ATTRIBUTES, SKILLS, AND DISCIPLINES - Every character in Vampire: The Masquerade has 9 attributes. Each attribute is rated in 1 to 5 dots. Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina. Social: Charisma, Manipulation, Composure. Mental: Intelligence, Wits, Resolve. - Every character has a number of Skills as well. There are 27 skills in the game to pick from. Each skill is also rated in 1 to 5 dots. - Vampire Disciplines are supernatural powers kindred posses. They too, are rated in 1 to 5 dots. SIMPLE TESTS - Making a Simple Test is easy. Describe what you want to do, and the Storyteller tells you which attribute and skill combo to pair up (Attribute + Skill or Attribute + Discipline). For example, trying to search for clues could be a Resolve (Attribute) + Investigation (Skill) test. There is no hard rule as to which attribute and skill combination you can use, it just has to make sense. There are many possibilities. Most of the time, the Storyteller will tell you which combination of (Attribute + Skill) to use. Also, each Discipline tells you what you need to roll in it's description.
POOLS, Specialties - A pool is the number of d10s you roll to make a test. Take a number of d10s equal to the number of dots in each trait you're using to make the Test and roll. For example, if you have 3 dots in Resolve and 2 dots in Investigation, you would roll a total of 5 d10s to make your test. Characters may possess Skill specialties: greater aptitude or expertise in one particular aspect of a Skill. You get one extra d10 to add to your pool for that Test.
DIFFICULTIES, Modifiers - The difficulty of the action or discipline you're attempting is a number determined by the Storyteller. This is a number from 1 to 7 or more. It states how many successes you need to accomplish your task. Modifiers can alter this difficulty number, like weather or equipment.
RESULTS, Criticals, Margin, Teamwork, Checks - When you roll a dice pool, every individual die result of 6 or higher is a success. If you roll a number of successes equal to or exceeding the Difficulty Number, the rules call that a win. A result of 10 on two dice is a critical success. A critical success counts as two additional successes above the two 10s, so each pair of 10s is 4 successes. The number of successes exceeding the Difficulty of the roll is called the Margin. Margin matters in combat and opposed rolled. If two or more characters use teamwork, roll the largest pool among the participants adding one additional die for each person assisting, as long as everyone has one dot in the Skill involved. A check is simply rolling one d10, nothing more.
HEALTH AND WILLPOWER - Health is how much damage you can take before you are out of the game. Physical damage comes in two types: Superficial (cuts, bruises, bumps) and/or Aggravated (stabs, broken bones, rent flesh.) - Willpower represents your mental health. Willpower damage can also be Superficial and/or Aggravated. Willpower is also a currency you can "spend". Health is not a currency. - Characters may spend 1 point of Willpower to re-roll up to three dice on any one Skill or Attribute roll, including Discipline rolls.
CONFLICT - Situations involving an attacker and defender in basic contests are called conflicts. They are two partied simple tests made by each person when damage - physical or mental - is potentially involved. In other words, attacks to Health or Willpower. Combat is a series of conflict tests, for example, that happen at the same time. A conflict test is where two participants in the conflict each make a test simultaneously. Both attacker and defender roll their pools of dice this contest. The side that scores the most successes wins that round of the conflict, with the margin as damage done to either the Health or Willpower track to the loser. A tie results with both sides taking damage with a margin of 1.
COMBAT ROUNDS AND DAMAGE RATING - Physical Combat in Vampire the Masquerade lasts for three rounds only. This is something unlike any other role-playing game - a way for combat not to be drawn out and to keep things flowing and narrative. At the end of three round, the "winners", or the side that did the most damage, abstractly causes the "losers" to surrender, or flee, or some other Storyteller driven reason causes the fight to end, and victory is declared to the winners, moving the story along. When using a weapon, you add the weapon's damage rating to your margin of success for the total damage.
TRACKING DAMAGE - Characters apply damage to either their Health track (Physical) or Willpower track (Mental). Superficial damage is marked with a "/" in each box, and Aggravated damage is marked with an "X" in each box. You can take a combination of superficial and aggravated damage. If you fill up your Health track all the way with superficial damage, you are knocked out. If you fill up your Health track all the way with Aggravated damage, you are out of the conflict - most likely permanently.
COMBAT SKILL POOLS: - BRAWLING ATTACKS: Strength + Brawl - MELEE ATTACKS: Strength + Melee or Dexterity + Brawl - RANGED ATTACKS: Dexterity + Firearms or Composure + Firearms or Resolve + Firearms - DODGING BRAWL OR MELEE ATTACKS: Dexterity + Athletics. - BITE: Strength + Brawl with -2 Dice Pool modifier - GRAPPLE: Strength + Brawl
DICE BOT We will be using THIRST, a V:TM 5th Edition dicebot for Discord for all rolls in this game.
All this and more will be covered on Character Creation day.
In the World of Darkness, vampires and stranger beings hide among the endless throng of humanity in a dark mirror version of a world that mimics our own. Vampires look like us, they strive to act like us, but at the end of the night, they are the predators and we are the prey. Vampire: The Masquerade is a horror game, and its world is a terrible place. There are no heroes in this game. You play the role of a vampire. You must subsist on the blood of the living. You have strange powers you can use to force your will on hapless humans. This is not a role-playing game where you play the good guys. You play monsters desperately trying to hold on to vestiges of human morality despite the sordid demands of vampire existence.
"You will come to realize that the blood is your master. You are being consumed from within. You won't feel it at first, but then, slowly, you will realize that humanity is a distant memory. You will know that you lived as them, but it will fade like a dream You will only have the memory of a memory, until you are a slipshod effigy of who you were. The Beast within will wear your skin as long as it gets fed."
There are three major factions vampires can belong to in Vampire: The Masquerade. The Camarilla: a sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the Masquerade. The Anarch Movement: a vampire sect that opposes the tyranny of elders and has place itself outside the secret society of the Camarilla. The Sabbat: a sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures.
THE FIRST TRADITION: THE MASQUERADE Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood
THE SECOND TRADITION: THE DOMAIN Thy domain is thine own concern. All other owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.
THE THIRD TRADITION: THE PROGENY Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.
THE FOURTH TRADITION: THE ACCOUNTING Those thou create are thine own children. Until they Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.
THE FIFTH TRADITION: HOSPITALITY Honor one another's domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
THE SIXTH TRADITION: DESTRUCTION Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.
Other terms:
Generation: The number of "steps" between a vampire and the biblical Caine - progenitor of all vampires. How far descended from the First a given Vampire is. Elder: A vampire who has experienced at least two or more centuries of unlife. Embrace: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim's blood with a bit of her own. Beast: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster. Ancilla: A vampire who has proven themselves, a ranking between Elder and Neonate. Blood: The supernatural semi-sentient blood of a vampire, as opposed to mortal or animal blood. Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on through the Blood. There are 13 known vampire clans, all founded by members of the 3rd generation. Coterie: A small group of Vampires, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests. Kindred: The Camarilla term for vampires as a whole, or a single vampire. Methuselah: A vampire who has existed for a millennium of more. Usually of the fourth and fifth generations. Neonate: A young vampire, recently Embraced but more than a fledgeling. Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as their own, generally a city, and supports that claim against all others.
THE CLANS: Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, Ventrue
Basic Rolls: Basic rolls are simple - whenever you want to accomplish something that is difficult and the outcome is uncertain, add one character attribute (Strength, Composure, etc) to one character skill (Drive, Larceny, etc.), roll that many dice and count all that come up 6 or more: this is te number of successes. If the number of successes equals or exceeds the Difficulty of the task set by me, you have succeeded.
Criticals:Whenever you make a roll and get two or more tens, you have scored a critical, and get two extra successes.
Willpower: Player who are unsatisfied with their rolls may spend a point of their character's Willpower - a measure of mental fortitude - to re-roll up to three non-hunger dice. Not that this may negate messy criticals and bestial failures. To spend a point of Willpower, simply check one Willpower box with a "/".
Hunger: Hunger is the eternal curse of all vampires, driving them to hunt for blood to satisfy their bestial urges. As the hunger of a vampire increases, these urges will eventually drive it to inhuman actions. It ranges from zero (satisfied) to five (ravenous). All characters begin the game with a hunger level of 1. When you roll dice, you replace dice in your pool with a number of Hunger Dice (one per level of hunger).
Messy Criticals: Whenever you score a critical and at least one 10 comes from a hunger die, the character's vampiric nature known as the Beast, makes itself known. You get two extra successes, but perform the action as a vampire would: killing someone you were trying to subdue, flashing fangs at someone you were trying to intimidate, feeding from someone you met when canvassing, etc.
Bestial Failure:If you fail your roll and at least one hunger die shows a 1, the Hunger interferes with your action and the Beast manifests. You cause some kind of problem for you, and possibly your coterie, just like with a messy critical, while also failing spectacularly.
Rouse checks and using the Blood:Hunger increases whenever a player fails a Rouse check, and decreases when the vampire feeds. Rouse checks are made whenever the vampire uses its Blood, and every evening when it rises from sleep. To make a Rouse check, simply roll one die, and if it's not a success (5 or lower), the vampire's Hunger increases by one. Vampires can use the Blood to get an extra die on any roll, and to power their inhuman abilities, called Disciplines. If your Hunger is already at 5, you can no longer take voluntary Rouse checks. No matter what the result of the Rouse check, the desired effect always triggers. The Rouse check only determines if Hunger increases as a result. If if does, add the Hunger dice after the effect resolves to future dice rolls until your Hunger level changes.
Blood Potency:Blood Potency simply states how supernaturally powerful your Blood is as a vampire. Usually, older vampires have more powerful Blood. Blood Potency gives you certain effects the higher it is.
Gifts Of The Blood: Vampiric Blood grants a number of abilities, all of which cost one or more Rouse Checks to activate. A vampire must be cautious when employing these gifts, lest they consumed by their Hunger. Remember, failing a Rouse Check does not mean that the ability fails, only that the vampire's Hunger increases by 1. Blush of Life (Rouse Check): Unless intentionally brought to a semblance of life, the body of a vampire is functionally dead - and you look that way - unless you activate the Blush of Life. The Blush of Life basically makes you passable as looking alive. To activate the Blush of Life it requires a Rouse check. Blood Surge (Rouse Check): Any vampire can call upon their Blood to temporarily augment their Attributes - granting you additional dice to roll in a pool determined by your Blood Potency. Usually, this is an extra dice or two and last only for one roll. you cannot Surge Willpower or Humanity rolls. A Blood Surge requires a Rouse Check. Vampiric Mending (Rouse Check): A Vampire can make a Rouse Check to heal a certain amount of Superficial damage determined by the Blood Potency table per turn. This is usually 1 or 2. Aggravated Damage is healed once a day with a Rouse Check for 1 point. Disciplines (Rouse Check, where applicable): The raw power of the blood fuels all but the most basic discipline powers, many of which require multiple Rouse Checks. You can activate one Discipline per turn but can have many active at once. If you Blood Potency is high enough, you can roll two dice for your Rouse Check and take the highest die. Each Discipline in the book will tell you what you need to roll to activate it.
Long lost in the great millennia of time it would be known that Acheron fell on a day ages ago. The Legions of Hell eventually overwhelmed the Banite War Machine. The Lord General Bane, ruler of Acheron, was clever, and a master of all tacticians, but it was not enough to stop the endless teeming hordes of Hell. Somehow, someway, Asmodeus managed to sway the Demons of the Abyss to his side, to his cause. Resistance was futile. Millions upon millions died.
For the first time in her life, Misha fled. As her home world was infected and consumed it would be the last time she stepped foot or saw the plane of her origin. Overcome with loss and grief, she fled to a world she was familiar. As the millennia went by, Misha felt the power of Bane leave her spirit. As things changed around her, so did she. Soon, things that were once magical were replaced with technology. The Gods of Old were no more, and Misha found that she was able to blend in to the rest of humanity. Eventually, memories of the past became dim, hazy, and then forever lost.
The loss of her powers brought upon a loss of her spirit. The blood of Bane still coursing through her veins, she managed to survive the years - but without hope, without purpose, and without passion.
Alessandra Navire would say she had lived a long, fulfilling life.
When she and the others had failed their ultimate quest in destroying Umbra, she had decided to go about and wander the empty planes of Toril with her growing red dragon, Ashivon. With the voice of her father and the dreams of her husband and child gone to black, everything soon faded into memories and fabricated into stories she would write down as time passed her by. Despite their failure, new life started to blossom causing Alessandra to believe that not all hope was truly lost.
With her new found hope, she continued forward, exploring places she did not know about until finally, she stumbled upon the town of Barovia. She heard little of this village, but she heard rumors of a vampire lurking the the castle Ravenloft. Feeling up to a challenge, she storms the castle with Ashivon in search of Count Strahd von Zarovich to finally put the blood sucking menace to rest. The vampire spawn he had sent on her proved to be no challenge at all for the aasimar as the years of travelling only made her stronger, and when she finally faced him, it was a close fight. In the end, he came out on top.
However, seeing this woman's raw power interested Strahd, and he gifted her immortal life. With this gift, she had lost her dark powers, but they were replaced with abilities she could not believe of possessing. The adjustment was difficult, to say the least, but Strahd had raised her to be something magnificent before she was able to go off and make a name for herself.
Alessandra lived through the rise and fall of empires, she had seen wars between countries whose names have changed throughout the eras, until finally she settled in a castle of her own. She did not amass armies of vampire spawn, she kept mainly to herself, and only ever feasted in the dead of night, however, as the years passed, some of the townsfolk had caught onto her. She had planned to leave soon after hearing this, but it was too late, and when she had least expected an attack, a stake was pierced right through her heart. They had buried her deep underground, to a point where they were sure enough that no one would find her body and awaken the monster sealed inside.
Much of the world that was once known as Toril was explored in her solitude. It was difficult to stay in one place. Where once she was a visitor, Toril was her home now. Thanks to her genetic programming, Misha would outlive most normal humans that she met in her life. Sadness grew within her. Grief of fleeing, the dread feeling of no purpose, and the silence of her God. Who would she worship now? Who would she turn to? The fact knowing she would outlive most people she met, she remained distant, always a wanderer, meeting many people but never forming bonds. Those days were long over. Now, only solitude and emptiness remained. The loss of her home and her purpose took a toll on her spirit, but the blood in her veins protected her, reminded her, and comforted her. She was able to survive the perils of her new home, and attempted to live a life that, she believed, would give her some meaning.
She was unsuccessful.
As the years rolled by her blood weakened. She noticed that, while stronger than most mortals through a lifetime of exercise and combat, the gifts of the Lord General that once compliment her faded away. Now, she was just most other mortals. As the age of magic and fantasy evolved into darkness and technology, she wilted like a dying flower, and despaired. There were nights upon nights she would cry and scream, begging for her God to answer her pleas, give her a sign, she would do anything, anything at all to once again serve, to be who she once was.
Each and every time they fell on deaf ears.
The Gods of old were gone. As the world become cold steel and electronic lights, her blood became so weak the defenses of self preservation finally folded. She realized in her depression she had nothing to look forward to anymore and sought a way to end it all. She walked from the vast cities and tall towers to the wilderness, far away. She walked until her legs ached and could walk no more. Drenched in sweat, she found a mountain farthest away from civilization. She climbed until her chest was going to explode with exertion. Finally, holding a blade in her hand, she would watch the sunset one last time and end herself. Hopefully, she thought, maybe in the afterlife, there would be the answers she sought. An end to the pain, the sadness, the hopelessness.
She heard a sound of grinding rock, and a cave in interrupted her dark thoughts. She tumbled for what seemed like forever down a passage. A snapping of bone, and her wrist cracked in two places. She screamed. In the darkness, bruised and beaten, she lay. When she came to, she painfully lit a match and saw she had stumbled upon some sort of makeshift tomb. Shuffling into the dusty room, for some reason she couldn't understand, as if she was back in a fantasy world, she grunted and pushed open one of the more decorated ones. What she saw inside shocked her to her very core.
She was pale, with long white hair, wearing a black tight dress that revealed an amazing figure. Misha couldn't help but stare at her beauty, looking from her gorgeous face all the way down to her long legs. It was unusual. She didn't look dead, just..suspended in time. The only thing that seemed out of place was a large wooden bolt jammed into her chest cavity where her heart was. She didn't appear to be breathing, but she didn't appear to be dead, either. She was even wearing heels. Misha, in the time that she'd been could barely remember on the fingers of her hands when she saw someone who took her breath away. What was this place? Without her healing powers or genetic potential, her body ached, she was scratched up, bleeding and overall she felt horrible. The pain in her broken arm was magnificent. But..this new woman..distracted all of that.
Instinctively, perhaps not thinking things through, she slowly, carefully, grabbed the stake and yanked it out with her one unbroken arm.
In stasis, Alessandra didn't dream. In the millennia that had passed by, she sat in cold silence, alone, lost in time, no entertainment, and most importantly..no sustenance. She grew weak and frail, and she could feel it sap out of her each passing day, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she sat and waited in the darkness to be awaken from this eternal slumber.
Until finally, the weight on her chest was lifted and her white eyes shot open only to first see the tomb ceiling above her. Her face contorted into one of utmost confusion, and she was slow to sit up from her coffin. That's when the vampires eyes met with her saviors. Her hair was an impossible fiery red and had piercing green eyes to boot. She was beautiful, despite the scrapes and bruises, Alessandra had to admit to herself, but she wondered why would she wake her up. Certainly the fables of vampires carried over through the years. How long had she been asleep for? 100 years maybe? Then her eyes glanced down to her clothes. What was she wearing? Where were the leathers? Armor...? A sword? Was the girl a caster of sorts?
However, before more assumptions could be made, Alessandra felt something overcome her. The years without blood finally caught up to her, and there was easy prey right in front of her, some bones were broken, she couldn't run, it was perfect.. There was nothing stopping her from pouncing onto the unsuspecting woman and drinking her dry...
Before Misha could even emit a sound, Alessandra was upon her.
She felt the teeth sink in deep at her neck. A vampire! Misha struggled weakly, but quickly gave up. The bite was euphoric. Orgasmic. Incredible pleasure. Nothing like she had felt before. She felt the blood drain from her body, and she sank to her knees. Dying, Misha eventually became limp, and her vision darkened. Not exactly the death she wanted, but she had lived enough. Loved enough. Seen enough. Alessandra released her bite with a satisfied moan, and Misha said goodbye to a life that ended up purposeless, and eventually empty.
She exhaled the last time as a mortal and then there was darkness. Then, pain. Terrible pain. Each and every fiber of her being was electrocuted, burning, excruciating. She screamed and writhed on the floor. It was the worst pain she had felt in her life. It's like she was being pierced and punctured a million times, the fire at each of her nerve endings as her mortal body died a painful death. She felt blood upon her lips. Was it hers? It was sweet, incredibly sweet, she felt like she was drowning and dying. Something inside her was transforming. Changing. The pain. Dying. Being ripped apart. She begged for released.
Then, it stopped.
She felt her strength returning. Her vision cleared. Became focused. She took her first undead breath. She was..alive? How? She sat up, looked at her arm. It was mended. She opened and closed her fists. She felt powerful again. She could feel the steel like muscular strength she had in the past returning..but..now..somehow..she felt a strength and power that was unnatural. She looked around and her senses were..better. Different. She saw things that were there, but..weren't there. Still sitting up, she looked around. The wound on her neck was gone. She stood up. Looked herself over, patted herself down. She felt her skin and her muscles. She was still lean and in incredible shape, but felt impossibly jacked. Super humanly strong. As if..what she had before in life had been amplified. She smiled. Then she laughed, feeling this new strength and wanted to unleash it. She felt like she could rip apart the whole mountain with her bare hands.
Then she looked at the woman.
"I hef heard of creatures like you."she said, startled by her own voice, at how much power was behind it now, how much command it gave off. "I deed not theenk they steel exeested. Who are you? Why hef you done thees to me?"
The answer may have come, but Misha was interrupted by a horrible, uncontrollable, beastly urge. Two things inside her sent waves of emotion Misha tried to comprehend. One was a feral, violent beast inside her now, and at this moment she was distracted by trying to keep it under control. The other one was a terrible, ravenous hunger for blood. It overrode anything else in her mind.
"I want more."she said, not sure if it was a request or a command.
My life up until the day of my death wasn't that bad. Despite everything that threw itself in my way, I prevailed, reached my goals, and was pleased with my accomplishments. However, the timing of my death was less ordeal. For that I blame him, however there are no hard feelings. After all, he made me what I am and up until this point it hasnt been all that bad. Besides, there are far better ways to get even with him without Ill will. My death has given me a whole new perspective and an even wider variety and outreach. To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. So why wouldn't you want to be eternal? Immortal?
The day I died, I woke up cold, limp, lifeless, Lestat hovering above me. The wound across his wrist healed up just as easily as it appeared. He extended his hand to me, his eyes scanning over me to make sure I was at least 'alive'? As I took it, he helped me to my feet, kissed the top of my hand, and gave me a fanged smile. "Welcome to Immortality my Queen. You have a lot to learn."
For the last few years, unlife has treated you all well.
First, when you came to Colorado, you introduced yourself to Edward Williams, the Prince*, as was vampire protocol according to the ancient Traditions* established by the Camarilla* long ago. Prince Edward was a 7th Generation Toreador, embraced in 1050AD. You knew better not to mess with him, and he had plenty of power and support to back up the authority and might of his rule. So, you decided to play nice and follow the rules. After all, you were immortal, and the night was young.
You then all swore to uphold the Traditions on penalty of Final Death, especially the Tradition of the Masquerade: "Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood." Prince Edward assigned you to a team with others of your kind - your coterie. Your Coterie* was called Cerberus, and was what they called coteries that protected a certain area, in this case - Denver. For about two years we had protected the city from vampire Tradition breakers, Werewolves, and other dark monsters - mortal and supernatural. Indeed, we truly did live in a world of:
MONSTERS: A VAMPIRE STORY
Fortunately, one of the members of the coterie, Alana, was owner of a club called Bliss. Today, it's a typical Monday night in October. The wind is cool, the club is packed - filled with foolish mortals looking for lust, drink, or dance. It's been somewhat quiet lately, and the Prince had given us some time off until the next job - whenever that was.
*Prince - The vampire ruler of a city. *Traditions - The six Traditions form the core framework for governance among the Kindred. They are enforced by the Prince and his lieutenants. Violation is punishable by Final Death. *Camarilla - A sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, especially the Masquerade. *Coterie - a small group of Kindred, united by the need for support and common interest. Coteries have names that describe their purpose.
Alana sits quietly in a dark leather booth, observing over the curtained railing of the second floor at the humans below her. The other curtains were drawn closed, hiding the rest of the VIP section from view. Most humans were at the bar, a surprising amount for today's musical choice of classical music. But it appeased the older generations and variety was what she promoted. Her white hair brushed off the one side of her neck, pairing with her slightly paler complexion. Her green eyes scanned the crowd for anyone of interest or any troublemakers. This was her domain and she was going to make sure everyone knew who was in charge if they acted up.
She felt Lestat nibbling his way up along the uncovered side of her neck, his shaggy brown hair covering his face from view. A few of her normal patrons were seated around them. They were all clouded of course, they wouldnt remember a thing other than the attraction they had to her. What wasnt there to like? She was beautiful with a slim but slightly athletic body. Not to mention her "kisses" were to die for and lingered in the humans mind for days.
Around her in the VIP section were others like her, vampires who lured their selected meals upstairs for the special treatment. Of course there were private rooms, but she never used them. What was there to be bashful over? Each vampire was hand picked, reviewed, and selected by Alana. Lestat was simply a figurehead. Someone to watch over the club if the dire need for her raised. Naturally her Coterie was invited wherever they pleased. VIP section or not. There were a few loose rules, dont feed in the common area (there are private rooms both upstairs in the VIP section and downstairs in the common area) dont cause trouble, and dont challenge her control. But of course all rules had some exceptions when the need arose. But for now, everything is how it should be.
As she was lost in her scanning, she felt Lestat pull away and turned to look at him. "You seem distractable tonight darling. I thought you'd be glad to be back?" With a roll of her eyes and a slight bite of her bottom lip Alana looked away. "Of course I am. I'm just making sure the others didnt forget my rules while I was gone. And you know classical music has always been a bit of a drag for me. Unless it's you on your violin, it all sounds the same..." She rests her chin in her palm as she surveys the others, trying to locate the others of the coterie.
Sorrin was situated at the bar, a smartphone in hand as he scrolled casually through some paperwork that his employees sent him. His fair, yet pale hand twirled some wine in his opposite hand as he leaned up against the bar. His dark bangs shadowed his grey eyes in the already dark interior of the club, but his handsome features were still illuminated by the radiance of his cell. He wasn't the biggest guy he met, but from just a glance, one could sense the composure and power, a blend of daunt and awe, exuding off him. He finishes his glass of and sets it down, giving a smile to the bartender in thanks, before putting his phone away, and glancing about for either someone to talk to, or someone to take upstairs.
Walking away from the bar, he approaches the common lounge, every step carried almost natural grace and balance. Combined with his composure and casual smile, he seemed to be at home with the dark. Once there, he takes seat at a empty table and gets comfortable. Once he's sure that he can be relaxed in the position he finds himself in, he begins to cast his gaze over the crowd of mortals and vampires alike, looking for someone to spend the night with.
If there could be a redheaded Wonder Woman, Misha Praskovia would easily fit the role. Slender, jacked, a killer athletic body. Hard, muscles like steel.
Misha wasn't insanely tall, not really. She was about 5'9 with red hair in a ponytail, pale skin, and light green eyes. She was, however, in the most amazing shape, and her new vampire powers only amplified it. She wore a black turtleneck shirt with tight black jeans, boots, and a tight black leather jacket that came up to her belt. Anyone could tell by the shapes her muscles made, even through tight clothing, that she could easily kick your ******* ass and take a pounding too.
Classical night wasn't a rowdy night, so she stood there, arms across her chest, scanning the room while nursing a beer. If there would be any trouble, she would be more than happy to show it's ******* ass out the door. Her life had once again been filled with vigor, strength, and fortitude - all that to her random chance meeting with Aless years ago. Since then, and becoming a vampire, Misha was given a strength unlike anything she had ever known - and she liked it. She liked it very much.
She walked upstairs after a few moments and nodded to Sorrin on her way up, smiling. Eventually, she made it to Alana.
"Oh, how I love classical night."she said sarcastically with a russian accent and a small smile creeping up. "Really brings out zeh violence een people. I hate to say eet that I hef nothing to do but drink."
Alana looks to Misha with an understanding nod, tilting her wine glass to her. "Ah yes. It is SO exciting. But... Nightclubs need to offer variety. Especially for our type. Who is a little older in musical taste. I'm sure Aless enjoys it?" Lestat eyes Misha with a nod and a smile. "You do very well when issues need to be handled around here. For that we are thankful. We have plenty of private rooms where you could entertain yourself." Alana nods with a smile and leans in to speak hushedly to Misha. "Most of the ones upstairs have sound systems. Even if it is just to get away from tonight's musical choices, you are welcome to use one." She then leans back and sips her blood red wine. "Although I have to say I'm surprised by how busy we are tonight. Not many humans have a taste for classical music."
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Nina Wildvale|Changeling|Wild Magic Sorcerer|Rise of The Reunelords|Active
Kai Loire|Water Genasia|Life Cleric|Road To Phandalin|Retired
"I know what you mean, Meesh." Said Victor, who up until that moment had been silent and largely content to drink cognac. "Usually they're talking about Queen when they talk about the classics, not music meant for the Queen." He snarks. Despite his joking, Victor had no problem with the Bliss, or his Coterie. Victor appeared to be 25 and was dressed in appropriate wear for an evening at the club. Despite coming from an earlier era, Victor made an effort to keep up with the times, something that he was proud of. He had been a vampire for 20 years after an encounter with a female did not go the way he intended it to. Although, ironically, vampirism had made him better with the opposite sex (when he saw someone that he felt like engaging in the activity with) so he never particularly complained. And neither did his partners, as unlike his sire, he didn't feed on humans, he fed on the blood of his own kind, something that made him appreciate his coterie more, as they were usually willing to oblige when he was hungry.
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
"I'll give you what you want as long as you answer me."
Alessandra would say that she had come a long way from the day of her awakening, today marking the third year she had walked this world again after being stuck in time for some millenia, and she decided to celebrate by coming to Alana's club. The adjustment wasn't easy, but thankfully she had Misha by her side the whole time. Aftering having sucked the red-head dry and regained some of her strength, Alessandra had some pity for the woman, and she felt as if she owed her one for waking her up. Not to mention there was some potential in her for the future, so with the knife she had on her person, she slashed her palm to draw blood and the rest was history.
Now she sat idly in the VIP lounge, legs crossed as she inspected her nails on one hand while the other swirled around a glass of wine. For commemoration, she wore the dress she woke up in, the one that didn't leave much to the imagination. It showed off her killer legs, and truthfully was always a favorite of hers, especially since she would consider it and herself an antique of sorts. Even matched it up with her special heels too.
When she overhears her coterie speak ill of classical music monday, she speaks up, "You all clearly don't know true music. None of that 'pop' or 'techno' will ever match up to the classics." She finishes her inspection and looks to them. "Besides, it's my birthday, surely you all can keep your lips sealed about the music for my special day?"
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Alana nods with a smile at Aless. "You're the reason we play it sweetie. Besides, you're not the only one who enjoy is. Happy birthday." Her eyes flicker to Lestat who chuckles a little and crosses his arms. She intertwines her fingers and looks out to the crowd of humans below. "In honesty, I do not mind the music. If I did, I wouldn't play it here. However it is not my favorite per se. But anything for the birthday woman." Alana gives Aless a playful wink before sipping her wine. After a second Alana shoos her herd of humans with a flick of the wrist and smiles at everyone. "I believe everyone but Sorrin is up here then? Is he perusing below?" A guard escorts the disappointed group down the stairs back to the common area and Alana blows them all a kiss as they leave. She peers over the railing curiously, scanning the main dance floor and seats.
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Nina Wildvale|Changeling|Wild Magic Sorcerer|Rise of The Reunelords|Active
Kai Loire|Water Genasia|Life Cleric|Road To Phandalin|Retired
Seeing the rest of the gang gathered over at the VIP lounge, Sorrin gives a small chuckle and cuts his losses in the common section, standing up and walking over. Once he's close enough to speak without having to shout, he remarks on Alessandra's comment, "If it's worth anything, I to am a fan of Mozart. Though the modern recapturing of Enescu will always hold my heart." He looks over everyone else, "I don't suppose anyone knows off a good way to spend the night?"
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THE BASICS
ATTRIBUTES, SKILLS, AND DISCIPLINES
- Every character in Vampire: The Masquerade has 9 attributes. Each attribute is rated in 1 to 5 dots.
Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina. Social: Charisma, Manipulation, Composure. Mental: Intelligence, Wits, Resolve.
- Every character has a number of Skills as well. There are 27 skills in the game to pick from. Each skill is also rated in 1 to 5 dots.
- Vampire Disciplines are supernatural powers kindred posses. They too, are rated in 1 to 5 dots.
SIMPLE TESTS
- Making a Simple Test is easy. Describe what you want to do, and the Storyteller tells you which attribute and skill combo to pair up (Attribute + Skill or Attribute + Discipline). For example, trying to search for clues could be a Resolve (Attribute) + Investigation (Skill) test. There is no hard rule as to which attribute and skill combination you can use, it just has to make sense. There are many possibilities. Most of the time, the Storyteller will tell you which combination of (Attribute + Skill) to use. Also, each Discipline tells you what you need to roll in it's description.
POOLS, Specialties
- A pool is the number of d10s you roll to make a test. Take a number of d10s equal to the number of dots in each trait you're using to make the Test and roll. For example, if you have 3 dots in Resolve and 2 dots in Investigation, you would roll a total of 5 d10s to make your test. Characters may possess Skill specialties: greater aptitude or expertise in one particular aspect of a Skill. You get one extra d10 to add to your pool for that Test.
DIFFICULTIES, Modifiers
- The difficulty of the action or discipline you're attempting is a number determined by the Storyteller. This is a number from 1 to 7 or more. It states how many successes you need to accomplish your task. Modifiers can alter this difficulty number, like weather or equipment.
RESULTS, Criticals, Margin, Teamwork, Checks
- When you roll a dice pool, every individual die result of 6 or higher is a success. If you roll a number of successes equal to or exceeding the Difficulty Number, the rules call that a win. A result of 10 on two dice is a critical success. A critical success counts as two additional successes above the two 10s, so each pair of 10s is 4 successes. The number of successes exceeding the Difficulty of the roll is called the Margin. Margin matters in combat and opposed rolled. If two or more characters use teamwork, roll the largest pool among the participants adding one additional die for each person assisting, as long as everyone has one dot in the Skill involved. A check is simply rolling one d10, nothing more.
HEALTH AND WILLPOWER
- Health is how much damage you can take before you are out of the game. Physical damage comes in two types: Superficial (cuts, bruises, bumps) and/or Aggravated (stabs, broken bones, rent flesh.)
- Willpower represents your mental health. Willpower damage can also be Superficial and/or Aggravated. Willpower is also a currency you can "spend". Health is not a currency.
- Characters may spend 1 point of Willpower to re-roll up to three dice on any one Skill or Attribute roll, including Discipline rolls.
CONFLICT
- Situations involving an attacker and defender in basic contests are called conflicts. They are two partied simple tests made by each person when damage - physical or mental - is potentially involved. In other words, attacks to Health or Willpower. Combat is a series of conflict tests, for example, that happen at the same time. A conflict test is where two participants in the conflict each make a test simultaneously. Both attacker and defender roll their pools of dice this contest. The side that scores the most successes wins that round of the conflict, with the margin as damage done to either the Health or Willpower track to the loser. A tie results with both sides taking damage with a margin of 1.
COMBAT ROUNDS AND DAMAGE RATING
- Physical Combat in Vampire the Masquerade lasts for three rounds only. This is something unlike any other role-playing game - a way for combat not to be drawn out and to keep things flowing and narrative. At the end of three round, the "winners", or the side that did the most damage, abstractly causes the "losers" to surrender, or flee, or some other Storyteller driven reason causes the fight to end, and victory is declared to the winners, moving the story along. When using a weapon, you add the weapon's damage rating to your margin of success for the total damage.
TRACKING DAMAGE
- Characters apply damage to either their Health track (Physical) or Willpower track (Mental). Superficial damage is marked with a "/" in each box, and Aggravated damage is marked with an "X" in each box. You can take a combination of superficial and aggravated damage. If you fill up your Health track all the way with superficial damage, you are knocked out. If you fill up your Health track all the way with Aggravated damage, you are out of the conflict - most likely permanently.
COMBAT SKILL POOLS:
- BRAWLING ATTACKS: Strength + Brawl
- MELEE ATTACKS: Strength + Melee or Dexterity + Brawl
- RANGED ATTACKS: Dexterity + Firearms or Composure + Firearms or Resolve + Firearms
- DODGING BRAWL OR MELEE ATTACKS: Dexterity + Athletics.
- BITE: Strength + Brawl with -2 Dice Pool modifier
- GRAPPLE: Strength + Brawl
DICE BOT
We will be using THIRST, a V:TM 5th Edition dicebot for Discord for all rolls in this game.
All this and more will be covered on Character Creation day.
THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
In the World of Darkness, vampires and stranger beings hide among the endless throng of humanity in a dark mirror version of a world that mimics our own. Vampires look like us, they strive to act like us, but at the end of the night, they are the predators and we are the prey. Vampire: The Masquerade is a horror game, and its world is a terrible place. There are no heroes in this game. You play the role of a vampire. You must subsist on the blood of the living. You have strange powers you can use to force your will on hapless humans. This is not a role-playing game where you play the good guys. You play monsters desperately trying to hold on to vestiges of human morality despite the sordid demands of vampire existence.
"You will come to realize that the blood is your master. You are being consumed from within. You won't feel it at first, but then, slowly, you will realize that humanity is a distant memory. You will know that you lived as them, but it will fade like a dream You will only have the memory of a memory, until you are a slipshod effigy of who you were. The Beast within will wear your skin as long as it gets fed."
There are three major factions vampires can belong to in Vampire: The Masquerade. The Camarilla: a sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the Masquerade. The Anarch Movement: a vampire sect that opposes the tyranny of elders and has place itself outside the secret society of the Camarilla. The Sabbat: a sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures.
THE FIRST TRADITION: THE MASQUERADE
Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood
THE SECOND TRADITION: THE DOMAIN
Thy domain is thine own concern. All other owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.
THE THIRD TRADITION: THE PROGENY
Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.
THE FOURTH TRADITION: THE ACCOUNTING
Those thou create are thine own children. Until they Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.
THE FIFTH TRADITION: HOSPITALITY
Honor one another's domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
THE SIXTH TRADITION: DESTRUCTION
Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.
Other terms:
Generation: The number of "steps" between a vampire and the biblical Caine - progenitor of all vampires. How far descended from the First a given Vampire is.
Elder: A vampire who has experienced at least two or more centuries of unlife.
Embrace: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim's blood with a bit of her own.
Beast: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster.
Ancilla: A vampire who has proven themselves, a ranking between Elder and Neonate.
Blood: The supernatural semi-sentient blood of a vampire, as opposed to mortal or animal blood.
Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on through the Blood. There are 13 known vampire clans, all founded by members of the 3rd generation.
Coterie: A small group of Vampires, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests.
Kindred: The Camarilla term for vampires as a whole, or a single vampire.
Methuselah: A vampire who has existed for a millennium of more. Usually of the fourth and fifth generations.
Neonate: A young vampire, recently Embraced but more than a fledgeling.
Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as their own, generally a city, and supports that claim against all others.
THE CLANS: Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, Ventrue
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS FOR THE QUICKSTART
Basic Rolls: Basic rolls are simple - whenever you want to accomplish something that is difficult and the outcome is uncertain, add one character attribute (Strength, Composure, etc) to one character skill (Drive, Larceny, etc.), roll that many dice and count all that come up 6 or more: this is te number of successes. If the number of successes equals or exceeds the Difficulty of the task set by me, you have succeeded.
Criticals: Whenever you make a roll and get two or more tens, you have scored a critical, and get two extra successes.
Willpower: Player who are unsatisfied with their rolls may spend a point of their character's Willpower - a measure of mental fortitude - to re-roll up to three non-hunger dice. Not that this may negate messy criticals and bestial failures. To spend a point of Willpower, simply check one Willpower box with a "/".
Hunger: Hunger is the eternal curse of all vampires, driving them to hunt for blood to satisfy their bestial urges. As the hunger of a vampire increases, these urges will eventually drive it to inhuman actions. It ranges from zero (satisfied) to five (ravenous). All characters begin the game with a hunger level of 1. When you roll dice, you replace dice in your pool with a number of Hunger Dice (one per level of hunger).
Messy Criticals: Whenever you score a critical and at least one 10 comes from a hunger die, the character's vampiric nature known as the Beast, makes itself known. You get two extra successes, but perform the action as a vampire would: killing someone you were trying to subdue, flashing fangs at someone you were trying to intimidate, feeding from someone you met when canvassing, etc.
Bestial Failure: If you fail your roll and at least one hunger die shows a 1, the Hunger interferes with your action and the Beast manifests. You cause some kind of problem for you, and possibly your coterie, just like with a messy critical, while also failing spectacularly.
Rouse checks and using the Blood: Hunger increases whenever a player fails a Rouse check, and decreases when the vampire feeds. Rouse checks are made whenever the vampire uses its Blood, and every evening when it rises from sleep. To make a Rouse check, simply roll one die, and if it's not a success (5 or lower), the vampire's Hunger increases by one. Vampires can use the Blood to get an extra die on any roll, and to power their inhuman abilities, called Disciplines. If your Hunger is already at 5, you can no longer take voluntary Rouse checks. No matter what the result of the Rouse check, the desired effect always triggers. The Rouse check only determines if Hunger increases as a result. If if does, add the Hunger dice after the effect resolves to future dice rolls until your Hunger level changes.
Blood Potency: Blood Potency simply states how supernaturally powerful your Blood is as a vampire. Usually, older vampires have more powerful Blood. Blood Potency gives you certain effects the higher it is.
Gifts Of The Blood: Vampiric Blood grants a number of abilities, all of which cost one or more Rouse Checks to activate. A vampire must be cautious when employing these gifts, lest they consumed by their Hunger. Remember, failing a Rouse Check does not mean that the ability fails, only that the vampire's Hunger increases by 1.
Blush of Life (Rouse Check): Unless intentionally brought to a semblance of life, the body of a vampire is functionally dead - and you look that way - unless you activate the Blush of Life. The Blush of Life basically makes you passable as looking alive. To activate the Blush of Life it requires a Rouse check.
Blood Surge (Rouse Check): Any vampire can call upon their Blood to temporarily augment their Attributes - granting you additional dice to roll in a pool determined by your Blood Potency. Usually, this is an extra dice or two and last only for one roll. you cannot Surge Willpower or Humanity rolls. A Blood Surge requires a Rouse Check.
Vampiric Mending (Rouse Check): A Vampire can make a Rouse Check to heal a certain amount of Superficial damage determined by the Blood Potency table per turn. This is usually 1 or 2. Aggravated Damage is healed once a day with a Rouse Check for 1 point.
Disciplines (Rouse Check, where applicable): The raw power of the blood fuels all but the most basic discipline powers, many of which require multiple Rouse Checks. You can activate one Discipline per turn but can have many active at once. If you Blood Potency is high enough, you can roll two dice for your Rouse Check and take the highest die. Each Discipline in the book will tell you what you need to roll to activate it.
THE LAST OF THE PRIMES
The war had been lost.
Long lost in the great millennia of time it would be known that Acheron fell on a day ages ago. The Legions of Hell eventually overwhelmed the Banite War Machine. The Lord General Bane, ruler of Acheron, was clever, and a master of all tacticians, but it was not enough to stop the endless teeming hordes of Hell. Somehow, someway, Asmodeus managed to sway the Demons of the Abyss to his side, to his cause. Resistance was futile. Millions upon millions died.
For the first time in her life, Misha fled. As her home world was infected and consumed it would be the last time she stepped foot or saw the plane of her origin. Overcome with loss and grief, she fled to a world she was familiar. As the millennia went by, Misha felt the power of Bane leave her spirit. As things changed around her, so did she. Soon, things that were once magical were replaced with technology. The Gods of Old were no more, and Misha found that she was able to blend in to the rest of humanity. Eventually, memories of the past became dim, hazy, and then forever lost.
The loss of her powers brought upon a loss of her spirit. The blood of Bane still coursing through her veins, she managed to survive the years - but without hope, without purpose, and without passion.
Then one day it all changed.
THANKS GRIANNE
Alessandra Navire would say she had lived a long, fulfilling life.
When she and the others had failed their ultimate quest in destroying Umbra, she had decided to go about and wander the empty planes of Toril with her growing red dragon, Ashivon. With the voice of her father and the dreams of her husband and child gone to black, everything soon faded into memories and fabricated into stories she would write down as time passed her by. Despite their failure, new life started to blossom causing Alessandra to believe that not all hope was truly lost.
With her new found hope, she continued forward, exploring places she did not know about until finally, she stumbled upon the town of Barovia. She heard little of this village, but she heard rumors of a vampire lurking the the castle Ravenloft. Feeling up to a challenge, she storms the castle with Ashivon in search of Count Strahd von Zarovich to finally put the blood sucking menace to rest. The vampire spawn he had sent on her proved to be no challenge at all for the aasimar as the years of travelling only made her stronger, and when she finally faced him, it was a close fight. In the end, he came out on top.
However, seeing this woman's raw power interested Strahd, and he gifted her immortal life. With this gift, she had lost her dark powers, but they were replaced with abilities she could not believe of possessing. The adjustment was difficult, to say the least, but Strahd had raised her to be something magnificent before she was able to go off and make a name for herself.
Alessandra lived through the rise and fall of empires, she had seen wars between countries whose names have changed throughout the eras, until finally she settled in a castle of her own. She did not amass armies of vampire spawn, she kept mainly to herself, and only ever feasted in the dead of night, however, as the years passed, some of the townsfolk had caught onto her. She had planned to leave soon after hearing this, but it was too late, and when she had least expected an attack, a stake was pierced right through her heart. They had buried her deep underground, to a point where they were sure enough that no one would find her body and awaken the monster sealed inside.
How wrong they were.
BLOOD OF THE LORD GENERAL
Much of the world that was once known as Toril was explored in her solitude. It was difficult to stay in one place. Where once she was a visitor, Toril was her home now. Thanks to her genetic programming, Misha would outlive most normal humans that she met in her life. Sadness grew within her. Grief of fleeing, the dread feeling of no purpose, and the silence of her God. Who would she worship now? Who would she turn to? The fact knowing she would outlive most people she met, she remained distant, always a wanderer, meeting many people but never forming bonds. Those days were long over. Now, only solitude and emptiness remained. The loss of her home and her purpose took a toll on her spirit, but the blood in her veins protected her, reminded her, and comforted her. She was able to survive the perils of her new home, and attempted to live a life that, she believed, would give her some meaning.
She was unsuccessful.
As the years rolled by her blood weakened. She noticed that, while stronger than most mortals through a lifetime of exercise and combat, the gifts of the Lord General that once compliment her faded away. Now, she was just most other mortals. As the age of magic and fantasy evolved into darkness and technology, she wilted like a dying flower, and despaired. There were nights upon nights she would cry and scream, begging for her God to answer her pleas, give her a sign, she would do anything, anything at all to once again serve, to be who she once was.
Each and every time they fell on deaf ears.
The Gods of old were gone. As the world become cold steel and electronic lights, her blood became so weak the defenses of self preservation finally folded. She realized in her depression she had nothing to look forward to anymore and sought a way to end it all. She walked from the vast cities and tall towers to the wilderness, far away. She walked until her legs ached and could walk no more. Drenched in sweat, she found a mountain farthest away from civilization. She climbed until her chest was going to explode with exertion. Finally, holding a blade in her hand, she would watch the sunset one last time and end herself. Hopefully, she thought, maybe in the afterlife, there would be the answers she sought. An end to the pain, the sadness, the hopelessness.
She heard a sound of grinding rock, and a cave in interrupted her dark thoughts. She tumbled for what seemed like forever down a passage. A snapping of bone, and her wrist cracked in two places. She screamed. In the darkness, bruised and beaten, she lay. When she came to, she painfully lit a match and saw she had stumbled upon some sort of makeshift tomb. Shuffling into the dusty room, for some reason she couldn't understand, as if she was back in a fantasy world, she grunted and pushed open one of the more decorated ones. What she saw inside shocked her to her very core.
It was a woman.
She was pale, with long white hair, wearing a black tight dress that revealed an amazing figure. Misha couldn't help but stare at her beauty, looking from her gorgeous face all the way down to her long legs. It was unusual. She didn't look dead, just..suspended in time. The only thing that seemed out of place was a large wooden bolt jammed into her chest cavity where her heart was. She didn't appear to be breathing, but she didn't appear to be dead, either. She was even wearing heels. Misha, in the time that she'd been could barely remember on the fingers of her hands when she saw someone who took her breath away. What was this place? Without her healing powers or genetic potential, her body ached, she was scratched up, bleeding and overall she felt horrible. The pain in her broken arm was magnificent. But..this new woman..distracted all of that.
Instinctively, perhaps not thinking things through, she slowly, carefully, grabbed the stake and yanked it out with her one unbroken arm.
ALESSANDRA
In stasis, Alessandra didn't dream. In the millennia that had passed by, she sat in cold silence, alone, lost in time, no entertainment, and most importantly..no sustenance. She grew weak and frail, and she could feel it sap out of her each passing day, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she sat and waited in the darkness to be awaken from this eternal slumber.
Until finally, the weight on her chest was lifted and her white eyes shot open only to first see the tomb ceiling above her. Her face contorted into one of utmost confusion, and she was slow to sit up from her coffin. That's when the vampires eyes met with her saviors. Her hair was an impossible fiery red and had piercing green eyes to boot. She was beautiful, despite the scrapes and bruises, Alessandra had to admit to herself, but she wondered why would she wake her up. Certainly the fables of vampires carried over through the years. How long had she been asleep for? 100 years maybe? Then her eyes glanced down to her clothes. What was she wearing? Where were the leathers? Armor...? A sword? Was the girl a caster of sorts?
However, before more assumptions could be made, Alessandra felt something overcome her. The years without blood finally caught up to her, and there was easy prey right in front of her, some bones were broken, she couldn't run, it was perfect.. There was nothing stopping her from pouncing onto the unsuspecting woman and drinking her dry...
And so she did.
"I'll make this quick."
Before Misha could even emit a sound, Alessandra was upon her.
She felt the teeth sink in deep at her neck. A vampire! Misha struggled weakly, but quickly gave up. The bite was euphoric. Orgasmic. Incredible pleasure. Nothing like she had felt before. She felt the blood drain from her body, and she sank to her knees. Dying, Misha eventually became limp, and her vision darkened. Not exactly the death she wanted, but she had lived enough. Loved enough. Seen enough. Alessandra released her bite with a satisfied moan, and Misha said goodbye to a life that ended up purposeless, and eventually empty.
She exhaled the last time as a mortal and then there was darkness. Then, pain. Terrible pain. Each and every fiber of her being was electrocuted, burning, excruciating. She screamed and writhed on the floor. It was the worst pain she had felt in her life. It's like she was being pierced and punctured a million times, the fire at each of her nerve endings as her mortal body died a painful death. She felt blood upon her lips. Was it hers? It was sweet, incredibly sweet, she felt like she was drowning and dying. Something inside her was transforming. Changing. The pain. Dying. Being ripped apart. She begged for released.
Then, it stopped.
She felt her strength returning. Her vision cleared. Became focused. She took her first undead breath. She was..alive? How? She sat up, looked at her arm. It was mended. She opened and closed her fists. She felt powerful again. She could feel the steel like muscular strength she had in the past returning..but..now..somehow..she felt a strength and power that was unnatural. She looked around and her senses were..better. Different. She saw things that were there, but..weren't there. Still sitting up, she looked around. The wound on her neck was gone. She stood up. Looked herself over, patted herself down. She felt her skin and her muscles. She was still lean and in incredible shape, but felt impossibly jacked. Super humanly strong. As if..what she had before in life had been amplified. She smiled. Then she laughed, feeling this new strength and wanted to unleash it. She felt like she could rip apart the whole mountain with her bare hands.
Then she looked at the woman.
"I hef heard of creatures like you." she said, startled by her own voice, at how much power was behind it now, how much command it gave off. "I deed not theenk they steel exeested. Who are you? Why hef you done thees to me?"
The answer may have come, but Misha was interrupted by a horrible, uncontrollable, beastly urge. Two things inside her sent waves of emotion Misha tried to comprehend. One was a feral, violent beast inside her now, and at this moment she was distracted by trying to keep it under control. The other one was a terrible, ravenous hunger for blood. It overrode anything else in her mind.
"I want more." she said, not sure if it was a request or a command.
ALANA VESPER
My life up until the day of my death wasn't that bad. Despite everything that threw itself in my way, I prevailed, reached my goals, and was pleased with my accomplishments. However, the timing of my death was less ordeal. For that I blame him, however there are no hard feelings. After all, he made me what I am and up until this point it hasnt been all that bad. Besides, there are far better ways to get even with him without Ill will. My death has given me a whole new perspective and an even wider variety and outreach. To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. So why wouldn't you want to be eternal? Immortal?
The day I died, I woke up cold, limp, lifeless, Lestat hovering above me. The wound across his wrist healed up just as easily as it appeared. He extended his hand to me, his eyes scanning over me to make sure I was at least 'alive'? As I took it, he helped me to my feet, kissed the top of my hand, and gave me a fanged smile. "Welcome to Immortality my Queen. You have a lot to learn."
DENVER, COLORADO 2019
For the last few years, unlife has treated you all well.
First, when you came to Colorado, you introduced yourself to Edward Williams, the Prince*, as was vampire protocol according to the ancient Traditions* established by the Camarilla* long ago. Prince Edward was a 7th Generation Toreador, embraced in 1050AD. You knew better not to mess with him, and he had plenty of power and support to back up the authority and might of his rule. So, you decided to play nice and follow the rules. After all, you were immortal, and the night was young.
You then all swore to uphold the Traditions on penalty of Final Death, especially the Tradition of the Masquerade: "Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood." Prince Edward assigned you to a team with others of your kind - your coterie. Your Coterie* was called Cerberus, and was what they called coteries that protected a certain area, in this case - Denver. For about two years we had protected the city from vampire Tradition breakers, Werewolves, and other dark monsters - mortal and supernatural. Indeed, we truly did live in a world of:
MONSTERS: A VAMPIRE STORY
Fortunately, one of the members of the coterie, Alana, was owner of a club called Bliss. Today, it's a typical Monday night in October. The wind is cool, the club is packed - filled with foolish mortals looking for lust, drink, or dance. It's been somewhat quiet lately, and the Prince had given us some time off until the next job - whenever that was.
*Prince - The vampire ruler of a city.
*Traditions - The six Traditions form the core framework for governance among the Kindred. They are enforced by the Prince and his lieutenants. Violation is punishable by Final Death.
*Camarilla - A sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, especially the Masquerade.
*Coterie - a small group of Kindred, united by the need for support and common interest. Coteries have names that describe their purpose.
Alana sits quietly in a dark leather booth, observing over the curtained railing of the second floor at the humans below her. The other curtains were drawn closed, hiding the rest of the VIP section from view. Most humans were at the bar, a surprising amount for today's musical choice of classical music. But it appeased the older generations and variety was what she promoted. Her white hair brushed off the one side of her neck, pairing with her slightly paler complexion. Her green eyes scanned the crowd for anyone of interest or any troublemakers. This was her domain and she was going to make sure everyone knew who was in charge if they acted up.
She felt Lestat nibbling his way up along the uncovered side of her neck, his shaggy brown hair covering his face from view. A few of her normal patrons were seated around them. They were all clouded of course, they wouldnt remember a thing other than the attraction they had to her. What wasnt there to like? She was beautiful with a slim but slightly athletic body. Not to mention her "kisses" were to die for and lingered in the humans mind for days.
Around her in the VIP section were others like her, vampires who lured their selected meals upstairs for the special treatment. Of course there were private rooms, but she never used them. What was there to be bashful over? Each vampire was hand picked, reviewed, and selected by Alana. Lestat was simply a figurehead. Someone to watch over the club if the dire need for her raised. Naturally her Coterie was invited wherever they pleased. VIP section or not. There were a few loose rules, dont feed in the common area (there are private rooms both upstairs in the VIP section and downstairs in the common area) dont cause trouble, and dont challenge her control. But of course all rules had some exceptions when the need arose. But for now, everything is how it should be.
As she was lost in her scanning, she felt Lestat pull away and turned to look at him. "You seem distractable tonight darling. I thought you'd be glad to be back?" With a roll of her eyes and a slight bite of her bottom lip Alana looked away. "Of course I am. I'm just making sure the others didnt forget my rules while I was gone. And you know classical music has always been a bit of a drag for me. Unless it's you on your violin, it all sounds the same..." She rests her chin in her palm as she surveys the others, trying to locate the others of the coterie.
Nina Wildvale|Changeling|Wild Magic Sorcerer|Rise of The Reunelords|Active
Kai Loire|Water Genasia|Life Cleric|Road To Phandalin|Retired
Willow Twilight|Swiftstride Shifter|Blood Hunter|Ebberon|Retired
Meephylia Polliwog|Grung|Dragon Sorcerer|Descent To Avernus|Retired
Ashryn Rairs|Changeling|Hexblade Warlock|Out Of The Abyss|Dead
Sorrin was situated at the bar, a smartphone in hand as he scrolled casually through some paperwork that his employees sent him. His fair, yet pale hand twirled some wine in his opposite hand as he leaned up against the bar. His dark bangs shadowed his grey eyes in the already dark interior of the club, but his handsome features were still illuminated by the radiance of his cell. He wasn't the biggest guy he met, but from just a glance, one could sense the composure and power, a blend of daunt and awe, exuding off him. He finishes his glass of and sets it down, giving a smile to the bartender in thanks, before putting his phone away, and glancing about for either someone to talk to, or someone to take upstairs.
Walking away from the bar, he approaches the common lounge, every step carried almost natural grace and balance. Combined with his composure and casual smile, he seemed to be at home with the dark. Once there, he takes seat at a empty table and gets comfortable. Once he's sure that he can be relaxed in the position he finds himself in, he begins to cast his gaze over the crowd of mortals and vampires alike, looking for someone to spend the night with.
If there could be a redheaded Wonder Woman, Misha Praskovia would easily fit the role. Slender, jacked, a killer athletic body. Hard, muscles like steel.
Misha wasn't insanely tall, not really. She was about 5'9 with red hair in a ponytail, pale skin, and light green eyes. She was, however, in the most amazing shape, and her new vampire powers only amplified it. She wore a black turtleneck shirt with tight black jeans, boots, and a tight black leather jacket that came up to her belt. Anyone could tell by the shapes her muscles made, even through tight clothing, that she could easily kick your ******* ass and take a pounding too.
Classical night wasn't a rowdy night, so she stood there, arms across her chest, scanning the room while nursing a beer. If there would be any trouble, she would be more than happy to show it's ******* ass out the door. Her life had once again been filled with vigor, strength, and fortitude - all that to her random chance meeting with Aless years ago. Since then, and becoming a vampire, Misha was given a strength unlike anything she had ever known - and she liked it. She liked it very much.
She walked upstairs after a few moments and nodded to Sorrin on her way up, smiling. Eventually, she made it to Alana.
"Oh, how I love classical night." she said sarcastically with a russian accent and a small smile creeping up. "Really brings out zeh violence een people. I hate to say eet that I hef nothing to do but drink."
Alana looks to Misha with an understanding nod, tilting her wine glass to her. "Ah yes. It is SO exciting. But... Nightclubs need to offer variety. Especially for our type. Who is a little older in musical taste. I'm sure Aless enjoys it?" Lestat eyes Misha with a nod and a smile. "You do very well when issues need to be handled around here. For that we are thankful. We have plenty of private rooms where you could entertain yourself." Alana nods with a smile and leans in to speak hushedly to Misha. "Most of the ones upstairs have sound systems. Even if it is just to get away from tonight's musical choices, you are welcome to use one." She then leans back and sips her blood red wine. "Although I have to say I'm surprised by how busy we are tonight. Not many humans have a taste for classical music."
Nina Wildvale|Changeling|Wild Magic Sorcerer|Rise of The Reunelords|Active
Kai Loire|Water Genasia|Life Cleric|Road To Phandalin|Retired
Willow Twilight|Swiftstride Shifter|Blood Hunter|Ebberon|Retired
Meephylia Polliwog|Grung|Dragon Sorcerer|Descent To Avernus|Retired
Ashryn Rairs|Changeling|Hexblade Warlock|Out Of The Abyss|Dead
"I know what you mean, Meesh." Said Victor, who up until that moment had been silent and largely content to drink cognac. "Usually they're talking about Queen when they talk about the classics, not music meant for the Queen." He snarks. Despite his joking, Victor had no problem with the Bliss, or his Coterie. Victor appeared to be 25 and was dressed in appropriate wear for an evening at the club. Despite coming from an earlier era, Victor made an effort to keep up with the times, something that he was proud of. He had been a vampire for 20 years after an encounter with a female did not go the way he intended it to. Although, ironically, vampirism had made him better with the opposite sex (when he saw someone that he felt like engaging in the activity with) so he never particularly complained. And neither did his partners, as unlike his sire, he didn't feed on humans, he fed on the blood of his own kind, something that made him appreciate his coterie more, as they were usually willing to oblige when he was hungry.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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"I'll give you what you want as long as you answer me."
Alessandra would say that she had come a long way from the day of her awakening, today marking the third year she had walked this world again after being stuck in time for some millenia, and she decided to celebrate by coming to Alana's club. The adjustment wasn't easy, but thankfully she had Misha by her side the whole time. Aftering having sucked the red-head dry and regained some of her strength, Alessandra had some pity for the woman, and she felt as if she owed her one for waking her up. Not to mention there was some potential in her for the future, so with the knife she had on her person, she slashed her palm to draw blood and the rest was history.
Now she sat idly in the VIP lounge, legs crossed as she inspected her nails on one hand while the other swirled around a glass of wine. For commemoration, she wore the dress she woke up in, the one that didn't leave much to the imagination. It showed off her killer legs, and truthfully was always a favorite of hers, especially since she would consider it and herself an antique of sorts. Even matched it up with her special heels too.
When she overhears her coterie speak ill of classical music monday, she speaks up, "You all clearly don't know true music. None of that 'pop' or 'techno' will ever match up to the classics." She finishes her inspection and looks to them. "Besides, it's my birthday, surely you all can keep your lips sealed about the music for my special day?"
Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Alana nods with a smile at Aless. "You're the reason we play it sweetie. Besides, you're not the only one who enjoy is. Happy birthday." Her eyes flicker to Lestat who chuckles a little and crosses his arms. She intertwines her fingers and looks out to the crowd of humans below. "In honesty, I do not mind the music. If I did, I wouldn't play it here. However it is not my favorite per se. But anything for the birthday woman." Alana gives Aless a playful wink before sipping her wine. After a second Alana shoos her herd of humans with a flick of the wrist and smiles at everyone. "I believe everyone but Sorrin is up here then? Is he perusing below?" A guard escorts the disappointed group down the stairs back to the common area and Alana blows them all a kiss as they leave. She peers over the railing curiously, scanning the main dance floor and seats.
Nina Wildvale|Changeling|Wild Magic Sorcerer|Rise of The Reunelords|Active
Kai Loire|Water Genasia|Life Cleric|Road To Phandalin|Retired
Willow Twilight|Swiftstride Shifter|Blood Hunter|Ebberon|Retired
Meephylia Polliwog|Grung|Dragon Sorcerer|Descent To Avernus|Retired
Ashryn Rairs|Changeling|Hexblade Warlock|Out Of The Abyss|Dead
Seeing the rest of the gang gathered over at the VIP lounge, Sorrin gives a small chuckle and cuts his losses in the common section, standing up and walking over. Once he's close enough to speak without having to shout, he remarks on Alessandra's comment, "If it's worth anything, I to am a fan of Mozart. Though the modern recapturing of Enescu will always hold my heart." He looks over everyone else, "I don't suppose anyone knows off a good way to spend the night?"