Canon Q&A With Storytellers

[Mooncalf]

Use this thread to ask canon / mythos questions, and I'll do my best to answer all of them when I can.

Feel free to ask anything you can think of, including things that you find confusing. Please remember that I won't answer all questions to do with secrets, origins, and certain plot twists, but I will reply telling you why I can't tell you the answer if you ask such a question.

Please do not answer the questions people ask yourselves unless the answer is in the wiki. Keep this thread as clean as possible. No chatter please!

Wiki mods can use this thread to update the wiki if they see something that is missing.

[River Illia]

List of Canon Questions asked to date.

Below is a list of questions already asked by the player base and answered by David. Please check the wiki and read through the questions below to see if you can answer your question(s) before posting your own. Thank you!

Feeding/Blood:

• When biting a human: "You successfully feed on the human, and steal $x from them. You seal their wound, and leave the human dazed and confused." How am I "sealing" their wounds? In V:tM a vampire could "lick" a wound closed, but I don't want to assume that's the same here. Also, can any vampire seal any bite wound in this manner, or only ones caused by their own teeth like in V:tM?
• Is it possible for vampires not born into the path of the Allurist to drink alcohol?
• Would animals experience any effects from ingesting vampire blood?
• Can vampires drink from a corpse? I'm assuming the answer is "yes" because we can drink blood packs, but I could be wrong.

Human PCs:

• Can a Human tell that a vampire in Meaner Things form is not a regular animal? And for that matter, if they know said vampire's identity, can they recognize this "animal" as the vampire they know?
• Does this mean humans do not have a "spiritual signature"? Or that they have one, but it is too weak or somehow too different for a vampire to recognize?
• If a Paladin or a Sorc was turned, do they get to keep all their nifty powers?
• I remember something about humans not being able to see what is being written in the public crownet areas that are for vampires only, but what about the other areas?
• Don't humans have their own crownet areas? So, how is that working for them, or possible?

Illness/Injury:

• What if a human has a medical condition, either physical (such as cancer) or mental (such as autism), and is sired? Are they cured of these ailments and all the relevant symptoms?
• And going back to the human condition and how it may or may not be carried over into the vampiric state... you said disease would be cured but not genetically caused conditions. What about accidents? Such as losing a hand or an eye?
• Due to vampiric healing and whatnot, would some sort of ritualistic disfiguring be void, due to regeneration? Or could there be a way around this?
• Are vampires harmed in anyway by religious artifacts? Not just crosses, but items such as Stars of David, Holy Water, Medalions of omni-supressant oneness, or are they as immune to such icons of goodness as humans.
• If a vampire, who is blind (but not since birth, but was at turning) has their eyes gouged out, would their sight return when the eyes heal back, or would they return to the state of blindness at their turning? ...or would being turned restore their sight right away?

Necuratism:

• Regarding RP and history, how much of this is accurate for Necuratism? All? Some? None? Write-a-good-thread-and-we'll-see?

NPCs:

• Where are the fadebeasts coming from? If they are the result of vampire copulation, and there is no fadebeast birth deaths being roleplayed out, Where are they coming from? If they were the result of Feral Vampires going at it like rabbits, then surely they would be confined to the quarantine zone like all the other monsters spawned from the realm of darkness.
• My question is this, Why do Ferals drop Fadeling Corpses then? How does that process happen if Feral Vampires can't create them.
• If they (fadebeasts) exist more in the shadow realm (granted many have escaped), why have we not seen any there?
• Regarding killing npc's... I always pictured that when you kill a zombie it reanimates later or something like that. But what about gangsters and other human npc's? From an rp viewpoint, do we as the vampires killing them get rid of the bodies, leave them there or whatever we chose? Do Mooncalves reanimate later?

Powers:

• Crossing bridges to other paths should only give the vampire the ability to learn powers, not the other features that a pure path vampire has? i.e. A Killer entering Allurist will not de-age or be able to hold down food. A Telepath entering Mystic will not return from the realm as a different form to jump into a new body.
• What effect does a particular paths mirror reflection have on them when in shifted form? example: Nyla's an allurist, so as a human sees herself as a corpse when she catches her reflection. When I RP her turn to an animal in a few days, if she passes a stream will she see herself as a corps-ified animal or as a regular animal? Or something else?
• The power of Seduction...it is only covered on the wiki as if it was only cast on a target by one person. The question is...if say for example, Lizzie was seduced by an allurist or anyone that has allurist powers. Could another allurist or anyone with allurist powers come and use seduction on Lizzie countering the original seduction? How should this technically be RP'd out?
• Would vampires while in 'meaner things' forms, be aware of each other? Or would they think that each is just a real animal?
• That explains how a vampire would, but what about a human? I think, though I've never put it to the test, that the grid mechanics allow a human PC to recognize a vampire they know whether or not that vampire is shifted into a bunny. Is that true for the storyline as well (and if so, how does the human recognize the doberman as being such and such specific individual), or is that just a place where the story and the grid do not quite line up?
• Vathia - Is that an inherent trait of the Telepath or an aquired one? If it's inherent - how do those who bridge to telepath learn/use technokinesis?
• So in RP terms - a shadow who's bridged to telepath would be able to utilise the Vathia but wouldn't be able to vanish into it as a full blooded telepath could?
• Waiiiiiiiit...anyone can go into vathia?
• Non-anonymous, remote powers and rituals that are cast on your charrie. How does your charrie know who did them?
• Meaner things: When shifting into an animal, what happens to things you have on you? Clothes/items/etc.
• Meaner things: When shifting back into a human, do your clothes return with you/items you were carrying?
• For RP Purposes, Could a Telepath Hijack the airwaves of a Radio Station with Techno., and broadcast using Mindspeak? Is it in the Realm of Possibility?
• Can a vampire see the manifestation of a spirit/wraith when using or being attacked by raise vampire?
• Is it possible to combine the Allurist power Silver-Tongued (convince a shop keeper to give you 10 percent off anything you buy, or 10 percent extra when selling items back to them) and the Telepath power Palterer (get 25% off your next purchase) for a 35% discount on an item?

Path specific; Mystic and Killer:

• What if a Killer's body is utterly destroyed? If Digo finds himself on the wrong side of a flamethrower, or someone decapitates him after death, or mails his arms and legs to the four corners of the world... in what condition does he return?
• What if a Killer's body is removed from Harper Rock? Does the Killer reawaken in, say, France... or do they create a new body? Can they even find their way back into the mortal coil?
• Does a Killer's body decay while uninhabited by a spirit?
• I know this is kind of nitpicking, but why then do wounds heal within the Shadow Realm.
• You have kind of revealed that the Killer's body isn't particularly important... but would it still be possible for a dead Mystic to inhabit the waiting shell of a Killer if it returned from the SR before the killer did?
• What happens when a Mystic takes over someone else's body? What happens to the previous owner? And is it possible for 2 souls to be in one body? (For each of the paths)
• For that matter, if Mystics have to possess a new physical body when they return from the SR, could they find themselves suddenly blind after possessing the body of a blind man? Or perhaps the reverse if a blind Mystic possessed a sighted body?

Quarantine Zones:

• What is the current human understanding of the Quarantine Zone? What actions, if any, are the authorities/government taking with regard to it?
• Why do we not see any military personell in the quarantine zone? Surely there would be scientists or something wandering around in there.
• Does the army have a constingancy plan for the Quarantine zone? In most zombie movies it is usually blow it up when all use is done... We are not going to see that are we?

Rituals:

• How do you view the tomes? Are they books as the word tome means, or are they electronic, simple pages, what is the physical description of these tomes?
• Non-anonymous, remote powers and rituals that are cast on your charrie. How does your charrie know who did them?
• Will the "Raise Wraith" ritual work for our Wraith Thralls?
• What can a vampire brought back via Raise Wraith actually do as a bodiless wraith?
• In the update it says, creating your own bloodline is merely a Declaration of Independence but logistically, or RP-ing-ly. Is it like a Deed Poll Name Change?

Spirits:

• The spirits that Mediums see, what are they? Are they deceased humans? Can Mediums speak to them? What happens when they are "dispersed"? How do they compare to the Spirits in the Shadow Realm? Do deceased humans go to the Shadow Realm?
• How does a vampire 'consume' a spirit not in the Shadow realm?

Vampire History:

• Were vampires on every continent?
• Were there any competing species in the far east or on the dark continent besides the fae?
• What were the most powerful vampire strongholds?
• Did vampires mimic the kine in government types or were they unique?
• What is the first documented well established vampire city?
• In the past how many vampires were allowed to exist in a city?
• How did vampires deal with the fae when there were very few cities?

Vampire Pregnancy:

• What physical reactions would she experiences that would be different from human ones? I understand they grow at a faster rate.
• And what sort of damage are we talking about that she would suffer when it (the fadebeast) was born (talking stat wise here, I get the whole ripped to heck idea) and can that be done on grid to reflect what happened? If I was to have her 'die' from the event, would have have to find another way to send her to the sr? Even if I had someone summon a fadebeast npc, that isn't going to kill her and would rather her 'death wound' was accurate.
• On the fadebeasts and vampire pregnancy thing - If a vampire was sterile as a mortal either naturally or via some sort of surgery, does that continue to hold true for them as a vampire?
• If it's more about spirit then genetics, then why would a condom help prevent vampire pregnancy?
• Oh! And if it's not about genetics, does that mean two guys or two girls could end up having a baby?

Wraiths:

• I was of the understanding that the Shadow Realm existed SPECIFICALLY in Harper Rock; hence, Fadewalking elsewhere (according to David) was impossible. So, are all Wraiths formerly of Harper Rock (with the exception of the Wraith Guides)?
• When you Summon a Wraith, do you enthrall a Wraith from the SR, or only one that has been able to manifest?
• When a Wraith is banished, mechanically it ends up in the Shadow Realm and doesn't come back until you Delete and Re-Summon it. Canonically, can the same Wraith be re-summoned?
• What powers do "normal" Wraiths have? Can the average Wraith, for example, read the CrowNet if they were a Telepath in life?
• Will we be able to, at some point, play a Wraith Character?
• How long is it before a vampire subsumed by the Shadow Realm becomes a Wraith? Reputedly, Cobb MAY be a Wraith, which leads me to think that prolonged exposure to the Shadow Realm could have unexpected effects.
• Why can't the wraiths be older than the guides?

Miscellaneous:

• I don't remember much about what we agreed on regarding CCTV and photo evidence of vamps. This is more a "refresh my memory" request: did we agree that photos, or types of visual-capture that involve reflection wouldn't work on vamps, but digital cameras would? And if that is true, in the case of an "invisible" vamp on film, would it just look like a bunch of floating clothes, or would it be an empty space that moves things/fights?
• Still wondering what the sports teams are called...haven't found an answer to that anywhere.
• Also wondering if you'd be opposed to a bunch of stories being posted on FanFiction.net of Path crossed with various shows, like NCIS, CSI, and, just for kicks, Grimm. I think that'd be freakishly hilarious, but I want your input.
• Are the vampire hunters 'disciples' of the Crow?
• You have listed recommended levels for fighting creatures, but does the level really matter? Will a level 10 sword fighter with 20 Str & Dex always do better than a level 20 sword fighter with 10 Str & Dex? I had thought/hoped each level granted unknown bonuses, such as hit points that aren't seen on the character sheet.
• Who runs the Broussard gang now, and how are they replenishing their numbers? Is the Red Skull and his band of Hydra taking over? "Kill one, two more take it's place."
• During the day, all vampire pass out completely, right? Soon as that sun rises, they're out. Except those with Daywalker, of course. How does this work for those who get their resting EXP in public places? Like the library, and the clubs - how does one explain all the people sleeping in booths and corners?
• What brings these raid buildings about? What are we preventing or protecting when the community defeats the bosses? (besides the advantages of EXP, items, and introduction of new enemies.) I've thought about writing a RP about them but I'm not really sure of the correct direction to take.
• Can a vampire enter a hotel room uninvited?
• What about the specific cases of those few Elder PCs who were around howevermuch before the Vampire Holocaust? If they had a wraith before then, and wraith thralls are bound to their vampire, then might they be able to resummon or "reconstitute" their original wraith, once they relearned the power in the modern day?
• Are the areas in the Shadow Realm that resemble certain districts in Harper's Rock a product of the tear pressing up against the real world, or more a projection of the thoughts and feelings of the dead vampires there? If the first one, would it be possible for for one vampire to sense another as being nearby through the tear?
• How are the other Fae in the area taking the appearance of this ancient demi-fae?
• So, for Rp, Pi needs to get physically restrained so she can be tortured by a human. What restraints can she be restrained with that would take, some time, and considerable effort, for her to get out of?
• And is there anything, that could knock her out to get her on into the position of restraint? That a human could do?

Updated to here.
Note: Post hijacked and updated by Path Mods with River Illia's permission.

New question template: [*]Question[/size]

[Wendigo]

Sure, I'll bite first.

Question #1

You successfully feed on the human, and steal $15 from them.
You seal their wound, and leave the human dazed and confused.

How am I "sealing" their wounds? In V:tM a vampire could "lick" a wound closed, but I don't want to assume that's the same here. Also, can any vampire seal any bite wound in this manner, or only ones caused by their own teeth like in V:tM?

Question #2
The spirits that Mediums see, what are they? Are they deceased humans? Can Mediums speak to them? What happens when they are "dispersed"? How do they compare to the Spirits in the Shadow Realm? Do deceased humans go to the Shadow Realm?

Question #3
What is the current human understanding of the Quarantine Zone? What actions, if any, are the authorities/government taking with regard to it?

[Mooncalf]

How am I "sealing" their wounds? In V:tM a vampire could "lick" a wound closed, but I don't want to assume that's the same here. Also, can any vampire seal any bite wound in this manner, or only ones caused by their own teeth like in V:tM?

I'll be honest with this: when I first made the game I intended it to be slightly more basic than it turned out, and when I wrote that I didn't put a lot of thought into it. Having to choose now that I look back, however, I have to go with the explanation that the wound seals automatically without any need for a lick. It's possible that you could attach a scientific explanation to that, regarding how a vampire's wounds heal faster, and their saliva would contain some of their blood and therefore seal up the wound shortly afterwards, and that would make sense.

However, with vampires in Path lore I prefer not to go with any pseudo-scientific explanation (contrary to the style of my previous projects), and would say that the wounds close up for the same reasons vampires in Path are able to morph their teeth into fangs at will (ie. nobody quite knows, but they are spirit creatures, so nothing is beyond the realms of possibility for them). Up to your characters which of those spins they put on it.

The spirits that Mediums see, what are they? Are they deceased humans? Can Mediums speak to them? What happens when they are "dispersed"? How do they compare to the Spirits in the Shadow Realm? Do deceased humans go to the Shadow Realm?

The spirits vampires see are indeed deceased humans. Mediums can sometimes speak to them, but like the ghost stories of our own world, the spirits don't always give very direct replies. When "dispersed" (drained of anima) they temporarily lose the power to manifest any kind of image or power over the physical realm. Some go on to what ever afterlife they have waiting for them (if there is an afterlife for humans), and some stay trapped in a limbo reality and can re-appear once their anima has built back up.

As for the spirits in the shadow realm, these are also humans, but these are spirits who have been dragged into the shadow realm by the proximity of the rift. No human who ever died outside of the area surrounding Harper Rock ever ended up in the shadow realm, and the Shadow Realm only began swallowing human spirits a decade or so before the sundering.

As for zombies, they are re-animated by spirits due to the proximity of the shadow realm rift. Although I originally said that humans cannot return from the shadow realm, I realised that it would have made zombies an impossibility, according to their wiki description. As such I've amended the wiki article regarding the shadow realm and human spirits. The shadow realm swallows humans spirits, and some of these spirits are lost forever, but others are released and often take hold of their dead bodies.

What is the current human understanding of the Quarantine Zone? What actions, if any, are the authorities/government taking with regard to it?

I believe I've answered that elsewhere, but I can't find it on the wiki.

The government's official stance on the QZ is that it was the site of a virus outbreak, which they are studying in order to understand. Unofficially, they know something isn't right about that area of the city, but they also know that blowing it up would cause too much attention, and would likely cause major problems for Canada. They were able to catch the "outbreak" before it spread outside of a concentrated area of 2-3 city blocks, but they shut down the entire district to be safe.

The government, as you can imagine, sees the potential for studying this anomaly, and so they are trying to play the seriousness of the situation down as much as possible, while they study victims of this "virus". They have no immediate plans to re-open the area, as they realise that the dead are still rising in that district, so they are simply using the site for research. They have longer term goals, but I can't reveal those just yet.

[Stephanie Wylde]

The government, as you can imagine, sees the potential for studying this anomaly, and so they are trying to play the seriousness of the situation down as much as possible, while they study victims of this "virus". They have no immediate plans to re-open the area, as they realise that the dead are still rising in that district, so they are simply using the site for research. They have longer term goals, but I can't reveal those just yet.

Why do we not see any military personell in the quarantine zone? Surely there would be scientists or something wandering around in there.

Now for my question....

Where are the fadebeasts coming from? If they are the result of vampire copulation, and there is no fadebeast birth deaths being roleplayed out, Where are they coming from? If they were the result of Feral Vampires going at it like rabbits, then surely they would be confined to the quarantine zone like all the other monsters spawned from the realm of darkness.

[Mooncalf]

Why do we not see any military personell in the quarantine zone? Surely there would be scientists or something wandering around in there.

There are some in there, yes, but their research is conducted on their base buildings at the corners of the south fence. You could roleplay coming across a military team but they aren't fightable yet.

Now for my question....

Where are the fadebeasts coming from? If they are the result of vampire copulation, and there is no fadebeast birth deaths being roleplayed out, Where are they coming from? If they were the result of Feral Vampires going at it like rabbits, then surely they would be confined to the quarantine zone like all the other monsters spawned from the realm of darkness.

"Feral vampires" are zombies with vampire blood, and can't create fade beasts.

Fadebeats are one of the only creatures who can jump between realms very easily, as they exist more in the shadow realm than they do in the real world. As such, many of these fadebeasts have simply escaped the shadow realm, and have been there for hundreds of years.

However, just because people refuse to roleplay that particular consequence, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. When unwanted human pregnancies are a thing of the past in real life, then perhaps somebody will convince me that there are no fadebeasts being born in Path.

[Monique (DELETED 725)]

On the fadebeasts and vampire pregnancy thing - If a vampire was sterile as a mortal either naturally or via some sort of surgery, does that continue to hold true for them as a vampire?

[Cliff Worthington]

"Feral vampires" are zombies with vampire blood, and can't create fade beasts.

Fadebeats are one of the only creatures who can jump between realms very easily, as they exist more in the shadow realm than they do in the real world. As such, many of these fadebeasts have simply escaped the shadow realm, and have been there for hundreds of years.

However, just because people refuse to roleplay that particular consequence, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. When unwanted human pregnancies are a thing of the past in real life, then perhaps somebody will convince me that there are no fadebeasts being born in Path.

My question is this, Why do Ferals drop Fadeling Corpses then? How does that process happen if Feral Vampires can't create them.

[Alexandrea]

I hated it in that 'other' game when vampires got pregnant but since no one else has done it yet, I'd like to try having Alex gets knocked up. So my questions are;

What physical reactions would she experiences that would be different from human ones? I understand they grow at a faster rate.

And what sort of damage are we talking about that she would suffer when it was born (talking stat wise here, I get the whole ripped to heck idea) and can that be done on grid to reflect what happened? If I was to have her 'die' from the event, would have have to find another way to send her to the sr? Even if I had someone summon a fadebeast npc, that isn't going to kill her and would rather her 'death wound' was accurate.

[Mooncalf]

My question is this, Why do Ferals drop Fadeling Corpses then? How does that process happen if Feral Vampires can't create them.

Somebody should correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember explaining that -- not with zombie sex -- but with mothers who died while pregnant?