Vrentae: Houses of the Blooded

09/18/2010

Vrentae
Houses of the Blooded
Using the highly received Houses of the Blooded role-playing game system designed by John Wick, the game explores the lives of the Ven and the intense interplay of romance, love, passions and revenge in this wonderful system that encourages players to be co-narrators of the story. Ever since I've first heard of this game, I've been anxious to run it. My friend and fellow storyteller Adrian found a physical copy of the book and has been asking me to run a game as soon as possible. I wasn't sure if this game was viable for a demo game, but after spending some weeks reading it I feel more confident now to run a session for the Open Gaming Meet.

I had four players in this game and quite frankly, the game was an absolute blast to play.  Mahar, Kristine, Paolo and Jammi all found the wagers system of the game to be a fun challenge to explore.  The idea of tagging and invoking aspects was definitely something they really got into.

The game was based on the sample adventure (page 386), with each player being a guest to the dinner hosted by Lady Shara.  There were moments of horror with Lady No, dangerous flirtations with Count Kether, a murdered Tulpa discovered in the maze garden, and the threat of a poisoned meal.  The night ended with one player using her excellent bow skills to slay the assassin the very moment another made a passionate admission of Love, one which won everyone's hearts long enough for a Dragon to be witnessed.

Ah Vrentae.  Love and Revenge.
Among the ven, they are one and the same indeed.

Too bad we weren't that versed into the game yet to actually also start using Sorcery and Seasonal Actions..  All in due time I guess?

Some pictures of that session.

Photos by rOckY