FOLLOWERS OF SET NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Issue 1 October 2001 Author: Wes ========================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Fiction Setite Tactics Vampire Analysis - Khay'tall Card Analysis - Free States Rant Sign Off =================================================== INTRODUCTION When the opportunity to write a newsletter initially became available, I jumped at the chance. I love this game and I love to write. The choice of clans to write about was unfortunately limited to only a few options. My favourite clan, the Followers of Set, was already taken by Norman S. Brown Jr., the so-called Archon of the Swamp. I therefore decided to write for the Brujah Antitribu, who had risen to prominence with their own 'starter deck'. Now that Mr. Brown has stopped writing the newsletter, I took the chance to snap it up. The Brujah Antitribu newsletter survives my departure with a new editor, Derek Ray who is more than qualified to write about one of the more thug-like clans in the game. Enjoy! =================================================== FICTION It had been some time since Julian Sanders had reported to his mistress Nefertiti. The memory of her sweet vitae trickling down his parched throat brought pangs of hunger and desire. No longer satisfied with the vitae of mere mortals, he had long since succumbed to temptation and sold his soul for the forbidden nectar. Of course, where Setite vitae was concerned, once was never enough and he was soon addicted to the blood of the elder Nefertiti. At first, his mistress had happily provided all that he desired. In exchange, all she requested was the occasional bit of information about the Sabbat or the Brujah Antitribu. Although it was against the tenets of the Sabbat to reveal such information, there was a more important consideration... the next fix. In this way, the Followers of Set had learned about the recent Sabbat incursions along the Eastern Seaboard and were able to remove their people from harm's way. Factions within the Sabbat would certainly have relished the destruction of any Setites as much as they enjoyed the destruction of the many Camarilla victims. Julian did not consider himself a traitor to the Sabbat. He was just a lick with a habit. Besides, he thought to himself, the Sabbat is all about freedom. Why shouldn't he be allowed to consort with vampires outside the sect? Nevertheless, he now often found himself performing tasks for Nefertiti which he would never have considered before. Attacking and destroying a particular Toreador vampire in Atlanta was nothing he had a problem with but planting an explosive device in a radio station owned by a Sabbat Archbishop? Suffice to say, Julian watched his back these nights. One was never too sure who was watching... Nefertiti greeted him warmly and placed his eager fangs lovingly against her breast. She smiled as he let go and whispered in his ear, 'Julian, I have one final task for you and then you will be free of your obligations'. Julian objected, 'But mistress, I live to serve your every need! Please, do not--' 'Shhhhh...', Nefertiti pressed her index finger to Julian's mouth, 'You will understand soon enough.' She led him into the basement of the compound, followed by several strangely garbed servants. She signalled to one of her ghouls and the man nodded and unlocked a padlocked door. Inside, bound by heavy iron chains and staked through the chest was a vampire who Julian was very familiar with. 'Sela?!? But how...?' Nefertiti smiled innocently and motioned Julian over to the prostate form of his fellow clan-mate. 'Drink her soul, Julian... destroy her.' Julian knew this was wrong but could not stop himself. Nefertiti's commands had become more powerful than any loyalties he might have had to Sela. With only a moment's hesitation, he leapt at Sela and within ten minutes nothing was left of her but ashes. In the euphoria that followed, Julian lost track of time and space. When he awoke from his trance, he was unable to move. A sliver of wood protruded painfully from his chest and the chains that bound Sela now held him in place. Nefertiti and her servants were gone. Someone powerful was pounding on the door of the cell. It was now only a matter of time before the Sabbat entered and destroyed him for his crime. His mistress had betrayed him. A reddish tear descended down his paralyzed cheek. Even though his unlife would soon come to an end, all that he could think of was the sweet taste of his mistress' vitae. =================================================== SETITE TACTICS Voting is easier for the Setites than it is for most clans. While we don't always have the inherent titles required to pass votes, we do have access to helpful Presence vote modifiers such as Bewitching Oration and Awe. These cards can often make the difference between a passed or failed referendum. A problem with all votes is that they are undirected. This means that either our predator or our prey can attempt to block the political action. Unfortunately, both have a reason to try to stop you. Your prey will not want to suffer whatever nastiness the vote entails while the last thing your predator wants is to see your deck succeed. All votes have an inherent +1 stealth, which is helpful, but is it enough? Lately, it seems that almost every deck has some way to produce intercept to stop actions. It has almost become a necessity with many of the cards that came out of the Final Nights expansion. Fortunately, the Setites have access to many sources of stealth. Whereas a Ventrue will often find their votes blocked because it is obvious they have limited options in adding stealth, no Methuselah in their right mind will bother to waste their precious intercept to stop a clan as sneaky as the Setites. With Obfuscate and Serpentis transient steatlh modifiers as well as two inexpensive locations to provide stealth for votes (Opium Den, Creepshow Casino), it is unlikely that they will be able to stop you. VAMPIRE ANALYSIS Khay'tall 9 Capacity OBF PRE SER aus DOM Khay'tall gets +1 stealth on political actions. Vampires with corruption counters cannot cast votes against any referendums called by Khay'tall. Khay'tall comes with every clan-discipline at maximum... always a plus. Additionally, he possesses superior Dominate which is arguably the most potent discipline in the game. This synchronizes well with Kementiri(dom), Nefertiti(DOM), Kephamos(dom) and Count Ormonde(dom) Considering Khay'tall's other special, Nefertiti may be the most logical vampire to couple him with. They both share four superior disciplines and Nefertiti's special can be used to prevent votes called by Khay'tall from passing. It's an expensive duo at 19 pool, but it could be the making of a potent combination. I've always tried to avoid 9-caps myself. They are difficult to influence out as the most transfers you will have in a typical game is 4 per turn. This means that barring cards like Zillah's Valley or Information Highway, you will need at least three full turns before your 9-cap is ready to go. A lot can happen in those three turns, especially with a weenie deck behind you. Khay'tall can play the vote denial game quite well, but only for votes that he himself calls. An additional action is required, a Corruption, which can be played by any vampire, not just yours. Typically though, it would be a very costly way in terms of actions to ensure that one vote passes. If you go this route, don't forego the Bewitching Orations; they may prove a better method of getting your votes to pass. CARD ANALYSIS Free States Rant Political Card - Worth 1 Vote Called by any Independent vampire at +1 stealth Allocate X points among one or more ready vampires, where X is half of the capacity of the acting vampire (rounded up). No more than 3 points can be allocated to a single vampire. Successful referendum means each vampire burns 1 blood for each point assigned. In this referendum, titles are worth 1 less vote each (even in the Prisci sub-referendum), and burning the edge for a vote is worth an additional vote. Detroit players will not be surprised by this card showing up here... it's probably my favourite card in the Final Nights set and I have several decks that make use of it. Blood is the fuel that makes vampires go. Without their blood, vampires are robotic drones that must hunt and hunt and hunt. A vampire stuck in a hunting loop is no threat to you, whether it is in front of you or behind you. They will generally be tapped, with only one blood on them and unlikely to bleed you or block your actions. Used en masse, Free States Rant will devastate any deck it goes up against. Although not designed specifically with the Setites in mind, it certainly seems to suit us well. With Obfuscate and Presence, we have more of a chance to pass this vote than any other independent clan. Since titled votes are decreased by 1 for this vote, a well-placed Bewitching Oration will often be enough to pass it. Because the effect of the referendum is tied to the size of the vampire that called it, larger vampires are preferred. Having an odd-numbered capacity is also beneficial as the effect rounds up. Khay'tall will hit for 5 while Sutekh will hit for 6. This does not mean however that you should resign yourself to calling this vote only with large vampires. Consider a fleet of Aabt Kindred, each with a Presence skill card each calling a Free States Rant. The damage adds up regardless, and it is still a more cost-effective way to remove blood than using Cryptic Missions. The best targets are obviously those vampires that can be emptied right away; those with 3 or less blood being ideal. My preference is to aim at my prey's vampires most of the time, but if I need to slow down my predator, their vampires are certainly legitimate targets. Since the Edge is worth two votes in this referendum, it is useful that we have it when the vote is called. Therefore, Edge Vitiation works well with this card, though you are unlikely to keep it if you target your predator too many times. SIGN OFF It never seems that I have room to write all that I want to say once I get going, so please excuse the long-windedness of this newsletter... Regardless, I hope that you have enjoyed it. If there are any topics which you would like for me to discuss here, please feel free to contact me. My email address is ghost@NOSPAMmnsi.net. Please remove the NOSPAM to email me.