Re: [DL] odd ideas/questions, Spoilers

[PEGGoff@aol.com]

In a message dated Tue, 14 Mar 2000 12:09:20 AM Eastern Standard Time, The Baron Samedi <baron11@netmcr.com> writes:

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> here are some of my thoughts
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> Spoiler
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> OK, first of all, Nosferatu, as I have seen them, seem to not fit the 
> "Cinematic Vampire" options we were given.  Should we use the info in the 
> Dispatch in Junkman Cometh for PCs who get the fang from a Nos?  or just 
> assume they always change to cinematic somehow.
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Good point--and believe it or not, there was a coherent train of thought behind my decision to approach it as I did. :-)

I tried to leave it up to the Marshal whether or not he wanted to allow a nosferatu PC in his posse. As written, a nosferatu really _isn't_ PC playable; they're just too feral and monstrous. Anyone encountering one knows a nosferatu is a monster and is going to take steps to either flee or kill it. Not much roleplaying potential there.

Well, at least in DL. In HOE, they're just another mutation. ;-)

So, for DL, I decided to give heroes the benefit of the doubt and assume that somehow they're better able to resist the draw of the nosferatu's feral nature and retard their descent into abominationhood (if the Marshal so allows). Kind of like those movies where the God-awful vampire bites a main character and he resists his monstrous impulses far longer than the secondary characters can (From Dusk 'til Dawn, etc.), only more forgiving. That bloodlust is why they have the -2 mod to Traits/Aptitudes until they feed the first time.

If you want to have the character assume the appearance of a nosferatu right away, it's certainly your call. However, be warned that it's going to seriously curtail the player's interactive roleplaying with non-player characters. :-)

I'd recommend letting them slowly revert to bald-headed bloodsuckers by causing the transformation to occur as they accumulate Corruption, myself.

Now, as to TJC's take on vampires in the Wasted West, there are two things to keep in mind.

First, the blurb in the back of TJC is a quick fix to errata. There really wasn't room to include lengthy rules on vampires. However, it does work and if you'd rather use that, go for it.

Second, HOE and DL, while they use the same system, are different games. HOE is much more over the top, and something like a nosferatu is much easier to explain away there than in DL. Nosferatu player characters in DL are going to be far too restricted to be any fun after the first adventure or two, IMHO. Again, though, if you're having fun with it in DL as presented in TJC, that's what's important; don't change it just to fit with RVCII. :-)

Either way, though, I'd recommend tacking Corruption on it to make the bloodsucker toe the line of being a hero and not a monster.

My thoughts,

John