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 campaign is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to search for ways to once again bring the Ivory Tower to dominance under the pretence of being disillusioned neonates looking for the freedom of the Anarch way of life. Now with a barony of their own it's time to consolidate their position and then plan their next move.
--------------------
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. 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.
---------------------
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.
'Infiltrate LA' Chronicle
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
'Foothold LA' Chronicle
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 and Three
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. 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.
---------------------
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.
'Infiltrate LA' Chronicle
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
'Foothold LA' Chronicle
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 and Three
Player controlled characters
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, Baron of Pasadena
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, Sheriff
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, Scourge
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, Mob Accountant
The SPC's
Storyteller controlled player allies
Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian, Seneschal
Marie - Clan Carna, Occult Advisor
As I have written out introductions and dialogue for certain NPC's and some location descriptions I'll post these more or less as I wrote them so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style and they'll also be in blue so you can tell them apart from the more traditional write-up sections and occasionally an obscure Malkavian premonition will turn up in purple. 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. Anything covered via player handouts will also be in blue as they're written in the same style as introductions and the like. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name beneath their picture.
Introduction
Scene Thirteen - The Vignes Accounts
Vera Vignes - Ventrue Former Baroness of Pasadena |
Storytellers Note - I got the player to roll Intelligence + Finance + Speciality and gave him one 'result' per success. He rolled fairly averagely and got four successes so I gave him four notes relating to his discoveries.
You have been working your way through the safe deposit boxes handed to you by Michael Tomassio, the Baron of Pasadena that were acquired from the previous baron. They have utilised the deeds for the properties by simple change of ownership to house their gang but the rest of the mass of documents has been beyond their skill to utilise and they have been effectively abandoned as a resource. You and your rat 'helpers' have organised the haphazard documents and have begun to make some sense of them. Though it's still in it's early stages you have found a few hidden gems.
1) The head of the local planning committee had received a number of 'gifts' from various companies owned by the previous Baron, Edward Vignes.
You have made some enquiries and Ellis Hull the aforementioned committee head had grown accustomed to the enhanced lifestyle and is now in considerable debt. A relatively small financial investment in the region of $15,000 to take him out of debt would give you control over a relatively important department if Michael wished to do so.
2) You have found a number of piddling little 'slush fund' accounts still technically under the control of the deceased Edward Vignes and have systematically moved them into an account under another name for safety. The account you have created is 'clean', has the correct documentation and is effectively untraceable to it's source.
Though the amount is a mere $93,000 it has the benefit of existing within the banking system rather than being a pile of small denomination bills in a suitcase like much of the other coteries spare cash.
3) At some point Vignes paid nearly a quarter of a million dollars for a panic room/fallout shelter. You are aware that some kindred use Marius Walkers's construction company 'Aegis Construction' for such purposes but evidently Edward didn't trust him at all.
Instead he used a company called Culver Construction Projects based in Culver City in West Los Angeles. You can find no location details but presumably plans and similar information would be held at Culver Construction Projects head office in Culver City.
4) Baroness Vera Vignes lent a quantity of 18th century British and European paintings, rare tapestries, porcelains, miniatures, sculptures and furniture to 'Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens' in Pasadena.
Receipts and provenance documents for the items were mixed with a load of useless and out of date documents. Though you're not an art buff yourself you figure that Michael might want to know that with the information you've uncovered he effectively owns the items in question which you are aware are moderately valuable.
You are also aware of the benefits of using such things as untraceable bribes as they are as good as money to a collector or fan. Though the Nosferatu's standard commission was two percent he decided that in this case he'd hand over the full value of the discoveries to Pasadena's baron Michael as to be fair he'd offered to help rather than being hired to do so.
To Mr Hertz such things were considered puzzles to be solved and the only reason he took a percentage normally was to prevent other kindred taking him for a easy mark. If they presumed that greed was his motivation they also believed that they had his measure which suited the Nosferatu just fine. Being underestimated had saved his unlife on multiple occasions as despite being physically weak he was more than capable of enhancing his strength to inhuman levels and also had a well maintained stock of weapons.
Michael was suitably grateful to the Nosferatu accountant for his discoveries but his current attention was primarily focused upon locating the embezzled money and getting Fiorenza off his back. He did however ask Mr Hertz to see what he could do about securing the assets he'd discovered for them as soon as he was available to do so. Fortunately the clever Nosferatu had made some progress there as well, assisted ably by Daniel's ghoul Andrew whose services had been lent to him.
Scene Fourteen - Marcel's Stash
Shauna's Porsche - A 'Gift' from Marcel |
'Chris Gordon' and 'Kevin Hansen' were equally disappointing as information sources being cash accounts used to make minor purchases. These were mainly drinks and meals at various locations that they knew Shauna had been taken to as well as his Sin Bin 'purchases'. The card bearing the name 'Zac Robertson' had slightly more of an in depth background created for this it as this was used to purchase Shauna's 2019 model Porsche 911 Carrera (992 Model) which he had paid just under one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for.
Andrew's Mysterious 'Hacker' |
Further digging by Andrew's hacker friend resulted in him being convinced that some-one very skilled had back-traced the created identity and retrospectively deleted it and had made a very professional job of it too. The extra effort required by the hacker on this occasion cost Andrew and therefore Daniel, fifteen hundred dollars. Fortunately, Dr Daniel Matthews wasn't short of funds.
The business card for Maynard Finance also revealed some interesting facts. Maynard Finance appeared to be a legitimate investment advisory firm without any kindred connections that they were immediately aware of. It mainly took investors with venture capital and invested in short term, high risk, high return businesses such as trendy shops and gimmicks.
Yasmine Alvarado - Ventrue Presumed to have met Final Death |
Yasmine Alvarado was a well known Ventrue up and comer whose achievements were somewhat eclipsed by Fiorenza Savona's meteoric rise. As far as Mr Hertz knew she met her Final Death three years ago. She was witnessed walking into the dawn sunrise by two of her ghoul retainers who swore to her fate under questioning.
One of those ghouls was embraced soon after in order to preserve Yasmine's financial base, his name was Jaidon Delaney. All present recalled that Jaidon Delaney was the kindred caught embezzling initially and who provided the basic information that led Fiorenza to Marcel Emery, who the coterie had found dead in the basement of his home.
While his operatives researched the barons that had been on Marcel's apparent tour of Los Angeles, Michael attempted to find if the former blood doll Shauna had any talents or skills that might be of use. What he discovered was an all to familiar story of a budding actress and model attempting to find fame and fortune in Hollywood and instead having to run the gamut of casting couches and thinly disguised opportunities for prostitution. She had been enrolled in acting school briefly and had taken dance classes but seemed to have no other skills outside of a media career. It seemed that if he was to find her a place within his organisation he was going to have to help with her career first.
It was evident to the investigators that a trip to Maynard Finance might reveal some new leads and that the names Aleena Armstrong and possibly Yasmine Alvarado also warranted further investigation. The physical evidence had given them some new leads but they had also been doing research on the kindred that were involved with Marcel even if only peripherally. Currently the two names they had were David Geduld and Gloria Martinez, both barons of their own domains within Los Angeles.
Scene Fifteen - Marcel's Contacts
Horatio Ballard - Ventrue Ballard, Anderson and Baitman |
Mr Hertz knew of him in Chicago and due to his high level connections and trusted position was aware that this wasn't entirely the truth. Though it was indeed true that he is now entirely loyal to the Anarch cause he was aware that this wasn't always the case. When the Camarilla looked around for agents to stir up trouble in Los Angeles and report on the situation there, they naturally thought of David Geduld.
He was originally a partner in the Chicago law firm of Ballard, Anderson and Baitman and had been embraced to assist the Ventrue in dealing with the endless details of their control of the Chicago business scene. He had proved enormously proficient at navigating the legal waters, and surprisingly adept at winning the trust of the leaders in Chicago's business and law communities. As his loyalty to the Camarilla was unquestioned he was sent off to Los Angeles in 1963 to see what he could do to undermine the Free States. He had gathered a small coterie and settled down in Palos Verdes Estates. From there he had ranged across L.A., getting a feel for the area and reporting back to his masters in the Camarilla about his progress.
David Geduld - Ventrue Baron of Torrance |
It was while discussing David Geduld with Daniel and Michael that he realised that the Baron of Torrance had managed to keep his former loyalties a secret and as far as the Anarchs of LA were concerned his cover story was still intact. They they doubted that the information would do them any good as Geduld was now firmly entrenched in Anarch politics it was still possible that some-one who knew might have attempted to use the information to their advantage. If true it gave David Geduld a strong motivation to silence Marcel if he had been attempting to blackmail the Ventrue Baron.
Gloria Martinez - Brujah Baron of Whittier |
Michael remembered her from the rant and had noticed that despite being very beautiful and quite aware of her power over men, she quite obviously considered this an annoying distraction and one which as far as he could tell she never makes use of. The Toreador who used his good looks to get his way quite frequently had trouble grasping why she'd fail to use this significant weapon of manipulation, especially as the Brujah had the same ability to supplement such gifts as his own clan.
According to their kindred sources Gloria keeps a very tight rein on her barony and generally tries to keep out of squabbles with others though is never shy of giving her opinion if she decided it's valid. She also has considerable influence at the Rants, mainly since she has been known to exact vengeance on those who did not pay attention while she was speaking. Several kindred who thought they could make a name for themselves at her expense have not so mysteriously disappeared within nights of doing so.
The Barony of Whittier |
Micheal has recently had a request from Gloria to 'entertain' a contact of hers in return for a minor boon owed to her. She'd like to keep this contact away from potential scandal in her own barony as he is a mortal fixer that would become useless to her if someone managed to find a way to use his own methods against him. Michael decided to try to arrange a meeting ostensibly to confirm the details of the arrangements during which he could attempt to gain some additional intelligence on their real mission.
After another discussion it was decided that their next move would indeed be to arrange a meeting with Gloria Martinez.
Interlude Four - The Bahari
Lilith, the Dark Mother |
The majority of the symbolism and carvings on the temple arch and pillars relate to deities whose origins can be traced back to the Gangrel Antediluvian Ennoia. The rest of the imagery can be interpreted as scenes from kindred legend but follow the version of the kindred creation myth detailed in the 'Revelations of the Dark Mother' told from Lilith's point of view rather than the Caine orientated 'Book of Nod'.
Broadly speaking the carvings seem to depict the version of events that has Ennoia as a childe of Lilith and mother of the lupine race before her embrace as one of the third generation as well as Lilith's persecution as detailed in the aforementioned 'Revelations of the Dark Mother'. The most predominant group who follow these beliefs amongst kindred are the Bahari though some Verbena mages consider her to be the first mage and there are also mortal cults who worship her. More traditional research has enabled you to identify several similar items that were bought by an anonymous private collector at various points over the last thirty years or so.
Ennoia - Gangrel Antediluvian |
The fact that Marius had religious beliefs and venerated the Antediluvian founder of his clan wasn't of any real concern. What was worrying was that many dark rumours surrounded the Bahari and other similar cults such as the Cultivar including tendencies towards diablerie, torture and the belief that development can only be gained through pain and conflict.
That however was a worry for another time. He had far more urgent concerns to consider currently.
Scene Sixteen - The Martinez Meeting
Club Confession - Downtown |
Traditionally meetings between barons happened in some neutral location in order to mitigate any home-field advantages that one party might have. Of course particularly powerful barons such as Louis Fortier and Isaac Abrams often ignored this particular tradition. Gloria was happy to meet in one of the private rooms in Club Confession in Downtown though she did specify that she'd have her security team with her. Michael made no objection to this though he informed her that he'd have some associates of his own with him too.
Cadillac Escalade - Armoured |
As usual they used the 'Special' visitors entrance but had forgotten that Mr Hertz was not yet a member and so their progress was stopped. Though they were more than capable of overcoming the mortal doorman that would mean they had effectively declared war on the the clubs kindred owner which was likely to end in their final deaths. Especially as this club was owned by Marius Walker, a particularly dangerous boardroom Gangrel and 'fixer' for the kindred community of LA. "I'll get Miss Dare..." said one of the doorman before heading inside.
Venus Dare - Ghoul of Marius Club Manager and Dominatrix |
She arrived a few minutes later and handed Mr Hertz a membership card with a 'V' written on the blank rear. "We have a rear entrance and exit for those of your clan who wish to use a private room. You understand of course that most of your clan would cause us significant difficulties if you were observed entering so we request that you give us a little bit of advance notice." Mr Hertz tipped his hat in acknowledgement. "See me before you leave and we'll look at giving you permanent membership. If you don't mind replacing your hat and scarf I'll escort you and the others to where Miss Martinez is waiting." Mr Hertz obliged and the others followed her up the stairs to one of the rooms reserved for special guests.
Storytellers Note - Mr Hertz can just about pass for human with the benefit of a hat and scarf but unfortunately for him still gives mortals 'the creeps'.
Club Confession - Stairway to Private Rooms |
Though Hope and Vin were fairly evenly matched as warriors, Vin had a reputation as somewhat of a 'giant-killer' and it was obvious from the looks in his direction that those present were well aware of who he was and exactly what he was infamous for.
Vincent Ghast - Brujah, Coterie Enforcer 'Explaining the Situation' to Some Kindred... |
Daniel meanwhile noted from the way that the group positioned itself seemed to be to maximise coverage for fire-zones and they were also carefully placed to eliminate blind-spots and to avoid catching each other in any crossfire. This in his opinion was less the behaviour of bodyguards and more what you'd expect from a trained kill-team used to working together. He could also see that several of them had suppressors on their weapons, a precaution bodyguards rarely felt the need to utilise. The occasional glimpses of bladed weapons indicated that the blades were blackened, another unnecessary addition to a bodyguards armoury but quite useful for assassins.
One of the women, a powerfully built lady who he suspected was a ghoul rather than a kindred had a scabbard at her hip for a large 'Bush Cleaver'. This was of great interest to Daniel as it perfectly matched the shape of the weapon that had removed Marcel Emery's head from his shoulders. It was apparent that the Baron of Whittier favoured the permanent resolution of problems via the most efficient methods possible.
The tension was broken by a knock at the door, which Vin answered. Venus bought in several bottles of wine and was quite particular in placing the distinctly different bottles that those present knew contained preserved blood some distance from the more traditional mortal varieties. "If you require anything else just press the intercom..." she gestured to a button mounted on the wall. "...otherwise you shall be quite undisturbed." then she promptly left. Michael opened a bottle and poured a glass for Gloria and then himself. As she lifted the glass to take a sip she nodded to the rest of her people and they visibly relaxed. Daniel of course paid careful attention to which of her people helped themselves to which selection of wines, concluding that there were three kindred and three ghouls with her.
Ruby-Leigh Reynolds - Ghoul Probable Killer of Marcel Emery |
They immediately concluded that this was the House Ipsissimus, Tremere that they had heard resided within her barony. The three ghouls were all smartly dressed and well armed. The one woman was powerfully built with musculature like a power-lifter and Daniel had little doubt that she could have driven her cleaver down with enough force to remove Marcel's head from his shoulders. The other two were both men, one was black and the other was mixed race.
Michael worked towards his true purpose subtly, via the arrangements to look after Andrei Foley for her and also used the time to gauge the reactions of Gloria. Once she was suitably happy with what he had planned he edged the conversation to his true purpose for the meeting. "While you're here I wandered if you knew anything about a kindred called Marcel Emery?"
Louis Fortier - Ventrue Baron of West LA |
"My earlier question about Marcel was because he contacted us about some business proposition he was quite vague about and then completely failed to turn up to speak with us. We had heard that he had met with the Barons of West Los Angeles and Torrance so wandered if you were also on his list of potential business partners?" When Gloria Martinez replied it was evident that he'd judged her correctly.
"This Marcel you speak of did indeed come to speak with us but it was obvious to us that he was speaking for another. He wished to invest in a charity project supported by one of the political players within our barony who is understanding of our needs in many areas so we assist him in his indulgences where we can." Michael understood completely as he had a similar arrangement with a friendly law enforcement officer.
Penn Park, Whittier LA at Night |
Michael and his coterie were well aware that Marcel's feeding restriction limited him to the blood of native american women so young boys would be of little use to him. Michael withheld this information until he knew where Gloria was going with the conversation. "It was obvious from the pretty blood doll that Marcel took with him virtually everywhere what his preferences were and therefore he must be acting for another. I have no wish for some Ventrue who hides their presence to be traipsing around my barony making off with teenagers." Michael would have liked to believe that this was a moral choice but he was empathetic enough to know that it was the potential inconvenience that bothered Baron Martinez most.
Club Confession - 'Refreshments' |
It was obvious to Daniel and some of the others that Gloria's cleaver armed ghoul was responsible for the final death of Marcel Emery but it seemed unlikely that she'd ever admit to it. Now aware that there was most definitely someone behind Marcel Emery it looked like a good time to see what the connection was to Maynard Finance.
To be Continued in 'Blood Money' - Part Five
In Conclusion
Another investigation heavy session which they did extremely well with. Plenty of good role-playing which was nice to observe and they're now well on the way to completing this particular story unless they do something really stupid next time or if I decided to throw in the plot twist that occurred to me halfway through the session.
So maybe they're actually nowhere near the end of this story, lol. We'll see...
Acknowledgements
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 represented by the actor Matt Bomer, Johnny 'Roach' West is quite obviously Kurt Cobain, 'Vin' is the actor Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Marie is Eva Greene, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Vera Vignes is Helen Mirren, David Geduld is Zachary Quinto, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles, Venus Dare is Sophie Howard, and Ruby Leigh is Cory Everson. 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...
No comments:
Post a Comment