My next pick in this series is Vampire: The Requiem from White Wolf. As much as I dug the World of Darkness, I was never the biggest fan of the original Vampire: The Masquerade. So, when they rebooted the setting and released Requiem, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they changed very little, but everything they did alter was definitely for the better.
Concept is key in the World of Darkness games, so I'm going to think a little harder about this character. I have an idea in my head of a young girl, a freshman in college, intoxicated by all of the vices of the adult world, who meets a guy at a party, goes off somewhere with him, is raped, Embraced, and then immediately discarded by her new sire, never to see him again. Not only does she feel violated both physically and spiritually, not only is she now subject to the Curse of vampirism with all its accompanying cravings, but she finds herself bereft of purpose and meaning. She knows she can't go back to her old life, but she has no one to show her how to exist in her new unlife.
She wanders for some time, slowly learning the rules of vampiric existence, and eventually she comes upon a gathering of the Lancea Sanctum (a religious covenant of vampires who believe they are instruments of god sent to show man the folly of sin). The teachings of Longinus gives her meaning and purpose; God still loves her, but he has dark work for her to do. She dives into the covenant and is now on her way up.
So, we start the creation process by choosing attributes. I know that physical ability is least important to this concept, but I'm not sure if social or mental traits will be more central. I think I'll go with social, so I get 5 dots there. I'll take 2 in Presence, 2 in Manipulation, and 1 in Composure. For mental, I get 4, so I put 1 each in Intelligence and Wits and 2 in Resolve. Finally, I get 3 dots in physical, so I just spread them evenly, 1 each in Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina.
Next, I choose skills. Again, I'll take Social as my primary category, but I think physical will be my secondary. I see this character having toughened up somewhat on the streets after her Embrace. With 11 dots in Social skills, I go with 2 in Empathy, 1 in Expression, 1 in Intimidation, 3 in Persuasion, 1 in Socialize, 1 in Streetwise, and 2 in Subterfuge. For Physical, I get 7 dots; 2 go into Survival and Weaponry, and 1 each in Brawl, Larceny, and Stealth. And my Mental skills get 4 dots, so I put 1 each in Academics, Investigation, Occult, and Politics.
I also get 3 skill specialties. I like the look of Religion for Academics and Seduction for Persuasion. I want a Weaponry specialty, too, and I decide on Mace. Yeah, she carries around a frickin' mace. You got a problem with that?
Now I add the vampire template. First, I decide on clan. Immediately, Daeva and Ventrue jump out at me. Looking over the clan descriptions, I decide on Daeva for two reasons. One, at the core, this concept really is driven by emotion, both anger and longing. Two, Majesty seems like a better fit than Dominate. I've already chosen Covenant, so I can move on from there.
As a Daeva, I can add one to either Dexterity or Manipulation. Easy choice: Manipulation, giving me 4 dots in that Attribute. Next, I can choose 3 dots in Disciplines, and at least 2 must come from my clan's list (Celerity, Majesty, and Vigor). After a quick look through the Disciplines section, I decide to put 2 dots into Majesty and 1 into Celerity.
My Blood Potency starts at 1, and it's going to stay there. This character hasn't been around that long, and she's not a diablerist, so there's no reason to raise Potency any higher.
Next, I determine my various advantages. My Defense is 2 (lower of Dexterity and Wits). Health is Stamina (2) + Size (5), for a total of 7. Initiative modifier is 4 (Dexterity + Composure). Humanity is the default of 7. Speed is 9 (Strength + Dexterity + 5). Willpower is Resolve (3) + Composure (2), total 5.
I need to choose a Virtue and a Vice. Virtue is easy: Faith. This girl fervently believes that God has a plan for her. It's the only thing that keeps her going night after night. Vice is harder. I think when she was mortal she ran on Gluttony or possibly Lust. But now, it might be interesting if she operated under Envy. She's jealous of the mortals. They have the true keys to Heaven. They have the chance to repent. Vampires don't really have that. All they can do is follow the Testament and do God's work and dream of some far off salvation. Yeah, that sounds kind of cool.
Last step is Merits. I get 7 dots here. First, I buy a dot in Covenant Status. The local Lancea Sanctum knows this character, but she isn't a big name yet. Maybe some night. I take a dot in Resources, too; she runs a blog about the intersection of religion and politics, and it earns a modest income through donations, ads, and merchandise. I put 3 dots into Haven, giving her a small (Size 1) apartment near her old college (Location 1) with some modest security features (Security 1). Finally, I put my last 2 dots into Striking Looks; she's very attractive, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
And that's it. Oh, yeah. Needs a name. How about, Rebeca Cole?
Name: Rebeca Cole
Clan: Daeva
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum
Embrace: 1998
Apparent Age: 18
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 4, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Academics 1 (Religion), Investigation 1, Occult 1, Politics 1
Physical Skills: Brawl 1, Larceny 1, Stealth 1, Survival 2, Weaponry 2 (Mace)
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression 1, Intimidation 1, Persuasion 3 (Seduction), Socialize 1, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Haven 3 (Location 1, Security 1, Size 1), Resources 1, Status (Covenant) 1, Striking Looks 2
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 7
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Envy
Health: 7
Initiative: 4
Defense: 2
Speed: 9
Blood Potency: 1
Disciplines: Celerity 1, Majesty 2
Vitae/per Turn: 10/1
