Since there was a recent forum discussion on it, I thought I’d put up the playtest document for the Invictus mechanics from Secrets of the Covenants.
When discussing this, please link to the original document, rather than reposting it. I sometimes make changes or clarifications in response to feedback.
Please note that we’re primarily interested in what happens when you put this to work at your table, so actual playtest feedback is much appreciated. Also, this hasn’t been edited, so we’re not looking for grammar/spelling corrections.
Courtouisie 2: Can you use as many replacement effects as you like, or use one at will, or choose one for the duration of the duel?
Information Network: “Every Contact your character counts as a Skill Specialty related to the information he provides.” should be “character _has_ counts”
Oath of the hard motherfucker: “The Oath of the Hard Motherfucker is a prime exampl.” missing e
“These Oaths are available to Invictus characters that meet the prerequisites.” Goes against core book, ” The vassal must purchase the Oath Merit to gain its advantages… the vassal does not have to be Invictus” and the lack of Invictus status prereqs for most of these oaths.
“If a power differential exists between the characters, the risks are higher for the more powerful Invictus” Doesn’t appear to be true per the wording of the Oath, though arguably is true just on the grounds that elder vampires have more to fear from sudden weakness.
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In terms of actual impressions: I really like it as a whole; it’s interesting, varied and nothing seems broken in either direction like it did for some other Covenants.
They aren’t looking for typos. It says so in the heading.
I can tell from just reading Oath of the True Knight, that it’s overpowered for its cost. The -Invictus Status to mental Disciplines is a serious game changer, not to mention the Armor.
I agree, I think the armour should be taken out. Even for a five-dot merit, +2 to +5 armour constantly against all vampires is a bit much, particularly when you add immunity to blood bond and resistance to mental disciplines to the mix. If the armour only applied against other Invictus, and the resistance to mental disciplines was full strength against other Invictus but less strong against members of the other Covenants I think this would feel balanced and more true to its flavour
Courtoisie: Very intersting. I assume that “If she engages her opponent socially” means “within the context of the duel”. How close must your opponent be for Courtoisie 3 to work ? Is this a mystical or combat power, i.e. does the ability means your character knocks his opponent to the ground with his weapon if he tries to leave ? If the opponent turns into a bat and then escapes, would Demanding Attention still work ?
Oaths: It appears some of the new oaths are of a different kind then the ones introduced in the core rulebook. The Oath of Abstinence, Oath of the Refugee and The Oath of the True Knight do not appear to have a liege and a vassal, but are a kind of personal vow (not sure about the Oathes of Office and Bad Motherfucker). I assume those oaths are the ones which are “available to Invictus characters that meet the prerequisites” as mentioned in the header.
Oath of the True Knight: (@ Oisin McColgan) It does make no sense to me at all if the boni would only apply against other Invictus. This would defy the purpose of the True Knight. He is sworn do defend the Invictus as a whole, which in particular includes threats from outside, including vampires from other Covenants. As I understand it the Knight kind of focuses the support of his covenant into mystical protection (“If you go against me, you go against the Invictus”). The boni as defined are a perfect reflection of this and should stay as they are, IMHO. The disadvantage of the Knight is that he becomes bound to none, and must maintain neutrality in all his affairs, which is harsh in the Invictus where everyone else is deeply connected and part of a neo-feudal system. The Knight is a lone figure, but highly respected by other Invictus due to the oath he has sworn do defend them all.
Abstinence sounds like a good Insurance Policy against fugitive/forgiven Diablerists, guest Elders, and the odd overzealous Scourge.
I would imagine that using Courtousie against shapeshifters would face similar obstacles to those around the other social disciplines.
Lastly, I think changing OotTK to modifying Resistance pools would make it a bit more balanced, as the Armor boost is too readily exploited.
I’m sure they’ll survive the trauma of accidental spellcheck.
Re: True Knight: Comparably, the Carthians get a Law rendering them immune to attempts to force them to incriminate themselves, with a few other useful bonuses and a lesser drawback, at the same (one higher?) cost. True Knight seems to be a fair bit broader in scope, and more difficult to work around. Perhaps it would be better if the latter two abilities only applied when actively defending the Invictus?
Aegon: Yeah, Courtoisie definitely *feels* like a mildly supernatural power.
Is there a new “Invested” merit? B&S already had one Invested merit for the Invictus, so perhaps the new one should have a different name?
Is the Cortoisie a Fighting Style other Covenants can adopt, and more specifically, if a duelist of the style abandons the Invictus, does she magically loses access to it? I remember a discussion in the Carthian page that stated no Fighting Styles were Covenant-only.
Also, are they doing away with the Spina, or are they just revamping the Barbs, because… the Spina were pretty awesome!
Is the Cortoisie a Fighting Style any vampire, even from another Covenant, can buy?
Also, if a duelist of the style abandons the Invictus, does she magically loses access to it? I remember a discussion in the Carthian page that said no Fighting Styles were Covenant-only.
Also, are they doing away with the Spina?
Or are they just revamping the Barbs, because… the Spina were pretty awesome!
So is it just going to be the player covenants or will NPC covenants be getting a look?