General House Rules apply to all splats, and are divided into the following categories.
Always, always see the Banned and Limited Characters List FIRST.
Character types listed as Limited cannot be taken as your first character on this server. They can only be your second character onward after you have been active with your first character for one month, and even then, being allowed to take one will require a talk with the ST(s) of your splat first.
Character types listed as Temporarily Closed cannot be taken at this time. Please do not ask us when they will be available again. We promise, the players will be the first to know when they are.
Character types listed as Banned cannot be taken. Don’t even ask, the answer is and will be no for the foreseeable future.
Please note that while there is no rule against having more than one character in the same splat AS LONG AS ONE OF THOSE CHARACTERS IS IN A ‘SUBSPLAT’ (Kinfolk or Fera for Werewolf, Technocrats or Disparates for Mage, etc.), please keep the following in mind:
These merits are outright banned, don't ask, the answer is no.
We've been asked about this before, and it's really about time we make an official ruling on this. There are merits that exist that grant a character deep ties to other supernatural communities, one they would not initially have without that merit. For example, someone who is a Kinfolk can in theory Awaken as a Mage, or someone who was Imbued could be Fae-Blooded without knowing. How do we handle these types of characters? Do they 'count' as being in two splats at once? The answer: Yes, and no.
Your character only counts towards the 'population' of their primary splat.
For example: If you are a Mage that took the Shapechanger Kin merit (4 pts, M20: Book of Secrets, p. 74), you are still considered a Mage, and not a part of the Werewolf splat as far as population goes. However, you must still coordinate with the Werewolf ST(s), because depending on the Tribe you are Kinfolk to, they will not take kindly to one of their own becoming a Willworker and potentially turning their back on their blood. Even if you picked one of the more open-minded Tribes, you must still coordinate with the Werewolf ST(s), because even if you aren't considered a part of the splat as far as the game's population count is concerned, you are still deeply connected to it, and a part of the splat in all but name.
All of these merits are very much double-edged swords, granting both benefits and drawbacks. Coordinating with the STs of two different splats can be fun, but be prepared to be pulled in two different directions in-game… which may mean eventually your character alienates one side or the other, whether intentionally or not.
Note that this does not apply to characters who are primarily a Ghoul, Kinfolk, etc. This applies to, but is not limited to, the following types of characters who took the corresponding merit, or otherwise gained deep ties to a splat through in-game actions:
Kinfolk: If having taken the Shapechanger Kin merit (4 pts, M20: Book of Secrets, p. 74). You must decide with the ST(s) of both your primary splat and the Werewolf ST(s) which tribe you are Kinfolk to. Choose wisely; certain Tribes are less accepting of potential outsider influence than others…
Ghouls: If your character is primarily a ghoul, you can ignore this. If, however, you were ghouled during the course of the game (note: other supernatural types, such as Mages or Changelings, MUST gain this merit through in-game actions and NOT at character creation) and therefore gained the Ghoul merit (5 pts, M20: Book of Secrets, p. 75), you must coordinate with both the ST(s) of both your splat, and the Vampire ST(s). Note that becoming a ghoul, while having a few obvious benefits, also has very major drawbacks: A Mage, for example, choosing to hang around Nightfolk and becoming a junkie hooked on their blood will lose their Avatars eventually, and will become a pariah in the eyes of their Tradition and their Chantry (God help you if you're a Technocrat). The good news is that someday, you might become a candidate for the embrace.
Kinain: If you took the Fae Blood merit (4 pts, M20: Book of Secrets, p. 74), you, again, must coordinate with both your splat's ST(s) and the Changeling ST(s). This means you might want to watch your Banality score.
Thralls: See Demon House Rules. If you form a Pact with a Fallen Player Character (which must be done in-game and not at character creation), you automatically gain the Bound flaw (5 points, M20: Book of Secrets, p.92), and from that point on, must coordinate with both your splat's ST(s), and the STs for Demon. If you made a deal with some other type of entity (Wyrm Banes, Apophis, etc.), talk to the relevant splat ST.
An important note on the Aging flaw (M:20: Book of Secrets, p 40): As you will note above, the Child flaw is banned. However, as a compromise (and to avoid having to force-retire at least one character in the game when the Child flaw was banned), we kept the Aging flaw, which allows for characters age 12 and up (note that Child specifically refers to characters 10 and below), as well as elderly characters (age 65+). If you want to play a minor, please speak with your ST first. We may allow it if it's a genuinely interesting character concept, but you'll really have to sell us on it first.
Merits, Difficulty Modifiers, and You
First, the minimum difficulty for any roll is always 3; difficulties can never drop below this, regardless of Merits, equipment, active effects, or any other modifiers.
Merits, for a character, are the innate talents, mundane or supernatural, that they possess at character creation or can be earned in-game as scene rewards. They are, ideally, supposed to be for flavor, to illustrate part of your backstory. But let's face it: More often than not, they're also mechanical advantages.
Whether they're difficulty modifiers or additional dice, merits are never neutral, although some can be pretty cheap or easy to get. Some even had to be downright banned (ex: Confident) or modified (ex: Crackshot) or limited due to over-use (Enchanting Voice).
But is it still a merit if everyone has it? Is it still special? Is it even still an interesting game if everyone has a sheet full of the exact same merits, and not only are there no more unique characters, there is no more suspense in any scene because nobody is going to fail (let alone botch) any roll?
The answer is no. We know it, you know it. So starting today, we are instituting the following House Rules regarding merits and difficulty modification.
Note: Before anyone starts to freak out, we're not taking away any merit from any existing sheet.
No difficulty can ever drop below Base Diff - 3. In other words, you can add up modifiers, but the most you can ever lower any single roll's difficulty will be by three (merits, gifts, Wonders… all modifiers combined). Some of you might believe it was already the case. Mages, for instance, are very familiar with this concept; the same applies to their Arete rolls. Some things are just difficult; even those who can make something look easy will struggle with something, sometime, and even experts screw up occasionally. So whether or not this rule used to apply to you, now it does. No more will characters be able to drop a difficulty 10 roll to difficulty 4 (yes, this did happen once). That diff 10 roll can never drop below diff 7. A diff 9 roll can never drop below diff 6. A diff 7 roll can never drop below 4. And no roll can EVER drop below 3 (some can't even be lowered to 4 if such is stated in your reference book).
You can only apply two (2) merits to any given roll. This includes merits that grant extra dice (Natural Leader, etc.), merits that all but negate the possibility of botching (Charmed Existence, True Love, etc.), and of course, difficulty modifiers. Note that not every merit can apply to every roll anyway. If you have more than two merits that can apply to a roll, you'll have to make a choice. Experiment and get creative; different choices might lead to different results. Note: This does not apply to other types of modifiers, such as Gifts, Fetishes, Wonders, Relics, etc. This only applies to merits. The point of this is to disincentivize 'merit stacking,' encourage diversity of merits, as well as make it worth it to actually invest in crafting or making friends with somebody else who can do it.
All merits require justification: At character creation through their backstory, or in-game through scene rewards (which should also be noted somewhere in your sheet). No exceptions. This really should go without saying and I can't believe I even have to reiterate this. Do you have Enchanting Voice? Show us how and why your voice is so special. Do you have Charmed Existence? Why is your 'fate' special, and how did it get that way? Don't tell us. Show us. Write it out. STs reserve the right to request additional justification for anything on a sheet, for any reason. If sufficient justification is not provided, STs reserve the right to veto that item. Also, while some (though not all) merits can be requested as purchases with XP, this should remain exceptional and will always require a scene or even an entire plotline as justification. Most of the time, merits obtained in play should remain surprise rewards from the ST to illustrate a turning point in a given character's development or story arc, same as we do with flaws.
All players will now be required to write out their difficulty modifiers in their rolls. Mages already have to do this to identify whether a spell is Coincidental or Vulgar, which spheres they're using, whether they're taking extra turns, whether they're spending Willpower, etc. List out which merits are applying to which roll (when in doubt, ask if they apply). When we're in the middle of a big scene, we don't have time to check each sheet and make guesses as to which merits you're using and where your Diff 3 is coming from. Players have abused this in the past to try to slip inappropriately low difficulties past the radar by counting on STs not to check. Blame them for the added inconvenience. STs reserve the right to question or outright reject rolls that do not include difficulty modifiers when the roll was not made at the difficulty an ST has designated.
“B-But,” you might be saying, “w-what about my four super cool merits, my four gifts, my fetish, and all this other cool stuff I have to turn every difficulty I'll ever have to 3? I worked hard to get those!” We acknowledge that players can and do work for a sake of progression to make certain rolls trivial. Plus, certain characters are just better than others at certain things. For that, we do still want to reward players, so we'll be introducing a new mechanic to go along with this: Introducing Trivial Rolls.
Floor XP and You
Floor XP is something all characters receive by default at creation. It is a one-time only gift. Here's what makes it special:
Character death sucks. We get attached to our characters, and STs here understand this and do not like killing PCs for the fun of it. There are times when the dice just seem to hate one (or more!) character in particular, and then a character rolls a botch at exactly the wrong moment. STs will go with the roll, but still wish there could be a way to save that character, as is their prerogative as per Rule n°1. But where to put the limit? If you do it once, you have to do it again, and if you do it for one character, you have to do it for everyone else, even when it doesn't make sense. So what do we do?
Introducing the Character Save Card.
Every single character will only have one of these. If all other options have been exhausted, no further rolls can be made, no allies can save you, etc., the player may declare that they are using that character's Save Card. When the Card is invoked, the STs will intervene with a Deus Ex Machina and save that character from what was otherwise going to be certain death. But before you think that this gives you license to go hog wild, there are a few things to remember:
This rule is an attempt at finding a middle ground between wanting to give characters a last-ditch attempt to save themselves, and making the risk of death feel cheap. Though, this should remain exceptional. Announcements are made prior to particularly dangerous scenes during which character death is a real possibility. Please take that into account and avoid sending characters that you know don't have the requested skillset. It's one time only, don't waste it.
It is an unfortunate reality that no two splats within the classic World of Darkness feature exactly the same list of abilities, which is of course a problem in a multi-splat game. To alleviate this issue we make use of the following lists of primary and secondary abilities for all splats. Please note that Gremayre, Kenning, Primal Urge, and Rituals are not mentioned on the lists, since only characters of specific splats have access to these abilities. However, those abilities are still available for members of the respective splats. Please consult the core books of Changeling: The Dreaming and Werewolf: The Apocalypse for details. Further it is worth mentioning that various abilities belong to different categories in different splats. So if you cannot find an ability, please check the other lists before consulting your ST.
Additional rules and considerations regarding abilities:
This has been brought up again, and it's time to finally put this issue to bed, about what can or can't defend against this, and how it can or can't affect your character. First and foremost, we are taking Arcane as a background, as written in Mage 20. Yes, we're aware that it also exists as a merit for Vampires in Black Hand: Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra. Non-Mages who want this will take the Background and not the Merit (it's not like it makes a difference in Freebie point cost). Yes, we're allowing non-Mages to take it, at ST discretion. For whatever reason it's more common among Mages than other types of supernaturals, so in other splats, it should be rare.
First and foremost: Arcane is not a Mental effect. Even Mages don't fully understand how it works, only that it's something much more metaphysical in nature, affecting the strands of reality itself. What is known is that Mind Shield does not protect against it. No other form of mental protection will work against it, either. Not the innate Mind Control Immunity of Demons, not Conviction for Hunters, nothing. Nobody understands why this is, but for whatever reason, at the higher levels of Arcane, the memories just will not take root.
But this comes at a cost: Anyone with the higher levels of Arcane are a ghost in the wind. Nobody remembers their faces or their name. Even records of them disappear. They live a very lonely existence, devoid of interpersonal relationships or even evidence that they ever existed. In a place like the World of Darkness, that could very well be a fate worse than death. Keep in mind, Arcane doesn't have an 'off' button. And no, the Mind Sphere can't turn it off, either, just like it can't be used to protect against its effects.
Starting at Arcane 4, people will have extreme difficulty remembering you. Paper records of you start to disappear. You vanish from photographs. It's as if you don't exist. This means that you cannot take the Enemy flaw, Wanted by Law Enforcement flaw, Hunted flaw, or anything similar (at character creation; you can still earn these flaws through in-game actions, even if your enemy will have trouble actually finding you). But that also means that the following Backgrounds are forever beyond your grasp:
The following Backgrounds will require extra justification:
Resources: You can't have a bank account without paper records of some kind. The only way you can keep a large amount of money is by storing cash somewhere, which is risky for many different reasons. You also can't own property that requires records to be kept, such as a home, a gun, or a car. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't just squat on property or keep a car or firearm illegally…
Backup/Spies/any equivalent: Technically, these guys don't have to know their employer to work for them… at least, on a temporary basis. You could always go for a 'shadow broker' route, in which case even they don't know who's paying them in cash, so long as the cash is green. What you won't be able to do is employ them on a permanent (or at least, official) basis.
Note that this will also apply to certain Merits, too, particularly any Merit that relates to another character, whether it be PC or NPC. STs are asked to use common sense when making that judgment call.
TL;DR: Yes, Arcane works on everybody and there are no known defenses against it. But is it really worth it? You're objectively harming yourself in the long run by taking this background. Think very carefully before taking it at high levels.
With this Background, your character has official papers that allow her to pursue some regulated activity.
Unless your character has managed to obtain a permit without the proper training, you’ll need at least one dot in a related Ability for each dot in this Background.
One can pursue this ability without it, but Certification grants a bonus on it when related to legal matters
For small permits one can also purchase merits to show a singular permit while certification is a general legal status that your character has X The usual stuff – driver’s license, government ID card, nothing special.
• Concealed weapons permit, Hunting license, business license, passport to an open country, Surge Tech \ Aid etc.
•• Teaching certificate, bodywork license, PADI certification, CPA, trucker’s or motorcycle license, basic firearms permit, LPN \ Paramedic etc.
••• HAZMAT disposal license, church-ordained clergy, lifeguard certification, private investigator’s license, private pilot’s permit, RN, PA, NA etc.
•••• Class C weapons permit, board-certified medical or legal professional, professional aircraft pilot’s license, government intelligence operative, Medical Dr, etc.
••••• Diplomatic immunity, license to kill, Surgeon, .
First and foremost;; fame is not to be confused with Status. Fame is how well-known you are amongst mortals, not necessarily other supernaturals (though there's a good chance they'd know of you, too, for the same reasons).
Fame is very much a double-edged sword in the World of Darkness. On one hand, having a high Fame rating is in and of itself justification for Influence, as the two often go hand-in-hand (though not always;; contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as bad publicity). Local politicians will want photo-ops with you, local businesses will want your endorsements (and might even be willing to pay for it, granting justification for Resources), and people will know who you are and love you for it.
On the other hand, of course, that becomes a problem when upholding the Veil/Masquerade is key to your survival. At Fame 1 and 2, the risk of this is relatively low. But once you reach Fame 3, and average people start recognizing you on the streets… well, would you want to be caught with your fangs in someone's neck or casting spells, and not only did somebody witness it, the witness recognized who you were?
Basically, the higher your Fame rating, the more opportunities for Influence or Politics-heavy plots become available to your character, at the cost of increased scrutiny from mortals, which means an increased risk of breaking the Veil in public places if you aren't careful. Note, also, that fame breeds haters. If someone doesn't like what you're using your fame and fortune for, it could lead to enemies…
Note that characters with a high Fame rating are not automatically known to be supernaturals, even by the supernatural community. If you don't actually know the character personally and they are not breaking the Veil, you may not use their Fame rating to know that they're actually a Vampire, Mage, or what have you. This will be considered metagaming. Again, Fame is not Status.
The cap for resource dots at character creation is 4, and to get 4 dots you have to REALLY sell us. 5 is explicitly impossible at character gen, don't ask, no you can't explain it, no you can't justify it.
Further, keep in mind that increasing Resources in-game becomes exponentially more difficult to justify with each dot. For reference's sake:
Going from Resources 1 to 2 can be as simple as getting a better job. Going from 2 to 3 will not only require getting a better job, but you'll also need some other dots to justify it, such as Academics, Finance, or some other marketable Ability (Art, Craft, Performance, Computers, etc.), Fame can help with that too but only if your actually selling something. Going from 3 to 4 will require all of the above, plus your character having their 'lucky break;' this can be anything from that big promotion at work to making a few smart financial decisions (hint: take the Finance Knowledge). And finally, going from 4 to 5 will require an even luckier break, and will probably require a plotline in and of itself to get. For reference, one character who reached Resources 5 only did so after not only becoming the CEO of his company and owning a hotel, but having personally negotiated not one, but two contracts with major multinational corporations in-character.
Anything above that would require the conclusion of an entire character arc. By the time you get it, you'll probably be close to retirement. Also, keep in mind that having very high Resources is like having high Fame: It can be a double-edged sword in that you may attract attention, make enemies, and breed envy and jealousy. Last but not least, it only reflects your level of 'mundane' resources. As in, U.S. Dollars and other assets, not any sort of supernatural currency like Tass.
The Finance and potentially even the Law Knowledges will become increasingly more important the higher your Resources. Financially illiterate people who nonetheless have a lot of money are the favorite target of con artists in real life, and all that money can disappear overnight from just one dumb decision, as has happened numerous times to lottery winners and heirs to vast fortunes who weren’t prepared for the day they’d be handed the keys to the castle.
As the old saying goes, ‘mo money, mo problems,’ and while vast wealth can be a potent asset, it can also be a weakness. Remember, Al Capone was brought down not by the myriad murders he committed or the rackets he was running, but because he evaded taxes and got caught. Don’t be him. Learn how to manage your money, or your wealth will only be used against you by somebody else who knows how. And it’s not just the mundane IRS or the SEC who can make your life miserable: Keep in mind, this is a world in which the Ventrue, Pentex, and the Syndicate exists. In other words, increase your Resources at your own risk.
Willpower at 6 and Above
Upon this level of Willpower, your character is becoming damn-near unbreakable. So much so that it requires not just a high level of justification, but likely even a change in the way the character is played. As such, we've decided to officially institute House Rules for Willpower at advanced levels (specifically, WP 6+).
Justification
When taking WP at these levels in Character Creation, you must justify it in your background. What did they do or experience to harden their mind that much? Where did their strong will come from? Not including this in your background is grounds for having it rejected by your ST. The ST is the final arbiter on whether or not the justification provided will suffice.
When requesting a high level of WP via purchase with EXP, you can receive your WP one of two ways: Via a 'test' scene in which you can earn the WP, similar to Seeking scenes for Mages or Balance scenes for Mummies, or you can include a scene your character participated in that was particularly trying, stressful, or difficult for them, and demonstrate how they overcame this stressful situation without breaking. Your ST reserves the right to ask the ST who ran this scene whether or not they agree with your assessment when you make the request.
Playing a Character with High Willpower
Your character has been around the block a few times to have WP this high. As such, we will expect a few things from the way you play them, just like we would expect you to play out your character's Demeanor, Nature, and any Merits, Flaws, or Derangements they may have:
Knowledge of the other splats is covered under Lore System.
Journaling can be a valuable part of the game as there are not always instances things need or can RP'ed out. As such we offer journaling this can just be things that you see for your character or it can be justifications.
For justifications see the following rules: (some people such as myself do not use it for the XP reduction but rather to express the time exerted by the character in the acquisition of a skill or ability).
-solid journaling (one at least every 3 days) should in itself grant a 1 XP reduction per continued application of oneself to this task. This is up to the player to ask and for an ST to judge and should not occur more than 5 times a month. Note that such journal entries should show more dedication than “gimme xp” and should be an endeavor the player pursues without expecting this reduction to happen. Because if you do, it won't happen
-continued documenting of a process to aquire a certain aspect can in itself also count as a similar discount to get that item. this should stretch to at least 3 posts on it and should need only light justification, such as contacts, influence, lower ratings of resources. Also, this discount applies to the previous rule, should not go more than 5 a month.
New Mechanic: Trivial Rolls
If you have three or more different modifiers all affecting the same roll (for example, two merits and a Wonder, one merit, one Fetish, and one Gift, or no merits, one Apocalyptic Trait, and two Relics) that would have the effect of driving the difficulty of a certain roll below difficulty three (3), you can, with ST approval, declare a roll 'trivial' and automatically succeed at a roll without having to make it. There, however, are a few catches with this:
This will never result in a critical success. Trivial Rolls will be treated as having three successes. Good, but not great. This is because your character is treating this activity as so trivial as to not even really have to try; they just do it, like one would tie their shoes, make their breakfast in the morning, or drive to work. If you want to truly blow someone away with a critical success, then take the risk of failure or botching and actually make the roll with a minimum difficulty of 3.
There are certain rolls that cannot ever be declared trivial. These include rolls made in a combat scene, resisted rolls, and crafting rolls. Combat scenes always carry a risk, no matter how minimal, and given the fact that bullets are often flying and stuff is blowing up, there's no such thing as a 'risk-free' action in the heat of battle. Resisted rolls are, well, resisted. Someone is actively trying to prevent you from succeeding, and their successes take away from yours. Aside from the fact that they absolutely could score 4 or more successes to negate your 'automatic' ones, rolls where someone is trying to prevent you from doing what you want to do are, by definition, not trivial. And crafting rolls? Especially supernatural crafting, like with the Prime Sphere, Lore of the Forge, etc.? Making it possible to auto-succeed at those is just begging for abuse. Flooding the market with cheap supernatural gear breaks the game. We're not going there (again).
These trivial rolls always require ST approval. Your ST (either of your splat or your scene, with priority going to scene STs) will decide if a roll can be trivial or not. Often they will say yes if it's for the sake of moving something along for the sake of expediency or plot. They might say no if the risk of failure can directly influence the direction of the plot or because of external plot-specific parameters that could make the normally trivial roll not so trivial after all.
The only exception to this is for Knowledge rolls.
Because difficulty modifiers typically cannot apply to a Knowledge Roll, in order to declare an automatic success (equivalent to 1s, not 3s like a normal Trivial Roll), your total dice pool for the roll (e.g. Intelligence + Lore: X) must equal the difficulty of the roll. In other words, if you have six dice, you can assume an automatic success on a roll whose difficulty would have been 6. This is only for basic knowledge. For anything else, when in doubt, ask your ST.
What happens if you roll one or several '1's? Count your total number of successes and remove 1 success for each '1' you rolled. '10's always count as 2 successes IF your specialty applies to the roll (at ST discretion). Example: Roll = 10,10,9,6,4,1,1 # Difficulty is 6 and you have a spec that applies (per ST). This is then 4 Successes. 6 success - 2 for the 1's
Specialties can apply to Soak, Dodge, and Damage rolls as well not just Ability's (ST discretion)
Note: As a reminder, If you rolled at least one success but you rolled enough '1's to push you into the negatives anyway, it's not a botch, it's a fail. If you have one or several '1's and no success, it's a botch (double botch, tripe botch, etc… The record on this server is quadruple botch as of this posting).
Successes granted by spending a Willpower point can be cancelled by rolling a 1, but because the Willpower point still counts as a success, the roll is not a botch, even if you rolled no other natural successes.
Fla. Const. art. VIII, § 5(b): Background checks are not required by the state. However, county governments have the authority to require background checks and a 3- to 5-day waiting period for private firearms transfers (holders of concealed carry permits are exempt from any such county requirements).
Fla. Statutes § 790.065: May not knowingly transfer a firearm to anyone who is prohibited by federal law.
**If you plan to carry the weapon legaly know what transportation rules are or buy dots in the certification background