Sigurdur said, “You’re right. They are in charge in these parts. And it don’t look like there’s much chance of that changing. Errgh!”
“What?”
“I’ve got to go again” It was the sixth time that day. Sigurdur had begun to worry.
Sigurjon told him, “Well, take it downwind. That last load was foul.”
Stomach cramping, Sigurdur stumbled away, headed for a spot he had scouted before darkness fell, anticipating this emergency.
Sigurdur realized that he was not alone. And that whoever was there was not one of his companions.
He could see his brother, Hallgrim, and Finnboga huddling close to the fire, making jokes at his expense.
He eased his hand towards his knife.
A shadow drifted nearer. The campfire cast just enough light to show him a woman wearing a hooded black cloak. The cloak’s hem dragged the ground.
He could see nothing but her face. It was a beautiful face, much as if his mother’s must have looked when she was young.
Sigurdur thought, you heard about this sort of thing all your life but you were never ready when it happened.
You never believed you would attract the interest of the Night.
The woman opened her cloak. She wore nothing beneath. Her body was perfection. It exuded warmth. It could not be resisted.
It was too late even for the wary.
They found Sigurdur half a mile from camp, half in and half out of the river, naked from the waist down. They never found his trousers.
“He died happy,” Hallgrim said.
But Sigurdur’s skin was as pale as snow, not because he was dead but because all the blood had been drained from his body.
The frozen mud retained footprints made by a woman’s small, bare feet.
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Extracted from Glen Cook’s “The Tyranny of the Night”
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VAMPS - Where you take on the role of a vampire struggling to exist in a hostile city.
Strife not due to the mortals inhabiting the town, but the others.
Those like you, competing for prey and room to hunt.
Will you prevail?
Check the rules for signup procedures. Good luck to all!
Rules For Vamps
Spoiler:
Object: Players are Vampires trying to wipe out other vampire Families.
Victory: The last player with vampires is the winner.
Components - Family -
Collective name for the Vamps controlled by a player.
Vamps -
The agents of the players.
Prey -
The poor mortals of the city.
Districts -
The areas of the city where the Prey encounter vamps.
Lair -
Where healthy Family members hang out till nightfall.
Casket -
Marks injured injured vamps trying to recover.
Blood -
Measure of a vampire’s vitality.
Crest -
Color representing both districts marked by a Family and which vamps belong.
Setup -
1. Each player names one vamp as the Sire or Dame of their Family (please specify the sex of the vamp for ambiguous names). First names will be unique within a given Family, while the Last name will be eight characters unique among Families. This vamp starts with '3' blood.
2. In addition, the player should select a color that the GM uses to mark territory where the Family roamed.
3. The GM populates the city districts with d6 Prey in each one.
Orders -
Each player notes which of their vamps are going to what Districts. Vamps in caskets may not receive orders.
Placement -
The GM places the vamps according to the player instructions. Vamps can only place in districts marked with the Family color, or adjacent to such a district. In the event that the Family has NO marked districts, place them in any one district.
Encounters -
If more than one Family is in a district they fight each other till no opposing Families remain.
a. Persistance check. Roll a d6 for each vamp. If the result is greater than the vamp’s blood level, return that vamp to its lair.
b. Randomly select a casualty from the remaining vamps in the district.
i. Reduce that vamp’s blood level by one.
ii. If that vamp has ‘0’ blood remaining, place that vamp in a casket and mark it for d6 turns of Recovery.
c. If there are still opposing families in the district, return to step b.
d. If there are any remaining vamps in the district, proceed with Harvest.
Harvests -
1. Randomly select a vamp in a district.
2. If a d6 result is less than or equal to the Prey number, reduce Prey level by one and that vamp gains one blood level, up to the maximum of five.
3. Return that vamp to its Lair.
4. If the vamp gained blood, roll a d6 for new vamp creation. On a ‘one’ result, add a new vamp to that player’s lair, with ‘one’ blood.
5. If there are still vamps in the district, return to step 1.
6. Remove existing Marks, and Mark the district with Family color.
Recovery
1. Roll a d6 for each district. If the result is less than or equal to the number of prey there, add one prey.
2. Roll a d6 for each vamp NOT in a casket. On a ‘one’ result, reduce that vamps blood level by one. If reduced to zero, place the vamp in a casket with d6 turns of Recovery.
3. For each vamp in a casket, roll a d6. On a ‘one’ result, remove that vamp from the game. Otherwise reduce the Recovery time for that vamp by one. Vamps in caskets with a ‘zero’ return to the Lair with ‘one’ blood.
Hi. I would agree that the role play factor would make it fit in the NESing forum better. However, the dice-rolling and territorial system makes it distinctively IOT- Boardgame-type RPs are rather rare (although not unsuccessful) in our part of the woods while that is one central definition of the IOT.
I will post this link in the New NESes thread. and hopefully you can introduce yourself there as well. Here is the link to the NESing forum.
Although I probably won't be able to play, I wish you success on this endeavor.
I don't see a lot of difference between a taking the part of a homicidal blood thirsty would be world dictator as in 'Enlightenment', versus being a homicidal blood drinking would be city dictator in 'Vamps'.
Other than there are a lot fewer areas to conquer in 'Vamps'.
Well, the assumption seems to be that this has significant role playing elements in it- this would naturally divert this idea away from IOT to NES because NESing concepts generally focus on possibilities for role playing and "getting in character" while IOT is more strictly focused on mechanics and geopolitics with role playing a clear secondary.
I.E. In an IOT betraying an ally would be easily done, depending on the benefits and what the opposing side offers. In an NES, it would be very hard to pull off without destroying trust... WITHIN that particular game for that particular nation. Another way to look at it is that we try to stay IC more often in an NES.
If we all misinterpreted your intentions, apologies. However, I think one thing which might have led to this interpretation was the novel exert thing, which felt quite RPing to me.
'Vamps' might have the look of Role Playing, with 'Families', 'Sire' and what not phrases tossed around, but no role playing is in the rules.
Players might submit trash talking and color commentary posts, but that has no game effect other than psychological.
At it's heart (no pun intended), Vamps is a (small) area control game, with the player forces gaining strength at the expense of depleting their resource base.
I tried to design the Combat system to partially favor a smaller force over a larger one.
This might be a way for me to implement a view that vamps would tend towards solitary activities, but it wasn't intended as a role.
Well, the assumption seems to be that this has significant role playing elements in it- this would naturally divert this idea away from IOT to NES because NESing concepts generally focus on possibilities for role playing and "getting in character" while IOT is more strictly focused on mechanics and geopolitics with role playing a clear secondary.
I.E. In an IOT betraying an ally would be easily done, depending on the benefits and what the opposing side offers. In an NES, it would be very hard to pull off without destroying trust... WITHIN that particular game for that particular nation. Another way to look at it is that we try to stay IC more often in an NES.
If we all misinterpreted your intentions, apologies. However, I think one thing which might have led to this interpretation was the novel exert thing, which felt quite RPing to me.
Double A, if you are still rough over that you can VM me, EQ, Spry and the other people you betrayed by. I never say betrayal never happens, and if you notice betrayal does have consequences- note the abandonment of the Franco-Burgundian Confederacy after the great war.
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