Guide to Character Creation for “Paris Dead in the City of Lights”

When making a character for the Paris Game, please follow these general guidelines;

Section 1 Getting Started

CONCEPT

Keep in mind that this is 18th century France. If you are not familiar with the period, think about the French Revolution, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Dickens and “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Ocrzy. Or you could just pick up any history text book. There are tons of literature available on the French Revolution, so by all means, do the research if you wish.

Your character should have a reason for being in Paris. This reason could range from saying that you were born there or as elaborate as saying you are a world traveler and just happened to be passing through. Also, keep in mind that this game highlights the Social aspects of the time (IE political intrigue). Think of this game as the night to night unlifestyles of the rich and famous. There are lots of opportunities to chase love interests, scandals or engage simple witty “one upmanships”.

ONLY CAMARILLA CHARACTERS ARE ALLOWED. Not only is your character to be a member of the Camarilla sect, but you are an ardent supporter of the Traditions. Sorry, no Assamites, Tzimisce or “Sabbat spy” types are allowed. The only clans I allow are; Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Tremere, Toreador and Ventrue. I ONLY allow players to play other clans once they have proven themselves to me and the group and I am reasonably confident that your playing a Non-Camarilla clan member will not disrupt game play. Please ask me to give you a run down on the clans, Camarilla and Elysium laws if you are not familiar with them. Characters are expected to be smart enough so as to not claim ignorance to the traditions. If you decide to break these laws, don’t come crying to me if another PC lops off your head.

CHOOSE A CONCEPT FIRST. What are you? Are you a swashbuckler? A rich merchant? An aristocrat? A member of the Bourgeoisie? A member of the clergy? An actress? A Physician? A thief? A member of the Royal family? Try to come up with something that suits the time period and please don’t make it too far fetched.

WRITE A CHARACTER BACKGROUND SECOND. Before you start filling in the dots on your character sheet, write a background for your character. The main book and some of the character templates in the clan books should give you an idea as to how to do this. Think about your character’s personal history and life experiences are like. You can make this as detailed or as brief (but not too brief) as you like. What were his parents like? How was s/he treated? Was he lucky enough to get an education? Etc…Check up on some history textbooks if you want the character to have actually taken part in some historical event. Maybe he fought in the Seven Years War or maybe she had a part in the French Queen’s diamond necklace scandal?

HINTS: Education was rare. Books were all handwritten (although the printing press was just recently invented). Those with our level of education were considered extremely rich and extremely fortunate. Catholicism, is still the major religion of France. Although there are others, other religions were viewed with some prejudice. Many of the social niceties were still considered to be birthrights (especially by elder vampires). Democracy and equal rights, are considered as budding social and economic reforms. These ideas are alien to most people. Gossip, gossip, gossip. The Parisians love to spread rumors, especially about the rich and infamous. Many of these rumors are either false or exaggerated. Sex and sexuality are commonplace. French people tend to make fun of other nations and other cultures. Witty repartees are engaged in regularly and sometimes spiral out of control where one challenges the other to a duel.

USE THE 3rd ED. CHARACTER SHEETS: Before you start filling in the dots, please write up a character background first (see above) and then follow the guidelines I have listed below. You might want to use a pencil when filling in the dots and have a sheet of scrap paper nearby to do some number crunching.

PLEASE DON’T: Please don’t expect your character to be lopping off heads every night. This isn’t DOOM. If you feel that this type of “social” game will bore you, then PLEASE STOP right here and right now. Nothing is worse than spending time on a character, bringing it to a game and then finding out then that my game sucks. Don’t create a character that is some kind of superhero. Don’t say that he IS the Scarlet Pimpernel or base him on some Holywood protagonist. Don’t claim that your character does spectacular things like “being the best swordsman in all of France”. Don’t claim to be the inventor of the steam engine or the printing press either. Keep your character simple, not “kewl!”. Try to create a character that is realistic and believable. A character that is larger than life at the beginning of the game sort of detracts from the mood and has a tendency to just annoy me and the other players. Also, don’t choose your Sire yet. Please talk to me about it first.

PLEASE DO: If you have any idea of the direction you want your character to go in, or if your character has a goal, please tell me about it. That way, I can integrate your agenda into the story somehow and

make you enjoy the experience.

ATTRIBUTES

15 DOTS TO DISTRIBUTE: You have 15 dots to spread out amongst the Attributes. You are not restricted to the primary/secondary/tertiary (7/5/3) distribution. You can spread them out however you wish (as long as its reasonable and suits the character).

ABILITIES AND SECONDARY ABILITIES

21 DOTS TO DISTRIBUTE: As with Attributes, you are not restricted to using the primary/secondary/tertiary distribution. In other words, you have a total of 21 points to spread out however you wish amongst ALL the abilities (Primary and Secondary abilities). The cost of the secondary abilities is the same as the primary abilities (this is contrary to the rules, yes I know). Please note however that this is the 18th century, so the computer and drive skills are not available as well as several others (skiing, pilot, etc…).

PLEASE DON’T: Do not give yourself an ability that is exclusive to other White Wolf games, INCLUDING the Dark Ages system (IE Larceny and Hearth Wisdom). I consider them as different systems. Stick only to those abilities that are listed in the 3rd. ed. V:tM rules.

PLEASE DO: I strongly recommend placing some dots in the Camarilla Lore ability. You are not obliged to do so, but I recommend it to allow for easier integration of your character in Camarilla society. Also, <> keep in mind that if your character comes from somewhere other than France, his default mother tongue is the same as the common language spoken in that country. So if your character doesn’t have French as his/her mother tongue, I would recommend buying up some levels of linguistics so that your PC can actually communicate with the other PCs and NPCs! The games are conducted in English, but it is assumed that the characters themselves speak in French.

BACKGROUNDS

0 DOTS TO DISTRIBUTE: Forget about backgrounds for now. I do backgrounds a little differently. I usually talk to a player beforehand and I jot down the backgrounds on the character sheet that make the most sense for your character. I only do this because I’ve had problems with backgrounds in the past and I've also expanded the Influence background and made it more specialized. Be advised that I have complete control over the PC's backgrounds. Meaning that I will increase/decrease them from story to story depending on what you do. For example, if you make a wise investment, your Resource background might increase. If you become a Primogen, your Status Background will increase. Players are NOT allowed to use their XPs to buy up more background points.

BTW, all players have an inherent 5 dots in the Generation background already. It is possible to play an 8th, 7th or even a 6th gen vampire.

DISCIPLINES

3 DOTS TO DISTRIBUTE: Nothing special here. You have 3 dots to spread out amongst your clan disciplines however you wish. Bear in mind that if you chose not to give yourself any level of a certain discipline, it just becomes more expensive to buy up later.

PLEASE DON’T: Don’t ask me to “swap” a clan discipline in favor of some other discipline. If you actually want an additional discipline, you must buy the appropriate Merit.

PLEASE DO: You might want to check with me for any house rules pertaining to the disciplines you have. You don’t want to be “surprised” in the middle of game play when you attempt to use it. The only mega tweaking I’ve done was with Thaumaturgy though.

VIRTUES

7 DOTS TO DISTRIBUTE: Nothing special here either. Since you will be playing Camarilla vampires you have the requisite virtues of Conscience, Courage and Self-Control. You have 7 dots to distribute amongst them.

HUMANITY AND WILLPOWER

As per the rules, your starting Humanity is the total of your Conscience + Self Control. Your starting Willpower is equal to your courage rating. For the willpower rating please fill in the SQUARES and not the circles.

Section 2 Aftermath

SPEND YOUR FREEBIE POINTS

Okay, now you have 15 freebie points to spend. You can spend them any way you like to increase any of your stats. Pay particular attention to your Humanity rating however. If your starting Humanity is below 6, it might be a good idea to increase it. Also, you might want to put a few freebie points aside in case you can’t get your Merits and Flaws to balance out (see below). The cost is as follows;

Attribute: 4 freebie points

Ability (Primary and Secondary): 2 freebie points

Background: NOT APPLICABLE

Discipline: 7 freebie points

Virtues: (I wouldn’t bother)

Willpower: 1 freebie point

Humanity: 1 freebie point

PLEASE DON’T: Try to be realistic when spending your freebie points. They are meant to fill in any “gaping” holes in your character. Also, keep in mind that most ordinary people have a Humanity of at least 7 and an average willpower of around 4 or 5. If you come to me with a character that has 4 humanity and 9 Willpower, I am going to raise my eyebrows. Also, abilities above 3 are considered “specialized”, meaning that your character has devoted a great deal of his life to honing, studying and perfecting that ability. This HAS TO BE explained in the character write-up that you did. And please don’t ask me to give you more freebie points just so that you can stand toe-to-toe with a player that has been playing in my game for 5 years. S/He had to start the game at the same level you are at. I know this sounds silly, but some players just can’t stand being the “weaker” one. This game is about having fun, not flexing your muscles and trying to figure out if your sheet of paper is better than another player’s sheet of paper. Don’t worry about being useful to the group. All you need to worry about, is trying to fit in.

CHOOSING YOUR MERITS AND FLAWS

The time now has come to choose your Merits and Flaws. ALL merits and flaws in ALL the supplements are admissible. (Dark Ages, 3rd ed, 2nd ed, clan books are all allowed including anything you can dream up). I do put a cap on them though. You are only allowed a MAXIMUM of 5 Merits and a MAXIMUM of 5 flaws. Let me clarify this, you can have up to 5 different merits as well as up to 5 different flaws. I expect them to balance out point wise. For example, you cannot have 14 points in merits and 6 points in flaws. Mind you, if you are 1 or 2 points over, I'm not going to call you on it.

PLEASE DON’T: Don’t go shopping! Merits and Flaws are supposed to add colour to your character, that is all! Don’t take things that you think will give you an advantage in the game and don’t take flaws that you will forget about in game, because I will penalize you for it. Don’t go crazy either. Some characters work perfectly fine with just having one Merit or even having no Merits at all.

PLEASE DO: Go back and re-read your character history to get a basic idea of what Merits and Flaws to take. If you are having trouble, please see me. I can definitely help you at choosing those Merits and Flaws that are suitable to your character by just reading your background.

ENVISION YOUR CHARACTER

Think about what your character looks like. What colour are your character’s eyes? Any birthmarks? What does s/he wear? Surf the internet or flip through some magazines if you have the time (Or you can just ask Angela, she’s really good at that). When it comes to game time, I will ask you to describe what your character looks like to the others. Try to be original. Oh! And please choose a name for your character!

PLEASE DON’T: Don’t give your character really stupid names. (IE “My character’s name is Bambi” or “My name is Wolfrider the Lupine Killer”). I mean…that’s just cheesy.

EQUIPMENT CARRIED

Jot down on the character sheet the items you strongly believe your character ALWAYS carries on himself (IE a gun, rings, a snuff box, a wig, etc…), as well as those things you believe he has ready access too (IE, a horse, a tent, a journal, etc…).

PLEASE DON’T: Believe it or not, but most people didn’t walk around with two broadswords strapped to their back in the 18th century. Be realistic. And if you want your Malkavian character to walk around with Elton John sunglasses, a rubber chicken and a leash for your imaginary pet dog, I WILL SHOOT YOU!

Section 3 Finishing Touches

SHOW ME WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

BEFORE THE GAME, either e-mail me your char sheet plus the story you wrote up for him, or call me so that we can reserve a time to go over your character. I will definitely have some questions and comments that I want to throw your way and you will most undoubtedly have questions of your own. I have final say on your character (I am the ST and that is my right)

PLEASE DON’T: Showing up to a session 5 minutes before the start of the game does not give me enough time to look at your character sheet. This process takes at least a couple of hours with you and I shooting ideas back and forth. This can be easily done via e-mail. Also, please don’t have your heart set on something in particular, (like wanting a werewolf ghoul or wishing to become the Prince). If there are things about your character that sets off warning bells in my mind I won’t be shy to tell you to “get rid of” or “tone down” a particular aspect of your character. I tend to ask some hard-to-answer questions, but please don’t get defensive. I’m here to help you have fun. If you accommodate me, I will most assuredly accommodate you.

PHOTOCOPY PLEASE

After your character has been approved by me, please give me a photocopy of your character sheet. I ask this for two reasons; 1) In case you lose your character sheet and 2) I can play your character in your stead in case you can’t make it to a session.

NOTHING IS SET IN STONE (YET)

If after a couple of sessions, you want to make some subtle changes to the character, by all means, please do so but INFORM ME FIRST! I am usually quite lenient at this stage, since I understand that you are trying to flush out your character. I will however, disallow any changes that either A) changes the entire character concept or B) changes a particular aspect of the character that is now fully integrated into the story (In other words, don’t ask to change something 5 months from now).

PLEASE DON’T: It really fucks up my story-line when a player decides that he wants to create a totally brand new character because the one he has now is boring him. Chances are, if you are that bored, a totally brand new character will not alleviate your boredom. If there are particular aspects about your character that you do not like, come see me so that we can fix the problem.

HOUSE RULES?

I tend to be a hard ass when it comes to Humanity checks. I usually warn the player before hand but I hold carte blanche on this. If there is a disagreement, the ST's call takes precedence. This is the only time any player will get into an argument with me. At any other time, I give the player the benefit of the doubt.

I have tweaked most of the disciplines a little. I can't write them all here because it will take too long. The only major ones I can think of are Celerity, Dominate, Fortitude and Thaumaturgy (Thaumaturgy being the most closely modified).

I use second ed. rules for damage. I am slowly trying to convert to the 3rd ed. rules, but as the Chronicle of Michelle can attest to, some players are not used to change. I tend to be very descriptive in combat and I apply the combat rules loosely and differently to each given situation so that the story can move with ease, so you will find that I am never 100% consistent. Personally, I don't think there is any RPG combat system that can simulate real life to 100% accuracy. I might say, "Well your fortitude is really high, so don't bother rolling to see if you soak" or I might say "The rat bites your hand causing 1 point of damage, roll your Stamina + Fortitude".

Whew, I hope that gives you a clearer glimpse into what my games are like. I can't think of any more house rules...Oh yeah, I use the 2nd ed. botch rules ;o)