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!2/3/07 - Malevolence, Act 2
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Grace, McNiel, Robbie, William
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
** The Don invites them inside (except for Lao & Jack, who are too road-weary, immediately plunking down for a nice sleep in the stables), for a welcoming feast as it is not often they have visitors from outside. Once within they find themselves reunited with William, who had stumbled into the valley the previous day (apparently missing them on the road). Edgar de Herrera is a friendly, jovial host, nothing like his son in countenance or bearing, and is quite eager to hear of news from elsewhere. Their feast is soon interrupted however when a commotion is heard out front. Sergio, the Don's overseer, looks out and returns shortly, agitated, and motions for the Don to join him. The two, along with several of Jane's Gang, step outside to find vertualy the entire village encamped on Casa de Herrera's doorstep. McNiel does his best to translate - apparently one of the boys from the village left a few hours ago to gather brush and hasn't returned, and villagers have seen a wolf in the woods. The boy's father Pedro demands the Don do something. One of the local woodsmen speak up, insisting he knows where it lair's up, citing a clearing littered with bones, beyond which lies a cave. He had not examined it further, believing it the abode of a demon, rather than a wolf. Don Edgar swears he shall seek out the lost child, while Sergio "volunteers" a few villagers (including Pedro & the woodsman who knows the way). Jane, Robbie, William & McNiel step up to assist in the hunt as well. Alberto declines however, preferring to while away the evening in Grace's company at his father's house.
** Soon the hunting party are deep in the woodlands that cover the valley, so deep there seems no trace of the Herrera's rural civilization. It seems something in the forest is following them, but they can't be sure - the only light they have is that of their torches and what light of the full moon can filter through the trees. After a short while, one of the villagers looses his nerve and runs off into the wood, Sergio swearing dire threats after him as he goes. Another villager follows suit as they finally find the gory scene at the clearing. Scouting about, they find many bones (none clearly identifiable as human) and immense wolf tracks (fitting more for the size of a pony than a wolf in scale). While Jane takes a suitably hidden spot at the edge of the glade, Sergio and the woodsman set up near the entrance of the cave, and the rest move wearily inside. Within, while they find no wolves, or childish remains, they find waterproofed hides being used as scroll cases for some exceedingly archaic Latin writing. Back outside, those on watch hear the unpleasant demise of the stray villager who most recently vacated. William and Robbie charge out to see what is ammos. Jane waits briefly for a target, then decides better of it and walks into the clearing to join the other two on watch. Their expressions of abject horror only hint at the danger on her heels, and two massive wolves, each the size of a pony, step out of her shadow. Before anyone can respond, one leaps forward to drag the woodsman down, tearing the poor soul to shreds in moments, while the other runs the edge of the firelight to eventually take the vantage of the hill overlooking the cave. While Williams and Sergio are overcome with fright and run off into the woods, Robbie musters enough self control to place two solid shots into the back of the things head. Before their eyes the wolf changes back to the body of a man (a monk, judging by the cut of his hair), at which point McNiel & the Don join them from the cave. Jane lets loose another shot from her rifle, winging the wolf on the hill, and it dashes into the shadows. Then all hell breaks loose as the supposedly dead man before them leaps up, his skin melting and changing to cover itself again with fur, only this time his transformation is more an abomination than that of merely a giant wolf. Distending it's jaw it howls directly in McNiel's face before leaping backwards and dashing off into the woods, the other wolf trailing, seemingly laughing at them.
** Back at Casa de Herrera, Grace watches as Alberto gets increasingly agitated, not with fear, but with frustration. A scream from the kitchen brings them running, to find one of the serving girls backing away quickly from the back door. "El Chupacabra" she shrieks, El Chupacabra!" Alberto slams shut and bars the door, but they can still hear - something - skittering, tapping against the doors, the shuttered windows, even the roof. Something, or some things, are trying to make their way in...
*XP awarded:Jane, Grace & Robbie - 4xp, McNiel & William 3xp
*Loose ends: McNiel has scrolls; Wolves still on the loose
!2/10/07 - Malevolence, Act 3
*Characters in attendance: Jane, McNiel, Robbie, Jack, Lao
*A synopsis of the game session's events: Events quickly spiral out of control. Jack & Lao awake in the stables just in time to keep from being crushed by outraged horses. The horses escape into the night, and the pair find themselves facing down a handful of El Chupecabra asking (or threatening) for a [[cup|Relics]] in broken Spanish. They manage to make it to the Casa de Herrera, where Alberto storms out and drives the creatures off. Grace, inside, has feignted. Will having gotten lost during the histeria of facing the werewolves, the rest manage to make it back to the house as well, and Alberto reviels it was the monk werewolf Carlos who had forced him into providing the latin scrolls in his search for power. McNiel does his best to translate, and construes that there is a ritual used to trap a being to kill a cursed foe, which runs the risk of killing the summoner if it's binding circle is ever disrupted. Worried over his son being targetted the Don again rallies the group and they head out, this time to the Mission above them on the hill. After an hour on the road, they arive, suspecting the wolves are stalking them outside. Inside the Mission is a scene of horror. The Monks have all been butchered, and as they search for clues, the multiple dead begin rising as zombies. The shabling horde chase them to the church, where they eventualy carry off Jan, Jack & Lao. Robbie avoids capture, instead trying to recue them as they're carried off, only to get snached as well. McNiel & Alberto flee to hide in the bell-tower, while Pedro & the Don hold off the shambling horde as best they might. The impromptu prisoners are dragged down into a pit bellow the Cells (the chambers where the monks stay), where zombies hold them at the edge of a pentagram. A great darkness filled with eyes & teeth drifts over each of them, "tasting" each in turn but otherwise ignoring them. Lao gets it, remembering what McNiel had discovered in the scrolls and whispers to the others. They quickly sabotage the pentagram with their outstreached toes, releasing the entity which imediately vacates, causing the zombies to colapse and echoing screams from somewheres above. They find at the far end of the room a yellowed scullcap [[cup|Relics]] filled with a strange liquid, which they all drink. After they feel strange - but it is not until they return to the courtyard and see the Full Moon, when their bodies begin rippling and changing, that they realize they have been transformed!
*XP awarded: Lao & Robbie (7), Jane & Jack (6), McNiel (5), William & Grace (2)
*Loose ends: Lao, Robbie & Jack are now werewolves.
!2/17/07
*Characters in attendance: Jane, McNiel, Robbie, Grace, Jack, Lao, Eufennia
*A synopsis of the game session's events: McNiel finds himself trapped up the belltower with Alberto when the darkness rolls through to suck the life out of the Don's son. He watches in shock as it then flees and hunts down the werewolves in the woods bellow. He then witnesses Jack, Robbie, Lao & Jane emerge from the Cells, and the men's subsiquent First Change. After the lunacy wears off, he heads downwards and informs the Don of his son's death, and checks on the no longer frenzied Jane. Giving her his coat, the two note the hole where the entrance used to be, and that the guys have disapeared, then assist the Don in bringing his dead son back to town. Grace has reawakened from her feignting spell, and cleans Jane up, while McNiel gets soundly drunk. Meanwhiles, first Robbie & then later Jack & Lao come to, chained to a mehnir amidst a strange rite in the woods, with werewolves dancing about them, and some strange fluiting tentacled thing just out of view. As fur receeds from their flesh and their senses return, they are unchained from the stone by the Black Castle pack elders, and told the facts of life (insofar as the werewolves around here are convinced of them). Marked already as Warriors of the Full Moon, they are told of the local families and their history here in the valley, and told of their connection to Jane. Back at the Casa de Herrera, a Raven arives to disrupt the mourners, calling to Jane to follow it (which she does, as does Grace & McNiel, and a sneaky local serving girl, Eufennia). In the woods they meet Gabriella Zulemah de Herrera, Jane's grandsire, who - after sending the rest back - teaches Jane more about who and what she is, initiates her into the ways of the Crone, and the basics of Blood Magic. Grace & McNiel learn a little more about the Valley and it's ways from Eufennia, who begs them to take her with them when they leave. Finaly they go to sleep, and a few days later they finaly take their leave of the Weyaho Valley.
*XP awarded: 5 each (except McNiel, who got 4).
!2/24/07 - Oaths of Blood, Act 1
*Characters in attendance: Robbie, Sad Jane, Grace, Jack, Lao, Leo, Eufennia
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
**On their last night before they completely vacate the Valley, the newly formed Pack sits with the Elders and are introduced to their Totem - one of the old spirits of the Weyaho Indians has come forward to patron them. Its' name is Yohoso, it manifests as a cloud of fireflies, it is a spirit of fertility, a guardian of gateways to the Shadowlands, and the brother of Nuirab, the Totem of the Castronegro (Zulemah's Pack). It will serve as their ally as long as the Pack is willing to meet its' Bans (which mainly revolve around fertility and engendering a lasting family dynasty, amongst other things). The next day they start the long journey home, and for the rest of the trip find Yohoso pushing the men of the pack towards Grace & Eufennia in hopes of getting the family business started (something they all resist).
**A week later, they arrive in SF, tired, dirty and rather horny. Michael McNeil disappears to vent his pent-up gambling urges. Grace goes to confess her trials and tribulations, and makes the acquaintance of Father James McNeil, Michael's uncle, who asks she send his nephew over to see him. While Jane sleeps, the rest of the Pack mark the House as their territory, and descend into [[Sydney-town]] in search of a little action. They find it at the Fierce Grizzly, where Rotten Robbie gives in to the degenerate urgings of Yohoso, switches to his near-human aspect and takes to the stage to get bestial with the Bear they keep there.
**That evening Leopold Heindel drops by for dinner, and has a confusing and somewhat limited conversation trying to find out what has been going on with his old friends. Filled with lust from Yohoso, Lao slips off with the housekeeper to get busy in a family way, while Jack slips off with Jane to go hunting (he finds and pays a prostitute for his pleasure and she slips in and feeds while the soiled dove is otherwise preoccupied).
**Come morning they are all rudely awakened by the surprise visit of two of Dutch Charlie’s goons, who gruffly insist Jane and her "boys" come down to the barber shop to meet with the Dutchman. Though very groggy, she agrees, taking only her Pack with her. Grace notes Jane and the Pack's leaving and return (and wonders at the developing estrangement she feels with them). Jane and company bump into Leopold on the way, who also is on his way to pay his respects to the Dutchman, having read about the death of two of his goons, the Brooker Brothers. At the barbershop, the Dutchman informs them of the deaths, and his outrage, and tells them his respect for them is such that he wants them to avenge his men. His only clue is that a gang of eastern Europeans are responsible. Jane's gang put two & two together, suspecting the Austrians Jonah had clamed were feigning nobility at the [[Grand Bay Hotel]]. Dutch wants Jane's gang to do them like they did to his boys - grim and nasty - he remembered how effective they were on the last job they did for him, after all.
**While Jane is being dropped off at home for much needed shut-eye (because daylight seems to make her reeeeal sleepy), Leopold makes a visit to try and speak with his friends at the Grand Bay (over the intervening weeks when the rest of the gang was out of town, he had made the acquaintance of the men of the Anicii entourage - they had been good customers, and he wanted to find out for certain whether or not they were the ones responsible for this crime), but is rebuffed by the Austrian mercenaries as their masters are "indisposed". He does get a short interview with the Countess' aid, Richard Bradford, who promises to pass on his concerns and suggest he return that evening. His meeting is witnessed by Grace when she swings by the hotel (Eufennia & Jack in tow) to check in with her manager and double-check his books,
**Later that day she decides take the initiative and joins the Dutchman for lunch, taking Eufennia and Jack for propriety and safety. Dutch Charley states his confusion as to the hierarchy of Grace & Jane's "organization", and roughly adds he could give a shit. He's done with pleasant parlor conversation - Grace &/or Jane have a gang, a solid bunch of leg breakers if he ever saw them. He also sees she's putting up Austrians, admittedly the most likely culprits for the deaths of his men, in the Grand Bay Hotel, which Doesn't-Make-Him-Very-Happy-At-All. Grace nods politely and excuses herself with what speed and decorum she can muster, recognizing here is a man who could just as easily see her business shut down legally as not.
**Lao & Robbie head over to the Hospital Morgue and, after bullying an orderly and doctor with the Dutchman's name, gain access to the Brooker brother's bodies. The condition of their remains is sickening, made worse once they notice the eyes seem to follow them around the room. From there they head over to O'Flanigans, the restaurant where the brothers were murdered. O'Flanigan, the proprietor, bends over backward to make sure they understand (and the Dutchman understands) how very sorry he is, and hopes they get the villains responsible. As they enjoy their complimentary meal, they interview the busboy who'd found the bodies (after which he shows them the alley behind the restaurant where he found them). He describes the savagery of the bodies’ evisceration, as well as the unusual lack of blood in and around their corpses.
**That night Leopold again tries to see his friends amongst the Anicii, only to find himself ushered in to meet with the Countess Ilsa herself. He has a most enlightening conversation, very little of which he can later recall. He only knows he now needs to find Grace and bring her to the Countess in secret, without her entourage...
*XP awarded: 4xp ea.
*Loose ends: Jack has earned himself a side job doing back-room boxing matches for Hell Haggerty at the ''Goat & Compass''
!3/3/07 - Oaths of Blood, Act 2
*Characters in attendance: Robbie, Sad Jane, Grace, Jack, Lao, William, Eufennia
A synopsis of the game session's events: ''Later that night...''
** Jane offers Eufennia the option of becoming a Monster. Jane also sets out to prove to Grace she's not normal by feeding on her in front of the gang, with mixed results (Grace is disturbed, but doesn't clearly understand what has happened). William returns, the gang brings him up to speed (leaving out certain details) & he tells them what the Hudderman Gang witnessed insofar as the Anicii comings and goings. After Grace & Will go to bed, and Jack, Lao & Robbie go out, Eufennia seeks out Jane and agrees to become her Ghoul.
** The Pack proper (that being the three werewolves Lao, Jack & Robbie) stalk Dominique via the rooftops from the hotel to the Bella Union, and wait until she leaves. They spot her in the company of another Anicii, Luther, and witness them get in a carriage, which in turn returns them to the Hotel. There they have a surprise - in the upper windows they spot the supposedly dead Brooker brothers, pale and gaunt, attending the Countess.
** At the House, Jane finds she is not alone. Jonah appears to find out the success of her mission, which she does (in her oddly stilted fashion). She also introduces him to Eufennia and informs him of her new status, which he accepts. Their quiet conversation wakes up William, who listens in, and who ends up hearing a little too much. All hear the "thump" "thump" "thump" on the roof (upon which note Jonah vanishes), and note the Pack come down from the attic. As they all gather on the stair and fill each other in on the discoveries of the evening, they rouse Grace, who sticks her head out, lamp in hand. Hearing a brief mention of "Mr. Whitman" she presumes the ghost's return and promptly retreats to her room again. The gang retreats down stairs, giving Will a chance to slip out of his room and try to join her. His quiet knock sets her to screaming however, and everyone piles back up stairs to see what is the matter. Once Grace is calmed, she adamantly goes to bed, and all (including Will) go to the kitchen for tea, where more details are discussed, and when Will asks one-too-many questions Jane decides that (again) it is better to show instead of tell and feeds on him to the disgust and excitement of the others. Lao tells her to turn him, but before she can do so Jonah intervenes. His reasoning? She is too young, too inexperienced, and Will (he feels) is an unworthy subject. The gang argues back and forth, until Jonah puts it to Will - to accept Jane's gift and become Kindred, to serve (as Eufennia does as a ghoul), or to die. He picks the first option.
** In the time between life and death, Will has a vision - he stands in a shadowy version of the Kitchen in the Townhouse, with something just outside the back door, scratching and growling. Light from an assortment of glowing spheres, like fireflies, spin about him, calling him to step into the light (the red light) and move to bind the door closed. He turns and steps into the red light shimmering in the middle of the room, and finds himself sucking blood from Jane's wrist. They break apart, and Jonah turns to Jane and informs her his sins are her's to bear. Lao and the others take this time to ask questions of him. He tells them of the Anicii, the competition over control of San Francisco to determine who shall rule amongst their kind, and the threat the Countess would pose if she knew he... and they... were there. They ask what their odds might be in fighting the Anicii, and initially he tries to dissuade them - citing how dangerous she is, being older than any Kindred in the city outside of the Old Man of the Mission and possibly Zulemah (why he wanted her to come). Yes, they might be able to take the rest, but once the fight started, they would be far more dangerous if allowed to regroup - they had knowledge of werewolves and their weaknesses. No, he thinks if they attack, they'd best do so by day and simply set fire to the Grand Bay Hotel (an option everyone is reluctant to embrace).
*XP awarded: 3xp for William, 4xp for everyone else
*Loose ends: Robbie and some of the others have begun questioning if they are perhaps on the wrong side of this conflict...
!3/10/07 - Oaths of Blood, Act 3
*Characters in attendance: Robbie, Sad Jane, Grace, Jack, Lao, Leo, Eufennia
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
**''Leopold's adoption:'' Leopold awakes to find himself in the hotel, twilight fog filtering through the windows. The hotel seems empty, the steets filled with a thick grey mist. Suddenly darkness rushes to eat up the sky, and he sees many animals racing away down the street, persued by skeletal things. The far wall begins bleeding black, and more of the things boil into the room. He turns to flee, seeing a pulsing, seathing reddish light. He steps in... and comes to, suckling blood out of the Countess' wrist. She stops his feeding, and explains the nature of his change in cercumstances. It turns out the gentlemen of her company have begged her not to simply waste him in an idle power-play, but to take him into the family. He has been embraced into the Ventrue clan, The Countess leaves his education to his brothers and sisters, as she has other matters to attend to before the comming dawn.
**''Fire-fight at the Hotel:'' Meanwhile, William, outraged at the turn of events, leaves to mope in private. The Pack is ansy, eager to strike something, anything. While Robbie tenders the idea that maybe, just maybe, they're on the wrong side, before he brings it up before his comrades, Jonah switches gears, agreeing to go with them to strike at the Countess Ilsa at the Hotel. The Pack readly gathers, and a plan is formed. While an invisible Jonah slips on ahead, Jane, Robbie, Lao & Jack hasten to a building overlooking the Grand Bay Hotel. Climbing to the roof, Jack & Lao disrobe and shift to the shape of wolves the size of poneys, while Robbie shifts to the lest dramatic near- human wolfman form. With Jack carrying Jane on his back, Jack & the rest of the pack leap across the street to land on the balcony (though Jack overshoots, smashing through the windows to land on the table in the midst of the Anicii). Moments before Ulrike had heard with her gifted arts the Pack about to decend upon them and shouted a warning, so when the attack came they were already moving. All became chaos, made more so with Jonah summoning Yohoso in his war-aspect in the next room, who promptly set fire to the place. Jack was taken down quickly by Daniel's daggers and Alan's fists, while guns were drawn and fired. Lao took on the half-man, half-wolf war-form and set to avenge his fallen comrade, but Alan held him off with the aid of Father Gregor. Leopold did his level best to hinder the invaders (whome he did not recognize in their altered shapes as the friends he'd just broken bread with just one night before) with shots of rocksalt to the legs. But Yohoso moved through the room, setting things aflame and lashing the enemy with white hot tenticles, forcing a general route amongst the Anicii. With fire sweeping the building, the Pack also are forced to flee the scene.
**''Grace's kidnapped!'' Back at the house, Grace is rudely awakened to find herself being roughly gagged and manhandled by the supposedly dead Brooker Brothers out to a waiting Carrage. Once inside they ride off, and the Countess leans forward, and tells her not to worry - she's about to recieve quite the social promotion. At which point the borthers set about feeding on her and she blacks out. SHe finds herself in the street, a dark fog obscuring view. Down the street she sees a great grizly, larger and strangely unnatural in appearence. It roars and charges, and she turns to see a light, red, warm and inviting, seeming to say "come to me, come to me..." So she does. She awakes, shocked to find herself suckling blood from the Countess' breast (worse, unable to make herself stop). The Countess' finishes feeding her, then pushes her back, and begins explaining the true nature of things - who the Anicii realy are, why they are here, how they realy are all on the same side, and how she has "addopted" her into the Ventrue Clan. Outraged Grace tries to refute her, but Ilsa gazes into her eyes, and with just a few words, changes her around to the point that she practicaly persuades herself that this is the better side to be on. They recieve a rude interuption when they arive at the Hotel, only to find it (and much of the surrounding block) in flames. Grace is convinced this is the work of Dutch Charly and says so, and Ilsa has them driven to the safty of friends living up on Nob HIll.
**''Eufennia's mad morning:'' Eufennia awoke to hear the door slam shut, and got to the front of the house just in time to see the carrage pull away with mistress Grace inside. She tried to find help but found most every one else gone. In only her night-clothes, she grabs a horse from the stable and rides off in search of her, soon finding the Hotel in flames. She returns, finding the Pack already buisy packing. Having realized they'd failed to take down the Countess or eradicate her brood, they now plan to relocate to the [[Sydney-town]] Asylum tunnels where they hope they'll be safe from the Anicii retaliation. Though Eufennia tries to get them to rescue Grace, the Pack sticks to their plan - resuing Grace must wait until they can regroup (and perhaps heal). Taking the servents with them, they set out, pausing at dawn to return the arival howls of the Herrera Pack.
**''Epologue'': The following night they meet with Zulemah, who has arived with their old friend James Danavae and a young lady named Maria deHerrera, both werewolves in need of a Pack. She also agrees to assist in negotiating a truce with the Anicii and otherwise leash the impulsive Jonah. As the Pack settles in it's new territory and Jack & Lao heal, Grace finds herself playing diplomat between her old friends and her new family. The gentlemen of Ilsa's court see to it Leopold gets buisy casting them plenty of silver bullets, just in case things go sour. But Ilsa and Zulemah meet, and hammer out a diplomatic answer none the less. Ilsa is to become the ranking Prince (or "Queen") of San Francisco, while Jonah keeps his territory and is considered Primogen/advisor. Zulemah holds her territory north unmolested. Jane's Gang holds domain in [[Sydney-town]], with Grace & Leopold as Ilsa's envoys and watchdogs over the mixed Kindred-Werewolf Brood. Oh, an Dutch Charly? Ilsa pays him a little visit, and "persuades" him to let his little vendeta go...
*XP awarded: Robbie (6), Sad Jane (6), Grace (5), Jack (5), Lao (5), Leo (8), Eufennia (4), William (1)
!3/17/07
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Simon, Grace, Jack, Lao
*A synopsis of the game session's events: A month has come and gone, and our heroes have redistributed themselves a bit. While Grace & Jane still share the Townhouse as their communal Haven, Jack's lucky break at winning himself a Bar through a poor bet made against him on a match has led to much of the pack resettling at the ''Wolf's Den'' in Sidney-town. The pack has claimed Sidney-town as their own stretch of territory, with Yohoso's blessing, and have found it rife with all maner of dangerous spirits. They also hear periodic bursts of unpleasent screaching - a sound inaudible to those not Uratha.
**May 2nd (New Moon) Grace and Jane touch bases with Jack and Lao at the ''Wolf's Den'' when Simon Trent strolls in, takes to the small stage in the corner and strums up a tune. After sining a song that turns heads and applause (and more buisness!) he sidles up to the bar and asks Jack for a job - Jack hires him on the spot! Simon also catches the eye of Jack's number one waitress (and fellow packmate) Maria, and the two flirt circles around each-other. Conversation is disrupted for the four Uratha packmates present (Jack, Lao, Maria & James Danavae, who HAD been quietly drinking in the corner) when that hidious noise squeeks through again. They bring their heads together with Grace & Jane to discuss, not noticing the inquisitive ear of Simon listening in. Maria and James suspect the Bishelu, the Host decended of the Demon King Rat, known for their desire to rend the Gauntlet to shreads. It is swiftly agreed the creatures must be hunted down, and Jack & Lao bring up their suspicion that the creatures might be the same as the rat-swarm that attacked them while they were down in the Asylum tunnels two or so months ago. Grace excuses herself (sewers not realy being her thing) and James agrees to stay to tend the bar while the rest of the pack slips out the back to go rat-catching. Simon doesn't know what's up - but his heart is lost to Maria, and he decides a ring and matramony are in his future!
**Down in the old mining tunnels the pack finds a lone rat that takes flight with a little encouragement from Jack. They quickly find themselves outflanked, and while Yohoso is off chasing the little ones they rumble with Hybrid Ratmen through the former headquarters of the Valentino gang. Before the Bishelu escape Lao & Jack recognise the head hybrid has the old lieutenant Sebastian's voice, but the clever Rat-king covers his tracks with a barrel of pepper, knocking the hunters not only off the scent but leaving them gasping for air! The pack return, Yohoso chortling happily over his crispy rat-cabobs, and soon are back in the bar. Simon can tell something is up (except for Jane, everyone's eyes and noses are all puffy & red), but his questions to Maria leaves her embarassed and she flees. So he tries Leo & Jack, asking what they ment earlier by "Pack" (and other more obscure references), but they are understandably guarded. In hopes of getting them to open up to him he reveals his "gift" as a mesmerist, but they remain reluctant to share their own secrets...
*XP awarded: Jane, Jack & Lao (5), Simon & Grace(4).
!3/24/07 - Vigilance, Act 1
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Grace, Jack, Leo, Robbie, James, William, McNiel, Lao
*Synopses of the game session's events:
May 10th - That morning, Maria deHerrera expressed the following rhyme came to her in a dream...
**"The earth shakes, the Lizard wakes;
"The dogs bark, they smell blood;
"The herd trembles, they stampede;
"The matron goes, the clergyman waits..."
[[Sad Jane’s Account]]
[[James Danahvae's Account]]
[[Grace Whitman's Account]]
*XP awarded: Jane (5), Grace (5), Jack (4), Leo (4), Robbie (4), James (5), William (3), McNiel (3), Lao (3)
*Loose ends: Rat pandemic throughout Sidney-town it seems; Earthquake has put folks on edge; snipes between James King of William, editor of the "Evining Bulletin", & James Casey of the "Sunday Times" continue unabated; Zulemah's Homunculus Greedygut anounced they're leaving town (they've left now); the Brooker Brothers were seen whoring in Sidney-town...
!3/31/07 - Vigilance, Act 2
*Characters in attendance: Sad Jane, Michael McNiel, Lao, Jack, Euphemia, Rotten Robbie, James Danahvae, Leopold Heindel, William Deerborn
*A synopsis of the game session's events: May 14th, the wee hours of the morning...
** Scene 1: The Bella Union - Ilsa holds court. After the last show of the night, the Kindred of San Francisco gather on the floor while Ilsa holds her first official court event. Proclaiming herself Queen of the city's Kindred, she gave several announcements, including (but not limited to) establishing the Bella Union as Elysium, establishing Alan de Anicii as Sheriff (and Daniel de Anicii, Leopold Heindel and the Brooker brothers as his Hounds), and recognizing Sydney-town as the Firefly's territory. Afterwards Jonah brings Jane & William to an audience with her to properly introduce William. Ilsa proves to hold William guilty for Grace's earlier indiscretions, and her evident distrust of him however sours Jane to the new regent. All the while Jonah lurks in the background, being hauty, unhelpful and unpleasant to everyone, despite his recognition in status as Priscus & Primogen in the new order. Back on the floor Leopold notes a falling out between Ulrike and Father Gregor. After the young girl storms off Leopold (and later both Jane & William) approaches the Father about the matter and the senior Ventrue explains her upset at having been displaced by Grace as Ilsa's favorite. The priest makes clear he is also available to them as a counselor and confessor if they have need of such.
** Scene 2: The Goat & Compass - the Fireflys investigate a Locus. Thanks to James Danavhae's dilligent hunting, the Pack has located a moderate locus hidden in an ally next to Hell Haggerty's place. Rumors persist of strange disapearences, a dwarf who shows from time to time seeking whiskey, and a beautiful prostitute with a particularly unearthly lust for sailors. James leads Jack and Robbie to a small pool at the alley's heart - the nexus of the locus - apparently a Digging made years before by a particularly lazy miner, and then leads them through to the Shadowlands (last one through notices a singular Rat spy them as they pass). One the far side they find themselves at a large watering-hole, a multitude of minor spirits sipping at the golden energy shimmering at its' surface. Almost immediately they scatter, becoming invisible within the pool. Only a earthen dwarf in the typical red shirt of a miner sitting with a keg of Whiskey under his arm, and a beautiful but otherwise naked maiden swimming in the pond remain. James and the Pack negotiate as best they may - these spirits are "Digs-for-teeth" and "Her-moist-embrace", lesser Jaglings of Earth and Desire, and they prove quite amenable to sharing the Locus with them, in return for certain boons being met. "Digs" wants periodic offerings of alcohol and gold teeth, while "Her" wishes sexual gratification (which James happily obliges). As long as their terms are met, the Locus and its' Essence is available to them. "Digs" is even willing to shoot any Rats that might come wandering through. Satisfied, they take their leave and return for the night to the Wolf's Den.
** Scene 3: The Townhouse - Euphemia wakes from one nightmare to another. Euphemia has a nightmare where, as Jane, she hunts and feeds. Shaking herself awake she finds something small and furry under the covers, skittering up her leg. She leaps up, screaming. Jane, just on her way in, hears and comes a' running' up, bursts into the room and helps Euphemia shake the Rat loose. The thing screeches its' rage at them, glaring with golden eyes, so Jane sets JoJo after it. JoJo pursues it into the wall, where a mighty ruckus is heard. He limps back, telling her it was a "bad rat", but that it is gone now. Seeing Euphemia injured (the Rat had given her a vicious bite where it had tried to burrow into her hip), and still slightly mad with hunger, Jane offers to trade blood for blood - this time Euphemia accepts. Afterwards, Jane decides it just isn't safe at the Townhouse any longer, and takes the servant girls to the Wolf's Den, leaving only a note for Grace as to the threat of the Rats and their subsequent relocation.
** Scene 4: McNeil's day about town - Having had a comfortably late night of gambling and drinking, McNeil doesn't rise until 1pm. Recent days have seen him increasingly spending time up in the hills with the old woman Candyse, who has done what she can to teach him how to deal with the ever wakeful spirit of 'Old Man Lizard', while his brother and uncle have been weighing in on him to join them on their crusade. Today was to be the day, but he failed to meet them on time (noon). Thus, when he arrives many hours later at the church it is to meet jubilant heroes. Father McNeil and the hunters gathered from the forces of the Dutchman have had their first great success in stalking down two former compatriots - the brutal Brooker brothers - staking and beheading them as they slept with their favorite whores!
** Epilogue: 5pm - "[[James King of William]]'s been shot!"
*XP awarded: Jane, Euphemia, Robbie, James (4), everyone else (3)
*Loose ends: The Vigilance Committee is forming...
!4/8/07 - Vigilance, Act 3
*Characters in attendance: Sad Jane, Lao, Jack, Euphemia, Rotten Robbie, Leopold Heindel, William Deerborn, Grace Whitman
*A synopsis of the game session's events: The city is agitated! Sabbath morning, May 18th, the Vigilance Committee assembles. That afternoon they march on the city jail & have Casey & Cora turned over to them at cannon-point!
**At around the same time Father McNeil and his band of Vampire Hunters storm into the South Park Haven owned by Grace Whitman and Sad Jane, and are quite supprised to find a contingent of Vigilance Committee sharpshooters (under the benificent guidence of Leopold Heindel & the Anicii Hounds). They are promptly arrested and Father McNeil wonders in his cell, awaiting deportation while others of his company await hanging, who betrayed them.
**The sun sets: Ilsa rises and recieves the good news. She informs Grace how subtle movements are best in dealing with such threats. After the murder of the Brooker Brothers, Grace had come to her, pointing concern at her former confessor Father McNeil, so Ilsa brought her into the safty of her estate until the matter was settled. Then James Danavhae slunk up for a private meeting to warn her of the Father's possible inside man, his nephiew Michael. So Ilsa had a private meeting with the gambler, a meeting he will not be able to remember, one allowing her to suggest the best time for the hunters to strike. And thus walk into her trap. Her pleasure is interupted however when Daniel, one of her children and a Hound in good standing, comes to insist his sister Dominique is in danger. Ilsa calls together the assemblage of Anicii and they head to the Bella Union. The theater house is in shambles, wrecked as if by ravanous beasts, and Dominique is in torper, having been badly mauled. Outraged, the Anicii debate who might be responcible, and what action to take: Henri & Ulrike blame the Werewolves, while Luthor, Leopold & Father Gregor plead caution and not to jump to hasty conclusions. Alan & Daniel are eager to dish out payback. Grace gathers a bit of fur in hopes she may show it as evidence later. It is eventualy decided that they should hold on for now - tonight was to be the night for Alan to have his "rematch" with Jack in any case (something Leopold had worked out between the two some nights before). Ilsa decides all ambulatory members of court will attend the event and descreetly inquire what the werewolves might know - and if they are responcable, well, all the Anicii will have plenty of silver shot, thanks to Leopold's recent gunsmithing.
**At the Wolf's Den the Pack has had a disruptive day. On and off the more aware members of the pack have had to listen to the Bishilou shreeking back and forth across town, but with the Vigilance Committee out in force, are unable to hunt them down. Jane feels quite positive the Rats will stay out of the Bar, thanks to her recent successes with traps. As midnight approaches they gather to slink over to the planned match with the Anicii, though Lao advises caution - it could be a trap. Robbie seems to hope it is, and packs his guns. Euphenia, nearly mad from withdrawls, gets the hint across to Jane, who provides her with a 3rd "fix". James and Maria decide to "protect the bar" and stay behind.
**The Goat & Compass, rented out for the evening by Henri to ensure they not be disturbed. As the two groups settle in seats opposite each other, Leopold explains the rules - no claw, nor fang, nor weapons. Who ever drops first, or frenzies, looses - and it is up to their second to restrain them if Rage or Frenzy take them. Lao steps up as Jack's second, so Ilsa - to everyones suprise - seconds Adam. As the two square off, Leopold takes bets, and Ilsa & Lao talk quietly. To Lao's suprise, he finds himself getting a number of things off of his chest - private things, but not things Ilsa seemed to expect. The fight starts out close, but before Jack quite knows it Adam has him on the ropes. Then, all hell breaks loose. Ilsa jumps up, looking about, anouncing that they were about to have some uninvited guests. And with that three burly Bishilou hybrids burst into the room, making a beeline for Ilsa. One catches a face full of rocksalt in the head from Leopold's quick reactions (and quicker triggerfinger). As both Anicii & the Firefly Pack swivel to assist, a huge mob bursts in, pouring through every enterance, armed with bricks and clubs and knives. Slack faced Sidney Ducks race in to overwhelm them by sheer numbers, and everyone finds themselves with more dance partners than they can manage. Luthor, seeking the high ground for a clear shot, heads up the stairs, only to be nearly ripped in twain by the sudden appearence of Sebastian. The Bishilou hybrids disipate into squerming masses of rats, running in all directions as the Pack and Anicii dispatch them, but Sebastian nearly slips past. He in turn is stopped by the combined might of the werewolves - Lao's savage Gauru fury, Robbie's guns & Jack's teeth - but disipates into a rat-hoard just as the others. And just as swiftly, the entire mob disolves in similarly disturbing fasion, leaving nearly a hundred fleashy skin-sacks. Ilsa turns to Lao and smiles, conceeding not only the truth of the Bishilou's existance, but offers an alliance in dealing with an obviously mutual foe.
*XP awarded: Sad Jane (6), Lao (6), Jack (6), Euphemia (6), Rotten Robbie (6), Leopold Heindel (6), William Deerborn (6), Grace Whitman (6), James Danahvae (2), Michael McNiel (2)
*Loose ends: Sebastian & the Bishilou escaped, again
!11/25/06
*Characters in attendance: McNiel, Jane, Leo.
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
An Irishman, a German, and a half-breed girl are united by the wrongs done them by the outlaw known as the Quaker Kid. In the cold December of 1855, they track him and his gang to the Claim they jumped in the Sierra Hills (over Jane's father's stone cold body), and bring them to justice and God. The Quaker Kid gives up a piece of a map and two names before he dies.
*XP awarded:Jane & Leo 7xp each. McNiel 6xp.
*Loose ends: The map-fragment & two names. The men also owe Dutch Charley a percentage of the bounty on the gang.
!10/20/07
*Characters in attendance: Team Bravo.
*Cast: Ethan, Anna-Lucia, Ilsa's Brood
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
Conflict breaks out over a strange vampire found wandering in the Barbary Coast. While hunting Leo bumps into a strange Vampire who flees rather than be questioned. He chases her down and drags her back to Henri who, after determining she can't talk, has her staked and thrown in the cellar. Meanwhile Grace, James and Michael make the acquaintance Otto Blick, a representative for a German confectionery company at the Bayside Hotel. While James is taking Otto off for some entertainment they encounter Ethan, who seems to be in a bit of a state, asking them if they've seen a young lady named Anna. Since they have not he vanishes. Leo swings by Grace to bring her up to speed, and both are surprised by Ethan's hurried arrival. When Ethan hears of Henri's decision to have the girl staked he flies into a rage, knocking Leo across the room before rushing off. Leo declares he's had enough and heads to his Haven, while Grace heads off to the Anicii estate up on Nob Hill. By the time she gets there she finds the House in flames and Ethan recklessly butchering servants in his way. He pauses to inform her he has decided to claim the city for himself in Ilsa's absence. Placing his sword to Grace's neck he gives her a choice - swear fealty, face exile or die. She chooses the first. He then demands to know what has happened to his Anna and she tells him she is being held in Leo's cellar - a small misunderstanding on her part, one that becomes fully revealed to her when, after he speeds off she speaks with a servant and hears that a girl was taken down into the cellar here by Leo shortly before. She rushes down bellow, finds Anna staked inside a barrel and carries her to safety before the building collapses. James, Michael & Otto run up towards the fire in an attempt to help put it out when they encounter the two stumbling down the street. Michael distracts Otto as best he can while she gets James to assist her getting the still staked Anna back to her place. Once at her South Park flat she enlists Jane and Anna is unstaked. Anna proves mute and childlike however, and can't aid them much in figuring out what's going on. Grace heads off with James to find Ethan, and follow the trail back to Leo's shop, where - coincidentally - Michael & Otto happen to be wandering. As they approach they see Adam fly out the window to bounce across the street. James (now in wolf form) moves to neutralize Otto, while Michael keeps an eye out, leaving Grace to go in to speak with the enraged Ethan alone. Inside the store she finds Leo staked to a wall with a broken broom-handle, and Ethan comes up from the depths. Hurriedly she informs him she knows where Anna is, and that she is safe. Ethan sweeps her up and they travel at inhuman speeds to the South Park house, where he is reunited with his childe. He asks for Jane's fealty (which she gives) and grants her her freedom, before leaping off into the night with Anna in his arms. The night ends with Jane & Grace swinging by Jame's little whorehouse where Otto is still being "distracted" to give him the good news.
*XP awarded: Grace 6xp, Jane & Leo 5xp, everyone else 4xp.
*Loose ends: What ever happened to Henri? Ilsa? The now disenfranchised Ventrue?
!4/14/07 - Bad Neighbors, Act 1
*Characters in attendance: Sad Jane, Lao, Jack, Rotten Robbie, Leopold Heindel, William Deerborn, Grace Whitman
*A synopsis of the game session's events: May 20th - the city collectively held it's breath as the Vigilance Committee lays judgment on Casey & Cora. James King dies and the verdict is given - the murderers are to be hanged in three days time...
**As the Pack gathers at the Den, Maria tells them she sought guidance in a dream, and asks them to interpret as they will:
***"A knight comes across the water, but he is not ours - he is a two-edged sword,
***"A rat opens a Champaign bottle, "POP!", and a snake pours out,
***"Black velvet gloves move on a black velvet background, moving odds and ends,
***"White velvet gloves move on a white velvet background, they form a steeple, and drum impatiently,
***"A fireman sits in a boat, fishing about in his pockets, complaining he has lost his keys..."
**Leopold, exhausted from the day's events as a member of the Vigilance Committee, is summoned by Ilsa to the Nob Hill estate. She wishes him to play emissary to the mysterious elder at Mission Deloris, warn him of the current crisis & offer an alliance. Leo does as he is told, and spends time wandering about the Mission-turned resort, hoping to be noticed. When he sits and prays at the chapel, an old priest appears next to him. They talk - he delivers his message, and the priest - Monmoth, he calls himself - tells him he does not recognize Ilsa's primacy in the city (and resents her claims as he was here first), but he will make no move against her as long as she stays out of the Mission district. As for the rest, he has never seen Rat creatures as Leo describes. Once Leo returns to the Hill, Ilsa sends him out again to check on Grace.
**Grace sends out Graham to invite the old woman Candyse to dinner, and hours later he returns with her. Both are scared from many little scratches, and they tell Grace of the Rat infestation that has appeared in the hills. It is decided Candyse had best stay with them for a while.
**Lao interprets Maria's dream as best he can (recognizing the Beshilu must be moving to release Old Man Lizard, that there are forces manipulating events from behind the scenes, & that the fireman in the boat must be the Dutchman). He surmises also that Ilsa must be the knight from across the sea, and the keys represent the Dutchman's control of the city, now that he sits in a Vigilance Committee cell at Fort Gunnybags. Over James' objection Lao decides William, as Jane's childe, should fully join the pack, and the rest of the evening is set aside for his initiation and acceptance by Yohoso in the sea cave within the Asylum.
**Late in the evening both Leo & the Pack converge on the South Park townhouse, and Grace and Lao share notes, recognizing the Beshilu must be seeking Old Man Lizard's release. Leo insists on joining the hunt, while Grace remains behind. Only a few drunks witness the nightmarish riders - three mysterious masked banditos righting terrifying great wolves through the back-streets near midnight. As midnight arrives, the hunters reach the woods. All around them they can hear the chewing, gnawing of the rats. They race into the clearing about the dead spot of grass, at the heart of which resides the Dragon's Teeth - the stone circle marking Old Man Lizard's prison. Yahoso quails, whispering it can see the entity bound within the circle in the Twilight, bottlecaping the Thing between this world and the Shadowlands. About the circle several Beshilu hybrids and numerous rats struggle to topple the last few stones. Before they even see their attackers, the Pack strikes - gunshots disperse the Gnawers and drop two of the hybrids in short order, but the hybrids dissipate into the Shadow World before they can be finished off. Spurred on by desperation, the remaining hybrids topple the last few stones, and a great force explodes, laying everyone flat. As they rise, a massive, desiccated dragon-like horror steps out of shimmering air. Leo gets off a single shot, wounding the thing. The screech it lets loose in response fills them all with such dread they are all flee into the woods. Behind, lit by the full of the moon, Old Man Lizard sets about snapping up stray Beshilu and begins its' hunt.
*XP awarded: Sad Jane (4), Lao (4), Jack (4), Euphemia (1), Rotten Robbie (4), Leopold Heindel (4), William Deerborn (3), Grace Whitman (4)
*Loose ends: Old Man Lizard & Sebastian are still loose, & has the Pack guessed Maria's vision as clearly as they think they have?
!4/28/07 - Bad Neighbors, Act 2
*Characters in attendance: Sad Jane, Lao, Jack, Rotten Robbie, Leopold Heindel, William Deerborn, Grace Whitman
*A synopsis of the game session's events: May 21st, pre-dawn hours. Our heroes flee, stumbling back into town, the thick, bullious fog seeping over the hills and throught the city making visibility nearly imposible. They are scattered, lost in the mysts, the city a strange, alien place. And they are not alone. Shadows flit through the fog, faint, inhuman. And from time to time they can hear the Dragon's thunderous steps, see the shape of his massive head lifting above the fog, his horrifying siloette against the fullness of the moon.
**Some time earlier Grace found herself having misgivings, and decided to take herself to Ilsa's Manse. Risking travelling in the dark, she rouses her doorman to escort her rather than put out the rather exausted Graham. Soon with Ilsa she finds herself enjoying both her sire's hospitality, and being enjoyed. She also does what she can to bring her up to speed. Ilsa in turn sends out Alan & Daniel to do what they may to assist Jane's Gang.
**Around 3am the scattered members of said gang gather enough wits to make plans. Lao howls, calling his pack to him. Lao has looked into the Twilight and has seen the host of Spirits that have flooded the City in the wake of the Dragon's release. Soon most of them join him, and in turn they find Leo, already tracking the great beast. While the rest of the pack follow him, Jane brakes away riding Jack to get Ilsa to give the aid she promised.
**Ilsa sags in her seat. Something horrid has happened to her children. She knows it. Grace does what she can to calm her, when Jane arives. After some inital confusion, Jane fills her in, and Ilsa whistles for a mighty black stallion from her stables. Grabbing up Grace behind her the two ride bareback, keeping pace with Jane & Jack until they are reunited with the rest of the Gang deep in Sydney-town (where the trail has led them).
**United now, they follow the trail down to the docks, where it ends. Lao on a hunch, looks into the Twilight, then backs away slowly. "It's right in front of us", he whispers, "in the Twilight". As quickly as they react to this revelation, guns draw, and Leo suddenly flys into the side of a nearby building, hit by a powerful yet unseen force. Leo and Robbie squint into the Twilight, seeing the phantom specter of Old Man Lizard slap their ally with his tail before fluttering up onto the roof. They try to fight it, but to little effect. As long as it stays in the twilight, their attacks have no effect and only a few can even percieve it - it has no such restrictions it seems. Leo finds he has become its' target of choice - only the intervention of the old man of the mission, Monmoth, saves him, albiet briefly. Hidden in the Twilight as well, the elder priest trys using prayer and abdjuration to push the creature back, but gives it only brief pause before he too is greviously injured and forced to flee. Maria & Yohoso arive, cavalry-like, but admit to having little more to aid them in their fight. Then Old Man Lizard begins spinning, and in the physical realm a twister starts forming, tearing at the docks. The Gang flees, just as a tornado tears up both warf & street.
**Away from the devistation, Maria tells them of an altercation that happened at the Den. Alan & Daniel were challenged by a handsome Italian, who pulled a massive two handed sword out of thin air and then cut them to pieces with it. Ilsa swears under her breath - "Ethan de Sammachi!", an elder of the Daeva Clan and one of the hated Sammachi - long time rivals and one of the reasons she'd left Austria. The Werewolves retreat to the Den, while the Vampires hole up at the South Park flat (except for Leo, who prefers his own haven dispite the risks). A suprise awaits at the townhouse however. The old woman Candyse has apparently been kidnapped while they were out!
**The following evening: Leo rises and decides to go hunting before he rejoins the others. WHile visiting some of his favorite Freshwater Girls, he stumbles into an unfamiliar, powerful kindred - introductions are swift, for it is none other than the dreaded Ethan his sire had mentioned the night before. Some fast talking on Leo's part disuades the Elder from "dueling" him on the spot, instead entrancing him with the idea of huntingthe Dragon. Ethan agrees to follow him back to the Den to learn more.
**A boy drops off a letter to the Townhouse for Jane & Grace from the Dutchman, a professional letter of respect from one boss to another. He warns them of the increased zeil of the Vigilance Committee (he expects to be deported by them soon) and tells of how the object Jane and her gang had retrieved for him had since been stollen. The object, according to Dutch, is a large emerald called "the Heart of Nergal", said to be a fragment of a dismembered Demon-king, a lord of plagues, who was said to be splinted into a thousand rats. Finaly, he sent along a map fragment for Jane, to go with the other in her posession. It is clear to the Gang now the source of the Bishelu. Ilsa dresses as a man, and has Grace dress simply, before they leave with Jane & William to join everyone else at the Den.
**Events nearly go very sour as everyone arives in the shady backroom of the Den. Ilsa keeps her cool encountering Ethan, and Ethan in turn finds he can't quite bring himself to attack her. Monmoth appears, declairs that the three of them should put their differences aside and join forces to deal with the crisis at hand. In the interum, they agree to act as a triumverate. Monmoth tells them of the truth about Jonah - how he was in life Jacob, Grace's husband, turned by Alberto Herrera on his last visit to town some years ago, and that a brief stint in torpor had distorted his memories. Jonah was the thief who stole the Heart of Nergal from the Dutchman, and he has since been possessed by it. Now he and his allies, the Bishelu, are in the Asylum seeking to make a pact with Old Man Lizard. Now it the time to strike!
*XP awarded: 4xp for everyone who made it.
!5/5/07 - Bas Neighbors, Act 3
*Characters in attendance: Sad Jane, Lao, Jack, Rotten Robbie, Leopold Heindel, Euphemia, Grace Whitman
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
**After a brief pause while the younger Kindred step out to hunt,Jane's Gang and the Triumverate reconviene at the Den and make plans. Euphenia brings up two important bits of information - a) the Vigilance Committee is set to publicly hang Casey & Cora tomorrow (an event that should have a big turnout, given the mood in the city), and b) before her disapearance Candyse told Euphenia much about Old Man Lizard (how it is powered by dispair, and what symbols & words reduce it's power and can help inprison it). After some small debate they agree to strike tonight, rather than wait for it to be drawn out by the rather public event tomorrow. They split into two teams - one team will take on the Dragon, the other will focus on getting the Stone from Jonah.
**Around midnight Lao successfuly leads them through the Asylum's tunnels bellow Sydney-town to a hidden temple. There they find Sebastian & Jonah leading a host of cultists and Beshilu in a ritual. Chained to a coffin between them is the old woman Candyse. With the element of suprise on their side the Gang dives in, and events quickly spiral out of control. Jane & Grace do what they can, sniping from the tunnel. Jack gets badly injured by two prostitutes with rusty strait-razors. So badly injured he enters Death Rage and flees, causing Graham fall to lunacy and flee as well. As the fight progresses a shimering form shapes above the dias, and Old Man Lizard appears. Ethan, Lao & Leo charge onto the dias and are mobbed by Beshilu while the other cultists flee. Sebastian badly injures Ethan before he in turn falls to the combined might of Lao's teeth and Leo's shotgun to his head. Rotten Robbie waids through the crowd, guns in hand, as does the manifest Yohoso, shooting and setting fire to Beshilu, Cultist and Old Man Lizard alike. Jonah finds himself summoned to Ilsa's side and commanded to give her the Heart of Nergal. Once in her possession the Elder Ventrue smashes it to fragments, freeing both Jonah & the Beshilu of it's dominion. They in turn flee the seen with all due haste. Euphemia uses the confusion to sneak up to the dias and - in conjunction with Monmoth - procedes to place marks on the pillars that circle it. The Dragon, seeing the tide of battle going against him (and unable to stand up to the continued gunplay and flames thanks to Robbie & Yohoso) begins to discorporate again. In a last ditch effort Yohoso discorporates as well and wrestles with the monster in the Twilight, holding in on the dias just long enough for Euphemia & Monmoth to finish their rite. Finding itself trapped - again - Old Man Lizard stuggles to free himself, but the resulting earthquake only succeeds in bringing the cavern down around everyones ears. Before the entrance is completely blocked, they flee.
*XP awarded: Sad Jane (8), Lao (8), Jack (8), Rotten Robbie (8), Leopold Heindel (8), Euphemia (10), Grace Whitman (8), William Dearborn (4), James Danavae (2), Michael McNiel (2), Simon Trent (1)
*Epologue: The Dragon is bound deep in the earth, but not dead, his cult scattered, but not destroyed. Leo managed to set Candyse loose before the end, and discovered the possessed Jonah had turned her against her will. The following day Casey & Cora are hanged by the VC - their execution is witnessed by a crowd of 20 to 30 thousand people - a full half to two thirds of San Francisco's population. The VC dominates the city until August, when they volutarily disband.
!11/03/08
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Robbie, Euphemia, Sergei, Mei Mei, Poco
*Cast List: Old Tar Woman, some hoodlums, "Killer" Kyle & the rest of Robbie's family
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
Jane, Euphenia, Robbie go with Paco to the Borova's Import Shop for furniture for Robbie's house over in South Park. The Barovas are taken aback by Yohoso (who they can somehow see). A punk hoodlum slips in to make a name for himself by shooting him in the back, causing mayhem - especially when Robbie is nearly thrown into a fighting frenzy. Wounding the boy (who escapes), he is frustrated by the others who stop him from finishing the kid off. Jane & Euphemia try to find the boy, but only encounter an old Indian woman carrying a wicker basket. Paco is sent by Robbie with a message to Samual Brennan about the incident, and encounters a strange, frightening old woman made of knotted wood, oosing tar and carrying a wicker basket. He runs back to Chen Being after delivering his message, tells her of what he saw. She tells him of Old Tar Woman, an old Californian Indian myth, and he goes & hides under his bed. Later Robbie, Euphemia & Jane go back to his house & eat dinner w/his family. Robbie gets freaked when he realizes one of his children doesn't smell right - what the boy does smell of is tar. He heads off to get Maria, to see if she can figure out what is going on. She examines the child and agrees he doesn't smell right, but otherwise seems fine. The following day Robbie slips through the Murder Alley Loci near the Wolves Den, and after paying her price quizzes Her-Warm-Embrace about possible Tar Spirits in the area. She doesn't know of any that has a fondness for running off with children. Paco returned to the Barova's shop, and confides in them the truth about himself with a little demonstration, opening a door into the Hedge behind the shop. Euphemia, while cleaning up around Robbie's house, remembers an old Indian story about Chahe, Old Tar Woman, who would catch travelers and trick them into her tar-filled stomach, which she hid in a basket on her shoulder.
*XP awarded: 3xp for everyone.
*Loose ends: Old Tar Woman is still out there, somewheres. Robbie's boy, "Killer", still doesn't smell right. The location of the boy who shot Robbie is unknown. The Barovas now (in theory) know Paco's big secret.
!12/09/06 - Dragon Rising, Act 1
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Grace, Leo
*A synopsis of the game session's events: Febuary 15th,1856 - around 5:30am San Francisco recieved a big jolt. Leo has introduced Jane to his friend Grace, owner of the Great Bay Hotel, who has in turn decided to take the trapper-girl under her wing. Despite the shake-up Grace decides to take Jane shopping (Leo plays escort) and while going near the edge of town they are attracted by screaming & get involved in a man dragging his hysterical wife through the street. Turns out he's looking for a doctor (or a priest) and is much obliged at their assistance. Grace sends for her doctor & they retire to their farm. The Doctor finds little evidence of illness, but recomends a trip to the sanatarium. Leo & Jane detirmine there's something decidedly odd about the vegitation on their land, but the cow seems nice. That night Jane finds her taste in food changed, and both she and Grace struggle with strange dreams showing them SF before it was settled, are persued through the woods by a black wolf, and eventualy find a stone circle before waking. The next day they head out to take a ride through the forest without Leo (instead taking the carage man), where they meet curious locals such as the leper Ratlick and the old woman Candyse, both of whom claim to know a thing or two about the woods, but not about any strange disease making folks hysterical. Candyse has a strange story of how a local tribe had tried to drive the Spanish away when they came by summoning a Dragon-spirit, but couldn't control it. She tells them the Indians ended up binding it deep in the earth within a stone circle deep in the woods...
*XP awarded: Jane & Grace 4xp each. Leo 3xp.
*Loose ends: The girls had agreed to meet up with Candyse after she'd had a chance to whip up a little something to help them against the Dragon.
!11/10/07
*Characters in attendance: Lao, Jack, Team Bravo, the Borovas
*Cast List: Ethan, the SF Anicii, Kip, Anton, Anna, Asmodius, Morgan, Chimaera, James' brother-in-law, Baron Vulsung, "Ilsa Vulsung", Jonah, Candyes, Father McNeil, Monmoth.
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
Grace hosts Otto's confection party, inviting local key figures to indulge. Meanwhile, behind the scenes Ethan holds court, meeting with the local kindred and sorting out titles and territories. Jane is made Sheriff and Regent of the Barbary Coast, while Grace is granted the Financial District. Leo, finding himself out of favor, moves to make friends with new faces such as Asmodius. Through Yohoso the Pack learns of Sergi's awarness of Spirits, and make his acquaintance (and possibly his help in finding out what is going on with Robbie's son). Michael recieves word his Uncle is back in town and wishes his help. The evening ends with everyone heading home, but the Pack stiffens when they hear howls, then respond - "this is OUR territory!" they warn.
*XP awarded: 4xp for everyone.
*Loose ends: Who was howling? What is Michael's Uncle planning?
!12/16/06 - Dragon Rising, Act 2
*Players in attendance: McNiel, Jane, Grace, Lao, Jack, Rotten Robbie
*A synopsis of the game session's events: none yet
*XP awarded: McNiel (6), Jane (7), Grace (7), Lao (6), Jack (6), Duruhm (6), Leo (1).
*Loose ends: Candyse agrees to teach McNiell a thing or two.
!12/23/06 - Duch Charly, Act 1
*Players in attendance: Jane, Robbie, McNiel
*A synopsis of the game session's events: For some weeks Jane has been arguing with McNiel and Leo as to what to do with the Map they had found with the Quaker Kid. Jane for her part was willing to ignore it, and gather her companions for a Bear hunt. But McNiel had achieved a partial translation of the map, and found it claims it leads to gold! (something about a pagan gold icon and death too, but who cares about that! Gold!). All this is rendered moot when, in mid March, word comes from McNiel's "accosiate" Dutch Charly that he has found out the identity of one of the two names the Kid had mentioned before he had died. That night the map is stollen - the only clue a scrap of paper with a fig leaf on it - and Jane nearly shoots up the town looking for the thief. That morning McNiel and Duram (retiring himself from guarding the ladies of the Grand Bay Hotel), followed by a steeming and distrustful Jane, head off to meet with the Dutchman. On their way there they are distracted by commotion on the docks. A ghost ship has pulled into port the previous evening, empty it seems exept for the skipper, bound to the mast, dead. At the Dutchman's estate up on Nob Hill, they finaly meet the man himself. He looks over the piece of paper, and tells them it's the mark of the Valentino Gang, smuggliers and counterfitters that work out of the Asylum in Sidney-town. Seems they have a mutual foe - the Valentinos have been putting preasure on another gang, the Sidney Hammers, who were supposed to retrieve a gem of his that was to be delivered on the ghost ship that arived last night. The Hammers have yet to bring him his property, and he's getting a little "concerned". If McNiel and his companions were willing to retrieve the gem by dawn the next day, he'll pay them $100 each, and throw in the name if they retrieve the map (since the map is useless without it). Discression is called for - if they run into trouble with the police, he might be able to help, but there's no help for lynch-mobs. The Asylum, established 5 years ago by altruists who came to Sidney-Town to help the unfortunate and were tared & feathered for their troubles, is currently inhabited by several rival gangs, so they'd best be careful.
*XP awarded: Jane & Robbie (4xp), McNiel(3xp)
!The Preachers, Part 1 (11/17/07)
*Characters in attendance: Lao, Jack, Deerborn, Robbie, Paco, Eufennia, Sergi, Jane
*Cast List: "Killer" Kyle (Robbie's son), the Preachers, Father-full-of-eyes.
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
The following morning at the Barova's shop, as Paco sweeps up for his daily bit of toast, Sergi negotiates with Robbie & Eufemmia over the price of things. He pauses to deal with two other patrons - an old priest & a young man - over the price of old napkin holders. Eufemmia notices a stranger hanging out by the windows. Sergi spots a strange spirit, Father-full-of-eyes, who becomes delighted that he can see him, but he disappears when Sergi turns his back. Eufemmia notes the stranger outside joining up with the priest & his companion in the street after they leave. Later Robbie meets with the rest of the pack (including Jane & Deerborn, and later Eufemmia) at Jack's bar, and decide to relocate their families up to the Cabin they keep up by the Loci in the hills. Meanwhile Paco visits his mentor and she warns him she has divined that he stands to loose someone he knows to dark circumstances. He heads back to Sergi's shop to warn him, only to find Robbie already there with his son Kyle. Robbie hopes the Russian can determine what's wrong with his boy. All Sergi can tell is the boy faces a dark fate. An eye appears in his tea to suggest he go out back to speak with his "children", but when he tries to negotiate more information, the Eye gets surly and shuts. Sergi sends Paco to check it out instead, whereupon Paco is promptly bitten on the leg by a wolf that runs off. Upset, he comes back and he and Robbie compare notes (eventually resulting in his enchanting Robbie to show him "the truth" about himself). They take off to his place, only to find it decimated. Only hours earlier, when Eufemmia had gone with Robbie to pick up Kyle, she had stayed on to try and persuade his wives to change their mind (they were having none of Robbie's notions about moving up to the cabin with his weird friends). The Priest from before showed up at the door to talk with the wives about Jesus, but Eufemmia wouldn't let him in, having her suspicions confermed shortly thereafter by the breaking of glass and screams as a giant wolf burst into the kitchen. Amongst all the screaming and gunshots and dying, Eufemia gets badly mauled and is left dying on the floor. That evening, Robbie arrives and finds his family butchered: some shot, some half-eaten, all missing their eyes. Paco stays outside to keep his boy from seeing). Deerborn arrives to look in on him and finds what's left of Eufemmia. Sneaking her into a side-room, he gives her the embrace rather than let her die. Back at the Barova's shop, Sergi finds his store is full of eyes, and the last customers of the day come in - large, bloody, harry, maddening men - the Preachers.
*XP awarded: 4xp for Eufemmia, 3xp for Sergi, Paco, Robbie &Deerborn. 2xp for Jane, Lao & Jack.
*Loose ends: Who are the Preachers and why are they being such right Bastards?!? Will Deerborn's compadres succeed on their dangerous mission? What will Jane & Kip turn up in their investigation?
!Preachers Cycle, part 2 (11/24/07)
*Characters in attendance: Bravo Team (minus Leo)
*Cast List: King-under-the-Mountain and his court, Father-full-of-eyes, Father O'Neil, Brian O'Neil, Baron Vulsung, Ulrike, Kip, assorted other local kindred (cameos).
*A synopsis of the game session's events: After hearing the howls the previous night, the Firefly pack knew getting their kin to safety was their first priority. James spends the entire day moving his children and a few of his girls to Oakland by way of the Ferry. Lao & Jack relocate their own families (along with Euphemia & Maria's kids) to Candyse's Cabin as planned. By nightfall James has joined them, and with Yohoso they set about watching over their wards. Meanwhile, Jane - after filling in Grace - heads off to update Prince Ethan, while Grace goes to warn Baron Vulsung. Kip joins Jane as her first Hound, and Ethan sends them on a two-fold mission: warn the other Kindred of the Werewolves' civil dispute, and find the one Anicii who missed Court the previous evening - Ulrike. Grace finds herself tasked with a similar purpose (finding Ulrike) after updating the Baron and the rest of the Anicii (who happened to be visiting). Saddled with the otherwise content Otto (still living high on the success of the party the other night), they set off to check first the Hospitals & morgue, then the Orphan Asylum. Michael, having taken the night off, goes to the church his uncle used to serve at, where the statue of Christ on the Cross comes alive before him, and tells him to wait - his uncle will be with him soon. Back at the Cabin the Fireflies find the stone circle where Old Man Lizard used to be imprisoned is now active with spirits. As the pack moves up to investigate, they see five strange, powerful spirits lurking in the twilight: a large black indian, a bear, a tree, an animate rock, and a creature covered in eyes. They try being diplomatic, but the eye-thing vanishes, and the others open the Loci to let a band of Elementals through. Soon they are fighting tooth and claw to stop Fire and Air spirits passed to destroy the house, and manage to drive them off. The bigger spirits then manifest, telling them they wish them to leave their hills - they are Forsaken, and the King-under-the-Mountain will not have them laying claim to his territory. They finally agree to respect his will and neither enter the Shadow there or make use of the Loci at the Stone Circle. Jane splits with Kip, leaving him to warn outlying Domains while she goes & checks up on Pack holdings and Grace's activities, eventually making it back to the Cabin and the Fireflies. Elsewhere the O'Neil's have their reunion and share certain facts and imply far more, but Michael is in the end left with suspicions about the earlier visions of Jesus. Grace & her companions find Ulrike in the Orphan Asylum, her mind broken, raving about children without blood who turn to leaves when you kill them. Baron Vulsung requests she tend to her personally. As dawn arrives and Jane is brought up to speed, the Pack concludes they've been outmaneuvered every step of the way, and that perhaps they should relocate their families like James did to the relative safety of Oakland.
*XP awarded: Lao, Jack, James, Jane 5xp. Michael, Grace & Otto 4xp.
*Loose ends: Grace is looking after Ulrike; the mystery Pack is still out there, and it is clear they're one step ahead of the Fireflies.
!12/30/06 - Dutch Charly, Act 2
*Players in attendance: Jane, Robbie, McNiel
*A synopsis of the game session's events: Ariving in the early evening, Jane, Duram & McNiel slip down the storm-cellar back enterance to nock on the door and give the password. Only, no one answered. After waiting a bit, Jane tries the door, springing the pit trap left for unexpected guests. Getting by with only a few bruises, they force the door and find several rooms full of carnage. The Sidney-town Hammers have apparently been butchered by the Valentino Gang, judging by the assortment of scratch-paper with poorly drawn fig-leaves on them scattered about. The gang's boss seems particularly savaged - hi arm cut off and his face covered in odd-looking boils. Working their way to the far end of their hideout, they stumble into the gang's only surviving member, who shoots Duram, mistakenly believing them to be Valentinos bent on finishing him off. After a fierce stand-off, they persuade him they're not with the rival gang, patch him & Duram up, and have it confermed that the Valentinos have stollen the gem.
*XP awarded:4xp for everyone
!01/06/07 - Dutch Charly, Act 3
*Players in attendance: Jane, Robbie, William, Jack, Lao
*A synopsis of the game session's events: McNiel having slipped off to settle his nerves (ie. get drunk), Jane and Robbie grab Lao and Jack from the Hotel to back them up, filling them in on the Dutchman's deal. They return to the Asylum, and bust into the Valentino's territory, quickly overpowering the lookouts. While contemplating how best to get passed the next room (full of laborers and an observant overseer), they are suprised by William Dearborn, another Gunslinger hoping to cash in on the Dutchman's deal. Sorting things out, Jack enters first and is mistaken as a late-arriving laborer (a tactic the rest of the team soon follows). Lao finds out from a fellow Chinese worker that the gang is having trouble with the Huderman Gang since they took out the Hammers, and there is a rumor of strange chanting further down the tunnels. After the Overseer slips off to the dormatories for a break, they slip down to see if they can catch the gang's leader, Emelio, unawares, but instead encounter his right-hand man, Sebastian. Sebastian quizes them as to their buisness, while informing them his boss isn't to be disterbed. After some poor attempts at subterfuge fail to take his interest, Robbie comes clean and tells Sebastian about their real buisness - to retrieve the gem for the Dutchman. Sebastian approves of his candor, and goes in to tell Emilio, only to find his boss' headless corpse. The gang agree to retrieve his head, and Sebastian gives Jane back her map. The crew follow a blood-trail through a secret door behind a bookshelf into the sewers, where they are ambushed by a hoard of exceptionaly bellegerant rats (Jack is particularly traumatised by the experience). Forced to flee, they hop into an old mining cart (in which they also find Emilio's head and his murderer's half-eaten corpse), and roll to safty deeper in the tunnels bellow Sidney-town. Searching the corpse, Jack finds some coin and more importantly the gem, which they swiftly place in the box the Dutchman provided. In the lower caverns they find the Huderman Gang hiding behind a baracade, and convince them to parlay. Their leader, Dirk, tells them of the strange cult that has seized the only other exit, now that the Valentinos had colapsed the tunnels on one end and rats were swarming the way the crew had just come. These strange cultists were seemingly immune to gunfire, and were performing a rite down by the boats. The Hudermans negotiate and it is decided they and the crew will use another mining cart to ride hell bent for leather right down to the peir and jump straight into the boat and row like mad. This they do, but just then the cultists finish their chanting and reality bursts, loosing a massive tenticled horror into the cavern with them. The thing devowers several gangmembers (and cultists too) while they rush to get to the boat. Jane goes a little crazy, charging both the monster and the foul-smelling albino cult-leader while blazing away and screaming. The tenticled monstrosity recoiled briefly, seeking out more aminable targets, while the albino - shot in the head - drops, buying the rest of them time to begin rowing to safty. As Jane recovers and swims to catch up with them, the albino sits up, hissing at them with fangs barred. Much later, having returned the gem to Dutch Charly and gotten their reward, Jane reminds him of his other promise, and he tells her where the first of the two names can be found. The man is Bernardo de Diez, the place - Castronegro, New Mexico Territories.
*XP awarded: Jane & Robbie 7xp, Lao & Jack 6xp, Will 5xp, McNiel 2xp.
*Loose ends: The Cult-leader, Jonah Whitman, is still out there, as is his creature. William goes to chruch and tells all in confessional in hopes that they'll bless his guns.
!The Preachers, Part 3 (12/01/07)
*Characters in attendance: Deerborn, Robbie, Paco, Sergi, Alex, Robert Nevil, Mei Mei
*Cast List: "Killer" Kyle (Robbie's son), the Preachers, Digs for Teeth, Her Moist Embrace, a Preyhound.
*A synopsis of the game session's events: Earlier that evening Sergi finds his store is full of eyes, and the last customers of the day come in - large, bloody, harry, maddening men - the Preachers. Robert & Alex decide to try shopping at Barovias, but are frightened away. The Preachers take Sergei & Mei Mei away at gunpoint, tie them up and stick them in the back of a wagon, then ride away. Alex & Robert seek out Paco after failing to find a policeman (Paco having just tucked away Kyle at the Blue Lily), and the three meet with Robbie at Deerborn's shop. Leaving Eufennia as comfortable as he can (blind and changed as she is), the posse sets out to try following the trail. Digs For Teeth had told Robbie the pack had been sniffing around, but he doesn't know where they're hiding, so Robbie switches to wolf form to lead them (much to Alex' & Roberts' confusion). Meanwhile Sergei & Mei Mei figure out they're not the only captive - a young girl doped out on Opium is bound up in a rug as well. The wagon stops and two of their captors split off, then after a time they reach their destination, a farm several miles outside the city. The girl is hung on a hook, while they're allowed to sit in a corner. They decide the best course of action is to try a vision trance, sending their spirits into the shadow world to seek aid. They wander a trail they find back towards town, and after a frightening encounter with a Preyhound, they get there. Eventually they find Digs For Teeth, and after a quick round of deal-making, he leads them to where the posse is struggling to find the trail (they lost it where the two split off). After some shouting and looking back and forth across the Gauntlet, Robbie begins following the Barovas out of town and Digs takes his leave. Just after midnight they find the farm, and ambush the lone guard out front. Sergei & Mei Mei, back in their bodies, realize the girl is no longer with them, but they can hear her screams from the barn nearby. As the remaining guards at the farm house get into a shootout with Robert, Alex & Deerborn, Robbie & Paco burst into the Barn only to get shot up by the harry, scary sidewinder inside. Paco pulls himself and Robbie into the Hedge just before a huge wolf leaping at them can catch them in her teeth. Mei Mei & Sergei sneak out and join Paco in the Hedge, as do Robert & Alex (who find the weird gateway far less frightening than the werewolf). Deerborn finds himself alone to take the brunt with the two werewolves, and decides that discretion is the better part of valor.
*XP awarded: 2xp for Eufemmia, 7xp for Paco. 6xp for everyone else.
*Loose ends: While the Preachers' gang got shot to hell, the Pack itself got away with Maria.
!1/13/07 - Unexpected Guests, Act 1
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Robbie, Grace, Will, Lao
*A synopsis of the game session's events: Recuperating as best they might after the events at the Asylum, things are reletively uneventful. William and Robbie recuperate at the hospital, and recieve word from a representative of the Dutchman offering employment as extra muscle, while Jane - resting at the townhouse she and Grace have of only lately purchased - recieves an offer of a somewhat different nature (lunch on the coming sunday to discuss certain buisness opportunities). Recovered, that Saturday night the boys swing by to visit with Grace & Jane. While they are talking, Lao notices an insistant buzzing, and notices flies at a time and place where there should be none. Believing the strange albino that they'd encountered before was hidden about, their search through the house reveals the maid unconsious in a swoon. Thereafter things get hectic very fast, and a running game of hide and seek between them and their interloper results in William nocked out a window, Lao & Robbie running screaming down the street, a fire, and Jane vanishing in the arms of an the albino right before Grace's very eyes. Worse, the albino bears a striking resemblance to Grace's dead husband Jacob Whitman...
*XP awarded: Jane, Grace & Robbie 4xp, Lao & Will 3xp
*Loose ends: Will the boys take the job for Dutchman? Will Jane ever meet her lunch-date with Dutch Charly?
!1/05/08
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Deerborn, Lao, James, Rotten Robbie, Paco, Sergei, Mei Mei, Alex, Neville
*Cast List: The Laughing Lady, assorted lords and ladies of Arcadia.
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
''The Laughing Lady''
The following evening Deerborn makes it back to report in to Jane as to the disasterous events at the farm. Jane, along with James & Lao, join him in returning to the scene and find - as expected - the place empty. They find some graves behind the farmhouse that suggest the family that used to live there are dead. With no news as to the fate of those who stepped through Paco's gate, or knowledge as to the Pure's next move, the Firefly Pack continue with the plan to relocate to Oakland. Jane gives her notice to Prince Ethan and warns him of the state of affairs. Ethan, for his part, is glad to have the Fireflies out of the way. Without having to worry about hitting friendlies, he sets the Sammachi to hunting whatever Werewolves may still be lurking in the city. Resettled in Oakland Jane & Deerborn meet with the Prince there - Asmodius Dark. Jane, Lao and Dark have a very educational discussion on the subjects of Points of Power and mutual interest, and it is agreed that she will act as Dark's Sheriff with her pack supporting her effectively as her Hounds (along with Deerborn). Some time later, Dark shows Lao and James a Loci they can use to begin their investigations of Oakland's Shadow, and they discover many strange things, not the least of which is a massive black tower siting smack in the middle of town. As best as they can determine, it correlates roughly with the new hotel Whitman & McNeil are building. While they are pondering the alien structure, a spirit manifested as a sweet young girl hails them. The Laughing Lady (a Spirit of some small power) drops hints that she knows about Father Full of Eyes and his plans, and knows things that might be helpful in thwarting them - for a price. She reveals Father is blind to those without a stitch of clothes, and that he and his Pack must eat eyes. She also tells them to seek an ally at the Cobweb Palace, an Azulu named Jess.
''Over the Hedge''
Paco and his companions find themselves lost in a Hedge maze, pursued by Hobgoblin hunters.Paco tries his best to lead them back, but between the maze and Robbie's injured leg, they find their pursuers are almost on them. They come out in a glade where several horses are grazing and Robbie decides the steeds are better than stumbling on a bum leg. The horses agree (being talking horses, Paco doesn't trust them, but few care with the the hunters rounding the bend of the maze). With a leap and a bound everyone is carried to safety - well, at least in contrast to where they were. They are all separated, and deep in Arcadia. Each must fend for themselves as best they may, suffering Arcadian hospitality in that timeless realm. ''Sergei'' stays at a grim, cobweb covered castle in a land of eternal night. A guest of the Gorgon Mahitabel he is given free reign in her library, eventually escaping thanks to clues given him by a whispering box. Taking the Box, a crystal bowl, a bag of flower, and a ball of string, he is led into the tunnels bellow. Mahitabel screams for him to come back to her, and whistles a hoard of crawly things to pursue him. As the box tells him, he throws down the flower, and the hoard of insects stop to devourer it. He finds himself stumbling in an underwater stream and, following the box's whispers, puts down the bowl which transforms into a boat. Once in the boat he casts one end of the string into the water and something begins dragging him out of a cave, away from the island and Mahitabel's castle... ''Mei Mei & Paco'' find themselves in a beautiful Venice-style town. Paco sees Mei Mei only briefly before they are separated. Mei Mei is taken in by a handsome Fae, who pampers her and woos her and as time goes on she slowly but surely begins to forget her rough life from before. One night, when her patron is away, a giant blue ogre breaks in and kidnaps her from this lap of luxury. A now much older Paco tells her to hold her breath and swims them out of the city, out into the ocean, where they eventually stumble onto Sergei's boat... ''Robbie & Alex'' find themselves in the gem-studded caverns of the Gnome King. While Robbie is dropped off in a small township into the less than tender hands of the blacksmith Anvil, Alex is taken to receive the hospitality of the Gnome King (and is warned to steal nothing). While Anvil rebuilds his leg, Robbie realizes the wizened assistant is none other than his missing son Kyle. Alex, for his part, can't help himself. He knicks all sorts of things, despite finding gems in his food and on his clothes. Not that anyone notices. One day he realizes though that he is becoming stooped and wizened, just like his hosts. He sneaks out that night, but with a huge bag of loot - bejeweled knick-knacks he's been pilfering - and is soon being pursued through the streets by the King's guards. Kyle spots him and summons him over. Before his master or the guard catch on, he leads Alex and his father out a back way up some hidden stairs... ''Neville'' is dropped off at the Halls of the Mountain King, where he is offered food and drink and a post as educator for the King's son. Agreeing only to eat a few raisins (raisins the size of his head!), the King is outraged and has him tossed into the soup to be boiled alive. He is saved from being an item on the menu by Robbie shooting the Giant Cook in the leg, startling him and making him spill the contents of his pot. The three refugees of the Gnome Kingdom pull Neville's badly burned body out of the muck and flee through a carelessly ajar door. Outside, they come across a phoenix in a cage which they free. The phoenix flies them out over the ocean, where they spy a boat. Flying closer a wave puts out the phoenix, dunking them into the water where Paco pulls them on board. Finally all together, the survivors take stock in how they have all changed, and Paco tries to explain what they have gone through. The boat comes through a fog bank under a bridge of gold, and they come aground. THey pass out of the hedge and find several months have gone by. Their business ventures have suffered badly (indeed - except for Robbie, none of them are clearly unrecognizable as who they were). Unsure what to do now, they follow Paco back to Madam Chao, except for Robbie, who searches up his Pack.
*XP awarded: Paco (6). Sergei, Mei Mei, Alex, Neville (5). Everyone else (3).
!1/20/07 - Unexpected Guests, Act 2
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Robbie, Grace, Will
*A synopsis of the game session's events: Gathering their wits about them, the two gunmen escort Grace to the Grand Bay hotel. They find it oddly open and festive. The entire place has been rented by the Anicii family, led by a young and beautiful Countess. They get past her guards and recieve proper introductions, and in return make the aquantance of her six cousins, her agent Richard Bedford, and her priest, Father Gregor. Dominique take a particular interest in Robbie, who mentions San Francisco's more 'supernatural' side, which brings up the who recent issue of Jane's kidnapping by the apparent ghost of Grace's dead husband Jacob. Facinated, the Countess sends Father Gregor to excize the haunt from her home, while her two feminine couzins Ulrike & Dominique insist on comming to see. **Meanwhile, Jane wakes up in a cave to her captor, Jonah, hidden in the shadows. He asks her if she ever heard the story of Persephone, and gives her a pomegranite when she answers no. As she eats, he tells the story, and at it's end, he snatches her up, and nips her in the neck. She slips into unconsiousness.
**At the townhouse, the gunslingers talk Gregor into blessing them and their guns, while the girls persuade Grace to give them a tour of the house. Upstairs, Dominique persuades her to do her hair while Ulrike jumps on the bed. Then, as she is noticing their reflecting oddly in the mirror, they latch on to her sapho-like, and feed while she falls into a swoon. Afterward Dominique looks into her eyes and changes her memories - making her forget everything outside of her doing Grace's hair.
**Jane finds herself in a dream-like cavern, lit by an unknown sorce, a silver cord floating away from her into nothingness. A rumbbling, shaking comes from the distance, and she can see a massive, salamander-like monstrosity pushing through the earth towards her. The Dragon, muttering whispers that point to it's remembering her and her involvement in it's rebinding only a month or so before. Before it can catch her, she follows the sliver line into the invisible nimbus that had been illuminating the cave, and awakes to Jonah pulling his wrist away, her own face slick with red liquid. Jonah then tries his best to explain how she is a "Hungry Ghost" like himself now, dead but not dead, surviving on the blood of the living rather than becomming trapped in the Underworld. He also tries to make her comprehend what it is to be a vampire, and how they were decended from the Crone, and how he worshiped Old pagan or Heathen gods others had forgotten. While he talked Jane half-payed attention, far more interested in the rat she found she could talk too. Jonah used this opprotunity to show her how to feed from rats, then continued to explain that there were others outside of himself in town, distant Cousins who sought to seize San Francisco for their own. They masqueraded as Austrian nobility, these "Anicii", and were too old and numerous for him to stop on his own. The only other Kindred in town, the old Monk of the Mission, had devoted himself to passificim and would do nothing. Thus, Jonah had "adopted" her to be his childe and agent, to gather her friends and go north to a valley he knew of to get help from another Kindred of his faith, Zulemah Herrera.
**While the Priest performed his exorcism, Robbie manages to slip off with Dominique for a little fun upstairs. While he has fun, she feeds, him none the wiser. A half-starved Willaim is not quite so lucky while he raids the pantry. Ulrike slips in and catches his eye, ordering him to hold still and let her have her way with him, which he does. She slips into his coat and under his shirt, feeds, then re-writes his memory of the event so that he recalls that he raped her and swore to do even worse if she ever spoke of it. She then flees to sob helplessly on Grace's shoulder. Jane returns and hides, seeing unfamiliar guards about. Waiting until after they leave (and Willaim's panicked shooting of a rat), she apears (somewhat changed for her experiences) and warns them of the Anicii, and how they must trust her and ride north to get help (the details of which she is evasive about, not that they press). The three agree to meet her at a town to the north in about a day, giving them all time to get supplies.
*XP awarded: 6 for those who were here, 2 for Lao for his earlier involvement.
*Loose ends: Will hired the Hudderman Gang to spy on both Duch Charly & the aristocratic guests at the Grand Bay Hotel while he's gone. Grace left a letter in the care of her manager at the hotel for the rest of the Gang to meet them enroute.
!1/27/07 - Malevolence, Act 1
*Characters in attendance: Jane, Grace, Robbie, Lao, Jack, McNiel
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
**Lao stumbles in to a gambling den where Jack and McNiel have been whiling away the early morning hours, white as a ghost. Over the barman's racist objections, they sit him down and coax him into telling them of the frightening events he'd witnessed at Grace's townhouse. Together, they rush back. Now about dawn, their banging at the door rouse Grace and Robbie (who had been making use of one of her guest bedrooms), both of whom tumble downstairs in their bedclothes (leading to some chuckled misconceptions). After some confusion, Grace sends them to the parlor to wait while she puts on something more presentable (Robbie just goes back to bed), then rejoins them and tells them what she can of the previous nights events, and Jack, Lao, and McNiel all agree to join the expedition. All in desparate need of sleep, they rest until afternoon. Seeing to it they are properly supplied, they gather around the Waggon Will had aquired and begin the journey north.
**A week later, they wonder if they are lost. Jane mysteriously rejoined them their first night out, missing her horse. Though she seems gifted in hunting them food in the evenings, they can't shake the strangeness of it - disapearing before dawn and rejoining them at dusk. Her appearence too is disturbing, with the white streaks in her hair, and amber-colored eyes. Grace believes her doctor's suggestion (made before they took their leave) that she suffers from consumption and the stress of having been taken by Jacob's ghost. Still, they are now deep in the woods, and even Jane seems unclear as to where they are or where they're going. They find a cabin inhabited by an old frontier widow, who warns them of bears, and sets them on the right path to the Herrera Ranchero.
**They reach the Weyaho Valley by late afternoon the following day. They come to a graveyard next to a crossroads, where they meet Alberto de Herrera, son of the local Don, who inquires as to their purpose on his family's lands. Seemingly hostile at first, he quickly warms to them, and offers his father's hospitality. Something in the nearby woods seems to spook the horses, requiring them to be walked. The company follows Alberto along the left branch of the road (the right leading up to the nearby Mission), and he burbles on about the history of his family and the valley. They pass through the village, where the peons watch them wearily as they pass. By sunset they reach the Don's estate, and Jane appears - quite startled and almost hostile when she meets Alberto (for his part Alberto seems nonplussed). Jane explains to him the reason of their journey - to meet a Zulemah Herrera, which makes him laugh. Zulemah was his grandmother, he explains, and has been dead many, many years...
*XP awarded: 4 each.
*Loose ends: Grace sent a letter of appology to Dutch Charly on behalf of Jane, recusing them of the luncheon on Sunday.
!Our story so far...
[[Season 1]]: Shadows of the Barbary Coast
[[Season 2]]: The Wyrd War
!Fiction
The Wierd Adventures of Rangergirl.
The Strange Files of Fremont Jones
!Non - Fiction
The Barbery Coast
The Ohlone Way
The Shirley Letters
Golden Gate Metropolis
Haunted San Francisco
San Francisco Memoirs 1835-1851
More San Francisco Memoirs 1852-1856
San Francisco 1846-1856 From Hamlet to City
!Movies
Coastal Trail
The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
An American Haunting
From Hell
The Village
Pale Rider
A Fist Full of Dollars
For a few dollars more
The Frisco Kid
From Dusk 'til Dawn 3: the Hangman's Daughter
Ginger Snaps Back: the Beginning
Mirrormask
San Francisco
!Television
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
Kung Fu
Deadwood
The Adventures of Calamity Jane
Wild West (Documentary)
!Music
We've been listening to a lot of //Steave Roach// lately, especialy //Midnight Moon// & //Magnificent Void//, though I supose //Origins// might be more appropriate. //The Cranes// have some music that also strikes me as good. I intend to gather some soundtracks for assorted Clint Eastwood movies (//the Good, the Bad & the Ugly//, //Fist Full of Dollars// & //Two Mules for Sister Sarah// struck me as realy nice).
!Websites
[[World of Darkness|http://www.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/]].
[[California History|http://www.californiahistory.net/]].
[[Vigilance Committee|http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist6/woolley.html]].
[[SF in the 1850s|http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist/56facts.html]].
!Roleplaying Sourcebooks
//World of Darkness// (assorted)
//Sidewinder Adventures d20//, specificaly the Equipment section, though the book in general gives a nice western feel unadulterated by Horror-gaming.
//Deadlands// - see above, but with Horror added back in by the spoonful.
//Call of Cthulhu// (assorted)
[[Protagonists]]
[[Spirits & Stranger Things]]
[[Kindred of Note]]
[[Lycanthropes]]
[[Fae]]
[[Figures Historical & Otherwise]]
''Charles P. Duane'': Also called "Duch Charley" or even just "the Dutchman", he was briefly the Chief Engineer of the San Francisco Fire Dept. An ambitious man, he is one of Senator Broderick's cronies, usualy found in the gambling houses, and a big wheel in local politics. Nearly hanged by the Vigilance Committee in 1851 for shooting the manager of the French Theater, he has lived regaly on credit for years with no visable means of support.
''Graham'': Grace's right-hand man, Graham is payed well to be loyal, gracious, and if needs be a little brutal. No one seems quite clear as who he was before she hired him, or even if "Graham" is his real name (much the less what the rest of it may be). Jane's Gang has learned though that he has no compunction about burrying bodies for his mistress and - given his general dislike of them - wouldn't mind adding them to the list of people he wouldn't mind making "dissapear".
''Sebastian Valentino'': A Sydney-town gangster, he was once the right-hand man in the Valentino Family, until his boss was murdered in a gang-war. He took over, might have even lead them somewhere, but Beshilu infested his end of the Asylum tunnels, and he -like the rest of his gang- quickly became hosts for the Plague King. What's left of him is still lurking around, and is proving to be very, very dangerous!
''Dirk Huderman'': Leader of the Gang that bears his name, his gang was something to be reconed with until they found themselves in the middle of the expansionistic Valintino Gang, ravanous Beshilu Gnawers, and Jonah's Cult, all pushing their own agendas in the underground terretory known as "the Asylum". Now they're a second rate band of thugs working on shaking down Sailors as they tumble in from the docks.
''Hell Haggerty'': A ticket-leave man from Sydney, he runs not one but TWO of the seediest dives in [[Sydney-town]], ''the Goat & Compass'', and ''the Golden Rule''.
''Dirty Tom McAlear'': An odd character that haunts ''the Goat & Compass'', they say McAlear will (for a price) eat any refuse given him. He has not been sober or clean in decades.
''Senator David C. Broderick'': The power behind much of the corrupt politics in California, San Francisco in particular, he has played patron to the likes of such rogues as "Dutch" Charly.
''Mayor vanNesse'': Current mayor of San Francsico.
''Samuel Brannan'': One of the founders of the Vigilance Committee and a major buisnessman in San Francisco, it is arguable that the city would never have come into its' one without this rogue mormon.
''[[Jame King of William]]'': Journalist, prints the //Bulletin//, known for its' scathing attacks on Sen. Brodrick and his cronies. His Recent murdered by Casey sparked the rebirth of the Vigilance Committee.
''Ah Toy'' Notorious Chinese prostitute, possibly the first to arive in San Francisco. Known for her beauty and popularity with wealthy white men.
''Mama Pleasent'' The best payed Cook in SF, notable for being a black woman in an otherwise white man-dominated field. Some whisper she practices Voodoo.
''Father James McNiel'': Catholic Priest and Michael McNiel's uncle, he became a Vampire Hunter after discovering the activities of the Kindred in San Francisco. He is currently under lock and key in Vigilance Committee custody after a raid on the South Park Townhouse led to a trap placed by the Anicii.
''Maria de Herrera'': A young werewolf of the Bone Shadow Tribe, she was brought to SF from the [[Weyaho Vally]] to act as the Firefly Pack's Oracle by Zulema. She is impetuous, beutiful and very flirty.
''The Castronegro Pack'': The Werewolf Pack of which Zulema is a part, they claim the whole of the [[Weyaho Valley]] as their territory.
Background: #fff
Foreground: #000
PrimaryPale: #8cf
PrimaryLight: #18f
PrimaryMid: #04b
PrimaryDark: #014
SecondaryPale: #ffc
SecondaryLight: #fe8
SecondaryMid: #db4
SecondaryDark: #841
TertiaryPale: #eee
TertiaryLight: #ccc
TertiaryMid: #999
TertiaryDark: #666
Error: #f88
''Wendel Pram:'' One of the darkling knights of the Winter Court, Pram was an Irish immigrant fleeing his home to escape not just British oppression but the Gentry who took him years ago as a boy. He considers himself a grim servant of death and has honed his fighting skills and his contracts to do just that. His preference is to attach himself to families as an unofficial "bodyguard" using contracts to keep them safe in return for Glamour and a place to sleep (or a little money/food).
Grace's version:
After sleeping through the earthquake, Grace woke up
to find herself famished. As all of her ‘friends’
have left except Mr. Dearborn, and she is not sure
about taking Graham on a hunt, she asks Mr. Dearborn
to accompany her. Mr. Dearborn drives the buggy,
finds her a young woman. When she enters the wagon,
the woman protests, but Grace begins to feed.
Unfortunately, the women does not survive the event
and Grace, a bit desperate, instructs Mr. Dearborn to
drive home. Upon arriving at home, she informs Graham
of the unfortunate circumstances of a body in the
buggy. Graham inquires as to the how this occurred
and Grace informs him that Mr. Dearborn engaged the
young woman.
Graham excuses himself and finds Mr. Dearborn,
informing him that he needs to dispose of the body.
They exchange heated words, the result of which is
that Graham informs Mr. Dearborn that he is not the
sort of company that his employer should be keeping.
Mr. Dearborn left with the body while Grace heads to
church. Eventually, he met up with the rest of the
gang and it seems that they were rather displeased at
Grace hunting in Sydney Town. So, they all head over
to Grace’s house.
Meanwhile, at church, Grace, who is escorted by
Graham, is greeted by Mr. McNiel. Mr. McNiel offers
to escort Grace into church. As it happens, his uncle
is performing the services that evening. He begins
preaching a real hellfire and brimstone sermon about
the evils surrounding the city. Meanwhile, Grace is
feeling increasingly ill, coughing and feeling quite
uncomfortable. Pale and coughing blood, she leaves
the church, still escorted by Mr. McNiel. While
driving back to her house, Mr. McNiel expresses his
concern for her. Grace reassures Mr. McNiel that her
consumption is a minor difficulty and that she is
touched by his concern. When Mr. McNiel presses on
that he is concerned for her safety given the darkness
that seems to have overcome the city, Grace reassure
him that she is fine and hopes to remain his good
friend.
Upon arrival at home, a worried Mr. McNiel walks her
to her door. Grace enters the house to find multiple
guests awaiting her attention.
Mr. Hua-Zi demands her attention first. He is
outraged that she had previously fed on his fiancé,
causing her harm, and now he finds out that she has
fed in Sydney Town. Graces expresses her deep regret
at causing any harm. He had informed her not to feed
off the pack, but she had no knowledge of his
relationship with her cook. She also stated that as
Mr. Dearborn was driving the carriage, and she never
left the vehicle, she had no knowledge that she was
feeding in Sydney Town. After a moment of
consideration, she decided that Mr. Dearborn was not
the best choice when it came to acquiring food and she
would not ask him to accompany her again. She
reassures Mr. Hua-Zi that his fiancé has no reason to
be concerned for her future.
She returns to her sitting room, this time to be
confronted by Jane and Mr. Heindel, who escort her to
the kitchen for some privacy. Both are concerned
regarding her recent feeding. Jane is disturbed that
it occurred in Sydney Town, whereas Mr. Heindel is
focused on the loss of life that occurred. He becomes
increasingly threatening, mentioning that this will
come to the attention of the Countess Ilsa, while Jane
is insulted by his aggression. Grace ends the
conversation by informing Mr. Heindel that she has
concluded her discussion with him and leaves the room.
Upon returning to the sitting room, Grace announces
that she has personal business to attend to, and with
Graham as an escort, leaves to visit the Countess.
The Countess is receiving and sees her immediately.
Grace explains in detail the events of the evening,
beginning with the accidental hunting in Sydney Town,
the expiration due to weakness of the young woman and
the disturbance of the Sydney Town pack. The Countess
concludes that Mr. Dearborn must have fed off the
young woman first, which would result in a declined
constitution. Grace, of course, would have no way of
realizing this, which result in her premature
expiration. After a brief social visit, Grace finally
returns home to an empty (thankfully) house.
!XP guidelines
*Contributions may provide extra exp, at Storyteller's discretion:
**Creative efforts such as writing up a character background, drawing character sketches, and bringing/painting your own miniature are worth 1xp each.
!Character Creation
*New Characters begin play as Mortals with 0 xp (or 35 xp with a good background of at least a page in length). Supernatural Templates may not be taken without express Storyteller's permission & a good solid back story that ties into setting/game.
*Characters may not know more than one Fighting Style at start, and not at all if they have a supernatural template or Supernatural Merits. Fighting Styles are culture dependent (so no Katana-wielding Germans for instance).
!Combat Rules
*[[Archaic Cap & Ball firearms |http://www.lumpley.com/games/dogguns.html]] are still commonly available. These guns take one round to reload for each bullet (thus, a heavy revolver will take 6 rounds to reload, while most rifles only require one). Ammo has a purchase cost of (*) for 50 shots.
*Melee Weapons restricted by culture.
!Chits
I'll be using poker chits to handle various temporary pools.
*White = Willpower Points
*Red = Blood Points
*Green = Essence Points
*Blue = Mana
*Yellow = Glamour
*Black = see "Post Traumatic Stress Points" bellow.
!Bullet Counters
Each Player who has a PC with a loaded Firearm should use a die to represent ''Loaded Bullets'', not overall available bullets carried or on hand. It's purely a measure of keeping track of how many shots you have left - once you run out for a particular weapon, you have to take a round to reload for each shot. A die counter should be representative of how many shots the gun can hold - fire and reduce the die number by one, reload and increase the number, etc. Single-shot firearms or weapons on their last shot once used should simply move the counter to a demonstratively off/away/unusable spot in recognition the gun is unloaded.
|Firearm|die counter size|Notes|
|Light Revolver|d10|can only use 9 shots, so 10 counts as 0|
|Heavy Revolver|d6||
|Shotgun|d2|this could be a coin (heads/tails) or a die (odds/evens)|
!Resources, Monopoly Money and Possessions
*''Resources''
|dots|Status|Housing|Liquidated|Monthly Allowance|
|0|No Savings|homeless|$0|$0|
|1|Small Savings|you rent a room|$100|$10|
|2|Middle Class|lean-to or sod house|$500|$20|
|3|Large Savings|cabin or small town-house|$4,000|$80|
|4|Well off|ranch or large town-house|$50,000|$500|
|5+|Fantastically Rich|Mansion|$1,000,000+|$5,000|
*''Monopoly Money''
Characters receive an allowance dictated by their Resource rating at the beginning of each month. To represent money and other loot actively in use we will be using Monopoly money, which can be used to buy equipment or services. Occasionally Chocolate Coins will also be used for spurious loot and hard currency. If you get a Chocolate Coin and you eat it, I'm presuming your character frittered away their reward and otherwise enjoyed themselves.
*''Possessions''
Characters starting with no Resources are presumed to start play with $50 worth of possessions, one weapon (presuming you have at least 2 dots in either ''Firearms'' or ''Weaponry'') and the clothes on their back). Otherwise the Character is presumed to have Possessions & Property appropriate to their Liquidatable Resources.
**For prices see either ''Deadlands'' or ''Sidewinder d20'' for guidelines - Storyteller reserves the right to fiddle with pricing and dictate what may or may not be available at any given time.
*''Expenses and Social Status''
To "keep up with the Joneses" as they say, Characters are presumed to spend enough to keep them at a standard of living acceptable to their peers, allowing them to use their Resources as an Equipment bonus to social rolls in circumstances where finance and social class matter (ie, money makes friends). At the end of each month, presume any excess allowance is frittered away on such things.
!Exposure!
San Fransisco isn't that big of a town just yet, and loves its larger-than-life figures. Unlike the ''Fame'' merit, which judges success in catching the public eye, ''Exposure'' is a trait characters can acquire through dramatic events wither they want it or not. This trait ranges from 0 to 5 (starting at 0). Once a season, if characters have done things that may have brought them into the public eye, they roll Composure+Streetwise; a failure increases their Exposure trait by 1. Also, any time they make a newspaper headline their rating automatically goes up by one. Exposure takes a lot of time to fade - 1 dot per decade. Exposure makes it harder for characters to conceal their identity. Any time a notable npc meets such a character, the Storyteller may roll their Wits+Streetwise (or other relevant skill)+character's Exposure or Fame (which ever is higher).
!Post Traumatic Stress Points
Certain circumstances may call for a character to check for Derangements, but not be so great as to warrant a full Derangement acquisition at that time. If so I may award (ha!) a black chit to the PC instead, representing the general wear and tear to their psychie. When said character has acquired five such chits, he then trades them in and acquires a mild Derangement, or has one upgraded to major.
!Special Rules for
[[Vampires]]
[[Werewolves]]
[[Mages]]
[[Changelings]]
!Sourcebooks Allowed
*//Second Sight//
*//Circle of the Crone//
*//Invictus//
*//Ghouls//
*//Requiem Storyteller's Guide//: specifically we're using modified versions of the Clanless, Vampire Kings and Vampire Families options.
*//Armory//
*//Blood of the Wolf//: specifically the rules on Wolf-blooded.
*//Blasphemies//.
*//Territories//
*//Ghouls//
*//Book of Spirits//
*//Damnation City//
As good old Jimmy Danavae saw it:
There's a storm a-brewin.
This morning, there was an earthquake. Something shook
us up pretty good. The other fellas in our pack
weren't so worried, but I picked myself up and took a
sniff around anyhow. Didn't find nuthin, leastwise not
then. Mostly, for that day, I kept to myself, tending
the bar and otherwise keeping an eye on things. Half
moon was coming up, and I wanted to save my strength.
Plenty of time to hunt once the moon's up.
Saloon got all fired up in the evening. Some ducks got
themselves into a brawl, busted up the place pretty
good. It was all over in a trice. If the others had
been here, I bet there would've been blood shed. Some
guys just don't know the right way to brawl. A guy
socks you in the eye, you punch him back. You don't go
half-wolf and rip his arms off. That just aint right.
Jack got hisself a pretty little bar-maid bought offa Hell Haggerty. Looks like he's intending to make her his wife. She aint waiting for the nuptials, if you know what I mean. Firefly was pretty satisfied with alla that.
Jane was with us, sleeping in the soil of the back
store-room until nightfall, came up smelling of sand
and death once again. She went out with the others,
they all came back smelling of blood and terror. Some
poor sonuvabitch died tonight.
Lao got hisself worked up into a tizzy over that sweet little thing he's been seeing. I didn't find out until later what all the fuss was about, but it seems one of the deaduns was feeding offa her, mighta killed a cub that was
starting to make her belly swell. Damn shame about that, but its one more reason why I never did cotton to the deaduns.
Well, Jane seems okay, even for a half-breed and a
deadun. Just goes to show, there's an exception to
every rule. Her cub, now, he's bad news. Makes my
hackles rise. Just a little too casual on the hunt, a
little too eager to kill. He's gonna spook the herd,
and when he does, we're gonna have to put him down.
Speaking of deaduns, a new one came into the bar
today. Eery sumbitch, I'll tell you that. Don't even
pretend to breathe, don't blink, just sits and stares.
Worst of all, bastard tried to ask me for credit at
the bar, then turned out to have perfectly good hard
cash in his pocket. Some folks think they can get away
with anything.
I've heard tell there's some trouble in the herd. A
local preacher has gone hellfire on his congregation.
It seems he may have become aware of deaduns among his
flock. Its all well and good, as long as he keeps
fixed on them, but once the witch-hunt starts, none of
us are safe. The others would just use bloodshed to
answer this, and they won't start until its too late.
I may have to step in before things get out of hand.
For right now though, the pack has a bigger problem.
We've got a serious problem with the rat-host. I did a
little sniff around town, looking in on a young lady
I'd seen before (some bastard was trying to rough her
up. I decided it was time to step in, but that's its
own story there. Not something for sitting at the bar
and talkin about). I noticed golden-eyed rats spying
me out, and smelled more. They've spread throughout
Sidney-town, maybe through the whole city, and they're
following us, tracking our movements, making sure
there's never a clump for us to take out. I took
myself home fast as I could, and I don't mind the
whelps suggesting I might have been afraid. I'm old
enough to know that something like that needs the
whole pack, not one lone wolf. I got back to the den
and told Robbie, Robbie went upstairs and put up a
howl. Looks like tonight, we hunt.
SHOOTING OF JAMES KING, OF WILLIAM (as taken from the accounts of Lell Hawley Woolley)
On May 14th, 1856, the city was thrown into a great excitement by and attempt to assassinate James King, of William, editor of the "Evening Bulletin," by James P. Casey, editor of the "Sunday Times." Both Casey and King indulged in editorials of a nature that caused much personal enmity, and in one of the issues of the "Bulletin" King reproduced articles from the New York papers showing Casey up as having once been sentenced to Sing Sing. Casey took offense at the articles, and about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, at the corner of Montgomery and Washington streets, intercepted King who was on his way home, drew a revolver, saying, "Draw and defend yourself," and shot him through the left breast near the armpit. Mr. King exclaimed, "I am shot," and reeling, was caught up and carried to the Pacific Express office on the corner Casey was quickly locked up in the station house.
|| NOTE—A few words might be said concerning the principals of this trouble. King, whose name was James King (before coming to California he had added "of William" so as to distinguish himself from others of that name), came to California November 10th, 1848,James King of Williamengaged in mining and mercantile pursuits and in December 1849 engaged in the banking business in San Francisco. In 1854 he merged with Adams & Co. Shortly afterwards they failed, and he lost everything he possessed. Through the financial backing of his friends, he started the "Daily Evening Bulletin," October 8th, 1855, a small four-page sheet about 10x15 inches in size. He was fearless in his editorials, but always within the bounds of right and justice, and took a strong position against corruption of the city officials and their means of election. His paper grew in circulation and size, and soon outstripped all the other papers combined. November 17th, 1855, the Cora and Richardson affair held the attention of the public, and King in his fearlessness inflamed the population into taking matters into their own hands after the Courts had failed to convict. And by his so doing had aroused an enmity, and determination from the lawless element to stop his utterances, even at the cost of his life, so when he attacked in his paper, one James P. Casey, a lawless character, gambler and ballot box manipulator and Supervisor, as having served an eighteen-months sentence in Sing Sing, N. Y., before coming to California, who also published a paper, "The Sunday Times," it brought matters to a crisis, for Casey taking offense at this and other attacks on his ilk, shot King on the evening of May 14, 1856. The shooting of King was the cause of the formation of the Vigilance Committee of 1856 and the direct means of cleaning the city of the corruptness that had had swing for so many years.—[Editor.] ||
Immediately following the shooting large crowds filled the streets in the neighborhood anxious to hang to the nearest lamp post the perpetrator of the crime. Casey was immediately removed to the County Jail for safer keeping. Here crowds again congregated, demanding the turning over to them of Casey and threatening violence if denied. Mayor Van Ness and others addressed them in efforts to let the law take its course but the crowd which had been swelled into a seething mass, remonstrated, citing the shooting of Marshal Richardson, and demanding Cora, his assassin, that he, too, might be hanged.
Military aid was called to the defense of the jail and its prisoners and after a while the multitude dispersed, leaving all quiet.
* All your action lists live in one HTML file, ideal for portability and simplicity.
* [[Print3x5]] cards for your HipsterPDA right from your browser.
* Runs locally, no network connection needed.
* User defined CustomStyleSheet
* Built with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, so it's easy to modify.
* Really good incremental and regular expression search.
* Your updates are date and name stamped (hover over the Timeline entries).
* Your most recent version is automatically backed up when you SaveChanges (You can edit the Javascript to do incremental time-stamped backups. See the RevisionHistory for details).
* Presumably, TiddlyWiki could run on a capable handheld device, but this is untested.
Most Kindred are grouped into "Septs", family bloodlines traceable to a specific ancestor.
!Daeva
''Sammachi'':
*''Ethan'': One of the first true Elders to come to the city, Ethan swore to take it from the Anicii and seems so far to have made good that oath. Of Welsh origin, he has served his Sept with honor over the centuries. After time in torpor he became disillusioned with the family dedication to the Circle of the Crone and shipped overseas to explore the brave new world of the Americas. He became enamored with the young Carthian Movement, though he still holds his official loyalty still to the Circle (as all good Sept-members are sworn to do). When he heard Ilsa & her brood had fled to San Francisco, he came to the city be a thorn in their side. After Ilsa could hold off torpor no longer, he garnered support from the non-Anicii Kindred of the City and about a decade later took the title of Prince without a drop of blood being shed.
*''Anna-Lucia'': Anna-Lucia was a singer and dancer, and her beauty and skill was such that it caught Ethan's eye. He became obsessed with her and - in a rare moment of weakness - embraced her. The embrace was traumatic though, placing her in a state of Aphasia. Though still able to comport herself well in the public eye, she is something of a tragic figure at Kindred gatherings.
*''Kip'': A smart-lipped hoodlum with more temper than brains, Ethan decided he liked his style after the handsome thug tried to shanghai him. Ethan thrashed him soundly, then took him under his wing. When it became clear Ilsa wasn't waking up any time soon, he turned Kip and used him in his bid to seize power.
*''Shamus'': A tall, leather-skinned mix of Irish-Italian, Ethan found him boxing in the back rooms of various clubs in the Barbary Coast and saw he had muscle, skill and determination. He took him on first as a ghoul and used him for extra muscle, until the Sammachi seized power in 1867. As a reward for serving him well, Ethan embraced him along with Kip.
*''Anton'': A Brazilian Sculptor who came to San Fransisco to profer his services to the city elite, Anton proved just too delectable to Anna-Lucia. An impassioned embrace she is now schooling her childe as best she can by dragging him to every kindred social function and parading him about. Anton's gift for moving in circles otherwise above his station has earned him some respect with the Anicii, but much of the rest of his Sept think the Blood is waisted on him as he is no fighter.
!!Gangrel
*''Gabriella Zulema de Herrera'': Patron mother of the Herrera family living in the [[Weyaho Valley]], she and her family were accused of witchcraft by the inquisition more than a century ago, resulting in their fleeing first to Mexico and later to the California wilderness. She has guided and protected her family for generations, cultivating a strange relationship with the local Werewolves and Chupecabra that have settled there with her. She may be the oldest Kindred Acolyte of the Circle of the Crone in California.
!!Nosferatu
*''Jonah Whitman'': First encountered in the Sydney-town underground area known as "the Asylum", Jonah is an Acolyte of the Circle of the Crone. More than a century ago he came out west and stayed with Don Herrera in the Weyaho Valley, and discovered the Cup of Power. Drinking from that cup placed the Curse upon him that made him Kindred. He learned what he could from the Brujah Zulema Herrera, then traveled south to settle in Yurba Buena (soon to be San Francisco), and sent word to his grandson Jacob Whitman to join him and provide him with the resources he needed to establish his foothold in the city's underground. In 1856 he came under the spell of the Heart of Nergal and the Beshilu and was used as part of a plot to release and strengthen Old Man Lizard, and unite the Demon King of Rats.
*''Candyse'': An old Indian woman who used to live in a hut in the woods near [[The Dragon's Teeth]], she knows a lot of old legends and stories passed down from her people as well as the history of Mission Delores. She was turned by Jonah while he was under the Spell of the Heart of Nergal as part of Old Man Lizard's revenge for helping keep the monster imprisoned. Since the plot failed, Jonah has tried to make amends, taking her on as his student.
!Ventrue
''The Anicii'': Invictus House descended from an old Roman mercenary family that gained influence in the early Dark Ages. They have recently lost much standing in Austria and are seeking to establish a footing in California via San Francisco. The prominent heads of the House are Fredricht & Ilsa Vulsung.
*''Ilsa Vulsung'': One of only a handful of members of House Vulsung, Ilsa is a Kindred of no small accomplishment. Turned in the mid 1500's, she rose swiftly in influence amongst the Anicii, eventualy taking the place of the Sept's founder Anicius when misfortune finally took him. When a wave of revolution shook Austria in recent decades, she decided it was time to relocate the Sept's interests to the far side of the world - San Francisco. Before she could truly cement her control over the city though she slipped into torpor, her blood having grown too thick. Her children still struggle for influence over San Francisco, hoping to protect her assets while she sleeps.
*''Ulrike'': Up until recently Ilsa's "favorite", she otherwise played the role of spoiled young lady in House politics. With Ilsa gone, she has found herself without an identity or patron to support her in the family hierarchy, and has fallen to mixing it up on the streets with her own gang of Hoodlums. She has claimed the Orphan Asylum as her territory.
*''Father Gregor Stalin'': "Because every court needs its' confessor" according to Ilsa, Gregor served a unique and complicated position for his kin amongst the Anicii. Well spoken and markedly honest, he is gifted with a remarkable bravery that far outstrips his talent for conflict. As Confessor for the Sept, he arguably knows more about the inner workings of the Anicii than anyone outside of Ilsa herself. After Ilsa slipped into torpor he turned his back on the Invictus in favor of the Lancea Sanctum, and has started his own cult following, the Church of Silent Sorrow.
*''Alan'': Quiet and stoic, Alan is brutal as a hand-to-hand expert. This talent, and not his brains, were what he brought to the post of Sheriff in Ilsa's court. Though as noble in birth as Henri, he gets only a working-man's respect amongst the Anicii.
*''Dominique'': Beautiful and a skilled musician, the sultry Dominique is perhaps the most poised and sensual of Ilsa's many childer. She was made Keeper of Elysium early on after their arrival in SF.
*''Henri'': Outspoken and arrogant, Henri is possibly the eldest of Ilsa's many childer. A professed duelist and man-about-town, his pride has never quite recovered at the slight of Ilsa's preference for patroning women of the Sept over men. He took the reigns as Regent in Ilsa's stead after she slipped into torpor, and subsequently bears the blame with shame that he lost the city to the Sammachi.
*''Luthor'': One of the less visible Anicii, Luthor's interests lay mainly in business, and he's the one they all turn to when they wish for well-thought-out advice. Maimed by the Beshilu Sebastian, he relocated to Sacramento in 1856.
*''Daniel'': Dominique's twin brother and one of Ilsa's many childer, he is an aggressive, adventurous fop with a great love for fencing and dagger-fights. One of the Hounds, he is one of the most lethal of the Anicii.
!Bugs
* StyleSheet suffers from a bug that truncates long entries with many non-alphanumeric characters, so if you try to put the entire set of styles in there, it probably won't work.
* "Highlighted" and Hexidecimal colored text formatting is broken
* When printing WIN/IE 6 inserts one blank page because it does not recognize the :first-child CSS psuedo element.
* WIN/IE 6 messes up list items when you edit a Tiddler with multiple headings.
!Annoyances
* You have to do alot to customize your browser print settings to remove the page URL, pagination, timestamp, and ensure that the output is sized and paged correctly.
* Firefox/Mac has no "page properties" interface for removing the page URL, page numbers, etc... from printed pages. This is pretty lame. Try entering about:config in Firefox's URL bar and look for "print" to configure it the hard way. Ask the Firefox development team to fix this.
!Help out
* If you you encounter new bugs, can help fix bugs, or can help make this usable in other browsers, or handhelds, go to the GTDTWForum. Thanks!
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|''Author:''|MartinBudden (mjbudden (at) gmail (dot) com)|
|''License:''|[[BSD open source license]]|
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[[Setting]]
[[House Rules]]
[[Characters]]
[[Timeline]]
[[Adventures]]
[[Bibliography]]
[[Documents]]
[[Images]]
[[Maps]]
FormattingInstructions
DefaultTiddlers
CreateNewTiddler
MainMenu
[img[http://www.grendelheim.com/eildon/WWMaps/SF.jpg]]
[img[http://www.grendelheim.com/eildon/WWMaps/rumsey_RUMSEY5880180830171.png]]
To make a tiddler that doesn't have a WikiWord as it's name, you can enclose the name in [[double square brackets]] - edit this tiddler to see an example. After saving the tiddler you can then click on the link to create the new tiddler. NonWikiWordLinks permits tiddlers to be created with names that are made from character sets that don't have upper and lower case.
[[Team Alpha]]
[[Team Bravo]]
''Jane's Gang'', aka the [[Sydney-town]] ''Fireflies'' or ''Squatters''.
Named principly for an odd group of gamblers, gunslingers, businessmen and adventurers known to hang out with the eccentric mountain girl bounty hunter ''Sad Jane'', the band's name varies depending on who you ask.
* ''Jane's Gang'' was the name they picked up on the street after dealing with the somewhat shady ''"Dutch Charly" Duane''. Known principly for their showdown with the ''Quaker Kid Gang'', there is some confusion in certain circles as to whether Jane still even leads this gang, or if they've taken on the ''"Widow" Grace Whitman'' as their new "boss" (leading some to sometimes be referred to as the ''Widow Whitman's Mob''). Whether they're an up-and-coming mob, street-gang, bounty-hunters or treasure-seekers, their recent push into [[Sydney-town]] has led certain parties to sit up and take notice.
* Amongst the Forsaken and various local Spirits the young pack that has recently set up shop in [[Sydney-town]] is increasingly being called the ''Fireflies'' (in honor of the manifestation their totem spirit ''Yohoso'' is usually perceived to take). Slightly obscured by the larger social umbrella of ''Jane's Gang'', the Uratha led by ''Lao Hua-Zi'' have claimed most of [[Sydney-town]] as their territory, and they have yet to have that claim contested. Their principle hangout is a bar run by up-and-coming boxer & fellow pack-mate ''Jack "Rabbit" Grayson'', known as the ''Wolf's Den''.
* The Kindred elite of San Francisco gave ''Sad Jane'' and her affiliates a more disparaging nickname, the [[Sydney-town]] ''Squatters'', and the moniker has stuck when referring to the rest of the Coterie hidden within the aegis of ''Jane's Gang''. Even the Ventrue get of Prince ''Ilsa'' taken from Jane's companions are tarnished with this somewhat derogatory term, despite assorted accolades they have earned since.
''Michael McNiel''
//(Raf)//
Adventure Hooks
*a Magician with a gambling problem (or a Gambler with a magic problem?).
*Part of the McNiel clan.
*Irish, with a loose affilaition with Tamhanny Hall politicians.
''[[Sad Jane]]''
//(Tibet)//
Adventure hooks
*half-Indian Miner's daughter, sure shot with rifle.
*Gangrel Dead Wolf, embraced by Jonah Whitman
*[[Cauldren-touched|Relics]]
*Has a piece of a treasure map.
''Leopold Heindel''
//(Ian W.)//
Adventure Hooks
*ex-soldier and gunsmith turned gunslinger.
*Ventrue embraced by Ilsa
''Grace Whitman''
//(Victoria)//
Adventure Hooks
*former school-teacher & rich widow, owner of the Great Bay Hotel. Her husband was Jacob Whitman, a dead-ringer for Jonah Whitman.
*Ventrue embraced by Ilsa
''Lao Hua-Zi''
//(Eric)//
Adventure Hooks
*Fallen Xiao-Lin Monk.
*Werewolf (Iron Master), [[Cauldren-Born|Relics]]
''Jack''
//(Gray)//
Adventure Hooks
*Sidney-town Thug. Boxer.
*Werewolf (Iron Master), [[Cauldren-Born|Relics]]
''Robert "[[Rotten Robbie]]" Duruhm''
//(Mike)//
Adventure Hooks
*Werewolf (Iron Master), [[Cauldren-Born|Relics]]
*Gunslinger Remitence-man.
*Mother killed by werewolves (?)
''James Danavhae''
//(Suleiman)//
Adventure Hooks
*Alchoholic Miner.
*Werewolf (Iron Master)
''[[William Dearborn]]''
//(Skyler)//
Adventure hooks
*Gunslinger Cowboy.
*Gangrel embraced by Jane.
''Euphemia''
//(Diana)//
Adventure Hooks
*Clairvoyant and occasional ghoul half-breed maid
*Raised in the Weyaho Valley
*Jane's thrall
''Simon Trent''
//(Colin)//
Adventure Hooks
*Hypnotic "Singing Cowboy"
!The Cup of Power
The Cup, believed to be the source of the legend of the Black Cauldron, has an assortment of powers available to those who know how to bring them forth. Necromancy & Transformation are but two of a number of gifts that can be bestowed upon those who drink from it. Known powers include:
*''Wolf-transformation'': Anyone who drinks when the Cup is so primed is infected with [[Lycanthropy|Werewolves]]). Vampires who drink from it when it is so primed may learn the discipline Sublunario and Protean at this time.
|To switch between powers, one must sacrifice 1 permanent willpower point and make a Int+Occult roll.|
The Cup is considered the property of the "Little People", the Chupacabra of the [[Weyaho Valley]]. If it falls into the hands of anyone besides themselves, they will vigorously hunt them until it is returned.
!The Ring of Amara
This ring is a legendary boon for any Vampire. It is said that whomever wears it is warded from all hazards accociated with being a Vampire (all weaknesses, Bloodline specific or Vampiric in General, may be ignored). It is said to be a golden band with a large ruby in it.
Robert shoots straight from the hip. He is pragamatic, if something doesn't work, he abandons it, and if something does work, that's all he does.
This though is more accurate of how he speaks. Not being able to handle complicated associations within his mind, or notice sublte allsuions in speech, he just says whatever is on his mind to whoever is in front of him. This is not motivated by honesty or a sense of cristian goodness, but simply that it seems to work the best. If it stops working he will try something else, and do that all the time till the wheels fall off as well.
This simple philosophy for live doesn't describe his drive to be a gunslinger. He lives it. He trains every day. He doesn't tell others of his regimine, because he knows it is his advantage. He is prepared, all of the time, everyday, everynight, drunk, sober, in a hospital bed, to draw his guns and kill however his attacker is before they kbnow he got the drop on them.
He came up with speed and dexterity drill as a child that he has practiced over and over again, for decades. Why does he do this. It just ain't normal.
He has told his new employers slash companions that he was sent out here guarding a coal wagon train for sale in San Francisco. Is that the truth though? What type of family encourages the cold blooded drive to be the most leathal human being with a pair of guns around. Not a happy family, I can tell you that.
Now, some of Robbies story is true. His Kin did send him out west. But it wasn't to guard a coal shipment. His father does own a mine, but he disn't raise Robbie to run a mine.
Robbie's father made him. Just as Tiger Woods father made him.While other children went to school and chased each other around with toy bow and arrows, Robbie was sweating under the tutalage of his fathers training regimine to make him into the best gunslinger around.
Why?
Well, two reasons. The motivation is from a dark loss where he seeks to use his son as a tool of revenge. Robbie hasn't been given that information though though, or noty in it's entirety. To his knowledge his mother was forced to watch her husband, Robbie's father, be bruitally tortured, and maimed. Chunks of flesh gouged out of his skin, and one of his arms amputated, being caterized with a flaming brand so that he didn't bleed to death. He then watched as his wife was repeatedly raped, then they were both left for dead.
Now little Robbie wasn't on the scene yet, he wasn't due for another month at least. The trauma of teh rapes triggered labor and she died while giving birth to Robbie.
The family had a small slaveholding, who did light agriculture and work around the house. One of the slavewomen midwifed. She did what she could to make Robbies mother comfortable, and sent one of her children for the doctor in town.
The main labor and workforce of the mine were payed Scottish emmigrants. There slaves didn't have it so bad, and knowing it could be much worse somewhere else, did there best to save the lives of there Masters family.
Dirks wife, Malinda did not know Dirks past, or how he origanly came to get the mine. She was filled in a bit by her assaulters though on just what type of past Dirk had, and that it was his past actions that brought this suffering to bear on them today.
Dirk was very smart, and well educated. He was downright criminally minded and he kept, as he still does his cards very close to his chest. He didn't give Robbie a clear story of what actuallly occured, but the above is basically what Robbie worked out by the very brief one sentence answers he was occasionally given. Always to manipulate him into training harder. His natural sense of justice, right and wrong, could be derailed to easily by a full acount of what happanned to his mother, and how his father had become so disfigured.
Dirk read books on military strategy, had been in the military himself as an Officer but it wasn't a career goal of his. He raised Robbie with the intent of training him , starting as younge as possible, just like the Archers of England. Where other countries men began training for War in there teens, the English began at 6 or 7. This fad did not persist, but it made them almost unbeatable for several hunderd years.
Robbie was training to be in close quarter and gurrilla gunbattles since the age of five. His father was quite creative, and also very sadistic in his training methods. Dirk fueled his son on by little comments about what was done to his mother, or him whenevr RObbie wanted to stop training or do what the other kids were doing, though, he took to it like a duck to water.
One of his childhood friends was caught alone while fishing by a group of boys from another town. They stripped him naked, tied him to a Tree and coverd him in honey. Robbie found him a couple days later while varmit hunting. He was almost dead from dyhydration, and completely swollen from allergic reactions to insect bites. There were bugs crawling all over him. His friend didn't speak much after that, he was driven mad by the expierience.
Robbie was gonna get these boys. He kille done of them, he would have killed more but he couldn't figure out who did it and didn't wantto kill the wrong ones. One boy though braggged about it though. Robbie. having trained for ten years to draw pistols as fast as lightning shot him dead at a hundred paces with an ancient pistol thart some onlookers later said was a muzzle loaded, though Robbie never mentioned it. He was fine to let the story grow, reveling in the sense of fame he felt from it, and the feeling of power he got from the imntimidation.
That aside though, he done right and knew it. He got some measure of justice for his friend, and that set his reslove further to be a gunslinger.
His fathers plans for him never became clear, and though he wasn't being trained for gunslinging by his father, it ended up being the perfect thing for it
Now this doesn't explain everything about Robbie, I think there is a darker reason for his coming to California. I think it was a werewolf that maimed his father. The missing chunks of flesh and the hand were clawed and bittin out. Maybe it was his mother that was the werewolf? Robbie is unaware of this, but his fathers drunken bouts were filled with screams of terror while he relived past events he never mentioned.
!History
My Pa and I trapped & hunted our way out here. I panned enough gold for my Pa to go into town and stay there for a week. He found himself such powerful intoxicants that he didn't notice when he stepped into a bigger trap. Now Pa is a one legged varmint that only stirs in hopes he might get enough gold to do it again.
We have a small land-holding (though Pa may have gambled the paper away) I grow some food & shoot some other food. Seems I spend all my time making each day as much like the last as I can manage.
One of these days a handsome young trapper will come wandering through and I will pack up my kit and follow him.
!Description
Apparent Age: 18
DoB: 1838
Hair: Dark Brown, kept in braids
Eyes: Hazel, big and sad.
Race: half white, half indian
Nationality: American
Hight: 5'3"
Weight: 105lb.
Sex: female
Distinguishing Features: Deep scar on cheek. White streaks in hair.
I was very hungry and had been thinking a bit on this murder alley bad spirit causing place. Murder is bad. We don’t like it in our territory. I went to go visit the area with Lao and R.R.
I hoped that we would see someone dumping a body. I wanted to feed and lessen the number of murderers at the same time. Someone came: It was Deerborn. I did not eat him (he is my child, after all). He was dumping the body of a dead whore that Grace had killed. This did not seem right and he was angry about it.
We got a couple of chink beaters to feed on. Back at the Wolfs Den Jack was wearing fancy duds and had brought a red haired girl home to be a waitress. Then Lao and I went to speak with Grace. Leopold wanted to come with us I told him no. He came anyway. He waited with us for Grace and mentioned that he had sold Elephant guns and silver bullets to someone else.
Grace returned from Mass with Michael McNeal. Lao spoke to her first because his mate had been pregnant and was now not. And smelled like Grace. Fortunately Lao calmly accepted this as a mistake Grace would never make again now that she knew. He did not go into death rage and kill everyone.
Mr.Leo Hiemdall did not leave when asked. He insisted he should be involved because he was a Ventrue like Grace and that made her his sister. We were dumb to let him know what was going on. He is a lousy blackmailer as he didn’t ask for something. I told him to go away - what was in my territory I would work out with Grace. Grace promised never to feed off ours again. Leo continued with his lame attempts at black mail and succeeded in scaring Grace into scurrying off to the Countess.
!Under the shadow of Vigilance...
[[1: The Quaker Kid]]
''Dragon Rising''
[[2: Possession is 9-10ths of the Law]]
[[3: Here be Dragons]]
''Dutch Charly''
[[4: Dealing with the Dutchman]]
[[5: The Asylum]]
[[6: A Run in the Dark]]
''Unexpected Guests''
[[7: Crossroads]]
[[8: Transformations]]
''Malevolence''
[[9: Meet the Herreras]]
[[10: Never cry wolf]]
[[11: The Missionary Position]]
[[12: Northern Exposure]]
''Oaths of Blood''
[[13: Bear Necessities]]
[[14: Rooftop Roulette]]
[[15: Hot Time on the Town Tonight!]]
[[16: Rats! Foiled Again!]]
''Vigilance''
[[17: Storm Warnings]]
[[18: Hostile Acts]]
[[19: Showdown!]]
''Bad Neighbors''
[[20: Evil Unleashed]]
[[21: Night of Long Knives]]
[[22: Seige-mentality]]
//--end Season 1--//
!Experience Totals
|!Player|!Character|!Total XP|!Template|!Rank|
|Tibet|Sad Jane|119|Vampire|Established Kindred|
|Tori|Grace Whitman|80|Vampire|Established Kindred|
|Ian W.|Leopold Heindel|62|Vampire|Up-and-comer|
|Skyler|William Deerborn|46|Vampire|Up-and-comer|
|Eric|Lao|79|Werewolf|Scarred Veteran|
|Mike|Rotten Robbie|100|Werewolf|Scarred Veteran|
|Gray|Jack|74|Werewolf|Established Pack|
|Suleiman|James Danahvae|48|Werewolf|Established Pack|
|Rafael|Michael McNiel|47|Magician|Seasoned|
|Diana|Eufennia|38|Psychic/Ghoul|Seasoned|
|Colin|Simon Treant|5|Psychic|-|
!The Wyrd War
[[1: Uncivil War]] 1861, Team Bravo
[[2: Old Tar Woman]] 1861, Team Alpha
[[3: Confection Objection]] 1861, everyone
[[4: Pure Morning]] 1861, Team Alpha - Preachers, part 1.
[[5: Night on Bald Mountain]] 1861, Team Bravo - Preachers, part 2.
[[6: Lone Wolf]] 1861, Team Alpha - Preachers, part 3.
[[7: Storytime]] 1861-1862, everyone
[[8: ?]]
[[9: ?]]
[[10: ?]]
[[11: ?]]
[[12: ?]]
[[13: ?]]
[[14: ?]]
[[15: ?]]
[[16: ?]]
[[17: ?]]
[[18: ?]]
[[19: ?]]
[[20: ?]]
[[21: ?]]
[[22: ?]]
//--end Season 2--//
!Experience Totals
|!Player|!Character|!Total XP|!Template|!Rank|!Team|
|''The Firefly Pack''|
|Eric|Lao|94|Werewolf|Scarred Veteran|Bravo|
|Gray|Jack|86|Werewolf|Scarred Veteran|Bravo|
|Mike|Rotten Robbie|122|Werewolf|Scarred Veteran|Alpha|
|Suleiman|James Danahvae|66|Werewolf|Established Pack|Bravo|
|Mellisa|Otto Blick|39|Mortal|Seasoned|Bravo|
|''Jane's Gang''|
|Tibet|Sad Jane|137|Vampire|Mover and shaker|Bravo|
|Tori|Grace Whitman|89|Vampire|Established Kindred|Bravo|
|Ian W.|Leopold Heindel|67|Vampire|Up-and-comer|Bravo|
|Skyler|William Deerborn|63|Vampire|Up-and-comer|Alpha|
|Diana|Eufennia|52|Vampire|Up-and-comer|Alpha|
|Rafael|Michael McNiel|56|Magician|Seasoned|Bravo|
|''Motley''|
|Marvin|Paco delMar|29|Changeling|Fresh from the Thorns|Alpha|
|Dan|Sergi Barova|17|Magician|-|Alpha|
|Karen|Mei Mei Barova|14|Magician|-|Alpha|
|Evan|Robert Nevil|11|Mortal| |Alpha|
|Morgan|Alex|11|Mortal| |Alpha|
!Alpha Team
*Over the Hedge - adventures in Faerie
*Oportunities - Magi or Changlings?
!Bravo Team
*Lunatics have Taken over the Asylum - Robbie found at Orphan Asylum
*Wolf vs. Bull - the Fireflies must protect Otto both from the Pure & ... Spanish Minotaurs? Otto's first change is coming!
!Session Template
*Characters in attendance:
*A synopsis of the game session's events:
*XP awarded:
*Loose ends:
!Overview
This is a WoD game set just prior to what we usualy call "The Wild West", on the California Coast in and around the young and violent city of San Francisco. In an age of massive imigration from around the world, our heroes find the dwindling gold in the mountains has attracted not just men but monsters, and things that had been best left alone are waking up. All characters begin play as standard characters (no Vamps, etc), rank beginners (0xp), with possibly a minor template (Hedge Witch, Skin-Thief, etc).
!World
This is not quite the mid-1800's we know from the history books, but one flavored by the World of Darkness and the Cthulhu Mythos. Specificaly the setting revolves around post-Gold Rush San Francisco, a city growing too fast and overrun with Sin. (see [[Bibliography]]).
!Background
California was only taken from Mexico a few years ago, and the Gold Rush trickled out just four years prior to the start of the game. Chinese Imigrants are at the bottom of the heap of a long line of Imigrants seeking to make a new life here. With corrupt Politicians miss-managing affairs a group of Buisnessmen edge towards rebellion, while the criminals of Sidney-town run free.
!Character's Roles
The players take the roles of people living in or recently arrived to California. They all are loosely affiliated with the Grand Bay Hotel.
!Notable Locations
The [[Grand Bay Hotel]]
The [[Dragon's Bones]]
[[Sydney-town]]
[[Little China]]
The [[Euphemia]]
The [[Weyaho Valley]]
[[Shadowlands]]
Campaign Notes for an ongoing Western-style Storytelling RPG Chronicle
''Yohoso'': Totem for Jane's Gang which chose to serve them after they came to the [[Weyaho Valley]]. Brother to the spirit Nuariab, it manifests as a swarm of fireflies. It is a Spirit of Fertility and Opener of the Ways to the [[Shadowlands]], worshiped in days passed by the Weyaho Indians. It encourages its' Pack to be fruitful and multiply, watch over their family lines and give it ritual observances on nights of the new moon. It forbids them from interrupting those in the midst of creating life or harming pregnant women.
''Nuariab'': The Castronegro Pack's frighteningly alien totem, it is a Spirit of music and darkness.
''Her-moist-embrace'': A Desire spirit with a strong resonance for water, she is a minor Jaggling that haunts the loci in the alley next to the "Goat & Compass". She has a standing agreement with the Fireflys to guard the Loci for them in return for gifts of Passion (performed or provided) once a week.
''Digs-for-Teeth'': Another Desire spirit/minor Jaggling, who manifests as a cranky dwarf-like miner, red-shirt and all. He loves alcohol and gold, and accepts offerings of both to look after the Loci with his fellow spirit.
''Old Man Lizard'': the "dragon" summoned up by outraged Indian shamans in the early days of Mission Deloris to drive the Spanish out. The monster they called "Old Man Lizard" proved beyond control though, and they imprisoned him within a stone circle called the [[Dragon's Teeth]]. Every time he struggled to free himself, the San Andreas shook. In 1856 the creature got loose, but was imprisioned again by an alliance between Jane's Gang & the elder Kindred of the city.
!The Asylum
!The Boar's Head
!The Goat & Compass
!The Golden Rule
!The Fierce Grizzly
Team Composition
|!Player|!Character|!Concept|!Template|!Sept|
|Skyler|William Deerborn|Gunslinger|Vampire|Gangrel Dead Wolf|
|Mike|Rotten Robbie|Gunslinger|Werewolf|Iron Master|
|Marvin|Paco delMar|Runner|Changeling|Aquatic Ogre|
|Diana|Eufennia|Psychic Servant|Mortal|Clairvoyant|
|Dan|Sergi Barova|Russian Trader|Mortal|Shaman|
|Karen|Mei Mei Barova|ex-sing song girl|Mortal|Shaman|
An old stone circle up in the hills above San Francisco. According to local legend a monster is imprisioned here (the local indians believed it was a Spirit called 'Old Man Lizard, Earthshaker'), and if the stones are removed it will get loose. The Spanish at the the Mission & the Presidio have records from the early days of the settlement at Yurba Buena telling a fantastical tail about a Dragon that attacked, but it disapeared mysteriously.
[[1846-1849|http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/chron1.html]]
1848 - California becomes US territory
1849 - Gold Rush!
[[1850-1851|http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/chron2.html]]
1851 - Gold Rush ends
1852 - Chinese begin arriving in great numbers
[[1852-1854|http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/chron3.html]]
[[1855-1856|http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/chron4.html]]
1856 - 2nd Vigilance Comity
*Anicii & Sammachi arrive
*Ilsa Vulsung declares herself Prince
1857
*Ilsa forbids the creation of more Vampires in SF
*Ilsa slips into torpor, leaving Henri deAnicii as acting Seneshal
*Ethan embraces Anna-Lucia
1859 - Emperor Norton I crowned
1861 - The Wyrd War kicks up between the Kindred, Werewolf & Fae communities
-----------------
Possible Future Timeline
1862 - Presidio fires on Brittish Ship, mistaking it for Confederate
1863 - 2nd Monster Incursion
1864 - Shamus turned
1866 - Kip turned
1867 - Rebellion
1868 - Comstock Load; Rise of the Tongs; Earthquake on Oct 21 releases Old Man Lizard
1870 - Anton turned
1872 - Raids/Brigandage
1876 - Foreign War
!Septs
Each Kindred belongs to a "Sept" (a bloodline traceable to a single ancestor). When a Vampire is first turned, they inherit one of their sire's weaknesses (usually from their parent Clan, but sometimes a more obscure Bloodline weakness), and two of their starting Discipline dots must be chosen from those already known by their sire. As before, their third dot may be from any of the common (core book) Disciplines. Characters initially get no cost break on Disciplines. The rare Sept-founder (a Vampire generated through means other than being turned) may freely pick his Disciplines (though no more than one may be of restricted nature, and if taking a spread of three Disciplines at one dot, one should be a physical Discipline), and should work with the Storyteller to come up with a suitable Weakness.
*Septs of Note in the Campaign:
**Anicii (Children of Anicius) Clan affiliation - Ventrue. Covenant affiliation - Invictus.
**Sammachi (Children of Symmachus) Clan affiliation - Daeva. Covenant affiliation - Carthians.
**Jonahs (Children of Jonah) Clan affiliation - Nosferatu. Covenant affiliation - Circle of the Crone.
**Tremer (House Tremer) Clan affiliation - Mekhet. Covenant affiliation - Ordo Dracul.
!Clans
Clans are extended families, related through Sept association and adoption. Each has an inherent philosophy and often common agendas that cross Covenant lines. Joining a Clan requires formal adoption by a Clan member (usually one's sire or Mentor), involving a Blood Oath putting them one step towards Viniculum towards their sponsor. This allows them to take the Status (Clan) merit, gain the benefits of the Clan Discipline cost-break, Clan bonus attribute, Clan weakness (presuming they don't already have it), and opens up the availability of Clan specific Bloodlines, Merits and Devotions. Membership, however is a permanent deal, and for good or ill can never be fully revoked. Only by breaking their bond with their sponsor and severing all ties can they renounce their association. Renunciates loose all benefits (Status, Discipline cost-breaks, free Attribute bonus, etc) but never loose the weakness they gained from their former membership. Anyone who has ever gone so far as to join a Bloodline is fully committed, and can never renounce their Clan.
!Sunlight
Kindred do not suffer damage or Frenzy from sunlight, though they still get sleepy and weak. They can't use Disciplines, spend BP unless reflexive, and all die pools are limited by Humanity.
!Fractured Personas
The Beast doesn't exist. What vampires struggle with is the Other (see //Requiem Chronicler's Guide// for relevant rules.
!Ghouls
Becoming a Ghoul is a permanent shift. Just because they stop recieving Blood from a donor doesn't mean they can go back to normal. They can't - ever. They can become Vampires, but otherwise always keep the Ghoul template. And the word "Ghoul" is a Kindred derogatory term. The polite term is "Chevalier".
!Lycanthropy
We're using the //Lycanthropy// option from the ''Blasphemies ''book. Werewolves are less infectious in their non-Garou aspects, making unintentional infection far more difficult. In near-Human or near-Wolf forms, the bonus against Lunacy serves as a bonus to resisting the disease, while Human and Wolf aspects are unable to spread the disease at all. If the character has the Wolf-blooded merit, it serves as a penalty to resisting the transformation. If a newly made Werewolf can survive his initial transformative experiences, once his Morality has dropped to 0, it switches to Harmony at one step bellow what it was before as long as he has other Werewolves on hand to ease them through the transition. //Children of the Cup// find their conversion far easier, having taken the step willingly, switching from Morality to Harmony without loss of dots after their first change. The Tribes consider the idea of Lycanthropic origins blasphemous and heretical, and those who believe such tripe mad, dangerous or deluded.
!Harmony, Essence & Gifts
Only Lycanthropes who have completed their transformations and moved on to the path of Harmony may make use of Essence & learn Gifts.
!History
William was born to a pair of well-to-do cattle ranchers in south western Arizona. He was well-educated, and reared for a marrage to a rich wine-brewer's daughter. However, he felt