Be IC. Try to spend as much time at game In
Character. It's why people are there. Don't talk about WoW.
Don't say 'Hi' and hug everyone OOC after they're already IC. Don't be
a phone call, walking around OOC looking for someone. Call people on
real cellphones. You don't have a cellphone OOC? Your character
doesn't IC. You don't have the player of the Prince's number OOC?
Your character doesn't IC. Be as IC as you can, all night, or go home.
Demand a storyteller. If a player
witnesses any infraction of the rules or the house rules, he or she has the
right to demand the scene halt until an ST can be summoned to adjudicate the
issue. Not every rules infraction warrants a stoppage of play, so
don't do it unless your story is being screwed. No PC
should be killed without an ST present.
All at
game must play. This is not
a spectator event. Persons
not playing the game or temporarily OOC (Out Of Character) should leave
the venue. Persons in need
of a temporary, pre-generated, new, or NPC (Non-Player Character)
character to play should see an ST.
Maintain
separation of out-of-game issues from in-game issues.
OOC conflicts, acrimony, relationships, and events should be
dealt with away from the venue. Players who bring OOC drama into
the CBN game will be banned from CBN.
No
touching. Ask permission
from people at game before engaging in physical contact with them.
No
running, jumping, violence, or stunts.
The ST crew and the members and associates of CBN are not responsible
for injuries sustained at CBN events. Physical violence will get
you banned from the property, not just from CBN.
Persons
under 18 years of age are not
allowed at CBN events. The
ST crew will occasionally ask for ID from all players.
Be mindful
of others. Do not yell or
scream. Do not endanger our
continued use of the venue. Do
not attempt to speak to persons not involved in the game on behalf of
CBN.
No
weapons. No real or
fake weapons are ever permitted, including squirt guns, stakes and tied-down blades.
We use item cards for weapons instead of props.
No drugs
or alcohol. People under 21
attend CBN events. Persons
bringing drugs or alcohol to CBN events will be permanently banned from
the property, not just from CBN events.
No arguing
with the ST crew at game. Minimize
rules questions, and ask only those questions that are absolutely
necessary, preferably not during game.
No ST ruling will be reversed by another ST.
No ST will redline any scene. Players who repeatedly argue with STs
during game time will be suspended or banned
from the game. Players who argue rules repeatedly on OOC email
lists (the appropriate forum) are often turned into Narrators.
It’s
only a game. Limit CBN
gameplay to the four hours, twice a week the organization meets.
Do not bring IC (In-Character) matters outside the game
environment. Do not take IC
matters personally.
The
IC/OOC Rule: There is a distinction between OOC and IC. Players are expected to keep that distinction. Telling people IC information OOC
degrades the quality of play, and is a punishable offense. Use of OOC
information IC is called 'metagaming,' and is also a punishable offense. Report any infraction (of
either instance) that impedes your role-playing experience to an ST.
Punishments will be decided at the STs' discretion, affecting either
characters or players.
Die
quietly. Players who have
characters die should not discuss whether the PC died, how the death
occurred, or who else was involved.
Violators will be docked XP on their next PC.
Inigo
Montoya rule. Players
should take pains to avoid plot that their former PCs were involved in.
To this end, a player’s PC should be of a different clan and sect from
his or her last PC. PCs
that benefit from former PCs or attempt to avenge same will suffer IC.
No weapons
of mass destruction will be used IC by PCs without prior consultation with
(and unanimous approval from) the ST crew.
Mass
combat sucks. Any ST can
invoke the CBN mass combat rules if adjudicating a large conflict
interferes with game play. PCs
continuing involvement in the combat will continue to take aggravated
damage at random until fighting ceases.
Game
time. CBN games are held exclusively at the venue
at 2610 Vega in Cleveland (and around but not in 2608 Vega), on
alternating Fridays from 8pm-midnight.
Do not arrive early or stay late.
Players often congregate OOC afterward at Dimitri's, a restaurant
on Lorain Avenue at West 110th Street. IC time is
four hours later than real time.
The character is where the player is -
Players do not have the authority
to declare where their characters are IC. The rooms in the 2610
Vega house are IC Cleveland locations determined by the ST crew. If a character leaves the house IC, the player should as
well. Scenes taking place away from those locations should happen
outside the house, under ST supervision. There is no 'LC' or
'locationally challenged' or 'random location X' or 'we're not here, you
can't find us' at CBN. Players may not tell other
players that they cannot enter a scene. Players may not require other players
to have a specific level of ability, background, or discipline to enter a
scene. There will be no scenes run outside of
Cuyahoga County without an ST present.
Lesbian sex scenes - No lesbian sex shall occur IC or OOC without
Pete present.
CHALLENGES
The CBN ST crew is interested only in making rules calls that need to be
made during game,
and will make said calls with the aim of making the best scene possible, and
improving the quality of gameplay.
Fairness and consistency are impossible to achieve with the rulebook used.
CBN
uses ONLY the Revised edition of the Mind's Eye Theatre 'Laws of the
Night'
LARP Vampire rulebook, published
by White Wolf Game Studio,
with the following exceptions
(relevant page numbers
of changed rules in parentheses):
Any retest
cancels any retest (195): In order to accelerate combat, any retest applicable
to a challenge can be used to cancel any opponent retest, without another throw
of Rock, Paper, Scissors. This is still limited; only one retest of each type
(Ability, Willpower, Discipline Effect, and Merit) can be used by a given player
in a single challenge.
Retests can be bid in
any order, except Might, which is last.
Willpower (107): Punch a hole in your sheet every time
you expend a temporary Willpower trait. Don't let someone spend Willpower in
a challenge without punching that hole. As above, Willpower can grant
a retest in a physical challenge.
Order of Challenges
(196): Spending blood to power Disciplines and heal wounds can happen at any
time, even before challenges. The order of challenges in a
multiple-challenge situation is first determined by the categories of
Attributes bid;
Social, then Mental, then Physical challenges. The only way to preempt a
challenge is with Alacrity (one cannot, for example, interrupt a declared
Physical Challenge with a Mental action without Alacrity). Alacrity actions can
preempt only detected Physical Challenges. Trait levels are used to determine
which challenger goes first among a set of challenges in a like category.
Using the off hand does not grant an extra action.
Story (197): The length of a 'Story' is a
default of three game sessions. Storytellers can lengthen or shorten
this.
Staking (203):
No Item Card is required for a wooden
stake. Staked PC's can only bid Traits that don't involve movement only
in defense of challenges, and can perceive and remember what happened while
they were staked, but can neither initiate challenges, nor spend Blood or
Willpower except for reflexive uses like Fortitude.
Armor (206):
Only players actually wearing armor or armor costumes will
gain benefit from armor. No aluminum foil armor.
Weapon Traits (203):
All mormal weapons in CBN grant a 1-trait bonus, and weapons' negative traits just don't
count. Weapons Crafted with enough of the Crafts ability can add an additional trait, and have other added advantages at ST discretion, but not improved damage.
Weapon Speed (203): Speed ability has been removed from weapons.
Explosives: Explosives in CBN shall deal an amount and type of damage determined
only by the ST running the scene, and will not have a set damage on an item card. Explosives will generally harm all in the scene,
create a massive cloud of obscuring dust, throw PC's out of the scene, grant fair escape to all, and end the scene.
Blood Pool (106):
Players arriving at or before game on (usually at 8pm) start that game with
a full blood pool. Starting blood pool for latecomers is
determined by a feeding test, thrown with a storyteller at the beginning
of the session. A win means your pool is full, a tie means your
pool is half-full (round up), and a loss means you
start the game with just three blood traits, and hungry. Add one
trait for every level of Health Influence (99), and one trait for every
level of Herd (96), up to your Generation maximum (95).
Vampires in torpor can be woken
by feeding them vampire blood and consulting an ST, regardless of
Generation.
Blood Bonds (211): When a blood bond breaks due
to the death of the regnant, the thrall does not immediately know.
Diablerie (215): No experience points are gained from Diablerie. Throw a simple
test for every Discipline the victim had; the diablerist must win to gain the ability to
immediately buy one or two levels of those Disciplines out-of-clan without a teacher, up to the level the victim had, providing the diablerist has the XP
necessary.
If the diablerist gains any generation or
Discipline from the Diablerie, the diablerist gains the Clan Flaw of the
victim, and more Flaws or Derangements as the ST sees fit.
The diablerist must test for
frenzy and lose one Path Trait.
Vinculum/Vaulderie
(224): When a character dies, those who
had Vinculum ratings to that character do not immediately know. The
Unbondable Merit does not affect Vinculum.
Surprise
(200): Surprise is determined by a lack of response after a declaration of
action including a trait and a firm count of three ("I Quickly stake you,
one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand") from the attacker,
or when making a challenge from Obfuscate or a hidden position. There is no
challenge, the attack is successful, and Fortitude applies. There is no
way for several people to act in perfect unison; only one attacker of a
group can get the Surprise bonus.
Counterattacks
(193): Counterattacking is prohibited in CBN; an attacked character may only
respond with a defense (dodging, standing tough, parrying without dealing
damage, etc.) in a challenge, or relent.
Obtenebration
3, Arms of the Abyss (164): Five tentacles maximum; when attacking simply to
do damage, these tentacles may only
make one collective attack for damage per round, and may add together their
traits for this, for a maximum of 15 traits. Each tentacle can do a separate
action as long as it is not simply striking for damage.
Bone Path Necromancy 4,
Soul Stealing (156): If the
body of a vampire that has been the victim of Soul Stealing takes a level of
lethal or aggravated damage, the soul returns to the body.
Pavis of the Foul Presence, Intermediate Thaumaturgy Ritual: Pavis
reflects Dread Gaze, Entrancement, Summon or can cancel an Awe retest or the
effects of Majesty. The ritual ends if used to defend against a single Presence
power, if the blue cord is removed, or at sunrise. Pavis may only be
self-cast and can be recast after use.
Torpor
(111, 199): If a vampire falls into Torpor, the rules
on p.199 apply (the Torpor section), not the completely contradictory rules
on p.111 (the Morality Traits section).
Vampires in torpor can possibly
be woken by feeding them vampire blood and consulting an ST, regardless of
Generation.
CHARACTERS
Character
creation disclaimer: The ST crew reserves the right to limit
or disallow players from playing Clans, Disciplines, Merits, Paths, etc.,
based
on prevalence in game or individual prejudice, to represent relative rarity or
preserve quality of gameplay.
Books: The CBN ST crew only uses the Laws of the Night Revised, second edition.
There are exceptions; contact the ST crew with questions at cbnsts AT
yahoogroups DOT com.
Ghouls,
Wraiths, Garou, Hunters, Magi, etc.
(255): All Player Characters in CBN must be
vampires. No 15th-Generation PC's are allowed in CBN.
All fey are dead
IC.
Allies, Retainers, etc. can't help you in combat at game (no
invisible bodyguards following you wherever you go).
Sects (16): Get ST approval
before making a character with Camarilla status or a Sabbat Vaulderie rating,
or planning to add either of these to an independent character. In
addition, any new character must be of a different clan and sect than your
last character.
Dot Gex rule - New characters sent to the cbnsts AT
yahoogroups DOT com list in Grapevine's export file format (.gex) within a
week of that character's first game will gain one XP. The trick is to
look under 'Data Exchange' in Grapevine. Do not send .rtf or .gv3
files.
Experience (122/124): Turn in your character sheets to the STs at the end of the
session. If you don't, you receive no XP for that session. (While you're at it,
make sure your XP expenditures are written on your character sheet; the ST crew
will spend any banked XP over 10). Up to 10 banked XP may be transferred from
your retired/dead character to your new character.
Players may alter their sheets
after their first game with a new character.
CBN grants 1 XP per game
session, plus 1 XP for those who wear costumes which perpetuate the suspension
of disbelief. Players at the end of each game can nominate other
players as being exceptional that evening, and nominated players will receive an extra XP. No PC can gain more than three XP per game session.
Generation (95): PC generation is determined randomly and finally by the ST crew.
Spend Background points according to the result. Players can opt to
take 14th Generation (it counts as a 2-point flaw, p.114), and take 5
Backgrounds.
Vampires in torpor can be woken by feeding them vampire
blood and consulting an ST, regardless of Generation.
Clans (30): Currently True Brujah, Baali, Kindred of the East, Kiasyd, Nagaraja,
Gaki, Sons of Discord, and Children of Osiris are not allowed in
CBN.
Your
new character must be of a different clan and sect than your last
character.
Names:
No character shall be named Larry, or share the same first name as a regular
CBN player or ST.
Infernalism: No PC infernalists will exist.
Demons are out there, but nothing advantageous will appear on your sheet,
and signing a contract with a demon will simply screw the signing PC.
Abilities (86): No Two-Gun Mojo. Madness Manipulation or Malk Time (and a Derangement)
allows a PC to broadcast things on the Madness Network, but not receive
things. No Meditation. Players may
not request a Lore chop with other players to tell them 'what they would
know'.
Backgrounds
(93):
Influences hava a separate rule document, below. Backgrounds can be
bought to level 5 at creation, and earned to level 6 during gameplay.
Allies, Retainers, etc. can't help you in combat at game (no invisible
bodyguards following you wherever you go). Sect Status can be bought
at creation for one point per Status, only in your character's Sect.
See the Status house rule. Generation points must also be spent, but
Generation is determined randomly and finally by the ST crew. Mentors
shoul have a defined clan, but the ST crwe will name and define your Mentor.
Merits (120): The Unbondable Merit does not make you immune to the Vinculum.
Ambidexterity gives no combat advantage.
No Luck. No Ventrue Merit - Paragon
(anybody can have a level 6 Background, if earned during play). Codes of
Honor and Higher Purposes must be defined.
Flaws (114): Players can opt to take the 14th Generation Flaw (it counts as a 2-pointer), and
have all 5 Background points available.
No Prey Exclusion: Children. Other Prey Exclusions are allowed.
Addictions must be defined.
Disciplines
(132): All characters begin with 4 levels of Basic Disciplines, not just the
Sabbat. No out-of-clan Disciplines
are available to PC’s at character creation. Only Basic Disciplines are
allowed at character creation. No Disciplines
above the Advanced level at CBN except for NPC's.
The only Disciplines
a character can teach are the in-clan Disciplines of the teacher.
No teaching Thaumaturgy without the ritual for teaching it (there's a
specific ritual for that).
Item Cards(201):
All significant
possessions a player wants to undeniably possess on his/her person shall have
a corresponding item card, a neon-green CBN official stamped ink-written
index card defining the object in writing. Lose the card, you lost the
item. Exceptions are props, but no prop weapons of any kind are allowed
at CBN. No item card is required for a wooden stake. No item card
shall exist for an item larger than a human body. No more than ten item
cards may be carried by one PC without some kind of luggage, and no piece of
luggage shall contain more than ten item cards. Leave the rest in your
car. Any item card you carry is being carried by your PC. These items must be clearly visible on your person, or have
a prop, or be labeled as concealable T, J, or P (Trenchcoat, Jacket, or
Pocket). No weapon props. Item cards will not be made for items that can't be
carried, such as vehicles, buildings, etc.
Status/Prestige: At character creation, up to 5
Sect Status may be purchased, only in the character's sect, and only with ST
approval. Sects recognized by the CBN ST crew: Camarilla, Sabbat,
Anarch. No Inconnu PC's, and Autarchs don't do status. Clan
Prestige is only recognized by clan offices held, listed under 'Title' on the
character sheet. PC's who don't buy status at character creation are not
sect members. Status is earned without having to be bought with XP,
except at character creation. You may not purchase
Acknowledgement at character creation. It must be granted
IC. No status will be rewarded for offices
held outside Cleveland.
Havens: Every
PC should have a street intersection, suburb, or neighborhood on the character sheet defining the
location of the character's haven, and a three-word description. All
havens are created on the fly by the ST crew; no pre-designed havens beyond
three words. Havens will be based on the stuff on the character sheets
of those characters residing at the haven. Resources means an
expensive haven. Security Ability means a secure haven. Blood
Form means lots of pipes out of the basement. Light Sensitive means no
light bulbs in the haven. Sewer Lore, well...you
get the idea. People who write 'Massive stone mansion' on their sheet
with no Resources will live in the shed in back.
INFLUENCES
Influences
(96-104):
Influences at CBN are defined as mortal people, a number of people
doubling with each level of influence, in a field or position useful to
Kindred, in Cleveland (or at least Cuyahoga County) that work occasionally on behalf of the character who has the
influence on her sheet. This work could be performed for reasons like fear,
extortion, Dominate, bribery, exchanges of favors, blood bonds, direct employment,
love, cult worship, etc.
At character creation, a character may purchase up to 5 levels of influence in any
category. To attain a level 6, a character with a 5 in that Influence
category should find another level 5 in that category and usurp it. To
attain a level 7, the maximum, the character should have a 6 in that category
and find and usurp (or eliminate in person) all the influence among active characters
(in that category) except the level
1's.
Characters can usurp influence by Dominating, blood bonding, bribing,
ghouling, or otherwise gaining power over the mortals that the influence
represents, through IC roleplay. Influences operate differently by category, using the book and the
action list below as a
guideline, at the whim of the HST. Please send all influence-related email to:
cbnstsATyahoogroupsDOTcom.
All influence will be
handled IC. Make a call at game (to an ST) or send an email between games
(to the cbnsts AT yahoogroups DOT com list). You must have some identifier for
each category of your influences, some name or organization you control. No
OOC attempts to use influence will be recognized. No “I use my Underworld to
get a gun.” Try “I call Deltone – ‘Yo, Deltone, my man, I got no piece, you
know, I need one like now.’” Remove
influences from play only in person.
Listed below are the actions your influence people are capable of executing
for you. A higher-level influence on your sheet means you can execute
actions that add up to your level of influence; for example, with a level 4
Bureaucracy, you could do 2 level 2 actions during a game, or a level 3
action and a level 1 action, etc. CBN currently allows no Military or
Espionage influence.
BUREAUCRACY - Governmental and business offices, including utilities; the
creation and cutting of red tape.
Level 1 - Alter/trace utility bills, expedite minor processes that take
time, take advantage of minor bureaucratic loopholes, make files on peoples'
traceable activity, get the bureaucratic rumors.
Level 2 - Alter birth certificates/driver's license; temporarily close a
small road or park, get inspectors sent to locations, cause
delays in applications.
Level 3 - Create false ID's, death certificates, marriage
licenses, passports; close a public school for a day; shut down a small
business on a violation; connect/disconnect utilities on a block.
Level 4 - Create false land deeds and titles; initiate phone taps; initiate
an NEA/BIA/IRS/DOI investigation, get untraceable utility service, bog down
a lawsuit or investigation in red tape.
Level 5 - Start, stop, or alter a city-wide program or policy; shut down a
big business on a violation; rezone areas; destroy records of a person at
the city level, stop a federal investigation.
Level 6 - Arrange a secret audit of a person or business, destroy all
identification records on a single person, get entire departments fired or
transferred, gain technical immunity from something.
CHURCH - The non-secular world, all faiths.
Level 1 - Identify secular members of a given faith in local area, peruse
public church records, use a church as a meeting place, find an AA meeting,
get a priest's phone number, get the church rumors.
Level 2 - Identify higher church members, track congregation members;
suspend lay members, get coffee/bibles/Mass for 100 people on short notice,
meet with a rabbi/imam/priest wherever you want.
Level 3 - Open or close a single church/temple/mosque, access private
archives of the church, meet with the Bishop, get a house ritually
sanctified, manipulate a church-owned charity.
Level 4 - Discredit or suspend higher-level members, find an average
church-associated hunter or exorcist, manipulate a fanatic splinter group,
start a heresy/witchcraft investigation.
Level 5 - Organize major protests/boycotts, manipulate regional branches,
access ancient church lore, identify someone with True Faith or a
church-associated hunter group without meeting them.
Level 6 - Borrow or access church relics or sacred items, give a
church-associated hunter false orders or information, get a graveyard
desanctified, live safely as a Kindred priest, declare something to be a
miracle.
FINANCE – Banking, loans, brokers, accountants, CFO’s. All loans are
amortized over one year to be paid back incrementally every game. About 25
games a year, at 20% interest, is $50 per game per $1000.
Level 1 - Receive a loan ($1,000 - payback $1,200), get a dozen accounts all
over town, run a credit check on someone, identify whether a bill is
counterfeit, get the financial rumors.
Level 2 - Receive a loan ($10,000 - payback $12,000), trace unsecured bank
accounts, identify a person's collateral properties, get an insider stock
tip.
Level 3 - Receive a loan ($100,000 - payback $120,000), create a secure bank
account, access ATM camera tapes, get copies of someone's signature, send
out a repo man.
Level 4 - Receive a loan ($1,000,000 - payback $1,200,000), delay deposits;
credit alterations, interfere with specific stock
transactions, cause an IRS/SEC audit or investigation.
Level 5 - Receive a loan ($10,000,000 - payback $12,000,000), control an
aspect of city-wide banking, stop an IRS/SEC audit or investigation,
foreclose on a small business.
Level 6 - Receive a loan ($100,000,000 - payback $120,000,000), manipulate
local banking, stop loans, seize accounts, shut down medium-size businesses,
affect local stocks.
HEALTH - Hospitals, blood banks, doctors. No bioweapons.
Level 1 - Gain 2 blood traits, fake vaccination records, get medical
supplies (latex gloves, biohazard stickers, syringes), be first in line at
the ER, get a wheelchair van delivered, get the health rumors.
Level 2 - Gain 5 blood traits, access to minor medical records, get a copy
of a coroner's report, get an ambulance to make a run with no record, get a
doctor to make a house call.
Level 3 - Gain 10 blood traits, corrupt results of tests or inspections,
alter medical records, get a gunshot wound treated quietly, schedule
patients for surgeries without their permission.
Level 4 - Gain 20 blood traits, instigate a minor quarantine, acquire a
cadaver, destroy medical records, have people institutionalized or released,
start a CDC/AMA investigation.
Level 5 - Gain 50 blood traits, have a special research project performed,
shut down a business for health code violations, stop a CDC/AMA
investigation, close a doctor's office or two.
Level 6 - Gain 100 blood traits, instigate a major quarantine, shut down a
hospital, have mass blood samples taken, have a covert autopsy of a
paranormal being performed.
HIGH SOCIETY - Culture and subculture, fame, fashion, trend setting.
Level 1 - Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows, get the lowdown on obscure
subcultural trends, be the first to get that CD/DVD, hear about parties,
learn about who's who, get the high society rumors.
Level 2 - Track celebrities and luminaries, be a local voice in the
entertainment field, get invited to the right parties, sit in the front row,
get the sneak preview.
Level 3 - Crush promising careers, get backstage passes to anything, have
rich people ask you for trend advice, be well known in a subculture or
social scene.
Level 4 - Achieve temporary minor celebrity status (Fame 1), skip lines, get
VIP treatment everywhere, get hit on by beautiful people, know who is doing
what with who, set minor trends.
Level 5 - Appear on a talk show, ruin a new club/gallery/festival/other high
society gathering, have an annual must-attend party with everybody there,
meet visiting celebrities in their hotel rooms.
Level 6 - Give temporary minor celebrity status to others (+1 level of
Fame), have visiting celebrities visit you at home, be the #1 person to
sleep with to get ahead.
INDUSTRY - The business of making things, unions. Also big inCleveland.
All union thugs are mortals with 6 physical, 3 social, 4 mental, 1
willpower, a craft skill, and 2 brawls.
Level 1 - Learn about industrial projects and movements, union membership,
borrow portable tools, learn a trade, get a night job, get your car fixed
cheap, get the industry rumors.
Level 2 - Have minor projects performed by small crews, arrange small
'accidents' on the job site, get an expert welder to do a job for you, be
known as a good member to a single union.
Level 3 - Get a union thug to break something, organize minor strikes,
appropriate a blast furnace for a short time, get some silver
bullets/vehicle armor/torture devices made.
Level 4 - Get a pair of union thugs to burn something down, close or
revitalize a small plant, take over a small plant for two weeks, get anyone
booted out of any union, initiate an OSHA/EPA inspection.
Level 5 - Get half a dozen masked union thugs to kidnap/terrorize someone,
manipulate a large local industry, organize a major area strike, manufacture
a hundred of anything, stop OSHA/EPA inquiries.
Level 6 - Get a dozen union thugs with diesel equipment to demolish a
building at midnight, cut off production of a single manufactured resource in the
Domain, build a preposterous custom haven.
LEGAL - Judges, lawyers, law firms, courtrooms, etc.
Level 1 - Get free representation for small cases, have a lawyer who answers
his phone, sue people for messing with you, learn about someone's
holdings/legal status, get the legal rumors.
Level 2 - Avoid bail for some charges, have minor charges dropped, get a
quiet settlement when being sued, get a lawyer to build a complete file on
someone, create a screen to slow investigations.
Level 3 - Get good representation, manipulate legal procedures (wills,
contracts, etc), start a state investigation, have a lawyer with assistants
drown someone in legal briefs.
Level 4 - Issue subpoenas, tie up court cases, have most charges dropped,
cancel or arrange parole, start a federal investigation of some sort, stop a
state investigation.
Level 5 - Close down a federal investigation, have deportation proceedings
held against someone, get warrants revoked, hide ownership of anything, find
a legal weakness to exploit.
Level 6 - Close down any investigation, arrange for a court case to be
decided however you please, get attorneys disbarred, get judges
investigated, seriously threaten anyone with a custom lawsuit.
MEDIA - Newspapers, television, radio; local to the Domain.
Level 1 - Learn about breaking stories early; submit small articles, know a
few reporters to tip, be on college radio, get a letter to the editor
published in an underground free press, get the media rumors.
Level 2 - Suppress small articles or reports, get investigative reporting
information, get a photographer to show up, have a reporter in your pocket,
get research done on a subject, trace personal ads.
Level 3 - Initiate news investigations and reports, access media production
resources, start a major investigative story, get a TV news crew to show up
with satellite feed, make an independent film.
Level 4 - Initiate a fake story with local attention, influence story
selection, get an editor to kill a story, get a TV series to do a
local episode, get radio personalities fired, kill an underground zine.
Level 5 - Initiate a fake story with statewide attention, get newspaper
people fired, affect the storyline of a TV show, change a radio station's
format, own a unaffiliated local TV station, stop any one story.
Level 6 - Initiate a fake story with nationwide attention, get TV
personalities fired, control a local newspaper or TV affiliate, create a
television show, cancel local coverage of a sporting event.
OCCULT - Secret and fringe groups, libraries, experts and shops specializing
in the paranormal.
A Note on Rituals: Rituals can only be researched by characters
who already have an appropriate level (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced) in a
Path. You still need a teacher for out-of-clan stuff. There is a
sspecific ritual for teaching Thaumaturgy to people of non-Thaumaturgical
clans, and Occult Influence won't find it for you.
Level 1 - Contact common occult groups and practices, join a
fringe religion, learn about new trends or dangers to the occult subculture,
acquire candles, bones, crystals, etc. of decent quality, get the occult
rumors.
Level 2 - Access to resources for most rituals and rites, research the first
level of an Expert Ability: Lore in a paranormal subject - Cainite,
Thanatology, Garou, Mage, etc.
Level 3 - Access to rare material components, occult tomes, and writings,
research a Basic Ritual from your Path, research lores more in depth,
manipulate a local cult, get a Loremaster to answer a question.
Level 4 - Know where to find certain supernatural entities, research an
Intermediate Ritual from your Path, unearth a common
Thaumaturgical/Necromantic Path.
Level 5 - Access minor magic items, unearth an Advanced Ritual from your
path, unearth an uncommon Thaumaturgical/Necromantic Path, meet with a
demon/mage/spectre.
Level 6 - Research and unearth new or unheard of rituals or rites from tomes
or writings, research rare lores, get local occult practitioners to do
significant rituals, acquire minor magic items.
POLICE - Law enforcement personnel, jails, prisons, and police stations.
Level 1 - Gather police information and rumors, avoid traffic tickets,
understand a scanner, find incarcerated people, ask a
patrolman what he's noticed on his beat, get the police rumors.
Level 2 - Have license plates checked, avoid minor violations, get a cop to
keep an eye on your haven, know a desk sergeant at a precinct house, get rap
sheets, learn about current investigations.
Level 3 - Find bureau secrets, get copies of an investigation report, have
police hassle, harass, book, or detain someone, initiate a local or state
criminal investigation, call in a major helicopter search.
Level 4 - Access confiscated weapons or contraband; start an FBI/ATF/DEA/DHS
investigation; have serious charges dropped, frame someone for a felony,
call in a SWAT team, make a police station your haven.
Level 5 - Institute major multi-branch investigations, arrange
setups/stings, have officers fired, stop a local FBI/ATF/DEA/DHS
investigation, frame someone for a series of felonies.
Level 6 - Paralyze departments for a time, close down any investigation, get
someone put on or taken off of Ohio's Ten Most
Wanted list, create a secret illegal task force.
POLITICS - Elected officials; judges, sheriffs, mayors, state and
congressional representatives and senators, county commissioners, and City
Councils.
Level 1 - Minor lobbying, identify real platforms of politicians, find out
about major donors to campaigns, get campaign signage, buttons, stickers,
etc, get the political rumors.
Level 2 - Meet small time politicians, have forewarning of laws forthcoming,
get appointments with your representatives, get
demographic information.
Level 3 - Sway or alter political projects, manipulate local committees,
lunch with a suburban mayor or judge, get a quick
passport or permit, identify agendas of any elected or appointed official.
Level 4 - Enact minor legislation, dash careers of minor politicians, be a
major player in a suburb, run a local party PAC, be a City Councilor, start
a federal bar inquiry.
Level 5 - Get your candidate in minor office, enact more encompassing
legislation countywide, control a block of votes on City Council, be a major
obstacle to any candidate in the Domain.
Level 6 - Block the passage of major bills, suspend a major law temporarily,
use state bureaus or subcommittees, write a new state law, pick the Mayor.
STREET - Homeless people, street gangs, unorganized crime.
Level 1 - Have an ear open for the word on the street, identify most gangs
and their turfs and habits, know your way around homeless shelters, read
graffiti and understand it, get the street rumors.
Level 2 - Live mostly without fear on the underside of society, access small
time contraband/drugs, identify any illicit substance, know the Survival
obstacles of any given neighborhood.
Level 3 - Arrange some services from street people or gangs, get pistols or
melee weapons, get a building staked out by homeless watchers, put a rumor
out on the street.
Level 4 - Mobilize groups of homeless, have a word in almost all gang
operations, get shotguns or rifles, get a gang to protect someone, plant
drugs on someone with a pickpocket.
Level 5 - Initiate drive-by shootings, identify regular police informants,
start a small two-gang shootout, use the homeless as couriers/information
networks/infiltrators.
Level 6 - Instigate large scale gang riots, organize homeless
demonstrations, target businesses for looting, identify someone as an enemy
of the poor, boycott a homeless shelter.
TRANSPORTATION - By land, lake, or air. Cabs, buses, freeways, trains,
shipping, airports.
Level 1 - Know what goes where and why, know a cabbie/RTA driver/airport
employee/chauffeur, recognize shipments that are unusual or unscheduled, get
tickets for sold-out rides, get the transportation rumors.
Level 2 - Track a target who's using public transportation, arrange passage
within the Domain safe from mundane threats, get specific information from
transportation companies, have a limo available.
Level 3 - Seriously hamper a single individual's ability to travel, travel
inconspicuously, smuggle one small package every two weeks, have an armored
lightproof limousine available.
Level 4 - Shut down one form of mass transit for a day, have an entourage
with chase cars available, arrange trucker/pilot/shipping strikes, smuggle
one shipping crate every two weeks.
Level 5 - Reroute major modes of travel for two weeks, smuggle with
impunity, keep a helicopter on station, make someone fitting a description
unable to catch a cab.
Level 6 - Extend control to nearby areas (one county at a time), have a
private Learjet at every area airport, permanently close an airport/train
station/dock/truck yard.
UNDERWORLD - Organized crime; prostitution, arms, gambling, fraud,
extortion, auto theft, Mafia. Does not include smuggling or street gangs
(Transportation and Street respectively). All thugs are mortals; 6
physical, 4 mental, 3 social, 2 willpower, and 2 brawl and 2 firearms.
Level 1 - Locate minor contraband, find an illegal card game, know a hooker
that's not a cop, get someone's car stolen and chopped, know what to do with
a stolen credit card, get the underworld rumors.
Level 2 - Obtain pistols on short notice, go and get serious drugs, go and
get stolen cars, know a wiseguy, send someone a free prostitute, go and get
a few stolen credit cards.
Level 3 - Get 2 amateur local thugs to rough someone up for you, obtain a
rifle, shotgun, or submachine gun, know where a fence/chop
shop/whorehouse/illegal casino is.
Level 4 - Get 4 amateur local thugs to shoot a place up for you, have
white-collar crime connections, control a single crime ring for 2 weeks, get
a place immunized from organized crime.
Level 5 - Get 8 amateur local thugs to make someone disappear, arrange
gangland assassinations of non-made guys, get a professional firebug to burn
something down, get someone's car wired to blow up.
Level 6 - Get teams of local amateur thugs to tear 4 places apart at the
same time, get extensive organized crime connections, be the local Don, call
in a world-class professional hitman from Europe.
UNIVERSITY - Higher education, research, administration of colleges. Allows
you to gain publicly known information in all fields. You may find tutors
for all subject areas, including Crafts/ Performance abilities, lores, and
other skills. Additionally follow the rules at the beginning of the
abilities section for learning these skills.
Level 1 - Access to low level university resources; obtain copies of school
records, get students' social security numbers, identify experts in various
fields, get the university rumors.
Level 2 - Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or skills, get keys to
some buildings, fake a registered class schedule, identify the dorm rooms of
any type of student.
Level 3 - Faculty favors, fix grades, discredit a student, get a term paper
written, get an expert to spend time researching for you, 24 hour library
access.
Level 4 - Organize student protests and rallies, discredit faculty members,
get tenure, have a team of grad students attempt your strange project, send
in the campus cops.
Level 5 - Falsify an undergraduate degree, run of facilities, get a
fraternity banned from a campus, change campus policy, access rare books,
call it a snow day.
Level 6 - Arrange major projects, alter curriculum institution-wide,
rearrange facilities, fire tenured people, eliminate programs, have
buildings built.
