Tell Me About Your Characters

[propergoffick]

Forget about the pages of rules and the handfuls of dice. Close the book, turn out the lights, and tell me a story about dark desires and relentless hunger. Tell me about a vampire: about her talents and her weaknesses, and you tell me what kind of challenges she faces, what rewards or perils come her way.
-- Vampire: the Masquerade (Revised)

 

Since we're all new here: let's do what used to be not the done thing at all, when I was a lad. Tell me about your characters! Open your hatch and disgorge that nourishing vampire tea.

Comments

[mckelly]

I've one got one that I made myself (Scott). The other two were NPCs in the chronicle I played in, but the GM has given me permission to use them for whatever creative purposes I want, so I've adopted them for the foreseeable future.

Scott King: A shy, short, and perpetually exhausted Toreador. He was offered the embrace and accepted it willingly. He's ostensibly a member of the Camarilla. In practice, Scott really doesn't give a crap about their politics and focuses on maintaining the safety of the people he actually does care about. Scott was an experiment in creating the least effective Toreador on the face of the planet. He's a wallflower, honest to a fault, and has no social ambition outside keeping the rumor mill off his back. Scott was embraced because his sire was enamored with Scott's gentleness and humility. He thought those traits would be a good influence on the rest of the vampires in the city. Naturally, that plan did not end well.

Isaac Baum: Scott's sire. I think the phrase "embarrassingly proud dad" describes him best. He's much more outgoing than his childe, and much more loyal to both their clan and sect. He does his best to make sure Scott will succeed in both. Isaac was raised to be embraced. His sire adopted him at a very young age. Isaac never really knew what it was to be human, or to be among humans in any meaningful capacity, while he was growing up. His life (and unlife) was kind of a hot mess to start, filled with parties and drugs and sex and anything else that could potentially embarrass the kindred who raised him. Siring a childe was the first time he ever felt like he had a purpose.

Ares Salvatore: Scott's thinblooded childe and partner. Ares is a soft spoken nerd who's ideal night is spent in, playing Mario Kart and snuggling. He was from a branch of the Giovanni family, but ran from them when he met Scott. Ares was born with an extremely strong sixth sense. He was seen by many of his relatives as a goldmine of necromantic potential. Unfortunately his gentle nature put him at odds with them. His father and sister were especially abusive. Ares actively despises his family. When the opportunity came to make a new family for himself - with Scott and Scott's coterie - he jumped on it without hesitation.

[eternal_life_sentence]

I like the sound of Isaac- was there a particular reason his sire was raising a child in preparation for an embrace, or was it more of a "to see if I can!" kind of deal?


Ares is also quite interesting- although if I've seen anything, that whole "running from the Giovanni" thing is probably going to come back to bite him (no pun intended).

[mckelly]

"To see if I can." Isaac's sire was a bored-as-shit elder looking for something to make his existence interesting. Which meant Isaac was more of a pet than a son, and not a particularly well cared for pet. His sire would dote on him as long as it was fun. The moment it stopped being fun - like, say, when a kid is scared or sad or in some other sort of negative mood - Isaac was left to his own devices.

And yeah, running from the Giovanni was NOT a good plan. It did come back to bite him hardcore in the chronicle he was in. I have to post the recaps I did for that game on my journal here soon...

[eternal_life_sentence]

Ah, yeah, that sounds like a super Toreador thing to do. At least it seems to have turned out less-terribly than it might otherwise have!

[propergoffick]

"Embarrassingly Proud Dad" is a great concept - and it feels like a nice positive choice for that World of Darkness!!!1! that people sometimes get a little bit too into. I have to admire him for trying with Scott, even if it hasn't worked out too well.

Also: Giovanni thinbloods of the world unite! We have nothing to lose except, er, everything. (One of my losers is a tiny baby Giovanni who knows a lot more than she's capable of. I should probably do this "tell us about your characters" shtick myself, really...)

[mckelly]

Dear lord, does Isaac try... only for the same humanity he cultivated in his childe to go and cause said childe to make the absolute worst decisions possible in any situation. The moral choice doesn't matter in the long run if it puts a target on your back.

Also, I havea feeling if Sorcha and Ares ever met it'd end with Ares taking three cautious steps backward, then turning on his heals and making a mad dash for the nearest exit. XD

[propergoffick]

He's SENSIBLE. That's the correct response to Sorcha.

(She's not as hardcore as I make her sound. TBH I'm thinking about retooling her to make her a little less... edgy.)

[mckelly]

There's nothing wrong with an edgy character or two, especially in a case as well-rounded as yours.

[propergoffick]

Thank you! I always hope that tying these things into an actual context (like, well, being groomed for the Embrace since birth, raised by some of the strangest people in Europe and then in a lonely Scottish boarding school, and finally finding out that your dad is a full time vampire spindoctor) grounds them a little bit - but I still think it's important to emphasise that these characters are people who, by and large, function in society. Sorcha's a weirdo but she's not psychotic. Riccardo is perfectly charming unless you happen to be related to him. Alistair... well, OK, Alistair's a piece of shit, but that's what the job does to you. He needs to be like that.