Ongoing VTES Kickstarter “Unleashed”

On May 10th, 2021 Black Chantry (as publisher of VTES) launched its first kickstarter campaign, Unleashed. As most of you will know, Kickstarter is a crowd-funding platform, where project initiators can present their upcoming product, and people can pledge their support at various levels. Once the funding goals are met, the project initiator will produce the physical product(s), and deliver it to the customers.

VTES Unleashed Kickstarter campaign

The VTES Kickstarter Unleashed will bring the three expansions that were originally created by the VEKN, but only produced as PDFs, as physical products into existence. The expansions are Danse Macabre (2013), The Unaligned (2014), and Anarchs Unbound (2017).

The cards from these expansions will be published in four 90 card bundles (links to the Black Chantry product pages):

• Danse Macabre
• The Unaligned 1
• The Unaligned 2
• Anarchs Unbound

The exact card list can be found on the project’s kickstarter page.

The amount needed for funding the project has already been reached, and the first of several (so called) stretch goals also has been met. Again the exact details can be found the Unleashed Kickstarter page. The campaign has also been announced on the Black Chantry website.

The Unleashed Kickstarter campaign will end on June 9th, 2021 (9:05 AM CEST). So if you’re interested in supporting the project, and acquiring the expansion packs, don’t wait for too long …

VEKN: The Unaligned Survey

Today, the VEKN has invited players to participate in a poll regarding the latest VTES expansion “The Unaligned“.

Dear fellow Methuselahs,

It is almost 6 months since the release of Vampire: Elder Kindred Network’s second expansion for Vampire: the Eternal Struggle — The Unaligned.

We believe it is enough time for the community to provide feedback regarding this set.

By answering this survey you are helping us to create even better expansions in the future.

Please answer the questions if possible, and send word about this survey to all your friends that play VTES.

Thank you.

Michal Kazmierczak “Migalart”

VTES Expansion “The Unaligned” Officially Released

On the occasion of the VTES European Championship 2014 in Mannheim, Germany, the new VTES Expansion “The Unaligned” has been officially released. After the end of the EC Day 1 tournament, the VEKN design team represented by Ben Peal and Mike Nudd, showed the new crypt and library card to the participants of the EC. There are 25 new library and 46 new crypt (all for the five independent clans in the deck). The Gangrel got two extra crypt cards of the last storyline event, namely Brunhilde (ADV) and the Valkyries. The set was very well received by the audience, but time will tell how this set will actually have lasting impact on the game.

Full information on the expansion including the ready-to-print PDF files on VEKN.net.

“The Unaligned” Preview Part V (Ravnos)

The fifth preview for the next VTES expansion “The Unaligned” has been posted today (September 30th). This time two cards for the Ravnos have been published, a eight cap. Sabbat Ravnos named Iago Castille as well as a combat card requiring Chimerstry named Hall of Mirrors. But see for yourself:

This is the last preview before the set is officially released on October 4th, 2014.

“The Unaligned” Preview Part IV (Giovanni)

A fourth round of previews for the next VTES expansion “The Unaligned” has been posted yesterday (September 27th). This time two cards for the Giovanni have been published, a six  cap. Giovanni named Dr. Oliver Genet as well as a combat card requiring named Spiritual Guidance. But see for yourself:

If the pattern of preview cards continues this way, we can expect 5 library and 5 crypt cards in total, with two Ravnos cards due sometime during the next week.

“The Unaligned” Preview Part III (Gangrel)

A third round of previews for the next VTES expansion “The Unaligned” has been posted today (September 24th). This time two cards for the Gangrel have been published, a four cap. Gangrel named C.J. (matches with T.J.) as well as a card requiring Animalism and Protean named Bear’s Skin. But see for yourself:

If the pattern of preview cards continues this way, we can expect 5 library and 5 crypt cards in total, with two Giovanni cards due sometime during the next weekend.

“The Unaligned” Preview Part II (Followers of Set)

A second round of previews for the next VTES expansion “>The Unaligned” has been posted today (September 21st). This time two cards for the Followers of Set has been published, a three cap. Follower of Set named Cao Nguyen as well as a card requiring Setites named In Memory of the Two Lands. But see for yourself:

If the pattern of preview cards continues this way, we can expect 5 library and 5 crypt cards in total, with two Gangrel cards due sometime next week.

Previews for the VTES expansion “The Unaligned” started

The previews of the second VTES expansion released by the VEKN have started. The expansion is named “The Unaligned“, and focuses on the main Independent clans, which are the Assamites, the Followers of Set, the Gangrel, the Giovanni and the Ravnos. As the last expansion “Danse Macabre”, “The Unaligned” is released in PDF format as well. The set contains 47 crypt cards and 26 library cards.

The first two previews are the advanced version of the Assamite vampire Al-Ashrad (Amr of Alamut) and the Quietus card “Sanguine Entrapment“.

The official release date is October 4, 2014, making the set legal for tournament play on November 3, 2014. Full information on the new expansion can be found VEKN.net.

VEKN Designers’ Diary Entry for August 2014

Today the VEKN published the Designers’ Diary entry for August 2014 regarding the current state of the next PDF expansion for VTES, which is (still) unnamed yet:

Hey, everyone!

We’re in the home stretch of work on the new set! We are giving the cards one last review before considering them final. Artwork continues to come in, and we now have 54 completed pieces with work on the rest underway. We remain on target for launch at the 2014 European Championship in Mannheim! We’re also deciding on the name of the set and the expansion symbol for it, and we’ll announce those soon.

We’ll start doing previews about two weeks before the EC, showing a pair of cards every other day or so. We’ll also have a Design Team presentation at the EC like we did last year, covering design concepts, goals, and challenges.

The art preview this time is from Ari Targownik of California:

— Ben Peal and the VEKN Design Team

VEKN Designers’ Diary Entry for June 2014 (Part 2)

The VEKN Design Team has published a second entry for the upcoming VTES expansion, which is (still) unnamed yet:

Hey, everyone!

Congratulations to Matt Hirsch for winning his second North American Championship, and congratulations as well to all the other tournment winners at Origins and the Week of Nightmares! Many thanks to Kevin Mergen, Bob Joseph, Mark Loughman, Jay Kristoff, and Hugh Angseesing for organizing and running tournaments all week!

I had a very productive meeting with the playtesters at Origins. It was great to be able to get more in-depth insight from the players, and I came out of it with a much clearer picture of the playtest feedback we’ve been getting. There’s a lot of information to sort through, and it’s fun and interesting to get several different answers from several different people for the same questions. However, the decisions we in the Design Team have to make are made a lot easier as a result of the discussions and feedback. Round Three of playtest will be wrapping up in the next week or so.

VEKN Designers’ Diary Entry for June 2014

The VEKN posted yesterday a new entry of the Designer Diary regarding the current state of playtest for the second PDF expansion

Hello again!

By the time this diary entry goes out, the fifth tournament of the Week of Nightmares in Columbus, Ohio will be underway! I’m still in Brooklyn, but I’ll be driving out to the NAC with the NYC crew this evening. I figured I’d get another update out before heading off to play lots of V:TES.

Round Three of playtest is in full swing. We’ve gotten a good amount of mid-round feedback which has enabled us to approve more library cards for artwork. At this point, we have two crypt cards and about a dozen library cards remaining to approve for artwork, pending playtest results. That puts us very much on target for an October release. We’ll have a lunchtime playtester meeting at the NAC at Origins this weekend, likely during the lunch break of Day Two of the championship. It’ll be a great opportunity to get more in-depth feedback and to answer any questions the playtesters have.

As for the contents of the set, the focus is on Group 6 (Group 5 for Gangrel), but not exclusively so. There will be some crypt cards for earlier groups, including an advanced vampire for each clan. When it comes to design of advanced vampires, we’ve given them merged abilities but our approach is to make them fully playable and effective in their unmerged versions.

We’re also thrilled to announce another new artist: Carmen Cornet of Spain. She’s done a few crypt cards for us, and she’s a World of Darkness enthusiast, and you can check out her portfolio here:

• carmencornet.tumblr.com/

— Ben Peal and the V:EKN Design Team

VEKN: Designers’ Diary Entry for May 2014 II

The VEKN has published a second Designers’ Diary entry for May 2014:

Hey, everyone!

Round Three of playtest has officially begun! We’ll check in with Hugh Angseesing, the Playtest Coordinator, for a mid-round report in a few weeks. For the cards that still don’t have art commissions, the mid-round report will help us green-light some of the remaining cards for artwork before the playtest round is over.

Speaking of artwork, one of our returning artists is Riccardo Fabiani. He did the artwork for Instantaneous Transformation in Danse Macabre, and he’s completed a handful of pieces for the new set. In addition, he has a kickstarter for one of his projects — a personal travel diary and sketchbook of his travels through such places as Ireland, Romania, Hungary, and Norway. More information is found here:

• Road Trippin

Here’s one of Ricardo’s pieces for the upcoming set:

To see more of Ricardo’s work, check out his websites:

• Dog Without a Bone
• thickblacktrace

— Ben Peal and the V:EKN Design Team

VEKN: Designers’ Diary Entry for May 2014

Today the VEKN published the Designers’ Diary entry for May 2014 regarding the current state of the next PDF expansion for VTES:

Hey, everyone!

We’re just about to start Round Three of playtest. Right now we’re doing the final sign-off on the cards and then the pdf files will be sent to the playtesters.

The still-as-yet-unnamed set is still slated to have 70 cards (45 crypt, 25 library) and we’re well ahead of an Q3/EC release date.

Artwork is progressing apace, with 53 cards sent to artists for artwork. We currently have 31 completed pieces and 7 concept sketches submitted. We’re also very excited to have added several new artists, including Laia López and Alejandro F. Giraldo.

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll talk more about what concepts to expect from the new set, as well as more art previews. Speaking of which, here are a couple of previews from Laia López and Alejandro F. Giraldo:

— Ben Peal and the V:EKN Design Team

VEKN: Designers’ Diary Entry for Winter 2014

Today the VEKN has published some information on the upcoming Independent-themed set for VtES.

Hey, everyone!

Round Two of the Independent-themed set playtest is ongoing. We had a rather lengthy review process after Round One, with over 40 of the 70+ cards getting adjustments. A handful of cards were cut because they weren’t working out to our liking or to the liking of the playtesters, and we’ve replaced them with some new ideas. We’re still on track for a 70-card set: 9 crypt cards and 5 library cards for each of the 5 clans (Assamites, Gangrel, Giovanni, Ravnos, and Setites). Mid-round playtest reports are being submitted, and we’ll be concluding Round Two in a couple of weeks. One more round of playtest is planned after that. The release of the set will happen when the final adjustments to the cards are made and all of the artwork is completed.

The artwork is coming along nicely. We have twenty-five finished pieces submitted and three in progress. They’re all portraits for crypt cards, as crypt cards are easier to design and balance than library cards. We’ll start commissioning library card art after Round Two of playtest, and some will likely be commissioned based on the mid-round reports. We’ve recruited a new artist, Mark Kelly, for this set and we’re thrilled with the work he’s done. Most of the artists from Danse Macabre will be returning, as well. We’re more than happy to bring more artists on board, so if you know any you’d recommend, please let us know!

In addition, the V:EKN Marketing Team has prepared a survey about Danse Macabre. We’d love to get your feedback about that set, and the url for it will be posted soon.

— Ben Peal and the V:EKN Design Team

There are also two card art previews in the original posting on vekn.net.