Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Sixty - The Baker Disappearance (Part Three)

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 and Two

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. I have quite a lot prepared for the next session though as I think they'll be needed by then.

Introduction

The skeletal remains of Baker have been discovered in a hastily dug, shallow grave in his haven.

Daniel's suspicions have been aroused due to the professional nature of the kill when compared to the amateurish job of hiding the remains. It is his contention that the body was intended to be discovered far earlier than it actually was. In his opinion this means that the current issues between El Hermandad, Covina and The Wilds may not be playing out exactly as was intended by Bakers assassin or whoever ordered the killing.

A forced premonition by Michael has led them to believe that the murderer has either impressive abilities of Obfuscation or is a skilled flesh-crafter which reduces the number of suspects. Unfortunately it adds to the list several dangerous individuals including a number of elder Nosferatu as well as Marius's ghoul Victoria.

Meanwhile, in the West of the city it now seems certain that the Barons of West L.A. and Hollywood are planning an alliance together with at least one of the kindred of the Brujah Idealists. This has been facilitated by Dawn Cavanagh, a Hollywood guru and member of the clan now known as 'The Ministry'.

Dawn Cavanagh - 'The Ministry', Sir Ralph Hamilton - Brujah Idealists

Michael has decided that it's time to hand the 'Baker' matter back to Victor Girard and leave him to deal with the consequences.

Scene Eight - Conclusions Drawn

Victor Girard - Toreador
Media Magnate

Victor's estimate was accurate and within twenty-five minutes, he and several of his own people had arrived at Baker's Haven. They were then led to the basement where Michael laid out the facts, with occasional details added by Daniel.

Of late, rumours about Daniel's skill set had began to spread due to his involvement in several high profile kindred conflicts. Probably due to this, Victor accepted Daniel's assessment of the professional nature of the kill without comment. He also accepted that the shoddy nature of the clean-up was incongruous to say the least.

Storytellers Note - Daniel's player was doing very well at keeping his activities quiet but after he blew Amethyst's head off in full view of three kindred factions, I decided that word had begun to spread...

Michael then laid out the pertinent points of his premonition and his own interpretation of it. In his opinion the culprit was some-one capable of assuming the shape of another either physically or through the powers of illusion.

He also added that this meant that the meeting that Covina claimed they had with Baker could actually have occurred. "So..." said Victor "...it is your opinion that some-one intended for open war to be provoked between El Hermandad and Covina, spurred on by the discovery of Bakers body." Both agreed that this seemed likely. "And that it was also intended that Bakers body was to have been discovered early enough so that Covina's tale of passing on a message to him would have been perceived to be a lie to cover up their part in his murder?"

Jesus Ramirez - Ventrue
Salvador Garcia's Seneschal

"So where do the Wilds Pack fit into this?" asked Victor. Michael admitted that this was unknown. They could have been part of the plan or simply taking advantage of the confusion surrounding it. Either way, a casual inspection of the scene would have been all that was necessary to discover what Michael's own people had done. "So Ramirez and his people were far from thorough then?"

Michael decided to allow Victor to make his own conclusions about the competence of his rival Ramirez in order to avoid being quoted directly. He was therefore none-committal in his response.

Victor addressed this in a surprisingly straight-forward manner. "I understand your desire to avoid picking a side in any internecine dispute within El Hermandad but I'm afraid that your agreement to investigate on my behalf may well already be interpreted as picking me over Ramirez." He then offered a solution. "If however you agree to keep your findings to yourself, I will take it upon myself to relay any conclusions to Ramirez and take the responsibility for the majority of the discoveries myself..."

Michael was well aware that Victor was talking about taking all the credit for himself. This would have the advantage of minimising their culpability should problems arise but also meant that they would be obliged to have no further involvement in the issue. Knowing full well that Daniel was unlikely to let the matter go regardless of what they agreed with Victor, he offered a compromise.

The Border between Pasadena and El Hermandad

"That would seem the best path, all things considered. "Began Michael. "However, we reserve the right to continue to look into any aspect of this that may effect my own barony. You understand that I, like you, also have people for which I'm responsible. I'm sure you wouldn't wish me to endanger them merely to further another kindred's ambitions?" Michael then paused before continuing. "Whether I believe them to be the best kindred for the job or not..."

Victor nodded, accepting the subtle hint that he might have an ally in Michael as long as Michael's own interests weren't threatened. "We are agreed then. You'll not find me ungrateful should I be in a position to assist you in the future." concluded Victor before indicating that Michael and Daniel could leave the scene of the crime with him and his own people.

Storytellers Note - In mechanical terms I gave Michael's player a 'minor' boon that he could call in with Victor should he so desire. I also stated that should this series of events indirectly result in Victor rising to power that I would upgrade the boon to 'major' as it would become a far more significant bargaining chip then.

Scene Nine - In Conference

Sofia Rivera - Toreador
'Dancer' at Club Vesuvius

The coterie now had much to discuss so gathered together to share the progress of their individual investigations. Michael also took this opportunity to introduce them to a new acquaintance of his named Sofia. He informed the coterie that she was a new contact he had made at the recent gathering of the cities Toreador and that she would be "A useful agent for our investigations within Hollywood and the surrounding area as she is already established there." He then cited her employment with Velvet Velour as an excellent place from which to gather information for them. Daniel immediately added her to his 'Investigate thoroughly' list.

Hertz had extended his investigations into the various companies that were currently involved in major activity and which were also covertly owned by the barons of West L.A., Hollywood and San Fernando Valley.

He had confirmed his own suspicions that the companies involved were mainly involved in construction and material supply. The properties being acquired weren't exactly prime real estate but in the Nosferatu's opinion would all make excellent havens with some modification. The areas that were empty were also in prime sites as far as potential feeding grounds were concerned. The obvious conclusion was that some-one was planning to expand their bases of operations across the entire of the Western part of the city.

As the existing havens of both Baron Fortier and Baron Abrams were already perfectly adequate for their needs it also implied that they were expecting to have additional mouths to feed. A worrying thought in a city that was already massively overpopulated in kindred terms.

Amethyst - Caitiff, Rose - Childe of Amethyst, Zipper - Childe of Rose

He also had been looking into the former empire of Amethyst and confirmed Daniel's suspicions that a large proportion of the companies wealth had been skilfully siphoned away. Calling in a favour or two with several of the cities more computer inclined Nosferatu, they identified the methods used as being the trademarks of a hacker known as 'Zipper'. Daniel pointed out that though Zipper had the skills, it was more likely Rose who was pulling the strings. It was common knowledge that Amethyst had instructed Rose to seduce and embrace Zipper so as to gain access to his computer skills. His obsession to her had always been more than obvious to even the casual observer.

Reuben Hart - Ghoul of Mr Hertz
'Leader' of the Apostles

On a different subject he also reported on the progress of 'The Apostles', a gang he'd inherited control of when the coterie member known as 'Roach' had disappeared.

Though Roach's only real interest had been drugs, Mr Hertz had expanded their activities to cover the full gamut of organised crime with considerable success. Though it had to be said that Roach's success with narcotics had provided a significant proportion of the cash that had facilitated these expansions. The only area not under his control was the sex industry which was ran by Vin who had shown a surprising talent in that area.

The only stumbling block to further expansion was that doing so involved moving into domains controlled by other kindred. This had been expressly forbidden by Michael and given the resources of their direct kindred neighbours, Mr Hertz could see the reasoning behind it.

'The Blossoms' - Toreador
Madams of Downtown's Sex Trade

Vin's investigation into Dawn Cavanagh via his contacts in the sex industries had revealed an astonishing network of depravity and sin. Much of the information he had received was via Karla Bray, the enforcer for the Toreador known somewhat insultingly as 'The Blossoms' who ran the sex trade of Downtown for Marius. They had apparently provided Dawn with a number of male and female sex workers with very specific interests in exchange for future boons and favours.

It seemed that Dawn's influence amongst the rich and powerful of Hollywood was centred on an uncanny ability to discover their darkest secrets and then allow them to indulge them. Blackmail, both subtle and blatant was then the next step though many she controlled by simply being a convenient gateway for their debaucheries to be indulged without judgement or limit. He got the distinct impression that neither Karla nor her bosses Tayla and Lottie liked dawn Cavanagh. They did however, deem her influential enough to stay on the right side of and recommended that Vin did the same.

Isaac Abrams - Toreador
Baron of Hollywood

His people on the street had been utilised to observe the comings and goings of Dawn and she had been seen making regular visits to a jewellery shop in Hollywood that was a known meeting place utilised by Baron Isaac Abrams. Though the majority of Vin's surveillance was conducted by street people with little expertise in that area it was Vin's observation that people had a tendency to treat the homeless and destitute as if they weren't there. He did however have a small number of operatives who had been in the military before circumstances had forced them onto the street and these were given tasks with greater responsibility.

These more experienced observers were of the opinion that Dawn wasn't happy about the visits and based upon the information they relayed to Vin, he had concluded that Dawn was definitely under Isaac's control in some manner. Whatever hold he had over her was beyond the abilities of his operatives to discover. That was a task that would need to be passed on to Daniel's investigators as though Vin would use whatever resources necessary to get the job done he was unwilling to risk the lives of his people needlessly.

He also relayed to his fellow coterie members the news that a number of strange individuals had been observed near the borders between Pasadena and Downtown. He suspected that they were members of the group known as 'The Swarm' that infested the sewers below Downtown, serving the whims of their insane mistress and her eldest childe Quinn.

Tilly - Gangrel
'Mistress of the Swarm'

Presumably they were testing the limits of their underground domain. Vin had apparently made it very clear to them how far they were allowed to venture into Pasadena. Michael sensibly refrained from asking just how this had been accomplished.

Daniel then laid out the results of the investigation into Baker for the benefit of Vin and Mr Hertz who had not been present. He also raised his suspicions that the plan had been to start a war between Covina and El Hermandad, a plan that had failed due to a lack of thoroughness in the investigation by Ramirez. When prompted by Vin for his opinion he theorised that the Wilds Pack's proximity to the border had been to take advantage of a conveniently emptied Covina as the Covina Brujah would have been outnumbered three to one in any resulting conflict. This of course meant that the Gangrel of the Wilds were directly involved in the conspiracy, either independently or more likely at the behest of Marius.

Marius 'The Fixer' Walker - Gangrel
Convenient Scapegoat?

Possessed of a somewhat convoluted mind, Daniel also put forward a number of other potential explanations. It being a plot of one of the other baronies to implicate Marius, or at the very least to force his attention elsewhere could be a possibility. Especially as this series of events had drawn all the attention to the East of L.A. and away from the West where Issac and Louis were seemingly making their own power play.

He also theorised that it could have been an elaborate ruse by Victor Girard to undermine his rival Jesus Ramirez. A plan that had unfortunately allowed the Wilds Pack to take advantage of it's failure. This would explain why Victor was now trying to change the focus of the investigation from the murder itself to the failures of Ramirez.

Ultimately though, the decision about how to proceed lay with their Baron, Michael.

Michael gathered his thoughts for moment before beginning. "It's clear that the Wilds as a barony now covers what was once Covina and that there is nothing that can be done to reverse those events. El Hermandad has lost an ally and their de-facto leader Ramirez now looks either weak or incompetent, or at the very least that is the opinion that his rival Victor will be vocalising." As no-one contradicted him, he continued. "I have therefore decided that we will keep to our word and allow Victor to take the credit for the discovery of Baker and he can forge whatever narrative he wishes. In all honesty, from what I have learned about Mr Girard, he will make a much better ally for our long-term goals than Ramirez would."

Henrique 'Hank' Boyd - Brujah
Baron of the Crypts Sons

"That being said, we do not wish to see El Hermandad in so weak a position as to allow the Crypts Sons to be in a position to take advantage and wipe-out their rivals. Much as Hank respects my opinion and has shown to be a man of his word, such power must be kept out of his hands." The rest of the coterie was in complete agreement.

The Crypt's Sons were powerful enough as it was and there needed to be some barrier to a potential uncontrolled expansion. "This means that I will give Victor enough support to enable him to consolidate his position as long as such support can be done below the radar of Ramirez. Meanwhile I will also discourage Hank from making any rash moves which will hopefully give Victor enough time to consolidate his position." This was, of course, a dangerous position to take but all agreed that the balance needed to be maintained until they were powerful enough as a barony to be able to deal with one or the other permanently. Whether as ally or enemy, would depend on the situation at the time.

Michael had also drawn several conclusions based on his observation of Victor and the files on him provided by Carmelita that he chose to share. "Victor is not the kind of kindred who stands front and centre and risks himself, however." He now had the coteries interest. "It is my opinion based on his past actions and his current activities that he will seek out a figurehead from which to operate behind. We therefore need to keep a sharp eye on any kindred that he himself seems to be supporting or exalting the virtues of." The others agreed to ensure that their own agents and operatives kept the look out for any kindred that might fit that description.

"I suppose we should now turn the remainder of our available resources to finding out if this Western alliance is going to need our attention..."

To be Continued in 'Inevitable Betrayals' (Part One)

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...

I quite enjoyed this particular story. It didn't have any big action scenes or overly dramatic twists, it was simply a group of players attempting to navigate kindred politics. Ironically this produced some better role-playing moments than some of it's more dramatic previous stories.

Sometimes the players more or less point you at which one of your sub-plots that you need to expand upon and this was one such case. Fortunately there's lots going on in the West of L.A. so I only need to make myself a few flowcharts of various kindred relationships and a crib-sheet or two so I don't get my own NPC's mixed up. I know this seems like the obvious next port of call for the players but they've thrown me a curve ball before now so I was relatively pleased that I don't have to pull an entirely new plot-line out of my arse nowhere, lol.

To be honest I'm just surprised this is still going and that I have ideas left...

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, Dawn Cavanagh is Emma Stone, Sir Ralph Hamilton is Pierce Brosnan, Victor Girard is Bob Hoskins, Jesus Ramirez is Javier Bardem, Sofia Rivera is Eliza Dushka, Amethyst is Paula Patton, Rose is Thylane Blondeau, Zipper is Johnny Galecki, Reuben Hart is Ray Liotta, 'The Blossoms' are Holly Marie Combs, Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman, Tilly is Anna Paquin, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, and Hank is Michael Clarke Duncan. 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...