Domain Actions

I notice that using ones domain requires a downtime action.  What does this mean.  How does one use a domain?  Does this mean that simply living on your domain costs an action point?

I believe the domain background can be used to make it more difficult for other vampires to feed there unnoticed. I assume this is what that meant, but I would like clarification as well.

If possible, I would just like to know what I can expect from the background in general. If you need to actually use the background to prevent people from poaching, does it do anything passively? Does it do more than one thing or is it exclusively about stopping poaching?

My understand is that having the background passively gives you claim in vampiric society to a specific area. Actively using it stops others from feeding there easily. I suspect that having it would also mean that you have a good knowledge of what lies within that domain. But there are many other angles that one could look at having domain and what it does for you. It is good to explore these concepts here.

Having the background does not have any bearing on my claim. That is something the prince can grant or bestow, it isn't tied to your sheet. If it was, they prince could not remove domain from someone without stripping XP from their sheet. Moreover, being granted domain does not require you spend XP to maintain it. The background represents physical control over the region, not a political claim. At least that is how it has been explained to me.

Hmm, your right. Since it isn't listed verbatim in the rules here, here is the description from the book.

"Domain is the physical territory, almost always within a town or city, to which you control access for the purpose of feeding. You can't keep the living inhabitants from going about their business, but you can keep watch yourself. You can also have allies or Servants specifically look for unfamiliar vampires and alert you when they find some. Domain refers specifically to the land and properties on it, as opposed to the people who might dwell there (which is the emphasis of Herd). Domain plays an important part in Cainite society. Vampires who lack significant domain seldom earn respect, but it isn't an automatic entitlement to status among Cainites.
Each level of domain reduces the difficult of feeding checks by one trait for you and those you allow in. It also addes to your starting (not maximum) blood pool. If you use the domain security option described here, each trait of domain security raises the difficult of feeding checks by one Trait for uninvited vampires.
Characters in a coterie and share their domain resources for better results. Six to eight pooled traits secure all of a small town as a domain. Ten to 15 pooled traits secure an important but not huge trading destination or center of pilgrimage. A city like Rome (let alone Cairo or Baghdad) would require many hundred of pooled domain traits."

So it make it easier to feed in, and makes you start the session with more blood. Actively using it makes it harder for others to feed in.

Interesting. Well, I guess I understand how the book represents it. Do the STs want to weigh in on this at all? If not I will just take that description as valid and move along.

Spending a use of domain has the following effects

You can watch, hamper or stop vampires from feeding in your domain depending on your level of control

You can get information about your domain, including rumors and other plot bits

If you use an action point to feed in domain it increases the blood gained depending on the amount you posses.

So does domain have any passive effect or must it be actually used to gain any effect?

Since the passive rule of Domain is removed because of feeding rules for the game, we'll allow players to have one free action point that affects domain only for every two points of domain, rounded up.

So 1-2 gets 1

3-4 gets 2

5-6 gets 3

If you share domain, you share these action points

Not to be one to argue with free stuff, but I feel that having domain effectively run itself removes some of the responsibilities of having a lot of domain. This basically means that no matter how much land I control I have the same ease in managing it. Since domain doesn't provide control over mortals in any way, I don't see where that is coming from.

Of course I won't complain if this is just a hey here is free stuff thing. But I do like it when it fits into the world nicely.

Agreed, the whole point of the vassal - lord system is that some have too much to handle, so they grant others the right of use in exchange for the responsibility of maintenance. Being able to hold infinite domain makes no sense. Instead you should either be forced to focus your attention on specific portions of your domain, or get subjects to seneschal your affairs for you (I knew there was a point to that ability).

I'd be amused if Domain control was affected by ranks in Seneschal. It makes thematic sense, plus it forces people to by Seneschal, which is pretty awesome.