Vampire of the Masquerade DM Help

[SMac8988]

Hello all, I am soon to be starting the planning phases of an up coming game. My group has started rotating dms and game styles and I have elected to run a Vamp storyline. I don't claim to be the most versed in this setting and books but I ran a long term vamp game for about a year, and it was well recieved.

My idea is for the group, most of which has not played vamps, to be a mix of cameria vamps, and be in the setting of 1920s New York. The goal would be the conquest of the city, having to take and control each of the 5 boughs. I planned to make it openwork dynamic, setting all the pieces in place and letting them make their decisions and see how it effects the world.

I was wondering advice on which "level" to start them as. I was thinking 12th generation and have then all just have been turned. Giving them plenty of potentionally growth.

My idea is each of the boughs will be ruled by different levels of Sabot vamps. The sewers will be another location filled with Noferatu and strange monsters crafted; if they take the sewers they will have safe travel through the whole city. Then I wanted to have a group of hunters in the city, and thinking a small pack of werewolves whom moved into central park.

Figured that would be a long game set, I hope, but any advice would be hugely appricaited!!!

[LibraryOgre]

12th seems reasonable, though you might want to express it as "Everyone gets 1 free dot of Generation", rather than "You start at 12th generation"... going into 7th generation tends to skew the game, due to the ability to have 6 in attributes and abilities (including Disciplines).

My approach would be to work out the current politics of each borough and their interactions. So, who runs Manhattan right now? How do they get along with the leader of Queens? What are both of their plans regarding Brooklyn? And so forth.

From there, you expand. What's going on in Jersey? The werewolves, how do they fit in? What are their plans? Do they have allies?

As you're working this out, write the "story"... what's going to happen in the situation if the PCs DON'T get involved. What are the goals of the various parties, and how does that inform where they'll go if their plans are disrupted?

Consider, for the moment, the Werewolves. Like your PCs, they're interlopers into an established structure (even if that structure is about to fall down, it's an established structure). What are their methods going to be? What do they WANT, and what will they do if they can't get it? What are they willing to do TO get it? Will they work with these new Vampires to attack the old vampires, if they get Central Park guaranteed to them? Or are they necessarily hostile to the vampires at all times?

Since this is 1920s New York, are the Giovanni in charge of Brooklyn and the Bronx? Maybe that entire area is under their control, but they'd be willing to become part of a Camarilla princedom IF they were guaranteed certain concessions... like, they get to remain in control, but we pay lip service to the Prince.

In short, write up the web of local politics, and how the characters can mess things up, and what the NPCs will do WHEN the characters mess things up. Your players will still ruin your plans... it's what players do... but knowing the relationships and goals of the major players makes it easier to figure out which way they will jump when something unexpected happens.

[Mr Blobby]

Random thoughts.

- Perhaps you could do 'creation rolls', so each player simply gets a dump of a random amount of extra XP at the start. So you could end up with a group of varying ability levels.

Personally, I like to not have the group as the freshly dead. That is unless your group are VtM virgins and you'd like them to learn the game with the characters.

- You're going to have to decide how much of the canon holds. Get [if you've not got already] New York by Night. Hit the White Wolf Wiki. Most obviously: is [Tzimisce] buried beneath the city or not?

- You don't just need to consider the Garou. From other Fera to the Technocracy, all will have their own plans and interests. You don't have to plan this out in massive detail or plan a monster mash [well, unless you'd like to]; simply jotting down 'X's plans / holdings / desires' just in case your group's actions cross theirs.

[SMac8988]

Random thoughts.

- Perhaps you could do 'creation rolls', so each player simply gets a dump of a random amount of extra XP at the start. So you could end up with a group of varying ability levels.

Personally, I like to not have the group as the freshly dead. That is unless your group are VtM virgins and you'd like them to learn the game with the characters.

- You're going to have to decide how much of the canon holds. Get [if you've not got already] New York by Night. Hit the White Wolf Wiki. Most obviously: is [Tzimisce] buried beneath the city or not?

- You don't just need to consider the Garou. From other Fera to the Technocracy, all will have their own plans and interests. You don't have to plan this out in massive detail or plan a monster mash [well, unless you'd like to]; simply jotting down 'X's plans / holdings / desires' just in case your group's actions cross theirs.

I have skimmed the cannon but will most definetly go over it more.

They are all indeed virgins to this entire play style, so I figured this would be a mid length game designed, 8 months or so with weekly play, and let them learn as they go.

I have ran a game before similar in style to how I'm planning and I typically just kinda front load them with chances tk level and all and then ease it off as they go.

Thanks for the tips. Any cool creatures or anything I can add to scare them some other than higher level vamps and wolves?

[Mr Blobby]

It honestly all depends on what your player's characters are interested in and would end up at. If they go into organised crime, they might not even hear of say Mages - but might run into a pack of Glass Walker Wise Guys. [Which is why I said 'quickly jot down the other groups holdings / interests / plans' - for if your group's plans cross]. Once they've got their sheets/stories in, only then can you start dreaming properly of what critters to set on 'em.

But the one thing I would say is this: to keep the mystery. Keep the players guessing to what their rival / antagonist may be. Hell, nothing wrong with having the 'big reveal' at the end to show their story's Big Bad was in fact just an exceptional Muggle.

[SMac8988]

It honestly all depends on what your player's characters are interested in and would end up at. If they go into organised crime, they might not even hear of say Mages - but might run into a pack of Glass Walker Wise Guys. [Which is why I said 'quickly jot down the other groups holdings / interests / plans' - for if your group's plans cross]. Once they've got their sheets/stories in, only then can you start dreaming properly of what critters to set on 'em.

But the one thing I would say is this: to keep the mystery. Keep the players guessing to what their rival / antagonist may be. Hell, nothing wrong with having the 'big reveal' at the end to show their story's Big Bad was in fact just an exceptional Muggle.

I actually considered that. Have them go from each burrow taking control and towards the end the people they leave in charge start disappearing and turning up dead.

And when they finally find who it is its just a normal man, with a far reach of men.