Åsa Roos - Concept and development
Jenny Hellström - Support, development and inspiration
Kristoffer Bergqvist - "Think tank"
Jim Nordlander - Support and "can do" attitude
Sebastian Rasmussen - Application support

Åsa Roos ­ B/W images
Jenny Hellström ­ Concept art

Åsa Roos - HTML and graphic design
Karl-Anders Johansson - JavaScript

Anarchy Online
MMORPG in a sci-fi setting. www.anarchyonline.com
World of Darkness (WoD)
By White Wolf. RPG where vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures abound. www.white-wolf.com.
Blade
The movie from New Line Cinema, starring Wesley Snipes, N´Bushe Wright and Stephen Dorff.
Vampires
The book by John Steakley, outlining the hazardous work of professional vampire hunters, supported by the Pope and the Catholic Church.
Those Who Hunt the Night
Book on vampires in a victorian setting, written by Barbara Hambly. Nice take on half-vampires and other abominations.
Anno Dracula
By Kim Newman, also victorian vampirism, set in an alternate timeline where Count Dracula has married Queen Victoria, and where Jack the Ripper runs rampant.
The Vampire Chronicles
By Anne Rice. Classic set of novels depicting the life and unlife of the vampire Lestat and his lovers and hangers on.

Prey is a project created by Åsa Roos (© 2001 - 2004) in order to learn and develop a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Prey is as of yet not snatched by a developer.

I've had some help in doing this project, and all the people involved, one way or another, are listed in the credits.

Prey is a game with options to partake in communities called  clubs  or  haunts . More on these communities can be found later in the text.

The player assumes the role of either a vampire or a vampire hunter. There will also be a neutral party in the world, people who know of, but is not actively involved in the struggle.

You actually start hunting vampires or vampire hunters in a city filled with supernatural occurrences. A parallel could certainly be drawn to White Wolf´s  World of Darkness , but it is not this kind of world I am striving to make. The players will in effect hunt each other. There will of course be non-player characters that the vampires/ hunters can also hunt and slay. There will also be clubs where either vampire hunters or vampires hang out. This will be the community part of the game. Here you can form new alliances, and team up with each other for a short while in order to rid the city of especially bothersome vampires/ hunters.

Please note that this document is still under construction, and is by no means a finished product. It's more a collection of ideas that I am working on. Some areas, such as player actions, crafting and combat are not even considered yet.

Working title is  Prey , a name that instantly connects to the focus of the gameplay, which is to hunt, or be hunted.

Massive multiplayer online Role-playing game (MMORPG), in a horror/ supernatural setting.

Note: The player is referred to as him throughout the text, although it is understood that the player can be of either gender. This concept is not yet finished, and is subjected to revision.

Experience several modern cities, modified to accomodate the different haunts and clubs used by the hunters and the vampires. The game should also support Player versus Player (PvP) mode, with specific arenas dedicated to that type of gaming. Transportation between cities would be achieved by  normal  modes of transport (walking, biking, driving etc.)
Example of cities:
- New York
- Chicago
- Boston
- New Orleans

There will be several autogenerated missions for the player to pursue. These missions will vary with Gang or Clan, bloodline, and so on. There should also exist a storyline running parallell to the missions. This storyline is subjected to change and revision as the game proceeds, but it should be an integral part of the game.

A large part of the game is the player to player interaction. This should be facilitated by allowing players to emote, communicate and in other ways engage themselves in a social context. The introduction of "pregnancies", as well as clothes used merely as fashion will hopefully facilitate this type of socialising as well.

Role-players longing for a MMORPG in a horror setting with supernatural influences. Gamers enjoying vampire myths in general, players looking for a more intense PvP experience.

To my knowledge there are no MMORPGs dealing with a horror setting, or the vampire angle. However, this might need some looking into.

Well, for one, it deals with a setting never dealt with before, it combines a familiar mythology, with a familiar setting, allowing the player instant access and a short learning curve. The game is also focused on PvP action, even though this should not be overshadowing the game.

Making a MMORPG requires quite a lot of work when it comes to the setting wherein the players move around, also it requires quite a bit of work on the technology side. Risk awareness should be high when dealing with such a project.

Being a game where vampires and humans fight, there might be a possibility that some could see the game as offensive, especially considering the hunting grounds for vampires and dhampires alike.

Though the game is a fabrication of my own mind, there is a possibility that my sources of inspiration might feel that the game is too heavy influenced by their specific book or product. The concept is under constant revision in order to eliminate such areas, and to make the setting unique.

This part of the documentation belongs to the design part of the game, describing what the player character can and cannot do, listing all the functions that should be available and so on. This part of the document still need a lot of work, and is under construction.

There are three different game modes in "Prey". One being the mission mode, where the player accepts auto generated missions and/or quests in order to improve the player character, find items and money and so on. The second game mode is the PvP mode, where the player challenges and takes on other players as part of the ongoing and seemingly everlasting vendetta between vampires and hunters. The third mode is the social mode, which can be used for a number of different styles of play. Teaming up with other players and hunting AI-characters, socializing at clubs or haunts and so on.

When the player creates his character there should be three different affiliations to choose between. Each affiliation has a set number of subgroups available, and these subgroups are additionaly separated by a number of occupations within the subgroup.

Being a vampire is to be both powerful and vulnerable. The vampires have strenghts that humans cannot even imagine, but they also have serious weaknesses.

A dhampire is a child born of a human mother and a vampire father. dhampires have some of the strengths of vampires, as well as a few weaknesses. They are also influenced by their human heritage.

Humans are weak compared to vampires and dhampires but are given several traits and abilities that will cancel out the biggest differences.

Human and dhampire females and males as well as male vampires have the option to create a third avatar, blending their "genetic code" to create a child. Possibility to create a common offspring, in effect, having children with one another will be one of the features of the Prey game. Children will be created in certain spawning zones (these will require some sort of secure transaction from both parents, in order to prevent "rapes"), where aspiring parents can retire to create their child. The child will share some physical traits with it's parents, but the person inhabiting the child will also be able to affect the physical shape of the child.

Children may not be very interesting for humans or vampires, but it could possibly be the only way for a dhampire to be born. Dhampires are the children of human females and male vampires. Dhampires are, and should be, rare creatures..

(Balance this up by making vampire females powerful in some other respect, since they are the only ones incapable of creating a common offspring.)

There will be a large selection of hunting grounds, both for vampires, dhampires and humans, in order for them to increase xp, and also to team up with other players to perform missions, assignments and quests. Hunting grounds will exist all over the city, but will be regulated in difficulty. Low level characters will rarely have to go to areas where the mobs available are too difficult to beat.

Mobs or Mobile Objects are the different types of creatures available to target and fight against in the hunting areas.

Daytime and nighttime mobs differ in some areas. Playgrounds for instance are populated by families and children during the day, but become the "property" of teenagers and drug dealers at night.

Player versus player conflict will take place in specifically designed locations, and warnings will be given in the form of text messages when a player enters the area. PvP areas can be controlled by either Gangs or Brother and Sisterhoods, such areas will give slight advantages to the faction in control of the area, however not large enough to make the faction invincible.

Hunting grounds for low level characters and players who are squeamish about taking other peoples lives.
Mobs
Rats, cats, kittens, dogs, puppies and the odd crocodile or two.
Pvp
No

Playgrounds are just what they sound like, playgrounds where mothers and fathers take their children to play. Mediul level hunting grounds, where not so squeamish players can find their prey.
Mobs
Children, dogs, mothers, fathers, as well as the odd drug dealer and paedophile.
Pvp
Yes, some areas

Cemeteries are the hangouts of newly created vampires, smaller demons of fright and teenage couples.
Mobs
Smaller demons, teenagers, drug dealders
Pvp
Yes, some areas.

Players who are being specifically cruel and monstrous in their hunting methods (vampires always killing their victims, humans killing other humans and showing no mercy for possessed prey), will become wanted and therefore warrant a larger amount of experience points in PvP fights.

There are a number of social options available for the player in "Prey". The vision of the game is to create an optional "life" for the player. Thus, it would be interesting to allow the players both pregnancies and living quarters in a city of their choice.

Emotes are by now standard in all MMORPGs an allows the player to do or act out certain actions that the player feels appropriate for the occasion.

A list of emotes is forthcoming, and will eventually be added to the webpage.

The game will contain a chat system allowing the player to talk and communicate with other players. This chat system is an integral part of the game and should be easy to access and customize.

Human and dhampire females and males as well as male vampires have the option to create a third avatar, blending their "genetic code" to create a child.

Possibility to create a common offspring, in effect, having children with one another will be one of the features of the Prey game. Children will be created in certain spawning zones (these will require some sort of secure transaction from both parents, in order to prevent "rapes"), where aspiring parents can retire to create their child. The child will share some physical traits with it's parents, but the person inhabiting the child will also be able to affect the physical shape of the child.

Children may not be very interesting for humans or vampires, but it could possibly be the only way for a dhampire to be born. Dhampires are the children of human females and male vampires. Dhampires are, and should be, rare creatures..

Being the social game it is, it´s possible for vampire, dhampire and human alike to dress up in ordinary clothes. This is actually a thing I´ve borrowed from the Anarchy Online game, where a fashion designer (Miiir) is held in high esteem. I´d like to do something similar with "Prey"

When entering the world there will be options to select what kind of game the player wants to play. One of these options is agony rating. Agony rating is the amount of information the player will recieve about his victim. For instance an agony rating of 0 would not give any impression of who the victim is, much like any other MMORPG. An agony rating of 5 would on the other hand give an obituary stating the marital status of the victim as well as if there was any offspring and how long he/ she will be mourned by the people surviving.

In "Prey" the player will have opportunities to cast different kinds of spells and also to prepare for rituals before going into battle. Rituals and Spells are listed here. This list is by no means complete.

It is possible that the magical system will be incorporated in the crafting system, using different items and combining them to create sigils that the player character can charge with psychic energy in order to be able to use it.

Spells are short lived buffers that increase the player characters stamina, strength or other basic traits.

Vampires suffer from a power drain when moving about by day. This can be countered with this long lasting very basic spell.

This is an offensive spell that reduces the victim to the levels usually felt when the vampire moves about by day. This spell can be countered.

This ritual protects a place for a limited time against vampiric trespassing.

With this spell vampires can counter the Deny Entry spell as well as the more powerful ritual Ban Entry, however it will only las t a short while in the latter case.

Bitter Blood will hurt any vampire or dhampire who try to steal blood or life force from a hunter. It´s a less toxic version of Blood Poison.

Rituals are more time consuming spells, that take time and resources to create. A ritual often last for a few hours (or may even be permanent) and give very good benefits for the player character.

Ban Sunlight is a more powerful version of the "Endure Sun" spell. Ban Sunlight requires a pair of sunglasses and a trenchcoat or other type of coat to be worn on top of armour and the like. Armour can not be imbued with this ritual. This ritual is personal, and an object imbued with Ban Sunlight is not possible to give to another player (balance up this, might be ok to give it away too... )

The Glory of the Sun is a more powerful version of "The Power of the Sun" spell. The Glory of the Sun requires a pair of gloves and a trenchcoat or other type of coat to be worn on top of armour and the like. Armour can not be imbued with this ritual. This ritual is personal, and an object imbued with Glory of the Sun is not possible to give to another player.

This very powerful ritual allows the vampire to change the location of the player characters heart making him virtually impossible to immobilise with a stake.

This ritual is used for imbuing melee weaponry, and it specifically focuses on the heart of the vampire. A weapon imbued with Touch of Life will more readily find the heart of the vampire than any other weapon might.

Blood poison will make the hunters or vampires blood toxic to vampires who try to drink it. It is used as a protection for hunters who do not wish to be taken as light snacks.

There are of course a ton of objects the player can use in the game. There are a few categories of objects which makes them differ from each other.

Armour is of course different types of protection against assault. Armour can be imbued with Armour Enhancing Rituals.

Flak jacket is a basic piece of armour protecting the player character from ballistic damage.

Weapons can be divided into a couple of categories. Melee weapons (knives, clubs, stakes and so on), Ranged weapons (crossbows, automatic weapons, handguns), and Special Weapons (enchanted weapons, weapons that can be used in both ranged and close combat and so on).

Basic flame thrower, creates a cloud of flame that engulfs the victim in fire.

Being the social game it is, it´s possible for vampire, dhampire and human alike to dress up in ordinary clothes. This is actually a thing I´ve borrowed from the Anarchy Online game, where a fashion designer (Miiir) is held in high esteem. I´d like to do something similar with "Prey"

As it is possible to decorate your own home in "Prey" it should also be possible to procure furniture. Some will be dropped or located in "dungeons", other will be possible to buy from different types of vendors.

In order to get a grip on what rules go for being a vampire/ hunter, there are a few myths to get a proper hold on.

• Vampires can in fact move about by day, but then their powers are weakened, and they are easy prey to the hunters. Direct sunlight will kill the vampires.
• Holy symbols, such as crucifixes, will only work if the hunter wielding them possess a skill known as "belief". However, a hunter with strong enough faith can summon powers to repel a vampire with two sticks crossed.
• Running water will not stop a vampire.
• Vampires CAN transform into animals and mist, but this requires a skill in said area. In other words, a vampire wishing to transform into a bat will have to have evolved that skill.
• A person bitten and killed by a vampire will turn into another vampire, but only after having ingested vampire blood.
• Ingesting vampire blood without having been bitten will turn the hunter into a ghoul. A ghoul is the vampires slave, and will do whatever the vampire bids. To counter this effect the hunter needs a skill called "will". A hunter with the skill will, cannot be transformed into a ghoul. To release a ghoul from his connection with the vampire, the ghoul must be made to drink holy water. The Ghoul will assume some of the skills that the vampire who "donated" blood possesses. Vampire blood is also higly addictive, comparable to heroin or cocaine.
• The vampire does not need a coffin filled with the soil from his native country to survive.
• Lemons will not kill a vampire.
• Garlic has no effect on vampires.
• Severing the spinal column, and thereby the spinal cord will kill a vampire.
• A stake through the heart will kill a vampire. In fact, any object lodged in the heart of a vampire will kill it. This goes for arrows, spears, beer bottles, you name it… Removing a vampire´s heart will also kill it.
• Burning a vampire will kill it. In fact, the fire will burn bright and supernaturally hot, until it has devoured every shred of vampire.
• Vampires do not wear evening dress all the time. And they do not spell their names backwards to confuse hunters.
• Dhampires exist. These are the get of human females and vampire males. They have some of the powers of a vampire, as well as some of the weaknesses. Unsure however if Dhampires should be selectable as player characters.
• A vampire does not need to count seeds strewn in his way.
• Getting bitten by a vampire HURTS. There is no euphoria involved, no sexual high. Imagine it. Someone bites you with a set of thick canines. It is not pleasant.
• Insensitive to regular weapons. No. Vampires, however, heal faster and more efficiently than human beings.
• Sensitive to silver. Yes, in some bloodlines the allergy to silver runs strong, but not in all of them. Silver is an uncertain weapon.
• Super human strength. Yes. Vampires ARE stronger than humans.
• A vampire cannot cross a threshold to a place where he is not invited. True. But this only counts for private homes. Public places are not included in this rule. There are however rituals that will stop a vampire from entering a public place.

Otherwise in this supernatural world, other creatures of the night might exist. Anne Rice has in her novels outlined the possibilities for immortal beings who become immortal by ingesting a magic potion, otherworldly creatures, also superhuman, who live for a long time and remember their past lives. White Wolf has in their games incorporated almost every known aspect of the supernatural by including mummies, werewolves, werecats, changelings, wraiths, mages and other creatures. Perhaps this game idea could span several different species, such as daemons, werewolves, ghosts and other creatures as well, as the game develops. These will be included in the "Mythology" section in this specification. The mythology section will also contain a description of the city and the world.

´The girl walking through the darkened city huddled in the cold rain. The darkness threatened to overwhelm the wet pavement. Not even the streetlights could give any real light this evening. The girl tightened her grip on her purse and hurried along the sidewalk. All of a sudden there was a noise from the alley next to her. She stopped. There was no noise, no movement. Time seemed to have slowed down to a crawl. From the alley came a soft, husky voice. "Come here… I won´t hurt you". The girl took a few steps toward the darkness. A hand reached out to caress her face. A pale hand, devoid of all colour, nails polished and reflecting the streetlights. She drew her breath as the hand made contact with her face. It was cold, so cold, like death reaching for her. Out of the shadows came a slim, beautiful young woman. Her eyes were locked with the eyes of the girl. "No pain, no fear", the girl repeated the words, but hesitantly. "N..no pain. No fe..fear." "That´s right. Now shhhh… " The paler woman emerged from the shadows, and enclosed the girl in her arms. Her mouth opened to reveal a set of fangs, ebony white. She bent the girls neck slightly, to give her access to the jugular vein, pulsing slowly beneath the skin. Infinitely slowly, the teeth punctured the throat, and the blood began to flow. Greedy sucking noises came from the pale woman, and the girl woke from her stupor. Screaming in pain, she tried to push the woman away from herself, but it was a battle she would loose. The gurgling went on for a while, as the girls screams became weaker and weaker. A thud was heard as the woman let the body go. She left the corpse in a puddle.´

The mythology of "Prey" is a chapter all to itself. I feel it is important to always have a solid background for any game, because this will enrich the mood in the game as well as the immersion aspects. It is especially important here, because in the world of vampires there are a lot of game worlds to compete with.

God created Adam from dust, and a wife for Adam from the same material. This wife was Lilith, a self reliant and self assured woman. Lilith was cast out of the Garden of Eden, because she refused to subordinate to Adam. In other words Lilith predates Eve as the first woman (at least in a biblical interpretation). After Lilith was cast out, she proceeded to mate with a host of daemons, bearing them a hundred daemon children a day. Among these daemon children were the Lamia, female vampires who attacked men and children.

One of these Lamia was Gylu, a beautiful woman, who became so entranced with one of her victims that she pleaded with Lilith to let him live forever, just like her. Lilith, somewhat angered by Gylus request, refused to tell her the secret ritual that would transform the man.

Gylu sneaked into the library of Lilith in the dead of night and stole the scroll containing the ritual. Lilith had become suspicious earlier, and in the middle of the night she decided to remove the scroll from the library. She interrupted Gylu in the theft, and as a result the scroll got caught in the closing window and half of it was lost.

As Lilith stood cursing Gylu, she had escaped with the first half of the scroll to her lover. Invoking the ritual, she didn´t realize that the ritual wasn´t complete, and thus was born the vampire, a creature with no soul, and an eternal bloodlust.

When Gylu came complaining and pleading with Lilith that her lover had turned into a ravenous monster, only hungry for blood, Lilith felt sorry for the girl, and prepared a ritual that would return the soul to the young man who had lost his. She could only dampen the bloodlust, not remove it, and the young man was forever banned from the light of the sun.

This is why vampires when they first arise are so hungry for blood that they cannot see sense or reason, and will indiscriminately kill anything in their way. The young man turned vampire was called Vetala, and he is seen as the first King of Vampires. As all lovers are prone to do, Gylu and Vetala drifted apart. As the centuries passed Vetala sought other lovers, but they all succumbed to his bloodthirst or tired of him within only a few years. Finally he met a young girl named Yasha. Yasha was different from the other girls. Where the other girls had only accepted his bloddthirst, she developed a thirst for his blood all of her own. One night when their lovemaking had been especially rough, Vetala. Drained Yasha of almost all her blood. Realising that his love was dying in his arms, he dabbed her lips with the blood of his heart, pure and untainted. She returned from the brink of death, and drank deeply of his heart. The next night Vetala discovered to his horror, that she was just like him. All life had left her body, and now, her thirst for blood was as great as his. Yasha realized that apart from Vetala thirst for blood, which was only a hunger, Yashas need was a question of survival.

Later Yasha and Vetala tried to recreate the experiment with slaves. They found that only by bringing the victim to a state of near death by exsanguination, and then reviving them by the blood of the heart, could another vampire be born. Thus were made the firstborn.

The firstborn were seven slaves, created by Yasha and Vetala. They were Nineve, David, Yizhak, Amadala, Mali, Helena and Senseti. Nineve was born first and therefore held the right to speak first. Nineve showed signs early to be able to wield the powers of nature by her will. She was a natural mage, her powers strengthened by her death. David was born second, and his talents were more of a physical kind. His body was flexible and his animal instincts strong. David held the power to turn into an animal of his choosing.

Eventually Yasha and Vetala went their separate ways, as all lovers are prone to do. Nothing lasts forever, not even eternal love. But now they both had companions on their paths. Yasha was followed by Nineve, Mali and Senseti, while David, Yizhak, Amadala and Helena followed the footsteps of Vetala. It is said that Vetala ruled in Babylon before its fall. He is also said to have been one of the forces behind the Illuminati. No one has seen or heard from him in a very long time, but legend has it that he is still wandering the earth.

Yasha was said to have become queen in Egypt, long before Egypt was united. She was the savage leader that brought strength to the nation. She was last seen as an aristocrat in france, but she is thought to have perished during the French revolution.

The firstborn went their ways and populated the earth with the dwellers in shadow, the vampires.

The seven firstborn were slaves, and they were created by Yasha and Vetala. They were Nineve, David, Yizhak, Amadala, Mali, Helena and Senseti. At the parting of their creators, the seven frstborn also went their separate ways. Nineve, Mali and Senseti followed Yasha, while Yizhak, Amadala and Helena followed Vetala. Nineve was created first of the seven. She was the wielder of magic. Her bloodline knows the secrets of names and rituals. David was created second, and holds the power of change. His bloodline knows the secrets of changing into animals. Yizhak was created third, and he holds the power of strength. All of his bloodline are stronger than ordinary vampires. Amadala was created fourth. She holds the power of speed and agility. All of her bloodline are supernaturally fast and agile. Mali was created fifth. She holds the power of substance. All of her bloodline can turn to mist at the wave of a hand. Helena was created sixth. Hers is the power of suggestion and of the mind. Her bloodline are all able to hypnotize her victims. Senseti was born last. He holds the power of flight. All of his bloodline can levitate without effort.

The seven firstborn were after a time of wandering with their respective maker released into the world. They plagued the world with their existence. And they created new of their ilk. Soon enough, the offspring of the Firstborn started to fight amongst themselves, and war followed them wherever they went. This war continued until the Inquisitions rise to power as early as the 10th century, under the rule of Empress Theodora. The split within the vampire society led to a near extinction of the vampires so far created by the Firstborn. For the first time in several centuries, the seven gathered together again, to see what could be done in the matter of preserving the People.

Thus was formed the conclave. The conclave set up a network of safe houses in Europe and Asia. If one of the People was hurt or injured, the guardians of the safe house were under obligation to receive them without questions asked. The inquisition was responsible for many deaths among the vampires, and they came close to total extinction during the rise of the Spanish Inquisition. Many perished during those harsh years, where even looking in the wrong direction could get you killed.

During the Inquisition, a few of the priests were initiated in the seventh level of the Jesuits. This was the level aware of Vampires and other supernatural beings. The Jesuits of the seventh level soon formed new brother- and sisterhoods. These were specifically focused on the hunting of vampires. A lot of them have been formed during the Dark Ages, but a few are much younger than that. Some have perished along the way.

Prehistoric

Lilith gives birth to the Lamia, among them Gylu, who creates the first vampire.

Gylu and Vetala parts ways.

Vetala meets Yasha, and she is transformed into a vampire.

The experimentation of Yasha and Vetala leads to the birth of the seven firstborn.

Vetala and Yasha part ways, taking their respective progeny with them.

3800 BC

Vetala is said to have ruled Babylon.

2900 BC

Yasha is reportedly seen in Egypt as one of the forces behind a unification of the country.

60 BC

One of the 7 firstborn is said to have spent long nights in the library of Alexandria. A possibility exists that the literary treasures could have been copied.

1039

The Firstborn form the Conclave in order to avoid total extinction at the hands of the now more and more active inquisition.

1479

Vetala is said to have been seen at the court of Lorenzo di Medici. He is reportedly also painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, but no such painting seems to exist.

1540

The Society of Jesus is founded.

1545

The Jesuits of the Seventh Level are approved.

1567

The Brotherhood of Ganymede is formed. This is the oldest of the Hunter clans.

1789

Yasha is said to have perished during the French revolution.

The cities of "Prey" are turfs divided between the gangs of the firstborn. With the growing population moving to the cities, the vampires realized that cities could support a larger population than the countryside. They also realized that by attacking the weak and helpless they could exist without calling attention to themselves. With the industrial revolution came the ever present threat of being exposed for what they were. New ways of deciding cause of death, time of death and DNA sampling gave the vampires a new reason to hide their preying on mortal society. This lead to the creation on the Conclave, a council consisting of a representative from each of the firstborns lineages. The conclave sets the laws of the vampiric society.

The safe houses eventually turned into clubs, and the clubs turned into hangouts. The turfs will have their special hangouts for the vampires/ hunters, such as clubs where the vampire/ hunter can meet others of their kind. These clubs can either be "official" meeting places, in which case they are treated as "no violence" areas, or they can be inofficial, which means that they can be subjected to attack at any time. This will be the community part of the game. In the haunts the player will be able to communicate with other players as well as exchange information about vampires/ hunters. This could also be a place for bargaining between vampires and hunters.

The Sacred Heart is the nexus for all the Hunters in the city. This little bar is located near the Archdiocese of the city, and the church. The bar is protected by a host of spells, citing the powers of the four Archangels, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael and Uriel. It is virtually impossible to break into if you are a vampire or other supernatural being. This is the most popular place to hang around if you are a hunter, since no other place in the city is as safe as this one.

The Virgin and the Cross is basically your regular pub, although this one has a special history. The Virgin and the Cross used to be a church. The clientele is mostly ordinary humans, but hunters also gather here to have a quiet drink and most of all to feel normal. No vampire sets foot in the pub, since it was built on Holy Ground.

The Boiler Room is a borderline pub where anything goes. It takes it´s name from the club in Hellraiser 3, and the clientele is similar. Usually it consists of bored upper-class youngsters who can afford to buy the latest leather and lace outfits. This is a rather unique hangout, where both hunters and vampires find information and sometimes even cooperate with each other, even though that is rare indeed. The Boiler Room is owned by an independent Dhampire by the name Deirdre Henson.

Thanatos is the equivalent of the Sacred Heart among the vampire gangs. Here, no fighting is allowed, and the conclave has its formal meetings and passes the rules of vampiric society to the residing vampires of the city. It would be pure madness for a hunter to attempt anything with Thanatos. It is the most well guarded site of vampire society.

The Hellfire Club has it´s roots in the British 18th century club with the same name. The original Hellfire Club was created by Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord Sandwich and John Wilkes. Here, it is a vampire hangout, but it´s largest audience are ghouls, bound to different vampires of the city. The club is teeming with fetishists, sadists and masochists, all decked out in the latest latex and leather fashions. The club also hosts some of the city´s richest and most powerful people.

The Rose of Sharon is not a club as such. It is more of a bordello for bored businessmen of the upper class. The Rose of Sharon is owned by Yasha, and is a strategy for her to catch the upper echelons of society. The Rose offers it´s clients vampire lovers of (literally) all shapes and sizes. The payment is usually some of the clients blood. However, the food served at the bordello, as well as all the drinks, contain a small amount of the blood of Yasha, which in effect makes the clients more receptive to Yashas politics.

Holy Ground, surrounding churches and cemeteries is regarded as non fighting areas. Most vampires can actually tread on Holy Ground, the only restrictions go for the most holy of places, such as the Vatican City and the oldest churches around the world. Nonetheless the rules for combat, worked ot among hunters and vampires alike during their many years of strife, forbid fighting in the prescence of God.

It would, for game play reasons, be interesting to add a dimension of belonging to the game. Hence, we introduce gangs. As a vampire you can belong to one out of a number of gangs in the city. Every gang is ruled by one vampire, whose position is only gained by showing strength and using strategy. At any time the gang leader could be replaced by another. One of the objectives as vampire should be to gain the place as leader for a specific gang. This will take the support of other vampires to last.

The Hunters gang is directed by Maya Hunter. The Hunters are the largest gang in the city, followed closely by the Scarabs, directed by Christian Kane. The Hunters are distinguished by an animal charm and grace. Almost every hunter has animal traits more or less visible. They rule the park areas of the city.

Scarabs are ruled by the highly unsympathetic Christian Kane. The Scarabs rule most of the city´s industrial complex, and they also hunt among the homeless of the industrial areas.

Sandmen are the city´s scavengers. They hang out in the alleys and sewers of the city, fighting over scraps. The Sandmen have no real leader.

Yasha´s Angels are a completely female band of vampires, just recently formed by an ancient vampire calling herself Yasha. No one among the city´s vempire population truly believe that this is actually the original Yasha, but her strategies are astoundingly accurate and precise. In less than a year, her gang has moved up from being the laughing stock of the city to being one of the most powerful actors on the scene. Yasha´s Angels owns most of the people in office at the City Hall, and some say they are moving in on the Mayor himself.

Hunters are divided into different chapters, who use different methods to eradicate the vampires from the face of the earth. The objective for a hunter is somewhat less violent than that of a vampire. Rise in the ranks of the chapter and become an elder, a mentor. This should be the ultimate objective for the hunter.

The chapter of the Brothood of Ganymede is human through and through. Being the oldest of the hunter chapters, the Brothers of Ganymede can sometimes be somewhat snobbish about their heritage.

The chapter of the Sisterhood of Artemis is the youngest of the chapters. Created by a dhampire, the Sisterhood is mostly human women. Nonetheless, the chapter is very well reputed among hunters. Usually the Sisters of Artemis take care not to come into close contact with the vampires they hunt. They use arrows and long distance weapons to kill their prey, and they also tend to use more magic than the other Orders. Their current Grand Master is Elizabeth Frieden.

The chapter is the male counterpart of the Sisterhood of Nike. The chapter is made up mainly by male dhampires, seeking redemption from their eternal bloodlust. The Brothers of Ares are nowhere near as fierce as the Sisters of Nike, but they still pack a pretty heavy punch, the lot of them. Recently, the Brotherhood has gone through a heavy crisis. Their Grand Master, Robin Freeman, was exposed as one of the moles within the clan structures. Robin had become a ghoul to Christian Kane, the ruler of the Scarabs. The chapter quickly disposed of their Grand Master, and chose to relocate as well as restructure all of the files they were in possession of. The new Grand Master, Thomas Burr, has strong magic to protect himself and his chapter from this ever happening to them again.

The chapter consists mainly of female Dhampires who have learned to control ther bloodlust. The Sisterhood of Nike are a rough and tumble gang. Being what they are, they show no mercy to bloodsuckers, and they are highly prejudiced against vampires. Anyone calling a Sister of Nike "halfling" or "part time bloodsucker" had better be well versed in the art of battle, or he won´t live long.

These are some of the characters the players can bump into when playing.

Maya Hunter is one of the most influential vampire lords in the city. She has got people in every level of the community. She practically owns the coroners office, as well as the hospitals, which makes her a powerful ally, as well as a dangeros enemy for the rest of the citys vampire population. Maya owns the "Thanatos", one of the largest clubs in town. Maya is close to 500 years old. She is very skilled when it comes to transforming into animals and her long life has devoid her of all traits human. She is cold, logical and above all, she possesses a feral grace, supernatural in its intensity. When feeding, Maya often goes into a frenzy, splattering blood and meat around her. Maya died when she was 19, something that has caused her consternation and frustration during the years. To be taken seriously, Maya often dresses in strict, simple clothes.

Christian Kane is the vampire responsible for the demise of the former Grand Master of the Brotherhood of Ares. He managed to smuggle in his blood in the weekly rations of blood that this order of dhampires use to sustain themselves. Fortunately, or unfortunately for the Brothers of Ares, the Grand Master was one of the victims turned ghouls by this endeavour. Freeman was then milked through and through by Christian Kane, whou found out many of the Orders weaknesses. The warning system within the clan proved efficient, though. Freeman was discovered before Kane had enough information for an attack on the Orders motherhouse. Kane will however not give up. He has his sight on the Brotherhood of Ares. Kane is also the leader of the city´s second largest gang, the Scarabs. Kane´s age when he died was 34. He looks older. Kane is a machiavellian conspirator without counterpart. He has a lot of the city´s ruling men under his thumb, and he is often seen at the Hellfire Club, where he exchanges information and blood with the top politicians of the city.

Yasha truly is Yasha. She has returned from a long sleep, induced by a vampire hunter, right in the middle of the French revolution. Yasha was caught during the day and dragged to an abandoned convent, where the hunter tried to kill her. In the process of their struggle, Yasha and her adversary was thrown into a basement that subsequently crumbled and fell down on the two of them. The hunter died in the fall but Yasha survived and was caught in the ground for a very long time. She was found during an archeological excavation in 1989. She was first catalogued as a mummy, because of her highly dessicated state, but she managed to hypnotize the chief archaeologist into letting her feed on him, and to erase the record of the archaeologists finding her. Now she seeks vengeance on the people who made sure that she spent such a long time under ground. She´s going after the Brotherhood of Ganymede.

Yasha is still thin as a waif due to her long period without sustenance, but she is slowly healing back into the rather voluptuous woman she used to be. She is not very tall, and her hair reaches her waist. She has a heart shaped face, and huge black eyes, made even bigger by her starved state. She eats constantly.

Father Joseph Cage is the priest running the bar. It might seem odd having a priest running a bar, but it is not only a bar but also a place where the hunters come to be forgiven of their ceaseless killing, and to take the load off from their regular life of slaying vampires and those associated with them. Father Cage keeps an eye on his patrons and gives them regular updates on the latest news about what is happening in the vampire world.

Melanie Carras is the official owner of Thanatos. She is human, but she belongs to the ruler of the city´s largest gang. Melanie has taken on some of the wolfish grace her vampire lord has, but she tries to keep her more animal sides under control. However a few years back, Melanie was suspected in the killing and maiming of several children, but she was set free when the police discovered that the strength needed to perform some of the deeds done was far beyond the capabilities of a woman her size (Melanie was during the child killings under heavy influence of her lords blood, it is very possible that she could have performed the killings).

Elizabeth Frieden is the current Grand Master of the Order of Artemis. She is a tall and imposing woman. Her slender body is well muscled, and she moves much like a dancer. She has retired from active duty because of a broken knee, that left her with a permanent limp. She rules the Order with the same discipline and strength that she slew vampires. Elizabeth has drawn back from her Order´s former cooperation with the Order of Ares, but this is a purely tactical move, understood by the community of both Orders.

Simon de Vency is a slim, muscular old man. He has been the Ganymede Clans Grand Master for close to 20 years, ever since he retired from active hunting duty. Simon knows a lot of the vampire independent leaders of the city, and he is often seen at fundraisers for the homeless and destitute. Simon is a stern and unforgiving clan leader. He has his share of scars, and he knows that a hunter not ready for the task will be killed withot mercy. He has seen countless of his less fortunate sisters and brothers perish at the taloned hands of his arch enemies, the vampires. This has made him cynical and emotionally closed.

Thomas is one of the youngest of the Grand Masters of the clans. He s merely 47 years of age, but an unfortunate leg injury has kept him from the field for quite a while. Thomas is a large man, in every respect. He never does anything without following it through to the last letter. He killed his former Grand Master Robin Freeman, and this has left him tired and worn. However, his awesome stability is just what the Brotherhood of Ares need in this time of crisis.

Deirdre Henson is one of the few independent Dhampires in the city. She owns the Boiler Room and some other restaurants and hot venues downtown, which gives her enough leverage to hold her own against the vampires of the city.

Concept art is often very influential on mood and setting in a game. Gameplay is all very well, and quite important, but to really capture the style of a game, good concept art is a necessity. I've had help in creating conceptual designs that will give a good idea of the kind of mood I would like to create. Enjoy.

These images are not really descriptive on how I would like the game to look, it's more a feeling.

A beautiful set of color images from Jenny Hellström. She agreed to help me create a feel for the game, and I think these images are a very good start.

This prey is not yet available.

The reference section deals with different types of visual, musical or literary references from where I feel the game should gather it´s look and feel. More references are upcoming.

Brom - Good coloring and somewhat grotesque.
Dave McKean - Chaotic and unreal.
Barron Storey - Also chaotic and fleshy.
Bill Sienkiewicz - Thin veils of water colour mixed with ink and harsh paper.
Gustav Klimt - colors and style.

Heart of Darkness - Wench
Ava Adore - Smashing Pumpkins
Prey - Seraphim Shock

Dracula - Bram Stoker - Classic vampire literature
Bloodshift - Garfield Reeves Stevens - different take on vampires
Anno Dracula - Kim Newman - yet another different take on vampires.

Blade - Dhampire hunter fighting his bloodlust and his enemies, the vampires.
Kindred the Embraced - TV-series based on Vampire the Masquerade.
Ultraviolet - British TV-series, creating an agency set to wipe the vampires out