Dark Ages Introduction

Rome has fallen;

Constantinople rises.
Darkness envelops Europe.
Christianity, the light of salvation, promises to ward away the
monsters.
Huddled around candles and hearths, humans gather in fear.
The Cainites circle in the darkness around them.
They gather to survive and make war, celebrate and mourn,
maneuver and gossip.
Welcome to

Vampire: The Dark

Ages

PRIORITY
Our priority is to build a game that is player driven and totally unique upon
itself. We are delving into uncharted territory as we build the largest dark ages
campaign ever. We are excited to see where it goes. Below is the foundation for
which we will start building our adventure.

STRUCTURE
For this chronicle, the goal is to focus on the story and player agency. National
will monitor overall progress, run conventions, and make rules calls.  Factions will
deal with plots, help move plots around, and support the Venue Style Sheets. The
local level is where we want to see the stories and fun come from. Our goal is to give
STs a diverse set of tools, as well as help build a community of stories. Below is an
outline of some of the things we have in store.

BASE RULES
 We will be using BNS 2.0 rules, with adjustments for Dark Ages
 Highlights of changes include a zero cost for the main roads (paths) &
adjustments to their beast traits
 Adjustment to the Dark Ages magics: including Thaumaturgy & Necromancy
 New Lore tags and learning trees that are tied to both PCs and Factions
  Adjustments to Merits
  Adjustments to Generation and Status

THE FLOW OF TIME

As we focus on a game far in the past, even time itself is ours to play with.
Each monthly game session covers a season, with four games equating a year.  At the
conclusion of every year of play, the story arch of 3 in-game years will resolve. Time
will advance to the year the next story arch will start in.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

It is highly important in this chronicle to empower and embrace player agency.
The concept of the butterfly effect is that the actions of the small have ripples and
grow to effect the big.  That the actions of players have major effects on the world
around them.  This chronicle embraces player agency and actions will effects will
shape how things happen.  National, factional, and local plots can be thrown out, but
their course and shape completely depends upon players.

PENDULUM 
To track national, regional and local plots we will be using a system called the
Pendulum. As the pendulum swings from one extreme to another, there are markers
that show progress of the worlds events, as well as help dictate how some of the
objectives are achieved. Player action and influence is a high priority of this game and
the accumulated effect of the characters move the pendulum between very different
outcomes. Overall there will be three pendulums; one for national, factional, and
local. There are many ways in which players can affect the movement of plots,
including actions, events, and influences. If the pendulum is moved enough in the
right (or wrong) direction, different milestones can be achieved with potentially far
reaching outcomes.

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Very soon we will be issuing a Venue Style Sheet (VSS) setup document that
will include detailed faction information, a clan rarity guide, the rule book with its
associated materials, and character creation guide. The purpose of this material is to
give domains everything they need to set up their VSS and create characters as we
prepare for the launch of our chronicle.
We want to focus to be on the cities that the players and storytellers create.
Part of the VSS creation process is to build their own cities.  Real life places that were
major locations in history such as Paris or Constanople are reserved for conventions
and special events.

CLANS
Clan availability will depend on two things: faction and VSS. Factions have
different availability of Clans, and at VSS setup each domain can opt to make some
more rare than others to fit their own style. There will be 15 clans available to play,
and their Clan Guides will be coming out prior to June.
 Assamite
 Brujah
 Cappadocian
 Followers of Set
 Gangrel
 Lasombra
 Lhiannan
 Malkavian
 Nosferatu
 Ravnos
 Salubri
 Toreador
 Tremere
 Tzimisce
 Ventrue

FACTIONS
Before the Camarilla, Anarchs and Sabbat had asserted their dominance over
the world, there were 9 factions. Each faction has a range of cultures, locations, clan
availability, and court systems.  Each VSS will chooses a faction at creation.
 Baronies of Avalon (Brown) - Courtly manners, hierarchy, & high politics
 Courts of Love (Magenta) – Humanity, chivalry, & intrigue
 Sea of Shadows (Green) – Politics, feudalism, & machinations
 Fiefs of the Black Cross (Purple) – Nobility, order, & manipulation
 Voivodate (Orange) – Power, tradition, & knowledge
 Byzantium (Blue) – Belief, hope, & betrayal
 Ashirra (Yellow) – Faith, culture, & strategy
 Einherjar (Lt. Blue) – Honor, spirituality, & adventure
 Courts of Fire and Dream {Setite} (Red) – Knowledge, corruption, & decadence
 MORTAL HERITAGES
        As a vampire becomes undead, he leaves his family behind...or does he? Some
kindred embrace randomly while others prefer to cultivate a mortal heritage from
which to embrace from. Those kindred that come from these heritages will start with a
small advantage, be it a dot of some background or other skill. This will also lead to
different clans pulling from the same families, adding to the already complicated
politics of the time. Storytellers will also be providing additional plot through these
interactions.

VAMPIRIC GUILDS
A new background will be created called Guilds. Each dot spent on this
background will allow access to some predefined advantages. Some guilds will be
more localized to a faction while others might span larger territories. PCs are
encouraged to create their own guilds, or join larger ones. Each guild will have its
own culture and interactions to look forward to. You will only be able to be a member
of one guild so choose carefully!

BESTIARY
We have a whole document to discuss creatures and things that existed in the
dark ages. This is pulled from both setting and what we have in the books, but also
real folklore from the dark ages. This is a tool for players and STs to build a very
creative and in-depth world for everyone to play in. Many superstitions, fairytales and
myths can come alive through this compilation.

THE CHRONICLES OF “VALMI”

Many ongoing stories have intricate plot twists. The longer the chronicle is,
the less likely the majority of the characters/players will have any concept of what is
going on.  As National is busy releasing the conclusion of a plotline, many people are
only aware of that story's introduction. Big plot twists and reveals fall flat when
people have no idea what elements of the story have led up to those events.  
This is where the “Chronicles of Valmi” comes in. There will be an NPC
named Valmi who will keep a running account of the story so far. Two months after
plot details are released to those that have been chasing the plot, the details will
appear on a blog/wiki. The time delay will allow an advantage to those that discover
the plot drops but does allow for others to keep up with the story as it progresses. This
will also give new players an idea of what's going on should they not have been
playing since the start of the chronicle.

COSTUMING & PROPS

Creating a medieval immersive setting is a task upon itself.  There are a
number of factors that play into this. This chronicle will have a dress code for its
games. Everyone who attends will have to wear either a period costume (generally
medieval/Hollywood), or basic black. We have also been preparing a guide to help
players costume on the cheap.  Not to mention for those who have passion, it is a
chance to show off some amazing tailoring/prop building skills.

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