#tzmitsce

[ranjxtul]

VTM Rambles: the Lesbian Cinematic Universe

so i run a chronicle set in new orleans and it's part of what my girlfriend and i call the lesbian cinemtic universe which also includes their berlin by night chronicle that i play in. we call it such because i'm sure you can imagine there are so many lesbian characters. and like, i love it because our games are so queer friendly as they're run by trans lesbians and played by other sapphics. all of us are also experienced ttrpg players or storytellers in some other way too so it's very common someone will have someone else crying or freaking out because of the scene they're playing,

I also think the queerness and our experience with storytelling allows us to better explore the themes of vampire, which to me are what does it mean to be human and what does it mean to be good. We all have characters, PCs or SPCs alike that re struggling with the darkness of the kindred and human world, in fact I think some way all of them are. i love being able to explore what that means for these people and how they react and cope with the pain of their lives. As creators in these games, we've taken a very human approach to creating these chracters as world of darkness seems to believe that once you're embraced you lose all goodness. it also seems to me they believe tiers of humanity are fixed and unuanced when that is simply not the case so i love playing with what each tier of humanity might mean for each character.

as a storyteller, and a player i interpret the beast as more a figurative manifestation of whatever magic that comes with kindredhood and the blood combined with a person's shadow self and subconscious. i'm personally not a fan of the idea that the beast is an actual entity now living in a kindred' head because of the embrace that sucks the good from you. i think the beast forces the kindred to grapple with the darkest parts of themselves that were already there so the fight for goodness or humanity is internal and intrinsic. to me, this has created such an interesting conflict and even fear in certain characters who want to be kind and humane but are scared to lose that due to age or the world etc.

in these two games, we also have some really interesting themes going through. in berlin, i'd say we're creating a theme of healing generational wounds and in nola i think our theme is becoming learning to hold on to the love and kindness in your life, because it will save you in more ways than one. as a creator whether that be on the storyteller or player side, i'm taking these ideas and running with them. for me, a throughline theme helps tie a story together and helps write the story as it devlops even in an rpg.

additionally, i've found that vtm is a great system to explore heavier topics than you more easily could in dnd or something similar. the central questions of the game lends itself to that. for example, in nola i have a plot that has to do with the second inquistion in the cia and how the prince of the camarilla is currently being trafficked as a part of a deal to hold of the cia which was made knowing one day she'd break. i also think the system is a good way to explore power dynamics in society and tradition. even though our political systems are very different in reality a lot of the messiness and the constructs that create those systems are present in the construction of the camarilla, anarchs, and sabbat- to me this is just another interesting way to explore morality in a game like this.

i am a neuroscientist and enjoy tweaking the poorly written mechanics relating kindred anatomy and physiology. i could make a whole post dedicated to what i've messed with in that regard because it's been a lot. i've altered scarring, disease/immune states, the appearance and visibility of disability, metabolism, and fertility to name a few. most importantly from that list is disability and disease. in both games several characters are autistic or adhd or both. there are vampires who use mobility aids, who are amputees, the nola prince and her wife have hiv, one of my pcs has hEDS and the other has lupus. world of darkness erases disability entirely when talking about the embrace and to me, that's wrong. disability isn't awful or heinous and shouldn't be erased in a low (or high for that matter) fantasy game because it's a part of life for so many people.

lastly in this rant s/o to the people who create with me in the lesbian cinematic unverse @rj-thursday @yelenaslightchangeofplan and andi (who's tumblr i don't know) i love yall and i'm so happy to play these games with you... undercover todd forever

[vampiresofsf]

What Christmas probably looks like for Tzmitsce ghouls

[vampiresofsf]

OOC Game Quotes: This is what SF-based Games Inevitably Turn Into

Jim: “I want to play a Tzmitsce who is all about, like, free-range organic skin for his flesh-crafting.” Me: “OMG, hipster Tzmitsce!” Jim: “These flesh-chairs are locally-sourced!” Me: “These skin-books are all fair-trade!”

(8/21/3014, The Vampires of San Francisco)

[vampiresofsf]

So Tzmitsce. Wow.