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'
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.'
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.'
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.'
The PC'sPlayer 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'
The SPC's
Storyteller controlled player allies
Priya Haynes - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Carla Doyle - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Orla Riviera - Gangrel, 'Sweeper'
Rosalind Perkins - Thin-blood, Alchemist
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.
Introduction
With Louis Fortier's renewed interest in Los Angeles politics, the reappearance of Tara as ruler of San Diego, and Nines Rodriguez's implied threat to call the Brujah of the city to his banner in light of the changes spreading through the Free States there are now even more potential threats to the coteries plan to takeover Los Angeles with Michael as it's ruler. Added to this is the potential of a civil war within El Hermandad and offensives in the South make this one of the most dangerous times in the history of the Anarch Free States.
Meanwhile, the Gangrel border patrols are still watchful for Sabbat incursions, Camarilla spies and remnants of the Cross Rebellion who may be waiting to take advantage of the unrest
With Louis Fortier's renewed interest in Los Angeles politics, the reappearance of Tara as ruler of San Diego, and Nines Rodriguez's implied threat to call the Brujah of the city to his banner in light of the changes spreading through the Free States there are now even more potential threats to the coteries plan to takeover Los Angeles with Michael as it's ruler. Added to this is the potential of a civil war within El Hermandad and offensives in the South make this one of the most dangerous times in the history of the Anarch Free States.
Meanwhile, the Gangrel border patrols are still watchful for Sabbat incursions, Camarilla spies and remnants of the Cross Rebellion who may be waiting to take advantage of the unrest
Hope - The Goodwins have informed Marius 'The Fixer' Walker of the incident as they haven't the resources necessary to deal with such an issue and he has apparently sent one of his Sweepers to investigate and a team to clean-up. As the Baronies of Simi and Santa Clarita are under his protection, he is likely to take an incursion into their domains rather personally. Lennie has been asked by Bryce Goodwin to inform you about the incident as part of the information sharing agreement between the Gangrel made during their gather, itself held in response to the recent attempted Sabbat incursion.
Storytellers Note - The aforementioned Gangrel 'Gather' is detailed in this solo session HERE.
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| 'Lennie' - Gangrel Neonate Barony of Simi |
Daniel - Though the attack does have some of the hallmarks of an assault by a roving Sabbat pack, the theft of property and the relative lack of collateral damage lends some doubt to it as an explanation. Also, despite the brutality of the killings the dead showed no sign of having been 'played with'...
Hope expressed her desire to look at the scene of the crime and sent messages to Daniel asking him to accompany her and also to the other 'Sweepers' warning them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Lennie waited patiently for Hope's ally to arrive but it was obvious that he was somewhat nervous in her presence.
Storytellers Note - Hope has somewhat of a reputation amongst other Gangrel as being a particularly potent and resilient kindred with several significant kills under her belt.
Once Daniel had arrived, the three of them travelled to the farm of Bryce and Julianna Goodwin in what they presumed was Lennie's own jeep. Daniel immediately picked up on the nervousness of the young Gangrel and it was obvious from his glances in Hopes direction that he was both in awe of, and terrified of her. Other than his occasional distraction by Hope, Lennie seemed confident enough and appeared to have some basic skills, being both observant and a decent driver. During the drive, Lennie made small talk with Daniel but he gleaned little information from the inexperienced kindred other than what he already knew.
As they arrived at the farmhouse haven of the Goodwins they could see Bryce and Julianna chatting with a female kindred that they recognised as one of Marius's three sweepers. Collectively known as 'The Circle' they ensured that all visitors to Downtown behaved themselves and according to Michael's contacts were very good at their jobs.
If Daniel remembered correctly, the blonde one's name was Ria, and he noted that she had turned at their approach and given them a quick 'once over' before carrying on with her conversation. She was wearing military style gear and was armed with a P90, a handgun and a combat knife. Though she had longer hair when they'd seen her at the Rant she apparently cropped it short when it might get in the way. As it would return to it's original length when she awoke each evening it probably didn't matter a great deal to her.
The two coterie members greeted the Goodwins as they had, along with Vin, been instrumental in rescuing them from the Sabbat. "So you bought company..." Said Ria, without a hint of surprise in her voice, then turned to the two new arrivals. "...I suppose you'd like to look over the incident area?" They both confirmed that they'd like to see what conclusions they could come to with a personal investigation, in case there was any chance of the culprits moving onto their own barony.
"We thought as much. I've told Yukio to hold off on the clean-up til after you've had a look." Hope and Daniel exchanged a glance as neither liked the idea of being so easy to predict. "We'll take my vehicle..." Stated Ria as she walked to one of the armoured cars favoured by Marius for his operatives. "You come too Lennie, I'll show you where that trail was you missed...". Lennie did as asked. Apparently he wasn't as afraid of Marius's sweeper as he was of Hope. Daniel who had read the file on them provided for Michael by Carmelita was however quite aware of how dangerous they were.
The vehicle was comfortable, despite being built like a tank and contained a small armoury of weapons as well as a selection of surveillance equipment and other military gear. An odd section at the rear seemed to contain an enclosed weapons system attached to a large ammunition feed.
In Daniel's opinion, Ria had received some form of advanced training as she used a variety of evasive techniques to shake pursuers almost as a matter of course and was constantly on the alert.
Though Michael had recently upgraded the weapons of the coteries security teams and acquired gear for the coterie themselves, Daniel was well aware that when it came to offensive capabilities they paled when compared to Barons such as Fortier, Abrams, Walker and Boyd. His musings on the capabilities of both the coteries allies and enemies were cut short when Lennie pointed out that they were at the scene of the attack.
Scene Two - A Massacre
Two more, five man teams were at the location of the kindred assault together with their own transports. A large garbage disposal truck was also at the scene and both Hope and Daniel had observed the Fixer using such vehicles to aid with clean-ups before. Though the vehicle was unmarked, the Banu Haqim suspected that Marius's legitimate business empire, Aegis Acquisitions, almost certainly owned a refuse company of some sort.
Ria briefly spoke to one of the guards before gesturing inside where Marius's enforcer and more than likely, chief assassin, Yukio was waiting. As they entered it was clear that the door had been smashed apart with considerable force.
Two bodies are lying on the floor, both have wounds to the throat though one has clearly been killed by a crushing blow, possibly combined with violent impact with the ground. The other seems to have died from the throat wound. A relative lack of blood around the body shows that that have been at least partially drained.
The differences in methodology indicated to them that at least two attackers had been involved.
"There are other victims?" asked Daniel. Yukio confirmed that a number of migrant workers, housed in a nearby barn had also been killed. There being nothing more to learn from the bodies inside the house they followed Ria outside to the barn. The barn had a number of camp-beds within as well as a small kitchen and a toilet area in the rear. Though not exactly luxurious it seemed like the owners of the farm at least took care of the basic needs of their seasonal workforce.
Of the four victims within, three had gunshot wounds while one lay crumpled in a heap. From the positioning it looked like the crumpled man had emerged from either the toilet or the rear-most bed and been killed before they could escape. The gunshot victims seemed to have been killed as they got up and Daniel and Hope theorised that the noise from the house had awakened them, which indicated two groups of attackers.
The gunshot wounds indicated three different weapons had been used in the attack. First, a low calibre, fully automatic weapon, probably in a .22 calibre, whose wielder had been from the 'spray and pray' school of weapons training. The second gunman had used a pistol and had been a precise shooter, hitting their target twice in the heart and once in the centre of the forehead. The third had used a double-barrelled shotgun, and had emptied both barrels into their victim. Judging from the spread of shot this final weapon hadn't been a sawed-off version. The conclusion could only be that their were at least three attackers, possibly four, though it's possible the forth victim had been killed by one of the gunmen or women.
The final victim had been killed just outside the barn and was apparently one of the workers. Their throat had been slit, neatly and precisely. Knowing that the bodies would be disposed of by Yukio's people soon, Hope had a closer look at the dead and removed several bullets from them with her claws. The fully automatic weapon was indeed a .22 and the bullets matched a pile of shell casings near the door. The pistol turned out to be 9mm but there were no casings, the shooter had evidently retrieved them. This just left the shotgun victim. A pair of 12 gauge shotgun cartridges on the floor answered the question about that weapon.
"So at least five attackers, possibly as many as seven?" Theorised Daniel. Hope agreed that this was a fair conclusion. "But not Sabbat." she added. Daniel also doubted it had been the work of the Sabbat but was interested in Hope's reasoning. "No 'games', no torture, just kill everyone as quickly as possible, steal some shit, take some blood and then move on. Doesn't match Sabbat methods at all..."
Daniel had to agree. The fact that the killers had been careful to only drain the cattle fully, and the people only partially showed a certain desire to not have the scene scream 'vampire' at an investigator. The Sabbat couldn't have cared less about that. "If you want to look at the trail we need to get a move on..." said Ria. "...Yukio wants to get the scene cleaned..." She then turned and left the barn.
Ria stopped briefly to show Lennie certain signs that he'd missed, presumably when making his patrol. It was obvious to them that the young Gangrel had more skills in an urban environment that the wilderness as some of the information that Marius's sweeper was passing on to him was quite basic. She did, however seem far more patient when teaching the neonate than she did when dealing with every-one else. "I'll show you all the beginnings of the trail but if you want to pursue it to the end yourselves you can go by yourself. I don't need to see it twice." She then disappeared into the forest.
Hope was impressed with Ria's skills. Her movement left no traces and she seemed to almost flow around obstacles, her pace being unaffected by even the densest and most awkward of impediments. As they followed the trail, Ria explained to them some of what she had discovered.
Ria had followed the trail from Simi, around the barony of Santa Clarita and into the San Gabriel mountains. She observed the tracks of six people, though the signs initially had been of seven individuals so she knew at least one was patrolling the area, so she noted the direction of movement and withdrew. Marius had told her not to engage a potential Sabbat pack alone whether she thought she could take them or not, besides which they were heading away from Los Angeles, not back towards it.
Daniel made note of the fact that she had been ordered not to engage, which indicated that she would have done otherwise. In his opinion this implied a certain level of arrogance and overconfidence that could be used against them.
Storytellers Note - Daniel's player obsessively notes any information on personal weaknesses and holes in security even if they apply to allies, "Just in case..."
Deciding they were unlikely to discover anything that Ria had not, they made their way back to the farm. Lennie was sent back to the Goodwins and Ria offered Hope and Daniel a lift back to their domain. Though the offer was delivered in a friendly enough tone, the expression on her face clearly indicated that this was her telling them to fuck off in as polite a way as possible. Hope, who didn't wish her haven to be located asked to be dropped off at a gas-station near to it, Daniel was taken to the gallery so he could make his report to Michael.
Though relieved that the perpetrators were unlikely to be Sabbat, a roving gang of murderous kindred was still something of a concern so Michael informed his own 'Hounds' to be on high alert.
Scene Three - Emily
Daniel had been asked by Hope to look into the name Emily Nicholson some time ago though had given him no other information. While his ghouls were taking a break from their observations of the Southern baronies he set them on the task. Hope had said that it wasn't urgent but Daniel didn't like to leave jobs uncompleted.
Daniel - Andrew has had his hacker contact looking into the name Emily Nicholson and has discovered that she has changed her name at least twice. As well as some catalogue modelling work, She has had a few minor jobs in the entertainment industry including some appearances in crowd scenes and the like but nothing that was going to break her into the big-time. In between she has had the usual 'struggling actress' jobs such as waitressing, working bar and the like.
Unusually his hacker contact has asked for an 'in person' meeting with Andrew's employer in order to discuss some other discoveries he has made which he is apparently unwilling to discuss with an intermediary. He has specified the bottom level of the underground car-park beneath Venture Tower in Downtown. You have also been told to bring $5000 in cash for 'their expenses'.
Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Daniel contacted Victoria to inform her that he would be operating in Downtown that evening. After explaining the circumstances she seemed un-surprised and merely told him that this would be fine. Daniel had found dealing with Marius's ghoul much easier of late and had to periodically remind himself of just how unspeakably cruel she could be on the most spurious of whims so as not to grow complacent.
Standing next to a Kawazaki Z800 motorbike is an athletically built person of average height, in motorbike leathers, wearing a motorbike helmet with a black-tinted visor. As there was no-one there a moment before he stepped forward you are reasonably sure that supernatural talents are in use. "So you're the mysterious man behind the unusually curious Andrew?" It didn't sound like a question, however.
Daniel introduced himself, presuming that a dealer in information would almost certainly know who he was before asking for a meeting. His contact then reciprocated. "My name is Eric and I thought it was about time we met in person. I work for Bertram Tung who you have no doubt heard of." Daniel had indeed heard of the infamous Nosferatu who was a well known information broker who had came into conflict with Therese Voerman and been forced to go into hiding for many years. Though the matter had been resolved for many years now, he still apparently avoided Santa Monica.
Eric continued. "As long as the tasks he requests are dealt with I'm allowed to 'freelance' as I please. hence the little jobs I do for your ghoul Andrew...and others, of course..." At this point he flipped up the front of the visor to reveal that he was, like his employer, of the Nosferatu Clan, winked, and then closed it once more.
"The girl your man had me investigating is a fairly dull 'came to Hollywood and got nowhere' story, however there were some interesting details so I had a deeper look. I discovered that some-one else has been looking into your Miss Nicholson. You bought the sum of money I specified?"
Daniel handed over a brown envelope of cash that Eric tucked into his jacket without even bothering to count it.
"Disturbingly, after some very tricky back-tracking, I found that one of the enquiries into her came from a Mexican truck-stop at around about the time that its workforce and patrons were being torn to pieces by a gang of some kind. You've heard about these truck-stop murders I presume?"
The Banu Haqim had heard of these brutal crimes as the locations of the attacks had moved closer and closer to the United States, the local newspapers had been giving them more coverage.
"The hacking was done with some skill but with somewhat obsolete equipment and rather antiquated programming techniques. Once I had a handle on the perpetrators signature and methods, I discovered two other attempts to track her whereabouts and both were from computers at, or taken from, crime scenes. It seems obvious that whoever else is looking for young Emily is one of this murderous gang. The fact that she changes her name regularly, almost ubiquitously pays cash and avoids social media indicates a person trying to limit their online presence. This usually means they know they have a stalker..."
"You'll have to excuse me now, Bertrum has me wading through a shit-ton of tedious dockyard files searching for something dull. This hacking lark is not all typing quickly and secret meetings you know..."
"I presume..." interrupted Daniel. "...that I get something more substantial than that for my money?"
The Nosferatu laughs at your comment, hands you a piece of paper, then he steps back into the shadows and is gone.
The sheet of paper has three names printed on it, Emily Nicholson, Aaliya Churchill and Marguerite Johnson, these being the alternate identities Emily had been using. Her last known place of employment was listed as a bar in Hollywood called 'The Lost Weekend' under the name Aaliya. The Last known address Eric had discovered for her was on San Fernando Boulevard.
Again erring on the side of caution, Daniel once more contacted Victoria to inform her that he had met a contact in the underground car-park below Venture Tower which he knew was owned by her employer. Once again she seemed unconcerned.
"Eric freelancing again?" She didn't wait for an answer, the question apparently being rhetorical. "I should ask for a percentage considering he uses Bertram's equipment, which means he's using our equipment. However I suppose it doesn't hurt to let ones employee's have some perks."
Daniel knew that despite his fearsome reputation for violence, Marius was surprisingly flexible when it came to his operatives having their own side-lines as long as they in no way interfered with tasks allocated by him and Victoria. Daniel had himself took advantage of this policy when he himself had worked for him and he also knew for certain that others did as well. "I do however appreciate that you've kept me informed." She concluded before hanging up.
Daniel decided that it was time to inform Hope what he had discovered as evidently this Emily was of some importance to her.
Scene Four - Family Secrets
Even over the phone it was obvious that Hope was desperate to hear what Daniel had discovered and so he thought it would be best if they spoke in person. After giving Hope his home address he took some time to compile what he'd learned so as to relay it to Hope in the best way and awaited her arrival.
The impetuous Gangrel nearly tore his door of it's hinges in her haste to get inside and Daniel also noted that he was going to need a new doorbell as his now had been sliced in half by the overzealous application of a razor sharp claw. "So?"
The news that this 'Emily' person had a stalker of some kind had Hope on her feet. "Okay, let's go. You have an address right? We go find her now and make sure she's safe." Daniel who had a strong aversion to going off half-cocked as such impulsive actions were the ones that had been closest to ending his unlife, asked what was so important about this particular mortal.
"She's my sister, Okay...that good enough?!?!?!?" Daniel nodded, grabbed his full compliment of concealable weapons as well as his car keys. "Apartment first?" He asked. "Yeah..." Shouted Hope, already halfway out of his front door.
"There's more to this than simply concern about your sister, isn't there?" enquired Daniel in his most diplomatic tone. "I think..." Replied Hope. "...that the truck-stop murderers are the pack of my sire and that he's going to try to get to me through her..." Daniel put his foot down and the supercharged engine of his vehicle roared into life. "We'll find her..." He said as reassuringly as he could and then made his way to San Fernando Boulevard as fast as the car would go.
Storytellers Note - There was some fantastic role-playing at this point which was excellent to see. Though I was picking on a characters 'Touchstone' so I expected a reaction of some kind.
Scene Five - San Fernando
The address is a somewhat seedy series of flats in a hostel of sorts. There is a short, rotund man in a reception room who presumably is a building manager of some kind.
Hope transformed into raven form in order to scout the area, while Daniel approached the building to make some enquiries. They had decided on the drive there that Hope was currently too emotional to interrogate any-one in a subtle manner and so Daniel would do the talking. Hope had agreed but had stipulated that should the manager be uncooperative then she would take over and deal with them herself. As Daniel knew that her method of questioning usually involved dislocating the reluctant subjects bones in interesting ways, he resolved to keep her out of it if he possibly could.
The name tag identified the man as a Mr A Livingstone and Daniel introduced himself as a private detective looking into a young woman whose family were concerned about her. Daniel must have been fairly convincing as the building manager didn't even ask to see his identification. Mr Livingston, whose first name turned out to be Aston informed him that she had left a week ago and had left no forwarding address. "Has this got anything to do with the tall, scruffy, asshole that came asking about her?" asked Aston. "It might..." replied Daniel. "...tell me more about them, if you don't mind?"
Amongst Daniel's more offensive skills was a talent for analysing not just situations but people as well. He suspected from his attitude that Aston saw himself as responsible for the residents of the building and would be unlikely to reveal anything that might cause them problems. Acting on this hunch he hinted that these enquiries might well save the missing girl from a terrible fate at the hands of this mysterious stranger. After a moments thought, Aston opened up a little.
The tall, scruffy man who had also been asking about Emily had given Aston what he referred to as "the creeps" and he had therefore lied to him about her status. The building manager told him she'd moved out and left no forwarding address and though this was now true, it hadn't been at the time. He then had warned her about the man and described him to her and a few days later she'd vacated her rooms.
When he had lied to the stranger, Aston had noticed him becoming angry and had gone from merely creepy to "Scaring the fucking shit out of me..." Aston was convinced he'd have hurt him if it wasn't for the fact that a police car had pulled up at the fast-food place next door at the same time. On seeing it the "scruffy bastard" left very quickly indeed. Continuing with his strategy, Daniel complimented the manager on his brave actions and thanked him for his help.
As he walked away the manager called him back. "I'm not sure if this will help but the car that Emily left in had a company logo on it and it wasn't a delivery or removal firm. It looked like a starburst, sun or something similar." Daniel thanked him once again and returned to the car, as Hope's bird form flew in through the window and became humanoid once more. "Well?"
Though the description was vague, Hope was sure that it could easily match the other childe of her sire who together with William and been responsible for attacking her when she escaped from him all those years ago. She was however reassured somewhat by the fact that the building manager had the foresight to lie to them. This had at least allowed her sister to escape.
"I guess we try the bar next then?" suggested Daniel. "Let's get a fucking move on then..." was Hope's reply...
To be Continued in Ties of Blood (Part Two)
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'd been saving this plot for a while as it wasn't really something I could slot in halfway through a developing plot-line. With the third chronicle yet to ramp up I thought this would be the ideal time.
Hope's player threw themselves into it, as did Daniel's though we were down to two players for a couple of sessions this turned into a more emotionally charged scenario than I was expecting as the two players were bouncing conversation off each other without any distractions.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how it'll go from here...though the last time Daniel was in a bar he started a massive fight...so, there's that...
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, Louis Fortier is Eduardo Verastegui, Ria Perez is Amanda Tapping, Yukio is Jamie Chung, Andrew Francis is Ray Stevenson, Emily Nicholson is Hayden Panettiere and Victoria Anne 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...
Hope expressed her desire to look at the scene of the crime and sent messages to Daniel asking him to accompany her and also to the other 'Sweepers' warning them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Lennie waited patiently for Hope's ally to arrive but it was obvious that he was somewhat nervous in her presence.
Storytellers Note - Hope has somewhat of a reputation amongst other Gangrel as being a particularly potent and resilient kindred with several significant kills under her belt.
Once Daniel had arrived, the three of them travelled to the farm of Bryce and Julianna Goodwin in what they presumed was Lennie's own jeep. Daniel immediately picked up on the nervousness of the young Gangrel and it was obvious from his glances in Hopes direction that he was both in awe of, and terrified of her. Other than his occasional distraction by Hope, Lennie seemed confident enough and appeared to have some basic skills, being both observant and a decent driver. During the drive, Lennie made small talk with Daniel but he gleaned little information from the inexperienced kindred other than what he already knew.
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| Ria Perez - Gangrel 'The Circle' - Downtown 'Sweeper' |
The two coterie members greeted the Goodwins as they had, along with Vin, been instrumental in rescuing them from the Sabbat. "So you bought company..." Said Ria, without a hint of surprise in her voice, then turned to the two new arrivals. "...I suppose you'd like to look over the incident area?" They both confirmed that they'd like to see what conclusions they could come to with a personal investigation, in case there was any chance of the culprits moving onto their own barony.
"We thought as much. I've told Yukio to hold off on the clean-up til after you've had a look." Hope and Daniel exchanged a glance as neither liked the idea of being so easy to predict. "We'll take my vehicle..." Stated Ria as she walked to one of the armoured cars favoured by Marius for his operatives. "You come too Lennie, I'll show you where that trail was you missed...". Lennie did as asked. Apparently he wasn't as afraid of Marius's sweeper as he was of Hope. Daniel who had read the file on them provided for Michael by Carmelita was however quite aware of how dangerous they were.
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| Concealed Weapon System M134D Minigun with 3,000-round Magazine |
In Daniel's opinion, Ria had received some form of advanced training as she used a variety of evasive techniques to shake pursuers almost as a matter of course and was constantly on the alert.
Though Michael had recently upgraded the weapons of the coteries security teams and acquired gear for the coterie themselves, Daniel was well aware that when it came to offensive capabilities they paled when compared to Barons such as Fortier, Abrams, Walker and Boyd. His musings on the capabilities of both the coteries allies and enemies were cut short when Lennie pointed out that they were at the scene of the attack.
Scene Two - A Massacre
Ria briefly spoke to one of the guards before gesturing inside where Marius's enforcer and more than likely, chief assassin, Yukio was waiting. As they entered it was clear that the door had been smashed apart with considerable force.
Two bodies are lying on the floor, both have wounds to the throat though one has clearly been killed by a crushing blow, possibly combined with violent impact with the ground. The other seems to have died from the throat wound. A relative lack of blood around the body shows that that have been at least partially drained.
The differences in methodology indicated to them that at least two attackers had been involved.
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| Yukio - Ghoul of Marius Enforcer, Assassin and 'Cleaner' |
Of the four victims within, three had gunshot wounds while one lay crumpled in a heap. From the positioning it looked like the crumpled man had emerged from either the toilet or the rear-most bed and been killed before they could escape. The gunshot victims seemed to have been killed as they got up and Daniel and Hope theorised that the noise from the house had awakened them, which indicated two groups of attackers.
The gunshot wounds indicated three different weapons had been used in the attack. First, a low calibre, fully automatic weapon, probably in a .22 calibre, whose wielder had been from the 'spray and pray' school of weapons training. The second gunman had used a pistol and had been a precise shooter, hitting their target twice in the heart and once in the centre of the forehead. The third had used a double-barrelled shotgun, and had emptied both barrels into their victim. Judging from the spread of shot this final weapon hadn't been a sawed-off version. The conclusion could only be that their were at least three attackers, possibly four, though it's possible the forth victim had been killed by one of the gunmen or women.
"So at least five attackers, possibly as many as seven?" Theorised Daniel. Hope agreed that this was a fair conclusion. "But not Sabbat." she added. Daniel also doubted it had been the work of the Sabbat but was interested in Hope's reasoning. "No 'games', no torture, just kill everyone as quickly as possible, steal some shit, take some blood and then move on. Doesn't match Sabbat methods at all..."
Ria stopped briefly to show Lennie certain signs that he'd missed, presumably when making his patrol. It was obvious to them that the young Gangrel had more skills in an urban environment that the wilderness as some of the information that Marius's sweeper was passing on to him was quite basic. She did, however seem far more patient when teaching the neonate than she did when dealing with every-one else. "I'll show you all the beginnings of the trail but if you want to pursue it to the end yourselves you can go by yourself. I don't need to see it twice." She then disappeared into the forest.
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| San Gabriel Mountains at Night |
Ria had followed the trail from Simi, around the barony of Santa Clarita and into the San Gabriel mountains. She observed the tracks of six people, though the signs initially had been of seven individuals so she knew at least one was patrolling the area, so she noted the direction of movement and withdrew. Marius had told her not to engage a potential Sabbat pack alone whether she thought she could take them or not, besides which they were heading away from Los Angeles, not back towards it.
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| 'The Circle' - Gangrel Downtown Census Takers and Sweepers |
Storytellers Note - Daniel's player obsessively notes any information on personal weaknesses and holes in security even if they apply to allies, "Just in case..."
Deciding they were unlikely to discover anything that Ria had not, they made their way back to the farm. Lennie was sent back to the Goodwins and Ria offered Hope and Daniel a lift back to their domain. Though the offer was delivered in a friendly enough tone, the expression on her face clearly indicated that this was her telling them to fuck off in as polite a way as possible. Hope, who didn't wish her haven to be located asked to be dropped off at a gas-station near to it, Daniel was taken to the gallery so he could make his report to Michael.
Though relieved that the perpetrators were unlikely to be Sabbat, a roving gang of murderous kindred was still something of a concern so Michael informed his own 'Hounds' to be on high alert.
Scene Three - Emily
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| Andrew Francis - Ghoul of Daniel Private Investigator |
Daniel - Andrew has had his hacker contact looking into the name Emily Nicholson and has discovered that she has changed her name at least twice. As well as some catalogue modelling work, She has had a few minor jobs in the entertainment industry including some appearances in crowd scenes and the like but nothing that was going to break her into the big-time. In between she has had the usual 'struggling actress' jobs such as waitressing, working bar and the like.
Unusually his hacker contact has asked for an 'in person' meeting with Andrew's employer in order to discuss some other discoveries he has made which he is apparently unwilling to discuss with an intermediary. He has specified the bottom level of the underground car-park beneath Venture Tower in Downtown. You have also been told to bring $5000 in cash for 'their expenses'.
Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Daniel contacted Victoria to inform her that he would be operating in Downtown that evening. After explaining the circumstances she seemed un-surprised and merely told him that this would be fine. Daniel had found dealing with Marius's ghoul much easier of late and had to periodically remind himself of just how unspeakably cruel she could be on the most spurious of whims so as not to grow complacent.
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| Eric Moore - Nosferatu Bertrum Tung's Haven beneath Venture Tower |
Daniel introduced himself, presuming that a dealer in information would almost certainly know who he was before asking for a meeting. His contact then reciprocated. "My name is Eric and I thought it was about time we met in person. I work for Bertram Tung who you have no doubt heard of." Daniel had indeed heard of the infamous Nosferatu who was a well known information broker who had came into conflict with Therese Voerman and been forced to go into hiding for many years. Though the matter had been resolved for many years now, he still apparently avoided Santa Monica.
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| Bertram Tung - Nosferatu Information Broker |
"The girl your man had me investigating is a fairly dull 'came to Hollywood and got nowhere' story, however there were some interesting details so I had a deeper look. I discovered that some-one else has been looking into your Miss Nicholson. You bought the sum of money I specified?"
Daniel handed over a brown envelope of cash that Eric tucked into his jacket without even bothering to count it.
"Disturbingly, after some very tricky back-tracking, I found that one of the enquiries into her came from a Mexican truck-stop at around about the time that its workforce and patrons were being torn to pieces by a gang of some kind. You've heard about these truck-stop murders I presume?"
The Banu Haqim had heard of these brutal crimes as the locations of the attacks had moved closer and closer to the United States, the local newspapers had been giving them more coverage.
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| Emily Nicholson - Mortal Publicity Photo |
"You'll have to excuse me now, Bertrum has me wading through a shit-ton of tedious dockyard files searching for something dull. This hacking lark is not all typing quickly and secret meetings you know..."
"I presume..." interrupted Daniel. "...that I get something more substantial than that for my money?"
The Nosferatu laughs at your comment, hands you a piece of paper, then he steps back into the shadows and is gone.
The sheet of paper has three names printed on it, Emily Nicholson, Aaliya Churchill and Marguerite Johnson, these being the alternate identities Emily had been using. Her last known place of employment was listed as a bar in Hollywood called 'The Lost Weekend' under the name Aaliya. The Last known address Eric had discovered for her was on San Fernando Boulevard.
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| Victoria Anne - Ghoul of Marius Personal Assistant and Mass Murderer |
"Eric freelancing again?" She didn't wait for an answer, the question apparently being rhetorical. "I should ask for a percentage considering he uses Bertram's equipment, which means he's using our equipment. However I suppose it doesn't hurt to let ones employee's have some perks."
Daniel knew that despite his fearsome reputation for violence, Marius was surprisingly flexible when it came to his operatives having their own side-lines as long as they in no way interfered with tasks allocated by him and Victoria. Daniel had himself took advantage of this policy when he himself had worked for him and he also knew for certain that others did as well. "I do however appreciate that you've kept me informed." She concluded before hanging up.
Daniel decided that it was time to inform Hope what he had discovered as evidently this Emily was of some importance to her.
Scene Four - Family Secrets
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| Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim 'Contacting Hope Romero' |
The impetuous Gangrel nearly tore his door of it's hinges in her haste to get inside and Daniel also noted that he was going to need a new doorbell as his now had been sliced in half by the overzealous application of a razor sharp claw. "So?"
The news that this 'Emily' person had a stalker of some kind had Hope on her feet. "Okay, let's go. You have an address right? We go find her now and make sure she's safe." Daniel who had a strong aversion to going off half-cocked as such impulsive actions were the ones that had been closest to ending his unlife, asked what was so important about this particular mortal.
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| William Foxley and Pack - Autarkis Gangrel Hope Romero's Sire |
"There's more to this than simply concern about your sister, isn't there?" enquired Daniel in his most diplomatic tone. "I think..." Replied Hope. "...that the truck-stop murderers are the pack of my sire and that he's going to try to get to me through her..." Daniel put his foot down and the supercharged engine of his vehicle roared into life. "We'll find her..." He said as reassuringly as he could and then made his way to San Fernando Boulevard as fast as the car would go.
Storytellers Note - There was some fantastic role-playing at this point which was excellent to see. Though I was picking on a characters 'Touchstone' so I expected a reaction of some kind.
Scene Five - San Fernando
Hope transformed into raven form in order to scout the area, while Daniel approached the building to make some enquiries. They had decided on the drive there that Hope was currently too emotional to interrogate any-one in a subtle manner and so Daniel would do the talking. Hope had agreed but had stipulated that should the manager be uncooperative then she would take over and deal with them herself. As Daniel knew that her method of questioning usually involved dislocating the reluctant subjects bones in interesting ways, he resolved to keep her out of it if he possibly could.
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| Aaron Saxe - Gangrel |
Amongst Daniel's more offensive skills was a talent for analysing not just situations but people as well. He suspected from his attitude that Aston saw himself as responsible for the residents of the building and would be unlikely to reveal anything that might cause them problems. Acting on this hunch he hinted that these enquiries might well save the missing girl from a terrible fate at the hands of this mysterious stranger. After a moments thought, Aston opened up a little.
The tall, scruffy man who had also been asking about Emily had given Aston what he referred to as "the creeps" and he had therefore lied to him about her status. The building manager told him she'd moved out and left no forwarding address and though this was now true, it hadn't been at the time. He then had warned her about the man and described him to her and a few days later she'd vacated her rooms.
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| Hope Romero - Gangrel Metamorphosis Into Raven |
As he walked away the manager called him back. "I'm not sure if this will help but the car that Emily left in had a company logo on it and it wasn't a delivery or removal firm. It looked like a starburst, sun or something similar." Daniel thanked him once again and returned to the car, as Hope's bird form flew in through the window and became humanoid once more. "Well?"
Though the description was vague, Hope was sure that it could easily match the other childe of her sire who together with William and been responsible for attacking her when she escaped from him all those years ago. She was however reassured somewhat by the fact that the building manager had the foresight to lie to them. This had at least allowed her sister to escape.
"I guess we try the bar next then?" suggested Daniel. "Let's get a fucking move on then..." was Hope's reply...
To be Continued in Ties of Blood (Part Two)
In Conclusion
I'd been saving this plot for a while as it wasn't really something I could slot in halfway through a developing plot-line. With the third chronicle yet to ramp up I thought this would be the ideal time.
Hope's player threw themselves into it, as did Daniel's though we were down to two players for a couple of sessions this turned into a more emotionally charged scenario than I was expecting as the two players were bouncing conversation off each other without any distractions.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how it'll go from here...though the last time Daniel was in a bar he started a massive fight...so, there's that...
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, Louis Fortier is Eduardo Verastegui, Ria Perez is Amanda Tapping, Yukio is Jamie Chung, Andrew Francis is Ray Stevenson, Emily Nicholson is Hayden Panettiere and Victoria Anne 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...
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