BRUJAH ANTITRIBU NEWSLETTER Volume 2, Issue 3 February 2001 Author: Andrew 'Wes' Weston ========================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction General Tactics !Brujah Tactics Vampire Analysis Fiction Sign Off ========================================================== INTRODUCTION Prompted by the excellent Brujah newsletter by my worthy associate Skaffen, I have decided to discuss and in some ways refute some of the points he made in his most recent effort. He believes that using equipment, specifically weapons is a tactic that the Brujah (and by extension ourselves) should be using. In general I disagree. I will spend this particular newsletter discussing equipment and the various pros and cons involved. By the way Skaffen... it is not too late! Join the Sabbat. Throw off the yoke of the elders and fight the rising Antedilluveans with us. Surely you grow tired of licking Ventrue boots and associating with the thrice-cursed Warlocks. In these Final Nights with entire clans being decimated and the eldest among us rising with their eternal and insatiable hungers, the Sword of Caine is the ONLY option. ========================================================== GENERAL TACTICS Equipment offers us ways to improve the abilities of our vampires. They cost a variable amount of pool equivalent to their usefulness. By default, equipping a minion with these cards is a +1 Stealth action and therefore equipping an item is usually able to be successfully performed. I generally look at equipment with an eye for the utility of the item in a given deck and whether the cost is prohibitive to the effect given. For the most part, equipment is well-balanced as far as the cost-to-utility ratio. Consider this: .44 Magnum - costs 2 pool but offers the ability to maneuver (and usually not be hit) and strike for 2 damage at long Saturday Night Special - costs 1 pool with a maneuver but only does 1 damage at long IR Goggles - is free, provides a maneuver but does not give any damage (it is also not a weapon obviously) While all three provide a potentially life-saving maneuver, the more we invest, the better effect we get. In some ways IR Goggles is more versatile than the guns because it does not 'lock' you into a strike that you may want to change later. For many minions, having a gun in play can immediately increase survivability and also provides an incentive for the opponent to avoid combat with the wielder, thus providing the potential to pass actions successfully. Most equipment is not unique and while there are many cards that can destroy equipment, these cards are rarely seen in play. In general, it is rare to see equipment played that is more expensive than 2 pool. Flamethrowers, as effective as they sound in theory, are too fragile and expensive for the effect. Of the many types of guns available, most experienced players would agree that 44 Magnums are the best bang for the buck. ========================================================== !BRUJAH TACTICS Most of the equipment available to our clan (and our deluded Camarilla cousins) is useless to us. Why invest in a gun when we can throw a gate at you? Why invest in a Hawg and IR Goggles when we can use Flash for the same effect? However, some equipment is very useful, regardless of the type of deck played. Sport Bike http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showcard.html?ID=752 Considering it's cost of only 1 pool, this card can allow a minion to effectively block any basic action in the game. Unless the minion adds stealth to the action, we can catch them and then get down to what we do best. Since most decks seem to rely only on light stealth, this card will give us a way to hose many of their most important actions. Combined with cards like Wake with Evening's Freshness or Forced Awakening, the effect can be duplicated again and again. A dedicated stealth deck will easily get past a minion with a Sport Bike, but a deck that relies on votes can easily be stopped. Rescues from torpor and hunting are also potential opportunities to block. Flak Jacket http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showcard.html?ID=300 Not seen nearly as often as it used to be, the Flak Jacket is usually replaced with Leather Jacket in these violent times. Flak Jacket is useful to us because we will most definitely be getting our hands dirty in combat, and therefore we know we will be hit at least once. Those opponents most likely to hose our Immortal Grapple are the Gangrel and Tzimisce. Their aggravated hand damage will not hit us for much, but one poke will make our vampire much less effective. Wearing this item does not completely prevent this, but since most Gangrel and Tzimisce will usually only be striking for a measly 1 Strength, we can be sure to keep out of torpor by preventing that blow. Against anyone else, it helps us by keeping a consistent amount of blood on the vampire. Taste of vitae is generally a better way to do this, but sometimes a bit of added protection doesn't hurt. Leather Jacket http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showcard.html?ID=430 Often preferrable due to it's cost (free) and the untap ability at the end of the turn it was equipped on, this popular card is also very useful. It's flaw is that it is only usable once before it is destroyed. However, since we have the option to choose WHEN the prevent damage effect is played, it can be a lifesaver. Whether a Gangrel attempts to play Wolf Claws or an Assault Rifle is fired at us, we can usually walk away without a scratch. The untap ability may not seem like much but depending on the strength of your predator, having an extra blocker at the end of your turn is always a good thing. Laptop Computer http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showcard.html?ID=429 I don't usually play this card in a !Brujah deck. With access to Presence, our transient bleed cards often offer better for bleeding effects. Equipping a laptop and bleeding requires 1 pool and two actions. Playing Legal Manipulations requires one blood and one action and does a lot more. It is useful as an incentive for your prey to block though and therefore it can often find its way into a combat deck. If you are not planning to take advantage of the Presence of our clan, you may as well throw one or two laptops in for a permanent bleed ability. Hawg/IR Goggles http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showcard.html?ID=361 http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showcard.html?ID=401 I avoid these cards. The ability to press or maneuver is extremely useful to us, but not so useful as a permanent ability. The card Flash offers the ability to use BOTH press and/or maneuver and since most of our clan has access to Celerity this should definitely be preferred. Also, having a maneuver or a press is often better as a surprise than as something people will know about. Playing a Flash when your opponent thinks they are safely at long range is much more satisfying than using an inherent ability. Never underestimate the surprise factor. Guns Personally, I find that guns have no place in a !Brujah deck. By committing yourself to using a gun's strike you are forsaking the benefit of having Potence. Let the pretentious Toreador 'artistes' or wimpy Malkavians use guns. If you are relying on Celerity more than Potence, it is possible that guns might find a use in your deck and some of our traitorous Camarilla cousins have useful abilities for procuring them. Note also that Potence offers a few combat cards that duplicate the effect of guns, albeit in a transient way. Thrown Gate at superior is basically like having a 44 Magnum for one shot complete with the maneuver. Blur, a useful Celerity card can also make guns much more attractive but again this requires completely avoiding the Potence inherent to our clan. There is one thing about equipment which actually makes them much more attractive to us than to other clans. They are permanent. A dedicated combat deck of 90 cards cycles cards fast enough that it will often run out of library cards to play. By placing permanents on our vampires, they become much more capable of surviving an extended game. However, this does not happen so often that it should always be a consideration. A good way to decide is to look at the number of players in the game. With 5 or 6 players, each with vampires we want to kill, it might be worth throwing in an extra Sport Bike or Laptop Computer. Melee weapons like Meat Cleaver or Bang Nakh Tiger Claws can be used with most Potence strike cards, however they do not work with one notable Potence card, Immortal Grapple. Since most Potence decks rely on this one card to ensure that strikes do manage to hit the opposing vampire, often the melee weapons are better left out of these decks. As always, each player will need to decide if a particular item is worth adding to a deck. I have generally found that !Brujah decks work better without most equipment cards. The Sword of Judgement is always a fun weapon to use but guns rarely find their way into my Potence/Celerity decks. All of my decks include at least two Sport Bikes and one or two Leather Jackets but most items I am content to leave out. ========================================================== VAMPIRE ANALYSIS Name: Beast, the Leather Face of Detroit http://whitestar.ddg.com/vtes/monger/showvamp.html?ID=233 Clan: Nosferatu Antitribu Capacity: 7 POT OBF cel ani Beast cannot perform action-card actions or recruit allies. He cannot have or use equipment or retainers. As a (D) action, Beast may enter combat with any ready minion controlled by another Methuselah. +1 strength. What's that you say? He isn't a Brujah Antitribu? Hmmm... I hadn't noticed. You see, Beast is so close to the ideal !Brujah that he shows up in any devoted !Brujah combat deck. He has superior Obfuscate and inferior Animalism, but who cares? He also has superior Potence, inferior Celerity and comes with an inherent +1 Strength. The fact that he has a built-in rush ability ensures that he can enter combat every turn. In fact, his weakness is not even a problem given that we will be using his inherent rush ability rather than waste actions equipping. Since equipment and retainers are unlikely to show up in a !Brujah deck, his weakness is unlikely to affect us. If he has any true weakness, it is the same as Sela before him... he is too popular. Don't be surprised if he shows up in a competitor's deck and you find yourself caught in a useless struggle to contest him. Don't bother looking at Obfuscate or Animalism as additional disciplines for any !Brujah deck that includes Beast. It generally is not worth it. Obfuscate might help in directing the rush towards the victim that deserves it the most, but for the most part it does not help us. Animalism offers some blocking ability and some somewhat useful combat cards, but in Beast's case it's not that important to have either. Most turns he will be tapped and unable to block and he hardly needs any Aid from Bats or Carrion Crows to help him. Since he is unable to use the most useful cards, such as Disguised Weapon or the Animalism retainers, we might as well avoid both disciplines altogether. ========================================================== FICTION Sela wiped the blood from her lip and looked around for the vampire that had struck her. He was gone. From the corner of her eye she saw movement. This time she was more prepared. As her opponent ran toward her, she ducked and watched as it tripped over her and smacked head-first into a dumpster. Whatever it was, it was damn ugly and laughing hideously. Probably Nosferatu she thought, but they usually looked remotely human. This one was wearing some kind of full leather helmet that made him look like a bondage afficianado. Multiple rows of teeth protruded from the opening in the mask. Sela reached into her leather jacket and produced a pistol. She pointed and aimed at the hideous creature and quickly fired a succession of bullets into his chest. The beast was thrown back by the force of the impact but quickly jumped to his feet, apparently unaffected. He ripped a parking meter out of the sidewalk and swung it at Sela. He was fast but Sela was faster. Knowing she had no time to reload the pistol she quickly ducked to avoid the high swing and then threw her gun right at his face. The creature growled as the now-useless weapon struck him. It was no use. She knew that however strong she was, this one was stronger. It was time to rely on other tactics. While they paced in a circle around each other, she focused her will and attempted to call upon her less martial powers. Her fangs showing, she channeled the beast into a visage that would frighten anything. Backed up by her unnatural charisma, the effect was exactly as she anticipated. The creature tried to turn away and attempted to make a break for it. Unfortunately, the closed alley he had chosen as the perfect location for an ambush was now preventing him from escape. Sela felt the rage bubbling inside her but some logical part of her mind retained control. She concentrated and channeled her anger into the 'Dread Gaze' effect. Most kindred were so accustomed to witnessing the other, more combat-oriented disciplines inherent to her clan that they forgot the Brujah had access to more subtle powers. The ugly creature cowered into a corner of the alley, knocking aside bins of garbage in irrational fear. He was sobbing uncontrollably now, helpless to the effect of her gaze. He tried to make a break for it by running past Sela, but she was too quick for him. As he ran past, she deftly pulled a sharp piece of wood from the littered ground and thrust it into his back. Her opponent paused in mid-flight and collapsed to the ground paralyzed. Sela looked up to see that the sky was growing lighter in colour. Frowning, she realized that she would not have time to question the nosferatu... if that was what it was. With a grunt of disgust, she spat blood on the prone figure and then left him there to return to her motorcycle. If the creature was still in the alley when the sun came up, he would be helpless while he burned to a cinder. If a mortal happened to find the creature before the sun did... well, fuck it, what did she care about the Masquerade? ========================================================== SIGN OFF Once again I come to the end of a newsletter and don't want to stop writing. Expect to see another 'part 2' installment of the newsletter in a few days. Once again, I'd love to hear any feedback, especially from newer players. Feel free to send me questions, comments or decks for analysis. You can contact me at ghost@mnsi.net