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A Venue Style Sheet for Vampire: The Masquerade

Part 1: Basic Information

Domain: CO-16-D
Venue: Vampire: The Masquerade
Venue Storyteller (Temp): Michael Dyer
Storyteller Contact (Temp): moc.liamg|hcrana.mac.revned#moc.liamg|hcrana.mac.revned
Games Times: 4th Saturday of the Month

Part 2: Styles of Play

Overall Game Emphasis
• Physical 3
• Social 3
• Mental 4

Action (Combat and Challenges) - 5

Whoever said that violence never solved anything was a pussy. It won’t solve everything but it has a good return value. Visceral combat can be anticipated for this game though a majority of it will be player driven. That isn’t to say that if you tempt fate it won’t kick your teeth in.

Character Development (Personal Dilemmas and Choices) - 9

This is an avenue of the game that most players truly enjoy. I ask that you are thoughtful in the resources that you provide for me in the forms of the CCD, your background and timeline, as well as downtimes and history scenes. Firstly, the more that you give to me the better prepared I am. Secondly, this will also help you understand and feel your own character. Those two things will contribute the most to what will get out of this aspect of the game.

Darkness (Corruption, Fear, and Horror) - 7

Your character does not occupy the World of Partially Cloudy there will be darkness and there will be death and much worse there will be corruption. There will also be consequences for your actions. The key here is to focus on how this world and these events truly affect your character. Joe the baby smashing Brujah with no conscience is not appropriate for this game. So have a conscience, have emotions, and have some depth. That is the hallmark of this venue.

Drama (Ceremony and Grand Story) - 7

There will be greater plots and motives at work in the game around you beyond what those slimy bastards in court provide. I like to divide my plots into episodic and arch paradigms. The more my players enjoy the overarching plots the more that I will bring into play.

Intrigue (Politics and Negotiation) - 7

In the Camarilla Kindred are encouraged to embrace their Humanity and to work collectively. All the while being back stabbed, setup, and used as pawns by those same worth teachers. The game of intrigue is high stakes in the Camarilla. You will have to wear many hats, balance many plates, and somehow still accomplish your own goals. Maybe there’s someone you can trust. If you find them keep them. They’re worth more than their weight in gold.

Manners (Social Etiquette and Peer Pressure) - 6

The etiquette and traditions of the Camarilla are older than most Kindred. So it stands to reason there is a whole lot of lip service being paid. Yes, many Kindred don’t like going through the outdated motions demanded of them but Elders react very harshly to change. The only good idea is to act right when necessary.

Mystery (Enigmas and Investigation) - 7

There are a myriad of things in this world to the open mind. Those multitudes are multiplied when something ground breaking like the existence of Vampires is added to the mix. A whole new world is open to you and most of it is beyond anything you considered possible, like the existence of Vampires.

PC Death – 6

There will be character deaths. They may be at the high or low points of a story. They may be because a character makes a very poor choice. Oft times it will be entirely player driven.

Pace (How quickly do stories emerge, develop, and come to an end) - 7

There will always be an exception to the rule but in the majority most plots will be a drag race. Expect some suspense and adventure as long as you are pursuing the plot.

Part 3: Description of Venue

Mood: Mystery, Enigmas, Ceremony, Conflict
Theme: Backroom Deals, Dark Alley Encounters,
The city of Denver has a rich and dynamic history. Originally a boomtown for silver and gold, it soon after made its name in sin and corruption. With known gang leaders openly owning politicians, and silver millionaires springing Victorian mansions throughout downtown the city was a despot of debauchery and luxury.
All things good or bad come to an end though. Criminals were run out of town or shot dead in the streets, and even silvers worth couldn’t be relied upon forever. When the market crashed so did Denver.
After all was said and done Denver was one of the largest cities in the West. The city diversified after that and welcomed military installations. Now boasting a strong, stable, and time tested economy and way of life Denver is a modern metropolis.
All the while the Kindred of Denver have had their hands in every honey pot they could manage. They are entrenched in this city and have no intentions of leaving any time soon.

Part 4: Storytelling Mechanics

Feeding

At check-in, each player will have two options:
The Feeding Challenge-
As per Laws of the Night Revised.
Mini-plots-
A player may draw from a deck of “Mini-plot” cards, check-in time allowing. Upon each card will be a number which can be modified by Herd or appropriate traits. The total is the PC’s Vitae gained from the encounter.
The purpose of the “Mini-plot” cards is to demonstrate the mystery of the World of Darkness while not taxing ST resources. Efforts will be made to incorporate these mini-plots into the overarching plots, so do not discount them.
These mini-plots represent the mystical, sinister and often random nature of the World of Darkness. One night your PC might get cursed by a gypsy or witness (or be subject to) a brutal attack, while the next game your PC finds a box of high-grade ammo or stumbles upon unsettling clues of something that roams the streets of Denver.
** If dissatisfied with the amount of Vitae in their character's Blood Pool, a player can make hunting challenges as per the MET rules. To sum up: 30 minutes will be spent out-of-game followed by a hunting challenge based on the methods used.

Costuming

As a brief note, live-action role play is greatly enhanced by good costuming. Conversely, vampires are by nature encouraged to blend in with mainstream mortal society. Players are encouraged to lean toward the OOC interests of costuming, rather than the IC interests of "blending in." This means that, barring a PC who looks decidedly monstrous and inhuman walking around as such in public, the ST staff will join with the players in exercising a certain stretch of suspension of disbelief in order to encourage the pageantry and spectacle of good costuming.

Downtime

In general downtime actions need to be sent to moc.liamg|hcrana.mac.revned#moc.liamg|hcrana.mac.revned in order to be awarded XP. However, downtimes can take many forms so feel free to speak with me about the format that works for you and what I’ll accept that works for me.
Side sessions – in the event that a group wants to gather to handle scenes face to face I will endeavor to make myself or an AVST available.

Pre-Casts

In order to expedite the check-in process the following system will be used for pre-casts.
A single successful ritual will be assumed to be cast for each dot of Occult on the casters character sheet. All pre-casts need to be noted on the involved characters character sheets and must contain at least the following:

Casters Name: ex. Tommy Tremere
Subject: ex. Tommy’s shoes, Gary the Gangrel
Summary: a short description of the power and relevant mechanics.
The costs for the rituals are also marked off your sheet at check-in.
To address the time it takes to cast some pre-cast powers a free hour of time before gathering will be given for casting.
A player always has the option to forgo this pre-cast system and throw challenges directly with the Storyteller. It is simply offered for the sake of expediency.

**Visiting Character Guidelines: **

All visitors who wish to play in this venue must provide the VST the following at least 24 hours prior to game time. (Exceptions will be made to the 24 hour rule, but only with good explanation)
- A Character Sheet approved by the Player's VST (This must include proof of MC, and any approval numbers that the character has. Please note, if there are any “Custom Approvals” the VST will require a brief write up as well as the approval number)
- If the character has any special items, signed item cards are required if the player chooses to use them.

Proxy

Proxies will be approved on a case by case basis with at least 48 hours’ notice to the VST. Proxies must include:
- Complete character sheet, preferably in Excel format.
- Full experience log; including creation log.
- Detailing of what the character intends to accomplish and how they intend to do it.
- Player’s presiding VST contact information.
- Approval numbers for all necessary items.

Experience Award Guidelines:

Characters will receive the following XP awards:
AFTER A CHAPTER (A Chapter being defined as playing any one character for a minimum of two hours per game session. No one player will be permitted to play more than one character per game session without express permission from the VST at least 72 hours prior to the game session.)
1- Automatic: Each player gets one point for participating in a chapter.
1- Costume: A player is wearing a costume that is befitting the character he or she is portraying.
1- Learning Curve: The VST will ask the player what his or her character learned during the chapter’s events. If the VST agrees with his or her response, the VST will award his or her character one point.
1- Roleplaying: The player did a good job of portraying his or her character, either entertainingly, appropriately, or both. If he or she veered too far from his or her character’s concept, he or she might not deserve this reward, but the VST won’t be stingy here. Indeed, superlative roleplaying might be worth two or more points.
1- Group Play: The player went beyond the norm during the course of the story, not only to help the game itself run smoothly but to encourage others to do the same. This point generally rewards out-of-character actions and can thus be awarded for any number of reasons, including but not limited to the following:
*Leading other players to remain in-character despite outside distractions
*Assisting in calm arbitration of combat or rule disputes,
*Helping new players and making them feel at home
*Providing essential props or other materials for the game.
1- Heroism: Characters who rise to the occasion with heroic (or anti-heroic) actions or feats of survival or sheer persistence deserve a point. The VST will not reward characters who act in stupid, belligerent or suicidal ways just so they can gain the accolades of a hero.
AFTER A STORY
Once a story has concluded, its aftermath provides moments of reflection or self-awareness that might warrant extra experience points, beyond those awarded for the final chapter.
1 - Down Time Actions: Any action between chapters that pursues interaction between characters, personal character growth /development, and pursuit in the progression of plot and story
1 - Success: The characters achieved all or part of their goals.
1 - Danger: The characters survived against harsh odds and grave dangers.
1 - Wisdom: The player, and thus his character, devised a brilliant plan or came up with a spontaneous solution that enabled the group to survive or succeed when it might have failed.

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