Montreal by Night experiences

[adambeyoncelowe]

There are some hints about what happened in Montreal in Beckett's Jyhad Diary. It seems the Tal'mahe'Ra was at war with the Black Hand (Lost Tribe), and the Inquisition was caught in the middle.

[Manfr]

I think things like communal havens, pack hunting tactics, and the leave-no-witnesses-alive policy might make it exceedingly difficult for the Second Inquisition to actually root the Sabbat out of a city, though there would definitely be more evidence to draw their attention in the first place.

When you are waging guerrilla, however, communal havens and pack hunting tactics might also be serious disadvantages: you are gathering targets together, and creating patterns of behaviour that will make it easier to sort out an entire group of people.

[Matt the Bruins fan]

I think things like communal havens, pack hunting tactics, and the leave-no-witnesses-alive policy might make it exceedingly difficult for the Second Inquisition to actually root the Sabbat out of a city, though there would definitely be more evidence to draw their attention in the first place.

[Manfr]

How hard, though? For example (and to try and stick to the topic) was Montreal hit? Were the Sabbat covens or hideouts touched, or even noticed?

Yes, "Chapters" (the miniature board game set in Montreal and out next February) has the city vacated by SI and then left to pick up for other factions. However, we have no info on old canon NPCs and Covens. We shall see how it's treated in the final material, and whether they are referenced. I hope so!

[Father Enoch]

How hard, though? For example (and to try and stick to the topic) was Montreal hit? Were the Sabbat covens or hideouts touched, or even noticed?

[Manfr]

Even if the cold doesn't necessarily affect Vampires, walking around midwinter Canada, in the middle of the night, without a coat or boots and NOT being affected should be good way to attract attention. It's all well and good to say the Sabbat hate the Masquerade, but I'll never get how they can seem to ignore it without the Second Inquisition hitting them HARDER than the Camarilla.

I also don't get how the 2I don't hit the Sabbat as much, if not more than the Camarilla, but that's another story.

Forgot to add; I'm living (or trapped) in Alberta, Canada. Climate Change may have affected the snowfall, but winter up here is still cold to the point vampires walking around without dressing up will draw attention..

Yes, you are right: I think the books do state that the Sabbat was hit hard by the SI , due to its violent and antiMasquerade behaviour?

[Father Enoch]

Even if the cold doesn't necessarily affect Vampires, walking around midwinter Canada, in the middle of the night, without a coat or boots and NOT being affected should be good way to attract attention. It's all well and good to say the Sabbat hate the Masquerade, but I'll never get how they can seem to ignore it without the Second Inquisition hitting them HARDER than the Camarilla.

I also don't get how the 2I don't hit the Sabbat as much, if not more than the Camarilla, but that's another story.

Forgot to add; I'm living (or trapped) in Alberta, Canada. Climate Change may have affected the snowfall, but winter up here is still cold to the point vampires walking around without dressing up will draw attention..

[CajunKhan]

It shouldn't be an issue for most of the time. However, if the vampire has exposed, unprotected flesh and stays outside for prolonged periods of time in below freezing conditions, then tissue damage is going to happen. Hypothermia won't cause damage, but frostbite could. I can't actually see when this would happen though outside a historical campaign with nomadic vampires out in the woods and not in a city with modern indoor heating.

I just don't agree. There are some things that vampires just should be able to do in my mind, like seeing the dark, and jumping off of buildings or out of high windows and landing undamaged, and walking around barefoot in subzero weather without the slightest care in the world.

[Black Fox]

Vampires just shouldn't be bothered by cold, at least not natural environmental levels of it.

It shouldn't be an issue for most of the time. However, if the vampire has exposed, unprotected flesh and stays outside for prolonged periods of time in below freezing conditions, then tissue damage is going to happen. Hypothermia won't cause damage, but frostbite could. I can't actually see when this would happen though outside a historical campaign with nomadic vampires out in the woods and not in a city with modern indoor heating.

[Black Fox]

I think Montreal By Night was good in showcasing how a Sabbat city would be different than the Camarilla, and the "big secret" in the setting is good.

What's bad is that 1) the characters are ridiculously overpowered, and 2) it's a hodgepdge of every single Clan and Discipline including vampires that shouldn't be in the Sabbat. It would have been better if they just kept the clans to the Lasombra, Tzimisce, and Anti-tribu. I'd also thrown in some visiting nomad packs that show up occassionally and how they affect the city.

[CajunKhan]

The next time I run a vamp game, I think I'll just declare that vampires are immune to cold unless we are talking liquid nitrogen levels or close to it. Vampires just shouldn't be bothered by cold, at least not natural environmental levels of it.

[Ryoga84]

there should be an interesting chronicle set up in Montreal in Nights of Prophecy, you may want to include it in an advanced point of your story?

[Dwight]

It's cool if your players really want to explore paths and what not but apart from that it's better then New York or Vancouver.

[Resplendent Fire]

There was a rule about vampires freezing in a very early supplement. I think it was the first edition Vampire Player's Guide, but I could very well be mistaken.

I think later books have not taken the stance that vampires freeze in the cold.

[Matt the Bruins fan]

It didn't make much sense to me either, except maybe for the Gangrel if they insisted on remaining outdoors all the time through the winter. Most would be indoors where the temperatures would hover around 15°-20°C for the vast majority of the time thanks to a little thing I like to call central heating, and dead human bodies bundled up in clothing don't lose heat THAT fast. (Maybe if all you're wearing is corsets and fishnets the cold sets in a little sooner, but freezing solid shouldn't be a danger unless you're wandering around out in the wilderness with neither shelter nor fresh blood.)