by Andrew Wyatt (Original World of Darkness | Resources)
Crossovers.
Crossovers: synonymous with "Twinkery," the gypsy-vampire-mage-abomination is a laughable, and indeed, vomit inducing concept. It goes against almost EVERTHING the World of Darkness stands for. The World of Darkness works best when the characters you play are the little guys fighting against an endless and unknowable evil. Your average Lich-Mage or Mummy Abomination goes against that; they are too powerful, too unwieldy, and they mess with the way the game should work.
But then -
When Vampire came out, we were told that several other games would follow (Werewolf, Magus, Faerie, Ghost), and we were given a hint of two of them in the first edition rulebook. The crossover is an old resident of the World of Darkness. It�s been around for a while. Consider: we had the Tremere and the Lupines out in the Wilderness. The Tremere were said to have been Mages, once. They were given a Clan Power, which was essentially magic. Thaumaturgy is a fancy classical term for ritual magic. Subsequent books, such as Hunters Hunted told us to use Thaumaturgy to simulate Magi powers. The Tremere used magic. The Magi used magic. And players of Ars Magica knew the Tremere used to be Magi. So, assumably, the Magi and the Tremere were pretty much doing the same thing.
Well, apparently not. But why not? Tremere thaumaturgy we are told is "static magic" and long lists of reasons are given as to why this is so. Mages use better stuff. Mage have Paradox by the way. Why is this? Well, because there was not enough space in the Vampire book or the Player�s Guide to develop Thaumaturgy overmuch. And no one had thought of Paradox yet. I have the feeling that the Tremere lost a great deal of charm simply by the statement that they don�t use proper magic.
Then, in Under a Blood Red Moon, White Wolf goofed. It was an obvious goof, one that would have to occur, but a goof nonetheless. They gave us Pariah. The Werewolf Vampire. Pariah is logical. Vampires and Werewolves appear to share a similar mythological root (consider the Gangrel for a moment). And fans probably did ask why not meld the two. But Pariah had two sets of powers. Vampire and Werewolf magics. The heart of the munchkins was set alight, and a generation of crap was born.
And then, years later, Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand apparently came close to giving the Vampires Sphere magick. Wouldn�t that have been awful?
But wait, would it have?
Step back. Forget about the hideous player number crunch monstrosities for a moment. I think there is actually, a time and a place for such things, in the World of Darkness, that fit, and won�t look foolish.
Hear me out.
The Kue-Jinn of Kindred of the East are what? Wraith Risen combined with Vampire Kindred. Go read the book if you don�t believe me.
So, it�s ok for them, eh? The Kue-Jinn actually works kinda well. This combination also makes a nice effective tool in Vampire�s Time of Thin Blood.
But what of changeling? Changeling doesn�t even fit comfortably into the World of Darkness, never mind work in a full-on crossover scenario. Sure they do not like the Technocrats, and I am sure that the Technocrats don�t like them much either. Sure they have vague connections to some Mages and Werewolves and Wraiths, but how real are those connections, and how much do they really contribute to the setting, and the stories told by you and your players.
This is the first of a sometime series of investigations into what sort of crossovers are acceptable, and fun, within established canon. This first considers the case of using Vampires in a Changeling setting, written by the rather talented Andrew Wyatt.
This Weak and Idle Theme:
How to Make a Changeling Crossover Convincing
Part 1: Vampire
Out of all the societies in the World of Darkness, the Fae are perhaps the most maligned by White Wolf devotees. What self-respecting Vampire Storyteller wants to introduce his players to an apple-cheeked, roly-poly Boggan? Critics insist that not only does the mood of Changeling contrast sharply with the rest of the World of Darkness, but also the Fae simply have no reason to interact with other supernatural beings.
While it is true that the Kithain and other Fae live in a landscape far-removed from the realities of the World of Darkness, this doesn�t necessarily preclude their appearance in a non-Changeling chronicle. Changeling: The Dreaming 2nd Edition paints a fanciful and sorrowful picture of Fae society, but it is a view from the inside. Changelings look very different to those on the outside looking in.
Imagine, if you will, the attitude of European commoners from the Dark Ages even up until the Industrial Revolution. The Wee Folk are not cute and charming; they are dangerous tempters and purveyors of madness. They may be helpful if pandered to, but their motivations are secret, and the behaviour is often surreal. The Fae represent a society that had never existed among mortal men, a lifestyle that frightened even ancient pagans�absolute emotional freedom. Men live by laws and ethics and standards of behaviour, institutions admittedly necessary for the survival of civilization. But the Fae live by nothing but their passions; they do what they want, allowing their fancy to guide their actions. They represent all the unfulfilled dreams and fantasies of man, from the most intellectual to the most carnal. In this, they are held in simultaneous awe and fear.
Despite being cloaked in mortal flesh and chilled by the breezes of Autumn, the Fae still present this face to the world. It is this theme that other supernaturals should sense when they interact with changelings, not the intrigues of Concordia or the personal struggle of Banality and Bedlam. Furthermore, time spent in the company of the Fae is like a dream. In the barrows of the Wee Folk, a year is as a day and a day is as a year. So it is for, say, a werewolf who finds himself in the company of changelings. Other supernaturals slink through the shadows, relying on secrecy and preternatural effects (such as the Delirium or the Shroud) to hide them from humans and one another. The Fae are shadow. They exist on the true fringes of the World of Darkness, where madness and imagination blur into reality.
Stop to consider what being a changeling is all about, in human terms. The average Kithain could be seen as a schizophrenic madman who believes that he is an imaginary (in his own words!) immortal spirit trapped in a mortal body. He sees monsters all around him, insists that a battered golf club is a gleaming magical sword, and raves that his people have come from another planet or something. He cannot be convinced that he is wrong, yet he cannot convince you that he is telling the truth. Suddenly, the Dauntain don�t seem too far off the mark.
For a Storyteller, the challenges of bringing the Fae into another World of Darkness game are twofold. The first challenge is overcoming the above perceptions. How is another supernatural inducted into the world of the Fae? How does she move beyond the seemingly obvious madness and see into the imaginary world with clarity? Enchantment can be used to usher outsiders into the Dream, but the Mists always obscure the process afterwards, effectively undoing whatever interaction occurred. The second challenge is creating a convincing reason for bringing changelings into another system.
Vampires: Driving an Undead Bloodsucker Mad for Fun and Profit
Ignoring the somewhat misguided notion of a Malkavian-Fae alliance, the Kindred will typically be enemies of the Kithain. Vampires are creatures of Banality through and through; no matter how imaginative and passionate an individual Kindred might be, he is tainted by his life-taking feeding practices. The Kindred are embroiled in politics and intrigue, but their Jyhad is about power and control and hatred so venomous as to make a Thallain quake. To many Fae, the unfathomable Kindred represent the ultimate fate of the Kithain should they grow too insular and neglectful of mankind�s Dream. The vampires are monsters and nothing more.
Because the Kindred suck the life from humanity, both literally and figuratively, the most common conflict to emerge between vampires and the Fae is over mortals. An obvious conflict would be between a Toreador and a Kithain concerning a particularly gifted mortal artist. As the Toreador attempts to guide the artist along the path that she desires, she encounters resistance from� someone. The artist�s work becomes more surreal and vivid, yet he also becomes more belligerent and resistant to the vampire�s wishes. The Toreador begins to suspect that someone is interfering with her prodigy�s development, another benefactor who has his or her own ideas.
This is the most obvious example, but fights over mortals aren�t limited to artistic realms. Any Seelie noble might become indignant at particularly vile abuse of mortals in his domain. The Kithain can work up a moral outrage over vampire activities that the mortals of the apathetic mortals of the World of Darkness could never attain. In this respect, the Kindred are seen as dragons, beasts whose very nature is evil and must be slain at all costs. Particularly in Sabbat cities, a vampire hunt is seen as a great mythic quest among local Seelie. A knight who returns to his liege with a pouch of ashes that used to be a Tzimisce Bishop can expect great rewards and glory.
For the Kindred, such crusading Seelie are bizarre, dangerous, and impossible to predict. While the average sidhe knight is no match for even a neonate vampire in an open, toe-to-toe battle, the Kithain have the Mists and the Dreaming on their side. A combination of trickery and carefully planned ambush is surprisingly effective against the Kindred. One of the most popular methods in dealing with vampires among Seelie is "gaslighting". This is where the changeling attempts to drive the vampire to the brink of insanity, in the hopes that the Kindred will make a stupid mistake. Gaslighting strategies are as varied as the Fae who pursue them, but generally it involves hounding the vampire with minor Wyrd effects. Even revealing glimpses of one�s fae mein can be effective in this respect, although Arts are perhaps more useful. Plagued by flickers of monstrous images and strange occurrences, most vampires become frightened and paranoid. This can lead to carelessness, and carelessness makes the vampire an easy target. Because the Mists and Banality help protect the Kithain, they can usually stay one step ahead of the vampire. Care must be taken, however; particularly powerful or aggressive Kindred will simply slay anyone who even annoys them, and ask questions later. For this reason, sluagh and some sidhe are usually the best at gaslighting. Pooka don�t generally have a good sense for this delicate process, and trolls find it too indirect for their tastes.
To finally dispatch the Kindred in question, the Kithain will generally prepare far in advance. Although defeating a vampire in single combat is a great achievement, most Fae prefer safety to risk in dealing with the Kindred, and line up a whole party of warriors to bring down the beast. Since Wyrd effects are generally needed for the Kithain�s most powerful magical arsenal (such as Arts, Treasures and chimerical weapons) Glamour is stocked up, and Dross is sought out explicitly for the battle. Kithain skilled in Pyretics and Wayfare are particularly valuable for vampire-slaying. The Kindred is usually ambushed when he is slumbering and low on blood, and opportunities for exposing him to sunlight are always sought and exploited.
For the vampire, a changeling ambush is a frightening experience, and usually their last. A group of Kine suddenly emerge from out of nowhere and attack the poor bastard, unleashing strange magic. Are they the Inquisition? The Imbued? Wizards? If the changelings don�t assume their fae mein (relying on Dolorous Blow to strike the vampire with chimerical weapons), the Kindred may never know that his attackers aren�t human. Invoking the Dragon�s Ire usually helps the Fae match a Kindred�s Celerity, and only the rare Tremere would ever have a cold iron weapon on hand.
The flip side of the Seelie vampire hunt is the fabled Sabbat-Unseelie alliance. While not as formal or as common as some would believe, the meeting of minds that occur when Sabbat vampires and Unseelie Fae interact is� interesting. More often than not, the Sabbat and Unseelie hook up purely because they enjoy one another�s company. Touting similar apocalyptic visions, and similar ideals concerning freedom, the Sabbat and Unseelie share not only a philosophical kinship, but also a similar love of carnage and brutality.
The exact circumstances of a Sabbat-Unseelie meeting are varied, and rarely completely honest affairs. Generally, the two groups meet by accident in the course of their depraved games and rituals. Though the Sabbat might at first threaten the "mortals", an Unseelie show of power gives the Kindred pause. Imagine the scene: during a Sabbat War Party, a covey of redcaps approach, interested in the proceedings. They appear human to the vampires (showing up as "insane" humans to aura inspection), and the Sabbat are about to deal with this audacious intrusion. Then they notice that one of the "humans" is eating a Volkswagon hubcap. There is a crackling moment of uncertainty, where the Sabbat, for all their bravado, are unsure what to do. Then one of the grinning redcaps asks if they can join in. Tentatively, the Sabbat agree, perhaps planning to kill the freaks when the night is over. But as the evening wears on, the vampires realize the "humans" are just as bloodthirsty as any True Sabbat. If the redcaps are in a good mood, they might even show off their fae meins to the astonished vampires.
This isn�t to say that an Unseelie is open and friendly with a Sabbat vampire. Most are either too lazy or too cautious to explain to a Kindred exactly about his true nature. If a vampire gets too nosy, the Unseelie Fae usually just growls, "Fer Chrissakes, what do you think I am, ya retard? Now are we gonna have some *real* fun tonight or not?" The Sabbat may never be quite sure who they�re hanging out with, but they typically don�t care. Only the most inquisitive Tzimisce would press an Unseelie about his nature; most Sabbat are content to just let the "goblins" hang around, at least until they become an annoyance or a liability. Generally, such an "alliance" lasts a few weeks, during which time the vampires enjoy the company of their perverse new chums and the Fae participate in the Sabbat�s less formal games and rituals. If the Sabbat feel that these strange creatures can be trusted, they may invite them to help out in a Crusade. The Unseelie almost never bring the Sabbat into their world, preferring to drop in at their convenience. After a while, the Unseelie just stop appearing, leaving the Sabbat to wonder for years about "those guys that hung around the temple in the summer of �95."
