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One issue I had with the classes of Fabula Ultima was that it honestly felt like a decent bit more options were added for the various casters than the martials, since each of them had a spellbook and a handful of abilities., while most of the martials just had the handful of abilities.
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Apr 27, 2023 01:17
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Kinda blows for the poor Arcanist, I feel like that's a really iconic role of JRPG land. I feel like you could fix half of it by having them learn summons as they level and start with one. The other problem is that in JRPG land Bahamut is just a bigger version of your fire spell, so it's very hard to make a Summoner that doesn't feel like a Black Mage.
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Apr 27, 2023 06:59
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:Kinda blows for the poor Arcanist, I feel like that's a really iconic role of JRPG land. They do start with one, the Bind And Summon Skill mentions this. I like the idea of the Merge effects, so Arcanists get something just from having them around, it makes them feel less like just another caster. It's just a pity that almost all the Merge effects are "something someone else can do but worse". PurpleXVI posted:One issue I had with the classes of Fabula Ultima was that it honestly felt like a decent bit more options were added for the various casters than the martials, since each of them had a spellbook and a handful of abilities., while most of the martials just had the handful of abilities. That's not really an issue in Fabula Ultima, though, since you're not really ever an Elementalist, or a Darkblade. There's no reason you can't do both very well, due to how Classes work and how simple Attributes are. Need a Darkblade that can cast Elementalist spells well? No problem, just create via Jack of All Trades, put your d10 in either MIG or WLP, and your d8s in INS and whatever you didn't pick for your d10. Boom, you have that. Linear Warrior Quadratic Wizard isn't an issue in a system where you can be both, and in fact are encouraged to be.
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Apr 27, 2023 10:21
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Mecha_Face posted:That's not really an issue in Fabula Ultima, though, since you're not really ever an Elementalist, or a Darkblade. There's no reason you can't do both very well, due to how Classes work and how simple Attributes are. Need a Darkblade that can cast Elementalist spells well? No problem, just create via Jack of All Trades, put your d10 in either MIG or WLP, and your d8s in INS and whatever you didn't pick for your d10. Boom, you have that. Linear Warrior Quadratic Wizard isn't an issue in a system where you can be both, and in fact are encouraged to be. Sure, you can just choose to be half a wizard, but what if I want to be all martials? I just felt a bit let down by it.
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Apr 27, 2023 10:31
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PurpleXVI posted:Sure, you can just choose to be half a wizard, but what if I want to be all martials? I just felt a bit let down by it. I suppose that's fair, even if I don't agree. You CAN be all Martial, if you want. Which is to say, you can only take skills from Martial Classes. They're fun, useful, and the Caster/Martial divide in this game is very narrow simply because most spells do a variant of "do x damage and maybe inflict status effect" instead of "literally make clones of yourself" or something. Not to mention Casters usually only get one spell per skill point, so they have to choose between their fun skills that give them interesting abilities, or more spells. In theory, it looks like Casters get more options, but in practice, they don't. Martial Classes in this game are good, and they're well-worth playing without magic. But I'd also challenge the idea of "Martial" in this game, because almost every Martial (I think Guardian is the only one that doesn't) has clearly magical abilities. Does it make you a hybrid if you take one level in Entropist to get Lucky Seven for your Martial, when Rogue has the ability to steal souls? If what you mean is that you want to play a character that has no magical abilities whatsoever, just uses weapons, then the problem isn't with Fabula Ultima, the problem is that Fabula Ultima isn't the game for you (which I believe you've already stated anyway). Mecha_Face fucked around with this message at 11:06 on Apr 27, 2023 |
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Apr 27, 2023 10:44
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 Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness presents  Vampire: The Masquerade 1st Edition Part 5  Protean Allows the vampire to transform either parts of, or their entire body into something not human. The transformation is automatic and takes one turn to complete, no roll required. For full body transformations such as Earth Meld, Wolf, Bat or Mist forms) one Blood Point must be spent each time the change is made, including going back to mortal form. Other Disciplines can be used with this power; however, most Presence powers do not work. Auras can still be read in animal form, as well as communication with animals. Only in mist form are additional restrictions placed upon the character, so Dominate powers cannot be used as eye contact cannot be made. Protean has a side effect of granting unnatural features that become more obvious with each ranking. Players are allowed to choose the side effects, and ST’s can rule that one feature be added or altered for each rating point the character possesses. No transformations can be performed when staked. 1 dot: Gleam of Red Eyes The vampires' eyes take on an unnatural red glow. When activated, the caster can see in total darkness. 2 dot: Wolf’s Claws Allows the caster to grow one-inch claws from each finger at will and can be used in combat as part of Brawling attacks. Wounds caused by this power are aggravated damage. 3 dot: Earth Meld Allows for the vampire to sink into the earth but cannot be used on other substances that may be over the earth, such as a wooden floor or concrete. ST’s can allow for melding with stone or concrete with a Stamina + Survival roll (difficulty at least 7) Failure on the roll means the vampire cannot meld and must seek actual dirt to meld with. Botching indicates that something went wrong and the vampire is now stuck in the stone. They can attempt to escape by making the same roll again at a difficulty 10 (further botching means they are more stuck) or spend a Willpower point to escape, however, this causes one aggravated wound per botch. Seven botches means the character is completely merged with the stone and escape can only be accomplished by spending a Willpower point and leaves the character incapacitated from agg wounds. 4 dot: Shadow of the Beast Allows for the transformation into a bat or wolf, and grants the user the advantages of the animal (such as flight or enhanced senses) 5 dot: Mist Allows for the transformation into mist. Kindred in mist form may float in any direction at walking speed, are not affected by physical attacks and can slip through tiny openings with ease. The difficulty of resisting the effects of sunlight are halved. Hurricane force winds cannot dissipate a mist form Kindred; however, they can push the mist depending on the character's strength.  Thaumaturgy Note: Thaumaturgy is loving complicated, so feel free to ignore it in your chronicle until you completely understand how to integrate it. Thaumaturgy is largely a Tremere power and consists of four disparate areas of mystical power: Blood, Fire, Telekinesis and Weather Control. Rituals At one dot in Thaumaturgy, the character gains the ability to cast rituals. Each ritual is rated 1-5 and the character must have a rating equal or higher than the ritual to perform it. Rituals take at least 5 minutes to prepare per rating. At level one, the character can learn one ritual, and additional rituals must be learned through either a teacher or document explaining the proper procedures and incantations. The time it takes to learn a ritual can range from a few days (level 1) to many years (level 5). Provided are several level 1 rituals. Higher level rituals are up to the ST, and additional rituals will be provided in upcoming books. Defense of the Sacred Haven A one hour ritual that ensures no sunlight may pass through any window within 20 feet of where the ritual is performed. A drop of the casters blood must be placed on each window in the ritual area of effect and at least one Blood Point is used. Wake with Morning’s (evening’s) Freshness A half hour ritual that must be performed before the vampire goes to sleep for the day along with a period of complete meditation, any interruption or performance of other activities after the ritual but before sleep renders the magic ineffective. The ritual allows the vampire to immediately awaken at any sign of danger during the next day. The Humanity rule regarding restriction of dice usable for day waking is waved for the first two turns of this action. After, the rule takes effect again no matter the character's Humanity or condition. Feathers are required to perform the ritual to be burned, so that the ashes can be spread over the sleeping area. Communicate with Kindred Sire This ritual takes 20 minutes, and after completion, the caster may communicate telepathically with their Sire from any distance. Modifications of the ritual allow for communication with any kindred Blood Bound to the caster or anyone who has drunk from the caster since the most recent sunset. Communication is two way. Caster must possess an item of the Sire’s that will be destroyed before communication is established. Deflection of Wooden Doom A one hour ritual that must be performed while completely surrounded by a circle of wood. Anything wooden, including furniture or wood shavings will work but the circle must be unbroken. Once completed the vampire within the circle need not fear wooden stakes until the next sunset. While only affecting the first attempt at staking, it causes the stake to disintegrate instantly before it can connect with the vampire. Ritual does not take effect unless the vampire is in real danger of the stake penetrating their body. A splinter must be placed in the vampire's mouth at the end of the ritual. Removal of the splinter will nullify the ritual. Devil’s Touch Causes a mortal to be cursed, so that those around them without close emotional ties will feel a distinct dislike of the target. Only lasts for one night and then dissipates at first light. The mortal needs to be present to be effective and a penny or other coin owned by the Thaumaturgist must be placed somewhere on the victim.  Paths As previously mentioned, there are four paths in Thaumaturgy, Blood, Fire, Telekinesis and Weather Control. One of the forms must be chosen at each new level of the Discipline, and the form chosen at Level 2 is considered the casters Primary Form. At each rating thereafter, the player chooses one of the remaining forms that become Secondary, Tertiary and Subordinate Forms. When a new Form is learned, the first power listed under it is gained, with additional powers gained through XP expenditure. Additional Primary From powers cost 2 XP, Secondary and Tertiary powers cost 3 XP and Subordinate costs 4 XP. Each time these powers are used, a Willpower roll is made. Failure indicates that the action was still successful but the WP point is lost. The Taste of Blood The powers related to blood. If rolls are required, it is Intelligence + Occult, and botching wipes out a character's entire Blood Pool. 1 dot: Gain simple Perception based abilities related to blood, such as how much blood is in a Kindred or mortal. Can be used to tell the approximate Generation of a Kindred by reading the power of their blood. 2 dot: On a successful difficulty 7 roll, caster may spend an extra Blood Point in a single turn to increase Physical Attribute or heal an additional Health Level. 3 dot: Simple manipulation of the blood is possible, such as making the blood in the casters body more potent for a short time, effectively lowering their Generation. Difficulty is 8 and successes must be spent in decreasing the Generation and creating the duration of effect. 4 dot: Caster can create a new Blood Pool within their own body, as long as there is some blood already in their system. Difficulty 6, number of successes determines how many Blood Points are created. Fresh blood is required before using again. 5 dots: Allows for the “Cauldron of Blood” attack, which boils the blood of a target causing physical harm and destroying the blood. Difficulty is the number of Blood Points the caster wishes to boil at once, which also determines the max number of points that can be destroyed. Mortals are usually killed by this attack. Lure of the Flames Allows for the creation of flames. Characters can create flames anywhere within line of sight but must roll Dexterity + Alertness to place fire unless it is on their own body. The fire created by this power is not natural and does not burn unless released by the caster, so a “Palm of flame” will not cause agg damage, instead only producing light. If the Thaumaturgist ignites their whole body, only characters grappling them will be hurt. 1 dot: Candle 2 dot: Palm of Flame 3 dot: Camp fire 4 dot: Bon-fire 5 dot: Conflagration Movement of the Mind This form allows for the mental control of an object's movement. Objects can be lifted, moved, spun, etc. If used against a living being, they can resist. Objects cannot move faster than the caster is capable of moving themselves, so throwing objects is not really all that useful, however objects can be manipulated as if in the vampire's hand. At 3 dots the vampire can levitate themselves no matter their weight, and each rating affects how much weight can be moved. 1 dot: 1 pound 2 dot: 20 pounds 3 dot: 200 pounds 4 dot: 500 pounds 5 dot: ½ ton  Weather Control This form allows the caster to affect weather. Difficulty depends on the weather at time of casting. Example it’s very hard (Difficulty 9) to draw lightning from a sunny sky, but easy to create fog in London (difficulty 3). Caster rolls Manipulation + Survival, number of successes determines strength of the new environmental force and how much damage is caused. Note that mortals can’t resist lightning damage, and Kindred can only use Fortitude to resist as lightning is agg damage. 1 – Fog 2 – Rain 3 – Wind 4 – Storm 5 – Lightning strike (roll 10 damage dice, difficulty 6) These are listed in the book as dots and not number of successes, so I’m not entirely sure if this falls into a “dot = what can be done” or if they intended it to be “# of successes = effect” here.  Background This trait describes the special advantages a character has, however players must choose why and how they have a specific Trait. Rolls can be made with this Trait to see if certain information, resources or favor are obtained. Frequently the Background trait is used with an Attribute such as Charisma + Influence to avoid being arrested or Wits + Resources to convince your parents to write you one last check.  Allies Refers to mortals who will support and help the character, anyone from friends and family to organizations the character is friendly with. While Allies are not at the character beck and call, they usually have influence within the community and access to either Contacts or Resources. For each point in Allies the player has, consider it equal to one ally. Allies are generally trustworthy and loyal, however, time and energy is still expected to maintain the relationship. 1 - One Ally of moderate influence and power 2 - Two allies both of moderate power 3 - Three allies, one of them quite influential 4 - Four allies, one is very influential 5 - Five allies, one is extremely influential  Contacts Contacts are various people who form a network of information for the character. Major Contacts are friends who can provide accurate information related to their field of expertise. Major Contacts should be treated as full characters and should be fleshed out either before or during the Chronicle. It is assumed that with even one dot the character has additional Minor Contacts in the area, and contacting them requires a Contacts roll at Difficulty 7, with each success meaning successful contact has been made with a Minor Contact. 1 - One Major Contact 2- Two Major Contacts 3- Three Major Contacts 4- Four Major Contacts 5- Five Major Contacts  Fame The character is well known among mortals, potentially as a movie star or famous writer granting the character special privileges to move amongst mortals and potentially manipulate mass media. However, fame can have a downside such as being recognized when it would be inconvenient. Fame can be used with Manipulation for some roles but is generally used simply as a measure of how well known the character is. 1 - Known by a select sub group of society in the city 2 - Face is recognized by the majority of the population (ie: local celebrity) 3 - You are fairly famous and your name and face are known by many 4 - You are quite renowned and everyone knows something about you 5 - Major Star/Politician/Performer, you are nationally known  Generation This trait describes the character's Generation or distance from Caine and is crucial to determining the ultimate potential of the character. If Generation is not taken, players start as Thirteenth Gen. 1 - Twelfth Gen 2 - Eleventh Gen 3 - Tenth Gen 4 - Ninth Gen 5 - Eighth Gen  Herd This trait relates to a group the vampire has cultivated to feed on, as well as being capable of doing some tasks for the character, although they are not as tightly controlled as Retainers or as closely connected as Allies. Ultimately it is a description of the number of vessels the character has readily available. Herd rating is added to Hunt rolls (described in the Drama chapter) 1 - 3 Vessels 2 - 7 Vessels 3 - 15 Vessels 4 - 30 Vessels 5 - 60 Vessels  Influence Reflects the characters ability to produce results when attempting to sway or control the political/social processes of mortal communities. Some rolls might use Influence in place of an Ability, especially when dealing with minor bureaucrats. 1 - Moderately Influential - a factor in local politics 2 - Well Connected with power - a factor in city politics 3 - Position of Influence - a factor in state politics 4 - Broad personal power - a factor in regional politics 5 - Vastly influential - a factor in national politics  Mentor Describes one or more Elders who look after the character. Each rating point describes how powerful the Mentor is within the Kindred community. Mentors may expect something in return for the aid provided, though they may simply enjoy the character's presence. In times of need they may call upon the character. In general Mentors do not give out more than they need to. 1 - Mentor is an Ancilla, little power 2 - Mentor is an Elder and well respected 3 - Mentor is the Prince and has much power 4 - Mentor is a Justicar or member of the Primogen 5 - Mentor is a Methuselah and is extraordinarily powerful  Resources Describe the financial resources available to the character prior to being Embraced. Characters have a modest per diem as Resources are not considered completely liquid. This Trait assumes the character's basic monthly allowance appropriate to the level of the trait, however, players must detail the source of this income, as it may dry up due to circumstances related to the Chronicle. 1 - Small Savings: you have an apartment and perhaps a motorcycle. If liquidated, you would have $1000 cash. Allowance of $500 a month 2 - Middle Class: You have an apartment or condo. If liquidated you would have $8000 cash. Allowance is $1200 a month 3 - Large Savings: You own a house (or at least some equity) if liquidated you would have $50,000 in cash. Allowance is $3000 a month 4 - You are well off so you don’t have to worry about money, you own a large house or dilapidated mansion. If liquidated you would have $500,000 cash. Allowance is $9000 a month 5 - Fantastically rich. If liquidated you would have at least $5,000,000 in cash. Monthly allowance is $30,000  Retainers The servants or other individuals bonded to the character who are loyal and steadfast companions. Retainers can always be controlled in some way, though they may not always be loyal. Depending on how they are treated they may attempt to turn on their master. Retainers are not supermen, even if they are Ghouls and should have a weakness. 1 - One Retainer 2 - Two Retainers 3 - Three Retainers 4 - Four Retainers 5 - Five Retainers  Status You have a reputation and Status amongst Kindred. The more Status, the less ill treated the character is by Elders. Anarchs are considered to have 0 status, unless they have achieved enough power and attention to be treated seriously. Status can sometimes be rolled with Social traits to reflect character prestige. 1 - Known 2 - Respected 3 - High Status 4 -Powerful 5 - Luminary  Virtues These are the aspects that describe the characters view of life and their essential morality. Virtues are used to help roleplayers better understand and direct their characters, not force a certain action on them. With certain rolls, failure may indicate that the character has not restrained themselves enough to avoid Frenzy, are not moral enough to avoid Humanity loss, or are not brave enough to remain in a dangerous situation. Conscience Conscience is the trait of self-awareness that enables a character to evaluate their own conduct. Judgements made by the Conscience stem from attitudes, ideals and morals of the character, the internalized prescriptions of self worth and the voice of the real self, not the facade the character presents to the world. 1 - Tolerant 2 - Clement 3 - Lenient 4 - Charitable 5 - Forgiving  Self Control Self Control relates to the character's ability to resist going into Frenzy. When using Self Control, players can never roll more dice than they currently have as a rating in their Blood Pool. The hungrier you are, the harder it is to resist. 1 - Calm 2 - Temperate 3 - Disciplined 4 - Hardened 5 - You are the “Iceman”  Courage Courage relates to how brave a character is and is used to resist running away in terror from things a vampire instinctively would flee from such as the sun, fire or a holy symbol held by someone with divine powers. Courage is also used to determine if a character can stay awake during the day and function. 1 - Bold 2 - Dauntless 3 - Steadfast 4 - Gallant 5 - Valorous  Humanity Humanity is the measure of how much a character’s Mortal Nature remains despite the curse of vampirism, and influences how well the character can resist their new urges and instincts. Humanity is the most important Trait for a character because as it drops, so does the character's connection to their human nature. Once a character reaches 0 Humanity they are no longer playable, no exception. While keeping Humanity up is important to keeping a character, mechanically players cannot roll more dice on an Empathy roll than they have points in Humanity, as well as the lower their Humanity score, the more difficult it is to rise during the day in case of danger. Frenzies are also much more likely with a lower Humanity rating, and wouldn’t you know it, the things you do during a Frenzy? You better believe those are going to be Humanity losing actions. 0 - Monstrous 1 - Horrific 2- Bestial 3 - Cold 4 - Unfeeling 5 - Distant 6 - Removed 7 - Normal 8 - Feeling 9 - Compassionate 10 - Humane  Using Humanity
-If awakened during daylight hours, players with lower Humanity cannot roll more dice than their Humanity score on any rolls for action taken while awake. -Humanity directly affects Virtue rolls when attempting to resist Frenzy, and players cannot roll more dice than their Humanity score. -The length of time spent in Torpor is directly related to the Humanity score, and the lower the player’s Humanity, the longer they remain in Torpor.  Willpower Willpower is another important Trait that relates to how capable the character is of overcoming their urges and desires, however unlike other Traits, Willpower is rarely rolled, instead acting as a usable resource. Used Willpower points are removed from the Willpower Pool (squares on the character sheet) instead of the Willpower Rating (circles) so that the player's rating does not change, but their pool will change over the course of a story/chronicle. 1 - Weak 2 - Timid 3 - Unassertive 4 - Diffident 5 -Certain 6 - Confident 7 - Strong 8 - Controlled 9 - Iron willed 10 – Unshakeable  Using Willpower While Willpower is important, especially considering there are numerous ways to use, lose and regain it, it isn’t the focus of the game. The following are the important elements of Willpower both ST and players should understand. -A point of WP can be used to gain an automatic success, which can be used for extended actions. “Only vampires may use Willpower in this way” Except when every other game also imported this rule so Vampires and every other supernatural in the WoD can spend a point of WP for an auto-success -A point of WP can be used to resist situations where the ST states the character is taking action based on instinct or primal urge, such as running from a window where sunlight has begun to stream in. Players can spend as many points of WP as they wish to resist, but if the ST is determined to make that character do a thing, only one of the people involved in that situation has a finite resource available to resist. -A point of WP can be used to attempt to resist taking action from a Derangement. Any additional attempts to resist the Derangement also requires spending WP. WP is also the only way to completely overcome a Derangement (in time). This does not apply to a Malkavian’s primary Derangement however.  Blood Pool The Blood Pool is the measure of how much blood is in the vampire at a given time. If the Blood Pool is empty, the character loses body levels (I think they meant Health levels) the next time a rule requires they lose a Blood Point (IE: when a night passes). Simply put, no Blood Points, no actions that require the Blood Pool can be taken. The BP is also important for Self-Control rolls, as players cannot roll more dice than their current BP rating.  Using Blood Pool Each night the vampire rises, they remove one BP from their Pool. The number of BP available to use per turn is determined by the character’s Generation.
-One BP can be spent to add an additional die to any action related to Physical Attribute actions (anything using Strength, Dexterity or Stamina). Before the action is taken, the player announces they are using a BP and for the remainder of the scene, they gain an additional die. Only one BP per turn can be used however, this can be stacked so that after three turns a character who has spent 3 BP could gain a +2 Strength and +1 Dexterity -Players can give a portion of their Blood Pool to another player to either assist in healing or taking special actions. This requires opening a vein and allowing the other character to drink from the giver. Some characters may Frenzy upon attempting to drink and lose control, attempting to drain the character, making this a dangerous option. Blood Bond rules still apply.  Health Health is exactly what is says on the tin. Mechanically, a penalty is applied for each level of Health damage taken, and if the player has no dice in their pool after the penalties are applied, they can take no action. 0 Bruised - Only bruised, no penalties 1 Hurt - Mildly hurt, -1 die 2 Injured - Small injury, -2 die 3 Wounded - Character cannot run, -3 die 4 Mauled - Badly injured and character can only hobble around, -4 die 5 Crippled - Severely injured, can only crawl, - 5 die 6 Incapacitated - Completely incapable of moving, -6 die When Incapacitated, Vampire characters can take no action as they are immobilized. They can only heal themselves using their Blood Pool or drink from another to attempt healing. Mortals at this stage are near death and upon losing another Health Level, they are dead. If a Vampire sustains aggravated damage at this level, they face Final Death.  Monsters, Monsters Everywhere We get a page long aside of sorts about monsters and about the quest into our own dark sides as we explore the world of monsters. It’s not bad but it feels a bit odd to have it this far into the book when this feels more like something you would have put up towards the front of the book. And that wraps up Chapter Four. It’s fascinating to see the original write ups for the Clans, considering I’ve absorbed so much about them from general discussion of Vampire, the video games and from 5th edition itself. The Tremere embracing mostly males struck me as odd on first read, but considering the Clan is supposedly (working strictly from what this book has said vs what I know from LORE) former wizards who traded their amazing cosmic powers for vampiric immortality, it actually makes total sense, considering so many “Magical Traditions” were often sausage fests. Women folk can’t do magic, am I right guys? As always I love the Malkavians and I was surprised that they come across pretty well in their write up here. I was expecting something a lot worse but their write up felt at least somewhat sympathetic to them. I think the Virtues mechanics are neat, although I don’t know how well they actually work in play, and I think it’s hysterical that the book straight up says “Yeah just ignore Thaumaturgy, we know it’s loving complicated”. Maybe if you realized the mechanic you came up with is overly fiddly and complicated should be the moment where you say “Hey maybe we should rethink this mechanic so it makes more sense or is more user friendly?” No, not at the White Wolf office. Instead we just tell the ST to ignore that poo poo. And what’s even funnier is that Thaumaturgy as presented here isn’t really that difficult to understand. Hell, Path of Flame sounds dope as gently caress. If I’m going to play a vampire wizard, you better believe I want to be able to set my own hands on fire to gently caress with other people. I was a little surprised (again coming from 5th edition) to see Unseen Presence is a 4 dot power. Granted in 5e I think it’s been renamed to Unseen Passage and is only a 2 dot power (I could be wrong, it’s been a while since I went through the 5e corebook), but being able to extend Obfuscate powers to others is a dope ability to throw into things. I am a little annoyed that some of the Disciplines just got a write up with no actual dot ratings for things, which for something like Potence makes sense, it just adds to the players Strength score, but it still feels a little annoying that the rest of the book has spent it’s time hammering on the 1-5 ratings and then just says “Eh, you figure it out ST”. I appreciate that the power is in the hands of the ST, but sometimes it’s nice to have a more firm bit of guidance to work from. Also I love that Protean triggers animal features, which is part of the Gangrel’s thing in general because they’re the Protean Clan but it’s still a cool little detail I like. The biggest surprise in this chapter for me was how the Blood Pool works. It’s a fairly simple mana pool system, and while I’ve generally been positive and even in favor of the “Hunger Dice” system that was added in V5, I kinda like the simplicity of the Blood Pool system a little more. Maybe it’s just because most of the other special stats in these games work on a similar “Spend point of X to do Y” that the Blood Pool working the same way makes my brain happy. Let’s keep rocking through this review as we head into   Chapter Five: Development This is the chapter dedicated to how a character can change over the course of a Story/Chronicle. We even get a handy little sidebar that breaks down the elements that can change and under what heading they’re found in this chapter. Changes  Experience Characters will learn a lot of different things over the course of a Story/Chronicle, and while not all of these things need to be written down, there is an element that is noted on the character sheet, Experience Points or XP. At the end of each story the ST awards XP to the players, usually the same amount to everyone at the table, and the players note this on their sheets in the Experience box. Players can spend these points as soon as they get them to raise Traits, however there is a cost for doing so.  Ooooh, XP chart. Note that the level of a Trait can only be raised by one level per story, never more. Caitiff characters have no Clan, and thus no Clan Disciplines. Raising a Discipline rating as a Caitiff is Current Rating x 4. When a Virtue is increased with XP, Humanity or Willpower are not raised automatically.  Roleplay It As stated in every other corebook, XP expenditure should make sense to the story being told and ST’s are encouraged to roleplay out the characters gaining their new dots instead of just letting the players take whatever upgrades they wish. Awarding Experience Points Players want XP, but ST’s need to make sure to not give too much XP, or else the balance of the game can be thrown off (wait this poo poo is balanced?). The basic guidelines for giving XP are simple: 1-3 points are given to each player at the end of a Chapter (session) This can be broken down further into 1 point for showing up, 1 point for learning something that session and 1 point for good roleplay. When the Story ends, the standard 1-3 points should be given, as well as an additional 1-3 points based on the following criteria: 1-Success: The characters succeeded in some goal 1-Danger: The characters faced a great danger and survived 1-Wisdom: The player (and thus the character) showed great wits or resourcefulness ST’s can give more XP points if they wish based on their own criteria. Ultimately whatever works for your game and group is the method to use.  Raising Disciplines When players want to raise their Disciplines, the ST should put some restrictions on the process, at least in as much as it relates to storytelling. If a player is gaining a dot in a Discipline they do not already have, the ST may have them either seek out a mentor or some other method of learning the new discipline. Ultimately, unless the ST says otherwise, players can simply spend their XP and gain the upgrades without any more difficulty than sorting out the math of how much XP needs to be spent. Backgrounds Backgrounds never change with XP, instead changing during the course of the story. The ST can make a list of objectives the player has to complete to change a Background. For example a player wants to raise their Retainer Trait, and so the ST makes a list of the elements of gaining a new Retainer the player would have to complete (finding the right subject, befriending them, Dominating them, etc).  Personality Personality can change over the course of a Chronicle, though this is generally a roleplay focused element rather than simply erasing and writing something new on the character sheet. Anytime a character's Demeanor or True Nature changes, it should be noted on the character sheet. No element of Personality can be changed with XP. Demeanor A character's Demeanor (as noted on their sheet) is not an monolithic aspect of the character that does not change, it is simply how the character commonly presents themselves. Players can change their Demeanor at any time in game, and should either tell the ST or make it obvious through their roleplaying that a change has happened. (Just tell your ST, we appreciate knowing what the hell our players are thinking) ST’s can also suggest Demeanor changes if they notice the way the player roleplays their character does not fit their written Demeanor. Remember that Demeanor has no mechanical effect and is strictly there as a guide to roleplaying. Which ultimately gets to my problem with the Demeanor system in general. I understand how it should work, and ideally as a guideline it is likely helpful, but it also seems like something some players would take entirely too literally and insist on playing entirely to their Demeanor. I don’t hate it, but considering it has no mechanical effect on things you could essentially just throw it out and not really have too much issue, other than it kinda ties in with Archetypes which is another system I don’t love in these games for much the same reason I don’t like Demeanor, but Archetypes do have a mechanical effect in that they can guide regaining Willpower. 90’s game mechanics!!!!  Live footage of me working on these reviews Nature Players can change their Nature, however there are rules for doing so as a character’s Nature is meant to represent the core of their being, and is akin to an entire personality change when it occurs. ST’s can have a player roleplay out the change over the course of several sessions, weaving in as a subplot of the story being told, or if an event occurs that is shocking enough to trigger the change, the player can simply change their Nature at that point. However you handle the change in Nature, it may require a reshuffling of Virtues, but never the character’s Humanity rating. Willpower Willpower can only be permanently upgraded through the use of XP, however the Willpower Pool can and likely will go through numerous changes over the course of a Story/Chronicle.  Temporary Changes The Willpower Pool (squares) decreases every time the player spends a point to do something extraordinary, such as restraining themselves or gaining an automatic success. Players can regain Willpower when they can rest or have a chance to restore their self confidence, which is up to the ST to decide when and how a player regains WP. quote:“It is best for characters to be always be low on Willpower, so players are always worried about not having enough – it adds to the suspense.” I mean sure, but you’re not going to convince every player to just toss Willpower around just because you want everyone on edge. It’s a decent idea but players generally don’t like feeling desperation due to mechanics. For particularly bitter defeats, ST’s should make regaining Willpower more difficult through some special quest, such as defeating the opponent who humbled them, or apologizing to the person they have wronged. “Sometimes due to the mental illness the character has contracted, they will be unable to regain their Willpower until they take a specific action or accomplish a specific aim” I feel like just using Derangements in place of mental illness would have suited that bit better and not had the awkward bit of wording there about “Contracting” a mental illness. That’s not how that works, guys.  Recovering Willpower There are three ways to regain Willpower, though these methods do not affect the Willpower ranking.
-(Optional) Achieving some kind of special success during the story that the ST deems worthy of WP recovery. -(Optional) Fulfillment of an element of the character's Archetype grants the player 1-3 points of Willpower depending on the Archetype. If none of these options work for you, characters could regain a point of Willpower each night upon awakening, thus making it a simple trade of one BP for rising and then gaining a point of WP back.  Gaining Willpower Permanently Permanent Willpower upgrades can of course be bought with XP (at the cost of the player’s current WP rating) but ST’s can also allow players specific chances to raise their WP, making it a focal point of the story, as such these kinds of stories, (pursuing an ephemeral goal) can be a more realistic narrative than simply having the characters striving for power or money. Losing Willpower Permanently Permanent Willpower loss occurs when a player botches a Willpower roll, and it automatically removes one point of WP for each botch rolled, however Willpower is generally only rolled during Frenzies, Thaumaturgy and resisting Domination. Blood Pool The Blood Pool represents how “Full” a vampire character is, with 10 points being considered completely full and unable to take on any additional blood. Drinking all of the blood from a vessel will kill them, while taking half will leave them in need of hospitalization (mortals lose 1 Health Level per BP taken) so if players don’t want to lose Humanity, they need to learn self-control.  Gaining Blood Pool Up to three BP can be taken per turn from a vessel, and the shorter the turn, the less leisurely the feeding will be. Generally when a vessel has been bitten they no longer resist, however for the especially strong willed (those with 9+ Willpower) resistance may continue for a time until they too succumb. Drinking more than half a vessel's Blood Pool puts the vessel at major risk for death, while more than 3/4ths requires immediate hospitalization or the vessel will die. When a character is wounded, they usually have less blood than normal, so it can be assumed that an average sized human has one less Blood Point per level of Health damage they’ve suffered, while Vampires do not suffer this same issue. Humans regain one Blood Point per day if they do not have a full supply. Animals may have more blood by volume than a human, but it is less nourishing and thus gains less BP for the Vampire. Old blood is never as potent as fresh blood, unless we’re talking about an Elder, in which case their blood is still very potent. If a Vampire were to drink from an Ancient, then each point taken could be equal to two or more points, thus it is possible to gain more BP from them. Because Elders can concentrate their blood, a single point can be considered worth 1/5th of their total pool. Basically despite having essentially the same sized bodies as other Kindred, Elders contain more blood because of their ability to concentrate said blood. The blood of Werewolves is also extremely powerful and thus extremely valuable.  Injury quote:“Remember Doc, when the will is invoked, the recuperative powers of the human body are incredible” FBI Agent Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks There are numerous ways for a character to sustain injuries, though they are always recorded in the same way, via the Health Level tracker. Players can simply check off each level of Health when taking damage, then erase the checks once those levels are regained. Each success on an opponents damage roll usually indicates the loss of one Health Level starting at Bruised down to Incapacitated, and Vampires lose a Blood Point for each level of damage taken. Once a Vampire’s Blood Pool is completely depleted, they are helpless and will burn in on the dawn unless rescued, otherwise they will fall into Torpor.  Healing Vampires do not heal naturally as humans do, instead they must use their Blood Pool to heal. One Blood Point will heal one level of Health damage, which takes one turn and the character cannot be taking other actions while healing. If the character is attempting to do something else while healing, they must make a Stamina + Fortitude roll at difficulty 8. Success means the player is able to heal and accomplish their other action, failing the roll means the player loses both the Blood Point and the potential healing. Botching triggers the loss of an additional Health Level. No more than one Health Level can be recovered per turn.  Aggravated Wounds Agg wounds cannot be healed with Blood Points alone. Agg damage comes from another vampire's teeth, claws, sunlight or fire. ST’s can deem any injury Agg damage depending on circumstance. Agg wounds are healed at one level a day at 3 BP and one WP point per wound. Agg wounds should be marked on the character sheet as an X instead of a check. Final Death Just because you're immortal doesn’t mean you’re invincible. The most common way to send a Vampire to their final death is inflicting Agg damage on a severely injured Kindred. If a character has no BP in their pool or is at Health level 6 and sustains an aggravated wound, they suffer Final Death. When a Vampire suffers Final Death, the body rapidly and completely disintegrates, leaving nothing but a pile of ash after a few minutes. Vampires can also be killed by being drained by another Vampire, deep water pressure, explosions, certain Vampiric diseases and decapitation are all other methods of serving a Kindred their Final Death.  Mortal Death When a mortal is at Incapacitated (Health level 6) any additional wounds will kill them. It is possible for a Kindred to take a newly dead corpse and embrace them, however no more than five minutes can pass for this to be effective. Torpor While Kindred are more capable of sustaining damage than mortals, when they are too greatly injured, they fall into Torpor, an extremely deep sleep. When a Kindred loses all Blood Points and becomes injured beyond Incapacitated (but not by aggravated wounds) the character is put into Torpor, making them completely immobilized and unconscious. Characters also lose one point from a Physical Attribute upon entering Torpor. The player removes one point as a penalty, and the Attribute that loses the point is up to the player. Kindred with Humanity 10 will come out of Torpor within a day, while those of lower Humanity scores will take longer, however the character does not automatically pop out of Torpor once the time has elapsed, new blood must be introduced into their system first. Once both criteria are met, the character comes out of Torpor. There’s even a handy chart  Characters in Torpor can use a Willpower point to take minor actions for a single turn once during the duration of Torpor, allowing the character to move slowly, drink from a dead rat or crawl a short distance. If the character has no Willpower while in Torpor, they can take no action at all. Voluntary Torpor is also possible, and the player need only inform the ST that they intend to put themselves into Torpor. One Blood Point is lost per day as normal, and then once all Blood Points have been used, the character begins losing Health levels until they reach Incapacitated. Until the character reaches Incapacitated, the character may voluntarily exit Torpor, but once the 6th Health level is crossed, treat Torpid characters as you would a normally Torpid character.  Sources of Injury -Combat: Wounds suffered in combat are fully detailed under Melee and Firefight rules in the Drama chapter. Basically every success on a damage roll removes one Health level from the character taking damage. -Deterioration: Vampires can deteriorate without proper upkeep. If a Kindred has been staked through the heart, they will lose one Blood Point per day until it is removed. Vampires cannot “Die” from deterioration, but once all Blood Points have been lost, they suffer a loss of one Health level per day until they reach Torpor. -Disease: Yes, Vampires can catch and spread human diseases (remember Ezuli from Promised Lands? The Kindred AIDS Mary?) but cannot die from them. Vampires can become ill and lose Health levels, but disease will not kill them. Wounds taken from disease are assumed to be standard and not aggravated wounds, so can be healed as normal and once healed the Vampire is considered cured. In some cases (like Ezuli) the disease does not affect the Vampire, but they still spread the disease to those they feed on. -Falling: Sometimes characters fall down, go boom. Use the provided chart to determine damage, and both mortals and Kindred can attempt to soak damage from a fall with a Stamina + Fortitude roll at difficulty 8. Each success gained on the roll negates one Health level of damage from being taken. Botching adds an additional Health level.   -Fire: Fire bad. Fire always causes Agg damage and can therefore kill a Vampire. Any size flame can potentially harm a Vampire, but the effects can be resisted with high enough Fortitude. Players roll their Fortitude against the difficulty of the size and and severity of the flames per the chart. Players roll every turn they are in the flames to see if they resist damage. If they fail they take the appropriate number of Health level damage per the chart. Each success scored removes one level of potential Health damage, while botching should lead to the character being harmed in some special way, such as losing their eyesight or being maimed.  -Sunlight: Sunlight is the most sure way to kill a Vampire, and always causes Agg damage. Each turn a Vampire is exposed to sunlight they burn. Players roll Fortitude each turn they are in sunlight, with difficulty being dependent on directness of the rays, time of day, and smog or cloud cover. See the chart for suggested difficulties and wounds. If no successes are gained, the character takes one to three levels of damage. If they succeed they take one less level of damage per success. Botches mean the character has caught fire and now must resist both the sunlight and the fire. “Sun Lamps' ' can still harm Vampires but do not cause Agg damage.  -Extreme Heat: 200 degrees and up heat will injure Vampires as fire does. Use the same system for sustaining and taking damage, but modify as needed. Heat is generally not as deadly as fire, unless terrifically intense. -Stake through the heart: A stake to the heart does not kill a Vampire, but does immobilize them, and with enough time they begin to deteriorate until they enter Torpor. Hitting an opponent in the heart with a stake in combat is very difficult and 5 successes are needed to nail the bullseye. -Environment: Vampires can’t die from the cold, but they can suffer from its effects. Players make Stamina + Fortitude starting at difficulty 3 and increasing with each subsequent roll, typically after a half hour of exposure. Vampires can suffer frostbite as well as becoming completely frozen if conditions are right. Tomorrow: Part 6 featuring several pages of rules about Frenzy!
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Apr 27, 2023 14:23
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That's why you take Celerity, so the Tremere can't just set you on loving fire. Wizard bullshit! Not even once. Edit: This is a really basic thing I'm embarrassed to have forgotten, but can you spend 3 Blood on your Celerity 3 if your Generation isn't low enough to let you spend 3 Blood per turn otherwise? Halloween Jack fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Apr 27, 2023 |
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Apr 27, 2023 14:33
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It is interesting that for V20 they went back to 1e Celerity, sort-of, for all the physical disciplines. They now passively give dices to Strength/Dexterity/Stamina but you can spend blood tot ransform them into whatever other bonus they give (automatic success for Potence, extra actions for Celerity). So if you had celerity 3, you'd have 3 dice to all dex actions but you could spend up to 3 blood to transform those into extra actions.
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Apr 27, 2023 14:59
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Halloween Jack posted:That's why you take Celerity, so the Tremere can't just set you on loving fire. Also the Tremere remind me a bit of Herr Starr from Preacher telling recruits that if they encounter terrorists to "Shoot the women first." Because a female terrorist/Tremere has had to work 10x as hard to get 1/10 as far so if you see one they're probably an absolute badass and dangerous as hell.
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Apr 27, 2023 15:12
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GimpInBlack posted:I know this is from a few updates back, but does anything capture the "well-meaning but utterly clueless" nature of 90s White Wolf more than "thinks acid rain is, like, hydrochoric acid falling from the sky?"
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Apr 27, 2023 15:45
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Halloween Jack posted:White Wolf seems to have had a lot of people who never even visited major cities but had Ideas about what they're like.
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Apr 27, 2023 15:51
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Nessus posted:I think we have a good circumstantial case that their intro campaign being set in Gary is because Gary is a reasonable “long break” point in a road trip from Gencon to the Atlanta metro. Not to spoil the later chunk of review but they explicitly say Gary was chosen after a summer trip back from (or to) Chicago. They leave out the Gencon part.
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Apr 27, 2023 16:05
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I don't think the Tremere kept the 'Embrace mostly men' thing even in 2E. WW did love to be two steps forward one back, though. Sometimes even two steps back. Or three.
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Apr 27, 2023 18:27
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I never really noticed that. The 2e illustration is a woman and their signature character is a woman. It's not surprising that the Clan as a whole is patriarchal.
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Apr 27, 2023 18:38
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Dawgstar posted:I don't think the Tremere kept the 'Embrace mostly men' thing even in 2E. WW did love to be two steps forward one back, though. Sometimes even two steps back. Or three. Like I said it was certainly an odd choice but one that narratively makes sense when taken in context of the history of a lot of mystical orders and such being mostly men. But it was definitely a "What the hell?" sort of moment when I read it. Changing it so they embrace anyone makes much more sense both from an player perspective (not locking players out of a clan because they want to play a woman) and from a story perspective when taking into account how much everyone else loving hates the Tremere. Gotta boost them wizard numbers and apparently these women folk can do magic I guess. If I haven't made it clear, I love making fun of the Tremere because they're such giant dorks.
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Apr 27, 2023 18:51
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I miss the Ars Magica Tremere
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Apr 27, 2023 18:55
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PurpleXVI posted:One issue I had with the classes of Fabula Ultima was that it honestly felt like a decent bit more options were added for the various casters than the martials, since each of them had a spellbook and a handful of abilities., while most of the martials just had the handful of abilities. Because RPGs are made by NERDS, and why would NERDS give JOCKS nice things?
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Apr 27, 2023 19:22
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Fivemarks posted:Because RPGs are made by NERDS, and why would NERDS give JOCKS nice things? Eh, I think it's more just staying true to the old school jRPG roots: While Swordyman has MegaSword on his list of abilities, Lady Wizardo has Magic... which unfolds into a larger menu of actual spells.
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Apr 27, 2023 19:44
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joylessdivision posted:If I haven't made it clear, I love making fun of the Tremere because they're such giant dorks. <Damsel from VtM Bloodlines on her Tremere rant here>
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Apr 27, 2023 22:23
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My first (and only) V:tM character that I've made was a Tremere because I was and still am also a giant dork and I was drawn instantly to that familiar energy.
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Apr 27, 2023 22:27
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Everything good and bad about the Tremere can be summed up by the fact that they have two distinct reasons to wear a cape.
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Apr 28, 2023 01:45
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Dawgstar posted:<Damsel from VtM Bloodlines on her Tremere rant here> It's sort of funny that the Tremere in that game is one of like 5 people who plays things completely straight with you and won't try to screw you. He gives you some advice, asks you to take care of some things, and pays you after.
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Apr 28, 2023 02:43
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wiegieman posted:It's sort of funny that the Tremere in that game is one of like 5 people who plays things completely straight with you and won't try to screw you. He gives you some advice, asks you to take care of some things, and pays you after. Sounds like Cammy talk to me. 
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Apr 28, 2023 04:12
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Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness presents Vampire: The Masquerade 1st Edition Part 6  Frenzy Vampires are highly evolved killing machines, and as such their instincts are those of an apex predator. To maintain the facade of being human, they have learned to keep their Beast and the instinct that comes with it in check. However, eventually the Beast breaks free and a Vampire goes into a Frenzy. When the ST believes that a character’s instincts might kick in, the player makes a Conscience, Self-Control or Courage roll. Success means they have suppressed the urge to rage and allow the Beast to take control. Failure however allows the Beast to break free for a time and the character becomes only partially controlled by the player. Frenzies are rare, but a normal part of Kindred unlife. When a Frenzy hits, it should always be a memorable experience.  Precipitating Factors ST’s always decide the circumstances that trigger Frenzy, and thus the ST who determines the correct Virtue roll the player needs to make to avoid Frenzy. What triggers a potential Frenzy is listed on the table below, however ST’s have full power to choose what will or will not trigger Frenzy, including ignoring blatant factors, but force a player to roll for what might be considered minor things. What triggers frenzy is a reflection of the ST’s interpretation of the Gothic-Punk setting. The provided rules are loose on purpose to allow ST’s to use whatever works best for their games. Virtues
-Self Control: This form of Frenzy is triggered by anger. Most often provoked by humiliation, taunting or an extremely stressful situation. ST’s are advised to not force this roll on a player unless it makes sense for the character to react to such antagonism. -Courage: Triggered by fear, this type of Frenzy can be caused by anything the character truly fears, such as fire or sunlight. This roll can be used for the first time a character encounters a wooden stake or brandished holy item.  Ride the Wave When a Frenzy roll is called, the player must choose whether or not they want to ride it out. Resisting works according to rolls (discussed shortly), while riding it out simply requires that the player announce they intend to ride the wave, granting them some control over the Frenzy. As long as the player follows the major impulses of the Frenzy, they can maintain some control, even full control if the ST deems the player is satisfying the urges. Additionally, Willpower can be used to direct a Frenzy at one point of Willpower per turn for control of one action, though the Frenzy may last longer.  Combating the Beast Because letting it ride is risky, players will more than likely want to resist a Frenzy. This is accomplished by rolling the appropriate Virtue, however failure means the Frenzy takes hold and the player temporarily loses control of their character. Ending a Frenzy requires an extended action and five successes on the Virtue rolls. Even one success on this roll will alleviate the Frenzy for one turn. Difficulty of the roll is listed on the chart below. Remember that players cannot roll more dice on their Virtue roll than they currently have in their Blood Pool.
-Failure indicates Frenzy: The type of Frenzy is determined by the type of Frenzy roll it was (per the chart) with the reaction describing the specific types of Frenzy: Terror, Rage or Madness -Botching indicates a Derangement: The character not only enters a Frenzy, but also gains a Derangement. ST’s can look to the Derangements section and choose one appropriate to the situation.  Reaction During Frenzy, characters are capable of any sort of immoral or psychotic behavior. While in a Frenzy, characters gain some advantages along with the negatives. While in Frenzy the character ignores penalties associated with Health Level loss equal to their Stamina. Characters also do not make standard Willpower rolls during Frenzy, since they are capable of nearly anything.
-Rage: The character loses control and will attack and attempt to destroy everything and anything in their path, including friends who may get in their way. Each turn the character loses one Blood Point if they feel threatened in some way. Derangements caused by botching a Self-Control are variations of pretensions of power, delusions of grandeur or other obsessions. -Terror: The character is unable to do anything but flee the source of their terror, generally lasting five minutes (sometimes longer). This type of Frenzy lasts until the character is safely away from the source of their terror or they can make a successful Willpower roll to regain control. Characters cannot return to the source of the terror without spending a point of Willpower. Derangements caused by botching are twisted versions of the basic urge to flee in terror or escape.  Roleplaying Frenzy While in a Frenzy, a character must behave with animalistic abandon, concerned only with immediate satisfaction, whether that’s through violence, panic, blood lust or madness All reactions are intuitive and emotional. If the player describes actions that the ST deems inappropriate to a Frenzy, allow them to take the action, but announce they have lost a Willpower point in the process. If they have no Willpower, the ST takes over the character until the Frenzy ends. Frenzies are not to be taken lightly, and if a player cannot handle roleplaying through it correctly, the ST must take over, as this “Punishment” is not permanent. Players can spend a point of Willpower to control their actions for a single turn, however this will not end a Frenzy. Duration Frenzy duration is up to the ST, though generally Frenzy can be thought of like a human going through an adrenaline boost, so Frenzies should last the duration of a scene before dissipating. This won’t always work as sometimes the players will want to resist the Frenzy. Allow the rolls, but do not let the player make them whenever they wish, only allow Willpower rolls when it feels appropriate for the character to have a moment of clarity. This roll should be a difficulty 8 or even a 9. Success means the character has overcome the Frenzy, if they fail they lose the Willpower point and continue to Frenzy until the ST allows for another WP roll. Botching sends them further down the spiral of Frenzy and ends any further attempts at using Willpower. Characters can’t always stop a Frenzy on their own, and their friends can help with the appropriate Social rolls (difficulty 8+) with each success gained granting the Frenzying character an additional Willpower die to resist, however only those who have resisted Frenzy in the presence of the (currently Frenzying) character or are exceptionally close to the character can attempt this. Botching likely means the Frenzying character attacks the character attempting to help them.  Provoking Frenzy Players may wish to provoke a Frenzy. Characters can trigger a Frenzy by clawing their own skin, using Blood Points, roleplaying anger or extending a hand into sunlight. Only after the instinctive response has begun, can the Frenzy roll be made. Example Frenzy We’re given a lengthy example featuring the character Malcolm from the previous examples. In this case the Frenzy is ended by the other player character successfully talking Malcolm down.  Derangements When a Frenzy roll is botched, it causes the character to gain a Derangement. Effects of Derangements can present themselves in various ways. Ex: A character may be unable to prevent themselves from drinking the blood of a child and then a couple days later once everyone has forgotten about the incident, the character begins a wild gambling spree to try and forget the horror. The how and why of gaining a Derangement, from a story perspective comes from a joint decision between Player and ST. While normally this will occur due to a botched Frenzy roll, they can be gained in other ways. First, the ST looks to see what kind of Frenzy roll was made and the reaction to it (Madness, Terror, Rage) which provides an idea of where to start. Once the type of Derangement is decided, either the ST or player chooses the Derangement and how it manifests. Roleplaying Derangement Derangements aren’t meant to be all consuming or intended to constrict roleplay, instead they are intended as a small injection of reality and additional fun into the game. Characters don’t need to exhibit their Derangement all the time, as it does not need to rule the characters mind, only influence it. Derangements can be both extremely difficult and interesting to play out. As ST it’s your job to make sure things don’t go flying off the rails. Players tend to have one of two bad habits regarding derangements, either they forget about it, or they let it control their roleplaying. Don’t let the players do either. To keep players from forgetting, just remind them periodically that they managed to keep the Derangement in check, but lost a point of Willpower in the process. If they continue to forget (and they’ve lost all their Willpower in the process) then throw them into Frenzy. On the flip side, if a player is going too wild with the derangement, pull them aside and talk to them, letting them know you enjoy their enthusiasm, but they need to dial it back. If their Derangement continues to suck up the spotlight, give them a new Derangement that forces a degree of retreat such as Catatonia.  Overcoming Derangements Players can use a point of Willpower to overcome a Derangement for one scene. Characters can eventually overcome their Derangement through the expenditure of enough Willpower. The amount of Willpower that needs to be spent is equal to the sum of two die rolls, essentially anything from 2-20. ST should make this roll and note the outcome, but not reveal it to the player. The Player should keep track of how much Willpower they’ve spent, but not how much they need to spend to overcome the Derangement. Once conquered, the character will often break down as the realization of what they have done floods back into their consciousness along with the repressed emotions. This makes for a unique roleplaying opportunity. Friends of the character can assist by using Empathy. An appropriate Social roll at a difficulty set by the ST can be made, and on success is the same as if the formerly Deranged character were to spend a Willpower point. This should be roleplayed however, and the actual roll should not take place unless it is appropriately dramatic and made at the climax of the subplot.  Madness Derangements The horror of what you have done is so great that to escape it you have chased it deep into your own mind. Through involving yourself completely into other activities, you strive to forget what you have done. This escape can take many forms, though it is generally emotional rather than physical.
2-Fantasy: You have entered a self-created fantasy world where you are the unappreciated hero. Your desire to be good and pure is fulfilled by accomplishing imaginary achievements, which occasionally overlap with reality while other times are purely delusion. 3-Regression: You become childlike, retreating to an earlier time in your life. It is extremely difficult to do anything for yourself. You cannot use Knowledges for as long as you are suffering this derangement. This is an extreme form of the Child Archetype, and as such the character regains Willpower according to the rules of the Child Archetype instead of their true Nature. 4-Procrastination: By avoiding the things you need to do, you attempt to deny what you did. By avoiding doing anything that might be connected to the traumatic event, you are able to ignore it. Of course this means you are unable to focus on anything, otherwise you’re continually reminded of what you did. 5-Blood Frenzy: You are consumed with the urge to consume blood and the pursuit of consuming blood and will let nothing stand in your way (Ie. when you have only three Blood Points) 6-Whiner: You seek sympathy from others to bolster your own self worth despite your abject “Failure” (whatever caused the Frenzy). Until you overcome your Derangement, you seek the approval of others, and until you can get this from all of your friends, you cannot regain Willpower and in some situations you can’t use Willpower at all. 7-Identification: You identify closely with another character, institution or perhaps a TV personality. You act in every way as this person as a way to avoid having to think about what you really are. Assume the Demeanor of this character. 8-Gambling: You become an inveterate gambler, unable to control your need to take risks or chase that kind of high. You can gamble not only in casinos or on sports, but also with your own life. Every chance to take a risk, especially one where there is potential for gain, you take. 9-Perfection: Everything must be perfect, and you use all your energy to prevent anything from going wrong. When it inevitably does, you flip out and must make a Humanity roll to resist Frenzy. 10-Invent New Derangement Right out of the gate we’re going with Dissociative Identity Disorder eh? Aside from it being tasteless to bring real mental disorders into a table top game, I’m actually impressed with most of these derangements. They actually make sense as responses someone (who is an inhuman Vampire) might have in reaction to the horrible poo poo they did during a frenzy. Although “Identification” and “Multiple Personalities” feel like they’re not that different, despite each focusing on a separate mechanical element, despite Demeanor not having any mechanical weight as previously noted. "Whiner" is very funny and sad in equal measure, because played for comedy, the one dude in your coterie who is desperate for everyone to tell him what a good boy he is is very funny, but played seriously (especially if whatever happened in the frenzy was horrible enough) could be a very powerful part of the story.  Rage Derangements You have placed all of the blame for your weaknesses and loss of Self-Control on some outside force that becomes the focus of your rage, and you cannot resist an opportunity to unleash your wrath upon this force.
2-Overcompensation: You play up your moral strengths to disguise your moral failings. You believe you are exceptionally virtuous and your behavior is straitjacketed by this desire, constantly lecturing others on their moral weaknesses while demonstrating extreme arrogance about your own virtues. Because you believe yourself incapable of falling to Frenzy, you do nothing to avoid or prevent situations that could trigger it. 3-Cynicism: You become cynical towards everything, believing everyone and everything is as tainted as you are. Cynical characters accept their Frenzies as a matter of course, and do nothing to gain new Virtues, Willpower or Humanity, after all what's the point? 4-Total Restraint: The shock of what you have done is so great that you decide to never let it happen again. You restrict all your actions and avoid any that triggered the Frenzy originally. Self-Control is the only thing you are concerned with and every single time you become irrational at all (Frenzy) you must spend a point of Willpower to exert your Self-Control without hesitation, and continue to spend Willpower until the situation has passed. If you run out of Willpower, you temporarily retreat into a different Derangement. 5-Moralistic: You believe yourself to be highly moral and virtuous and insist on the highest standards of morality. You are arrogant and demand others correct their own deficiencies while ignoring your own. If Loyalty became the focus of the derangement, you would be so loyal that every action taken would be taken in light of your loyalty to your friends. Absolutely no action could go against it. 6-Obsession: You become obsessed with some interest or fetish as a reaction to what you did. It is a perverse ambition which you direct all of your energy towards, such as obsession for power, a certain person, object or blood. You need something to focus on to give your life meaning. As you lose Humanity, you lose touch with the obsessions for mortals, such as eating, drinking and sex. Because you are no longer driven towards these things, their absence is driving you mad. To replace them, you’ve got a new obsession. 7-Power Mad: You become a control freak, seeking absolute control over everything around you, including other characters' actions. There is nothing you won’t try to have your say or exert some power over. In every way possible, you will attempt to gain control of objects or information that will give you power over others. 8-Vengeance: Those that have wronged you will pay, and you will not rest until they have been punished for their sins. Everything you do has to be directed towards your vengeance. If your coterie doesn’t stand with you, they must be abandoned. The derangement ends when the target of your vengeance is eliminated, however the deranged character must then make a Humanity roll at difficulty 8. 9-Innocence: You sublimate the horrors of your actions by immersing yourself in pretensions of purity. Gifts to the poor or helping the less fortunate are not out of character for you, and you will do nearly anything to prove to others that your heart is pure. Even though you may admit your previous sins, you insist that time is behind you and that you are a new person and you have complete faith in your ability to resist Frenzy, despite having no new means of doing so. When you fall into a Frenzy, you lose all self pride, and are unable to roll or use Willpower for the remainder of the story. 10-Invent new Derangement Again I like most of these derangements, though "Innocence" and "Moralistic" feel like they’re a little too similar for my tastes. That final line of "Innocence" though is a real doozy, completely removing a player's ability to use Willpower for the remainder of the story? That feels like it’s a bit broken, in the sense that the poor player who manages to hit another Frenzy after already taking "Innocence" just has a mechanic that is fairly important to the game just completely ripped away from them for however many sessions it takes to conclude the current story. "Vengeance" could be a lot of fun, especially if you lean into the obsessive aspect of it. Play Vampire Khan or Ahab is what I’m saying. Hell if I had a player with the "Vengeance" derangement and they dropped a “From hell's heart I stab at thee” I’d give em a couple extra points of XP.  Terror Derangements Because of your experiences you’ve grown fearful and distrustful, no longer as open to the world as you once were. By releasing your pent up feelings on “objects” which are less dangerous than the event that triggered the loss of Humanity, you’ll stop thinking about what happened.
2-Fear of Vampires: You are terrified of other Vampires (at least anyone you don’t consider a friend) and avoid them at all cost. You refuse to even acknowledge that you are a vampire or even use any powers that you know are vampiric in origin. 3-Fear of Fear: You are terrified by the thought of your own fear and what might happen from the expression of it. You are nearly paralyzed with the thought that at some point you will be too scared to take action to save yourself. 4-Paranoia: You’re convinced they’re out to get you and there is no escape. Even your close friends are held in suspicion. 5-Amnesia: What better way to deal with what you’ve done by just blanking it from your memory. This repression prevents the dangerous memories from surfacing and allows you to simply forget them. Unfortunately for you, more than just the event could be wiped from your memory, as total amnesia is possible, and in some cases the character may “forget” some of their Abilities and be unable to use them for the duration of the derangement. 6-Depression: You sink into a deep depression and show no interest in anything that might have previously captured your attention. You can’t rouse yourself to do anything, though you’ll allow yourself to be dragged along rather than waste the energy to resist. 7-Catatonia: This extreme form of fear causes the character to completely withdraw, maybe even curling up in the fetal position and ignoring everything around them. If the experience is particularly shocking or a horrifying repeat of previous events, the character may slip into full catatonia, otherwise the character is substantially withdrawn but can be coaxed into eating but will not take any action on their own until they recover. 8-Intellectualization: You replace your emotions with a world of logic and intellectual vigor. While you may have handily compartmentalized yourself, you are unable to grow, and cannot use XP to raise Traits other than Knowledge until the derangement passes. 9-Delusions of Grandeur: You imagine yourself to be greater than you really are, adopting a glorious self idealized image. By imagining yourself this way, you are safe from your fear and avoid the looming terror. However, whenever your delusion is broken, a Courage roll (difficulty 5) must be made immediately to see if you Frenzy or not. 10-Invent New Derangement I don’t have any complaints about these derangements, I think "Depression" would make for potentially funny moments in the story as the one member of the coterie who is just moping while everyone else is doing vampire politics. The phrasing of “allowing yourself to be dragged along” is so very accurate to my own experiences with depression that I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. The mechanical negative effects of most of these derangements seem way less detrimental to the player than say "Innocence". "Amnesia" may restrict your use of Abilities but at least you know that it’s temporary and dependent on how long the derangement lasts. Overall I think Derangements are interesting, but could probably do for a second or third pass to tighten up a few that need tightening, easing the penalties for a few and maybe differentiating the ones that feel a bit samey.  Humanity Sometimes characters take immoral actions, either by choice or because of Frenzy, and in these cases they may lose Humanity as their conscience reacts to what they’ve done. For vampires, this actually indicates that the Beast has taken a little bit more of the vampire's soul. How an ST handles Humanity loss is one of the most important elements of the job. If you allow the players to essentially murder-hobo their way through the world, the entire game falls apart, conversely, if you’re too strict, the game is only going to last for a couple of sessions. You should play a little loosely with Humanity rules, but never let them completely fall by the wayside. Whenever a character takes an action that you (the ST) believe to be morally questionable, you can decide if it is serious enough to call for a Humanity roll. Humanity rolls are made using one of the three Virtues: Conscience, Self-Control or Courage. Nothing else is added to this pool, and the difficulty is assumed to be 6 unless the ST says otherwise. If the player gains even one success, they do not lose the Humanity point. If they fail, they lose a point in the Virtue rolled as well as the Humanity point. Botching has the same effect while adding a Derangement as a result of the mental trauma of losing a bit of your Humanity.  What to Roll The Virtue rolled depends on the circumstances. If it occurred during a Frenzy, the player just rolls the same Virtue they rolled to resist the Frenzy, or you can allow the player to choose the Virtue they wish to roll. Provided are some hints. -Conscience: Roll this Virtue if the player has harmed another individual. The rest of this blurb just trails off with “If he is successful, the” and on the next page we immediately start with the next Virtue blurb so….here’s hoping they eratta that in the next book. -Self Control: Roll this Virtue if the player gave into their urges. If successful, the character reconfirms they will not allow this to happen in the future. -Courage: Roll this Virtue if the character showed great cowardice. If successful, the character has faced what they have done an fully admitted their guilt. Warning You should always warn the players before taking an action that may result in Humanity loss. They should understand the consequences of what they are about to do. When players get complacent, they think they can get away with anything, so when they do, remind them. Don’t warn them unless you intend for them to make the roll however.  Hierarchy of Sins As characters lose Humanity, the number of things that can trigger Humanity loss become less likely to cause a problem, while the characters with a higher Humanity will need to roll more often for even the slightest of “sins”. Basically, be exceptionally strict with high Humanity characters and more lenient with lower Humanity characters. Provided is a guide to help the ST decide which actions will trigger a Humanity roll. A character at Humanity 7 wouldn’t need to roll for any actions that would be listed as a Humanity 10 sin, while everything on the list would trigger for the Humanity 10 character. Regardless of a character's Humanity score, when a Humanity roll is called for is always up to the ST. Humanity is an intrinsic part of Vampire, and the ST calls for Humanity rolls to help shape the Chronicle in the fashion they desire, and their own morality is reflected in the way they call for this roll, which is not only acceptable but encouraged. Even if as a player you don’t understand why a roll is being called for, trust the ST.  Roleplaying It Often the effects of a loss of Humanity are not always immediately apparent. Characters may feel the shock for a few days before something occurs that displays their new Humanity status. The action that makes clear to the other players that the character has changed can be fun to roleplay, and can work it into their roleplaying naturally, rather than an immediate change.  Gaining Humanity Players can gain Humanity after prolonged and consistent artistic or aesthetically based behaviors. If the character does a good deed, this could also result in a gain of Humanity. As always the ST is the final arbiter. ST’s should be strict about how players regain Humanity. As a Chronicle progresses, the characters should be slowly losing more and more of their Humanity. Preservation of the status quo should be hard enough, so regaining Humanity should be even harder. Awarding Humanity at the end of a story where there is no other real reward given is a possibility to consider. Only the rescue of someone unfortunate or the persistent search for a kernel of truth or goodness will be enough to gain new Humanity, and even then the ST can call for a Virtue roll with the point tied to success on the roll. Ex: A character with Auspex may become aware that a locus has sprung up around a mortal. Acting on a hunch and with no knowledge of the source of the locus, the character might seek out the mortal, eventually finding them and learning they are bound in some eerie way. In the end they learn that the mortal is a direct descendant of their Sire, and that they need protection. By becoming involved with the mortal, they gain a new sense of their own Humanity and thus a gain in Humanity is not unreasonable. Golconda quote:“Should the whole frame of nature round him break, The theme of Vampire is often centered on the “Hero's Journey”, or the quest to discover who you really are. At the point when the characters have overcome their sin and near the end of their quest, there are two paths they can follow. Either they become mortal again, or they become a new kind of vampire and no longer feel the urge to Frenzy, to feed or the desire to sin as strongly as they once did. This state is known as Golconda, and it is the point at which the character has managed to control their Frenzies and restrain the Beast. It is a state of grace that all Kindred of clear mind seek, unless they wish for a total release from their life in death. Golconda is not easy to achieve, but what is worth having if there is no challenge to achieve it? Golconda should not be misunderstood as a reconnection with one's mortality, as it is the opposite, it is the acceptance and by extension, control over the Beast within. It is the final acceptance of one's curse and gaining of power over it. The most basic step towards Golconda begins with the act of remorse, but not in a religious sense, but in a more personal and immediate realization of the sins committed by the character. The character must make some act of penance, such as donating to charity, aiding someone in need or even punishing themselves. The worse the sin, the greater the acts that must be performed. ST’s should only allow players to reach Golconda rarely, and only if they do a superb job of trying to make things right and express a profound remorse for what they have done and become. As the ST, ask yourself if the character truly feels remorse, do they feel compassion or not. How well has the player roleplayed through this process of grief and regret? Because Golconda (should be) so difficult to achieve, it should only occur at or near the end of a Chronicle. A new Chronicle could start with the same characters, but now with an entirely different theme and concept. It should take several game sessions to complete the process, or one full story. More than one character at a time can attempt to achieve Golconda, but only a few can try at one time. While Golconda can be seen as a movement within the Kindred community, if it is, it has very little in the way of organization. Some who have reached this state are evangelistic about it and seek to encourage others to follow the same path, wishing to bring the peace of Golconda to all Kindred, with some even traveling from city to city to preach and encourage those interested in learning more. They do not reveal the secrets of achieving Golconda however, as each supplicant must learn in their own way. There are rumors of an Antediluvian who has reached Golconda (I assume they mean Saulot) and supports those who spread the word of it, as it is believed this Antediluvian’s role in the Jyhad is to thwart the others from succeeding in their schemes to destroy the Kindred. Only the Inconnu would no for sure who this vampire is (which makes me think they are absolutely talking about Saulot, see the Promised Lands review for more on that). Those who are critics of Golconda of course decry the whole thing, claiming it is only minor intrigue in the great Jyhad. Quest There are no rules for determining when a character reaches Golconda, as it must come from roleplaying, as Golconda is a state of being nearly indecipherable from any other state of being, as it is subtle. It is therefore the ST’s responsibility to set the conditions for when this change can occur. The player may not even know they have reached Golconda until the ST begins asking them to make rolls differently. Golconda is similar in nature to a quest, less about the destination and more about the journey itself. Often the quest can lead to the Astral plane or the chaos of a character's own mind. The roleplaying in these moments can be very powerful and should only be attempted after the player has a firm grasp on their character and has developed them over the course of several stories. Golconda is about the transformation of a personality, so the character must have a complete and detailed personality for this change to be fun. The quest usually begins with the characters attempt to know what Golconda is. This first chapter of the story should build the desire for Golconda and make it alluring to the players. Slowly the players should begin to realize what it’s all about. The second stage deals with the search for an Elder who can expound on Golconda for the character. Normally this can only be achieved by finding one of the Inconnu, the incredibly old and powerful Kindred who have achieved Golconda (except for the ones hanging out in Hunedoara Castle doing the ritual to keep the castle hidden. Those guys hosed up). This mentor must be convinced to aid the player character and may require different “tasks” be completed. These tasks are likely to require the player character to make up for past wrongs or even to help the families of their victims. The roleplaying in this part of the story dredges up every dark and horrible thing that has happened over the course of the Chronicle and forces the character to relive it. This should bring the player to a better understanding of their character. Once the mentor has been convinced, they begin the final stage of the quest, the ritual. This ceremony can last for weeks or even months and involves many quests into the dreams of the character. This is known as the Suspire, and the dreams are said to be provoked by draughts of blood from one's closest companions who travel with the supplicant through their dreams. The mentor oversees the Suspire which often takes place in the mentor's Haven. No one is entirely sure what occurs during the ritual, as only those who have successfully attained Golconda live through it and they aren’t talking. Those that do often join the Inconnu, though not all Inconnu have reached Golconda, only a minority of them (see the previously mentioned discussion of Hunedoara Castle) Mechanically speaking there are a few criteria that must be met first. The first is the character's Humanity rating must be a 7 or higher, and if it ever drops below 7, they have lost Golconda. Second, the character Conscience rating must be at least a 4, and finally the character must spend Willpower to overcome all urges to Frenzy, do wrong or waver from the truth path. Typically 15 points need to be spent, reflecting the determination of the character to reach Golconda and the self affirmation that the quest provides. More info about Golconda will be provided in the Storytellers Handbook. Benefits Once Golconda has been achieved, the character is at peace with themselves, no longer existing in a life of self-horror and self-pity. The character has finally mastered the Beast within through acceptance of it as a part of the self. Achieving Golconda only has one major mechanical benefit, which is the character no longer Frenzies, and no Frenzy rolls need to be made while in the state of Golconda. The other lesser benefit is the character no longer needs to consume blood as often, now losing one Blood Point a week rather than every day. If the Kindred has reached an age where they need more potent blood, the desire is subdued and easily pushed aside. Well color me shocked, we actually have instructions about Golconda and how to achieve it. Granted most of the instructions are “Roleplay it”, but we do have some mechanical guidelines for the ST to use which is nice. I might actually go back and re-read the Hunedoara Castle segment of Promised Lands again now that I have a better idea of the thought process and mechanics behind Golconda. I really like the idea of keeping the rest of the players involved in the story by having them questing through the dreams of the supplicant, especially if achieving Golconda isn’t a priority for the other players at the table. The elimination of Frenzy seems like a crazy good upgrade for the player, but as an ST I feel like once a player character reaches Golconda, you can just retire that character to NPC status, as it seems odd that after achieving this state of grace they continue loving around with their homies down on the streets who are doing vampire poo poo. As a conclusion to a Chronicle though, I think this could be super fun and really interesting narratively. Rebirth quote:“Live baby live, now that the day is over. It is possible, but exceedingly difficult for a Kindred to return to mortality again. Despite this, it is a major theme of the game and something that can be used to direct the ambitions of the characters. Exquisite moments of roleplaying can be created through the search for Rebirth. Once a character or characters who have searched for Rebirth finally arrive at that point, they must decide whether they wish to be mortal again. Rebirth cannot be accomplished through rules, it must be a primary element of the story and the roleplaying. Numerous myths and legends among the Kindred tell of how Rebirth may come about, and which of these are true or false is (as always) up to the St to decide. If Rebirth is not the focus of the Chronicle, it should be impossible. Provided are some sample ideas on how a character might achieve Rebirth.
-The character sacrifices themselves for another and dies in the attempt, it is possible that this could trigger restoration to mortality. The character is still dead, but they died a mortal at least. -There are numerous complicated rituals that can restore one to mortality, however these rituals must be researched, ingredients found and the proper time and place decided. Even one element of the ritual being off could lead to Final Death instead of salvation. -Some say that at the final point of the Golconda ritual, it is possible to choose mortality rather than achieving Golconda. Many Elders deny this, but it’s likely they themselves have not reached Golconda and thus difficult to know for sure if they are speaking the truth or not. Again, this is an element of Vampire I don’t recall seeing in V5 and honestly don’t remember ever seeing come up in discussion about the game. Holy poo poo, you can go back to being a mortal, maybe. The idea that killing the Sire is enough is a nice simple solution, but god drat do I love that they crank that option up to 11 by tossing in “Oh yeah, maybe you need to just work your way through your entire bloodline” which I assume they mean the direct bloodline of the character, ie PC to Sire to Grandsire, etc and not like…you have to try and wipe out an entire Clan. Which also would be an insane story to tell. Achieving mortality in death is a nice poetic resolution that could play out really well at the table if you talk to the player beforehand so they know where things are going without letting the rest of the table know. The mortal sacrifice ending would be such an amazing ending to a Chronicle, especially if the other players were unaware. Finding rituals is fine, and gives the ST plenty of room to get weird with things, which as an ST who likes to throw weird poo poo into their games, hell yeah brother. I don’t know how I feel about Rebirth being an option in the Golconda ritual though. It feels a little odd that this massive ritual that is supposed to bring the vampire into this state of balance has an out to mortality right at the end. I feel like if Golconda and Rebirth were more tightly connected that element wouldn’t feel as off to me, but as presented, achieving Golconda and achieving Rebirth seem like very different mindsets and goals, especially since one of them lets you keep all the bad rear end Vampire powers while removing Frenzy and the rapid blood loss element of being a regular Kindred, and the other one just makes you a regular rear end human again, which as I’ve stated in literally every review so far, being a regular rear end mortal in the World of Darkness sounds like a loving nightmare. You’ve got no supernatural powers, there are vampires, wizards, werewolves, ghosts and got drat faeries running around the world, not to mention the horrors lurking on the outer edges of reality beyond the Gauntlet, or the Fomori, or the Nephandi and Marauders, or literally any other nightmarish creatures that might be lurking in the shadows that not only want to eat the faces of the player character splats, but also mortals. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Rebirth idea is cool and a fantastic element to focus a Chronicle on, however, when your options are “Retain powers and lose some negative aspects of your condition” or “Become meat for the beasts again” I feel like logically speaking, retaining the magic powers while dumping some of the negatives is the way to go. Of course you still have to drink blood and maintain your Humanity, but that seems like it would be a lot easier when you’ve achieved the balance that Golconda grants. Basically, my question as always is “Why would anyone want to be mortal in the World of Darkness when being a supernatural is infinitely better, if potentially more dangerous”. Not to say that running a mortals only story wouldn’t be fun or interesting, but if we’re looking at this from the perspective of the WoD being a “Real” thing, then even the negatives associated with the various splats outweigh the negatives of being a mortal. Diablerie quote:“It’s the jewel of victory Hey, remember when we talked about Diablerie a bunch of chapters ago? Well, here’s a whole bunch more about it. The ability to snatch greater power from those above you in Generation is fuel that keeps the fires of the great Kindred Jyhad burning. It is this desire that causes Neonates to slay their Sires and the reason the Elders distrust Fledglings. This rising in power is known as Diablerie or the Amaranth, the quest for eternal power. The Amaranth is a legendary undying flower, and the Kindred have appropriated the word to refer to the ambition and aggression that drives younger Kindred to slay their Sires and other Elders. This is counteracted by the Elders hunting the Anarchs. When a Kindred drinks from another Kindred and drains them of their blood and then continues drinking to the point their victim loses all of their Health levels, they have killed the other vampire, while also drawing the life force or the essential potence of the other vampire's spirit into themselves. If the victim is of an earlier Generation than their killer, the vampire committing Diablerie, gains a Generation. If a character wishes to continue to drink from the vessel, even after they have been drained, they must make a Strength roll at difficulty 9. If the vessel was not of an earlier Generation, they character gains no Generation boost. Each time a player attempts this, they should make a Humanity roll of some kind, especially if the victim displayed any good or noble tendencies. The blood of Elders is powerful and is said to have the ability to grant temporary boosts to Disciplines. While only one character can benefit from the Generation bump, others involved can still use some of the blood (potentially even preserved) to invigorate themselves. Blood Bond It is possible (as previously noted) that Blood Bonds can be created between vampires. This is usually referred to as holding Regnant over another, and the vampire in control of the bond is known as the Regent while the one bound to them is known as a Thrall. Creation of the Bond The Thrall must drink from the Regnant on three different occasions and any amount of blood can be consumed. Unlike Domination, it is possible for those of a higher Generation to enthrall one of lower Generation. The more times the blood is taken by the Thrall, the more powerful the bond becomes. Most Regents have their Thralls drink from them several times a year to maintain a potent bond, fearful that if the bond is broken, their Thrall will seek vengeance and plot against them. This is why most Thralls are treated well (or at least well enough) by their Regnant, as hate can build up and weaken the power of the bond. Once bound, a vampire cannot be bonded to another, however a single vampire can be bound to multiple Regents if the Thrall drinks all of their blood at the same time, such as mixed together in a chalice. One of the Camarilla’s most severe punishments is to be forced to drink the blood of all Kindred in attendance at a Conclave. Usually the effects are more diffuse than with a single Regent, but are no less powerful, as the Thrall is attached to the group instead of any single individual. This diffusion of attachment is why the Tremere bind their Neonates to the seven Elders. Every character is already on their way to being Blood Bound as their Sire’s provided them their first taste of Kindred blood. If they partake of their Sire’s blood twice more, they will become Thralls, and in some cases, the character may already be a Thall to their Sire. Tomorrow: More about Blood Bonds, the Embrace and Ghouls to wrap up Chapter 5
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Apr 28, 2023 17:30
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It's interesting how 1e Frenzy was broken up into Frenzy and Rötschreck. I don't know why they coined that term, either.
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Apr 28, 2023 17:40
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Halloween Jack posted:It's interesting how 1e Frenzy was broken up into Frenzy and Rötschreck. I don't know why they coined that term, either. At a guess, because MR*H is a dork who likes adding words from other languages to sound smart. Which is even funnier because I'm reading the 1e players guide at the moment and there's a direct reference to people who do that in one of the clan write ups and it feels like somebody in the office was poking fun at him for it. Also I'm oddly excited to write my review for the PG because it's A. Pretty good so far and B. Has some hilarious bits, both intentional and unintentional.
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Apr 28, 2023 17:44
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I can't honestly say that I ever really enjoyed the narrative rules in Vampire. They hit you with penalties or compel you to do stuff, and as players we all hate that. But you can see how they're setting up specific tropes of vampire fiction (and especially recent influences like Anne Rice), and it's a drag if the game isn't about those things. It's definitely a drag on the metaplot-informed, conspiracy-action-horror chronicle where you're traveling across the world to stop the Baali from awakening Typhon. I'm being vague. I think rules that could compel a PC to go berserk or run away screaming because they got bullied or saw a roaring fireplace, are more likely to encourage games to descend into wacky nonsense than they are to encourage the kind of epic drama we all ideally want from a Vampire game.
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Apr 28, 2023 17:58
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The Rotschreck stuff seemed like it would basically compromise the Masquerade before it got started because you would be freaking out low-key over all indoor lighting sources for most of human history. To say nothing of cool vampires smoking cigarettes to hide their breath issues in the dark nights of the urban jungle of Milwaukee.
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Apr 28, 2023 18:01
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Halloween Jack posted:I can't honestly say that I ever really enjoyed the narrative rules in Vampire. They hit you with penalties or compel you to do stuff, and as players we all hate that. But you can see how they're setting up specific tropes of vampire fiction (and especially recent influences like Anne Rice), and it's a drag if the game isn't about those things. It's definitely a drag on the metaplot-informed, conspiracy-action-horror chronicle where you're traveling across the world to stop the Baali from awakening Typhon. Yeah, that's something I've been thinking about since reading this book and I go into the absolutely terrible/adversarial advice they provide later in book for STs because it is both bafflingly bad advice and also totally makes sense for the time it was written. There's definitely some really cool ideas in this book, but then some of the rules, as you pointed out, are counterintuitive to actually telling a fun Vampire story. I think more than the other 1e games, Masquerade needs an ST who will pull the good elements out, adjust the not great elements and just ignore the stuff that doesn't work.
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Apr 28, 2023 18:11
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Fire Emblem wouldn’t even be in my first 5 thoughts for a JRPG series, but drat if it doesn’t work as good inspiration here
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Apr 28, 2023 21:04
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joylessdivision posted:As previously mentioned, there are four paths in Thaumaturgy, Blood, Fire, Telekinesis and Weather Control. One of the forms must be chosen at each new level of the Discipline, and the form chosen at Level 2 is considered the casters Primary Form. At each rating thereafter, the player chooses one of the remaining forms that become Secondary, Tertiary and Subordinate Forms. When a new Form is learned, the first power listed under it is gained, with additional powers gained through XP expenditure. Additional Primary From powers cost 2 XP, Secondary and Tertiary powers cost 3 XP and Subordinate costs 4 XP. Each time these powers are used, a Willpower roll is made. Failure indicates that the action was still successful but the WP point is lost. [Edit: meant to edit this in and ended up double-posting, whoops]
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Apr 28, 2023 21:11
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AmiYumi posted:Fire Emblem wouldn’t even be in my first 5 thoughts for a JRPG series, but drat if it doesn’t work as good inspiration here It's essentially FF14 fanart, so not really hitting Fire Emblem notes.
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Apr 28, 2023 21:52
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Lemon-Lime posted:It's essentially FF14 fanart, so not really hitting Fire Emblem notes. I get what they're saying. Fire Emblem does love (or at least did before Three Houses when everybody wears a uniform) for its characters to dress for the job they want. It works on both levels.
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Apr 28, 2023 23:11
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Planescape: The Well of Worlds The Well of Worlds is a collection of nine short modules set in the Planescape setting, with the first being intended as a way to dump Prime adventurers into the planes because the GM just got the Planescape boxed set and wants to get some mileage out of it without starting a new campaign or asking his players what they want. Let's have a look whether any of them are worth anything or have some cool ideas. Chapter 1: To Baator and Back  This is the one intended to yeet the players to the planes with no way back. The hook is that the PC's are doing PC things when someone goes "aw dang, there's an old wizard lab near here that no one's looted yet. sure would be a shame if some heroes showed up and did the looting." Being greedy and fickle, as players are, the PC's will hoof it over to check out the wizard's weird little hobbit house(dug into a hill) and start poking around. It contains little of obvious use right away, most stuff inside has rotted away, and there are a couple of low-tier Baatezu hiding in a closet for the players to bop, but eventually the players will stumble on a secret door leading into a mysterious chamber almost completely filled with a large, complex ritual circle. And by "almost" I mean "completely" but the GM is supposed to lie about it so the players think they can go in and edge their way around it to explore the room but lmao oops, actually the TRUE edge of the mystic sigil was covered by dust and dirt and now you're all getting flung to Baator because the wizard that made the portal was an idiot who hosed up and made a one-way gate that didn't ask for the user's consent before sending them off to their doom/adventure/adventurous doom. Baator is, by the way, the Lawful Evillest plane on the Great Ring, home to the Baatezu who're eternally at war with the Tanar'ri of the Abyss and generally considered to be a right pack of dickheads. Ever since the wizard made the portal and went through it, they've hard guards at it preparing for an invasion from the Prime that's never come, and at this point none of the guards take it seriously. A single lowly Spinagon devil is guarding it at this point, bored out of his skull because he knows no one's ever going to show up when the PC's pop out. The PC's will want to catch or kill(ideally catch) him rapidly or he makes a swift escape to warn his superiors that the invasion force has arrived. The reason the PC's want to catch and interrogate him about where the gently caress they are is because Baator is essentially a blasted hellhole of constant(minor, like being flashbanged gently) explosions and death traps, and if they're just wandering randomly, they won't get very far. A problem here is that the only way to progress is really to hear from the Spinagon that there's a crazy witch nearby who knows the way out. It's a simple jaunt across a blasted plain and a literal river of blood until the PC's arrive at her cave and probably run right into her line of enchanted claymore mines that entangle them in magical webs. Then while they're tied up, the old witch hobbles out of her cave and bops them all with a Mace of Disruption and pours holy water on them to test that they're not disguised devils. With that done, she then serves the PC's courteously and tells them she has no idea where there's an exit or what the portal key for the exit might be is. But she knows that the only place to find out is a lovely place called the Pillar of Skulls just over the next hill(and back over the blood river). Oh and after the party leaves she snitches on them to Bel, Lord of Avernus, first layer of Baator(which the party is currently on), because that's how she stays not-killed by devils: by warning them of intruders. The Pillar of Skulls is in fact a giant pile of rotting heads that screams and babbles semi-coherently. The players can trade it one of three things for the knowledge of how to get out: If they learn the Spell Key for Baator from the witch, one head will "pay" for that. Another head will reward them for beating up a third head. And the third head just wants food, either a party member or if the party can beat up a couple of local Baatezu and drag them over to become the Pillar's lunch. The portal's some distance to the west, and the key is a flagstone from a large Baatorian road nearby. Seems simple enough, right? Well, it actually mostly is, except that a large army is encamped on the road at the moment. The solution isn't to, say, sneak in, or smooth-talk their way in, and then snag the stone and leg it. No, the players are literally supposed to take an in-universe break for 12 hours until the army moves on, and then the moment the players grab a stone from the road, a bunch of flying Abishai swoop in, coincidentally, and tail the players all the way to the portal. Then once they get there, a powerful DMPC is waiting there that forces them to bring a mysterious orb along with them or he'll kick their rear end. As there are no recommended levels for this adventure, it's entirely possible the players can just clown on him and laugh about it, but if the player is trying to get a group of mid or low-levelled PC's through this adventure, they probably have to accept the orb as they step through the portal off Baator and into Sigil where the orb... does nothing. It just turns to dust, it was flawed. Conclusion To Baator and Back is actually pretty bad and super linear. There's no space at any point for players going even slightly off the rails or doing a bit of sightseeing, it's a straight line of things to see and do, usually only with one solution. Still, now the players are in Sigil, maybe the other adventures are better? Chapter 2: The Mazes  In this module, the players are assumed to be either Planar natives or to be the Primes from the first, having arrived in Sigil, joined factions and become part of the crowd. An officer of the faction they're a member of decides that they're good choices for a secret mission to recover a powerful, magic weapon once wielded by the leader of a defunct faction called the Expansionists. A powerful, glowing weapon called Lightbringer, which he was carrying right up to and including the point where the Lady of Pain threw him in a maze for starting to make elaborate plans to dethrone her and take over Sigil as his personal playground. Getting Mazed, for the uninitiated, is what the Lady of Pain does to anyone who's just a mild annoyance, before upgrading to "flayed to meaty shreds" if they get out of the Maze and don't learn their lesson or if they're doing particularly aggravating stuff like throwing fireballs at her or the Dabuses. She sort of peels off a chunk of Sigil and wraps it around on itself until it's a little pocket dimension with a single, hidden exit and entrance. Their faction has, thankfully, figured out the entrance to the point where getting in isn't even detailed in the module in any way, it's just assumed that the party gets in with no trouble. The meat of the module is in three things: First, once the players are in, the place is actually somewhat maze-like and it's possible to be lost at least at first.  Second, the players aren't alone. Three other factions: the Harmonium, Mercykillers and Fated are also on the hunt for Lightbringer. The Harmonium are basically cops, in all the good and bad ways that implies. Their leader is a jackass who thinks everyone should cower at the name of his faction and will try to bully the party out of Lightbringer or intel about it, but won't want to kill them if he can avoid it. The Fated are the capitalists of Sigil, and they'll pretend to be all reasonable and friendly with the party until they see a chance to backstab them and steal Lightbringer from them. The Mercykillers are... also cops, but in this case somehow less assholes than the Harmonium. They'll try to set up camp by the exit if the players take too long finding Lightbringer and then try to peacefully negotiate for it, trying to get it out of the players in some sort of exchange rather than just stabbing or robbing them. Of course, if that fails, then it's stabbing time. The third is that Timlin, the former factol of the Expansionists, is actually still alive and somewhat possessive of his magic sword. Considering that he's a loving 18th-level Fighter, in an adventure for players of levels 2 to 4, holy poo poo he's something of a roadbump. He could fistfight them all to death casually. He's mostly spending his time working out, but if he spots the players, he'll pretend to be confused and dim-witted, damaged by his long time locked up alone. Of course, there are hints that this isn't the real him, such as the stashed-away corpse of a previous intruder. He's perfectly willing to let the players steal Lightbringer from him and then follow them to the exit, because the secret is that Lightbringer is actually a pretty mundane +1 Longsword just enchanted to glow and look really impressive. Lightbringer never made Timlin an absolute beast at combat, he was just that loving good. Interestingly, despite being somewhat of a dickhead in the past, Timlin will actually feel like he owes the players a favour for letting him out(intentionally or unintentionally). He will also, in another note in favour of him, absolutely annihilate the cops(Harmonium) if he meets them, hacking them to ribbons, possibly establishing him as not that bad a guy. It's not too bad a little module, even if it's extremely short, but it's a pretty good seed for getting the players into some faction politics since just about any outcome will result in some people owing them favours or being upset with them and perhaps looking for payback in the future. Chapter 3: Love Letter https://lpix.org/4506485/WOW05.png Reasonably chaste, but there IS a lady in lingerie, so no reason to take a risk. The seed for this one is something that feels very Planescape to me. A Baatezu(Lawful Evil Devil) approaches the players to carry a letter to the person he's deeply in love with... a Tanar'ri(Chaotic Evil Demon), despite their entire species being locked in millennia-long warfare. They fell in love after nearly killing each other during a Baatezu raid into the Abyss, and after spending a long time together realized that their lifestyles were too different to live together, but that they still wanted to stay in touch and in love long-distance, via sending each other yearly letters. Kind of cute. Because of this, the Baatezu has been using adventurers as mailmen to deliver letters to his beloved, since he can't just go hand them over himself and there's no Planar Postal Service(though in retrospect, that would make for a great adventure hook, tasking the players with delivering all sorts of letters and packages to and from strange locations, perhaps handling dangerous or clunky cargos). The Tanar'ri have started taking note of this, but can't really interrogate their colleague since she's got a lot of political and martial power, and she just keeps stonewalling them when they ask her where all the letters are coming from and what they're about. So instead, they've decided that they're going to ambush themselves some mailmen the next time a letter is coming through. One slightly disappointing part is that the Baatezu just gives them a magical item that'll teleport the party to the near vicinity of his girlfriend's tower, rather than the party having to adventure their way there. That's a lot of wasted potential for encounters, in my mind, but a clever GM could fix that right quick. In any case, even that doesn't go quite smoothly since as the party activates the magical item, a bunch of Baatezu rush towards them and jump them, getting dragged along for the ride and trying to interrogate the party... shortly before they're all dumped in the Abyss, which presents the Baatezu with a thorny situation: stalk the party for more answers or make sure they get the gently caress out alive? There aren't an awful lot of obstacles on the way towards the tower, there's a skull at a crossroads that tries to confuse the party with bullshit answers, one of the paths leads to a small boat trip across an acid lake, the main feature of which is that a couple of hosed up stat checks will probably melt an entire low-level party into nasty soup. The other path is through the hills around the lake where creepy bats with giant eyes will attack the party, probably the less awful choice, though. Then they reach the Tanar'ri's tower where the locals have set up guard right in front of the gate. Once again, a bit of subtlety could make this more interesting. If it was a war camp "coincidentally" placed to catch intruders without alerting the owner of the tower that they're keeping an eye on her, it would open up the party some options for sneaking their way through, but instead the players are essentially forced into combat no matter what stealth or flim-flam they can come up with. The tower itself is mostly a few traps, some loot and some flavour pieces on the way up to the owner. The library is notably somewhat amusing since it consists in large part of male-authored books about summoning and binding succubi. Reading them, it looks like a woman has annotated most of the books to make fun of what a bunch of horny idiot losers the original authors were. There's also a room full of "devices of pleasure of all kinds"(there's a crude answer to this, but also another answer that implies the owner of the tower, a succubus, has a sweet gaming rig loaded down with all the trashy gacha games ever invented, among other things) and another room full of the kinds of torture that would make a Cenobite jealous. For some reason there's a lot of text devoted to what to do if the players are a bunch of idiot murderhobos that just loot the tower and then attack the owner rather than just handing over the loving letter like a decent mailmen. It feels like some of these module writers were scarred by some pretty bad groups. If they loot her tower and piss her off, she gives them a return letter that will convince her boyfriend to kill the party when they return. On the other hand, if they make her happy, she'll give them a letter to make him happy, and the Baatezu will actually pay the party what's agreed and, once again, actually feel like he owes them a debt of gratitude. It is, once again, less of an exciting adventure in itself than it is a seed for future adventures. For instance, as the module itself suggests, once the Baatezu and Tanar'ri twig to the forbidden romance, perhaps the two lovers will need the PC's help escaping to somewhere safe for them to live out their existences together. Maybe they get employed to deliver future letters, gifts, etc., each time dealing with more and more obstacles as the Baatezu and Tanar'ri try to prove something bad is going on. It's a situation that can be played for comedy and feelings, or for an excuse to throw the players up against walls of evil fiends ready to fight them to the death.
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Apr 28, 2023 23:24
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Lemon-Lime posted:It's essentially FF14 fanart, so not really hitting Fire Emblem notes. To second your post, not only is that illustration directly emulating the art style of the official art that gets posted on the ffxiv official community news site, players familiar with the game can actually see what armor pieces inspired which outfits. Including a white-dyed 2B dress from the Nier crossover alliance raid. It's very cute
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Apr 28, 2023 23:28
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Runa posted:To second your post, not only is that illustration directly emulating the art style of the official art that gets posted on the ffxiv official community news site, players familiar with the game can actually see what armor pieces inspired which outfits. Including a white-dyed 2B dress from the Nier crossover alliance raid. The artist (Catthy Trinh) does FF14 comms and her art generally owns: https://twitter.com/CatthyTrinhArt But yeah, it's mostly just funny. The Fabula Ultima iconics are a PLD/WAR/WHM/SCH*/NIN/BLM/BRD/DNC static, and two thirds of them are just wearing their AF sets. *counting what's probably a Tinkerer as the second healer because that's obviously a carbuncle stand-in. Lemon-Lime fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 29, 2023 00:57
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Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness presents Vampire: The Masquerade 1st Edition Part 7 Power of the Bond Blood Bonding is primarily an emotional power. The Thrall views their Regent as a central figure of their lives and are obsessed with them. Even if they despise them, Thralls will do nearly anything to aid their Regent, including attempting to protect them from attack. It’s likely that the character understands, at least intellectually, what is happening to them, but are unable to do anything about it. Similar to falling in love, once it’s happened, you’re caught until something breaks the spell. You may know you’re in love and hate the stupid things it makes you do, but you still do them because people often do stupid things when they’re in love. Blood Bonds are the closest thing to “Love” that Kindred can achieve, and when roleplaying the Bond, using the love metaphor will help the players understand just how deeply and completely their character is obsessed with their Regent, and a Regent of high enough conscience may feel this “love” in some measure for their Thrall. A primary power the Regent has over their Thrall is Domination without requiring eye contact. As long as the Thrall can hear the Regent’s words, they can be dominated, and is the only case where eye contact is not needed for the Dominate Discipline (except the Dominate powers that work without eye contact) All difficulties for the Thrall to resist the Domination are increased by two. Blood Bonds occasionally give the Regent insight into the mood and feelings of their Thrall, and they can intuitively find the Thrall simply by following their instincts. Willpower can be used to resist the effects of a Bond, depending on circumstances. In some cases a single point of Willpower will eliminate the effects for a single turn to an entire scene. If the Thrall wishes to plot against the Regent, then one Willpower will allow them to do so for an entire scene. If they were attempting to attack their Regent, it would cost one Willpower per turn, plus an additional Willpower point for the character to even consider spending the point to attack. If a Regent asks their Thrall to do a favor, they will, so long as it is possible. If it would risk the Thralls existence, they do not need to take on the task (nor do they need to spend Willpower to resist) If however, the Regent is being attacked, the Thrall’s first instinct will be to aid them, and self-sacrifice is not unheard of after years of Bonding. If the Thall is treated well, the bond will increase in power, while if they are treated cruelly, the hatred born from this cruelty will weaken the bond. Breaking a Bond is possible, but difficult (like everything else in this game), requiring a massive expenditure of Willpower over a long period of time, but also requires the Thrall to avoid the Regent. If the Thrall does not interact with the Regent or an object associated with them, the bond will naturally decay over time. Some Natures, such as the Child or Fanatic may never escape being Blood Bound while Connivers or Loners may escape easily. Ultimately, breaking a Blood Bond cannot be done with XP or successful rolls, it must be roleplayed. There are rumors (there are always rumors) that the Sabbat knows of ways to break Blood Bonds, but you must pledge yourself to them before they will teach you. Those who are most resentful of their bondage and retain the free-will to act independently often flee to the Sabbat, fearing the Black Hand less than the continued servitude to their Regent. The Embrace Creating a Kindred is a simple process, first a mortal must be drained of their blood and within five minutes (potentially longer depending on the potence of the Sire’s blood), the Sire returns some of the blood to the corpse, either out of pity, careful planning or simply revenge. Once the corpse has taken even a single drop of blood, they will reanimate and begin to drink. A full Blood Point must be taken for the ritual to work. The Embrace can be either excruciatingly painful or extremely arousing, varying on a case by case basis. Once the ritual is complete the newly created Fledgling is ravenously hungry unless the Sire returned a great deal of blood (which is uncommon). Sometimes all of the blood given to the Fledgling is consumed by the transformation and this sudden hunger is often the most unexpected and unpleasant aspect of the Embrace. You know, aside from the whole dying part. Kindred can’t just embrace Fledglings willy-nilly of course, and most cities require permission of the Prince to be granted before an embrace can take place. Some Clans even require that permission be sought from the Clan even if the Prince has granted permission. Ghouls Mortals who consume Kindred blood, but who have not been drained first become Ghouls. They do not age as long as they feed on Kindred blood regularly and can gain some of the powers of the Kindred, while still being able to walk in daylight, eat food and are no more susceptible to fire than any normal mortal is. Ghouls don’t necessarily need to be human, as animals can be ghouled as well, though the Animalism Discipline is required to control them. Kindred create Ghouls regularly as a means of having loyal servants to protect them during the day, while some use them to perform evil deeds against other Kindred during daylight hours. Permission from the Prince is required to make a Ghoul, so the Camarilla council says, as it breaks the Masquerade. If the “Sire” is in the good graces of the Prince, then this restriction is considerably more lax as most Princes have more important things to do with their time than worry about the creation of Ghouls, so long as it doesn’t become a problem. Creating a Ghoul is generally not considered a breach of the Masquerade as long as the Ghoul doesn’t tell anyone. Of course, Ghouls are generally told little and are often too fearful of their masters to speak up anyway. Ghouls can be Blood Bound to their masters just as any other Kindred can, and like Kindred, after three feedings the Ghoul is bound, however if the Ghoul spends more than a month without receiving blood from their master, the Bond is broken and the the Ghoul returns to normal mortality once again. And that’s the end of Chapter Five. This chapter is absolutely jam packed with information. I understand why the sources of injury stuff got shuffled to other chapters in the other books now as it feels a little awkward to have injury stuff up front along with XP stuff, then the back half of the chapter deals with other mechanical stuff that doesn’t quite fit the chapter heading of “Development”. I’m not entirely sure why we needed a couple of paragraphs about the Embrace considering it’s been discussed pretty thoroughly elsewhere in the book, and the only real mechanical aspect of it is the Sire losing a Blood Point. The mechanics of Diablerie are handy, although it’s another spot where I feel like we didn’t need nearly as much fluff around it as was in the book. It was established earlier in the book what Diablerie is and what it achieves, just give the mechanics of how it works my dude. I do like that the other players who aren’t diablerizing a character can get in on the fun of saving some of that powerful blood to boost their stats, but god loving forbid they tell you how much of a stat boost it would give. Even a ballpark number would have been enough. While I appreciate that the Storyteller system plays fast and loose with numbers so that ST’s can have the flexibility to tell the stories they want in the way they want, there’s still things like the potential boost that saved Elder blood gives to the other characters that the ST has to just make up. It’s a minor complaint to be sure, but this is one of my biggest complaints about the WoD books I’ve reviewed so far, presenting an idea that potentially has a big impact on how things play out at the table, and just completely hand waving the mechanics with “Roleplay it” or “The ST can figure it out”. I’m buying these loving books to help me run my games White Wolf, some actual guidance would be appreciated. Well, that’s not true, I’m buying these old books to review/have them in my collection but the point stands.   Chapter Six: Drama We kick off the chapter with a lengthy explanation that this chapter is full of ways to adjudicate various potential elements of the game, but that none of these rules are required to play. Essentially if you understand the rules from Chapter 2 you can basically skip this chapter if you want, but let’s be real, I just complained about ideas without mechanics to back them up, so here’s a whole chapter of slapping some mechanics onto fairly common elements of a game. Much like I did with the rules chapter I’m going to be giving this chapter a fairly lite pass as we’ve covered much of this stuff in the previous corebooks and I don’t want to re-type all of that and you surely don’t want to read it all over again. If something sticks out as being unique or different enough from previous corebooks, I’ll call it out. Scenes The setting in which a chunk of roleplaying takes place, and specifically roleplaying and not dice rolling. If there’s heavy dice rolls to be made, it is an Action Scene which we’ll get to shortly. ST’s should describe each scene with as much detail as possible to give the players a clear view of their surroundings as well as to breath life into the scene. If there are background NPC’s in the scene, they should be active even if they have no real bearing on the story taking place. Any time during the story where the players are not actively engaged in roleplay or dice rolling is considered “Downtime”, and generally where things like research, travel or other elements of the story that don’t require active roleplay occur. You can easily transition from Downtime into a Scene by simply picking up in media res, with the example in the book being the players discussing traveling to Chicago and then picking up with them already traveling. Turns When actions need to be taken during a scene, Turns are used. Each player can do one thing in a turn. Turns are not meant to be an absolute, in the sense that if one player chooses to climb a tree while another fires a gun, both actions can occur at the same time within the story, though the time to accomplish each is different, as climbing a tree would take approximately a minute while firing a gun would take three seconds. Each player should be given the same amount of time to describe what they are doing in a turn. Multiple Actions Players can perform multiple actions in a turn, however they need to split their dice pool to do so unless they have Celerity. If they don’t have Celerity, then the smaller of the two dice pools for an action is used. The example given is once again climbing the tree and shooting a gun, however our example has 5 dice for climbing and 4 for shooting, so they would take the 4 dice and split it between the two actions they wish to take. The players determine how many of the split pool they wish to put into each action (3 on firing the gun and 1 for climbing, etc.) If the player wants to move and take an action, such as walking and shooting, they remove 1 die per yard they intend to move. This penalty does not extend to Dodging as movement is already factored into the Dodge mechanic. Action Scenes Action Scenes are fights, races, feats of danger, etc, and turns last approximately 3 seconds (in story time). Because the possibilities for actions taken in an Action Scene are too numerous to try and catalog in writing, it’s best to simply let players attempt whatever ideas they have, as long as they aren’t too silly, and make sure that an appropriate difficulty is assigned, even if it is a 10. Remember that when an Action Scene starts, the ST should describe the scene with as much detail as possible, make sure the players understand where they are in relation to the action occurring, as well as any environmental hazards, potential cover, etc. Organizing an Action Turn Exactly what is says, each aspect of an Action Turn is named and described. Describe the Scene As previously stated, the ST should be as thorough as possible in their description of the scene when an Action Scene is breaking out. This is also the point where Initiative is rolled to determine order of action. Decision Stage If initiative rolls were made, go in order from highest to lowest around the table and let the players explain the action they wish to take, then the ST decides what rolls are required for the player to attempt the action they have described. Resolution Stage Once again, go around the table one by one and have each player roll their dice, count up successes and failures and then make a note or have the players note down what the roll was, and once everyone has had their turn, the ST turns all of the results of the dice rolls into narrative. And be creative with it, don’t just say “You hit the guard for 3 levels of damage”, instead be dramatic and add some flair; “You ducked to the left, the guards fist missing you wildly. Faster than the guard can react, your own fist connects with his head, sending him reeling and taking 3 levels of damage” Rolling Initiative In a normal situation, initiative rolls are Wits + Alertness (or Brawl/Melee/Firearms or whatever appropriate ability makes sense) with a difficulty of 4. Most successes go first, ties go together, failure goes last and botching the roll goes absolute last and also removes 1 die from their pool on their first turn. If the characters are being ambushed, have the players make Perception rolls first, usually at a difficulty 8. If you want to reroll initiative each round you can but it's far easier to just keep the first initiative. Taking Actions Once initiative has been determined, each player takes their turn. There are three basic actions a player can take that do not require dice rolls on their turns: Yield: Lets the player with the next highest initiative take their turn, and the yielding player takes their turn last. If everyone yields (including enemies) no one does anything that round. Heal: As previously noted, players can heal one Health Level of damage per turn at the cost of 1 Blood Point, however no other action can be taken. Except for the rule where you can take an action while healing (Stamina + Fortitude roll at difficulty 8) No, the book does not remind you about this roll, it just says “You can’t act while healing”. I had to go back through my review to make sure I hadn’t hallucinated the exception to the healing rule from prior in the book. Do better 1991 editors! Move: Characters move at 7 yards when walking, 12 yards + Dexterity for jogging and 25 + Dexterity for running. No roll is required, but this is the only action that can be taken in the turn. Rolls are only required if the surface is hazardous. You want some additional action rolls? Of course you do.
Simple Rolls These are the rolls most often used in dramatic scenes. Each Attribute can be combined with a Trait, offering a potential 270 different simple rolls. We’re provided with two and a half pages of these sample simple rolls. Here is a small sampling:
How flawlessly do you conduct yourself at a fancy dinner despite not being able to eat? Dexterity + Etiquette (difficulty 8) You try to convince the clerk you really are with the EPA. Manipulation + Bureaucracy (difficulty 8) The Systems Provided are various systems for resolving different actions, including the loving Dodge rules! ST’s are reminded that these systems are not necessary if the group prefers to handle everything with roleplaying, and that if you (the ST) don’t like how a system is presented, change it, simplify or complicate it to taste. The Storytellers Handbook will also provide additional systems, including alternatives to the ones provided here. Physical Awakenings No not the Robert De Niro/Robin Williams film, this relates to when characters need to wake up during daylight hours. When something occurs while the character is sleeping, an Auspex + Perception (difficulty 8) roll is made. Any successes scored denotes the character has woken up enough to know something is going on. Failure means they don’t wake up yet while botching means they don’t wake up at all. Once roused, a Humanity roll is made (difficulty 8) and each success equals one turn the character remains awake, with 5 successes being completely awake. No action can be taken until the character is fully awake. Failure denotes the character has fallen back to sleep, however if something else happens, another rouse roll can be made. Botching means the character goes back to sleep and nothing will rouse them. ST’s can require additional Humanity rolls while the character remains awake (difficulty 8) while keeping the one success rule, and failure or botching remains the same as noted above. Characters cannot roll more dice than their Humanity rating during the day. Climbing Whenever a character attempts to climb, they make a Dexterity + Athletics roll. If they have Protean, an additional die can be added to the roll for Protean Claws. Each success rolled is equal to five feet of distance scaled, and once the character has accumulated enough successes, they have accomplished the climb. The number of successes should be the distance to be climbed divided by 5. Ex: The player is attempting to climb 25 feet, and thus needs 5 successes. Difficulties for Climbing
4 Simple - Cliff with many handholds 6 Straightforward - a tree with thin branches 8 Treacherous - very few handholds 10 Extremely Difficulty - Nearly sheer surface The Hunt What, you thought there wouldn’t be a system for hunting mortals? This is a game about vampires after all. This system is useful when you don’t feel like roleplaying out a hunt. For each hour the player spends on the hunt, give them one die. Then the die are rolled against the difficulty chart below. Success indicates the player was able to find a victim and take at least one die worth of Blood Points (player rolls one die and the results are how many Blood Points they gain). No Humanity is lost and only blood is gained. Failure indicates no blood was acquired and a botch means poo poo went sideways. When a botch occurs, immediately switch back to roleplaying, starting at the moment where things go wrong. The ST describes the scene and the events that lead to the moment when the action begins, and then it is up to the player to figure out how to get themselves out of the predicament they’ve gotten themselves into. If you don’t have time for roleplaying a botch, tell the player they were successful in feeding, and then later inform them they have contracted a disease. After feeding begins, a Frenzy roll can be made, however it is only a mandatory roll if the player is at 3 or less Blood Points.  Jumping Jumping requires a Strength roll, and for horizontal jumps (with a bit of running start) the roll should be Strength + Athletics. Difficulty is always 3 unless the ST notes a reason for it to be higher. Number of successes required is based on the number of feet being jumped (table below). There are no partial successes with jumping, either you get it in one or you don’t. Failure or botching means the character has fallen, however if it was just a failure ST can ask for a Dexterity + Athletics roll to determine if the character manages to grab the ledge. Botching is a complete failure and fall damage should be calculated. Players can make a Perception + Athletics roll before the jump (difficulty 8), and with at least one success, the ST can tell the player how many successes they need to complete the jump. ST’s are suggested to be the ones to make this Perception roll so players are not completely certain of how accurate their estimation is. Using Blood Points can grant an additional success and characters with Potence can count their dots as automatic successes. Type of Jump---Feet per Success Vertical (up) --2 Horizontal (across)-- 4 Feats of Strength Strength is frequently rolled alone, however characters with Potence can add their dots to their Strength rolls and works on the same automatic success system, that if the players Pool is equal to or greater than the difficulty, it is an automatic success. Blood Points added to Strength work under this rule as well. However, for Feats of Strength the player rolls Willpower instead of their Strength pool. The difficulty is always a 9 though it can vary depending on surface conditions, wieldiness of the object or ST whim. The number of successes are what is important as each pushes the player’s score up on the chart below. Example: if a player with 4 Strength wants to flip a car (7) they need 3 successes on their Willpower roll. Or they could simply wait three turns and use Blood Points.  Repair If a character wants to repair something mechanical, Dexterity + Repair is the roll, difficulty depends on the chart below. Each roll indicates a period of time was spent, whatever fits the needs of the story works. Botching indicates the device is damaged.  Sneak Sneaking is Dexterity + Stealth against the witnesses Perception + Alertness. Each success indicates how far the character has moved while sneaking per the chart below. This is an extended action and a Perception + Stealth (difficulty 7) roll can be made by the players to determine the number of successes  Shadowing This is following someone without being noticed and can be done either on foot or in a vehicle. Perception + Investigation (difficulty 6, adjustable due to variables of weather, crowd size, etc.) with each success indicating the target has been followed for a turn. Failure means the target was temporarily lost, botching indicates that the target is not only lost, but the player has encountered some kind of trouble in the process. Each time the Perception roll is made, a Stealth + Dexterity (or Drive if in a car) is also rolled against a difficulty of the targets Perception + Alertness, with a +/-3 modifier depending on circumstance. One success indicates the player is unseen, while each additional success makes it more difficult for the target to notice them. Failure means the target is suspicious and looking around while botching means the player has completely revealed themselves and the target knows they’re being followed. If the player fails, the target can make a Perception + Investigation (or Streetwise) roll against the difficulty of the player's Stealth+5. Each success indicates a higher degree of suspicion on the target's part per the chart below. If the target fails the roll, their suspicion goes to 0, if they botch they’re convinced there’s no one behind them. Success–Suspicion 1–Hunch 2–Suspicion 3-Certainty 4-Sure knowledge 5-You’ve spotted whose shadowing you Buddy System Two players can shadow the same target by switching off, however they need prior experience doing so with each other or the difficulty increases by one, and the players switch each turn. Targets cannot accumulate successes during a switch. Swimming Vampires can’t drown, but they sure as hell can sink. Anytime a vampire is immersed in water without any means of support, they roll Dexterity + Athletics against a difficulty dependent on the water conditions. Number of successes determines how far they swim or how long they stayed above water, at a rate of Five feet distance or five minutes, while botching indicates the player has been pulled back by the current or tide. If a vampire is trapped underwater during the day, treat the potential damage as though it were a cloudy day. It is possible to go deep enough that the vampire won’t be touched by the sunlight, but at that depth you’re fighting both potential crushing or the effects of extreme cold. Combat Sidebar The combat system of Vampire is likely different than what most roleplayers are used to (especially in 1991) and attempts to capture the flavor of dramatic combat while providing realistic damage. It is unwise to stand in the middle of the street and shoot an opponent, diving for cover and firing from cover should always be the priority. Using cover effectively along with suppressing fire will improve your chances of closing the distance between yourself and an opponent. quote:“We have made every effort to create systems that are true to the dynamics and limitations of real gun combat, while still allowing for the unique elements that Vampires bring to it (care to fight someone who can walk directly into your line of fire?) Our Firefight rules were “meticulously” researched and playtested using Splat Ball guns in both forests and urban settings.” Ya’ll went out and shot each other with paintball guns and called it research. Tactics:
-Have your allies use suppressive fire when advancing on an enemy. -Against other vampires, you need to move in and engage them in hand to hand, because your teeth and claws cause aggravated wounds. Hand to Hand Any combat that doesn’t involve guns and requires being within two yards of the target is considered hand to hand. Describe the Scene: Do the thing. No initiative needed for melee Determination stage: There are three hand to hand maneuvers players can use, Strike, Throw and Grapple. Players can also Dodge (more below) Resolution stage: Both combatants rolls Dexterity + Brawl (or Melee if using a weapon) in a resisted roll. Difficulty is dependent on the type of maneuver or weapon being used (per the table below). Combatant with the most successes wins. Each success over the opponents total grants additional damage die. Damage is calculated by rolling the number of dice per the chart plus any additional dice gained from the previous roll. The damage roll is against the target's Stamina + 3 and each success on the damage roll takes off one Health level. Target is unable to do damage this turn. Vampires can make “Soak” rolls of Stamina + Fortitude to attempt to resist damage. The difficulty is the number of successes scored on the damage roll +5 (max 10) Each success on the soak roll reduces damage taken by one level. Failure means the character takes full damage, while botching means that one of the wounds is aggravated. If neither character succeeds, it is a stalemate and neither takes any damage.
Grapple: No damage is done with this attack but each success scored reduces the number of dice the target has to roll on their next turn. In theory the target will at some point be immobilized, at which point the grappler needs only a single success to maintain the grapple. At any time the grappler can assign as many die from their Pool to the damage roll as they wish, with the difficulty being the opponent's Stamina +3. Biting a grappled opponent is possible and a Frenzy roll is only required if blood is drawn. If you have bitten the target and your next action is a successful grapple, you may begin withdrawing blood from the target. If they are mortal, the fight ends. Strike: All melee weapons as well as punches and kicks are considered strikes. Attempting to stake a vampire through the heart requires 5 successes and must be achieved in a single turn. Once accomplished, the target vampire is immobilized.  Complications
Firefight Anything involving guns and projectile weaponry. Firefight turns run on the same three turn system as Hand to Hand. Description: Describe the scene, roll initiative (Wits + Alertness difficulty 4) and then go around the table having the players describe their actions, however you should resolve each players action on their turn before moving to the next player. In a Firefight there are five actions that can be taken: Dodge/Fire/Yield/Heal/Move. Players can still take normal actions and even switch to Melee combat if they wish. Determination Stage: Roll Dexterity + Firearms against the difficulty listed on the Firearms chart which is always the difficulty of the weapon unless the character is at point blank range (under 3 yards) in which case it is a difficulty 3, and at extreme range (over the listed range but not twice that amount) the difficulty is 8. If the distance is twice the listed range, then the shot can’t be made. Each success gained on the roll is considered an automatic level of damage, above and beyond any damage done by the roll itself. A simple botch usually means the gun jammed or ricochets (lose a die on your next turn). Severe botches however mean you potentially hit your friend or the gun exploded. Resolution Stage: The attacker makes their damage roll, to determine excess damage incurred by the attack roll. Attacker rolls the number of die equal to the damage listed on the chart. Difficulty is the targets Stamina+3, and every success causes a loss of Health level. Each both cancels an automatic success, so it’s possible to hit something and do no damage. Vampires can make a soak roll with the difficulty being the damage factor listed beside the weapon +3. Soaking a shotgun blast would be a 9 difficulty. Each success on the soak reduces Health level loss by one, while failure means they take full damage and each botch turns a wound into aggravated damage. Complications Cover: Cover makes it harder to hit a target. The chart below gives guidance on how much the difficulty should be raised. If you attempt to shoot through the cover to hit the target, the difficulty is normal (does not apply penalties). Have the player reduce their successful damage dice by 1-20 depending on the thickness of the cover. Any success over this can be applied normally. Any roll canceled by cover is assumed to have hit the cover, while those that were not canceled are assumed to have penetrated and hit the target. Depending on the cover being used, the character attacking from cover can have their attack pool reduced by 1-5 depending on circumstance. This same system can be applied to aimed shots (IE: aiming for the leg instead of center mass) and should be calculated as part of cover, raising the difficulty by 3. Note: 10’s are always successes on attack rolls, no matter the difficulty of the roll, and cover can never raise the difficulty above 10, unless the target is completely under cover.  Dodge Dodging can be declared at anytime before an opponent makes their roll by the player announcing that they dodge, and announcing how many die they intend to use. If the players dice pool is depleted, they cannot dodge. Dodge + Dexterity is the roll required, and each success subtracts from one success gained by the opponent. Difficulty is determined by the nearby cover. With five successes, the player takes no damage, no matter how many successes the opponent rolled.  Multiple Shots All guns on the chart are capable of making multiple shots per turn, however this requires dividing the dice pool equal to the number of shots to be taken. Three-round bursts are also possible with this rule, with the example given that the pool would be divided by 7. Three-Round Burst Players can use a three-round burst as long as the gun is capable, and players only roll once with an extra two dice to their attack and damage pools. Cannot be used at long range. More than One Target Players can only shoot at as many targets as they have ammo for and must divide their attack pool for each target they intend to hit. Damage is rolled separately for each target, however the difficulty of each shot goes up by one for each additional target after the first. Ambush Unless the players succeed at a Perception + Alertness roll at difficulty 4, they lose a turn to an ambush and cannot dodge. If they succeed at the Perception roll, players can take action as normal, however they can only roll one die per success gained on the Perception check. Two Weapons Duel wielding baby! You can fire two weapons at once, however if it is a two-handed, a Firearms of 4 is required. The player's Firearms + Dexterity pool is split between the two weapons with no further penalties. Aiming Perception can be added to Dexterity + Firearms pool to aim, however it takes one turn per die added to the attack pool. Target cannot be moving faster than a walk. Shotguns and SMG’s cannot be aimed. Scopes add a +2 to the pool on top of any additional die gained from adding Perception. Example: After the +3 in the first round (+2 for scope and +1 for Perception), one die is added for each successive round up to the players Perception score as noted above. Unjamming a Gun The turn after a gun jams requires a Firearms + Wits at Difficulty 5. If successful, the player may fire again the next turn as normal. If the roll fails, the player must spend the next turn attempting to unjam the gun. Unjamming a gun is the only action that can be taken in a turn when this occurs.  Body Armor Humans and Vampires who wear body armor can make soak rolls. Each type of body armor has a different armor rating that denotes the number of soak dice gained. Each success rolled cancels one damage success however unlike a normal vampiric soak roll, botching does not indicate Agg damage, rather botching indicates a permanent loss of rating for the armor.  The “Penalty” listed on the chart indicates the difficulty increase made to all Dexterity rolls. At class five armor, characters take a -2 on all Perception rolls due to helmets. Stunt Driving Each vehicle on the chart is rated for its maximum safe driving speed and maneuverability. Players roll their Drive + Dexterity (or Perception) with the max number of die allowed for a maneuver coming from the Maneuverability rating, with the difficulty dependent on difficulty of the action as well as how fast the vehicle is going (AKA: Let the ST figure that poo poo out). ST’s should designate a speed associated with the difficulty, generally the “Safe Speed” on the chart. Difficulty should be increased by one for every 10 mph over the safe speed the vehicle is driving at. Pursuit Similar to how Shadowing works, the target either starts with a number of successes determined by the ST or it is rolled with Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 6) to determine how much of a head start the target has/how many successes the player needs to catch up. Each character involved makes a Dex + Athletics roll with each success indicating they have moved further, failure indicates faltering and botching indicates they have fallen and cannot act on the next turn (takes a turn to stand up after all). If the pursuer gains make successes than the pursued in a turn, they have closed the distance by that number of successes. The same applies for the pursued, and if enough of a lead is gained (7-20 successes depending on terrain) then they have escaped. Stealing Stealing is wrong, but sometimes it’s the only solution a vampire can take. If a character has a Humanity above 7, the ST may want to call for a Humanity roll. If the theft was just a lovely action in general, you can make characters of 7 and below also make Humanity rolls. Shoplifting Dexterity + Streetwise with a variable difficulty depending on circumstance. Generally the difficulty is an 8. Failure indicates you’ve been spotted while a botch indicates you’ve been caught red handed. The number of successes scored on the Dex + Streetwise roll determines the difficulty of the shopkeepers Perception + Alertness roll. One success indicates they are highly suspicious while 5 successes indicate they’ve caught the character. Perception + Streetwise (difficulty 8) can be rolled to determine if the player is being watched and each success cancels the shopkeeper's successes. Pickpocketing Dexterity + Streetwise depending on circumstance. Number of successes determines the difficulty of the targets Perception + Alertness roll. Target needs to gain more successes than the pickpocket. One success means the target unconsciously moves away, two successes means they turn to look but are unaware of what is happening, while at three successes they know what is happening. Botching for the player means the target has caught them. Cat-Burglar Should be roleplayed with lots of Stealth and Perception rolls. ST’s determine how effectively the player accomplishes what they are attempting. Holdup Manipulation + Intimidation against a difficulty of the shopkeeper’s Willpower score. A gun or some other demonstration of force must be made for the intimidation to be effective. Each success rolled indicates the shopkeeper is intimidated for 1 minute. Failure indicates the shopkeeper is angry and may try something while botching indicates the shopkeeper will try something. If the shopkeeper is hurt or killed as a result of the character's actions, a Humanity roll is required. Social Seduction Oh hey it's the seduction rules. While Vampires can easily use Dominate or Presence to seduce mortals, many prefer the hunt. Depending on the Nature of the character, Willpower can be regained from a successful seduction. Hedonists, Connivers and Gallants can all regain 1 Willpower through successful seduction.
Fast Talk How to browbeat or confuse a target into submission. Player’s roll Manipulation + Streetwise or Charisma/Appearance vs the targets Wits + Streetwise. Each success removes one die from the target’s pool for the next round. Willpower can be used to resist. Failure on the players roll indicates their attempt has faltered and the target can attempt to interject. Botching indicates that the target is not confused, but angry and Fast Talk can no longer be used by the player against this character. Fitting In Vampires don’t always fit in, and this can cause problems depending on where the players are. Charisma + Etiquette is the roll, however the Trait can change depending on the subgroup or culture the player is attempting to fit in with (Strength, Presence, Guile or Intelligence can all be used, though the players should figure this out on their own from hits offered by the ST) Difficulty is assumed to be a 6, but can be higher or lower depending on the group. Each success scored gives the player one die to roll in another Social roll with that group. When interacting with this group, the player can only roll as many die as they have earned with that group. Oration Generally giving a speech should be roleplayed, however if the player (or ST) doesn’t want to bother with that, a Charisma + Leadership roll is made at a difficulty 7. The orator has a reputation the difficulty can be adjusted +/-3, and the Fame or Status scores can be added to the pool if the group being spoken to is associated with either of those stats. Players get one shot at this roll, with failure indicating they have been ignored while a botch indicates the crowd has turned on the speaker and things could potentially get ugly.  If the speech is vital to the story, multiple attempts can be made or it can be turned into an extended action, however after the third turn, the difficulty increases by one. Interrogation No torture rules because that’s up to you to come up with you little freaks. Manipulation + Intimidation is the roll with a difficulty being the target’s Manipulation + Wits. Number of successes indicates the amount of information gained (per the chart) while failure indicates nothing of value was gained, and botching indicates the target either gives no information and will never give information or lies.  Credibility Used to attempt to persuade a target that you are telling them the truth. Player’s make Manipulation + Leadership, difficulty is the target's Intelligence + Subterfuge. The difficulty can be lowered by 1-3 depending on if the player is telling the truth. Each success indicates a higher degree of believability with five successes indicating the target is completely convinced. Failure indicates disbelief and a botch indicates the player is caught in a lie or the target believes they’ve caught the player in a lie. The Facedown Used for duels of Will when neither person wants to be the first to back down. Both player and target roll Charisma + Intimidation, difficulty is the opponents Willpower. Winner is whoever gains successes equal to the targets Wits+5. Willpower can be used to resist looking away when the facedown has been lost, however eventually the player will run out of Willpower. Performances Used for any kind of performance, player’s roll the appropriate Attribute + Ability at a difficulty determined by the ST. Failure indicates a lackluster, forgettable performance while botching indicates the performance is so bad it cannot be finished. Number of successes relates to how moved the crowd is by the performance per the chart.  Mental quote:“Trieste, Italy–Gun toting toughs hijacked a bloodmobile near the Italian-Yugoslavian border, stealing hundreds of pints of freshly drawn blood–and lawmen blame the robbery or vicious, thirst crazed Vampires!” Research Players roll Intelligence + Investigation or the appropriate Knowledge with the difficulty determined by the chart below.  Number of successes determines how much information is gained, and depending on what information is being sought, 10-20 successes may be needed to obtain it all. Basic research takes an hour or 1 roll. A second roll takes a day, a third a week, a fourth a month, a fifth a year and so on. If the player wishes to take another shot at the roll due to a failure, the length of time is doubled and Perception should be rolled instead of Intelligence. The difficulty also increases by 1. Composition Intelligence + Appropriate Ability, difficulty is determined by the player, however the higher the difficulty, the more complicated and elegant the final product. Each success indicates how original, creative and worthy the piece is and can be used by the ST to determine the reactions to the piece. Recollection Player rolls Intelligence + appropriate Ability with a difficulty determined by the ST, though usually under 7. Number of successes indicates how much the character remembers. Failure means nothing was learned and botching indicates that what the character remembers is wrong.  Track Used to follow a physical trail left by a target. Perception + Survival or Investigation in a city, with the difficulty determined by the ST depending on weather, terrain and age of tracks (usually an 8) Each success lowers the difficulty of the next roll by one. Number of successes required to complete tracking is up to the ST. If the player misses a roll, they can try again, with the difficulty increasing by one each time. Once the difficulty has risen to 10, the trail is lost. Forgery Lets forge some documents! Two rolls are required and players can only roll as many dice on the second roll as they gained in successes on the first roll. Roll one is Intelligence + Bureaucracy (or Linguistics) at an average difficulty of 6. Failure indicates not enough is known about the documents and research must be done. Botching means the players have no idea what they’re doing and cannot attempt the roll again unless new information is gained first. Roll two is Dexterity + Bureaucracy at difficulty 6, each success is a higher grade of forgery per the chart. Failure means the paperwork isn’t passable at all and the player cannot attempt again. Botching means a fatal flaw was made which would be noticed immediately by anyone with knowledge of the paperwork.  Tomorrow: The rest of Chapter 6 and part of Chapter 7
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Apr 29, 2023 18:07
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Lemon-Lime posted:It's essentially FF14 fanart, so not really hitting Fire Emblem notes. Dawgstar posted:I get what they're saying. Fire Emblem does love (or at least did before Three Houses when everybody wears a uniform) for its characters to dress for the job they want. It works on both levels. Runa posted:To second your post, not only is that illustration directly emulating the art style of the official art that gets posted on the ffxiv official community news site, players familiar with the game can actually see what armor pieces inspired which outfits. Including a white-dyed 2B dress from the Nier crossover alliance raid. Lemon-Lime posted:The artist (Catthy Trinh) does FF14 comms and her art generally owns: https://twitter.com/CatthyTrinhArt I'm fully capable of admitting when I'm wrong, especially considering I've never played FF14. Hell, my only experience with Fire Emblem is from seeing all the clones of swordy guys in Smash and also lately from playing that phone game that gives a brazilian Nintendo points for very little effort Gotta say, though, I'm also kinda not wrong? Unreasonably quick-and-dirty MS Paint job, because I'm on a laptop that's loudly protesting having wiki pages open: Eh, it's all pulling from the same "Western fantasy seen through decades of iterative JRPGs" design lenses in the end, I just felt like defending myself. Y'all enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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Apr 30, 2023 05:08
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AmiYumi posted:Eh, it's all pulling from the same "Western fantasy seen through decades of iterative JRPGs" design lenses in the end, I just felt like defending myself. Y'all enjoy the rest of your weekend. Sorry, but you were very slightly wrong about some incredibly inconsequential detail on the Internet, so the punishment is death.
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Apr 30, 2023 10:51
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Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness presents Vampire: The Masquerade 1st Edition Part 8 Search For use in searching confined spaces such as rooms. Perception + Investigation at a difficulty of 7-10 determined by the ST. Each success indicates more has been found. ST’s are encouraged to have the players talk through their search step by step, describing where they are looking. Automatic success rule can be applied if the players description is detailed enough. Cryptology Break some codes. Intelligence + Linguistics at a difficulty of 8-10, and can be an Intelligence + Computers roll if the player is using a computer (lowering the difficulty by 1) Each success indicates more of the code being broken, and multiple rolls can be made to accumulate successes (2-20 depending on difficulty). Failure means that all accumulated successes are wiped, and decoding must be restarted from the beginning. Botching means complete failure and no further attempts can be made. Creating a code works under the same rules, however the players can only make 3 rolls at a difficulty 5. Number of successes indicates the number of successes required to crack the code. Safecracking Players need a Security rating of 4 to attempt safecracking, and even then the ST should not allow it unless the player has an explanation for where they learned this skill or after a short period of research. Security + Perception is the roll against a difficulty based on the solidity of the safe and the tools being used. A number of successes are needed to crack the safe with failure meaning the safe cannot be opened and will show evidence of the attempt to whoever sees it next. Botching means an alarm has sounded. Next up we’ve got the usual Example Play along with the rules used to achieve the effects laid out in the example section. It’s fine, although the plot of the example is a group of players who have gathered at an Anarch meeting point, the Sheriff arrives and all hell breaks loose. The biggest complaint I have about this segment is that one of the player characters is a Brujah child. Nothing inherently wrong with that as a concept, the issue is that this character (named Travis) is regularly referred to throughout the example as “Little black boy”. The other two player characters are addressed by their names, but poor Travis is always “little black boy” which just feels extremely gross and weird. That brings us to the end of chapter six. Most of the rules in this chapter are not that different from similar rules already explored in the other corebooks, although we do get a few unique ones here like the various methods of theft and safecracking. I feel like dual wielding guns was probably a thing in the other books but I just don’t remember the gun rules from the other books because good lord did you look at that gun chart? Pursuit and Shadowing are essentially the same thing using the same rules, and I feel like they were rolled into each other in the later books or Pursuit was just dropped in favor of Shadowing. Really my biggest complaint, and this goes for all the WoD corebooks I’ve read, is the authors spend paragraphs on describing one of these elements when all that’s really needed is a very basic explanation along with the mechanics. While I appreciate the effort, it feels like padding at times when I just want to know what the Attribute + Ability and difficulty are. With all that said, let’s keep rocking as we dive into the final chunk of the book. Book Three: The Riddle   Chapter Seven: Setting  quote:“And the Lord said unto him, ‘Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him” Finally friends we have arrived at what is generally my favorite chapters of these corebooks, the settings chapter. Our opening paragraph is similar enough to the other books, but I’ll simply quote the authors and their initial explanation: quote:“The world of Vampires is not our world. It is a Gothic-Punk vision of our world–monolithic, majestic and very twisted. The entire society is corrupt and the mortals are helpless to do anything about it. It is a world where the forces of evil and chaos are even stronger than they are in our world (although that may be hard to believe). In general there is nothing all that different, CD’s are in, vinyl is out, the ozone layer is being depleted, and the same soap operas are still playing. The same faces are on Mount Rushmore and the Lady still stands proudly in New York Harbor. It is a world where Vampires exist, and they direct and have influenced the course of history for some time. It is because of the existence of Vampires in this world that it is different. I really like this explanation, and I’m tickled by the bit about vinyl being out, especially considering the resurgence it’s had in the last ten to fifteen years. The Touch of Death Gothic in this context describes the institutions of the world. The Church is stronger because people often turn to the Church during times of crisis. Institutions controlled by Vampires are more conservative and resistant to change than in our own world. This is also reflected in architecture, as a more gothic style pervades and gargoyles top some skyscrapers. Or not, it’s your choice. Punk in this context describes the way in which people live, with gangs ruling the streets and a Mafia that was never reigned in. The world is a more corrupt, decadent and less humane place than our own world. Storytellers are encouraged to simply amplify the problems they see in our own world to represent the punk aspects of the setting. Ultimately it will be the ST who decides what the “Gothic-Punk” world is, as the differences are too numerous and subtle to completely express here, and it is their job to convey these elements through their descriptions, the characters they play and the stories they tell. Remember that everything and anything can add Gothic-Punk flavor. Streets of Blood City life is at the heart of the Vampire existence, where long periods of calm can shift without warning into periods of strife and turmoil, and a vampires obsessions and perversions will inevitably bring them into conflict with another of their kind. While Kindred can live in peace for years, it is a fragile peace that eventually gives way to cannibalistic warring. The Jyhad never truly ends, only casting a shorter shadow for a time. Generally, a balance is struck in each city, either implicit or explicit and efforts are made to minimize conflicts. When conflict is unavoidable, it is often carefully hidden under the veil of the Masquerade and is rarely noticed by the mortals of a city. Many simply take no part in Kindred society, maintaining no connecting with other Kindred. These Kindred are typically Caitiff, or the Clanless. Cities are big and so avoiding other Kindred isn’t that hard, as some say that the only Vampires who you’ll meet are the ones who wish to be met. Sometimes however even the most solitary Kindred can be thrust into local politics, in times of need any Kindred can be rooted out for questioning, and Justicars are known for hunting these solitary Kindred down to be scapegoats. Kindred work hard to develop some semblance of a normal life to try and escape the sordid reality of their existence. While this facade will eventually fall apart as the years go by, the pleasures this normalcy can provide in the here and now is tempting. Some believe that this facade is needed to maintain a Kindred’s sanity, as falling into “Vampire Schtick” of cinema and literature often causes despair and leads to eventual mental degradation. Because much of the mortal psyche survives the Becoming, it becomes overburdened by the supernatural drives, desires and obsessions, and so the self deception of a “normal” life is required to retain one’s sanity. Confinement Either by agreement or by nature, the Vampires are creatures of the city, while the countryside and wild areas are left to the Werewolves. This suits most Kindred, as a few square blocks of even the smallest city can provide enough vessels. Younger Kindred however sometimes feel the desire to roam, but this dissipates with time and age. The older the Vampire, the more comfortable they likely are with their chosen Haven. Those that leave the cities will inevitably come into contact with Werewolves, and the hatred between the Garou and Kindred runs deep. Fortunately for the Kindred, modern transportation makes travel from city to city more convenient and safe. While the city may be their home, it is also a prison, a cell the Kindred can never leave and it is this tension of being trapped in a gilded cage that eventually drives the Kindred to war with each other. Population Like any other animal, Vampires must obey evolutionary laws and dictates of their environment. With this in mind there are limitations to how many Kindred a city can support. When the Kindred population crosses that threshold, natural factors kick in and begin to whittle the population back down. As no other creatures prey on Vampires (other than themselves and Garou), Kindred regulate their own numbers through intense competition. Elders are all too aware of the Inquisition and that too many Kindred will draw mortal attention, thus the limited number of Kindred that live in any given city. In the past, a single Kindred lived in each city, claiming it wholly as their domain, which worked great when cities were small. Unfortunately, as cities have grown in size, so has the Kindred population. A city like San Francisco or Frankfurt normally supports a Kindred population of 20-50, depending on the circumstances of the city. A larger city like New York or London have considerably larger Kindred populations. As a rule of thumb, assume that there is 1 vampire for every 100,000 mortals, so the greater Chicago metro area, a region of 7 million (up to 9.6 million as of 2020 census data) can support 70 vampires, and a Prince will often regulate how many vampires live in a city, ensuring the sanctity of the Masquerade. While cities could hold more Kindred, the Elders are always focused on the Masquerade, and if a few Anarchs have to die to keep the Inquisition from rising again, well so be it. Social Distinctions Vampire society is divided into a caste system based primarily around age, with the highest status being given to the Antediluvians or the Third Generation, while the lowest status are Childer and Autarkis. Caitiff While most Caitiff are “normal”, despite their lack of Class association, some have degenerated to the point that they only feed on the weak and dying. Some choose to live apart from Kindred society though most have been cast out. Some Caitiff were once part of Kindred society, but lost so much of their Humanity that they know only survival and living day by day. The Caitiff are essentially the homeless of the Kindred species. (Status 0) Childe Any Kindred who has not been presented to the Prince or released by their Sire is considered a Childe and is not a full member of Camarilla society. They are treated as children and the term is often used in contempt for those who have committed especially stupid acts. (Status 0) Neonate The newly released and presented kindred is known as a Neonate. If they behave and do not seek out the Anarchs, within 50-100 years they will be considered Ancilla. (Status 1) Anarch Enemies to the Elders and the Prince, the Anarchs have none the less carved out a niche of respect from the greater Kindred society with the little power they have claimed. By rebelling, they have given themselves an identity (Status 1-2) Ancilla While still young, these Kindred have proven themselves to the Elders, and this is considered the middle age between Neonate and Elder. Typically the Brood of a Prince will be considered Ancilla, even if they are younger than most Ancilla. Anarchs are never considered Ancilla no matter what their age (Status 2) Elder Elders are the ones who control Kindred society, usually between 200-1000 years old, though in Europe, Elders are usually much older than those who would be considered Elders in the “New World” (Status 2-5) Methuselah Kindred who reach a certain age, typically somewhere between 1000 and 2000 years of immortality undergo a profound change, though it is unclear if this change is mystical or biological. Regardless, at this age a sort of melancholy can set in, as well as a desire to prolong ones existence. Those that are weak, take risks or unconsciously desire suicide do not survive to this age. As a form of self-protection, these Kindred often retreat from the world and the younger Kindred who seek the power that flows in their veins. Many seek to join the Inconnu, while some remain in the Jyhad, though from a place of complete anonymity. (Status 5-9) Antediluvian The oldest and most powerful Kindred in existence, except for Caine. When they do involve themselves in Kindred affairs, they seldom leave things unblemished by their touch. A word from an Antediluvian is enough to provoke conflict and war amongst the Kindred. Theirs is the Jyhad whose ripples affect all. (Status 10) The Prince The last half thousand years of Kindred existence has produced a new kind of rulership. After the fall of the 3rd Generation, the Kindred accepted no rulers above them, each taking control of their own cities. With the expansion of cities however, a new power rose, that of the Prince, an elder who holds Domain over any urban, metropolitan area. Formally, the Prince holds the power of Domain and is expected to uphold the laws as well as keeping order. Practically speaking the Prince is just the one with enough power to dominate a city and keep the Anarchs in check. Originally the title would go to whoever was the most dominant Kindred in the city, but in time Traditions have grown around claiming and holding this power, codified and enforced by the Camarilla. “Prince” is of course just a term, and bears no holdings nor is it a hereditary position, and many Kindred object to the term for this reason. Those nerds can shut up though because it’s just what the Cam has settled on to call “The rear end in a top hat in charge of a city”. Of course not every city has a Prince, and some rule by council. In some places terms such as Duke, Baron or Count (or their culturally appropriate forms) are used. A Prince does not actually rule over a city, instead simply overseeing it. They are the final arbiter of disputes between the Kindred of their city and responsible for the preservation of the Masquerade. Most Elders take this to mean that the Prince must suppress and persecute the Anarchs. Of course, Kindred of a city owe no oath of fealty to a Prince, and must obey a Prince’s commands only as far as their cowardice allows. If a Prince is questioned or thwarted, they must respond with force, and those who do not see their reign come to an end. Some Prince’s take their position entirely too seriously and act as kings with great emphasis on protocol and ritual. Many Kindred, however, give zero shits about what the Prince has to say, ignoring them as they do any other Kindred. The Caitiff fall into this group, and while some Princes consider them nothing more than Autuarkis, they are generally left alone by other Kindred. The Inconnu and many of the more powerful Elders are unimpressed with the whole “Prince” thing, seeing it as a title of arrogance for one who is still young enough to lust for power. When the Inconnu come to town, it is the Prince that bows to them, not the other way round. Selection Traditionally, the Prince is the eldest Kindred in a city, though this is no longer a hard and fast rule. The assumption to power varies from city to city and from Prince to Prince. Normally they will need to gather the support of the other Elders of the city, known as the Primogen Council. Once enough of the Primogen are backing them, a Kindred can make their grab for power. Anyone is allowed to make a claim for the title, but only when none oppose them can they assume power over a city. If there is a challenge, then the contenders must war until one is victorious. This can be an incredibly dangerous time as the fighting can spill over into mortal affairs and threaten the Masquerade. Because of this, once the Primogen or other Elders have made their stand with one or another Kindred seeking Princedom, they do not switch sides. Once a victor has been decided, the loser is put to the Final Death, as the long-sighted Elders would never allow mercy. Coups are hard, especially since the Prince typically embraces a Brood of their own to help protect themselves. The other danger of an attempted coup is that the would-be insurgents not only must face the power of the Prince, but also the united power of the city's Elders. Most Elders support the Prince simply to avoid the conflict and turmoil that opposing them would cause. You don’t become an Elder without learning how to protect yourself and cultivating a safe environment for yourself. The Primogen Council has become synonymous within the Anarch movement with sticks in the mud, and without the support of the Primogen, it is nearly impossible to challenge a Prince. Many have tried, and many have failed before they even began, thanks to the machinations of the Primogen. Politics Living in a city overseen by a Prince means that a Kindred must accept certain obligations. While the city provides a certain security to all who reside within, certain rules are to be followed to maintain that security. These rules are nearly universal and are known as the Traditions. These are the oldest known Kindred laws and it is up to the Prince to enforce them. A Kindred moving from San Francisco to Moscow should assume that the Traditions apply in their new city, as ignorance is no defense. The Anarchs by contrast rebel against the Traditions, believing there is little to fear in the modern world, with some believing the Masquerade is simply the manifestation of Kindred who have grown too old and fearful. Most Anarchs don’t believe in Gehenna, and some doubt the Caine myth entirely, suspecting that these stories are simply the creation of the Elders to keep the Ancilla in line. The Anarchs are considered to be a development of the modern age, of the changes modernity has had on mortals reflecting on Kindred kind, and some fear that as mortal societies continue to change, even more rebellious Anarchs will arise. Most Elders however simply trust that time and circumstance will wipe out the most obnoxious of the Anarchs before they can achieve any form of real power. Advantages of Princedom Players may eventually seek the position of Prince, and there are several advantages that come with such a position.
Backing of the Elders: The Primogen will support you as long as you maintain the Masquerade and suppress the Anarchs. Political Power within the Camarilla: Increased status (automatically raise to 5 upon becoming Prince) and most Elders will listen to you. Right to Question and Restrict: This is a Traditional right that can be exerted over all Kindred who enter your city, who must report to you upon their arrival, and it is within your rights to punish them if they do not. Freedom to Feed: As prince you may feed from any mortals within the city and can limit the feeding of others. Power over your Enemies: Because a Prince can call for a Blood Hunt, you have the power of life and death over all who cross you. You cannot kill at will, but if you determine that a Tradition has been broken, you may punish the guilty accordingly. The Traditions quote:“Now this is the Law of the Jungle– Rudyard Kipling, the Law of the Jungle The laws of Kindred society are known as the Traditions, and while not written down, they have been passed down from Caine himself (maybe…probably). While there are variations of the Traditions across the world, despite the difference in words, the intent is the same. When recalled at Conclaves, the Traditions are recited as a Sire would to their Childer. Many Elders claim that the Traditions are from Caine himself, while the more likely answer is that they come from the Antediluvians as a way to attempt to control their progeny.  The First Tradition: Acceptance This tradition predates the rise of Princes as the heads of Kindred society, when cites were the sole domain of a singular Kindred. It is a tradition of courtesy more than anything else, though as the office of Prince has become more common, it has become a useful tool in maintaining the power of the Prince. The procedures related to this tradition vary in formality from city to city, with some requiring formal presentation and recitation of lineage, while others are happy with a new Kindred simply introducing themselves to one of the Prince’s court. To not introduce yourself is to risk the anger of the Prince. Some, of course, are too proud or too independently minded to follow this tradition, such as the Anarchs who have little respect for this tradition, and Methuselahs who have little respect for Princes, as they see themselves as gods among mortals and to bow before another, especially one weaker than themselves is too great an insult to consider. Others simply never present themselves, instead choosing to live out their unlives in the dark corners of cities rarely venturing out, a common tactic for the Nosferatu. Those that refuse to take part in this tradition and greater Kindred society are known as Autarkis. A Prince of course has the right to refuse entrance into their city if a Kindred is of too low a status or has too many enemies, though this is rare, and even those that do not present themselves that are eventually found are are typically dragged before the Prince, hastily introduced and the kicked back to the streets. The less lucky are thrown out of the city. The Second Tradition: Domain A more effective tradition prior to the expansion of cities, this has more or less become simply part of the powers of the Prince, as they are generally the most powerful Kindred in the city. Claiming Domain within a city or “turf” is often difficult and while a Prince may allow trusted Kindred to take domain over parts of a city, this is simply another way for the Prince to extend their reach over a city. The Anarchs, ever the young and rebellious lot that they are, have decided to simply take the territory they will not be given, and while these small patches of territory are often nothing more than a block or two, it represents an element of power for the young upstarts. While they may fight amongst themselves over their small bits of turf, few will attempt to stop an Elder from feeding in their territory, and so long as they do not prove themselves to be a threat to the Masquerade, most Princes will simply let them be. Better to let the Anarchs suppress themselves than have to waste valuable Camarilla lives right? In cities where a Prince does not have as firm a grip on things, other Elders may claim Domain over areas of the city, so long as they have the support of the other Elders, this will usually be tolerated by the Prince, though this does create new political power dynamics within the city. Regardless, all Kindred are expected, to some degree, to be responsible for their Haven and the immediate area around it. While they need not concern themselves with the mortal doings, any unusual or supernatural events that occur are expected to be reported to the Prince. The Third Tradition: The Becoming While one’s Elder has traditionally been a Kindred’s Sire, a looser interpretation of the tradition has arisen alongside the rise of Princes, as many Princes claim they are the Elder being spoken of in the tradition, thus denying permission to create progeny to all who reside in their domains unless given explicitly permission. Most Kindred obey this tradition, more out of fear than out of respect for power. If a Neonate has already been created without the Prince’s permission, they may take the new Kindred in as their own while casting the sire out, or they may both be put to death. The Camarilla officially endorses the interpretation of the Prince holding this power, knowing that it is the only way to control the population of Anarchs from growing further. European Kindred are far stricter about this tradition, as a Kindred must first consult their own Sire and the Prince for permission before embracing a mortal. To skirt this is suicidal. The Fourth Tradition: The Accounting Until a Sire releases their Childe, their progeny is entirely their responsibility, and any transgressions committed by the Childe fall onto the Sire, as well as it being the responsibility of the Sire to destroy their own progeny if they are unable to handle their new existence. Until the Childe has been presented to the Prince, the Prince of a city has no obligation to acknowledge the Childe, and even after being presented if the Prince does not accept them, the newly released Neonate will be forced out of the city. Once released, it is up to the Neonate to prove themselves to be a respectable member of Camarilla society. The Fifth Tradition: Secrecy More commonly known as simply The Masquerade, this tradition intended to keep the entire Kindred population safe. Violation of this tradition is a grave sin, and potentially dooms not only the violator but all Kindred to Final Death. The Sixth Tradition: Destruction This tradition is in a semi constant state of reinterpretation and discussion. In the simplest interpretation, it means that only the Sire has the right to destroy their own progeny. Of course with Princes becoming the common figurehead Elder of a city, this power has fallen onto their shoulders, and the Camarilla supports this interpretation that only a Prince may slay another Kindred within their domain. Those that are caught in the act or found to have killed another Kindred are often executed by the Prince after an investigation has been completed. The only time this tradition is waved officially is when a Prince calls for a Blood Hunt, at which point all Kindred of the city are free to slay the target of the Blood Hunt. Speaking of Blood Hunts…. Blood Hunt The Traditions do not stand without a system of enforcement behind them, and the most powerful of these punishments is the Blood Hunt. Whenever Kindred conflict becomes too great that it threatens to the Masquerade or one of the Traditions has been violated spectacularly, then the Prince may call a Blood Hunt. Assisting or protecting the target of a Blood Hunt is considered an insult to the Prince and is likely to get a Hunt called down upon the other Kindred as well. While not every Kindred of a city is expected to partake in the hunt, not taking part could also be considered a slight against the Prince worthy of retribution. Blood Hunts are not a formal hunt in the sense of Kindred gathering with packs of hounds to scour a city when the Prince blows the ceremonial horn, instead each Kindred involved simply searches the city and communicates amongst themselves to relay information about the target until they are found. The target of a Hunt is considered persona non grata, and all who participate in the Hunt are empowered, in the name of the Prince, to execute judgment on the target, including consuming their blood. Blood Hunts are not called lightly, and often require an informal tribunal before being called, some allowing the offender to plead their case and accept banishment instead of death, however if the Hunt is called and the offender escapes the city, they may take refuge elsewhere but they can never return to the city where the Hunt was called, as once the Hunt has been put in motion, it cannot be called off until the offender has been dealt with, and considering the Kindred are immortal, if you had a Hunt called on in you Seattle in 1945 and you escaped, if you try to get back into Seattle in 2045, they’re still coming for your rear end. On rare occasions, when the crimes of an offender are great enough, emissaries are sent to other cities so that the Hunt can be called there as well. The most famous example of this was the Whitechapel slayings that occurred in the late 19th century in England. A hunt was called against the offender in most of mainland Europe and North America, though the target was never found. Bloodlines Lineage amongst the Kindred is of great importance, as much of the respect a Kindred earns is tied to their Sire and their Sire’s Sire, and so on. Even the biggest dipshit is afforded some amount of respect if their lineage is important enough. Lineage has lost some of its importance in the modern nights, as recent generations have less and less connection to their elders. Despite this, there are still powerful bloodlines that can be traced directly to an Elder, usually of the 3rd Generation. While these founders may no longer exist, or have simply gone to ground, the power of their bloodline remains. The seven clans of the Camarilla are the primary Clans that players will interact with, and while there are other Clans, they are either in Sabbat controlled cities or part of Clan strongholds. Brujah Tracing their lineage to Babylonia, the Brujah weren’t always the rebellious malcontents they’re seen as in the modern nights. At one time they were the secret rulers of Carthage, however once the Romans destroyed the city the clan decided they would never again seek to hold power as they had, which has led to the Elders of the clan supporting the Anarch movement. For a millennium, the Brujah have been the rebels of Kindred society, constantly pushing, questioning and testing the Traditions and the patience of the Camarilla. If reminded of their imperial past, some Brujah will become extremely angry, while others are simply unaware of the history. To the Brujah, there is no time like the present, and the past is of little importance. Gangrel The only clan whose founder is still actively involved and concerned with her offspring, as well as her mortal descendants the Roma. While most Antediluvians use their progeny as pawns in their great Jyhad, the Gangrel by contrast are proud of their freedom from such manipulations. As Gehenna draws closer, it seems that the clan’s connection with their mortal brothers and sisters of the Roma grows closer. Malkavian The truth of this clan’s history is shrouded in mystery. Not to say the clan doesn’t have numerous stories about their origins, just that they are so numerous that it’s hard to get the clan to agree which stories are actually true or utter fabrication. The most commonly spoken legend relates to the clan’s founder being cursed by Caine with a madness that would be passed down through the bloodline. It’s said that before the curse was laid upon them, the Malkavian founder was the greatest of the Third Generation. Nosferatu Cursed to bear the visage of the monster they have become, the Nosferatu are generally cool headed, in stark contrast with their founder who was known for his rabid tastes and monstrous impulses. Despite their tendency to draw from the dregs of mortal society, this clan seems to be the most sane and stable. Like the founder of the Malkavian clan, it is said that the Nosferatu founder was cursed by Caine for his savage acts. Of course, many clans have stories of their founders being cursed by Caine, and while not likely that all of these stories are true, it certainly explains the Nosferatu curse. Toreador As long as there have been artists, the Toreador have been involved, dating back to the birth of the bloodline with the first progeny of the founder, a pair of beautiful and artistically gifted twins. With the freedom he afforded them, they nurtured the art world while being protected from wars and famine. To this night, the clan claim that their founder Arikel still watches over them. While not as formally organized as some of the other clans, the Toreador are nonetheless extremely loyal to their own and to the arts they serve. Tremere Few clans can claim as unique a history as the Tremere. Once there were members of this clan who were not warlocks, just as the clan did not at the time have a mastery of Thaumaturgy. However, less than a thousand years ago, deep in the forests of Transylvania a group of mages from an ancient order of wizards were embraced by the elder of the clan. By combining their new powers with their ancient lore, these wizards soon assumed control of the clan, embracing numerous progeny from their former arcane order. It is rumored that Tremere himself hunted down and slayed the founder of the clan. Because of their strict hierarchy and the whole “Wizards who turned into Vampires” thing, the other clans are rightfully, deeply distrustful of the Tremere. Ventrue The Ventrue suspect that that their founder was slain and replaced by a member of the Brujah. While this is certainly a blow to the clan’s pride, this detachment from their Antediluvian has given them the chance to rise in power within Kindred society. Most Princes and Justicars are of the Ventrue clan, and they have become the defacto leaders of the Camarilla. While the clan holds regular clan meetings all over the world, they gather every seven years for a Grand Council in London. Other Clans There are other clans, with the rumor being that there are in fact 13 clans in total, though it is possible more bloodlines exist, hidden away around the world, especially considering the Kindred of the East who are very mysterious. Of these other clans, the most well known are the Giovanni and the Followers of Set. Additional information about these clans will be provided in additional books, but ST’s are encouraged to simply create their own unique clans as needed. Caitiff The clanless are considered independents or Anarchs, though not all Caitiff are outcasts. The combination of their thinned blood and lack of training from a Sire pushes them to the fringes of Kindred society, and as a more recent phenomena, many Elders look on them with disdain. Sects With lineage slowly losing its importance in the modern nights, Sects have taken on a greater importance. More than half of all Kindred in the world are members of one sect or another, while the rest remain independent or exclusively tied to their own clan. The most dominant sect of Kindred society is of course the Camarilla, with the much smaller but no less dangerous Sabbat fighting them at every turn. While the Inconnu do not see themselves as a sect, they are nonetheless a powerful group of Kindred who have stepped out of the Camarilla/Sabbat conflict entirely. Camarilla The single largest sect of Kindred, any vampire may claim membership regardless of their lineage or association. To the leaders of the Camarilla, all vampires are members of the sect, unless they’ve explicitly thrown in with the Anarchs or Sabbat. The Masquerade, and its preservation and maintenance is the Camarilla’s priority and has been since the sects creation in the 14th century as a response to the Inquisition. While they are the largest sect, the Camarilla hold no power over the Ancients who have no desire for any group to thwart their schemes, leaving the sect somewhat weak and only of moderate influence. Legends say that the Ventrue played the primary role in bringing the clans together to from the Camarilla, and it was their efforts and imaginations that brought forth the alliance. Each of the seven named clans were involved in the formation of the sect, and while others were invited, they were not present. As such, individual members of the other clans and bloodlines may join, but this does not mean that their entire clans have been welcomed into the organization. According to the Camarilla, the Antediluvians do not exist, and while they may entertain the discussion at conclaves, the party line is that they simply do not exist. Conclave Conclaves are important and often potentially dangerous events. Open to all, great care is taken to insure the secrecy of the location of a Conclave before the gathering, as well as with physical security during the event. Enemies of the Camarilla could take these events as opportunities for mass destruction. To alleviate some of this risk, during the Conclave, all participants are kept locked in the meeting chambers by the retainers of the Justicars. Typically, a Conclave is only called when needed and in a geographic location related to the issue at hand. Tradition says that only a Justicar may call a Conclave, and those who attend are known as the Assembly. The Assembly members may address the Conclave if they have the support of at least two other members of the Conclave. Each Kindred in attendance is afforded one vote with the Justicar acting as chairman. Conclaves serve the primary purpose of addressing concerns related to the matters for which the Conclave was called. Essentially any matter that could be considered a breach of the Traditions must be discussed and agreed upon by the Conclave. New Traditions can also be borne from Conclaves, as well as Blood Hunts being called, even on a Prince. Decisions made at a Conclave can be challenged through an Ordeal, usually an exacting trial, mission or quest, however if the Ordeal is not completed to the satisfaction of the Justicar, they can assign a penalty. The Blood Hunt is not the only punishment available to the Camarilla, as the practice known as the Blood Chalice is possibly an even worse fate. The Blood Chalice is a chalice that is filled with the blood of every member in attendance to the Conclave, and the offender is made to drink it. While they are only a third of the way towards a Blood Bond, this is usually enough to curb further infractions. Kindred populations seem to explode after Conclaves, as Princes reward those who supported them by allowing them to create progeny. Most Justicars hold regularly scheduled Conclaves. Every three years there is a Conclave in New Orleans overseen by a Gangrel Justicar named Xaviar. Inner Circle Every thirteen years, the elders of the seven clans gather, forming the true hub of power of the Camarilla. This gathering makes a Conclave look like a ladies knitting circle meeting by comparison. This meeting takes place in Venice as it has for the last 500 years. Each bloodline is allowed one representative to sit on the Inner Circle, and only this individual may vote though any who attend may speak. The eldest of the present clans is empowered to vote in the name of their clan. Primarily the Inner Circle exists to appoint Justicars, who are the judges of the Camarilla and once chosen, act of their own accord while keeping the decisions of the Inner Circle in mind. By decree of the Inner Circle, the Justicars hold the Right of Summary Justice, essentially the ability and permission to deal with members of the sect who have transgressed against the Traditions. These seven Justicars are the true power behind the throne. Appointment of a Justicar is a long process, as each major bloodline wants their chosen candidate to be appointed, however it is difficult to gain the support of the majority. The downside to losing such a political game is the appointment of a young or weak Justicar who is ignored for thirteen years. Justicar While the Conclave is forbidden by Tradition to pass judgment on members of the Camarilla, thus limiting their potential for abuse of power, the Justicar stands as the method of control available to the Conclave. Justicars are the only Kindred with any real authority, which they hold over all of the Camarilla and Kindred in general except for the Inner Circle. They are the ultimate power of adjudication and decision making with regard to violations of the Traditions and no member of the Camarilla is considered above them in this matter. The punishments for violation of Traditions are entirely up to the Justicars discretion, and their decisions are often harsh. While they’re supposed to convene a Conclave each time they wish to pass judgment, as time passes, the Justicars have accumulated more and more power, to the point they generally do not see a need to bother with a Conclave, though they can be called at anytime and will sometimes be done simply so the Justicar may avoid making a decision themselves. The judgement or actions taken by a Justicar can only be challenged by another Justicar. In situations of major disagreement, a Conclave is called and the Justicars hash things out. Most Elders resent the power of the Justicars, some even being outspoken in their opposition, while most simply accept them out of fear as most Justicars are quite old. Justicars often have Coteries that work for them, and these Kindred are known as Archons, typically blood bound to the Justicar they serve. They are the eyes and ears of the Justicars. The Sabbat AKA: The Black Hand, the Sabbat as a sect are said to have been born from a medieval death cult, and little has changed since. The Sabbat rules through fear, anger and violence, holding undisputed control of Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Portland in North America, and nearing complete control of Boston and Baltimore as well. Until fairly recently Miami was under their control as well, but recent events have seen a dramatic shift in power there. While members of the Sabbat come from various different bloodlines and clans, there are two who are primarily associated with the sect, The Lasombra and the Tzimisces. While its possible to join the Sabbat, nearly all of its members are embraced into the sect, and are organized into “Packs” that travel and feed as one. Initiation into the Sabbat is a real bad loving time, as it has been designed to completely destroy any will within the newly embraced. Initiates are slowly and painfully murdered, then fed the blood of as many members are present at the initiation. Once the blood is consumed, the initiate is buried alive and must dig their way out to live. Not everyone makes it out of the grave however, and those unfortunate souls are doomed to spend their eternity trapped in the ground. The process of digging oneself out of a grave is intended to strip the initiates Humanity from them, opening them to the subjugation of the sect. Once free, the initiate is Blood Bound to the pack that Embraced them in a ritual that occurs over three different nights. The Sabbat are solely concerned with power in all forms, actively engaging in diabolism and bearing a fanatical opposition to life itself. To the Sabbat, mortals are lesser beasts to be dominated and exploited as necessary. The Sabbat revel in their monstrousness and the embracing of their instincts, seeing other Kindred with contempt as they attempt to hang onto their Humanity. Frequently packs will be sent into Camarilla cities to either scout or hunt those who have fled from them, and the arrival of the Sabbat in a city is a guaranteed wrench thrown into the political machine of the city. The Sabbat have their own bizarre form of Diablerie, where they ritually butcher their Elders so that the strongest, most aggressive younger Kindred can take their place. This is, like most rumors associated with the Sabbat, unsubstantiated. Nothing the Camarilla knows about the Sabbat is concrete, other than they are extremely dangerous. The Inconnu Less a sect and more a designation for Kindred who have chosen to distance themselves from the rest of Kindred society, they are old, powerful and have little need for blood or human interaction. Generally they live in the wild and sleep in the earth during the day, and it is unknown how they manage to avoid the ire of the Garou who rule the wild areas of the earth. Some live in cities, but typically they do not become involved in the local politics. Most of the Inconnu have grown so old that they spend months or years sleeping before rising again. They share some similarity with the Antediluvians in that they are quite alien in their manner, having grown so far from the world around them. They are, generally speaking unless an Antediluvian shows up, the most powerful vampires a Kindred is likely to encounter, as most hail from the Fourth and Fifth Generations. Having grown fearful for their own existence and dissatisfied with the modern world, they believe that only by removing themselves from the board can they escape the great Jyhad. Their only law is that members of the sect no longer actively engage with the Jyhad and those that do are punished. The Inconnu are said to have the most Kindred to have achieved Golconda within their ranks, with some believing this to be the reason for their withdrawal from the Jyhad. They will allow no harm to come to their members at the hands of another Kindred, no matter the crime, as they reserve all rights to punish their own. They are the most secretive and mysterious of the sects and their organization and priorities are unknown, if they even have such structures. Generations Generation relates to how far removed from Caine a Kindred is, and also relates to their potential for power, as the blood thins and weakens the further down the generational line you go. Player characters are assumed to be 13th generation Kindred (unless they have taken the Generation background trait). Generation does not necessarily indicate the age of a Kindred, as a Kindred of the Tenth Generation could be twice as old as Kindred of the Sixth. A basic power of those of the earlier Generations is the ability to Dominate those of later Generations. (See the Dominate discipline previously discussed) Of course if a character partakes in Diablerie, then they may raise their Generation. Below is discussed the differences between the Generations. Caine Legends say that Caine, biblical slayer of Abel, is the Sire of all Kindred. There is of course controversy regarding this, as there are none still alive who can claim with certainty that Caine existed. The Kindred of the Second Generation would know, but they aren’t talking and while a few of the Third Generation may remain who claim to have met Caine, it is nearly impossible to confirm if this is true or if they simply met a powerful Second Generation Kindred. The mystery of Kindred heritage carries on. Tomorrow: More setting
joylessdivision fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Apr 30, 2023 |
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Apr 30, 2023 15:48
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