Topic: Vampire: The Masquerade Interest Check

[Jaded]

The new Humble Bundle reminded me how much fun I had when I got to play the game on other websites.  While I will admit I would prefer to be a player, I would be willing to run a Vampire game if there is enough interest. 

The basic idea I have in my mind is basically a city that has reached an uneasy, and still somewhat violent, truce between the various powerful factions (Camarilla, Sabbat, maybe Garou and others).  The characters, probably relatively new neonates, would be caught in the middle of it all. 

I am not sure on a city, or really most details.  I could see having a bit of a plot (being ordered around by the elders), though do like the idea of keeping things somewhat sandboxy if I can figure out how.  It would probably be NC-Exotic, though I am not sure how much smut would be included.

Is there any interest?  Is it worth developing more?

[BenedictWolfe]

I might be interested. As for locale I'd like to suggest New York City in the year 1979; just prior to Michaela pronouncing herself Prince and setting off the decades long conflict over the city. This was also the most violent period in the city's history IRL with muggings and other violent crimes sweeping across the five boroughs.

What clans and bloodlines and which sect were you thinking of allowing?

[Pumpkin Seeds]

:: peeks::

[KrataLightblade]

Vampire is my jam.

I might be interested, depending on what you decide to go with, though I suppose it also depends on what the other players might be looking for.

Vampire's the kind of game where I'm used to keeping one eye on my coterie, after all.

[Tamhansen]

I'd love to play a game like this.

[Kolbrandr]

Potential interest if you're using the revised stuff and crossover is kept to a minimum (or none at all. It's very much not my bag)

I suppose it depends on if you do feel cool running (because I don't know that you're going to get anyone to otherwise step forward given how these threads usually go), and what sort of setting you have in mind to develop. I would say it would be nice to be ancillae simply for the sheer slowness of pbp advancement, but neonates are alright.

[Callie Del Noire]

We talking oWoD?

[BenedictWolfe]

We talking oWoD?

Yeah: The Masquerade, the Camarilla and the Sabbat are all oWoD stuff.

[AndyZ]

Hello hello ^_^

[Jaded]

I might be interested. As for locale I'd like to suggest New York City in the year 1979; just prior to Michaela pronouncing herself Prince and setting off the decades long conflict over the city. This was also the most violent period in the city's history IRL with muggings and other violent crimes sweeping across the five boroughs.

What clans and bloodlines and which sect were you thinking of allowing?

Hrm.  I'm not sure on the city.  I am back and forth on whether to go with one that is well-developed in the gameworld (especially as I don't own any of those books, so would have to buy the PDF), or one that is more of a blank slate.  Though not sure I want to set things in the past, as I'm not sure how well I could pull off a 70s or 80s vibe.
 
I'd probably keep things relatively open on clans and antitribu, though might exclude the less common ones (Baali and Salubri and what not). 

Potential interest if you're using the revised stuff and crossover is kept to a minimum (or none at all. It's very much not my bag)

I suppose it depends on if you do feel cool running (because I don't know that you're going to get anyone to otherwise step forward given how these threads usually go), and what sort of setting you have in mind to develop. I would say it would be nice to be ancillae simply for the sheer slowness of pbp advancement, but neonates are alright.

I would go Revised or 20th Anniversary, I need to look up how compatible the two are.  Crossover as in Mage and Werewolf and what not?  I could see them as occasional antagonists, but not as characters. 

I figured I would have to run it.  I'm not strictly opposed to starting at a slightly higher level, but it does make things more difficult.  They have more of a history (and are probably more well known at least locally), it is a bit harder to just have an elder toss them together and make them run an errand, etc. 

We talking oWoD?

Yes, Old World of Darkness Vampire.

[Rook Seidhr]

If it's V20 and the city doesn't have a huge canon background to learn, I'm interested.

[Jaded]

What do people think of modern Miami, something along the lines of:

Miami write up

Miami by Night, a city at war.  With the Sabbat pushing north and east from their stronghold in Mexico City, and with the loss of Atlanta and other east coast cities, Miami very nearly fell from the Camarilla’s grasp.  The final death of the Prince, a thousand year old Ventrue, should have been the end.  The Sabbat even went so far as to declare the city theirs, and appoint one Fabrizia Contreraz as Archbishop.

The Brujah Sheriff Alfred, however, was not willing to admit defeat.  He declared himself Prince, rallied those he could, gave permission to embrace an army of cannon fodder, and fought back.  The battles raged for nearly two decades.  At first the Camarilla fought a guerilla campaign, hunted and pursued through the darkened streets of Miami.  Slowly, gradually, they managed to push back, to build up their influence.  Now, in modern nights, the city is very nearly split down the middle.

Prince Alfred claims that the recent lull is a sign that the Sabbat’s back in the city has finally been broken, while others believe that they are just rallying for a counter-offensive.  Regardless, there are plenty of opportunities for the Kindred, both young and old, to carve out their own domain and build their influence in the city.

Also, do people have a preference between Revised and 20th?  From a quick search, below are some of the changes, so it shouldn't be hard to modify one or the other to fit.

Attributes & Abilities
Awareness has been added as a Talent.
Dodge has been removed as a skill; its former functionality has been moved to Athletics.
Security has also been removed; its former functionality has been subsumed by the Larceny skill and the Technology knowledge.
Linguistics is no longer a skill; each language known is a 1-dot Merit instead. (p. 484)
Clans
The Tremere have a new clan flaw; they succumb to the blood bond after only two drinks from a regnant, rather than three. (It's not made clear whether the effect of the first drink is magnified to that of the second drink, or whether the second drink is skipped.) (p.69)
The animal features of the Gangrel that manifest after a frenzy are now temporary, and may be behavioral rather than physical. (p.55)
Character Creation and Costs
During character creation, Humanity/Path dots costs 2 freebie points instead of 1.
Core Disciplines
Potence and Celerity have been significantly altered. Each now adds a passive bonus (at no vitae cost) to their governing physical attribute; you add your dots as extra dice in pools using Strength and Dexterity, respectively. In addition, Potence and Celerity allow the vampire to spend vitae for effects: spending 1v allows a Potence user to add his dots in Potence as successes to all subsequent Strength rolls made during that turn--which used to be inherent to the discipline--and a Celerity user may choose to spend 1v to convert a Celerity dot into an additional physical action for that turn, which may be done multiple times, reducing the Celerity rating accordingly for the turn (Generational blood-spending maxima do not apply to these expenditures.) (pp. 142, 192)
Dominate and Presence powers whose difficulties were once equal to the subject's permanent Willpower rating now target the subject's current Willpower.
Systems
If "splitting one's action" in a turn, compare the dice pools for each action, find the one with the fewest dice, and then allot that number of dice among all the actions being attempted. (p.248)

Would people prefer to start as basic characters, or with a higher exp? (but associated higher expectation on background)

[Kolbrandr]

I've really soured a lot on v20, though I'm not looking to start a whole debate on it with people, I think you have enough interest that if it's majority preference/your own preference, you'd still have players to work with.

The premise otherwise sounds interesting. 

[Callie Del Noire]

I ask because I got V20

[AndyZ]

No real preference on which edition, but I'll probably go for a Tremere, unless someone else was planning that.

[KrataLightblade]

I personally prefer V20 but I don't have anything against Revised at all.

And I think Miami's a good spot, and I like a city with opportunities.

[Kolbrandr]

Oh, missed this, sorry.

Would people prefer to start as basic characters, or with a higher exp? (but associated higher expectation on background)

It would be nice to start with higher xp, just for reasons from pbp slowness to that it would be nice to get to write a background that's something other than just outside of fledgling neonates, which is most vampire online.

[AndyZ]

Stupidly forgot to say, but Miami is cool, and more XP would be awesome.

[Rook Seidhr]

Miami's fine. As I stated, I have a strong preference for V20 over Revised. I prefer not to write pages of background before I even start playing.

[RubySlippers]

Getting out book, getting folder of psychological disorders of all kinds since why limit oneself for derangements to the book and works on a Dominate Malkavian that will appear quite normal at first - be afraid - be very afraid. (Only half-kidding ...  )

[BenedictWolfe]

I prefer V20 on the whole, though there are some changes to bloodlines that I don't really care for. Since that probably won't figure into this RP it's a moot point, though. Since I'm currently on staycation I've been busying myself with writing some quick reference documents concerning VtM and this seems as good an opportunity as any to share them.

These contain materials from both Revised and V20 as well as a few additions of my own. As such they shouldn't be seen as entirely canonical. They are all in Rich Text Format.
Clans & Bloodlines
Disciplines WIP!
Paths of Enlightenment
Revenant Families
Sects

Some more background on the city would be cool. Like, who are the Primogen? Keeper of Elysium? Is there a Scourge or are Caitiff permitted?

[Jaded]

It seems like V20 is the preference, so we can go with that (though Revised shouldn't be too hard to port if that is all someone has access to). 

I'll probably go with 100XP Ancillae, though will want where you spend the XP tracked.  Though for now please just provide a paragraph or two background as well as your choice of clan.  Also, do people want more plot heavy or more sandboxy?

I will try to start working on the setting more. 

Some more background on the city would be cool. Like, who are the Primogen? Keeper of Elysium? Is there a Scourge or are Caitiff permitted?

I am not sure on the Primogen yet, or if it will be a bit open with no official council.  There wouldn't be a scourge, and caitiff would be common. 

A brief (basically point form) write-up on my initial thoughts for some of the city's main roles, suggestions are welcome as my VtM lore is a bit rusty. 

Powers that be

Prince – Brujah – ‘Alfred’
Alfred is believed to be somewhere around eight hundred years old, though he is not one to discuss his history.  He was the muscle-for-hire of the former Prince, and only truly came into his own when the Sabbat attacked.  While he has been an effective leader in war, many criticize his leadership in almost every other area.  The caitiff and thin-blooded have swelled in number under his rule, and there is little control over new embraces. 

Seneschal – Ventrue – ‘Casimiro Alfaro’
The childe of the former Prince, Casimiro’s role as Seneschal has predated Alfred’s role as Prince.  There are no few that whisper that Casimiro is pulling the strings of a puppet Prince, and that he is the true ruler of the Camarilla in the city.

Sheriff – Brujah – ‘Ryland’
An old comrade in arms of Alfred, Ryland came to the city to fight the good fight.  He is brash, disrespectful, and often unpleasant to be around.  He is also a formidable foe, and an effective captain in the war against the Sabbat.

Keeper – Giovanni – ‘Furlano’
Furlano is ancient and powerful, that much is certain.  She maintains her own private army of vampires, ghouls, and mortals, and is said to be heavily involved with the banks that call downtown Miami home.  While it is debateable whether or not she can be considered a member of the Camarilla, and there are rumours of her trafficking with the Sabbat, she provides an Elysium whose peace even the Prince wouldn’t challenge. 

[RubySlippers]

Too many ... ideas ... my poor little brain is going to explode ... need to get one idea into character form ... oweiii ....

 

Which sect are we doing Camarilla or Sabbat?

[Rook Seidhr]

Will it be possible to buy up Backgrounds with starting XP in some way?

EDIT: Ugh, I don't think I can manage this. Sorry. But the question stands, because others will need to know the answer.

[KrataLightblade]

Hmmm... Fascinating city politics I'm seeing develop just from what you've said so far.

I personally like sandboxy-ish games though again I'm not even a LITTLE bit opposed to something more directed, I just love me some Vampire.  Either way I'm sort of assuming there'll be things going on for people to get into even if there's not a directed specific plot in mind.  Particularly if we're effective embroiled in a cold/medium war with the Sabbat.

As for character seed:

Sean

Sean Julian Terell is a bit of an odd duck.  A Gangrel in a Cammie city?  Sure thing, happens all the time.  A Gangrel who's been skipping back and forth between half the cities on the Eastern Seaboard for a century now?  Happens a little less often.  A Gangrel willing to sell his services for boons or favors?  Well, that's just potential asset in the making, right there.

Sean is a transient, though he's got some ties to Miami from way back.  The chaos of the last few years has left a lot of things uncertain, a lot of people aren't really sure what happened to who and when, and a Gangrel who just doesn't talk much about his history isn't exactly a shocker.  So Sean's got secrets, and while they're not secrets that'd lead to the betrayal of the Camarilla--far from it, in fact--they're not secrets that'd make him popular, either.  So Sean's a man with a lot to hide, but a lot to gain from sticking around in a potential war zone in the making.  He could make a lot of allies.

If his enemies don't catch up to him first.

Sound good?