Backgrounds

As our game theme is heavy on spying and duplicity, we anticipate that characters will be constantly doing background checks on each other. For this reason, all characters are obliged to provide short answers on what will come up if someone does a background check on them. The background must be completed within a month after your approval.

This background can be updated as the information change. Periodically, staff will give you reminders to update your background.

Please fill this up properly and do not try to “game” the system. We will award 2 XP for satisfactory completion of your background.

* **Legal Name**: The name that your character uses for official business in the mortal world (ie. taxes, utility bills, property deeds). You can put “none” here only if your character has no official dealings with the mortal world.

* **Legal Age/Birthdate**: The one on your passport or driving license. You can put “none” here only if your character has no official dealings with the mortal world.

* **Place of residence**: Your registered address. If you don’t have one, give the place that you will be found at most often if someone follows you.

* **Place of employment**: The place that your character supposedly goes to work at. If you have no discernible day job, you may put “none”.

* **Qualifications**: Professional qualifications, including university degrees, diplomas, job titles, past employment history, and others.

* **Lifestyle**: What do you do on a regular day? Any hobbies? Clubs? Social groups?

* **Main source of income**: A bank account in your legal name. Main source of income such as “salary” or “inheritance", “overseas stocks” or “investment banking”. This must be filled if you have any dots in the Merit: Resources.

* **Family**: Any family members that may be still in mortal records, including parents, spouse, children, or even distantly-related cousins for old vampires. Please note if you are in regular contact with these family members.

* **Acquaintances**: Who you can be seen hanging out with.

* **Social security**: Use of welfare, pensions, student loans, concessions, healthcare, etc.

* **Overseas Trips**: Plane tickets, train tickets, and any use of passport(s).

* **Other relevant details**: Feel free to include any other relevant details.

### **Vampires**

Old vampires will have to make up some details to fit in with the mortal world. Details such as legal name, birthdate, and social security number can be fake, however you are only allowed one consistent set of identity if you do not have the Merit: Alternate Identity.

#### **For Vampires:**

* Where do you sleep?

* Where do you hunt?

* What is your favoured prey?

* Who drinks your blood?

## **Cover up**

If your character has taken steps to hide their activities, please roll Wits + Subterfuge (+Obfuscate + Alternate Identity), contested against your investigator's Intelligence + Investigation (+Auspex).

Cost: 1 Downtime per detail you want to cover up

Your cover up roll does not expire. If you want to “refresh” the roll, to try and get more successes, you will have to respend Downtime per detail for cover up. You may only refresh once per month.

If your cover up is successful, your investigator finds /nothing/. They will not find alternative information; this is the purvey of the Merit: Alternate Identity. They will note that it is highly unusual for someone in this day and age to leave no paper trail.

You can get someone else to roll for you, including your own NPC retainers.

## **Alternate Identity**

Having the Merit: Alternate Identity allows you to nominate fake details associated with your Alternate Identity. These are the details that will come up first when the investigator asks the relevant questions.

Alternate Identity provides a bonus equal to dot level when covering up your actions. Not only that, if your investigator’s “starting point” is your Alternate Identity (outlined in this guide here), the investigation can only turn up the fake information associated with your Alternate Identity.

Please nominate details as below:

#### **Alternate Identity \***

Name, job, activities, and traits associated with the fake identity.

#### **Alternate Identity \*\***

Name, job, activities, and traits. You may name up to three types of legal paperwork associated with your Alternate Identity.

#### **Alternate Identity \*\*\***

Name, job, activities, and traits. You have a complete set of legal paperwork associated with your Alternate Identity. The only thing you cannot fake is lifestyle and personal relationships.

#### **Undercover Identity \*\*\*\***

*House Ruled*

You live and breathe your Alternate Identity, so much so that your original identity can be said not to exist. You have spent decades building up your Alternate Identity. You have kids in high school, a wife of twenty years, and friends and colleagues who will leap to defend your character. You are Kim Philby, upper crust Cambridge man, son of a colonial officer in British India, MI6 agent for twenty-six years and Soviet spy for thirty. You are Gunter Guillaume, Stasi agent, working your way up the ranks of federal government to become Willy Brandt's (the West German chancellor) secretary and closest confidante.

With this Merit, investigations against you automatically return with false information. The drawback is that you must live every moment of your life as your Alternate Identity. If you perform actions not in line with your Alternate Identity, such as a British journalist visiting the house of the Soviet Ambassador, it can be investigated and must be covered up just as normal.

You may write a second, complete background, as outlined above in the above sections. Write this background as your Undercover Identity.