Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park

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. Over a year of plotting allowed the coterie to gain control of the three North-Eastern Baronies and a large part of a fourth. Now they are moving on to the final stage of their campaign and have their eyes on taking over the entire city, either directly or indirectly.

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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

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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

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Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'

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

Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'

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

Story Eighteen - 'Inevitable Betrayals' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Story Nineteen - 'The Marius Contracts' - Part One and Two

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, 

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' -Part Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten

The PC's

Michael 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'

The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested, but be warned that the page is usually several stories ahead of the most recent write-up and may contain some spoilers. There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.

As I have written out introductions and dialogue for certain NPC's and some location descriptions I'll post these more or less as I wrote them so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style and they'll also be in blue so you can tell them apart from the more traditional write-up sections and occasionally an obscure Premonition will turn up in purple. If I think something needs a bit of out of character explanation then those will get a storytellers note that will helpfully be in red. Anything covered via player handouts will also be in blue as they're written in the same style as introductions and the like. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name or faction beneath their picture.

Storytellers Note - Due to a Covid related local lockdown in the area in which I live, our group is currently unable to meet up. I have therefore decided to try something a bit different.

I'm getting the players to give me a brief overview of a conversation with one of their contacts, or a job allocated to a retainer (mainly via messenger at the moment) and then giving them a reply and so on. This will be slightly uneven as some players really enjoy this and others are happy to wait for an actually session. The players also get a sort of situation overview of goings on in the city to give them a bit of inspiration.

In game terms, a week went by as every sensible kindred kept their heads down during the werewolf civil war, and then I'll divide up their interactions into 'weeks' which will hopefully correspond to a session (ish) worth of stuff. We'll see how it goes, but hopefully it works as I've no idea how long these restrictions will last...

Week 1 - After Griffith Park

Introduction

The kindred of Los Angeles have been keeping a low profile over the last few weeks as rumours of a full scale civil war between the werewolf tribes of Los Angeles has filtered back to them. A number of suspected terrorist attacks around the city has also necessitated some care from the Anarchs due to a vastly increased law enforcement presence in busy areas.

Newspaper Clippings

The Status of the Baronies

Griffith Park at Night

Now the Anarchs are hearing that the battle between the werewolves was decided in the centre of Griffiths Park and that the danger has passed. As is usual with such events, Marius's name is being thrown about once more as being right in the thick of it, and as you'd expect, Marius himself is saying nothing.

These rumours do have some credence behind them now that Marius has claimed Griffiths Park after negotiating a truce with the werewolf tribes there. This has been confirmed by Marius's own sweepers and the Gangrel information network known somewhat derisory as 'The Oratory' due to the clans reputation for passing information in a somewhat subjective manner. Due to it's proximity to the North Eastern baronies, Marius has granted complete and unconditional free passage to anyone from those baronies who has Michael Tomassio's permission. What bought about this generosity is unknown but knowing the Fixer it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart. 

Lezabel, Lola and Samael of The Wilds Pack

The Wilds Pack have extended the boundaries of their barony Northwards and the three rank and file pack members have begun patrolling the San Gabriel Canyon Rd and have also apparently been seen pushing North-West into the San Gabriel mountains.

The Alliance between Barons Fortier and Abrams is rumoured to be becoming strained as Ralph Harwood, Ventrue Leader of the former Barony of the Angels gang 'The Blue Bloods', who was granted territory within West L.A. has been attempting to carve some of San Fernando out for himself. This has apparently been with Louis Fortiers approval, but not Isaacs.

Isaac Abrams - Hollywood, Louis Fortier - West L.A., Ralph Harwood - The Valley

It has also been said that Ralph Harwood has challenged the wisdom in allowing Santa Monica to be a separate barony from West L.A. when it is clearly part of it and questioned why Fortier hasn't just taken it for himself. Though perhaps merely posturing, it has however triggered an increase in presence by Therese Voermans so called 'Commando Coterie' along the outskirts of Santa Monica.

The Crypts Sons border with El Hermandad has also seen increased activity as both Hank Boyd and Gloria Martinez has each accused the other of probing the others boundaries for weaknesses. So far there has only been a single minor skirmish between some of Priss's 'Survivors' gang and a small number of El Hermandad Brujah. There were no fatalities but tensions are now near breaking point.

Hank Boyd - Crypts Sons, Gloria Martinez - El Hermandad, 'Priss' - The Border

Despite their reduced kindred numbers, The Crypts Sons still have considerable mortal allies and El Hermandad may require the assistance of Anaheim in any upcoming conflict. Aid they are almost certain to be given, based on the Childer of Garcia's newly forged relationship.

Harvey Caplan, has been granted the service of one of Steve Booths Gangrel Sweepers. Harvey has seemingly claimed that 'The Rats' though effective at routine tasks, lack the experience necessary to keep the docks borders secure and Baron Booth has conceded the point. As The South Coasts exterior borders are monitored by Vinicius and his pack he believes he already has adequate border control of his own. A number of more cynical kindred have pointed out that 'The Hunters' being freelance can hardly be considered 100% reliable. They are, after all, basically mercenaries.

Harvey Caplan - The Docks, Steve Booth - South Coast, Vinicius - 'The Hunters'

Harvey has also negotiated a number of drop off points just within the baronies along The South Coast baronies Northern border to save those kindred having to continually gain permission from Steve to visit the docks for shipments and the like. Apparently this was eating into Baron Booth's surfing time and Harvey suggested this as a way to avoid him needing to do so. It is however the receiving baronies responsibility to provide security as Harvey has stated that he has no desire for any misunderstandings to occur due to his people entering other baronies heavily armed. Currently he has drop-off points in the baronies of West Los Angeles, The Crypts Sons, El Hermandad and Anaheim, all with the ruling barons permission.

The South Coast and Harvey Caplans Docks - Barony Drop Off Points

In other news, the Oratory has warned the baronies to be on the lookout for members of a motorcycle gang called 'The Young Bloods'. This gang is in fact a group of unbound ghouls who have been known to kidnap solitary or weak kindred for their vitae. At least two of these were never seen again and have possibly been kept as permanent sources of sustenance. They have also been known to recruit dissatisfied ghouls and use their knowledge against their former masters. Though an increasing problem, their tendency to hunt during daylight hours has made them difficult to counter.

Week 2 - The Coterie Prepares

Michael Tomassio, Baron of the North East

Michael has become conscious that eventually he'll need all of the Barons on board with his plans or alternatively to be too weak to oppose them. He is therefore using his contacts to attempt to ascertain just what he can to to ingratiate himself with those likely too strong to disrupt and undermine those weak enough to remove as threats.

Priss

Michael has contacted Priss to inform her that he has Marius' permission to help her politically though is yet to meet with Hank to gain his agreement.

"Well, I suppose it's a necessary courtesy to inform Hank but I hardly think we need his permission for you to act on my behalf in my barony. It is, after all, mine to do with as I please. Don't you agree?"

Velvet Velour - Toreador
Owner of Club Vesuvius

Velvet

Michael has made some enquiries with Velvet to see what he could get as a gift for Isaac as a thankyou for the ring he was given. He is also, obviously trying to buy some additional favour too.

 

"What do you get the man who has everything? It's tricky to find something rare enough to interest him but that he can't simply buy himself. There is a ring, very rare, arcane but I don't know where you'd even begin to search for it."

"It's called Martinelli's Ring and is an incredibly rare vampiric artefact. It's a gold ring that was the property of a Malkavian elder destroyed during the Anarch Revolt. A ghoul with mystical talents created it for her as a gift. I've heard Isaac speak of it several times in recent years..."

Mariel St. John - Ventrue
Seneschal of Louis Fortier

Mariel St. John

A conversation is had with Mariel to discover what Baron Fortier is up to and is there is anything he can assist him with. Hopefully this will reveal something he can do to appeal to him, or ingratiate himself in some manner.

"He's busy dealing with that upstart Harwood at the moment. He's managed to annoy both Isaac and Therese which is an achievement in of itself, unfortunately he's cleverly tied himself into our business ventures in such a way that removing him would be inconvenient. Catherine has already mentioned just killing him but Louis wont allow it as he gave his word not to, when the Barony of the Angels was divided."

"I'm suspicious that Elena may be behind it all. Pushing Harwood to create problems that she can swoop in and solve under my very nose and restore her own status. Then she would be in a position to repay Harwood at a later date and I'd be back in third place in the hierarchy. Being as Elena blames you somewhat for her reduced status I'm sure you can see how that would inconvenience us both."

Damsel - Brujah
'Den Mother' of Nines Crew

Damsel

Michael expressed to Damsel that he felt bad about the loss of neutral areas for kindred and that if they were to send some new Anarchs to him that Pasadena and the surrounding could take some in. They'd have to follow the baronies rules of conduct of course but he would trust Damsel to send kindred that would adhere to them. Michael claimed to have no clan preference but of course passionate Brujah for Daniel to debate with would always be welcomed.

"That would be a more than acceptable compromise for me but Nines wants an area where they can form their own groups and completely control their own fate. He's already arguing that point with Marius so I expect him to give you the same line. I'll work on him for you of course but as far as he's concerned that's no different from the current system that all baronies follow..."

Velme - Daughter of Cacophony
El Hermandad, formerly Whittier

Velme

Michael offers Velme the assistance of himself and his own barony, confirming that he is a friend of El Hermandad if they're ever in need. He is hoping to find out from her something that Victor already knows, so he can be seen to be being helpful without actually strengthening Victors position. Subtly of course.

"Everything's surprisingly stable at the moment apart from the issues with the Crypts Sons, or more precisely, Priss. She's also close enough to the border with Downtown to drag Marius's lot into the conflict which will do no-one any good. Victor claims to have a plan but he's keeping it to himself for now. Says it needs 'fine tuning'."

Victor Girard

Michaels plan to draw attention away from himself as a potential enemy of El Hermandad by giving him has been somewhat delayed by a lack of information on Victors current plans.

"I think the Crypts Sons issue can be eliminated fairly soon, along with that upstart Priss's ambitions. Unfortunately I can't share them with you just yet. There's more preparation to do and to be brutally honest your association with Marius might create a conflict of interest that I'd hate to burden you with."

 

Isaac Abrams - Toreador
Baron of Hollywood

Isaac Abrams

Michael asks Isaac for his advice on the next steps to take on controlling his powers and how to improve. Some flattery is added about how he considers Isaac to be foremost amongst the Anarchs, and then enquiries are made about Isaacs own Anarch influences.

"Practice is of course the key. Unlike the mental domination practiced routinely by the Ventrue we of the Toreador are more subtle and that is the point. If those you seek to influence know that you are doing so, then you might as well just hold a claw to their throats like Marius and the rest of his sociopathic brood."

"As for my influences, I have studied all the Anarchs of significance and without exception their philosophies are flawed in some manner. Kindred need a leader, a leader with some consideration of the needs of their people certainly, not some megalomaniac in an ivory tower, but a leader nonetheless. Without such personalities at the forefront, The Anarch Revolt would never have happened. This is a fact that the driven but naïve like Damsel and Nines forget. If he got off the fence and actually led, then Nines would give the Anarchs more momentum than they even had under Jeremy MacNeil, yet he sits in his bar dispensing advice and accomplishing no more than a well designed recruitment poster might. Such a waste of potential..."

Heather - Ghoul of Marius
Galerie Sanguine Employee

Heather

Heather has been asked to lend her design aesthetic to Michaels new club when the time is right. She knows the sort of style that will attract people and it will also allow him to engage in some small talk to draw out new information.

He also casually questions her about how Marius has been since the incident in the park. Why he's taken to calling him Baron more. he also claims that the honorific it isn't necessary, and that he's fine to call him Michael as he is not defined by his barony.

"I'll be happy to sort out the design for your club, I'll sketch out some ideas and you can pick the theme you like. Victoria keeps sending me off to courses and conferences and to learn new stuff, so I have some quite exciting new concepts you might like. We both know Victoria just does it to keep me from under her feet but I enjoy them so it's okay..."

"Marius? He's been in a good mood, so I guess he killed lots of things, that usually cheers him up."

"The Baron thing? Velvet turned up in her underpants and bent his ear about it I think, he generally caves in to her whims, well, her and Jeanette both have a way of doing that..."

Vin, 'Constable' of the North East

Shawna - Blood Doll and Touchstone of Michael

At his Barons request, Vin has been escorting Shawna around a number of high profile and expensive locations to ingratiate herself with any politicians or useful officials she can find information on. 

Michael has made it clear that she is not to be 'pimped out' to gain such information.

In between this, Vin has been using his control of Pasadena and Glendale's sex trade to compile information and video footage of the activities of significant customers. He now has dirt on a number of politicians, minor celebrities and law enforcement officials that might come in useful later.

He has also concluded that given 'The Blossoms' control of the sex trade in Downtown, and therefore also around City Hall, that he might need to approach them about an arrangement to share information. Their influence in this area gives them far better access to the kind of people that Michael wants Vin to be able to persuade to be cooperative. As Michael didn't specify how to accomplish this, Vin is looking into an alliance of convenience. The Blossoms leader, Tayla has agreed to a meeting at Club Confession in downtown to discuss the viability of such a plan.

Daniel Matthews, Coterie 'Fixer'

Alonzo - Elder Nosferatu
Ancient Hollywood Warrens

Alonzo

Daniel is uncomfortable with how the whole situation with Jeremy's system and the MacNeils gang came about. Alonzo told Daniel about his suspicions but Daniel can't shake the feeling that the climax was an orchestrated fight by Marius and that their presence as bait was just as planned. It seems awfully coincidental to him that so much happened in such a short amount of time.

Alonzo tells Daniel that he discovered the information about the system while looking into the increase in masquerade 'near misses' and that those enquiries naturally led him to cross reference his findings with information from the previous inhabitant, Dexters, many notebooks. Though now he comes to think about it, the information took very little finding and he's not one hundred percent sure where the books are now. "They're probably around here somewhere..."

Alonzo knew that Victor Girard has been the Free States liaison with the many newspapers and radio and television stations that report on the city and it's surrounding area since 1952 when he had come out of hiding and revealed himself to Jeremy MacNeil. Before the Anarch revolt he had actually been one of the Anarchs potential targets to be 'dealt with' due to his connection with Don Sebastian.

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles at Night

They did attempt to catch him but failed utterly, outsmarted by him at every step. He had actually hid in what is now known as Woodland Hills, a neighbourhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, doing what Alonzo refers to as 'biding his time'.

Note - Daniel can in character now know all the stuff from Carmelita's file, given to Michael, as Alonzo knows it all too. Link is HERE.

Private Investigators and Surveillance Teams

Your request to look into 'White Collar Crimes' in El Hermandad's territories was particularly broad so they've given you an overview rather than specifics. There seems to be no more than a statistically average amount of this sort of crime within the area. Due to manpower considerations most of these crimes are passed onto the FBI who have a specialist division solely to deal with such things.

No-one you employ is well paid enough to spy on the FBI for you.

Hope Romero, Census Taker and 'Scourge'

Black Spiral Dancer - Metis

Hope meanwhile had been contemplating her fight against the Metis werewolf during their escape across Griffith Park. Her concern was that despite her victory, it had come after Daniel had put a silver bullet into the creature and Vin had severed one of it's limbs. Her self doubt about whether she could have defeated the creature alone had soured the achievement for her.

Nonetheless she had placed the creatures shattered skull in pride of place along with her other trophies. Fangs from kindred she had defeated, the deadly sharp needle from the Bloodworm, the sword taken from the Society of Leopold Inquisitor and a number of inconsequential items from less worthy foes.

She sat cross-legged at a low table next to her trophy shelves and began to carve shapes into one of the fangs with a razor sharp blade. She'd first tried to use her own claws but the effect had been far less precise than she hoped. Even if she said so herself, she was improving in technique and she found herself able to think more clearly while engaged in the task.

Marius Walker - Gangrel Baron of Downtown
After 'Resolving' a problem...

She began to evaluate her compatriots and what they had that she lacked. Daniel's skill with ranged weaponry was useful and had enabled him to wound the enemy before she even had a chance to engage.

Vin's strength was almost certainly greater than hers, though his own resilience was due to his bulk and so she deemed it inferior to her own. As she saw it she was as resistant as he, it just manifested differently with her. Then her mind turned to Marius. After all Marius was very successful, but he got away with stuff because people who stood up to him met with accidents, or just get killed. Because fuck them.

So, Hope reasoned, if she could fight and survive better, her unlife would be long. Then eventually she, like Marius, would have more power because kindred would fear to stand up to her. Content that none of her compatriots achievements were unsurpassable she continued with her scrimshawing and began to work out how she could increase her strength to match Vin's. Perhaps after she'd consider enhancing her ranged skills, or perhaps not...

Mr Hertz, Accountant

Vera Vignes - Ventrue
Former Baroness of Pasadena

Don Alonzo Collaboration

Investigation for Michael

Mr Hertz has been wading through the documents you acquired from the estate of Pasadena's former Baron, Edward Vignes.

He has successfully located the documents relating to business connections between Vignes family assets and those of Don Alonzo's. He has also discovered that some of these business assets have been legitimately transferred to accounts in San Francisco.

Based on the little information he has gleaned from the coterie, he has theorised that Vera Vignes is the only person who could have done so. Though the businesses have been ticking along just fine with their own managers and directors, the majority of the profits had been siphoned off within three months of Vera leaving Los Angeles. If you wish to make good with your promise to Don Alonzo then you would need a considerable injection of cash to do so.

Karen Anatos - Gangrel Anathema
Media Magnate and Childe of Brunhilde

Media Control and Aegis and Girard Media

Investigation for Daniel

There is very little cross-over between the two business empires except in one very specific area. Aegis has recently been making inroads into media itself and has a publishing wing of it's own though has only a couple of newspapers currently. It has however made a number of extremely favourable deals with Thorne Productions and Thorne Multi-Media, Karen Anatos's media empire. They are now a major rival to Victor Girard's own enterprises as mortals increasingly turn to online news sources for their information.

Weakening Victors influence in this area would not only reduce his information sources and influence but make both Aegis and Thorne and therefore Marius and Karen a lot of money as their own enterprises filled the gap. Mr Hertz has also suggested that if you have a particularly good plan with an accurate timeline he could make some money for the coterie with a few advantageous financial investments.

To Be Continued in 'Divide and Conquer' (Interlude Session 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...

The first one of these pseudo sessions worked out rather well.

Now I know the premise works, I'll try a bit more back and forth with the next one so there's a bit more interaction, rather than one question, one answer (more or less). As the Covid lockdown shows no sign of ending soon, I may have to run with this for longer than I would have liked. But it keeps us all safe, so it's difficult to be too upset about it.

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, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman, Louis Fortier is Eduardo Verastegui, Ralph Harwood is D.B. Woodside, Hank Boyd is Michael Clarke Duncan, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles, Harvey Caplan is Harvey Keitel, Vinicius is Liev Schreiber, Velvet Velour is Ilona Lab, Mariel St. John is Kate Moss, Heather is Liz Vicious, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Shawna is Ashley Callingbull, Vera Vignes is Helen Mirren and Karen Anatos is Christina Hendricks.

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.