v0.

1 – 06/14/2020
Canada at Midnight
Vampire: the Masquerade
Back to ​Player Resource Guide

Vampire: the Masquerade

To Our Elders and their Storytellers
Dear Player,

We want you to know that we trust you. This is our starting position as Storytelling staff, and we
are here to help you create great stories as Elders in the Masquerade 2020 Venue. What I am
going to address in this letter is how we’re going to do that.

I say “we’re” going to create great stories because, in the end, every character is a reflection of
the setting it is a part of. Your PC will be a whole lot of you, but we like to think we’re a part of
that too by providing you the setting that our characters live in, the sociocultural norms, and an
active world in which to enjoy the conflicts of the modern nights.

As an Elder, you’ve got an important piece of our setting in your hands, and you have a unique
ability to set the tone of your game wherever you play. Here is how we need you to take care of
that piece.

For the purposes of our expectations, an Elder is a character with the Generation Background at
3, 4 or 5 or the Status of an Elder. This includes characters who got there through Diablerie or
characters that become Elders in Status due to the Machiavellian Prodigy Merit. If you can
agree to do these things to help us portray our best possible setting, then we are happy to
entrust you with playing an Elder character.

If you take an Elder character into your custodianship, you agree to do the following:

Your Elder Is Not An Island

First and foremost, you agree that you will embody inclusion. It is absolutely in your character’s
interest to do so! Elders are not islands - they are the bedrock on which Domains are built, and
their stories have great potential to touch the stories of others.

You agree to actively involve and help players of Neonates and Ancillae to create great stories.
You will do this by proactively seeking ways to involve them in plot, and how to engage plot in a

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fun and active fashion at Game and in Downtime. You will take their questions, refer them to the
Storyteller or another experienced player if need be, and connect them to opportunities to play.
This means you’re going to be spending a lot of game time managing people, and less of it
diving into plot yourself. We appreciate you doing that for us, as it makes the game better for
everyone, and leans into the themes of connectedness that make Elder play rewarding and fun
for you and your troupe.

You agree that you will genuinely try other non-lethal options before engaging in lethal PvP
when you have a conflict to resolve. For example: prestation is slowly coming into the world,
there are negative Status monikers, there are influence attacks and putting their Feeding into an
awful place. These are just some of the options available to you. If PvP combat is absolutely
necessary, you should have your Neonates and Ancillae try to handle it first. Elders engaging in
PvP combat is a last resort.

Unlike in previous Chronicles, we do not have a strict requirement that you avoid PvP combat
on your Elder; we do not need to. You will note that our XP system is low and slow. Your Elder
probably feels mechanically vulnerable - every character will. In setting, you play an immortal
monster whose Beast really, really does not want to die. Please don’t go get your Elder
character killed in a silly fight.

Play the Long Game

Elders are dramatic, but deliberate. They don’t fly off the handle - except for in very specific
circumstances where they might lose their cool, which you can work out in advance with the
Storyteller chain. Please don’t let your Elder character get too caught up in the moment. They’ve
been around a long time, and they play the angles. They figure out potential consequences of
actions, look at the different ways things can go down, and they plan before they make their
political and physical moves. Killing someone’s pawn may lead to retaliation. Time is nothing.
Avoiding scandal and loss of face for a botched strategy is everything.

Status and Court

Your Elder character is a pillar of the community they live in. People should want to be like their
public faces for one reason or another. They’re examples of why their Sects are amazing. Lean
into that, and encourage others to! The drama and courtly politics of your Sect are the bread
and butter of their night to night existence. Engage in fealty chains using the Status mechanics,
and encourage others to do so as well. Reward good politics and other behaviors that enhance
your Sect’s setting, and don’t be afraid to use negative Status where it is warranted.

Being an Elder does give your character some additional innate Status, but your character is not
automatically right because they’re an Elder. They’re not here to stomp on the play experiences
of others, or to make others feel small - quite the opposite. Their power is based on

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accumulation of resources and people who are willing to be part of their power base; work ​with
people at least as much as you work against others. Otherwise, your Elder might find
themselves in a vulnerable political position.

Acceptance
By taking on an Elder character, you indicate that you have read this document, that you agree
to its terms, and that you will abide by them. Please indicate specifically that you have read and
accept these expectations in your application to become an Elder.

For minor infractions, we will let you know what you did wrong with a single warning in the
lifetime of the character and how to do better next time. After that, staff may use appropriate IC
consequences up to and including character death, or OOC consequences such as
Desanctioning.

For significant infractions, a warning is not required. Staff may use appropriate IC
consequences up to and including character death, or OOC consequences such as
Desanctioning.

We trust our Storytellers to fairly determine if an infraction was minor or significant. Players may
Appeal if they disagree.

If at any point you are not sure if an action you want to take as your Elder is appropriate under
this document, we encourage you to simply ask your Storyteller before you take it.

You agree that you understand this by taking an Elder character on. Ultimately, we know that
you understand why these measures are needed: for the good of the game that we all care so
much about.

Storytellers
We trust you as well, and we hope you will act as stewards of our trust in the player base.

On one hand, we trust you to ensure that Elders are following this document. Elders are not in
your game to be disruptive to good gameplay. If an Elder’s player does not abide by this
agreement, we trust you to warn them. If they have been warned for not following these
guidelines, remember that you have the ability to use NPC tools or even desanction a character.
If you need help educating Elder players in what is expected, you need only ask. We will be
there.

On the other hand, we trust you to take care of the people who have volunteered to play Elders.
Please remember to support your Elders, because they should be supporting you in creating a

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great and thematic product for your player base. It is a lot of work to play an Elder well. You
checking in to make sure they have the material and help they need in their efforts to make your
game better will make all of the difference to them.

Thank You!
To both Players and Storytellers: thank you for reading this and helping us make a better game
by abiding by these expectations. We look forward to seeing you in play!

Yours truly,

The C@M Masquerade Team