Prologue: Everything

It was 3 AM when he pulled me out of the ditch. Rain was running muddy down the sides, foaming and sloshing.

The rain was goddamn cold, but felt warm compared to my insides.

[i]She was starving, her eyes so much redder than the clay pouring into the pit. A few weeks ago, I would have said it looked like blood.

Now, I know better.[/i]

We stole a car. I'm not clear how we did it, but it was a rusted old black hulk with a dead man in the back seat.

I don't know if we killed him.

[i]The highway went on forever. We flew by green signs, grainily lit in the humid-again night. The music on the stereo was loud and desperate. I think she picked it.

Or maybe the man in the back seat did.[/i]

I think I saw it first. A sudden constellation of lights in the distance. Color and wonder and promise, strung between spires and bridges of cold gothic stone.

Everything I needed was there.

[i]Her eyes lit up, not red this time but a gorgeous, natural color. The city sparkled in her eyes, and I thought, for the first time since I died, [/i]this is going to work out[i].

Everything I had was her.[/i]

Never Let Go

1- Rock'n'Roll Requiem

Your life has been stolen, which is okay because you never liked it anyway. It only took a moment of seduction or betrayal or simple goddamn stupidity.

The important part? You're a monster, a vampire, one of the literal God Damned.

[i]Vampire: The Requiem[/i] is billed as a "modern gothic storytelling game." And your story is pure sad passionate ass-kicking rock and roll.

This document is part proposal, part getting started guide. Basically, this is how I'm looking at the game. You don't like something, you got questions, you come to me. This is meant to be a collaborative process (even more than our other games), and I want to hear your input.

Setting information in here is somewhat spotty. That's part by design, part by virtue of me not wanting to rewrite the Vampire core book here. I'm happy to answer any questions, but keep in mind that your characters will be newbies.

2- We Belong to the City

You're the two newest kids on the block. You met in some goddamned deadwater town, a recently-embraced boy pulling a just-embraced girl out of a ditch. You hit the road, and just before dawn you hit town.

For our purposes, the city does not have a name. It's the nameless, gothic monstrousity you've seen a hundred times before- in [i]Batman[/i], in [i]The Crow[/i], in [i]Underworld[/i]. Myriad highways and skywalks whiz between skyscrapers clutched by gargoyles.

The city does not have a name. It simply [i]is[/i]. And it only [i]is[/i] by night. If it's still there in daylight, you've never seen it.

3- Something Wicked

You're not the only predators in town. There are a bunch of other fuckers, and they've been there longer. From the blood-drenched communions of the Lancea Sanctum to the Victorian intrigues of the Ordo Dracul, there are plenty of some[i]things[/i] in the shadows, and they may well want a piece of you.

4- More than Kin, Less than Kind

This is a two-player game. As such, we're going to be doing character creation slightly differently. Here's the overview, from a comfortable cruising altitude of 20,000 feet:

  1. Character concept
    • Decide between the two of you which of you pulled the other out of the ditch. This character has a [i]little[/i] more experience with vampirism, and most likely remembers his Embrace more clearly.
    • Think about what kind of a person you are.
    • Pick Virtue and Vice.
    • Pick Clan.
    • Pick a name.
    • Come up with soundtrack suggestions, especially ones which you feel highlight your character.
    • Come back to me to talk this over.
  2. Game preparation
    • Together, we'll stat your characters. (My usual rule will be in effect: the first session is a "pilot", and character sheets can be revised afterwards if you like.)
    • You'll write up the emotion cards for your fellow player.
    • We'll plan your lair. Although it's not something you'll have at the start of the game, the lair is a deeply personal reflection of your characters, a part of their world that looks back with their own face. As such, it deserves advance consideration.

One important thing to remember is that your characters are complimentary. Your abilities and personalities should leave room for overlap and contrast. You are the stars, so chemistry and seeds of conflict are important.

Virtue and Vice

Each of you has a virtue and a vice. These define the highs and lows of your character, the acts which revitalize him or her almost as much as warm, sweet blood.

Pick one of these virtues:

  • Charity
  • Faith
  • Fortitude
  • Hope
  • Justice
  • Prudence
  • Temperance

And one of these vices:

  • Envy
  • Gluttony
  • Greed
  • Lust
  • Pride
  • Sloth
  • Wrath

The Clans

There are five clans of Vampire. Whoever brought you into this creepycozy nightlight world was one of them, and now you are, too:

  • [b]Ventrue?:[/b] A young clan, born among the senates and carnivals of Rome. Decadent and full of love of power.
  • [b]Nosferatu?:[/b] Fear attends these walkers in darkness. Whether horribly disfigured or masters of subtle terror, they are monsters among monsters.
  • [b]Gangrel?:[/b] Creatures of wild ferocity and animal cunning. Beasts they are, lest beasts they become.
  • [b]Mekhet?:[/b] Quiet things which lurk behind masks and curtains. Keepers of secrets and thieves of whispers.
  • [b]Daeva:[/b] Masters and victims of beauty and lust. They love others with their bodies to fill their own loveless hearts.

Humanity

Let's be honest. You're only pretending to be a human being, even if you've convinced yourself. You're God's bastard now, but it still feels good to act alive.

Thing is, vampires are stuck with the very same past they've been torn from. When an emotion floods over a vampire, it's not new- it's some moment of his past come back to haunt him.

So this is where we're going to do something a little different. When you guys name and create your characters, try to think about what [i]kind[/i] of a person they were, rather than the specific details of their history.

Bring me a name, a virtue, a vice and a clan. And decide between the two of you who pulled who out of the ditch. Write a brief paragraph or two about how you were transformed into a vampire. And tell me what you wear now. What you look like. It'd be great if you could find a picture to show me your face.

Then, we're all going to share this stuff. You'll each write for each other, in secret, paragraph-sized flashbacks for the following emotions:

  • Love
  • Anger
  • Loss
  • Safety

Also, you'll write one each for each other's virtue and vice.

I'll use these at various relevant points in the game.