L. Scott Johnson#
Many DS cards are wallpaper (i.e., have no place in any deck, so may as
well be used to decorate your walls).
Many seem to be so because the design team couldn't decide between
a card having a high cost or being burned/stolen - and ran out of time
to decide so left both disadvantages in place.
Others may simply be poorly implemented ideas (there are many other
typos in the DS set that are easy to spot - typos that look OK are
harder to get a signed confession for :-) It's even hard to get a
confession for obvious typos like 'Minion' in Kindred Coercion.
So, anyway, that's my excuse for presuming to "fix" some of the DS cards
that are out of line, but not blatant enough to warrant official errata
(cf, Concealed Weapon from Jyhad). I provide short reasons/justification
for the changes I propose. This is open to commentary. These rules
are being added to my house rules list - feel free to propose fixes of
you own or to voice your opposition to my fixes which you feel are
unbalancing: sjoh...@math.sc.edu
"No burn" in the following list simply means that the built-in burn option
given on the card is to be removed. It *doesn't* mean that the card cannot
be burned (with Arson or what have you).
I have listed all DS cards that have a cost and a built-in burn/steal
option - even though a pair of these are strong enough to warrant the
pair of disadvantages. These are noted with "Fix: none needed" along
with more justification.
Also listed are other walpaper cards, and one simple oversight (Noble Blood).
Without further ado:
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Acquired Ventrue Assets Master Giovanni 2 pool
Put an amount of blood counters (from the blood bank) on this card equal
to the number of Giovanni you control. During each master phase, you
may move 1 blood from this card to any Giovanni you control. Burn this
card if there is no blood on it. This card may be burned by any minion
who is not a Ventrue as a (D) action.
Artist: Richard Kane-Ferguson Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No Burn
Reason: Basically just a temporary Hunting Ground anyhow, with fewer
targets (Gio only), but stackable and not a location. If the stacking
is a problem, make it unique.
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Artistically Inept Master Brujah 1 pool
Put this card on any ready Brujah. Toreador cannot attempt to block the
actions of this vampire. This card may be burned by any Toreador as a
(D) action
Artist: Mark Tedin Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: None needed.
Reason: Low cost, minimum of one turn's use, limited burn availability.
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Brujah Debate Master Brujah 1 pool
Put this card in play. Each Methuselah with a ready Brujah must tap the
highest capacity Brujah he or she controls during his or her master
phase. Each Brujah gets +1 hand damage and an optional maneuver each
combat. This card may be burned by any minion who is not Ventrue as a
(D) action.
Artist: Edward Beard, Jr. Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No cost
Reason: Tapping the oldest Brujah is cost a-plenty, plus the burn option
is widely available (and those who can't burn it have Majest and Fortitude
to fall back on).
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Closed Session Action Mod.
Requires a ready Prince, Justicar or Inner Circle member.
Only usable during a political action. Non-Camarilla vampires cannot
vote on the current political action. Non-Camarilla vampires can still
attempt to block this action.
Artist: Harold McNeill Rarity: Common
Fix: Unfixable - useless card.
Reason: Any ideas?
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Corpse Minion Retainer Tremere 1 pool
Retainer with 1 life.
Vampire with this retainer may burn X blood to get +X intercept for
the current action.
Artist: Allen Rabinowitz Rarity: Common
Fix: No cost
Reason: Built-in cost. The effect can be achieved other ways. Easy enough
to burn a 1-life retainer.
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Forest of Shadows Master Malkavian 3 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. Tap this card to give a Malkavian you control +X
stealth until the end of turn, where X is the amount of blood the
Malkavian burns. You may only increase your stealth to 1 greater
than your opponent's current intercept. This location may be burned
by any minion as a (D) action.
Artist: Ken Meyer, Jr. Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No Cost (or No burn)
Reason: Built-in cost, limited use, redundant effect, one use per turn,
no restiction on burners.
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Gangrel Revel Master Gangrel 3 pool
Put this card in play. Each Gangrel you control gets +1 hand damage.
This card may burned by any minion who is not a Ravnos as a (D) action.
Artist: Ron Spencer Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: Cost 1.
Reason: Too easy to burn (Gangrel don't have much block capability). Leave
the cost of one since you get at least one turn's use from it.
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Goodnight, Sweet Prince Master Ravnos 2 pool
Only usable if you have at least one untapped Ravnos in play. Tap one of
your Ravnos. Move the next vampire in the crypt of any Methuselah to that
Methuselah's ash heap. If the vampire you place in the ash heap is a
Prince, gain 2 pool.
Artist: Drew Tucker Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: If a Prince is burned, gain 4 pool (net gain of 2)
Reason: Slim chance that this may have been the original (badly-implemented)
concept, and it makes the card useful - betting two pool on whether the
next vampire is a Prince.
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Legendary Vampire Master 2 pool
UNIQUE MASTER. Choose a vampire with a capacity above 6 who was moved
into your active region during your last turn. Put this card on that
vampire. He or she gets +2 bleed and an additional 2 votes. This card
may be burned by a vote called by any vampire as a +1 stealth action.
Artist: Pete Venters Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: None needed.
Reason: Highly limited play time frame and target. Built-in burn
defense (gain two votes to oppose the burn vote).
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Louvre, Paris, The Master Toreador 2 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. Tap this card to tap any Toreador. If you control the
Prince of Paris, you may tap this card to tap any minion in play.
This location may be stolen by any minion for his or her controller as
a (D) action.
Artist: Ken Meyer, Jr. Rarity: Common
Fix: No cost
Reason: Better, cheaper ways to tap minions exist - with no threat of
backfiring. To balance the new no-cost against the no-cost free tap of a
minion, you could add that it comes into play tapped).
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Madness of the Bard Master Malkavian 2 pool
UNIQUE MASTER. Put this card in play. All players in the game must
speak in rhyming sentences. If a player speaks without rhyming, he or
she burns 1 pool. Any minion may burn this card as a (D) action.
Artist: Harold McNeill Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No cost.
Reason: Since it affects everyone, everyone should have to pay equally.
Although since it annoys everyone, it has a built-in cost (burning the
controller just for spite :-).
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Malkavian Seven Miseries, The Master Malkavian 1 pool
Put this card in play. Any minion attempting a political action gets -1
stealth. This card may be burned by any ready minion who is not
Tremere as a (D) action.
Artist: Cristopher Rush Rarity: Common
Fix: No cost. Make it Unique to compensate.
Reason: Anyone can burn, except a clan not know for it's voting capabilies
(only the Gangrel are worse voters). Compare to Bureaucratic Overload -
no cost, no clan restriction, burned by a vote (which triggers the effect
anyhow).
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Nosferatu Hosting Master Nosferatu 1 pool
You may use a master phase action to look at one vampire in another
Methuselah's inactive region. This card may be burned by any minion
who is not Toreador as a (D) action.
Artist: Drew Tucker Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No cost.
Reason: Even so, it's still too expensive (1+X master phase actions to
look at X inactive vampires - whoopee!). The burn is still easy enough,
since Nosferatu aren't great blockers.
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Of Noble Blood Action 1 blood
Requires ready Primogen. +1 stealth action.
Choose a vampire with a capacity above 5. Put this card on that
vampire. The vampire is now a primogen of his or her clan. Not usable
on caitiff.
A: Josh Timbrook Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: Can only target a vampire you control.
Reason: Is written as an undirected action, just sloppily so.
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Oxford University, England Master Brujah 2 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. Tap and burn 2X pool to get X votes during a political
action. This location may be burned by any minion as a (D) action;
Ventrue get +1 stealth when attempting that action.
Artist: Michael Weaver Rarity: Common
Fix: No cost. Only tap and burn X pool for X votes.
Reason: Easy burn, esp. by the clan most affected. Burning pool for votes
is still almost never a good idea. But burning 4 pool for your initial
vote is insane. Brujah are not insane.
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Pere Lachaise, France Master 3 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. You may place one of your burned vampires on this card.
You may use a master phase action to move 1 blood from the blood bank
to this vampire. If the blood on the vampire equals the vampire's
capacity, place the vampire in the active region at the end of the
master phase and burn this card. Any minion can burn this card as a
(D) action, and send the vampire on it directly to the ash heap.
Artist: Rob Alexander Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No burn (or No cost)
Reason: Simple math. Limited use (one burned vampire), long time frame
and still costs Master Phase Actions. As is, you have to restore a
4-capacity vampire to get you pool's worth - at the added cost of five
master phase actions and constant vigilance.
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Powerbase: Berlin Master Ventrue 2 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. You may use a master phase action to move 1 blood from
the blood bank to the Powerbase. Any Ventrue you control may move 1
blood to the 'base as a +1 stealth action. Tap and burn X blood from
the 'base to give a Ventrue +X intercept against a political action.
The 'base can be stolen with a successful vote called at +1 stealth.
If controlling Methuselah has no Ventrue in play, burn this card.
Artist: Michael Weaver Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No steal
Reason: Plenty of cost built in (initial two, plus a Master Phase Action
or vampire action+blood per vote). Ventrue have easier ways of
defeating votes (without blocking - leaving themsleves untapped) -
Dread Gaze, Kindred Coercion, etc.
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Powerbase: Rome Master 2 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. You may use a master phase action to put 1 pool on the
Powerbase. Any Giovanni you control may move up to 2 blood to the
'base as a +1 stealth action. Tap and burn X counters from the 'base
to gain X votes during a political action. This card may be stolen by
any minion for his or her controlling Methuselah as a (D) action.
Artist: Greg Simanson Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No steal
Reason: Plenty of cost built-in (as PB: Berlin). Tap to use.
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Ravnos Cache Master Ravnos 2 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. During your master phase, you may put 1 pool on this card
and add 1 blood counter from the blood bank. When equipping a minion, tap
this card to use the blood counters on it to pay for the cost of the
equipment. This location may be burned by any minion as a (D) action.
Artist: Greg Simanson Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No burn.
Reason: Costs plenty. Can be burned as a location with Arson anyhow.
(You must pay 4 pool to break even, over the course of two master phases).
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Ruins of Villars Abbey,Belguim Equipment 2 blood
This equipment card represents a unique location. The cost for this
location is paid by this vampire; place this card on that vampire.
The vampire with this location pays X blood before combat begins to get
X optional maneuvers for that combat.
Artist: Stuart Beel Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: The vampire can pay blood *during* choose range phase, as needed.
Reason: Pratically no usefullness otherwise, except as an aid to Fame,
which needs more handicaps, not aid. This way, you can't pay for a
maneuver you can't use.
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Sacre Cour Cathedral, France Equipment 2 blood
This equipment card represents a unique location. The cost for this
location is paid by a vampire; put this card on that vampire.
Allies cannot block the vampire with this location.
Artist: Michael Weaver Rarity: Common
Fix: No cost.
Reason: Narrow usefullness (now, if allies could not enter combat with
the vampire, that would be worth two).
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Tremere Convocation Master Tremere 2 pool
Put this card in play. Tremere get +1 stealth when attempting actions
that require Thaumaturgy. During combat, vampires with basic
Thaumaturgy may use Thaumaturgy combat cards at the superior level.
This card may be burned as a D action. Malkavians get -1 stealth when
attempting this action.
Artist: ?? Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No cost. Make it unique to prevent abuse.
Reason: No restriction on who may burn it. Most Th actions are at stealth
anyhow, and most th strikes are harsh at the basic level to begin with.
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Ventrue Directorate Assembly Master Ventrue 2 pool
Put this card in play. Each ready Ventrue gets an additional vote
during political actions. This card may be burned by any minion
as a (D) action; Brujah get +1 stealth when attempting that action.
Artist: Greg Simmons Rarity: Common
Fix: No Cost (or No burn and tap to use).
Reason: No restriction on who may burn. Gives *all* Ventrue more votes,
not just the controllers. Ventrue vote strongly anyhow.
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Wasserschloss Anif, Austria Master Tremere 2 pool
UNIQUE LOCATION. During your master phase, you may move 1 blood from
any Tremere you control to this card. During you influence phase, you
may tap this card to move all counters on this card to a Tremere in
your inactive region. This card may be burned by any minion as a (D)
action; Malkavians get +1 stealth when attempting that action. If
this card is burned, all of the blood on it is lost.
Artist: Dave Roach and Pete Burges Rarity: Uncommon
Fix: No burn.
Reason: Compare to Arcane Library.
Alternative: No cost (allowing you to effectively one transfer for
one turn before having to defend it - compare to Info Highway).
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Werewolf Pack Ally Gangrel 4 pool
UNIQUE ALLY with 3 life. 3 hand damage, 0 bleed.
Werewolf pack is not affected by damage from melee weapons.
Artist: Daniel Gelon Rarity: Common
Fix: Prevent one damae each combat and regenerate one each untap phase.
Reason: Compare to RGarou - WPack has no stealthRush, no maneuver, does one
less damage (all of which can be dodged as a packet) and doesn't regen.
Compare to Muddles: WPack has no rush, does one less damage and *doesn't
have first strike*. Has two more lives, but costs twice as much.
Dangerous alternative: No affected by non-agg damage.
--
L. Scott Johnson (sjoh...@math.sc.edu) | If thine enemy wrong thee,
http://www.math.sc.edu/~sjohnson | buy each of his children
Graphics Specialist and V:tES Rulemonger. | a drum.