Both approaches have problems;

“I can’t know anything”

The main issue here is that it requires an artificial interference in the roleplaying and information exchange between characters. If an Ordo Dracul character tells an Invictus character about the Order of the Axe it doesn’t make sense for that Invictus character to forget the information within the month. But neither is a five or ten minute conversation about the Axe a legitimate justification for the Invictus PC to gain an Ordo Dracul related specialisation.

“I know everything”

Occult specialisations of different character types should be very difficult to obtain. It should be a rarity for a PC to have in-depth knowledge of a covenant or clan that is not their own. It’s important to retain a certain degree of mystery within each genre. The Crone should be mysterious to a member of the Invictus, the Ventrue in many ways unknown to a member of the Daeva. It should be even more difficult to obtain detailed specialised knowledge of a different venue.

And so we need a happy medium, and essentially a happy medium is pretty much the way that we assimilate knowledge in our real lives – we pick up general knowledge, snippets of information, often enough to hold an intelligent conversation (or fake it) on a topic. We’re not specialists, but we’re not completely ignorant.

Within the Requiem genre that might equate to the following; a knowledge that there is a bloodline called the Khaibit that has some power that lets them manipulate shadows. That the Ordo Dracul have some kind of militaristic arm that they called the Axe. That werewolves exist.

An Occult specialisation isn’t required for any of the above knowledge. A specialisation suggests exactly that – you are a specialist. You have researched, taken notes, studied at length and have an in-depth knowledge of your subject. A non-specialist might know several pieces of information about the Circle of the Crone, a true specialist would know much of the information available in the relevant covenant book. Only the latter would require a specialisation listed on their character sheet, and the appropriate High approval for that specialisation.

There are two provisos here which should be taken into account;

“When snippets become specialisations”

If you pick up enough snippets of information you might reach a stage where a specialisation would be warranted. This is ultimately a judgement call for a player and their local ST. Does the knowledge you have picked up about the workings of the Invictus go significantly above and beyond the usual? If so, then you should start thinking about a specialisation. If you make a specific decision not to buy the specialisation then you should think about “forgetting” some of the finer detail.

“When OOC knowledge influences what your character believes”

Beware also of subconsciously filtering out information that you know out-of-character is untrue. It’s easy to do without even thinking about it – you have an in-character discussion where your Carthian is told that the Ordo Dracul have three internal groups – the Axe, the Mysteries, and the Worshippers of Thor. You’ve read the Ordo Dracul book and you know that the stuff about the Worshippers of Thor is rubbish and, without really thinking about it you discount it. But that’s obviously not a legitimate reflection of what your character would do – Bob the Carthian has never read the Ordo book, he’s got no idea that the Worshippers of Thor don’t exist.

So, to summarise – it is appropriate to know snippets of information, to retain bits and pieces of information (including inaccuracies), and to pass that knowledge on, without requiring an approval. An approval is needed for when you have an in-depth knowledge of a different character type – a genuine specialisation.

And if you’re unsure about what kind of knowledge requires a specialisation, contact your ST chain or the relevant genre AAMST.

Robin Cannon
UK02102071
AAMST Settings: Requiem (Chronicle)