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 Mortals, Ghouls, Kinfolk, Kinian, & Thralls Rules

 

LAST UPDATED:
5/31/05

 

OVERVIEW
.

RESTRICTIONS
.

CREATING A MORTAL CHARACTER

- Normal Human
- Ghoul
- Kinfolk
- Kinian
- Thrall
.

BOOKS IN USE

MORTAL THEMED MEDIA
.

LINKS TO MORTAL RELATED WEB SITES
.


 

 
Mortals, Ghouls, Kinfolk, Kinian, Thralls & Other Humans in the World of Darkness

 

"Trust Nothing Except Your Fear"

- "Lord of Illusions", by Clive Barker (1995)

 


OVERVIEW:

Mortals are probably both the most necessary character class to the World of Darkness, and the most neglected, Game-System wise. There is no singular Mortal Society in the World of Darkness just as there is not in real life, save "Society at large." This section will detail how to create various types of Mortals that are present in the World of Darkness.

Mortals exist in most, if not all, of the modules in the World of Darkness. This section deals only with those that are not addressed elsewhere. 

Mages are Mortal in the strictest sense, but have their own genre. Hunters, likewise. Gypsies, though neglected by WW since 1st Edition, we still support and have converted their stats into Sorcerer (Mage) equivalents to make them more 3rd Edition compatible. Dhampir are covered elsewhere in the V:tM rules. 

That leaves us with Ghouls (V:tM), Kinfolk (W:tA), Kinian (C:tD), Thralls (D:tF) and plain old Mortals. Arcanum (restricted) are a 2nd Ed. Mage/Hunter crossover, and are handled on both of those genres' pages, as well as here. GhostHunters are a W:tO class and handled on both the Wraith rules page and here.

 

"I was born to murder the world." 

- Nix, in "Lord of Illusions" by Clive Barker (1995)

RESTRICTIONS:

 Non "Pure" Mortals are closed as of May 2005

 (meaning specialized types mentioned below).

 Plain mortals may be created at any time.

- Arcanum and Inquisition (Society of Leopold) characters. (Note: These are actually 2nd Edition and were just never updated in 3rd)

- Anyone with Law Enforcement, Military, Judicial or Federal Agent ties must get ST Approval before you can have it. Also, too many players want these types of PCs and do not give them stats that make any sense. So, we have put together a Doc outlining minimum stats distribution for any characters (usually meaning mortals or at least genetic humans) who are police, federal agents or military types. It can be downloaded  HERE

- Gypsies are being treated as 3rd Edition Sorcerers, because their books haven't been properly updated since 1st Edition, please see Jon & the Mage Rules if you wish to play one.

- Kinfolk and Kinian of any sort need to specify what Tribe or Kith they are Kinfolk/Kinian to.

- PC Ghouls & Thralls need to pick a PC who is their master. 

*NOTE 1-18-04: TEMPORARY RESTRICTION: 

ALL Ghouls will be a restricted character class until this notice is removed. This is due to extreme difficulty in integrating them into the current setting, so ghouls will be approved on a case by case basis only at the ST's pleasure when a place can be found for them in the Chronicle. 

Ghouls must have an IC PC Regnant, and we will not accept any more abandoned ghouls, as we have found in our player base there are no takers to master them, If you become ghouled through RP however, those will be accepted.

 

NOTE March 2005: We are accepting mortal PC's as named below, with ST special permission (which will be granted subjectively)

 

*NOTE: MORATORIUM EFFECTIVE 7/11/04 -- Permanent Restriction

We will no longer be accepting new Mortal PC's tied to KOTE, Wraith, Mummy, The Technocracy, or Demon, or any Federal Agents of any sort, in this chronicle, unless the ST's lift this restriction prior to the completion of "Time of Judgment." We may consider NPC's on a case by case basis but it is highly unlikely.

As of August 2004, we know of no plans for White Wolf to provide for these genres in the new WOD 2.0, and so we currently anticipate phasing them out in the course of the TOJ Chronicle. If this changes, you will be notified here as we learn more. 

Those players who already had Mortal PC's affected by this, approved by July 2004 may continue to play them, move them to someone else's game, or withdraw them entirely.

 

"I never sleep, I don't know why. I had a roommate and I drove her nuts, I mean really nuts, they had to take her away in an ambulance and everything. But she's okay now, but she had to transfer to an easier school, but I don't know if that had anything to do with being my fault. But listen, if you ever need to talk or you need help studying just let me know, 'cause I'm just a couple doors down from you guys and I never sleep, okay?" 

-- Jordan Cochran, "Real Genius" (1985)

-- CREATING A MORTAL, GHOUL, KINFOLK, KINIAN OR THRALL CHARACTER:

White Wolf has not published a dedicated book for making Mortals, so we have gathered up the relevant information from each genre in one place, to simplify the process for you. The process differs slightly for each type of Mortal that is not just a plain, normal Human, but the overall creation process is the same, and some aspects such as ghouling or thralling occur in RP after creation, anyway. You will have to redo your character sheet to the new character class (if a template exists for it), if this should occur.

 

Using the Templates that you can download HERE, :

The point spread for creating a mortal is: Attributes 6/4/3, Abilities 11/7/4, Backgrounds 5, Virtues 7, Freebies 21 (+ Flaw Overages up to 7). More details in individual sections below. These instructions are for a regular Mortal or Ghoul. Notes for Kinfolk, Kinian, Thralls, and NPC's are pending.

 

- Arcanum (M:tA/H:tR NPC's) should use the Arcanum.cgt template. Your basic setup differs significantly from normal Mortals.

- GhostHunters (W:tO NPC's) should use the Ghosthunters.cgt template. Your basic setup differs significantly from normal Mortals.

- Inquisition (V:tM/H:tR NPC's) should use the Inquisition.CGT template, and choose a Cenaculum & Sub-order/Sect as well as the rest of this. Your basic setup is otherwise normal.

- Kinfolk (W:tA) should use the Kinfolk.cgt template. Your basic setup differs significantly from normal Mortals.

- Kinian (C:tD) should for now use the Mortal template. In the future if we can get one for Kinian we will be using that one instead.

- Mediums (W:tO) should use the Medium.cgt template. Your basic setup differs significantly from normal Mortals.

 

1. Player: Put your name (and preferably also your email address).

2. Name: Put the name of your character.

3. Chronicle: Put "Washington DC By Night." (or DC By Night or 11th Hour)

4. Channel: Put "#11thHourOOC" as this is our home channel.

5. Position: You may not yet have one. Usually a title (Scourge, Prince, etc.) Omit if this does not apply (which in most Mortal's cases, it doesn't.)

-----

6. Nature: Choose from the list HERE (Link Under Construction) . This is your true Nature, not the face the world sees. This aspect is vital, as you must act in the spirit of your True Nature to regain lost or spent Willpower.

Some temporary sites for help on Nature & Demeanor 

(These are incomplete but decent enough to help):

http://www.geocities.com/nsc_obt/overviewN_D.html 

http://d.dominodeveloper.net/members/thespiralarms/clubd.nsf/nd?OpenPage 

http://www.homestead.com/autarkis/Archetypes.html

7. Demeanor: Choose from the same list as #6. Your Demeanor is the face you put on to the world, how you act. Nature and Demeanor must not be the same type.

8. Race/Status: Usually MORTAL. Since the Mortal template we're now using leaves room for a Mortal PC to become a Ghoul or even embraced, this line allows you to pick from a list of both Clans and/or Races. Kinian, Kinfolk and Thralls are not options on the menu, so until that is better addressed, put Mortal.

9. Birth Date: Self explanatory.

10. Domitor: This is for Ghouls only. It won't work for Thralls either, sorry. Ignore if you are not a ghoul.

-----

11. Domitor's Gen: Ghouls only as well. Otherwise, ignore. 

12. Haven: You should decide where your character sleeps. The ST's can help you if you don't know the setting well enough to choose. This should be considered secret information IC, not something just any old PC should be told. Condo in NW, TH in VA, Sewers, are examples.

13. Concept: There is an actual list of concepts HERE (link under construction). We do realize that some of them may not fit exactly but do the best you can. Concepts are usually a 1-2 word root-level label for who your character is at the core (not in a supernatural sense). Examples might be: Drifter, Intellectual, Party Animal, Politician, Misguided Prophet, Socialite. These are stereotypes and needn't be literal; details would be covered in your background.  

Temp Link containing examples of Concepts:

http://www.virtualsolarsystem.com/venus/ladynightspirit/Concept.htm

 

14. Gender: Self-Explanatory, unless you're playing a trans-gendered character. Then you can either put what they were born as, or what they are now. We don't really care. Just pick one.

15. Apparent Age: Put the age your character looks like at first glance.

16. Attributes: You will have 6/4/3 starting dots, to spend in three categories (Physical/Social/Mental) in whatever order most suits your PC (Primary/Secondary/Tertiary). Give thought to spending them according to the kind of person your character is, not what looks neat or what you think you have to have to keep from being killed.

17. Abilities (Talents/Skills/Knowledges): You will have 11/7/4 starting dots. You may not have anything above 3 dots in Initial Stage here. Please do not "Min-Max" either (where you have all your dots in just a couple areas, and nothing anywhere else). Also, remember new characters grew up in the modern world. That means it is unlikely you don't know at least a LITTLE Computers and how to Drive. Some may not, but you should be able to justify this in their background.

NB: Specializations (Attributes and/or Abilities) -- If you have a 4 or higher, you may take a specialization in something, but the bonus rerolling ONLY is done when you are using that specific specialization. 

Example, if you have an Appearance of 4 and your specialization is "Sexy", you only get the bonus when you are trying to deliberately be "sexy" in your RP.

 

18. Advantages (Disciplines/Backgrounds/Virtues): Disciplines - Only Ghouls fill in the Discipline dots. You automatically get 1 dot of Potence even if that is Out Of Clan for your Domitor. You have 5 starting dots for Backgrounds (we highly recommend at least Resources 2 in order to be able to afford to live in DC at all, but you can also buy this up with Freebies later.) You have 7 starting dots for your Virtues. Humanity = Conscience + Self-Control (Mortal Average is 7). Plan accordingly.

 

Temporary Link for Backgrounds (Current List only, no "System"):

http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=backgrounds

Another temporary Link for BACKGROUNDS (Multi-genre, no System):

http://www.darknexus.com/WhiteWolf/background.html

 

19. Miscellaneous: You can put notes in here for things that have no other spot, but the space is limited. Things that need lengthy explaining, put on your background.

20. Humanity: Humanity 7 is as humane as your average mortal. If you have less than this as a Mortal, please explain why in your background.

21. Willpower:  Mortals typically have WP between 2-5, averaging 3-4.

22. Faith: Only used if PC is a Thrall, Arcanum, has the True Faith Merit, or something else that wants/rates Faith. Otherwise, ignore.

23. Blood Points: The Template automatically generates this based on your Race. 

24. Health Levels: Posted for reference. Nothing to adjust.

25. Thaumaturgy/Necromancy: Ignore unless you are a Tremere Ghoul or get Embraced in RP. (it is not likely a Ghoul would be taught Thamaturgy, so pretty much almost no one needs this section.)

26. Merits & Flaws: Add in Initial Stage. You may not have more than 7 total points of either Merits or Flaws. Any overages can be adjusted in Freebies stage: if you have more Merits than Flaws, subtract the difference from your Freebies. If you have more Flaws than Merits you may add the difference to your allowed Freebies (obviously only up to 28 total (21+7) Max). There is a list of currently approved Merits & Flaws HERE (link under construction). (Mortals can have any Merit or Flaw that is not supernatural in nature.)

 

Temp Links to use for Merits & Flaws. The VOE one is incomplete and VTM -centric in coverage; the Pen&Paper one doesn't give details but it DOES give the sourcebook for tons of them in every genre so you know what's currently legal and what isn't.

http://www.vampyresofeurope.com/files/play-pack/meritflaws.htm 

http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=meritindex

http://www.blarg.net/~rain/ats/Merits.html

http://www.blarg.net/~rain/ats/Flaws.html

http://darkstone.udic.net/merits.htm

http://www.darknexus.com/WhiteWolf/merit.html

http://www.darknexus.com/WhiteWolf/flaw.html

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Parc/2606/mf.html

 

27. Secondary Abilities: Please add these in before you switch from Initial to Freebies Stage. The Template crashes if you don't. There is a list of currently approved Secondary Abilities HERE (link under construction). (here is a temp link to use to get an idea of some of them and how they relate to primary abilities: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1903/vtm/ability.htm

28. Weapons: If your PC habitually uses any weapons on a regular basis, this template carries a section to write down the stats. Please use it, for your and your ST's mutual convenience in combat. If you don't typically carry any, ignore this section.

 

After you make your first pass through, go back and spend your 21 (+ Overages) Freebie Points. Make sure you have chosen your Merits & Flaws, & Secondary Abilities, and added any notes to Miscellaneous, prior to switching to Freebies stage.

 

 

 

"If you refuse, he dies. She dies. Everybody dies." -- Ard in "Heavy Metal" (1981)

 

SUGGESTED SOURCEBOOKS:

 

GHOULS: Ghouls: Fatal Attraction WW2021

GOVERNMENT AGENTS: Project Twilight WW3064

 

MORTAL ST / WHO APPROVES YOUR SHEET?:

  • Regular Mortals: Ice, Jon

  • Arcanum (M:tA/H:tR NPC): Jon 

  • Ghouls: Ice, Jon

  • GhostHunters (W:tO): slander

  • Kinfolk (W:tA): Jon

  • Kinian (C:tD): Jon

  • Mediums (W:tO): slander

 

Margaret White: "Witch! Got Satan's Power!"
Carrie White: "It's got nothing to do with Satan, Mama. If I try hard enough I can move things."

-- "Carrie" by Stephen King (1976)

 

BOOKS IN USE:

This is a complicated issue. White Wolf has not issued a dedicated book for Mortals, so information and stats have been culled from numerous books in all the genres. Where we listed the various stats for character creation, we listed the individual sources where applicable, as well. So the answer to "what books are in use for this genre?" would probably be... "All of them." 

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION: We will be posting here whatever books the ST's feel are highly relevant to RPing mortals or near-enough mortals (Ghouls, Kinfolk) in the future. Stay tuned!]

 

MORTAL SOURCEBOOKS IN USE:
WW2020 The Inquisition (1995) (Year of the Hunter™) ISBN: 1-56504-228-X V:tM & H:tR crossover. 2nd Ed. but has not been superceded. Inquisition & Society of Leopold. Released as a V:tM Sourcebook.
WW3068 Midnight Circus (1996)  ISBN: 1-56504-317-0 W:tA & Others. Designed as a 2nd Ed. crossover book: sort of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" meets WOD.
WW4009 Halls of the Arcanum: Pilgrims of the Glittering Path (June 1995) (Year of the Hunter™) ISBN: 1-56504-431-2 M:tA / Hunter / Mortal 2nd Ed. Crossover book. Info on the Arcanum not superceded in H:tR. Arcanum = Mortals.
WW6008 The Quick and the Dead (1995) (The Year of The Hunter™) ISBN:1-56504-613-7

W:tO - V:tM - H:tR & Mortal Crossover. Relationships between Wraiths & the living. Introduces Ghost Hunters
WW6102 Mediums: Speakers with the Dead (1997) ISBN:1-56504-619-6  Mediums, mortals able to speak with the dead.
       
       
       
       

 

"We've done some pretty fucked up shit in our time but this...I mean, we're destroying an innocent girl. You do realize that?" - Sebastian Valmont in "Cruel Intentions" (1999)

 

MORTAL THEMED MEDIA:

BOOKS: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker (Renfield-Ghouls), anything by Edgar Allen Poe (mood), anything by H. P. Lovecraft (mood), "The Stand" by Stephen King (Apocalypse), "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut (intrigue)

MOVIES: The Prophecy [Thralls], Les Liaisons Dangereuses / Dangerous Liaisons / Cruel Intentions (Politics/Manipulation), Carrie (TK/Numina), Scanners (Psychic Attacks/Numina), 28 Days Later [Dark Future], Firestarter (Pyrokinesis/Numina), Dreamscape (Precognition/Numina), The Cell [Precognition], The Bad Seed (Psychopathic Children), Village Of The Damned (Psychopathic Children w/Numina), XMen [Various Numina], The Dead Zone [Precognition], Demons of the Mind [Generic WOD Creepy], Rasputin The Mad Monk [Mind Control], Running Man [Dark Future], Hearts of Atlantis [Numina], Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Apocalyptic), Bis ans Ende der Welt aka Until the End of the World (1991), Night of the Comet (Apocalypse)

MUSIC: "Dead Babies" by Alice Cooper [Dark Mood], "Master of Puppets" by Metallica

POETRY:  "Melancholy" by John Fletcher, "To Night" by Charlotte Smith, "'Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave?'" by Thomas Hardy, "Brahma" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Damned" by John Ciardi

TELEVISION:

THEATER:

VIDEO GAMES: Grand Theft Auto, True Crime: Streets of LA
 

 

"You'll forgive me if I don't stay around to watch. I just can't cope with the freaky stuff." 

- Barry Convex, "Videodrome" (1983)

 

Quintessential World Of Darkness-Style Mortal Archetypes in Media & Myth:

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 

"When I came out into society I was 15. I already knew then that the role I was condemned to, namely to keep quiet and do what I was told, gave me the perfect opportunity to listen and observe. Not to what people told me, which naturally was of no interest to me, but to whatever it was they were trying to hide. I practiced detachment. I learned how to look cheerful while under the table I stuck a fork onto the back of my hand. I became a virtuoso of deceit. I consulted the strictest moralists to learn how to appear, philosophers to find out what to think, and novelists to see what I could get away with, and in the end it all came down to one wonderfully simple principle: win or die. " 

 

- The Marquise De Merteuil in "Dangerous Liasons" (1988)

 

LINKS TO MORTAL RELATED WEB SITES:

 
Click to subscribe to 11thHour2600
[For all Hackers & Computer Geek PC's]


Click to subscribe to 11thHourGeorgetown
[For Georgetown University Faculty, Students & Lecturers]

 

Acolyte (Mage Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Arcanum (Mage Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Artificial Intelligence NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=38

Bystanders (Hunter Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Consor (Mage Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Ex-Vampires (Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency, The (1868-1975)
a.k.a., The Vanguard: http://www.fvza.org/index.html

First Teams (Pentex Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Fomori NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=22

Generic World of Darkness Timeline: http://www.gehenna.org.uk/~dirk/timeline/wodtime.htm

Ghoul NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=9

Ghouls (not Canon; strictly for reading/ideas): http://www.freethinkers.freeserve.co.uk/Vampire/anatomica/ghouls.htm

Gypsies NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=15

Hunter (Hunter's Hunted Style Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Hunter's Solace: A Project Twilight RP Site: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/urbanbuda/

Inquisition Chronicle (not ours): http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/8307/Inquisition.html

Inquisition Sourcebook Review (some notes useful for Char creation): http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_2871.html

Kinian (Fae Kinfolk) NPC's Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Kinian Character Creation Page (not ours; useful for tips): http://www.deadlygames.org/faq/kinain.htm

Kinfolk (Garou Kin Mortals) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Mafia Info 1: http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellemmarese_War

Mafia Info 2: http://mafiasite.freewebsites.com/families.htm

Mediums (Wraith Crossover) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

National Center for (Zombie) Reanimation Prevention and Control: http://members.toast.net/talien/michael/ncrpchome.html

Pentex Equipment & Info: http://www.mants-lair.org.uk/Wyrm/pentex.htm

Seventh Generation (W:tA 1st Ed. Mortal Villians) NPC's Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Strike Force Zero (KotE) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

Void Engineers (Crats) NPCs Index: http://www.pen-paper.net/wod.php?op=npc&npctypeid=7

 

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake"

- Napoleon Bonaparte

 

All Gaming Sourcebooks & Materials for this campaign are 

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