V:TES Symbol

Long ago I found that playing V:TES on a regular basis means you tend to end up noticing references to it in many places. I was always particularly fond of the tri-serpentes V:TES symbol and have tended to enjoy seeing it or similar symbols lurking about the place.

Below are a few of the ones I have noticed along with some of the cool directly related V:TES items bearing the symbol that I have taken note of.

'Snakes' is a woodcut by one of my favourite artists, M. C. Escher which was which was first printed in July 1969. Whilst I can't be certain, I personally suspect that this is the image that was perhaps the inspiration for the actual symbol used Vampire:The Eternal Struggle. The angles of the snake's head and body and the tail all seem reminiscent of the V:TES symbol. Either way, it is a pretty cool picture. Escher is a pretty popular artist so you no doubt are already familiar with his work, but if on the off-chance you aren't, then I highly recommend having a look at his material.

This is the symbol for the Wychwood Warriors (officially called the Oxford University Historical Re-enactment Society) which are an Anglo-Saxon and Viking re-enactment group based at Oxford University, that my girlfriend used to be a part of. I am not sure about the history of this particular symbol and whether it has any historical provenance or is simply a modern day invention by someone associated with the group.

A picture of the V:TES symbol on the window of the Ink Pit Tattoo ^** shop in Adelaide, South Australia.

I occasionally pondered the idea of visiting this place and asking them how they ended up using that symbol and whether they also played the game at all, but I never found myself near the place on foot and it wasn't really my sort of location to visit as such, nestled between a dodgy photo studio and an adult shop. Still, I guess if you ever want a tattoo of the symbol done and are visiting Adelaide, this may be the place to go.... >;-)

^{** (Shop link is to Google streeview in case you want a closer look at the symbol)}

Also slightly reminiscent of the V:TES symbol is the cover art for the Black Crowes album Three Snakes and One Charm. Whilst I have not actually heard this album myself, call me weird when I say the cover art alone makes me want to possibly try it out sometime. No doubt I or someone else could come up with one of the now infamous 'Girl decks' that seem prevalent in the tournament scene, named after the 6th track, 'Girl(s) from a Pawnshop'... :P

An example of another vaguely similar design from historical sources is for the coat of arms of Ednowain ap Bradwen, Lord of Merioneth, who lived in the early 1100's. An example of the coat of arms can apparently still be seen in Bangor Cathedral, in north-west Wales. The design itself is similar to and thought to be based upon the 3 intersecting moons from other heraldic designs, seen in the image inset.

Moving onto to actual V:TES paraphernalia, this is a picture of the V:TES tablecloth sold by www.vtes.de (and quite possibly other vendors) I actually bought one of these myself but to be honest, I am not overly fond of the slippery nature of the synthetic fabric or the rubbery texture of the snake symbol itself, which reminded me of the old-school iron-on t-shirt designs that used to be about which would peel off after much use. Hopefully this design is more durable than they used to be though and I still just like having it as an item.

These sterling silver coins were apparently exclusively made as part of a series of 'Relics' for the Vampire the Ethernal Struggle European Championship in Budapest, 2005. It was stated that they were pure silver, 5 cms in diameter, and came in separate boxes. There were only 14 of them at the time, and you were able to bid on them during the last day of the event. The starting bid was to be €60. It was also stated that the winner might have one for a prize... (they were estimated to be worth €80 a piece). I wonder what they ended up going for? I am jealous! I want one... :)

This is one of the V:TES edges that apparently the V:TES community in Zaragoza in Spain give to any new Methuselahs visiting one of their tournaments for the first time. Apparently they have been giving these out as a tradition since the European Championship Qualfiers in 2006. I came across these and the other great prizes available as part of an article about their Storyline Lucita d’Aragón 2008 - Festivo dello Estinto II event. I am starting to realise the European V:TES community has style. If this tradition has hopefully continued I am also definitely going to have to visit one of their tournaments one of these days... >;-)

Here we have the V:TES symbol on a bag from the V:TES European Championship 2010 which were held in Paris. I stumbled across this item via one of extrala's blog posts over at vtesec2010.blogspot.com. I wonder if the bag is like one of the Ultra-pro deck carrier bags, as I have pondered getting one of these, so one with the V:TES symbol emblazoned on it would be great.

Speaking of the V:TES European Championship 2010 in Paris, extrala's blog of the event also had a picture of this intriguing looking item that is a custom edge or championship medal or some-such with the Paris V:TES symbol on it. I wasn't able to find a photo with more detail of this item else-where but I like the look of it. - Note: Since first adding this entry I have now located a site that in fact allows you to order these edges and in a wide range of materials from what I think is white plastic right up to them being made in bronze, silver or gold plated etc. They are available from www.shapeways.com. and here is a picture of the model that they are made from, in whatever material you choose.

There are also a wide variety of t-shirts around with the V:TES symbol on them, such as ones seen here courtesy of yet another of extrala's blogs from the V:TES 2009 European Championships which took place in Palma de Mallorca in Spain. Rather than continue this post with the plethora of t-shirts around with the V:TES symbol on them though, I think I will leave those for another blog or another blogger to post about another day...

Disclaimer: Most of the images above are not my own material and hopefully it is okay to have included them for this post, but if any of the original owners has any objections, leave a comment or drop me an email and I'll gladly remove them :)