Princes of the City: Anyone Want to Bite?

[Koumei]

Yeah. we can play with the details a little, but I imagine we're keeping the basic six traditions the same. Ready to discuss with the others where we should make the proper Elysium where people need to rock up if they're visiting.

For the nightlife places I own, I decided on a little triangle of them that are all fairly close to one another so I can move between them quickly if needed: The Viking Lounge & Pull Tabs, The Arctic Bar, The Triangle Club. They'll probably be a bit more modern and lively (see: loud) than in real life, but everything is more punk and grunge and goth in WoD anyway. Needless to say, if they don't have cellars, they do now.

I think that's the limit of the attached pre-planning stuff before allocating actual dots into things - and before knowing the rest of the team. Once we're fleshed out, I guess that's when we can get into fleshing out people and places as supporting cast.

[Whipstitch]

It's not a hill I'm prepared to die on, so keep in mind that the following is more of an explanation for my earlier post than the opening salvo in a traditional Gaming Den slapfight. In my experience the time it takes to read the mechanical bits of AS is pretty comparable to the time it takes most people create an "anything goes" oWoD character. You know, because of the sheer dumpster diving potential in oWoD and the fact that there's little rhyme or reason to discipline structure, which makes laying down a coherent power level to abide by hilariously difficult. By contrast, with AS you can say "You get Restoration and Basic Fortitude disciplines for free and may take 5 basic and 4 advanced disciplines of your own choosing" and sadly still have less power gaps and more transparency than you get with oWoD. It's just a lot easier to play the RAW when there's one book and the sole author remembers to include saving throws for things rather than just trail off like Chief Wiggum.

Anyway, that's more than enough nagging about an option nobody but me has any interest in exploring. Concept wise I was thinking of a Setite who specializes in Aztec flavored rituals. If you're wondering why I wouldn't just play a Tlacique then, the answer is that I'd much rather keep Serpentis than trade it out for Protean. My preference in that area isn't just about mechanical issues, either. Long have I asked a simple question: what the fuck did White Wolf have against mentioning Quetzalcoatl in the Tlacique writeup?


Seriously, declaring that Aztec vampires lacked a Serpentis variant was world-class cock blocking, particularly since the Tlacique are a Setite bloodline anyway! They even have the same clan weakness. I'd call it the most irritating thing in the Tlacique writeup, but I'm afraid that honor goes to the part where Mexican vampires are too stodgy and racist to make friends, promote underlings or otherwise make decisions that could possibly result in becoming player characters.

Speaking of things that should probably be sexier than in reality, I was thinking that one way a Latino blood priest could end up moving that far north would be connections to the tourism and cruise ship industries (and a desire to escape the day-star). Now, in real life, cruise ships mean Juneau gets flooded with retirees. I'm hoping in the World of Darkness cruise ships feature a few less elderly people and lot more trafficking, secret initiation rituals and Koch brothers Ventrue backed political fundraisers.

[SlyJohnny]

I'm seeing a potential conflict between our Gangrel Security Plan (tm) and Juneau's status as an isolated tourist destination. We're not going to be able to make it a closed city without radically altering the economy and breaching the Masquerade, so having bears roaming the wilderness devouring hapless wanderers isn't going to work, unless they exist solely as a "lockdown" contingency and aren't normally active. Likewise, I'm not sure the city has a static enough population for animal spies to exist as our sole means of spying on the transient population. What are your thoughts?

[Prak]

Well, most tourists get there via plane or boat, transportation methods which are famously unfriendly to bears, but also fairly regulated. If vamps come in via plane or boat, we can probably notice their rather peculiar arrangements. The Gangrel Security Plan is more concerned with protecting the vast terrestrial wilderness surrounding our city, ensuring no one can sneak under our monitoring of more standard transportation. Hilariously, the tips given for traveling safely in "bear country" all revolve around making sure the bear knows where you are, which makes it a lot easier to keep track of tourists via bear-spy as well as sort "lost tourist" from "vampire trying to sneak in."

Ghouled Bear-Spy SOP would be "go about your usual bear business, but keep an eye out for vampires and humans, and keep track of and report any you find. Do not engage unless threatened or instructed." If people disappear and later turn up a lump of gnawed bones and empty ribcage, I don't imagine that's terribly suspicious in the wilderness around an isolated tourist destination that says "all of Juneau is bear country" in it's wildlife tourism package.

Hell, if I sent a bear into town to get me a keg of beer, it would probably merely be odd that the bear moved with purpose and had worked out how to transport beer, not, necessarily, that it wandered into town.

Not that I'd do that.

[SlyJohnny]

Ah! I can dig it. That makes a lot of sense.

[radthemad4]

Anyway, that's more than enough nagging about an option nobody but me has any interest in exploring.

Since I'm completely new to oWod anyway, I'd be down with learning After Sundown instead. That said, my guess is that Ancient History's already planned a lot of stuff using oWod and conversion would probably be a hassle.

Been a bit preoccupied lately, but I'll hit the books and narrow down a concept soon.

[SlyJohnny]

I'm brimming with ideas, but if we could get a ballpark as to power level and what we've got to spend, I could get started statting something up.

[Ancient History]

My initial thought was for standard VtM chargen (i.e. 13th generation) except with 45 freebie points to spend (instead of the normal 15), and to remove the normal caps on Backgrounds (i.e. you can buy background ratings above 5). Any clan or bloodline is available. Any discipline is available, standard costs apply for out-of-clan vs. in-clan, with combo powers available for 1/3 their XP cost in freebie points. Any skill, background, merit or flaw from a Vampire: the Masquerade or Dark Ages Vampire product is fair game; if you want to get one from a different WoD game I'd have to look at it (that doesn't mean "no," it just means "I need to adjust my plans accordingly.")

[/edit]The only exceptions are Elder Generation and Age from Elysium, because I'd like to keep the game fairly reasonable.

[Koumei]

I don't have the Elysium book, is there anything from there I should know? Stuff that's particularly relevant to this game?

And is Elder Generation the same as the Generation background in core?

[Ancient History]

Elysium was a sourcebook designed for coteries of "Elder" characters - those that start at lower generations - and their "Elder Generation" background lets you get much lower, much cheaper. Since I don't think we need any 4th generation characters running Juneau, we can safely leave that one out. Likewise, the "Age" background basically gives you more freebie points to spend on things, and we don't need any 1,000-year-old monsters either.

But if anybody wants to own an airport, Elysium has a background for that.

[Koumei]

Groovy. So are there certain things we should definitely take/various minimums? For instance, I imagine Influence is 4 or 5 each, given our positions (Prince has 5, Primogens and such have 4). Discovering that "Knowing stuff you're expected to know as a member of the Camarilla" is a Knowledge meant putting dots in that, for instance.

[Ancient History]

If you're asking me...I don't subscribe to giving players that sort of guideline for character creation. You put the points where you want. 45 freebies is enough to set you up with a sorcerous cult that covers a continent or to make you a very competent bloodmage. But running and controlling a city, even a small city, is a different sort of thing - you'll need to put some thought into both the resources you can buy and those you can't.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I would be interested in a game like this.

A character sketch: Zantosa Toreador embraced in St. Petersburg ~1850, obsessed first with Russian Romantic composers, then indigenous musics after moving to Tannu Tuva in an attempt to avoid the Soviets, eventually crossing the Bering and working his way to Juneau. Obsessed now with documenting Tlingit and Haida songs not shared with the public, the Toreador ghouled several officers of the Sealaska Corporation in hopes of swaying prevalent opinion towards tribal ownership with the associated non-profit Heritage Institute.

[Koumei]

Works for me. As you'll see below, I'm going for a very Background-focused character to start with, not really putting much into Disciplines. That will change over time, but I'm really looking at a character who is still "being a person" in society and concerned with mortal affairs.

Name: Suzanne Grant
Clan: Lasombra - Angellis Ater Bloodline
Generation: 8th
Concept: Corporate Evil
Nature: Director
Demeanor: Architect

Statistics:

Attributes:
Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Charisma 4 (Assertiveness), Manipulation 3, Appearance 3
Perception 2, Intelligence 3, Wits 3

Talents: +8
Empathy 3, Intimidation 3, Leadership 2 (+2 = 4 from Merit)
Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2, +Intrigue 2

Skills: +2
Etiquette 2, Performance 2, Security 1, Stealth 1

Knowledges: +2
Academics 1, Computer 1, Finance 3, Law 1
Occult 3, Politics 2, +Camarilla Lore 3

Backgrounds: +26
Status 4, Contacts 6, Generation 5, Influence 2
Resources 6, Retainers 3, Military Force 3, Herd 2

Disciplines: +7
Clan: Daimoinon, Dominate, Potence
Daimoinon 2
-Sense the Sin (5, difficulty Self-Control/Instinct+4)
-Fear of the Void Below (6, difficulty Courage+2)
Dominate 1
-Command (6, difficulty WP-2)
Obtenebration 1
-Shadow Play

Virtues:
Conscience 2, Self-Control 3, Courage 5

Humanity: 5
Willpower: 7 (+2)
Blood Pool: 15

Merits/Flaws:
Old Flame (-2)
Beacon of the Unholy (-2)
Addiction: Cocaine (-3)
Holdings (+2)
Natural Leader (+1)
Enchanting Voice (+2)

Backstory:

Although "Suzie" claims to have been alive some time before the war, that is probably false. However, she has been around for a few decades at least. By the time she was embraced, in her mid-twenties, she was already doing well financially, thanks to "playing" the stock market. Back then, it wasn't even more than just a bit of wise investment and a bunch of luck. But once converted into a more wicked breed of Lasombra? Well, that got the ball rolling. Through heavily investing in BP, and being more than happy to sabotage others and listen to whispers for some insider trading, she just amassed her wealth, still thinking like a mortal.

Ms. Grant has done the rounds in vampire courts since then. And she's always maintained the image of a young vampire - every few years, changing her style a little as though she had been mortal until that very morning, and keeping up to date on what modern people are like so as to blend in. Her move to Alaska was fairly recent, having made a number of enemies amongst her fellow Lasombra and having "trust issues" with the Camarilla most places she went. A relationship going very badly was the last straw, so she left for bear country, knowing it was new in being established by vampires. Becoming a board consultant with the relatively local branch of BP, putting a bunch of money down to fund these trendy new "nightclubs", she really did just walk in and buy herself a seat of power.

Description:

In life, Suzie was the bad kind of Christian - the kind who really needed a set of commandments in order to be a nice person. Now she doesn't have that, so she's not a nice person: she doesn't do evil for its own sake, nor worship malign forces, but she just has no qualms with causing suffering and ruin to others in the name of furthering her own goals. Addicted to cocaine by now, she deliberately funnels it into the community just to help her own access to it. She lets people drink to extremes in her clubs, taking advantage of the inebriated. And she is more than willing to listen to fiends so as to get secrets, to torture people with their own failings so that she can take advantage of them.

Appearance-wise, she's two-faced: wearing a stylish business suit for meetings (and in her capacity as a vampire) and doing her hair up tight, even adding glasses for the intellectual affectation. When she's running her clubs, however, it's black and neon, torn fishnets, the works.

People and Places:

Sire: Bella Torrens
Last that Suzie was aware, her sire was in the Southern states, but she can't be sure that's currently the case. Bella is an Anarch, finding the Sabbat to be too simple-minded, but a useful tool to court on occasion, and the feelings seem to be mutual there. She's more of a traditional evil, hardcore type who enjoys being viewed as a demon. Most likely disappointed that this child of hers is so world-focused and insufficiently violent (not to mention the whole Camarilla thing), but maybe she approves of the general success earned, or maybe she doesn't give a shit.

Major Contact: Ouathiel
Currently located in Hell, this demon is nonetheless very keen on finding a way out, and failing that, to have as much influence on Earth as possible. Suzanne's side of the bargain is indeed to look for a way to either get him out, or to erode the so-called powers of heaven such that all demons might be released. Ouathiel's side of the bargain is to provide information on infernal happenings - knowledge of cults, demons that have made it out, and whisperings of the Baali. By this stage, this is also how she can advance her Daimoinon - learning from a real demon.

Major Contact: Barbara Cruz
Barb is a customs officer at the Juneau docklands. Given how much stuff comes in by ship, there's no way all shipbound imports are known by one person, but it's a good start. A handy way of knowing how much people are trying to get drugs in (and for that matter, a handy way of getting cocaine through as a favour), or suspicious imports that could suggest dangerous nightlife. Their relationship is one of simple bribery.

Major Contact: Alex Devons
Alex works in the TSA, doing airport security. Once again, that's just another avenue of "things" to enter the city, so something that needs to have eyes and ears around. Much like with Barbara, Alex is just taking a very nice cash bonus from Suzanne. When asked why she's so keen on all this info, the answer was simple: she intends on one day being Governor, and doing so requires finding a lot of dirt.

Major Contact: Jerome Galliard
That's not the name this cult leader is known by. This cult is situated a fair ways South, spanning across the mid-states, and as far as Suzanne can tell, the "lord of darkness" these people worship is not a specific being. Whether they pledge their allegiance to Satan, or to a fictitious entity, or to someone who is very good at pretending to be a great demon, that remains to be seen. At any rate, she hasn't tried to harness this cult or indeed do anything that would lead them to her. But it's a handy source of information in other parts of America, so every now and then, when talk makes its way to "The Chosen of the Horned Beast", he sends her an e-mail.

Major Contact: Scott Dry
Scott is a drug dealer, nothing less, and certainly nothing more. He has his links to the underworld, and provides the coke she needs - as well as generally distributing to the kind of people who go to her clubs.

Major Contact: Samantha Tiller
Doctor Tiller works in the ER at Bartlett Regional Hospital. As a donor to the hospital, she has explained that she's concerned about disease outbreaks, particularly the modern resurgences of measles and such. So without naming specific patients, Samantha just sends updates on what injuries and illnesses have been present. The real reason for this is to get an idea if things like werewolves are in the region, but also so that she can, if it becomes necessary later, bring someone in on a "no questions asked" emergency.

Retainer: Andy Bales
This guy is the manager of the Arctic Bar, and draws a very generous salary indeed. His job isn't just managing the club, but also to make sure the bunker cellar is always stocked and secure, and to be an on-call guard if need be. Should Suzie need his help, he can rock up quickly, with Billy (a baseball bat) and Joe (a rifle that, technically speaking, isn't an assault weapon) in his car.

Retainer: Lucas Simmons
Suzie doesn't have a valet or butler despite her wealth - that's a ridiculous old-fashioned thing. Lucas is her personal assistant, who keeps track of appointments and such. He is also her driver, and in a pinch can be a bodyguard, what with being a ghoul with a firearms permit.

Retainer: Lt. Brian Stoat
Being a high-up in the police has its perks, and when you ghoul a high-up in the police, you have those perks for the most part. Thanks to Brian, Suzie has a really safe place to stay in an emergency, and can send him a text to get a SWAT team sent in if need be.

Military Force: SWAT team
They don't actually belong to her, it's just that she has access to them through her retainer, and probably has some amount of loyalty from them at this point.

Herd:
They're some die-hard regulars at her clubs, all seven of them. They're coke addicts and also drink a lot, but the fact is they don't mind what she does to them - and their recollection of the events tend to be a bit fuzzy the next day anyway.

Holding: *This space reserved for working out Elysium with others*

Holding: The Arctic Bar
This is the classiest of the places, and it's the most expensive of the three. There are private rooms for rent on a no-questions basis, and the cellar is basically a panic room, with its own (limited) electricity supply, filtered air and similar. That said, it's not really designed for a vampire to survive longterm - there are no bloodbags or anything.

Holding: The Triangle Club
Fitting somewhere between the other two, this place is generally the one for young adults who don't want to get into a fight. It has a lot of activity, and enjoys its reputation for indecency. Some clubs state "No shirt, no service". This one states "No shirt, half price drinks!" There is actually a complete downstairs underground level, which has the obligatory BDSM elements, and a locked door from there can take one into the safety room which does have (medicated) blood bags in storage, wooden stakes, revolvers, and silver-tipped bullets. There is also access to (or indeed from) the sewers, though it's sealed from inside - mostly to prevent the smell getting in.

Holding: The Viking Lounge & Pull Tab
This is the least reputable of the three places. For one thing, it plays metal, and fights are frequent. For another, the booze is actually sold at such a low price it makes a loss, relying on the profits of the other two places (and the fact that she doesn't care about making money out of clubs). There is a proper mosh pit, and a small first-aid bay just in case. Like the others, this one has a cellar that doubles as a bastion in case she needs somewhere to lie low.

Old Flame: Johnny Brodribb
It was a wild ride with Johnny, a "true" Lasombra. Not just true in the sense of being part of the main bloodline, but in the sense of being a member of the Sabbat. Obviously it couldn't last, and indeed it didn't, and ended spectacularly. They used each other for a while, both knowing it, and enjoyed the sex as well... but all things must come to an end, especially when neither partner really likes the other, and they both belong to organisations that wish the other dead. Things were said, people were killed, and that's a big part of why Suzanne left. But if the Sabbat ever decides it's time to cause trouble in Juneau, well, they'll need to face off again, round two.

Resources: BP Alaska
Just as the whales are swimming in oil, everyone who invested big in BP is swimming in money. Her investments with this corporation have definitely made Suzie a one percenter, and she is a fan of people being dependent on oil.

Influence: state government of Alaska
Obviously, Suzie doesn't bribe senators. She just takes them out to really fancy dinners and gives fancy gifts, and talks about helping to fund pet projects and so on. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

[Prak]

Ok, so here's a question- I know it's possible, if amazingly, mindbogglingly difficult to embrace a garou; but is it possible to ghoul one? Or other breeds of shapechangers? And if so, what are the precise effects?

Also, thinking about the character a bit more tonight, I've got some more specific ideas about the character.

I'm looking at a character who is a Gangrel clan-wise, Gangrel vitae flows in their dead veins and all, but a Tzimisce culturally. Narratively, I'm looking at the idea that the character was embraced by a Gangrel and abandoned in the wild as usual for the clan, but their sire was then killed by a Tzimisce rival while the character was fending for themselves. Showing a ready willingness to accept their new unlife and manipulate their dead, static body that can recover from nearly any wound to further their survival, the tzimisce was impressed and saw the potential value of a new childer which he didn't have to take full responsibility for or ask for permission to create, and thus took the character in, teaching them Vicissitude to go along with the Gangrel animalism and proprietary protean bennies, and possibly providing a way for the character to learn Biothaumaturgy.

So far kosher?

edit: er, specifically I'm looking at the biothaum powers that allow augmentation of animals (and possibly humans and maybe supernaturals). Gigantic hulking ghouled bears for the win.

[Ancient History]

Ok, so here's a question- I know it's possible, if amazingly, mindbogglingly difficult to embrace a garou; but is it possible to ghoul one? Or other breeds of shapechangers? And if so, what are the precise effects?

You can ghoul shapechangers, yes. I have to look up the precise effects, beyond the normal Potence 1.

I'm looking at a character who is a Gangrel clan-wise, Gangrel vitae flows in their dead veins and all, but a Tzimisce culturally. Narratively, I'm looking at the idea that the character was embraced by a Gangrel and abandoned in the wild as usual for the clan, but their sire was then killed by a Tzimisce rival while the character was fending for themselves. Showing a ready willingness to accept their new unlife and manipulate their dead, static body that can recover from nearly any wound to further their survival, the tzimisce was impressed and saw the potential value of a new childer which he didn't have to take full responsibility for or ask for permission to create, and thus took the character in, teaching them Vicissitude to go along with the Gangrel animalism and proprietary protean bennies, and possibly providing a way for the character to learn Biothaumaturgy.

So far kosher?

Sure.

[Whipstitch]

Actually, embracing a garou is effectively a 1 dot power because White Wolf is really, really bad at making their rules match their fluff.

[Prak]

'nother question- What does an army of ghouled bears, wolves and moose count as for the purposes of Military Force? Elysium does talk about Gangrel using animals as their military force, but then doesn't say anything about them in the actual background.

[Ancient History]

Ghouled animals should probably count as retainers - after all, they're expensive to feed! Unless you're doing the Nosferatu swarm thing. Normal animals controlled through Animalism probably count as Military Forces equivalent to humans - so, 1 dot might buy you a pack of stray dogs or a legion of bloodthirsty squirrels, 2 dots might buy you a wolf pack or a small family of bears, etc.

[Prak]

Ok, that makes sense. So far as I can tell, nothing special happens with ghouled fera, they are fera who happen to be ghouls. Given how weird and complex and niche abominations are, it's just plain better to ghoul them (if you can, but if you have vicissitude, of course you can) unless you really want your werewolf gimp to have disciplines.

Going to start working up a character here-

Name: Ceallach "Kel" MacCoinnich
Clan: Gangrel
Concept: Millennial Hermit
Nature: Scientist
Demeanor: Loner
Generation: 9th

Statistics:

Attributes:
Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Charisma 1, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2
Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 3

Talents:
Alertness 2, Awareness 2, Brawl 2, Expression 1, Instruction 2, Intimidation 2, Subterfuge 2

Skills:
Animal Ken 4, Bodycrafts 3, Stealth 1, Survival 1

Knowledges:
Computer 2, Medicine 3, Occult 2

Backgrounds: +7
Generation 4, Influence 1, Retainer 2, Occult Library 4

Pooled Backgrounds+6
Herd +1, Military Force +2, Resources +3

Disciplines: +33
Clan: Animalism 2, Protean 1
Out-of-Clan: Vicissitude 2, Thaumaturgy 3 (Biothaum Experimentation 2, The Green Path 1)

Thaumaturgy Rituals
Impassible Trail (level 2)
Friend of the Trees (level 2)
Defense of the Sacred Haven (Level 1)

Virtues:
Conviction 2, Instinct 2, Courage 4

HumanityPath of Lilith: 3
Willpower: (+1fp) 5
Blood Pool:

Merits/Flaws:
Merits

• Werecrow Companion (3pt)
• Quick Learner (1pt)
• Eat Food (1pt)

Flaws

• Territorial (2pt)
• Haunted (3pt)
• Ward (3pt)

Backstory:

Kel was a the child of an Irish iconoclast and raconteur in the late 1700s. Given the place and time period, this means that Kel was raised for a short time by a poor catholic who was killed in political conflict while Kel himself was rather young by today's standards, in their teens. Given the place and time period, this also means that Kel was suddenly "the man of the house" and expected to support his mother and rather large number of siblings, despite the fact that Kel was not interested in doing anything of the sort, especially not working the farm for some rich fucker who lived in England.

So when he was ambushed in the woods one night, exsanguinated, and woke up a short time later with a craving for blood and no clear idea of where he was exactly, you could see how he might consider this "progress."

The Gangrel who attacked Kel never learned how he fared that night, however, as he himself was shortly slain by a Tzimisce rival who happened to be in the area and hunting him. The Gangrel would-be-sire took part in many hunts, but never as the fox chased by hounds. It may have been the first time in his unlife he felt fear.

The Tzimisce intended to slay Kel as well once he learned the Gangrel had sired just before being slain. However Kel, for his part, was taking quite well to being an undead monster and had already stripped the bone out of his left forearm and turned it into a serviceable hunting tool, binding the almost flopping, useless limb against his torso for the time being. Intrigued by the pragmatism of the Irish peasant, the Tzimisce sent his ghouls home and watched Kel.

For his part, Kel was rather matter of fact about the whole thing. Peasants disappeared in the woods all the time, so most families prepared for the eventuality. His younger brother was nearing the age he could be expected to provide for the family and rather more eager about the idea than Kel ever had been. Kel wasn't keen on the idea of living god-only-knows-how-long in the woods like a savage, but there were a lot fewer people, so that was a plus.

After a few nights of hunting medium prey and draining their blood--and learning he could heal his arm good as new from boning it and further using this knowledge in very creative ways that would disgust anyone watching him who wasn't a Tzimisce, the Fiend came out of the woods and greeted him in the guise of a traveling noble (not far from the truth) who also happened to be lost in the woods. The Tzimisce tactfully broached the subject of Kel's embrace and explained to him what he hadn't already worked out on his own, and took the young Gangrel in as his own childr. He'd been needing a new bit of free labour, and never relished asking the Prince if he could embrace a mortal, so this was a rather handy turn of events.

200-some odd years on, Kel is himself a fairly powerful vampire, and his adoptive sire long since lost interest in him. He's no more fond of being social with actual people, but he's become fascinated with the internet and social media, and the fact that it allows him to only leave his chantry when absolutely necessary or desired, and get things done even when the sun is out. He's become possibly the world's only 200+ year old millenial, and has the perspective to tell people where to shove it and how when they bitch about modern 20-somethings.

He's also gotten very good at making up explanations for his followers about how he can get selfies of himself resting against immense, peacefully slumbering grizzlies.

Description:

Kel has a small build, only about 5'7" tall and somewhat thin, which is exaggerated by his tendency to slouch and fold in on himself or curl up when seated. Much like his propensity for computer and social media use, his style of dress is considered "degenerate" by most other vampires of his age, but that's because he's adapted to modern fashions--when he bothers to go out. In his lair, he often dresses in comfortable pants and a t-shirt. No one could mistake him for anything but Irish with his vibrant red hair, shoulder length and alternating between tied back, in a bun, let to flow loose, and pale skin, which were only exaggerated with his embrace. His freckles vary between fading nearly to disappearance and brilliant crimson, depending on his use of vitae.

When he has to visit one of Suzanne's clubs, Kel deigns to trade his t-shirts for buttoned workshirts and his torn jeans or ratty sweats for something that at least looks stylishly-worn out. The one article of clothing Kel shows any true interest in is his boots, as he regularly orders new pairs of Docs and wears them as weather and conditions permit when he has to venture out of his lair.

In his living years, Kel was an introvert and much more mentally-inclined than physical. He worked the land because it was expected of him, but he had no great talent or physical predisposition to farming. He was quietly thankful that men were expected to be stoic to some extent, but still had to make overtures to the effect of courting eligible young women--while keeping secret his actual sexuality, but fortunately he could say he was going hunting or volunteer to make the several day trip to the nearest town to his village and gain some modicum of privacy and freedom. As a vampire he found much more freedom in a society that no longer expected him to farm and lift heavy shit, be particularly socially active--let alone polite--or heterosexual. He was somewhat uneasy at the preponderance of Master/Slave mentality on display in vampiric society, but dealing with the last of his catholic upbringing took almost exactly as long as getting used to such things, so it sort of worked out.

Many vampires seem to think Kel is weak, or soft. They often wind up with their limbs sheered off and a massive bear chewing on their shriveled intestines. Just because Kel is disinterested in politics and proving his dominance does not mean he is inexpert at it, and just because he'd rather sit in his lair with his computer doesn't mean that he doesn't command a formidable force of savage animals with great viciousness.

People and Places:

Kel owns a large, ill kept manor in the wilderness outside of Juneau. At one time it served as a hunting lodge for swaggering mortal hunters who sought to prove their masculinity and dick-size by taking ill-advised trips into the freezing wilderness to shoot at hibernating bears. Those mortals are all dead now, long ago having served to nourish Kel's undead body and bear army. He also has some claim to the wilderness around Juneau, mostly exercised through old land grants, deeds and various other deals made with past versions of Alaska's government that have stayed in his claws despite various attempts to remove, but also a couple of state bureaucrats which are members of his cult (see below).

The manor has a fairly respectable library of American wilderness-oriented literature, reference material on animals and plants, and an occult library that is chained and barred in place. Kel scanned the occult material into digital format decades ago, and keeps the hard copies for a mixture of investment, bragging rights, backup, and convenience.

The one exception to his Manor's general abandoned look is the garden and greenhouse behind it which Kel maintains as part of following his path, and which provide Vincent and Jennifer with fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs as seasons and technology allow.

Using animalism and plain animal husbandry Kel has created a small self-sustaining force of wolves, bears and moose that generally recognize his authority and will answer his Beckoning to rough up whoever is causing him trouble. In addition, he has Major Ursula, a ghouled grizzly bear which he has augmented with Biothaumaturgy and vicissitude to be truly immense and powerful. Kel has also acclimated Major Ursula and his animal army to each other, and facilitated the army's recognition of Ursula as a representative of himself.

Kel is also in a long term relationship with a corax whom he has ghouled named Vincent. Vincent's "betrayal" of Gaia is a dark secret the two guard viciously to allow Vincent to still have some ties to his birth society. Vincent lives in Kel's manor when not traveling on one task or another.

Kel maintains a small cult of mortals which he shepherds along a version of the Path of Lilith from which he may feed safely in the guise of a ritual to Lilith. The cult only numbers seven mortals, and they have little usefulness beyond feeding and a vehicle through which some of his influence is exercised.

Finally, Kel is the guardian of a mortal named Jennifer. He found her lost in the wilderness, near death, after her family had died in some ill-planned trek, and, since he wasn't hungry, nor particularly interested in creating a childe or another ghoul to feed (as well as being somewhat opposed to embracing or ghouling minors just from a stance of pragmatism and consideration for what such a life or unlife would be like), he offered to take her in to his manor. He occasionally forgets she needs to eat, not being a vampire, but by in large, she's well provided for, and earns her keep by running minor errands. As far as anyone in Juneau outside the Court knows, she's his younger cousin whose family befell the fate her's actually did.

Vincent and Jennifer are allowed access to the occult library, usually through Kel's tablet, rather than the books themselves, though Jennifer is only allowed access when Vincent or Kel are there. Jennifer is also being taught the Path of Lilith as Kel leads his cult through it, just minus the extra obfuscation and mysticism.

Equipment

Assorted hunting rifles, old and new, including several putt guns
Helicopter kept under the cover of "wolf hunting"
Large pistol
High end gaming computer, tablet, smartphone (attached to Vampire Mobile service)
Heavy drovers coat, hooded sweatshirt, thick scarf, etc. for day time activity

Edit- I know I'm probably over on points, but I gotta switch computers. I'm far from done anyway.
Edit edit- Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm good on points (extra flaw point not withstanding, I only spent 7), and the character should be fairly concrete. I may alter or add things while we wait for others to make their characters.

[radthemad4]

Does Vampire have anything analogous to the various chargen handbooks people have made for 3.5/PF?

[Prak]

I wish I could say there was, because I could use it too, but White Wolf's players were very much "ROLEplay not ROLLplay" sorts who thought minmaxing was a dirty act and would sooner crap on a cake their grandmother spent all day cooking.

The best I can really suggest is the unofficial wiki, which at least acts as a half-assed index of all the crap that got printed.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Are there any ways for a character to change their appearance other than Vicissitude 1 or Obfuscation 3?

[Ancient History]

Chimerstry (and probably some other disciplines) for illusion; various Protean powers, especially if you dip into the combo powers or the higher-dot stuff.

[/edit]And, of course, there's always the old stand-bys of stage makeup, latex masks and prosthetics, wigs, lifts in the shoes, etc.

[radthemad4]

I wish I could say there was, because I could use it too, but White Wolf's players were very much "ROLEplay not ROLLplay" sorts who thought minmaxing was a dirty act and would sooner crap on a cake their grandmother spent all day cooking.

The best I can really suggest is the unofficial wiki, which at least acts as a half-assed index of all the crap that got printed.

There are people like that in the D&D fandom as well, but yeah, I suppose a potential White Wolf handbook writer might get a lot of flak and almost no encouragement. That wiki seems to have a lot of discipline powers printed out, so thanks for that. It doesn't have combination disciplines listed though. I did find a list of combo disciplines, but since I hate scribd, I uploaded it to mediafire. Is that list comprehensive?