someone brought it to my attention
later that some l.a. guy has a deck that's really similar...  no big
surprise there -- i couldn't have been the first one to come up with
this...  i'm really surprised we don't see more of this kind of cheesy
deck running amok on the tournament scene...  oh, and if you're
wondering about the high delaying tactics count...?  there's a real
trend in our playgroup toward what we call "monkey-poaching..."  in
other words, sitting back and shoring up until someone else is about to
make an oust, then dramatic upheaval-ing or kindred restructure-ing
their vp away...  i was damned if i was going to let that happen to
me...!
_____________________________

9. STATISTICS AND STRATEGIES: The Embrace

One of the card changes that take effect is a change to a somewhat
staple card:  The Embrace.  With the change, Embraces will no longer
be able to get a skill card when coming into play.

At first, I didn't see the big deal.  Embrace decks aren't really part
of my local metagame.  Post GenCon 2002, I can easily see why the change
is being instituted.  My 3 rounds of play during the nationals, each
of which contained Embrace decks. 

How big of a change does having no skill card make?  Per a conversation
with the eminent Jay Kristoff, having no skill card only diminishes
an Embrace slightly.

Jay already creates embraces without diciplines for his Gangrel Deck
(can I wear this jacket, too?).  Their purpose being to provide extra
votes to aid passing the Gangrel Justicar vote, and can take actions to
call basic votes (like KRC). 

My guess is the deck type most impacted are the weenie presence/dominate
embrace decks that bleed large all day long.  Can't say as I'll miss
em' all that much.

_____________________________

10. FINALE

Sorry it's been so long since my last newsletter.  This issue has been 
partially complete since May, and hadn't been finished primarily from
lack of inspiration.  

Funny comment I heard at the con from other newsletter editors; "I write

the -x- Newsletter, but don't really have a great love for that clan".
Resonates with me, as I took on the Caitiff/Pander newsletter in order
to give them a fair shake.  Not really my favorite style of play by any
means, though it has been fun to try out new concepts with the little
guys.

Nice thing about having some new toys (Camarilla Edition), it gives us
many new avenues to explore and expoit.  Look forward to seeing some new
decks soon. We might not have gotten a new swarm of Catiff/Pander, but
the new toys we did get are pretty cool  :o)

It's always great to hear back from readers of The Picayune, and
please keep those submissions coming!


See ya soon,

Bernie Bresnahan
Picayune Newsletter Editor
Prince of Lansing, Michigan