Beast: The Primordial, Chronicles of Darkness 2nd ed.

[Op3999]

I'd prefer them posted here, if you know them. I know that some people like to keep their sheets secret, but personally I prefer to have everything posted in an OOC thread since that makes it about a billion times easier for me to track, which is crucial for me posting regularly (which reminds me, I should post a character sheet template).

Okay, so I had three written for Michael, but since reading the Player's Guide (I initially made him before reading it), I do have a fourth idea.  Here they are:

Acquire a top-of-the-line computer (5-dot Personal Computer).
Acquire a Safe Space (2+ dots preferably).
Ruin a Hero's life (leaving them alive, but unable to hunt).
Commune with the Dark Mother (possibly being given a sort of mission or for her to help him in a time of need).

That work?

[TheKhan]

Okay, so I had three written for Michael, but since reading the Player's Guide (I initially made him before reading it), I do have a fourth idea.  Here they are:

Acquire a top-of-the-line computer (5-dot Personal Computer).
Acquire a Safe Space (2+ dots preferably).
Ruin a Hero's life (leaving them alive, but unable to hunt).
Commune with the Dark Mother (possibly being given a sort of mission or for her to help him in a time of need).

That work?

Yeah! Those will work great! Thanks!

[PixelatedPixie]

I have no preference either way.

I ended up with a social heavy Inguma Ravager.  The sheet is partly done but I am struggling a bit with the details.  The idea I had in my head, admittedly half formed, is that she destroys organizations and similar from the inside, but I am having a hard time putting it into words.  :P

For aspirations I guess maybe: 

Acquire resources/support for her neighbourhood. 
Destroy a Drug Cartel, or other exploitative organization, from within.
Misdirect a Hero after the wrong person.
Learn more about the supernatural in the city.

[eternaldarkness]

If you're still looking for players, this is actually exactly what I logged onto Elliquiy looking for today :D I know Beast well and am always up to play it, and I have plenty of ideas.

[TheKhan]

If you're still looking for players, this is actually exactly what I logged onto Elliquiy looking for today :D I know Beast well and am always up to play it, and I have plenty of ideas.

Good timing! I think you're probably good to join! I'd say we should cap things at five players and one ST, my experience is that things start to become bloated and slow down after that.

[Marie Reynolds]

Welcome aboard Eternal Darkness!  I am leaning towards a makara Beast! I hope the  lost are at least have an NPC presence!

[TheKhan]

I ended up with a social heavy Inguma Ravager.  The sheet is partly done but I am struggling a bit with the details.  The idea I had in my head, admittedly half formed, is that she destroys organizations and similar from the inside, but I am having a hard time putting it into words.  :P

Don't stress about it too much. The aspirations are a big help for me.

Welcome aboard Eternal Darkness!  I am leaning towards a makara Beast! I hope the  lost are at least have an NPC presence!

Oh, they will. They've only got Spring, Autumn, and Winter courts at this point though. Another one (or more) may develop through play. First story is going to lean more into Kindred though. I'll try to give a quick rundown of the supernatural factions soon. Invictus and Carthians are the big two, the Crone are around, the Ordo is tiny, and the Lancea are practically non-existent.

[Marie Reynolds]

Cool, Well when i get to my Character history may  I pm you.

[eternaldarkness]

Good timing! I think you're probably good to join! I'd say we should cap things at five players and one ST, my experience is that things start to become bloated and slow down after that.

Awesome! I'll have more coherent character concept shortly, after my tabletop game. I also love interacting with Changelings as a Beast character; the two go great together, so if you feature the Lost a lot you'll find two players enjoying it immensely.

[TheKhan]

How long does everyone think it will take them to pull character sheets together? Think we can aim for next Friday to be done?

[Marie Reynolds]

I think so!

[TheGlyphstone]

Should be doable.

[Op3999]

How long does everyone think it will take them to pull character sheets together? Think we can aim for next Friday to be done?

Michael's character sheet is already done, I just have to do some tweaking to it to get it ready for this particular RP.

[PixelatedPixie]

This is what I have so far, so mostly done pending some edits and decisions (plus getting the background to be a bit better). 

WIP Sheet

Family: Inguma
Hunger: Ravager
Legend: Unexpected
Life: Cautious
Kinship:
Birthright
Aspirations:
1. Acquire resources/support for her neighbourhood.
2. Destroy a Drug Cartel, or other exploitative organization, from within.
3. Misdirect a Hero after the wrong person.
4. Learn more about the supernatural in the city.

INT 2    STR 2    PRE 3
WIT 2    DEX 3    MAN 3
RES 3    STA 1    COM 2

Academics     1     Athletics 1          Animal Ken
Computer            Brawl                Empathy       2
Crafts              Drive                Expression    1
Investigation       Firearms  2          Intimidation 
Medicine      1     Larceny   2          Persuasion    2
Occult        2     Stealth   2*         Socialize     2
Politics      1     Survival             Streetwise    1***
Science             Weaponry             Subterfuge    3**

*In Plain Sight
**Misdirection
***Undercover

  Nightmares (2)
You Must Obey
Run Away! Or (Family is Forever Vampire)

  Atavism (2)
Enemy Within
Alien Allure?  From the Shadows?  Infestation?  Mimir's?

  Lair (1)
Bad Angles
Disruption

  Merits (10)
Language          * (English)
Striking Looks    ****
Barfly            **
Indomitable       **
Patient           *

[Marie Reynolds]

Honestly , I am really  struggling  with a  concept coming together for a  beast.  When i try and  build motivations or  develop a personality i just draw  blanks.

[TheGlyphstone]

Honestly , I am really  struggling  with a  concept coming together for a  beast.  When i try and  build motivations or  develop a personality i just draw  blanks.

When in doubt, pick some mythological creature you think is really cool, and use that for inspiration.

[Marie Reynolds]

I have that in my head  and dots  on a sheet but   I have  nothing coming together for a  personality , what the  beast society is  like and  how  the character would fit in that society. I don't think a Apex has been chosen which affects lairs if we are a  brood or  just  loners of the beasts  but that seems  contradictary  to there begaviors  but the society  is so loose . I just  don't know  what  place  the character has in it .

[Op3999]

I have that in my head  and dots  on a sheet but   I have  nothing coming together for a  personality , what the  beast society is  like and  how  the character would fit in that society. I don't think a Apex has been chosen which affects lairs if we are a  brood or  just  loners of the beasts  but that seems  contradictary  to there begaviors  but the society  is so loose . I just  don't know  what  place  the character has in it .

Are you familiar with Sin-Eaters?  Where each group is more like a loose gang and there isn't so much an overall heirarchy as there is with Vampires?  Because that's kind of what Beasts are like.  They each operate on the philosophy that their Horror's hunger for fear is tied to teaching a particular lesson and in the same way Sin-Eater society is built around what to do with ghosts, so is Beast society built around how to instill that fear and ground humanity back to what they should really be afraid of.

If Changeling is more familiar to you, maybe think of Beasts as one group within a single Court.  The apex is the leader and they probably even have their own Brood that operates with some sort of semi-official capacity, but the big difference is that Beasts adhere more to other supernaturals as opposed to sticking to themselves.

Does that make any more sense?

[Marie Reynolds]

Yes but  the archetypes have  more guidelines  how they operate  and the Apex is  not even a beast its another supernatural. The Gangs are loose but the   different paths walked  by the sin eaters  give them a framework to operate in. The families have archetypes but  no clear method in to the approach of  hunting  or teaching  lessons  or  reasons outside of  hunger and  being  hunted by  heroes to maintain a balance   only to survive  and  not get lost  in appetite.  Its humanity serves as a mask and  nothing really else.

Also Satiety  does not seem  all that clear and  with it fading  over  time the efforts   of feeding  just  to be  easily driven to  hunger and being lose to appetite.

[Op3999]

Yes but  the archetypes have  more guidelines  how they operate  and the Apex is  not even a beast its another supernatural. The Gangs are loose but the   different paths walked  by the sin eaters  give them a framework to operate in. The families have archetypes but  no clear method in to the approach of  hunting  or teaching  lessons  or  reasons outside of  hunger and  being  hunted by  heroes to maintain a balance   only to survive  and  not get lost  in appetite.  Its humanity serves as a mask and  nothing really else.

Also Satiety  does not seem  all that clear and  with it fading  over  time the efforts   of feeding  just  to be  easily driven to  hunger and being lose to appetite.

Okay, I see what you're getting at.  I think the main challenge is not that Beasts have no humanity (that's represented by their Life), but that rather, they don't have the same mechanical framework behind that humanity that humans, Vampires and Changelings do.  In Beast, more than others, it's player motivated rather than system oriented, so you decide whether your character is trying to retain a normalish, human life or have mostly abandoned that.

At the same time, it's not just a mask, though.  A Beast's humanity keys strongly into the subversion of the Hero's reality.  If that humanity really is just a mask, how are they any different than what the Hero makes them out to be?

Try this.  Take all the Beast stuff, Family and Hunger as well as motivations, and just put it aside for a moment.  Make a human character with human motivations and then add the Beast stuff as if it just happened to your character in the last session.  How are they reacting to it, are they coming to terms with it?  Work forward from there until you feel you're ready.

Beast doesn't hold your hand quite as much as other games do (not that that's a bad thing for those other games), so it really can be difficult to make a good character without those guidelines.  It really is meant to help fill the gaps between the other supernatural groups.

[TheKhan]

Try this.  Take all the Beast stuff, Family and Hunger as well as motivations, and just put it aside for a moment.  Make a human character with human motivations and then add the Beast stuff as if it just happened to your character in the last session.  How are they reacting to it, are they coming to terms with it?  Work forward from there until you feel you're ready.

This is very solid advice.

Also, since the Apex was meantioned, it is worth nothing that a) the Apex in this setting is a werewolf, not a Beast, and B) the Apex doesn't have to be aware that they are the Apex. Don Alvarez knows he is the biggest, baddest motherfucker in Juárez; he does not know that this makes him especially important to the local Beasts, even though he is aware of a couple of broods.

On the character creation end, also don't forget about the five questions on pg 80. These determine your starting Satiety, but are also useful story hooks for me to build around. The five questions are:

- Who are your kin? (And you can get weird with this one if you like)
- Does your belly fill easily? (Read: small frequent feeding or sporadic large meals?)
- Are you a social predator?
- How frequently do you show your true self?
- How drawn to your layer are you?

[eternaldarkness]

David doesn't talk about his past, or where he came from, but what is known and what can be discerned is this: He arrived in Juarez one day with nothing but his beat-up pickup truck, an old military duffelbag in the back, drove into one of its worst neighborhoods and took up residence in an apartment building after forcibly and violently evicting or utterly cowing all undesirables. Since then he has mostly kept to himself, though he seems friendly enough and he can often be found playing soccer with the local children or helping someone in the neighborhood with some minor home repair for a few pesos, though just as often he doesn't charge people he knows can't afford. He is obviously American - his speech and mannerisms make that clear, but even though he lives alone people swear they've seen a young woman looking out of the window of his apartment every so often, and sometimes those passing by his door can hear him talking to someone even though he lives alone. They assume he probably has a girlfriend or maybe even a daughter, or maybe that he is not quite right in the head.

The other thing they know for sure is that their block became significantly safer after he arrived; the residents of his building are not often harassed by gangbangers and thugs, and those who bring trouble tend to disappear, only to be found dead by gruesome means some time later. Some people are beginning to suspect that he is involved - they wonder if he might be a hitman for one of the cartels - but nobody questions the polite, helpful man who seems to keep trouble away by his mere presence.

David is a Beast with a strong connection to the dead - even before his Devouring, he could see and hear the dead all around him, and afterward he easily bonded with restless shades and learned a great deal about them. His Horror is the Shape in the Dark, a vaguely humanoid monstrosity that delights in visceral violence. David feeds its hunger by hunting the local criminal element, but this is more a practical matter than some act of kindness - dead gangbangers can be looted for their cash and valuables and sometimes even drugs they are carrying, which he had developed an addiction to.

David Lucado, Namtaru Predator

David Lucado

Family: Namtaru
Hunger: Prey
Legend: Vicious
Life: Parental
Horror: The Shape in the Dark
Kinship: Ghost
Birthright: Namtaru are nothing if not revolting. To have the attention of a Gorgon is to feel discomfited, at best. Once a Namtaru establishes contact with a character during a scene, via touch, eye contact, or a moment of conversation, that character’s Composure is considered one lower for all purposes (acting as a resistance trait, calculating Initiative, as part of a Perception roll, etc.). This effect lasts for a scene, but can be reestablished in the same way. The Namtaru can choose not to affect a given character if she wishes.

Theme Song: JTMachinima - You Can Hang (Dead by Daylight Rap)

Aspirations:
1. Find Alejandra's Murderer
2. Make some (Living) friends
3. Kick his drug habit
4. Defeat a hero

INT 2    STR 2     PRE 2
WIT 3    DEX 3    MAN 2
RES 1    STA 3    COM 3

Academics 1       Athletics 1        Animal Ken
Computer           Brawl 2            Empathy 1
Crafts 1              Drive               Expression
Investigation 1   Firearms 1        Intimidation 2
Medicine 1         Larceny 1          Persuasion
Occult 1            Stealth 3           Socialize
Politics              Survival            Streetwise 1
Science             Weaponry 3      Subterfuge

Init: 6
Speed: 10
Defense: 4
Willpower: 4 [----]
Health: 8 [--------]
Satiety: 6 (Sated)
Conditions: Addicted (Various narcotics, both legal and illegal)

Specialties
Crafts: Carpentry
Intimidation: Thousand-Yard Stare
Occult: Ghosts

  Nightmares (2)
  You Cannot Run
  You Deserve This 

  Atavism (2)
  Shadowed Soul
  Unbreakable

  Lair (1)
  Lair Traits: Sealed Exits. Poor Light.
  Chambers (2/3): Heart Chamber. Barrio. (Open Chamber Slot)


Heart Chamber Burrows: To Barrio


  Merits (10)
  Allies 1 (Ghost - Alejandra Portillo)
  Killer Instinct 3
  Killer Instinct Adv. 2 
  Look Between Worlds 2
  Walk Lightly 2
 
Horror Stats
Power 3 Finesse 3 Resistance 4
Init 4 Speed 11
Size 5 Health 9 Defense 4

- Who are your kin? Ghosts. Satiety!
- Does your belly fill easily? Frequent, small meals. Satiety!
- Are you a social predator? Not very social, though not by choice. No satiety.
- How frequently do you show your true self? he plays it pretty careful and uses as much power as is needed to get the job done. Satiety!
- How drawn to your lair are you? He likes his Lair a good deal; it's a quiet place where he can think in peace and be free of his own mind for a while. Satiety!

[Marie Reynolds]

Thanks Oppa, Glyph and Kahn, I have a better idea of how to proceed.

[TheKhan]

Eternal, everyone starts with Satiety 2, so David's Satiety should be 6 (Sated). Otherwise, loooks great! I'm glad someone took Look Between Worlds!

[eternaldarkness]

Eternal, everyone starts with Satiety 2, so David's Satiety should be 6 (Sated). Otherwise, loooks great! I'm glad someone took Look Between Worlds!

I forgot about that. I'll add it now.