[OOC] Player Discussion

[Shakespeare]

Players are free to discuss topics and ask questions related to the game herein. If, for any reason, a player finds himself unable to post for a period of time, please let me know through the use of this thread, so that I can plan around your absence.

After being accepted for the game, I would ask that players post their Character Sheets in the Player Area of the game forum. I will make each thread private once it's been posted, so that only myself and the player in question can view the information.

When posting your Character Sheet, please do so in the following format (be sure to include your calculations for each item in brackets after each entry -- these will be removed upon approval, but will help me double-check everything quickly):

Real Name:
Pseudonyms:
Apparant Age:
Sex:
Clan:
Bloodline:
Covenant:
Physical Description:
Personality:

Mental Attributes: Intelligence, Wits, Resolve
Physical Attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina
Social Attributes: Presence, Manipulation, Composure

Mental Skills:
Physical Skills:
Social Skills:

Merits:

Willpower:
Humanity: 7
Derangements: Name (mild/severe; Clarity level)
Virtue:
Vice:

Initiative:
Defense:
Speed:
Health:

Blood Potency:
Vitae/per Turn: 10/1
Disciplines: Name •
Devotions:

Possessions:

Background:

Experience Points: 0

When you gain experience, I'll notify you through your individual threads, and you can tell me where you're allocating them and why. Any private storylines or notes that the character gets will also be handled through these threads.

Any questions, please post them here and I'll get back to you. Game on.

[Shakespeare]

Okay! Board's up, as is the character sheet template; it's time to start preparing for a Vampire game.

Before I do so, however, I want to discuss with my players two house rules for the game, and their opinions on them. The first is the incorporation of the Increased Wound Penalties rule, quoted below from Armory Reloaded:

• Increased Wound Penalties:
This hack changes the way that wounds affect characters. With five open boxes, the character suffers a –1 to all actions. With four, the character loses the ability to spend Willpower for heroic effort, but can still spend Willpower to increase Defense or Resistance traits (see p. 133 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). At three open boxes, the character suffers a –2 to all actions. At two open boxes, the character loses the 10 again benefit (if a weapon would grant the character 9 again, this still applies; a man armed with a shotgun is still dangerous, even if he’s injured!). Finally, at one open box, the character suffers a –3 penalty to all actions. Rationale: It’s difficult to act through pain, and even more difficult to summon extraordinary will when injured. This hack makes wounds more serious.

The above makes combat more dangerous; it also makes one value the Resilience Discipline a hell of a lot more, as well as merits such as Iron Stamina, which help to lessen the problems that arise from taking blows, stabbing wounds, or gunshots to the face.

My second house rule is taken from Mirrors, and it concerns how characters are created. In the standard system, characters assign to their attribute groups 5, 4, and 3 dots, depending on their character's preference between physical, social, and mental; they do the same with skills, albeit with 11, 7, and 4 dots. The rule suggested in Mirrors, however, means that players get 12 attribute dots, and 22 skill dots, to allocate wherever they wish (with the one inhibator that no attribute or skill is higher than 4). What do you all think? Should we stick with the old method, or go with the above?

[Pantherine]

I don't know about the wounds part, so I will leave that up to you.

I like the idea on the dot allocation.

[Shakespeare]

Good to know. Since Pulse agrees on the dot allocation point, we'll make that the official ruling from here on in where character creation is concerned.

The wound part I will help you with later. For now just give the books a read, and prod me or Pulse if you're unsure on anything.

[Pantherine]

Any particular plans for how we are supposed to meet up? Because I think I am pretty much done with all but the final touches on the background

Please notice the proud undertones at having created a character entirely without help *confident smirk*

[AoM]

Is the group expected to be a coterie or is the campaign going to be more individually based? If it's the former, what factions/clans are other players planning on being a part of?

[Shakespeare]

It will be based largely around a coterie, but there will be some focus on individual activity - this is Vampire, after all. How you become a coterie will be decided in game, or just before; I need to see sheets before I can decide.

I think that Pulse is leaning towards the Ordo Dracul; I've not seen Pantherine's stuff yet (on that note, can you send your stuff to me Pantherine?), so I can't speak for her. And clanwise, they are Ventrue and Gangrel respectively.

[Shakespeare]

I've almost got Pulse's sheet, seen a little of Pantherine's, and nothing from AoM. Can you all try and get your sheets up soon guys (in the format displayed above), and I'll look them over here. I'd like to try and get the game going soon.

[AoM]

I've been busy looking over different clan and covenant books, trying to get myself reacquainted with Requiem, as opposed to Masquerade. I've been flipping between concepts, but I think I've decided on playing a Nosferatu Invictus. The backstory for my character may end up taking some liberties with the political structure of the city, so I'm wondering - which city is this set in, what covenants hold power, who is the Prince?

My basic character concept is that my character was caught up in the infatuation of a local Invictus Daeva, made into a ghoul and groomed to be inducted into the covenant. Within a few days of his intended embrace however, a political mishap occurs, and either a local rival with the Prince's permission or perhaps the Prince himself decides to punish my would-be Daeva sire for a slight she had given them, and forces my character to enter the Invictus world through the blood of a Nosferatu while the Daeva is forced to watch. I am then given to the Daeva to train as though she were still my actual sire. Having been a creature obsessed with beauty, and my character had been decently handsome in life, this immediately sours the relationship my "sire" has for me. I am also considered somewhat of a joke within the Invictus, even though I am a part of it.

The local Nosferatu who truly sired me is an accepted member of the Invictus and a part of the Cockscombe Society bloodline (Nossies who do their best to still look human and act like one - though end up being the worst parts of humanity usually). He views my character with neither malice, nor empathy, but offers as a matter of course to advise my character on the state of being a Nosferatu in the Invictus.

My character might flirt with joining the Lancea Sanctum, and possibly the Ordo Dracul, but for the time being, I'll play him as a neonate, know nothing besides the Invictus, which he was meant to be - only not with the unsettling countenance that he now bears.

[Ergonomic Cat]

Vampires are so wacky.

[Shakespeare]

The city is Los Angeles, a city that was, until 5 years previous, a place with a Lancea Sanctum Prince. The new ruler is Invictus, which puts a slight (but definate) strain on the normally stable Invictus-Sanctum relationship. The Carthian presence isn't potent, but is steadily growing. The Acolytes are largely independant; just over half of the Dragons hold preference to a city run by the First Estate.

The concept sounds solid, and provides a fairly well-rounded group: an Unaligned Gangrel, an Ordo Dracul Ventrue, and an Invictus Nosferatu. Fun times ahead, no? Get everything up asap, and I'll check it over.

[Shakespeare]

As soon as both the posted characters are approved I'll get the game underway. I've spoken to Pantherine, and will detail her character's Embrace and introduction whenever she's finished with her character details.

Addendum: Incase he forgets to notify you all, Pulse has bookmarked blue as his colour of choice; if I remember correctly, Pantherine (I think) was partial to the pink; whenever I speak on the behalf of the NPCs, I'll be using red. Let me know whether any of the above are too difficult to read against the background.

Further Addendum: Cat, if you're not going to apply, can I persuade you to post exclusively in the Visitor's Thread, maybe with milk and cookies, and threats of imminent violence?

[AoM]

I'll take orange.

[Shakespeare]

Okay guys, post is in the making. Shouldn't be long now.

[Shakespeare]

An update on personal affairs: I've recently transfered branchs of the armed services, putting my lot in with the Royal Marines which is stealing a lot of my remaining time. It's why I've been slow recently, and also why I'm posing this next question to you all:

I don't want to drop my remaining games, but my posting reliability will skydive for the foreseeable future; shall I keep the games open, with posting standards dropping to maybe once a week, or would you all feel better if I put the games on indefinate suspension until I've finished training?

[AoM]

Same thing I said with starwars and in my PM reply to you on this site. Whatever's best for you, the GM, with the general idea being that I am for keeping the games alive. It's not like we go into playing pbp games without expecting delay. So long as we keep to the rule of long and detailed posts, it should be fine.

Maybe we could do flashback/interludes during the downtime.

[Shakespeare]

I've sent everyone here the link to the site I spoke of. Once registered, this game can get moving.