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Hi all. Welcome to my first Vampire article.
Now, most people would argue that humanity is central to the Vampire game, and to remove it is to remove the central theme of the game.
I don't suggest removing the central theme of struggling to remain human. I just dont think we need rules to do it.
I also think that people who want to play vivid monsters, monsters proud of what they are (like Lestat for example - and don't argue, despite being a hero, he is also a villain) should be able to
In other words, I think that players should be able to play the character they want without fear of losing the character they have invested effort in.
Which is not to say you don't keep a track of how degenerate a character is. But with practice, most players will do that anyhow.
You'll have the players who want to remain humane, just because they like playing that kind of person, and because hurting even a nonexistent person is abhorrent.
You'll also give other players the freedom to be 'bloody, bold and resolute' (from 'Macbeth'). They will kill, yes, and you shouldn't let them get away with murder.
But the players should decide whether or not their character is the type to be permanently scarred, and become a monster, or whether they live with the guilt for the rest of their lives, as a human would.
See, the humanity rules in vampire can't make you roleplay true pangs of conscience - for a short time yes, but not for long.
Get rid of the rules, and tell players they'll get xp for playing the type of vampire they are well.
The human like will get xp for self torment and grief.
The monsters should get xp for being entertainingly ruthless etc. Dont give xp for deliberately causing unnecessary strife. The Vampires of fiction just don't do that.
But if they are ruthless in getting what they want or need, then this to deserves role playing Xp.
Finally, the last reason for getting rid of xp is because it suggests a common morality to all people that just does not exist.
People can come up with all sorts of ideas to live by, and rating their beliefs on a 1 to 10 scale is kind of insulting.
Lot's of people will agree that killing is always wrong. People who've been forced to choose between their own life and someone else's may have a different view.
In other words, give credit to a player who does the equivelent of finding their own Path of Virtue.
I have often though of a Path of the Vampire. The tenets would be: Nevel allow an enemy to go unpunished, Never go hungry if food is available, do not accept the commands of mortals, etc.
You can save yourself the time of creating all the paths if you just leave morality as a free form decision left to the player.
That way you can get on with the stroym which can get bogged down by 'Oh wo is me!'
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