Any questions that you feel we haven't covered yet, please ask them here. Bring up any lingering questions, issues or concerns you might have with the setting, mechanics, character concepts, etc.

To get everyone started...

Are we starting with any XP?
Yes. It's assumed you've been awakened, embraced, etc.. for a least half a year or so. This way you're not completely ignorant of all that's going on around you.

All players may begin with 20XP. This is not required, of course, and if you'd like to play a character who's completely new to the shadowy world in which he now finds himself, please don't feel pressured to do otherwise.

No character may enter play with a Blood Potency, Primal Urge, Gnosis, or Wyrd at a rating higher than 3.

Ah! Here's one I should've thought of earlier.

Character Profiles. I'd like to see them posted (if you have a particular aversion to doing so in order to avoid any unintentional metagaming on the part of other players, just get in touch with Rev or me), and for ease of organization they should probably be titled something like this:

(Mage) Morgan Westbrook
or
(Changeling) Fionn Murphy

That way, we'll all know at a glance what kind of supernatural everyone is playing, without having to set up separate profile sections for each type.

I've not played a lot of WoD (new or old) so this may be a needless question ... How do we cover starting as a mortal and later being bitten, naked -n- furry, awakened, or what have you ...?

Now that's a damn good question Doc.

1. In the case of vampires maybe another PC could sire you.

2. Get with a moderator (or another PC in the case of option 1), we could help you with STing your prelude.

3. Play as a mortal for a bit, when you're ready to add a template to your PC just a write a fiction detailing the events. You don't need any special permission to become a supernatural in this game, since most people already will be.

Now if you're not sure what to add to the sheet once you've become a freak of nature, don't worry. There are plenty of people here that can help you with that.

Another question:

The Changeling origins are dramatically different between editions. How is this working in this hybridized setting?

The New WOD chargen is pretty specific to New Changelings, which are mortals altered by true fae, who then escaped.

This is as distinct from the Old WOD, which is presumably being used for Changeling story, which portrays Changelings as fae souls incarnated in human bodies.

Regrettably that's a snag we ran into as well. However, just because this is OWoD style doesn't mean that everything has to jive 100%. We're just using style, not everything verbatim.

The Technocracy for example, we're not going to create a whole new series of Technocratic Legacies. Just mages with a messed up view of magic who want to put all you 'random elements' and 'reality deviants' in their place.

So, there is no reason to write out and state that "Changeling are X, this is the way it's always been." Basically play like Changeling: The Dreaming never took place.

Players (and Mods) will have to make use of some creative licensing and that's okay providing we don't get too out of hand (I'm summoning the Wyrm to the material world!, Caine is my sire!) things should all go good.

Or, in the case of Changeling (not to step on Rev's toes), you could really use whichever "history" you prefer, since either could be considered subjective.

Perhaps the Changeling in question really is a Fae in a mortal seeming, but will never believe that because some upstarts/ne'er-do-wells kidnapped him before he got wise, and now he's convinced that everything he's experiencing is their fault.

Or, maybe he really was kidnapped as a human and broken in a thousand horrific ways, and the torture twisted his world-view. He thinks he is a Sidhe nobleman, trapped in a prison of mundane flesh, and that his captors were trying to free him.

...Or, maybe they evolve. If their Wyrd ever hits 10, everything human about them is irreparably lost, and they become True Fae to continue the cycle.

There are all sorts of dark and twisted roads you could take with it, so use whichever brand of madness you think you'd enjoy most.

That answer makes me happy. Thanks!

I've posted some character sheet templates, and a changeling one is coming soon. You are not required to use them, but if you're not sure of the format you'd like your character sheet have I'd recommend using them until you get some idea.

If you'd like to keep information off your sheet like what Gifts, Arcana, etc, your PC may have get with me and Vivi and we'll get you set up with something. I only see this being an issue when it comes to supernatural powers, that's usually the big one people wanna keep hidden.

Also, as a reminder, we do not get additional Forums until we've reached a certain number of posts. The more active we are the sooner we get to add more things. The success of this area is solely dependent on how active we are.

We get back from it what we put into it. So get posting!

Open topic of discussion, for those participating:

The issue of new characters (for those who join in later, who make a second character when/if new slots are permitted, or who replace a character that was slain or retired) and experience.

Naturally, we don't want to force everyone to start from square one in any of those situations, but it also wouldn't be fair for newcomers to start out at the same level as those who've been playing for a while.

What suggestions do you guys have for relative experience gains?

I'd say award newcomers a set percentage of the average XP earned by the group as a whole. So if the average is 30 XP (not including the starting bonus) by the time someone new comes along, you could award 10, 15 or 20 XP to the newcomer.

Personally, my vote's for a straight 50% of the average.

I think they should receive 50% of the experience that's already been earned by the original characters.

Keep in mind that most people already gain 20XP (or 3 extra Merit Dots). So if we're all at 30, awarding a new player 10 or 15 is pretty unfair.

Not all players will advance at the same (we will slow those advancing too quickly) but by and large not everyone will have the same XP.

My suggestion is to grant an amount that's equal to half what's been earned -20.

So if on average we've all earned about 50XP the new players would be granted 35XP.

50-20=30. 30/2=15. 20+15=35.

Since every one can get at least 20XP, we have to remove what everyone received from the equation, find the total, then add that amount back.

Obviously if a player opted for the free Merit Dots we'd just build without the 20XP in the equation.

Make sense?

While everyone considers the experience issue, here's another question.

When can we start?

Once your character is approved and your profile posted, you are free to begin writing fictions, posting IC forum threads, or indulging in IC chats.

When we get new forums, fictions and posts will be moved to the appropriate sections.

For now, if you'd like to start an IC forum discussion, just preface the title with [CalNet] or (CalNet) to distinguish it from regular discussions.

Fictions should be treated the same way for now. Just label them [Fiction] or (Fiction) so we'll be able to organize everything once the relevant subforums are added.

If you have a news story that's relevant to the game world, feel free to post it in the thread Dave started about "News and Current Events." If it's a bit more personal, or character-specific, you're welcome to post it up in an individual thread as Lucien did.

IC chats can begin as soon as the players would like. They will remain unmoderated (that is to say, moderators won't be present to award XP for particularly engaging or intense interactions) until at least 75% of those who have expressed interest in playing have had their characters approved for play. At that point, we'll try to have at least one or two "scheduled" chats per week, hopefully to give everyone a chance to get involved.

EDIT: Moderated IC chats will also (provided Chosen keeps it) take place in the Beta Chat room. Why? Well, there are a few reasons. First, some of us can't use FlashChat effectively for anything more than short conversations. This would naturally limit our involvement (as players or mods) in any in-character chats that went on. Second, Chosen mentioned the possibility of linking moderator accounts from the forums to the Beta Chat. Third, the built-in dice roller gives us a very useful way of tracking any rolls made for impromptu scenes or encounters that we plan or that crop up, instead of playing them out post-by-post. (I'm practically drooling over the idea of running combat in such a medium!)

She drools at the thought of violence... how could I not love this woman?

may I suggest that everybody include on their char sheets how they are employed or what year they are going into at UCLA as a student and maybe how long they have been in the area/at the school? This will help us forge more connections (I think)

I still can't effectively access the Beta Chatroom. Just letting ya know.

That's not a bad idea. It'd be optional, of course, but there are a lot of things you could post in your profile that would help with connections. You could tell us about your job, places you hang out, classes that you take, how long you've been in Cali, etc.



That's strange. It's less resource-intensive than FlashChat. Maybe you could get in touch with Chosen and see if he can guess what the problem might be?

Vivi or Dave - can you please post the mechanical effect (if any) of the Sleepwalker Merit? Since I don't have access to the Mage book I cannot look it up.

Essentially, they aren't affected by disbelief if they see a Mage working magic, and werewolves don't incite delirium.

It simply implies that they're aware (even if only dimly) that things like magic and monsters exist, and thus are slightly better able to deal with the side-effects of those things.

CAn they cash in the merit for another merit if they become something other than mortal?

Er, no, because we're giving it to them for free if they want to take it. They lose it if they're no longer mortal.

This should all be in the Rules.

Got a question:

Is there an equivalent rule to the oWoD werewolf "Primal Attraction / Fear" roll?

For those unfamiliar with this, it was a way for werewolves to press the instinct buttons in others by using the beast within. Rolling their Rage score they could cause instinctual desire or fear in people. Of course, a failure would scupper any chance of succeeding in the future, either provoking aggression or repulsion. A botch generally sent the poor person into a Delirious panic.

If there isn't such a rule for nWoD werewolves, can we implement something similar? Using Presence + Primal Urge, for example, and making it a Chance roll. That's just a suggestion, as I'm not completely au fait with nWoD mechanics.

Hmm. Glancing over the book, I don't see anything that's equivalent, though there are people here who are far, far more familiar with Forsaken than I am. I absolutely defer to their expertise on such matters, but if none of them can think of an existing mechanic that does what you're asking, I'll see what Dave thinks when I have a chance to chat with him about forum details.

If it's something that needs immediate attention because it's relevant to something you're doing IC, let me know and I'll try to work something out with you until we can get a solid answer.

Player-driven storylines: How should they work?

1. Come up with an outline. Our preference as moderators, obviously, is that you run it by us before you start things rolling. Why? Largely so that we can make sure it's either not going to interfere with anything else we might have planned, or can be integrated into existing plots. We also want to make sure that the storyline is realistic in terms of the setting (no unleashing worldwide plagues, poisoning the city's water supply, or otherwise drastically altering the world without the explicit approval of all moderators), and that there is an element of risk appropriate to the potential reward or loss.

2. Create and post your major NPCs, even if they're only posted in a PM to the mods. If they aren't realistic, you may be asked to revise them. If you need an NPC drawn up, either because you aren't sure what would be appropriate or you'd like to be surprised IC, just let us know, and we can make something up for you. It's not necessary, though.

3. Start your story! Once all your ducks are in a row, knock yourselves out. Just make sure that all the relevant rolls and combat notations are tracked as normal. If you need help, by all means, please ask, but once everything's gotten the OK, your storyline is just that: yours. We won't step in unless it's necessary, or unless asked to do so, because you are effectively playing ST.

4. Have fun. This is, perhaps, the most important aspect of WoD:A. If you're not enjoying yourself, we, as moderators and players, are failing you. We want you all to enjoy yourselves, and to create engaging and interesting stories and plots together that enhance, rather than diminish, the setting itself.

If you need help with any aspect of the story, or aren't sure how to develop the conclusion and want it to happen naturally instead of coming up with an "endgame," we'll do our best to help you out. Naturally, we also reserve the right to have mistakes, choices, and defeated antagonists come back to haunt you. I hope that helps clarify our position on things a bit, and answers the questions I'm sure some of you must have had. If there's anything else you're not sure about, don't hesitate to ask!