Character Creation Rules and Information

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The Wyrd
Administrator

Posts: 243

Character Creation Rules and Information Aug 22, 2020 16:35:18 GMT -8

Post by The Wyrd on Aug 22, 2020 16:35:18 GMT -8

Dark Harvest is a Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition play-by-post game set in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada.

Here are the house rules for creating characters:

Characters are built as base Changeling characters from the Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition book, with no additional XP.
Mortals and other supernatural splats are not permitted.
Characters must start in Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. Courtless characters are not permitted; however, characters may shift Courts in play as their philosophies grow over time.
Characters begin with 1 dot in their Court's Mantle for free. They may not raise Mantle beyond 1 during character creation. While Spring, Summer and Autumn must list their Mantle level in their Signature line, Winter Courtiers have a more subtle Mantle. They may list "Winter Mantle ??" if they wish.
This is not a 'fresh out of the Hedge' story. Characters in Dark Harvest are somewhat established in reality. Characters must have come out of the Hedge at least one year ago, and may not have come out any longer than five years ago.
Occult is capped at 3 at character creation, and should be at 1 or 2 unless the character is a Fall Courtier. See Post #3 in this thread.
Characters may drop 5 points of their starting Merits to raise their Wyrd to 2. Characters may not start with Wyrd higher than 2. Characters may only have one Attribute at 1.
Backgrounds should address why a character is part of their Court; the Court choice should accurately reflect the character's philosophy and mindset.
Professional Training, Patient, Investigative Aide and Mystery Cult merits are Not Sanctioned.
The Doors system and the Clues system from 2e are not in play.
Sanctioned books include the Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition books and the Chronicles of Darkness books. If you have any questions about if something is sanctioned, ask your Storyteller.

Procedure for Making a Character

Step 1: Review setting materials set out in the Setting Information Forum. We do expect characters to mesh well with our setting; random PCs are unlikely to be approved. The Teaser, the Freehold Culture thread, the Locations thread and your Court's Monarch and Knighthood thread are must-reads for understanding where we're going.
Step 2: Conceptualize. You'll want to come up with a Changeling concept that fits under one of our True Fae, which can be reviewed here. Feel free to talk it over with our Storyteller, Krakenbox . Come up with a background that explains your character's history, Durance, etc.
Step 3: When you are ready to create your character sheet, please copy the template set out in this thread and fill it out in a post in the Dark Harvest Character Sheets forum. Your character sheet post is private and only visible to Staff.
Step 4: Select your character's Avatar. You can check if the Avatar is available by looking here in the Avatars Used thread.
Step 5: Once approved, create an account using the same e-mail you used to create your player account. You will be able to use the account swap in the bottom right hand corner of the forum to switch between these. Please do your in-character posts using your character account.
Step 6: Set up your profile picture with an appropriate photograph of your Avatar that captures your character's Mask. This should be a person that looks roughly like them (actor, singer, or some other appropriate representation) who reflects their Presence and Striking Looks level. The Staff reserve the right to decline inappropriate or cartoonish Avatars.
Step 7: Fill out your Signature. You can put any public information you'd like here, but what must be there is your character's Seeming, Presence score (with a one or two word descriptor in brackets), Mantle (with an appropriate descriptor as described here), and any Striking Looks or major other Merit that would be obvious or easily known (Fame, Air of Menace, high mundane Status in a sphere).
Step 7a: While you're in your Signature, please write a short description of your character's Fae mien; what do they look like under the Mask? This should be guided by their Wyrd score as described here.

[/a] Join an open scene, start one, or enter an appropriate Freehold Gathering, and we'll get started!
[/ul]

Last Edit: Jan 1, 2022 21:07:26 GMT -8 by Henley

The Wyrd
Administrator

Posts: 243

Character Creation Rules and Information Sept 5, 2020 16:19:01 GMT -8

Post by The Wyrd on Sept 5, 2020 16:19:01 GMT -8

The following House Rules are relevant for review:

Continuity Rules:

For ease of understanding the order of when things occur in continuity, Plot and Major Events threads occur on the day that they begin. Social threads occur on the day that they end.

Scenes may be connected; that is to say, if a plot begins on September 1, 2021 and every thread is connected and occurs on that day because the plot happens over four hours in-character, that is fine.

'Social threads' that are part of a plot must be in the Plot Forum and must be set in continuity by the Storyteller.

It is wise not to mention information within Plot threads in other social threads until they have concluded, as they do tend to change in the middle.

XP purchases cannot be used in plots that are currently happening without permission from the Storyteller.

Conditions Continuity:

Conditions used in Plot and Major Events must have been earned before the relevant thread begins. When a Condition is earned, update your signature and put it in your character sheet with a link to the post where it was earned.

Beats and Conditions Earned:

Staff are busy, and the site is growing, so help us out! When you earn a Beat or Condition, make a post on your Character Sheet thread linking where the Beat or Condition came from. The Storyteller will then update your character sheet and delete the post once they have done so. This is for ST book-keeping. This must be completed. At the end of the month, any Beats or Conditions that are not recorded in this way will be lost.

Metagaming:

Metagaming is not permitted. We often make posts that include a character's inner thoughts or feelings to make our narratives more interesting and better characterize our PCs.

While this makes the writing more interesting and is encouraged, characters cannot react to things they would not know. React to what your character can see, hear or detect. Remember, you can throw a contested Wits + Empathy to detect feelings or lies.

It is a good idea to put important information that you learn about things into a Notes post in your character sheet thread so you can track the key things that your character knows about plots.

Background Ties:

While background ties are be permitted, they may not be used as justification for purchasing out-of-Regalia Contracts or Seeming Benefits for contracts. They aren't loopholes for getting cheaper superpowers.

Sealing:

Sealing typically provides a Beat when the Changeling honors the Seal and does what they said they would do without trying to get out of it. However, those RAW rules don't consider what happens when a Changeling makes a Seal that doesn't really have an end point, like promising to keep a secret. In those situations, a Changeling may also gain one Beat in the life of a Sealing when they suffer a genuine danger or major loss for keeping their word. The Storyteller will be the determiner of what a 'genuine danger' or 'major loss' is in any given situation based on a character's motivations.

Breaking a Tie on a Contested Action:

Save for where otherwise indicated (ie: grappling), ties on contested actions will be resolved per CTL 2e pp. 177. To speed things up in play-by-post, the last player involved in a contested action resulting in a tie will reroll the pools involved in the tie until one character comes out on top and breaks the tie. The original successes rolled are what applies after the tie is broken.

For example, Johnny and Kelly are negotiating a deal. Johnny rolls 5 dice, and Kelly rolls 9. They roll 3 successes each.

Kelly rolled second, so she rerolls the same pools for both of them in the dice roller (these rolls must be labelled with each character's name). In the tiebreaker, Kelly rolls 5 successes and Johnny rolls 2. Kelly wins the tiebreaker.

Kelly gets the effect of 3 successes, regardless of whatever she rolled in the tiebreaker.

Kiths:

a) All Kiths are subject to review before acceptance. In general, Kiths that allow a character to immediately Solve the Plot will not be sanctioned as written, though they may have their Kith Blessing changed with permission of the Storyteller. The Cleverquick Kith is Not Sanctioned.

b) Unofficial Kith Blessings must be set down on the character sheet, as the homebrew list we often use is a living document that changes from time to time.

c) The Oracle Kith provides the following benefits:

Kith Blessing: When the Oracle makes Investigation rolls related to finding a clue in a location, achieving three successes counts as an exceptional success.
Fool's Blessing: Once per day, the Oracle may spend 1 Glamour to gain the benefit of the Common Sense Merit as if they had rolled a single success. Alternatively, they may spend 1 Glamour and Willpower to gain this benefit as though they had rolled an Exceptional Success.

d) The Polychromatic Kith provides the following benefits:

Kith Blessing: When the Polychromatic makes Empathy rolls to identify the emotional state of others, achieving three successes counts as an exceptional success.
Polychromatic Mind: The changeling always knows when a supernatural effect is affecting his emotional state, or used to deliver unwanted impulses, reactions or commands. The changeling may spend a point of Glamour and roll Composure + Wyrd in a Clash of Wills to end such effects. This requires an instant action to fight off the supernatural compulsion, but no supernatural compulsion can prevent the changeling from the attempt - even if explicitly commanded not to fight the effect, the changeling may do so

e) The Ifrit Kith provides the following benefits:

Kith Blessing: When the Ifrit makes Intimidation rolls destroying or damaging nearby objects, achieving three successes counts as an exceptional success.
Firestorm: The changeling may spend a point of Glamour and roll Presence + Occult in order to summon flames anywhere within sight. The changeling divides his Wyrd between the size and heat of the created fire, though once created it spreads and grows normally. Size must be set to at least 1 for this power to work. If the changeling attempts to target a character or any item in that character's possession with this, Defense is subtracted from this roll.

f) The Maker Kith provides the following benefits:

Kith Blessing: When the Maker makes Crafts rolls to craft an object for someone else, achieving three successes counts as an exceptional success.
Made-to-Fit: The changeling may spend a point of Glamour and roll Wits + Computer, Crafts, or Science when beginning to undertake the Build Equipment action in order to craft equipment for someone else. If successful, the resultant equipment gains extra bonuses (die or features) equal to the changeling’s Wyrd at the time of crafting when used by the intended recipient. When used by anyone else, not only are those bonuses lost, but they act as penalties instead.

g) The Telluric Kith provides the following benefits:

Kith Blessing: When a Telluric makes Athletics based rolls around timing and position, 3 successes are an Exceptional Success.

Celestial Convergence - Once per chapter, the Telluric may spend a point of Glamour and roll Wits + Survival to assess the night sky with a question of arriving at an event. The event must be specific—vague events or a lack of names can lead them into strange or dangerous circumstances that waste time. The Telluric is provided with a literal star map, and can trace their movement to end up in the place they are supposed to be, as long as they are able to see the same stars. The more complicated the scenario with fates aligning, the larger the star map (to reflect the improbability of reaching their goal in time).

h) The Riddleseeker Kith provides the following benefits:

Kith Blessing: When the Riddleseeker makes Investigation rolls to solve a riddle or puzzle, achieving three successes counts as an exceptional success.
The Impossible Question: The Riddleseeker may spend a point of Glamour to ask an impossible question. The Riddleseeker's player rolls Wits + Investigation as an instant action, contested by the target's Intelligence + Supernatural Tolerance. The target gains the Riddleseeker's choice of the Confused, Lost or Insensate Conditions.

Merit Modifications:

Enchanting Performance is adjusted as follows:

Each of these abilities may be used once per Scene.
Poem may be used after a successful Performance. The character may spend 1 Glamour to achieve an exceptional success on a follow-up social roll on 3 successes instead of 5.
Sonnet: While it can be used to give others the Inspired Condition as written, to prevent Condition farming, this Rote Action Performance cannot give the user of the Sonnet ability a Condition on an exceptional success.

Court Goodwill cannot be justified in play by friendships with other PCs. Court Goodwill is largely earned through plot and embodying tenets of the Court in question. Court Goodwill can be lost by taking actions that would anger the officers of the Court in question. When that happens, the XP spent for lost Court Goodwill will be refunded.

Contract Modifications:

Riddle-Kith:

While the general usage of the Riddle-Kith power remains as written, the Darkling bonus for Riddle-Kith is modified as follows: "The Darkling may select Wyrd + 1 Kiths on her character sheet at the time of purchase. For these Kiths, the target can truly become the Kith she impersonates — she loses the mechanical benefits of her own kith, and receives those of the false Kith." (Balance adjustment)

Loopholes

Loopholes cannot be used with a Glamour to make a Contract activation reflexive instead of Instant Action per page 127. You can still use a Loophole with a Contract that is Reflexive already.

Loopholes may not be satisfied by using items created by magic.

Seasonal Contracts

Seasonal contracts do not gain bonuses for being in- or out-of-Season.

Last Edit: Jan 5, 2022 14:42:25 GMT -8 by Henley

The Wyrd
Administrator

Posts: 243

Character Creation Rules and Information Sept 18, 2020 11:38:19 GMT -8

Post by The Wyrd on Sept 18, 2020 11:38:19 GMT -8

In Dark Harvest, the Occult score represents general knowledge of the supernatural. As with World of Darkness, this translates into a character actually having obtained a fact pattern or witnessed phenomena that proved the existence of supernatural activity and forces.

Specialties are required for having specific, focused knowledge on an esoteric subject, or understanding the inner workings of a topic of a supernatural nature.
With the Las Vegas Freehold, certain information can only be obtained via roleplay and a purchase of a speciality granted by the Storyteller, to reflect your character gaining access to rare or sensitive information.

In this setting, mortals studying the Occult have a cap of Occult 1, mortals having been directly exposed to the supernatural (Hunters, Avowed, etc) have access to Occult 2, and Occult 3 represents relatively expert knowledge of the supernatural. Due to this, the Occult score is capped at 3 for character creation.

Occult 4 and 5 are sought through character arcs, in which knowledge considered restricted is first uncovered and then studied.

For the sake of brevity, for this game, the examples go as follows:

Occult 1: a general understanding that the world has layers of reality, and the presence of other supernatural entities. For a Changeling, Specialties could include: The Hedge, Hobgoblins, Goblin Fruit, common Tokens, and Seemings

Occult 2: a specialized focus on the strange. Rather than just a "general education", this reflects a devoted student of magic and mystery. For a Changeling, Specialties could include: Hedgespinning, the Goblin Market, the Gates of Horn and Ivory, Oneiromancy, Ghosts, Kiths, and ritual patterns for a specific Court

Occult 3: an expert in the secrets of the supernatural. Mere mortals cannot comprehend these secrets, and Changelings rarely go this deep unless they are an officer of Autumn, or a specialized scholar who have devoted most of their time to study. Specialties could include: Goblin Debt, the Skein, the Underworld, Twilight, Clarity management, Contract natures outside of Regalia, ritual patterns for non-affiliated Courts, Bane and Taboo patterns, the Seasons, Glamour synthesizing

Occult 4: a master of the unseen arts. To know this knowledge always comes at a cost, shifting perspectives in ways that cannot be undone. Specialties could include: Fae Titles, the Huntsman Ritual, how a Fetch is made, necromatic rites, developing Seasonal rites, Pledgecrafting loopholes, universal forces

Occult 5: represents an individual entity that has embedded themselves in a vein of arcane conspiracy. They have solved a riddle that explains the fabric of their experienced reality, and can no longer see the world as a static experience of a single truth. Specialties could include: How Keepers are made and function, how to write a Contract, how to Bargain with an Idea, and how to manipulate separate planes of reality