What's set down here might change. This isn't meant to be anything more than a primer. The very first thing all players need to do is forget everything they know about the World of Darkness and White Wolf's take on the vampire myth. While some of the things we're going to do will feel familiar, that's only because both games are based on the same myths. The differences will come with expansion however. The perspective on most of the things that makes WW what it is have been changed to bring it closer to the original myths and concepts concerning what a vampire really was.
The players will be divided into Houses. Each House will be managed by a Story Teller who will be responsible for all aspects of that House's players. This includes all XP expenditures, Influence, Bluebooking, Character Approvals, as well as any NPCs connected to that House. Any player from outside that House wishing to talk to one of that House's NPCs will talk to the ST running that House, not the one connected to their own.
Effectively what we're doing is running four individual games in an collective world. World decisions will be made by the group of STs.
All major positions will be held by NPCs at the beginning. We are not ruling out the possibility of a PC taking one of the top slots eventually.
This is not the World of Darkness. This is much closer to the real world than the previous game. The city is the same size as in reality with the same population. There are no slums to really speak of. The streets are not chalked full of homeless masses that no one ever notices. The police are not all so corrupt that they'll overlook anything for enough money. There are not unlimited numbers of huddled masses waiting for you to drink from. If you think of this city as it is, you'll be well on your way to seeing the world like we do.
Vampires in this world are not necessarily evil creatures. The act of feeding isn't by definition an evil act. Actually it's the opposite. Instead of forcibly taking from someone the thing they need to live, the vampire is instead leaching a little bit off the subject in the form or memories and emotions, the things that make us human. The taking of blood, while necessary, is purely symbolic. Having said that, it's just as easy for them to take it violently.
The Vampire's life is concerned primarily with trying to tie themselves back to humanity. What path this takes is up to the individual. Please note that here "humanity" isn't taken the same way as in WW; it has nearly nothing to do with morality. It isn't equated with "goodness", it's equated with all things that make us human. Things that insulate or separate one from humanity are equated with "inhuman". Shooting up Heroin is just as human a thing to do as attending church. This will be explained in better detail when the mechanical rules for that link to humanity are released.
When Vampires lose their association with humanity entirely and can no longer empathies at all with normal people they become a Wraith. Mechanically this occurs when the character hits 0 humanity. This isn't the state of Wasail of the WW world, the character does not become the perfect predator or bloodthirsty beyond control.
Wraiths exist to destroy Vampires, that much is certain. There are few other firm facts known about them.
The Wraith is the conceptual opposite of the Vampire. Whereas the Vampire needs to feel the emotions of humans to remind itself of what it is to be alive, the Wraith has no interest in humanity whatsoever. In fact, sleeping Wraiths tend to actually suck that same emotion from humans who stay around its territory for too long, leaving them alive, but cold and unempathetic.
Wraiths rest in a type of stasis waiting for a Vampire to cross its path. When one does, it wakes and stalks the character. It either eventually catches the character or falls back asleep in a new place, leaving the character usually ignorant they were ever in danger. Because of this, the movement patterns of wraiths are nearly impossible to track, and no one can be sure when they might encounter one. However, most Wraiths rest near the edges of cities and are what makes travel out of cities nearly suicidal.
Theoretically, characters could be brought back from the Wraith state, but the dangers of fighting them usually prohibits this attempt. Characters are also considered highly suspect should they try to return to normal society, and most of the few who try are forced to live as Serfs.
The most important thing to remember about this society is that it is a closed one with no contact with anyone from the outside so far as vampires are concerned. None. All characters were turned on the Island and have never left it since being turned. This fact has influenced and shaped how the insular society of vampires has developed.
The Vampire population of the City of Victoria, and by extension the rest of Vancouver Island, is divided into a neo-feudalistic hierarchy. In this hierarchy everyone has a position which brings with it duties, responsibilities, and social expectations. Movement within this hierarchy is possible, but usually involves either proving competency or laying low the competition (or both).
The most important thing is blood. Blood is the currency of Vampiric society. It is measured by the vial. A vial is the amount of blood that it takes to drag the Vampire's dead body out of sleep every evening. A vial measures about a syringe worth. All taxes and most debts are paid in vials. Cash wise, a vial is usually equated to $2000, but that's more convention than rule.
Lord:At the top of this hierarchy is the Lord of Vancouver Island. The Lord is the highest authority amongst Vampires and it is from the Lord that all structure and authority comes. Under the direct auspices of the Lord are his Sheriff, Herald, and four Barons.
Sheriff:The Sheriff is responsible for both the enforcement of the laws as well as leading the city's military.
Herald:The Herald is the voice of the Lord when he is not in attendance. In addition to serving as Town Crier, the Herald also serves to bring information to the Lord and schedule appointments.
Baron:Each Baron maintains a House. Within the houses are organized the bulk of Vampiric society. In exchange for this organization, the Barons are granted the right to set and collect taxes from those in their houses. A portion of the tax is then sent on to the Lord. Barons also sometimes gather to act as judge/jury in legal matters.
Those individuals occupying the major positions make up a council that advises the Lord on matters important to his court. Of course, the final decision for most matters rests with the Lord, though many are routinely delegated.
The rest of the city's positions fall within the houses and are under the authority of each House's Baron. The following positions are conventions more than official posts. Each Baron is free to appoint people within his house to serve any post he wants.
Esquire:Esquires are responsible for maintaining the security and productivity of each Barony's stables and lands. Most Vassals find themselves working under and Esquire.
Knight:Knights fulfil the military necessity of the Lord's rule. Each Barony owes a certain number of knights based on its population. Knights are under the command of both the sheriff and their Baron, depending on the situation. When in the sheriff's service their primary duties are fetching the reluctant for trial and fighting back wraiths. When following their Baron they are concerned mainly with expanding and protecting their lands.
Vassal:Vassals represent the foundation of the pyramid. As both the most numerous and least politically influential, most Vassals busy themselves with trying to prove their merit and earn a place in the more comfortable (or exciting) ranks. Despite their relatively low social ranking, many Vassals do manage to acquire a significant degree of wealth and influence.
Serf:If Vassals are the foundation of the city, Serfs are the mud beneath. Serfs have no House and so no advocate nor hope for advancement. Some find themselves Serfs having been thrown from a House, while others were turned but never claimed. While most try to earn or bribe their way into a House, some enjoy the freedom being unaligned brings. They are, however, still subject to the city's laws, including its mandatory taxes.
The Eldelra are the lore masters of the city. Most of their research is concentrated on the Vampiric state, especially in relation to wraiths. While their House was the first founded in the city, it remains the smallest. House membership has always been exclusive and simply having a sire or ally within the House is no guarantee of acceptance.
While the House excels at researching the wraiths it doesn't maintain as especially strong military wing, choosing instead to let the other Houses actually engage them. The House also participates the least in direct political matters. Despite these aspects of the Eldelra, members of the House are generally respected, if not always liked.
In 1963 the University of Victoria was founded. At its inception it was handed in its entirety to the Eldelra as a permanent Stable. The House had been floundering financially and the Lord, concerned about his researchers having to abandon their efforts for more mundane endeavours decided instead to cement its future. Since that time the House has withdrawn virtually (but not entirely) from its attempts to secure Tracts outside of its Stable. Unlike most Houses, financial earning isn't necessarily the most expedient manner for advancement. Of course, this isn't to say that success with Tracts isn't appreciated...
The Eldelra are the only House to be led by the same Baron for its entire history.
The Vice Nova have recently undergone a change in leadership. The longstanding Baron, worn by years of political intrigue and the recent loss of one of his longest standing Knights to wraiths, Baron Vice Nova abdicated his position to his childe, although many assume the new Baron is simply keeping the seat warm.
As a House, the Vice Nova are best known as seers. This opinion isn't entirely accurate though. It would be more accurate to call them 'chaos mathematicians'. Regardless of what they're called though, everyone agrees that the Vice nova have a certain predeliction for being in the right place at the right time, or otherwise picking the best of seemingly equal options. Whether this is a matter of precognition or sheer luck is often debated.
Because their concentration provides such general support, the House tends to be strongly balanced between the different arenas of Vampiric culture, while never managing to truly excel at any one. It's stable political transitions have ensured that the leadership has remained modern and avoided the threat of stasis.
The De Castile are lovers of structure and of anything that encourages or requires it. Organized religions, political buerocracy, and corporate business are all their playthings. Traditionally they have often found themselves at odds with the Vanio, though with new Barons taking over both houses within the last few years, outright violence between them seems to have declined.
This isn't structure solely for its own sake, but rather the belief that routine and structure helps keep one in touch with humanity and avoid the irrational behaviour that they feel alienates one from that same humanity.
The Vanio are lovers of what they consider the core of humanity. The improvised, the unusual, creation and creativity in all its forms. This doesn't mean 'good' creation, just all things that optimize the spark in humanity. In as much as the De Castile need structure, the Vanio thrive on absorbing and enacting everything they can equate with the human experience. This tends to lead to a very close relationship with people.
Without peer, the Vanio integrate and interact with humanity better than any of the other Houses. This has led to the House accumulating likely more wealth than any other, as well as the high opinion its members often hold of themselves.
As each House Head ST will be following their own methodology, a section for character creation at this stage is effectively pointless. The restrictions we will all be following are: no more than 30 years turned, making a birth year of about 1900 the earliest reasonable. All characters are starting as Vassals. All were embraced on the Island, though they can have been from anywhere prior to that. Characters entering play later on will be almost exclusively new embracees.