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[Bluecho]

University Steam Tunnels

• Extensive network of utility tunnels and shafts beneath the local university campus.
• Connected to sewer system via poor municipal planning and weak concrete walls. An exposed pipe near the river provides relatively easy access from the surface.
• Most direct entrances sealed or locked by school administrators, after a student got lost in the tunnels and disappeared.
• Previously Nosferatu territory, the student in question was part of a LARPing group that used the tunnels in a game. Fell prey to a Nosferatu neonate (later executed). Resulting week-long search of the

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[Bluecho]

^This.

Another example of "Human Resource" usage comes from Sorcerer's Crusade, where a Craftmason rote involves using Matter and a bunch of workers to construct a building really quickly. Not "blink of an eye" quickly, don't be ridiculous. But potentially overnight or thereabouts. On the surface, the process is mundane, which is how the Order of Reason (and later the Technocratic Union) likes it. In reality, the Mage's hand in directing this effort gives it a supernatural edge, pushing on the limits of what is possible.

The Spheres are a tricky thing,...

[Bluecho]

Pattern bleeding doesn't care whether it's Vulgar or not. Only that you're twisting your pattern into something it isn't for an extended period. This is true if you're growing four arms, turning into a bird, or just buffing your Strength by 1 dot. The purpose of Pattern Bleeding as a mechanic is to stop players from stacking a bunch of successes on a huge ritual and then having functionally permanent extra dots in Attributes for no XP cost....

[Bluecho]

True, though I think trying to save people from being spoiled on Zombieland Saga's opening twist is sort of a lost cause, when the very premise of the show is a spoiler in that specific regard. It's known as "the zombie idol show", and indeed some people might only become interested in watching it if they are sold on that premise....

[Bluecho]

Personally, while I would never deny someone the pleasure of being surprised or experiencing a story blind, I don't consider being "spoiled" as much of a deal breaker. If I know some of how a story will go, I get to enjoy watching for the narrative unfold while being "in on" what comes next. I watch for instances where the story lays the groundwork for future reveals.

Plus, unless the spoilers are being thorough, there tends to be a great deal that's left out of descriptions, that I can be surprised by.

(Even that Mother's Basement video was created...

[Bluecho]

I mean yes, obviously.

Legendary Tae Yamada is best Power Ranger....

[Bluecho]

Finally got around to watching Zombieland Saga, after having it on my radar for over a year. (Basically since Mother's Basement made a video about it back in late 2018).

IT GOOD.

Unlike Jeff, I don't think this will be my gateway into watching idol anime, but it's a good show on its own.

[Bluecho]

That the UK is a Technocracy stronghold makes perfect sense to me, in light of the Thatcher era and the corresponding Punk movement. In the mid to late 20th century, it was a huge battleground between "soft authoritarianism" and rebellious counterculture. The Invisibles was set partially there for a reason.

[Bluecho]

The way I understand it, it takes a minimum of a few drops of Vitae to Embrace someone. This is why accidental Embraces are possible, though rare. (Examples include a mortal victim biting a vampire in struggle before being drained, or a mortal bleeding out in the middle of a chaotic fight involving one or more vampires, where LOTS of blood is flying).

But while it only takes that little, the Sire could easily elect to feed their potential Childer more. Multiple whole Blood Points, bled down the person's throat.

The Childer will always wake thirsting for blood, of course....

[Bluecho]

Been meaning to talk about this for a while, but didn't really have the energy to do so. They dropped another Unearthed Arcana early this month, for another pass at some subclasses. They are the Phantom Rogue (replaces the Revived), The Genie pact Warlock (replaces Noble Genie), and the Order of Scribes Wizard (replaces Archivist Artificer; yes, really).

Phantom Rogue

• Reflavored away from being a Rogue that died and came back to life, and instead just a Rogue who learned to bridge the gap between life and death in a nonspecific way. Could have learned it from a Necromancer or be

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[Bluecho]

Exactly my point. It doesn't matter if some Wan Kuei don't need blood. It just matters that enough do to make it a resource worth fighting about. If most do, it's functionally identical to All for the purposes of splat-wide antipathy.

Everybody gangsta about their particular ideological conflict, until someone starts taking their food and making it harder to get more.

With every other supernatural group, the myriad reasons to get into a conflict are X. With the Kindred, it's X + 1. With the 1 being "Competition Over Feeding Rights". By definition, they have...

[Bluecho]

Ah yes, that famous werewolf activity: drinking blood.

The reason Kindred and Wan Kuei compete with one another is because of blood. Sure, not all Wan Kuei need blood specifically, but most do from what I understand about Kindred of the East. Kindred would complete for blood sources and hunting territory for the same reason Kindred compete with other Kindred. No matter that both groups would have other things going for them, when it comes to vampires, Blood is the bottom line.

Neither Lupines nor Wraiths are terribly interested in blood (except maybe Red Talons, in the...

[Bluecho]

Borderlands Cowboy Apparel

• Sells cowboy hats, cowboy boots, belts and belt buckles, jeans, rope, denim jackets, and various cowboy-themed knick-knacks.
• Old style country/western music playing over loud speaker.
• Afternoon hours, counter is manned by bored teenager, who barely feigns interest in "cowboy stuff". Early and noon hours manned by septuagenarian gentleman with thick white mustache, a full ten gallon hat, an eyepatch, and nasty scars on his face and arms. If asked, says he got mauled by mountain lions while hunting.
• Hidden back room is the meeting place for a cell of

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[Bluecho]

Hank's Body Shop

• Auto mechanic garage, nestled inconspicuously between a thick copse of trees and several mostly abandoned buildings. If not for strategically placed signs and locals willing to give directions, you might not even be aware it's there. This is by design.
• The eponymous Hank performs regular auto repair and customization work, and does so quickly. He doesn't like "normal" clients hanging around.
• Primary business is with underworld types, as Hank specializes in adding hidden features to cars. Secret compartments, covert weapon holsters, and various "Bond gadgets"

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[Bluecho]

Same. It's kind of a shame that D&D hews closely to the "reptile = evil" idea, and that the only option to play a snek-person is Yuan-ti Purebloods, who are only barely snakey (and usually both evil and unempathetic).

I can always steal/modify the snake-person race from the Scarred Lands RPG, if I need 5e snake people. My biggest complaints with them is that Scarred Lands gives most races in their write-ups slightly too much "stuff" to compete with vanilla 5e material, and that porting Scarred Lands races to regular 5e requires bumping their Darkvision (where...

[Bluecho]

Kowloon Walled Alley

• Nestled between two large buildings, a space designed to replicate the famous Kowloon Walled City of Hong Kong, not unlike this (sadly closed) arcade. Just on a smaller scale.
• Contains a small shop for buying East Asian imports (some of dubious legality), a vendor selling mostly authentic Hong Kong street food (some ingredients just aren't available in the west), and a corner stuffed with arcade cabinets.
• For reasons elucidated below, location hasn't had to pay taxes or stand up to city ordinance for a few years now.
• Far larger on the inside than the dimensions of

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[Bluecho]

"...or talk to the local cops..."

On that note, it would probably be prudent to make some sample police stations. While other locations can be hit or miss, Vampire games especially tend to wind up visiting law enforcement, sooner or later. Whether it's to subtly coax information, or to bust a PC out of lockup before sunrise.

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Shrike Street Police Department

• Half the station is a modern, brutalist concrete structure. The other half were repurposed office buildings in Art Deco decor.
• Chief, of course, thoroughly subverted by the Prince (or

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[Bluecho]

I think developing locations can be useful in a modular sense. If you don't use a location here, you can use it somewhere else. Remember, the game world is an entirely constructed space. How it all connects together is up to the Storyteller. If PCs need to go to a place, you can MAKE a location be where the adventure is. I don't see that as railroading, so much as efficient use of tools you already have.

Moreover, as DrHappyAngry hinted at, there are levels of detail one can get into when making locations. It could be a richly developed location with decades of history, a dozen NPCs,...

[Bluecho]

I actually considered making a thread like this a while back, but never got around to it. Since we've got one now, though...


Roadie's Bar

• 50s-style bar and grill, with a heavy car theme. Walls are covered in license plates and photographs/illustrations of cars from that era (think fins, polished chrome, etc). A whole sports car (or at least its outside) has been cut in half and planted above the front door, back end outside and front end inside.
• Has a jukebox in the corner, but also has a tiny stage for musicians (comfortably fits soloist, uncomfortably sits a rock band).

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[Bluecho]

RE: Blunting the Beast's influence by taking a Master:

A while back, I got inspired by the manga/anime Hellsing to consider a Path that mixes the ethos of the Road of Kings (in the form of the Path of Honorable Accord) and the Road of the Beast. I'd call it the Path of the Hound.

A follower of the Path of the Hound would choose (or, as the case may be, have chosen for them by circumstance) a Master, an individual (or rarely a small group) that the vampires pledges herself to fully. It would work not unlike how I and others think Evil Revelations work: the Beast is resisted...