[Vampire: The Masquerade] The Guide to the Ministry / Followers of Set 

Fantastic video, Gentleman! I was actually unaware that the Toreador were behind the "explosion" for the meeting with the Setites and the Cam... very interesting!

My personal favorite Setite concept is a Therapist or Psychologist who is passionate about their own faith, but keeps it in check light light from an invisible lamp. guiding characters towards their own personal liberation from the societal chains that bind them. Liberation is liberation and is Set's ultimate work even if they don't end up in the faith. Many of the problems and life events, traumas other characters suffered are similar to the hours and gates in the Church of Set. My character takes inventory of this and occasionally guides them towards further enlightenment to free them. Overall the Therapist angle is a blast to play.

You'll be happy to know that I have seen a great spike in the popularity of the Ministry, a lot of anarch players are interested in playing them. Heck, I see players emulate Chicago by night and cram the ministry into a Cam game because people like them so much. This is very different to the Followers of Set which were too often seen as one note, evil priest. Similarly the Giovani were seen as Italian Gangsters with some Necromancy oddly sprinkled in. Mr Dawkins, you can rest assured you nailed rewriting the most troubled clans. V5 has greatly increased the popularity of clans seen as too rigid in character types to play. That includes the Tremere, Givoani, and Setties who have all become far more popular to play in V5.

I can tell you this much - I had little to no interest in the Setites before this schism, so you definitely succeeded on rebranding them. The corruption aspect was really important to me as well, but they were lacking something key in their previous version. I've now been playing Ministry for quite sometime, and it's really fun to play on people's expectations! So glad this video got made! Fantastic insights!

This makes them, IMHO, as fun as the Lasombra. Thank you so much for this insight.

I’m working on a Chronicle right now, and one of the ideas I’m implementing is a Methodist Prince with a Seneschal who also acts as the spiritual advisor. I hadn’t considered the Ministry to fill the Seneschal’s role until this video. Thank you for the inspiration and all the work you’ve done.

It's so refreshing getting some insight from one of the writers of the Clan. The Ministry has always been on my top 3 and I always found it a pity that they get reduced to #evildndpriest. I always found that they have incredible depth and that they are no more inherently evil than your placeholder Vetrue or Tremere.

The Ministry/Followers of Set are my favorite clan. I am always happy to see a video about them!

I'm looking forward to the Lasombra video. Also, World Below is really fun, congratulations on your work.

Great video, love the insight you've provided to us. I love hearing about the process and the thinking that got into these design decisions. I really like the new Ministry, and I'm glad they got included in the way they did. Your Swedish accent impression is also spot on 😂

My favorite VtM character was and still is my Setite character. The funny thing about him was that he made a distinction between being a "Setite" and being a "Follower of Set." Though he was a member of the clan, he never worshipped Set or followed Set's tenants. Don't get me wrong, he was still a glorious bastard, just not in the same way or to the degree of the stereotypical Follower of Set. He even became trusted by many vampires in the city he called home despite being very up front about which clan he was part of. The "exception to the rule" as it were.

Now we re talking let’s gooooooo. The Gentlemen Gamer is showing them all how it’s done!!!

Two things to say: 1. I love the idea of Setites being set up as a Ministry, the whole rebranding. For me it's not that I don't like the "Followers of Set" name because I like it but Ministry has so many more meanings. Also giving them more purpose than just corruption is a great move. 2. I love my Baali being evil and distinct. I wholeheartedly agree that they should be without a doubt evil. It allows me as a game master to show many masks that evil can employ.

This was actually very eye opening. Guess I'm using the Ministry in my VTM/VTR amalgm Chronicle. More complexity, just what I need!

Thank you for the video, and the work you've done on for my favorite clan! They have such interesting themes, and ways to play them, but most people only looked on the surface. So I'm really glad to see them expanded, and see more people open up to them. Their lore in the Dark Ages is especially so fun, and I was glad to see it mentioned. Thanks!

My absolute favorite clan so very interested in hearing what Matthew has to say

Wow really explained the ministry in a fantastic way! I couldn’t stand the Set part but I love the Ministry bent they have now! Gotta play one soon!

I wrote a Banu Haqim character who was in on his clan bombing the Setite meeting with the Camarilla and thought it was dishonorable and was ostracized from the clan, settling in America.

Some of my favorite PCs were Giovanni and Setite. I had a Giovanni who operated a gun running organization in Baltimore. It was goodfellas meets interview with the vampire and it was awesome. My setite was a drug dealer in New Orleans. It was a super dark game riddled with the occult that was very lovecraftian.

I am convinced that the snake elements of the clan come from the movie "Lair of the White Worm," which features a cult of corrupters and sybarites that revere a Welsh serpent called the Dhampton Worm. You can see the Skin of the Adder in full bloom there.

I had always suspected that the name change to the Ministry was a deep cut reference to the Chester Bennington song System from the movie Queen of the Damned. The specific bar "Must you tempt me and provoke the Ministry." The whole song is Lestat raging about the struggle against the evil within. The beast wanting Lestat to die so it can have control. I always thought of Lestat, at least the movie character, as being a member of the Ministry.

Great news! Glad it did so well. Followers as Antiquarians and spiritual advisors? I like that! I'll have to write up an NPC like that. The one I'm using just now is using the drug dealer bit as a cover for more nefarious things. Kind of like this: "You were seen giving a package so such and such. What was it?" "Oh, they just wanted (drug) for their ghouls, some kind of party, I don't ask details" They were not drugs he was selling, but that's for the coterie to work out. His obfuscate is high enough to lie to fledglings if his manipulation/subterfuge doesn't do it already.

Have you thought of writing a novella based on a certain Gentleman Gamer (who may give Critias a run for his vitae) ? Or several legendary tales regarding other vampires from different clans (from your fabulous mind of course). Or something like that. As a reader and listener only, I would love to backup a book created by you... and I am sure our fellow kindred would too based on your vampire view counts. As a sidenote, I am loving that you again have joined Red Moon Roleplaying in their latest endeavor! Thank you for all you do :)

This was even better than the Hecata deep dive, which I finished just before. And also more important to my understanding the Ministry You successfully identified and resolved the contradictions in their presentation over the years -- contradictions which left me completely baffled what the eff to do with them. Thanks again.

That actually makes a lot of sense. Considering that Camarilla is not anymore "you're part of the club wheter you like it or not" but strict elitist circle for the best of the best (at least from their pov) then Lasombra are far better choice. Taking religious angle the Lasombra are Catholic bishops with gold crosiers and silk robes compared to lowborn Protestant preachers with worn out Bibles. Former are preaching to aristocracy in halls of power, the other ones to unimportant and poor rabble. Banu Haqim are as well considered highborn, they're to the Ashirra what Ventrue are to the Camarilla. Also dumping Serpentis and using Protean in it's place was very good choice. There never was a need of too much Disciplines that diluted the game. And most clans with unique Disciplines had very little substance to them beside those unique powers. Opening Setites to wider range of interpretation was great success IMO. I also liked them more as these vampires with egyptologist/assyriologist knack, invading old tombs in search of ancient knowledge, mystical secrets and truth about past of vampiric race. And it's logical it was Toreador clan that blew the shit up. Sensualists and Divas were always the best customers in Setite temples. It's reasonable they wouldn't want to have so close people who know too much about how truly depraved and monstrous Toreadors are.

long time no see! looking good!

I think it makes sense to make the Series apart of the Anarchs. It almost seems like like they should have been from the beginning. The Series, to me, are a clan about rebellion, but rebellion for the purpose of liberation at least how they see it. They have turned rebellion from strict structures of morality and traditional social notes into a form of spirituality. I'm very interested to see what affect that will have on the Anarchs and their whole philosophy of rebellion and freedom.

Pure joy: first Giovanni - my second most favorite clan - now Setites - my absolute fav. ^_^ What's next, Brujah Iconoclasts? :D

The Ministry imo would serve well as the modern nights 'Cainite Heresy'

It was the Dark Age Setite clan novel that made the FoS interesting for me. I am always hoping Andreas Aegyptus will show up somewhere in the meta plot again.

For what it's worth, my latest chronicle is running the clan set up you initially proposed, with 99.99999999% of the Lasombra still with the Camarilla and most of the settites joining the Camarilla alongside the Banu Haqim, and even some of Clan Hecata ( I know you just died of cringe and I'm sorry )

Your awesome dude and awesome video be safe out there big fan of vampire of masquerade

i actually played a Minister in a one shot my friend ran a few days ago. I feel like the followers of Set are in a much better place in V5. Part of the problem with the old Setites was as an independent clan they had no allies in the camarilla, sabbat or anarchs. I like the Setites "hiding within religion" its very similar to the "children of the Scarlett king" cult from the S.C.P. foundation. the problem with independant clans is i feel like the entire party would have to be of that independant clan or they would just be destroyed by whatever local sect is in power. the only thing i dont like about v5 Ministry is Serpentis being turned into Protean. I loved the powers "mother of monsters", "form of the cobra" and "typhonic avatar". I guess you can still KINDA do that if you buy into vissicitude as a combo discipline. but i miss being able to turn into a badass lizard man with super strength.

Setties as a Clan of Faith could help explain why Set and Saulot were brothers. As both Clans are Clans of Faith.

What i always questioned is WHY they were into corruption in earlier editions... the only answer i could find is in Cairo By Night, where one of the elders were more... aware the more corrupt society was, that makes somewhat (a bit) sense for Cairo setites... but for the clan as a whole? Not so much. So we always wondered what they wanted, what their ideal society would look like, Weimar Berlin, to us atleast seemed the natural goal, its not about corruption as a end, but as a mean to create the 'liberal' society that allows sex, drug, rock'n'roll. To be clear, weimar was not a perfect society at all, but i dont think the setites cares too much, they are vampires after all.. Even if this is a house interpretation, it allowed us to have a more natural sensible goal for them, which let them be less one note, and had some interesting clan politics alá assamites, of who wanted that and who did not

Why were they called "The Ministry" in V5, and not "Mesu Bedshet" like what was established at the end of Beckett's Jyhad Diary?

Well right before the tailend of the video when you bring up the Lasombra, I was thinking "man, this just throws a monkey wrench in what I was trying to do." For the setting I'm writing I'm using some conflict as the centers of supernatural closure for the kindred in an divided city. I wrote at one side a independent-gangrel allied setite boss and as his spiritual opponents a noddist pack. Your ensight will help me develop the common grounds and specially the tension between the two thoughts.

Please make a video about Maeghar

How would be an average ministry vampire in a city now? 🤔 I can't take the image of Corruptors away hahaha

this was fun XD

I really hate that V5 didn’t put all 13 clans in core book. It’s not the company’s job to dictate which clans are playable. You put it all in core book and let players decide for themselves what and how to play.

wouldn't the salubri be more deserving of the clan of faith?

They are hands down my favorite clan. I love the idea that they embace atheists and people who are capable of subverting/deconstructing religious ideas, and yet their intent is to bring as many as they can into their own fringe cult. It's gross and manipulative in every sense.

I, as an American disagree with your use of the word "evangelical," as they are a very alt. right faction within the Christian churches here.