Cainite Conspiracies: A Quest for Blood

Vampire: The Masquerade

As the release of the upcoming The Cainite Conspiracies for V20 Dark Ages approaches, we reached out to some of the anthology’s authors to get an inside look at their chapters:

A Quest for Blood

by Russell Zimmerman

Twenty-mumble years ago, I stumbled into it just like you and so many others did. I fell deeply into, and fell deeply in love with, the World of Darkness. Monsters from other games were player characters in this one – though monsters, still – and there wasn’t a single d20 in sight? Awesome! But the elevator pitch barely scratched the surface, and the best was yet to come.

The depth and breadth of sourcebook support for any given WoD game was staggering, but Vampire reigned supreme. There was still room to grow, though; in a shadowy world dominated by (in)human passions, hungers, threats, and myths, the present day just wasn’t enough. Then Dark Ages hit and fixed all that. The history of the world was spun, flipped, tumbled, and examined in terrific new ways. Broadswords and bloody smiles, what wasn’t to love? The tremendous depth of the World of Darkness just kept going, and the historian inside of me ate it up as eagerly as the geek. What’s not to love about immortal characters being given multiple settings to drink from? It was fantastic. It still is.

As a freelancer it’s my job to be excited about every product I work on. But as a fan this one didn’t take much effort at all. Just like V20 breathed new unlife into the modern day of the classic setting, V20: Dark Ages has updated and expanded upon the historical setting, and having the chance to be a part of it was something I just couldn’t pass up. When one of my favorite Clans was still available — the beautifully monstrous Cainites of Clan Toreador — I pounced at the opportunity to tell their story. It’s terrific to be a part of this anthology, and I hope fans sink their fangs in just as eagerly as I did.