[V5] [WIR] The Chicago Folios - Completed 9/19/2020

[CTPhipps]

The Ashfinders, The Most Dangerous Game, The Little Village Inferno, Reign of Ashe

Cast: Kevin Jackson, Amelia Locke, Adze, Erzulie

Synopsis: Thin Bloods have begun spreading Ash as a drug across the city.

Analysis: I'm a big fan of the Ashfinders. They're such a twist on the typical Thin Bloods that they create an entirely new stereotype for the weakest of Caine's childer. Thin Bloods do not have much in the way of power compared to other Cainites but they DO have the advantage of being able to move in human circles much easier. This means that, in some cases, there are going to be some REALLY RICH Thin Bloods.

(Peter Thiel is a Thin Blood in my games)

The Ashfinders are a bunch of drug-addicted Wolf of Wallstreet and Tech Bro kind of people that are buying the ash of dead vampires from the Middle East. Honestly, I'm not sure who they've made contact with to ship these piles of ashes. That feels like it deserves to be its own story. Is there a Merry and Pippin pair of Hobbits following the wars and Fed-exing the results of apocalyptic battles against Antediluvians?

Fun fact: Blade: The Series on Starz television was a show I own the one and only season of. While it had it's problems, one of the more interesting plotlines of that show was the fact that humans had begun murdering vampires to sell their ash as a street drug. It's apparently got some wonky side-effects but briefly gives you a vampire's strength and power. I wonder if anyone was thinking of this series when they created the vampire ash plotline.

Either way, it's apparently spread to the Chicago club scene and Blood Disco where Thin Bloods are enjoying the high life. My inclination is the snorting of 5th and 6th generation vampire ash will have the effect of making them briefly strong enough to do some serious damage to "real" vampires. Kevin Jackson wants it stopped and Amelia Locke is the person he hires to investigate--even thgough she wants nothing to do with such a dangerous plot.

So far, no Thin Bloods are murdering Kindred for their ashes but it's only a matter of time.

One thing that's also interesting is the fact that Kevin Jackson would very much like the "necromantic" ritual that allows vampire ash to be turned into Ash the Drug. He presumably thinks this is created with Thin Blooded Alchemy. Cults of the Blood Gods, however, illustrated that it was the creation of THE INSIDIOUS MORTIUS (Da dummm!). I applaud Matthew Dawkins for restoring this Milwaukee By Night character to importance. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be the guy who created Thin Blood Alchemy as a whole.

[Ruthven]

I agree, they're all probably drowned, and the artifact hints at that with the "same brood, the same family".

[CTPhipps]

I'm a doofus. I should clarify, check page 67 of Chicago By Night, not the fplios-- the two connect though and hint at what might be in Lester's care.

Got it.

Dear Lester,

Your masters are not mine. Yours are within the
earth and mine are within the water. Are they of the
same brood, the same family, perhaps? I do not know.
But kindly refrain from casting aspersions against the
Cultivars. We have nothing to do with your feeding problem.
Mother’s blessings,

Edith

I think they probably are still Drowned. It's Edith is being snooty.

[CTPhipps]

I'm a doofus. I should clarify, check page 67 of Chicago By Night, not the fplios-- the two connect though and hint at what might be in Lester's care.

Ah!

That makes more sense.

[Ruthven]

I'm a doofus. I should clarify, check page 67 of Chicago By Night, not the fplios-- the two connect though and hint at what might be in Lester's care.

[CTPhipps]

CT, The "Lester Knife"The Black Water, Auguries, Snatch and Slash plotines- see page 67, the artifact note from Edith to Lester.

Thank you! Just checking. 67 is a different page on my version.

[Ruthven]

CT, The "Lester Knife"The Black Water, Auguries, Snatch and Slash plotines- see page 67, the artifact note from Edith to Lester.

[CTPhipps]

This one is a significant plotline. I'd call it one of the major plotlines in the the the V5 version of Chicago By Night. The note on page 67 (I don't want to spoil) has a truth to it and I think its very easy to provide a common source.

That's the Shejana plotline, right?

Which plot are you referring to?

[Ruthven]

This one is a significant plotline. I'd call it one of the major plotlines in the the the V5 version of Chicago By Night. The note on page 67 (I don't want to spoil) has a truth to it and I think its very easy to provide a common source.

[CTPhipps]

The Black Water, Auguries, Snatch and Slash

Cast: Lester Knife

Synopsis: The things beneath Lake Michigan stir and Lester wants out.

Analysis: I've always been a fan of Lester Knife and think he's one of the more interesting chaarcters of Chicago by Night. The idea of a poor, average, working class Native American janitor caught doing regular human sacrifices to the monsters underneath an apartment building is some grade-A Call of Cthulhu shit that is much better horror than a typical vampire story.

This reminds me strongly of the DARK AGES CLAN BOOK: BAALI and its take on them. Vampire is usually the opposite of COC horror because vampires are very much the opposite of alien cosmic horror. They are, in fact, incredibly human and their curse only is a curse if they feel the very human emotions of guilt. The idea of making the Baali have a kind of horrifying The Cabin in the Woods job of placating the unfathomably evil Children with human sacrifices, rape, and Shaitan knows what else is a fascinating concept. Albeit, it is not one that I would ever have the PCs deal with. Poor Lester has a somewhat lighter version of this and he could just be feeding a single Elder or bunch of Elders with his human sacrifices.

The ethical dilemma of Lester is an interesting one as you don't know what he's keeping placated down below or even if he has a choice in how he responds to it. Forget V5 level caps, if an Elder with Dominate 5-9 is down there then Lester is not responsible for any of his actions. Lambach Ruthven is an incredibly powerful Tzimisce but the Eldest is fully capable of (and did) leave him as a mewling baby.

Introducing the player characters to figuring out what to do about the Monster in the BasementTM is an interesting one, especially if the building is full of innocents. However, I admit, my player characters are likely to have the view of driving a gasoline truck into the place and then having another gasoline truck nearby in case it survives. The average player character is not going to want to submit to the idea of "some lives to keep something at bay." Especially since it's entirely probable that the SOMETHING is getting stronger the more it is fed.

It's not necessarily a vampire either as this is a good opportunity to introduce Banes, demons, or other THINGS to your World of Darkness.

An interesting twist on this could also be that Lester is NOT feeding some kind of Lovecraftian Horror but a very normal Kindred in a kind of perverse version of Scooby Doo. Imagine it turning out to be Edgar Drummond, the train enthusiast from 1st Edition CBN, or something like Pearl from Blade.

[CTPhipps]

The Church of Set and Eating its Own Tail

Cast: Marcel, Salt, Thea Noel-MacCrain, Reverend "Twosret" Sarah P. Donnadieu

Synopsis: A plot on Marcel's life is hatched

Analysis: This book confirms that there's been either a retcon or a change in depiction for the Ministry from their appearance in The Anarch to Cults of the Blood Gods. Maybe it was always intended this way and it's only changed in what we, the fans, know. Anyway, this section opens with the following interesting paragraph.

To the outside observer, the schism within the Followers of Set that created the Ministry was a simple rebrand to make the Setites more palatable in Camarilla and Anarch domains. The truth is more nuanced. While the majority of the clan sided with the Anarch Movement following the aborted Camarilla petition in Paris, the orthodox Church of Set continued on, and its most loyal adherents look dimly on the Ministry, while adopting outcasts from other clans who might share their faith.

I really like this because I've always felt the Followers of Set could use a bit more splits on orthodox lines. I always liked the conflict between the Voudan practicioners of the Serpents of Light vs. the Followers of Set with neither side having moral high ground really but a slight edge to the Sabbat [a rare enough occurrence]. I have to wonder if the Serpents of Light left the Sabbat to do their own thing and are a part of the Ministry now.

Anyway, another reason I like this plot is the fact that it is a direct continuation of the one in Beckett's Jyhad Diary. There, the Church of Set orthodox factions were murdering and torturing anyone who worshiped Set in a different way or didn't worship Set at all. This seems to have backfired horribly and created the formal split within their ranks. I've always found it amusing that a God of Chaos would have an "orthodox" fundamentalist branch but that is no different than Jesus having knights I suppose.

This adventure really just amounts to someone wanting to assassinate Marcel for being a heretic. I find this a bit humorous because I get the impression Marcel is running a "drug and sex" cult to Set, which is the most stereotypical thing that you can do as a Setite. He's a member of the Ministry but I think that's because I don't think Marcel is actually the kind of guy who has the innate nightmarish EVIL to follow the Path of Typhon. He's too easy going and really his Set worship is one big party [That's just my take on him anyway].

The game suggests multiple angles to follow this but I think the best way to do it is SITH ACADEMY style where you plot against one then plot against the other before either going against both or realizing one is objectively worse. This is a reference to KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC, fyi, where you can play A Fistfull of Dollars with two feuding Sith Academy teachers.

[CTPhipps]

I'm running this particular story thread in my own chronicle. You hit on some of the elements that I felt I had to work out.. Joshua being a socialist and supporter of trade unionism (I distinguish socialism from communism, in the sense that, I don't believe Joshua was a supporter of Stalinism and that sort of "communism"). in life, and how those view translate into Kindred society? In my thinking,, he would not establish a typical "barony"; in which he was some sort of "boss", "warlord" or "gang leader". Instead, I think he'd look to form a union council, where all recognized anarchs with domain in Joliet would participate in the decision making of the barony by direct, popular vote. A domain consisting of one Kindred holding the tittle of baron is a bit silly, I decided Blackjack isn't the only anarch of Joliet. For ease, I quickly populated Joliet with the coterie from the Quickstart "The Monsters" and turning the sheriff, Samantha Stokes, into an Anarch "sweeper". I added two SPCs I made, and I had a reasonably sized anarch barony.

Enter The Church of Caine. The Church of Caine has strong roots in the Sabbat, and I think between Tyler and Joshua's direct hand in battling the Sabbat, he'd have an inkling of the Church of Caine's origins. I just don't see him "turning to religion", and if he did, it's hard to believe he'd go along with the Church of Caine. In my story, the entrance of the Church of Caine was made by popular vote. The Deacon prevailed in a social combat with one of the PCs in my chronicle. The PC ardently opposed the Church of Caine's entrance into the domain. The motion to allow them to re-establish domain barely passed, with the prevailing argument being "Kindred should have freedom of conscious, to choose if they wish, religious beliefs, as long as those don't undermine the principles of the status perfectus.". The younger anarchs found this particularily compelling since the previous Deacon, Simon, died in a fire set by alleged Bahari cultists. Unwilling to appeal intolerant and close-minded, the vote to allow domain in Joliet prevailed.

I've plans to have a traditional Sabbat in the now closed down Joliet prison, replete with "fleshy horrors" (and maybe even a circle of Blood Brothers) responsible for some future mayhem, that's attributed to the Church of Caine. I think there's some traction for -exploring themes of political horror via religious persecution and prejudice. Having said that, there might be other reasons for the PC to want to give the Church of Caine the boot, but I'll get to that once I have the Cults of the Blood Gods. Naturally, this second chapter of the story will take a bit to implement since I've months to go before the release of Cults of the Blood Gods.

Excellent write-up and very good interpretation of events.

My thoughts on it that are slightly different?

+ I think Joshua Tarponski comes from a time when communism had a slightly different attitude in America and there's actually a fascinating history of workers who weren't aware of the atrocities going on in Soviet Russia but actually bought into the "Worker's Paradise" portion of events. A lot of this happened in the Great Depression and lost a lot of support when the Soviet Union encouraged its leaders (who really were compromised by foreign agents) to throw workers under the bus to get the United States to come in on behalf of the Union against the Nazis. This is even more interesting with black American communists who had associated the movement with racial equality only to find out, well, it was under the command of people who didn't give a shit about it. Joshua himself would identify as a socialist but I also think he's got more than a little "red tinge" to him due to his time period and place. Interestingly, I tend to think of Joshua and Al Capone as mortal enemies due to the fact the mafia eventually took over a lot of the Unions that red-orientated socialists like Joshua had fought to establish.

+ The Church of Caine is notably the most anti-Sabbat organization probably in existence you're going to find in V5. The organization pretty much advocating for the complete annihilation and death of every single person who is part of the Sword of Caine. While Arden is an ex-Sabbat, he's a guy who defected to the Church of Caine because of his realization they're irredeemably evil. I find that an interesting angle to pursue that while the Church of Caine does have some "defectors", they're people more like Ayn Rand to the Soviet Union than Sabbat in America. They HATE the Sabbat as perverting and destroying the basis of their religion. They're the regular Islam vs. Sabbat's ISIS take on Noddism. The Path of Heaven vs. The Path of the Devil.

+ I'm inclined to think that Joshua's fascination with the Church of Caine comes from the contradictory facts that he comes from a religious background but gave it up because there was no proof. Except, vampires by definition are proof of the supernatural. Having lived long enough to be an Ancilla bordering on Elder (at least in America), he's struggling with some existential questions that the Church of Caine provides answers for. The occult and supernatural aren't things he normally delves into but like Al Capone and Golconda, all aging Kindred are going to eventually have things they want to research beyond their mortal years.

+ I'm inclined to think that Joshua settling in as ruler of Joliet is a good idea of showing the hypocrisies inherent to the Anarch Movement. He moved out of Chicago to give the young ones a chance to breathe but is going to be someone who rules as Baron because he needs his own territory to rule over as a vampire biological imperiative. You can come to "his" place and abide by his rules and he'll treat you as a guest. But I imagine Joshua as a vampire suffering greatly from, "I am getting too old for this shit."

[Ruthven]

I'm running this particular story thread in my own chronicle. You hit on some of the elements that I felt I had to work out.. Joshua being a socialist and supporter of trade unionism (I distinguish socialism from communism, in the sense that, I don't believe Joshua was a supporter of Stalinism and that sort of "communism"). in life, and how those view translate into Kindred society? In my thinking,, he would not establish a typical "barony"; in which he was some sort of "boss", "warlord" or "gang leader". Instead, I think he'd look to form a union council, where all recognized anarchs with domain in Joliet would participate in the decision making of the barony by direct, popular vote. A domain consisting of one Kindred holding the tittle of baron is a bit silly, I decided Blackjack isn't the only anarch of Joliet. For ease, I quickly populated Joliet with the coterie from the Quickstart "The Monsters" and turning the sheriff, Samantha Stokes, into an Anarch "sweeper". I added two SPCs I made, and I had a reasonably sized anarch barony.

Enter The Church of Caine. The Church of Caine has strong roots in the Sabbat, and I think between Tyler and Joshua's direct hand in battling the Sabbat, he'd have an inkling of the Church of Caine's origins. I just don't see him "turning to religion", and if he did, it's hard to believe he'd go along with the Church of Caine. In my story, the entrance of the Church of Caine was made by popular vote. The Deacon prevailed in a social combat with one of the PCs in my chronicle. The PC ardently opposed the Church of Caine's entrance into the domain. The motion to allow them to re-establish domain barely passed, with the prevailing argument being "Kindred should have freedom of conscious, to choose if they wish, religious beliefs, as long as those don't undermine the principles of the status perfectus.". The younger anarchs found this particularily compelling since the previous Deacon, Simon, died in a fire set by alleged Bahari cultists. Unwilling to appeal intolerant and close-minded, the vote to allow domain in Joliet prevailed.

I've plans to have a traditional Sabbat in the now closed down Joliet prison, replete with "fleshy horrors" (and maybe even a circle of Blood Brothers) responsible for some future mayhem, that's attributed to the Church of Caine. I think there's some traction for -exploring themes of political horror via religious persecution and prejudice. Having said that, there might be other reasons for the PC to want to give the Church of Caine the boot, but I'll get to that once I have the Cults of the Blood Gods. Naturally, this second chapter of the story will take a bit to implement since I've months to go before the release of Cults of the Blood Gods.

[CTPhipps]

Church of Caine, Divine Intervention, Our Brother's Keeper, and Rebuilding the Church

Cast: Arden Canty, Joshua Tarponsky

Synopsis: Joshua has a struggle between his communist and Church of Caine beliefs. The Church has started building its ranks in Chicago in defiance of Critias as well as Jackson. The Anarchs are confused about what to make of this group.

Analysis: I admit to being a huge fan of The Church of Caine. Noddism is probably my single favorite element of Vampire: The Masquerade with it being up there with Anarchs, Chicago, and Lucita for things I am completely enamored of. The Church's doctrine may rely a bit too heavily on Gnosticism when I feel it should be Maltheism instead (Caine replacing Lucifer for standing up against God) but that's just my opinion. I love the Book of Nod and all of my characters tend to have a Caine-worshiping slant. So I'm extraordinarily happy that they brought the Church of Caine back for Cults of the Blood Gods.

Kudos also for including the song, "Kiss a Belle" from CBN in this bit. That was a nice continuity nod and I think the song is probably a remix of "Ring my Bell" from the 1970s. Then again, maybe I think the Blood Disco is a source for putting 70s music into Chicago. "Disco Inferno" for vampire hunting and "The Night Chicago Died" for fighting Al Capone. Okay, that was a weird digression.

The premise of this isn't so much explaining what the Church of Caine is up to in Chicago, though it does an excellent job of showing what sort of religion it is. It specifically describes it as more American Protestanism than Gnosticism. I found this interesting because it shows that the blood cults can vary from region to region. The part I really loved about this is that it gives an explanation of what happened to Chicago by Night 1st and 2nd Edition NPC Joshua "Blackjack" Tarponski. Apparently, he took over the city of Joliet (population: 153,000), Illinois from the Sabbat and declared it an Anarch Free State. While certainly no Chicago and only able to support a vampire and a half from "normal" numbers, it's still a pretty good sized Barony for a vampire like Joshua. After all, he's reasonably high Humanity and unlikely to kill people. I also liked the suggestion that Tyler may have helped him clear out the Sabbat in the area to make it his personal fiefdom.

This explains a lot of what I was wondering about Chicago's Anarchs as Joshua, despite being an old as fuck socialist, should really be a leader of the Anarchs. Having him leave with the rise of Jackson and others seems like its reasonable, though. With Critias siding with Jackson, it'd be suicide to remain and Joliet is certainly a better place to reside than Gary (though he could have taken that too).

Anyway, Joshua has apparently lost a Touchstone and turned to religion. Interestingly, this contradicts his communist views and is causing an internal struggle. I really like that. He wants to bow to no God or King but Caine is neither yet both.

Cool writing.

[Ruthven]

Maybe do a separate thread for original content or how the official seeds played out in people's chronicles for other STs to use/spark ideas for their own chronicles?