Larp:House Rules
Updated 2/3/22
General
Content Warning
Dark Skylines Contains content which may be disturbing to some players. The game may include content or references to disturbing subjects, such as blood, murder, assault, self-harm, suicide, emotional trauma, torture, and other similarly dark themes. Please inform the Narrator Team if there is specific content which may be triggering to you, or if you encounter such content in game. It is absolutely reasonable to ask a Narrator to stand-in and play your character if you feel uncomfortable doing so. Dark Skylines games will never feature content which which violates the VRChat terms of service.
You must be at least 18 years old to participate in Dark Skylines.
Character Creation
Generation ••
Characters with 2 dots in generation may purchase skills at 1x cost, instead of 2x cost.
Clan and Bloodline costs
Characters do not have to pay clan or bloodline costs, as their rarity is regulated by graduations (see below).
A note on Intolerance/Hatred/etc.
While there is certainly bigotry against real-life groups in the World of Darkness setting at-large, the narrator staff do not feel that it is appropriate for that to be a part of our setting. Characters who have an intolerance, bigotry, or hatred of any kind of mortal social group (whether represented with flaw points or not) will not be approved.
You *may*, at narrator team discretion (and with significantly good reason), have a character who had such an intolerance in the past (such as in a background story), however, your character may not enter play with such an intolerance.
Graduation System
- See Graduation System.
Disciplines
Animalism
Characters using *Shape of the Beast* can communicate with each characters with Animalism as if they were animals.
Characters with Animalism in human form can communicate with each other with animal sounds, growls, chitters, etc. but *cannot* communicate mentally even if they have the appropriate focus. This appears very weird to outside observers.
Mechanics
Diablerie
The third bullet point on page 307 in the section The Effects of Diablerie limiting a character to one diablerie per year is disregarded.
If a character's generation is lowered as a result of Diablerie, and this results in a change in the Generation background or flaws such as Lesser Generation, record the changes to these backgrounds and/or flaws without additional XP refund or expenditure.
Character Creation
All clan rarity costs are 0. Additional bloodline merit costs remain unchanged.
Beast traits
We use the Expanded Beast Trait System found on page 90 of the BNS Errata.
Morality
It is not outwardly visible that any particular Vampire is on a Path of Enlightenment; they simply appear to be a mid-to-low Humanity vampire. For this reason, Status Bans related to being on a Path of Enlightenment only apply if a person is openly known to be on a Path.
Torpor
A Vampire in Torpor may be cloaked using Cloak the Gathering; a torpid vampire is considered a willing target of this power.
Mental and Social powers which can normally target a Vampire in a damage-induced Torpor (including being staked) are limited to Line-of-Sight. At storyteller discretion, certain powers which are used to track a vampire (such as Illuminate the Trail of Prey) may still target a torpid vampire.
Awareness allows you to use powers that affect only yourself while in Torpor. This does not include Obfuscate, which specifically is a mind-affecting power that affects others.
A character in damage-induced torpor does not awaken automatically when all damage is healed; they must be fed a point of blood from a vampire of 3 generations lower than the torpid vampire.
Damage dealt to a vampire in damage-induced torpor converts an equal amount of non-aggravated damage in the vampire's health boxes into aggravated damage. A vampire whose health boxes are full of aggravated damage after all damage modifiers have been applied instantly meets Final Death.
For clarity: A vampire in Damage-induced Torpor may still be killed by being beheaded over a full round or receiving lethal damage over 3 rounds per the rules on page 288; this house rule is an additional way a vampire may be killed bit does not replace those mechanics.
In unusual circumstances, such as situations where a target cannot reasonably avoid final death (such as falling into a pot of molten metal, or being beheaded by a guillotine) a character may be subjected to Final Death regardless of other statuses or challenges at storyteller discretion.
New status effect: Staked
A Vampire who has been successfully affected by an appropriate mechanic such as Pierce the heart becomes Staked.
A staked vampire has the same status effects as a vampire in Damage-Induced Torpor (including other Damage-Induced Torpor house rules), with the following exceptions:
- They may not awaken from this state while they are still staked, even if they are fed lower-generation blood.
- If the stake is removed, they awaken instantly as long as they are not also in Damage-Induced Torpor.
- There is no way to "heal" from being staked and there is no power available to player characters which allows a vampire to remove their own stake.
A vampire may be both Staked and in Damage-Induced torpor separately.
Character immune to the Pierce the Heart Maneuver (such as those who have had their heart removed via Heart of Darkness) are also effectively immune to the Staked status effect.
Blood Bonds
In addition to the rules regarding the fading of a blood bond over time upon a vampire's death, a regnant is additonally immediately aware of their Domitor's death.
- For a kindred Regnant with a one- or two-point blood bond, this triggers a rage frenzy check with a difficulty equal to the blood bond level. For a 3-point blood bond, the regnant will immediately enter rage frenzy. In all cases the regnant may spend a willpower to resist this frenzy—but it is still a very emotional and painful experience.
- For a ghoul, they should immediately feel some significant turmoil, which mgiht result in heightened aggression, upset, or unconsciousness. Ghouls who have been bound to their domitor for a long period of time should feel this much more strongly.
Passage of time
For the purposes of durations of statuses, effects, and deadlines, a "month" consists of two full games and two rounds of downtimes. The game or downtime in which the timer starts is not included unless the timer starts within the first half hour (of game) or the day after game (for downtimes).
Setting
Leaving the Island
- Characters may attempt to leave the island during downtime. Doing so has a high chance (around 90%) of being caught. ("Leaving" the island in this context means both leaving and coming back as a single action.)
- Characters who spend a downtime action to prepare and plan their escape to avoid detection can cut their chance of detection in half. Characters who spend 2 downtimes for this are virtually guaranteed to escape detection.
- Characters who are caught may return to the island or resist, which may result in a scene with an ST.
- Camarilla characters caught leaving the island immediately lose all of their Fleeting status (per the effect of Commander).
Hardy Island Kindred
Kindred may teach themselves the first 2 dots of Celerity, Potence and Fortitude, at out-of-clan cost, without a teacher. They may begin play with no more than 3 of such self-taught dots.
Starting with out-of-clan common disciplines
You may no longer start play with any dots of an out-of-clan discipline unless you possess the appropriate merits.
Generation and Status
The Camarilla
The term "Neonate" is often used informally to refer to new vampires. However, the terms "Neonate", "Ancilla", and "Elder" should not be used to refer to a vampire's generation (i.e., being of the "Elder Generation"). Instead, referring to oneself by numerical generation or being "far-removed from Caine" or "Close to Caine", etc., is socially acceptable.
Status Classes
Kindred are considered Neonates unless they meet the requirements below:
- In order to be Ancilla, a kindred must meet ONE of the following:
- Have been a member of their sect for 100 continuous years or more
- Have been a member of their sect for 50 continuous years AND have the Machiavellian Prodigy merit.
- In order to be an Elder, a kindred must meet ONE of the following:
- Have been a member of their sect for 300 continuous years or more AND have at least 2 dots in Generation AND the player must have at least one graduation.
- Have been a member of their sect for 100 continuous years AND have the Machiavellian Prodigy merit AND the player must have at least one graduation.
- Anarch characters must qualify for the above AND purchase the 1 point 'Old Dog' merit to have elder status.
Anarchs
Status Bans
Anarchs only suffer a Lesser Status Ban for being on a Path of Enlightenment.
The Lesser Status ban for being a member of the Camarilla only lasts 1 year. The 10 year Lesser Status Ban for being Sabbat remains unchanged.
Breaches of Elysium
An Elysium that has been breached will only lose its sanctity if the Keeper and/or Prince does lot levy an appropriate punishment upon a perpetrator within 30 days. Note the use of “a perpetrator” and not “the perpetrator”—if Elysium is breached and the person responsible is unknown, then this rule only requires someone to be punished for it.
Influences
Influence actions can be used more flexibly than stated in the book, so long as the use is of the same power level as the provided example.
Influence actions require a number of actions equal to the level of the action. For example, a character with four dots of an influence can do one level 4 action, or two level 2 actions, or a level 1 and a level 3, or four level 1.
Influence actions refresh every game, not every month.
Equipment Rules
Merits and Flaws
The merit Childlike is not allowed for play. Relatedly, your character must have been at least 18 years old at time of embrace.
New Merits
Ghoul Before Embrace (3 point merit)
Your time as a ghoul prior to your embrace gave you advantages over your fellows. Not all kindred who were ghouls prior to being Embraced have this merit, however.
You automatically learn the first dot of Celerity or Potence, and may learn the first two dots of Celerity, Potence, and Fortitude as if they were in-clan disciplines.
Shifter / Fey / Wraith / Kindred Companion (3 point Merit)
You have a supernatural friend and ally. They, for some reason, are willing to help you. It is likely they will want something in return, however…
Clan Friendship (1 point merit)
This merit is meant to be purchased at character creation. You have a special relationship with another clan, and your reputation with them is very good. Members of that clan know of your reputation, and should treat you accordingly. However, if the reputation sours, you might lose this merit.
Clan Adoption (3 point Merit)
This merit is meant to be purchased at character creation. You have, with the permission of a powerful or influential member of a clan, been accepted into that clan. You are, for all social purposes, a member of that Clan. You are welcome at those clan gatherings and beholden to that Clan’s leaders. You similarly lose the social privileges of your former clan, but still suffer their clan weakness.
Special Gift (1-5 point Merit)
This merit is meant to be purchased at character creation. You have a special item you have acquired. How you acquired this item should be a part of your background story. The item may have special abilities or qualities. This item must be approved by the narrator team prior to play.
Reference Tables
| Generation background | Character's generation | BP required to awaken from Torpor |
|---|---|---|
| and Thin Blooded | 15 | 12 |
| • and Thin Blooded | 14 | 11 |
| • and Lesser Generation (2) | 13 | 10 |
| • and Lesser Generation (1) | 12 | 9 |
| • | 11 | 8 |
| •• and Lesser Generation (1) | 10 | 7 |
| •• | 9 | 6 |
| ••• | 8 | 5 |
| •••• | 7 | 4 |
| ••••• | 6 | 3 |
