Which Supernatural Character Is Right For You?

Written by Harry

Part of the fun in participating in role-playing games like World of Darkness systems is playing a supernatural character. It’s all part of leaving our ordinary lives behind to explore the fantasy of amazing feats we could never do in real life.

How Can My Character Become Supernatural?

Before anyone can start playing a supernatural character, he or she has to have a firm grip on the character’s personality to begin with. Some games allow you to jump into a fully developed werewolf or vampire, but half the fun is your character’s development through a First Change or an Embrace. For example, at our game at Escaping Reality, the fun is in the journey and not the destination.

A Closer Look At Supernatural Characters

At Escaping Reality, we have a few options for supernatural characters. Players can choose between werewolves (the Forsaken), vampires (the Kindred), or normal human beings with extraordinary powers (Second Sight).

The Forsaken: The werewolves have always been my favorite. As a child, I loved animals, and the opportunity to play a human who could turn into a wolf was like a dream come true.

Playing a werewolf requires knowledge of how wolves behave. You have to understand pack mentality and the way canines deal and communicate with one another. You also have to incorporate this behavior into how a human would deal with his world.

It’s not easy, but it is fun. Your instinct and your human sensibilities are in constant conflict. On one hand, there is social acceptability in human terms and also the taboos and laws of the Forsaken society. Because of this, your character is constantly stuck between worlds.

• The Wolf Blooded: One option for players that want a little something special is the Wolf-Blooded merit. This merit doesn’t give you any special abilities, but it allows you to interact with the Forsaken more freely. The Wolf-Blooded are Forsaken kin. These people carry the bloodline and potential to shift but aren’t shifters themselves.

The Kindred

If you like intrigue and subterfuge, the Kindred might be for you. The vampire court is rife with politics and backstabbing as clans and covenants fight for control of the herds of humans in towns and cities.

Vampire characters aren’t as impulsive as the Forsaken. Kindred have all eternity to plot and scheme. They’re dead already; no reason to rush. That’s not to say all Kindred are like that and there are a few exceptions, particularly newly-Embraced vampires who haven’t learned to slow down yet.

Kindred also have a bestial side. The Beast is what drives them to feed, and not everyone deals with this well. Just look at Louis’ conflicting emotions in Interview with a Vampire. Louis still retained much of his humanity and had a difficult time coming to grips with the world presented to him by his Sire, LeStat.

Second Sight Supernatural Characters

Have you ever wanted to read minds or foretell the future? Maybe it would be cool to move objects with your mind or talk to spirits. Second Sight provides players with a way to be human with some supernatural abilities.

Psychic abilities require some forethought and discussion with Storytellers. A psychic character isn’t easy to play, especially regarding the ability to read minds or having prophetic visions. You need a solid background that explains how you may have received these gifts.

In most cases, if a person wants a character with Second Sight abilities, we suggest a line of development, starting with nothing and working new gifts and abilities into your character’s life development slowly.

Changing Breeds, Skin Changers and Changelings

World of Darkness also has some other supernatural characters. Many of these are best left to their own systems and some work better as antagonists to spice up the game. Here are a few other character types World of Darkness has to offer.

• The Changing Breeds: These shifters are the Forsaken’s cousins. They may be shifters, but they are nothing like the Forsaken. The Ferals (as they call themselves) have no mythology and no adherence to sets of rites or taboos. They are much closer to the animal mindset in that abstract concepts are difficult for them to grasp. Ferals have many forms, practically that of any animal you can imagine. They are also, very, very rare, and it is for this reason you won’t see more than one or two in a game.
• Skin Changers: These are mock shifters, like werewolf or feral wannabes. I hate to say it, but this type of character is like someone at a Furry convention. The Skin Changers have truly lost touch with reality. They will wear the skins of the animal they would most like to be and that animal’s spirit possesses them. In time, they completely forget they were ever human.
• Changelings: Even Faeries have their place in the World of Darkness. Stolen away from humanity, these characters were taken to the lands of Fae and made into slaves of the Others. The characters have not forgotten the world they were forced to leave behind and fight to return to it - and stay there.
• Mages: Once upon a time man rose against the gods and was punished for it. Only a few humans retained the memory of this event. These characters go through what is called an Awakening as memories begin to resurface and they get back in touch with their birthright.
• Prometheans: Of all the supernatural characters, the Prometheans are truly monsters. Created in true Frankenstein fashion, they were put together from corpses and had life forced back into them. They are shunned everywhere they go and constantly strive to become normal and human again.
• Demons: Demons were once Angels, and they fell from grace along with Lucifer. After a millennium of torment in the Abyss, they’ve found a crack in the walls of their prison - and they want out. A Demon inhabits a human body the moment the soul vacates it, either by natural causes or by force. Some Demons seek redemption, while others just want revenge.

No matter which supernatural character you choose, it all comes down to knowing your character inside and out first. Take your time and get to know the characters you’ve crafted. As the story goes on, you might find that your character is perfect for a Forsaken or a Kindred - or maybe nothing at all.

Playing a plain old human can be just as fun too!

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