GameBanshee Forums

First of all id like to appologize in advance for the length of this, I had more questions than I thought. Feel free to just answer/comment what you know and I appreciate any advice.

I started my first game as a Toreado, and have just finished in Santa monica and done a few side quests in the downtown. I am a little confused on humanity. It appears you lose this whenever you are mean to anyone or do something underhanded. If this is suppose to be a role playing game how can you possibly roleplay an evil character when you are punished for doing so? On that note, how low can your humanity safely go before you begin going berzerk and is it possible to be evil without seriously hampering you in the game.

I have to say the ammount of options and variables in this game are amazing. I couldnt wait to try out different approaches and as such I started a Malkavia and went through santa monica with them also. After knowing what the dialog text was suppose to be, and then hearing what came out of this characters mouth, was amusing to say the least.

Also for the ammount of posts Ive read saying Malkavians are the hardest class to play for beginners I have to disagree. After getting invisibility level 3 (sorry for newbie name usage) fights are trivial compared to how they were with the Tremere. Invisibility takes so little blood you can just silent kill everything and feed on the last enemy to regain anything you lost. However, I may have made it harder for myself by going strait for celerity 4 with my Toreado and ignoring everything else besides a few points in dex.

On a much more general note, I am curious how many exp points I should expect to get by the end of the game if I do a fair ammount of side quests. Mostly so I know how to plan my character progression and know how many stats its possible to max out. The character build I have in mind is a rogue type with high persuasion. Is there a class that better fits this description besides Toreado? Also which stats are ok to skimp out on, and does the computers skill only effect hacking or do you need a certain skill to open those doors that appear to have an electronic lock?

Also I am curious about ranged combat. In a couple of reviews I read on the game before getting it they repeated that ranged combat is very underpowered. However this was a couple years and many patches ago and im curious if it still holds true. As of now I just ignored most combat skills all together, but I planned on going with melee or unarmed when I got enough points to spend later on. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Re Questions about Humanity

Even evil characters need to have some sense of self control. I think you need to keep at lease one or two points in humanity to not loose total control. So even a very evil character will not kill indiscriminately, as the rules in the role play world go, everyone including humans, vampire hunters and other vampires will hunt you down and kill you for breaking the masquerade.

The Malkavian is the most fun to play- for me. Invisibility does not work on everything. Yes - the game in some ways is unbalanced. Play style has a lot to do with what is easy or hard for you. I think the Toreador was a little boring to play in this game but is a lot of fun in P&P.

So you only need to keep your humanity from getting below 1 or two? I have been worried about letting it drop and so far it is full up and I have never gone berzerk or losed control. What is a good level to leave it at where you will only lose control when you are almost dead in a fight? I just love celerity when playing the Toreado, strongly considering saving up 20 points just to see how fast level 5 is. But I would probably be making myself too weak in other areas if I went for a level 5 discipline this early.

I also had a question on books in game. If they raise your skills by 1 point no matter what then wouldnt it make sense to not read the books until you have already spent a few points in that skill so it will be worth more exp points saved when you do read it? Or do they disappear after a certain ammount of time or only work up to a certain level?

About Progressing

You will be able to max out a lot of stuff toward the end.
Play to your strengths. Hacking is very useful - but you can talk people into giving you passwords too. I found seduction and intimidation to be less useful than persuasion. Persuasion is easier to bump due to Scholarship.

Role Play should be the key. Does it make sense for your character to learn hacking or pump iron?

Guns suck in the game. period. I think the designers probably did this by design. What good is playing a vampire game if you can easily just shoot everything to death?

I think Ventru, Malkavians, and Tremere have an easier time with persuasion with dominate and dementation than a Toreador. I found the Toreador, auspex and presence to be nearly useless.

Possible Spoiler in this one.

If you loose control during a fight, you will die.

The books have limits. The individuals you meet will have limits to what they can teach you too.

I met a guy with one character that had very little fight skill that offered to train me to fight better. With a more kickbut character he had no advice.