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Neonate Primer
What are dice rolls and pools? In the game, there will be times when you will need to test to see if you are successful at an action. We try to narrate many of these things as rolling a die during a scene can be distracting, but sometimes it just needs to be done. Each type of action has a specific dice pool associated with it. When attempting an action, figure out your pool (look it up or ask an ST), and roll a single die. Add the number on the die to your pool, and subtract any modifiers (an ST will tell you if there are modifiers like Defense). Typically, a 10 is a success, and then every three after that is another success (so 13 is 2 successes, 16 is 3, etc.). There are, of course, exceptions to this (like when testing for Humanity). Any time you need to roll a die, please make sure an ST not involved in the scene is there to help. Venture is a multi-national corporation that produces products and services for almost every walk of life... or unlife. Publicly, Venture is a normal company, but internally, many are aware that it is owned and managed by vampires. Hell, some offices even have vampires on the janitorial staff. Venture is used to help protect the Masquerade and allow vampires to go about their business. There are also some advantages to working for Venture such as having a salary and having access to a company haven. How can a character get in trouble
Is there any way a character can do these things and avoid getting into trouble? Not if it's known that they have done one of these things. Once a character is in trouble, where can they look to get out of trouble? (bluffing, calling in a boon, diverting attention?) All of these things are ways you can try to avoid being punished. The most reliable way to avoid punishment is to not get caught. Failing that, calling in favors from any powerful allies you have. Ok, I'm a vampire, and I drink blood. What can I do with the blood I drink? Does it just keep me alive or do I get special powers? You can use blood for a number of things. For instance, all vampires have access to special powers (called Disciplines), and blood is often used to fuel them. A vampire also spends one blood while they sleep. On occasion, it is important for a vampire to seem human. Vampires are pale, and blood does not flow normally to their dead organs. Blood can be spent to give yourself a "blush of health" or force your heart to beat for example. Furthermore, vampires normally vomit up any food or drink (other than blood) they imbibe. Since this can be disconcerting to mortals, a vampire may spend a blood to keep the food down. All of these effects last for one scene. Blood can also be spent to increase a physical attack pool by 2, or to heal 2 Bashing damage or 1 Lethal damage in combat. Blood Potency is what it sounds like, it's the power of your vampires blood. This determines how much blood you can hold in your system and how much you can spend each turn to fuel disciplines, heal and boost your physical attributes, and what you can feed on. As your potency gets higher and you have access to more power, you can no longer feed on Animals, and at extremely high levels, you can only feed on other vampires. Vampires with low Blood Potency (1 or 2) are referred to as Neonates, those with some Potency (3-5) are referred to as Ancilla, and those with high levels (5-10) are known as Elders. Vampires are not human, but they do have some morality left over from before their Embrace. All vampires start the game with 7 points of humanity, but when they perform acts that would be considered bad (e.g. stealing, murder, arson, etc.), they risk holding on to their humanity and becoming a mindless beast bent on finding blood and surviving at any cost. However, as you slip closer to being a beast, you find it easier to commit some of the acts you thought were vile or base before. What are the drawbacks of losing humanity and becoming more bestial? Every time you lose humanity, you also have to see if it causes you to become insane. This is called the derangement check and if you fail it, you gain a derangement. The other drawback is that if you ever reach a Humanity of 0, your character becomes unplayable as all they care about is hunting down food. What is Willpower, and what can it be used for? Willpower measures your character's self-confidence, determination and emotional resilience. A character with a high Willpower is focused, driven to achieve his goals, and capable of resisting his dark impulses. You can spend a temporary point of Willpower to gain a +3 modifier to a single non-combat roll, or to add +2 to a roll to resist mental or social/emotional pressures asserted on him, or to make a concerted effort to avoid being harmed. I've lost point of Willpower or Humanity. How can I get it back? If you lose Humanity, your character must strive to regain it by atoning for their crimes, and then purchasing their humanity back up. Willpower on the other hand is a little different. You spend Willpower points instead of dots, so you don't permanently lose Willpower unless you sire a childe or join a bloodline. Your character may regain one Willpower point per scene if her actions play out in a manner appropriate to her Vice. Your character may regain all spent Willpower if her actions play out in a manner appropriate to her Virtue. Your character may regain a point of Willpower after she has had a full night? rest or the equivalent opportunity to recharge her batteries and redouble her efforts. This assumes your character rests or relaxes and does not engage in strenuous activities. If your character achieves a significant goal or performs a particularly impressive act that affirms her sense of confidence, the Storyteller may choose to award a Willpower point. Your character regains all spent Willpower points after each game session. Remember to keep track of your expenditures during your downtime as it can result in you having low Willpower at the beginning of a session. All characters have strengths and weaknesses, noble aspects and dark sides to their personalities. Every character starts play with one defining Virtue and one defining Vice, chosen during character creation. Virtue and Vice may clearly reflect your character's background and concept, or they can be used to contrast his outward nature to create sources of conflict that make for excellent role-playing. Vampires work hard to hide the beast within. Hunger, wrath or fear, however, can weaken the man enough that the beast escapes restraint. Then a vampire becomes a monster and menace to every creature that crosses its path. The Kindred call this awful state frenzy. When a vampire is confronted by fire or sunlight, needs to feed and is confronted with blood, or someone seriously pisses them off, they risk frenzy. They have a chance to resist, and if they can do so long enough, the danger may subside, but if they fail to do so they enter a state of frenzy. While in frenzy, a vampire ignores all wound penalties, and it is harder to control their mind, but they cannot take any action that requires much thought. However, since their beast has been unleashed, their physical actions are all at +1. As a result, some vampires try to ride the wave during combat to gain the physical benefits of frenzy and trying to direct the beast's focus. Of course, this runs the risk of falling fully into frenzy and losing control. If you drink the blood of another vampire (or they drink your blood), then you will begin to feel a supernatural bond to them. After three drinks, you will become their slave and find it almost impossible to resist them. For this reason, vampires are careful about drinking the blood of other vampires. Ghouls are special servants of vampires who have been given some of a vampire's power. The ghoul is still mortal, but needs blood to survive, and can live hundreds of years. They also get access to some disciplines, and can go out during the day, but they are almost always slaves to their vampire lords. Where does your character learn about other vampires? (how do I know what clan/covenant people are? Is it apparent by looking at them? which leads to the next question: Typically, you learn most of what you know from your sire, though there are exceptions (sires who leave their childe after Embracing them, or sires who deliberately provide wrong information). You learn clan and covenant by talking to someone. Many (if not all) Kindred will self-identify as their clan/covenant, but there is no sure-fire way to be sure. That being said, there are tell-tale signs. For example, the Nosferatu all have something creepy about them (appearance, smell, presence, etc.) This isn't fool-proof as there are creepy members of every clan, but it's one sign. Similarly, the Mekhet are all even more susceptible to sunlight and fire than other vampires, but I wouldn't recommend running around and trying to set kindred on fire to see how badly they burn. Covenant is both trickier and easier to discern. Trickier, because it is a set of beliefs, and so there are no physical signifiers. Easier, because if someone is spouting off about how great Longinus is, you can be pretty sure they're Lancea Sanctum. What kind of stuff is innate (i.e. feelings you get or just know) vs. learned? Nature vs. nurture, etc. You will get hungry for blood, you will get burned by sunlight and fire, and you will need to sleep during the day, and you will learn some of the innate powers of your blood (disciplines). All of these things you will learn by trial and error, even if your sire doesn't teach you. What are the kinds of things you can learn from other vampires? (disciplines, etc.) Anything you can be taught by a normal teacher can also be taught by a vampire (help with learning more about computers, training in firing a gun, special fighting styles, etc.), but you can also learn Disciplines (and rituals for Cruac and Theban Sorcery) from them. What would be weird to a creature that performs magic and drinks blood? Even vampires think things they aren't used to are weird. If a vampire doesn't know werewolves exist (not all vampires know about werewolves, see below), then meeting one will freak them out. If you know they exist, they probably aren't as weird. You will need to decide what your character knows and believes and then decide what you think is weird. Of course, keep in mind that you are still a little bit human (note your Humanity score), and even the most jaded person is going to flip out a little if they see a giant man-wolf for the first time. What kind of things can be controlled and what can't? (i.e. what requires a roll of the dice, and what can I just say I'm doing?) A lot of this depends on what the situation is. Typically, if you are trying to do something that directly affects someone or a group, then a roll is needed. That being said, narration is encouraged, so if you and Billy Bob get into a fight, but want to describe what's happening instead of rolling, that's cool as long as everyone agrees. It is also highly recommended that you become familiar with what your supernatural disciplines can do, and whether they require a roll to activate and whether they are contested or not. In relation to the above, when/if can this change? I.e. do some things become more difficult during combat? Or if someone is watching? This varies widely, but typically it is much easier to do something if you are along or only trying to affect one person, than if you are trying to accomplish something around a large number of people. There are exceptions (like when everyone involved is cooperating), and should be taken on a case by case basis. Older vampires are more important, but how much more important? Like, Pope important or just respected elder important? Depends on the vampire, but typically just respected elder important. Your clan is determined by what clan your sire was. There is no known way to change your clan. Your covenant is a personal choice. Often it ends up being the same as your sire's, because that is how you were raised, but it is not uncommon for a vampire to join a covenant other than their sire's. Can I change from a clan/covenant? What would be involved? Yes. Usually, how dramatic this is depends on your standing in the original covenant. If you know secrets of the covenant (whether supernatural or just things they don't want others to know), they are going to try to keep you from defecting, possibly even trying to kill you. On the other hand, if you have little standing within the group and don't know any secrets (or any important ones), then your old covenant may not care and will let you leave freely. If you move to a new covenant, it is a fairly simple matter of losing any status you hold in the old covenant (except in rare cases) and starting over in a new one. Can a character be tested on either clan/covenant? There are a few ways to test this using Auspex, Dominate, and Majesty. However, none of these are reliable (since memories can be altered or the may not know the truth). There are rumors that the Circle of the Crone know a more reliable way using Cruac, but as usual they are quiet on the subject of their blood magic and what it can do. What are other kinds of Kindred? I.e. do vampires exist outside of the company? Is this surprising? Yes, there are kindred outside of the corporation. Some are friendly enough, but don't join for their own set of reasons. Others are dangerous. There is definitely a lot of xenophobia rampant in the corporation about vampires outside of Venture. How do vampires feel about other mythical creatures? What mythical creatures exist? I.e. is it weird if a werewolf shows up? (I know this is specific for our game, but it still helps) This depends. These things exist, but whether your character knows about them or not (and how much they know) depends on their Occult skill. It may be weird to some people, and commonplace for others. What kinds of discipline are OK to discuss with other people? Why would I want to discuss it with other people? Why would I want to keep disciplines secret? This is completely your character's decision. Most people know that Gangrel have a reputation as shapeshifters, so it's probably OK for a Gangrel to say, yeah I can shapeshift. Specifics should be kept to a minimum unless revealing it benefits your character. For example, if some vital information could be learned by using the Dominate power Forgetful Mind, you might be able to earn prestige by letting people know you can do that and saving the proverbial day. Or, if you can get someone to give you a boon by using a discipline for you, it's probably worth it. Otherwise, keep it to yourself. Being able to walk around invisibly isn't as useful if people know you can do it and are paranoid you'll be spying on them. What is the food chain? Are we at the top of the food chain? IS THERE SOMETHING WORSE THAN US AND EATS US? OMG CRAP! There are legends of things that devour Kindred. Diablerists eat other Kindred and should be feared. There is a group known as VII that are said to hunt vampires and have strange powers. Belial's Brood is a group of demonic vampires who destroy entire cities. The Anarchs are terrorists bent on the destruction of Venture. All of these things should be feared, and then there are the things that go bump in the night. Rumors of creatures that can burn you with their touch, or ancient prophecies of the destruction of all vampires. Is diablerie the worst thing a vampire can do? Diablerie and violating the masquerade (revealing your vampiric nature to humans) are the worst things a vampire can do. Even vampires have souls, and if another kindred drinks all of the blood in a vampire's body, and continues to drink, they begin to drink their soul. Doing so always makes the diablerist a little less human (they automatically lose one point of Humanity). If diablerie is really bad, why would anyone ever end up doing it? I.e. what are some in-character reasons for wanting to commit diablerie? The most basic reason is power. The advantages are that by drinking the soul of a vampire with more Blood Potency than you, you gain one point of Blood Potency. You also gain one level of a skill or discipline the victim knew, whether you already knew it or not. If the diablerized vampire had a higher Blood Potency than the Kindred committing the Amaranth, the diablerist's Blood Potency immediately increases by one. Blood Potency increases by only one, regardless of the difference between the vampires Blood Potencies. This increase need not be paid for with experience points. In consuming the fallen Kindred's soul, the diablerist actually consumes some of her knowledge as well. The diablerist acquires a single dot of either a Skill or a Discipline that the diablerized vampire possessed at a higher level than the diablerist does. This adds to the diablerist's dots in that Skill or Discipline, even if he didn't have any dots at all in the Skill or Discipline before. For example, if a neonate with Obfuscate 3 diablerizes an elder who has Obfuscate 2, the neonate may not take an additional dot of Obfuscate; he already knows more than the elder with regard to that Discipline. This increase need not be paid for with experience points. Once a character has committed diablerie, is there some way that others can tell? By reading a vampire's aura, you can see black veins in it that the act of Diablerie stains on their soul. What happens to the victim of diablerie? Is there any way a character can commit diablerie and get away with it? Absolutely. Don't tell anyone and hope no one reads your aura. If no one does, then you should be fine. Unfortunately, the stains last for one year per level of Blood Potency the victim had, and that's a long time for no one to look at your aura. There are rumors of Cruac and Theban Sorcery rituals, and even devotions that help suppress the stains though LEAVING THE DOMAIN/CORPORATION: Obviously, just going from city to city isn't leaving the domain but what is? Actually, there is no penalty for leaving the domain, only leaving the corporation. Who lays the parameters of the domain? As long as you are gainfully employed by Venture corporation (i.e. you haven't been fired, or quit) then you are protected and can go where you want. Individuals outside Venture might try to harm you, but other employees should not (they may, but they risk getting in trouble for it). Why is it bad to leave the domain? Primarily, the concern centers around leaving the corporation with insider knowledge. Even if you don't want to betray the corporation, there are plenty of ways to make you give up secrets. Venture is therefore protecting itself by penalizing those who try to leave. What are the consequences of leaving the domain? Except under special circumstances, the consequences are to be hunted down by other Kindred and killed. Since our game is slightly different, what does the domain mean? For the purposes of the game, assume this only refers to leaving Venture Corporation, not a specific location. Why would a character leave the domain? Can you be forced to? The most common reason for leaving the corporation is because you are forced to. However, sometimes a vampire gets fed up with the way things are run and decides to try to leave. It's true what some vampires say, it's better to try to change the system from the inside, since trying to change it from without often leads to death. Can someone come back from leaving the domain and if they do, is there a way to cover up the fact that they left? Typically no, but there are exceptions to every rule. What is the effect of status on other characters, i.e. if someone has a higher status than me, how should I treat them? Status can be roughly translated as respect or authority. You don't have to like them, but you should treat someone with more status with some respect. Of course, you can decide to not show the person respect, but that may have consequences. What if I have higher corporation status than someone, but they have higher clan or covenant status than me (or vice-versa) It is situational. For example, let's say that Kindred X has 2 Corporation Status, 3 status in the Invictus and 1 Status in the Daeva. Kindred Y has 1 Corporation Status, 4 Invictus status and 2 Daeva status. If the situation is primarily related to Venture, then Kindred X is treated as being higher in status, but if the matter is an Invictus one, Kindred Y would have higher status. If the situation crosses between two groups (it's a Daeva and a corporation issue) then the corporation takes precedence. Are there any consequences for not regarding status in the appropriate manner? The most notable one is having your own status removed. This is often done by a harpy, but may also be done by the Division Head. How can someone raise their status? This depends on the kind of status. There are three primary types, Corporation, Clan and Covenant. These represent how much status you hold in each area. The first dot of Corporation status is the only one that can easily be purchased, and you can do so at any time. Beyond that, status in the Corporation can only be gained by being granted a title (some titles that are not corporation specific, like Master of Elysium, allow you to purchase more status, but corporation titles give you status for free). A Board Member has 2 status, Upper Management has 3 (Chief of Security, Chief Administrator, Controller, Project Manager), the Division Head has 4, and the Vice President has 5 as a base. In Clans and Covenants, it is fairly straightforward. Being an acknowledged member of the group gives you the right to purchase 1 dot, having a title gives you two, being a leader gives you 3. Performing actions that help further the needs of your group can help you get higher. Can someone raise or lower the status of other characters? Yes, the most common is the Harpy. There are two Harpies, one appointed by the Division Head, and one appointed by the Prisci (the heads of each clan). They can each give or remove status based on the status of the Division Head or highest ranking Prisci (respectively). Additionally, the Master of Elysium can remove status from anyone violating Elysium, and the Division Head can give or remove status based on his current Corporation status. Finally, any member of the corporation can give or remove 1 temporary status per month. If ten individuals give or remove temporary status from the same individual in one month, then the individual's permanent status is lowered or increased by 1. Using your temporary status in this way decreases your temporary status by 1. What are Eminence and Ascendancy? Whereas Clan and Covenant Status measure an individual's standing within a lineage or society of the Damned, eminence and ascendancy measure a faction's overall position within a domain. Being a prominent member of the Circle of the Crone won't grant much local influence if the domain as a whole is caught in the iron-clawed fist of the Lancea Sanctum. In contrast, being a member of a particularly powerful group has its benefits. The Eminent Clan and Ascendant Covenant in a city gain special benefits for their standing.
INFLUENCE: You should care because while it may or may not matter to you how many minions you control, part of that control helps you get what you want (or at least be more likely to get what you want) when things come down to a vote (like choosing a new Team Lead or Division Head), or even influence the decisions of the Vice President. Being able to sway a vote or decision from the VP could mean huge gains for your character. What is Juice?
What is Input, and what do I use it
for? What are Assets? How do I get Assets? What is
Protection/Loyalty? What can I do with my Assets? What are Primacy and
Inferiority? What does breaking the masquerade entail? Breaking the Masquerade means that you have let a mortal know about the existence of vampires. If someone has broken the masquerade, what are the consequences? It depends on whether it can be covered up or not. However, if you break the Masquerade, the consequences vary from having your status stripped to death, but they are never good. This is one of the worst things you can do. What are some ways to do damage control if a character has broken the masquerade? The easiest one is killing the witness(es). Of course, that may not be viable based on the situation. In those cases where killing them isn't an option, you will need to Dominate the individual(s) and/or create a plausible reason why the incident occurred. Often this is done by the Sales & Marketing's PR team, but can be done in a number of ways. Spinning a bomb as a terrorist attack, or even convincing them that a gas leak caused them to hallucinate can be enough, as long as you can insure that the knowledge is never made public. What is Elysium what are the rules for the area, how big can the area be, can someone just leave? While some liberties have been taken with Elysium, it is always a building, and the area for Elysium is confined to the area of the building(s) designated as such. If I want to get around the rules of Elysium, how could I do that? Elysium has no supernatural way of preventing you from violating it. Therefore, any overt confrontation (either physical or mystical) will get you into a lot of trouble. However, actions like listening in on a conversation, while frowned upon, are difficult to prove, and so are not likely to get you into trouble. Of course, if you do manage to get caught doing so, you might want to watch your back outside of Elysium. What are possible consequences of breaking Elysium? Typical consequences are social reprimand. This may result in just getting a talking to on the forums (or in person), or it might result in being stripped of status and/or titles. The punishment typically depends on what the circumstances of the violation were. Who declares it, and is it somehow obvious once it is declared: i.e. is there some glowing aura about the place (and therefore we just know we're in Elysium) or do we need to be told? The Division Head (also known as the Prince or the CEO) declares Elysium. On occasion, the Division Head may give the right to declare a location Elysium to another individual. There is no special denotation to the location (glowing aura or infrared sign (like in the Blade movies), it is made public knowledge what locations are Elysium when a Kindred is introduced to local offices. Are there any places that are (predesignated) automatically Elysium? Typically yes, but currently no. If a place is once declared Elysium, does it revert back to regular status? Not unless the Division Head declares a location is no longer Elysium. If a place does return to "regular" how does that happen? What does the Master of Elysium do? They are responsible for maintaining Elysium, cleaning up afterward and making sure that word of specific Elysium-related events reaches those who must attend. The Master of Elysium is also responsible for enforcing the custom of nonviolence at such gatherings, and he often works hand-in-hand with the Chief of Security and/or Hounds for such purposes. Seems kind of thankless, what do they get out of it? They have the authority to strip permanent status from anyone who violates Elysium. This lasts as long as the Master of Elysium maintains it. GETTING STARTED AT VENTURE CORPORATION: Why am I on a team? What is that even? Venture Corporation is broken down into a series of teams or departments. These groups typically have individuals with complimentary skills based around a specific goal for Venture. For example, the Research & Development team focuses on scientific developments for the corporation, and all of the members have skills that help facilitate that. Human & Kindred Resources will help place you on a team that matches well with your skills. What are my responsibilities to Venture Corporation? Your team will have certain responsibilities that you need to help achieve. For example, if you are on the Archives & Records team, you should work to help obtain and protect information for the corporation. How you do that is up to you. Are there other corporations that are run by vampires? None that are known, though there are some corporations, like Pentex, that seem to have some supernatural aspects. INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER CLANS: What is the general knowledge that all Kindred would know about any clans? Daeva Gangrel Mekhet Nosferatu Venture What clans don't get along with each other, and for what reasons (opposing faith, condescension, etc.) Each clan tends to think it is better than all of the others, but there are no universal hatreds. That being said, there are typical stereotypes each clan associates with the other ones. I recommend checking out your clan in the Requiem book (the red one) and reading the section on stereotypes the clan has of other groups. The same is true of covenants. INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER COVENANTS: What is the general knowledge that all Kindred would know about any covenants? Carthian Movement Circle of the Crone Invictus Lancea Sanctum Ordo Dracul This faction claims an infamous founder Vlad Tepes, Dracula himself. Dracula is noteworthy because he acknowledges no sire. According to Dracula's account of becoming a vampire, God turned His back on him, and in order to punish him for his wicked acts, God cursed him with undeath. The most widely accepted story of Dracula's origin is that God punished Vlad Tepes for his abuse of faith in mortal life. According to certain historical records, Tepes was appointed as a Defender of Christianity, a charge he then used as a means of advancing his own political agendas and as an excuse for atrocities. In addition to all his crimes against humanity, Dracula ultimately put his own desires before his holy oath, the act that Damned him. The veracity of these statements remains unproven, of course, not the least obstacle to which is that Dracula himself hasn't been seen in over a century. Legends of Dracula also ascribe to him strange circumstances. By knowledgeable members of Kindred society, he is suspected of siring a very few childer but if Dracula wasn't Embraced himself, what clan could he possibly be, and what does that make his get? By other accounts, he has never sired childer at all, or those he has sired are somehow failed, little more than hideous horrors doomed to slake their thirsts in a constant state of mindless rage. Indeed, the organization that has grown up surrounding Dracula's teachings is easily as enigmatic as its founder. Members of the Ordo Dracul may learn the Coils of the Dragon. The Coils of the Dragon are a special set of rites that allow Kindred to overcome some parts of the Curse. For more information on being a member of the Ordo Dracul, go here: http://venturebynight.com/covenants.shtml#Dracul What covenants don't get along with each other, and for what
reasons (opposing faith, condescension, etc.) |