Here’s a little more WIP from the titles chapter, so you can see where some of the new material is headed. This may be my last post until the Grand Masquerade, so I wanted to give something with both settings and systems.
<3>Mystic (1-point Title)
<n>The Mystic Kindred is known by many appellations: sage, spiritualist, sorcerer, witch. The vampires who earn the title of Mystic (or its local equivalent) are acknowledged as skilled in the secret ways of the occult, “the black arts,” witchcraft, or even infernalism (see the Inquisitor, above). Tremere and Tzimisce often hate Mystics, whom they regard as either threats to their own power or bloody pretenders.
System: A Mystic’s Status suffers a –1 penalty in his home domain. However, few seek to rouse the ire of a known mystic, and a hostile Kindred must spend a point of Willpower to engage the Mystic in a violent activity, such as combat or physical intimidation. A Willpower point must for each scene in which the individual seeks to harm the Mystic. Note that a Mystic may well be a charlatan, with little more than trickery or clever Discipline use substantiating this title and reputation.
"Your domain is on that side of the river. Get moving before I do something you'll regret."
<3>Warden (2-point Title)
<n>Kindred society occasionally gives rise to Wardens, particularly in contested or tenuously held domains. Wardens exist in some form or another in all the sects. The duty of the Warden is to beat the boundaries and patrol the borders of the domain so that “they” don’t get in, whomever “they” may be. Sabbat, Anarchs, conniving Camarilla — so long as someone’s trying to take the territory away from the vampires who hodl sway there, a Warden has people to turn back… or destroy.
System: To hear the powers that be tell it, the Warden is an ugly responsibility, but someone has to do it. The Warden has the right to attack and kill unidentified or foreign Kindred in an established domain. Of course, if the Warden is overzealous and finds out that he’s just killed someone granted the Prince’s privilege or recognition by the archbishop, he’d better have a good alibi or a clueless patsy. In some domains, Wardens are compensated because their work is so unpleasant: Princely decree or ecumenical favor can grant an additional point of Resources, Herd, or Influence so long as the Warden remains faithful in her duties.
23 thoughts on “More Titles In Progress”
While my experience is limited to mostly larp, if someone was quelled and could not spend willpower, they would be unable to attack the mystic?
I find the introduction of this idea to be enormously cool, and I’d like to help develop it to its best!
Would the Titles system work as Merits or Backgrounds? They sound like both…
And I really feel like some examples should be given. Like, the Warden in a Camarilla city is a Scourge, right? And in a Sabbat city? Usually, aren’t Templars responsible for that officially, but aren’t the packs that do the actual work of keeping strangers at bay most of the times?
And the mystic in the Sabbat would be a pack Priest? As it seems, not necessarily, so I can be a Sabbat mystic (like, for instance, an advanced follower of a Path), but not necessarily a Priest. But if I AM a Priest, and I have the prestige and recognition to be a Mystic, how many points do I have to spend? Both in the Title and in the Status Background (to be a recognized Priest)?
There’s definitely overlap in the function of the titles, which is intentional. Those sorts of gray areas are inherent to social interactions, plus, as gameplay systems, the player doesn’t necessarily know whether he’s facing the systems of title A or title B, which I see as a powerful Storyteller tool.
Still banging on the systems. Right now, titles “stack” with Status, so you can invoke the weight of your title on top of your existing Status. I’ll put those systems out soon.
Wait, spending willpower to attack someone with a title? Its JUST a title, with little more than a political backing. Malkavian princes will give it to their pet fish. Your telling me, I have to spend a willpower not to feed the malkavian prince’s fish?
I can see in the sabbat how that MIGHT work – A high priest(es) of some sort, but the willpower need would have to come from a DISCIPLINE, not a pure title, which as I said…fish-malk.
If your Malkavian Prince bestows a title on his fish, me and the rest of the domain’s Kindred will stake him and sink him in the harbor.
The investiture in titles is the social contract that all Kindred are part of. You don’t have to use the systems pairings with titles — it’s there for more gameplay and to encourage players to create their own custom titles.
Just an idea I haven’t given much thought about yet… Maybe there should be a clause that only vampires that share a sect with you, or even only the ones with the Status background, are susceptible to the Title system if they affect characters like the Mystic does. Because I can see a Sabbat vampire actually being eager to attack a Camarilla Mystic, for instance.
Many times Kindred don’t along. Worse, they can’t live in the same city without driving half it’s inhabitants around the bend with all their bitching, but it’s not serious enough to warrant a good hard staking. Kindred in power don’t always have time to address every little squabble that others have, especially in very large cities. That’s when the Kindred in question go to the Arbiter, or she comes to you. Are there Arbiters that can settle disputes between Princes? Are they Archons and Templars that deal with more internal squabbles (5-point) or perhaps a more independent and quite powerful Kindred (3-point) who puts their foot down and half the city moves to agree with them?
If an Arbiter is below a Prince’s station, the Prince delegates lesser disputes to the Arbiter. If the Kindred in quarrel decide to not accept the Arbiter’s advice, what then? Does he have the power to sort them out or does the quarrel get elevated to the Prince? They better have a really good reason to waste other Kindred’s time.
This title belongs to Kindred who inhabit and rule very small towns. This Kindred may be the only one in the town, or may be the sire of the only brood. The Second and Fourth Traditions give them the all of the rights of Domain and Acknowledgement should a visting Kindred pass through. The Camarilla will pay them lip service, but really, who respects the Prince of a village of 1000 people and as many cows? For this reason, these “Princes” call themselves Burgomeisters to avoid sounding pretentious and competing with egos of Princes of nearby large cities. A Burgomeister is the only fish in his pond, and deserves his due, for what it’s worth.
…. But beware his wrath. The Burgomeister controls the local Sheriff’s office, the mayor’s office, and the High School dropout gangs. Stepping on his toes in his own backyard may quickly devolve into a medieval situation of pitchforks and torches that will never make the national news service. Small towns are very good at protecting their own and keeping their secrets.
((Think of a vampire version of Big Jim Rennie from Stephen King’s Under the Dome. A story in which players have to hide in a small town from their enemies, only to have to deal with a powerful, entrenched vampire could be very interesting.))
System: The Burgomeister grants Acknowledgement in his own town, and his Right of Destruction normally won’t be challenged by a Justicar, just like a Prince.
Sorry for the spam. But the Burgomeister system could also give him a 1 or 2 dice bonus when interacting with mortals from his town, using skills to persuade, or influence, or social Disciplines. Everybody knows everybody in this town, they may be terrified of him or love him, but everyone respect him.
I just think Fright Night is a cool setting for a VTM story; it doesn’t always have to be about cosmopolitan metropolises. Watertown New York, By Night would be interesting. Didn’t anyone else like Twin Peaks?
What about a tittle for someone who is trying to achieve Golconda or reached it or fakes he reached it. Or another tittle for those who are concerned with faith or religion, or not falling to the beast.
Time to give Storytellers a tool. I made a version of this after some players just don’t understand how dangerous things can be. It adds a bit of fun to the game and it also shows the players just how quickly their messy antics can turn into a shit storm as the gossip spreads.
Bogeyman (1 to 5-point Title)
You are an infamous Bogeyman. Gossip of your misdeeds have spread through the local Kindred population and in some cases, onto the streets. Maybe you sing certain lyrics from a song before doing your dastardly works, or perhaps the grisly trail of evidence you leave behind has a unique quality beyond the norm and you’ve grown sloppy in your efforts to cover them up. Whatever the case, whispers of your wicked reoccurring antics have built up a haze of fear, paranoia and unease among the populace. Due to this infamy, you are being hunted on a nightly basis.
System: The Bogeyman’s Status benefits from a temporary +1 gain for one night after he lives up to his namesake. Meanwhile, anyone who knows of the Bogeyman’s stories and witness him in action must make a Willpower roll, Difficulty of 6 to 9, depending on the severity of the Title, or flee in fear that lasts for one minute lest they become the next victim. If you fail your roll, you flee in terror for the next 10 minutes and lose a point of Willpower. If the Title is a 3-point title or above, anyone actively hunting the Bogeyman must spend a point of Willpower for the scene. This is in addition to the required Willpower roll if they catch him in the act.
This Title manifests itself in a variety of ways. Perhaps the Bogeyman snatches Kindred after they’ve gone to sleep in the morning, risking his own undead life for the thrill of the hunt. Maybe he crucifies those he feeds from, Kindred and human alike in hard-to-reach or poignant places. He could even be known to sing a child’s lullaby while stalking people for nights on end before committing his ghastly business. Storytellers are encouraged to inflict this Title upon players who repeatedly act in a manner of such moral disparity as to shock local Kindred sensibilities.
Some of the titles could also bring burdens for characters, maybe as social penalties between kindred society. VTM shows some of this cases: Diablerist, Fledgling, Former-Ghoul, Ghoul, Masquerade Breaker, Cauchemar (Sandman), Lush, Rogue, Autarkis, Footpads, Lacheur, Osiris, Whelp, Shovelhead, etc.
I agree, a system of negative titles to go along with those positive ones is a great idea.
I can recall of a number of times in Live Action, where a negative status trait was basically a title many other kindred would use in reference to that character.
With the exception of very specific titles, I’d agree that any title that would affect a cainite of that specific sect would only have a minimal or possibly opposite affect on other sects members.
A Camarilla Mystic (for example) would be a huge target by Sabbat if they were going for a demoralizing attack, and while I might agree that maybe an initial willpower should be spent because of their sheer awesome mystically-ness, afterwards it should be open season on the poor SOB.
An idea that came up in my game is of the title Consul, like in the old Roman tradition. I reckon that it could work for the Sabbat or the Camarilla, not to mention some other groups that are seen as exotic, inscrutable and even intractable, though they must still do business with outsiders…
The real-world idea is that a consul works as a representative of his or her nation in a foreign land, but unlike a proper ambassador, a consul does not speak for the head of state. Rather, a consul acts as a ‘translator’ of customs and acceptable practices in a foreign land. Historically, it is an outgrowth of the cosmopolitan world that Alexander made real through his conquests. In the Hellenistic world, there was always someone who spoke Greek wherever one went from Macedonia to Persia. The Romans gave this position a name and more clout, as the consul could arrange business in Rome or just explain what Romans did to locals.
…In my game, I gave the title to a Tremere elder who was not really popular with the Council of Seven, but she was too powerful to completely ignore. She acted as a liaison between House and Clan Tremere and the rest of the Camarilla (often warping deals to her own ends). On the opposite side, I gave a very similar title to a Tzimisce elder who was tapped by the Regent whenever negotiations with Kindred (or Assamites, Settites, what have you) was deemed absolutely necessary. Each of these characters had a grudging respect from those with whom they interacted, but they were granted distrust by their own communities. However, while the power of these ‘consuls’ were minimal, the Kindred with whom they interacted didn’t KNOW how limited the power was.
I dunno if this helps at all, and it’s really rough. Someone might want to refine it a little (or a lot…), and make it work with systems and all. Just wanted to throw it out there.
While my experience is limited to mostly larp, if someone was quelled and could not spend willpower, they would be unable to attack the mystic?
Yes, I see that being the proper order of effects. If you’re dispirited, you can’t muster the will to attack.
I find the introduction of this idea to be enormously cool, and I’d like to help develop it to its best!
Would the Titles system work as Merits or Backgrounds? They sound like both…
And I really feel like some examples should be given. Like, the Warden in a Camarilla city is a Scourge, right? And in a Sabbat city? Usually, aren’t Templars responsible for that officially, but aren’t the packs that do the actual work of keeping strangers at bay most of the times?
And the mystic in the Sabbat would be a pack Priest? As it seems, not necessarily, so I can be a Sabbat mystic (like, for instance, an advanced follower of a Path), but not necessarily a Priest. But if I AM a Priest, and I have the prestige and recognition to be a Mystic, how many points do I have to spend? Both in the Title and in the Status Background (to be a recognized Priest)?
There’s definitely overlap in the function of the titles, which is intentional. Those sorts of gray areas are inherent to social interactions, plus, as gameplay systems, the player doesn’t necessarily know whether he’s facing the systems of title A or title B, which I see as a powerful Storyteller tool.
Still banging on the systems. Right now, titles “stack” with Status, so you can invoke the weight of your title on top of your existing Status. I’ll put those systems out soon.
Under Mystic’s system section:
A Willpower point must [be spent?] for each scene in which the individual seeks to harm the Mystic.
Good catch. Tried to fix the passive voice and instead made a cut-and-paste error 😉
Wait, spending willpower to attack someone with a title? Its JUST a title, with little more than a political backing. Malkavian princes will give it to their pet fish. Your telling me, I have to spend a willpower not to feed the malkavian prince’s fish?
I can see in the sabbat how that MIGHT work – A high priest(es) of some sort, but the willpower need would have to come from a DISCIPLINE, not a pure title, which as I said…fish-malk.
If your Malkavian Prince bestows a title on his fish, me and the rest of the domain’s Kindred will stake him and sink him in the harbor.
The investiture in titles is the social contract that all Kindred are part of. You don’t have to use the systems pairings with titles — it’s there for more gameplay and to encourage players to create their own custom titles.
Just an idea I haven’t given much thought about yet… Maybe there should be a clause that only vampires that share a sect with you, or even only the ones with the Status background, are susceptible to the Title system if they affect characters like the Mystic does. Because I can see a Sabbat vampire actually being eager to attack a Camarilla Mystic, for instance.
The Arbiter (3 to 5-point Title?)
Many times Kindred don’t along. Worse, they can’t live in the same city without driving half it’s inhabitants around the bend with all their bitching, but it’s not serious enough to warrant a good hard staking. Kindred in power don’t always have time to address every little squabble that others have, especially in very large cities. That’s when the Kindred in question go to the Arbiter, or she comes to you. Are there Arbiters that can settle disputes between Princes? Are they Archons and Templars that deal with more internal squabbles (5-point) or perhaps a more independent and quite powerful Kindred (3-point) who puts their foot down and half the city moves to agree with them?
If an Arbiter is below a Prince’s station, the Prince delegates lesser disputes to the Arbiter. If the Kindred in quarrel decide to not accept the Arbiter’s advice, what then? Does he have the power to sort them out or does the quarrel get elevated to the Prince? They better have a really good reason to waste other Kindred’s time.
Burgomeister [1 1 point title]
This title belongs to Kindred who inhabit and rule very small towns. This Kindred may be the only one in the town, or may be the sire of the only brood. The Second and Fourth Traditions give them the all of the rights of Domain and Acknowledgement should a visting Kindred pass through. The Camarilla will pay them lip service, but really, who respects the Prince of a village of 1000 people and as many cows? For this reason, these “Princes” call themselves Burgomeisters to avoid sounding pretentious and competing with egos of Princes of nearby large cities. A Burgomeister is the only fish in his pond, and deserves his due, for what it’s worth.
…. But beware his wrath. The Burgomeister controls the local Sheriff’s office, the mayor’s office, and the High School dropout gangs. Stepping on his toes in his own backyard may quickly devolve into a medieval situation of pitchforks and torches that will never make the national news service. Small towns are very good at protecting their own and keeping their secrets.
((Think of a vampire version of Big Jim Rennie from Stephen King’s Under the Dome. A story in which players have to hide in a small town from their enemies, only to have to deal with a powerful, entrenched vampire could be very interesting.))
System: The Burgomeister grants Acknowledgement in his own town, and his Right of Destruction normally won’t be challenged by a Justicar, just like a Prince.
Sorry for the spam. But the Burgomeister system could also give him a 1 or 2 dice bonus when interacting with mortals from his town, using skills to persuade, or influence, or social Disciplines. Everybody knows everybody in this town, they may be terrified of him or love him, but everyone respect him.
I just think Fright Night is a cool setting for a VTM story; it doesn’t always have to be about cosmopolitan metropolises. Watertown New York, By Night would be interesting. Didn’t anyone else like Twin Peaks?
What about a tittle for someone who is trying to achieve Golconda or reached it or fakes he reached it. Or another tittle for those who are concerned with faith or religion, or not falling to the beast.
Time to give Storytellers a tool. I made a version of this after some players just don’t understand how dangerous things can be. It adds a bit of fun to the game and it also shows the players just how quickly their messy antics can turn into a shit storm as the gossip spreads.
Bogeyman (1 to 5-point Title)
You are an infamous Bogeyman. Gossip of your misdeeds have spread through the local Kindred population and in some cases, onto the streets. Maybe you sing certain lyrics from a song before doing your dastardly works, or perhaps the grisly trail of evidence you leave behind has a unique quality beyond the norm and you’ve grown sloppy in your efforts to cover them up. Whatever the case, whispers of your wicked reoccurring antics have built up a haze of fear, paranoia and unease among the populace. Due to this infamy, you are being hunted on a nightly basis.
System: The Bogeyman’s Status benefits from a temporary +1 gain for one night after he lives up to his namesake. Meanwhile, anyone who knows of the Bogeyman’s stories and witness him in action must make a Willpower roll, Difficulty of 6 to 9, depending on the severity of the Title, or flee in fear that lasts for one minute lest they become the next victim. If you fail your roll, you flee in terror for the next 10 minutes and lose a point of Willpower. If the Title is a 3-point title or above, anyone actively hunting the Bogeyman must spend a point of Willpower for the scene. This is in addition to the required Willpower roll if they catch him in the act.
This Title manifests itself in a variety of ways. Perhaps the Bogeyman snatches Kindred after they’ve gone to sleep in the morning, risking his own undead life for the thrill of the hunt. Maybe he crucifies those he feeds from, Kindred and human alike in hard-to-reach or poignant places. He could even be known to sing a child’s lullaby while stalking people for nights on end before committing his ghastly business. Storytellers are encouraged to inflict this Title upon players who repeatedly act in a manner of such moral disparity as to shock local Kindred sensibilities.
Some of the titles could also bring burdens for characters, maybe as social penalties between kindred society. VTM shows some of this cases: Diablerist, Fledgling, Former-Ghoul, Ghoul, Masquerade Breaker, Cauchemar (Sandman), Lush, Rogue, Autarkis, Footpads, Lacheur, Osiris, Whelp, Shovelhead, etc.
I agree, a system of negative titles to go along with those positive ones is a great idea.
I can recall of a number of times in Live Action, where a negative status trait was basically a title many other kindred would use in reference to that character.
Good idea. I’d been kicking this around, so I’ll work in some negative titles when I get back into the chapter. Thanks!
I loved the low titles idea.
With the exception of very specific titles, I’d agree that any title that would affect a cainite of that specific sect would only have a minimal or possibly opposite affect on other sects members.
A Camarilla Mystic (for example) would be a huge target by Sabbat if they were going for a demoralizing attack, and while I might agree that maybe an initial willpower should be spent because of their sheer awesome mystically-ness, afterwards it should be open season on the poor SOB.
An idea that came up in my game is of the title Consul, like in the old Roman tradition. I reckon that it could work for the Sabbat or the Camarilla, not to mention some other groups that are seen as exotic, inscrutable and even intractable, though they must still do business with outsiders…
The real-world idea is that a consul works as a representative of his or her nation in a foreign land, but unlike a proper ambassador, a consul does not speak for the head of state. Rather, a consul acts as a ‘translator’ of customs and acceptable practices in a foreign land. Historically, it is an outgrowth of the cosmopolitan world that Alexander made real through his conquests. In the Hellenistic world, there was always someone who spoke Greek wherever one went from Macedonia to Persia. The Romans gave this position a name and more clout, as the consul could arrange business in Rome or just explain what Romans did to locals.
…In my game, I gave the title to a Tremere elder who was not really popular with the Council of Seven, but she was too powerful to completely ignore. She acted as a liaison between House and Clan Tremere and the rest of the Camarilla (often warping deals to her own ends). On the opposite side, I gave a very similar title to a Tzimisce elder who was tapped by the Regent whenever negotiations with Kindred (or Assamites, Settites, what have you) was deemed absolutely necessary. Each of these characters had a grudging respect from those with whom they interacted, but they were granted distrust by their own communities. However, while the power of these ‘consuls’ were minimal, the Kindred with whom they interacted didn’t KNOW how limited the power was.
I dunno if this helps at all, and it’s really rough. Someone might want to refine it a little (or a lot…), and make it work with systems and all. Just wanted to throw it out there.
Sold! I’ll add it when I jump back into chapter one.
Excellent.