Notes for Vampire Planet the RPG

[Nigama]

Okay, so now that the Origin project has ideas seeded (https://forums.planetvampire.com/index.php?topic=6445.0), I'm going to pick and choose as I like and change what I like to create a game set in the modern nights.  These are the groups I've selected to include, although I have changed some to be more like others.  I feel like as far as Blood Lineages are concerned, I'm missing something.   


I also want to think about the political formations.  In V:tR political groups are different from Clans, and I'd like to see something similar here.  So in V:tR the political groups seemed to be formed around how to rule.  Cathian is about human forms of government used to run vampire society and is secular.  Crone is about pagan religion.  Invictus is money is power.  Lancea is judeo-christian religion.  Ordo Dracul seems focused on the nature of vampirism, both understanding and controlling it.  V:tM merely has the Sabbat and Cam (okay and Inconnu), basically Elder vs. Younger with their personal philosophy driven by their belief in the existence and destructive power of the early vampires.

I think in this vampires really are still so rare that one vampire (Lord) can keep watch over the area he/she can cover (Domain).  Some vampires stay in one place and try to build up resources and protection while others find safety by staying on the move.  The political associations that immediately spring into my mind would be Group A - maintain the status quo by staying hidden and the biggest challenger to that would be Group B - Conquer and enslave the humans!  Okay, or at least live side by side in a mutually beneficial relationship.  There might also be Group C - live as gods among the mortals, who will worship the vampires.  Any ideas for a Group D or E or F?


Notes so far:

Blood Lineages:

Asklepiades - manipulators (mortal and otherwise), self styled rulers
Dragutharr - fighters, thugs, primal, intimidation
Golem - toughness, outsider yet in some ways more human than human
Lilwani - physical balance, primal, savage.
Reven - invisibility, illusion, signs, no elders (that can be seen)
Nekros - invisible, bodiless, created slaves
Tzitzimimeh (f) Butterflies - beauty, speed, clear sight, corruption
Tzitzimimeh (m) Ghouls - cursed, ugly, shadow, stealth, necromancy


General Scale
0 - Inept/Unskilled
1 - Novice
2 - Apprentice/Hobbyist
3 - Journeyman/Skilled
4 - Very Skilled
5 - Master/Highly Skilled
6 - Among the best in the world


Powers
Pulchritude
1 - +1 to social rolls - All of the little imperfections have melted away when you were turned. Your skin is smooth and alluringly pale.
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Puissance
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Legerity
1 - +1 Speed
2 - +1 action / blood
3 -
4 - +1 action / blood
5 -
6 - +1 action / blood

Aegis
1 - +1 health level (+1 total)
2 - +1 to toughness roll (+1 total)
3 - +1 health level (+2 total)
4 - +1 to toughness roll (+2 total)
5 - +1 health level (+3 total)
6 - +1 to toughness roll (+3 total)

Chicanery
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Shape Shifting
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Perspicacity
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Necromancy
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Reign
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Shroud
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Reification
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Awe
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -

Lords (Ladies) and Dominions

When creating a new vampire you must pay one permanent blood from your total pool, or the curse will not take effect.

Political Group - Status Quo, Lords and Domains

Political Group - Open rule over the humans

Political Group - Open rule over the humans, destroy modern civilization and significant portions of the human population to maintain control

Political Group - Utopia - humans and vampire live together symbiotically

Political Group - Status Quo, rule of democracy, all voices are equal

[Radical21]

Since no one comments on this I think I should (although I do disagree with the idea of a bodiless spirit vampire on account of it feeling closer to wraith or too supernatural).

VTM also has the Anarchs and the The True Black Hand.
VTR merely breaks all that down into sub-categories, turning some streams within the Sabbat and Camarilla into their own sect.

Group D:  They want to destroy the world's civilization almost entirely,  for the sake or re-experiencing it in its former glorious eras before the information age or for others such reasons that divorce from any status quo.

Group E:  Believe that they are serving the world by being mean, kind of like the Lancea Sanctum  but more motivated by the prospect of preparing and honing humanity for some unknown future...


Once again ill stop because I think this whole exercise becomes restrained by the idea of originality: We want it to be like VTM but end up with ideas that are totally different because we try to be original. VTM/VTR have to have these concepts because these concepts(Cam,Sabbat,Lancea, Crone etc) are the groups you see in human society and that is what makes them believable.

[Nigama]

I liked the idea of the Nekros being created in a similar fashion as to Gargoyles.  So I also liked the idea of them being created for a war.  In this setting the Ghouls had a secret/underground war with the Reven and in the process created the Nekros to be their guardians against the unknown and invisible, and also at times spies.  The Reven in turn worked to free the Nekros from their bondage.  I am thinking that level 4 or 5 of their power, Reification, will allow them to become corporeal (albeit for limited periods of time).

Nigama

[Nigama]

Physical
----------
Dragutharr (str)---\
Butterflies (spd)     Lilwani
Golem <con>-----/

Mental
--------
Reven <perception> - mental spd
Nekros <erudition> - mental str
????? <Willpower> -mental con


Social
--------
Asklepiades <charisma> - social spd
<control> - social str
<???> - social con


Since I want the game to focus around these three areas of gameplay, I want them to be balanced.  Since I don't want to delete anything from the Mental group (I think all of the lineages are intriguing), I need to add 1 to the Physical group and 2 to the social group to keep things interesting.

At heart I'm a min/max'er so everything I'm thinking of is probably through that lens.  I think that if you want the best fighter possible you should probably choose a lineage from the Physical group.  However, I want to make sure that a Social lineage character that specializes in combat can be as good or better than the average Physical lineage character.  But if both min/max for physical traits and combat, then the Physical lineages *should* have the (slightly) extra advantage. This applies equally to the Mental and Social categories.

[Rick Gentle]

Just throwing names out there:
Skadri - Constitution (3rd Physical trait)
The Skadri grow stronger and tougher with each life they consume - or so they believe. They revere ancient pagan practices of Western and Northern Europe, including painting their bodies with blue woad in the belief that this makes them impervious in combat. They are also a deeply spiritual people, with strong faith in the belief that what happens in the spirit world directly affects what happens in the physical.

The Court of Deep Shadows - Fealty (Manipulation/getting other people to work for you) (2nd or 3rd Social trait)
The Court of Deep Shadows credits its origins to the most ancient kingdoms in what is now China. Before the rise of the Qin Empire, the lands of China were wild with wrestling kingdoms and principalities. In those ancient times, a few enlightened individuals met in shadows after dark. There they spoke whispers of fealty not to kings or princes, but to each other, and to their goal: to have power over the powerful, to gain control over the controllers.
The Court of Deep Shadows is analogous to the Lasombra, in that they prefer to be the power behind the throne, rather than the target sitting upon the throne. They seek influence in the most powerful organizations in the world, from governments to fast food chains. However, everything they have is the property of their King or Queen, the vampire who holds their fealty and the promise that if one grows more powerful, they both grow more powerful.

[Nigama]

The Court of Deep Shadows - Fealty (Manipulation/getting other people to work for you) (2nd or 3rd Social trait)
The Court of Deep Shadows credits its origins to the most ancient kingdoms in what is now China. Before the rise of the Qin Empire, the lands of China were wild with wrestling kingdoms and principalities. In those ancient times, a few enlightened individuals met in shadows after dark. There they spoke whispers of fealty not to kings or princes, but to each other, and to their goal: to have power over the powerful, to gain control over the controllers.
The Court of Deep Shadows is analogous to the Lasombra, in that they prefer to be the power behind the throne, rather than the target sitting upon the throne. They seek influence in the most powerful organizations in the world, from governments to fast food chains. However, everything they have is the property of their King or Queen, the vampire who holds their fealty and the promise that if one grows more powerful, they both grow more powerful.

I like this idea, partially because we don't have anything from the East really. Despite my bias against China, I like your idea and I'd like to see it fleshed out even more from details in reality. They would fit nicely into the Control category.

That would leave just Willpower without a lineage.

Nigama

[Rick Gentle]

If you want to balance the anti-China bias further, the Willpower lineage could be a group of martial artists and monks who purify their bodies and spirits into diamond-like toughness. I would actually see them more as a Gangrel analogue, or at least a Fortitude-analogue, than a Tremere- or Salubri-analogue. Perhaps their weakness could be desire to kill, maim, burn, etc, and they have to meditate and strengthen their Willpower to overcome these. (That's also a big thing in Chinese/Buddhist philosophy, letting the will overcome bodily desires.)
You could have them take the place of the Shih in VTM - these monks could be the moral "police force" of the vampire world, to track down and destroy any vampires who go kill-mad or abuse their power violently.

[Nigama]

If you want to balance the anti-China bias further, the Willpower lineage could be a group of martial artists and monks who purify their bodies and spirits into diamond-like toughness.

Who would they be based on?  I mean, I've heard of control of breathing, control of heart beat, control of body temperature... but these are all disparate groups, not one group. And the focus in the Tibetan group seems more focused on mental toughness and not physical toughness.

I would actually see them more as a Gangrel analogue, or at least a Fortitude-analogue, than a Tremere- or Salubri-analogue. Perhaps their weakness could be desire to kill, maim, burn, etc, and they have to meditate and strengthen their Willpower to overcome these.

Right. The Dragutharr will be filling that role.

(That's also a big thing in Chinese/Buddhist philosophy, letting the will overcome bodily desires.)

Yeah, there's definitely a strong sense of that. I'd like to include it, but need a stronger base in reality from which to base it.

You could have them take the place of the Shih in VTM - these monks could be the moral "police force" of the vampire world, to track down and destroy any vampires who go kill-mad or abuse their power violently.

I kindof like the idea of a policing force with the vampire community, but I'm not sure it should be linked to lineage. Instead, I think it should be one of the political bodies mentioned in the OP, but that's not to say this new lineage couldn't dominate its ranks. Solving crimes with Mental combat based on mental toughness/endurance would be their angle.

Maybe some kind of psi powers?