Mentors & Students
The best stories are those that make use of the relationships between the main characters to create compelling drama. The mentor-protégé relationship is an excellent plot device that should not be overlooked.
All but the most Aloof Dragon is someone’s Mentor, protégé or both. Newer members of the covenant are always taken under the wing of at least one more senior Dragon; if more than one, there is still usually one who is most important. The newcomer’s entire future in The Ordo Dracul can depend heavily on her relationship with her Mentor, especially if her Mentor is notably influential, such as a Sanguine Philosopher of Terror. Which secrets she will be entrusted with, what relics and Resources she will be given access to, how quickly she will rise through the ranks, and when and in what manner she will be permitted to study the Coils all hinge on who her Mentor is and the nature of the relationship she has with that individual. If that relationship is strained, the protégé is likely to discover progress slow and possibly even forestalled forever. If it is a strong and active relationship with open communication and frequent contact, she may be rewarded with unusual access and a speedy promotion.
Storytellers could treat the Mentor as a signature character who can and should be involved with the characters (most often, a coterie of new Dragons will fall under the aegis of a single mentor). The Mentor makes demands of the group, sometimes menial and sometimes quite demanding, but in return she offers all the things that drew the characters to The Ordo Dracul in the first place. Should the players neglect the mentor-protégé relationship, the consequences should be real and should be of a nature that causes the players to realize just how important it is to repair and maintain their characters’ relationship with their Mentor. Characters who demand too much from a Mentor (actually, any demands are unwelcome) should discover that is not how things work. It is just as much the Mentor’s responsibility to teach their protégé how to be a proper student as it is to teach her the covenant’s secrets.
Characters that have been members of The Ordo Dracul for some time probably still have a Mentor, but the relationship is no longer so demanding. By and large, the characters are left to their own devices, but should their activities result in problems, most mentors will involve themselves if for no other reason than to protect their own reputations. Most, however, actually do feel a lasting responsibility for their protégés — former or current — and will take an interest in any of their actions that can bring trouble. Just as important, mentors will continue to provide support and guidance when the protégés need it. Should the characters achieve something worthy of recognition, the Mentor will be the first to notice and publicize the achievement. The flip-side to this is that some unscrupulous mentors will seek to share in the recognition, or even steal it for themselves — possibly threatening their former charges with some form of blackmail should they object.
Older characters make good candidates for being mentors. Their protégés should be treated with just as much care and attention as the characters’ Mentor. They require time and attention from the characters, and often require their interference if and when a protégé happens to go astray or otherwise become ensnared in some trouble. Saving a foolish protégé who chose to get too close to a secret werewolf ceremony can become an entire story on its own. Just as the characters began as a coterie, so too can one or more of them have their own small coterie to Mentor. This can become the basis for the entire chronicle, with the onus now on the characters to teach the fledglings and defend them against intra-covenant rivalries and schemes, let alone all the other dangers inherent in the Requiem. Storytellers can easily ratchet up the drama by introducing elements familiar to espionage: spies, double agents, bribery, extortion, theft and propaganda. Doing so is not only dramatic but also allows the full scope of the Danse Macabre to be explored by characters who may sometimes feel entirely too steeped in mundane academic concerns.
All but the most Aloof Dragon is someone’s Mentor, protégé or both. Newer members of the covenant are always taken under the wing of at least one more senior Dragon; if more than one, there is still usually one who is most important. The newcomer’s entire future in The Ordo Dracul can depend heavily on her relationship with her Mentor, especially if her Mentor is notably influential, such as a Sanguine Philosopher of Terror. Which secrets she will be entrusted with, what relics and Resources she will be given access to, how quickly she will rise through the ranks, and when and in what manner she will be permitted to study the Coils all hinge on who her Mentor is and the nature of the relationship she has with that individual. If that relationship is strained, the protégé is likely to discover progress slow and possibly even forestalled forever. If it is a strong and active relationship with open communication and frequent contact, she may be rewarded with unusual access and a speedy promotion.
Storytellers could treat the Mentor as a signature character who can and should be involved with the characters (most often, a coterie of new Dragons will fall under the aegis of a single mentor). The Mentor makes demands of the group, sometimes menial and sometimes quite demanding, but in return she offers all the things that drew the characters to The Ordo Dracul in the first place. Should the players neglect the mentor-protégé relationship, the consequences should be real and should be of a nature that causes the players to realize just how important it is to repair and maintain their characters’ relationship with their Mentor. Characters who demand too much from a Mentor (actually, any demands are unwelcome) should discover that is not how things work. It is just as much the Mentor’s responsibility to teach their protégé how to be a proper student as it is to teach her the covenant’s secrets.
Characters that have been members of The Ordo Dracul for some time probably still have a Mentor, but the relationship is no longer so demanding. By and large, the characters are left to their own devices, but should their activities result in problems, most mentors will involve themselves if for no other reason than to protect their own reputations. Most, however, actually do feel a lasting responsibility for their protégés — former or current — and will take an interest in any of their actions that can bring trouble. Just as important, mentors will continue to provide support and guidance when the protégés need it. Should the characters achieve something worthy of recognition, the Mentor will be the first to notice and publicize the achievement. The flip-side to this is that some unscrupulous mentors will seek to share in the recognition, or even steal it for themselves — possibly threatening their former charges with some form of blackmail should they object.
Older characters make good candidates for being mentors. Their protégés should be treated with just as much care and attention as the characters’ Mentor. They require time and attention from the characters, and often require their interference if and when a protégé happens to go astray or otherwise become ensnared in some trouble. Saving a foolish protégé who chose to get too close to a secret werewolf ceremony can become an entire story on its own. Just as the characters began as a coterie, so too can one or more of them have their own small coterie to Mentor. This can become the basis for the entire chronicle, with the onus now on the characters to teach the fledglings and defend them against intra-covenant rivalries and schemes, let alone all the other dangers inherent in the Requiem. Storytellers can easily ratchet up the drama by introducing elements familiar to espionage: spies, double agents, bribery, extortion, theft and propaganda. Doing so is not only dramatic but also allows the full scope of the Danse Macabre to be explored by characters who may sometimes feel entirely too steeped in mundane academic concerns.
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