A nice game of Vampire:TM?

[Imperial Overlord]

Yes, I most definitely meant Tony. The political situation is somewhat unstable (so players have something to do), but to be brief the anarchs like to hold the Camies to their theoretical responsibilities and talk loudly about their short comings in order to score political points. Also, under the the law they are entitled to full protection under the law as long as they behave in a lawful manner.

[LadyTevar]

Yes, there is a comment I read in Nitram's pdf of the main Rulebook that said a Ventrue would sometimes take a punch just so they could intimidate an oppenent.

Reminds me, modern Ventrue are pussies. Medieval Ventrue would sometimes take a sword blow to intimidate an opponent.

How many modern opponents use swords?

Personally, I'd pull a Superman and let a bullet or two bounce off me.

[Dahak]

What about some mutual physical descriptions of our relevant characters?

[Imperial Overlord]

Reminds me, modern Ventrue are pussies. Medieval Ventrue would sometimes take a sword blow to intimidate an opponent.

How many modern opponents use swords?

Personally, I'd pull a Superman and let a bullet or two bounce off me.

Considering that a sword will fuck up a vampire worse than bullet . . . . . still pussies.

[SirNitram]

Reminds me, modern Ventrue are pussies. Medieval Ventrue would sometimes take a sword blow to intimidate an opponent.

How many modern opponents use swords?

Personally, I'd pull a Superman and let a bullet or two bounce off me.

Considering that a sword will fuck up a vampire worse than bullet . . . . . still pussies.

Primium is more easily assembled into a blade than a clip of bullets.

Something a Tremere learned with horrific consequences.

[Imperial Overlord]

Primium is more easily assembled into a blade than a clip of bullets.

Something a Tremere learned with horrific consequences.

Primium is nasty shit, no doubt about that. That's why the Tremere had Gargoyles to tank that shit and then tear the offender's arms off. Of course, that's also how the Tremere added the Gangrel and the Nosferatu to their enemies list.

[Dahak]

btw, do we open a character thread, or simply go along as we speak? Previous games always had that character thread, so I was wondering...

[Civil War Man]

What about some mutual physical descriptions of our relevant characters?

Might as well.

Already kinda went over the way Jack dresses. You're probably never going to see him in a fine suit or silk shirts. He wears the kind of clothes you can wear out in the wilderness without much worry of messing them up. Jeans, burlaps, and since he woke from torpor various synthetic fabrics.

He's black (or African-American, if you prefer), though he only has really dark skin when compared to all these pasty white British vampires that seem to be running around. Brown eyes, black hair. His hair is generally neatly kept and cut fairly short, though it usually doesn't matter much since he's often wearing the hat described during his introduction.

As for build, he has outstanding physical conditioning (not very surprising considering the amount of exercise he would have been getting daily prior to his death, and he's generally been keeping up that level of activity even afterwards). Probably similarly built to a heavyweight boxer. Not quite Barry Bonds, but not that far off.

[Eris]

What about some mutual physical descriptions of our relevant characters?

I'd rather do it here than think of how I might want to work it in elsewhere. It's easier to reference at least, and I'm feeling lazy besides.

Kerstin appears to be a young woman in her mid- to late-twenties, with slight features and a general smallness to her, both with regards to her height and otherwise. She's lithe, although not terribly so, like an athlete who hasn't managed to keep quite in top form, which might be related to how she walks. She favours her left leg, even if the limp does not appear to hinder her all that much. She was fair-skinned in life, with very light shoulder-length brown hair. Her skin of course is now pale enough that the only difference between her and a corpse is a shade of grey, while her hair's darkened from lack of sun, worsening the condition. In keeping with her general lack of pigment, she has grey eyes. Pretty enough if you favour that kind of delicate belle look, but nothing that really stands out.

That is until she opens her mouth. She's speaks with a clear southern German accent, although by choice rather than necessity. However, her inflection and style are, to a trained ear, terribly confusing; she borrows linguistic habits from everywhere, often adapting idiosyncracies from one language for use in an entirely different following rules that only she can figure out. The totality of the effect is not unpleasing, and certainly memorable.

[Dahak]

That is until she opens her mouth. She's speaks with a clear southern German accent, although by choice rather than necessity.

Southern German? Swabian or Bavarian? There's a whole world of difference here

[Ritterin Sophia]

Mercedes is a cute little ten year old of Prussian descent, and althrough she at one time had a heavyaccent it is nearly indistinguishable now. She's your typical Baby Doll, with blonde hair and blue eyes, as you can guess for someone who wants to be taken seriously this annoys her to no end, thus she tries and look older than her physical body is. She normally keeps her soulder-length hair back with a barret.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Rider, a young man in his apparent 20's, of mixed ancestry, kinda thin and scrawnylooking, favours high end department store clothes, and old granny glasses (cheap black wrap around shades). tends to wear all black, (going for the johnny cash look).

[Dahak]

Kyle is an exceptionally good-looking young man, tall, lithe, and well-muscled, but not too buff. His (apparent) age is about 19, but with a certain style and decorum about him that screams nobility and makes him seem older than he really is. Shoulder-long black hair surrounds a friendly face with high cheekbones and piercing green eyes.
He dresses always immaculate, preferably hand-tailored suits.

[Mark S]

I think I described him already but Brother Devon is of average height, with a bushy mane of dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He is in good physical shape but not overly muscled or sculpted and appears to be a man in his thirties. In life he was well preserved by clean living but has tanned, calloused skin from years of hard work and sun. His ears are elongated from a frenzy.

[Imperial Overlord]

Everything in the game thread is in character. Out of character comments go here. If you wish to invoke the dreaded game mechanics, write it out in your description or bracket that nasty business. Example:

"Hello," said Martin in his usual suave manner. The Toreodor extended his hand while sureptitiously examining the new comer's aura. [Auspex 2]

Overkill, because its mentioned and bracketed, but clear.

[rhoenix]

I made a request to join a while ago, but haven't followed up on it until now. So, to rectify this - is it too late to make a character and join in? I've a character I've been wanting to play in table-top for more than a year, but have not had yet had the chance.

[Imperial Overlord]

I made a request to join a while ago, but haven't followed up on it until now. So, to rectify this - is it too late to make a character and join in? I've a character I've been wanting to play in table-top for more than a year, but have not had yet had the chance.

No, it isn't too late.

[rhoenix]

Alright, here we go.

My character's mortal name was Michael Kergan, and he seemed to have a small propensity for Mage influence, even at an early age - Space (or Correspondence, if you prefer) was his leaning. He joined the Army, having a natural tactical skill (as a result of his being able to percieve things from different points of view) when he was 18.

He went for a standard tour (ending with the first Iraq war), and didn't re-enlist, opting instead for studies with a man he met who seemed to share his interest for Space, while attending college. During his tutelage and association with his teacher, he met and ran into from time to time a woman named Deviki, who he knew to have something...off about her, though always seemed knowledgable about magic, and rather charming herself, in a dark sort of way.

One night as he was walking home from attending actual college classes, he heard a woman being assaulted in an alleyway.

After having a brief internal struggle, he walked up to try to help the woman/ During the struggle, both the other men were severely hurt, but Michael had been shot through a major artery, and was rapidly bleeding to death during the struggle. The woman passed out from blood loss as well, and Michael was losing conciousness when he saw Deviki standing over him on his left, shaking her head, with his teacher doing the same on his right.

"Well, I suppose there really is no alternative. Are you sure that he won't have to be a part of too many devious plots, Deviki?", his teacher said. At this point, he had closed his eyes, and was starting to slip.

"Oh, his way of seeing things will be good with my particular circle. We don't deal much with the Warrior caste, you know." Deviki's words were beginning to sound a little further away.

"Well, hurry up and ask him. He still will want to think about it, and as you can see, he doesn't have much time." His teacher put pressure on the wound to help staunch it, but the damage was already too far gone.

Deviki knelt before Michael, lying prone in the alley, and his eyes fluttered open to see her helping him sit upright. "Michael, you're too far gone for us to save you in time. But, I have an alternative to offer."

Michael's right eyebrow rose upward, and he continued staring at her.

"I can give you eternal life, at the cost of never seeing the sun again. You will crave the blood the beats within you now even more than you do right now, and I will teach you to use it to accomplish great things. Or, you can die here, and we will toast your passing this time every year. So, what do you say?" Her slight Lebonese accent was still perceptable, especially now when she was somewhat excited.

Michael stared at her a moment more before taking a deep breath and stared at the ground for a few moments before speaking, with a slight slir. "You mean becoming a vampire, I take it."

She continued looking at him, before smiling somewhat and nodding in response.

He looked back at her, and nodded.

Ever since then, he had gone back to the great mountain home of her clan: Alamut. There, the Children of Haqim walked as many roommates of an immense community. The Warrior caste dwelt mostly in the lower reaches; the Sorceror and Vizier Castes called some of the upper reaches home, respectively.

He and Deviki didn't stay much with the Viziers, though they did stay in constant contact with the other Sorcerors, teaching him how to use his abilities, and how to ply their particular trade with care and pride. As well they should, for it was magic. He quickly learned that most of their time was normally spent working on a way to break the hated curse the Tremere had placed upon their clan, centuries before.

ur-Shulgi awakening affected the entire clan, and immediately. Upon waking and learning that it's clan had been placed under the Blood Curse, it in one night broke the curse that had crippled the clan for so long. However, it did not completely leave the clan - the members of the clan descended from ur-Shulgi in some way were all freed from it, but the rest had it merely weakened.

As if to follow up with another trick, the old one immediately called all Assamites back to the mountain - a move unprecidented in recent times. It said that the clans of the world now were wicked, and that their destruction must begin.

One Sorcerer stepped forth to question the old one - Al-Ashrad. He argued eloquently and vehemently that the Assamites' best work now was to act as mediators, not as judge and executioner in one. ur-Shulgi struck down the speech once he was done as "ridiculous nonsense," and dismissed Al-Ashrad.

Very soon after that, Al-Ashrad gathered as many of the Assamites that believed as he, and left the great mountain, beginning the Schism.

Michael (now called Kergan Prasad) and his sire Deviki joined with Al-Ashrad and many others in trying to find refuge in the Camarilla. The Viziers primarily spoke for the others, as that was their talent, and they were cautiously accepted, though they all knew that they would be scrutinized for many, many years to come.

Kergan and Deviki are currently renting a house together until they go their separate ways, though they still are friends from working in close proximity for so long.

* * *

As an Assamite Sorcerer, Kergan Prasad begins with Obfuscate, Assamite Sorcery, and Quietus. Because of his sire Deviki in this background, I would give him a Mentor of 3, especially because he still can talk to the others in the Sorceror caste relatively easily, and possibly get tidbits of information - but favors would be frowned upon unless something very much worth their while is in it for them, which is much less likely now, as none of them want to arouse any suspicion whatsoever by the Camarilla. They're effectively trying to make this their home, and adapting to the new rules and not making trouble, as they no longer have a home.

He has a weakened version of the Blood Curse, in which imbibing vampire blood directly causes him a point of normal damage (not aggravated) per blood point drunk.

His primary path for Assamite Sorcery would be the Blood path, just to keep it in sync with Thaumaturgy in the beginning. I could see him getting the Path of Flame and perhaps Spirit Manipulation as paths.

EDIT: I took the information from the Assamite Handbook as far as history and current events for the Assamites, as it seemed the Schism would be best as a character for playing in this group.

So, how was that?

[The Yosemite Bear]

this is vampire not mage....

[rhoenix]

this is vampire not mage....

Right. He's an Assamite, specifically of the Assamite Sorceror caste.

[LadyTevar]

this is vampire not mage....

Right. He's an Assamite, specifically of the Assamite Sorceror caste.

WTF is an Assamite doing in Vancouver?

[rhoenix]

WTF is an Assamite doing in Vancouver?

As for that, my character has no home now. I imagine the Schismatic Assamites would be trying to find refuge and a new home in most places. Vancouver, Canada sounds like a relatively quiet place to catch one's breath.

Just as an aside for those who haven't had the benefit of reading the clanbook (which I quite like), Assamite Sorcerors don't do contracts or blood tythes very much, if at all. They normally chase mystical knowledge, or hunt down Baali on the rare occasions they appear.

My character and his sire would simply be looking to settle into this town, under the sponsorship and good word of both the de facto leader of the Schismatic Assamite Sorcerors, Al-Ashrad, and the Vizier Tegyrius. There would be no illusions as to what we are by those we approach for sponsorship, or for refuge.

[Imperial Overlord]

Right. He's an Assamite, specifically of the Assamite Sorceror caste.

WTF is an Assamite doing in Vancouver?[/quote]

We have a fair number of Middle Eastern people in Vancouver and the city is a good place for an ambitious Schismatic. There are a few problems first:

1) There is no such thing as a guy with apptitude of Correspondance. There are Mages with Awakened Avatars who are skilled at Correspondance. Mages, who practice magic and who have Awakenings, the most important event in their lives.

2) Assamites tend not to casually embrace.

3) You omitted the horrific agony of being severed from your Avatar with the Embrace.

4) Most vampire mages are not mages as mortals.


Redue the character as a mere mortal while alive. Gods, I think I just had contact with New World of Darkness Mage. I think I need a shower.

[rhoenix]

We have a fair number of Middle Eastern people in Vancouver and the city is a good place for an ambitious Schismatic.

Good, good. I rather liked this character concept.

There are a few problems first:

1) There is no such thing as a guy with apptitude of Correspondance. There are Mages with Awakened Avatars who are skilled at Correspondance. Mages, who practice magic and who have Awakenings, the most important event in their lives.

Correct. I did not mean to imply that he kept Correspondence, let alone any other Mage skill or talent with Spheres after his Embrace - it merely paved the way for him to learn Assamite Sorcery.

2) Assamites tend not to casually embrace.

Also true. Admittedly, the dramatic embracing bit is a little contrived, but it seemed to work for now.

3) You omitted the horrific agony of being severed from your Avatar with the Embrace.

My apologies - I thought it simply and quietly severed contact, as if one's sight were cut off.

4) Most vampire mages are not mages as mortals.

This is also true, but it seemed a good reason for the Assamite Sorcerors to become interested in him, should he become a candidate.

Redue the character as a mere mortal while alive.

I simply placed that in there for storyline and background reasons, and did not mean to imply in any way, shape, or form that I start with a Mage Sphere or anything of the sort. If anything, given the background as I re-read it, it might give my character a slight leaning toward Auspex. I apparently didn't make that as clear as I'd have liked at the end of my post.

If it truly is a problem in his background, then fine, we can simply say he was mortal, and not a Mage, though I think it explains his somewhat bookish habits for researching the odd, and adds a nice character touch - it didn't alter his stats as a beginning character in any way.

Gods, I think I just had contact with New World of Darkness Mage. I think I need a shower.

Though it is understandable of you to assume I was going the munchkin route, I had hoped to make it clear that I wanted to play this character for character reasons, not because I was trying to have a Lich or have an unstoppable murdering assassin - if I were trying to do that, I would've tried to make him a Web of Knives recruit as well.

This aside, are we making these characters essentially as beginning-level 2nd edition characters?

And apart from the issues addressed above, does my character concept and rough background look alright to begin playing yet?

[Imperial Overlord]

Let me be clear

1) I was not accusing you of being a munchkin. I was accusing you of having a poorly worked out background.

2) Having your avatar awaken, your magical training and associations, and losing your avatar would be the most important events in your character's life AND YOU PROVIDED NO DETAIL ON IT. AT ALL. IT WAS NOT THE BACKGROUND OF A MAGE.

3) I repeat most vampire mages do not embrace magically interested people because:
a) they're rare and usually not interested.

b) magic is bullshit. Most occultists are weak minded fools dabbling in stuff that doesn't work. Tremere, for example, don't bother with them. An at least partially awakened avatar is needed to make even hedge magic function and most occultists don't have that, let alone the connection required to do True Magick.

4) Demonstrating the intellectual abilities, drive, and strength of will necessary to become a good blood magician (and it is a nasty business) are the traits they look for.

5) Rare, but not unheard of, supernatural talents like aura reading or esp also can draw their attention. If your background must include supernatural talents (say translating into Auspex or Thaumaturgy in undeath) that is also permissable.