Kevin's Watch

Creating characters in the World of Darkness (WoD) is not that hard - it's pretty straight forward once you understand the basic five-point system and how attribute and skills interact. Do not worry at first - in fact, do not worry at all because most of the rules will be run by me. If you think it that the system seems difficult - just get to grips with what attributes, skills, merits, etc mean and leave the rest to me. Or pm me so I can explain it to you. I will be happy to assist.

For those players used to the World of Darkness, this will all seem basic, but there are some changes - minor at that.

Core ideas

Each Attribute (for instance, Intelligence, Strength, etc) is rated between 1 and 5. The higher the rating, the better. The WoD system also refers to them as dots, because on the character sheet they look like dots - you fill in circles. But what do they equate to?

1 - Poor. Unexercised or inept.
2 - Average. The result of occasional effort or application.
3 - Good. Regular practice or effort, or naturally talented.
4 - Exceptional. Frequently applied, tested and honed or naturally gifted.
5 - Outstanding. The peak of normal human capability. Continually exercised or naturally blessed.

Vampire skills, merits and disciplines (similar to magical powers fueled with blood) are also rated, but on a scale to 0 to 5 (0 meaning, vacancy of any ability).

So, the more dots or the higher the score in an attribute or skill (or merit, etc) the better you are. It's that simple and obvious. It is possible to raise a score higher than 5 temporarily, but only through supernatural means.

Attribute Descriptions
Note that they fall under three traits - mental, physical and social (very important to remember).

Mental
Intelligence
Cognitive capacity and the raw power of the mind. The ability to digest, comprehend and remember information. A measure of how smart your character is.
Wits
The ability to think on one's feet, under pressure or duress. Encompasses an eye for detail and to react to events. The powers of perception and response.
Resolve
The focus on determination to see your character's will done. The capacity to stay on target, ignore distractions and to resist coercion or browbeating. The character's personal conviction.

Physical
Strength
Physical might and sheer bodily power. The capacity to lift objects move items, hit things and people, and do damage. Strength is a measure of muscle.
Dexterity
Quickness and response time. This measures how quickly your character and with how much finesse your character responds to his physical world.
Stamina
Sturdiness and steadfastness. Sheer physical resilience. Stamina is a measure of how tough your character is. It measures how far she can push her body and how much physical abuse she can endure.

Social
Presence
Bearing, stature, assertiveness. Presence suggests the power of your character's very identity. Attractiveness is only part of the trait (this alone might be better utilised with the Striking Looks merit). The character might be ugly, but her presence means much more. It reflects the ability impose one's will on others.
Manipulation
Charm, persuasiveness and charisma. The capacity to play upon the desires, hopes and needs of others to influence them. This attribute reflects your character's finesse in social situations.
Composure
Poise and dignity. The capacity to remain calm and appear unfazed in social and threatening situations. A measure of emotional fortitude and calm.

Skills

Skills are placed into three categories: Mental, Physical and Social. Unlike attributes where every character is rated 1 to 5, skills are rated 0 to 5. This basically means that if one is rated 0 in a skill, he or she has no training (more on that later).

1 - Novice. Basic knowledge.
2 - Practitioner. Solid working knowledge and/or techniques.
3 - Professional. Broad, detailed knowledge and/or techniques.
4 - Expert. Exceptional depth of knowledge and/or techniques.
5 - Master. Unsurpassed depth of knowledge and/or techniques.

Please refer to the character sheet to see the skill list.

Merits

Merits are special capabilities that add individuality to your character. They are purchased during character creation or with experience points over the course of a chronicle/campaign.

Again, there are four categories - Mental, Physical, Social and Vampire that Merits are placed into. I will not go in to detail here about what they mean - some are obvious, but if you are interested please pm me or ask about them in the general discussion thread.

Note that each Merit has a number of dots or a number associated with it. This basically means how much it costs to purchase it. Some allow for a range of points (say, 1 to 4), which allows to you purchase a low to high rating (say you want to purchase an additional Language 2 as opposed to 1 dot or 3 dots). I won't inform you how many points you get to spend, as that will be discussed at the end of this thread.

Mental Merits
Common Sense 4
Danger Sense 2
Eidetic Memory 2
Encyclopedic Knowledge 4
Explosive Ordnance Disposal 4 (A)
Holistic Awareness 3
Language 1 to 3
Meditative Mind 1
Technophile 1 to 2 (A)
Unseen Sense 3

Physical Merits
Ambidextrous 3
Brawling Dodge 1
Direction Sense 1
Disarm 2
Fast Reflexes 1 to 2
Fighting Finesse 2
Fighting Style: Archery 1 to 4 (A)
Fighting Style: Boxing 1 to 5
Fighting Style: Chain Weapons 1 to 4 (A)
Fighting Style: Combat Marksmanship 1 to 5 (A)
Fighting Style: Fencing 1 to 4 (A)
Fighting Style: Filipino Martial Arts 1 to 4 (A)
Fighting Style: Kung Fu 1 to 5
Fighting Style: Sniping 1 to 5 (A)
Fighting Style: Spetsnaz Knife Fighting 1 to 4 (A)
Fighting Style: Staff Fighting 1 to 3 (A)
Fighting Style: Two Weapons 1 to 5
Fleet of Foot 1 to 3
Fresh Start 1
Giant 4
Gunslinger 3
Iron Stamina 1 to 3
Iron Stomach 2
Natural Immunity 1
Quick Draw 1
Quick Healer 4
Strong Back 1
Strong Lungs 3
Stunt Driver 3
Toxin Resistance 2
Weaponry Dodge 1

Social Merits
Allies 1 to 5
Barfly 1
Contacts 1 to 5
Fame 1 to 3
Inspiring 4
Mentor 1 to 5
Resources 1 to 5
Retainer 1 to 5
Status 1 to 5 *
Striking Looks 2 to 4

Vampire Merits
Haven 1 to 5
Herd 1 to 5
Blood Potency 1 to 10 **

*please discuss with me your Status point purchases.
**this needs to be rationalised during character creation (further, limit of 3 at start)

Virtues and Vices

All characters have noble aspects and dark sides to their personalities. Every character starts play with one defining virtue and defining vice. These aspects are an essential part of your character and I will be constantly checking to see if they are being portrayed. If I judge that your character indulges in a vice to his or her detriment in a scene (say, once a day), I will grant a reward (more on that later). If I judge that a character's actions during an entire chapter (several weeks) reflects his or her virtue, with some level of risk, there will be a greater reward.

Virtues
Charity
Faith
Fortitude
Hope
Justice
Prudence
Temperance

Vices
Envy
Gluttony
Greed
Lust
Pride
Sloth
Wrath

Advantages

Advantages are aspects of your character that set him apart from his peers.

Defense: As it suggests, the rating that affects the likelihood of your opponent hitting you in close combat (does not affect firearms). This rating is influenced by either Dexterity or Wits attribute, whichever is lower.

Health: Reflects the body's capacity to cope with injury. Health is determined by adding Stamina and Size.

Initiative: Reflects reaction time and the ability to think on one's feet in a crisis. This score is used in a roll to determine when a character acts during combat. Adding the Dexterity and Composure attributes produces the initiative rating.

Size: Relative to species and age. The average adult human's is 5, and a child's is 3. A grizzly bear's is 7.

Speed: The number of yards she can travel in a single turn (three seconds). It is possible for a character to run at double speed in a turn, but will be unable to do nothing else. Speed is calculated by adding Strength, Dexterity and species factor (5 for humans).

Willpower

Willpower measures your character's self-confidence and emotional resilience. It is rated on a scale between 1 and 10, and is composed of dots and points. Points are spent, representing sheer determination in overcoming obstacles and to gain bonuses to resist forces (one willpower point can only be used at a time). When characters have no willpower points, they are physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted - possibly depressed and listless.

Willpower is equal to Resolve plus Composure (willpower points is obviously equal to permanent at the time of character creation).

Characters regain a point by fulfilling a vice (only if the vice places the character at risk). All Willpower will be rewarded once per chapter (adventure) by fulfilling a virtue (there has to be an element of risk).

A night's rest restore's a willpower point.

The storyteller (me) may also decide to award a willpower point - such as if the characters find themselves in dire straits, and need the will to keep going. But there would have to be accompanying roleplaying.

Humanity

Humanity represents the balance of power between the Man/Woman and the Beast. This rating represents measures the connection a Kindred feels to her leftover mortal feelings and to her capacity to empathise with other beings. The lower the rating, the less she cares, more brutally she tends to act, and the more likely it is that the Beast will take control.

Humanity is something that I will be monitoring constantly, but it does not mean that your characters are going to slide into perversion. It just means that one of the themes I will be exploring will be the conflict between the hunger and the human.

There are ten levels, and most characters start at 7. It basically works like this: if you commit a theft, I make a roll to determine if your humanity drops (7 > 6). If you refer to the table below (which lists the humanity level beside the sin one must commit for humanity to be reduced), you can see that a character has to commit more monstrous acts to reduce her humanity. Note that for those noble sorts (10 to , it is very easy to lose a humanity level; or in other words, harder to stay pure.



It is possible to gain derangements (a mental illness) as characters lose their humanity.

A character may reverse the gradual slide into perversion through the expenditure of experience points, although only one level at a time.

Vitae & Blood Potency

Vitae

Vitae (blood) defines the Kindred. Unlike mortal blood, vitae is a supernatural substance with many interesting qualities.

1. When a vampire wakes up, he expends one point of vitae. A vampire that lacks vitae in his body falls into torpor (a prolonged, deathlike sleep).

2. Vitae is also used to imitate the "flush of life" in living beings, such as a healthy colour of skin, forcing the heart to beat, lungs to inhale and exhale, to engage in intercourse, to consume food. Therefore, imitating life and consuming each cost one point of vitae.

3. For each point of vitae that a character expends, she adds two dice to her physical dice pool - Strength, Dexterity or Stamina. This lasts one turn (three seconds).

4. One vitae can be spent to heal a wound.

5. Some powers belonging to the vampiric disciplines require vitae to be expended in order to function.

6. Mortals, even other Kindred, can become addicted to drinking vitae.

Blood Potency

This determines the degree of power a vampire's blood bestows. Generally, the more ancient the kindred the more potent her blood. Blood Potency is a rating on a scale of a 1 to 10, with 10 belonging to those vampires with incredibly powerful vitae.

The rating equates to the maximum amount of vitae a kindred can use per turn, attribute/skill maximum, and the sorts of prey a vampire must feed from to maintain that level of potency.

At blood potency 1 to 3, kindred cannot spend more than 1 vitae a turn, are unable to increase their attributes higher than 5, and can only feed on animals and humans. Potency 2 can store 11 points of vitae, and potency 3 can store 12 (and only feed on humans).

Blood potency 4 cannot spend more than 2 vitae a turn, maximum attribute rating of 5, can store 13 vitae, and is only able to feed off humans.

Character Creation

Step One: Character Concept

This needs only be a general idea - for concept is the stone from which well-developed characters are sculpted. Try to keep it simple. It could be socialite, noble scholar, disaffected businesswoman, timid writer.

Step Two: Select Attributes

You now need to prioritise attributes (see above). Which area does he or she excel? Where is he or she average and weak? Where you prioritise should give you insight into your character.

All characters begin with one dot in each attribute (note the character sheet). Assign five points to the primary attributes (mental, physical or social), four to the secondary, and three to the tertiary.

Note that the fifth dot costs two points.

Step Three: Select Skills

Like attributes, skills must be prioritised. The primary group receives eleven points, the secondary group receives seven, and the tertiary group receives four. Try to weave the chosen skills into character background; when did you character receive training for each skill, and what does it say about his personality?

Again, the fifth dot costs two points.

Step Four: Select Skill Specialities

These allow a character to excel in certain aspects of a skill. For instance, two characters may be trained in Medicine. However, one has a skill speciality in orthopaedics. An officer in the police force might be trained in rifles and shotguns, but has a skill specialty with rifle (hunting). Specialties give the character an edge in situations specified by the specialty (i.e. Occult - satanic, when the character encounters a satanic cult he gains a bonus).

Characters are allowed three skill specialties, and each should be very specific. They are allowed to chose more than one specialty for any skill.

Step Five: Add Vampire Template

Select Clan and Covenant (note, to select a covenant a characted must have at least one point of Status in that covenant).

Clan benefits: Each clan has vampiric powers, called disciplines (more on that later) as well as favoured attributes. Once a clan is chosen, select an attribute from the favoured attribute list (there will be two choices), and add one dot to it.

Daeva: Dexterity or Manipulation
Gangrel: Composure or Stamina
Mekhet: Intelligence or Wits
Nosferatu: Composure or Strength
Ventrue: Presence or Resolve

Covenant benefits:

The Carthians: Allies, Contacts, Haven and Herd Merits purchased at half the normal experience cost (not during character creation).
The Circle of the Crone:Ability to learn the Discipline of the Cruac.
The Invictus: Herd, Mentor, Resources, and Retainer purchased at half normal experience cost.
The Lancea Sanctum: Ability to learn Discipline of Theban Sorcery.
The Ordo Dracul: Ability to learn the Coils of the Dragon.

Blood Potency: Starts at one.

Vampiric Disciplines: Each character starts with three points to spend on disciplines. At least two points must be spent on clan disciplines before considering spending on out of clan disciplines.

Daeva: Celerity, Majesty, Vigor.
Gangrel: Animalism, Protean, Resilience.
Mekhet: Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate.
Nosferatu: Nightmare, Obfuscate, Vigor.
Ventrue: Animalism, Dominate, Resilience.

Note that titles in bold are clan-specific disciplines. I will not allow kindred from other clans to purchase these.

Step Six: Select Merits

All kindred have 7 merit points to spend (I will award 2 more if you provide a detailed character background).

Please note that the fifth merit dot costs 2 points.

Step Seven: Determine Advantages

Select a Virtue and a Vice.

Humanity starts at 7 (can be reduced to 6 or 5, and the character gains 5 experience points each humanity point lost to be spent later or at character creation).

Vitae - I roll a die at the start of the adventure to determine how much blood the character has in his or her veins.

Step Eight (optional): Select Flaws

Flaws should be played to make it a hindrance to reach a goal, resulting in more experience points. Flaws are divided into three categories: Mental, Physical and Social.

Mental
Addiction
Amnesia
Coward
Forgetful

Physical
Crippled
Dwarf
Hard of Hearing
Lame
Mute
One Arm
One Eye
Poor Sight

Social
Aloof
Behaviour Blind
Deformity
Embarrassing Secrets
Notoriety
Racist/Sexist
Speech Impediment

Important Questions

Ask your character these . . .

How old were you when you were Embraced?

What was unique about your childhood?

What kind of person were you?

What was your first brush with the supernatural?

How did the Embrace change you?

Who was your Sire, and how did he or she treat you?

Were you presented to Kindred society?

How did you meet the others in your coterie (Kindred player character group)?

Where is your haven?

Do you retain any connections to your mortal life?

What are your habitual feeding grounds?

What motivates you?

Please note that it is possible for characters not to be a member of a covenant, and remain Unaligned.

To have a Kindred who is of a bloodline, you need blood potency of at least 2. Note that starting characters cannot have a potency higher than 3.