Chimerical Realm

I've been in too many games where feeding was nothing more than a nuisance, something the players avoided unless they had too in order to recover from a particular battle, or minimized as much as possible with the presence of ghouls. Indeed, a number of players took great, if seemingly perverse, enjoyment on not hunting, having their characters spend multiple nights cooped up in their havens, watching TV or playing video games, and only hunting when the absolutely had too. This always confused me, since hunting and feeding off of a mortals is pretty much the definition of a vampire. I mean, it’s what they’re designed to do . If you don’t want to play a literally bloodthirsty predator, then why are we playing Vampire? So, taking a cue from not only my own preconceived notions of what a vampire should be, but also from what the core book describes, I've come up with my ideas for feeding. It’s something I've started enforcing in the games I run, and so far has worked pr...

The “Harpies” are the social glue of vampiric society. They’re the “other” guys, the ones that most of the great drama of the Jyhad tends to gloss over.  Neither powerful and established Princes or Primogen nor desperate and hungry Anarchs, they sit, more or less, on the sideline, commenting and judging all that goes on around them.  It is they who determine the nature of Boons and indebtedness, as well as granting or withdrawing Status and fame. The best comparison is the stereotypical clique of “mean girls” who dominate their high school, not through physical or intellectual prowess, but through their mastery of social interaction. If they say “you’re cool” then you are cool, and no one can challenge that, not matter how obtuse their judgement might be. Of course, like any self-respecting 1st Ed player, I hate the term “Harpy.” When first presented, it was an insult, a slur slung at them by the anarchs for their useless gossip. In Chicago by Night the Harpy equivalent ...

It was my very first time at a LARP when I lost all respect for the Primogen. I was playing an “NPC” sent to see what the hell was going on in another city. I hung out with the local clanmates, Brujah, and they seemed nice enough, if rather passive. Eventually, the Prince called a meeting of the Primogen and as an “honored guest” I was allowed to sit in and bear witness to what was going on. One of the issues that came up was the Brujah Primogen--apparently he had in some previous session done something that rather upset the Prince. The Prince, in his regal majesty, proclaimed that this individual was no longer allowed on the Primogen council, and should leave immediately. I snorted under my breath, waiting for the inevitable backlash, but it never came. The character in question didn't stand up for his rights and power, the other Primogen didn't lash out at this violation of their rights and privileges, and the Prince had no fear of those around him. In short, while thi...

Boons are one of the trickier elements of the society presented in Vampire. They are the “currency” of the game, the complicated interaction of debts owed and favors given. Given their supernatural abilities, mundane concerns like money are comparatively irrelevant to the Kindred. Instead, it’s the back and forth of favors that defines their relationships, and keeps their society functioning. In most games I've been involved with, Boon are rare and wondrous things. Almost always they flow from the Elders to the Neonates--young Kindred need something they can not accomplish on their own (such as getting a favored ghoul out of legal trouble, or cover the death of a prominent mortal at their hands), and so they need to approach a more entrenched vampire to do these things. Such favors are rarely given, and then only at great cost to the supplicant. This makes sense, but really only in the context of a 1st Edition game--specifically one that focuses on the “classic” vampire stru...

Bug Hunt As a Storyteller, I have a couple of default stories I like to run. One is Alien Hunger --my absolute favorite adventure published for Vampire; it's particularly solid for new players. But, I also have a few that I've developed over the years that are my “go to” stories, which I like to run for a variety of players, new and old. “Bug Hunt” is the main one of these. It is, in effect, a classic Vampire vs. Vampire conflict , with an added element of the Beast vs. Humanity. The basic idea was stolen from another player in a game I played in years and years ago. He wasn't a huge fan of Vampire, and wanted to do something different and a tad wacky with his character. The basic concept was Kafka’s Metamorphosis . He played a Nosferatu who had gradually lost all concept of Humanity, and viewed himself as nothing more than vermin. The character was certainly fun, particularly since my character and another had “adopted” him and were trying to help him get back...

That all stories require some sort of conflict might just be the least controversial thing I've ever said in my life. In fact, I’m pretty sure one can define a  story more by its conflict than anything else within it.. This can be anything from a man vs. man to man vs. self to man vs. society to, well, anything. So long as you have two entities (no matter how you define those them) who want different things, you have a conflict; and therefore, a story. One of the strengths of Vampire is the wide variety of Conflicts it can encompass. You can go with the straight up, rock ‘em-sock ‘em violence of Camarilla vs. Sabbat, the subtle paranoia of Diaberlist vs. Targets, or the existential conflict of Beast vs. Humanity. In a way, Vampire is a “kitchen sink” game when it comes to Conflict. Pretty much any struggle you can imagine, from the most gritty and realistic (Beast vs. Humanity) to the most outlandish and comic booky (Tal'mahe'ra vs. Aliens) can be expressed in the game...

Theme is one of the trickier elements of Vampire. It’s not something every Chronicle needs, but it certainly is a neat way to tie everything together. A Chronicle without a theme feels meandering and chaotic—a collection of characters and stories bouncing off each other for no greater purpose. This can certainly be fun, but it can also end up with the game feeling rather hollow and pointless. In short, a theme is the question that the Chronicle seeks to answer. It’s not necessarily something that the characters are aware of, but it is the underlying tension that drives the narrative. Some of the example questions that they give in the base book are solid—“What create the emotions of hate?” “Is perfect morality impossible?” “What is required for a leader?” Of course, any thorny issue you wish to explore will be superior to what they list in the book, but I find that spending some time thinking about Theme and how to apply it is well worth the time. If anything, it’s a convenient way...

So, this post was supposed to be entitled “Favorite NPC”—but honestly, that just sounds boring. I could either focus on iconic or published NPC’s, but I’m not a huge fan of most of them (well, except for Modius ), or a particularly cool NPC I came up with. But, in that case, you’d have to take my word that they were cool. Instead, I want to talk about what I do to create NPC’s for my games. While vivid and well-defined NPC’s are key to pretty much any RPG, they tend to be even more critical in a game like Vampire. In other games, the mass of NPC’s can be categorized as “shop owners,” “quest givers” or “dudes to be stabbed in the face.” While there are plenty of dudes who need to be stabbed in the face in Vampire, of course, the setting and concept of the game doesn't really allow for this to be the “standard.” See, you have this world populated by supernatural killers, who would really only feel safe and secure if they were the only supernatural killer they had ever met. B...