TL;DR: I made covers for the chapters of our first ever VTM game that I use in discord alongside a song intro for each chapter like it's opening. I made a (quite long) summary of the context and reasoning behind each chapter cover, and it's song in case anyone was interested and to see if it could inspire anyone to do something similar in their games!
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Hi! I wanted so share some more art I've done for our first time playing VTM! Instead of "Stories" I chose to divide the chronicle into chapters, making it feel more like a book or a video game. I use these covers in one of our discord channels, along the link to an intro song which I play every session of that chapter like a series opening!
So here are my covers I made in photoshop. Chapter 0 was only for the first introduction session, thereafter each chapter has taken on average 3-7 sessions. Each cover is themed on what that chapter will contain, making it fun to see my players struggle to decipher any secret meaning or clue from the cover alone. Each name was chosen because it fit the story and also using a reference, joke or quote from something else in media. The song I use for that chapter's opening also holds a lot of context and symbolism in the lyrics.
I've made a summary in case anyone is curious and maybe this inspires you with how we have been managing our silly and very angsty game:
- Chapter 0: The players awoke lost in time. A viking (Gangrel) that had lived in a feral state for 1,000 years always moving west. A witch (Tremere) staked in Salem and left in a coffin in torpor for 300 years. A princess of troy (Malkavian) cursed and turned into a statue for 3,000 years. All were "rescued" on the same night by a mysterious kindred who offered to be their mentor, both to understand their vampiric nature (which none had been conscious enough to understand after all these centuries), and the reality of the modern world of 2005.
- The name is a reference to Portal 2 which has a similar chapter name for its start. All three kindred finally "awoke" after their embrace and subsequently "time travel".
- The image is to represent they all woke up in an abandoned cabin in the woods of Oregon under a starlit sky.
- No song opening was used for this chapter because we had just started.
- Chapter 1: The story starts! The coterie is trying to figure out what happened to them, who this strange mentor figure is and what he wants from them.
- The name is a reference to the quote "with one foot IN the grave" only kindred are coming out ;D
- The image shows their first steps into the city of Portland!
- The chapter intro is Rises the moon because this first chronicle covers the witch's story first. So most intros revolve around her character for now. She was associated with the moon in her backstory, so now the moon rises again.
- Chapter 2: The coterie is encountering their first personal struggles. Not everything is as it seems, and they haven't had time to process their trauma...
- The name is a reference to a quote said in the movie "The VVitch" which was a big inspiration for the Tremere character. This was a nod to that.
- The image is because they've all found a new home in a quiet area of the city. A neighborhood surrounded by nature.
- The chapter intro is Laplace's Angel which the lyrics explain well. The Tremere is out for blood. She wants revenge on the descendants of those who wronged her (the priest, the town mayor, and her brother-in-law). Something the rest of the coterie aren't okay with.
- Chapter 3: The main story continues. They've now come to find this mentor needs their help. He thought he was finding naive elders lost in time. In reality for shenanigans (and mechanic reasons) they are all gen 12th. At this point the mentor wants help overthrowing two human criminal families. Last chapter they dealt with the one on the east side of Portland, now they are after the family that controls the west.
- The name is a popular reference to WW1 which felt fitting with what they were doing.
- The image made my players think they were having a beach episode lol. In reality, it was because there was going to be a massacre orchestrated by the mentor figure, on a wedding for the criminal family in their private yacht.
- The chapter intro is The Emptiness Machine because the coterie is finally truly bonding and the lyrics shares what they all have in common in their angsty little backstories.
- Chapter 4: We finally are delving into the Tremere's backstory. She was looking for her Sire, hoping for answers on what happened after she went on torpor immediately after being staked 300 years ago in Salem. What she didn't expect, was her sire had a new coterie. A witch coven if you will. And her new childe are people the Tremere knew... her sister, and her ex-girlfriend...
- The name is just a reference to how this chapter introduces more of the Tremere's backstory.
- The image shows a camper/caravan like the one her sire uses to transport her and her coven around the country.
- This chapter intro is The Devil Within. It shows the struggles of the Tremere because I did something cool here imo. I read that if a mage gets embraced, the avatar is lost and consumed by the inner beast. I liked the symbolism in that, so I took it a step further. I gave her inner beast a conscience, and she manifests physically in the Tremere's headspace. The Tremere is having actual arguments and fights with the inner beast and these lyrics are a representation of the Tremere and her inner beast exchanging words!
- This chapter also had an Outro song I played after the session. Maybe which the lyrics are supposed to be sung by the Tremere's sire dedicated to the Tremere player, who wants nothing more than to get her childe back, but only when she finally breaks. When the Tremere realizes she won't be able to save her loved ones from her sire and all she can do is come crawling in her knees to welcome her in the coven knowing her place. Because our Tremere is a rebel with a strong fire inside her!
- Chapter 5: The current chapter! They are finally realizing their mentor is not a good influence for them (it's complicated) and the coterie is trying to find the Tremere's sire again so they can rescue her sister and ex-girlfriend from her claws.
- The name is not a reference. Just to summarize this chapter is about the coterie finding themselves while also on the quest to help the Tremere with her problem.
- The image is just to show they are in November now (the story started in late August) so there is snow showing up. The red truck is the mentor's truck they've been using for transportation this whole time.
- The chapter intro is Monsters which the lyrics encapsulate perfectly well how the entire coterie feels right now. Because everyone has backstory traumas and 2/3 have sire issues too!
So yea! This is the longest post I've ever made on Reddit lol. Sooo thank you for reading through all these if you did. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this idea of the chapter covers, the intro songs or even just the story summary so far.
This is our first time playing VTM after all, but we've been enjoying it so much so far. Who knew a bunch of dnd nerds really wanted a place to be angsty young vampire adults lol. And sorry for the long post, so have a potato! 🥔