Thousand Year Old Vampire: Character Creation

Character Creation

I decided to start my vampire off about a thousand years in the past to give him a good chunk of history to witness. I'm going to list what I wrote down in the session and not stop to explain everything, but hopefully this will give a good overview of what it's like to play the game.

First I had to create my character, create three NPCs who he knows at the start of the game, his memories and associated experiences, skills - completely made up by me, not chosen from a list in the rulebook - and resources. For some reason I strongly felt like playing this in the first person rather than my usual third person.

Raynar Harling

Born in AD 1032 in the village of Croghyrst (Now Crowhurst), East Sussex, England. His generation experienced Viking invasions, the loss of England by the Anglo-Saxons to the invading Normans from France at the Battle of Hastings, along with lots of upheavals in culture and religion.

I decided to begin his story with him cut down and left for dead at the Battle of Hastings, only to be revived that night and immediately abandoned by Laiesse, a vampire who travelled to England in the fleet of William the Conqueror.

I made use of a list of Anglo-Saxon names for him and the other characters, along with the free UNE which I highly recommend for any solo RPG gaming.

Characters

Gytha Harling (Mortal)

My wife. Although I am not popular in Croghyrst, Gytha is known as reliable and trustworthy, often helping the other wives in their doings.

Aelfred Goffin (Mortal)

Meek farm labourer from Croghyrst. My only friend in the village.

Laiesse (Immortal)

The Norman vampire who turned me. He stowed away on William the Bastard’s fleet and found me bleeding at Hastings the night after the battle. I know little of him other than that he was in life some kind of artisan on the continent.

Memories

Memory 1

I am Raynar Harling, an English farm labourer.

Experience 1

My father taught me herbalism and left me a silver necklace passed down through our family since Roman times. I keep it under the bed in the cottage.

Memory 2

I would often make up funny stories in the alehouse and make Aelfred laugh.

Experience 1

Once Aelfred laughed so much he choked on a crust of bread and almost died.

Memory 3

Gytha, my wife, was my main reason for living.

Experience 1

Gytha and I spent several nights camping in the meadow beyond the field the year we were married.

Memory 4

When the Vikings invaded in the year of our lord ten thousand and sixty-six I was conscripted as a fyrdsman into the local lord’s army.

Experience 1

I was in the frontline against the Normans at the battle of Hastings but soon cut down and trampled. That night, bleeding and drifting to the next world, the vampire Laiesse came to me and revived me as a creature of the night.

Skills

Sword Fighting (Learnt in Memory 4) Herbalism (Learnt in Memory 1) Storytelling (Learnt in Memory 2)

Resources

Seax (an Anglo-Saxon sword) Cottage in Croghyrst (stationary resource) Roman silver necklace, a family heirloom given by my father

Mark

In the world of TYOV all vampires bear a mark, something visibly inhuman that they have to hide. I decided on:

My eyes are pure white, which often makes mortals think me a blind man.

Next, Session 1.