“ Thousand Year Old Vampire is an introspective, emotional, and sometimes frightening role-playing game” proclaims the back of a hardbound book, blue and cream and gilded, which a dear friend gave me with the edict not to look up anything about it.

Chronicled here is my journey through the book, and subsequently my vampire’s journey through undeath. I don’t know what to expect, but I do know that the game is intended to be challenging and is intended for mature audiences only. I will not be writing about sexual assault, but if other topics arise, I will tackle them; content warnings will be clearly labeled at the top of posts.

A short summary of the game mechanics: A vampire has traits: five active Memories with up to three related Experiences each, some Skills, Resources, and  Characters related to those experiences and Marks which distinguish them as a vampire. Four memories can be archived in a Diary, but not remembered. Beyond the limit, if a new experience doesn’t fit an existing memory, a memory is lost and a new one formed. 

Dire rolls direct the player through a series of Prompts which alter traits. Somtimes, Skills and Resources are used or lost; if none remain when this event happens, that is the vampire’s end.

Our game follows a creature born as Berhta in the countryside of what will become France. It is loosely historical, meaning I will do light research and try to avoid falling into the trap of researching inconsequential details.