Hi everyone!
I know I’ve neglected to talk about the characters of Vampire Syndicate, which is a cardinal sin seeing how this is a narrative-driven RPG. This delay is due to a mix of learning the engine, the impact that has on my models, and some visual redesigns.
And maybe I like the mystery too.
But it’s mostly a grueling process of smashing several barely compatible software processes together. Yes, like many of my comrades in this field, I have learned some Blender. No, I’m not good at it at all.
I am pleased to say that all obstacles have been surmounted and that the only impact on character design is what is right and proper: that characters should fit their personality and background.
To this end, the initial party that you get in Vampire Syndicate is for the most part inexperienced, young street mercs. They are still wet behind the ears, and completely unprepared for the realities of the city’s dark underbelly. Try not to get them killed.
Frankie
Frankie probably got the heaviest redesign (don’t worry, his original design will be repurposed). He’s the righthand man in your small crew, the guy who talks to the brokers, researches the job, and makes sure you get paid. Frankie is a former Stormbreaker security contractor, but he’s disillusioned with corporate violence. Now he sees a better bet, you.
Proxy
Don’t let her neurotic obsession with cleanliness fool you, Proxy is from the gutter. Poverty instilled in her three things: resentment, hunger, and the ambition to claw her way to the top. Her original plan was to use her cleverness to land a job as a programmer with one of the city’s top megacorps, but the AI proxies that she took her name from ended that dream. Now she drives an EMS cart to earn the creds, and moonlights with you.
VARA
VARA (Variable Advanced Residential Agent) is an android that you received from an anonymous benefactor. She’s weird. She’s learning from you for her own purposes. Her likelihood to go Skynet on you is probably extremely high, but that’s the price of having a hyper advanced, anatomically correct sexbot.
Dollface
Your tenuous and surprisingly fashionable link with the shaper cults. Dollface makes for unlikely street merc… or a cultist for that matter. But with her gift of magick, she recognizes that she offers a rare, and possibly well-paid set of skills. She may not look it, but she is also deeply religious. With the return of the Conqueror Saint, she dares to risk everything on what she believes is either a glorious destiny or glorious delusion.
Mesh and Bones
Rounding out your initial party are two followers with semi-unique models. Meet Mesh and Bones. They are not full “companions” but rather hirable goons. The difference being that all full companions have unique stories and romance paths. Mesh and Bones are currently standing in for custom party members, which have not yet been implemented.
And, probably not a surprise, but you eventually run into:
Hatsuo
Everyone’s favorite himbo from Memoirs is back! A former adjunct to a Courtesan’s Guild Dame, Hatsuo has earned some renown from his adventures with the same Facilitator who made all that noise last year. You get the feeling he might be slumming with you.
This is only a small sample of the roster in the game. Vampire Syndicate is intended to be a vampire epic in most meanings of the phrase. There will be lots of characters, with histories and interactions that span the history of this world. You will touch the mythical and speak with the legendary.
This is my story of blood, tears and sighs. And I’m very much looking forward to sharing it with you.