NationStates Jolt Archive

This is a thread to explore the possibility and interest in a White Wolf Vampire role-play.

I'm going to stop right here and point out that if you don't know what I mean by White Wolf (http://www.white-wolf.com/) Vampire, you probably need to do a lot more reading before you're ready for this. This is not about vampires like you'll find in Anne Rice novels, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or even anime. This is not about an Aaron Spelling production where everyone means well and never really has to consider the consequences of feeding on human blood for survival (except where dramatically appropriate). White Wolf writes about World of Darkness (http://www.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php), not (as my friends used to say) World of Dimness. Vampires are cursed creatures, damned by God through their progenitor to walk the Earth bereft of light, comfort or anything resembling peace. For example, in the White Wolf world Malkavians are not happy, funny pranksters resembling clowns with big teeth. They're miserable, tormented souls who occasionally hide behind humour, and it's going to be dark and questionably amusing.

So, here's how it works. I set the scene, taking the role of the omniscient Storyteller (White Wolf terminology, bear with me) and running various NPCs. As the Storyteller, I am the final arbiter of what powers, skills and resources are available, how they work and who can use them. I'll be using the tabletop rules set down in Vampire: the Masquerade Second Edition (there is no Third Edition. It does not exist), along with some House Rules that I'll go into if this actually gets off the ground. Player characters are free to interact with the Storyteller and other PCs; if you can cooperate with each other to work things out without Storyteller intervention that's great. Otherwise, the Storyteller has final say in all matters. The Storyteller also reserves the right to determine who gets to participate, and the consequences of active participation. I will set the scenes and describe to you what's happening in the world around you.

The critical element in the games I run is timing. That's going to be very tricky in written medium, because not everyone has the same opportunity to be online and post. We can't go with fluid time here because as Storyteller I have to weigh the impact of player actions on what happens to the plot; expect few if any retcons.

Ultimately, this is a test to see if people want to participate, and if they do, if they can trust me to run things fairly even if consequences aren't to their liking. I will run the plot as I see fit and players who get stupid ("Count Vapid pulls out his machine gun and fills the room with lead!") will end up getting very dead very fast. Power levels are strictly quantified in the White Wolf universe, and that's part of the role-play. Weaker Kindred are always chafing under the rule of stronger Kindred. But it's important to remember from a role-playing standpoint that no matter how big and bad your character becomes, there's always someone out there who is bigger. For example, I will retain control over the top Elders of the city, and I promise you that no PC will be able to beat them in a straight-up fight. Now if you get clever and come up with a good strategy...

This thread invites you to discuss your interest and opinions in the role-play concept. If appropriate, it will double as the OOC repository. For those of you coming in late, that means any OOC comments or discussion is to take place here.

I would definitely be interested, given the last attempt at such an rp sort of ... well ... fell flat, unfortunately.

Some guidelines on power levels and such would be great - more than willing to play whatever keeps things interesting. This could be a lot of fun, in a horribly dark creepy sort of way. Most excellent.

~~ The Dark Soul behind Renaldi






(go the melodrama!)

I'll post guidelines if there's sufficient interest in such a role-play. If not, then we'll just let this thread die. :-)

I am interested in putting a character into this.

I'm in. You know it.

Tag for the possible addition of a character.

Edit: Additional questions about this thread and the campaign in general.

Are there any limitations prior to seeing our characters that you want to place upon merits/flaws? I imagine you will be looking at our characters in one way or another to make sure that they are not abusive (for example, taking "Flesh of the Dead" flaw with a Nosferatu character for the bonus points knowing the flaw won't effect you much), however I know full well that sometimes story tellers like to limit these things.

Also, would you mind me telegraming you my character (when I'm done)? I feel it would be more interesting to others if I gave you all the information and then RPed disaplines, nature, demeanor and so on to leave the group to figure it out on their own. There could be issues with this depending on the style of RP and all but it could be fun to RP my public image with the hidden reality only hinted at as appropriate.

Thanks

I can do something small with four people; I'll have to hold off on the OMG Grand Event, though. Anyone else?

Having never RP'd a vampire before, the chance to do so in a controlled setting appeals to me. Though I am curious as to what types of material should be read up on. Getting a V:tM2.0 Rulebook seems expensive for a free game.

Any suggestions, good sir?

Neither has Gehenna... though I imagine that this is more centred on the roleplay itself and not the rule aspects. I've already explained some of the basic background to Gehenna from the world of Darkness, though I've not really covered any of the rules. So I suppose if you really feel like you want to know something ask me on IRC.

Given the lack of overwhelming response, I'm considering a much less...sweeping story. Something a little smaller in scope, suitable for newer players. The original idea being pushed requires a bit more participation.

I'll wait until after the holidays, then I'll post some ground rules, House Rules and assist people in getting their characters set up.

After much delay (please trust me when I say you don't want to hear the details) let's set some ground rules for this game.

First of all, this will be a fairly low-powered introduction. We'll start the Generations at 11 and higher.

Second, we'll place this story in Devras, modern-day Dominion of Dread Lady Nathicana. That saves me from having to dig out any maps from places I used to live (or worse, places I don't live). While Italian is the primary language of the Dominion, I don't require anyone to actually speak it. If you use a language that isn't English, I require you to provide a translation with your post so at least I understand what you said, even if no one else does.

Third, you can build your character meticulously along the rules of White Wolf Vampire character generation, or you can lay down some basic details (Clan, powers, name and gender) and fill in some of the rest later. I will trust people to be good role-players and not have every talent/advantage that becomes appropriate, but I shan't be rigid about it unless it becomes obvious that I need to be. If you want something special for your character that's worth a lot of points in the White Wolf system or is otherwise unorthodox, please discuss it with me before you invoke it.

Last but not least, I'm going to declare Devras (for the moment) to be held by the Camarilla. For those of you not familiar with it, the Camarilla is an organisation of Vampires dedicated to preserving the status quo. The older and more powerful the Vampire, the more respect and power they tend to possess within this organisation. They are directly opposed by the Sabbat, and organisation of younger and more profligate Vampires dedicated to wiping out all of the Elders and exploiting humankind as the cattle they are.

Ultimately what this means to those of you who choose to play is that your characters are fairly young, relatively weak Vampires who have to play by the rules of the Camarilla. Those rules include not revealing yourselves to mortals, respecting older vampires and above all, obeying the commands of the Prince of the city, one Davide Brodi. Living under the rules of the Camarilla is not always easy; Vampires are bloodsucking fiends from beyond the grave, and the drive to feed can force them to reveal themselves if they're not careful. Also, Elders are insanely paranoid of those under them, and constantly test their loyalty. It's like trying to climb a corporate ladder that has no exit strategy for the upper tiers.

That's it in a nutshell for now. I will open the floor to questions. Specific questions and concerns for your individual characters should be handled through telegram, please.