Snert... Oh my, I think I'm getting a little misty with nostalgia. I was beginning to think that the old words had blown away like dust in the wind.
Apologies if the last post got a bit dense, I'm not supposed to write after 2am lest I run the risk of injuring myself or any potential audience. Two words to explain that: no proofreading. I will happily take terms like insightful and humorous; much better than "Quiet you."
What we're getting into is not about people who play vampires as a whole, but how to interact fairly with those that seem to flout the rules and feel they should be allowed to walk over whoever they like simply because they have the special dental plan. I don't think we're talking about the long term players whose understanding and play of their character has aged like a fine wine. We're not talking about the vampires that artfully deceive to appear like practically every other patron in the bar. Let's stick with the ones that bare their fangs all the time and flaunt their undeath like every night is dollar night at the movies.
The setting rules say that inhuman monsters and vampires need to mask their appearance in such a way to blend in. Smiling with a big old toothy grin then puffing into a cloud isn't what is usually called blending. The Tavern is set in an area where the locals don't look too kindly on monsters and unhuman creatures tromping through their fields. I'm all about playing around with the rules to unearth role playing opportunities: it's all about the story for me. Having a bunch of yahoos that can't keep 'em in their mouth because they think being a vampire means not having anything to fear or worry about kills the suspension of disbelief for others. And let me tell you, if you think being a vampire means not having anything to fear then you should do some reasearch on what angry mobs have done throughout history. Speaking on the subject of vampire lore, the peasants have found all kinds of interesting ways to kill a vampire and make it stick. Maybe vampires are strong, but they aren't stronger than fifty armed men that are intent on beheading said bloodsucker, sprinkling the wounds with holy water, stuffing garlic in the mouth, burying the body upside down next to a crossroads, and finishing off the night by flambeing the garlic stuffed head.
All I ever advocate is everyone having as level a playing ground to work with as possible. Considering the differences in game rules, character concepts, and play styles that is often asking a whole lot. If I'm trying to be fair to others when I'm playing then rubbing my nose in it by showing off your pointy pearlies is poor form.
As for the hunters and stakes flying in the face of a vampire RPer's emotional attachment to their character, I say color this as an opportunity. I never said anyone should run around willy nilly plunging a stake into anything with sharper than average canines. No one gets anywhere beyond being tossed in the river that way, and it would likely evoke some kind of group response from the vampire RPer's as they start feeling persecuted. What I'm talking about is a chance for vampires to do a little more than sit about idly and brood or take a nibble from the next wide-eyed thing that passes by. It's a role filled with the beat of leather wings in the blackest night, a little silk or velvet, and the whole thing dripping of sex and blood, but often it is played like a couple people chatting down at Starbucks over mochas. Live a little, or embrace the undeath, whatever floats your boat.
The hunters and the stakes are not necessarily literal. There are plenty of ways you can make anyone uncomfortable in a social situation, let alone making the unlife awkward for those with solar allergies. The challenge is to play the role and sew a little dischord without bruising anyone's real feelings. Beyond the opportunities for story and role play there are other considerations. If I had a quarter for every time I've heard "you don't know how to kill a vampire" I'd be looking for a Coinstar machine or rolling those coins up for the bank. Maybe I had it backwards all this time and the vampire wasn't the problem. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding about my role; could it be I gave the impression I was playing Joe Pitchfork the local farmer? I've played soldiers, spies, assassins, priests, witches, scouts, wizards, and yes even vampires when the story requires it: the one thing I think I should know how to do is ensure the undead are properly re-inhumed.
Vampires are powerful in both physical strength and special abilities. Vampires are also stealthy and subtle. Being brazenly open about the vampiric nature of a character could be considered as the character being suicidal. It is a bar filled with experienced adventurers that kill monsters on a regular basis. These people sell the treasure and body parts of dead monsters for beer money. Vampires should be cautious of such situations, assuming they want to be old vampires.
I say should, would, and maybe an awful lot. It isn't because I'm indecisive. I won't tell anyone how to play their character, but my characters lock horns with any character than can't offer a plausible story beyond "I'm a monster! Rarr!" then I honestly walk away from that interaction feeling like I've wasted part of my night. It's discouraging for no other reason that I am there to entertain and be entertained, and so is everyone else there.
War
"The pointy end goes into the other man..." - Zorro, The Mask of Zorro
