Karnius
2014-02-15, 10:02 PM
Hi all. This is a request for some advice on a World of Darkness game that I'm in. I'll set out a little context first.
The game is centred around a nightclub: the PCs are either performers or patrons of the club and the club itself is integral to some kind of supernatural plot. There are four players: I play a performer (a mime artist) and there's another performer (an athletic dancer) and two frequent visitors to the club. My character is a Mortal whilst the other performer is a Reynardi were-fox and the other characters are a Mage and a Sin-Eater.
Now, we've been playing for a few sessions and the plot is moving along - I think - but I've run into some difficulty with getting involved with the central plot. As I said, the main plot is supernatural in nature: all we know so far is that supernatural creatures are all being drawn to this club by Fate for some reason. This makes it difficult for my totally unaware Mortal to get involved, as he can't sense the lure, and on top of that the other PCs have revealed nothing about the lure or anything of their own supernatural nature. Nor are they likely to do so as our characters haven't really become friends or even really acquaintances and have no real reason to do so (the exception being my performer and the were-fox, who are somewhat friendly but still don't share any intimate secrets).
Obviously my being a Mortal is a bit of a problem, and I'd like to say that I had no idea that being a supernatural creature would be important for the game - I was encouraged to play a Mortal by the GM and the were-fox player was originally playing a Mortal too but decided that his character would undergo the First Change later.
It's not necessary to play a supernatural, but I am feeling like I should consider Awakening/Embracing/other verbs my character. Aside from the plot, I'm concerned about character balance (hence the title). This isn't a combat-oriented game but it's not so much about combat ability as ability to do things in general. The Mage, the Sin-Eater and the Reynardi all have more to do in the game as a result of their various powers and the supernatural communities they're a part of. Additionally, they can actually interact with the supernatural effects going on in the club, like the lure I mentioned earlier.
Now, I CAN work on mundane side-plots and such, but I've pretty much already gotten everything that my character wants: he's a great performer and is getting plenty of praise (and extra money), and he's made some good friends at the club. There really isn't anything else that I can do without leaving the nightclub (it's kind of a crappy place but the regulars are nice), and that would be counter-intuitive considering the main plot is centred on the club. I'm trying to think of more character goals and that's where I run into trouble, because the only thing I can think of is to stop the Sin-Eater from buying the club, because I heard him (IC) talking about getting rid of the current clientèle and (presumably) the current staff, but then my sole purpose is PC conflict (a conflict that I'll never win, incidentally). The GM has told me that he has some ideas for my character but that is worrying rather than reassuring as the GM's plans for my characters in the past have tended to be rather railroady. It's possible that he's planning to have me turned into some kind of supernatural, but then I doubt I'd get to choose and I imagine it'd be disadvantageous (there are vampire NPCs running around and I can see myself becoming their Dominated servant).
So, what should I do? I really don't want to just resort to having a supernatural character: it seems like that'd be a cheap way to resolve the issues I'm having, and I really wanted to play a nice, fairly average, hard-working guy in this game (and to play a Mortal for once). But it's possible that my character concept as it stands just isn't suitable for the game I'm playing in. Any thoughts?
The game is centred around a nightclub: the PCs are either performers or patrons of the club and the club itself is integral to some kind of supernatural plot. There are four players: I play a performer (a mime artist) and there's another performer (an athletic dancer) and two frequent visitors to the club. My character is a Mortal whilst the other performer is a Reynardi were-fox and the other characters are a Mage and a Sin-Eater.
Now, we've been playing for a few sessions and the plot is moving along - I think - but I've run into some difficulty with getting involved with the central plot. As I said, the main plot is supernatural in nature: all we know so far is that supernatural creatures are all being drawn to this club by Fate for some reason. This makes it difficult for my totally unaware Mortal to get involved, as he can't sense the lure, and on top of that the other PCs have revealed nothing about the lure or anything of their own supernatural nature. Nor are they likely to do so as our characters haven't really become friends or even really acquaintances and have no real reason to do so (the exception being my performer and the were-fox, who are somewhat friendly but still don't share any intimate secrets).
Obviously my being a Mortal is a bit of a problem, and I'd like to say that I had no idea that being a supernatural creature would be important for the game - I was encouraged to play a Mortal by the GM and the were-fox player was originally playing a Mortal too but decided that his character would undergo the First Change later.
It's not necessary to play a supernatural, but I am feeling like I should consider Awakening/Embracing/other verbs my character. Aside from the plot, I'm concerned about character balance (hence the title). This isn't a combat-oriented game but it's not so much about combat ability as ability to do things in general. The Mage, the Sin-Eater and the Reynardi all have more to do in the game as a result of their various powers and the supernatural communities they're a part of. Additionally, they can actually interact with the supernatural effects going on in the club, like the lure I mentioned earlier.
Now, I CAN work on mundane side-plots and such, but I've pretty much already gotten everything that my character wants: he's a great performer and is getting plenty of praise (and extra money), and he's made some good friends at the club. There really isn't anything else that I can do without leaving the nightclub (it's kind of a crappy place but the regulars are nice), and that would be counter-intuitive considering the main plot is centred on the club. I'm trying to think of more character goals and that's where I run into trouble, because the only thing I can think of is to stop the Sin-Eater from buying the club, because I heard him (IC) talking about getting rid of the current clientèle and (presumably) the current staff, but then my sole purpose is PC conflict (a conflict that I'll never win, incidentally). The GM has told me that he has some ideas for my character but that is worrying rather than reassuring as the GM's plans for my characters in the past have tended to be rather railroady. It's possible that he's planning to have me turned into some kind of supernatural, but then I doubt I'd get to choose and I imagine it'd be disadvantageous (there are vampire NPCs running around and I can see myself becoming their Dominated servant).
So, what should I do? I really don't want to just resort to having a supernatural character: it seems like that'd be a cheap way to resolve the issues I'm having, and I really wanted to play a nice, fairly average, hard-working guy in this game (and to play a Mortal for once). But it's possible that my character concept as it stands just isn't suitable for the game I'm playing in. Any thoughts?