OLD OOC THREAD - RESURRECTION
This is what I was able to recover from my web browser cache. It appears to be the first 4 pages of the old OOC thread. I believe that this comprises most, if not all, of that thread.
This is long - I'm going to sblock the whole thing.
[sblock=recovered OOC thread]HUNTER: THE VIGIL - I LEFT MY SOUL IN SAN FRANCISCO - OOC THREAD - RECOVERED
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POST 1 - INSIGHT
HUNTER the VIGIL: I LEFT MY SOUL IN SAN FRANCISCO
This is the OOC (Out of Character) thread for the Hunter: the Vigil game, "I Left My Soul in San Francisco".
If you need the original recruitment thread, you can find it here.
RG Thread
IC Thread (Upcoming)
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This first post opens the discussion on character creation. Hunter characters are more complex than your standard RPG characters and I want to make sure that we take enough time and explore enough elements to really flesh out all of the hunters.
I'd like to start with discussing the situation in which the hunters find themselves. This concerns the cell - your group of hunters - and the place you call home. Subsequent posts will discuss individual hunter creation.
The Cell
Here's some of what the HtV book has to say about hunter cells.
A cell is the smallest and most common element of hunter society; at its core, it’s a group of like-minded people dedicated to stopping the monsters that threaten their homes and loved ones. These groups usually comprise only a handful of individuals, often with minimal resources and limited knowledge of the supernatural, and their area of influence is extremely local. They come together to investigate and fight the thing that’s stalking children in their neighborhood, or is leaving bodies drained of blood in the alley behind their apartment building.
and
A hunter cell is often born from tragedy: a husband loses his wife to a mysterious, bestial killer and vows revenge, or a priest watches members of his flock sicken and die from a baffling malady and begins to suspect the work of a sorcerer in their midst. The fact is that monsters have existed unseen among humankind for thousands of years, and are past masters at concealing their activities from casual observation. It takes a horrific encounter or a terrible loss to pry the scales from a person’s eyes and inspire them to take up the Vigil.
In the case of this game, the cell will be comprised of yourselves, the PCs, and two NPC hunters. I will detail the NPC hunters in another post. They are not as experienced as the PCs, but can be called upon to perform certain tasks.
We will discuss the exact location of the cell and its headquarters (along with any other location-based details) later in this thread.
What brought the hunters together? This is an important topic of discussion. I expect to explore this once all of the characters have been mostly finalized; although, feel free to discuss ideas about this whenever it suits you.
What are the hunters trying to do? Another excellent topic. We will open the game with an issue the hunters are already pursuing. I'm not going to get into that until we know more about the hunters.
The City
Your cell is based in the city of San Francisco. This will be much the same city as we know. Anything you find in secondary sources, like this Wikipedia article, is fair game. The "supernatural" elements we explore in this game will exist outside of what is known to the public. Where necessary, we may change the names of people and places (certainly not to protect the innocent).
Specifically, the cell concerns itself with Golden Gate Park. Feel free to read about it here. The park consists of more than a thousand acres of woodland and green space. It is 20% larger than Central Park in New York City. It is 1/2 mile north to south and 3 miles from east to west.
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The park is huge and offers a ton of things to do. This means that Golden Gate Park is very busy during the day, especially on weekends. At night, there are some music and museum events, but the park is mostly deserted. That is most likely when the hunters will engage in their missions.
Why are the hunters interested in Golden Gate Park? The answer to this question is central to the reason that the cell exists in the first place. We will need to establish the reason why you are drawn to the park.
Other Hunters in San Francisco
Your cell is currently alone and ignorant of other hunters operating in the city. That doesn't mean you are the only hunters in San Francisco; it means that you have yet to meet and/or establish ties to other hunters. Surely, other hunters exist. Perhaps one of your first goals, as a cell, would be to find other hunters to join your cause.
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POST 2 - INSIGHT
CHARACTER CREATION NOTES
This post is not intended to be a complete primer on creating characters for Hunter: the Vigil. Instead, this is a place where I am going to introduce some character creation elements I want everyone to keep in mind. Please understand that these are all guidelines and not hard-and-fast rules.
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The Process
It is recommended that you create your characters as normal people first and then add the hunter elements later. To do this, use the character creation rules found in the World of Darkness core rules. You then add the hunter elements as outlined in the Hunter: the Vigil book. I believe that this makes for a more believable character. Obviously, you also want to consider your hunter character's profession, which is something they were doing prior to becoming a hunter.
Character Name
I am kind of a stickler when it comes to character names. This is a serious game with some dark tones and themes. I really don't want to have to veto silly character names, but I am willing to do so.
Background / Concept
Keep in mind that you are creating a relatively new hunter. The cell has been around for a short time and, while your own individual hunter may have been on the hunt longer than the cell has been in existence, your character has not been a hunter for his or her entire life. The background or concept that you create should reflect both the past and present of the character's life.
Attributes, Skills, and Specialties
I'm not going into much detail here. Obviously, the attributes you choose should make sense based on the character's concept. Skills and specialties should also fall in line, for the most part. Consider the character's profession, also, when selecting these values. Any attribute or skill with 4 or 5 dots needs to be explained and justified in your character concept or backstory.
Virtues and Vices
These ARE going to come into play, so choose wisely. It is often interesting to go against type when selecting these. It can make for a more dynamic character.
Merits
The merits chosen should reflect not only the character's past, but also a bit of their hunter present. After all, some of the merits (perhaps not all of them) have come recently, as he or she joined the hunt. Any merit with 4 or 5 dots needs to be explained and justified in your character concept or backstory.
I'm not going to get into specific merits in this post. Just try to keep in mind that these characters should be fairly realistic. Justify whatever decisions you make regarding these.
Flaws
I am allowing each of the hunters to start play with one Flaw. See p. 217 of the World of Darkness rules for how Flaws work.
Experience
Remember that I am granting the PCs extra experience to use. The PC hunters have "Survived First Contact" and, thus, have 25 experience points to spend and 12 practical experience.
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Feel free to discuss character concepts and start posting your creations at your leisure.
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POST 3 - INSIGHT
Reserved for Other Storyteller Stuff
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POST 4 - INSIGHT
This is as good a place as any to put links to the preludes --
Luke Chen
Renata Hodges
Ryan Smith
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POST 5 - SHAYURI
Okay, here's what I have so far...still hammering out/adapting background story, but the general shape is in place:
In straightforward mechanical terms, Renata's a melee specialist-slash-tank to the extent that a mortal can be a 'tank' in any World of Darkness game. She's tough, and can take a bit of a beating without slowing down. She throws 7 dice punches (not counting any bonuses from equipment) and is a mean swing with a baseball bat too. With good Athletics and Speed, she's pretty good at closing the distance on anything that's not superhumanly fast. A bit of time on the practice range with handguns gives her a not-too-terrible ranged alternative. With danger sense and a good Wits, she's a pretty decent point-man.
Secondary areas of expertise include being sneaky, and...oddly perhaps...medicine. Granted, it's only a 3 dice pool unless the injury is a pulled muscle or something 'sports' related, but it ain't nothing. Enough to keep someone from bleeding out maybe.
I'm not really planning on going much farther with punchy kung-fu, mostly because I don't think that's going to cut it against most of the guys we're up against. I'll probably start working her more into Weaponry and related merits. A raise to Resolve is planned, which'll help her lackluster Willpower as well.
Ren has a couple of albatrosses of course. First, her dad's a Senator. Now, he's from another State, so it's not like folks are likely to pick her out of a crowd...but anyone doing actual research on her will probably be able to find quite a bit of info about her. And his attention, if attracted, could complicate things very, very quickly. Oh, and he might be evil too. Or just really annoying. GM call on that. The second one is just her Vice of Wrath is well-chosen. She IS a hothead. Getting into scraps is her self-therapy, so I'm sure complications will arise from that.
Name: Renata Hodges
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Concept: Angry student vigilante
Virtue: Justice
Vice: Wrath
Attributes:
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Strength ***
Dexterity ***
Stamina ***
Intelligence **
Wits ***
Resolve **
Presence **
Manipulation **
Composure **
Health Levels 5+sta 8
Defense: 3
Morality: 7
Willpower: Res+Comp 4
Initiative: Wit+Dex 6
Speed: Str+Dex+5 11
Merits
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Professional Training: Athelete 2
- Networking 2
- Continuing Education
Safehouse 1
Danger Sense 2
Iron Stamina 1
Quick Draw 1
Kung Fu * 1
- Focused Attack (reduce specific target penalties)
Fame (daughter of Congressman) 1
Resources 2
Abilities:
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Mental 4
Academics 1
Medicine (sports) 1
Occult 1
Politics 1
Physical 11
Athletics 3
Brawling (kung fu) 3
Firearms (pistol) 1
Stealth 3
Weaponry 3
Social 7
Expression (guitar) 2
Intimidation 2
Socialize 1
Subterfuge 2
Tier 1
Profession: Athelete
Asset Skills: Athletics, Medicine, Brawling
Total Experience: 25 + 12p
Current Exp: 0
Spending
- 1st dot Firearms (1 + 2p)
- 3rd dot Str (15)
- 3rd dot Weaponry (9)
- Merit: Professional Training 1 and 2 (6p)
- Merit: Kung Fu 1 (2p)
- Merit: Quick Draw (2p)
History(Incomplete Show
Renata is the daughter of Thomas and Isabella Hodges. Tom is one of Nevada's Senators, relatively young for a politician, a Republican, and considered something of a rising star in the party. Isabella's father is the patriarch of a large marketing company that handles everything from fashions and jewelry to personal electronics.
She has three brothers, two older, one younger. Her two older brothers were always very competitive with one another, and Renata did her best to keep up. This was true until her younger brother started growing up...he was considerably less outgoing and more intellectual in demeanor, and tended to get picked on. Ren took his side at once, defending him against them. This dynamic eased as they all left childhood behind, but left its marks on their relationships.
In high school Renata started out rather quiet, only coming out of her shell for PE...she was always more inclined to express herself through action than through speaking or writing. She started going steady with a childhood friend, and things kind of exploded with love triangles and betrayals and vicious rumors that finally drove Renata to a breaking point. She wound up getting into some fights, and was effectively expelled as a result. She spent her senior year at a private school and went through a bit more drama, but managed to graduate. Her scholastic performance was nothing special but she managed to get some attention from her athletic performance. This got her a choice of a few universities, and she decided to leave the state and head on over to California, to San Francisco.
Going into college, Renata immediately began taking courses to guide her towards the profession she had decided she wanted. Law enforcement. And of course, the moment her father found out, he had a talk with her. A talk wherein he said she was free to take any courses she wanted...but he'd recommend something else, because she was never going to be a policewoman. He stated quite openly that he wouldn't risk his daughter on something so dangerous, and that he was in a position to make sure no precinct hired her. The degree would be a waste of her time.
Renata's fights with her mother were regular...but she couldn't fight with her dad. He didn't fight. She couldn't bait him, couldn't get him to lose that unflappable self control. He'd smile and laugh and treat her like a best friend no matter what she said, but he wouldn't budge.
She slipped into a depression after that, with grades tailspinning. Nothing felt like it mattered anymore. She was a failure in her personal life. All the decisions of her future were being made for her. What difference did anything she chose make? One night coming back to her car rather late, she saw two men wrestling a girl into their car...and something in her snapped. She ran up, ripped one of them away and bounced him off the car parked next to them. The other one lasted exactly three punches and a kick. Renata drove the shaken girl home. She never even gave her name.
After that, Renata started trolling the parking lot after dark with her lights off. Looking for trouble. This was something her dad couldn't stop her from doing. This was a decision she was making that meant something. Her schoolwork recovered, and she went into athletics and sports medicine. It didn't really MATTER to her, but it was good enough to keep the folks off her back.
What mattered, the REAL work, was what she did off the books. Renata improvised a 'costume' of sorts...really just black clothes and a ski mask in case someone had a camera. To keep her dad from getting wind of it. She was good at it...good at the stalking...striking with surprise. Between that, and her somewhat long history of beating people up, she managed to get lucky a lot.
First contact story
Personality Show
Renata is as stubborn as a mule, but equally loyal to those she likes and loves. She is most concerned with being true to herself, attributing most of the worst moments of her life to her willingness to compromise for the sake of others. As such she now strives to act as she sees fit, and to make others deal with her on her own terms. Nothing frustrates and enrages her as much as feeling helpless, or victimized...to be entirely subject to someone else's will. She's also sensitive to this in others, and feels a compulsion to try to help people who are being victimized...feeling that to let it happen to someone else is only a little different than to let it happen to herself.
When not crusading, Ren is typically quite easygoing. She's quick to anger, and quick to cool off, and hasn't got a lot of ambitions or hobbies to fill her idle hours. She likes hanging out with friends, just talking or goofing around. She has a deep seated dislike of politics, since she feels like the whole system has basically 'stolen' her father away from her. She's still in school but isn't 100% sure what she wants to do with it now, and is considering dropping out.
She's still somewhat estranged from her family. She hasn't forgiven her father yet for his strongarming her over career choice, and she hasn't gotten along with her mother for years now. Her older brothers are much closer to the parents than she is, and she doesn't try to talk to them so they can't keep badgering her to apologize to mom and dad and get on the right course.
Reynold, her younger brother, is more sympathetic, but he's gone to school in the United States and isn't very available these days.
Equipment
Small, but decent apartment (safehouse).
Small, secondhand car.
Smartphone
Weighted 'MMA' style gloves
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POST 6 - JAGO PULASTRA
Have not spent any of our extra XP or Practical XP yet, but here is:
Luke Chen, Streetwise Courier
Background / Concept
Luke Chen was born to a Hong Kong investment broker and a San Fran local, the owner of a rather popular diner in the Bay Area. The eldest of the 2nd generation Chens, a lot of his attention at home is focused on two things.
The first is his sister, Vivian, just on the cusp of graduating high school. Making sure she does well is something he considers his responsibility, especially considering that with their father away all the time and their mother busy running her restaurant, Luke feels like he has to "step up" at home. Ten years his younger, Vivian sees her brother as a dedicated man, but perhaps a boring one - always trying to keep her on the straight and narrow.
This is mostly because of his two cousins: Alex and Sam Chen. Though only a few years younger than Luke, these two got mixed up with some bad company very early on: the local Triads running out of Chinatown. Luke does his best to keep away from such a life, but it is without fail that one of the two will eventually call for a favor or because they were in trouble. Luke has had his nose broken dealing with Alex's violent boyfriend, and he's gone broke bailing out Sam from a dice game gone wrong. Still: family is family, and Luke won't let anything too terrible happen to them, despite their intent on going deeper into the criminal organization.
For himself, Luke is almost through a graduate program at the University of San Francisco, right near Golden Gate Park. He lives in a modest apartment near the campus, and spends a large chunk of his day studying profusely to attain his doctorate in History and finally get the chance to become a Professor, like he had wanted from when he first entered school. At night, to help dissuade the massive loans he has taken for such schooling (as his father, though successful, "never had help from his family"), Luke lives a completely separate life as a Courier.
Things need to move in San Francisco. Letters need express delivery, packages need to beat traffic, a million different things need to get from Point A to Point B, and Luke is the man to do it. His motorcycle is a simple thing, not some big flashy Harley or sleek Kawasaki, but it gets the job done and he knows how to drive it quite well through the hilly streets of San Fran. Unfortunately, this job often lands him right back in the hands of Sam and Alex, who are quick to offer up Luke's name as someone who knows how to make things happen.
Dealing with The Triads is ... tricky, to say the least, for Luke. Should his name ever be associated with them, he knows that his education, his life would be over. Everything he would have worked towards would be taken away, hells, his family may disown him for the deed. However, the money is good, and Luke has always been afraid of what would happen to his Cousins should he ever refuse to move a mysteriously non-labeled, brown paper-wrapped box to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and leave it there. Because of this, Luke has gained quite the affinity for trying to get himself out of agreements or trouble. Words, then, are his weapons to try and cool an angry cop's demands as to why he's loitering near the police station, or upon trying to tell a Triad boss that yes, he is 100% sure he gave the letter to the person who asked for it and he has no idea how the Russians snagged it instead.
These troubles used to keep Luke up at night. Now, on the Hunt, they don't bother him as much anymore. He knows the real monsters living in his beloved city, and they sure as hell aren't human.
Attributes, Skills, and Specialties
Luke's priorities for attributes are Social, Mental, then Physical. He needs his words and his Composure when trying to bail out his cousins or answer why he didn't take his sister's call when in the middle of a drug dead-drop, and so naturally his Wits are quite sharp as well. Of decent intellect and resolve in putting himself through school, all that education left little time for building his body's muscle. However, his heart is doing just fine: the motorcycle can't go everywhere and Luke even enjoys taking a regular bicycle where he can to save on gas. His reflexes are rather quick, building from a lifetime of dodging traffic in San Francisco, and they've saved his life on more than one occasion.
His skills, too, are prioritized Social, Mental, then Physical: Luke is quite persuasive when he needs to be, especially when it's related to calming someone down, whether from worry or anger. He's also a child of the streets, growing up in Chinatown and working all around the city, as well as dealing with The Triads in the name of his cousins. He partied enough in college and even then finds it hard to turn down offers of a drink or get-together, now knowing what it takes to schmooze his way out of a bullet from a bodyguard pissed that he was talking to a boss's girlfriend. Likewise, Luke has learned to lie, or at least hide his intentions from his sister and others. He doesn't want his cousins knowing everything about his life, nor does he want Vivian knowing that last night he faced down a creature made of shadows and acid that took the form of his high school crush.
Luke has spent a lot of time in school. A lot of time. Over 20 years of his life have been dedicated towards Academia, so it stands that he's picked up a thing or two over the years. Like how to find exactly the right source for a paper, or to know when an article was definitely written 150 years after the event that it speaks of. Still, he has his interests, and all those books read sometimes talk about the strange and unusual. Covens performing esoteric rituals. Men that could turn into beasts. Women that lured men into the mists and sent them back as a shell to infect a town with a love of her ghostly beauty. He's flipped through several of these before out of pure curiosity. Now, his interest in such texts is also reaching levels of pure education.
Luke loves his motorcycle. He loves his bicycle. He loves being in control of a machine and taking on the day with it: there's no greater feeling than whisking down the hills of San Francisco and knowing exactly when to brake to clear the whole thing at great speed. However, there isn't much more that he devotes himself to physically. The bicycle keeps him in reasonable shape and he'll even go running when he has the time, but Luke is not much more athletic than that. Of note, though, is his purchasing of a pistol and practicing with it on Sunday mornings. It was Alex that suggested he do so, and Luke couldn't rightly argue with her about it. She even helped him get set up with the permit, which was not something Luke thought Alex even had.
Virtues and Vices
Luke is Charitable. He enjoys helping people, although this has gotten him in hot water plenty of times. The biggest examples would be Alex and Sam, who constantly are blowing up his phone and Luke knows that answering it could very well lead to a bullet to the leg. Or worse. Still, he doesn't feel right just abandoning them to their fate, no matter how often they make mistakes. Helping Vivian study for a test has made him fail one, but he knows that she's much better off for it. Among his friends, Luke is known as someone that will always help move furniture, and no, he won't charge you after, not even a beer. He'll pick you up on that motorcycle of his when your car breaks down. He'll take you to his mom's diner for some Chinese soul food when you find out your other half just cheated on you. Where a helping hand is needed, it's Luke's hand that's reaching out.
Luke is Lustful. Though he's loathe to admit it, working for the Triads has introduced him to a lot of things. A lot of things. Drugs. Money. Women. You name it. Their mass amount of excess keeps making Luke wonder if his "always dot the i's" lifestyle isn't exactly the best road. He sees men with a tenth of his intellect and charm driving Mercedes and dating supermodels named Mercedes. He's even given in a few times, going to clubs with Sam or to parties with Alex, leading himself into a world of drink and sex, only to find that Vivian was mugged last night while he was forgetting Stacy's or Lacy's name. Justifying it that even he gets to blow off steam sometimes, Luke still craves the physical pleasures he tries to deny himself, all the while thinking that surely nothing bad would happen were he to loosen up a bit.
Merits
Not wealthy, Luke at least has a little spending cash on him. The Courier business doesn't pay well, but a nice slice from The Triads every now and then helps. Likewise, having to run the city streets day and night means that Luke knows exactly where he's going. Always. Always. When your phone is dead and you have no GPS, it's fifteen minutes until sunrise and a mob boss has promised to cut off your cousin's hand if you don't make your delivery in time, you get to know where you're going, and fast.
Having grown up in Chinatown, Luke is also conversationally fluent in Cantonese, the main Chinese dialect spoken in San Francisco. It's not perfect, as his uncles and aunts are quick to point out, but hey, he was born in the States. Cantonese comes in handy when dealing with Sam and Alex, who he knows both owe him more than they could ever repay. It's not often that he can call upon them, but when he does the two both know it's serious enough that they should try and pull some of their strings in the criminal underworld to help out. On the other side of the fence, Luke has had a few run-ins with Detective Danielle St. Croix, of the San Francisco Police Department. A Vice worker, she has a habit of crossing paths with Luke, but ultimately knows that the man is trying to do the best with the cards he's been dealt. While not exactly a friend of his, Luke has called upon Danielle once or twice for some info.
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POST 7 - INSIGHT
FYI, one of the NPC hunters is contributing a merit dot to the group Safehouse, so make sure to factor that in when you decide on things.
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POST 8 - GREENKARL
OK here is what I got so far. I am still a bit confused on a Hunter Template. what am I missing?
Ryan Smith was a good Marine who saw something in Iraq... something that should not exist. This shock him too his core. He was eventually discharged and became homeless (Vagrant). Ryan is anger about about this new darker world that he finds himself in. He has a sister in town who is still trying to help get him off the street, but he tries pushing her away... because he knows that there are dark things out there. He sees some of them more nights then he cares to... and he is getting ready to do something about it.
Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 3
Profession: Vagrant. Asset Skills: Streetwise and Survival (Urban Survival)
Skills (Mental)- Craft 2, Investigation 2, Medicine 1, Language (Arabic) 1, Occultism 1
(Physical) - Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Firearms 2, Larceny 1, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Weaponry 2
(Social) - Intimidate 2, Streetwise 2
Specialties - Mechanic, Long Distance Running, Swords, Urban Survival
Merits: Danger Sense 3, Iron Stamina 2, Toxin Resistance 1, Unseen Sense 3
Defense 2, Health 8, Initiative 5, Morality 7, Size 5, Speed 11, Willpower 6
Virtue/Vice: Fortitude/Wraith
Flaw: Aloof
Basic XP Spent (25)
Dexterity +1 (15XP)
Danger Sense +2 (4XP+6XP)
Practical XP (12; 2pts unspent)
Safe-house +1 (2XP)
Profession: Vagrant +1 (2XP)
Weaponry +1 (6XP)
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POST 9 - SHAYURI
(OOC - The hunter template, for Tier 1 hunters like us, is pretty much just the Profession. )
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POST 10 - GREENKARL
Ah I thought it was going to be something easy like that
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POST 11 - INSIGHT
All right. Since I think it's just the three of you in this game right now, it's time to start polishing the characters and thinking about how you came together as a hunter cell.
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POST 12 - JAGO PULASTRA
Word, well.
First thing's first, I'm looking at our Practical XP and wondering what we should put it towards. Some Tactics seem like the optimal choice, which is why I've saved my First Contact XP to maybe raise a few skills or the like to help get Tactics.
As for how we met, well, Ren and Luke are probably both going to USF, though he's clearly older than her and in Graduate Courses. Maybe he tutored/tutors her through the "Must Take" classes like Mathematics and such while she works towards her Sports Medicine degree? That work for you, [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION]? I don't know Ren's First-Contact story, but we may be able to work something out there.
Ryan I'm not really sure how to work that in. [MENTION=6801242]GreenKarl[/MENTION], I'm definitely open to ideas here, but as Luke's First-Contact story revolves around bringing a mysterious package to the wrong people who use to summon the wrong thing, perhaps Ryan was nearby and is the reason Luke survived? There's also the possibility that Ryan ran afoul of the local Triads and Luke was nearby to step in and stop things from turning violent? Both, perhaps? "Life-for-a-Life" kinda deal?
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POST 13 - SHAYURI
Yar, I'm working on the details, but the gist of it would be that she's up to her late night shenanigans and tries to break up what looks like some kind of assault that turns out to be something much worse. Trying to decide what the thingy is...it can't be something TOO formidable, or I'd be playing a little pile of hamburger. A vampire makes the most objective sense, since I can totally see one preying on the university crowd and a vampire attack would probably LOOK like a rape attempt or something to the untrained eye. But even a weak vampire would probably be too much for her to handle.
I like the idea of her having a PC as a tutor though. That's a good link!
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POST 14 - JAGO PULASTRA
Yeah, in the World of Darkness, even a starting Vamp is pretty much death to lone mortals ("LOLWHATLETHALDAMAGE???).
What about a Ghoul, though? Mortals who drink Vampire blood? They're usually pretty above-human (Extra strength, enhanced senses), but Ren seems like a pretty competent fighter, she definitely could have scared it away or something. Maybe she was able to at least make enough of a ruckus to bring others running to the fight, sending the Ghoul fleeing before it was discovered?
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POST 15 - SHAYURI
A ghoul is hard to see as supernatural though, is the thing. Hmmm
Changeling maybe? Or some nameless x-files beastie of the week?
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POST 16 - JAGO PULASTRA
Always love the X-Files approach. Honestly is the easiest way to say "Something strange and abnormal."
Changeling would also be hard to see because of the mien, unless it was actively using Contracts and drawing attention to itself as something inherently supernatural. Otherwise, they just look like humans.
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POST 17 - SHAYURI
Yar, creature of the week is probably best. Then I have some flexibility to decide what its properties are... Renata is a decent combatant, but she's just a normal human. If she soloed a critter, it can't be MUCH of a critter. Something that survives mainly by stealth, I'd expect.
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POST 18 - GREENKARL
Yea I like the idea that they survived the encounter by both (or all three) being there... gives them another reason to hang out afterwards. Ryan would recognize how over matched he is early on and see the need for work with others to survive.
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POST 19 - SHAYURI
Hmm. If we were all together by accident or design when it went down, that gives us a lot more leeway on what the baddie was too.
Except weren't our first contacts supposed to be seperate?
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POST 20 - JAGO PULASTRA
I believe so, but perhaps they could have all lead us towards the same thing? Ryan is investigating the thing in Iraq that followed him home, Renata is helping out a fellow student that is scared of something that attacked her, Luke is tailing a delivery he doesn't feel good about after the thing he saw last time, and bam, we all come together to find the "mastermind" as it were behind all of our strange instances?
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POST 21 - GREENKARL
OH I LIKE that idea a lot
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POST 22 - SHAYURI
That could work!
In fact, if the 'mastermind' is a vampire, that means Ren could have faced off against a ghoul that was trying to collect someone for his master...
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POST 23 - JAGO PULASTRA
That would be pretty great, if our benevolent Storyteller is down with that?
All the strange occurrences lead up to a confrontation with a full on Vampire, that we maybe not exactly kill but perhaps at least "defeat" (maybe we think we killed it?).
If that's the case, maybe Ryan encountered some strange undead ... thing in the Middle East, Ren could think she's just tracking down some scumbag who assaulted one of her friends, and I guess then Luke's package could have been a firebomb or something meant to kill a rival Vampire, maybe?
Lotta spitballing here, but I do like the idea of 3 separate encounters all rolling into 1.
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POST 24 - SHAYURI
It solves the problem of how we decided to work together very neatly!
And perhaps the final confrontation happened near the park? Or maybe each of our individual things happened in the Park...so when we compared stories, it seemed to us like Golden Gate Park is a 'hotbed' of The Bad, so we decided that's a good place to keep an eye on?
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POST 25 - INSIGHT
I am onboard with the idea that the three of you formed the cell after encountering a "vampire" (given that you do not know anything about vampires in the setting, but are familiar with their mythological roots).
So, at some point after this, the hunters realized that a lot of strange thing were happening in Golden Gate Park, especially after dark. This jibes with the idea that a vampire could be behind this - after all, don't vampires prefer to operate at night?
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POST 26 - JAGO PULASTRA
Well then that shores it all up for me, at least.
In the meantime: XPs - what should I be dropping them on and what Tactics should we be looking into, here?
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POST 27 - SHAYURI
Maybe we should spend the exp on other stuff, and develop tactics as we play? To see what our characters are best at before committing?
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POST 28 - JAGO PULASTRA
Don't have my book on me right now, but can Practical XP be spent like regular XP, then, on upping skills and attributes?
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POST 29 - SHAYURI
I think skills and merits only.
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POST 30 - JAGO PULASTRA
Hm.
If that's the case, I'll drop the 25 Base XP on pumping up my Resolve to 3 (15 XP) and my Strength to 2 (10 XP). Grab that extra Willpower and hopefully never be rolling anything physical on a Chance Die.
the 12 Practical will be:
1 dot to the Safehouse - 2 XP
1 dot for Profession: Courier (unsure what this would be for RAW) - 2 XP
1 dot for the Quick Draw - Firearms Merit - 2 XP
And bring Firearms up to 2 Dots - 6 XP
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POST 31 - GREENKARL
Then I mixed up mine also... how is this for XP spent
Basic XP Spent (25)
Dexterity +1 (15XP)
Danger Sense +2 (4XP+6XP)
Practical XP (12; 2 unspent)
Safe-house +1 (2XP)
Profession: Vagrant +1 (2XP)
Weaponry +1 (6XP)
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POST 32 - INSIGHT
I'm going to start the RG thread soon. I think I'm going to put the NPC hunters in there instead of in this thread.
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POST 33 - INSIGHT
RG thread is now posted here.[/sblock]
