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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 4791567" data-attributes="member: 2205">There was an article on the WotC site that went along with the Open Grave (I think) release that was the description of a campaign arc where the PCs are essentially pitted against a vampire kingdom.I started thinking about what a vampire kingdom would actually be like, played around with the idea a bit, incorporated some great ideas I got from Rel, barsoomcore, RedWick, WayneLigon, and several others over on the Circvs Maximvs discussion board, but I'm thinking that that font of CM discourse may have become tapped out.  Either that or I'm just impatient.  Anyway, I want to kick it around here with the larger audience and see if I get any more cool ideas.Here's a capsule profile of the kindgom so far:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Vampires are a ruling elite; but the majority of the populace is human. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The vampires are organized into houses and clans, each running their own demesne's more or less independently as underkings.  The High King has limited political power. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The capital of the kingdom is built over the body of the God of Undead, who slumbers deep under the ground.  His body exudes a permanent curse-like effect.  The city is in constant darkness, as if it were night, as well as the land 'round about for a few miles. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The vampires were original noble heroes, who pledged to keep the god of undead trapped forever.  Of course, his power, seeping out of the very ground, corrupted them, and turned them into what they are.  They are now truly monsters. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The vampire kingdom has a caste called the Untouched; favored warriors who serve the vampires, and in exchange are immune (as well as their families) from vampire predation.  They keep the peace in the more far-flung areas, and during the day. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The populace is cowed partly by fear of the vampires and the Untouched, partly by the orderly safety that the vampires provide (with the exception of their own attacks, of course) and by the chance that they could enter the ranks of the Untouched.  It's surprising how much even a tiny hope can keep you going. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The clans and houses are constantly in a state of cold war with each other.  Spying, assassinations, and machiavellian political manuvering is the order of the day. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As the bloodline thins (i.e., more vampire spawn are created) the potency of all goes down.  This was an attempt at handwaving away the problem of "why don't the vampires just keep making more vampires until they reach maximum capacity, and then spill into the neighboring kingdoms, etc.?"  I don't want to bother with reflecting this mechanically through a house-rule or anything, so I'm just going to make it a vague flavor element and say that "just because." </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The populace aspire to vampirism.  It's sexy, it's immortality (of a sort) and it's priviledge.  The most favored minions amongst the Untouched are occasionally turned, especially as killed vampires need to be replaced. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The diluted essence of vampirism can be replenished, to a certain extent, by killing and feeding on other vampires, hence the machiavellian politics.  Vampires are always trying to lure their rivals into traps where they can kill and devour them, and thereby increase the vampiric essence available to their own clan.</li> </ul>So, here's what I'd like to develop further.  Some geography for the kingdom, what the different houses are like (I'd like to do something other than merely steal World of Darkness clans or Warhammer vampire bloodlines, but that's kinda the idea anyway), and especially, what's the nature of this terrible undead god thing buried under the capital city?</blockquote>

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