[nWoD] The Omerta Masquerade [Recruiting!]

[Apple of Eris]

We are so going to need a lot more sin or they'll be going hungry.

[Angie]

Pretty sure you got that covered, Vivian.

[Crash]

I need to wrap up my background and I should be ready to submit.

[Apple of Eris]

Just doing what I do best 

[Crash]

Apple - I was looking at Vivian.  You get one dot in Mantle (Spring) for free for starting out in the court.  It looks like you paid for it.

[Muse]

You do?  Wow, I didn't know that.  ^_^;;   

Is my application all right? 

So what are Sin Eaters anyway? 

[TheGlyphstone]

A Sin-Eater, one of the Bound.

You died. Almost. At the moment of death, something came to you - a geist, a ghost that has transcended death and become a spiritual manifestation of the manner in which it died. It says that you don't have to die, that you can return to life - but the price is that you have to bring it with you. It attaches itself to your soul, reanimating you as a living person with one foot permanently in the grave. Your Geist lends you its powers, and whispers in the back of your mind, coaxing you to empower the type of death it embodies. How you deal with your second lease on life is your problem, but you have another problem - you can see ghosts, they know you can, and they want you to help solve their problems first.

[Apple of Eris]

Apple - I was looking at Vivian.  You get one dot in Mantle (Spring) for free for starting out in the court.  It looks like you paid for it.

OOOOOOOOH... I have a point to spend still? yay!

[Crash]

I forgot to spend the xp on the sheet I sent to Angie. I need to fix and resend.

Angie - PM'd a finished character to you.

Proposed Character

Name: Absinthia “Abbie” Hiver
Court: Winter
Seeming/Kith: Wizen/Brewer

Brewer

Brewer — Changelings who spent their durance in Faerie learning how to create mind-bendingly potent drinks or peculiar alchemies. Due to long exposure and gradual immunity, a Brewer gains four bonus dice to any Stamina roll made to resist poisons or intoxication. In addition, the Brewers know the recipe for The Inebriating Elixir: once per scene, the changeling can instantly ferment one pint of any drink with Glamour, turning it into a powerfully intoxicating brew. The changeling needs to be able to touch the container holding the drink to do this. The changeling’s player rolls Wits + Crafts. If the roll is successful, the player may spend one Glamour point to invest the drink with a Potency rating equal to the changeling’s Wyrd rating, plus the number of successes the player rolled. If the Potency of the brew is higher than the Health of the person drinking the brew, the person gets very drunk, and in five turns falls unconscious. If the Potency doesn’t exceed the drinker’s Health, the drinker must roll Stamina + Resolve, or suffer the effects of having drunk one more drink than her Stamina (see the World of Darkness Rule-book, p. 177). The brew’s effects last for the rest of the scene.

Blessing: Nimble (1 Glamour = 9 gain all Dex pools for 1 scene)
Curse: Spite (No 10 again on presence rolls.  -2 Untrained presence skills)
Age: 23
Player: Crash
Concept: Speakeasy Bartender
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Gluttony
Chronicle: The Omerta Masquerade
Experience: 5 (Used: 4)

APPEARANCE

FAE MEIN

ATTRIBUTES

MENTAL
Intelligence [2]
Wits [3]
Resolve [2]

PHYSICAL
Strength [2]
Dexterity [2]
Stamina [2]

SOCIAL
Presence [3]
Manipulation [3]
Composure [2]

SKILLS

MENTAL
Crafts [3] Specialty: Brewing
Occult [1]

PHYSICAL
Athletics [3]
Brawl [2]
Drive [1]
Stealth [2]

SOCIAL
Empathy [3] Specialty: Emotions
Persuasion [2]
Subterfuge [2] Specialty: Lying
Socialize [2]
Streetwise [2]

MERITS
Mantle (Winter) [2]
Hollow [3]: 1 Size, 1 Furnishings  and 1 Ward
Token [3]: Hedgespun Wardrobe

Rules

This item may appear as a battered wardrobe, steamer trunk or other well-used receptacle for clothing. The Wardrobe always possesses a lock, and its key hangs from a chain attached to the object. The key will not turn in the lock, however, unless the token is activated. Its owner may command it to produce a new Hedgespun outfit (p. 203) once per day. The garments provided roughly suit the changeling’s  demands  (“a  courtly  Winter  gown,”  “something  in dark leather”), but the Wardrobe cannot create protective garments sturdy enough to count as armor.
Action: Standard
Mien: The Wardrobe rattles slightly, and may shift as if alive. A chest with clawed feet may flex its toes slightly from time to time, and the moths engraved on a wardrobe’s door may seem to move their wings. Opening the object releases a musty, warm (or cold) rush of air like a breath.
Drawback:  The garments produced are physically real, but temporary in nature. Each one dissolves into mist, smoke or dust at the next sunrise, whether it’s worn at the time or simply lying on someone’s bedroom floor.
Catch: The user must moisten the key with his blood.  The wound aches slightly while the Wardrobe’s clothing is worn, distracting the wearer and imposing a –1 die penalty to any Composure rolls. A user who cannot see through the Mask cannot request a specific outfit, not that she could see it for what it is anyway; she simply sees a quaint old dress or elegant suit within the Wardrobe once it’s open.

Contacts [1]: Goblin Market (2xp)
Harvest [1]: Emotions (2xp)

DEFENSE [2]
HEALTH [7]
INITIATIVE [4]
SIZE [5]
SPEED [9]
CLARITY [7]
WILLPOWER [4]
WYRD [1]
GLAMOUR [5]10 Max

CONTRACTS
Contracts of Animation[2]

Knowing Touch

The character talks to an object or device and learns of any damage it has suffered and the location and nature of all of its weak points. The object also tells her about any hidden spaces or secret compartments within it. To use this clause, the character must handle, examine and talk or whisper to the object or device for at least half a minute.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Crafts
Action: Instant
Catch: The owner of the device asked the changeling to examine it. This catch does not function if the change-ling owns the object in question.
Roll Results
Dramatic  Failure:  The  changeling  misunderstands the device and for the next scene gains a penalty of –2 to any roll to repair or modify this device.
Failure: The clause provides the character with no in-formation about the object or device.
Success: The character understands the details of the object’s construction. She gains a bonus equal to her Wyrd to repair or modify a damaged object or device. In addition, she knows what piece to remove to most effectively disable a device, or exactly where to hit an object to do the most damage. She can halve the object’s Durability (round down) for any attack she makes on it during the next scene.
Exceptional Success: The character also automatically learns of any hidden compartments or spaces within the object she is examining.

Instant Expertise

By touching a device and listening to its spirit, the changeling gains an instinctive knowledge of how to use it. This clause allows characters who have no idea how to use a particular device to use it without penalty and also provides characters trained in its use with additional expertise. To use this clause, the character must touch and fiddle with the device for two full turns before using it.  This clause can be used on weapons, vehicles, scientific instruments, individual computer programs or any other device or tool. Changelings can even use this to gain bonuses at picking locks or disarming security systems.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wits + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The character has at least 10 minutes to talk with the device to learn the secrets of its use.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:  The character misinterprets the device’s suggestions and suffers a –2 penalty when using the device for the next scene.
Failure: The clause does not affect the character’s use of the device.
Success: The character gains a temporary specialty with the device she is touching.  This supernatural benefit manifests as a bonus to dice rolls made to use the  specific  object  equal  to  the  number  of  successes. Thus,  if  the  player  rolled  three  successes  to  have  his Wizened learn to ride a particular motorcycle, the Wizened would gain three dice to any Drive rolls made to drive  that  specific  vehicle.  This bonus lasts for three turns per point of the character’s Wyrd. It also counts as temporary dots in a Skill for the purpose of eliminating untrained penalties.
Exceptional Success:  The bonus lasts for the entire scene.

Contracts of Eternal Winter[2]

Jack’s Breath

The character cools a room considerably, or an area roughly the size of a room.
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Survival
Action: Instant
Catch: The character hears someone shiver or tastes someone’s sweat.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The room grows warmer instead of colder.
Failure: The character fails to cool the room.
Success: The room cools by a degree decided by the character before the dice roll. See the list of suggested modifiers below for guidelines on how far a character can reduce the temperature, and in how large a room. The cooling lasts for one scene before the room gradually returns to normal temperature.
Exceptional Success: The cooling lasts as long as the character desires before returning to normal.

Touch of Winter

Liquid freezes with just a caress of the changeling’s fingertips.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Winter) 1
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Mantle (Winter)
Action: Instant
Catch: The character first spells out a name or idea he hates with the liquid on a dry surface.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:  The character’s hand grows very cold, and the character suffers a point of bashing damage from early frostbite.
Failure: The character fails to freeze the liquid.
Success:  The liquid freezes over.  The liquid has an effective Strength (for purposes of supporting people on a frozen pond, for example) equal to the number of successes rolled. (See the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 47, for Strength and weight information.) This Strength is effective over a few square feet, not the entire surface, so a group can walk across the frozen pond as long as they give each other distance. A character may distribute his weight (cutting it approximately in half) by lying down on the frozen surface. The liquid’s surface remains frozen until it melts naturally.
Exceptional Success: The character may instantly return the frozen liquid to its original liquid form, as long as he chooses to do so within the same scene.

Contracts of Fleeting Winter[1]

The Dragon Knows

The character can tell why a person is sorrowful, guessing her regrets with but a glance.
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd + Empathy – subject’s Composure
Action: Instant
Catch: The character looks into the subject’s eyes for a moment.
Roll Results
Dramatic  Failure:  The character cannot figure ou why the subject is sad, but it afflicts the character as well. His mood lasts the rest of the scene and inflicts a –1 die penalty on his Social dice pools.
Failure:  The character fails to discover the subject’s regrets.
Success: The character discovers the root of the subject’s sorrow. This Clause reveals only the cause of the sorrow the subject feels now, and returns no result at all (even if successfully used) if the subject is not currently experiencing sorrow (or sadness or another similar emotion).
Exceptional Success: If the subject is not currently sad but was within the last hour, the character finds out the cause of that and why it ended.

PLEDGES

EQUIPMENT
Stiletto
Ordinary Clothing
Personal Grooming Items
Cigarette Holder
Cigarette Case
Pack of Cigarettes

BACKGROUND
Her life before her durance is a blur Absinthia.  She remembers Paris, the beautiful lights and the raucous sounds of her favorite café. She can remember she had a family though their visages are a blur, but what she remembers most is that joyously bitter verte that filled her veins and made her light as a feather the night she was taken.

If her life before her durance was a blur her durance is but fleeting dreams that intrudes upon her waking hours in frightful flashes.  There was pain, lots of pain. Being pulled and squeezed and crushed for the sweet bitter in her veins.  Terribly beautiful things suckling her until she shriveled and her seed burst from her husk to be planted and cared for until she was ripe to be plucked again.  For a time the beautiful things were happy to enjoy the nectar of her veins, but they grew tired of the same old libation and blended her with others to form even more delightful concoctions for their revelries. 

Absinthia had no concept of time in Arcadia, she was reborn from her own seed time and time again knowing only happiness in the garden where she grew under the stars.  Those stars reminded her of another time, of the lights of a city distantly remembered of faces she loved, not feared.  Her escape she was sure was nothing more than happenstance.  The fae gardener tripped and spilled Abbie from its basket where she rolled under a prickly hedge.  She had been planted for so long she had almost forgotten she had legs, but the gardener hurriedly collected the other and missed the anise and wormwood that lay under the thorny briar afraid to move until the gardener turned its back.

Abbie ran, ran through the thorny hedge that torn at her fibrous form. Her only guild the flickers of starlight above and the memory of twinkling lights in the fog of her memory.  One moment the brambles clutched at her emerald skin and the next she was free, but the place was not how she remembers, was not where she remembers at least that was what she thought.  Perhaps it was the ambiguity of her memories that brought her through the hedge so far from home.

If the fae court had not found her, Abbie would likely have meant another unfortunate end, but a local winter court lady ran a local orphanage and took her for a time to acquaint her with changeling society.  She was given the name Absinthia be her courtly patron and took her last name in gratitude towards the court that saved her.  Abbie’s durance reinforced her cravings for the excesses she indulged in in her former life and she was fascinated be how far women had come in her absence.  She embraced the roaring 20’s with enthusiasm landing a job as a bartender at a local club. Her time in Arcadia made her uniquely qualified for the job even if the irony is a painful reminder of the suffering she endured.

Oh lord the typos.  I really should have proofread that. 
<----Is embarrassed.

[Apple of Eris]

Wow crash... that woman is GORGEOUS.

[Crash]

Yeah I didn't have the points for the merit or I would have taken it.

[Angie]

Considering the supernatural nature of all of you, if you can come up with a decent explanation for it, I might let you buy Merits that are marked "only available at Creation". Behold your GM is most fair.

[Crash]

I have been wanting to use those pics for a while.

[Apple of Eris]

Plastic surgery!

[Angie]

Not around in the 20s.

[TheGlyphstone]

No, but Vicissitude is.

[Apple of Eris]

Not around in the 20s.

Early traces of plastic surgery can be found in India since the Indus Valley Civilization(3300 BCE).

And modern facial repairs were started in 1917, though looking at some pictures, yikes!

[RubySlippers]

Considering the supernatural nature of all of you, if you can come up with a decent explanation for it, I might let you buy Merits that are marked "only available at Creation". Behold your GM is most fair.

My character is not Supernatural she has a knack to get people to do things for her, that's all. 

[wander]

Just a reminder to the Changeling characters they gain a free specialty, either in Athletics, Brawl or Stealth to represent how they escaped Arcadia... Don't forget about it!

Should have my character up in your PM box later today Angie... Currently gonna look for a character pic for my Dick and then I can get to writing :)

[Crash]

Just a reminder to the Changeling characters they gain a free specialty, either in Athletics, Brawl or Stealth to represent how they escaped Arcadia... Don't forget about it!

Should have my character up in your PM box later today Angie... Currently gonna look for a character pic for my Dick and then I can get to writing :)

Doh!  Thanks for the reminder!

[Angie]

Just a reminder to the Changeling characters they gain a free specialty, either in Athletics, Brawl or Stealth to represent how they escaped Arcadia... Don't forget about it!

Should have my character up in your PM box later today Angie... Currently gonna look for a character pic for my Dick and then I can get to writing :)

I don't wanna see your-oh, oh, you mean private investigator. Carry on!

[Angie]

The game has begun, my dears! If you are still making a character, do not fret, we will always be recruiting. Hooray for sandboxing!

[RafeRavel]

Hey, sorry for the late App! Hope this (likely familiar) character is an acceptable member of this midnight crew!

Dean Smith

Name: Dean Smith
Profession: Soldier
Affiliations: None
Age: 26
Player: RafeRavel
Concept: Bootlegger Soldier of the Night
Virtue: Justice
Vice: Wrath
Chronicle: The Omerta Masquerade
Experience: 1

ATTRIBUTES

MENTAL
Intelligence •
Wits •••
Resolve •••

PHYSICAL
Strength ••
Dexterity •••
Stamina •••

SOCIAL
Presence ••
Manipulation ••
Composure ••

SKILLS

MENTAL
Crafts ••
- Specialty: Brewing
- Specialty: Gunsmithing
Investigation ••
Medicine •
Occult ••

PHYSICAL
Athletics •••
Brawl ••
Drive ••
Firearms ••
- Specialty: Pistol Grip
Survival •
Weaponry •

SOCIAL
Intimidation ••
- Specialty: Torture
Socialize •
Subterfuge •

MERITS
Ally (Robert Kaine) ••
- Robert Kaine is a godfather, and something of a mentor to Dean. He's still considers himself a hunter, but he's past his physical prime and sticks mostly to research on the supernatural. He owns a bookstore, with 'special reading' available to clientele who are in the know. Most of these books are research Robert has collected himself in previous hunts, or discoveries he's made on weaknesses of the spooks (dynamite is a typical weakness). Gruff, but compassionate to those in his inner circle - Dean included

Fast Reflexes •
- Dean has learned that staying alive typically means shooting first. +1 Initiative

Resources ••
- While not being any sort of rich, Dean has a fair amount of assets at his disposal for the confrontation of the dark forces. The most significant thing he owns being a Black 1914 Chevrolet Model H Roadster, with a hidden compartment in the bench seating for smuggling booze and weapons. In the storage space, he keeps a Thompson, a sawed-off double barrel, a small bundle of dynamite, and a few books from Robert's collection. On his person, he has a Bowie Knife, a false Pinkerton ID, a wooden stake, a cigarette case holding silver bullets, a flask of whiskey, and his faithful 1835 Texan Patterson.

Signature Weapon ••
- Dean trusts his 1835 Texan Patterson more than he trusts most people, and keeps it on his person at all times. It's evident by the customization that the weapon was designed by someone who fought the spooks, but it shows no sign of being more capable than any other weapon of it's model. It has seen Dean through many a firefight, however, and for that he trusts it with his life.

Torture Suite ••
- In his home, Dean has a little Nook special for visitors with information he needs. While not the most intimidating environment, there's still something unnerving about the room. Restraints on the walls, a table with sharp instruments (as well as items for harming the spooks) lined up in a row, and a dangling lightbulb that doesn't offer much illumination. Despite the poor lighting, Dean always seems to find just the right spot to make them squeal...

Derived Stats
Defense 3
Health 8
Initiative 6
Size 5
Speed 10
Humanity 7
Willpower 5


EQUIPMENT
1914 Chevrolet Model H Roadster
1835 Texan Patterson
Bowie Knife
Brass Knuckles
Thompson Sub-Machinegun
Sawed-off Shotgun
Dynamite (6)
Jar of Moonshine
Fitted Suit
Trench Coat
Fedora
Case of Silver Bullets (12)
Wooden Stake
False Pinkerton ID's
Box of Matches
Flask

BACKGROUND
From childhood, Dean was raised to hunt the spooks that go bump in the night by his father, Jackson Smith. His mother and brother had died when a vampire attacked, and Dean's father hadn't been the same since - dedicating his and his son's life to destroying the dark creatures of the world. Though he was trained to hunt by his father, Robert Kaine took care of him whenever Jackson went 'hunting'. Between the two men, Dean learned of both the legwork and the physical strain in their line of work. He grew up unable to connect with most children his age, and instead focused himself on being the best soldier his father could ask for.

Over the years, Dean and Jackson became more distant to each other, not having any real father/son relationship developed. Dean, however, was dedicated to the idea that family comes first, and would do whatever his father needed of him - illegal or otherwise. When his father disappeared for too long, he went looking far and wide for the man. After a year of searching he found Jackson - in the middle of a lair of vampires. Dean struggled to save his father, but Jackson was killed in the conflict - and Dean was left alone. And yet, the only thing that had changed was that he wasn't taking orders from anyone now.

The next few years, he traveled around the states trying to find a city with enough spook activity to settle down and try to do some real good. When he found Atlantic City, it was perfect - plenty of creeps, and no one seemed bothered by how he did his job. When the prohibition started, he started working as a rum-runner to fund himself and became a natural at brewing alcohol. He could get plenty of leads at the speakeasys, no one looked to hard at his 'ID's, and there were plenty of guns, if you knew where to look. Plus, Robert had his bookshop in town, which meant that Dean could get quick info when necessary. A perfect place to settle indeed...

[Angie]

Dean Smith receives the official GM Stamp of Approval! Let him in.

[Muse]

And it's all run by a black woman (who might be a supernatural herself) and financed by the mob.

WHICH REMINDS ME: How, uh, comfortable would you guys be dealing with race issues? I know it's the 1920s and blacks are still viewed as second class citizens, but if you guys aren't comfortable with dealing with it, I'll keep it off-screen. On the other hand, it does mean the chance to beat up a ton of KKK members. They're like Nazis, no matter how many you beat up you don't feel bad.

By the way, I don't think I ever answered this. 

I decided not to make a minority character cause I didn't want to bring those issues into the spotlight, but I do like the idea of throwing down with the Klan.