DP Tool Club 17/CD_ASCQ_17_101194.iso/vrac/high_wod.zip/HTG-2.TXT

Text File | 1994-06-29 | 15KB | 312 lines

       Chapter Two: Character Creation
       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

          "I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings..."
                                                       - Queen

        It may seem appealing to run an immortal in a Storyteller
   Chronicle, especially as it is, in ways, an extremely powerful
   character type. However, in my opinion, it is more difficult to create
   an immortal character than any of the others created so far. When you
   are generating a Mage, Garou or Vampire character, there are plenty of
   traits such as gifts, backgrounds, disciplines, spheres and so on to
   play with, and the mythos is already set out in the rule-book. In
   effect, the whole thing is presented to the player in a neat little
   package, and all they have to do is follow the rules, write down a few
   figures and they can play their character.
        Immortals are different. Each one is unique. There is no
   pre-designed background for immortal characters. Their very nature
   prohibits the type of society that holds so much of the role-playing
   potential for Garou, Mages and Kindred. Like these characters, the
   immortal is a normal person who discovers that he has a special
   destiny. However, unlike Garou and Kindred, they can see no reason why
   they and not someone else, have been chosen to be immortal. In some
   ways, they are similar to Mages in this respect, but the one major
   difference between immortals and other characters is time - often,
   immortals discovered their heritage hundreds or even thousands of
   years ago. Deciding how this character spent those years, and working
   out the beliefs, knowledge and outlook that he has brought with him
   from this time.
        One might argue that this has already been explored with
   Vampire and Mummy.  In Vampire, however, one is encouraged to begin
   with a young vampire, so as not to unbalance the game: elder vampires,
   while a curiosity, do not often "adventure" with their younger
   brethren, but instead are embroiled in the politics of the Camarilla.
   They also tend to be much more powerful, and less human than their
   younger Kin. Likewise, although Mummies are in many ways human, their
   thoughts and desires are nothing like the mortals around them.
        Storytellers should make it a condition that, for an immortal
   character to be accepted as a character in a Chronicle, their
   background and past should be at least summarily documented, an their
   character should be developed. This will often deter players who wish
   to play an immortal simply because he is immortal. Immortals are a
   very unique character class, due to their humanity: despite the
   centuries behind them, they are still human... alone among the
   mortals, hidden, but still human in mind and soul. This humanity makes
   them unique and interesting characters to explore.


   Concept:
   ^^^^^^^^

        To begin the creation process, settle on the concept for the
   immortal. Why have they survived?  When were they born, where have
   they been and what have they seen throughout the centuries?  Pick a
   strong nature, something that drives them and makes them cling to
   life, rather than just let go.  They do not age, but without a will to
   survive they most certainly will lose their head...  Attributes

        Immortals are shown to be in superhuman health, strong and
   fast, and also intelligent and perceptive.  They are almost always
   fit, attractive, and charismatic... so, in the World of Darkness, they
   are far superior to the mortals in all their attributes.  Give them 7
   Primary, 6 Secondary, and 5 Tertiary attribute points, instead of the
   "normal" 7/5/3 split that Garou, Kindred and Mages all receive.


   Abilities:
   ^^^^^^^^^^

        Immortals start with 13 Primary, 9 Secondary, and 5 Tertiary
   abilities provided they are "young" (less than 100 years).  Older
   immortals will have more abilities; fighting this to achieve "play
   balance" is a wasted effort in the Storyteller system.  The
   storyteller is the ultimate judge; if he doesn't want 2000 year old
   immortals overpowering his game, then he shouldn't allow 2000 year old
   immortals at all: allowing them but restricting them to 13/9/5 is
   ludicrous.  Also, as they age, their maximum ability score (5 for
   mortals) will increase, allowing scores of 6+ for various
   abilities. Players should be allowed to choose Abilities from any of
   the games, but obviously, there are restrictions. For example, it
   seems unlikely that an immortal would have the Primal-Urge or Rituals
   Abilities from Werewolf.
        Players should be encouraged to think up their own abilities,
   thus helping make their character unique. For example, the Knowledge
   History might be a common one among immortals (and is in fact included
   on the character sheet) - remember Connor relating the significant
   events of 1798 to Brenda?
        Use the chart below for a reasonable split of abilities based
   on age.

    Age             Primary         Secondary       Tertiary        Max
    0-100             13                9               5            5
    100-250           18               13               8            5
    250-500           23               17              11            6
    500-1000          28               21              14            7
    1000-1500         33               25              17            8

   and so on...


   Advantages:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^

              "You cannot die, MacLeod... Accept it!"
                                                     - Ramirez


        The Quickening characteristic is the most important to an
   immortal... it defines their power, and is very useful in battles with
   other immortals.  Beginning immortals begin with 1 Quickening; this
   may be increased by spending Freebie points, as discussed below.
        Immortals have no "virtues" in the Vampire/Werewolf sense.
   Like Mages, their only characteristic is Willpower, and like Mages,
   they start with a base Willpower of 5.


   Backgrounds:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^

        Immortals begin the game with points in Backgrounds, according
   to the chart below.  See the section on Abilities to see the arguments
   regarding age vs. play balance.

                Age                     Background Points
                0-100                             7
                100-250                           9
                250-500                          10
                500-1000                         11
                1000-1500                        12

        The following backgrounds are possibilities for immortal
   characters.  See Vampire for explanations of most of these backgrounds
   (except for Arcane, which comes from Mage).

   Allies - Friends who can be counted on to help the character out. They
            probably know of his immortality.

   Contacts - The number of information sources the character possesses.

   Fame - The character's renown in the mortal world.

   Influence - The character's political or social sway or power in the
               mortal world.

   Mentor - An older immortal who advises and, to a certain extent, looks
            after the character:

        *        Mentor is less than a hundred years older than you.
        **       Mentor is between 100 and 300 years older than you.
        ***      Mentor is between 300 and 600 years older than you.
        ****     Mentor is between 600 and 1000 years older than you.
        *****    Mentor is between 1000 and 1200 years older than you.
        ******   Mentor is over 1500 years older than you.

        Storytellers should bear in mind the possibility that an
   immortal character's mentor might be killed, unless they have
   "retired".

   Resources - Wealth, belongings, and monthly income.

   Arcane - ( See Mage: the Ascension ) Immortals tend to have a tendency
            to scatter headless bodies around them, yet they don't seem
            to draw attention to this fact: hence the Arcane. Also, isn't
            it strange how they manage to hide such large swords inside
            those trenchcoats of theirs?


   Finishing Touches:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

        Immortals get 18 freebie points to spend.  Again, this gives
   them more points in attributes and abilities than their fellow
   players, but this is balanced by their inability to raise Quickening
   except through killing other immortals.  Also, their very nature makes
   them hunted by the Technocracy, fellow Immortals, and of course the
   Watchers/Hunters (these are outlined in Chapter Five).

     Point Costs

        Quickening  -   7 points per dot
        Attributes  -   5 points per dot
        Abilities   -   2 points per dot
        Willpower   -   1 point per dot
        Backgrounds -   1 point per dot



   Spark of Life:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

   "Ya talk funny, Nash... where ya from?"  "Lots of different places..."
                                                       - Garfield & Nash

        This is a very important part of character creation, and,
   unfortunately, one that is skipped over far too often. This is a
   role-playing game, and the Storyteller system is designed so that
   players can immerse themselves in their character. However, you cannot
   do this if you don't know your character.

   - Background & History

        Where was you character born? What was his childhood like? How
   did he "die"? What was the reaction to his miraculous revival? How did
   he find out about his immortality - Did a mentor (like Ramirez) tell
   him about it, or did he gradually find out for himself? Did he leave
   his home and family, or did he stay around and watch them grow old and
   die? If so, how did it affect him? Where has he been in the
   intervening years? Was he involved in any famous historical incidents?
   In the present day, where does your character live? Or is he a
   wanderer, moving around continuously?

   - Appearance

        "Who cut your hair?" "I am in disguise... this way, no
                        one will recognize me."
                                             - Connor MacLeod and Kurgan

        What does your immortal look like?  How does he dress?  Is he
   a classic member of the "trenchcoat brigade", or has he settled on
   another method of carrying his weapon (like the Kurgan and his
   briefcase)?  These sort of decisions help determine a look, and also
   are useful for game play later.

   - Contacts

        "Hi, Brenda. I did what you asked. I spent all night
   going through the old deeds to Nash's house on Hudson Street, right
          back to the original owner, Montague, in 1798..."
                                                         - Rick

        How long has your character been in his current home?  What
   friends has he made?  Unlike Vampires, Garou, or Magi, immortals live
   amongst the humans and (for the most part) treat them as equals.
   Hence, they make connections with the human race, which will come up
   during game play (either for help or for hostages, depending on
   Storyteller mood).

   - Outlook

                         "Love is for poets."
                                                - Connor MacLeod

        What kind of personality does your immortal have? Is he dark,
   moody and unfriendly, or bright and extrovert? What drives them, keeps
   them going? Is the ambition to win the Prize the thing which consumes
   their lives, or do they revel in life generally? The things that have
   happened to an immortal down through the years can often affect his
   outlook on life - love and war are probably the most common ones, but
   other things can greatly influence the way a person views life.

   - Quirks

        "I have something to say... It's better to burn out, than
                            to fade away!"
                                                - Kurgan

        Immortals are often unusual individuals.  Note from the
   series: Gregor's tendency to put mortals into danger to get a
   secondary rush from it, or Amanda's tendency to doublecross her
   partners.  These things help define the character, and yet aren't
   shown in the characteristics above. Perhaps your character has a
   phobia or a hatred of some particular thing. Perhaps your character is
   afraid of heights, and has a hatred of Vampires...  Pick interesting
   quirks, and write them down; they will add greatly to the role-playing
   experience. See also the Merits and Flaws section below.
        One of the most important things to remember when writing up
   your character's background is that, unlike the Garou and the Kindred,
   (and the Mages, to a certain extent), immortals are human. They may
   live for extraordinary lengths of time, but they are still very human,
   with the very same feelings and thoughts as us.


   Personality Archetypes:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
        Vampire introduced Personality Archetypes to help define
   characters' personalities. A character has two archetypes - his Nature
   and his Demeanor, and the key to using Archetypes effectively is
   understanding the difference between the two.
        A character's Nature is her true personality - that which she
   is, but will not necessarily reveal to other characters in the
   Story. People do not bare their soul to everyone they meet, and thus
   they develop false fronts.
        A character's Demeanor is this false front. While a
   character's Nature would only change in exceptional circumstances, her
   Demeanor can be as consistent as their Nature, or it may change
   frequently. Also, if the player so chooses, a character's Nature and
   Demeanor may be the same.
        Personality archetypes are also a method of (re)gaining
   Willpower, as the Storyteller will award Willpower when a character
   lives up to their Nature/Demeanor.


   Merits and Flaws:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

        Vampire also introduced the Merits and Flaws system, which is
   a method of really making your character seem alive and
   individual. Merits and Flaws are purchased just before you spend your
   freebie points. They cost or give between one and five freebie points
   - ie. purchasing a five point merit would mean you had five less
   freebie points to spend, while taking a five point flaw would mean
   that you had an extra five freebie points to spend. Merits and Flaws
   are also tied to Willpower, but less so than the Natures and
   Demeanors.
        The full rules for Personality Archetypes, and Merits and
   Flaws can be found in the Vampire and Werewolf Players Guides.


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