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Through Gates of Reddened Steel 🩸|🏰 A Cainite Chronicle
Caught into a web of schemes and murders involving an ancient power stirring beneath the holy city of Jerusalem, you must strive to uncover the truth.
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Monday - 4:00 PM UTC
Oct 19 / Session 1
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 11+ Sessions
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
The year is 1197. A fragile, uneasy peace blankets the holy city of Jerusalem, where Christian pilgrims, Muslim merchants, and Jewish shopkeepers walk paths carved by a century of bloodshed. But beneath the mortal facade of prayer and commerce lies a deeper, darker rot. One hundred years ago, the First Crusade breached these very walls. That night of July 15th in 1099 a sudden, hellish madness gripped the conquerors, turning a siege into a frantic, ecstatic slaughter that choked the streets in crimson. The cainites called it the Weeks of Blood, hiding a terrifying mystery seemingly buried by time. But the past does have a way to reintroduce itself to those walking upon the sands of the Holy Land. Shadows are lengthening, an ancient hunger stirs beneath the stone, and the sacred waters are beginning to weep red. The harvest sown in blood a century ago is finally ready to bloom... * * * To start this VAMPIRE: DARK AGES campaign we will be accompanying your coterie of Neonates through the dusty streets and sun-baked hills in and around this coveted jewel among all cities that is Jerusalem, as we launch a rollicking and blood-soaked storyline where scheming, investigation, diplomacy but also feats of daring, strength and supernatural might will all be key in you cainites' survival: will you manage to pierce the ancient and dark secrets hidden within the Holy Land ? Will you all remain unliving yet whole through these turbulent times ? 🔴 Wrestle with your own Inner Beast, hope to retain enough humanity to savor the taste of the accursed yet oh-so-unique existence your respective Sires have gifted upon you ! 🟠 Follow your chosen Roads, avoid destruction and unveil more of this mortal world and what wondrous gifts it holds ! ⚫ You, Eternal Hunters For Scarlet Delights, are destined to make your mark upon it: take what's yours by right, forge alliances, uncover somber secrets and crush whatever stands in your way.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Theater of the Mind
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(37)
6 years on StartPlaying
650 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Beginner Friendly
About me
I'm an old-school, french-born GM who first specialized in LIVE TEXT games on this platform before doing the switch to Audio/VC (which these days is of course a normal go-to for a lot of my games - as much as anyone else's, I suppose ! - but I started as a pro-GM with Live Text and still have a thing for it). After a long hiatus doing other Life Things, I got back into TTRPGs online a few years ago and have been running sessions professionally since 2020, first with mostly homebrewed 5e campaigns but more recently branching out into a lot more varied systems, including less crunchy, more narratively-oriented experiences. I'm very much into immersive and epic stories, involving a lot of larger-than-life (or at least amusing and/or interesting) encounters with the denizens of the world your characters live in. I add a good mixture of action, exploring, problem-solving and interactions with intriguing situations and colorful characters to spice it all up. Get in touch and we'll talk about what you'd like to run, and how... !
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We start from scratch and will start discussing your characters concepts during our SESSION ZERO (or pick them from pre-generated sheets). 🦇 CAINITE CREATION proper can be done with such online tools as ghoulapp.com (and also through the use of homebrewed VTT compendiums specially designed by one of our players !). 🧛♂️ You will all enter this Chronicle not as Fledglings, but full NEONATES with an extra 15 Freebie Points, for a grand total of 🔺30 FP.🔺 Alternatively we can also discuss a lot of this on Discord previous to our actual first sessions, so feel to reach out and let your creative juices flow (... if not Vitae ?🍷). There's a lot of options to pick from and many things to be discussed there, before we BITE into the proper meat of things 🦷🩸 !!!
This is a small coterie of three Neonates, looking for a few more to complete our numbers... * CHARACTER CREATION * > We use Ghoulapp.com but any other method is fine. > These cainites start their undeath with a total of not 15 but 30 Freebie points ! > Coterie Make-Up: a bitter Nosferatu born and bred in the gutter, a Bonsam spiritual seeker who travelled all the way from Egypt, and a Capadoccian ex-nun from the shores of Ireland.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
For the sessions we will require: 🎤 - a working mic 🎧 - headphones ! 🔌 - a decent internet connection 🎮 - we'll also be using audio from your GM's server on Discord 📚 You do not need any previous knowledge of the rules, as they're relatively straight-forward simple and we can learn as we play... however... 🧩 some familiarity with other WoD games will help to grasp the basics: while it is not required per-say, more advanced players are of course welcome to share of their knowledge and expertise both of the Rules and the Setting, including with the Storyteller - albeit still keeping in mind that no-one loves a Rabid Rules Lawyer, even an immortal one ! 😏⚖👨⚖️
What Ash Drunbar brings to the table
🩸 Although I'm a longtime GM with a number of systems, this will be my first campaign using the World of Darkness / Vampire rules: I'll be as fair and efficient as I can be as your Storyteller and I'll also be happy to get player feedback on rules adjudication, however expect some rulings on the fly and the occasional Rule of Cool in the service of keeping the story moving forward ! One Rule To Rule Them All Being: 🍂 Embrace Loss and Darkness 🍂 (i.e: failing forward creates good stories too) * and * 🎬 Do Trust Thy Storyteller Above All !!!🧿 🩸 I own a number of books in pdf form including: - The Dark Ages 20th Edition + 2nd Edition Core Rules - Bitter Crusade - Fountains of Bright Crimson - Under The Black Cross - Constantinople By Night - Iberia By Night - Transylvania By Night - The Ashen Thief - Right of Princes ... and more 🩸 As far as our sessions' atmosphere, we can be as laid-back or as lugubriously penetrating in our dark stories as the situation demands. The use of FOUNDRY VTT (currently using v12) allows for superior immersion both in terms of visuals and musical ambiance. May The Ancient Blood Always Carry You, Your Monstrous Needs And Pressing Desires Forward Always Into The Warm Red Meat Of Our Long And Hungry Nights !
Homebrew rules
* to be discussed with players during session zero or whenever a change is felt needed *
Equipment needed to play
Computer or Mobile Device
Internet
Microphone
Headphones
Platforms used
Safety
How Ash Drunbar creates a safe table
As this is a pretty intense game system and setting containing various degrees of horror elements, discretion, tact and both in-game and after-game care are advised ! 💀🦴🧠🥩🧛♂️🦇🩸 🔸 We will be using the Lines and Veils Safety Tool: be sure to mention during (or previous to) our Session 0 if you have an issue with vivid descriptions of any type, how much gore, mind control, blood draining and other vampiric niceties you can / want to have to handle etc. 🔸 As a matter of course I will make sure all players keep the proper boundaries at the table: obviously no racism, bigotry, sexism or bullying of any kind will be tolerated. 🔸 Any issue with another player or with your GM can and should be discussed after the session, using a respectful and mature approach and avoiding unnecessary drama 🔸 I encourage an open door policy and anyone can take a break at any time during play. We will have a small mid-session break provided as well. 🔸 Safety Tools like Aftercare, Stars & Wishes or any other such tools can and will be provided for the campaign upon demand, either in punctual or permanent form, at any time and without any form of justification needed.
Content warnings
Safety tools used