I'm currently running a Vampire the Masquerade chronicle using the 5th Edition rule-set for a small group of fellow role-players. These are the chronicles of their adventures.
Our 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. After over four years of plotting, one of their number is now leader of the Anarch Council of the Free States and the rest have privileged places within the Anarch hierarchy.
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The now obligatory warning bit - Unlike my other RPG write-ups this one will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. If you can't tell the difference between real peoples opinions and grown-ups role-playing predators who crave blood then this probably won't be for you. 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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The introduction to this campaign, the first story and all the other parts can be found at the following links and are in chronological order. If you'd prefer a summary of each session rather than read everything then there's a more detailed link page HERE as well as links to the first episode of each story in the blog sidebar.
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Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.'
Welcome to L.A. - Introductory Session
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight
The now obligatory warning bit - Unlike my other RPG write-ups this one will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. If you can't tell the difference between real peoples opinions and grown-ups role-playing predators who crave blood then this probably won't be for you. 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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The introduction to this campaign, the first story and all the other parts can be found at the following links and are in chronological order. If you'd prefer a summary of each session rather than read everything then there's a more detailed link page HERE as well as links to the first episode of each story in the blog sidebar.
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Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.'
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight
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Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.'
Solo Session - 'Hostile Takeover'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four
Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four
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Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'
Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'
Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'
Story Sixteen - 'The Southern Solution' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three
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Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park
Interlude Session Two - Divide and Conquer
Interlude Session Three - On the Brink of War
--------------------Chronicle Four - 'Conquest L.A.'
Interlude Session - Recon
Interlude Session - Damage Limitation
Interlude Session - The Killing Spree
Story Twenty Eight - 'Hunters Hunted' - Epilogue
Solo Session - 'The Barony of the Angels'
Solo Session - 'The Salubri Tome'
Story Twenty Nine - 'Methuselah' - Epilogue
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| 'The Cast' - Past and Present |
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Sherlock'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Accountant'
Vincent Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable of the North East'
The Storyteller
Garreth - Everyone else...
The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested, but be warned that the page is usually several stories ahead of the most recent write-up and may contain some spoilers.
There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.
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), Drug Use, Sex Trade, Sex Work.
Introduction
A strange fever-like condition has occurred in a number of slum areas around the city and the reports have now made it into the public eye via several local news reports. The early symptoms seem to be no more than lethargy and a slightly raised temperature though this rapidly turns into a fever that robs the victim of the ability to do anything other than lie in bed. Death has followed for a third of the victims and the medical professionals of the city seem unable to pin it down to a specific medical cause. Rather it seems to share the traits of a number of haematological conditions.
Though anything that threatens the feeding patterns of kindred could be considered a concern, a more pressing problem has occurred. The plague seems to have now spread to the kindred themselves. Several temporary residents of The Barony of the Angels have been the first victims, though how they contracted it is a mystery. They have been 'taken into isolation' by Priss as they were in her feeding ground at the time, though what that actually means is open to interpretation.
No firm connection between their feeding grounds and already sick mortals has been discovered though that doesn't mean that one doesn't exist. Though many of the Barons have ignored the problem due to it being fairly localised, last night cases of the disease cropped up in Hollywood, Long Beach, and La Hermandad.
With the issue now appearing in multiple domains, attention has turned to the Arbiter and his 'Sherlock' to do something about it.
'Galerie Sanguine' Franchise News
With Michael's 'Galerie Sanguine' franchise now opening branches in cities other than L.A., the coterie potentially now has to deal with the concerns of his other agents and navigate the politics of cities other than L.A.
Chicago
The Toreador Primogen, Annabelle, has highlighted with the rest of the Primogen and Prince Kevin Jackson that many areas of cultural significance in the city seem to be closing down and therefore kindred who promote such concerns should be encouraged as these, for many, facilitate kindred influence and therefore power.
Kevin Jackson, Ventrue Prince - Annabelle, Toreador Primogen
Your agents within the city believe this is an excellent opportunity to 'make a friend', however by doing so they would also gain Annabelle's enemies. Fortunately she has few of these but does have a tendency to annoy the other Primogen who she quite obviously considers unworthy.
Michael is yet to make a decision on this matter as he is currently unfamiliar with the cities factions and which of those are currently in the ascendant.
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| Tara Kearney - Brujah Baron of San Diego |
Tara is growing increasingly paranoid about enemies within San Diego attempting to undermine her leadership, despite the fact that Marius eliminated them all over two years ago, in return for significate boons. Unfortunately, paranoid kindred have a tendency to discover traitors, whether they exist or not, so the kindred of San Diego are being very careful with their activities.
Michael has informed his agents within the city that being too careful will likely make them seem even more suspicious to a particularly paranoid leader. They have therefore been instructed to go about their normal business but to avoid making alliances with any San Diego residents who are currently on Tara's shit list.
San Francisco
The Eastern kindred of Chinatown seem to be increasingly testing their borders and unless the Prince intervenes, there's going to be bloodshed between them and their immediate neighbours. Given their relative independence, it's only a matter of time before someone approached the 'new' Anarchs of Galerie Sanguine to act against one side or the other.
Michael currently believes that it's too early to pre-emptively pick a side, but he is definitely considering getting ahead of the curve. As soon as he can work out whose going to win that is...
There has been a minor skirmish between 'The Butchers' Pack and a pair of Nosferatu who act as Scourges for San Jose's recently appointed proxy leadership. Blanche Johnson, pack leader of the Butchers, claims that these Nosferatu were dangerously close to the San Gabriel Mountains and therefore far from San Jose. Leon "8-Ball" White, a Ventrue given nominal control over San Jose by Prince Winder claims exactly the opposite.
Whoever was in the wrong, the main surprise is that 'The Butchers' chose to spare their opponents. Politically this was, of course, the right decision, but it's still unusual behaviour for them.
Leon is backed by a local Ventrue, T.J. McMillan, who in recent times has pushed passed his rivals in the bay area and has his eye on the position of Ventrue Primogen. It is widely believed that he has pushed for Leon to be given control of this area stating his 'Gangsta' connections as being perfect to run a territory half-filled with Anarch troublemakers. His success will elevate McMillan, his failure will accomplish the opposite. McMillan is also suspicious that he's been 'set up to fail', which is a distinct possibility given the current Ventrue Primogen's close relationship with the Prince...
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Vera Vignes, Ventrue Primogen of Chicago, Former Anarch Baron
Michael is now considering 'helping' Leon along the path to failure him, in order to make Vera Vignes less likely to consider them an enemy. Daniel has agreed, but only so as to lure Vera into a false sense of security in case she needs to be dealt with.
Scene One - Vin's Club
Somewhat unexpectedly, Vin had asked Daniel to meet him at one of his 'establishments' to discus a matter of some urgency.
The classiest of Vin's three 'gentlemen's clubs' was located just across the Ventura Freeway from North Arroyo. South Arroyo offered many of the same benefits as its neighbour, along with its own style and amenities. It was considered one of Pasadena's best neighbourhoods.
Vin's Gentlemen's Club - Los Angeles
Arroyo's executive lounge, was a converted apartment block with the club itself occupying the first three floors with three more floors of rooms above for 'entertainment'. It had it's own off-road parking and Vin had made a point of keeping the area free of crime so as not to draw attention to the shadier aspect of the business. His haven was underneath it so he had other reasons for keeping the location 'under the radar'. As the business itself was currently putting approximately a hundred thousand dollars a week worth of cash into the coffers of the coterie, Mr Hertz was involved only in making everything look good on the tax returns.
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| Sarah - Ghoul of Vincent 'Vin' Ghast |
Daniel was met at a 'staff only' entrance by Vin's ghoul Sarah, an attractive dark-haired young lady wearing a business like suit and jacket, paired with a red blouse. She looked every inch the 'executive assistant'.
"If you care to follow me, I'll take you to Vin...sorry...Mr Ghast's office..."
The bar area could easily have passed for that of any executive club, containing leather sofa's and chairs, oak tables and a bar stocked with a wide variety of exotic and expensive beverages. The bar staff, waitresses and the few ladies making small talk with potential customers were universally attractive and covered a wide variety of body-types and ethnicities. Several Daniel recognised as former 'employees' of Garfield Bentley, a brothel owner and pimp who was killed by one of his own security guards several years earlier. Or at least, that was how Daniel had made it look. There was also a small restaurant within that Daniel imagined was also gratuitously overpriced.
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| Vin's Club - Stage Area |
As with the carpark, security camera's covered all the necessary areas of the club. The doormen were all short-haired, well built and had military bearing. Weapons were present, but well concealed, and Daniel doubt that the average person would have noticed that the guards were armed at all. He also knew that Mr Hertz has mentioned that the place could make "...at least another twenty K a week, if Vin wasn't so obsessed with security."
It's only when he reach the third floor that the less legal aspects of the business become apparent as this was where the clients select their 'partners', before moving upstairs. It is on this floor that Vin had his office. His door was flanked by a pair of guards which was amusing as Vin could have killed every one of them without breaking a blood sweat, so Daniel imagine the guards were for appearances sake.
There were three kindred within the room when Daniel and his escort arrived.
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| 'The Blossoms' - Downtowns Sex Trade |
Justine Chen, to Daniel's surprise seemed to be somewhat of an innocent and possessed of a naivete that he imagine some might find strangely attractive. Hertz wasn't convinced about the logic of the deal as Vin seemed to have taken an instant liking to Justine for no reason he could immediately discern or explain. Hertz has been somewhat reassured after learning through his Triad sources that Chen had no great love for her sire, and that Monique used her almost exclusively as a lackey. In Hertz's opinion she was either one of the most talented spies he'd ever met, or was exactly what she seemed to be.
Scene Two - A Spreading Problem
Vin got the formalities out of the way immediately.
"Thanks' for coming so quickly. Do you want a drink? I can bring you a girl or we have some of that wine that Leanna overcharges for somewhere..."
Daniel politely refused the offer.
"You've heard about this blood plague, right?" began Vin. Daniel nodded, and the Brujah continued.
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| Karla Bray - Toreador Enforcer for 'The Blossoms' |
Daniel smiled. Vin was a lot smarter than he liked to let people think, but the assessment was correct, this was a problem that needed the kind of investigation that Vin was unsuited for.
Karla then interjected. "One of the poor bastards who died is, sorry was, a pimp. Small time so we'd left him alone, another was a girl of his, but this is where it gets a bit vague. One of the fuckers who dropped dead in Downtown isn't involved in the sex trade, but his roommate is. I don't deal with the male escort stuff much, but Lottie does. It's not as a big a business for us as the rest of our interests but it makes enough for Lottie to make sure we collect our cut. Well, I do the actual collecting, but you know what I mean. Anyway, This male escorts sister hasn't been seen for a while either so we're basically just waiting for her and him to turn up dead based on what happened to the roommate."
Vin then continued "The Hollywood corpse was a dominatrix type, the Long Beach fucker was a people smuggler, so I guess that's possibly a sex trade connection. The only one we can't get a handle on is the La Hermandad one as Gloria is still pissed with us for dropping her in it with the other Brujah for not helping with the Lubbock thing..."
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| Justine Chen - Toreador Ally of Vin, Childe of Monique |
Vin concluded "Like I said, it's all a bit patchy but you've worked with less and put something together and given the amount of us that rely on sex workers for sustenance, this could seriously impact on not just business, but our herds too."
Daniel could see that Vin seemed genuinely concerned that such a taint could spread to the coteries own herds. The meeting also confirmed a fear of Mr Hertz's, namely that Vin was involving himself more and more with kindred from outside of the immediate coterie. That, however, was a problem for another time
They then shared then information that they had gathered on the current crop of victims.
One of the Downtown victims was Denzel Rush, small time pimp with about six streetwalkers in his stable. Most of his girls were junkies, and this was actively encouraged by Denzel. He used to be based on Skid Row, but had to move to an adjacent block when the area was renovated. The other was Calvin David, a male escort, with generally male clients. He had an apartment in one of the residential towers in Downtown, and hadn't been seen for several days. His roommate, and probably lover, Heath Rich, died in hospital so was a confirmed plague victim. Calvin's sister Claire was also missing.
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| Mistress Sabina - Mortal Plague Victim |
As for Long Beach, Edan 'Dreads' Finney was a prolific people smuggler, using the usual method of promising immigrants a better life, taking their money and passports then making them work to 'pay their way'. This inevitably involved sweat shops, sex work or crime.
Daniel had some questions.
"This 'Dreads' character. Did he smuggle anything else?"
As far as Vin and Karla knew, his sole interest was in transporting people, though as he had the infrastructure it was possible that he supplemented his income in other ways. He also wanted to know if he dealt with any of the other known smugglers of immigrants, to which the answer was also, no, though Vin elaborated a little.
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"Marius and Catherine both have big interests in the people trade, but I doubt they'd deal with Edan. If they did they'd probably just have killed the fucker and absorbed his operation into their own. Neither of them are really the 'sharing power' types..."
Daniel promised to investigate and keep them informed.
Scene Three - Plague Politics
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| Venture Tower - Downtown |
Nines was representing the Barony of the Angels and it had been suggested that as 'ground zero' for the problem that it made sense to have the meeting there. As she had custody of a number of kindred victims of the disease, Priss was also going to be present. The Last Round being a somewhat unlikely place for a kindred summit, Venture Tower had instead been selected as it already has security and a meeting area.
Isaac Abrams was journeying from Hollywood, Harvey Caplan from the South Coast and Gloria Martinez was sending one of her lieutenants, Josie Parrish, rather than attending personally.
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The meeting room seemed somewhat sparse with only six kindred and their security present. Nines took the seat for 'Downtown' and Priss remained standing. The rest took their own seats or that of their respective Barons.
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| Michael Tomassio - Toreador Arbiter of the Anarch Council |
An important part of his role was to ensure that the notoriously opinionated Anarch Barons actually spoke to one another rather than shouting over each other then having a punch-up. He therefore tended to lay out a rough framework for any meeting and then play it by ear. Supporting the voices of reason, while not appearing to take sides, was his real talent. Of course if he could gain something for himself, or his own barony, then that was fine too, as long as it didn't look that had been his purpose all along.
"I appreciate the necessity of calling this meeting. This plague appears to be spreading, and we must respond quickly. Any new disease may draw the attention of mortal authorities whose interference we can do without. The less eyes upon us the better."
"Daniel is investigating this matter at ground level, and is, as I speak, gathering more information on possible connections between the victims that may assist us in finding the source. However, it is the job of the Barons to ensure that our responses are balanced and measured. Our followers look to us not just for leadership but guidance too."
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| 'Nines' Rodriguez - Brujah Barony of the Angels |
Nines was happy to oblige, though his information was quite limited. "The two kindred victims are a gangrel named 'Gizmo', no idea what his real name is, I don't think he remembers either and a Caitiff drifter Kristie. neither had feeding grounds so I guess they fed from the usual suspects, bums, hookers, someone they picked up in a club. You know, the usual...unless they've told Priss anything more since she's had them locked up?"
Priss then elaborated on what Nines had already said. "I've got them locked away in a basement of one of my apartment blocks. They're isolated as we've no idea who this spreads. We're guessing they got it from feeding but that's just educated guesswork. We don't actually know..."
"Both have, what in mortal terms would be a fever, but it's a bit more messy for vampires. They're sweating blood, hallucinating and 'The Beast' is really close to the surface. The Gangrel we've had to stake. He nearly tore up Della, one of my Brujah, just flipped out and went for the throat. Fortunately Taslima was there to restrain him...remotely...but it looks like kindred in the later stages of this condition are going to take some restraining. This thing has 'masquerade breach' written all over it if we can't get a handle on it..."
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"Kristie isn't being a great source of information. She was an alleycat, you know an ambush predator basically. She'd stalk, overpower, and drink from whomever she could, when she could, make it look like a mugging or similar. I've asked for information on reported muggings that fit her M.O. but it'll be a night or two before Aegis's representative gets back to me..."
Michael knew, via Hope, that Priss stayed in touch with two former sweepers of hers named Arbaaz and Ophelia, who now worked for Marius's organisation. It seemed likely to him that these were the contacts that Priss was using.
Arbaaz and Ophelia, Gangrel - Barony of the Angels, Sweepers
"Does this 'Kristi', drain her prey completely dry?" asked Michael. Murders would be far easier to trace than muggings. Priss hook her head, before replying. "No. She just takes what she needs. She's not a killer."
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| Isaac Abrams - Toreador Baron of Hollywood |
"I have only a single case amongst the mortals of my domain. The lady in question was, I believe the term is dominatrix, so her clientele are likely to be cautious about their identities. I can't imagine anyone with those preferences broadcasting them far and wide, well...unless their Bahari, but we can't blame them for everything..."
"I have arranged for her 'little black book' to be retrieved from police custody by my newly appointed census-taker Ammaarah. No disrespect meant to those who employ more direct Clans in the role, but in Hollywood I find subtlety to be more important."
"Miss Weaver has a number of talents in this area and given the assistance she provided both during, and after, the Lubbock mess I could see her potential. As soon as it is in my possession I shall make it available to the appointed investigator. Daniel, one presumes?"
Michael confirmed that Daniel was heading the investigation on his behalf.
This left only two kindred who had yet to speak. Josie was no Baron, so Harvey Caplan spoke before her. "In my Barony the victim was a people smuggler somewhat unoriginally nicknamed 'Dreads' due to his Jamaican heritage. I'm currently having Knowles look into his cargoes but I'm a little short on manpower now that I'm without Shantelle's pack or Vinicius's lot and as I'm sure you're all aware, I have a large domain to manage. If I discover anything new I'll pass the information on, however I have no objections to the Arbiter sending in his own investigator if he thinks this will get the job done quicker?"
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| Harvey Caplan - Ventrue Baron of The South Coast |
"We appreciate your magnanimity on this issue." replied Michael. "Your docks are a vital part of our city and it is important at a time like this for us to focus on every entrance and exit to this city. Control of our borders is of great importance at times like these."
He then turned to Josie and noticed that she was extremely nervous. All except her were Barons, former Barons, or in Nines case, had the same level of authority. He decided to politely encourage her. "I understand that you are new to this setting, but any information you provide will be helpful to us. Please share whatever you know?"
Michael's natural charisma was amplified to supernatural levels by his own powers and Josie immediately became comfortable in his presence, and eager to please him. Michael also realised that he may have overdone it slightly based on the looks she game him throughout the rest of the meeting.
Storytellers Note - Thirteen successes were made on that dice roll. So I think Michaels going to have a new fan.
"Well our corpse is actually three. I got word of two more just before I set out. All three were beggars who hung around near one of old water works. Don't worry, it's a disused one so this disease isn't in the water supply, as far as I know anyway. Looks like one got sick and the others were trying to look after them and caught it too."
"
They weren't exactly physical specimens so it took them pretty quickly. I've stationed an observer to keep an eye on the area but so far nothing unusual has turned up, and no more corpses either..."
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| Josie Parrish - Brujah Lieutenant of Gloria Martinez |
This was the first solid lead that Michael had heard that could actually be acted upon immediately, but he decided to speak to Daniel first. This was his field of expertise after all.
"I thank you all for your input. It is clear that this threat must have a source and that finding it must be our priority. If you are all agreeable then I shall consult with Daniel about which of the areas you have pointed out to me that he believes are the most likely to give us the results we require."
"Then, of course, he'll need to make a personal investigation of these areas. Baron Caplan has already given his permission for an agent to enter his domain for just such a purpose. One presumes that the rest of you here would be equally flexible?"
All agreed, though it was clear that Josie had her doubts. Michael presumed that her reticence was due to her own Baron's adversarial nature. He decided to address this immediately, rather than have to deal with it later.
"Josie. If you wish me to speak with Gloria directly on this matter, rather than use you as a go-between, then I can do so?" Michael could see that she would have loved to avoid the task, but this urge was battling with her desire to avoid showing any weakness in front of the others. In the end, the latter won out. "Thank-you, but no. I'll pass the message on personally. I'm sure she'll see the importance of cooperation..."
Michael wasn't convinced that Gloria even knew the meaning of the word, but wisely kept the opinion to himself.
Scene Four - The Whittier Water Works
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| Gloria Martinez - Brujah Baron of Whittier |
Hollywood might be a possibility once the 'little black book' had been retrieved, but wasn't going to be worth a visit until then. In Downtown their only real clue was a dead mans apartment, not exactly likely to be a hive of information. The water works however was the 'freshest' lead they had.
Storytellers Note - I obviously over-sold this option as I'd written scenes for the other places mentioned as well, but the players had zero interest in them....
Gloria had reluctantly agreed to allow them access to her domain, apparently at Josie's insistence. In theory, the Anarch Council had agreed that Michael could deploy his 'Sherlock' anywhere in the city, but some political niceties were still necessary as Gloria was notoriously easy to offend.
On the way, Daniel picked up Hope, the Baronies Census Taker, just in case they encountered any trouble. Daniel could handle himself, but Hope was useful to have around for tasks that required a hand grenade, rather than a scalpel. His greeting of "Come on Watson, the games afoot..." had set the tone for the conversation and Hope had been making Sherlock Holmes references for the entire journey. "We're here." stated Daniel, somewhat unnecessarily.
"Great detective work..." responded Hope sarcastically. "...how do you do it?"
The obsolete former water processing plant, now awaiting demolition after a modern replacement was built, is surrounded by metal fencing, with the obligatory 'no entry' signs. The fencing has quite obviously been there for several years indicating that it's demolition is definitely not a priority to any of the local authorities.
Several buildings are still intact, though the smell of sewerage still lingers which is likely to be off-putting to all but the most desperate.
As they approached, they heard footsteps from behind them.
Owen Frazier, a Gangrel Sweeper who they'd met before was apparently the kindred given the duty of observing the area. "Sup, 'Sherlock'. looking for clues?"
"Don't fucking encourage him..." interjected Hope.
Daniel gave her a sideways look before continuing as if nothing had happened. "Something like that, yes. What's the current situation?"
Daniel noted that he seemed to be thorough at least. Hope, on the other hand, could see him sizing her up. She wasn't offended. Gangrel liked to know where they were in the pecking order, and though usually this was decided in a physical confrontation, reputation also played a strong part. Hope's reputation for causing carnage was well known and well deserved. Owen sensibly decided not to push his luck and left Daniel and Hope to their investigation.
"I think I'll start off with a bit of recon." decided Daniel. Hope shrugged. Sneakiness wasn't her strong suit and so she took this to mean that she wasn't invited. "I guess I'll make sure we don't get any uninvited guests then?" she replied.
After first checking that there were no witnesses nearby, Daniel faded from view and stealthily approached the camp. There were indeed seven individuals inside. Five were asleep, and two were awake.
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| Daniel's Medical Bag |
He then backtracked a little, and deactivated his powers of obfuscation, before re-entering the building. Hope observed this from a vantage point nearby. "So now you're Dr Watson..." she muttered to herself.
"Don't worry..." Began Dr Daniel Matthews. "...I'm not here to kick you out. I heard about the recent incident here and I'd just like to give you all a quick once-over for your own peace of mind. perhaps I can get a little background information too? For our files..."
Storytellers Note - For the benefit of new readers. Daniel is a legit doctor, but a fake identity had been provided for him by an L.A. 'Fixer' so he could continue to do the job he had when alive without explaining why he looks thirty despite being born in 1952. He's Intelligence 3, Medicine 4 giving him a healthy dice pool of seven for medical related tasks.
Daniel noted that one of the junkies was eyeing up his medical bag. He was quite capable of defending himself against a handful of mortals, but hoped this would be unnecessary.
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| A Mysterious Hooded Figure |
He could however tell that the heroin addict had something to say, but was almost certainly working out what it was worth. After a little negotiation, and the exchange of some methadone, The addict revealed to him that they'd seen the 'smelly guy' by one of the disused water tanks and that it was usually they first noticed him. It wasn't much, but he'd have a look there anyway.
"If any of you fall sick, then I advise you to seek medical help immediately. This is a nasty disease and spreads quickly..." concluded Daniel. he had no great hopes that they'd listen but felt that he'd at least made the effort.
A brief look revealed nothing of interest, but he decided to see if Hope would have any more luck. She approached with her hands in her pockets. This looked innocent enough to the casual observer but was actually to conceal the raven claws that tipped each of her fingers. Most animal features that a Gangrel gained during their frenzies faded within a night or two. These had not.
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| Protean - Gangrel Feral Claws |
"I've looked all over but I can't see anywhere or anything that might be a secret entrance or anything remotely like one." confessed Daniel. Hope then began to laugh. "What's so funny...Watson?" asked Daniel with not a little irritation.
"You're standing on it, worlds greatest detective..." replied Hope.
Storytellers Note - Daniel's player had botched his investigation roll spectacularly...
There was indeed a sewer entrance near one of the water tanks. The hatch was old, but scratch marks indicated that it's been opened and closed several times within recent weeks.
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| A Poorly Concealed Sewer Entrance |
"Ladies first..."
"How come every time you take me anywhere we end up in a fucking sewer..." countered Hope, before dropping down into the depths.
After two hundred metres the tunnel split into three equally unpleasant looking corridors. All contained detritus of various kinds and had the same layer of filthy water in the bottom. This was becoming deeper, the further in they went and was now close to six inches in depth. They also noted that they now had zero signal on their phones...
Hope wasn't happy with advancing any further, She was afraid of very little, but nonetheless possesses a healthy dose of Gangrel pragmatism. "Much as I hate to be the one to have to interject with a note of caution...perhaps we should see where the tunnels go before getting lost in a tunnel potentially filled with disease?"
Hope's experience with IED's also set off warning signals about the routes ahead. With so much rubbish about, and with water covering the floor, there were a hundred ways to booby-trap this area.
Amongst the Sweepers under Hope's command within the North East, the best tracker was Max, though in her experience she was also the one most prone to acts of pre-emptive violence, well, after Hope that is. Hogg was a distant second, while Carla and Orla were far more suited to urban environments. the Gangrel had to admit that they were all better trackers than her though.
"Let's get some help then." agreed Daniel, and they both returned to where they could get a phone signal and call in a tracker.
Little did they know that this decision had likely saved their unlives...
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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....
And so it begins...
Though if they carry on being sensible they're going to ruin all my fun...
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 Michael Tomassio is Matt Bomer, Johnny 'Roach' West is Kurt Kobain, Vincent 'Vin' Ghast is Scott Adkins, Dr Daniel Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope Romero is Deborah Ann Woll, Marie is Eva Green, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Sofia Rivera is Eliza Dushku, Tara Kearney is Melissa Rauch, Blanche Johnson is Kathy Bates, Vera Vignes is Helen Mirren, Sarah is Natalie Martinez, The Blossoms are Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs, Justine Chen is Joan Chen, Marius walker is Tony Curran, Catherine DuBois is Margot Robbie, 'Nines' Rodrigues is Luis Carazo, 'Priss' is Sofia Boutella, Taslima is Shruti Haasan, Arbaaz is Naveen Andrews, Ophelia is Krysta Rodriguez, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman, Harvey Caplan is Harvey Keitel, Josie Parrish is Rebecca Ferguson and Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles.
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.