Before True Blood, Twilight, Underworld and Vampire Diaries (but a little after Dracula), there was Vampire: The Masquerade. It was a time when email was exotic and we didn’t really have a name yet for those kids that wished for more mall-friendly goth music. Years later, we got Vampire: The Requiem, a game that was lighter on mythology and tighter on rules.  Now, in the post-Twilight era, Onyx Path Publishing, who Lyal insists on calling “Onyx Publishing”, gives us Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle.

In Part 1, we focus on the setting. What clans are in it? Who are the Strix? Can you play Edward? All these questions and more will be answered.

“Cursed be those who disturb the rest of the Idle Red Hands. They that shall break the seal of this podcast shall meet death by a disease that no doctor can diagnose. What? You’ve invented blood tests and MRIs? Never mind.”
– Updated Curse of the Idle Red Hands

This is the episode we almost lost. Cursed? Or cursed that we recovered it? You be the judge. This episode has an Idle Red Hands first: a tool for gamemasters to use when planning curses for their game. (Which reminds me that we need to get our sample up on the forums.)

Mae: The light that’s leaving that star right now will take a billion years to get down here. You want to know why you’ve never met a girl like me before?
Caleb: Yeah. Why?
Mae: Because I’ll still be here when the light from that star gets down here to earth in a billion years.
Near Dark

“We don’t cry at twilight. We don’t give interviews. We aren’t anyone’s children, day or night. We’re your fears, your desires, your taboos. We’re your worst nightmare and most delicious dream.” – Prince Idle the Red Hand

In this episode, we put the “red” in Idle Red Hands.

“So, Pureheart, we meet again. I always knew it would come down to us: you, the epitome of good, and me, the embodiment of evil. But am I evil? Is it evil to protect what is precious to you? Growing up in the ghettos of the East, I learned many things, and one of those things was that if you play the game of…”

“I got a 16 for initiative. I charge.”

“Hey! I’m monologuing here!”

In this episode, we run down the questions that every gamemaster should consider when making their villains. You’ve been warned, players.

Kristos sits in for his first non-board game episode. You’ve been warned, listeners.

One Vampire: The Requiem episode! AH AH AH! Two Vampire: The Requiem episodes! AH AH AH! I love it!

In Part 2, we look at Lyal’s Detroit campaign. Lyal is thin-skinned, which explains why Wayne, Chris, and Yujiro aren’t so hard on his campaign. Lyal also loves to complain, which explains why he has some choice words for that “Lyal guy”.

We cover flashforwards, intraparty conflict, working in new players, and playing in real time.

Yujiro guest hosts again (we don’t seem to understand the concept of a guest host). Chris’s soon-to-be-wife, Saori, does the opening for this episode.

Character Creation: Take 2. Practice may not have made perfect in this case, but it’s certainly a lot better than our initial effort. You’re welcome!
In this episode, we discuss what should go into making a character, from the Yujiro’s “Your character in 60 seconds or less” to Lyal’s “Research and Ride-alongs”. Wayne makes a joke that he then needed to explain to Lyal after the episode. (It still wasn’t funny.)

A big thank you to Chris for working so hard to improve the sound quality.