I'll format and flesh this out more later, just getting it documented in one place
New Affect: Sun Scorned - The old rats of Reza have been driven off, but
at night the new breed will take to the alleys in search of blood. These
vampires are bigger and a bit meaner than the old ones, being bitten by one
has a chance to inflict the sun scorned affect, which causes minor vampiric
drawbacks (mild sun damage, primarily).
New General Mechanic: Suspicion - All visitors to the city will have a
suspicion rating that determines how likely they are to be accosted by
guards. This will be influenced by several factors including city wide
alert level (response to events), walking with weapons out, displays of
'dark magic' and so on.
New Area Mechanic: Favoured Church - As players help or hinder the
Crusaders, they gain status for their affiliated church. This can lead to
special recognition within the city for church members, though sometimes it
can pay to lay low.
New Vampire Mechanic: Blood pool - As vampires feed they regain blood.
The blood pool will drop by 5-10% per day, but can be used to power various
effects such as appearing mortal. This can be used to blend in when guards
are on alert, or for other tricks later.
New Faction: The Ashen Crusade - Players can join the crusade, standing
against the things lurking in the night. Crusaders will have quests
assigned from patrolling areas of the city to hunting down suspected
vampires. Gaining status within the crusaders may provide some leniency in
the face of minor infractions around the city.
New Skill Type: Area Lore (Reza) - As players explore the city and learn
facts (such as the location of Scarm's Tomb), their Area Lore (Reza) skill
will improve. As this skill is based on a token, each fact will have its
own value and setting of true/false for known or not. Scripts can check
either the general skill percentage or look for specific facts to provide
extra information or trigger events for the player(s).
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Theme: Taking back the night - Vampires have ruled Reza from the shadows
for many years, from Scarm in his hidden crypt below the city to Caligo in
his mansion. Much of the city has been left to rot with rats spreading
plague and orphans begging along the streets as the undead masters focus on
keeping blood flowing.
In time, however, a new strain of the Rezian plague began to appear,
carried by rats who were as likely to feed on their own kind as they were to
attack innocent visitors. These sun scorned rats finally made the problem
to great to ignore, and from the city's oppressed came a solution. Over a
period of weeks, the newly formed movement observed the city's elite, and if
suspected of vampirism, they and their gathering places were put to the
torch. Caligo's mansion was the first to fall, followed quickly by the
Vampire's Masquerade and the network of tunnels below.
Since then, the self titled 'Ashen Crusade' has taken charge of the city,
instituting curfews and training the remaining citizens in basic self
defense so that they can keep their homes safe. Though they appealed to the
other members of the Seralian Empire, no answer came from their supposed
allies, and the city of Reza has since declared itself independent. Already
there are rumors among the guards that once their home is secure, the
Crusade must begin to look outwards, and scour the undead from the world.
