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.
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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
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The PC'sMichael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'
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. 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), Suicide (Implied), Terrorism.
Introduction
Tonight is the night when the fate of three cities will be decided. Seven Camarilla representatives and seven Anarch Barons are meeting in the offices above the Succubus Club in Hollywood. Failure to reach an agreement will spell disaster for all concerned and the Anarch Council is preparing for all out war in that eventuality.
Storytellers Note - The Anarch Council of Los Angeles and it's membership is detailed HERE.
Anarch Representatives
Michael Tomassio (Baron of the North East), Isaac Abrams (Baron of Hollywood and San Fernando), Louis Fortier (Baron of West L.A.), Marius Walker (Baron of Downtown), Gary Golden (Baron of the Warrens), Harvey Caplan (Baron of the South Coast), Gloria Martinez (Baron of El Hermandad)
Camarilla Representatives
Vannevar Thomas (Prince of San Francisco), Suzanne Rochelle (Seneschal to Vannevar), Kelvin Wee (Camarilla Negotiator), Luna Demian (Tremere Primogen), Mirko Mirkonen (Gangrel Primogen), Kokopell Mana (Nosferatu Primogen), Sara Anne Winder (Ventrue Primogen)
Scene Ten - The Big Night
Vin has supplemented standard club security with the addition of his own security personnel.
Vin controlled the coteries businesses within the sex trade of Pasadena and enforced this with a team of personally selected individuals. Though most of the coteries mortal 'muscle' was provided by the gang known as The Apostles who were controlled by Mr Hertz, Vin preferred to have his own people. People who were loyal to him above all.
These enforcers had been selected, for the most part, from the most physically intimidating individuals he could find. They were mainly former military or law enforcement officers and tended to solve problems in the most brutal manner possible. Vin had briefed his teams that they would need to be more subtle than usual and that they were to only involve themselves in any 'trouble' with his express permission. More or less, they were there to look scary. Something they were actually, very, very good at.
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| Dakota Kassidy - Ghoul of Michael Succubus Club Manager |
Having someone with an awareness of some of the potential supernatural issues that might occur was unfortunately necessary and Dakota now had a basic knowledge of what she had become and what was expected of her. She had taken the revelation surprisingly well, though Michael's persuasive talents were certainly a factor in that acceptance.
Meanwhile, Daniel had implemented a number of additional safeguards that he could reasonably accomplish in the hour or two before representatives start to head towards the summit. He had double and triple-checked his lines of communication with the various forces at his disposal and arranged with Vin for a contact point with the street people that acted as his eyes and ears. Now he would have to wait and see if his safeguards were adequate.
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| Catherine DuBois - Ventrue Mistress and Childe of Louis Fortier |
A centrally located, heavy table has seven seats on each side and sofa's around the outside. The door to the rest of the floor and by definition, the rest of the club looks like it could withstand a battering ram. A second door giving roof access is equally formidable.
The only other entrance to the room led to a suite designed for Michael to relax when not in his office. It currently contained a selection of blood dolls provided by Catherine DuBois, to serve the needs of the summits guests. The meeting room had been equipped with a solid table of English oak, elaborate but comfortable seating and the walls were decorated with art obtained from kindred artists rather than mortal ones.
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| Karen Anatos - Gangrel Baron of Burbank, Anathema |
The separate set of cameras that subtly observed the supposedly private areas fed to both Michael's office and a secondary security room nearby.
Karen Anatos is on one of the floors with her ghoul and favourite director Karl Williams. They are accompanied by a selection of scream queens from a variety of low to mid budget horror films.
Ironically, their style of dress is far more that of a stereotypical vampire than that of any of the actual kindred present in the club. Leanna, 'shepherd' of Marius's Blood Dolls, and herself a former actress is chatting with them too. A significant number of fans of this particular genre are attempting to get the attention of their favourite stars.
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| Leanna - Duskborn Blood Sommelier and Mistress of Blood Dolls |
He is dressed in an expensive but tasteful grey suit and a white shirt, his beard is cropped, hair short and he is uncharacteristically blushed.
Had you never seen him in action you would never associate this version of Marius with the brutal predator you know him to be.
A vivacious looking young woman in a highly sexualised version of a school uniform has effectively taken over a third of one floor. Dozens of attractive men and women are vying for her attentions and she is expertly playing them off against one another as she quickly grows bored of each in turn.
The family resemblance to Therese Voerman makes it obvious that this is her sister Jeanette.
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| Jeanette Voerman - Malkavian Hollywood Asylum Owner, Sister of Therese |
Seemingly facilitating Jeanette's comfort and handling her expenditures is a woman in an exquisite designer dress. She has a passing similarity to Jane Lane, Therese Voerman's seneschal though she has an attractiveness and style that the restrained Miss Lane would be hard-pressed to duplicate. A single member of Therese's so-called 'Commando Coterie' is nearby, Though whether Ellie-May Li is protecting Jeanette, keeping an eye on her for Therese or is just there to keep Jeanette out of trouble is debateable.
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| Carmelita Neillson - Toreador Archaeologist and Camarilla Archivist |
He knew that she was in the city to help make the elder members of the Camarilla representatives comfortable. That she was also here as an agent of Fiorenza Savona was entirely possible.
She briefly passed Marius and they spoke but for mere moments, it's possible that she handed him something small, like a note or letter but it was difficult to tell.
Michael presumed that it was some missive from Fiorenza Savona, the Ventrue power-broker of the Camarilla. Marius resented Fiorenza's interferences in his activities but unfortunately for him she had enough leverage to force him into some measure of cooperation.
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| Fiorenza Savona - Ventrue Camarilla Power Broker |
Desperate elders seeking ways of staving off Gehenna and the Beckoning increasingly sought out the Brazilian-Irish Toreador archaeologist. She unearthed the past and interviewed Kindred, chronicling a vast array of vampire history and conversations with vampires as old as two millennia.
This made her a perfect liaison with any kindred whose age made it difficult for them to relate to the modern age.
With Fiorenza Savona as a sponsor she was rarely short of the resources she needed to perform her researches and so the relationship seemed to suit them both. The price for Fiorenza's sponsorship was usually in the area of providing information as Carmelita tended to be politically neutral.
That such a meeting as this would be of interest to Fiorenza was no surprise to anyone. Her own plan to undermine the Anarch Free States by installing operatives in key locations had been a direct competitor to Vannevar's plan to take Los Angeles by force of arms. The failure of The Prince of San Francisco own plan therefore suited her political needs. No doubt Carmelita would be providing Fiorenza with detailed reports on the summit's progress.
Scene Eleven - Elspeth
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| 'Max', Gangrel and Max's Ghoul 'Izzy' |
She had informed Daniel rather than interfering as her only solution would have been to physically assault them which she's not sure would have pleased Michael. Daniel noted that the idea of attacking a truck full of Brujah and their allies didn't seem to concern her at all, merely the fact that it might threaten her status as a Pasadena resident.
Daniel contacted Zipper, the coteries hacker and manager of the MacNeill system that the coterie used to monitor the cities police forces. As usual the call was answered by Rose, Zippers constant companion. Rose was very beautiful and many questioned what attracted her to the reclusive hacker and inspired her to embrace him in the first place.
Amethyst - Caitiff, Rose - Childe of Amethyst, Zipper - Childe of Rose
The fact that many claimed she did so under the instructions of her sire, begged the question, why she had stayed with him after Amethyst was destroyed.
Whatever the reasoning behind the relationship, it was certainly Rose who kept Zipper focussed. She could also be surprisingly vicious and also acted as his protector should the situation warrant it.
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| Elspeth Bourne - Brujah Former Baron of San Jose |
Elspeth Bourne and Jaskaran Mccoy, had both been driven from their havens in San Jose by Vannevar's forces and so the Brujah had a considerable personal grudge against him. The only other two survivors from San Jose were a pair of Gangrel sisters who blamed the loss on Elspeth's leadership. This made it unlikely that they would have joined in any attack against him with her as leader.
Daniel contacted 'Chick', one of Santa Monica's sweepers and organiser of security for Vannevar as long as he was a guest in the territory of her Baron, Therese Voerman.
Chick listened to the information before giving her assessment. "You realise that despite them being residents of Pasadena that I will have no choice but to destroy them all if they make any incursion into my territory or threaten those I'm tasked with the protection of?"
Daniel confirmed that if their destruction was required that he had no issues at all with her doing so. Though Michael preferred none fatal solutions to problems, Daniel was well aware that Chick wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them. He was also aware that from a political point of view, removing them as a threat before they entered the barony of another was a far better option. Therese Voerman, Baron of Santa Monica was not of a forgiving nature.
Needing more information he first contacted Max once more, then Hope. Max informed him that the vehicle had contained two kindred and two ghouls. He didn't ask if she was sure as Max wouldn't have made the statement unless she was.
He then despatched Hope to follow the vehicle based on the description he had received.
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| Raven Form - Metamorphosis |
Before her transformation, Daniel had informed her in no uncertain terms that the problem needed to be resolved in a permanent manner and that he'd explain the necessity to Michael should their Baron raise any objections after the fact.
Hope was happy to oblige. During her service with Marius before Michael, he had taught her that stagnation was a constant problem with immortality, and that one needed to continually push the envelope or become locked into the time one was embraced. Hope had taken this lesson to heart and was far more deadly than would be expected for a kindred of her age. Diablerie had helped, of course. That was another lesson of Marius's, though one, that she kept to herself.
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| Yukio's Security Team - Concealed Weaponry |
Hope was a powerful fighter but the target vehicle contained two Brujah and amongst kindred clans they were considered to have the most advantages in the area of physical confrontation.
One of the vehicles provided by Marius had a powerful internally concealed weapon system that Daniel had been hoping to keep in reserve, but this seemed like a job for which it was tailor-made. Concerned that the meeting hadn't even begun and he was down three weapon teams and Hope, he double-checked the forces he had left. This was going to be a long night...
Hope had tracked the van to a warehouse just outside Santa Monica. In her opinion their plan was to ambush Vannevar on his return after the meeting not before as they seemed to be not yet prepared. She decided to find an area from which she could conceal herself and observe Elspeth and her teams activities.
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| Mining Explosives |
Hope had a certain level of knowledge in the area of IED's and explosives from her time in the military and these looked like mining explosives. A suspicion formed in her mind. Several had commented that when the Camarilla base along the South Coast had been destroyed, that the expected secondary explosion from the explosives stored there never happened. Perhaps Elspeth had stolen these while the focus of the Camarilla was on other matters. It would have taken split second timing but wasn't impossible. Such conjecture served no purpose as whatever the source, they had them and were obviously ready to put them to use.
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| Remote Control Detonator |
Storytellers Note - I admittedly hadn't prepared for this eventuality so some of the suspense was robbed from the subsequent action as the detonator was safely out of the suicide teams hands.
She then waited impatiently for the backup teams to arrive.
"Where's the fucking detonator?" yelled Jaskaran, his impatient and anxiousness evident in both his tone of voice and erratic movements. "On the pile of boxes by the van..." replied Elspeth in an exasperated tone.
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| Hope's Pre-Emptive Strike |
During this exchange, the security teams arrived.
Hope sent a single message to their leader ordering them to wait for her signal. They didn't ask what the signal would be. Hopes reputation was such that they knew that it would be loud and messy. They weren't to be disappointed.
From their vantage point outside, the security teams heard the screams of alarm as Hope dropped down into the warehouse and promptly sliced Jaskaran from collarbone to hip with a pair of razor sharp claws before he could even respond.
They moved in, focussing their fire on the surprised looking ghouls, though were careful to keep their shots far wide of the explosive filled vehicle.
Hope leapt at Elspeth who moved aside at the last minute and punched the approaching Gangrel with all her strength.
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| Overwhelming Firepower |
"My turn..." she stated coldly.
It turned out that Elspeth was a glass cannon, focussed entirely on dishing out the damage but with little resilience to that inflicted upon herself. In less than five seconds, the Gangrel tore her into pieces before drinking deeply from the remains. A second group of mortals, arriving late, walked straight into the waiting arms of enough fully automatic weapons fire to take on a force considerably larger than the one that arrived. The last of Elspeth's allies died even more swiftly than she herself had done.
Hope called Daniel to explain that the situation was resolved.
"Cover-up needed?" asked Daniel, knowing that Hope wasn't particularly subtle.
"Not really..." she replied. "...though you might want to leak a plausible story to the press about an explosion just outside Santa Monica..."
Once a safe distance away, Hope pressed the button of the detonator, levelling the warehouse and destroying all the evidence that it once contained.
Scene Twelve - The Summit (Part One)
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| Miriam Caravaggio - Toreador Assassin and Bodyguard to Sara Anne Winder |
Vin had carefully monitored each member of security as they entered the club and mentally classified them by threat level. Only Sara Winder's guard, Miriam Caravaggio, struck him as a potential threat to himself.
She moved with effortless grace, but nonetheless exuded an aura of self confidence in her abilities. His own research had indicated she had accounted for an impressive body count of enemies of Sara, many of which she should have had difficulty dealing with, but apparently had not.
The Gangrel Primogen Mirko Mirkonnen's companion, Gustavo Morales, had the same swagger. Michael had already told him to leave the Gangrel to Marius's people to deal with. The Gangrel Clan had their own ways of dealing with disputes and Vin's Baron had decided that they were one problem that someone else could deal with.
The guests took their allocated seats and the meeting began.
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| Suzanne Rochelle - Toreador Seneschal to the Prince of San Francisco |
The wine was specifically selected to be pre-French Revolution. Knowing her background it felt more relevant to Michael to originate before the fall of the monarchy specifically.
Leanna was happy to oblige. Michael was rapidly turning into her best customer where exclusive vintages were concerned. Rather than offer it to Vannevar, he instead placed it before the Prince's Seneschal, Suzanne Rochelle and addressed her directly. "A gift relating to our shared heritage. I spent many inspiring years in Paris during the early nineteen hundreds and found it to be one of the great cultural centres of the world. Hopefully that will give us some common ground."
Vannevar's reaction was exactly what Michael had hoped. Michael also detected that Suzanne seemed to respond to the flattery. His empathy led him to believe that Vannevar Thomas had been less than attentive of late. This was something he could use to his advantage.
She thanked him for the gift and seemed to be sincere in her gratitude.
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| Vannevar Thomas - Ventrue Camarilla Prince of San Francisco |
As expected, Vannevar went immediately on the offensive.
"First things first so as to avoid any wasting of our time here. San Jose's status as a Camarilla domain is non-negotiable. I am open to talk about permissions in regards to residency and travel but make no mistake, It is ours and will remain so..."
Michael could see that this was no idle statement. He clearly meant this as his 'line in the sand'. This was also not unexpected. In fact Michael had already decided this was a point on which they would have to concede. But not entirely. Isaac's reply indicated that he too agreed with Michael's assessment.
"Any Anarch who wishes entry to San Jose will need to be allowed to do so. It was Anarch long before your assault and our people have commitment's there that they must be allowed access to..."
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| Isaac Abrams - Toreador Baron of Hollywood and San Fernando |
Michael decided to interject.
"Cooperation is within our best interest. A territory between us is likely to be a prime target for both the Second Inquisition and the Sabbat. Together we have far more chance of preventing this eventuality. Whoever takes the role of leader is largely irrelevant. Without our mutual strength protecting San Jose it will fall into enemy hands and be a significant strategic weapon against us both."
Michael had spent considerable time debating the potential security concerns that might be raised and both Vin and Daniel had raised a number of useful points. These were things he had to consider, despite them being of less interest to him than they probably should have been.
Suzanne then replied. Her tone was controlled but conciliatory "Any Anarchs who entered San Jose would be required to report to whoever the Camarilla allocates as it's Prince. We would also need to place strict limits on the amount of Anarchs residing in the city at any one time. The total would have to remain in the single figures..."
This was a compromise that the Anarchs could live with though Michael added that in the interests of fairness that an equivalent limit would have to be placed on Camarilla visitors to Los Angeles. In their opinion, nine Anarchs were a force to be reckoned with and would give them some leverage within San Jose. They would certainly be outnumbered but they had endured worse odds and prevailed.
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| Luna Demian - House Tremere Tremere Primogen and Chantry Regent |
"While conversations about access are on the table, I will require the right to visit those of my clan who reside within the former chantry of Regent Maximillian Strauss based in Downtown and also require that it's residents be allowed entry to San Francisco." She turns to Vannevar at this point. "My support for the decisions of these negotiations is directly tied to these requirements."
It was clear that having this ultimatum levelled at him in front of the Anarchs further irritated him. If Luna cared about the Princes discomfort she did not show it. As the chantry was located within his Barony, it was Marius's place to reply.
"I have no objection to such a stipulation as long as visitors through my domain do me the courtesy of announcing themselves. Of course, access to the chantry was originally facilitated with the direct cooperation of Baron Tomassio so I will defer to his opinion before making the decision final."
Michael had to hide his surprise at this comment. No doubt Marius had an ulterior motive but the deference to him by a kindred of such power and influence couldn't help but elevate his own status. Vannevar's reaction to this was obvious. He had taken a dislike to Michael and any hint that his opinion carried any weight had begun to erode the Prince's limited patience.
Storytellers Note - This was a potentially dangerous tactic, but was fun to watch being played out.
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| Mirko Mirkonen - Gangrel Defacto Primogen of San Francisco |
Mirko Mirkonnen, de-facto Gangrel Primogen then raised his own concerns.
"As San Jose is to remain in Camarilla hands then we must be able to protect it's borders from enemies. We will therefore need access to the San Gabriel Mountains so as to protect any unauthorised access to our domain."
All eyes turned to Marius once more. Michael sighed inwardly and hoped that Marius wasn't in one of his 'kicking the hornets nest' moods. He was also sure based on the intelligence he'd received from his own coterie that Mirko wasn't thinking about the Camarilla at all. It seemed that he just wished to be able to patrol the area. Why, however, was difficult to guess. Marius didn't even need to speak, Michael could already sense that even if such an agreement was made, that Marius wouldn't honour it.
Before the meeting Hope had put forward the argument that Mirko might actually attempt to gain access to this area to hunt the werewolves still hidden within the mountains as without the 'Kindred of the East' he had nothing on which to test his skill. It seems she had pre-empted Mirko's demand and her reasoning about his objectives also seemed to be sound.
"This is something that Mirko and I can discuss in person after the meeting. I'm sure that between us we can decide whose opinion is the most valid." Those with knowledge of Clan Gangrel were reasonably sure that this meant that they were going to fight for it. Both sides had confidence in their own champion so no arguments were raised.
A selection of Blood Dolls provided by Catherine DuBois
"Perhaps some refreshments might be in order?" interjected Michael and indicated to Vin that he should fetch the Blood Dolls and blood infused wines Michael had prepared in advance.
Scene Thirteen - The Road Block
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| 'Crow' - Autarkis Gangrel, Greek Bloodline Tracker and Guide |
'Crow' was one of the foremost guides amongst the Gangrel of Los Angeles and also a considerably skilled gatherer of information, utilising her flocks of birds as eyes and ears. Subsequently her services were very expensive indeed. Crow was fond of her independent status but the fee offered to her by Baron Fortier to assist with the security of this summit was eye-wateringly excessive.
She observed that the officers were stopping vehicles periodically for what appeared to be 'routine inspections'. The road block consists of two patrol vehicles, a larger vehicle that looked like an operations centre of some description and about a dozen officers. According to 'Zipper' there was no official police activity in that area.
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| Sara Anne Winder - Ventrue Ventrue Primogen of San Francisco |
He concluded that Vannevar was going to assassinate Sara and blame the Anarchs generally and Marius specifically. The 'cops', according to Crow were also equipped with concealed MP7's and P90's mimicking the preferred armament of Yukio's, security personnel. As Marius's second most trusted ghoul, incriminating her in any assassination attempt was the sensible option.
As far as Daniel was aware, Marius had no reason to set up an ambush for Sara, Vannevar on the other hand would be very happy to see his main rival for the role as Prince destroyed. Especially if another could be blamed. He decided to contact Victoria, Marius's personal assistant and most favoured ghoul.
"Victoria? We have a mutual issue that needs resolving..."
He explained the situation and his suspicions. Victoria assured him that they had no plans to assassinate Sara, nor any of the summits attendees come to that.
Besides which, an ambush by fake police, was in her opinion amateurish in the extreme. Unworthy of anyone inventive, but about right for Vannevar, especially if his Seneschal wasn't involved to come up with something better.
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| Layton McCall - Ventrue Office of Constitutional Policing LAPD |
"Well Layton, I need you to access the police camera system and trace for me the origins of the officers manning a police road block which may well be an assassination attempt designed to frame Marius."
"Simple enough..." replied the voice. "...I'll call you back in fifteen minutes..."
"Not having access to something like your MacNeil System.." explained Victoria. "...we have to use more traditional methods. Having a kindred cop on the payroll is certainly useful, if a tad difficult to maintain as an asset..."
"I bet..." replied Daniel
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Layton McCall once more entered the chat.
"The cars were deployed by boat onto several flat-bed trucks, covered and then dropped off at the location of the roadblock. The boats were Vannevar's though the unloading didn't occur until he and his Seneschal left Santa Monica. Do you want anything done about this?" he asked.
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| Victoria Anne - Ghoul of Marius Psychotic Personal Assistant |
After some consideration he decided that going around was the better option. Elimination could come later if necessary. "I'll speak to Sara's bodyguard about an alternative return route." he concluded. Without even a goodbye, Victoria hung up having decided that her input was no longer required.
Miriam was seated in a booth with line of sight to the stairway leading to the meeting room. The Anarch guard that he had allocated to accompany her was pacing nervously. Something about Miriam was making him uneasy.
He was genuinely happy when Daniel dismissed him and sat down opposite the Toreador assassin.
She was making a great show of being relaxed but Daniel doubted that this was so despite seeing no signs of tension. He attempted to look as none-threatening as possible. He needn't have bothered.
"There's no need to play the role of non-combatant with me." she began. "I've done my research and your score of kindred enemies is quite impressive...for a mere Brujah philosopher..." deciding to take the direct approach, Daniel leaned forward and began to explain.
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| Yukio Hayashi - Ghoul of Marius Head of Marius's Security, Assassin |
Daniel took a napkin from the table and sketched out what he presumed would be Sara's route back and indicated the location of the roadblock on the improvised map. Miriam then took the pen and added her own alternate route to the drawing. After some back and forth, an alternate route that would safely bypass the ambush was agreed.
"You are aware that even someone who came up with an assassination attempt this childish might have a back-up plan." Daniel commented. It was obvious from her facial expression that this had already occurred to her. Daniel slid over a card with his direct number on it. "Call me before you do anything that might be considered to be fatal to anyone..." he said.
He then rose from his seat and indicated to the security man he'd dismissed that there was no need for him to resume his post. After spending twenty minutes in her presence he was sure that if she had violence in mind that she would roll over her allocated guardian without breaking a figurative sweat.
He briefly considered informing Michael then changed his mind. His Baron needed to be free of distractions if this summit was to be a success.
Scene Fourteen - The Summit (Part Two)
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| Kelvin Wee - Ventrue Negotiator for the Justicars of the Camarilla |
Kelvin Wee, the Camarilla's negotiator and himself of the Ventrue Clan had fed briefly and carefully from a pretty young Chinese girl of about twenty years old. Michael didn't leap to any conclusions. His preference could just have easily been girls of that age, or brunettes for that matter. Though it was still worth making a mental note of.
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| The Camarilla ruled City of San Francisco |
"We also need to discuss the withdrawal of the forces committed by Prince Thomas to this now failed endeavour. We would require not only our personnel to be granted free travel back to San Francisco but their equipment to be taken with them too. We will not leave our resources to be salvaged by the Anarchs of the Free States."
It was obvious to Michael that Sara couldn't give a fuck about Vannevar's personnel or the equipment. He suspected that she was just was using the opportunity to undermine Vannevar before the others present. He also had the suspicion that she had raised this point before Vannevar could do so in order to gain credit for their 'rescue' and put a significant number of kindred in her debt.
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| Louis Fortier - Ventrue Baron of West Los Angeles |
Michael was also sure that given that there was almost one Camarilla base per Barony, that he'd need the full cooperation and agreement of every Baron in L.A. to be sure this went well.
Louis Fortier also had his own stipulation to the withdrawal
"Your bases would need to emptied one at a time in order to prevent any of your people 'getting lost' on their way back home.
Vannevar then seized the opportunity to use a piece of information he had obviously been saving for just such an occasion.
"You seem overly concerned about the potential for the Camarilla to flood the Free States with spies..." Vannevar began, a smug impression upon his face."...when it was riddled with such, long before my campaign against this city." He looks pointedly at Michael.
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| Kokopell Mana - Nosferatu Nosferatu Primogen of San Francisco |
Sara Winder seemed indifferent.
Marius then started to laugh. All who knew Marius even peripherally, looked over in surprise. A sense of humour was not one of his virtues
"If Michael's a Camarilla infiltrator then he's doing a terrible fucking job..." began Marius, still chuckling. "...he's been indirectly responsible for foiling three takeovers of this city in the last two and a half years, has prevented half a dozen internal conflicts and personally executed an Archon, albeit a disgraced one...If he's the Camarilla's idea of a useful agent then I hope they send us a few more..."
The complete scorn in Marius tone was tangible and Vannevar's rage is now clear to all present. Fortier and Gloria as well as several of the Primogen are also smiling which was hardly helping the situation.
Vannevar stood, Marius rose a moment after the Prince did and Mirko pushed back his chair and mirrored Marius action. The distinctive crack of transforming flesh and bone could be heard as both Marius and Mirko extended razor sharp claws from their hands.
Mirko stood nearly a foot taller than Marius but the emergence of the shorter Gangrel's claws were only the first stages of his transformation. He began to increase in bulk as he gradually adopted his war-form. The tension was then broken by the voice of another.
"Before we start slaughtering one another..." began Michael. "...perhaps I might be given the courtesy of being allowed to defend myself?"
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| Harvey Caplan - Ventrue Baron of the South Coast and Docks |
Michael nodded his thanks and then began.
"It is no secret that my sire was, and as far as I know still is, Camarilla. I on the other hand have embraced the ideals of the Anarchs wholeheartedly. Yes, I have criticised some aspects of it but only so as to inspire the kindred of the Free States to become something better."
Michael's supernatural powers of Presence were now being used at full force, and combined with his seeming sincerity and natural charisma, had focussed the crowd upon himself.
He continued "I have always considered myself a servant of the wider kindred populace. A fact proven by my actions on multiple occasions. I have even refrained from taking the spoils of victory during some of those triumphs where to do so would have diminished another. Does any of this sound like the actions of an agent of the Camarilla sent to disrupt the Free States?"
Suzanne then spoke in response.
"My Prince meant no offense. He was simply stating that these negotiations could easily be derailed by unfounded concerns and that we need to concentrate on fact, not spurious theories of what may or may not happen."
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| Marius Walker - Gangrel 'The Fixer', Baron of Downtown |
The Prince himself seemed annoyed with Suzanne for speaking on his behalf though Vannevar's anger was focussed entirely upon Michael. Suzanne reached for Vannevar's hand and he pulled it away. It seemed that Michael's plan to drive a wedge between the two was working perfectly.
Tensions were still very high indeed. Neither Mirko nor Marius showed any signs of backing down and kindred on both sides were talking over one another.
"Enough..."
Isaac's command silenced the entire room. Though Louis, Luna and Marius seemed unaffected by the supernatural aspects of the command, they were still taken somewhat by surprise. Gloria Martinez was especially stunned by the force of Isaac's will. No doubt it would be a topic of conversation when next she met her fellow Baron, Allison Maller.
Baron Gloria Martinez - El Hermandad, Baron Allison Maller - Anaheim
Isaac Continues "...we are not here to bicker like children, we are here to resolve our differences in a professional and business-like manner. Any kindred unable to do so would best serve this meeting by leaving it immediately and leaving those with the necessary maturity to resolve it's issues. Now. Do we have anything further to discuss?"
No-one at the meeting on either side was particularly impressed by Isaac's tone, of more concern was the slight edge of fear and surprise on the faces of many there. Isaac would certainly be on the mind's of those affected from now on. Such force of will was a rarity in the wake of the beckoning, and something to be feared.
Scene Fifteen - Line of Sight
One of Vin's street people had messaged him about a suspicious vehicle parked a couple of blocks away but with line of sight to the clubs entrance. Vin had sent them to speak with Daniel at one of the clubs side entrances. He explained that at first he had took them for a drug dealer but had also noticed that they seemed to be making no real attempt to do business. It's almost as if they had other concerns.
Making sure he was unobserved, Daniel used his supernatural abilities of stealth to fade from sight. All sound of his progress was also dampened. Cloaked, he made his way down the street to see exactly what these forward observers were up to. Despite his invisibility he still kept a low profile in case there were supernatural forces at play that might be able to penetrate his shield.
As he got closer, he became sure that the 'dealer' was in fact a lookout. He was also armed with an MP7 which was concealed under his jacket. Turning his preternatural senses to their maximum he observed the vehicle.
Daniel could hear several distinct voices within the van, four maybe five in fact, though he couldn't pick up any of the actual conversation. The vehicle was also unusual. There seemed to have been some attempt to conceal a hole in the van's body, pointed towards the front of the club. As a sniper himself, Daniel leapt to a conclusion, that he was reasonably confident was correct.
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| Mercurio - Ghoul of Marius Arms Dealer and Security Consultant |
The information he had obtained had the vehicle registered to Mercury Security Solutions, a security consultancy and arms dealing organisation that was under the umbrella of the Aegis group of companies. Daniel decided to give Mercurio a call.
"Yep, we had a supply truck stolen yesterday. Nothing important so we haven't done anything about it yet..." replied Mercurio. "Why? is there something I need to know..."
Daniel explained that he had already foiled one attempt to frame Marius this evening and that he suspected that this might be a second. "You haven't happened to sell a quantity of MP7's and P90's recently?" asked Daniel. It turned out that he had.
"I'll deal with this myself, if that's okay?" requested the arms dealer, his anger evident. Daniel gave his permission but informed Mercurio that the action would have to be immediate. "No, problem." was the reply. Daniel withdrew to a safe distance and waited Mercurio's response.
Fifteen minutes later a pair of armoured trucks blocked the road off from both ends. Before the vehicles occupants could react, the lookout fell to the ground. A sniper round had penetrated his skull. A moment later, twenty men armed with suppressed weapons turned the van into swiss cheese before a third vehicle towed it away. The whole hit had taken less than three minutes.
Some time later Mercurio informed Daniel that the four gentlemen in the van had been armed with light machine guns and the vehicle has been specially prepared with a concealed port to fire a sniper rifle through. A fifth 'passenger' within was armed with a 50 cal sniper rifle. Their weapons had been acquired through a third party from Mercurio's arms company and documents revealing this had been made easy to discover. This was certainly a second team of Vannevars tasked with taking a target of opportunity though Daniel presumed that the target would have preferably been one of the two Primogen allied with Sara.
Daniel presumed that the personnel would have been heavily brainwashed, bonded and filled with Submerged directives in case they'd been taken alive.
Scene Sixteen - The Summit (Conclusion)
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| San Jose at Night - Camarilla Domain |
Harvey agreed that any Camarilla that wished to evacuate via his docks would be allowed to do so and that he would waive his usual fees considering the situation.
"In addition, representatives of the Los Angeles Chantry, and the San Francisco Chantry will be allowed free passage between their respective bases as long as visitors inform the relative kindred authority upon entry?"
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| Alonzo Guillen - Nosferatu Ancient Hollywood Warrens |
Neither Isaac Abrams, nor Gary Golden raised any objections. Both were well aware that should they refuse, she would more than likely make the journey anyway and they would never know. Giving their permission was therefore the logical diplomatic option.
"That seems to be more than fair." replied Kelvin.
Michael couldn't help but notice that it was Kelvin who confirmed the details, not Vannevar. In fact the Prince stormed out of the meeting a moment afterwards, leaving a somewhat bewildered and embarrassed Suzanne, behind. Seizing the opportunity, Michael spoke to the Seneschal, complimenting her on her conduct and passing on his details to her. He also addressed Marius. "Could you arrange for an escort for Miss Rochelle to Santa Monica? It appears that her 'ride' has left without her."
"Consider it done." he replied.
Michael also spoke to Kelvin Wee to inform him that he appreciated his calming presence, which contrasted noticeably with the Prince's far less professional attitude.
With the meeting over, behind the scenes politicking began as various Primogen and Barons spoke of matters relating to their own needs. Michael left them to it and decided to check on how Daniel's security duties had gone. As he had heard nothing, he presumed it had been a quiet evening.
Scene Seventeen - An End to Hostilities?
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| The San Gabriel Mountains at Dusk |
A single group of Camarilla never makes it through the mountains but their disappearance is put down to a Sabbat Assault, despite there being no evidence either way. Perhaps this is merely the most diplomatic answer to a question no-one wishes to ask.
The political ramifications are however far more significant. Vannevar Thomas has been removed as Prince, it is rumoured that this order came direct from the Ventrue Justicar Lucinde herself. Sara Anne Winder is now Prince of San Francisco. An influential newcomer to the city named Vera Vignes has been made the Ventrue Primogen in her place at Sara's recommendation.
San Francisco at Night
Vannevar has left the city, his destination unknown. To the surprise of many, Prince Winder has kept Suzanne Rochelle as her Seneschal. Most expected her to leave with her lover Vannevar. The post of Prince of San Jose has yet to be given and currently the Prince of San Francisco is running both domains.
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...
Well that was a difficult session. Bouncing between the characters within the summit and those securing it was tricky, as was trying to represent the rest of the NPC's within the meeting. It all tied together nicely in the end so at least that's something.
Plenty of excellent roleplaying this session too.
Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”
“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 represented by Matt Bomer, 'Vin' is Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Dakota Kassidy is Laura Prepon, Catherine DuBois id Margot Robbie, Karen Anatos is Christina Hendricks, Leanna is Leeanna Vamp, Carmelita Neillson is Salma Hayek, Fiorenza Savona is Jamie Lee Curtis, 'Max' is Milla Jovovich, 'Amethyst' was Paula Patton, 'Rose' is Thylane Blondeau, 'Zipper' is Johnny Galecki, Elspeth Bourne is Karen Sheperd, Charlie 'Chick' Abbott is Lena Headey, Miriam Caravaggio is Sasha Luss, Suzanne Rochelle is Amelia Rose Blaire, Vannevar Thomas is Bryan DeChart, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman, Luna Demian is Andie MacDowell, Mirko Mirkonnen is Nathan Jones, Sara Anne Winder is Saoirse Ronan, Layton McCall is Al Pacino, Victoria Anne is Lilith May, Yukio Hayashi is Jamie Chung, Kelvin Wee is Rich Ting, Louis Fortier is Eduardo Verastegui, Harvey Caplan is Harvey Keitel, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles, Allison Maller is Chloe Grace-Moretz and Mercurio is Taylor Kitsch.
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.
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