There is a very basic structure that all the old and classic World of Darkness, drawing through all the editions and books. However, I never have seen this part played straight and in fact, I have trouble finding many rules that actually use that stat at all:
My problem lies in the "Appearance" score. Everybody has it from 0 to 5 (with some gifts, abilities or trickery some more is possible), but how to play it 'right' in a group? This 'quantified' appearance does make all sorts of wonky things. Some from my gaming appearance:
- The Appearance 5 (specialization: alluring) Verbena, who seems to have little to no impact on entering any room. The player constantly asks between rounds "Why don't people react to a model entering?" My Son of Ether doesn't react too much usually for on one side he knows what kind of magic she is capable of, and on the other side, he is more a technophile.
- The Appearance 0 Nosferatu. I have seen several times how a newborn Nosferatu player entered the local vampire court and did not even get any reaction out of ordinary from any of the gathered vampires, not even a whispered 'oh, another one of those'.
- An Appearance 5 (specialization: innocent) Intelligence 1, feline born Simba that I played did actually gain some looks – mostly by using the little exploit to go appearance 6 via shifting to the Sokto form, that gave a straight +1 to appearance. With playing her totally naive, I actually made the ST and other players give some comments about her looks, even if most were along the line "She ain't got it in the head but in the looks."
Now… How to actually play the appearance score straight and right according to the RAW? Where are the rules for actually using this score hidden? Are there more actions than things to gain a good 'first impression' via Appearance+[Subterfuge/Etiquette/Style/whatever] are tied to Appearance? Does it matter if you play the 1st/2nd/Revised conglomerate or the 20th Anniversary Variant?
Best Answer
What is Appearance?
Appearance is a long-troubled stat, which in WoD 20th Anniversary and at the tables of many reasonable GMs has been interpreted as "ability to give a good impression based on nonverbal cues". That includes the rulebook-defined first impressions as well as upholding dress codes, dressing for effect and subtle behaviour to complement that. At many tables this list is expanded to include gesturing, body language etc. when in a social situation.
Rulebook recommended uses
You are right in that you replace Manipulation or Charisma with Appearance when first meeting any new NPCs. That effect is supposed to last the entire scene. Some supernatural powers also require an Appearance roll, notably Vampire's Presence discipline. There is also an understanding that seduction and tests that represent physical attraction should be governed by this stat, but such themes are not common to every table, especially that the idea of roleplaying sexual-adjacent themes is generally looked at unfavourably by players. Finally, if the chronicle is socially themed, GM might order Appearance rolls for everyone if the party finds themselves in a social situation - such as a party or a formal dinner - to determine how well their looks fit the dress code.
Passive uses are fairly obvious, but require a healthy dose of work on the part of the GM. A perceptive GM should note down a couple strong and weak points for each character and regularly call them up in the descriptions. Appearance should definitely be one of them if it's exceptionally low or high, but so is experience, manners or other oddities.
Other uses I've seen
Appearance can also be used to adjudicate the use of non-verbal skills. Examples include gesturing (stealthy, obvious or to someone unfamiliar), wearing clothes in a certain way (to tantalise or to hide a gun in a coat), even having appropriate wearable miscellanea for the situation (Do you have a light or handkerchief?). Sometimes certain situations call for your Appearance to act alongside other social skills - for example, if you are speaking to a crowd, the usual way is to use Manipulation (by speaking to sway them), but you can also use Charisma (to appeal to emotions without addressing the beliefs and convictions of the crowd). Why not use Appearance to play on basic instincts? ("Look at this lass, tiny and vulnerable, we gunna get'em bastards!") I am a great fan of replacing Abilities with each other. Picture a situation where a lady is trying to fight a mugger while wearing a tight skirt. Her strength or dexterity matters little, it's more about how used she is to her garments restricting her movements. Same with a bloke trying to hide a shotgun in large trousers - while this can be done, Appearance should dictate how obvious the attempt is.
Bottom line
And this is generic advice. If a skill does not see much use, mention it "passively" more often. If you can't find uses for it, make some up. Finally, it might be that your group is just fine with Appearance not making a huge difference - if they are happy with it, don't fix what is not broken.
PS: Also, crediting BESW, seeking system coherence in WoD is a futile endeavour. You might want to spend the time to hack the system instead and play it in a way that suits your group. WoD is known to not be very congruent or accommodating - if you want to play it, you need to figure out what works for you and your group and then use it how you see fit.