Fleshing Out Your Supernatural

Written by Harry

We’ve mentioned a little about what type of supernatural character might be right for you. Now we’re going to dig a little deeper into the various levels of the Forsaken and Kindred.

Decisions, Decisions!

Choosing a faction of supernatural character is just the beginning. You’ll have additional choices to make, whether you choose a werewolf or a vampire. Some of these choices aren’t yours, and you may have little say in the matter based on character templates. In other areas, the choices are shaped by your character’s personal preferences, goals and personality.

Deal With It

Two areas where your character won’t have a choice are in those of auspices and clans.

An auspice is the moon phase under which your Forsaken character goes through his or her First Change. Each of the auspices has specific personality traits that shape the way your character functions in Forsaken society.

In our Escaping Reality House Rules, the auspice is determined by your character’s birthday and moon phase of the sky at that time. You don’t have to wait for that specific phase to be present in game for your character’s First Change to occur. The resonance of that auspice is already in the character’s blood. If your character does go through his or her First Change on a night when that auspice is in the sky, the forces are doubly intense.

Clan: Clans are a vampire’s bloodline handed down from Sire to Childer, generation after generation. When a character is Embraced, the Sire drains the human of all blood and the human must drink blood from the Sire for the transfusion to be complete. It is through this blood that the Childer receives all traits of the Sire’s clan.

Character’s Options

After a character has adapted to life as a shifter or vampire, the character is presented with options of tribes and covenants.

Sometimes a character catches the eye of a tribe or covenant elder and is asked to join. Other times, the character might hear about these options and seek out the elders or spirits of that group. Tribes and covenants might have preferred auspices and clans, but any can join - or try to join.

Choosing a tribe or covenant is also optional; you can join one or none at all.

Tribes: Werewolf tribes are not easy to join. The elders of the tribe might think your character is a good fit, but in the end, the tribe’s patron spirit decides whether the character gets the final stamp of approval.

Covenants: These are the secret societies of the Kindred. Unlike the Forsaken who rely on the approval of spirits, Covenants are run by elders, courts and councils. Advancement is highly political and often, it’s who your character knows that gets him or her ahead.

Breaking It Down

So, what’s next? Well, start with the most basic options. In our next posts, we’ll take a look at the Forsaken auspices and the Kindred clans for a brief overview of what each has to offer.

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