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This adventure has a number of points in which it varies from standard
Vampire: the Masquerade in terms of rules and also background.
\section{Blood}
The blood rules changed slightly in my game. Everyone has 10 blood
points of volume, but elders have more potent blood. This has a
number of effects.
\begin{itemize}
\item Vampires may drink 3 blood points (BP) of blood
volume per turn.
That is almost a third of a persons total capacity. This makes
drinking from Elder kindred much quicker. Any kindred can be
drained in $3^{1}_{3}$ rounds. This disadvantages elders who are
drunk from although it means elders may fill up on potent blood
quicker. Most elders will not actually get in a position to be drunk
from.
\item Rituals and items such as Principle Focus of Vitae Infusion,
hold more blood, because they store 1 point by volume. This is an
advantage for elders.
\end{itemize}
\subsection{Myth}
I also hacked the Myth in World of Darkness. Many of my players had
read a lot of the Vampire material, so I decided to change some of the
basic ideas behind the WoD.
\begin{itemize}
\item [Sabbat ideas] I decided to make the Camarilla more corrupt
and the Sabbat more virtous. As the Sabbat books from White
Wolf\footnote{I really recomend \cite{ww:pgtts}. If you have not read
this, read it before continuing.} cleverly portrayed
the Sabbat in a good light and the Camarilla in a darker light, I
decided, what the hell, lets give the Sabbat a go.
To this end, I attempted to make the Sabbat pure of purpose and honest
in their efforts. Which side the Antedeluvians were
manipulating\footnote{Does that strike anyone else as a bit too obvious?
I mean so many people know about that. It hardly seems like a cunning
3rd gen plan, does it?} I did not decide, but I did decide which side
would be pure in its purpose (more like the good guys).
\item [Demons] No demons like the ones from the sabbat storytellers
books. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXCheck reference above.
\item [Highlanders] Yep, they make good NPCs and PCs too I think.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXCheck reference above.
\item [Clans] I also swapped some of the subtle ideas behind the clans.
I made Malkavians more insane, although this really did not occur until
I had the help of my Malkavian player\footnote{Take a bow Dwagon.}. I
made Nosferatu more like the Tremere in cunning, manipulation and
trechery. I made the Tremere more trustworthy, although having read the
rules, noone trusted them, which seemed like a good clan weakness. The
Gangrel were almost against the Camarilla. Etc...
The sort of thing that could lead one into trouble from assuming
too much from what one had read.
\end{itemize}
\subsection{Myth \& the Book of Sam}
First let me say ``Great work Sam!'' on the Book of Nod. A
Masterpeice without a single stat. Yaaaaaaaaaaa. I recomend
Storytellers get this one! Stop now and go buy it.
Having said that, I think that WhiteWolf spoilt things by having only
one creation myth for vampires. It would be a lot more interesting if
the Sabbat had a different creation myth, sort of like the Ravnos in
the 2nd ed. players guide. It sort of dissapoints that they all have
Caine. They say the Anarchs don't believe in Caine, but why not believe if
everyone else, even enemys, does.
I also dislike the way WhiteWolf started specifying their universe,
although I can see why they did. {\em Keep the myth if you can.}
\section{Other rules and documents}
\begin{description}
\item[Settites]
The rules for settites are a mixture of Bryan Rendells work,
ideas from \cite{js:vampires} and my own twisted brain.
\item[Assamites]
I am using Bryan Rendells rework of Assamites. It makes more sense, I
think. See also Tim Toners stuff on how the Assamites came about.
\item[Highlanders] See chapter~\ref{highlanders}.
\item[Demons] See chapter~\ref{highlanders} again.
\end{description}
\section{WhiteWolf Books}
\subsection{Rage Across Australia}
As you may have noticed, Squizzy Taylor is not prince of Melbourne in my
WoD (World of Darkness). Then again, Squizzy Taylor was a
man in real life, so I dont feel bad about not making him Prince of
Melbourne and giving him the sex change that WhiteWolf gave him!
\section{New disciplines and Rituals}
\subsection{Thalmaturgy Rituals 3: Body of holding}
Allows the Thalmaturgist to meld objects into their own body for
storage. The object are melded into the users form, actually
absorbed.
The ritual allows a person to carry an object no bigger than the
body part in which the object is stored. E.g. if the caster is
intending to store a dagger in their arm, it can be no wider than
their arm.
To place the object requires 2 blood points from a Kindred with
Vicissitude or Protean discipline. The object is soaked in a point of
the casters blood (may be require more for larger objects, see below)
for a night. The object is then placed over the location it is to be
absorbed into. The 2 points of Vicissitude blood are then poured over
the object, as a chant is performed. After 10 minutes, the object sinks
into the users flesh. The object can leave a tattoo type image of itself
at the option of the caster.
The number of blood points the object must be soaked in is up to the
storyteller, but a guide is use the ratio of the casters body (in
1/10ths) as a guide. E.g. if an object takes up 1/2 the users body,
require 10 * 1/2 or 5 blood points to soak the object in. Blood used to
soak the object is wasted. A Thalmaturgist may not store more than 10
'blood points of objects' in their body.
The object may be called out at anytime, but if the object is sharp,
or contains protrusions likely to cause harm, the caster takes 1 level
of damage (may be soaked). Objects called out of the body are soaked
with blood unless wrapped, e.g. paper is soaked in blood, bullets have
their powder soaked, batteries are shorted. If the area of the body
where the object is stored is damaged, the object will be damaged if
withdrawn, unless the damage is first healed.
If the item is capable of being thrown, e.g. a throwing knife, and
the caster has movement of the mind, with a roll of:
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
Dice pool & as normal, Dex + Melee \\
\hline
Difficulty & as normal, varies \\
\hline
Damage & Movement of the Mind rating \\
& (rather than strength+n) \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
and forgoing the soak, the caster may launch the weapon at a target
within 5 feet.
\subsection{Vissitude Level 8: Form the Puppet Strings}
Any creature with blood that is first drained to 1 point (or under)
then fed back to full blood and crafted with Living Clay, Fleshcraft or
another Vissitude ability becomes controlled. The victim creatures max
blood pool is decreased by one blood point as some of the sculptors
essence is woven into their new form. The creature is then effectively
bloodbonded and under control of the vampire. More than that, because
the blood of the vampire is woven into the creature, they have a strong
mental link to the creature. The creature may be controlled, sent
messages, used to view something remotely or experiance something
through their body simply by caster consentrating.
The crafter may have no more than their intelligence in controlled
victims at one time (though they may make any number of uncontrolled,
wild ones). A vampire may reestablish links with a wild creatures they
have made by draining it to one point (or less) and feeding it any
number of blood points back (assuming they have under intelligence
creatures controlled at the moment). If scultor has a full compliment
and uses this ability, then a random (naaaaa storytellers option)
creature is made 'wild'.
Because of the mental link and the powerful nature of the craft,
the victim is twisted more and more as the sculptor wishes. E.g. a man
turned into a wolf would after a while actually consider his
natural form to be a wolf.
One use of this power is to create a clone of oneself. The clone will
slowly, mentally warp into a copy of the caster. Skills and other
abilities/traits/etc known by the victim and not by the caster will
mystically be transfered into the skills known by the caster (never
exceeding the victims trait max or the casters level (un)naturally). The
old outlook of victim is lost and replaced by the outlook of the caster
over time. While under the influence of the caster (i.e. one of the
controlled creatures) the victim will unquestioningly do the casters
bidding. If allowed to go 'wild' the victim will consider himself to be
the caster and will act as the caster would (this may be useful is
setting up a fall guy, but may be dangerous as the victim will consider
themsleves to BE the caster and the sculptor to be a copy). Note as the
change is mental, the aura changes aswell.
Application of Tremere Blood Walk will be able to distingish the
actual generation of the individual. A roll at diff 8 will allow the
Tremere to get information on the sculptor.