Nocturne: Also a roleplaying game, OOC debate thread

[JW%]

~~~~~~~~~Title changed for simplicity~~~~~~~~

Awhile back I suggested to certain regulars on this roleplaying board the idea of starting an actual Vampire RP. I mean, this is a Twilight forum as a whole. The basic idea is that players would take the role of a 'family' of vampires living in modern(ish) times. I say modernish because while it is a time of laptops and cell phones, perhaps these elements won't be as prevailant in the setting as they would logically be. This is fantasy, and technological wonders will have little place in it. The setting is Coasta Amore, a remote coastal town in Washington state, US, and I was picturing a town like Long Beach or Astoria(which is actually in Oregon, but I digress) known for fishing and tourism mostly. The 'family' has been keeping it's cover while influencing the town, having built up a sizable amount of wealth for themselves and living in a mansion hidden away in the thick forest and mountains nearby.

Somewhat like the Cullens in Forks, though I was actually a bit more inspired by the Johnny Depp performance in Dark Shadows.

A few little twists to warn you about early on: I have a very solid 'rules system' for your vampires worked out. This is meant to make them feel more like the immortals found in Dracula or maybe even Ann Rice's novels. Also, there are vampire hunters on the scene who will pose a threat. The story doesn't even start until their first kill. Finally, I somewhat expect some player vs player efforts. The 'family' doesn't get along any more, and should be more than willing to end each others immortal lives at this point as grudges have built and strengths have been tested. The SEARCH system will be in effect for resolving these player vs player disputes, as well as player vs storyteller as your vampires hunt or are hunted.

As such, while I came up with a ridiculously long character skeleton, instead I will give very VERY bare bones, and I intend to work with you, and for you to work with the other players, to populate this 'family' and give them a history with one another. Feuds and alliances to be built, here in OOC, long before the IC thread starts up.

~~~~~~~~

Some basic 'rules for being a vampire' before you start making your character:

Turning a human into a vampire takes about a month of steady work on the part of the 'fledgling' and the 'sire', and is quite dangerous for both, as the powers kick in well before the control does(turning is more teaching the fledgling control than anything else). The Sire has an advantage of mental domination over the fledgling from the start of their relationship until it's end, and the domination is as near perfect as possible, but mistakes can and often do happen. The mental domination takes the form of love, the fledgling is unconditionally in love with their sire, to the point of self sacrifice, and can take no intentional efforts against them or their desires. The Sire feels some feedback on that, and will be 'attached' to their fledgeling, enough to teach and defend them. A sire would have to forcefully cut such ties, deny and not return the 'love' in order for the fledgeling to regain their free will. Or the sire can die, which also cuts the bond.

Vampires are immortal in so much as they do not age and will not die of 'natural causes'. The final act of turning is a fledgling demonstrates it's ability to 'control death'. In short, they die and then raise themselves from the grave. This whole process(living a very long time AND needing to willfully regulate your own bodily functions, AND increased sensitivity which I will get to in a moment) makes vampires a little insane. I expect all players to play there characters with obsessions, quirks, madness, mania, compulsive disorders, etc. List these in the 'Additional Information' slot, along with anything else not listed.

Vampires also have 'magic' of some sort. Most of them do not treat it as 'magic', it is just 'natural' abilities they have, or 'tricks' they've learned, but it can be very powerful. As such, if you want your vampire to have a magical power, ask for it here in OOC, and I'll make a judgement if it fits under the rules, and if it fits your character(it might be possible, but you're otherwise designing a character too weak or undisciplined to harness such magic).

Vampires do need to drink blood for their continued existence and power. Technically it's not just the blood they need(the more mystical would say it's the 'spirit' 'breath' or 'soul' in the blood that's actually being used), but whatever is taken is somehow linked to the blood and therefore that is what the vampire desires to feed on. It needs to come directly from a living and sapient source, and enough needs to be consumed in a day that it will kill a normal human to lose that much in one feeding. There are ways around this issue. A particularly robust human can survive, a normal human could survive if they get immediate health care(including a transfusion to restore their blood), or a vampire could just 'sip' from several sources, spreading it out wide enough that little harm is done. As such, your vampire probably has, had, or will very much want, a little harem of 'ghouls', humans who are being manipulated(being made into better prey through the vampires 'tricks') and fed on. Feeding off of wild animals or livestock does not work, feeding off of medical donation blood bags does not work. Neither have enough of that 'breath' in them. Both give some sustenance and may stave off the thirst, but ultimately it would be like a human trying to live on water alone. Eventually you will weaken and crave more.

A vampires awareness extends into a sort of psychic level. As such they can perform various feats such as tracking prey by their aura, but more to the point here it means vampires have weaknesses to Sunlight(the radiation is an intense blanket effect, painfully blinding this level of awareness), suitably high amounts flowing material(they feel the feng shui flow and grow dizzy and disoriented, meaning a river would likely suck them under and the ocean tides are dangerous), and rival focused psychic power('Holy relics' used by a believer for example will cancel a vampires control, or two vampires fighting one another). Additionally, the only thing keeping a vampire alive is their self control, and suitable bodily trauma CAN be inflicted to kill a vampire through what would be considered 'mundane means' such as being impaled through the heart, spine, or brain, having their head removed, being burned to death, etc. Even soaking up bullet wounds can be fatal, since they feel every wound and while they can force themselves to heal almost instantly, eventually the pain and fatigue will overcome them and their minds will just give up.

This is running long, so I'll wrap up:

~~~~~~~~

Name:
Personality:
Additional Information:
Relationships with
~(fledglings sired if any)
~(ghouls controlled if any)
~(other player 1)
~(other player 2)
~(etc)

SEARCH:
Strength
Endurance
Agility
Reason
Charisma
Heart

Just think of it as 'I want my character to be better than that other character' and we'll work things out from there. I'm going to give a 'normal human' 10 points in each for the sake of this setting, and the older a vampire is the more likely they are to have built themselves up higher. Kindly don't go above 50 in any one stat however.

SPOILER: Click to show

{SEARCH explained}Strength is a physical stat representing your general muscle power, and can be divided into striking power(the amount of blunt damage that can be inflicted with one blow) and lifting power(the amount of weight that can be carried comfortably for a 'days work' before fatigue sets in). If your Striking and Lifting powers are different, list the average of the two(add them together and divide by 2), otherwise just list Strength as one general unit.
Besides punching and carrying, strength is also called on for such things as throwing, jumping and sprinting bursts of speed.

Endurance is a physical stat representing your general health and tolerances, and can be divided into blocking power(the amount of blunt damage that can be withstood with forewarning that you're going to take the blow and without flinching) and soaking power(the amount of hardships such as sickness or toxins the body can withstand before their abilities decrease). As with before, if they are different, use the average.
Besides taking punches and resisting poisons, Endurance is also called on for such things as holding your breath, recovering your hitpoints, and for how long you can marathon run before growing tired.

Agility is a partially physical stat that represents your coordination and dexterity, it can be divided into ranged agility(for hitting a target with a thrown object or dodging/catching something moving towards you) and melee agility(for hitting a close by target or wriggling out of bonds). As with the above two, and the following three, if there is a difference between the two use the average.
Agility is also used for driving skill checks, and determines the number of actions you can make in a round of combat(0-19 is one action per round, 20-29 is two, 30-39 is three, etc).

Reason is a mental stat that represents your thinking and learning ability. It can be divided into Holistic reasoning(for noticing details and making leaps of intuition) and Logical Reasoning(figuring out how things work together, and remembering information you've been exposed to).
Reason is used in combat as Holistic reasoning determines who 'goes first' as this represents being able to read others intentions and anticipate them. It's also how you can win at poker. Logical Reasoning is the limit to the number of skills or 'tricks' you know.

Charisma is a partially mental stat that represents how you present yourself to other people and how much control you have over how others see you. It can be divided into Charm(for convincing people to do as you ask them and for drawing attention to yourself) and Stealth(for avoiding notice and being mindful of your environment enough to blend into it).

Heart is a mental stat that represents your self control and sanity. It can be divided, for this game, into Humanity(the amount that you can fight your instincts or other not-reason induced urges to flee, kill, etc) and Blood(the amount of 'blood points' you can channel into vampiric 'tricks').

Combine the three physical stats to give you a hitpoints, or the amount of physical trauma you can withstand until you are no longer able to resist. This number can be bolstered through personal armor and can be regained through rest.

Combine the three mental stats to give you a 'blood pool' or the amount of power you on average have stored up for vampiric tricks such as recovering hitpoints without rest, altering your stats with temporary boosts, or other abilities. This number is increased by feeding and will decrease by spending it on 'tricks' or over time if it is above your average.

Even inanimate objects can be determined by these stats, though for something like a wooden board it probably has only Strength(for how much weight can be put on it before it breaks) and Endurance(for how hard you can hit it before it breaks), no agility as it doesn't move itself, no reason, no charisma, and no 'heart' unless it is somehow enchanted to have magic of it's own.

A 'normal healthy human adult' would have 10s in each stat, while the elderly or younger would have lower. It's possible you will encounter humans who have 20s or even 30s in their stats, though these are exceptional individuals(the 30s being 'superhuman' to normal people). Once you reach the 30s your physical abilities can not advance further without augmentation of some kind, as a human body with human muscle and bones can not be pushed beyond that level. Vampires have two ways of going around that, the first being their regeneration/shapeshifting ability that lets them restructure their bodies into something more effective than a humans(layering minerals into your skin to give a bonus to blocking endurance and provide a nice sparkling effect in the sun for example), and the second is (possibly unknowingly) utilizing telekinetic powers to boost speed and lift objects that their bodies should not be able to. Even so, only the most ancient of supernatural forces ever hit stats in the 50s, and many of them are revered as gods and wouldn't really fit in this setting.

Feeding drains a minimal of 1 hitpoint and 1 blood pool from the victim, adding 1 to the blood pool of the feeder. The maximum number that can be drained is limited only by the victims hitpoints or bloodpool(whichever is higher), and the speed at which this transfer takes place is based on the size of the wound(a good bite that opens a major artery is worth 5 hitpoints, plus an endurance check for fatigue from blood loss).

[JW%]

This post reserved for description of the city, the mansion, the Master/Sire(deceased as of the start of the IC thread, giving player characters their free will to turn against one another), and anything else that needs to be referenced.

Coasta Amore is a pleasant little sea side town, built initially as a portage for more important ports of Triumph City and Seaport City, later it grew as a fishing town, and currently exists primarily as a tourism center. Romantic beaches and cliffs blend with forest and mountains on all sides of the city, and the town offers food and lodgings of all levels of sophistication, from big chain fast food to unique gormet. There are at least two night clubs on opposite ends of the city, and during peak season often enough additional party places are generated as needed. Despite the weather, which is often north coast dreary with fog and rain being common all year round, this is still a popular 'spring break' destination for those in the larger cities who can't afford to head all the way down to California or further.

The mansion(named after the surname the Master has been using since the 1910s, players can vote on it), started off actually as a one story, three bedroom, one bath house(in an L shape, with the kitchen and bathroom at the elbow, the three bedrooms up the stalk, and a large 'grand hall' living room on the leg) with a few outlying buildings, like a barn and such. It has since expanded, 'organically', into something like a 16 bedroom(some of which have been converted to 'hobby rooms'), 5 bathroom(with additional 'half bath' attached to some bedrooms) and five fireplaces to heat(heating has been transferred to a gas furnace, but the fireplaces can still function). Not counting separate servants housings(which are few, most of the family likes keeping their ghouls close). It is now three stories tall, but with an additional wing almost completely beneath the ground and even in the section not above ground, each bedroom has a below ground 'cellar' area where the vampires can find respite from the sun. Because of the 'organic' expansion, the mansion is riddled with 'secret passages', some intentional some accidental. Most of these secret passages are rather embarrassing to use, requiring you to crawl through windows or chimneys, and as such are mostly used by children.

Additional features of the mansion and it's property include four meditative fish ponds, a large field that extends into suitable forested property, two solarium/green house, a barn(for storage or shop work), a pump house for the properties well, a small orchard/vineyard, a tree house with swing set(large enough for adult use), an underground five car garage(as part of the underground wing, which is basically the north wing repeated under ground in the south west corner), an observatory tower, and a mountain stream large enough to have a swimming hole and water wheel. Large sections of the rather steep roofing have been mounted with solar panels to offset electrical concerns(the water wheel just wasn't cutting it).

Here's rough sketch of the property, excluding the additional stories(the tower is three stories tall, the 'barn house'(north eastern wing) is two stories, the main wing not only has a second story, but has a second 'barn' type building on the west end that is three or two and a half stories tall) and underground areas.

Attachments:

[Penny Royals]

Name: Rosario
Personality: Hostile, ultra-effeminate and volatile, Rosario, much like the frontman of many bands, is a complete asshole diva. He's manipulative and arrogant, and prone to random, sudden fits of rage. However, he's somewhat endearing and charming upon occassion, and is very kind to children, animals, and the elderly, refusing to drink from them and helping them out if need be.
Additional Information:
tektek.org/av/336837
-Turned around the age of twenty-five, unknown how long ago - presumably somewhere in the eighties, and was definitely the frontman of a relatively unknown band around that time.
-Narcissistic personality disorder
-Genderfuck issues (it's a Penny character, what did you expect?)
Relationships with
Ghouls:
~Rosangela - tektek.org/av/337139 - Lustful and greedy, Rosangela gets jealous very easily. It is unknown just how long she's been hanging off of Rosario, but she has developed strange feelings for him.
~Augustine - tektek.org/av/337304 - The innocent group member, for the most part, Augustine is a young runaway whom Rosario took under his wing a few months back. She's exploring herself now, really.
~Judicael - tektek.org/av/337248 - Very little is known about Judicael, other than he is blind, and seemingly mute, and that he packs unseen strength to bring the average adult man to his knees. Has been with Rosario the longest, is his only male ghoul, and acts as his bodyguard.
~Amaranthe and Delphinium - He thinks both twins are quite cute, albeit he's not especially close with them (he's not especially close with anyone however). Finds Amaranthe quite fiesty, and Delphinium utterly adorable.
~Augustus - He's disgusted by him whenever he sees him, and returns the scorn.
((Reserved for PCs))

SEARCH:
Strength - 25
Endurance - 20
Agility - 20
Reason - 15
Charisma - 30
Heart - 20






Name: Delphinium "Del"
Personality: Delphinium is the slightly more boyish twin, and also the more 'innocent' of them, usually following her sister's lead. She's also a bit more crazy and reckless due to this, not realizing the connotations of her actions anymore. She may not have been totally there during her real life, anyway. She gets strangely attached easily, even to her victims (and the random trinkets she takes from them).
Additional Information:
img27.imageshack.us/img27/8011/9crb.png
She's an obsessive collector of many... strange articles. Eyeballs are her favorite, especially the moving ones, but bones are nice too. She she shoves whatever she finds that she fancies into her pockets, and usually attaches these things to bits of jewelry or bows whenever she gets home. Amaranthe disapproves, but she doesn't care. Along with this, she's somewhat of a kleptomaniac.
Both girls were turned in the Victorian era. They're about 14 years old physically, and are chronologically somewhere in their 150s.
Mentally, Delphinium is quite a bit younger than her sister.
Relationships with
~Amaranthe - Her twin, lover, and best friend.
~Augustus - Has a strange fascination with him, but Amaranthe won't let her get too close. Dang it.
~Rosario - With the disappearance of their 'Daddy,' both girls consider him the closest stand in as of yet. ((Subject to change if a better candidate for stand-in comes up))
~Rosangela - She likes her, mostly in a 'you're the only adult woman who's stuck around this long let me love you and be my mom' kind of way.
~Augustine - She wants to be her friiiend.
~Judicael - 'who is this and why is he holding that tie like that what's he going to do he's really scary stop'

SEARCH:
Strength - 20
Endurance - 20
Agility - 25
Reason - 10
Charisma - 25
Heart - 25

[Alastor]

Name: Amaranthe 'Amy'
Personality: Amaranthe is the girlier of the two twin girls, and generally speaking, the 'wiser and sane' of the two. She's usually keeping decent, if loose, control over her sister's actions- almost entirely because of her rather controlling personality, as well as desire to still live. She also seems to at least have a marginal sense of pacifism, as well, trying to avoid physically attacking any rivals. Besides, isn't that what her sister is best for?

Additional Information:
-http://i.imgur.com/AGKm4j3.png
-Converted to vampirism in France, 1851, when she was 14.
-Suffers from mild OCD
-Tries to pay lip service to morality when feeding- she's not barbaric, after all.
-Has a huge sweet tooth, even in death.

Relationships with
Fledgelings:
N/A, avoids making more vampires.

Ghouls:
N/A- though she's considered changing this, for the sake of easier feeding.

~ Augustus (Smart enough to know that he probably hates her. Avoids him, even if she's curious of his life and death)
~ Delphinim (Her twin, as well as lover. Probably the only person she genuinely trusts.)
~ Rosario (Current father figure, with the disappearance of their 'Daddy'. Even so, she seems to at least dislike the man's overtly glamorous life.)
~ Augustine (Finds her to be an older sibling figure, of sorts. At least one enough to ask her to buy her make up and sweets.)
~ Rosangela (Possibly the only adult human woman around. Sees her as a mother figure, like her sister.)
~ Judicael ('why did daddy take this man out of an s&m club, dearest sister, hold me he scares me')

SEARCH:
Strength- 15
Endurance- 20
Agility- 15
Reason- 25
Charisma- 25
Heart- 30

[JW%]

Name: Janissar Wallcrest
Personality: Janis(pronounced Yawn-nice), attempts to project himself as a proper gentlemans gentleman. He likes a formal and somewhat aged appearance, and seems to have taken an almost obsessive pride in maintaining appearances. Of course, he's not against things happening 'in the shadows', and tends to keep a close eye on those matters as well, even though he is far less likely to directly involve himself with such behind the scenes events. He has a keen mind and leverages his very impressive vampiric abilities in subtle measures. With the loss of the Master however, he might have his hands full with the chaos that could erupt.

Additional Information: Acted as the Masters Butler for the last several generations, and few of the 'family' know him as anything else(either because they're recent additions, or because the years have grown fuzzy after awhile), though he is most certainly one of them, possibly the oldest of the Masters 'children'(exactly when he was turned is questionable). With his age and keen inquisitive mind, along with his incredibly intense willpower and humanity, he has studied his own 'vampire condition', and has learned many things about it, being able to mesmerize a normal human with a focused glance and a few words, as well as shapeshifting his entire body and levitating himself and other objects(surprisingly handy for dusting the top shelf). He is obsessively neat, and has a tendency to straighten up things. He can focus on these menial tasks to distraction.

Relationships with:
~Janissar's relationship with the Master has 'cooled' over the eons. While there has been no loss of love, a familiarity has grown to the point that it seemed they took each other for granted, living as butler and millionaire or father and son or even brothers for a time in the 1800s, but nothing as passionate as the Master has had with many of the more recently sired vampires who have joined the 'family'. Given how long Janissar has known the Master, he likely will take some time to decide how he feels about the loss. Is it a wound that must be recovered from, an attack that must be avenged, or an opportunity to be grasp?

~Has sired at least two vampires. Neither resides at the mansion or has been heard of for some time. They are dealing with Janissars(and by extension the Masters) business concerns on the Far East and Europe respectively. He maintains a very friendly relationship with them(and they with each other), being a passionate lover towards them on the rare times one or both visits, or when he has left the Masters shadow to check on those business concerns himself. As he sired them, he still maintains the standard control over them, but they have built the relationship a bit beyond that, and if he is disposed of the two of them will likely investigate and avenge.

~Has only one as of the starting, a young woman who working with the local news channel whom he seduced and has been keeping as his lover. But he will quickly move to 'reclaim' the ghouls who are working as servants at the mansion, though some might have escaped as they regained their human spirit and not wish to be fed on. As the head butler, he has a form of authority over the other servants and some respect for his administrative skills(enough that a few of the mansions servants may be willing to be claimed by him and not run away at the moment of the Masters death). It's also possible he's taken lovers among the staff, though if he has he's being incredibly discrete about it. (The exact number of ghouls available will depend on how many player characters there are and how big the mansions staff needed to be)

~Janis and Augustus have come to live as estranged brothers. Both are ancient and neither was around for the turning of the other, leading there to be some question as to whom is older. Janis respects, and possibly fears, Augustus' clever manipulative mind, killer instincts, and raw physicality, but also looks down on him for his lack of foresight and general lack of enlightenment with the whole 'alpha predator' thing. Janis is loath to admit it, even to himself as it's not a 'proper' view, but he sees Augustus as the families 'attack dog' or hired killer. Extremely dangerous and useful in the right circumstances, loyal enough you would let your children(in this case Amy and Del) play with it, but ultimately not something you want revealed to society as being on your payroll or in your family and not something you would trust to not tear the throat out of the mailman at the slightest provocation. He is not looking forward to the day when he might have to 'put down the rabid dog' and hopes Augustus never forces the matter. In fitting with the 'brothers' Janissar tends to act exactly the opposite of Augustus, finding a purpose in subservience and maintaining appearances that Augustus can not, or will not.

~Amy and Del both often seem to be a nuisance to Janis. Of the two however, Amy, with her more proper behavior and tendency to reign in her sisters more flighty behavior seems to be his favorite, though in his efforts not to play favoritism, he might be treating Del slightly better, in an attempt to encourage her away from her more extreme behaviors. As is proper for his current assumed position, Janis often dotes on both the girls, reading them bedtime stories and letting them have snacks when they shouldn't, as well as teaching lessons(Amy seems more inclined towards them and Janis enjoys having her as his pupil). Having taken multiple forms throughout the generations, and having assumed the form of the girls father or brother often enough. Despite that, he is somewhat distanced from them and would never make a proper parental figure for either of them.

~Rosario is the baby of the group, the most recent vampire turned by the master, and a bit of a shocking one in Janissar's opinion, though he keeps that to himself. The fact that both Amy and Del appear younger and often act younger than Rosario does not elevate Rosario in Janis' eyes, and Janis approaches Rosario's temperment and quirks like one would approach an infant, with strained patience hoping that he will grow out of the phase of throwing tantrums and learn better with a little care and maybe some tough love. As fits his position, Janis often seems to be the doddering old butler to Rosario's rock and roll lifestyle, cleaning up after the messes and being supportive yet disapproving. As Rosario hasn't seen Janis in any forms but his present, it's possible Rosario doesn't think of Janis as anything more than additional 'furniture'. For now Janis is content with that, though he may need to do something to earn Rosario's respect and obedience soon...

~Rosario's ghouls Janis treats as an extension of Rosario for the most part, though at times he seems to hold them in higher esteem than Rosario himself. Rosangela seems easily manipulated into presenting herself as a 'proper' woman with the offers of wealth and sex(through Rosario), Augustine's innocence gives her an advantage there as long as Rosario doesn't corrupt her, and while Judicael's appearance is not socially acceptable his service to Rosario is admirable.

~(etc) ((Need to work it out with other players))

SEARCH:

Strength - 25
Endurance - 26
Agility - 32
Reason - 28
Charisma - 23
Heart - 35

[lovely corte]

Name: Avgust 'Augustus' Vynnychenko, the Ancient.
Personality: Arrogant and 'holier-than-thou', Augustus is of the mindset that as Apex Predators, the highest echelon of the food chain, that Vampires have dominion over all. From this, he also believes that the strongest Vampire is destined to lead.

This ultimately is himself in his own eyes.

He is sadistic and masochistic, numerous scars line his body where he has inflicted pain upon himself to test his limits. He is hateful and full of spite, despising the younger Vampires, believing them to be usurpers and instigators. However, he can play the part of companion and friend to fulfill his own purposes.

Additional Information: images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080821204525/marveldatabase/images/6/65/Jared_Nomak_02.jpg

He does not leave the mansion much, due to his appearance, and when he does, he layers himself over with clothing and make-up, as well as corrective lenses or sunglasses.

He is 'incapable' of only consuming the minimal necessary amount from what he calls 'cattle', believing that you should eat 'everything on your plate.'

Suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Paranoia and tends to be manipulative, patient and abusive, as well as tending to speak in a dramatic flair and overtones for show, making him appear 'wise' and 'ancient'.

Was turned in Kiev during the Black Death, somewhere in his late twenties.

Relationships with:
- He has a hateful relationship with Rosario, believing he is a failure and a terrible excuse of a Vampire. He especially believes that the 'child' has no right to control of the other Vampires.

- He refuses to 'father' any Fledglings or Ghouls, believing that the time to do so is when he requires an heir to his 'lineage', after finding the most suitable candidate.

- Considers Delphinium a good candidate for manipulation and is obvious of her intentions, considering using them to gain superiority over the others by drawing her to his side of the conflict.

- Despises Amaranthe, however he is willing to play nice to get his way. Considers her to be in the way of his objective and toys with the idea of having her killed or manipulating her to his loyalty through her sister.

((Basing this off the premise of the older the Vampire, the more powerful they are. So... correct me if you need too.))

SEARCH:
Strength: 30.
Endurance: 35.
Agility: 30.
Reason: 30.
Charisma: 20.
Heart: 25.

[JW%]

((The older a vampire is the more powerful they can be, yes. But he doesn't seem necessarily to have boosted all of his abilities steadily, and the higher you climb the harder it is to push higher. He particularly doesn't seem the kind who has gone to multiple schools and gotten multiple degrees and doctorates(the high Reason stat) plus pouring a lot of his blood pool into keeping his mind sharp and attentive over the many many years(massive memory stores lead to senility unless they're kept active and refreshed), though since he prides himself on his physicality, his strength, endurance, and agility can easily be in the 25 to 35 range.))

((A note on timelines: Victorian era was 1800s while the Black Death was 1300s. I was intending the Master to have taken part in the Roman Empire, though possibly not gained his freedom at that point, which means the cut off for this family having 'ancients' is around the 300s CE. Makes Rosari positively a baby in comparison if he was turned in the 1980s. Some might see him as little more than a somewhat favored ghoul...))

[JW%]

I was hoping for another player... oh well...

Anyway, everyone have their characters relationships with every other character worked out? Everyone picked out their characters claimed rooms(bedroom, hobby rooms, etc)?

We ready to start this?

[Alastor]

I've got my relationship worked out, but not the claimed rooms.

I think we can start anyway, though.

[lovely corte]

Yeah, on here and Skype and shit, we've worked out the relationships. Also, for Augustus, can I claim the top-most right section of the mansion, with the very right-most room being his one?

Seems isolated and something he'd prefer to get away from everyone.

And yeah, ready. :3.

[Penny Royals]

Girls would probably have a room close to the Master... Rosario would probably be on the first floor or something. Close to an exit, a little isolated but still with everyone.

[JW%]

I must have missed the Skype stuff... eh, oh well.

The upper right(or the northeast wing) was originally made of outlying buildings, including a barn(the exceptionally large 'room') It has since been converted, but retains the fact that one room is two stories tall(and not nearly as open as the floorplan suggests, as there's the stairway to the upper level and some support beams). To the north(And somewhat to the east) is the field once used for grazing animals, now it's just an empty field with a few and far between trees. Of course, the far right room has no windows, being built as basically an office/bedroom with a full sized bathroom attached by a hallway.

While I was thinking that Augustus might prefer the underground area... which I didn't add in the drawing, but is to the south west. The little square room at the far south west is a grand stairwell, doubled and divided. Entering it from the east takes you up to the second floor(the stairs turn north), while entering it from the north takes you down into the underground wing.

Still, the underground wing is where cars are parked, and not exactly distanced from everything. Plus it's the most modern section of the mansion(it would be fourth generation additions), and possibly not all that fitting, compared to the older parts. Putting Augustus out by the old forgotten mausoleum like structure built underneath the barn(formerly a cellar) might be more fitting.

The masters bedroom is(or rather is beneath), the second generation extension of the initial house, and the north most point in the main or southwestern wing. It's... a very good example of the organic nature of this construction, as you'll note a tiny 'half bath' attached to it, and a fireplace just north of that. Plus there is a second story room directly above it, and some funny closet work between it and the former master bedroom, plus the eastern window is now less a window and more a secret passageway into a narrow hallway(itself created by being squished by the long hallway built so you could walk from the main wing to the north wing/observatory tower without going outside into the weather... or sunlight).

I'm thinking that the twins have one of(if they are rooming together, perhaps in bunk beds) or two of the bedrooms to the south of that.

Rosario perhaps resides in the northwestern wing? Which itself was drawn from a double wide mobile home I used to live in. Three bedroom, two bath(one off the master bedroom, the other off the hallway between the other two bedrooms). The large area is supposed to have it's own kitchen, dining room, and a den/living room combination with most of the walls opened up to provide more space. His ghouls could be living in the other two bedrooms(or, y'know, just sleeping with him. Depends on how you want to play this).

There might not be too many servants living in the mansion actually(the servants quarters is also not drawn, it's to the southeast on the other side of the orchard/vinyard/garden area), given how small this all is. Maybe only nine or so, and reduced even further with the loss of the Master...

I really was expecting at least one more player.

[lovely corte]

Out of curiosity, how does sunlight affect our vampires? Is it like... based off their endurance until they burst into flames or is there something more behind it that we won't realize until we start playing the actual game itself?

[JW%]

I mentioned it briefly in the 'rules for being a vampire' thing, but I'll go over it again if you'd like.

During the day the whole side of the world is being blanketed with solar radiation. Even under six foot of cold earth, a vampire might still 'feel' the radiation from the sun(Holistic Reasoning check), like experiencing white noise. At that level it can be annoying or soothing, depending on the vampires personality, but either way it's something they can sleep through, and it's best for them if they do. What a vampire senses is beyond human senses, but basically each day the world is bombarded by energy. To humans this energy is invisible, to plants this energy is nurishment, and to vampires it's blinding(they use their ability to detect this energy to track and monitor prey during the night, so it's finely tuned for the hunt, and can be overloaded). Imagine if you will standing within the noise zone of a busy international airport, the wash of the jet engines close enough to feel. You're exposed to easily deafening noise which is harmful to your health. For a vampire, daylight is like that.

The less protection from that radiation the vampire has, the more oppressive it becomes. Standing in direct sunlight requires a Heart(Humanity) of at least 20 or being distracted and unable to focus(no tricks, no regeneration, etc), and an Endurance(Soaking) of at least 20 or they will be blinded and in great pain(which places a penalty on the Humanity check to perform any action not 'fight or flight'). A 25 or more and the effects start to drop off, allowing the vampire to either ignore the pain(Endurance) or distraction(Heart). At 30 points in both, they can probably effectively operate normally in sunlight, though both their Humanity and Soaking are reduced by 20 to 25 depending on the time of day, weather, etc. which means that they have been effectively reduced to human levels during the day.

Additionally, most weaker vampires don't go out in sunlight and even the stronger vampires don't like to go out into the sunlight. Which means their bodies aren't used to it. They're pale, and they sunburn superhumanly easily. So while they don't 'burst into flames' their skin might redden and blister within minutes of direct exposure. This is overcome through Endurance as well, and is factored into the pain mentioned above, but these burns leave a lasting reminder(and penalty) even after the vampire retreats from the sunlight and/or the sun goes down.

So a weak vampire might find themselves out of their protection during the day. Maybe they're hunting and lost track of time, maybe their sire or other powerful party wanted them dead and left them exposed, whatever. They'll find it impossible to concentrate, their vaulted keen senses painfully overloaded, and their ability to manipulate that very same energy to heal themselves, levitate objects(thus granting them super strength), and other supernatural feats cut off from them. The intense pain and distraction makes it difficult for them to think, and they simply react on instinct, fleeing for the nearest shadow to hide, even if it's one that will be gone as the sun traverses the sky. Within minutes of exposure their skin starts to redden as they sunburn. After a full day they'll have blistered and started bleeding on all parts of their skin that was exposed, the pain having driven them mad and probably clawing at the blisters. Even if they survive(which likely they won't), they'll not only have to recover their strength(IE feed and rest) but also concentrate on regenerating both burn injuries and skin cancer. And if they attempted to force a regeneration/transformation while in sunlight and being unable to concentrate, they might do more damage to themselves(this is how they would burst into flames, a panicked attempt to 'cast a spell' with an overabundance of energy to draw from and no concentration).

... I was going to start this after this post, and then I edited this like four times. I think it's late and I won't be doing anything coherent tonight.

[JW%]

tsdcv3.proboards.com/thread/5692/nocturne-ic

IC thread started.

Oh... "Hitpoints" are determined by adding the Strength, Endurance, and Agility of your character. When those hit zero your character is incapacitated and unable to fight(but not, necessarily, dead. Yet.) Given that this will probably come into play as the Player vs Player, the death will have to be worked out OOC. Defeat however can be 'skill based' by manipulating the numbers in your favor and making either a well written fight scene IC or an understandable argument OOC for why those numbers are being used(IE "You can't beat me with Agility, I'm using greater Strength to wrestle you to the ground and strangle you, there's no punching or shooting involved!").

"BloodPool" is determined by adding Charisma, Reason, and Heart. This is how much 'magic' you have. You gain more by feeding(one Hitpoint and one Bloodpool drained from a target gives the vampire one Bloodpool in return), and each turn you can only harness(or 'pump') as much as your Heart stat.

Same as the Health and Karma scores for Triumph City really.

[JW%]

We are accepting nominations for the last name that the family is currently using.

Alternately, if nobody HAS any nominations, just vote on either Vynnychenko or Wallcrest, the only two last names given so far(though it's kinda implied that NEITHER are the one being used by the family).

[Adlai Stevenson]

I nominate Cullen.

[lovely corte]

YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING WHORE MOUTH.

As much as I'd like my own dude's name on the building, Wallcrest sounds a lot more dignified.

[Alastor]

Yeah, Wallcrest.

[JW%]

Are we going to timeskip to sundown when everyone can be more active, or does anyone want to spend the afternoon and evening attempting to be 'productive'?

[Penny Royals]

Since I'm bleh, voting for timeskip or something.

[Alastor]

I feel a time jump to night would be better.

[JW%]

Double posted, advancing things to night when everyone should be active and moving about.