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Rules

Rules are as per the Mind’s Eye Theater (MET) and Mind’s Eye Theater: The Requiem (Requiem) books. Rules may be adapted from the following tabletop books:

  • World of Darkness (WoD)
  • Vampire: The Requiem (VtR)

Additional changes, clarifications, and other notes about rules are categorized below:

Character Creation

If you do not know the rules, simply feel free to show up to game early or post to the forums and ask for help. Just come up with an idea of what type of person and/or vampire you would like to be and the staff and other players will help. Alternatively, we may have NPCs for you to try for a night or two so that you may gain understanding of the system.

Character creation is as per the Mind’s Eye Theater: The Requiem book and then add 50 XP as an “Up-and-comer” (plus story awards). You must keep a log of how this XP is spent. Also, base creation is done without a bloodline. You may take the bloodline before spending your starting XP, which allows you to spend XP in bloodline disciplines but none of your starting three disciplines may be in your bloodline discipline. (Unless it is a standard out of clan, see below.) Note that unless your sire or Avus is a PC (see below), you have one less Willpower Dot (8 XP to buy back).

The optional rule that allows you to drop your Humanity to gain 5 XP is allowed, but can only be done once. In addition, a short background will give you 5 additional XP that can be spent on merits or skills. This background should be a paragraph or two written or a minute told aloud to the staff and should directly mention what was bought.

Out of clan disciplines generally require teachers. Mind’s Eye Theater: The Requiem provides some rules for this on page 152:

  • No teacher is required for Celerity, Resilience, and Vigor.
  • Bloodline-specific Disciplines can not be learned without joining the bloodline.

To this, we add some additional guidelines:

  • First Out of Clan: Very few characters were embraced yesterday. With enough time, debts can be paid and the Vinculum may fade. To represent this, every character may have a single dot of any out of clan without any additional restrictions.
  • Covenant Disciplines: The Coils of the Dragon, Cruác, and Thebian Sorcerery require you to have True Covenant Status • in the appropriate covenant to learn at character creation. No further rules apply for these disciplines.
  • Learning from a Player: If another player agrees to teach you one or more of their own disciplines, in addition to whatever price they extract from you, you must note that your character has (at least) a one step Vinculum (see Requiem 255) towards them.
  • Learning from an NPC: The simplest method is usually the most expensive. If you look, you can usually find somebody willing to teach you for a minor boon (see Requiem 294). Boons can be traded around, so an NPC you may never have met may call upon you for a favor later, or any PC may buy your boon as a one point merit. You owe one boon for every level of discipline learned from an NPC (past the first, see above).

Merits, Bloodlines, and Devotions from tabletop books may be allowed at the ST’s discretion.

PC Embrace/Avus

In order to promote ties between characters and usage of existing bloodlines, the following exceptions to the rules are made:

  • Embracing a new PC does not cost a dot of willpower. If you embrace an NPC who is then played by a PC, you may regain the willpower or XP spent to regain it.
  • If you are joining another PC’s bloodline (by them embracing or being your Avus, see Requiem 366), then you do not have to spend the dot of willpower.

General Rules

  • First success at 8, and gain an extra success per four numbers. (8 is one success, 12 is two, 16, 20, 24…)
  • Errata: Willpower is +2 to a resistance trait, not +3. (The book says +3 in one place and +2 in another.)
  • As per MET 110, willpower is regained at a rate of one per week. If you wish to regain willpower from your virtue or vice, bring the situation to the attention of the staff and they will decide if it is appropriate.
  • Willpower may be used to attack, per World of Darkness 95. This is a change to the MET rules that removed this use of Willpower.
  • As a reminder, only one willpower may be spent each turn.

Optional Rules

  • A Matter of Resolve (MET 174) is not in use. Characters get a single downtime action for themselves, one per Allies or Retainer merit, and one investigation action per level of Contacts.
  • Humanity can be dropped for XP at creation (see above).
  • True Covenant Status (Requiem 135, and see below).
  • Flesh and Steel (Nosferatu 118) is not approved.

Optional rules not mentioned here are not currently in use, but may be approved if it adds to the story. If asked to approve optional rules to help min/max your character, that rule will likely be removed from game.

Merits

Fighting Styles (MET 134): Fighting styles are being used from the tabletop books, with the following changes:

  • All fighting styles require a teacher.
  • Any fighting style that grants additional attacks only grants a second attack and no more. This includes Kung Fu •••• from WoD 111. Multiple additional attacks from multiple fighting styles do not stack.
  • Most levels of fighting styles are separate maneuvers. You may only use one maneuver at a time. If you are unsure if a level is a maneuver or not, ask.
  • Two-Weapon Fighting • (WoD 112) provides a +1 to your defense when you are wielding two weapons as per MET 135. (Note: This is for the first dot only. Levels •• through ••••• are as the rules in the tabletop WoD book pages 135-136.)
  • Combat Marksmanship (Armory 210) ••• allows you to make two attacks in a single round if you sacrifice your Defense for the round. ••••• does not exist.
  • Sniping (Armory 212) is not allowed.
  • Because of the complexity of Fighting Styles and the changes that will be required to make them work for MET rules, changes may need to be made even after approval.

Haven (Requiem 129): Haven is a single • to ••••• merit. After buying the merit, you distribute the points between Location, Security, and Size. Buying the merit multiple times gives you multiple havens, each with their own location, security, and size ratings.

Language (MET 132): Language is now a • to ••• merit. The language merit from the book is the same as the new Language •.
• You have learned the language, but sound like a foreigner when you speak. (Italian 301)
•• You are completely fluent, by virtue of extensive training or living in the country. You sound like you’re from a specific country. (Lived in Italy)
••• You have mastered local idioms and slang. You sound like you’re from a specific region. (Born in Rome)
Note: If you use this merit to buy English, you may choose another language to speak natively (as per Language •••).

Covenant Status (Requiem 133): We are using the True Covenant Status optional rule, which limits you to the benefits from a single covenant. This reflects the fact that the NPCs in multiple covenants will not assist you. If you can get the PCs or named NPCs in the game (after creation) to assist, you may be able to gain their benefits as well. Things limited by this rule include:

  • XP discounts for merits
  • Cruác, Thebian Sorcery, & Coils of the Dragon
  • Carthian Devotions
  • Invictus Oaths

Retainer (MET 145)

Remember that Retainers are NPCs. If you wish to have one in a scene or perform a specific action, you must inform the staff.

Ghoul retainers usually require the expenditure of one willpower per month and one blood per game. Not spending the willpower requires teaching your ghoul how to ghoul themselves and not spending the blood means that you are not allowing your ghoul to spend blood for any reason. Both of these will have consequences.

Retainer character sheets can be created by one of two methods:

  • They can be written by storytelling staff. They will be based on the capabilities listed in the book, ranging from “child” at • to “extraordinary” at •••••. Note that this method may never actually result in a final character sheet, but if one is written it may not follow the guidelines below.
  • They can be written by the player purchasing them. A one dot retainer is a base mortal or ghoul with no XP and every additional point adds 10 XP, for a maximum of 40 XP at Retainer •••••. These sheets are approved separately and must follow the following guidelines:

    • No attribute higher than three dots.
    • Abilities may be no higher than their retainer rating.
    • Retainers do not get specialties.
    • They may have no more total dots of merits than their rating. (e.g. Striking Looks •• and Status ••• requires Retainer •••••)

      • Retainers may not have the the Mentor, Resources or Retainers merits (as per MET 146). They can have Allies or Contacts, but they are nowhere near as effective (see below). Note that they can have Status.

Contacts vs Status vs Allies vs Retainers

Contacts only allows you to find information. The depth, breadth, and accuracy of this information is limited by the knowledge of your contacts.

Status is your official position in an organization. Performing an action requires a Manipulation + Social skill + Status pull, penalized by how much it exceeds your authority. Things that are outside your responsibility completely are impossible. Anything done by invoking your status is done quickly and promptly but is directly traceable back to your character.

Allies are a variety of friends within an organization. Asking your allies for a favor is a Manipulation + Persuasion + Allies, penalized by how much risk it is for them. They will usually refuse to do anything might get them jailed or killed. Due to the second-hand nature of your influence, allies actions are slower but are harder to trace back to you.

A Retainer is a single, extremely loyal person. They will perform actions that may get them jailed or killed, but this can result in the loss of the retainer. A retainer’s use of Status can be traced back to them. You can not use a Retainer’s dots of Allies or Contacts directly, instead it reflects extra resources or abilities they can call on themselves.

Disciplines

Nightmare ••: Dread (Requiem 182)

  • Dread no longer requires concentration, instead an activation of the power lasts until the end of the scene.
  • The power only affects people who can see the user. Once you leave the room, take cover, or Obfuscate the effects end. (“See” includes anything that would be creepy in a horror movie: huge shadows on movie screens, through a shower curtain, etc.)

Vigor (Requiem 196): This discipline functions as per the tabletop book (VtR 141).

  • Vigor adds to Strength for the scene, including your combat pulls. (Ignore the note in Requiem)
  • Vigor adds to your jumping distance. (One foot per dot)

Coils of the Dragon (Requiem 209): Each coil is purchased as a separate discipline.

Blood Oaths (Invictus 178): These are in game, but have altered rules. If you wish to learn them, you must have Status (Invictus) • in addition to the normal perquisites. These rules have changed multiple times over the course of game and still are subject to change.

Experience

Experience points will generally be handed out at the rate of 3 XP per game, with 2 more for attenance, 1 extra for helping game (see below), occasional story rewards.

Two XP per game is based on when you appear and when you leave. A stamp will be available to mark your character sheet for the first and last half hour of game. Each stamp is worth one XP.

One additional XP per game can be earned by:

  • Bringing food, drink, or props for the game
  • Providing transportation for players (more than just your roommates)
  • Bringing new players to game
  • $5 donations toward game expenses

The donations are worth XP because the space we are running in charges a fee which will come out of the staff’s pocket unless you help. If the donations become more than the costs, food and other amenities will be provided. This XP will collect and apply to any character you create.

Story rewards will be given to people who uncover critical clues or confront major villians, and to the game at large when a story (plotline) comes to an end. Examples include, your milage may vary:

  • 1 XP for creating plot involving most of the court
  • 1 XP for finding the mastermind behind the current threat to the city
  • 3 XP to the entire game for defeating the current threat to the city
  • 5 XP to the entire game for foiling the mastermind’s evil plans, you pesky kids
  • 5 XP to the entire game for completing a story

Note: Defeat doesn’t have to mean kill. Removing their assets, convincing them to leave, or making them an ally all could work.

Ways to lose XP:

  • ST being forced to remind you to stay in character
  • Large disruptions to game

Note: These rules are not intended to brow-beat you into playing for hours on end. Going out for smoke breaks, phone calls, or even just taking a breather from game is allowed. Sitting in the middle of court trying to get everyone to discuss a TV show is not.

Custom Rules

No custom rules will be approved at character creation.

Custom disciplines must be created as part of a bloodline, which requires Blood Potency 6. Bloodlines have been created by staff, some of which have been posted to the forums and others can be inquired after.

Custom devotions and rituals can be created in game. The process is as follows: you tell the staff a concept and we get back to you with rules and what must be done to create it. You may list sources that provide similar effects but you should not expect the rules or costs to be the same. Both the result and time required will be based on your character sheet.

In general Academics is used for research and Occult to help create rituals, and other pulls will be required based on your methods and what you are attempting to do. For example, Cruac is physically demanding to learn and Thebian Sorcery requires questing to seek divine inspiration.