Vampfest 2004 House Rules 

Serpentis:

Followers Of Set & any vampire possessing second intermediate or greater Serpentis is immune to Eyes Of The Serpent.

Auspex VS Obtenebration, Obfuscate, and Chimerstry:

Higher levels win automatically, equal levels test. Those testing must have cause to search for hidden characters



Magical Items:

Magical Items are prohibited at character creation. (No Exceptions, So don*t ask.)

To create these items in-game:

The Tremere (or Thaumaturgist) creating the item must have at least intermediate level knowledge in either the discipline that the item mimics, or in a discipline that deals with the aspect that the item affects (physical/mental/social)

Alacrity Actions In Celerity:

This house rule is more of a clarification, than a true change in rules. Alacrity is basically treated as a celerity action in-and-of-itself, and cannot be declared more than once per turn. It is enacted as any other celerity level, it is simply an action that can be used to pre-empt another action. Standard movement, drawing a weapon, or making an attack if a weapon is already drawn are all acceptable actions in Alacrity. 

Might Retests In Potence:

This is also more a clarification. The Laws Of The Night description of Might says that once Might is invoked, it is the final retest of the challenge. This means that once Might has been declared, win or lose, it is the final test of thta particular challenge, and neither attacker nor defender may retest with anything other than an opposing Might retest beyond that point. 

Mob Combat:

No more than 5 attackers may engage a single defender at any one time.

The "Duh!" Rule:

This catch-all category covers any use of merits, flaws, or any other situational modifier being applied to situations that they do not pertain to.Example: Enchanting Voice cannot be used to summon shadows in Obtenebration.

The 2-Year Rule:

Effective at character creation for Vampfest 2003, no newly submitted character may be designed using unspent experience points accumulated from more than the prior 2 games. Therefore characters submitted for 2003 may not incorporate experience from any Vampfest prior to 2001.

Challenges and Retests:

Players will be allowed more than one ability retest in challenges in which they possess multiple traits in the applicable challenge. Narrators may rule that only a single retest may be made in a given challenge for specific situations, or in cases of needing to end a scene quickly.

Malkavian Characters And The Madness Network:

The single largest complaint I recieved from players from Vampfest 2002 was the use and abuse of the Malkavian Madness Network. Part of this is due to uncertainty regarding the rules pertaining to the Network, and the trait Malkavian Time. After doing some research on the issue, the rules listed in Clanbook: Malkavian will be enforced. Players with Malkavian characters will be required to purchase traits in Malkavian Time in order to make use of its advantages. The Madness Network does not, however, function as a telepathic link between Malkavians for direct communication. We will be tightening down on this to make sure that By-The-Book rules are followed.

Clan Numbers:

The only other real complaint that reached me from Vampfest 2002 was proliferation of certain Clans. To remedy this I am instituting a cap on Clan numbers. No more than 10 characters (excluding NPCs) will be allowed in one clan at a one time. This may result in some players being asked to change clans for Vampfest 2003, but that decision will have to wait until characters are resubmitted for next year.

Initiative:

The character possessing the highest number of Traits in any given challenge will act first without regard to Physical / Social / Mental. Additional traits gained from weapons do not count towards initiative, only for resolution of ties.

Disclaimer:

Every Storyteller and every larp has their own house rules. And many times these rules become so routine, that we start to forget that we added them ourselves, and that they are not "By-The-Book." Please familiarize yourself with Vampfest's House Rules, and remember that anything that is not on this list, is addressed as it is in the books. If your larp has a rule that you would like to see Vampfest incorporate, or if you disagree with a rule that you see here, please do not hesitate to suggest it to the storytelling staff.