Death & Taxes (Patreon)

Nothing in life is more certain than death and taxes. That is also true for the undead. The Princes of Darkness  Mod 1.5 Night Court update includes changes to murder schemes as well as enhanced taxation for vampire lieges on their vassals through "blood tithes".

More Murder

Murder Schemes have been reworked, removing the murder types that don't make sense for vampires (poison, snake bite etc) and adding new ones like death by sunlight.  Disciplines make for obvious "murder save" and will make elder vampires more difficult to simply murder, since they will have numerous murder saves. Murder saves are in for both vanilla and PoD murder types. So now, murders types will take into account our characters' powers and prowess to make it more "realistic" to the overall success of the plot. Expect old and powerful vampires to suddenly become quite a lot harder to murder.

More Blood

Blood tithing for Traditions feudal contracts now creates a number of liege character interactions with vassals to impose demands for both blood to satisfy hunger as well as resonance to fuel discipline growth. This comes at the cost of negotiating this unpopular contract obligation, as well as an opinion penalty when invoked. Demanding blood tithes may cause predator type secrets to be revealed, as well as potentially prey exclusion for Ventrue (if they order according to the prey restrictions of their diet), or even their diablerist secret if they opt for the option to consume the childer of vassal upon their arrival in court as a tithe. The size of an animal herd and the quality of the kine blood tithes vary on the rank of the vassal, with Kings giving the most subject to some random chance.

Blood tithes can demand random kine be sent, the blood of the vassal, or even specific characters including the vassals own childer depending on how exploitative the traditions contract has been established.  Behavior such as diablerizing the childe of a vassal is sure to earn that vassal's ire!  Vampires that are compassionate or have a conscious religious tenent will find the whole business of blood tithing sordid; it will increase stress and cause a loss of piety.

Barons can not negotiate a Traditions Feudal Contract, but by default they are obligated to provide blood tithes of kine, their own vitae, and if their liege has an interest in animals (animalism, protean, predator type farmer, Gangrel, etc...) an animal as well upon request.  For a baron, its bringing like one cow on demand once a year.

Herds of animal for gorging upon as part of a blood tithe will make it easier to gain animal resonance for Animalism and Protean, at the cost of opinion of your vassals (or gold for purchasing your own herds) and a risk of Masquerade Exposure.  Kind of animal herd and its benefits and costs vary on the terrain of the vassal's capital province; while the size of the herd depends upon the tier of of the vassal.

Vampires with Animalism/Protean now give small amounts of animal resonance as victims (including as herd).  This will MOSTLY be useful for ghouls and revenants who can not gain animal resonance through draining animals, or the getting a large herd of animals from a vassal to drain. In addition, there is now options for automation in the Drain Animal character interaction. Where prior to the 1.5 update, animal resonance was one of the most difficult and click-intensive resonances to gain, it is now the easiest.

Another change to Traditions Contract is now Progeny Rights restrictions on vassals creating vampiric childer or ghouls will now be respected.  In the future, there will be events in which vassals request explicit permission to create a ghoul or childer; and potentially violate a liege's rule if they are denied.

There are more development diary updates about our 1.5 update to come!