|
Practicing my flow-chart-fu. In other news, with this disparate a cast shaping up so far, I really do think we should talk about group theme or at the very least specifically address PvP. In my experience it is easy to fall to internal conflict when running with pick up groups and there's no solid unifying reason to be a coterie. Already a lot of traditional themes are out the window (Same Clan, Covenant, Bloodline, Brood) so I don't think this should be underestimated. My concern is without a theme, we'll just fall back to an impromptu meta-theme of 'who-already-knows-who' battlelines. I'm not too interested in a full PvP game, I personally think those work better as LARPs than tabletop games. Small scale conflicts and competitions between the PCs is great, but the heavy stuff - blood bonding, killing or hardcore screwing each other over is tricky to pull off even with experienced groups. Requiem is better than Masqerade in this sense, because the Covenants all work together in Requiem far better than the Sects in Masquerade, but that's no guarantee. Barbed Tongues fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Jul 26, 2018 |
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 01:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 02:27 |
|
|
First thing that comes to mind is a group of appointees by the primogens/prince/some other daffy oval office who want us five to LOOK INTO THING. We're all being judged very harshly by our success or failure in this task and there will be grand suspicions and dishonor and other poo poo on our clans and all that if our fellows end up missing, because it will appear to be a political machination to weaken or discredit the other clan. "Oh don't trust the gangrels, they done murdered someone who was their ally in solving this thing, rowdy lot that they are. I mean yeah the ventrue definitely could've sent someone better and probably should have taken this more seriously, but yada yada"
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 05:05
|
|
|
I actually liked the idea about the deceased harpy. Individuals the harpy was aware would be arriving in the city and would be safer choices to investigate if you don't know who to trust in the city. Reward would be Acknowledged in the City.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 06:38
|
|
|
John Dyne posted:First thing that comes to mind is a group of appointees by the primogens/prince/some other daffy oval office who want us five to LOOK INTO THING. We're all being judged very harshly by our success or failure in this task and there will be grand suspicions and dishonor and other poo poo on our clans and all that if our fellows end up missing, because it will appear to be a political machination to weaken or discredit the other clan. I have almost no interest in PvP. I have a terrible curiosity in us becoming an investigative or diplomatic team or inheritors. I basically have my character's background but I need to know what the limits are before I create people and things. IPlayVideoGames posted:Make socialism sexy or die trying As funny and interesting as this is I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. The flow chart has something that maybe I disagree with that aren't wrong. I'm sorry, I'm trying not to be a nit picky rear end hole Herr Tog fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 09:17
|
|
|
Herr Tog posted:I basically have my character's background but I need to know what the limits are before I create people and things. The flow chart has something that maybe I disagree with that aren't wrong. I'm sorry, I'm trying not to be a nit picky rear end hole What's your background beyond Clan+Covenant? And what's the nitpick?
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 12:12
|
|
|
Here's a link to my White Wolf library, feel free to read, just don't distribute - and if you get a lot of use out of anything, consider buying something from Onyx Path if you haven't already and your financial situation is cool. Clan/Covenant and Bloodline books are all in there. Anything marked 2E is canon, anything marked 1E is (mostly) thematically canon, though some mechanics (like bloodline abilities) may need conversions to 2E systems. Ignore the Ars Magica stuff. Couple ST questions: How do you want to handle Kindred Status? (Chargen caps, dynamic no-XP system, XP only, etc). I'm assuming 0 XP sheets, but any limit on actual Kindred age? How do you view / implement influence merits like Allies, Contacts, etc? Group or individual beats? I'm sure I'll have more. : )
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 15:39
|
|
|
IPlayVideoGames posted:Make socialism sexy or die trying 99% sure this was a character in the Bloodlines video game.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:17
|
|
|
Yes, there were Anarchs in Bloodlines :P But you might be thinking about Damsel. pynladfysh fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Jul 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:19
|
|
|
Barbed Tongues posted:Practicing my flow-chart-fu. That is some top notch flowchartery. What app are you using for it? I'm going to try and diagram out the major social engines of the city and anything would be better than Paint++ and my terrible freehand drawing skills. In terms of PvP, I concur that it doesn't work well in a tabletop setting. I had four players gank the fifth in a Technocracy game once upon a time, but that was with the fifth player's consent and his follow-up was perhaps the goofiest thing to ever goof (an android who modeled his humanity after Sherlock Holmes) so it's probably not something to bank on. That said, if you guys move forward with an extremely disparate coterie as it's shaping up to be, there will be conflicting agendas at times. Some handed down from your seniors in the covenant, some organically chosen over the course of play. A certain amount of backstabbing even amongst allies is integral to the vampire experience - predators have a hard time cooperating even when they try to. I think we'll deal with it on a case-by-case basis at that level, with the player contract being that no character is going to flip the table and just walk out (unless that player wants to switch to a new character). John Dyne posted:First thing that comes to mind is a group of appointees by the primogens/prince/some other daffy oval office who want us five to LOOK INTO THING. We're all being judged very harshly by our success or failure in this task and there will be grand suspicions and dishonor and other poo poo on our clans and all that if our fellows end up missing, because it will appear to be a political machination to weaken or discredit the other clan. The only thing about a investigators/troubleshooters kind of game is that I'd like this to be primarily a sandbox where the character agendas are what drives the story. Investigation games tend to be "superior gives you a mission/mystery to be solved, hijinks ensue, consequences rain down, superior gives you your next mission..." format. That said, the model works fine for a "pilot" story where we explore what threw the five of you together - we just need to generate enough narrative that you can become independent actors. Certainly there are no shortage of mysteries/hosed-up situations in San Diego that an enterprising coterie could not untangle to their benefit. Outside of clan & covenant, the other two classic ways to create shared interests are haven & herd (domain). The one established group haven (the San Diego mission) isn't viable because that's Lancea Sanctum-only, but there can certainly be more (the elder Nosferatu might be willing to give you all a really classy section of catacombs if you're willing to take care of some problems for his family). You also can be part of a Carthian experiment in collective rulership where a coterie is given joint domain and told to sort their poo poo out on their own. Barbed Tongues posted:How do you want to handle Kindred Status? (Chargen caps, dynamic no-XP system, XP only, etc). In general, Status will go up and down as your fortunes do with the various factions. Any Status you buy in chargen is governed by the Sanctity of Merits rule and gets refunded as something else in the event you take a poo poo on the Invictus primogen's desk or something. Buying Status with Experiences is viable, with some sort of justified extended project (that happens off-screen or during downtime) to explain how you curried favor. Barbed Tongues posted:I'm assuming 0 XP sheets, but any limit on actual Kindred age? Nope. Yet another reason Blood Potency is so much better than Generation. Barbed Tongues posted:How do you view / implement influence merits like Allies, Contacts, etc? They're pretty important (as per the "Backgrounds matter" item on the palette) but in general see the observations above on Status. I'll try and stay on top of dynamically handing out Backgrounds as your actions merit, it's always kosher to ping me and ask if you think you've got a relationship significant enough to go on a character sheet. Barbed Tongues posted:Group or individual beats? Once upon a time I asked this question in the WoD thread and the overwhelming opinion of those who have played 2nd Edition/CoD games was that group beats were the way to go. So if I'm understanding this correctly, all beats go into a single pool for the coterie and when it hits 25, everyone gets an Experience and the pool resets to zero. That said, I really do think that individual beats are a good measure of how much spotlight time you're getting so I'll probably keep track of them for my own erudition just to see if my hypothesis works.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:45
|
|
|
kaynorr posted:The only thing about a investigators/troubleshooters kind of game is that I'd like this to be primarily a sandbox where the character agendas are what drives the story. Investigation games tend to be "superior gives you a mission/mystery to be solved, hijinks ensue, consequences rain down, superior gives you your next mission..." format. That said, the model works fine for a "pilot" story where we explore what threw the five of you together - we just need to generate enough narrative that you can become independent actors. Certainly there are no shortage of mysteries/hosed-up situations in San Diego that an enterprising coterie could not untangle to their benefit. Man, now I'm thinking almost like a group of loving vampire crime fighters/private investigators/occult-slash-ghost busters. I mean, our main cohesive thing could be 'man, gently caress mages and everything about them.' It really depends on what every one else wants to do and what we build. We can jimmy in a way we work together no matter what.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 16:55
|
|
|
kaynorr posted:What app are you using for it? I'm going to try and diagram out the major social engines of the city and anything would be better than Paint++ and my terrible freehand drawing skills. Real Time Board - I'm on the free version which caps the numbers of different playmats, basically, you can have. Though nothing stops you from tracking multiple charts on the same board, you can set up frames for the different sections. And its pretty easy to set up multiple free accounts if you have junk emails or gmail. Here's the link to the Secret History chart I drew up. There may be caps on the number of collaborators who can be active on a board at once with the free version, but I'm not sure.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:01
|
|
|
At some point we need to investigate why the changelings are disappearing and then sell the secret to other cities so they can reproduce it. Also I’m not totally against a daeva carthian, but I haven’t given my character a huge amount of thought yet so I’m still not 100% on what I’ll make. I did see that there’s literally a drug vampire bloodline with magical drug powers and whose main drive is to sell drugs that’d be funny, but I don’t want to make a total gimmick character.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:10
|
|
|
IPlayVideoGames posted:I did see that there’s literally a drug vampire bloodline with magical drug powers and whose main drive is to sell drugs that’d be funny, but I don’t want to make a total gimmick character. That's an odd way to spell "Follower of Set", but to each their own. John Dyne posted:I mean, our main cohesive thing could be 'man, gently caress mages and everything about them.' Mages would certainly be an interesting antagonist. Vampires are definitely punching above their weight with all but the newest of mages - mages have an near infinite bag of tricks and roughly 20% of them can conjure fire & sunlight on command. Vampires can hack at their support infrastructure effectively, but again that stops being useful when you start getting into places that don't exist at the county clerk's office and nonhuman familiars. The most viable path would be cleaning up the messes more than pushing in their poo poo directly - taking down the sentient piles of shotguns and the like. It gets you into their business without having to resolve everything with ganking the sorcerer who caused the problem. It also fits with the theme that the mages are mostly absent/diminished in California; maybe if they were around more they could handle this themselves, but they aren't and so it falls to others. The Circle of the Crone strikes me as the covenant that would be the most interested in this kind of thing, with the Ordo Dracul as a strong second place. The Circle is effectively already a kind of syncretic magical tradition, just one that works with a single kind of energy (Kindred blood) and has a very, very old school approach.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:27
|
|
|
Another angle: the werewolves are happy to be our mercenaries in dealing with our generally petty bullshit, but with the caveat that we need to help them cull spiritual and sorcerous poo poo to keep them happy (a thing the Kumeyaay have always done and is now a thing the prince wants to enact,) which leads to a group of kindred being sent to help them every set time period. Maybe in some clans it's a position of honor, in others a position of punishment, and in others just a loving chore. In comes we five as the newest group donated to the cause; yeah, the werewolves won't ALWAYS be demanding we do poo poo, but it's hanging over our heads and also ties into 'gently caress mages, they can't police themselves so we have to.' On that note I may consider not being a Lancey Boi because I don't really know much about them and I don't wanna deal with blood magic too much. Staying a gangrel, but I may bounce ideas off IPVG or someone on Discord.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 17:48
|
|
|
Made a discord server for brainstorming: https://discord.gg/tFGUwd6 If someone else wants to host it or get one in trad_games instead, I can ditch it. John Dyne posted:On that note I may consider not being a Lancey Boi because I don't really know much about them and I don't wanna deal with blood magic too much. Staying a gangrel, but I may bounce ideas off IPVG or someone on Discord. John - Sanctified fit perfectly into the culling of spiritual/sorcerous stuff and not all Sanctified deal with Blood Sorcery, in fact there's a Merit which lets you swear off ever learning blood sorcery, in exchange for some magical resistance bonuses to sorcery instead. But really any Covenant (or none at all) can be molded that way with a little effort. Diplomats/Civil Servants to the wolves would be interesting. There could potentially be big influence / territory vacuums with the Hunters and the Tijuana migrations, and our crew gets put in charge of one. Port District, passage-fee collectors at the border, Scripps, etc. We could have all lost someone in the hunter culling and formed a sort of support group. Since we're at starting XP, we could all be new vampires under the accounting (think the probationary period before joining a Covenant) who stick together for the power in numbers and stay in touch.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 18:03
|
|
|
Are we definitely aiming for 1 of every covenant? I mostly played Tremere and Giovanni in owod so I’m used to playing with rituals and BS.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 18:06
|
|
|
Not at all, it was just a funny coincidence we all chose different ones.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:01
|
|
|
Also, there still are Giovanni if you want to play one.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 21:22
|
|
|
Barbed Tongues posted:What's your background beyond Clan+Covenant? And what's the nitpick? The order of Kindred leak secrets to Japanese hunter, Prince names Catalina casino as elysium, and hunters learn of casino is a bit out of order. Barbed Tongues posted:Here's a link to my White Wolf library, feel free to read, just don't distribute - and if you get a lot of use out of anything, consider buying something from Onyx Path if you haven't already and your financial situation is cool. Thank you, currently learning more about Players and Lynx kaynorr posted:Outside of clan & covenant, the other two classic ways to create shared interests are haven & herd (domain). The one established group haven (the San Diego mission) isn't viable because that's Lancea Sanctum-only, but there can certainly be more (the elder Nosferatu might be willing to give you all a really classy section of catacombs if you're willing to take care of some problems for his family). You also can be part of a Carthian experiment in collective rulership where a coterie is given joint domain and told to sort their poo poo out on their own. This is also good poo poo to hear and informative. IPlayVideoGames posted:At some point we need to investigate why the changelings are disappearing and then sell the secret to other cities so they can reproduce it. Agree and make what you wanna make bro. John Dyne posted:Another angle: the werewolves are happy to be our mercenaries in dealing with our generally petty bullshit, but with the caveat that we need to help them cull spiritual and sorcerous poo poo to keep them happy (a thing the Kumeyaay have always done and is now a thing the prince wants to enact,) which leads to a group of kindred being sent to help them every set time period. Maybe in some clans it's a position of honor, in others a position of punishment, and in others just a loving chore. A Mercs for Mercs situation? Barbed Tongues posted:Made a discord server for brainstorming: https://discord.gg/tFGUwd6 I really rather like these ideas.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2018 23:44
|
|
|
So I sat down with the timeline this morning and tried to more carefully order the tail end of things, as the amount of time governed by the last two periods (Siege of San Diego and A New Order Is Established) was a little squishy. Plus it helps to clarify how just how recent is Recent when it comes to ongoing events. So the Siege of San Diego starts (although at the time no one knows it) when Hiroshi Sugimoto is clued in by the Ordo Dracul. Hiroshi, having had the veil pulled away from his eyes, begins studying the world looking for the bloody fingerprints of the Kindred. He travels extensively, making hunter contacts on both sides of the Pacific and in the early 70s, learns that that the Catalina Casino is a notorious gathering place for the undead. He galvanizes into action and begins assembling the San Diego hunter cell, which successfully hits the Catalina Casino in March of 1972. The Invictus primogen Miguel Stackpoole meets the Final Death (other, less notable Kindred are lost as well) and the Siege is on. The Siege lasts from March of 1972 until October 1985, during which period the events in the timeline unfold. Some flee to Tijuana (leading to a Carthian quasi-insurrection), some underestimate the hunters and try sweeping the streets. Neither side can extinguish the other until Halloween of 1985, when the werewolf mercenary pack Sangrienta Lucha strikes the hunters while they were massing for an attack. After a year of extreme paranoia, the Siege is declared lifted a year later, November 1 1986. The two years that follow are a frenzy of political activity as all the bottled up plans and ambition of the Kindred spill forth now that they don't have to fear for their unlives. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Lancea Sanctum Prince Daniel Thompson no longer has the authority he once was as he tries to settle several territorial disputes and is functionally ignored. Invictus Primogen Diego Gaines leads a revolt of the Primogen council against the Prince's ineffectuality, and the revelation that the Sangrienta Lucha acted on his orders to end the Siege allows him to claim the Princedom in February of 1988. A New Order Is Established kicks off here - the Ordo Dracul's loss of Scripps Oceanography Institute is in 1995, and they spend the next 10 years working their way into the San Diego biotech boom. The Sangrienta Luchaformally notify Prince Gaines that a sibling pack, the Steelhounds, will be operating north of the border. Ventrue Allen Tremaine is named Chief Harpy in 2000 (when the previous Chief Harpy descends into torpor), but is found staked on the rooftop of the San Diego Mission in spring of 2016. As of January 2017 when the game starts, the Lancea Sanctum civil war has been raging for about six months. Tremaine was held in high respect by all the major players in the city, and various Sanctified factions start pointing the finger at each other when all eyes look to them regarding the Harpy's untimely demise. The fractious nature of the San Diego Lancea community eventually becomes street war, with each of the major coteries (traditional, Mesoamerican, Mormon, Muslim) bunkering down in a different part of the city and looking to humiliate all opposition. At this point suggestions are welcome if you want to make tweaks to how it all flows together. kaynorr fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jul 30, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2018 18:39
|
|
|
I think that is wonderful and I think we all have done a great job of talking about and making San Diego interesting FOR HOURS. I am a little confused about the last 10 years in game time: have those years been a Pax? Or like an era of territorial grabs and new bonds formed under the new Prince? Otherwise, since we have mortal mercs in Tijuana, does that mean the Hideo Kojima was right and the rise of PMCs did occur possibly in parallel to the War on Terror? Either way I like how there was no mention of mages to help solidify that they aren't a major player in Casa De Diego. I won't be picking a bloodline for my character cause I think they are dumb
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2018 00:39
|
|
|
i know lol buzzfeed but hey! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efyvBo5timY
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2018 02:11
|
|
|
My girlfriend and I were touring it. We were upstairs looking into the kid’s bedroom, and some other kid who was touring looks in, and calls to his mom, “Mommy, there’s kids in there!” I hope you enjoyed my Whaley house ghost story.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2018 07:57
|
|
|
Hector Andronicus, Unaligned Ventrue Childe of the late Allen Tremaine Reformed Smuggler  Born in Tijuana. As a kid, had a knack with being sociable. Turns more selfish with it as he gets older, by end of primary school, already dabbling in petty crime, pawn schemes, atm scams. Never joins a particular gang or cartel, sort of acts as a free agent. A few more years under his belt and he winds up concentrating on border smuggling. Contraband, at first. Later, with people. Gets busted in 2006, jailed for three months, and deported. Starts over, but learns from the mistakes and starts with legal avenues. Attends night school. Learns the in and outs of border politics, policies, economics. Incorporates a business. Offers legal expiditions of border cases, but hits a brick wall in clients because of his record - getting mostly criminals. And wtih very few legitimate clients, the criminal ones looked more and more neccessary. He's approached by Tremaine, offered a new life, an immortal life. Hell yeah, he's in. This new life is experienced with a new persona / aspect of himself to express. This becomes very literal for him. Changes last name from Spanish to Roman, changes appearance almost completely, goes blonde. In this new life he founds a charity that funds and assists asylum seekers of exceptional merit. For Hector, this was a way to express his humanity. To help those not of means, but of measure, start a new life here. For Hector's Sire, it meant a steady influx of talented individuals who would ripe for the plucking as retainers. His accounting had initally consisted of a lot of social rehabilitation. Really learning the nuances of Kindred etiquettes, and as such the nuances of human etiquettes which influenced them. He was active as a Chorus member in the Circle, and he was on the traditional path to joining fully. Then his Sire is murdered at the hands of the Lancea et Sanctum. It's a traumatic moment for him. In the aftermath, he finds an eclectic support group of sorts with other younger Kindred in the city who had also lost people during the recent conflicts (these are the other PCs). Now wanting to buy some time before making a final decision on joining the Circle, Hector participates in the group bid for territory. He thinks it will make a good trial by fire, giving a taste of what he could accomplish under pressure. Might drive up his value as a recruit, assuming he pulls it off. The final complication is recent. Hector knew his Sire was heavily involved in a secret society in the city. He knew that the society aligned itself with the gods of his Bloodline. It took months of searching, then more months of introductions, but Hector has just been formally invited to initiate with the group. Hector hopes he will find someone who knew his Sire as a compatriot, someone who could speak to the kind of legacy his sire would have wanted to leave behind. code:
 === Climbing the Ladder === Confront Vulnerability: Hector's low point was his arrest and deportation. He still doesn't know exactly how he was busted out. Edward (more colloquially known as Eddie Spaghetti on the streets) is Hector's old partner in crime on the American side of the border, both caught in the sting. Once the arrest happened, we were separated and tried as individuals because of our differing legal status. It also fed into Hector's paranoia at the bust itself. Had his partner been involved? Was this a set up? Who was pulling the strings?
 Edward Sparcetti (Ghoul) Believe Someone Has The Answers: Among the groups in Tijuana, the Cártel Arellano Félix is the group Hector built the biggest working relationship with. He learned a lot from that organization, though never became a full member. The leader of the cartel is Enedina Arellano Félix - after her brothers were incarcerated or killed, she had stepped up to take over finances of the cartel, coming to power on her own and entering the world of the undead. Brujah bloodline (Gangrel w/ Vigor).
 Enedina Félix (Gangrel, Covenant Unspecified) Leave A Witness: Hector's charity, Border Angels, is no stranger to adversity. A group which helps migrants in seeking government assistance, asylum and education, it has sometimes run afoul of bureaucratic officers. As Hector was learning how to mitigate his beast's various suggestions (tearing out the throat of an aggressive Border Sec lawyer, for example) in tense legal situations, he began to rely a little too heavy on Dominate. Asali Uzair is the mortal brain behind Hector's charity, serving as his liaison to other employees and vendors, part personal assistant, part chief officer. Smart, successful, empathetic - she realized that Hector had some sort of golden tongue ability to see even the most hostile of visitors calmed and suggestible. While she doesn't know exactly what Hector is, she knows his ability is more than simply natural force of personality, and now she has begun to suspect others in Hector's orbit.
 Asali Uzair (Mortal, Executive Assistant) Meet Your Maker: The beast has a special place in both the Circle of the Crone and the Nahualli bloodline. Rather than see it as a force to be feared or rejected, the Nahualli teach that it must be balanced. The human aspect and the bestial aspect of Kindred existence form a duality that must be respected and cultivated. The Kindred who succumb fully to the beast show an easy extreme of this, with their permanent frenzy or evolution into draugr. But, too, those who pursue the path of raw humanity - they suffer just as much, and are dangers to the Masquerade and the All-Night-Society. Hector was brought up in both of these traditions under his Sire, Allen Tremaine. A social member of the Circle, Tremaine's arc took him to the heights of Chief Harpy, only for it to falter with his murder at the hands of the Lancea et Sanctum. Before his death, Tremaine was seen as articulate, intelligent and commanding - an angel investor for many small business and charities. But behind the scenes, his worship of the Crone - in the form of the Obsidian Butterfly - was brutal, bloody and unrepentant. As Harpy, his ability to switch fluidly between these extreme personas made him a difficult Ventrue to account for.
 Allen Tremaine (Circle, Ventrue, Deceased) Find Your Fear: It was only natural at some point for Hector to think purely of economics when considering work that involved other people. To calculate how much the risk of helping them across the border would cost, how much would his margin be on the payout, to define just exactly how much of a loss it meant should one of his clients perish. He calculated that number - and it was much lower than he thought. He pulled away from those thoughts as a mortal, but that number stayed in his mind. He tries not to think about it, tries not to let it into his cognizance, to not let himself run the calculations again. He was immortal now, and people were literally livestock for many of his kind. Some part of him knows that number is even smaller now, but maybe if he never thinks about it, it will never tempt him. Hector's monster is Tlahuicole - the Circle of the Crone Primogen, a Mekhet ritualist who championed the adaptation of the Mesoamerican pantheon by the Covenant. His personal faith lies calls upon the Centzonmimixcoa, the alien gods of the 400 North Stars. Mighty serpents who once terrorized the earth, they were slain by a coterie of five divine heroes (According to him, the first of the Clans). He also claims to speak to them through the void, and that they speak back. How much smaller would Hector's number be if he spoke with the gods like 'Cole?
 Tlahuicole (Circle Primogen, Mekhet) Suffer Your Defects: In Hector's quest to learn about his Sire, he went looking for a place in a secret fraternity in which his Sire once held membership. A playground for the rich who ritualized their meetings, the group had closed ranks making membership extremely difficult. Growing frustrated, Hector relied once again on his Ventrue abilities to command someone to sponsor him. Hector's sponsor would be The Davenports, a pair he stalked and dominated to believe he had serious blackmail material over, then further dominating them to sponsor his application. It worked. Their sponsorship allowed Hector onto the ground floor, but the domination will eventually unravel, and Hector will eventually have to face this powerful mortal couple.
 The Davenports (Mortal Power Couple) Beg Someone, Anyone To Fix You: Without his Sire, Hector fell to working with members of the Clan to fill that now-empty spot for Kindred family. Cue the Ventrue Priscus, one Ruby Rey, taking an interest in Hector. Her sponsorship got him involved in the Whaley House reconstruction and the last part of his Accounting. And now he's on the hook for all of that.
 Ruby Rey (Ventrue Priscus, Covenant Unspecified) Remember Your Victims: Hector recently participated in the first large scale event in the Mystery Cult. To his surprise, it involved a murder. And the manner in which it was carried out - in front of the secret membership according to the old rites - Hector recognized aspects that were similar to his Sire's sacrificial rites of Cruac. Had his sire been involved in the foundation of this cult? Was this bordering on a breach of the Masquerade? That the entire membership was involved in human sacrifice bound them together - Hector, the Davenports, the rest - they were all complicit. Anastasia Malayev was the sacrificial lamb, a Russian immagrant hoping to be a model. Someone int he cult had taken her in, no doubt, though Hector didn't know who.
Embrace A Wrong: The Nahualli bloodline teaches a path of duality between the aspects of Beast and Man which war inside each Kindred. The line is taught to recognize and embrace both of these halves, to know both darkness and light, to know both humanity and monstrosity - so that they might experience all creation has to offer. The Circle of the Crone itself has a tenuous connection to traditional human morality, and it served no obstacle to indulging in the bloodline practices, some of which Hector was required to take part in. When Hector first formed a relationship with Tremaine, there was already a ghoul in the older Ventrue's employ by the name of Rowan Finch. Finch was attentive, loyal and committed to Tremaine - but that wasn't enough to avoid being passed over for the embrace. With Tremaine's death, Finch is now a loose cannon, free from the Vinculum and free to pursue an agenda of hatred against Hector, the man he blames for it all.
 Find Like Minds: With Hector's sire destroyed, his immediate connection to the Circle of the Crone was shattered, at least in the short term. Taking his time to try and find himself again, he found himself reaching out to others who had also lost someone in the recent (for Kindred) turmoil. In addition to the other PCs, one of these individual is the neonate Dinah, part of the Morman branch of Sanctified in San Diego. She's a neonate in a little over her head in the Domain, but has been a good source of information about the Sanctified.
 Dinah (Sanctified, Clan Unspecified) Seize the Night: Many Ancillae and especially Elders discount the idea of a coterie. At some point you can no longer trust other Kindred by these philosophies, so such connections represent only risk and weakness. Hector doesn't (currently, at least) agree. The crew he runs with is an eclectic group, bound in commonality by two things - grief, and joint project. It started out as the five of them working in common cause on their shared haven, but Hector believes they could do so much more as a group if they put their minds and efforts toward something more. Unexpectedly, the Ventrue Priscus has also taken notice of Hector and the group and is cashing in. Hector has been asked to mentor (read - babysit) a fledgling revenant, an accidental embrace. Brixton is a gutterpunk kid that someone fed on and killed, a twist of fate bringing her back as an undead without a known maker.
 Brixton (Unaligned, Revenant) Barbed Tongues fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Aug 13, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2018 23:40
|
|
|
Ethan Abbas, Unaligned Mekhet Strix Assassin  Originating from a compound outside of San Antonio, Texas, Ethan was born into the Abbas Ghoul Family. As is expected of someone in his position, he rarely left the compound and spent most of his time training. The compound was managed by Khaibit belonging to the Molukusian Sentinels, a cult dedicated to eradicating the Strix. Ethan managed to prove his worth to the regnants by 18, and was embraced another 18 years later at age 36 (about 24 biological years for a ghoul). Over the next several years, he was sent out to shadow cult members and learn from them in the field, ultimately leading his own team. quote:Abbas Ghoul Family Finally, Ethan was given his own mission to travel to Southern California to survey the area and Baja California. More when I'm not tired code:Starting Touchstone: Amelia Abbas pynladfysh fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Aug 15, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2018 04:59
|
|
|
We are gathering again tonight Tuesday, July 31st at 7 PM PST to complete character and coterie creation. At the end of tonight's session I'd like to have everything ironed out and ready to play next week! If we have time and are so inclined, there is an optional group brainstorming exercise in the V:tR 2E corebook called "Climbing the Ladder" that I'd like to consider. It's similar to Microscope, but focused on fleshing out the backgrounds and connections between a group of characters. There are twelve rungs to the ladder, each one being a stereotypically important moment in a vampire's existence (examples are "Confront Vulnerability", "Believe Someone Has Answers", and "Leave A Witness". Each step asks the player to come up with a moment where the character faced that challenge, and at least one other person who is connected to that challenge (the witness you left behind, the person whose life you ruined, your rival when you joined a covenant). The trick is that some links should go to someone who already exists as part of the exercise - so by the time you're done there should be a fleshed-out cast of NPCs who have links to multiple members of the coterie. I haven't done it before so I can't vouch to how effective this is or how long it takes. I really don't want to extend the pregame to another week so this is optional at best, but it seemed interesting when I read it in the corebook so I thought I would throw it out there. See everyone tonight on Discord and roll20!
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2018 18:55
|
|
|
kaynorr posted:If we have time and are so inclined, there is an optional group brainstorming exercise in the V:tR 2E corebook called "Climbing the Ladder" that I'd like to consider. So, the nice thing about Climbing the Ladder (in addition to populating at-jump connected NPCs) is that the 12 questions are completely optional. The incentive is normally 1 bonus xp per question, which is a sweet incentive for starting characters. That said, it's intensive if you want to get through it all, and if people are already feeling their creative juice is running low after microscope, there might be a temptation to pass a lot. Personally, I like it and think it adds a lot of interesting depth. But to get through all 12 questions tonight, plus finalizing sheets I think is too much to realistically ask for where we are at. A compromise could be to shoot for 4-6 questions each tonight, then let people who are interested in the rest do them over the course of the week. If one or more people would rather not do any, then I'm mixed on if the rest of the group should still go through with it, as that will saddle both an XP and setting disadvantage on the people that skip.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2018 19:34
|
|
|
Barbed Tongues posted:If one or more people would rather not do any, then I'm mixed on if the rest of the group should still go through with it, as that will saddle both an XP and setting disadvantage on the people that skip. I think because of the Experience bounty involved it should be an all or nothing deal - but I suspect that just doing a couple rungs (or even just one) tonight might help people feel out how they are inclined. To get the gears churning, here are the twelve steps of Climbing The Ladder:
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2018 20:00
|
|
|
I'm a sucker for XP and sleep is for the weak.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2018 20:03
|
|
|
I agree with fish
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2018 00:14
|
|
|
pynladfysh posted:I'm a sucker for XP and sleep is for the weak. Yeah you get to say that poo poo being on the west coast, but us central/east coast assholes are getting this poo poo going at like 10 PM. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2018 02:01
|
|
|
pre:====================================== Sheet =====================================
Name: Johann Miller Mask: Courtesan Clan: Daeva
Player: IPlayVideoGames Dirge: Cult Leader Bloodline:
Chronicle: Written in Red Concept: Social Media Personality/Streamer Covenant: Carthean Movement
=================================== Attributes ===================================
Intelligence: o o Strength: o o o Presence: o o o
Wits: o o Dexterity: o o o Manipulation: o o
Resolve: o o Stamina: o o Composure: o o o
===================================== Skills =====================================
Academics: o *Expression: (Crowds) o o o
Athletics: o o Empathy: (Calming) o o
*Computer: (Program) o o o *Persuasion: (Bargaining) o o o
Drive: o Stealth: (Shadowing) o o
Socialize: o Politics: o
Streetwise: o Weaponry:(Long Sword) o o
Subterfuge: o Brawl: o
==== Disciplines ==== ========== Merits ========== ====== Traits ======
Vigor: Area of Expertise (Persuasion): o Blood Potency: 1
Celerity: o Kindred Dueling Style: o o o Health: 7
Majesty: o o o Contacts: o o Willpower: 5
- Corporate Sponsors Humanity: 7
- Tech Dealers Size 5
Prof. Training: o o o Speed: 10
Safe Place: o Initiative: 6
Haven: o Defense: 5
Resources: o o o
Enticing: o
Aspirations:
Get to know fellow Carthians (Short term)
Get over his Sire (med term)
Create an online media empire (long term)
Touchstone:
Ex-Fiance, Catherine Sanders
XP Spent (9/11)
2 (Brawl 1), 1 (Resources 3), 1 (Enticing), 3 (Majesty 3), 2 (Computer 3)
IPlayVideoGames fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Sep 5, 2018 |
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2018 03:11
|
|
|
 Antonio Desanda WIP pre:Name: Antonio Desanda Mask: Competitor Player: John Dyne Dirge: Jester Chronicle: Written in Red Concept: Slacker coasting on his immortality/liaison to Silver Fangs Clan: Gangrel Bloodline: Dead Wolves Covenant: Unaligned Int: 2 Str: 3 Pre: 4 Wits: 2 Dex: 2 Man: 1 Res: 2 Sta: 4 Con: 3 Health: 9 Blood Pot: 1 Humanity: 7 Willpower: 5 Vitae: 5 Size: 5 Speed: 5 Defense: 2 Init. Mod: 5 Athletics: 2 Animal Ken: 2 Crafts: 3 (ASSET) Brawl: 3 Intimidation: 3 Science: 1 Stealth: 1 Socialize: 1 Survival: 2 Streetwise: 2 (ASSET) Drive: 3 (ASSET) Brawl Specialty: Boxing Intimidation Specialty: Direct Threats Streetwise Specialty: Street Drugs Crafts Specialty : Automotives Drive Specialty: High Performance Vehicles Animal Ken Specialty: Animalism Animalism: 0 Resilience: 1 Protean: 2 Sublunario: 1 Touchstone: Mother's Grave (6 Humanity) Haven: 1 Safe Place: 1 Trained Observer: 1 Resources: 2 Professional Training: 3 Language (Spanish): 1 City Status: 1 Cacophony Savvy: 1 Contacts: 2 (PT) WIP Find Your Fear -> Pure Predator -> Felix -> Wants Something From -> Ethan Abbas *When he was a mortal, Tony had crossed paths with Ms. Felix once or twice; he was sure she had supplied him incidentally at one point, and he knows second-hand what she does to people who defy her and disappoint her. Finding out she's the same kind of monster he is now just deepened his fear of her. For whatever reason, she wants something from the Texas based Abbas family, and Ethan is handy for it. Remember Your Victims -> Killed Jenny -> Friends with -> Johann's Wife + Abuela Angelica *The first time he fed, Tony went overboard. The beast was rampant, and as a Gangrel (and worse, an Uratha-tainted Gangrel), it was near impossible to control. Poor Jenny didn't was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he hasn't forgotten her and the lessons he learned about the monster inside of him. She's left behind friends in the form of the would-have-been Mrs. Johann Miller, and a blessed little old Latina who helps those coming into the country. Find Like Minds -> Owes a Debt to -> Barrett, Silver Fang/Sid -> Buys Drugs From -> Tony *One of the first links to the supernatural Tony found after his embrace was when his sire literally threw him to the wolves, and he stumbled into the mercenary werewolf pack of the Silver Fangs; one of their alphas, Barrett, kept the others from tearing the new kindred limb from limb thanks to realizing the Uratha blood that ran in him, and in return he's their gopher. Chumming around with them also introduced him to Sid, a werewolf who can't kick the habit; Barrett likely wouldn't be happy learning about one of his subordinates taking non-ritual drugs, but Tony can't exactly say no to 900 pounds of muscle and claws. Leave A Witness -> Confessed to -> Rose, Sister -> Suspects Sid is a Vampire *Tony trusts Rose completely; she's his tougher older sister, after all. She's the only one who knows what he really is, and he got as close to a beating as an angry Latina can give an undying juggernaut. He hasn't told her anything else about the supernatural, out of fear of what might bite her in the rear end, but she has her suspicions about one of his more prominent buyers. Confront Vulnerability -> I abandoned -> Adrian Gonzalez, Friend in Latin Kings -> Connected with -> Whisper *Things were usually rough for a guy like Tony. He was always looking for that get rich quick scheme, and he fell into selling drugs because it was the easiest way to make a lot of money real quick. Unfortunately, it was also how you made a lot of enemies real quick. Adrian was a friend from small times who helped him get set up; he was in the Latin Kings, and Tony hung out with them but never really joined. When other gangs started leaning on Tony for selling where and when he wasn’t supposed to, he claimed the Kings protected him, and more than likely caused a few deaths when he skulked away. Adrian still cared for him, and when Tony vanished into the night, he worried for him. One of the guys in the Kings let Adrian know there was a fortune teller, a pretty legit lady, who might help him out with figuring things out with Tony. Believe Someone Has The Answers -> I was fooled by -> Herman Blue, Ordo Dracul <- trades information with <- Johann Miller *The Devils Diciples had made it pretty drat clear that Tony wasn’t going to be selling on their turf anymore. He’d given them the slip, but the Kings weren’t in this part of town and there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room anymore. Luckily for him, one of the higher ups of Sur 13 was drinking in the bar he ducked into to avoid the outlaw biker gang looking for his head, and the man drove a hard bargain on getting Tony out of his troubles and set financially; Sur 13 was big enough they could get the heat off the Kings, and sweep a lot of the bullshit Tony had gotten himself into under the rug. He promised Tony power beyond his wildest dreams, and at least that much was true; the rest wasn’t exactly how he put it. Suffer Your Defects -> Due to my condition I let down -> Lily Desanda <- Edgar Desanda will avenge *Around the time of his embrace, Tony’s mother, Lily, was due to have a tumor removed from her brain. The entire family had shown up to support her, except her youngest son, Tony, who was at the time deep asleep embedded in the cement half a city away. When she woke up, she was heartbroken her son hadn’t shown up, and eventually passed from complications during recovery. His father, Edgar, blames Tony for his wife’s death, truly feeling that had he been there she might have found the strength to pull through. Not being there for his mother’s passing truly weighs heavily on Tony, and while his sister now knows why he wasn’t around, she still isn’t very happy with him. Meet Your Maker -> Tony was sired by -> Herman Blue, Ordo Dracul -> Herman views as a true vampire -> Felix *The Ordo Dracul loves their experiments, and when Herman Blue discovered Tony carried ancestry with the Uratha, he knew he had to turn him and throw him to the wolves, almost literally. It was no accident that Tony was found dealing on the turf of a gang that could outright destroy him, and it was no accident he was herded to that bar. It was also no accident he ended up owing the werewolves; Herman is old and clever, and a little bit of chess with the lives of others was just another day in the woods. He definitely admires what Felix has done with her cartel, and would love to have the power and prestige she does, which Tony is completely unaware of. Embrace A Wrong -> Tony cost the job of -> Sergeant William Essman <- Christian Thomas will help *In spite of his condition, Tony kept to his old ways, wheeling and dealing in various neighborhoods where he hunted. On one of these nights, he was caught by Sgt. Essman, a man who knew Tony when he was a mortal and was sure the boy had died. He shot Tony, but the dealer barely flinched, and the very anger at the indignity that someone like Essman would hurt him almost sent Tony into a frenzy. For a brief moment, Will saw the Beast that now lived in Tony. No one believed him, and he didn’t back down from his story, even after he was fired. Thankfully, Essman had always been a little unhinged, so his ravings didn’t catch much attention, except from a detective who saw something familiar in his tale. Beg Someone, Anyone To Fix You -> Tony turned to -> Father Clinton Schneckeloth <- Cashing in <- Jacque de le Fleur *After the loss of his mother, the fury of his father, and the disgusted understanding of his sister, Tony couldn’t find a way to right himself. It was never fully explained to him at first what he was, and he was given only the barest of instructions to survive. One night, not too long after his embrace, after the death of Jenny and fighting his instincts, he did what his mother would have: he turned to the church. Bumbling through his confession at first, the priest shushed him and lead him further into the cathedral; by either pure dumb luck or the honest will of God, Tony had found a member of the Lanceum et Sanctum. The priest explained to him that God had not turned from Tony, but had in fact blessed him to be a wolf among the flock, a monster to teach the kine the true reach of God’s power and forgiveness. Even now, Tony goes to the priest for guidance, and the priest tries to sway the man to his covenant. But the kindred always move against one another, and someone is trying to sway Clinton to use his persuasion over Tony for their own gain.. Seize The Night -> Tony is preparing to be werewolf liaison to another tribe -> Jennifer Rodriguez, Unaligned Brujah <- competition to <- Randall Engler *Finally, Tony got the ground under his feet, and one thing that had helped stabilize him were the werewolves. He bore in life the soul of the Uratha, and even in undeath it sang from him. He was a distant but kindred spirit, and Barret and Sid had grounded him as a means of communication and trade with his kind. Of course, vampires always crave more, and Tony knew if he could just teach someone to navigate the web of Uratha culture, he could reach out to another tribe and gain even more power and prestige through it. With this in mind, he turned to another hispanic gangrel, Jennifer Rodriguez and took her under his wing to teach her about the werewolf way. The promise of power, even having to share it, was definitely tempting, but there are others out there with the same thing in mind.. John Dyne fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Sep 26, 2018 |
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2018 03:44
|
|
|
So next week is Dota 2 and fantasty Dota for the International starting next week. Good session guys
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2018 05:36
|
|
|
Next week, the chronicle begins. For now, everyone is welcome to contribute additional rungs to Climbing The Ladder and continue this tangled web you are weaving. Here is what I have right now for who has done what rung (I'll try and keep this list updated):
Adding a few items which were contributed on Discord this morning: Barbed Tongues posted:Beg Someone, Anyone, To Fix You: Without his Sire, Hector fell to working with members of the Clan to fill that now-empty spot for Kindred family. Cue the Ventrue Priscus, one Ruby Rey, taking an interest in Hector. Her sponsorship got him involved in the Whaley House reconstruction and the last part of his Accounting. And now he's on the hook for all of that. John Dyne posted:Leave A Witness -> Confessed to -> Rose, Sister -> Rose suspects -> Sid is a vampire To keep the graph from being too lopsided, try and stay roughly within the pack (no more than two) in terms of how many rungs everyone has done. Everyone has done three, with BT & John Dyne with four. Post in Discord or this thread, I'll keep the graph updated and crosspost as necessary.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2018 16:58
|
|
|
did my bizarre adventure with the old lady not make the cut or did it in the end not fit the description?
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2018 00:16
|
|
|
John Dyne posted:Yeah you get to say that poo poo being on the west coast, but us central/east coast assholes are getting this poo poo going at like 10 PM. I am in the midwest, thank you very much,
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2018 03:32
|
|
|
Herr Tog posted:did my bizarre adventure with the old lady not make the cut or did it in the end not fit the description? It did, I just misplaced it. Here are the latest rungs from Discord: IPlayVideoGames posted:Suffer Your Defects: Ricardo Avila is a parasite, existing through the destruction of others. Bored and short on funds, he orders Johann to find a fix. Still enthralled, Johann takes advantage of a former pre-embrace business partner, Aaron Taylor, to drain his accounts, steal his identity, and nail him with several thousand dollars of credit debt. While dimly aware that what he was doing at the time was wrong, the full realization that he betrayed his friend wouldn’t hit Johann until his sire was bored with him and started to let the blood bond fade away. Aaron’s brother suspects Johann as the culprit, even if Aaron isn’t quite ready to think his friend capable of it. pynladfish posted:Leave A Witness: Tasked with killing a mortal suspected of being a hunter working with the Strix, Ethan travelled to Austin, TX along with a senior member to observe. Ethan found his mark at a club accompanied by a woman, not included in the dossier. He observed them throughout the evening and waited until they had exited into an alley, more distracted by each other than with their surroundings. Moving in quickly, the mark was quickly dispatched, but the excitement of the kill and the rush brought his beast to the forefront. It was a struggle to keep it down and Ethan managed, but as he came back to his senses he realized he had bitten down on the Hunter’s neck. Barbed Tongues posted:Find Your Fear: It was only natural at some point for Hector to think purely of economics when considering work that involved other people. To calculate how much the risk of helping them across the border would cost, how much would his margin be on the payout, to define just exactly how much of a loss it meant should one of his clients perish. He calculated that number - and it was much lower than he thought. He pulled away from those thoughts as a mortal, but that number stayed in his mind. He tries not to think about it, tries not to let it into his cognizance, to not let himself run the calculations again. He was immortal now, and people were literally livestock for many of his kind. Some part of him knows that number is even smaller now, but maybe if he never thinks about it, it will never tempt him. Hector's monster is Tlahuicole - the Circle of the Crone Primogen, a Mekhet ritualist who championed the adaptation of the Mesoamerican pantheon by the Covenant. His personal faith calls upon the Centzonmimixcoa, the alien gods of the 400 North Stars. Mighty serpents who once terrorized the earth, they were slain by a coterie of five divine heroes (According to him, the first of the Clans). He also claims to speak to them through the void, and that they speak back. How much smaller would Hector's number be if he spoke with the gods like 'Cole? pynladfish posted:Find Your Fear: His dreams are filled with taking revenge on those that destroyed his home and family and not just malevolent Kindred forces behind it. Ethan was never trained to indiscriminately kill, but rather to be a precision weapon. Deep down, though, he wants nothing more than to slaughter every last person involved with the betrayal of his family and everyone they love. Even more than he blames himself for it, he blames his deceased sire, Seth, more. Seth should’ve been prepared, he should’ve known, and he should’ve protected everyone.
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2018 15:39
|
|
|
This tuesday is turning into a maybe for me since my girlfriend's birthday plans maybe shifting.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2018 05:59
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 02:27 |
|
|
Do you have an idea on when you'll know for sure or if there's a day this week that would work better?
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2018 16:31
|
|