Since it looks like we don't have any other takers, let's move discussion over here.
Woo!
What do you like Aliases to look like, and what do you want in the stat lines?
This is what I have to start with.
What you have in the profile looks like a good start. I would like to see some of the fluff in the profile along with clearer definition around some of the merits (Contacts, Enemies, Stalkers, etc.)
As far as the stat line, I would like to see Health, Willpower, Hunger, and Humanity. Any other info you'd like to put in there like generation and clan is fine too.
Hunger will start at 1 for everyone. The only way to get hunger below 1 is to completely exsanguinate/kill a human when feeding.
.
Kazmanaught here! I ended up going in a different direction. Please take a look at my character sheet/backstory! I didn't really put much in about my sire because I don't know what you'd like to do for that part. I took the Descendant of Lodin loresheet, and I'm happy to put up to 3 of my advantages dots towards our group!
I'd like to add some shared backstory elements into my sheet at some point, but since we don't know who everyone is yet, it's hard to do that!
I will add fluff/definition of the merits ASAP in the discussion thread (hopefully tonight? I'm trying to help my partner, who has never played a ttrpg before, create a Pathfinder 2e character) and see about those shared backstory elements we can work on.
I still need touchstones and convictions then outside of the Coterie build, I am done (unless you have further comments ST).
I’m getting into the nitty gritty of crunch today. Some questions for you, ST Talomyr:
Thanks :)
I’m getting into the nitty gritty of crunch today. Some questions for you, ST Talomyr:
What skill would cover mechanics and electronics? Things like physically assembling/repairing/installing various hardware for vehicles, sound systems, arcade/pinball machines, etc. as opposed to any software.
Is Thin-Blood Alchemy considered a Clan Discipline or Other Discipline for experience point costs? Thanks :)
Physical mechanics would likely fall under Craft, while electronics and such would fall under Technology.
Thin-Blood Alchemy is considered an In-Clan discipline as far as XP costs go for Thin Bloods.
Kazmanaught here! I ended up going in a different direction. Please take a look at my character sheet/backstory! I didn't really put much in about my sire because I don't know what you'd like to do for that part. I took the Descendant of Lodin loresheet, and I'm happy to put up to 3 of my advantages dots towards our group!
I'd like to add some shared backstory elements into my sheet at some point, but since we don't know who everyone is yet, it's hard to do that!
I'll take a look tonight or tomorrow and provide you feedback.
Here’s my write-up. Everyone is free to read it, in fact I’d appreciate any feedback or suggestions all of you may have. I’ve made notes throughout.
Krzysztof “K” Sobczak, aka Outrun
Chronicle ST Talomyr’s Chicago by Night
Sire
Concept Fast & Foolish vampire wannabe
Ambition Earn Camarilla’s trust
Desire Prove himself to his coterie
Predator Scene Queen (street racers) or Blood Leech
Clan Thin-Blood
Generation 14+
Blood Potency 0
Physical
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2
Social
Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Composure 2
Mental
Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Health 5
Willpower 5
Humanity 7
Physical
Athletics 3, Crafts 2 (vehicles), Drive 4 (getaway), Larceny 3, Stealth 1
Social
Performance (dance) 1, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 2
Mental
Awareness 1, Tech 2
Thin-Blood Alchemy 1
-Distillation Method: Fixatio
-Formulae
Flaws
Branded by the Camarilla.
Shunned by the Anarchs
Clan Curse
Vitae Dependency
Merits
Lifelike
Day Drinker
or
Vampiric Resilience
Discipline Affinity
or
Thin-Blood Alchemist
Flaws
Influence 1 - Disliked (law enforcement)
Bonding 1 - Bond Junkie
Adversary 1 - Neonate
Merits
Looks 2 - Beautiful
Backgrounds
Haven 2 - small, mobile
Contacts 2
Resources 1
15/0 (15 to spend)
“Hate the game, not the player.”
-Hastings, rival street racer. Much better financed, she often beats K through sheer mechanical advantage; while the two don’t like each other, they respect each other.
“Everybody’s got a shot.”
-Tina G, ex-girlfriend from his teens. Applied herself at school, got scholarships for college and law school, and just got hired at a prestigious law firm in the city.
“Always back your partner’s play.”
-Dante Green, Tina G’s brother and fellow member of the HK Grads. Went along with his crewmates despite disagreeing with a job, purposefully got caught by police to allow others time to escape when the job predictably went awry; currently serving time in Hill Correctional.
True Age 26
Apparent Age 23
Date of Birth 08/05/1996
Date of Death 08/05/2019
Appearance 80s retro: clean-cut, customized varsity and bomber jackets, jeans, high-end sneakers, sunglasses.
Distinguishing Features Good looks, 80s style, ‘HK Grads’ varsity jacket, aggressive positivity.
Random Bits HK Grads varsity jacket has patches for every kind of car he’s stolen; loves stand-up arcade and pinball games; favorite car is the 1989 Trans Am Turbo; learned early that folks are more attracted to someone who’s willing to dance with them; customization is key - ready made is for suckers; favorite movie is the 2009 anime Redline.
History Grew up poor in the city, juvenile delinquency led to recruitment in the HK Grads (Hard Knocks Grads,) a local chop shop crew. Learned professional car theft, car mechanics, street racing, and getaway driving. Known professionally as ‘Outrun’ - originally coined by his crew due to his obsession with synthwave and retrofuture aesthetics, it’s relevancy expanded with his turn as street racer and wheelman.
Was rashly Embraced to serve in an ill-conceived attack on rival vampire; operation was a disaster, but K survived through skill and luck. Learning that the Camarilla were the Big Name in vampire affairs, presented himself to them for probationary membership. Has since learned the basics of Thin-Blood Alchemy from fellow thin-bloods and experimentation.
Looks like we might have all the takers we're going to have for this one. If any you have someone else in mind that might be interested, please send them this way.
I know someone in RL who may be interested, but they'd be new to PbP. I'll check with them this weekend.
And by "this weekend" I mean tomorrow. How is it Friday already?
How is it April already?
Dude...don't even get me started.
6 weeks left of school. I have no idea how the year has gone by so fast. (I teach high school English)
Yep, we blinked and my son is already two months old!
Speaking of Spring Break - I am going to be out of town next week (April 5th and 6th, going back home on the 7th) and may not have access to a computer.
I usually don't have cell signal out at the cabins my partner and I go to, but they've been installing cell towers for a bit, so who knows...
I'm going to work on the assumption that I don't have cell signal, but if I do, I'll make sure to let you all know. I post from my phone all the time, so keeping up that way won't be an issue :)
Thanks for the heads up. I'll be doing a bit of traveling the next couple of weeks myself - some business, some personal - but posting shouldn't really be disrupted.
We'll see if goodwicki's friend would like to join us, if so we'll give that individual a bit yo put together a concept and the move into the coterie building aspect of this. If goodwicki's isn't interested, we'll move into that phase a bit sooner.
Kazmanaught here! I ended up going in a different direction. Please take a look at my character sheet/backstory! I didn't really put much in about my sire because I don't know what you'd like to do for that part. I took the Descendant of Lodin loresheet, and I'm happy to put up to 3 of my advantages dots towards our group!
I'd like to add some shared backstory elements into my sheet at some point, but since we don't know who everyone is yet, it's hard to do that!
Okay a couple of things:
Who taught you Protean? It's not a clan discipline for the Ventrue, so you had to have someone teach you. In this edition in order to learn a new discipline you do not have dots in you need to drink blood of the correct resonance (not an issue) AND drink from the vampire teaching you. Is that something you would like to define, or do you want me to. Either way, Jack would start 1/3 blood bound to that teacher.
The Brujah and Gangrel are both common enough that learning about them is not an issue - The Lamia, being a bloodline of the Hecata are not as common. Given Jack's lack of age, I'm not so sure that he would know about them, let alone specifics around their ways of thinking.
For Advantages you get 7 points. The Loresheet advantage works a bit differently. Having level 3 does not give you level 1 and 2 along with them, so if you want all 3 that would cost 6 of your dots - which you have assuming you do not leave any to contribute to coertie merits.
Here’s my write-up. Everyone is free to read it, in fact I’d appreciate any feedback or suggestions all of you may have. I’ve made notes throughout.
Krzysztof “K” Sobczak, aka Outrun
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **...
A Blood Leach predator type could be interesting from a roleplaying standpoint - would you seek to kill other vamps, or are looking for a more consensual feeding style here? Both have their drawbacks - one leading to becoming persona non grata/smoking pile of ashes quickly, the other likely leads to the blood bond.
I was thinking consensual feeding. When it comes to the Camarilla, K's looking to rock the house, not the boat.
Stealing K’s style because I like the little ooc comments! Sorry this took me so long.
Calliope Marchette
Clan Toreador, childe of Mateo Garcia, 13th Generation
Predator Type: Scene Queen (Art Scene)
Desire: (Not sure yet)
Ambition: Earn enough prestige within Toreador and the Camarilla to get out from under Mateo’s thumb
Clan Bane: Aesthetic Fixation
Strength 1
Dexterity 3
Stamina 2
Charisma 4
Manipulation 2
Composure 3
Intelligence 2
Wits 2
Resolve 3
Health 5
Willpower 6
Humanity 7
Blood Potency 1
Hunger 1
Mental
Academics (Specialty: Fine Arts) 3
Awareness 3
Finance 1
Occult 2
Technology 1
Physical
Craft (Specialty: Painting) 4
Social
Etiquette (Specialty: Art Scene) 2
Insight (Specialty: Emotions) 2
Intimidation 1
Persuasion 3
Subterfuge 2
Auspex 1 (Sense the Unseen)
Presence 2 (Awe; Lingering Kiss)
Dominate 1 (Compel)
Fame 1 (Predator Adv)
Contact 1 (Predator Adv)
Disliked 1 (Predator Flaw)
Haven (Adv) 1
Haven: Security (Adv) 1
Haven: Haunted (Flaw) 1
Herd (Adv) 2
Resources (Adv) 2
Status (Adv) 1
Stalkers (Flaw) 1
Total XP: 15
Total Spent: 0
Conviction: Keep it weird.
Touchstone: Professor Dolores Hickam, her advisor. Encouraged Calliope when the young woman began to experiment with her new style.
Conviction: Question everything.
Touchstone: Calliope was much closer to her father than her mother. He taught her vital analytical and critical thinking skills.
Conviction: When a friend asks for help, you help ‘em.
Touchstone: Charity Remson, childhood friend from K-12. A case of opposites: Charity came from a poor rural family instilled with solid values and intense work ethic. Threw down multiple times on Calliope’s behalf.
True Age 35
Apparent Age 30
Date of Birth February 17, 1988
Date of Death December 9, 2018
Appearance Thin, just on the edge of gaunt. Much of her torso and arms are tattooed in thin, winding lines that create occult symbols, skulls, and thorny, flowering vines. Thick, waist-length, straight black hair. Wears glasses with thick black plastic frames despite not needing them.
Distinguishing Features Goth af. Bubbly in a way that juxtaposes her appearance and art.
Random Bits Owns a rather large collection of first edition H.P. Lovecraft writing as well as various horror movie props, classical art prints, and various occult oddities. Her one bedroom apartment is a mix between an art studio and an oddities museum. To protect her collection and to keep sunlight from streaming in accidentally, she has a series of cameras and high-tech locks installed around all her windows and doors (Haven: Security).
Recently, it seems as though one of her oddities may have also brought a spirit with it, and Calliope is thrilled rather than annoyed by the development. She’s started to affectionately refer to the entity as “George.” (Haven: Haunted flaw).
During her time at the University, Calliope dated another art major–a strange young man named Alistair Pickman, a name that should have been a red flag in itself. Calliope’s fascination with weird, occult things drew her to him and eventually led to her getting involved in some weird cult behavior before Pickman abruptly broke up with her and transferred schools.
During her time with Alistair, her art nouveau paintings began to take on a strange quality–the young artist began to experiment with dissonant, contrasting shapes and colors; the uncanny valley; and abject, macabre scenery. When one gave her work a passing glance, it was easy to miss the unsettling details, but the longer one stared, the more disturbing imagery they would notice.
Her artwork began to get attention for its unique, horrifying feel and appealed especially to the Night scene, which is where she unknowingly attracted the attention of members of the Camarilla. She was eventually Embraced by Mateo Garcia as a means of securing influence for himself and fostering Calliope’s desire to explore the beauty of the abject further.
Calliope has been a vampire for five years now. Within her first year, she began to receive strange postcards from her former lover, Alistair Pickman. He always seems to know where she lives; what she’s doing; and makes sure to let her know. Despite the fact that she is now a predator, the painter is unsettled and frightened of the stalker.
Calliope’s artwork has netted her no small amount of fans, especially since a painting of hers was recently featured on a well-known horror TV show. From this large fanbase, Calliope tends to feed–she prefers to feed from those who share her interest in the Weird.
Potence isn't a clan discipline either. I don't mind being 1/3rd blood bonded to 2 other vamps. I'm happy to come up with something, but I do prefer GM surprises. Perhaps we could work together? Or perhaps one of the people who helped him learn it was a Lamia?
As far as the Lamia goes, Jack hangs around a Tremere (Edwin) who might have been able to educate him on these things? Or perhaps the fact that all Ventrue are treated as Mawla 1, they might have mentioned this thing of interest to Jack? If you'd like, I can change my specialty from brawl Kindred to Politics Hecatae? I had hoped that 3 drops might be enough though.
In terms of Loresheet, I see how that was confusing. I bought the level 1 and the level 2 abilities, not the level 3 ability. So I should have 4 drops leftover, down to 3 after the high functioning addict, which I'm ok with putting towards coterie creation.
My friend is up for making a character submission. They should be making a profile and posting here sometime tonight.
@ST Talomyr Any interest in pursuing a narrative where K's Sire is an anonymous Camarilla neonate looking to "fix his mistake" without incriminating himself? If so, what Clan would be a good fit for the Sire - I'd take some of the Clan-specific merits and flaws available to Thin-Bloods.
@Everyone I'd like to take the Blood Leech predator type along with the Vitae Dependency and Bond Junkie flaws. My idea is he'd be feeding from one or more of his fellow coterie members.
Any takers/volunteers to be his blood source?
If we go with both an anonymous Sire and Blood Leech, perhaps K's Sire could be from the Clan of whomever is feeding him. The Clan's keeping tabs (and a blood bond) on K while keeping an eye out for clues as to his Sire's identity, so the culprit may be appropriately punished. In this scenario, I imagine the initial opportunity for K to prove himself to the Camarilla is more just a carrot to keep him around and alive long enough for the Clan to clean up their mess.
Blood in exchange for access to experiment with Thin Blooded Alchemy? Probably yes, especially considering the connection that my character has with the Ducheski.
Calliope would be open to be a blood source as well. Coterie bonding!
Blood in exchange for access to experiment with Thin Blooded Alchemy? Probably yes, especially considering the connection that my character has with the Ducheski.
Calliope would be open to be a blood source as well. Coterie bonding!
Sweet! I’ll definitely roll with Blood Leech/Vitae Dependency/Bond Junkie then.
Jury’s still out on the Sire setup.
Hi, I'm goodwicki's friend. I copy/pasted his character sheet format, but didn't go into text formatting beyond spoilers. There's some blanks to fill in, but is pretty much done. Sorry for the lengthy History write up, hence the TLDR.
If there's a list of Nosferatu sires available I'm happy to pick or be assigned one.
Also happy to address any problems or questions.
Chronicle: ST Talomyr’s Chicago by Night
Sire: 12 generation Nosferatu
Concept: Armchair sleuth and bibliophile
Ambition:
Desire:
Predator: Sandman*
Clan: Nosferatu
Generation: 13
Blood Potency: 1
Attributes:
Physical
Strength 1, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
Social
Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 3
Mental
Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 4
Health 6
Willpower 7
Humanity 7
Skills:
Physical
Crafts 3 / bookbinding; Stealth 3 / *break-in (from Sandman predator)
Social
N/A
Mental
Investigate 4 / cold case; Academics 3 / Chicago history; Finance 2; Science 2 / chemistry; Technology 2; Medicine 1; Occult 1; Politics 1
Disciplines:
Obfuscate *3. Silence of Death; Unseen Passage; *Ghost In The Machine. (+1 from Sandman predator)
Potence 1. Soaring Leap.
Advantages & Flaws:
Flaws
Repulsive 2 (Nosferatu Bane)
Obvious Predator 2
Merits
N/A
Backgrounds
Contacts 2 / cold case CPD detective
Haven 2 (coterie pool if needed)
Lorebook 1 / The Week of Nightmares. Oral History.
*Resources 3 (+1 from Sandman predator)
Experience Total / Spent:
15/0 (15 to spend) Saving in case needed for coterie stuff.
Convictions & Touchstones:
“Print is NOT dead” or maybe “Always keep hard copy.”
-Head of the SCRC department at his old job.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect crime.”
-Fictional John Walsh-like figure (the guy from America’s Most Wanted)
Other Details:
True Age: 76
Apparent Age: 75
Date of Birth: 10/08/1948
Date of Death: 02/16/2022
Appearance: Monstrous
Distinguishing Features: Default voice is a whisper. Immaculate handwriting. Spiral-bound notepad. Fanny pack.
Random Bits: Prints out webpages.
Alexander graduated from the University of Chicago with Library Sciences degree, then worked at the university’s Regenstein Library from 1970 - 2000, many of those years spent attending to the Special Collections Research Center. A recluse by nature, he loved curating and restoring rare books, manuscripts, etc at work and collecting (hoarding) and reading local newspapers, magazines, and the like at home.
As talk about moving towards a digital format for general library access started to become reality, Alexander retired at the age of 52. He felt ill equipped to assist with this digital future, indeed was depressed by it. He’d invested heavily in the tech industry on the suggestion of university colleagues, but, disillusioned with the promises of new digital technologies, he cashed them out. Lucky for him, he did so at the height of the dot-com bubble, securing a nest egg sizeable enough to see him through his retirement. Despite his resignation he would still visit the library so often many of his co-workers never realized he’d retired.
He began to pursue his interest in local unsolved mysteries. With access to extensive print collections both at the library and at home, he researched cases of missing persons, unsolved murders, and other local enigmas from decades past. Each case got its own notebook, filled with all the reported facts he could find and his own personal notes. After several years he solved his first case - he deduced an infant missing from a Chicago hospital in 1978 had been taken and raised by an on-site electrician and was now a local tv weatherman. He approached the man with his findings. After laying out all the evidence, the man arranged a DNA test and proved Alexander correct.
Subsequent years brought more victories. He mostly solved little-known crimes decades after those involved were dead, but had some that could still be prosecuted. Alexander grew bolder in his research - conducting phone interviews, visiting the locations of mysteries in person, filing Freedom of Information requests. He even learned how to use the internet he’d so despised, though he was sure to print out all the information he found there for reference. He developed an amicable relationship with the Chicago PD’s poorly staffed cold case unit, he communicates by phone and mails them copies of his research and findings.
Over the past few years Alexander began to see patterns in unrelated mid-century (1940s - 1960s) missing persons and murder cases based around Lake Calumet. His research eventually led him to a defunct electrical substation, in the shadow of a landfill and half-swallowed by marsh. His curiosity got the better of him, and the old man pushed his way inside, believing the crimes and their perpetrator to be nothing but history.
In fact the perpetrator was still very current. The vampire, a Nosferatu, had used the station as its main haven for decades after it had been embraced in 1940, and was the killer behind Alexander’s cases. It had since moved on, but still used the station a retreat from time to time. That night was one of those times. As an intruder Alexander intrigued the vampire. A feeble septuagenarian armed with a flashlight, memo pad, and polaroid camera, stumbling into its lair. As it wasn’t hungry, it let him live, observing him as he made notes and took pictures. Followed him back to his house, a maze of old filing cabinets filled with professionally archived periodicals dating back more than a century. Read his notebook meticulously detailing how he’d deduced the seemingly unrelated cases were the work of the same criminal, who had performed the murders somewhere in a narrow stretch of south Lake Calumet.
The Nosferatu knew then and there that Alexander was a kindred spirit. He was also too dangerous to allow to live. So rather than destroy him, it embraced him while he slept, and brought him back to its lair for induction to the Clan.
Alexander’s transformation has been particularly rough. He’s not just unpleasant to look at, he’s nightmare fuel. His new appearance combined with his natural tendency for reclusivity mean he avoids being near mortals whenever possible. Unwilling to face a struggling victim he feeds the same way his sire embraced him, on sleeping victims. Motels and nursing homes mostly. He still visits the library after-hours, familiarity and new-found abilities allowing him to enter and leave largely undetected. He still studies history and unravels mysteries, he’s just got a new set of data to familiarize himself with. Is intrigued by the Week of Nightmares and has begun to gather information on it.
TLDR: Old recluse librarian-turned-amateur detective linked Nosferatu’s haven to decades old killings, was embraced by said Nosferatu for a job well done. Now hunts people while they sleep and researches vampire mysteries.
@ST Talomyr Any interest in pursuing a narrative where K's Sire is an anonymous Camarilla neonate looking to "fix his mistake" without incriminating himself? If so, what Clan would be a good fit for the Sire - I'd take some of the Clan-specific merits and flaws available to Thin-Bloods.
That could be an interesting take. Any clan could fit for that, although the Nosferatu would be a bit more difficult given their particular Bane.
Of the clans, the ones most likely to "embrace recklessly" are the Toreador, Brujah, and Gangrel, so one of those would be the easiest.
Hi, I'm goodwicki's friend. I copy/pasted his character sheet format, but didn't go into text formatting beyond spoilers. There's some blanks to fill in, but is pretty much done. Sorry for the lengthy History write up, hence the TLDR.
If there's a list of Nosferatu sires available I'm happy to pick or be assigned one.
Also happy to address any problems or questions.
** spoiler omitted **...
Welcome, Rackhir. Based on the name, I assume you are a fan of the Eternal Champion series?
As far as your backstory goes, it would make sense to me to have your Sire be Wauneka or Grimm (See my profile for a very brief description of the pair. To keep you closer in generation to the others, I think Grimm might be the better choice, which would make you 11th Generation.
Waneka is Grimm's Sire and the pair are information brokers in city - each having a particular area of focus. Alexander's area of focus would be an area that neither of them are particularly strong in, so that would be benefit to the Clan. We can flesh out the particulars as we go along, be it here or in PMs.
Potence isn't a clan discipline either. I don't mind being 1/3rd blood bonded to 2 other vamps. I'm happy to come up with something, but I do prefer GM surprises. Perhaps we could work together? Or perhaps one of the people who helped him learn it was a Lamia?
As far as the Lamia goes, Jack hangs around a Tremere (Edwin) who might have been able to educate him on these things? Or perhaps the fact that all Ventrue are treated as Mawla 1, they might have mentioned this thing of interest to Jack? If you'd like, I can change my specialty from brawl Kindred to Politics Hecatae? I had hoped that 3 drops might be enough though.
In terms of Loresheet, I see how that was confusing. I bought the level 1 and the level 2 abilities, not the level 3 ability. So I should have 4 drops leftover, down to 3 after the high functioning addict, which I'm ok with putting towards coterie creation.
Potence I'm not as worried about as it is a fairly common discipline, and you could have any number of sources for that one.
I think I'd prefer to work with you on who you are a 1/3 bound to. In V5 there are 3 clans that have Protean as a clan discipline. The Gangrel, The Ministry (Setites), and the Tzimisce. Do you have a preference for which way to go there? The Gangrel are far more common in the city, but the others do exist.
As far as the Hecata thing goes, lets build toward that in game rather than starting out with a bunch of knowledge. We can say you've heard of them (the Lamia bloodline) and have a little idea of what they are about but that's about it. Fair enough?
"Prints out webpages" made me lose it.
Gangrel works for me just fine. I nearly played a Tzimisce, but decided against it, they don't really seem like team players.
Lamia-wise, that's fine with me! Seems quite fair.
==
As an aside, I also really enjoyed the prints out webpages flavor!
@ST Talomyr Any interest in pursuing a narrative where K's Sire is an anonymous Camarilla neonate looking to "fix his mistake" without incriminating himself? If so, what Clan would be a good fit for the Sire - I'd take some of the Clan-specific merits and flaws available to Thin-Bloods....Of the clans, the ones most likely to "embrace recklessly" are the Toreador, Brujah, and Gangrel, so one of those would be the easiest.
Toreador or Brujah seem a better fit.
@Calliope I don't want to step on anyone's toes - any objection to K having an anonymous Toreador Sire? Mechanically it would give K the Toreador Bane and Celerity. Narratively it might provide another reason why Calliope is feeding him. If not, no worries, we'll go with Brujah :)
I don't feel like that would be stepping on toes at all. That makes perfect sense to me :)
Welcome, Rackhir. Based on the name, I assume you are a fan of the Eternal Champion series?
I am. Mainly the Elric-related work, some von Bek stuff, and early Hawkmoon. By no means have I read them all. I tried buying the collected series White Wolf put out in the 90s, but never got them all and have misplaced several since then. Moorecock put out a new “complete collection” a few years ago but I cringe at buying the same stories for the second (or third or fourth) time repackaged in a different order. And it’s 30some books.
As far as your backstory goes, it would make sense to me to have your Sire be Wauneka or Grimm (See my profile for a very brief description of the pair. To keep you closer in generation to the others, I think Grimm might be the better choice, which would make you 11th Generation.Waneka is Grimm's Sire and the pair are information brokers in city - each having a particular area of focus. Alexander's area of focus would be an area that neither of them are particularly strong in, so that would be benefit to the Clan. We can flesh out the particulars as we go along, be it here or in PMs.
Grimm is good.
Glad y'all got a kick out of Alexander's habit.
I don't feel like that would be stepping on toes at all. That makes perfect sense to me :)
Excellent:) Toreador ftw.
I think K is pretty much done - alias is here. I'm still working on the alias name; his full name + K nickname + Outrun moniker is over the character limit, so will have to cut something out - it's like they don't expect your character to have three names. I still have some xp to spend, but will do that during/after coterie creation.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm leaving for an international trip, returning in 10 days. Posting will likely be spotty, but will try and catch up every night on my phone.
Created alias with character sheet as profile. Let me know next steps.
Okay, the next steps are to decide on Chronicle Tenants and build the Coterie.
For Chronicle Tenants - its really an agreement between the players/characters of what it is that has brought you together as a coterie and what do you hope to accomplish as a group. This can be a bit vague like "Protect a given neighborhood" or advance within the Camarilla (preferably with a focus of how you intend to do that) or as specific as you would like. At this stage this is also where you would decide upon "rules" for your coterie. Have you sworn loyalty to each other? If so, what are the consequences should those loyalties be broken, where does the group fall on the morality scale? Do you care about human life or are they just food.
Lots of things can be discussed at this stage.
Obviously this all goes hand in hand with the building of the coterie.
This weekend I will try and get to my Convictions and Touchstones which would probably help in this process.
My character is a New Age Blood Cult leader, he is also interested in "deeper occult" mysteries, quite actively so. So for him the accumulation of knowledge and expansion of his "flock" are important. He also has to be careful about showing his face TOO much based on his background.
I guess I have to figure out if my PC is a "guru" seeking to enlighten or exploit that flock. Based on that motivation would probably be how he perceives the Coterie. Of course, if he sees the Coterie as a means to an end he would not come right out and say that! Whereas, if he sees the Coterie as a group of equals on a quest for knowledge he also might not say that either as it didn't pan out that well for Clan Tremere AND Vampires have a general distrust of one another so even if he were to feel that solidly disposed towards the Coterie he would likely be at least apprehensive (if not outright fearful) of letting the rest of the group know how "undying" his loyalty is for fear of betrayal.
I will ponder a bit more this weekend the questions posed above ST.
One question related to mechanics, do we start with other "coterie" points to build backgrounds or do we have to take those from our starting points? If we have to take from our starting points, I will probably back out a point or two to assist with Coterie building.
There are a certain amount of coterie points and some coterie specific advantages. As to the number, I'm not sure off the top of my head and I am traveling on business until late Friday night.
The cabins I'm visiting have wifi now (they didn't before!) So I'll be able to check up on things. I'll post my thoughts this evening when we're settled in.
With Shadow's boy being into occult stuff, that would be a link for Calliope. She dabbled in a cult pre-Embrace and that's when her artwork started getting weird. I can see her hoping to find inspiration for her next big masterpiece with that.
I think one of her personal goals would be to create that next big masterpiece. That would get her ahead in the Camarilla (another goal), hopefully enough so that she's less at the mercy of Mateo (sire).
Calliope would likely just see humans as food. Pretty good, interesting food sometimes. But food.
It would be interesting if Calliope knew Alexander in passing because she is a college graduate and spent some time in libraries, lol.
I can see her being big on loyalty too.
Alexander is into local history and mystery, wants to learn how secret supernatural history has affected the mortal history he already knows. He wouldn't be ready to dive right into ancient mystic enigmas, but could become drawn in if linked to a more contemporary investigation.
Anyone with a personal library would be a big draw for him. As would anyone purporting to know about local vampire history, or with contacts who know such things. He is more likely to swear loyalty to a cause than to an organization.
He definitely still values human life. Needing to feed on people is an unfortunate necessity. Vampires are a type of person, neither superior nor inferior to mortal humans.
Being acquainted with Calliope in passing from mortal life is reasonable. The mutual recognition of a fellow stackrat.
She has a personal library as well, but not sure if it would be Alexander's jam. Occult, Lovecraft, Weird fiction, that sort of thing. Art history.
Jack on the other hand is big on individual loyalty. I don't see him as being as big on reading, but he does admire strength in all of it's forms, and seeks enlightenment through getting stronger. Accumulating knowledge is a form of getting stronger. As he views loyalty and camaraderie as another form of strength, he would seek a tight knit group. He sees most other Ventrue as being too snobbish. Jack doesn't mind being the muscle for a group as long as they aren't being insulting to his intelligence.
As a player, I prefer loyalty to scheming against each other.
I'd like to advance through the Carmilla, although I'm not entirely sure how he'd go about it. He is far less charismatic than most of the other vampires here. Also he's far worse at wits than everyone else. His internal fortitude (from the discipline) makes him harder than usual to manipulate though.
As far as humans, he only respects them if they embody strength. That could be physical fitness, an activist standing up for their personal convictions, or someone who bears an immense emotional load without losing themselves, but the average citizens are beneath him. Besides, unlike Calliope, he can't eat most of them :)
Unrelated, but Jack would be fine with providing blood for K, as long as K was a loyal "family" member.
I'm back from my trip.
Based on input, I can see us swearing loyalty to one another and our aims being advancing in the Camarilla...we have similarish goals and can help out one another. We're all young vampires (as in, not been vampires terribly long :P) and need some backup and all.
Looks like there are established Coterie "packages". I think the one that I like best based upon the mix of characters we have is "Think Tank" (source Cult of the Blood Gods).
A coterie type created from advisors, strategists, and researchers for a given cult.
(The Cult here could be the Blood Cult that Edwin is trying to create as a Mystery Cult within the local Scientology followers of Chicago).
If I understand correctly, we would gain the following Background Advantages:
Domain - Chasse 1 - A city block of hunting.
- Lien 3 - The ease of interaction between the domain’s mortals
with the coterie +3 to rolls (does NOT apply to Hunting).
Allies - 3 (Analysts, bureaucrats, soldiers, etc)
Haven - 1 (Small office to work in)
Possible extras: Resources (Profits made from selling their services), Retainers (Librarians, scholars) [Not sure if WE spend our personal points here or if the ST grants such points based on his discretion].
---
The link that I found also has something called Coterie Clan Merits, pretty neat. "Kindred can also purchase Coterie Merits at Character Creation, these are merits tied to specific clans but they can generally be activated by anyone within the group. In some cases, only one member of the coterie can use the given Merit in a session based on who needs it the most". (Source, Vampire the Masquerade Companion).
This of course, assumes that the ST would allow this. Tossing it out there as it's pretty cool stuff.