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Morathor
Supernova
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2012
- Location
- Midwestern USA
The recent Lackadaisy kickstarter has inspired me to do something with my own 1920s-ish gangster setup, The Lesser Evil. As the thread title implies, this is a story mostly following criminal organizations run by vampires. (Although it's mostly the bosses who are vampires; the various underlings are from other races.) I anticipate this game running fairly dark--we're not exactly the good guys. That's in terms of the story themes, but also probably content and kinks. Speaking of story, while I do have some plot options we can explore, I'm honestly more interested in playing this as a sandbox sort of a game. I've put a bunch of thought into the world, and I hope to find people to play in it with me.
With that in mind, let me tell you about the world:
Humans are one of many sentient races, which evolved indepedently all over the globe. I'll toss in a few example races, but feel free to make your own as it suits you.
In this world, the industrial revolution was fueled by magic. The current tech level is roughly equivalent to the late 1920s/early 1930s.
The story focuses on the border city of Remicci and its immediate surroundings. It's the largest metropolitan area in a poor, rural region, and it's controlled by thirteen organized crime families called the Tredici Ore. Of these, the story will mostly center around the Stregheria family.
Vampires are creatures made of living blood; the rest of the body is dead, a puppet being controlled by the demon in its veins.
With that in mind, let me tell you about the world:
Humans are one of many sentient races, which evolved indepedently all over the globe. I'll toss in a few example races, but feel free to make your own as it suits you.
There are three categories of races: beastkin, fey, and demons. Beastkin, such as humans and satyrs, evolved from animals and don't have much in the way of innate magic. Some might be very strong or fast, or have great hearing or night vision, they may even be venomous, but it's all basically mundane biology that you would expect from an ordinary animal. (This is a good category to include anthro or kemonomimi type races.)
Fey, such as elves and werewolves, are descended from animals much like beastkin are, but there's a lot more magic involved in their evolution. They have strange abilities that can't be achieved through biology alone--things like shapeshifting, illusions, or hypnotic songs.
Demons, such as vampires and elementals, are entirely unnatural; they're unique life forms, which never evolved from anything or related to any other living creatures. Not only do they often have powerful magical abilities, but their biology is completely alien to any other living creature.
Fey, such as elves and werewolves, are descended from animals much like beastkin are, but there's a lot more magic involved in their evolution. They have strange abilities that can't be achieved through biology alone--things like shapeshifting, illusions, or hypnotic songs.
Demons, such as vampires and elementals, are entirely unnatural; they're unique life forms, which never evolved from anything or related to any other living creatures. Not only do they often have powerful magical abilities, but their biology is completely alien to any other living creature.
Magic has existed throughout history, but not only is it hard to learn, it's hard on the body, so only an elite few become magicians. Magical devices have also existed throughout history, but these were difficult to produce and often required expensive materials and expert crafstmanship. However, in the last century or so, the use of magical engines in manufacturing has really taken off, allowing for fast, cheap production of all sorts of goods. That includes all manner of mana-powered devices for domestic or military use, from radios, to guns, to cars.
Magical devices use specially cut crystals as batteries; they draw in ambient magical power, which is then channeled into a metal structure, where special patterns (runes) guide the energy to a desired effect. These runes may be etched into a metal surface, or wrought with wires. Drawing energy can put strain on a crystal and may crack it; most devices use lab-produced sapphires, which are both cheap and very high in quality, though the very best magical equipment uses diamonds. Similarly, silver is the most effective metal to use in these devices, but copper is more common as it’s more affordable and nearly as good.
Magical devices use specially cut crystals as batteries; they draw in ambient magical power, which is then channeled into a metal structure, where special patterns (runes) guide the energy to a desired effect. These runes may be etched into a metal surface, or wrought with wires. Drawing energy can put strain on a crystal and may crack it; most devices use lab-produced sapphires, which are both cheap and very high in quality, though the very best magical equipment uses diamonds. Similarly, silver is the most effective metal to use in these devices, but copper is more common as it’s more affordable and nearly as good.
Remicci is a city on the western border of Sirozzo. It is a reasonably large city, but when most people say "Remicci" they're also thinking of about a dozen smaller cities and towns in the area, not to mention wide stretches of undeveloped farmland. This region of Sirozzo is poor, mostly rural, and primarily inhabited by humans and other beastkin. Fey are rare there, and demons rarer.
Nearly fourty years ago, Sirozzo became embroiled in a war on all fronts. With their resources spread too thin to adequately defend all their borders, the nation's leaders decided that they could not save Remicci, leaving it practically undefended. But in the city's hour of need, a cadre of vampires, led by one Maria Mezzanotte, descended on Remicci and declared themselves its protectors. They took up residence in a network of limestone caverns near the river, and at night they would cross the border and gorge themselves on the blood of Sirozzo's enemies. In exchange for their protection, the vampires expected the civilians' loyalty.
When the war ended a few years later, and there were no more invading forces to feed on, the vampires turned to the citizens under their protection for blood. The police did little to interfere--a combination of corruption, apathy, and despair. And federal law enforcement seemed to feel that the people of Remicci had made this bed and were now obliged to sleep in it. So without much opposition, the vampires began collecting their blood tithe, though some people bargained to pay in goods and services instead.
This was also when Maria Mezzanotte organized her loose band of soldiers into the Tredici Ore we know today--thirteen families, each corresponding to a different hour on the clock. Her own Mezzanotte family (midnight) ruled over all the rest, with the Crepusculo family (nightfall) serving as her spies and the Alba family (dawn) acting as her enforcers.
Nearly fourty years ago, Sirozzo became embroiled in a war on all fronts. With their resources spread too thin to adequately defend all their borders, the nation's leaders decided that they could not save Remicci, leaving it practically undefended. But in the city's hour of need, a cadre of vampires, led by one Maria Mezzanotte, descended on Remicci and declared themselves its protectors. They took up residence in a network of limestone caverns near the river, and at night they would cross the border and gorge themselves on the blood of Sirozzo's enemies. In exchange for their protection, the vampires expected the civilians' loyalty.
When the war ended a few years later, and there were no more invading forces to feed on, the vampires turned to the citizens under their protection for blood. The police did little to interfere--a combination of corruption, apathy, and despair. And federal law enforcement seemed to feel that the people of Remicci had made this bed and were now obliged to sleep in it. So without much opposition, the vampires began collecting their blood tithe, though some people bargained to pay in goods and services instead.
This was also when Maria Mezzanotte organized her loose band of soldiers into the Tredici Ore we know today--thirteen families, each corresponding to a different hour on the clock. Her own Mezzanotte family (midnight) ruled over all the rest, with the Crepusculo family (nightfall) serving as her spies and the Alba family (dawn) acting as her enforcers.
A vampire, in their most basic form, is pure liquid--a pool of blood, which can move and reshape their body as they desire. They have no sense of sight or smell, but they are sensitive to heat and vibrations. They also slowly evaporate, losing mass which can only be replenished by consuming the blood of beastkin. Even under ideal conditions, they lose about a pint of blood a day; they evaporate more quickly in open air, and incredibly rapidly in sunlight.
To protect themselves from the elements, most vampires live in the veins of a corpse, controlling its limbs like a puppet, integrating with its nervous system to access its senses. They can even access its memories, and some vampires may consider themselves the same person as the body they inhabit--although from a biological standpoint they are separate organisms. Most vampires live in one body their entire lives, learning to prevent decay and repair injuries, to keep their body intact for centuries.
Vampires reproduce in a process similar to budding, separating a small amount of their blood mass from the rest. The "child" is then forced into the bloodstream of the vampire's prey, where they will attempt to consume all of the victim's blood without being overwhelmed by its immune system.
With enough blood, vampires can potentially live forever. And with enough time, they can hone their innate abilities to absurd levels, achieving incredible or bizarre things. Most learn, quite early on, how to move with more power or speed than their muscles alone would provide. Some learn to manually activate their organs to better mimic a living being. Some can harden parts of their blood, either for offense or defense. There are even some vampires that can control multiple bodies at once.
To protect themselves from the elements, most vampires live in the veins of a corpse, controlling its limbs like a puppet, integrating with its nervous system to access its senses. They can even access its memories, and some vampires may consider themselves the same person as the body they inhabit--although from a biological standpoint they are separate organisms. Most vampires live in one body their entire lives, learning to prevent decay and repair injuries, to keep their body intact for centuries.
Vampires reproduce in a process similar to budding, separating a small amount of their blood mass from the rest. The "child" is then forced into the bloodstream of the vampire's prey, where they will attempt to consume all of the victim's blood without being overwhelmed by its immune system.
With enough blood, vampires can potentially live forever. And with enough time, they can hone their innate abilities to absurd levels, achieving incredible or bizarre things. Most learn, quite early on, how to move with more power or speed than their muscles alone would provide. Some learn to manually activate their organs to better mimic a living being. Some can harden parts of their blood, either for offense or defense. There are even some vampires that can control multiple bodies at once.
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