Last year we tried out the idea of Shard 'Shades' (reference 1, reference 2) which were characters played in a limited capacity but without the hassle of approval.
And the world didn't end
I'd like to expand that idea and play-test opening up the idea of these limited characters and free-form writing scenes. The main idea here is that these shades/halfies could be used to fill in the 'faceless masses' we refer to in the venues; npcs that make up the bulk of populations but are unimportant and who the camera doesn't 'zoom in' on. That if a player/character was looking for a particular scene and couldn't find a PC match, that a shade could 'fill in'. The idea is not to spam characters.
The process would begin with/require a Wanted/Seeking ad from a full PC. Maybe your Covenant or Court doesn't have enough PCs to do a ritual that interests you, or you want an interactive fueling scene, or you just want to play with a particular player whose character doesn't intersect yours. The Wanted/Seeking would require a premise and lead narration by one of the participants as well as being free-form collaboration.
If someone was interested in answering, they'd propose their character and Scening would ensue if there was an acceptable match, etc.
For PCs, this could mean filling in gaps; for Players this could mean experimenting with concepts or circles you're not a part of. Ideally for both it would mean doing more role-playing and the type of role-play that you want to do.
As always, there would be limits. Limits that would hopefully keep Shades from replacing character or PC play or impact full PCs unfavorably:
Shade Mechanics
Mechanically, Shades would stay the same:
1. Assume that all Atts are 2
2. Assume any Skill test runs that Skill at 1
3. No 'free' chargen Merits
3. 3 discretionary 'dots' to put anywhere (this is how to pay for Merits)
Shades in Play
1. A Wanted/Seeking ad must propose the reason purpose for a Scene and be answered. Shards can't just swan around/show up randomly.
2. Shades could not be used in PvP. What this means is that a PC couldn't load up a vote against another PC with Shades. However, if you have a BDSM fetish and want a Shade to beat the crap out of your own toon, have at it.
3. Because it would be freeform and without ST oversight, each and every PC in a Scene would have to approve the presence of a Shade. Obviously this is irrelevant in a 1 on 1 Scene, but if you wanted to bring a Shade to a multi-PC scene, everyone would have to be okay with it.
4. Shade play would require a free character slot. The sad truth is, as people play more characters, they're more apt to let their existing ones suffer. And so having the 'bandwidth' in the 4 character limit would be necessary.
I think there's a lot of potential here for players to flirt with venues or organizations or even concepts they want to try out without committing to the full hassle of getting a character approved. Likewise there's potential here for existing PCs to have Scenes with premises or players that otherwise would be impossible.
Hopefully both of these will open the door to doing more Scenes that people can enjoy.
Questions?