The 'Zine of Malkav #7b August 2003 Stays crispy, even in milk! _______________ Table of Stuff: 1. Introduction 2. Fiction (or is it?) 3. V:TES stuff 4. Et Cetera & So Forth 5. To Be Continued ______________________________ 1. Introduction ______________________________ My examination of "Malkavian Combat" started in the beginning of August with a look at Auspex and its uses in combat for Malkavians. This is the second installment, of three, and will deal with Obfuscate-related combat cards. The next Newsletter will be published one week from today and will involve Dementation/Dominate combat cards and will wrap up the whole Malkavian Combat theme for the month. -t!MmY, Editor ______________________________ 2. Fiction (or is it?) ______________________________ "Where have you been?" Brian asked Waldo. "Just getting a bite to eat," Waldo smiled, showing his fangs. "We can't stay here long. Those guys who came after us last night are probably prowling around looking for us. I suggest we move fast, and you have a lot of questions to answer." "Like what?" Waldo asked. "Just get moving first. I'll feel better once we're out of here." * * * * * Brian was now wearing some not-so inconspicuous sunglasses at night. To make things worse, he also had on a trench coat and wide brimmed hat. "The sunglasses are bad enough, but I wish you'd take that hat and jacket off, people are giving us funny looks," Todd said. "They'd be looking at me much differently were they to see my true Nosferatu hideousness." "Whatever," Todd sighed. "We'll stick to the more heavily populated areas, the Nosferatu that came after us last night won't try anything with so many people around." "I don't think so," Brian said. "Why's that?" "Because they weren't Nosferatu." "What, are you joking? Didn't you get a look at them? They were all gnarled with tusks sticking out of their faces and..." "They were Nosferatu Antitribu." Todd fell silent. "You can't be serious! We're dealing with those depraved lunatics?" "Didn't you see what they were wearing?" Brian said. "Waldo got it right when he gave me a description of them the first time. They're wearing black bowler hats. That's Nosferatu Antitribu we're dealing with." "Do all Nosferatu Antitribu wear bowlers?" Waldo asked. "No, just the Demon Rats." "Who are they?" Todd asked. "They're a small group of Nosferatu Antitribu near this area who are hired mercenaries." "So they're assassins?" "Not quite, but close enough." "How do you know all this?" Waldo asked, his gaze darting back and forth as if cautious of who may be overhearing the conversation. "I'm a Nosferatu, we deal in information. But I'm the one that should be asking YOU questions. First of all, what did you do to get the Demon Rats after you?" "I dunno, what?" Waldo shrugged. "Waldo! This is a matter of life and Final Death! These guys don't just go around and pick on people, they have much better things to do than that. Now, if they're after you, it's for a reason. Now take a moment to clear that Malkavian head of yours and tell us what you know, otherwise you can get us all killed." "Well, it might be because of this..." Waldo reached into his jacket and pulled out a Mad Magazine. "Would you be serious for once!" Brian screamed. Some people nearby turned their heads to see what was going on, but quickly lost interest. "Wait a minute," Todd said. He reached out and took the magazine from Waldo. Folding the back cover together he gave a triumphant, "ah ha!" There was a hand-written message there. "Did you get this magazine from one of those guys?" Brian asked. "Well, yeah, sorta," Waldo said, averting his gaze from Brian's. "That must be what they're after. What does it say, Todd?" "I can't read it. It's just gibberish." "That looks like some sort of encryption," Brian said, taking the magazine from Todd. "Can you decipher it?" Todd asked. "Well, not right off the bat!" Brian said. "Give me just a little bit of time, it doesn't look all that difficult." "We should probably just take it to the Prince," Todd said. "If it's important enough to have Sabbat assassins trying to kill us, it's probably something the Prince would need to know. Besides, we'll probably be much safer at his Domain than anywhere else with Demon Rats or whatever after us." "That's an excellent idea," Brian said. "Uh, guys?" Waldo asked shakily. "What is it?" "There's a cat over there that's been looking at me funny." "I'd tell you to stop being paranoid, but under the circumstances, it seems justified." "And then there's that dog..." Waldo pointed to a dog across the street which was sitting on its haunches, not moving or blinking, just staring. "And those rats over there by the sewer grate...oh, and here come some bats. Just thought I'd let you know." "Would now be a very good time to run?" Todd asked. "Indeed," Brian said. ______________________________ 3. V:TES Stuff ______________________________ Obfuscate - Stealthy Combat In regards to combat, Obfuscate is much better at keeping you out of combat than in doing much of anything in combat. There are nine Obfuscate combat cards, let's take a look at them. Behind You! - a decent combat card, gives a Maneuver at basic and a Dodge at superior. The only catch is that it's only useable on the first round of combat. Disguised Weapon - good for suprise value and perhaps saving an Equip Action. Best when used with unique weapons or ones that do aggravated damage, otherwise you might as well be playing Concealed Weapon. The problem is they are known to be in your hand when you don't have a weapon to play with it, effectively causing an inert, useless card. Dust to Dust - a press, only usable to end combat. Not worhwhile, compared to Vanish from Mind's Eye, unless you also use Thanatosis elsewhere in your deck design. Fade from View - for 1 Blood, you get a Press at [obf] and at [OBF] you get a Dodge. Useable, but "Meh". Fear of the Void Below - another Maneuver for a Blood, and you can only play one per combat. Quick Exit - This is the equivalent of Read Intentions for Obfuscate, [obf]: Press, only useable to end combat, and [OBF] Strike: Dodge. Malkavians don't really need two of these types of cards, do they? Shadow Feint - worth mentioning because a few Malkavians have Celerity with Obfuscate. Might be worth throwing into a deck that uses those vampires and aggravated damage or Coma. Swallowed by the Night - a versatile card for either +1 Stealth or a Maneuver. Although it is truely only half a combat card, the unrestricted Maneuver at superior Obfuscate makes it better than most other Obfuscate combat cards. Vanish from the Mind's Eye - Rarely seen because you can get the same effect at superior Obfuscate with the disciplineless Boxed-In. And, to tell the truth, you'll either be wanting to cancel Presses (because your deck doesn't fare well in combat) or you'll want to Press to continue (because your deck is good in combat), so even Open Grate or Dead-End Alley could see better use. In short, Obfuscate does pretty much the same thing as Auspx in combat (Dodge and Press), but instead of hand-cycling cards, Obfuscate has access to Maneuvers. Behind You! and Swallowed by the Night are probably the most useful, due to the effectiveness of Maneuvers, especially if you're using Disguised Weapons. For a Malkavian Combat deck focusing on Obufuscate, check out the Featured Deck. Next Issue: "Dementation/Dominate - Not Just For Bleeding" ----------------- Featured Deck Deck Name: Malkavian Fight Club Date Created: Aug. 11th, 2003 Created By: t!MmY Description: This deck was inspired by the "Fight Club" rules I saw on the newsgroup. Designed to showcase Obfuscate as a combat discipline. [Crypt: 12 vampires] Adelaide Davis [aus] [dem] [obf] Claven [aus] [dem] [obf] Dr. Douglas Netchurch [dem] [dom] [AUS] [OBF] Dr. Douglas Netchurch [dem] [dom] [AUS] [OBF] Evan Klein [aus] [dem] [pre] [OBF] Evan Klein [aus] [dem] [pre] [OBF] Jeremy Talbot [dem] [obf] Milo, the Invisible Horror [aus] [obf] Watenda [obf] Watenda [obf] Yorik [dem] [obf] Zoë [cel] [obf] [AUS] [Library: 60 cards] [Masters: 10 cards] Asylum Hunting Ground Fame Haven Uncovered x2 Life in the City x3 Tension in the Ranks Obfuscate x2 [Actions: 16] Blow Torch x2 Bum's Rush x2 Brass Knuckles Flamethrower Ivory Bow Leather Jacket x2 Mad Man's Quill x2 Muddled Vampire Hunter x2 Nose of the Hound x2 Sengir Dagger [Reactions: 7] Fast Reactions Forced Awakening x2 Spirit's Touch x2 Precognition x2 [Action Modifiers: 2] Hidden Lurker Mask of 1,000 Faces [Combat: 25] Behind You! x4 Disguised Weapon x6 Dodge Fade from View Fake Out x2 Lucky Blow x2 Swallowed by the Night x4 Quick Exit Vanish from Mind's Eye x4 How to Play This Deck: Just attack or block to get into combat, then pull out a Disguised Weapon for aggravated damage. The Brass Knuckles and Lucky Blow are good for any vampire, but they work very well with the Muddled Vampire Hunter (6 damage at First Strike is pretty useful). Because this deck was made for use in a HEAVY combat environment, you can expect to be getting into combat more than in an ordinary game where every player won't always have Bum's Rush and Haven Uncovereds to use. ______________________________ 4. Et Cetera & So Forth ______________________________ Just wondering if anyone likes this "weekly format" so far. Feel free to drop me an email, or reply to this thread, with any comments about it. ______________________________ 5. To Be Continued ______________________________ This is the second installment of "Malkavian Combat" for the month. Next week will bring the third and final newsletter dealing on this subject and it will cover Dementation and Dominate. Until then, send any comments, questions, articles, salacious offerings, humerous anecdotes, deck ideas, Gangrel jokes, and Personal Scourges to: Timmy@e-garfield.com -t!MmY, the mad !nker This newsletter was written by a ficticious person in a ficticious plane of existence. Any resemblences to any real persons or planes of existences is coincidential and utterly mpossible. This newsletter may be archived, transmitted, stored, eaten, or copied in any way you wish as long as it is kept in its entirety. I, nor anyone of the Malkavian Newsletter staff, can be held legally responsible for injuries, damages, death, or any harm caused by this newsletter, nor by your Aunt Sally's potatoe salad.