The Vampire Retrospective Project continues today with an essay from Eddy Webb, Lead Developer for Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition and many other World of Darkness titles. Eddy tells us about the special dedication from the 20th Anniversary Edition book.

To Michelle

To Michelle. Without you, I would not have Vampire. Without Vampire, I would not have you.

Those sixteen words in Vampire: The Masquerade – 20th Anniversary Edition were mentioned to me more than any others as I walked around The Grand Masquerade in 2011. People seemed pleased, confused, and even close to tears as they read them back to me over and over again. Those words really explain the most important thing about Vampire to me – it brought me the woman I love.

At the time I was developing Vampire 20th, my tenth anniversary and my wife’s fortieth birthday came and went. We did what we could to celebrate both, but there was always more work on the book to do. Eventually, as the book neared completion, I showed her the Word document with the credits page with my dedication. I told her that it was her birthday present, but that she wouldn’t get it until the book was done. It was a simple gesture at the time, my one personal mark on the entire book, but those words encompass so much of my life.

I met Michelle in a Vampire LARP in 1999 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was playing a Gangrel, and I was playing a Toreador. I had brought with me a single red rose, because that’s what Toreadors carry around with them. I saw her, and immediately knew I had to give her the rose. I don’t remember what I said at the time (something that I probably thought was witty and she probably thought was adorably awkward), but she took the rose graciously and kept it the rest of the night. After the game, we talked about the game and playing Sabbat characters and many other topics, but ultimately we spent all night talking about Vampire.

When I proposed years later, I offered her a rose again, with the engagement ring on a chain wrapped around it. It was an intentional parallel to the first time we met, and an unconscious connection to the rose on the cover of Vampire: The Masquerade. Our wedding ceremony was held in the same de-sanctified monastery that we played our Vampire LARPs in. The priest was one of our best friends, and the speech he used to unite us as husband and wife contained references to Obfuscation, Celerity, and Vicissitude. Half of the audience was confused, while the other half did everything they could not to laugh out loud.

Sure, I could talk about spending my entire adult life playing this game. I can elaborate on the years of time I’ve given to the Camarilla fan club and the White Wolf community, or about the inspiration that White Wolf games gave me to become a writer and game designer myself. I could point out the friendships I’ve made and the life skills I’ve learned from this crazy game about undead bastards screwing each other over. But the more I think about everything that I’ve gained from Vampire, the more I realize that I’ve already said it all.

To Michelle. Without you, I would not have Vampire. Without Vampire, I would not have you.

Eddy Webb – 2011

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