Houses of the Kindred
Two posts. First the trivial one:
Ever since I read Houses of the Blooded, it seemed like a fantastic dramatic system that would also work for Vampire - a game tainted by the the "good effort" World of Darkness system. It's taken me far too long but it struck me on my last day in hospital how to make it work.
Make the disciplines work by results not mechanisms.
Using Obtenebration to help you hide? Sure, get 3 bonus dice to your pool. Using it to climb a wall? Get 3 bonus dice to your pool. Now we aren't worried about fitting mechanics around the discipline; you just make them aspects like everything else. Note also that the use of wagers to add details is fantastic for adding details of you manipulate foes/train your animal ghoul/drive them mad. Also note that this enables you to easily factor disciplines into long term actions (e.g. using your Dominate to build a network of informants).
In this rough draft, each discipline has three levels (although there's no reason older vampires acan't have more). Since HotB doesn't use experience, the initial concept is that disciplines develop over time (and with diablerie) as long as the vampire is active (no strong details here). Optionally, each discipline may have a bonus ability which can be bought instead of the third level.
[Tedious discipline stuff]_Animalism_
Aspects: "I speak to animals", "Animals defend me"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 1 blood/round
Catch: There need to be sufficient animals present.
Bonus: Whenever the character might frenzy (before any Courage roll), they can choose to aim it at another creature. Pool is Animalism vs Courage, difficulty 15. If either character fails they frenzy.
_Auspex_
Aspects: "I notice things" "I see the impossible"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: Examining someone or something costs 1 blood. Heightened senses can be reduced to shut out the noise (for peace or focus); doing so (to any level) or reactivating them costs 1 blood.
Catch: Having anything above the first level of Auspex active on continuously leads to sensory overload and distraction so sane kindred to learn to dull their senses. Even the first level is distracting in environments with lots of different signals.
Bonus: You can actually sense what's going on in nearby areas (up 200 yards away, through solid walls). Pool is Auspex, difficulty 10-30.
Note: Auspex cannot actually read auras or minds, but seeing minute details or reading small nuances of body language can make it seem that way.
_Celerity_
Aspects: "I move fast", "I fight fast"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 2 blood/round
Catch: Activating more than the first level is obvious supernatural speed.
Bonus: You can travel long distances at speed. Each 2 blood is one mile travelled in 10 seconds. This can only be used to travel known paths (the more difficult the path the more it needs to be known). The instinctive reflexes that enable this ability also stop it short if an unexpected obstacle appears.
_Chimistry_
Aspects: "Let me help you see things clearly", "This is an illusion" [ok, needs work]
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 1 blood per level per use
Catch: Only affects one person. Extravagant or ongoing illusions may require additional blood.
Bonus: Your illusions affect all those present if you spend 2 extra blood.
_Dementation_
Aspects: "My dreams in your waking mind", "There are patterns"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9. Dementation when used as an attack is not used with any other ability so this becomes the dice pool (normal Aspects can be invoked).
Cost: 1 blood per level per use
Catch: The user must look at the target, and must succeed at a Courage roll (difficulty 10/13/16 depending on the level invoked) for it to work successfully.
_Dominate_
Aspects: "You obey me" "I control you"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9. Dominate is not used with any other ability so this becomes the dice pool (normal Aspects can be invoked).
Costs: 1 blood per use
Catch: The target must be able to hear and understand you. The victim does not intrinsically know they have been compelled, although circumstances may make them wonder.
Bonus: Anyone who has drunk the user's blood can be Dominated from across a room without words (costs 3 blood).
_Fortitude_
Aspects: none
Each level: adds a health level. It increases the amount of time necessary between feeding.
Costs: no extra costs
Catch: Foreign bodies are ejected where possible, absorbed otherwise.
Bonus: You heal one wound per minute for free (this is automatic). You can survive on animal blood. Mostly.
[The Feeding table is one of the few strong mechanics.]
_Obfuscate_
Aspects: "I am concealed", "I look like someone else"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9.
Costs: 1 blood for every 2 people present (approx; user has vague idea after spending one blood how much is needed)
Catch: Doesn't affect anyone in the immediate vicinity (e.g. more than 100 yards away).
Bonus: By annointing them with your blood, you can conceal up to your level in willing creatures as long as they stay within 20 yards of you. You can see each other; mostly.
_Obtenebration_
Aspects: "I move shadows" (level 1) "The shadows DO things" (levels 2-3)
Each level: Gives an Invoke bonus (+3); level 3 adds to the Invoke bonus (another +3)
Costs: 1 blood per round (level 1), 2 blood per round (levels 2-3)
Catch: What shadows ARE they?
Bonus: What is in shadow becomes as clear to you as if it was daylight and you can control patches of shadow 25 yards across.
_ Potence_
Aspects: none
Each level: adds 1 to your blood pool and the amount of blood you can spend per round (default: 10, 2)
Costs: none
Catch: This has the same benefit as Generation without the drawback.
Bonus: You get the aspect, "I am strong."
_Presence_
Aspects: "I am attractive", "I am terrifying"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 1 blood/round
Catch: Amazingly, none.
Bonus: You can wield Beauty or Courage defensively in combat
_Protean_
Aspects: "I am wolf", "I am bat", "I am mist" (level 3 only)
Each level: lets you Invoke one of the above.
Cost: 1 blood/use
Catch: The user must actually change, or partially change, form to get the benefits of the discipline. A change cannot be made reactively. Protean is not as overtly powerful as some, but can be used in a wide range of situations.
Bonus: The user can spend 3 blood to use Protean reactively.
_Vicissitude_
Aspects: "I change me", "I change you"
Each level: adds one Wager
Cost: 2 blood per use
Catch: Using Vicissitude for anything other than destruction requires time and Wisdom.
Bonus: You can quickly adapt yourself into a known form (takes 1 vulnerable round). You effectively get +1 health level and +1 Strength per level of Vicissitude.
Necromancy, Quietus, Serpentis and Thaumateurgy I consider all to be forms of sorcery and as such require special rules. And keeping away from PCs until such time as they're written! My theory is that Thaum is special because it uses blood inside the body, while other sorcery requires outside sources of blood.
__General concepts__
Vampires wake each night with a full blood pool. They don't need to feed to fuel their abilities.* Instead they just have a hunger which needed to be satiated. Every [X] days, they need to eat or they become Hungry (-1 on all rolls). [X] days without eating after that they become Starving (-2 on all rolls) and are constantly close to frenzy. The next stage is torpor. X is determined by Fortitude, and a chart which hasn't been made yet.
A normal feed is about half a pint (less for small vampires!). A full feed, to go from Starving to Hungry or Hungry to normal, requires draining a body dry; although half a pint from a dozen sources would also work. A desperate vampire can voluntarily become Hungry to refresh his blood pool; or Starving to refresh half the blood pool.
Any vampire can spend 1 blood to get +1 to any ability except Courage and Wisdom for the scene.
Vampires by default have a blood pool of 10 and can spend two blood per round. Potence can increase these. My inclination is to use, in some form, blood potency from Vampire: the Requiem as well but it might be covered by Potence anyway.
* From that point of view, it's worth considering dropping the blood pool altogether and just going with Style points as written in Houses of the Blooded. It would certainly encourage dramatic behaviour.
Ever since I read Houses of the Blooded, it seemed like a fantastic dramatic system that would also work for Vampire - a game tainted by the the "good effort" World of Darkness system. It's taken me far too long but it struck me on my last day in hospital how to make it work.
Make the disciplines work by results not mechanisms.
Using Obtenebration to help you hide? Sure, get 3 bonus dice to your pool. Using it to climb a wall? Get 3 bonus dice to your pool. Now we aren't worried about fitting mechanics around the discipline; you just make them aspects like everything else. Note also that the use of wagers to add details is fantastic for adding details of you manipulate foes/train your animal ghoul/drive them mad. Also note that this enables you to easily factor disciplines into long term actions (e.g. using your Dominate to build a network of informants).
In this rough draft, each discipline has three levels (although there's no reason older vampires acan't have more). Since HotB doesn't use experience, the initial concept is that disciplines develop over time (and with diablerie) as long as the vampire is active (no strong details here). Optionally, each discipline may have a bonus ability which can be bought instead of the third level.
[Tedious discipline stuff]_Animalism_
Aspects: "I speak to animals", "Animals defend me"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 1 blood/round
Catch: There need to be sufficient animals present.
Bonus: Whenever the character might frenzy (before any Courage roll), they can choose to aim it at another creature. Pool is Animalism vs Courage, difficulty 15. If either character fails they frenzy.
_Auspex_
Aspects: "I notice things" "I see the impossible"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: Examining someone or something costs 1 blood. Heightened senses can be reduced to shut out the noise (for peace or focus); doing so (to any level) or reactivating them costs 1 blood.
Catch: Having anything above the first level of Auspex active on continuously leads to sensory overload and distraction so sane kindred to learn to dull their senses. Even the first level is distracting in environments with lots of different signals.
Bonus: You can actually sense what's going on in nearby areas (up 200 yards away, through solid walls). Pool is Auspex, difficulty 10-30.
Note: Auspex cannot actually read auras or minds, but seeing minute details or reading small nuances of body language can make it seem that way.
_Celerity_
Aspects: "I move fast", "I fight fast"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 2 blood/round
Catch: Activating more than the first level is obvious supernatural speed.
Bonus: You can travel long distances at speed. Each 2 blood is one mile travelled in 10 seconds. This can only be used to travel known paths (the more difficult the path the more it needs to be known). The instinctive reflexes that enable this ability also stop it short if an unexpected obstacle appears.
_Chimistry_
Aspects: "Let me help you see things clearly", "This is an illusion" [ok, needs work]
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 1 blood per level per use
Catch: Only affects one person. Extravagant or ongoing illusions may require additional blood.
Bonus: Your illusions affect all those present if you spend 2 extra blood.
_Dementation_
Aspects: "My dreams in your waking mind", "There are patterns"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9. Dementation when used as an attack is not used with any other ability so this becomes the dice pool (normal Aspects can be invoked).
Cost: 1 blood per level per use
Catch: The user must look at the target, and must succeed at a Courage roll (difficulty 10/13/16 depending on the level invoked) for it to work successfully.
_Dominate_
Aspects: "You obey me" "I control you"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9. Dominate is not used with any other ability so this becomes the dice pool (normal Aspects can be invoked).
Costs: 1 blood per use
Catch: The target must be able to hear and understand you. The victim does not intrinsically know they have been compelled, although circumstances may make them wonder.
Bonus: Anyone who has drunk the user's blood can be Dominated from across a room without words (costs 3 blood).
_Fortitude_
Aspects: none
Each level: adds a health level. It increases the amount of time necessary between feeding.
Costs: no extra costs
Catch: Foreign bodies are ejected where possible, absorbed otherwise.
Bonus: You heal one wound per minute for free (this is automatic). You can survive on animal blood. Mostly.
[The Feeding table is one of the few strong mechanics.]
_Obfuscate_
Aspects: "I am concealed", "I look like someone else"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9.
Costs: 1 blood for every 2 people present (approx; user has vague idea after spending one blood how much is needed)
Catch: Doesn't affect anyone in the immediate vicinity (e.g. more than 100 yards away).
Bonus: By annointing them with your blood, you can conceal up to your level in willing creatures as long as they stay within 20 yards of you. You can see each other; mostly.
_Obtenebration_
Aspects: "I move shadows" (level 1) "The shadows DO things" (levels 2-3)
Each level: Gives an Invoke bonus (+3); level 3 adds to the Invoke bonus (another +3)
Costs: 1 blood per round (level 1), 2 blood per round (levels 2-3)
Catch: What shadows ARE they?
Bonus: What is in shadow becomes as clear to you as if it was daylight and you can control patches of shadow 25 yards across.
_ Potence_
Aspects: none
Each level: adds 1 to your blood pool and the amount of blood you can spend per round (default: 10, 2)
Costs: none
Catch: This has the same benefit as Generation without the drawback.
Bonus: You get the aspect, "I am strong."
_Presence_
Aspects: "I am attractive", "I am terrifying"
Each level: adds to the Invoke bonus. +3/+6/+9
Cost: 1 blood/round
Catch: Amazingly, none.
Bonus: You can wield Beauty or Courage defensively in combat
_Protean_
Aspects: "I am wolf", "I am bat", "I am mist" (level 3 only)
Each level: lets you Invoke one of the above.
Cost: 1 blood/use
Catch: The user must actually change, or partially change, form to get the benefits of the discipline. A change cannot be made reactively. Protean is not as overtly powerful as some, but can be used in a wide range of situations.
Bonus: The user can spend 3 blood to use Protean reactively.
_Vicissitude_
Aspects: "I change me", "I change you"
Each level: adds one Wager
Cost: 2 blood per use
Catch: Using Vicissitude for anything other than destruction requires time and Wisdom.
Bonus: You can quickly adapt yourself into a known form (takes 1 vulnerable round). You effectively get +1 health level and +1 Strength per level of Vicissitude.
Necromancy, Quietus, Serpentis and Thaumateurgy I consider all to be forms of sorcery and as such require special rules. And keeping away from PCs until such time as they're written! My theory is that Thaum is special because it uses blood inside the body, while other sorcery requires outside sources of blood.
__General concepts__
Vampires wake each night with a full blood pool. They don't need to feed to fuel their abilities.* Instead they just have a hunger which needed to be satiated. Every [X] days, they need to eat or they become Hungry (-1 on all rolls). [X] days without eating after that they become Starving (-2 on all rolls) and are constantly close to frenzy. The next stage is torpor. X is determined by Fortitude, and a chart which hasn't been made yet.
A normal feed is about half a pint (less for small vampires!). A full feed, to go from Starving to Hungry or Hungry to normal, requires draining a body dry; although half a pint from a dozen sources would also work. A desperate vampire can voluntarily become Hungry to refresh his blood pool; or Starving to refresh half the blood pool.
Any vampire can spend 1 blood to get +1 to any ability except Courage and Wisdom for the scene.
Vampires by default have a blood pool of 10 and can spend two blood per round. Potence can increase these. My inclination is to use, in some form, blood potency from Vampire: the Requiem as well but it might be covered by Potence anyway.
* From that point of view, it's worth considering dropping the blood pool altogether and just going with Style points as written in Houses of the Blooded. It would certainly encourage dramatic behaviour.