fearmeforiampink: (hardcore)
[personal profile] fearmeforiampink

Okay, after some discussion, Colin and I have decided on the character stats for the Vampire game. We're using the Elysium Elder character creation rules, but changing some stuff and adding some restrictions.

Attributes you get 10/7/5, Abilities is 20/12/8 (you can ignore the 'max of three before freebies' rule), Disciplines 10 (at least 5 points of those into 'in clan'), Backgrounds 15, Virtues 7, Freebies you get a base of 50 (variable on generation, see below)

The 'base' Generation for characters is 9th, and you do not buy Generation as a background, instead your number if freebies changes if you go for higher or lower Generation. The adjusted freebie totals are as follows:

7th - 25
8th - 40
9th - 50
10th - 60
11th - 65

***

The backgrounds "Generation", "Elder Generation", "Age" and "Military Force" cannot be taken. The former two are subsumed into the freebie allocation, the forces from the latter you would have get hold of via other means (influences, allies, etc), and all characters are effectively starting with about a single point of Age. Influences are going be split by their type as they are in the Minds Eye Theatre books, we'll probably use the charts in there for the amount of stuff you can get done at various levels, though we may adjust it. Note that you are actually buying backgrounds with background points and freebies at character creation, as opposed to the "You get what you can justify" system we were considering before.

All characters must take 5 points of flaws appropriate to being an ancient, inhuman, monster which they do not get any extra freebies for, these are in addition to any other flaws taken. Appropriate flaws are things such as Anachronism, Derangement, Enemy, Dark Secret, and the ones from Elders book - it should be stuff that relates directly to the fact you've lived longer than humans are designed to and/or all those people you've had a chance to piss off along the way. You can buy off these flaws for double their flaw cost in freebies, and justification for doing so in your background (e.g. defeating/befriending enemies, learning to use new fangled devices, some very expensive counselling).

All characters lose a point of humanity/path, as over the long years you will have almost certainly done some bad/inappropriate things at some point. You can buy said point back, though we may well increase the cost of raising it (I'll discuss it with Colin and one of us can post when we've decided). Any character with any traits beyond human maximums - Attributes, Abilities, Backgrounds or Disciplines at 6 - has a derangement for each such trait.

We'd also suggest to even people who end up with no derangements that you should take into account the fact that the long centuries will likely have taken their toll on your characters mind in some way. One easy way to represent that is to choose one or more personality disorders that your character displays to some extent. "Chaining the Beast", the book of Paths of Enlightenment, has a good section on them if you have that, if not, the wikipedia page on them should hopefully prove helpful.

***

We're going to want your character traits to reflect his background - it's your past that has made you what you are today. We'd also like it to be in the form of a cogent story of your character's life and unlife, rather than a set of loosely strung together statements, each justifying such and such a trait. More specifically, I'll go through each set of traits and give you a vague idea of what we're after.

Attributes don't require all that much justification, even at higher levels, after all you are powerful and ancient creatures, and with the points you're given you'll have to have at least one attribute at 5 unless you take diminished attributes through a flaw. However we will question any attributes that just don't match up with your background at all - a character who has never been in a fight or had to perform heavy physical exertion with high Strength may get questioned, as might a character who has spent several mortal lifetimes heavily indulging in Camarilla politicking with low Charisma/Manipulation. But those are the exceptions.

Abilities require little justification up to and including the third level. Similar to attributes, ones that stick out as completely not fitting may be questioned (e.g. Computers 3 on an elder who you haven't mentioned using/adjusting to/being taught modern technology at all). The fourth and especially the fifth level of abilities need some justification - we're not going to be too harsh because you're elders, so you've had enough time to learn stuff to that level, but we'll want to know why you chose to learn that much of that ability, and the who/when/where/why of you being taught it.

The various Lore abilities are an exception to this, they require appropriate justification at whatever level you take them. As an elder you are in a much better position than a neonate to have learned some, but you still have to give us the how, why who, and when of you getting them. You do not need to buy Camarilla or your Clan lore to understand the basic workings of them, you're an elder so you have a good amount of knowledge of them. If you want to know the deeper darker secrets of such, that's the point at which you take those laws. However, if your character was previously part of some other organisation before they joined the Camarilla (not that I'm encouraging you to do so, in fact the opposite), you do need an appropriate amount of the Lore of that group to understand their workings

In clan Disciplines require little justification although you're certainly encouraged to tell us why your character concentrated on one/two of them or indeed advanced evenly. Out of clan Disciplines require justification, not all that much for the common ones, rather more for the rarer/proprietary ones, moreso for both at higher levels.

All backgrounds at whatever level require justification. It's not going to be hard to convince us (for example) you managed to make some money over the years, but we want to know how you made that money, what it's currently invested in, and so on for other backgrounds. Ditto influences. Funkier stuff (say, Military Influence), is going to require more justification.

Virtue and Humanity ratings should be justified at the higher and lower levels. Being on a Path requires you going into why you chose that path, who taught it to you, and so on. Whatever merits and flaws you take will require appropriate explanation/justification.

***

Distinct from, but related to, the justification of your traits is us giving our approval to you having them. Firstly I will say that we reserve the right to not approve anything at all, if we think it it doesn't fit the type of game we want to run and/or will cause problems (game & plot breaking problems, not minor issues that STs will always have to deal with). However, there are also certain things that require our special approval:

  • Anything taken stuff other than the core rulebook - Clanbooks, Elder's book and suchlike.
  • Each particular level 6 discipline power and combination discipline powers.
  • The various Lore abilities
  • The proprietary and particularly rare disciplines

We're certainly not saying "Don't take that stuff", if it fits your character then do so, but please also understand that for the sake of running a something that will work, we do need to be able to say "No, that will break the game". You can take anything that's appropriate from any World of Darkness book, but let common sense be your guide (no blood potency, probably not stuff that's been superseded by later editions, and anyone wanting to have caught the alien disease Vicissitude will be looked askance at), and we do have to approve whatever it is for you to use it.

***

Lastly, this is a Vampire game. Don't assume that anything about the other games is how you out-of-character know it to be. Unless you have the appropriate Lores, you know very little about the other unusual denizens of the World of Darkness, and if you do have those Lores, we will tell you what you know. We will be changing things as we feel is appropriate for running the game, and we will tell you any changes to the cannon that you would know about (e.g. if we decide that the moon really is made of cheese, and thus the Garou sacrifice Wensleydale to Luna for her favour, you're not going to know it without large amounts of Lupine Lore). The same also applies to the Vampire canon - we'll be more careful in changing it because it is what characters would know more about, and will affect characters more - but if it would suit the game more for it to be true that all Salubri are actually devil worshipping evildoers, then so shall it be.

***
Right then, I think that's it. Any questions or indeed if anyone spots any details/glaring loopholes that I've not mentioned, then don't hesitate to scream. Then, please also remember to leave a comment/otherwise communicate to us whatever it might be.

Date: 2006-03-21 01:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raksaksa.livejournal.com
I wish to make a complaint.

My lucky numbers were not enclosed... :(

Date: 2006-03-21 01:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dainul.livejournal.com
re-read the text of the cut. There was no promise of lucky numbers, merely a possibility.

Date: 2006-03-21 09:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raksaksa.livejournal.com
The wording leads people to believe that their lucky numbers are going to be in the cut.

Mine weren't, so I'm complaining about it.

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