A HINT OF HUMANITY, A MARK OF THE BEAST

PART I: THE MAN

The focus of the global chronicle for the last few months has been Invisible Monsters, the interaction of your monster with the mortal world. It started with The Kick-off (the Super bowl event), and has been followed with various events coordinated on a more local level. However, as most players dont necessarily see the strings that connect the events, they might not feel as though much has changed. This kit is supposed to focus on how the mortal world has subtly shifted in attitude, and how it affects your character. Essentially, it examines how you function when youre around mortals, and then asks you how those interactions might have changed after the mortal populace was spooked. Then, it asks you to explain how this might affect your role-play. QUESTIONS 1. Pick the role that best describes how your character interacts with mortal society, and explain why you picked it (These roles are more fully defined in Danse Macabre, pages 43 54) 2. Describe how your character fills this role: how does he or she pull it off, how does it determine how he or she feeds, etc. 3. Describe a specific interaction with mortals that is typical for your character. Try to be somewhat detailed: include elements that occur again and again during your characters interactions 4. Now, think about what would jar your character into thinking this is different. Essentially describe something that might have happened after The Kickoff that made youre character realize that mortals are acting slightly different these nights. Describe what happened. Try to use the interaction you described in number 3. 5. The important thing is how these questions affect your role-play. List two or three different mannerisms or actions that you can portray or do to show that your character was recently jarred from his or her normal nightly routine; tell us how this has changed your role-play of your PC. ROLES Artist: You interact with the mortal world primarily through your creations. Criminal: Your primary interaction with the mortal world is through crime. Executive: You mostly interact with mortals you are manipulating explicitly for political or social power. Guru: Your mortal interactions are primarily through a cult of personality. Healer: Your interactions are primarily benevolent and helpful towards mortals. Junkie: You exist on the fringes of society, either outcast or in hiding. Investigator: You mostly deal with mortals to look into mysteries or current events. Scholar: You use mortals to increase your personal knowledge. Socialite: You move through mortal society, hiding in their social circles. Youth: You look too young to have any real role in society.

A HINT OF HUMANITY, A MARK OF THE BEAST

Note: you might fit multiple roles. Pick the best one. If you dont fit any, you can say so, however, you will not get the benefits of the Masquerade merit unless you do.

A HINT OF HUMANITY, A MARK OF THE BEAST

PART II: THE MONSTER
A reoccurring complaint I hear is that players dont know what to do. Part of this the problem is that Clan isnt necessarily emphasized Clans represent specific vampiric archetypes (one storyteller once described them as: sexy, savage, sneaky, scary, and snobby). These archetypes suggest how your character might solve problems a Daeva might obviously use personal charisma, a Nosferatu might use psychology, or a Venture might have a detailed plan. Regardless, we want to focus you on what does my character do? Ultimately, the goal is to give you different perspectives on problem solving. Right now, the default manner of problem solving is often violence. This section is designed to focus on other abilities your character has to accomplish his or her goals. QUESTIONS 1. Pick the role that best describes how your character interacts with kindred society, and explain why you picked it (These roles are more fully defined in Danse Macabre, pages 55 54) 2. How do you fulfill your role? What makes you good at it? Where might you have room for improvement? 3. If you have a problem with another vampire, how do you seek to solve it? What tools can give you the upper hand? 4. Describe a scenario you would like to see for your character, where he or she can fulfill his or her role. Focus on a conflict your storyteller could present to you, what you find interesting about that conflict, and how it would reveal aspects of your character you dont normally get to share. 5. List any non-combat merits or powers your character has that you dont feel you get the opportunity to use. Offer examples of scenarios that would let your character shine in a non-combat scene. ROLES Courtesan: The life of the party, you excel as greasing the social wheels. Enforcer: Someone has to be the bad guy; youre there when things get physical. Horror: You exist as a monster, and push aside other roles. Manipulator: You focus on controlling those around you and altering their behavior. Martyr: You refuse to embrace your monstrosity, and focus on your humanity. Nomad: You know no boundaries, and are flexible in both you location and behavior. Magus: You deal in secrets and the occult.

A HINT OF HUMANITY, A MARK OF THE BEAST

PART III: THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD
Storytelling can be difficult and exhausting: there are only so many feeding scenarios and stock retainers a storyteller can portray. In this section, you offer your VST tools to use with other playersessentially, youre helping him or her create a small scenario that reinforces the themes of the venue. When crafting this story, pay attention to how were framing it for you. The stories below are all going to be essentially the same thing: you have a somewhat innocent mortal present a problem, and players can either solve the problem nonviolently, or kill the mortal and pay a price. The key to this section is creativity hopefully, you can come up with a story that your VST can use with another player, or just mine for ideas. QUESTIONS 1. Create a mortal NPC. The mortal should be ordinary and doesnt need much detail give them a name, a short description, and a relationship to a loved one (for example Ashley Dunkley is a middle-aged accountant, whose college-age son doesnt call her as much as she wants). 2. Present a scenario where that mortal can complicate a vampires existence. 3. List three ways that a vampire might be able to solve this problem non-violently. 4. Describe how killing this mortal can backfire on the killer Note: if possible, try to figure out a consequence other than a possible Masquerade breach.