VoB - Discussion

Post by **Loredoctor** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:48 am

Dorian, count me in. I had an idea come to me whilst I was walking to the prison this morning. The character idea I have is rather interesting.

Thanks for the compliments about Vampire, everyone.

Post by **Dorian** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:52 am

Great. Look forward to seeing it.

Have 3 players confirmed. One more and I will most definitely run this game. The more the merrier

Post by **Goatkiller666** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:07 am

And, just to confirm... we're going to be all westerners who were brought over to this new place. So we'll have the same cultural background, (as each other) and maybe even know each other. The world here is all new to us, of course.

Post by **Dorian** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:36 am

yes. Effectively you are like people from central/western europe being sent over to eastern europe.

I will be giving everyone their own personal objectives however, in secret at the start of the game, so bare that in mind before you start roleplaying super strong friendships and bonds with other player characters.

Post by **Montresor** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:06 am

If you can accept a very, very infrequent amount of posting, then you can count me as signed up. I have the beginnings of a character idea that appeals to me.

Post by **Dorian** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:53 am

Sounds good to me. Will just make provisions for you to be separate from the rest of the group at the start of the game. Judging by what you told me about your character last night that should be easy enough

Post by **Dorian** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:21 am

Ive been putting alot of thought into how I was gonna do the map. I have alot of locations for this, but at the same time I didnt want to list them all out and take away the mystery of them.

So what i have decided to do, is have a Area system like in Vampire, but with most areas not posted to begin with. Areas will be "unlocked" by your players exploring around them, or hearing about them. To begin with you will have an entire town and its immediate surroundings unlocked, as well as the road you travelled into the town and places you past along the way. By moving into an area you will unlock its surroundings.

I will need to work on this a bit first to make sure it works, but I think it will help keep the mystery alive. A mysterious castle with a dark past is hardly mysterious if you have been aware of it since the game started.

Any feedback or input is welcome

Post by **Stone Magnet** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:22 am

Sounds very cool bro. Mike btw. I particularly dig the extreme contrast between the west and the east. When talking about the East, are we talking about a just the one (albiet large) valley, or is that only the start of a mysterious eastern subcontinent?

Also on the tech side, along with the morphia comment, to what degree has gunpowder weaponry developed in the west? Are we talking none at all, flintlock, matchlock, or percussion cap technology? Just wondering as the period setting seems fairly fluid and not particularly analogous to any specific "real world" time scale.

I ask because the character I had in mind was a bookish scholar of the occult, but carried on him at all times a small concealed weapon, like a derringer or similar, for self defense.

The set and setting appeals. However I have next to zero online role playing experience and no experience of the warhammer fantasy rules, so might have to call it until i've read up on that haha. On the surface the basic theme seems similar to Call of Cthulhu RPG (which I have played a bit of), with the "ordinary" characters, high chance of player fatality, insanity, and general hidden crawling chaos. Diggeth.

Post by **Dorian** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:37 am

haha hey bro! Glad you decided to jump on board.

Ill hook you up with some rules man, dont worry about that.

The tech is pretty open, mostly flintlock styled stuff. Its all in the rules ill throw your way.

As for online roleplay its pretty cruisy man, its more just creative writing than anything else. For some good examples take a look at the others on this forums. I would reccomend Vampire The Requiem taht is being run by Loremaster. My characters James Randel on there. Have a read and you will see how it all works out.

Glad to have you on board bro. And cheers for all that Lovecraft stuff.

Im really digging how so far everyone I talk to has chosen to play intellects and other non typical fantasy style heros. Will make for an interesting game.

Post by **Earthfriend** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:39 am

Sounds like a great idea, Dorian. The lack of concrete data should keep players suitably nervous...

Post by **Dorian** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:48 am

There will be a map. As people discover new locations I will mark them with numbers on the map relating to the location.

I think it will help the land unfold its own story over time. Means adding in new locations is easier as well, if the story gets bigger than I first expected

Post by **Stone Magnet** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:12 pm

^Cheers bro, I notice you've sent some PMs round, keep me in the loop. Since sendin you those i've started binging on lovecraft again, hard.

Dorian wrote:the late middle ages seems to sum up the sort of world we are looking at, but being fictional it blurs both ways as needed.

Is that the status of the East (14-15th C.)? With the West being slightly more modernised/industrialised (with the need for ore), as in the early-modern era (16th-18th C.)? Or is the West in a "late middle ages" kinda setting with the East being even more backward?

Post by **Goatkiller666** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:21 pm

Dorian wrote:yes. Effectively you are like people from central/western europe being sent over to eastern europe.

I will be giving everyone their own personal objectives however, in secret at the start of the game, so bare that in mind before you start roleplaying super strong friendships and bonds with other player characters.

How about almost feudlike rivalries, or strong dislikes?

I have no clue yet what my character idea is. But I think it would be fun to have two scientists who don't respect each others' work. Totally different styles, talk trash about each other, been disagreeing since way long time ago.

I must ponder further.

Post by **Dorian** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:53 pm

Ive been asked a few times about blood ore so ill elaborate on it a bit.

Blood ore is used to produce Blood steel, which is like regular steel, but slightly stronger with a rich coppery tinge to it. This means its rather identifiable as well as valuable. It is very popular was a means to display wealth as well as by artisans who wish to openly demonstrate the strength of their wares. Nothing overly special really but worth a bit of money to the enterprise and its investors.

The west isnt really industrialised yet. Slowly getting there though. As for the east, as a whole it isnt backward, just this region, as it has a low population and has been getting by on more traditional matters. Its more the small town attitude of the locals that is backward more than anything. Also, one must bear in mind that this is a newly independent country. As we have seen all around the world in recent decades, its not uncommon for such places to be financially and socially handicapped for a period whilst it settles back into things

Post by **Stone Magnet** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 1:58 am

goatkiller666 wrote: How about almost feudlike rivalries, or strong dislikes?

I have no clue yet what my character idea is. But I think it would be fun to have two scientists who don't respect each others' work. Totally different styles, talk trash about each other, been disagreeing since way long time ago.

I must ponder further.

My character seems generally an outcast from the Western scientific community. Though he is reclusive and probably wouldn't want to have much to do with others, his views and occult studies might cause clashes.

Chance for possible conflict there.

Post by **Goatkiller666** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 2:19 am

Yeah, so I totally cheesed out. Had to go read up on Warhammer's rules. And then I had a flashback to my old skool D&D days and decided to play a ranger. Oh, sorry... a Hunter. Cliché to the max, but I am unrepentent.

What's scary is that my choice of character gender was almost influenced by the ratio of male to female ranger pictures in the Google search. But in the end, I found some good male pictures to choose from for the avatar.

Hopefully, I can add enough backstory and nuance to it, that it won't just be a cutout.

Post by **Dorian** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:15 am

For those of you who dont already know, Im back from my trip up to the northern wastes of Auckland and am available to answer an questions etc some may have.

I have work later tonight but will resume constructing this game in the next few days

Post by **Stone Magnet** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:02 am

Choice. Are you still leaning towards the unlockable area system? That sounds cool but hard to implement. Would it be unlocked for just the character who explored it, or for all the players, even if they had little contact with each other? I'm sure theres a "catch all" solution. Also is it possible to start your character off with a few insanity points (ie Montresors morphia/opium addicted physician idea has an affliction similar to the WFRP "Mandrake Man" insanity in gameplay terms) to spice things up?

Post by **Dorian** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:11 am

it would need to be unlocked for everyone as the forums are public for all to see. I would trust the players to roleplay their characters well enough to not act on infomation they shouldnt have

If players wish to start with insanity points they would need to contact me to discuss it prior to game commencing.

Post by **Earthfriend** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:32 am

I think I'll start with as many sanity points as I can get, please. I get the feeling I'm going to need them...

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

VoB - Discussion