Home Blogs Font TTRPGs Vampire the Masquerade
The basic campaign idea starting out is youre all fledglings embraced as a cultural exchange mechanism. This is much like when old noble families married off their children to other noble families children.
Your sires, from around the world, heard theres something going on in this city (Cork) thats a little strange and they want a presence to tie their lineage to it, possibly without risking themselves, possibly to prepare their way, possibly out of genuine curiosity (they havent told you more.) Theyve been keeping you in the dark in your original city, since you were turned, and preparing to ship you off to Cork. Which is happening very soon.
Sometimes vampires travel by coffin, especially on commercial airlines, sometimes its by secret smuggler means, sometimes by ship with a knowing crew, sometimes its even by coffin on a small boat with private crew. This time it will be by coffin, via the air, which can be difficult. Your Sires have assured you this is all above board, and if the power players in Cork have lied to them they will wreak havoc on the city. You dont have much choice in all this, so have to go along with it.
This exchange is supposed to be a new age of vampirism — innovative thinking — given the current threats in the world. They all seem to know, and definitely do know more than theyre letting on, but theyre very much telling you you will be OK upon your arrival. What happens after that is what they were trying to set you up for, which is why you werent really exposed to vampire society in your own cities, except for a few trusted elders. Youre part of the ground troops for some kind of international vampire operation. And, strangely, through your lack of exposure to other younger vampires and a more structured approach to meeting older vampires you have a little more experience in things than many — including opponents — might expect from what they see as simple year old fledglings.
Youre all part of an online group, a human group, maintaining some human pretence and connection to humanity. (Ive given you all a speciality of online in tech. You can decide amongst yourselves what the social group is. No bonus skills for it or XP or anything besides the online speciality.) Youve all been dropping hints in this discord/forum/game/whatever that youll be moving to a new city soon.
Something dawns on you that youre all moving to the same city, from the clues from each other. You become a little suspicious, and over the course of an evening of dropping more hints you realise youre all actually vampires being sent to the same city for some reason. You didnt know each other were vampires, and know for certain vampires shouldnt be communicating online; theres serious threats about this, even to your unlife.
Just as one of you is about to acknowledge it (in a roundabout way, not breaking the masquerade) your computers go dark. Your Sires walk in and tell you its time to begin your journey. And youve already met the people youll be working with in the new city. "This is part of what needs to happen," they say.
Together, over the past few months, youve talked openly and honestly about your core values with each other, becoming somewhat close and sharing in similar principles. You are mostly united in view, and the realisation you wont be alone in this new city gives you a little peace despite the turmoil of knowing its now time to be packed in a coffin and flown to Ireland.
And this is where you decide what your Chronicle Tenets will be. The driving force/forces of your party. What unites you as a cohesive group.
Then your eternal night in the south of Ireland begins.
Link to Session 1 — Airport Arrival
Back to Vampire the Masquerade.