Newbies and Dinosaurs

Newbies are characters new in the game, fresh from CharGen. The game embraces newbies, for they are the game’s future. New characters bring new perceptions, new approaches and new player-driven plot in a story that might otherwise grow too stagnant to enjoy.

Dinosaurs are characters with an extremely long lifespan: 2+ RL years, that have accumulated 100, perhaps even 200+ XP. Neonates starting like that rival Ancilla Features in power level, and Ancilla Features may rival Elders.
The game appreciates Dinosaurs a lot, for they are our very experienced and loyal players. They bring consistency to a world that should be consistent, and carry LA’s rich history with them.

In a game of IC conflict however, a new character may be intimidated by entering a world of Dinosaurs, what’s more; Dinosaurs that have a long history together. They may find it difficult to break through and conquer their own niche.

At the same time, players of dinosaur characters may find their concepts limited. They may be Neonates in years, and are expected to behave as such, whereas they gained the psychological and political insights of an Ancilla. They may be Feature Ancilla in years, but have evolved to the point where an Elder niche might be more appropriate. Both categories still accumulate XP, but pretty much reached the game-enforced caps in every stat their concept allows them to take.

Staff on LA acknowledges the danger of ‘old eating new’, but wishes to avoid both; newbie and oldbie frustration.
Instead, we strive for a situation in which old and new support each other’s story, for both need each other to advance in the vampire world. To illustrate how this works, Staff shares their vision of an average character’s career below. Every character age has its own highlights and opportunities. All player characters are stars:

1) Starter: CharGen Neonates
Neonates enter the grid with a lot of RP opportunities: Getting acknowledged, hunting-rights, a secure Haven, forging alliance etc. They are able to ‘buy’ themselves up, by display of loyalty and providing valuable services to the powers that be.

2) Peon: Neonates and Features
Neonates or CharGen Features, start to move in the world of standing, status, gossip and positions, further increasing their abilities, powers and influence over mortals. They become valuable supporters/assistants for one faction or another.

3) Lieutenant: Features and Dinosaur Neonates
Features or Dinosaur Neonates become leaders themselves and ascent from 'assistant' to 'force'. They acquire standing and supporters, may acquire a position such as Sheriff, Seneschal, Keeper, Primogen, Coterie-leader, etc. and use their accumulated power to control, guide and involve peons and starters in plot. In turn however, they are used as pawns by the Elders above them.

4) Puppet-Master: Dinosaur Features and NPC-Elders
When a character acquired high enough lores or became increasingly powerful, they stop being a piece on the chessboard and become a player on a different level. They join the Elder game in which -vampires- are the resources that matter, transcending a focus on positions or land.

Of course, in order for this to work, both newbies and dinosaurs should appreciate each others position. A player new to the grid may try, but should not expect to rise to the power of a character that has been around for 4 years, within 4 months. Similarly, a dinosaur should allow newbies to conquer the niche set out for them, leaving them sufficient room to participate in the various plot opportunities out there, even when new characters might be less effective due to lesser stats or social cloud.

We encourage our Dinosaur characters to assume the role of what otherwise would be considered ‘Feature’ spots; To become the powers that be in LA; Holding high positions of power, driving politics and conflict, in a way that facilitates roleplay for the new.

In order to support such a role, Staff is amendable to offer Dinosaur characters the opportunity to grow beyond their power-cap by allowing them to buy a few (temporary) stats that would otherwise be out of scope; A level 4 power for a Neonate, or a level 5 power for an Ancilla; a level 4 or 5 lore or a level 4 or 5 ability that would otherwise be denied.

Any such spends will be documented as ‘Feature-Powers’ in a Feature +jnote, that specifies why the stats were granted, and under what conditions. Should the character cease to assume this role, or violate the conditions set forth in their Feature +jnote, the extra stats can be taken away, but against a (partial) XP refund.

On the other hand, Dinosaurs who abuse their accumulated power to make the game a lesser place for their young counterparts, by hoarding plots or structurally chasing away the young, may be denied IC/OOC advancement, or in extreme cases; be asked to downgrade their character or retire, Feature character or not.

White Wolf © White Wolf
Original Work is licensed under a CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 US License.