Important note: Below are the mechanics for taking over a territory. As with any mechanics, success does not imply that there are no IC repercussions. Just because the rules permit me to punch you in the face does not mean I should expect no one to react. Similarly, because there are mechanics for diablerie does not make diablerie acceptable ICly. The rules mechanics must be accompanied with appropriate social and political maneuverings. Keep in mind that most Primogen will consider Contesting their territory to be a breach of Residency oaths.
The process of Conquering a territory has four steps.
In order to contest a territory, the contesting vampire and his coterie must be able to control the mortals of that territory.
As a group, the contesting characters must have a number of Allies dots equal to the permanent territory bonus for that category. See the section in the Feeding document on "Controlling the Mortals". If they do not possess the minimum at the end of any given month, they cannot attempt to contest in the following month.
For example: Bob and his coterie want to take over Primogen's Beth territory, which supplies a bonus to Allies of +5 for Crime, +3 for Police and +1 for Media. Bob's group must have at least 5 dots in Crime, 3 in Police and 1 in Media in order to attempt to Contest.
Note that any allies used to
meet the prerequisites for Contesting cannot also be used to control the
mortals of another territory.
For example: Bob resides in the (fictional) North
territory and has 2 dots in Crime that are automatically being used to control
the mortals of that territory. In order
to use these same allies dots to Contest, Bob must inform the ST (in writing)
that he will not be using his Crime allies to support his Primogen. This may result in the Crime territory bonus
for the North being unusable to all the other territory residents for the
following month. It will also result in
Bob being unable to use the North territory ally bonuses (because his allies
are not aiding his Primogen control the mortals of the North territory).
In addition, the Contesters must be able to patrol the blood supply. They must have enough PCs, Allies and Retainers to completely patrol the territory, or to patrol the maximum amount of blood a territory can produce
For example: Bob and his coterie of three other PC kindred are attempting to take over our sample territory (which produces 50 blood). With four PC Kindred total, they can automatically control only 40 of the 50 blood in the territory. Bob must either find another kindred to help him contest the territory, or he must be willing (and able) to make up the difference with Allies and Retainers.
The Contesting
vampires must notify the Storyteller in writing (such as an email) that they
are attempting to Contest. The name and
relevant stats of each character involved must be supplied as proof that the
Contesters meet the Prerequisites. Note
that the names of the characters involved are not automatically considered IC
knowledge, and the ST should exercise discretion in keeping those names
private.
During any month that they meet the minimum requirements at the beginning of the month, the Contesters may attempt to Recon the territory. The Contesters must then spend an entire contiguous month's worth of their Downtime Actions to explore the territory and perform Recon. This is not a free action. Every Player Character, Ally, and Retainer used to meet the minimum patrolling blood requirement (detailed above) must submit a Downtime for the Recon. (In other words, there must be enough Downtime Actions submitted to completely patrol the blood supply). Each player must submit his own Downtime Actions to the ST, and it is not permissible for one player to submit Downtime Actions on behalf of another player.
The Contesters are not limited to using only the minimum Downtime Actions required; they may commit additional Downtime Actions, but they must submit at least the minimum in order to be successful. Only officially submitted Downtime Actions count toward this total. Allies and Retainers may be used to Recon as a Downtime Action. A successful Recon must be planed in advance. So, the Downtime Actions used for Recon must be submitted for the following downtime period.
A Downtime Period is one month in Nashville. Therefore, all Recon actions must be registered with the ST in the month before the Recon takes place. These Recon actions count as Resolve Downtime Actions for the month in which the Recon occurs. Any Recon actions not submitted before the beginning of the next month cannot be included in the Recon totals for that month.
For example: Bob
has managed to gather the minimum requirement for Contesting Beth’s territory in the month of September and has registered the fact with the ST. Bob is expecting heavy resistance, so he
commits all of his Allies and Retainers to the task (which is above and beyond
the ones he is required to use). Because Recon Actions must be submitted for the following
downtime period, Bob’s group cannot actually begin Recon until October. All
of Bob's coterie submits their Recon Downtime
Actions before the deadline of midnight on September 30th,
so their group just might succeed. All of the Recon Downtime Actions count toward the October
Downtime Action limits.
The purpose of the Recon is for the Contesters to figure out how to take control of the territory. There is no bonus for Contester familiarity with the territory (for example, being a resident or former Primogen of the contested territory). A PC may continue to patrol his own Primogen’s territory as a free action during the Recon phase.
The vampires who currently control the territory (Defenders) are given an opportunity to detect the invaders scoping out their territory. This test is similar to the test for detecting Ravaging, with these additional modifiers to the Stealth portion:
· -1 for every 1 point of Allies the Contesters have assigned to Recon.
· -1 for every Retainer the Contesters have assigned to Recon.
The Defenders must be given time to respond. Since the Recon
Downtime Actions must be submitted in advance, the Storyteller should notify
and run the Recon Detection test with all Defendant players. The ST must make a
reasonable effort to notify each Defendant and run the Detection test within
the first 7 days of the month. If the
ST fails to make this effort, the Recon for that month automatically
fails. With the permission of the
player, this test may be proxied, so long as the results of the test are
returned within 7 days. This allows
the players time to react, and does not penalize the characters for players who
are unable to regularly attend games.
For example:
Bob’s coterie has registered the October Downtime Actions with the ST
before the deadline of September 30th. The ST must notify each occupant of Beth’s territory and arrange
to make the Detection tests before October 7th.
Each Defender gets a Recon Detection test for every Player
Character Recon Downtime Action submitted (with all modifiers). The Detection tests may be run at the next
game (or proxied through the appropriate ST).
If a Defender succeeds at a Recon Detection
Test, he is given the name of character he caught (or a description if the
character is one he has not met. The ST
should point out the character he caught if they are at a game together). A Contender does not automatically know that
he was spotted. Note that a successful
Recon Detection cannot be run as a scene, and interaction between the
characters in that moment is not possible.
Defenders may choose whether to ICly reveal the information from a
successful Recon Detection.
For example, Primogen Beth is notified that she needs to run Detection tests. Beth (and each of her residents) throw a number of tests with the Storyteller equal to the number of Player Character Downtime Actions submitted. Any character that successfully detects a Recon attempt may do whatever he wishes with that information. He may notify his Primogen so that they can rally their defenses, or he may try to bargain for his silence with the Contester he noticed.
If any of the Defenders is successful in Detecting the Recon, she may choose to notify her Primogen. At that time, the Defenders may attempt to Block the Recon. They do this by using their own Downtime Actions to Block the Recon. All Allies and Retainers that are dedicated to Patrolling, but are not actually needed to maintain the blood supply, automatically submit a Recon Blocking Downtime Action. Allies that are occupied with maintaining the blood supply are far too busy to do anything else.
For example: Primogen Beth has enough PC kindred to maintain her territory's 50 blood per month. However, she is feeling paranoid, and wants additional resources out on the street making sure things are safe. These extra Allies and Retainers (above what is needed to maintain the blood) automatically submit a Recon Blocking Action if a Recon attempt is detected.
Note that if the Defenders fail their Recon Detection tests, it is metagaming for the Defending players to behave as though their territory is contested. Recon Blocking is NOT possible, and the undetected Recon automatically succeeds.
To Block a Recon, the Defenders use their own Downtime Actions, and may choose to use their Allies and Retainers Downtime Actions as well.
After no less than one full month of downtime actions (30 days) the effectiveness of the Recon effort is determined. Note that the Recon Actions submitted by the Contesters and the Recon Blocking actions by the Defenders are both submitted for the same calendar month.
At that time, the supervising ST counts the number of Downtime Actions submitted for Recon and the number of Actions submitted to Block the Recon. The Recon side must have accumulated at least one unblocked Recon Downtime Action for that month.
For example: After October 31st, the Storyteller counts all the Recon Downtime Actions and all of the Recon Block Downtime Actions. At the end, Bob's side has submitted 10 Downtime Actions and Beth's side has submitted 7. Bob has a total of 3 unblocked Recon Downtime Actions, and the Recon is declared a success.
Note: For the purposes of Recon resolution, only one Downtime Action for the PC character is counted (this does not include Allies or Retainer Downtime Actions). In addition, only Allies and Retainers of 3 dots or more are counted toward Recon resolution.
For example: If Bob is able to submit 3 Downtime Actions per Downtime period, only one of the Actions will be counted for the purposes of Recon resolution. He cannot submit more than one Downtime Action for himself for the purposes of Recon (he can, however, hand downtimes off to his Allies and Retainers). If Bob is using any Allies and Retainers with 3 dots or more, each of those Downtime Actions also count toward Recon resolution. Note that Downtime Actions for Allies and Retainers of less than 3 dots might still be required in order to successfully Recon the territory, if Bob needs their support to meet the prerequisites for contesting.
If the Contesters have enough successes, the Recon is considered successful and they may move on to the next step. If the Defenders win, the Recon is unsuccessful, and the Contesters may try again next month. Ties go to the Defenders. Neither side is permitted to know how many Downtime Actions the other side has accumulated before the totals are counted. Submit as many as you think you will need.
A successful Recon is only valid for a relatively short amount of time. Things change so rapidly, that Recon information becomes useless after a few months. For the purposes of Contesting, Recon information is valid for only two months. If the Contesters decide not to proceed to Step 3 and 4 during those two months, the Recon must be repeated.
The character that wishes to become the Controller of the territory (the leader of the Contesters) must publicly announce his intention to Contest the territory. It is not sufficient to stand in the corner of a crowded room and speak softly aloud. The Primogen Council must be present and hear the announcement (although this can be done in a private session or before the rest of the court).
The announcement must be done before moving on to Step 4, but may be done prior to a successful Recon. When both Step 2 and 3 are met, the territory is considered Officially Contested beginning in the next calendar month. The amount of free blood is halved, and the remaining blood is divided equally between the Contesters and the Defenders. All Ally bonuses drop to zero for both sides.
For example: Bob has successfully completed the Recon phase. He must now make a public statement that he intends to Contest the Primogen's Beth territory.
Now the Contesting Leader must attempt to wrestle control of
the territory from its Defenders. This
is done as an extended challenge between the leaders of the opposing sides (for
example: the existing Primogen and the Contesting Primogen hopeful). One draw is made per calendar month. The first side to accumulate the target
number of successes takes control of the territory. The target number is equal to half the total permanent blood a
territory can provide (rounded up). The first draw for the Struggle is made in the calendar month following the territory
becoming Officially Contested, using the Downtime
Actions submitted for the previous month. Proceeding to Step 4 is automatic and
required once Steps 1-3 are completed.
A would-be Contester cannot proceed through step 3 and then pause
indefinitely. He may, however, choose
to cease the effort to Contest, in which case the territory remains in the
hands of the Defenders.
The test pool is Manipulation + Persuasion with the following modifiers:
· A +2 bonus is added for each Downtime Action (submitted during the previous month) dedicated to supporting that Leader's bid for power (Note that in order for Allies and Retainers to submit Downtime Actions that count for this bonus, they must be level 3 or higher).
· In addition, this test uses the Optional rules for Limiting Failure (pg. 163: Buying off the Risk), which are summarized as follows: Either player (with a test pool of 10 or greater) may opt to take a –3 modifier in order to greatly reduce their chance of failure. The use of Limiting Failure must be announced before the cards are drawn. If the player draws a one, she can immediately re-shuffle and draw another card. If the second card is also a one, she gathers no successes for that month. If the second card is greater than one, the draw counts as zero for the purposes of determining successes (the bonuses alone are used to determined successes).
· This test is NOT subject to the usual +5/-5 cap on modifiers.
If the Defenders win the challenge, the Contesters must begin again at the Recon stage (Step 2). The territory is no longer Officially Contested. If both sides reach the target number in the same month, the side with the most successes is victorious. If the number of successes is a tie, the Defender wins.
For example: Bob has a Manipulation + Persuasion test pool of 4. Primogen Beth has a test pool of 6. The ST counts all of the Downtime Actions submitted to support Bob in The Struggle (note: Recon downtimes do not count for this purpose). He finds that Bob and each of Bob's coterie has submitted a Downtime Action for themselves (4 * 2=8), and each of their Allies and Retainers with 3 of more dots have submitted Downtime Actions (2 * 2=4). Bob's total test pool is 16 for this month. Primogen Beth has a Downtime Action from each resident of her territory (6*2 = 12), and an additional 6 (3*2) from allies & Retainers. Primogen Beth has a test pool of 24 for this month. Bob draws a 5, for three successes, and Primogen Beth draws a 5, for four successes. Bob is behind in the Struggle, and realizes that he will need to rally some additional support from the rest of the city if he is to ever take this territory. Primogen Beth thinks the same thing, and both set out to RP gaining support for their side of The Struggle.
The next month, Bob has succeeded in gaining support from the rest of the city for this Conquest (15 PCs + 10 Allies). Primogen Beth only gains the support of one additional person. This time Bob has a test pool of 54, and Beth has a test pool of 26. Bob draws a 6 (for eleven successes) and Beth draws a 4 (for five successes). Bob is now ahead, with a total of 16 successes to Beth's 9. They continue until one side or the other has accumulated 25 successes (half of the 50 blood that Beth's territory can supply).
If the Contesters win, they gain use of the territory bonuses
and blood supply. The leader of the
Contesting party is declared to be the Controller of the territory. The territory is no longer Officially
Contested. Note that the Defenders do
not automatically lose their herd and haven dots. The conqueror must clean house in order to flush them out.
Note that there are no mechanics for a territory Controller to become a Primogen (and therefore have a vote on the Primogen Council). Controlling a territory is considered a prerequisite for attempting to become Primogen. However, obtaining the title of Primogen must be accomplished ICly, and requires RP, Oaths and the acceptance of the Primogen Council. Also note that attaining or losing the title of Primogen does not automatically result in a change in city status. A new Primogen may have only 1 City Status, and the residents are encouraged to roleplay accordingly. Likewise, a deposed Primogen retains his title and city status until it is removed ICly.
As the Oath of Residency is given
to the Territory rather than the Primogen, the Defenders are still Residents of
the territory. Likewise, participation
in a successful Contention does not automatically release any participants from
any of their Oaths (including Residency).
This can create a sticky situation if their current Primogen refuses to
release a Contester from his Oaths.
A Controller cannot grant or remove
city status until he becomes a Primogen.
Likewise, the Council does not acknowledge the right of a Non-Primogen
Controller to lawfully make any decrees that affect the lawful residents of the
territory he controls (this includes kicking them out or harming them).
A Controller merely has the ability
to distribute the blood supply as he desires, and he may decide which Residents
(or other qualifying kindred) may not access the territory allies bonus.
A Kindred who is successful in
being named Primogen of a territory in which he is not a Resident is released
from any other Residency Oaths. Any
other Oaths he may have sworn remain in effect.