Primacy
Okay, since this is starting, I'm going to start a thread with a walk-thru.
Opt-In
Primacy is going to be opt-in for Vampire. That basically means you're not exposed/attackable if you don't want to be, but you also can't take any Primacy Actions. So the people who want to play can, and the people that don't want to, don't have to. NPCs are auto Opt-In. So understand there's a degree of risk.
Declare Assets
Assets can be Allies, Fame, Resources, Retainers, Sites, and Status (in Spheres). These are Merits that you leverage for you Primacy play. Now a couple of considerations:
- Assets declared are at-risk. Even if you're not using them, they can be Investigated, Coerced, and Attacked through Primacy Actions.
- Assets determine Influence. The more Assets you have 'on the board', the more Influence you have. Take a read on how Influence is calculated and how it can be spent.
- Assets are limited to a number equal to Willpower + Advantage. So let's say Foo has WP 1 and BP 3. He can control up to 4 assets. Maybe that's a single Asset, or four Assets.
So there's some pros and cons to how many Assets you want to declare, and their values.
Now here's where it gets a little convoluted.
- Primacy Actions are rolled with a dice pool equal you your character's relevant Attribute + the Asset (merit) rating. This simulates a combination of how well you motivate your Asset and how effective that Asset is.
- You assign a Skill to an Asset when you activate/declare it. This isn't your character's skill -- it's a skill represented by what the Asset does and it's Merit rating.
So let's say Foo has Allies 3 (Criminals):
- Foo declares that Allies is an Asset
- Foo decides they're a biker gang and use the Brawl Skill mostly
- Foo now has a Brawl Asset with a rating of 3
- Foo can now take "Attack An Asset" Primacy Actions rolling (Foo's INT or PRE) + 3 (Allies Merit rating).
Review the Primacy Actions Carefully
Each Primacy Action uses different Skills. You can't change an Assets Skill, so whatever you activate them as is going to determine what you can/cannot do. If Foo wanted to Investigate, he can't -- his Asset is a Brawl Asset. So give some thought to how you want to play your Primacy game. Physical Assets can be Attacked, Mental/Social assets can be Coerced.
The Quick Start
1. Figure out what Primacy Actions you want to do, and the relevant Skill.
2. Decide how many Assets you want to activate, which merits you want to use, and what skills they're going to be assigned.
3. Primacy Turns = 1 week and cost 1 Scene slot.
4. Dice pools = Character Skill + Merit Rating
Please feel free to ask questions. I know this is a bit convoluted, and I want us to have fun with this, if this is what you/your characters are interested in. Our first few go-rounds are going to be 'slow pitch', so don't worry about me coming out swinging and dropping the hammer/attacking your Assets until we've all gotten comfortable with the system.