Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Fifty Nine - The Baker Disappearance (Part Two)

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 a year of plotting, the coterie now controls the three North-Eastern Baronies and has successfully weakened several others. Unfortunately other Barons have used the chaos they have created to consolidate their own positions.

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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. 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
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 Three - 'Incursion L.A.'

Story Fourteen - 'The Rant'
Story Fifteen - 'Ties of Blood' - Part One and Two

Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'

Story Sixteen - 'The Southern Solution' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One

The PC's
Player controlled characters
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Spymaster'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'
Sofia Rivera - Toreador, Michael's Bodyguard
The SPC's
Storyteller controlled player allies
Priya Haynes - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Carla Doyle - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Orla Riviera - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Rosalind Perkins -  Thin-blood, Alchemist

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.

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 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.

Storytellers Note - No handouts this time as the characters were all in the middle of something when we finished.

Introduction

Baker - Gangrel
Missing, Presumed Destroyed

The coterie are currently investigating the mysterious disappearance of a somewhat unpopular Gangrel sweeper known as Baker. Both his own barony of El Hermandad and the kindred of the former barony of Covina each have very different versions of the last night that he was seen and this has caused a great deal of tension and posturing between them.

This has been complicated by the interference of the Gangrel known as 'The Wilds Pack' who now control what was previously Covina and who have benefited greatly from the confusion surrounding his disappearance.

Though El Hermandad is officially led by Salvador Garcia, his frequent absence has resulted in it being effectively ran by Jesus Ramirez, his closest friend and ally. Ramirez's biggest rival within the organisation is Victor Girard who has arranged to allow the coterie temporary access to the domain in order to put to rest the doubts about what really happened to Baker.

That he hopes this will undermine his rival is no secret but the coterie is willing to navigate the political minefield if this prevents a war from breaking out on their doorstep. Though there is still some debate between the various coterie members about which outcome will benefit them all most, it is clear that open warfare between Anarch baronies serves no-one as such things tend to spread...

Salvador Garcia, Jesus Ramirez and Victor Girard

While Michael and Daniel look into this, Vin and Mr Hertz are attempting to unravel the rumours of an alliance between Baron Fortier of West LA and Baron Abrams of Hollywood. If true, an alliance between them would effectively make them insurmountable, both financially and politically and a dire threat to the coteries long-term goal of restoring the Camarilla to power in the city.

Scene Three - Victor Girard

As agreed, they were met at the the border of their barony and that of El Hermandad by Victor himself. He struck Daniel as having the look of someone's favourite uncle. He was a stocky, balding, roly-poly man wearing a big and obviously well practised smile. Though the Banu Haqim had been told that Victor dressed like a businessman from the fifties, and still wore a hat when he went outside, he was dressed in a somewhat more contemporary fashion on this occasion. Presumably mixing with the Brujah of El Hermandad had required a change of appearance for the sake of credibility.

He was leaning casually against a dark grey saloon car. Another man, presumably a bodyguard stood beside him, one hand conspicuously tucked inside his jacket. A slight bulge at the ankle led Daniel to believe that he probably had a back-up piece in a holster there. Daniel made a mental note to kill him first should there be any trouble.

"Aah, Baron Tomassio. I see you deem the matter important enough to attend personally. That is encouraging. It's nice to see that there are still some leaders within the city willing to take a more 'hands-on' approach."

Bakers Haven - El Hermandad Barony

Michael, who had chaired meetings with some of the most powerful and dangerous kindred in the city could tell when he was being buttered up. Given the circumstances he simply acknowledged the greeting and introduced Daniel as "His most skilled investigator..." before indicating to Victor that they were ready to continue to the location of the haven of the missing Gangrel.

Bakers 'home' was a run down but functional house near the border of El Hermandad's territory and what was once Covina and now part of The Wilds. Before they entered, Michael took the time to ask some questions.

Victor confirmed that his people had had no word from Covina about their need for assistance and that had they done so then Baker would have certainly informed either Jesus, himself or Arissa. Michael and Daniel were unfamiliar with the third contact mentioned and asked for more details.

Arissa East - Brujah
El Hermandad 'Harpy'

Arissa was apparently what passed for a Harpy among El Hermandad and was generally the first to know of any rumours doing the rounds. She also acted as a sort of assistant to Ramirez and so was the first port of call with relevant information if the actual recipient was unavailable.

It was Victors opinion that no-one in his organisation benefited from a refusal to aid an ally, quite the opposite in fact. Daniel asked if there was a potential replacement for Baker that might have wanted his job, to which Victor replied that "...no-one was in line for that particular task...", it being considered somewhat away from the 'choice' roles within the organisation.

In fact a replacement had yet to be decided given that the role was now one of patrolling rather than as a liaison of any kind. It certainly wasn't something that Arissa would be interested in.

Though this certainly rang true it didn't explain why the Brujah of Covina were so set in their story that their request for aid was most definitely passed on. After all, until the apparently chance appearance of the Gangrel of The Wilds they had definitely required assistance against the members of Jenna Cross's Thin-blood uprising.

Daniel enquired about just when Baker had been last seen, before the disputed appearance, that is. He was informed that he had been seen by members of his own barony the evening before and had given no cause for concern. Daniel had another question. "Will El Hermandad still be cooperating with the Gangrel 'Oratory' information sharing network?" Victor confirmed that for now, the need to monitor the comings and goings of potential Sabbat interlopers was more important than questions about whether the individuals in question were truly acting in the interests of the kindred community as a whole. "For now, at least..."

Interlude - 'The Oratory'

The Sabbat

After the foiled attempt by a small unit of Sabbat to map the havens of Los Angeles Kindred in anticipation of an attack, the Gangrel of the city met in a 'Gather' to discuss how to prevent a second attempt. The Gangrel's uncharacteristic concern about the matter was twofold. Firstly the initial victims of the attack had been a pair of Gangrel farmers, and secondly that the majority of the baronies census-takers and 'sweepers' of LA were of their clan.

Storytellers Note - The full write up of the 'Gather' can be found HERE. 

At the meeting it was decided that the Gangrel would share information between them on kindred movements between baronies and their own borders as well as any suspicious activities that might indicate staging points or similar.

Marius Walker - Gangrel
'Fixer' and De-Facto Baron of Downtown

The centrally located Gangrel 'Fixer', Marius Walker has offered to coordinate these efforts, re-distribute information to more remote baronies and generally act as a sorting house for the gathered intelligence. Though notorious amongst the kindred of the city for turning a profit from almost any task, Marius has strangely offered to provide this particular service for free. He has also done so, as far as any-one is aware, in good faith.

Though he is indeed keeping to his word, he is also compiling the information gathered into an effective census of the population of the city and his using his own considerable resources to gain far more benefit from it than the individual barons are. The barons are also becoming concerned that the normally independent Gangrel of LA are now turning more and more to 'The Fixer' for leadership and that interest in the beliefs of the cult known as The Bahari is spreading between them, albeit slowly.

Each barony has one or two Gangrel who have been nominated to pass information on to their opposite numbers in their neighbouring baronies who in turn pass it onto theirs. This mainly verbal transmission of data has given this unconventional network the nickname 'The Oratory'.

There are also a small number of kindred in this role who hail from different clans, though they tend to relay their own findings via more traditional methods. There are currently approximately twenty Los Angeles kindred fulfilling this role though in domains with large Gangrel populations the individual given the task can change as whims dictate.

The majority of the census-takers, sweepers and hounds of Los Angeles being of the Gangrel clan is a practical consideration. Their tracking and survival skills are second to none and the resilience for which the clan is infamous is a definite asset when dealing with unwanted visitors. The common clan ability to use an animal form also aids patrol duties and maintaining a low profile. They are also pragmatic in the extreme and are more than willing to withdraw from a confrontation and come back ready to fight another day whereas as a Brujah might well 'die fighting' instead.

Scene Four - Baker's Haven

Tools of the Trade - Lockpicking Kit

As agreed, Victor left them to their own devices when they arrived at Bakers home. He informed them that there was no key but that "Shouldn't be an issue for capable individuals such as yourselves..." Before leaving he handed Michael a business card, unadorned accept for a mobile phone number. "Should you need to contact me directly." The number was different from the previous contact details he'd been given.

Both the front and back doors were locked but after a brief inspection for traps were easily bypassed by Daniel. The inside of the house was dusty and showed virtually no signs of habitation. The only place absent of dust was between the front door and what they presumed was a door to a cellar. The door itself was reinforced and had a high security lock on it, the only one in the home that had such precautions fitted. "I believe this is your department." Said Michael, already irritated that he was spending his evening in a dusty, run-down house.

Daniel carefully examined the exterior of the door before turning his attention to the lock. Several bad experiences while searching the death house that was the home of the Blount sisters had made him slightly paranoid about kindred ingenuity in such areas.

Storytellers Note - From scene seven in the story HERE, if you're interested.

Satisfied that the door was free of fiendish death-traps, he bypassed the lock before carefully opening the door and checking for wires. Finding none, he pushed open the door and had a look inside. Lacking the heightened senses of his Banu Haqim ally, Michael turned on the light on his phone and stepped forward only to find his path barred by Daniel's arm.

The stairway into the cellar had been removed and the floor below had dozens of knives, blades, stakes and other vicious spikes hammered through planks of wood, presumably the remnants of the stairway itself. A careless visitor would have plummeted downwards onto this primitive but effective trap. Now concerned that there might be other hazards below, Daniel decided on a less direct approach downwards. "I don't suppose you've seen any spiders about?" asked Daniel somewhat cryptically.

Scene Five - A Western Alliance

Karla Bray - Toreador
 Vin's 'The Blossoms' Contact

Vin's expanding army of street level agents and contacts had enabled him to ascertain that meetings between operatives of Louis Fortier, Issac Abrams and the Brujah Idealist Sir Ralph Hamilton had become increasingly common. Also of note was that the manipulative kindred, Hollywood guru, Dawn Cavanagh was generally in attendance at any meeting that also involved Ralph. Obviously his own people couldn't get close enough to observe the actual meetings but he now had a good idea of their common locations and frequency.

His contacts amongst the sex workers under his control also indicated that Dawn provided 'entertainment' for a number of rich and powerful members of the Hollywood elite via drugs and prostitution. Blackmail was also very likely a source of income for her. A favour pulled in from the three kindred known somewhat derisively as 'The Blossoms' who ran the sex trade in Downtown had also confirmed a suspicion that Vin had had about her. Dawn was of the clan known as 'The Ministry' that had taken many names over the years, most common of it's previous identities was 'Setites' or 'The Followers of Set. This shed new light on her methods as the clan was notorious for it's preference for corruption, often simply for the thrill of it.

Mr Hertz had used these location references along with his own researches to uncover a number of mergers between companies under the control of the these kindred. Though the businesses themselves weren't major players, they were all in some way involved with housing or construction. Mr Hertz theorised that they maybe being used to build new havens for relocating kindred to after the three baronies became allied. It was only guess-work, but the theory seemed to fit the facts.

Dawn Cavanagh - The Ministry
Hollywood Guru

Dawn's involvement also opened up the possibility that she was planning on expanding her 'self-help' empire.

Dawn Cavanagh was a different matter altogether to Fortier and Abrams. Hertz's investigations had traced the majority of her wealth to 'donations' from the rich and powerful of Hollywood who attended her various seminars and workshops, all after dark of course.

Storytellers Note - Dawn Cavanagh is an NPC who has been on the periphery of a lot of the characters stories up to now. Having ignored several mentions of her activities in previous stories they are now going to have to deal with her with an established power base and powerful allies.

Mr Hertz was an expert in such forensic financial work and though she seemed thoroughly amoral he couldn't find any evidence of illegality in her dealings. As Vin was quite sure she had many criminal interests, and the Nosferatu had no reason to doubt him, this meant that she was highly skilled at covering her tracks or had powerful supernatural assistance in so doing.

Both were now convinced that there was most definitely something in the rumours of an Western alliance of kindred occurring. If such a thing could not be prevented then the only alternative was to get their feet in the door also. Opposing such a consolidation would be next to impossible once it was established. Their Baron Michael was not going to be happy...

Scene Six - Bakers Basement

Blood Sorcery - 'Clinging of the Insect'

Michael was not happy. Watching Daniel crawl down the wall like a spider had been disturbing enough. The fact that this had been accomplished using a ritual that involved Daniel drinking a mixture of vitae and crushed spider bits from a dirty mug they'd found in the kitchen had certainly not helped. Any interest he had in blood sorcery was now purely academic in nature if this was the kind of thing that it involved.

Storytellers Note - This was a particularly good bit of roleplaying by the players and quite enjoyable to watch. It is also inexplicably, Daniel's players favourite ritual whether appropriate to the situation or not, lol.

The concrete floor of the basement had been torn apart by a jackhammer which still sat in the corner of the room amidst a pile of stone and debris. Daniel was familiar enough with Gangrel habits to be aware that those capable of merging with the ground required natural material with which to meld.

It seemed that Baker had removed the unnatural floor covering to allow him access to the ground below, effectively giving him the entire basement floor as a potential sleeping area. Daniel began to move the planks of wood and their deadly attachments out of the way so as to enable Michael to have a safe descent should he wish to do so. The cellar wasn't an original part of the home as the roof had been underpinned in several locations. He then began a search of the cellar.

Hidden amongst the rubble he discovered a selection of clothing, a Sig Sauer P320 handgun that was battered but in working order, a selection of workmanlike but functional knives and a wallet with a few dollars in it, but no identification. There was also a disturbed section of earth about six feet long by a couple of feet across. Already anticipating Michael's reaction, he asked the Toreador waiting above to see if the storage shed they passed on the way in contained any tools suitable for digging.

Muttering swearwords from a variety of eras, Michael went outside and examined the shed. It was locked, but this was swiftly countered by a kick, enhanced by a surge of vitae. It did in fact contain several shovels, forks and other basic tools. Michael made a brief attempt to dust some of the crap off of them and then gave up, before carrying them back to the cellar and throwing them down to the cellar floor. "There's plenty of spiders in there too, if you get hungry later..." remarked Michael. Daniel chose to ignore him and realising that Michael had no intention of assisting, started to dig. It didn't take long for him to discover exactly what he'd been expecting to...

The skeleton appeared to have been there for quite some time based upon it's age but as kindred decomposed to their appropriate age when killed this was not surprising. However, it's overall condition indicated that it had been buried for a few weeks, a month at the most.

A piece of sharpened hardwood had been driven through it's rib cage and the skull was no longer attached to the rest of the body.

Daniel picked up the skull and hurled it to Michael who caught it by instinct before realising what it was. "Buried in the ground, definitely not merged with it..." commented Daniel. "...Killed rather professionally too." He then continued. "Hope wasn't particularly complimentary about his abilities, but he was still a Gangrel, they're not usually easy to kill unless you're an experienced hunter or a more powerful kindred."

'Mary' - Bahari Gangrel
'Mother' of the 'Children of the Wolf' Cult

"Killed in his sleep?" Theorised Michael. Daniel pointed out somewhat sarcastically that this at least limited their suspect pool to every ghoul or mortal in the city. "Of course, I happen to know that some Bahari can walk in daylight for an hour or so before nightfall and after dawn..." added Michael. The Banu Haqim presumed that his baron had picked up that fact during one of his research sessions at the Neillson Library.

Storytellers Note - He actually did it by getting six successes with five dice on his Occult + Intelligence roll but we had to justify the knowledge somehow...

Daniel then asked a very pertinent question. "Do we know if any of the Wilds Pack Gangrel are Bahari?" Michael was forced to admit that he had no idea. It was a worrying thought though. The cities Bahari had no overall leader but the largest group of them were disciples of a female Gangrel known by them as 'Mary' or 'Mother'. She was a descendent of Marius but as far as they could tell operated independently.

"There's something else I could try, but it's not a particularly exact science." suggested Michael. Premonition was admittedly random, but they needed to gather all the information they could before handing the scene over to Victor, and they did have the stake and the skull to use as a foci.

Scene Seven - Too Many Bakers...

'Roach' - Malkavian
Coterie Member, Missing

Reluctantly, Michael descended into the cellar and approached the remains of what they presumed was Baker. With the skull in one hand and the stake in the other, Michael attempted to force a premonition as he focused upon the items he held. He was far less experienced in utilising the technique that the missing coterie member 'Roach' had been but at least he didn't have to deal with the inherent unpredictability that being of the Malkavian clan had added to Roach's visions.

A moment later Michael found himself staring into the face of Baker, a look of surprise was clear upon his face as he stood naked in the dingy cellar. As Michael made eye contact, the reflection within was also of Baker, the perspective then shifted alarmingly. A fully clothed version of Baker stood directly in front of a naked but physically and facially identical image as one drove a stake through the heart of the other.

Another jarring change of perspective occurred as Michael saw through the eyes of the now paralysed Baker. There was a blur of motion and his view of the room began to spin. He realised a moment before he was violently expelled from the vision that the one version of Baker had decapitated the other...

"I think we have another problem to add to our list..." was Michael's first comment upon opening his eyes. He also felt the need to check both his chest and neck, both ached alarmingly despite there being no signs of damage, the vividness of the vision apparently having had some sympathetic physical reaction as well. He then explained what he had seen. "So if the vision is accurate we can change our suspect list to any kindred capable of assuming another form either through illusion or shape-shifting?" Said Daniel. "Or who can change the shape of another..." Added Michael.

Victoria - Ghoul of Marius
Flesh-Crafting Sadist and P.A.

"Great...so we can add Marius's ghoul Victoria to the list too...wonderful..." commented Daniel. "Are you going to accuse her or am I?" Michael knew that he wasn't serious but she was still a suspect, which also meant that Marius had to be added to the list too.

"Before you talk to Victor, I think there's something we need to discuss." Said Daniel. Michael bade him to continue. "The kill was professional but leaving the body to be found like that was amateurish...unless, of course they wanted it found..." Michael nodded and Daniel went on. "That means that it's only the fact that Ramirez and his El Hermandad people didn't investigate properly that prevented the murder of Baker being discovered immediately." Michael agreed that that was a logical conclusion. "So how much would the situation between Covina and El Hermandad have changed if the murder had been discovered straight away?"

"So what your saying is that some-one wanted a war between two El Hermandad allied baronies?" concluded Michael. "It seems that way to me." agreed Daniel. "Which begs the question, was the Wilds Pack takeover of Covina part of the plan, a back-up plan or did that fuck everything up for someone..."

"We can discuss it some more while we wait for Victor but I think we need Vin and Hertz's input too..." Interrupted Michael. "...anyway, I want this mess in the hands of someone else as soon as possible..." This seemed entirely reasonable to Daniel. Michael then rang Victor Girard to tell him what they had discovered.

"Hello, Victor? We've found your missing Sweeper...Twenty-five minutes? Sure...we'll be waiting here for you..."

To be Continued in 'The Baker Disappearance' (Part Three)

In Conclusion

I 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...

It's surprising how often players have radically different ideas than you expected based on the information you give them.

In all honesty this entire session was improvised as the players approached the various plot threads I'd dropped in their paths very differently to what I had expected. This made this particular session both extremely enjoyable and terrifying for me in about equal measures. I'm in the 'Massively over-prepare' school of Storytelling so this could easily have gotten away from me.

My only advice for other Storytellers in these circumstances is to let the players run with their ideas but make careful notes of all their conjectures as at some point you have to decide if they were completely wrong or if their paranoid conjecturing bizarrely becomes the reality, lol.

Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information please visit white-wolf.com.”

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 Matt Bomer, 'Vin' is Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Jesus Ramirez is Javier Bardem, Victor Girard is Bob Hoskins, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Karla Bray is Rose McGowen, Dawn Cavanagh is Emma Stone, 'Roach' was Kurt Cobain and Victoria is Lilith May. 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...