In every instance I’ve Narrated pre 5 ed VTM, Gen is up there, with Resources n Herd, as a top PC pick.
in previous 3rd edition and vda i ran i always had players max generation and ask if they could start with age and maturation to which i said no
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I mean it was really easy to curb this problem before: put a cap on Generation at chargen if you really need to.
But I must reiterate we’ve never had to do this. I only had two players who maxed out Generation in 20 years of playing the game. But they were weak in other areas so it was easy to build stories around their weak points.
It’s often more interesting having disparities in ability between players. Everyone needs to have their niche. Putting everyone in the middle makes that harder.
And if a high-Generation player starts being a jerk about it: have a hungry pack of diablerists go after them. It’s a ‘yes but’ style of gaming, rather than a hard ‘no’ style. I usually say yes to my players, but then make them deal with the consequences of those choices.
Likewise with resources: the rich one ended up paying for everyone else, and they were constantly worried about maintaining a business empire or family inheritance. Mo’ money, mo’ problems.
The one with a huge herd likewise had to worry about mortal diseases, gunfire, police investigations and social services (a big herd in one place does look a helluva lot like a cult/human trafficking/brothel/drug den to the authorities).
Give players more choices. But always with strings…
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That is a good point about Resources and Herd, I have one PC who has invested heavily in her business (Resources, Herd, Contacts, Allies, Retainers, Haven and favours, and so on), yet even before we started play the player was concerned about potential threats and hazards. The player and their PC’s business have essentially become a story generator for me, and best of all, I have a very strong idea about what sorts of stories they are interested in.
Meanwhile the other PC’s have taken full advantage of her resources for their own wants, investing their points and experience elsewhere. One PC, her ward, took the Destitute flaw and has been living heavily off of her since we started, but he has also found himself heavily beholden to her (this relationship was conceived by the two players and it has been great watching it play out . . . essentially a child trying to break free of domineering parent, but still loves them)
For differences in Generation, I have two low generation and two high generation PCs in my game. Luckily, balance has never become an issue, though during character creation, I established a base generation and ultimately let the players negotiate if they wanted to change it. Oddly enough, that worked out easier than using a background merit and I was able to tailor it to my game.
Neither player of the high generation PCs has indicated any concern over the gap, and neither has fallen behind because of it. For my part, generation has had far less influence in how I design scenarios when compared to the approach each PC was built with, for instance, the lowest generation PC is the weakest fighter, but is the most politically savvy and very socially apt, on the other hand the highest generation is an able fighter and a social powerhouse, but atrocious at politics.
The only concern expressed came from the player of the PC with the second lowest generation, when they figured it out, they turned to me and ask, “So I guess I could have asked for lower?” It was a joke, but with a hint of truth I suspect.
I’m thinking the difference in generation will disappear sooner than expected, he’s committed his first act of diablerie, and I suspect he plans to do it again, if he is able to find a means of masking his aura. …
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As a ST,I simply began to DISALLOW generation-if not entirely,partialy,because EVERYBODY began as 8th vampires.In a VtM(2nd edt),i allowd characters to start as 9th generation vampires(assuming they would pay for them) and in Dark Ages(96 edition) they could start(again,paying from background as usual)as 8th generation vampires.That,somehow,didn’t work.Those player’s refused to understand that we weren’t playing D&D and I quit. After a while I met players that didn’t bother to begin at a low generation nor to hunt other vampires for their powers:our stories were,after all, more personal and political,not about getting leveled up.Oh,and,of course,they KNEW that by spending ALL of their backgorund points in generation,they would probably have no allies,sources of information,sources of blood,money or even a safe haven.I didn’t have to use the system of merits and flaws(wich is a way,as we know,of getting even MORE freebie points)since that troupe made actual characters instead of just thrwoing a bunch of predetermined stats ignoring the fact the their enemy lurked within.I stuck to that group for a very long time with no regrets.P.S:I have no idea how generation works on V5.
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From what V20 I’ve run Generation was always a top pick amongst players. Even if you weren’t trying to build a min-maxed combat monster it was useful for resisting things like dominate, and for claiming prestige and respect in Elysia.
With the new games focus on truly personal horror, over the typically more political horror of V20 (not to say each edition can’t do political and personal horror) a reduced focus on generation seems logical to me.
I will say that having blood-potency and generation strikes me as being a bit clunky, but it’s not an awful solution by any means.
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Yeah,
Having both Generation and Blood Potency struck me as a little clunky too, yet I quite like it.
I’m pleased to have means of representing the overlapping concepts of strength through the Blood, and strength through Age. And though I like Blood Potency in Requiem, I would never do away with Generation in Masquerade, as an element important in the setting (an element I often missed when playing requiem. . .)
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I totally agree with this, love that we now have a fusion of the two concepts.
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