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

[The Gentleman Gamer]

As mentioned to you when you assumed it in Chicago by Night, it isn't stated anywhere that Sovereign is Jewish. I'm not sure where you've picked up the idea that he is.

[CTPhipps]

I updated the Introduction section because I don't think I properly addressed just what kind of book THE CHICAGO FOLIOS actually is:

http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/main-forum/the-classic-world-of-darkness/vampire-the-masquerade/1388414-v5-wir-the-chicago-folios-and-let-the-streets-run-red?p=1388508#post1388508

[CTPhipps]

Bar-Room Brawl and Handling Gengis

Cast: Damien, Gengis, Lewis "Lulu" Sheng, Kevin Jackson

Synopsis: Gengis screws up and frenzies in the middle of the Succubus Club while hopped up on cocaine. This is considered the last straw and many Kindred of the Camarilla demand his Final Death. The problem is that Kevin Jackson and Damien know that Gengis is an asset.

Analysis: Gengis is a character that I really liked the update for in V5. He's one of the earliest Anarchs created for V:TM and his whole premise is he's an arrogant blowhard who is more bark than bite. He's desperate for approval as a badass rebel and thus he's the kind of guy who conforms strongly to punk values. Now, decades later, he's strong enough that he's the guy who gives the orders and says what kind of values his fellow Anarchs should express.

The trick to Gengis is, though, that he would HATE the Brujah being kicked out of the Camarilla. He's someone who desperately needs authority in his life because he can't rebel against it if doesn't exist. In simple terms. he's a loyalist to the Camarilla because he defines himself by meaningless opposition to it. He's every bit the traitor to the Anarch cause that Damien is but is able to keep it secret because he still APPEARS to be a punk.

This adventure is thus a pretty good "intrigue" one as it deals with the fact Gengis' idiocy has put his handlers in an awkward spot. They've said that there's a zero tolerance policy against Anarchs and breaking the Masquerade but Gengis is their man on the inside. Sparing him would also tip off the Anarchs and Camarilla both that he's their man on the inside (even in Gengis never would admit it).

The biggest problem with this adventure is the players are unlikely to ever find out the deeper meanings of this problem without somehow figuring out that Gengis is the mole. I think to modify this adventure that Gengis should panic at some point and reveal his secret status at some point in hope of clemency. Which makes things even more complicated as they're now a liability. Sort of like the scene from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels where Steve Martin's character desperately tries to call upon Michael Cain's character for help out of jail, not knowing that he's the reason he's been arrested in the first place.

Either way, the big thing the player characters can do here is that they can influence the reaction fairly easily. KJ just needs an excuse to spare Gengis but the players can also force the issue to get him executed. They can also decide whether he'd be more useful/more of a anger to the Anarch cause as a martyr than as someone who is a living traitor. I also take this moment that if they get Gengis killed, they make an enemy of Damien. That's because, in 1st Edition and 2nd Edition, Gengis was Damien's best friend.

It's my opinion that Damien is the guy who came up with the "Anarch List" in the first place. I don't think Gengis is smart enough for it and while Kevin Jackson is, it also strikes me that Damien would want to see some of his friends spared.

Another angle that is underdeveloped here is that one of the Anarchs involved in this, Lulu, is actually the guy behind drugging Damien because he's working for Al Capone. Al Capone may or may not know Gengis is a catspaw but either way he hates the Anarchs as well as Kevin Jackson so it's two birds with one stone.

[CTPhipps]

Good evening Nightwalkers, Nightwalking

Cast: Mr. Addison (Wight), Tatyana Makarova, Vitas Varnas (Mortal)

Synopsis: A paranormal website blogger gets turned into a Thin Blood by a wight and immediately starts documenting it. A good-natured Kindred makes the mistake of trying to help him and exposes herself.

Analysis: This is a hilarious opening bit of fiction because it begins with someone enormously dropping the ball on multiple levels. Vitas Varnas is a conspiracy theorist and blogger who has apparently being doing his amateur podcast for 20+ years, meaning that while not exactly famous, he has a dedicated following from sheer inertia.

Checking out a mystery, he finally finds the real supernatural when a ghoul leads him to a wight in a basement of a property they're squatting in. Vitas gets drained dry but the wight actually Embraces him, which opens some very interesting ideas about the mindless dead. Vitas gets found by the Night Witch (i.e. ex-Russian fighter pilot during WW2) Tatyana Makarova who takes pity on him, who tries to explain some basics. So, of course Vitas announces that he's a vampire to the world and ask his listeners for help. He also mentions Tatyana by name in his podcast.

Now, really, Vitas should be dead on arrival but he has the slight advantage of the fact that his internet fandom is not QUITE so famous enough to immediately draw Kindred attention. Also, the Camarilla isn't exactly wired enough to know about podcasting. Somehow, the PCs are going to find out about it either from Tatyana or someone like Bobby Weatherbottom. This is, in simple terms, a clusterfuck and the normal Camarilla response should be to kill all three of the vampires involved. Which is unfair to Tatyana but probably for the best for Addison and maybe Varnas.
I really like this adventure and it's one that I would run because it's a really good use of the Masquerade as a Tradition. The ideal scenario for moral Kindred is that they help Tatyana destroy the wight, shut Varnas up, and then quietly cover this up. Even if the Prince discovers this, he'll be happy about it rather than upset because this is the equivalent of the good citzenship award. Most vampires would just report it to the Prince and let the slaughter commence.

The obvious complications for this are Varnas being completely stupid about advertising himself as the undead. This is the thing he's been looking for his entire life and he strikes me as a "truth is out there" kind of crusader. In my opinion, killing him is an entirely valid ending for this story and nice way of showing sometimes Kindred life sucks. Another cool thing is Mr. Addison's ghoul is still trying to arrange meals for his insane violent animal-like sire and Addison has enough self-awareness to not harm his ghoul. But you can involve all manner of other parties because while Addison's ghoul is getting rid of the bodies, the ex-Tremere is on a regular killing spree now.

SOMEONE is going to notice.

[CTPhipps]

From the Ground Up, Grindstone, and Impresario

Cast: Milena Aronyan, Alan Sovereign

Synopsis: Milena Aronyan talks about the value of the Camarilla, Chicago, and Prince Jackson. Milena offers to help the PCs get a start-up business going. Alan Sovereign gives them $10,000 to see if they can make it work.

Analysis: The Camarilla is the exact opposite of a meritocracy. It is a gerontocracy, which is to say it is rulership by the old. It is also a feudalist society, which means that it exists to propagate the people of the proper "breeding" and who already have inheritable land-ownership. However, some individuals in the Camarilla think that it's just a matter of proving yourself and making the most of your opportunities. 25 Years of Vampire: The Masquerade's Bob says that, for him at least, it's really just about surviving long enough to get on top. Some people have the patience to do so, others do not.

Or, to quote a favorite Daniel Craig movie, “You’re born, you take shit, get out in the world, you take more shit, climb a little higher, take less shit. Till one day you're in the rarefied atmosphere and you’ve forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.”

What's interesting about these two adventure hooks is that they are opposite sides of viewing the Camarilla from the perspective of someone ambitious. Milena Aronyan is an incredibly upbeat and optimistic character that I really enjoy. She's a Ventrue plumber and businesswoman who believes strongly in the American Dream and has transplanted that to Kevin Jackson. She's pretty much objectively wrong because Kevin Jackson is not a reformer (quite the opposite) but is perceived as a reformer because he's a Neonate and minority Prince. It's just Milena is blind to the fact it's his Ventrue blood that matters and military force because she's a Ventrue herself. Plus, like Jackson, she's able and willing to bust heads in order to get ahead. Easily my favorite character from the book and I look forward to talking about her more.

Alan Sovereign is the opposite of viewing the Camarilla and the book explains that he's aware it's a scam. The Camarilla talks about liberty, fraternity, and equality but it's all about protecting the big leagues. The thing is that he views the awareness of this as an advantage for gaming the system. He's a white collar criminal and if he'd been born something other than a upper class white man, would have the life philosophy, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." His cynicism isn't WRONG either and he has managed to move up to being Seneschal because of it.

The adventures both give the PCs an opportunity to make a lot of money with a Ventrue sponsor but how they approach things will determine what sort of advantage they get out of it. If they just try to cheat Milena, that's going to screw them over because she's a dedicated worker with a lot of Blue collar workers who know what its like to fight for their meals. If they DON'T cheat the system with Sovereign, they'll get screwed. Weirdly, the irony is that they're not that far apart and both want to give the PCs an honest leg up. They just expect them to do it differently.

I will say I laughed outloud when I read the description that Milena thinks Kevin Jackson wants to make peace with the Anarchs using his "List of Ten." There's misreading a situation and there's MISREADING A SITUATION.

[CTPhipps]

More adventure hooks!

Iron Fist: Velvet Glove, Fountain of Knowledge, Long Live the Prince

Cast: Unknown vampire, Bronwyn, Dominic Le Salle (mortal), Alan Smythe Winters (mortal), Kevin Jackson, Alan Sovereign

Synopsis: A bit of fiction about an unknown vampire commenting on the resonance of the blood at the Blue Velvet. The first adventure is about acquiring a work of art for the Blue Velvet from a jaded sculptor. The second is the player characters have an audience with Prince Jackson and Alan Sovereign.

Analysis: Iron Fist: Velvet Glove is a neat little piece of fiction that I think goes a bit over the top. The vampire talks about how amazing the Blue Velvet is, how intoxicating the senses is, and how incredible the blood is. I've always imagined the Blue Velvet as a somewhat retro jazz club that's a bit on the classier side for Kindred than the Succubus Club. As such, I feel they're trying to somewhat oversell the place. Any person who talks up a place this much means that they're either trying to sell you something or they're honestly not cool or connected enough to be there normally.

The Fountain of Knowledge adventure is a pretty solid one-shot that doesn't really have anything resembling stakes (haha) but functions as a idea of how to play the game. Bronwyn wants a reclusive artist to provide her with a sculpture for an upcoming party and the guy is just not feeling it because he recently broke up with his boyfriend. His boyfriend is stalking him and harassing him too, which isn't helping his creative juices.

The adventure lists some hilarious fail-states like the fact that if they beat the stalker up, Dominic (the sculptor) will go in hiding out of terror that mobsters are involved in his life. If they bribe Alan Smythe Winters into going away, Dominic is pissed because Smythe-Winters will go away for a very paltry sum of money. The only way to really make it work out is if they get Smythe-Winters a job and reconcile the pair. I feel like Storytellers should actually incorporate several of these events and maybe other people Bronwyn has hired so the PCs have a full comedy of errors.

* Gengis is the guy who beats Alan up and the PCs have to find Dominic then convince him to come back.
* They find out Smythe-Winters has ALREADY been bribed by Sovereign to leave and now Dominic is pissed because of the low-balling.

And so on.

The biggest weakness of this adventure is the fact that Dominate and Presence seem like they'd make it trivially easy. As such, I would suggest that both of them should be made into Thin Bloods with unusually high willpower. They're still weak as shit but it prevents the PCs from just telling Smythe-Winters to leave Dominic alone. Other options like Dominic being a Mage or Changeling Kinian creating something VERY special for the party are also possible.

Long Live the Prince isn't actually an adventure hook but just an encounter. The players meet up with the Prince and Sovereign before chatting for a bit. The only way it can be screwed up is if they're delibately rude or claim to be Anarchs--which is something the Prince would almost certainly know anyway. I'm not a fan of this and think its one of the more weaker offerings of the book.

[CTPhipps]

I've only skimmed the book, and have not read this scenario. But that this point, I agree with you assessment. All RPG scenarios should always put important opportunities, agency, and decisions in the hands of the players.

It's a good book, though I am getting a start on it now because I'll be preoccupied during the Weekend. Slow and steady wins the day with WIR.

I think you'll really enjoy the NPC section when you get to read it.

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

I've only skimmed the book, and have not read this scenario. But that this point, I agree with you assessment. All RPG scenarios should always put important opportunities, agency, and decisions in the hands of the players.

[CTPhipps]

The Tortoise and the Hare, Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf, and In and Out

Cast: Rosa Hernandez, Noah "Flyboy" Grewal, Darren O'Neil (Gangrel), Catherine Maia (Mortal), Paula Lange (Mortal), Walter Kravic (Mortal)

Synopsis: Rosa Hernandez finds out the CIA are hanging around O'Hara Airport to an alarming degree. She proceeds to warn Noah of his situation while seeking some sign that the Second Inquisition is after him. Noah obviously wants her off his case and hires the PCs after him. Rosa will later hire the PCs to help a DEA agent go against a cocaine trafficker and corrupt official to undermine Noah's authority.

Analysis: Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of these two adventure hooks and I'll get into the reasons why later. The easiest explanation is that while it's an interesting story of the Jyhad between two Kindred, the player characters aren't given many options to deal with it and the most interesting elements of the two competing characters are barely touched on.

The opening does show that Rosa Hernandez has come a long way from the vicious PETA animal wrongs activist eco-terrorist she once was to someone who actually deserves to be part of the Chicago Primogen. She's employing a spy to keep an eye on the Second Inquisition and has successfully deduced that the place they're most likely to be monitoring is the airports for Kindred coming and going. Her private detective, has figured out the CIA are there in large amounts but not why or how.

I really think this should have been Malcolm as he's a loyalist Gangrel and ex-cop but I understand if they wanted to focus on his newfound role as a Goblin Driver.

Noah "Flyboy" Grewal is probably the best new character to come out of Chicago by Night 5E and is a character that adds a face to the Second Inquisition as well as Thin Bloods both. He's a corrupt CIA pilot that doesn't actually want to help them wipe out Kindred and has become corrupted by both the wealth as well as power available to them. However, the only reason he's got any leverage is his CIA friends that provide him oomph beyond his Blood Potency.

The first adventure is fine because it tests the ability of the PCs to identify the problem and deal with it. The problem is a Primogen vampire is sniffing around his territory and wants to take it from him. If the PCs kill a bunch of people or go to speak with Rosa, they're bound to screw things up. They have to figure out a way to allay her fears about the CIA and throw her off the scent. All the while while the ST needs to figure out what cover story that Noah will give as to why the CIA is there at all. I feel like this adventure lacks, "The PCs interrogate one of the agents and find out Noah is a mole, siding with Rosa or the Prince" as an option.

The third adventure is the opposite of the "capture a runaway hooker for Olaf", in that Rosa Hernandez tries to tug on their heartstrings by getting them to help a DEA agent make a big bust of a cocaine smuggling ring as part of her Jyhad against Noah. Barring the PCs being among the most moral goody-goodies of the undead, I can't imagine most of them have any desire to participate in the War on Drugs and potentially screw up all manner of secret Kindred business (which it absolutely will).

I feel like a more interesting end to this is the discovery of Flyboy as a Second Inquisition plant and the fact he might actually try to bribe them. After all, the SI hates other Kindred and is a resource he's been managing to use fairly handily. I also would think there should be an option to betray Rose and/or Flyboy because the PCs should play their own angle to the Jyhad. Maybe THEY want O'Hara airport and just need the CIA to back off.

Just some thoughts here:

* Helena is actually protecting Noah and has decided to move from the Succubus Club to O'Hara. She's actually the master of the CIA agents here and they answer to her, not the US government now.
* The CIA agents aren't in the "know" and are just providing information above. They could easily be driven off by a scandal or newspaper article [perhaps with Joseph Peterson's child later in the book].
* Noah unknowingly works for the Technocracy or Pentex, not the SI and the PCs might piece this together. The NWO agent/First Team Leader in charge of him is more willing to make deals than your typical SI fanatic.
* Lucian from FORGED IN STEEL is making his haven in O'Hara and quietly supporting Noah. He's not fallen prey to the Beckoning yet but hears it. Noah is perfectly willing to diablerize the Methuselah but he's yet another player who might seize the role of Primogen for himself.
* Rosa's situation is actually fairly desperate as taking over O'Hara is the only way she thinks she can protect herself from KJ removing her to replace with Sierra Burace. Perhaps an accommodation can be reached with Noah who needs a full-blooded Kindred to exert the kind of influence he wants.
* Tyler is possibly back and wondering what the fuck happened to her airport.

[CTPhipps]

The scenario where the party discovers Lodin works best if they had past experience with Lodin. His current status serves as a metaphor for his old court shorn of everyone’s delusions of grandeur. Namely, a bunch of monsters and criminals sitting is squalor and poisoning the lives of those they touch. This is the spiritual and moral truth of vampires. Lodin, morally and spiritually, has changed very little. That Olaf, formally a powerful prince and nominal master of the Camarilla’s crown jewel of North America, is now a derelict wearing a Burger King birthday crown in an abandoned building is a perfect and just irony. It is also an irony best appreciated by someone who knew him back in the day.

Say someone who knew him at his prime sees him now. Would they (A) gain insight into their own situation, (B) take pity on him, or (C) ship him off to Jackson will a price sticker on his forehead?

Agreed,

Honestly, the adventure reminded me of an adventure in Fallout 3. There, Moriarty (the Olaf figure) wants you to kill one of his ex-employees and recover money he stole. However, Moriarty had vital information about your father's whereabouts. You can still resolve it by hacking his computer, turning his employees against him, and even just taking the money from the woman and letting her live.

Interestingly, if you want to make it a big adventure you could run this adventure parallel to redoing ASHES TO ASHES where the PCs are a bunch of hardened 40-year-old Neonates that are being treated like Ancilla and use the Memorium to go back to 1992 when they rescued Lodin.

Now they see Lodin in his reduced pathetic state that's similar to his ghoul. Lodin might also remember them as the people who saved his life way back when.

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

The scenario where the party discovers Lodin works best if they had past experience with Lodin. His current status serves as a metaphor for his old court shorn of everyone’s delusions of grandeur. Namely, a bunch of monsters and criminals sitting is squalor and poisoning the lives of those they touch. This is the spiritual and moral truth of vampires. Lodin, morally and spiritually, has changed very little. That Olaf, formally a powerful prince and nominal master of the Camarilla’s crown jewel of North America, is now a derelict wearing a Burger King birthday crown in an abandoned building is a perfect and just irony. It is also an irony best appreciated by someone who knew him back in the day.

Say someone who knew him at his prime sees him now. Would they (A) gain insight into their own situation, (B) take pity on him, or (C) ship him off to Jackson will a price sticker on his forehead?

[CTPhipps]

Olaf would have done better in Shermer, Ill.

That Lodin has turned into an insane, vampire version of Fagin (of Oliver Twist) or the Sewer King is perfect. It makes me hope some PC got burned by him in the past, so they can enjoy the current status of the former prince.

I do agree the PCs will need a bigger reason (than presented) to give a damn about a prostitute who ran away, or rather to give a damn about the trouble this causes to some random pimp.

Thanks for your commentary, GRR! I was initially kind of nonplussed by Olaf as I felt like he was such a different character from the original Lodin that I didn't know why they would bring him back in this condition. However, it kind of shows just how badly the Jyhad can leave a person.

Coldplay even has a song for it.

I do wish there had been more options to try to help Lodin because, well, it's a shame to have a longtime enemy in such a state--and among vampires, a long hated enemy is almost as good as a friend.

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

Olaf would have done better in Shermer, Ill.

That Lodin has turned into an insane, vampire version of Fagin (of Oliver Twist) or the Sewer King is perfect. It makes me hope some PC got burned by him in the past, so they can enjoy the current status of the former prince.

I do agree the PCs will need a bigger reason (than presented) to give a damn about a prostitute who ran away, or rather to give a damn about the trouble this causes to some random pimp.

[CTPhipps]

The Once and Future King, Bottom Rung, and I Live with Bread Like You

Cast: Olaf One-Eye, Terry "T-Bone" Jenkins [mortal], Michelle Jacobs [mortal]

Synopsis: The first piece of fiction helps establish that Olaf is completely insane and ruling over a court of very befuddled low-level gangsters. The second is the PCs get wrangled up in a hit on a prostitute enslaved by Olaf One Eye. She's run away and it's their job to get her back. The third is when they've finally met Olaf and have the chance to discover his true identity that could mean a major boon from the Prince.

Analysis: This bit opens with a bit of fiction that really deserved it's own section. Apparently, Olaf One-Eye isn't just Lodin in a really sorry state. Olaf One-Eye is Malkavian bugshit nuts. He literally sits on a throne in the middle of an abandoned building with a fake crown and makes Shakespearian commentary to his increasingly bewildered followers. It's very much like Olaf is a Batman villain and not one of the cool ones either but a lame one-shot one like the Sewer King or a D-lister like the Ventriloquist.



The crew tolerates Olaf because he gets results but, unlike The Ventriloquist, it's a bit more justified because no matter how much of a hardass gangster you are, Olaf has f***ing Presence and Dominate. If he wants you to play Henry the 8th then you will play Henry the 8th.

Oddly, this makes Olaf an interesting counterpart to Modius. Modius was introduced as a Prince who was basically living like The Fall of the House of Usher and Ms. Havisham from Great Expectations in his decaying Gary mansion while pretending he was still a Prince. The joke being that Modius, despite being a complete loser, is STILL a f***ing century-old 7th generation Elder so screwing with him was dangerous. Even in his diminished state, Olaf has more dignity than Modius because he has an army of murderous thugs and is King of the Homeless. One might argue that Olaf's insanity makes him pitable but you never forget he's dangerous unlike the Prince of Gary. Still, I kind of wonder how Modius would react to Olaf? Point and laugh? Diablerie? Or uncomfortable realization of similarities.

The premise of the adventure is disturbing and nicely street level. One of Olaf's pimps [he is the ruler of Riverdale, population 7000] has lost a girl while the PCs are wandering through town. Olaf demands that they make a show of fealty by killing the girl. The options upfront are to kill the girl, refuse to help, or persuade her back into sex slavery. I feel like this is a interesting premise but 99% of all characters are going to refuse outright. Ways that could be used to spruce it up are:

* The girl murdered one of Olaf's men and robbed him to get out.
* She might have actually stabbed one of her fellow girls and robbed her.
* She ran away to join another gang that is going to be just as bad if not worse.
* The girl's parents are rich and will pay for her return and rehab versus actually getting someone.
* The PCs can "buy out her debt" and be all charitable. Even if the woman won't particularly appreciate it or care.
* The prostitute was a spy for Annabelle and Olaf wants her dead for that reason as she knows his true identity.
* The PCs are in Riverdale because the missing prostitute is actually a lost cousin, niece, or highschool crush. This firmly sets them against Olaf.

Really, even if the PCs are assholes, they have no reason to serve as hitmen for a vampire they've never met and isn't the recognized ruler of the domain. Either way, if the player characters do meet with Olaf One-Eye, he attempts to make them his minions. This is noteworthy for the fact that Olaf is a character who once commanded nations but as the Prince/Baron/Hobo King of Riverdale, he's not exactly someone who is going to impress most. They won't be able to tell Olaf is Lodin, however, even if they're old enough to have met Lodin before 1994. Wow, 26 years. Where does the time go?

The adventure hook from here is figuring out what to do with Lodin/Olaf. The smart play would be to tell Kevin Jackson about Olaf's true identity and he'll have his former sire murdered. Honestly, I'm inclined to think Kevin Jackson would be a bit more circumspect. He'd probably want Olaf alive both to confirm his existence and to also hold him prisoner so he can interrogate him of any secrets he might have. This might not be the smart play but I imagine KJ has very complicated feelings toward his sire. That and taking him (un)alive is more difficult for PCs to accomplish. If you want to make an enemy of KJ, you might also have him "thank" the players by sending his minions after them so he can get rid of any witnesses who know Lodin is still alive.

I don't think the adventure hook gives much reason to work with Lodin as joining his "network" is basically becoming the head of a bunch of homeless people and really-really low level gangsters, pimps, and drug dealers. Most vampires would have higher aspirations than that. To give an example, Riverdale has 7000 people. Gary, Indiana has 75,000 people. So, yes, working for Modius is actually x10 more dignified than Olaf right now.

However, I'd oddly use Olaf as a chance to do The Goonies. Hear me out. Basically, if the PCs do realize he's Lodin, they might figure out that there's a lot of secrets stuffed away in that head even if they're now very much like a Malkavian's. This could be safety deposit boxes, secret Swiss bank accounts, secret filing cabinets of blackmail material, or more. Olaf can lead them to if he could just remember.

The PCs might even have the insane idea of trying to get Olaf some help. The Tremere or Hecata might have a ritual to help heal his injuries. Some Malkavians (not Son) or sufficiently powerful Elders (Critias or Helena probably) could also clear Olaf's mind. If he could be restored to the Lodin he was then he might owe the PCs a Life Boon. He also might be like Kevin Jackson and betray them because no one can see the King bleed. Either way, a restored Lodin would be the best weapon against Jackson--even if no one really wants him back on the throne.

Anyway, having something this hard and gritty as a start is a good sign for this book and very 5th Edition. Anyway, I'd say it was a solid opening but the motivation for it is weak.

I do note I wish we had some more hooks about how Olaf got to be the way he was.

Some suggestions on that are:

* He's not actually Lodin but an Obfuscated personality of Raymond Falcone/Evan Klein. In fact, Lodin's personality is starting to take dominance over the others because it's so forceful.
* He's just a severely deluded Nosferatu who was Blood Bound to the original Lodin. Possibly a former ghoul of his Embraced by Nathaniel Bordruff.
* He's actually Jan Pieterzsoon Dominated into thinking he's Lodin in order to hide the Ventrue princeling.
* Lodin was captured by the Sabbat and tortured for a decade before he escaped. His current state is the result of Vicissitude.
* Lodin THINKS he was captured by the Sabbat but was actually captured and tortured by Son.
* His current state is the result of a Werewolf curse for killing dozens of Kinfolk. There's literally a Bane bound to him that prevents him from spending any blood to heal himself.

[CTPhipps]

Introduction

What is The Chicago Folios ABOUT, really? Well, for the most part, it is an adventure hook collection. It contains a substantial chunk of NPCs, some Loresheets, and a bunch of Thaumaturgy rituals but the big chunk of the book is about a hundred or so Adventure Hooks. They're not as developed as full-length chronicles like "The Sacrifice" or Nights of Prophecy but are basically a half-page to pages of describing a scenario the PCs can become involved in. It's a loose outline that lists the people involved, the situation, and a few ideas on how they may play out. The majority of work is still in the hands of the Storyteller but it can give you a night or two of gaming if you are in need of ideas for a quick game.

I personally think this is great and it reminds me strongly of THE SUCCUBUS CLUB supplement that was created in 1992. The Succubus Club is like a combination of The Chicago Folios and Let the Streets Run Red in that it contained a bunch of adventure hooks and ideas as well as some full length adventures. I don't recall the Succubus Club adventures being very good but their adventure hooks were very useful to me as an early storyteller.



I'm not going to analyze every single adventure hook of this book individually, which would take forever but am going to handle them roughly 2 or 3 at a time along with their little tidbits of fiction. They're divided into Camarilla, Anarch, Independent, and Second Inquisition sections that nicely divide them up. Obviously, there's also some crossover between some like when Kevin Jackson puts Gengis on trial.

Really, before we begin, I'm going to say the best part of this book is probably the NPC section. This includes a decent-sized chunk of NPCs that were left behind from Chicago by Night (particularly the Wolf Pack) plus some solid new creations. I am particularly fond of Joseph Peterson's childe, a Russian fighter pilot from WW2, and a Tremere antiribu priest of the Cainite Heresy. I look forward to getting to that section.

Either way, I think this is a solid supplement to people who want an easy game out of the box. Most of these hooks can be used without Chicago and you just have to change the names to make them work. To use the "Kevin Jackson puts Gengis on trial" scenario, for instance, you just have to change the names as a Prince being forced to put his compromised agent on trial is a scenario that would work for most clever Princes.

Chapter One: The Camarilla

This is the Camarilla section of the book. There's not much to say before now, other than the book says, "These adventures are set in Chicago but you don't need to set them in Chicago. While this is a questionable assertion, I actually tend to agree with the writers as the majority of the adventures in The Chicago Folios can be pretty easily adapted to new vampire NPCs and are generic enough to work with some modification.

The first section is about the Camarilla and this is obvious because almost all games are about the Camarilla in V:TM. Even Anarch games are about the Camarilla. It's inescapable and really what everyone thinks when they think "vampire." I will say they chose a nice piece of art to open it because it's Damien having a gun pointed at a Skinhead with Jackson egging him on to execute him. It also starts with the quote of Jackson killing Raymond Wallace.

“You can beg and grovel and plead, but if you can’t even uphold six simple laws, what’s the point of you?”

If you don't remember Raymond Wallace, that's because the Anarch NPCs of Chicago by Night 2nd Edition were almost painfully generic. They seem to have been killed off along with the Sabbat pack and other characters as a way of establishing KJ's badass credentials in cleaning up the city. Even as an Anarch fan, Raymond is no great loss as I can't remember anything about him and I have an almost eidatic memory for vampire trivia. I'd argue I could go round for round with Matthew Dawkins and possibly win 3/10 matches and HE LITERALLY WROTE for the Vampire trivia game.

Raymond? Complete blank.

Edit: Having looked at my PDF collection, Raymond Wallace was an Anarch serial killer from New Orleans that used the Movement to justify his hobby of murder. Honestly, it's rather impressive that they made that character so boring.

Anyway, onto the adventure hooks.