Jump to content

World of Darkness: Glimpses of Darkness - Game Resources/Character Creation Information


Kylie_OOC

Recommended Posts

Setting:

A modern-day world much like our own, including the fact that there are people everywhere who believe strange things, and are generally dismissed by most people as weird, stupid, and/or disturbed in some way. The major difference is that some of these things do, indeed, exist. Groups and people who realize that the darkness is more alive than most people realize are generally those who've had some sort of experience with it. In short, the World of Darkness, except that (for now at least) there will be no links to vampires or lycanthropes in any way, shape, or form. Think more occult horror, Cthulu-esque without the "Old Gods" mythos (at least that you know of!). And maybe even a little bit of pulp-fiction too, though certainly on the darker side. This is a world where things really do go bump in the night, and you don't know for sure just what that bump might mean. This world might be a "World of Darkness", but even those who know it's out there have only seen glimpses of it.

Character Creation:

Characters in the beginning storyline will have some connection to the occult, whether direct or indirect. They can be anyone from average guys with known/unknown occult acquaintances/relatives, to people who are "in the know". All character concepts must be approved by me, and any future characters will be worked in through gameplay/storyline methods. All characters begin as starting template characters - please build a normal human with normal human skills, weaknesses, and histories. I'd like your beginning template to reflect that. On top of that beginning template, you are allotted 20XP. This 20XP can be used to buy approved supernatural abilities that fit with your character concept, or it can be used to flesh out a "Normal Nick/Nancy" into someone a little more impressive than the average dude. I'm okay with any combination of the above options, but please don't work your supernatural abilities into any freebie points you're allotted during basic character creation - I'd like to see those going towards developing you as a character.

Additional Character Info:

I'm stealing a little from Carver here, I hope she doesn't mind, but much of this is good judgment in my opinion. Should a PC stop posting, I'll most likely write them out in some storyline-related manner that leaves them open to rejoining play at a later date. Should a character die, the player may remake another at 90% of earned XP. This is to encourage "smart play." Not meta-gaming, but the character who checks doors before opening them, and knows when to keep his mouth shut is engaging in smart play. Should someone decide that they want to retire their character and remake it, they can remake it at 80% earned XP. This may not be an issue, but I've had players that get bored and want to remake new characters every few months. If you're not satisfied with your character, we can talk about it and figure out a way for you to enjoy it. The exception to this rule is if I want you to utilize your character for something plot oriented that will cause their death. If this is the case, I will approach you about it personally, and there may be an added incentive in that situation. Do I think this will happen? No - not likely. But the possibility is out there and player characters who are willing to work with me in those situations may be duly rewarded. Believe me, if I want to kill your character, it's for the good of the story, and anything people do for the good of the story makes me a happy ST.

Rules on Rolling:

Let me make this clear - I am here to help you all tell an interesting story. However, I am not necessarily one of those ST's that discourages the use of dice. I believe in the use of dice, if for nothing else than it enhances the element of chance in a game. Now, this isn't to say that when interacting with each other, you should feel the need to whip out the dice at every turn.

HOWEVER: I have a firm rule that you should build your character to reflect who they actually are. If you have a character with a lot of willpower who isn't easily bullied about, then it had better be reflected in your points. If you have a character who is a good liar, then it had better be reflected in the points. And if you have a character who could seduce the pants off of the Pope himself.. yup, you guessed it. Points.

All that being said, I do NOT want to hear any of my players complain if someone feels they need/want to roll against another player. If you'd like to work it out in a discussion instead, do so - I'm not requiring anyone to make these kinds of rolls. But if someone is trying to boss the rest of you around and you're not doing what they want, and they feel the need to do command roles to back it up.. then realize right now that is okay with me, and they have my full support. Also realize that this is always a gamble: rolls can fail and even botch, and I can and may use that to my full advantage should it happen. I also expect that should your roll succeed or fail, I expect you to reflect that in the post.

ALL SUCH ROLLS AGAINST PC'S OR NPC'S ARE TO BE SUPPORTED WITH PROPER RP DESCRIPTIONS.

I'm sure that as experienced players, you all realize that there will probably be in-game, interpersonal repercussions to trying to boss other people around or do other things that in general make your character look like a self-serving jerk or any such negative perspective. But if someone is successful in those kinds of rolls, I want situation and character appropriate responses. Above all, what I don't want is meta-gaming because people have a problem with the fact that one player character rolled against another. That's why the rules are there, and I as a player and an ST find that it keeps me honest about what my character can and can't do, if I start to forget. I hope you all are okay with that, and trust me as an ST to step in and mediate if there seems to be some kind of issue that can't be resolve between players themselves, or if someone is abusing those abilities in an unforeseen manner.

Setup/Experience/Advancement:

This game will be run to begin with as a one-story game, without much opportunity for fiction. I apologize for that, I know we all love it, and the one thing I will allow is background fiction about your character. I will award XP for fictions on a per-case basis, probably in a range of 1-3 XP per fiction, based on relevance, quality, effort, and all that jazz.

After the beginning story, this game will be run with mission-style threads, punctuated by periods of downtime that allow for fictions and character development. I think this gives people a good mix of ST-driven plot and the ability to advance their own concepts and ideas. I am willing to participate in any fiction with you if NPC's are heavily involved (I trust you to keep casual interactions in-character with whatever NPC it is, and I am always more than welcome for you to shoot me a situation/line and I can give you appropriate responses).

Now for the good news: I am generally a generous and sometimes impulsive ST when it comes to unexpected situations. The more you are willing to work with me to make this game a success, the more likely I am to reign happiness down upon you in the form of freebie stuff. Whether that's extra XP, a bonus something or another that you don't have to pay for because you were willing to play plot hook for me, or some other such benefit, know that those opportunities are out there and waiting for the player who goes above and beyond what is required of them for this game. That's not to say they'll be frequent. But they're there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Additional Character Creation Information:

Merit Costs:

We are following simplified merit cost rules, which means that if you buy a merit, you spend the amount of XP equal to buying the last dot of that merit. Ex: a 3 pt. simple merit costs 6 XP., not 12XP. Cost for complex merits stay the same.

Language Rules:

Languages are the exception, and are purchased per point like a complex merit up to the third dot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Maps Relevant to Current Gameplay

Note: None of the following maps are to scale, only close approximations. Please see detailed notes under each map for additional info.

Map of the Plantation Grounds:

l_dcb2baa5ac5646ba903757df62a6617e.jpg

Click here for larger image.

Note: Please scale down the size of the slave quarters and the slave graveyard in your mind's eye, these were things I had to scale up a bit to label them legibly on the map. The rest is fairly accurate, though the size of the actual house and garden area compared to the rest of the buildings may be a bit small, feel free to imagine them a touch larger than the drawing indicates in comparison.

Map of the First Floor of the Manor:

l_91a523e062a44f38ae91e745c6422254.png

Note: Furniture vaguely disproportionate in size, most likely slightly smaller than shown. The outer walls are perfectly symmetrical, please ignore any minor variations in the drawing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...