Character creation

A reading list

Danse Macabre is (sometimes loosely) based on Vampire: The Requiem Second Edition. For basic information on Kindred and their Requiem, we refer you to that book, available on Drivethrurpg, or the White Wolf wiki. For setting information, consider only the documents we have written here to be "canon" or common knowledge. Don't worry about Striges, Bloodlines, or anything we didn't mention in those documents. This is is a LARP, not a memorization exercise or loredump. 

For those of you that want to dive deeper, contact us, and we'll help you along. But remember that our setting might and will diverge from other sources. When in doubt, stick to our stories. 

A Background

We ask every player to write a short background for their character, no longer than one to two A4 pages.  This is not meant to be a novella, but a practical tool that allows our Storytelling team to place your character meaningfully into the world.

Hooks

A good background contains hooks:
moments, relationships, flaws, unsolved problems, or past choices that can be picked up by other players or Storytelling to create drama and tension.

What should be in it?

Your background should answer the following questions:

• Who were you as a human, and why were you murdered?

• How does your character feel about their murder?

• How do you fit into your chosen Clan and Covenant? How does that fit into the setting as we wrote it?

• What is your relationship with your sire?

• What gives your unlife meaning now?

Bullet points are perfectly acceptable. You may send your background draft to dansemacabre@oneiros.be, after which you will receive access to a collaborative document for further refinement.

System 

Below is a short summary of what should be pinned down once you send over your character. For more information, please refer to the system document on this page. Remember, these things serve to enhance roleplay, not make it more difficult. 

Your Age

A character’s age determines their influence, obligations, and supernatural capability. Ancilla and Elder characters require you to form Bonds, representing lineage ties within your Clan.

Clan and Covenant

What blood roars through your veins? What ideology do you use to give your Requiem meaning? Find out more about Clans and Covenants.

Your Tags

Tags are a meta-technique and a roleplaying aid. Think of them as the four key concepts you build your character around. Are you Brave to a fault? do you hide a Dark Secret?

Pick four Tags. 

Your Curse

Each Kindred's blood carries a Curse, bound to their Clan. 

Pick one Curse Tag.

Your Touchstone

All Kindred need something to anchor them to what they lost. It might be a person, someone that reminds you of your past life, a location, or – very rarely– an object with which you nearly ritualistically try to forget the horror of your unlife. We call these reminders Touchstones.

Your Disciplines

Vampiric blood, Vitae, contains supernatural properties. The powers of the blood, Disciplines, are part of the essence of Kindred existence. They are not tools or weapons. They are arms and legs. The Disciplines your blood resonates with the most are dependent on your Clan.

Disciplines are divided in three tiers, from basic to master. Depending on your Age, you can pick several of these tiers.