As with what Kristy said, the Vessel cannot be the only one with the singular talent of not dissolving into the Gestalt. He has the advantage of never having been in a true gestalt, because his teep ability was below the consideration of the collective, so he long ago established an sense of Self too strong to be overwhelmed when the mega-hivemind arises. The Collective regularly forms and breaks group Psi unities, so they're used to it, expect it, and open themselves to the prospective touch of a gestalt and - WHAM - the super meme blows into them like a January blizzard, burying them in the white noise of 'Find others, help Me'.

The thing about the Vessel is this: He was never 'good' enough, his teep abilities too weak. The Collective never accepted him, turned him away, and deep down in his subconscious he rather resents that. He has lost his willingness to be a Part of them, and built up his mental defenses to that end.
When he suddenly finds that he can suddenly Reach them, and push, he pushes with everything he's got, maintaining his Self throughout.

Yeah, so he's got this annoying little ankle biter trying to muscle in - but he's no mage, he's got nothing for the spirit to latch onto. His Psi let him pass their tests, but it was a pure false-positive. Annoyed by the pest he snags it by the scruff of the neck and boots it out the proverbial mental 'door', directly into the now ravening Gestalt…

Nasoj or whomever has never dealt with teeps, they were never a potent force in his time era and he has only attracted magic talent in the centuries since, so when the Vessel spreads his awareness into the collective Nasoj is taken along for the ride - as a bundle of snowflakes - only to suddenly find his little snowflake self consumed by the blizzard only to become so many snowdrifts. His knowledge and history is likewise scattered across this psionic arctic wonderland and it takes him considerable time and monumental effort to drag himself back.

By the time he regains his Self he's too weak to contest the current Vessel, or even be heard shouting "What the f*k are you doing!?".

[Kristy]
Okay, so what aside from being "PCs" makes Abbey and her cell unique among the Collective?[/Kristy]

Like the Vessel, they have established their individual Egos and group sense of Self. One or more of them have instinctive, unconscious shields strong enough to withstand the Suggestion, even when they open themselves to the expanding Gestalt. Those individuals, or even just one, reflexively expands their shields when they hear the roaring voices, allowing the others to leap back and immediately GTFO of there, maintaining their individuality and group Self. Or maybe even remain a part of the Gestalt but with the volume dial turned way down - they can hear what's going on, but not so powerfully it turns them into drones. That also gives them a leg up on dealing with it - intermediaries between the Teep Drone Army and everyone else.

As for Murikeer… the sudden dissolution of Nasoj will hit him like a freight train loaded with Tanks charging down hill with no brakes.
And he can do *nothing* against teeps. He assumes their abilities are magic and tries to sever them from their Mana - only to fail. He's thrown into a bit of a panic and has to rely on the mortal Heroes to tell him WTF is going on.
Sure, he can still level city blocks, but against a single Teeper poking holes in his thoughts or throwing him around with TK, he's a ragdoll. A very, very powerful ragdoll when his anger is aroused… but still, left completely out of his element.

After Nasoj's spirit has manifested in a mortal vessel and vanquished, Muri suddenly finds himself standing before the Void, knowing that Nasoj can claw his way back through their shared link.
But standing there before that rift, quite visible to everyone, are a Mink and a white skunk (the former glowering at the latter, but both beaming at him). He joins them and they step into the rift, which collapses rather violently inward behind them.

Either lower rank Syndicate (underling or low-level specialist), or maybe a member of the Church of the Eternal Brotherhood that has Syndicate contacts/friends/lineage connections.

One of the things she does on a regular basis, for fun, for hunting, and for business only when she has to… is to go clubbing. In bright, shiny clubs with dance-floors and pounding music. Wearing perky-goth style clothes…. and glitter. Lots of glitter. Not illusion based glitter… the real stuff. And while it's a pain to clean up properly (with the OCD that all vamps seem to inherit), she feels like using illusion for the visual effect would "just be cheating".

There's something that you said at Balticon would never happen, because your vampires don't sparkle. But… this one does. evil laugh

When she was a teen she came to Metamor City to stay with an aunt while on a tour to loose herself in the various libraries of the Empire. She decided to stay for a while, and now has a MS in Library Science from Empire University (her specialization is in Ancient History). She currently works at the Reference Desk at the Main Branch of the Metamor City Library (which *should* be a wonder to behold).

She is a solidly built woman, with generous curves from her human ancestry and the Fae blood in her. Her features are fine and delicate, as befitting her Elven forebearers. Her hair is between silver and blonde, fine and soft with a touch of wave to it. Graci often wears her long hair braided and then wrapped into a bun (in fact it's a sign that she trusts someone if she lets her hair down, literally). Her eyes are an electric green that glow slightly (another aspect of the Fae blood that shines through); she wears glasses both to cover the glow and to fit with the "librarian" stereotype that many humans have.

She loves the quiet of the library, and is usually gentle and helpful to the people who ask her questions… but if you catch her with a question that either hits one of her specialties she can be drawn into a very animated discussion. And if you present her with something she knows nothing about, she'll crawl through the Worldnet and whatever tomes, parchments, and scrolls that she can get her hands on to find the answer.

She'd have some minor magical ability… mainly mage sight, some fae style glamor, but nothing powerful. Her main function would be as a information source for other characters.

She'd probably know Artax… or at least know of him. The Old Man may not be playing the Mage Guilds game… but he's got his fingers in just enough pots for an astute mind to notice him.

Erik's version is a tailored amalgam of the proto version of the Metamorian curse and the Saruan curse coupled with some other spells which gave Erik's body regenerative properties and a skin which dispersed magical effects. Nasoj originally tried turning him into his own version of a kamikaze biological superweapon only without the kamikaze part and complete obedience in the decade prior to the Battle of the Three Gates. This Nasoj controlled version got his obedience spells as well as most of his mind scrambled from the magical ward thrown up during the Battle of the Three Gates. After his body entered a comatose-like sleep, the mind somewhat repaired itself over a decade. He awoke with many of these spells starting to unravel throwing him between a human form and a berzerk dragon-like state. Exposure to the Metamor Keep curse along with some of the best mages allowed him to have these spells rewoven into a stable humanoid dragon shape and rebuild a new identity as Erik Darkwing.

Erik probably could be classified as an immortal although in the Metamor City era he is definitely in the latter years of his life cycle even with the regenerative spells which have extended the already long dragon one. The runic weapon chooses the Master who will wield it and Erik was its last Master. Exposure over the long centuries of to this weapon coupled to the increased mana eventually allowed the Saruan curse to force Erik into a complete draconic shape. The spell resitant hide also increased in its potence which has left Erik without the abiliity to conjure virtually any spell he knows. This combined with a body which never stopped growing made it very hard for him to maneuver anywher in the city. Hence why in the stories Erik will mostly appear as a technomagical avatar called NetDragon who runs a business, acts as Clara's mentor and tries to be her surrogate father.

Clara Firemane is a childish hacker prodigy from the street who heralds from this same cursed bloodline. Accidental exposure to the runic weapon caused her latent bloodline curse to surface. Centuries of study on the network of spells which bind Erik together have allowed for a "cure" to the Saruan curse. The cursee undergoes exposure to the Metamorian curse which can bind them in one of the three shapes thus stabilizing but not eliminating the Saruan curse. Clara undergoes this procedure, but because the runic artifact leaves Erik and choses Clara as its new Master, it amplifies the Saruan curse and she is stabilized in a half human, half dragon form. Clara gets put under the legal care of Erik Darwing and is forced to leave her old life of information theft behind. She must deal with these changes along with her past which comes creeping back to find her. She is probably never going to fully utilize the runic artifact she possesses just because to do so would go against her personality. Although just possessing it leads to its own set of complications.

Color me confused…

Or is this just a bloodline that always ends up becoming draconic because of some ancient curse?

It actually isn't anything as mundane as UV that causes the vampires damage in direct sun; the effect is a spiritual and magical one. The sun is the ultimate source of life on the earth, and as such sunlight is tightly bound up with life-aspected mana. Since vampires are animated by death-aspected mana, sunlight disrupts their delicate magical metabolism. Sunlight is also a purifying force tied to fire-aspected mana, which is a further anathema to the vampires wholly unnatural physiology. Direct sunlight is, therefore, a double-whammy, setting them on fire while neutralizing the undead regenerative powers that might counteract the damage.

Ryx is right about cars, though — glass is opaque to most wavelengths of light, so the sunlight that does filter through is greatly reduced in strength. It'll still hurt like hell if direct sunlight is falling on them through untinted glass, but it won't kill them.

They can operate in areas where the particular aspects of sunlight that harm them are filtered out. Obviously getting away from the harmful deep infrared is relatively simple by going lower into the city or deeper into buildings that absorb low frequencies. High-range UV is more difficult to evade as it is as effective when 'reflected' (off of buildings, windows, ect) as it is upon direct exposure so merely moving deeper into the city's bowels still leaves them exposed… even retreating into buildings is not wholly effective as diffuse light still penetrates quite deeply into an average commercial building with lots of windows.

Strangely enough, automobiles are quite vampire friendly… the glass is both IR and UV filtering (the heavily tinted deep black windows). Not that a vamp will have all of its strength and powers, still (there's more to the Sun than just light that affects them), but it's not nearly so uncomfortable.

Now… sunscreen?? Nooooooo…. It just will not provide enough protection for a vamp to want to bother applying it. It might make being in direct sunlight a little less uncomfortable, but not by much. Heavy leather clothing and bulky motorcycle helmets would be about as comfortable on a hot day…

Can vampires walk the streets on some of the lower layers that don't see as much sunlight?

They can, but even indirect sunlight makes them exhausted and weak, so they don't usually chance it. There are substantial parts of the Street-level that are completely indoors, though, and those areas they will prowl with impunity.

Parmur aka pseudo vamp- Creatures of the night, these intelligent lesser daedra hunt predominately man and sometimes elf. They are unable to consume flesh that has blood still flowing through it. The blood combined with the flesh causes an allergic reaction in them that can be fatal if too much is ingested. They drain the blood out of their victims first in a manner similar to a vampire's feeding. A key difference in an attack are the four puncture markings and the general savagery of the wound, if the creature has not already consumed the flesh, the true source of creatures' sustenance. If only blood is drained, it is usually a clear sign of a Parmur so addicted to narcotic affects of the blood that they forgo the rest of their feeding. Such individuals usually lose mental stability, succumb to narcosis on a regular basis, and eventually starve to death. The euphoric sensations from the blood serve as an instinctual safeguard to prevent anaphylaxis.

Parmur are generally completely bald and so pale that a vampire would look rosy flush next to one. Their skin has absolutely no protection from sunlight and thus they blister and burn very rapidly in direct sunlight. Their capability of regenerating tissue probably came as an adaptation to those that hunted in the dawn or dusk hours allowing them some maneuverablility in direct sunlight. They have four distinct fangs two upper and two lower that are non retractable. They are usually solitary hunters relying on others only when absolutely needed. Parmur exhibit extreme strength and bursts of high speed which allows them to overcome and overpower their prey rather than rely on ambush tactics or domineering.

Parmur seem to be a mockery of the vampire species. They first appeared after vampires were well established but no single Daedra Lord has ever owned up to their creation. It is suspected that Baal was their progenitor, but even he never admitted they were his. Some Parmur have been able to avoid Lightbringer retribution by consuming raw pig flesh, however this act normally leaves them hungering for something more. Those able to curb their hunger can usually be found within the ranks of their "cousins" in the Syndicate. These are usually very few and far between, yet these few have become invaluable tools of the Syndicate. Their ability to function in the sunt has found them predominantly used as daylight shock troopers able to strike fear into those too ignorant to realize the impossibility of a sunlight vampire. Parmur have also been extremely effective at physically coercing information from targets to be brought back in alive. They have a bad habit of channeling their pain and anger from the daylight exposure to their targets.

Would sending something like this after the runner as a means to find the identity of the employer be warranted if the runner inadvertently killed a lot of people from the sabotage and the runner is known for keeping her mouth shut about her employment? In example the employer knows of a weakness in the containment fields of some pretty nasty stuff. They know that the power systems for these fields are linked to the security systems of another project. They hire this runner because of her record to ensure she gets in and actually pulls of the theft and sabotage. She remotely steals the info and sabotages many of the systems. By powering down the security systems she inadvertently shuts the power of the containment fields. Because of her ability and speed, the runner is in and out of there before the alarms notifying of imminent containment field collapse even trigger; if they even trigger at all.

Thank you,

Justin the NetDragon

What type of fiend despises daylight, would be able to rend the leg off an individual fairly easily, would be quite irate considering he's basically forced into daylight operations and would take out his frustrations and general malice upon his targets, especially if he's trying to retrieve information? The fiend would also require the ability to eventually regenerate from massive bodily damage.

There are a lot of different kinds of daedra that could fit that definition. Feel free to invent a kind we haven't seen yet. If he hates the light, he could be one of Ba'al's descendants, since darkness and shadow magic are key aspects of his portfolio.

What if it wasn't just information taken, but widespread damage done to the infrastructure of an operation thus shutting it down, a sort of take the loot and burn everything else scenario. The contract was lucrative enough that the runner was willing to completely ruin their reputation as a runner to get the reward.

Sabotage and theft are considered acceptable parts of the runner's job description, so a runner who does these things as part of a job would not be targeted for revenge by Malcolm and the Syndicate. Killing, however, is another story. If the runner in question killed any of Malcolm's people, then he's broken the runner's code and is now fair game.

What if it wasn't just information taken, but widespread damage done to the infrastructure of an operation thus shutting it down, a sort of take the loot and burn everything else scenario. The contract was lucrative enough that the runner was willing to completely ruin their reputation as a runner to get the reward.

Justin, the NetDragon

The mythology of Metamor City doesn't allow for daywalking vampires. The sunlight weakness is an inherent flaw in how they are built. (Vamps can walk around when it's overcast, but they're greatly weakened and don't have access to their superhuman powers, so they don't usually risk it.) For emergency daylight operations, remember that the Syndicate has a large number of non-vamps on its payroll. Perhaps the Syndicate sends a half-fiend soldier to do the dirty work — one with his own taste for human blood.

However, remember Malcolm's attitude toward runners: he considers them hired help, and he doesn't put out contracts on the help. On the other hand, he could certainly send someone to capture the runner and bring her back to him — and perhaps her employers would rather kill her than risk the item falling back into the Syndicate's hands…

Cheers,

Chris

In the story I'm contemplating the main character is an extremely good hacker/ sometime Runner. She steals something from the Vampire Syndicate as a means to finally get out of the streets, the money she was offered for the contract would do this and then some. Where the "daylight" vamp would fit in would be as an immediate reprisal to something so important that it couldn't wait even 12 hours before it had to be retrieved. The main character stole it in the daylight figuring she could get a head start on any serious Syndicate retaliation.

I was thinking I might release a short piece of writing that is select passages or an abridged version of Circle of Blood.

Sure, go for it!

I was thinking I might release a short piece of writing that is select passages or an abridged version of Circle of Blood.

Not that Talia can come out and actually give the Dretherans her blessing. In accordance with the ethos of Mother Lilith, part of helping humanity lies in helping them to be strong and healthy, letting them go through hardships so that they can emerge stronger. Mainstream vampire thought would say that coddling humans does them no favors, and that vampires must fulfill their role as predators in order to ensure the health of the "herd".

I can envision a whole range of possible attitudes among the vamps, from the hardcore Lilian philosophy that the weak must be killed and eaten to the feel-good Dretheran ideal that humans must be nurtured and protected in exchange for their gift of blood. Most vamps probably fall somewhere in the middle, seeing humans as livestock that must be cared for and kept healthy, but that one shouldn't get too sentimental about.

This is actually very helpful because it gives me a philosophical anchor point for Morgan — or, at least, an anchor point that she could be drawn to. Growing up in a secular family, influenced by a spiritual-minded governess, then disowned and cast adrift in the world, Morgan doesn't have a community of faith to call her own. She won't go to the CEB because she finds the mainstream vampire society loathsome, but she can't come on the holy ground of many of the other churches, either. Meeting a Dretheran might give her life a much-needed sense of direction.

As for Thaddius's views on psis, I can foresee at least three possibilities:
1.) He sees psis as an evolution of humanity that will eventually allow it to transcend the need for the vampires' protection, thus allowing the vamps to see their purpose fulfilled. The psis' emergence should be nurtured and celebrated, a sign that humans are ascending to become the vampires' equals.
2.) He sees psis as an aberration, a disruption of the natural symbiotic balance between human and vampire. It must be watched carefully, lest this "aberration" turn cancerous and threaten the future of both species.
3.) He sees psis as analogous to an immune response by the body: vampires abused their symbiosis and became parasites, and for their sins the human race has evolved a weapon to destroy them. The proper response is for vampires to commit themselves to a restoration of the symbiotic relationship, to make the first gesture of vulnerability so that the defense system will no longer be needed.

#2 is the most likely to be accepted among vampires, since even unbonded vamps get nervous around somebody who could potentially turn their powers back on them. #3 is a reasonable "third way" compromise view that would allow the Dretherans to keep their nonviolent ethos pure while acknowledging the danger that the psis pose to vampires.

Thaddius Drethera has been turned for enough years that even he forgets almost all of his living identity. In 1979 his sire died, freeing Thaddius from servitude to his rather overbearing master. He seized the opportunity to finish and spread the book of philosophy he wrote on the nature of what it means to be in between and what the responsibilities are in their unique position on this planet.

"A Sire is your mother and father in this world. They made the effort to create who you are and as a Childe you have a responsibility to your Sire. What many of our kind have forgotten is this is a two way connection. The Sire is as much bound to the Childe as Childe is to Sire. Remember that you are responsible to guide your childe through their rebirth, and like a parent you can be cruel or kind, but you are responsible" -Thaddius Drethera, The Circle of Blood, pg. 76

Thaddius's philosophy has spread to some of his kind, creating a small circle within the vampire community; a brotherhood known as the Dretherans. They come from many walks of life but follow Drethera's teachings of respect for what he calls the "circle of the world". These Dretherans are known to higher up vampires. They are regularly mocked and considered the weak of Vampire culture, but when a PR issue comes up between mundies and vamps, many will point to them as a symbol of the shaky truce the two keep. They are known to try and rehabilitate vampires hurt by blood-bonds and by nature only turn the living when they either volunteer or to save their lives.

"Have respect for the living. We are the ones given abilities to protect them and in turn they give us their life essence so we may continue. It is a donation, a charity, make sure you always treat it as such." -Thaddius Drethera, The Circle of Blood, pg. 100

The Dretherian philosophy focuses ont he Vampire taking a role in nature as a symbiont to Humanity. They take nourishment and reproduce from the human population and in turn the Vampires are to be guardians and protector's of mankind. Many Vamps interpret this as a justification for the Vampire influence over society. Drethera also has strong opinions on the rights and responsibilities of Childe and Sire and compares them heavily to the relationship of parent and child. There is emphasis on peaceful cohabitation with Humans and to use their abilities to help them in any way in turn for their willing donation of their life essence. Many intelligentsia and scholars who read up on Dretheran philosophy can be led to become donors or even ask to be turned themselves. In Dretheran philosophy, being between is not a bad thing, it is simply one's chosen or destined role in the cosmos.

I thought this would be an interesting point of divergence and addition of diversity to the philosophical outlook of vamps in Metamor city. If you need to correct me or have anything more to add I do want to add more here, but I'd like to go ahead with blessings and maybe some pointers or suggestions beforehand. I'd also be interested if I could get some ideas on thinking of Thaddius' feelings towards the Psi Collective.

It's a weighty issue, to be sure, that would require a good bit of consideration before executing.