Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire The Requiem.pdf - RoseRed

they meet a band of enthusiastic, would-be vampire-hunters who possess more weaponry and
enthusiasm than skill, knowledge or sense? The challenge becomes to survive these lunatics
and maybe, if the characters feel generous, persuade them to quit before they kill themselves
with their extremely unsafe improvised weapons. On the other hand, if the characters have
become a bit complacent about their undeath, maybe it’s time to hit them with a story about
a mortal family member or lover who becomes a victim of cutthroat Kindred intrigue. Secondary
plots also offer a chance for you to experiment with different Storytelling styles and
techniques, and as transitions between one major story and another.
Subplots are good for character development. They provide extra confl icts and obstacles that
may complicate the resolution of a main story. For instance, one character’s subplot about her
attempt to provide for her mortal children without revealing that she still exists as a vampire
might confl ict with her obligations to the coterie or to her sire. Another character’s attempt
to gain favor within a particular covenant may draw her into confl ict with a clan leader with
whom the coterie seeks an alliance. Such confl icts provide more chances for characters to
make decisions that infl uence the course of the main story.
If you and your players developed characters in suffi cient detail, many of your stories will easily
spin off additional complications for individual members of the coterie. Use subplots based on
a character’s background or current activities to further enmesh the character in your setting.
Subplots also give players a chance to contribute more ideas and deeds into how your World
of Darkness develops. One subplot per character at a time is usually enough, though, and you
don’t have to bring every subplot into every story. If your subplots don’t leave enough time for
the main story to advance, trim a few subplots or put them on hold for the time being.
CONFLICTS
Stories usually revolve around some sort of confl ict. A confl ict consists of some obstacle or
opposing force that characters must overcome to achieve their goals and resolve the plot. This
doesn’t have to mean a fi ght, though that’s one possibility. Some confl icts take place within
characters, rather than between them. For instance, suppose that the characters’ patron, a
member of the Primogen, asks the coterie to eliminate several key mortal servants of a rival
Primogen — without revealing who did it, of course. The characters face external confl ict in
the form of the mortals’ bodyguards and security systems, the need to preserve the Masquerade
and the equal need to conceal their involvement from the rival Primogen. They might also face
internal confl icts. Characters with a high Humanity could balk at cold-blooded assassination,
which could spark another layer of confl ict within the coterie, or between the characters and
their patron. Even if murder per se no longer bothers the characters very much, a character
might object if he has a personal connection to one of the victims.
Storytellers should watch closely for chances to present the characters with such ethical
confl icts. More than any other sort of confl ict, an internal confl ict presents the coterie with a
problem it cannot solve through brute force. Indeed, the very point of an ethical dilemma or
internal confl ict might be that characters must decide what constitutes an acceptable solution.
It makes the players think, and it can produce superb drama and roleplaying.
The usual sorts of confl icts break down into a number of categories:
• Kindred vs. Himself: The character faces divided loyalties or confl icting desires. A character
can follow two goals, but achieving one means abandoning the others. Therefore, the character
must decide where his priorities lie: Keep faith with one ally or the other? Seek power, or preserve
his Humanity at all costs? Protect mortal loved ones by staying close to them, or protect
them by staying away? Even a character’s Vices can produce confl icts. For instance, a character
who known for Pride (as a personality aspect) and Greed (as a game trait, via his Vice) might
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mind’s chapter eye four: theatre: storytelling requiem