Real World Disasters and the World of Darkness

Search for Boston, this is the 4th image.  The rest are related to the bombing.

            On April 15, 2013, two brothers set off a pair of bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killing three people and injuring almost 300 others.  This terrorist attack set off a string of events that led to the lock down of Boston as police searched the city for those responsible.  The hunt for these terrorist ended after one of them was killed during a chase and shoot out with the police and the capture of the youngest brother who was discovered wounded by the owner of the boat where he was hiding.  Now caught, he awaits his trial, but the effect that he has had on Boston and its residents will never be fully understood.  The effects of this tragedy are ongoing and remain in the news as the surviving attacker awaits trial in Boston. 

             Countless other tragedies have occurred including school shootings, such as Sandy Hook or natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, or man-made disasters, such as the Chernobyl incident.  Each disaster ripples out leaving people shaken and fearful.  People are hurt or killed.  Families are broken.  Friends are lost.  A whole nation is terrified for decades of another attack or accident.  The entire world changes because of one event. 

             As I watched the news after the Boston Marathon bombing, I began to wonder how to address a similar incident if it occurred in the city that I use as the setting for my Vampire the Masquerade game.  What if, instead of setting my game in Baltimore, I was using Boston as the backdrop?  How would I address the Boston Marathon bombing if that were true?  Or what if I had been running a World of Darkness game set in New York City when two planes struck the World Trade Center?  How would I continue a game in New York the day after 9/11? 

A Syrian man staring at the remains of his house.

           These are issues that are going to occur when a campaign is set in an approximation of the real world.  When New York or Boston or someone’s hometown is setting for a game, real world events will intrude and change the landscape and the feelings about a particular location faster than the Hulk rampaging through the same world doing similar damage. 

The World of Darkness is set in the “real world.”  There is a New York and a Chicago and every other location imaginable.  Most Vampire the Masquerade games are set in darker versions of real cities.    In these fictional cities, vampires and werewolves and all manner of supernatural creatures run wild.  There are firefights in the streets, cops are killed, and buildings are burnt down.  And like watching a movie or a T.V. show, the Storyteller and players laugh and smile and enjoy this rampant destruction because the victims aren’t real, the destruction is simulated, and no one really gets hurt.  That fictional violence is swept away, cleaned up off screen or during downtime.  The consequences are minor, and the worst thing that will happen is that a player will have to build a new character. 

             When the events are real and people are really hurt or really die, cleaning up after the disaster may take a lifetime.  The pain of loss and the grief after a catastrophe don’t disappear at the end of a session.  And that pain isn’t limited to those directly affected.  The shock of 9/11 or the Sandy Hook school shooting can affect people far removed from the event.  Under no circumstances should events that are emotionally disturbing for a player be used just for the sake of a game. 

The SuperDome after Katrina

When a natural disaster or a terrorist attack occurs, considerable thought and care should be used when deciding whether or not to include those events or similar events in a chronicle.  These events can be used as the backdrop for a story, or they can cause irreversible changes to a setting.   If you chose to bring a real world tragedy into a chronicle, it should be with the agreement of all the participants in the game and after consideration of the consequences of introducing a potentially emotionally charged event into the campaign.  Everyone’s feelings should be taken into account and respected even if that means ignoring real world events, this is a game after all and fiction, so you should be willing to adapt.  With that said let’s look at some of the concerns that a group should consider when bringing a real world tragedy into their World of Darkness campaign.

             First, whatever you do, don’t make the tragedy part of trite Elder plot or the workings of some anarchs out to get revenge.  It’s not a Pentex corporate conspiracy or caused by some Verbena mages whose magic went awry.  Do not try to explain away a real world tragedy as the machinations of supernatural creatures or super villains.  Doing that will only turn the suffering and loss of real people into a macabre parody.  Keep in mind that not the Antediluvians nor the Technocracy nor the Wyrm is responsible for every terrible event.  Let these events play out like they do in the real world.  These events can provide a back drop for telling interesting stories about how Kindred or Lupines react to earth shaking events but your characters should not be the main players in the tragedy.  Don’t let your players save the day either.  Allowing a player character to stop 9/11 because he’s a time traveling mage diminishes the sacrifices made by real people who died saving others. 

              As an example, consider 9/11 and the changes to the United States since then.  New York City itself is transfigured by the event as is the rest of the United States.  The events of that day are still fresh in a lot of people’s mind and pain is still real for people who survived the attacks or who lost loved ones.  However, stories can be told that make use of 9/11.  Movies such a Flight 93 and World Trade Center are set during the events of that day.  However, both movies were released in 2006, 5 years after the event, a fact that should be kept in mind.  Any attack on New York City will bring back memories of 9/11 as will any attack on a skyscraper regardless of the city. 

Marvel's 9/11 Comic

             Honestly, if I were running a game set in New York City during the fall of 2001, I would probably stop the game and completely change systems and setting to a fantasy game.  But if I had to continue the game, I would do much like Marvel comics did.  Since the majority of Marvel superheroes are based in New York City, they had to respond to 9/11 without turning into another super-villain plot where Spiderman and the Avengers can save the day.  The tragedy occurs and the heroes can’t stop it; the heroes wake up like the rest of us to the tragedy.  9/11 is then treated tangentially rather than addressed directly through the loss of people known to the heroes who grieve with us.  This is probably the best way approach an event like this if you must. 

The next consideration for telling stories around real world tragedies is time.  How long ago was the tragedy?  The Chernobyl disaster happened in 1986.  It’s so long ago that many of you weren’t born when it happened.   For those unfamiliar with the Chernobyl disaster, Chernobyl was a nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union that had a catastrophic meltdown that unleashed toxic radiation clouds over Europe.  The Soviets eventually contained the reactor by putting a giant metal sarcophagus over the reactor and sealed it off.  However, significant amounts of radiation were released and the nearby city received huge doses of radiation.  The consequences of the meltdown are still being dealt with and many survivors who lived near the plant have high rates of cancer and birth defects.  The environmental effects of the radiation are still unknown. 

Chernobyl after the explosion

Twenty-seven years removed from that terrible event, I cannot help but think about the potential Werewolf the Apocalypse story that can be told using Chernobyl as a setting.  Radiation Spirits, Blights, and a sept of mutated Black Spiral Dancers are just some of the potential enemies available.  The fact that some areas are still so irradiated that a person can spend only a few minutes in that area before he risks permanent damage adds environmental effects to the story.  However, one of the reasons that I can do this is because 27 years have passed since that tragedy. 

On the other hand, the Fukushima disaster is much better known but also much more recent.  I certainly wouldn’t set the same kind of story at Fukushima’s nuclear power plant.  The tragedy is just too close.  People need time to heal and I believe that Fukushima is far too recent to be used as the setting for an RPG.  However, Chernobyl is distant enough that I would have no qualms running a game set there.

Baghdad after a recent bombing

               Another factor to keep in mind is the physical distance from the tragedy.  The Syrian Civil War is on the other side of the world from me.  The events that I read about in newspapers or on the internet or watch on the news are so far away that they are just information.  They are too distant to make an emotional impact.  The same is true for the US occupation of Afghanistan or the bombings in Baghdad.  These events barely make the news and are often overshadowed by the stories of celebrities getting arrested again.  Because of this distance, I could set a modern Special Forces campaign in Syria or Afghanistan, or a Vampire the Masquerade chronicle could be set in Syria and focused on locating ancient artifacts or seeking out the resting place of an Antediluvian amongst the chaos of the war. 

              Daily news stories can provide plenty of background information for campaigns like these.  Conversely the closer you and your group are to a disaster, the less likely you should use it as the setting or inspiration for your RPG.  I don’t live very far from New Orleans, and even though the events of Hurricane Katrina are eight years past, I don’t think it would be a good choice to use that as the backdrop for a story.  However, I have used hurricanes in other setting because they are a great natural disaster that has some interesting environmental mechanics like high wind, flooding, etc, but I would never use the exact events of Katrina such as the overcrowded conditions found at the Superdome. 

              However, care must be taken with campaigns like these.  Just because I think it’s a good option for my group, doesn’t mean it’s a good option for other groups.  Groups that include veterans, active duty or reserve members of the military might not enjoy a game set in areas of conflict where they fought, were wounded or lost friends.  Groups that include people who were originally from the Middle East might be offended by the setting a fantasy game about vampires and werewolves in their war torn homes.  A person who once lived in New Orleans and barely survived the hurricane wouldn’t appreciate it either. 

Fukushima's Nuclear Reactor on fire.

            The emotional distance to the events is just as important as the time or physical distance since a tragedy.  One of the reason that I would never use Fukushima as a setting for an RPG session is because I know too many people who were in Japan during the tragedy or had families who were there.  Also, because I studied Japanese for many years, the tragedy is just too emotionally close to me because of my investment in Japanese culture.  You should poll your group to find out if anyone would be upset by using a particular setting or event as the backdrop for a game before you introduce the events you have in mind. 

             The end goal of any role playing game is for everyone to have fun.  Using a real world event can quickly make a fun game into a traumatic reliving of someone’s worst tragedy.  These games that we love so much offer a chance to escape humdrum lives and explore a shared story where we can do impossible things and live out fantasies whether as a fighter slaying a dragon or a Ventrue becoming the prince of a city or a Fianna slaying an agent of the Wyrm.  Be mindful of the feelings of your group towards the events that you will introduce.  You don’t want to be responsible for causing unintentional pain to someone who sits at your table expecting to have a good time.  If I was to condense this entire article down into one sentence it would be:  Don’t exploit another person’s pain just for the sake of your RPG.

Late Review: Vampire the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition

Vampire the Masquerade 20^th Anniversary Edition

By Justin Achilli, Russell Bailey, Matthew McFarland, & Eddy Webb

2001, 518 pages

            When White Wolf ended the Classic World of Darkness line in 2004 with the Time of Judgment event (Gehenna, et. al.) and introduced the New World of Darkness, I was upset.  I felt betrayed because my favorite game system and setting was gone and not returning.  I nerd-raged when I saw how different the setting of the New World of Darkness was.  I hated how they had removed the wonderful and complex back story.  I didn’t buy the new books, and as much as I loved playing Vampire the Masquerade, I moved on to other systems.  I played a lot more Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars D20, and Legend of the Five Rings, but in the back of my mind, I was always thinking about the World of Darkness and especially Vampire the Masquerade. 

            When the 20^th Anniversary Edition of Vampire the Masquerade was announced, I had already gotten back into Vampire the Masquerade, running the Revised Edition for a group of gamers who had never played VtM.  I was so excited to hear that my favorite game was coming back, and when the Onyx Path announced their plans to begin publishing the Classic World of Darkness game lines (along with New World of Darkness, Exalted, and Trinity), I felt like a Djinni had granted a wish!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to order a copy of the deluxe edition or to attend the Grand Masquerade in New Orleans, but I couldn’t have been happier.  I ordered a copy of V20 as soon as I could afford it from DriveThruRPG and the book I received was beautiful. 

            V20 is a nearly exhaustive two volume set (my version is two volumes, the Special Edition version and newest version on DriveThruRPG is a single volume)  that displays all of the greatness that was Vampire the Masquerade back in the 1990s when I started role playing, and it has also lead to a resurrection of White Wolf products through Onyx Path Publishing and CCP (makers of Eve Online).  However, V20 is not a perfect product.  Because it was conceived as a single book devoted to fans of the Classic World of Darkness and Vampire the Masquerade, several issues exist with the presentation of the material. 

            The first thing I noticed when opening the book was the artwork, a mixture of black & white and color.  The artwork chosen for V20 is a mixture of the old and the new, bringing together the nostalgia of old sessions sitting with friends I haven’t talked to in a decade and the desire to build new chronicles and share them with new friends and even strangers.  Pulling from the vast amounts of artwork from previous Vampire the Masquerade books, the authors have chosen some gorgeous images that capture the essence of the setting, but they have also carefully avoided artwork that was too ‘90s.  The new color artwork is breathtaking, especially the images of stereotypical members of each clan that grace the pages opposite the start of a new chapter.  The artwork is vivid and beautiful and perfectly reflects the tone and atmosphere of Vampire the Masquerade. 

Malkavian's artwork doesn't get better than this

            Every major clan is included in V20 along with their bloodlines and disciplines.  The amount of options presented can be overwhelming, and some of these clans and bloodlines should have been left out.  While I understand the authors’ need to include an exhaustive list of every possible clan or bloodline, along with their disciplines, I feel that perhaps they went too far.  Including clans from Dark Ages Vampire (such as the Cappadocians and Lamia) or minor bloodlines (such as the Ahrimanes) or even the especially strange Children of Osiris, was unnecessary except for the sake of completion.  I have no particular dislike of any of those clans or bloodlines but I believe the space spent on these could have been better used.  More on that later. 

            Aside from some minor changes and tweaks, the core mechanics are much the same as they were in Second Edition and Revised.  The most important change to the system is to the Abilities section.  Several new skills have been added, such as Technology (for using electronics that are not computers), Larcey (for picking non electronic locks) and Awareness (for identifying supernatural phenomena).  Dodge has been incorporated into Athletics.  Secondary skills have been completely removed, simplifying character creation, although some hobby abilities remain but only to round out character concepts.  The focus however is on the primary Abilities.  Also, the rules for multiple actions have been tweaked slightly and much improved by simplifying it.  I was never a fan of the way dice pools were split in Revised; in V20 you simply decide on the number of actions, then determine the smallest dice pool, and finally split the smallest dice pool amongst those actions.  Backgrounds have gotten a needed boost through a mechanic that allows players to pool their background points thus binding a coterie together and letting them invest into a shared resource pool. 

Certain disciplines have been updated as well.  The biggest changes have been to Celerity and Potence.  However, the changes balance these powers effectively giving both of them a passive ability as well as an activated ability.  Now the player has the option to choose with Celerity whether to roll more dice on attack or spend blood for extra actions. (The amount of blood spent for Celerity can exceed the generational maximum.)  Potence has a similar change.  Other Disciplines have been rebalanced.  The first level of Presence, Awe, now requires the expenditure of a blood point to activate.  Disciplines for all the major clans are present up to their ninth level along with some options for levels six through nine for some disciplines. 

Setites are becoming my favorite clan

            The combat system retains the quirks of the older editions as well as the simplicity that I always loved.  Although it is possible to use grid maps and plot every movement during a battle, that level of detail is unnecessary.  The focus is on fast and loose combat that doesn’t require anything more than the players’ imaginations and a few dice rolls.  The initiative system did receive a minor change.  Now prior to each round of combat the players reroll initiative.  This can slow down combat rounds slightly but it can be easily changed without affecting the system to rolling initiative once per combat. 

            Overall, V20 preserves the essence of the Classic World of Darkness while updating it for the future.  However, I do have one major gripe with this book.  While I understand that this book was targeted at existing fans of the system as an anniversary edition, the lack of an in depth history of Kindred is a big problem especially with the inclusion of bloodlines like the Ahrimanes and Children of Osiris (are they a bloodline or a sect?) or clans exclusive to the Dark Ages setting.  However, as a book to introduce new players to Vampire the Masquerade, this book fails to deliver needed back story to put these clans and especially the bloodlines into perspective.  I understand that V20 is supposed to be metaplot neutral, meaning that events such as Gehenna or the Gangrel leaving the Camarilla are left to individual storytellers, but the lack of explanation in V20 means that new players lack knowledge that could have been included in this tome by cutting extraneous clans like the Ahrimanes.  The history of the Classic World of Darkness setting has always been complex and often contradictory, but its exclusion from this book is one of two glaring errors on the part of the authors.  The other error is the omission of the Caitiff which was added in the V20 Companion that was released shortly thereafter. 

            The 20^th Anniversary Edition of Vampire the Masquerade marks the welcomed rebirth of the Classic World of Darkness and Vampire the Masquerade.  Vampire has long been missed by its fans, and I look forward to introducing more new players to this wonderful game.  I am looking forward to the next Kickstarter for The Onyx Path.  Werewolf’s 20^th Anniversary Edition has just been made available at DriveThruRPG and Mage is next up along with plenty of other books representing the rebirth of the Classic World of Darkness.  If you are fan of the World of Darkness this book is a must buy.  However, if you are a new player, you’ll need to do some reading on the history and mythology of the World of Darkness or find a veteran to explain some of the minutiae of lore founded in these pages. In the future I hope that The Onyx Path, CCP and White Wolf publishing publish a book that gives more background information on this very deep setting. 

            The 20^th Anniversary Edition of Vampire the Masquerade is available at DriveThruRPG as either a PDF or as a hardback book. 

             

Player Prep & Responsibility

            Before the first session of a role playing game, be it Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowrun or Vampire the Masquerade, the Storyteller or Game Master must do a lot of preparation.  The entirety of the world or city must be created and populated.  The Storyteller must also decide on the structure of the adventures or the hooks that will draw players into the world.  Even when running a sandbox style game, the Storyteller has to create the world so that players can explore and develop their own stories.  Conversely, prior to taking part in an RPG, players only have to generate their own character’s stats and perhaps a character history, if that.  The bulk of the pre-campaign work lies on the Storyteller’s shoulders. 

Dwarven Rogue?  It'll never work!

            Prior to the start of any chronicle, the players can reduce their Storyteller’s burden by doing some simple tasks.  These tasks include:  selecting an appropriate character concept, writing a character history, determining a character’s goals, and finding a reason why the PCs work together.  Each of these items requires that the players work together as a group when they construct their characters and work with the Storyteller so that all the characters fit into the shared World of Darkness created by the Storyteller and the players.

Selecting an Appropriate Character Concept

            In a setting as broad as the World of Darkness which encompasses technocratic super science, a plethora of shape changers, reality twisting magic, evil, corrupt corporations, the restless dead, and the fae, every person’s view of the setting is going to be different.  When generating a chronicle for a setting that has so many options, some of those ideas have to be culled to make the story coherent instead of a mishmash of ideas.  Some groups may prefer a game that is grounded in a contemporary world with shades of supernatural elements.  Other groups prefer a world that has more fantastic elements such as Technocracy Moon bases.  Whatever the group’s preferred vision of the World of Darkness, the characters have to fit into that world. 

He's a cop with body armor!  Really!

            The first step in creating a character is selecting a character concept.  The concept is the foundation of the character, and all other ideas about the character build on that concept.  The players have a vast array of options when imagining their character and his or her concept.  However, the concept should fit in with the groups shared vision of the world.  In a Vampire the Masquerade Game that is a reflection of the real world but with some supernatural elements, players should choose concepts that would make sense in the real world.  For example, a Brujah private investigator who was embraced and now works as a deputy to the city’s Sheriff makes a lot of sense.  However, a Tremere who wants to graft metal gun arms onto his ghouls would probably not fit.  On the other hand, in a Vampire the Masquerade game where the setting was more fantastic with a stronger emphasis on super science and magic, the opposite would be true.  The Tremere mad scientist would fit, and the Brujah P.I. would be out of place. 

            So when a player starts to build his character, she or he should consider how that character would fit into the group’s idea of the setting.  Just having a solid character concept that fits into the Storyteller’s world reduces the workload for the Storyteller because he doesn’t have to shoehorn in a weird character concept. 

Writing a Character History

            After players have selected a character concept and bubbled in the appropriate number of dots on their character sheets, most stop and consider their character complete.  However, no one is birthed into this world without a history.  While a character concept is the foundation on which the character is built, a character history provides the mortar that connects all the disparate details on the character sheet together.  The character history is a chance to explain that 4-point Enemy or the True Love or the reason the Brujah P.I. has put a few dots in Animal Ken (because he used to breed and train dogs as a hobby) or why the Tremere mad scientist has dots in Larceny (he breaks into the morgue to steal body parts for his creations). 

            Writing a character history doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking.  A paragraph or a page is usually more than enough.  (I require my players to submit a 1 page typed character history and they receive two XP for doing so.)  Some players (like myself) can get a bit verbose and write volumes about characters.  Whether it’s long or short, a character history gives the Storyteller a bit of extra knowledge about the character beyond just the statistics on the character sheet.   The character history also helps the Storyteller create hooks for individual characters based on the information from the history.  These will represent the subplots available that players can explore during the course of a game.  

Determining a Character’s Goals

            Not every moment of a character’s life is going to be filled with investigating strange houses, spelunking through the Nosferatu catacombs, or parties with Elder Toreadors.  There will be plenty of time between these adventures when the Storyteller will look across the gaming table and ask, “So it’s been a few weeks, what did you do with your time?”  Have a plan for this moment! 

            This is a chance to earn some free points in Backgrounds (which cannot be bought with experience points).  Mentors, Resources, Fame, and Herd can all be increased during these periods of downtime.  Allies and Contacts can be found or a Retainer can be acquired.  However these tasks should be in line with the character’s concept.  For example, during the breaks in the story, characters can build up their Status by gaining favor with the city’s Harpies or doing a small favor the Prince.  Resources be increased through clever use of the Finance or Larceny abilities.  The possibilities are endless.

Skip the Machiavelli, I shoot him with an RPG!

            Also, characters should have long term, in character goals that aren’t necessarily reflected on their character sheets.  These goals can define the whole character, such as a PC who wants to rise to the rank of Primogen or Prince.  That sort of goal requires acquiring control over mortal institutions, finding Kindred allies, building up resources, and so on.  The overthrow of a Prince is not a one night affair, but well timed machinations of a devious social climber.  Downtime provides a chance for a character to gather those resources and make those deals that will one day allow him or her to seize an opportunity to take the throne or fail and be blood hunted for an attempted coup de tat (either way it’ll be an interesting story).  The goal could also be something much simpler but no less important to the character such as finding the Kindred who murdered his or her sire which would require just as much work as becoming Prince, because the character has to investigate the murder and determine not just who the murderer might be but also who was pulling the strings. 

            These sorts of things can be handled with a few dice rolls and a couple of minutes to cover weeks of in game investigation or a meeting with a potential ally.  Having a goal beyond just completing the resolving the Storyteller’s plot will give characters a life of their own and a chance grow beyond a stats and a back story.

Finding a Reason Why the PCs Work Together

            How many Dungeons & Dragons games have started with the line, “You’re all sitting at the tavern, and…”?  That is probably slightly more common that “You’re locked in a jail cell with some other people…”  Both of these beginnings show how hard it is bring together a random group of strangers to form a coherent group of adventures.  In the case of Vampire the Masquerade, Storytellers have the same problem.  Why would the Ventrue business man hang out with the Gangrel environmental activist? Even though the character concepts work in the setting, the problem now faced is why would these people work together despite their differences.  Many times the players leave this dilemma for the Storyteller to solve.

I sit in the corner with the darkest shadows and order an ale

            However, the players should take the initiative and solve this for themselves.  Whereas in Dungeons & Dragons, groups can be formed around the individual skills of a class and its role in the party (Healer, DPS, Tank), in Vampire the Masquerade those concepts don’t necessarily exist.  The best method to do this is for the players to create their characters together.  By working together and bouncing ideas off each other, the players can come to a consensus, without much Storyteller involvement, on the dynamics of their coterie.  When the players finally sit down at the table, they are a group who know each other, or know of each other.

            The antithesis to this approach is when each player comes to the table with a “Lone Wolf” type character who doesn’t trust anyone else.  The character sticks to the shadows and is designed to be self sufficient.  This is the World of Darkness equivalent of a Justice League full of Batmans or the X-Men with a dozen Wolverines.  It sounds awesome, but without the mingling of diverse characters in either the Justice League or the X-Men, a lot of the excitement is lost as each Batman or Wolverine wanders off to solve the problem by himself.  

Final Word

            The setting for a role playing game as well as its story is shared and interactive story. The Players as well as the Storyteller have a responsibility to maintain the themes and atmosphere of the setting.  However, often all of work is left to the Storyteller who is expected to pull together a random group of strangers to tell a story involving them all without input from the players other than, “Make it fun” or “Entertain me.”  However if the players take it upon themselves to help the Storyteller prepare for a game by selecting an appropriate character concept, writing a character history, determining in character goals, and working together to explain why these characters are a coterie, the Storyteller’s work load is reduced and he is allowed to focus on creating the city, generating story hooks and plots, and coming up with interesting NPCs.