"Denver by Night"

Creating your character

- Character creation will happen together during our Session 0, though I encourage players to think through their character's backstory and personality as much as they'd like beforehand. What role did they play in society before becoming a vampire? And how did accepting the Embrace change them? - All players will start as fledgling vampires, though there will be plenty of opportunities for your characters to gain more power and abilities as the chronicle progresses. You have many ways to move upwards in the ranks of the vampire clans ... but there are also ways you can be punished if you step out of line of your elders' wishes, so be careful not to anger the wrong people!

Preparing for the session

- A webcam and mic are needed to join the game and participate in sessions. - Download the free Discord app, and I will provide a log-in link to join the session. - Depending on what the players decide, going forward from Session Zero we may expand into the Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop, though that is by no means necessary to join and play the game. - It's not necessary to have a complete grasp of the rules, as we will be discussing many of the finer details of the rules as they come up in the story. Instead, come with an open mind and a desire for a dark adventure! - I can answer any questions players might have, and I welcome players of any experience level.

What Paul Willis brings to the table

- Custom-made maps will be provided via a shared screen for both exploration and combat so that all players can see. As a resident of Colorado myself, I know the city of Denver well and will be using real locations from around the area. - Maps and combat can be run either on a shared Discord screen or through the Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop, so I am flexible to use either depending on the group's wishes. - This adventure has a multitude of approaches, and many solutions will focus on roleplaying and embodying aspects of vampiric society. - I lean more toward Rule of Cool than abiding to the rules by the letter. But I will stick to Rules as Written in situations where the gameplay calls for it (i.e., combat). - I am incorporating things like music and sound effects into the campaign, and will be introducing those as we go forward. - I am no voice actor, but I enjoy a good accent from time to time! I encourage my players to roleplay and adopt things like accents to the level they are comfortable with. - I run a very honest and expressive table, and I will always encourage my players to tell me their highs and their lows to me in an "open door" sort of way. We are playing through a dark game in a dark world, and our characters may have to do dark things in order to survive. But it's important in a world like this to talk to one another about the things we're roleplaying through in a respectful way.

How Paul Willis creates a safe table

- In Session 0 we will discuss our characters, their backstories if applicable, and go over a few guidelines and rules for sessions going forward. - I'll provide a link to a Lines/Veils document that players can fill out and send back to me. - I have a full open door policy and I encourage all my players to speak up if they have questions or concerns about anything, and I will be available before and after every session if any players need to talk over an issue with me one-on-one. - X, N, and O cards can be texted to me over chat or phone privately and I will immediately honor that feedback. - After our sessions end we'll spend a few minutes debriefing and going over whatever Stars/Wishes might have come up.