Eternal Nights (VtM in Las Vegas, Nevada)

[Rummy Tum Tum]

So, backgrounds: Are they all bought with freebies, or could one, say, buy Resources with xp?
Also, with influence, what does each dot do exactly? Do they all count towards one chosen influence, or can you distribute them between difference influences?

[SithLordOfSnark]

Is this going to be a game where we're all just sort of running around with our own goals? Or is there going to be a plot that involves us all coming together and working together to solve some major plot?

A bit of both. It's mainly going to be sandboxy, but I do plan on running events to get everyone involved as well.

[Hades]

With ST approval, behold the most fugalicious Nos in all of Vegas.

Character Background

Most common Obfuscate 3 Face

True Appearance

Thomas "Dust-Bunny" Richardson
10th Generation Nosferatu

Thomas was born in the shadow of the first mushroom cloud, quite literally.   His father was one of the many scientists employed on the Manhattan project, and had moved his very pregnant wife from their home in Boston out to Los Alamos over her objections, because he believed any sacrifice was worth it when your country came calling.  And so it seemed like a dose of karma when his wife went into labor an hour before the world's first atomic bomb was detonated out in the New Mexico desert.

For security reasons, Thomas never knew precisely what it was that his father did as he was growing up, but he knew it involved three things:  lots of money, lots of bureaucrats, and lots of computers.  It was the last part that caught his imagination and never let go.  Physics and chemistry and all those things that his father loved was interesting and all, but that was last century science.  Computers where the new flashy symbol of a new age for humanity, leaving the Industrial Revolution behind totally and beginning the Computer Revolution (okay so some egghead later would call it the Information Revolution, but damnit his name sounds better). 

Once he graduated high school, he returned to his family's old home after being accepted into MIT.  There his reserved and withdrawn personality began to become more pronounced.  It wasn't that he didn't want to be around people per say, but rather that during the formative years of his youth it was hard to have something approaching a normal upbringing when you were living on one of the most secure military facilities in the world.  Going outside with the other kids (what few of them there were) to play baseball was not an option.  So he spent most of his time at home with his mother while his dad worked, and thus never really learned how to socialize beyond a rudimentary level.  He tried taking theater classes to overcome that handicap, but never really got into the experience.

But give him access to a computer, and it was a 180-degree personality shift.  Then he was energized and talkative and very ignorant of the concept of personal space once he got animated with a project or a discussion of some new technology breakthrough.  He built his first computer within two months of being on campus, primitive though it was and barely able to more than a few calculations at a time.  But it was still his pride and joy, like a puppy that didn't need to be housebroken.

It was his enthusiasm for computers, and what they could potentially do, that brought him to the attention of his sire.  The vampire had noticed how computers were becoming a part of pop-culture and was considering how they could be used by the clan in the coming nights.  Himself a creature of the previous century, he was aware that he would never be able to keep up with the technology, and so Thomas was brought into the clan a week prior to his graduation from MIT.

The physical transformation was rough on Thomas, taking a week to play out as the Curse ravaged and twisted his body into a mockery of what it once was.  During that time, his sire kept him confined to a portion of the sewers that passed near a cemetery that had partially fallen in and allowed some of the bodies to gather in the clan's domains.  To distract himself from the pain, he began to have conversations with the corpses, or re-enacting plays he had once practiced, in an attempt to keep his mind on anything else at all.

He stayed on the East Coast for many decades, working with the clan mostly and with the Camarilla when necessary.  He had no interest in politics, given the typical reaction most of the prettier Kindred had to a Nosferatu.  And he did himself no favor in that regard by playing up the more hideous and disgusting aspects, such as making certain to drag his jacket through the most stagnant pool of water in the sewers he could find before meeting with a Toreador that wanted his clan's help.   It also didn't help that he acknowledged that the Sabbat also had some good ideas in theory, even if their methods of trying to make them work was as loony as a Malkavian overdosing on LSD.  Actually, scratch that because that would probably make the Malkavian sane for a few minutes.

Over the years he managed to keep up with most of the computer tech advances.  While their capabilities were light years ahead of what he had seen in his breathing days, they were essentially still the same in form of design and interaction.  What you could do with them was almost magical, but how you operated them hadn't really changed since the 70s.  And so when the internet became a thing, he was one of the early architects of the clan's ShrecktNet and helped to set up several hubs along the East Coast before being sent out West to do the same in Vegas.

While in Vegas, he met up with a Ventrue that was less of the "tried using a stake as a dildo and it got stuck" variety that had a job offering.  The ShreckNet work wasn't that difficult, so to distract himself he took the job and found he enjoyed working with the woman because she was at least capable of pretending not to be so stuck up her nose would be the first thing scorched if she was left in the sun.  And the pay was nice as well, much nicer than anything he had made back in New England.   So he stayed in Vegas, using that money to make connections around the globe that would allow him to do more difficult assignments for her, and for other Kindred in the city as well.  Most of the money he earned went towards expanding that network, with another large portion going to the clan for other projects, and finally a small portion going into his own coffers.  It didn't hurt that he had managed to buy a couple hundred stocks in first Apple, and then Microsoft when they first went into public trading, so if worst came to worse he could sell what is in a trust fund just collecting interest for when he decides to retire to a private sewer where the mortals wear grass skirts and come with umbrellas and a straw to be a proper drink.

Character Sheet

Name:		Thomas "Dust-Bunny" Richardson		Player:		Hades
Clan:		Nosferatu		Chronicle:		Eternal Nights
Nature:		Survivor		Haven:		Room at the Palazzo
Demeanor:		Trickster		Concept:		Grand Collector
Generation:		10th		EXP Spent:		100xp

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

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: Intelligence (Analytical), Stealth (Silent Movement), Computer (Hacking)
Languages: English*, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin Chinese

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Information Network:		●●●●○		Animalism:		●●○○○		Conscience:	●●○○○
Generation:		●●●○○		Obfuscate:		●●●●○		Self-Control:	●●●●○
Contacts:		●●●○○		Potence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●○
Resources:		●●○○○
Retainers:		●○○○○

Humanity:

●●●●● ●○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●○○○

Blood Pool:

13/13 (1BP/turn)

Health:Undamaged

Merits & Flaws

Merits

- Ambidexterous (1pt)

- Iron Will (3pts)

- Gaping Maw (2pts)

Flaws

- Sympathizer (1pt)

- Anosmia (2pts)

- Necrophile (3pts)

Backgrounds details

Contacts:
- Local don of the Mafia
- Antiquities Black Market Fencer
- Russian state cyber security agent

Retainers:
- A mortal "face" to handle any situation that may arise while he is sleeping, as well as to gather supplies during the day that he can't order online.

Freebie Points

+ 6 pts from Flaws (21pts)
- 12pts in Abilities (9pts)
- 6pts of Merits (3pts)
- 3pts in Willpower (0)

Experience Spent

Disciplines:
Obfuscate 2->3 - 10xp
Obfuscate 3->4 - 15xp
Potence 0->1 - 10xp
Animalism 1->2 - 10xp


Backgrounds:
Information Network 0->1 - 3xp
Information Network 1->2 - 2xp
Information Network 2->3 - 4xp
Information Network 3->4 - 6xp
Contacts 1->2 - 2xp
Contacts 2->3 4xp
Resources 0->1 - 3xp
Resources 1->2 - 2xp


Abilities:

Subterfuge 1->2 - 2xp
Security 1->2 - 2xp
Technology 1->2 - 2xp
Awareness 1->2 - 2xp
Alertness 2->3 - 4xp
Animal Ken 1->2 - 2xp
Brawl 0->1 - 3xp
Brawl 1->2 - 2xp
Expression 0->1 - 3xp
Intimidation 0->1 - 3xp
Technology 2->3 - 4xp

[SithLordOfSnark]

So, backgrounds: Are they all bought with freebies, or could one, say, buy Resources with xp?
Also, with influence, what does each dot do exactly? Do they all count towards one chosen influence, or can you distribute them between difference influences?

I can't remember how the core book did it, since I no longer have it, but I do know most things well enough to GM a game, but I'm going to go ahead and say house rules are that XP can be used to buy backgrounds, but I need help figuring out a fair amount of XP for that.

As for influence, I usually have people buy dots based on the influence they want and label them as different backgrounds.

So like "Camarilla Influence", "Political Influence", etc.

[Hades]

I went with buying backgrounds at the same cost as Abilities.   So 3xp for the first dot, and then current rating x 2 to raise it after that, since it seems a pretty fair way of balancing them out. 

[Rummy Tum Tum]

Thank you for the helpful answers :)

In Blythe's game, he set it so Backgrounds cost as much as Abilities, just like Hades said

[Orange Marmalade]

It might be a bit too late for this - but I always liked it when VtM had public and private sheets. The game is more fun when not everyone immediately knows everyone's generation, full talents, willpower, even clan.

Too late to ask for that? :)

[SithLordOfSnark]

It might be a bit too late for this - but I always liked it when VtM had public and private sheets. The game is more fun when not everyone immediately knows everyone's generation, full talents, willpower, even clan.

Too late to ask for that? :)

We could do that. What information would one give?

[Blythe]

Would like to have at least a brief description of character background and personality, please? It is going to be very hard to try to plot character connections without that information. I am okay with statistics being hidden, but for me, I at least need a little something to go on or I won't really have any basis for my character talking to anyone or any pre-existing connections.

[Orange Marmalade]

We could do that. What information would one give?

Good question :)

The 'Public Sheet' would be a nice place to display all the normal sheet stuff (history with some redacted bits if you like your secrets, description, overall personality, even likes and dislikes for plotting and flavor purposes).

For physical stuff it is always pretty straight forward - physical flaws, scars, certain clan issues, the age they were when they were embraced, etc.

Other stuff:
Status
Demeanor
Anything else publicly known - Clan they're known as, Status, Fame
Social Attributes (Definitely Appearance, but I also advocate to include Charisma and Manipulation, simply because it helps me roleplay with those characters. Mostly because I don't care how well someone writes, if the character has Manipulation 1 it is going to be hard to fool someone - and conversely if it has Charisma 6 it helps to know that as a player so I can react accordingly, even if the writing didn't come across as world class Charismatic, I can still have my character be a bit more dawn to them).

I'm sure we could come up with something like that? And I'm sure I missed some things :)

[Hades]

While I can approve of that idea in theory, in practice it seems like it's more headache than it's worth to have to deal with two sheets per character essentially.  I'd rather just have the one sheet and be done with it and deal with people using sheet knowledge if a situation involving it ever comes up.

[Orange Marmalade]

i don’t see it as much setup at all aside from just outing some stuff in one va the other. Only a few things are duplicated really. Frankly it wouldn’t require more than a five minute one time investment.

And really secrets are essentially the core of VtM.

[AndyZ]

Kind of a rough thing to throw on everyone when a few of us have already finished characters...

[Orange Marmalade]

Kind of a rough thing to throw on everyone when a few of us have already finished characters...

That is true and maybe it is too late because of that which is definitely unfortunate.

[Rummy Tum Tum]

Lucas Smith
Setite

V20 Sheet

Name:		Lucas Smith		Player:		Rummy Tum Tum
Clan:		Setite		Chronicle:		Eternal Nights
Nature:		Bon Vivant		Haven:		A scenic high-rise with a great view of the strip
Demeanor:		Capitalist		Concept:		Nihilistic Kingpin
Generation:		9		EXP Spent:		100

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

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:	○○○○○

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Contacts:		●●●●○		Serpentis:		●●●●●		Conscience/Conviction:	●●●○○
Influence (Underworld):		●●●○○		Obfuscate:		●●●○○		Self-Control/Instinct:	●●○○○
Domain:		●●●○○		Presence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●●
Generation:		●●●●○
Herd:		●○○○○
Resources:		●●●●○

Humanity/Path:

●●●●● ○○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●●●●

Blood Pool:

14/14 (2/turn)

Health: Normal

Merits & Flaws

Merits (-3)
- Enchanting Voice 2pts
- Language (Ancient Egyptian) 1pt

Flaws (+7)
- Scales (Left Arm) 2pts
- Glowing Eyes 3pts
- Territorial 2pts

Background Info

Major contacts:
- Nevada Supreme Court Justice, Diana Weathers
- Detective Warren Keaton, Homicide
- Black Market Liaison, Cipher
- Manager of Vegas's U.S Bank, Lawrence Thompson

Retainer:
- The official head of the "Black Mambas" security company, Frank "The Butcher" Briggs

Domain:
- A high-rise building he uses as his haven and base of operations. It is protected by his Black Mambas security force, and surveilled using mankind's new-fangled technology.

Freebie & EXP costs

Freebies were spent as follows:

- Generation 9 | 4pts
- Willpower 5 -> 10 | 5pts
- Influence 0 -> 3 | 3pts
- Domain 0 -> 3 | 3pts
- Subterfuge 1 -> 3 | 4pts
__
19 spent total

EXP was spent as follows:

- Serpentis 1 -> 5 | 50xp
- Obfuscate 1-> 3 | 15xp
- Stamina 2 -> 3 | 8xp
- Charisma 2 -> 3 | 8xp
- Appearance 1 -> 2 | 4xp
- Resources 0 -> 4 | 15xp

__
100 EXP spent total

History etc to come!

[SithLordOfSnark]

That is true and maybe it is too late because of that which is definitely unfortunate.

Yeah, I think it's a little too late for that at this point.

I might consider it if I ever make another VtM game, but for now I'm keeping this one as it has been since this recruitment thread went up.

[AndyZ]

With ST approval, behold the most fugalicious Nos in all of Vegas.

Character Background

Most common Obfuscate 3 Face

True Appearance

Thomas "Dust-Bunny" Richardson
10th Generation Nosferatu

Thomas was born in the shadow of the first mushroom cloud, quite literally.   His father was one of the many scientists employed on the Manhattan project, and had moved his very pregnant wife from their home in Boston out to Los Alamos over her objections, because he believed any sacrifice was worth it when your country came calling.  And so it seemed like a dose of karma when his wife went into labor an hour before the world's first atomic bomb was detonated out in the New Mexico desert.

For security reasons, Thomas never knew precisely what it was that his father did as he was growing up, but he knew it involved three things:  lots of money, lots of bureaucrats, and lots of computers.  It was the last part that caught his imagination and never let go.  Physics and chemistry and all those things that his father loved was interesting and all, but that was last century science.  Computers where the new flashy symbol of a new age for humanity, leaving the Industrial Revolution behind totally and beginning the Computer Revolution (okay so some egghead later would call it the Information Revolution, but damnit his name sounds better). 

Once he graduated high school, he returned to his family's old home after being accepted into MIT.  There his reserved and withdrawn personality began to become more pronounced.  It wasn't that he didn't want to be around people per say, but rather that during the formative years of his youth it was hard to have something approaching a normal upbringing when you were living on one of the most secure military facilities in the world.  Going outside with the other kids (what few of them there were) to play baseball was not an option.  So he spent most of his time at home with his mother while his dad worked, and thus never really learned how to socialize beyond a rudimentary level.  He tried taking theater classes to overcome that handicap, but never really got into the experience.

But give him access to a computer, and it was a 180-degree personality shift.  Then he was energized and talkative and very ignorant of the concept of personal space once he got animated with a project or a discussion of some new technology breakthrough.  He built his first computer within two months of being on campus, primitive though it was and barely able to more than a few calculations at a time.  But it was still his pride and joy, like a puppy that didn't need to be housebroken.

It was his enthusiasm for computers, and what they could potentially do, that brought him to the attention of his sire.  The vampire had noticed how computers were becoming a part of pop-culture and was considering how they could be used by the clan in the coming nights.  Himself a creature of the previous century, he was aware that he would never be able to keep up with the technology, and so Thomas was brought into the clan a week prior to his graduation from MIT.

The physical transformation was rough on Thomas, taking a week to play out as the Curse ravaged and twisted his body into a mockery of what it once was.  During that time, his sire kept him confined to a portion of the sewers that passed near a cemetery that had partially fallen in and allowed some of the bodies to gather in the clan's domains.  To distract himself from the pain, he began to have conversations with the corpses, or re-enacting plays he had once practiced, in an attempt to keep his mind on anything else at all.

He stayed on the East Coast for many decades, working with the clan mostly and with the Camarilla when necessary.  He had no interest in politics, given the typical reaction most of the prettier Kindred had to a Nosferatu.  And he did himself no favor in that regard by playing up the more hideous and disgusting aspects, such as making certain to drag his jacket through the most stagnant pool of water in the sewers he could find before meeting with a Toreador that wanted his clan's help.   It also didn't help that he acknowledged that the Sabbat also had some good ideas in theory, even if their methods of trying to make them work was as loony as a Malkavian overdosing on LSD.  Actually, scratch that because that would probably make the Malkavian sane for a few minutes.

Over the years he managed to keep up with most of the computer tech advances.  While their capabilities were light years ahead of what he had seen in his breathing days, they were essentially still the same in form of design and interaction.  What you could do with them was almost magical, but how you operated them hadn't really changed since the 70s.  And so when the internet became a thing, he was one of the early architects of the clan's ShrecktNet and helped to set up several hubs along the East Coast before being sent out West to do the same in Vegas.

While in Vegas, he met up with a Ventrue that was less of the "tried using a stake as a dildo and it got stuck" variety that had a job offering.  The ShreckNet work wasn't that difficult, so to distract himself he took the job and found he enjoyed working with the woman because she was at least capable of pretending not to be so stuck up her nose would be the first thing scorched if she was left in the sun.  And the pay was nice as well, much nicer than anything he had made back in New England.   So he stayed in Vegas, using that money to make connections around the globe that would allow him to do more difficult assignments for her, and for other Kindred in the city as well.  Most of the money he earned went towards expanding that network, with another large portion going to the clan for other projects, and finally a small portion going into his own coffers.  It didn't hurt that he had managed to buy a couple hundred stocks in first Apple, and then Microsoft when they first went into public trading, so if worst came to worse he could sell what is in a trust fund just collecting interest for when he decides to retire to a private sewer where the mortals wear grass skirts and come with umbrellas and a straw to be a proper drink.

Character Sheet

Name:		Thomas "Dust-Bunny" Richardson		Player:		Hades
Clan:		Nosferatu		Chronicle:		Eternal Nights
Nature:		Survivor		Haven:		Room at the Palazzo
Demeanor:		Trickster		Concept:		Grand Collector
Generation:		10th		EXP Spent:		100xp

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

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: Intelligence (Analytical), Stealth (Silent Movement), Computer (Hacking)
Languages: English*, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin Chinese

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Information Network:		●●●●○		Animalism:		●●○○○		Conscience:	●●○○○
Generation:		●●●○○		Obfuscate:		●●●●○		Self-Control:	●●●●○
Contacts:		●●●○○		Potence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●○
Resources:		●●○○○
Retainers:		●○○○○

Humanity:

●●●●● ●○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●○○○

Blood Pool:

13/13 (1BP/turn)

Health:Undamaged

Merits & Flaws

Merits

- Ambidexterous (1pt)

- Iron Will (3pts)

- Gaping Maw (2pts)

Flaws

- Sympathizer (1pt)

- Anosmia (2pts)

- Necrophile (3pts)

Backgrounds details

Contacts:
- Local don of the Mafia
- Antiquities Black Market Fencer
- Russian state cyber security agent

Retainers:
- A mortal "face" to handle any situation that may arise while he is sleeping, as well as to gather supplies during the day that he can't order online.

Freebie Points

+ 6 pts from Flaws (21pts)
- 12pts in Abilities (9pts)
- 6pts of Merits (3pts)
- 3pts in Willpower (0)

Experience Spent

Disciplines:
Obfuscate 2->3 - 10xp
Obfuscate 3->4 - 15xp
Potence 0->1 - 10xp
Animalism 1->2 - 10xp


Backgrounds:
Information Network 0->1 - 3xp
Information Network 1->2 - 2xp
Information Network 2->3 - 4xp
Information Network 3->4 - 6xp
Contacts 1->2 - 2xp
Contacts 2->3 4xp
Resources 0->1 - 3xp
Resources 1->2 - 2xp


Abilities:

Subterfuge 1->2 - 2xp
Security 1->2 - 2xp
Technology 1->2 - 2xp
Awareness 1->2 - 2xp
Alertness 2->3 - 4xp
Animal Ken 1->2 - 2xp
Brawl 0->1 - 3xp
Brawl 1->2 - 2xp
Expression 0->1 - 3xp
Intimidation 0->1 - 3xp
Technology 2->3 - 4xp

Hades, I think I already offered the last name bit.  Two things in particular jump out at me:

One, we both have Dominique in common, so we've very likely met but just haven't spent a lot of time in active conversation.  Catherine isn't fantastic at communicating.

Second, we're both fantastic at Stealth.  Page 262 talks about Shadowing and how folks might have trained together in order to be able to combine their pools.  If you're interested, the two might have worked together to follow after Sabbat in the past.  Obfuscate makes teaming up less necessary, but it can still be very useful at times.

[Orange Marmalade]

With ST approval, behold the most fugalicious Nos in all of Vegas.

Character Background

Most common Obfuscate 3 Face

True Appearance

Thomas "Dust-Bunny" Richardson
10th Generation Nosferatu

Thomas was born in the shadow of the first mushroom cloud, quite literally.   His father was one of the many scientists employed on the Manhattan project, and had moved his very pregnant wife from their home in Boston out to Los Alamos over her objections, because he believed any sacrifice was worth it when your country came calling.  And so it seemed like a dose of karma when his wife went into labor an hour before the world's first atomic bomb was detonated out in the New Mexico desert.

For security reasons, Thomas never knew precisely what it was that his father did as he was growing up, but he knew it involved three things:  lots of money, lots of bureaucrats, and lots of computers.  It was the last part that caught his imagination and never let go.  Physics and chemistry and all those things that his father loved was interesting and all, but that was last century science.  Computers where the new flashy symbol of a new age for humanity, leaving the Industrial Revolution behind totally and beginning the Computer Revolution (okay so some egghead later would call it the Information Revolution, but damnit his name sounds better). 

Once he graduated high school, he returned to his family's old home after being accepted into MIT.  There his reserved and withdrawn personality began to become more pronounced.  It wasn't that he didn't want to be around people per say, but rather that during the formative years of his youth it was hard to have something approaching a normal upbringing when you were living on one of the most secure military facilities in the world.  Going outside with the other kids (what few of them there were) to play baseball was not an option.  So he spent most of his time at home with his mother while his dad worked, and thus never really learned how to socialize beyond a rudimentary level.  He tried taking theater classes to overcome that handicap, but never really got into the experience.

But give him access to a computer, and it was a 180-degree personality shift.  Then he was energized and talkative and very ignorant of the concept of personal space once he got animated with a project or a discussion of some new technology breakthrough.  He built his first computer within two months of being on campus, primitive though it was and barely able to more than a few calculations at a time.  But it was still his pride and joy, like a puppy that didn't need to be housebroken.

It was his enthusiasm for computers, and what they could potentially do, that brought him to the attention of his sire.  The vampire had noticed how computers were becoming a part of pop-culture and was considering how they could be used by the clan in the coming nights.  Himself a creature of the previous century, he was aware that he would never be able to keep up with the technology, and so Thomas was brought into the clan a week prior to his graduation from MIT.

The physical transformation was rough on Thomas, taking a week to play out as the Curse ravaged and twisted his body into a mockery of what it once was.  During that time, his sire kept him confined to a portion of the sewers that passed near a cemetery that had partially fallen in and allowed some of the bodies to gather in the clan's domains.  To distract himself from the pain, he began to have conversations with the corpses, or re-enacting plays he had once practiced, in an attempt to keep his mind on anything else at all.

He stayed on the East Coast for many decades, working with the clan mostly and with the Camarilla when necessary.  He had no interest in politics, given the typical reaction most of the prettier Kindred had to a Nosferatu.  And he did himself no favor in that regard by playing up the more hideous and disgusting aspects, such as making certain to drag his jacket through the most stagnant pool of water in the sewers he could find before meeting with a Toreador that wanted his clan's help.   It also didn't help that he acknowledged that the Sabbat also had some good ideas in theory, even if their methods of trying to make them work was as loony as a Malkavian overdosing on LSD.  Actually, scratch that because that would probably make the Malkavian sane for a few minutes.

Over the years he managed to keep up with most of the computer tech advances.  While their capabilities were light years ahead of what he had seen in his breathing days, they were essentially still the same in form of design and interaction.  What you could do with them was almost magical, but how you operated them hadn't really changed since the 70s.  And so when the internet became a thing, he was one of the early architects of the clan's ShrecktNet and helped to set up several hubs along the East Coast before being sent out West to do the same in Vegas.

While in Vegas, he met up with a Ventrue that was less of the "tried using a stake as a dildo and it got stuck" variety that had a job offering.  The ShreckNet work wasn't that difficult, so to distract himself he took the job and found he enjoyed working with the woman because she was at least capable of pretending not to be so stuck up her nose would be the first thing scorched if she was left in the sun.  And the pay was nice as well, much nicer than anything he had made back in New England.   So he stayed in Vegas, using that money to make connections around the globe that would allow him to do more difficult assignments for her, and for other Kindred in the city as well.  Most of the money he earned went towards expanding that network, with another large portion going to the clan for other projects, and finally a small portion going into his own coffers.  It didn't hurt that he had managed to buy a couple hundred stocks in first Apple, and then Microsoft when they first went into public trading, so if worst came to worse he could sell what is in a trust fund just collecting interest for when he decides to retire to a private sewer where the mortals wear grass skirts and come with umbrellas and a straw to be a proper drink.

Character Sheet

Name:		Thomas "Dust-Bunny" Richardson		Player:		Hades
Clan:		Nosferatu		Chronicle:		Eternal Nights
Nature:		Survivor		Haven:		Room at the Palazzo
Demeanor:		Trickster		Concept:		Grand Collector
Generation:		10th		EXP Spent:		100xp

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

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: Intelligence (Analytical), Stealth (Silent Movement), Computer (Hacking)
Languages: English*, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin Chinese

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Information Network:		●●●●○		Animalism:		●●○○○		Conscience:	●●○○○
Generation:		●●●○○		Obfuscate:		●●●●○		Self-Control:	●●●●○
Contacts:		●●●○○		Potence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●○
Resources:		●●○○○
Retainers:		●○○○○

Humanity:

●●●●● ●○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●○○○

Blood Pool:

13/13 (1BP/turn)

Health:Undamaged

Merits & Flaws

Merits

- Ambidexterous (1pt)

- Iron Will (3pts)

- Gaping Maw (2pts)

Flaws

- Sympathizer (1pt)

- Anosmia (2pts)

- Necrophile (3pts)

Backgrounds details

Contacts:
- Local don of the Mafia
- Antiquities Black Market Fencer
- Russian state cyber security agent

Retainers:
- A mortal "face" to handle any situation that may arise while he is sleeping, as well as to gather supplies during the day that he can't order online.

Freebie Points

+ 6 pts from Flaws (21pts)
- 12pts in Abilities (9pts)
- 6pts of Merits (3pts)
- 3pts in Willpower (0)

Experience Spent

Disciplines:
Obfuscate 2->3 - 10xp
Obfuscate 3->4 - 15xp
Potence 0->1 - 10xp
Animalism 1->2 - 10xp


Backgrounds:
Information Network 0->1 - 3xp
Information Network 1->2 - 2xp
Information Network 2->3 - 4xp
Information Network 3->4 - 6xp
Contacts 1->2 - 2xp
Contacts 2->3 4xp
Resources 0->1 - 3xp
Resources 1->2 - 2xp


Abilities:

Subterfuge 1->2 - 2xp
Security 1->2 - 2xp
Technology 1->2 - 2xp
Awareness 1->2 - 2xp
Alertness 2->3 - 4xp
Animal Ken 1->2 - 2xp
Brawl 0->1 - 3xp
Brawl 1->2 - 2xp
Expression 0->1 - 3xp
Intimidation 0->1 - 3xp
Technology 2->3 - 4xp

Everyone needs some Nos allies! Once I get my dude(s) finished I'll be reaching out, and I really wanna see what his haven is decorated like lol (Also he should have at least 1 more Willpower to take that merit! )

Lucas Smith
Setite

V20 Sheet

Name:		Lucas Smith		Player:		Rummy Tum Tum
Clan:		Setite		Chronicle:		Eternal Nights
Nature:		Bon Vivant		Haven:		A scenic high-rise with a great view of the strip
Demeanor:		Capitalist		Concept:		Nihilistic Kingpin
Generation:		9		EXP Spent:		100

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

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:	○○○○○

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Contacts:		●●●●○		Serpentis:		●●●●●		Conscience/Conviction:	●●●○○
Influence (Underworld):		●●●○○		Obfuscate:		●●●○○		Self-Control/Instinct:	●●○○○
Domain:		●●●○○		Presence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●●
Generation:		●●●●○
Herd:		●○○○○
Resources:		●●●●○

Humanity/Path:

●●●●● ○○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●●●●

Blood Pool:

14/14 (2/turn)

Health: Normal

Merits & Flaws

Merits (-3)
- Enchanting Voice 2pts
- Language (Ancient Egyptian) 1pt

Flaws (+7)
- Scales (Left Arm) 2pts
- Glowing Eyes 3pts
- Territorial 2pts

Background Info

Major contacts:
- Nevada Supreme Court Justice, Diana Weathers
- Detective Warren Keaton, Homicide
- Black Market Liaison, Cipher
- Manager of Vegas's U.S Bank, Lawrence Thompson

Retainer:
- The official head of the "Black Mambas" security company, Frank "The Butcher" Briggs

Domain:
- A high-rise building he uses as his haven and base of operations. It is protected by his Black Mambas security force, and surveilled using mankind's new-fangled technology.

Freebie & EXP costs

Freebies were spent as follows:

- Generation 9 | 4pts
- Willpower 5 -> 10 | 5pts
- Influence 0 -> 3 | 3pts
- Domain 0 -> 3 | 3pts
- Subterfuge 1 -> 3 | 4pts
__
19 spent total

EXP was spent as follows:

- Serpentis 1 -> 5 | 50xp
- Obfuscate 1-> 3 | 15xp
- Stamina 2 -> 3 | 8xp
- Charisma 2 -> 3 | 8xp
- Appearance 1 -> 2 | 4xp
- Resources 0 -> 4 | 15xp

__
100 EXP spent total

History etc to come!

And yay nasty Setite!

It is looking like a pretty varied cast. I really need to get my shit finished.

[SithLordOfSnark]

I have decided, as GM, that my own sheets will remain private, since I am only playing NPCs and some of them (Sinner in particular) would be hard to create. I can assure you that I won't god mode or even use anything that could wipe you off the face of the planet without blinking. LOL

[Hades]

I have decided, as GM, that my own sheets will remain private, since I am only playing NPCs and some of them (Sinner in particular) would be hard to create. I can assure you that I won't god mode or even use anything that could wipe you off the face of the planet without blinking. LOL

What that means is then if we see one of your NPCs blink, that's when we need to panic then.  Gotcha.   

[SithLordOfSnark]

What that means is then if we see one of your NPCs blink, that's when we need to panic then.  Gotcha.   

Pretty much.

[DummieBlondie]

I have decided, as GM, that my own sheets will remain private, since I am only playing NPCs and some of them (Sinner in particular) would be hard to create. I can assure you that I won't god mode or even use anything that could wipe you off the face of the planet without blinking. LOL

Well, Actually I am okay with your godmoding with the Prince of Nevada. but that's just me

[Thorne]

I generally expect elder vampires to pull stuff out of their ears ...

... oh, fuck me. It's snowing.

[Hades]

Everyone needs some Nos allies! Once I get my dude(s) finished I'll be reaching out, and I really wanna see what his haven is decorated like lol (Also he should have at least 1 more Willpower to take that merit! )

....

I'm happy to discuss past dealings between my Nos and any other characters in the game for those that are interested in such things.  Just keep in mind that his personality type is going to be to go for maximum crassness, lewdness and irreverence at all times.  So if you're playing someone that is from more genteel stock, be aware of what you're getting yourself into.

[Thorne]

I'm happy to discuss past dealings between my Nos and any other characters in the game for those that are interested in such things.  Just keep in mind that his personality type is going to be to go for maximum crassness, lewdness and irreverence at all times.  So if you're playing someone that is from more genteel stock, be aware of what you're getting yourself into.

... *snert*
Should be fine. Just, y'know. I'm amused.