The Transylvania Chronicles
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$22.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Monday - 5:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3.5–4.5 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
Report Adventure
StartPlaying Money Back Guarantee
If your game doesn't happen, we guarantee a refund. Just reach out to StartPlaying Support. Refund Policy
Schedule
Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
The Transylvania Chronicles is perhaps the ultimate Chronicle of the Ages, stretching all the way from the end of the 12th century, the earliest beginnings of the Dark Ages era, across more than 800 years, to the modern nights of the World of Darkness. You are playing a coterie of neonate Vampires, tossed together by fate in the shadow of Buda Castle high above the River Danube in the Spring of AD 1197 and sent on a mission deep into the Carpathian mountains that will forever change the course of their unlives... Using material not only from the official Transylvania Chronicles 1-4, but from Bitter Crusade, House of Tremere, Constantinople by Night, Wind from the East, The Veil of Night, Cainite Heresy, Ashen Cults and books chronicling the history of Cainites such as Cairo by Night, Lair of the Hidden, Victorian Age Vampire, Beckett's Jyhad Diary, Blood Treachery, The Red Sign, Night of Prophecy and Gehenna: Time of Judgement, this campaign aims to take you through major events of mortal and vampire history such as the War of Princes, the Time of Burning, the Anarch Revolt and formation of the Camarilla and Sabbat up to and perhaps into Gehenna. We will be using the V20 rules (for both Dark Ages and modern Nights). While the 5th Edition might be a source of inspiration here and there, overall we will not use the rules and metaplot as laid out there. Events and NPCs from other game lines (esp. Dark Ages Werewolf where relevant to the war between the Tzimisce and the Shadow Lords, Dark Ages Mage, Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade and Mage: The Ascension due to their connection to the Tremere, Wraith: The Oblivion in respect to the Cappadocians and Giovanni, and Blood & Silk and Kindred of the East in the context of the Mongol invasions of Eastern Europe) will be taken into account, but from a vampire-focused perspective. While scenarios may take the characters to Venice, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Cairo, along the Silk Road, or West to Vienna, Paris, even London and New York City, the centre will always be the dark woods and forbidding mountains of Transylvania and the conflict between the brooding Tzimisce, the scheming Tremere, the imperious Ventrue written in the blood of the people and the dark magic of the land, binding them all together.
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(14)
3 years on StartPlaying
363 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, World Builder
About me
When I was 11 years old, I discovered a red box in my local bookstore with what I thought at the time was the coolest image I had ever seen - a Conan-like muscle-bound, sword-wielding hero facing down a huge red-scaled dragon defending a vast treasure of gold. The mysterious words on that box read "Dungeons & Dragons - Basic Rules Set". I knew that there was something magical about that box the moment I laid eyes on it, but I did not know how much it would change my life. That was in the spring of 1984. In 1989 I also discovered Call of Cthulhu, in 1991 - after I had just read William Gibson's "Neuromancer" - Shadowrun. Soon Cyberpunk 2020 followed, then Paranoia, Vampire - The Masquerade, Werewolf - The Apocalypse, GURPS, Conspiracy X, In Nomine and, well... there has never been a time in my life since I took home that original red box and showed it to my best friend that I haven't played some form of roleplaying game. I also went to college, moved to Berlin, got married, wrote screenplays for German TV, worked as a translator for novels and film, wrote novels myself, had children who themselves grew up to become gamers, and through all of this the simple act of sitting down around a table with people and together *living* a story - often epic stories, sometimes silly stories, scary stories, even personal stories - never lost its original magic. And now the magic of the internet allows us to do this together, no matter where we are in the world. Maybe you have heard of D'n'D but have never played and don't know anyone to play with but want to give it a try. Maybe you moved or your old group broke up because you all left college. Maybe you just want to try a new game with an experienced game master. Whatever your reason, let me take you on a journey into that magic.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will discuss character ideas during session zero, perhaps develop some of the backstories together and start character creation. Players will have the option to work more on their characters until the first gaming session, but I will help where needed, and even if you own none of the books and have never played any of the games before, you will be fine.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
We will play on Roll20, so you will need a (free) Roll20 account and a microphone. Camera is not strictly required but greatly encouraged. It's much easier when we can see each other during play. Since we play online, no dice or any other physical books or character sheets will be needed. (Of course, you are free to bring whatever rulebooks you may have.)
What Martin brings to the table
We create characters and play through Roll20, though we may use Discord for the Audio/Video-Chat, depending on what works best. I will also prepare all of the maps, illustrations, NPCs, scenarios, atmospheric music, etc. we need.
Platforms used
Safety
How Martin creates a safe table
You play a character from the 11th or early 12th century that gets caught up in the events that lead from medieval Transylvania to the modern nights and the threat of Gehenna. We play overall according to the Rules of Vampire: Dark Ages and Vampire: The Masquerade (as well as other World of Darkness setting books), Twentieth Anniversary Edition, though where necessary we alter the rules to fit the game. This is a horror game, where bad things happen to good people. If you ever feel uncomfortable with any of the events in the game or behaviour in the real world around the (virtual) game table, feel free to come to me at any time - be it during the game or between sessions. I will take each issue seriously and try to find a solution. The wellbeing of my players is of utmost importance to me.
Content warnings
Safety tools used