I like playing the Native interpreter the most. After that, German warrior (which for some reason I’m not able to take past Memphis?), French landowner and Southern lawyer.
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I have 4 favourites in no particular order.
A high compassion, high anachronism Choctaw character that’s just passively watching the world pass her by. When was the last time she heard her native tongue spoken in a crowd? She would help her people if they were around. But they’re not.
There is a special place in my heart for the illiterate German character embraced by West though. Been focusing on physical stats and shapeshifting to push the limits of his body. He has aspirations of becoming a tribune, finally getting a productive way to use his combat prowess.
The Southern lawyer is pretty cool too. A lawyer’s the closest thing I feel you can get to a politician straight outta chargen. Perfect for when I want a more calculating playthrough.
Ethnicity doesn’t really matter to this one, but a shady character that involves itself with the criminal underworld at every turn, lies at every opportunity is fun to play as well. The feeling of not being trustworthy is fun for me, shame there’s not a whole lot of opportunities to lie to people.
As for what storylines I like best, I find this storyline around West really interesting. I can only wonder how, or if at all, whatever rapport you had with him will matter. I actually find all the storylines around the makers that are unique to them very engaging. For me it makes who your maker is feel more significant than a stat boost and some flavour text about acquiring a vessel. In my eyes there is currently no reason to pick a sire other than Van der Ahe (because he always stays as quaestor), Padre Carlos, West and Villanueva.
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i always use literated or artist mcs, by the way what was the stats needed so that our mc devour other vampires? i dont remember how to devour that guy in the first game anymore.
I have tried both killing my mcs maker and not killing him (usually i kill him)
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You need to have combat stats that are 5 or less, but are 6 or more if you add your Willpower to them. Then you need to attack him, and then unleash the beast. Avoid using the stealthy option if you have 5 in combat stats, because the stealthy approach temporarily adds 1 to them.
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What do you mean you’re not able to take past Memphis?
No, that’s a correct use of “ply.”
Fixed.
Fixed.
Fixed.
Fixed.
Fixed.
Fixed.
Fixed.
Hopefully fixed now.
The last time I played a German vampire was a bit ago (few weeks at least), and for some reason I wasn’t able to move on past Memphis to the CoV3 storyline like I could with other ethnic backgrounds.
I am personally fond of cultured characters with enterprising spirits (my literate, creative, technophile, polyglot Yankee is that), and am hoping to see more opportunities for business and enterprise in the future (with the World’s Fair coming up, among many other things).
I am playing through different backgrounds right now (I played a manipulative French socialite, and it was fun!)
Also will there be more chances to learn more languages (such as French, German, etc.) in COV3?
I don’t currently have an opportunity to learn another language in St. Louis, but it’s something which could and should be added.
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the problem is he dont fight me or fight me but i cant unleash the beast xD
Just wanted to say… Bikkje has provided an astounding amount of input on this. Great job!
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Found some things.
Missing word?
“Exactly! I’m so glad you see it my way.”
Noticing that Aichinger and Eliot are rotating back into earshot, you quietly thank Bailey for his counsel.
The evening concluded, they each offer a way to contact them, should you have need of them, and then excuse themselves. Before you depart, Aichinger invites you to feed freely within the beerhall—on this occasion, at least. A small gift to the new arrival.
- I do not trust this gesture; I return to my haven.
- It is likely that hunting here would be too easy; I prefer more of a thrill. I return to my haven.
- I politely decline, as none of these are to my taste.
I think “people” is missing after these.
Illiteracy inconsistency 1?
The lawyer greets you graciously, gesturing for you to take a seat. “Let us discuss your situation,” he begins.
“Thank you for seeing me. Eliot explained my needs to you?”
“Yes, of course. You will, of course, have to draw up a full list of the assets that you want transferred to the new identity…”
You proffer such a document, which he takes from your hand. Perusing the document, his brow furrows. “This should be simple enough. I will keep you apprised of any further develoments.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ross.”
As part of this process, you are, of course, given the opportunity to change your name.
I don’t know what proffering a document means, but it sure sounds like the illiterate character is doing some writing again.
Illiteracy inconsistency 2
You clench your teeth and keep moving. What would you do? Throw a temper-tantrum like a child? Murder a host of soldiers that are no different from Silas, sending untold wives and children into fits of misery greater than yours?
No, you are above that. You will honor Silas as he would have wanted: read some poetry, listen to some music. These are the things that Silas loved, and you will do them in memory of him.
Illiterate character reading poetry.
Illiteracy inconsistency 3
The Union Army retreated long before sunset, but fighting was particularly heavy along Graveyard Road. It was there that Hope—with Compton at his side—made a valiant stand, leading his men into a breach in the line, fighting to hold back a Union advance.
Wilson does his best to comfort you over the next few days. You immerse yourself in the letters that he wrote to you.
Wanting more, you decide to try and acquire Silas’s personal effects.
Apparently, though, Mitch survived the battle. From his cot in the infirmary, he tries to stymie your efforts, claiming that the effects should be sent to Silas’s family. Greasing a few palms, you have the quartermaster tell Mitch that the effects were forwarded, while you take them home for safekeeping.
Illiterate character reading some letters over and over again.
Either a missing word or an awkward sentence
He considers you for a moment, before introducing himself formally. “I am Apollo Carothers, Quaestor of Memphis.”
“An honor to make your acquaintance, Quaestor Carothers.”
“And this,” Carothers says, gesturing to his companion, “is Dido Applethorp, my offspring.” You bow in greeting.
He does not waste any further time closing in on what concerns him most about your arrival.
“And Consul Stone? What do you think of his revolution?”
- “Revolution? Consul Stone? I’m afraid I am unaware of what you speak.”
- “I know nothing of this revolution, but I can’t imagine that it’s a good idea. Haven’t we had enough of revolutions of late?”
- “What misfortune is this? I have just fled the sack of Vicksburg! I had thought I came to more peaceful shores.”
- "A revolution in the Society? Once which side does my maker fight, for you shall find me by his side."
“Once which side does my maker fight”? That sounds very awkward, is there a word missing in there?
I would like another option 1
You wake a few days later to a letter from Quaestor Withers. She misses your company, it would seem.
You take the note to your attorney, and ask him to read it to you. Perhaps “missing you” was a poor choice of words. In the letter, she reveals the fate of Wilson Maddox: she took him for herself, turning him into a vampire. Unfortunately for her, he seems to have abandoned his dominus, and to the best of her knowledge, made his way to Memphis. She entreats you to find him and return him to her. This is, of course, a great embarrassment for her: a young vampire, loose without supervision in another quaestor’s domain…
She offers you a debt, should you be successful in this task.
How do you reply?
- Yes, I will undertake this task.
- Hah, no, I want no part of this debacle.
- I do not deign to reply.
I would like the option to immediately tell Carothers about this. Also I think there should be some recognition if you have really poor rapport with her and she cast you out of her city.
Continuity error 1
“Well, I am sure that Quaestor Carothers looks forward to making your acquaintance.”
“Yes, it will be quite the event, won’t it?”
"In fact, I am responsible for organizing the event."
“Is that so? Well, I will be watching closely.” You are not sure if this is a promise or a threat. You think it best to change the topic of conversation.
“Are you familiar with the candidates?” you inquire.
“I have only met Mr. Pickering, of Birmingham. I think him an excellent candidate for Senator. He has made it clear to me that his priorities lay where they ought.”
“What do you mean by ‘priorities’?”
“He knows where his loyalties belong. This whole affair with the imposter.”
“Imposter?”
“Yes…this ‘Consul Stone’,” he says, wrinkling his face as though the very words tasted bad on their exit. “Don’t tell me that you support this foolishness.”
I am responsible for neither the event nor fetching vessels.
Spelling error 1
Just after sunset, you sent Franklin to fetch Hester, telling him you could make your own way to Carothers’s haven. The sounds of horse and carriage announced their arrival, about twenty minutes after your taking a seat in his study. This is one of those rare occasions on which you have been invited to the haven of Carothers, and you take the opportunity to observe him in his natural habitat.
The tap-tap-tap of her can on the wooden floors echoes under the door of the study as she makes her way through the house. The door finally opens, and Apollo’s valet announces Hester Carothers. You jump to your feet, offering her your arm and guiding her to an overstuffed chair.
Should be cane.
I would like another option 2
Mayor Overstolz threatens to sue the steamboat companies for leaving these mostly destitute migrants on his doorstep, but relents when the steamboat companies invoke the Civil Rights Act of 1875 in their defense. Instead, he sends the police to the docks to read various proclamations, encouraging the migrants to return to their plantations in Mississippi and Louisiana. He even arranges for free transportation back, but these men and women did not arrive in St. Louis just to return home.
Of course, you could always encourage the Exodusters to stay in St. Louis. It would deepen the racial tensions in the city—a large, unskilled labor pool like the Exodusters means that when whites going on strike, a business can bring in freemen to cross the picket lines—but it would lower the costs of labor.
- I do my best to encourage the refugees to stay in St. Louis.
- I contribute to the effort to see the refugees on their way.
I would like the option of not influencing this. Not all characters care about finances.
Spelling error 2
The next day, Wilde visits the botanical gardens, which only enflames the enthusiasm of the city’s social set.
By the time he leaves the day after, the elite are simply beside themselves over his refinement and taste. They repeat his expressions and witicisms while some of the youth go even further and try to immitate his accent.
Privately, you wonder if some sort of madness has gripped them.
Should be witticisms.
Van der Ahe and the pagan concerned about the Sabbath
Though you could be wrong, after an hour long conversation, you are inclined to believe that Von der Ahe is nothing more than a businessman. He found an opportunity and he exploited it. It just so happens that St. Louisans were hungry for beer and sports, and had grown tired of stuffy European music. “Besides, zese Americans, zey love a vinner!” Von der Ahe exclaims, his well-chewed cigar drawing circles in the air with his gesticulations. “And ve are vinning!”
As the conversation draws to a close, you begin to contemplate what to do with your results from the evening. You admit, after speaking with Von der Ahe, you admire his business acumen. You also come to the epiphany that these people who watch baseball are likely to want to play baseball. And that involves bats, balls, gloves, and other necessities. Perhaps a store devoted to selling these items would be a profitable enterprise.
- “What would be even better would be to sell the instruments of the sport to the attendees, Mr. Von der Ahe.”
- Though it may come at some expense, I encourage Aichinger to make the musical performances more permanent.
- I report to Aichinger that there is no plot against him and that he should rest easy.
- I urge Van der Ahe to respect the Sabbath and not compete on Sundays.
Should be Von der Ahe, and is the respecting the Sabbath something a pagan would be concerned with?
Me trying to figure out the bugged bonds
You soon hire an attorney to attend to these affairs.
He promises to find you the best rate of return on your capital. Lately, the city of Memphis has issued a number of different bonds to finance improvements to the city, offering a handsome interest rate. You urge him to not be too speculative, but he assures you that the city will make good on the debts.
The bonds you buy automatically above are not bugged. But the ones Carothers advice you to buy are. Both bonds supposed to show up in the stats screen as “Face Value of Memphis Municipal Bonds (US$1873): 2300”, because only the automatically bought bonds and the last bonds you can buy do.
As far as I can see the bonds that Carothers tell you to buy aren’t actually bought, because I always turn out to not have bonds at the end. The bond value in the stat screen does not change if I have some of the automatic bonds, and nothing appears there if you don’t have the auto-bonds and buy when Carothers tells you to. But the ones you can choose to buy when the mayor is talking to creditors are bought, because they add to the bonds in the stat screen.
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Cult annoyance and suggestion:
I’ve a small annoyance with the cult; in the first game you can have being a God be your secret goal for your unlife. I feel like if you have that goal, you should always get the opportunity to create your cult, no matter how discrete you are. I’ve another suggestion about the cult, if you have a cult around Hushtalhi, add the opportunity use Choctaw as a holy language. You can also use Latin for some of the others. Just to get some more use out of those languages.
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Schnaider’s suggestion:
If you have a good rapport with Aichinger I feel like the closing of that biergarten happens with too little reaction from the character. He clearly liked his biergarten, I would like the opportunity to try to console him.
Meh, I’m calling that poetic elision.
That’s just word-salad. Fixed.
Mm. Fixed.
What a great f-ing suggestion. Done.
This one is…interesting. This isn’t just about finances, though I’ve couched it in those terms. Though, I would point out that you only see that last line if you have $finance > 0.
What would make you/a compassionate PC care about these refugees?
I disagree, but I see your point. I’ve both upped the +hubris when you choose that option, and lowered the discretion bar (from 40 to 25), which is a massive change in the threshold.
This is an interesting idea, but it’s a place that I need to tread carefully. I need to find a Native American sensitivity reader, and that would be on the list of things to discuss. (That said, I’m not driven to find uses for Choctaw, since I don’t consider it a “point” during chargen.)
I’ll work on that. Nice suggestion.
As for the bonds, there are actually two sets of bonds, Freedman’s Bank and the Memphis city bonds. I think I might need to spend some time disentangling them today.
EDIT: I’m adding a second entry to the stats screen to display the Freedman’s bonds. And adding a small dividend from them, so that they’re not just a money-for-$carothers_rapport trade.
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In other news, I just pushed what may be a functioning checkpoint system.
You can (hopefully) save your character at the end of each city, and then restore to that point from the Stats screen.
Hopefully it will help with targeted testing.
I will note, however, that if you restart the game, the checkpoint will be cleared. That’s why, for example, there’s no “restore” at the opening choice.
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Duplicate paragraph on character’s creation:
Time passes, as it inevitably does. Thoughts of your grandmother faded while novel concerns arose:
Time passes, as it inevitably does. Thoughts of your grandmother faded while novel concerns arose: during your teenage years, you were blessed with a mentor who encouraged you to think clearly and deeply about the challenges before you…
Wouldn’t that paragraph flow better if both sentences were in the same tense? 
(“Time passes… Thoughts of your grandmother fade…”).
I…see that error. That’s been in the game a long time. But yes, fixed now.
A few weeks later, Björnsdotter arrives. The vampires of the city gather at Schnaider’s; even Memeskia deigns to attend. In addition, there is a representative from Chicago presentf
Some spelling is needed in the paragraph above. Also, I noticed a few inconsistencies during election cycle 2 in Memphis, when the “unintroduced” characters were called by name in the description of events (e.g. “Senator seems unhappy”), but remained “unintroduced” in “speak with…” choices.
P.S. One example of the opposite problem: I was given a choice to “… decide to investigate Von der Ahe anyways” in connection with Aichinger’s troubles (low attendance to his biergarten,) even though the character never heard about Chris Von der Ahe before.
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Is it possible to be elected to be a senator if how would I go about doing that
I think you can throw your hat in the ring but no one wins in the end.
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