To those enmeshed in the LABN universe, those same creative, seemingly-normal folks that allowed my stupid ass into the mix,
My name is Bob and I am sometimes referred to as a "Dim Bulb." That said, (and feel free to offer whatever commentary seems appropriate at the time) might I ask a few (and I believe that in my subject line I promised 'several;' I am nothing if not inconsistent) 'stupid questions?'
Declarative Phrase #1 followed by Stupid Question #1: I am utterly unfamiliar with the Buffy universe. Are the supernatural types out there accepted as part of the mix, or are they hunted, feared, etc.? I am used to playing White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade, so--for those of you that are familiar with it--I am used to being hunted, frowned upon, sought by the agents of The Lord, etc. Is that the case in your world? I've read many of the posts that correspond to my particular role, but I think I came in too late to fully understand what the dominant mindset of the mortal public is. Enlighten me, please.
Innocent Interrogative Phrase #1 followed by Stupid Question #2: If I am involved in a solo post, can I just weave a Third-Person, Limited Omniscience into my narrative voice, or do I have to always follow it with asterisks? Let me know ASAP...
Innocent Interrogative Phrase #2 followed by Equally-Innocent Interrogative Phrase #2a: Does every NPC have to have the Dostoeyevsky treatment, or can marginal characters stay marginal? Is everyone we come across worthy of substantial text, or can we keep some characters concrete symbols of certain idiosyncrasies of the characters we write about?
Let me know the rules to the game I'm playing. Please.
Thanks again for the invite,
Bob
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Re: Can I ask several stupid questions?
I shall attempt to answer some of your questions Bob...
Generally I'd say they were hunted, feared etc. But it really depends on the individual character. In the Buffy world people are divided into two groups - those who are 'aware' of the existence of vampires/demons/witches/etc and those who are not. Those who are not tend to rationalise the various occurrences they experience in a scientific way so as not to disturb their equilibrium and then they carry on as normally. In the LABN world it's generally accepted that most player characters are 'aware' unless specifically stated (like Sam Aubrey). Each player character's attitude to 'supernatural types' seems to be pretty much determined at the outset but varies between characters. For example Victor is a 'reformed' demon who is regarded as one of the 'good guys' yet he spent thousands of years in the company of vampires and demons and so has a much more tolerant view of these creatures than say a vampire hunter such as Tash/Reah or Sorrow (who's families were killed by vampires).
Past experience as a gaming community has taught us that players who play the archetypal 'big bad' end up losing the ultimate battle between good and bad because that's the way it works in the Buffy verse - the bad guys might score a few points here and there but will always lose in the overall scheme of things. As a result most player characters are 'good' although many are ambiguous in their motives and may harbour a darker side to their character. (For example - Sorrow was half possessed by a vampire demon and attacked several people although he didn't actually kill anyone).
I realise now that this isn't as simple to explain as I thought it would be although I hope this has been of SOME help to you. I suppose the main point is that for some characters vampires are natural enemies while for others it just isn't as simple as that.
I really think an example as to what you mean might be helpful here. However, as a rule of thumb we try to stick to the third person narrator and asterisk thought (which is in the first person tense) though I'm not sure for a solo post, I would guess that it is okay for you to do as you please in a solo post so long as it isn't wandering too far from the norm. If the rules aren't to be broken we can at least bend the buggers as far as they'll go! :D
Not all NPC's have to have an extensive profile (look at Bob Wedge or Inanna). The real question you have to ask yourself is 'Is this character going to be so crucial to the game that it can be classed as an NPC?'
I tend to think of NPC's as 'Open' PC's. Characters that don't have a specified player but are as rounded as a PC. For example, the characters that I have created (Luc, Serapis, Janus) were so developed in terms of their character and background that they could have been major characters - as influential as any PC. All other non-player characters I regard as extras. The NPC's are like the supporting cast to the Lead Actors in a film or TV show. Then there are a whole host of 'extras' that we see from time to time but because we don't see them that often we never get to know what makes them tick.
I'll try to use an example to illustrate this point that doesn't refer to Buffy since you don't watch the show.
New Adventures of Superman
The PC's are characters like Lois Lane and Clark Kent. The NPC's are the supporting cast who are important but not as important as our main protagonists - so they would be Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. The 'extras' are all the other people who work in the news room who we often see and refer to but don't really need to know about in any great depth.
Just one further point I'd like to make about NPC's in LABN. There tends to be an unwritten rule that is as follows - Although all NPC's are technically open for any player to use, as a sign of courtesy if a player wishes to do something drastic like, kill one of them off, then they should check with the 'creator' of that NPC first - just to make sure that they don't have anything planned for that character in the future. NPC's that don't have a profile are viewed more as 'fair game' and permission is not needed to alter or kill off these characters.
I hoped some of that helped a little.
L.A. By Night FAQ aka "Buffy Primer for White Wolf play
Good gugga-mugga, Lou. Guess you're done with the book learnin'.
L.A. By Night FAQ aka "Buffy Primer for White Wolf play
P.S. If you get a chance, try getting a few episodes of Buffy in. FX plays it four times a day.
Where's the edit button?
L.A. By Night FAQ aka "Buffy Primer for White Wolf play
You don't watch Buffy? Heresy! This is more of a "Buffy Primer for White Wolf players"
The dynamic that Joss Whedon (the creator) set up was that the supernatural world is its own subculture. It is much like the World of Darkness (I have played Vampire and White Wolf games too). The difference is the mythology.
Vampires are stronger than humans. 2 maybe 3 times stronger. They are very common. They are also fairly easy to defeat in one-on-one combat. But in numbers they get dangerous fast. Stake a vampire, and he turns to dust. Light him on fire and he turns to dust. Cut off his head--dust.
Demons are almost as common as vamps, but there are a bewildering variety of them. No one species has a huge number of members on Earth. Many demons can cross breed with Humans.
Those that recognise the existence of the "subterrestrial" threat (the government term for the supernatural) tend to live in supernatural locales. The residents tend to see what they want to see and ignore obvious inconsistencies in the name of a 'normal' life.
When confronted with it undeniably (such as a vampire attack) they freak out for a while (not as much as the white wolf 'Peirce the Veil' phenomenon...more like a horror movie) then they either a) rationalize it away or b) become a vampire hunter ;)
Magic isn't common but those that practice it with any degree of proficiency get powerful fast. Magic is a matter of talent and power. You can be a talented as a witch (the most common term for wielders of magic) and you can be powerful as a witch. Or one or the other. It seems to be arbitrary.
There are Champions. Champions are those that oppose the forces of evil. It seems that fate or the PTB (powers that be) favor the champions becasue there are so many more Big Bads.
There is one girl in every generation that is Chosen to oppose the forces of evil. SHe is kind of the General of Champions. She is the Slayer. She fights till she dies, then another is called. She has all the power and strength and agility of a vampire without its weaknesses. But she can be killed.
The Watcher's Council is a collection of men (mostly there are some women) who care for and train the slayer. They are sort of the Champion High Command, although it has been demonstrated that they are less than effective.
They have a vast knowledge of the history of the slayers and the supernatural in general. They have been known to support other champions in the past but their main focus is the Slayer. Currently they don't have one.
Anything else? Hm...I think that about covers it. The rest is written in our backgrounds and on the timeline and history. There are some great spots to read up on the Buffyverse in general...Look to the right on the LABN index page and you'll find about 6 links. All excellent sites.