Title: The Guide To Admin-Pleasing Vampires
Description: New vampiric applicants, read this.
Marcus - April 23, 2004 05:53 PM (GMT)
The Guide to Admin-Pleasing Vampires (a.k.a. Vamps for Dummies)
All right. This has been far too long in the making, and hopefully will save me some headaches with applications to come. The majority of this is what I do not want to see in the creation of vampire characters for this site. I would put the emphasis on what I’d like to see, except people tend to get a clearer idea when you focus on the negative. If you have any questions about a character you are considering that may violate what’s here, best send me a PM before you even put the stats up.
1a. If your character is over a thousand years old, I need to see a past to verify that you have the intelligence/experience to handle such a character. Too often have I seen some twelve-year-old, new to Rping, who will join with a character that is 3000 years old, and play said character like they are twelve years old. I suggest trying to shape your character’s true age to their past. For instance, my character was initially some 2500 years old, but after researching dates for his history, I had to cut off a few centuries for him to fit the story I had planned out for him. There isn’t any shame in having a character younger than a thousand. Keep in mind that even a century is still quite a long while to live.
1b. A younger character does not equal a wimpy history. Just because your character is under a thousand years old doesn't mean you get to toss up a crummy, rushed history. I still expect you to do the appropriate research for the time period(s) that your character was born in and has lived through, and at least include a summary of their mortal past and their turning. Also, try to remember to add how and why they came to Demaitre if they weren't born in the city.
2. Be creative. There’s little I appreciate more than an original character. Not all vampires have to be raven-haired, blue-eyed beauties who stalk the night in gowns of ebony lace, preying on young male mortals who fall to their charms. Who were once nobility that went against their father/mother/random care-takers wishes and escaped the palace one night only to meet a dark stranger in an alley who drained them and gave them new life. Or whatever other vampire role-playing stereotypes are out there in the world of Neopets and the like.
3. Be original. Yes, this is in the rules. But I feel the need to say it again. I do not want to see any characters that are present in current and past vampire fiction, media, and the like. Even modifications of such characters, if I can detect enough similarity between yours and the original, are not permitted. No one from Underworld, Dracula, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Queen of the Damned, Interview With The Vampire, or any others of Anne Rice’s works, or from any other movies/books/TV shows/games.
4. Be practical. Even though vampires are creatures of supernatural ability, I still ask that some practicality be applied. For instance, height and weight. If your character was born in the 1600's, it is rather unlikely that they will be over six feet in height. If they do happen to be over six feet in height, it is unlikely that they will be under a hundred pounds in weight. And so on. If you don’t have a very strong grasp of height/weight ratios, I suggest that you go here to play around with what ratio you’re considering. You don’t have to sign up or anything, just choose a retailer and you’re free to experiment.
5. Vampires are mortals who have been changed by another vampire. Despite the existence of some literature out there claiming to have vampires who are born in the traditional manner of mortals, I do not accept that here. Don’t argue. You’ll lose. As per how the change occurs, that’s more or less up to you. I tend to prefer the Anne Rice version, where the vampire-to-be is drained of blood, and then fed the blood of his or her sire which initiates the change. Then, there’s the televised version, where simply being bit from a vampire can change a mortal, like it’s a sort of disease. *shrugs* Your preference, I suppose, though I’d personally prefer it that if your vampire is of one of the more intimate covens (Amman, Enashe, Nephim), you choose the first method. (For more on this, please see the "Vampire Anatomy & Biology" topic.)
6. No extra limbs without a good reason. Unless you can provide me with a convincing reason, your character should not have wings, a tail, or general additional arms and legs. This falls into the category of things I require PMed to me before you post them. If I don't find your reason good enough, then it's not good enough-- drop it and make your character without those extras. What would I find a good reason? Something practical. "They sprouted only because of the change" is not good enough.
Edit: Alright. I've been having some trouble from people with the above point. So I'm going to toss up an example of what could be acceptable. Don't use it.
"My character grew wings because as a mortal they suffered a terrible accident which leads to the amputation of their legs. Since they wouldn't be able to find prey very successfully without legs, wings developed after they became a vampire."
Even then, I would ask you why they didn't just grow new legs. And tell you that your character wouldn't be able to go out in public with wings. And wonder what vampire would even bother changing someone who doesn't have any legs...
In other, simpler terms, your character can't have extra limbs because it would look cool. And you had better really, really want them to have them, because you'll need to come up with one hell of a good reason for me to allow this. We're talking hours of thinking and potential research on your part. If that much work doesn't appeal to you, then it's probably not worth even asking.
7. Be realistic about hair and eye colours. I have encountered so many new members trying to join with a vampire who has "natural" white/silver hair and red eyes, it's becoming a massive pet peeve that causes a tiny brain aneurysm every time I read it. Unless your vampire was:
a. elderly when they were turned
b. albino (read this before you try it),
they CAN NOT have “natural” white or silver hair. Yes, they can dye it, but please specify that it is such in your stats. The same applies for purple, blue, crimson, neon green, neon pink, rainbow, etc, hair. Dye it and mention it in your stats, or don't have it at all. As for unnatural eye colours, your character is either wearing contacts or they don't have unnatural coloured eyes. (By the by-- having one eye blue and one eye green, etc, is not original. I highly recommend not attempting this.)
8. The Father/The Council.
a. Do not attempt to make a vampire older than the Father. Do not attempt to make a character claiming to be sired directly by the Father. In fact, just don’t make a vampire anywhere close to the Father’s age. See “The History of Vital Vampires” for an explanation as to why.
b. Your character cannot know of the Father unless they are a member of the Council.
c. Your character cannot be a member of the Council unless the following criteria are met:
- They are over 3000 years old.
- They are Independent.
- You have sent me a PM requesting that your character be a member of the Council. Before you do this, make sure that your character stats are entirely complete and error-free (historically, grammatically, and otherwise). Also be prepared to answer extensive questioning as to why your character would desire to be a member of the Council.
d. Do not ask me if you can make the Father into one of your characters. He is, essentially, my character, though I will probably never write up stats for him. With this in mind, he is not an NPC for you to play whenever you wish. Additionally, if you want to include mention of either the Father or the Council in your history, please PM me first.
9. Deputy coven leaders. After ensuring that the stats for the character you desire to be a deputy coven leader are entirely error-free, send me a PM with your request, and be prepared to answer any questions I may have as to why they would be suitable for this appointment. The Master Leader of the coven you wish to be a deputy of will also be reviewing your character stats to judge whether or not they find him or her suitable. Also, please realize that deputy coven leaders are from other cities outside of Demaitre, or more commonly, other countries. They are there to control local matters that the Master Leaders do not have time to deal with. Therefore, you would not be able to play them within any forums other than “Anywhere Else” unless they are visiting Demaitre for some reason or other, and even then, their visit would be brief.
That’s about all I can think of at the moment, though I know there are loads more. If you think of one, PM it to me and I’ll consider adding it. 