VtM: The Anarch War redux

Started by ShamshielDF, November 15, 2011, 01:36:26 AM

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ShamshielDF

The scenario: The city of Arkham has grown from a sleepy fishing village to a booming economic power house of the east coast in the last 50 years and shows no signs of slowing down.  Straddling the Miskatonic river, the waters begin near Terrytown, New York and enters to Antonio bay, the city is about 30 miles Northeast of Boston and about 7 miles from the I-95 interchange.  With a population well into the millions now, vampires were sure to follow, or perhaps they were here beforehand...it's difficult to say any more.

Originally the city was a bastion of the Camarilla, with a strong Ventrue prince holding sway over the mortal and immortal politics of the city.  It was about 15 years ago that changed.  Overnight the prince simply disappeared.  His businesses are still intact, his estate maintained, but none have seen nor heard from him since.  At the same time the Sabbat has managed to consolidate Boston and began reaching out tendrils throughout the neighboring regions, constantly probing and testing its neighbors.

The Camarilla has been unable to resist, slowly losing ground along the meandering, ancient country highway the comes in to the older, southern part of town, as well as the areas nearest the expressway on the western side.  On the other hand, the Sabbat hasn't managed to maintain control of it either.

The Anarch movement has been amongst the kindred for decades, at least as a formal concept, perhaps centuries as an idea.  In the midst of the spat between Camarilla and Sabbat, a Baroness from California has stepped in with an offer to assist the city in their hour of need.  The council has given over the contested areas as a barony for her, and, in name at least, subordinate to the Prince and his council.  In turn the Baroness has invited those that would follow the tenets of the Status Perfectus.  No one is entirely certain from which clan this Baroness hails from, nor her generation.  She refuses to even give her name thus far, simply taking her title as her name.  A small number of vampires came with her to the city or have shifted from the stale and stagnant air of the lofty heights of the Ivory Tower to stand at her side.


This is where the game begins.  The Anarchs, caught between the manipulations of an old (by new world standards) Primogen council and their missing prince on one side and the Sabbat trying to worm their way into the city on the other, headed, in theory, by a woman no one knows anything about.  It represents the first such open recognition of the Anarchs on the East coast and is garnering attention, for good or for ill, from every kindred sect and city for a thousand miles.  The Baroness has been working to hold her part of the city for perhaps 7 years now, and the situation is far from stable.

A note regarding the world: while there are werewolves, mages and so forth in the world, they will be background and wholly secondary to the goings on amongst vampires, which is to say vampires stay in towns generally as wolves control outside and mages usually ignore vampires unless they directly assault the mage. The other major aspect to note is that I will be ignoring most of the specifics of the world.  General history, clans, powers and so forth will be the same, however dates may change and which factions control what areas will be determined by character backgrounds and plot necessity.  The game will be set pre-week of nightmares.

Character creation: By and large using the standard book rules, with a few changes for the sake of flexibility.  Rather than the usual 7/5/3 split, use a single pool of 15 points for attributes, and rather than a 13/9/5 split use a single 27 point pool for abilities.  For the time being only Anarchs will be allowed, though other opportunities may arise later.  All clans will be accepted by the anarchs, though I reserve the right to ask for changes to characters that I see as being more detrimental to the game or plot ideas in mind.  I may also allow bloodlines, though that would have to be on a per character/per bloodline basis.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask in thread or by PM.  At the moment I don't have any hard set limits for the size of the group of players.  If things get out of hand, I'll let everyone know, but by and large it will be first come first served.

Edit: For character sheets, you only need to list publicly the items that are visible/detectable to others.  ie. Strength, Dexterity, Charisma, Appearance, Demeanor, Humanity and some merits and flaws.  Pictures would be helpful for illustration, but not required.  Pictures can be whatever you prefer.  Photo, photo realistic, anime, etc.

I will be working on posting further details regarding the city (and blowing the dust off of old notes) and will be updating this post as that progresses.  For the curious, yes, there is in fact a Miskatonic university in town, a public university renowned as a research university, particularly in the fields of advanced physics and alternative energy as well as a library that could easily handle a university several times the size of Miskatonic.

Welcome to Arkham, MA.
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
A&A

AndyZ

#1
Name: Marie DeNostra
Clan: Follower of Set
Demeanor: Bon Vivant

Strength 2 Dexterity 3 Stamina 1 Charisma 2 Appearance 4 (Memorable Pose)

Fame 1 (Talented Exotic Dancer)

Humanity 7

Blush of Health




To flaunt what is erroniously considered the "natural" social order, to give up on the social mores ingrained into children of the age since childhood, to accept the liberation of such freedom is a thing of natural wonder.  It is simply beyond most people, even Kindred.  The Camarilla remain rigidly fixed within their Ivory Tower.  The Sabbat understand the basics but prefer to roll in the mud rather than stand in glory, trapped by their baser instincts.  The only Kindred who truly seem capable of such liberation are the Anarchs and the Setites.

Marie showed up in Arkham not quite a decade ago, setting up another one of her exotic dancer locales which are growing famous throughout the country.  Each goes by the name Den of Desire, though in many cities, the sobriquet Double-D has already begun to stick even before construction can be completed.

On occasion that seems more like random happenstance mixed with the whim of the night, Marie takes the stage herself to wow her patrons and maintain the intrigue of the club.  She's also been known to select particular individuals for a private dance, and the fact that the patrons who enter into a private room with her and leave somewhat worn out has only added to rumor.

To the Kindred, Marie is a woman who can get things done.  She tends to have friends on both sides of the law, whether to get something illegal or to make up for something which has already happened.  She'll find the right person who is willing to make a deal.

Some claim that she's ashamed of her clan, that she regrets being a Setite and that she'll be glad to aid any other Kindred in order to avoid her stigma.  Others say that she sees the entire clan in a light that few others do and that her nature provides a better insight into the clan as a whole.  Marie smiles when asked, claiming to consider it an honor that people want to know about something besides her body.

She knows she's beautiful, but on repeated occasions she's displayed a level of intelligence that contradicts the alleged schism between being smart and being sexy.  If someone can't bring themselves to understand the fallacy that pretty girls must be foolish, however, she doesn't mind taking advantage of their ignorance.

Kindred are welcome to take positions within Double D, but she tends not to cater to male dancers, if only because it's a niche market.  Still, she has no problem with matching up individual kinks between those who want and those who have.  Although the Masquerade must be respected, no demands are made of her employees.




I do have a few other ideas, so if someone really wants Follower of Set, let me know and I can swap to something else.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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Sabriel


Just posting my interest and saying hello here, I am working on making up a concept to submit got several ideas floating around but the setting and mention of a university with a huge library has drawn me to toying with a more peculiar academic concept.

:-)

AndyZ

Quote from: Sabriel on November 16, 2011, 09:33:34 AM
Just posting my interest and saying hello here, I am working on making up a concept to submit got several ideas floating around but the setting and mention of a university with a huge library has drawn me to toying with a more peculiar academic concept.

:-)

I know ^_^ I have like five ideas for this and I want to do all of them.  I think I'll have a good time with Marie though.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

ShamshielDF

Editted initial post regarding character sheets.  If anyone would like to edit their character sheet, you are welcome to do so.  I would like a copy of the full character sheet sent to myself still, though.
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
A&A

RubySlippers

Oh, okay. I will have one in by later today.

RubySlippers

Willow Szathmár
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Not much is known about the vampire Willow Szathmár save she is likely a third or fourth generation Hungarian American due to the name and she knows no Hungarian, and is likely one of the least useful Kindred in the Anarchs by the consideration of most. She is just lazy she hardly works unless someone makes her, she has enough money from an invested trust fund to live in the decent middle class in lifestyle and is utterly harmless. Her one saving grace is her powerful ability with Dominate she gained from her root clan the Ventrue which she can used for the benefit of the Anarchs. In fact many elders come to her to eliminate threats to the Masqerade by removing memories which she can do with fine precision.

Her personality is also pretty simple she loves to party, she can play or get things done with a simple application of Dominate so hunting and the like is not a big issue and she knows she's not a fighter so just avoids getting her hands dirty. After all combat is risky, you get your clothes torn and dirty and waste precious vitae you need to live and you look messy that will not do. But she is fond of mortals they get her things, feed her needs and are useful kind of like well trained dogs all she need do is will them to serve her. At this point she is falling into the classic trap of Dominate using it to much some would say but if you have a strength Willow sees it as something she can use to be valuable to other Kindred that doesn't require her doing much.

Willow tends to dress in a soft goth style as in it suits her she is not overly strong so her clothes fit form well, she likes to look feminine and pretty and although is not a raging beauty is good-looking and not to far so as to not be memorable. She never carrys a weapon and favors the old motto don't look like a threat. Most of her clothes are off the rack and she likes saving money where she can.

In truth most Kindred on all sides consider her harmless she is not a threat to their plans or aiding an enemy, depending on ones perspective.

AndyZ

We got someone who can erase memories?  Awesome.  Permission to know this in character and have your character on speed dial in case the necessity should arise?
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

RubySlippers


drezdock

Posting Interest. I'm thinking a feral amnesiac gangrel. I'll have to work up a sheet...


p.s.- Hi all! :-)

AndyZ

Welcome to the party, Drezdock.  So far as I know, nobody has a Gangrel yet, but please post something quick since many of us are already ready to go.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

RubySlippers

Tweaking my character for ST approval, I like her better now.

Diingo

Hi y'all!

Posting my interest for this! Will most likely be a brawling Brujah with some serious underground connections ;).

AndyZ

Ruby, if you'd like to discuss about our characters already knowing each other either through PM or a messenger program, let me know.

Welcome in, Diingo.  So far as I know, we don't have any Brujah yet.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

Ons/Offs   -  My schedule and A/As   -    My Avatars

If I've owed you a post for at least a week, poke me.

drezdock

#14
Name: Demetrius
Clan: Gangrel
Demeanor: Survivor

Strength 4 Dexterity 3 Stamina 4 Charisma 1 Appearance 2 

Humanity 5

Huge size, Permanent Fangs, Speech Impediment (Low Raspy voice)





Demetrius awoke. He had clawed his way out of the earth that he had slept in for... How long had he slept? The moon shone full and bright down on the rusted construction equipment and overturned trees. He suddenly remembered! The stake that had pierced his chest! Panicked, he looked, but the stake was gone. However, he saw it nearby. The stake had turned into a root at the base of a powerful tree. Demetrius shook his head trying to clear it. Where was he? What had happened? No answers presented themselves through the thick fog that filled his brain. He knew only one thing... hunger.

Nearby he could smell blood. Fresh blood. Something freshly slain. He hurried towards it's source and spotted a small pack of wolves that had fallen a large stag. Demetrius approached and the wolves instantly moved to defend their kill. With a snarl Demetrius squared of against the packs alpha. They snapped and growled at each other vying for dominance. Finally, the Alpha grew weary and Demetrius took his opportunity. He snatched the old wolfs throat in his jaws and squeezed until the former ALpha urinated himself, showing submission. Then Demetrius howled his victory, claiming his leadership of the pack. Unchallenged now, he joined the pack in feasting on the stag.

The moon was not full anymore. It was invisible in the sky, but Demetrius knew it would return. He ran with the pack on all fours now, in the same form as they. Hunting had been good since he had shared his blood with the pack. They were stronger, faster, and moved as one. Demetrius sat at the edge of the woods looking out at the strange buildings that glowed and twinkled like they were build from the stars themselves. The place smelled of human, and his pack disliked being this close to it. However something in it was calling to Demetrius. Something in that city was causing the thick gray mists that filled his head to stir. He had to enter this strange place, and discover what was drawing him...


Diingo


(Not as happy as in picture though :3)
Name : Nico
Clan : Brujah
Demeanor : Brawler

Strength : 5
Dexterity : 4
Stamina : 4
Charisma : 2
Appearance : 3

Humanity : 6

Small stature, but incredible strength and speed. Very blunt, straightforward with what he wants, no sweet talker.



The shouts, the stench of sweat, the pure bloodlust streaming out of every person in the crammed place heightened Nico's senses as he slowly walked around his opponent. A coy smile played on his lips as he rolled his shoulders, feeling the pain from the several scratches the gangrel had managed to hurt him with. This was his kingdom, this square and everything that came inside it, was his prey.

He lunged forward, seeing the gangrel doing the same and locked him in a grapple hold. His opponents claws dug into his arms and he groaned with pain and suddenly pushed him away, landing a straight right that shattered the gangrel's jawbone. Quickly following up with hooks and uppercuts, Nico pushed him back until his back hit the cage surrounding them. It wasn't a fight anymore, this was an execution and Nico loved it.

He didn't notice the bell ring until someone dragged him away from the spasming pile of blood and bone that was once a vampire. He didn't pay it much attention, the gangrel would surely be regenerated before the night was over. Getting out of the cage, he grabbed a bottle of water and headed away from the cage, his people gathering the winnings and some small fights broke out.

Heading for his office, he felt his wounds closing and a feeling of tranquility came upon him. He was still undefeated and he would remain so until he died. Entering his office, he slumped down in a chair and watched the surveillance cameras in his night club, seeing if anything was going on on the floor. Seeing as nothing happened, he sent for his assistant to go over some numbers. He smiled as he waited. He was the King of the underground in Arkham. He was a God in an invisible kingdom.

bend

#16
I love the idea! Can I join? How often are we expected to post?
I'm leaning towards either a Toreador with diplomatic skills or an idealistic Brujah Anarch.
- A&A - On & Offs -

ShamshielDF

*drags self into thread and sighs*  I think I should let people know that I'm not going to be able to this one.  Long story short, I was on some meds that just completely drained me for a couple of weeks and now work is in overdrive and likely will be until April at least, 12 hour shifts are more normal than 8 and I'm just beat.  Sorry...I just don't have the mental oomph at the moment to do this.  If someone else is interested, though, feel free.
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
A&A