Originally Posted by
Bennosuke
@Thunder: As stated before, it looks like you may have been using first edition rules. As far as the character concept goes, it’s not a bad idea. I don’t think ethnicity matters too much to the Vampire community, so if you know more about one of the two cultures, I’d prefer you lean that way. There are a lot of ideas you could flesh out with the concept; Touchstone is an old instructor, or maybe a specific gym/dojo/dojang/school. How would a Vampire handle empty hand fighting with mortals when bashing damage means so little to them, getting knocked out isn’t possible, and physical augmentation is so easy. Does the act of fighting make the character feel more human or less, and does this change their relationship with the martial art? From a stats standpoint, other than touching on what has already been mentioned; it appears your character has more stats in weaponry than brawl, which would mean the character has done some sort of weapons based martial art in my mind (fencing, Kendo, Kenjutsu, HEMA)… this is something that definitely would need to be fleshed out. The one dot in most of mental skills would need some explaining; why is he/she have experience in politics, science, occult and medicine? Obviously you have not finished the character (no merits… 10xp not spent), but the lack of social skills will make the character less useful in many scenes. I don’t think he/she is too combat oriented, you just have to recognize that many situations will be resolved with words, and your character will be less capable and have less defense against social maneuvers.
I will create a new character sheet for 2e, though I will still need help/advice, I'm sure.
#Ordo Dracule Primogen: Yoshihiro Yamamoto. A Burakumin who has gathered a cabal of Vampires of primarily Asian descent. Yamamoto avoids city politics, and to a small extent the Ordo members are greatly ostracized from City Politics. Many Kindred are afraid of an inevitable revolt, and there are rumors of the Dracule capturing young Kindred to fuel their arcane experiments.
If my character is going to be part of this, it makes sense to be Asian.
# Who was your character before they were Embraced? Did they have a family, and what happened to their mortal relationships after the Embrace?
Anna grew up an only child of an upper middle class family in Hong Kong, was a competitor in the world junior international wushu competition, but has studied several schools of martial arts. Her father and mother were murdered, victims of organized crime violence. She changed her major and became a police officer, looking to help eliminate organized crime from the city. As a detective, she moonlighted trying to track down those responsible for her parents' murder, in addition to her day job. As she got closer to discovering their identities, strange and creepy things started happening. She swore she was followed home from work, but the individual just walked on by when she reached her front stoop. A neighbor's cat was found strangled and hanging from her apartment block’s stairwell railing. She swore she saw shadows moving on their own out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked at them directly, everything appeared normal.
Eventually Anna, as part of the investigation into her parents' murder, discovered the prime suspects in her parents' murder killed horribly in a warehouse, ribs turned inside out (among other things), and it was quite obvious nothing human could have done what she saw.
She fled and returned with backup, but when the police returned, the warehouse was cleaned up with no trace of what she'd seen.
In addition to being reprimanded at work, the Triads concluded she was somehow responsible or at least related for the disappearance of their members. They threatened to ruin (or potentially hurt or kill) her fiancée (Daniel) unless she agreed to help them from inside the police force. In order to protect him, and more than freaked out by the strange and unexplainable things she has witnessed, she broke off the engagement (which nearly destroyed her) and fled to San Francisco, to pursue a masters degree.
Anna reconnected with her father's brother and his wife, who left Hong Kong in 1997 just prior to the handover. After realizing she could never work for the police in the US, she ended up teaching classes at several martial arts studios and police academies in San Francisco. That, combined with the inheritance and insurance from her parents, ensured her financial well being.
In the course of her studies, she delved into unexplainable phenomena, and caught the attention of the city's Kindred in her investigations, specifically a member of the order of dracul (Kenji Tanaka).
# What was the Embrace like? Were they forced into it? Why did they accept if they had the option? What was their initial reaction to being Embraced?
Over the course of several weeks, Anna met several times with the mysterious individual from Japan. Often some of the words he used seemed out of place, and though he was interested in her work and research, she always sensed that there was some kind of ulterior motive. Finally, he offered to assist her expand her knowledge, revealing his true nature to her. Anna, after her initial shock, thought only of the secrets which were there to uncover, and weighed them against the love she still held for her former fiancée, understanding that if she took the plunge, she could never be with him. With the engagement broken, and supposedly Daniel moving on, however, it seemed a relatively small price to pay. Tragically, it was only the following week that she ran into her former fiancée. He had moved to San Francisco to try and win her back.
# What was their fledgling initiation/training like? Who was their Sire and how did their relationship with their Sire grow/change/develop over this time? Did your character enjoy their new powers? How did they cope with the less savory aspects of being Undead? Why did your character join the Covenant they did, and what was initiation in this Covenant like.
0. The Embrace: Anna’s mind reeled with the possibilities. Kenji had just revealed to her that he was not entirely human. Of course she’d refused to believe at first, until he showed her. Vampires were real, they were researchers like her, but they were sworn to secrecy. Kenji Tanaka was born before her grandfather and remembered World War II, despite looking no older than 40.
“If I refuse, then what?” she asked.
“No one can ever know what I have told you, and we will never meet again,” he replied.
“
Would he kill me? I don’t think he would, but then again, who knows what he’s capable of… but this could be my one chance to discover all there is to know… but I would be giving up my family, my life, I could never see the sun again… but how many lives could I save from the things which exist but nobody really knows about, not just vampires, but the other things that are out there? I’m not doing anyone much good right now, honestly who would even miss me?
“I’ll do it,” she said, before she changed her mind.
He was on her in a flash, his heavier weight pushing her back onto the couch as she felt her chin lifted up slightly, exposing her neck. His fingers were cold, like ice. Before she even fully comprehended what was going on, Anna felt an intrusion in the soft flesh of her neck, and black spots appeared before her eyes as her blood pressure dropped. Anna gripped the back of Kenji’s head as a sense of calm and peacefulness came over her. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling more and more lightheaded as the seconds slipped by. Kenji paused, letting out a satisfied sigh, but that brief interruption was long enough for a niggling voice in the back of Anna’s head to gain a bit of traction.
“
Could almost be a Coke commercial,” she thought dully.
“
Wait, it’s too much,,” the voice said, as Kenji leaned over again.
Her vision began to blacken, and her limbs felt heavy.
“
I’m going to die, I don’t want to die,” the voice said, quietly at first, but then stronger and stronger, until she was overcome by the will to live.
Instinct kicked in, and she tried to fight, but there was no strength left in her body. A half clenched fist barely even made a sound as it impacted his ribs, and her left hand now fumbled with his hair, trying to pull him away, but he was so strong, and cold, like iron or steel. She was completely blind now, but she could still hear the sound of sucking and swallowing, and her own panicked breaths as she fought on, however feebly. Soon though, even those sounds grew faint and far away, and she dropped fully into unknown darkness.
She didn’t know what it was, but it was hot, and delicious, and she sucked it down as someone dying of thirst would a clear mountain spring. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped a lungful of air and held it before shuddering an exhale. She was on the carpet now, sitting up, and holding Kenji’s forearm in both hands. With a start she realized she’d been drinking from his slashed wrist, and she warred with herself between pushing it away in revulsion and drinking more. Quickly her thirst made itself known and she yanked his arm to her face again, greedily sucking down more of the viscous fluid and shoving aside thoughts of disease and the fact she was drinking _blood_.
Suddenly, Anna was overcome by a stabbing pain in her gut, which quickly spread to her entire body.
“What’s happening?” she asked, shocked at the hoarseness of her own voice.
“Your body is dying, it will all be over soon,” Kenji said, rolling down his sleeve.
Anna shuddered and convulsed in agony, for what seemed like an eternity, but what was in reality probably less than an hour before she finally lay still. Too still, she realized, she no longer had a heartbeat or needed to breathe. She sat up and noticed Kenji watching her from a chair across the room.
“I’m thirs-“ she said, stopping short when he held up a glass with more of the viscous red fluid in it. Shakily, she stood up and crossed the room on legs which didn’t seem to work quite right and accepted the glass without a word, drinking it down. It seemed to slake her need somewhat, but not as well as Kenji’s blood had. The remainder of the night was a blur of drinking more, and the start of her education at Kenji’s instruction.
1.
If there's a Hell, I'm in it. I'd never felt the kind of Thirst that came from the need for human blood. The promise of knowledge and secrets seems so empty and he should have _told_ me it would be like this! That and suddenly Daniel is back in my life, and I have to lie to him and tell him I don't care when I really feel like my heart is about to wrench itself right out of my chest. If this is what eternity will feel like, I'm not sure I want any part of it…
2.
Kenji has been patient with me, and I've settled somewhat. My aunt, uncle, and cousin seem to have accepted that I'm busy most days, and can only meet at night. The situation with Daniel is more difficult. Kenji has recommended I cut off all ties, that I will only hurt more in the end, and in my mind, I know he's right, but the heart is another matter... I.. I killed someone this week by accident, and talking to Daniel, I can sometimes almost forget what I am, almost...
3.
My aunt and uncle are headed to my cousin's graduation next month from private school. Family, children, it was something I knew I would give up, but I find this sense of… I want to call it longing, but really it feels more like jealousy. I should be happy for them, and I am, I swear... I just hope I don't meet Katie at a club now that she's 18, that would be awkward.
4.
I don’t want to stop seeing Daniel, but I’m afraid, afraid he’ll find out what I really am: a monster. I'm still meeting him on a semi-regular basis... but yesterday, I found a grey hair on his head. At some point he's going to start asking questions about my appearance, why it isn't changing.. I can only laugh them off for so long. I'll have no choice but to cut off all contact with him then. Oh please, let it be at least a few more years...
5.
Kenji has promised my formal initiation will happen within the month, so long as there are no more lapses in judgement. He says I will still be able to call on him for advice and help if needed, but I’m going to try not to. I already owe him so much…
# Describe your character’s personality and appearance. Please tie this in with their Mask and Dirge.
Anna Wu is Chinese descent, with cream colored skin and straight shoulder length dark hair, standing about 5’5 and about 120 lbs. She is fit, having kept herself in shape after leaving the police force. She has a great dislike of organized crime organizations, and respect for the police and others in public service. At this point she is trying to keep her head down in Kindred politics, and thus acts on the orders of others more than not. Deep down, she’s hungry to learn, feeling she can better protect others if she has fore-knowledge of things that go bump in the night.
Aspirations (request help on these):
See below character box
# Describe the character’s Touchstone. Make it clear why this person/place/object has such a high importance to the character.
Daniel Zhu is a lead engineer for a tech firm in Silicon Valley. He and Anna were engaged to be married, but she broke it off to protect him from the Triads in Hong Kong, despite believing him to be the love of her life. Due to a misunderstanding, she had thought he had moved past her when she decided to accept the Embrace, only to find out a short time later he was still in love with her when he showed up in San Francisco. Every time she meets him it is a reminder of what might/could/should have been, but it’s also bittersweet, as she’s torn between the feelings she still harbors for him and the desire to slake her Thirst with his blood. She knows someday she’ll be forced to either Embrace him herself, or watch him grow old and die, but she’s putting off the day of reckoning as long as possible.
Re: (OOC) San Francisco by Night II: A Requiem in Fog
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