Post by Zyraen on Oct 13, 2017 11:52:29 GMT 8
This is a topic crash-course on the mechanical aspect of Character Creation. If you are mainly interested in Disciplines and XP, just go straight to "Disciplines and XP" section. If you are not sure what Skill is used for a Discipline you want, please PM me, but otherwise once Excel is done it will all be there.
When I have time I may trim the Rules subforum down as well. If any rules in any part of the forum contradict this (I doubt, but in case), this topic will apply.
CHARACTER CREATION
You have 3 Traits:
Physique (Phy) is Strength+Constitution
Finesse (Fin) is Dexterity+Intelligence
Influence (Inf) is Wisdom+Charisma
The above 3 traits are applied to your Fortitude, Reflex, Will (FRW) defenses respectively.
In addition, you add half your Physique to your Max Bloodpool, rounded down as usual.
You then choose one of the following arrays that you assign to your 3 Traits on Character Creation. Your choice also affects your starting Hitpoints (HP) and your Willpower (WP).
5 / 3 / 0 ; HP 20 ; WP 6
4 / 4 / 1 ; HP 25 ; WP 7
4 / 3 / 2 ; HP 30 ; WP 8
3 / 3 / 3 ; HP 35 ; WP 9
If in doubt, suggest starting with either 441 or 432.
Your highest Trait is always your Primary (Pri) Trait, and your second highest Trait is always your Secondary (Sec) Trait.
You then split the points you have in a Trait into each of the two related Stats.
Eg. Finesse 4 can be assigned as either Dex 4 Int 0, Dex 2 Int 2, or Dex 0 Int 4.
Each point can be likened to +2 added to a base of 10, ie Dex 0 Int 4 is effectively Dex 10 Int 18.
TRAITS IN COMBAT
You also use your Sec Trait for initiative.
If you wear Light Armor, you add your Sec Trait to the AC of the armor. If you wear Heavy Armor, note that when your Sec Trait exceeds 5, you gain a bonus to your AC equal to Sec Trait - 5.
All your combat Abilities use your Pri Trait (ie highest Trait) to attack and damage. They all use your Sec Trait (ie second highest Trait) for purpose of effects, if any. This also applies to Melee Basic Attack (MBA) and Ranged Basic Attack (RBA).
Edit: after some deliberation and seeing how it does not affect any of the Players so far...
Not all Traits go well with all Disciplines. If your Pri Trait is higher than your Sec Trait and is an "anti" of the Discipline you are using, you get -1 to attack rolls when using that Discipline in combat.
MBA/RBA: Anti Influence
Animalism : Anti Finesse
Auspex : nil
Celerity : Anti Influence
Dementation : Anti Physique
Dominate : Anti Physique
Fortitude : Anti Influence
Necromancy : Anti Physique
Obfuscate: Anti Physique
Potence : Anti Finesse
Presence : Anti Finesse
Protean : Anti Influence
The Excel will calculate so you do not have to remember.
STATS & SKILLS
Hence the Stats are mainly for related Skills, as follows
Strength: Athletics
Constitution: Endurance
Dexterity: Acrobatics, Stealth, Thievery
Intelligence: Finance, Medicine, Occult, Research
Wisdom: Arts, Insight, Nature, Perception
Charisma: Intimidate, Performance, Persuasion, Streetwise
You start with 25 Skill points to assign over the 17 Skills, representing your Training on a 1 to 10 scale. Note that from 7 to 10, each additional Training costs *two* Skill points, and using your base 25 points, you cannot increase it beyond 7.
You may however spend 2 XP later to purchase 5 Skill points to purchase Training for your Skills.
GAINING XP
You start with base of 7 XP to customize your character and 0 XP Gained. Every session you attend, you get 2 XP to spend ; if you miss (guess with good reason), you gain 1 XP.
At the end of every session, each player Whatsapps me a Vote in private message (PM) on who they felt was the Best Player, and they may not vote for themselves. Best is subjective, and may vary (most entertaining, funny, touching, moving, realistic, contributing, plotmoving, saved-the-day, screwed-up-but-dared-to-try, etc). If there is a tie, the GM will decide the Vote, or at the GM may at his discretion PM either one of the players and ask if they would like to willingly cede it to the other.
Voting is the basis for two things. Firstly, the winner of the vote gains 1 extra XP. Anyone who is voted and is agreeable to the GM receives 1 "catch-up" XP to compensate for Sessions missed, or future sessions missed.
SPENDING XP
The uses for XP are subject to various Caps, and are as follows
2 XP : gain 1 VIT, ie 5 HP. The cost increases at higher levels.
2 XP : gain a Feat. Virtually all feats are for combat. The cost increases at higher levels.
2 XP : gain 5 Skill points to spend on Training
4 XP : gain 1 Trait. You may assign the Trait to either of the related Stats. Note that at higher Trait levels (from 6 to 7 onwards), Traits start to cost a lot more. Note that by lowering your Generation (through Diablerie), you may gain Bonus Trait Cap.
Then there's of course Disciplines.
DISCIPLINES AND XP
This section supercedes and replaces standard Vampire rules.
Disciplines out of combat generally function similar to the V20 pdf, except all Disciplines cost 1 BP to activate (unless otherwise stated), and use a Skill check as indicated in the spreadsheet. For easy reference we call these RP abilities. Some disciplines - notably Presence - are weakened and subject to Generation limitations, and may also be temporarily resisted by WP.
Disciplines work differently in combat when creatures are hostile. Sometimes all it takes is a bad roll or a being with notable WP to commence hostilities. In combat, most mental Disciplines have difficulty taking hold of their minds for anymore than a few seconds, and physical Disciplines take more focus to maintain. Apart from Common Attack (CA) which are usable as long as you have actions, most Signature abilities are usable only once per combat encounter, unless you spend WP to regain it.
Signature abilities are divided into 2 types, Signature Attacks (SA) and Signature Moves (SM). An SM usually takes immediate effect, and using it costs 1 BP. An SA usually involves an attack roll (from self or an ally), and the user (and relevant allies) may roll all attack rolls, before deciding whether or not to spend the BP. If the user decides not to spend the BP, all effects of the SA (even effects on a miss) are negated.
You spend XP to purchase SAs and SMs independently. You need the lower rank ability to purchase the next rank, ie you need SA2 to purchase SA3 etc etc. Each ability costs 3 XP per rank, ie the costs are 3/6/9/12 XP over the max of 4 ranks.
Out of combat, for your Clan Disciplines, you have RP abilities equivalent in dots to 1 + the lowest ranking of your SA and SM abilities. If you have 0 in both SA and SM, you can still use the 1 dot power, but you take a -5 penalty on Skill checks, and on a d20 roll of 5 or less, you automatically fail. You must roll this d20 even if the ability otherwise does not need a roll (eg Celerity), which denotes your chance of failing to activate it.
This means for your Clan Disciplines, you have following with relation to total XP spent in a Discipline.
0 XP : 1 dot RP Ability at -5 / 25% failure
3 XP : 1 dot RP Ability
6 XP : 2 dot RP Ability
18 XP : 3 dot RP Ability
36 XP : 4 dot RP Ability
60 XP : 5 dot RP Ability
Above is more for your planning especially with relation to your precious starting 7 XP. You do NOT need to memorize this, the Excel will automatically populate to show your highest RP Ability and the relevant Skill on your Char Sheet.
Note that for non-Clan Disciplines, your RP abilities are equivalent to the lowest ranking of your SA and SM abilities. This means you can only ever reach dot 4 RP abilities in non-Clan Disciplines. In addition, in order to use the Common Attack of a non-Clan Discipline, you must spend at least XP to purchase either an SA or SM from that Discipline. Non-Clan Disciplines also cost more XP per SA/SM.
OTHER XP USES
You may spend XP to gain more Willpower (WP), but the cost is so prohibitively high that it isnt worth reflecting here. Certain actions may permanently lose you WP, so this provides an option to regain it.
As the game progresses, there may be more uses for XP. Example of such uses might be learning a new Discipline group. Your in game actions may grant you a chance to gain (usually regain) Humanity, at which point at GM discretion you may spend XP to increase your Humanity rating.
Note that only Humanity is used for this game, but there will be flexibility. As a general guideline, if you are in control of your actions (and it is not too obvious), the GM will inform you that such an action may (sometimes will!) lead to a loss of Humanity. Sometimes intentional inaction or complicity in an act may also result in Humanity loss (again, the GM will usually warn you). After all, it is not unheard of for a hardened beastly vampire to commit an atrocity and his new young accomplice who simply helped watch his back loses Humanity.
LOSING HUMANITY
When you have a chance of losing Humanity, you make a Degeneration check. This is usually rolling a number of d6s equivalent to your Humanity, less whatever penalties or bonuses the GM allows, which are typically the severity of the act and mitigating factors/reasons. Some acts are so heinous that you may only be given just 1 or a few dice, and combined with how pleasurable the act was, be further penalized. Hence Diablerie always reduces your Humanity.
Rolling a 5+ means you succeed, your character loses no Humanity because he has genuine remorse and horror over his actions, possibly resolving never to do it again.
Failing your Degeneration check (ie no 5+) causes your Humanity to reduce by 1, then for your Derangement check you roll d6s equal to your new Humanity. This may be subject to penalties depending on (very flimsy!) reasons for committing the act.
If you fail this Derangement check (ie no 5+ rolled), you gain a derangement. The GM will usually work the details out with you after the session, as fitting your personality, the circumstances of the act that reduced your Humanity and how your character might have justified his actions and felt yes, that was the right thing to do. After all, the derangement arises out of your character "buying" so much into the reason for his heinous act that he starts to accept that reason (or related factors) as a norm for himself, and perhaps even for others.
HUMANITY & SELF CONTROL
Be it due to vices (very rarely), derangements or frenzy due to the inner beast that coils within each vampire, trying to maintain self control entails a Humanity check or a Frenzy check.
This check is usually rolling a number of d6s equivalent to your Humanity, less whatever penalties or bonuses the GM allows. Note that if the check is caused by Frenzy, the number of dice you roll is the lower of your Humanity or current Blood Points (BP). If you roll a 5+, you succeed.
Note that clan drawback for Brujah applies to Frenzy, and not other areas of losing control (such as Derangements or vices).
In combat, when your HP falls below your Reserve Value (ie 25%) and you are still conscious, you have to make a Frenzy check or lose control.
Note that if you do pass this Frenzy check, at 25% or less HP, you take a -2 penalty to all your attack rolls for being injured.
If you fail and Frenzy, you gain +2 to all your attack rolls and all your FRW. You may use only Common powers, favoring Melee Attacks above all else. If you cannot reach a/the suitable target, you instead use Ranged Attacks, but only with thrown weapons - the beast has no capacity for aiming ranged weapons and using psychic powers. Lastly, all creatures are your enemies - you indiscriminately make opportunity attacks and treat allies as enemies. Note that your allies can still invoke healing powers on you and other beneficial effects - even beasts are happy to accept what suits them.
At the start of your turn, you may spend 1 WP to make a Frenzy check (to end Frenzy), OR to ignore the effects of Frenzy for that Turn. This ignoring of Frenzy ends the moment your Turn ends. Alternatively, Frenzy ends when you are knocked unconscious, after 5 minutes, or 5 minutes after combat ends (if it was caused by combat).
When I have time I may trim the Rules subforum down as well. If any rules in any part of the forum contradict this (I doubt, but in case), this topic will apply.
CHARACTER CREATION
You have 3 Traits:
Physique (Phy) is Strength+Constitution
Finesse (Fin) is Dexterity+Intelligence
Influence (Inf) is Wisdom+Charisma
The above 3 traits are applied to your Fortitude, Reflex, Will (FRW) defenses respectively.
In addition, you add half your Physique to your Max Bloodpool, rounded down as usual.
You then choose one of the following arrays that you assign to your 3 Traits on Character Creation. Your choice also affects your starting Hitpoints (HP) and your Willpower (WP).
5 / 3 / 0 ; HP 20 ; WP 6
4 / 4 / 1 ; HP 25 ; WP 7
4 / 3 / 2 ; HP 30 ; WP 8
3 / 3 / 3 ; HP 35 ; WP 9
If in doubt, suggest starting with either 441 or 432.
Your highest Trait is always your Primary (Pri) Trait, and your second highest Trait is always your Secondary (Sec) Trait.
You then split the points you have in a Trait into each of the two related Stats.
Eg. Finesse 4 can be assigned as either Dex 4 Int 0, Dex 2 Int 2, or Dex 0 Int 4.
Each point can be likened to +2 added to a base of 10, ie Dex 0 Int 4 is effectively Dex 10 Int 18.
TRAITS IN COMBAT
You also use your Sec Trait for initiative.
If you wear Light Armor, you add your Sec Trait to the AC of the armor. If you wear Heavy Armor, note that when your Sec Trait exceeds 5, you gain a bonus to your AC equal to Sec Trait - 5.
All your combat Abilities use your Pri Trait (ie highest Trait) to attack and damage. They all use your Sec Trait (ie second highest Trait) for purpose of effects, if any. This also applies to Melee Basic Attack (MBA) and Ranged Basic Attack (RBA).
Edit: after some deliberation and seeing how it does not affect any of the Players so far...
Not all Traits go well with all Disciplines. If your Pri Trait is higher than your Sec Trait and is an "anti" of the Discipline you are using, you get -1 to attack rolls when using that Discipline in combat.
MBA/RBA: Anti Influence
Animalism : Anti Finesse
Auspex : nil
Celerity : Anti Influence
Dementation : Anti Physique
Dominate : Anti Physique
Fortitude : Anti Influence
Necromancy : Anti Physique
Obfuscate: Anti Physique
Potence : Anti Finesse
Presence : Anti Finesse
Protean : Anti Influence
The Excel will calculate so you do not have to remember.
STATS & SKILLS
Hence the Stats are mainly for related Skills, as follows
Strength: Athletics
Constitution: Endurance
Dexterity: Acrobatics, Stealth, Thievery
Intelligence: Finance, Medicine, Occult, Research
Wisdom: Arts, Insight, Nature, Perception
Charisma: Intimidate, Performance, Persuasion, Streetwise
You start with 25 Skill points to assign over the 17 Skills, representing your Training on a 1 to 10 scale. Note that from 7 to 10, each additional Training costs *two* Skill points, and using your base 25 points, you cannot increase it beyond 7.
You may however spend 2 XP later to purchase 5 Skill points to purchase Training for your Skills.
GAINING XP
You start with base of 7 XP to customize your character and 0 XP Gained. Every session you attend, you get 2 XP to spend ; if you miss (guess with good reason), you gain 1 XP.
At the end of every session, each player Whatsapps me a Vote in private message (PM) on who they felt was the Best Player, and they may not vote for themselves. Best is subjective, and may vary (most entertaining, funny, touching, moving, realistic, contributing, plotmoving, saved-the-day, screwed-up-but-dared-to-try, etc). If there is a tie, the GM will decide the Vote, or at the GM may at his discretion PM either one of the players and ask if they would like to willingly cede it to the other.
Voting is the basis for two things. Firstly, the winner of the vote gains 1 extra XP. Anyone who is voted and is agreeable to the GM receives 1 "catch-up" XP to compensate for Sessions missed, or future sessions missed.
SPENDING XP
The uses for XP are subject to various Caps, and are as follows
2 XP : gain 1 VIT, ie 5 HP. The cost increases at higher levels.
2 XP : gain a Feat. Virtually all feats are for combat. The cost increases at higher levels.
2 XP : gain 5 Skill points to spend on Training
4 XP : gain 1 Trait. You may assign the Trait to either of the related Stats. Note that at higher Trait levels (from 6 to 7 onwards), Traits start to cost a lot more. Note that by lowering your Generation (through Diablerie), you may gain Bonus Trait Cap.
Then there's of course Disciplines.
DISCIPLINES AND XP
This section supercedes and replaces standard Vampire rules.
Disciplines out of combat generally function similar to the V20 pdf, except all Disciplines cost 1 BP to activate (unless otherwise stated), and use a Skill check as indicated in the spreadsheet. For easy reference we call these RP abilities. Some disciplines - notably Presence - are weakened and subject to Generation limitations, and may also be temporarily resisted by WP.
Disciplines work differently in combat when creatures are hostile. Sometimes all it takes is a bad roll or a being with notable WP to commence hostilities. In combat, most mental Disciplines have difficulty taking hold of their minds for anymore than a few seconds, and physical Disciplines take more focus to maintain. Apart from Common Attack (CA) which are usable as long as you have actions, most Signature abilities are usable only once per combat encounter, unless you spend WP to regain it.
Signature abilities are divided into 2 types, Signature Attacks (SA) and Signature Moves (SM). An SM usually takes immediate effect, and using it costs 1 BP. An SA usually involves an attack roll (from self or an ally), and the user (and relevant allies) may roll all attack rolls, before deciding whether or not to spend the BP. If the user decides not to spend the BP, all effects of the SA (even effects on a miss) are negated.
You spend XP to purchase SAs and SMs independently. You need the lower rank ability to purchase the next rank, ie you need SA2 to purchase SA3 etc etc. Each ability costs 3 XP per rank, ie the costs are 3/6/9/12 XP over the max of 4 ranks.
Out of combat, for your Clan Disciplines, you have RP abilities equivalent in dots to 1 + the lowest ranking of your SA and SM abilities. If you have 0 in both SA and SM, you can still use the 1 dot power, but you take a -5 penalty on Skill checks, and on a d20 roll of 5 or less, you automatically fail. You must roll this d20 even if the ability otherwise does not need a roll (eg Celerity), which denotes your chance of failing to activate it.
This means for your Clan Disciplines, you have following with relation to total XP spent in a Discipline.
0 XP : 1 dot RP Ability at -5 / 25% failure
3 XP : 1 dot RP Ability
6 XP : 2 dot RP Ability
18 XP : 3 dot RP Ability
36 XP : 4 dot RP Ability
60 XP : 5 dot RP Ability
Above is more for your planning especially with relation to your precious starting 7 XP. You do NOT need to memorize this, the Excel will automatically populate to show your highest RP Ability and the relevant Skill on your Char Sheet.
Note that for non-Clan Disciplines, your RP abilities are equivalent to the lowest ranking of your SA and SM abilities. This means you can only ever reach dot 4 RP abilities in non-Clan Disciplines. In addition, in order to use the Common Attack of a non-Clan Discipline, you must spend at least XP to purchase either an SA or SM from that Discipline. Non-Clan Disciplines also cost more XP per SA/SM.
OTHER XP USES
You may spend XP to gain more Willpower (WP), but the cost is so prohibitively high that it isnt worth reflecting here. Certain actions may permanently lose you WP, so this provides an option to regain it.
As the game progresses, there may be more uses for XP. Example of such uses might be learning a new Discipline group. Your in game actions may grant you a chance to gain (usually regain) Humanity, at which point at GM discretion you may spend XP to increase your Humanity rating.
Note that only Humanity is used for this game, but there will be flexibility. As a general guideline, if you are in control of your actions (and it is not too obvious), the GM will inform you that such an action may (sometimes will!) lead to a loss of Humanity. Sometimes intentional inaction or complicity in an act may also result in Humanity loss (again, the GM will usually warn you). After all, it is not unheard of for a hardened beastly vampire to commit an atrocity and his new young accomplice who simply helped watch his back loses Humanity.
LOSING HUMANITY
When you have a chance of losing Humanity, you make a Degeneration check. This is usually rolling a number of d6s equivalent to your Humanity, less whatever penalties or bonuses the GM allows, which are typically the severity of the act and mitigating factors/reasons. Some acts are so heinous that you may only be given just 1 or a few dice, and combined with how pleasurable the act was, be further penalized. Hence Diablerie always reduces your Humanity.
Rolling a 5+ means you succeed, your character loses no Humanity because he has genuine remorse and horror over his actions, possibly resolving never to do it again.
Failing your Degeneration check (ie no 5+) causes your Humanity to reduce by 1, then for your Derangement check you roll d6s equal to your new Humanity. This may be subject to penalties depending on (very flimsy!) reasons for committing the act.
If you fail this Derangement check (ie no 5+ rolled), you gain a derangement. The GM will usually work the details out with you after the session, as fitting your personality, the circumstances of the act that reduced your Humanity and how your character might have justified his actions and felt yes, that was the right thing to do. After all, the derangement arises out of your character "buying" so much into the reason for his heinous act that he starts to accept that reason (or related factors) as a norm for himself, and perhaps even for others.
HUMANITY & SELF CONTROL
Be it due to vices (very rarely), derangements or frenzy due to the inner beast that coils within each vampire, trying to maintain self control entails a Humanity check or a Frenzy check.
This check is usually rolling a number of d6s equivalent to your Humanity, less whatever penalties or bonuses the GM allows. Note that if the check is caused by Frenzy, the number of dice you roll is the lower of your Humanity or current Blood Points (BP). If you roll a 5+, you succeed.
Note that clan drawback for Brujah applies to Frenzy, and not other areas of losing control (such as Derangements or vices).
In combat, when your HP falls below your Reserve Value (ie 25%) and you are still conscious, you have to make a Frenzy check or lose control.
Note that if you do pass this Frenzy check, at 25% or less HP, you take a -2 penalty to all your attack rolls for being injured.
If you fail and Frenzy, you gain +2 to all your attack rolls and all your FRW. You may use only Common powers, favoring Melee Attacks above all else. If you cannot reach a/the suitable target, you instead use Ranged Attacks, but only with thrown weapons - the beast has no capacity for aiming ranged weapons and using psychic powers. Lastly, all creatures are your enemies - you indiscriminately make opportunity attacks and treat allies as enemies. Note that your allies can still invoke healing powers on you and other beneficial effects - even beasts are happy to accept what suits them.
At the start of your turn, you may spend 1 WP to make a Frenzy check (to end Frenzy), OR to ignore the effects of Frenzy for that Turn. This ignoring of Frenzy ends the moment your Turn ends. Alternatively, Frenzy ends when you are knocked unconscious, after 5 minutes, or 5 minutes after combat ends (if it was caused by combat).