I want to take a break and talk about some world building here. The above post was a bit of a mess anyway. So, when I started writing Samael sometime in the 2010s I had already had interest in the concept of werewolves, vampires, wizards, hunters, etc. in modern day. Wizards in DnD are par for the course, but a wizard in modern times? Now that was cool. It has strong Outsider vibes than I really want to explore and experience. Perhaps that's one reason why I stuck to half-elves mostly in DnD, especially with the idea that they'te looked down upon by both societies. Being an outcast seems fun oddly enough. Sadly however, I never got to do more than a session or two with the three or four characters I made for MAGE the Ascension, of which I own many books for, but nowhere near a complete collection. (I even own the GURPS version!) I took a bit of inspiration from World of Darkness, as well as from Dresden Files, one of the few book series I've read most of.
However I want to create my own world, one a little less dark than the reality of the fiction you see most days. There is MUCH I dislike about Buffy.
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Wizards/Mages
So one of the ideas I liked in Dresden Files is that Magic and Technology do NOT get along, it's a fun concept to explore, but I've never been consistent with it and Samael is a combat wizard for lack of a better term (DnD calls them evocation but the definition of that is the act of bringing or recalling a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind or the action of invoking a spirit or deity and while you are brining/invoking magic fire and the like, it doesn't really cement to me the concept of destruction) which means that his aura would never allow him anywhere near a civilized city. Also a quick note that MAGE has this concept but only as an optional flaw you can take (for more points in character building). So one of my first changes to this concept is that mechanical things are pretty much fine. Gears turning against each other, solid physical mechanical technology work just fine, however electronic devices very much have issues, and the more modern the worse it is. Old lightbulbs may flicker a bit while LEDs may just fry in the mere presence of a powerful wizard, but if that wizard casts any magic? Bulbs will just straight up pop! Part of the idea that supports this concept of magic messing with electricity comes from some stuff I heard about ghosts and electromagnetic fields that I heard once and it sounded interesting, so it fits with what I'm going for.
So this presents a problem for the modern day wizard then, how do they go about life? How do they walk down the street without frying every single cell phone around them? The advent of smart phones has clearly made this a much larger problem than thirty years ago today, and writing a story in the nineties would certainly make things easier.
Well one would assume, correctly, that most wizards would choose to live in small towns and even further out. Less technology to worry about, less people to discover their secrets. A Wizard could also practice meditation or something, to hold their aura in tighter, another idea I believe was explored in Dresden Files. When I started this thread I came up with an idea that I briefly touched upon in my posts. The idea of a magical artifact, a carved charm, that uses magic to suppress the magical aura they emit, to allow them to move more freely through the city. It could be home made or crafted by the Council for their members, there would be multiple ways to obtain one. The drawbacks would be, although minor, that it would mess with their magic if they tried to cast any while wearing it, and taking it off in a hurry might not be a huge issue but it could be easily lost in a tussle.
One could also wave off the idea of Auras having any real impact, but it's always a fun element to explore, but even if you do. The idea of actively casting magic messing with electronics around them is just too good of an idea to throw away.
Additionally and obviously wizards with only a minor talent of magic wouldn't have to worry about most of this so much, but Samael is stuck in a situation here, a rock and a hard place. Not only is he required to live in a large city, Boston, that I feel in love with during trips to the freedom trail, but he also has a very potent aura, so I decided if I do stick to the charm concept, he has one very large one and a few extra to be safe, hanging around his neck. There would be a magnetic clasp, which should be fine around magic, maybe, that would allow him to swiftly snap it off incase he runs into any trouble. He is also mostly a night owl to help mitigate how many people he is around, although that's really more cause he fights monsters that mostly just come out at time so it works out.
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Vampires
So I never liked the idea that vampires kill anyone they feed on. You never see them in any media drain enough blood to actually kill their victims, although there are some precious arteries in the neck I suppose, it still never sat well with me. It would also lead to a lot of bodies piling up and while in most media it's just one or two vampires who don't care and end up being hunted and killed by the end of the movie or show, it presents an issue for vampires who want to hide in modern society.
The idea then is that there is a compound in vampire saliva that clots the blood when they're done feeding, far faster than would normally happen, which may also heal the wound completely so that no double fang mark is left on the victim, and they simply wake up with a hangover the next day. One would also figure in that perhaps, a vampire only requires a pint or so of blood every three nights to keep their strength up, equivalent to one blood donation, which may leave some victims feeling woozy after. There may also be a need to mind control a little so their victims have no recollection, perhaps again, something in the saliva, and, for some added fun, perhaps some vampires have a bit of aphrodisiac in their blood, for some added fun!
This all concludes to the point that the BEST place for a vampire to hunt would be a night club. It's dark, it's loud, most everyone is drunk to some extent, so anyone they feed on is just going to believe at worst, they just have a really bad hangover. It's the perfect feeding ground and would even allow for me to say vampires need to feed once a night or so, more than the once every three days, but that's a minor detail.
Then there's the concept vampires bursting in the sun. So vampires in my worlds, are NOT undead. They are more cursed for lack of a better concept, and curses can work in many ways, which allows me the concept of a taint system, where the more a vampire overfeeds and harms their victim, or the darker their soul even, the worse the sun is for them. So a good natured vampire can just throw on a sunhat and sunglasses, a long t-shirt and pants, and be mostly fine out during the day. I also adhere to the idea that a vampire bite does not instantly turn you like a zombie bite does in most media. A vampire has to choose to turn their victim, and it can possibly be reversed, but not easily so if at all. It takes a bit of magic on their part, and is not done often, as it can just lead to more competition. Perhaps even just certain powerful vampires are capable of it, Originals or Lords or something, not something I'm too worried about fleshing out at the moment.
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Werewolves
I haven't done too much exploring with werewolves as of yet, but I have a little bit I can talk about. Werewolves in my world have three forms to take, inspired by the overload of five from World of Darkness. There is of course, human form that goes without explanation, animal form which is as simple as it sounds, and war form, which is the main form that looks cool as heck. A werewolf who's in control of their dangerous self can change whenever they like, although I could limit war form to night, and they hold to their sanity with ease. Perhaps under a full moon they may struggle with control, but an experienced werewolf will manage just fine for the most part. It's rare for werewolves to live deep in a city, as the call of nature is too strong to their animalistic nature. That doesn't mean there aren't any though, and Samael has had a few run-ins, although he is now in good standings with the local pack in Boston. Werewolves are neither good nor evil inherently. They are animalistic in nature, and as long as they are well fed, they are generally not a danger. They also have a pack mentality, and take care of each other, so random werewolf attacks are nearly unheard of in most places, but not impossible.
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Fae
The fae are as random as the weather, and although they do have courts, they are not so strongly tied to them in my world as they are in Dresden Files. I'm not sure how much I'll do with the Seelie and Unseelie courts either, for now, I'm fine running faeries as whatever works well in the situation. Obviously some are wicked in nature, but there's no reason why some can't be kind in nature as well!
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Hunters
Hunters are mostly just very skilled human with tools, although perhaps there's, something in their blood, that makes them a step above the average human holding a crossbow or shotgun. I haven't dived to deep into them, and while I've had a story between a werewolf and a young soon to be hunter, it has not progressed to the point of being able to lay out any groundwork for how they function. They have a Guild like the wizards have a Council, but I haven't thought out much more than that.
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