V20 - Chapter One - Clan Tremere - To Tame the Red Dragon

Game Master Dennis Harry

Link to Discipline Descriptions and Systems

Dramatis Personæ
Henry Gaden - A7
Zhang Jim - A3
Marcus Townshend - A2
Badger - A2
Wenzel Rainer - A2


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Hey Shadow, I actually lurked and read some of your Dark Ages game set in Italy sometime back and really enjoyed it and your style. I'm very tempted to dip my toes in and give this game a try, especially as Tremere are my favorite clan(pre 5th anyway.) No promises I'll have the time to make one but I'll do my best to find some and get something up.

Right now my main idea is a Tremere prodigy who is focused on learning as much Thaumaturgy as he can. He believes firmly that it has a solution to every problem. The fact that it helps one advance in the pyramid is a nice bonus.

I'm curious-- and sorry if I missed something-- but you're planning to run one of these campaigns for each clan? So I imagine the actual scenarios are going to be shorter term games?


Silver Priest wrote:

Hey Shadow, I actually lurked and read some of your Dark Ages game set in Italy sometime back and really enjoyed it and your style. I'm very tempted to dip my toes in and give this game a try, especially as Tremere are my favorite clan(pre 5th anyway.) No promises I'll have the time to make one but I'll do my best to find some and get something up.

Right now my main idea is a Tremere prodigy who is focused on learning as much Thaumaturgy as he can. He believes firmly that it has a solution to every problem. The fact that it helps one advance in the pyramid is a nice bonus.

I'm curious-- and sorry if I missed something-- but you're planning to run one of these campaigns for each clan? So I imagine the actual scenarios are going to be shorter term games?

Thank you! That campaign is also being brought back out of Torpor.

Sounds good, would you spread the dots among several Paths at Level 1 and buildup?

Correct, one for each Clan, each one short (well in PbP terms). Plus a 14th game wrapping them all together.

Sovereign Court

I forget, was I in that one? I know there was a Dark Ages game that I was in but it died.


Jesse Heinig wrote:
I forget, was I in that one? I know there was a Dark Ages game that I was in but it died.

There were a ton of players in that one through out the years, but I don't recall seeing you in that one.

I do believe you were in a different V:tM game with Shadow, playing a Tremere named Randolf Miller.


Jesse Heinig wrote:
I forget, was I in that one? I know there was a Dark Ages game that I was in but it died.

No, Talomyr is correct, you were never in the Vampire Venice game.

I believe we were in a Dark Ages game together at one point but Vampire games seem to tend to die on these boards pretty frequently and quickly.

You were in a modern game I ran (I believe in the Milwaukee group) but that game was a victim of my Divorce back in 2018.

Ironically enough, the Vampire Venice game was inspired by table top whereas my current table top Vampire game was inspired by that split PbP game I ran in 2017/2018 of Chicago/Milwaukee. That table top game is also restarting this June.

In fact I was just chatting with my buddy who wants me to run another Vampire table top game set in WWI in Europe. Which, while it sounds interesting, I don't see happening, at least not this year!


Talomyr wrote:
Jesse Heinig wrote:
I forget, was I in that one? I know there was a Dark Ages game that I was in but it died.

There were a ton of players in that one through out the years, but I don't recall seeing you in that one.

I do believe you were in a different V:tM game with Shadow, playing a Tremere named Randolf Miller.

Yep, that ton of players is what bogged things down, trying to run all 13 Clans in one game was certainly interesting but with so many players it dragged shared scenes down where characters would disappear or quit. That is why it's now a closed game (though I am giving a RL friend one last shot to play). When that restarts on May 31, it should go much quicker, especially considering most of you are now in one location and facing a shared goal, for now!


Storyteller Shadow wrote:
dr. kekyll wrote:
And I'm not a fan of DAV20 moving Silence of Death to Obfuscate 1 (and removing Cloak of Shadows).

Agreed, I hated that change, but I'm living with it.

Oh I didn't even see we were going with mostly the DAV20 versions of disciplines. Now I'm slightly sad I can't hide quite as well yet, but I do get the only thing I wanted from Quietus, so...


Storyteller Shadow wrote:

Thank you! That campaign is also being brought back out of Torpor.

Sounds good, would you spread the dots among several Paths at Level 1 and buildup?

Correct, one for each Clan, each one short (well in PbP terms). Plus a 14th game wrapping them all together.

I've managed to put together a character concept. Been quite awhile since I've played Vampire so I'm a fair bit rusty, but it was a fun project.

Henry Gaden:

Name Henry Gaden
Clan: Tremere
Nature: Autocrat
Demeanor: Pedagogue

Attributes:

Mental(Primary)
Intelligence: 5 (analytical)
Perception: 3
Wits: 3

Social(Secondary)
Charisma: 2
Manipulation: 4(expressive)
Appearance: 3

Physical(Tertiary)
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 3

Abilities

Talents:(Secondary)
Alertness: 1
Athletics: 1
Awareness: 2
Brawl:
Empathy: 2
Expression: 2
Intimidation:
Leadership: 2
Streetwise:
Subterfuge: 2

Skills:(Tertiary)
Animal Ken:
Crafts:
Etiquette:4(chantry culture)
Firearms: 1
Larceny:
Melee:
Performance: 2
Repair:
Ride:
Stealth:
Survival:

Knowledges(Primary)
Academics: 5 (history)
Enigmas: 3
Finance:
Investigation:1
Law:
Medicine:
Occult: 5(vampires)
Politics: 2
Science:1
Technology:

Disciplines

Thaumaturgy: Path of Blood 5 (Primary)

Thaumaturgy: Lure of Flames 5

Backgrounds

Generation: 4( 8th Gen)
Status: 3
Resources:2
Herd: 2

Virtues

Conscience: 3
Self-Control: 4
Courage: 3

Humanity 7
Willpower 9/9
Bloodpool 15/15

Merits

Eidetic Memory (2 Freebies)

Flaws

Bad Sight (1)

Repulsed by Garlic(1)

Touch of Frost (1)

Freebie Points: 23

Willpower 3 to 9(6, 17 pts remain)
Lure of Flames 2 to 5 (15, 2)

Status 2 to 3 (1, 1)

Herd 0 to 1 (1, 0)

Rituals (30 levels)

Level 1

Communicate with Kindred Sire

By enacting this ritual, the caster may join minds with her sire, speaking telepathically with him over any distance. The communication may continue until the ritual expires or until either party ends the conversation. The caster must possess an item once owned by her sire for the ritual to work.The caster must meditate for 30 minutes to create the connection. Conversation may be maintained for 10 minutes per success on the activation roll.

Defense of the Sacred Haven

This ritual prevents sunlight from entering an area within 20 feet (six meters) of this ritual’s casting. A mystical darkness blankets the area, keeping the baleful light at bay. Sunlight reflects off windows or magically fails to pass through doors or other portals. To invoke this ritual’s protection, the caster draws sigils in her own blood on all the affected windows and doors. The ritual lasts as long as the thaumaturge stays within the 20-foot (6-meter) radius.This ritual requires one hour to perform, during which the caster recites incantations and inscribes glyphs. One blood point is required for this ritual to work

Level 2

Donning the Mask of Shadows

This ritual may be simultaneously cast on a number of subjects equal to the caster’s Occult rating; each individual past the first adds five minutes to the base casting time. Individuals under the Mask of Shadows can only be detected if the observer possesses a power (such as Auspex) sufficient to penetrate Obfuscate 3. The Mask of Shadows lasts a number of hours equal to the number of successes rolled when it is cast or until the caster voluntarily lowers it.

Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion

This ritual imbues a quantity of blood within an object small enough for the vampire to carry in both hands. (The object may not be any larger than this, though it may be as small as a dime.) After the ritual is conducted, the object takes on a reddish hue and becomes slick to the touch. At a mental command, the caster may release the object from its enchantment, causing it to break down into a pool of blood. This blood may serve whatever purpose the vampire desires; many thaumaturges wear enchanted baubles to ensure they have emergency supplies of vitae. System: An object may store only one blood point of vitae. If a Kindred wishes to make an infused focus for an ally, she may do so, but the blood contained within must be her own. (If the ally then drinks the blood, he is one step closer to the blood bond). The ally must be present at the creation of the focus.

Level 3

Mirror of Second Sight

The ritual requires one point of the vampire’s blood. Thereafter, the mirror reflects images of other supernatural creatures’ true forms — werewolves appear in their hulking man-wolf shapes, magi glow in a scintillating nimbus, ghosts become visible (in the mirror), and so on. Sometimes, the mirror also reveals those possessed of True Faith in clouds of golden light.

Sanguine Assistant

The player spends five blood points and rolls. The servant created by the ritual stands a foot (30 cm) high and appears as a roughly humanoid shape composed of whatever the ritual sucked in for its own use. It lasts for one night per success rolled. At the end of the last night, the assistant crawls into the bowl used for its creation and falls apart. The assistant can be reanimated through another application of this ritual; if the caster so desires, it re-forms from the same materials with the same memories and personality. A Sanguine Assistant has Strength and Stamina of 1, and Dexterity and Mental Attributes equal to those of the caster. It begins with no Social Attributes to speak of, but gains one dot per night in Charisma and Manipulation until its ratings are equal to those of the caster. It has all of the caster’s Abilities at one dot low#er than his own. A Sanguine Assistant is a naturally timid creature and flees if attacked, though it will try to defend its master’s life at the cost of its own. It has no Disciplines of its own, but has a full understanding of all of its master’s Thaumaturgical knowledge and can instruct others if so commanded. A Sanguine Assistant is impervious to any mind-controlling Disciplines or magic, so completely is it bound to its creator’s will.

Level 4

Splinter Servant

Another ritual designed to enchant a stake, Splinter Servant is a progressive development of Shaft of Belated Quiescence. (The two rituals, however, are mutually exclusive.) A Splinter Servant consists of a stake carved from a tree which has nourished itself on the dead. The stake must be bound in wax-sealed nightshade twine. When the binding is torn off, the Splinter Servant leaps to life, animating itself and attacking whomever the wielder commands — or the wielder, if she is too slow in assigning a target. The servant splits itself into a roughly humanoid form and begins singlemindedly trying to impale the target’s heart. Its exertions tear it apart within a few minutes, but if it pierces its victim’s heart before it destroys itself, it is remarkably difficult to remove, as pieces tend to remain behind if the main portion is yanked out.

The ritual requires 12 hours to cast, minus one per success, and the servant must be created as described above. When the binding is torn off, the character who holds it must point the servant at its target and verbally command it to attack during the same turn. If this command is not given, the servant attacks the closest living or unliving being, usually the unfortunate individual who currently carries it. A Splinter Servant always aims for the heart. It has an attack dice pool of the caster’s Wits + Occult, a damage dice pool of the caster’s Thaumaturgy rating, and a maximum movement rate of 30 yards or meters per turn. Note that these values are those of the caster who created the servant, not the individual who activates it. A Splinter Servant cannot fly, but can leap its full movement rating every turn. Every action it takes is to attack or move toward its target; it cannot dodge or split its dice pool to perform multiple attacks. The servant makes normal stake attacks that aim for the heart (difficulty 9), and its success is judged as per the rules for a normal staking. A Splinter Servant has three health levels, and attacks directed against it are made at +3 difficulty due to its small size and erratic movement patterns. A Splinter Servant has an effective life of five combat turns per success rolled in its creation. If it has not impaled its victim by the last turn of its life, the servant collapses into a pile of ordinary, inanimate splinters. Three successes on a Dexterity roll (difficulty 8) are required to remove a Splinter Servant from a victim’s heart without leaving behind shards of the stake.

Scry

Scrying is the practice of remote viewing via a reflective, translucent substance such as water. The thaumaturge must craft a wide silver bowl and then fill it with purified spring water mixed with a drop of owl’s blood. Next, she must concentrate upon her intended target and gaze into the bowl. If successful, the caster can see and hear what is happening around the target as though she were personally there.
Once the bowl and water is prepared according to the specifications, the thaumaturge must concentrate for a minute before attempting to scry her target. This ritual lasts for a number of hours equal to the successes for the activation roll.
The thaumaturge only has to concentrate during this duration to view scenes through the water. If a location is the center of the Scry, this location cannot be changed throughout the duration of the ritual. The caster cannot use Auspex powers, Thaumaturgy, or similar mental Disciplines through the Scry.
If the caster is attempting to scry an item or place, she must be familiar enough with it to have formed a psychic attachment with it. If the caster intends to scry upon a person, she might have in her possession an object with a psychic resonance with the target.

Level 5

Enchant Talisman

This ritual requires six hours per night for one complete cycle of the moon, beginning and ending on the new moon. Over this time, the vampire carefully prepares her talisman, carving it with Hermetic runes that signify her true name and the sum total of her thaumaturgical knowledge. The player spends one blood point per night and makes an extended roll of Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 8), one roll per week. If a night’s work is missed or if the four rolls do not accumulate at least 20 net successes, the talisman is ruined and the process must be begun again. A completed talisman gives the caster several advantages. When the character is holding the talisman, the difficulty of all magic that targets her is increased by one. The player receives two extra dice when rolling for uses of the character’s primary path and one extra die when rolling for the character’s ritual castings. If the talisman is used as a weapon, it gives the player an additional die to roll to hit. If the thaumaturge is separated from her talisman, a successful Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 7) gives her its location. If a talisman is in the possession of another individual, it gives that individual three additional dice to roll when using any form of magic against the talisman’s owner. At the Storyteller’s discretion, rituals that target the caster and use her talisman as a physical component may have greatly increased effects

Paper Flesh

This ritual causes the subject’s Stamina and Fortitude (if any) to drop to 1 each. For every Generation below Eighth, the subject retains one extra point of Stamina or Fortitude (keeping Fortitude first, though she may not exceed her original scores). For example, a vampire of the Fourth Generation with Fortitude targeted by Paper Flesh would drop to a Stamina + Fortitude score of 6 (assuming the score was 6 or more to begin with). This ritual lasts one night.

Languages known: English, French, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, German.

Backstory: Henry was born in the late 1700's, the youngest of four sons of a prominent English family. His brothers were all destined for greatness, and lacking any realistic ability to inherit, he sought out power via the occult. Smart enough to understand much of what he learned and separate reality from myth, he eventually attracted the attention of the Tremere. He was embraced and served his sire and clan with quiet competence for the next century. He's recently mastered his second path of Thaumaturgy and is looking forward to starting on his third. His main goal is to advance in the Pyramid and learn more Thaumaturgical knowledge, goals he believes are closely aligned.


Silver Priest wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:

Thank you! That campaign is also being brought back out of Torpor.

Sounds good, would you spread the dots among several Paths at Level 1 and buildup?

Correct, one for each Clan, each one short (well in PbP terms). Plus a 14th game wrapping them all together.

I've managed to put together a character concept. Been quite awhile since I've played Vampire so I'm a fair bit rusty, but it was a fun project.

** spoiler omitted **...

I did not dig in but looks good to me so far!


Update - Quick List of PCs submitted by Thaumaturgy Specialty:

1. dr. Kekyll - Badger - No Thaumaturgy.
2. GM Nowruz - Sarah Cordon - (Tremere Muscle - Path Unclear)
3. Talomyr - Marcus Townshend - Movement of the Mind
4. Silver Priest - Henry Gaden - Path of Blood & Lure of the Flames Mastery!
5. Marco - No Name Yet - Path of Blood.
6. Michele - No name Yet - Path of Blood.

Knight withdrew, unfortunately, was digging that submission.

No other submission thus far.

So right now, we have 6 PCs. I know there is interest expressed by at least 3 more people (including Jesse - Concept Zhang Jim mixed heritage local from the Middle Kingdom). Deadline is still June 1 to have submissions in!

Sovereign Court

Sorry for the delay. Been SUPER busy with work.


Jesse Heinig wrote:
Sorry for the delay. Been SUPER busy with work.

No worries, still have two more weeks until submission deadline, I mean even a few days after isn't the end of the world as there will be a brief prologue for each character. By the time everyone is assembled within the Prime Chantry, I'll want all the submissions done.

I've been focused on getting Vampire Venice up and running, by this weekend I'll turn my attention fully to this game. I think I figured out what I want to do with the End Cap game and if that's the direction I go in, I am glad I started with Tremere!


Storyteller Shadow wrote:
...and if that's the direction I go in, I am glad I started with Tremere!

Out of curiosity, any idea who would be next?


dr. kekyll wrote:
Storyteller Shadow wrote:
...and if that's the direction I go in, I am glad I started with Tremere!
Out of curiosity, any idea who would be next?

I am leaning Ventrue, have to look at my notes for the outline again.


This weekend I finish reading source material.

Next weekend I finish (a lot but not all of the story).

The week after, we start up.


Storyteller Shadow wrote:

Update - Quick List of PCs submitted by Thaumaturgy Specialty:

1. dr. Kekyll - Badger - No Thaumaturgy.
2. GM Nowruz - Sarah Cordon - (Tremere Muscle - Path Unclear)
3. Talomyr - Marcus Townshend - Movement of the Mind
4. Silver Priest - Henry Gaden - Path of Blood & Lure of the Flames Mastery!
5. Marco - No Name Yet - Path of Blood.
6. Michele - No name Yet - Path of Blood.

Knight withdrew, unfortunately, was digging that submission.

No other submission thus far.

So right now, we have 6 PCs. I know there is interest expressed by at least 3 more people (including Jesse - Concept Zhang Jim mixed heritage local from the Middle Kingdom). Deadline is still June 1 to have submissions in!

Hello, i'm new to the forum here, silver priest brought the game to my attention and i would be interested in playing.

I just have a few questions on formatting, im assuming this will be played on discord. Where can i submit a character concept? Why the odd character creation spread? (I.e. why not standard spread with X xp or bonus freebs to represent age)


MagnificentOne wrote:

Hello, i'm new to the forum here, silver priest brought the game to my attention and i would be interested in playing.

I just have a few questions on formatting, im assuming this will be played on discord. Where can i submit a character concept? Why the odd character creation spread? (I.e. why not standard spread with X xp or bonus freebs to represent age)

No, not played on discord, right here on the boards, straight PbP.

Character creation spread is to create Kindred more powerful than mere Neonates as the encounters will be a bit tougher physically than your average chronicle. As far as why I did not use the suggested spread in the books, I've been running since 1993 so it's just not something I think about when I start a game.


Update - Quick List of PCs submitted by Thaumaturgy Specialty:

1. dr. Kekyll - Badger - No Thaumaturgy.
2. GM Nowruz - Sarah Cordon - (Tremere Muscle - Path Unclear)
3. Talomyr - Marcus Townshend - Movement of the Mind
4. Silver Priest - Henry Gaden - Path of Blood & Lure of the Flames Mastery.
5. Marco - No Name Yet - Path of Blood.
6. Michele - No name Yet - Path of Blood.

One of my buddies may drop, which would leave us with 5, still plenty to run a Vampire campaign.

If you are still interested, please have a submission in by June 1. I plan on getting things going next week with brief prologues/the week after with full game play.


Hi, thanks ST! I updated my profile with all the information and character stats.
I can change anything that you would like to see differently.
Looking forward to the game!


GM Nowruz wrote:

Hi, thanks ST! I updated my profile with all the information and character stats.

I can change anything that you would like to see differently.
Looking forward to the game!

Great, on the 3rd I will review all PCs and start prologues.


Sorry. Forgot to post with profile.


Well that's just fantastic. Just spent 30 minutes typing in stuff around my character's background into his profile only to have the post eaten...

Rookie mistake, I really should know better.


Marcus Townshend wrote:

Well that's just fantastic. Just spent 30 minutes typing in stuff around my character's background into his profile only to have the post eaten...

Rookie mistake, I really should know better.

Ugh, I hear you, I hate when that happens. For some reason the Boards REALLY don't like posting for too long in Profiles, sometimes updating a profile when leveling a PC I get timed out and have to remember what I updated on the sheet and what I didn't really pisses me off...

I need to get in the habit of posting with this new Avatar!


Marcus Townshend wrote:

Well that's just fantastic. Just spent 30 minutes typing in stuff around my character's background into his profile only to have the post eaten...

Rookie mistake, I really should know better.

Alright, not as detailed as it was before, but there should be enough there now to get a feel for who Marcus is.


Are we still able to make edits to our sheets? I am thinking of taking Neptune's Might instead of Lure of Flames if so.


It's not June 1 yet, so I would imagine so. I did.


Henry Gaden wrote:
Are we still able to make edits to our sheets? I am thinking of taking Neptune's Might instead of Lure of Flames if so.

Absolutely.


Thanks. :) Can't go back to edit my post but I'm swapping the paths, Neptune seems more interesting to me at the moment.


Henry Gaden wrote:
Thanks. :) Can't go back to edit my post but I'm swapping the paths, Neptune seems more interesting to me at the moment.

Sounds good, when you update the character Profile for review that will be all the edit I need, a great deal of this campaign is on or near water so it's a good choice.

The stuff I have written so far is pretty interesting, I am going to leave it a bit sandboxy so if the PCs want to explore things a bit they can, if you want to just skip exploration and get to the plot, we can do that too.

With that extra month I refined the campaign and I think it's even more interesting than my original idea.


Sounds awesome!


Just squeezing in under the wire.


Zhang Jim wrote:
Just squeezing in under the wire.

Interesting! That Thaumaturgy 2 Path of Blood or something else?

Sovereign Court

Storyteller Usurper wrote:
Zhang Jim wrote:
Just squeezing in under the wire.
Interesting! That Thaumaturgy 2 Path of Blood or something else?

Just Path of Blood, nothing unusual.


Update - List of PCs submitted by Thaumaturgy Specialty:

1. dr. Kekyll - Badger - No Thaumaturgy.
2. GM Nowruz - Sarah Cordon - Tremere Muscle - Path of Focused Mind (neat haven't thought about this one in a while)
3. Talomyr - Marcus Townshend - Movement of the Mind
4. Silver Priest - Henry Gaden - Path of Blood & Neptune's Might.
5. Marco - No Name Yet - Path of Blood.
6. Michele - No name Yet - Path of Blood.
7. Jesse - Zhang Jim - Path of Blood.

That's the group!

I will have my friends post up their PC Avatars (I was there in person for the character building so no need for me to review those submissions).

I will probably send a PM for some finishing touches (background clarification, Sires, etc.) then start the brief prologues in spoilers this weekend.

Thanks for submitting folks, looking forward to finally getting this going.

-------

Some posting logistics to discuss.

I don't have a posting frequency requirement, but I have found over the years that a PbP has to move or it will wither and die. Therefore, I will move scenes along as I feel is necessary so if a PC does not post, I will assume they agree with group consensus and move along with the herd.

In combats (of which there may be a few) I give about 36 hours, then I will bot a PC to keep the flow moving. Nothing worse than a battle taking weeks to resolve.

I like to keep the dates and locations and if the group splits up, the PCs in the scene at the top of each post, examples:

Venice by Night - Thursday - April 3, 1309

the Humble Hovel of Xing Shi - Alessandro Khadaji

Venice by Night - Thursday - April 3, 1309

the Streets of Venice - (PC) Lorenzo, Ranerius, Michele, and Geoffroi (NPC) Lydia, Onfroi

Repetitive yes but it helps me fix the timeline/sequence of events if I need to research the thread later.

I generally post dialogue as bold but that's not a requirement.

Feel free to ask any questions in the discussion thread NOT the I/C thread. I generally get back quickly though Vampire Venice has a mechanics question I still need to get to...

I think that's all I can think of for the moment, I'll be dipping back in Sunday to get things moving along.


Go ahead and post into the Discussion thread, I will be finalizing my review of characters tonight. However, I won't be able to start until Monday as I am more backed up with work than I anticipated.

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