I'm currently running a Vampire the Masquerade chronicle using the 5th Edition rule-set for a small group of fellow role-players.
Our primary chronicle is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to bring them back under Camarilla control. This however will be the first one of several planned interludes which will centre on the expansion of Baron Michael Tomassio's 'Galerie Sanguine' franchise to other domains.
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The now obligatory warning bit - These session write-ups will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. There are however a list of potential triggers listed before the introduction. I've also used actual photographs to represent some characters which I'll give acknowledgements to at the end if I've any idea who they are.
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Links to our main campaign, with a summary of each session can be found HERE.
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The now obligatory warning bit - These session write-ups will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. There are however a list of potential triggers listed before the introduction. I've also used actual photographs to represent some characters which I'll give acknowledgements to at the end if I've any idea who they are.
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Links to our main campaign, with a summary of each session can be found HERE.
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Links
The 'Session Zero' of this mini-chronicle can be found HERE,
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The PC's
Thomas Caldwell, Ventrue
Francis Maranzano, Lasombra
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The Storyteller
As everyone else...
If I think something needs a bit of out of character explanation then those will get a storytellers note that will helpfully be in red. Introductory pieces that I read to the group are in Blue. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name or faction beneath their picture.
Trigger Warnings for This Session: Blood (Obviously).
Introduction
Thomas Caldwell is to be Sarina Harrington's +1 for the exclusive exhibition of the newest work by the artist 'Malaki'. She has also obtained an extra invitation for Francis Maranzano who is down as her 'security'. Apparently this has raised no objections from the Exhibition organisers, which raises some questions about just how influential Sarina really is.
Scene Twelve - Image
The name 'Harrington' rang a bell with Francis so he has renewed some old acquaintances in order to see what he can find out about her, and so had done a little research. She had a brief tenure as a harpy in Chicago, where he had a few contacts from his days as a mobster.
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| Bret Stryker - Toreador Sire of Sarina Harrington |
Bret worked toward helping other young dancers by supporting them monetarily. He was the patron of a number of burgeoning dance studios, one for kids from lower-income households, one for aspiring ballet dancers, and another for pole dancing and strip acts.
Sarina had followed his example and similarly sponsored a number of such establishments around the city, as well as dancers in many exclusive clubs around San Francisco. It was likely this which had helped her gain ground as a Harpy. Having contacts in the club scene of a city was a good way to ingratiate oneself with a cities kindred as this was an easy path to social situations that facilitated feeding.
She also had a working relationship with Patrick Hodge, so presumably some of her 'dancers' had a side-line as escorts, and presumably she got a 'cut' of their earnings.
Her loyalty to Anya was well known, almost too well known, in fact. In his experience the only reason for standing behind another kindred was to make it easier to stab them in the back.
They had also learned that Malaki's gallery was called the Angelico, presumably after the famous Gothic painter of the 14th century Fra Angelico and was in a sturdy old brick building in the centre of the district in which their own establishment was based.
A parcel had arrived for Francis Maranzano. The note simply read "Mr Maranzano ,Some suitable attire for the upcoming occasion, Sarina x."
It contained a suit, two pairs of trousers, two shirts and ties. They had been tailored, yet fit Francis perfectly. Apparently Sarina had an eye for detail.
Thomas recognised the suits as from the 'House of Bijan', an expensive clothing outlet on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. It was familiar as his own suit came from the same place. He was also aware that their suits start in the region of 9,500 dollars and were made to order. This made the acquiring of one, and a tailored one at that, within such a limited timeframe, all the more impressive.
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| House of Bijan at Night |
A third possibility occurred to Francis. "It looks like she doesn't want us to embarrass her at the event..."
Francis then summoned one of his ghouls and sent them to search for pictures of Malaki, and if possible, his entourage. He was keen to put names to any faces that might be at the unveiling, or at the very least identify any of Malaki's cult that were also in attendance.
"What's so fucking special about this guy anyway?" asked Francis conversationally. "A hundred and fifty thousand dollars a painting." replied Thomas, before elaborating. "He did a lot of borderline sacrilegious paintings. Reimagining biblical stories in a less than flattering manner. His most infamous was a rendition of 'The Judgement of Solomon' where the baby actually gets cut in half, rather than it just being threatened..."
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| Painting with Blood |
Storytellers Note - That is from one of the first stories we did. You can read it HERE but it's a bit rough as I wasn't as tight with the formatting as I became later...
Francis's ghoul reappeared with several pictures of Malaki and his followers that he had printed out for his regnant. He'd given up sending things to Francis electronically as invariably something went wrong as soon as his Lasombra master touched a phone.
"He looks like a pretentious twat..." commented Francis.
"When people pay the price of a small house, or a big car, for some paint you throw at a canvass, you can afford to look a bit smug..." countered Thomas.
Scene Thirteen - Last Minute Surprises
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| Elissa Ballard - Ghoul? 'Friend' of Sarina Harrington |
"Sarina apologises but there has been a slight change of plan..." she hands you an invitation. "...I am to be your escort for the evening and Sarina will join us later. Her presence has been required by her...friend, Anya, it was a matter of some urgency apparently..."
"My name is Elissa Ballard, I am a close friend of Sarina and am therefore aware of the needs of her 'special' friends. My throat is off-limits though..." she winked, then smiled. "...our driver is similarly well informed, though much less talkative than I..."
Francis drew a blank, but Thomas recognised Elissa as an up and coming model in the San Francisco' scene. The fact that she got an invite wasn't a surprise. He imagined she was on a lot of peoples 'must have' guests lists. What Francis did notice was that the driver had a scar across his throat. It looked deep and the Lasombra suspected that the driver couldn't talk at all.
"So how do you know Sarina then?" asked Thomas
"We're old friends, she helped me move from dancing into modelling, and we've become very close since then. So are you both from Los Angeles?" she said, quite obviously wanting to change the subject.
Thomas answered first. "I've been there quite a while, but this opportunity seemed to good to miss..."
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| Horatio Ballard - Ventrue Childe of Lodin |
"Me? I'm from Chicago originally. My family has some dubious connections and I wanted to separate myself from them as much as possible. Of course, I keep in touch, making enemies of such people is a bad idea, they're old school gangsters to be honest so they have a code of sorts. Anyway, enough about me..."
Maranzano concluded that it was possible, though maybe a longshot, that she was a mortal ancestor of Horatio Ballard, a kindred businessman from Chicago who had had a recent fall in status due to considerable financial losses by his company Ballard Industries.
Francis decided to try and confirm or deny his own conjecture with some probing of his own.
"I knew some Ballard's in my old career. They had a reputation as tough businessmen who it was a very bad idea to cross. Sometimes fatally so..."
Elissa's reply confirmed what Francis had suspected.
"They're not that bad if you're family..."
David Geduld - Ventrue, Sire of Thomas, Presumed Destroyed
This also got Thomas's attention. His sire, David Geduld, was a childe of Lawrence Ballard, who was, in turn, a childe of Horatio Ballard. Thomas didn't really believe in coincidences and had now became suspicious that Sarina might be playing a larger game than he had originally suspected.
He had also heard a rumour that Horatio Ballard could only feed from members of his mortal family, which might explain why the beautiful Elissa was keen to distance herself from her 'Family'.
Scene Fourteen - Angelico
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| Angelico's Underground Parking |
Four security guards, presumably selected for their size as each has the physique of a powerlifter, are keeping interlopers from getting into the parking area and ensuring that once within, that only those with invites make it through to the reception area.
Francis noted the guards were keeping a particular eye on him. Apparently his new suit, did nothing to conceal his natural swagger. It seemed they knew how to spot a dangerous individual when in ones presence.
As they left the vehicle, Thomas offered Elissa his arm and she accepted.
The reception area is adjacent to the main gallery and contains a table overflowing with expensive wines and delicate foodstuffs.
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| Angelico's - Champagne for Everyone |
Thomas used this to his advantage, effectively using Elissa as 'bait' to lure in individuals of significance who he then used his considerable charisma and powers of persuasion upon. He acquired several new contacts and a few promises to 'check out' the gallery. Francis on the other hand decided to take the advice of a biblical proverb. "Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent."
Francis also took advantage of an unusual trait he possessed and helped himself to some food and drink. It was rare for a kindred, but Francis could consume food without effort and sometimes even enjoyed it, though it gave him no nourishment and unfortunately needed to be expelled before resting for the day. The advantage was, of course, that it made any casual observer highly unlikely to see him and think 'vampire'.
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| Malaki - Mortal Notorious Artist |
He is just over six feet tall and surprisingly well built considering the usual artist stereotype. He is dressed in a black suit, shirt and tie and says nothing for several moments. Though not classically handsome he exudes charisma and you can understand how he might attract a certain type of individual to him. The only colour to his outfit comes from a ring on his finger containing a large red stone, which he plays with seemingly unconsciously.
"Welcome to my exhibition. You have been carefully selected as individuals with the necessary imagination to appreciate the message I'm attempting to convey." He then stands aside to allow entry.
From the way he stood, Francis imagined that he had had some military training. Something in his bearing just gave that impression.
The works were striking. Simplistic yet powerful, and each inspired an emotional reaction, not all of which were positive. Certain celebrities seemed to be drawn to particular works. Mingling with the guests were men and women, also dressed in black, handing out drinks to those who required them. From the way these servers continuously turned to see if Malaki was watching them in turn, they both presumed that these were part of his cult.
Storytellers Note - Each player was then given a picture...
Thomas found himself focussed upon a painting of a man on what he interpreted as seated upon a throne. The light shone from behind him and seemed to be forming a crown or halo. The view was from below as if the figure was viewed by an adoring crowd and Thomas began to visualise himself upon the throne. The people below were insignificant, only he mattered...
Francis looked upon a creature of shadow, free from all mundane restrictions of the physical plane. Dark wings spread from their back, blocking the light, shielding him from it, from fire, from the sun. The darkness flowed from beyond this reality, a steady flow of infinite power that waiting for him to take it...
Very few others present had their strength of will, though the effect upon mere mortals was far less invasive than they themselves had felt.
One such individual of will was an elderly Asian man with glasses. He noticed their attention and crossed over to them, then leant in as if sharing a secret.
"What does a vampire want with Malaki? You might as well be honest, I'll know if you're lying." he smiled, but Thomas could see that it was forced. "Perhaps we can find a quiet corner and discuss the matter further?"
Scene Fifteen - Li T'ien
As Thomas accepted the invitation, Francis moved to his side. Once out of earshot of those gathered around the revealed exhibit, the mysterious man spoke once more.
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| Father Li T'ien - Mage |
Thomas nodded, then replied. "He's drawing some attention that might prove to be harmful to both himself and other interested parties. We're here to make an assessment of the potential dangers..."
Thomas could sense that Li T'ien seemed dubious about his reasoning, but the 'mage' nonetheless elaborated
"We will not allow him to be harmed, however our attempts to bring him into the fold are being interfered with by one of your kind. Bodyguards infected with your blood, crude rituals designed to attack those with abilities such as mine, and so on. If you can remove these impediments to our access, then I can arrange for him to learn to control his abilities and focus them in a way that's less likely to summon interference. You call them the Second Inquisition, I believe? They exploit your weaknesses, weaknesses that we don't possess...however...any observation of you, might lead them to Malaki, and this we would like to avoid..."
Francis moved in closer.
He detected the hint of a threat in the mages tone that irritated him. He, like many kindred, had heard tales of what one such as this was capable of when in danger, but was also reasonably sure that punching his head from his shoulders was a good way of ending them as a threat.
"You are stronger and faster than I, that is certain. I do however have precautions in place to prevent myself coming to harm. One imagines you suddenly finding that eight hours have passed and that your now in a room filled with daylight might be an inconvenience? I understand that fire is an issue too?"
Thomas decided to turn the conversation back to their problem. He too was annoyed by this mortal's tone, but this was not the place for violence.
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| Anya Bloom - Toreador Keeper of Elysium, Malaki 'Fan' |
Li T'ien did indeed.
"Who? Her name is Miss Bloom. She has invested a great deal into Malaki's gallery, image and protection. If she were to be out of the picture, if you pardon the pun, then we can solve the problem for you and you can return to ravishing virgins, or whatever it is your kind do to pass the time...and we can return to being blissfully unaware of each others existences..."
The scorn was evident in every word uttered by this wizard, or whatever he called himself. It was quite obvious that he didn't like vampires, for some reason.
"I've taken the night off from ravishing..." replied Thomas. "...I presume, as you're here, you've taken a night off from card tricks and street magic?"
Francis smiled at the look of irritation that crossed the mages face, and that they then tried to hide. He decided that now was the time for his own input.
"It seems to me, that we're going to be doing a lot of work that benefits you, and also do all the grunt work for? Unless you have something to offer of use, I don't see how this relationship benefits us?"
The old man produced a folder, as if from nowhere and handed it to Thomas.
"Not exactly a card trick..." quipped Francis "...but pretty impressive nonetheless. Do you do children's parties?" Thomas noted that the oriental gentlemen ignored the comment, but he doubted that they were doing much to improve his opinion of kindred in general.
"That folder contains documents that tie Malaki's...vampire...sponsor directly to his business ventures as well as other peripheral information about associates, guards, followers and the like. Certainly enough for blackmail purposes, or other methods that might facilitate the removal of...impediments..."
Thomas noticed the pause. He suspected that the mage was going to use the word 'leech' instead of vampire. Francis also needed a point clarifying. "You say Malaki is off limits. What about his little cult? Do you care about their fate?"
"They are nothing." said Li T'ien, without stopping to think about his reply even for a moment. This was pretty much what Francis had figured the answer would be. This mage might not be a fan of kindred, but Francis wasn't exactly becoming a fan of mages either. Especially this arrogant bastard.
"We'll see what we can do." replied Thomas and then turned away, indicating that it was he, not Li Tien, who would decide when the meeting was over. Francis completely approved of the action, but nonetheless watched the mage out of the corner of his eye as they walked away.
Scene Sixteen - Fashionably Late
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| Sarina Harrington - Toreador Harpy, Artist, Schemer |
The actual reason for her tardiness turned out to be more serious than mere pandering to stereotypes.
"My apologies. Anya has discovered that we met and is having a hissy fit about it. I explained that I was merely manipulating you so I could get my work exhibited and then she had another tantrum about me allowing you access to Malaki. As he is, and I quote directly, 'My toy, and no-one else's...' I, of course, wish to support her in any way I can, but her obsession with Malaki is, some are saying, getting in the way of her duties as Keeper of Elysium. One hopes she manages to keep her cool, in the unlikely event of someone confronting her about the issues with her arrangement with this artist..."
Both Anarchs could see that Sarina was pissed off and barely in control. Whatever Anya said had definitely touched a nerve. Thomas also suspected that they had been given a heavily edited version of the conversation so Sarina wouldn't lose face.
However, it had given Francis an idea. "Hypothetically, If the Keeper of Elysium was to lose her cool during an actual meeting at an Elysium. She'd likely lose the job, correct?"
Sarina raised an eyebrow, then replied. "It would depend on the how and the why, but any actual act of violence or use of disciplines, except in self defence of course, would unlikely to be easily forgiven."
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| A 'Gift' For Anya |
"We'd like to buy Anya a gift..." began Thomas, much to Sarina's surprise. "...one of Malaki's paintings. Perhaps we could present it to her at the next gathering of kindred that occurs? You could present it to her yourself, but unfortunately a present of such a generous nature is beyond our resources at the moment."
They both saw Sarina leap to the same conclusion as they had done, though she did well to hide it, instead opting to display an expression of confusion. Thomas waited for the plotting Harpy to come up with something approaching plausible deniability. He didn't have to wait long.
"I have no idea why you'd wish to do such a thing, but I'll purchase a painting on your behalf and have it sent to your gallery. Which one did you have in mind?"
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| Elissa and Sarina A Ghoul and her Regnant |
Elissa, who had been mingling while the kindred went about their business, reappeared and brushed past Sarina before taking Thomas's arm once more. She pouted a little and then feigned irritation at Sarina being late and then ignoring her in favour of other business. Thomas played a long for a while, before all three became bored of the 'game'. Elissa and Sarina began to mingle with the crowd and Francis reappeared at the side of his Ventrue ally.
"Are we done here?" he asked.
Thomas agreed that it was time to leave. The Harpy and her ghoul were now entirely focussed upon each other and the Anarchs had much to consider before the next Elysium.
"Do you think this is going to work?" asked Thomas. With the earlier feelings now fading he was having his doubts about whether the painting had really had such a profound effect upon him as he had at the time.
"Well as it was my plan, I fucking well hope so..." replied Francis. "...and as our transport appears to be no longer available, I'll give you my drivers number and you can get him to pick us up."
Interlude - Mages
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| Leon Arness - Mage Virtual Adept |
The other three were not of his own tradition, but nonetheless were the closest thing to independents amongst the Mages of this city and those nearby, and so had all gravitated towards the 'Orphan' Malaki.
They had been somewhat sceptical of his suggestion that they use the blood-suckers to solve their problem, but had nonetheless accepted his council. Not only was he the oldest of them, but certainly the most powerful.
"How did it go?" asked Leon.
Despite his Western name, Leon was actually of Chinese descent, and therefore automatically one step above the others in the estimations of Li T'ien. He was also capable of doing things with modern technology that Li T'ien was more than happy to know nothing about. He was a traditionalist in many ways and had a dislike for the modern, though understood it's usefulness.
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| Bink - Mage Sons of Ether |
As Bink had remained quiet, rather than talking at something approaching a million miles an hour, Li T'ien assumed she approved. She was the polar opposite of Leon in the areas of technology, her devices having a somewhat baroque feel that the eldest one felt more comfortable with. It was these with which they'd monitored the kindred and she who had warned him of their imminent meeting with Malaki.
"So they get to live?" asked Timer, a short, slender woman dressed in grey. Her skin was so pale that Li T'ien made a mental connection between her and the unsavoury creatures he'd dealt with earlier. The fact that she too was, in his opinion at least, an indiscriminate killer, also reminded him annoyingly of the leeches.
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| The Timer - Mage Euthanatos Barabbus |
"You still haven't told us why this Malaki is so important and why we simply didn't solve this issue ourselves. We were more than capable of doing so. Weren't we?" asked Leon
The mage smiled at the folly of youth, but decided to answer anyway.
"Because others that were also looking into Malaki would also take an interest in him, if we were to show how important he potentially is. The leeches however are beneath their notice and so we get what we want, and our intentions stay hidden."
This wasn't strictly true, but the others didn't need to know every detail. Everything was going to plan, his plan that is, and that was all that mattered.
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Storytellers Conclusions
I sometimes like to do a round-up of how the session went in these features but if you couldn't give a shit what I think then feel free to skip this bit....
The players plan is certainly interesting and caught me a little by surprise, so I had to wing some of the latter part of the session.
Okay...all of the latter part of the session...so now I'm off to completely rewrite the finale...
Song Lyrics
Also, The quote in the header is from the following song on the off-chance any-one is interested.
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Further Acknowledgements“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”
I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Thomas Caldwell is Oscar Isaac, Francis Maranzano is a young Al Pacino, Elissa Ballard is Doutzen Kroes, David Geduld is Zachary Quinto, Malaki is Adam Driver, Father Li T'ien is James Hong, Anya Bloom is Zendaya and Sarina Harrington is Joan Smalls. Malaki's paintings are images from 'Pickmans Gallery' in the Fallout 4 game by Bethesda Softworks.
Everything else is from vampire related folders and searches and is as far as I know is all of the 'fair use' variety. If there's something that you feel should be attributed to some-one then feel free to let me know and I'll happily add an acknowledgement.