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Kindred of the East (interest check)

Started by Rook Seidhr, April 29, 2014, 06:12:54 AM

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Rook Seidhr

I can probably come up with a suitable character concept to fit any missing direction, actually. A Bone Shadow of the West or South also appeals to me, in which case obviously I would want spirit world stuff to play more of a role.

Mnemaxa

So far we have three definitely interested with a wide variety of styles available.  I think one or two more and I will start worldbuilding in depth for you. 

You will be part of the Blood Court, and stationed in Beijing this may make things slightly difficult for the Japanese officer (but only difficult, not intolerable or horrible) if you went that direction.  It seems social explorations and situations and heavy spirituality in the Dharmas and enlightenment aspects are where most are headed.  This doesn't preclude combat, but it will very likely reduce the amount of lethal combat that occurs.  Courtly politics is also something of an interest from what I see so far.

System and dice are the consensus, and that's how we will play it.  If we even get one more interested party, I'll set up character sheet and requirements.  Something you should all think about carefully is how dark you want to go - obviously, this must be in the Extreme Board if only for the fact that you're all blood and life drinking monsters, but also consider how decadent or not, how deeply involved with the mortals you want to be, and an awareness of the necessities of night to night existence as kuei will require of you (servants/slaves/secretaries/lovers/allies/enemies, etc.).  You don't have to flesh it out, but at least consider the possibilities while we see if anyone else becomes interested.

The Well of my Dreams is Poisoned; I draw off the Poison, which becomes the Ink of my Authorship, the Paint upon my Brush.

Marie Reynolds

Oh forgot to mention i would go East Direction.

Rook Seidhr

A healer and guru who's East? Not Center?

Pumpkin Seeds

I am certainly interested depending on game speed.

Marie Reynolds

Yep more focused on guiding and taken care of the mortals.

Mnemaxa

#31
All right.  Four is a good enough start for me to outline the idea behind the game and give some basic ideas about character creation.  Five would be ideal, but four is enough.




Not all is right with the world as you have been taught.  The things that the Mandarins claim are not the things that enlightened humans claim.  Yin and Yang, the Five Elements.  There are flaws in them, as you understand them.  Whether the flaws are within you, or within the teachings of your elders...well, only a fool would contradict the Bodhisattva.

Long Term Goal:  You are not entirely new to this world, but nor are you truly very experienced in this world of the Kuei, of demon Mo and ghostly Guei and the dead flesh of Kuei.  Yet within each of you, some nagging doubt, some confusion of the truth is clearly marked.  It is neither the whispers of your hateful P'o, nor is it the calm understanding of your Hun.  It is something more fundamental than that, and the disquiet grows even as you serve under the auspices of the Blood Court.  As you practice your diplomacy, as you study your condition, as you follow your paths, what this unquiet whisper is will begin to come clear.  And when you have truly understood it...you must then choose what you will do about it. 

The differences between the Kuei and the Vampires are vast, and almost irreconcilable.  Yet there must be at least a measure of peace between them, lest the Middle Kingdom fall victim to barbarism and chaos.  It is not power or will which makes the enemy most dangerous....the enemy is most dangerous because it is infectious.

The Problem:  As the Western vampires maintain their presence in China, it is inevitable that they would seek to expand their power and control.  The Blood Court is not merely responsible for Beijing, but all of China; and China is a vast and populous land.  Driving the vampires away would be ideal, but the fact that they are a disease which could become  a plague is a sobering thought for the Mandarins.  Even the Bodhisattva are cautious in their dealings with them.  So too, must you be, as you are the liaisons to Shadow Court.  It is a surprisingly prestigious position, and one which is both derided and envied.  There are many agendas to be coped with.  What of your own?

Imbalance and Balance are both part of the Tao.  To understand this is to begin understanding the Tao.  When does one become the other?  Only the Tao can say.  How can one change one into the other?  This is folly.  How can one strive to be at peace with both?  This is following the Way.

Complications: Your Wu is not a traditional Wu, and this leads to trouble.  Still, you are tasked by the Mandarins, and you must do your duty.  Not only the duty that you are commanded to perform, but also your duty to yourselves and each other, and those under you.  It is not enough to do what you are told, but you must also do what you must, without falling to the temptations of corruption, your inner demons, or the enemies that surround you.




Does this sound like an interesting sort of scenario/setting for you all?  Is there something more you would like to see, is there anything you want clarified?  If we do this, there are some specific flaws and merits that I will disallow, mainly those relating to raised Dharma levels, Heresy, Corruption, and other things that would betray the ideals set up by the players or would get you summarily executed. 

The Well of my Dreams is Poisoned; I draw off the Poison, which becomes the Ink of my Authorship, the Paint upon my Brush.

Marie Reynolds

Looks good to me! Ill just need to do some research on the shadow court and the blood court as the only game i played was based in japan. Mostly so i can build my history with the setting in mind.

Pumpkin Seeds

Thinking of going with a business woman type.  Maybe a resplendent crane.

Rook Seidhr

#34
Quote from: Mnemaxa on September 30, 2015, 07:11:23 AM
Does this sound like an interesting sort of scenario/setting for you all?  Is there something more you would like to see, is there anything you want clarified?
It sounds most auspicious :) Are we using the Revised Edition patch from the KotE Companion, or rules-as-written which match up to the Second Edition of VtM?

Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on September 30, 2015, 10:20:19 AM
Thinking of going with a business woman type.  Maybe a resplendent crane.
What Direction?

Pumpkin Seeds


Rook Seidhr

Sure is gonna be a non-traditional wu then, with two Norths, no Center, and either no South or no West!

Pumpkin Seeds

I am open to suggestions.  Still have some more refreshing to do.

VonDoom

Quote from: Mnemaxa on September 30, 2015, 07:11:23 AM
All right.  Four is a good enough start for me to outline the idea behind the game and give some basic ideas about character creation.  Five would be ideal, but four is enough.




Does this sound like an interesting sort of scenario/setting for you all?  Is there something more you would like to see, is there anything you want clarified?  If we do this, there are some specific flaws and merits that I will disallow, mainly those relating to raised Dharma levels, Heresy, Corruption, and other things that would betray the ideals set up by the players or would get you summarily executed.

Hmm. After playing so much VtM dealing with Kindred a lot of the time wouldn't be my first choice, but I'm not opposed.
Now this is the Law of the Jungle-
as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may  prosper,
but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

-Rudyard Kipling, "The Law of the Jungle"
O&O

Pumpkin Seeds

Actually kind of wondering if a Resplendent Crane South Direction would be good.  Seems like a vigilante sort perhaps.  A kind of Batman type.

Rook Seidhr

Batman faces North, I think…he's judgmental and cold. The South is the direction of relentless dedication to change for its own sake, creative destruction.

Pumpkin Seeds

Ag, my bad but that dies give me some ideas.  Might take the night to spin up a more thought concept but thinking a sort of street tough woman that is trying to clean up the neighborhoods and also the establishments.  Sort of criminal turned activist that had no problem getting her hands dirty and wants to break things up.

Mnemaxa

Quote from: Marie Reynolds on September 30, 2015, 07:23:31 AM
Looks good to me! Ill just need to do some research on the shadow court and the blood court as the only game i played was based in japan. Mostly so i can build my history with the setting in mind.
Perfectly acceptable.  Don't get too caught up in exactitudes, there will be a lot of changes from the books - a moderately good idea is better.  I'll provide more exacting information before we start.  The Underground City where the Kindred are allowed to stay is complex and not very detailed, but I will give you more information. 

Quote from: Riveda on September 30, 2015, 10:43:43 AM
It sounds most auspicious :) Are we using the Revised Edition patch from the KotE Companion, or rules-as-written which match up to the Second Edition of VtM?
What Direction?
The Kindred of the East Companion is where much of the basics will come from, but the Core book will still be the primary source of information.  The lack of information in the Core book (and the misinformation presented in it) will be part of the basis of the game.  Character creation will be as per the Core book, with the Companion being secondary but accepted.  If you posses Dharma or Direction Books, and wish to use information or tools from them, I will vet them first, so Core book material+Small amounts of Companion material will be your best bet for easy character creation.

Quote from: VonDoom on September 30, 2015, 12:25:36 PM
Hmm. After playing so much VtM dealing with Kindred a lot of the time wouldn't be my first choice, but I'm not opposed.
You won't be dealing with them constantly, never fear.  You'll be dealing more with your own kind than them as a general rule - you're liaisons, not gatekeepers.  Monitoring their activities is actually something you'll be assigning others to take care of, summoning spirits to deal with, and the like.  You'll have plenty of work (and play) to do outside of liaising.


Each Character will be granted 10 extra Background Points to be spent specifically on these Merits and Abilities:  Hun, Willpower, Resources, Mortal Society Merits (ST vets all servants/slaves/property/companions and reserves the right to utilize them as NPCs at any time as well as subject them to issues; the ST will not summarily execute them but may threaten or kill them with appropriate warning and opportunity to rescue them, and will provide for replacements in the event of death.), and Supernatural Merits.  Bear in mind you have to buy up Willpower to at least 5.  You will be existing in the Forbidden City, members of the Blood Court itself, but you may want to have places to stay outside that location.  You are all at Dharma Level 2 - you are all aware of the duties you have to yourselves, others, and Heaven. 

Artifacts is limited to 3 Dots, but you may have more than one.  Jade is limited to one piece with up to a 5 rating (Yu Ying and White jade are limited to 4) or multiple pieces of a rating no higher than 2.  The Flaws Akuma, Disembodied (i.e. Yulan-jin), and Defiled are all disallowed.  No Heretical Dharmas are allowed (though they can be part of a character's history if desired).

The Well of my Dreams is Poisoned; I draw off the Poison, which becomes the Ink of my Authorship, the Paint upon my Brush.

Marie Reynolds

Does anyone know what book i can find stuff on the Shadow Court on?

Braioch

#44
For me, I'm wanting a Devil Tiger....Center....I'm trying to see what feels best for a concept, being Center works intensely for the Demonology/Rites in DTs, so I'm trying to decide if I want the backstory to be of a more repressed scholarly type....or a bold occultist.

Hmmmm -strokes chin-

Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on September 30, 2015, 05:04:03 PM
Ag, my bad but that dies give me some ideas.  Might take the night to spin up a more thought concept but thinking a sort of street tough woman that is trying to clean up the neighborhoods and also the establishments.  Sort of criminal turned activist that had no problem getting her hands dirty and wants to break things up.

That sounds much like an East directed Crane, harsh law enforcer dealing with the living world more than the undead or spiritual world (though East directed Cranes get looked askance at after awhile since Cranes are supposed to keep themselves separate from the living cuz they're not the living anymore)

Quote from: Marie Reynolds on October 01, 2015, 10:59:12 AM
Does anyone know what book i can find stuff on the Shadow Court on?

Shadow Court? (I only know of Flesh, Blood, Flame, Bone and Jade) Closest thing I can think of what you mean is for the Bone Flowers and their Sourcebook is rich in ideas.

(I own...several of the KotE books...every Dharma book, including the one dedicated to the Heresies, the Core and Companion, and the 1000 Hells book...want...more....)
I'm also on Discord (like, all the time), so feel free to ask about that if you want

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Pumpkin Seeds

Sort of thinking the concept might lend well to a Southerly direction as she tries to tear down what is there and replace them with what she would view as the laws of Heaven.  Sort of thinking a mobster type tearing away at the "honorless" criminals in order to establish a more perfect hierarchy and then using that power to break away the other structures.

Rook Seidhr

Petition for a house rule: add Academics to the set of Knowledges, discard Linguistics, represent fluency in an additional language by a 1-point Merit or 2 XP after creation?

Rook Seidhr

Quote from: Mnemaxa on October 01, 2015, 10:44:02 AMIf you possess…Direction Books
Pretty sure there's no such thing, or I'd have 'em :)

Mnemaxa

Quote from: Marie Reynolds on October 01, 2015, 10:59:12 AM
Does anyone know what book i can find stuff on the Shadow Court on?

There is nothing official on the kindred court in Beijing, only that it is in the undercity and that the vampires are on a very touchy relationship with the kuei in the city.  They are allowed to remain by the Ancestors of the Blood Court, but only under duress.  I'll provide a writeup for it.

Quote from: Riveda on October 01, 2015, 12:27:07 PM
Petition for a house rule: add Academics to the set of Knowledges, discard Linguistics, represent fluency in an additional language by a 1-point Merit or 2 XP after creation?

Agreed in part.  Academics is added to the list of knowledge, and each dot in Academics includes one language of your choice with it - this reflects the scholarly attitude which is prevalent in Kuei society, as a classical education in  the Middle Kingdom routinely requires knowledge of multiple dialects of Chinese just to read half of the books you need to know to be considered a student worthy of the name.  Linguistics is still a skill and it is applied as in KoE Core; this mean you could theoretically know a multitude of languages above and beyond what Academics grants.  Kaja as a written language can be taken through Linguistics, Academics, or as a 1 point merit (your extra background points cover it as it is considered a supernatural language).

The Well of my Dreams is Poisoned; I draw off the Poison, which becomes the Ink of my Authorship, the Paint upon my Brush.

Braioch

#49
Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on October 01, 2015, 12:02:48 PM
Sort of thinking the concept might lend well to a Southerly direction as she tries to tear down what is there and replace them with what she would view as the laws of Heaven.  Sort of thinking a mobster type tearing away at the "honorless" criminals in order to establish a more perfect hierarchy and then using that power to break away the other structures.

Canonically, that would put her at great odds with the vast majority of other Cranes. They don't even like innovation, let alone complete overhauls of established laws. Out of all the Dharmas, they're the biggest sticklers for tradition and obligation to them. Considering how strict they're painted in canon, she'd risk severe censure and worse depending on how much she rocked the boat.

Of course, that's not my call in any way >_> Maxa, I didn't even check to see if there was still room before I butted my idea in, whoops, got a little over excited.

EDIT: Crap...didn't see the other Devil Tiger before I ran in full tilt...bugger all, what IS everyone planning on playing? (Besides Pumpkin, who's obviously aiming for the Legalists, bless you by the way, I don't think I could ever manage one personally >_>)

EDIT 2: I'm also vastly amused that pretty much all of the original interested people from last year are the ones still in the discussion currently
I'm also on Discord (like, all the time), so feel free to ask about that if you want

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