Wednesday, 5 June 2019

V5 Chronicle - Faction Profile - Nines Crew

During the course of the various stories of this chronicle the coterie has and will meet many characters so I'm therefore creating several profile pages for different groups within my version of kindred Los Angeles to help them keep track. I'll also amend these profiles as new information comes to light and old 'facts' turn out to be less factual than originally thought...
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The stories involving the coteries first meetings with this faction can be found at the following links...
'Becoming Baron' Part Eight and 'A Meeting of Barons - Part One'
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Some of this information is taken from the bloodlines game and other parts have been adapted or added by myself for my own chronicle set in Los Angeles. Should you be looking for canon information relating to the video game then I suggest looking HERE because I take a lot of liberties with source material...
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The Last Round
The Last Round is a bar in Downtown Los Angeles, though the place was originally known as the Exhaust Pipe. It is known as the central gathering place of the local Anarchs. Whether you seek the truth, hearsay or recent developments this bar holds all three offering a safe haven where ideas and conversation are freely expressed without fear. Well, unless you take a viewpoint opposed by 'Damsel' that is, then you might well get a punch in the mouth.

At one point a rival Anarch faction, who referred to themselves as the 'MacNeils', set fire to the Last Round after barricading the front and rear doors in an effort to assassinate 'Nines' Rodriguez who uses the building as a haven. The logic of this has escaped most as this attack was despite him being an ally of Jeremy MacNeil. Heavily armed they waited outside for any survivors to emerge but were ambushed and torn to pieces by an ally of Nines who had learned of the attempt on his unlife who then braved the flames to rescue him. 

The rescue is widely accredited to Nines ally and friend 'Skelter' though during a recent confrontation between Nines and Marius Walker, the Malkavian Seer known as Roach had a vision which seemed to show the rescuer being the aforementioned Marius. Given the imprecise nature of Malkavian visions however this can hardly be considered firm evidence.

The bar was rebuilt soon afterwards by Aegis Construction and is rumoured to now have a formidably secure basement room, hidden armouries and a number of other features to ensure such a situation doesn't reoccur. The Last Round is a popular hang out for young Brujah who come to Nines for advice and Damsel for lectures on Anarch history. Skelter will on occasion deign to converse with those who need tips on security and personal defence but his personal standards about what counts as 'worthy' are normally quite high.

It is rare for less than half a dozen kindred to be in or around the bar and many temporarily homeless kindred are granted use of the basement as a 'day room' as long as they behave themselves.

Armando 'Nines' Rodriguez
Clan
Unknown Generation Brujah
Haven
The Last Round (Haven 2: Hidden Armoury 3, Postern 1, Security System 3, Watchmen 2)
Backgrounds
Allies (Mortal Revolutionaries: Effectiveness 3, Reliability 2), Herd 1, Influence 1, Mawla 5 (Theo Bell), Mawla 4 (Salvador Garcia), Mawla 3 (Smiling Jack, possibly deceased), Resources 1, Status 5 (Anarchs)
Lores
Agata Starek (1: Terrorizing the Powerful, 4: Unlikely Allies), Anarch Revolt (2: Speak the Words), Lupine Expert (1: Huntsman, 2: Tactician, 3: Soldier, 4: Trophy), Ruins of Carthage (1: Clan Historian), Salvador Garcia (1: A Way With Words, 2: Old School, 4: The War of Ideas, 5: Rise Up), Sect War Veteran (1: Survivor, 2: Active Participant), Theo Bell (4: Bell's Circle)

As one of a poverty-stricken family of nine, Armando learned responsibility at a young age, working hard to support his family at an early age. Still, a series of crises brought about by the state of the world during the Great Depression taught Rodriguez that hard work is not everything when the system itself is working against you. This lesson was reinforced when his younger brother died from an illness because the family could not afford the price the local doctor was demanding for treatment. His Embrace finally gave him the power he needed to fight back against oppression. At some point he began going by the nickname 'Nines', possibly as a reminder of his family.

Nines is a rising star among the L.A.'s Anarchs and in the modern nights, the main reason a lot of young Kindred join the Anarch Movement. He would probably be welcomed as a Baron if he chose, but he eschews those sorts of leadership roles. Maximillian Strauss during his tenure as Regent during the brief period the city came under Camarilla rule hinted on several occasions that, were it not for his stated political affiliations, Rodriguez would be a useful ally of the Camarilla.

Despite the Anarchs re-establishing themselves in Los Angeles, the war over the territory continues: The Camarilla, the Eastern vampires from their base in San Francisco and possibly even the Sabbat. While Rodriguez does not believe any vampire should rule another – including Barons – he finds himself beginning to see the need for someone to assume the mantle of leadership in the wake of MacNeil's disillusionment with the Free State experiment and possible Final Death. Still, he is no field tactician, and would no doubt find himself uncertain about where to direct his forces first.

'Skelter'
Clan
Unknown Generation Gangrel
Haven
The Last Round (Haven 2: Hidden Armoury 3, Postern 1, Security System 3, Watchmen 2)
Backgrounds
Allies (Survivalist Group: Effectiveness 4, Reliability 2)  Resources 1, Status 3
Merits
Bloodhound
Lores
Agata Starek (1: Terrorizing the Powerful), Low Clan (4: Trade Among Equals: Potence), Rudi (1: Newfound Rights, 2: Them and Theirs), Sect War Veteran (1: Survivor, 2: Active Participant, 4: No Vampire's Land)
Derangements
PTSD (Suspected due to a tendency towards hyper-awareness and mild paranoia)

In life Skelter was a Vietnam veteran and has mentioned several times that the Eastern Vampires would explain a lot of the things he saw in 'nam. Skelter has a tendency to be quite abrasive referring to most kindred not directly affiliated with Nines as "Some-ones little bitch." Most of his conversation is taunting, confrontational and a direct attempt to establish himself as the dominant one. Though this latter trait may have something to do with him being of Clan Gangrel rather than Clan Brujah as many presume. He is less objectionable with those who have shown a dedication to the Anarch cause, or have in some way been of assistance to Nines, himself or Damsel.

He himself is still a firm believer that Gehenna is a real possibility and considers any talent for insight by those of thin-blood or Malkavian ancestry to be a bit "Creepy". This has on occasion led to disagreements between Nines and himself about whether Thin-bloods should be given the same consideration by the Anarchs as 'real' vampires.

He is a formidable hand to hand combatant due to the resilience from his Gangrel heritage and the physical disciplines taught to him by Nines. He also has the combat skills taught to him during his time in the military. He favours high calibre handguns and shotguns when ranged combat is called for but like most of his clan is happiest when in the thick of things.

'Damsel'
Clan
Unknown Generation Brujah
Haven
The Last Round (Haven 2: Hidden Armoury 3, Postern 1, Security System 3, Watchmen 2)
Backgrounds
Mawla 4 (Beckett), Resources 2, Status 3
Merits
Bond Resistance 3
Lores
Ruins of Carthage (1: Clan Historian), Salvador Garcia (1: A Way With Words, 4: The War of Ideas), Sect War Veteran (1: Survivor, 2: Active Participant, 4: No Vampire's Land)

Damsel is a Brujah vampire, and member of the Anarch Movement, based in Downtown L.A. She is based primarily at The Last Round with Nines and Skelter and can normally be found arguing the finer points of Anarch philosophy with any kindred who happen to be around. Though knowledgeable enough on Anarch history and that of other revolutionaries she's not above punctuating her point with violence. In actual combat situations she tends to use her fists though she also keeps a baseball bat handy for 'special occasions'.

At some point she has been in contact with the Gangrel Noddist historian and archaeologist Beckett and has regular conversations with him about various inhabitants of Los Angeles in return for revolutionary gossip obtained by him during his travels.

Damsel is aggressive and passionate, both trademark Brujah traits. She can come across as annoying to others but she is well respected by many of her fellow Anarchs. Her passion comes across in her hatred for the Camarilla and her faith in Anarch values. She refers to the Camarilla elders with the term "cape". She is not above praising other people, but only after they prove themselves worthy. Skelter has compared her to an anti-Vietnam flower child, raging against the Camarilla without really understanding what it is, though he admits that she's rather tough and fierce for a hippie. Amongst others she has been described as anything from "a bitch, but in a good way." to "a candy heart with a 'fuck you' on it.

She does have an unfortunate tendency to become obsessive about any-one who she believes has the same fervour as herself for Anarch causes. She and Michael Tomassio of Pasadena meet on rare occasions, as she has grown to admire his dedication to the Anarch cause and his willingness to sacrifice personal gain for the greater good, and are on intimate terms.

She has currently taken to feeding via extremist internet sites, luring those men whose opinions she finds particularly objectionable to a rendezvous and violently feeding upon them. Depending on the extremity of their views she may sometimes lets them survive the encounter, though she always takes them for every valuable they have regardless.

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Should you be interested in the chronicles and stories associated with these pages then links to them all can be found HERE.
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Acknowledgements
I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Skelter is Vin Diesel and...well...actually that's it.
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