The Storyteller's Notes

22 | lesbian | him/her | MDNI

[storytellersnotebook]

The Storyteller's Notebook | Intro

If you have stumbled across this blog, I welcome you with open arms. UNLESS YOU ARE ONE OF MY PLAYERS, I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU CONTINUE READING (I’M TALKING TO YOU LO)! The Storyteller's Notebook is a blog that is described by it's title, as this is intended to be a place for me to document some of my work towards writing a Vampire: The Masquerade oneshot(and if I feel confident enough about how that goals, a campaign).

My choice to do this is because I do not want to buy a new Microsoft Office subscription and I am avoiding writing on Google docs because of AI scraping. I know that Tumblr is likely being scraped by AI anyway, but I feel at home here in a way that most other places online I do not.

Tumblr has always been a place for those who do not have anywhere else they can turn to, and White Wolf's World of Darkness that VtM takes place in is filled with misfits that can be interpreted in all of the rich allegories that have always been found in the mythical and monsterous.

As of this post, I am still learning this ttrpg system and the lore of World of Darkness, so please have patience. I will accept any critiques or corrections, but I do not wish to be shouted at by strangers on the internet.

Here are a few general rules for this blog:

-- This blog is run by a non-binary lesbian, so any homophobia or transphobia will not be tolerated.

-- This blog is also anti-facist, so do not bring any racism, anti-semitism, conservatism or any of that bullshit here either.

-- MINORS DO NOT INTERACT: while I do not have plans to post anything explicit as of now on this blog, I am an adult and do not feel comfortable interacting with children online. I also generally have a lot of feelings about vampires as a tool in storytelling to address sexual and controversial things so it is not unlikely that it will be mentioned.

-- FUCK AI. I will not knowingly use any AI in this blog or anywhere else in my life so help me GAWD, so please do not bring any slop here. If you cannot write without AI, I beg of you to grow a braincell. (ps. I know most things currently called 'AI' are not scientificallly AI)

-- It is a documentation of my development in understanding Vtm. Not everything will always be correct because I am just one person. So, take everything with a pinch of salt. I am not claiming to be educating anyone.

-- If you would like to use anything I come up with on this blog for your own campaign should I begin sharing parts of my oneshot creation, then feel free but give me a comment, reblog or message to let me know because I wanna interact!!!!

-- Finally, if you wanna be mutuals, just reach out :)

[storytellersnotebook]

When your player wants to own a club called ‘Devil’s Den’ and then they choose to use it as their base as a Trapdoor Predator Type, surely the correct way to make it haunted is to give it a demonic/devilish connection? I am struggling to find examples of how people have built Haunted Havens. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for places to look?

[storytellersnotebook]

There are times when a notebook lies open, the page is stained yet blank, words are stifled in a jumble and the pen refuses to write…This is my long winded way of asking Storytellers and Players of the Vampire: The Masquerade for a little help. I have begun writing my Chronicle and planning out all kinds of social complexities that will feed into whatever dramatic arcs that I can come up with. But the thing I am struggling with most is what to start with?

If you are feeling generous, it would be a great help if you could repost, comment, or send an ask to tell me how your Chronicle started? Was a it a murder mystery? Collecting the tithe of a Prince? A brawl with hunters? Investigating a Kindred intruding on your domain? Anything! I’m just looking for a little inspiration to see the types of options I have.

Anything at all would be so kind and helpful! I hope your night is going well wherever you may be!🩸🩸

Edit — I have decided what I am doing, but feel free to contribute! I would love to hear still!

[winter-wise]

Me: gosh I sure am having a nice day with all my blood inside my body

The villainous vampire:

[vampires-official]

[ID: gif of three kittens, the species some sort of wild cat, standing in front of a den in a field. one kitten bites the neck of another/end ID]

official vampire post

[my-dailydreams]

[valtsv]

i understand the appeal of vampires cradling you in a parody of a lover's embrace while they feed on you i absolutely get it. however ☝️ i will always insist that the person being fed on embracing, holding in place, or even pulling the vampire back in for more when they try to stop themselves is infinitely more erotic. especially if there's a hint of visible revulsion in it; an instinctual repulsion that nearly overrules any desire. even more so if either party is tormented by soul-crushing guilt and disgust with themselves in the aftermath.

[valtsv]

yes i can appreciate the conceptual appeal of a beautiful humanoid apex predator literally pursuing you like water in the desert but i think that everyone should be more conflicted and not having a great time about it

[storytellersnotebook]

Source : @chrismotionless on instagram, done by @acaciaevans on instagram.

(this photograph of chris motionless from motionless in white looks like it could be VtM corebook art and he may become the face of one of the spcs i am planning)

[spearxwind]

I made a new oc but I am missing a name so I am consulting the only expert I know that can give me what I want: baby name sites ran by white american moms.

Oh yeah baby here we fucking go

[secretsofthemasquerade]

How to make a short chronicle

torrid-toreador had asked about how to make a 6-8 session chronicle and for it to work, so while I did answer, I’d like to turn that into a “proper” article ^^

A short chronicle is very hard to maintain in a Vampire the Masquerade (and in Requiem), because we tend to understand VtM as a sandbow game. But there are ways around it!

What you need is to create a tragedy. Five acts, peak of horror/action/romance, things settle and a new order is rebuilt.. Here’s the Dramatic structure for you guys to use (short wiki version, this deserves a thesis on its own tho). Actually you only need Act 2, 3 and 5.

You’ll need quite a bit of preparation, and a couple of plot hooks to integrate very quickly into your players’ agenda because in two months (one session per week) you can’t really leave your PCs run around and turning every rock. Make sure that, by creation, they all have something in common, somehow (presented the same night, sired by a same group of friends, be in debt to the same person). Faster into the main thing ;)

The catch is to manage to make your “how to campaign” shorter so you wouldn’t do useless extensive research.

Built your city’s layout (rough sketch), drop in a few NPCs, show them the map and the influences they know of, and write one sentence for yourself about “what will happen”. I’ll use an old story for the sake of demonstration (it’s under Masquerade but the mechanics can be easily translated).

The [insert loner/bitter character A] [insert high rank position] will sell the city to the [insert antagonist]. A was blood bound to the Prince [or other authority position] and managed to break it without the domitor knowing. A will use the PCs, through her allies and traps, through their boons and their common interests, to create chaos and have an open door for [other antagonists] to wipe out everything and [insert here new power ; maybe Awanted power for herself and the PCs contributed to her coup, maybe it was just out of spite and revenge and will give it to her covenenant/clanmate ; or will leave town à la VTMB independent ending].

To make it a great tragedy, you have to make sure your players know there won’t be neither a prequel, a sequel or whatever. A good short story must remain short. Have a fast, urging pace all alone, and leave them with incredible memories. And don’t spoil those memories with a sequel ;) This is best if you kill/cripple/torpor/destroy/turn into ashtrays the PCs by the end.

Here A may sequester the PCs, have them witness the fall of the city with being helpless [being blood bond to A], then be left alone to contemplate the horror they couldn’t possibly do anything about. [Eventually being blood-hunted by the surviving’ rulers, or those who held power] Leave it to the imagination. My chronicle ended with A blood bonding us while the [antagonists] were outside ready to slash whomever stepped out, and explaining they wouldn’t enforce the blood bond and after the city’s power was wiped out, we’d be free to do whatever we wanted.

Use the tools and mechanics your system offers (and Blood and Smoke has many of these).

I’ve started with the end. Keep that ending clear in your mind, of course the PCs may be able to change it, but regardless of what the PCs do, This Must Happen. Will it succeed or not is up to the PCs wits ^^

The thing is that you’ll need to carefully craft the PC building so they arrive into this shifting situation, and them be a tool (willing or not, conscious or not). Engage them and have them be the only ones with leverage.

Eventually, maybe, you can have one of your most trusted/engaging players actually be on A’s or on the [antagonists]’s sides to begin with. To ensure A actually delivers.

The story itself must be of increasing urgency, so that you get the players to act fast and have your sessions short. Give them in game deadlines they cannot miss.

In my situation, we started by all having to attend an art event, invite by the [insert here locale kindred artist], except it was fake and hence we had Act 2 and 3 all about people somehow trying to kill us. Please check the Grout Mansion quest-line from VTMB for this ^^. About leverage, in this case nobody cared to investigate. After all, maybe it was someone’s initiation rite to the new kids :D That and it’s the World of Darkness, damnit.

Harassment, lack of sleep, lack of blood, their assets being attacked and stalked.. Corner them up until they manage to trace something in particular.. And trap them as much as you can, of course.

Requiem has that huge advantage over Masquerade in its covenants and its lack of metaplot. The covenant struggles and their agendas will give you another dimension to the fight of influences. Use it wisely, along with the clan and the regular power struggles with your Prince :)

Of course this kind of build will only hold for your short chronicle, but you can eventually make spin offs ; as everything crumbles down, a NPc or so might move elsewhere…

Want to read more about my texts? Check them out here

http://secretsofthemasquerade.tumblr.com/welcome

[storytellersnotebook]

-- The Camarilla --

The Camarilla, also known as The Ivory Tower, is perhaps the most powerful, influencial and organised Kindered factions of all time. Their primary focus is upholding The Masquerade in order to keep mortals oblivious of Kindered existance, while trying to keep the clans under their thumb. Upheld by the Elders, the Camerilla is the closest a system of Kindered government in its union of cities across continents.

They view themselves as shepherds of mortals, leading the blind with their superior blood. This group is made up distinctly of the upper classes; they are the one percent of the one percent. Many Tower members cling to the religions they held in life. Their middle eastern counterpart, the Ashirra, use the Five Pillars of Islam as their foundation instead of the Traditons, but they have very similar goals.

Officially, the Camarilla deny the existance of Caine or any of the antediluvian as pure mythology. As part of this, do not acknowledge and sometimes punish mentions of Gehenna, the Noddist belief that the antediluvians will rise up and devour all Kindered. Though, they do worship the ancestors and even hail Methuselahs as Catholics do Saints.

Their first gathering was in 1394 to discuss an interclan alliance that would stand against growing threat of the Inquisition and the Anarch Revolt, which were encroaching on Cainite domains across Europe. Formation was announced in 1435 when opposing forces were worn down and the Founders began to rally for supporters in great numbers. These Founders would soon become the Justicars and members of the Inner Circle. The first conclave took place in 1486, laying out the Traditions and structures of power, followed by the Convention of Thorns in 1493. This was attended by representatives of clans Brujah, Ventrue, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador and Tremere, who all accepted the alliance and agreed to follow the Traditions as law. Thus the Camerilla gained acess to all manner of disciplines and domains. Representatives of clans Lasombra and Tzimisce objected to this utilitarian organisation and formed the Sabbat as a rebellion.

In Modern Nights, many Elders have succumbed to the Beckoning and modern technology creates a constant threat of alerting the Second Inquisition. This leaves the Camarilla more vulnerable than ever and eager to claw hold of their power for longer. The clans that their ranks currently consist of:

Banu Haqim

Ventrue

Lasombra

Malkavian

Nosferatu

Toreador

Tremere

Clans Gangrel and Brujah defected to the Anarchs. Much can happen over 500+ years, or maybe not, depending on your outlook.

[formerlyluckymanticore]

Reblog if you will never. Ever. Use AI in your writing.

[storytellersnotebook]

-- The Masquerade --

Briefly mentioned in my notes on the Traditions of the Camarilla, The Masquerade is an organised campaign that relies primarily on imitation, manipulation, and disinformation in order to convince humans that Kindered and many other supernatural beings do not exist.

The Masquerade is the foundational strategy for Kindered survival; without it, the Kine would undoubtedly rise up and exterminate all undead. Thus, this pillar of vampire society has been consistently turned to throughout the ages. It is the Camarilla's primary policy and their management of breaches is perhaps the most brutal, though Anarchs and Sabbat groupings have similarly severe punishments.

The Masquerade is mostly enforced through self-policing and harsh penalties, because breaches are often much like mutually assured distruction for all Kindered. Threats like the First and Second Inquisitions can be said to have been respectively triggered by the carelessness of vampires who did not pay enough attention to The Masquerade.

[storytellersnotebook]

-- The Traditions --

Believed by some Kindered to be handed down by Caine himself, The Traditions are the fundemental laws of The Camarilla, whom have historically been one of the most powerful groups since the 15th Century. Their influence is so wide that most Kindered cultures have been touched by The Traditions, such as presentation, the Blood Hunt, the parcelling of land and, most vitally, The Masquerade. A rough equivalent under the Sabbat is the Code of Milan and Anarch societies maintain order by following related, more mutable rules. In modern nights, the local Prince fulfills the role of the Elder.

First Tradition - The Masquerade -

'Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the blood.' Doing so shall renounce thy claims of the blood. [Hide the existance of vampires.]

Second Tradition - The Domain -

'Thy domain is thine own concern.' All others owe thee respect in it. None may challenge thy word in thy domain. [A Kindered's hunting ground is their own territory, and they rule is absolutely.]

Third Tradition - The Progeny -

'Thou shall only sire another with the permission of thy Elder.' If thou createth another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shall be slain. [Sire only with the permission of ones Elders.]

Fourth Tradition - The Accounting -

'Those thou create are thine own children.' Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure. [Until childer are released, their actions are the responsibility of their sire, giving insentive to mentor them.]

Fifth Tradition - The Hospitality -

'Honour one another's domain.' When thou comest to a foreign city, present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing. [Honour the domains of others, and present oneself to the ruler of any domain entered.]

Sixth Tradition - The Destruction -

'Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind.' The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest amongst thee shall call the Blood Hunt. [The right to kill a Kindered is reserved for the Eldest in a community. Only they may call for a Blood Hunt.]

[papayajuan2019]

paper and pen seems so powerful now. on account of all the. surveillance

[marmorada]

[storytellersnotebook]

-- Embrace --

'Embrace' is the act of turning a human into a Kindered, bringing them into unlife by draining their body completely. Many Kindered describe dying for a moment or seeing their mortal life flashing before their eyes, many have no memory of their Embrace due to the surrounding circumstances. Death is a very personal thing and no Kindered's Embrace is the same.

Once the body has been drained, injesting a Kindered's vitae (the lifeforce that has been made out of the repurposed blood of their prey), whether it be through a shared kiss or by drinking deeply, with purpose. The one who gives their vitae will become their sire, and the one who drinks it is their childe. The reason one may choose to do this to create a childe is as varied as Kindered, whether to preserve skill, morality, enact revenge, or as an act of eternal passion. The vitae is the cause of the turning, not the draining, and it transfers clan diciplines, tastes or traits to the childe.

It is not to be taken lightly as this mortal will experience excruciating burning all over their body and deep in the muscles. All waste and unnecessary organs are rotted away, the body pales and some clans' blood causes physical metamorphosis. The young Kindered wakes hungry and powerful, the beast everpresent within them from this point on.

If their sire is attentive, they may provide their childe's first meal to sate the beast and act as a mentor on Kindered Society. Others abandon them either to test their ability to survive and prove themselves to be worthy, or out of complete indifference. This rather laissez faire approach frequently is risky because an unmonitored, frightened, hungry Kindered who knows nothing of The Masquerade is likely to rouse suspition with mortals. This is particularly dangerous because the new Kindered will monsterously frenzy at the first sight of blood.

Vitae is the connection to Caine, and with each new generation, that blood connection grows weaker. This means that many prevailing Princes or Barons will often attempt to regulate how many new Kindered are being embraced under their dominion, whether to prevent certain clans from growing in number rapidly or to maintain numbers of thinbloods to be lower.