[V20] Vampire the Masquerade: Anarchs Under Starlight

[SilkenVenom]

For my part, I've been going round and round in circles over what to drop from Cat's list of Merits in order to get under the 7-point cap. 

I'm pretty sure I'll wave farewell to Concentration - Cat's got enough supernatural perspicacity that making her rely on Willpower to shut out distractions seems reasonable.  But that sadly only saves me one of the two points I need.

I think I've narrowed things down to a couple of choices, in order to get the other point.

So... option one: should I drop Eat Food?  Doing so would remove one of the more personal reasons for having a social venue as her domain: I was envisioning her revelling in a chance to share something as human as savouring a drink with friends, and using that kind of activity as a way to keep herself connected to the mundane world.

Or for option two: do I drop French and Spanish from Cat's list of languages (she gets two languages for one Merit point, as a Natural Linguist)?  She needs ASL, and as a professional-grade occultist I want her to have Latin... but it'd be really nice for her to be able to understand more of what she might hear, and to more visibly play with her linguistic gifts.  Still, she could be actively studying both languages in play, with a view to acquiring them in future.

Does anyone have any preferences?

If not, I'll have to take responsibility for making up my own mind and post the finished character tomorrow. 

I love your character so I'll throw my opinion in on this:

Eat Food: Honestly, I've always found this merit more trouble than its worth and not worth the points for it. And if you REALLY need to eat to maintain cover, you can usually spend blood points or willpower to keep it down long enough before needing to expel it. Some GM's will even let you do this for free if you maintain a high Humanity (depends on how Bly wants to handle it).

Languages: I mean...does she really need ASL? She's clearly a tech expert, so wouldn't her having an electronic voice box be an easier/better idea for someone like her? Keep in mind, she still needs to be able to communicate with the rest of the characters. A part of me feels like this is putting too many eggs in one basket.

[Bruja]

@Amaris:

Sadly, as Merits, the rule for acquiring new ones is that there is no rule (at least, not that I've noticed).  In this version of nWoD, they were meant to be unchanging innate parts of your character... which is why some slightly later versions of the Storyteller system switched Linguistics to being a skill that granted new languages as you added new dots to it.

But being a languages nerd happily studying new tongues online and via books would certainly fit Cat however many languages she had at the start of play.  :)

I am pretty sure we are using oWoD V20, right? Maybe Bly will consider the speciality in languages as a Knowledge instead? I mean the golden rule of VTM is there are no rules or that you can make your own rules. You might even consider it an Expert Knowledge which is a catch all for this kind of situation.

[Marie Reynolds]

Cool Chapter one,  It did not change the concept at all and I would rather take a flaw that could make my life more difficult and create more plot hooks  then having to  worry about being  pigeon holed in by Clan hatreds.
I do hope you have fun  playing Malik!

[Hades]

I have to say, changing Linguistics into a Merit rather than leaving it a knowledge was the singular most baffling change to me going from 3rd edition to V20.

I'd say drop Eat food myself, since you can get the same result for a scene by spending willpower.  While it would mean she wouldn't be able to pretend every night the way she could with the merit, doing something once a week or even once a month would still be enough to keep her connected with that aspect of humanity that she's trying to cling to, while having time in between indulgences to regain her willpower back so she's not continually depleting her mental reserves.

[Bruja]

I have to say, changing Linguistics into a Merit rather than leaving it a knowledge was the singular most baffling change to me going from 3rd edition to V20.

I had to double-check that myself and was like what? This is what happens when you don't play for a while...things get all discombobulated. lol

[Hades]

I had to double-check that myself and was like what? This is what happens when you don't play for a while...things get all discombobulated. lol

Oh, I feel ya there.  It was bad enough back when oWoD was still the only WoD, and you had to deal with how Vampire, Werewolf and Mage all had variations on how the rules were and it was very easy to mis-remember a rule from Mage when you were playing a vampire, and versa visa.

[Bruja]

Oh, I feel ya there.  It was bad enough back when oWoD was still the only WoD, and you had to deal with how Vampire, Werewolf and Mage all had variations on how the rules were and it was very easy to mis-remember a rule from Mage when you were playing a vampire, and versa visa.

I was always very frustrated with the combat system..on the surface it appears simple...but what lies beneath.....nooooo

[Blythe]

I'll most likely review sheets again on Tuesday, my next day off! :)

I realize after reading the chatter here I should mention something important about Merits and Flaws in my games--I usually don't mention this until after a game starts, but given the discussion, it seems important to mention now. One reason I usually wait to mention this until later in my group games is that I don't wish to allow people to spend their starting EXP on this; this is something that should come up during gameplay, not before.

It is possible in tales I run to purchase Merits during the game, though I reserve the right to veto those as needed. Half the reason I do a hard-cap on Merits during character creation at 7 (other than avoiding Merit bloat & past gaming experiences) is this ability to purchase in-game later on. The purchase rate for this particular game will be 2 EXP per Merit dot--meaning a 1 point Merit costs 2 EXP, a 2 point Merit costs 4 EXP, a 3 point Merit costs 6 EXP, and so on and so forth.

There are three things players will want to keep in mind if you want to purchase a Merit during gameplay:
* You must be able to justify the Merit somehow. Generally you can do this by linking me to in-character posts you wrote where your character is striving to acquire the benefit of the Merit.
* Some Merits cannot be purchased after character creation. Use common sense here; anything that should be present from the moment of Embrace is something you can only purchase during character creation. (Languages, for example, would be a great example of something purchasable during gameplay)
* Be mindful of not just what fits your character, but what will fit the game.

I also allow Background purchases during gameplay, with the same caveats/restrictions as Merits, though  Backgrounds will use the same purchase scale as Abilities.

[Outcast]

I was always very frustrated with the combat system..on the surface it appears simple...but what lies beneath.....nooooo

I can remember reviews wearily criticising White Wolf when the original Vampire: the Dark Ages came out.  Even at that point it was their fifth (I think) attempt at rewriting their combat system, and they still hadn't managed to get something that made full sense.  And they kept on tweaking it for almost every new game they released...

@Blythe: Woo!  That is a big relief.  And means that Cat spending much of her time happily stuck into language-nerdery is something more than background 'colour'.  And it also means that she can usefully keep working on things like the size of her Herd and the security measures of her Domain.

@everyone: Thank you for the advice (and particular thanks for the kindly flattering comments in there, too). 

I think I'll stick with the Eat Food option, since in V20 it seems that most vampires immediately bring back up anything they consume - doing a word-search in the PDF for things like 'food' and 'vomit'(!) didn't bring up any option for a 'normal' vampire to keep food or drink down even temporarily.  I can drop a Language dot, and have Cat be joyfully working away on developing her skill with a couple of modern Romance languages to complement her mastery of Latin.

[Chapter One]

Malik Abbasid (pending review)

Name:		Malik Abbasid		Player:		Chapter One
Clan:		Ventrue		Chronicle:		Anarchs Under Starlight
Nature:		Soldier		Haven:		Gang controlled city block
Demeanor:		Capitalist		Concept:		"Well played Mr. Monahan." [2:55-3:30] (EX Warning: Gun violence / scalping)
Generation:		<n/a>		EXP Spent:		20/20

Physical				Social				Mental
Strength:		●●○○○		Charisma:		●●○○○		Perception:	●●●○○
Dexterity:		●●●○○		Manipulation:		●●○○○		Intelligence:	●●●○○
Stamina:		●●●○○		Appearance:		●●○○○		Wits:	●●●●○

Specialties: Wits (Getting the Jump on Others)

Talents				Skills				Knowledges
Alertness:		○○○○○		Animal Ken:		○○○○○		Academics:	○○○○○
Athletics:		●○○○○		Crafts:		○○○○○		Computer:	○○○○○
Awareness:		○○○○○		Drive:		●○○○○		Finance:	●○○○○
Brawl:		●●○○○		Etiquette:		●●○○○		Investigation:	●●○○○
Empathy:		●○○○○		Firearms:		●●●●○		Law:	●○○○○
Expression:		○○○○○		Larceny:		○○○○○		Medicine:	○○○○○
Intimidation:		●●○○○		Melee:		●●○○○		Occult:	○○○○○
Leadership:		●●○○○		Performance:		○○○○○		Politics:	●○○○○
Streetwise:		●●●○○		Stealth:		○○○○○		Science:	○○○○○
Subterfuge:		●●○○○		Survival:		○○○○○		Technology:	○○○○○

Specialties: Firearms (Marksmanship)

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Allies:		●●○○○		Celerity:		●○○○○		Conscience/Conviction:	●○○○○
Contacts:		●●●●○		Fortitude:		●●●○○		Self-Control/Instinct:	●●●●○
Domain:		●●●○○		Potence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●●
Mentor:		●●●○○
Resources:		●●●○○
Generation:		<n/a>

Humanity/Path:

●●●●● ○○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●●○○

Blood Pool:

<n/a>

Health: Uninjured

Merits & Flaws

Merits
- Iron Will (3)

Flaws
- Hunted (-4)
- Impatient (-1)
- Rival Sires (-2)

Personality: Malik conducts himself with what could be best described as ruthlessly disciplined cordiality. He's known to walk and dress as most kindred expect of a Ventrue, well and with palpable confidence. But when there is business to be conducted, he rarely minces words. It is not so much impolite as merely with candor. And should diplomacy by way of words appear to be going poorly, suffice to say that Malik has never once been seen to leverage the common powers of Domination or Presence associated with Ventrue. But the use of the knife and pistol to settle disputes have been rumored to follow Malk around. Suffice to say that this Ventrue finds them a much quicker and effective way of resolving issues.

Backstory/History: Malik's history becomes challenging to track beyond his time outside of Denver. Even his pedigree within the city is varied and inconsistent depending on who you ask. Some business owners speak of Malik as a pillar of their community, ensuring business runs smoothly and crime is kept low. Others in the same city block might look for a way to quickly change the subject.

Malik is a lieutenant within a reputable criminal syndicate operating in Denver. At present, he runs a single city block under syndicate's control, and nothing happens here without Malik and the syndicate getting its cut, whether from underground fighting rings, brothels, or more legitimate enterprises. Malik's turf is a haven for kindred; a number of services are available to the anarchs. Supplies both legal and illegal can be acquired for reasonable costs, and there are at least a half-dozen safe houses for the anarch that might suddenly need a place to lie low.

However, advocates and those loyal to Adhira Anand learn quickly that while the use of basic services from Malik is acceptable, currying favor is -not-. It is well known that Lola and Malik are allies, so it doesn't take much to understand why close association with either Lola or Malik is not looked upon favorably by Adhira.

[Outcast]

Fiiiiinally posted my character in the approved thread.  Hopefully I did so without any typos! 

@Amaris: it looks like you've got two identical entries of Resources 1 on your sheet.  Should one of those be a different Background?

[Blythe]

@Chapter One: Approved! You have special permission not to include your Freebie/EXP expenditures on your sheet for now (mentioning that here so other players know I'm aware and that Chapter One has permission due to fun ST secret reasons!). Please keep careful track of that info in private though! <3

@Bruja: Some of your numbers look a bit off! I'm going to PM you so we can hash out some numbers! <3

[Outcast]

Ooooh.  A shifty Ventrue with secrets, eh?



Welcome to the realm of the approved, Chapter One.

[Blythe]

As a note for Marie: I promise I'm working to get your sheet into BBCoding. It's taking me a little bit today, but I am currently helping with your sheet. Is just taking a little longer than I anticipated, but I have not forgotten you! :)

For approved players: a link to the game's OOC is in the opening post of this thread! Head on over there! (Players who have not yet been approved should still use this recruitment thread!)

[Marie Reynolds]

No Problem and thanks again for the assist and update!

[WaylaidWayward]

Haven't got around to playing VtM before, so this looks really exciting. 👁

I've got an idea in the works for a Ventrue that can only drink from Cannibals, leading them to open a fast food chain in Denver to secretly turn people into cannibals. Might come up with something else, but this was just the initial thought.

If this is still open, of course.

[Blythe]

Haven't got around to playing VtM before, so this looks really exciting. 👁

I've got an idea in the works for a Ventrue that can only drink from Cannibals, leading them to open a fast food chain in Denver to secretly turn people into cannibals. Might come up with something else, but this was just the initial thought.

If this is still open, of course.

Technically yes, though I'm quite behind on processing characters sheets at the moment. Overtime at work has resulted in some delays. ^^;

[Outcast]

I wish we could help you to scare work away and free you up for RP matters, Blythe!

For the cannibal-creating Ventrue... I'd warn that it sounds like a recipe for a very low Humanity, and could well be a source of conflict with more idealistic types.  But of course that might be something that you and Blythe want.

[WaylaidWayward]

A familiar feeling. Schedules can be the deadliest of killers. But, thanks for taking the time for responding Blythe!

I'll post when it looks like you've got things rolling again so I don't overwhelm you.

I wish we could help you to scare work away and free you up for RP matters, Blythe!

For the cannibal-creating Ventrue... I'd warn that it sounds like a recipe for a very low Humanity, and could well be a source of conflict with more idealistic types.  But of course that might be something that you and Blythe want.

Oh definitely. The more I thought about her character, the more I believe she'd think a food chain would be the most humane way to do it. Better than forcibly turning people into cannibals. This way she at least has some degree of separation. It's more of a scribbled up idea, so I'll probably have to think about it some more when Blythe gets some time.

[Bruja]

Technically yes, though I'm quite behind on processing characters sheets at the moment. Overtime at work has resulted in some delays. ^^;

I completely feel you. I have been working OT for weeks now..its like it never ends.