[Full/Closed] Vampire the Masquerade Revised: Anchorage by Night

[Blythe]

Hello everyone. I finally finished a world building project for VtM, and now I've got an itch to run a group game with it!

Check out this thread to learn more!

To mention a few things so you can decide before reading the World Building if this group would be right for you:

* LGBTQIA+ friendly
* Crossgender writers (anyone writing something not matching their gender tag) totally welcome
* Slow post rate (though dice roll resolution may be somewhat quick, at least)
* All Clans/bloodlines permitted, just be mindful there are consequences if you pick ones that aren't very Camarilla-inclined, typically. You might be asked to take certain Flaws to justify certain Clans/bloodlines, but no Clan or bloodline is outright forbidden.
* Camarilla game where you play neonates thrust into a strange and isolated part of the Ivory Tower's territory
* Posting length doesn't matter to me! Long or short posts totally fine
* Uses the Revised system; you have to have that to play
* Game themes will revolve around politics, isolation, unrequited love, and the savageness of nature versus the cities (expect Werewolf attacks!). There will also be a strict enforcement of the Traditions, so the tone of the city is decisively authoritarian--this means change vs. status quo will be a major theme. (Yes, PCs can absolutely be agents of change...or they can uphold the old ways! Be savvy, be careful!)
* Unlike my prior games, I will provide frequent Storyteller quests with an expectation your PC must work with one or more other PCs to resolve it. While there will be some "free / downtime" threads, I'm hoping to keep this game a little more structured than my past ones. So this is not really a sandbox. It's more of a regulated playground where you could go play in the sandbox if you really really wanted, but you'd miss out on some cool stuff if you did!

To be clear, I'm not exactly sure how many players I'm looking for. This is mostly to see if there'd be any interest at all, as I'm sure that the setting's a bit weird for a VtM game, so I wasn't sure what sort of player base, if any, I might attract.

I think my goal here would be to accept anyone who presents a viable sheet that fits the setting, to be honest.

[RedPhoenix]

*runs around in circle screaming*

Okay my concept is an atypical Ventrue, a high-humanity SoCal girl whose attempts to convince the Camarilla and Anarchs to work together for mutual prosperity crashed and burned so hard in LA that she got shipped up to Anchorage for a shot at redemption / a convenient place to end up as werewolf chow depending on what she's able to make of her new assignment! She'd still cling to her ideals and beliefs, just be a bit more cautious about expressing herself. She'd also be very lonely and struggling with depression and keeping her hope alive, so lots of potential for making new and unusual friends!

Will work on crunch when I have a moment!

[Montagne]

oooo....

I've been craving a VtM game since I recently started watching the L.A. By Night series on youtube, and Anchorage is such a cool setting for a vampire game. I love the moody darkness of artic winter and feeling like you're at the very end of the world.

My character will definitely be on the traditional/reactionary end of the Vampire political spectrum. All for strict enforcement of the masquerade.

Two ideas immediately come to mind - I'll wait to see who else raises their interest before I pick one.

The first character I'd like to play is a terrifying Nosferatu, that I'd love to pair in a relationship with another PC of one of the more conventionally beautiful vampire bloodlines. Probably with some heavy D/s or even Dub-Con themes. I have this picture in my head of this terrifying monster lurking in a characters shadows and coming to claim them. Needless to say a very messed up relationship. (I'm happy to play with any gender so if the idea interests anyone feel free to reach out).

The second one is a Tremere. Been wanting to play around with the Blood Magic System. For the character I'm interested in exploring what a search for knowledge means in a world in which magic, ghosts, werewolves etc really exist. Probably not a traditional scientist. Instead someone who is a mixture of highly spiritual, religious, and interested in the occult.

An interesting theme for either of them would be a vampire who still has a personal faith. I think wrestling with that could be a very interesting concept. Looking forward to seeing what other people come up with.

[virtualblue]

Plants an interest flag.

[Blythe]

@RedPhoenix: Love the concept (as per our PM discussion!), looking forward to seeing how it turns out! :)

@Montagne: Welcome! I like both of those ideas, though I admit the idea of a Nosferatu being very traditionalist (given they are a clan with a much higher risk of Masquerade violation) is very intriguing! And of course if you prefer to play a Tremere Warlock instead, the idea of a blood mage with belief in a higher power practicing occult on the snowy edge of the world has a certain romantic look to it that could be fun to play in a gothic horror tale! Looking forward to seeing which concept you run with! I think either could fit in this game just fine!

@virtualblue: hi hi and welcome! Let me know if you have any questions 

[Montagne]

@Montagne: Welcome! I like both of those ideas, though I admit the idea of a Nosferatu being very traditionalist (given they are a clan with a much higher risk of Masquerade violation) is very intriguing! And of course if you prefer to play a Tremere Warlock instead, the idea of a blood mage with belief in a higher power practicing occult on the snowy edge of the world has a certain romantic look to it that could be fun to play in a gothic horror tale! Looking forward to seeing which concept you run with! I think either could fit in this game just fine!

Yes. For the Nosferatu I see him as being highly supportive of the masquerade and a traditionalist because he knows any witch(vampire)-hunt is going to come down on people like him the hardest. Plus he has an "If I can follow the rules looking like this, why can't you just not fuck things up for us" sort of attitude. So the difficulties he has maintaining the masquerade actually fuels his annoyance at the other bloodlines who break it.

My interest with that character is playing a monster who torments another monster (although in this case a less horrific looking vampire), so would depend on someone interested in a twisted relationship theme with maybe some elements like blackmail, dub-con etc.

For the Tremere character works much better if there aren't any pre-formed connections (not that I'm opposed to them though! They always make group games run smoother IMO). Yes I do love the slight romanticism of the occult blood magic at the end of the world. Something about the contrast between the cold snow and warm blood.

[virtualblue]

Blythe

I have a question about Generation. In almost every vampire game I've ever played, all the players buy down to the lowest Generation possible. With everyone coming from the outside that wouldn't be quite as weird as it is in some cities, but I was wondering what your take on it is.

blue

[Blythe]

Blythe

I have a question about Generation. In almost every vampire game I've ever played, all the players buy down to the lowest Generation possible. With everyone coming from the outside that wouldn't be quite as weird as it is in some cities, but I was wondering what your take on it is.

blue

I have no objection to it, assuming you follow character creation rules properly. That being said, there's a variety of generations in the NPCs, so there's a challenge for everyone, regardless of what you set your Generation as.

[PixelatedPixie]

Potentially interested.  An Oracular Ravnos might be more fun if I can think of a reason to make her be part of the Camarilla.  The thought of a fortune teller who tends to be right a little too often (Oracular Ability), and who annoyed some power or other by predicting a dark fate for them, could be fun.  Though I suppose it may also work as a Caitiff. 

[Silim]

Staking (hah) my interest in here! I only have the V20 books handy but I'll get my hands on the revised books very soon via a friend. The sorta guy where I'm not sure how his bookshelf has survived the amount of RP rulebooks he has...

VERY rough outline/character ideas:

A warrior Salubri survivor of a Sabbat mass embrace. Claims to be Caitiff for obvious "I'd rather not die again" reasons. Was some sort of man of the cloth as a mortal, but not devout enough to be anywhere close to the fervor that grants a mortal access to True Faith, of course. Would've traveled to Camarilla territory to get away from the Sabbat and hopefully, this frontier region has fewer Tremere after his head.

A survivalist and environmentalist that got himself in some deep shit by sabotaging a deforesting operation, eventually leading to being stalked by a creature of the night for a week. When he was finally attacked he somehow still had the mental and physical defiance to slam the Gangrel coming for him over the head with a shovel, which did nothing to save him, but enough to impress his would-be killer into embracing him.

Former private investigator turned Toreador - more details to follow, as I've gotta head out for now.

[RedPhoenix]

Okay still a bit rough but I am very sleepy so uh, gonna toss this out for feedback!

Name:		Sarah Carter		Player:		RedPhoenix
Clan:		Ventrue		Chronicle:		Anchorage by Night
Nature:		Architect		Haven:		Executive Suite, Ajax Oil Company Hotel
Demeanor:		Director		Concept:		True Believer In Making the World a Better Place for Everyone
Generation:		13th		EXP Spent:		0 / 0

Physical				Social				Mental
Strength:		●●○○○		Charisma:		●●●●○ (Mediator)		Perception:	●●●○○
Dexterity:		●●○○○		Manipulation:		●○○○○		Intelligence:	●●●●○ (Problem Solver)
Stamina:		●●○○○		Appearance:		●●●●○ (Girl Next Door)		Wits:	●●●○○

Talents				Skills				Knowledges
Alertness:		●○○○○		Animal Ken:		○○○○○		Academics:	●●○○○ (Humanities)
Athletics:		●○○○○		Crafts:		○○○○○		Computer:	●○○○○
Brawl:		○○○○○		Drive:		●●○○○		Finance:	●●●○○
Dodge:		○○○○○		Etiquette:		●●●○○		Investigation:	●●●○○
Empathy:		●●○○○		Firearms:		○○○○○		Law:	●○○○○
Expression:		●●●○○ (Conversation)		Melee:		○○○○○		Linguistics:	●●○○○ (Chinese, Spanish)
Intimidation:		○○○○○		Performance:		○○○○○		Medicine:	○○○○○
Leadership:		●●○○○		Security:		○○○○○		Occult:	○○○○○
Streetwise:		○○○○○		Stealth:		○○○○○		Politics:	●●●○○
Subterfuge:		○○○○○		Survival:		○○○○○		Science:	○○○○○

Backgrounds				Disciplines				Virtues
Contacts:		●●●○○		Fortitude:		○○○○○		Conscience:	●●●●●
Herd:		●●●○○		Presence:		●●●○○		Self-Control:	●●●●○
Resources:		●●●●○		:		○○○○○		Courage:	●●●○○
Retainers:		●●○○○		:		○○○○○

Humanity:

●●●●● ●●●●○

Willpower:

●●●○○ ○○○○○

Blood Pool:

10/10

Health:

Merits & Flaws

Merits
-

Flaws
Ventrue Clan Weakness: Blood must be Ethically Sourced (given freely or fairly bargained for if human, free range and released if animal)

Freebie Spending

Freebie Spending:

Linguistics +2 (4 pts)
Contacts +3 (3 pts)
Resources +1 (1 pt)
Herd +3 (3 pts)
Courage +2 (2 pts)
Appearance +1 (5 pts)

Sarah is a SoCal native, her family lives in Pasadena and is pretty solidly in that amorphous realm of comfort known as the upper middle class. Her father was a bigwig in advertising, her mother was a makeup artist for movie studios. Both are still alive. She has an older brother who is constantly about to be kicked out of the Coast Guard, and a younger broteher who is following various EDM groups around on tour and sometimes calling his parents for money. Sarah inherited all of the ambition and composure in her family.

A beach bum as a child, Sarah loved the sun, surfing, and swimming. Always sunny and positive, with a loving and well off family, she breezed through most of her younger years without much of a care in the world. Starting from a freshman at her public high school she was active in student body politics. In going around the various cliques and crowds at her public school stumping for votes she got a very real sense of how much better she had it than a lot of kids, and started to become interested in charity and volunteer work. Without really thinking about where it would lead, she organized food drives, donations, and other charitable activities at her school, many of which made the local paper and helped her get a full ride to UCLA, which her parents were extremely happy about.

Sarah excelled at UCLA and continued her involvement in student politics and charity work. She made many useful contacts with the best and the brightest over academic debates, passionate volunteer work, and all night parties alike. She was asked to apply for Kappa Kappa Tau, a very elite and selective sorority that unbeknownst to Sarah was used by the local Ventrue. Mostly it was used to find fitting ghouls and blood dolls, but every once in a great while a prospective kindred would appear. Sarah was that prospect.

Sarah was embraced in a truly unusual fashion, at the end of an intense corporate-style negotiation. True to the style of her sire, no blood was exchanged until ink was dry. Could her sire have just taken her? Yes, and she made that very clear. But she didn't, partly because she felt that way was antiquated and that civilized kindred didn't embrace without consent, but mostly because it just tickled her so much that a kine had been offered immortality and rather than sign right away or cower in fear, she'd slept on it and come back with terms, in a tabbed binder no less. It was the first time her sire had really laughed since her night with Joan Rivers back in the 70s.

The future looked bright, until Sarah's sire was called away back to Europe to handle some business, a phrase Sarah learned meant 'not the sort you can ask about.' For all Sarah knows that's still going on, after all it hasn't been that long in vamprie years. But for Sarah quite a lot happened in the few short years since her sire left. She was given a chance to represent the Ventrue in a sort of vampire No Man's Land in Los Angeles. Suffice to say, Sarah screwed it up spectacularly. The whims of maniacal immortals didn't respond very well to her logic and reason. She ended up overseeing a disaster that descended into anarchy with no sign of the cooperation or mutual prosperity she had looked forward to.

Sarah was offered a choice: fall in line with the brutal ways of the kindred and become a cog in the Ventrue machine, or take a last hope assignment in quasi-exile in Alaska baby-sitting a oil operation that was a front for money laundering. Faced with these choices, Sarah took the long shot where she'd at least have some degree of autonomy. She is desperately hoping to make the most of this assignment and be allowed to return to Los Angeles, and be given another shot at running a small part of things down there.

And so Sarah spent a several weeks long trip in a secret little room in the empty hulk of the one oil tanker that Ajax Oil still operated. It took her up to Anchorage with her personal ghoul who also happened to have been her protege in college, a bubbly and irrepresible blonde who loved playing the secretary to Sarah's excutive. Sarah's cover story is that she is the new Chief Finance Officer of Ajax Oil, and her day job is cooking books so that the Ventrue can hide their slush funds more easily from prying eyes. Once she'd arrived, she was given and bonded a local Ventrue ghoul, a very capable and hulking ex-Marine who is now her bodyguard.

Ajax Oil has not actually produced much oil at all in the last few decades. The skeleton crew (represnted by Sarah's Herd) consists of the mechanics and overseers needed to make it look like it might be a working operation some day. The operation makes an excellent place for conducting business away from prying eyes, and Sarah's suite at the on-site hotel is fully customized for a vampire to stay in. It's all relatively nice, but it feels rather like a prison as Sarah knows she can't leave until she recieves permission from down south. Still, she remains eager to get involved, and, much more cautiously this time around, try to get everyone working together to show that her way of doing things can work. Even in a frozen wasteland filled with monsters.

[Blythe]

Potentially interested.  An Oracular Ravnos might be more fun if I can think of a reason to make her be part of the Camarilla.  The thought of a fortune teller who tends to be right a little too often (Oracular Ability), and who annoyed some power or other by predicting a dark fate for them, could be fun.  Though I suppose it may also work as a Caitiff. 

Either of those would be interesting and could fit in the game perfectly fine. I love the idea of a Ravnos, mostly because I love the idea that the clan of wanderers gets everywhere, even the recesses of Alaska! :)

Staking (hah) my interest in here! I only have the V20 books handy but I'll get my hands on the revised books very soon via a friend. The sorta guy where I'm not sure how his bookshelf has survived the amount of RP rulebooks he has...

VERY rough outline/character ideas:

A warrior Salubri survivor of a Sabbat mass embrace. Claims to be Caitiff for obvious "I'd rather not die again" reasons. Was some sort of man of the cloth as a mortal, but not devout enough to be anywhere close to the fervor that grants a mortal access to True Faith, of course. Would've traveled to Camarilla territory to get away from the Sabbat and hopefully, this frontier region has fewer Tremere after his head.

A survivalist and environmentalist that got himself in some deep shit by sabotaging a deforesting operation, eventually leading to being stalked by a creature of the night for a week. When he was finally attacked he somehow still had the mental and physical defiance to slam the Gangrel coming for him over the head with a shovel, which did nothing to save him, but enough to impress his would-be killer into embracing him.

Former private investigator turned Toreador - more details to follow, as I've gotta head out for now.

The Salubri concept is very interesting, particularly given Montagne's Tremere idea! There is some good potential to mesh over faith, and that could create a good IC bond.

The Gangrel idea is very fun, has the more gritty Gangrel-type Embrace. Perhaps the Sire engineers their neonate being sent to Anchorage to test their ability to survive? Gangrel Sires are often infamous for throwing their childer into difficult situations this way early on!

And ooo, a former private investigator as an idea sounds very cool, and Toreador disciplines (Auspex in particular) play very well with that idea. An investigator of any kind could easily find work among the Anchorage court, as every one of the major NPCs would jump at the idea of hiring someone to look into a rival for them.

Great ideas all three, looking forward to seeing which you go with!

Okay still a bit rough but I am very sleepy so uh, gonna toss this out for feedback!

Just letting you know I do see this; I'm likely to wait to give feedback for another day or two to give others a little more time to express interest or for those already interested, to solidify their own concepts. But I like what I'm reading so far!

[Montagne]

Question - Do we need anything but the revised rulebook for character creation? Do the clan books etc just give background or do they have mechanical stuff in them?

[Blythe]

Question - Do we need anything but the revised rulebook for character creation? Do the clan books etc just give background or do they have mechanical stuff in them?

Players only need the core rulebook, though I am perfectly happy allowing content from supplements if it's requested and if it makes sense for your character idea. If you opt to play as a Tremere, you might enjoy having Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy and Blood Sacrifice: The Thaumaturgy Companion to draw on, but the core rulebook has plenty of Thaumaturgy even without these two supplements. The Tremere clanbook has some interesting Combination Disciplines (which you'd have to wait to buy in-game, as they cost EXP) for Thaumaturges and some "failed/forgotten" Thaumaturgy paths in it.

The clanbooks vary in their mechanical content; some have a more wide variety of mechanical content than others. The Tremere one is one of the more mechanically heavy clanbooks.

[Hades]

I haven't finished reading the thread...but I see "Blythe" and "VtM" together and that's enough for me.

[Hades]

So having read through a bit more and seeing the ideas that others have, I have a rough idea that I may flesh out (pun intended).

A Tzimisce that has escaped from the Sabbat and made his way to the great white north to escape his former packmates now looking to purse the stain on their honor his leaving created.  He makes no effort to hide what he is from the Camarilla denizens in the city, instead offering to trade information on the Sabbat's workings and mechanisms in exchange for safe haven and an opportunity to continue his research.   War and politics are of no concern to him, only the pursuit of knowledge that can lead him to the next great stage of vampiric evolution.

[Montagne]

Follow up Question - (sorry for all the questions, I know the basics of the vampire setting fairly well, but haven't played a game of it since I was in college over a decade ago . I may ask a few clarifying things/refreshers)

When you say we should all be neonates, do you mean we should all have been embraced in the last couple or years - or do you mean mechanically we should have the points allocation of a neonate.

I know it is possible to buy down one's generation etc and I have some ideas for my Tremere being from the 1800s (although a recent arrival in anchorage). Would that be possible if I pay points for it and miss out on something else, or by - we all should be neonates do you mean in IC we should have been embraced recently?

[Blythe]

So having read through a bit more and seeing the ideas that others have, I have a rough idea that I may flesh out (pun intended).

A Tzimisce that has escaped from the Sabbat and made his way to the great white north to escape his former packmates now looking to purse the stain on their honor his leaving created.  He makes no effort to hide what he is from the Camarilla denizens in the city, instead offering to trade information on the Sabbat's workings and mechanisms in exchange for safe haven and an opportunity to continue his research.   War and politics are of no concern to him, only the pursuit of knowledge that can lead him to the next great stage of vampiric evolution.

Might ask that you take Probationary Sect Member (I think that’s the flaw name) to represent this but beyond that, this seems super cool!

Follow up Question - (sorry for all the questions, I know the basics of the vampire setting fairly well, but haven't played a game of it since I was in college over a decade ago . I may ask a few clarifying things/refreshers)

When you say we should all be neonates, do you mean we should all have been embraced in the last couple or years - or do you mean mechanically we should have the points allocation of a neonate.

I know it is possible to buy down one's generation etc and I have some ideas for my Tremere being from the 1800s (although a recent arrival in anchorage). Would that be possible if I pay points for it and miss out on something else, or by - we all should be neonates do you mean in IC we should have been embraced recently?

Mechanically! So long as the numbers are right, I’m okay with you playing around with the actual Embrace date.

[Montagne]

Cheers Blythe

On holiday to celebrate her majesty's 70 years on the throne (and the days off we all get.) Will be back on Sunday and will think about a sheet then.

[Silim]

So I was looking through references on the wiki, and it seems that Revised didn't have rules for warrior Salubri, so I fear that concept is sadly out of the running, leaving the grittier Gangrel getting dumped in Anchorage after a brutal embrace to prove themselves and the private eye turned eternal undead detective on the table. Unless I'm wrong and a Revised book actually has rules for the Salubri as a playable clan, does anyone know?

[Blythe]

So I was looking through references on the wiki, and it seems that Revised didn't have rules for warrior Salubri, so I fear that concept is sadly out of the running, leaving the grittier Gangrel getting dumped in Anchorage after a brutal embrace to prove themselves and the private eye turned eternal undead detective on the table. Unless I'm wrong and a Revised book actually has rules for the Salubri as a playable clan, does anyone know?

You are in luck! It does have warrior Salubri in one of the sourcebooks! Guide to the Sabbat, page 72 under "Salubri antitribu." Warrior-associated discipline for them is Valeren, page 121 of that same book. :)

[Montagne]

Q - if we are using revised edition, has the plot progression from 4th/5th edition happened or not in our story? (As some of the clans have had big changes, especially Tremere recently since I last picked up my book in 2nd ed.)

If it hasn't, are we playing in like the year 2010, or are we saying it's 2022 and just ignoring all the new stuff for the backstory? (Which honestly totally fine with as less stuff to get caught up on!  )

[Silim]

You are in luck! It does have warrior Salubri in one of the sourcebooks! Guide to the Sabbat, page 72 under "Salubri antitribu." Warrior-associated discipline for them is Valeren, page 121 of that same book. :)

Thanks mate!

[Rummy Tum Tum]

Hey yall, throwing my hat in the ring with a Toreador rapper/activist who wants to stir progress before his Dark Fate drags him under. Made his sheet, just workin on his backstory

[RedPhoenix]

Just wanted to say I love everyone's concepts! :)