If we have any lurkers, or anyone who has been following this game, there's been a change of venue. The new game is at rpol.net.
@G85: Could you mark this game as inactive, so it doesn't clutter up the campaign tab?
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Will we be continuing as a solo game for a while? Recruiting again? Writing up a flashback to last night? I'm missing my Pendros fix... :)
So... what's the plan?
DJ "Red Eye" Bogie
Should we retcon this and put up rolls for the previous parts of the conversation as well?
Yeah, I have a rough impression of Nikos's personality but I've only seen him in a few scenes and it's entirely possible that I'm reading him wrong... that's sort of the disadvantage of playing a very old character in a setting like this- that Richard would know these people a lot better than I could as a player. That's one reason I decided to try this approach, to get more information about Nikos's personality and what he's in the middle of. It's also a test of just how much leverage Nikos thinks I have based on my shots in the dark and on his belief that I have the tablet... So, Richard's goal in this conversation is to keep Nikos on the phone. Presence seems appropriate to the nature of this particular taunt, but if you think manipulation is a better fit just modify the result appropriately. If exceptional successes during the course of this will allow me to expand on that, he would like for Nikos to stop torturing Michael and for Nikos to go to club V. Another way to handle this might be with extended tests like an adaptation of the 'cutting a deal' rules like on page 82 of the main book... = 3 successes
No problem, first rule of PbPs is that RL comes first. I've been reading up on mayor-council governments and should have a decent outline for you to work with on the mortal side of Pendros's local governance, and I've fleshed out all of Richard's childer with just the last two left to formally write up. I've also been thinking about Richard's personality. I'm leaning more and more toward his Greed vice representing him wanting too much from everyone around him. He doesn't just want obedience or respect or love- he wants people mind, body, and soul. Basically he sets impossible standards and gets quite upset when people fall short. He's had his share of tragedy from this in the past (I added a writeup for Danette Twidwell on my OP page) and is scared of himself and actively avoids ghouls and romantic relationships as a result.
Richard keeps his cool and chuckles quietly. "There's that sense of humor again, Nikos. Surely you don't mean to tell me that the b*$$$-queen would keep *you* waiting in line?! The idea that our dashing Magistrate of the Casino District, Priscus of the Giovanni, the honored Invictus Marquis of our fair city would be kept waiting... why, it's positively ludicrous." Richard recites the titles in a florid tone, the syllables well practiced after so many decades of meetings with the Invictus in so many cities. "You do still have the guts to stand up to her, don't you? God's sake man, how short of a leash does she keep you on? Is she hiding your balls in that fabulous Louis Vuitton handbag of hers? I've been hearing some of the most interesting rumors lately, rumors that Macario or our esteemed Sheriff might be interested in... are you sure you won't be able to stop by?" "And about those fangs of Mr. Miller; I know things got rather heated last night, and words slipped through those fangs that really 'oughtn't have been said of a man of your stature... but I'd grown rather accustomed to the idea of having an oracle of my own. Even if he is one of the Princesses castoffs. I don't suppose he's shared any of his insights with you? You should ask him about Runningwater. That one's a real rib-tickler..." BS-ing was pretty much second nature, but as he drew out the conversation longer and longer he began to get a very bad feeling about what lay ahead. His survival for the past few years had depended on keeping his head down and keeping on the good side of the local Invictus. Now, with Nikos acting even more dangerously unstable than usual and with someone working to thrust him into the limelight with all these neonates and getting tangled up in at least two conspiracies... things were about to get rough. On the one hand the opportunity to taunt Nikos was too good to pass up- both because he was such a horrible person to speak with and on the hope that he would get mad enough to let something slip; on the other hand he was well aware that he might be digging his own grave. Richard's thoughts alternated between S#!&-S**#-S$#@, I'm a dead man! and Ha! I can't remember the last time I felt so alive!. By bringing up Michael's visions he hoped to buy the man at least a little time and perhaps to guarantee that whatever else Nikos did to him he would leave him with the faculty of speech. Mentioning Runningwater to Nikos was a shot in the dark, but if felt right and at this point Richard didn't have much to go on besides his instincts.
Stop teasing us :P
I guess that's "wait until your life is a little less busy" :) Enjoy your vacation, we'll see you in a few weeks...
So, what's the plan for moving forward? We might have lost Thomas and Jack... will we continue without them until (if) they drop back in? Should we make another recruiting post or wait until your life is a little less busy?
Oh I meant to mention, nice choice of entry for the campaign blurb at the top of the page. That was one of my favorite episodes but not something I would have thought to use to characterize the game.
"Tell you? As in now, over the phone with everything that's going on tonight? Oh, you're quite the comedian lately Nikos. There are two matters I'd like to discuss with you while you've been co gracious as to take time from your busy schedule to take my call. For the rest of it... I don't suppose you'll be making an appearance at V tonight? They say everyone who's anyone will be there tonight, and it would be an excellent opportunity to catch up on business face-to-face."
Roll call!
::ahem:: Glad to see you're back! I'll get to an IC post soon, the only thing I still have outstanding is the xp from my entry on Richard's accomodations. I've been working on some more details of Richard's history and I figured that during the course of his long life he's actually sired five other vampires- two of which are definitely alive, the rest presumed dead. I'll post their stories on the wiki as I finish them...
-A war broke out against China four years ago now called the Northern Pacific War, with America primarily helping in the defense of Japan and South Korea. It has been mainly a Naval and Air Force based battle, but the most gruesome efforts have been in space, and the most active battlefield has been in Cyberspace. Most say the fighting is coming to a rapid end, with no victor in the conflict. (I liked the set up for a war with China, but could not figure out a way in which such a conflict could arise without complete Nuclear Armageddon. I’m willing to hear thoughts). Oh, I had missed this part of the description... What is the space program like in 2038? I'd imagine that space-based habitats would be entirely too fragile to fight over, it seems that it would be trivial to destroy them. I could see space-based conflict working with an extensive treaty system in place that both sides honor for the sake of preserving the valuable and fragile space-based assets that they're fighting over. It'd be sort of like in battletech, where pursuing 'total war' would send both sides back to the stone age so neither side was willing to destroy factories.
I noticed in the wiki that you said you didn't have a background on the war with China. I played around with the idea in the back of my head for a few days and this is what I came up with, let me know if it works for the setting... WAR!:
In the end the old war-hawks were right. North Korea just kept dialing up the crazy and, after decades of false starts and blind alleys, their research finally yielded a credible nuclear warhead and a functional medium-range delivery vehicle. On top of all the other tensions and provocations, the Chinese couldn't stand for a nuclear-armed North Korea. The world watched with baited breath as the Chinese military swooped in to assume control of the country.
For a little while, it looked like the conflict would be successfully contained and everyone could breathe a little easier... then the unificationists saw their chance. A faction of several generals in the North Korean military launched an artillery barrage and pushed South across the DMZ capturing Seoul. They indented to demand a unified Korea under Chinese protection, but America and Japan couldn't ignore the provocation. Reprisals against North Korea's military and industrial facilities resulted in Chinese casualties, and a repeat of the twentieth-century proxy war in Korea seemed inevitable. China had grown exponentially since that last conflict though, and was itching for an excuse to show off its modernized military power. Their perception of the US military was that it was trading on reputation, having degraded into little more than an excuse to funnel money to government contractors rather than a functional force. After a strongly-worded ultimatum for the US to cease interference in what China described as a 'regional dispute' that fell within its sphere of influence, they declared war on the US. Many comparisons were drawn to the last time an enemy had 'awakened the sleeping giant' but for better or worse the decision had been made. China had been building a wide network of sleeper cells across America, and the moment war was declared widespread sabotage paralyzed every aspect of US infrastructure. Power substations were shorted out, fiber optic cables cut, interstates damaged, crops burned, refineries shut down... it was a disaster. The Chinese has made arrangements with the remnants of the Mexican failed state and drug cartels to land troops and bring them in through the Southern border. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers poured over the border and within a week El Paso, Tuscon, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, and half a dozen other large cities had been occupied. There were casualties, but surprisingly few considering the scale of the operation. Chinese strategy called for holding the cities as negotiating pieces to force America out of the Korean peninsula and to demand concessions in other matters of interest like the ongoing disputes in the South China Seas. While it did distract the US from operations in Korea, the US instead turned on mainland China. Faced with a foe with only slightly inferior technology, the US fell back on its war plans for dealing with other industrialized nations. Both sides lost most of their carrier fleet to cruise missiles, and while China had purchased the best air defenses money could buy, a few strategic bombing operations still got through. Infrastructure on both sides was hit hard, but neither state was willing to back down and admit defeat. Pride fueled four more years of warfare until the diplomats could find a way out of the mess, and many fortunes were made or lost in backroom deals as everyone scrambled for supplies and information. Here's some background reading on relations between China and North Korea, if you're into that sort of thing...
...and a paper on the South China Seas conflicts, another possible reason for war: http://community.middlebury.edu/~scs/docs/Lee%20Lai%20To,%20China,%20USA,%2 0and%20the%20South%20China%20Sea%20Conflicts.pdf
What are the roles of Barkovia and of city police?I think I answered the second part of that question, but define what you mean by the Barkovia. In an earlier post about the warehouses, you'd mentioned that 'not even Barkovia security' would go there. I wasn't sure if they were a city-wide private police presence, like Lone Star in Shadowrun's Seattle, or local to the Barkovia district. Since the corporations have such a large influence in local affairs, would it be plausible for me to play on the dot I already have in status (executive) to eventually be appointed to a position of influence over the street-level criminal affairs? Basically the corporate equivalent of a county judge? Or would it be more likely to get influence in these areas by controlling mortal proxies? The reason for the questions about city boards and commissions is that I'm looking for ways that Richard could take advantage of his masquerade (Executive) to expand his influence. For instance, here's a list of Colorado's state level boards and commissions; most large cities have 30+ additional boards to deal with local issues. I believe you mentioned an NPC on the city planning board, that was what got me thinking along these lines.
I have a few questions about the setting, and you mentioned this would be a good time to ask them... What is the division of responsibility for law enforcement in Pendros? What are the roles of Barkovia and of city police? How much influence does the Camarilla have for covering up breaches of the masquerade? How do the local Invictus work? Are there regular, formal meetings? Do we have an overall agenda? What sort of government does Pendros have on the mundane side? How much power does the mayor have as opposed to the city council? What sorts of boards and commissions exist and are there any unusual rules to keep in mind about being appointed/elected to them? What about at the county/state level? Are there any other regulatory bodies that wield significant influence in the city? (I'm thinking of the gaming commission in particular, but there could be others...)
"Oh, the pleasure is mutual. Now Nikos... you're a busy fellow. Even busier than I would have thought, before last night. Surely someone who's time is as valuable as your is can think of better ways to spend it than asking questions like that. After last night, instead of asking whether I have it you could ask what I intend to do with it, or what it's worth to me, or who else knows about it..."
I love the way you went with Sam's trace of the call. You can't go wrong with the classic Hollywood 'keep him on the talking!' scene... The wiki says "(Specialty: New Dots x2)", had this changed? If it's accurate, I think I'll go with 9xp worth for: Occult 1 (3)
BTW, I'm getting PRK surgery tomorrow and the post-op guidelines recommend against 'visually intensive activities' like computer use, so I might not post for a few days depending on how everything goes.
It's a bit of a bummer, but the first rule of PbP gaming is that RL always trumps the forum. Here's the primer on what I need in response to my IC post, and I'll probably have a few questions for you about the setting as I go through the wiki again. •Response from Iranis (IC dialogue or summary) about the news from yesterday
Richard completely understands the need to look one's best for something like this. Before Saki leaves he pulls up his phone's photo of Jack and shows it to him. "The queen and the princess are holding court. Rumor has it that Sasha thinks someone's trying to kill her, and the mayor is talking about starting some sort of new cultural revolution. The flapper's a friend, I think you met her last night. Name's Tina, you and her seem like the sort who'd hit it off."
Here are a few examples of accent pieces in the house. There's no accounting for taste...
Added the 'residence' section of Richard's wiki page.
Richard quickly changes into more suitable clothes and offers Saki a chance to clean the fur from his garments, then sits down to tell Iranis about the wild night he's had. He doesn't make any particular effort to keep the conversation secret from Saki, implying at least a tacit permission to eavesdrop. "So, I met Whisper last night... Maximoff assassins... the Chemco plant... f$!%ed-up Tzimisce ritual... met up with Tina and things got a little crazy... blacked out... poker game with Nikos... something about a ring and a tablet? ...horrible hangover, saw the sunset(!)... Michael's being tortured... everyone's at Club V..." "Things might get ugly soon, I want you to get a contractor out here, reinforce the windows and doors, put in a few cameras... buy us a bit of time in case things go South. I'm going to to to the club, see who I'm still on speaking terms with. Call me if anything comes up." Richard leaves the name of a fellow the Invictus call on from time-to time who's known to do good work and not ask questions, and leaves the details of arranging things to Iranis. Richard finishes buttoning his jacket and looks at himself critically in the mirror, brushing a miniscule bit of lint from his lapel before nodding in satisfaction. There were a few more calls to make and more business to settle before heading out, but the night was calling to him and he was almost giddy about plunging into the thick of things. Call to Sam:
Richard seals the phone he woke up with in a padded envelope as he calls Sam, "Sorry for not keeping in touch, it was a wild night. Nikos has Thomas and is doing rather unpleasant things to him. I'm going to give him a call in a minute... think you can figure out where he is? Also, I have an old phone that I need some information off of. I'll have it couriered to you, can you work your magic on it? Call to Nikos:
Richard opens the call with a cheery tone, "Nikos! You son-of-a-b!&@%, how's it going?"
Can we buy skill specializations without the base skill? I keep running into situations where Richard would have been around long enough that he'd probably know something about vampires, but not the rest of the stuff that goes with the occult skill. Could I just buy a few ranks in the vampire specialization of occult, until Richard learns enough about everything else to merit buying dots? Also, did you have anything in particular in mind for the nature of my rivalry with George Walton? How far back do we go... prohibition?
Richard is only one to stand on formality when it was absolutely necessary. He found that if one needed "mister" and "sir" to reinforce one's social dominance the battle was half-lost already, and he got plenty of that ingratiating b&#*#@#% from his herd. Still, it was good to see the fellow had some sense of etiquette... he wondered exactly what Tim had sent him to learn. "Richard will be fine; we'll be seeing quite a bit of of each other."
What was Tim getting at, sending Jack to V on this particular morning? The short conversation with his new 'pupil' didn't tell him much. The kid was in for a hell of a ride when he found out what Tim had put him in the middle of- hell, Richard was still trying to decide whether to tell Saki about what they'd learned in the past couple of days. There were
The post was great! I'm just a bit slow recently, still settling into a new schedule at work. I'll have a reply up soon.
Awesome post. You've got my mind moving a dozen different directions at once.
"F--- me." Richard muttered under his breath. It sounded like he'd really gotten his money worth out of that party last night. Hell, if Tina had gotten involved it was no wonder he had a hangover. For some reason, they'd gone and riled up Nikos; Richard couldn't immediately imagine any reason that would lead him to do something so stupid but the damage was done. He winces a little at the screams, though he's not sure why the sound affects him; he's seen much worse. Something occurs to him... the Malkavian had been awfully insistent about attaching himself to Richard's growing Coterie, could he have been looking for protection? And Tim! F---ing Tim Noble calling in an *old* marker! What was this 'tutor' business all about? Four childer in as many days? Was there some sort of organized plan to tie his hands with the duty of babysitting a bunch of neonates?
Much as Richard wanted to drop in on the Glitterdust club now was definitely not the time. Besides, on an occasion like this it seemed even odds that Nathaniel would be found at Club V rather than in his own domain. He answers Saki in a distant tone as he calls an air taxi. "LB could be any number of people, what is the context? And yes, Michael's the name. Nikos has him captive and is torturing him. Right now." As Thomas looks on agape Richard continues speaking to Saki somewhat mechanically, his mind churning through the implications of the messages he'd received and trying to piece together some sort of coherent narrative to the past day and night. He speaks to Saki like he's addressing a five year old with a particularly broad vocabulary, and continues in a distracted tone. "Does your implant understand... 'hyperbole'? It sounds are being told that you have committed a social transgression and warned that further actions will merit consequences." Richard had a lot of calls to make and a looming certainty that he needed to be at Club V post-haste. Elesium seemed a good place to be right now, but he sure as hell wasn't going to show up looking shabby. He's going to go home, catch Iranis up on recent events, and change into something fresh while offering Saki and Thomas something clean as well. Call to Jack: "Hello, my name is Richard. I believe Mister Noble told you to expect my call...?"
Heh. That's one detail I really like about the setting. The queen is a "Carthian" who rose to power with the support of the Carthian movement. Since then she has basically only given lip service to their goals while cementing ties with the established powers within the city. She's been stringing them along for about 30 years now and many of the "True Carthians" have become thoroughly disillusioned with her rule.
Bring to me your ideas, and like a thousand flowers blossoming... A chill runs down Richard's spine at these words. He remembered how it had gone the first time and he sure as hell wouldn't be stepping into the middle of this. He suddenly wonders, what if he already had? Damn this hangover and whatever had happened last night... damage control was shaping up to be a nightmare. It seemed the princess was drawing a line in the sand- with her or against her. Was it a challenge to the fringe 'True Carthians' or someone else? These were certainly interesting times... The timing of the phone's restored signal was certainly inconvenient. With additional information at his fingertips it seemed a very good idea to arm himself with whatever knowledge he could glean from the messages, yet it would hardly do to lurk in front of the club... especially with the oddly foreboding lack of any other kindred in the area. Quickly making up his mind, Richard decides to catch up on the texts and voice messages. After exiting the cab he tries to stand casually and look nonchalant, like he's waiting for someone or something and simply killing time with his phone. He mutters to Thomas and Saki, "I'm not going in just yet, something doesn't feel right... and I need to see if there's anything worth knowing in my messages."
So... I just rewatched the first TMNT movie and a certain name jumped out at me. ::shakes fist a Saki::
Yep, I should have given it another round of proofreading. Sometimes the 1-hour editing window on this site gets annoying...
@G85: I got into PbPs just so I could get back into practice at writing, but the extra XP certainly doesn't hurt ;)
On the occasion of getting a new player, I took a few minutes to look back over our campaign so far and see if I'd missed any details... here is a more-or-less chronological detailing of the things we're fairly sure of. There's a lot of guesswork and background information that didn't make its way onto the list, but I find that refreshing myself on everything from time to time helps me to make plans. • Two years ago anknown Tzimice turns Thomas, he is told to report occasionally to a bailbond office owned by 'the Giovanni group' under the auspices of Chastity Maximoff. They tell him that they represent the vampire government and take blood from him. • Anneliese Barkovia appointed Sasha's Harpy • One year ago Iranis's friend Taki notices a string of deaths around one of Sasha's clubs. • One month ago Taki contacts Iranis about "Catiff", vampires who show up on film, can walk in sunlight, and turn to dust when slain. She reports that there are hundreds of them, and Iranis joins Taki's team. They attack a group of Catiff who are working with changelings and werewolves and is gravely injured. • One week ago Michael forsees disaster if Barkovia goes through with her plan to make the commencement speech in daylight, and is dismissed from her service. He also has visions of Prince Runningwater. • Richard is called to task for 'the Barkovia incident', Nathaniel intervenes to spare him. Richard is assigned to track down Sires for Natasha and Thomas. • Whisper saves Natasha, then kills her. (?) • Zack contacts Whisper about the information Richard gave him, the Maximoffs send assassins after Zack. Whisper investigates by following a truck from Thomas's contact point. She reports seeing a horrifying ritual where people are rendered into bloody goo and fed to other captives but is chased off before she can investigate further. • Nathaniel reminds/persuades Sasha to have Saki report to Richard • Annelise Barkovia takes her position as mayor during a formal daytime commencement speech. Richard, Thomas, and Saki wake up on a rooftop at sunset with no memories of the preceeding night or day. It seems that we had visited 'the Glitterdust club', The Golden Goblin (a Maximoff casino), and Barkovia Tower. Our electronics are behaving oddly.
I'm looking forward to gaming with you! Regarding the disciplines, I'd just go with whatever you'll enjoy playing. There's enough wiggle room in how the embrace works that you can justify it working either way for depth versus breadth.
@G85: I had a chance to do some more writing, please take a look at the section on Goals and Contacts in my obsidian portal profile. I may have taken a few liberties with Tina Smalls and Tyrone Williams... let me know if my take on them meshes with what you have in mind.
@Thomas/Saki: Are you still interested in the game? We had some pacing issues with the waking-up scene and getting in the cab, but we can still get things back on track. I think we've been waiting to move things on until everyone was happy with their destination... if you guys are fine with the Glitterdust club for our first destination and still want to continue the story just chime in!
Richard gives a small, thoughtful grunt as he sends instructions to his brokerage to adjust his market position. He's fairly satisfied- he hadn't expected the war to end so abruptly but he had taken advantage of the war to place long-term investments in depressed markets and it looked like they would be paying off nicely. He idly wondered what had been the cause of the abrupt outbreak of peace; there must have been some interesting deals made behind the scenes. The local news distracts him from that line of thought as he pulls up the full article to read more about the commencement speech. Apparently she had actually done it- and whatever she had done must be connected with the day spent lounging in the sun. And what was this about an imp?
I'm spreading the word to all of my discussion threads... there's a 'werewolf' forum game kicking off on Sunday and we could always use a few more players/victims. You can check it out here.
"FINALLY, I CAN ORDER BROCCOLI AND BEEF AGAIN!" I laughed :)
This one. It never hurts to be prepared. If that model isn't available, he'd probably just use whatever Sam recommended. Something expensive and stylish.
Thanks! I was re-reading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and that quote just seemed a perfect fit.
Richard's nose twitches slightly once we're all in the cab, and he stops breathing for a good long while until the pungent scents fade. If there are no objections he'll direct the cab to the Glitterdust club, or the nearest entrance to Underpendros if the club is located in the caverns. Not feeling particularly chatty, Richard will plug in his phone to charge (he assumes the battery is simply drained) and pull up the news on the cab's screen to see if anything of significance happened yesterday.
It's been a while since we bumped this so... *BUMP* Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see. There's always room for one more! Join us in exploring an interesting city with colorful characters and labyrinthine conspiracies. There's a campaign wiki at Obsidian Portal where you can read up on the setting and decide if this is something you'd be interested in...
When the bastards had taken away his company car and driver, Richard had found himself spending rather more time than he would have preferred in the back of a Johny Cab. He quickly shows Saki how to slot the chip and pull up the information. I have some history with the Barkovias, and I'd rather avoid the Golden Goblin until I can figure out what could have possibly convinced me to visit Maximoff's territory given... recent events. I'd rather start retracing our steps at the Glitterdust Club, unless there's some particular reason you wanted to visit the tower first...?"
Sorry for the delay! I had less free time than I thought I would while traveling, and things got busy at home. I'm getting caught up on my PbPs now...
"No, Michael has been around for some time. He served as the younger Barkovia's oracle until recently and-" ...but I might have seen a shadowy figure in the coffin. It was a big coffin... "-and I think you should meet him; he's had some rather interesting visions recently. As to the cab, perhaps you were traveling with someone else? Richard considers as he heads down the stairs... China? kung-fu? flight? What had the queen sent his way? Was he one of her pawns, a spy perhaps? Someone high up in the food chain knew what was happening at the ChemCo factory and, unless the queen had simply given up on governance in favor of her public hedonism, this must be part of her plans. But where does Saki fit into it? For that matter where does- no, did Natasha figure in...
I know exactly the type of casino you're talking about now, for some reason it didn't click when I first read the description. A thought occurs to him as he tests the door, My plan was to test if the door was locked and start heading down, but I wasn't explicit enough about it. There's not much left to talk about up here on the roof...
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