Running a V:TES demo

The First Blood decks are the fastest way to put V:TES in front of new players. This guide covers how to set up a demo at an event (convention, store, GP, meetup) and how to run a ~30-minute guided round that hooks people in without trying to teach the whole game.

1. Goal of the demo

The goal isn’t to teach V:TES end to end — to really appreciate it you need roughly ten games — but to show how a turn flows, how the core interactions feel, and to let players taste the political game, so they leave wanting to come back.

Keep the demo to 30–45 minutes. A full game runs much longer and loses the showcase effect.

2. What you need

• 5 First Blood decks (Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, Malkavian, Ventrue) already unboxed and split by clan.
• Pool and blood counters (tokens, coins or dice): 30 per player.

For posters and handouts to hang up or give to attendees, see the appendix at the bottom.

3. Table setup

Start with 20 pool, but with a couple of shortcuts compared to the standard setup, to avoid losing the audience in the first influence-only turns:

• play open-handed during the first round, so the demo runner can comment on every card played; from round two you can switch to closed hands if the table can handle it;
• every player starts with one vampire already in play with full blood (= the vampire’s capacity);
• every player must have a master in hand that’s playable on turn one.

Suggested seating in turn order:

1. Nosferatu — vampire Cedrick Calhoun, opening master Blood Doll
2. Toreador — vampire Catalina Vega, opening master Art Museum
3. Tremere — vampire Ayelech, opening master Chantry
4. Malkavian — vampire Jason “Son” Newberry, opening master The Barrens
5. Ventrue — vampire Alexa Draper, opening master Misdirection

4. Prepared hands

Each player has 7 cards in hand. The cards listed below are fixed, to showcase the fundamental mechanics in round one; the remaining ones are drawn normally from the clan’s deck. Deal the hands face up and already ordered before starting.

^† Voter Captivation works better if it isn’t in the opening hand: put it on top of the library so it’s drawn the moment the Toreador replaces a card after the referendum, for a small surprise effect.
^‡ Threats can likewise be left on top of the library so it’s drawn at the right moment.
Note: the Malkavian must have no intercept in hand, so the Tremere’s Sniper Rifle equip doesn’t get blocked.

5. Guided play sequence

The first round should run roughly like this — don’t read it as a script, treat it as a track: the goal is to showcase one different kind of action per clan.

Nosferatu — master economy, bleed, combat

1. Plays Blood Doll.
2. Bleeds with base Deep Song; gets blocked.
3. Plays Roundhouse as strike; Toreador answers with Majesty.

Toreador — voting, deal-making, referendum

1. Plays Art Museum.
2. Calls a referendum with Kine Resources Contested; the Tremere only has Eyes of Argus in hand as intercept.
3. Pause to explain the political phase: who votes (ready vampires, with extra votes from titles), how the referendum’s terms work; then let the players discuss and negotiate.
4. Then plays Scalpel Tongue, Voter Captivation, Scorn of Adonis.

Tremere — equip, weapons

1. Plays Chantry.
2. Equips the Sniper Rifle with an equip action.

Malkavian — stealth/intercept, bleed redirect

1. Plays The Barrens.
2. Bleeds for 2 with 0 stealth; the Ventrue tries to block.
3. Plays Cloak the Gathering (+1 stealth); the Ventrue answers with Second Tradition: Domain (intercept).
4. Closes with Elder Impersonation, which prevents the Ventrue from blocking this action → the 2-bleed goes through.
5. Second action: bleed with Threats; the Ventrue plays Deflection and redirects the bleed to the next player.

Ventrue — allies, untap, bleed with bonuses

1. Plays Political Ally.
2. Untaps with Freak Drive.
3. Bleeds with Enchant Kindred.

From here the game can carry on freely — the Nosferatu might equip the Raven Spy, the Toreador might start voting seriously, and so on. When you sense the group has seen enough, wrap up the demo.

6. What to avoid

• explaining every rule: stick to 4–5 key concepts per round.
• framing First Blood as a lesser version: it’s a taster of the game, not a downgrade.
• getting bogged down on edge cases: defer the details to after the demo and keep the game flowing.

7. After the demo

• Talk about the nearest community: who plays, where, when.
• Leave a reference to vtesitaly.com, optionally with some informational material.
• If someone shows real interest, take a contact and invite them to the next local event.
• If the event is a sanctioned Archon Demo, remember to create it on Archon afterwards (you need to be a Prince or to have a Prince’s support): see Archon Online for Princes.
• Return the First Blood decks in order — the next person running a demo will thank you.

Useful materials and links

Posters, flyers and artwork — to print (for booth display, props such as the Edge token) or share digitally (social posts, online flyers). Click to enlarge:

Game quick-reference sheets — combat, politics, actions, and more; to consult during the demo or hand out to anyone who wants to dig deeper (click to enlarge):

Printable handouts (PDF):

• Official VEKN New Player Guide (A3, English) — one-page illustrated reference with game zones, turn phases, combat sequence, clans and disciplines; to consult during the demo or hand out to anyone who wants to dig deeper.

References:

• VEKN Rulebook — official game rulebook.
• VEKN Tournament Rules — useful if the demo turns into sanctioned events.
• Archon Online for Princes — to create the demo as a sanctioned event on Archon.

See also

Prince

updated on 18 May 2026

Archon Online for Princes

Create an event, manage check-in, rounds, finals and reports on the official VEKN platform.

Player

updated on 18 May 2026

Archon Online for players

Sign up, register for a tournament and upload your decklist on the official VEKN platform.

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