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Pakxos posted:I will throw in here that Union only works due to a literally 'shackled' underclass of entities which are some flavor of sapient AI. It is a really sour note in an otherwise excellent backdrop for playing rock'em sock'em mechs. disposablewords posted:It's pretty normal for fledglings to get the heavy indoctrination and brought up in the sect by their creators, sometimes for years before they make their public debut to the rest of vampire society. And this is even assuming their master hasn't just blood-bound them in. Habit and social pressure otherwise. Nessus fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Feb 4, 2024 |
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Feb 4, 2024 23:55
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kaynorr posted:And we're off! I do want to point out that according to the book, these aren't sapient AI. They're sapient extra-dimensional beings that exist outside of the universe. They're literally enslaving mini yog-sothoths and the like to do their menial computing and labor tasks. It's, uh, probably not a sustainable system.
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Feb 4, 2024 23:59
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YggdrasilTM posted:If that was true you wouldn't have the Camarilla Clans as default options in all the freaking editions. As opposed to the Anarch clans? You need something to rebel against.
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Feb 5, 2024 00:39
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I played VtM for almost 30 years, and all the campaign proposed to me by GMs were Camarilla centric 
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Feb 5, 2024 00:50
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For good or ill, the Camarilla is where a lot of poo poo is actually happening. The politicking that's supposed to be a big deal of the game, especially. Cam/Anarch clans is a Venn diagram with significant overlap, though, so pointing out that most of them are the Camarilla clans is... well, yes, and?
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Feb 5, 2024 01:03
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At the very start, the seven clans weren’t “Camarilla clans”, they were just “the vampire clans.” The other six clans that made up the independents and Sabaat didn’t exist yet. the focus shift from Anarchs to Camarilla as the protagonists has a lot to do with the rising popularity of Vampire LARP. In a LARP setup, it’s a lot easier to create a roleplaying space when your central backrdrop ia an Elysium where violence is forbidden, the social space has a clear list of taboos in the form of the Traditions, and there’s a strictly defined hierarchy where every player knows their role. An Anarch court is doable, but I imagine it involves a lot more oversight in terms of combat and skill test management, if only because the whole sect is grounded on open rebellion. Unfortunately, Camarilla LARP changed the core gameplay loop from “Fight the Power” to “Lick the Boot”, and this just got worse as the End of History 90’s rolled on.The Anarchs got sidelined as the Sabaat became a more visible and existential threat and the Sect War dominated everything in the Revised era. For all its faults, one think I really like about V5 is that it brought the Cam/Anarch conflict back front-and-center. Gatto Grigio fucked around with this message at 08:25 on Feb 7, 2024 |
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Feb 5, 2024 01:54
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  Chapter 13: Gods & Monsters, Part 1 The final chapter of the book is also the longest, making us so close yet so far away from the finish line. Before we dive into all the new creatures in the setting, we start out with some general advice in preserving the awe and wonder of a new world that remains unknown to much of the PCs. The DM is encouraged to avoid using proper names for creatures, instead focusing on other discerning factors of their appearance and behavior, readily reskinning stat blocks, and making use of the 19 new monster templates which serve as quick and easy alterations. For example, the Armored template gives a creature a thicker natural defense, granting +2 to AC but disadvantage on Dexterity checks, while Elemental grants resistance to an associated damage type corresponding to that element and can emit a damaging elemental burst as a rechargeable AoE. The templates in particular are short and their new abilities are simple enough in terms of tactics to add to most monsters without complicating things too much. The book does note that some templates may alter a monster’s effectiveness beyond what the initial numbers may demonstrate, so it’s still something which must be judged on a case by case basis. Unlike many other settings, Gods not only walk the land, they are tangible creatures which mortals can find and interact with and are bound to their local hallows. Basically all magic flows from the Worldheart Dragon, where arcane magic is when it rises into the heavens and interacts with celestial bodies and dreams, while divine magic flows into the land. When enough divine magic pools in an area, this accumulated power takes the form of a god. Beyond that, the specific processes that create a god are unknown, but the universal nature of magic means that they can appear anywhere and take the form of just about anything…albeit no god has yet manifested as a primarily humanoid being, with most of them taking the forms of animals, plants, places, and natural processes. We get some advice on creating gods along with general expectations based on the setting. Gods at this point in time are separated enough to the point that no real pantheons yet exist; some deities such as the idols of the Cult Riverlands may have common traits or overlapping spheres of influence, but none of them have yet to coalesce into a unified political bloc or family. Additionally, a god’s alignment determines its creature type, with good-aligned ones being celestials, evil ones fiends, and neutral ones (which are the most common moral alignment among gods) can have a wider variety of types ranging from beast to undead. Gods do not need to subsist on normal food, although they can still partake in such activities, instead feeding off of something known as glory. Glory represents a wide range of actions undertaken that help a god’s public image persist in the minds of mortals. This can take a wide variety of forms, from building shrines to the god, ceremonies and rituals honoring them, sacrifices and offerings, and consuming the divine ivory of a slain god. This last action is considered taboo by most gods, and learning of a cannibal god is a good way to get otherwise warring deities to put aside their differences to punish their wayward kin. There’s a subsystem for tracking lost and gained glory points, which can also increase or decrease their strata level. However, this system isn’t very involved and even then it suggests making use of DM Fiat rather than bean-counting every little act like a game of Sid Meier’s Civilization. Which makes me wonder why include it at all? The hallows of gods are also demiplanes,* meaning someone with spells such as Plane Shift can teleport directly into a hallow. Hallows are also affected by a permanent hallow spell whose particular effects are either randomly rolled or chosen by the DM. A god can create beings known as visitants by expending a fraction of their personal power and can take whatever form or stat block makes sense. The only real limit is that the maximum Challenge Rating of a visitant is determined by a god’s Strata, or general level of power, ranging from 1st to 4th. *Yet still physically connected to the rest of Planegea given that mortals can visit it just by traveling there. Strata is something equivalent to the Divine Ranks of 3rd Edition DnD when deities were given stat blocks. Beyond visitant CR, the other 3 factors it determines are its Range (determining how far a god can extend its senses and the range of its spells)* the maximum level spells they can cast, and the rarity value of magic items it can craft. The higher the strata, the rarer the god: the gods of the three Brother Clans, Mala Long-Song of the Whale Clan, and the Winter God Twr are the only known 3rd Strata gods at the moment. There is no known 4th Strata being, and only Mala Long-Song can conceivably approach such a level of power at this point in time. *The book isn’t clear whether or not this supersedes or replaces the range of the base spell. Can a 1st Strata God with Sight Range cast a Magic Missile on a target visible across the horizon? For building one’s own gods, it’s a bit more complicated than the aforementioned Templates. As such beings are akin to prehistoric kings and queens, the chapter first asks the DM what place they have in the world, their divine domains and areas of influence, and how they use their powers to influence the surrounding region. The DM chooses a pre-existing stat block of a creature that makes sense for the god’s nature, with its CR based on the Strata. Even a 1st Strata god is a power to be reckoned with, ranging from 10 to 15, and each Strata above that adds +5 to the range. This means that even 2nd Strata deities can be a match for Epic tier parties at 16 to 20, where felling them is the stuff of legends or the climax of a campaign. Beyond the base stat block, gods alter their creature type based on alignment, and since they often project power and might their size (and thus Hit Dice) may be larger than a typical creature of its stat block. Furthermore, gods gain a variety of features reflective of their divine nature, such as telepathy, a minimum Charisma score based on Strata if their stat block has a lower value, a variety of innate spells whose level and number depend upon Strata, Legendary Resistance, Lair Actions, a rechargeable ability to “reset” the per-day limit on cast spells by drawing on raw magic from the world, and a second Spiritual Form which is basically a more powerful Stage 2 Boss. Following this we have detailed outlines of the five most notable gods of Planegea, including their hallow, general personality traits, stat blocks for their regular and spiritual forms, lair actions, and their regional effects. Glelh the Unblinking is the deity of the Lion Clan, whose hallow is a hill decorated with artwork and encircled by stones. His eyes are the feature most people first witness, for they are seemingly all-seeing and can dig deep into one’s soul. He spends most of his days using his powers to look upon the world, and shares a glimpse of his cosmic insights with those who earn his favor. In spite of being Neutral Good, he has zero tolerance for weakness and believes that suffering is a necessary process to gain worthiness. The book explains that his rites “can be truly cruel as they weed the weak from the stoic,” which doesn’t sound very good-aligned to me! As a monster he is a CR 23 creature, and his abilities are themed around being a mighty lion-like being along with his insightful nature. His primary physical attacks are a flurry of claws and bites, and his Unblinking Gaze can impose a variety of magical conditions and damage types to those he can see. His innate spells are geared towards typical holy stuff such as healing, fire and radiant damage, and light-based effects. Besides the 1st level Detect spells he doesn’t have a lot of divination magic, surprisingly enough. His Spiritual Form looks like a silhouette of blinding light, and he replaces his physical attacks with hot touches and his gaze with AoE roars. Mala Long-Song is the most powerful deity of Planegea, the goddess of the Whale Clan and whose form is appropriately magnificent as a whale the size of an island. She holds influence over the islands of Scattersea and the surrounding oceans, meaning she is worshiped not just by land-dwellers but also the merfolk beneath the waves. She is Neutral Good and thus patient and kind, encouraging her followers to learn as much as they can about a situation before rashly acting. Her followers see her once per year on the Day of Breath, where she parts the ocean’s surface while singing and then blesses all attending. As a monster she is CR 30 and the strongest being in this book, whose physical prowess is actually the least powerful of her attacks. Much of her abilities are more “pure mage” in style, ranging from skin that can reflect ranged spells, a damaging and stunning gaze attack that can also cast the Maze spell on those with pre-existing conditions, three different Songs that can deal fire damage, restrain, or Plane Shift affected targets in an AoE, and a variety of multitarget and AoE spells. Mala’s spiritual form transports creatures into an ethereal place in her hallow, where all creatures are always within range of her attacks and effects. She trades in her physical attacks and spells for Touches of Life/Death dealing either radiant or necrotic damage, the ability to extinguish a soul and prevent them from coming back to life, and cosmic-style rechargeable attacks such as creating a blinding Baleful Star dealing radiant damage or a multi-target magical dispelling attack. Kho Many-Arms is a god of contrasts, generous and fun-loving when dreaming but possessed of an uncontrollable rage when awake…and he Chaotic Good in both states! The desire to sleep the days away in his massive tree hollow is in fact his greatest goal, and the Ape Clan is more than happy to keep him that way for as long as possible. In fact, a common means of capital punishment in the clan is when people leave for Wintersouth. The worst criminal is left behind to play the last drum, doing so as long as possible until they can do so no longer and Kho awakens to punish them. As a monster Kho is CR 25 and befitting his many arms is a speedy “death by a thousand cuts” type of fighter. In addition to being able to multiattack with a mixture of fists and manifested force-damage missiles, Kho can also get 4 reactions per round to make attacks of opportunity or do a Spirit Guard to add +7 to one attack that he can see (base AC is 20). His spells hew towards a mixture of ones that can aid in movement and debuff effects. In his spiritual form he becomes a living personification of dreams, being naturally invisible but appears as an ape made of stardust if he can be seen. His main attack in this state is a dreamtouch dealing psychic damage and imposes disadvantage on Wisdom ability checks and saves. He also has a variety of dream-based attacks that can make targets fall unconscious, granting them deadly dreams that cause damage and conditions in line with the dream at hand. Twr the Tyrant is the most powerful of the Winter Gods, presiding over the Ox River of the Wintersouth and appearing like a titanic shadowy humanoid bull wreathed in flame and shadow. She does not fear the other Winter Gods or the gods of the Brother Clans, and knows very well that the northern mortals in the Great Valley require hospitality in her lands to survive the cold months. She has no qualms against consuming the divine ivory of gods and has tasked her strongest servants in defeating other Winter Gods. The more divine ivory Twr consumes the more humanoid she becomes. Like the demons such gods will eventually be named, she is predictably Chaotic Evil. As a monster Twr is CR 25, her primary attacks being a melee longsword and whip that deal bonus lightning and fire damage respectively, can hurl bolts of flames or teleport to take care of far-away targets, and has a variety of AoE effects such as summoning spouts of boiling water or cracking her whip as a damaging stun-based attack. Her innate spells hew towards the directly offensive, with the higher end ones being manifestations of hostile weather such as Earthquake, Firestone, and Meteor Swarm. Her spiritual form is a mass of surging water, whose attacks are more tightly themed around powerful currents of boiling water. Unkillable Urhosh is our final deity detailed, the Lawful Good god of the Bear Clan. He has survived countless foes and thus has come to know no fear, confident that he will live to see the next day. He is a straightforward god, whose power and courage earned him the respect of mortals, and in turn he taught mortal worshipers how to be more like him. As a monster Urhosh is CR 24, and his physical attacks can be a mixture of natural claw and bite along with conjured weapons dealing radiant damage. His rechargeable abilities include a swipe that can knock a foe up to 60 feet back, a frightening roar, and an enchanting remark that charms the target. He regenerates 30 hit points each round unless he took 30 or more points of necrotic damage, and his innate spells are typical cleric stuff. While he can cast Create Food and Water, he cannot cast Heroes’ Feast, which is a bit of a surprise to me given his portfolio. His spiritual form causes an explosive growth of grasping plant life in his hallow, along with summoning a swarm of bees dealing AoE radiant damage in an aura effect. Urhosh still has his physical and conjured weapon attacks, but trades in his rechargeable abilities with life-themed attacks such as absorbing the life force of others as necrotic damage. Thoughts: I like how Planegea acknowledges that stat blocks are going to be necessary for gods, even if the majority are going to be out of the leagues of most PCs. The tools and advice for creating gods are very welcome, and the use of Strata, Visitants, and innate spells are good guidelines for how to make them more memorable encounters than saying something like “just use balor stats.” As for the 5 pre-existing gods, I am glad that they’re included but just looking at them I know they’re going to be very complicated to run in combat. Not only does the DM have a regular and Spirit form stat block to deal with, they’ll also need to cross-reference any spells they’re likely to use during battle. Add onto that Lair Actions, the fact that they’re almost never alone in their Hallows, and that they’ll only be realistically fought in high level play, it can be a lot for the DM to keep track of. I also feel a bit weird regarding their assigned alignments. Mala and Twr’s make sense, but it’s rather odd for all three gods of the Brother Clans to be Good. I don’t think that they should be evil, but Glelh’s Social Darwinism and Kho’s unstoppable rages feel like odd choices. There’s also the fact that in games where DMs play up the “desire each other’s destruction” hostile relations between the Brother Clans, it feels a tad strange for their leaders to be good-aligned but are basically desiring what can only be described as genocide.  Bestiary Now that we’re done with the Gods, we cover the rest of the monsters and NPCs of Planegea in more or less alphabetical order. Many of the monsters that are real-world animals have alternative names rather than using the oft-Latinized examples. For example, an ankylosaurus is called a Bouldertail. We have 64 individual monsters and 6 NPCs, totalling 70 new stat blocks. Or 80 if we include the gods we already covered. As you can imagine, the most common creature type is Beast at 39 entries, followed up by Monstrosity at 14, Celestial at 8, and Humanoid at 7. We have 2 undead types and 1 each of Aberration, Fey, and Ooze, so overall Planegea’s bestiary skews heavily towards a few types rather than being broad. But this isn’t a weakness in my opinion, as the monster types line up very well with Prehistoric Fantasy. When it comes to the diversity of Challenge Ratings, I ended up making a numbered list to see how friendly this chapter is towards certain tiers of play: 0: 3 ⅛: 2 ¼: 5 ½: 6 1: 8 2: 12 3: 5 4: 6 5: 7 6: 4 7: 3 8: 3 9: 5 12: 2 13: 2 23: 2 (Glelh the Unblinking) 24: 2 (Unkillable Urhosh) 25: 4 (Kho Many-Arms, Twr the Tyrant) 26: 1 30: 2 (Mala Long-Song) In the case of parenthetical entries, they are individual gods whose normal and spirit forms are 2 stat blocks each. Planegea’s Bestiary is very friendly to the 1st Tier of play, with 47 entries of CR 0 to 4. Tier 2 is less but a still respectable number of 22 monsters. It’s at Tier 3 and higher do entries peter out, and while Tier 4 may look to have quite a bit, all but one of them are gods, with the Deathwalker (Giganotosaurus) being the CR 26 example. While there aren't a lot of opponents for higher-level play, this more or less tracks with said Tiers not being played by that many people so most groups won’t notice this. While I went over it earlier in this Let’s Read, two new creature tags relevant to this chapter are “God” and “Defiant.” The God tag is self-explanatory and only applies to the 5 beings covered earlier. As for the Defiant Tag, it covers 5 Beasts in this chapter, all of which are various kinds of dinosaurs. Most are on the high end of Tier 2, albeit only one breaks the 20+ barrier, that one being the CR 26 Giganotosaurus. Arctusks look like slender elephants who topple trees to feed off its leaves and other plants growing on it. As their tusks regrow relatively quickly, many clans are known to scavenge their shed and broken ivory, particularly when the animals fight each other. Some clans even domesticated them, but such animals are temporarily turned loose during mating season when they become uncontrollable. They are CR 4 beasts who specialize in charge attacks and melee combat, not much to say. Batface is a monster appearing like a bipedal mouse. They are evil-aligned creatures whose bite has a toxin that can charm people, causing the victims to view the batface as a friend. Batfaces are similar to standard fantasy goblins and kobolds by living in trap-filled caves of squalor. They are ¼ monstrosities (not humanoids, strangely) who have a bite attack that can impose the charmed condition and cause a character to fall unconscious if they are less than half their hit point maximum. Batfaces are incredibly slow and fragile for their CR, at 4 hit points, AC 13, and with a 20 foot speed. This makes them weaker and slower than goblins and kobolds who at least can keep pace with a human. Dinosaurs & Leatherbeasts is a broad category for a variety of reptilian creatures encountered in Planegea. Leatherbeasts refers to reptiles in general, which can include dinosaurs, and most originate from the Venom Abyss but can be found in surrounding lands from being swept upstream by the Unfalls. Quite a few dinosaurs who have stats in the official sourcebooks can be found here, but they tend to be beefed-up higher CR versions and some even have magical abilities. We also get a brief sidebar listing dinosaurs detailed in official sourcebooks and what names they are known by in Planegea, such as Dimetrodons being called Sailcrawlers or Triceratops being known as Hornbeasts. To start off, Bouldertails are extremely strong dinosaurs that many human-led clans attempt to domesticate, as they make for natural deterrents against the lands’ many dangers. They are CR 6 beasts whose body slam and tail attacks come with additional imposed conditions such as bonus damage against a prone target or pushing foes away. Chattercrests are small winged dinosaurs that can mimic complex sounds and speech up to 1 minute in length, making them valuable as messenger animals. Edgegather has people specializing in their domestication. The legendary Deathwalker is thankfully only found in the Venom Abyss and which all other predators there fear. It is a CR 26 boss monster specializing in physical attacks and has a full page stat block of various abilities, ranging from an AoE fear-based roar, the supernatural ability to “sense Strength” of physically powerful creatures within 5 miles, can throw a grappled creature up to 60 feet away if they fail a Strength save, and an assortment of Legendary Actions. Of course, like most dinosaurs and the Tarrasque it lacks any long-range attacks, and needless to say it is the first non-God monster with the Defiant tag. Continuing on, the Doomclaw is a fearsome pack animal in the Venom Abyss whose species actually created a simple language among themselves, making them smarter than the average dinosaur. They are CR 5 hit and run ambush predators with features such as blightsight of 30 feet, a multiattack bite and claw, can Pounce like a lion, and have advantage on attack rolls against creatures it surprises. The Farloper are dinosaurs commonly domesticated by people living on the plains, for their fast speed and ability to carry up to two to three riders makes them valuable for travel. They are CR 1 creatures with a powerful kick attack, Pack Tactics (great when someone’s mounting them) and can Dash as a bonus action. The Flintback is famous for its ridges which can glow with magical light, and many clans regard their presence as a good omen. They are big bulky CR 8 creatures whose scales aren’t just for show, for they can create AoE cubes that can magically charm and incapacitate onlookers as they stare entranced. Their multiattack tail attack can hit two targets with each attack roll, meaning they are good at spreading the damage around while unlucky allies may be stymied by their scales.  The Frilled Spitter is clearly inspired by Jurassic Park, being a seemingly harmless and playful creature who’s actually a deadly CR ½ monsters. It can perform a Startling Display with their brightly-colored frill as a bonus action to avoid opportunity attacks, and in addition to a bite has a rechargeable acid spit attack. The Great-Hook is a physically imposing dinosaur whose otherwise silly appearance betrays a fierce demeanor. They are one of the only dinosaurs known to fight tyrantmaws (T-Rexes) and live, and while attempts have been made to domesticate them for their claws which are good crafting tools, they seem to not really register the presence of humanoids and are prone to wandering off. They are CR 7 and there’s not much to say about them in terms of interesting abilities, sadly. Greatwings are widely-feared flying creatures who travel in groups, and seeing them in the sky is enough to send entire clans running for the hills. They have an immense hatred for dragons, to the point that they will do anything to injure or kill them even when obviously outmatched. They are monsters who specialize in flying attacks, such as a Prone-causing swooping strike, a beak that can grapple instead of dealing damage, and kicking up dirt as a reaction to an attack to impose a d6 penalty on an attack roll. Littlesnaps are nearly harmless as individual creatures, but as they are encountered in swarms that can strip prey to the bone in a short amount of time. Littlesnap swarms are monsters who have advantage on melee attacks against creatures that aren’t at their maximum hit points. The Madcrash is so named for its seeming lack of self-preservation, clumsily slamming into all kinds of creatures to try and attack them even when outmatched, and their sole real tactic as low-threat monsters is to charge and attack with their beaks and can take a bonus action to Disengage if they hit with said attack. The Sailstalker lives in swamps, adroit at hiding in spite of its great size, and the ones that live in Ghostmire have been infected by the surrounding undeath where spirits of their kills can be seen and heard on their frills. They are another monster with the Defiant tag, which if I had to guess is due to its Drown based bonus action where it can cause a grappled creature to start drowning unless they spend an action each round to cough up water. They are powerful physical attackers with features helping it as an ambush predator, like pseudo-sneak attack dealing 4d6 bonus damage to surprised creatures they hit. Seatooth is our next Defiant dinosaur, a horrific monster that attacks boats in the ocean and are even willing to hunt and eat each other. They are rather simplistic in having a grappling bite and swallow attack as their main feature, but their echolocation gives them 60 foot blindsight and they have a very high Passive Perception at 19 to go with that. Skullsmashers are a commonly domesticated dinosaur, being similar to dogs in showing their owners lots of affection and loyalty. They are commonly used to headbutt trees in order to dislodge fruit, and that ability can also be used to great effect for self-defense. They aren’t the most resilient of creatures (22 hit points, AC 11) but their headbutt attack can do up to 4d4+3 damage if they get at least a 20 foot head start (2d4+3 normally), which makes them a pretty good wild shape form for a CR ½ creature. Snakenecks are serpentine water-dwelling creatures who hunt by causing underwater cyclones via quick bursts of speed, and their presence is considered a bad omen by fishers and halflings. They’re similar to the Spinosaurus in being a Defiant ambush predator that is also good at Stealth, albeit they are entirely water-dwelling and can spend all of their regular movement in a round to create an AoE vortex that can draw in creatures who fail a Strength save. Swiftclaws are large feathered dinosaurs that hunt in packs with warbles that sound like cruel laughter, and their presence is often forewarned by the scent of blood coating their feathers. They too are ambush predators, with a great Stealth bonus (+9) and have advantage on such checks made to hide. Their claws can latch onto creatures, reducing their speed to 0, and with Pack Tactics they can easily overwhelm and immobilize foes. Tentwings are one of the most recognizable leatherbeasts in Planegea, for they are frequently seen soaring across the sky at all times of day, and some clans and giants have been known to domesticate them. They are more defensive than offensive in their fighting style, their primary attack being a beak, can also avoid opportunity attacks when flying out of an enemy’s reach, and can spend a bonus action to fly half their fly speed. Which at its base is 50 feet and already quite good. They’re also Medium size with a decent 13 Strength, so it’s not inconceivable that a Small sized character to use a pterodactyl as an aerial mount. Thunderfeet are massive dinosaurs that are likened to living mountains for their slow yet unstoppable trodding through forests, even when said forests are on fire. They are highly secretive in regards to where they reproduce or die, and herds are known to travel great distances beyond the reach of mortals into secret locations when a child’s about to be born or an old or sick member of their species is nearing death. They are Defiant creatures, whose very movement can cause nearby beings to end up prone, and in addition to a mighty stomp attack their tails can knock enemies prone as well as dealing thunder damage. Trumpetcrests live in wetlands and are known for their ability to let out incredibly loud sounds. They are considered beautiful by many Planegeans and people avoid hunting them for this reason. The other reason is that a loud warning call can scatter wildlife across great distances, up to half a day’s travel. There’s not much to say about them besides their rechargeable Trumpet Call that can summon other members of its herd in a matter of rounds.  Mammothmaw is one of the only dinosaur entries without a parenthetical real-world name, making me believe that it’s an entirely fictional being. It is an alligator-like animal with a mouth disproportionately sized to the rest of its body, and often waits concealed in the wilds with their mouths open for passing prey, at which point they charge and attack. The dinosaur is a CR 12 monster that gets a massive +11 Stealth modifier when remaining motionless for an hour as they blend in with the land, and their primary means of attack is an acidic tongue, rechargeable Wild Thrashing that crushes adjacent creatures, and once per day can make a Massive Bite attack that can only be dodged via a Dexterity save, can hit multiple targets, and those trapped within are basically swallowed. It is unable to open its own mouth until its next short or long rest, but others can via a DC 25 Strength check or by dealing enough damage to make a hole in its body. Spider Raptor is our other non-Latinized species, being raptors with elongated limbs that are capable of climbing around like spiders. The Venomguard has no shortage of work in keeping them from coming up out of the Venom Abyss. They are pack-based hunters with highly mobile features such as a high standing leap, Pounce attack, Spider Climb, and Pack Tactics. Thoughts So Far: Barring the Batface, all of the monsters I covered here are various kinds of prehistoric beasts. I do like how the book made them more than just random monsters to fight and hunt, like saying which ones are commonly domesticated and for what purpose and why some may be regarded as good or bad omens. In comparing them to existing monsters of the same CR, I have noticed a variation in values at times. For instance, the Littlesnap Swarm is pretty equivalent to a Swarm of Poisonous Snakes, both being CR 2. The Snakes can do more possible damage with their poison but that requires a failed save, while the Littlesnaps have more consistent damage and situational advantage vs a common trigger which in theory should even out. But when comparing the Sailstalker against a Cloud Giant, both CR 9, the Cloud Giant has much more hit points, a reliable long-ranged attack, and a few spells up its sleeve. The Sailstalker can deal more damage on average and is deadlier when it manages to succeed in evading the party’s passive Perception or is fighting in water, but otherwise the Cloud Giant has a broader variety of potential tactics. The Doomclaw is CR 5 but is very fragile for that CR range at 52 hit points. Although it strongly points to being used as a glass cannon that is best deployed at the beginning of combat or during surprise with its buddies. That being said, I haven’t spotted any wildly out there values so far, so at an initial glance quite a bit can be decent Wild Shape/Polymorph options. Join us next time as we finish this review by covering the rest of the Bestiary!
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Feb 5, 2024 06:28
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 Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness Presents: The Succubus Club Part 5: Conclusion to Fundamental Differences  Bar Brawl Oh, did you think the chaos outside was the only poo poo hitting the fan? Did we forget about the powder keg that the interior of the club has become? Brennon has been so busy being a pissy little baby about Coleman that he’s completely ignored that his club is on the verge of riot, leaving it to his manager, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown now. If the players offer to help him deal with the protesters, he’ll gladly take it, but if they don’t, things will inevitably get ugly. Of course, the players may not be inclined to intervene in the arguments taking place in the club, and a full-scale riot doesn’t necessarily have to happen if you don’t want it to, though it’s likely (and let’s be real, who doesn’t love a little chaos?). If you wish to have your own bar room blitz, then at some point, one of the well-known Punks (maybe even an NPC the players know) and the most vocal of the protestors (maybe one that got up in their faces outside, but not the homeless dude because he seems like decent folk) get into a shouting/shoving match which turns into a brawl. The Punk’s friends immediately join the fracas, and soon the chaos of battle sweeps the entire club. If you go with the riot inside, then the riot police can storm in (with the local news right behind, naturally) and Brennon’s going to have quite a bit more damage than just the lingering stench of tear gas to clean up. If the players help calm things down, the manager will be extremely thankful and tell Brennon about what happened. Once Brennon stops having his tantrum, (the next night), he’ll thank them deeply, even if it is insincere. The manager on the other hand sincerely appreciates the help and will go out of his way to help the players in the future. Each player who took part in stopping the violence inside can then add a point to their Contacts. If the players bail out or hide in the Labyrinth, then the manager is going to have an intense hatred for them and anyone else who was present that night (especially since the manager took them up to Brennon’s penthouse). Failed Attempt If someone (not the player) tries to kill Coleman, the attempt fails and Coleman contacts the police, where he is put in contact with Detective Stephens (Brother of Evelyn from the corebook) and wouldn’t you know it, Coleman and Stephens join forces to become vampire Hunters. As Coleman never had an opportunity to learn that Kindred could be anything but monstrous killers, he dedicates himself to his new task with all his energy. This is also the result if the players try and fail to kill Coleman, or they abandon the adventure entirely. Unsurprisingly, if this happens, the players become Coleman’s next targets. quote:“They must learn that even inaction has consequences.” Cast of Characters (in order of appearance) Typical Protester Predominantly coming from fundamentalist or Evangelical churches in Northern Indiana, their fears and concerns about Blood Dolls began two months ago when it first became the hot topic of sermons, religious broadcasts, and local talk shows. Of course, none of them have met a Blood Doll, so they’ve simply allowed their imaginations to run wild to the point that they’ve convinced themselves that the Dolls are all that is evil in the world. You know, the way these folks tend to do about anything that doesn’t fit their narrow view of the world and JAYSUS. More recently, a few of the shepherds of these mad flocks have begun planning a protest after hearing (from Modius, the stupid prick) that the Succubus is the nexus for these heathen devil worshippers. Together, they’ve pooled their meager resources (loving lol, ain’t nothing meager about the resources of Evangelical and fundamentalist nutjobs) to rent a couple of school buses, whip their congregations into a furor over the “Murderous death cultists” and head into the lion's den. The day of the trip, more than 100 people gathered to take part. Of course, since the “Blood Doll debate” just started, it hasn’t reached Chicago yet, and so the Kindred and Doll communities were caught completely unaware that such a protest was even in the planning stages. Modius, stupid rear end in a top hat that he is, was concerned that not enough people would show up for the protest (loving LOL), so he paid 20 homeless men to join the protest. Most of these men have been swayed by the fervor on the trip to Chicago, but they’ll soon find their newfound faith tested as they return to Gary and find that their situation has not changed, and they are once again left with no home, money, or hope. After all, why would “Christians” help the poor, am I right? That’s not what JAYSUS would want. He’d tell them poors “gently caress you, Got Mine, pass the AR-15, YEEHAW.” Stats are provided for the protesters, all in the 1-2 range, unless stronger goons are needed. All have a Humanity of 8 and Willpower of 6. Roleplaying Hints: Loud, rude, and obnoxious. The fact that you’re surrounded by people reinforcing your beliefs doesn’t hurt your ardor. I feel like after the last 8 years of American life, the roleplaying hints for this group could just say “TRUMP RALLY” and we’d all nod along sagely. Pervis Ramsley Pervis managed to hold onto his steel mill job longer than most, but eventually, he too was laid off. Confident that his skills would land him a new job at another plant any moment now, Pervis refused to leave Gary and survived off his unemployment benefits while searching for a new job. After three months of no luck, he decided that maybe the steel industry had just hit a temporary slump, and a change of career might be a better solution. Another six months, his unemployment running low, Pervis finally began to realize that maybe this wasn’t just a temporary downturn for Gary. Sadly, this realization came about the same time that his landlord evicted him for non-payment of rent and a collection agency repo’d his car. Homeless, with no family to turn to and friends in the same dire straits as himself, Pervis was out in the cold. Swallowing his pride “temporarily,” he moved into a homeless shelter. That was a year ago. Now, he’ll take money anyway and anywhere he can, so Modius offering him $20 to go to Chicago has been a godsend. Pervis’ Attributes are all twos, except Intelligence (1) and Dexterity (3). Roleplaying Hints: Presently filled with religious zeal, the other protesters have convinced him of the righteousness of their cause, though you’ve never been a fervent Christian, and you could be talked out of this current obsession. Brennon Thornhill Tonight was shaping up to be a good one, as a pretty, new Blood Doll was all set to serve as his vessel for the week, there was a good crowd coming in and negotiations with Baby Chorus (lol that name) to play the Labyrinth were going well. And then one of the bouncers came in to tell him about a disturbance outside. quote:“Opening his window to get a better indication of what was going on, Thornhill got his first sense that tonight might not be as wonderful as he would like.” Reminder, Brennon does not have a window in his office. His encounter with Coleman only drove home the point tonight was going to suck. Following his loss of self control (the book notes that Brennon’s one die for Self-Control was a botch, lol), he’s developed an intense hatred for Coleman that he’ll carry the rest of his days (which God drat dude, maybe consider taking up yoga or therapy if one dude with True Faith spooking you is enough to gain your eternal enmity.) to the point that any priest he meets who reminds him of Coleman sets him on edge. Roleplaying Hints: For the moment, your derangement is focused on an intense desire to see Coleman dead. Terrance Coleman  Terrance has always been a unique individual, claiming to see faeries in the woods near his childhood Vermont home and speaking to angels. His parents figured this was just a phase he would grow out of, and while he did eventually stop talking about these encounters, they never stopped occurring. These conversations with angels proved to be an integral part of his life as he matured, and they told him that helping others was his life’s calling. Coleman, for his part, found that helping others made him feel more whole than anything else. At first, he wanted to be a doctor, and spent the years between age 8 and 22 working at the local hospital in his spare time. After seeing so many different injuries, he concluded that many were self-inflicted, either consciously or unconsciously, and soon he realized he could best serve humanity by helping prevent these injuries, rather than simply treating the aftermath. Following his graduation from college, he took a year long trip around Europe on his bicycle, visiting various religious sites on the continent. When he returned to the US, he spoke with his family priest and soon was on his way to become a priest himself. As a reverend, he’s been able to help his community and those who come to him for aid. He runs several homeless shelters as well as helping and hosting other community services, on top of ministering to his growing congregation. Recently he’s become part of civic affairs as a compromiser and unifier for disparate groups, with some claiming that he is the best hope for the city of Gary escaping the depression it has sunk into. In his early 50’s, he looks younger, has an athletic build with salt and pepper hair that has begun to bald. True Faith Terrence is protected by some force, be it spiritual, mystical, psychic, unholy or potentially even vampiric. The source of this protection is ultimately up to the ST. This power manifests as a subconscious warning of danger, and less a true “Physical” protection. Mechanically, all attempts to strike Coleman either ranged or melee are resolved at a difficulty one higher than normal. He can also soak using his Stamina of 3 against any attacks (guns, knives, etc.). Supernatural beings (Kindred, Garou, Fae, Ghosts) find it exceedingly difficult to approach him, and failure on a Humanity roll to get within 5 feet of him (3 successes on a difficulty 7, 1 success on a difficulty 8 to get closer than 5 feet) causes a wave of intense heat to wash over the creature. Reactions to this feeling either keep the creature from approaching, running away, or standing still in frozen agony. Communicating with him requires a Self-Control roll at difficulty 6. Coleman can also detect supernatural beings, though he is unaware of this. When his protective aura activates (the Humanity rolls) he smells faintly of roses, and while both he and the approaching creature may notice this, he has not put two and two together. Roleplaying Hints: First, you’ve long felt external forces guiding your actions, and you act impulsively, believing those forces will be there for you. So far, you’ve always been right. These instincts are rarely selfish, and generally lead you to those in trouble. You’re also a consummate listener, able to get to the heart of someone’s problems simply by letting them talk to you. Sometimes a soft-spoken question is used to guide them. Gengis Gengis didn’t like priests when he was alive, and he doesn’t like them any better now that he’s a Kindred. His reaction to Coleman is instinctual. For this adventure, he stands for all Kindred, reacting to events in the most bestial way. If the players do not immediately try to kill Coleman, he’ll try to convince them. If they speak with Coleman, he’ll stand aside uncomfortably, making comments like “Let’s do it now” or “If I had a rocket launcher......” If, however, the players do try to kill Coleman, Gengis will offer aid and suggestions of new and interesting (IE: dreadful and depraved) ways of dealing with Coleman. If you’re running this adventure via LARP, Gengis is a perfect character for the First Mate to take on. Just remember to try and blend his comedic elements (the rebel conformist) with his tragic elements. Sir Sir usually doesn’t pay much attention to anything but his own pleasures, but Brennon and Gengis have fired him up against Coleman, however he won’t act on his own, requiring the presence of another Kindred (such as Brennon) before he acts. Once he does decide to act, he is effective, though he cannot succeed. Suggestions for Adding More Action If your players prefer more two-fisted solutions to today’s modern problems, then the following suggestions can be considered. ST’s should keep in mind the mood and theme of the adventure when adding action scenes.
And that concludes Fundamental Differences. I really liked this adventure, and while the stated theme is “Individuality vs Conformity,” this feels more like a moral question being posed to the players. Considering how hard Humanity gets hammered on in this edition of the game, it makes sense that you throw a complicated moral question at the players to deal with. Do they kill an innocent, or do they succumb to the machinations of the Beast and let their humanity slip further from them? There is also the very, very early 90’s aspect of this story feeling like a reaction to the “Satanic Panic” that had swept the country in the 80’s and was still burning through parts of the country into the early and mid 90’s, and I like that the author took a nuanced approach to that idea, by giving us a character like Coleman who is genuinely a decent human being and a positive element to the greater setting, instead of going with the very obvious “Preacher whose actually a charlatan” type thing that this story could have played with. This story also reinforces some of the ideas present in Annabelle’s Party, that for as high and mighty as the Kindred like to believe themselves to be, they are far more fragile than they’d like to admit, and I think playing this story sometime after Annabelle’s Party should get the players into the right mindset that something is amiss about this whole situation, and that murdering a dude because a more powerful Kindred had a freak out isn’t the best solution. While the book doesn’t explore the idea, I feel like if I were a player in this story, if one of us had managed to talk to Coleman, the solution I would propose is “Let’s go find him and tell him to GTFO because things could get ugly.” and then when Brennon pulls the group in to yell at us for not killing Coleman yet, argue in favor of the priest. Of course, getting the information about Modius involvement, or at least the shred of his involvement would help in that case, but I could also see just making part of the session be about “gently caress this, we’re getting this dude out ourselves” which could be a fun adventure in its own right as a group of Kindred try to get Coleman out of the city while Brennon has called in whoever he can to try and get him before he’s out of Chicago and thus, out of Brennon’s sphere of influence. I’ll be honest, I am genuinely impressed by how good this book has been to this point, both from the broad strokes of the story ideas to the characters being introduced and the subtle nods the authors are making to ST’s to really consider the thematic ideas at play.   Death’s Sweet Sting Written by Lisa Stevens, Illustrated by Josh Timbrook Death is an aspect of mortal existence that none of us can avoid, despite our best efforts. For the Kindred, however, their own death is something that they have confronted and to a point, see as something they have escaped. Of course, that means that when the spectre of death does hang over the Kindred, it is met with genuine irrational fear. That spectre has made an appearance at the Succubus Club recently. How To Run This Story The key to this story is the continuous building of tension through each scene. When the bodies first start to fall, the tension should begin to rise, and the uneasy alliance with a Witch-Hunter should ratchet that tension up a bit more, while a chase across the rooftops of Chicago and the death of a rogue Kindred push the tension even further. While the tension might ease a bit when the players think things have been solved, it begins to rise once more once they realize they too have been infected with a mystery plague and comes to its climax as they race to find a cure before they too meet their final deaths. Keep the players guessing, and each time they think they’ve reached the climax, crank the tension up again.  The Plot Scene One: The players are hanging out at the Succubus Club (like you do) when a mangled corpse is found in the bathroom. Because the body was found by a mortal, the Chicago PD (including Detective Gregory Stephens) have come to investigate. Searching the corpse reveals that they were on the trail of a Kindred and were potentially a Witch-Hunter themselves. Any further investigation into the death by the players leads to dead ends, until the next night when they are approached by Saul Osiecki, a Witch-Hunter, who informs the players that he knows who the killer is. An uneasy alliance may be the only way to stop this rogue Kindred from striking again. Scene Two: Three days after the first body was discovered, the players are once again at the Succubus, and another corpse turns up (or falls from the sky as it were). The screams of the patrons should alert the players, and to protect the Masquerade, they will need to act to cover things up. Scene Three: The murderer has made their escape from the club by diving out one of the high windows near the rafters. A chase across the rooftops ends in a final confrontation with the killer, where the players discover they have been infected with whatever the rogue Kindred had, that has now killed him. Interlude: The players are infected, and the disease is causing the Beast to take more control. They potentially commit atrocities that cause them to slip further and further from their Humanity, all while the disease slowly works to kill them. Meanwhile, other Kindred are beginning to show symptoms as well. Scene Four: The search for a cure leads the players to the University of Chicago and a microbiologist who diagnoses them with a new strain of mononucleosis that only affects Kindred. Can the players work with the doctor to save themselves and the entire Kindred population of Chicago? Theme The fear of death. Considering most Kindred have forgotten this fear, when it does make a return, it’s even more impactful on those who believe themselves immortal. This comes to the fore when the players begin to lose control and realize that when the disease has finished with them, they will die. When a Kindred’s continued existence is dependent on control, the loss of that control makes the threat of their deaths much more real. ST’s are encouraged to make death a real factor in this story and should emphasize to the players just how much the Masquerade plays a role in their continued existence, and that random violence and uncontrolled violence can bring the spectre of death knocking. Death waits for no man or Kindred, and it always takes its due. Getting the Characters Hooked It is the ST’s duty to get the players emotionally involved in the story. Their continued existence, as well as that of the Succubus Club, the Kindred of Chicago and potentially the entire world, are on their shoulders. When bodies start appearing in the club, the players should take up the challenge of not only finding the culprit but covering things up so that the Succubus as well as the Masquerade itself are not destroyed. The introduction of the Witch-Hunter should also prove a powerful incentive, as anything dangerous enough to make a Hunter side with Kindred is something that should catch the players interests. If the players seem apathetic to the situation, then their own infection and seeing the results on patient zero should kick them into gear. Ideally, the players should not realize they have become infected until after they have tracked the killer and seen him die. Scene One: Smokin’ In The Boy’s Room  Tonight is like any other for the players as they enjoy an evening out at the Succubus Club. With that in mind, mixing this story in with another ongoing story (even one of the presented adventures from this book) will make the killings that occur more shocking and likely to draw the players' attention to them (and to resolving them.) Like Player of Pawns, lead with normalcy and roleplay the players settling into the club for the evening with short scenes that are fun and interesting. For example, a waitress could spill a drink on the best dressed player after mistaking them for a rude patron they dealt with the previous night. The players might notice the waitresses' apology is a bit hollow and wish to investigate further, to which they will learn she is a heroin addict who has been forced into prostitution by her dealer to pay off her debts. If the players choose to aid the waitress, they have an opportunity to recover Willpower or Humanity. Around 1 a.m. a commotion in one of the men’s rooms draws a bouncer, and shortly after, Brennon. If the players mingle with the crowd forming outside the bathroom, they’ll learn that a corpse was found inside. 4 or more successes (no roll given, so assume Perception + Alertness?) would let the players notice that one of the mortals in the crowd seems especially disturbed by what happened in the bathroom. This mortal is Saul, and if the players approach him, then consult “Saul’s Tale” for more. The bouncers keep the crowd at bay, and only known Kindred or those Brennon allows may enter the crime scene. As the players are around, Brennon will allow them in, assuming they have some part in whatever happened, and will not bother to hide his suspicions. If the players haven’t taken the initiative to poke around before being called in, Brennon will have them sent for to watch for their reactions. Anyone who enters the bathroom crime scene will see the body of a Caucasian man of about 5’10”, 195lbs, dressed in trendy khakis and a maroon shirt, his cause of death very obviously that his throat was ripped out. A Perception + Investigation roll at difficulty 6 will suggest that the victim’s throat was torn out with brute force. The same roll at difficulty 8 will tip them off that there is no blood on the floor, while an Intelligence + Occult roll at difficulty 6 will suggest that the murder was committed via the Protean discipline, or worse, that a Lupine was the cause (though unlikely as Lupines don’t generally come this far into Chicago.) Brennon and the players have approximately 6 minutes to examine the corpse before the CPD arrives. The identification found on the corpse reveals him to be Issac Osiecki of Des Moines, Iowa. His wallet has $60 cash and an assortment of credit cards. He also has a business card for a Kenneth Goldberg of the “Kabbala Denudata Society” in New York City, and an unused theater ticket from two months ago for a theater in Des Moines. In his jacket pocket are two crumpled black and white photos of a young man, as well as a mallet, a wooden stake, and a clove of garlic. Once the six minutes have passed, CPD arrives, being led by Detective Stephens, who has been keeping an eye on the Succubus, knowing that Kindred make up some of the club's patrons. While Stephens doesn’t know if the murder is Kindred related at first, he’s eager to know. Questioned patrons will give various descriptions of potential suspects, including one of the players if any of them were near the bathroom. Brennon eventually convinces the police that the murder had nothing to do with the club other than being where it occurred, and while Stephens won’t float the vampire theory to his Chief, he will become far more attentive of the goings on at the Succubus going forward. Once the report is filed and the body removed, the police shut the club down for the rest of the night. Brennon pulls some strings, and the club is opened again the next night advertising a “Death-Dance Special – No Cover!” However, Brennon is still agitated by the trouble brought down on his club because of the death, doubly so if he knows it was Kindred related. He will ask that the Kindred regulars keep a careful eye out for the killer and offers a $5,000 reward to whoever brings the killer to justice. No New Tale to Tell The following night, if the players didn’t see Saul (Osiecki, our victim's father), he’ll approach the players and offer an uneasy alliance, suggesting that the players safety hinges on his own. Once the players agree, he will tell them his story. Saul’s Story Saul was a promising young microbiologist in pre-WWII Poland. By 20, he was acknowledged by his peers as one of the best and brightest in the field. Then Hitler decided that conquering Europe was a great idea, and Saul, like most other Polish Jews, was rounded up and sent to a “Relocation Center” aka: Treblinka. Saul spent 5 years in the death camp, but he noticed something unusual occurring (beyond the mass death and horror). Deranged Kindred were descending upon the camps and feeding upon the victims. One night, he was selected to be the victim of one such Kindred, a Gestapo Colonel. Saul was spared when an allied bombing run caused chaos, and he was taken back to his barracks and forgotten. But Saul did not forget the monsters he’d seen. To Saul, Vampires were the cause of all this, the camps, the blitzkrieg, the whole deal. He vowed that he would survive and become the avenging angel of his people, he would be the instrument of the Lord’s will, and vengeance would be Saul’s. Saul survived Treblinka, and when the war ended, he immigrated to the US, where he met and married another Polish immigrant and they had three children, a pair of daughters and his son, Isaac. Saul took a job as a biochemist for Dow Chemicals and eventually became manager of the biochemistry division of the Des Moines plant. To the casual observer, Saul had a rather normal life, but he was driven, and he’d found that vampires were in America as well. He spent his free time learning the ways of the Kindred, but took no action, instead waiting until he could perfect a master plan. He wanted to destroy the entire Kindred race, and believed that disease, specifically one that targeted the Kindred would be the way to do it. He then developed a strain of mononucleosis virus that would kill a Kindred, but leave the infected mortal sick, but alive. He captured a Kindred by the name of Arthur Gonzales, from whom he extracted a quantity of vitae. He then tracked Arthur’s feeding habits, discovering he fed on the homeless. Saul then introduced his new virus into the residents of a local shelter and waited. Once Arthur became infected, Saul began observing, but to his horror, he saw Arthur begin to act irrationally, killing at the slightest provocation. Then Arthur took off, headed for Wisconsin and eventually, Chicago. Saul gathered his son Isaac and the pair trailed Arthur by the trail of carnage he left between Des Moines and Chicago. By this point, Saul had realized his experiment was FUBAR. He'd not expected the aggression that Arthur showed, nor had he expected it to take so long for it to kill him. When they reached Chicago, the pair decided that they must put an end to the experiment immediately and destroy Arthur. That night, they arrived at the Succubus Club, split up, and began searching. What they didn’t know was Arthur had figured out that he’d been followed, and when Isaac went into the bathroom, Arthur struck, ripping out Isaac’s throat and drinking him dry before making his escape. Saul realizes he must align with the Kindred to stop Arthur, or the disease will spread, and an army of rabid vampires will tear across the planet. While he’s willing to put aside his hatred for the greater good, he does not trust the Kindred, and will only tell the players enough of his story to get their help. If he can avoid it, he’ll not tell them about the disease, instead spinning a half-truth about tracking Arthur before he went rabid. He will use the carnage left in Arthur’s wake to bolster this and will offer to name the killer if the players will help him. While Saul won’t come out and explicitly tell the players that he knows why Arthur is acting as he is, he’ll hint if they keep him alive, they can learn the full truth. If seriously threatened, he’ll let slip that not only are the players themselves in danger, but the entire Kindred species. If the players learn of the disease, Saul will use this as leverage to keep himself alive, going so far as to tell them that there are others with vials of the disease who will release it into the population if he doesn’t report back to them within a specific period. This last bit is a lie, something Saul will whip out if he is sufficiently threatened. The alliance between Witch-Hunter and players will be uneasy, as Saul doesn’t trust the players and they will likewise not trust him (He’s a Hunter after all), but desperate times call for desperate measures, and he will suggest that they stake out the Succubus as it’s the best lead they have. Saul Osiecki   Saul is an old man with a bitter (completely justified) grudge, and he has much in common with the Nazi Hunters who would go to any lengths to bring justice to the butchers of WWII. The difference of course is Saul is hunting Vampires. Luckily for the Kindred, Saul doesn’t know nearly as much as he thinks he does about them, and believes many of the myths, especially those related to crosses, garlic, and wooden stakes, as his first subject believed in them. Nature: Survivor Demeanor: Fanatic Born: 1920 Which would mean he was 19 when the Nazi’s invaded Poland (1939) and 71 when this story takes place (in 1991.) Image: An old man who looks younger than his age suggests, though is face is weary when not energized by his quest to destroy the Kindred. He keeps in good shape for his age, and dresses in earth tone cardigans and corduroy pants and brown wing-tips shoes and bifocals. Roleplaying Hints: You don’t trust anyone, especially Vampires, so always look furtive, and glance from player to player as if looking for a flaw or weakness in what they say. Remember you are on a quest for vengeance that will not be quenched until your vengeance is served. Scene Two: Free Fallin’ Everything is calm at the Succubus for a couple of nights. While security is still tight, the patrons seem to have forgotten about the corpse discovered in the bathroom only a couple of nights before. If the players are trying to get the reward from Brennon, ask them what precautions or activities they wish to take while hunting the killer. Saul for his part will try to organize a stake-out if the players let him, but will agree to a well thought out plan, albeit not before complaining a bit first. Two nights after the first attack, Arthur strikes again. The players will likely notice a figure dressed in black leather, shirt open to reveal his hairy chest, looking mighty suspicious making his way down into the labyrinth. This is a red herring and is in fact the waitress from the first night’s dealer. If one or more players choose to follow him down, they’ll spot him entering the maze. Following him into the maze leads to him ambushing and attacking the players with a knife. He’s got a Strength and Dex score of 3, but is purely diversion, as he’s looking for a Blood Doll who bought crack from him on credit (Kids, never sell crack on credit.) Meanwhile, back up on the main floor of the club, specifically up on one of the elevated dance floors, Arthur is busy draining his next victim. At this point, the disease has nearly run its course, and he is nearly unrecognizable when compared to the black and white photos, as his face has become sallow, sunken, wild eyed and generally unkempt. Once he’s finished, he spins his victim around and pushes them off the dance floor to the ground below. While the club reacts to the body that fell out of the sky, he uses Potence to leap from the platform to one of the balconies, then up to the top floor and out one of the high windows near the roof and off into the night.  The players will likely be notified of the crime by the screaming of the patrons on the floor. Saul spots Arthur making his leaps and notifies whichever player he’s closest to. The players have two immediate problems to address. First, Arthur didn’t close the wound, and there are two puncture wounds on the victim’s neck, oozing blood. If Stephens or another CPD officer sees this, the Masquerade is in real jeopardy. Second, Arthur is doing his best Spider-Man impression and escaping via the rooftops. The players will need to split up to resolve these two pressing issues, and the rooftop chase is described in Scene Three. Covering up the vampiric nature of the murder, however, needs to be done ASAP. The police have a car parked outside the club in case the murderer returns (natch), and it won’t take long for word to spread out of the club and to the waiting officers, potentially two to three minutes. While bouncers keep the patrons away from the body, Brennon has been sent for, but will not arrive for another 15 minutes (Where the gently caress is Brennon? How does it take him 15 minutes to get on the scene of his own club?). How the players handle covering things up is up to them, however it will likely put them in contact with virus. Anyone who touches the body should make a Self-Control roll at difficulty 7, with failure indicating that at some point in handling the body, they got blood on their hands and absent mindedly licked it off. Obviously, players should not be told why they made the roll. Once the police arrive on the scene, the players will have no further chances to cover up what has happened, as Detective Stephens arrives in about six minutes with the forensics team. If the players were able to cover up the fang marks, Stephens has nothing but hunches to work with, and he’ll pull Brennon aside again for questioning, and inform him that the club must be closed and remain closed until the killer is found. Stephens does not suspect Saul is a Hunter, as Saul has kept his activities to himself (other than telling the players.) Around 3 am, the investigation is wrapped up, the police usher everyone out of the club, and it is sealed as evidence. It will take a week before it is reopened. Scene Three: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof  While some of the players are dealing with the cover up, the others should be chasing Arthur. This scene is more an ad-lib situation, as Arthur does not have a set path he’s following, and the chase can be as easy or as complicated as the ST desires. The goal of the scene is to get the players to Arthur's haven. The players will likely see Arthur make his leap to the balcony and beyond. Once the chase is on, Arthur will notice he’s being pursued whenever the ST feels it dramatically effective, and from here, Arthur will try to lose the players. Keep in mind that rules about Climbing will be needed at some points (pg. 143 of the core) as will jumping (pg. 144 of the core), with the difficulty of the jumps being up to ST discretion, as the ST is wholly in control of the terrain. If you need a bit of help, the chart below provides an easy method of plotting the next kind of jump the players will need to undertake.  Note that the standard chase rules do not need to be applied to this scene, as the chase is rigged so that the players can’t catch Arthur, but also can’t lose him, as the chase ends at his haven. With that in mind, this scene does offer a chance for a bit of comedic roleplaying. Consider the ‘66 Batman series and the interactions between Batman and the residents of buildings he was scaling. There’s nothing stopping you from having Arthur bursting through a window of someone’s apartment and the players then having to deal with it. Essentially, make the chase memorable and fun, with the book suggestions some potential mortal encounters such as an overbearing wino, a couple having sex, a woman bringing her laundry in, a burglar trying to break in, or even another Kindred or potentially a Lupine. Which let’s be real, a chase scene where the players are leaping from building to building after another Kindred is cool in and of itself, you add some goofy bits in there and it’ll really start to hum. Hell, throw a very confused Glasswalker into the mix and you’ve really got a party! Remember, that the players can’t catch Arthur before he reaches his haven, and if it seems like they might, throw an obstacle at them. Secondly, they can’t lose him, and even if they do, have him pop up again a little way in the distance so the chase can continue. If the players start shooting at him (as players are wont to do), then he either takes some minor wounds or pulls off some Matrix level dodging. Once you’ve wrung the chase for all it’s worth, Arthur heads for his haven, and it is critical the players follow. If they want to give up, remind them about the Masquerade being in jeopardy, and if all else fails, have him taunt them into back into the chase.  The haven is an abandoned three-story tenement building on the Southside of Chicago, and Arthur has chased off or killed all the squatters who were living there. Once the chase ends, he makes his way into the building via the roof and makes his way to the second floor where he has his living area. When the players follow, they’ll notice the stench of corpses permeates the building, and players will need to make Stamina + Fortitude rolls at difficulty 7 or spend a point of Willpower for every 15 minutes they spend in the building. Using Heightened Senses means the player must make the Stam + Fort roll at difficulty 9 to avoid using a point of Willpower. The living space is made up of a pile of clothes he uses as a bed and broken furniture. If the players were not stealthy in their arrival to the haven, Arthur waits above the door, clinging to the ceiling with his claws and drops down on whoever steps through his door first, raking them with his claws, then he leaps around the room using furniture as cover and attacking whoever is within reach. The room is pitch dark and he’s using Gleam of Red Eyes to see. When it seems that Arthur has the upper hand, he begins screaming and thrashing, throwing himself violently around the room. Before the players have a chance to act, he grabs one of them, stares into their eyes and then dies, his face a mask of shock and intense pain. Examining the corpse reveals certain parts of his body are paler than others, including his head, while others seemed flushed. His hands are dry and flaking, and there is a white gunk around his eyes, and he doesn’t seem to have groomed himself in a while. Searching the building reveals a bunch of corpses and nothing else of use. Arthur Gonzales   Arthur is a real poor bastard of a Kindred. When the players meet him, he’s been so ravaged by the disease that he’s nearly been entirely taken over by his Beast (so he’s almost a Wight, but not quite). When he was a mortal, he was a political science major in college, traveling around the US on his summer break. His trip to Yellowstone proved fatal when he was embraced by an unknown Gangrel and abandoned. For the past five years, Arthur has traveled around the US, and it was during his time in Des Moines that he crossed paths with Saul and his virus. While the disease rapidly spread through him, he has left a trail of bodies through upper Illinois and lower Wisconsin as he made his way to Chicago, and now his Beast has consumed whatever was left of the man that was Arthur Gonzales. Sire: Unknown Gangrel Nature: Architect Demeanor: Survivor Clan: Gangrel Generation: 7th Apparent Age: 22 (born: 1694) Embrace: 1986 Image: Of Mexican descent, he is usually well-groomed, though many of his personal habits have been forgotten as the Beast has taken control. He’s still a handsome young man, wearing proper clothing for the Succubus Club, as enough of his mind remains to know he should try to fit in. Roleplaying Hints: Hunch forward and dart your eyes at everything and everyone as if you were in a cage. Notes: Arthur's demeanor has taken over, and everything he does is based on his instincts to survive. Interlude The players at this point likely have many questions, and their main suspect is now dead. Why did he die, who was he, where did he come from and why did he kill those people in the Succubus? Saul is likely the best resource to answer some of these questions, but unfortunately for them, some of the answers they’ll have to learn first-hand. The players have been exposed to mononucleosis, and the virus is now working its way through the Chicago blood supply, however, the players are the first to show symptoms. Eventually, every Kindred in the city will be infected, but for now, the players have a chance to not only save themselves, but the entire city and potentially, the entire Kindred species. Of course, they must figure out they are sick first. Saul for his part is overjoyed about the death of Arthur when he finds out, but that joy is quickly lost when he notices the players are beginning to show symptoms. The players will begin to act irrationally and begin to display fatigue more regularly, waking from their day sleep later and later each night and adding a –1 penalty to Stamina rolls. More details about how to run these changes are provided in Mononucleosis – Vampirilla Strain. At this point, Saul comes clean and gives the players the whole story, including the lie about the other vials. He warns that the players will die in a few weeks unless they find a cure, as the normal treatment (plenty of bedrest) has no effect on Kindred, as they lack an immune system. But Saul doesn’t know how to cure the disease. He could, after all he created it, but he will need the aid of a trained virologist. And where does one find such a virologist? Why the University of Chicago! Scene Four: See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me With a bit of investigation, the players can learn that the University of Chicago has a world-renowned virologist, Dr. John Phillips, on staff. This information can be gained from the police, Scottie Cartwright of the “Tell It All” (I assume this is a tabloid that gets further fleshed out in CbN), or any newspaper or even any other virologist in the country. Which makes me wonder, if the players can just ring up some other random virologist to get the info, they need that this guy is in Chicago, why would they need him, other than he’s closer. If I knew Dr. Jimbo in NYC is a virologist, wouldn’t I just call him or, you know, travel to NYC to get this problem solved instead of calling him and asking if he knows any virologists in Chicago? Probably should just get the info somewhere in town. Also, how likely is it that player Kindred would know virologists, I mean other than if they were doctors or scientists when they were alive, but that’s such a narrow group of potential PCs that it’s extremely unlikely. The players need to avoid violence at all costs at this point in the story, as any unchecked violence will likely cause them to fail in their quest to obtain a cure. The judicial spending of Willpower or sending the highest Humanity players to deal with the doctor are likely the best solutions to this problem. Forcing the doctor to help them will get them a serum, but it will only mask the symptoms and not cure them. Doctor Phillips can be found working late nights at the university (handy, no?) and his lab is on the third floor of the Wilkes Research Center. The security for the building is relatively light, consisting of regular guard patrols and locked doors. Saul can also meet with the doctor during daylight hours to schedule a meeting. Phillips has been working on the virus that causes AIDS for the last seven years (another virus that can afflict the Kindred as we learned in Promised Lands), and if the players approach him, he will not believe they are vampires (and who can blame him?) however, he won’t need much convincing. Once his initial shock wears off, his fascination takes over, especially when he learns the players are sick. If Saul is with the players, his knowledge of this specific strain of the virus will prove invaluable for isolating a cure. If the players agree to let Dr. Phillips help, he’ll run them through a battery of tests, all while proclaiming his fascination. Once he’s found the answer to the cure, he’ll use this as leverage, as he offers a bargain (always with the bargains in this game), if they allow him to study how they tick, he’ll help them. Of course, he’ll need to be persuaded not to share his findings in a scientific journal. While he can be persuaded out of that particularly foolish idea, he will not budge on the deal of giving the cure in exchange for studying the Kindred. Once a deal is struck, he takes a sample of infected blood from one of the players and creates the vaccine, though this will take approximately a week, unless he has Saul’s help, in which case it will take only three days. This time difference could be important if the players took too long figuring out they were sick, and the vaccine takes full effect within a half hour. However, there is an unforeseen complication. Remember how Kindred don’t have immune systems, you know, being dead and all? Well, the vaccine only stays within their body for the duration that the blood that has been vaccinated stays within them. Once that blood pool has been used, they are once again susceptible to infection again, thus the Kindred will need constant vaccination, another thing that Dr. Phillips can hold over them to ensure his own continued safety. Once the cure is made, the rest of the city’s population will need to be vaccinated, and the players will be seen as heroes, with Lodin granting them status and domain (the book says turf) befitting their heroics. Tomorrow: The conclusion to Death's Sweet Sting
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Feb 5, 2024 16:22
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didn't the last lancer review explode because of endless debate about NHPs edit: whoops there was another page I missed. The god-stuff for Pangaea is really cool, even if I'm always wary of systems that insist on statting deities.
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Feb 5, 2024 17:28
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Leraika posted:didn't the last lancer review explode because of endless debate about NHPs
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Feb 5, 2024 19:19
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mellonbread posted:It did. People expected an Eclipse Phase style debate about AI rights from the setting lore, and weren't happy when they didn't get it.
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Feb 5, 2024 19:22
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Nessus posted:Not being Eclipse Phase sounds like a selling point to me!
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Feb 5, 2024 19:25
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Shh. Let people not enjoy things.
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Feb 5, 2024 19:26
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Halloween Jack posted:Shh. Let people not enjoy things.
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Feb 5, 2024 19:34
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mellonbread posted:New thread tagline. 
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Feb 5, 2024 19:38
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mellonbread posted:Every time I come back to this thread, someone immediately reminds me why I don't review games here anymore. No, no, it'll be fine. You can write a review of Delta Green and the rest of us can call you a morally bad person for enjoying the cop game that lets you play ICE. It'll be fun!
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Feb 5, 2024 20:09
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Can't we just review unproblematic faves like MYFAROG?
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Feb 5, 2024 20:10
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LatwPIAT posted:No, no, it'll be fine. You can write a review of Delta Green and the rest of us can call you a morally bad person for enjoying the cop game that lets you play ICE. It'll be fun! But nah I appreciated the EP write ups, since they were entertaining and told me a great deal about the game setting — even if I didn’t care for that setting
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Feb 5, 2024 20:26
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Asterite34 posted:Can't we just review unproblematic faves like MYFAROG? I'll be honest, my curiosity has almost brought me to tracking down a copy because making fun of Varg is Top Ten favorite things to do, but also I don't really want to read his boring rear end rpg and the awful mechanics of farming and whatever other bullshit he tossed in there. I can only give myself so much brain damage from reviewing rpgs and the WoD is doing a fine job of it.
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Feb 5, 2024 21:05
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From what little I've seen of it, it certainly looks like somebody's boring rear end D&D 3.5-era homebrew. Sure, there are lines like "nonwhites get -2 to Intelligence" but you can also get that from the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.
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Feb 5, 2024 21:22
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Nessus posted:But nah I appreciated the EP write ups, since they were entertaining and told me a great deal about the game setting — even if I didn’t care for that setting joylessdivision posted:I'll be honest, my curiosity has almost brought me to tracking down a copy because making fun of Varg is Top Ten favorite things to do, but also I don't really want to read his boring rear end rpg and the awful mechanics of farming and whatever other bullshit he tossed in there.
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Feb 5, 2024 21:28
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LatwPIAT posted:No, no, it'll be fine. You can write a review of Delta Green and the rest of us can call you a morally bad person for enjoying the cop game that lets you play ICE. It'll be fun! hell yeah, lets go, delta green owns also wait wasn't the most recent delta green campaign book about how ICE is evil
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Feb 5, 2024 21:39
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Delta Green started clicking for me when I started thinking of it less like The X Files and more like Twin Peaks.
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Feb 6, 2024 01:07
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I always imagined Delta Green as Call of Duty with fish-men.
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Feb 6, 2024 02:18
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MYFAROG is verifiably boring. In the latest versions I'm aware of, even the racism has been sanded away to like a couple of game modifiers and oblique paragraphs, with the setting information in general brutally cut down, and the overwrought mechanics like a full page of swimming modifiers have been toned down, so it's almost entirely an extremely mediocre early-2000s What If D&D. It wouldn't even be funny-bad to review. This thread can be a pretty big bummer sometimes when it doesn't have to be, but I think spending this much posting energy on if it might happen again is an even bigger waste of time and hardly less of a bummer. We are all sinners, only the unrepentant should be sentenced to red text avatars. That Old Tree fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 02:18
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I like Eclipse Phase, but the mechanics are overcomplicated and the published adventures are horrifying and not in a good way. That’s about all I have to say on the matter.
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Feb 6, 2024 02:54
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I am not a Lancer fan (not a fan of mecha games in general mainly), but I really enjoy seeing how all the games covered in F&F are put together.
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Feb 6, 2024 04:15
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Oddly enough, 2/3rds of the time I played Lancer, it was reskinned to be something other than mecha.
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Feb 6, 2024 04:20
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mellonbread posted:It did. People expected an Eclipse Phase style debate about AI rights from the setting lore, and weren't happy when they didn't get it. Now to be fair on LANCER, it abundantly clear during the kickstarter it's a game primary focused on badass mecha battles and any thing else in the book is either justification for said mech battles or set dressing. Now due to the open source approach Mastiff take with the setting, it doesn't mean there isn't room for games centered around the NHP rights or whole fan supplements focused on NHP like Legionnaire which one of the main writers unofficially declared canon. Leraika posted:Oddly enough, 2/3rds of the time I played Lancer, it was reskinned to be something other than mecha. You know I wonder if anyone tried to run a session of Werewolf the Apocalypse using the LANCER system? If nothing else it would be a interesting experience... Also if think about it Crinos form is just a furry size 1/2 frame... Ghost Armor 1337 fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 04:59
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F&F 2024: Mecha and Vampires and Norwegian Neo-Nazis, OH MY
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Feb 6, 2024 10:58
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Ghost Armor 1337 posted:Now to be fair on LANCER, it abundantly clear during the kickstarter it's a game primary focused on badass mecha battles and any thing else in the book is either justification for said mech battles or set dressing. Ya know, I was just thinking yesterday about how easily the SSC Emperor could be reskinned into Sage from FFXIV. So there's that. The G&S Volk would make a great Crinos form werewolf, too. I've often heard one of the uratha in full Crinos described as "fuzzy chainsaw mode". The Volk is based on the Big Bad Wolf and has literal chainsaw fingers, so...
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Feb 6, 2024 11:26
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Mecha_Face posted:Ya know, I was just thinking yesterday about how easily the SSC Emperor could be reskinned into Sage from FFXIV. So there's that. There's already someone trying to make a FF-style-fantasy straight-up hack of Lancer: https://pirategonzalezgames.itch.io/beacon-ttrpg Lemon-Lime fucked around with this message at 13:03 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 12:58
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Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness Presents: The Succubus Club Part 5: Conclusion to Death's Sweet Sting Dr. John Phillips   A world-renowned virologist, Dr. Phillips is best known for his work on the AIDS virus. He did his undergraduate work at Duke and his graduate work at UCLA. He’s been a researcher at the University of Chicago for the last 8 years, where he has authored numerous papers and become one of the most famous residents of the University. Nature: Visionary Demeanor: Director Age: 35 (born: 1956) Image: A young man with conservative glasses and an air of confidence. He dresses in a white lab coat with a tie visible, and he is the typical good-looking doctor that mothers want their daughters (or sons) to bring home. He has boyish good looks and a good-natured smile that makes him instantly likable. Roleplaying Hints: Rub your chin when thinking and squint your eyes to appear serious. When speaking, speak slowly and with great confidence, you’re used to being listened to and you know your opinion is worth a lot. Tidying Things Up We’ve got some loose ends with this story, so let’s see how those could wrap up. The Succubus Club: Still under scrutiny of the CPD. Any deaths in the next two years that occur at the club will be linked with the murders that occurred during this story. Depending on how Stephens was treated during the investigation, he may be a help or hinderance, and will likely appear at inopportune times to make cryptic statements that suggest that He Knows. Ultimately, nothing comes of this, unless someone slips up at the club again. The Vampirilla Strain: will likely spread to other cities eventually. The Kindred of Chicago are the first to deal with it, and the first to find the cure. Lodin will use this to his political advantage, while other Kindred might try to steal the vaccine or just straight kidnap Dr. Phillips. How Chicago deals with these situations could lead to more stories. Dr. Phillips: begins his studies of the Kindred, and what he learns could change the course of your Chronicle. While unlikely that he’ll discover all there is to know about the Kindred, he could uncover valuable information. Other Kindred, like the Black Hand may try to kill him to prevent his work continuing, while others may try to kidnap him for their own ends. Lodin may assign the players to protect the doctor. There is of course the chance that his research leaks to an obscure medical journal, or Scottie Cartwright gets his hands on it. Saul: Depending on how the players treated him during the adventure, he may or may not continue his quest for retribution. If the players showed compassion towards him, he’ll begin to doubt his idea that all vampires are evil, and may even become an ally to all Kindred, rededicating himself to destroying only “Evil” Kindred (the ones who break the rules). If, however, the players reinforced his belief that Vampires are monsters, he will renew his quest and potentially become a recurring villain to challenge the players. A Vindictive Relative: What if the family of one of Arthur’s victims gets fed up with the slow progress of the police and discovers the Kindred connection? Do you want Hunters because that’s how you get Hunters! Kill Saul and Phillips: So, the players decided to kill both Saul and Phillips to maintain the Masquerade. Saul has no added defenses beyond his own abilities (and he is in his 70’s). Phillips will do whatever he can to keep himself alive however, including withholding the vaccine and warning that his notes are being kept in a safety deposit box to be opened upon his death (this is not an idle threat) If he’s sufficiently threatened, he’ll just throw a vial of isolated Vampirilla strain cultures into the Kindred’s face. (POCKET VIRUS!) The Players Keep The Virus: If the players keep the virus to themselves (I assume it means vaccine) then the ST has two options to consider, parallel research or apocalypse. Either other Kindred discover the vaccine themselves, or soon every city is overrun with rampaging vampires, which would lead to a mass uprising of human Hunters with automatic weapons and flamethrowers, killing Kindred (and the occasional mortal), leaving only torpid Kindred. Spicing Things Up Death’s Sweet Sting is a far less elaborate story than it could be, and here are a couple suggestions to spice things up. -Saul hasn’t given up on wiping out the Kindred. While he’s genuinely horrified by the virus he unleashed, this setback hasn’t stopped him from continuing his experiments. His request of the players to track Arthur is a ruse so he can experiment on the players, having developed another strain and infecting the players so that he can observe while they search for Arthur. -Saul is a pawn in the fight between Menele and Helena (because of course he is). Saul’s research caught the eye of Menele through correspondence between Saul and Dr. Phillips, an ally of Critias, who in turn is a childe of Menele. Menele knows he’s safe so long as he stays in torpor, but he suspects that Helena has risen and may be hanging around the Succubus Club. Which means he’s risked the entire Kindred species so he could kill Helena. Oh, and he’s pissed the players saved her. Mononucleosis – Vampirilla Strain This is a mutation of the traditional Mononucleosis virus. The theory for how it works on Kindred is that it attaches to the hemoglobin molecule in the blood, causing it to swell and block osmosis of blood through the body. This slowing of blood to the Kindred brain causes the loss of higher cerebral function, which in turn, frees the Beast from the tether of Humanity. Symptoms are easy to identify. The Kindred initially exhibits sudden, animalistic tendencies and Frenzies more often (which is saying something considering how often Frenzies can happen in 1e). As the virus runs through the victim, their eyes grow wild, and a white crust develops around the corners of the eyes. The skin takes on a pale hue (which again, saying something considering Kindred are already pale) along with an increased appetite. The further the disease progresses, the less control the Kindred has over their actions, leading to more instinctual reactions. After a month, the Kindred suffers Final Death as the blood flow is finally cut off from the brain. Mechanically speaking, for every week the character is infected, the difficulty of their Virtue rolls to avoid Frenzy increase by 1, and Frenzy rolls can be triggered by the mildest of provocations. Kindred also lose the ability to use their Blood Pool freely, meaning they need to make a Willpower roll at a difficulty dependent on how long they’ve been infected to increase their attributes or heal themselves. The first week is difficulty 4 and goes up by 2 each week. Botching means the blood point is spent to no gain. A month after being infected, the Kindred will suffer Final Death. Extended torpor can be entered, and if a couple of centuries are spent in torpor, the virus might die due to lack of blood. If the character goes into extended torpor, they must make a Stamina roll every 50 years at difficulty 9 and need 3 successes to indicate the virus has died, while a botch means final death. Well, it feels almost inevitable that for as good as the book has been to this point, something would come along to remind me “Oh right, sometimes stuff in these books sucks.” This is that moment. While I’m aware that Kindred getting sick because of infected blood is a thing thanks to reading Promised Lands, it's still an element of the game I just don’t vibe with, and I don’t just mean the AIDS bit, I mean Kindred dealing with disease at all. I don’t necessarily want to sit here and say “This isn’t how any of this works” because I am not a microbiologist or a virologist, but I can say that if Vampires are dead, which they are, then viruses shouldn’t have any effect on them as their organs are all dead and nonfunctional, at least in the sense that a mortals would. I think there are some interesting elements to this story, and you could certainly hammer something more interesting out of the assorted parts here, but as written, I feel like as an ST, I’d have a hard time trying to sell this to my players, because it’s just a step over the threshold of where my suspension of disbelief lies. Sure, I’m bought into a world with vampires and ghosts and werewolves and all the other wacky poo poo that is running around the WoD, but I draw the line at “Walking, talking corpses can get sick.” It just feels really dumb, and the solution of “Oh you found a vaccine, but whoops, you gotta constantly re-up that vaccine because it only effects the blood pool currently in you” just makes me want to scream “THEN WHY ARE WE EVEN BOTHERING!?” Why would I want to add more work to my plate as the ST with this stupid vaccine thing? I can kind of see that the author was aiming for something unique and different, and to that end she succeeded, but as I said, as written, I don’t think this is a particularly good adventure. Rip out the dumb virus nonsense, rework and re-write parts of it, and you’ve got a potentially good adventure on your hands. Because there are elements of this story I liked. The mystery element of the killings is fun, the entire chase sequence and the suggestion of throwing some comedic scenes into it sounds super fun, and the old holocaust survivor turned vampire Hunter is also a cool angle, although if I’m being honest, Saul feels a little like they saw Monster Squad and just pulled “Scary German Guy” into this by expanding on his potential background, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I love Monster Squad and SGG (Scary German Guy) is a fun character, but ultimately it feels wasted on this story. And speaking of the holocaust stuff, I’m not going to rant about its inclusion here. It’s relatively tasteful, I mean, as tasteful as including the largest genocide in human history into a loving Goth RPG franchise can be and is in line with what is presented later in Charnel Houses about Kindred feeding on camp victims. Is it gross? Yeah of course it is, it’s mashing vampires into the holocaust, but considering the WoD is supposed to be the dark mirror image of our own world and history, it’s one of those things that would come up eventually, and while you don’t have to hand it to White Wolf for trying, they tried anyway, and at least it wasn’t deeply offensive here or in Charnel Houses so yay? Nervous golf clap? Let’s keep going.  Child’s Play is not only a 1988 horror movie, but also the name of a two-part story presented here, intended for characters who are new to Chicago. Part one, Paper Chase deals with the players first encounter with an unknown, scheming elder, while part two, Grand Elusion is where the players meet this mysterious Kindred, and decide if they join him or side with his enemies. While this adventure is intended for characters new to Chicago, it’s not meant to be an introduction story for the characters themselves, nor do these stories need to be run together if the ST so chooses, nor do they need to be run back-to-back. So, let’s begin with   Paper Chase Written by Nigel Findley, Art by Tony Santo Unfortunately, the artist and author are not listed for this story in this chapter, however Nigel Findley’s name is tagged with this story in the credits, and Tony Santo signed his pieces. Paper Chase is a single chapter adventure intended for a group of 2-5 players. It can be used as part one of the Child’s Play story, or it can be used as a standalone adventure, or an element of the Forged in Steel Chronicle. It can be used after the events of Ashes to Ashes or any time after the players have traveled to Chicago. I’m unable to find an exact date for when Ashes to Ashes was released, however according to the White Wolf Wiki it is listed after both Succubus Club, Chicago by Night, and Blood Bond, so I’m assuming it was released after those books. Unfortunately, I was unable to find it via it’s ISBN so unless someone has proof of its release date, I’ll simply continue to assume it was released sometime after the previously mentioned books. Paper Chase deals with conflicting motivations and interlocking conspiracies, or more simply, a classic example of intrigue. There are several factions involved, and none are fully aware of the other factions’ motivations, leaving the players trapped in the middle, and depending on their actions, in conflict with one or all the factions. Most of the Kindred directly involved with this story are ones not detailed in Chicago by Night, though it is possible that the players will interact with some of those characters over the course of this story. ST’s are encouraged to make the players lives as difficult or easy as they wish and should keep in mind the relationships the players have with the Kindred they interact with in the story, as Kindred they are friendly with are more likely to help than new acquaintances or even enemies would. Generally speaking, no other Kindred should be willing to directly aid the players. How To Run This Story The events of Paper Chase compose a single chapter, making it ideal for a single session of play, with four scenes. The Plot Scene One: The players receive a letter from a Dominated courier, informing them that an ancient manuscript they might find interesting is coming to the market. The manuscript is claimed to be Apocrypha associated with the Book of Nod. The letter comes from a Dennis Herdon who seems to be aware of their true nature. Scene Two: The players likely find something about Mr. Herdon, an antiques dealer of.... questionable origins (aka: he sells stolen museum items.) Do the players kill him, or do they talk to him? If they talk to him, they’ll learn he doesn’t know what they are, and in fact got their names from one his customers, a mysterious figure only known as “Dix.” They could learn more about Dix from Herdon, as well as some information about who is selling the Apocrypha. Scene Three: Herdon knows little about who is selling the Apocrypha, and so the players must lean on their contacts again. They may learn that other Kindred are keeping an eye on Herdon, as well as other mortals. How they deal with these watchers is up to the players, and they may just notice that some of those watchers have turned their attentions onto the players. Scene Four: The players come into direct conflict with a pair of well-trained Hunters, a pair of ex-Jesuits. Whether this conflict is on the players, or the Hunters terms depends on how much they’ve learned. By the end of the story, the players will learn that the Apocrypha is worthless, nothing more than a lure created by the Hunters, and it is very unlikely the players will learn who Dix is or what his motivations are. What Is Really Going On The players arrival in Chicago has been noticed by an Elder, specifically, Nicolai of the Tremere. To figure out their potential value to him as pawns in the grand Jyhad, he’s been devising a scheme to test the players. That scheme now involves two ex-Jesuit Hunters who have just arrived in Chicago. What Nicolai is unaware of is there is a strong possibility that this entire plan of his was not of his own making and is in fact the work of Helena. (This detail ultimately does not affect the story if it is true or not, and ST’s are encouraged to decide for themselves which path feels the best, as either choice could affect their chronicle going forward). The Hunters, Sayles and Tomba, are working from a now routine method, lure one or more Kindred out of hiding by offering something of great value, in this case it is the Apocrypha, seeding the rumor of its existence and potential sale to various middlemen, including Herdon who, in turn, contacted Nicolai. Nicolai, smarter than the average bear, smelled bullshit immediately, but also saw a solution to his question about the players. Best case, they prove themselves clever and defeat the Hunters, while the worst case is that Hunters kill them and the Chicago Kindred community keeps on trucking, because really, who gives a poo poo about a couple of Neonates, am I right? What Nicolai doesn’t know is that Herdon has contacted another of his buyers, a Toreador named Edge. Edge and his childe are now interested in getting the item as it could raise their status with their Clan. Theme Trust and Betrayal are the major themes of the story, and how both can have effects on a life (or unlife). Nearly every character in the story is betraying someone to one degree or another, either their Clan, their associates or even just the pawns caught up in the game. ST’s should remember that every NPC the players encounter will lie to anyone to further their own interests. Mood Paranoia. The players should realize that they know nothing about the motivations of any of the involved factions, let alone identify said factions. The players should doubt everyone they meet and be aware of the undercurrents of every action they take. By the end, they should have some answers, and plenty of questions. Remember, you don’t always get answers to everything. Scene One: For Sale - Involving the Neonates  Ideally, the player’s characters should already be a coterie, and that will be the case if you run this story after the events of Ashes to Ashes. If the players have been in Chicago for more than a couple of days, they should have at least one Haven, and settled into a routine of sorts. It should be assumed that Nicolai is aware of this routine. At some point during a normal evening, the players are approached by a young man as if he knows them. His name is Russ, about 19 years old, and when he approaches, he has slightly glazed eyes and seems to be far more focused on whatever is kicking around his head than what's directly in front of him. Any player with the ability to read auras can tell he’s been Dominated (requires 3 successes). Russ approaches the players with a package wrapped in brown paper and tells them “A guy” told him to give them the package. Depending on the location, he either wanders off or takes a seat and disappears into his thoughts. The Package The package is small (7in wide, 9in long, 1in thick) about the size of a small notebook, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. Once opened, it (shockingly) is a small notebook, bound in rich, dark leather. It’s clearly incredibly old, but well cared for, with pages of vellum. Once the players handle the notebook, a handwritten note falls out. quote:“Dear Friends, The players may assume he is referring to Russ, but he’s talking about the notebook, which is likely worth several hundred dollars. Research It’s almost certain the players will assume Mr. Herdon knows they are Kindred, considering his allusions to their “Interesting Background” and familiarity with the Book of Nod, and their search for Golconda. The next scene will reveal all of this to be bullshit, and the note is simply disinformation from Nicolai. Before they can do anything about this potential Masquerade breach, they’ll need to find out more about Mr. Herdon, who he is, where he can be found, etc. They should also be curious about this Apocrypha. Okay, assuming the players are neonates, and not knowing the events of Ashes to Ashes, would the players know anything about the Book of Nod? I suppose it might have come up previously but if it hadn’t, this would potentially be a fantastic way to introduce it to the Chronicle and give the players another avenue of investigation. Researching Herdon There are a few ways for the players to learn more about Herdon. First, they could interrogate Russ, though he’s a dead end, as he doesn’t know where the package came from or what it held. All Russ knows is he had the package and it seemed like a good idea to take it to this specific location and give it to this group of people. This should tip the players off he was Dominated if they didn’t read his aura. The last thing he remembers was digging through some CDs at a shop called Zulu when the next thing he knew, he was making his way to meet the players. Russ is such a burnout that this strange sequence of events never registered as odd to him. The players can try to “Read” the items via Auspex using Psychometry (Three dots in Auspex) and each “reading” requires three uses of the power. The notebook and the note itself provide the same information, while the wrapping (because it was last touched by Russ) offers some different info. The amount of information gained depends on the number of successes rolled, with a difficulty of 5 for the note and wrapping, and 6 for the book itself. The Note and the Book
The Wrapping Paper
The players could track Herdon through both Kindred and Kine contacts, and depending on who they talk to, they’ll get a different view of the man. He’s known by many members of the art world: dealers, collectors, museum curators, etc. He's also got a bit of a shady rep as there have been hints that his methods are slightly less than legal, and he’s been charged with dealing in stolen goods, though the charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence. Despite this, he’s also known to not deal in forgeries or with anything other than the absolute best works in a category. No one knows exactly how to contact him, as he’s always the one to contact them when he’s got something to sell. Law enforcement and the underworld are also aware of Herdon, as he’s known as an international fence who deals exclusively in stolen art and antiquities. While everyone knows he’s guilty, nobody can prove it, and it doesn't help that often his buyers have the political pull to interfere in the justice system. While in Chicago, he stays at an apartment on North Clark in New Town. His phone number is known by both the police and most underworld antiquities dealers, and whenever he’s called, it goes directly to an answering machine. Anyone who knows of him can provide the same basic info: He’s got a faint Welsh accent; he’s always dressed in the best clothes (though they don’t seem to fit properly) and he loves the finer things in life. Trying to look him up in the phonebook will achieve nothing, as his number is unlisted. ST’s are encouraged to decide any interesting ideas for tracking Herdon that players come up with on a case-by-case basis, or simply let them use their Investigate skill, though roleplaying it out will be much more fun. Researching the Apocrypha Nearly every Kindred has heard of the Book of Nod (citation needed), supposedly written by one of the Antediluvians. Some fragments have survived to the present day, and even Anarchs who deny its authenticity have still heard of it. The Apocrypha on the other hand, has never been heard of prior to now, which doesn’t really mean anything one way or the other about its authenticity. If the Book of Nod is the “Vampire Bible” then there’s no reason Apocrypha couldn’t exist for it, after all the Bible has its own Apocrypha. The players should quickly catch on that this Apocrypha is potentially of immense value to most Kindred, and if it really has guidance for reaching Golconda, many will consider it the most valuable manuscript on earth. Even if it doesn't, it’s still has value as a part of Kindred history and to quote Indiana Jones:  That is, if it’s legit, of course. But a forgery has its own value too, as it could prove to be a bargaining chip or even a weapon. For this reason, the players should figure out quickly that running all over town blabbing about this supposed Apocrypha is a bad loving idea, as they could quickly find themselves on the wrong side of a powerful Kindred who wants it for themselves, likely to the players terminal detriment. Genuine or not, its existence is enough to send any number of Kindred to their Final Death, especially “Worthless” Neonates. If the players mention it, the response will depend on to whom they are speaking, and how much info they give. As the ST, you should try to manage this partially through how easy or difficult the players are able to gain audiences with specific Kindred. The first Kindred they would most likely be able to meet with would be their Mentor, or some other sympathetic party who could warn them to “Keep this poo poo quiet if you enjoy living.” Depending on the relationship and personality of who they tell, the players may be asked to share the document with this Kindred so they may read it or make a copy for themselves. Or they could tell the players to hush up while plotting to snatch it away from them. Because if there is one thing this book has hammered on, it is that Vampires are Assholes. If the Kindred in question is on the path of Golconda, they may warn the players not to put faith in written traditions, as the path to Golconda is a personal one. If the Kindred they speak to is an Anarch, they will likely denounce the document and the Book of Nod as fraud, but also warn that those who do believe in its authenticity would do anything to get it. If they speak to a Kindred less sympathetic to their goals, then they’ll receive many of the same warnings, though these warnings have nothing to do with the well-being of the players, and more about what the Kindred in question can achieve by owning it. Note that no matter if the Kindred they speak to is sympathetic or not, they won't take part in helping the players get the documents. Why should they risk their own unlives when some dipshit Neontates can do it for them? While friends will help protect the players after they gain the documents, enemies will quietly let the players show their whole asses and swoop in and take it when the right moment presents itself. Of course, if the players choose to go blabbing about this to everyone and their mother, let them. It’s their funeral. Scene Three introduces two NPCs, Edge, and Stephanie, who have learned about the documents on their own. If the players are being indiscrete, then you can replace these two characters with other Kindred they have learned about the documents from the players, and if they’ve really been indiscreet, go ahead and throw some more NPCs into the scene. Characters Russ Smellings  Russ is all about that sex, drugs and rock and roll. Well, more so the latter, as he’s yet to convince any woman to gently caress him. He’s nearly always stoned (drunk would be more accurate) but not so far gone as to impede his daily routine. He doesn’t know anything about Vampires, other than what he’s heard in songs, and if pressed, he’d probably agree that sleep all day, party all night sounds rather good. He’s currently Dominated by Nicolai, who is using him as a pawn because he was handy. He doesn’t remember being Dominated, where he got the package or why he handed it over, it just seemed like the thing to do at the time. He has no bearing on the story beyond his delivery in Scene One. Master: Nicolai Nature: Conformist Demeanor: Loner Willpower: 4 Age: 19 Image: A tall and gangly young man with matted black hair, dressed in jeans, boots and a band shirt Roleplaying Hints: Answer all questions a few seconds after being asked. Mumble a lot and never look anyone in the eyes. You become animated when conversation turns to music or an invitation to a party. Scene Two: Midnight Meeting – Locating Herdon The players should have learned in the earlier scene that Herdon lives in New Town, north of the city center, however, they did not learn the address, as only a few know it. With this incomplete information, they have a couple of choices to continue with. Talking to locals is one way to try to find the exact location of Herdon’s home, though most of his neighbors do not know his name. Their best clue would be to inquire about the “European Gentleman.” If the players choose this method, ST’s are encouraged to roleplay these conversations and make the players work for the information, but eventually give them the address. Simply calling Herdon is a possibility, as they should have picked up his number in the last scene. However, they’ll soon learn that they will need to leave a message with a callback number. If they take this route, Herdon does call back, but he informs the players that the “item in question” is not yet for sale, and as such, not presently in his possession. If the players insist on a meeting with Herdon, he will agree, but only if they can persuade him that there is something in it for him, and ST’s should be adamant when roleplaying Herdon that he’s not coming out unless it’s worth his while. If they begin touching on potentially sensitive information, he quickly redirects, and reminds them that “discretion is important, especially on unsecured lines.” This is also an opportunity to lean into the misunderstanding of the situation, leading the players further down the road of believing that Herdon knows what they are, when in truth, he believes them to be collectors of the sort of hot merchandise he tends to traffic in. Should the players convince him to meet, Herdon suggests an Italian restaurant by the name of Settebello for the meeting. This is the only chance the players have to meet with Herdon, as letting him set up the meeting on his own time will lead to the Hunters making their move, and if the players were to survive such an attack, then the ruse of the Apocrypha would be revealed, and Herdon would no longer have a reason to contact the players. Location The meeting with Herdon can take place in a few potential locations. If the players decide to just show up on his doorstep, they can (which is detailed below), or they could stake out his apartment and wait for him to leave, however, he rarely leaves after dark, but it could happen. Of course, the Italian restaurant will be the easiest. Herdon’s Apartment Taking up the entire upper floor of a two-story brick building, the ground floor is made up of a pair of stores, a used book shop and an antiques shop. Herdon owns most of both stores, and between the two is a doorway that leads to Herdon’s private staircase. At the top of the stairs is a heavily locked door that leads into the entrance hall of the apartment, which opens onto the living room, while the secondary bedroom has been converted into an office. Breaking in will not be easy as all the windows are reinforced and there is a sophisticated alarm system that automatically dials the police when triggered. The apartment itself is extremely high end, with Edwardian furniture and artwork, all authentic. If the players investigate the office, they will see the rollup desk from the Auspex vision (if they used that power on the book). If things get dicey, Herdon has a sawed-off semi-auto shotgun hidden in his office. It has a range of 10 yards, and its’ difficulty to hit is reduced by one. He carries a knife on him when he leaves his apartment. Settebello A cozy and intimate family run restaurant, Herdon is well known here, and always eats in the private room in the back. The private room has two doors, one to the main dining area and one to the kitchen. On The Street Herdon generally travels by taxi, and always waits for it to arrive before leaving his apartment, with the exception being when he walks the two blocks to Settebello. If the players try to kidnap him off the street, he’ll do his best to talk his way out of trouble and pull his knife if necessary. The Meeting Presented below are the major elements that will likely be discussed when the players meet with Herdon. The Characters As noted previously, Herdon has no idea the players are Kindred, nor does he believe in such things. He was given their names by one of his clients, known as Dix, who told him the players were collectors of stolen antiquities, hence his cautious language in the letter and on the phone. Dix also mentioned the players being interested in the historicity of a mythical country known as “Golconda.” which Herdon assumes is something like Atlantis. Dix told Herdon the players were rich and somewhat eccentric. If they do not fit his mental image, he’ll become suspicious. The note was sent through a courier that Dix supplied to Herdon, a 13-year-old boy that Herdon cannot give a good description of. Clearly, this wasn’t Russ, and in fact, it was Nicolai. Dix: A regular customer of Herdon’s, the two have never met, only dealing through intermediaries or phone calls. While Herdon has the resources to find out more about Dix, he simply doesn’t care to, seeing it as intrusive and unprofessional. In truth, the two had met several times, however Nicolai was always in disguise. The Apocrypha While the piece is not yet officially on the market, Herdon has seen it and is satisfied with its authenticity, which was confirmed by a “Certificate of Providence” issued by the central library of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Herdon has seen certificates like this before, and so believes this one to be genuine as well. While a closing price has not been named, he’s expecting it to sell for around $750,000 (or about $1,677.87 in 2024), and with his usual 15% brokers fee, he’s set to make a nice profit. The Sellers Herdon is, unsurprisingly, unwilling to give any information about the sellers or how to contact them. Doing so would cut him out of the deal and his 15% after all. The sellers are a pair of Hunters by the names of Sayles and Tomba. Tomba, you say?  Physical descriptions of the two Hunters are provided in Scene Four. Herdon has only met the men once, at the restaurant, and he knows nothing of their backgrounds other than Sayles seems well educated and erudite, while Tomba on the other hand is more of a mystery as he did not speak during their meeting. He doesn’t know where in Chicago they are staying, instead contacting them via phone and leaving a message (much like his own set up). Loose Ends It’s possible the players will say something that tips off Herdon that they are vampires, and if they do, they’ll need to figure out how to deal with him. Leaving him alive is one possibility, though a potentially dangerous one. Killing him is another solution, but would trigger a Humanity loss as Herdon is, besides being a criminal, essentially an innocent bystander in all of this. Characters Dennis Herdon   A consummate professional when dealing in matters he’s familiar with, he has an expert knowledge about antiques, art objects and antiquities. He is well connected with the underworld of North America as well as around the world and is known for being dependable. His appearance, however, belies his professionalism, as he always appears rumpled. He has stringy grey hair and his expensive suits never quite fit right. His Welsh accent is faint, unless he’s playing it up around people who don’t know him. He plays at being a fool to conceal his true intelligence and calculating mind. He will never engage in something that doesn’t promise a solid return on his investment. Master: None Nature: Director Demeanor: Conservative Image: Short, rumpled and resembling a kindly professor wearing someone else’s Brooks Brothers suit. Roleplaying Hints: When evaluating a new person or situation, lay on the accent thick and act the fool. Once you’ve got a handle on things, get down to business, drop all but the faintest of an accent and speak like the cool, experienced professional you are. Scene Three: Other Players In The Game Locating Sayles and Tomba Locating the Hunters should be the players next goal, and considering they only have their names, descriptions, and phone number, this is going to be a challenge. The players will likely devise some clever way of tracking the Hunters down, but ST’s should not let this be easy, and should get the players to work for their reward. Remember also that the only Kindred in town aware of the Hunters is Nicolai, and he sure as hell isn’t going to tell the players. With the phone number, the players could try to bribe or Dominate someone at the phone company to give them the address linked to the number, which turns out to be a small old house in New Town. The house is empty and on further inspection seems to have not been occupied for some time. Hooked up inside is a quote:“Sophisticated answering machine, the kind that allows messages to be picked up remotely from any touch tone phone” Oh the 90’s. In the mailbox, the players will find a letter from a Marsha Loudette, a real estate agent. The note reads “Hope you like the house, if you need anything give me a call.” If the players approach Marsha, she can tell them the house was rented to a Mr. Smith for a two-month period for his friend from Europe. If they offer the description of Sayles, Marsha will confirm it as Mr. Smith. She can also provide an address to a small condo in New Town for Mr. Smith. While she won’t willingly give this address to the players, they’ll surely figure out a way of getting Marsha to talk. The address will lead them directly to the house where the Hunters are hiding. Watchers.... If the players were running their mouths to everyone in earshot in Scene One, then it’s likely a whole bunch of other Kindred are keeping an eye on their movements. The number, Clan, and identities of these “Watchers” depends on who the players spoke to. Each time the players leave their Havens, it's possible they’ll spot one of these watchers, and how this subplot resolves depends on how the players react to being surveilled. This gives the ST plenty of options, and if enough factions are involved, you could have conflicts occurring with these other factions that have no direct effect on the players. If the players were careful, there is still Edge and Stephanie who have also figured out the players are after the McGuffin. If at any time you feel the momentum of the story flagging, tell a player they’ve spotted either Edge or Stephanie following them.  ...And More Watchers Sayles and Tomba have hired “Assistants,” aka a bunch of street thugs to help keep an eye on Herdon. After Herdon contacted the players, the Hunters became aware of them, and focused their efforts on tracking the players. The Hunters are waiting to see some evidence of Vampiric power before they strike. Like the potential Kindred tails, the players can potentially notice these mortals following them. The thugs know nothing about vampires and even less about the Hunters beyond physical descriptions and a phone number to call if they see anything unusual. The number is the same one the players have already found that goes to the empty house. Characters Street Thugs  Your everyday, average street goons, petty thieves, and small-time drug dealers. There are eight of them, and usually working in pairs or solo, armed with knives, with maybe one or two carrying a light pistol (more for intimidation than intent to use.) Master: None Nature: Bravo Demeanor: Bravo Age: 18-30 Image: The average street tough, young, and dangerous of any race. The book uses the term “Oriental” here, which I only point out because it’s the first time it’s popped up in this book. Roleplaying Hints: You’re cool and tough, or at least you like to believe you are. Play it tough and if your bluff is called, do whatever is necessary to stay alive while clinging to what remains of your dignity. Edge   Finally, we know what his gimmick in 1998 was, he was a vampire! Waka waka! When he was alive, Edge was the same sort of self-destructive, electric musical genius as Charlie Parker, while some would claim he was even hotter than Parker. Edge’s sire, a Toreador named Ted discovered him in a Chicago alley, drunk out of his mind and wailing away on his saxophone. Ted was enraptured and listened until Edge passed out. He became Edge’s patron but was unable to alter the direction of the young man's life, until Edge decided to get into a drunken fight with burly longshoreman. A brawl ensued and Edge was stabbed in the gut. Ted arrived just in time to see the young genius coughing up blood with his final breaths. Ted embraced him at once. Edge still plays his sax, and his technique has improved considerably (when you’ve got all the time int he world....) but no longer plays in public. His addictive personality carried through into death, and he prefers feeding on vessels who are drunk or on narcotics. As a poor mortal, Edge always thought of himself as inferior to those with money, and this has also carried over into his unlife, as he’s become obsessed with improving his status within his Clan. He believes that by getting the Apocrypha, he’ll finally gain the status he’s always desired. He’s also madly in love with his childe Stephanie and will die to protect her. Sire: Ted Zyncan Nature: Child Demeanor: Bon Vivant Generation: 12th Embrace: 1938 (Born 1915) Apparent Age: Mid-20's Image: A malnourished looking African American with wild eyes, always dressed in black and white and overly accessorized with silver or platinum jewelry. Roleplaying Hints: Be cool. You play jazz and jazz is the epitome of cool. Never let on that your self-image is fragile. Haven: Several, including a loft apartment and the basement of a jazz club. Stephanie   By 20, Stephanie had the body of a model and the voice of an angel. Born and raised in Seattle, she sang her first jazz gig at 16, working her way through the prelaw program at the University of Washington before quitting to devote herself fully to music. She has a smoky contralto voice, and after Edge heard her while passing through Seattle, he became enraptured. He followed her career, never missing a chance to hear her perform. They became close friends, though he never revealed his true nature. At 25 she was diagnosed with pancreatic and lymphatic cancer and given six months to live. Horrified by this news, Edge finally explained the truth to Stephanie and offered her the embrace. She spent a week deciding before accepting. The two have been inseparable since, and while not Blood Bound, the love and respect they have for each other is strong enough that a Blood Bond would be redundant. Stephanie has no interest in the McGuffin herself but understands what it represents to Edge and will go to any lengths to help him. Sire: Edge Nature: Survivor Demeanor: Caregiver Generation: 13th Embrace: 1988 (born 1963) Apparent Age: Mid 20’s Image: Slender blond with freckles, she looks more like a surfer than a jazz singer. Roleplaying Hints: You know lots of people automatically tag cute blondes as airheads, so when it helps you, play it up. Giggle a lot, do not get jokes, and occasionally let on that you’re much smarter than you’re acting.  Scene Four: Hunters and Hunted How this scene plays out is dependent on how the players have handled the adventure to this point. Either the Hunters come to the players, or the players come to the Hunters. The Hunters’ Plans As noted previously, the McGuffin of the story is a means of drawing out Kindred, and once the players have been notified of its existence, the Hunters have begun following them. If the players were seen using their powers, then the Hunters have the confirmation they need. Both men are knowledgeable about Kindred strengths and weaknesses, and unlike other would-be Hunters, they know the techniques to send a Kindred to their Final Death. As soon as they have confirmation that the players are Kindred, they’ll plan and execute a daytime raid on their havens. The nature of this raid will depend on the Haven(s) chosen by the players, and if the players have made any mistakes or been sloppy in protecting their Havens, then the Hunters will use every weakness to their advantage. The raids will include up to 8 goons as bodyguards. The Hunters are armed with stakes, mallets, and heavy revolvers as well as Bibles, silver crucifixes, and medals of St. Ignatius. Hunting the Hunters If the players intend to take the fight to the Hunters, then they’ll need to know where the condo is, which they should have learned from Marsha. The Hunters rarely leave at night, instead sticking to surveillance and allowing their hired goons do the work for them. The condo is well secured and has a perimeter alarm system. If the Hunters have figured out the players are aware of them, they’ll hire more armed thugs to stand guard at the house, and will then leave the next day, realizing that discretion is the better part of valor. Tomorrow: The conclusion to Paper Chase
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Feb 6, 2024 17:21
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My stance on any given White Wolf NPC is based on the illustrator. If Timbrook drew them, they're real and strong and my friend.
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Feb 6, 2024 17:31
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Nessus posted:I had gotten the vibe from past debates that to some extent the 'shackling' means 'is a person in the same scale and frame as humans, if with super powers' as much as any kind of "three laws of robotics." It's been a while though. Shackling, explicitly, isn't slavery- it's allowing the extradimensional being that is an NHP to exist in the same sort of subjectivity as humans. A Shackled NHP and an Unshackled NHP are not the same person, so to speak. That said, excessive Shackling can be slavery, and it's a fuzzy gray area- NHP's need to be shackled and cycled to be able to operate on the same scale and frame as humans, but if you do it too much it gets horrible for them as a person, but if you don't do it enough its also horrible for them as a person. Edit: that said, from my own experience running games, the average Lancer player wants to [REDACTED] the NHPs. Yes, even Sekhmet. Especially Sekhmet Fivemarks fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 18:26
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I do like remembering that technically speaking the early books are centered around the idea you're a scrub coterie from Gary which itself has like five vampires.
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Feb 6, 2024 18:33
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The shackling stuff reminds me of braking in the Stars Without Number games, which has a similar theme - unbraked AI flip out and start undergoing hard takeoff tech singularities and stuff eventually, and braked AI are effectively locked to a very narrow field of interest. One of the plot seeds was about a AI running a shipyard and a government faction trying to unbrake it so that it can develop much better ships for use in their ongoing war against the Bad Guys, with the AI itself trying to get in contact with anyone (i.e., PCs) to stop them because it actually doesn't want to go full Skynet.
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Feb 6, 2024 18:57
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Halloween Jack posted:My stance on any given White Wolf NPC is based on the illustrator. If Timbrook drew them, they're real and strong and my friend. Dawgstar posted:I do like remembering that technically speaking the early books are centered around the idea you're a scrub coterie from Gary which itself has like five vampires. I do love that 1e is all about the idea that there are like.....20 Kindred tops in any given place, if that because reasons, and Lodin/Modius have this absolutely absurd feud when Lodin is the God drat Prince of Chicago, but no, gently caress that guy over in the dying town. Because Elders are catty bitches who can't let anything go. Also the final story "Grand Elusion" has my (so far) favorite historical NPC that also briefly appears in Ashes to Ashes which I'm currently working on, and has made me think of quite possibly the silliest Masquerade plot I've ever thought of. But you'll have to wait for the Ashes review to see that.
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Feb 6, 2024 19:00
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LatwPIAT posted:No, no, it'll be fine. You can write a review of Delta Green and the rest of us can call you a morally bad person for enjoying the cop game that lets you play ICE. It'll be fun! That reminds me, someone less lazy than me should do a write-up of the new Blade Runner RPG. The chat thread had a stimulating discussion about the ethics of playing a Blade Runner, and I'm sure we could do even better here. It has some genuinely interesting design as well. SimonChris fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 19:14
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Traveller posted:The shackling stuff reminds me of braking in the Stars Without Number games, which has a similar theme - unbraked AI flip out and start undergoing hard takeoff tech singularities and stuff eventually, and braked AI are effectively locked to a very narrow field of interest. One of the plot seeds was about a AI running a shipyard and a government faction trying to unbrake it so that it can develop much better ships for use in their ongoing war against the Bad Guys, with the AI itself trying to get in contact with anyone (i.e., PCs) to stop them because it actually doesn't want to go full Skynet.
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Feb 6, 2024 19:34
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