Note: If you have the hang of chargen but still need some guidance with applications, skip this page and go straight to the New Player Application Guide!
Hello, and welcome to Los Angeles by Night! We hope to assist you with the character creation process with this guide, however, if you require assistance exceeding the information found here, please don't hesitate to inquire of a Storyteller (or player - we're blessed with friendly, informed players who are always willing to help out a new face) in-game via the Guest account. To log into the Guest account, connect to projectfiction.net port 2011 and type in "Guest", without the quotation marks. The password is also guest. To talk on the OOC channel type ooc <your message here>.
What You Can Play on LAbN
We are a game that focuses on the Anarch faction of Vampire: The Masquerade, and Hunter: The Reckoning. Camarilla and Sabbat Vampires are acceptable, but our focus is on free-living Anarchs (and Independents) in the Free State and Camarilla or Sabbat concepts must specifically address their business in California. Wayfarers and Hermits, the lost Creeds of Hunter: The Reckoning, are not available for PC play.
Alternative Concepts…
As our setting is Los Angeles, the Pacific Coast, a small number of Kuei-Jin are also expected to be lurking among the player base. Kuei-Jin characters are required to have concepts which weave around a common purpose with existing Kuei-Jin. If you decide to apply with a Kuei-Jin, please log into the game using the Guest account and inquire, so that your concept may be designed from the ground-up with something in mind to link it to existing Kuei-Jin characters.In addition, Mortals play a significant role in our World of Darkness setting. Straight Mortals are highly encouraged - lets face it, everybody loves a human - but there are alternatives to your average everyday Mortals that avoid the Hunter sphere. Numina are naturally occurring supernatural powers that Mortals sometimes develop. Numina concepts must have a reason for their powers as a focus of their story (He woke up from a coma and was capable of Numina, he was exposed to toxic levels of radiation, the abilities are passed down through blood, etc.). Additionally, Project Twilight is a branch of the American government with some awareness of the supernatural, aiming to collect information it believes can be used as a weapon for the United States (Vampiric Disciplines are the new Atomic Bomb). Agents come from all walks of life. We do not class ranking Project Twilight members, however characters may advance in rank through exceptional role play.
Character Creation
First and foremost…
Please read the LAbN House Rules. The house rules detail everything from where to submit descriptions for an apartment to our guidelines on MU*sex (and everything inbetween).
Have you decided what you want to play? There are two stages to character creation on LAbN: Step one is in-game chargen, which this page will walk you through from beginning to end, and Step Two is the application process, which will come later.
Step One: In-game chargen
Connect to projectfiction.net port 2011 and enter the name you wish to use for your character. If the name is unused you will be taken through online character generation. If the name is currently in use by another player, it will ask you for a password. In the latter case, disconnect, reconnect, and attempt to create with a different name. When you have selected an unused name, you will see the following:
Are you certain <your name here> is an appropriate name for an RPG set in modern Los Angeles? (Y/N)?
Choosing a name…
Please think about whether or not your chosen name is something a person in real life could be named in Los Angeles of the 21st century, as the World of Darkness is but a horror edition of our real world. Names like Dragonslayer, Cronos, or Pendath are examples of completely inappropriate choices in the modern world of 2011. Naming yourself after your favorite anime character is also inappropriate. Names that don't fit the theme are required to be changed before classing. With a little luck this should prevent the wholist from looking like the nametags from a cosplay convention.
Knowing that you are an awesome newbie and did indeed choose a sensical name for a modern theme, you should enter "y" to the above question and proceed to the next section of chargen: determining your password. You will be asked to enter your password twice to ensure that it is correct.
After entering and confirming your password you will continue to the next part of chargen:
This mud has some rules you have to abide by to play. Do you wish to (r)ead the rules,(a)gree or (d)isagree to abide by them?
There are a few common sense rules to be reviewed should you decide to enter "r" to the above question. These rules include such things as a warning about adult content, a request that the parents of minors control the online activity of their young ones rather than hold us accountable for what may be viewed on our game, and a tidbit about harassment. For the most part, if you are a sane individual, you can enter "a" for agree and continue to the next part of chargen:
Welcome to Los Angeles by Night, the Anarch State.
What is your sex (M/F)?
Select "m" or "f", where the former is obviously male and the latter is female. If you are playing a character who is gender ambiguous, create using either sex and a Storyteller can set you to "neuter" after chargen.
You will then be asked to enter an email address. While this does not have to be your private, personal address we do prefer to have an accurate email account on record in the event we need to contact you about your application. For the most part, after your character has been classed and you are on the grid, your email address will be inconsequential. You should, however, create on the forums for contact post-classing.
Next you will be prompted as to whether or not you use to ANSI color.
Do you wish to use ANSI color (y/n)?
Unless you have a special reason not to use ANSI color, you should choose "y" for yes. If you don't know what ANSI color is, choose "y". If you do know what it is and totally dig color, you should also choose "y". If your client is incompatible with color you can choose either one - it won't matter, and color won't display either way. Choosing "y" is still recommended since the option binds to a player file; should you decide to switch clients at a later date, you will have color.
You may also toggle color on and off in-game with the "ansi" command.
Some bold red text will pop up next directing you to our community forums. If you have not signed up for an account, it would be best to do so now.
Distributing Attribute Points
You will see the following beneath the red text mentioned above:
Do you want [P]hysical, [S]ocial, or [M]ental Attributes
to be your area of expertise?
Attributes are Traits like Strength, Charisma or Intelligence. You are allotted a certain amount of points per category, with your primary area of expertise receiving the most points and your tertiary area of expertise receiving the least points. Physical Attributes include Strength, Dexterity and Stamina, and are used most often in combat-related rolls. Social Attributes include Charisma, Manipulation and Appearance, and are used most often in social-based rolls. Mental Attributes include Intelligence, Wits and Perception, and are used most often in knowledge or research-related rolls.
Choose your primary Attribute category first by selecting "P" for Physical, "S" for Social, or "M" for mental. This choice should be made with an emphasis on your character. If you are a career body builder, you should probably choose Physicals primary over Mentals. If you are a politician, Socials should probably be your primary. A college professor or computer hacker should have Mentals as their primary Attribute category.
You will receive a prompt similar to the one above, this time inquiring what secondary Attribute category you would like to select. Choose "P" for Physicals, "S" for Socials, and "M" for Mentals. Your secondary Attribute category receives a middle number of points to distribute. Again, this is a reflection of who your character is, and should bolster rolls your character would be good at.
Your tertiary Attribute category is the only category left unselected after choosing your primary and secondary fields.
If you are unfamiliar with Attributes and what each of them entail, please review this page at your leisure. For the most part, they are self-explanatory. After you have selected your primary, secondary and tertiary Attribute categories you will see the following on your screen. For the purpose of the guide I have selected Socials as my primary Attribute category. Your own chargen sheet may include other Traits depending upon which category you chose.
Each Attribute begins with an automatic point. If you add 1 point to Charisma, your character has Charisma 2.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Charisma:[o] Manipulation:[o] Appearance:[o] Points Left:[ooooooo]
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1) Increase Charisma 2) Decrease Charisma
3) Increase Manipulation 4) Decrease Manipulation
5) Increase Appearance 6) Decrease Appearance
Since each category has three possible Traits, you may distribute your allotted points to only those three Traits. You have 7 points to distribute into your primary Attribute category. By using the numbers 1, 3, and 5, I can add points to Charisma, Manipulation or Appearance. By using the numbers 2, 4, and 6, I can remove points from Charisma, Manipulation or Appearance.
When you have run out of points you will be taken to a screen similar to the above to distribute your secondary Attribute points. You have 5 points to distribute among secondary Attribute Traits. Last you will see your tertiary category, and will distribute 3 points.
Distributing Ability Points
After your Attribute points have been distributed completely you will be prompted to select a primary, secondary and tertiary Ability category:
Do you want [T]alents, [S]kills, or [K]nowledges to be your area of expertise?
You will receive 13 dots in your primary, 9 in your secondary, and 5 in your tertiary. No one ability can be raised above 3 dots yet save by using Freebie points on your application, which will come later. Unlike Attributes, you do not begin with dots in Abilities. Adding 1 point to an Ability sets that Ability to 1. If you are unfamiliar with Abilities, examine this page.
The following snippet will not appear in your chargen screen, and is provided solely so you know which Ability belongs in which category before selecting Talents, Skills or Knowledges as your primary.
Talents/---------/Skills/--------/Knowledges/
Alertness________Animal Ken_________Academics
Athletics________Firearms___________Computer
Brawl____________Security___________Investigation
Dodge____________Crafts_____________Law
Empathy__________Etiquette__________Linguistics
Expression_______Melee______________Medicine
Intimidation_____Performance________Occult
Leadership_______Drive______________Politics
Streetwise_______Stealth____________Finance
Subterfuge_______Survival___________Science
Once you have selected "t" for Talents, "s" for Skills or "k" for Knowledges your primary Ability category has been selected, and you will repeat the process to select your secondary category. Your tertiary Ability category is the only category left unselected after choosing your primary and secondary fields.
After you have selected your primary, secondary and tertiary Ability categories you will see the following on your screen. For the purpose of the guide I have selected Skills as my primary Ability category. Your own chargen sheet may include other Traits depending upon which category you chose.
------------------------------------------------------------------
AnimalKen :[] Firearms :[] Crafts :[]
Etiquette :[] Security :[] Melee :[]
Performance :[] Drive :[] Stealth :[]
Survival :[]
Points Left:[ooooooooooooo]
------------------------------------------------------------------
0) Increase AnimalKen 10) Decrease AnimalKen
1) Increase Firearms 11) Decrease Firearms
2) Increase Crafts 12) Decrease Crafts
3) Increase Etiquette 13) Decrease Etiquette
4) Increase Security 14) Decrease Security
5) Increase Melee 15) Decrease Melee
6) Increase Performance 16) Decrease Performance
7) Increase Drive 17) Decrease Drive
8) Increase Stealth 18) Decrease Stealth
9) Increase Survival 19) Decrease Survival
------------------------------------------------------------------
Using the same format as Attributes, distribute your points among the Abilities which are most suited to your character. When you have run out of points you will be taken to a screen similar to the above to distribute your secondary Ability points. Follow the same instructions. Last you will see your tertiary category, and will distribute your last Ability points.
Final Notes
This guide merely outlines the online character generation process, and does not include Traits like Virtues, Willpower, Road or others. Such Traits will come into play later, when you begin work on an application. Once you are through with character generation, please proceed to the New Player Application Guide.
Good luck and welcome to LAbN! We look forward to seeing you in game.
-the Staff and Players
