Backgrounds

Many of the backgrounds in the Vampire game work slightly differently in Interregnum to the system provided by the tabletop, to reflect the LARP environment. Here is a brief summary of the various backgrounds, and how they work in Interregnum.

Allies/Contacts

Removed, and replaced by the various Influences options. Note that while other backgrounds only cost 1 freebie point per level during character creation, Influences cost 3 freebie points per level.

Fame

Largely as per the Vampire: the Masquerade rulebook – this effect of this is largely social.

Generation

As per the Vampire: the Masquerade rulebook. However, please the restrictions placed on this background in the Character Generation section.

Herd

Your available blood in any given time in session is calculated as D4+3, plus your character’s levels in the Generation and Herd background. The refs may adjust this level up or down by a point or two if you are judged to have had a particularly active downtime that requires either greater than usual blood expenditure, or would leave less time to hunt, or if you’ve hard a particularly quiet downtime. Regardless, while most characters are likely to turn up reasonably well fed, characters without this background are unlikely to ever be fully-fed.

Influences

The single “Influence: background has been removed, and replaced with a variety of more specific options, which operate markedly differently, and are one of the cornerstones of downtime. Please see the Influences and Downtimes sections for more information.

Mentor

Characters with a Mentor may ask them to assist with one of their Influences in each downtime – the downtime system will automatically roll your rating in this background, against difficulty 7, and successes will be added to your character’s rating in your chosen influence. Over use of this background may result in the temporary, or even permanent loss of levels.

For characters with access to Necromancy or Thaumaturgy, Mentors can also provide the ongoing training that these disciplines require. They can train a character up to their rating in one primary path, one less in a secondary, and two less in one tertiary path. The Mentor’s paths are assumed to be the same as the characters, unless otherwise specified at character creation.

Resources

The background works largely as advertised – this covers your general standard of living and disposable income, whether from an actual job (a little unlikely, given that Vampires can hardly hold down a regular 9-5), investments, or however your character acquires cash. In the interests of bringing the background in line with the British economy, and the decade’s worth of inflation that have occurred since the game was published, here’s approximately what each level represents in Interregnum.

• Subsistance living/student lifestyle. Place of residence: a one bedroom flat in a crappy area, 250 quid a month disposable income after bills etc.
• Personal comfort/normal gainful employment. Residence: 2 bedroom flat in a decent area. 500 quid a month disposable income.
• Successful wealthy professional – Mid range lawyer/doctor/etc. Residence: 4 bedroom detatched house in a good area. 1500 quid a month disposable income.
• Even if you never worked again, this would be very comfortable. Residence: A slightly larger house somewhere very nice, plus a second home somewhere decent. 5000 pounds a month disposable income.
• Even if your descendants were to do nothing but shove their inheritance up their nose from cradle to grave, it would last a generation or two. Stupid wealth. Several very nice homes around the world, 25,000 a month disposable income.

Please note that this wealth is not a substitue for the Finance background, or vice-versa. While the higher levels of this background would make it possible for someone to buy businesses, if they are bought with personal wealth, then they require time and effort in downtimes to run, or to find someone to else to run. If they are bought with the Finance background, then it is assumed they are being run by contacts and allies according to the characters wishes. The Finance Influence is the ability to use wealth (possibly even other people’s) effortlessly and without personal risk. Resources is merely a measure of personal cash on hand. While either one can make it easier to acquire the other, it’s perfectly possible to have high levels of one, and low levels of the other.

Retainers

Each level in this background adds another week to your characters available time in a given downtime month. For more information, please see the Downtimes section.

Sect/Clan Status

Characters with sufficiently high ratings in these backgrounds can attempt to use them to get assistance from appropriate NPCs in their downtimes. Like the Mentor background, overuse of these may result in temporary or permanent loss of status.