FOLLOWERS OF SET NEWSLETTER
Volume 3, Issue 1
October 2001
Author: Wes
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Fiction
Setite Tactics
Vampire Analysis - Khay'tall
Card Analysis - Free States Rant
Sign Off
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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.
NAVIGATION
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