Vampire: the Masquerade is a game of theme. I have gotten the pleasure of enjoying the game through the years under the titles of several campaigns. And I have been privy to many more. In my experience, I have seen numerous interpretations of the game's themes, as well as many styles of play and storytelling.

Some approach Vampire in a traditional role-playing sense, that of quest-objectives and the cash karma of action and instant reward or punishment. This style, of course, is my least favorite as it yields little opportunity for the complex plays that Vampire: The Masquerade has to offer and does not take advantage of the brilliant setup of the game. This style ignores theme entirely and focuses instead on the exploits of the campaign's self-obsessed coterie. But, luckily, I've only witnessed a few such campaigns.

Otherwise, the storyteller, with her players in mind, can revolve her campaign around as many of the themes the game has to offer as she pleases. Some of the most obvious themes include the classic struggle with the vampire condition, an inner conflict of the character's downward progress to the monster she has become; the ever-favorite theme of processing, the character's discovery of her new society and her reactions to the predatory pecking order that is the kindred social structure; and the theme of power, does the character wish to take the brass ring? If so, to what lengths is she willing to go, and what price is she willing to pay?

But as much as I love all of these themes as well as the others upon which the game dwells, my favorite would have to be the theme of control. Vampire: The Masquerade lends itself to an atmosphere of conspiracy, a setting full of action, schemes, players, pawns, patsies, and an overabundance of ulterior motive. It's a game where one can never be completely sure if her actions were her own, or if she was manipulated from the start to fuel an age old struggle. This struggle is so complex and secretive that I rarely see evidence of in most campaigns, but in truth, a good idea of how the jyhad is moving and who the key players are can sometimes be a potent force in the plot of your chromicle. 

Dealing with the jyhad is intimidating indeed, but it can be more simple than one would realize. Even though your setting may seem to small and uninteresting to warrant the interest of a creature so omnipotent as an antediluvian, any place from London to Sioux City can be a valid theater for this convoluted struggle. Any storyteller who wishes to add an element of the jyhad can benefit from these steps.

1) FIGURE OUT WHO THE ANTEDILUVIANS ARE. Of course you know what the antediluvians are, but consider instead who they are. The first step is to figure out how many you want in your setting. An eternal and deadly struggle such as the jyhad would have definitely had some casualties by now, so decide how many antediluvians remain. Conrad Hubbard and I have shared many of our ideas on World of Darkness setting design so I will cast many of our examples. On the number of antediluvians, we continue the mystical occurrence of seven, having six antediluvians having fallen already. The lower the number of players left in the game, the less complex the war. You should choose a number that makes for a complex shadow-play, but not too much so as to drown in convolution.

Next, decide who is left. Vampire: the Masquerade partially delineates some of the antediluvians who have already fallen and antediluvians who are still active. These references are scattered, however, and mostly contradictory. You should take heed of the source materials as a guideline only and let your chronicle better reflect your own tastes. Just because the books say repeatedly that Ventrue, for example, has fallen, that shouldn't keep you from employing him if you feel your story should benefit from it. Set up the jyhad players so that there is a certain balance of conflict. Every story has it's protagonists and antagonists, and even though there are no real "good-guys" amongst the antediluvians, you should at least bother to pit true evil against ambiguity. Keeping that in mind, feel free to employ the ancients you favor.

Then, look at the antediluvians themselves. Who are they? Do you wish to use the standard story of the clan's heritage, or would you like to embellish it a bit? Feel free to be creative at any point and insert ideas you find interesting. Insert or leave out as much detail as you like. Do they have a real name? Or has it been lost through the ages? What fuels their passion, and most importantly, what is their goal? Each antediluvian has a desire in the jyhad, whether it be sheer survival and vanquishing those who would destroy them, or enslavement of the human race and a "rule the world" scenario. Or do they desire an abstract personal goal, or possibly something unspeakable, such as rending the earth to shreds and making passage for unearthly evils? 

Consider the ultimate goal of each antediluvian. There is a certain logic between the relation of the clan's general aesthetic and the goal of it's founder. Toreador's antediluvian isn't likely to want to destroy humanity, just as it's doubtful that an age of mortal and kindred harmony is likely upon Tzimisce's victory. Once you get the feel of your players in the jyhad, then you can insert them into your world.

2) CONSIDER THE KEY OPERATORS OF THE CLAN. Each of the antediluvians use a sort of pyramid scheme of control. They don't really have the time or energy to deal with the elders of each city. Antediluvians merely gather information and then delegate the execution of their will to their chief operatives, who are usually methusalehs. The methusalehs are typically left to their own devices and resources to carry out agendas which are either consciously or unknowingly not of their own design. Antediluvians typically have a stranglehold of control of their clan, but there are factions that do not serve their founder and instead carry out the will of another antediluvian. Nosferatu is a prime example of such.

Think of the 4th and 5th generations of your chronicle and figure out whose agenda they are ultimately furthering. Even though methusalehs are relatively few in number, don't bother to make them all up, just concentrate on key figures of your chronicle's location and any other locale that sways any influence over your chronicle. For example, if you've decided that the prince of Knoxville, Tennessee secretly takes her orders from the Sabbat, then decide who teh Sabbat in control are and from where they hail. Are they a Lasombra-headed pack from New York, or perhaps a Tzimisce from Mexico City? Then think of who might be pulling the strings of these Sabbat in question and where are they? You might end up going through several steps, eventually coming up with any number of scenarios, perhaps even the example that follows.

The prince of Knoxville might have been influenced by a Lasombra from Detroit, with hopes of making a subtle move for a base within striking distance of the Camarilla south. The Lasombra chose to subjugate the prince either through mystical means or old fashioned treachery, because a Sabbat takeover of the city would cause too much alarm with the bloodthirsty Camarilla. The Lasombra is under orders from another Lasombra in Detroit who is in turn a puppet of a high ranking Lasombra archbishop of New York City. The Archbishop, an emigree to the new world still has his ties to a powerful Lasombra methusaleh in Morocco. This Moroccan methusaleh's main objective is the destruction of an ancient rival of his, a 5th generation Gangrel who fled Africa and is currently resting underneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Unbeknownst to himself the methusaleh is actually a pawn of Set, who is attempting to eliminate as much of Gangrel's power base in the new world as possible in preparation for his all-too-soon return to the earth's surface. Now the player character coterie's alarm at the prince of Knoxville's reluctance to do anything about the alarming number of Sabbat sightings in the city takes on a whole new depth in the Jyhad.

Of course a responsible storyteller will keep this a mystery, but should an ambitious player choose to follow the layers of influence, she may well stumble onto the shocking truths of the jyhad and become aware that Gehenna is just around the corner. Also, bear in mind the clans of the fallen antediluvians. After the death of their elder, most clans begin to immediately splinter as a power-play is made for the dead antediluvian's resources. Different factions will fall in many different directions, as the antediluvians make bids for the deceased's lieutenants. Some methusalehs will actually resist outside influence and take on the agendas of their departed sires as their own, becoming a lesser factor of the jyhad.

3) DIVIDE SOME TERRITORY. Place the antediluvians of your chronicle. Where do they rest? These sites are some of the most potent in the world for kindred influence. Also consider other influential locations, and decide which antediluvians has either control or vested interest there. For example, Nosferat has a strong banner planted in Moscow, but nonetheless, the Brujah faction recently ousted probably still continues to vie for power there. Don't obsess over every city in the world. Chances are that Moscow has no bearing on your chronicle, but don't surprised if it might.

4) WHAT DOES YOUR SETTING MEAN TO THE JYHAD? Think about your setting for a while and decide what it has to offer to the jyhad. It could be very importat to the war, or perhaps of minor interest, but it will be a battleground nonetheless. Does your city have a strategic location to strike at a more important doman? (If so, this lends itself to a story of a weak, besieged city constantly harassed and reinforced by outsiders.) Is it merely a cash cow for an economic front, with little more value? (This scenario always makes for an interesting power struggle of influence over mortal institution, with many factions trying to get a cut of the action. Usually this is a more gritty and violent chronicle as the key players involved will be of minor importance in comparison, and thus everyone there is considered disposable by the jyhad.) Does your setting hide some important ancient, or perhaps a potent artifact? (This is a fun scenario that takes on a classic adventuring style.) Or perhaps your city is actually the resting place of one of the antediluvians. (This is a scenario in which you are a very small fish in a very, very large pond, a mostile and suspicious environment to say the least.)

5) SET THE STAGE. Now that you have mapped out a general dynamic of how the jyhad works in yoru personal world of darkness, you can now take the larger agenda of your city and apply it to the cast of characters in your chronicle. Assign the chief operators and their resistance. Don't be afraid to make the web of control as convoluted and twisted as you feel is comfortable. One should never trust what they see in the World of Darkness.

6) GO THROUGH THE STEPS BACKWARDS IF YOU LIKE. If defining aspects of the jyhad in your chronicle interests you, but these steps seem cumbersome, then proceed backwards through the steps and stop when you feel comfortable with the amount of attention to the theme of control in your chronicle. 

So enjoy these tips. I hope that you find them helpful in building the jyhad in your chronicle. Following in Foray will be a series of articles detailing our own Jyhad. I can only hope that you find them useful.