backFrequently Asked Questions
Clarifications to rules or setting will be put here. Ideally all this information
will eventually be found elsewhere as well. If you want to ask a question feel
free to do so with this comment form:
Setting Questions
Aren't the Skadi just cheesy combat monsters?
No. More specifically, as an ST try to draw on the Scandinavian tradition of
the Skalds when creating characters. The Galliard of Werewolf: the Apocalypse
draw from the same traditions, if that helps. As a player feel free to create
twinkish Skadi. Remember that the Skadi are generally limited to the far north,
far from Roman lands. A Skadi character will have no friendly clanmates to save
them when their claws and Potence fail.
What difference does the plebeian / equite / patrician distinction make
in vampiric society?
Ok, this isn't a frequently asked question... The answer is "not much."
Kindred care a great deal if someone was a citizen, slave or foreigner in life.
Patrician status does not matter as much. Often it is necessary for a Kindred
to claim Patrician status to enforce his or her godly will upon a mortal client.
Some elder Kindred wear patrician togas to emphasis their status, even if they
were born slaves. This is perfectly acceptable. Kindred society does, however,
strongly condemn taking the status of a citizen, toga and tri-nomen, when it
is not justified.
What is the difference between an agora and a forum?
Most basically agoras are in Greek cities while fora are in Roman cities. An
agora is purely commercial in nature. It is the market place where a number
of tent like shops are set up during the day. Being the center of a cities'
life, the agora is often in the center of the city and is commonly very close
to other public buildings of the city like temples and baths. A forum, on the
other hand, is political and religious in nature, not commercial. Roman temples
are in the forum, as are the offices of important politicians. The market place
of a Roman city will often be close to the forum, as will the baths.
How old are Magistrates and Legati?
Younger than you'd think. Remember that the Alexandrine Gehenna killed somewhere
between 75% and 95% of all Kindred between 500 BCE and 300 BCE. Combine that
with normal Kindred attrition and you'll find there just aren't that many Kindred
over 300 around. The situation in 2000 CE that many consider "typical"
actually is certainly not because it is close to the beginning of a Gehenna
rather than shortly after one ended. So, to answer the question, Magistrates
are commonly 200 to 300 years old as of 14 CE.
Hang on, if Magistrates and Legati are so young how do they rule?
First of all don't forget that a Kindred doesn't need 14 dots of physical disciplines
to be an effective ruler. If he or she does then something is seriously wrong
in their city! Officials enforce their dictates by two methods, obfuscating
how old they really are and calling to Rome for help when needed. Kindred don't
walk around with their age tattooed on their forehead; if every Magistrate who
claimed to be one thousand really was, well, Gehenna clearly didn't happen.
Such claims are bolstered by the occasional Magistrate or Legate who really
is one thousand! A neonate can never sleep easy because his or her Magistrate
just might be telling the truth. A call to Rome is always a Magistrate's last
resort, but it is a stunningly effective threat. Everyone knows that Rome really
does have thousand year old Kindred ready and willing to crush rebellions in
the provinces. This is one reason cities join Rome peacefully, because their
leaders want the extra security of the red phone to Rome.
System Questions
Can an Assimite learn Earthen Mastery from a Capadocian?
Yup, they can. But they learn it just as a Ventrue (say) would, in other words,
they learn it at out of clan prices. Thaumaturgy will not be a unified theory
until the coming of the Tremere, so each magical philosophy is treated completely
separately. So a character with a bunch of Thaumaturgy would have scores in
Assimite Thaumaturgy, Capadocian Thaumaturgy and Salubri Thaumaturgy that would
have nothing to do with each other.
What about an Assimite with Weather Control 4 (Assimite Thaumaturgy) and
Weather Control 2 (Capadocian Thaumaturgy). Could such a character learn Capadocian
Air rituals at level 2 or level 4?
Such a character could only learn Capadocian Air rituals at level 2.