Black Swamp Domain: Requiem VSS

VSS
A City Postmortem

Part 1: Basic Information
Domain Name	Black Swamp Domain
Domain Number	OH-016-D
Venue	Vampire the Requiem
Lead Venue Storyteller
Storyteller Contact
Games Hosted On	See DC for Schedule

Part 2: Styles of Play (Rate each of these categories, using the scale below)

Style of Play	Description	Rating
Action	Combat and challenges	2
Character Development	Personal dilemmas and choices	4
Darkness	PC death or corruption	4
Drama	Ceremony and grand story	4
Intrigue	Politics and negotiation	5
Manners	Social etiquette and peer pressure	4
Mystery	Enigmas and investigation	3
Pace	How fast do stories emerge, develop, and resolve?	3

	Rating	Description
	1	Never present
	2	Sometimes present
	3	Often present
	4	Usually present
	5	Always present

Part 3: Description of Venue

Mood/Theme:

The Black Swamp has become the model of stability and safety for those careful vampires who have taken part in the society created by Prince Francisco Romero. However the burden of time has begun to take hold of the ancient Prince and even those closest to him have begun to see the chinks in his armor. The future lies in the hands of those who have supported Romero during his reign, as they will have to take on more and more responsibility with the inevitability of Romero’s torpor looming close.

General History:

(a more detailed history can be found on our website at http://www.blackswampdomain.org/history.html)

Requiem History

1813 - Begins in 1813 at the Battle of Fort Meigs. A Spanish explorer, wanderer, and potent vampire known as Francisco Romero assists the Americans defending Fort Meigs against the British Army and local Indians. It is said that the Indians became frightened as the spirits of their ancestors rose up against them and drove them from the battle leaving the British alone to siege the fort

1817 - Romero, a sailor in his own right finds profit in the Ports of Northwest Ohio and starts the Port Lawrence and Port Vistula companies in 1817. The first "unions" of the area begin on these ports where the workforce began to hold a sway over the ownership based upon forced work outages.

1835 – What most popularly is called the Michigan/Ohio war was really an escalation in a territory dispute between a growing vampire presence in Northwest Ohio and the receding Werewolves into Michigan. In 1835, forces led by Francisco Romero drive the lupines into the wilds of Michigan. Romero sets himself up to be the undisputed leader of the newly growing vampire community in Northwest Ohio.

1929 – As the economy falls apart, some of the most affluent of the area move out of Toledo into the sprawling lands to the south. Romero follows suit by moving his residence to Bowling Green where he can control his holdings through his mortal contacts and his eldest childe Hugo Porczinski.

Part 4: Storytelling Mechanics
Detail any of that apply to the venue:

Proxy rules
All proxies are hard proxies, and require notification and approval from the VST Requiem and DST. Proxy rules detailed in the Camarilla Membership Handbook apply. If you do not get the approval of both of the aforementioned storytellers, your proxy does not occur. Proxy scenes are intended to be run via internet (IRC, email, etc.) and our Domain will not allow portrayal of proxy PCs at actual games. The only exception to this are simple short scenes or combat scenes wherein a PC does not have need to speak extensively. The ST staff feels that portrayal by another of a person's character never is able to correctly "pull-off" said PCs personality or actions. It is also too difficult to then let the person know everything that occurred while the PC was portrayed.

Travel risks
Major highways are readily accessible to travelers. It is suggested that Vampires have extra protection while traveling and stick to the main roads. Investment of some kind of status, resources, etc. is recommended.

Visiting characters guidelines
Please contact the VST before your arrival at game and let them have an opportunity to see your character sheet. There are very rare times when a character will not be able to enter game if the ST feels it would be unbalancing to the local venue. We do not want you to travel all the way here to find out you can’t play so please make sure ahead of time. Also, IC you should contact the local Prince and your Prisci/Primogen so they are aware of your arrival.

Experience award guidelines
We have (usually) 2 games per month here. Since this is the case, the experience awards will be handed out for the following: 2 for showing up, 1 for costume, 1 for exceptional actions. This leaves you with a possibility of 8 at the end of the month. For additional experience you are encouraged to travel to neighboring games. However, the VST Requiem offers a chance to "catch up" via Downtime Reports. Downtime reports are for VSS members only and are basically a write up each month of your characters activities that month. Details can be found on our website at http://www.blackswampdomain.org/vampiredowntime.html.

Other
Our local domain has a "No Finger Rule." We will not accept challenges resolved through the finger method. The ST staff will have decks of cards on hand for those who forget or are unaware. The domain feels that the finger method is unfair and creates too many problems and confusion.

Status
Status x4 is 20 points, minimum, but it increases by 3 for every additional x4 in your Domain. x5 is 30 points, minimum but increases by 5 for every x5 already in your Region in that Covenant

City Knowledge Table
0	You’re as green as grass.
1	You know who the Prince is but never met him; you have met your Prisci.
2	You have met the Prince and were allowed to attend one of her courts.
3	You know who all the "officials" in the local courts are, and have some idea of who might be the Powerbrokers.
4	You have been around for more than 25 years, and at some point participated as a member of the Prince's court.
5	You know who the Powerbrokers are, and know some of their trade secrets.
6	You know the places to be and where not to be. You are gaining your way to being a Powerbroker yourself.
7	You know the ins and outs of the city and quite a bit of the real truth of the history. You probably know every Vampire by name and a secret or two on a few of them.
8	You may well be a Powerbroker now, and there is little you aren't aware of.
9	You have been around since 1813, and have seen with your own eyes what has transpired in the Swamp.
10	You are Francisco Romero.

The Black Swamp Domain OH-016-D

Black Swamp Domain: Requiem VSS

Update: 08/31/07