This is a play-by-post async game that will be played on Gamers Plane site. If you'd rather not register there before you know for sure that you are invited, feel free to send your applications here in the thread or in lemmy PMs. The full ad: ● Pitch. The daylight streets of Montréal are abuzz with life in the summer. Both the locals and the hordes of tourists flood the myriad of festivals and concerts taking place in the city. At night a different kind of sound is reverberating throughout the dark alleyways, abandoned churches and deep catacombs underneath the kine feet. A noise that is unperceivable, but is heard, felt. In the beating of the drums, the harmony of the revenant's choir, in the intense and passionate recitals of the passages from the book before communal ritae. A sickening, corrupting voice that gets harder and harder to resist. A whisper that breaks the weak and wears down the strong who can withstand its unseen influence. Of evil, of disease, of discord. An ancient song that affects the land, throngs of mortals and Cainite alike. Hum.
● Overview. "Hum" is a Sabbat chronicle taking place in Montréal, Canada, also known as City of Black Miracles, using Revised/V20 rules. This is an open world / sandbox style game, which makes it a great fit for players who enjoy creating their own scenes and events, and taking an active role in moving the story along, rather than follow direction in a more defined plotline. While the ultimate course of action will be up to the players, the game is not intended to be a fighting simulator. I'm also not a strict adherent of RAW philosophy, so if you're looking for a by-the-book combat extravaganza - this is not it. The basic premise is that the characters arrive in Montréal to attend Litany of Blood (a great Sabbat conference / remembrance ceremony), separately, and form the pack during the game. The main themes are those of Search - whether inner - for something like clarity, meaning, sanity; or outer - for a person, safety, a place to belong or the next victim; and Faith - the universal power that permeates the island of Montréal and its surroundings. The mood is one of melancholy, pressing paranoia and choleric anxiety, uncertainty, change and chaos - something is about to give in, to shift, to emerge and every Cainite in the city can sense it. The setting is modern, the game taking place in early 2000s, around 2006 or so. I don't use AI for anything, but there are a few generated images left in my art folder, which might (but unlikely) to surface as NPC portraits. I would prefer players not use generative AI at all, but making an avatar or two for you character would not be a deal breaker.
● Applications. First I'd like to know a little bit about your character concept. What are they about, what is their personality like? Next, I'd like to know what you want from a game like this. Which story points and themes are exciting to you and which you could do without? The idea here is to gather a group of players AND characters who are compatible with both each other and myself, to ensure our collective satisfaction and longevity of the game. You can either leave your concepts here in the thread (please make them private notes if there are any nsfw themes present) or send them via PM. All the usual Sabbat Clans and Bloodlines are up, including Ahrimanes, but excluding Harbingers (as they are mostly Elders) and Tremere (mostly dead). Everything else is a tentative maybe, except perished Dark Ages lines like Lamia and Noiad, which are out. Age wise you can pick anything in the "fresh shovelhead - young ancilla" range, up to 100 years of undeath. More metaplot involved concepts are allowed (and even cautiously encouraged), provided they make sense and don't dip too much into deep lore / other splats.
● Adult themes. "Montréal by Night", the book upon which this chronicle is based, was one of the few books originally published under "Black Dog" imprint by WW, denoting adult contents. As such, you can expect to potentially encounter a whole gamut of explicit themes and topics, like gore, swearing, body horror and sex. If you can imagine something horrible, it has probably happened in this version of Montréal somewhere. It's important to note, however, that this is not a fetish, erp or a wish fulfillment game. The awful things that Sabbat vampires do is simply their way of coping with the horror of their unnatural condition, a lens through which you can roleplay and experience the vampiric condition anew. While we will discuss boundaries during "Session 0", the game is likely to be graphic in nature. Should any situation arise, we'll address it and try to find a way forward, altering, changing or adjusting content as needed, rather than defaulting to any set safety tools, like "X-Cards" or "Lines & Veils". At the end of the day player's comfort and safety comes first, but it is also important to understand what kind of game you'll be joining. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
● Post frequency. Varied. A combat scene might necessitate a faster rate of short messages to keep the action going, while a protracted philosophical discussion with adherent of different Path can be settled in a couple sizable posts. To set some minimal number up, looking for at least 2 to 3 meaningful in-game posts a week.
● Dying, PVP and loss of control. Dying is technically a possibility, but I make it no goal of mine to try and kill the players. Should you enter a situation where Final Death is an actual possibility, I'll make sure to warn you beforehand. This is NOT a PVP game. While arguments leading to physical resolutions, or even Monomancy, are fine, should they organically arise, going into this with a hostile mindset is not. The banhammer will be landing swiftly if it becomes apparent that you're just here to screw with the other players. Complete loss of control or autonomy over your character will never happen without your explicit consent, such as NPC's use Dominate. More subtle alterations, like emotional changes brought on by Presence discipline or Vinculum bonds are expected to be roleplayed, but will also be discussed prior to going into effect. Players are expected to extend each other the same courtesy.
● Amount of players and experience level. Looking for at least 4 people, with a tentative maximum of 6. While deep understanding of the rules or setting is not necessary, some familiarity with the basics of both (like having V20 core near or reading through free Revised quickstart) is required.
