Aspirations & Dramatic Hooks

Vampire the Requiem

Chapter Tree: Laws of the Dead

Step One: Character Concept

As well, choose three Aspirations. When choosing your character’s Aspirations, choose one or two that reflect her Kindred existence. Does she want to become a leader in her city? Does he want to find a candidate for the Embrace? As well, choose at least one Aspiration pertaining to his associations with the mortal world. Does he have a former boyfriend he’s trying to keep safe and away? Does she have a mother with mounting medical bills she’s helping?

Also, starting Aspirations are a great way to establish coterie relationships. For example, if a coterie consists of two Invictus characters, one may have the Aspiration, “Become a member of the Inner Circle,” and another might have, “Become knight to a ranking Invictus.” This helps to put coterie dynamics into a loose perspective, and can help chronicle momentum start strong.

Aspirations are one of the most important ways you can earn Beats and Experiences, which advance your character. More importantly, they’re clear statements to your Storyteller about the types of things you wish to see happen to your character. It’s important the Storyteller takes note of all the troupe’s Aspirations. This way, she can add hooks in the chronicle to touch on something for everyone.

Lastly, Aspirations make for great fodder for quick and easy goals. Don’t be afraid to take at least one Aspiration without immense challenge or risk. For example, “Find a safe haven” isn’t an unreasonable goal, and it gives you something to do during the first session if you’re struggling to find a place for your character. Look at easy Aspirations as story hooks. In play, try to involve the other players’ characters in accomplishing them.

If you’re struggling with Aspirations, revisit this stage once you’ve fleshed out the character some more. Often, one part of the character creation process will stand out for a given character. These stand-out parts will help you determine goals.

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Vampire the Requiem

Chapter Seven: Storytelling

Aspirations

On the surface, Aspirations do two major things: They tell a Storyteller what you want to see in the game, and they give you a motivation even when your character might not have an immediate hook to the story. As it stands, they’re mostly open-ended — players can do with them what they please. However, the Storyteller can use minor focuses to deeply influence a chronicle.
A couple of notes on Aspirations:

It’s important to remember that grander Aspirations can award Beats any time the character takes meaningful steps toward resolution; don’t punish players for taking lofty goals.

Players can shift Aspirations between game sessions. Nothing forces them to keep Aspirations that have become useless or are no longer fun to pursue.

Aspirations should help to guide the chronicle. If you can’t find a dramatic way to introduce the players’ presented goals, ask them how they’d like to see them addressed.

Aspirations can be “meta.” The player knows them; the character doesn’t have to.

Particularly early on in the chronicle, Aspirations change. As the players feel out their characters, and begin to understand the chronicle’s direction, they’ll want to shift goals. This is fine.

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Trinity Continuum

Chapter Two: Character Creation

Step One: Character Concept

Next, each player chooses Aspirations: two short-term and one long-term. Aspirations are a player’s goals for his character, not necessarily the character’s own goals. A player wants his character to get into a fist fight, even though his character might be the kind of person to abhor physical confrontations. Aspirations are story moments a player wants to see happen. Achieving Aspirations is the responsibility of the entire table. While a player should always be watchful for opportunities to achieve his aspirations for his character, he should also watch for opportunities to set up his fellow players to achieve theirs. If all of the players achieve their short-term Aspirations in the same session, all of the players present get a point of Experience. The Storyguide will also use the Aspirations as guidance for the types of stories players are interested in playing and will provide opportunities for the players to achieve their Aspirations.
Aspirations should always push action, not restrict it. This means that players should phrase their Aspirations as something to do rather than something to not do. “Don’t get into a fight” removes a character from action. In contrast, “Use your words for once” keeps the character in a potential conflict, but nudges them toward using a different resolution tactic than usual.
A short-term Aspiration is something a character can achieve in a single session. The Aspiration may be a Scene a player wants to see happen, an ability he wants to use, or a character moment he thinks would be interesting or cool.

Examples: Use your words for once, Solve it with science!, Have a heart to heart with a teammate, Snag a big scoop, Coax a secret from a mark

A long-term Aspiration is something that takes multiple sessions to achieve and is related to one of the character’s Paths. A long-term Aspiration may be how a player would like to see his character grow or change.

Examples: Betray the Transcendent Alliance, Build a working freeze ray, Bring Jackal’s killer to justice, Find my twin sister

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Kult: Divinity Classic

Chapter 4: The Player Character

Dramatic Hooks

A dramatic hook is a player request for their character to take a certain action during the story. During each game session, each player should have two dramatic hooks for their character. At the beginning of the first session, the player gets to choose two dramatic hooks on her own. In later sessions, the PC receives dramatic hooks from the other players and the GM. At the end of a session when she’s fulfilled a dramatic hook, she asks the other players to think of a new one.

When a dramatic hook is fulfilled, the players marks 1 Experience. A player can ask to exchange a dramatic hook for another one, if a game session passes without any dramatic hooks being fulfilled.

When the players think of dramatic hooks, they may use the following verbs for inspiration and then finish the sentence with something appropriate (“You should…”):

Finish

Reveal

Tell

Visit

Complete

Confront

Investigate

Develop

For example, “You should visit the place where the kidnapper took you” or “You should reveal your infidelity to your wife.” The PC has fulfilled the dramatic hook, regardless of what transpired in the scene, as long as the character executed the verb. Don’t dictate what the outcome of the scene should be when determining a dramatic hook. That should be discovered in play.

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I will not allow aspirations to become routine or boring. This is a means to experience a lot of firsts and get paid for them in XP. For example most of you would have received 1 XP for your first feeding, but I would not want to see an Aspiration for a second feeding. But it could be a second feeding from a <insert interesting thing here that may not end well>. The first time you blood bond someone this give you a chance to poke the system, poke your abilities but not to second, the third. I am looking for story and flavor first. No double dipping. Please let me know if this helps and if you have any questions.