Wickedness is a Virtue ep01 : Vampire: The Dark Ages

11/03/2013

Wickedness is a Virtue

Episode One
"Brooding"

Vampire: The Dark Ages

Fra Atilio played by Marvin
Lasombra, 9th Generation.  Monk of the Holy Order of Heaven.
Fra Atilio was embraced by his Sire in a bid to keep the sect alive.  Atilio was once just a Nubian slave that served the former monk.  Atilio has inherited the destroyed Sire's Herd and Influence in Jerusalem.  He is allied with a fallen knight who was meant to fight in the Crusade.

Dmitri Malakov played by Jeffrey
Toreador, 9th Generation.  Son of a wealthy merchant family, embraced into the clan by Lorelei, his Sire out of love.  He never loved her back.  Still remains in the familial estate in Frispoint, maintaining the family trade on furs, and learning more of his vampiric condition the hard way.

Stefan Wandermann played by Rocky
Tzimisce, 7th Generation.  A survivor of a forced embraced when his sire transformed him merely to be a distraction against some hunters.  Survived after learning to hide his homeland's earth in pockets in his body.  Long based in Italy where he had resumed his role as an artisan and hungry to learn more of the various art styles of the different cultures.

EUROPE 1197

Stefan is travelling with his sibling in blood, Micah.  The two discuss the art styles that exist and ponder on the directions they may take in the many years to come.  While Stefan tries to minimize his feeding, Micah seems calm and indifferent to the lives they take.  When Stefan asks where they are travelling to, Micah simply tells him to trust his brother.

Elsewhere, Fra Atilio speaks with his and hears their confessions.  For months, the followers of the sect would pray to Fra Atilio for confessions, and by the taking of blood, he would absolve them of their sins. After choking a woman unconscious for her calls for a confession which he could not give (Atilio was still full), Atilio stood at the roof top of the building and surveyed his domain.  An odd monk at the street caught his eyes as the monk walked past an awning towards a dark alley were ruffians awaited, only to suddenly become a guardsman of the city.   Atilio opted to follow him from the rooftops.

Dmitri Malakov on the other hand continues watching over the family estate in his parents' absence.  His father has still not returned from a trip to Jerusalem.  One of his father's favorite clients, a Jonathan, has come to complain about the delays.  But as the guy rattles on, Dmitri is increasingly incensed by what he understands is a foul rotting odor from the man's breath.  Soon, his senses flare as he realized he can hear the mutterings of the servants across the room, who are wondering about their master who no longer eats the food they cook, nor leaves his chambers during the day.  He feels the fireplace is too strong too, and abruptly dismisses Jonathan, and walks out on the meeting to hurry back to his room.  There, he opens the window to step out onto the balcony only to find Lorelei waiting.  She asks him to invite him in, which he refuses to give, and to spite him reveals she had intercepted a letter addressed to him from Constantinople. She claims it is written in a foreign tongue, and wanting to hear word from his father, Dmitri relents and agrees to do something for Lorelei in exchange.  The letter, it turns out, isn't written in Italian, and Lorelei heads straight down to the courtyard to wait for Dmitri.  The two, it so happens are going on a trip to Jerusalem, the same place where his father was asking Dmitri for his help.   When Dmitri tries to kiss Lorelei, thinking to woo her to his favor, she slaps him and tells him, "No.  That is earned."

Micah and Stefan eventually arrive at Jerusalem, which Stefan ponders on if it was a wise idea.  He still feels uneasy about having traveled so far from Italy.  Micah, however, reminds him that in Jerusalem the very hearts of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths converge.  "You will find the grandest of art among their Churches, Mosques and Temples."  As Micah walks off to make arrangements, Stefan looks around to get some familiar bearings of the place.

Fra Atilio tracks the strange fellow to an old building which he realizes was the former headquarters of the Templar Knights.   He considers stepping inside to investigate when his attention is captured by a woman standing at the far end of the street.  She motions at him to remain quiet, and waves at him to hurry away.  Fra Atilio stares back at the Nurse, but she runs off before he can say a word.  A guard soon asks him if there's something a matter in the streets, and Fra Atilio's role as a confessor provides him enough leeway to tell the guard to leave him alone.   He steps into the stables beside the boarded up Templar headquarters and hears a male voice ask him, "You can see.  You are the one who was sent to me by Him?  You are him?"

Dmitri and Lorelei's long journey is punctuated with stops as Dmitri wars with himself on the need to feed.  Lorelei celebrates each feeding and relishes seeing the anguish in Dmitri's eyes as he tries to pull away from feeding on people and simply drink from beasts.  At one terrible moment, Lorelei feasts on a beggar she lures closer and offers her bleeding wrist to Dmitri to sup from.  Overcome by hunger, Dmitri does so, and at the last moment stop when he realizes what he's doing.  He pulls the beggar away from Lorelei and runs off to find any of the Hospitalliers who may help him.  Lorelei tries to draw him back with a Summon but he resists.

A fireball erupts into the sky from not too far away.  Stefan runs towards the flame, curious to see what caused such a display.  A crowd gathers as a building begins to burn.  The onlookers offer that it used to be a Templar headquarters.  One suggests that this is God's Sign that they have lost his grace.  None of them can see the scene that unfolds inside.

Fra Atilio confronts the speaker, who turns out to be a Nosefratu called Brother Bernardus.  He mutters strange things about four, or five, and about having been Chosen by a greater force.  He seems oblivious to the fire and is just thankful that Atilio had finally arrived.  Atilio recalls accidentally smashing the oil lamp on the ground when the Noseferatu startled him.  He completely forgot to double check if the burning wick was doused.  And as the fires rage higher, Atilio leaps out of the burning ruin and calls out to the people who have gathered.    Stefan realizes the man is a Cainite and promises to investigate this further when given a chance.

Dmitri finds a Nurse waiting for him, who quickly takes the beggar, and tells him that they have been waiting for him.  Before Dmitri can ask anything more, the nurse reveals a third eye and emits some kind of light upon the injured beggar.  She reveals her name as Aisha and tells him she was the one who send his father's missive to summon him here.  Dmitri allows Aisha to guide her deeper into Jerusalem, and eventually, they come upon a building where she claims he is restrained.  Dmitri's father is in danger, but at the same time, is a danger to all others around him.  Aisha and her people have embraced the task of burning away all evil they find in the world, and Dmitri's father has an evil they cannot defeat.

As Fra Atilio runs off to vanish into the night, Stefan returns with Micah to the room they have for the trip.  Micah admits he had brought Stefan here with him for a reason.  Micah seeks to meet with a Lasombra of great influence.   And to meet with a Malkavian whose rantings relate to the Tzimisce's plans.  Micah wanted his sibling around to have someone he can trust in case things go awry.  The two head off while the night grows darker and eventually come upon a great well.   Micah shares how legends say in the Week of Blood, during the First Crusade, almost 100 years ago, this very well was filled with blood and bodies from that crazed time.  Some whisper that there is a reason such an event transpired then.  As they look below, they see a man currently in the well, inspecting its walls.  Micah calls out to the man and names him as "Anatole."  The Malkavian admits he is impressed to see two Fiends this far from the Slavic mountains but welcomes them nonetheless.

The powerful Faith emanating from certain religious landmarks forces Fra Atilio to take a longer detour.  This path leads him through a graveyard within the city.  Ignoring any fearful tales of walking ghosts and living statues, he arrives at the home of the fallen knight who serves him to find the place empty.  Shadows instead reach out to caress him.  The Lasombra realizes Obtenebration is at work!  As the two manifest tentacles in preparation of a confrontation, Atilio realizes the other Lasombra is a woman, who claims to be seeking the same man he is.  Atilio and the Lasombra woman call for a truce and bear in mind each one's presence is in the city.  Fra Atilio, however, now wonders what other things have come to his city.

Dmitri goes to the basement where his father is locked in.  Aisha and the others hurry back upstairs and lock the door behind them.  The thing that greets Dmitri is a monster that towers over nine feet tall.  The massive bear howls and attempts to tear the doors open.  Dmitri runs back upstairs but fails to get there before the bear slams him down to the ground.  Dmitri's father, it seems, has become a were-bear.

While waiting for Micah to end his discussions with Anatole, another figure comes to the well.  Stefan greets the newcomer and the newcomer offers a friendly smile.  He identifies himself as the bishop Ambrosio Moncada and thanks Stefan for his kindness in allowing him closer without the threat of injury.  Stefan senses the great destiny this man is to have in the many years to come.

As Dmitri comes to, he realizes Aisha and her people have pulled him out of the basement.  His father, the were-bear uneasily sleeps as the powers of the Salubri keep him weak.  The group bears much injuries from the struggle and Dmitri realizes his father is beyond reach.  Whatever semblance of him as the man who loved him is gone.  "We must kill it.  Destroy it.  Before it finds strength once more."  Dmitri's limbs have been severed by the bear, and Aisha had saw it fit to leave it for the bear to devour.

"Decide, and there may be enough flesh left for you to recover your arms."

Dmitri hesitates.  Aisha reminds him that his father called him to come here in order to lay him to rest.  But Dmitri is uncertain if he has the strength to do it.    The choice is nearly taken from him.  A trio step into the building, with odd powers that hint of an infernal source.  One breathes out and vermin pour from his body like a living shadow that skitter and scamper all over Aisha's people and devour them alive.  Another grins at Dmitri and from his gaze, Dmitri realizes the man reads every single unspoken sin he has ever had.

"Stay away from my Childe," Lorelei growls as she comes into the room, a crucifix brandished before her.  The three vampires pull away, repelled by the symbol of the Christian Church.  As Dmitri stares at Lorelei, she tells him that regardless of their differences, they will always be family.  And family will have to deal with blood.

*

"I brought you here to accompany me," Micah admits, "For I have great visions in store.  Great plans.  I seek to gain respect of the Voivodes.  And I have had dreams which whisper to me ways to do so."   Stefan listens to his brother, Micah Vykos, as he talks about a destiny where their names shall forever be remembered.

And inwardly he trembles with fear recalling Anatole's words.

"You.. your destiny was meant to come later.  Not now.  Odd.  It seems to still make sense."

*

And Fra Atilio, on this walk home after the encounter with the Lasombra woman, finds himself once more walking through the cemetery.  There, finds a man dressed in the clothes of a crusaders walking aimlessly among the tombs.  The man calls out "One" and cries out in what seems to be a confused state.  Atilio walks closer and attempts to help the man, but the words do not seem to register in his mind.  Instead the man continues to call out, "One" and rants about "Now there were five..." and "Something is broken.."

When Atilio mutters, "Five" the man's attention is suddenly upon him.  And when Atilio opts to attempt to feed on the man, the blood overwhelms his senses so much that by the time he comes to, he realizes the sun is rising!  Prying the grates of the nearest sewer, Atilio slides down into the muck below in hopes of finding safe cold darkness.

But instead, down beneath the cemetery, he learns he is not alone.
He finds a second crusader, lost and mad, muttering over and over again...

"Four.."

Fra Atilio realizes the numbers are meant to be literal.
Somewhere in Jerusalem, there are five lost crusaders seeking each other.

Why?  What for?
And what happens when they find each other again?

These are the questions he will have to face once night falls once more upon the city of Jerusalem.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Other Entity (Mage)

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Other Entity (Mage)

Magic has always had its allure and the temptation for greater power will always be there.  Unfortunately, while I loved the mage, I must admit to never really finding the Mage metaplot as interesting.  So I will confess to finding this question harder to answer.

So with out much choices to really choose from there's only one I can cite to represent the Mage I liked.  This would have to be Samuel Haight.  Yes, the infamous shinning example of what ambition and power gaming can bring you is the person I will have to mention here.  Why?  Given how encompassing the Mage line is, with a cosmology that crosses over Werewolf, a vital enemy that resonates with Changelings, a Sphere which renders Wraith their plaything and a history that locks fangs with Vampire, Samuel Haight for me epitomizes the darker and brighter aspects of Mage.

Samuel Haight teaches us to never let anyone else tell you what you can and can't do, then proceeds to complete the lesson by being the universe's biggest douche bag in all of metaplot history.

Thank the gods he ended up as an ashtray in the end.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Other Entity (Werewolf)

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Other Entity (Werewolf)

I will admit I was never a huge fan of Werewolf.  I liked the concept, I adored the idea of the Triat and the concept of the Fomori. But I just felt the Werewolves were less about horror and more about super heroism and that admittedly turned me off.

But if I were to choose a Werewolf entity I liked, I would have to give the vote to the Fomori.  Heck, I even ran a few games based on them!  (Sadly only one got recorded.)  But the idea of playing ordinary folks who are irrevocably changed into these disgusting horrors that have awesome abilities was just too cool a concept to ignore.  Among the many stomach-wrenching powers I loved, my first vote will have to go to Stomach Pumper which allowed the player to launch disgusting juices at opponents.    A wicked second place goes to Savage Genitalia which just really was a homage to animated classics such as Urotsukidoji: The Legend of the Overfiend.  Finally, I will always adore the concept of Brain Eating.

The Fomori were disgusting and cruel and I loved how the write ups in the book of examples on how Pentex and its affiliates lured people into the corporation worked.  Granted, there was some concern over the supposed homophobic sections of the book, I found them personally to be appropriate given the book's context and theme.

The Fomori are monsters that truly explore the idea of humanity pushed to its brink.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Other Entity

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Other Entity (Mortal)

Okay, this is an interesting twist on the challenge.  My favorite mortal other entity.  By definition, mortal does include werewolves, mages, changelings and the like since they are not immortal characters (compared to mummies, vampires, etc).  However, if one were to use Mortal the way the World of Darkness refers to them, those wouldn't count as well since they are supernatural creatures.

To choose someone who fits BOTH definitions then, I would have to say my choice would be Sullivan Dane.  The vampire hunter featured in the back of Vampire: The Masquerade.  He was classy and dangerous and always wore gloves.  He understood vampires and knew how to use their weaknesses against them.   He was calculating and calm and I liked how he looked.

And you can never go wrong with giving them gloves.

He was like the Terminator when we had him show up in our games.  He understood how to use the environment against the kindred and had immense senses to find advantages where we thought none existed.  He was truly an antagonist worth remembering.

I feel sad he never got transported to the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.  It would have been cool to have had a Sullivan Dane card, perhaps one who had better abilities than the Muddled Vampire Hunter or Millicent Smith.

The Gossamer Saga ep05 : Homebrewed System

10/27/2013
The Gossamer Saga : Revolution

Episode Five
"Field Work"

Home-brewed Game

Kale, Quince and Ash make preparations to revisit the ruins of Staniga.  The three have realized that the cultists that were encountered in the past were huddled beneath the city's streets. The possibility existed that they had escaped the destruction of the city.  Ash sadly has little to share in the discussions, with her memories addled when she "lent" them to Chi'tairn.  Quince demands a weapon from the Blacksmith and when his demands seemingly get threatening, the smith calls his golem guardians once more.  While they argue, Kale uses the device that had been attached to his hand to open a portal beneath the golems.   Quince even forces the ceiling of the chamber to collapse, forcing everyone including the blacksmith to jump inside.  Instead of reappearing at the rafters where Kale and Ash once arrived at, they instead find themselves in the chamber where Kale had confronted the demon and created a massive tree to escape.

Back at the Gossamer Tower, Larkspur and Faraker return with Chi'tairn who appears in the guise of Ash.  With her totem and memories, Chi'tairn's disguise works well to bring her inside the tower without alerting others.  Larkspur schemes to get back at Ballouise for being always spoken of as the Bright One, and opts to use the cloak Magda had given her.  She recalls the cloak was meant to cause Ballouise's influence to fail.  She considers the idea of unraveling the cloak into thread which she hoped to use in some kind of sympathy magic, but the attempt fails.    But as she learns Ballouise is the center of the religion, Larkspur takes it upon herself to spread the faith, and bring back the light to Staniga.

Elsewhere, Dawn and Chi'tairn are talking about Staniga and what they are up against, but neither of them truly grasps the immensity of their foe.  Chi'tairn protests the choice of Dawn's helper and asks for an artifact which she needs if she is to help Dawn.

Back at the place beneath Staniga, Kale, Ash and Quince investigate the cavern.  The blacksmith and two of his golems are with them, drawn through the portal thanks to Quince's machinations.  As the group argues over how to investigate the location, the blacksmith has one of the golems tear open the door.  Ash continues to struggle through her memories as she finds bits and pieces of recollection on why the place was important to her. She finds the room which drew her close before and starts to look though the contents for anything that would jog her memory.  Kale and Quince argue with the blacksmith, who insists he wants nothing to do with them.    Ash sadly fails to find anything that strikes her as important.

Larkpur, back in her room, gains a visit from Dawn and Chi'tairn.  Dawn tells Larkspur of the importance of Chi'tairn reaching the bottom of the tower, past the room of Seers, where an object of import lies.   Dawn expresses how imperative it is for Chi'tairn to get this object.    Larkspur is tasked to make a distraction, which she accomplishes by using the angelic manifestations her room had created for her to support the Trust.  The angels gain her likeness and with both song and religious fervor, Larkspur steals the attention of the guards and seers quite easily, giving Chi'tairn the opening she needs.

Ash continues to dig through the boxes while Kale considers inspecting the mirror for another glimpse of his father.  The mirror still works and Kale sees the image of a crowd of shabbily dressed people in a dark area.  When Ash cuts herself, it happens to be the same moment when her memories surge back into her mind.  Ash sees the mirror and challenges Kale about an old argument; whether or not there is a time to kill a person.  Kale insists his father is a good man and considers that he and the others may be food for the demon.    Quince attempts to understand the golems.  Using the Trust, Quince recalls the order of the Apiary and gains control of one of the golems.  When the group finally get to the room with the people, Ash realizes that Kale's father is not someone who registers in her memories.  If Ash was to kill someone, it definitely wasn't him.  Kale fails to recognize his father in the crowd.  Quince starts to menace the people, demanding they talk and give answers but none seem to have anything informative to share.

An explosion rocks the Tower.  Larkspur sees Chi'tairn fly through the air and slam into the wall.  As Larkspur quickly moves close, she declares Chi'tairn under her protection.    The guards quickly surround them both.

And back under Staniga, Quince considers calling the demon somehow as evidence once the Order catches up with them.  The group knows the Order is making its way to locate them and they have a limited amount of time to either find more evidence or find a way out.  Tokens surge and suddenly almost completely invisible figures move towards them.  Kale looks at the far wall and sees the corridor beyond it where armed cultists close in on their location as well.    The group finds themselves trapped as cultists close in to catch them, and the invisible assailants turn out to be guardsmen from the Gossamer Tower!

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Enemy

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Enemy
And again, I wrote a post answering a question that had not yet been posted.  So here I go repeating what I wrote previously:

My favorite enemy would be Jadviga Almanov of Bohemia.  The woman is cruel, selfish, devious and deadly.  The woman lies the way humans breathe.  The woman spins facts around with the ease of a potter and concocts plots with the ease of a storyteller (ahem ahem).  I have portrayed her in three different ways given the multiple times we have played Giovanni Chronicles in our group.

The most memorable one that I recall would be when I based her on Anne Bancroft's portrayal of Ms. Dinsmoor in the 1998 Alfonso Cuaron film adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations with a dash of my favorite Judi Dench.  She was seemingly lost in her thoughts and tended to move into weird tangents while talking to others, but without warning would snap into full predatory focus and remind the vampire of who was the teacher and who was the student in the scenario.

She challenged the players to truly prove their loyalties to their sect, forcing them to turn a blind eye towards their sect's horrible skeletons or challenging them to speak up and take action against their self-appointed leaders.

My personal favorite moment with her, was when she eventually wrapped her strings around a player character so well, he could not help but admit to caring about her as she was the closest thing in the World of Darkness he ever had to a mother.  A true mother.  After all, "She watches and waits, and knows my every moves.  And yet, she berates and insults my every attempt to break free from her.  She is the deepest hatred and the source of my wrath, but without her I would have never been reborn."

He still killed her.  He held her close, kissed her and told her it will all be okay, then held her in place as the sun rose past the horizon and began to burn them both.  And in the tiniest of moments remaining before Final Death came to claim them both, he willed the Earth below him to swallow him up and left her to burn alone in the unforgiving heat.

"Goodbye mother.  Today, I have shown you.  I am no longer the student."

He rises at the return of night and finds her ashes on the ground, near the remains of her darkened ring are scratches on the ground.  He blows against the ashes and they reveal the markings she had left before the flames consumed her completely:   You taught me well today.

Vampire 30-day Challenge: Favorite NPC

Vampire 30-day Challenge: Favorite NPC
Hmm this is a tough one.  There are just so many good characters in the game to choose from.  Then again, we are talking about a game line which has spanned from prehistory to the modern times.   Do I choose Saulot himself, an Antedeluvian whose actions in the past linger all the way to the present and whose machinations unfold to cause terrible things at the dawn of Gehenna?  Do I choose Ambrogino Giovanni whose ambition and tenacity far outweigh those of his contemporaries?  The man who sought to devour God himself and become an omnipotent force in the World of Darkness itself?

What about the ladies?  There's Fatima al Faqadi, the Assamite who breaks the all-male tradition of the Assamite Clan, or Lucita Aragon, Fatima's lover, and the "daughter" of the infamous Ambrosio Moncada who eventually work together to kill the Archbishop for all he had done.

So many to choose from.  So many awesome characters to cite.

My group's favorite would be the infamous Lady Jadviga Almanov of Bohemia, who became even more reviled to the players than Claudius Giovanni himself.  Boy was she a thorn on their side, double crossing the Conspiracy and then double-double crossing the Founders when she had the chance.  She was a Blueblood in more ways than the Ventrue would ever admit, and she was a wicked vile thing that knew how to manipulate even the best Cainite out there.

But I guess I would have to admit that my personal favorite would have to be Anatole.  The Malkavian from the Dark Ages who finds himself glimpsing the machinations of the Antedeluvians long before the rest of the World of Darkness learns to believe in their existence.  His rants and ravings do not go completely unheard of, thankfully, and many Noddists even seek him out for guidance and information.

He eventually pours out everything he could of his visions as a stream-of-consciousness record that covers the walls, floors and ceiling of what will become the location of his Final Death.  This happens at the turn of the millennium just as the coming of Gehenna begins.

Oh Onyx...

So, this came on live...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/demon-the-descent-prestige-edition

And while I do feel excited about it, I feel miffed that this is getting ready and yet there is still no clear sign of Exalted 3rd edition will be giving me more than just updates anytime soon.  I understand the reasons for the delays, but I just feel frustrated that I've already shelled out a lot for a book that's not coming around anytime soon, and I now can't get this upcoming cool book cause my funds were devoted to a project that can't offer me a download of 99% of the text the way this one has... on its first day on Kickstarter.

I just feel frustrated.

I really want to support the Onyx Path.
But I am starting to wonder if my money on Exalted is going anywhere.

I wish they'd at least give us backers more than just them updates.

Other projects I backed sent earlier drafts of pdfs.  Others even sent text documents for backers to help proofread, etc.  And from the Exalted kickstarter?  I've gotten a piece of artwork.

Sheesh.

So, will I back the Demon Kickstarter?  I might.  I dunno yet.  Maybe.
With a chuck of my funds redirected to help those struck by the typhoon, I might have to pass on this for now.  Here's hoping those who DO support it don't feel as shafted as I do about the lack of Exalted updates beyond just... words.

System Shopped: The Storm Rises - Forbidden Desert

The Storm Rises
System Shopped: Forbidden Desert
by Tobie Abad

One of our favorite board games is the Forbidden Desert by GameWright.  In this game, the players have crashed into a desert and cooperatively have to find the parts of the airship that are buried in the desert.  But there are dangers in this desert.  The sand can bury the whole group, defeating them.  The need for water can overwhelm them, their thirst finally killing them.  And finally, the storm itself may rise higher and higher until it becomes so strong the players have no hope of surviving.  This was exemplified by The Storm Picks Up card and the Storm Meter in the game.

For us, we can call it, The Storm Rises.

Now let's talk about adding that thrill to your games.  Here are a few ways to do so:

I. The Storm Rises
At the start of the game session, take a small container and place it prominently in front of you.  Be sure to do this so the players notice.  Then start your game.  Don't concern yourself with any questions they may ask about it.  Don't explain what the container is for.  But as you run the game, each time the players fail a dice roll, throw in a token/die into the container.  As they continue to make sure errors, add more tokens/dice.  Every now and then, check how many have been added and respond with a "Hmm..." or "Tsk tsk.."

The storm rises.  The players feel something is up.  Worry grows.  Fear begins to set in.  And you never had to tell them to think that.

II. The Rising Escalation of Danger
Another way to approach this is to have a single die set on the table in front of you.  As the players go through the story, adjust the die up one face.  This rising tide of danger should match the pace of the story.  Why?  This rising tide of threat will represent the bonus that all opposing rolls will get against the player, specifically for all appropriate combat rolls.  This will represent the oppressive surge of dramatic force that makes the heroes feel that everything is against them.

III. The Battle Should End Soon

Perhaps instead of giving opponents bonuses to their rolls, you can instead make the bonus an adjustment to all damage rolls that they make.  So while the enemies are not "suddenly getting better," the stakes of the battle are more and more felt as a lucky break on the opponent's side can spell a deadly wound upon the hero!   Perhaps just to keep this from going out of hand, reset the counter back to zero the moment the extra damage is inflicted.  And don't forget this can apply as extra damage the heroes inflict upon the enemies too.

IV. The Timer
I've been running Jared Sorenson's Lacuna with a real-time rule which wasn't really specified in the book.  All game sessions for Lacuna have been having a 3-hour time limit, which really helps give the game a tension that doesn't exist in other games.   Perhaps your Storm Meter can instead be five minute reductions of this time table each time they are triggered.   This might be a tad harder to pull off for most games which are grounded in reality, but for fantasy games (or surreal ones like Lacuna) this can easily make sense in an in-game way.

V. An Actual Storm
Lastly, you can have an actual storm battering upon the setting as the story progresses.  Regardless of the timeline of your game, a rising storm can have numerous consequences that are sure to complicate and challenge your gamers.   Look into the hazards brought into play by strong winds, torrential rains, and rising floods.  Consider the complications of power outages, overflowing rivers, and improperly maintained sewers.  Remember to take into account the problems of limited visibility, the lack of access to food and water, and even the greater possibility of infection.  

Storms are not limited to wind and rain, either.  Think of the grand danger posed by a terrible lightning storm as it ignites dry woods and shuts down power plants.  Imagine the terrifying affair of a sandstorm that blows winds strong enough to cause the swirling sand to strip flesh from bone.

In the Forbidden Desert, when the storm rises it is no joke.
Why not add that to your games as well for a new experience your players won't soon forget.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Alternate Setting

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Alternate Setting
I find this topic to be a bit confusing, since Vampire's line-up was mostly a singular metaplot save for the Gehenna book which offered alternate scenarios.  Unless one takes into account the hint of a cyberpunk Vampire setting hinted at White Wolf's magazine (named White Wolf Magazine).  I suspect, however, the question is intended to suggest that Camarilla is the main setting, then Sabbat, Inconnu, Tal'mahe'Ra and probably even the option to play Ghouls, Gargoyles, minor Bloodlines (Blood Brothers, etc) and Revenant families are the Alternate Settings.

Given that possibility, I will have to say the Sabbat.

I always celebrated the freedom that Sabbat offered, whether it was potential for stories that explored the fine limits of morality, or games that allowed the cathartic release of frustration and anger.  The option for Sabbat games allowed players to be the monsters in the game, or alternately portray the dark heroes that the Camarilla will never truly understand.

Of course, the Sabbat were very broad strokes of the monster spectrum, with selfish demons like Sascha Vykos to the calculating Ambrosio Luis Moncada to the truly monstrous ones like the Little Tailor of Prague.  So players were given a very wide berth of options to explore.

A Single Moment : Work in Progress Teaser

A SINGLE MOMENT : Work in Progress Teaser
by Tobie Abad

The two samurai stared at each other.

Once they were friends. Brothers. But now the time has come for honor to be regained.
For vengeance to be unleashed.
The two samurai narrowed their gaze. Tightened their grip. Adjusted their footing.

There is a single moment to end it all.
That time is now.


*

WHAT IS A SINGLE MOMENT
A Single Moment is a two-player game that is played in a series of scenes (or for longer games, game sessions) called Chapters. Each Chapter represents a flashback where the players explore the events that lead to this single final moment. So imagine the game as a movie that opens with the Samurai finally facing each other, then having a series of flashbacks that explain their relationship and how it lead to this final moment, with the finale being the final fight itself.

To play A Single Moment, you need the following:
1) Two players who are willing to play the role of Samurai warriors who have a duel to settle
2) A character sheet for each player (you have permission to print out personal copies of the sheet at the back)
3) Around six pieces of six-sided dice per player. It helps to have a different color of dice for each player.
4) Three colors of tokens. One color will represent Choice Points. Another color will represent Hatred. The last color represents Edges. For groups that aren't comfy with so many tokens, you can simply track them with marks on the character sheet.

(side text box)

How Many Chapters should A Single Moment be?

For a short game, five chapters is enough.

For longer games, eight chapters is an option.

Bear in mind, a chapter may be a single scene, or a whole game session, depending on how you want to approach it.

THE OPENING SCENE

The game will always open with the Opening Scene.

Unlike most role-playing games, in A Single Moment players do not start by creating a character concept.  Instead they go through the first scene establishing who they are, who they are to each other, and what the setting is.  Starting with the player who last saw a martial arts movie/documentary, that player declares the following and fills in the missing details:

"My name is (insert name).

I am of the (insert name) Clan.

This is my story."

The next player then declares his version of the same declaration.

Once these introductions are made, the two players will alternate declarations of the following items, starting with the first player.  Each player can fill in the detail of a single item at a time.  Players must work together to build a coherent setting.  The declarations are:

The story is set in a (describe the locale).

The story happens (describe when the story occurs).

The story lasts (describe the length of time the whole narrative will eventually take).

The story is a story about (choose one Virtue).

There are seven virtues of Bushido, the unique philosophy which ruled their martial training and day-to-day conduct.  One of these seven virtues will serve as well as the key theme of a game of A Single Moment.

I. Rectitude

A story of dying when the time to die is right.   Of striking when the moment to strike is right.  It is the foundation of all the other virtues.  The unwavering power behind a decision of morality.

II. Courage

The spirit of daring and bearing.  To rise and meet even that which one cannot fathom.

III. Benevolence and Mercy

Understand when to befriend even one's enemy.   

IV. Respect

There is a proper order in all things.  A harmony brought by politeness.

V. Honesty and Sincerity

There is no need for written pledges. One's word is one's bond.

VI. Honor

Live and die by one's honor.  Or commit haragiri (seppuku) to preserve lost honor.  

VII. Loyalty

One's loyalty is more precious than life itself.

With the setting set, whoever made the last declaration for setting then officially opens the Opening Scene by declaring the first fact of the location of the final battle.  As before, players then alternate turns in choosing declarations to make:

The single moment happens (state where).

The single moment happens with (Choose one: None, Many, Select few) to bear witness to it.

The single moment happens at (declare the time of day).

Once all three declarations are made, the next player then closes the Opening Sequence by creating the first Chapter.

CHAPTERS

Every Chapter is created in the following manner.  

1) A player declares the opening lines of a Chapter to set what the scene will be about.  That player is the Active player for the Chapter.  The opening line should always begin this way, "I recall that time when (short summary of focus on Scene)."

If the player opts to, he may choose to make the Chapter focus on one of the Three Key Chapters.  (See Key Chapters below).

2) The players then co-narrate the scene, with the Active Player portraying himself, and the other player taking the role of the Game Master.  The other player will role-play for any other characters who are introduced into the scene.  Either player can introduce characters when they want, however only the player who introduces a specific Key Role is permitted to role-play that role (See Key Roles below)

3) Whenever conflicts arise in the scene, players resolve using dice and spend Choice Points when necessary. (see Choice Points below)  Conflicts include dramatic moments in the scene, or when there are disagreements between the two players on how an event or action should resolve in the Chapter.  The Chapter must support the short summary given above.

4) At the end of the scene, players note down the Edge they have gained, any Scars they have received, and any Hatred they have earned.  The Chapter ends.  (See Edges and Scars below)

5) The next player then becomes the Active player and creates a new Chapter.

If this was the Final Chapter, the game then moves to the finale:  A Single Moment.

[teaser ends here]

So I've been working on A Single Moment and so far it has started to shape into a much more realized game.  Given the first set of feedback, I've tried to polish things better and clear the system more.  I am still undecided if I shall attempt the Kickstarter route with this, or take my first solo dive into Drivethrurpg.

I still need to find a good artist whom I can commission for some art pieces and a good graphic designer who can nicely lay this out into a pdf, mobi, epub document for actual release.

But yes, we are getting very close to me finally releasing a solo stand-alone project for the role-playing game community to enjoy.

I'm pretty excited!

Vampire 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Scene/Location

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Favorite Scene/Location
I would still have to give this to Giovanni Chronicles I, The Last Supper, when the players discover the true nature of the event they have been invited to at the Red Lamb Inn.  As Marianna is brought in with the clamp around her throat and the tap engaged, the players learn the horrific truth of what role they are to play in the dinner with the elders.

Yes, it is campy and rail-roady now.  But back then, it was a masterful stroke that caught most players off-guard.  Most vampire games would have the players start by playing what is called the "Prelude" where they meet their Sire and experience the Embrace.  In Giovanni Chronicles, what began as a Prelude turns instead into a horrible nightmare where the players realize their characters are meant to be the food for the Elders who had been given them as personalized feeding treats.  Only the timely arrival of Raphael de Corazon and the rest of the Founders forces the Conspiracy of Isaac to embrace the player characters and leave them to buy time for their escape.

So the player discover they were not meant to be embraced at all, and now are embraced with the blood of Elders in their veins, and stand before the very group that will found the Camarilla who see them as threats and tools best kept on a tight leash.

It epitomized for me the tragedy of Vampire's Dark Ages.  It was a time where great power was easier to grasp, but the social chains of prestation, status and the three pillars of society pounded the vampires down to pawns nonetheless.

I still fondly recall the players back then, using the "holes in the back of their napes" as the small means to check if the other was indeed their ally or just someone masquerading as them.  It was a detail none save them, if not the Conspiracy of Isaac would recall.

Weeping Blade Smile ep02 : Legends of the Wulin

10/13/2013
Weeping Blade Smile
Episode Two

"Water Chestnuts, Bird's Nests and Pheasant"

I am the Omnipotent Dreamer, Ching Eng.
Upon my charts I trace the lines of Destiny and see the entanglements that are to shape the flow of the world.  I see two elders discussing over tea the fate of their daughter.  I see how they wish to the strings of happiness of my beloved Xiao Shiah Lin to the detestable Bai-Yan.    I see how the yang of Governor Yang Sung yearns for the yin of Yue Fan, but his attempts to know her are confused by Gallant Eagle and Vigilant Hawk's confusion over which woman the rotund official desires.  I see the former lieutenant of the Rabid Dogs hunt for the trail of their wayward master.   His questions lead him to the Xu Clan, where a small temple is watched over by Xu Tan Nu, whose Priestly affairs are practiced when the husband is away.  This visitation would most likely be witnessed by Bai-Yan, who would remember the significance of the ivory comb he had left in the drunken man's possession.

Today is a sweet day for poison.

That much I am certain.  Xiao Shiah Lin is destined to cross paths with me again.  Just as the Vigilant Hawk will be tasked to hunt himself.  

I visit Dong Wang, the prisoner of the Eagle Talons, and easily gain access by sharing with them a wine softened with sleeping herbs.  The man admits to me his actions were meant to humiliate the Xu Clan after he and his brother were bested by Xu Rui on the Mountain Pass.    When I inquire about his appearance, he admits that he was advised by Man In Green Robes to the whereabouts of a Doctor Din.  The Doctor, it was said, was to give him the benefit of the Flesh-Shaping Technique.

The Governor writes a letter to invite Xiao Shiah Lin to his home.  I must subtly urge the others to reconsider the invitation.   I must prevent her from being there when he enjoys the fruits of my labors.

How do I draw the others in?   Perhaps it would be best to start with the Doctor.  And the Flesh-Shaping itself.  That would be the answer to the question puzzling Xu Rong Sai, who would soon come to visit the Xiao Clan to ask my beloved's mother, Xiao Cai, his questions regarding medicine.  There are precious few to ask about such techniques, and Xiao Cai may be the closest one he shall consider.

This would require, however, a more active part for me to bring Xiao Wei Long and Zi Ying to the same household.  Xiao Wei Long will be drawn by the smell of wine, and Dong Long would be the perfect lure for the Frozen Wolf.  The two chasing each other should draw Zi Ying's attention as the Vigilant Hawk's sight will surely capture their movements in the city.  If things go well, this would then draw Yue Yi into the web as well, as their sounds are sure to reach her sensitive ears.

All gathered, the need for hospitality would force Xiao Cai to invite all to a dinner.  And in that dinner, Xiao Shiah Lin would be far to preoccupied to reconsider the Governor's invitation.

Jasmine.  Yue Yin still smells as fragrant as before.  And Xiao Cai is surely to serve Xiao Shaih Lin's wedding wine to celebrate XIao Wei Long's return.  This would emotionally hurt my beloved enough for me to sweep in and comfort her.

"Tonight is a good night for truth to reveal itself," Yue Yi predicts and I agree.  Tonight is indeed a night of truths.

The dinner.  My beloved's cooking is marvelous.   There are snippets of conversation but I am lost in the deluge of flavors that usurp my focus.   The first dish invigorates the senses.  Awakens the tongue for the flavors to come.  The second dish seduces the palate.   Yue Yi touches my arm to warm me the soup is hot.  I feel my skin afire.  Are my longings for her still alive?  The third dish reveals richer and thicker spices mingling among the meat.  Xiao Wei Long and Xu Rong Sai seem preoccupied over something.  The details elude me.  Xiao Cai mutters something about her husband having been abudcted.  The Rabid Dogs are lose.  Yue Yi is hired to locate the man posing as Frozen Wolf.  I turn to Vigilant Hawk but find myself unable to say anything out of confusion.  Xiao Shiah Lin?  Yue Yi?

How does the heart choose which death to permit and which happiness to embrace?

News reaches the people.  The Governor is dead.

My predictions remain true.
More so when I make sure they happen.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Favorite Adventure You Have Ran

Vampire 30-Day Challenge :  Favorite Adventure You Have Ran
Hmm... another challenging post.  Given the many games I've run, if I were to stick to White Wolf, it would be the Changeling multi-chronicle game I had (It spanned three generations of characters).  Some would feel the best adventure I ever ran would be Sacrament, that had four players, and around 13 Lurkers who were non-players but were given information on the game's plot and the freedom to contact the players "in character" whenever they wanted to.  It was a meta-fest that really hit awesome moments. ("Tobie, can I help the players in the scene?  One is texting me to help out."  Me: "Sure, we're playing at [name of venue]. If you can get here in thirty minutes, you're in the game.")

But again, I have to keep the answer Vampire-centric to match the 30-Day challenge theme, so with that in mind, I think I would have to choose:

Giovanni Chronicles.

We just can't get enough of this adventure.  Yes, lots of naysayers out there will cite how rail-roady it is, with unbalanced characters and insane scenes, but in many ways those are the things that make us love it.  The rail-road allows us to explore other avenues without leaving the plot.  The unbalanced characters tells us to stop thinking about "defeating them" and instead allows us to explore interacting with them in various ways.  It is like enjoying a movie you've seen over and over again.  There's always some new angle to discover.  Some new scene to appreciate.  Some new line to throw.

And yes, we do twist things around.  I've had games were Marianna DIES during the Last Supper, and all Marianna scenes later on are attributed to the actions of a player.  I've had a version were all save for three Conspirators were destroyed by the Founders.  This lead to the Conspiracy of Isaac being more ruthless and cruel in their later actions.  I've even had a game where one player ends up the Childe of Ambrogino Giovanni.  Oh yes.  That child would, in the end of that game, diablerize his very own Sire in a bid to claim the Tetragrammaton for himself.

Giovanni Chronicles are such a delight to run.

What do you call that group of what again?

This was an awesome resource from David Malki.

Use it well, gamers!

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Craziest Thing That Has Happened

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Craziest Thing That Has Happened
The qualifiers make this harder to answer than expected.  Given the many vampire games my group has played through the years, choosing the craziest thing is a tricky prospect.  We've had neonate games, anarch sessions, Sabbat romps, elder campaigns, cross-generational stories and even multiple arcs of the same story (Giovanni Chronicles was run four/five times, depending on who you ask.  Transylvania was run around thrice.  The Gehenna book has been used a few times too, in once case having ALL FOUR SCENARIOS merged into one.)

There was even that one game where the players were portraying the Antedeluvians when they were still neonates and the game was set in the ancient times.  Oh yes, they would worry each time I'd mention in a scene that it was raining pretty hard.  Good times.  I should run that game again.

But I guess the craziest game we played would be our multi-character spanning session which I ran very many years back.  I forget what I called it, but the game basically was approached in this manner:

1) All players are Kindred Special Agents
Yes, you were a vampire.  And you worked for a special ultra secret branch of the government.
You were tasked to deal with threats and handle the maintenance of National Security.

2) Powers were gathered into a Pool of Assets
Every single power in Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages, Werewolf the Apocalypse and Wraith the Oblivion were gathered into a single pool.   During Mission Briefing, players would select up to five powers which they planned to use.  So yes, you can, for example, have: Step Sideways, Telepathic Communication, Celerity, Form of Mist and Theft of Vitae while your fellow agent might be armed with Body of Sun, Fortitude, Sense Wyrm, Movement of the Mind and Mask of 1000 Faces.

Powers worked normally, but those that were beyond your Generational limits would cost an additional health level and willpower point to use.  Any powers that were non-Cainite immediately were considered beyond Generational limits.  And lastly, all uses of powers beyond level 5 cost three extra blood points to use each time.  So the Agent with Body of Sun?  Each turn he activated it, he would need to spend 1 Health Level, 1 Willpower point, and 3 Bloodpoints to activate (standard system) plus 3 to use since it was beyond 5.  Then required 2 blood points per turn to maintain (standard system).

This meant needing a Generation high enough to spend 6 in one go, or needing extra turns to "charge it up".
So it kind of balanced out :-)

3) The Enemies were the Ancients
The game progressed with the players learning the names of the counter-intelligence forces were Arikel, Malkav and the like.  This, of course, freaked them out big time!

4) Finally, the game ended with one single player being told the truth.
The rest of the players had an awesome romp fighting international threats and forces.  And the game ended with them just happy the world was saved.

One player was allowed to break free from the illusions and telepathic manipulations the rest of them were in.  The Ravnos elder whispered to him that is what happens to those who cross the Ravnos.  Then he silently committed the Amaranth and took that character's soul away.  The rest he was to devour at his own leisure.

That player never told the other player to this day.
(Or at least that's what I believe since none of the others ever told me about this game's secret ending).

Now, if the entry were to require craziest thing a player did, rather than what a GM did, that would be a True Brujah player using Temporis to halt an ongoing battle between fellow Cainites and a pack of Sabbat hunters, then the same said Brujah raising his glock to shoot the Sabbat Pack Leader, but botching his roll so bad, we ruled he just shot his ally in the head.

Definitely a WTF moment we all enjoyed.

Recruitment #11 : Lacuna

10/05/2013
Recruitment #11
Lacuna, Part I. The Birth of Mystery and the Girl from Blue City

"Welcome to Recruitment.  I am the Receptionist.  You are currently to be referred to as Applicant A and Applicant B.  Do not be alarmed.  You are here in the Company.  Memory loss is common."

Agent Taylor is promoted to Senior Agent status and given Team Leader status for the two new recruits.  Agent Tiller is a Mystery Agent who trained under Snyder.  He is a Reader.   Agent Falconer on the other hand trained under Senior Agent Chambers.  He is a Caller.   The group is excited about their upcoming mission, showing an unexpected familiarity.  They even celebrate their first drink together.

Agent Taylor is the first to recover from Insertion.  His eyes adjust to the darkness and he quickly realizes he is sitting on a bench at the street.  There is darkness all around, save for the light shining from the second floor of a nearby building.  A silhouette of a man watches him from above.  He reaches for his pockets and feels a brief moment of panic when he realizes he does NOT have a Lacuna device with him.

Agent Falconer opens his eyes and finds himself in a dark, cramped place.  He seems to be lying down in some place with barely any leg room, nor enough purchase to allow him to sit up.  He feels his heart beat faster when he realizes he is in a coffin!

Agent Tiller wakes up to find himself in a white room. A massive eye is painted on the wall across from him.  There is a chair he is sitting on.  The door opens where the eye's pupil should be and a SMOKING MAN steps into view.  He calmly identifies Tiller as a Mystery Agent, and asks him if he would be willing to undergo a test, "To check for Infection."  Tiller refuses to participate, but when the SMOKING MAN offers to let Tiller check him, Tiller uses the device and sees the purple light the device shines makes the SMOKING MAN's face become translucent.  He can see all the bones, veins and inner structure of his head.  "Nothing in there that shouldn't be there," the man mumbles, "Now, can I check you?" Tiller refuses.

Agent Taylor runs forward, then kicks off the ground to leap all the way to the second floor.  As he lands in the darkened room near the lit one with the silhouette, he finds himself in a chamber filled with coffins. One of the coffins starts to sway and rock and when it falls, it shatters to reveal Agent Falconer.  Taylor immediately orders Falconer to search for a hard line they can use to get the mission parameters.  There are markings on the wall, but neither of them can read it.  Falconer closes his eyes and Calls for Control instead of looking for a phone.  Control's security measures have been raised ever since Senior Agent Miner defected to the Opposition.

"Who was it who suggested the Agents have a drink before the mission?"

Falconer responds, "I did."

"What is the age of Agent Tillman?"

Falconer responds, "I do not know."

Control approves identity match and identifies that he is at the Entry Zone: Morgue.  Falconer asks for Intel on Tiller and Control informs him Tiller is 120 feet from current position.   He requests for Intel on a safe route to Tiller, and Control shares the route.

The mission parameters are as follows:
1) Locate Hostile Personality Fraulein.
2) Confirm identity of Fraulein based on Rose tattoo in inner thigh.
3) Eliminate Fraulein.
4) Eject from Blue City.

Taylor checks the lit edge of the doorway leading to the other room.  He senses someone standing guard.  He sees a glimpse of someone there with guns.   He considers other pathways and sees the stairwells at the opposite edges of the building.  And the fire exit outside the building on the North Side.

Falconer Calls Tiller.  He warns Tiller of the situation and quickly shares the mission parameters.  Taylor reminds him to requisition for arms.

They get :

Two handguns.
1 Flash bang grenade.

He considers asking for smoke grenades, but changes his mind at the last moment.

He heads to the fire exit, intent on finding his way to Tiller.  Neither of them realize Tiller is at the opposite end of the circular building.  Taylor decides to bite the bullet and swings the door open.  A woman is sitting on a tall cushioned chair starting straight at him with a dour expression.  She lights the cigarette on the end of her extended pipe and asks if he is the Mystery Agent who has been tasked to kill her.

"I am Fraulein.  So don't lie to me if you're here to kill me."

Tiller watches the SMOKING MAN head out the door and quickly maneuvers to slide his foot to keep the door from closing.  Listening in, he overhears the SMOKING MAN talking to someone on the hard line on the wall about "Mystery Agents" and about "Missing Lacuna devices."  When the SMOKING MAN heads off, Tiller steps into the hallway and considers using the phone.  He notices the windows along the hallway's walls and looks out to see a lit area in the second floor across from his side of the building.   He sees a woman in a fur-lined coat smoking a pipe while talking to Agent Taylor.  He notices a figure training a gun in that location and uses his own gun to silently shoot the man down.  He also notices the four figures with clothing resembling old Soviet military garb in the shadows, out of Taylor's line of sight, maneuvering into position to ambush him!   With a leap, he throws himself across the gap and crashes through the window at the second floor.  The crash forces the four figures to emerge from the shadows, warning Taylor of what would have been a deadly ambush.

Taylor shoots Fraulein on the forehead.  As the woman slumps to the ground, Tiller throws a punch at the nearest Soviet soldier, only to see the spider head on the man's shoulders! Taylor grabs the nearby couch and throws it at the two other spiders.  The fourth tries to grab Tiller, but the spider leaps headlong into another gunshot instead.

Satisfied to have fulfilled the first mission parameter, Taylor checks and finds the rose tattoo.  "Time to go," he tells Tiller who is looking out of the window and sees two more jeeps driving into the scene.    Taylor looks at Tiller and admits he does not have a Lacuna device.

Further away, Falconer is running down the hallway to find a woman coming into view with her arms outstretched.  "My name is Kira and I you have to come with me," she calls out but Falconer responds with a punch instead.  As Kira drops unconscious, Falconer sees the windows light up and peers out to see the spiders scurrying out of the jeeps that just arrived.    He hears footfalls and turns to see Tiller and Taylor emerging from the room he had come from, both running at full tilt.

"Here," a voice calls out and Falconer looks up to see the SMOKING MAN coming from the opposite direction (where Tiller was supposed to come from).  A pair of Lacuna devices flies from his hands.  Taylor catches one.  Falconer catches the other.  And Tiller sees the spiders pouring into the hallway behind them.

"Out! Now!" Taylor calls out, but he does not depress his device.   Falconer tries to but fails.  Tiller on the other hand counts to three and is gone.

The spiders close in.

*

Tiller awakens to the sound of screeching devices and doctors holding him down.  He sees the bluish tube in the distance with the figure lying inside and loses consciousness once more before he can ask any questions.

*

His eyes open to find himself back in Reception.  The Receptionist asks him questions about the mission after congratulating him on successfully accomplishing it.  But one too many questions forces the Receptionist to inform Control.  They walk in, drug him back to sleep, and take him away.  Tiller is never seen again.

*

Three figures look around, dazed, as they wake from a long sleep.
A woman smiles at them in the air-conditioned room bathed in white lights.

"Welcome to Recruitment.  I am the Receptionist.  You are currently to be referred to as Applicant A, Applicant B, and Applicant C.  Do not be alarmed.  You are here in the Company.  Memory loss is common."

The three uneasily smile.
They feel they've been here before.
But somehow they sense it would be better NOT to say a word.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Favorite Character You Haven’t Played

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Favorite Character You Haven’t Played
Now this is definitely an exciting question to answer.  Having been a Storyteller for so long, I will admit to having a lot of concepts I want to try playing as a full-time player some day.  Having to choose one is quite a challenge.  So here goes my attempt to do so:

Manny Elias
Nature: Survivor
Demeanor: Conformist
Clan: Nosferatu
Generation: 9th

Strength 1
Dexterity 2
Stamina 3

Charisma 4
Manipulation 5
Appearance 0Man

Perception 3
Intelligence 3
Wits 2

Notable Abilities:
Empathy 3
Subterfuge 3
Acting 3
Stealth 3

Disciplines:
Obfuscate 4
Animalism 1

Notes: Manny Elias no longer knows who he is.  He knows five hundred thirty five different personalities, each one distinct with a whole history, personality profile, and established background.  He has a face for every race, every gender, every color.   Except his own.

Manny Elias earned his name during the years following the discovery of the NewWorld.  They had found him on one of the vessels that returned from across the sea.  He had no face of his own.  No name he could share.  No legacy to hold.  He could not even remember his Sire.

But with but a thought, Manny Elias can become any one of these five hundred thirty five masks that simply wait for him to wear them.   And oddly, during such transformations, any trace of the Noseferatu completely disappears.  There are some rumors that he even risks exposure to sunlight during such instances, as if the fear of dying was second only to the terror of not being able to clearly say who he is.

Game Idea: People We Hate

People We Hate
by Tobie Abad

Sometimes, through role-playing we get a glimpse of the other perspective.  Other times, it can be a means to just blow off steam and do something different.  So for today's article, the idea is to try playing a character based on the kind of person you'd probably really hate.  This might be an interesting resource for those who love playing Sabbat games, or anti-hero games, or maybe just a new challenge for those who have been gaming for as long as I have.

Why?  Because you can.  Or because you want to try something different.  (And if your reply is, "But I'm already that" then let's just move on to the next topic, shall we? :-) )  So here are ten character types to try playing, inspired by the article on 'Top 10 Toxic People to Avoid' by Marcia Sirota.  While I personally have varying reaction to the source of inspiration itself, I'll stick instead to how the same list can be worked into a gaming resource as character challenges to try.  I don't plan to have ten samples, though, given many can be combined into a single concept.

So without further ado, the infamous list that some players might want to try playing:

Character Challenge:  Short-Tempered Source of Trouble
Maybe the character has a short-fuse and tends to get angry about things very quickly?  Or maybe the temper tends to manifest in a specific area (He's okay most of the time, but when its combat, he becomes a brute)  Or perhaps even he's the kind of person who loves to make a fuss over the little things (I think the fashion and celebrity scene has many of these kinds of characters)

Added twist:  What if the character was all bark and no bite?  (Most of them are in real life)

Character Challenge:  The Silver-Tongued Charmer
Interestingly, this character type already exists in World of Darkness' Slasher book.  But I can definitely see other games that would support such a concept.   The question is, is your character a con-man out of habit, or out of desperation?  Does he do it for the fun of deceiving others?  Or does he do it simply because he is good at it, and its something that needs to be done?

Added twist:  Maybe he's so lost, he spends the mornings facing the mirror and lying to himself.  Without such a mirror, maybe he'd self-destruct?

Character Challenge:  The ME Concept
No one else matters but your own character's needs and feelings.  No one is more important and more vital than yourself.  Sometimes, it is about greed and wanting all for yourself.  For others, it is less greed and more the intense need to be acknowledged as being the one who made it happen.    Worse, these concepts have a tendency of viewing everything under a lens that it revolved around them.  That warrior that defeated the otyugh?  Oh, without my Bless spell he probably would have died.    You were worried about those drowning in the storm outside?  Good thing I told you about them, right?

Added twist:  You love being the center of everthing, but you HATE saying it yourself.  So there's always this passive aggressive attempt to make others say it.  "Is there anyone you want to thank?" is a common way this is shown.

Character Challenge:  The Drama is my Universe
Nothing goes "okay" when you are around.  Either they're too hot, too cold, or not the way you want it to be!  You hate the fact that people "can't seem to get it right" and how you always "have to do it myself just to get something so simple right!"   Some would say you seem perfectionist, but the truth is this has less to do with perfection and far more to do with you just wanting to always have something to rant about.

Added twist:  Be in a position of great power and influence.  Think you can make the pettiness start a war? Go for it!

Character Challenge:  Just being "Honest"
You love popping the joy and fantasy of anything that happens.  You love rubbing into people's faces how most marriages end up in divorce.  How love is just really a chemical reaction that happens similar to when people eat chocolate.  There are no unicorns for you. Nor happy endings.  In Changeling the Dreaming, these were called Banal characters - devoid of excitement and creativity.  But you can portray this in other games based on a number of reasons: His cynicism was born from experience?  His hatred of other people being happy is just him reminding them such things are temporal and not worth really enjoying?  He will never have something positive to say, because in as much as there are ups and downs in life, he only sees the slopes down as inevitable no matter how many times you can head up.

Added twist:  This happens so long as you are facing the world as usual.  But then, you actually fall in love... and to that person you're rose-tinted all the way.  Suddenly, that one SINGLE person get's it right.  Suddenly that one single person understands it all.  Grasps it perfectly.  And is the only one with the right to correct you.

Character Challenge:  You Shouldn't Have Done That!Anytime things don't go smooth, you have a reason why it is their fault.  You know what's the best course of action, but you don't see the point in even sharing that.  Why?  Because they never listen anyway.  And even if they did, they never do it right.    Worse, you never forget someone's blunder.  The guy who misspoke a word?  You'll be teasing him about the need to own Google Glass that shows nothing but dictionary pages for him as your hot joke for that player for the next few days.  Name calling comes naturally for you.  Even more natural than passing the blame, you tend to silently consider the best course of action, then watch others do the wrong one, and finally voice out what they should have done instead.

Added twist:  Play a character with visions or some kind of prophetic power.  So yes, people do know you do usually KNOW what is best.  But even then, you still don't normally share the information.    It is almost as if you enjoy watching others squirm and try.

Character Challenge:  The Forever Victim
They're all the ones who made it happen.  They're always the ones who force you to do things the way you do them.  They're the ones at fault!  Things would be better if they just let you do what you want.  But they never do! They always judge.  They always force you.  They always coerce you.

Added twist:  And you like it.  Handling responsibility was never your strong suit.

Character Challenge:  The Octopus of Social Graces
You have many friends who are connected to many great places.  So why feel bad about using the connections to push yourself forward in life?  Connections are a blessing and you're just reaping the benefits of being at the right place, and surrounded by the right people at the right time.  If they didn't want to help you out, they wouldn't be there, right?

Added twist:  You don't really need the connections.  You are wealthy. And influential.  But you prefer having them move you further than use the resources you actually have.

Character Challenge: The VisionaryThey will never understand you.  They will never appreciate your ideals.  So don't bother waiting for them to grasp it.  Just embrace the whole new world before you and approach things the way you feel are best.  At least, if you are on a sinking ship, it was one of your own making.

Added twist:  You're deeply afraid of being wrong.  Frankly, you just want someone to tell you to stop.  But each time someone does, your first instinct to rebel kicks in.  Maybe there is someone who CAN make you stop.

Character Challenge: Petty Petty 
You have grown older, but you never grew up.  While for most, that means embracing their inner child, for you it means never embracing responsibility or seeing the bigger picture.  You want what you want, and you'll get it when you want it.  You'll make a fuss, you'll start a fight, or you'll cry just to push everyone else to giving in to your demands.  And they should, because you deserve it.

Added twist:  You realize the truth.  But you have to keep up appearances and stay petty, or you will have no choice but to face the music.

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Favorite Character You Have Played

Vampire 30-Day Challenge : Favorite Character You Have Played
The tricky part in this question is I tend to be the Storyteller in our games.   But since Day 14 is about my favorite NPC, I guess it would be best to answer this one as characters I played when I was actually the player.

This does, however, reduce my options to two and of the two Gabriel Dufford kinda wins.  I guess one never forgets their first character when playing a game they really were looking forward to.  If I were to try my best to recall the character's stats, what I could recall would be:

Gabriel Dufford
Concept: Artist Serial Killer
Nature: Visionary
Demeanor: Follower

Clan: Malkavian
Generation: 8th

Strength 2
Dexterity 2
Stamina 2

Manipulation 4
Charisma 3
Appearance 1

Intelligence 3
Wits 2
Perception 5

Notable Abilities:
Melee 3
Awareness 3
Medicine 3
Empathy 3

Auspex 2
Obfuscate 3

Generation 5

Notes:  Gabriel Dufford has long sought to find that fine line between life and death.  His Embrace merely offered him an even better opportunity to look into the eyes of his victims and search for the answers he seeks.  Each time Gabriel kills a person, he would activate Auspex and stare into the victim's eyes, hoping to see a telltale sign in his eyes in that moment when death comes to claim him.  So far, however, Gabriel's attempts have been unsuccessful and so far he has suspected it has to do with him being prone to distraction.