Future Camstuff...
29 May 2004 14:33![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_eggwhiteWell, I've een keeping an eye on information about the new World of Darkness as it surfaces, and so far there's nothing that seems to really preclude the idea I had for a game dynamic. In fact, if anything, It might be better suited to it than the current WoD vampire lines were.
New WoD Info Sources
New WW quarterly - includes information about the new WoD and Vampire: The Requiem.
World of Darkness Website - Updates every weekday, apparently.
(All links open in new windows)
Summary of Game Dynamic Idea
The main thrust of this potential game dynamic is that it is focussed on three main groups, which I shall refer to as The Court, The Gather and the Outsiders.
The court are an established power group, very much involved in the one upmanship and political backstabbing that we all know and love from the camarilla court. Only those who show the appropriate level of quality are accepted. Those who get their hands dirty are obviously not good enough, as they don't have people to do that kind of thing for them. Those who are not members of the court must be sponsored in, and will be frowned upon should such sponsorship be used frivolously. The court is lead by either the Prince or a kindred of equivalent title and stature. Each clan will have at least one representative in the court, and other positions relevant to the political stability of the domain may also be held here.
Essentially, the mood of the court is like an aristocratic party or a social gathering of MPs and high level civil servants. It's technically a social gathering, but social networking takes place and deals are done. People are judged on who they know, who will vouch for them and for whatever important deeds they have managed to steal the credit for.
The Gather is where the more rough and ready kindred meet. The political types are generally considered to be far too full of themselves, scared to do the dirty work, etc... and are unwelcome as such. Those who are not regulars at the gather, or are seen as stuck up and aristocratic will often be given a hard time. Positions and Titles here are informal, and usually relate to a particular role or job for which the holder might be responsible. Trying to say you're better because you do a job is likely to earn you the same kind of erision normally reserved for the court members.
The mood of the gather is much more like a nightclub - freedom and individuality are held in high regard and people are judged on their actions and deeds, not their words or their friends. Who claims credit for making something happen means little in the Gather, as everybody knows who actually did the work.
The Outsiders are generally disliked by both other groups. They don't fit in in the court because their lineage is not good enough, they gain power through means that are considered dirty, they made a political faux-pas of truly epic proportions some time ago and are yet to be forgiven or simlpy because they are foreign.
Yet their presence is tolerated because they have some skill which, for the moment, is necessary. In the current WoD this could be the Giovanni, whose skills could be of use because of the huge ghost problem in the area, leading people to just about tolerate their unsavoury habits. In a dark ages game this could be the Tremere, whose knowledge of the mages makes them well placed to assist against the current mage problem, leading people to just about tolerate their stolen blood.
As a group, the outsiders can be transient - as the plot moves on they can either be driven off, wiped out or accepted, and a new "outsiders" group can appear, trying to gain acceptance through the use of their particular talents.
Interactions:
Court to Gather:
Occasionally, a member of the court may be charged with sorting out a problem. If they are seen to be trailing around investigating things then they will be seen as performing tasks beneath their station when they should be in court attending to their betters. Instead, the accepted course of action is to use contacts within the Gather to form a team who will "deal with the matter". The initiating court member can then take credit for a successful action or be blamed when his minions fail - so good contacts with the gather are essential. The first port of cal lwould normally be your own clanmates, but they may not always be the best suited to the task at hand.
Gather to court::
Every now and then a situation may arise which needs to be solved through political means. This will mean finding a member of the court to either sponsor you in so that you can bring your matter to those who can do something about it, or you need to find somebody willing to make your point for you. This means you'll need good contacts within the court. You first port of call would normally be your clan's representative, but they may not always be in a position to help out personally, but if they've been doing their job then they'll be able to call in favours to get something done.
Outsiders interacting with anyone:
Nobody likes you, but you know things which can help them. You have information that they need, even if they don't know it yet. Acceptance for you and/or your group could be just around the corner...
OR
They don't like you, but you don't need their love. So long as they know they owe you for the information or assistance you've provided, then you're safe. So long as they know thy can't get by without you... Of course, this does mean treading the fine line of seeming to help with the problems without actually making them go away... if they go away completely then you're no longer indispensible.
New WoD Info Sources
New WW quarterly - includes information about the new WoD and Vampire: The Requiem.
World of Darkness Website - Updates every weekday, apparently.
(All links open in new windows)
Summary of Game Dynamic Idea
The main thrust of this potential game dynamic is that it is focussed on three main groups, which I shall refer to as The Court, The Gather and the Outsiders.
The court are an established power group, very much involved in the one upmanship and political backstabbing that we all know and love from the camarilla court. Only those who show the appropriate level of quality are accepted. Those who get their hands dirty are obviously not good enough, as they don't have people to do that kind of thing for them. Those who are not members of the court must be sponsored in, and will be frowned upon should such sponsorship be used frivolously. The court is lead by either the Prince or a kindred of equivalent title and stature. Each clan will have at least one representative in the court, and other positions relevant to the political stability of the domain may also be held here.
Essentially, the mood of the court is like an aristocratic party or a social gathering of MPs and high level civil servants. It's technically a social gathering, but social networking takes place and deals are done. People are judged on who they know, who will vouch for them and for whatever important deeds they have managed to steal the credit for.
The Gather is where the more rough and ready kindred meet. The political types are generally considered to be far too full of themselves, scared to do the dirty work, etc... and are unwelcome as such. Those who are not regulars at the gather, or are seen as stuck up and aristocratic will often be given a hard time. Positions and Titles here are informal, and usually relate to a particular role or job for which the holder might be responsible. Trying to say you're better because you do a job is likely to earn you the same kind of erision normally reserved for the court members.
The mood of the gather is much more like a nightclub - freedom and individuality are held in high regard and people are judged on their actions and deeds, not their words or their friends. Who claims credit for making something happen means little in the Gather, as everybody knows who actually did the work.
The Outsiders are generally disliked by both other groups. They don't fit in in the court because their lineage is not good enough, they gain power through means that are considered dirty, they made a political faux-pas of truly epic proportions some time ago and are yet to be forgiven or simlpy because they are foreign.
Yet their presence is tolerated because they have some skill which, for the moment, is necessary. In the current WoD this could be the Giovanni, whose skills could be of use because of the huge ghost problem in the area, leading people to just about tolerate their unsavoury habits. In a dark ages game this could be the Tremere, whose knowledge of the mages makes them well placed to assist against the current mage problem, leading people to just about tolerate their stolen blood.
As a group, the outsiders can be transient - as the plot moves on they can either be driven off, wiped out or accepted, and a new "outsiders" group can appear, trying to gain acceptance through the use of their particular talents.
Interactions:
Court to Gather:
Occasionally, a member of the court may be charged with sorting out a problem. If they are seen to be trailing around investigating things then they will be seen as performing tasks beneath their station when they should be in court attending to their betters. Instead, the accepted course of action is to use contacts within the Gather to form a team who will "deal with the matter". The initiating court member can then take credit for a successful action or be blamed when his minions fail - so good contacts with the gather are essential. The first port of cal lwould normally be your own clanmates, but they may not always be the best suited to the task at hand.
Gather to court::
Every now and then a situation may arise which needs to be solved through political means. This will mean finding a member of the court to either sponsor you in so that you can bring your matter to those who can do something about it, or you need to find somebody willing to make your point for you. This means you'll need good contacts within the court. You first port of call would normally be your clan's representative, but they may not always be in a position to help out personally, but if they've been doing their job then they'll be able to call in favours to get something done.
Outsiders interacting with anyone:
Nobody likes you, but you know things which can help them. You have information that they need, even if they don't know it yet. Acceptance for you and/or your group could be just around the corner...
OR
They don't like you, but you don't need their love. So long as they know they owe you for the information or assistance you've provided, then you're safe. So long as they know thy can't get by without you... Of course, this does mean treading the fine line of seeming to help with the problems without actually making them go away... if they go away completely then you're no longer indispensible.
