Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!


Rules & Such

Spending Experience

One submission of experience expenditures may be made between games. The details of the expenditure may be made by communicating the change to your storyteller in writing before Thursday of each week in which there will be a game. This provides enough time to approve the expenditures and make the changes.
No more than one advanced discipline level may be purchased in a month. If the discipline is out of clan, training must have been ongoing for at least two months beforehand.
No more than one intermediate discipline level may be purchased in a two-week period. If the discipline is out of clan, training must have been ongoing for at least one month beforehand.
No more than one basic discipline level of a single discipline may be purchased in a two-week period. If the discipline is out of clan, training must have been ongoing for at least two weeks beforehand. No more than a total of two basic discipline levels (from two different disciplines) can be purchased in a two-week period.
No more than one trait per trait category (physical, social, mental) may be purchased in a month.
No ability may be raised more than one point per month.
It takes a number of months equal to the level of influence being purchased to obtain an influence. This is cumulative, so to go from two to four in a single influence would take a minimum of 7 months (3+4). This time may be shortened by appropriate roleplay, at the discretion of the Storyteller.
ALL EXPENDITURES MUST BE APPROVED BY THE STORYTELLER.

Gaining Experience

Storyteller Experience - 1 experience pt. per game, 1 experience pt. per meeting, and no more than one meeting point per week.
If there is only one active ST, a "meeting" point is acquired every week.
Storyteller experience counts as experience toward the ST's current character, as required by OWbN bylaws. Meeting attendance experience cannot be spent on the current character; it must be saved unspent for use on the next character played, as described in OWbN bylaws.
Players will receive one experience point for every game session they attend and actively participate in, to a maximum of two per month.
Additional experience will be awarded to players for the following activities:
- Maintaining character concept throughout the game session in a way that contributes to the story: 1 exp.
- Accomplishing a significant goal of the character: 1 exp.
- Writing and submitting a character background (one time only): 1 to 8 exp.
- Starting a plotline that affects OWBN as a whole: 1 to 8 exp.
- Hosting an IC event which involves characters from other chronicles: 1 to 8 exp.
- Exceptional downtime role-playing, plotting, or activities: 1 to 3 exp.
- Other points may be awarded by the ST at his discretion.

Character Creation

Character Creation House Rules:
Disciplines may only be taken from the in-clan list for your clan, unless you receive specific storyteller permission, and purchase a mentor to teach that discipline. No character may take a unique out-of-clan discipline at character creation without Council approval and a damn good reason.
No player's first character may begin lower than 11th generation.
8th generation characters are strictly limited, and are allowed only at the sufferance of the storyteller. Playing one is a privilege, not a right, and an extensive background is required.
The same applies for any character with more than 50 years active time as a vampire (time spent in torpor not included). In addition, the Elder or Ancient merit (unique to our game) may be required.
All generation must be paid for, unless a Player Character vampire agrees to sire the new character, in which case generation is free.
No Tremere, independent clans (except Gangrel), or bloodlines for first time players.
Starting characters (for players new to the system) can have no more than 7 points of Flaws.
No character may have more than 5 negative traits total, or more than two in any one general category (physical, social, mental), or more than one in a specific category (strength, dexterity, stamina, etc.). Negative traits assigned to the character due to clan do not count against this maximum. Negative traits assigned to the character during play can exceed this maximum.

Merits and Flaws

Any merit or flaw found in any book can be used with storyteller permission. If a later released version exists it must be used instead of an earlier version.
With storyteller permission, any tabletop merit or flaw can be used, but requires a storyteller to convert to MET mechanics.
Parasitic Infestation (Nosferatu clanbook) is modified as follows: instead of losing a blood trait when you lose or tie a simple challenge, a blood trait is only lost when you lose a simple challenge.

Age Merits:

Note: first time players can *not* take these merits, and the storyteller will restrict access to these merits depending on the number of elder characters currently in the game.
Elder Merit (Costs 1 point)
Ancient Merit (Costs 3 points)
These merits allow a character who can be embraced as far back as 1000 BC.
Elders may choose up to 10 points from the following list. Ancients may choose up to 15 points. Normal maximums and limitations apply in all cases.
+1 Generation background (1 point)
+1 Willpower (3 points)
+1 Virtue Trait (2 points each)
+1 Ability Trait (1 point each)
+1 Personal Status (1 point, may only be taken once for Elders, twice for Ancients, must be for appropriate sect)
+2 Clan Prestige (1 point, may only be taken once for Elders, twice for Ancients, must be for own clan)
Earlier embrace date as follows:
1750 AD or later (0 points -- Elder only)
1600 AD or later (1 points -- Elder only)
1400 AD or later (2 points -- Elder only)
1187 AD or later (3 points -- Elder only)
800 AD or later (0 point -- Ancient only)
400 AD or later (1 points -- Ancient only)
1 AD or later (2 points -- Ancient only)
400 BC or later (3 points -- Ancient only)
1000 BC or later (4 points -- Ancient only)
Elders must choose at least 10 points from the following list. Ancients must choose at least 15 points. Again, normal maximums and limitations apply in all cases.
1 Negative Trait (1 point)
-1 Humanity (2 points)
Anachronism (2 points)
Recently Arisen (1 point)
Illiteracy (1 point)
Any supernatural flaw worth 3 or fewer points (cost of flaw)
No character with either merit may begin play with a technology-related ability (computers, drive, etc.)

Items

Humboldt by Night uses item cards to represent all major items possessed by a character. This includes, among other things, all weapons, armor, and magical items.
If you do not have a card for such an item, you do not have that item with you. If you lose the card during play, you have lost the item, and if the card is stolen from you during play, that item has been stolen.
If you are playing a new character, you have until the uptime session following the character's introduction to obtain your item cards. They must be officially approved for use.
If you need a card for an item, get it from the ST before play begins.
Minor items which have no game mechanics (a pencil, your wallet, etc.) do not require an item card, but it must make sense for your character to have them.

Clans

Lasombra

Lasombra appear as black, murky, vague, humanoid shapes in photos, cameras etc. They don't show up in silver or polished metal surfaces and as black ghostly figures in electronic media. (See X-Files intro for an example).

Disciplines

Fortitude

Aegis negates all damage in a round *from the time it is activated*. If activated in response to taking damage, and before any further actions are taken by any involved in the scene, that damage is also negated.

Obfuscate

Mask of 1000 Faces extends to clothing worn, as long as that clothing does not have any negative traits. Mask does not cover items carried, nor does it cover any clothing that extends more than a few inches away from the body (which includes some hats, many cloaks, and most backpacks, among other things). Items concealed by clothing with modified appearance are still concealed, even if the apparent clothing could not conceal the item. However, pulling an item from "nowhere" gives any with Auspex a chance to pierce the Mask without having to use an action, and is a flagrant breach of the Masquerade.
Any kindred using Vanish from the mind's eye may spend one mental trait to be able to speak and remain unseen. This effect lasts until the obfuscation ends or the end of the scene.

Potence

Those items with the "heavy" negative trait can be wielded with more ease by a kindred with the Potence discipline. Each level of Potence possessed counters one trait of Heavy.
Note: no item can have more than one trait of heavy without at least one other negative trait for each additional trait of heavy. Thus an item could have heavy x2, clumsy x1, but not simply heavy x2.

Thaumaturgy

Reminder: all Thaumaturgical powers require at least one blood spent in addition to any requirements listed in the description of the power (see OWbN Thaumaturgy packet).
Reminder: all Thaumaturgical rituals require a static challenge, with difficulty dependent on the level of the ritual (see LotN:R).
Reminder: Pavis of Foul Presence only reflects *targeted* Presence powers. Thus, Awe and Majesty are not affected.
Free rituals for Tremere only come with levels in Path of Blood.
No rituals that are not in an official White Wolf sourcebook will be permitted.
No Tremere character may start with a Thaumaturgical Path other than Blood without express ST approval.
Chill of the Windsaber:
* Aegis does defend against this ritual.
Principle Focus of Vitae Infusion:
* Allows the Thaumaturgist to infuse their vitae into an object, which, when activated, turns into a point of the Thaumaturgist's own vitae. Thus, it must be ingested to add to the Tremere's blood pool.
* Maximum number that a Thaumaturgist may have at any one time is equal to the Thaumaturgist's rating in Path of Blood multiplied by their Occult ability rating.
* Each "blood bead" created between games reduces the Thaumaturgist's starting blood for that game by one.
Movement of the Mind:
In order to move something with this discipline, you must be able to perceive the thing. If the thing being moved becomes unperceivable (for example, a character being held in the air successfully using Vanish from the Mind's Eye), the "lock" is lost and the power fails.

Other Rules

Bidding Negative Traits

If all persons involved in a challenge have a negative trait bid against them, the traits negate each other on a one-for-one basis, rather than requiring all involved to bid multiple traits. Thus, if all but one person in a challenge have one negative trait bid against them, and the other person has two bid against them, the challenge proceeds as if the one person had one negative trait bid against them and the others had none.

Staking

A vampire must suffer at least one wound to become paralyzed by a staking attempt.

Rules Updates

When a new clanbook is published with new traits, merits, flaws, abilities, etc. that apply to a character's concept, a storyteller may approve the character changing or modifying their character as appropriate.
Reminder: the errata regarding languages in LotE is official.