The Gaming Den

Thanks. I had forgotten all about Patience of the Mountains and assumed that immortality was just a flavor thing.

Is this a legible Persona no Grata character writeup?

Dean
Dean spent several years as a slave soldier to the King of Three Shadows after he sold his soul to get a family member raised from the dead. Since escaping from Limbo, he spends most of his time traveling the country and killing monsters, which has earned him a place as a respected hunter in the Stellar Oracles, but a noted name on the shit list of several Camarilla Princes.

• S: 4 A: 5 I: 3 L: 1 W: 2 C: 5
  Skills: Athletics 4; Combat 6; Drive 3; Larceny (Palming) 5; Perception 3; Stealth 5; Survival 3;
  Bureaucracy (Government) 2; Empathy 3; Expression 1; Intimidation (Fear Mongering) 5; Persuasion (Fast Talk) 3; Tactics 6
  Electronics (Wiring) 2; Medicine (First Aid) 1; Operations (Repair) 2; Rigging (Lockpicking) 4; Research 1 (Archives); Sabotage (Explosives) 4
  Backgrounds: Bar Scene 6, Ballistics 6, Credit Fraud 5, Hell Mouths 4, Infernal Politics 4, Christian Splinter Groups 3, Cars 3, Sports Teams 2, Chemistry 2
  Disciplines: Awe, Dread Gaze, Deny the Gauntlet, Mask of a Thousand Faces, Patience of the Mountain, Learn the Heart's Pain, Suggestion, Quickness, Majesty, Desire Reflection, Façade of Nonchalance, Bind the Name
  Merits and Flaws: Attractive, Diplomatic Incident
  Equipment: Shotgun, Colt 1911 (silver bullets), Badass Jacket, Numerous hidden knives, sand (including sand cartridges for the shotgun), salt (including salt cartridges for the shotgun), Lockpick set, Chevy Impala

The Black Isz
There are a cadre of Mirror Goblins who work for a vicious killer: a dangerous Baali named Artemis Pender. The playr characters may never meet Artemis Pender or learn what it is that he is doing – but his Mirror Goblin agents are sufficiently numerous that they may be encountered many times. A typical group will be between 4 and 6 of the Isz, and be dispatched with some identifiable (if baroque) mission. Abilities vary slightly within an Isz pack, but one of them might look like this:

• S: 3 A: 4 I: 2 L: 2 W: 1 C: 3
  Skills: Artisan 1 (Painting); Athletics 2; Combat 3; Larceny 4; Perception 2; Sabotage 1 (Traps); Stealth 2; Survival 4; Tactics 2
  Backgrounds: Gibbering 4, Infernal Politics 3, Rare Art 3, Human Laws 2
  Disciplines: Quickness, Mask of a Thousand Faces, Touch of Darkness
  Merits and Flaws: Swarming, Fiercely Competitive
  Equipment: Trench Coat, Spray Paint.

-Username17

FrankTrollman wrote:Is this a legible Persona no Grata character writeup?

Yes, although you should have some way of indicating when an attribute or skill has been modified (say, by a discipline).

You could also distinguish between passive, boost, and active disciplines. That way we'll know that Dean probably uses Awe at the start of a social scene, Quickness at the start of a combat scene, and mask of a thousand faces in a stealth scene. We'll also be able to quickly pick out that during an encounter, we can expect him to use Dread Gaze, Majesty, Learn the Heart's Pain, Desire Reflection, and possibly Facade of Nonchalance. It's not a huge deal with most luminaries, but it would really help with a big list.

I also like how you've ordered backgrounds by rating. I assume that's because alphabetical order is meaningless, but you could still use it when order is meaningful.

You could also parenthetically add the damage and possibly range of any weapons.

[Edit] Oh, and recharge type. Just in case the moon rises or something. [/Edit]

CatharzGodfoot wrote:[Edit] Oh, and recharge type. Just in case the moon rises or something. [/Edit]

I assume Frank is trying to keep the writeups pretty compact, so just giving their subtype (Dean's clearly a Fallen) somewhere should suffice for that. Frank, what about other stats like potence and edge? Will you start the section off with something along the lines of, "Supernaturals in this section that have names are assumed to have a potence of 1, maximum power points when they start off, and an edge of 3."

And yeah, I agree with Catharz that there should be some brief notes on strategy, so that the DM is told without having to double check the disciplines all the time that, in a combat scene, The Black Panther should be activating Celerity and Vigor or something.

FrankTrollman wrote:Is this a legible Persona no Grata character writeup?

I can't tell what kind of supernatural Dean is, if any.

The background hints at Fallen. Also, we don't have any info on what the Swarming and Attractive merits do.

Yah, the disciplines back up Fallen as well. I can't imagine him being anything other than that really. Fallen fits perfectly.

That said, it would be handy to have a tag on any NPC/Persona non Grata block noting what supernatural flavor they are, if any.

Does this work better?

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Dean
Dean spent several years as a slave soldier to the King of Three Shadows after he sold his soul to get a family member raised from the dead. Since escaping from Limbo, he spends most of his time traveling the country and killing monsters, which has earned him a place as a respected hunter in the Stellar Oracles, but a noted name on the shit list of several Camarilla Princes.
Dean is a Fallen. He is rather brash and tends to leap into danger as soon as he sees the barest opportunity to do so. In combat he will activate Quickness immediately, and when investigating things he will generally mimic a governmental authority figure. Dean's disciplines grant him a +2 bonus to Socialization and a similar bonus to people asking about him later, and he almost never shies from this, grabbing the center of attention with Awe any time he enters a bar. He gains a +2 bonus to soak damage against weapons that are not iron, and personally has a true name that he does not use (Taxiarch Μιχαήλ) and knows the true name of everyone he runs into. Dean deals with a Master Passion of Rage, though admittedly, not very well.

• S: 4 A: 5 I: 3 L: 1 W: 2 C: 5 Edge: 3, Potency: 1
  Skills: Athletics 4; Combat 6; Drive 3 [+2]; Larceny (Palming) 5; Perception 3; Stealth 5; Survival 3;
  Bureaucracy (Government) 2; Empathy 3; Expression 1; Intimidation (Fear Mongering) 5; Persuasion (Fast Talk) 3; Tactics 6
  Electronics (Wiring) 2; Medicine (First Aid) 1; Operations (Repair) 2; Rigging (Lockpicking) 4; Research 1 (Archives); Sabotage (Explosives) 4
  Backgrounds: Bar Scene 6, Ballistics 6, Credit Fraud 5, Hell Mouths 4, Infernal Politics 4, Christian Splinter Groups 3, Cars 3, Sports Teams 2, Chemistry 2
  Disciplines: [Fallen] Awe, Dread Gaze, Deny the Gauntlet, Mask of a Thousand Faces, Patience of the Mountain, Learn the Heart's Pain, Suggestion, Quickness, Majesty, Desire Reflection, Façade of Nonchalance, Bind the Name
  Merits and Flaws: Attractive, Diplomatic Incident
  Equipment: Shotgun [4], Colt 1911 (silver bullets) [3], Badass Jacket, Numerous hidden knives [1], sand (including sand cartridges for the shotgun), salt (including salt cartridges for the shotgun), Lockpick set, Chevy Impala

Jack
Jack is a trucker who has been married many times and lived many different lives in many different cities. And that's even before you factor in the fact that he has begun to remember past incarnations of himself, where he apparently used to be a warrior in ancient China. He is openly skeptical that these “memories” are anything other than particularly vivid and weird dreams, but nonetheless finds himself embroiled in some seriously weird shit. Driven by a constant feeling that things are not right, Jack seeks out and gets new relationships frequently. And while he frequently just drifts off from his previous lives and interests (and has a legacy of failed marriage to show for it), he doesn't specifically do anything bad, and maintains a friendship with all of his ex-wives.
Jack is a Reborn. Jack has a Master Passion of Despair. Jack's disciplines grant him a +2 bonus to Socialization and a similar bonus to people asking about him later, an ability he calls upon only if the subtle approach fails. Jack often tries to get through confrontation without drawing upon magical powers at all, but if he feels in danger he will reset things and go into full speed mode. After all, as Jack always says “it's all in the reflexes.”

• S: 3 A: 4 I: 4 L: 2 W: 5 C: 2 Edge: 3, Potency: 1
  Skills: Athletics 2; Combat (Knives) 4; Drive 6; Larceny (Security Systems) 3; Perception 4 [+4]; Stealth 3 [+1]; Survival 2
  Animal Ken 1; Bureaucracy 2; Empathy (Other Peoples' Troubles) 4; Expression 3; Intimidation 4 [+1]; Persuasion (Acting) 6; Tactics 3
  Artisan (Carpentry) 2; Electronics (Radio) 1; Rigging (Plumbing) 6; Operations (Repair) 4; Research (Databases) 1; Sabotage (Thorough Destruction) 2
  Backgrounds: Truckin 6; Cars and Trucks 5; Chinese Monsters 5; Gambling 4; Construction 4; World Crime League Finances 3; Small Town Life 3, Corporate Jobs 3, Food Service 2
  Disciplines: [Reborn] Quickness, Nimble Feet, Supernatural Senses, Sensory Damper, Summon Spirits, Vigor, Awe, Shadow Play, Shifting Sands, Spirit's Touch, Rapid Thought, Blur
  Merits and Flaws: Loyalty, Haunted
  Equipment: A six pack of Pabst, Machine Pistol (wooden bullets) [2˟], A very nice knife [2], Crowbar [2], Baseball Bat [2N], MAC Truck, a spare suit

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-Username17

Yeah, that's awesome. I like the tactics block, and if you put the supernatural type there the you probably don't need it with the disciplines too. I mean, I would really hope that anyone bothering to run them would at least read one paragraph.

The one last thing I'd change is in the attribute list.
The 'S: 3 A: 4 I: 4...' format puts two characters between an attribute and its score, and one character between at attribute and an unassociated score. A format like 'S 3, A 4, I 4,...' puts a score one character away from its associated attribute and two away from the unassociated one.

What I'm saying is, 'S 3, A 4, I 4, L 2, W 5, C 2, Edge 3. Potency 1.' would be more clear.


[Edit] And what is the difference between Rigging (repair) and Operations (repair)? [/Edit]

OK. I got a first draft of Houston up. If anyone has some places in Houston they want to get some shout outs, I am probably going to add some material to it in the next few days. But right now, I am going to sleep.

-Username17

You say that the Camarilla decided to stop having slaves on June 19, 1965. However, you also say that this is nearly two months after Lee surrendered.

Is this a simple typo, or a bit of a subtle joke?[/b]

June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth) is when slavery was outlawed in Texas.

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Re: Paris by Night: A number of the galleries of the Louvre are underground. You probably already knew this, but I thought it might be worth pointing out that vampires can hang out in the cafe with no discomfort at all.

[Edit] Oh, and I think that Aura of Decay should be protean. Not because it involves shape changing of any sort, but because someone turning into a terrifying monster and having everything start to fall apart is just awesome. You could activate Aura of Decay first, I suppose. Then you can at least pretend that it's the start of the 'transformation sequence'.

And is Beast Form stat replacement or modification? Are we looking at S 3, A 5 for a wolf, or are we looking at S +0, A +2? [/Edit]

Blicero wrote:You say that the Camarilla decided to stop having slaves on June 19, 1965. However, you also say that this is nearly two months after Lee surrendered.

Is this a simple typo, or a bit of a subtle joke?[/b]

fixd.

Catharz wrote:And is Beast Form stat replacement or modification? Are we looking at S 3, A 5 for a wolf, or are we looking at S +0, A +2?

Beast Form only stat replaces when it sets Strength to 1 for a tiny creature form. For other creatures it's a modifier.

-Username17

FrankTrollman wrote:Beast Form only stat replaces when it sets Strength to 1 for a tiny creature form. For other creatures it's a modifier.

-Username17

If you hulk out with Vigor or something in mouse form, can you be a tiny mouse hurling cars and stuff? If so, why make a special exception for replacing strength for tiny forms? Why not just give most tiny forms -5 or so to strength? Not a big deal either way, but it might seem more consistent.

FrankTrollman wrote:OK. I got a first draft of Houston up. If anyone has some places in Houston they want to get some shout outs, I am probably going to add some material to it in the next few days. But right now, I am going to sleep.

-Username17

I have a couple of suggestions for Houston.

Rice University
It was founded by a wealthy industrialist ("Rice made his fortune in real estate, railroad development, and cotton trading in the state of Texas."), it's a private university that's considered one of the ivy league colleges of the South. It is big on medical, space and nano technology. It has close ties to NASA.

Valhalla is a student run pub which is a nexus of students and weird traditions like the Baker 13 where students are encouraged to run around campus wearing nothing but shoes and shaving cream.


Sugar Land
Currently a wealthy, white collar and very conservative community on the edge of Houston, it's named after a sugar plantation and is the headquarters of Imperial Sugar (which, it should be noted, ran a prison farm for decades). Imperial Sugar's main refinery is there but has been closed down since 2003, though the lights are kept on to make a gigantic, five story tall cross visible from miles away. The whole place is full of decaying industrial parks, railroads, canals that ultimately make their way to the Gulf of Mexico and wealthy, planned communities. There is a large prison on the edge of town that is in the process of being closed down and signs everywhere urging people not to pick up hitchhikers.

Sugar Land is the sort of place for rich, white kid horror (like The Faculty, which was filmed in Texas), southern gothic (think a southern version of Hot Fuzz where the Establishment or Home Owners Society goes too far to keep their city pristine) or where the ghosts of racism past come to haunt. It was the site of the film Powder (about an orphan who is clearly a transhuman or astral witch - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_(film)) and Sugar Hill (blaxsploitation with zombies - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Hill_(1974_film)).

But while they are rarely spawned in the tremendous numbers of Shamblers, the fact that they can and do spread their affliction readily to the living means that their numbers can easily grow out of control if not checked by heroic intervention.
...
Soulless, like Shamblers have no special power to transform others into Zombies of any kind.

Because of how the diseases work, it seems that living people with the Z-virus can cause a massive shambler breakout, but the rage virus acts too quickly.

Also a new disease:
Wasting Sickness: The victim starves to death over the period of one week, regardless of how much she eats.

If a vampire medic (8+ die pool) drinks two points out of a mortal, then buys two hits with First Aid to heal up the victim, can he rinse and repeat this tactic for a near eternal source of blood?

One of my players is running into trouble using Telepathy, since we don't know if/what resists Mind Reading, as well as the base time for the extended action.

First Pass of the Persona non Grata chapter is up.

virgileso wrote:One of my players is running into trouble using Telepathy, since we don't know if/what resists Mind Reading, as well as the base time for the extended action.

I'll make a chart. Tomorrow or something.

This coming week, plans are:

• Telepathy Examples
• Sugarland
• Armor
• Disease Fleshing Out
• Gangs of New York
• D&D Thoughts (Unrelated)

Anyone have any specific characters or whatever they want added to PnG?

-Username17

virgileso wrote:If a vampire medic (8+ die pool) drinks two points out of a mortal, then buys two hits with First Aid to heal up the victim, can he rinse and repeat this tactic for a near eternal source of blood?

I would imagine that first aid requires appropriate materials. In the case of someone who has had their blood drained, one of these materials would likely be blood.

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As for editing, perhaps we could try to get a denner to look over every section.

Not completely useless though. A Vampire with Medicine and a willing victim can get around the requirement of blood being fresh. Run around with some blood bags and use them to replenish people you're draining, and you get the power points indirectly from the baggies that would normally be useless to you.

-Username17

FrankTrollman wrote:Anyone have any specific characters or whatever they want added to PnG?

I wrote up a few characters just to run numbers and see what kinds of concepts are supported. I can post them if that would help, but I'm not invested in having them appear in the book.

FrankTrollman wrote:Not completely useless though. A Vampire with Medicine and a willing victim can get around the requirement of blood being fresh. Run around with some blood bags and use them to replenish people you're draining, and you get the power points indirectly from the baggies that would normally be useless to you.

That's hilarious.

My votes for no-name PnG include: healthy early 20s (college student, non-olympic athlete, gangster, police), out-of-shape adult (hobo, office worker, older cop, store owner, plumber), child, wild dogs,

Named PnG types would include: mortal luminary blue collar worker (such as a plumber, Italian descent), an ancient Promethean (not of modern, Prague design) and its web of minions, some kind of boss-level PnG that's been a Supernatural for less than a year

animals

The Lunatic Fringe wrote:animals

Will do.



-Username17