Character Creation (Info in First Post)

**Vassagon** · Feb 26th, 2016 10:19 AM

Hi Chris!

I like to use every new concept I design as a unique character study, so I'm interested in seeing how you do with this!

In regards to feedback, it sounds like a good framework to build around. With a background as a police officer I would recommend you sample from the 'Earning the Badge' template from Tales from the 13th Precinct (pg.36), if you can manage it. Ghoulification sounds like an interesting perspective, and there are at least a couple Vampires in the city who have stomped around LA at some point (mine being one of them). While LA doesn't have an official site-canon Kindred society structure to it, you can take some liberties in the backstory.

Your history length can vary, but essentially you want to justify your character's mechanical design, touch on the life before and after the embrace, and provide a reason for arriving at Sacramento. It can be short and sweet or a page-worth. Mine ended up being around 500 words, which is on the long-side.

Once your character has made it through the approval process your immediate concern will be attempting to receive Acknowledgement by the head of your Clan or the Seneschal so you can feed without reprisals. There are several ways to go about it, but most often it is by attending one of the monthly Court threads held at Elysium. There's no guarantee that you'll receive Acknowledgement, and it will rely on IC interactions to make it happen. Failure to receive Acknowledgment doesn't mean you have to stop playing but it will make it very difficult to continue. After that it's up to you to find out who to talk to and how to further your character's goals.

That being said, since my Vampire, Konrad Roth, came from LA before he arrived at Sacramento. It's highly possible that they might have met in the last 10 years. If you want to shoot some ideas around about those circumstances, shoot me a PM with your idea and maybe we can get the ST to approve it. That would perhaps provide you a contact in the city.

**Parable** · Feb 26th, 2016 11:59 AM

Originally posted by unlimited_sink:

3) Finally, any suggestions concerning how I might work this character into the ongoing world of your story / any characters he might look up, etc. would be awesome. Don't want you to do my work for me, obviously, but if you've read this far and you have a character who you'd love to introduce to my guy, please let me know!

Hey Unlimited Sink, I play the Nos Priscus, Kenneth Gilroy. You'll want to get in contact with him once you start playing for acknowledgement reasons.

More than anything though, if you want to be worked into the world just be active in the world. Have goals and talk to people. If you see a plot call in the OOC section feel free to sign up. Find threads with the 'Open' designation and join them. Go to Court and mingle. Once you're confident, you can make your own social threads. The rest will come naturally. Even something as simple as 'find the best movie theater in town' can offer conversation, direction, and opportunity for story. If you go with 'learning exactly what it is he wants', then include others in that journey. Bounce ideas off people. Do activities with others when you experiment to find yourself. This thread touches on the importance of interaction.

**unlimited sink** · Feb 26th, 2016 01:39 PM

Thanks for your replies and advice Vassagon , Matrixchild , and Parable ; all super helpful! I'm going to finish up this character and submit it soon and then will be in touch re: LA connections and Nos presentation. Looking forward to further discussion / starting to play with you all.

Talk soon.

Mar 11th, 2016 11:08 AM

I'm mostly coming from Old WOD, I've kind of got a soft spot for the Bruja, and seeing as they're one of the few bloodlines I have book-access too I'd like to go with them for my character.

Plus I like the Anarch vibe they give off, another Old WOD hangup. Sue me

I'm thinking he'll be sent to Sacramento to kind of feel out the streets, see what's worth what. Primarily gains his money through criminal means his whole life, maybe he still has ties to a mortal biker gang, represented by allies or contacts et cet.

I know they tend to come off as major asshats when left as written in the book, but I figure one lone member feeling out the city would be a little different than the average brood member plus they can't all be hell on wheels or they'd have been hunted to extinction right? I'll be playing him more cautious, at the very least.

But I've been lurking for a minute so I have a few questions on my concept;

1. Is a cautious Bruja out of character or completely unheard of?

2. How would I best represent his connection to the bloodline in merits, they kind of have a hand in a lot of crime, so it leaves a lot of possibilities I was thinking; a. human trafficking via herd merits, gun trafficking via allies arms dealers, or maybe drugs via allies criminal? Is there any rules on having Allies: Bruja, that could serve as kind of a catch all for illicit activities for instance?

3. As an unaligned will there be any major disadvantages, aside from the obvious lack of protection a covenant gives, will it be harder to integrate into stories, is I guess what I'm asking. Or would it be better just to run with a covenant from the get go? I kind of want to establish and feel out my character before I get him into a covenant.

**West** · Mar 11th, 2016 12:12 PM

1. Sure, they're just called Taifas

2. You're on the right track. Those are the types of Merits that would represent what you want. In our game, Merits should fall into our preset Spheres of Influence. There's no catch all. If you want your finger in a pie, you gotta pay for it.

3. Unaligned is fine. We've always had a large Unaligned population.

Mar 11th, 2016 12:26 PM

Originally posted by West:

1. Sure, they're just called Taifas

2. You're on the right track. Those are the types of Merits that would represent what you want. In our game, Merits should fall into our preset Spheres of Influence. There's no catch all. If you want your finger in a pie, you gotta pay for it.

3. Unaligned is fine. We've always had a large Unaligned population.

Google tells me that's a different, more social bloodline. Har-dee-har.

I imagine him kind of like the stoic, quiet biker you see in some television portrayals. Listens more than he talks, but kicks ass when necessary. Probably what got him the job of scouting out Sacramento, easily enough.

Also, holy cow that unaligned populace.

Mar 11th, 2016 12:33 PM

* forgot to add this before the timer, which I just learned of for editing, ran out.

That makes sense on merits. Only reason I asked was I had a, what I felt was somewhat relaxed, storyteller who let there be catch-all merits. I just wasn't sure what the norm was here, so just figuring out the waters as it were! I'll take a look over that sphere's page. It'll be helpful with the merit considerations. Thanks West

edit: grammarz

Mar 11th, 2016 04:27 PM

Originally posted by Casitive:

Bruja in nWoD are not the Bruja from oWoD. They might carry the same name but they aren't the same at all. In fact, all of the book bloodlines that reference classic WoD clans are literally making fun of their Masquerade counterparts and cartooning their theme to an extreme. It's probably not what you want. If you want to play a Theo Bell esque Bruja you are probably better off playing a Carthian Ventrue Deudecalon (if those are in play). The Anarch Movement from classic is basically the Carthian Movement now, though it is toned way the heck down.

That being said, instead of using the terms from classic for new -- since they aren't 1:1 conversions -- why don't you tell us what characteristics from those eras you want to carry over to new WoD? Where those characteristics actually ended up might surprise you!

I really enjoy Criminal Noir, as a genre. The illicit activities of the bruja are pretty solid for that structure, and I did admit they were over the top as written in the book and they had a certain flavor of the anarchs. I know they aren't 1:1 comparisons of old wod to new, but I think it's possible to tone down the more caricature-esque qualities.

As far as just general playstyle I primarily stick to 2-3 archetypes. Mage-esque types, brutish fighters (fits the bruja again), and rogues. I'm still reading up about all the covenants, I need to acquire a few more pdf's here soon. I'll check out the carthian movement a bit more though, I kind of thought they were like young-blood self help groups and political meet and eats.

**West** · Mar 11th, 2016 04:32 PM

Also, just fair warning.

I never played Masquerade. Don't know anything about it other than the goth girls at my school toted that green marble book around, clutched to their chests as they argued Louis v Lestat.

Anyway, my point is, I'll be zero help and stare at you blankly if you say you want to [Masquerade Words] in Requiem

Mar 11th, 2016 09:10 PM

Should I like, PM Vassagon or is there another thread? Does this one work? I figured Gangrel seemed pretty brutish/brawlery so it was familiar at least in style for combat, not a lot of finesse needed from what I can tell, which is good cause I'm not familiar enough to really build too complex a character right off the bat I think.

Also, Louis and Lestat are both just silly. I thought Armands story was one of the most compelling in the series really.

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