In the last two years, I have had
the chance to play, rather than run, only a handful of times. Only one of those was a Vampire the
Masquerade game, and it was a one-shot.
The character that I played was a Toreador punk rock singer named
Sydney. I usually play female
characters. Don’t judge me! I set out to make a balanced character who
lived up to the punk archetype, tough and capable in a street fight but still a
musician. It was a character that
represented all the lessons that I had learned about Vampire the Masquerade,
role playing, and myself. That was two
years ago. I’d like to revisit that
character and put into practice the lessons that I’ve learned since then.
More so than just playing a
character, I’d like to play a character in a long running Chronicle. That’s the first stipulation to playing “my
favorite character.” Characters shouldn’t
come out of character creation as a completed entity. Characters need time to grow, and players
need time to explore the character and find out what direction the character
will go over the course a Chronicle. In
the case of my Toreador punk rock singer, over the course of a Chronicle, she
could abandon her desire to be a singer as she becomes a part of Kindred
society. The draw of power and influence
could be overwhelming, but would she abandon her beliefs to further her place
within society. Or would Sydney be drawn
into the politics of the Anarchs? Would
she come to hate the Elders and their games and want to tear down the Camarilla
within her city? Could she join the
Sabbat? What promise could tempt to
her? Could the fear of an impending
Gehenna push Sydney to take up the fight against the Antediluvians and their
lap dogs the Camarilla? I won’t know
except when I play the character and I’m presented with the opportunities to
make those choices.
Most Vampire the Masquerade characters
and especially Toreador start on the Path of Humanity, but the long a vampire
survives the more tenuous that hold on human morality becomes. I’ve already stated that the Path of Lilith
is my favorite Path of Enlightenment, so perhaps I’d like this character to
transition over to that Path. Changing
paths could take many sessions. In order
to set up this change, I would start the character with one point in Occult and
ask my Storyteller if I had heard about the Path of Lilith or some of its heretical
teachings. Then, during downtime, my
character would seek out information on that subject, speak to Elders, make
deals and get further drawn into the spider web of Elder politics. After a while, everyone gets caught in the
trap of favors given and favors received.
Disciplines are another area where a
character has a chance to grow and explore possibilities that are not available
at character creation. A Toreador’s in
clan Disciplines are Auspex, Celerity, and Presence, and while each of those
Disciplines are extraordinarily good in their own right, VtM offers dozens of
other options for a character willing to learn and seek out a teacher. However, just learning a new Discipline has
an extraordinary cost; a character must drink one point of blood from his/her
mentor in order to activate the potential for that power. One point blood bound to another vampire is
also one point closer to losing control of one’s self. Not counting the rare Disciplines from
extremely rare bloodlines, a Toreador punk rock singer could make use of any of
the common Disciplines. Merely having
access to the other physical Disciplines, Fortitude and Potence, would be a
boon.
The point of this article is not the
character, but the process. Playing the
character is not simply just improving the stats on a character sheet but developing
the story of that character along with the Storyteller. Exploring not just what a character may want
to do, but also what happens when a character loses interest in one thing and gains
a new interest. Even vampires continue to
grow and change. Character creation isn’t the end of creating a character. A thousand small choices over the course of
Chronicle impact the character changing it from what the player had in mind to
what the character is at the end of a Chronicle.
I completely understand where you're coming from. While I've had the pleasure of running numerous Chronicles over the past several years, I haven't had the chance to actually play in one. Hope you have a chance to play soon!
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed! I'm hoping something works out!
DeleteThe Non-played yet Vampire character of mine is one concept of Wood Witch, and she could be many Clans (Nosferatu, gangrel, Ravnos, ) or Blood line. Last time i tried she became more one Elders-lackey that other thing.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean a "Wood Witch"? Like a Druid?
DeleteMore or less. I mean with from the forest or the wild, one creature that has a kind of fame on the folk - "Don't go there or the witch will catch you" or "You must obey your mother, or the witch gonna punish you", i wanted be the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befana Befana origin for example. A more little "Baba Yaga" on some terms. Not needed real blood magic, only Clan Disciplines - Animalism, Auspex, Obfuscate or any other.
Delete