House Rules

Merits Not Written in Stone

I just want to give everyone a heads up that the value of certain Merits are subject to change due to IC actions, not necessarily having anything to do with XP, IC money, or even your own choice or knowledge.

For example, if a bank moves out of town because of a storyline, everyone's financial Influence points could drop. Your IC goal then, might be to keep tabs on current events to find out that might happen, and take steps to prevent it. Or... If Internal Affairs starts cracking down on the local police because the Police Influence is being used to frequently by too many players, everyone's police influence will drop until that investigation is called off. Etc...

Also, things like Allies and Contacts will usually be in the form of NPCs, rather than just a vaguely defined ability. Therefore these 'Merit NPCs' like any other NPCs, are subject to changes caused by both the IC environment and direct actions from other PCs.

For example, let's say Jack has 1 dot in "Allies (Political)". Jill is doing some underhanded Political deeds, and knows that Jack doesn't like her. So she wants to hinder his ability to figure out what she's up to. She could in fact RP out killing that NPC Politician, thus subtracting that dot from Jack's sheet. Then the Police show up to investigate. They find Jack's name in the politician's files and question him. Jack proceeds to RP out the act of Ghouling the cop that's questioning him, giving himself a dot in "Retainer (Police)" in the process.

All of that happened entirely without any XP expenditures because it was role-played out. If it's not RPed, and instead based on a roll, then you still have to pay the XP or IC money. Think of it as paying for the benefit of having the ST assume your character knows more about how to work those Merits than you do OC. The system is nothing more than a guard against powergaming, and the points are nothing more than a shortcut. First and foremost is role-play. You can get almost anything for free if you work hard enough for it in-game.

Vampirism is Not an Exact Science

The Curse isn't necessarily predictable. Its affect on the human body may have very slight variations from person to person. Some are more noticeable, such as the existence of Bloodlines. Others might not be noticed at all unless, say, the corpse of your victim doesn't ash, instead leaving behind a bloody 150lb pile of evidence. Might have something to do with their age, or the way they were killed. Or maybe I'll have it all based on the luck of the dice. Maybe it takes on the appearance of how they would look if they still physically aged while a Vampire.

Or maybe it does ash. Well that could be even worse because it turns out your victim had enough influence to where they'd be missed. Now it's not a police murder investigation. Rather, it goes to FBI Missing Persons. (I'm also a fan of Without a Trace. )
And in WoD when you think of the FBI, think X-Files. You don’t want them involved. They know things...

Blood Taint

There's an optional rule in the book that addresses the issue of overly frequent Taint rolls, especially when it comes to a large gathering of Kindred, such as an Elysium meeting. I'd like to officially put it into affect here for this game. Basically, if you're playing a Vampire who's expecting to encounter another Vampire, such as a planned meeting or a known Kindred hangout, you needn't roll for the affects of the Taint.

Guns vs. Swords

According to the book, blades deal Lethal damage to Vampires, while Firearms deal Bashing. In other words, according to this system, a 2-inch pocket-knife will hurt a Vampire more than a hole punched clear thought in its body by a piece of lead traveling at roughly the speed of sound.

From a stats perspective I can actually kind of understand this. If they were to both do realistic damage, the only option left for a pro/con balance of melee vs. ranged weapons would be for the costs to be dramatically different. And with only 5 increments of resources, there just isn't enough room for that kind of difference in price. So instead, to balance the fact that blades are at an obvious disadvantage to the ranged weapons, White Wolf says they get to do more damage as an award for the effort of getting a hit off in the first place.

Well, in real life, those items aren't balanced. Someone with a $50 revolver is in fact going to have a much greater advantage than someone with a $5000 Katana.
That's why you don't see cops carrying Katanas. It's not suppose to be balanced and practical. So to sum up, firearms and Blades now both deal Lethal Damage to Kindred.

IC PMs

No such thing. PMs are for OC use only, because there's enough to keep track of with the IC threads as it is without having to worry about someone else's inbox. If you want a private conversation request a private thread.

Double-posting

This rule is simple, and I use to think universal among all messageboards RP or otherwise. Don't do it. If there is something else you want do add, edit your previous post, rather than adding a new one. However, don't post too many actions in the same scene without giving other players or the ST a chance to react. This rule doesn't apply to the OC thread.

Fame Merit

Due to the fact that the drawback can easily outweigh the advantage, I feel an amendment is necessary here. If you specify in what circles you're famous (i.e. seen on TV, mentioned in folk lore, reputation in crime circles), and in what form (face, voice, M.O.), the affects if this Merit, both positive and negative, will only go so far as the form you specify.

ST Mistakes

Yes, on rare occasions, it happens. If you catch a mistake of any consiquence, consider it a free XP.

IC Travel

Occasionally I like to backtrack through the events of your character to make sure I have my facts straight. To that end, please mark your last post within a thread with "-> To [insert location here]" before moving to a different thread. And enter the new thread with "[from previous location] ->".

IC Cash to OC Stats

One of the things that's always bugged me about WoD is the fact that boons are being passed around like currency, while actual IC currency has been completely devalued. Another thing that bothers me is that the "cost" of equipment listed in the book refers to how many dots in Resources you need in order to acquire each item. But each level in Resources pays off a certain amount of IC cash every month, while the purchase of a weapon is just a one shot deal. To put that much XP into a stat just to get your hands on a decent gun seems like kind of a waste. (By the way, given the slow passage of IC time in an online game, that monthly payoff doesn't actually refer to a month of IC time, because OC it would just talk too damn long.)

The solution is to add a stat value to IC money. One Resource dot costs 2XP, with a monthly payoff of $500. So we divided the monthly payoff by the dot’s XP value to conclude that $250 = 1XP whose expenditure has to be role-played out, or one dot toward the ‘cost’ of an item as listed in the book.

Here are some examples of how this might be used:
[th]Merits:[/th]

You're character has no relation whatsoever to the police. No contacts, allies, retainers, or status. However you want to find out something from them that they're unwilling to release to the general public. In fact, only the Captain knows all the details. In essence, you want 3 dots in Police Contacts. 3 X 250 = $750. So rather than spend 12XP for a permanent 3 dots when you really only need it this one time, simply bribe a cop with about $750, and he'll act as your Contact and tell you what you want to know. The difference between this and a Contact bought with XP is that it only lasts so long as you keep paying him. And the price and duration of the alliance may vary. There's also no guarantee of loyalty.

[th]Equipment:[/th]

A shotgun is listed as requiring 3 dots in Resources to acquire. Again, 3 X $250 = $750. Now, if you want your character to get that shotgun, you have the option to either spend 12XP to raise your Resources to level 3 as per the book’s rules, or you may acquire and spend $750 in-game, and explain exactly where that gun came from. This, by the way, is also the value of your weapons should you decide to sell them.

By the way, I understand that some scenarios will result in more realistic prices than others. But for the sake of not making this any more complicated than it needs to be... just go with it.

Maximum Successes

I found out through my own experimentation that a twinked out character can still be built, while still technically recognizing the level 3 cap described in the Character Creation. So I believe one more min/maxing prevention is necessary, in the form of an optional rule in the book. That is, the maximum number of successes for any given roll can not exceed the value of the highest trait within that dice pool. (Basically makes a moot point out of a dice pool that's stacked to the point of overkill.) However, although this may in fact put the cap on the number of successes recognized, the type may still be 'exceptional' if 5 or more of them is rolled, with all the bonuses that would come with.

Ghouling Blood

This is a minor detail, and in most cases inconsequential. But there's a chance it could come up, so I'm going to set this rule in place as it opens up potential new options. The act of Ghouling requires one point of Kindred Vitae, and one Willpower point from either the Kindred or the prospective Ghoul. (The latter is deliberately kept secret from most Ghouls though.)

The question becomes, where is that WP being fed... into the Ghoul, or into the blood itself. I'm going to rule that it infuses a particular power in the Vitae itself. In most cases, this detail doesn't make any difference, because Kindred blood doesn't remain Vitae outside the body for more than a few seconds before turning into just a mesh of blood from that Kindred's recent meals.

However there are some abilities that allow a Kindred to store it longer. Between those abilities and this rule, the option now exists to create and store blood that has the potential to Ghoul whomever drinks it, without having to spend any of their own Willpower.

Charismatic Devil

This is more of an fyi than a rule, but to be honest, I don't know where else to stick this note. Just so everyone knows, my NPCs, even the "nice" ones, are not necessarily honest or trustworthy, nor do they always reflect what I, OC, actually think of you, your character, or your options. If you want to know what I really think of your situation, you're more than welcome to ask at any time. And there's no rule against asking for advice either, I'd be happy to answer the "what would you do if you were in this position" question. The only thing I won't give you are plot spoilers. (However keep in mind that the results of my suggested actions falls in the category of 'spoilers'. So just because I tell you what I might do in your position, and what would 'probably' happen, doesn't always mean it's actually the "right" thing to do at the time. I'm not going to make it easy for you, that would defeat the purpose. ) Anyway... this is the WoD, so watch your back, because I'm not going to do it for you.


Extended Actions

This is another optional rule I'll be adopting. The maximum number of rolls allowed in an extended action is equal to the total dice pool therein. Though I'll add that you may try again that same number of times on the next IC day. Suffice to say if it takes any more than that, then IC, it's just an exercise in futility.

Diablery

If you like, at character generation, you may raise your blood potency by one by including Diablery in your background. However this comes at a price. First of all, there is the mandatory reduction of a Humanity point, as well as the test for blood addiction. Secondly, you'll have to include details of the event in your character background, as well as a brief description of the victim. After that, you have some options. The first option is to have the black veins in your aura, and leave it at that. The second option is to say that enough time has passed that the black veins don't show up, at the cost of a Humanity roll to determine if you have a derangement from the act instead. And the third option is to say that your character actually managed to pick up a free discipline dot from the victim. However the price for that is an automatic minor derangement. If, on top of that, you want to write out the black veins as well, you'll have to make a Humanity roll to see if that derangement will in fact be a major one. Though keep in mind, all of this can vary based on the idea you pitch to me.

Shier Luck

The need for a rule like this was brought to me by a player here, and the solution was borrowed from a friend of mine who ST's a game of his own. The argument was simply this. When making a roll, if you get a really kickass result, such as several 10s, then something cool aught to happen regardless of the number of successes to represent just plain and simple luck.

The example that was put to me was an archery competition. Robinhood vs. a layman. The layman doesn't stand a chance, right? But what if, just what if, that layman gets struck by lightning while winning the lottery at the same time. What if out of shier dumb luck rather than skill, he manages to split Robinhood's arrow down the middle?

The solution is to have these random occurrences happen whenever a similarly rare dice roll occurs. So here's the bottom line. Whenever a 10 is rolled, followed by another 10 on that die's reroll, something incredibly lucky will happen as a result.

Let's take firing a gun as an example. You make the firearms roll and one of the dice yields two 10s. One of three things may happen:
Stat Bonus- Additional damage is dealt to the target, or it somehow hits more than one.
Theatrics- The target ducks behind cover. But your aim was so good that it went clear through that cover and hits the target between the eyes anyway, not only dealing damage, but startling everyone else in the scene to your superb accuracy.
Luck- (This will probably be the most common type of result.) The bullet hits your target, goes through his body, ricochets off the wall behind him, and flies into the surveillance camera that you didn't even know was there and would have otherwise resulted in his allies seeing the conflict and moving in to help him.

Covenant Status

Anyone who has Covenant status must be able to play the part of a character who's knowledgeable enough about that Covenant to have earned that status. (Duh) What this means is, you need to have access to the necessary material. For one dot, you only need the VtR Core book. Any more than that though, and I'm going to have to require that you also have access to the book pertaining to that Covenant, unless the status is earned in-game.

Stunt Driver Revisited

This merit is no longer necessary to drive while multitasking. I'll just have you make a drive roll with an appropriate penalty. However if you want to reduce that penalty, you can still take this merit in it's new and improved form.

Stunt Driver is now a 1 to 3 Merit. It eliminates the penalty inflicted for multitasking while driving a number of dice up to the number of dots therein. This includes both the drive roll and any penalty inflicted on the unrelated action.

Plot Points

Each player will start off with three 'Plot Points', with the option to buy more later at a cost of 5XP each. These points are meant to be used strictly for RP purposes, essentially as retroactive storyline hooks to be added to your background after your initial character creation. The point of this is to give you the chance to add something to your character's history at any time, as an excuse to get involved in a storyline that you, OC, want to get involved in, and otherwise have no other means of doing it. Or, for the sake of making it an interesting scene, to give yourself an ace up your sleeve when you need it.

For example, if you find yourself in a conversation with the Seneschal, and you know OC that he's a Childe of the Hag, you can spend a Plot Point to say that you're one as well. Or maybe you notice OC that there's a fight club in this city that you want to get involved in. But your character is a Ventrue Neonate who actually lives on one the islands and would have no reason to know about the fight club, let alone get invited to it. You can spend a Plot Point to say that you're somehow friends with the guy who runs it. Maybe there's an SL going on regarding the mob, and you you suddenly decide to get involved. Spent a Plot Point to say that your cousin is a low level Mafioso who's running to you to get him out of some hot water.

It's kind of an allowable form of metamging. Sticking a loose system to it is simply to keep things like this from getting overdone. Anytime you want to spend one, I still have to sign off on it. The conditions are; nothing that conflicts with continuity. Like, "why does he suddenly have a name that this Elder recognizes as a prestigious lineage, when it was 'Smith' just a few minutes ago?" Nothing that influences stats or can be used as a cheap way out of a tough spot. And nothing that directly screws up another character (including the motives of another character to screw with you). For example, it's ok to say that your Sire just arrived in town at a convenient time to help you out, but it's not ok to say that you're Sire showed up in your current scene just in time to save your life. Or, if another player has more or less built their own side-plot, leading to a scene that your presence would mess up, you can't spend one of these points to randomly get lost on the way home and end up there.

Aside from those, you get to play the ST with these and throw in your own twists.

Posting Frequency

Ordinarily, I like to see a frequency of at least two posts per week from each person. But RL keeps me from abiding by that all the time, so I'd feel a little hypocritical enforcing that. Here's what I will enforce. If you're in a scene with another PC, or otherwise in a situation that holds up another PC's SL, you have a week to post before I start getting on you in a PM. If you don't reply right away, you then have until the other player in question decides he or she has waited long enough. I then reserve the right to NPC your character however I see fit to write it out and keep it from holding up that player any longer. Usually I try to avoid putting the missing player in a hot spot as a result, but no promises.

If you're not holding someone else up, I'm a little more patient. But in any case, if you go missing for a month without checking in or giving me a heads up of some kind, your character will be deleted.

Now, if you want to leave the game permanently due to some RL issue or even just lack of interest, all I can do is ask you to tell me. You're really not going to damage the storyline or my ego by doing that. Storylines are adaptable, scenes can be repaired, and my confidence in this game is based on its overall success, and not the fact that it just might not suit one or two people. But I do try, so at least give me the courtesy of a more convenient exit for your character.

Status Earned, not Bought

The Kindred Status merit is off-limits to players to buy with XP. (Covenant status may still be purchased.) General Kindred status is now something to be earned, as by definition, I believe it should be anyway. It's not really an official thing, it just is. It's the level of how well-known and respected you are among other Kindred. So it doesn't make much sense to bring in a Neonate with no special accomplishments or abilities and simply dump XP into the ability to say 'yeah btw, I'm the shit, just because...'.

Since XP is mostly given out based on accomplishments and RP that stands out, it stands to reason that the more XP-worthy things your character does, the better known and respected it would be. So, based on the book's recommendations on starting XP based on a character's status, it now works the other way around.

Page 92 of the VtR book lists the following: (By the way, this is the guide I generally try to follow when building NPC character sheets.)

Rank neonates 0 experience points
Up-and-comers 35 experience points
Established Kindred 75 experience points
Movers and shakers 120 experience points
Elders and other linchpins 180-300+ experience points

Therefore, since everyone already starts out at 35XP, once you earn 75 points you get a free dot in Kindred status. When you earn 120, you get a second dot, and so-on. This is regardless of whether or not you spend any of it before earning the point. For example, if you have 70XP, then you spend 5 bringing the total down to 65, you still only have to earn 5 more before getting that first Status point.

Your Status will then be listed in the bio line under your avatar. This means that when other PCs see it, they know it has a direct correlation to how powerful your character really is, and treat you accordingly.

Fuzzy Aura

According to the book, unless you spend a willpower point to fix this, Vampires look blurry in reflections. This could be interpreted to mean that they look completely blurred out on cameras, meaning an accidental Masquerade breech can be ducked by the fact that no one can identify you. For the purposes of this game, that's not how it will be interpreted. You have a blurry aura, that may even cause people to have to squint and lean in to get a good look. But your image can still be recognized.

Pros and Cons of being a Ghoul

According to the book, Ghouls don't start out with any dots that can be spent on Disciplines. If you want some, they have to be bough at twice the XP value as Kindred. They're also either automatically bloodbound to a Kindred, or of the boarderline suicidal concept of having to steal blood. And anyone who's Embraced in-game would of course have a lower Blood Potency than anyone who entered as a Kindred. In stats terms, you'd have level 1, while everyone else here starts out at level 2. However, I really don't have enough of a problem with Ghoul PCs for there to be that much of a deterrent, so let's see if we can squeeze out a couple perks.

First of all, it should be much easier to find and maintain connections when you're still capable of walking around during the day. So Social Merits for a Ghoul can be bought at half-price. Other Merits may apply by that same logic, so lets just call that a case by case thing.

Next we have Disciplines. You can now start with one free dot to spend on disciplines. And one physical discipline of whomever Ghouled you can be bought at regular price. When you eventually get yourself Embraced, you then get three more free dots to distribute how you please.

RULES FOR THE ST

This is just an fyi of how I like to work, mechanics-wise, and what you can expect from me in the way of avoiding ST-powergaming. However, for the record, the following rules are ones that I intend to abide by most of the time, but not necessarily all the time.

- Major NPCs have character sheets and make rolls for certain actions just as players would. For example, of two major NPCs are in a physical fight that doesn't actually directly include any PCs, I know as little about who will win as you do (unless, as stated before, the circumstances of the storyline really make it necessary for me to control the outcome).

- The character sheets will be built with an additional XP value in accordance with the core book's recommendations on page 92 on what would make sense based on their importance. So you can have some idea what they're really capable of based on their IC role, as opposed to random chance.

- Minor NPCs, who are not intended to actually show up in the game for more than the scene in which they're introduced, do not have sheets. They have dice pools of values 4-7, based just on makes sense for the character to be capable of. And as Minor NPCs, it's likely most of their pools will be on the low end. However, many times you'll be able to just freeform it with them. (i.e. RP a convincing Intimidation act and you wont have to roll for me to assume it's successful. Or shoot a Minor NPC in the chest, and no damage roll will be necessary to assume the character dies.)

- No NPC automatically knows something without some kind of justification. For example, if the Sheriff catches up with you for having committed some crime against Kindred, I'm not going to say he was aware of it "just because he's the Sheriff". That would be ST-metagaming, something I prefer to avoid. You can assume there was some kind of clue that leaked back to him that began with the actions of you or another PC, and if you're really not convinced (and have no interest in tracing the leak back IC), you're welcome to take it up with me in a PM

- Anyone who has a point in Kindred status is Acknowledged, and therefore has had a personal meeting with the Prince to briefly get to know each other. The other way to be permitted to stay in the city is to be vouched for by a Kindred official who's then responsible for your actions. However if you take that rout, you wont get any Kindred Status. Anyone who does neither of these can assume they're fair game to get ashed by the Hound if she ever catches up with you.