Character Creation

Discussion about the game: rules, character descriptions, questions, etc
AWC
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Character Creation

Post by AWC »

Character Creation

New players may use the standard book rules with no xp. After wards they will get the amount of XP needed to bring them up to the XP creation system.

Attributes
All start at 1 except for one of your clan's favored attributes which starts at 2
Primary gets 65 xp
Secondary gets 55 xp
Tertiary gets 45 xp.
20XP that may be added to any attribute category or split between them.

Abilities
Primary category gets 78 xp
Secondary category gets 48
Tertiary gets 30.
You get 3 specialties for free

Disciplines
You get 30 xp to spend on disciplines.
You must buy 3 dots of disciplines from your starting clan. After that you may buy bloodline disciplines, coils, thebian sorcery, or cruac if its available to you. (so you could get level 1 in all your inclans and level one coil). Any out of clans disciplines you must have someone who knows it who agreed to have taught it to you. (this may be an npc but they will want boons which will come up)

Merits
You get 40 xp to spend on merits or blood potency.
If you are a carthian, legion, or invictus you may buy your merits at half cost if you have bought covenant status.
A limit of 10 levels will be applied to carthian allies and invictus status. More than 10 levels will require explanation of why your character should have it and approval.

You get 35 additional xp that you can add to any category.

Other rules
You do not get xp for dropping humanity. You may drop from 7 to 6 with no penalty. For each level dropped after that you will pull for a bane
You may only start with one stat at 5.
Citizen is a 1 point merit for the setting
You must buy clan, covenant, and city status of 1 if you want to have them an can get them up to 3.
Only things out of the main setting book and vampire book will be approved at character creation. This does limit characters. If you want something outside the main two books you can ask but you will have to owe someone for helping you get it. Do not ask for more than one thing at creation. Lots of people have been pushing this line. I will be enforcing it for any final character that is approved. The only exception is for things that I have already put in the game that your character should have access to.

Invictus lose retainers and get mortal status half cost
Legions lose retainers and get vampiric status half cost and citizen merit for free. (may change still debating)
Colin
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Re: Character Creation

Post by Colin »

If only main book things are allowed at CC, how does a clan get two bloodlines available to the area at character creation? If people wanted to make a bunch of Gangrel, for instance, would their bloodlines simply be "Bruja plus ???"?
If other books are allowed, are things from the Requiem for Rome book allowed (ie, bloodlines). Do Julii translate to Ventrue?
AWC
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Re: Character Creation

Post by AWC »

I did say at the end people could ask for things if appropriate. Bloodlines from outside the main books is appropriate. Bloodlines will be talked about at character creation. I dont have the rome book on me so don't know about Jullii I believe they are the same stats as ventrue.
duncan
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Re: Character Creation

Post by duncan »

Julii do match ventrue, I believe exactly.

Question about the point-buy system - in a lot of places, especially attributes, it is very unlikely to get the exact amount specified. For example if your free clan dot is in your primary category, buying 4/3/2 costs 70 points, leaving you with 5 left over. I've juggled the points around a few times and see no easy solution to this.

Perhaps a small amount of carry-over, at least between attribute categories and ability categories, max 5 / 3? I'd hate to have the default be "spend freebies to fix".

Edit:
Never mind, I need to read the entire post three times apparently to get it.

Edit more:
No, it's still aggravating the crap out of me. Sample Nos (free STR):
85 45 60
Str 4 Pre 2 Int 2
Dex 3 Man 2 Wit 3
Sta 3 Com 3 Res 3

Can't quite figure out how to balance this out, any place I drop an attribute brings it too low, anyplace I move an attribute.. has no effect?
Perhaps lower the numbers slightly and increase the spread XP?
duncan
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Re: Character Creation

Post by duncan »

Also, what ability be replacing Computer?
Benabik
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Re: Character Creation

Post by Benabik »

Julii are Ventrue that have -2 to degeneration instead of -2 to the derangement roll. Instead of gaining derangements, they lose Humanity faster. You could argue that Julii learned to fight the beast but did so at the cost of their sanity, becoming the modern Ventrue.
___________________

Requiem for Rome replaced Computer and Science with Religion and Warfare. New Wave Requiem is recent enough to keep the standard skills. I'm not aware of any other time-shifted books in new WoD.

Religion and Warfare don't seem appropriate for the 20's... Perhaps a more general "Electronics" skill? Things like wiretaps, radio, and recording devices were starting to come into vogue but wouldn't yet be common enough to fall under Craft.
Adam
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Re: Character Creation

Post by Adam »

Iirc Mage Noir should be coming out sometime in the near future. It may be useful to this project.

*Edit* - There is also a noir section in the Mage Chronicler's Guide. I haven't read it, but it may have a suggestion for replacing Computer.
Benabik
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Re: Character Creation

Post by Benabik »

Just flipped through the Guide. It talks about noir as a style, not as a time to put the game in.
AWC
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Re: Character Creation

Post by AWC »

K duncan edited it so you have a little more spread and a little less in your primary. My original answer was to add some discretionary xp into the catagory but the request seems reasonable so altered.
Daemon Blacknight
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Re: Character Creation

Post by Daemon Blacknight »

Okay here are some of the thoughts i had in response to what we are currently working with.

1] As duncen mentioned the point spread for attributes is finicky, i havent went and looked to see if your change fixes it or not.

2] the favored atribbute starting at 2. How do you handle after play embrace? i think it would make slightly more sense for it to be a bonus 10/25 xp towards the favored attribute.

3] Restriction on out of clan disciplines. Doesn't seem to make any sense if a character is legion/ more then a hundred/s years old. Any such boons would have been paid some time ago. Furthermore we can buy covenant disciplines and bloodline disciplines but not something we learned nearly a thousand years ago?

4] Limited to fighting styles in the main book. Seriously? Theres three and all of them are broken/bad. Two weapon imposes a -2 to the second attack which must be from your off hand. Meaning that to not have a -5 penalty you need to drop 12 xp on ambidextrious as well. Kung fu gives something like 4 attacks by the book. I can only assume that some amount of house ruling is going to be involved, but i dont want to assume youll be useing the esact same house rules from the last game.

5] You may only start with one stat at 5. Why? With limited xp to each category there is no reason i can think of for this limitation.

6] Citizen is a 1 point merit for the setting. What exactly does this merit do?

7] Should people be setting aside xp for the forth and fifth level of status, or will it be free?

8] Only things out of the main setting book and vampire book will be approved at character creation. This does limit characters. If you want something outside the main two books you can ask but you will have to owe someone for helping you get it. Do not ask for more than one thing at creation.
If bloodlines are something "reasonable" to ask for is that your one thing? It seems to me that at minimum the things in the Rome book should probably be allowed, especially to legion members. I understand that to some degree this is meant o increase the number of boons that players owe so that it can propel plot, what i dont understand is why its necessary that such things be introduced via npcs, why cant a player have x thing and be the one whose teaching it to others in the region. isn't that the sort of thing we are using the 5 xp gifts for?

9] Any ranged weapon that deals lethal is large and slow enough to be noticed and the defender does not lose defense. This is how you can figure out what ranged weapons do or do not take away defense.
Why is someone receiving there defense against a long bow being fired from a several hundred yards away?

10] The only thematically sane way to try and stake a vampire is with a bow or crossbow. yet this is explicitly being disalowed. yes it was broken, youve already nerfed staking though.

11] - Mentor will come up. As a political game the covenants will have apposing goals. Mentor will be used to determine who they contact and who choses the reward. These events are how devotions, powers and fighting styles not in the main 2 books will be introduced.

Similar to to my response to 8, Why can't pcs who should logically have them be the way that such things are introduced into the game, pcs interacting with other pcs is a significantly more efficient way to generate plot and social dynamics then forcing players to have to befriend npcs who only exist to introduce a specific merit or power into the game.

12] In reference to the new staking rule. Can you define “kill” enough damage to wrap there health levels to agg/lethal, or enough to torpor them?
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