- backgrounds (p. 1)
To be approved every character needs to set backgrounds pursuant to the
guidelines provided in the pages of this +news file. (The mechanics of setting
backgrounds are explained at +help char/bg.) Being able to express yourself in
words is an important part of MUSHing, so while your character's backgrounds
need not (and should not) be a novel, they should be articulate. These
backgrounds are how you introduce your character to the staff and players of
this MUSH. Backgrounds do not substitute for role-play, but they serve as an
important catalyst.
The following are the backgrounds which are
available:
secret mortal vampire camarilla
anarch occult brujah
gangrel
malkavian nephilim nosferatu toreador
tremere ventrue downtown
long-beach
north-o.c. santa-monica south-central south-o.c.
torrance
valley
- ---------- backgrounds (p. 2) ----------
The SECRET background is the most important background, and it is required
of all characters. The SECRET background is information which only Architects
and you will ever see. This background should be a concise summary in which the
history of your character is broken down into key events. At a minimum, all of
the following questions, as applicable, should be answered within the body of
the SECRET background:
1) What was your mortal childhood like? Your full
birth name?
2) What sort of person were you before the Embrace?
3) How did
you first discover vampires, and what effect did this have on you?
4) What
role, if any, did your sire play in your early nights?
5) What role does your
sire play now? What sort of relationship do you have?
6) Why is your
character in Los Angeles?
7) What is your character's attitude towards other
vampires?
8) What is your character's attitude towards humans?
9) What is
your character's attitude towards vampirism in general?
10) What are your
character's long term goals?
11) How does your character hunt? How does it
survive night to night?
12) How has your character acquired what it has?
(E.g. Resources, Herd, Influence, etc.)
The use of bullet points is
highly recommended for your SECRET backgroung as its sole function is to help
staff understand your character at a glance. Players wishing to write a 4-page
narrative about their character's history are encouraged to do so. However, they
should store that information in a separate attribute or series of attributes
(e.g. &BG1, &BG2, etc.) and put a reference to those attributes in the
SECRET background.
- ---------- backgrounds (p. 3) ----------
All other backgrounds are viewable by both Architects and other players.
These should be crafted with attention to introducing your character to those
players with access to that background.
All characters need to set a
MORTAL background. All characters will have access to this background, and it
should set forth that information which ordinary mortals might reasonably
discover about your character.
All vampires will need to set a VAMPIRE
background. Only characters with Vampire Lore 2 will have access to this
background. The information provided by this background should reveal what
vampires in Greater Los Angeles might reasonably know about your
character.
All vampires will also need to set either a CAMARILLA or
ANARCH background, but it is preferred that both are set. These backgrounds are
locked to the relevant lores at 2. The information provided by these backgrounds
should reveal what Camarilla and anarch vampires in Greater Los Angeles
reasonably know about your character. Keep in mind that if your character is
known for aggressively enforcing the Camarilla traditions, then among the
anarchs should know your character as an enemy. And vice versa.
- ---------- backgrounds (p. 4) ----------
If your character is a vampire, you will need to provide a background for
the domain in which your character resides. These domain backgrounds include
DOWNTOWN, SOUTH-CENTRAL, SANTA-MONICA, et cetera. These backgrounds are locked
to the relevant lores at 2. These backgrounds should reflect what the vampires
in the domain reasonably know about your character. You should also set a domain
background for each domain in which your character might be known by its
vampires.
If your character is a vampire, you will need to provide a
background for the clan to which your character belongs. Clan backgrounds
include VENTRUE, MALKAVIAN, NOSFERATU, et cetera. These backgrounds are locked
to the relevant lores at 2. These backgrounds should reflect what the vampires
of that clan reasonably know about your character. If a clan other than your own
has special knowledge of your character, then you should provide a clan
background for that clan, too.
The final background is OCCULT. This is
what mortals involved in the occult communities of Greater Los Angeles might
reasonably know about your character.
- ---------- backgrounds (p. 5) ----------
The following are examples of some backgrounds:
SECRET: * Born
'Robert Matthew Myers' in 1960 in Seattle. Grew up on the wrong side of the
tracks.
* Football star in high school, but none too bright.
* Got into
drugs and started hanging out with a bad crowd. Graduated, got a job in a Boeing
plant. Coming home from the plant one night, an impulsive Brujah neonate (Billy)
embraced him in 1984. Billy left Seattle with Bob before any of the local
vampires noticed the illegal embrace.
* Slowly migrated down the West Coast.
Bob took well to being a vampire, but his sire always grated on him. His sire
was too unpredictable for m.
* Sire brought him down to L.A. in 1989. Billy
was banished in 1992 by Prince Julian for breaking the Masquerade in a public
brawl which Bob set up.
* Feeds mostly on people who are really doped up.
Likes the feeling.
* Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
MORTAL: Bob Matthews
is often seen wandering the streets of Northridge, lost in a drug-induced haze.
He frequents pawn shops and porn theatres, and is ultimately nothing more than
another face in a seamy underbelly of the San Fernando Valley. He doesn't even
have a job.
VAMPIRE: Bob, a neonate Brujah, has made quite a name for himself
as a bodyguard and protector. He lives in Prince Julian's domain, and can
usually be found in Burbank. He's rumored to have a hair-trigger temper, and
some people have said that he was embraced up in Seattle back in the 1980's.
- ---------- backgrounds (p. 6) ----------
More examples of some backgrounds:
BRUJAH: Bob is not one of the
great pillars of our clan, but he does show promise. He hires himself out as
muscle to Princes and Primogen of all blood, though that mercenary streak may be
the result of his old neonate sire, Billy the Brujah, who Prince Julian cast out
of the city about 1992. Bob seems to have avoided most of Billy's more impulsive
traits. He's good in a fight, and all other things being equal, he'd probably
help out a clan mate, which is more than I can say for some of the Brujah in
this city.
CAMARILLA: Well, at least this one stays bought. His loyalties to
the Traditions are unquestionable, so long as he's compensated for his efforts.
I hear that Prince Julian, and that Toreador seneschal of his, sometimes use him
as hired muscle to keep the anarchs in check.
VALLEY: Bob's sire, Billy, was
something of a wild one. Some were beginning to talk about him being an anarch
around the time of the Los Angeles Riots in 1992. Bob and Billy had a falling
out about then. In the midst of it, Prince Julian banished Billy from the
Domain. The exact reason is no commonly known, but Bob has supported his Prince
ever since.
ANARCH: Bob's sire, Billy, is known by some to be a wild anarch
who travels from city to city in Northern California, managing to leave cities
just before the Prince has cause to seek his destruction. Rumor has it that he
currently abides in Oakland. Bob is not like his sire. He is a slave to his
elders.
- chargen guidelines (p. 1)
This is the basic Vampire Chargen Process, laid out in a step-by-step
summary.
1) Concept: Figure out who your character is. Write their
Background. Select your nature and demeanor. Make sure to check +explain
<clan> to note your character's clans and resultant abilities. Note: Your
character cannot have been Embraced before the age of 18.
2) INITIAL
ASSIGNMENTS: Attributes get assigned 7/5/3. Abilities get assigned 13/9/5. You
get 1 free dot in each of your home lores (vampire, domain, clan, sect). Your
willpower starts at 3.
3) DISCIPLINES. Every vampire starts with three
clan disciplines. The character starts with three dots to distribute in these
disciplines.
4) SANGUINIS: Sanguinis starts at 1.
5) BACKGROUNDS:
Characters receive 5 points to distribute into Backgrounds.
- ---------- chargen guidelines (p. 2) ----------
6) DISADVANTAGES: You must take one subhuman Beast Trait and one Subhuman
Inhumanity Trait. (Malkavians take a Monstrous Inhumanity Trait).
7)
FREEBIE POINTS: Each character starts with 15 freebie points. 3 additional
points may be taken if the character takes an additional beast trait. 3 more
additional points can be taken for taking an inhumanity trait. (Ergo, the
maximum number of freebie points you can have is 21) Freebie points can be used
to purchase statistics according to the following scale:
Attributes:
5
Abilities: 2
Lores: 1
Backgrounds: 1
Sanguinis: 6
Disciplines:
7
Willpower: 4
6 (or 8 if vampire) Language Points: 1
8) If you have
experience points to spend, you may spend them according to the formulae shown
on the next page.
- ---------- chargen guidelines (p. 3) ----------
9) To buy something with experience point costs as noted below. The notation
10,x7 means that buying that item at level 1 costs 10 experience points, buying
further levels costs 7 times your current level - eg, level 3 will cost 14
experience points. The costs noted below apply only to vampire characters in
chargen. See +News Systems/Experience for experience points costs for
expenditures after character approval.
Attributes --,x4
Abilities
(except Lores) 3,x2
Home Lores 2,x1 (Domain, Clan, Vampire, Sect)
Other
Lores 3,x2
Backgrounds 5,x5
Additional Thaum Path 7,x4
Clan Discipline
10,x5
Non-Clan Discipline 10,x7
Caitiff Disciplines 10,x6
Ritual Level
of ritual x 2
Willpower --,x2
5 Language Points (Chargen Only) 1
- downtown apps (p. 1)
As a preliminary matter, before you read this you should have already read
+news domains/Downtown. The Downtown domain is a sprawling one, and includes the
oldest parts of the city, and the most developed. It is the center of civic,
legal, and industrial power for the Greater Los Angeles Area, though it shares
purely economic power with the Domain of Santa Monica. It contains Hollywood,
with all the glamour and decay that entails (+news Theme/Hollywood). It is a
realm where the enterprising vampire can find great opportunity not afforded in
the more restrictive, traditional Domain of Santa Monica, while avoiding at
least most of the dangers inherent in living in South Central. Prince Emerson
rules aloofly, primarily through his Seneschal and his Primogen. Downtown takes
all kinds, and Hollywood makes them famous.
- ---------- downtown apps (p. 2) ----------
Character themes which will be looked upon favorably are characters with
religious overtones, characters with an edge of malice, and
duplicitous/conniving characters. Downtown is a cosmopolitan and treacherous
place. The most prominent clans in the domain should be Malkavians, Toreador,
and Nosferatu, though all Camarilla clans will be accepted. The Domain is open
for Neonates of all clans. Just enter Chargen and follow the directions, except
for Tremere Neonates who must follow the application process (+news
Applications/getting a character).
For availability of other
application-only characters, please review the Casting Call BBS (+bbread 6) and
+feedback/request with your inquiry. (See '+help ooc/feedback.)
- features (p. 1)
Feature characters on Los Angeles: A House Divided are not necessarily just
elder characters with lots of statz. There are elder application characters who
are entirely free of the obligations that come with being a feature, and there
are important features who are only rank neonates. A feature character on this
MUSH is a character that is, in one way or another, an important part of the
central theme and stories of the city. Most characters with appreciable
standing, regardless of age, will likely be features. Features include
seneschals, primogen, the childer of elders, and other characters who figure
prominently into the backstory of Los Angeles.
What makes the difference
between a feature PC and a regular or Application PC are the "three
restrictions." Every feature spot carries with it these three restrictions
to one degree or another, and any player with a feature character is expected to
cooperate and comply with these restrictions when necessary.
- ---------- features (p. 2) ----------
The three restrictions are:
PLOT RESTRICTIONS: These restrictions are the
most limiting, and restrict what you can do with the character once you begin
playing them. The severity of plot restrictions is usually a function of a
character's power. Elders should likely check (or at least check in) with their
RegArch or a ThemeArch before doing anything particularly disruptive or
flamboyant, while less powerful features should probably work to keep their
RegArch informed of what is going on through regular journal updates at the very
least.
BACKGROUND RESTRICTIONS: These restrictions are not so much
"restrictions" as things that must be included in your background.
They include contacts and history that you have with the rest of the vampires in
the city, with the rest of the world, and in the mortal world. Background
restrictions can also include periods of torpor, as well as age and country of
origin. Some personality traits may fall under Background restrictions, but most
will fall under Theme.
THEME RESTRICTIONS: These are restrictions on the
concept and mood of your character. A Theme restriction on a feature slot can
influence your character's stats (including beast traits), your character's
thoughts and philosophies, his or her views on vampirism, on the Camarilla, as
well as his or her approach to problem solving in general. Theme restrictions
can come up in play if staff feels that your character has departed too much
from its original concept, or if there are serious conflicts with the theme of
the MUSH.
- ---------- features (p. 3) ----------
Staff will work with a player applying for a Feature Spot to make the three
restrictions as unencumbering as possible. Features will often have additional
IC information above and beyond that present in the +news Lores files to which
they have access, and may have considerable power levels. Great power calls
for... you know the drill. Please have patience and an open mind with your
RegArch and any ThemeArchs when applying for a Feature Spot, and we promise that
we will try to have the same.
- getting a character (p. 1)
So you want a character? Well, you have found the right +news item! Anyway,
first step: +request a character object. See +help ooc/request.
If you
wish to play a basic neonate vampire (5 to 50 years old) or a mortal human, no
special application is needed. With your +request'ed character object, enter
Chargen off of the Green Room. From that point on, Chargen will guide you
through the character creation process. If this is what you are doing, then you
do not need to read further.
Childe vampires (0 to 5 years old) and
ghouls go through the neonate vampire and mortal Chargen, respectively. However,
they must be made together with other vampire characters. Any new childe vampire
or ghoul to an existing vampire already in the game should enter the game first
as a mortal human and then be embraced or ghouled through In Character
role-play. If this is what you are doing, then you do not need to read
further.
If you wish to play a vampire older than 50 years old, a
Tremere, or any character with experience points or powers beyond those allowed
in Chargen, then you will need to write a full background and send it to us via
email: archs * lamush.net (do the @ thing for the '*'). We will not be accepting
a vast amount of these characters, as they are not the norm. But if you stick to
the guidelines that follow, then you will have the best chance of being
accepted. Please continue reading this file.
- ---------- getting a character (p. 2) ----------
Background is the most important thing for your character. Actually,
Background *is* your character. We are always (and pretty much only) interested
in non-stereotyped, 3-dimensional application characters who will add to the
Role-Play and take responsibility for developing stories in Los Angeles. Give
your character a good reason to be in the Southland. This is the land of
Hollywood; the possibilities are limitless.
It is important, since we are
not using the rules from any of the other White Wolf games (+news theme/white
wolf), that you have not had close contact with any other supernatural beings
which might give you any knowledge beyond the information you can read in +news
Theme/other supernaturals. If it is absolutely vital to your character concept
that this is included then please talk to one of the RegArchs or ThemeArchs (see
+stafflist) online before writing your app so as not to waste your
time.
Look to the +news Applications/<domain name> to find out what
each domain is looking for.
All in all, be sure that you are well versed
in our +news files. Keep in mind our theme (+news theme), our history (+news
undead), the domain to which you're applying (+news domains), and the power
levels of this MUSH (+news applications/power levels). Also, please read +news
FAQ/apps.
- ---------- getting a character (p. 3) ----------
So, in your application we would like you to include, at a bare minimum, the
following.
1. Your email address. This will be kept private. (+news
policies/privacy)
2. Character Name
3. Clan (for
vampires)
4. Nature and Demeanor
5. A full background including
mortal life as well as any background since the embrace (for vamps). It should
follow the guidelines set forth in +news applications/backgrounds.
6.
Preferred Domain (if applicable.. if you don't mind then just put
'any')
7. A proposed set of statistics for your character that itemizes
how application experience points where spent to increase the stats above the
base chargen template . For more guidelines on stats, type
"+news/next".
- ---------- getting a character (p. 4) ----------
When statting your character, use the standard Chargen process (see +news
Applications/Chargen) before applying any XP. When XP is applied, no more than
50% of starting or accumulated XP can be spent on disciplines. No discipline can
be increased beyond the maximums shown in the chart below. There are five basic
categories of non-Chargen level experience on this MUSH:
CATEGORY: AGE:
XP: DISCIPLINE MAX:
Senior Elder 300+ 275-290 5
Elder 200-300 190-210
5
Senior Ancilla 150-200 125-150 4
Ancilla 100-150 75-90 4
Senior
Neonate 50-100 10-40 3
Neonate 5-50 0 3
Childe 0-5 0 3
Just to be
clear, you /cannot/ get an extra 25xp just for being 101 years old. The age
guidelines are just that: guidelines. Typically elders will start with 2 extra
levels of base Sanguinis, and ancillae will start with 1 extra level of base
Sanguinis. Elders will also start with at least 1 extra Beast Trait and 1 extra
Inhumanity Trait where either or both is Monstrous. Ancillae will start with at
least 1 extra Beast Trait -or- 1 extra Inhumanity Trait. Please note that you
are permitted to pick your character's additional Inhumanity and Beast Traits
only if you select a Stigma for each additional trait. Otherwise, your approving
Architect will select these extra traits for you.
When you are finished
with your application, mail it to 'archs * lamush.net' (replace '*' with '@').
Staff will work with you to integrate your character into the backstory and give
you links to other PCs and NPCs as appropriate.
- non-camarilla vampires
Forget it. We aren't accepting applications for non-camarilla vampires at all.
Any applications for non-camarilla vampire that haven't been specifically
invited by a RegArch will be rejected without even considering their merits.
- power levels (p. 1)
One thing we hope to avoid on LA is stat inflation. On some MUSHes, it seems
that every Ventrue has Leadership 4, every Toreador has Performance 5, and every
Tremere has Willpower 8+. Not here. We believe that exceptional stats are just
that, exceptional. They will not be granted lightly. In terms of Abilities,
think of the scale of 0-5 generally representing the following:
0:
Typical untrained human
1: Typical trained human
2: Typically highly
trained human
3: Exceptionally talented human
4: One of the premier
experts living
5: One of the most exceptional experts EVER to walk the
earth.
Disciplines are extremely powerful here. Unless you have an
application character, your character will not have any discipline over 3. That
should be more than enough. See +news Systems/disciplines and powers. Like
disciplines, a little bit of Willpower goes a long way in our game system.
Willpower for Chargen vampires is generally between 3 and 4 and not much higher
for application vampires.
The scales for attributes (which are rated
slightly differently than abilities) is on the next page.
- ---------- power levels (p. 2) ----------
Attributes are handled differently than abilities, because everyone starts out
with one dot in everything. (Except the ugly Nosferatu, but they are an
exception to the rule.) Try to think of the scale of 1-5 generally representing
levels of development along the following scale:
1: Low aptitude with no
development, bottom 20% of the population
2: Human average, the middle
21-70% of the population
3: Well-developed or high natural aptitude, upper
71-95% of the
population; professional class.
4: Extraordinary and
highly developed endowments
5: Legendary beauty, charm, endurance, or
intellect.
Scores of "5" in attributes are rare, and usually
cannot go unnoticed. Examples of possible "5" rank individuals
include: Albert Einstein (Intelligence), Helen of Troy (Appearance), Bill
Clinton (Charisma), and Michael Jordan (Dexterity).
In sum, we are
relatively frugal in granting exceptional stats. So please, when putting
together your character, keep in mind that we are trying to limit stat
inflation. If we do not permit your character to have a high level stat,
remember that we attempt to be uniform in our limitations and permit few
exceptions. High stats mean something here.
- santa monica apps (p. 1)
"If you stay in Beverly Hills too long, you become a Mercedes."
-Robert Redford
Santa Monica is the center of Los Angeles' Ventrue Elite.
The "West Side" (please read +news domains/Santa Monica) is the home
of Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air. It is the trendiest part of the city,
a sort of urban suburb where the Soccer Moms have Soccer Nannies and Soccer
Housekeepers. Prince Acton rules this domain fairly traditionally, with a great
deal of ceremony and formality, but always dressed up to be oh-so-casual. Santa
Monica is probably the center of vampire politics in the city, and its chief
Elysium, the Getty Center, is oftentimes more crowded than LACMA. The primary
clans of this Domain are Brujah, Ventrue, and Tremere. Nosferatu should be few
and far between. Also note that Santa Monica is, by design, supposed to have the
fewest number of vampires of any of the active domains.
- ---------- santa monica apps (p. 2) ----------
Characters intended for the Santa Monica Domain may be of any background,
but preference will be given to characters who demonstrate either the trendiness
of so many nouveau riche, or the elegance of old money. Both are present in the
domain to great degree. Santa Monica isn't all wine, money, and elegance though.
There are seedy areas down by the Airport, as well as parts of Palms and Venice.
Prince Acton is picky about whom he allows into his domain, however, and your
character should at least meet his minimum standards of decency and respect for
the Camarilla Traditions (+news Undead/traditions).
Neonates of all clans
are open. Simply jump into Chargen and follow its directions. This availability
includes Tremere Neonates, however Tremere players must follow the application
process as set forth in +news Applications/getting a character.
For
availability of other application-only characters, please review the Casting
Call BBS (+bbread 6) and +feedback/request with your inquiry. (See '+help
ooc/feedback.)
- south central apps (p. 1)
Before you even consider applying for a character in the Domain of South
Central, it is of the utmost importance that you read the +news. Specifically,
you should review +news theme/anarchs and +news domains/south central. South
Central is not a happy place by any stretch of the imagination, and the addition
of vampires has made it even less so. The vampires who live in South Central are
the malcontents of the city, people not welcome in other domains. These vampires
are not all anarchs, but violence is much quicker in the streets of Paramount
than in the galleries of West Hollywood.
But even in the face of these
realities, it is not the purpose of South Central on this MUSH to be an
"anarch war zone." Prince Chance rules this domain with a firm hand;
anything less would invite chaos, and retribution from the other Princes. But
South Central is a big place. A vampire who is willing to keep a low profile can
have a lot more leeway to pursue his or her own ends here than in Santa Monica,
and there is less chance of discovery than in Downtown. The most common clans in
this Domain are the Nosferatu, the Brujah, and the Gangrel, but practically
anyone can choose to live here without fear of reprisal. If there are any
Caitiff in the city, they are likely located either here or in the Valley. (And
as the Valley is not yet open to RP) South Central is the most crowded and
fractious of domains.
- ---------- south central apps (p. 2) ----------
It's important to note that while we certainly encourage a certain amount of
"pure anarch" applications, South Central is /not/ an
"anarch" domain. It is a Camarilla domain that contains both Camarilla
and anarch vampires. The Anarch Free States do not exist, and Chance Marshall is
the Prince under the Traditions and through the Treaty of La Cienega. That said,
preference for applications will be given to well-thought-out applications that
play upon the complexity of walking the anarch-Camarilla divide. Preference will
also be given to applications submitted:
1) As part of an applying
coterie
2) As a member of an existing coterie
3) After working with staff
to integrate the character into the existing social structures.
Please
bear in mind that South Central has a large "minority" population -
consider how your character fits into the mortal as well as the vampiric
landscape. The mortal world is more important in South Central than in other
domains. Also consider the effect of the area's violence on your character, and
perhaps what he or she was doing during the 1992 riots, or the 1965 riots if the
character was around then.
Neonates applications are currently available
for all clans except Tremere. You need only enter Chargen and follow the
instructions. For the availability of any Tremere or any older and more
experienced vampire, please refer to the Casting Call bulletin board (+bbread 6)
and communicate with South Central (RegArch), then follow the procedures set
forth in +news Applications/getting a character.
- welcome (p. 1)
Here are some tips to help orient you on getting started in the game:
* Look through the +bbread BBS groups and select the ones you would like to
read (+bbjoin #) and monitor (+bbleave #).
Note you can +bbcatchup # to clear unread flags. (See: +help bbs)
* To get around the grid, see +help ic/map, +help ic/taxi, and +help ic/drive.
* To locate RP places, see: +hangouts, +help ooc/yp (e.g. +yp/list elysia)
* There are rumors circulating! See: +help social/rumor
* If you speak languages, see: +help char/lang
* To see what you might know of another character, see: +news char/bg
* To spend willpower to improve success: +help ic/willpower
* How strong are you? Look at: +strength
* Take the exit from the OOC Green Room into "Housing" to get an apartment.
* From the Green Room, use +ooc and +ic to toggle in and out of the IC grid.
* The best way to request things from staff is with +feedback
(e.g., requesting a weapon) - +help ooc/feedback
* For weapon requests, see: +news combat/weapons
* Feel free to ask question on the =newbie channel or =public.
* A journal should have been created for you in your inventory.
look journal for more information.
If you do not have one, +feedback to your RegArch.
For next page, use: +news/next (or +nn)
- ---------- welcome (p. 2) ----------
You are not a vampire.
Note this game focuses on vampiric plots, and thus you are actually the subject of
+news menu.
Yes, you should be afraid. We strongly encourage players to have a vampire character
even if you also play a human, as you will likely not have a good idea of what is going
on in the game very much.
We also take the masquerade "for granted" here -
it's not a thematic focus, and vampires are afforded a degree of assurance in
many locations that they can speak freely of their world. You are welcome to use
this time to become familiar with the grid, the players, and domains to better
decide what sort of vampire you would like to create.
That said, Welcome
to the game!
