Narration:
Since the Lost Nights, the Domain of Sacramento has become home to at least as many kindred as ever before, possibly more. The vampires of Sacramento represent a pretty diverse bunch in terms of clan, covenant, personality and age. But neonate, ancilla or elder, Acolyte or Sanctified, Savage or Shadow, Prince or pariah, they all have one thing in common... unless they put tremendous effort into resisting the lure of daysleep, they all rest away the hours between dusk and dawn in out-of-the-way places.
Some sleep in lavish quarters, guarded by security systems and dedicated ghoul servants. Others sleep in small apartments with the windows painted over. Some sleep with others of their kind, while others haven alone. Some, mostly Gangrel, sleep within the cool earth itself. Still, for the vast majority, each sleeps through the day, waking at nightfall, usually (a few Dragons excepted) a bit more hungry than when they lay down.
At some point after falling to rest for the day, a number of the Kindred of Sacramento find themselves in the company of others of their type - some well-known, some only recognized, some completely unfamiliar - on or near a familiar streetcorner, near the Avalon. The city is completely dark, with no streetlights, traffic signals, security lights, neon signs, or lighted office windows. The only light is the dim glow from a blood-red full moon, directly above them, casting a bloody glow upon the Kindred and their surroundings.
The Kindred generally regard themselves as the rulers of the night... yet, none present feels secure as they become aware of their surroundings. There is a sense of foreboding in the air, the feeling that something is going to happen, and that this something will most likely not be good.
Thread Rules: Please Read.
The characters in this thread will early on figure out they are dreaming, though I would like the players to roleplay each chaaracter coming to this conclusion in their own time and manner, or in response to in-thread events. In order to reinforce this sense of being in a dream, each player, upon first posting in this thread, is to describe what his or her character looks like in this dream.
Perhaps your character's appearance is whatever is typical for the character, or perhaps not. Perhaps it is much different than how the character usually appears.
Perhaps she appears younger than her actual appearance, or much, much older, reflecting the age of her blood rather than the appearance of her undying body.
Perhaps he looks more alive, or as he did at some point prior to his Embrace, or perhaps his appearance is more ghastly and more obviously dead than the character appears in the real world.
Perhaps her hands drip with blood, or her fangs are always out.
Perhaps the physically beautiful appear damaged or ugly in this scene, reflecting the state of their Humanity, or perhaps a vampire who looks unremarkable during his waking nights appears here in some idealized form, reflecting how he sees himself or what he wishes he was.
Perhaps a vampire who walks the nights scarred or disfigured or maimed in some way does not carry those marks or suffer from any such infirmity within this scene.
Your character may be naked, or clothed, or dressed however she dresses for sleep, and if clothed, she may wear her ordinary sort of outfit, or a fancier one, or tatters, or perhaps something symbolic.
Perhaps your character's appearance in the scene somehow - subtly or blatantly - reflects his Virtue, or his Vice, or a combination of the two. Perhaps her Derangements are more evident, or physically visible in some manner.
Your character enters the scene with no gear whatsoever, save any that are strongly connected to the character's identity. Thus, covenant emblems or religious symbols, trademark weapons, or important heirlooms or reminders of the character's mortal life may be present, as the player chooses.
Use your imagination to portray your character's dream-self in a manner that conveys to others something interesting or important about your character... possibly including something heretofore unknown to the other player characters, or perhaps even something unknown to the character's own conscious mind.
Be creative. Have fun.
For purposes of this scene, some of the characters' abilities will be altered. Rather than using Vitae, characters start the scene with an effective "Vitae pool" equivalent to their Willpower. Thus, within this scene, Willpower can be used as normal, or it can be used in the ways Vitae is normally used (to fuel Disciplines, heal damage, enhance Physical dice pools, etc.). One exception: If you believe your character's dream appear alive or reflective of the vice of Lust, the character receives the benefits of the Blush of Life for the scene at no cost.
To clarify: In this scene, your character's available Willpower points also serve as his or her Vitae pool, and both make up the same pool. So, if your character normally has 5 Willpower, during the course of this scene she can spend a total of 4 points of Willpower + Vitae. Spend wisely.
Willpower can be regained normally for portraying a character's Virtue or Vice (Note: If Sean or Lori takes part in this thread, they still have the Virtue for Vice trait imposed by their pact with Samael).
All characters are assumed to start the scene at full Willpower -1, and at full Health.
All characters enter the scene with their full and actual Blood Potency apparent. Effects such as Mask of Tranquility and Aspect of the Predator do not apply; in this scene, the Beast cannot be hidden or made to appear as other than what it truly is.
One final note: This scene is an exception to general Twilight Valley rules regarding being active in multiple sticky threads. In other words, your character can be involved in this thread while also taking part in some other sticky (clan meeting, follow up to the Blood Hunt, or a cross-venue thread hosted in the Mage or Changeling forums, for example). This is appropriate because this scene occurs during the daytime, and if your vampire is active in any of those other threads, they aren't happening during the daylight hours.