Kindred are like cockroaches. They scurry away from the light of day.
Their plague, their curse, has spread across almost the entire world.

Almost.

September 6, 1855: the seventh continent - Zealandia - is about to be infected.

This is the story of those nights.



This is a Victorian era Vampire: the Masquerade Chronicle set in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Player Characters will include the first Kindred to set foot on New Zealand, arriving at the then-capital, Auckland, in the company of the new Governor.

This is a Chronicle set in a historical time period, but not strictly bound by historical events; the players have the opportunity to affect the timeline and send history down a different trouser-leg of time, and perhaps other events will unfold differently unprompted.

Characters will be young, weak Kindred. The months-long trip to New Zealand in a sailing ship is extremely hazardous to a vampire, let alone what unknown supernatural beings might be present, and only those with the least left to lose would risk it at this stage.

Character Creation (Mechanical):

This game uses the Mind's Eye Theatre (from By Night Studios) rules, with the following modifications (subject to updates):

- "Rock Paper Scissors" is replaced by rolling a d6 (with effects causing/allowing a retest causing a re-roll); 5-6 is a success (and can be a critical success), 3-4 comes down to tiebreakers, 1-2 is a failure.

- Computers does not exist as a skill. Archaic characters lose access to Firearms instead (but characters can use bows and crossbows with Athletics), and other similar effects may also apply to Firearms instead of Computers. Similarly, the Path of Technomancy simply does not exist.

- Assamites are still subject to the Tremere curse; every point of Vitae they drink from another vampire causes them 1 point of Aggravated damage.


This is a low-powered Chronicle; player characters have 15 starting Experience at Chronicle Commencement and must be Neonates or Ancillae (1 or 2 points in Generation) of relatively recent Embrace.

Clan Rarity:
 Common:
  Brujah, Caitiff, Gangrel, Malkavian, Malkavian (Knights of the Moon), Nosferatu, Toreador, Ventrue

 Uncommon (2 merit points):
Gangrel (Coyote), Ventrue (Crusaders)

 Rare (4 merit points):
Assamite (Warrior), Followers of Set, Tremere

 Really? (6 merit points):
Assamite (Vizier), Followers of Set (Tlacique), Follower of Set (Vipers), Giovanni, Lasombra, Ravnos, Ravnos (Brahman), Tzimisce, Tzimisce (Carpathian)


 Forbidden: Any Clan or Bloodline thereof not specifically mentioned above.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:39, Sun 19 Sept 2021.

Character Creation (Background):

Characters in this Chronicle (or at least most of them; characters could be newly embraced local childer) have undertaken a journey to the farthest reaches of the world.

This journey was facilitated by the young but ambitious Ventrue Edward Wakefield, who spoke in several major European cities about the possibilities of a land without other Kindred. Naturally, this excluded the like-minded souls who would journey there with him and form a new city.

In 1853, agents of Wakefield and his "investors" went to New Zealand and laid preliminary groundwork (including literal groundwork; subterranean Havens are important to many) and tested the reliability of the crew who would be entrusted with transporting the vampires of the Southern Venture.

With all reports returned as confirming great success, it is time to go...


 Character Backstory:

Character backstories should be able to condensed to gameable material. One focus should be on pivotal relationships that the player wants to come up in play. Such relationships should have innate conflict and drama; an enemy who simply wishes to walk up to you and stab you and will do so given the chance, or a love interest who simply swoons at the sight of you is not particularly interesting.

Now, a love interest who wishes to walk up to you and stab you, or an enemy who simply swoons at the sight of you (or vice versa!)... that's a little more interesting.


The other focus should be on what drives the character, and this should overlap with what the player will jump at. The Storyteller wishes to entertain the players, and will try to draw their OOC attention to events based on what their characters are interested in; make sure that that sounds like fun.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:37, Sun 19 Sept 2021.