Vampire the Masquerade - V5 - Interlude Session - 'The Killing Spree'

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 two North-Eastern Baronies and a large part of a third. 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 by proxy.

--------------------
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.
---------------------
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.
---------------------
Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.' 

Welcome to L.A. - Introductory Session
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight

---------------------
Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.' 

Solo Session - 'Hostile Takeover'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

---------------------
Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'

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

Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'

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

--------------------

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.'

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part Six, and Epilogue

Story Twenty Two - 'The Unbound' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

Story Twenty Three - 'The War Council' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

Interlude Session - Recon

Story Twenty Four - 'Resistance' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Interlude Session - Damage Limitation

--------------------

The PC's

Some Shovelheads...

The Storyteller

Garreth - Everyone else...

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), Buried 'Alive', Murder.

Storytellers Note - I once again only had two players for this session so I decided to do something a bit different but that would still drive the plot forward...I told the players that they'd need a notepad, some dice, and nothing else...

This write-up will have a lot of Storytellers Notes in it, sorry if this makes it a bit disjointed but you'll understand why when you read them...

Introduction

"Buried Alive...Or Maybe Not..."

It's dark, you have an intense feeling of claustrophobia, You can feel cold soil on your face. You're instinctively aware that you've been buried alive, you should be suffocating now but inexplicably you feel no shortage of breath. In fact you don't feel like you're breathing it all.

Storytellers Note - I informed each player that I required them to roll seven dice. 

Both the victims managed to control themselves despite a nagging voice in the back of their heads screaming at them to go berserk. They both pushed the voice back, conscious that the strange thoughts seemed to not be their own, as if something else was attempting to drive them to acts of violence...

Storytellers Note - The previous roll was actually a Willpower roll to avoid frenzy, but they didn't know that. After they both passed, I got them to note that they were both Willpower 5 and Humanity 6...

You both manage to maintain control, you are however still buried alive. What the hell are you going to do now?

Each of the burial victims came to the same conclusion, that whatever was the cause of their predicament, what they needed to do now was to get out, get to the surface and to do so quickly. Each began to dig their way out with their bare hands...

Storytellers Note - I also informed them that Shovelhead 1 was Composure 1, Resolve 4 and that Shovelhead 2 was Composure 2, Resolve 3.

Scene One - A Burial Party

"A Clearing, Somewhere in the Mountains..."

The ground above you is relatively loose, as if your internment was hasty. Your 'graves' are also relatively shallow compared to the six feet of earth you were expecting...

Storytellers Note - This seemed like an excellent time for the players to discover how fit they were for the task they were attempting. Shovelhead 1 learned that he was Strength 4, Athletics 2 and that Shovelhead 2 was Strength 2, Athletics 3.

It's night-time and you find yourself in a wooded clearing, there are some mountains to the North. About twenty other dirty individuals in tattered clothing are around you. You notice that you have all extracted yourself from shallow graves around the clearing. Not all the mounds of soil are disturbed,  apparently not every victim has had the necessary will to extract themselves. A pile of shovels has been discarded nearby, apparently the tools that facilitated your recent fate.

From what the first man could see of himself he was a well muscled man in his thirties perhaps older, he also had a slight paunch. the second man was obviously much younger and had a slim but wiry build. A brief check of pockets revealed them to be empty of anything passing for identification.

The younger man moved to pick up a shovel, intending to assist those who were undoubtedly still buried. A pale skinned man, muscular yet with a sickly complexion, wearing a tattered leather jacket grabbed the shovel from their hand and snapped it in two.

"You dig yourself out, or you stay buried..." he said, menacingly. The recipient of this warning felt a sudden and inexplicable feeling of fear that came from nowhere. Wanting only to avoid this persons attention, the young man took a step back and nodded his compliance.

'Sunder' A member of the Sabbat Pack known as 'The Killing Spree'

Storytellers Note -  Daunt can be pretty effective for a 1 dot discipline power....

Neither of you have any memories of how you got there. You should be cold and tired but you are neither. In fact you feel nothing at all, except an intense Hunger.

Storytellers Note - Both Shovelheads were told to note that they were Hunger 4

Scene Two - Shovelheads

Consuela Maria Martinez - Lasombra
Leader of the Sabbat Pack 'The Killing Spree'

A woman is observing you all. She's wearing a long black skirt and a dark blouse covers her neck and wrists in a way reminiscent of Victorian sensibilities, like she is from a different time. She is a woman of obvious Hispanic extraction and possesses a strange yet cold beauty.

Despite her Hispanic features her skin is very pale indeed. She also seems somewhat out of place, as only one other present is well dressed, the others are wearing unkept and bloodstained clothing. However, it's also apparent that these half a dozen others surrounding you, obviously haven't had to dig themselves from anywhere. 

One is an attractive man with precisely trimmed facial hair. He is also dressed formally but in modern clothing. His outfit seems to be slightly tight as if he's actively attempting to show off his chiselled physique. The others regard you with complete disdain. They obviously consider you to be beneath them, less than nothing in their eyes.

A middle-aged, slightly overweight man, one of you, not one of them, seems to suddenly panic and makes a break for it. He get's about five yards before a vicious looking young woman intercepts him and tears his throat out with her teeth, then drinks deeply of the blood that spurts out, before tossing the body aside like one might discard a chicken bone.

The obvious leader addresses you all.

"You run only in the direction we tell you, or you'll share that one's fate. If you survive the night then I may grant you the honour of joining us. Our enemies are now your enemies, fight well and perhaps we will teach you more of what you have become. Failure equals destruction, remember that well."

She then gestures to a pile of weapons on the ground. The bladed ones are dull machetes, axes, kitchen knives and cleavers. There are also blunt weapons such as tire irons, crowbars and baseball bats. The bats are wrapped in barbed wire or have had nails hammered through them randomly. 

A small quantity of firearms are scattered in the pile but they seem poorly maintained. Amongst the blunt weaponry are a number of improvised knuckledusters, mainly just leather straps with nails through them or rectangular pieces of steel.

"Pick a weapon and follow me..."

Storytellers Note - I told each player to roll four dice, each success would allow them to dredge up an instinctive memory related to their capabilities with such weapons. This also allowed them to learn that Shovelhead 1 was Intelligence 3 but only Education 1, Shovelhead 2 was slightly better educated but also less intelligent with Intelligence 2 and Education 2.

As the older man looked at the pile of weaponry, several images flashed through his mind. He saw himself, much younger, in a boxing ring, he was rather good, even if he did say so himself. Then he saw a deer, it was through the sights of a rifle, he fired and the shot hit the animal but not quite where he had aimed for. He heard himself swear, before he snapped back to reality. 

Storytellers Note - Shovelhead 1 was Brawl 3 with a speciality in Knuckledusters, Melee 1 and Firearms 2. Shovelhead 2 was Brawl 2, Melee 2 with a speciality in Knives and Firearms 1. I also told them that both the Knuckledusters and Knives gave them +1 damage, while the .22 Pistol was +2 and had a nine round cylinder though only five of the chambers had unfired rounds in them.

Having nothing else to go on, he reached into the pile and took a pair of leather straps with spikes through them. He then selected another similar weapon, a set of brass knuckles, and slipped them both onto his hands. Noticing a second knuckleduster he discarded the improvised weapon and took these instead. Whatever was going on here he'd have more chance of surviving with familiar weapons to hand.

The younger man reached for a large kitchen knife. As soon as he had it in his hand it felt...right... After testing the balance he noticed a small revolver near to it. It appeared to be loaded and though obviously low calibre, it at least looked functional.

For a moment the blade looked different in his hand, it was more like a combat knife and the edge was smeared with blood, he was sure that he'd used it before, and quite effectively. Then it was a simple kitchen knife once more. Shaking his head to clear the strange thoughts he picked up an extra knife and tucked it into his belt. 

Scene Three - No Way Out

Carlos Griffouliere - Lasombra
Pack Confessor of 'The Killing Spree'

As you walk you notice that your apparent jailors are to your sides and rear. Once a direction has been established for you they drive you forward, leading from the rear. Another of your group makes a run for it, she almost makes it to the tree-line before, at a gesture from the well dressed young man, the darkness itself seems to come alive and a tentacle of pure blackness brings her to the ground. He then strolls over to the unfortunate and casually snaps her neck. Just before the act he shakes his head as if admonishing them for the stupidity.

Seemingly undeterred by this, two other escape attempts are made, neither give you much hope.

An old man in overalls begins to lag behind, seemingly attempting to match pace with their guardians and then suddenly turned and ran back the way the group had came. A large muscular figure appeared in front of him, some twenty metres from his original location and drove his fist through their chest sending bits of bone and flesh exploding out of their back. 

Apparently hoping this would act as a distraction another of their party made a break for it and actually made it to the trees. The vicious woman who had made the first kill ran after them. Though they hoped that this person had made their escape, the screams from the forest painted a different picture of their end. When next they saw the pursuer she was far bloodier than when she had began her pursuit.

'Copperhead' A member of the Sabbat Pack known as 'The Killing Spree'

Neither of the men who had emerged from the earth at about the same time did anything to interfere. Though both knew they were in danger, neither were they so stupid as to attempt what three others had done and failed. Helping these victims hadn't occurred to them either, this was perhaps for the best.

'Cowboy' - Brujah
Member of 'The Killing Spree'

No-one else has subsequently been foolish enough to make an attempt to escape. You eventually reach a dirt road, there is some activity ahead, a small group of containers turned into temporary accommodation. A hooded figure with several pistols in his belt mutters something. the word is unfamiliar but it sounds like 'Camarilla'....

The cabins remind you both of a construction site and elusive flashes of memory make you believe that perhaps you once worked in such a place, perhaps not, the memories fade as quickly as they came.

The older man attempted to focus upon these random thoughts but the images were confusing and the more he attempted to focus on them the more elusive they became. The younger man wasted no time with such efforts. If he was to find a way out of this predicament his focus needed to be on the now, not the past.

You are urged forward with shouted commands and if that fails, fists, feet and claws. Those to which you are been herded shout warnings to one another and several draw guns. One shouts something that means nothing to you, the word he uses is "Sabbat"

A tall, dark skinned man to your right falls to the ground, riddled with rounds from an assault rifle wielding figure atop one of the cabins. Several others of your number are hit but are able to keep moving.

That there is danger ahead is of no doubt, though with certain death behind, what choice do you have?

Scene Four - A Surprise Visit

Some of the recently exhumed had ran forward as commanded and were now wounded yet seemed to treat even major bullet wounds as relatively minor. A few who were still milling about were getting further 'encouragement' to move forward.

The two shovelheads who had walked together all this time seemed to have slightly more awareness than the rest and had moved forward but not yet into danger. This gave them both some time to think before acting.

Storytellers Note - Shovelhead 1 had Wits 3 and Awareness 1. Shovelhead 2 also had Wits 3 but was Awareness 2. Both rolled well enough to gain some information...

The area seems to be a staging point of some kind. Judging from the vehicles and the layout it looks like items are being stored here temporarily before being moved somewhere else. Whoever they were, they weren't expecting trouble as the defences are fairly light, but this situation is changing rapidly. More people are emerging from the buildings, weapons in hand. A well dressed but heavily built man in a cheap suit is attempting to organise his people.

From somewhere in the camp you hear a howl that reminds you uncomfortably of the vicious woman you saw murder the first of your group to be destroyed.

The young man nudged one of his fellows and pointed towards a building. "You head towards that building, I'll be right behind you..." Apparently craving some direction, they did as asked. The younger man did indeed follow, but only to use the other shovelhead, as he had heard them referred to by their captors, as a meat shield.

Concluding that there were very few alternate targets to himself, the older man made the decision to move forward also but headed the opposite way to the young man he'd been near to. Running towards a machine-gun wielding man in an elevated position seemed to be a bad idea. In his opinion this kid was obviously crazy. However, the coppery smell of blood that filled the air was enticing and a voice in the back of his skull was urging him forward as well...

Storytellers Note - Shovelhead 1's disciplines were Potence 2 (Lethal Body and Prowess) and Celerity 1 (Rapid Reflexes). Shovelhead 2 had Potence 1 (Soaring Leap) and Celerity 2 (Cat's Grace and Rapid Reflexes). As I work on the basis that 'Free' disciplines are activated more or less instinctually it seemed appropriate for them to know what they were capable of. 

Intending only to begin to climb towards the gunman, he was amazed when he covered the distance from the ground to the roof in a single leap and landed with a dexterity he didn't know he possessed.

Storytellers Note - Shovelhead 1 added Dexterity 2 to his list of known stats, Shovelhead 3 was slightly better in this area and had Dexterity 3

Watching this leap with amazement the other man barely noticed the figure that dived towards him to attempt to bring him to the ground. He was even more surprised when he managed to avoid the surprise attack. Lashing out wildly his punch caught the ambusher full in the face, surprise became shock as the blow removed half of their head. As blood and brains splattered across his chest and face he couldn't resist licking the blood from his knuckles. It tasted better than any meal or drink he'd ever tasted in his life. Unable to resist he fell upon the partially decapitated body and began to lap at the blood, before driving his teeth into their throat.

The gunman saw this attack from his vantage point and turned to avenge his fallen comrade, but unfortunately this was to be his last act. A wiry fellow pulled the gun from his hand and drove a blade under his ribs and deep into his heart before tearing the blade out sideways. Before it had even stopped beating, he felt fangs penetrate his throat as the young man fed for the first time. While the bestial voice urging on his comrade merely faded, his disappeared completely and he felt utterly at peace. This was a feeling he could learn to enjoy.

Storytellers Note - This also seemed like a good time to inform the players of several important stats given their current situation. Shovelhead 1 was Stamina 3 which made their Health 6, Shovelhead 2 was Stamina 2 and therefore Health 5.

Scene Five - Predators

The visceral pleasure of your first kill(s) as kindred changes you fundamentally and you both realise that this is the way you shall take prey from now on...

Storytellers Note - Both Players noted their Predator Type as 'Alleycat' and gained the benefits thereof. Both gained the Brawl speciality 'Grappling'. I raised Shovelhead 1's Potence to 3 and gave them Brutal Feed. The other shovelhead gained Celerity 3 and the Blink power along with it. However their Humanity scores dropped 1 point to 5...

The gun in his hand felt far less familiar than the blade did. Nonetheless he aimed it roughly in the direction of a group of defenders using a pile of crates as cover. Assault rifle rounds zig-zagged through the stomach of the first and the chest of the second as the muzzle climbed due to the inexperience of the young man with such a weapon. After the weapon clicked empty, two defenders lay dead and another had a minor wound to one arm. As the wounded man raised a weapon to retaliate, the young man leapt down, familiar knife back in hand, to finish them off.

Hands now covered in blood and brain matter the elder of the two ducked into a doorway for cover as gunfire was now coming from both directions. Several of the other shovelheads had grabbed weapons from fallen enemies and more of the defenders now had firearms in hand. Still more afraid of those behind him than those in front he then ran forward in a low crouch. Several small calibre rounds from handguns kicked up the dust around him but his young 'friend' had drawn much of the defenders attention. He watched as the young psychopath laughed while stabbing a wounded man repeatedly in the stomach and chest.

The tide of battle seemed to be turning in the ambushers favour. Despite being initially better armed, the defenders fell like mortal men. The attackers did not. However not all was going their way.

The seeming leader of the staging point had entered the fray. He had no style to his fighting yet his strength was unnatural in it's power. Flesh and bone shattered under his blows and despite a number of wounds inflicted upon him by sheer weight of attackers, he nonetheless fought on. He was also heading in the older man's direction.

The knife wielding youth felt an exhilaration like nothing before. He had discovered that he could cover distances at tremendous speed and was darting in and out of combats, inflicting what wounds he could and then retreating again. Though the voice in his head had returned along with his hunger he no longer cared. The blood of the fallen was all he required.

Pre-empting the inevitable, 'Boxer' ran towards the approaching enemy, ducked a hastily thrown punch and pressed his own attack. Instinctively he knew that this man was like what he had become and wouldn't fall like his followers. Nonetheless he pressed his own attack. His foe was strong and quick but lacked his own hand to hand combat skills and was already slowed from multiple wounds from bullet and blade.

'Shiv' stopped for a moment, looking for new prey. However what he saw approaching gave him pause.

One of the defenders howls like an animal before tearing apart two of the attackers with jagged fingernails, that cut through flesh like a sharp blade through paper. Though already wounded they head towards you..

Shiv hastily threw their second blade at the approaching enemy. The blow was glancing and did nothing to slow their advance. The howling creature leapt forward and both of them tumbled to the ground, one clawing at their foe, the other driving their blade into whatever targets revealed itself.

Consuela Maria Martinez, Pack leader of The Killing Spree, watched the battle with some satisfaction. Though she considered the tactic of mass embraces as messy, it had been necessary in this case. Someone needed to soften up the defenders so her own pack could finish the job without risking casualties. She needed the full strength of both The Killing Spree and The Misery Lords for the mission against the Camarilla and Anarchs within Los Angeles. 

The weaponry they would soon acquire from this Camarilla staging point would also prove useful.

She noted that only two of the Shovelheads had survived, both were currently engaged with the two Camarilla kindred that were running this particular convoy through the San Gabriel mountains. She waved her own followers forward.

Shiv felt the weight lifted from his body as copperhead pulled the Gangrel off him and twisted off their head with claw-tipped fingers, before falling upon the body and drinking deeply from it. He noted with surprise that she continued to drink even after the corpse was clearly empty of fluid. As it turned to dust he realised he had much to learn about what he had become.

The leader fell back as Cowboy shot him several times in the head and heart, before Sunder stomped down upon their skull, exploding it like a ripe melon. Boxer didn't know how to react when one who had been his captor mere hours before helped him to his feet. "Not bad..." commented Sunder as he walked away.

Scene Five - The Killing Spree

Carlos had produced a metal goblet from somewhere within his belongings and the two survivors watched as each of their captors sliced open hand or wrist and added their own blood to the container. 

Copperhead offered Boxer a flick-knife. Not sure what or why he was doing it, he sliced open his palm and did as the others had done.

Shiv of course had his own blade, and joined in the ritual. Each member of the pack then drank of the mixture. Realising they were now part of something beyond their understanding, both Boxer and Shiv drank too.

The remaining feelings of fear flowed from them. These were now their comrades, their pack, and they knew that they would fight with them from now on.

The conservatively dressed woman approaches you, there's something about her eyes that draw you in. Despite the nature of your recruitment you feel inexplicably proud of surviving and part of something important. As she speaks, you find yourself hanging on every word as if she is the most significant person in your world.

"Welcome to the Killing Spree..." she says. 

To Be Continued in 'Personal Agendas' (Part One)

In Conclusion

I like to do a round-up of how the session went in these features but if you couldn't give a shit what I think then feel free to skip this bit...

This was very different from any session I'd ran before and I wasn't sure how well it would work. Fortunately it flowed a lot better than I had hoped and the players seemed to really enjoy the sense of the unknown.

If the pack survives the events currently going on in my L.A. then perhaps, in the future, we might give them a short chronicle of their own.

Acknowledgements
“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 'Sunder' was Bill Paxton, Consuela Maria Martinez is Aubrey Plaza, Carlos Griffouliere is Adam Rodriguez, 'Copperhead' is Jenette Goldstein, 'Cowboy' is Lance Henriksen

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.