Best posts made by Bobotron

Vampire Society
The Republic of Blood is a bit of an oddity, particularly in what it is in the modern era, compared to what it was during the formation. It has grown from a ‘Republic within a Republic,’ focusing on a law and structure that somewhat mimicked the Roman Republic, that has survived and evolved over the centuries. In the modern nights, each city is effectively its own city-state, with a local government (the senate of princeps and the consul at the top, with various positions below that such as praetor and others) above them, and then the Senatus Sanguinem above that, dealing with vampiric matters on a larger scale.

• Consul: The highest office within a large city, the consul serves as the ‘ultimate authority’ in a city-state. Elected by the princeps (below), they are granted a term of 50 years by default, though may serve many consecutive terms (particularly if not ousted or opposed by the princeps). Consuls are, in addition to the ultimate authority in a city, in effect the senators for a city in regards to the the Senatus Sanguinem. The Consul gains a number of Positional Status, including Authority, Commander and Eminent.
• Princeps: The heads of the Houses within a given city, they are generally determined internally by House politics. Generally, they are the oldest vampire among the patrician class, though the princeps can be from any class, as long as their appointment is agreed upon by their House. The Princeps gains the Positional Status Noble and Established.
• Dictator: A position only brought up in times of great need such as a heavy war, the Dictator is a temporary magistrate with extraordinary powers, nominated by the consul on the recommendation and confirmation of the princeps. The Dictator gains all the powers and Positional Status of the Consul, plus the additional status Empowered.
• Praetor: The praetor handles the legal disputes, contracts and agreements between vampires in a given city; anything not recognized by the praetor, if disputed, has no legal standing within the Republic of Blood. Debts, in particular, are recorded by the praetor for future reference, in order to maintain stability of the Republic. The praetor gains the Positional Status Prominent and Privileged.
• Legatus: The legatus handles the civil defense of the Republic’s holdings from night to night, commanding the Legio Sanguinum or other warriors under his command. The legatus gains the Positional Status Enforcer and Guardian.
• Aedile: The vampire who holds the position of aedile is responsible for the ‘public works’ of the vampiric world, keeping things like the arenas, baths, fora/meeting houses and other projects that are specific to the vampire world running. The aedile is often a coveted position, as it is one that, performed correctly, shows to the patricians and the princeps that the vampire in the position is viable for further political uplifting and trust. The aedile gains the Positional Status of Noble and Guardian.

Vampire society and hierarchy is also divided up into three distinct ranks:

• Patrician: The name patrician is a bit of a hold over from the times of Rome, but it ultimately boils down to the same meaning: the fathers of the Blood Drinkers, those of great merit, age, power, or all three. Blood drinkers who have comported themselves in such a way as to impress the city hierarchy and/or their House’s hierarchy, can be named a patrician. Typically, a vampire cannot quality for patrician status until they have attained 250 years in the Blood, or have undergone some extraordinary service for the Republic. Patricians gain the Innate Status Confirmed, Established and Privileged.
• Plebeian: The common folk of the Houses of the Blood, these make up the largest majority of vampires. While they may hold offices, they are ones who have not distinguished themselves in some manner. Plebeians have no Innate Status other than Acknowledged as a valid member of society and a member of a House.
• Peregrini: Those who either a)have disgraced themselves and have been punished by being cast out from the main line of society, but have not been named Pariah by the Consul or the Senate; or b) are vampires but are not able to prove/claim lineage to one of the Nine Houses. Peregrini are afforded some loose rights but not many, and are forced to live on the fringes. However, those who are peregrini can recover their status or become recognized, but it is a long and arduous road.
• Pariah: A term used to represent those who have been cast out and afforded no protections, with an accompanying execution orders or other summary justice. Being named a Pariah is a death sentence for a vampire.

Status and Vampire Society
One of the major things that I want to do with this game, in addition to giving an outlet for supernatural action in developing a somewhat-more-open CvC and CvE action setup, is to allow for political play. In a single-venue game, particularly one based around a society where status, recognition and propriety were extremely important, I would feel remiss in not dealing with this.

In many Vampire RPGs, status is rated simply as a ‘rating’ and perhaps with a benefit, but is very rarely something that is extremely important and has actual effects on the world and society. Status on Houses of the Blood is planned to be different; rather than simply a numerical ranking, Status represents a recognition for a character that has weight behind it. Much like a Queen in medieval England wielded their Sovereignty, Status is something a recognized vampire can wield in order to get things done. Status comes in four forms:

• Positional Status: Positional Status is granted by holding some position in the Republic and the city hierarchy, and this Positional Status is the weight that characters in those positions can ‘pull’ to get things done, both passively and actively, to laud others and to punish others. The consul, the princeps, and the legatus are all positions that grant different Positional Status to do their jobs.
• Innate Status: Innate Status represents some trait from a vampire’s recognition or birth, such as being the descendant of some famous vampire or recognized as a patrician. Innate Status is social recognition separate from the hierarchy of a city.
• Fleeting Status: Fleeting Status represents temporary recognition, granting a vampire a specific benefit under the auspices of a patron. Typically Fleeting Status is social recognition, but once the weight is pulled for it, the ‘weight’ is gone.
• Negative Status: Negative Status is used as a punishment, a declaration to all that the vampire in question has been punished and a method for those in the hierarchy to ensure the punishment does not go unfulfilled.

@prototart

I think that may have been restart #2; the addition of the future grid went smoothly from what I recall as plotstaff at the time. But I moved cities about six months later and it was gone when I was ready to come back to MU*ing after a move-hiatus, so I dunno.

@Ganymede
K2 stole the show, I'll say that.

Other Supernaturals
Other supernatural creatures and organizations exist in the world; often in Pax Noctis or other unofficial arrangements with the Houses of the Blood. Many wars have been fought among the vampires and other supernatural (and even humanity, and among the various supernaturals themselves) because of breaches of the Pax Noctis or other accords. Or lack of such accords in general.

• Witches: Humans that are capable of accessing ambient energy in the world, and accessing magic in a variety of forms. Males and females are equally magical. Overseen by the Grand Conclave, who monitors types of magic and magical actions and keeps organization of the witches worldwide. The second most numerous of all types of supernatural (after Therians), and the most organized, on par with the Houses of the Blood in their Republic of the Night.
  Inspirations: The Craft, Charmed, The Secret Circle
• Bygones: Mythical creatures that have existed into modern times, believed to be a creation (or in many instances, the offspring) of Incarna. Mythological creatures such as Manticores, Minotaurs,Gorgons, and others fall into this; in the modern nights, these are mostly able to take human form, and those that can’t lend to urban legends such as the Mothman or Sasquatch. They are not really ruled by a higher-up organization, as they (along with the Arisen) are the least populous of the supernatural world; they often have Councils within a city, but have no organization from location to location, banding together in small communities for mutual safety if they’re not at war internally. What they lack in numbers, however, they make up for in sheer power.
  Inspirations: Grimm, Lost Girl, Gargoyles
• Fae: Dreamstuff and story given life by humanity’s collective unconscious, brought into the world and given form, they are related, loosely, to Bygones. Everything from Celtic lore like Wisps and Sidhe to Japanese youkai like tengu and kitsune fall into the Fae moniker; inhuman in nature, they are able to manipulate their forms to look human (though those who 'see' the world, such as the insane, see their true forms). They are linked by Courts: Light (going by other names in many countries such as Seelie, Summer, or West, ultimately the beneficent, if aloof and punishing, fae) and Dark (Unseelie, Winter, or East, the dark and self-absorbed, and those who are mischief-makers to outright destructive). Fae are the most numerous of supernatural types, but also the most closed-off.
  Inspirations: Lost Girl, Supernatural, Changeling the Dreaming, Ushio and Tora
• Therians: Humans that have the ability to transform into animals and animal-human crossbreeds; vampires have little knowledge of why they are this way. They often have internal accords, and certain Therians have affinity for each other, but typically only mix if necessary; otherwise, they are as xenophobic among type as they are among outsiders. Therians have had the most antagonistic relationships and open battles with other supernaturals outside their race as a whole.
  Inspirations: Bitten, True Blood, Underworld
• Arisen: The restless dead exist, in the form of ghosts and magically-raised zombies of varying types. The Arisen are different from those, a true, thinking undead being, the result of a human who died with too much regret and duties unfulfilled. Their spirits are unable to rest, and their bodies rise, and they reanimate: stronger, faster and more powerful in order to exact their vengeance and unfinished business. Some bring back a taint of the Afterlife with them, the vampires refer to as the Curse of Orcus, granting them greater power -- for great price to their bodies and sanity. Arisen are the smallest of the known supernatural world, and have no great society; many are solitary or mobile, living out their lives. The only cities known to have enough Arisen to make accords with are old cities rife with death (in the US, one of those is New Orleans).
  Inspirations: The Crow, Hellraiser
• Incarna: Beings created by the power of human belief; in the same manner as Fae but much more powerful. Typically they represent themselves as deities, demigods, demons and angels. Vampires believe that they were created by the curses and ability to affect the fabric of the world, of three Incarna. Major Incarna do not act in the modern world; minor Incarna have been reported to do so, claiming to be demigods, angels and demons. Incarna can empower humans as their servitors.
  Inspirations: Scion, Supernatural, Charmed

Human Organizations and Other
On the flip side, there are human groups that are enemies to all of the supernatural world, often at war with or investigating the various supernaturals:

• Order of the Silver Cross: Believing they are chosen by a higher power to defend humanity, the Order is an offshoot of the old Inquisition from the Dark Ages, dedicated to the elimination of the supernatural. They have developed processes and the ability to make weapons and equipment that effect supernaturals in the same manner as their banes, and their agents are called Exorcists.
• Thousand Nights Brotherhood: An organization of vampire-worshipers, though they have mysterious goals regarding vampires, as they have been known to kidnap weaker plebian and sometimes even stronger plebian and patrician vampires. No one knows for what purpose, though the Brotherhood often shows some access to vampire powers and strengths in their raids, so obviously some experimentation is going on. One rumor from House Axius’ historical records and theorycrafting states that they are an apocalypse cult, trying to end the world and bring about their ‘thousand nights’ namesake.
• Section 7: A group within the United States government that handles the government's oversight of all supernatural in the US. They are both an oversight and military organization, and have divisions that work with the alphabet groups of the US Government. Secretive, they have had very little open warfare with the supernaturals. Though that doesn't stop them from wielding the US military against supernaturals when necessary. Every city that has at least one major group of supernaturals has a branch of Section 7.

@cupcake

Published by WEG, it uses a success-based d6 pool system based on the D6 system.

@Catsmeow
I'll light a candle and send good vibes your way. Much luck!

@Songtress
That issue is the same on any game that has stats, coded or not.

I plan to use an XP floor for new players, and a general cap on XP gained per month overall, so that new people aren't flat new build. They won't have the same as someone who is active each month but they won't be brand new converted Blooded either. I haven't posted anything about the underlying system yet because it's still being worked on but I'm looking at a comparison to get a percentage of success, then for every 10 that is rolled under that default (which at +/-0 is 50%) is a success for damage or higher gains in a general roll.

ETA: I'm also looking at a potential alternate combat baseline, which is more based off of the OWoD quickstarts (roll d6s equal to stats, 4+ is a success) and do count-vs-count successes on attacker vs. defender, with other things modifying appropriately. I am still running tests, but the compare-to-get-% I think works decently (I did it at one TF game and it worked out pretty well). No system, of course, is perfect and the variances of dice or any RNG is going to skew things occasionally.

@ganymede
Why do you want to make @faraday cry, Gany?

@Apu
I can get why on some of it; they were expecting something a certain way and didn't. I think on this, which is the Extended Edition, we have some more Joker-based footage to make it look less of an issue. Harley was alright; it's still no BtAS Harley, which is best Harley, but Margot Robbie did a pretty good job.

(I went on a movie buying binge 'cause I had gotten coupons from Best Buy, Target had a sale, and I had some gift cards). Got Spirited Away, Suicide Squad, Kubo, ST Beyond (I LOVE THE BEATS AND SHOUTING), The Magnificent Seven, and Dracula Untold.

I am sorry if I threw off your outing schedule.

@mr-johnson
Corrolary to this: Star Wars that is a single faction. Everyone is Rebels. Everyone is Empire. Everyone is in the Bounty Hunter Guild. Something that makes people WORK WITH EACH OTHER.

@Admiral
Comic Croc is only like 7 feet tall, it's not like he's Godzilla. I think only the Arkham series has made him SUPER noticably huger than normal people.

Hey all. It's been an insane week. I have done some edits to the pages here (I added some stuff into the previous posts via edit, so go back through and re-read the first page)

The Houses - Expanded

It's been a slightly insane week. I finished the writeups for the Houses; there is more but this should give a feel of what the Houses are and what they are about. I have also reduced the number of options; I was writing things and went 'well, I am having overlap; too much' and reduced it to 6 playable houses.

• Aurelius/Aurelia: House Aurelius looks for particular qualities in its potential new members, qualities that their founder, Lucius Aurelius Nerva, embodied and sought out in others. House Aurelius focuses on those who exhibit leadership qualities, a keen eye for social situations (and intrigue), are well spoken, and have a certain capacity for subterfuge. House Aurelius finds those qualities a powerful resource to ensure the House's survival, and prefer the erudite to be drawn into their ranks: businessmen, politicians, public speakers and others of such a bent, though any with a keen ambition may be sought by those of the House. The House pushes its members to be ambitious (and often, its members come from ambitious and affluent mortal existences), and due to this, there is much rivalry between members of the House for position, status and control of resources.
  • Founder: Lucius Aurelius Nerva (sired by Titus)
  • Symbol: A crowned helm
• Axius/Axia: A patrician by birth, a scholar by choice, the founder of House Axius, Quintus Axius Allectus, was an extremely intelligent individual. His house, House Axius, prides itself on maintaining those traits, drawing in those of a scholarly bent; those with a high intellect, a keen wit and mind, and the ability to 'read between the lines' of the world and get to the truth. They draw from the ranks of scholars, and mark themselves as the historians of the gens sanguinis, believing that, without the study of history, one is doomed to repeat it. In addition, their predisposition towards the mental realms make them excellent researchers, and many of the House branch out from history into researching other topics, often various areas of the supernatural that are unexplored and uncatalogued, even into the modern nights.
  • Founder: Quintus Axius Allectus (sired by Titus)
  • Symbol: A quill
• Claudius/Claudia: The spiritual aspects of the world are part of the life of most all intelligent beings, and vampires are no exception. Founded by a Vestalis who Licenia took under her wing after an attempted assault, House Claudia was founded by Lucretia Claudia Apelles, drawing a spiritual aspect into the Blooded. Originally bringing in much of the Roman spirtualism and worship, House Claudia draws from the pious, the religious and the spiritual, seeking to be a sort of 'spiritual beacon' to the Houses, maintaining their temples and rituals. As the ages have passed, the House has integrated aspects of many faiths and beliefs into the 'religion' of the Blooded, grounded in ancient Roman worship and the belief in being cursed by the Gods of Rome. House Claudia also works with House Axius in regards to the spiritual and magical research of the Blooded's history and existence.
  • Founder: Lucretia Claudia Apelles (sired by Licenia)
  • Symbol: A three-piece wing
• Gaius/Gaia: The sword and shield of the Blooded, House Gaius is descended from a Legatus, Marcus Gaius Seneca, who was brought Into the Blood to add to the martial capabilities of the Blooded during a war with the Therians in ancient Rome. House Gaius believes in the strength of the physical, drawing from those with strong physique and strong convictions, such as police, military, martial arts adherents and even street gangs; any with a capability at combat, and an ability to be molded and folded into the House's 'army' are prime candidates. Though they aren't the only members of the Legion of the Dead, their House tends to be involved in some capacity in a given city's Legion.
  • Founder: Marcus Gaius Seneca (sired by Titus)
  • Symbol: A stylized sword
• Julius/Julia: Descended from an extremely wealthy patrician, Ignatius Julius Alexius, House Julius maintains the late Roman excess into the modern era. A house of decadence, excess and wealth, those of House Julius believe in living life to the fullest, and do this through drawing in those who live modern lives of comfort and excess: those in high society, the idle rich, and even down to those on the expensive club circuit. The House prides itself on showing its status through the look and material wealth of its members, and is viewed from the outside as vapid, narcissistic and ostentatious. But this is just a cover for the great social manipulation in the mortal world that the Julii attempt on a great scale, in order to set themselves up as well as keep the Houses in order.
  • Founder: Ignatius Julius Alexius (sired by Licenia)
  • Symbol: A stylized lily
• Octavius/Octavia: Founded by Publius Octavius Eclectus, a wealthy man who ran a ludus, House Octavius is descended from Publius' philosophy on life, drawn from years of training gladiators: there exists someone to fill any need. In this, House Octavius is a bit of an oddity, in that they don't have a specific type of individual that they look for to swell their ranks. Rather, they look for people of exceptional ability in many realms, drawing from innumerable walks of life, people of exceptional talent in areas perhaps overlooked by those of the other Houses. In this, House Octavius is often the largest house, if not the most powerful.
  • Founder: Publius Octavius Eclectus (sired by Titus)
  • Symbol: A stylized, spoked wheel or shield

And the three traitor families, who are attempting to destroy the remainder:

• Laelius/Laelia
• Asinius/Asinia
• Fabius/Fabia
  • All three of these sired by Licenia and are referred to as the Traitor Houses, as they follow Licenia's desire to destroy the other Houses; most of their records have been expunged, and their internal societies are unknown by the rest of the Blooded. On an OOC note, they may or may not be PC options, I have not yet decided, but they are definite antagonists.

@ganymede
The problem you run into with FS3 is magic, though I suppose just making all spellls custom weapons and then going to town works.

However, I'd totally be up for being an idea-bounce for Final Fantasy.
looks at the mass of FF data he collated for the Dissidia game
Yeah. I got stuff.

@Admiral

Michi Ramen

I looked them up, holy shit that looks so good.

@Songtress
Thank you. I think a lot of people get off of that track, and get themselves set up to build something that appeals to everyone. I want something that I will enjoy maintaining and telling stories in. Whether that story is a night of the Consul screaming at the plebeians for having a shoot-out in the subway with a wererat colony, or said shoot-out in the subway with a wererat colony, or finding the hidden temple that a member of House Fabia dug out in Central Park and dungeon-crawling past their insectoid servii to find out why they're digging up shit in Central Park.

And I get where you're coming from; you have enthusiasm for the idea and I really appreciate it. I want to market this as an 'alternate to the standard WoD' and I'm looking at ways to do that. Outside input on things I may not have considered, or may be considering and just need a little impetus to actually make work, is good. And alternate methods and outlooks on teh world at good, even if to just mine for ideas.

It's why I like crowdsourcing stuff. I may not use anything, I may use some, and I may steal your ideas and run with them and expand and give you appropriate credit.

I'm still very much in the more heavy design stages, so there's more to come.

Let's see. MOAR!

• Magic the Gathering setting, based out of a central plane and allowing PrP planeswalking adventures (or perhaps stuck in the Shard around Dominaria, ala the original MtG setting).
• ExoSquad
• Super Spies
• Highlander

@surreality
I could get behind a recipes thread. I love creating things.

So, a little bit more of an update...

• The bigger writeup for the playable Houses are done, it was much easier when I trimmed it down to the six we're going with.
• The map of NYC is mostly done; I'm trying to determine if I missed anything important. Right now about 24-27 rooms for the city. Working on picking out some areas of NYC that will be useful for play to have as separate rooms for play as well as some staff-created 'location' rooms.
• Working on powers. I'm now becoming torn between just doing up general powers and then having TF MU*-style 'create your own battle powers' rather than flat-defined lists of powers. The main hangup I'm hitting is arrangements for powers that aren't just same overlaps in utility and combat capability. More to come on this...

Still far away from opening, but we're getting there.

@sunnyj
You continue to tempt me. Grrr.