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TheCountAlucard
2010-12-10, 10:10 PM
Hello, Giant in the Playground! I suppose it's about time for another of my campaign journals. :smallamused:

CastLet's get introductions out of the way: this time around, we're playing in the old World of Darkness, and I am playing Arch, an eighth-generation Malkavian in New York City, which is currently under the supervision of Prince Donald, a less-than-ancient Ventrue who took power in the last few years. Arch was initially a scientist taken into the fold to study the vampiric condition, and since then has been a vampire for more than thirty years, but most of that time was spent in relative isolation. Despite being physically-frail and possessing an eerie presence, Arch is still quite adept at sneaking and the darker parts of socializing, such as lying and manipulating the emotions of others.

Also participating in this little chronicle are the following PCs:

Alaire, a very un-Ventrue-like Ventrue. His backstory spans countless notebooks, coming from a very different sort of roleplay, if you catch my drift. Very fabulous dresser, if you see what I'm saying. The twisted little epic has a cast of over two dozen named characters, the straight ones of which can be counted on naught but a thumb. Also supposedly a talented singer. Probably the most outspoken Blue-blood you've ever seen.

Ossa, an elder Caitiff and Alaire's supposed "soulmate." Likewise possesses enough backstory to crush a person, only Ossa's got Protean 6 to back it up. Ossa was initially an NPC for the first few sessions of our chronicle, until Alaire's player convinced Ossa's player to join in on the fun. He doesn't stand up and assert himself in-game very often, but given his Nature, that's actually not too surprising. :smalltongue:

Bill Carter, a Brujah who was a stunt man in life. Very impulsive, temperamental, and his skull likely has a rock embedded within - in other words, a stereotypical Brujah. His player ended up having to opt out of the game after a few sessions due to work and stress and other unfun stuff. :smallyuk:

John, an Akashic Brother. That's right, it's not just a vampire game! Lives in a magically-fortified super-house that serves as a haven for pretty much every splat in the game. He tries not to involve himself in a lot of the vampire politics, and honestly, I can't fault him for it.

Gemma, a Slayer Caste demon. She works in the morgue, and can do zombie stuff. When I first wrote this post, I wasn't too-knowledgeable about the whole "Demon" thing, but I've discovered that despite her utter lack of empathy, she can be very useful. :smallwink:

Leeann, a Gangrel. A petite redhead with a ghouled gang leader, she's a relatively-new addition to the game. She's not done too much to distinguish herself in the Kindred community, but at least she's a fast learner. :smalltongue:

Julius, a Tremere. A bookish, British Kindred who was alive for the Victorian era, he just might be a little too ambitious. We'll see soon enough...

Wow, wouldja look at the time? I'll get around to posting story stuff tomorrow, or maybe after our game session. :smallsmile:

Coidzor
2010-12-10, 10:25 PM
Awww, you got me excited. :smallfrown: And here I thought that Arch Whitman was a Malkavian title and Leaves of Grass took on a whole new level of meaning. Walt Whitman really could do with a nice vamping though, now that I'm thinking about it...

Why do I get the feeling they're toreadors that've found some way to pass themselves off as non-toereadors though? Or they've found ways to get access to that toreadorean workaround... Probably the idea of two vampires who weren't toreadors seeing the point of it...

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-10, 10:29 PM
Awww, you got me excited. :smallfrown: And here I thought that Arch Whitman was a Malkavian title and Leaves of Grass took on a whole new level of meaning.Sorry to disappoint. :smallamused:


Walt Whitman really could do with a nice vamping though, now that I'm thinking about it...Interesting idea! To the time machine! :smalltongue:


Probably the idea of two vampires who weren't toreadors seeing the point of it...Blast! Editing your own post before I can reply properly, eh? :smallamused: I'll catch you yet, Coidzor... :smalltongue:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-10, 11:18 PM
Wow, wouldja look at the time? I'll get around to posting story stuff tomorrow, or maybe after our game session.(dramatic interjection) That's a lie, me! I and I both know that if I don't post it now, I'll just procrastinate some more and blame it all on something inconsequential. I shall post NOW!

Yeah, it's gonna be kinda like that. :smalltongue: Here's the first session! :smallsmile:

Session One: Big Trouble...Arch starts his night relaxing at his ghoul's library, reading over some scientific journals. Deciding to check in with the vampiric community, he heads to Elysium, taking a scientific paper on robots with him. Arch notes that one of the Sheriff's deputies is present, and takes the opportunity to perceive his aura with Auspex. Sensing the weirdest pattern from the aura, he looks a little deeper, using the Eyes of Chaos Dementation power to make sense of it all.

Arch sees a twisting web of black conspiracy closing in on Deputy Alexander, though he notes that Alex is not the primary target. Shaken back into the normal world, Arch observes that the sight was enough to make him tear his paper. He asks Alex to speak with him personally, and explains the gist of what he saw. Due to Arch's penchant for riddle-speak, he had to repeat himself a couple of times. :smalltongue: Alex asks that he investigate the matter, and Arch agrees to do so.

Darkest Developments...
While that's happening, Ossa and Alaire are just beginning to enjoy their night, when Ossa suddenly just gets up, throws on some pajamas, and walks out. Alaire, confused by Ossa's robotic behavior, follows after him. Ossa makes his way to the most stereotypically-Gothic nightclub possible, which happens to be another of the city's Elysiums. It would likely be palpably-ironic if it wasn't a deliberate decision by the Toreador owner.

Alaire observes his elder boytoy talking to a burly biker at a table. Being the possessive little bloodsucker that he is, Alaire butts right into the conversation, dramatically and heatedly confronting Ossa about his actions. Ossa, in turn, has no clue what Alaire is talking about, and the biker, amused, begins speaking in Russian, which Alaire does not speak. Ossa, on the other hand, seems to understand perfectly.

Now, at the same time, Bill is hanging out here, just enjoying himself and his ghouls, when he sees these out-of-place people having an argument a few tables over. When he wanders over, however, the biker stands and bids them adieu, nearly driving the seething Alaire into a frenzy. Bill decides to follow the biker out, and in turn, the two fabulous vampires decide to shadow Bill and the biker.

Bill observes the biker has disappeared into a parking garage, and decides to follow after by ducking into an alley and jumping up one story at a time. Around the third floor or so, he spots the leather-clad fellow climbing onto a motorcycle. He walks up to confront him, at which point the biker, wanting none of this obnoxious vampire's attitude, points back in the opposite direction and says, "Walk." Bill proceeds to do exactly that, at least until the Dominate wears off and he realizes what the biker did.

At the same time, Alaire and Ossa decided to enter the parking garage via the conventional way, using Dominate on the guard to get in. They end up "meeting" with the biker about midway down, at which point they also "meet" with Bill, who uses a Celerity-and-Potence-aided tackle to tackle the biker right off his chopper and into the concrete wall, breaking his neck.

"Great," fumes Alaire, "you killed him." Bill assures him, however, that he'll "take care of it." Left without a clue, Alaire and Ossa head back to their apartment to figure out what to do, and Bill... well, what if you just found a big cheeseburger, lying there? He drains the body of seven blood points, and then just... walks off. Only once he's left does he think that perhaps a camera might have recorded the whole event, at which point he furiously walks back in, convinces the guard to leave his post ("I thought I heard gunfire up on the second floor!"), and then rips out the various electronics from the security station with his bare hands.

I have a feeling this guy's gonna fit right in. :smalltongue:And that was the end of that session. Questions, comments? I'll try and have another addition for you lot to peruse before long.

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-12, 02:05 PM
Update time? Update time!

Session 2: Electric BoogalooThis session mostly dealt with the results of the last session: so, Arch is investigating for Alexander, Bill is having a bit of a bad night, Alaire and Ossa are trying to figure out what happened with the biker guy, and Gemma is discovering an exsanguinated cadaver being delivered to her morgue.

While it's not like she's never seen a corpse drained of its blood before, Gemma had never seen one drained such without so much as a break in his skin. Where'd his blood go? Her first suspicion, of course, is that vampires did it; being a supernatural who wasn't born yesterday, she'd have to be blind to be unaware of their presence in the city.

At the same time, Bill's doing some 'fessing up to his primogen, "Sin," who resides at a heavy-metal nightclub called "The Edge III." Apparently, it's a bit of a running joke in the ST's games that it keeps getting blown up somehow. Sin is not very happy with him about that.

At the same time, I'm making just a bit of headway in my investigation of Alex. Asking to hold a personal object of his, Arch is handed a katana. Taking hold of it, he discovers that the conspiracy is centered around Alex's sire. Alex was also disappointed to discover that I'd learned his last name from the reading. However, he gets a call from Sin about some bricks-for-brains Brujah who'd drained a biker and just left it. So, looks like Alex and I are going to be visiting the morgue...

"I'm Agent Manheim, and this is Agent White..."
We don some FBI-style outfits and pay the morgue a visit. We B.S. to Gemma that we need the cadaver for an ongoing investigation (my character observing her true dark angelic appearance), and she and Alex go to handle the paperwork, leaving me to Obfuscate and make off with the body. Just to be safe, Arch spends a little more on boosting his Strength than is necessary, and carries the body out of the morgue unnoticed.

That is, until Gemma realizes the body is missing. And being a demon, she's able to see through my Obfuscate on the security footage (though I'd still taken pains to avoid the security cameras where possible, and to hide my face in all of them). But by that time, I'm in the car, waiting for Alex.

See, we're not just taking the body to make it disappear, either; we're also nabbing it so we can investigate the problem for Alaire and Ossa, who had the sense to call some of the more influential vampires in the city. So we meet with Sin at the Edge III, along with a midget Tremere named Wainwright, who intends to do some ooky-spooky blood voodoo on the body.

Oh, and Bill decided to call Gemma, and talk about about the whole misunderstanding... and try to blackmail her into keeping mum about everything. And he gave away our location as part of his blackmailing attempt. :smallsigh:

So a very-miffed Gemma shows up at the Edge III, opening the door of our private room to see me, her cadaver, Alex, Bill, Sin, the two fabulous vampires, and Wainwright, who is standing on a chair and doing his Thaumaturgy... thing. Sin ignites his hands in some sort of fire and pounces at Gemma, pinning her to the wall and demanding she explain herself. Gemma assumes her apocalyptic form, her mortal visage superceded by the appearance of a dark angel... and does exactly that.

"...and then this lunkhead tried to blackmail me!"
Sin sighs and lets her go, she resumes her more mortal appearance, but in that heated little moment, that corpse somehow is now a zombie under Gemma's control. She has it lie back down on the table and lets Wainwright continue his little ritual (no pun intended). The Tremere explains that he discovered that the guy was, in fact, a ghoul, specifically of a Ventrue.

"Yes, a Ventrue," replies Arch. "Her name's Alairia, and she's a Sabbat."

...at which point about half the group mutters under their breaths, "...freakin' Malkavians." :smallamused:

What they don't know was that I'd had ample opportunity to get the corpse's life-story (as it were) from my having handled it - after all, it is an object. :smallbiggrin:

We conclude that Ossa had been a victim of Dominate by said Sabbat, and may even have been subjected to the Vaudlerie in the past. That might explain the one-hundred-and-fifty-year gap in his memories.

Also in the news that night, as something that definitely caught the attention of my character, was the fact that a number of hospitals had received people who were suddenly miraculously-healed some time after being admitted. Why does this catch my character's eye? One of his ghouls owns a mental hospital. The idea that the church intends to go poking its holy nose into our business investigating these faith healings is very distressing to Arch... but that's stuff for another session!As always, questions, comments?

comicshorse
2010-12-12, 03:13 PM
I'm pretty sure Obfuscate doesn't work on camera's
And I'd put Bill's life expectancy at about a week at this rate

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-12, 03:41 PM
I'm pretty sure Obfuscate doesn't work on cameras...The way we ended up ruling it was that Obfuscate doesn't work on cameras, but if a person's watching the cameras, they're still affected by the Obfuscate and don't notice you. On the other hand, if someone goes over the tapes after you've broken Obfuscate, they'll notice you. I believe this interpretation is supported in the Midnight Seige book as well.

comicshorse
2010-12-12, 04:24 PM
Nice idea, I'll have to suggest it to our ST

Kaun
2010-12-12, 04:46 PM
I always find your journals to be a good read count, i will be watching this one with interest.

Keep it up!

just as a point of intrest tho, how long do your sessions go for on average?

You dont seem to get much done.

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-12, 05:10 PM
I always find your journals to be a good read count, i will be watching this one with interest.Thanks! :smallbiggrin:

just as a point of intrest tho, how long do your sessions go for on average?It starts whenever everyone can actually get together (usually mid-evening) and generally goes around midnightish.

You dont seem to get much done.That's because everyone in the group took the "No Attention Span" flaw IRL. :smalltongue:

That, and you may consider these first few session logs to be somewhat-abridged. For instance, when Bill had his conversation with Gemma, it was a tad more drawn-out than that.

Also don't forget that some of the players (Bill, Gemma) are newbies to the World of Darkness (and for Alaire and Ossa, tabletop games in general), and sometimes gotta have stuff explained to them by the ST ("He can get away with using Auspex 2 in Elysium because you can't really catch him at it. People notice, however, if you use Celerity 4.").

Slade
2010-12-12, 05:18 PM
I'm pretty sure Obfuscate doesn't work on camera's
And I'd put Bill's life expectancy at about a week at this rate

Crazed ST here, supporting Arch's statement. The obfuscate effect lasts exactly 1 hour per dot of Obfuscate. The tapes always show the true identity of the user, but the effect lingers for hours.

Afer the aforementioned time limit is up, the effect wears off and people see it truely as is. Its house rule that works for my group for 7 years.

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-12, 06:43 PM
Might as well post the details of the next session.

Session 3: Fun & Games...Hot Property...
This whole time, John's been wanting a little bit of space next to his refuge for its magical properties. Node, nexus, something like that - the building being constructed next door's a hot spot for it, and John wants to obtain it. He's been doing a little detective work, and has discovered that the deed to the property lies in vampiric hands. Of course, when John starts showing interest in getting it, this dark architect informs him that such a trade might be possible... after a certain number of favors have been done. Following that, he decides to hang out at that stereotypically-Gothic club, and meets Gemma, Arch (who was very entertained to make his acquaintence), and Alaire.

Unwanted Guest...
Bill is relaxing at his ghoul's home. Said ghoul is apparently a rich software designer, living in a very upscale apartment. He hears a knock on the door. Bill goes to answer it, checking through the peephole just in time to see the barrel of a very large handgun press up to it and fire.

Twisting out of the way, Bill nonetheless gets grazed, only to discover that it's an incendiary round. The door gets knocked off its hinges, and the gunman steps in... only to discover that Bill's no longer in a mood to play around, and proceeds to beat the poor ghoul down (though this time, he manages to not kill him). Calling one of his police contacts, he arranges it such that the police will take longer than usual to arrive. Remembering the previous nights' events, he phones Alaire, Ossa, Arch, and Gemma. John decides to tag along as well, once he hears about the situation from Gemma.

Arch, being one of those vampires who doesn't think of a computer as a magic box filled with demons, texts Gemma asking that their differences be put aside, since a potential alliance would be far more useful. She agrees.

An Unexpected Party...
IIRC, Alaire and Ossa arrived first, followed by John and Gemma and myself shortly after. John uses magic to repair the door (I forget the specifics on how, but he used actual tools in the process to make it less vulgar or somesuch). He also pockets the gun.

When everyone's arrived, Bill begins explaining what had transpired. They decide to let John heal the guy up just a little, and then interrogate him. Using Dominate, Alaire makes him reveal pretty much everything. He informs the group that he's a ghoul of Alairia, who sent him to take care of the annoyance that had interfered with her plans (i.e., when Bill killed the biker). He says Alairia's working out of nearby Newark, New Jersey. Alaire also gets the guy's home address.

While they're doing this, Arch persuades John to let him "read" the gun. He finds that the bullets are of a special make, such that normally they can only be produced with magic, and that such a special bullet is usually the work of the Camarilla Tremere. :smallconfused:

When Alaire's run out of questions, Arch uses the Dementation power of Passion on the ghoul, intensifying his emotional responses, followed by a liberal application of The Haunting to give him tactile hallucinations. He mouths to the ghoul, "I am stealing your face!" while using the Obfuscate power Mask of a Thousand Faces to resemble the ghoul. He gets about half a second of freakout before Arch dials everything back down, and the ghoul says, "You're just like that other vampire!"

Of course, Alaire hadn't thought to ask if there were other vampires involved... :smallbiggrin:

With Opened Eyes...
Indeed, after some further questioning, he admitted that in addition to Alairia there was a psychopath vampire named Sticks, a shadow-manipulating vampire they referred to as the "Priest," a creepy seven-foot tall vampire all covered in spikes, and a massively-muscled vampire. He also is made to produce the address of their usual meeting-place.

Following that, the others decided to kill the ghoul, only to spend thirty minutes of game-time discussing what to do with the body, triggering a Frenzy in Bill from constantly ticking him off with petty barbed reminders of his failures (okay, that bit was mostly Alaire), and then Ossa lifting Bill by his throat until the Frenzy wore off.

In the meantime, Arch decided to Obfuscate and see if the police were here yet. While he's out scouting, he notes that he senses someone observing him... obviously, something's wrong. On the other hand, Arch doesn't seem to be able to see just who's doing the observing, even after kicking on the various flavors of Auspex. He reports back in and informs everyone such.

Joker's Wild...
We decide to arm up and pop over to the guy's place. Gemma's boyfriend is an arms dealer, so we get some pistols with the serial numbers filed off and make our way to Newark. The ex-ghoul's place seems a little "off" to Arch, who points out the closet in particular. John catches on to what Arch is saying, and discovers a mass of C4 rigged to explode.

Bill whips on Celerity and disarms it, then decides to pocket some of the C4, by which I mean he straps trash bags stuffed with all fifty pounds of it to his back. John and I fail to find anything else of significance, so we wander outside, only to see an ethereal straightjacketed figure with pale-white skin, red eyes, and long unkempt hair, just floating there. Picture the Joker from The Batman. Yeah, sorta like that, as a vampire. He was less-than-pleased to see we had survived, too. He decides to take it out on Bill by blasting him with Dementation 5, and convincing the newly-maddened Bill to hop on his motorcycle and come with him to the water treatment plant. :smalleek:

We catch up to them at the water treatment plant, only for Bill to suddenly start fighting his derangements. I decide to give him a quick bit of assistance dealing with his madness, while the astral Sticks heads inside. We get about half a second to realize this, when suddenly a massive vampire crumples John's car and throws it at Ossa, who dodges, leaving it embedded in the wall of the water treatment plan.

Ossa then proceeds to waste this big bad Sabbat Brujah in one turn. :smallfrown:

Apparently the spiky vampire was watching when that happened, and he wasn't too happy with that, either. Took on this horrid monster-form with giant wings of blood and tried to attack us... only for Ossa to dust this elder Tzimisce in one turn as well. :smallsigh: If you ask me, as far as combat goes, we've got a bit of the Gandalf Syndrome here...

Anyway, John and I go inside to try and confront the Malkavian antitribu. Inside is a veritable madhouse, as it's become clear that Sticks has used Dementation 5 on pretty much everyone inside, and is trying to persuade one of the head people to put a nasty chemical in the water. However, at the appearance of the "no-fun mage," Sticks decides to beat it.

Cleaning Up...
My, if we're going to keep this one under wraps, we've got quite some work to do, now don't we? I message my primogen as well as the prince, informing them of the events that transpired tonight. A quick examination of the security area reveals that the security footage is being backed up remotely by this place back in NYC. When I inform the prince of this, he says that he'll send someone there to deal with it while we clean up here. Between Alaire and myself, we manage to calm everybody down and purge any memories of the little incident, after which we take Bill back to his primogen to ensure he's taken care of. John stays behind to help influence how the police report turns out (plus he needs to talk to an insurance guy to see if he can get a replacement for his car! "You wouldn't believe the night I had... and then this baby carriage just JUMPS OUT at me!")... and if I recall correctly, that was it for that session. :smallbiggrin:More stuff next time!

comicshorse
2010-12-12, 08:00 PM
Ossa then proceeds to waste this big bad Sabbat Brujah in one turn. :smallfrown:

Apparently the spiky vampire was watching when that happened, and he wasn't too happy with that, either. Took on this horrid monster-form with giant wings of blood and tried to attack us... only for Ossa to dust this elder Tzimesce in one turn as well. :smallsigh: [COLOR="White"]If you ask me, as far as combat goes, we've got a bit of the Gandalf Syndrome here...

Tell me was this 'Ventrue' killing machine moving incredibley fast perhaps ?

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-12, 08:28 PM
Tell me was this 'Ventrue' killing machine moving incredibley fast perhaps ?Ossa's a Caitiff. Thought I said that already... hold on, lemme check... yep.

Or do you mean the guy we were fighting? Because that was a Tzimisce. We didn't fight any Ventrue... :smallconfused:

comicshorse
2010-12-12, 08:54 PM
My mistake :smalleek:

Kaun
2010-12-12, 09:40 PM
Was Ossa still a STPC during this last session?

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-12, 10:13 PM
Was Ossa still a STPC during this last session?Nope; that was, in fact, the session where Ossa's player got introduced.

My mistake :smalleek:I take it you were thinking of Alaire? :smallconfused:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-19, 06:31 AM
Session Four: The Fourth SessionNaturally, after the last night's events, we had some 'splaining to do. We end up sitting in front of Prince Donald, doing our very best to convey exactly what had happened. Oddly enough, the guy with the penchant for speaking cryptic did most of the talking. :smallconfused:

Donald understands, and is quite distressed with our little problem. Alaire also mentions how Ossa has literally over a hundred years of memories blocked by extensive use of Dominate; naturally, it's in everyone's best interests if Donald can arrange for that to get fixed. The memories get unblocked, revealing that Ossa was the veritable slave of a Sabbat vampire in the past; they even subjected him to the Vaulderie.

Course of Action...
Donald suggests that Ossa declare domain in Newark, so that he can spearhead a crusade against the Sabbat therein. Sin (the Brujah primogen, remember?) comes up with the idea of masquerading Ossa as a Brujah (seeing as how he's got high levels of both Potence and Celerity), and agrees to give him some quick tutoring in the history of the clan. He also finds it hilarious. :smallamused:

Said holding of domain will, of course, be announced on the next conclave.

Orphans in the Animal House...
Eventually John is contacted by Arturo, the Toreador primogen. Amongst the city's Kindred, he is recognized as an architect of some renown, especially when it comes to designing ultra-secure fortress-havens. Arturo, you see, is the Kindred who owns the property John desires (or more specifically, the magical node on which it lies), and being the smart cookie that he is, he understands its value to John. Since favors are the currency of vampires, Arturo is willing to trade it to John for a few small "boons."

John decides to bring Arch along for the ride, since he feels it'd be best he has a vampire on his side when he makes such a deal.

What sort of favor does Arturo want? Well, he desires something a little on the covert side; he explains to John that he wants an eye kept on the Anarchs, whom he feels are "up to something." When Arch asks just what Arturo expects John to find out, Arturo harshly responds that it's none of his business. Ouch! :smallfrown:

And, of course, it comes as no surprise to Arch that Arturo's Nature is "Architect." :smallbiggrin: Anyway, John agrees to the plan, and Arch agrees to help John out.

Well, starting on that little investigation, John finds that the Anarchs have a meeting-place at the zoo on Staten Island. He buys a number of webcams, and stealth-installs them all during the day.

Hospital Healing...
Remember those miraculous recoveries that Arch found out about? It just got a lot more personal - specifically, the mental hospital that his ghoul retainer owns had a number of its patients cured of some of their most debilitating derangements. Arch decides to investigate, and discovers that overall, the healings have very little rhyme or reason to them, and that he's not the only one about to investigate. :smalleek: Well, he decides to check the hospital's security footage to see what he can find, only to discover the guard fast asleep and the footage erased. There's something weird about the sleeping guard, but Arch can't put his finger on it, so he decides to employ his insightful little talents, and finds a strange supernatural symbol imprinted on the guard's aura.

Odd. :smallconfused: Arch draws the symbol, and sends a picture of it to the prince, asking if he's familiar with it. He gets an immediate reply back, "No, I've never seen it." The letters jumble for a moment, forming the words, "He's lying to you!"

I love being a Malkavian. :smallbiggrin:

"Can we speed this up, and set it to Yakety Sax?"
So, the next night, John and Arch decide to look at the footage from the webcams John had installed at the zoo. We see the sight of numerous Anarchs running amok, carrying handguns and blasting each other with abandon, clearly enjoying themselves. Suppose there's some sense to it; they're vampires, it's not like three rounds to the gut's gonna kill them. John informs Arturo of this "development," and is told to nonetheless continue, and be sure to check the feed for new developments every once in a while.

Lycan 01
2010-12-20, 12:12 AM
So the Prince person is lying to you guys about something he sent you to investigate? Curious... :smallamused:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-20, 12:25 AM
So the Prince person is lying to you guys about something he sent you to investigate? Curious...You mean the bit about the healings? He didn't send me to investigate that. :smallconfused: But he may have lied to us about something he sent us to investigate nonetheless...

Lycan 01
2010-12-20, 12:34 AM
Whoops, my bad. I thought that just happened to be one of the "boons" the Prince wanted from John.

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-20, 12:53 AM
Whoops, my bad. I thought that just happened to be one of the "boons" the Prince wanted from John.Primogen. The Prince rules the city, the city's Primogen are the city's clan representatives.

Donald McCallis is the Prince.
Thomas Arturo is the Toreador Primogen.
Sin is the Brujah Primogen.
Carter Vanderweyden is the Malkavian Primogen.
Er, not remembering the names of the others at the moment. :smallredface:

Lycan 01
2010-12-20, 01:57 AM
It also doesn't help that I played the newest Vampire version, so only a few of these names make sense to me. XD

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-20, 05:06 AM
Suppose I'd better give you guys another update, then...

Session Five: The Golden HealerAs you no doubt noticed in the log of Session 4, Bill didn't do a heck of a lot at all that time. That's because that was about the time he stopped playing with us. So we took on Leeann's player, and, IIRC, this was the session in which she was introduced.

The Five-O
Leeann, a visually-youthful Gangrel girl, is very involved in the workings of a local street gang, seeing as how one of her ghoul retainers is the head of said gang; that's why she's so distressed to find that the police are cracking down specifically on her gang, with some of its members even being investigated by the FBI. While her hotheaded ghoul, AJ, is all to eager to start something, she decides to turn to the vampiric community for help. She seeks out Sin, who makes her a deal: he'll use his contacts to help take the heat off her gang, if she lets him ghoul a few of the lieutenants. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, she takes Sin's deal.

HE IS ON TO ME.
Arch is somewhat at a loss for what to do; the Prince was obviously hiding something when he messaged Arch, claiming to not know what the symbol meant. He's also had little progress with finding out more about the dark conspiracy closing in around Alex; see, his sire's a tad hard to get ahold of. It's said that he has a mansion outside the city, but it happens to be in lupine territory, and despite the ST's insistence that vampires kick lycanthrope butt, Arch is not a combat character. Plus, when there's a whole pack of lupines, it becomes another matter entirely. Arch nonetheless manages to arrange a meeting with Alex's sire... at John's house. Since James Steelhaven (the aforementioned sire) is apparently in on the whole "pass Ossa off as a Brujah" plan, he'd also like it if Ossa and Alaire made an appearance.

From the second Arch laid eyes on him, it was obvious that James was the sort who followed one of the Paths of Enlightenment; in other words, completely detached from his Humanity, embracing an entirely-different code of ethics altogether... but aura perception revealed something was off. Vampires have pale auras, which almost never resemble glowing golden three-eyed angels that fill the entire room with their presence. Without any doubt in his mind, Arch knows this is the guy who'd been doing the "faith healings." Unfortunately, he's also got the whole "dark shadowy conspiracy" bit hanging over his head, visible through Eyes of Chaos.

Steelhaven does a bit of discussion with Ossa over general Brujah history before talking with Arch about the fate of his childe. Arch explains his visions to Steelhaven, to which James replies that being as powerful an entity as he is, it's all-too-likely that someone means him ill, and that such hostile intentions are simply likely to have negative repurcussions on Alex, unfortunate as that may be. Arch gravely agrees, turns, and warns him to watch his back, just in case.

"You're not as insane as you act," James says with a smirk.

Arch freezes in midstep, before slowly turning around. "If you say so, o Golden Healer," he murmurs, and then slips out the door.

Hey, want to learn Dementation?
Having solved the mystery of the faith healings (but being unable to do anything about it, since the general concensus is that they are not vampire-related), Arch decides that he might see about earning himself a favor or two. He heads to Elysium and puts out word that he might be willing to tutor others in the use of his clan's Disciplines.

Surprise, surprise, he is contacted by Arturo, who is very interested in learning Obfuscate. He goes on to say, after a little prodding from Arch, that he would rather learn it from a Lunatic than one of those filthy sewer rats, and hates the idea of owing a favor to the Nosferatu. A good enough excuse, Arch decides to teach him in exchange for a boon to be redeemed at a later date, though they both agree that the teaching will take place after the conclave Friday night.

Still, something about this definitely doesn't feel right, especially after Arturo's little deal with John. Arch proceeds to send along two messages: one to his own primogen, mentioning the architect's desire for secret business, and one to the Anarchs as an anonymous tip, that there may be prying eyes in their animal house.Details of the conclave will be provided in the next session log! :smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-23, 09:48 AM
Session Six: The Conclave...A brief bit of clarification: because NYC is considered an "active warzone" between the Camarilla and the Sabbat, the prince has made monthly meetings for all the Camarilla vampires absolutely mandatory. Failing to attend often results in a loss of status. The conclave was to be held at none other than Madison Square Garden, which had been reserved for our use that night, the first Friday of the month. In other words, nobody with a pulse is coming in.

The conclave started at about seven P.M., with Kindred trickling in to hobnob and socialize. Ossa and Alaire were some of the first to show up, Leeann about ten minutes later, and Arch about ten minutes after that, strangely dressed as a bike messenger. :smallconfused: At around eight o'clock, "refreshments" were made available. As Alaire waited for his glass of junkie blood (his particular poison of choice), Arch smirked and slurped through his silly-straw. Looks like a good night for some rumor-mongering...

"It Will Be Taken Care Of..."
We were expected to get to our seats before 9:00, when the meeting would actually be held. Neonates like Leeann and Arch were expected to sit in the nosebleeds; of course, since Alaire was "with" Ossa, he got a nice cozy seat near the front, which did not escape the notice of a gaggle of neonates. At a set of tables arranged in a horseshoe shape, the city's leaders took their seats: Prince Donald in the center, with the Ventrue, Brujah, Toreador, Tremere, Malkavian, Nosferatu, and Assamite primogen seated on the right, and the Seneschal, Sheriff, Keeper of Elysium, Lead Harpy, Herald, and Independant Chancellor seated on the left. Pay attention, there'll be a test on that later, guys. :smalltongue:

McCallis bangs the gavel. Bang! First and foremost, the minutes of last month's meeting were read off, to everyone's excitement. :smalltongue: Following that, we moved on to current and unresolved issues, at which point the Sheriff stood to address the mysterious healings that had been occurring. "We've conducted an investigation," he says, "but at this time, we have no leads." He goes on to say that the investigation has ascertained that there was no vampiric involvement whatsoever.

Donald suggests that investigating it is still a matter for Kindred, in the interest of preserving the Masquerade. Following that, the Sheriff brought up the little "water treatment plant incident" in Newark. The assembled Kindred listen as he disseminates the information, at which point Prince McCallis assures us that the situation will be "taken care of."

Following that, Archon Theo Bell took the stage to deliver the war report, going over highlights of the Seige of Atlanta and the progress the Camarilla is having in Washington DC. He wraps up on the note that his Justicar, Yaroslav Passek (forgive my spelling), will be paying New York City a visit for next month's conclave, news that Donald was visibly surprised by. McCallis turns to the Keeper of Elysium, with his gaudy shirt and comically-oversized sunglasses, and said, "Make sure he has a nice time while he's here."

Midnight Break...
At 12:00, we were permitted to take a short break, to allow for discussion of the news, more hobnobbing, making phone calls, et cetera. Ossa, instead of hanging out with the city's other elders, decides to mill about with the commoners, which draws him quite a large tail of followers, who are just all-too-eager to hear his opinion on every little thing. Alaire, being fairly possessive, takes measures to act as his mouthpiece (Ossa's player didn't do a lot of talking at this point; heck, Ossa's player still doesn't...) to the mewling neonates.

Following that, Alaire notices Leeann, who is milling about the area fairly aimlessly, and decides to intentionally bump into the poor Gangrel and be entirely unapologetic about it. However, Leeann takes it in stride, using the opportunity to introduce herself to the fabulous couple.

How do I know this? Because Arch was just a short distance away. He'd done the aforementioned bit of rumor-milling initially ("Have you been to one of the hospitals where the so-called miracles happening?"), taking care not to say anything too dangerous, though when he saw Ossa and Alaire, he stopped to watch the fun. And, since he hadn't yet met Leeann properly, he decided it was time to introduce himself as well. And deciding to show off a bit, he pumped his Dex first. :smalltongue:

Hey, weird first impressions are the best first impressions. Get 'em thinking you're crazy from the start, and they'll never look back. :smallbiggrin: Arch makes sure to mention that he's not unwilling to conduct in the business of favors, which interests her... see, she was curious about learning Auspex. "We'll work out a payment for it later," Arch says with a smile, pressing a folded piece of paper with the address of a library into her hand. Said library just happened to be where Arch had arranged to meet with Arturo to teach him Obfuscate the night after the conclave. Funny, that. :smallamused:

Taking Care of Business...
Everyone trickles back into their seats, and McCallis bangs the gavel once more. On to new business, then. Calling out the blood-hunts is first on the agenda, with three more Kindred added to the list. Following that was the declarations of domain. The Prince eyes Ossa as he recognizes the Caitiff (err, "Brujah!") elder as worthy of laying claim to Newark to drive out the Sabbat. Ossa stands and claimx Praxis, with Sin seconding the motion. No one dared oppose said motion with Sin backing him up. :smallamused:

More declarations of domain were made, with the level of background chatter raising just a little each time. We break again after that, but Ossa doesn't get the chance to mingle amongst the neonates this time; he is pulled into a private chat with Arturo, who eagerly suggests that he would be all-too-happy to design a secure haven for Ossa in Newark in the near future. :smalleek:

Oh, one last thing: status and prestation boons! The publically-owed boons are listed one-by-one, ranging from little debts owed from one vampire to another to even a life-debt or two. Most surprising of all, though, is when the Prince announces that one of the city's Kindred is to be commended for his insight. That Kindred is... Arch Whitman? :smallconfused:

Following that little surprise, it was time for everybody to head out, so we could beat feet and make it to our havens before the sunlight made toast of us. :smalltongue:That was the session, guys; questions, comments? :smallsmile:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-24, 08:57 AM
Movin' right along...

Session Seven: The PrankWell, with Ossa having been graced by the Prince with the responsibility of takiing back Newark from the Sabbat, it's time for some progress, right? Right? :smalleek: Arch sends him a congratulatory little card, making mention on it that if they desire any assistance, Arch would be all too happy to help. Ossa withdraws some money, heads to Newark, and rents himself a room at a four-star hotel for the next month or so.

It's not long before he and Alaire (and their ghoul butler) get settled in before there's a knock at the door. "Room service?" Alaire and Ossa share a confused look as their butler answers the door. Sure enough, there's a room service guy on the other side, and when the butler tries to convince him they hadn't ordered any, he looks him in the eye and says, "Start eating." :smalleek:

Butler starts chowing down on the food while the room service man closes the door and then breaks his Obfuscate effect, revealing himself to be the Nosferatu primogen, come into town to make Ossa a deal. He can provide them a little spy network, if Ossa would allow him to move some sewer rats into his newfound domain. Not seeing any reason not to, Ossa accepts, and the primogen leaves.

What do Ossa and Alaire do after that? They enjoy each others' company, for the rest of the night. :smallconfused:

Training Montage...
So, during this time, Arturo shows up at the library, ready for Arch to teach him in the art of disappearing. Arch starts teaching him the basics, showing him how to dim himself with Obfuscate, when Leeann shows up for her own training in Auspex.

"There are twenty-two people hidden in this library," Arch says to the Gangrel with an amused smirk. "Find them." :smallamused:

Needless to say, they both receive their Discipline training. Once Leeann finds Arturo, Arch takes the opportunity to learn the art of telepathy from Arturo. He also has a little chat with Leeann about possible strategies Ossa might utilize against the Sabbat; for instance, arranging it so people are less-inclined to go out at night through measures like stricter curfew laws. Leeann discusses with him the possibility of learning Auspex 2 from him, and he agrees to teach her, perhaps tomorrow night, or the next.

The following night, going back to Ossa and Alaire in their hotel room... now with the knowledge of an upcoming spy network in their domain, what is this ancient vampire going to do in his ongoing mission to purge the city of Sabbat?

"Spend some more time" with his boyfriend, of course. :smallannoyed:

Meanwhile, Arch decides to infiltrate Newark himself and see what he can learn about the city, and maybe work toward earning himself some police contacts there. With the power of telepathy to aid him, Arch finds out that prior to the "incident" at the water treatment plant, a number of homeless, prostitutes, and such had gone missing, but that since then, the number has been reduced drastically. In fact, with almost a whole night of searching, he fails to find any evidence of vampiric presence. :smallconfused:

Next night! What's happening with Ossa and Alaire? Three guesses. :smallannoyed:

Arch, on the other hand, noting that Ossa has yet to contact him, has another talk with Leeann. Upon learning of her gang contacts, Arch off-handedly mentions how she could use that influence to help discourage the kine in Newark from going out at night, a statement she completely misinterprets...

Paying a Visit...
By "misinterprets," I mean she gets a car or two full of gangers and performs a couple of drive-bys in Newark. Yeah. Suppose that'd work, though. :smalltongue:

Meanwhile, Ossa and Alaire finally decide to give those neonates that'd been kissing up to Ossa at the conclave a call, you know, see if they'll agree to go on a suicide mission to drive out the Sabbat. :smallamused: Needless to say, they were less-than-enthused. :smalltongue:

When they return, they discover that their door is open, and their butler is lying on the bed, thoroughly duct-taped, and a quartet of Kindred are watching the TV. Another vampire addresses them, asking Ossa just what the heck he thinks he's doing in Newark.

This guy turns out to be an Anarch, who is very upset that the Prince just sent Ossa in with no warning to any Anarchs in the area, without so much as a word as to why he's there... and for some reason, Alaire and Ossa don't feel like sharing their mission with him, making this Anarch more and more irritated with him. "I was given domain here!" replies Ossa.

"Wonderful job you're doing," says the Anarch sarcastically, flipping the channel to the news, where they were just talking about the drive-bys that Leeann's gang had undertaken.

Finally, after another thirty minutes of circular arguing with this Anarch, Ossa and Alaire finally decide to tell him just why they were there, revealing their orders to remove the Sabbat problem. "We haven't seen any Sabbat activity," says the Anarch, "do you have any proof?"

That's when Arch gets a call from Alaire. He insists that it's urgent that Arch come to their hotel room right away, and to bring evidence of our fight with the Sabbat. Doesn't explain any more than that, either. :smallannoyed: Good thing I took a couple of pictures with my phone during the little "incident." So Arch, believing that we're finally going to get started, heads over to their hotel room.

Was disappointed to find out that they'd just been having a little territorial dispute with the Anarchs. :smallannoyed: Still showed them the proof, the pictures of people going insane and the blood-winged horror that was the Tzimisce. "Oh," the Anarch says, "I guess there are Sabbat." Alaire and I notice as they leave that the guy didn't cast a reflection... :smallconfused:

I spend a little more time gathering information around the city, and then make my way back to NYC, disappointed at their lack of progress, but also noting how Leeann had chosen to interpret my "suggestions." :smallwink:

"Sure, Give It Another Go..."
Well, the next night, Leeann reports back to Arch with a "progress report" of her own. Rather than point out that he had meant something more along the lines of graffiti or stealing stop signs, Arch simply nods and suggests that perhaps she tone it down a little bit next time.

So, still convinced she's helping Ossa, Leeann and AJ go back into Newark, only this time her gangers go around harassing people instead of filling them with lead. Nonetheless, she gets into a bit of trouble when one of the people, not wanting to be roughed up by some street toughs, shoots a ganger dead. AJ tries to retaliate, only to take a shot himself, before Leeann can drive him away from it. She gets AJ away from the guy with the gun, but eventually gets caught by the police. Poor Leeann gets caught in the crossfire, literally, but instead of playing dead, the petite Gangrel, after taking multiple shots, picks up her injured 250-pound ghoul and sprints off with him in her arms.

Needless to say, that's a bit of a breach of the Masquerade. :smalleek: Still, she gets away, gets back to her haven safely, and begins seeing to AJ.

Oh, and Alaire and Ossa spent more time "with" each other. Of course.

"In Trouble? That's an Understatement..."
The next night, Leeann is at her haven when Sin and Alexander show up. Sin, positively-fuming at Leeann, pops in a DVD for her to peruse. She sees dashboard cam footage, traffic cam fotage, and cell phone pictures of her being unharmed by numerous gunshots, draping an injured ghoul over her shoulders, and sprinting off with him at full speed. "You can thank myself and the Nosferatu for covering this up," he says. "I'm not even going to tell the Prince about this little snafu, because I know what he'd do."

Her insistance that her actions were taken under the advisement of a Malkavian did not pacify his anger.

However, since it was Ossa who has domain over Newark, that's who Sin is going to take her to see. Alexander drives them to the hotel, Sin making sure the silence during their trip is as awkward as possible for Leeann. Sin takes her up to the hotel room, stands her in front of the door, and tells her, "Don't you move from this spot. You can't run fast enough." He walks in on Ossa and Alaire, who are in the middle of some very heated coupling, and gives them the opportunity to get dressed before speaking. He informs them that there's been a little incident that needs Ossa's attention, and pops in the DVD for them.

After they see it, he brings in the Gangrel redhead by the scruff of her neck, and leaves them to deal with her as he walks out.

Needless to say, it's not long before Arch is mentioned, and Alaire gives him a call, going over the bullet points of it with him on the phone.

"...And she tells me this was your plan," said Alaire.

"Ah, yes, my plan. See, the Prince graciously appointed an elder with the responsibility of wiping out the Sabbat. I was shocked to find that said elder wasn't taking his mission seriously, so my plan was to get him to take some initiative and do his job," Arch replied, before hanging up.

Everybody at the table laughed for a minute after that, and I got an experience point for my successful Malkavian prank.

Following that, Ossa orders Leeann to summon her ghoul, so that they can have a little talk. Leeann calls AJ and persuades him to come to the hotel, where he has a little discussion with Ossa about how his stupidity almost breached the Masquerade. After some heated arguing, AJ, confused and angry, draws his pistol, only to get punched into the wall by Ossa, which kills him.And yes, I know this was a bit jerkish of me to manipulate Leeann like that. Trust me, I make it up to her later. :smalltongue:

Kaun
2010-12-26, 04:42 AM
So are Ossa and Alair's players not into the game much or are they too into the game?

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-26, 09:05 AM
So, are Ossa and Alair's players not into the game much or are they too into the game?Good question. :smallamused:

Ranielle
2010-12-26, 10:07 PM
I like this.

Lycan 01
2010-12-27, 02:20 AM
Bum bum bummmm...

Wait, so the Gangrel girl breaks the Masquerade to save AJ, and then the next night he gets wall-punched to death? Not only does that make all the trouble they went through pointless, but it is also a rather jerk thing to do! :smalleek:

Also, go Arch! He's the only one with brains, it seems. :smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-27, 03:51 AM
Wait, so the Gangrel girl breaks the Masquerade to save AJ, and then the next night he gets wall-punched to death?That's right. :smallamused: Not only that, but IIRC, they threw him in a dumpster immediately afterward.
Not only does that make all the trouble they went through pointless, but it is also a rather jerk thing to do!I don't think Ossa intended to kill him... it's just easy to forget your punch is packing four dots of Potence sometimes. Hopefully someday these players will think to pull their punches. :smalltongue:
Also, go Arch! He's the only one with brains, it seems.Now, I dunno about that. John's pretty smart, especially when it comes to figuring out weird ways to break reality (Just you wait 'til he develops the "Sundouken." :smalltongue:)...

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-30, 03:31 PM
Hello again, Playground. Looks like I was mistaken about something in last session's details. The Anarch boss? He cast a reflection, it was two of his goonies that didn't. My mistake. :smallredface:

The Glyphstone
2010-12-30, 03:40 PM
What's the significance of the reflection here? In NWoD, at least, vampires cast blurred reflections if I remember right, so what does pure/no reflection mean for OWoD vamps?

comicshorse
2010-12-30, 03:47 PM
What's the significance of the reflection here? In NWoD, at least, vampires cast blurred reflections if I remember right, so what does pure/no reflection mean for OWoD vamps?

This may be a spoiler for players of this game so....
The Clan Flaw of the Lasombra is that they cast no reflection. They are also one of the two founding clans of the Sabbat (ominous music)

The Glyphstone
2010-12-30, 03:56 PM
This may be a spoiler for players of this game so....
The Clan Flaw of the Lasombra is that they cast no reflection. They are also one of the two founding clans of the Sabbat (ominous music)

Aaaaaaah. I see. Or, in this case, don't see.:smallsmile:

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-30, 04:01 PM
Actually, we already knew that; again, in this chronicle, New York City's considered to be at an always-alert state against the Sabbat, so most of us in the city have been informed that "no reflection = bad." :smalltongue: Wouldn't do to let them slip in just because some neonate couldn't recognize a Lasombra when he saw one. :smalltongue:

Speaking of which... :smallamused:

No, no, I'll get to that later. :smallwink:

Caliphbubba
2010-12-30, 04:05 PM
I'm pretty sure Obfuscate doesn't work on camera's
And I'd put Bill's life expectancy at about a week at this rate

this is why the Nos have the merit: False Reflection. Very nice to be able to effect Video with Obfuscate.

also, very entertaining campaign journal :-)

comicshorse
2010-12-30, 04:11 PM
this is why the Nos have the merit: False Reflection. Very nice to be able to effect Video with Obfuscate.


I'm playing a OWoD Nosferatu at the moment and I've never heard of that Merit. Where is it from ?


It's not impossible the guys could be Lasombra Antitribu but they do tend to be rather rare, mainly because the Sabbat Lasombra specifically hunt them down and kill them

TheCountAlucard
2010-12-30, 04:31 PM
Okay it's later, here's another game session. :smalltongue:

Session 8: Patching Things Up...Leeann's Got A Brand-New Ghoul...
Following that little stunt he pulled last session, Arch decided to check up with Leeann, and found that she had lost her ghoul as a result of his meddling. Since it was his fault, he decided to make it up to her by helping her to select another ghoul from the ranks of her street gang, and with his guidance, perhaps it would be one with some brains.

So that entire night, when she was going around talking to potential candidates, Arch was Obfuscated behind her, reading their auras, looking into their Natures, checking them for derangements, and then cracking into their heads with telepathy to double-check everything. Found one very well-suited to the job, and made her aware of it ("Where did I get this clipboard full of psychological profiles on my gang?" Leeann wonders). She invited him to dinner to talk about "his future in the gang," and one very bloody steak later, he wandered out of the restaurants thinking nice thoughts about her. Mission accomplished. :smallsmile:

"This V8 Juice Tastes A Little Funny..."
Following that, Arch thought to himself, "I could use another ghoul - this time, I'm thinking I'll have someone to keep me safe while I'm asleep during the day." Where does he go? His retainer's mental hospital. :smallamused: Spends a little more time doing some profiling, finds himself a decent target. The guy was a leg-breaker for some criminal organization, was a bit of a sociopath. Arch's retainer takes pains to get some Lunatic blood into the guy's system, and after three doses, Arch pays his new ghoul a visit. :smallbiggrin:

A Little TOO Quiet...
Now that Ossa's put on the pants of responsibility and actually started doing his job, what's his course of action here in Newark? To see if he can find other Kindred, of course! :smallsmile: Makes sense, sure. He and Alaire start looking in all the typical places, but strangely enough, they never see another vampire. :smallconfused:

Following that, Arch asks if they've made any progress; when he finds out they haven't, he asks a favor of them. "Remember those incedents where people got miraculously-healed? Okay, so we're gonna break this guy's leg and - oh, yeah, you can manipulate people's memories! I have a list of doctors that treated people who were healed... why don't you 'convince' a good half-dozen of them that they were mistaken? When some of them start doubting themselves like that, the rest will not want to look foolish..."

Scarily enough, the plan went over perfectly. :smalleek: When enough of the doctors were suggesting that the miracles were less-than-miraculous, the rest jumped on the bandwagon to save face.

Really, that's all there is to report about for that session. There's some bit about John, Gemma, and James Steelhaven dealing with an infernal cult and an Earthbound, but I really don't have the skinny on that, since I wasn't present. If Slade (the ST) wants to post the details, he's welcome to it, but since I've got no clue as to what happened, you won't be hearing it from me. :smalltongue:

Slade
2011-01-01, 07:49 PM
Bum bum bummmm...

Wait, so the Gangrel girl breaks the Masquerade to save AJ, and then the next night he gets wall-punched to death? Not only does that make all the trouble they went through pointless, but it is also a rather jerk thing to do! :smalleek:

Also, go Arch! He's the only one with brains, it seems. :smallbiggrin:

No, the appriate response is for Ossa to tear Leeann's head off. Instead, the player chose to remove a dot on a character sheet that she can get back later.

Now, which one is the more jerk move? Kill a character or a Dot on a character sheet?

Hopefully the Player learned a lesson (which I think she did).

ST here btw.


I'm playing a OWoD Nosferatu at the moment and I've never heard of that Merit. Where is it from ?


It's not impossible the guys could be Lasombra Antitribu but they do tend to be rather rare, mainly because the Sabbat Lasombra specifically hunt them down and kill them

Specifically, these two lasombra are ANARCH lasombra that were left behind when the Sabbat left town. Since they live in the anarch domain they decided to throw in their lot with the Anarchs. And that is straight out of NYBN.

T-t-t-t-triple C-c-c-c-c-c-c-combo P-p-p-p-p-post!!!!




Really, that's all there is to report about for that session. There's some bit about John, Gemma, and James Steelhaven dealing with an infernal cult and an Earthbound, but I really don't have the skinny on that, since I wasn't present. If Slade (the ST) wants to post the details, he's welcome to it, but since I've got no clue as to what happened, you won't be hearing it from me. :smalltongue:



James, Dr. Gemma, and John the Akashic were investigating an Earthbound cult at the same time as the Conclave. Yes, James views Earthbound as a FAR more serious threat than vampire politics.

The cult was in the middle of a Veneration Ritual for the Devourer Earthbound, so the three bust into the middle of the ritual (god only knows how many points of faith it would have gotten). James, blood pumped, celerity boosted agg sword swinging whirlwind of death, first offed the high priest (a Devil that was dominated by the earthbound) then tore into the 100+ man congregation killing most of the followers of the Earthbound. Gemma, Jaq, (the demon's lover) and John kept them from escaping and once they killed the cult, James summoned the Earthbound out of its Reliquary (since James hunts demons, he is a very accomplished Demonologist) at which point, James tears it apart and feds it to Gemma (all the rolls where made).

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-05, 02:40 AM
Oh, one other thing I forgot about... during the bit where Boss Callahan had confronted Ossa and Alaire about all their stuff, he also accused them of spying on him? Why? Because his ilk found a number of webcams hidden in the zoo in which they held meetings... because of Arch's tipoff.

(whistles innocently)

Anyway, on to more fun stuff! :smallbiggrin:

Session Nine: Shadow and Subtlety...So, remember how Leeann's ghoul AJ died? Arch gets a call from John; apparently, said ghoul had turned up in Gemma's morgue, and she hadn't even gotten the paperwork done before it disappeared from it. Gemma does not like her corpses just getting up and walking away... unless she tells them to. :smalltongue:

Sounds like a matter I could assist them with, yes? :smallamused: First things first, I tell them what I know about the ghoul in the first place: that he was a servant of Leeann who inadverdently caused her to break the Masquerade, and paid for it with his life. Following that, I message Leeann herself, making sure she's aware that her ghoul's body was stolen. After all, there's every chance that it's going to be mined for information.

Anyway, a bit of deductive reasoning leads us to believe that the Giovanni were behind the body's disappearance. Sounds appropriate for them, so John does a bit of poking around to find out where he can find them. The Giovanni live in Queens with the rest of the Camarilla-independent clans; they have a mutual agreement of "peace" with the Camarilla. In particular, their leader's haven is located near the airport, since such a lair is by-necessity going to be very secure.

Meet With The Meathead...
Through telepathy and gentle nudging with Presence, John and I arrange a meeting with one of the Giovanni at the airport to have a tiny chat. By the look of him, this mass of undead muscle was just an enforcer, rather than anyone in the clan with political pull, but we nonetheless had a little talk with him.

Sadly, while it was pretty clear from the start that he knew exactly what we were talking about, he chose to feign ignorance for the duration of the discussion. And John, unfortunately, said the wrong thing to him, which provoked a bit of a frenzy on his part.

You may call me a coward for kicking on Obfuscate 4 and leaving John to deal with the raging brute, but actually Arch has five dots in Courage; he's not a coward, he's just not dumb. :smalltongue: Plus, I figured that he could more than handle him; sure enough, John decks him, goes invisible, and we both slip out of the airport, disappointed.

My Fair Lady...
For those of you who've been doubting as to whether Alaire is really a Ventrue, apparently the Prince himself has decided to stake a claim in the fate of this outspoken little neonate... Donald informed Alaire that he would personally receive instruction in the matters that properly befit a member of the Ventrue clan. I can only surmise that this will end hilariously. :smallamused: (OOC, the ST is letting Alaire's player borrow his copy of the Ventrue clanbook. :smalltongue:)

Oh, and what has our Wild Child been up to this whole time? Heck if I can remember. :smallconfused:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-09, 06:38 AM
Ugh, sorry to disappoint you guys... the sessions are all running together in my head until I'm barely even sure how many we had. :smalleek: Maybe because all the events of it only occurred over a few days. Maybe it's because of the fact that we game twice a week or so. Or maybe it's because the session log is about a month behind our actual progress. :smalltongue:

Point being, I'm probably going to break the next few logs up into the different plot-lines that occured, rather than worry about organizing the little events that make the plot-lines up by the sessions they happened in... if you're not happy with this, tough. :smallwink: Heck, you can probably puzzle most of it out for yourself. And yeah, there'll also be some recapping, since I find it makes organizing these thoughts a little easier...

Session Ten Through ???: Arturo's ResolutionIf you'll recall, Thomas Arturo, the Toreador Primogen, is an architect of great skill. When John, our Akashic Brother, wanted a piece of property steeped with geomancy, Arturo made a deal with him - since John could never afford the cost of the property, Arturo will trade it to him after John has completed a number of favors for him... the first of which was spying on the Anarchs in their own home. :smalleek:

Arch was present during these dealings, and while he possesses no love for the Anarchs, found Arturo's treatment of both John and himself distasteful. Shortly after, Arch was approached by Arturo, who sought to learn the basics of Obfuscate from him, rather than those dreadful Sewer Rats.

At this point, Arch's plan was to attempt a subtle sabotage from within, so he complies with Arturo's request, and helps John with monitoring the webcams that had been planted at the zoo... only to give subtle hints via texts to the Nosferatu and Anarchs respectively about the goings-on (couched heavily, of course, in allegories and such). As expected, the Nosferatu laugh at his suggestion, and the Anarchs find and destroy the webcams John had set up.

Shortly after that, John is messaged by Arturo again; this time, the Toreador wants him to acquire the deed to the zoo, and maybe mess with the utilities a bit. :smalltongue: In exchange, John would be allowed the property he desired. John contacts Gemma about it, and makes a plan to infiltrate the place at night, and use perhaps a half-ounce of C4 on said utilities, as well as snag said deed. Following that, John messages Arch, and tells him how Arturo wants the deed to the Anarchs' zoo; he doesn't tell him how or when he intends to get it, just that Arturo wants it.

So what does Arch do with this little gem? Pass it along to the Anarchs, of course. "The malevolent architect seeks the dirty deed to your animal house." Those were the exact words in his text message.

It just so happened, however, that during the time I was sending this message, John was sneaking around their zoo. And it just so happened that Sammy, the big, burly Brujah, was the one who received the message. When John refuses to explain what he's doing there, the two get into a fight, and Sammy knocks him very unconcious.

John awakes hanging from his ankles in an undisclosed location, with Sammy there to interrogate him. Stubborn as only a being boosted to Willpower 15 can be, John refuses to give him any information, only lamenting that Sammy was able to find him.

"It wasn't hard," Sammy said, "seeing as how you were ratted out."

Eventually Sammy decides to "confiscate" John's phone and go through all his recent calls, hoping to find out who he was working for, eventually touching on none other than James Steelhaven. The two of them have a little conversation about Sammy's captive, before James shows up to talk with Sammy.

Sammy, of course, wants to know who sent John. John, of course, wants to know who tattled on him. James wants both of them to shut up and mind their business. :smalltongue: They end up coming to a peaceful agreement: the Anarchs will foot the bill for the property John wants - in exchange, James will march right up to Arturo's office and tell him to quit with his little spy-fetish; as for Arturo, he will take this little deal, or James will tell the Anarchs just who John's employer was.

Again, I'd like to remind you - Arch meant no malice toward John; he did not know of his plans to infiltrate the zoo, nor did he know that Sammy would misinterpret his missive. It was all just one big comedy of errors.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-10, 09:46 PM
And with this post, another plot thread is finished, and another one is revealed...

Session Ten Through ???: Resolving the Giovanni...Well, after our meeting with the Giovanni guy, Arch did some more digging and discovered that the Giovanni almost certainly still had AJ's body. His Dementation told him so. :smalltongue:

He informs Leeann of this, and arranges a meeting with the Giovanni. He then phones John and has him look into the future to see if it's a trap. After all, they picked out the location, and you can't be too careful with Necromancers. John does his little scrying-pool trick and informs Arch that the meeting goes off normally. The new guy (but I'll get to him later), who is looking over his shoulder, says that there's something odd about the Giovanni I'm meeting: namely, that she's a Harbinger of Skulls. :smalleek:

Sounds ominous, right? :smalltongue: Too bad Arch has no clue what that is. He does explain to Arch that they're supposedly affiliated with the Sabbat. Still, since the meeting doesn't seem to result in my demise, might as well go and find out what she's got to say... but just to be safe, I warn the Prince what I'd heard via text.

Oh, and one more thing: I make sure and get her name from John. :smallamused:

So, Arch arrives on the scene, and shortly after, a black van pulls up, and a woman emerges into the alley. She's a little more dead-chick and a little less goth-chick, if you catch my drift.

"Greetings, Arianna," Arch says, leading to a confused "Have we met?" from her. Ain't it fun being a Malkavian? :smallbiggrin:

Believe it or not, she actually talks about why they took AJ: they were hoping to get some useful information out of his corpse, but it was all for naught. She then surprises me by offering me him back, and before I can really come up with a proper response for that, she's back in the van, which is peeling out of there like a bat out of hell, and I'm standing in the alley with a zombie. :smallsigh:

Oh, and now there's a guy taking pictures. :eek:

I quickly instruct the zombie to hide amongst some trash bags while I deal with this shutterbug. However, despite a Dominate roll that should crush a mortal's will, he's still snapping pictures. A quick switch over into aura perception reveals a golden halo over this man's head - meaning he's a Hunter. I kick on Obfuscate 4 and try and close the distance, only for him to apparently see through it and take off running. However, I was still invisible to everyone else, and kept trying to take the camera away from him. It must have really looked very silly from the perspective of one of the people on the street. :smalltongue: We end up in front of a mailbox, and he manages to pop the camera inside, at which he turns defiantly and points.

Somehow this broke Arch's Obfuscate, necessitating some quick improv to the extent of, "Jeez, leave me alone, you pervert!" :smalltongue:

After that, he runs off, and I duck back into the alley and call up John and Gemma. "The good news is, I've got your cadaver back. The bad news is, he's a zombie. The worse news is, I need you guys to do me a favor."

We come up with a plan: John will make himself and Gemma invisible, while she uses her door-opening power on the mailbox so she can extract the camera. I keep people looking away from it all with Obfuscate, and then we make the zombie invisible and take it with us. Surprisingly, this went off without a hitch. No, the hard part was what came after.

See, looking at the camera, we discovered something: this Hunter works for the New York Times. :eek:

Dread it as Arch does, this is a matter to bring before the Prince. After all, it's likely a threat to all of us. I also mention how it seemed that the Giovanni had set me up for it in the first place, and luckily, McCallis is fairly understanding about it and gives us a chance to fix this little "oopsy."

Since we know this "Wesley Wilson" is apparently immune to mental Disciplines (which makes up the vast majority of my repertoire), Gemma decides she'll be the one to go up and "talk" to him. Of course, we make it known to her that she's not to actually make him disappear or anything; after all, if a photographer for a major newspaper goes missing, it'll almost certainly raise some questions.

She gets up into his office, only to discover that he's not there, and more importantly, she gets a look at the bulletin board. It's positively-covered with pictures of the city's Kindred. She hurriedly starts taking down as many pictures as she can, only for Wesley to walk in on her. He somehow immediately recognizes her for what she is (says a bit about "the voices" giving information to him), tries to use some power on her that immobilizes her. She still manages to intimidate him into coming with her to see us... but while they're going over, several vehicles suddenly slam into her car.

That's right, she's got to deal with the rest of his little group of Hunters. She manages to get away with an unconcious Wesley and bring him before the Prince. Gemma also shows him the numerous photos that'd been on the wall of his office (and I show Donald the pictures on the camera, of which the ones of me were only a percentage of the "supernatural" photos). He summons Deputy Alexander to purge Wesley's home, office, car, et cetera, of any evidence that he'd gathered.

And what is the fate of this little Papparazzi? Why, they're going to try and torture any remaining information out of him. :smalleek: Stuff like cutting the soles of his feet and whatnot. I was just gonna eat a Philly cheesesteak in front of him. :smalltongue:

Sadly, it seems we won't be able to prove the Giovanni were behind it, at least not from this guy. :smallfrown:

Oh, and we stashed AJ's zombie at the morgue, by the way. We made sure to let Leeann say goodbye to her ghoul properly, without it dancing around and such. :smallsmile:

Lycan 01
2011-01-10, 10:58 PM
Oooooh, I like the addition of Hunters to the plot! What a twist! :smallbiggrin:

Jarveiyan
2011-01-11, 06:58 AM
I'm playing in a chronicle where we just got finished dealing with 1 out of 2 of our 3 hunted(4 pt. flaw) characters hunters. The Tremere's hunter got trashed(and babe it took some piling on to finally drop him). Our group is entering into a deal with a fallen to get info on my hunter(where and when he'll be before he's even there), talk about turning the tables. We have to "infiltrate" a Giovanni stronghold while they're dealing with Embracing to ob-sconce with a artifact the fallen wants back. Those hunters can be a real pain in the corpse.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 05:51 AM
Aww, how sweet, you came back for more! Guess I'd better give you another little plot-thread to hang onto...

Warning: Loooooooooooooooooong post.

Session Ten Through ???: CybelleFirst of all, we have three new additions to the cast to introduce. Not all of them are permanent additions, and not all of them were necessarily added at the same time, but they all were part of either this plot-line and the one following it.

First off is Julius, a British Tremere born during the Victorian age. He's spent most of his time in this city studiously advancing his Thaumaturgical knowledge. Guy needs to get out more. :smalltongue: He seems like a nice guy, but whether or not it's an act is yet to be discovered, even for the player. :smalleek:

Secondly we have Fel Hawkins, a Southern Gangrel who had been a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. His sire is particularly powerful, a primogen in none other than Washington, D.C. :smalleek:

Lastly, we've got a somewhat-mysterious figure, a supposed ex-Sabbat named Pedro. Nobody in the coterie knows what clan he is - heck, the PCs don't even know what he actually looks like, thanks to Vicissitude... :smalleek: He's more of a thing for the next plot-line, but you'll notice him in the Giovanni one.

Anyway, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get this ball rolling...

Arch and John go to Newark again at the request of Ossa to look for the Sabbat. However, John gets a text for him to find a bathroom. He and Arch go to a restroom, at which point James Steelhaven and a stranger akwardly push their way out of a stall. Apparently this new fellow is a demon named Joe, using something called the "Lore of Portals," and brought James to discuss something important with us.

James tells us that he'd finally discovered the origins of the dark conspiracy I'd seen hanging over both his head and that of his childe Alex - it was rooted in the plotting of a fourth-generation Infernalist Baali named Cybelle. Apparently she's become a presence in New York City. To call this bad news would be an understatement. He tells me to bring this information to Prince Donald with all the alacrity I can muster, and gives me a sealed envelope to give to him as well. I am, of course, curious for more, but do what I've been told, making my way back to New York...

...and while I'm alone, use Eyes of Chaos and the object-reading Auspex power to deduce just what the devil I'm holding. :smalltongue: Unfortunately, it appears to be James' last will and testament. :smalleek:

So, while I'm off doing that, John persuades James to allow Gemma to tag along for the ride, and where do they go? The Empire State Building. This is also a bad thing, but for an entirely different reason. Just trust me. As they descend into its depths, one can see why the Prince had ordered Kindred to not enter on pain of Final Death - the basement is a twisted mass of shaped flesh, a horrific biomass made to resemble a circulatory system. James relates to John and Gemma that this thing had something to do with the Tzimesce. James had figured that Cybelle might use this place as her base of operations, or perhaps involve it somehow in her plan. However, a search of the place reveals it to be inert - almost dead, even. John asks why they don't just destroy this abomination, and James replies, "Don' you think I've tried?" He unsheathes his magic sword and demonstrates a few times, proceeding to leave the alien structure completely unharmed. Mind you, this guy is a sixth-generation Brujah, so the fact that he can't ding this thing is scary in itself. :smalleek: Anyway, John comes up with a little trick on the spot - it's a projectile attack made with Forces that also uses Correspondence to bring sunlight in from somewhere else - he called it the Sundouken. :smallamused: Sadly, his solar attack also failed to destroy the abomination, something that disappointed him. Anyway, John and Gemma agree to help investigate the matter.

During this time, Arch reaches the Prince and give him the envelope all the information he can (though since their decision to visit the Empire State Building occurred after he left, Arch didn't mention it). Donald has him message John to tell James not to engage the Baali yet, and that a number of the other Kindred in the city will be assembled to assist James. Arch, on the other hand, is to seek out David, a Malkavian who is secretly the Scourge for Donald. However, since it's getting a little close to sunup, Arch retreats back to his haven.

The next night, he sends out a psychic call for David to meet him; David appears at nine o'clock, and Arch explains to him that the two of us are to meet with the Prince to discuss some important business. Surprisingly, the Prince requested his presence so that he could fire him; as of this instant, David would be relieved of his duties as Scourge, and he and Arch would seek out but not engage Cybelle. He does help us along by giving us a detail; in the past, she'd abducted virginal twelve-year-old girls with black hair - what she did with them, he didn't know (nor particularly care to find out), but perhaps this could be used as a starting point.

Let's see... who has contacts in the police? Gemma has contacts in the police (namely, one of her thralls works there). Let's ask her for some assistance... Arch persuades her to have said police contact look into it. She gives him a call, and it turns out that he's been having some personal issues; apparently a serial killer he took down years back is back, and up to his old tricks. Of course, what he doesn't know is that said killer was a vampire, and that Gemma was actually the one who defeated the Kindred. She manages to reassure him a bit, and asks him about any missing black-haired twelve-year-olds.

Sure enough, we get a list of names. One of the names is Greek, and we note that Cybelle is similar enough a name to that of a mythological fertility-goddess (and seeing as how she's fourth-generation, she may very well have been the inspiration for said goddess), we choose to investigate her first. Since David has some very good fake credentials he uses from time to time, we don some police garb and first check with her family, who explain how she was probably abducted at the private school they sent her to, or perhaps on her way home. However, we'll need a warrant if we want to search the school... or someone with Dominate. Luckily David recalls a Tremere who may be able to assist us, a dapper fellow named Julius who spends most of his time studying at the chantry.

We phone him, and request that he meet us at the school to help us out. Naturally, his skill with Dominate is enough to allow us to look at the school's security footage, and we observe that on the day of the girl's kidnapping, she appears to just walk off-screen during recess. A use of Eyes of Chaos reveals the same corruption I keep discovering, except that it seems to be coming from the blind-spot in the security cameras, luring this girl toward it. We deduce that only one of the higher-up guards would know about the blind spot to be able to exploit it like that, and come to the conclusion that he had probably been ghouled and forced to work for Cybelle.

So, to set the scene, Julius, David, and Arch are approaching this man's domicile - since we're expecting danger, we have Heightened Senses up and running - when suddenly we hear a muffled gunshot come from inside the building. Arch charges, shouldering the door open, and is surprised to see an astral figure floating over a bloody corpse with a smoking gun, looking just a little like a xenomorph, which turns and hisses before disappearing. Apparently the dead man had been mentally-coerced into killing himself by the horrid figure. Anyway, since Julius can't Obfuscate to get away like David and Arch can, and the police have probably been called due to the sound of the gunshot, we instead use our fake credentials and explain that we were just going by when the guy offed himself (so glad I have four dots in Subterfuge :smallbiggrin:), and hearing the gunshot, we decided to investigate.

Anyway, following that, Arch phones John and describes all this to him, only for him, James, and Joe the demon to just suddenly appear next to Julius in the suddenly-very-crowded back seat of the car (Man, now I know how the others feel when I suddenly break Obfuscate around them. :smalltongue:). James is very impatient for Arch to provide details, and after he describes the astral monstrosity, James informs him that the thing he saw was Cybelle. Arch subtly texts the Prince that James was in the car with us as he gives the Brujah the information. James gets out a little bowl, fills it with water, and performs some ritual to try and figure out the location of the girl, the results of which turn up cloudy. John does some mage thing where he literally pulls the scrying effect off of the bowl, attaches it to a pair of sunglasses, and then uses Time magic to look backward through time to see the girl's trip. Since the results are still cloudy, we deduce that some elder Obfuscate power was in effect, and that's when Arch remembers that demons aren't affected by that particular vampiric trick, so we have Joe put on the "sunglasses of time" (as Arch has deemed them) and "follow" the unmarked black van he subsequently sees.

With the directions Joe gives, David drops us off at a ramshackle building amidst the slums. It's a horrible-looking place, and looks even worse on the inside. Arch sends another text to the Prince about what's going on, at which point the Prince calls James, only for him to crush his cell phone into itty-bitty pieces. :smalleek: Well, the building is empty now, save for a bizzare circle burned into the floor of the basement. This time around, the Prince calls Arch's phone, asking to talk to James. They have a very heated discussion, in which Donald demands James wait until he has some backup to pursue Cybelle, after which James crushes the poor smartphone. :smallfrown:

Following that, James realizes that Donald is using the Presence power, Summon, on him. He proceeds to swear loudly as he makes for the door, kicking on Obfuscate, and then takes off into the night sky. We realize that he left Joe behind, and convince him to use the Lore of Portals to take us to Donald's. We see that we've beaten James there, and notice that both Alex and Sin are also there. Apologizing profusely for the intrusion, Arch does his best to explain that a flying Brujah is headed full-tilt their way. And that's when the window gets smashed by said flying Brujah.

You see, Cybelle is apparently a very big deal to James. Even without having experienced her before, I can see why: she's a monstrous elder vampire Infernalist with powers almost on the level of "plot device." What I didn't know at the time was that apparently James had killed her before. Twice. :smalleek: And since this may potentially be a "fate-of-the-world" issue, he is not happy with the Prince interfering with it, authority or not. And he makes this crystal clear to Donald.Wait, guys! The story's not over! There's more to it, I swear! It's just almost five A.M., is all! :smalleek:

I'll post some more later, 'kay? :smallwink:

Caliphbubba
2011-01-14, 09:49 AM
I'm playing a OWoD Nosferatu at the moment and I've never heard of that Merit. Where is it from ?

It's in the Nosferatu Clan Book, Revised Edition. I believe it is a 3 point merit. My current Nossy as it, along with Sleep While Hidden, which lets you obfuscate while you are asleep for the day. Pretty useful merits. Both from the same book.

drakir_nosslin
2011-01-14, 10:59 AM
Very interesting, I'm looking forward to see how the current story arc ends!

Lycan 01
2011-01-14, 02:15 PM
What book(s) do you get the stats for demons and stuff in? :smallconfused: These sound like really cool plot devices and stuff, but I'm left doubting that they are included in the basic Vampire rulebook(s)...

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 02:32 PM
What book(s) do you get the stats for demons and stuff in? These sound like really cool plot devices and stuff, but I'm left doubting that they are included in the basic Vampire rulebook(s)...Well, demons are included in the Demon: the Fallen splats. As for the crazy apocalyptic-level ones, those are in the Earthbound book. :smalltongue:

Caliphbubba
2011-01-14, 02:40 PM
Well, demons are included in the Demon: the Fallen splats. As for the crazy apocalyptic-level ones, those are in the Earthbound book. :smalltongue:

Demon: The Fallen was presented as a stand alone game too, tho wasn't it?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 02:41 PM
Demon: The Fallen was presented as a stand alone game too, tho wasn't it?Yes, yes it was.

Caliphbubba
2011-01-14, 03:02 PM
Yes, yes it was.

now I'm just curious as to when the Mummies/Wraths/Changlings/Orpheons show up in your game :-) good read. good times.

Lycan 01
2011-01-14, 03:26 PM
What ARE all the "noun: the verb" games? :smallconfused: I thought demons and angels were from "Changeling: the Lost" or something like that...

It doesn't help that there are oWoD and nWoD versions of all these games, too. XD

Caliphbubba
2011-01-14, 03:29 PM
What ARE all the "noun: the verb" games? :smallconfused: I thought demons and angels were from "Changeling: the Lost" or something like that...

It doesn't help that there are oWoD and nWoD versions of all these games, too. XD

Vampire: The Masquerade
Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Mage: The Ascension
Wraith: The Oblivion
Changeling: The Dreaming

are the main 5.

Kindred of the East
Hunter: The Reckoning
Mummy: The Resurrection
Demon: The Fallen
Orpheus

are the rest.

at least these are the oWoD ones.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 05:36 PM
Anyway, might as well finish up the Cybelle story...

Session ??? Through ???: More Cybelle...Sometime after that session, Arch decided to get in touch with the "Prophet" part of the "Prophets and Madmen" Malkavian stereotype from the Dark Ages. Basically, with an hour and some blood, Arch can receive a cryptic "hint" to a question he attempts to divine - at the expenditure of some extra blood, he can even make it so that another person can benefit from his divinations.

An undetermined number of nights later, a new vampire has made his way into New York City - a Gangrel named Fel. His sire made things a little more convenient by phoning Prince Donald and announcing his childe. Following that, Fel decided to check out the various places that served as Elysium in the city. His first stop? The Edge III. :smallamused:

It just so happens that John the Akashic Brother is relaxing there, sipping on cranberry juice in between dives into the mosh pit. Noticing the new face coming through the "special entrance," he read the guy's aura, and noting that he was a Kindred, decided to introduce himself to the new guy. Following that, he phones Arch and Gemma, asking if they want to meet him...

Why, of course I would. :smallamused:

Arch decides to use Obfuscate 3 to look like the toughest ganger-type in the entire bar... but wearing a Cosby Show-esque sweater vest. :smalltongue: He and Gemma show up to to introduce themselves. Deciding to impress the newbie, he hangs back initially and begins reading his aura, Nature, and surface thoughts with Auspex and Eyes of Chaos. When he sits at a booth, Arch slides into the seat across from him and initiates conversation with him... telepathically. :smallamused:

Long story short, Arch ocnvinces him that in this big, bad city, he needs someone to show him the ropes. The fact that he's entering tutelage under a Malkavian is lost on him. :smallwink: He starts brokering a deal to teach Fel Auspex, but then John elbows him. Apparently we've got another new person coming in through the "special entrance." A moment's look at him reveals the same dark corruption twisting around his aura, only to rapidly recede under my notice. This well-dressed Spaniard coldly disregards John's attempts at introduction. "What, is it because I'm a mortal?" :smallconfused:

All while ignoring anyone with a pulse, he makes it very clear that he's here to see Sin, and that anyone else can go hang. I do a quick double-check, and discover that he has no reflection as well. I acknowledge this, and he admits to being a Keeper, though he insists that he's an antitribu, and wishes to speak with Sin about important matters. Also, Gemma starts having to utilize some serious self-restraint to not freak out at this Lasombra. :smalleek: Anyway, since Sin isn't in at the moment (we suspect he's talking with the Prince), I slip him a text about this fellow. That gets him to show up. :smallamused:

He guides the "antitribu" up to his office on the second floor for them to talk. Our little group, however, concludes that he might be dangerous (what with Gemma's little freak-out and my seeing the ooky-spooky stuff), and adjourn to a private booth away from all the noise and people, while John sets up a means for us to eavesdrop. He basically opens a finger-sized hole in space-time that follows the Lasombra around, just behind his head. They begin talking, exchanging pleasantries, and it becomes apparent that Sin is a tad suspicious of him, too... so the Lasombra uses Dominate on him. :smalleek:

"Tell me who has power in this city," he demands, and Sin just starts mindlessly spouting off answers. :eek:

So we quickly open up another space-time hole to James, taking a moment to inform him that a Keeper is dominating his blood-brother before teleporting him in. John suffers a little Paradox eruption (basically the Universe's way of saying it hates him), causing him to have a pretty bad nosebleed, and while that's happening, James storms the office, and we hear some furniture break. :smalltongue: Before he can slice the guy in half or anything cool like that, though, the Lasombra uses one of his Obtenebration powers to teleport out through the shadows. :smallannoyed: But before he left, he did mention a special someone: Cybelle. :smalleek:

James leads us into Sin's office, where sure enough, one of the chairs had been cleanly bissected. :smallamused: He informs us that one of Cybelle's other habits was recruiting a trifecta of Kindred followers to help her bring about her little doom-dealings, and that this fellow was likely one of those three. James uses his healing power to stop John bleeding before any of us get any ideas, and then John decides to try and scry on the fellow. Sure enough, he gets 404'ed by Obfuscate. :smallsigh: James goes on to explain that the appearance of said followers was a bad sign, one that Cybelle is likely accelerating her plans. :eek: In short, we REALLY need to find her.

So, following that, we decide to see if we can locate her by looking into THE FUTURE. :smalltongue: John goes first, but her Obfuscate still is too tough for him to beat; plus, he doesn't even know where to look, so I decide to provide some twisted insight.

Thanks to my telling information, he manages to finesse his way past the Obfuscate and see into a dark and twisted place, where reality itself has started to erode from Cybelle's presence - a decrepit old subway car from the fifties. Arch recognizes it as such, and knows enough to tell them that it's probably located on Manhattan Island. It's not much, but it's a start. :smallamused: By our predictions, whatever happens will be bad enough that they have to send in the National Guard, and people will be frenzying in the streets. :smalleek: And when is this horrific event to take place? Three days. :eek:

Following that, I kept my word and took Fel to my library, where I taught him the basics of Auspex in exchange for a major boon to be named at a later date.
And really, we haven't done anything Cybelle-related since.

Ranielle
2011-01-14, 05:48 PM
I love this. Wish I had people to play with.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 06:29 PM
I love this.Thanks! :smallsmile: I'm glad I can keep you guys entertained. :smallbiggrin:


Wish I had people to play with.Aww, sorry to hear that. :smallfrown:

Lycan 01
2011-01-14, 07:48 PM
Wait, so y'all just dropped the epic "oh hey, demon gonna destroy the world" plotline? :smallconfused:


I love this. Wish I had people to play with.

I know the feeling man. Have you tried looking into a pbp game? :smallconfused:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 08:24 PM
Wait, so y'all just dropped the epic "oh hey, demon gonna destroy the world" plotline?Yes and no. :smalltongue:

"The Yes Part"
See, pursuing this plot-line is a very risky thing, and a very touchy issue for a number of reasons.

Let's get the most obvious one out of the way: Cybelle is way too powerful for us. It's not like the Fellowship of the Ring having their battle with Sauron's forces - it's more like just the four hobbits doing the fighting, just after leaving the Shire. Even with Ossa there, that just means you add Aragorn to the team, but his sword's still broken. James might be like adding Gandalf the Grey, but the odds are still extremely in her favor.

Second, that's more James' plotline than ours. Sure, it's fate-of-the-world stuff, but since we can't do anything about it, it'd just be a "James saves the world while we cheer him on from the sidelines" kind of thing. And it's not like we're the only ones who are aware of it - the Prince already intends on putting together a team to help James; the big reason he chewed Donald out was because Donald was trying to make him avoid a confrontation until said team was ready.

Third, some of us would be at a major disadvantage from the start. Gemma, as a demon, can have her true name or somesuch ripped from her by Cybelle and controlled in this manner. And since she's the only PC who could routinely see through Cybelle's Obfuscate, that means that the rest of us will essentially be fighting blind while she gets mind-raped and probably made to serve her goals.

Fourth, you'll note that not all the PCs are even aware of this plotline. Leeann, Ossa, and Alaire are only tangentially-attached to this part of the story, and introducing them to it might get awkward ("Hey, wanna go try and avert what may turn out to be the apocalypse?") As for Arch, he was ordered by the Prince not to engage Cybelle by any means, and he intends to stick with it. Throwing a helpful bit of insight here and there along the way? I'm fine with that, but I don't intend on jumping into the fray, especially when I've got such a good excuse not to.

"The No Part"
Okay, while that little part's done with for now, this thing's not over yet...

See, this particular plot-line is actually pretty much caught up with the present now. The next one should catch you guys up fully, assuming I get it done before tomorrow night's game.

Get what I'm saying? :smallsmile:

Lycan 01
2011-01-14, 09:12 PM
Alrighty. That makes quite a bit of sense. :smallbiggrin:


Man, I wanna play a game of Vampire right now... :smallsigh:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-15, 12:53 PM
Oh, lest I forget, I also crafted a prophecy for James when he fights Cybelle...

"To best the Baali, ready flame and strength of skill will avail you not, for the darkness within will be consumed by the greater darkness without."

Make of that what you will, Playground. :smallamused:

Session Ten Through ???: Sabbat...So, you ready for some action?

As you'll have noted, there does seem to be a dearth of Kindred activity in Newark, save for our own. A prophecy confirms what I'd been suspecting: that the Sabbat pack we've been searching for has left Newark and are in hiding.

With this in mind, John whips up another set of time-goggles, this time looking back to when Ossa trashed those two vampires at the water treatment plant. Sure enough, he sees a vehicle parked distantly, with a number of Kindred inside. They appear to be watching the scene unfold, and decide amongst themselves that they need to lay low after that little incident. They drive until they reach an apartment complex in Union, with John following them from the future the whole time. However, it turns out that the place is warded against him. He can't enter, he can't even magically look at the thing.

By the way, don't ever say words don't have power. Apparently, during Alaire's "Ventrue Lessons," one word from the Prince sparked an argument between Ossa and Alaire that we almost never saw the end of, and it was a pronoun. :smalleek: See, the Prince had offhandedly mentioned how Alaire's sire was a woman, and apparently this was a big thing to Ossa. :smallconfused: This spat of theirs led to Alaire getting drunk and singing at a karaoke bar, and Ossa purchasing books like The Art of War and The Prince.

Meanwhile, a new Kindred has entered New York City. Largely at a loss for how the Camarilla functions, he nonetheless deduces that he needs to announce himself to the Prince before the Scourge puts him down. Through a series of misadventures (involving lying to both the Giovanni boss and the Toreador primogen), Pedro finds himself in Sin's office at The Edge III, where he also gets to meet Alex and Archon Theo Bell. They are very... pleased to make his acquaintance, when he reveals that he's a defector from the Sabbat, with news of a spy in the ranks of New York's Camarilla vampires. Unfortunately, even though he heard of a Sabbat spy in New York, he wasn't able to find out who the spy was. They make arrangements for him to be introduced at the next month's conclave.

Basically, his new goal is to find this spy - after all, if he doesn't, he's going to have a hard time getting into the Camarilla. So, as you can imagine, eventually Pedro hears rumors that a Sabbat pack had attacked the water treatment plant in Newark. He decides to infiltrate the Sabbat pack to see if they have any information about the spy he's looking for. However, he too discovers a relative lack of vampiric activity. He does find Ossa and Alaire, after they've gotten over their quarrel, and chases after their car with Celerity, trying to get their attention. He certainly got the driver's attention - caused him to bang into something, even.

They realize fairly easily that he's a Kindred, since this guy's a Path follower. Anyway, they agree to discuss these matters somewhere more private, so it's back up to the hotel room. Arch and John also end up there to reveal what they've discovered. When we tell them that the Sabbat have moved to Union, Pedro says that he'll try and infiltrate them to learn more. He starts suiting up in this bizzare piecemeal suit of armor made from a mix of scrap metal, a ballistic vest, hockey pads, et cetera, and John manages to piss him off by questioning Pedro's professionalism.

Big mistake - Pedro frenzies and attacks John, who responds by telekinetically flinging him at the wall and drawing his sword. They have a little spat, by which I mean Pedro hacks John's arm off with a battleaxe before Arch and Alaire can force him to stop fighting. Luckily, John is able to use Life magic to reattach his arm; still, he's learned his lesson - don't go antagonizing vampires - frenzy's pretty rough on ya. :smalleek:

Anyway, Pedro leaves to go infiltrate the Sabbat pack, but after that attack, John had neglected to mention to Pedro that he knew exactly where the pack was, instead letting him try and find it for himself.

First we decide to do some reconnaisance. John goes there during the day with a drill and one of those optic cables. He makes himself invisible and all his tools completely silent, and drills a teeny-tiny hole in the door for him to peep through with the cable. He basically goes around the apartment, repeating this process, sealing each hole with some putty after the fact to keep his work from being immediately noticable. He essentially discovers that there are at least half a dozen ghouls lurking in the apartment, growing ever more restless as they and their masters remain cooped up in the building. He doesn't see any sign of vampires, but he suspects that they might've broken through the floor somewhere and Earth Melded. Following that, he returns to the hotel and we get to the next stage: planning our attack.

Numerous plans are made involving garbage bags and hiding in the trunk of a car, but eventually we just decide to send the two sunlight-tolerant members of our little group after them during the day. John insists on bringing along the special bullets we'd picked up off that ghoul. John once again infiltrates the apartment complex, this time with Gemma at his side, and the two invisibly throw a rock at the door, and when a ghoul goes to see what the ruckus is, John puts a hole in his head.

They rush inside the apartment and an attempted gun-battle ensues, though when one side is completely undetectable, there's a bit of an unfair advantage to be had, and they essentially manage to kill each ghoul with pretty much one shot.

With the special ammo. :smallannoyed: You know, the somewhat-distinct ammo, silver bullets with the magnesium cores? Honestly, sounds like something the Hellsing organization would employ and all. :smlaltongue: Anyway, yeah, he used those to kill ghouls. Gemma thinks to make it look less suspicious than "hitman drops numerous targets with headshots with distinctive ammunition" by pumping the bodies full of lead. Oh, and they managed to bring back one guy alive for us to "question."

This of course, leads to a police investigation, and I'm sure the strange ammo they left at the crime scene won't come back to bite us later. :smalltongue: Unfortunately, the police were still there when the sun went down, so when the Sabbat vampires awoke, the cops got messily-dispatched.

Unfortunately, before we could really get much more than confirmation of details from the ghoul, we discovered something a little more urgent... Ossa was being beckoned with Presence. :eek:

Arch quickly calls up Julius and asks if he has some oogy-boogy BS that can immobilize Ossa. Julius confirms that yes, in fact, he does, so we get him to come over here, and bring along Leeann as well. Turns out that his trick involves solidifying the air in a phone booth-sized area around Ossa. Impressive. :smallamused: So with the threat of Ossa rushing to the Sabbat temporarily neutralized, we decide to start pulling some shenanigans, basically ghouling a bunch of birds and rats (Leeann), conjuring stakes out of thin air (Julius), and making everyone emotionally-dead inside (Arch).

Julius also does that bit where he becomes a fourth-generation vampire, albeit temporarily.

That's all the preparation we can afford, sadly - after all, every second we're preparing, they are as well. :smalleek: Julius dismisses the air-wall and lets Ossa and Alaire drive off, after which Arch, Leeann, and Julius drive after them. And yes, we know it's probably a trap, but still, we're hoping the fact that we're so late for it is offputting to them, and since we managed to prepare a little bit, we might catch them off-guard... :smallamused:

We find ourselves at a crumbling old graveyard, of all places. Alaria appears to be seated on one of the gravestones, but as Ossa approaches, he sees another figure lurking in the mists... it's apparently his sire, "Crux." Ossa is confused; apparently Crux was supposed to be dead. Alaria, by the way, is apparently the childe of Crux, hence her ability to dominate Ossa. Though strangely, Alaire doesn't see him as such - the figure is completely faceless to Alaire (and the rest of the group, for that matter). :smallconfused:

Arch notices that our group is being surrounded, and smells the scent of wet earth and decaying flesh. Leeann confirms his warning with her night-vision power, observing that we're being encircled by a number of zombies, slowly closing in on us, about fifty yards distant.

This mysterious Crux-like figure commands Ossa to approach, and a Kindred in wolf form lurks at Crux's side, which terrifies Alaire (a combination of backstory stuff and Alaire having taken a Phobia of canines at character creation). Julius tries his little "phone booth of solid air" trick again, only for Crux to suddenly whip around and shatter it with countermagic.

Following that, a skeletal woman (a Harbinger of Skulls, as we found out later) grabs Julius by the throat, hauls him up into the air, and whispers, "If you wish to survive the night, I suggest you leave. Now." Why didn't we notice? Because Julius was suddenly Obfuscated. :smalleek: And following that, she drops him, and he tells us what happened. Unfortunately, leaving no longer becomes an option for us - the car gets hoisted into the air by shadowy tendrils.

Our ghouled animals, by the way? The Kindred in wolf form presumably uses one of his Disciplines to scare them all off. :smallsigh:

And that's when the faceless-to-us Crux is made to cope with a sudden headshot. You see, apparently, whoever this faceless guy is, he's not Crux - rather, this sixth-generation vampire is on the Red List - essentially the Camarilla's Most Wanted. And James, who still hasn't found Cybelle just yet, got wind of what was happening, and decided to take care of this threat to Camarilla society. There's a few rounds of fighting before the enemy vampires bolt, save for the staked Red List Guy.

Just to be safe, I try and divine if the Sabbat vampires have truly left and aren't coming back - signs point to yes, so we head back to our respective havens.

An interesting development, though... After giving a report to the Prince about the capture of this dangerous Red List vampire, James brought the staked, eye-gouged, blood-drained Cainite to Ossa, for him to deal with as he saw fit. :smallconfused:

When Alaire finds out, he gets that special little gleam in his eye. You know the one I'm talking about. :smallwink: However, Ossa is having none of it. Deciding to prevent the possibility of any "competition" in our group, he moves to tear the Red List vampire's head off. However, Alaire kicks on Celerity and pounces, desperately trying to commit diablerie before Ossa could close the window of opportunity. Alaire ends up hurled into the wall of their new haven (courtesy of Arturo) and the Red List vampire gets slashed to ribbons with Ossa's Protean claws.

And thus ends the Sabbat storyline... for now. :smallamused:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-16, 04:24 AM
One detail I forgot to mention: when Leeann recruited her new ghoul, he asked if she was influential enough to get some siblings of his out of Riker's Island. She went to the Malkavian primogen, who has got some influence with the justice system, and arranged for them to be considered for parole in exchange for a boon from her in the future.

Session Sixteen Through Seventeen: The Serial KillerBoy, did I get to eat my words this session. :smalltongue:

So, you'll remember that Gemma was having some problems with her police-thrall-guy - specifically, that he was having a crisis of faith over the return of the serial killer he'd supposedly put down. Well, Gemma agreed to look into it, but by the time she did so, the FBI had already made their move to investigate it - after all, serial killers are more their business than that of the police. Their suspicion, however, was that this was the work of a copycat, since the original killings had taken place years and years back.

Gemma had reason to suspect otherwise. :smalltongue: At first Arch was rather loath to help her, seeing how she immediately assumed it was the work of one of his kind. :smallyuk: Still, he agreed to provide assistance - after all, sanctity of the Masquerade and whatnot, eh? :smallsmile:

I persuade Alex to come along with me to the FBI building, to see if we can take a look at the recent pair of bodies and whatnot for her. Sadly, we don't have the right paperwork for it, no matter what Alex's Presence says. :smallfrown: What we don't realize is that when John and Gemma try and look in on us from her morgue, we don't show up - it's a warded area. :smallconfused: And that's when John gets a call from James. See, remember those bullets? The ones that wouldn't come back to bite us for John having used them? Yeah, they came back to bite us, via the Technocracy. :smallannoyed: Specifically, these special bullets were an innovation of Steelhaven's, and apparently he'd had an agreement with the Technocrats that he wouldn't distribute them to anybody else... but he hadn't. :smallconfused:

So the fact that someone was using them was apparently merit enough for them to send some trigger-happy MIB-mages after John and Gemma. And when your bullets can teleport through doors to hit someone... :smalleek:

So John and Gemma teleport to the Edge III, where they and James arrange to have a talk with one of the Technocrats. John explains that he got the special bullets from a ghoul our coterie had killed (though he neglects to mention that he and our Tremere can now mass-produce them...), and it evolves into them making another agreement - namely, that John won't go revealing the existence of supernaturals by using bullets that wouldn't stand out in Hellsing on what are essentially ordinary mortals.

So, next night, and with the Technocracy issue dealt with, we can get to investigating! The first thing Arch does that night is get out his magic 8-ball and start checking to see how the killer might be found. :smalltongue: His divinations reveal that he might make a good start by searching the Cobweb. :smalleek:

Arch hates going in there. :smallfrown: It's dark, and full of all sorts of unpleasant things. Nonetheless, he can't deny that it's very useful at times, and this may very well be one of those times, hence why he dives into his clan's hive-mind.

Now, imagine if you shared a vague conciousness with a few thousand other individuals. The strongest emotions and deepest-running thoughts and passions all pass through this network, though it usually registers as static, constantly gently buzzing through your head. Imagine concentrating on that for a few moments, and then plunging head-first into this collective. And now imagine if everyone in this network was insane. :smalleek: That's what it's like, okay?

So, guided by his own prophecy, Arch travels through the Cobweb and finds another mind... and begin gaining insight into it. He sees through a shorter perspective, perceiving a generous father-figure and a twisted and hateful nanny. Then comes the water, followed by a feeling of relief. Loathing, fear, anger, and a feeling of helplessness. Darkness and foreboding, and then peace and assuredness.

Arch essentially begins profiling this figure - she is, of course, a fellow Malkavian (wouldn't've detected her with the Cobweb otherwise), and was Embraced during the Victorian era, but she wasn't exactly all right in the head before that. Obviously, she had issues with the nanny, who mistreated her. The killings, strangely enough, are a secondary matter. And we suspect that the lulls in any activity on her part are due to torpor, and that one derangement she possesses is Manic-Depressive. :smalleek:

He also makes two more prophecies for Gemma - one for her finding the serial killer, and one for her fighting the serial killer. Meanwhile, Gemma goes down to the FBI office to see about examining the bodies herself so she can do some demon voodoo. Using her "feminine wiles" to "arrange" an "opportunity," she needs but a moment to look into the boys' eyes to see into the end of the boys' lives.

The boys essentially left home of their own volition (though Presence may have been used to help that along) to see some sort of "spooky" house, a two-story place on Staten Island. Following that, they were abducted by a woman with a wicked laugh and a ski mask. She proceeded to abuse them for some time before weighting them down with rocks and throwing them into the ocean. :smalleek:

Very disturbing. However, with the information she's gathered, that's enough for John to do one of his Time Vision™ things and then locate the actual house in question.

Kaun
2011-01-17, 08:36 PM
Just spent the last hour catching up with the story. Damn good read! keep it up.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-17, 09:24 PM
Just spent the last hour catching up with the story. Damn good read! keep it up.Sadly, the one time everyone's caught up, we're going to be missing a game session. :smallfrown: ST's work schedule sucker-punched him. :smalleek:

...So that's why I've got a little surprise prepared for you then. :sabine:

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-01-18, 04:31 PM
I've just bothered to log in and post in another topic, so I figured I might as well make a post here, just to let you know that I'm reading your stories and that I think they are awesome.

Also a question, I noticed you tried to not be too insane, but, as I understand the rules, every malkavian has to have at least one derangement, what's Arch's?

Also you've mentioned Arch is considered a neonate, but he's an 8th generation vampire with at least a few high level disciplines, he also seems to understand the game, hasn't he made it to ancilla yet?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-18, 04:44 PM
I've just bothered to log in and post in another topic, so I figured I might as well make a post here, just to let you know that I'm reading your stories and that I think they are awesome.Bwahaha. :smallamused:


Also a question, I noticed you tried to not be too insane, but, as I understand the rules, every malkavian has to have at least one derangement, what's Arch's?I'll PM it to you, so as not to ruin the surprise for anyone else. :smallsmile: Bwahaha, I must keep you all in suspense!


Also you've mentioned Arch is considered a neonate, but he's an 8th generation vampire with at least a few high level disciplines, he also seems to understand the game, hasn't he made it to ancilla yet?Well, see, Arch is only about seventy years old (counting his mortal lifetime), and it can often take a century or more to become a respected member of the community. Not only that, but for the longest time, Arch was actually wary of showing off any prowess he may possess to the rest of the Kindred community.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-20, 11:04 AM
Surprise! :smallbiggrin:

The Xanatos Gambit (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XanatosGambit)This "event" took place entirely over the phone as a series of text messages, occuring shortly after Ossa killed the Red List Lasombra to stop Alaire from diablerizing him. Arch is unaware that Ossa did that (or even that he received the Red List vampire's staked body in the first place).

Still, Arch suspects that like any good elder, Ossa would probably do his best to discourage the rest of the coterie from diablerie; after all, it upsets the power base and puts his own 6th-generation blood in danger.

Now, on the other end of this scale is Julius. He lamented to Arch that he was unable to sink his fangs into any of the Sabbat vampires, as access to elder Thaumaturgy rituals would prove very useful to him.

So, with that in mind, Arch reminds Julius of the blood hunts that were declared at the conclave. He mentions off-handedly how Kindred sometimes have a tendency of "looking the other way" when a blood-hunted vampire is made the victim of diablerie. He convinces Julius to recruit Leeann to help him pursue these blood hunts, since she'd likely come in handy, and sure enough, she agrees. Arch, however, intends to provide the two some aid by means of prophecies, merely asking boons from them in return.

Following that, Arch speaks with Ossa. He hints at a "conspiracy," led by Julius of course, to improve their generation by going after the three blood hunts declared during the conclave. I convince him to keep mum about it, however, since we don't know who else might be in on it - plus, allies are more useful as allies than as a pile of ashes. I tell Ossa I'll do what I can to help him out, and he even promises me a boon for the information I've "taken pains" to give him.

Now, the twist here? The vampires who were added to the list of blood hunts aren't going to improve anyone's generation - at least, not in our coterie - they're just a trio of fledgling wannabe Anarchs that even the Anarchs wouldn't take in. Assuming Julius and Leeann do succeed in tracking them down, such will be easily found out with his Thaumaturgy, and he'll probably dispose of them the regular way, which will likely be worth a pat on the back and maybe a little bit of status (making the boons they owe me that much more valuable). If they aren't successful, then they'll be no worse off for trying, and I'll still have the favors they all owe me.

And yes, again, I know this isn't very nice of me. :smallfrown: However, it does give 'em something to do. :smalltongue:

Burnheart
2011-01-20, 11:09 AM
Haha Never trust a Malkavian especially a helpful Malkavian:smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-20, 11:32 AM
Haha Never always, always, always trust a Malkavian especially a helpful MalkavianFixed it for you. :smalltongue:

And I'm not saying this won't be to their benefit. It just benefits me more. :smallbiggrin:

Kaun
2011-01-20, 04:14 PM
How long till we can get a big update?!?!?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-20, 04:24 PM
How long till we can get a big update?!?!?Err, considering that you're currently caught up with the present in-game... :smallconfused:

We should have a game session Saturday, weather permitting.

Also, if you're that eager for new content, I've been trying to get Leeann's player, who has been diligently taking notes since her first session, to add insight from her character to this campaign log. :smallbiggrin:

Kaun
2011-01-20, 04:32 PM
Do that, use violence if necessary!.

It would be intresting to get some diffrent perspectives on the story so far.

Is Slade involved in this one? Im suprised he hasn't added his two cents.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-20, 05:20 PM
Do that, use violence if necessary!Who's to say I haven't already? :smallwink:


It would be intresting to get some diffrent perspectives on the story so far.Agreed. I don't intend for the thread to be so, well, Arch-centric, but I have a tendency of forgetting details about the characters I'm not playing. :smalltongue:


Is Slade involved in this one?He's the ST.


I'm surprised he hasn't added his two cents.Err, he's made a few posts in this thread... or do you mean about this little bit of phone-based trickery? His response to that was that it was awesome and potentially XP-worthy. :smalltongue:

Kaun
2011-01-20, 05:35 PM
Err, he's made a few posts in this thread... or do you mean about this little bit of phone-based trickery? His response to that was that it was awesome and potentially XP-worthy. :smalltongue:

Brain fart, i forgot about his couple of earlier posts I guess i need another coffee.

All so correct me if im wrong but are the power levels of the diffrent players fairly uneven or are some of the other characters not being utilized to their full potential?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-20, 05:49 PM
All so correct me if im wrong but are the power levels of the diffrent players fairly uneven or are some of the other characters not being utilized to their full potential?A little of both.

For the first, John started the game with experience from the game he was previously in, and Ossa's an elder vampire... though on the other hand, Ossa was built with all the classic combat-junkie stuff in mind (Potence 4, Celerity 4, Protean 6, and others), and as you've seen, there's plenty of sessions that go by without any combat at all in them; the number of times any one of us has been made to roll initiative is still in the single-digits.

For the second, I agree, a lot of the members of our twisted little coterie don't utilize the power they have access to, possibly because they haven't realized it themselves, possibly because their powers are somewhat less-utilitarian than the others...

As a for-instance, Leeann has Protean 5, and there's a dozen dozen potential uses she can probably get out of that. Julius has Path of Conjuring, Transmutation, and Movement of the Mind, in addition to Path of Blood (which is up to five, I don't know exactly how high the other Thaumaturgical paths are for him).

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-23, 05:49 AM
Session Eighteen: Good Night, Or Best Night?Tonight's session was a tad problematic - where last session didn't have Leeann or Julius, this session was only Leeann and Julius, though I saw fit to mostly just tag along and provide... sage advice. :smallwink:

As you recall in Xanatos Gambit, during the two weeks (or so) of downtime, I kept in communication with my peers. Julius came up with the idea of going after the vampires on which a blood hunt had been declared, and decided that Leeann would be a helpful addition to his efforts. And that's what this session will cover. :smallbiggrin:

And yes, they do soon come to the realization that there will be no generation-improvement by diablerizing any of these guys, but doing this stuff is still worth a pat on the head by the Camarilla, so they might as well give it a go.

Now, Arch opted not to join the Dynamic Duo in their efforts - he promised to provide aid, but he did so at home, in the comfort of his easy chair, throwing his rune-carved goat-knucklebones over the TV tray and contemplating the ramifications of them showing the sign of a bull...

The first vampire they go after is a Toreador (http://www.weregeek.com/2010/11/26/) (ha-ha! :smalltongue:) - they show up at his haven to do some investigation, whereupon they discover some subway tokens and other such things that help them deduce where to find him. Julius and Leeann make a beeline for the subway station nearest his house, but he gives them the slip, so they move on to the next offender.

Their second target is a Caitiff, and this one required a tad bit more finesse on their part. Aided by my prophecy, they find that he's going to try and leave the city by car - since he left in a hurry, Julius is able to find enough paperwork at the haven for Leeann to report the car stolen.

When they get a location on the car, she cancels the report (Arch isn't the only one that can tell a fibber! :smalltongue:), and she and Julius head for it. They find the car on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, where slowed traffic is meaning little progress for the Caitiff, who is just a little on the paranoid side (probably the only thing keeping him alive, what with him being blood-hunted and all). Still, Julius manages to jimmy the window open with Movement of the Mind wide enough for him to slip inside unnoticed (he's learned his lesson from me: Obfuscate 2 is too a useful trick to pass up on learning :smallbiggrin:). Leeann, for some reason, is a housecat at the moment. :smallconfused:

Anyway, settling into the seat next to the Caitiff, Julius places his hand on the vampire's shoulder and sets the Caitiff's blood to boiling. He takes his target down to Incapacitated, and makes sure to photograph himself with him, so he can prove he was the one who killed him... when Leeann realizes something: namely, that even though he's of no benefit to herself and Julius, some Kindred would pay quite dearly to sink their fangs into this captive... She tries to convince Julius of the merit of this idea, but he's having none of it, and proceeds to reduce him to ash.

She's really not too happy at how he shot down her idea, but hey, she really doesn't have anything she can really do about it, right? Right? :smalltongue:

Well, now we're down to the last monkey in the barrel, and wouldn't you know it, this guy's a Brujah. :smalleek: They travel to his haven, only to find it in heavy gang territory. Julius makes one mistake, however - if you're going to read someone's aura, do it while under Obfuscate! The gangsters think this well-dressed Brit is eyeballing them, and they'll have none of his top-hat-wearing nonsense, thank you very much. Julius gets a gun pointed in his face, and botches his roll to resist Frenzy.

Oh, my. :smalleek:

Yes, there are twenty gangers. However, mortals are almost guaranteed to not stand a chance against a Kindred in Frenzy, even a Tremere. And when they see him rip a man apart with his teeth, they're not going to stick around. The noise, however, brings out the Brujah from his haven - that's right, he's not even left yet! Now, a mortal is not going to stand up to a Kindred in Frenzy, but another Kindred, one with combat-related Disciplines... yeah, that's a whole other story.

Leeann, on the other hand, having had the good sense to Obfuscate behind a tree, had formulated a petty little plan of her own... While Julius was out of control, she whipped out her cell phone and began recording his actions; she was going to make sure that he would owe her a big enough favor that he'd never shoot down one of her ideas again. After all, if word got out about this, Julius' life would almost-certainly be forfeit... and thus make her video a very potent bargaining chip. :smallamused:

As she does this, the Brujah curb-stomps the mindless Beast in Julius' skin, leaving the Tremere's face imbedded in the concrete before realizing that he should get the heck outta there. Leeann hauls the unconcious Julius into her car and helps him recover at her haven. Their plan? Blame this little "oopsy" on the Brujah. :smalltongue: They went to bring him down, and he Frenzied and broke the Masquerade so egregiously.

Julius does report his success in bringing down the Caitiff, via a text to Deputy Wainwright.

Oh, and the ST decides since Julius botched the Self-Control roll, that in addition to losing a dot of Self-Control, Julius also earned himself a new flaw to work off - whenever he sees a gun, he Frenzies. :smalltongue: I suggested an amusing way to remove it, and we'll see if it gets implemented next session, now won't we? :smallwink:

Okay, okay, a couple more things before we're done for the night. Arch puts on his nice tie and pays a visit to his primogen, Carter Vanderweyden. He discusses his discovery of Adelaide Davis, the Malkavian murderess. They come to the conclusion that it would be for the best if this was resolved as a clan matter - no point in bringing the others in, after all. Of course, he first charges me with the burden of proof - after all, my primogen was a lawyer in life. :smallamused:

Last thing, I swear! :smalltongue: I have a little talk with the ST about it, and decide that Arch is going to pick up some Influence in Newark (after all, most of the good Influence in NYC is taken up, and attempting to horn in on it would likely get me swatted like a fly by the big boys). He's going to work toward both medical and media influence - medical because he's already got an in for that, and media because it's just too useful. The ghoul of Arch's that owns the mental hospital is going to put in a good word for him in the various medical circles in Newark, until he can make an appearance at some charity event or another. Thanks to him having Dominate, Arch can now manage a few moments "alone" with the right influential people to potentially get himself in on both Influence avenues. This is an issue for future sessions, of course, but it was this session that I came up with it, so this is where I'm going to mention it. :smalltongue:

And that's it for the night. It really is. :smallsmile:As always, questions, comments, and maniacal laughter are appreciated. :smallbiggrin:

Burnheart
2011-01-23, 12:24 PM
Has Leeann always been so devious or has she been spending to much time with Arch?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-23, 01:27 PM
Has Leeann always been so devious or has she been spending too much time with Arch?Well, she is two steps blood-bonded to him... :smallamused:

Actually, rather than spend time speculating, perhaps we should have Leeann's player give her own opinion; I'd like to hear the answer to that, too. :smallwink:

Burnheart
2011-01-23, 01:32 PM
Blood-bonded?

drakir_nosslin
2011-01-23, 01:43 PM
I'm just passing by again to say that this is one of the best campaign journals I've read. Keep it up!

I really like how you play Arch, it's very inspirational! :smallamused:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-23, 01:44 PM
Blood-bonded?One of the most easy-to-abuse abilities the Kindred have, actually. :smallwink: Basically, whenever a person ingests Kindred vitae, he or she develops a bit of emotional attachment to that person, and it only gets stronger each time until the third drink, at which point it can almost be called akin to the sensation of "true love."

I'm just passing by again to say that this is one of the best campaign journals I've read. Keep it up!No problem, man! :smallbiggrin: Though I think we're on the beginning symptoms of "Weary ST Syndrome," but I'm hoping running a game of Exalted on the side will be cathartic enough to keep him going. :smallcool:
I really like how you play Arch, it's very inspirational!Thank you. I imagine next session will be greatly entertaining for you. :smallamused:

Jarveiyan
2011-01-23, 02:27 PM
That's funny you should mention that, in our V:tM game my 8th gen caitiff has 2 coterie members bond to him - Darla 10th gen gangrel(1st step) and Bob 8th gen brujah(1st step). My character would probably be bound to a few pc's himself if he didn't have unbondable.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-23, 03:25 PM
That's funny you should mention that, in our V:tM game my 8th gen caitiff has 2 coterie members bond to him - Darla 10th gen gangrel(1st step) and Bob 8th gen brujah(1st step). My character would probably be bound to a few pc's himself if he didn't have unbondable.Such fun. :smallamused: I was sorely tempted at chargen to take a Merit in Clanbook: Malkavian... what it does is when an effect would make you blood-bonded, the person with whom you are bonding becomes an equal number of steps blood-bonded to you. :smalltongue: Excellent means of messing with people, I should imagine. :smallamused:


Huh, my only experience with world of darkness is from the pc game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, you can to that to a human to make a ghoul, i didn't know it worked on other vampires, interestingly this makes me want to play a tabletop game of Vampire: The Masquerade.Man, did I have fun with Bloodlines. :smallbiggrin: Dirty razzafrazzin' stop sign, one of these days I swear I'll...

In fact, it's literally the one reason I first became interested in World of Darkness proper. :smallsmile:

Kaun
2011-01-23, 04:29 PM
Though I think we're on the beginning symptoms of "Weary ST Syndrome," but I'm hoping running a game of Exalted on the side will be cathartic enough to keep him going.

Ahh the Dreaded WSTS, it has claimed some of the best over the years.

On that note you guys should give deadlands or L5R a crack at some time, mainly so i can read the journal. :smallwink:

BobTheDog
2011-01-24, 05:48 PM
Alas, a whole page of reminiscing and no new journal entry. :smallfrown:

Tell your DM he should recover from his illness soon, or else...

Burnheart
2011-01-24, 06:12 PM
Well saturday was the latest session and TheCountAlucard already posted the journal for it. So we will probably have to wait until next weekend before we get a new Journal.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-24, 07:10 PM
It's all fuzzy at this point, but I do believe there was a passage in the book we were using about the ST adjudicating if other circumstances could cause agg damage. Also realize I was still fresh to RPing(DnD and Vampires) so I didn't know the system enough to call him on it. My first character was a Ventrue ?? generation executive "type" who was packing a deagle .50 in shoulder leather, I don't even think I used any of his disciplines before the character was put to final death(while I was on mid-tour leave). In other words that was just our idiosyncrasy(it wasn't a hard rule).Hey, no problem. Still sounds like interesting times, man, so good on ya. :smallbiggrin:


Alas, a whole page of reminiscing and no new journal entry.Well, we really are all caught up, man. Hate to disappoint and all, but the only new content you're going to get for the next couple of days will be if the other players jump in and start adding their perspective on things. Or maybe their backstories, that might be cool. :smallcool:


Tell your DM he should recover from his illness soon, or else...Eh, like I said, I'm hoping some Exalted will liven him up some. :smallwink:


Well saturday was the latest session and TheCountAlucard already posted the journal for it. So we will probably have to wait until next weekend before we get a new Journal.Actually, usually we play twice a week: on Wednesdays and Saturdays. So it might be earlier than that. :smalltongue:

Still, I appreciate the sentiment; I, too, hate being left in suspense. :smalltongue:

Burnheart
2011-01-24, 07:39 PM
Wait so we may get a new journal in a few days:smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-24, 07:40 PM
Wait so we may get a new journal in a few daysMost likely, unless something sucky happens. :smallyuk:

Kaun
2011-01-24, 07:46 PM
Most likely, unless something sucky happens. :smallyuk:

All vampire puns aside, make it so!

Lycan 01
2011-01-24, 09:43 PM
You could always regail us with older stories, about the exploits of past characters you or your friend's used. Seems like you've played Vampire awhile, so surely there are some crazy tales in that head of yours. :smalltongue:


Also, I get to play Vampire: the Requiem Wednesday! :smallbiggrin: Should be a lovely trainwreck...

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-24, 10:03 PM
You could always regail us with older stories, about the exploits of past characters you or your friend's used.Well, that's the funny thing - for this game, I honestly don't have any. :smalleek:
Seems like you've played Vampire awhile...Yet strangely, I haven't. Isn't that a funny thing? :smalltongue: This is literally my first game in which I've played a vampire.

...so surely there are some crazy tales in that head of yours.Sadly, not for any stripe of the World of Darkness. Slade, on the other hand, has over ten years of experience with Vampire specifically. :smalltongue:

Also, I get to play Vampire: the Requiem Wednesday!I might have to hear about this one... :smallcool:

Should be a lovely trainwreck...Aren't they all? :smallbiggrin:

Lycan 01
2011-01-24, 10:30 PM
Oh. Hm...


Hey, aren't there Vampires in Shadowrun? :smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-24, 10:33 PM
Hey, aren't there Vampires in Shadowrun?Yes, there are... we didn't do much involving those, though. :smallfrown:

Lycan 01
2011-01-24, 10:35 PM
Oh. Darn...

Hm. So, what's this I hear about a Vampire MMO? :smalltongue:


(If I'm going off topic or wasting time, just tell me to shut up)

The Glyphstone
2011-01-24, 10:39 PM
Oh. Darn...

Hm. So, what's this I hear about a Vampire MMO? :smalltongue:


(If I'm going off topic or wasting time, just tell me to shut up)

The IP for a rumored V:tM MMO is held by the same people who produce EVE Online. A match made in heaven if they ever release it - who better to manufacture a persistent-world game centered on PvP conflict and intrigue where unassailable rich and powerful elites prey on or abuse weaker newbies?, and the only way to get ahead is by the patronage of said elites (or by ganging up on and somehow killing one to take their stuff):smallbiggrin:

The Glyphstone
2011-01-25, 09:39 AM
Hehehe, I doubt it. Still, it may be best to split off the Bloodlines and MMO discussion to another thread. Agreed? :smallsmile:

Exactly what I heard. :smallamused: I'm certainly interested. :smallbiggrin:

You mean, this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184827), which just somehow mysteriously materialized out of nowhere? Clearly, it was under Obfuscate the whole time.:smallcool:

comicshorse
2011-01-25, 12:54 PM
Oh. Hm...


Hey, aren't there Vampires in Shadowrun? :smallbiggrin:

And rules for playing them in Runners Companion

Toric
2011-01-25, 06:02 PM
...It's journals like these that make me really fascinated by White Wolf games. This is a good read, consider it subscribed.

Korrah
2011-01-25, 06:58 PM
Wow. Just read through the whole thread and.. wow. Great story so far.

Does anyone know where I could find any other vampire campaign journals? (Or any White Wolf games, really. They've started to fascinate me.)

BobTheDog
2011-01-26, 08:08 PM
I could try to get some journals of games past going, here in the forum, but the sad part is that most of them would eventually..................

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-27, 05:22 AM
Session Nineteen: Tremere Approves!Okay, Tremere probably does not approve. :smalltongue: Julius is in trouble, in no uncertain terms. Let's see how he deals with it! :smallbiggrin:

First thing: he calls in Leeann! Not a bad choice! He also rings Arch up and tells him that there's some trouble! Excellent choice! :smallamused: See, Julius has only got so long to correct his little "oopsy" before he joins the list of blood-hunts, so I can't fault him for being a little desperate, especially with a Kindred who has been so helpful to him in the past. :smallsmile:

So, of course, it's time for some damage control: first things first, time to check YouTube and the like; he manages to get a video taken down by claiming that the footage was from copyrighted material ("C'mon, this is from a movie currently in production! Can't you tell that's fake blood?" :smalltongue:) Following that, he and Leeann go to the site of his inadverdent breach, where I de-Obfuscate and greet them. The place has been scoured by the police and such, we've got the standard crime-scene markers and whatnot. Arch asks for a recap of what exactly happened with them the previous night, and then takes the opportunity to secretly read Leeann's mind to double-check against all of it. :smallamused:

With the proper faces now in his mind, Arch sneaks off to the gangers' nearby homes. Thanks to Dominate, I'm able to "convince" them that not a one of them will ever, ever communicate the events of the little "incident" last night to anybody in any fashion. Ever. :smalltongue:

Job's still not done, though - Julius hesitantly conveys his newfound "gun problem" to the two of us, and I'm all-too-happy to provide him assistance with it. :smallamused: The devious little plan involves us going to Leeann's haven, where we proceed to the basement to begin. Arch takes the precaution of using Passion on Julius to help him restrain his inner Beast, after which Julius seals himself off in a box of solidified air, and then uses Thaumaturgy to create a nice, heavy-caliber pistol for us. :smallamused: First step is just us standing around, pointing the gun at him and watching amusedly as he tries to restrain himself from going out of control. Following that, we put the gun away, he re-boxes himself, but this time with his hand trapped outside the box. We proceed to force him to handle the gun, all the while having to restrain the urge to succumb to Frenzy. Unfortunately, that left him relatively-drained of his mental fortitude (i.e., he's out of Willpower), so we leave him to meditate for the rest of the night.

Arch has another devious little plan, just something to serve as a backup if he can't get his influence-gathering scheme to work just right: namely, the ability to affect technology with Obfuscate. Because c'mon, if you can't think of a use for that, you haven't been playing long enough (Blackmail is only the first of many equally-enticing options! :smalltongue:). Sadly, since this is mostly a trick of the Sewer Rats, this involves owing a favor to the Nosferatu, and who should I discuss this with but the Nossie primogen himself. We, of course, meet in Elysium and have a little discussion about it: deciding he wants to start out with a high bid, he tries to convince me it's worth a life-boon. With judicious use of information that wets his whistle without inherently screwing anybody over, Arch talks him down to it being worth a major boon to be named at a later date, and some madman prophecies to sweeten the deal. :smallamused: Arch also gets an interesting video on a flash drive - in fact, it proves to be relevant to the information Arch traded, but I'll get to that later, when Arch actually watches it. Suppose that's good enough for me: just to test it out, Arch uses his newfound power to send Julius a video of Julius dancing to a certain beat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A67ZkAd1wmI&feature=related).

Meanwhile, what does Leeann do? She reclaims those ghouled cats from our Sabbat raid. Whatever works for ya, I guess. :smallbiggrin: Then she goes prowling around Elysium to see if she can get into the Discipline-trading biz herself. She comes across a rather-charming vampire who's clearly enjoying the use of his Presence dots, judging by the hot goth chicks crowding around him. Leeann convinces him to talk with her in private, and though he's reluctant at first to accept her tutoring in Fortitude or Protean (despite being a Brujah, this guy Mazz is a lover, not a fighter), he manages to convince her that she could benefit from learning Presence (specifically Dread Gaze) from him. :smallamused: They exchange some contact information, and then we move on to the next night.

Arch, relaxing in his haven, turns to his sociopathic bodyguard-ghoul. "Come along," he tells him, "I'm going to be visiting a friend of mine, and I suspect that you'll be a useful aid to us both." After all, Julius hasn't been fully-cured of his "dislike" of guns, now has he? :sabine: Julius has us meet him in his haven, at which point introductions are made.

Well, last night it was pointing the gun at him, and then it was forcing him to handle it, so naturally my ghoul decides that the next logical progression is to pistol-whip Julius' exposed hand until it's a mangled mess of undead flesh. Our Warlock buddy does a surprisingly-good job of reining in his Beast, after which we decide to go with one last exercise... this time, Julius' head is exposed, and my ghoul crams the unloaded pistol into his open mouth and screams threats at him while pulling the trigger repeatedly.

We Malkavians are so good at rehabilitation. :smalltongue: Looks like he's completely cured of his gun-frenzy! :smallbiggrin:

While Arch gives Julius some time to cool off and decides to reward his ghoul with some ice cream ("I want chocolate."), Leeann is engaging in a "learning experience" with Mazz, the Brujah from the previous night, telling her ghoul to go enjoy a movie. Let's just say she teaches him Fortitude, and he teaches her Presence, and leave it at that. :smallwink: No rumors will be persisted involving a disheveled Mazz leaving her haven, foot-long Protean-claw-marks down his back...

After that, Arch decides to do Julius another solid (because obviously he hasn't done enough favors for him already!) and begins working the rumor-mill at Elysium again, this time telling them how Julius went after the blood-hunted Caitiff and reduced him to ash. When Julius had recovered enough to join Arch in Elysium, we began passing along rumors about the blood-hunted Brujah, and how he was careless enough to be seen Frenzying by mortals. Our little lies seem to be effective enough, but as we go to leave, one of those delightful Sewer Rats approaches and tells us that he has information that might suggest otherwise. Video information, to be specific. Yeah, the YouTube video didn't last long, but it was around long enough for this nasty dude to snag himself a copy. And yes, he's going to blackmail Julius with it. :smallannoyed:

What's he charging for his silence? Thaumaturgy. That's right, he wants in on one of the Tremere clan's biggest secrets, in exchange for keeping the video from reaching certain eyes. It's pretty obvious that Julius is getting a raw deal, especially with the stipulation that Julius provide him with a new thaumaturgical tome each week, or he else distributes the video. :smalleek: And, of course, we can't just make this particular Nosferatu disappear - that'd be too simple, now wouldn't it?

Well, Julius accepts the deal (what else can he do, eh?), but as soon as he's alone, he goes to the chantry and has a conversation with Masika St. John, one of his fellow clanmates. He reveals that the Nosferatu in question intends to blackmail him as a means of obtaining the clan's most closely-guarded secrets, and they hatch a plan to stop him. See, Masika's got an ace up her sleeve: she's a technomancer (IIRC, she even invented that particular branch of Thaumaturgy). They give the Nosferatu a smartphone with a PDF of one of their thaumaturgy tomes, and then use it to get a physical location for the servers, so that the Tremere can pull off some sabotage. :smallamused: Of course, Julius will owe Masika a big favor for this, but as I've drilled into your heads, if you're not ready for that sort of thing, you shouldn't be playing Vampires. :smalltongue:

Anyway, who gets messaged about it, of all people? Arch does. :smallbiggrin: "Why are there Tremere rummaging through our servers?" the Nosferatu primogen texts. "Heh," Arch replies, "the way I hear it, one of your clanmates decided to blackmail one of their clanmates in an attempt to get access to Thaumaturgy. Sorry to hear that, man." :smalltongue:

So, still curious about the video on the flash drive the primogen gave me? It was some pretty-humorous footage of Donald McCallis' country club; specifically, footage of a person failing spectacularly at golf. Arch recognizes him, however, as James Steelhaven, and more curiously still, it appears to have been shot during the day. :smallbiggrin:

One last little bit before I go to bed for the night: Adelaide Davis. I decided that since my primogen has made it clear that this is to be an in-clan affair, perhaps I should speak with her directly. Unfortunately, she's one of those types, who never in her unlife learns to answer a phone. This means that unless I want to risk showing up on her doorstop to make a social call, I'll have to find another means of messaging her. I decide on using the good-old-fashioned Cobweb to send out another psychic call, imploring that she attend this month's conclave (which is only two in-game days away now).
Oh, and Leeann should be providing some valuable Gangrel insight before long. :smallamused:

Burnheart
2011-01-27, 05:38 PM
Yay new journal. Reads rest of post, we get a new perspective on the Campain too? Sweet.

Brock Samson
2011-01-28, 04:22 PM
I'd just like to add in how fun this is to read. I'm playing in my first ever Vampire game too, and we're trying to take San Francisco which currently belongs to the Anarchs, with a new Sabbat encursion, and literally only my group of PCs as Camarilla, so it's a very different sort of "politics" going on.

Brock Samson
2011-01-28, 04:44 PM
Sadly, it would only get updated every 2 weeks, and half of it would be "we get off-topic and everyone talked about video/computer games I've never played", a quarter of it would be us aimlessly trying to find out where all the vamps in the city actually ARE before they're gone, and the final quarter would be us chopping them up into torpor and then trying to decide whether or not to kill them, diablerize them, or set them free and see if they'll switch sides...

We're a very D&D-based group.

Lycan 01
2011-01-28, 04:57 PM
So Wednesdays game was a bust. :smallsigh:

I was 30 minutes late because I overslept from a nap I took after giving blood. (Ironic, eh?) The Storyteller's printer was messed up, so he didn't have character sheets for us to use. And then one player didn't even show up, because he decided to bail and attend a national science club thingy lecture/dinner thing... without telling us.

Soooo, better luck next week. Or the week after that, since this Wednesday will likely be a DnD night.


However, I managed to bum the V:tR rulebook off of the ST, and I've been studying it for the past day or so. I've learned quite a bit, and gotten a better grasp of the system and mechanics. A friend of mine is (fanatically) interested in playing Vampire, so we may actually get together to build him a character.

Then I may attempt to run a "tutorial" game, so he can learn to play, and I can learn to Storytell. :smalleek: Shouldn't be too hard, though. I've run plenty of other games before for different systems... And since this scenario won't actually "count" in the long run (it'll be more of a background piece to help develop his character), its not like I have to run the game perfectly.


Soooo... Here's what I've got planned. :smallbiggrin: His character is a "rockabilly" Gangrel, who plays in a rockabilly band and has a lovely fascination with fast cars and skull breaking. So, I figure that one evening when he leaves the club he's playing at, he discovers that his tricked out hot rod has been stolen. He must then track down the SOB(s) responsible, and reclaim his car... or what's left of it, at least.

There are a few options he can look into. One or two witnesses saw the guy who took the car, so he has a basic description of the guy. Asking around will get him a name, and he can then try to touch base with a Kindred with ties to the police, or he can snoop around in the sewers and try to find a Nosferatu. Either way, he'll be able to get some background on the guy, who turns out to be part of Belial's Brood, and who's running a small-time chop-shop ring nearby to fund the local BB activities. He also finds out a few locations the guy can usually be found at: his residence (a ratty apartment), a local bar (biker club), and a repair shop (chop-shop).

If he goes to the apartment, its locked up tight. The neighbors/landlord won't be much help, though they may suggest the local bar. If he breaks into the apartment... I dunno... What should he find? A stash of weapons? Some sensitive info on Belial's Brood dealings? A mortal who's been held hostage for feeding purposes? A hostile Vampire? Or nothing of importance or not? Anybody want to weigh in with some advice/suggestions?

If he goes to the bar, some of the patrons will be willing to let slip that the baddie can be found at the local repair shop. They'll either need to be paid off, beat in a game of pool, or impressed/persuaded, which won't be too hard since he's a Gangel. But Intimidation... in a biker bar... bad idea. XD

Finally, if/when he goes to the repair shop, it seems closed for the day. But if he breaks in or goes around back, he'll find the baddie and some mortal cronies about to take a blowtorch to his beloved automobile. Can you say Frenzy test? :smallbiggrin: A proper show of force, threat, or intimidation should scare off the mortals, allowing the player and baddie to have a 1-on-1 fight. Once he gets whooped bad enough, the Belial's Brood guy might try to make a run for it, but he likely won't get far. The player can then either kill the guy, let him go in exchange for favors/boons/whatever, or turn him in to the local Prince for various possible Masquerade violations.



How does that sound for an introductory session? :smallbiggrin:

I may actually see if another person or two would be interested in playing. If we do get an extra player or two, I'll just make the mortal cronies into actual vampires, in order to present that extra challenge. But more than likely, it'll just be the one player...

Burnheart
2011-01-28, 06:49 PM
I don't know what Belial's Brood are, but my thoughts on what he my find in the apartment are something important to the guy who stole his car, maybe a weapon maybe not but something important to the guy, that he will want back when you get to the final confrontation.

Reynard
2011-01-28, 06:57 PM
I've recently been looking into Vampire, and after reading the quite significant amount of fluff there is, there's still one question that wasn't answered.

Why are there no Kings? What's the taboo on those in the Prince position that means they are leery of calling themselves Kings?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-28, 06:58 PM
...and half of it would be "we get off-topic and everyone talked about video/computer games I've never played"...Getting off-topic is a pretty persistent problem in almost any RPG, though I say it's more of a player problem than a game-or-setting-specific one. For instance, we've whittled down our off-topic discussion down to what I estimate to be less than 20%! :smallsmile: Though studies show that new players and/or observers have been proven to boost that number by as much as seventy percent. :smalleek:
...a quarter of it would be us aimlessly trying to find out where all the vamps in the city actually ARE before they're gone...We devoted what would probably account for a-session-and-a-half's worth of time trying to find fellow Kindred in Newark. The sad part is, there weren't any. :smallfrown:
...and the final quarter would be us chopping them up into torpor and then trying to decide whether or not to kill them, diablerize them, or set them free and see if they'll switch sides...Wow, subtle. :smalltongue: If our playstyle was that violent, things would get troublesome very quickly.

We're a very D&D-based group.Ain't that a shame. :smalltongue:
So Wednesday's game was a bust.Aww... :smallfrown:
I was 30 minutes late because I overslept from a nap I took after giving blood.Humorously enough, I'd also given blood the day I statted out Arch. :smallamused: The blood-drive people love it when I show up, since I'm an O-negative. :smalltongue:

And then one player didn't even show up, because he decided to bail and attend a national science club thingy lecture/dinner thing... without telling us.Well, wasn't that nice of him. :smalltongue:

Soooo, better luck next week. Or the week after that, since this Wednesday will likely be a DnD night.Good luck. :smallsmile:

I've learned quite a bit, and gotten a better grasp of the system and mechanics.Yay! :smallbiggrin:

A friend of mine is (fanatically) interested in playing Vampire, so we may actually get together to build him a character.Coolies... just hope he's not too fanatic. :smalltongue:

Then I may attempt to run a "tutorial" game, so he can learn to play, and I can learn to Storytell.May prove to be quite fun. From all my experience, STing can be pretty fun. Okay, okay, so I only STed three sessions of nWoD, but we had a rockin' good time...

it'll be more of a background piece to help develop his character...You mean like a Prelude? :smallconfused:
Soooo... Here's what I've got planned.I'm all ears. :smallredface:
His character is a "rockabilly" Gangrel, who plays in a rockabilly band and has a lovely fascination with fast cars and skull breaking.Both healthy interests for a young Kindred. :smallsmile:
So, I figure that one evening when he leaves the club he's playing at, he discovers that his tricked out hot rod has been stolen.Oooh. :smalltongue:
He must then track down the SOB(s) responsible, and reclaim his car... or what's left of it, at least.Sounds like a good enough start.
There are a few options he can look into. One or two witnesses saw the guy who took the car, so he has a basic description of the guy. Asking around will get him a name, and he can then try to touch base with a Kindred with ties to the police, or he can snoop around in the sewers and try to find a Nosferatu.Good, good, assuming he thinks of those.
If he goes to the apartment, its locked up tight. The neighbors/landlord won't be much help, though they may suggest the local bar. If he breaks into the apartment... I dunno... What should he find?I think it should depend on what he's already done, if anything. For instance, if he goes around asking questions a little too obviously, a friend of this Belial's Brood guy might tip him off about it, which may well mean that he's got someone or something waiting for such an eventuality. :smalleek:
Some sensitive info on Belial's Brood dealings?This, maybe, if the vampire doesn't know the Gangrel's on his tail yet.
If he goes to the bar, some of the patrons will be willing to let slip that the baddie can be found at the local repair shop. They'll either need to be paid off, beat in a game of pool, or impressed/persuaded, which won't be too hard since he's a Gangel. But Intimidation... in a biker bar... bad idea.Nice, I like this. :smallamused:
Finally, if/when he goes to the repair shop, it seems closed for the day...Uh, night? :smallconfused:
But if he breaks in or goes around back, he'll find the baddie and some mortal cronies about to take a blowtorch to his beloved automobile. Can you say Frenzy test?Bwahaha. I like where your head's at... but don't make the difficulty too high; he should be able to make it fairly easily.
A proper show of force, threat, or intimidation should scare off the mortals, allowing the player and baddie to have a 1-on-1 fight.Hehehe, sounds good. Since we may-or-may-not-have talked about Bloodlines over the last few pages, I'm remembering a part of the game where you have a boss fight at junkyard, and the baddie leads you on a chase through the place, tossing cars at you until you get to a nice, open area to fight him.
How does that sound for an introductory session?Sounds interesting... :smallbiggrin:
I may actually see if another person or two would be interested in playing.If you do, it might be better for you to run seperate "Preludes" for them as well; perhaps have each one take ten to thirty minutes and maybe not even involve dice at all...
If we do get an extra player or two, I'll just make the mortal cronies into actual vampires, in order to present that extra challenge.Then again, this sounds feasible as well.
Why are there no Kings? What's the taboo on those in the Prince position that means they are leery of calling themselves Kings?Aside from the terrible Elvis puns? (http://www.weregeek.com/2010/12/08/) :smalltongue:

Well, part of it is the fact that despite the fact that they're running the city, Princes are not the leaders of the Camarilla - that's the Inner Circle's job. The Prince may be a feudal lord, of sorts, but if you're out of his city, you're out of his effective reach.

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-01-28, 07:03 PM
I've recently been looking into Vampire, and after reading the quite significant amount of fluff there is, there's still one question that wasn't answered.

Why are there no Kings? What's the taboo on those in the Prince position that means they are leery of calling themselves Kings?

While I do not actually know the answer, I can make a good guess.

First of, they aren't kings, they serve the law as well, they just decide how it is applied. Secondly, they aren't the highest position there is, there are justicars that outrank them and so does the inner circle. What I'm not sure of is how the title prince got connected to a controlling a city, this has always seemed odd to me because one city can't even be called a barony, let alone a princedom.

Reynard
2011-01-28, 07:06 PM
While I do not actually know the answer, I can make a good guess.

First of, they aren't kings, they serve the law as well, they just decide how it is applied. Secondly, they aren't the highest position there is, there are justicars that outrank them and so does the inner circle. What I'm not sure of is how the title prince got connected to a controlling a city, this has always seemed odd to me because one city can't even be called a barony, let alone a princedom.

The Prince is in charge in their own Domain (usually a city or most of one). They're the top dog, the biggest of the big bads. They answer to nobody.

Well, unless the Primogens, Harpies, and other assorted high-ranking Vamps have enough power to pull the Prince down if they really put their mind to it, in which case the Prince still makes the choices, he just has to be careful which ones.

It's just odd they don't call themselves Kings. There have been Queens, but apparently no male Vamp "would dream of calling themselves King."

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-01-28, 07:16 PM
The Prince is in charge in their own Domain (usually a city or most of one). They're the top dog, the biggest of the big bads. They answer to nobody.

emphasis mine.

I don't think that's true, they don't have to answer as long as they run things smoothly, but if they don't they higher ups I just mentioned can move to replace them, not easily of course, but it's doable. Same goes for the vampires in the city, if a prince does too many odd things and is deemed a liability I don't think he will last long.

BobTheDog
2011-01-28, 07:47 PM
I remember reading somewhere the why they are called princes. But I can't remember either where or exactly what was the explanation. What I do remember is that prince is gender-neutral. Female vamps are princes, not princesses.

Been a while since my last WoD game and I wasn't even the ST for that one. I think the last time I actually sat down to read oWoD material was 2006...

Lycan 01
2011-01-29, 12:36 AM
Oh, right, Belial's Brood. Basically, in Vampire: the Requiem there are only two main antagonist groups. Belial's Brood is basically a network of Kindred Satanists who thrive on anarchy and destruction, sowing all sorts of mischief and chaos. They're not really fond of the Masquerade, either. Basically, they're just the guys you use when you need a generic antagonist group. :smalltongue: The other organization is called "VII," and its basically an anti-Vampire terrorist organization... comprised entirely of Kindred. :smalleek: No one knows why they've turned against their kind, but VII uses all sorts of tactics, ranging from assassination to blackmail to bombings, in order to work towards bringing down the Masquerade and destroying their own breed.




~snip~

So... many... quote boxes... :smalleek:



You mean like a Prelude? :smallconfused:

I guess? He won't get XP or anything from it, just a fun way to learn the ropes and further develop his character.



Good, good, assuming he thinks of those.

I'll try to steer him in the right direction... He's new to the World of Darkness, but I think he'll figure out Vampire society and connections pretty fast.



I think it should depend on what he's already done, if anything. For instance, if he goes around asking questions a little too obviously, a friend of this Belial's Brood guy might tip him off about it, which may well mean that he's got someone or something waiting for such an eventuality. :smalleek:

Hm. So if he blows his investigation, what should be waiting at the apartment? An attack dog? A tripwire grenade? A Belial's Brood brute? Or should the place just be cleared out?



Nice, I like this. :smallamused:

Thank you. :smallbiggrin:


Uh, night? :smallconfused:

Oh, right, yeah. Night. Closed for the night. :smallredface:



Bwahaha. I like where your head's at... but don't make the difficulty too high; he should be able to make it fairly easily.

Heh, thanks. Yeah, it won't be too hard. Just enough to help him learn about Frenzy. Though, being a Gangrel, he may opt to let it take over so he can just go ape**** on the guy. :smalleek:

I'm also not going to make him test for Frenzy when he meets new vampires. The rulebook says it happens sometimes when two Vampires first meet, especially in dramatically appropriate areas, but that you can handwave it or not check for it in more subdued situations or when the Vampires would have good self control, like meeting in an Elysium location. Specifically, whenever he finds a Vampire informant, I likely won't force him to check Frenzy (or fear, if the other vampire is stronger) since neither vampire is hostile or suspicious at the time.

Actually, I have a really cool fluff explanation for why he wouldn't have to check Frenzy with the Nosferatu he'll meet in the sewers. Its aura of creepiness actually dissuades his inner Beast from going into Frenzy out of caution, since the supernatural power of the Nosferatu curse is so powerful. How does that sound, should I need to explain why he isn't forced to do a Predator's Curse (or whatever its called) test upon being surprised by an even-Blood Potency vamp? :smalltongue:

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-29, 12:53 AM
So... many... quote boxes...I can use more next time. :smallamused:
He won't get XP or anything from it, just a fun way to learn the ropes and further develop his character.Sounds like a Prelude to me. :smallsmile: Don't recall if Preludes are covered in the nWoD book, but what you were saying sounded pretty decent for one.
Hm. So if he blows his investigation, what should be waiting at the apartment? An attack dog? A tripwire grenade? A Belial's Brood brute? Or should the place just be cleared out?Hmm... well, if you want to avoid chucking dice around for most of this bit, it should be something he can beat or at least survive, but it shouldn't be such that going there was a wasted effort. Of course, this is all strictly IMO. :smalltongue:
I'm also not going to make him test for Frenzy when he meets new vampires. The rulebook says it happens sometimes when two Vampires first meet, especially in dramatically appropriate areas, but that you can handwave it or not check for it in more subdued situations or when the Vampires would have good self control, like meeting in an Elysium location. Specifically, whenever he finds a Vampire informant, I likely won't force him to check Frenzy (or fear, if the other vampire is stronger) since neither vampire is hostile or suspicious at the time.They do that now? :smallconfused: I was unaware of that. Doesn't sound like a bad rule - I was just unfamiliar with it, is all...
How does that sound...?As good an explanation as any. :smallsmile:

Lycan 01
2011-01-29, 01:47 AM
Yeah, its called The Predator's Taint. Basically, when two strong Vampires meet, they're instincts kick in to compete for dominance.


page 168, V:tR, "The Predator's Taint."
yaddayaddyadda
Indeed,when Kindred meet for the first time, the Beast rages within, wishing to flee in terror of a greater predator or to conquer a less able creature in hopes of protecting one's own territory.

Basically, its a contest of blood potency. If both are equal in Blood Potency, they both test for Frenzy. If one is stronger, the weaker one tests for Rotschreck and the stronger one tests for Frenzy. There are, of course, lots of modifiers. Being in Elysium adds +3 to the test, planning the meeting adds +2, meeting them unexpectedly or in a threatening manner is -2, et cetera.

However, there's also a note to Storyteller's regarding the Predator's Taint.


Important: Use of the Predator's Taint should be based on the dramatic potential of the situation. Storyteller's need not employ it every time a new vampire enters the narrative.

I guess its more-so for testing against vampires who have "bad vibes" when introduced, or meeting one unexpectedly. Two examples given are returning home to find a strange Kindred snooping around your Haven, or bumping into one while stumbling along in the darkness of a forsaken passageway.


Unless he pisses off some Kindred in the biker bar, though, I doubt the player will be forced into a Predator's Taint challenge during the scenario I've got planned. The only time he'll meet a non-friendly vampire would be the Belial's Brood guy, and he's already got to Frenzy test since the guy is about to blowtorch his beloved hot rod. XD


Also, between the police detective and the Nosferatu, both informants have a pro and con. The police detective will provide the needed info, but in exchange for a favor, probably to go take care of some vagrants or drug dealers who've been taking up his time. Alternatively, the Nosferatu won't ask for anything in return - he's just happy to actually have company. Its lonely in the sewers. :smallfrown:

Burnheart
2011-01-29, 08:43 PM
I have just finished rereading all of what has been posted so far and man, now i really want to play a game of Vampire question is what version old world of darkness or new world of darkness?

Burnheart
2011-01-30, 10:12 AM
It sounds like the best thing would be to get both books, use the fluff from Vampire: the Masquerade and the crunch from Vampire: the Requiem. Does Vampire: the Requiem have all the rules i will need or is there another book i should get?

The Glyphstone
2011-01-30, 10:17 AM
You'll need the WoD Core book to make use of Requiem - unlike OWoD, the NWoD is designed from the start for at least some cross-pollenation and interactivity, so they're treated as templates/supplements.


Requiem fluff is an acquired taste, to be certain. Personally, I find OWoD fluff to be stifling - everything has already been plotted, statted, and planned out, right up to the literal end of the world. There's room for players to have their own schemes, but I prefer the open-ended mysteries of NWoD. YMMW, though Masquerade fluff is definitely a couple million degrees more detailed.

Lycan 01
2011-01-30, 10:17 AM
You need the core New World of Darkness rulebook, and the Vampire: the Requiem rulebook in order to play. The Vampire rulebook has all the stats, fluff, and crunch for playing a Vampire, all the different clans and covenants, powers and abilities, and even a ton of background/NPCs/plot hooks for playing around New Orleans.

However, it doesn't have any of the core rules, like how certain checks are made, what most of the skills and attributes do, how combat works, et cetera. For that, you need the core nWoD book.


Also, I ran the Prelude for my friend yesterday. It went quite well, considering we didn't have the core rulebook and had no idea how certain checks and stuff worked. Should I start working on a journal entry for everyone's entertainment? :smalltongue:

Burnheart
2011-01-30, 10:29 AM
Thanks for the help, i spotted the Requiem rule book the last time i went to my local store so next time i'll ask about the core books, and Lycan 01 i'm interested in reading your journal so go for it.

Burnheart
2011-01-30, 07:43 PM
Did you guys Play a session this weekend?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-30, 08:06 PM
Did you guys Play a session this weekend?Yesterday was the first session of my Exalted game. Details of that will be posted on a separate thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185526). When I get around to it. :smalltongue:

drakir_nosslin
2011-02-01, 09:21 AM
Yesterday was the first session of my Exalted game. Details of that will be posted on a separate thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185526). When I get around to it. :smalltongue:

So, when's the next update for this journal then?

Burnheart
2011-02-01, 10:45 AM
So, when's the next update for this journal then?

TheCountAlucard said that his group try and play on wednesdays, so hopfully thursday.

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 07:31 AM
So did you guys get to game yesterday?

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-03, 10:07 AM
Session Twenty: Why Are You Awake?!?Okay, got some disappointing news. Alaire is out. :smallfrown: (Ossa's player is fine to game, though. :smallsmile:)

Why is that? Well, I suspect it's partly due to our game's change of location (from over by Alaire's player's house to the school), but mostly because the ST's not been handing Alaire any plot points. The thing is, he hasn't been handing us plot points, either - if you'll notice, most of the stuff we've done involves us going out and doing stuff, then having to deal with everything getting screwed up as a result. :smallamused: It's always been my opinion that a character should be self-motivated. Admittedly, as the all-knowing TVTropes has said, Villains Are Proactive, Heroes Are Reactive, but, well... we're pretty much the villains. It comes kit-and-caboodle with the White Wolf brand. :smallamused:

That's why their good Malkavian friend is going to try and persuade our fair Kindred friends of Newark's desperate need of infrastructure. :smallamused:

But in the meantime...

'Twas the Night Before Conclave...
Fel Hawkins decides to give Arch a call, see what he's doing. Arch, of course, offers to finally teach him that dot of Auspex (namely, because the player somehow ended up with a dot in Celerity instead during our Cybelle storyline - not sure how that happened, but okay... :smallconfused:). Arch takes him to play paintball, and doesn't let him leave until all the paintball snipers have been found. :smallamused:

Meanwhile, Leeann's practicing her Presence. She manages to get some mortals to feed on, and then relaxes at her gym. At the same time, Julius is getting ready for the conclave by hunting, socking away blood in the form of loose change, and doing his best to recover some Willpower. :smalltongue:

Following the paintball fun, Arch gets a call from John - since this was the night he'd intended to go out to Newark and attain some police influences, he persuades John to go with him to a police charity event. Well, while Arch manipulates his way into some Influence, but John quickly gets bored and decides to check up on... (dun dun dun!)

Cybelle... again.
Well, it's pretty obvious that a national disaster didn't happen... but why is that? :smallconfused: John confers with James and they come to the conclusion that it's because something broke through her Obfuscate, and that's enough to make her think twice about her little plan. John decides to stir up the pot a little more, and tells James his plan... he's going to go atop the Empire State Building, and let Cybelle know he's there. :smalleek: Well, he's brave, I'll give him that. :smalltongue:

In Soviet New York, City Metagames You!
Well, Julius also has a couple of conversations via text: one with Arch, one with Leeann. See, in exchange for Arch crafting prophecies for Julius, Julius in return owes him a few minor boons, as well as the blood it takes to churn them out. Julius uses his fun little Thaumaturgy trick to turn fistfuls of loose change into handy-dandy blood-munchies. What he doesn't tell Arch is that the blood-coins should start him being blood-bonded to Julius... what Arch doesn't tell Julius is that he's unbondable. :smallamused: As for his conversation with Leeann, he's likewise trying to peddle his dimes off on her - first he offers to trade her 10 for a major boon... to Leeann, it really doesn't sound like it's worth it, so then he offers to trade her 3 for a minor boon. When she turns that down as well, he offers to just give her 3, a "trial run." Leeann keeps trying to grill Julius about just why he's being so generous (he is a Tremere), but eventually relents and allows him to come to her haven.

Once there, they decide they might as well tutor each other in some Disciplines; he teaches her the first dot of Dominate, she teaches him Fortitude... and then he asks Masika St. John, the technomantic Tremere, to double-check her phone for evidence of his misdeeds. Masika finds the video Leeann took of Julius frenzying, and decides to kill Leeann's phone. Of course, Leeann still has a copy of the thing on a USB drive, but how's Masika supposed to find that? :smallamused:

Anyway, after that, we mostly just called it for the night. Admittedly, this session kinda bugged me; Alaire's player wasn't the only one suffering from motivation problems... :smallfrown:

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 10:26 AM
I'll take that as a yes shall I :smallbiggrin: I hope the game picks up and starts being more fun for you because i have enjoyed reading this thread and you have definetly had fun playing it up til now, it would be a shame if it just stopped part way through.

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-03, 10:38 AM
I'll take that as a yes shall I...Maybe. :smalltongue:
I hope the game picks up and starts being more fun for you because i have enjoyed reading this thread and you have definetly had fun playing it up til now, it would be a shame if it just stopped part way through.Oh, I have no intention of quitting. Not without some major shenanigans being pulled. :smalltongue:

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 11:18 AM
Thinking about it, its been a week since you mentioned that Leeann's player was going to start posting, is that in another thread or has not happend yet?

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-03, 12:03 PM
Thinking about it, its been a week since you mentioned that Leeann's player was going to start posting, is that in another thread or has not happend yet?Hasn't happened on her part. :smallfrown: Argh, procrastination!

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 12:44 PM
Hasn't happened on her part. :smallfrown: Argh, procrastination!

Shame:smallfrown: Any ideas as to why not?
edit: and its not until clicking post reply that i noticed the white letters that say Argh, procrastination!

Kaun
2011-02-03, 04:40 PM
Sounds like the ST burn is starting to kick in hard.

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-03, 05:02 PM
Sounds like the ST burn is starting to kick in hard.Err, what makes you say that? It was mostly just a result of us players being easily-distracted and lacking initiative. :smalltongue:

Kaun
2011-02-03, 05:21 PM
ahh,

I am running an experimental game of DH at the moment where i wanted to test what would happen if i took out the obvious plot hooks and big red button style clues.

It's a bit of a "where in the hive is Carmen Sandiago" style game, i wanted to see if i could give fist fulls of les obvious clues and see if the players could put the peices together themselfs and work out what is going on.

So far its a massive no.

My players have ben lax in their note taking and have forgot many key facts they have learnt.

They run mindlesly after even a hint of a plot hook and generaly seem to stumble around hopeing that they will find one big obvious clue rather then think about the ton of small ones they have.

While they all seem to be having a ball just bearly keeping their heads above water in gun metal city we are 6 sessions in and i honestly dont think they are any closer to finding "Carmen" then they were at the start of session 1.

Many of my players over the past couple of years have confessed to enjoying being railroaded down and intresting story rather then makeing the story themself. .....

I seem to have forgoten the point of this post.. :smallfrown:

make of it what you will i guess. :smallredface:

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 05:35 PM
Kaun did you suggest taking notes would be a good idea before the start of the whole campian? Because i know that if i was playing i wouldn't be taking notes unless i though it would be useful, i would be relying on my memory and other players to point out the things i forgot.

Kaun
2011-02-03, 05:47 PM
Kaun did you suggest taking notes would be a good idea before the start of the whole campian? Because i know that if i was playing i wouldn't be taking notes unless i though it would be useful, i would be relying on my memory and other players to point out the things i forgot.

Ow yeah, i have an ongoing tradition of rewarding players who keep ejournals of my games with in game exp.

All so i highlighted in the mission breifing they recieved from the NPC that is incharge of them that "Carmen" is very smart and would be difficult and dangerous to catch.

The first session they took notes, the second session they forgot to bring notes and since then they have been fairly half arsed with making notes of what they have learnt.

I have kept all handouts and the like in a manila folder for them which i give them at the start of every session.

I all so have them go over what they know at the start of each session to try and refresh their memories.

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 06:29 PM
Ow yeah, i have an ongoing tradition of rewarding players who keep ejournals of my games with in game exp.

All so i highlighted in the mission breifing they recieved from the NPC that is incharge of them that "Carmen" is very smart and would be difficult and dangerous to catch.

The first session they took notes, the second session they forgot to bring notes and since then they have been fairly half arsed with making notes of what they have learnt.

I have kept all handouts and the like in a manila folder for them which i give them at the start of every session.

I all so have them go over what they know at the start of each session to try and refresh their memories.

Ok you have given them as many hints as possable without spoiling things i think, have you run a game like this before or is it the first time they have played a game likes? I guess leave it a few more sessions and if they still aren't getting it maybe step in and explain things a bit more for them.

And i seam to be giving out unasked for advice now sorry.

Kaun
2011-02-03, 06:38 PM
Yes but not to this level and not in a while,

as i said it is an experiment to gauge what would happen.

I have a few intresting ideas brewing but they require the players to think about their actions and be self motivated. This game was a test bench so i can really get my head around running my future ideas.

All so i have never been one to turn down advice. :smallwink:

Tho lord knows i dont always listen to it.

Burnheart
2011-02-03, 06:45 PM
Well then as long as they are having fun thats fine you will just need to explain that this was a test of how games like this would go and that you will be running games like this in the future if they still haven't quite grasped things when it ends.

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-05, 05:36 PM
No game session tonight; the ST is sick, John's at drill, bad weather abounds, and the ST is sick. :smallfrown:

Burnheart
2011-02-05, 06:03 PM
Oh no, I hope he feels better soon.

drakir_nosslin
2011-02-06, 04:32 AM
Aww... I was really looking forward to see how Arch's new plans turned out...

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-06, 07:11 AM
Aww... I was really looking forward to see how Arch's new plans turned out...We all were. :smallfrown:

And that session was supposed to be the conclave, too. I guess Wednesday will have to suffice...

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-09, 07:38 PM
...I guess Wednesday will have to suffice......ooooor not. More bad weather means no game session for Wednesday. :frown:

Burnheart
2011-02-09, 08:15 PM
No :smalleek: I was looking forward to reading the next part of this story, I just hope everything is good for saturday and you get to play at last. If it helps i have a twin i can sacrifice to cthulhu for his blessing:smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-09, 08:19 PM
I just hope everything is good for saturday and you get to play at last.Remember, though, this Saturday's an Exalted Saturday.

Burnheart
2011-02-09, 08:25 PM
Damn, forgot that.

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-02-10, 07:29 PM
...ooooor not. More bad weather means no game session for Wednesday. :frown:

What? Again? This is unacceptable, I'm calling those weather gods right now to complain! How dare they keep our updates away from us!

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-10, 09:27 PM
What? Again? This is unacceptable, I'm calling those weather gods right now to complain! How dare they keep our updates away from us!

...This is unacceptable

unacceptable
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa100/TheCountAlucard666/Unacceptable.jpg

...Er, sorry. :smallredface: Truth be told, I have no idea why I did that...

Burnheart
2011-02-11, 07:16 AM
Haha, Where is that picture from?

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-02-11, 07:22 AM
...Er, sorry. :smallredface:

It's okay, it could have been worse, I could have said it was inconceivable and then you, ... yea I don't have to finish this sentence.



And the picture is from "short circuit", 1 or 2, I don't know, I don't recognise the quote. INPUT INPUT

drakir_nosslin
2011-02-11, 08:09 AM
...ooooor not. More bad weather means no game session for Wednesday. :frown:

*sadface* Well, I guess I'll have to settle for the next Exalted update until next week then.

Toric
2011-02-11, 07:38 PM
And the picture is from "short circuit", 1 or 2, I don't know, I don't recognise the quote. INPUT INPUT

It's the sequel. The pint-size robots on the wall give it away.

....I have absolutely nothing more to contribute to this discussion. Have fun saving/destroying Creation!

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-11, 08:13 PM
Yes, that's Short Circuit 2. :smallamused:

And yeah, hopefully I'll have some conclave details for you after Wednesday's game, 'kay? :smallsmile:

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-02-12, 01:14 PM
It's the sequel. The pint-size robots on the wall give it away.

And there is of course the obviously missing LASER cannon on number five's shoulder, should have noticed I guess, but I wasn't really paying that much attention.

BobTheDog
2011-02-15, 08:55 PM
Oh good! I haven't lost anything in my work-week-from-hell break!
:smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-16, 04:25 PM
Hey, guys, looks like you're all set up for some disappointment! :smalltongue:

Yeah, game's canceled tonight as well. :frown: Basically, all the different classes our ST is taking decided to give him homework at the exact same time. :smallannoyed:

drakir_nosslin
2011-02-16, 04:34 PM
:frown:

It's a shame that they don't make those sad smileys bigger. Because this one doesn't do my disappointment justice.
Oh well, next week perhaps.

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-16, 04:44 PM
Oh well, next week perhaps.Or Saturday, maybe. :smalltongue:

drakir_nosslin
2011-02-16, 04:50 PM
Or Saturday, maybe. :smalltongue:

Yay! white text!

Burnheart
2011-02-16, 05:35 PM
Damn:smallfrown:, i just checked its been 2 weeks since the last update talk about some bad luck:smallsigh: Anyway do you Mind if i ask a quick question about playing a WoD game?

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-16, 06:56 PM
Damn:smallfrown:, i just checked its been 2 weeks since the last update talk about some bad luck:smallsigh: Anyway do you Mind if i ask a quick question about playing a WoD game?Go right ahead. :smallsmile:

Burnheart
2011-02-16, 08:30 PM
Thanks, so what props do you use when you play and do you use a battle map for combat? I'm asking because my brother bought the NWoD core rule book and the VTR core book over the weekend and i get to be storyteller:smallbiggrin: I'm a bit nervous though.

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-16, 11:51 PM
Thanks, so what props do you use when you play and do you use a battle map for combat?Battle map, no, but props can be fun. :smallsmile: Our group's kinda light on props, but if one were to LARP, I imagine they'd become much more prominent.

Burnheart
2011-02-17, 07:19 AM
Thanks for answering.

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-18, 06:08 PM
white text!Nope, sorry - ST just texted me, and due to the workload from school, the workload from work, and the workload from school, and the workload from family stuff, it looks like we won't be playing Saturday, either. :smallfrown: February's just been a bad month, it seems. :frown:

On the other hand, I'm going to try and get some game-related stuff done very soon, 'kay? :smallsmile:

Burnheart
2011-02-18, 09:16 PM
Damn :smallmad: luck needs to give you guys a break if it doesn't.... :smallbiggrin:

Slade
2011-02-23, 08:25 PM
Hello GitP, ST for the vampire game here.

For those of you who are saying it is unacceptable for no updates in the last 2.5 weeks, well....

YOU CAN RUN IT THEN.

For the rest of you, those of you who guess ST burnout, yea, there is a little of that going on, so kudos to spotting that. But, mostly the lack time thanks to snow, sickness, snow, one heck of a work schedule (its the busy time of the year for furniture sales), school, homework, snow, car, family, more snow, more homework, Exalted, an alien invasion, more snow, with ice this time, school, more homework, clean up of the alien invasion, and I think more somewhere in all that, I got more snow.

So, now, I have a free Wednesday, and lo-and-behold.... I have nothing prepped.

I feel bad for the lack of motivation players I have, with out serving the plot on a silver platter, so... not having anything prepped means... not much.

Anyways, to just let you know where in the heck everything has been not happening.

BobTheDog
2011-02-23, 10:45 PM
YOU CAN RUN IT THEN.

FINE, I WILL.

Get your sheets ready guys.

Rocks fall.

Everybody dies.
:smallbiggrin:

I fully understand how DM (or ST) burnout plus real life can kill promising games. Here's hoping that you guys will pull through. :smallsmile:

(Consider this a "game well soon" card, sans flowers)

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-23, 10:59 PM
Get your sheets ready guys.

Rocks fall.

Everybody dies.You heard it from Bob, guys. Guess the game's over. :smallfrown:

Slade
2011-02-23, 11:01 PM
Rocks fall.

Everybody dies.
:smallbiggrin:



Its like that huh?



I fully understand how DM (or ST) burnout plus real life can kill promising games. Here's hoping that you guys will pull through. :smallsmile:

(Consider this a "game well soon" card, sans flowers)

Thanks, but I think I will switch to D&D, which several people are hounding me for it. Nothing like people that want to play, right?

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-24, 01:31 AM
Actually, now that I think of it, perhaps we could continue the game, right here on the forums... :smallamused:

But who would run it? :smallconfused:

Fenix_of_Doom
2011-02-25, 06:29 AM
For those of you who are saying it is unacceptable for no updates in the last 2.5 weeks,

That's K, because nobody said that, if you think someone did, I advise you to reread the posts.

drakir_nosslin
2011-02-25, 09:30 AM
Aww... So is it over now? :smallfrown:

TheCountAlucard
2011-02-25, 11:10 AM
Aww... So is it over now?Yes, to my disappointment. :smallfrown:

The Glyphstone
2011-02-25, 11:28 AM
Inconcievable!

Burnheart
2011-02-25, 12:53 PM
Noooooo!!:smallbiggrin: All jokes aside i am sorry to see this end prematurely but what can you do these things do happen sometimes *Shrug* this has been a lot of fun to read so good luck to everyone involved and i hope you have lots of fun playing more games like this in the future(Which you must post about on here ok:smallbiggrin:)

The_Jackal
2011-02-25, 01:47 PM
Bummer. I'd been lurking in this thread, it's been enjoyable.

BobTheDog
2011-02-27, 08:03 PM
Actually, now that I think of it, perhaps we could continue the game, right here on the forums... :smallamused:

But who would run it? :smallconfused:

I wouldn't, seeing as this game desperately needed another Malkavian. :smallamused: