Anchors: The Masks, Dirges, and Touchstones

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Aodhfin

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The Wandering Monster

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Kine

Anchors: The Masks, Dirges, and Touchstones Dec 28, 2014 20:34:29 GMT

Post by Aodhfin on Dec 28, 2014 20:34:29 GMT

Vampire the Requiem - Second Edition
Mask and Dirge Archetypes List

The list below is a collection of the Mask and Dirge Archetypes that are available to kindred characters. While Touchstones may be created specifically for a character, the list for Mask and Dirge Archetypes is finite and may not be added. The archetypes listed below will include what they mean for a character and the ways in which a character may regain one, or all, willpower through role playing of their chosen Archetype. All of the information on Mask and Dirge Archetypes can be found on page 84 of the Vampire the Requiem Second Edition.

While we will be somewhat lenient on single willpower refreshes, Storyteller approval will be needed when a player believes they have refreshed all of their willpower. A total refresh (all willpower) usually requires great risk and a chance of damage. Please remember that a character receives both a Mask and Dirge, so you will be selecting two for your character. The two should make sense together and be appropriate for your character!

Authoritarian	An authoritarian must be on top. She prides herself not in competition, but in control. She must assert her superiority and dominance whenever possible. Single Willpower: Shut down an inferior trying to rise to your level of power. All Willpower: Commit a widespread hit against a rival’s mortal connections.
Child	A child isn’t necessarily a child in age, but in behavior. He looks for others to care for him, and always stands behind someone else. He’ll always diffuse responsibility. Single Willpower: Find someone to take responsibility for your mistake. All Willpower: Commit a terrible crime to see how authority might react.
Competitor	The competitor relishes engagement and trial. She must test herself against others in all things. She’s never comfortable not knowing if she’s capable or not. Single Willpower: Challenge someone clearly your superior. All Willpower: Risk Final Death to prove that you can handle something.
Conformist	A conformist needs structure. He can be on top of it, or on the bottom of it, but he must adhere to some external concept and hierarchy in order to feel complete. Single Willpower: Choose an obviously disadvantageous path, because it fits with protocol. All Willpower: Stand by the losing side with shield at the ready, because it’s your side.
Conspirator	A conspirator must involve herself deeply in all things. She must have layers of machination for even the most meaningless tasks. Single Willpower: Add a layer of meaningless complexity to a plan. All Willpower: Refuse to take an action in self-defense without excessive, dangerous plotting.
Courtesan	A courtesan exists to see others enjoy themselves. He revels not for himself, but to let others bask in his revelry. He’s a master of the art of enjoyment. Single Willpower: Put yourself out for another’s pleasure. All Willpower: Be the last one dancing when the party’s on fire.
Cult Leader	A cult leader wants for faith and devotion. He may have faith and devotion of his own, but he wants for a group to adore him and his word above all. This may or may not be a religious cult. Single Willpower: Convince someone to deny logic because of your word. All Willpower: Risk exile or death to defend your cult’s belief system.
Deviant	A deviant lives to f lout norms and break traditional expectations. She isn’t concerned with rebellion; she’s concerned with crime, sin, and debauchery. Single Willpower: Commit a crime against your recognized society. All Willpower: Commit a high crime in plain view of an authority.
Follower	A follower needs direction, and is loathe to come up with it on his own. He devotes much of his attention to finding the right person to offer that direction. Single Willpower: Follow a directive blindly, for the sake of following. All Willpower: Follow a dangerous directive without hesitation.
Guru	A guru lives to learn, and to impart that knowledge to others. She’s a repository and font of wisdom on every topic she can manage to study. Single Willpower: Give advice that someone uses to succeed. All Willpower: Give protected, dangerous information without asking for payment.
Idealist	An idealist sees a better future, and all things exist within the context of that eventuality. He never accepts compromise, only recognizing a perfect achievement of his goal. Single Willpower: Deny a compromise that would water down your ideal. All Willpower: Refuse safety for fear of abandoning your ideal’s purity.
Jester	A jester never takes the world seriously. She looks for the absurd in everything, and shows it to the world. Everything is a joke. Everything has fault. Single Willpower: Point out an absurdity in the current state of affairs, to lighten the tone. All Willpower: Favor wit and cunning over direct self-defense in a situation of serious danger.
Junkie	A junkie puts indulgence before anything else. He can forget the rest of the world exists while he’s on his favored high. Single Willpower: Ignore a problem or responsibility in favor of immediate gratification. All Willpower: Abandon an important relationship over your pursuit of pleasure.
Martyr	A martyr puts others before herself in all things. She’s concerned with community and the cause, over her own safety and reputation. Single Willpower: Take another’s burden upon yourself without expecting recompense. All Willpower: Put yourself at risk to save someone else or an ideology.
Masochist	A masochist savors suffering. To a masochist, living without pain is not living. He never runs from a chance to experience new tortures. Single Willpower: Find and experience a new source of hurt. All Willpower: Willingly explore pain, beyond the point of safety and reason.
Monster	A monster exists to torment, frighten, and destroy. She loathes existence, and spreads that loathing wherever she goes. Single Willpower: Cause pain for the sole intention of causing pain. All Willpower: Commit a capital crime without additional motive.
Nomad	A nomad cannot stand staying still. Stagnancy is worse than death to the true wanderer. He sheds homes the way some shed clothing. Single Willpower: Abandon a home. All Willpower: Abandon a society, organization, or city.
Nurturer	A nurturer cares for others, and tries to bolster them to comfort and greatness. He protects and fosters, measuring his success by the success of others. Single Willpower: Put yourself out to help another succeed. All Willpower: Take full responsibility for another’s dangerous mistake.
Perfectionist	A perfectionist never settles for success; nothing short of flawless accomplishment is enough. She revisits and tinkers with any minor imperfections, to the point of excess. Single Willpower: Revisit an already successful action to hammer out a flaw. All Willpower: Stick with a failed and dangerous plan, in order to fix what went wrong.
Penitent	A penitent embodies regret and lessons learned. He cannot make a mistake and allow it to go unpunished. The only sin is to mistake without learning. Single Willpower: Punish yourself for a mistake. All Willpower: Risk death to correct an egregious error in judgment.
Questioner	A questioner cannot accept anything at face value. She must poke and prod, finding the holes in logic and function. She asks the questions that everyone else wants to ask. Single Willpower: Challenge an accepted truth. All Willpower: Put a long-believed truth to the test, at your own peril.
Rebel	A rebel refuses to accept tradition, mores, and folkways just on account of their existence. He fights to break new ground and pave his own way. Single Willpower: Openly flout a tradition. All Willpower: Openly flout a Kindred Tradition, or a covenant taboo.
Scholar	A scholar must study, and must learn. She’s never satisfied with base explanation; she must always dig deeper and uncover the truths behind the truths. Single Willpower: Uncover a lost piece of information. All Willpower: Uncover forbidden knowledge.
Social Chameleon	A social chameleon blends with his surroundings, and fits in wherever he may go. He considers no group to be exclusive. Single Willpower: Ingratiate yourself to a new social clique. All Willpower: Burn an important bridge to guarantee acceptance in a new group.
Spy	A spy infiltrates, and uncovers intelligence that others wish to keep hidden. She does whatever the situation demands in order to uncover hidden truths. Single Willpower: Build a new identity or uncover a secret. All Willpower: Uncover a damning secret that could end someone.
Survivor	A survivor favors his own existence above all things. He puts safety and stability as the primary drive of most actions. To succeed is to live. Single Willpower: Favor the safe path over the higher risk, higher reward path. All Willpower: Abandon a social group or relationship in order to stay safe.
Visionary	A visionary has a clear picture in his head. This picture is of something bigger, something greater. It’s his life’s work to show that vision to the world. Single Willpower: Help someone by sharing your vision with them. All Willpower: Put yourself at risk to show a group the power of your vision.

Last Edit: Dec 28, 2014 22:24:43 GMT by Aodhfin

~ "Tonight, there is only an inch between Pain and Delight."

Blood Potency 2
Gangrel Status 3 "Child of The Unholy & Savage Duelist"
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Aodhfin

37 posts

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The Wandering Monster

Offline

Kine

Anchors: The Masks, Dirges, and Touchstones Dec 28, 2014 21:51:30 GMT

Post by Aodhfin on Dec 28, 2014 21:51:30 GMT

Vampire the Requiem - Second Edition
The Purpose and Mechanics of Touchstones

A Touchstone is part of the mortal world, usually a living, breathing person. Rarely, it can be a place or thing. The Touchstone tests a vampire’s Requiem; and by her very existence, she asks challenging questions of the Kindred. She tests his values, his priorities, and his true nature. She touches his Requiem in a fundamentally positive way, even though her association might cause complications and tribulations for the vampire.

For young Kindred, the Touchstone is usually someone he knew in life. She may be a family member, confidante, lover, or even a rival. She’s someone who reminds him of what he was when he was alive.

For older Kindred, the Touchstone is usually tied to his less savory affairs. She may be the daughter of his prized ghoul, someone who looks like his long-dead wife, or the janitor he passes by every morning on his way to sleep. She’s someone who reminds him that once, he was alive.

Touchstones provide built-in conflict for every character. When thinking of a Touchstone, consider how your character might potentially lose it. Think of how he protects it. Think of how he reacts when it’s threatened. In game terms, Touchstones help a vampire maintain his Humanity by adding dice to detachment rolls. If a character has a single attached Touchstone, it adds a +2 die bonus to detachment rolls. With multiple Touchstones, add a +3 die bonus. See p. 108 for further details on detachment. When a vampire has no Touchstones, detachment rolls are made at a –2 die penalty.

Write Touchstones alongside your character’s Humanity track. Write the first Touchstone next to the sixth Humanity dot. Consider a Touchstone attached when there is a dot next to it. For example, with only four Humanity dots, your character’s initial Touchstone is no longer attached. Any time the vampire defends her attachment to her Touchstone, she regains a Willpower point. If this defense causes her serious harm, she regains all her spent Willpower points.

If a vampire loses her last Touchstone — for example, if he died — then she has two choices. She may immediately lose a dot of Humanity. If she takes that path, she has one month to find a new Touchstone to replace him. If she does not within that time, she gets the Languid Condition (see p. 304). Alternately, she may take the Languid Condition immediately. The vampire doesn’t consciously choose the Condition, but she resigns herself to the slowing of her blood. This applies whether or not the Touchstone was attached at the time. Taking a new Touchstone requires the Touchstone Merit (see p. 115). Write the new Touchstone in next to the appropriate Humanity level. Replacing a lost or dead Touchstone requires gaining a dot of Humanity. Replace the Touchstone on her Humanity track.

Remember that additional Touchstones bought with the Touchstone Merit are subject to the Sanctity of Merits rule if lost. (See p. 109.)

Replacing Touchstones

Touchstones don’t come easy. While you can — and must — replace a lost Touchstone within one month, establishing those relationships can take longer. Close friends and confidants take cultivation. This is intended; it means most Kindred must build and maintain relationships with mortals beyond just their handful of Touchstones.

On the other hand, there exist Kindred who don’t, but still get by. They do so by falling into fast friendships and deep flings. Sure, these relationships end disastrously, but that’s all part of the drama. It creates a tense cycle where the vampire is constantly losing and finding new flings, throwing herself harder into each. The pursuit of this week’s best friend becomes something of an addiction.

Touchstones from Vampire the Requiem - Second Edition

- The Ex -	Before the Embrace, you and he were a thing. It ended a while ago, but early in your Requiem, you needed a quick and easy fix, so you keep coming back to him. The thing is, you just want a casual thing and some no-strings blood, but he’s looking for something serious. He swears it’ll be different this time.
- The Orphan -	She was barely a teen, hanging out in between, just a part of the scene. Her parents did every drug in the book, and rarely came home. She was set for a terrible life, until you stumbled upon her. Now, you help keep her warm. You put her up. You make sure she gets up for school right before you collapse for the day.
- The Witness -	He watched in horror as you took your first life. You murdered in cold blood, and he’ll never forget that moment. Of course, the Masquerade says he can’t go telling everyone what he saw. Unfortunately, that meantyou had to intervene. But without mind control, your only chance meant leveling with him and answering his questions.
- Victim's Lover -	You killed her. You lost control, and you snapped her neck. You’re dealing with that. So was her wife. You’ve sworn to yourself that you’d keep her wife safe. You’ve even chatted with her a few times. She seems pleasant. She seems like a good meal. But you can’t bring yourself to touch her in that way, after the way you hurt her before.
- House of Birth -	That old place. It’s passed hands five times since you were born. Nobody loved that house for more than a couple of years at a time. Now, it reminds you of those moments when mom defended you from dad’s belt. You went to purchase it, but the city has it marked for demolition.
- Grave Site -	Since you’ve started the Danse, you stop by your gravesite every few nights on the way home. You’re in awe of your rival predators; they feign mortality so well. But deep down, you loathe the idea. You find the great lie abhorrent, and this little show of defiance helps you to keep perspective.

Touchstone NPCs & Middlewhere Players FAQ

• Will the Touchstone NPCs ever be considered major parts of the overall Requiem story?
This may be a question on most of your minds, since the touchstones are a fairly integral part for Kindred Sanity and Humanity. The simple answer is, maybe. The amount of participation a Touchstone NPC may have, will be decided by the player. While the Storyteller Staff may occasionally involve them into plots or make them plot hooks, the player will have a final say in the static involvement that Touchstones have in their Requiem story.

• Will the Storyteller Staff play out and involve themselves with the dealings of the Touchstones?
The answer to this question is two-fold; no and yes. What we, as the Storyteller Staff have been kicking around as an idea is allowing other players to play the NPC Touchstones. We, the Storyteller staff, will not be playing them as official Storyteller characters; although a few of the storytellers may decide to play another players Touchstone. What the Touchstone does for their life and how they act, these are all things that are decided by the owner of the Touchstone—not the Storyteller Staff.

What this means is that, if a player wishes, they may ask another player to play the NPC Touchstone. This way we involve more players in the overall story for the Middlewhere Requiem. There will also be a simple reward for players who do play an NPC Touchstone; in the form of an extra monthly experience point, that will be rewarded for every month the player continues playing the NPC Touchstone.

As for other players getting involved with a Touchstone that is not their own, things happen. This will likely not be a overly common event unless the Touchstone owner wants to add a bit of additional drama. The volunteer who is playing the Touchstone should not purposely put the NPC in harm's way, though these events may happen occasionally. If another player is tenacious and trying to attack a kindred in ways (besides physically), lets face it ... Touchstones are a pretty good and vulnerable target.

• How do we, as players, volunteer to play an NPC Touchstone and what are our limitations?
To volunteer and play an NPC Touchstone for another player, you simply have to ask them or be asked by them. This will not be a complicated process, you simply ask the other players if anyone has an NPC Touchstone they need played, or wait for someone to come to you. Once this is done, all you need to do is let the Storyteller Staff know and we will take care of the rest! One of the various plug-ins and 'functions' this forum has is called an NPC Profiler, and the NPC Profiler allows us to set up multiple 'Profiles' on a single account. When a player wishes to post as the NPC Touchstone, all they will need to do is select the NPC from a drop-down that will appear when they are posting.

The limitations of that Touchstone, will be entirely up to the player that owns the NPC Touchstone. This means that the player who has volunteered to play the Touchstone must listen and follow some basic guidelines the owner as set up. You, as the volunteer, are not a puppet though! The owner will explain what the role they are looking for and you, as the volunteer, will play that role out. Below is a small example to demonstrate; please keep in mind you don't need to send all of this in, this is just an example.

Custom Touchstone and NPC

Owner: Gryphon Aodhfin (Ainéislis McGriffin)
Mask & Dirge: Monster and Nurturer

Name & Player: Daryl (last name pending), played by Grace
Touchstone: The Second Chance (Humanity 6)

Narrative Excerpt: She was a perfect reflection of the woman that stirred his once beating heart. She was only a child when he first stumbled across her by chance, but he watched her grow over the years. When her the family hit hard times, and her parents met with bad ends, he was there to make sure she had a better life. He left food, money, and everything she needed each morning; except for his physical presence. He knew when she grew up and went to college he would have to keep away, but it was just to difficult …

Player Agreement: Grace and I have spoken about Daryl and decided she will be a strong, independent, and intelligent woman who has always known about her 'Guardian Watcher'. Daryl will be a painful, but needed, 'Light' for Aodhfin. She will question Aodhfin, his life, and struggle to make him question his morals or try and have him find humanity in 'the monster'.

Last Edit: Dec 30, 2014 8:17:33 GMT by Aodhfin

~ "Tonight, there is only an inch between Pain and Delight."

Blood Potency 2
Gangrel Status 3 "Child of The Unholy & Savage Duelist"
Striking Appearance