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Immortality is not a gift, Immortality is an achievement; And only those who strive mightily Shall possess it
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Edgar Lee Masters
Jyhad 4: Districts and Turf
The West Fargo, Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth areas are the home of our game and have been broken up into districts. Each district has its own concept, theme, feel, and description. Aside from its description each District has traits that define it on a mechanical level. Characters do not normally have access to what the trait levels are for a given District but can make guesses based on the description of the district. Also they may well learn about these traits as they gain control over an area or seek to investigate an area. These traits are listed below.
Security:
This trait defines how law abiding and safe a district is. There are three levels of security: High, Medium, and Low. Crimes are more apt to occur in Low security areas. People in Low security areas are prone to be poor witnesses to crimes as they don’t want to get involved. Police seldom if ever patrol or respond to these areas and murder, theft, burglary, rape, drug use and other criminal acts are the rule. Conversely High Security areas are well lit, frequently patrolled, possibly gated communities, areas with affluence, protection and neighborhood watches. Medium security districts fall right in the middle. The security trait is generally a guide for players and storytellers about how to create scenes, what can be expected of scenes that take place in the area and what kinds of trouble can befall a character that is acting in that district.
Blood Pool:
The Blood Pool trait refers to how much blood can be taken out of the District.
Perks:
Each district gives perks to characters that have claimed Turf over the district. Each District has three perks: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. The Basic Perk is granted to those characters that have 1 point of the Turf Background in the District. The Intermediate Perk is granted to the character that has 3 points of Turf Background for that District and the Advanced Perk is granted to the character that has 5 points of Turf Background for the District.
NOTE #1: a given District only has a total of 5 points of Turf that can be controlled. Thus, 5 people could have 1 point in a given Turf Background. If one person controls 3 points of that Turf, there are only 2 points that can be controlled by someone else. And only one character can control all 5 points of Turf for a given district.
NOTE #2: Not all Districts are created equally or balanced with each other. Some areas of the city are simply more valuable than others.
Turf:
Turf is a new Background trait that characters can grow and develop. It represents their personal control over a given district. A character may mark their territory with signs or graffiti suggesting their ownership to other vampires, subtle symbols that let other vampires know ‘to be ware, this area is claimed’. Any vampire entering a District that has been claimed, will know that it has been claimed but not necessarily by whom.
That said, one does not control a Turf secretly – anyone can tag an area of town, but to get the benefits this background offers one must be ‘known’ to be the mover and shaker of that community, a resident with juice that mortals know and who in turn knows the people to know.
Each level of control that a character has in Turf gives him benefits as described below. The bonuses listed below are not cumulative.
1pt
- +1 blood to starting blood pool.
- Know your neighbors.
- Basic District Perk.
2pt
- +2 blood to starting blood pool.
3pt
- +3 blood to starting blood pool.
- District Rumors
- Intermediate District Perk.
4pt
- +4 blood to starting blood pool.
5pt
- +5 blood to starting blood pool.
- Advanced District Perk.
Granting Turf
A prince has Dominion over the entire City (in this case Fargo, West Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth). This Dominion is purely RP based, but it means that he can section off his domain and give parts of it to others. In many cases a Prince will put his Primogen in charge of various sections of the city, called Feeding Territories. The Primogen in turn compete for the best parts of town, or the parts that best suit their needs. This is again purely RP based. The only way for anyone to get Turf over a District is to grow it.
If the Prince gives you the right to claim a part of the city as yours, you still have to put in the effort of making it yours. If someone else has already claimed the Turf background over that part of town, well that again comes down to RP.
Turf vs Feeding Territory
Turf is a background each PC can grow laying a very real and tangible claim to a section of the city. It is a personal background that you and you alone must maintain and police. You may work with others to divide up a particular District, but how you police your slice is still up to you.
Feeding Territory is an arbitrary set of borders laid down by the Prince and his Primogen Council defining where the various clans and citizens can feed. It has no direct effect on the Turf Background system.
Grow Turf Action
The only way to obtain Turf is to Grow it. This works exactly the same as Growing an influence mechanically, conceptually I will break down what each level means story wise.
1pt
- At this level of Turf you have simply tagged a small portion of a District, and claimed it as yours. Any kindred entering this District will recognize the symbols, though not necessarily who they belong too. If a District is full, you need only paint your symbols over someone else’s to claim it.
2pt
- You have taken the time to determine, when, where, and upon whom to feed with the least amount of risk. You have familiarized yourself with the layout of your turf, the hiding places, and the people who inhabit it.
3pt
- Now you have taken control to a new level, you have cultivated relationships with the mortals. Those who live, work, or play within your Turf are known to you, and more importantly they know “you”. Though the physical borders of your ‘turf’ may not have moved much, rumors have certainly spreads your reputation ever wider.
- It is important to point out here that “you” can refer to a number of things
- Perhaps you have grown turf as a mysterious ‘boss’ to a group of agents (your retainers and allies). The locals know of your alias, who your agents are, and that through them they can seek your favor in exchange for favors of their own. Though they don’t know who you are specifically, they do know “you”.
- You could also grow turf to this level as yourself without all the mystery; perhaps you have a public persona with a bit of fame. The locals love your movies, and are eager to help you out.<.li>
- Be creative, and be careful. The Masquerade is not a tradition many break twice.
4pt
- At this level you have extended the physical borders of your claim, giving your more direct and safe access to the mortals of this District. Most Kindred know better than to feed in another’s turf, meaning you can feed without worry of annoying competition.
5pt
- At this level you have mastered this District, and its people. You have claimed the entire district as yours; the mortals bend to your will out of fear, love, or something in between.
Competing for Turf:
Controlling a District via the Turf background is mostly reputation. You have convinced the people of this area that you are the king shit.
Example
You are the richest guy in that part of town, and your charity keeps the businesses running and the people employed.
If you are a new comer to a District, you have to raise a reputation of your own. There are only 5 total levels to go around, so if someone already has 5 then by earning a reputation you are taking attention away from them and they then lose a level of control.
You do not have to target them directly; you have harmed them simply by being there. Your fastest, and easiest, way to gain turf over a district is to do so by destroying the reputation of your rival. The only limit is your own creativity.
When does it end?
Obviously in a crowded city or a particularly juicy District competition could get fierce. Kindred society as it is, it is not likely the competing kindred are going to break Rights of Destruction over it. This doesn’t mean that all those hapless mortals caught in the cross fire won’t die.
A competition over turf could have a major impact on the District, the city, and the food supply. This is why Feeding Territories were invented, this is also why some Prince’s use turf as a way to reward citizens, or to get political rivals off their back and in their pocket. If everyone is told where to feed, and the clans’ band together to protect those territories then no one is left hungry, no one is claiming to big of a slice.
The battle for Turf leaves the tangible destructive public eye and enters a purely political one. Primogen vie for the right to control a district in smoky back rooms. This isn’t to say competition doesn’t happen still, even within clan. However, should those competitions become too public, it’s likely the Prince and the other Primogen will get involved.
In addition to this; Independents, Giovanni, and even the Sabbat may claim turf within a city and in these instances the Camarilla would have to reclaim those Districts the old fashioned way.
