Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 03, 2023, 10:18:20 AM

Quote from: GhostNinja on May 03, 2023, 09:46:28 AM
Sorry this might be a silly questions and may or may not have been discussed and I missed it.

Do the vampires remember their past?  Is the person still in there from before they were bit or did they die when they were bit and a monster took their place in the body?

Good question!

That varies by setting. Most fiction I'm aware of has them remember their human life, even if their conscience is gone and a demon has taken up residence. In the Sonja Blue books vampires suffer brain damage that results in them having little memory of their former life, no conscience and limited intelligence. In the ABYSS ttrpg, vampires have no memory of their human life and any promises of immortality to prospective recruits are empty.

In most ttrpg settings the playable vampires having once been human is just a formality to justify the power fantasy, like isekai. They could have been born a vampire, or have no memory of their human lives, and it wouldn't make any meaningful change to these settings. I consider this a weakness of the writing. Most fiction that even has vampires not being ex-human in the first place is paranormal romance where the dynamics are akin to an interracial superhero romance. Christine Feehan's Dark Prince series being a prolific example.

In my settings I was gonna have it vary according to what themes I wanted to explore. Maybe offer players a choice of origins: "memories of human life," "forgot what it was like to be human," "no memories of humanity," "was never human," etc.

Good points.  The only vampire game I have ever played is Vampire the Masquerade.   As far as I could tell my character remembered his previous life but didn't have a conscious anymore.

Anyway, how do you answer the question of "what do characters actually do?" If you were writing adventures, then what kinds of adventures would you write?

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 05, 2023, 09:05:22 AM
Anyway, how do you answer the question of "what do characters actually do?" If you were writing adventures, then what kinds of adventures would you write?

Well, I've given my answer before in some other threads, but I feel like the zeitgeist of playing the 'misunderstood' monster has long since past.

As such my Urban Fantasy concept (into which my demon-pacted vampires fit) would be...


Player concepts would be warriors (cops, soldiers, survivors), priests/exorcists, scientists/scholars, blessed (those gifted with divine charisms) and children of the damned (dhampirs, cambions, etc.).

The adventures would be dealing with all the many powers of Hell who threaten the world; vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, malevolent ghosts, etc.

Neat. Monster hunters is something I have a dedicated doc for. There's freelancers, organizations, repentant monsters who hunt monsters, immoral organizations that hunt magic to harvest and exploit it, etc.

But I preferred to ditch the "misunderstood" bit and acknowledge that monsters are monsters. And make fun of it. Like Brian Mitsoda and What We Do In The Shadows.

Quote from: Chris24601 on May 07, 2023, 08:53:54 AM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 05, 2023, 09:05:22 AM
Anyway, how do you answer the question of "what do characters actually do?" If you were writing adventures, then what kinds of adventures would you write?

Well, I've given my answer before in some other threads, but I feel like the zeitgeist of playing the 'misunderstood' monster has long since past.

As such my Urban Fantasy concept (into which my demon-pacted vampires fit) would be...

with stake and sword, cross and flame,
we roam the blighted land,
for now we are the hunters...
HUNTERS OF THE DAMNED

Player concepts would be warriors (cops, soldiers, survivors), priests/exorcists, scientists/scholars, blessed (those gifted with divine charisms) and children of the damned (dhampirs, cambions, etc.).

The adventures would be dealing with all the many powers of Hell who threaten the world; vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, malevolent ghosts, etc.

I see your Hunters of the Damned and rise you my Night Stalkers:

In this game there are no sparkly or angst ridden monsters, the monsters are supernatural predators and only you stand between these creatures and the unknowing masses.

Welcome to Night Stalkers, the Supernatural exterminator team of Bureau 51.

Monsters exist, they are the apex predators of this unsuspecting world. Vampires, Werewolves, Phaeric beings and other things that go bump in the night and prey on the weak.

In Night Stalkers you play the role of one of the few that are aware of the supernatural menace that lies beyond the light.

You have been recruited by a shadow agency that exists beyond governments and organized religion, you can't trust any politician, religious leader, journalist (maybe with the exception of the ones working for tabloids like Weekly Weird World News –and half of them are just con-men publishing whatever will give them the most clicks–), law enforcement or celebrity.

Night Stalkers. Walking the edge between an unsuspecting humanity and the creatures that walk among us.

Quote from: Chris24601 on May 07, 2023, 08:53:54 AM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 05, 2023, 09:05:22 AM
Anyway, how do you answer the question of "what do characters actually do?" If you were writing adventures, then what kinds of adventures would you write?

Well, I've given my answer before in some other threads, but I feel like the zeitgeist of playing the 'misunderstood' monster has long since past.

As such my Urban Fantasy concept (into which my demon-pacted vampires fit) would be...

with stake and sword, cross and flame,
we roam the blighted land,
for now we are the hunters...
HUNTERS OF THE DAMNED

Player concepts would be warriors (cops, soldiers, survivors), priests/exorcists, scientists/scholars, blessed (those gifted with divine charisms) and children of the damned (dhampirs, cambions, etc.).

The adventures would be dealing with all the many powers of Hell who threaten the world; vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, malevolent ghosts, etc.

I like it, but it's more of an urban fantasy RPG than a vampire RPG. It reminds me of the Witchcraft RPG (1999.) I'd love to see that get a 25-year anniversary update, much like the "20" lines of the White Wolf games.

I wonder if the drift into UF is inevitable. Once you introduce Creature X as an antagonist, someone will want to play one. Or Creature Y.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 07, 2023, 01:22:19 PM
I see your Hunters of the Damned and rise you my Night Stalkers:

In this game there are no sparkly or angst ridden monsters, the monsters are supernatural predators and only you stand between these creatures and the unknowing masses.

Welcome to Night Stalkers, the Supernatural exterminator team of Bureau 51.

Monsters exist, they are the apex predators of this unsuspecting world. Vampires, Werewolves, Phaeric beings and other things that go bump in the night and prey on the weak.

In Night Stalkers you play the role of one of the few that are aware of the supernatural menace that lies beyond the light.

You have been recruited by a shadow agency that exists beyond governments and organized religion, you can't trust any politician, religious leader, journalist (maybe with the exception of the ones working for tabloids like Weekly Weird World News –and half of them are just con-men publishing whatever will give them the most clicks–), law enforcement or celebrity.

Night Stalkers. Walking the edge between an unsuspecting humanity and the creatures that walk among us.

Are you a human fighting monsters, or a monster fighting monsters? What is the supernatural menace? Is it other monsters, or something worse?

The strong point here is all of the characters work for the same Agency, which explains why they work together rather than squabble or fight each other. Also, you can have mission-based adventures, which solves the "What do the players do?" question.

There are many games out there with this theme. The latest one I read was Monte Cook's World of Darkness. It's not what you think. The premise is very different than the classic WOD from the 90's. It's worth checking out for theme, mood, and setting. 

Yeah, I'm working on an urban fantasy setting where vampires, shifters, magicians, fairies and so on all rub shoulders. It's very kitchen sink. Unlike certain other settings, they're written as coexisting rather than arbitrarily segregated.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 07, 2023, 01:22:19 PM
I see your Hunters of the Damned and rise you my Night Stalkers

I chose my approach because I dislike portraying "shadow agencies" as heroic (when we're living through the evils of unaccountable unelected bureaucrats) and organized religion as something untrustworthy (when its believers are the ones often targeted by said unelected bureaucrats).

If anything I'd be inclined to make such a secret agency a tool of the monsters to conceal their presence and depredations from the world and have an alliance among those the monsters target be more informal where the only reliable resources are what the PCs themselves bring to their fight. The focus would be on relying on each other (and God) rather than having an agency to bail you out.

The State wouldn't be able to save you from the monsters in my setting... they are the thralls of the monsters. It's easier to portray the monsters as horrific when they also hold all the power.

I'm not doing a particularly ecumenical or agnostic setting. As in Dracula, it will be expressly Catholic (Roman or Orthodox) elements that work against the demonic forces. Magic for the protagonists will be exclusively the rites of the ordained, charisms of the blessed, and the innate powers of the children (Merlin, as in legend, is a Cambion... so too any PC spellcasters).

I aim to paint in bold colors rather than muddied tones.

Something I toyed with was the Inquisition actually being masterminded by monsters to get mortals attacking each other, making it easier to prey on them and avoid notice. This works best with emotional vampires and the like.

Also, I don't see a difference between unaccountable unelected bureaucrats in government versus those in organized religion.

Quote from: Aglondir on May 07, 2023, 04:52:48 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 07, 2023, 01:22:19 PM
I see your Hunters of the Damned and rise you my Night Stalkers:

In this game there are no sparkly or angst ridden monsters, the monsters are supernatural predators and only you stand between these creatures and the unknowing masses.

Welcome to Night Stalkers, the Supernatural exterminator team of Bureau 51.

Monsters exist, they are the apex predators of this unsuspecting world. Vampires, Werewolves, Phaeric beings and other things that go bump in the night and prey on the weak.

In Night Stalkers you play the role of one of the few that are aware of the supernatural menace that lies beyond the light.

You have been recruited by a shadow agency that exists beyond governments and organized religion, you can't trust any politician, religious leader, journalist (maybe with the exception of the ones working for tabloids like Weekly Weird World News –and half of them are just con-men publishing whatever will give them the most clicks–), law enforcement or celebrity.

Night Stalkers. Walking the edge between an unsuspecting humanity and the creatures that walk among us.

Are you a human fighting monsters, or a monster fighting monsters? What is the supernatural menace? Is it other monsters, or something worse?

The strong point here is all of the characters work for the same Agency, which explains why they work together rather than squabble or fight each other. Also, you can have mission-based adventures, which solves the "What do the players do?" question.

There are many games out there with this theme. The latest one I read was Monte Cook's World of Darkness. It's not what you think. The premise is very different than the classic WOD from the 90's. It's worth checking out for theme, mood, and setting.

Mostly humans fighting monsters, but I'm toying with the idea of introducing Damphirs and maybe Frankenstein's Monster.

The supernatural menace are all the black witches (White witches are good guys), licanthropes, vampires, ghouls, demons, etc.

Quote from: Chris24601 on May 07, 2023, 05:25:14 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 07, 2023, 01:22:19 PM
I see your Hunters of the Damned and rise you my Night Stalkers

I chose my approach because I dislike portraying "shadow agencies" as heroic (when we're living through the evils of unaccountable unelected bureaucrats) and organized religion as something untrustworthy (when its believers are the ones often targeted by said unelected bureaucrats).

If anything I'd be inclined to make such a secret agency a tool of the monsters to conceal their presence and depredations from the world and have an alliance among those the monsters target be more informal where the only reliable resources are what the PCs themselves bring to their fight. The focus would be on relying on each other (and God) rather than having an agency to bail you out.

The State wouldn't be able to save you from the monsters in my setting... they are the thralls of the monsters. It's easier to portray the monsters as horrific when they also hold all the power.

I'm not doing a particularly ecumenical or agnostic setting. As in Dracula, it will be expressly Catholic (Roman or Orthodox) elements that work against the demonic forces. Magic for the protagonists will be exclusively the rites of the ordained, charisms of the blessed, and the innate powers of the children (Merlin, as in legend, is a Cambion... so too any PC spellcasters).

I aim to paint in bold colors rather than muddied tones.

I only said religious leaders, as in the commie at the Vatican, not The Church as a whole. My totally not a cleric is called The Blessed, he doesn't cast spells, he prays for and/or performs miracles, I'm basing it directly from Christian prayers.

The Bureau isn't a governmental agency, it was funded by the Knights Templar, it has had many different names at different places and times. Guess you missed the point about it existing beyond governments.

So I don't get from where you pulled out the Government saving ANYONE, or the part of it being somehow AGAINST religion.

Cambions are the offspring of demons, ergo bad guys.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on May 07, 2023, 05:38:32 PM
Something I toyed with was the Inquisition actually being masterminded by monsters to get mortals attacking each other, making it easier to prey on them and avoid notice. This works best with emotional vampires and the like.

Also, I don't see a difference between unaccountable unelected bureaucrats in government versus those in organized religion.

Can't speak for ALL religions or even for ALL Christian denominations but the Vatican IS a government filled with unelected bureaucrats that constantly flaunt justice and the law (see the musical chairs game with the pedo priests). As with ANY human institution it can (and IMHO has) be corrupted at the higher levels, but I'm sure the local priests aren't all like the leaders.

Which is why in my game you work OUTSIDE governments and beyond the control of religious leaders.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on May 07, 2023, 06:33:47 PM
The Bureau isn't a governmental agency, it was funded by the Knights Templar, it has had many different names at different places and times...

Excellent! I love the Templars. But I read somewhere that if you like them you're fascist, or something. Is that really a thing, or is it just woke hysteria?

The Templars have been featured in conspiracy theories and fiction, as both heroes and villains, but I've never heard of any connection to fascism before you just mentioned it