Vampire Coven Challenge Rules [Updated 11/12/17]

 This challenge was created based on the hundreds of urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels I’ve read.  I had thought of doing a vampire legacy but that idea went out the window pretty fast since they’re immortal.  I wanted to find a way to do several generations in an immortal family.  This is the result.

Backstory

Vampires are naturally dominant creatures. There is constant vying for the leader position. In their previous coven, the master vampire was unbeaten for a hundred years. In an attempt to get out of his outdated and old-fashioned rule without fighting him your main vampire convinces 7 others to escape to Forgotten Hollow.  They gained permission from Vlad to build on an empty lot and keep a stable of humans in the adjoining lot.  Will this new coven keep themselves together or be torn apart?

This challenge is created with story purposes in mind. There is no scoring. The main objective is to build up the coven from practically nothing to greatness. This will not be easy. Constant infighting will mean losing vamps that could hold high paying jobs.  Vamps will succumb to despair (immortality sickness) or fall in love with humans and become mortal and leave the coven.  As the coven is in constant flux it will be difficult to build it up to the greatness originally envisioned by the founders. 

Setup

Start out with only your leader.  You may create the other 7 vamps if you want prior to the start but at the beginning, it will only be the leader so that he/she can get their skill up some and get an alternate food source ready for the others.  Then you can have the others move in either right away or slowly.  At least 4 should be a young adult. Adding any toddlers or children will make it significantly more difficult at first because they won’t be able to help produce income.  Start them off in the empty lot in Forgotten Hollow. Build a house with the worst possible conditions you can make.  Basically just a roof over their heads with coffins and the basic necessities.   Drop their funds down to $1,000 after you set up their starter lair. If you don’t like to build you can get something from the gallery and take out any luxuries.  Assign any house traits you’d like but Vamp Lair trait is a requirement.

The vampires must befriend and convince 4-6 humans to become donors and move into the empty starter house next to their house or a starter house you build or download from the gallery.  That is considered their stable.  Some of these humans should be female.   $500 must be spent weekly in addition to the bills for the improvement and care of the stable. At elder age, humans are retired, moved out and replaced.  Assign any house traits you’d like but the Dark Ley Line trait is a requirement.  (To move the chosen humans into/out of the stable use manage worlds.  To improve the house weekly go to manage worlds and build.)

Rules– 

• Once a week (or however often fits your story) you will roll for a random number 1-99:

1-30 One of the up and coming vamps of your choice challenges the leader to a duel to prove their skill. Note: must lower relationship considerably for this interaction to be available unless they have the mean trait so choose the challenger wisely.

31-60 A vampire of your choosing succumbs to despair and chooses to ask the leader to take the cure so that they may lead a mortal life and leave the coven. Their reasoning is up to you storywise and will most likely change from one instance to the next.

61-99 A vampire must challenge the leader for control of the coven. The challenging vampire should have the cure in their inventory for the slay option to be available. Their relationship will need to be quite low as well. If they succeed the leader is made mortal and is banished making the winner the new leader. If the challenger fails they will be left out in the sun to perish as the others watch from shade to witness what happens if they challenge the leader. (Turn autonomy off for the “watching” so they don’t all run around in the sun)

Note: The duel/cure/slay roll doesn’t start until you have produced the cure potion.  You will need a vampire to reach level 15 in the vampire lore skill to unlock it.  Also, note that the cure drink expires so don’t make it unless your roll requires it!

• To replace the vampire that has left the coven either through banishment or death a new vampire must join their ranks.  This can happen in several ways and it is up to you to decide or you can roll.  You can have a female try for a baby with another vampire.  You can turn one of the humans in the stable.  You can choose a human friend that one of the vampires has met.  Or you can choose one of the seeded vamps or vampire townies.  (See the final rule regarding townie vamps.)
• The leading vampire must feed on the stable of humans daily.  They are exempt from the breeding rules if they are male.
• Rotate the vampires in groups of two at a time each day to feed at the stable at approximately the same time each day.
• Each time that a male vampire feeds off of a stabled female human you must roll to determine if they try for a baby to help seed the community with possibly more vampires.  The roll percentage is up to you.
• Females can only try for a baby with male vamps to keep bloodline as pure as possible.  If one defies this rule they are made mortal and banished.
• The vampires in the coven can have relationships and marry each other but if one wants to marry a human they must be cured and leave the coven.  If one of a married pair loses a battle with the leader and is cured you have the choice of divorcing them and keeping one or curing both… same option for their children.
• Vampires only travel in pairs or groups for safety and to regulate behavior. Any vamp “caught” by a human feeding on a non-stable human is punished.  They must “hibernate” in their casket until they have missed their training and at least one feeding.
• Must wear disguises outside of Forgotten Hollow. 
• The leading vampire must offer vampire training to the coven members regularly.  You might want to schedule this to make it easier to keep up with.  This is one of the reasons you’re starting with only the leader.  The leader should seek training from elder vampires whenever any of the coven members are getting close to the same level as them because once they are the same level they can no longer offer training.
• The coven can make income any way that you choose.  I would suggest against the leader having a job.  Training drains their energy too much.  
• Vampires are lusty creatures.  To add a bit of drama they should each have lovers either in the coven or secretly on the outside which will be difficult since they’re rarely alone unless they can sneak away.  Married vampires would, of course, be exempt from this unless you choose otherwise.  I didn’t add any kind of rolling for this because I think that would take some of the fun and storytelling out of it.
• Regarding randomly generated townie vamps and pre-made vamps… Dating and woohoo is okay.  Only female coven members may try for a baby with an outside male vamp IF you must replace a vamp following a spar/cure/slay roll.  You may move them into the coven if they are a Fledgling or Minor vampire.

The Endgame

This wouldn’t be a challenge without some sort of endgame in mind. I caution you not to rush to complete the challenge and in the meantime lose opportunities for storytelling.  Keep in mind that a regular legacy challenge lasts 10 generations so I’m hoping this will last an equal amount of time.  Once some playtesting is done I will determine if the endgame is too easy or not.  The challenge is finished when:

1. Any vampires in the coven complete the Vampire Family, Master Vampire, and Good Vampire aspirations.
2. Any vampires in the coven complete the Mansion Baron and Fabulously Wealthy aspirations.  
3. Any vampires in the coven max the organ skill and the vampire lore skill.  
4. For more of a challenge add the Rosebud achievement. (optional)  

The aspirations and skills can be completed by separate vampires.  With the coven in constant flux I envision this being fairly difficult to achieve.  

So that’s it!  This challenge was written for my own entertainment and because I get very bored without a challenge. Feel free to make it your own in your game. If you don’t like the backstory/rules/endgame then make new ones for yourself.  It’s your game… make what you like of it and if you want to look at this as guidelines instead.  It won’t hurt my feelings. I actually look forward to seeing how it morphs to fit your stories. Please feel free to comment with your modifications and links to your stories so others can see them.  I didn’t want to make so many rules that you’re constantly having to minimize the game to re-read the rules.  I wanted rules that you can easily remember but still make it challenging and fun.  

*new* If you would like to have a pet in the household you may use one of your 8 spots for one.  It might make it more difficult and if you want to increase difficulty you may add more.