#THEY COULD BE A COTERIE. AND ALL. DIFFERENT CLANS

[gothamcityneedsme]

scrolling ao3 and saw a vtm/batfam crossover and suddenly im completely normal

[osatokun]

New Orleans chronicle [long post]

Post for the people who comes in my blog and wondering who are the characters I constantly draw (and will go on drawing).

All of them - PC and NPCS from the Vampire the Masquerade games I play. Most of them from the longest game I had with friends, with its ups and downs the game lasted almost 2 years. here is the main player crew:

Charles Arthur Drinkwater (real name Benjamin Thomas Fox) -242 years old Scottish Malkavian, personal little mew mew of the local Harpy, surgeon since he was 20, and consultant in the weirdest occult questions. I played him, he was my first serious male character and it was very interesting experience. Dakota Salmon (real name Numpai) - 200 something something (230? 240?) years old Gangrel. She was primogen of the local Gangrels until the entire clan was exiled from the city. Highly respected by the clan, strong woman with cold logic and warm heart. She came back to the New Orleans in hopes to return gangrels their place in the city. She was played by @fj0rge Veronica Sugar (real name Veronica ) - a 100 something something years old Toreador, part of the coterie Charlie is in. A singer and vampire with the most high rating of humanity in the city. Crazy enough to get into Charlie's adventures and support him. She was played by @maria-ruta

Some of the names were taken form the New Orleans by Night book, but the characters are totally different. Plus our DM added just about every splat in the game. The game was set in 2022. From the foundation of the New Orleans it was ruled by Etienne Doran, Ventrue who always dreamed of making New Orleans the new Carthage. He drove the mages away from the city, united with local werewolves and in generally kept piece New Orleans (most of the time). However he was murdered in 1997 by unknown Gangrel, the entire clan was exiled, but no one ever found the assassin. Some of the names were taken form the New Orleans by Night book, but the characters are totally different. The game was set in 2022. From the foundation of the New Orleans it was ruled by Etienne Doran, Ventrue who always dreamed of making New Orleans the new Carthage. He drove the mages away from the city, united with local werewolves and in generally kept piece New Orleans (most of the time). However he was murdered in 1997 by unknown Gangrel, the entire clan was exiled, but no one ever found the assassin.

(here is Etienne and his sheriff and Brujah primogen Simon)

Since then New Orleans was ruled by princess Marceline, supported by local harpy, adopted Etienne's childe, Rene. Rene is also one of the reason Charlie traveled to the New Orleans. They did their best, but no one had the charm of Etienne, who could stop the war with a single smile

Now, to the main plot of the game (oh I'll try to be short) The main conflict is set around the prophecies of the future where masquerade will fall and the vampires (and werewolves) become part of the human society. Think True Blood style. Technocratic union mages,led by Eureka Jones returns in the city. As we learned much later,her department is trying to bring the project of integrating vampires into society to life. If her project fails, the future of vampires going to be..very sad. Charlie knew about this possible future from the very start which scared him a ton, but he could not ignore how much technocrats made to the people. And Rene, a true son of his sire, collaborated with mages for the future that he(and Etienne) always wanted. Eureka is magnificent but I have to finish her still..

In the same time, the Sabbat pack lead by Sascha Vykos, comes to the New Orleans. He knows about the future of vampires, but wants to play the main role himself. To ruin Technocrats he aims to find Traitor, the mysterious figure who collaborate with mages in their experiments. Dakota returns to the city to help fight with Sabbat (and possibly return Gangrels their place in the city) AND (like Sabbat war is not enough) the mysterious Gangrel courier named Mohammed arrives to the city, carrying a small suitcase. With the ancient vampire head in it. Living head. As we learned later, the head is imprisoned by the angel Gangrel named Enkidu, the angel constantly chops Gangrel's head somewhere in umbra, not letting him to heal. Both Enkidu and Angel leads courier to the unknown destination, when one courier dies, the other is chosen to continue his journey. The existence of the head was kept in secret until the end of the game (not surprising Charlie knew this secret tho..),but Sascha knew about it and wanted to get the head to help him find the Traitor.(and, well, diablerise later as a treat) Mohammed and Dakota (he quickly grew on her and they kept their loving relationships even after the game ended)

Long story short-the Traitor was Ada, Gangrel who killed and diablerised Etienne. Their souls willingly united and the developed a plan to bring new future to the vampires. In the end, Vykos pack was slain by Dakota, Ada, werewolf leader(poor lad died), Gangrels and one particularly charming Nosferatu. Gangrels was allowed to get back in the city, however Dakota and Mohammed (and Yaropolk) left to Russia, as they were sick of Camarilia and mages. However no one can deny that Gangrels led by Dakota played the biggest part in saving the city. What's Charlie's role you might ask? And where is his charming wife? Well, from the very beginning DM hooked me with a dream. Charlie saw a changeling in his nightmares, who asked him for help. And so, his personal storyline began. Of course he assisted other characters when he could, but his mine line is based around saving changeling. No one cares about them. They have no place in Technocrat's future, but now they are his family. He tried to find and then heal the changeling from his dream, who turned out to be young Balor princess, Monica. Her soul was stolen by the Settite leader(one of the two),mysterious Imhotep, who rumored to be Giovanni. Later Charlie learned that he's an actual mummy, which didn't stop him to awkwardly mess with the ancient creature. And poor Monica was in coma for the last 3 years, but thanks to her ability to travel through dreams she could try to seek help

While looking for changelings to find the one who called him, he met Glinda, the cursed Balor ex queen, imprisoned by other changeling house, Beaumayn in 1999th. Her changeling self fell asleep and she was guarded by a chimerical Dragon (who could take human form ),who acted like her abusive husband. While trying to learn who Glinda is, Charlie looked into her soul and immediately fell in love for the rest of his life. During the game they even ended up getting True Love merit Q_Q

A little backstory: as a teenage changeling queen Glinda saw the prophetic dreams about the end of the changelings. When she looked for the way to save her people, he was talked by Pentex and Nephandi into bringing a little apocalypse. Using the energy of the Red Star they'd bring a strong old spirit into the world, put it into Glinda's body and let her give birth to a new changeling-spirit creature, that will destroy the half of human population. Since Changelings get their powers from the dreams and fantasy, they will become stronger, because people will start dreaming more, hoping more, believing in magic and stuff. In fact a naive teen was talked into rape. The other house, Beumayn, freed Glinda's chimera, the Dragon, and burnt her in the chimerical flame, trying to kill her changeling soul and the spirit inside her. However, the spirit escaped to the Umbra and the connection with him helped Glinda survive. He forgot who she was, and the Dragon became her jailer, acting like her over controlling husband. However, the spirit creature lived and gained power with time, wanting to fulfill it's purpose and destroy the world.

During the game, Charlie found Monica, traveled into Umbra to the gates of Arcadia to get the healing for changelings and another Imhotep's victim. Healed them all, fought the Dragon on the Changeling court and freed a demon named Folly. With the help of the demon he turned Dragon into a simple human and won, freeing Glinda. The demon escaped in Europe and was out of the scene most of the time, but kept reminding Charlie about himself in many ways. Charlie learned that Monica's father was killed by her own mother, Imhotep's cultist, and adopted young Changeling. He also introduced her to a werewolf of the same age, Joshua, wanting her to have day-walking loyal friends wo she won't be alone. Later on they started dating, and in return Monica tried her best to represent Charlie to Gilnda in the best way possible. Glinda, Charlie and Monica quickly started to live together, Charlie tried to keep peaceful relationships between changelings and vampires/mages (or better say not making it worse).In the end, mages, vampires and Glinda united to destroy the old spirit without harming changeling. And Charlie, Glinda and their newly created chimera Jeff (who they consider to be their son) located Imhotep. Stole his power jars (I'm too tired to phrase it not in a silly way, but think of Baldur's Gate 3 quest with a mummy), destroyed most of them and watched Imhotep's army of ghosts destroying his body. Charlie offered the fame for killing Imhotep to another Settite leader, Manon, and in return she joined the ritual of the spirit's killing. Charlie knew that mummies are immortal, sooner or later he will come back, so he and Glinda dedicated their lives to the searching of the way to permanently trap Imhotep's soul and prevent him from stealing lives again. They lived +/- 6 more years in New Orleans (but traveled a lot), and then left to Egypt. Glinda stopped aging, gaining a lot of energy from their constant adventures and, possibly, connection with her true love. Monica, however, lived normal human life, forgetting she was a changeling once. She married Joshua and became a writer under the nickname Little Spider. Charlie made sure to collect savings for her, got her home, and the old Monica's home became a freehold for the new Balors. Ofcourse A LOT things happened in the game. And Charlie's story goes beyond one game, he have a lot of adventures in my imagination. But I hope that's enough..for the start! Some of the characters I managed to draw. I was so charmed by Glinda I just draw her most of the time haha

Dragon (Gregory Dequir) and Imhotep

Jeffrey

More finished arts for this game -> here Gangrel line up by @fj0rge -> here Nosferatu line up by @fj0rge -> here Veronica's references by @maria-ruta -> here and here and more Veronica here

More characters drawing by Ruta -> Jake(brujah) Jack(Gangrel) (Veronica has a J boyfriend collection) and silly guys Sad Charlie and Veronica comics by Ruta -> here

Thank you for reading!

[melonbear51]

i love your vtm concepts!!! would you happen to have any more gangrel ideas from any angle? i think that a good argument could be made for gangrel anarchism/independence/savagery being the 'truest' expression of vampirism in a way, they get looked down on a lot by other clans unfairly i think </3

FRIEND I LOVE THE GANGREL SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA! They are so damn underrated and it KILLS me how so many players, old and new, overlook them or think of them as Brujah with werewolf powers. And they TOTALLY get looked down on by other clans, but that's part of what makes them interesting; much like the other "low clans," they're underestimated, and that makes them DANGEROUS. But enough of my fangirling. Let's get to business: 1. A Gangrel who formed a coterie with a Salubri, Cappodocian-Hecata, and Tzimisce SPECIFICALLY as a giant fuck-you to the Tremere. Whether or not they make a good team is up to you, but regardless, the local anarchs find the whole thing HILARIOUS and make it a point to send this motley crew in whenever the Tremere are involved. 2. A writer and narrator of a podcast noted for their distinct storytelling style who was turned into a Gangrel because of this. They are currently being groomed by their sire and elders to become a lorekeeper and storyteller of the clan, and while some aspects are enjoyable, the weight of expectations and the pressure is beginning to get to them. 3. A college kid with a very controlling family who put extreme pressure on them to succeed who was embraced coming home from a student government meeting. Faced with a new reality and tasting true, wild freedom for the first time, they've kindly told their parents to suck a fat one and have begun to carve their own path. They are also searching for their sire, who they wish to thank for granting them a way out. Whether or not they stay grateful is up to you and the events of the chronicle. 4. A highly-educated Gangrel who purposefully conceals their intelligence and expertise by leaning into the whole "Gangrel are wild savages" stereotype. Their clothes are ripped or the least fancy items you've ever seen, they motel-hop or live out of a trailer, the whole shebang. Many Camarilla scoff at them and even some Anarchs look down on them. The Gangrel doesn't care: do the others have hundreds of thousands of dollars from smart investments and an animalism-driven information network that spans the entire state? No? Fuck em'! 5. A Gangrel who either fakes being a caitiff or fledgling to gain the trust and pity of other kindred. After weaseling their way into their target's unlives, they either steal their valuables and hit the road, or straight up murder those that gave them charity. For extra symbolism, make it so that they have two protean beast forms: a sheep, which they show to others, and a wolf, which only comes out when they strike. 6. A Gangrel DJ who stalks the rave and club scene for prey, gathering a herd from their dedicated and ever-growing fanbase. Some of the more traditional Gangrel look down on them but hey, a party animal is still an animal! 7. A Gangrel doomsday/Gehenna prepper. They could be the traditional survivalist/resource gathering prepper, or they could go to another extreme: attempting to gather animals à la Noah, waiting for some great ecological disaster. 8. A young anarch Gangrel with a Camarilla sire. Mistrusted because of their sire's loyalties, they are desperately trying to prove themselves to the other anarchs and their clanmates, all the while trying to resist the tempting bait their sire offers them to try and get them to come back home.

I hope you enjoy these! I also hope this gives other players some inspiration to look at the Gangrel a bit differently! As always, feel free to use any of these ideas for pcs/npcs, and don't hesitate to shoot me a message to chat about VTM!

[naazaif327]

I looooove that we got the Ventrue overlap between our two coteries for NYbN, not just because of the endlessly juicy drama of Rafferty’s two childer and the tension of that soon-to-come meeting, but also because of the two different flavours of Ventrue that we’ve gotten to see with Fuego and Khalida.

I like to categorise Khalida as a Dominate Ventrue and Fuego as a Presence Ventrue, though this is not simply based on the mechanics alone as both of them make ample use of both disciplines. The Ventrue compulsion is arrogance, a desire for power and obedience, and more than most other clans new Ventrue are very often chosen for already displaying an aptitude for this desire. But how they go about achieving this is what differentiates them.

Khalida is a dominator. She has a specific vision of what she wants from the world, and she will (somewhat ruthlessly) shape the people around her in order to get it. She uses The Forgetful Mind and Mesmerize flippantly, rewriting the world in her vision. She is measured and calculated, arguably much more so than Fuego, but that does not stop her from using her abilities as she sees fit, even going so far as to Dominate Simone, a much older and more powerful kindred, into giving her what she wants, despite the danger. She even uses Presence the same way, as a cudgel to command those around her. She uses Awe on mortals the same way she uses Mesmerize, to have them do her bidding. I think this is deeply informative of who she was as a mortal, and why Rafferty chose her in the first place; you get the sense that she was equally as cutthroat as a highend art dealer, taking what she wanted whenever she wanted it regardless of the consequences, an endless ambition for power that made her shine to her future sire.

Fuego is a manipulator. Aabria described it best during ep 3 of Club Auspex, in that she has a soft command of power over those around her that she’s slowly learning to make use of. She isn’t a Queen on a throne making demands, she understands that (unlike Khalida) she doesn’t have guidance or actual political power in this world yet. And so she watches, looks for the soft, vulnerable parts of the people around her, and quietly molds them into what she wants them to be. We talk a lot about that delicious moment in episode 3 with Rey and the businessman, but look at it again: both in luring that man to the alleyway and in asking Rey to kill him, she doesn’t even use Presence or Dominate, she doesn’t need to. She already knows what buttons to push, what poisonously honeyed words to whisper in someone’s ear to get what she wants out of them. Even her use of Dominate reflects this. She doesn’t try to push beyond her means, force someone to kill themselves (I doubt she knows that wouldn’t work yet, but even if it did its just not her style), she just nudges them in the direction she wants. Sit. Stay still. Give me the gun. Its quiet and simple, and lethally effective.

Ironically I think the two of them would have a lot to learn from each other if daddy dearest doesn’t succeed at pinning them against one another. Simone is right that Khalida sometimes uses her disciplines as a crutch, one that might get her killed if she continues to wield it so openly against other kindred; she could stand to learn from Margot’s more subtle manipulation tactics. But outside of her disciplines, Fuego is a deeply impulsive individual, taking risks and making big in-the-moment emotional decisions because of her desires (killing the security guards, trying to dominate the skull, dancing with Riktor in front of Consuela, etc) that could seriously get her hurt or worse if she doesn’t learn. Khalida’s cool, cold, slightly detached and measured outlook could help Fuego’s survival chance quite a lot. But this is just speculation of what’s to come, and I’m deeply excited to see how it all transpires.

[feith-rikya]

All these characters are from an RPG campaign called; Gehenna's Gates, set in the world of Vampire The Masquerade. Feel free to ask any questions!

Samuel Sharabi & Danya Ventranov:

Their paths first converged at London's inaugural coterie gala. Samuel Sharabi, adorned with the mantle of a Sabbath representative and the esteemed title of Archbishop, crossed destinies with Danya Ventranov. a humble member of the government and a skillful PR professional, stood at a different rung of the social ladder.

In the enchanting ambience of the gala, the two Ravnos moved in tandem, their dance echoing with the unmistakable ferocity of their clan. Samuel, a man known for his brusque and morally ambiguous tendencies, may have exuded a certain coarseness, but Danya couldn't help but admire the ascent of a fellow clan member, even if tainted by the antitribu distinction. There was a hint of amusement in her perception of him, a strange charm in his audacity. In Samuel's eyes, she appeared as a mere, naive girl who might serve a momentary dalliance.

Yet, it was this 'naive girl' who would one day perform an act of extraordinary consequence. On the day of Ekron's demise, She unveiled the insidious intentions of Sullyvan, the tzimisce leader of the black hand, regarding the Key of Ekron. Realizing that this revelation didn't originate from Samuel's orders, she offered this vital tip, potentially sparing his life.

In true Sabbath fashion, Samuel felt compelled to reciprocate this favor, mindful of the dark principles that underpinned his faction. The opportune moment arose when Luc Gossens, the leader of the London Coterie, recklessly challenged Devon Eskarra to a public duel. The duel's public spectacle attracted the attention of even the mortal world, and the Camarilla's ire descended upon them like a tempest.

Samuel reached out to Danya, He proposed that, by embracing the Sabbath, they could temporarily fend off the Camarilla's pursuit. With reluctant acceptance, they embarked on this transformative journey, effectively ousting Luc and ushering Elizabeth into a leadership role. It was a favor wrapped in intricate politics, but it granted the London Coterie a precious chance to continue their struggle in the unforgiving shadows of London's supernatural realm.

[avelera]

I played the first game of a Vampire the Masquerade tabletop rpg campaign tonight and my dudes, I am a lifelong lover of melodramatic Anne Rice vampires and I STILL couldn’t stop thinking about how much more accurate WWDITS is for how real life vampires would be.

Like the whole first game was introducing the politics of the city and the different clans and assembling our party coterie and getting our missions and learning who all the important people and backstories are and all I could think of was Lazlo’s line, “I became a vampire to suck and fuck forever,” not sit in boring ass local municipal government meetings WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT ALL THE VAMPIRE POLITICS IS.

Lazlo is so fucking valid for saying that seriously who the FUCK wants to be a vampire leader with responsibilities, just so you can be forced to micromanage bickering egos for ETERNITY??

I made an ancient Roman Centurion character who was woken from torpor by an archaeologist team, and the first thing she did was get the lead archaeologist to get her up to speed on the modern era and then IMMEDIATELY fuck off for an endless vacation in the Italian countryside with him while secretly promoting his career (by literally just… pointing out places where he should dig and explaining Ancient Roman stuff to him so he always has amazing new, accurate discoveries) and they are just living the LIFE in the countryside outside Rome before the campaign mission pulled all the characters to freezing-ass BOSTON of all places.

Thankfully, I designed the character to be humorous so she can actually say aloud things like, “And people wonder why I don’t give a shit about vampires or vampire politics? Why the fuck am I running errands for local bureaucrats when I could be in a villa on the Mediterranean having my professor boyfriend read Ovid to me under the moonlight, ffs!” Like out of game I’m stoked for the plot the DM has planned but in game I’m laughing at how ridiculous the world of vampires is to anyone with anything better to do with their immortality.

[paint-lady]

6, 9, 11, 17 and 20 for Hazel? :3

6. what quality do they like the most about themselves?

Hazel loves that she is still basically alive. Being somewhere inbetween life and death as a Duskborn is beautiful and wonderful and terrifying all at once. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

9. who do they admire? why?

Shout out to Fina Motisi of Clan Ventrue for simultaneously being a great and terrible role model. I could give you paragraphs of how Hazel looks up to Fina, but in short: Hazel wants to be in charge and seen as competent- but not lose herself to cruelty and ruthlessness when in power. From an outside perspective though, Fina is just another 300 yr old trying her damn best and with a heart that keeps bleeding.

11. what does a usual outfit of theirs look like?

I think these pieces do a really great job showing off what she considers an everyday look.

17. when were they the most angry that they’ve ever been?

There are a few moments.

Tommy Baker used dominate to make a kindred take their third drink from her. Hazel is no stranger to the blood bond and its usefulness- and harm to the receiver. When two Tremere learned they were Duskborn, they had to get them on their side- fast. So a little vitae goes a long way. Originally, Hazel was planning on keeping this Tremere at two steps bound- letting him keep an ounce of freedom she believed he still deserved. But now she has the equivalent of a sorcerous kicked puppy in her haven begging for more thinned vitae.

Her ultimate ambition is to forge Thinblood Safehouses in cities. These safehouses will be places that Duskborn know they will be able to hunt and rest easy- and thats no easy feat surrounded by Camarilla, Sabbat, and Anarchs. It requires her fellow thinbloods to work with her- not cause a masquerade breach on purpose. Corina had lost her humanity and fear of Hazel and bit someone in broad daylight. It took months of resources and careful hiding to make up for what political ground she lost with a single bite. She caught the fledgling and it was a lot of willpower to not kill Corina right then (it would have ruined her personal masquerade of making the local Camarilla think she is a ghoul).

The moment she knew she had been betrayed by a fellow thinblood named Wei. He was working for the Second Inquisition, and one of the coterie had been discovered as a blank. In retaliation, Hazel and a different Tommy (different chronicles) tortured the location of the SI hideout out of one of Wei's fellow operatives, presumably killed him, and then burned the hideout to the ground.

20. describe one of your favourite rp moments with this character

I have wholeheartedly loved several scenes my friends and I have run together. It is extremely difficult to pick one, so here are my top three:

Hazel's first night. When my coworker and soon to be friend offered to be the Storyteller for a ttrpg I had never heard of, I was excited. We had crafted characters and then...dropped immediately in the horror of it all. Hazel woke up with three strangers and surrounded by exsanguinated corpses. The four fledglings had to piece together what had happened to them and what to do next- while some of them had powers manifesting in obvious ways and others were still basically human.

2. Ignite the Shadows: This entire plot has yet to fully resolve itself and actually has Hazel unconscious for most of the story's duration. The inciting moment was that Hazel had used alchemy that made her vitae flammable, and it went off in the middle of Elysium. The blast claimed the Prince, sending her into Torpor. What made this roleplay event so fun was watching the ripples cascade as each character found out what happened. Some mocked the Camarilla's weakness, some offered aid. Some immediately believed that Hazel had to have been sabbat all along, some argued against all evidence and defended the thinblood. You can read the initial comic here.

3. This one is a text based roleplay between me and one of my mutuals (now an irl friend <3). Hazel and Tommy Baker confide what ills they have both experienced at the hands of the Tremere. Tommy was nearly breaking down recalling the nights with his sister, Sam, but Hazel was right there to offer comfort. I cannot remember if this is the first scene where Hazel and Tommy declare themselves to be siblings, but it is the moment where I knew these two would be inseparable- no matter what the world threw at them.

[centaurianthropology]

A Little Speculation Regarding the Upcoming Camarilla Coterie

So, with the season 1 finale next week, we will soon have to bid a temporary goodbye to our beloved little Anarchs.  It’s a hell of a gamble for a new show to get you so attached to a group of characters, only to fully switch the cast in season 2, and not bring the original cast back until a blended cast in season 3.  I’m hoping this show goes for more than 3 seasons, and I have a feeling that it will be focused around a Sabbat threat so great that the Camarilla and Anarchs either have to work together or they collapse together in such a way that younger coteries could blend together for mutual survival.

We’ve gotten seven--soon to be eight--great episodes with Fuego, Rey, Serif, and Isaac.  They’ve been a really interesting party as far as both complimentary and divergent powers go.  Having a Ventrue, a Gangrel, a Ravnos, and a Tzimisce is a nice blend of well-known clans (Ventrue and Gangrel) with other lesser known ones (Ravnos and Tzimisce), as well as clans who are not traditionally aligned with Anarchs (Ventrue and Tzimisce) and those who are (Gangrel and Ravnos).  And this made a party that was dynamic and had great conflict.

With this in mind, I wanted to speculate on what the next coterie would be made of in terms of clan.  I’m going on the assumption that this will be another four-member coterie, as that was what it was in LA by Night and in the first season.  I also am going to assume that they’ll want a mix of clans, so I’ll pick four different clans.  I’m also assuming that this side of the chronicle will lean even harder into political play than the Anarchs will, as the Camarilla is an intensely political and structured organization.  It will be interesting to see Jason Carl’s take on the NY Cam, which is for all intents an purposes a very functional version of the Camarilla, but they are still extremely political, more discriminatory and more insular than the Anarchs, and that makes for a very different setting than we’ve had this first season.  With that in mind, let’s speculate: 

1. Lasombra - I think this one is the best bet of all of them.  Julia in the last episode said she was the only Lasombra in the NY Camarilla until recently, which makes room for another player to step into the shadows of that clan.  It also makes a nice balance and mirror for Isaac on the camarilla side, showing how the Camarilla treat the remnants of the Sabbat in reflection of how the Anarchs did.  

2.  Ventrue - this is a bit more of a stretch, honestly, but I like the idea of someone involved in Ventrue politics, if we’re doing a Camrilla story, and a coterie with both Ventrue and Lasombra would be a very interesting one, as the clans consider themselves old enemies.  It would also give the story the opportunity to give a different perspective on previously-introduced Ventrue like Lavash and Rafferty.  This character would act as a good window into the political machinations of the Camarilla, especially as they start to crumble under the weight of a Sabbat threat, and would prove a very different counterweight to Fuego.

3. Tremere - we haven’t had a Tremere PC for either campaign, although we did have major guest Tremere in LA by Night.  Still, if we’re talking Camarilla insider characters, Tremere is a must.  It would also serve as another instance of antagonistic clans, this time in season 3 with Isaac, as the Tremere and Tzimisce are opposing clans as well.  This would be a very different perspective on Camarilla politics than the secular politics of the Ventrue, offering instead a look into the mystical.  The challenge would be that the Tremere rarely mix outside of themselves, and so finding a reason why this particular Tremere would be in a coterie with other clans would be a necessary part of the character’s backstory.

4.  Unknown (but I lean Brujah) -  I know this is a bit of a cop-out, but I’ll admit to being torn over the final party slot.  The coterie does sort of need a beat-stick at this point, given that both Ventrue and Lasombra are socially designed characters, and the Tremere is essentially a squishy wizard.  So for gameplay, I am tempted to lean toward Nosferatu or Brujah.  I don’t think they would go Nos, if only because Jasper from last chronicle is going to be massive boots to fill.  A Camarilla Brujah could be a very interesting character, one that is as out of place as a Lasombra, and one who is conflicted between a need for order and a need for rebellion. That could also lead to some really interesting interplay between this character and the Anarchs come season 3.  On the other hand, I could see this spot being filled by another wildcard clan, the same way Serif was a very uncommon clan.  We have never, to my memory, seen the Salubri or the Banu Haqim in play in either NY by Night or LA by Night, so either of them could be a very interesting counterpoint to the more common clans filling out the rest of the coterie.  I’m not sure how either of those would fit into the Camarilla, but it could be interesting to find out.

I would love to hear anyone else’s speculation about what clans might be in the Camarilla side of the story, or even what players you think they might get (I can’t even begin to speculate on that one).

[thekingofwinterblog]

Dragon Age Imperium - Chapter 2.

The mood in Kirkwall was one of jubilation for the most part.

Their beloved Champion had been elected Viscount, Meredith, the Crazy Templar leader had been assassinated, and the Qunari were finally gone.

As such, the mood of the city as a whole was higher than it had been in decades.

Not all were happy though. Kirkwall's underworld had a decidedly less cheery outlook on the prospect of Hawke taking the throne. Both because the woman's infamous ability to turn her enemies in corpses by the hundreds, but also because she had time and again proven herself extremely hard to assassinate, as the Carta and Coterie had learned first hand.

Her donning the Viscount's crown, thus did not exactly fill any of them with glee.

And there was also the Elves of the City's Alienage.

Clan Sabrae had come years ago, less than a year after the blight, to try to convince the Viscount to allow the Elves of the city to leave Kirkwall in mass for New Arlathan.

That had not gone anywhere, but given the fact that one of Hawke's closest friends was a member of clan Sabrae, most understood immediately that things were about to change.

Wheter you regarded the coming mass emigration as a blessing, an unwelcome forced mass emigration, or something in between, large depended on the individual.

And of course, in the highest levels of power in the city, Hawke's rise was met with their own varied responses. Some knew her only by her performance in the Viscount's Keep, where she had saved them all as they saw it. Others knew her personally, or was more than familiar with her rather contrasting personally and capacity for killing anything she set her eyes on.

Wheter you regarded that as a good thing, or something be worried about also depended on the individual.

One in particular, who was anything but happy with the development was one Guard Captain Aveline.

---

Aveline groaned as she massaged the ridge of her brow.

"What, you don't like Brigandine?"

The flippant tone in Hawke's voice was far, far more annoyed than the pages on her table.

Each showcased a different kind of design, but all of them were marked by Kirkwall's coat of arms… Only in new colors.

"It's not the armor type that's the problem, Hawke… It's the prospect of having to refit every single one of my guards."

"Oh, it's not just about that… I also want to quadruple the size of the city guard."

This admission did surprise her.

Hawke did look like a proper Viscount. Aveline would give her that.

Fine silk, a cloak of white with the symbol of Kirkwall in blood red on it, and a nice crown topping her pretty face.

The way she sat on Aveline's desk, turned around sideways to look at her with her usual, carefree grin betrayed the royal image however.

Hawke was still the same Hawke. The same woman she had been when they had been part of Ferelden's military together.

"Quadruple the guard? May I ask why?"

Hawke shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know… Could be the fact that even with your better training and rooting out corruption, the Guard hasn't been able to control the streets at night, and I want that to change. Could be because we currently have no standing army at the moment, and I want to strengthen the one military institution I do have now, in case Meredith's successor is as crazy as she was… Or maybe I just wanna make life harder for you by giving you more work."

Aveline glared at her.

"That's the spirit! I was worried this was gonna be awkward from now on, with me being your boss and all."

"Ughhh… Well, at least it's practical armor."

"I know. Honestly, I wanted real plate armor… But it's simply too costly if I want to use silverite for it."

"Silverite!? Why? Steel is far, far cheaper."

Hawke nodded.

"I know… But the fact is Ferelden recently innovated on the whole Brigandine Silverite stuff. And I have no intention to be left behind in that Arms race. See the problem with Silverite is that it's stupidly hard, and light… it holds an edge like nobody's business… But the moment it takes real damage?"

"It crumbles, yes I know. Any real damage creates a weak spot in the metal that spreads from it, and simply cannot be fixed. If you want to fix it, you need to melt it down and reforge it completely. Well… Unless it's enchanted right anyway."

"Right! But that would be even more expensive. In any case, Silverite plate armor? Stupidly expensive to make, and you can't upkeep it… Which is why the Brigandine innovation Ferelden is doing is so crucial! Brigandine is cheap enough as it is, and the big beauty of it is that if it's damaged, you can you can just replace the metal plates underneath the outer layer with a new one."

Aveline nodded, feeling very surprised.

"Huh… That makes way more sense than I thought your reasoning would."

"We'll still use regular silverite for stuff like helmets and things… But the main coat will be Brigandine all the way… Emblazoned with my glorious new coat of arms."

"Coat of arms? 1. This is not the Amell Crest. 2. It's not the colors of the Amell crest, and 3. It's literally just the colors of Kirkwall with the black replaced by white."

"Well, I didn't say it was the Amell Coat of Arms! It's the coat of Arms of the Hawke Dynasty… Or at least the main branch. Carver might use the old Amell one if he wants to. I doubt he wants to use my new design."

"It's still just a recolor of Kirkwall's symbol."

"And what's wrong with that? I like the Kirkwall coat of arms. A much better symbol for the Viscounty than old Dumar's coat symbol. Then again… Maybe I should use a recolored Mabari coat of Arms instead? Remind everyone that I am a Dog Lord after all!"

"Very funny…"

She looked down over the armor designs. Seriously this time.

"We'll go with… This one."

"Oh, not the one with the old Avaar helmet? Well, that's fine too."

Avenline was pretty sure Hawke had put it amongst them just to get a rise out of her. If so, she would not give her the satisfaction.

"One more thing Hawke… Silverite armor is all well and good… But Silverite is not cheap material. Even as Brigandine it will be very expensive to outfit hundreds of men with this."

"I agree! Lucky me then, that I happen to have kept a record of all the various places our little band has found Silverite deposits over the years. The one up on Sundermount in particular is vast."

"You… You kept track of all of those? As we trekked through caves, and wilderness and Darktown all these years?"

"I kept track of the Orichalcum, Lyrium, and Glitterdust deposits too, but I don't think those will be as directly useful at the moment. Well not unless it becomes the style for Tevinter ladies to cover their faces again with sparkly, poisonous, flammable makeup, but short of that, I think getting investors for my new Silverite mines is the safer bet don"t you agree?"

The flippant tone did not make Aveline miss the implication that Hawke had, during hundreds of trips through the most filthy corners of Darktown, the most inhospitable parts of Kirkwall's wilderness, or the most bandit-ridden parts of the Broken coast, always had taken the time to mark down every spot she might one day might want to come back too.

Yes, that was Hawke. The woman was a jokester at heart, always ready with a flippant comment, and throwing seriousness to the wind… And then she would remind her that she was also extremely competent.

It was quite the contrast.

"Do you have any investors in mind?"

"Oh, some here, some there… Kirkwall isn't exactly lacking for people willing to invest in business ventures. Heck, I even have one of those already in the Bone Pit."

"So you do."

Hawke grinned and finally got her ass off the table, seemingly ready to end the conversation, which Aveline was in her own way happy for.

She was going to have a mountain of work, both papers, planning and physical, to actually make Hawke's plans for guard expansion to 1 800 guards into reality.

"Oh, and by the way Aveline… Do you want me to set you up with a title? I could make you an Arlessa, or Bann if you'd like."

"That would be a Baroness and Marquise Hawke. We aren't in Ferelden… But I'll have to decline."

She had NO interest in getting herself involved in feudal politics.

"Really? Aww… What's the point of being royalty, if I can't give favors to my friends?"

"That road lies nepotism, Hawke."

"You think so do you, Aveline? In that case, you should see what title I'm planning for Carver."

"Is that so? Well, I-Wait… You're not planning to give a title to Isabella are you?"

"Not at all… I gave her a letter instead. I don't think she'd want to rule a bit of land."

"A letter?"

She was utterly confused.

"Yeah. A letter of marque and reprisal, against brigands and other pirates in the Waking Sea. Oh and a ship too."

Aveline opened her mouth to groan, then stopped.

"Huh… That's… Actually not a bad idea."

"Really? No complaints? I thought you'd have some scathing words on the matter.

"No, I do not. Send a pirate to kill pirates. That's much better than her continuing this… Whatever you'd call these years she's been stranded here."

"Enjoying Kirkwall's hospitality?"

"Yes, I suspect she's enjoyed herself quite a bit on the hospitality of Kirkwall's men. Better she enjoys herself on other pirates instead."

"Glad you approve… As for your own titles… I won't force you, but the chance to become nobility will remain so long as I'm Viscount Aveline. I take care of my friends."

She gave her a grin and a wave and left.

---

"So, you're onboard investing into the Silverite mine after all?"

"I am Your Highness."

Lady Flora Harimann had seen better days… But then again, she was a lot easier to take seriously when she wasn't ranting to an ale tank, oblivious about what was going on around her.

The pretty robe did help too.

"Good. I'm Glad I'm Actually friends with at least one investor. 50/50 profits. Half to me to spend on soldiers, the business of state, and all that, and half to you to… Do what you want."

She looked a bit nervous.

"I'm… Still committed to aiding Prince Sebastian regaining his throne in Starkhaven your Highness."

"Good… But do please tell me about what you plan regarding it. I have my own plans too… And it would be better if whatever troops you can muster marches with my army when the time comes."

Relief washed over the woman's face.

"So you are planning on helping him as well on the matter?"

"Of course! Sebastian is one of my closest… Well, he is a personal friend at least. And I take care of my friends Lady Harimann. Preferably with coins or knives. Or both, I'm not picky."

"That is… Good to hear. Should I expect any news on the matter soon then?"

"No. It will take a while to recruit a standing army for Kirkwall, much less equip it, and then train it."

"I see… Well, I shall keep that in mind. On a personal note your Highness… Is your brother… Available?"

Ah, the world of marriages and politics interwoven together.

Her mother had once been part of this world… And she supposed so was she now… Mother would be proud of her… Surely she would have been.

"I would like to say yes… But no, I don't think so. My brother has his eyes set on someone you see… He just lacks the guts to actually man up and take her to the mountaintop for a lovely day out."

"Ah… Very well, then-" "And before you ask, no, I am not available either. I already have my eyes set on a man."

"Truly?"

"Oh yes… He's quite the catch… Rich, handsome, and of good, noble breeding, and stature… If a bit below me."

"Unless your highness means to marry outside the country, there are none of those around here I'm afraid… Unless you're talking of Sebastian."

"I'm not. Trust me. But you'll find out who it is in time."

---

After Lady Herimann left, Seneschal Bran Cavin, coughed nervously.

He had been strangely accepting of her ever since the election. Honestly, she was surprised. She had fully expected him to bitterly resent her, but so far, he did not.

He was, however, exasperated by her usual nonsense. Which she enjoyed immensely. It wasn't any fun unless people actually reacted to her.

"Viscount… This… Man, you intend to court… You've spoken of him several times so far in meetings… I think I know who it is… But…"

"Then keep it to yourself then Bran. That's an order."

She had no interest in this getting spoiled for her. It had been a long, long time since she had tried her hand at a serious relationship. She wanted to do it right… Not to mention if he learned about it, it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

"Very well… In that case… We have one more meeting regarding investors in the new mines… Then we move on to the meeting with the Dwarves you requested, followed by the meeting with Grand Cleric Elthina. She wishes to discuss the coronation and other things of religious matters."

"In other words, Templar stuff."

"That… As well I'm sure. And finally, I have arranged the transfer from the gallows you've requested."

"Great! I haven't seen Bethany in ages now."

"The… Acting Lord Commander has suggested better, more skilled, and experienced alternatives."

"I don't care what the "Acting Lord Commander" wants on the matter, Bran. Bethany is my choice, as is my right by chantry law."

"Shall I write that in the reply to him then?"

"No, you can tell him that he should focus on trying to figure out who murdered old Meredith, instead of bothering me."

"I'm certain that will go over well, no doubt."

"And when I care, I'll let you know.

The door to her new office opened, as the final lord of the day made his appearance.

"Magistrate Vanard."

Bran announced.

Hawke gave him a smile, which the magistrate did not return.

"Your Highness. I thank you for the offer of this deal."

"Glad to hear it."

She moved over her map over Kirkwall's territories so it was between them.

"The spot is at the end of the wounded coast, in caves some Tal-vashoth used to hang out in before I slaughtered them all."

"I see you're as capable as ever… Though your display in the throne room made that obvious enough."

She frowned at that comment.

"Have we… met before?"

"Yes. You once… Brought back an escaped fugitive for me."

It took a moment before she recalled what the Void he was talking about.

"Oh, right you're that… Guy, whose son was insane, and killing… Well… Anyway, that shouldn't be a problem anymore regardless. There won't be any Elves left in the city in a few months."

This comment finally brought some real emotion to the Magister's face.

"Truly? No Elves? Why? Do not tell me you plan to purge the Alienage? That would seem rather out of character for you."

"It is. No, I intend to ship them to Ferelden, so they can immigrate to New Arlathan."

"Ah, yes… That does seem far, far in character for you, all things considered… What do you intend to do with the Alienage then? Rip it down and start anew?"

"Yes, pretty much. I'm Actually going to remake all of Lowtown… The stench is hideous you know… But It's a progress work, not something you do all at once. I'll start with the Alienage, and work my way from there."

"I see… Well, I shall leave that to you… We have a mine to discuss."

"Right. So it's here on the map… No roads there though, nor safe harborage, so on top of actually making the mine, we'll have to make a road from the city and deal with bandits and all that so the spoils of the earth can be shipped back to Kirkwall. I'll handle most of it, I just need you to invest coin for the mine and the construction of this road, and I'll take care of the rest."

"And we share the cut?"

"Half to both."

"Very well… You were asking for 40 sovereigns yes?"

"Indeed."

"I'm in then. I assume you have a contract drawn up?"

"Sure."

And just like that, with a bit of handwriting, it was done.

On the plus side, the first step of her plans was coming together.

On the other hand, the magister was also a sharp reminder to her that Kirkwall's nobility was anything but a nice bunch of people.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 3

[blighted-elf]

hi! vtm newbie here. do you know if one would have to watch la by night in order to enjoy ny by night? or are they separate?

also, do you know if there's any website where one could read up on the various factions and other important lore and stuff? thanks!

Hello, welcome! New York by Night will be a separate story with different characters, so you won't need to watch LA By Night (but I highly recommend it). I imagine there will be the occasional mention of LA, which you may lack context for, but otherwise it should be all good. Jason is a wonderful storyteller so I can almost guarantee he will explain the setting to new players as he goes. He also did this with LA By Night.

As for a website with all the basics, we're kinda lacking in that department. Everything is scattered around and it's a bit of a pain. The "Vampires in World of Darkness" section on the official Wiki (x) has a concise but very bare bones guide on the clans and sects, which would be a nice starting point. Or you could brave the fan made Wiki (x). If you're looking for an official in-depth guide, the V5 sourcebooks or any of the games are your best bet (Bloodlines and Coteries of New York are particularly VtM beginner friendly).

[first-impressions-gaming]

Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York

Developed & Published by Draw Distance

Release Date 2019

Tested on Xbox Series X

MSRP 19,99 USD

The universe of World of Darkness calls us to yet another Vampire the Masquerade game. Having played Werewolf the Apocalypse, an average-quality game, I kind of knew what I anticipated to see in this game. You will be playing a visual novel, story-rich game (that is a claim I will argue against) with almost-zero game mechanics. You will be interacting with characters with text-based dialogues, with zero voiceover. 

From get-go, you will be choosing a clan from three, which are:

Brujah clan (you’ll be playing as Eric) which is against authority and filled with rage.

Ventrue clan (you’ll be playing as Amanda) which is an aristocrat family, controlling wealth and sovereignty.

Toreador clan (you’ll be playing as Lamar), whose artistic features and romanticism weighs in.

I had the opportunity to check out each clan and there are sore points that need to be addressed. As you can see from brief background info, each clan (and protagonist) seems to be unique in his/her own way, one of them being an aristocrat, another one having an anarchic stand, another one being more underground and an outsider. What it boils down to this: you will be welcomed with same opening sequence with each character, which is, you are in a high-rise apartment, it is raining heavily, thunderbolts and lightning left and right, it is almost 10 PM, a stranger, that you meet for the first time, whose back turned to you addresses you, very cheaply saying that he has been following you for some time and it makes you feel you are next big shot in the town. For my first run, I picked Ventrue clan, then Brujah, then Toreador clan. My reaction was: why would you put the SAME opening sequence for all three distinct characters? These characters clearly have all-different background and past, and we are, as the player, introduced to this world in the same way. Our characters should carry recognizable features on their own, the opening sequence should be individual to each protagonist, for example the setting, location, time and space and the monologue the stranger gives should have been personalised. In its current state, replayability is harmed because it breaks the immersion. It makes me question, did the developers put enough effort and ambition into this title?

The other aspect of the game that really sticks out for me is the environment and visual representation. When we are in a room or somewhere, the narrative voice says that the room is full of people, crowded, somebody is directly looking at us, or the protagonist observes something out of place despite the fact that the room in front of us is totally empty, as if the developers forgot to add characters in them, it feels very unfinished. This really breaks the immersion for me considering that narration and the visuals are not in harmony. For example, playing as Amanda, we are brought to a gallery, the narrative voice claims “all eyes are on us” due to the fact that we do not fit in there and are an outsider to the rest of the community. As the player, what I see is a room not in a soul in it, the narrative says we are the centre of attention right there and then. Where are the characters?

I need to mention the quality of story and narration as well. For some reason, descriptions of locations and people and third person narrative feels more high-quality in contrast to dialogues, which are a bit rushed. What I mean by ‘rushed’ is that, it gives the impression that the true potential of dialogues are held back and could have been longer, that way you can establish a more meaningful relationship with other characters. Let me give you an example: when you are playing as Lamar, you end up biting a stranger person, and The Stranger approaches you, says plainly, let’s get out of here. My initial reaction was “wait, what just happened?” I just cannot wrap my head around these extremely weird and failing story choices. At the beginning, when the protagonists turn into vampires, the epiphany takes place, and this is the exact moment to grasp the player. You need to carefully saviour this moment and turn it into a most-memorable experience when you have the chance. This game does the opposite of this, the chance gets wasted, the story takes turns so suddenly and instantly that I lose my interest in it. Another ‘shocking’ moment is when you are playing as Amanda and dragged to a gallery, a red-haired woman approaches you, outright says that the people in the room are all vampires. The characters we meet along the way talk in a direct way, without giving the player a chance to read between the lines.  The element of mystery, astonishment and turn-of-events are obviously lacking. That was the moment I realised the quality of writing and character development are not strong points of this game, I got disappointed.

As can be understood from my impressions so far, Eric, Amanda and Lamar go under similar experiences, mainly a stranger gets in touch with them, such a girl at the club, a middle-aged investor etc, somehow they lose consciousness and find themselves in a weird situation, they lose track of time, cannot grasp at first where they are and they find a dead bitten body, at that point the main, who is aptly and ironically named Stranger, approaches them, informing them that they must get away from the crime scene as soon as possible with him yet before that Stranger recites the same monologue to each of them, more or less saying you must obey him and should not ask further questions or cross him, and he will take you somewhere relatively safe. Onwards, the next morning you wake up someplace unknown to you, you get introduced to a group of vampires, in accordance with the clan you pick and the story unfolds for the worse.

As a gamer who is passionate about visual novels, Coteries of New York wouldn’t be in my suggested-games list unless you adore and worship World of Darkness universe. Upsettingly, the quality of writing and world-building does not reach the benchmark set by other story-rich titles of the genre.

[linuxgamenews]

Crusader Kings III due to settle the Fate of Iberia

Fate of Iberia the games flavor pack launches for Crusader Kings III on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Due to the ongoing works of Paradox Thalassic and Paradox Development Studio. Available now on Steam with 83% Very Positive reviews. The land is divided by language, religion, and culture. But those with the vision to understand it see a land rich in opportunity. What if the energy for squabbling over towns and titles could be for unity or peace? Since vision is not enough. A strong hand, a taste for intrigue, and also a deft touch with diplomacy are all required. This is a question for generations, a problem to be solved over time. Since the patient and prudent can settle the Fate of Iberia.

Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia - Release Trailer

Fate of Iberia is the latest flavor pack for Crusader Kings III. This is another success for Paradox Interactive’s award winning medieval grand strategy RPG game. Since it gives you a new way to live out the history of Spain and Portugal. Well at least in the middle ages. A centuries long struggle will also force you to rethink how to achieve your goals. While a range of interested and competing parties fight to force their will on the Iberian Peninsula.

Features of include:

Struggle system: Entirely new system for historic conflict. Available to modders and other content creators.

Decide the Fate of Iberia: Choose the path of peace or the path of conquest. While you unite Spain or, maybe, agree to a peaceful division of spoils.

New content: Two new Legacy tracks (Metropolitan and Coterie), New cultural traits showing special historical characteristics of the Iberian peninsula. There are also new friendship and duels over the chess board.

New Events: Dynamic historical events related to the struggle for Iberia.

New Art: New character art reflecting Iberian cultures of the medieval era. Evne new unit designs, new 3D models of holdings and artifacts. Plus a host of new art for backgrounds, events and loading.

New Music: Additions to the Crusader Kings III soundtrack.

Fate of Iberia includes an update free for all Crusader Kings III owners. This update launches new options and features for all players. This update is out for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. While adding a new faction type to test your ruler. Heads of Faith that can be shared by different religions and vassal contracts for clans. Of course, a new starting bookmark that shows off unique Iberian characters for the 867 start date. Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia flavor pack launches for the base game. With a price of $6.99 USD / £5.19 / €6.99 on Steam. It's also part of the Crusader Kings III expansion pass and Crusader Kings III: Royal Edition. All available on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Plus its all Steam Deck playable.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! Do you have any tip choosing a group name? All the ones I can think about sounds stupid. I really want a group name for muy main characters. Thank you.

Choosing a Group Name

The answer depends on what kind of group it is.

Is it a big group or a small group? A formal group or an informal group? Is it a Team Good group or a Team Bad group? Is it a group based around a business, service, or industry? Is it a social group? Is it a philanthropic group?

Group Synonyms for Social Groups

group, cortege, gang, association, band, crowd, faction, circle, society, bunch, clique, crew, league, lot, pack, coterie, platoon, posse, set, club, clan, retinue, cortege, entourage, squad, troupe, peeps. Also: boys, boyz, girls, girlz, guys, ladies, gents, folks, kin, kids, etc. You could also use any collective name, like idiots, nutters, geeks, nerds...

If it's a business or corporation, my guide to Naming a Fictional Business or Corporation might help.

Otherwise, Group Synonyms for Business/Organizational Groups:

group, association, faction, society, league, club, federation, guild, league, alliance, coalition, confederation, fellowship, fraternity, consortium, syndicate, company, union, team, community, assembly, order, organization, cooperative, institute

Now, look for a word that will go with one of the above synonyms. Let's say we're trying to come up with a name for a group of friends who go to Seaside High School in a town called Nanover, in an area called "the bight." Their town mascot is a seagull, and as a social thing, they all drive red cars.

They could be known as...

The Seaside (Group, Gang, Circle, Girls, Society...)

Seaside (Girls, Boys, Kids, Peeps...)

The Seaside Gulls

The Gull Gang, The Gull Squad, The Gull Guys

The Bight Bunch, The Bight Boys, The Bight Band

The Nanover Nerds

The Red Ride Crew

You can also look at shared hobbies, jobs, or events. The B-Ball Bunch, the Paris Pack, The Homecoming Club, The Cinema Crew

Play around with things. List out common elements among this group and try them out with different synonyms. See what works!

You can also try the Fantasy Name Generators site to see if it offers anything that works.

Good luck!

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[dailyadventureprompts]

Villain: Burinlaf Scornfiend, Duergar Captain. 

Adventure hooks: 

Working in secret, a coterie of Duergar agents assaulted a temple to the dwarven god of crafts, looting the treasury, slaying several revered priests, and making off with a dangerous artifact kept in the temple’s vault. The now ascendant elder priest ( far too young for the station) is wracked with grief at the loss of his elders, and looks to hire the party on a mission of vengeance. 

Fed up with being foiled by the party at every turn, one of the ongoing adventure’s villains recruits a company of underdark mercenaries to bolster their normally ineffective minions. These mercenaries work violence under cover darkness and with exacting efficiency, forcing the heroes back onto their toes when an easy victory would be otherwise assured. 

Peacetalks between two mountain clans have come to a grinding hault after the goliath lawkeeper who was acting as intermediary was kidnapped. Both sides blame one another, and with contacts on both sides of the conflict the party will be thrust into the role of negotiators and detectives if they hope to keep the peace. 

Setup:  While most would write Burinlaf off as yet another underdark warlord, any who met him would see that this Duergar is something different, speaking of battle the way a priest might speak of benediction, his eyes glowing like embers all the while. 

Burinlaf  leads a company of sellswords famed among evildooers for commanding a high price in exchange for the vicious tasks they undertake. Specalizing in lighting quick raids with high impact and collateral damage. Whether you want something stolen, an enemy assassinated, or a obstacle removed, Burinlaf’s mercs will get it done with a bodycount ten times the market rate. 

Burinlaf earned his “Scornfiend” moniker and his most distinctive scar on one such job, as he and his troops were contracted to do away with a particular firy dragon for the vast store of rubies it guarded. To quench the dragon’s armament melting breath, Buinlaf struck a deal with a devil for the cursed weapon “  Vartrdizmirak”, or more simply: the blade of black smoke, said to be able to drink up any supernatural flame, provided the wearer could stand the heat of all its previous meals. 

The infernal arms merchant was looking forward to the irony of watching the covetous warlord burn off his own hands trying to wield the cursed blade. What he was not counting on was for Burinlaf to come back with adamantine  gauntlets grafted to his now blackened bones that would allow him to wield the weapon he’d bargained for and channel its heat into yet more destructive power.  

Background: Born into one of the migratory brigand-legions of the grey dwarves, Burinlaf was indoctrinated into his people’s war cult: a belief in the neverending battle for supremacy against the world itself, and a divine hierarchy that separates the triumphant victors over the dead.

Burinlaf broke off from his birth legion after a years long campaign of conquest left the grey-dwarves the overlords over a cavernous region of the underdark that once served as the kingdom of a kuo-toa high priestess. Disgusted with the prospect of growing fat and complacent ruling over a soggy realm and the babbling fish-folk who lived there, the young captian gathered those other warriors who were still eager  for blood and set out on their own.

Challenges & Complications:

Those on the Scornfiend’s trail will find themselves watched by a shrouded figure with a distinctive, uneven gait. Investigating, they will find a heavily scarred darkelf with docked ears and an untrusting disposition. This is “Slagfoot”,  a slave and camp follower in Burinlaf’s possession who’s very intent on terminating both his forced employment and his master’s life. Knowing little more than a life of servitude and torment from a young age ( The mercenaries kidnapped him after raiding a drow settlement, and burt off one of his feet with molten metal to prevent him running away), Slagfoot is slow to trust, but if the party plays thier cards right, the drow can spy for them and even tell them where the marauder’s camp is.

Strictly speaking,  Vartrdizmirak wasn’t the devil’s property to give away, having stolen it from its proper resting place in the heart of a (until very recently) dormant volcano. Now worried that the eruption of the volcano and the threat is poses to nearby settlements will bring the attention of the forces of good, the bungling fiend will reach out to the party to see about defeating the mercenary captain and putting the blade back with none the wiser.    

[ryttu3k]

Borrowing this ask from @iravaid - what would your VtM OCs be doing in Bloodlines?

Sierra is the Fledgling. I mean that's just. She's my Bloodlines Fledgling. Easy XD

Wren is also 'in' Bloodlines! She's Mitnick's childe, was Embraced two years earlier, and gives Sierra a 'quest' after the whole SchreckNet thing to please pick up her order from Hot Topic because she can't exactly show her face XD;;

Pyre could show up pretty easily! He's still working with Julian at that time, so let's say he appears at a hypothetical non-sectarian Elysium, introduces himself as Banu Haqim and tells the Fledgling a bit about his clan, and ask for their help in picking something up he needs to deliver.

Raúl, canonically, is in Mexico City and also ten years old at the time of the game, heh (and also, uh, not an OC but whatever). If he was actually around, he's still Nines' childe and an Anarch, talks about being a former hunter who stopped after he learned that not all vampires are monstrous, and gives the Fledgling valuable information about the Society of Leopold. Once that mission is over, he gives them an additional one - help stop a monster. Vampires who are hurting people? Something weird and supernatural? Regular awful humans? Who knows, but it's hurting people and has to be stopped. Gives you a point in Humanity.

Ana was thirteen and somewhere in the midwest at the time. Assuming she's got her same backstory here, just done a bit earlier, she'd be happiest as a minor character who the Fledgling can visit if they want to change their looks, because dangit character customisation is awesome. Camarilla-aligned, will pass herself off as a Toreador at first, and will eventually admit to a very friendly high-humanity Fledgling that she's actually Tzimisce and was Embraced as a shovelhead, managing to escape and regain her Humanity with the help of her original coterie. She also gives an example of a Tzimisce who's, uh, not Andrei. Please don’t ask her about the Sabbat, it's a major trauma :(

Briar was mid-teens and in Texas at the time. Assuming they have the same backstory, just converted for the game, they're visiting from Dallas on behalf of their sire, D'Espine, and can be found Downtown hanging out with Ana, giving a slightly more balanced view of the Camarilla.

Ezra is visiting from Brooklyn and is loosely Camarilla-aligned, but will still help out an Anarch or Autarkis Fledgling. They show up in Chinatown (they're curious about the Kuei-jin and are investigating), and gives the Fledgling some information about the Banu Haqim, the Salubri, and the Tremere. The latter information is, um, not positive.

The Drakes, in this, apparently moved to LA instead of Seattle following the Battle of New York. At first they just appear to be two parents with a li'l kid, but if the Fledgling uses Auspex or picks certain dialogue options, they reveal they're Cainites as well (Toreador and 'Malkavian', although a bit of extra prodding reveals that Ecdysis is actually Tzimisce), and that their daughter is a Revenant (and that they were as well prior to Embrace). They don't have a quest, per se, they're more there to flesh out the Sabbat, explain what Revenants are, and show the Sabbat as more than just Always Chaotic Evil Cannon Fodder. They might also agree that the shovelheads running around are making them look bad, and give the Fledgling advice on Hallowbrook Hotel.

Cam is just hanging out at the Elysium I mentioned with Pyre, living his best unlife and looking different literally every time you see him, every appearance fitting a different subculture. He doesn't have a big role but will direct the Fledgling to Ana (he’s one of her original coterie-mates) if they want to change their look.

And finally, Wish is the occasional lurking shadow with antlers and tapetum lucidum you sometimes see out of the corner of your eye. They're harmless, really. They might show up in Griffith Park and help distract the werewolf so the Fledgling can escape, then disappear without another word.

[malkavianz]

ALSO!!! vera's takes on the all the clans. because i love unsolicited ventrue opinions

Okay I will approach this as if she's met them for your sake. Just for unsolicited Ventrue opinions.

What do they think about…

1. …Clan Banu Haqim?

Not a lot of feelings about these guys actually. Pretty indifferent, but would be interested in their history if nothing else.

2. …Clan Brujah?

Somewhat stereotypical to say but she finds them annoying. Not in a "oh they undermine me" way but more seeing them as hypocritical and unreliable. Most experiences Vera has had with Brujah have been negative since her embrace, and she gets very sick of random Brujah trying to take shots at her based on her clan/sire. She doesn't think every Brujah is terrible or anything, but attempting to talk to some can be absolutely exhausting.

Anyway here’s a funny response instead because that’s what you really want

3. …Clan Gangrel?

She doesn’t know what the fuck is up with these guys but wishes she understood.

4. …Clan Hecata (or their predecessor clans, Giovanni and Cappadocian)?

Oh this is a fun one. Now, she hasn’t met any of these guys yet, but I think if she did it would be such a mess. She would have so many questions she’d be following people around like a lost puppy trying to get someone to tell her about the cool necromancy secrets to one-up her sister. Ethically, however, there’s definitely some conflicting feelings about the dead and how all that works considering that would still absolutely freak her out.

5. …Clan Lasombra?

Initially, the reception was pretty negative. They really hate when someone thinks they're better than them and this clan really thinks that. Having Salem in her coterie though really made all the difference as they started bonding. Especially since Salem’s problem solving to her different brand of megalomania actually work very well together on most nights. So generally, she actually likes and respects the clan. Put her in a room with an abyss mystic and watch her go nuts asking questions too. She wishes she could do cool shadow stuff and have super strength so bad.

6. …Clan Malkavian?

This is an easy one to explain as her experiences with this clan have been extremely varied, but her coterie member has mostly colored her view. She thinks Malkavians get way too much of a bad rep for being "lunatics" and that if people took more time to actually pay attention it wouldn't sound as crazy. This, of course, partially comes from the fact she's incredibly mentally ill herself and was before her embrace so she feels somewhat of a duty to stand up for them.

7. …Clan Ministry (Followers of Set)?

Definitely wouldn’t go far enough to say she fully trusts them, but she doesn’t want to judge them solely based on their clan. Their network is useful and business wise even if she’s in over her head she finds herself enjoying being around the few she’s met. Truthfully she doesn’t really get their history and what the hell the big deal is though.

8. …Clan Nosferatu?

Now Vera is a big fan of the Nosferatu. Living in the sewers, can turn invisible, cool animal powers, and they always seem to know a bit too much. She actually really likes hanging out with Nosferatu since the few she’s ran into have similar interests and haven’t been as uptight as the Toreador. Trying to convince them to let her do makeup on them though can be a struggle though. She also appreciates their information brokering business.

9. …Clan Ravnos?

Has no idea what a Ravnos is but would think moving around so often would be exhausting.

10. …Clan Toreador?

Vera has a huge mix of emotions towards the Toreador. First of all, as someone who's career was based of makeup and and streaming alongside her appearance she's had a lot of run-ins with Toreador since her embrace. Both positive and negative. When they're good they're good but when they're bad few clans bring her closer to frenzy as fast as clan Toreador.

Overall, she gets why their clans are put together all the time but they're definitely not her favorite clan to be around.

11. …Clan Tremere?

There's some bad blood and bitter feelings between Vera and clan Tremere. Since her sister, Jade, was embraced into the clan due to Vera's fuck up along with her learning magic is real to begin with there's a lot to process there. One cannot describe how much she despises the clan for the embracing of her sister. The more horrific things they find out about the Tremere the more they wish they could do something to change it.

12. …Clan Tzimisce?

Whatever is going on here is so much to her. If she ever met a Tzimisce she would be so confused and concerned it’s unreal. Definitely thinks fleshcrafting is cool though but would have some weird feelings about just about everything else

13. …Clan Ventrue?

There is nothing worse than meeting another Ventrue. You have not known pain until you sit in the Ventrue board meeting. All Ventrue deserve to suffer except her of course. She's the exception. She's immune to the clan curse except for when she's feeding, or has a career opportunity, or sees a Brujah, or gets the chance to use nepotism to her advantage, or [cut off by hit squad]

But generally she has complicated relationship with her clan where he hates being around many individuals for obvious reasons and how her clan works, but she’s grown to be proud of who she is. This includes accepting her clan as part of her and trying to make her clan something to be proud of