Lost Changeling? What's the Hunters' beef with them? Aside from the whole no longer human thing.
Essentially that they may be complete bsers and are actually body snatchers.... As opposed to being the formerely enslaved individual they claim to be...
Aside from that ITT it does basically come down to them being non-human for more blood thirsty hunters.
Changelings can be an odd lot. They can be nasty as hell, just in their day-to-day life of making Pledges and trying to avoid their Keepers. They aren't human, and they can do a lot of inhuman things. Most Hunters won't have a problem with them at first, but once you get started keeping your streets clear of the freaks, they're going to end up on the list.
Privateers are even worse, since they can actively be kidnapping people to send off to the Fae, and causing mayhem.
And, of course, you can get the True Fae as well, and those guys are just inhuman in every way. And to a Hunter, what's the difference between these? Not too much.
As Egos linked here it might just be because they're around eating emotions when bad stuff is going down and humans don't know if they caused it so they could feed or if they just happened to show up.
EDIT: Also, I'd really like to be a creepy gravedigger Hunter.
There was something posted before on the White Wolf forums that I definitely think can sum up just how inhuman Changelings can be. I held onto it as a possible story hook:
Your granma's in a nursing home. Lately she's been complaining about the new girl they hired, the one with the real pale skin and funny looking ears. There's something about that girl she doesn't like. Something downright cold. Weeks go by and things start to get worse. Your granma keeps having nightmares, her health starts to fail, and whenever you go to see her all she seems to do is cry. She's not the only one either; other residents, even the staff, seem to be losing what little spark of life they have. The next time you go to see your granma she tells you she just can't stand hurting like this before and asks you to please make it all go away. Of course that's when the new girl with the real pale skin and funny looking ears walks in wearing a sad smile and for the first time you notice just how pale her skin is and how funny looking her pointy ears are and how the temperature itself seems to drop when she's around. She says it's time for your granma to take her medicine. You look back too see your granma close her eyes and softly weep.
Definitely a good description of a Winter Courtier, I think.
What is the difference between "Status: Cop" and "Profession: Cop"?
I'm, except for the game "Bloodlines", fairly new to the World of Darkness and this confuses the hell out of me.
'Status: Cop' is effectively your status as a cop. Five dots means you're pretty much on top of the precinct, know everyone, can boss people around, etc etc.
'Professional Training: Cop' is how good of a cop you are. If you wanted to be an amazing cop who continually gets overlooked for promotions because the brass consider you a loose cannon, this is what you would invest in. The Professional Training Merit also gives you a bunch of skill/stat bonuses that are rather useful.
'Status: Cop' is effectively your status as a cop. Five dots means you're pretty much on top of the precinct, know everyone, can boss people around, etc etc.
'Professional Training: Cop' is how good of a cop you are. If you wanted to be an amazing cop who continually gets overlooked for promotions because the brass consider you a loose cannon, this is what you would invest in. The Professional Training Merit also gives you a bunch of skill/stat bonuses that are rather useful.
The nightmares are so real. Sometimes I wake up with sore arms and dirt under my nails; did I shower before bed? I can’t remember. I remember bits and pieces of the dreams though. I’m digging, but not like during the day; in the dreams I’m digging things up. Sometimes I’m digging her up. Her from so long ago, from so far away, her who I can’t let go. How much did I have to drink that night? It’s all such a blur. I remember crossing the median, but after that just the sound of sirens. I would die a million times to bring her back.
A little teaser for my character. He's basically this successful guy who lost his wife in an accident and has left his whole other life behind to wallow in shame. He joins the Vigil after realizing some supernatural creature has been using him to harvest bodies from the graveyard he keeps.
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
I have an idea in mind, but I'm brainstorming without a book at the moment. They were sold out of it, though I did get to glance at the last copy which someone at the place bought.
So much stuff going on. Old Hunters might've had it easy in comparison.
I might be able to throw a character sheet together if I get an idea of how NWoD character creation goes.
"You really whant to know who i am?
You are sure?
Alright, i’m gona tell you who i am.
Let me start with John.
He wasn’t really called John. If he had been called John, then i would tell you about Bill, or Bob, or Jimmy
or about one of the other names. You know, these names out of books with letters as big as my thumb. Bill has a ball.
The ball is green. Bob had a dog. They put it asleep. Cause this damned kids can’t read names like William.
John, i was talking about John.
John is called John, because his surname is Doe.
John had a dog. And John had a wife, and a kid, and a job. And i have no idea if John had a ball.
But he had a job, John was a cop. John did become a cop because he did want to help the community.
And then John did help the community by making this one guy squish.
John had a gun, the guy had a gun. Standoff. John pulls the trigger. SQUISH.
Like a painting on the wall.
Picasso`s Red Period.
Then John started crying.
Bob had a dog. They put it asleep. Kid cries. John cries. Both allike.
He takes vacations. He takes green pills and yellow pills. Every color of the rainbow.
And they won’t help. Because he made a masterpiece, red, without beeing a artist.
John did want to help the community.
The community couldn’t help John.
And John says goodbye to his kid, his wife and his dog. And goes to work again.
Except he dosn’t go to work. John goes elsewhere.
And somewhere beyond the rainbow John pulls the trigger. SQUISH.
And the man who wasn’t a artist made his last piece of art.
Why do i tell you about John?
Because i’ve seen many crazy things. John was pretty normal.
Let’s talk about me."
I'm from germany, so this isn't my mother tongue. If i make any annoying mistakes PM me and i will try to fix them.
What mechanic will we be using for play? It's been awhile since I've done a proper PbP game, but I guess my main questions would be:
How often will each player be expected to post, until the ST just steps in and declares they stand around with a vacant look on their face?
How will rolling be handled, in general situations (social interaction, etc)?
How will it be handled in combat? Or, how will combat be handled in general?
If there's a PA PbP standard that I've missed, I'm sorry so don't get all uppity.
Posting minimum is once per day, unless I don't make a post in which case it would be hypocritical to punish you. Post format should be in a neat, narrative style. Don't godmode other characters but don't be afraid to have them give the obvious response so that you can move ahead.
If you don't post, I'll take control of your character. Simple as that. In my new job I can keep track of the forums so this WILL be enforced. If you can't be around, and know this in advance, just send me a PM and I'll make sure your character acts with reasonable appropriateness.
Rolling is handled via Invisible Castle. If you want to perform an action, just make the roll, don't wait for my approval. Most actions have fairly obvious dicepools. If I need people to make rolls(awareness rolls, or resistance rolls and the like,) I'll make rolls for them, and let them know the results.
In combat, we will post in initiative order. If you're waiting on someone else to make an action, but can't hang around and know what you're going to do, just send it in to me as a PM and I will resolve it at the appropriate time. We will be doing at least one combat round per day, unlike some PbPs where it can take over a week to resolve(oh god oh god it huurts)
I'm off work on Monday, so assuming that I have at least three sheets by then, I'll get started.
So you have the weekend.
Also I would like to reiterate:
You guys are starting in a Cell together. Figure out why you're together. That way we can skip the boring and painful 'introductions' phase.
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
Background info not quite fully fleshed out, but I should have 2 dots of merits to pool with everyone. I suggest we start thinking up an appropriate safehouse.
Posting minimum is once per day, unless I don't make a post in which case it would be hypocritical to punish you. Post format should be in a neat, narrative style. Don't godmode other characters but don't be afraid to have them give the obvious response so that you can move ahead.
If you don't post, I'll take control of your character. Simple as that. In my new job I can keep track of the forums so this WILL be enforced. If you can't be around, and know this in advance, just send me a PM and I'll make sure your character acts with reasonable appropriateness.
Rolling is handled via Invisible Castle. If you want to perform an action, just make the roll, don't wait for my approval. Most actions have fairly obvious dicepools. If I need people to make rolls(awareness rolls, or resistance rolls and the like,) I'll make rolls for them, and let them know the results.
In combat, we will post in initiative order. If you're waiting on someone else to make an action, but can't hang around and know what you're going to do, just send it in to me as a PM and I will resolve it at the appropriate time. We will be doing at least one combat round per day, unlike some PbPs where it can take over a week to resolve(oh god oh god it huurts)
Okay, I'll be up for playing if I can track down a copy of the Hunter book over the weekend, then. Should be easy enough for me to keep up.
I understand that most people are still writing a back story for their character,
but we will need a back story for our cell and maybe a appropriate name and a safehouse.
Maybe we could post the basic concept of our characters, so we can figure out why we are a cell.
My character is a private (edit) detective who was, since his childhood, very interested in the ocult.
He did track down a small witch cult while beeing involved in a case.
He realized that there was no way he could imprison them, so he killed every last one of them.
From that day on he could see the signs of darkness and became a hunter.
He is a Loyalist of Thule. His name is Henry Adam Graves.
My character is essentially a thief who's vigil is most akin to scholar type mentioned in the book. He does try to tip off people who might care whenever he stumbles across something that seems off...
We could do something where he came to you under the pretense of his cover job "as a night guard" with tales of some weird crap going down at the local college, and it could go from there.
Or if you want to make things a bit more dynamic, you could be blackmailing as an agent of the Loyalists of Thule.
edit: I think I can reallocate things so there is a dot or so for the Safehouse if we want to do that.
Exp Expenditures
Took -1 morality for +5 exp, spent 11 to raise firearms to 3, spent 4 to raise allies to 2, spent 3 on specialty in medicine, spent 2 for investigation 1
Possessions
Gunsmithing Kit
Heavy Revolver
Terrence ‘Tex’ King was born in Waco, Texas in the middle of the Reagan administration. Three sisters, all younger, and one brother, older. They still live in Waco.
It was obvious that from a young age Terrence was pretty much average. He was doomed to the life of any kid of average intelligence born to a lower-middle class family: go into the armed forces after you graduate high school. So, in 2000, after graduation, that summer he enlisted in the Marine Core.
For the next two years he served under Cpt. Tom Keys, an older and more experienced soldier who had served during the Gulf War.
He had no idea that just one year later the Iraq War would begin. He served his first and only tour of Iraq with the initial invasion in 2003. It was during this tour that Terry earned his nickname ‘Tex’, for his mild drawl and penchant for ‘gunslinging’ as his fellow soldiers called it.
His first tour would be his last tour. Passing through one of the larger towns in southern Iraq on a routine convoy escort operation, Tex’s unit was attacked by insurgents and mostly wiped out. However due to some stroke of luck Tex made it out alive and regrouped with another passing unit. He was given an honorable discharge with the help of Cpt. Keys and returned home to Waco.
His coming home would be bittersweet. His sister Joanne had left for Miami with a ‘strange boy who just made everyone uncomfortable’. His family of course had been worried, but Joanne was the middle sister and quite rebellious and nobody thought much of it.
Tex, for his part, got a job as a local mechanic. He saved his money and lived at home for awhile, going to the range in his spare time. Letters from Joanne came infrequently and soon stopped altogether… and Tex got a strange feeling in his gut.
In 2007 he loaded up a travel bag and hopped in his car, his destination Miami, to check up on his little sister.
He caught up with Joanne, and this was Tex’s first step into the vigil; unbeknownst to him or the rest of his family, Joanne had been taken on first as a ghoul for the vampire who had seduced her, and then eventually converted to true vampirism.
Tex confronted his sister, who tried to explain how things were, how different it all was, and the two argued. In a fit of anger, Tex shot his sister multiple times, staked her into torpor, and left her to burn in the sunlight.
He joined the vigil after being approached by another hunter almost immediately; he blames his sister’s death not on himself, or her, but the evil creatures that trapped Joanne in their black webs. Tex would love nothing more than to wipe out every single vampire in existence.
He doesn’t much care about the others.
More information: ‘gunslinging’ was something Tex developed from watching old Clint Eastwood movies. He’s actually spent time practicing so he can whip his revolver from the holster and pop a cap.
Tex likes to play up his Texan image. He always wears some kind of cowboy hat and jeans, and he uses his drawl to his advantage, often making people think he’s dumber than he is. Overall he’s a fairly striking guy and stands out in a crowd. He tends to wear dark leather jackets and carries his gun (a huge-ass magnum) in a concealed chest holster. He of course has a permit for this.
Because apparently some people forget these things:
Character write-up requirements: How did you begin the Vigil? What do you stand to lose by keeping the Vigil? What is the Vigil, to your character? How do you keep it hidden from the normies?
Arcy, you're missing the second thing on that list. That's kind of the most important thing.
Please note that stuff like 'my life, my job, my fortune, etc' is all acceptable. It just has to be something that you could realistically lose by keeping the Vigil, and something that might give you second thoughts when it comes to pursuing it.
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
Please note that stuff like 'my life, my job, my fortune, etc' is all acceptable. It just has to be something that you could realistically lose by keeping the Vigil, and something that might give you second thoughts when it comes to pursuing it.
What if it's something you've lost already, merely by pursuing the vigil, but could possibly regain if you were to stop. (i.e. my character's sports aspirations are basically shot so long as she's cross-training vampire hunting.)
My character is a judoka, mostly focused on stopping, by killing if necessary, things that bump around at night.
What do you stand to lose by keeping the Vigil?
My character could lose his job and his reputation, aswell as his colleagues. Basically everything he lives for outside the Vigil. What is the Vigil, to your character?
A necessary evil, and he thinks these things lurking in the dark are.....interesting. How do you keep it hidden from the normies?
He hides it with his job.
"These resarches about the bloodless corpses?
They are for ........... the ice truck killer.
Why do you ask?"
Because apparently some people forget these things:
Character write-up requirements: How did you begin the Vigil? What do you stand to lose by keeping the Vigil? What is the Vigil, to your character? How do you keep it hidden from the normies?
Arcy, you're missing the second thing on that list. That's kind of the most important thing.
because you don't seem to think this is a serious concept:
How did I begin the vigil? pretty obvious, it's in the character write-up at the bottom. his sister was seduced by a vampire, disappeared, was embraced. Tex went to check up on her and things didn't go so well so he killed her in cold blood (but it's not his fault! or so he says)
What do I stand to lose by keeping the vigil? I think it's pretty obvious that Tex is already on the slide of 'justice at any cost'. Justice/Wrath being the two sides of his virtue/vice coin. in the end there's a very good chance he'll be worse than the monster he has decided to pursue and destroy.
What is the Vigil, to Tex? A way to rid the world of every, last, vampire. Period. A way for him to avoid the cold hard fact that he murdered his sister out of anger.
How do I keep it hidden from the average joe? Simple, I don't talk to 'em. Tex keeps in touch with a few people, obviously his family back home in Waco, a couple of army buddies along with the Captain. He keeps a day job as a mechanic in Miami, probably, but otherwise he just keeps to himself during the day and keeps in contact with the local hunters by night.
Merits
Encyclopedic Knowledge
Status: Licensed Pro 2
Professional Training 3 (Contacts: Police, Federal Agencies, Internet Investigators)
Status: The Loyalists of Thule 1
Resources 3
I can't find the Hunter book anywhere in town. I'll probably be able to pick it up next weekend. So, I won't be able to make a character until then unless someone wants to help me out (I have the core WOD book, so can do a lot of the basic stuff without any assistance, but Hunter-specific stuff no go. If anyone wants to help out, this is my character concept:
Ezekiel "Zeke" Bloch
Ezekiel was brought up with an insular community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites. His, known as the Isaacites, has its home in Rhode Island, somewhat near Mystic. Often overlooked, his community chooses to keep it that way as much as possible. They interact with the outside world much less often than many of their counterparts. Their technology level is frozen around the mid-19th century, allowing for hunting rifles and some simple mechanical (but not electric) equipment. The Isaacites are Germanic in origin.
At the age of 15, Ezekiel was permitted to accompany his elders on a trip to the outskirts of Mystic, so that he might understand the evils of the modern world more fully. It took all of about 5 minutes before he made up his mind to run away, and 15 minutes until the opportunity presented itself, while the elders were negotiating the barter value of a batch of quilts.
Initially living on the streets, he was taken in my a homeless shelter where his accent and use of archaic words caused some raised eyebrows. He spent hours each night watching the black and white television set in the common area of the shelter. Miami became a magical and wondrous place for him, from the minute that he watched his first re-run of Miami Vice. By the time he'd turned 17, living rough, he was ready to continue on his way.
Zeke managed to work his way southeast by following the farming season. Acting as a migrant labourer and a farmhand, he even managed to create a small savings fund. He spent several years in south Florida as a fruit picker.
At 22, he arrived in Miami, and dealt with the paperwork necessary to obtain his papers and establish him as not being a runaway. A good looking and personable kid, he found work tending bar at Viva, a hopping nightspot. He also became a low-grade criminal, selling marijuana and ecstasy to the party crowds, and directing some of the clientele to the couple of call girls who essentially called Viva their home.
His accent gradually dwindled over the years, although he still picked a curious word from time to time. He was content, a beach bum with a loft apartment and a sweet job, lots of girls and a low-grade high wrapping his head most days. So far as ambitions went, he couldn't really be said to have any beyond what he'd found. He established a good network of friends and acquiantances, and maintained enough financial responsibility to buy a small stake in a new nightclub, using the proceeds from his illicit activities. The new club was called "Citriz", and that's really where it all started to go south.
One of the more senior partners in the new club seemed to have a bit of a curious interest in some of the clientele, observing them far more closely than was necessary and asking a few casual, off-handed questions that set Zeke's inner alarm bells ringing, though he didn't really grasp why this was. The senior partner was a werewolf, and the new club was, in addition to income, a bit of a sting operation. The werewolf was looking for vampires who were looking for, well, blood. Zeke's alarm bells were ringing because of the huge amount of occultism and superstition that were drilled into him as a child.
Over the course of two years, Zeke hazily pieced together a whole boatload of weird things he'd been witnessing. He woke up one day absolutely convinced that he was working for a monster in a bar that sometimes served other monsters. He sold his stake in the bar, walked down to the Wal-mart and bought himself some hunting gear. He found his religion again, in a hurry, and sent letters back home describing his realization. The Isaacites were able to put him in touch with [whomever], and he's been a part of the Vigil ever since. The werewolf he'd been working with must've sniffed the sudden change in attitude, because Zeke was never able to find him, despite trying to with murder in his heart.
What has he got to lose? Well, his whole lifestyle. He has a great place to live, great friends, and generally good times. He knows that anyone he tells anything to is going to think that he's nuts, and that he'll have nothing left come morning. Even his criminal enterprises would dry up if people thought that he believed in ghosts and ghouls, and nobody would be hiring him to tend any bar in the near future. Beyond that, he could possibly bring attention to the relatively unknown Isaacites, and cause serious issues for them.
How does he keep it hidden? Well, he's told everyone he sold his stake in Citriz because of a totally bad vibe, and because it was too much paperwork. While he did kind of go Rambo for a few hours, one look in the mirror told him that was a little over the top. He always goes armed, these days, which he attributes to a fear of gangs closing out a small operator like him. His late nights, long hours, unexplained absences -- well, they've gone with the territory for a long time. Nobody questions that, much. Yet. His tracking contributions are from talking to the people one rung above the dregs to society, and he tells people that he's writing a book called "Miami Weird", based on the whacked out things his customers have said to him in his time tending bar. The notion of writing a book is a little out of character, but not completely insane.
What is it? It's a hefty chunk of cognitive dissonance. He knows that his community in Rhode Island knew more about the way the world is than all these sophisticated people in Miami, but he loves his new life. He doesn't want to give it up, and the Vigil interferes with that to some degree. It's a burden, but it also adds a lot of pride to his sense of self -- he's not just another aimless bum, making his wayward way in the world. He's a goddamn monster hunter.
ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
I think we need a safehouse. As it stands I have 2 merit dots set aside for it. I'll probably sketch it out more, but here's a prelim. statblock. (format gratuitously stolen from MacGuffin)
Empathy 1
Expression 1
Persuasion 3; Specialties: Fast Talking, Sales Pitch
Socialize 1
Streetwise 3; Specialties: Rumours, Black Market
Subterfuge 2; Specialties: Spotting Lies
(11 + 2 Free specialties from Asset Skills, 1 Character Creation Specialty, 2 Purchased Specialty)
Merits:
Profession, Criminal: 2 (Asset Skills: Larceny, Persuasion, Streetwise)
Professional: 2
Resources: 4
Status, Criminal: 1 (Somewhat known within a small circle)
Contacts (from profession): Club Promoters, Drug Dealers
He has 3 merit dots to contribute to the safehouse.
Abbreviated History: Ezekiel Bloch was raised by the Isaacites, an Amish-type community found in Rhode Island. He ran away from home at the first opportunity, and made his way to Miami. He's been bumming around in the city for nearly a decade, now, acting as a mid-level supplier of party drugs and keeping a day job as a bartender. His eyes flew open to the reality of the Vigil, and he immediately regained the faith of his childhood -- he's become a born-again Christian, albeit a fairly mellow and restrained one. He's also bought a rifle and a pistol and started spending a lot of time at the gun range. In short, he's a pot smoking, club-going Jesus freak with a budding love of weaponry and a fierce urge to defend his adopted home from the ravages of evil.
Physical Description: Approximately 5'10, and lanky. He has long, unkempt blonde hair pulled into an approximation of a ponytail. He's attired in a pair of cargo pants, and wears a white tee shirt that bears the slogan "Jesus Loves You" on the front, and "So I Do Too" on the back.
He's a member of the Long Night. Albeit, a correspondence member. Whom they most likely wouldn't approve of too hugely.
In terms of his group role -- he's got full access to the seedy underbelly of Miami. He is, as a matter of fact, a card-carrying member. He also has a tidy income from his drug trade, so he can be the bankroll for any major purchases. He's a generous guy, so this isn't going to bother him. He's fairly charming and convincing, and has a solid network of contacts.
Posts
No, because of Dexter.
I'll get the book ASAP.
I despise Miami with a passion, but hey, it's what people know.
Hilariously enough, you'd be running the game in Sabbat country if this were OWoD. :P
You might also note that Miami is the Changeling signature city. This may or may not end up being relevant.
(Though half of Miami already looks that way.)
I've always wanted to see what cold iron buckshot does to a fairy's face. :twisted:
Essentially that they may be complete bsers and are actually body snatchers.... As opposed to being the formerely enslaved individual they claim to be...
Aside from that ITT it does basically come down to them being non-human for more blood thirsty hunters.
Privateers are even worse, since they can actively be kidnapping people to send off to the Fae, and causing mayhem.
And, of course, you can get the True Fae as well, and those guys are just inhuman in every way. And to a Hunter, what's the difference between these? Not too much.
EDIT: Also, I'd really like to be a creepy gravedigger Hunter.
Definitely a good description of a Winter Courtier, I think.
I'm, except for the game "Bloodlines", fairly new to the World of Darkness and this confuses the hell out of me.
'Professional Training: Cop' is how good of a cop you are. If you wanted to be an amazing cop who continually gets overlooked for promotions because the brass consider you a loose cannon, this is what you would invest in. The Professional Training Merit also gives you a bunch of skill/stat bonuses that are rather useful.
Thank you.
A little teaser for my character. He's basically this successful guy who lost his wife in an accident and has left his whole other life behind to wallow in shame. He joins the Vigil after realizing some supernatural creature has been using him to harvest bodies from the graveyard he keeps.
So much stuff going on. Old Hunters might've had it easy in comparison.
I might be able to throw a character sheet together if I get an idea of how NWoD character creation goes.
"You really whant to know who i am?
You are sure?
Alright, i’m gona tell you who i am.
Let me start with John.
He wasn’t really called John. If he had been called John, then i would tell you about Bill, or Bob, or Jimmy
or about one of the other names. You know, these names out of books with letters as big as my thumb. Bill has a ball.
The ball is green. Bob had a dog. They put it asleep. Cause this damned kids can’t read names like William.
John, i was talking about John.
John is called John, because his surname is Doe.
John had a dog. And John had a wife, and a kid, and a job. And i have no idea if John had a ball.
But he had a job, John was a cop. John did become a cop because he did want to help the community.
And then John did help the community by making this one guy squish.
John had a gun, the guy had a gun. Standoff. John pulls the trigger. SQUISH.
Like a painting on the wall.
Picasso`s Red Period.
Then John started crying.
Bob had a dog. They put it asleep. Kid cries. John cries. Both allike.
He takes vacations. He takes green pills and yellow pills. Every color of the rainbow.
And they won’t help. Because he made a masterpiece, red, without beeing a artist.
John did want to help the community.
The community couldn’t help John.
And John says goodbye to his kid, his wife and his dog. And goes to work again.
Except he dosn’t go to work. John goes elsewhere.
And somewhere beyond the rainbow John pulls the trigger. SQUISH.
And the man who wasn’t a artist made his last piece of art.
Why do i tell you about John?
Because i’ve seen many crazy things. John was pretty normal.
Let’s talk about me."
I'm from germany, so this isn't my mother tongue. If i make any annoying mistakes PM me and i will try to fix them.
What mechanic will we be using for play? It's been awhile since I've done a proper PbP game, but I guess my main questions would be:
How often will each player be expected to post, until the ST just steps in and declares they stand around with a vacant look on their face?
How will rolling be handled, in general situations (social interaction, etc)?
How will it be handled in combat? Or, how will combat be handled in general?
If there's a PA PbP standard that I've missed, I'm sorry so don't get all uppity.
If you don't post, I'll take control of your character. Simple as that. In my new job I can keep track of the forums so this WILL be enforced. If you can't be around, and know this in advance, just send me a PM and I'll make sure your character acts with reasonable appropriateness.
Rolling is handled via Invisible Castle. If you want to perform an action, just make the roll, don't wait for my approval. Most actions have fairly obvious dicepools. If I need people to make rolls(awareness rolls, or resistance rolls and the like,) I'll make rolls for them, and let them know the results.
In combat, we will post in initiative order. If you're waiting on someone else to make an action, but can't hang around and know what you're going to do, just send it in to me as a PM and I will resolve it at the appropriate time. We will be doing at least one combat round per day, unlike some PbPs where it can take over a week to resolve(oh god oh god it huurts)
So you have the weekend.
Also I would like to reiterate:
You guys are starting in a Cell together. Figure out why you're together. That way we can skip the boring and painful 'introductions' phase.
Okay, I'll be up for playing if I can track down a copy of the Hunter book over the weekend, then. Should be easy enough for me to keep up.
but we will need a back story for our cell and maybe a appropriate name and a safehouse.
Maybe we could post the basic concept of our characters, so we can figure out why we are a cell.
My character is a private (edit) detective who was, since his childhood, very interested in the ocult.
He did track down a small witch cult while beeing involved in a case.
He realized that there was no way he could imprison them, so he killed every last one of them.
From that day on he could see the signs of darkness and became a hunter.
He is a Loyalist of Thule. His name is Henry Adam Graves.
We could do something where he came to you under the pretense of his cover job "as a night guard" with tales of some weird crap going down at the local college, and it could go from there.
Or if you want to make things a bit more dynamic, you could be blackmailing as an agent of the Loyalists of Thule.
edit: I think I can reallocate things so there is a dot or so for the Safehouse if we want to do that.
Concept: Ex-marine
Age: 26
Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 2
Stamina 3
-
Intelligence 2
Wits 3
Resolve 2
-
Presence 3
Manipulation 1
Composure 2
Skills
Firearms 3 (Pistol +1, Rifles +1)
Athletics 3
Drive 2
Brawl 1 (Knives +1)
Stealth 1 (Camouflage +1)
Survival 1
Weaponry 2
-
Intimidation 3
Subterfuge 1
Streetwise 1
Persuasion 1
Socialize 1
-
Crafts 1
Academics 1
Medicine 1 (Emergency Care +1)
Computer 1
Investigation 1
Merits
Quick Draw
Resources 2
Allies (USMC) 2
Mentor (Captain Tom Keys) 3
Advantages
Defense 3
Health 8
Initiative 4
Morality 6
Speed 5
Willpower 4
Virtue Justice
Vice Wrath
Exp Expenditures
Took -1 morality for +5 exp, spent 11 to raise firearms to 3, spent 4 to raise allies to 2, spent 3 on specialty in medicine, spent 2 for investigation 1
Possessions
Gunsmithing Kit
Heavy Revolver
Terrence ‘Tex’ King was born in Waco, Texas in the middle of the Reagan administration. Three sisters, all younger, and one brother, older. They still live in Waco.
It was obvious that from a young age Terrence was pretty much average. He was doomed to the life of any kid of average intelligence born to a lower-middle class family: go into the armed forces after you graduate high school. So, in 2000, after graduation, that summer he enlisted in the Marine Core.
For the next two years he served under Cpt. Tom Keys, an older and more experienced soldier who had served during the Gulf War.
He had no idea that just one year later the Iraq War would begin. He served his first and only tour of Iraq with the initial invasion in 2003. It was during this tour that Terry earned his nickname ‘Tex’, for his mild drawl and penchant for ‘gunslinging’ as his fellow soldiers called it.
His first tour would be his last tour. Passing through one of the larger towns in southern Iraq on a routine convoy escort operation, Tex’s unit was attacked by insurgents and mostly wiped out. However due to some stroke of luck Tex made it out alive and regrouped with another passing unit. He was given an honorable discharge with the help of Cpt. Keys and returned home to Waco.
His coming home would be bittersweet. His sister Joanne had left for Miami with a ‘strange boy who just made everyone uncomfortable’. His family of course had been worried, but Joanne was the middle sister and quite rebellious and nobody thought much of it.
Tex, for his part, got a job as a local mechanic. He saved his money and lived at home for awhile, going to the range in his spare time. Letters from Joanne came infrequently and soon stopped altogether… and Tex got a strange feeling in his gut.
In 2007 he loaded up a travel bag and hopped in his car, his destination Miami, to check up on his little sister.
He caught up with Joanne, and this was Tex’s first step into the vigil; unbeknownst to him or the rest of his family, Joanne had been taken on first as a ghoul for the vampire who had seduced her, and then eventually converted to true vampirism.
Tex confronted his sister, who tried to explain how things were, how different it all was, and the two argued. In a fit of anger, Tex shot his sister multiple times, staked her into torpor, and left her to burn in the sunlight.
He joined the vigil after being approached by another hunter almost immediately; he blames his sister’s death not on himself, or her, but the evil creatures that trapped Joanne in their black webs. Tex would love nothing more than to wipe out every single vampire in existence.
He doesn’t much care about the others.
More information: ‘gunslinging’ was something Tex developed from watching old Clint Eastwood movies. He’s actually spent time practicing so he can whip his revolver from the holster and pop a cap.
Tex likes to play up his Texan image. He always wears some kind of cowboy hat and jeans, and he uses his drawl to his advantage, often making people think he’s dumber than he is. Overall he’s a fairly striking guy and stands out in a crowd. He tends to wear dark leather jackets and carries his gun (a huge-ass magnum) in a concealed chest holster. He of course has a permit for this.
Character write-up requirements: How did you begin the Vigil? What do you stand to lose by keeping the Vigil? What is the Vigil, to your character? How do you keep it hidden from the normies?
Arcy, you're missing the second thing on that list. That's kind of the most important thing.
What if it's something you've lost already, merely by pursuing the vigil, but could possibly regain if you were to stop. (i.e. my character's sports aspirations are basically shot so long as she's cross-training vampire hunting.)
My character is a judoka, mostly focused on stopping, by killing if necessary, things that bump around at night.
My character could lose his job and his reputation, aswell as his colleagues. Basically everything he lives for outside the Vigil.
What is the Vigil, to your character?
A necessary evil, and he thinks these things lurking in the dark are.....interesting.
How do you keep it hidden from the normies?
He hides it with his job.
"These resarches about the bloodless corpses?
They are for ........... the ice truck killer.
Why do you ask?"
because you don't seem to think this is a serious concept:
How did I begin the vigil? pretty obvious, it's in the character write-up at the bottom. his sister was seduced by a vampire, disappeared, was embraced. Tex went to check up on her and things didn't go so well so he killed her in cold blood (but it's not his fault! or so he says)
What do I stand to lose by keeping the vigil? I think it's pretty obvious that Tex is already on the slide of 'justice at any cost'. Justice/Wrath being the two sides of his virtue/vice coin. in the end there's a very good chance he'll be worse than the monster he has decided to pursue and destroy.
What is the Vigil, to Tex? A way to rid the world of every, last, vampire. Period. A way for him to avoid the cold hard fact that he murdered his sister out of anger.
How do I keep it hidden from the average joe? Simple, I don't talk to 'em. Tex keeps in touch with a few people, obviously his family back home in Waco, a couple of army buddies along with the Captain. He keeps a day job as a mechanic in Miami, probably, but otherwise he just keeps to himself during the day and keeps in contact with the local hunters by night.
Tex don't get much sleep.
Concept: Ocult P.I.
Age: 37
Compact: The Loyalists of Thule
Attributes
Strength 1
Dexterity 3
Stamina 2
-
Intelligence 3
Wits 4
Resolve 1
-
Presence 2
Manipulation 2
Composure 3
Skills (Lime=Asset Skill)
Firearms 4 (Revolver +1)
-
Empathy 4 (Lies +1)
Exppression 1
Subertfuge 4
-
Academics 3 (Law +1)
Occult 4
Investigation 4 (Puzzles +1)
Merits
Encyclopedic Knowledge
Status: Licensed Pro 2
Professional Training 3 (Contacts: Police, Federal Agencies, Internet Investigators)
Status: The Loyalists of Thule 1
Resources 3
Advantages
Defense 3
Health 7
Initiative 6
Morality 6
Speed 9
Willpower 4
Virtue Prudence
Vice Pride
Exp Expenditures
Took -1 morality for +5 exp, spent to raise Licensed: Pro to 2, Thule to 1 and Resources to 3
Possessions
.38 Special
Kevlar Vest (Thin)
Police Badge (Fake)
Divination Tools (3)
Crime Scene Kit (3)
I can't find the Hunter book anywhere in town. I'll probably be able to pick it up next weekend. So, I won't be able to make a character until then unless someone wants to help me out (I have the core WOD book, so can do a lot of the basic stuff without any assistance, but Hunter-specific stuff no go. If anyone wants to help out, this is my character concept:
Ezekiel was brought up with an insular community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites. His, known as the Isaacites, has its home in Rhode Island, somewhat near Mystic. Often overlooked, his community chooses to keep it that way as much as possible. They interact with the outside world much less often than many of their counterparts. Their technology level is frozen around the mid-19th century, allowing for hunting rifles and some simple mechanical (but not electric) equipment. The Isaacites are Germanic in origin.
At the age of 15, Ezekiel was permitted to accompany his elders on a trip to the outskirts of Mystic, so that he might understand the evils of the modern world more fully. It took all of about 5 minutes before he made up his mind to run away, and 15 minutes until the opportunity presented itself, while the elders were negotiating the barter value of a batch of quilts.
Initially living on the streets, he was taken in my a homeless shelter where his accent and use of archaic words caused some raised eyebrows. He spent hours each night watching the black and white television set in the common area of the shelter. Miami became a magical and wondrous place for him, from the minute that he watched his first re-run of Miami Vice. By the time he'd turned 17, living rough, he was ready to continue on his way.
Zeke managed to work his way southeast by following the farming season. Acting as a migrant labourer and a farmhand, he even managed to create a small savings fund. He spent several years in south Florida as a fruit picker.
At 22, he arrived in Miami, and dealt with the paperwork necessary to obtain his papers and establish him as not being a runaway. A good looking and personable kid, he found work tending bar at Viva, a hopping nightspot. He also became a low-grade criminal, selling marijuana and ecstasy to the party crowds, and directing some of the clientele to the couple of call girls who essentially called Viva their home.
His accent gradually dwindled over the years, although he still picked a curious word from time to time. He was content, a beach bum with a loft apartment and a sweet job, lots of girls and a low-grade high wrapping his head most days. So far as ambitions went, he couldn't really be said to have any beyond what he'd found. He established a good network of friends and acquiantances, and maintained enough financial responsibility to buy a small stake in a new nightclub, using the proceeds from his illicit activities. The new club was called "Citriz", and that's really where it all started to go south.
One of the more senior partners in the new club seemed to have a bit of a curious interest in some of the clientele, observing them far more closely than was necessary and asking a few casual, off-handed questions that set Zeke's inner alarm bells ringing, though he didn't really grasp why this was. The senior partner was a werewolf, and the new club was, in addition to income, a bit of a sting operation. The werewolf was looking for vampires who were looking for, well, blood. Zeke's alarm bells were ringing because of the huge amount of occultism and superstition that were drilled into him as a child.
Over the course of two years, Zeke hazily pieced together a whole boatload of weird things he'd been witnessing. He woke up one day absolutely convinced that he was working for a monster in a bar that sometimes served other monsters. He sold his stake in the bar, walked down to the Wal-mart and bought himself some hunting gear. He found his religion again, in a hurry, and sent letters back home describing his realization. The Isaacites were able to put him in touch with [whomever], and he's been a part of the Vigil ever since. The werewolf he'd been working with must've sniffed the sudden change in attitude, because Zeke was never able to find him, despite trying to with murder in his heart.
What has he got to lose? Well, his whole lifestyle. He has a great place to live, great friends, and generally good times. He knows that anyone he tells anything to is going to think that he's nuts, and that he'll have nothing left come morning. Even his criminal enterprises would dry up if people thought that he believed in ghosts and ghouls, and nobody would be hiring him to tend any bar in the near future. Beyond that, he could possibly bring attention to the relatively unknown Isaacites, and cause serious issues for them.
How does he keep it hidden? Well, he's told everyone he sold his stake in Citriz because of a totally bad vibe, and because it was too much paperwork. While he did kind of go Rambo for a few hours, one look in the mirror told him that was a little over the top. He always goes armed, these days, which he attributes to a fear of gangs closing out a small operator like him. His late nights, long hours, unexplained absences -- well, they've gone with the territory for a long time. Nobody questions that, much. Yet. His tracking contributions are from talking to the people one rung above the dregs to society, and he tells people that he's writing a book called "Miami Weird", based on the whacked out things his customers have said to him in his time tending bar. The notion of writing a book is a little out of character, but not completely insane.
What is it? It's a hefty chunk of cognitive dissonance. He knows that his community in Rhode Island knew more about the way the world is than all these sophisticated people in Miami, but he loves his new life. He doesn't want to give it up, and the Vigil interferes with that to some degree. It's a burden, but it also adds a lot of pride to his sense of self -- he's not just another aimless bum, making his wayward way in the world. He's a goddamn monster hunter.
How you know each other
How you work together/roles in the group
Safehouse Y/N
Concept: Judoka Vigilante
Profession: Athlete
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Envy
Age: 23
Attributes
Intelligence 2
Wits 2
Resolve 4
-
Strength 3
Dexterity 2
Stamina 3
-
Presence 2
Manipulation 1
Composure 3
Skills (Lime=Asset Skill)
Academics 1
Computer 1
Crafts 1
Investigation 2
Medicine 3 (Sports Medicine)
Occult 1
Science 2 (Biology)
-
Athletics 3
Brawl 4 (Judo)
Firearms 1 (Pistol)
-
Empathy 2
Persuasion 1
Socialize 1
Merits
Professional Training 3 (Contacts: Judo Federations, Martial Arts Instructors, Athletic Trainers)
Resources 1
Iron Stamina 2
Safehouse 2 (for pooling)
Advantages
Defense 2
Health 8
Initiative 5
Morality 7
Speed 10
Willpower 7
Exp Expenditures
spent on Resources 1, to raise Intelligence to 2, and Firearms to 1
Possessions
.38 revolver
Thick leather jacket
fixed that for you
:P
Intelligence 2
Wis 2
Resolve 3
Strength 2
Dexterity 2
Stamina 2
Presence 3
Manipulation 3
Composure 2
Skills:
Investigation 2
Medicine 1
Occult 4; Specialty: Superstitions
(7 + 1 Specialty)
Athletics 1
Firearms 2; Specialty: Rifles
Survival 1
(4 + 1 Specialty)
Empathy 1
Expression 1
Persuasion 3; Specialties: Fast Talking, Sales Pitch
Socialize 1
Streetwise 3; Specialties: Rumours, Black Market
Subterfuge 2; Specialties: Spotting Lies
(11 + 2 Free specialties from Asset Skills, 1 Character Creation Specialty, 2 Purchased Specialty)
Merits:
Profession, Criminal: 2 (Asset Skills: Larceny, Persuasion, Streetwise)
Professional: 2
Resources: 4
Status, Criminal: 1 (Somewhat known within a small circle)
Contacts (from profession): Club Promoters, Drug Dealers
Other
Size: 5
Defense: 2
Initiative: 4
Speed: 9
Morality: 6
Vice: Gluttony
Virtue: Hope
Exp Expenditures: Status, Criminal (Dot 1) -- 2 Points, Streetwise: Gangs Specialization -- 3 Points, Persuasion: Sales Pitch specialization -- 3 Points, Profession: Criminal (Dot 1 and Dot 2) -- 6 Points, Professional (dot 1 and dot 2) -- 6 points (Total: 20 Points)
He has 3 merit dots to contribute to the safehouse.
Abbreviated History: Ezekiel Bloch was raised by the Isaacites, an Amish-type community found in Rhode Island. He ran away from home at the first opportunity, and made his way to Miami. He's been bumming around in the city for nearly a decade, now, acting as a mid-level supplier of party drugs and keeping a day job as a bartender. His eyes flew open to the reality of the Vigil, and he immediately regained the faith of his childhood -- he's become a born-again Christian, albeit a fairly mellow and restrained one. He's also bought a rifle and a pistol and started spending a lot of time at the gun range. In short, he's a pot smoking, club-going Jesus freak with a budding love of weaponry and a fierce urge to defend his adopted home from the ravages of evil.
Physical Description: Approximately 5'10, and lanky. He has long, unkempt blonde hair pulled into an approximation of a ponytail. He's attired in a pair of cargo pants, and wears a white tee shirt that bears the slogan "Jesus Loves You" on the front, and "So I Do Too" on the back.
He's a member of the Long Night. Albeit, a correspondence member. Whom they most likely wouldn't approve of too hugely.
In terms of his group role -- he's got full access to the seedy underbelly of Miami. He is, as a matter of fact, a card-carrying member. He also has a tidy income from his drug trade, so he can be the bankroll for any major purchases. He's a generous guy, so this isn't going to bother him. He's fairly charming and convincing, and has a solid network of contacts.
she doesn't mean jail cell buddy
she means hunter cell