Advice for VTM LARPers from Sully the Magnificent

[holly_evolving]

* Always have a twist which resonates.

Try to add something inherently poetic to the character's history, as if the
character represents a higher concept or ideal. You will able to relate to this
theme in the context of role play, and others will be able to relate to you.
This can be an anchor, a platform to work off of, and from there, a few points
to get your character across.

* Follow a format.

Always detail Life, Embrace, and Unlife, possibly tacking on a post note as to
why you're in the campaign or what goals you're pursuing.

Always start Life with the situation they were born into, early adolescence, and
what happened in their life to shape them as an adult.

* Never lose sight of a character's inherent humanity.

You aren't a nighttime superhero with "kewl powerz."

You aren't dots on a sheet.

You are a person damned for eternity never to see daylight, never to feel the
gentle caress of sun, never to know love without fear.

You are a beast consumed with a hunger which pangs stronger than any thirst,
which coils stronger than any lustful desire, than any man has known.

You are the waking dead. Cold skin, spirit within a frame sustained by
unnatural energies. An abomination which shouldn't be.

Moreover, you are also a mortal with a conscience. You know these things, and
have never forgotten. You retain your Humanity, but it's a tenuous grasp. If
you hold the reigns to tightly and deny what you have become, you will falter
and fail. If you hold them too slack, you'll end up caught in a downward
spiral.

The point of vampire, if there is one, all hinges on Humanity. Rise, fall, or
just sustain, it's one of the most important concepts in the game.

* Play a person first.

Play a person. Not something outrageous or inherently kitschy, with a concept
hinging on clever prop or cool clothes. Those things are distractions from the
suspension of disbelief.

Play something believable. Make your calling card your personality. Flesh out
your history so you can act like your character. Web it out. Ask yourself
questions.

What does your character miss most about being mortal?
Food? Sex? Gardening?

Go into specifics.

* Play against established (arche)types.

Nothing is more stereotypical than...
A Brujah Biker.
A Gangrel Mountain Man.
A Wacky Malkavian.
A Fashionable Toredor Artist.
...ad nauseam.

If you can think of reasons why a person would be Embraced, try to work it into
your character's story.

BRUJAH

What about a pacifist Brujah who battles her inner rage because she was Embraced
against her will by a desire-driven sire? At once, she has to be defiant and
rebellious, and her anger is justified, but she doesn't want to become what she
hates. Brujah contrasts well with Ventrue (see my notes below).

GANGREL

A more militant variation on the "social Gangrel" theme (though adhering more to
Stereotypes) could be a Cowgirl (think Coyote Ugly meets From Dusk Till Dawn-- a
very feminine outside with an en vogue look, which in truth conceals one of the
deadliest but forgotten gunslingers of her day. Load with Animalism, take
Berserker, and "Throw Your Beast" at individuals. Especially handy if you can
get away with it while an in Elysium. Usually grounds for insta-death of a
victim if you inflect it upon them during a Prince's speech. There is no "Iron
Will" for Animalism),

A Scientist (Archeologist, Evolutionary Scientist, Vet, Zoologist -- Mental
primary with scientific skills and an inquisitive nature; perhaps believes the
Book of Nod is all hogwash and seeks rational answers for the origins of
Kindred).

MALKAVIAN

Try playing a Malkavian who is similar to an actual insane person. Not totally
fucking nuts. Just someone with a problem who is trying to deal with it or who
can cope with it and spin it in the right direction. Monk, Rain Man, A Beautiful
Mind, and Silence's of the Lamb all have very functional crazy people in it.

There's always a Malkavian who wants to cure their own insanity. Their
insanity? An obsession with curing their own insanity, which is practically
impossible, and enough to drive anyone insane.

Take something which is commonplace and you feel makes no sense and make a
character who is a satire of that. Popular themes include the hypocrisy of
mainstream religion (God complex-- parlays easily into Noddism and being false
prophet with speaking in tongues and stigmata), the over saturation of sex and
violence in the media (a character who bases their belief systems on popular
media), and any kind of rabid, zealous, self-justified behavior (any of the
-isms or -phobias).

It's always been my belief, if any clan can hack the Jihad, it's the Malkavians.

NOSFERATU

Nosferatu are pretty open. Nosferatu artists step on the toes of Toreadors.
Nosferatu "Cleopatras" could potentially be regarded as the most fashionable,
and with the proper merits, could actually be considered an "attractive"
individual in the public eye. Social-able Nosferatus creep people out more than
the ones who always cling to the shadows (and many of the same Animalism
techniques which apply to Gangrel can apply to Nosferatu).

TOREADOR

Ugly Toreador-- as in talented, but hideous. Toreador who don't wear make-up
and hang out in paint spattered sweats that are beyond the mamby-pamby bullshit
posturing because they're actually interested in art.

A Toreador not interested in art at all, but Humanity as a whole. A
philosopher, interested in becoming human again by studying the human condition.

TREMERE

Tremere are my least favorite clan.

VENTRUE

Ventrue. Go against type. Play a Venture patriot, who fought the British
monarchy. A subversive Ventrue politician who wants to dismantle the current
biased bi-partisan system and put in place their own candidate. A Venture who
seeks leadership or strength in an unexpected business social circle (Queen of
the Athletes? Prince of the Hobos?).

ABOVE ALL...

* To thine character be true.

Concepts are cool, but try to flesh out the person before you figure out all the
other stuff.