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You already know I'm interested as Viking Pirate Lawyer-Occultist. Kveldulf Sigurdson seems an appropriate name. EDIT: Black or beige?  
Loomer fucked around with this message at 13:56 on Sep 25, 2014 |
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Sep 25, 2014 11:25
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 19:36 |
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Third discipline is always an interesting one to pick. It's a shame carrefou is so voodoo-oriented because gouging out an eye for magic power is right up the alley of a terrifying viking anachronism.
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Sep 25, 2014 14:44
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Luminous Obscurity posted:I can't decide between a Norvegi porcupirate or a Khaibit navigator who uses Ancient Egyptian star-knowledge to plot the ship's courses. I foresee many arguments between this damned southron and the angry viking. If icelandic spar was good enough for him, it should be good enough for her, dagnabbit! EDIT: Say, wasn't this the age of combining pistols with swords and axes? Suddenly, the viking love of shield and axe just became viable again. Pistol-axe! 
Loomer fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Sep 25, 2014 |
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Sep 25, 2014 15:18
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Fortunately, Kveldulf is built as a lawspeaker, not a berserker, so keeping the crew from mutiny will be right up his alley. Here's a preliminary build, assuming the 15XP and free dots in craft/sailing are still in play: Intelligence ** Wits *** Resolve ** Strength ** Dexterity ** Stamina ** Presence **** Manipulation *** Composure *** Academics **** (History, and Law specialty from Professional Training) Crafts ** Occult ** Athletics ** Brawl * Sail ** Weaponry (Axe-and-Shield) ** Animal Ken * Empathy * Expression ** Persuasion **** * (4 base, +1 from Professional Training 4, Orator specialty, Rhetoric specialty from Professional Training) Socialize * Subterfuge ** Protean * Animalism * Majesty * Dominate * Multilingual (French/Danish/Dutch/German) ** Status (Rotgrafen) ** Lineage * Touchstone *** Language ** (English, Latin. Default language is of course Old Norse, which means he can talk reasonably well with Icelandics and Faroese but that's it) Contacts ** (Lawyers and pirate 'judges'; from Professional Training 1) Professional Training **** (Lawspeaker. Academics, Expression, Persuasion as asset skills. Retainer * (Two useless ghoul parrots) Library * (Law) Kindred Dueling * Humanity 6 Touchstone 6. Huginn, his left parrot. Touchstone 5 (from merit) Karl, the Icelandic chap on board. Touchstone 4. His brother's scramasax, still stained with his blood. Blood Potency * XP expenditure breakdown: 1 points for multilingual 3 points in Professional training 4 points for 1 dot in composure 2 points for 1 dot in weaponry 2 points for 1 dot in sail 3 points for 1 dot in Protean Humanity trade-off: 1 point into Touchstone, moving Huginn from 7 to 6. 1 point into Language (French) 1 point into Kindred Dueling. While Kveldulf still isn't intended to be a combat beast, he is a former viking and a veteran of the Rotgrafen's war for the Baltic. Fighting other Kindred was the order of the day then so it stands to reason he'd have picked up a few tricks. If we're not down with fighting styles, no problem. It'll go towards a bigger library or to speaking conversational Italian and Spanish. Loomer fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Oct 3, 2014 |
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Sep 25, 2014 16:45
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Soonmot posted:Just a heads up, I'd prefer to keep bloodline based characters to a minimum. Also, don't you need Blood Potency 2 to claim bloodline membership, or was that done away with in B&S? Done away with so long as your sire did it, per p. 98. So long as it's acceptable, I was going for Sigurdsson for a reason. EDIT: Likewise, I can go Ventrue. The big advantage of Rotgrafen is that Protean is a clan discipline and they happen to provide a pitch perfect reason for a walking, talking Viking anachronism in the Caribbean Golden Age of Piracy. Loomer fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Sep 25, 2014 |
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Sep 25, 2014 16:57
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Soonmot posted:Okay, so everyone knows what I like to see in character backgrounds: I was actually planning on having Kveldulf's brother's seax act as a dual-sided anchor. It's not only a physical remembrance of who he used to be, it's a reminder of what he needs to accomplish. Someone's vampire-dad killed his brother. Said someone is now in the Caribbean, and while he can't quite remember who it was due to the fog of ages, he's got clues and he wants blood. Cue the feud! quote:-Linked backgrounds: No one likes a special snowflake that refuses to associate with the rest of the PCs. Having a linked background, even as recent as when your characters came on board the ship helps alleviate that fear. To a viking and a Rotgrafen, the men of the ship are not just people around you, but people you must rely on and cultivate relationships with. I'll tailor some things to the others in the full write-up. quote:-World building: Make something cool, an island, a ship, a pirate, a port, whatever, help build this world and you get XP from it. quote:Things I don't like: Can do. I'll go into more detail in the full write-up, but Kvelduf is a former lawspeaker of the Icelandic Republic and then a chief orator for the Scandinavian Ventrue for a couple of centuries prior to his unfortunate fall into torpor. quote:
Majesty is actually an out-of-clan discipline, taken as the third dot. I can scrap it, if you like, but I felt it more appropriate to who Kvelduf is than than dominate would be. He prefers to genuinely sway a crowd, rather than just order them to do poo poo.
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Sep 25, 2014 17:38
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Sleep down in the Orlop like a filthy midshipman, that's how.
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Sep 25, 2014 20:02
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INH5 posted:I just noticed something. Glorious. First time making a character under blood and smoke and I managed to miss the clan attribute bit. EDIT: A first draft on Kveldulf's mortal life, and why he's not in any accounting of the Lawspeakers of Iceland. Also gives a nice little story-hook for if Ţorgeir Ţorkellsson is still alive somehow. Ancient vampire viking feud, anyone? Given the bloodiness of it, I think it might actually be better to start at humanity 6. Consequences for horrifying actions, etc. Born 970 as Thorolf Yngvarsson to an Icelandic godi and his concubine, Kveldulf was raised to be three things: Learned, lethal, and pious. The stories of his Gods, of the Settlers, and of the lands further West filled his head from a young age; farmer's tools and axes filled his hands, and once a year, the heady thrills of the Althing filled his senses. His father sat on the Lögrétta each year, and Thorolf would sit and watch him from the crowd. Law would flow from the mouth of his father and the other gođar during the assembly, to be learned and disseminated by the Lawspeakers. There was the one man in the Commonwealth of universal respect and authority in his own right, the one man employed by the state. There was a man that Thorolf would become. His great victory in his desire was not won by his father's campaigning alone, but by his fostering in 979 to the hus of Ţorkell máni Ţorsteinsson. One of the longest serving Lawspeakers, Ţorkell nurtured the young Thorolf's taste and natural talent for learning and for law. He encouraged him to that lofty office while allowing him to attend him in his duties, aiding his aging memory alongside his own adult son, Ţorgeir. When he retired from the office in 984, Ţorgeir took the role and Thorolf joined him as an assistant. He accompanied the man in wandering, swore an oath of friendship, and ensured that his friend's recitations of the law were accurate. Two minds, keeping it in them, would serve better to preserve the laws and customs from degradation. From time to time he left his unofficial duties to join his brothers' in raids on the coast of Ireland and England, going viking for the excitement and for the material wealth he would need for his eventual bid for the Lawspeakership. Unlike law, languages, and history, raiding was not his great strength. Competent with an axe, certainly - made so by his father's tutelage as a young boy, honed by daily life splitting wood, he could hardly not be. Strong, yes, but not exceptionally so. Instead, he took it on himself to learn the languages of the people they raided, to better extract wealth and information. On his return to Iceland from a raid in 999, he found a vastly changed situation. The small Christian population of the island had grown louder and louder, and the failure of Ţangbrandr had so aggravated King Olaf of Norway that invasion loomed on the horizon. The choice was offered: Christianize or die. His own brother stood as a hostage in King Olaf's bid, taken captive on a trade mission to Norway. Ţorgeir made his fateful choice in 1001. He sat alone, meditating on the matter, and chose Christianity for himself and for Iceland over their deaths. A betrayal of the highest order, in Thorolf's eyes. How could a godi abandon his Gods? How could the Lawspeaker lead his people to the White Christ without the slightest fighting? How could his brothers accept this, when they had fought so hard for so long to establish this place free of Kings? The association between Ţorgeir and Thorolf ended in blood, the two coming to a violent brawl with drawn blades over the matter; though out of long friendship neither could bring themselves to kill the other that day or press the matter legally. Wounded, diminished in his commitment to his role, and mourning the loss of his Gods, Ţorgeir left the office that same year, shortly after the bloody brawl. He sought to retire to his farm, and live out the rest of his days quietly, without politicking or the loss of any more old friends. Unfortunately for Ţorgeir, his wishes did not come to fruition. His bold action drew the eye of a Sanctified Norwegian Ventrue, and Ţorgeir vanished from the pages of mortal history, embraced and entrusted with the role of converting the handful of other vampires on Iceland, and any who might pass through. His successor as lawspeaker was quickly done away with. Grimur, an old, old man, lacked the strength of voice to perform his duties... and Thorolf stepped up. Campaigning with gifts, eloquent speeches, and a claim of legitimacy derived from his assistance to Ţorkell and Ţorgeir, he was made the Lawspeaker in 1004, and served the better part of four successful and respected terms. But his name does not appear in the records, and his successor, Skafti, is instead given the longest term of any Lawspeaker - a term that absorbed not only Thorolf's time, but his greatest achievement: the groundwork of the Fimmtardómur. The reason for this is simple. Thorolf vanished in 1011; the same year that Sigrun Ericsdottir was sentenced to death by the same Norwegian Sanctified that took Ţorgeir into the long night. Sigrun, exiled and struggling to build a power base, had decided she needed someone who could enforce her claims not just with brute force - a measure that won the respect of the Gangrel but few others - but with words, laws, and procedures. Of all the peoples of the world, there were few better suited to this than the great Icelandic jurists, and Thorolf was already known for his opposition to Christianity (and, if he had known of them, presumably the Sanctified). She sailed to Iceland one winter, taking full advantage of the long polar night. Thorolf, as Ţorgeir before him, was taken into that long night. The blood of Sigrun seared his body, wracking it with chills and aches and terrible changes as the Vampiric curse fundamentally altered him. In these early days, the terrible sea-queen yet had the time to explain matters. She told him what he was now, who he was now, why the blood burned, what it really was - not just the blood of a vampire, so common and base, but blood blessed by Loki. Blood mingled with that of Fenrir, with the venom of Jormungadr, and the spit of Hel. Blood that demanded vengeance against the followers of the White Christ, the Sanctified, who had so wronged not only Sigrun, but Thorolf, no, the Icelandic Commonwealth itself. That night, swayed by Sigrun's words and a judicious application of her mental powers, Thorolf took a new and terrible name. Thinking back to the Sagas, he chose it for himself. He would be Kveldulf, the Evening Wolf, Sigrunsson. Reborn into the Blood, he would restore the Aesir to their position of rightful prominence in Iceland and Scandinavia, however long it might take. And why rush, now with his immortality and his new-found weakness? Sigrun had made it clear that as a newly made vampire - of the Rotgrafen, as she called herself - he was but a weak, flimsy distraction to many of the creatures prowling the Night. He left Iceland with her the next week, though not before carrying out the terrible deeds that saw him erased from the history. Those gođar who had freely abandoned their faith found a nocturnal visitor demanding entrance. They gave it, of course - custom and law demanded it, and Thorolf's was a familiar face. They didn't - couldn't - realize that beneath the familiar beard, the balding pate with its stubborn handful of wispy locks, Thorolf had been replaced so thoroughly and quickly by the terrible Kveldulf. A raging hunger burned in his breast, and the blood of the traitor gođar satisfied it... Briefly. Drinking them dry, he left a survivor in each hus - the youngest child capable of speech - to tell who and what he had saw before he moved on to the next, and the next. With the sun never rising, he never stopped, never took pause in his hunger for vengeance. By the time he left, he had killed seven of the Commonwealth's most respected men and butchered their households. This, in and of itself, did not trouble him. They were traitors to the people, to the Aesir. But there was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind. What he had done was wrong, because he had not done it openly at first. He had hidden behind guest right to gain entrance, pretended to be a friend, done a terrible thing in the doing. Torn between embracing the terrible vengeance of Kveldulf - a desire planted as much through his sire's domination as grown from his own heart - and the things that had made Thorolf who he was, Kveldulf reaffirmed his commitment to the laws and customs. Through eternal service to them, he would remove the stain on his honour that his secret-murders had left. After he left Iceland, Ţorgeir went among the people, using his own powers of domination and control to remove any memory of Thorolf Yngvarsson - and of the terrible stain he had left in his wake. A handful of unfortunates were chosen as the scapegoats for the murders, declared full outlaws, hunted down and mercilessly slaughtered. Ţorgeir, whose love for his young 'brother' had continued even into undeath despite their bloody quarrel, would not allow Thorolf to so disgrace himself and his memory. He would find Thorolf and the sea-bitch who brought him into the Night. He would make his old friend see reason - or destroy him. They sailed to Northern Norway while the polar night remained, and Kveldulf received his first introduction to the rest of the vampiric world. The Rotgrafen were still few in number - a handful of Ventrue brought in from other lineages, few bearing the blood of Loki's children - and unwelcome sights through the increasingly Sanctified dominated Scandinavian courts. Tensions were high in the small band of outlaws, hastened to no small degree by the presence of Germans and Finns among them. Only the charisma and supernatural magnetism of Sigrun prevented bloody skirmishes from being a nightly affair, and as her childe, Kveldulf quickly improved his oratory. In Iceland, it had been comparatively low stakes: Legal office stood as the only prize. In the small band, survival was its own prize. Blood was scarce, between the hostility of the local population - even small fishing villages and farms often hosting a resident Gangrel or Ventrue, or visited on a rotating schedule by some more powerful, thirsty creature - and the competition of the small band. This competition grew more and more heated, culminating in the final death of the Lappish Gangrel, Dorste. Surprising everyone, Kveldulf stepped in to preserve Dorste's murderer from a retaliatory murder by the other Lapp of the band, Niillas. Making an argument drawn from the Gragas and the shared customs of the bulk of the Band (excepting, unfortunately for Niillas, the Sami), he persuaded the others to take a different tack. Why kill another of Loki's chosen sons when there was a precedent that could be readily adapted to the situation? Sigmund, Dorste's killer, would instead pay Niillas compensation for the death of his blood-brother. Gold would not suffice, nor cattle, but there was one medium of currency still acceptable: Thralls. This first settlement was of a low cost, in the blood-poor camp of the band, consisting as it did of but a single thrall. But this thrall became Niillas's alone to drink from; an outcome endorsed by Sigrun. Loki's will was that the Rotgrafen spread and grow strong in preparation for Ragnarok, and the preservation of a brother was a desirable thing to this end. Blood slowly began to run fearfully low. Thralls died of disease and weakness from repeated feedings, and the creation of ghouled outlaws to keep watch in the day further depleted the supply of vitae. In his second month among the band of Rotgrafen, Sigrun revealed the source of their thralls. Rather than taking them by ambushing travellers and raiding defenseless towns, as Kveldulf had assumed, she took them in a more daring manner. Where Sanctified princes held dominion, the Rotgrafen would strike in the night. The preferred herds of Sanctified were in turn their preferred targets on these brutal raids. The first raid of Kveldulf's career as Rotgrafen was on Třnsberg. Under the cover of mist and cloud, their longship drifted in on the tide. While it did, those of the Rotgrafen without Sigrun's ability to blend with the mist crept along the shore towards the town, eyes glowing red in the dark, axes and swords in hand. At the sound of screaming from the docks as the living mist drifted out from the ship and onto the curious watchers, they burst from the shadows and stormed the town. Cutting a bloody swathe towards the Jarl's hall, Kveldulf made a fatal error. He allowed his face to be seen clearly, without care or concern for for who saw it, and the ghouled retainers of the Sanctified lord took note. New faces among the Rotgrafen were always news to be shared. The raid itself, as all before, was a success. Slaves were carried back to the boat and rowed away in ropes as food, the childe of the Jarl lay dead and slowly rotting, and another blow had been struck against the servants of the White Christ. Unbeknownst to Kveldulf, the Jarl took notice of him. He had known a man of his description in life, an Icelandic jurist with whom he had raided. This Sanctified, the Ventrue Floki Magnusson, reached out to Ţorgeir with the next trade ship departing for Iceland. Weeks later, an envoy found the Rotgrafen, human, sent by Floki Magnusson. He carried with him a sack, which he silently emptied out before them. The head of Steinolf Yngvarsson, Kveldulf's mortal brother, tumbled out with his blood-stained seax, the instrument of his execution. Gutting the envoy then and there, Kveldulf roared and demanded vengeance of his new brothers. The remnants of Thorolf would have demanded blood for such a crime, and the increasingly dominant beast, Kveldulf, was more than happy to pretend it really cared about Steinolf rather than just hungering for more bloodshed, more control, more anger. Only at the urging of Sigrun did he calm, and agree to wait. Revenge could be had when the band was stronger, when it could do more than rely on surprise and fear in its raids on the Sanctified. That night, they set out for the open sea once again, to safety. Few of the Sanctified Princes and Jarls would risk the open sea for long in their pursuit. Weeks at sea took a heavy toll on their thralls. Between the limited diet, the weakness from the constant feedings, and the casual brutality of some of the band's older members, two-thirds of their herd died within the first month. Fortunately, however, the spring traders were sailing throughout the Baltic, and offered ready food when they could be caught. By the end of the season, not only had the band fed surprisingly well, they no longer numbered a single ship. One of the trade ships they'd taken had been a longship of such exquisite lines and seakeeping that the Vikings among the band could not bear to burn it, as they had with the other ships they captured. The band split in half, one lead by Sigrun herself, the other by her eldest childe, Kalfi Jotunbani. Both sailed to the southern shores of the Baltic to avoid the summer, but parted ways to improve their hunting chances in the sparsely populated areas. Sigrun's ship sailed to Scalovia, and the usual cycle of raid-camp-raid resumed. During the raiding, the local 'Prince' - in reality little more than a half-feral Ventrue offcast exiled from the Novgorod Rus, ruling through sheer terror - reacted at first with furious anger to the intrusion; then with curiosity, and finally, with friendship. Olaf the Scalovian, while no believer in Loki (adhering instead to the heathenism of the Eastern Baltic), saw the value in allies who actively took the fight to the Sanctified who threatened Pagan power-bases across Europe. Gifts of blood were made freely to the new arrivals as they camped, and by the next Autumn, the band had grown fat from them, swelling with ghouls and thralls. With the nights lengthening again, they set sail North oncemore, reuniting with Kalfi's band to resume their raiding of Sanctified territories. First came the lightly defended small-holdings of petty vampires, regardless of their Covenant or belief. Certain domains were spared out of blood kinship by one member of the band or other, but these preparatory raids were little more than ritualized practice for the techniques used on their real targets. Only when the Polar Night returned in the farthest north did their real raids begin against the Sanctified lords of Norway and Sweden; even in the southern extents where day still came, the long hours of the night were vital for the mobility, fluidity and savagery that characterized the Rotgrafen raids. This came to be the rhythm for over a decade. North in the Winter to raid and terrorize, to sea in the Spring to raid merchants, Scalovia and Lithuanian safe-havens in the Summer, and indiscriminate terror-raids in the Autumn. The bands grew, slowly and steadily, with new Embraces and with outlawed pagans from Sanctified domains joining the cause. From two there were soon three, and then four. Through the combination of circumstance and her raw charisma, Sigrun was perfectly placed to build an army out of the displaced Norse vampires exiled from Christianized lands by increasingly powerful, but young-blooded, Sanctified. Old vikings who had raided the Baltic centuries earlier came into the fold, some full-fledged vampires, some but ghouls. The bloodline spread more slowly, but the childer of Sigrun took on new roles among the Rotgrafen 'affiliates'. Kalfi enforced order with an iron fist; Kveldulf with legal customs. Disputes between bands were settled legally, be it by holmgang or by the exchange of blood-thralls in what came to be known, informally, as the 'wereblot'. Their growing numbers did not escape notice, and the Sanctified lords and Princes grew increasingly paranoid and concerned, fearful that their domain would be next. They began to look south, to the established and old Sanctified for help, and even to the Invictus among them for further aid; their stories of ghost-ships filled with mist drifting into dock and slaughtering entire retinues were dismissed as alarmism and exaggeration of nothing more than the long-established practice among the Scandinavian undead of going a-viking, even with the majority of the attacks striking only at Sanctified land. Just stubborn pagan remnants taking out their frustations, but certainly not a threat. In the winter of 1055, as the Viking Age began to draw to a close for the rest of Europe, it instead began to near its zenith for the Scandinavian undead. During those long nights, it was decided that the Rotgrafen would no longer operate in partial secret, hiding under the cover of mist and shadow, but would instead make an open statement. Their target was Třnsberg again, steered by Kveldulf. They would seize the town, kill the Prince, and send his ghouls to spread the word: Sigrun Ericsdottir would rid Scandinavia of the Lancea et Sanctum, purging them from it with blood and fire, and reclaim the North for the Norse (and also the Lapps, Niilas insisted.) All four ships converged on one town. They did not rely on the mist trickery of their first visit, nor on sneaking through the woods while the ships drew attention. With nearly a score of experienced vampires at her back and more than that number of ghouls, Sigrun saw no need. The message would be better served if they simply sailed in, ships lit with lanterns, and overwhelmed the Prince's followers and retainers with raw violence. Kveldulf was granted the right to lead the charge into the Prince's hall in recognition of his rightful claim to vengeance, and on landing, leapt first from the ships flanked by the two fiercest fighters of the Band. Almost immediately, the beast began to scream and snarl at him, the burning for vengeance intensified, filling him utterly, demanding blood. The Prince's blood, flowing down his face in a crimson tide, splattered on the walls, staining his beard, pouring down his throat. It was more than happy to pretend it only wanted this for revenge; to use Thorolf's honour and kin as its cover once again. Not for the first time, frenzy overtook Kveldulf as he hacked down a mortal retainer. But, for the first time, he did not diminish to a feral beast. The red tide rose up over his vision, eyes burning red, but the remnants of the man Thorolf harnessed the increasingly dominant beast Kveldulf, set him to the purpose of vengeance against Floki Magnusson rather than allowing him to simply kill, to indiscriminately butcher as it had so often desired. Between the wave of Rotgrafen seething forward and the berserk strength filling many of them, the Kindred of Třnsberg fell back farther and farther, screaming out their final words as hungry fangs fastened on throats and essences were devoured. The wise stayed hidden, the secret sympathizers disappearing in the night to avoid their own deaths fighting for a cause they never truly believed in. With terrible quickness, the band reached the Prince's hall. Kveldulf burst through the doors, roaring his fury, to find only an empty hall, the ashes gone cold. Floki Magnusson, forewarned by his watchmen, had fled before their ships had even put into shore. He had left most of his retainers, even his childer, to cover his escape and offer some token of resistance. Then and there, Thorolf lost what little grip left over Kveldulf and the beast turned on his companions, howling and laying about him with his axe. Kalfi, who had accompanied him from the first leap over the side, feinted and drew back, trying to reason with his blood brother, but saw no other choice. Kveldulf's frenzy refused to abate: the beast had been promised blood, and it would take it from someone, anyone. Kalfi's experience as a warrior beat Kveldulf back as soon as he stopped trying to reason with him, and only his regard for the wise law-man who had prevented so many feuds among the Rotgrafen kept him from ending his blood-brother. Instead, he seized a spear and plunged it through Kveldulf's heart, driving him into his first torpor. Loomer fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Sep 28, 2014 |
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Sep 26, 2014 03:33
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Bloodnose posted:I disagree. It's very important to have a plan for what happens when the game reaches 10,000 posts somewhere in its sixth year. A lot of games get bogged down there if the rookie GM doesn't plan ahead. Somewhat, yeah. You might get away with it if someone'll talk you through the big differences.
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Sep 27, 2014 08:22
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Soonmot posted:Cool beans. Hnnng. Must resist urge to vicissitude.
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Sep 27, 2014 12:24
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A brief overview of the rest of Kveldulf's history, since I haven't found the time to write it up properly yet: - War in Scandinavia against the Sanctified and the Legion over the next three centuries, with Magnusson taking a prominent role as a strategist and Kveldulf's role coming in as the arbiter between Rotgrafen jarls, local Invictus, and stranger things. During this period, the Rotgrafen grow to incredible strength and nearly take control of Scandinavia completely, ignoring the three traditions in favour of a system of belief focused on the creation myth of Loki's gift. This time also sees Kveldulf create the first draft of his now lost (and sought again) 'Blotlaga' - 'Blood-Law', an attempt to create a true legal code for the nascent Rotgrafen night-state, but which never succeeded outside of a few territories. Focused on regulating and preventing the bloody cycles of feuds in Kindred society, the Blotlaga dealt heavily with the treatment of blood-slaves, rights of destruction, and lacked the broad appeal to bring in support from anywhere but a handful of other Rotgrafen. During this time Kveldulf learns Old French and its later transitional state towards middle French. While he can no longer speak it, it gives him a solid basis later on for learning modern french. Likewise, he learns Old English and OHG, which together with the OF aid in learning modern English and German quite a bit. If I had the XP and they were more likely to be useful I'd give him more points in Multilingual so he could actually speak OF, OE, and OHG. As it is I'm going to rejigger it so he knows Latin, as this is the age where most important scholarly works are all in latin first and other languages second still. How to explain it is fairly simple: learned it from captive Bishops. - Torpor from about 1320 to 1550. After Sigrun entered torpor at the dawn of the 14th century, the Rotgrafen proto-state was quickly and mercilessly crushed. In the chaos of Sigrun's disappearance, the most powerful Rotgrafen warlords turned on each other seeking dominance, including most of Sigrun's dozen childer. Kveldulf remained largely outside the fray after the fall of Kalfi, who he backed in his bid to rule. Brokering alliances between the collapsing Jarldoms in a final attempt to capture Magnusson and exact revenge, Kveldulf witnessed the final collapse of the Rotgrafen dream in the climactic 'battle' of Tonsberg - a second conflict fought where the war began, shattering the Rotgrafen and their allies. The work of Magnusson and Thorgeir hid the ruination of the city behind the story of the Brother's War, and much of the damage done by the centuries-long conflict behind the facade of the Borgerkrigstiden and the War of the Outlaws. Embittered by the defeat, Kveldulf sailed with a handful of ghoul retainers to the forgotten settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows, where he promptly ate his retainers and entered a torpor with the intent to sleep away the ages until the arrival of Ragnarok, hidden away in a land all but a handful of his peers had forgotten: Vinland. - Awakening in 1650 - 1670, Kveldulf wandered the island for a brief period before meeting with settlers. Feeding first and asking questions second, he discovered a much changed world - and one where the hidden lands had been 'discovered' a new by Europeans, colonized, and made teeming with industry. Embarking back for Europe, he voraciously devoured every history book he could find, painstakingly studying the much-changed languages of his own time in order to do so. His ability to communicate almost without the slightest difficulty with the Icelanders allowed relative ease in the learning of other tongues; even finding Norwegian and Swedish greatly changed, and English nigh-incomprehensible, Kveldulf's quick mind and knowledge of the language's roots (obtained at no small effort during the Scandinavian war, in order to deal with Invictus and Circle covenants as far south as Italy) allowed him to seize control with relative speed. - Currently, in the end of the 1600s, Kveldulf has come to the Caribbean chasing a rumour that Sigrun is active again and terrorizing the sea. He's also seeking to create a second Blotlaga incorporating the developments of recent centuries, find and exterminate Magnusson - last known to be in America with the lost New Sweden settlement as 'the Swede' - and bring about his dream for the Rotgrafen state: A vampiric althing, a state of laws and individualism preparing itself for the great battle of Ragnarok in the service of Loki. Giving him pause is the nagging knowledge that the history he's read about his home doesn't quite match the remaining memories of it left after the fog of ages has taken its toll, and so he also has a desire to recover as much as he can on that front. Step one, though, is to find Sigrun. The presence of such a surprising number of Rotgrafen and their old enemies in the Caribbean can't be coincidence, surely? He'll find her, he'll return to her side, and he'll convince her to help him in his endeavour to forge a new Rotgrafen sea-kingdom. And then Magnusson will pay. Big goals for an idealist at heart. Deep down he knows it's an impossible dream - the failure of the first Blotlaga to catch on is proof of that to him - but he's still pinning much of his sense of worth and honour to the idea of law. In part, this is because it's one of the few things he still finds relatable. Everything else has changed so dramatically that the relatively conservative field of law soothes some of the tension in him. Sure, he doesn't know what half these places people talk about are, or the finer points of the intricacies of the Holy Roman Empire's electoral system, or anything much about the rise of Protestantism (it's all white christ nonsense to him!), but he can still argue law with the best of them. His handful of books are still there for him - copies of the Gragas, the old Germanic proclamations, even a worn translation into French of the Digest - and he can trace many developments to one or another. They're certainly more reliable than the constantly-tampered with and as-yet non-professional works of 'historians'! And it's just his luck that, in his hunt for Sigrun, he's found himself immersed in another culture of individualist, raiding-oriented, violent, but surprisingly law-bound men. Where else on earth would this unique skillset of settling vampiric feuds by legal arbitration ever be helpful? In the 'civilized' world, they resolve it with brutal killings. Here, where things are so much looser, there might just be a chance at something civilized. And there are those peculiar mutterings of political revolt here and there, the makings of the Carthian movement. Perhaps, in time, there'll grow an engine suitable for him to hitch his wagon to among those first dissenting whispers. Loomer fucked around with this message at 12:54 on Oct 3, 2014 |
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Oct 2, 2014 19:10
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GoatLord posted:You have an interesting definition of the word "brief." Well, brief compared to the six pages I wrote for the first part.
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Oct 3, 2014 03:35
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Hmm. I'm not sure if I should drop a point out of sail (or Kindred Dueling, for that matter) in order to have Kveldulf speak and read Latin, or if I should pick it up in the course of play.
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Oct 3, 2014 13:15
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Moving French to Multilingual. With that Kveldulf can speak it, and with his Academic dots he can mostly read French (all but in-depth stuff and/or hilarious contextual misunderstandings). It can be swapped in later, but for now it's taking the space of Norwegian. Why get rid of Norwegian and not Danish? Simple. In this era, the Virgin Islands were controlled by the Danes. Being able to speak Danish not only fits with Kveldulf's history, but it makes sense he'd prioritize learning the changes over those in Norwegian given their importance in the Caribbean. Between the multilingual dots and fluent latin, Kveldulf should be able to communicate with every major power in the region except the Spanish - and even there, a little latin will go a long way with port governors.
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Oct 3, 2014 15:41
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Bloodnose posted:Norwegian and Danish are mostly mutually intelligible so I'm not sure you need to spend a language on each. I haven't started on numbers on my sheet yet but I'm thinking I won't bother making Ladino and Spanish separate since one is mostly a dialect of the other. Both of these are good points. I'm trying to limit Kveldulf's knowledge of 'modern' languages not descended from those he knew in his active days, though, and the lack of utility is a bit of a consequence of being an old-rear end relic. Still, food for thought.
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Oct 3, 2014 16:44
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Soonmot posted:
Hahah, can do. I'll have to rework the stats and all now that the XP is at 20 rather than 15 and with the Covenant weirdness. Expect that sometime in the next 48 hours (gut is telling me, though, navigator 2 and sea legs 2 are the order of the day for a Vampire who's spent more time at sea than half the cast have existed.)
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Oct 7, 2014 11:46
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Had a full workup, but it got eaten when I accidentally hit F5. For now, quick answers to the core questions in case I don't get a chance to do a proper writeup before my weekend at the seaside. Also, is the Covenant weird discipline in addition to or instead of one of the 3 standard dots? I'm assuming instead of. Kveldulf is a pirate by default. He goes where the tides go, and right now, that's the Caribbean. Sigrun is there, the Rotgrafen follow in her footsteps. And there are too many Sanctified land princes! He's in the brotherhood because it appears to him to be an ideal tool to be turned to the purpose of forging an army for the Ragnarok. Weird rear end dudes with weird rear end powers are the perfect pick for the task. Also, relations between the Rotgrafen and the other covenants can be... Icy, at best. The 'weird' discipline in question is Ralab, obtained by devouring an Arabian vampire who came to the north in the wake of ibn Fadlan. This is also where he picked up his Ghul manservant, Haroun, who's stuck with him since. Tricky to keep aboard a ship, but there are benefits to having an utterly unkillable creature at your disposal. For one, it certainly makes a coup much harder to pull off. In Tortuga chasing down rumours of a Pirate Queen of the Damned. It was Betty, not Sigrun, but it's a start! Sigrun herself. And also, bizarre as it is, more laws. When the Carthian movement rolls around, he's going to stop at nothing to get his hands on Carthian Law if we're still rolling at that point. Enemies? There are many! * Floki Magnusson, AKA 'Frederick Magnusson' AKA 'The Swede'. Long shed blood demands vengeance even through the sleep of ages. Magnusson must die. The feeling is mutual. * Ţorgeir Ţorkelsson. While less of a threat than many of his enemies, Thorgeir still seeks Kveldulf's redemption - or his death. Death is much simpler to achieve, and as the years go by Thorgeir forgets more and more why he ever cared about trying to redeem his once-loved brother. At this point it's more force of habit than anything, a way to pass the time. * Just about every Sanctified prince still has a hate-on for the Rotgrafen. * Rasiya, the sire of Ali ibn Musa - the Asnam Kveldulf ate. Prominent among the Barbary Corsairs, she's more a threat than Kveldulf realizes. And there's the small, but frightening, possibility that the unbondable Haroun is still secretly working for her... Allies? There are less. * Sigrun, if she can ever be found. * Other Rotgrafen who honour their elders. * Erich Janssen, a middle-man with the Dutch West Indies Company who's well-inclined towards Kveldulf. * Haroun. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully.
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Oct 8, 2014 16:11
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Soonmot posted:In addition to. So, if you choose the Brotherhood, you get 4 discipline dots free. One just has to be a "weird" one. Well hot drat. EDIT: So tempted to dump everything to max out Ralab. I wouldn't, since that's the sort of hook that makes for adventures into dark jungle temples seeking out Blood Gods with similar powers for More Knowledge, but it'd be delicious. Magnusson finally corners Kveldulf, tears off his head, and declares himself victor... Only for a member of his herd to suddenly turn into Kveldulf and drink him dry when he gets home. "Surprise." For something I might actually do? Haven of Flesh. Kveldulf can literally live inside the crew during the daytime that way. Unfortunately Haroun is a Ghul, not a ghoul, so Kveldulf can't live inside him. But that's probably for the best. Do we really want a viking pirate lawyer to live inside a corpse-eating monster that can never die? That seems like a recipe for trouble... Although that does raise a thought. It'll be a long time and some stories off (gotta raid those dark jungle temples still!) but hypothetically, there'd be nothing to keep an Asnam from taking a human child and making him the Unholy Avatar, then raising him to eat the flesh of the dead to become a ghul. That's a terrifying thought: You can kill the Asnam, but his avatar is nigh-on unkillable so long as he only eats in secure places. If you kill him, he repeats the process, each time creating a ghul to harbour his essence if he should be killed. Say, I wonder if that's occurred to Rasiya. Loomer fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Oct 8, 2014 |
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Oct 8, 2014 16:40
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Lots of Lancea means lots of bloodshed from Kveldulf's camp, which can only be a good thing - and gives everyone even more reason to band tightly together. If half the princes of the region want you dead for associating with the Rotgrafen, what can you do but flip them the gently caress off and start burning down their houses? (well I suppose you could always sell out the viking but that would be Less Good.)
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Oct 9, 2014 08:13
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Revised Kveldulf build (preliminary, taking into account extra XP, extra discipline dot) Intelligence ** Wits *** Resolve ** Strength ** Dexterity ** Stamina ** Presence **** Manipulation *** Composure *** Academics **** (History, and Law specialty from Professional Training) Crafts * Occult * Athletics *** Brawl * Sail ** Weaponry (Axe-and-Shield) ** Animal Ken * Empathy * Expression ** Persuasion **** * (4 base, +1 from Professional Training 4, Orator specialty, Rhetoric specialty from Professional Training) Socialize * Subterfuge ** Protean * Animalism ** Dominate * Ralab ** Multilingual (French/Danish/Dutch/Spanish) ** Status (Rotgrafen) * Touchstone *** Language ** (English, Latin. Default language is of course Old Norse, which means he can talk reasonably well with Icelandics and Faroese but that's it) Contacts ** (Lawyers and pirate 'judges'; from Professional Training 1) Professional Training **** (Lawspeaker. Academics, Expression, Persuasion as asset skills. Retainer * (Two useless ghoul parrots) Library * (Law) Kindred Dueling * Retainer **** (Haroun) Sea Legs ** Barnacle *** Navigator ** Humanity 6 Touchstone 6. Huginn, his left parrot. Touchstone 5 (from merit) Karl, the Icelandic chap on board. Touchstone 4. His brother's scramasax, still stained with his blood. Blood Potency ** XP expenditure breakdown: 1 points for multilingual 3 points in Professional training 4 points for 1 dot in composure 3 points for 1 dot in Protean 1 points in Sea Legs 3 Points for Barnacle 4 points for Covenant retainer, Haroun. 2 points in Navigator. Humanity trade-off: 1 point into Touchstone, moving Huginn from 7 to 6. 1 point into Language (Latin) 1 point into Kindred Dueling. ______ And for Haroun, a real quick work-up. Intelligence *** Wits *** Resolve ** Strength ** Dexterity *** Stamina ** Presence * Manipulation *** Composure ** Occult ***** Medicine ** Stealth **** Survival **** Firearms ** Athletics * Persuasion * Subterfuge *** Morality **** Direction Sense * Meditative Mind **** Language * (English. Default language is Arabic) Alchemy ** Fast-Talking ** Mystery Cult Initiation ** (Anthrophagi; an old and hidden order of those who consume human flesh for the power to alter their own) Biokinesis * (from MCI**) Luck Magic **** XP breakdown: 4 dots on Luck Magic 1 dot in Mystery Cult Initiation As a ghul, Haroun must consume raw flesh - animal, human or vampire - from midnight to sunup or take 1 point of lethal damage. It's an irrestistable compulsion unless he spends a willpower to control it. Haroun's turned to meditation instead in order to try and be free of this. He does not need to sleep, cannot be made a ghoul proper, and gains 1 vitae for each pound of flesh he consumes. Most importantly, Haroun cannot die. If he's killed - and he can only be killed by agg damage -, his body melts into a mist that reforms into his body where he last ate. He enters a mini-torpor (6 days default, the formula is 10 - Morality) and can be destroyed during that torpor by burning him. Any other attempt will fail, just sending him back to where he last ate. Basically, unless you're inflicting agg damage, Haroun doesn't go down. He doesn't even black out from Bashing or Lethal or gain penalties for wounds of that nature. He does not suffer from disease, poison or age, has no beast, and is in most respects alive - including blood-wise, which means if need be he can be drained completely dry in a fight without the risk of losing his valuable skills. The problem of course is keeping him fed on a ship. The solution is to make sure to take captives that no one will notice dwindling during the night so that he can eat as much as he likes, or to run a net behind the ship during the day so he has plenty of fish to devour. Or, if those fail, Dominate should do the trick and he'll suffer a lethal wound. While slow to heal, it's not a big concern if he gets one other than the innate discomfiture. Much more concerning is just what Haroun was up to during Kveldulf's torpor. Was he roaming Canada and the East Coast, creating Wendigo myths by devouring living creatures? Or did he sail home, to serve true and ancient masters of the Anthropagi or Asnam in the Levant and the Peninsula? Did he just sit, staring, for several centuries? Kveldulf has no way of knowing, and if Haroun ever turns on him, he might just be in real trouble. Not to mention the Order of the Dragon might just find Haroun deeply interesting. Maybe even enough to try and steal him away. Loomer fucked around with this message at 11:01 on Oct 31, 2014 |
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Oct 10, 2014 01:42
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The strong female presence on the ship is going to give Kveldulf more reason to work with the crew, I think. If he can't find Sigrun, he's going to try and find a replacement for her, and a bunch of female vampirates offer good prospects. And a Ventrue at that, suitable for the Rotgrafen blood? All the better. Spoilers, how do you feel about working up a tie between Haroun or Rasiya and your Barbary Pirates?
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Oct 13, 2014 06:43
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http://sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/37247. As for Bobo... Bobo and Haroun are almost inevitably going to clash over who gets to eat the last captive.
Loomer fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Oct 21, 2014 |
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Oct 21, 2014 15:27
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And speaking of! Kveldulf's perspective, with a handful from Haroun of those he'd find particularly interesting. Kveldulf’s take on: Haroun: My link to the world in so many ways. I must not rely on him, though few know the hidden places and secrets of the world as he does. I wonder often what he did while I slumbered, but perhaps he foresaw the way of the world and travelled this strange new world. Certainly, he seems to know it better than I would credit any other from his lands. Maganda: She says I am Ventrue. I am Rotgrafen above all, but I am told by many that we are but a ‘family’ of Ventrue. So be it, if it is true. It would make this strange woman kin of mine in her own way. And like a well-behaved niece or grandchild, she knows when to stop and listen, and to respect her elders, unlike some of the others. I wonder sometimes if she could be properly educated and serve in Loki’s army in the great battle alongside Sigurd and myself. It would be strange, to have a woman from across the seas and a place I have never heard of, among the family. But perhaps she might earn a place in it. Her 'unique' ability gives me pause, however, and it is one of the only things I have ever seen give Haroun frightened pause. Pietro: So young. I was young once also. I remember the terror. I will teach him what I can, when he will let me. One so young could be readily shaped towards the new order. He knows nothing, and while what I know is... outdated... It still gives me an edge in turning the man to my purpose. Certainly, slaughtering his sire will go some way towards this. And if it should happen to harm the Sanctified in some way, all the better. He is a fellow sailor and a brother of the crew. Even if it will not help him join the cause, I will help him take revenge. Renee: Order is not an idle fantasy. I will show her the merits of my position, if she can be persuaded. If she cannot, I will show her how readily I agree. Law is imposed by the strong, she is quite right. When I find Sigrun, and convince her of my dream, the ‘lie’ of the strong will become truth and she will see the strength of order. And I do not doubt that when she sees that strength, she will flock to it. Her frightening abilities in battle would be invaluable, and I am not yet so old that I cannot admit that I could learn a few things from her on the art of battle. Captain Shark: A hideous creature, but one worthy of respect for his strength and his accomplishments. If I can persuade him to fight for my cause, or to align himself with my sire, the Rotgrafen will be all the stronger for it. Until then, and until Sigrun asks otherwise, I will serve him and his companion as my captains. That is the rightful way of things. The strongest lead until they are no longer the strongest. After that? How do the English say it... 'Dog eat dog'? Black Betty: Sigrun would approve of my decision to serve on her ship, I hope. The Gangrel are known to me from long acquaintance in the Baltics, and I remember many of them sailing beside us in our war. But I am afraid that if Black Betty has a childe, the drat thing will run wild. Lonesome Jim: An agreeable one. We share little in common but a hatred for the Sanctified. And that is enough. Fehed: This one unnerves me. Loki changed shapes, and so does this one, and though Loki empowered my sire’s line… I cannot shake the feeling there is something wrong about Fehed and those who can do as he does. Jean Mansean: An even stranger creature than his master, but not one that worries me. Saltwater is in our veins. Perhaps he is simply more honest about what he really is than the rest of us. Old Cully: He’s good with a chart. I’m better… Or I would be if I could make heads or damned tails of how they do things. Were the old ways so imprecise? They let us find this strange new world, but not a one of them uses a piece of spar anymore. And though one-eyed and old he may be, he lacks the wisdom of Odin. Vincento Luzzato: Never trust a toadie. I do not doubt he would not hesitate to sell us out for personal gain. Sabine Detraque: A cruel, withered tyrant. A being not so dissimilar to myself, in many ways, but one who has taken the wrong path. The Bollards: These are the sort of people we kept as chattel, nothing more. A mark against the Captain for keeping them. Lonesome Jim’s creatures: Wretched and miserable, the lot of them. One day I will end their existences. Their master and I are allies against the Sanctified, but that does not mean I must always tolerate these… Atrocities… To walk among us. Haroun’s take on: Kveldulf: He spared my life, and he yet serves his purpose. He provides for my… unique dietary needs. Maganda: I’ve seen her looking. Perhaps she realizes that the flesh of the undead is as palatable to me as the flesh of the living. Perhaps she has forgotten, though, that while she sleeps I walk the deck as any other man. Perhaps she has forgotten that I do not sleep. Let her tear her own head off. One day it will come back to find its body dumped over the side. Bobo: Agreeable company. Except when he decides he should get the last bite. Arturo Hernandez: He and I share servitude to the night creatures. Let him foolishly think himself an equal to me. One day, Kveldulf will rise higher and a challenge will be inevitable. On that day, Arturo will realize that his breed are but a petty imitation of the creatures they serve and that a ghul is not a ghoul. So far, none of them know just how different I am to their lowly breed. Lord Bollard: One day he will die, and I will eat him. His years of indolence will make him tender and well-marbled. My only fear is that I will have to fight Bobo for the meal. The Black Priest: I wonder who he prays to, late at night. I wonder if it would prefer sacrifices of blood and flesh to what he offers. I sometimes wonder if his powers could be... Acquired. Loomer fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Oct 29, 2014 |
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Oct 24, 2014 02:07
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Right, Kveldulf's perspectives have been edited accordingly. And per request, the text of his weird-rear end discipline: •Pact of Allure Even the most primitive students of Ralab are armed with something to offer — and something to take. This Discipline takes the form of a pact between the Asnam and a mortal, who must willingly submit to it (though the Asnam is under no compulsion to explain the full ramifications of the deal). The essence of the pact is that the pair exchanges that intangible quality called “allure” until the next sunset. Neither party changes appearance, but the mortal typically seems more poised, charming, vital — she’s nicer to look at, though not in any way anyone can name. The pact is consummated when the Asnam anoints the human with his blood, and the human lets the Asnam taste hers. (Only a drop is needed, though often Asnâm imply that much more is required.) In olden times, this Discipline was commonly used as a direct exchange — you pay me, I make you beautiful for a while. In modern nights, fewer people believe in such things (though there are still gullible occult dabblers in every city), so a Asnam is more likely to use this with one of his own long-term followers to create a sort of “body double.” Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: This Discipline is not rolled. Action: Once the Asnâm has taken and spent a Vitae from the subject, the mortal (or ghoul) can substitute the Asnam’s Presence score for her own, if it’s higher. This bonus lasts until the Asnâm next rises from sleep or torpor. (Thus the risk to the Asnâm: if the ghoul learns this, he may have good reason not to rescue his regnant from torpor so quickly.) Typically, only the homely seek out the Pact of Allure, but even the lovely can be driven to extremes by competition. Many Asnâm use Majesty to “polish up” what they offer, though the effects of that Discipline do not enhance a mortal who has made a Pact of Allure. For that same duration, the Asnam does not provoke the Predator’s Taint in other Kindred (though he still needs to make Resolve + Composure rolls for frenzy as usual). His aura may reveal his nature, but the Taint is muted for the duration. Specifically, it’s redirected to his mortal pact-mate. Her aura shows her humanity, but she provokes Predator’s Taint in vampires as if she had the Asnam’s Blood Potency. For an additional three experience points, this power may be expanded, granting the subject the equivalent of the Striking Looks Merit (••) for its duration. If the sub-ject already has Striking Looks ••, then this expanded power grants Striking Looks •••• instead. ••Haven of Flesh At this level, the lines between ghoul and goddess are so blurred that one can flow into another. By taking her worshipper into her arms, the Asnam can dissolve into his very body, dwelling invisibly within him until she chooses to emerge. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: This Discipline requires no roll to invoke. The overlap of Idol and servant has a powerful effect on each. The Asnam can only slumber within her ghoul (though there are rumors of Auspex Devotions that let her perceive and remain awake). The Asnam may choose to wake up at nightfall, or if the thrall becomes afraid or any time the thrall takes damage. Any damage done to the thrall while the Asnam is ensconced is done to the Asnam as well, though bullets still only do bashing damage to her. If the thrall dies, she is automatically ejected from his corpse, coalescing like oil from his skin. No matter how or why she emerges, she has the option of automatically taking as much of her thrall’s remaining Vitae as she chooses. The ghoul, while holding his Idol, enjoys a calm bliss of satiation — like a mild version of the euphoria of the Kiss, but extended on and on. All his dice pools suffer a –2 penalty due to this lassitude, but he can still walk, talk, reason, get on the plane to Fresno — even fight if he must. He may not draw on any of his mistress’ Vitae, however, save that which he had before she merged with him. If he does use up all the Vitae in his system, he feels no craving for it. After all, he has its source slumbering within — she can’t go far. It is clear to Aura Sight that somethingis strange about the conjoined entities, though unless the viewer has seen this unique overlapping of auras before he’s unlikely to recognize what they mean. Other than that, there’s little way to rec-ognize the phenomenon. The ghoul carrier gains no weight, provokes no Taint and doesn’t even spook animals. Action: Instant •••The Infinite Chalice This feared Discipline is the foundation upon which an Asnâm can build a regional or even national cult. Most Kindred keep their ghouls close, so that the thrall can protect the master while the master enhances the thrall. But the Infinite Chalice allows the bond of blood to transcend mere space, so that a Asnam may feed from a ghoul regardless of distance, or replenish his servant’s Vitae across miles, time zones and oceans. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool: Strength + Occult + Ralab – the subject’s Stamina Action: Instant This Discipline permits a transfer of Vitae between regnant and ghoul. Only the Kindred half of the pair can initiate the process. For each success rolled, the Idol can drain one Vitae (though he may take less if he so chooses). There is no swooning Kiss effect with such feeding, or pain. The ghoul may not even notice, if his regnant takes only a little. On the other hand, the ghoul may pale and pass out, suddenly and mysteriously a liter short on precious blood. When replenishing a ghoul’s supply, the Kindred may transfer one Vitae for each success rolled. He may donate less — for example, rolling three successes but only giving his ghoul one Vitae. Under no circumstances can he grant a ghoul more Vitae than the ghoul’s Stamina permits. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +2 The Asnam spends his last point of Willpower to activate this Discipline +1 The ghoul is within sight of the user. — The ghoul is within 100 miles of the user. –1 The ghoul is more than 100 miles away. –3 The ghoul is more than 500 miles away. –5 The ghoul is more than 1,000 miles away. ••••Of Will Undivided Asnâm who are already glutted on the physical blood of their slaves can, with further study of Ralab, transfer the in-ner strength that is the very core of identity. An Asnam may bolster a tried-and-true worshipper to nearly superhuman levels of competence and concentration with this Discipline. Far more often, the Asnam uses it selfishly, sometimes leaving his thrall a veritable empty shell of a personality. Cost:1 Vitae Dice Pool: Manipulation + Occult + Ralab – the subject’s Resolve Action: Reflexive This Discipline permits the transfer of Willpower be-tween Asnam and ghoul. Only the Kindred half of the pair can initiate the process. With any number of suc-cesses, the Asnam can transfer a single Willpower point. If he’s draining, the ghoul loses a point of Willpower and the vampire gains it. If the Asnam is sending, the ghoul gains a point of Willpower and the Asnam loses it. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +1 The ghoul is within sight of the user. — The ghoul is within 100 miles of the user. –1 The ghoul is more than 100 miles away. –3 The ghoul is more than 500 miles away. –5 The ghoul is more than 1,000 miles away. •••••Unholy Avatar If there is a more odious, inhuman and self-serving Discipline studied by the Asnâm, no one outside the bloodline is talking about it. The depraved apex of Ralab answers the question, “Why would a vampire bargain for a living infant, anyway?” Through the warping influence of her blood, an Asnam who acquires a child who is too young to walk or speak can so entangle the child’s life with her Requiem that upon the destruction of her Kindred frame, her spirit moves on to vanquish that of the child (even if the child is grown by the time this fateful night comes). The soul of the child passes on to whatever waits beyond death. The Asnam retains the memories and knowledge of her Requiem, only now in a new place, residing in a new body. One of the Asnâm could infect a child with this curse, leave him somewhere to resume some normal life and then unexpectedly seize control when necessary. Cost:1 Willpower dot plus 5 Vitae (see below) Dice Pool: Presence + Occult + Ralab versus the subject’s Resolve + Composure Action: To anoint the subject: instant; resistance is reflexive. To transfer the vampire’s consciousness: reflexive; resistance is reflexive. The complete use of Unholy Avatar requires two rolls. The first is made when the victim is still an infant (less than one year old) and requires the expenditure of five Vitae and one Willpower dot. One of these Vitae must be fed to the child. If the role is successful, there are several effects. • The child cannot be placed under a full Vinculum, and upon being fed any Vitae, makes a reflexive Stamina + Resolve roll to resist developing even a partial bond. A single success is sufficient to shake off the false adoration of the blood bond, no matter how potent the Vitae consumed. This protection persists until the Asnam takes over the child’s body, until the child is made another vampire’s ghoul or until death, whichever comes first. The supernatural bond of thralldom that binds a ghoul to his regnant super-sedes this power’s protection. Thus the Asnâm is faced with the quandary of making his Unholy Avatar his ghoul or of maintaining his back-up corpse’s protective anonymity. • The child develops an extreme sensitivity to day-light. He suffers a –2 penalty to all actions taken in direct sunlight. The subject sunburns easily, possibly even suffering one point of bashing damage per additional hour spent in full sunlight after the first four (at the Storyteller’s discretion). • No Asnâm can gain nourishment from feeding off this child, though other Kindred can feed from it as normal. Vitae taken from the subject harms her but is not claimed by the feeding Kindred — it simply vanishes. • An Asnâm instinctively knows if his Avatar suffers lethal or aggravated damage or is killed. This effect operates no matter how far the vampire is from her subject. • If the Unholy Avatar is Embraced, he is released from this power’s effects (as his body has effectively died). • The child can (if the Asnam wishes) be ghouled with most of the normal effects — addiction, mental instabil-ity and access to Disciplines. However, one notable exception is that the child’s Vinculum resistance prevents him from becoming maniacally devoted to his Idol.The Asnâm often ghoul these children, once they reach the peak of their physical prowess and appearance — by keeping the Avatar eternally young, the Asnam ensures a fitting vessel when she decides (or is forced) to move on. Aura Sight reveals that there is something occulted about the Avatar, but unless the viewer is familiar with the effect, he’s unlikely to recognize the tell-tale signs for what they are. The Asnam cannot finish the transaction required by this power until her own demise, and even then it’s an uncertain thing. If she is slain (or kills herself because the Avatar’s body or circumstances are more desirable than her own), she makes the second roll to complete this power’s invocation, which costs no Vitae. If that roll garners even a single success, she takes over the Avatar’s body, which becomes, in that moment, that of a vampire. Any blood (Kindred or mortal) that was in the Avatar’s body remains there when the new tenant moves in. When an Asnâm’s consciousness moves into its new body, the following changes are made: • The Asnâm’s Mental Skills and Attributes replace those of the Unholy Avatar. • The child’s Physical Attributes replace those of the Asnâm. • The Asnâm’s Composure and Manipulation replace the child’s. The child’s Presence replaces the Asnâm’s. • All of the Asnâm’s Social and Physical Skills are reduced by two dots, as the Asnâm is not familiar with his new body. If the Unholy Avatar is not yet old enough to be a playable character (by the Storyteller’s standards), then these diminished Skills may be reduced even further until the Asnâm’s new body comes of age (see below). Some Skills (such as Expression, Intimidation or Athletics) may reflect the Asnâm’s former abilities faster than others, as the Storyteller sees fit. • Merits must be handled on a case-by-case basis. The Asnâm’s Mental Merits most likely survive the transfer, but Physical Merits may no longer be usable until the Asnâm once again fulfills their prerequisites. Social Merits might be lost if Contacts and Allies no longer recognize the character. • The vampire’s Humanity replaces that of the child. The vampire’s Blood Potency drops by one. • Once the vampire’s wicked will replaces the subject’s, the new body begins to age and grow. This process takes a number of nights equal to 10 minus the vampire’s Blood Potency. Over this time, the avatar’s body alters to resemble the age that the vampire was at the time of his Embrace — unless the avatar was the Asnâm’s ghoul, in which case the ghoul’s apparent age at the time of the vampire’s destruction determines the body’s apparent age at the end of its transformation. These days of change are extremely awkward and painful for the vampire, who’s new body may be transformed from that of an infant to that of an old woman in a matter of hours. • The Asnâm’s new body is effectively Embraced when the vampire’s will usurps it. It is considered to have Vitae equivalent to the body’s Health and be immediately subject to all the banes of vampiric existence — including the damage of sunlight. Some Avatars are utterly ignorant of their fate. They are placed in orphanages, find good homes and often receive excellent health care and schooling, courtesy of some “mysterious benefactor.” Indeed, their lives seem charmed, coddled and protected by some anonymous mentor, until the day their spouses wake up and find the Avatars radically different . . . Other Avatars know full well their fate. Even without a Vinculum, the wiles, Majesty and addiction of being Idols’ ghouls can so warp the Avatars’ minds that they are willing, even honored, to give up their body for their mistresses — though most Avatars are attached enough to themselves to try and stave off that eventuality. An Unholy Avatar who fights against his mistress’ plans is rare. After all, one false move could prematurely end her existence. If an Idol has multiple Unholy Avatars in waiting, he is transferred into the one subjected to this power the earliest. Basically, Kveldulf is a dude who can live inside the ship and inside the crew and will, if not stopped before reaching the peak of the discipline, become almost as unkillable as his Ghul. As it stands, he's a dot below the single most frightening discipline power I've ever seen. Given the distances in the Caribbean and the specific trade lanes, it's going to be very unlikely that Kveldulf will ever be more than five hundred miles from a ghoul on shore. They could wind up mired with no food at all and Kveldulf would be just fine as a result. When you add in the ability to make those Ghouls more potent and more useful via willpower infusion and to use his Presence, it gets scarier because a cunning man like Kveldulf might just use an agent to start a furious riot against a Sanctified prince while he's verifiably elsewhere, or to arrange for a shore battery to decide that they'd better bombard that rival vampire ship whenever it appears. So long as the ghoul isn't linked to him - and it'll be a harder one to do so if he only ever meets the ghoul once physically - it gives excellent deniability.
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Oct 29, 2014 02:55
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I'll post it up along with the Ghul specific stuff. Ghul: Blood Potency A Ghűl has Blood Potency 0, which is not the same as having no Blood Potency trait at all. Blood Potency 0 is discussed in greater detail on p. 11. Clan A Ghűl is not a vampire and possesses neither a clan nor a clan weakness. She does not benefit or suffer from blood ties or blood sympathy. The Embrace A Ghűl cannot Embrace, though she can be Embraced. In this case she becomes a Kindred in all ways, completely abandoning all of the benefits and weaknesses of being a Ghűl. She keeps any Disciplines she may have developed. (If she had fewer than 3, she gains additional Disciplines appropriate to her clan; if she had three or more, she retains those but gains no more.) Ghűls fall to their wretched state through a variety of means that typically culminate in the consumption of dead flesh (whether as part of an occult rite, a bid for immortality, curiosity or debauched gluttony). The curse that befalls one of them thereafter is hers alone, and she has no one (and no sire) to blame but herself. Vitae A Ghűl may spend 1 Vitae per turn for the purposes of increasing physical dice pools and fueling Disciplines. She possesses a Vitae pool that is filled by the consump-tion of dead, uncooked flesh. Every pound of flesh grants the creature 1 Vitae, meaning that most Ghűls easily fill their Vitae pool with each night’s feast. A Ghűl continues to eat even if she has filled her Vitae pool; excess Vitae is ignored. If a Ghűl is somehow prevented from eating on any given night, she loses 1 Vitae and suffers 1 Lethal damage. If she is restrained long enough to reduce her Vitae to 0, she instead suffers 2 Lethal damage per night. Ghűls suffer a compulsion they cannot control to eat raw flesh for the duration of every night from mid-night until the sun first begins to light the horizon. At midnight a Ghűl must spend a point of Willpower or seek out flesh to consume, eating until dawn. The flesh can be animal or human, but it must be raw. Many Ghűls haunt graveyards simply because they provide the easiest source of their needed sustenance. Ghűls cannot eat more than the tiniest amount of other food without getting sick (much like Kindred). Furthermore, they neversleep (save when recovering from wounds as described below). While Ghűls do not become tired, many develop Derangements as a result of their constant waking life. A Ghűl cannot be made a ghoul, addicted to Vitae or placed under the Vinculum. (Indeed, a Ghűl can’t hold a point of vampire Vitae down any more than she can a glass of wine.) Furthermore, she cannot create ghouls or thralls, and her blood carries no risk of addiction. A Ghűl can neither commit nor suffer diablerie. Advantages A Ghűl’s Advantages are determined as a mortal charac-ter’s. A Ghűl possesses a Morality trait as well as a Virtue and Vice, and regains Willpower as any mortal. The only exception is that Ghűls do not sleep and therefore regain no Willpower for doing so. Characters that begin play as Ghűls do so with a Morality of 4. Disciplines Ghűls possess no Disciplines when they first change into monsters, but may purchase Celerity, Majesty and Vigor over time as if they were out-of-clan Disciplines. Damage, Healing and Final Death Ghűls do not roll to remain conscious when they lose their last Health to Bashing damage and do not fall into torpor when they lose it to Lethal damage. A Ghűl suffers Wound Penalties only from Aggravated damage. When she loses her last Health level to Aggravated damage she explodes in a bloody mist, some of which finds its way back to the location of the Ghűl’s last meal, where it reforms into the Ghűl. A Ghűl dispatched in this manner regains all her lost Health, but her Vitae pool is reduced to 0 and she remains asleep for a number of days and nights equal to 10 – her Humanity. In this state, the Ghűl becomes vulnerable and can be destroyed by burning her body. Other Traits Ghűls no longer suffer ill effects from exposure to any natural disease or poison. Ghűls are, for all other intents and purposes, alive. They heal at the normal rate for a mortal, they contend with no Beast for control of their actions, and the sun has no deleterious effects upon their person or abilities. All Ghűls suffer from the Mel-ancholia Derangement, which they must roll to resist whenever the weaknesses of their state interfere with their goals or desires. Ghűls may purchase Merits typically limited to mortals (save Unseen Senses), but lose such Merits if ever Embraced. The Beautiful Stranger: Ghűls can appear particularly attractive to someone they have never met before, an illu-sion that persists so long as the victim does not discover the Ghűl’s dread secret. A player controlling a Ghűl may spend 1 Willpower when first meeting another character to gain a single die to applicable Presence and Manipulation rolls with that individual, as if the Ghűl possessed the Striking Looks 2 Merit. This power stacks with the benefits of Striking Looks. The effect remains until the enchanted target discovers the truth of his beautiful stranger, either by confession from the Ghűl or witnessing the Ghűl in the act of consuming flesh. Other evidence will be ignored or rationalized away. The Wild Ride: When all else fails, the Ghűl can reduce her enemies to unthinking animals. The Ghűl must be able to establish eye contact with her victim and tell him what animal he is to become in a language he can understand. (This statement requires at least the following words: “You are” and the name of the animal.) Cost:1 Vitae Dice Pool:Manipulation + Persuasion vs. target’s Re-solve + Composure Action:Instant and Contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure:The power rebounds upon the Ghűl, reducing her to a feral state for the remainder of the scene. Failure:The power has no effect. Success:The target becomes convinced he is the animal named, and acts in all ways as if he were. If the target possesses an inner Beast prone to violent outbursts (such as a vampire or werewolf), the target falls into immediate Frenzy, regardless of the animal named. This power remains in effect until the end of the scene. Exceptional Success:As success, save the effects of the power remain until the following dawn. Suggested Modifiers +2 Striking Looks 4 +2 The target has the ability to change shape into the named creature. +1 Striking Looks 2 +1 The target is possessed of an inner Beast. –2 The target has never seen in person an example of the named creature. –3 The character names an animal wildly inappro-priate to the current environment (such as requiring a character in the desert to become a dolphin). Ghűl Occultism Furthermore, many Ghűls possesses the following powers, legacies of their occult studies prior to their transformations. Not every Ghűl knows these powers, however, and a few know others besides. Ghűls portrayed by players may purchase these powers as Merits (as indicated by their level in dots, below), but must begin with Luck Magic. Alchemy (••) Prerequisites: Occult •• and Medicine • Effect:If given access to an alchemical (or chemical) laboratory, the Ghűl may transmute a simple, common, non-precious substance into another simple, common, non-precious substance. This ritual requires 1 hour of work. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool:Intelligence + Occult Action:Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: An accident occurs, possibly causing mild burns or a minor explosion. The material is lost. Failure:The material remains the same. Success:The material is transmuted. Exceptional Success: The final product is imbued with a mystic energy. It can be used to inflict Bashing wounds against dematerialized ghosts. Suggested Modifiers –1 Per point of Size of the original material over 1 –1 Per point of Durability of the original material –1 Per dot of Resources cost of the new material –1 Poor laboratory equipment –1 No sample of the desired substance Aura Sight (••) Prerequisites: Empathy •• Effect:By staring at and focusing on an individual for one minute, the Ghűl can read the eddies and currents of a target’s soul. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool:Intelligence + Empathy vs. target’s Compo-sure + Blood Potency Action:Instant and Contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The Ghűl receives misleading information. Failure: Nothing happens. Success: The Ghűl can observe a target’s aura as per the Auspex power Aura Sight (p. 120, Vampire: The Requiem), save she cannot use it to differentiate between supernatural creatures and need not take penalties for how carefully she’s examining the aura. She gleans only a single emotion (the strongest), and gains a +1 bonus to all Social rolls with the target. Exceptional Success: As success, save the bonus to Social rolls is +2. Suggested Modifiers +1 Character possesses a bit of hair, blood or cloth-ing from the target. +1 Character observes the target in the reflection of a mirror over a century old. –1 The subject is a habitual or pathological liar. Curse of Ill-Fortune (•••) Prerequisites:Luck Magic, Persuasion • Effect: By ritualizing for 10 minutes (including the con-sumption of raw flesh), the Ghűl can curse a target. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool:Manipulation + Persuasion vs. target’s Com-posure + Blood Potency Action:Instant and Contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure:The curse rebounds upon the Ghűl and he suffers its effects. Failure:Nothing happens. Success:The target suffers a penalty equal to the Ghűl’s dots in Manipulation to a number of dice pools related to a specific activity (a job interview, driving, fighting, etc.) equal to the Ghűl’s Persuasion. This curse remains for 24 hours. Exceptional Success:As success, save the penalty applies to allrolls of the designated type for 24 hours. Suggested Modifiers +1 Character possesses a photograph or video of the target performing the activity to be cursed. +1 Character possesses a tool the target uses for the activity to be cursed. –4 Target possesses the Luck Magic Merit. Luck Magic (••••) Effect: By spending 10 minutes ritualizing, the Ghűl can grant himself excellent luck at a specific activity. With a 30-minute ritual, he can grant that luck to another or grant himself superlative luck. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool:Manipulation + Occult Action:Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure:The Ghűl loses the benefit of the 10-Again rule for the specified action. Failure:Nothing happens. Success:When using the 10-minute ritual, the Ghűl gains the 9-Again rule for a number of rolls of a specific type (driving rolls, firearms rolls, etc.) chosen at the moment of casting equal to his Manipulation. Alternatively, he can spend 30 minutes ritualizing and grant himself 8-Again or another character 9-Again for 3 rolls of a specific type. These “lucky” rolls must be used within 24 hours. Exceptional Success:As success, save the affected dice pools also gain a bonus die. Suggested Modifiers +1 Character possesses a piece of hair or clothing or a sample of blood from someone who excels at the type of action designated. +1 Character possesses a picture or video of the target performing the chosen activity particularly well Meningilai • The Hidden Voice In some legends, the penanggal’s scream is a sign of safety. It has a sort of reverse-Doppler effect. The further away the creature is, the louder its scream. The only time you are in danger is when you cannot hear it at all. It’s not true. With the Hidden Voice, the penanggal can cause her shriek to come from another location. Cost: None Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Mengilai Action:Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only does the creature’s voice pin-point its location, the penanggal cannot use any Mengilai power in the next turn. Failure:The penanggal’s voice is not thrown. Its shriek is a clear marker to its position. Success: The penanggal can throw her voice up to ten yards per success achieved on the roll. Exceptional Success: The penanggal can throw her voice as far as she can see. •• Curse of Babel This ability leaves the subject mentally shattered, unable to speak or form coherent thoughts. In the past, victims were generally diagnosed as hysterical and treated accordingly. The curse renders the victim unable to describe her attacker in the immediate aftermath and increases the likelihood that her eventual descriptions will be taken as the ravings of a broken mind. The subject must be within earshot and able to hear the penanggal’s shriek. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Mengilai – target’s Composure + Blood Potency Action: Instant and contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The power does not work, and affects the penanggal himself for the rest of the scene. Failure:The penanggal fails to gain more successes than the victim. The power has no effect. Success: For each success the penanggal’s player rolls, the victim is unable to describe the penanggal or explain the creature’s actions in any coherent fashion for one hour. Exceptional Success:There is no additional effect beyond added duration of the power’s effect. ••• Unhinged Wail The sight of a penanggal is enough to make one question one’s sanity, but the shriek of a penanggal can temporarily drive a target to the brink of madness. Cost: 1 Vitae, 1 Willpower Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Mengilai – target’s Composure + Blood Potency Action: Instant and contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The penanggal suffers the effects of a mild Derangement and cannot attempt to use this power on the target for the rest of the night. Failure: The power has no effect. Success: The victim is afflicted with a mild Derange-ment for a number of hours equal to the number of suc-cesses rolled. The specific Derangement is subject to the Storyteller’s discretion. Exceptional Success: As a success, but the subject also loses a point of Willpower. •••• Shattering Cry The scream of the penanggal takes on a physical force, violently slamming into its target and causing actual damage. The victim’s ears bleed, and they suffer Bashing damage from the creature’s shriek. The target must be within earshot, though it works just as well against a deaf target as one with perfect hearing. Cost: 1 Vitae, 1 Willpower Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Mengilai – target’s Stamina Action: Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The power damages the penanggal instead, causing 1 level of Bashing damage. Failure: The power has no effect. Success: The victim suffers 1 Bashing damage per suc-cess rolled. Exceptional Success: There is no additional effect: extra successes are their own reward. ••••• Invisible Tongue The shriek of the penanggal resonates at exactly the right frequency, creating a conduit between the target and the penanggal, allowing the penanggal to steal the victim’s Vitae from a distance. The Vitae is siphoned through a vortex of sound, flying through the air to the penanggal’s waiting mouth. Cost: 1 Vitae, 1 Willpower Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Mengilai – target’s Stamina Action: Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The power damages the penanggal, causing 2 levels of Bashing damage. Failure: The power has no effect. Success: The subject gains 1 Vitae per success, causing the victim to lose an equal amount of Vitae and take appropriate Lethal damage. Exceptional Success: There is no additional effect beyond the extra Vitae stolen. Relevant non-discipline bits: While separated, the penanggal’s body is extremely vulnerable. If the penanggal does not take steps to pre-serve her body—either through refrigeration or immersion in some sort of preservative fluid (like vinegar or formaldehyde)—the body suffers a point of Aggravated damage over the course of the night. The body is helpless, and if someone destroys it, the penanggal meets Final Death at sunrise. It is more or less essential that the pen-anggal has a suitable Haven with all the accouterments necessary for her existence, including an inconspicuous method of ingress and egress while she is separated. In her human guise, a penanggal moves as quickly as any other human. When she leaves her body behind, however, she becomes preternaturally fast. When detached, the penanggal’s Speed rating increases as her Species Factor rises by 2, to 7. While separated, a penanggal takes only Bashing damage from firearms, does not suffer Wound Penalties, and does not need to roll to avoid falling unconscious when all his Health boxes are filled with Bashing or Lethal damage. Sunnikuse Each time Sunnikuse is used, Wits + Occult is rolled for the subject to recognize that the Jonah is somehow behind her sense of doom. A normal success suggests that there is some vague connection between the Bohagande and the bad luck. An exceptional success fully exposes the Bohagande’s complicity. Perhaps the vampire is even caught with a hand in the proverbial cookie jar, actively doing something strange near or in regard to the intended victim. Suggested Modifiers Bonus Condition +1 A black cat or broken mirror is nearby +2 Target is under a ladder +3 It’s Friday the 13th +4 A fortune teller told the victim that something terrible would happen this evening +5 The victim is already convinced he is jinxed or cursed Penalty Charm –1 Target has a lucky rabbit’s foot or mouths a protective prayer –2 Target received a blessing from a holy authority that same day –3 Target knows the truth about what the Bohagande can and cannot do –4 Target has a rare artifact that legend ascribes with miraculous powers –5 Target knows the Bohagande’s secret name Luck stolen through use of Sunnikuse cannot come from or later be used for Humanity or degeneration rolls made for either the Bohagande or a target. In essence, while the Storytelling System may call for a dice roll to determine Humanity and degeneration, luck does not play a factor in whether a character retains his morality or sanity. •Jinx A Bohagande can snatch small amounts of luck from others that he can then use for himself. By making physical contact with another — even the lightest touch is sufficient — the character can activate this power. If successful, the victim’s next ac-ion fails, while the Bohagande’s next action automatically succeeds. The power of Jinx lasts only one scene, so if the Bohagande takes no further actions that scene, the benefit is forfeit. Consult the rules for “Touching an Opponent” on p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook to determine if a Jonah successfully makes contact with a resisting target when this power is used. If a target does not resist, assume that contact can be made automatically under some context, such as through a handshake, sleight of hand or seeming to stumble. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool:Wits + Subterfuge + Sunnikuse Action:Instant to touch target; reflexive to activate power Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The character’s Jinx is turned back on him. The next action the Bohagande performs in this scene is failed automatically. Failure: No effect. A successive attempt to use the power may be made, but contact is required again, as is another Willpower point. Success: A subject is jinxed upon being touched. The next roll made for the subject is automatically a failure, regardless of how improbable that might be. If the action normally calls for a chance roll, the victim automatically suffers a dramatic failure. The Bohagande fares much better. The next roll made for him is an automatic success. If he attempts no further actions for the remainder of the scene, he receives no benefit from Jinx. If the subject attempts no further actions in the scene, he is spared failure. Exceptional Success: Similar to a normal success, except the stakes are much higher. The victim’s next action results in a dramatic failure, while the Bohagande’s next action is automatically an exceptional success. A subject can be under the influence of only one use of Jinx at a time, and a Bohagande can have no more than one “unused” success at his disposal at one time. Once it’s fulfilled, this power must be activated again to acquire a new guaranteed success. ••Evil Eye This cursed ability can wreak all manner of havoc on a victim. By drawing on the power of her Vitae, a Bohagande no longer needs to touch her victim to affect him. So long as she is in close physical proximity and can see him directly, even if only momentarily, she can turn the Evil Eye on him. (Looking through a TV or at a photo doesn’t apply.) Cost:1 Vitae Dice Pool:Presence + Intimidation + Sunnikuse Action:Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The intended target is unaffected and all rolls made for the Bohagande against that indi vidual suffer a –2 penalty for the remainder of the scene. Failure: The power has no effect, but successive at-tempts to use the power on the subject may be made as long as he is in direct sight. Success: The victim suffers a –2 penalty on all rolls. In addition, the 10 Again rule to re-roll 10’s doesn’t apply to the subject. Both of these effects apply for the remainder of the scene. Exceptional Success: The victim suffers a –3 penalty on all rolls for the remainder of the scene, in addition to the proscription against the 10 Again rule. A victim can be subject to only one use of this power at a time. •••Calamity A Jonah has honed his abilities such that he may cause victims’ efforts to have tragic results. A personal possession of the victim is needed to level this curse — anything from a necklace to a comb to a lock of hair to a tooth. The Bohagande taints the object with his cursed Vitae, usually by opening a small wound in his hand. The vampire murmurs a few brief words and as long as the character holds the bloodied item in hand, the subject is plagued by disaster. Cost:1 Vitae Dice Pool:Manipulation + Empathy + Sunnikuse Action:Activation is instant; application can be contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The next roll made for the Bohagande that scores even a single 1 is a dramatic failure, regardless of the number of successes actually achieved on the roll. Failure: No effect, although successive attempts to activate the power can be made if the object is still held and more Vitae is spent. Success: After the power has been activated and the item is held by the vampire, a subject’s action fails au-tomatically if any die rolled for him ever turns up a 1, regardless of how many successes are actually rolled. Indeed, if successes rolled for the victim are lower than those rolled for the vampire when this power was acti-vated, and a 1 turns up on a die, the victim’s action is automatically a dramatic failure. Example:Three successes are rolled for a vampire using this power. Later on, a dice pool is rolled for the subject. Four successes are achieved, but a single die in the pool turns up a 1. The action fails immediately, regardless of the four successes rolled. The victim is somehow robbed of an easy victory. If only one or two successes had been rolled for the subject — less than the vampire’s three — and a 1 had turned up on another die, the effort would have been a dramatic failure. Exceptional Success: As per a normal success, except any 1 rolled for the subject indicates a dramatic failure no matter how many successes are otherwise achieved in the roll. Should the Bohagande release the possession from hand for even a moment, Calamity is dispelled. It’s possible for more than a single item to be held in order to affect multiple victims simultaneously, assuming the items are small enough. For each dot in Sunnikuse, a Bohagande can utilize one such personal item at a time. Multiple items from the same subject do not increase the intensity of this power over him. Gloved hands deny use of this power, as does merely having an object close by (in a pocket, around the neck). Rings are particularly sought after by the Bohagande. The item must have a solid connection to the subject for it to be valid. This can be due to an emotional attachment (a pearl earring given by a loved one, a dead father’s pocket watch), due to a lasting relationship (a wallet owned for a dozen years, a child-hood teddy bear), or because the object was actually part of the target (a lock of hair). The Bohagande need not be able to see the victim of this power for it to be effective. The victim of Calamity does not receive any special hint as to the source of his affliction. Even if near the Bohagande, the victim does not have any overt way to identify the vampire as the responsible party. If a connection is somehow made (maybe the Jonah takes credit), the victim or anyone else can attempt to liberate the personal object from the vampire’s grasp by grappling. See “Disarm Opponent” on p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook. If the effort is successful, the Bohagande loses contact with the object and the effects of Calamity are terminated. ••••Twist of Fate Sometimes, no matter how great one’s odds are or how likely one is to fail miserably, the fickle hand of Fate steps in. Bohagande who excel at Sunnikuse learn to control freakish turns of events for their own purposes. Cost:1 Vitae Dice Pool:Manipulation + Subterfuge + Sunnikuse Action:Reflexive This power effectively increases or decreases the degree of success or failure of a single action taken by the Bohagande or by any other character within direct sight. The Bohagande’s player must declare the power in use immediately after a dice pool is rolled, but before the results are declared. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The very next roll made for any character (even one not nearby the Bohagande) that is made to cause harm or disadvantage to the Jonah is improved by one degree of success. Say, from dramatic failure to failure, failure to success or success to exceptional success. This can mean a homeless man’s feeble effort to resist the vampire is suddenly over-whelming, or a Hound’s efforts across town to unearth information about the Bohagande reveals his very haven! If increasing the degree of success of the effort by category is too vague, as in a combat attack, add three to any successes rolled against the vampire. Thus, a roll of one success becomes four, and a failure becomes three successes. Failure: No effect, although successive attempts to apply the power to other dice pools be made if more Vitae is spent. Success: The result of the roll can be made more successful or less successful by one degree. That is, a success can be turned into an exceptional success or a failure, while a dramatic failure can be changed to only a regular failure. If altering degree of success by category is too vague, as in a combat attack, add or subtract a number of successes equal to those achieved in the power’s activation roll. So, if three successes were gained, up to three can be added to or subtracted from those achieved in the affected roll. A targeted roll that is reduced to zero successes is a simple failure; it’s not made a dramatic failure with “negative successes.” Exceptional Success: The Bohagande is able to twist fate to such a degree that the result of the target’s roll can be changed two full steps in either direction. An exceptional success can be turned into a failure, while a dramatic failure can become a regular success. As with success, if altering degree of success by category is too vague, actual successes achieved in the activation roll — five or more — can be added to or subtracted from those of the affected action. Twist of Fate can be used on only instant actions. Extended and reflexive actions are unaffected. When used on a contested action, the power is directed at only one contestant, but can affect the outcome for both. Someone who should have won or lost the contest suddenly does not. This power can be used at any time during a turn, regardless of a character’s Initiative, and does not count as the action the Bohagande is normally allowed that turn. The power can be used only once per turn. •••••Gift of the Crow Up to this point, a Bohagande is unable to hold onto the luck she steals for more than a brief time. It must be used quickly or be lost to the ever-changing winds of Fate. Now, however, the character understands how to hold onto her precious lot. Cost:1 Willpower Dice Pool:Intelligence + Occult + Sunnikuse Action:Instant; resisted if used against another Bohagande who also uses Gift of the Crow Gift of the Crow allows a Bohagande to steal luck from others and use it to improve her chances of success on future rolls by taking advantage of the 9 Again and possibly the 8 Again rules. This benefit lasts a number of nights equal to the successes achieved on the power’s activation roll, until the Jonah suffers a dramatic failure, or until the user is rendered unconscious or falls into torpor (whichever comes first). This luck comes at a price to someone else, of course. Someone within distance to carry on a normal conversation suffers a dramatic failure on his next action, regardless of how many successes are rolled for him. One such dramatic failure is imposed for each success achieved on the activation roll of the power. So, if three successes are rolled, the next three actions performed by others are dramatic failures. These tragedies may all be heaped upon a single victim or assigned to various victims within range, as the character chooses. Three mishaps could befall three separate people, or three could plague one victim. If a Jonah is not careful with this power, he could soon be at the epicenter of tragic events or pitfalls, from which he emerges unscathed. If he comes away “lucky” too many times, others may notice. If no one is in sufficiently close proximity to steal their luck, this power cannot be activated. A valid victim must be human or humanoid, whether alive or undead. See “System Permutations” on p. 134 of the World of Darkness Rulebook for details on the 9 Again and 8 Again rules. A Bohagande cannot be subject to the effects of more than one use of this power at a time. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The character does not steal any luck and is not subject to the 10 Again rule until the next sunset. Failure: No effect, although successive attempts to ac-tivate the power can be made if more Willpower is spent. Success: For each success rolled, the character en-joys the 9 Again rule for one night (including the re-mainder of the current one). So, if three successes are rolled, the 9 Again rule applies for three nights. Each 9 or 10 rolled at that point is re-rolled to improve the Bohagande’s chances of success. Exceptional Success: Similar to a normal success, except the Bohagande now has the benefit of the 8 Again rule for a number of nights equal to the successes achieved. Each 8, 9 or 10 rolled by the player is re-rolled.
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Oct 31, 2014 11:18
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Don't worry, I didn't actually take Sunnikuse. I just posted it since I was already doing an infodump.
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Oct 31, 2014 13:10
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