Path of the Vampire forum

Because of the new law, vampires are now being catalogued. Checked at every stop by use of a mirror or other means, vampires are put on a list for observation. What’s more, vampires are now required to have a specialized identification card which makes it clear what they are. Information about how to spot vampires has been made public and plentiful, though there are rumours going around that the undead members of Harper Rock’s little community might be forced to eventually wear identifying marks on their person somewhere. Visible, for all to see.

Additionally, vampires are being tracked through subdermal microchipping, which makes it easy for the military and the Canadian government to keep up with any and all movements. These microchips are being administered at every stop in Harper Rock and after October 31, 2019 - any vampire found without one faces legal repercussions. The same goes for the specialized identification card.

There is a permanent no fly ban on all vampires in and out of Canada. Those found outside of Harper Rock, within Canada or the United States are immediately deported back to Harper Rock if caught. Vampires are not allowed to leave the city by any traditional means, as all traffic going in and out is monitored. There are rumblings that citizens of the States to the south are afraid that the spread of the undead will reach their borders and are calling for something to be done about it.

Q1. How are vamps being chipped?
Q1a. Are they being catalogued when they are moving in and out of the city?
Q1b. Do they need to register as a vamp and be chipped?
Q1c. If found on the street, can a vamp be chipped by force?

Q2. Does the city expect resistance/hostility from vamps as a result of these measures?
Q2a. How are they prepared to deal with violent attacks?
Q2b. Would the country face any negative press from the world due to its treatment of a minority race?

I am curious as to how this wouldn’t affect businesses owned. Even those ran by humans. I would think a huge hit would be felt by all human and vampire alike. The flow of patrons would certainly dwindle down, employees leaving and harder yet to find for hire. The shops would find it harder to interact with reasonable suppliers so prices would go up, product demand higher and perhaps shortages? Rationing begins even at slight levels. The vampiric community certainly wouldn’t be partying or celebrating in general publicly. Any with the famous role play power likely are first tagged/identified and are harassed more so as well as the richest vamps. Hoarding begins and is investigated. Most powerful hunted or focused on? Human mercenary form groups from neighboring USA to take matters into their own hands as well as other countries? Cleanse Canada thoughts bond world minds and thoughts?

Which ultimately results in a cleansing... A nuclear bomb style... Our Vampires go into hiding... They re-emeege elsewhere and start over with a new masquerade...

I think I remember suggesting this some time before. XD

Yes, you did.

You went from 0 to 100 so fast with that nuke.

I do think we have some time to work out some of the details before we press that button though. Dominique's questions show that the act of tagging vamps has a ripple effect on local economy and politics which transcends to wider trade implications and world affairs.

I do also think that we're in a situation of being written into a corner where something drastic has to happen to recover the story or it'll get boring, or loose its hook. That's usually when the DM comes in and tells us that God has decided that we've been terrible actors in her play and she's resetting the board, or there's a great dragon unleashed that kills all the players and you start over. Campaign closed.

I'm still new here, so you will all know better than me what is best about path and what you want out of it. I'm here to write great stories with great people and I can do that whatever shape the story of the game takes.

Agreed.

And just to make note, Josh is currently away due to the holidays. He will get back to all answers as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience. <3

Myk wrote:Which ultimately results in a cleansing... A nuclear bomb style... Our Vampires go into hiding... They re-emeege elsewhere and start over with a new masquerade...

I could see this happening, which would be a bit easier to incorporate into the RP than the Game (new towns/map, plus all the money and time used to purchase, build up and design businesses and lairs would have been wasted).

Does anyone feel this may not be encouraging to new players, who may wish to join a Vampire Board, but find that with the new turn of events, their hands may be tied somewhat for role playing? That they may not wish to join a board where vampires are being micro-chipped and the government will keep up with any and all movements?

As extreme as these measures sound, there is information recently leaked which suggests the original draft of the bill was far more severe. Originally, the desire was to divest vampires of all physical belongings, wealth and status, to tear down the buildings in the Quarantine Zone and surrounding areas, create tenements, and force all vampires to live essentially on only a few blocks of land, with rigid control over who could get in or get out.

Is this the next possible step for Path with an upcoming Chapter? Serious question, reflecting on my earlier comment, "all the money and time used to purchase, build up and design businesses and lairs would have been wasted."

Sullivan wrote:I do think we have some time to work out some of the details before we press that button though. Dominique's questions show that the act of tagging vamps has a ripple effect on local economy and politics which transcends to wider trade implications and world affairs.

I do also think that we're in a situation of being written into a corner where something drastic has to happen to recover the story or it'll get boring, or loose its hook.

and This.

Yes, yes, I appreciate my response was a bit dramatic, but I prefer to think of the end game. I am a details person, but not for the risk of not seeing the woods through the trees.

For me, it's important to understand where we are headed as a writing community as we do have that responsibility of making the story actually playable for everyone. If we can't get new players involved, then all that money spent on the grid is for naught at any rate because Path will be no more.

I kinda jokingly proposed the nuke because the community response, when I last performed a survey, was that the best time in Path was during the masquerade (that and Levi thought everyone in HR deserves to die by nuclear holocaust because he was sulking). Thus, it made sense to me that if the Humans did aspire for such an assault on Vampires, they could be convinced of its success if all the Vampires moved elsewhere and reinstated the Masquerade.

I appreciate that this may annoy those that have paid money for properties, but could this not be rectified in some manner? Perhaps those who come forward can request new buildings/etc. be set up free of charge in the new city. The coding may be a pain in the backside, but if done smartly, might just take renaming and reshaping of objects.

But, yes... In the meanwhile, we do have a **** storm on our hands. I wouldn't say this particular storyline would put off newbies from joining more or less than any other, in my opinion. The only obstacle would be the lack of clarity and activity on the boards. Generally speaking, when people join a board and see that it hasn't had posts in months, they have every right to assume the place is empty and leave. Think about how long you spend on a website that doesn't meet your needs before you leave... 5 seconds? The same applies here.

I've been in Marketing for 5 years and Product Management for 2, so I hope to hell that I would be given some kind of credit when I talk about audience movement here. Lol

I could spend £100 a month on marketing Path, but it wouldn't mean anything if the product couldn't sell and retain its customers. It's like selling cheese to the lactose intolerant... >.<

I apologise if that sounds blunt and I really mean no offence. I'm just hoping that my straight talking makes sense and does what I hope!

Myk wrote:But, yes... In the meanwhile, we do have a **** storm on our hands. I wouldn't say this particular storyline would put off newbies from joining more or less than any other, in my opinion. The only obstacle would be the lack of clarity and activity on the boards. Generally speaking, when people join a board and see that it hasn't had posts in months, they have every right to assume the place is empty and leave. Think about how long you spend on a website that doesn't meet your needs before you leave... 5 seconds? The same applies here.

This is actually something that I look at every time I end up taking some time away from the game. What the climate of the players and writing looks like. Coming back after these few months and seeing the overall lack of activity was somewhat disheartening, but I also know that a dismissal of the game simply based on that would be a disservice. I know better, whereas newbies don't have that same luxury. I know damn well the time, effort and money players have put into it (including myself), and I want to be able to see it continue for new and old players alike.

That said...the game started with a masquerade. With these consequences, we potentially get a way to play out how and why vampires end up hidden (if it were to take that route) and give some more truth in the Path-verse to the age old saying "history repeats itself."

Still, I'm interested in seeing what writing potential there is in the escalation. How it will impact day-to-day life through businesses, overall population of HR (humans and vampires alike...since more vampires may be coming in with more humans going out), etc and how this might impact those humans that do rely on vampires, in a sense...namely blood thieves. While Flynn's history with being a BT was behind closed doors and with a single vampire donor, it still means he has "fangs" with an ability to feed and use powers of an undead counterpart. Has the potential to be lethal in ways vampires would. On top of the fact that man's attached to a vampire's hip, would those additional factors put a similar target on his back, if not the official markers?

Same vein, would we see an influx of paladins in the area as a sort of "guard" against the undead that are meant to be under lock and key?