Don Draper: Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound.” It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.
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Beckett: If I see so much as a flickering shadow, I’ll be moving to rip your arms off.
Talley: I’ll be on my best behavior. Consider this an exploratory expedition into the heart of darkness. The horror. The horror!
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Melinda Galbraith, Beckett’s Jyhad Diary, by Ken Meyer Jr.
The Beckett’s Jyhad Diary Kickstarter only has nine days left on the clock. As we pass some stretch goals and reach others, Neall and I reflect on the work we – and the excellent crew of writers and artists – put into this book. It’s with some pride we realise how well-received the backers are finding the texts I’ve been uploading for preview (you can view them on the Kickstarter page). We knew this book would be popular, just by dint of its subject matter. We strived to ensure all the content would be useable in chronicles, exciting to read, and the kind of text to ignite all those lovely mental nostalgia centres. Judging from backers’ responses, we seem to be hitting the mark.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/deluxe-v20-becketts-jyhad-diary/
Every Vampire player can name what it was that drew them into this fantastic game. Whether the Gothic-Punk aesthetic, the rich setting, the complex characters, or the intriguing powers and mythology – everyone has a story. For me, it was the combination of personal and external horror, applied across books, video games, card games, and at our tabletop. I recall a game in which I portrayed a fledgling, violently Embraced into Clan Toreador by an uncaring sire. I remember the Embrace scene for its intensity, and the horror of its aftermath. I recall feeling my character’s horror at all she had lost, and the vengeance that consumed her. As my play of this character went on, she grew more deeply involved in the World of Darkness. She encountered Princes, Bishops, Hierophants and Infernalists. She trucked with characters from the novels like Beckett and Talley the Hound. She fought bloody battles, engaged in political intrigues, and brought her sire low through a protracted revenge scheme. That chronicle awoke something in me that never died, but my strongest memory is of that brutal, terrible Embrace.
My nostalgia for this game is great, and ever fed by the constant support of its players, Storytellers, artists, and writers. This book is fuelled by nostalgia, so your games might benefit from our accumulation of lore and experience. Every paragraph contains a plot hook. Every dialogue exchange evokes a part of the setting we want to see used in games. We’ve pulled from the books, the video games, and the card games (including adding characters who only appeared in Vampire: The Eternal Struggle). There are no depths we have not plumbed to make this book as strong as it can be, and I want you to enjoy it, use it, and find it the ultimate in Vampire resources. A Storyteller with this book should have enough plots at her disposal to last years and years. I want readers to find the easter eggs we’ve planted, referring to obscure books and undeveloped plots from historic works, seeing a character referenced for the first time in over two decades. I want that feeling of nostalgia to wash over every backer as they open their copy of Beckett’s Jyhad Diary.
More importantly still, I want this book to appeal to new players and Storytellers. Beckett’s Jyhad Diary contains new material, new expansions to the existing metaplot, and enough grounding to make the game accessible to anyone – old hands and fresh fledglings alike. The Kickstarter backers have responded incredibly well to the bringing back of characters like Marcus Vitel and Cappadocius. They have responded stronger still to the idea of vampires of the South American continent, Clan allegiances changing, and deeper explorations of Clans, bloodlines, and Sects. There is more to come as stretch goals pass and more chapters are added to the already sizeable text. I ask that you engage with us, and the other backers, in the Kickstarter comments. Have a say on what you like and dislike about the book so far. We are listening, and will respond.
Below I will post several of the plot hooks from across the book, to give examples of the kind of signposted content a Storyteller might use. Note however, there are plenty more between the lines of Beckett’s text, in the dialogue between characters, in the emails he’s printed and added to his diary, the chat logs, faxes, police reports, and everything else.
Let me know what you think of the book, and if you’re still unsure about backing, tell me why! I would love to try and convince you to get involved with Beckett’s Jyhad Diary. If you are already backing, then I thank you. Please share the Kickstarter on all social media. Remember – the more stretch goals we hit, the more content this book receives, and it’ll all be thanks to you.
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- (From “The Dead Walk”) Prince Sergio Bueno of Santo Domingo seeks a capable coterie for the task of recruiting the Lasombra antitribu of the Caribbean islands. The Magisters are notably hard to pin down given their near-constant persecution by Sabbat brethren, yet Bueno is adamant their assistance is required in routing the Serpents of the Light from Haiti. Outside the Dominican Republic, the Camarilla is unsure whether Bueno acts in the interests of his Sect or his Clan, so a secret counteroffer has been laid on the table by Justicars Lucinde and Iadanza for the coterie prepared to work for Prince Sergio. They’re to ensure the Setite doesn’t claim power in Haiti once the insurrection is complete. A competent Ventrue or Toreador must instead be placed in power.
- (From “A Split City”) Khalid, the Nosferatu Primogen of Chicago, is one of the few Kindred independent of the games of Helena and Menele. He became aware that two Methuselahs control the city some time ago. Through his tremendous powers of Obfuscate, Khalid has kept his independence. It was years before Helena and Menele became aware of him and, by that time, each assumed the other controlled the Nosferatu. Recently, things came too close. In a fit of paranoia, Khalid vanished. He doesn’t attend Primogen meetings. He’s faded from view, and in some cases memory. He tries to subtly direct and guide vampires still independent of the Methuselahs. These wild cards usually include neonates, including a particular coterie creeping beneath the notice of the ancients.
- (From “War Across Dixie”) Lawrence Meeks’ worst fears come to pass. Prince Calbullarshi falls, not to a Camarilla-led coup or even a Sabbat siege, but to a new vampiric Sect devoted to Vodou. New Orleans is now truly the City of the Dead, and the Masquerade groans and creaks under daily reports from terrified mortals who have encounters with the zombies who form the armies of the Necropolis. Perhaps the only obstacle to this dark outcome is to find a Camarilla candidate for Prince who can speak to the Vodouists in their own language, or perhaps one who can bypass them and speak directly to the dead.
- (From “Planting the Eye”) The Sabbat Bishops of Detroit have been struck down and chaos ensues. If Detroit seemed like a postapocalyptic nightmare before, it’s on the verge of actually becoming one now. Without so much as nominal leadership to keep them in line, packs rage across the city in an unrestrained orgy of violence. The Camarilla wants to insert a proper Prince, but first they have to bring it under their control, and for that they’ll need soldiers and diplomats: the former for obvious reasons, and the latter to leverage Setite favor to their advantage. The Followers can play kingmakers here, but what will it cost?
- (From “The Fall of the House”) The Universidad del Tercer Circulo del Serpiente Dorado ranks as one of the largest Chantries in the world, yet remains abandoned. Sabbat Cainites who have attempted entry without Thaumaturgical protection have fallen afoul of cruel traps and curses, but now that the Tremere from all factions have discovered the Sabbat are giving the location a wide berth, various expeditions are being planned by parties representing each bloc. The increased interest around the former Chantry of Goratrix leads to a race to see which Thaumaturges can claim the greatest prizes before the entire complex is stripped.
- (From “Dreams and Nightmares”) An elder vampire named Zoe appears in the local court, claiming to be a survivor of Constantinople. Despite her apparent age and power, she begs alms from the local ruler, and sanctuary against those seeking to do her harm. She explains she witnessed the collapse of the Dream in the Dark Ages, saw the first Trinity implode, and the second scatter. Upon hearing of a third joining, she journeyed to Istanbul to bear witness, only to be horrified by what she encountered. Since that time, she’s fled the protectorate of the new Trinity and its assassins. She’s willing to share knowledge of what’s taking place in Istanbul, but warns anyone that such knowledge could easily spell their doom.