I’ve structured this since it’s a bit long, but I really want to make this work in a way that the ST will be okay with and that the other players can enjoy trying to problem solve.
Relevant Background
Ok, so, obviously this would need some homebrew bits or flexibility on the side of the ST, because a deadly mortal retainer isn’t possible by default, and blood bonded Kindred aren’t really listed in advantages, and generally XP gain for retainers/SPCs isn’t possible either. I’m just a player, but I want ideas to bring to my ST for how to make this work and I have played a sort of “assistant GM” role before in ways, such as creating handouts, finding maps for previous games, helping brainstorm homebrew, etc.
My chronicle already has a decent amount of homebrew, but we still want the game to feel balanced in terms of them having weaknesses and not just being ‘the ultimate Kindred’.
Some info on our changes:
* PCs could start as different generations/ages/blood potency from another (so that part is not balanced).
* The setting is sort of Castlevania right after Dracula called the Kindred to aid in his war against humanity, but then him and his castle disappeared. In the wake of everything, the Prince of Braila died, and the Sheriff doesn’t want to take the title, so it’s up for grabs to whoever can hold it. It’s 1476.
* Sects like Sabbat, Anarch, and the Camarilla don’t exist formally yet, but the ideas of Princes, Sheriffs, and Elysiums do exist.
* It’s a sandbox TTRPG so there’s more flexibility in a variety of ways, but one big one is that not all players are automatically allies, and in fact it’s likely going to end up being more a game about inter-party conflict
* I can use medicine (surgery)/dex for vicissitude instead of the usual crafting/dex for appearance changes
The Idea
Right now, I have a Tzimisce cult leader who is shaping up to be closer to one of the main chronicle villains and is presently the oldest/strongest PC in the chronicle, but she needs stronger allies to hold a chance against the rest of the PCs if it comes down to it (5 other vamps—2 Malkavian, 1 Weapon/Explosive Engineer Caitiff, 1 Giovanni/Hecata, 1 Gangrel). She’s physically incredibly weak, with 1 dot in strength, and 2 dots in dex/stamina, but has incredibly high charisma, manipulation, persuasion, subterfuge, etc. She has zero combat skills or weapons.
Her cult is essentially the Path of Cathari but with mortals (tiered trust system so most members don’t know she’s a Kindred ofc). Now, she has an upper clergy with members closely aligned with the various sins, such as a gluttonous man who enjoys *everything* life has to offer, a prideful/envious man who monitors the hierarchies and status of everyone in the church, a greedy bookkeeper, etc.
One of those members is essentially her personal guard/“dirty work” guy, representing Wrath and Sloth (sloth as in spiritual apathy/emotional numbness) and at the end of next session, will be her 3 dot retainer. He is a bloodthirsty serial killer who only gets enjoyment from violence, but having grown up in the church and having been groomed (in multiple ways) by the Tzimisce, he is loyal to her like a dog even without being blood bound. He restrains himself to listen to her, but when released to attack, he does so without a second thought—literally like a dog. He has lower intelligence and whatnot, and I’ve toyed around with the idea of him being mute as a flaw, so he’s more limited in the type of dirty work he can accomplish.
For now, I want to see how to get him to be a deadly mortal. Obviously I’m down to dedicate time into training him, and/or spending XP to basically get a 4 or 5 dot retainer (even though those don’t formally exist). My goal is to eventually turn him into a blood bound Kindred with Potence, Celerity, and Fortitude. Ofc, those aren’t Tzimisce disciplines, so she plans on trying to find a Caitiff or a Brujah to embrace him, then she’ll blood bond him afterwards. She’ll either do a trade (“I’ll embrace yours if you embrace mine, including sharing vicissitude”), she’ll dominate them into embracing him, or she’ll find some other way to accomplish it (like dominate to kidnap them and forcibly get their vitae into her retainer). Power-wise I basically want him to end up being Toji from Jujutsu Kaisen.
Balancing/Flaws
He will be intended to be a fairly obvious masquerade breach, not due to vicissitude (being ugly/making others ugly goes against her religion), but because his humanity will obviously be lower due to his serial killer nature and because I plan on taking the fortitude flaw that keeps the appearance of physical injuries for a day. I’ve also thought that if he frenzies, my Tzimisce loses a LOT of control over him, making him a constant responsibility to keep well fed and not mentally controlled by any other Kindred (which if she’s going against the Malkavian PC with high dominate, that may end up being a challenge). He’s also going to start at 1 less humanity due to the Alleycat predator type even though realistically he’ll be eating from the Tzimisce’s 5 dots (plus 3 extra dots gained from roleplay) in herd most of the time. We’re a very low combat group, so that also hampers his usefulness.
Beyond that, I plan on giving him the flaws Obvious Predator, Empty, Sloppy Feeder (maybe), and Folkloric Bane (silver). I like the idea of giving them False Love (so he can dip down to humanity 3/4 a bit easier), Tempered Will, and Favored Blood (if Caitiff). I think it could also be interesting to give him a homebrew flaw of lowering the social rolls of those who are friendly around him, making me choose to either have him around for protection or be more successful socially. I think to balance him out better, the homebrew flaw and obvious predatory nature should apply even while human. Lastly, I think maybe giving my Tzimisce a new conviction of something like “violence should never be used to achieve a goal if ones words are adequate (including dominate/presence)” could be good to further limit his uses, as it’d force her to use him more defensively without risking stains.
Most of these things feel good enough, but then XP is the other difficulty. I’m thinking he should only be able to gain XP when my Tzimisce uses him in a session, or when her desire involves him. That also feels like it’ll be very difficult to constantly be using him like that, since she doesn’t have much use for his violence right now. Maybe, as I’ve been considering building my Tzimisce for diablerie with The Joy of Transgression (loresheet), and blood sorcery like Blood of Potency, Soporific Touch, and Bloodless Feast, I may add on a pack diablerie advantage and keep his XP gain relegated strictly to diablerie, but that also sounds like it’ll be a slippery slope into murderhobo-ism if it’s that limited. Right now our ST does 1 xp per session, plus 2 xp for completing session desires, plus any temporary merits gained from actions in a session (like cult recruitment gets 1 dot in herd). So maybe he could get 1 XP per session with no possibility of desires, but the ability to gain 1 extra XP during sessions where he’s used? Or maybe 2 extra xp, similar to desires, if time is spent training him in some way?
Thanks for any advice you guys can give!