Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines [System] [Closed: Players selected!]

[Hades]

I'm always happy to work with others.  So long as they stand in front of me...while my Tremere is in a secure bunker. 

Though that does make me wonder about the possibility of a non-Sabbat aligned Tzimisce now.  >.>  <.<

[Orange Marmalade]

Man, I loooooooooove VtM but I always have the hardest time trying to decide on a character concept lol I'm working on it! With about 10 different ideas in my head.

[Blythe]

Man, I loooooooooove VtM but I always have the hardest time trying to decide on a character concept lol I'm working on it! With about 10 different ideas in my head.

Hah, I'm the same!  (Thankfully I'm storytelling this so I have all my Storyteller NPCs to play, so I don't have to decide!)

If it helps to know, we currently do not have anyone stating interest in playing a Malkavian, Nosferatu, Lasombra, or Tzimisce!

[Orange Marmalade]

Hah, I'm the same!  (Thankfully I'm storytelling this so I have all my Storyteller NPCs to play, so I don't have to decide!)

If it helps to know, we currently do not have anyone stating interest in playing a Malkavian, Nosferatu, Lasombra, or Tzimisce!

I'm kiiiiiiind of leaning towards Lasombra. But I haven't played a true baby Lasombra in so long I may get myself killed. I guess that's half the fun though, hah!

[Amaris]

My Bruja is most definitely likely to try and get everyone killed... on accident of course

[Rummy Tum Tum]

Hm, given who their sires are, I wonder if she'd try to get my Ventrue killed more on purpose lol

[PixelatedPixie]

I am not sure how a player domain would interact with the story-teller provided neighbourhood domain?  But I figured he has a small building where he runs his clinic from.  I feel like I have borrowed this concept from somewhere (a video game, elsewhere?) but can't figure out where, so no promises it is particularly original.

The sheet is still a bit of a work in progress.

WIP Sheet

Name:		Eduard Hallstein		Player:		PAC
Clan:		Nosferatu		Chronicle:		Bloodlines
Nature:		Sadist		Haven:		Neighbourhood
Demeanor:		Perfectionist		Concept:		Plastic Surgeon Sadist
Generation:		11th		EXP Spent:

Physical				Social				Mental
Strength:		●●●●○ (Powerful Arms)		Charisma:		●○○○○		Perception:	●●●●○ (Attentive)
Dexterity:		●●●○○		Manipulation:		●●●●○ (Persuasive)		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
Domain:		●●●●○ (Free)		Potence:		●○○○○		Conscience:	●○○○○
Herd:		●○○○○		Obfuscate:		●●○○○		Self-Control:	●●●●●
Generation:		●○○○○		? ? ?:		○○○○○		Courage:	●●●●○
Resources:		●●●○○		? ? ?:		○○○○○		N/A:	○○○○○
Retainers:		●●●●○		? ? ?:		○○○○○		N/A:	○○○○○

Humanity/Path:

●●●●● ●○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●○ ○○○○○

Blood Pool:

? ? ?

Health:

Merits & Flaws

Merits
Ambidextrous (1)
Huge Size (4)
Bruiser (1)

Flaws
Permanent Fangs (3)
Cast No Reflection (1)
Beacon of the Unholy (2)
Special Responsibility (1)

Personality: Calm, Collected, Monstrous, Manipulative

Eduard Hallstein was a prominent member of the local community when he was a mortal.  He was a successful plastic surgeon who catered to a mix of upper middle-class and desperate actors and actresses.  He liked nothing more than to put on a cheery, friendly, demeanour while leading his clients down a road of more and more plastic surgery.  It was a game to him to pretend to be talking them out of it while pulling them deeper.  A hulking figure of a man he was a regular at both the gym and the local gun range.  He saw himself as the epitome of masculinity and may or may not have crossed several legal and medical lines while his patients were unconscious. 

He was embraced by (TBD) who saw Eduard as a symbol of vanity, both in his job and in his own demeanour.  Eduard did not deal with the transformation well as his massive, ‘perfect,’ form was twisted and destroyed.  He looked in the mirror and he saw a monster, and he began to wonder if that was a reflection of what was beneath.  Instead of turning from it he embraced it, if he looked the monster he may as well play the part. 

It was shortly after his embrace that Eduard reopened his clinic, this time sans any proper licensing.  It was in a rougher part of town and catered to a different sort of clientele, but it allowed Eduard to continue practising his craft.  He offered to help treat ghouls/pets, and to supply a bit of blood from his patients, but has quickly found the demands to be excessive.

Eduard has heard of Vicissitude and is interested in learning it (or at least more of it).  He tends to walk around in a trench-coat and hoodie to hide his figure, but even then he tends to stand out. 

His 'clinic' I envisioned as being back alley.  So either in a strip mall type situation between 1 and 2 with a fake front, or in one of the buildings to the left of 1.  His retainers would be his staff (Receptionist, Anesthetist, Nurse, Doctor).

[Blythe]

I am not sure how a player domain would interact with the story-teller provided neighbourhood domain?  But I figured he has a small building where he runs his clinic from.  I feel like I have borrowed this concept from somewhere (a video game, elsewhere?) but can't figure out where, so no promises it is particularly original.

As the worldbuilding says, you must have your domain within the ST-provided domain. It's part of the free four-dot Domain players receive--their individual little claimed spots mesh together to create a larger shared Background, essentially. You'd have to select an empty building from the ST map for the PC domain for the clinic for this concept to work.

[Amaris]

I'd be more than happy to discuss ideas of that sort with you, Rummy! :)

[RedPhoenix]

As the worldbuilding says, you must have your domain within the ST-provided domain. It's part of the free four-dot Domain players receive--their individual little claimed spots mesh together to create a larger shared Background, essentially. You'd have to select an empty building from the ST map for the PC domain for the clinic for this concept to work.

Are the named buildings available for this? For example could I have my character in Warren Apartments?

[PixelatedPixie]

As the worldbuilding says, you must have your domain within the ST-provided domain. It's part of the free four-dot Domain players receive--their individual little claimed spots mesh together to create a larger shared Background, essentially. You'd have to select an empty building from the ST map for the PC domain for the clinic for this concept to work.

I'm fine with him having one of the spots in the neighbourhood.  I just wasn't sure if I was supposed to skip it entirely since there is already a domain, or if it would add to the shared domain, or something else. 

[Blythe]

I'm fine with him having one of the spots in the neighbourhood.  I just wasn't sure if I was supposed to skip it entirely since there is already a domain, or if it would add to the shared domain, or something else.

The four dot domain pretty well covers the PCs having a large area under their control with a lot of disparate havens/businesses. You'd note Domain on your sheet for free at four dots, as it's a Storyteller provided background. Everyone can, technically. :)

[PixelatedPixie]

Ah, okay, thanks!  I will modify that when I have a chance.  Can freebie points bump an ability above 3 in character creation?

Is the building between 1 and 2 envisioned as a Strip Mall type building?

[Blythe]

Ah, okay, thanks!  I will modify that when I have a chance.  Can freebie points bump an ability above 3 in character creation?

Is the building between 1 and 2 envisioned as a Strip Mall type building?

Re: freebie points: yes!

Re: Building between 1 & 2--I had no plan for any of the 'blanks,' my goal was simply to have them there as 'selectable locales' for players.

[Rummy Tum Tum]

I'd be more than happy to discuss ideas of that sort with you, Rummy! :)

Nice! Bout to post my sheet up shortly. Hopefully it'll help smooth our plotting

[Kayrax]

Name:		Alessandro "Alex" Conti		Player:		Kayrax
Clan:		Lasombra		Chronicle:		Bloodlines
Nature:		Eye of the Storm		Haven:		Warren Apartments
Demeanor:		Chameleon		Concept:		Betrayed mafiosso
Generation:		7th		EXP Spent:		0

Physical				Social				Mental
Strength:		●●●●○ (Vicious)		Charisma:		●○○○○		Perception:	●●●●○ (Attentive)
Dexterity:		●●●●● (Swift)		Manipulation:		●●●●● (Persuasive)		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:	●●●●● (Infernalism)
Leadership:		○○○○○		Performance:		○○○○○		Politics:	○○○○○
Streetwise:		○○○○○		Stealth:		●●●○○		Science:	○○○○○
Subterfuge:		●●●○○		Survival:		○○○○○		Technology:	○○○○○

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Generation:		●●●●●		Dominate:		○○○○○		Conviction:	●●●●○
Domain:		●●●●○		Obtenebration:		●●●●●		Instinct:	○○○○○
Resources:		●○○○○		Potence:		○○○○○		Courage:	●●●●●

Path of Night:

●●●●○ ○○○○○ (Darkness)

Willpower:

●●●●● ○○○○○

Blood Pool:

●●●●● ●●●○○ ○○○○○ ○○○○○ (4 BP/turn)

Health:

Merits & Flaws

Merits

• Language (1pt. Italian & English)

Flaws

• Infertile Vitae (5pt.)
• Beacon of the Unholy (2pt.)

Personality: Cruel | Debaucher | Manipulative | Menacing

Backstory: Born in Syracuse, Sicily (1962) as the seventh child in a farming household Alessandro Michele Conti grew up learning all too well the terrible effects of poverty. There were too many mouths to feed yet not enough food to go around. Living quarters were similarly small, the furniture old and the older siblings not always particularly loving or caring. Going to school did little to change his bitter outlook on life - and why should it when he but needed to take a look at his older siblings or his parents or the dozens of other families that more or less seemed like they were doomed to waddle through more misery. No, the crappy education he was bound to receive was clearly not the answer to his silent prayers of a better future. Perhaps such a future was simply closed off to him and while that notion was certainly a very real possibility it was not one he chose to accept and be content about. No, not when there was a different path out there...

The Cosa Nostra had always been active in town for as long as Alessandro remembered. He was told often enough times to stay clear of such individuals and to instead mind his own business... which he did up until he was either twelve or thirteen years old and both himself and a bunch of other kids broke that taboo. It wasn't after all like nobody knew who the mafiosos were or where they hanged out. Most people around town still traveled by either foot, carriage, bike or old trucks whereas the made men usually had shiny cars at their disposal. Most folks wore denim jeans and cotton shirts whereas the mobsters enjoyed the touch of silk shirts and tailored suits against their skin. Most of the farming community was working the fields during the day whereas the wiseguys could be seen driving around town or chilling around open-air cafés.

It took several attempts - and a few bruises too - but eventually they were allowed to run harmless errands. Small and inconsequential things like relaying messages or buying cigarettes, liquor or newspapers. Harmless errands indeed yet the mafiossos were still generous enough to pay for such things with a few small bills. Hardly a fortune by any standard yet for a bunch of kids it proved a profitable enough use of their free time. Even more importantly, it wasn't actually just money that was being transacted but something of a far, far greater value altogether: trust! By maintaining somewhat of a proximity with the mobsters Alessandro and the other kids slowly and unknowingly also built up a bit of mutual trust. And that modicum of trust would prove instrumental later on...

Specifically so years later still, when the small band of kids became a small band of teenage boys and the errands offered to them also grew in importance as well - usually delivering or picking up various packages or envelopes. By that point Alessandro's vague affiliation to some members of the Cosa Nostra was no longer a secret to the rest of his family. They certainly disapproved and made that opposition abundantly clear after one particularly harsh beating ended up with Alessandro gripping his own broken arm. It hurt like hell and the cast he ended up wearing for a few weeks was similarly annoying as hell yet no arguments of that scale ever occurred afterwards. Originally the mafioso wannabe thought his father might've regretted his actions even if no actual apology was ever offered but later Alessandro actually learned that some of his patrons learned of his hospital visit from a few of his friends and they took it upon themselves to pay a visit to the Conti patriarch. The details of that particular meeting forever remained a mystery yet Alessandro was satisfied enough just knowing that henceforth he was safe from any further reprisals.

By the age of seventeen the times he lived in became even more turbulent. Turned out that the Cosa Nostra was not one big happy family but rather a whole bunch of families instead. Smaller families trying to grow larger, big families trying to gain more territory and resources and opposing them all was the state's newest attempt to get rid of crime. What followed was nothing short of mayhem: mobsters killing mobsters, cops arresting mobsters, mobsters killing cops and next cops killing mobsters as well. Truly a clusterfuck of epic proportions - or at least that was more or less Alessandro's opinion on the matter. One particular incident during that time would once more forever change the course of his life however - a car bombing meant to take out the local Don. Most civilians panicked and tried to flee the scene... most but not quite all. Aside a few onlookers plagued by a somewhat morbid curiosity Alessandro was also there only he neither fled nor stared stupidly as the flames kept rising from the burning car. He instead made his way closer and helped the other mobsters get the three wounded and one dead body further away.

Days later he was oferred a ride around town and by the end of the day he found himself in a mansion a couple of hours out of Syracuse. The nervousness he felt on the way there was nothing compared to what he felt when he found himself in a large room, surrounded by middle aged men in fancy suits. Among other things he was told that as a child he'd been baptized a Christian by his parents using water. He was next asked whether he would allow himself to be baptized once more in blood. The question may have sounded ominous yet its meaning by no means escaped Alessandro. He was being oferred the chance to become a made man, to actually be part of the Cosa Nostra and all it represented... for better or worse. Naturally he accepted and after getting a finger pricked with a sharp knife and watching a small icon of a saint burn up he was officially welcomed as a full fledged member of a larger family. Overnight the number of brother, father and uncle figures really skyrocketed but at that particular point in time he couldn't be happier or prouder of such an accomplishment.

The rest of the world did not stop to celebrate however. Rather the conflicts continued to escalate and after only a few months time the mafia family decided to move its operations over to North America. It was a move meant to both ellude the tightening leash of the government and also pursue that oh so sweet American dream in the land of milk and honey. Or rather the land of booze, nicotine and drugs - all of which were quite profitable avenues to pursue at first in Miami and after a couple of years in New York as well.

By the time Alessandro first laid eyes on the Big Apple he was already considered a dependable enforcer. One neither afraid nor squeamish about getting his hands dirty. The first man he ever killer was a Corsican small fry that was making a run for it after throwing a couple of Molotov cocktails at a building the mobsters owned. It was night outside and the unlucky sod alongside another companion already had a good head start running away from the scene. Alessandro shot only twice, not particularly confident in his chances to actually hit, yet after the second shot he could see one shadowy outline going down. It was in all truth just a lucky shot - or rather most unlucky for the Corsican victim - yet it was one more event that sort of promoted the Sicilian within the ranks of his new family.

The next half decade involved a lot of work - forging alliances, sabotaging and eliminating those that openly declared themselves in opposition to the interests of the Sicilian mafia, expanding their operations by bringing in more clients, setting up more advantageous deals with various suppliers from all around the world and also investing heavily in the local community so as to earn their trust and goodwill. Bribes were also offered to key members in the police force, the prosecutor's office and even a judge. When money or other favors were turned down blackmail material was instead sought out and if that didn't work either then threats were used instead. And when threats also seemed to fall on deaf ears that's when Alessandro was sent in to deliver an end to civilized negotiations. Usually this involved beating up the vitim to within an inch of their life and afterward possibly paying for their medical care assuming the beating was enough to turn them around. And if it wasn't then it was a good thing that the family also invested in a cement factory and a small fishing business all the way out in Jersey.

By the end of the '80s things were finally fairly safe and quite profitable as well. More importantly the Second Mafia War was about to end as well and it was decided that many of the Sicilian mobsters would return to the old country and the actual families they left behind. Since there was nothing really waiting for him back home Alessandro Conti chose to stay behind and that decision, coupled with his continued service as well, provided him with yet one more promotion - he was to be the family's caporegime in charge of the New York operations. A tremendous honor and a great responsibility as well yet the former enforcer happily accepted of course.

Afterwards things seemed to be going great and that was actually accurate as well as far as mortal matters were concerned. What Alessandro couldn't have known at the time was that one of his latest business partners was in fact a front operated by denizens of the night. An Elder Lasombra to be exact, Flavia Marras. Initially she merely intended to take over their operations so as to bolster the Sabbat's assets in the area yet for some unknown reason she ended up also taking notice of the capo running the show. A background check followed. The sort of check that went so deep and so far back that most of his dirty little secrets became known to the much, much older Lasombra Kindred. A series of problems followed next - shipments disappearing, clients turning up dead and all manner of rookie but rather costly mistakes being made by various other mobsters under Alessandro's employ. The beauty of it all was that all those little problems were not only meant to test how the Sicilian capo would deal with them but they were at the same time also meant to still steal control of the criminal operation from right under him. Much later, when Flavia actually came clean about her involvement behind the scene to make all those things happen Alessandro couldn't help but notice a sort of elegance present in the schemes. Granted that the interferance was disturbing or even ruining lives but the way that each subsequent issue was meant to fluidly also achieve the Sabbat's goals was somewhat impressive.

Once his competence was put into question a personal attack followed next. Since he wasn't a monk Alessandro had pursued plenty of romantic interests both back in Miami and of course after arriving in New York as well. The latest such target was a young teacher that seemingly decided to commit suicide by jumping off a building. No note was found and nobody that knew her could really offer a good reason for such an act either. Her parents thought she was happy, her colleagues agreed she was doing good work and the kids liked her as well. The loss baffled Alessandro but failed to actually break him. It wasn't as if the victim was the great love of his life or like he could actually take the time to worry about personal issues what with the profesional problems he kept being confronted with.

The hidden harrassment continued for months and Alessandro realized at some point that if things continued that way much longer someone else was bound to take his place. That possibility wouldn't have bothered him as much if he actually believed someone else could do a better job than him but he most certainly was not having such an inferiority complex. He knew he could do a good enough job. He knew he WAS in fact doing a good enough job. The failings weren't technically his own yet their constant presence was enough to make others doubt him. Making examples of such disbelievers certainly crossed his mind once or twice... or a dozen or two, yet he knew that further aggravating the situation would only further harm him down the line. The goal as such was to just keep things together as best he could and for as long as he could.

Yet his would be sire had no intention of leaving things half done. She was sufficiently satisfied with how he handled all the hurdles she kept throwing at him but it was time to finish his evaluation as a possible new recruit. By Dominating a few enforcers under his command she was able to make it seem as if Alessandro had been skimming off the profits in order to fill his own pockets out. She allowed and actually facilitated for such rumors to spread all the way back in Sicily where the family's boss decided he must've made a mistake. A mistake he now needed to ammend in a manner that would remind everyone of their places, their loyalties and the vows they had previously taken. So he ordered a hit on his own caporegime - an outcome both hoped for and expected by the Elder Lasombra. She decided to indirectly let her future childe learn of this. Seeing him simply killed off after spending so much time playing with him would've been too much of a bore. Then again tipping the scales in his favor would've failed to actually reveal any merit on his part. The compromise she chose was to thus inform her plaything of his impending doom so as to allow him to react in some manner yet at the same time rob him of the time he could've used to actually plan properly or attempt to reveal the truth. The result was a shootout - four dead enforcers and one wounded Alessandro now sporting a couple of brand new holes one in his chest and one in his guts. The chest wound was a clean through and through but the abdomen one gifted him with an unwanted bullet still lodged somewhere inside.

The off books medics he knew were out of the question since the rest of the mafia knew of them as well. Public healthcare was also out of the question. They might save his life and fix him up... only to end up behind bars in a cage he would be unable to escape yet in which the influence of the Cosa Nostra could still easily enough reach. He was damned no matter what so he decided to instead drive to a nearby motel. He was a lousy driver even he wasn't injured and the blood loss certainly didn't help matters. He ran a red light, avoided a couple of collisions but otherwise was lucky enough not to get any cops on his tail. He knew that in such an event another shootout was inevitable and the odds of him surviving once more were pretty damn slim.

After paying a good amount of cash - enough most likely to rent every single room - Alessandro limped to one of the rooms, glanced outside to ensure he wasn't followed and next closed the blinds. Next destination was the cheap bathroom where he removed his shirt and assessed the damage in a mirror. First he grabbed a couple of towels and wet them with cold water - hot water might not have been available anyway - and applied them to both wounds hoping to at the very least stop some of the immediate blood loss. He knew the bullet inside would also need to come out and the idea of using a knife to enlarge the wound and then shove his fingers inside to look for the bloody thing did little to encourage such actions. He'd knew that it would be inevitable but for the time being he just wanted to lay down and rest for at least a little bit.

Except no rest ever came, being instead replaced by a soft knock on the door. Eyes nervously darted to the door just as his hand reached for his pistol. His very breath stuck in his throat as he waited for a kick or a bunch of bullets to come crushing through the thin door or window. They never did. And once he actually drew a fresh breath of air he realized that nobody would've bothered knocking beforehand anyway. He hid behind the door and slowly opened it and there she was... the smiling form of Flavia Marras casually returning his gaze and not looking the least bit bothered to be there. What followed was a bit of a blur but one thing Alessandro does still remember quite clearly - he never left that cheap motel room alive.

The next seven years were spent discovering all manner of unfathomable truths about vampires, clans, sects, Beast and all manner of other subjects that positively boggled the imagination. Flavia turned out to be an excelent tutor and her childe similarly proved himself a quick study. He learned how to hunt, how to hide, how to recognize some of the other nightly denizens and most importantly he learned how to come to grips with his newly gained dark gifts. Unlike his sire, Alessandro wasn't really the scholarly type yet even so he still found himself inexorably drawn in by the research she was conducting. Unlike other clan members, the Elder Lasombra fully believed in the Abyss and was positively convinced that their clan's discipline was linked to it. It listened to their calls and fueled their powers but Flavia was convinced that wasn't all. She confided in her childe at one point, revealing that some decades ago she accidentally frenzied during an encounter with vampire hunters. The Elder ended up seriously tapping her power reserves, bringing forth more shadows than she thought possible. And at that point she swore she could actually feel the Abyss stirring as if not only it was alive but also aware of her intrusion. She questioned whether if a century earlier Nietzsche might've learned something more about such a place? entity? state of being?

Alessandro chose to believe that story, or at the very least be wary of it. Especially since as the years passed and he further discovered and mastered new uses of his dark gift there was a certain feeling he got at times whenever he melded with the shadows. He was perfectly aware of his presence there and knew he was alone and yet he did not feel alone. It was as if someone else was there though, not looking at him however but rather looking out through him. The neonate knew he was in control yet at the same time he pondered whether that control wasn't simply being handed out to him. Was he truly summoning shadows to do his bidding or was he encouraged to make use of his powers in such manner? No matter how hard he thought about it he was never able to fully decide one way or the other and the doubt in the back of his mind never really left him.

What did leave him was his sire. In 1998 her presence was requested in Atlanta and it was a trip from which she never returned. He knew something had happened even if no actual knowledge regarding those particular events ever reached his undead ears. It was more of a gut feeling yet it was such a strong feeling that he instictively knew it to be real... and also potentially dangerous. He couldn't really explain it but some part of him knew all too well that Flavia would not be returning to him. For the first time since his Embrace, Alessandro felt both completely alone and also completely free as well. It was a somewhat strange feeling but it was by no means unwanted. In a sense it actually felt both liberating and also inebriating at the same time... as if such a freedom had always been present in the back of his mind yet he somehow never realized as much.

Officially he was still part of the Sabbat yet the truth of the matter was that he never trully got particularly involved in their schemes. Even his sire only provided her assistance on relatively rare occasions, and typically only when there was something she could gain by such involvement. In this regard she had failed raising the former mobster as a typical Lasombra. Rather than meeting with all the influential members of the sect and proving his worth as both a warrior and a leader, Alessandro was instead taught the sort of lore that one could not really find through regular means. Rather than hunt down Camarilla agents as head of a small pack, the Lasombra neonate was instead encouraged to let go of human morals and inhibitions. He was after all so much more than human yet clinging on to his old life as many other Kindred did was simply a sign of weakness. A weakness meant to be purged before any undead's true purpose could fully be understood and embraced. Such words resonated with the Lasombra childe. Especially considering the fact he had been brought up as a proper Catholic. But then if God created Kine and allowed Kindred to hunt and feast on such creation then would that not mean that such a role was in fact divine in its own right?

With his sire out of the picture and the Sabbat unlikely to help him pursue the interests Flavia carefully nourished within him, Alessandro decided to pack his things and set out on his own. The way he saw it this was merely another challenge he'd need to overcome. And not once did he ever balk from a challenge - not as a mortal nor as a fledgeling undead. He spent months slowly making his way across the entire North American continent, hiding his presence whenever he could and occasionally getting involved in rather violent scuffles with both mortals and other undead brethren alike. Near the Great Lakes he even faced his first (and only) werewolf. Eager to prove his worth Alessandro actually tried fighting the beast by summoning shadowy tendrils to both immobilize the mountain of muscles and also try to snuff the life right out of it. A valiant attempt maybe yet one that failed to work quite as intended. Seeing the beast manage to break free and lunge for him made the Lasombra neonate hide in the nearest shadows, using them to next put as much distance between them. It was sufficiently frightening to actually make the former mobster turn back south.

Alessandro ended up learning during the months of travelling that his sire had in fact been destroyed by Camarilla agents and rumors that he might've been wanted for questioning by the Sabbat similarly became known to him. Technically he had nothing to hide so it wasn't as if he feared such an interrogation but then again he also didn't really have anything to gain by subjecting himself to such a thing either. Especially if the undead justice system worked even remotely the same way as the mortal one did. After all just how many cops, prosecutors, judges and congresmen did the Cosa Nostra buy off and happily kept on their payrolls? Knowing the ways in which corruption took hold of such greedy little men hardly made the vampire all that eager to trust in those leading the Sword of Caine. Mortals were after all flawed creatures and too many of the Sabbat failed to rid themselves of such flaws. The Lasombra neonate thus chose to stay clear of such politics, conveniently ommiting that he might've been affiliated with the Sabbat - not that his use of shadows indicated otherwise though...

After more than a year and a half of aimless wandering Alessandro finally reached the West Coast and the so called City of Angels... only he very much doubted any such creatures were present within. Still, it looked like the sort of place where he could make himself unseen for a longer period of time and the tensions rising throughout the burstling metropolis might actually come to serve his own needs...

Freebie Points

I've noticed that most of the others included such a category so here goes: 15 (standard) + 7 (flaws) - 1 (merit) - 4 (Occult) - 1 (Resources) - 14 (Obtenebration) - 2 (Conviction)

Goals

• Minor:

N/A

• Major:

N/A

• Milestone:

N/A

[Rummy Tum Tum]

Name: Noah Bennett

Personality: Rebellious | Sarcastic | Promiscuous | Naturally Dishonest

History: Noah's early life as kindred wasn't much different than his life as a human: weighted by parental expectation and fraught with lessons on preying on the weak and leeching from the blind. The only difference that came when he inherited the Blood that long six years ago was a raising of the stakes. LaCroix introduced death and destruction to his life and turned the sun--the purest source of light there is--against him. He turned him into a monster beyond his parents' highest hopes.

Only, the domineering bastard had no idea how fed up Noah was with the blue blood life, or how much of a nuisance he could be. When it finally became clear that he was a insolent upstart ready to burst, LaCroix turned to the blood bond without a second thought. And it worked. For a few years, Noah was every bit the obedient lackey, doling out mortal firings and kindred social attacks in kind. But in the past few months, something changed drastically. Something that extended his leash without its holder's knowledge. And the moment he was free again, he turned to the Anarchs as a spy. Although they still don't trust him implicitly, LaCroix's faith in him has helped smooth the process and, whether or not he ever finds acceptance among their ranks, it is his unlife's goal to use every lesson he's ever learned to prey upon LaCroix.

Name:		Noah Bennett		Player:		Rummy Tum Tum
Clan:		Ventrue		Chronicle:		Bloodlines
Nature:		Rebel (Prince LaCroix)		Haven:		The Neighborhood
Demeanor:		Penitent		Concept:		Freed Thinker
Generation:		Hidden by Storyteller		EXP Spent:		0

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

Specialties: Dexterity (Precise); Manipulation (Persuasive); Appearance (Pretty Boy)

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: Subterfuge (Sweet Lies); Performance (Dance)

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Contacts:		●●●○○		Dominate:		●○○○○		Conscience/Conviction:	●●○○○
Resources:		●●●●○		Fortitude:		●○○○○		Self-Control/Instinct:	●●●●○
Generation:		Hidden		Presence:		●○○○○		Courage:	●●●●○
Allies		●●○○○
Influence		●○○○○
Retainer:		●○○○○
Domain		●●●●○

Influence: Media Coverage

Contacts

Terrance Cross - LAPD Sergeant. He’s had quite a promising career. A poster boy for the force. If only the top brass knew about his little ventures into hookers, bribes, and blow. Hell, if only his wife knew. He and a few of his corrupt lackeys and CIs make for a useful network, and given the payment he receives in return, he doesn't buck too hard against the blackmail.

Latoya Reid - Public Health Investigator. She’s a reasonable woman. She knows that a job is but a means to make money, and when you get an opportunity to make more, you should take it. What did she pursue her Masters for if not to get paid? She is the slightly less forceful reflection of Cross in that when she busts down doors for the sake of public safety, it’s usually with a clipboard in hand.

Erin White - Assistant Bank Manager at CaliBank. He is a charismatic and clever trans man who's wont to indulge in a number of vices. Fortunately, he is a high functioning addict, and a party animal to boot. When he is not selling or freezing (or hiding) financial information and accounts, he's partying his ass off and making unlikely friends along the way.

Allies

Lady M. Mary Morozova - Russian mob relative, hardcore goth, gun aficionado--and, for the right price, dealer.  She is a newer friend, given the frankly wider access Mercurio has and still offers. Relying on a Sire's ghoul, however, is foolish--especially when that Sire is poised to become an enemy. Beyond her arms access, she earns respect through wit, charm, and an appreciable lack of fucks given.

Ellis Taylor - Head of OverWatch Private Security. He is ex-military and proud. He and his people not only watch over the Domain, but are willing to do more slippery work, "off the books," for a good, paying friend.

Retainer

Riley Chen - Driver, ghoul, and a hell of a shot. She was CIA, until they cut ties and abandoned her after things went south in China. As she says, she was monitoring for new contributions toward Pakistan’s WMD efforts when her team was caught and gunned down. She barely survived, and life after that did not go much better, even after her return to the States. She was burned, and a number of old colleagues thought she had flipped on top of that. Suffice it to say, she was far from being brought back in with open arms. Fortunately, she has found very under-the-table work for the heir to the Bennett Corporation in recent months, and how thrilling it is; how powerful it makes her. Unfortunately, this power does lend toward her capacity for violence--particularly when she believes her domitor has been slighted.

Humanity/Path:

●●●●● ●○○○○

Willpower:

●●●●● ●●●●○

Blood Pool:

?/?

Health: Normal

Merits & Flaws

Merits
- Broken Bond (4)

Flaws
- Probationary Anarch (4)
- Dark Secret (1)
- Vengeful - LaCroix (2)

[Blythe]

For those of you with sheet drafts already in, I will likely review those tomorrow once I am home from work!

Other than asking whether this is acceptable I'm also curious about three other things:

• Do we roll for starting blood pool or just go with the max value?
• Do we declare specialties for traits/abilities that reach 4 or 5?
• Can we increase the number of flaws even if they don't actually provide any further free points past 7?

Good questions!

1) At the start of the game, I'll have everyone roll a d10!
2) Yes!
3) I would rather people didn't. In prior games I've run, I find when people take on too many Merits/Flaws, especially if they want to exceed the 7 point cap, they don't end up really used in gameplay or only end up sporadically remembered. Better to stay at or under the point limit, really!

[Kayrax]

1. d10 is the standard for 13th gen though. You mentioned starting out at 12th so that would be 11 BP technically. In which case should we roll d10 and add the extra next? (d10+1 as standard and possibly more if Generation background is picked - 2,3,4,5 or 10 for each point) or should we just roll dMAX where MAX would be 11 standard and 12/13/14/15/20 for whoever chose Generation?

3. Not a problem, was mainly considering the newly arrived in town and the one that didn't allow scars to fade.

[Blythe]

1. d10 is the standard for 13th gen though. You mentioned starting out at 12th so that would be 11 BP technically. In which case should we roll d10 and add the extra next? (d10+1 as standard and possibly more if Generation background is picked - 2,3,4,5 or 10 for each point) or should we just roll dMAX where MAX would be 11 standard and 12/13/14/15/20 for whoever chose Generation?

It will just be a single d10 starting out for everyone equally. In the core rulebook, no allowances appear to be made for extra blood at the start simply for purchasing the Generation background, so it'll remain a flat d10.

I wanted to add that a d10 for starting blood pool isn't problematic in forum play, which tends to have much slower rates of BP consumption/spending compared to real-time play, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. Mostly it opens an opportunity for plots revolving feeding at the game start.

Edit: Fix'd a word, added a bit.

[Kayrax]

It honestly wouldn't be much of an inconvenience in regular tabletop either as most adventures don't actually start in the middle of a serious skirmish. And in such settings one of the very first goals of each participant is getting in top condition before the GM reveals the first hostiles. Also, assuming there would be an initial free period for participants to get somewhat better acquainted with one another then there's really no reason why they couldn't pursue such socializing over a few drinks

Reason I brought it up was because in a previous game (on a defunct site) I recall seeing a large blood pool on a starting Tremere. Turns out his Generation background affected the max pool but his starting pool was similarly affected by the Domain background:

Each level of Domain reduces the difficulty of hunting checks by one for your character and those whom the character allows in. It also adds to your starting (not maximum) blood pool.

[Hades]

Slight change of plans from me.  Reading through some of the books again, I think I'm going to go with a Tzimisce.  I'll take a notebook with me to work tomorrow and try to make something of a skeleton for the character that I can flesh out more thoroughly once I get back home then.

[Blythe]

It honestly wouldn't be much of an inconvenience in regular tabletop either as most adventures don't actually start in the middle of a serious skirmish. And in such settings one of the very first goals of each participant is getting in top condition before the GM reveals the first hostiles. Also, assuming there would be an initial free period for participants to get somewhat better acquainted with one another then there's really no reason why they couldn't pursue such socializing over a few drinks

Reason I brought it up was because in a previous game (on a defunct site) I recall seeing a large blood pool on a starting Tremere. Turns out his Generation background affected the max pool but his starting pool was similarly affected by the Domain background:

That's a good reminder about Domain, thank you! Yes, the freebie 4 points of Domain that are storyteller awarded as a shared background will allow everyone +4 BP after their d10 roll, the background does clearly state that benefit, so I'm glad you brought that up! 

Slight change of plans from me.  Reading through some of the books again, I think I'm going to go with a Tzimisce.  I'll take a notebook with me to work tomorrow and try to make something of a skeleton for the character that I can flesh out more thoroughly once I get back home then.

Neat! 

[Amaris]

Rummy, I will try to get mine more fleshed out tomorrow and post at least a bit of a WIP :) Noah looks awesome

[Rummy Tum Tum]

Rummy, I will try to get mine more fleshed out tomorrow and post at least a bit of a WIP :) Noah looks awesome

Lookin forward to it! And thanks