Actual Play Report: Hollowpoint in 43 A.D.

Yesterday, I played in my first game of Hollowpoint. It was a hack based on 43 AD. We played legionnaires of the Ninth Legion tasked with finding out what was hidden in a system of caves and report back to our prefect. The leader of our small unit was Lucius with long hair and a big axe (should have been a clue that he wasn't an upstanding Roman citizen after all), Mercator (a shady person who refused to wear his armor proudly), Vibius (a rather ordinary legionnaire) and Cornelius (a blood-thirsty legionnaire who delighted in killing Celts).

First we more or less stormed into a village of the Bracari and tried to find someone to give us directions to the cave system. While Lucius and Cornelius terrorized the villagers, Mercator posed as a native being harrassed by a Roman (V.). Mercator found a sympathetic ear and got them to tell him how to reach the cave. Also, he found out that degenerate, cannibalistic humans lived in the cave.

After leaving the village, we travelled to the caves. They were cramped tunnels leading into the very earth. Lucius, a giant of a man, was a bit uncomfortable in the small tunnels. We had to fight our way through waves of the degenerate tribe, while Mercator was looking for a way into the throne room of their chieftain. When we arrived there, Lucius wanted to attack the chieftain alone, but Cornelius assisted him. Mercator found a woman chained to the wall. Cornelius and Lucius defeated the chieftain and Mercator freed the captive.

She told us that the chieftain had made a deal with a Roman. A Roman with a distinctive strand of white hair. A description that matched our prefect. We took her with us and returned to the surface. Our commander Lucius was gravely wounded and revealed to us that the woman we had freed was his wife. Now he wanted to take her farther into tribal lands instead of returning to our oppidum. Cornelius was shocked! A traitor in our midst. He ran the Celtic woman through with his pilum accusing her of witchcraft and having enscorcelled Lucius. Enraged, Lucius wanted to choke Cornelius to death. From the hills, Celtic warriors with woad-painted faces suddenly stormed our position. Cornelius mercilessly cut down the traitor, then turned to face the warriors. Mercator died under the assault of the fierce Celts, revealing a faded tribal tattoo that identified him also as a Celtic sympathizer. Cornelius ordered Vibius to retreat, but instead, he threw a pilum at Cornelius' back. Wounded, he had to watch helplessly as Vibius was killed by the Celts for his misplaced loyalty to his dead comrades.

Cornelius escaped to the oppidum, carrying the secret knowledge of the prefect's betrayal with him. In the camp, he reported back to the prefect explaining about the two traitors Lucius and Mercator, how they all had fought and won against the degenerate tribe. But of course he omitted the hints of betrayal by the prefect. The prefect ordered Cornelius to be whipped as punishment for abandoning Vibius and retreating.

Meanwhile a legate has arrived at the oppidum to inspect the troops, Aponius Gavius Sulla. He was accompanied by his trust bodyguard Falco. Aponius had met Cornelius at a bacchanal back in Rome, so it was only natural that Cornelius sought out the legate as soon as he was free to roam the oppidum again. He asked for an audience and Aponius graciously granted his wish, mostly asking Falco to talk with Cornelius. Then the legate commanded Cornelius to take Falco and Ignatius, an other legionnaire, to gather evidence on the prefect.

Aponius met with the prefect suggesting a small feast to be held in the evening down by the river. There he entangled the prefect with words and distracted him, while Falco, Ignatius and Cornelius talked with the night watch. The watch confessed to having let someone leave the oppidum at night, but hadn't seen who it was. But he had acted at the order of his optio. The optio confessed quickly. The three legionnaires brought the optio to the feast. Commanded by Aponius, he confessed to letting the prefect out of the gate. That was enough. Aponius commanded Cornelius and Falco to take the prefect outside the gates. Once there, Cornelius implied to the prefect that it would be honorable to fall into his own sword in order to protect the honor of his family. The prefect begged Cornelius not to tell anyone about his dishonor. Cornelius agreed not tell anyone about his shame on this day.

After the prefect had committed suicide, legate Aponius took over his post as leader of the oppidum. Cornelius received a commendation for his efforts. Falco, already being the right hand of Aponius, didn't request any additional reward, of course.

Note: The prefect is not named in this account, since Cornelius of course kept his promise.

WPW Hack: Fate, Blood & Sevens Sins Part 3

Welcome to the third (and most likely last) part of Fate, Blood & Seven Sins. This post discusses some random bits and pieces that go beyond the character & setting creation and powers stuff.

Vampire Healing

The description of Bo from Lost Girl in FATE Core stats finally gave me an important idea: how to handle healing based on drawing life force, blood, etc. from another being. I am going to use something similar for vampires.

A vampire is (only) able to heal consequences by inflicting consequences of equal or greater severity on someone else. Then she spends a FATE point to heal her own consequence. Nameless NPCs can only be used to heal mild consequences.

Alternatively, the GM can rule that all consequences downgrade by one level of severity at the beginning of a game.

Dominance & Submission

Vampires are predatory, territorial creatures. When they meet, they try to establish a pecking order. This can be either handled by a single overcome role with Age, or you can enter special Face-Off. In that Face-Off, the only Asset that can be used to attack and defend is Age. Whoever wins the conflict gets a special Dominance aspect. Each character can only have one Dominance aspect. If a new one is gained, the old one is erased.

Turf War

Vampires defend their territories, but they also like to acquire more. Turf War represents a way to do that. When a vampire declares a Turf War, he first has to spend a FATE point to change the Leitmotiv of the turf owned by another vampire (according to the rules in White Picket Witches). Then he has to announce his claim on the territory and initiate a Face-Off against the current owner. But this Face-Off is rather ritualized. It is up to the gaming group to decide if that ritual carries over into the fiction or not. The attacker has to attack alone. After all, there is only turf to go around. The defender can ask her allies to join her. In a Turf War, the GM uses the turf to attack the challenger. A place will fight subtly against the change of ownership. If the attacker succeeds in the Face-Off, he gains the turf and may switch out any one Asset of the place and select a new Leitmotif. He doesn't gain a new intent aspect. If the owner of the place concedes this Face-Off, she gets to keep her territory, but the attacker gains an intent aspect and a dominance aspect against her. She may subtly twist the wording as usual. If the defender wins the Face-Off, she gains an intent aspect and a dominance aspect against the aggressor.

A vampire may have as many turfs as her Age indicates. When a vampire looses her last remaining turf, she can create a new turf upon reaching the next significant milestone. Until then, her Pride is penalized by -2.

White Picket Witches: The Hangout Game Part 1: Setup

Yesterday, I started the White Picket Witches game with members of my regular gaming group via Google Hangout. We are using Hangout to accomodate a couple of players who are out-of-town, but still want to play. I am planning on having an offline component to the game as well, but let's see how that goes.

After a lot of technical issues with computers, connection and microphones, we finally started designing three of the Five Families. The players and I felt, it would be good to leave the other two families for players who'd be joining later (either online or offline). The three families are the Davenports, the Hargroves and the Pierces.

Note: Aspects were done in our native language, so they might not translate their whole intent into English. I am trying to find an equivalent translation that at least carries some of the double meanings attached to the aspects.

The Davenport Family

We quickly decided that the Davenports had something to do with the port of the island... namely the airport.  Sometime in the 20th century, there was a landslide that buried the harbor. It was located at the bottom of the cliffs that surround most of the island. Now the only regular access to the island is the airport. It's built on land graciously donated by the Davenport family.

Aspects:

• Everyone ends up with us.
• Pillars of the community
• We can afford that
• We show you the ropes

Magic: Breath Work

The Hargrove Family

The Hargroves are connected to the island in mysterious ways. They serves as guardians in the literal and figurative sense and have a close connection to nature. Also, they are a large and willful family.

Aspects:

• The Guardians of the Isle
• Animals are our friends
• Firm as a rock
• We are a stubborn bunch

Magic: Muscle Work

The Pierce Family

The Pierce are the traditional parish priests and perform other functions related to the church and community. Probably because they don't take bullshit and are always looking (and talking) about the truth of a matter.

Aspects:

• Nobody likes us
• We love the truth
• We only want your souls
• We bestead the sinners

Magic: Bone Work

After that we started with the creation of the characters. But they aren't finished yet, I am going to post them, when we are finished. So far we have ideas for Felicia Davenport, a tour guide and history buff; Gail Hargrove, a deputy trained in a big city; and William Pierce, the sole professional photographer on the Island.

This doesn't read like much, but we spent almost two hours coming up with this stuff. It was great fun to do this together as a group.

WPW Hack: Fate, Blood & Seven Sins Part 2

This is the second part of my vampire hack for White Picket Witches. This time it's about vampiric powers. The powers are all activated by successfully rolling with Age, usually against a difficulty of Great (+4). The difficulty represents that all vampires have access to the same powers, but older vampires are generally better at using the power of their blood than newly made vampires. The younger ones have to work harder (read: expend FATE points, set up scene aspects or boosts) to make their powers actually work.

Vampiric power often resides in the blood. To emulate this, a vampire character can take a consequence and apply the number of stress usually mitigated by the consequence as a bonus to his Age roll. As a consequence he should take an aspect that alludes to her being hungry, starving, thirsty or worse.

One important note: vampiric powers are inherently nocturnal. They do not work in daylight as long as the sun is in the sky. Your vampire may not burn in the sun, but he is weakened and cannot use his Age score.

Slight change: In the last post, I stated that each vampire starts with one extra at no cost. I think, all vampires should start with two extras at no cost. Simply because Age can't be really used to attack, defend or create an advantage.

Also, the powers listed here are just suggestions. If you or your group comes up with any other ideas, just take those.

Animal Magnetism

The vampire exudes predatory sexuality and lust. By succeeding on an Age roll at Great (+4) or better, he gains a +2 bonus on all rolls with Lust to Overcome or Create Advantages for the rest of the scene.

Claws & Fangs

The ability to grow claws and fangs is a staple of vampire literature. The wounds they inflict in physical combat become more serious. If they succeed on an Age roll against difficulty Great (+4) or better, the vampire grows claws and/or vicious fangs that inflict an additional two points of Stress (as Weapon:2) for the rest of the conflict.

Cold Commands

Some vampires can command lesser creatures to follow their very commmands. Whether by voice or eye contact, if you succeed with Age against a difficulty of Great (+4) or better, you can hand over a FATE point to a player character or non-player character. You ask them to take an action (Overcome, Create Advantage, Attack or Defend) that can be accomplished with one roll. If they take the action, they get to keep the FATE point. If they don't, the FATE point goes to the turf.

Dark Rebirth

This power is a nod to all the sequels where the vampire defeated previously returns. At the end of the session in which a vampire with this power was destroyed, the player rolls the Age of the character. If she succeeds at a Great (+4) or better roll, then the vampire returns from the grave. He looses the power and regains one refresh. The Rebirth power may only be bought again when the next major milestone has been reached.

Daywalker

Your character has achieved a remarkable feat: she can walk in daylight and still access some or all of her vampiric powers. At dawn she rolls Age against Fair (+2) difficulty. For each two points of shift she achieves on the roll, she can designate one of her powers to be useable during the day.

Dreams & Memories

Some vampires are able to project their thoughts into another person's mind. With Dreams & Memories, a vampire can reach into the very core of another being. If this done by telepathic command, sharing their dreams or whispering into their ear is up to the group or even the individual vampire. By succeeding on an Age roll at Great (+4) or better, they are allowed to change one of the aspects of their victims. This can be either the Canon Aspect, the Mortal Days, the Vampire Nights, a Consequence or the Intent Aspect. They are allowed to add or change up to two words of the aspect. The change remains in effect until the character rests the next time.

Heightened Perception

If the vampire succeeds at a roll with Age at Fair (+2) or better, then his senses become very acute for the rest of the scene. He get a +2 on any rolls involving the five senses, but his Defense against loud noises or other forms of sensory overload is reduced by two points.

Hypnotic Voice

The vampire can use his voice to confuse his opponent in a Face-Off. He makes it difficult to concentrate and retain cohesive thoughts. If he succeeds at a Great (+4) or better roll with Age, he can ignore two points of stress generated by a verbal attack (like Armor:2 against non-physical attacks).

Mind Reader

Some vampires are adept at reading another's thoughts and memories. If the vampire succeeds at a Great (+4) or better roll with Age, she may ask another character one question that can be answered with yes or no. The other character must answer truthfully. The truth being as he knows it.

Mists & Shadows

The Legendary (+8) Dracula was capable of transforming his body into an insubstantial mass of fog or shadow. This power allows a vampire to do the very same thing. If they succeed on a roll with Age at Fantastic (+6) or better, they turn into a wraith-like mist or shadow. For the rest of the scene, they cannot be attacked physically anymore, but sunlight will burn the vampire to ashes. Also, it is hard to notice the vampire, requiring a roll of Great (+4) or better. This power is beyond most fledgling vampires.

Renfield

This power can be turned on a nameless NPC. By rolling Great (+4) or better on an Age roll, the vampire turns the nameless NPC into a Fair minion (see FATE Core). The minion gains a name and an aspect. If it is taken-out or overcome, the vampire looses any influence over him. When a Renfield survives his first session as a vampiric minion, the power can be used on him again and turn him into a Good minion. A vampire can have no more minions than his Age.

Shapeshifter

By succeeding on an Age roll at Great (+4) or better, the vampire can turn herself into a bat or wolf. She can choose the form at the moment of transformation. Her canon aspect changes into an appropriate aspect. As a bat she gains the Wall-Walker power (by virtue of being able to fly) and as a wolf she gains the Claws & Fangs power.

Swarm Shape

Some vampires can turn into a whole swarm of bats, rats, cats or spiders. This power emulates this. The vampire succeeds in a Great (+4) or better roll to affect the transformation. A swarm can either completely escape the Face-Off (without the initiator gaining the intent based aspect) or can be used to get additional stress boxes (one per shift generated). The player can choose which effect to gain upon transformation.

Ultra-sonic Scream

An ability that may point to bat-like ancestry. If the vampire succeeds at an Age roll with Great (+4) or better result, any shifts generated are applied as stress to any and all creatures involved in the Face-Off.

Vampiric Resilience

Most vampires are hard to take down. Resilience is the power that emulates that. On a Great (+4) roll with Age, the vampire can ignore two points physical stress from each blow (like Armor:2) for the rest of the scene.

Vampiric Strongness

The antiquated word describes the vampire's knack for supernatural strength. When a vampire rolls Great (+4) or better with Age, he gains a +2 bonus on any rolls related to raw strength for the rest of the scene. This bonus also extends to any and all physical attacks made with the sin of Wrath.

Vampiric Swiftness

Vampires are shown as being incredibly swift. On a Great (+4) or better roll, they get a +2 bonus to Defend against physical attacks in a Face-Off for the rest of the scene.

Wall-Walker

The vampire can walk on ceiling or scale walls with ease. If she succeeds at a Greater (+4) or better roll with Age, she can ignore ground-based and height-based obstacles to movement for the rest of the scene.

WPW Hack: Fate, Blood & Seven Sins Part 1

I just love Vampire: The Requiem. It's my favorite game and I usually gm at least a short chronicle each year. All of them set in the same setting, a small city in Northern Germany. On and off, I've been running the game since November 2004. I am looking for a way to marry the FATE mechanics with my setting. Now, White Picket Witches may have given me the right tools.

In the Requiem Chronicler's Guide there was a hack called "Monsters Garage" that stripped the vampiric experience down to a few essential components. They also did away with skills and instead focused on how you do things not what you do. The focus was on employing the seven deadly sins of envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, wrath. This matches up perfectly with the seven assets used by White Picket Witches. So I am going to use the seven deadlies as the Assets of the game. But let's dive in from the beginning.

Setting Considerations

The game assumes that vampirism is transmitted by blood, as seen in Vampire Diaries, True Blood or Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. It is up to the gaming group to determine when the blood has to be transmitted and which additional steps (if any) have to be taken to complete the transformation into a vampire (e.g. being dead, dying, having to bury out of the grave, etc.)

Also, I am going to assume that vampires gather, be it as packs, covens, clans, bloodlines, a complete undead society with elaborate rituals and rules, gangs, nests, broods, whatever. This will provide the social dynamic. It is up to the GM and players to define this.

Thirdly, I am assuming that vampires require blood to survive. This will be expresses as an Extra and limitation that all vampires share: they can only heal a consequence by inflicting an equally bad or worse consequence on someone else. Stressing-out nameless NPCs is sufficient for recovering mild consequences, but nothing more serious. A vampire can use another vampire to recover consequences.

Your Aspects

Core Concept: This works similar to the canon aspect of White Picket Witches and the high concept aspect of FATE Core. In two to three words, tell the audience who you are. Are you the Trusted Bodyguard, a Ruthless Drugdealer, the Elderly Executive, an Ancient Relic, the Dedicated Elementary School Teacher, a Suave Tattoo Artist, the Curious Archaelogist or a Famous Radio Talkhost?

Weakness: Vampires have weaknesses as varied as the genre. Some are repelled by crosses, some are vulnerable to sunlight, others are prone to violent rage or hurt by silver. Pick a weakness for your character. Something that will impair her when confronted with it. Put it in an aspect. Not all vampires are created the same.

Casting: How do you imagine your character to look like? You can pick a particular actor (even in a particular role) or just cast your character as a "-type". The purpose of this aspect is to visualize the character in three to five words.

Mortal Days: Who were you as a mortal, back in the day when you could still walk openly among humans? What was the life that was stolen from you? This aspect can be about family or friends, habits, occupations and what not. It should solidly connect you to other humans.

Role in Vampire Society: Even though vampires are predators, they connect to other vampires. This aspect describes your role in vampiric society. Are you a newly converted vampire? The advisor to your broodmaster? The ruler of a respected house or lineage? An enforcer of laws?

Your Assets

Your assets are the seven deadly sins: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, wrath. In this game, you express your actions by describing which sin you are committing in order to get what you want.

As an additional asset you get Age. The asset describes how experienced you are in using your vampiric powers and how powerful you are a vampire. A newly created fledgingly starts with Average (+1) Age, while an ancient vampire alive back in Roman times might have be of  Fantastic (+6) or Epic (+7) Age. Most vampires created since the Middle Ages range between Great (+4) Age and Fair (+2) Age, if they have been around since before WWII.

The group may decide to limit Age to a certain bracket or even require all player characters  to start at the same Age.

Age is rolled, when you are activating your vampiric powers.

Since I don't like spreading points around bit by bit, each player will be able to have one asset at Great (+4), one at Good (+3), one at Fair (+2) and another one at Average (+1). The assets include the sevens sins and Age. At least one of the values has to be put into Age.

Refresh, Stunts and Extras

Each character starts out with one free stunt, three refresh and one extra. Additional stunts and/or extras can be taken by reducing refresh. Stunts can either be invented using the guidelines in FATE Core or by applying an existing stunt to one of the seven sins.

I will provide a short list of extras based upon vampiric powers in one of the next blog posts.

Antagonists

Antagonists are built like in White Picket Witches. Possible antagonists include the vampire who made you, the vampire you created, a rival vampiric gangleader, mortal authorities, competitors for your turf, the usual vampire hunters, other supernatural creatures like werewolves, ghosts, demons or even the devil himself. Just look to the genre for inspiration.

Turf

Each player designs at least one turf. An area her character owns in the world of the vampires. Her hunting grounds, her lair, a place she likes to spend time at or a meeting place for others of her kind. Also, the group should probably design at least one or two turfs that are shared by more vampires, where they can meet, greet and plot.

Turfs are designed along the same rules as places of power. They have a leitmotif, and get three assets (read: sins) assigned. In a given scene, when a vampire is on his own turf, he can invoke the leitmotif once for free (very cool idea by Rob Wieland for The Phaser Chase).

Okay, that's the basics. Next time I'll talk about vampiric powers and then there is this idea about Turf Wars.