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LARP Character Development 101by Skaro (www.skaro.com/larpdex)

LARPing is significantly different from table-top roleplaying. Because LARPing demands that a person stay constantly in

character, dress in character and act and speak in the first person for several hours at a time the following rules will help

make sure you have a good time:

Create a timeline of your character's life that can be shared - at least partially - with other player-characters. Smalltalk happens in LARPs, too. (STSNOTE: IS WHAT RUMORS ARE FOR!USE THEM!)

Use this to help create goals that require interaction with other characters to accomplish. Don't just focus on the short term. Find some long term goals which would require several sessions to accomplish,

if not entire seasons. If you're not sure where to start, simple goals include looking for allies, determining enemies,

finding work/money or pursuing a character passion.

Playing loners may sound cool and mysterious, but it can rapidly become boring and frustrating. Mix things upwith people. You will attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. Being a stone cold, heartless, bastard can

also become boring and frustrating quite quickly.

It is your responsibility to get involved with the plot. To use a metaphor: the game-master has just cooked themeal and put it on the table, getting off your butt to eat it is your job. If you are feeling uninvolved in the game,

adopt new character goals, or talk to the GM about how to become more involved.

Use 'downtime' between sessions to meet other characters and role-play with them. Character creation and history doesn't stop at the start of game one. Use 'downtime' to create new history for your

character. If you love your GM and want them to love you, please keep it concise and use your spellchecker!

If you want to have an "Out of Character" moment, go away from the playing area. Similarly, don't have ICdiscussions in the middle of an OOC group, because any OOC people who overhear will become confused.

If you are in doubt about whether your character knows something, assume you don't. Then you don't run the riskof being accused of cheating. If you are in doubt if a comment was IC or OOC, ask. There is never any harm in

double checking.

The GM likes you, trust me on this, but s/he's busier than the proverbial one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest.They will not always have time for you.

GMs love you more when you keep things simple and use your spellchecker. Feel free to write reams of IC fictionand such for your character. Do notbe surprised if your GM doesn't have time to read it, let alone memorize it.(STSNOTE:BUT WE WILL PUT IT ON THE WEBSITE!)

A GM will do their best to keep your character in mind when creating plots, but the primary responsibility to getmixed up and tie yourself into the game isyours. Remember: The game is not about any one character, but how

your piece fits into the whole.

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Last Game Recall:

The shit has hit the fan for the fledgling Anarch City of San Marcos.

The Baroness, in a strange fit of temper unlike her normal calm demeanor, reportedly beat the shit out of the Russian

Kindred Mikael, killing him and fleeing the safe-house.

After an attempt to find more information regarding a mysterious musician within the city, the Doctor returned with a

strange Kindred baring a mysterious, glowing third eye. Despite the best attempts of all Kindred, they were unable to bring

him out of his bizarre coma, and shortly after a small group of Camarilla soldiers- one of whom seemed to be able to move

things with his mind, broke into the Anarch safe house and demanded the three-eyed Kindred- whom he referred to as a

demon worshipper be turned over to him, but when they searched the house there seemed to be no trace of him or the

baroness. At some point later in the night, an unknown Kindred appeared and turned over what he claimed to be the ashes

of the Baroness; now rumors fly that the reportedly demon-worshipping Lasombra might have been in league with the

strange new Kindred, for both have not been seen since.

What strange alliances has the Baroness left as a legacy and in the wake of not one, but three Kindred deaths- the

mysterious Mikael, the elusive Dominika, and the strange three-eyed Kindred- how will the city react to the machinations

of the Camarilla, angry at their connection with reputed Demon-Worshippers?

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Backgrounds Matter

by Kevin Whiteside

On your sheet, there are several sections, each with their own particular matters of interest, but my personal favorite of

these is the Backgrounds and Influences. Though a bit complicated to get the hang of at first, reading Laws of the Night and

the Influence Guide on the website go a long way towards helping you be familiar with these powerful abilities and whatthey can do.

First, what are backgrounds?

Backgrounds are traits that represent external characteristics of your Kindred. They come not from his internal aptitudes or

talents, but from some other source; Your Resources, for example, are determined by the access your character has to money

or a job, and your Generation comes from your lineage- especially your sire. Because these Influences are subject to the

whims of fate and the World of Darkness, they need to be earned. This is why the purchase of ANY background with XP

will require that you put in some role-play to help figure out where you re getting this new source of

money/power/friendship. This is also why its possible for your backgrounds to be attacked and removed- An IRS audit on

your company leaves you in the financial cold or a rival gang comes in and Uzis down your Allies. So pay attention to what

you see other Kindred do in the field, as it might prove prudent to use it against them.

So what do backgrounds do?

Backgrounds, despite their difficult nature, are incredibly useful. I ll take some time to go over a laymen s term description

of some of the more common backgrounds, but I always recommend taking a look at Laws of the Night and getting a good

dirty look at the mechanics under the hood.

This is money, pure and fast; Now, the kind of cash that buys islands and private jets is generally off-limits in

play (causes too many problems when you can just buy a city), but Resources can do a lot of things such as procure property,

bribe people, and ensure you have luxuries. It should be noted that Resources dont let you own a business (thats what

Finance influence is for), but your Resources could very well come FROM a business that you happen to draw a paycheck

from.

Nice and simple: Vampiric power. Your Generation is how many links there are between you and the fabled

Caine (progenitor of all vampires). The fewer links, the stronger your blood, and things like your trait cap, total Blood Pool,

and Starting Willpower all depend on your Generation. However, being members of the Anarch Free State means youre

relatively new to the vampire world, and recommend all players start with a Generation of 11 or higher.

These may seem like theyre the same thing, but theyre actually REALLY different. Allies

gets you access to people who can DO stuff that you cant: be it a locksmith, a hacker, or some muscle, Allies tend to be

really good at one or a few things. Contacts on the other hand, are for only ONE thing. They get you rumors, specifically

rumors related to an Influence. Retainers, on the third hand (what is this, a Tzimisce?) are super-loyal servants capable of

carrying out more than just a one-time action, and are generally more defined than Allies. So, to recap: Need to find out

whats up in the local Mob scene? Contacts. Found out that Vinnys got a hit out and you wanna send a guy to break his

kneecaps? Allies. Wanna stake out the local mob boss s house all night to see if any Kindred come in or out? Retainers.

This has just been a quick overview of some of the more common backgrounds, therere more out there to check out (such

as Fame, Herd, my personal favorite, Mentor, and the Thin Blood-only Insight), which I hope to cover in my next article.

Until then, best of luck in manipulating your pawns and:

Game On!

Kevin W.

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