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Dhampir [EX, Interest thread]

Started by thebobmaster, September 01, 2011, 08:34:25 PM

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thebobmaster

Marsana. It is generally a peaceful world. However, inside the large city of Sertana, it is a different story. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people live inside the gigantic city. Among those are vampires, hunting on the weak...or even the strong, if they are feeling like a struggle. On the other side, there are quite a few humans aware of the vampires, who watch their moves as best as they can, striking when they find a vampire...no matter who else is targeted in the process. Unfortunately, it is not enough, with the vampires outnumbering those aware of them by tenfold. However, there is a new target for the humans and vampires alike to keep an eye on, a dhampir, the only one of her kind.

This dhampir is caught between two worlds, that of the dark vampires, and the just as dark humans. Each side wants her. If the humans get her into custody, she is the perfect bargaining chip to force the vampires to follow their rules. However, if the vampires get her, they can finish off the human side of her, gaining a truly powerful vampire. Each side has reason to find her, but only one side needs her alive.

This RP will not be a good vs. evil type of story. Neither side is truly right or totally wrong. The main goal for each side of the story is to find the dhampir and either get her to safety, or kill her. Doing the latter will result in her turning into a full vampire. If this happens, however, there is the possibility of another dhampir springing up elsewhere.

The only limits in this RP will be those set by the players. Violence is guaranteed, and nonconsensual sex is quite possible.

The vampires are vulnerable to sunlight, fire, and decapitation, all of which are fatal, though the sunlight takes time to actually kill a vampire. Garlic hurts a vampire, but is not enough alone to kill it. Any other weapons will weaken a vampire, but heal quite rapidly, unlike garlic injuries.

The game setting will be a modern setting, but with a few fantasy elements. There are vampires, obviously, and werewolves may be introduced at a later point. As well, certain humans can learn supportive magic, to enhance their strength, agility, speed, or other attributes. However, there is no offensive magic, and the city and weaponry are only as advanced as what currently exists (swords, shotguns, etc.).

There is no real limit to the number of players, and while the dhampir is the central point of the story, it is not the only goal. I encourage players to be creative, and come up with story ideas. Even if the dhampir story finishes up quickly, don't write off the RP. The dhampir is a battle, not the war.

If you are intrigued, please either PM me, or post in the thread.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

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ShamshielDF

Spiffy!  Out of curiosity, do you have any kind of particulars in mind for the vampires?  ie. old/new World of Darkness, Interview with the Vampire, Brahm Stoker's Drakula, Castlevania, *shudder* Twilight *twitch*, The Hollows, D&D, Shadowrun, etc, etc.   Basically, do you have a particular type of power schema/tradition in mind for the vampires?
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President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
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thebobmaster

How dare you mention Twilight?! *glares*


Seriously, though, the kind of vampires I have in mind are more powerful than humans and more agile, but still appear human, and have no real powers, as such, other than blood sucking. That's a given. But they are just basically stronger and faster humans otherwise, except for the resistance to damage and rapid healing, which is sped up by blood drinking.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

So...I don't really count the creatures in Twilight as vampires.  Sparkly, immortal, no problem with sunlight, drinks blood...red caps?  Anyway...

I think I'd be interested in playing a vampire.  I'll sketch out some details today and post what I come up with.
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
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thebobmaster

No need yet. I want to try to get some more people interested before putting up the character sheet and OOC topics.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Healergirl

One thing that bugs  me considering the current take on vampires is:  If the soulless freaks are so powerful, why the hell are they hiding?

So, much stronger, significantly faster, very hard to kill?  Sounds like Real Vampires to me!  I'm in, as a human.

ShamshieldF,

Red Caps?  Yes, Red Caps!  Yep, fits perfectly.

thebobmaster

Because as powerful as they are, if too many humans knew about them, they'd be outnumbered heavily.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

The usual comment is "remember the inquisition".  When enough humans find out that they are mobile snackbars for something they tend to kill it with extreme prejudice.  Dd in that vampires are apex predators, you don't want there to be a lot of you running around as that leads to more competition for resources.  Besides, if you're trapped in abuilding during daylight hours, all it takes is one loon with a torch to kill you.  No amount of strength or power will save you from that.  Vampies do have their weaknesses.

My question at the moment is, what kind of society do vampires have?  All loaners, semi organized, loose council, absolute monarchy, etc.  Character concepts/motivations would change wildly dep based on structure.  Also, hpw much are you leaving up for player determination vs how concrete of ides do you have in mind for vampires?  Ie do they sleep during the day?  How often do they have to feed?  Does feeding always kill?  If not, will the victim forget naturally?  How long do they live on average, or what is cosidered an "old" vampire?  How hard is it to create new vampires? 

I'm happy to fill in the gaps myself, but I don't want to step on toes if you have something fairly specific in mind.
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
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thebobmaster

I had a semi-organized group of vampires in mind. Almost like a cult, if you will, but with no hard rules about the actions of the members of the group. As for the rest, I hadn't thought too much about it. Feeding would only kill the victims if they were drained, otherwise they would forget about it. Vampires are essentially immortal, living until they get killed, but appearing the age they were when they got turned. They don't need to feed very often, or need very much to satisfy their tastes. They technically could get by with one average sized man a week, if they wanted to. As for creating new vampires, it isn't very hard, but only certain humans would be vulnerable. If the human was strong enough, and had a strong will, then occasionally, they will come back as a vampire if completely drained. Otherwise, they would die. As far as actions during the day, they could do pretty much anything they wanted, provided they don't stay in the sun for too long. Vampires don't need as much sleep as humans, as they get most of their energy through feeding on blood. If it's been a slow night, they would need a couple of hours to sleep and recharge, but nothing like Dracula's "curl up in a coffin and sleep the day away". Nor do they need coffins.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Healergirl

Oh, I think your vampires are just fine!  I'm referring more to the ramped-up Vampires of, say, WOD.  All those special bloodline abilities, vast financial resources...my Willing Suspension Of Disbelief starts creaking under the burden.

A lot of it is due to the Authorial Arms Race:  Your vampires can do that?  Well my vampires can do that, and this as well!  Top that.  And of course the next author to come along does so, and soon you have undead gods walking the earth.  Why should they hide when they should be worshiped?

I like your bloodsuckers just fine!

ShamshieldF,

Your point about self-regulating apex predators... is a very good one.  And there is a n military proverb:  Sufficient Quantity Creates Quality.  But still, after a certain point, well, Undead Gods and so on.

thebobmaster's vampires are reaching for that goal, but have not achieved it.  Splendid!

thebobmaster,

I like your vampires more and more.  No spoilers!  we should discover some key points about them only during play, in my opinion.

thebobmaster

I also want to re-emphasize that sunlight is not instantly fatal to vampires. If they stay out in it for several minutes, they would be killed. But, for example, a dash across an alleyway to the building next to it would weaken them, and definitely burn, but they would still survive. So it's not like they are trapped in a single home all day, and need to dash inside the second the sun appears over the horizon. Also, and this is something that's always bugged me in vampire stories, sunlight itself doesn't kill the vampires. It's UV rays. So ripping the curtains off a window to expose the vampires to the light will result in two things. One, a vampire laughing at you. Two, your likely slaughtering.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

My concern is that if I play a human, I have a pretty solid idea of their day to day life and, living.  Vampires vary so mich from game to game or world to world, it's hard to say anything is for absolute, save for the sunlight, blood and immortality thing.  I'm much more interested in playing a vampire, so I have to know sonething about what's going on with them.

My issue with sunlight vs. UV is thatif you say its UV only, most windows still let through UV light.  Black loght is UV, so going into a nightclub is going to be a hazard.  Also, with the UV light, you can stop it with high SPF sunscreen (100+) and good sunglasses.  Can a hunter just throw a blacklight bulb in a maglight?  Can a vampire wander in sunlight with impunity with enough sunscreen?  I usually use answers like" it's a mystical qaulity of sunlight" or such.  Just my $0.02
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
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thebobmaster

Only certain UV rays hurt vampires. For example, humans can't get sunburns through glass. BAsically, if it can give a human a sunburn, it is deadly to vampires. As far as sunscreen goes, it wouldn't really help, because the UV rays would still hit the sunscreen and be held next to the skin.

Or we can go with "mystical quality of sunlight" and leave it at that.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

Healergirl

I'd vote for "natural sunlight" being the killer.  Certain tweaked UV emissions might disable vampires to some degree, but only the real thing goes the full distance on them.

Sharon


thebobmaster

Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

Vampires in WoD may seem fairly powerful, but if you pit a vampire against an equal XP werewolf or mage, generally they die, oft times badly.  V:tM is supposed to be more about politics and manipulation than undead gods running about having a nightly stab fest.  Mummies,  Demons, Hunters...pretty quickly, vampires were all but the bottom of the food chain, save perhaps changelings and even that's a toss up.  The only really really nasty power creep in V:tM was Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand and the Elysium book.  DS got retconned as soon as they could and I don't know anyone sane that allows Elysium rules.  Not that I played vampire for years (and years and years)...I saw all manner of players over time.  I wouldn't call them Undead Gods by any stretch, not without some very broken rules being allowed and a bitch ton of XP (500+ generally gets bad).  /end_system_rant

Anywho...I've studied a lot of vampire lore over the years.  Different game system mechanics, different story worlds, different cultural myths and such.  Though I never actually read/watched Twilight.  I think I would break out in hives.

Anyway...I have a loose idea for a vampire.  I'll send a PM with the particular thoughts to see what you think.
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
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thebobmaster

I read the first Twilight book (know your enemy, and all that). I could feel the testosterone bleed out of me with each sentence, each description of how "plain" Bella was.

And the only Vampire: the Masquerade stuff I'm familiar with is the PC game Bloodlines. Pretty cool stuff.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

The PC game was based on the long running table top game (with about...er...174 books just for vampires, over 700 total items when you throw in werewolves, mages, changelings, mummies, wraiths, hunters, demons, sorcerers, changing breeds, ad infinitum).  I played in various tabletop vampire games for several years, played in online games and was a administrator for the vampire portion of a large online game for several years.  I...learned a lot of the ins and outs of the game as well as what not to allow to happen.  ie. Don't let new players run as elder characters.  Old vampires think different and it takes some special processes to get into the right mindset.  Anyway...this game is systemless and in a homebrew world, so...not a big deal ^_^
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
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Healergirl

ShamshieldF,

I suspect I would have enjoyed your VTM game quite a lot.

thebobmaster

Just as a heads up, I'll be putting up the character sheets topic and the OOC topic tomorrow afternoon. That doesn't mean that there won't be more joining, it just means that I want to make sure this gets started while I still have people interested, unlike all my other RPs where people expressed interest, then just didn't follow through on it.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

I have most of my character worked out, though I don't know what all you are going to want on the sheet.  I have name, gender, race, apparent age, actual age, description, background, personality and some equipment.  Background ended up at about 4 pages in MS Word >_<
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
A&A

thebobmaster

Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!

ShamshielDF

It's a rather bad habit...I sit down and say, "okay, I have an idea..." and three, four, ten, twenty pages later I pause to go, "wait...how did that happen?  Again?!?"  *sigh*  It always happens with backgrounds for new charries.  Sowwy >_>
Ons and offs!
President of the CharlieSariel fanclub ^_^
A&A

thebobmaster

Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

RP Ideas:New and Approved!