An update on recent technical problems and more from the admin: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/250292/on-technical-difficulties-mod-coverage-and-other-things/p1?new=1
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[VtR] The Aster Courts OOC
Arivia
I Like A ChallengeEarth-1Registered User regular
I Like A ChallengeEarth-1Registered User regular
There are places you don't go in Birmingham. Every British city has its bad parts, but the City of a Thousand Trades has a plague. No matter how much the city center grows and shines and becomes technologically adept, no matter how many police boots hit the streets, boils and cancers fester throughout.
Not every civic initiative is good or just or helpful. City councils in Britain set up many public housing projects - tenements of tiny concrete apartments jammed together and left to rot. The Aster Courts in Birmingham are one of the worst examples of this: a hive of drug-dealing, gun-running, and criminal enterprise, fought over by gangs angry at the establishment and their own horrible lives in the World of Darkness. Between the tenements, the ruined and decaying bars and shops, and the dark and secret basements where the worst horrors go on, the Aster Courts are a paradise for any Kindred. A feeding ground where the police never enter, a rich and willing source of influence and power.
Things are never that simple, however. Birmingham's urbane and centered Kindred fear the Aster Courts. Something terrible lurks there - a horrible Prince of his own little kingdom, who doesn't answer to anything but the rule of tooth and fang. His name is Cromwell, a Gangrel monster who sleeps where he likes, eats what he wants, and kills whoever gets in his way. Cromwell and his brood rule the Aster Courts with the lightest of hands. If you don't get in the bestial Prince's way, anything goes: including the Embrace.
That's your own problem, really. Disaffected youth, the lot of you: friends for ages, grew up together, became a gang together. You sat together in old Stuart's Chip Shop at midnight, yellowing blinds drawn, fish chunks from the North Sea thrown together on the cardboard plates in front of you. Eating silently, pointlessly, thinking about tomorrow's job, shift, hit. And then it happened - the window smashed open - a body thrown in, smacking against the counter, a wet "thump."
You're used to this - you've seen your fair share of corpses, shoved a few down ditches. But this was different: he moved. He got up and licked the blood from his face and ran his tongue over those terrible razor-sharp fangs. Those animal eyes looked right into you, stilled you, locked you in those plastic chairs. And he lept for you - beat you down, no matter how much you kicked and fought, if you knocked him in the head with your pipe or shanked him or emptied your pistol into his side.
You lost. And as he held your wrists down - as he drank greedily from your neck - you collapsed and could see his friends doing the same to the rest of your friends. You - you great lords and ladies of Aster Court - were nothing but weaklings to them. To these horrors. And as the darkness came over you, as you slipped away, you couldn't help but think: "This is it?"
And just after you thought you were dead, just when you awoke with that monstrous inhuman hunger that stalks you night and day, that terrible feral Beast locked around your heart that drives you to rages, just as you took that first ragged hacking breath through dead bones and pointless lungs, as your skin felt cold and ashen: they came. The man you'd later find out was named Cromwell and his terrible brood, muscle-bound dirty savages who tore into what would have been your sires. They burst into the chip shop just like the others had, but with murder on their minds: inhumanly quick and strong. They tore your sires limb from limb, splatters of blood drenching the floor and ceiling, gore coating the walls.
Cromwell, the stench of garbage thick in his matted hair, kneeled over you, his soiled rags for clothing touching your skin. He sniffed you, up and down, like a dog. He sniffed, and leaned back on his haunches. "You..." his voice deep and rough. "You may live." He coughed - a cough that turned into a horrible choking laugh, more of a shriek than anything human. "You may live, worm: for the nothing that's worth." The Prince and his pack left the scene, and you crawled to each other amid the destruction.
"What do we do now?"
Welcome to Vampire: The Requiem: The Aster Courts. This is a political game, set among the tenements and hovels of today's slums. We're not thinking high concept here: there's no storied Elysiums, no Ventrue controlling paragons of finance, and no Havens hidden in S&M clubs. This is brutal, and short, and quick: you're going to need to live by your fists as much as your words, and think and fight better than everyone else to come out on top. This is the World of Darkness ruled by a feral animal, everyone trying to keep to their own and stay alive.
The game starts one year after the events described above, giving you time to learn the ropes of the Requiem, join a covenant, etc. You're getting back together in your old gang, feeling lonely and vulnerable - and not willing to let the scraps of your humanity slip away that much more.
Note that the covenants do exist in the Courts - there's not many Kindred, maybe enough for two coteries per covenant, but they are there.
Character Creation:
-As per the basic rules from the World of Darkness Rulebook and Vampire: The Requiem.
-You may exchange two points of Humanity for XP as per the rules.
-Make sure you have at least two dots in a combat skill (Brawl, Firearms, Weaponry.) Weapons aren't hard to come by in the Aster Courts: you can have one weapon of your choice for free as long as it costs Resources ●●● or less.
-What I'm looking for are (5 or so) characters with background and drive (meaning goals, not a car.) My last attempt at running a World of Darkness game pbp failed because of players never posting, so a solid history or interest in the boards is a plus.
-You're welcome to use material from supplements, but you might want to run it by me to make sure that it's appropriate first (and so that your character doesn't get crossed out because of that.) Watch out for goofy Bloodlines especially.
Submissions are over! Above kept for posterity.
edit: I can't believe I forgot this somehow. It's a play by post game.
Our cast is:
Shaun Avery (Sway), Unaligned Nosferatu played by Glandmine.
Isaac, Unaligned Mekhet played by MoosehatIV.
Joseph Jarvis, Carthian Gangrel played by Silas Brown.
Colton Jarvis, Invictus Ventrue played by jdarksun.
John, Unaligned Gangrel played by Suicide Slyde.
Not every civic initiative is good or just or helpful. City councils in Britain set up many public housing projects - tenements of tiny concrete apartments jammed together and left to rot. The Aster Courts in Birmingham are one of the worst examples of this: a hive of drug-dealing, gun-running, and criminal enterprise, fought over by gangs angry at the establishment and their own horrible lives in the World of Darkness. Between the tenements, the ruined and decaying bars and shops, and the dark and secret basements where the worst horrors go on, the Aster Courts are a paradise for any Kindred. A feeding ground where the police never enter, a rich and willing source of influence and power.
Things are never that simple, however. Birmingham's urbane and centered Kindred fear the Aster Courts. Something terrible lurks there - a horrible Prince of his own little kingdom, who doesn't answer to anything but the rule of tooth and fang. His name is Cromwell, a Gangrel monster who sleeps where he likes, eats what he wants, and kills whoever gets in his way. Cromwell and his brood rule the Aster Courts with the lightest of hands. If you don't get in the bestial Prince's way, anything goes: including the Embrace.
That's your own problem, really. Disaffected youth, the lot of you: friends for ages, grew up together, became a gang together. You sat together in old Stuart's Chip Shop at midnight, yellowing blinds drawn, fish chunks from the North Sea thrown together on the cardboard plates in front of you. Eating silently, pointlessly, thinking about tomorrow's job, shift, hit. And then it happened - the window smashed open - a body thrown in, smacking against the counter, a wet "thump."
You're used to this - you've seen your fair share of corpses, shoved a few down ditches. But this was different: he moved. He got up and licked the blood from his face and ran his tongue over those terrible razor-sharp fangs. Those animal eyes looked right into you, stilled you, locked you in those plastic chairs. And he lept for you - beat you down, no matter how much you kicked and fought, if you knocked him in the head with your pipe or shanked him or emptied your pistol into his side.
You lost. And as he held your wrists down - as he drank greedily from your neck - you collapsed and could see his friends doing the same to the rest of your friends. You - you great lords and ladies of Aster Court - were nothing but weaklings to them. To these horrors. And as the darkness came over you, as you slipped away, you couldn't help but think: "This is it?"
And just after you thought you were dead, just when you awoke with that monstrous inhuman hunger that stalks you night and day, that terrible feral Beast locked around your heart that drives you to rages, just as you took that first ragged hacking breath through dead bones and pointless lungs, as your skin felt cold and ashen: they came. The man you'd later find out was named Cromwell and his terrible brood, muscle-bound dirty savages who tore into what would have been your sires. They burst into the chip shop just like the others had, but with murder on their minds: inhumanly quick and strong. They tore your sires limb from limb, splatters of blood drenching the floor and ceiling, gore coating the walls.
Cromwell, the stench of garbage thick in his matted hair, kneeled over you, his soiled rags for clothing touching your skin. He sniffed you, up and down, like a dog. He sniffed, and leaned back on his haunches. "You..." his voice deep and rough. "You may live." He coughed - a cough that turned into a horrible choking laugh, more of a shriek than anything human. "You may live, worm: for the nothing that's worth." The Prince and his pack left the scene, and you crawled to each other amid the destruction.
"What do we do now?"
Welcome to Vampire: The Requiem: The Aster Courts. This is a political game, set among the tenements and hovels of today's slums. We're not thinking high concept here: there's no storied Elysiums, no Ventrue controlling paragons of finance, and no Havens hidden in S&M clubs. This is brutal, and short, and quick: you're going to need to live by your fists as much as your words, and think and fight better than everyone else to come out on top. This is the World of Darkness ruled by a feral animal, everyone trying to keep to their own and stay alive.
The game starts one year after the events described above, giving you time to learn the ropes of the Requiem, join a covenant, etc. You're getting back together in your old gang, feeling lonely and vulnerable - and not willing to let the scraps of your humanity slip away that much more.
Note that the covenants do exist in the Courts - there's not many Kindred, maybe enough for two coteries per covenant, but they are there.
Character Creation:
-As per the basic rules from the World of Darkness Rulebook and Vampire: The Requiem.
-You may exchange two points of Humanity for XP as per the rules.
-Make sure you have at least two dots in a combat skill (Brawl, Firearms, Weaponry.) Weapons aren't hard to come by in the Aster Courts: you can have one weapon of your choice for free as long as it costs Resources ●●● or less.
-What I'm looking for are (5 or so) characters with background and drive (meaning goals, not a car.) My last attempt at running a World of Darkness game pbp failed because of players never posting, so a solid history or interest in the boards is a plus.
-You're welcome to use material from supplements, but you might want to run it by me to make sure that it's appropriate first (and so that your character doesn't get crossed out because of that.) Watch out for goofy Bloodlines especially.
Submissions are over! Above kept for posterity.
edit: I can't believe I forgot this somehow. It's a play by post game.
Our cast is:
Shaun Avery (Sway), Unaligned Nosferatu played by Glandmine.
Isaac, Unaligned Mekhet played by MoosehatIV.
Joseph Jarvis, Carthian Gangrel played by Silas Brown.
Colton Jarvis, Invictus Ventrue played by jdarksun.
John, Unaligned Gangrel played by Suicide Slyde.
Arivia on
0
Posts
http://www.dust514stats.com
I do have access to the Requiem and WoD rulebooks and can maintain a consistent and high posting frequency.
I'll be working on something in the mean time.
Edit here is what I have right now.
Apparent age: 20
Hair color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: White
Nationality: Canadian
Height: 6 foot 5 inches
Weight: 310 lbs
Bloodline: Nosferatu
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Squirrel's most distinguishing characteristic is he's massive, once you get beyond his size you'll start to notice he doesn't look human. His skin is as white as a bleached sheet, his eyes match his skin, and his teeth match as well. His hair is a very dark brown, which, when let hang reaches down to his shoulders. He smells as if he has not showered for a week, which isn't a real change from when he was actually alive. He can usually be identified by his ever present hoodie, with the hood pulled up, his hair in his face and the filthy pair of cargo pants he wear, that is if you hadn't smelled him coming first.
Background:
Sammuel "Squirrel" Blackstone was born in Toronto, Canada. He and his parents moved to Birmingham just after his birth when his father was offered a new position within the bank he worked for. A few weeks after arriving his father was killed in a bank robbery at the branch he was working at. Squirrel as his friends came to call him spent much of his younger days running the streets with a few of the other children from the tenements his mother moved them into after his fathers death. she worked two jobs just to keep up with the rent and keep them both fed. Squirrel stole his first computer when he was twelve. He then spent most of the next two years learning everything he could about how to use it, by locking himself in a storage closet in his apartment buildings basement, and spending every moment he could pouring over the system. when it finally broke down he tore it apart and learned everything he could about it's internals. He used his new knowledge to build a new system for himself, between buying parts with money earned from fixing systems for people, to doing freelance coding for various, "enterprises" that worked in the Courts. By the time he turned nineteen he had a rather large investment portfolio and his own place. It was a small two bedroom apartment under a local diner. It was originally a bomb shelter and had all the comforts he had wanted, no windows, only one way in, and near one of his local hang outs, Stuart's Chip shop. he would meet clients there or hang out with the few people who were willing to sit near him, some of his childhood friends from the block. Even before the fateful night where he was brought into the kindred he smelled like a two week old glass of milk. He had always considered showering a waste of his time, which could be better spent building a new cypher or fixing a computer. His odor did have one benefit most people in the Courts would give him a wide berth, and many that knew he had some money would leave him alone as to mug him would involve getting near him. After he was gifted undeath, or cursed depending on who you spoke with, it didn't affect his life much. he had almost always been awake all night and slept during the day. The odor that fell off him did change. it went from the smell of bad milk to that of a dead wet dog, most people didn't notice a difference as both made their eyes water.
Stats
Vice: Wrath
Attributes
Wits: 3
Resolve: 2
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 2
Presence: 1
Manipulation: 2
Composure: 3
Size: 5
Speed: 11
Initiative Mod: 6
Defense: 3
Armor: 1/2 (kevlar vest)
Health: 7
Willpower: 5
Skills
Computer: 4
Crafts: 2
Investigation: 1
Occult: 2
Brawl: 2
Drive: 1
Firearms: 2
Larceny: 2
Intimidation: 4
Skill Specialties
Computers (Data Retrieval)
Crafts (Computer Repair)
Investigation (Cryptography)
Firearms (Pistol -Glock 17)
Merits
Direction Sense
Resource 2
Haven size 1
Haven Security 2
Disciplines
Notes
+10 experience from sacrificing 2 humanity
spent 4 experience for haven security 2
spent 3 experience for specialty cryptography
spent 3 experience for specialty pistol glock 17
Equipment
Kevlar Vest
http://www.dust514stats.com
edit: and of course, feel free to ask for help if you're having trouble figuring things out.
Oddly enough, it isn't. We'll just call a standard (+0 bonus computer) as needing Resources 2.
http://www.dust514stats.com
I am free on weekends, but only have enough time to post a couple times during the week.
Bleh. I still might make up a character though.
and to be double-nice we'll make that midnight PST so no one gets shafted.
Dammit geography.
"Yeah, fuck you too. You think I'm not good enough to make it out of the Courts? Think I'm stupid? You'll see, you little shite. Well... You, specifically, won't see shit after tonight."
History
Dani Briden's lived a hard life, scraping by where she could on the streets. Her mother died before she was ten, her father had never been in the picture, and she was forced to scrounge, beg, and steal for a living, hiding from the pimps who wanted to sell her pretty face on the street, until she finally managed to land a minimum-wage job working late at Stuart's Chips. Well, less than minimum-wage. It fed her, and let her actually buy some clothes from the charity store up the way, but at the end of the day she still went home to her hideout in the basement of a half-burned out tenement with the other squatters, when her crazy temper didn't get her in the middle of a street fight, trying not to get shivved by the crazier residents.
She doesn't talk about how hard she's had it with her friends, they don't need to know. Besides, she's smart, driven, and she's got a plan to get out. She just needs more money, and money's hard to find in the Aster Courts. Nobody has any, after all. If you've got money, you stay the hell out.
Then the Embrace happened, and everything changed. She was stronger. A lot stronger. She didn't need to hide, at least, she didn't need to hide everything. She was... more, more than she had ever been. It was the edge she had needed her whole life, and she grabbed it with both hands. A small gang of Awed street criminals kept her fed, and when they were too tired to let her drink their blood, she fed from the squatters living above her 'Haven,' the heavily locked furnace and utility room she slept in during the day.
The only thing holding her back is the explosive fits of rage she's been experiencing. It's so hard to hold her temper back, and the blood tastes so good when it starts flowing. She needs more than just her little herd to get out of the courts, and after a year of pulling a semblance of a life together, she's going back to where it all started, to see if her old friends can help her avoid slipping away into madness.
Appearance
Despite being frequently dirt-stained or blood-spattered, Dani somehow manages to turn heads wherever she goes. Before the Embrace, she hid herself under unflattering clothing and infrequent showers, but since her Turning, she's happy to take advantage of her natural looks to Awe mortals and find prey to feed on, although it's all a bit tarnished by the Aster Courts. Long brunette hair, always slightly tangled and messy, falls down past her shoulders, framing glittering brown eyes and a smile that's just a little too predatory. She always dresses without regard for the weather, preferring to show off her superbly shaped body and the faint scars that mark her arms, remnants of her days as a mortal on the streets.
Merits
Haven
A thoroughly-locked boiler/utility room in the basement of a burned-out tenement, it provides the security Dani needs to sleep easy. It's also convenient to have other squatters on the floors above, for when Dani needs a quick snack after waking up. She's tapped into the power and water lines, so she has lighting and can wash herself off when necessary.
Herd
A small group of Awed thieves and drug dealers that Dani feeds on when she doesn't feel like hunting. They're a bad lot, but they're kept under control by their fear of Dani's explosive rages and her frequent use of Majesty.
Resources
Pitiful leavings from Dani's herd, as well as protection money that she beats out of some of the squatters in 'her' building.
Isaac
Mehket
Brotherhood of Ypres
http://sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/13455
Background:
He blew all of his chances of going to medical school by being expelled for selling the answers to tests. He screamed that it wasn't fair, that he deserved better than everything that happened to him. After that, he gave up on trying to leave. Using his knowledge of chemistry and fast mouth, he found he could make a tidy living selling drugs to the uneducated masses. But even this was not enough. He saw others with more than him. Half brain dead brutes running their own little drug empires and taking away from profits that were rightfully his. They didn't even deserve the low grade crack he sold them for extra money. Isaac knew that he was the genius and he deserved everything they had and more.
That is what brought him to the tiny diner. Isaac was meeting with some of his old crew, looking for people to run a job. A rival had a stash of dope worth a small fortune that was just waiting to be cut and sold. All he needed was a crew to break in and get it. But then, things got bloody. Very bloody. That was when Isaac died and things got worse.
Embrace:
Isaac woke up in a pool of blood and proceeded to nearly cough his lungs out on the floor. Even after he realized that he no longer needed to breathe, he felt that something was wrong. Later, he would hear other kindred describe the feeling of vitae in their bodies. Some would describe it like a burning fire, others like ice water trapped in their veins, no one ever described what Isaac felt. It felt like something was broken inside of him, like toxic waste had been spilled in his system. Instead of a raging inferno, he felt a cold acidic burning that slowly pumped its way through his body. Isaac doesn't remember much about waking up. It all seems like a broken dream. He remembers tearing someones throat out, and then the distinct memory of vomiting all of the blood up in an alleyway.
Finally, he remembers coming to on the cold stone floor of a rotting apartment building. His hands had a deathgrip on a bloody wallet he had taken from the corpse of his sire. Part of his dark, fume filled mind must have followed the address back here. That is where he discovered the haven left behind by his would be sire. This is also where he found the journals that explained to him just how broken he would be for the rest of his unlife. How he could only feed on the toxic blood of those mortals who are poisoned, just like him. But, he also found that his sire kept an impressive stock of rat poison and pesticides for just such occasions. Within the week, Isaac had all of his chemistry equipment in that little basement. It turns out, if someone is desperate enough, they will buy coke mixed with rat poison. It comes with a hell of a hangover though...
Description:
Isaac is short and wiry with slightly awkward features. His clothes always seem a little too large for him, especially the old army surplus jackets he has taken to wearing. His hair is short, and unstyled, yet seemingly stuck to his head with grease. He may not be much to look at, but get him talking and he can sell you the world.
He looks slightly out of place in the rough streets of Aster. But his looks make others underestimate him. Those that get a little too close realize that he always carries a knife and has a disturbing knowledge of human anatomy. A nick in the right place can do wonders.
http://sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/13454
Happy to tweak the character background to share history with others.
Honestly I didn't see my guy buying into a covenant at this stage. Possibly Society of the Accord, if any of the new Covs are on the table). Still, I think I'd rather go down the bloodsucking-council-goblin-to-whom-the-world's-edge-is-effectively-a-few-streets-away route for now.
@Rainfall: Blood Potency is 3 Merit dots to buy beyond 1 at the beginning, not 1 dot.
@Glandmine: I'd look at maybe opening up your skill specialties a little. There's nothing illegal or wrong with them, just that "Knives" works as well as "Shanking" and is a bit less rules-fiddly. If you like the flavour, I'd also just be fine interpreting them broadly.
Also I haven't actually read Danse Macabre! But I should! So I will!
http://sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/13478
http://www.dust514stats.com
looks fun, are we going with Stuart's chips gang for our little crew then?
http://www.dust514stats.com
http://sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/13495
Here's just the background and description:
Joseph set up a small time operation, by paying off drivers to leave trucks to be stolen. It didn't make much more money but let him throw more lavish parties for the company and earned more trust from the drivers. Concerned about the sudden rise in truck thefts, Joseph's father came to Birmingham and, disgusted by the parties and spurning of academics, he stripped Joesph of everything. Joseph managed to keep the operation, and his extra money, a secret. It was waiting for a delivery at Stuart's that Joseph met his undeath.
Joseph's operation, natural talents and new found abilities have enabled him to become a functional member of kindred society as a procurer of information, things, and sometimes people. Joseph found especially eager customers in the Invictus and recently joined their ranks hoping for advancement within the covenant and to expand his operation, plus the parties aren't half bad either.
Description:
Tall, slender faced, and clean shaven, Joesph can usually be seen in a sport jacket, bright dress shirt and black slacks. He usually carries himself with confidence but doesn't over do it, and rarely calls attention to himself in a crowd. Preferring to work the edge and engage people one on one. His nickname, "Smiles", comes from the constant grin on his face... although it might just be a bad pun. Prefers to go by the name Joseph but friends call him Smiles.
Also if the retainer doesn't jive with the overall theme I can drop him. Didn't seem right that a small time operator wouldn't at least have some sort of backup.
http://www.dust514stats.com
Wow, not sure exactly why I did that but it works for me.
I went ahead and finished the other character, however slightly revamped from the original, so if Smiles doesn't work for this game then I can use him instead. While his origin is similar to Dani, the two are very divergent on philosophies. Plus my job gives me nothing to do but time to think so I can probably crank out a third while I'm at work, if someone out there needs some help.