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| [CLOSED] - Pawns & Puppets; Non Canon - Sabbat | |
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| Topic Started: Monday, 9. February 2015, 11:29 (905 Views) | |
| Graham Mason | Monday, 9. February 2015, 11:29 Post #1 |
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Steak Tartare (YODO)
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PAWNS AND PUPPETS Hackney, once the centre of power of the Sabbat in London, now reduced to a chaotic refugee camp. After the Camden Calamity, most of the sect abandoned the city altogether. But some decided to stay. They were too ambitious, too hard headed, too weak, too scared, or just too stupid to leave. One year after the event, the four resident packs can't seem to find common ground to rebuild and regroup. Alberto Espinosa, Bishop of Hackney, is the only man standing between the survivors and a civil war. His intelligence, his ambition, and his diplomatic abilities have contained the heated temperaments and started organizing the Kindred in the area. However, when Bishop Espinosa is brutally murdered, Hell breaks loose.
DEFINITION: Name: Pawns and Puppets Number of available slots: 3 - 8 (New slots will open all the time, so apply even if the quota is full!) Level of danger involved: The characters will die. Does this contribute to the canon of the forum?: No Description: In this miniquest, we will explore the inner workings of the Sabbat, in a very specific context. Players who want to take part in this game will be required to create a Sabbat character, following the parameters listed below. The characters do not need to be as detailed and deep as the ones created for the board. All of the characters will die during the course of the miniquest. There is no way around it. However, new characters can take their place afterwards, so the players can still be involved in the game. If the slots get filled up, and there are still players who want to take part in this project, they will be put on the waiting list, and offered a slot whenever an existing character dies, which shouldn't take too long. Below, you will find some documents with house rules and background concepts that should be clear before playing. If you agree to play this miniquest, we'll assume that you are agreeing on playing according to those rules. The goal here is not creating a great character and watch them evolve until they achieve their goals, but being part of a pack and making it develop and thrive in adverse circumstances. The players will be in charge of building their own pack; that pack will be their sign of identity, the product that will survive their deaths. Players involved in this miniquest have the obligation of posting twice a week. I'll update the turns on Mondays and Thursdays. If a player has not been able to post their actions, and these are essential to the progress of the story, I'll NPC them without further notice. Take in consideration that these rules are "soft rules", and that everything is adaptable. We are here to have fun first; following protocol is way below in the list of priorities. NOTE: The participants of this miniquest will not be chosen on a "first come, first serve" basis. CREATE YOUR CHARACTER: Sabbat characters are mostly like regular characters, with a few small alterations. This is what we want and expect from a character application:
ACCEPTED CLANS: This is the list of the Sabbat Clans and Bloodlines accepted:
I usually would go for this format: [b][i][big][url=link-to-the-post-where-the-character's-sheet-is]NAME OF THE NPC[/url][/big][/i][/b][hr]Post starts here, in the same line... Which looks like... But any format is respectable, as long as it is clear for everybody. |
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Oh no! My souffle! "Words", stress level, "MetaMason", "THEVOICEOFREASON" | |
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| Graham Mason | Monday, 9. February 2015, 11:52 Post #2 |
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Steak Tartare (YODO)
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CREATE YOUR PACK: The characters in the Miniquest will be forming a new Pack. They will need to decide upon a common identity, and establish their hierarchy as soon as possible. There are three positions of responsibility in the Pack:
Even though the big decisions should be taken IC, the election of the Ductus, the Priest, and the Abbot are, from the beginning, OOC decisions. The pack will start with the three slots already assigned. The three players who occupy the three positions of responsibility first will have a stronger influence on the pack's branding. I will strongly encourage them to seek OOC consensus before making any conflictive decision. PATHS OF ENLIGHTENMENT: Vampires need Paths to stave off the Beast, and avoid succumbing to it, losing their free will. For purposes of Sabbat gameplay, we assume that the ones following the Path of Humanity are a very exceptional rarity, a one in a million thing. That is why submissions following Path of Humanity will be way harder to approve. On top of that, the Sabbat despises Humanity quite a bit, so characters following that Path will be banned from assuming positions of power (any position), and will be expected to be marginalized by the rest of the pack. It sounds harsh, and it is a harsh world. These are the available Paths:
Other minor Paths are not accepted at all, even if they are described in the wikia of VtM. Paths flagged as "Heresy" are illegal, and followers of those Paths need to disguise their nature. Any follower of those Paths who is found out, will automatically be labelled as an heretic, and executed on the spot. Accusing another character of following an heretic Path is the same as calling on the Rights of Monomacy. In fact, it is a fantastic way of challenging another character to a duel. Characters following the Paths in the "Exceptional" list will be harder to approve, and their sheets and their RP level will be expected to be way higher. The other six Paths, however, are quite interesting, and I strongly encourage players to explore their characters through these six options. Although some games explore the conflicts between Paths, we are going to skip that idea here; even though some Packs follow all the same Path, we would like to encourage personal expression, and allow players to follow the Path that fits better with their character's personality. PATH SYSTEM: Maybe you are already familiar with VtM's Path system. Maybe you are studying it right now in order to make your Sabbat character deeper and more interesting. Maybe you have no idea what's this all about… In any case, leave your preconceptions behind, and pay attention. Each of the Paths has a list of five Virtues, and a list of five Sins. By default, they are all equally important. However, each player needs to decide which ones are more important, and which ones are less important for their character. Just by ordering them from more important to less important, the moral compass and the ethical values of the character become highly customizable. An example will follow at the end of this section. Path of Caine: Also called noddists, the followers of this Path accept the role of Vampires in nature without considering it evil or good. They see in Caine a father figure, and a model that deserves being followed. For that reason, the spend as much time as possible seeking relics and proofs of his existence, and trying to make sense of the fragments of the Book of Nod. The noddists appreciate measure and restraint. Succumbing to Frenzy, or giving in to strong passions is something they avoid at all costs. Meditation and self control are the basis of their philosophy. On top of that, they seek to get closer to Caine every day. That is why they consider the act of Diablerie a sacred one; by draining the souls of those older than the Vampire, they get closer to Caine in more than one sense. Acts of Virtue: - Practicing Diablerie. - Studying the book of Nod and the history of Vampires. - Meditating. - Developing your willpower. - Seeking the teachings of those noddists who are wiser. Sins: - Succumbing to Frenzy. - Feeling guilty about killing mortals. - Drinking from animals when human vitae is available. - Befriending humans, or considering them as allies. - Acting against the Sabbat. Path of Cathari: The cathari, or Albigensians, believe that the spiritual world was created by a "good" deity, and that the material world was created by a "bad" deity, who was the descendant of the first one. This way, the body becomes evil, and the soul good. The cathari believe that they are in this world as a force of "evil", to tempt the mortal souls into the bad side. For them, they are already doomed, and Earth is in fact hell. Their goal is to make the best out of the infernal experience, and to enjoy their unlifes to the ultimate limit. Catharis believe that Vampires and mortals reincarnate after dying, but that they all come back as mortals. That makes their way of facing death very unique. Acts of Virtue: - Succumbing to Frenzy. - Hoarding material wealth. - Acting on impulse, for the sheer pleasure of it. - Seeking immediate pleasure. - Siring new Vampires. Sins: - Refusing to kill mortals. - Exercising self control without a compelling reason. - Behaving in an altruistic way. - Allowing romantic relationships last too long. - Acting against the Sabbat. Path of Death and the Soul: Followers of this Path are generally called necronomists. They believe that the Vampire is an immortal soul trapped in a dead body. That is why they spend their time analyzing and researching the nature of both ideas: the death, and the soul. Emotions, desires, actions, and passions are all subject to their cold scrutiny. As the cathari, the necronomists believe in reincarnation. After death, the souls go back to their spiritual cycles that, death after death, brings them closer to God. They place great value on their logical thinking ability and their self control, frowning upon those who succumb to the Frenzy. Acts of Virtue: - Studying Death. - Studying Life. - Learning about the occult and the soul. - Exercising self control. - Creating new experiments that shed light over Death, Spirituality, or even Life. Sins: - Not demonstrating an active interest in Death. - Acting upon fear of Death. - Displaying emotions. - Allowing emotions to overcome logic. - Succumbing to Frenzy. Path of Harmony: The harmonists, as the followers of this Path are called, acknowledge their dual nature as Vampires and Humans. They accept that they play a role in nature, as predators, but don't dwell on it. Vampires practicing this Path refuse to judge what they are, or what they do, and they accept it instead. Many say that this is the true Path of Golconda, as it is the one that draws the Vampire closer to its real core. Harmonists don't hesitate killing when necessary, but don't enjoy cruelty or callousness. The Path of Harmony is the one best attuned with wildlife, humanity, and with the very center of the Vampire's nature. Harmonists have no problems with killing, whenever it is justified. They don't look bad at the Frenzy, if the Beast's appearance is called for. They even understand cruelty, if the circumstances justify it. After all, the Path of Harmony is all about balance and acceptance. Acts of Virtue: - Respecting life. - Acting according to your own emotional nature. - Listening to your Beast. - Respecting your own Human nature. - Respecting your own Vampire nature. Sins: - Killing mortals for any reason other than survival. - Exerting unnecessary cruelty. - Feeling guilt for what is natural. - Betraying or failing to protect your comrades. - Allowing the Human nature or the Vampire nature to become too strong over the other one. Path of the Honorable Accord: This is probably the simplest and most popular of the Paths. Instead of trying to understand the nature of Vampires, or even justify it, the patriots, as they are called, stick to the rules contained in the Code of Milan. Their perspective is very action oriented, and based in a strong "here and now" perspective. The history of Vampires is not important, as it is not important the underlying reason why Vampires walk the Earth. What is important is honor, honesty, and freedom. Patriots put a lot of emphasis on their personal honor; their word is sacred, and they always pay their debts. They understand that a Vampire with no honor is small, weak, and has no allies around them. Acts of Virtue: - Following the guidelines of the Code of Milan. - Treating your peers fairly and generously. - Showing bravery in the face of the enemy. - Observing all the Auctoritas Ritae of the Sabbat. - Supporting your immediate leader. Sins: - Breaking your word. - Disrespecting other's honor. - Refusing hospitality or help to an ally. - Not honoring an agreement. - Acting against the Sabbat. Path of Power and the Inner Voice: People following this Path are known as unifiers. They believe in the greatness of the soul, and the power of the body. They believe in the survival of the fittest, on ambition, on passion, and on the endless power of a Vampire's soul. A unifier generally spends a lot of time training, and plotting. However, their materialistic quest is supported by a deeply spiritual side, as they believe that the greatness of the universe, and all the secrets of creation, lies inside the Vampire's soul. Meditation, personal growth through personal gain, and the quest for mystical visions are common among the unifiers. Acts of Virtue: - Leading your fellow Vampires. - Advancing in the social ranking via Monomacy. - Seeking the truth within your soul. - Trying to attain power by any means necessary. - Appearing indestructible in the eyes of others. Sins: - Accepting failure. - Following a leader that is beneath you. - Losing face. - Becoming satisfied with what you have. - Ignoring the Inner Voice; not following your passion. Path of Evil Revelations: Vampires following this Path -generally known as heretics- have completely given up on their humanity, or on any idea of "good" in their souls. They embrace the evil within, and celebrate it every second of their unlifes. In other words: heretics are literally devil worshippers. They believe in Satan, and in hell, and they adore him as a God. They make twisted rituals, trying to invoke demons, and to sell their souls to gather demonic power. They meet in secret, and they have secret signals to recognize each other. NOTE: If a character gets discovered following this path, they will be considered the enemy, and treated accordingly. Heretics always lie about the Path they follow, and pretend to be what they are not. This is a very exceptional Path. Playing it is very hard. Characters following the Path of Evil Revelations cannot choose their main "Act of Virtue" or "Sin". Following the wishes of the lords of Hades is always more important than anything else. No player should expect to actually manage to invoke any demons, or to get any special powers for following this Path; this is an ideological and philosophical decision. Acts of Virtue: 1 - Serving your Dark Masters. - Corrupting others and introducing them to the Path. - Pursuing deeper knowledge in the occult arts. - Raising to positions of power in the Sabbat. - Destroying the enemies of Hell. Sins: 1 - Disobeying a direct order from a higher ranking member of the Path. - Acting according to your true nature. - Divulging secrets of the Path to people who are not involved in it. - Ignoring a chance to attain power. - Performing good deeds without a deeper reason. Path of Humanity: Good old Path of Humanity, the apparent ethical code that, by default, humans follow. It seems a pretty basic set of moral rules, but it is indeed the most complex and mutable of all the Paths. Depending on education, life experience, and even culture, the specifics of this Path may vary wildly. Followers of this Path managed to keep their moral values somehow intact after the Embrace and during their Sabbat lifes. However, the vast majority of them are quite close to the Beast; sustaining a high Humanity value in the midst of the Sabbat is nearly impossible. Sabbat members frown upon people who follow this Path, considering them unevolved, and not worth much respect. They are generally marginalized and mistrusted. NOTE: Following the Path of Humanity is hard. The player choosing this option needs to be ready to play the loss of the Humanity, and even the process of the character finally succumbing to the Beast. On top of that, due the lack of trust the Sabbat members deposit on Humanity followers, these characters cannot occupy any position of power in the pack or the sect, even if they earn it via Monomacy. For this reason, and in order to avoid power voids, there can only be one character following the Path of Humanity at any given point. Virtues: - Honesty. - Altruism. - Empathy. - Modesty. - Restraint. Sins: - Murder. - Theft. - Falsehood. - Cruelty. - Arrogance. Example PLAYING A CHARACTER VERSUS PLAYING A PACK: When playing any other VtM faction, the game is focused on the development of the characters, on how they get achieve their goals and their ambitions, on how they thrive. However, this Sabbat proposition is the opposite: the game is focused on the development of the pack. That is why death is not so important. As long as the health of the pack is high, and as long as its goals and ambitions are satisfied, the players are doing a good job. Think of it like this: Other factions: Character > Clan > Sect Sabbat: Pack > Sect > Character Sabbat high ranking character: Character > Sect > Pack Sabbat Cardinal: Character Nosferatu (regardless Sect): Clan > Pack (if Sabbat) > Character > Sect For PCs, Pack leads over Character. Always. That's why players are expected to invest more in the Pack than in the Character (although rich Characters are highly desirable, of course). Sabbat doesn't give that much importance to age. A character who has been Embraced a year ago can become ductus of a pack, no problems with that, as long as they demonstrate having what it takes. In some situations, dying can be seen as a honour. If a character betrays the pack, or the sect, his only way of regaining the lost respect is through death, and people should acknowledge that fact. Dying in combat, or in a Monomacy duel, is a way to be remembered by the pack, and to be part of the common history, which is among the highest honours a regular Sabbat member can aspire to attain. INDIVIDUALITY: Doesn't all of the above kill a bit of the individuality of the characters? Not at all. At least, not necessarily. Pack mentality can be the most important thing here, but it is just one of the sides of the game. A character can have a very rich inner life, do lots of things on their own, and even stay away from the rest of the pack for short periods of time, as long as the priorities are clear. Players are meant to build the Pack, and to give personality to it. The Pack is composed of the individualities of the people who form it. Characters with no personal identity don't have anything to give to the Pack. |
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Oh no! My souffle! "Words", stress level, "MetaMason", "THEVOICEOFREASON" | |
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| Graham Mason | Wednesday, 22. April 2015, 13:41 Post #3 |
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Steak Tartare (YODO)
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HONOUR POINTS, VAULDERIE, VINCULUM, AND MONOMACY After much working behind the scenes, and thanks to the invaluable work of the three first pack leaders, we have developed a working system for some essential things of the Sabbat. It diverges a bit from the usual VtM rules, but we are playing in a diceless, sheetless environment, and that requires adaptation. Honour Points: Every character has a finite amount of Honour Points that they can spend in a limited number of ways. These points can be extremely important and, even the difference between life and death. How to earn them? Simple:
Vaulderie: One of the essential points of the original VtM rules was that the Vinculum was unpredictable. After any Vaulderie, the Vinculum levels were reset, and players rolled 1d10 to determine the level, according to a 10 step table. Thus, there were 10 levels of Vinculum. That makes some sense if you are rolling dice, as it adds a gaming element to the storytelling game. But we don't use dice. We are simplifying the 10 Vinculum steps into 3: Low, Medium, and High. With a Low Vinculum rating, it is possible to harbour negative feelings, and even to plot against a fellow pack member. However, that needs to be supported by internal character logic, not just emotional subjectivity. If, for example, the other party can be seen as a potential threat to the pack, plotting against them would be possible. This rating represents the original 1-2 range of ratings. A Medium Vinculum rating is the standard, and it is the rating that characters have towards each other by default. Loyalty is strong, and the sense of community makes all social relations smooth. Love and friendship are not present. This rating represents the original 3 - 8 range of ratings. High Vinculum rating is the closest one to a regular Blood Bond. Although there are hints of love and admiration, the essential point here is the fierce loyalty. This rating represents the original 9 - 10 range of ratings. Each Vaulderie, the ratings are reset. A regular pack would celebrate a weekly ritual, so Vinculum ratings would be modified each week. By default each character has a "Medium" rating with each and every one of the members of the pack. However, a player can invest 1 Honour Point to lower the rating to "Low", or decide to have a "High" rating to earn 1 Honour Point. A player can only have 1 "Low" and 1 "High" rating per week. Ratings are secret, and they change every RL week (via PM to me every Monday). Bambi will open a Vaulderie thread in the future, posting the ritual as she performs it, and leaving it open for "special events" to happen there, as we'll assume that each week the Vaulderie goes on without any major incidence. "Special events" could be just a character telling a story from their past, or somebody accusing somebody else of treason. The parameters of those "events" will be clarified in the Vaulderie thread. Special Vaulderies -with other packs, or out of the common haven, for example- could happen, and they would be played elsewhere. Monomacy: Monomacy is at the center of this whole Honour Points System. Any character can challenge any other character to a duel -lethal or non lethal-, if they have a minimally stable logical reason to do so. How do you fight a duel in a game without dice or sheets? You use an alternative system. Simple rules: General Rules:
Sounds like a lot, but it is pretty straight forward. Still, there is one small element that is not clear yet: How to play this. Every round, both contestants declare via PM how many Monomacy Points they invest. The judge publicly states who wins the round. Whoever wins the round posts how they attack and damage the other party, and whoever loses posts how they get attacked and damaged. During the last round, somebody wins the whole thing. Posts should reflect that. This system demands good playing, and trust. If a player is put in the losing end of a duel, even if it's all unfair, and if it means losing the character, we would all expect the player to behave honorably, and posting an epic death, rather than trying to save their asses by begging, tantruming, or plain cheating. Sabbat characters die all the time. That's how it works. These rules are subject to be changed in the future, and the Pack Leaders are allowed to chip in and try to improve them by talking about them privately with me. That means that non Pack Leaders should try their best to enjoy the game and, if any, raise their concerns to the Pack Leaders, hoping that they will pay attention. |
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Oh no! My souffle! "Words", stress level, "MetaMason", "THEVOICEOFREASON" | |
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| Graham Mason | Wednesday, 7. September 2016, 21:26 Post #4 |
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Steak Tartare (YODO)
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This mini quest has been officially [CLOSED] Please, contact the Mods if it should be opened again for any reason. |
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Oh no! My souffle! "Words", stress level, "MetaMason", "THEVOICEOFREASON" | |
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1:56 AM Jul 11