Character Creation Challenge 2024 - 15: Nikolaos [Vampire: The Masquerade 5e]

 Third Vampire: The Masquerade 5e Character

Let's give this another shot then. So far creating Vampire characters has somehow killed more and more of my interest in the game, so we will just have to see if I can cure myself by doing it more? Yeah, sounds like the candy paradox...


1. Core Concept

Besides the Brujah, the other Clan I am mostly drawn towards if I were to play is Tremere. And there are two things I think about when it comes to Tremere; sorcery and hierarchy structure from hell. So going heavy on occultism and a stickler for tradition, routine and systems is the baseline thing here.

Still using Istanbul/Constantinople as a baseline setting, that I still need work on.

Name is Nikolaos.


2. Clan and Sire

Clan Tremere, Alexandros the Sire.


3. Attributes

One attribute starts at 4, three at 3, four at 2 and one at 1. The mental attributes are the ones I see as typical Treme stuff. A brief look at the Blood Sorcery part of the discipline chapter, lists Strength as an Attribute that gets used for some of the spells, so I need that. But other than that this is just gut feeling allocation...

  • Strength: ***
  • Dexterity: **
  • Stamina: **
  • Charisma: *
  • Manipulation: ***
  • Composure: **
  • Intelligence: ***
  • Wits: **
  • Resolve:****
  • Health: 5
  • Willpower: 6
  • Humanity: 7

In a one on one encounter, acts the I AM BETTER THAN YOU way. If having to deal with a large group of people, manipulating the system or manipulating others to sort it for you is the name of the game. Dear God, am I making a meme vampire Donald Trump?


4. Skills

 More narrative skill picking. Or, narrative skill picking out of my gut. I'm thinking the guy did crypto and some finance consultancy, and some shady stuff too most likely.

  • Finance (Stock Market)*** [Professional]
  • Technology *** [Professional]
  • Insight ** [Professional]
  • Subterfuge ** [Professional]
  • Brawl *** [Life Event]
  • Streetwise ** [Life Event]
  • Drive * [Leisure]
  • Investigation * [Leisure]
  • Etiquette * [Leisure]
  • Occult ****


5. Disciplines

One 2 dot, one 1 dot.

  • Blood Sorcery **
  • Auspex *
  • A Taste for Blood (From Blood Sorcery rank 1)
  • Extinguish Vitae (From Blood Sorcery rank 2)
  • Ward Against Ghouls (Ritual - From having Blood Sorcery)
  • Sense the Unseen (From Auspex rank 1)
     

Not super impressed with the Blood Sorcery spells.


6. Predator

Bagger seems to fit. Buys instead of doing.

  • Add specialty: Streetwise (Black Market)
  • Gain * in Blood Sorcery
  • Gain Merit: Iron Gullet **
  • Gain Flaw: Enemy (Dealer) ** [Thinks character owns them]
  • Scorpion's Touch (From Blood Sorcery rank 3)

 

7. Advantages

7 Merits, 2 Flaws.

  • Merit: Haven ***
  • Merit: Haven (Warding) *
  • Merit: Haven (Library) *
  • Merit: Resources *
  • Merit: Status *
  • Flaw: Influence (Despised) **
     

8. Convictions and Touchstones

Convictions:

  • Knowledge is the real power.
  • Money can buy you anything.
     

Touchstones:

  • One of the librarians at Rami.
  • The criminal that tricked the character out of his money and made Nikolaos some enemies. It was cunning and the right thing to do, endearing the guy to Nikolaos while also being hated.

9. Sea of Time

Another neonate character, that was the choice I think. 15 EXP is handed out.

  • 12 EXP buys Brawl ****.
  • 3 EXP buys Athletics *.


Character Summary

Nikolaos, Neonate Tremere of the Camarilla Sect

Attributes

  • Strength: ***
  • Dexterity: **
  • Stamina: **
  • Charisma: *
  • Manipulation: ***
  • Composure: **
  • Intelligence: ***
  • Wits: **
  • Resolve:****
  • Health: 5
  • Willpower: 6
  • Humanity: 7

Skills

  • Finance (Stock Market)***
  • Technology ***
  • Insight **
  • Subterfuge **
  • Brawl ****
  • Streetwise (Black Market) ** 
  • Drive *
  • Investigation 
  • Etiquette 
  • Occult ****
  • Athletics *

Disciplines

  • Blood Sorcery *** (A Taste for Blood, Extinguish Vitae, Scorpion's Touch, Ward Against Ghouls)
  • Auspex * (Sense the Unseen)

Traits

  • Predator: Bagger.
  • Merit: Haven ***
  • Merit: Haven (Warding) *
  • Merit: Haven (Library) *
  • Merit: Resources *
  • Merit: Status *
  • Merit: Iron Gullet **
  • Flaw: Influence (Despised) **
  • Flaw: Enemy (Dealer) ** [Thinks character owes them]
  • Conviction: Knowledge is the real power.
  • Conviction: Money can buy you anything.
  • Touchstone: One of the librarians at Rami.
  • Touchstone: The criminal that tricked the character out of his money and made Nikolaos some enemies. It was cunning and the right thing to do, endearing the guy to Nikolaos while also being hated.

 

In Play

The way I am imagining this guy is that he mostly stays inside in an old decrepit bank building, with all the windows boarded up and very few things inside - some Lacken IKEA stuff and a laptop that is the only expensive thing around. He would be rich, but is in the shorting deep end and lost most of his cash in some crypto and nft investments that crashed. He orders blood delivered home through the dark web. Has some Ekets around, with really old occult tomes. If he leaves his Haven, it's mostly to get something he can't get at home, or someone higher up in the system makes him. Having had a rough time on the streets before getting made into a vampire, he goes out with the idea of everything outside the Haven is a war and acts like it. So is not really into the Kindred politics bit much.

Can do a bit of fighting and social stuff, but is mostly about finding out things, learning and hopefully get rich again.


Opinion

I like this character the most of the three V5 characters I've made so far. The powers as per usual is a bit meh, and the conviction/touchstone/predator things seems a bit of a front loaded story bloat and I wish they did stuff in a different manner.

I'd play this, and if I ever get into a V5 game as a player I'd do something along these lines.

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