Character Creation Challenge 2024 - 2: Connacht [Vampire: The Masquerade 5e]

 First Vampire: The Masquerade Character

I meant to do this last year, but here we are years down since I first got my hands on the now """new""" Vampire edition. My standard group made their characters last year, but due to logistics actual play sadly did not happen. I meant to create a character for the guy that didn't make it to the character creation session, in case he shows up to game nights, so there are two birds one Thaumaturgy use this time. Will just go the way the book tells me to, again.


1. Core Concept

Since the other characters have created characters and we have decided on what the Chronicle will be about (primarily the Fall of London module) this is the easy bit.

I am going to call the character Connacht, who worked on park upkeep in London in the 1930s/1940s [note: it's pretty hard to find out exactly what org actually did this back in the day]. He was prolly named Joseph Miller in life. Dabbled a bit in substance use, occultism and preferred the night out in the parks over anything else. Wishing to see the wilds of the world. And one of those nights caught the attention of a kindred spirit, who promised an eternity to see the wild places of the earth...


2. Clan and Sire

Connacht is part of the Gangrel clan. His Sire is Hans Steiner, an Austrian adventurer.


3. Attributes

  • Strength: ***
  • Dexterity: ***
  • Stamina: ****
  • Charisma: **
  • Manipulation: *
  • Composure: **
  • Intelligence: **
  • Wits: **
  • Resolve: ***
  • Health: 8
  • Willpower: 5

I went for the very typical physical focus on Gangrel, I guess I am going for stereotypes here.


4. Skills

Game lets you choose between a simple way, and a more narrative way to pick skills. I picked the narrative way, as that seems more organic.

  • Brawl *** [Professional]
  • Survival *** [Professional]
  • Animal Ken ** [Professional]
  • Athletics ** [Professional]
  • Firearms *** [Event]
  • Investigation ** [Event]
  • Occult * [Leisure]
  • Melee * [Leisure]
  • Stealth * [Leisure]
  • Intimidation ** [Extra]
  • Awareness ** [Extra]
  • Drive * [Extra]
  • Medicine * [Extra]
  • Larceny * [Extra]
  • Insight * [Extra]

I took things that made sense in the moment. My park guard stereotype of dealing with drunks in the present day might also be outdated for what it was like about 80 years ago.


5. Disciplines

Game says pick one with 2 dots, and another with 1 dot from the clan's Disciplines.

  • Fortitude *
  • Protean **

 Then the game wants me to pick powers based on how many dots I have in said disciplines.

  • Resilience [Level 1 Fortitude, adds Fortitude rating to Health.]
  • Eyes of the Beast [Level 1 Protean, when active can see in both normal and supernatural darkness, and gets +2 bonus dice to Intimidation pools.]
  • Feral Weapons [Level 2 Protean, makes the Vampire's natural weapons light piercing Brawl weapons with a +2 modifier to damage.]


6. Predator

Have to pick a preferred way to hunt, Alleycat seems like the obvious choice here as a park haunt. This gives some mechanical effects:

  • Add speciality Brawl (Grappling)
  • Gain Potence *
  • Gain Lethal Body [Rank 1 Potence Power, can do aggrevated unarmed damage to Mortals, ignore one level of armor per * of Potence.]
  • Lose * in Humanity
  • Gain *** of Criminial Contacts


7. Advantages

Game wants me to take 7 dots of Advantages and 2 dots of Flaws.

  • (*) Addiction: Alcohol
  • * High Functioning Addict: Gain one dice to pools when last person you fed from was drunk.
  • (*) Dark Secret: Owe the mob a big debt
  • ** Middle Class
  • ** Respected Status: You have responsibilities now.
  • ** Herd: A group (about half a dozen) of AA goers.


8. Convictions and Touchstones

Game wants me to create 3 convictions for my character:

  • Truth is always found in isolation
  • Brute strength always wins
  • Losing is never ok

Game then wants me to create 3 touchstones based on these convictions:

  • A man that keeps walking into Hyde Park alone to mediate in a secret spot
  • The local gang leader who keeps the others in check by violence
  • A local fighter who always wins through grit alone
     

9. Sea of Time

The character is a neonate, which gives the following:

  • Blood Potency *
  • 15 EXP buys Protean ***
  • Protean *** gives the Shapeshifting Power

 

Character Summary

Connacth, Gangrel Neonate of the Anarch Sect

 Attributes

  • Strength: ***
  • Dexterity: ***
  • Stamina: ****
  • Charisma: **
  • Manipulation: *
  • Composure: **
  • Intelligence: **
  • Wits: **
  • Resolve: ***
  • Health: 8
  • Willpower: 5
  • Humanity: 6

 Skills

  • Brawl (Grappling) *** [Professional]
  • Survival *** [Professional]
  • Animal Ken ** [Professional]
  • Athletics ** [Professional]
  • Firearms *** [Event]
  • Investigation ** [Event]
  • Occult * [Leisure]
  • Melee * [Leisure]
  • Stealth * [Leisure]
  • Intimidation ** [Extra]
  • Awareness ** [Extra]
  • Drive * [Extra]
  • Medicine * [Extra]
  • Larceny * [Extra]
  • Insight * [Extra]

 Disciplines

  • Protean *** (Eyes of the Beast, Feral Weapons and Shapeshifting)
  • Fortitude * (Resilience)
  • Potence * (Lethal Body)

Traits

  • Predator: Alleycat
  • (*) Addiction: Alcohol
  • * High Functioning Addict: Gain one dice to pools when last person you fed from was drunk.
  • (*) Dark Secret: Owe the mob a big debt
  • ** Middle Class
  • ** Respected Status: You have responsibilities now.
  • ** Herd: A group (about half a dozen) of AA goers.
  • *** Criminial Contacts
  • Conviction: Truth is always found in isolation
  • Conviction: Brute strength always wins
  • Conviction: Losing is never ok
  • Touchstone:  A man that keeps walking into Hyde Park alone to mediate in a secret spot.
  • Touchstone: The local gang leader who keeps the others in check by violence.
  • Touchstone: A local fighter who always wins through grit alone.

This was a bit of a rushjob. Still seems to be able to participate in most parts of the game, prolly not a natural for Camarilla intrigue.

 

In Play

 I would try to play this character like that guy in the taxi queue that always radiates violence and a short temper if among people, but more calm and reflected when not with people. Might not be all that interested in the power struggle, but kinda hast to be involved to not be run over. And both the Camarilla and Sabbat are wrong.

 

Opinion

I would play this character in a game, otherwise it would be a bit odd to hand it to someone else. The character generation was a lot less involved than I remembered, and as long as I had an idea churning through the steps was easy, fast and fairly fun. I would have liked example lists/pairs for Conviction/Touchstones as those seem pretty important but also felt a bit blindsided having to come up with stuff from scratch that is so...philosophical.


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