The Discussion Thread.
Dot in Gameplay from the previous thread:
Venice by Night - V20 Vampire the Dark Ages
Delete that dot, of course, so you appear on the Character and Player list but don't clutter up the Gameplay thread :-)
No Recruitment Thread as this is a closed game.
Blood!
Gameplay dotted and deleted
.......
I am reading through the last thread, once I finish that read, I will take another week to organize my gameplay notes. Then we will start again. Target is still the first week of June.
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
I fear that Edelsmirge may have passed away in RL. One of his last posts was that he had COVID and that was back in November of 2022. I haven't really seen a post past that date. It's a real bummer as I really enjoyed interacting with him, kind of wish I had pulled his email when I had the chance. He was very active on the boards up till then, I believe participating in 8 or so PbPs.
That being said, if anyone wishes to email with me directly (except for you Michele (and Marco when you join) as there's no need between us obviously) feel free to PM me.
I hear we're getting the band back together!
Oh, just read the post fully. Wishing the best.
I am halfway through the last thread (about post 800) so making progress.
I am also exchanging PMs with Franz Albert's player to potentially reprise his role.
Everyone else who has played is either off of the boards or likely not interested based in returning based on how final conversations with them took place when they exited prior. Plus I want to keep the number of players limited this time.
All 13 Clans, while conceptually interesting began to bog down the thread.
Feel free in Discussion here to plot your course of action for the next night. The short term dilemma here is, "what to do about the Inquisition". I believe that most of the PCs agreed that a head count of what Cainites are left in the city is the first step [It's certainly my next step post thread read, I need to find my notes to see who's fled versus who's dead!].
dottage
Getting close to finishing the re read!
DONE!
Damn you guys are fantastic writers/players. Going to miss Onfroo and Bernardo but life happens and we must move on.
This weekend I should have time to plot out the rest of this chronicle.
Question, do you all want one more short chronicle in Venice with these PCs or do you all wish to move to the 1400s?
Once we move on, I will grant Downtime XP to these PCs who will then become NPCs that i shall control.
In the 1400s you can all either choose (1) to be embraced by your current PC, or (2) switch Clans.
LMK your thoughts here. Thanks and looking forward to starting up again with this awesome group.
Personally, I would like one more short chapter/chronicle as Lorenzo.
Not sure which of the two options presented I will go with for the 1400's game.
Personally, I would like one more short chapter/chronicle as Lorenzo.
Not sure which of the two options presented I will go with for the 1400's game.
I like Alessandro.
Do you need to increase the generation? Weaken the characters?
I was hoping to get more powerful, up a generation via forced diablerie.
Or hundreds of years later, they could be the same generation. They are vampires all.
LOL.
Personally, I would like one more short chapter/chronicle as Lorenzo.
OK. I was leaning in the same direction just wanted to see what you all thought.
Personally, I would like one more short chapter/chronicle as Lorenzo.
Not sure which of the two options presented I will go with for the 1400's game.
I like Alessandro.
Do you need to increase the generation? Weaken the characters?
I was hoping to get more powerful, up a generation via forced diablerie.
Or hundreds of years later, they could be the same generation. They are vampires all.
LOL.
The Concept behind this long running (longer than I had planned for the 1300s certainly) campaign is one of Bloodlines. So each Player runs a new character every 100 years who is sired by the previous character.
Michele, the only PC who has been with me since the beginning (pre Paizo) ran Fahdi Mohammad in the 1100s, Sadir in the 1200s and now Michele Querini in the 1300s.
It pits in some instances, a character against a players own character as the Bloodlines unfold over the centuries. It is also part of why some of these NPCs in this game (I believe anyway) are interesting to interact with as you are learning about their histories which were forged with actual I/C gaming experiences versus made up backgrounds to fill out the roster of a city for a "by Night" book.
Also, it is easier to run Vampire with a fresh crop of Neonates every chronicle or two (or three) than Elders who become Methuselahs down the centuries. I know because I ran a chronicle like that in the 1990s. The endcap game fight was f!%&ing nuts.
So that's the long winded way of saying, you cannot run the current crop in the 1400s.
From a current I/C perspective, a few items:
1 - Geoffroi, Michele, Lorenzo, and Ranerius will begin the next night in game waking up in Bion's lair.
Your initial goal will be to figure out who remains in the city from the Camarilla Inner Circle. I will have NPCs off screen ascertain what Venetian Residents have remained.
A secondary goal may be trying to figure out how the hell the Inquisition knew where to strike.
2 - Alessandro, when last the PCs saw you, you were being packed in a crate to be shipped on a boat to the Courts of Avalon with your Sire. As you are reprising the role, my idea is that you ended up, sneaking out of the crate and abandoning the ship once it was too far to turn around. Certainly you will displease Alyssa when (if?) you reunite with her but you could not abandon your beloved Venice.
3 - One of my RL friends (who played the briefly involved Tassilo) will be playing a Tremere. He will be brand new to the city and he and I will be discussing his hook when he makes his character next week. He will be the only new player in this closed campaign.
4 - Franz Albert's player may reprise his role. Still waiting for a definitive answer on that one.
5 - As I previously stated, we sadly lost Onfroi and Bernardo. Onfroi will remain with the group and Cloak the Gathering as an NPC. Bernardo will remain but be less involved with your Coterie as he was never really an official member anyway.
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I provided a VERY brief overview of what has transpired thus far as the first I/C post. If you wish for me to fill in what has already transpired with more detail, let me know and I will do so here in the discussion thread.
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Any other questions about anything folks?
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The storyline for the rest of this chronicle I trust is clear by now, the PCs must find a way to bring Final Death to Sir Dunstan and neutralize the cell of Inquisitors in Venice.
This is part II of what was to be a III part chronicle.
Part I was the formation of the Camarilla. Part III will be resolving who the Prince will be that replaces Narses.
After that, we move to the 1400s and a new location in Europe...
From a current I/C perspective, a few items:
1 - Geoffroi, Michele, Lorenzo, and Ranerius will begin the next night in game waking up in Bion's lair.
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Any other questions about anything folks?
Two questions: Is Lydia still with Lorenzo? Will there be an opportunity to feed? When last we left off Lorenzo was quite hungry after his ordeal with the Inquisition - particularly for a vampire if his current generation.
Two questions: Is Lydia still with Lorenzo? Will there be an opportunity to feed? When last we left off Lorenzo was quite hungry after his ordeal with the Inquisition - particularly for a vampire if his current generation.From a current I/C perspective, a few items:
1 - Geoffroi, Michele, Lorenzo, and Ranerius will begin the next night in game waking up in Bion's lair.
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Any other questions about anything folks?
Yes, Lydia will be with the group.
Absolutely, I suspect the entire group needs to feed before further investigations are conducted.
I vote another short Chronicle. I would also love to have a new PC sired by Geoffroi. I think he would become quite a formidable member of the Venetian court.
Ooooor …. Part of Geoffroi’s backstory is being an assistant curator of the Templar Knights’ hidden occult library. With the Salubri-Tremere conflicts, perhaps that can be worked into the upcoming campaign somehow.
Just skylarking…
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Ooooor …. Part of Geoffroi’s backstory is being an assistant curator of the Templar Knights’ hidden occult library. With the Salubri-Tremere conflicts, perhaps that can be worked into the upcoming campaign somehow.
Just skylarking…
The Tremere/Salubri conflict does not exist in this Chronicle.
For Geoffroi that's OOC but for you, Tremere ended up Diablerizing the Ravnos Antediluvian. The Tremere hunted the Ravnos. The Salubri are currently still a respected High Clan though their numbers are small due to (1) conflict the Baali, (2) conflict with Outremer Cainites [Assamites Setites] during the Crusades, and (3) culling of the Knights Templar.
The 1400s Campaign is becoming a bit more fleshed out.
I have my locations pretty much mapped out.
Chapter I, I have a VERY clear direction for.
Chapters II and III (I think you all want some extra time beyond a single chronicle for your PCs) will be heavily dependent on the success or failures of Chapter I. It will also move around a bit more than this Chronicle has, instead of being Venice centric, you will have a few cities to explore and perhaps, even revisit Venice, if you so choose.
Spent time on the 1400s chronicle as well, some tweaks that I think were necessary both in context of THIS version of the Vampire timeline and due to other factors which you will see as that story unfolds.
Spent a bit more time outlining the 1500s chronicle (these days when inspiration hits I have to take it).
I will finally have time this weekend to put together the final details for the rest of THIS Venice chronicle! Pretty excited to do so. Chapter 3 I cannot detail yet as so much of it is so dependent on what you all do in Chapter 2 that it is too difficult to fine tune (i.e., I don't want to write plot for an NPC you might banish or kill).
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Just realized I did not reward XP for the completion of the previous night.
Everyone gains 3 XP (even if you were not currently playing) and you can freely spend XP until the beginning of the next night's resumption, i.e. when I start up again on May 31.
Backgrounds:
An update and flesh out here as we move towards closing out Chapter 2 and starting Chapter 3.
Your Mentor, Alyssa is now gone.
You also picked up a freebie retainer in Jaleel through the story as it unfolded :-)
In theory that would be Andre de Beaulieu, your Mentor in the Knights Templar who should be hiding in the city.
I do not believe we utilized any of your Contacts yet. You have 2, both Venetian Merchants.
Armory 2 is reflected in your access to the Teutonic Keep, though with Baldemar on the loose, it is not clear that IS still accessible.
You have a certain chest in a certain warehouse with interesting cargo.
Finally, YOU may be the only person in the group with knowledge of the Haven of Talisman.
You have a dot in contacts, likely this is someone who was able to provide you with fresh cadavers for your experimentation as a Mortal. Let's name him Luka Ferrari.
Gino, your cousins bully buddy is probably still out there.
Your cousin, Marco, is either dead or in jail for his crimes against the Doge.
Your Papal ally Cardinale is now a foe.
Mentor 3, could transfer from Sadir to Khay'tall of course he is dangerous.
Influence you will need to cultivate, if you want to keep it! Your Father is dead, your Cousin is arrested. Do you "come back to life" to rule your house? Narses is dead so that's not a problem any longer...
We did NOT activate that Retainer for you, I suppose you could Ghoul someone now to activate it.
I believe we used 1 of your contacts, that leaves you with 2 left. Both would be from the Grand Council based on your position. Let's discuss further.
You have left your foreign wife to languish!
Finally, you are supposed to discover the fate of Simon with the help of Vitaliano.
Herd is still intact.
Influence still intact though not leaned on yet.
You have some control over Gino (one of the attempted coup agents) who claims to be a close friend of Michele Querini.
Finally, Zuana your Wife is also still in play!
Folks can each of you give me:
A - Vampire Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 6.
B - Mortal Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 7.
C - Lasombra Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 9.
A few plot points (probably more to come):
1 - The Lasombra who was responsible for setting up the Inns, Kestral, disappeared. No Cainite has seen him since early on in the Conclave. Another Lasombra who visited Court and was then not seen again fairly early on in the Conclave was Kratos.
2 - Andrew the Hardy was left at Cappelli storage the previous game night waiting for you all to return.
3 - According to Onfroi (and Bernardo) the Inquisition is staking out Narses Elysium.
4 - Tassilo Donadei, a recent Lasombra visitor to the city who was a look out with Ranerius when some of you rescued the others, has not been seen since the night you all fled the Basilica.
5 - You know very little about Lasombra's childer, their backgrounds, their motivations. This is probably now something that may be important as Narses is dead and they are his potential replacements.
6 - The Asian Cainite Xing Shi has also been absent from Elysium for several days. She and Andrew seemed allied.
7 - ALL of the Gondaliers who were working for Michael Santo to transport Cainites during the Conclave have been absent for two nights.
8 - Someone (it appears) slew or caused to disappear Simon the Nosferatu who was running to be Inner Circle. Someone else (or the same assailant?) tried to slay Brian Stack (a Cainite with Vicissitude powers that he brought to Final Death). Neither of these mysteries were ever resolved.
9 - El Cid slew Brexiano, the former Seneschal and a few other young Lasombra, though Narses declared a Blood Hunt, he did not seem all that shaken up by the event. One of those Lasombra was brought to Narses though it is not clear what was done with him.
10 - Besides the Lasombra and the Artiste (Toreador Ancillae), the only other Cainite residents to Venice appeared to be the Giovanni (who either left or were forced to leave, it is not clear which) and the Nosferatu.
[More later if I think of any].
- 3 successes if specialty applies
- 1 success
- 1 success
Once everyone else posts up, I will reveal what each of you may have figured out from these rolls.
Alessandro, as you are not with everyone else yet, I want to move you forward a bit. Going to have a scene up for you now.
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Jesus, that original thread is truly needle meets 10 story haystack.....
Jesus, that original thread is truly needle meets 10 story haystack.....
True!
Does Alessandro know anything about Lido? When I was playing I wasn't reading others' contexts so as not to contaminate my thinking.
Lido is a small island in the Venice lagoon. Sheltering the city from the sea. It has beautiful beaches. Homes range from mansion to normal dwellings.
Having grown up in the city you would be quite familiar with it.
From a Vampiric perspective, you have heard no one speak of it but presumably a few Caunites make havens here.
OH I never knew this one went up! I kept looking at the other thread :o
Color me embarrassed
A - Vampire Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 6.
B - Mortal Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 7.
C - Lasombra Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 9.
Good roll on the first (3 Sux), at least no botches on the others
Good roll on the first (4 Sux), at least no botches on the others
3 successes. Unless Shadow is doing something different, 10s only count as 2 successes if you have a specialty that applies to the roll, but certainly can't complain about two nines and a ten!
Ah, right! I think I read that five as another six in my haste :O Need to get my eyes checked
Good roll on the first (4 Sux), at least no botches on the others3 successes. Unless Shadow is doing something different, 10s only count as 2 successes if you have a specialty that applies to the roll, but certainly can't complain about two nines and a ten!
Correct.
Also, in light of what went down with Onfroi, when you get a chance, PM me your email address (I don't need Michele's as I know him and I don't need Pat's as I have his cell). I will, of course, send mine back.
This break from gaming helped, just went on a tear for 30 minutes of plot for the 1400s game.
Can he not heal his face? I'm assuming he's 3rd Gen? Or is he more like 5th or 6th?
Is there Khadaji Manse off limits? You had mentioned Alessandro maintaining his herd, if not at the manse... where?
Can he not heal his face? I'm assuming he's 3rd Gen? Or is he more like 5th or 6th?
Is there Khadaji Manse off limits? You had mentioned Alessandro maintaining his herd, if not at the manse... where?
You would have to ask him about healing I/C :-) but you are quite sure he's 4th.
No, your only compound is located within city limits. That is where your Herd is "brought in" (I forget your feeding restriction) by a Procurer. Most family holdings (i.e. property) are in the "Levant".
The last ship belonging to your family (at least at the moment) just left with Alyssa and her men at arms on board.
No, your only compound is located within city limits. That is where your Herd is "brought in" (I forget your feeding restriction) by a Procurer.Can he not heal his face? I'm assuming he's 3rd Gen? Or is he more like 5th or 6th?
Is there Khadaji Manse off limits? You had mentioned Alessandro maintaining his herd, if not at the manse... where?
Adult Female Non-Mothers, I believe.
Adult Female Non-Mothers, I believe.No, your only compound is located within city limits. That is where your Herd is "brought in" (I forget your feeding restriction) by a Procurer.Can he not heal his face? I'm assuming he's 3rd Gen? Or is he more like 5th or 6th?
Is there Khadaji Manse off limits? You had mentioned Alessandro maintaining his herd, if not at the manse... where?
Right!
Then absolutely they are being brought in via Procurer (i.e. Jaleel).
A - Vampire Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 6.
B - Mortal Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 7.
C - Lasombra Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 9.
Sorry about the delay - craaazy days
Those Ghouls, will need blood. You know full well what happens to those who rely on blood past their Mortal lifetimes.
Mortal Politics - 1 Success. The driving force behind the chaos of the Mortal world lately has been the strife between the Doge's decision to invade Ferrara and the Pope's desire to drive Venetian forces out.
Lasombra Politics - 1 Success. The Prince of Padua is also a Childe of Narses and his former Seneschal, if those present have a stake in the Princeship of this city, me may as well.
Want to burn a point of Willpower here for one more piece of information?
IMPORTANT - at this moment, Alessandro has NOT been made aware that Narses has met the Final Death. He left before that knowledge was spread to the rest of the group
Perhaps the best weapon against these Hunters may well be Narses Ghouls, they can battle them by Day and guard you all by Night. That is of course if Narses allows them to, through the entire Conclave he was aware that some Hunter presence was circulating and his policy was to avoid confrontation at all cost.
Mortal Politics - 0 successes.
Lasombra Politics - 0 successes.
Mortal Politics - 0 successes.
Lasombra Politics - 0 successes.
No doubt they are probably aware of some of the names or at least faces of Narses Mortal foot soldiers, the Doge's security forces. In fact, you wonder whether your Mortal contact in the guard, Sirus Terzago may well be one of them!
Mortal Politics - BOTCH!
Was the Doge made aware of the existence of his own puppeteering at the hands of Narses? Was it not incredibly convenient that the same night the Vampire world was attacked, there was Mortal strife that covered up those attacks in some if not many respects?
Lasombra Politics - 0 successes.
Michele - TBD. Once Michele has made his check, I may re-start game. I believe I am sufficiently prepared to push up that start date from May 31.
IF you spend on Lasombra Politics it will be about the Lasombra specifically.
IF you spend on Vampire Politics, that would be a bit more information about the Ghouls.
OR you could do both but as some of your powers do function on Willpower, that might not be the best choice but I leave that choice up to you!
sorry all...
A - Vampire Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 6.
B - Mortal Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 7.
C - Lasombra Politics - Intelligence+Politics roll here in the Discussion thread - DC 9.
Mortal Politics - 1 success. The Inquisition clearly had this attack set in motion for some time, before the Mortal "cattle" arrived at the Inns, before even the delegates arrived. Your contact, Cardinale, had shipped the means to strike down Vampires through you. That begs another question, did they also know what Inns to strike in?
There is a good chance Geoffroi may know the timeline better, after all, he knew Volkov and the Inquisitors, and was aligned with them, only mere days ago!
Lasombra Politics - 0 successes.
Darn it. I forgot the DC on that second one was higher. Apologies. I will try to focus a bit more
Sep 12, 2019, 06:38 pm from the Original Thread -
Venice by Night - Sunday March 30, 1309
Streets of Venice -
"Perhaps, at least you will know where to come back to and wait when you want to "meet" with me once more".
Another long pause, "Very well, a loyalty test.
Clan Nosferatu has sought control over a particular water way in this city since it was wrested from us by the House of Giovanni. Petition the new Lords of the Mausoleum, the Cappadocians, to grant us this territory as our Domain once more.
If you fail, at least we shall know you are an ally in our endeavors.
If you try and succeed, then I shall tell you my identity and a bond of trust will begin to be formed between us".