Vampire the Masquerade 5th edition Alpha Test - Rusted Veins

Started by RegretNot, February 03, 2018, 01:26:43 AM

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RegretNot

Vampire the Masquerade 5th edition is set to come out fully later this year via their time table but I wanted to offer running the Alpha test on forum as I am planning to take notes and send in the outcomes I see to the VtM team in feedback.  The chronicle that the test takes place in is called Rusted Veins, it continues the arc of Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust.  It doesn't matter if you have never read or played through these chronicles as the characters are all pregenerated with an array to choose from. 

Setting:

As with other cities in the Rust Belt of America, Gary suffered horribly from the 1960s through to the present night, as industry moved away, and nothing new came to the city to take its place. Unemployment and homeless figures grow year on year. The city has held the title of “Murder Capital” more than once. Illegal drug use is rife. Police corruption is endemic.

Gary is a shit-hole, but vampires are not exclusive to the glamor of L.A. and the glitz of Vegas. Some Kindred make their havens in urban squalor, by misfortune of their Embrace, exile from a more opulent domain, or willingly choosing such a den of vice as a hiding place.  Certainly, few Camarilla vampires choose to rummage through Gary to discover the target of a Blood Hunt: knowing they’re in Gary is punishment enough. 

The Camarilla nominally holds the city, through the “Paper Prince” Modius. His court is largely empty these nights, as true Camarilla.  Kindred know better than to remain in Gary if they want to scale the sect’s slippery hierarchy.  Most vampires in Gary identify as Anarchs, but even they are a dissolute group.
Their head is a self-styled Baron going by the epithet of “Juggler.”  In recent years, he has assembled neonates beneath his banner, with talk of an advance on Chicago, Milwaukee, or Indianapolis. The likelihood is, Juggler just wants a private army to call his own. He’s not leaving Gary. Nobody really
leaves Gary. Juggler and Modius have engaged in their private war for decades, maybe centuries now. Sects matter less to these two than who has control of the domain, one night to the next.

Characters:

A separate handout details the characters for this scenario. Each of this scenario’s protagonists has a personal agenda, though this does not automatically make them opposed to each other. The coterie is ostensibly Anarch, but each character is an individual, and players should feel free to play their roles as they see fit.

The protagonists in this scenario have all suffered in some way. Whether through the misfortune of birth in a city like Gary, long-term injury or addiction, or simply the Embrace ruining an otherwise comfortable life, all of the characters want more than their current lot.  This is typical of anyone living in a poverty stricken city, where just a city away, opportunities aboud, discrimination is lighter (or better concealed), and violent death is considerably less likely. The tragedy of these characters, and any characters living in World of Darkness Gary, is the city is a prison. Most mortals who live there have no means — material or otherwise — of escape. This same plight constricts each of our protagonists. Whether through lack of financial resource, or crippling fear of the Second Inquisition and a lack of allies outside the city, most Kindred Embraced in Gary remain in Gary. Travel is not a safe option.

Players should feel free to customize their characters by changing names and genders, but for the purposes of the playtest, please consider maintaining their motivations so our set pieces based around Hunger, Humanity, et al are test-ed in ways we desire.


The six characters will be a first come first serve basis with the motivations and sheets sent to the players that choose them. 


Character List:

Baggie
Name -“Baggie” Elijah Franklin
Virtue - Cunning
Age - 43 (appears early 50s through drug use)
Vice - Corrupt
Faction - Anarch
Concept - Lifelong addict to one thing or another
Clan - Gangrel


Jordan - Taken
Name - Pvt. Jordan Lynch
Virtue - Hope
Age - 36 (appears early 30s)
Vice - Vengeful
Faction - Anarch
Concept - War veteran with a grudge against “the Man”
Clan - Brujah


Malort - Taken
Name - Makayla “Malort” Ellery
Virtue - Just
Age - 29 (appears late 20s)
Vice - Disloyal
Faction - Anarch
Concept - Dirty cop being blackmailed
Clan - Nosferatu


One Round - Taken
Name - Sydney “One-Round” Middleton
Virtue - Honest
Age - 22 (appears early 20s)
Vice - Pride
Faction - Anarch
Concept - Amateur boxer with too much responsibility
Clan - Brujah


Padré
Name - Jeremiah “Padré” Jefferson
Virtue - Generous
Age - 96 (appears late 40s)
Vice - Masochism
Faction - Anarch
Concept - Street preacher wracked with self-doubt
Clan - Nosferatu


Snowman - Taken
Name - Zion “Snowman” Middleton
Virtue - Ambitious
Age - 26 (appears early 20s)
Vice - Greed
Faction - Anarch (with Camarilla ambitions)
Concept - Drug-dealer with big plans
Clan - Gangrel

Mechanics:

All Mechanics that are available are in the players guide for V5 that I can guide people in pm where to get it for free on the official site and just ask players who haven't read it yet don't read the Storytellers book of the Alpha test to try to keep the surprises and actions characters take purely in character as much as possible.

Threads:

Story Thread

OOC Thread

Character Thread

Rebelle

Oh for the love of...

I'm in, it's VtM and I've had an itch.

I'd like One Round please.

RegretNot

Round One marked as taken and sending you the background stuff as well. 

Five characters left to be taken. 

HairyHeretic

I'm playing VtM with a tabletop group. How different is the new edition?
Hairys Likes, Dislikes, Games n Stuff

Cattle die, kinsmen die
You too one day shall die
I know a thing that will never die
Fair fame of one who has earned it.

RegretNot

It is Vampire the Masquerade and not Requiem to be sure but there is a greater focus on hunger instead of blood points, the streamline of combat being contested but not making three different rolls to get one thing done, and new complications and tweaks to classic disciplines.  This only has gangrel, brujah, and nosferatu concepts present and it's a small module but it gives a good idea of the new direction of the new edition.  I am a long time VtM player and ST and personally I happen to like it on paper, I just want to ST it and see how it works when dice are being rolled. 

Any interest in joining us?

Codexa


RegretNot


HairyHeretic

I'll give it a spin, I'm curious to see how the rules have changed. I prefer to take Jordan, but would you like to have a Nosferatu used instead so we have one character from each clan in play? That might be more useful for a playtest. If so, I'll take the preacher.
Hairys Likes, Dislikes, Games n Stuff

Cattle die, kinsmen die
You too one day shall die
I know a thing that will never die
Fair fame of one who has earned it.

RegretNot

Your choice, if you want Jordan you can have him going to give it a few days before I start and hopefully we can get a whole or close to a whole party as having most of them makes the scenario easier and offers more things to test. 

HairyHeretic

I'm happy to use either. I'm playing a Ventrue in our pen and paper game, so either would be different to my normal character.
Hairys Likes, Dislikes, Games n Stuff

Cattle die, kinsmen die
You too one day shall die
I know a thing that will never die
Fair fame of one who has earned it.

RegretNot

Jordan it is then, marked as taken, pming you soon with the playtest handout.

RegretNot

The Coterie: 

There will be four options of what kind of Coterie the players are considered, they allow different bonuses and shift what binds them together and will affect the roleplay.  I am posting up the types so you can all begin to think about it and new players who wish to grab one of the three remaining can put in their two

The Prince’s Hounds
Your coterie exists because Modius ordered its creation. He considers you his deniable, expendable, trained beasts. Perhaps you consider him your best option, or even your true liege. You haven’t got a better offer either way. 

+1 to Social tests involving Camarilla vampires or the human power structure in Gary (except the Prince)
-1 to Social tests involving Anarchs in Gary
A successful Manipulation+Empathy or Perception+Empathy test (Difficulty 4) by any coterie member in his presence tells you what Social skill the Prince is most likely to respond favorably to today.
A successful Wits+Etiquette (Difficulty 6) tells you the same thing about the Prince, by talking to other Camarilla vampires.

Turf Lords
Your coterie exists to protect your hunting grounds, or something else there, from other vampires.
+2 to all tests to hunt on your home turf; +1 to tests to detect, investigate, or discover strangers
or outsiders on your home turf.
-2 to all tests to hunt outside your home turf; -1 to other tests in which your outsider status on another’s turf might be disadvantageous.
Any of you may spend 1 Willpower to establish a mundane fact about your home turf: an abandoned building, a sewer entrance, a specific
NPC, etc.
You may spend 3 Willpower (either individually or from more than one player) to establish a supernatural or vampiric fact about it.

Allied Sires
Your coterie exists because all your sires are allied for some complex reason of higher vampire politics. This alliance has been fairly stable, even with the rise of the Second Inquisition and the Anarch Revolts.
You can use teamwork on Social tests against other vampires, as you have long practice in factional politics. Ignore messy criticals on these tests.
Once per session, the Storyteller can penalize you 2 dice on a Social test against another vampire, as your sires have offended that vampire or her sire or one of her allies.
Any of you may spend 2 Willpower to reference, call on, or introduce into the plot something of the larger world of vampire politics. This may give you a story moment or small (+1 or +2 to a Social test) bonus. In this scenario, that most likely involves being able to call in a favor from Chicago.

Anarch Cell
Your coterie exists because you are an Anarch cell, possibly inactive or sleeping. You may not have openly rebelled yet. Or you may be declared: in a shatter zone like Gary even openly proclaiming Anarch tendencies doesn’t disqualify you from Modius’ presence, or remove you from the city’s vampiric ecology. In fact, you likely prefer Modius to whoever Chicago would put in charge as Prince following his overthrow.
-1 to Social tests involving Camarilla vampires or the human power structure in Gary; the exception is Intimidation in a scene with fewer NPCs than PCs.
+1 to Social tests involving Anarchs in Gary, and to Streetwise tests.
You are more tuned in to the human underground of Gary, and some of them (perhaps foolishly) put faith in you. Humans in Gary are at worst Indifferent to you for the purposes of Social tests; except for police, city officials, business owners, or other members of the existing power structure.

Rebelle

Hai guys!

I think that the two best options would perhaps be the Turf Lords or the Anarch Cell just from what I've gathered.  But those are just my two BP :)  What say you guys? :D

HairyHeretic

Turf lords or Allied Sires would be my choices. I'm not so familiar with Anarchs, so don't want to pick that til I know a bit more about them. Are they basically Sabbat under a new name?
Hairys Likes, Dislikes, Games n Stuff

Cattle die, kinsmen die
You too one day shall die
I know a thing that will never die
Fair fame of one who has earned it.

RegretNot

Quote from: HairyHeretic on February 04, 2018, 04:58:23 AM
Turf lords or Allied Sires would be my choices. I'm not so familiar with Anarchs, so don't want to pick that til I know a bit more about them. Are they basically Sabbat under a new name?

Anarchs are vampires who reject the status quo of Cainite society. The resulting organization of anarchs is called the Anarch Movement, whose traditional strongholds are Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.  Basically most elders assume any neonate that doesn't fall in line is an anarch, whereas anarchs will actually form under the banner and even have a Baron, a representative selected by the masses.  The big difference between the anarch and sabbat when it comes to other sects compared to the Camarila is that they are tolerated unlike the Sabbat, they follow the masquerade and get the reasons to uphold but don't respect the titles inside of it.  They are big on democracy and trying to change the system so age and power doesn't rule the night in all things. 

Codexa


Amarlo

I have never played this but I definitely want to watch. Consider me your trusty stalker. ;D

Seduce my mind and my body will follow.
Amarlo's O&Os
Absences and Apologies

RegretNot

Turf Lords might be it. 

Amarlo you should play, characters are written up with background already... its easy and its going to be fun.

Amarlo

>< I can't! I'd be totally out of my element! I used to know more about VtM but now I'm pretty much forgotten it all @_@ I'd be so nervous I already know it'll screw with my ability to write, lmfao.

But I definitely want to watch and learn in the process, if you'll allow me! o-o

Seduce my mind and my body will follow.
Amarlo's O&Os
Absences and Apologies

Praxis

How much do you need to know the system to take part?

It's been...well over a decade and that was Mage: The Ascension.

I don't want to be burdensome but this does seem interesting enough to warrant asking in case I'm going to be a chore for you and the other writers.

No harm no foul if you tell me to blow.

RegretNot

Quote from: Praxis on February 05, 2018, 02:23:22 PM
How much do you need to know the system to take part?

It's been...well over a decade and that was Mage: The Ascension.

I don't want to be burdensome but this does seem interesting enough to warrant asking in case I'm going to be a chore for you and the other writers.

No harm no foul if you tell me to blow.

Its a new edition with new stuff even veterans havent used, plus there is a player packet for player reference, so i think you would be fine.  Join in just choose a character, gender can of course be swapped if you want, just keep the concept.

Codexa

RN

I'm having issues with the link you sent me the other day.

Could you PM me it again here? <3 Id' appreciate it.

Pdriggy

I'll take Malort if it is going?

I've played V:tM for years and I'm running an person table top for the past two years. I've read the new rules and I am keen to see them in action :-)

Pdriggy


RegretNot

Quote from: Pdriggy on February 06, 2018, 04:34:32 PM
I'll take Malort if it is going?

I've played V:tM for years and I'm running an person table top for the past two years. I've read the new rules and I am keen to see them in action :-)

Got it marked down, welcome aboard. 


Only 2 left, Praxis you about?