I have talked about Private Nightmares in various blog posts, but I haven’t dedicated an entire post to talking about this live play. It’s about time I write about Private Nightmares because it’s one of my favorite TTRPG live plays I have watched. I found out about Private Nightmares last year through an announcement by Alexander Ward, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite players and now storytellers to watch. In partnership with Joey Rassool, a player on NY By Night, they launched Project Ghostlight, a home for Vampire: The Masquerade live streams, specifically Private Nightmares. Private Nightmares is so unsettling and perfectly captures the horror of Vampire: The Masquerade.

Private Nightmares follows a thin-blood coterie. Naomi (played by Mayanna Berrin), Katie (played by Aabria Iyengar), Gable (played by Xander Jeanneret), Eddie (played by Luis Carazo), and Jade (played by Gina DeVivo) are a thin-blood coterie who are trying to discover what that actually means in LA, and establish their place in vampire society. For those who aren’t sure what I mean when I say thin-blood, thin-bloods are Kindred who have diluted vampire blood, so they aren’t seen as full vampires. As such, they are often looked down upon. It makes for an interesting story to see how these characters view the Camarilla and vampire society as a whole.

The whole cast is amazing at what they do. It’s hard to choose a favorite character, because everyone has their own story. I think it’s easy to say Jade is a standout. The way she approaches situations with this innocence is realistic in finding out what she’s capable of as a vampire. I was reading some comments online about how her sire may be Malkavian, and that fits. Katie and Naomi have had a ton of great moments together. Another thing I like about this actual play is how they navigate missing players at the table. For example, Naomi wasn’t around for several episodes, but when she came back, she stated how she owed the Camarilla because of the catastrophe at the museum. It keeps the story moving and still keeps the cast engaged if they can’t film every episode together.

Alexander Ward, as the storyteller, is easily another strength of the series. The way that this is filmed is unlike any actual play I watched. I appreciate the way Alexander portrays the beast in the characters. He will sit on the back of the player’s chairs or lean down close to them to whisper dialogue. It’s unsettling, which is how it should be. I’m not sure where they film this series, but I like how the players can get up and walk around, too. It feels like I’m watching a theater production in addition to a TTRPG being played.

Private Nightmares is one of my favorite Vampire: The Masquerade live plays I have ever watched. I’m curious to see how long this coterie will go for and if they will do more live plays in the future. If you haven’t checked it out, you need to, or if you have always been interested in Vampire: The Masquerade, this is a great live play to watch to dip your feet into all things World of Darkness.