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

[Op3999]

On break from work atm, but I'll look at getting my character sheet transcribed here after (or at least within the next few days).

But I have a question in the meantime.  Do we need to buy the bilingual merit to be able to speak both Spanish and English in this setting or do our characters possess that naturally based on where they are.

[eternaldarkness]

Also, as a reminder: You also have Horror stats you use when merged with your Horror. Don't forget those; most people playing Beast for the first time do. How you calculate that can be found onpage 99 of the Beast corebook. Note that the Dream Form section has nothing to do with the Horror form and is something else entirely.

[PixelatedPixie]

Sheet

Family: Inguma
Hunger: Ravager
Legend: Unexpected (regain WP when reveals presence to someone who thinks nowhere near.  Regain all if startle whole room)
Life: Cautious (regain WP when prudent behaviour helps dodge a metaphorical bullet.  Regain all when do unto others before they do unto you)
Birthright: Gains exceptional success result on three successes (instead of five) on all rolls to disguise herself, infiltrate groups, or to bluff her way through tests designed to verify her bona fides.  Anyone actively seeking to police a group or root out traitors suffers her Lair dots as penalty to their dice rolls.
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.

Size:       5
Health:     6
Speed:     10
Initiative: 5
Defence:    3
Willpower:  5
Satiety:    5

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
You Must Obey
Run Away!

  Atavism
Enemy Within
  Instant or Persistent
  Take appearance of victim that she previously met.  Close friends/family/suspicious people can roll to see through.
  Low: Gain instinctive awareness of unconscious cues/body language.  Can guess at what people know.  Suspicious people can roll.
  Expend: Beast becomes victim (fingerprints, DNA, other evidence).  Auto passes any physical test to very identity. Can replicate skills.
Shadow Stalker
  Instant or Reflexive
  Devour a person's shadow to become the shadow.  Immune to most damage, vulnerable to fire. 
  Can't use Atavisms but can use Nightmares on victim without eye contact.
  Low: Can use Atavisms.  Takes on aspects of horror when does so, observers Wits+Composure to notice.
  Expend: Can detach from victim for (Lair dots) turns.  Can transition between solid/shadow.  Only same init can strike her. 

  Lair
Bad Angles
Poor Light

Chambers: Heart, Empty Bus Station, OPEN

  Merits
Spoor             *
  Harder for heroes to track.
Striking Looks    ****
  Stunning/Attractive.  +2 on Social rolls influence by her looks.  Any rolls to notice/spot/remember gain same dice bonus.
  Gain rote quality action when looks apply.
Barfly            **
  Doesn't require a roll to blend into social functions where she doesn't belong.  Rolls to identify her as an outsider suffer Socialize as penalty.
Indomitable       **
  Any time supernatural power used to influence thoughts/emotions, add two dice to dice pool to contest.  If roll is resisted, subtract two dice from dice pool. 
Patient           *
  When taking extended action may make two additional rolls above what Attribute+Skill would allow.


Celestina Echeverria grew up in the slums on the edge of Ciudad Juarez.  Many of those who lived in the slums worked in agriculture, as maids and cleaners for the upper class, or just wherever they could get paid.  They were exploited, abused, and generally sneered at.

Celestina rose above the slums not because of intelligence or skill, but because of her appearance.  She was offered work as a model, it was only as she grew older that she realized that everyone but her and her own were gaining from the relationship.  The company, her agent, the myriad of others with their hand in the pie.  The payments were always tiny, the supposed royalties never appeared.  She was just as poor at twenty as she was when she first set foot in front of a camera.

The dreams were always with Celestina, strange cities with strange angles.  Empty at first, but ever more active and populated as she grew older. 

Out of the corner of a steady eye Celestina’s horror looks like a faceless, featureless, mannequin.  When the eye moves though it seems to shift, angles become wrong, features elongate, eyes, mouths, and worse appear and disappear.  When the eyes settle directly on Celestina’s horror it looks like an almost normal person, even vaguely familiar and welcoming.  When it moves though it doesn’t do so in a smooth way.  It stutters, like an old camera with a low frame rate. 

Celestina likes to destroy.  Not structures, not people, but organizations, communities, and reputations.  To breed suspicion, fear, and confusion.  The lesson she tries to teach is that you can never truly know what goes on the mind of those around you.  That everything can come tumbling down because of one whisper at the back of the mind.  So it is not enough to kill the rich owner of a ranch, she has to do so in such a way that everyone thinks his partner or daughter did it.  It is not enough to remove the cartel leader, it has to be done when he was alone to breed suspicion and paranoia.  It is not enough for the factory owner to hang himself, he must be found after he was seen walking from the building.

Who are your kin?  Celestina would consider the people of the slums her kin.  The exploited masses who she grew up among.  Note: I thought about doing Vampires, as I thought it would fit, but I don't recall enough about Vampire the Requiem at the moment.  So that may be something left for the future (hence one of her aspirations)

Does your belly fill easily?  Celestina prefers large acts of feeding. 

Are you a social predator?  Celestia prefers to hunt in a group, though it can be hard to find others willing to go to the same lengths.

How frequently do you show your true self? Celestia prefers to hide true self.  She prefers subtlety, and leaving it all a mystery.

How drawn to your lair are you?

[TheKhan]

On break from work atm, but I'll look at getting my character sheet transcribed here after (or at least within the next few days).

But I have a question in the meantime.  Do we need to buy the bilingual merit to be able to speak both Spanish and English in this setting or do our characters possess that naturally based on where they are.

Hmm... that's a good question. Things like languages can slow down play in PbP, so I'll say everyone automatically speaks English and Spanish (which I think means David and Celestina gets an extra merit dot to spend).

[eternaldarkness]

Added character and Horror images :)

[TheGlyphstone]

Estaban Sosa

Estaban likes to say that he's one of the few people who really know what it's like to be hunted. Born in Mexico, his parents paid to be smuggled across the border into Texas when he was barely old enough to walk. They entered the shadow economy of America's illegal immigrant community, but they never stayed in one place for long. The longest period Esteban ever had living in the same town was a little over a year; sometimes they left their home in the middle of the night, other times in broad daylight. When he got old enough to ask, his parents told him they were avoiding being caught by American police and sent back to Mexico; this was true, but not entirely so. When Estaban was a teenager, his father was gunned down in a drive-by shooting, and he finally convinced his mother to tell the truth. His father had once been a respected lieutenant in the Sinaloa Cartel, until he fell in love with the 'girlfriend'/concubine of his boss. When she became pregnant, they fled to America and spent years dodging the cartel hitmen chasing after them. Only a month later, his mother disappeared without a trace.

As an adult, he worked odd jobs off the books while putting himself through school at night. It wasn't until he nearly avoided being shot himself that he realized his parent's past would not let him go, and the contract of death was on his head as well. In despair, he Dreamed that night. It was time for being hunted to end; now he would be the hunter. Someone had betrayed his parents to the cartel, and someone had betrayed him. Far too many people lived two lives, wearing a face of respectability and honesty while their corrupt heart pumped underneath. No one else could see beneath the mask - but he could, and he could tear away that mask. When they were ruined, exposed to the judgement of their peers and stripped of any usefulness their masters might have desired, then he could move on.

Esteban wears his own mask, an intelligent, cheerfully quiet man who conducts server hosting and IT consultation work for a number of local businesses in Juarez. But his exceptional skills in computer work extend to hacking as well, and he makes a point of burrowing into the private lives and records of powerful and respected people. Politicians and religious leaders are his favored game, as they were most likely to be rotten underneath the surface, but anyone with secrets drew his attention. He knew them, judged them, and if he deemed it sufficient to deserve it, found a way to let everyone who looked up to them know the truth. Borders mean nothing when you soar above them, and he hunts with equal scrutiny in Juarez or El Paso and beyond. Nor do the laws of man matter under his gaze, and those who operate on both sides of the law are all potential victims.

Esteban Soros, Ugallu Nemesis

Family: Ugallu

Hunger: Punishment
Legend: Watchful
Life: Cautious
Horror: Sphinx
Kinship: Vampires
Birthright: The Ugallu can pierce façades with a glance, leaving their prey exposed or at the mercy of the world. With a moment of concentration, a Raptor can uncover something hidden; a lurking assassin, a cowering victim, a valuable object. This does not require a roll or an expenditure, but the Raptor must actively search for the hidden target. If the target is hidden with a supernatural effect, the player must expend a point of Satiety, and the effort may provoke a Clash of Wills (p. 222) at the Storyteller’s discretion.







Aspirations:
-Acquire a cutting-edge (Rating 5) computer
-Expose a police informant inside a drug gang
-Ensure a cartel-connected politician is arrested
-Learn the fate of his mother


INT 4    STR 2     PRE 2
WIT 2    DEX 3    MAN 2
RES 2    STA 2    COM 2

Academics 1        Athletics 1    Animal Ken
Computer 4        Brawl        Empathy   
Crafts            Drive        Expression   
Investigation 2        Firearms 2    Intimidation
Medicine        Larceny 1    Persuasion   
Occult    2        Stealth     1    Socialize     2
Politics     3        Survival    Streetwise   3
Science        Weaponry    Subterfuge  2 

Init: 5
Speed: 10
Defense: 2
Willpower: 4 [----]
Health: 7 [-------]
Satiety:
Conditions:

Specialties
Computers: Hacking
Politics: Local Politics
Streetwise: Drug Cartels

Merits (10)
Contacts 1 (Hacker Collective)
Direction Sense 1
Advanced Direction Sense 2
Connected Lair 2
Resources 2
Direct Dial 1
Library (Computers) 1

Nightmares (2)
All Your Teeth Are Falling Out
We Know All Your Secrets

Atavisms (2)
Eye of Heaven
Wings of Heaven

Lair (1)
Lair Traits: Blazing Light, Engulfing
Chambers (2/3): Heart Chamber, Endless Desert, (Open Chamber Slot)

Horror Stats:
Power: 4
Finesse: 3
Resistance: 4

Satiety:
+Who are your kin? Vampires - they're not really monsters the way we are, but they understand better than anyone else the mindset of keeping your human mask balanced against your monstrous self.
-Does your belly fill easily? Only the big meals are really fulfilling - The world is full of hypocrites and liars, but the bigger they are the harder the fall and the more satisfying it is to watch them do it.
+Are you a social predator? Yes - it's always good to have someone around to clean up your leftovers.
+How frequently do you show your true self? - Rarely; there are so many non-supernatural ways to ferret out someone's secrets.
+How drawn to your lair are you? His lair has privacy, comfort, and infinite free Wi-Fi. What's not to love?

[Marie Reynolds]

So, i see  you can learn  other beasts  abilities  but can you take  other beasts abilities with creation points?

Also do beasts  feed  there satiety in dreams or  only in the real world?

[TheKhan]

So, i see  you can learn  other beasts  abilities  but can you take  other beasts abilities with creation points?

That could mean several different things. Could you be more specific?

[eternaldarkness]

That could mean several different things. Could you be more specific?

I think i get what's being asked. You can take out of family atavisms at creation, but keep in mind that your two starting Atavisms are the Beast's strongest initial impressions of their horror, the traits that stand out most to the human part hosting the Horror, the tpowers and traits most core to your image of your horror.

[TheKhan]

I think i get what's being asked. You can take out of family atavisms at creation, but keep in mind that your two starting Atavisms are the Beast's strongest initial impressions of their horror, the traits that stand out most to the human part hosting the Horror, the tpowers and traits most core to your image of your horror.

Ah, my brain went to Nightmares and Kinship Nightmares.

You can take a out-of-Family Atavism, but one of your stating two must be from your family.

[TheKhan]

Also do beasts  feed  there satiety in dreams or  only in the real world?

As to the other question, feeding generally happens in the real world, although there could be circumstances it happens in other places. Horrors that have gone too long without feeding can start to prowl and feed in the dreams of others.

[Marie Reynolds]

Cool, So I can take  one of the Eshmaki and take Alien Alure sweet!


Well the reason I am  looking for dreams mostly is the  influence of Kin and A true friend  Spring Court Oneriomancer, Those elements strongly influenced  how she  hunts.

[Op3999]

Michael Dreyer

Michael was devoured unusually early in his life.  At this stage, he has only the foggiest memories of nightmares predating his awakening and after that, dreamed only of his Horror, his true self.  In reality, nightmares visited Michael as soon as he was old enough to comprehend the dreams and the Horror's movement towards Devouring was swift.  After that, he found himself standing apart from other children, but thankfully, his Hunger was more easily sated without violence and the young boy who found it easy to be overlooked, found it easy to start overhearing things.  As a result of this experience, Michael is intimately familiar with what his Horror desires and considers that hunger his own, not just an aspect of the thing sitting where his soul used to be.  It also made it difficult for him to connect with his human Life and his focus on what he "really was" made him neglect it.

Hunger is a good drive, though, and for a young, growing boy, made a world of difference for someone who didn't want to devote time to playing games with friends.  It wasn't long before he discovered the usefulness of computers in discovering new secrets and immediately set off to learn as much as he could.  Now, this knowledge has had time to be honed to a razor's edge and assuming that Michael can get into the right place at the right time, he knows that there is no secret, no shred of information, safe from him.

Born and initially raised in Southern California, his father a middle class man and his mother an immigrant to America from the South, Michael did once have a loving home.  His behavior was an issue that his parents tried to correct, but there was no denying the hunger and so his work continued.  Leaving home wasn't a matter of wanting to get away from the people there.  He had nothing against his parents, but it was just necessary in order to keep himself safe from heroes and continue his journey.  From there, he found himself in the world of Vampires and took work using his skills to help protect the elders who didn't understand, nor could comprehend, the technology.

Time passed in that place and for a while, it seemed like Michael had found a home with people who really understood hunger, but war was coming and the young Beast was wrapped up in conflict between clans, kindred blood spilled in front of his eyes.  In the end, one of the few left standing was the youth whose abilities put him apart from what his employers and friends' enemies had expected and once again, it was time to move on, but further once again.

It's almost single-minded, but Michael is more complex than his hunger would imply.  Feeling as connected as he is to his Horror, he feels likewise connected to the Dark Mother.  His own biological, human, mother was a nice woman with few secrets of her own, but as soon as he was able, Michael left home and found his thoughts drifting to the mother of his Horror, his true self.  He hasn't had much luck finding ways to commune, but amidst his searches for information and how best to use it, Michael also searches for anything his kin may have found to help him on his own, personal journey of enlightenment.

Michael Dreyer, Eshmaki Whisper

Michael Dreyer
Family: Eshmaki
Hunger: Whisper
Legend: Elusive
Life: Reclusive
Horror: The Secret
Kinship: Vampires(?)
Birthright:

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

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

Academics         Athletics 1        Animal Ken
Computer 4        Brawl 3            Empathy       
Crafts 1          Drive              Expression   
Investigation 2   Firearms           Intimidation 2 
Medicine 1        Larceny 1          Persuasion   
Occult 3          Stealth 2          Socialize     
Politics 1        Survival           Streetwise 2   
Science           Weaponry           Subterfuge   

Init: 6
Speed: 10
Defense: 4
Willpower: 6 [------]
Health: 7 [-------]
Satiety: 6 (Sated)
Conditions: Sated

Specialties
Computers: Hacking
Occult: Family (or Vampires, if that's not specific enough)
Streetwise: Urban Navigation

  Nightmares (2)
  Behold, My True Form!
  You Cannot Run 

  Atavism (2)
  Limb From Limb
  From the Shadows

  Lair (1)
  Lair Traits: Minions, Disruption.
  Chambers (2/3): Heart Chamber; Alley; (Open Chamber Slot)

Heart Chamber Burrows: To Alley


  Merits (10)
  Anonymity 2
  Area of Expertise (Hacking) 1
  Killer Instinct 1
  Patient 1
  resources 3
  Spoor 2
 
Horror Stats
Power 3 Finesse 3 Resistance 3 (+1 to Power and +1 to Finesse)
Init 6(+1) Speed 11(+2)
Size 5 Health 8 Defense 4(+1)

- Who are your kin? Vampires +1
- Does your belly fill easily? Yes +1
- Are you a social predator? No +0
- How frequently do you show your true self? Infrequently +1
- How drawn to your lair are you? Not very, yet +1

[Op3999]

Sorry that it took me so long to get this done.  I'm also wondering if someone could point me in the direction of the pages that describe more Horror stats.  I couldn't find the stuff that calculated secondary, non-attribute stats.  Also couldn't find any pics that meshed with what I had in my head for the Horror and whatnot, sorry.

[Marie Reynolds]

Would anyone be able to help me  figure out   the amount of lair traits  i get  for 1 and 2 dot?

Mary's human form

Mary's Horror

Mary Sterling
Family: Eshmaki
Hunger: Collector
Legend: Seductive
Life: Loyal
Horror: Goblin Queen
Kinship: Changeling
Birthright:

Aspirations:
1.
2.
3.
4.

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

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

Init:
Speed:
Defense:
Willpower:  [------]
Health:  [-------]
Satiety:  (?)
Conditions: ?

Specialties
Athletics Contortion
Occult: Oniermancy
Larceny: Lock picking

  Nightmares (2)
  you Can’t Wake Up
  You Cannot Run 

  Atavism (2)
Alien Allure (Makara pg 124)
  From the Shadows(Eshmaki pg 125)
  Lair (?)
 



  Merits (10)
 
 
Horror Stats
Power
Init (?) Speed (?)
Size ? Health ? Defense (?)

[eternaldarkness]

Sorry that it took me so long to get this done.  I'm also wondering if someone could point me in the direction of the pages that describe more Horror stats.  I couldn't find the stuff that calculated secondary, non-attribute stats.  Also couldn't find any pics that meshed with what I had in my head for the Horror and whatnot, sorry.

Power, Finesse and Resistance in place of the regular Attributes, otherwise the calculations are exactly the same.

Power = Intelligence, Strength Presence
Finesse = Wits, Dexterity, Manipulation
Resistance = Resolve, Stamina, Composure

Would anyone be able to help me  figure out   the amount of lair traits  i get  for 1 and 2 dot?

At Lair 1 you get 2 Lair Traits and can impose 1 per scene, at Lair 2 you get 3 Lair traits and can still only impose 1 per scene

[Marie Reynolds]

Hmm  oh so that  would  make the way I envisioned her feeding  rather difficult then. It would  use the  Maze and   Mirage traits simultaneously.

[Op3999]

Hmm  oh so that  would  make the way I envisioned her feeding  rather difficult then. It would  use the  Maze and   Mirage traits simultaneously.

To simulate the Hedge, right?

You could probably get away with that just by imposing the Maze trait.  The fact that a forest or an old hospital suddenly becomes labyrinthine is probably close enough to the strangeness of the Hedge to accurately simulate that effect.  For a starting character, anyways.

[Marie Reynolds]

Well the Mirage was to actually  induce an illusion of a different appearance  over her so she can appear to be a  fellow  victim trapped with in the maze.

[Op3999]

Oh, that's an interesting idea!  You might be able to work that better with the Inguma's Enemy Within Atavism which allows your Beast to disguise themselves as one of their previous victims.  It doesn't really state that you have to do this in order to fool acquaintances of the victim, so you might just be able to use it to turn your Beast into someone else for a scene (with Storyteller approval, I'm sure).

[eternaldarkness]

Well the Mirage was to actually  induce an illusion of a different appearance  over her so she can appear to be a  fellow  victim trapped with in the maze.

To simulate the Hedge, right?

You could probably get away with that just by imposing the Maze trait.  The fact that a forest or an old hospital suddenly becomes labyrinthine is probably close enough to the strangeness of the Hedge to accurately simulate that effect.  For a starting character, anyways.

This. Also keep in mind: You don't have to only feed by your preferred method, you just don't lose a die off of your feeding rolls when you do. A Predator who prefers to stalk people through labyrithine mazes and wound them a little can still eed in any way that makes some feel fear that you could (or have) hurt them. The idea is making someone feel like prey, and feel the shock and fear of it. Same goes for other hungers. And i second Op3999's idea and was about to suggest it myself. Enemy Within would be a good fit for you.

[Marie Reynolds]

Well its more then just her preferred  method  of  feeding  it also ties  in to  her being a  collector and the lessons she  teaches.

She collects the relationships she shares  in the dreams  she engages with them in. Her lessons are Hardships cannot be  overcome alone, So she poses as the other victim  to grow and share the  bond developed through over coming these hardships  together while in the maze.


She learned to develop this method of feeding indulging the beasts  hunger with help of her changeling true  friend also to essential hide in plain sight from heroes as coming off as a oneiromancer trying to better people.

[eternaldarkness]

Well its more then just her preferred  method  of  feeding  it also ties  in to  her being a  collector and the lessons she  teaches.

She collects the relationships she shares  in the dreams  she engages with them in. Her lessons are Hardships cannot be  overcome alone, So she poses as the other victim  to grow and share the  bond developed through over coming these hardships  together while in the maze.


She learned to develop this method of feeding indulging the beasts  hunger with help of her changeling true  friend also to essential hide in plain sight from heroes as coming off as a oneiromancer trying to better people.

I get that. What i'm saying is if that's the only way she feeds, she'll be hungry a lot. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you can only do it one very specific way; Beast is a game where your Satiety will rise and fall constantly, and if you limit your hunting options you'll have a miserable time. Not saying you're doing it wrong, but don't close off options. Also, slight terminology correction: The human part is the Beast, the monster soul is the Horror. Another thing of note is that people focus a lot on lessons - that's a good thing, but not a thing every Beast necessarily cares about. The Horror certainly doesn't give a damn how it gets fed, so long as it does indeed get fed.

Horror Hierarchy of concerns goes like this:

1. Feeding and Survival
2. Everything else

[Marie Reynolds]

Hmm, I think I may have gotten in over my head with this, I am not sure if I can find the right balance between the person and the primordial walking ball of hunger.

[Op3999]

Hmm, I think I may have gotten in over my head with this, I am not sure if I can find the right balance between the person and the primordial walking ball of hunger.

Well that part actually does come in the lessons.  The Player's Guide details how the lessons are, in reality, more of a philosophical idea that Beasts have than something concrete/mechanical.  A Beast may hunger for the kind of fear people feel when they have to face a group obstacle alone, but it's the Beast, the human, that decides that there's an important lesson to be taught in that, how important those lessons are to the Beast.

The game mechanic that reflects this is Satiety and how desperate your character is.  If possible, we want to avoid attracting undue attention from Heroes and prevent the Horror the Beast can always feel from being an impossible to ignore, gnawing thing in the back of their mind, so when you're at low Satiety, the usual lesson may be simplified by luring someone into a bad neighborhood where they know there's a group of thugs just waiting for someone to walk alone through their territory.  It's less defined by the Lesson and more defined by the Hunger.  Then, later on at high Satiety, the desperation isn't there, but the lesson is still important, so the hunger narrows and the desires become more specific.  It becomes less about satisfying the base impulse and more about imparting that philosophical message again.

Does that help at all?