Weekly XP
Every Sunday players will be awarded weekly xp. Each character is eligible for 1-3xp a week depending on play. Any scenes that take place outside of an approved channel can be made valid for play, though anything of significance will need to have logs sent to an ST so that we have this information. This includes: Blood Bonds, Boon exchanges, Backdoor deals, plotting etc.
Please note: ERP does not make you eligible for xp.
Experience Point Costs
Experience Points are points that are rewarded to characters at the end of each night. They can be used to purchase dots in Abilities, Attributes, Disciplines, Paths, Virtues, Humanity, and Willpower. They cannot be used to purchase dots in Backgrounds, Merits, or Flaws. Those may only be purchased with freebie points, then beyond that must be earned through the Chronicle (Story). Though you may purchase dots using Experience Points, you still must find someone to teach you that extra dot in Auspex or that extra dot in Computers. Dots bought through Experience Points do not give a character an automatic knowledge in where you put that dot. It must still be learned somehow. The Storyteller assigns these Experience Points to the characters according to certain guidelines. Also keep in mind that you cannot buy two dots in one Trait at the same time (e.g. you cannot purchase two dots in Celerity at the same time or two dots in Brawl at the same time). It does take time to learn just one trait and it would be impossible for a character to learn two dots of something in one single night. Also keep in mind that Virtues increased through purchasing dots in Experience do not have any effect on Humanity and Willpower.
Vampire Experience Points Chart
Trait | Cost | |
---|---|---|
Ability (New) | 3 Experience Points | |
Ability (Other) | Current Rating x 2 | |
Attribute | Current Rating x 4 | |
Discipline (Caitiff Or Pander) | Current Rating x 6 | |
Discipline (Clan) | Current Rating x 5 | |
Discipline (New) | 10 Experience Points | |
Discipline (Non-Clan) | Current Rating x 7 | |
Discipline Path (Additional Levels) (Necromancy, Sorcery, Thaumaturgy)*$ | Current Rating x 4 | |
Discipline Path (New) (Necromancy, Sorcery, Thaumaturgy) * $ | 7 Experience Points | |
Humanity / Path Of Humanity | Current Rating x 2 | |
Ritual (New) | 1 per level | |
Virtue ** | Current Rating x 2 | |
Willpower | Current Rating | |
Backgrounds (New) | 3 Experience Points | |
Backgrounds (Other) | Current Rating x2 |
Necromancy, Sorcery, and Thaumaturgy Paths
- You must have two or more dots in your primary path of a Discipline before you are able to learn a secondary path in that same Discipline.
- All secondary paths are raised separately with Experience Points.
- Your primary path in that Discipline must always be one higher than any secondary path of the same Discipline until you have mastered your primary path.
Example: Mary has the Path of Blood as her primary path in Thaumaturgy. She has a rating of 3 in the Path of Blood. Because she has at least two dots in her primary Thaumaturgy path already, she is able to purchase the Thaumaturgy Path of Conjuring up to level 2 using Experience Points. In order to raise her Path of Conjuring to level 3, she must first use experience to raise her Path of Blood to level 4. Later on, Mary decides that she wants Path of Conjuring at level 5. To do this, first she has to spend experience (and time) to raise Path of Blood up to level 5. Only once her Path of Blood hits level 5 may Mary use experience to raise her Path of Conjuring to a level 5 as well.
$ Necromancy, Sorcery, and Thaumaturgy Rituals
When a brand new Path is purchased, gain one single level 1 ritual in that same Discipline.
Example: Mary buys Path of Conjuring in Thaumaturgy. Because she does so, she gains one free level 1 ritual in Thaumaturgy.
Virtues
- Increasing a Virtue via Experience Points does not increase traits based on that Virtue (Humanity/Path and Willpower).
Presence 3 - Entrancement
As with many mechanics in the books, this particular level of Presence is very heavy handed for a 24/7 irc game. Because of this, we have decided to house rule it to make it not only easier to play in an irc setting, but also to make it less aggressive with the time period the power holds effect. Below is the quoted power from the book:
Vampire The Masquerade Corebook:
[ 3 ] EntrancementThis power bends others' emotions, making them the vampire's willing servants. Due to what these individuals see as true and enduring devotion, they heed the vampire's every desire. Since this is done willingly, instead of having their wills sapped, these servants retain their creativity and individuality. While these obedient minions are more personable and spirited than the mind-slaves created by Dominate, they're also somewhat unpredictable. Further, since Entrancement is of a temporary duration, dealing with a lapsed servant can be troublesome. A wise Kindred either disposes of those she Entrances after they serve their usefulness, or binds them more securely by a blood bond (made much easier by the minion's willingness to serve).
System: The player spends a blood point and rolls Appearance + Empathy (difficulty equal to the target's current Willpower points); the number of successes determines how long the subject is Entranced, as per the chart below. (Subjects can still spend Willpower to temporarily resist, like any other Presence power.) The Storyteller may wish to make the roll instead, since the character is never certain of the strength of her hold on the victim. The vampire may try to keep the subject under her thrall, but can do so only after the initial Entrancement wears off. Attempting this power while Entrancement is already in operation has no effect.
Successes Result Botch Subject cannot be entranced for the rest of the story. Failure Subject cannot be entranced for the rest of the night. 1 One hour 2 One day 3 One week 4 One month 5 One year
With the new house rule, the power will work as it is written up below:
[ 3 ] Entrancement
This power bends others' emotions, making them the vampire's willing servants. Due to what these individuals see as true and enduring devotion, they heed the vampire's every desire. Since this is done willingly, instead of having their wills sapped, these servants retain their creativity and individuality. While these obedient minions are more personable and spirited than the mind-slaves created by Dominate, they're also somewhat unpredictable. Further, since Entrancement is of a temporary duration, dealing with a lapsed servant can be troublesome. A wise Kindred either disposes of those she Entrances after they serve their usefulness, or binds them more securely by a blood bond (made much easier by the minion's willingness to serve).
System: The player spends a blood point and rolls Appearance + Empathy (difficulty equal to the target's current Willpower points); the number of successes determines how long the subject is Entranced, as per the chart below. (Subjects can still spend Willpower to temporarily resist, like any other Presence power.) The Storyteller may wish to make the roll instead, since the character is never certain of the strength of her hold on the victim. The vampire may try to keep the subject under her thrall, but can do so only after the initial Entrancement wears off.
Attempting this power while Entrancement is already in operation requires a greater amount of successes than initially gained by the first Entrancement.
ex.: Exie has rolled 2 successes in Entrancing Louhi. However, Xanatos wants to Entrance Louhi and rolls 4 successes. Xanatos effectively replaced Exie's Entracement over Louhi with his own.
Successes | Result | |
---|---|---|
Botch | Subject cannot be entranced by the vampire for a week. | |
Failure | Subject cannot be entranced for the rest of the night. | |
1 | For the remainder of the scene | |
2 | One night/day | |
3 | One week | |
4 | Two weeks | |
5 | Three weeks |
Each success after 3 adds 1 week to the timeline.
*NOTE: AN ST MUST MAKE THIS ROLL FOR YOU SO THAT YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF HOW LONG THE EFFECTS LAST ICLY. HOWEVER, IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE THE ROLL YOURSELF, YOU MAY NOT HAVE MORE THAN 1 SUCCESS ON THE ENTRACEMENT.
Don't Bite!
We're all adults here so I'll come out and say it. PC sex happens, I don't mean its a crazy cyber-fest all up in this bitch but its a mature game with mature themes and we are all adults. That being said, lemme break down vampire sex for you in three easy steps.
- 1. Make out and/or stare longingly.
- 2. Spend BP to 'get it up' and proceed to bang. (No spend necessary at Humanity 8 or if you have appropriate merits. This is for both male and female characters.)
- 3. Roll to make sure you don't bite a muthafucka.
Now! Some of you may be wondering (I doubt it) why number 3 matters or why its a risk at all. To put it simply, the kiss is like 'getting off' (I'm so classy) and its a serious test of your self-control to not give in and accidentally put yourself on a fast track to a blood bond. That being said, this is why we have you roll your WILLPOWER against a certain difficulty depending on your humanity.
If you botch: You must pause your scene and wait for an ST. Even if you're playing this out in a pm or private channel. NO EXCEPTIONS.
This all being said I want to remind everyone of our FADE TO BLACK policy. You don't want the proverbial 'walk in' situation and neither do we when we have to go searching through logs for something. These rolls can be done in any channel (OOC excluded) and an ST must be notified if you fail or botch!
Other than that, go forth and spread the 'love'!
Any player(s) found engaging in erp but not making rolls will potentially result in a loss of XP.
For everyone's referencing pleasure, the difficulty is dependent upon humanity.
Humanity 8 = diff 5
Humanity 7 = diff 6
Humanity 6 = diff 7
Humanity 5 = diff 8
Humanity 4 = diff 9
Thank you to Sam for writing this. Thank you to Joanna for giving us permission to use this.
The Highlander Rule: There Can Only Be One
We have such a wide array of players who themselves have a wide array of knowledge, that we as ST's can't be expected to know all of the same stuff you guys do. We understand that not all the mechanics in the game have hard rules on what you can or cannot do with them, and that you guys may have a better idea how these things work in the real world.
Keeping that in mind, we absolutely welcome logical, thought-out, evidence-based, and polite explanations of your position on a situation. Maybe you used to be a cop and know how certain procedures run! Maybe you're a nurse and understand how hospital computer systems function! Who knows? If you've got the experience and information, please present it to us while a conversation regarding your personal expertise is going on. We definitely are going to let you present your case to us and take everything you express into consideration.
HOWEVER: The ST staff has the final say on any in-game subject. In the end, we have to ensure the game is fun and accessible to ALL players. After we as the Staff give the final word on something, it's done. End, finished, finito. Please have the courtesy to the Staff to not argue after a final decision has been made.