General World of Darkness Discussion Thread QQ Edition

[Rivan9000]

Alright... I'm working on the next snippet. Had to do a little research because of some reason I thought it was LaCrox that killed Heather and not Andrei and his Sabbat (I haven't played the game for a few years. Was going to... then I played VTMB 2 and got sad.)

So I had to change up a rant but it's fine in the grand scheme of things. I'm giving the Cab Driver a couple of lines here. Which has me nervous. But it's only three lines. How badly can I fuck up writing the guy with only three lines!
....
Don't answer that.

I think the meat and potatoes will be the Fledgling facing down Stig.

Stig is going to be.. tricky. Not even going to try at the bi-lingual thing. At least not beyond a couple of words.

I'm not sure exactly how their personalities will clash. But I'll figure it out when I get there.

 

[Nervaqus987]

I don't know why wouldn't the Leopoldites of all people not use silver weapons against a werewolf though. Either they overused the Delerex and turned their brains to mush or the writers dropped the ball to cause tension in a stupid way.

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There's theories going around that the silver ammo they should have had was tampered with or replaced.

They get a lot of supplies from good old Granddad Foodstuff, aka Pentex who just recently put Door and the family on The List for that Worm Freak line. It wouldn't be surprising for them to go for the sabotage route to get the Family and the Arcannum killed by werewolves.

At about 19:50, you actually see Stig get shot in the back and he has zero reaction to it.

Notably, the only other injury that gets a reaction out of Stig is Remold's phosphorous bullet, with fire being one of the ways to deal Agg damage to a werewolf. Although, Stig was able to regenerate that in good order. Healing Agg isn't easy, though. There are a couple of Gifts that can manage it though and Wyld Resurgence(one of the ones that can) is a Level 1 Gift.

Interestingly, when Kitten stabbed Stig, we see the wound smoking. Stig didn't react to it, but he was also under psychic assault from the Wyrm Christ, so he may have been preoccupied.

Seems like the silver on the melee weapons is legit, but the bullets aren't. Which does fit if the idea is murder by werewolf. Even if you have a way to hurt them, getting in arms reach of a werewolf isn't exactly a winning strategy.

 

[Gedou_Meta]

Looking back at old books.

Michael, a malkavian, is literally just a severely, painfully autistic shy guy with the mind of a child when it comes to derangements and is honestly one of the few times where I look at the humanity rating 10 and go "Yeah you know what I believe it" as if the universe looked at this one particular vampire that was forcibly turned and went "Okay this is depressing enough we aren't touching this" outside of being, well, blood bound. He also lacks Dementation but again, early vampire and I can honestly see him just not being able to figure out that Dementation is a thing and no one telling him how to use it.

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Besides being early Vampire, it's specifically early Vampire from when the Malk (Cam) discipline spread had Dominate instead of Dementation which didn't, IIRC, come about until we got to see the Sabbat Malkavians. Then in edition change, all the Malkavians got Dementation instead of Dominate by default.

 

[gale]

You're not wrong, but being less flippant doesn't really make it less dickmeasure-y.

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Their Mages, Dramatic is their nature

 

[shadowdice]

Besides being early Vampire, it's specifically early Vampire from when the Malk (Cam) discipline spread had Dominate instead of Dementation which didn't, IIRC, come about until we got to see the Sabbat Malkavians. Then in edition change, all the Malkavians got Dementation instead of Dominate by default.

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He didn't have dominate either

 

[Rivan9000]

Alrighty... only have about 600 words right now. I am taking this easy last time I spat the snippet out in 2 hours. Considering that by my guess this thing is going to hit 2.5k easy?

Nope I am going to take my time.

But I'm going to post my progress on occasion. A little experiment to see if it will help me keep the motivation up. So congrats! This thread shall be my testing ground to see if I can trick my brain into writing more!

Spoiler: Renna 3: A stupid thing. (partial)

"The Chapter House was attacked. The red one, taken. Now Garou and Hunter are on a collision course and the blood of sinners and heroes is about to flow. What will you do?"

Those were the Cab Driver's words.

Smug bastard!

Those were people.

My mind went to the red one… Markus and his friends.

As per my agreement with Big-D I kept my nature secret but I also kept an eye out for him. Smart man. Strong convictions.

I think if it had been him I'd faced back at the Sin Bin… that night would have ended very differently.

There was that straight laced fellow… couldn't remember his name. Polite though. When he realized I was American he offered a fair tip for my work.

I denied it but the gesture was well meaning and good.

Then… that girl.

She… was like Heather.

My greatest mistake. A life I should have been able to save.

The Sabbat bled for that.

Not one survived.

And Andrei…

That monstrous face twisted in terror when I was done.

I knew so little of Ghouls. Back then when I saved Heather all I knew was that my blood could make someone stronger. Could heal.

All I saw that night was a young woman, dying as the doctors ignored her.

In the end, I couldn't save her.

When I spoke to that girl. When I realized what she was…

It all came back.

"Oi! What's with the staring luv. Got somethin' on me face?"

I laughed it off then.

Just told her that she reminded me of an old friend.

Wasn't sure on how to approach her. Didn't know her master. I wasn't even sure if she could be freed from the blood in her veins.

Was it even in my place to try?

So, all I could do was watch. Provide a safe place and be ready. There was a lot of joy when she was around her friends…

But there was a name.

A name that had been spoken only once.

Kitten.

The hate that crossed her face… and who it was aimed at chilled my dead heart.

When fury and loathing was aimed at the self?

A dreadful mixture.

Markus' words were telling.

"Hey. We're here Grim! You're not alone. We are here. We don't hate you. I promise."

Gave them a more private corner to grieve and rest. Only soda and water. Their tab for the night forgiven.

Not like I didn't have the money to cover for them.

I was a stranger. So, I could only help as a stranger would. Power beyond mortal kin… and yet it didn't matter in the least. What good was strength that reaved steel? What good was speed that could outstep the wind?

What good was any of this power when it couldn't wipe away tears.

The Cab Driver came by that day. I told him what I thought. About him, about power and about this whole sad world.

It was the first time I ever saw… sorrow in his eyes. He only had two words to offer me.

"I'm sorry."

I think… he meant them. Though I wonder if they were truly meant for me.

Now here I was. Rushing into another den of monsters to save the lives of those would see me burn.

A foolish thing.

I had my knife.

Silver.

I thought it wisdom to carry something of such nature. I fought a Werewolf without the benefit of silver once. Never before or since had I came so close to Final Death.

So just before I took my leave from L.A. I decided that Jack owed me one.

He agreed.

It wasn't good as the sword back at my haven but it could be concealed.

 

[Gedou_Meta]

He didn't have dominate either

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Sounds right. Though at the time, he could in theory have developed Dominate like he could Auspex or Obfuscate, but he'd have to learn Dementation the same as he would have to learn Protean. With a sip of blood and a teacher. I forget if the physical trio had been also excepted out by then or not.

 

[Notsae66]

Alrighty, I just managed to wrangle a pack of complete noobs into trying a run of good ol' vampire! And, of course, one of their first questions was "what books do I need?" We're running v20, and I figured I'd ask what books, aside from the 20th edition core book obviously, you all think are either essential or very useful I should loan them/recommend to them? I have a few in mind, but it's been a while since I was a noob and I figured I might as well draw upon my fellow wretches to see what others think.

 

[shadowdice]

Alrighty, I just managed to wrangle a pack of complete noobs into trying a run of good ol' vampire! And, of course, one of their first questions was "what books do I need?" We're running v20, and I figured I'd ask what books, aside from the 20th edition core book obviously, you all think are either essential or very useful I should loan them/recommend to them? I have a few in mind, but it's been a while since I was a noob and I figured I might as well draw upon my fellow wretches to see what others think.

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It depends on where the game is in universe and what faction you are doing.

Honestly the main thing you really need is the core book and maybe the companion

Outside of that it depends on what clans they want to play

 

[Maragas]

Alrighty, I just managed to wrangle a pack of complete noobs into trying a run of good ol' vampire! And, of course, one of their first questions was "what books do I need?" We're running v20, and I figured I'd ask what books, aside from the 20th edition core book obviously, you all think are either essential or very useful I should loan them/recommend to them? I have a few in mind, but it's been a while since I was a noob and I figured I might as well draw upon my fellow wretches to see what others think.

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To copy myself from the past.

Long and Comprehensive: Vampire: Start with V20 Core, continue with Guide to the Camarilla, Sabbat and Anarchs. Afterwards, read the Clan Books of the clans you are interested or want to play as. Optionally, Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra, Elysium, and Sins of the Blood to broaden your perspective on Septs, Vampirism and morality.

Fast and Basic: Vampire: V20 Core and Lore of the Clans. I would highly recommend reading Guide to the Camarilla though.

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[Rivan9000]

Yo! Got a question. Some folk over on SB were talking about how the Prince in Great Yarmouth would insta lose to a Werewolf like Stig. Noting that she was only a 7th gen Tremre.

Wanted a bit of a fact check on that. (Especially since my plan was for the Fledgling to be more or less even with the guy)

 

[shadowdice]

Yo! Got a question. Some folk over on SB were talking about how the Prince in Great Yarmouth would insta lose to a Werewolf like Stig. Noting that she was only a 7th gen Tremre.

Wanted a bit of a fact check on that. (Especially since my plan was for the Fledgling to be more or less even with the guy)

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did they say prince or Regent because those are two different titles and it would be incredibly rare for one to be both.

Regent is the head of the tremere chantry, not the entire city.

And a 7th gen tremere, and a regent at that (someone likely to have multiple schools of thaumaturgy at level 5) is someone who may very well be able to transmute the ground into silver, conjure a spirit, tear out all the water in someone's body, boil the blood inside their body, summon bane spirits....like choose a thaumaturgical path from any book and there is a chance they have five dots in it.

Hell even if they only mastered path of blood (unlikely for a regent) that includes Blood Boil and "I spend every day using magic so instead of a 7th gen i walk around as a 6th or lower gen"

edit

that is along with "I use telekinesis and fly in the air like superman" and possibly having Gargoyle servants

 

[Rivan9000]

did they say prince or Regent because those are two different titles and it would be incredibly rare for one to be both.

Regent is the head of the tremere chantry, not the entire city.

And a 7th gen tremere, and a regent at that (someone likely to have multiple schools of thaumaturgy at level 5) is someone who may very well be able to transmute the ground into silver, conjure a spirit, tear out all the water in someone's body, boil the blood inside their body, summon bane spirits....like choose a thaumaturgical path from any book and there is a chance they have five dots in it.

Hell even if they only mastered path of blood (unlikely for a regent) that includes Blood Boil and "I spend every day using magic so instead of a 7th gen i walk around as a 6th or lower gen"

edit

that is along with "I use telekinesis and fly in the air like superman" and possibly having Gargoyle servants

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Let me double check.

Regent! I used wrong word because I silly.

Gargoyle servants

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I remember those from the video game. Nasty bugger.

I do also seem to recall that Kevin thought the Regent was a rather stupid woman... but that's Kevin. He doesn't seem to know about the deeper powers Kindred can call up.

Also SB seem to be at least semi-fanbois for the Garou...

I meant, I get it. I'm over here hoping the yuri is not doomed (we all know it is). And they are cool.

Anywho, thanks for the info.

 

[Maragas]

Yo! Got a question. Some folk over on SB were talking about how the Prince in Great Yarmouth would insta lose to a Werewolf like Stig. Noting that she was only a 7th gen Tremre.

Wanted a bit of a fact check on that. (Especially since my plan was for the Fledgling to be more or less even with the guy)

Click to shrink...

It depends. Consider the facts.

1. A 7th Gen is quite a bit more powerful than the higher gens but not worth much without age.
2. A Regent means they are the most experienced/capable (Or they have a good enough backing) Tremere so they lead the local Tremere chantry and other Tremere.
3. A Prince means they are the most powerful power wise, or the most influential and connected, or a puppet.
4. And they are in England. The Old World where vampires are generally way older than those in USA and so standards for power are a few levels above the standard.

Any combination of the two would make a powerful vampire.

Of course it can be something else. Maybe they are young as fuck. Maybe they just used their connections to become a Regent or Prince, maybe they are a puppet of someone else and maybe this is like V5 and all the actual Elders away so neonates are playing as Princes. But generally a powerful Tremere.

Which would mean mastery of at least a Thaumaturgy Path if not more and several in various degrees of mastery with a bunch of rituals. This doesn't even include other Disciplines.

There is a chance Stig would just die if he ever gets near the dude if they have something like Dehydrate.

Spoiler: Dehydrate

TLDR: There is a reason why Elder Vampires are worth more Renown than even a pack of Black Spiral Dancers.

Spoiler

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Sir Talley the Hound, a 7th gen Lasombra mercenary, hunts lupines in the Black Forest as a vacation.

 

[shadowdice]

In short the people saying it is no diff are either Garou Stan's or susceptible to Garou aura farming

 

[Sol Hammer]

Sir Talley the Hound, a 7th gen Lasombra mercenary, hunts lupines in the Black Forest as a vacation.

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Do we know at what ranks those Garou are? I doubt he can hunt Garou at the ranks of Elder or Legend with ease.

And on that matter, how old and how powerful must a vampire get to be able to hunt Garou as a vacation?

 

[vighzs]

Yo! Got a question. Some folk over on SB were talking about how the Prince in Great Yarmouth would insta lose to a Werewolf like Stig. Noting that she was only a 7th gen Tremre.

Wanted a bit of a fact check on that. (Especially since my plan was for the Fledgling to be more or less even with the guy)

Click to shrink...

That's really a flip of coin but considering she is a Tremere in Mithras's backyard (even if he might be hiding or undergoing that weird plot where he is hijacking I think a Sabbath vamp after he got diablirised semi willingly) chances are she is of the "I cast exsanguaniation fuck you" tier mage

Also I just checked the TTS/WoD thread on SB (if you did not talk about it I would not have realised it even existed/was functional). If you want to include the Kuei-Jin in your story and do not want to use their 90's clusterfuck background I suggest using the Storyteller's Vault Supplement Kindred of the East: The Relentless Age, that is rather popular fanwork made by people with a bit more knowledge concerning Asian Culture, did not have time to read it (currently researching the nightmare that is WoD California), but I haven't heard bad things about that fan supplement

 

[gale]

Do we know at what ranks those Garou are? I doubt he can hunt Garou at the ranks of Elder or Legend with ease.

And on that matter, how old and how powerful must a vampire get to be able to hunt Garou as a vacation?

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Old and experienced, Elder Vampires can in fact do that. But what they can't do is go hunt the Caren the Garou lives at. That likely ends in their final death

 

[Nervaqus987]

Spoiler: woof slander

View: https://www.tumblr.com/basement-hobo/826138994441125888/hunts-slander-post-61

 

[Rivan9000]

That's really a flip of coin but considering she is a Tremere in Mithras's backyard (even if he might be hiding or undergoing that weird plot where he is hijacking I think a Sabbath vamp after he got diablirised semi willingly) chances are she is of the "I cast exsanguaniation fuck you" tier mage

Also I just checked the TTS/WoD thread on SB (if you did not talk about it I would not have realised it even existed/was functional). If you want to include the Kuei-Jin in your story and do not want to use their 90's clusterfuck background I suggest using the Storyteller's Vault Supplement Kindred of the East: The Relentless Age, that is rather popular fanwork made by people with a bit more knowledge concerning Asian Culture, did not have time to read it (currently researching the nightmare that is WoD California), but I haven't heard bad things about that fan supplement

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Meh.

Only reason I brought up the Kuei-Jin was basically to break the ice and laugh at the absurd. Backfired is what that did!

Anywho, I'm going to stick with my original plan for my Snippet. That the Fledgling is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Stig in a straight fight. Not easy by any metric. Very stupid to do it. There is so little to gain. She's not even really doing it for Grimal....

She's doing it for Heather. One thing I decided early on was that the Fledgling failed to save Heather. Oh she made the Sabbat scream for that. Andrei died... alone and terrified. But... that didn't help.

Also rolling with the 'Grimal is a Ghoul' thing. Watch that get tossed out the window next episode lol.

Edit: Tbh... if my version of the Fledgling even got a whiff of Kevin and learned he was in the Sabbat... someone would need to talk fast.

Very fast.

 

[shadowdice]

Meh.

Only reason I brought up the Kuei-Jin was basically to break the ice and laugh at the absurd. Backfired is what that did!

Anywho, I'm going to stick with my original plan for my Snippet. That the Fledgling is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Stig in a straight fight. Not easy by any metric. Very stupid to do it. There is so little to gain. She's not even really doing it for Grimal....

She's doing it for Heather. One thing I decided early on was that the Fledgling failed to save Heather. Oh she made the Sabbat scream for that. Andrei died... alone and terrified. But... that didn't help.

Also rolling with the 'Grimal is a Ghoul' thing. Watch that get tossed out the window next episode lol.

Edit: Tbh... if my version of the Fledgling even got a whiff of Kevin and learned he was in the Sabbat... someone would need to talk fast.

Very fast.

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I am not surprised by SB devolving when Kuei Jin are mentioned

 

[Maragas]

I don't know about the other thread (I assume the Alfabusa one?) since I didn't read it in a few days but Kuei-jin is fine. It is nowhere near actually mean-spirited as say Gypsies (or Book of the Weaver). Kuei-jin and really the whole Asia-specific books are mostly full of love, has some of the coolest art* and plot threads to follow.

Is it stereotypical? Yes. It was literally 1998. (And half the WoD is stereotypical) But some of the best stuff you can find in WoD came from Year of the Lotus.

*

Spoiler

 

[SGB]

Anywho, I'm going to stick with my original plan for my Snippet. That the Fledgling is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Stig in a straight fight. Not easy by any metric. Very stupid to do it. There is so little to gain. She's not even really doing it for Grimal....

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You said brujah for her clan right? Given the ridiculousness of the fledgeling's power growth, his she purely Potence/Celeritymaxed? Any Presence mixed in? Fortitude can also just be learned as one of the three physicals too. Idk about out of clan disciplines for them, but who knows?

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Do we know at what ranks those Garou are? I doubt he can hunt Garou at the ranks of Elder or Legend with ease.

And on that matter, how old and how powerful must a vampire get to be able to hunt Garou as a vacation?

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Just that it's the Black forest.

He's 7th gen and just about 700 years old.

Also if I did it incorrectly before. Lupines. Because cross splat WoD never really works well.

In short the people saying it is no diff are either Garou Stan's or susceptible to Garou aura farming

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Yeah. Fr. A garou will slaughter young or high gen leeches. They're strong. But then the older and lower gen vamps are like 'this is like a shot of expresso, this lupine blood.'

Odin is notorious for waking from torpor, destroying the local lupine population, and then going back to sleep.

I suggest using the Storyteller's Vault Supplement Kindred of the East: The Relentless Age, that is rather popular fanwork made by people with a bit more knowledge concerning Asian Culture, did not have time to read it (currently researching the nightmare that is WoD California), but I haven't heard bad things about that fan supplement

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I would second this recommendation. It's got a lot of love put into it, it's coherent, it's respectful to both the OG KotE and Asian cultures, laid out relatively well. Suffers from the usual 'pick a splat.' It might as well be a proper book.

It's good stuff.

I am not surprised by SB devolving when Kuei Jin are mentioned

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Because SB is anti-fun.

Can't enjoy anything unless it's artistically correct, Worm, or generic as fuck.

 

[chillyAvian]

The Kuei-Jin, from what I've seen at least, just commit the sins of being really sino-centric and a bit of a headache to play.

Third on using The Relentless Age. You won't have to juggle four types of Chi using it.

 

[Rivan9000]

God damn! that art is beautiful.

Also do I want to know how they handled the Romani?

ou said brujah for her clan right? Given the ridiculousness of the fledgeling's power growth, his she purely Potence/Celeritymaxed? Any Presence mixed in? Fortitude can also just be learned as one of the three physicals too. Idk about out of clan disciplines for them, but who knows?

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Basically her sheet is completely maxed out. But nothing extra. My original plan was sticking just to the videogame sheet. But tbh Presence doesn't really fit with the Fledgling I'm playing around with.

On one hand, I want to stick to my plan and limitations. I worry that adding in Fortitude would be too much and too on the nose.

On the other hand, that Discipline fits the character and I did make note in an earlier snippet that she had grown stronger after her battle in L.A.

Gonna have to think.

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Also do I want to know how they handled the Romani?

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The book is literally called 'Gypsies.'

 

[Rivan9000]

The book is literally called 'Gypsies.'

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Oh... oh nooooo.

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

Oh... oh nooooo.

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I mean, granted, in the American zeitgeist, no one I am aware of knew that Gypsy was a slur. It was just the word to refer to the 'weird nomadic people' in Europe. Like 'Irish' for people from Ireland.

I didn't know 'Roma' and 'Romani' existed until I was well into my twenties.

But yeah.

It's bad. It's 'All Ravnos are criminals and the Ravnos are the gypsy vampire clan' tier.