Runsaround's (Ready) Sort Of Vampire: The Masquerade Game
Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:27 pm
THE YEAR 2023
The ancient struggle of vampires, the Jyhad, has raged on for many an age since Cain, the first Kindred, sired the second generation of vampires. Still the ancient elders plot in their chambers, a subtle shadow cast over the whole world.
A principal conflict in the Jyhad for the last few centuries has been the shadow war between the Ivory Tower of the Camarilla, a strictly hierarchal network that dates to the renaissance, and the Sabbat, an apocalyptic blood-cult. The city of Detroit once was the seat of the Sabbat's power in the USA, but ten years ago the Camarilla staged a very literally bloody attack that all but wiped out their leadership there. Now the Detroit vampire community quails under the arbitrary rule of the CamarillaÔÇÖs appointed Prince: a Ventrue Clan Elder known as LaMain.
A new power has arisen in Detroit: The Anarch movement. As long as there has been the Camarilla, there have been the Anarchs. Those who, for some reason or another, struggled against the Ivory Tower from inside it. Now you, the players, have been drawn by hook or by crook to Detroit, to do the bidding of the AnarchsÔÇÖ mysterious leader.
But first, a little background:
THE SYSTEM: Based on the d6. Characters have 5 fundamental attributes: Muscle, Brain, Flesh, Nerves, and Face.
Muscle: Physical strength and endurance.
Flesh: Resistance to damage and general toughness, as well as blood capacity.
Nerves: Reflexes and coordination.
Brain: Recall, imagination and insight
Face: A combination of appearance and overall social acumen.
The Average Human ranks in attributes somewhere between 2 and 3.
These, along with the Specializations pertinent to your character, and to the number of dice you roll against a certain target number.
In combat, one rolls against a specific target to-damage with the relevant attribute and Specializations, and on success the character loses Blood equal to the difference between the results divided by 4, rounded up.
SPECIALIZATIONS:
There are three varieties of Specialization, differentiated by the specificity of their usability.
1: Grants +1 to relevant die pool per rank in Specialization. Examples:
Muscle: Upper Body
Organ: Thick Skin
Nerves: Jumpy
Face: First Impression
Brain: Eidetic Memory
2: Grants +2 to relevant die pool per rank in Specialization. Examples:
Muscle: Grappling
Organ: Chemical Tolerance
Nerves: Aim
Face: Lies
Brain: Computer Science
3: Grants +3 to relevant die per rank in Specialization. Examples:
Muscle: Biting
Organ: Recuperation
Nerves: Scoped Rifles
Face: Haggling
Brain: Automobiles
BLOOD:
Blood is the basic "character resource" in this system. It represents a vampire's internal reserves of, well, blood. Maximum blood value is Organ x2 for humans, and Organ x2 +4 for Vampires. Certain Vampiric Disciplines require the use of Blood, but mostly it is used to absorb damage without sustaining permanent injury and simply maintain their bodies. As a result, Vampires lose 1 Blood each night, and must drain blood from humans to survive. Humans cannot use Blood in this way, when an attack against them is successful, they are always either injured or incapacitated. When a HumanÔÇÖs blood is 0, they are dead. When a VampireÔÇÖs blood is 0, they enter a hibernation called Torpor until they are exposed to blood again.
CHARACTERS:
As Vampires, the player characters do not have attributes with fewer than 2 ranks, as the transformation tends to improve even the most pathetic humans. They also have 8 additional ranks to distribute among them.
To represent skills obtained over your vampire's history (ranging from a century to only 20 years long), they have 5 specializations available to them that can be any of the 3 varieties. A Specialization is not "tied" to their attribute, and a roll that incorporates the Specialization does not necessarily incorporate that attribute.
CLANS:
The Clans are ancient vampire lineages, carrying down the millenia from sire to child, originating from the Antediluvians, the 3rd generation of vampires whose age has granted them incredible power. Fearing their own children who might seek to drain their ancient, almost mystical blood, they have all gone into hiding or died, leaving their many descendants to squabble in their wake.
Clans have access to unique and mysterious powers, that use the ancient blood that remains in all vampires to perform unbelievable feats. These are the Vampiric Disciplines.
Because I was much too lazy to write a description for each clan and discipline here's a link to follow: http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Clan_(VTM)
The Disciplines available to each clan are:
Assamites: Celerity Obfuscate Quietus
Brujah: Potence Presence Celerity
Followers of Set: Obfuscate Presence Serpentis
Gangrel: Animalism Fortitude Protean
Giovanni: Dominate Necromancy Presence
Lasombra: Dominate Obtenebration Potence
Malkavians: Obfuscate Auspex Dementation
Nosferatu: Obfuscate Potence Animalism
Ravnos: Animalism Chimeristry Fortitude
Toreador: Auspex Celerity Presence
Tremere: Auspex Thaumaturgy Dominate
Tzimisce: Auspex Animalism Vicissitude
Ventrue: Dominate Fortitude Presence
Caitiff/Clanless: Any Two.
Celerity increases Nerve by 1. Potence increases Muscle by 1. Fortitude increases Organ by 1. These Disciplines also allow you to spend Blood to gain more, at a 2:1 Blood:Rank ratio.
The other Disciplines will be handled individually.
The ancient struggle of vampires, the Jyhad, has raged on for many an age since Cain, the first Kindred, sired the second generation of vampires. Still the ancient elders plot in their chambers, a subtle shadow cast over the whole world.
A principal conflict in the Jyhad for the last few centuries has been the shadow war between the Ivory Tower of the Camarilla, a strictly hierarchal network that dates to the renaissance, and the Sabbat, an apocalyptic blood-cult. The city of Detroit once was the seat of the Sabbat's power in the USA, but ten years ago the Camarilla staged a very literally bloody attack that all but wiped out their leadership there. Now the Detroit vampire community quails under the arbitrary rule of the CamarillaÔÇÖs appointed Prince: a Ventrue Clan Elder known as LaMain.
A new power has arisen in Detroit: The Anarch movement. As long as there has been the Camarilla, there have been the Anarchs. Those who, for some reason or another, struggled against the Ivory Tower from inside it. Now you, the players, have been drawn by hook or by crook to Detroit, to do the bidding of the AnarchsÔÇÖ mysterious leader.
But first, a little background:
THE SYSTEM: Based on the d6. Characters have 5 fundamental attributes: Muscle, Brain, Flesh, Nerves, and Face.
Muscle: Physical strength and endurance.
Flesh: Resistance to damage and general toughness, as well as blood capacity.
Nerves: Reflexes and coordination.
Brain: Recall, imagination and insight
Face: A combination of appearance and overall social acumen.
The Average Human ranks in attributes somewhere between 2 and 3.
These, along with the Specializations pertinent to your character, and to the number of dice you roll against a certain target number.
In combat, one rolls against a specific target to-damage with the relevant attribute and Specializations, and on success the character loses Blood equal to the difference between the results divided by 4, rounded up.
SPECIALIZATIONS:
There are three varieties of Specialization, differentiated by the specificity of their usability.
1: Grants +1 to relevant die pool per rank in Specialization. Examples:
Muscle: Upper Body
Organ: Thick Skin
Nerves: Jumpy
Face: First Impression
Brain: Eidetic Memory
2: Grants +2 to relevant die pool per rank in Specialization. Examples:
Muscle: Grappling
Organ: Chemical Tolerance
Nerves: Aim
Face: Lies
Brain: Computer Science
3: Grants +3 to relevant die per rank in Specialization. Examples:
Muscle: Biting
Organ: Recuperation
Nerves: Scoped Rifles
Face: Haggling
Brain: Automobiles
BLOOD:
Blood is the basic "character resource" in this system. It represents a vampire's internal reserves of, well, blood. Maximum blood value is Organ x2 for humans, and Organ x2 +4 for Vampires. Certain Vampiric Disciplines require the use of Blood, but mostly it is used to absorb damage without sustaining permanent injury and simply maintain their bodies. As a result, Vampires lose 1 Blood each night, and must drain blood from humans to survive. Humans cannot use Blood in this way, when an attack against them is successful, they are always either injured or incapacitated. When a HumanÔÇÖs blood is 0, they are dead. When a VampireÔÇÖs blood is 0, they enter a hibernation called Torpor until they are exposed to blood again.
CHARACTERS:
As Vampires, the player characters do not have attributes with fewer than 2 ranks, as the transformation tends to improve even the most pathetic humans. They also have 8 additional ranks to distribute among them.
To represent skills obtained over your vampire's history (ranging from a century to only 20 years long), they have 5 specializations available to them that can be any of the 3 varieties. A Specialization is not "tied" to their attribute, and a roll that incorporates the Specialization does not necessarily incorporate that attribute.
CLANS:
The Clans are ancient vampire lineages, carrying down the millenia from sire to child, originating from the Antediluvians, the 3rd generation of vampires whose age has granted them incredible power. Fearing their own children who might seek to drain their ancient, almost mystical blood, they have all gone into hiding or died, leaving their many descendants to squabble in their wake.
Clans have access to unique and mysterious powers, that use the ancient blood that remains in all vampires to perform unbelievable feats. These are the Vampiric Disciplines.
Because I was much too lazy to write a description for each clan and discipline here's a link to follow: http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Clan_(VTM)
The Disciplines available to each clan are:
Assamites: Celerity Obfuscate Quietus
Brujah: Potence Presence Celerity
Followers of Set: Obfuscate Presence Serpentis
Gangrel: Animalism Fortitude Protean
Giovanni: Dominate Necromancy Presence
Lasombra: Dominate Obtenebration Potence
Malkavians: Obfuscate Auspex Dementation
Nosferatu: Obfuscate Potence Animalism
Ravnos: Animalism Chimeristry Fortitude
Toreador: Auspex Celerity Presence
Tremere: Auspex Thaumaturgy Dominate
Tzimisce: Auspex Animalism Vicissitude
Ventrue: Dominate Fortitude Presence
Caitiff/Clanless: Any Two.
Celerity increases Nerve by 1. Potence increases Muscle by 1. Fortitude increases Organ by 1. These Disciplines also allow you to spend Blood to gain more, at a 2:1 Blood:Rank ratio.
The other Disciplines will be handled individually.