Hey everybody.
I’m wrapping up work on Hurt Locker, just about to send it to editing (probably later this week, or this weekend). Last week, I shared two pretty specific template character types, one based on strange luck, and one based on radical pacifism. This week, I’m sharing a much more general template, one for psychic vampires.
If you follow the random stuff I talk about on the forums, you might recognise this from a long while ago; I had a little space, so I decided to flesh them out fully and include them. They’ve evolved quite a bit from their preliminary outing. I’m mostly upset that I don’t have a local game to play one in (I tend to take up Storyteller role in all my local events).
I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. Also Edvard Munch. Because Edvard Munch.
“Physic vampires almost always walk alone, finding themselves in other groups.”
Huh?
I guess there are no group of physic vampires
just a single vampire in a group of other kind of people/monsters.
I’ll clarify that. Sorry. Point being: Psychic vampires aren’t an organization, they’re a phenomenon.
They don’t tend to hang around other psychic vampires. They tend to hang around humans and other supernatural critters.
Thanks, David. Makes sense.
I like the first sentence below, and this part right here gets the point across:
“Psychic vampires aren’t an organization, they’re a phenomenon.
They don’t tend to hang around other psychic vampires.”
Some thoughts on Template and Merits…
1. Why name “Ephemera” for fuel stat? It will be mixed a lot with Ephemeral Beings in mortal CoD games or Hunter. Why not use name like Essence? We have in various “tastes” of it, from ghosts, spirits and now will be from goetia in 2ED Mage. Goetia approach is especially interesting to look on, as taking name and using “their kind” of Essence could mean that psypires are some vampirics-goetia hybrids. Or they are totally goetia phenomenon. It would neatly work in crossover question “how ephemeral beings are feeding on psypires, or psypiers on beings?” – they just suck Essence, one being transferring it to other.
If it does not work with you, maybe just call fuel stat Psyche? It’s more logical that psychic vampire is sucking Psyche of it’s victim than “Ephemera” ( what many CoD occultists know is somekind of “spiritual matter, but different than mind itself” ).
2. In Psychic Vampirism Merit I would reverse order of dots – first character learn to suck Willpower, then to do damage. Taking Willpower is much less hazardous and work better with fluff of the group in that psypire first understand he can take psychic reserves of target, learning more violent usage later one.
3. In Psychic Infection Merit should not the “lost last Willpower point” also a valid way to create new psypire? You do not need to literally kill humans to make them hunger for others psychic energies, do not you? If you can play psypire without doing Lethal damage to others, Infection based on lost of Willpower should also be possible.
4. Should not all Lesser ( or Micro ) Templates use the same creation rules? They all should be given first dot in their main Merit for free, or all three should not.
>1
Essence is a specific thing. This isn’t REALLY what they’re using; they’re not compatible. A spirit couldn’t eat a psychic vampire and get essence. This is ultimately a psychic energy, not truly spiritual. The difference is mostly semantic, but I think it kind of matters in a game with a bunch of spirit stuff running around.
>2
I could see using that approach. But I want every psychic vampire to have to deal with hurting people at least a little bit.
>3
Sure. I’ll probably add a note to that effect.
>4
While I don’t think there’s any reason that is inherently true, I do note at the beginning of the chapter that you should give the first dots free.
The only thing I don’t like about this book is the 2008 movie of the same name that makes searching for it more difficult.
I can’t wait.
Ha. Just add “Chronicles of Darkness Hurt Locker” to whatever search.
Ironically, when I named the book, it totally slipped my mind there was a movie with the same name as the phrase. I’ve never seen it. I’ve heard mixed things about it.
I really liked the spin on violence the previous two minor templates you released as teasers. This template, while I like it, doesn’t seem to thematically jive as well with the Hurt Locker exploration of violence. It just seems to be an unrelated minor template thrown in for the heck of it. Might a stronger introduction emphasizing the template’s take on violence help?
Yeah. I might pep up the intro a little. I figured their existence is sort of implied as violent, at least in some sense. But yeah, I’ll take a look at the wording before I send it over to editing.
These have been excellent so far, really reminds me of Second Sight. Any chance we can get a spirit-themed splat for Hurt Locker?
I had a question about this and the new Coil of the Dragon in Secrets of the Covenants. Is there any reason a Vampire on that Coil couldn’t take one of these splats?
The first dot being free seems odd, as well that psychic vampires can steal from everyone but vampires.
I don’t see why Coil of Ziva wouldn’t allow them by default. But, I guess it’s contextual? Like, to be a Dreamer, you need to undergo certain subliminal conditioning and stuff. So you couldn’t just manifest that like, say, psychokinesis.
As far as the first dot being free, all of the micro splats will have a first dot free thing if that’s the character type you’re playing. It’s more like… Blood Potency 1 is free, but you have to pay for 2 and 3. If that makes sense?