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Okay, I'm going to start with a new chronicle in a few months, and I will have mostly inexperienced Vampire players, but otherwise not new to roleplaying games.
The story will take place in the city of lights, Paris.
The characters will be neonates, completely new to the Requiem, Embraced a few months ago, at most.
The themes will be those of the Danse and politics, as well as the "mysteries of the World of Darkness". The first needs no explanation, the second one will be that of young Kindred meeting the horrors of the World of Darkness, both Vampiric and otherwise.
The mood will be that of unease, both because of the older Kindred who are trying to keep the players down, having to watch your every move, and that of the other supernatural stuff going on in the city (read below, UNDERGROUND and OTHERS)
The rules will be a mix of the Requiem and the B&S. Im using new Disciplines and Merits and stuff like that, but I'm keeping the old Weaknesses, Virtue/Vice (although, I will allow for other choices beside the 7/7 in the WoD rulebook), and old rules for the Beast and Predator's Taint. (not sure if this will be very important for the story itself, but just thought to mention it...)
The setting I've definitely decided on so far:
The Prince will be a very very old Vampire, active since before the French Revolution. His name is Dominique Lorrimer, and he is a very very old Ventrue, of a pure Ventrue line he claims dates back to Roman times. He is calm and proud, but not entirely tyrannical. He is, however, determined to keep his hard-earned and long-held position at any cost, so he is not at all "fair" to those he sees as a threat.
COVENANTS:
A lot of the Kindred are Unaligned, about a quarter of all the city Vampires simply doesn't have any true backup in any of the Covenants. They agree at times with ones or the others, but are not really in it enough to be considered true members of a Covenant.
The Invictus hold the power in the city, but the Carthians have a very strong presence as well. The spirit of the Revolution never quite left, and Parisian Kindred are often inclined to join the Movement, which has some strong roots here. So, even though the Prince is Invictus and his cronies hold most of the power, the Carthian Neonates are numerous and some actual laws were passed in the city, which are equal for everyone. Of course, those with more power and influence can sidestep those laws more easily, but at least a semblance of what the Carthians want is present, so the city hasn't erupted into full conflict over it.
The Ordo has a substantial number of Kindred as their members, but are too self-centered and immersed in their search to be a great power in the society. However, their desire for Wyrm's Nests often puts them at odds with some other Kindred, as they struggle for territory. The PC's sires are all devout enemies of the Ordo, for one reason or another, and will definitely try to steer their new Childer toward the Ordo's destruction (ambitious, but they have a lot of time on their hands...
)
The Circle are barely present, but their powers are looked upon with great fear and distrust, and they mostly keep to the edges of the city, where nobody bothers them and they bother nobody. They aren't really numerous enough to be a threat, and they are too scary for anyone to really try to hurt them. Their leader is an ancient Nosferatu, a one-time ally of the Prince, though their friendship has dwindled in the past sixty years since Dominique took over the city.
The Lance has a presence, and is supported by the Invictus, at least as lip service, but they are not quite as powerful as their numbers or alliance with the First Estate would suggest. Nobody is sure why, but it's just the way it is. The Inner Circle of the Invictus, however, knows that it's because they don't want to have a too powerful ally, just in case they turn on them one night.
THE UNDERGROUND:
A huge part of the setting and the mystery behind it lies below groud. For centuries, the people of Paris have dug deep below their city, and it resulted in an incredibly large and complex maze of catacombs, tunnels and sewers. The subway rail system only added to an already vast network of tunnels, something that the Kindred would very much love to use (especially those more monstrous, both in nature and in appearance).
However, there are rumors of the tunnels being dangerous and "haunted". Some of those that venture too deep do not return, and nobody knows what happens to them, Many on the surface dismiss those rumors as scary campfire tales, but they don't really have the nerve to go down and look for themselves.
The nature of this will not be known to players, and I don't want it to be something completely defined, at least not in the beginning. If the players show interest, then I will expand on it (I am not sure if I will add the Strix to my chronicle, or if the underground will simply be the abode of an unknown boogey-man, but for now, it doesn't matter). However, the tunnels in my game are also substantially larger than the ones in the real world (and even in the real world, they are huge!), and some of them are used by Kindred a lot, it's just that there's always a feeling of unease when you gaze into the deeper, less-explored parts.
THE OTHERS:
There is a large and very active community of Awakened in the city, and the Kindred are aware of them, and vice versa. Most of the time, they keep apart, out of mutual fear, but rumor has it that the Prince has some of them bound by Vinculum and they are his secret weapon in the Danse. Some rumors say it's the other way around, and that mortal mages have snared the Prince in their spells and rituals, but those rumors are much less believed (as if someone could just use the Prince as a puppet! It's laughable!)
Also, there is a little known Mage "prophet", who deals with Kindred who know how to find him (he is EXTREMELY paranoid, though, and always deals through proxies, duplicate bodies etc), who uses his magical skills, and skills of his Cabal to help those who need his services, in return for monetary profit, mystical services the Kindred can offer, magic items or whatever's appropriate.
The Werewolves are simply a rumor, something not many of the Kindred believe. They are certainly not active enough to be a verified thing, although there are too many old stories that ARE true, so the Lupines are considered a threat of the wilds, one more reason to never leave the city.
There are other supernatural creatures in the city too, but none too numerous to be of impact on the Kindred society. Other than the whatever is underground, of course.
I want some help filling this out, now. I have some guidelines, I'd like some ideas for some rivalries, plots, mysteries etc, which I could fit into this setting. Some ideas for Elders, Primogen, the Prince's rivals, anything to make it a stable, realistic Domain, while still having enough wriggle-room to make the story around players (which I still haven't selected )
All help is appreciated, and details are always welcome!
The story will take place in the city of lights, Paris.
The characters will be neonates, completely new to the Requiem, Embraced a few months ago, at most.
The themes will be those of the Danse and politics, as well as the "mysteries of the World of Darkness". The first needs no explanation, the second one will be that of young Kindred meeting the horrors of the World of Darkness, both Vampiric and otherwise.
The mood will be that of unease, both because of the older Kindred who are trying to keep the players down, having to watch your every move, and that of the other supernatural stuff going on in the city (read below, UNDERGROUND and OTHERS)
The rules will be a mix of the Requiem and the B&S. Im using new Disciplines and Merits and stuff like that, but I'm keeping the old Weaknesses, Virtue/Vice (although, I will allow for other choices beside the 7/7 in the WoD rulebook), and old rules for the Beast and Predator's Taint. (not sure if this will be very important for the story itself, but just thought to mention it...)
The setting I've definitely decided on so far:
The Prince will be a very very old Vampire, active since before the French Revolution. His name is Dominique Lorrimer, and he is a very very old Ventrue, of a pure Ventrue line he claims dates back to Roman times. He is calm and proud, but not entirely tyrannical. He is, however, determined to keep his hard-earned and long-held position at any cost, so he is not at all "fair" to those he sees as a threat.
COVENANTS:
A lot of the Kindred are Unaligned, about a quarter of all the city Vampires simply doesn't have any true backup in any of the Covenants. They agree at times with ones or the others, but are not really in it enough to be considered true members of a Covenant.
The Invictus hold the power in the city, but the Carthians have a very strong presence as well. The spirit of the Revolution never quite left, and Parisian Kindred are often inclined to join the Movement, which has some strong roots here. So, even though the Prince is Invictus and his cronies hold most of the power, the Carthian Neonates are numerous and some actual laws were passed in the city, which are equal for everyone. Of course, those with more power and influence can sidestep those laws more easily, but at least a semblance of what the Carthians want is present, so the city hasn't erupted into full conflict over it.
The Ordo has a substantial number of Kindred as their members, but are too self-centered and immersed in their search to be a great power in the society. However, their desire for Wyrm's Nests often puts them at odds with some other Kindred, as they struggle for territory. The PC's sires are all devout enemies of the Ordo, for one reason or another, and will definitely try to steer their new Childer toward the Ordo's destruction (ambitious, but they have a lot of time on their hands...
)The Circle are barely present, but their powers are looked upon with great fear and distrust, and they mostly keep to the edges of the city, where nobody bothers them and they bother nobody. They aren't really numerous enough to be a threat, and they are too scary for anyone to really try to hurt them. Their leader is an ancient Nosferatu, a one-time ally of the Prince, though their friendship has dwindled in the past sixty years since Dominique took over the city.
The Lance has a presence, and is supported by the Invictus, at least as lip service, but they are not quite as powerful as their numbers or alliance with the First Estate would suggest. Nobody is sure why, but it's just the way it is. The Inner Circle of the Invictus, however, knows that it's because they don't want to have a too powerful ally, just in case they turn on them one night.
THE UNDERGROUND:
A huge part of the setting and the mystery behind it lies below groud. For centuries, the people of Paris have dug deep below their city, and it resulted in an incredibly large and complex maze of catacombs, tunnels and sewers. The subway rail system only added to an already vast network of tunnels, something that the Kindred would very much love to use (especially those more monstrous, both in nature and in appearance).
However, there are rumors of the tunnels being dangerous and "haunted". Some of those that venture too deep do not return, and nobody knows what happens to them, Many on the surface dismiss those rumors as scary campfire tales, but they don't really have the nerve to go down and look for themselves.
The nature of this will not be known to players, and I don't want it to be something completely defined, at least not in the beginning. If the players show interest, then I will expand on it (I am not sure if I will add the Strix to my chronicle, or if the underground will simply be the abode of an unknown boogey-man, but for now, it doesn't matter). However, the tunnels in my game are also substantially larger than the ones in the real world (and even in the real world, they are huge!), and some of them are used by Kindred a lot, it's just that there's always a feeling of unease when you gaze into the deeper, less-explored parts.
THE OTHERS:
There is a large and very active community of Awakened in the city, and the Kindred are aware of them, and vice versa. Most of the time, they keep apart, out of mutual fear, but rumor has it that the Prince has some of them bound by Vinculum and they are his secret weapon in the Danse. Some rumors say it's the other way around, and that mortal mages have snared the Prince in their spells and rituals, but those rumors are much less believed (as if someone could just use the Prince as a puppet! It's laughable!)
Also, there is a little known Mage "prophet", who deals with Kindred who know how to find him (he is EXTREMELY paranoid, though, and always deals through proxies, duplicate bodies etc), who uses his magical skills, and skills of his Cabal to help those who need his services, in return for monetary profit, mystical services the Kindred can offer, magic items or whatever's appropriate.
The Werewolves are simply a rumor, something not many of the Kindred believe. They are certainly not active enough to be a verified thing, although there are too many old stories that ARE true, so the Lupines are considered a threat of the wilds, one more reason to never leave the city.
There are other supernatural creatures in the city too, but none too numerous to be of impact on the Kindred society. Other than the whatever is underground, of course.
I want some help filling this out, now. I have some guidelines, I'd like some ideas for some rivalries, plots, mysteries etc, which I could fit into this setting. Some ideas for Elders, Primogen, the Prince's rivals, anything to make it a stable, realistic Domain, while still having enough wriggle-room to make the story around players (which I still haven't selected
)All help is appreciated, and details are always welcome!
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