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

[Ethryo]

With Nerissa and her rather vague background, I hope that Modiphius and Onyx Path wont make V% another V20 with more clans and bloodlines than there are leaves on a tree. V20 felt like it had inferiority complex towards Vampire:Revised and needed more and stronger bloodlines and forgotten clans

I hope V5 will be more like the original games in that aspect.

In my world. Nerissa is a strong Caitiff with her own set of thinblood alchemy as we do not need methuslaehs to the left and right. We got rid of Menele and Helena is still up and ruining stuff. We dont need a new one that will control the entire city when the premise of the game was that the elders had been beckoned.

[CTPhipps]

With Nerissa and her rather vague background, I hope that Modiphius and Onyx Path wont make V% another V20 with more clans and bloodlines than there are leaves on a tree. V20 felt like it had inferiority complex towards Vampire:Revised and needed more and stronger bloodlines and forgotten clans

I hope V5 will be more like the original games in that aspect.

In my world. Nerissa is a strong Caitiff with her own set of thinblood alchemy as we do not need methuslaehs to the left and right. We got rid of Menele and Helena is still up and ruining stuff. We dont need a new one that will control the entire city when the premise of the game was that the elders had been beckoned.

I admit to having a more international view of the 13 Clans than the Euro-Centric view that many gamers have. In my mind, Enoch was an African City and the 13 Clans spread from the birthplace of humanity along with the rest of its peoples. The Second City was in the Middle East and the source of what we think of as "Modern Noddism." The Second City wasn't the only source of vampirism, though, as the Clans went everywhere else.

As such, South American vampires are descended from the 13 but they have their own history that are as lengthy as any others from the Second City. But they all stem from the original source way back when.

While some people would prefer each region to have their own original monsters, I also think that potentially falls into the idea of "othering" them. Because player characters want to play vampires who are part of the pre-existing social structures.

Or, in simple terms, Nerissa is a 5th Generation Gangrel in my games.

However, it's also possible that they may go with something else for the Drowned and that's cool too. Even CBN5E has the option she's just a deluded childe of Menele and may have diablerized him.

[CTPhipps]

Changeling Allegiance, An Explosive Entrance, Flames Spread

Cast: Mateo, Kyra Ria, Crook Dawson

Synopsis: A Kindred Neonate attempts to murder his sire and gets caught up in the aftermath.

Analysis: I enjoyed the previous adventure hooks but this is where I really started to enjoy the Anarch hooks. I admit this is just my personal preference but I tend to like the gritty street level stuff over the more esoteric magical themes. In this case, this is a straight-forward story about a vampire plotting against his sire only to get more than his bargained for when the action is interpreted as political.

Weirdly, this reminds me a bit of the adventure ANNABELLE'S PARTY from THE SUCCUBUS CLUB chronicle book. Basically, a Ventrue ends up deciding to wreck one of Annabelle's parties due to the fact she insulted his train exhibit. This ends up causing a complete shitstorm because humiliating Annabelle in front of all of her friends as well as peons genuinely reduces her power as a Primogen as well as Clan leader. It also means whoever helps her gets a boon from the Toreador Elder.

In this case, Mateo is possibly one of the worst vampires you could possibly Embrace. He's the worst sort of self-absorbed Toreador poseur and basically despises his sire because he's kept as a slave by her. While this is mildly sympathetic, he's a Masquerade-breaking sociopath on his own and his sire (who is no saint herself) is the only thing keeping him from making a bigger threat of himself than your typical wight.

Mateo notably is such an idiot that he actually looked up on the internet (implied to be reddit) how to commit arson, only to be blackmailed by a mortal hacker. While it suggests Gabrielle and Bobby Weatherbottom, I recommend the player characters have to deal with an ordinary human hacker. It adds an additional layer of trouble that Mateo brings, especially if he decides to just straight out murder the guy in the most vampiric manner possible (draining him dry and leaving the corpse with a big hole in its neck).

The adventure(s) basically consist of Mateo setting fire to Kyra's club of Bliss with her inside. This is taken as a strike by the Anarchs against the establishment because Kyra is a incredibly anti-Anarch Elder (Embraced: 1865) despite her High Generation (11th). My assumption is that Kyra's diluted blood is the primary reason she's not a power player in Cainite society and she goes down on Anarchs (phrasing!) because she's trying to gain what little prestige she can by picking on easy targets. Eventually, if Mateo isn't caught, the Nosferatu Crook is blamed for this and he's WICKED PISSED as one might imagine.

I think the easiest way to run this adventure is have the PCs rescue Mateo, find out what a complete pile of shit he is, and then have to deal with Kyra surviving with plans of revenge. They can then potentially turn Mateo over to the Camarilla and alienate their Anarch friends or have the two finish each other off. If they play their cards right, they can also have Crook owe the Anarchs a boon and he is FAR more useful to the Movement than Mateo. Mind you, he's a sociopath too but he's not an idiot.

[CTPhipps]

Boyce's Advice and An Anarch May look at the Prince

Cast: Devin Boyce, J. Sebastian Hart

Synopsis: Where a NPC does a stupid thing only a player should do.

Analysis: One of the hardest kind of NPCs to use in a game is one of the most commonly used, which is to say, "The Nonplayer Character Player Character." They're characters that are the heroes of their own story and would be the kind of characters that would be PCs if they weren't played by the Storyteller. These can easily become the single most obnoxious and hated characters in games as we've seen with Drizzt Do'Urden, Elminster, plus a few other characters.

There have been a few of these that have decidedly NOT become disliked by a vocal minority of gamers (or majority in some small cases). The Signature NPCs of Vampire: The Masquerade are generally popular and well liked with some like Lucita being VERY well liked. I'm not saying it because she's a hot bisexual Spanish ninja but it didn't hurt. Damien is actually a decent example in Chicago by Night but he was a minor character and actually got reinvisioned as the Sheriff.

Devin Boyce is a good character for a kind of PC NPC as he's a card shark, smartass, and a guy who you want to hang out with. The game opens up with him telling you that Anarchs should be "secret" Anarchs and that openly declaring your emnity to the Prince is just stupid. It sounds rationale but the fact is that he is a Neonate and is not actually a guy who knows what he's talking about.

The premise of the game is that Devin asks the PCs to let him negotiate on their behalf with the Prince to get them some good Domain as well as territory within Chicago. It backfires horribly and they end up kissing up to Kevin Jackson to the point that he assigns them a task to go infiltrate as well as takedown an Anarch warlord in a nearby small city. Mind you, I think only a few player characters would be stupid enough to let a teenager negotiate for them but I could easily see them getting saddled with helping Devin anyway.

This reminds me a lot of the various hare-brained schemes that my players have come up with over the years where they are CERTAIN something will go completely right (like trying to fool the Prince you're a loyalist and thinking that means anything) only for it to go disastrously wrong. No matter how many warnings you give them. I do remember one time when a player decided to assassinate Modius without telling anyone else about it during their meeting with it for example.

This could also be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that not Anarchs get along. J. Sebastan Hart is an Anarch traitor and a member of the Hecata who wants to make his own independent state in Cook County where he rules as "Duke." Mind you, I don't think most players would be willing to assassinate a vampire for a Neonate they hardly know, even if the Prince is going to reward them (which is a big if, given he probably knows they're Anarchs despite the fact Devin thinks he's got the Prince fooled). However, a lesser mission might be interesting like, "Go to this guy and deliver a message."

Then they can find out what a psychopath J. Sebastian Hart is.

Anyway, solid adventure hook.

[omenseer]

What are the rituals and lore sheets like/about?

[CTPhipps]

What are the rituals and lore sheets like/about?

The Rituals section adapts a bunch of past Chicago by Night rituals to V5.

The Loresheets are quite good and a great supplement to Chicago By Night's.

[Draconis]

What are the rituals and lore sheets like/about?

The rituals are…not great, in my opinion. They're adaptations of previous CbN rituals, but tend to overlap quite a lot with the conceptual space of other Disciplines.

The loresheets are generally excellent, with some Chicago-specific ones and some general ones (like "knowing vampire duelling styles"). Most of them are good, only a few dud levels.

[CTPhipps]

Mendoza is Dead and Mixing it Up

Cast: The Parkie Mob, Devin Boye

Synopsis: A new gang of high generation Anarchs lash out at the system.

Analysis: One of the interesting things about Chicago by Night 5E was that the Anarch groups were all updated so that the Anarch Center is now a fully-organized group, the Nihilists are a full-on terrorist organization, and some of the other groups like the Blood Disco don't identify as Anarchs at all. But what about the classic "thumb your nose at authority, kind of stupid" Anarchs? You know, the guys who the Nihilists used to be before Gengis recruited a bunch of psychopath Ancilla? Well, there's the Parkie Mob.

Principle Skinner: What are you rebelling against?

Lisa: What have you got?

I actually like the Parkie Mob a lot because they're a collection of Anarchs that your player characters can feel smarter hanging around. They're a bunch of kids, really, that hate being under "Prince Fucking Jackson"'s thumb. They're directionless, angry, and the perfect people to either be an impediment to the players or someone they can guide. The fact that Devin Boyce is their leader shows they are REALLY in need of a brain as he's barely keeping his head above water himself.

The premise of the first adventure is that Mendoza, a Thin Blood friend of theirs, has been murdered and all signs point to the Prince. It's actually not the Prince (or Sheriff) but another vampire covering up his actions during a frenzy. Honestly, while I like this adventure, I note that killing an Anarch Thin Blood for no reason whatsoever is exactly in-character for Jackson. It's something that the players can't necessarily do anything about either. I'm not sure how to incorporate that into the adventure, though, as it makes no mystery.

The second adventure is the fact the Parkie Mob is looking for some trouble to start and plan on doing something loud as well as obnoxious. Unfortunately, Kevin Jackson is at the height of his power and it will probably get them killed. The Anarchs can work to undermine PFJ but they have to do it smartly, like the Rebel Alliance before the Death Star. Otherwise, the Parkie Mob is just going to end up exterminated by Damien as well as the rest of his goon squad. The fact that Devin and Damien are friends won't end up saving the former.

I do regret we don't have much in the way of characterization for the Parkie Mob other than Devin, though, as they seem like they could be really good comic relief or the source of some genuinely moving tragedy. Having them portrayed as a likable bunch (if over their head) followed by Jackson having them all tortured and killed would be a pretty good way of establishing the Prince's villain cred.

But then again, I love portraying the Prince as a bad guy.

[CTPhipps]

The List of Ten, Who Made the Deal?, What Would Tyler Do

Cast: Devin Boyce, Duncan MacTavish, Gengis, The Parkie Mob, Marc Levesque, Adze, and Babs

Synopsis: The Anarchs decide to determine if the List of Ten is real. A Thin Blood dares Marc to do something big and explosive.

Analysis: These are two solid Anarch politics-related adventures as well as one good piece of fiction where we see just how angry Anita is over the possibility of the List. The List of Ten is something that I felt was really good and an excellent Maguffin from the main Chicago by Night book. You have the Anarchs have a chance to get the Camarilla off their back by throwing other Anarchs under the bus but it also requires you to trust Jackson to keep his word and why would you? Also, anyone on the List essentially says they're just an Anarch poseur.

It's interesting to speculate the origins of THE LIST OF TEN and who came up with it really. If Kevin Jackson came up with it, it's a wonderful "divide and conquer" strategy that means that Kevin can undermine the Anarchs by having them work against each other to be on the list or have others work to curry favor with the Camarilla. Because when and if there are just ten Anarchs left, they'll be easily crushed.

If it was created by Gengis then it makes PFJ (Prince Fucking Jackson) look less like a genius but underscores what a slimy little weasal Gengis in. He not only was a traitor but he went out of his way to beg at the Camarilla's table for the chance to be their lapdog. This might still be true because Gengis doesn't want to be a vampire who exists outside the Camarilla. He needs the organized structure of it to rebel against. He's a champagne punk, through and through.

In any case, the first two bits are about Anita Wainwright trying to determine if there is a list with the Parkie Mob screwing it up the entire way through. The player characters, of course, have to find out the truth and how they can take advantage of it. Amusingly, Duncan Mactavish refuses to believe there is a list because he's TOO SMART. He recognizes it as a divide and conquer tactic but has too much faith in the Anarchs to believe they would betray the cause that way.

What Would Tyler Do? is another useful little adventure where the player characters find a Thin Blood trying to goad Marc Levesque/Gerard into a direct strike on the Camarilla. She invokes the memory of Tyler, which I'm not sure is something that would work. The Chicago Anarchs KNOW Tyler and KNOW that she's the one who killed Procet during Maldavis' uprising. It's funny, though, imagining that someone would talk about this legendary Anarch to a bunch of people who knew her personally.

A prophet is a prophet everywhere but their hometown.

[Ruthven]

I posted this in a different thread concerning "Let the Streets Run Red", and on the advice of CT, I moved it here. It concerns the possible location of the staked Kindred from CbN and the Folios. Where are they kept? Here's the post:

In reviewing CbN, the closed down Joliet Corrections Center struck a chord, but I'm saving that for something else. I wanted something with a horrid history, that would allow for other supernatural encounters as well, and might explain why it's not "heavily guarded" since the reputation alone is enough to keep mortals and most Kindred away.I'm thinking an abandoned building of what was once the Manteno State Psychiatric Hospital, about 50 miles from Chicago; little more than an hour's drive. This place has an awful, and terrifying real world history. For the sake of the World of Darkness, in consideration of its past horrors, I imagine it might have required a morgue too-- and there our staked Kindred rest. This place is rife with spectres- that alone is enough for mortals to give the place a wide berth. I imagine, nearby there might be a few ghouls or Dominated mortals, who make the rounds, probably police of the town. Here, the torpid forms of Dickie, Victoria Longwood and maybe Lorraine Matthews lay. Can you think of any other Kindred mentioned as staked and disappeared in CbN and the Folios? Maybe, Let the Streets Run Red will give us insight into Lorraine's fate, otherwise, if Jackson did stake her--well, this is a suitably nightmarish location for her torpid form.

[CTPhipps]

Revenge is Sweet, The Plan, The Attack

Cast: Marc Levesque, The Parkie Mob

Synopsis: The Anarchs decide to launch an attack on the Camarilla to let them know they still exist.

Analysis: What do the Anarchs do? The Anarchs are an awesome revolutionary group against the Camarilla but they're not actually at WAR with them most of the time. For the most part, Camarilla and Anarch exist in a Cold War at worst or at a forced detente at best. The Anarchs strike with meaningless violence against Elysium art and activities while the Camarilla seeks to divide and conquer. Eventually, it escalates to assassination and then eventually there's the outright revolution.

If the Anarchs really want to take over a city, they have to be incredibly subtle and play the Camarilla's game. Either that or just kill every Elder in the city. Either works. Part of why they succeeded in Los Angeles was because Elders like Louis Fortier easily switched to being Baron of Beverly Hills while others were driven out of town or killed. If you go hard without a plan, though, the Camarilla will come down on you like a ton of bricks.

Revenge is Sweet is basically about Gerard wanting to blow up a Camarilla location in a way that shows the Anarchs are there. There's several targets but the best one is Ballard Industries, though it's open 24-7 so doing so without a bunch of mortal casualties is all but impossible. That may not necessarily bother the PCs. The "ideal" ending is that Kevin Jackson decides to negotiate with the Anarchs because of this but I can't really see that as something Kevin will do versus a Red Wedding-style massacre. Kevin Jackson has made his bones as the Anarch-crushing hardass. If he doesn't come down hard then look weak.

One thing I really liked was that Berlin's Prince, Willhelm Waldburg, actually was removed from his Praxis due to being so soft on the Anarchs. This resulted in the Prince immediately cracking down on them and then getting overthrown. Willhelm is probably NOT going to be getting much respect back for this (due to the fact it's not the environment for a pro-Anarch stance) but it certainly
makes his political opponents look like fools.

I think a good alternative version of this adventure would be the PCs trying to figure out whether they should stop it (innocents will be killed normally) or figuring out some way to strike at the Camarilla without immediately drawing down their wrath. I'd argue a divide and conquer strategy would be best for Anarchs by playing them off against one another. There's also the fact that this strategy is very Pre-War on Terror.

Marc Levesque probably isn't worried about the Camarilla cracking down but if he blows up an American business like Ballard Industries Headquarters, it's not going to be Kevin Jackson he has to worry about. It's going to be the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, ATF, and the Second Inquisition who are going to wonder why there was a terrorist attack on American soil and who is responsible. A subtler and probably just as effective one might be flooding the building with rats or breaking its sewer pipes.

The latter is inspired by the fact my basement was flooded with sewage and we had to dig up the entirety of the pipes. Now it turns out we also need to replace my bathroom's floor. Let the Streets Run Red can't come fast enough to give my mind a break.

[CTPhipps]

I posted this in a different thread concerning "Let the Streets Run Red", and on the advice of CT, I moved it here. It concerns the possible location of the staked Kindred from CbN and the Folios. Where are they kept? Here's the post:

In reviewing CbN, the closed down Joliet Corrections Center struck a chord, but I'm saving that for something else. I wanted something with a horrid history, that would allow for other supernatural encounters as well, and might explain why it's not "heavily guarded" since the reputation alone is enough to keep mortals and most Kindred away.I'm thinking an abandoned building of what was once the Manteno State Psychiatric Hospital, about 50 miles from Chicago; little more than an hour's drive. This place has an awful, and terrifying real world history. For the sake of the World of Darkness, in consideration of its past horrors, I imagine it might have required a morgue too-- and there our staked Kindred rest. This place is rife with spectres- that alone is enough for mortals to give the place a wide berth. I imagine, nearby there might be a few ghouls or Dominated mortals, who make the rounds, probably police of the town. Here, the torpid forms of Dickie, Victoria Longwood and maybe Lorraine Matthews lay. Can you think of any other Kindred mentioned as staked and disappeared in CbN and the Folios? Maybe, Let the Streets Run Red will give us insight into Lorraine's fate, otherwise, if Jackson did stake her--well, this is a suitably nightmarish location for her torpid form.

Excellent write-up, friend.

If I were to come up with some suitable ideas for Lorraine's fate, I would go with a multiple choice one:

1. Lorraine is dead: Lorraine's attempts to constantly preserve Lodin's "legacy" irritated the vast majority of his brood. As such, one day Lorraine simply disappeared and it was blamed on the Second Inquisition. In truth, Kevin Jackson had her disposed of at the hands of "Crook" Dawson. He didn't want it traced back to him promised Dawson a major boon. This murder being revealed would severely impact Kevin Jackson's Princedom as quite a few Elders liked Lorraine even if they (mostly) dismissed her as Lodin's drug-addled mistress. Crook is saving the information for a helpful bit of blackmail later on.

2. Lorraine is imprisoned: Lorraine was effectively Lodin's secretary as well as mistress, which gave her access to vast amounts of information that would be stored in computers today. Eventually, individuals realized this and made an effort to abscond with her. Possible individuals holding her as Kevin Jackson, Al Capone, Ballard, Cedrick Calhoun, Bronwyn, and the Second Inquisition. Her state of wellness, sanity, and more are dependent on her captor.

3. Lorraine is an Anarch: The Blood Bond to Lodin probably took a decade to die given the sheer number of times she fed from him as well as how much he reinforced it with both Presence as well as natural charm. However, eventually it did break and Lorraine felt cheap as well as disgusted by how much Lodin had used her. While Anita Wainwright was less than happy at the prospect of taking in the wayward Blue Blood, a part of her felt sympathy for the daughter of privilege wanting to fight for greater enlightenment. She's fully embraced the hippie lifestyle decades too late and has beem protected by both Anita as well as Erichtho (while pried free of dozens of important secrets). She has also started a self-help drug cult that keeps her in the medicated blood she needs.

4. Lorraine is in hiding: Pretty much the same as other angles, Lorraine has used her significant powers of Dominate as well as access to Lodin's account to go into hiding. She probably hasn't gone far but has changed her appearance and could be in Milwaukee, East Chicago, or even the suburbs. Lorraine has probably heard rumors of Lodin surviving through her few friends and might be looking for him now. It is likely she would not deal well with Lodin's current state nor would he respond well to her.

5. Lorraine is a wight: Perhaps the most tragic fate for her is the loss of Lodin in her influence, some bad drug trip-induced frenzies, and her ostracizing from Camarilla city resulted in her eventually losing all her Humanity. Lorraine now haunts the streets of Chicago as a monster capable of hiding herself and luring drug-addled people to allies to be horribly butchered. Kevin Jackson would very much like this embarrassment to his clan eradicated but so far Damien and Nathaniel have come up empty. Some suggest that Lorraine's insanity may not be the result of such mundane explanations above either but that she sought comfort in the arms of a lover who drove her mad: the Primogen Son.

[CTPhipps]

The Traditions: A Feminist Perspective, At the Rant, About the Data Stick

Cast: Jennifer MacKay, Naomi Stewart, an anonymous blackmailer

Synopsis: Jennifer MacKay has a rant where she goes on about black feminism and how it relates to vampiredom. Naomi Stewart attends. Jennifer MacKay freaks the hell out about a Ventrue Elder being at her meeting and decides to kill her. This entire business is recorded and someone tries to blackmail Naomi Stewart over it.

Analysis: This is an adventure I think could be done very well but also have the potential to go seriously off the wall. Thankfully, most of my gamers are very progressive sorts and aren't the sort of trogalydytes who would pass out at the notion of discussing intersectionality at an RPG. Indeed, I think there's a lot of interesting points to do about it with the discussion of minorities, class warfare, and vampirism. Indeed, that may well be cheating here because that's the subject of my vampire novel.

The problem I have with this is that Jennifer MacKay is a character designed to not really have any idea what she's talking about. She's a very smart young woman but wholly ignorant about Kindred politics and thinks that Gengis is a better leader for the Anarchs than Anita Wainwright. I'd understand if it was Maldavis but that's just being a horrible judge of character. The fact she immediately freaks the hell out about the only black woman Ventrue in, well probably the Greater Chicao Area, doesn't help matters.

Oddly, I think this adventure would be better if the roles were reversed with Naomi Stewart being the one to give a lecture to her students [possibly risking the Masquerade] or a group of visiting Kindred women, ghouls, and Thin Bloods. Then you could have Jennifer crash the party, fully intending to expose Naomi as a fraud and ending up having a very interesting conversation. Sort of like how Tessa Thompson and Logan Browning had a conversation in Dear White People between the capitalist conservative sellout vs. young idealist anarch.

"The only difference between us is time."

I'm also not sure that the blackmailer really has something worth blackmailing over. Naomi can easily just claim she's there to spy on the Anarchs while Jennifer having a Ventrue Elder show up isn't going to lose her cred unless said Elder takes over. I recommend Bobby Weatherbottom for the blackmailer just because I think he's got a dark side and it's nice to show it (beyond keeping his girlfriend attached to a milking machine).

[CTPhipps]

And we're done with the Anarch section!

[CTPhipps]

Chapter Three: Independent and Mortal Perspectives

Part of what I loved about V5 was the increased focus on mortals. I feel like Revised, for all of its wonderful elements, was the most removed from any acknowledgement that humans existed as something other than Blood Bags or disposable retainers.

One of the things I really appreciated about Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines was that humans didn't necessarily play a BIG role but they played *A* role: Heather Poe, Fat Larry, Venus, and Chunk all let you know that humans could be entertaining additions to your game. You'd think that would be obvious but I knew plenty of vampire games that had NO human NPCs.

So this is a welcome chapter and one that I look forward to dissecting. We're about halfway done now with THE CHICAGO FOLIOS and I think that I'll be able to wrap this up before the arrival of LET THE STREETS RUN RED.

It should be noted that Matthew Dawkins recently did an interview where he revealed some secrets and revelations about that supplement. We've got inisghts into all four Chronicles for the book now including such revelations as Sir Walter Nash (from Vampire: The Eternal Struggle) and that Maxwell is doing some sort of plot in Gary, Indiana. I'm eager to hear more about these.

Fascinating stuff around 10:30 or so.