CiC in 1840's Northern Mexico

[Conquistador]

Okay, some thoughts to put my Gothic Horror figures into my Old West/Mexico terrain...

Okay, large village, small town population.

How often does a Werewolf feed?  Once every 28 days?

How often does a Vampire Feed?  Once a month?  A week?

How often does a monster like a ghoul feed?

Not to be too macbre but does a Vampire feeding get more time to the next feeding if it's an adult versus a child or baby?

Does the Vampire have to feed more often if the victim is (spelling?) dissolute?  Less often with a holy/chaste/virgin victim?

Thinking of a campaign...

Gracias,

Glenn

[Cory]

I've always assumed a werewolf gets nutrition throughout the month - the lunar change means more of a hunt and given the state of the remains usually left in movies, games, and literature very little is eaten. I have seen the same behavior in wolves with frenzy kills. Dead carcass with very little if any consumed.

With vampires, anything goes but the mathematics makes a slow feeding cycle or a more rapid cycle with prolonged hibernation stand up to player questions better.

As to ghouls - 10 to 15 pounds of meat a day (6000 or so calories) was the standard rule of thumb for the nearly all meat diet of the mountain men so I would go with a similar number. That means some scrawny fellow who died after a prolonged illness would barely feed a dozen ghouls for a day. I also use the same numbers for rage zombies.

As to the last question, that depends on what the vampire is feeding on. Calorie wise I'm not sure blood would suffice, but if it is draining a soul or life force then perhaps the purity of a soul might be the measure of how much it takes. Again, with vampires you have broad leeway, just be consistant.

[Conquistador]

Thanks for the feedback.

The setting for the game(s) would be a population of reasonable size with several Holy Sites (in towna nd along the "roads"  (native and Spanish and/or Mexican saints/sites.)   Working name is La Aldea de San Dolores, the village of San Dolores (see below.)  Might make aldea into pueblo, still tinkering.

My concern about feeding cycles was not to drain the small town/large village so fast that there was no "seed" for the long term.

Right now I working out the factions/players/key NPCs.

You have the Alcalde who wants to retain political power and (perhaps) move up into higher social/political circles.

The Local indio Shaman as he tries to retain the old ways and sees the dark forces as a threat to the native way of life like the "Spanish" influences.

The military (law enforcement) present to deal with the presence of a reported "revolutionary"/Bandit element.

The local wannabes - bandits/freedom fighters.

The Villagers - just want to farm/marry/breed/live.

Local Vampire (working on making this a Mexican/western flavored band) and minions.

"Immigrant Vampire" = a foreigner with powerful political connections.  This band will be fleeing from Old World foes and seeking refuge/new start in Mexico.

Were wolf (or two bands, depends,) setting up shop away from The Church (witch hunter types.)

A Mad Doctor type with attendant creatures.

The local priests representing the orthodoxy of the faith.

The local order of Brothers associated with a Holy site/unrecognized "saint" (possibly unrecognized for a reason?)

A local Convent of the Sisters of San Dolores.  Dolor is a Spanish word for pain.  'Nuf implied?

Half he fun is working out the background.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Smith]

Chaos in Chihuahua, eh?

I'm been building a Mexican VSF army based along vaguely similar lines (albeit about 20 years further on). Elements I've considered including (or have already included):

• Coatl – feathered serpent – I used the D&D Miniatures one, but this might be a little more fantastical than you're looking for. I treat it as a Mexican thunderbird.
• Cipactli – crocodile/toad demon – I opted for raptor-like dinosaurs as the offspring of this primeval beast.
• San Patricios – Irish deserters from the US Army, who ended up fighting for Mexico. It's a squeeze to get them into the 1860s, but they're bang-on for the '40s)

Admittedly, I'm working on the premise that Santa Anna makes an unspeakable pact with an Aztec god, so the Aztec theme is played up a lot more:

1854 – President Santa Anna ousted by the Ayutla Rebellion.
1858 – Start of the Three-Year War: conservative factions reject the liberal Constitution of 1857. Santa Anna returns from exile in Cuba and is met by loyal elements of the army at Tulum.
1859 – Santa Anna and a dozen men venture into the jungle. Thirteen weeks later, Santa Anna returns with no soldiers, just a single man – an ancient indigena. Santa Anna orders his troops to march on Mexico City.
1860 – Santa Anna's force, having grown during his march on the capital, draws up around the city. Despite being vastly outnumbered, Santa Anna approaches the town with the indigena and offers a choice – their surrender or their annihilation. Mexico City falls. The cathedrals and churches are desecrated. The garrison, the citizens and the government are massacred...
186x – Santa Anna is Emperor of Mexico. The worship of the ancient Aztec gods is the state religion, and work has begun on a great temple in the centre of Mexico City. The priesthood works in the shadows, acting as a secret police. Opponents to his regime do not disappear... they are sacrificed on the altars of his new temples, and their remains displayed in the Plaza de la Costitucion.

Beyond that, I find it hard not to justify the inclusion of a luchador (at least one) in any game set in or near Mexico...

[Conquistador]

Chaos in Chihuahua, eh?

I'm been building a Mexican VSF army based along vaguely similar lines (albeit about 20 years further on).
<snip>
Beyond that, I find it hard not to justify the inclusion of a luchador (at least one) in any game set in or near Mexico...

Well for VSF the luchador seems like a given.             

Gracias,

Glenn

[mysteriousbill]

Let us not forget Zorro or some other masked avenger.

[Conquistador]

Let us not forget Zorro or some other masked avenger.

I have the four Zorro figures on the other thread plus the Tin Soldier one as a child hero plus El Capitán so I am good.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Hildred Castaigne]

Have you by any chance seen 'Ravenous'?
It's a horror film set in a U.S. army outpost in the Sierra Nevadas in 1847 (Mexican territory according to some at the time) and there are parts where it cuts back to the main character fighting in the Mexican-American War. Not sure how historical it actually is, but I really enjoyed it. Might just be good for some ideas or inspiration.
Besides, Colonel Ives would be a fantastic to throw in alongside your vampires and werewolves! 

[v_lazy_dragon]

Very interesting idea - I was considering doing something similar for haloween one year. I can definitely recomend ravenous - Col Icves style Wendigoes might make for a very intersting alternative to 'standard' ghouls!
I look forward to seeing how this progresses...

[Conquistador]

Have you by any chance seen 'Ravenous'?
It's a horror film set in a U.S. army outpost in the Sierra Nevadas in 1847 (Mexican territory according to some at the time) and there are parts where it cuts back to the main character fighting in the Mexican-American War. Not sure how historical it actually is, but I really enjoyed it. Might just be good for some ideas or inspiration.
Besides, Colonel Ives would be a fantastic to throw in alongside your vampires and werewolves!  

When I researched the movie I had several ideas that I may incorporate, muchas gracias.

As for the movie, I am going to have  to pass.  I made a personal choice long a go to avoid R rated movies unless there was a strong reason that I felt made it worthwhile.  I have made 3 exceptions and two of them were the wrong choice.  So while the research was certainly worthwhile for game ideas I will stick to the written sources rather than the movie.

I have 15 years as in nursing (hospital - code blue team member for many years, Orthopedic Technician surgical assistant experience in the OR, and EMT,) plus all the research I do/have done as a DOD/IC analyst to fill my dreams with nightmare images so the written summaries/reviews were pretty complete for my needs.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Connectamabob]

La Llorona:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Llorona

I also kinda wanna say Coffin Joe, but he's Brazilian, not Mexican. Still probably fit right in though.