[WIR] Let the Streets Run Red (COMPLETE!)

[CTPhipps]

Felicia Page



Type: NPC

Synopsis: Ex-DEA agent crusading against mortal evils. A Nosferatu Goth Girl with a cockroach nest inside her.

Analysis: Felicia Page is a great tragic character and I mean that sincerely. Indeed, the biggest thing I can say about her is that she's a very understated tragic character and usually the World of Darkness doesn't do understated. It's ten different kinds of overt tragedies and Lasombra games that results in you eating your baby sister before brooding about it forever. I mean, Fellcia lost her father to a plane crash and her brother to heroin that might be the result of a secret cabal of Kindred fucking with her life but the actual tragedy isn't this. Hell, it's not even the fact that she spent ten years underground with a stake in her heart or that she's a Nosferatu that is being used as a literal insect nest.

No, it's the fact Felicia Page wants to do good by fighting crime. I mean, literally, I'm imagining my current player character staring in disbelief when she says this with all sincerity. Felicia Page joined the DEA to fight the cartels and is ANGRY at the fact that there wasn't enough cooperation across the border. Oh and, get this, there is corruption in the DEA. Holy shit, this girl is naive. Hell, she would be naive and possessed of a (white?) savior complex if she was living in our world. She's living in the World of Darkness, though, where the Illuminati is the myth that people came up with because the Tremere, Camarilla, and Technocracy are too scary. The drug trade across borders is just the tiny tip of an iceberg of supernatural evil that is equally unstoppable.

I'm not even bringing in the fact that the War on Drugs is a collossal failure simply because of the triangle trade element of the people who are most fighting it are working for the country that is paying for it. As much as America blames other countries for narcotics, its the dollar that is causing disruption in their home nations plus military grade equipment they buy from, well, a lot of places that include America as well.

Felicia is awakening after a decade and wants to go after the five Kindred who ruined her life. Fine, that's something that she might actually be able to accomplish. Mind you, "horribly murdering the families of a mortal to gloat about it" is pretty much Elder evils versus Ancilla or Neonate so she's probably fucked there. But no, she wants to make a DIFFERENCE and it has been said why that's impossible by better movies than I could write.

"Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."

Overall, a very well designed character but there's no way that her story ends well. Either she learns that the system is systemically broken even without supernatural evils or she gets horribly killed.

[CTPhipps]

Thin Bloods

Jessica Flores



Type: NPC

Synopsis: A young Afro-Latina girl who has become an information broker in Gary.

Analysis: Jessica Flores is another character who benefits from being more normal than weird. Basically, she's just a resident of Gary who had a bad night one day and found herself thrust into the unholy world of the Kindred. She's since done her best to try and be a "good" vampire but it's actually causing her problems as the people she helps become LESS reliable the less desperate they are. It's a nice little bit of realism that good things don't always happen to good people, especially in the world of Kindred.

Still, I think Jessica is an excellent contrast to Felicia Page in that she's got a lot more realistic goals of surviving while doing good in her local community. She also is avoiding becoming too involved in Camarilla vs. Anarch entanglements because she knows that will just get her killed. Jesscia may not be able to be someone who can rise to the top but she's not aiming for that. She just wants to avoid getting trampled underfoot by being just useful ENOUGH that neither the Camarilla or Anarchs want her dead. Kudos, also for the fact that she isn't just another Nosferatu information broker but is doing it for the same reasons that they do. In lack of anything else to contribute, she does so with secrets.

I like Jessica Flores and think that she's the kind of character who could very easily be a recurring NPC without annoying the players or taking away from the PC's heroism (or villainy). I also think she's a very easy on the eyes character and I think would make a good love interest for the PCs. That's just how I tend to prefer my LIs, though, as I am a Damsel and Lilly fan over a Lucita or Victoria Ash type.

Jessica isn't really someone who has much to do with the main plot of LET THE STREETS RUN RED but if you wanted to make her more central, I think she would be someone that could easily be forced into becoming more involved by the two sides pushing on her. That may cause her to completely turn against one or both or she might seek the PCs out for protection, further immeshing her in their coterie.

Some character interactions for Gary Kindred

I think this is likely how she views some of them:

Allicia: Jessica has a weird view of Allicia as equivalent to an Elder to her Fledgling Thin Blood. The Jazz Age of Gary might as well be the Renassiance of Italy to her in terms of how far away it is. Allicia is also vastly more powerful than the Thin Blood. Allicia, by contrast, views Jessica as less a Kindred and more a independent ghoul she likes lording over. Ironically, Jessica probably is the only one who knows who her mortal family is just by asking some octogenarian citizens about local history.

Evelyn Stephens: Evelyn is admired by Jessica as stated in the book but the former tends to view Jessica as a wild card. Jessica has information that the Anarchs need but her unwillingness to join up makes her a liability. Evelyn would not hesitate to sacrifice her to protect "real" Anarchs.

Eric Sharpe: Eric is a steady customer and someone that has made overtures to Jessica but she's quite intimidated by the man as well as suspicious of his motives. Eric is actually less inclined to kill Jessica than Evelyn, which is an irony that she isn't aware of. He views her as a local resource and prefers knowing who is selling information than plugging leaks.

Arthur Caldwell: Arthur is extremely friendly to Jessica and cheerful. Jessica by contrast is aware of just what kind of psychotic lunatic he can turn out to be and is quite terrified of him. She assumes that the nice guy facade is a front and he is the "monster clown" version of a Malkavian or close to the Sabbat.

Juggler: Jessica thinks of him as a guy who is definitely dead and old news. As for Juggler to her? "Who?"

Modius: Jessica despises him utterly. Modius would be flattered that someone, even a Thin Blood, views him as their archenemy. He might even force her to diablerize someone as a way to make her a "real" Kindred in a bizarre grooming of a future enemy or pawn.

Maxwell: Jessica suspects Maxwell's existence in town but hasn't yet confirmed that he's Maxwell specifically versus another elder like Lucian. Maxwell considers Thin Bloods like cockroaches and would probably order her destroyed out of hand.

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

What clan is she?

[CTPhipps]

THIN BLOOD!

[CTPhipps]

Toreador

Marion Davies



Type: NPC

Synopsis: A trans woman of the Toreador clan just trying to make it in a city of serpents.

Analysis: Marion Davies is something of a controversial figure in certain circles as many fans I've talked with, particularly trans, either love her or hate her. I have no doubt the character was intended to be a respectful and progressive tribute but some readers responded negatively to the fact that her deadname was used in her background. This is very taboo and there were a few other things that didn't quite land with some while working very well for others.

Suffice to say, Marion is a trans woman who lived in a very unforgiving time for that and had a family before attempting suicide, only to be rescued by future sire, Erzulie. Being Blood Bound to Erzulie seems to have had the opposite effect on Marion than it does on most childer (or perhaps exactly the right affect) in that it warped her feelings of genuine love as well as affection to something more akin to love/hate.

I actually like this idea on the Blood Bond being extremely toxic for people who actually DO love or respect someone. It's designed to create a wholly artificial and unnatural devotion in slaves so when it's applied to someone who has intense real feelings (love or hatred), it will fuck them up severely while it works best with people who have no strong attachments whatsoever. Mind you, it's still an addiction and that's something that never ends well as someone who has many examples in my RL family. TMI, I know. I admit I like the relationship between Tyrone and Marion as well as the relationship with Eletria. To someone like Eletria, who is older than most civilizations, Marion might as well be a human Touchstone since the difference in power as well as age is so severe.

However, just being around someone like Eletria is going to erode your Humanity since I'm fairly sure that if a Revised Edition existed then she would have been on a Road of some sort. Eletria is not remotely human anymore than a storm or a tiger or one of the Fair Folk. So, of course that is going to lower Marions' Humanity downward. Eletria is from frigging Sparta too where babies tossed off cliffs and chattle slavery are the norm.

However, the irony is that Marion has completely misjudged Tyrone because he's someone who comes off as genuinely in love with her as well as earnest. NO VAMPIRE, particularly a Follower of Set, could be that nice of a guy. Which, of course, we know is because Tyrone is arguably TOO STUPID to get the evil of the Setite way. It gives a kind of believable tragedy that she's trying to avoid being manipulated but it's just driving away someone who actually loves her.

Tragic.

[CTPhipps]

Tremere

Tessa Greene




Type: NPC

Synopsis: The illegitimate daughter of House Carna.

Analysis: I like Tessa Greene as a character who adds a little to House Carna. One of the things I hope gets maintained if they do a write-up of Carna is that she was a serial killer of men and kind of a psychopath in addition to her better qualities. Making such a terrible person into the leader of a fully justified revolt against the Tremere heirachy is something that I find more intriguing than her being actually "good" or wholly evil.

Tessa Greene's thing is that she was recruited by Carna herself after the former saw her potential. Tessa was actually living a very good life, though, with a love that was real as well as a job doing what she loved. It's an explicit case of the Kindred destroying what was good not through some twisted Lasombra initiation (which I never really liked) but just not CARING about what they had going on. I find that even more terrifying that instead of micromanaging the destruction of your life, someone goes, "Yes, you're good Clan Ventrue material. Now you're part of our Clan."

There's also a certain level of hypocrisy going on here that is even more revealing of Carna's true character than anything overtly stated could do. Carna seeks the Book of the Grave War to educate her progeny in how to break Blood Bonds as well as the Tremere's mental domination on their fledglings. However, Tessa herself is Blood Bound to Carna (a punishable by death action by the Council of Seven if we remember Chicago by Night 2nd Edition). Tessa used the book to free herself but Carna illustrates that she is every bit the kind of manipulative corrupt elder she despises.

Are we SURE Carna's not an Anarch?

Tesaa was left behind by Carna when she revolted but I'm honestly surprised that she's still alive afterward. You'd think as the childe of Carna and her House that Decker would have strung her up in the sunlight as a scapegoat. Remember, he holds Carna explictly responsible for being left with the werewolves and no magic to defend him. It's a remarkably short-sighted arrogant view that puts Milwaukee first over the rest of the world but that's Decker for you.

I also like Tessa's friendship with Honor but note that it's very one-sided. Tessa goes to a lot of trouble for Honor but Honor thinks only of herself.

With that, we've wrapped up the NPCs and only have the Loresheets and Pregens left.

It's been a blast everyone.

[CTPhipps]

Loresheets

This section will obviously cover the Loresheets that came with this document and what I thought of them. Nothing more or less.

Anubi

The Anubi have always been something I appreciated as "vampire werewolf hunters" is a particularly badass creed. So, having membership as something the PCs can have is certainly a pretty good Loresheets. Still, the Anubi are depicted as being in their twilight and no longer the same badasses they were before. They are now Anarch hunters and it's interesting to see that this isn't really reflected here. I like the possible Hunter: The Vigil "homage" with the All-Ventrue Hunt Club.

Eletria

Poor Eletria is as about an underachieving Methuselah as you can get. Despite being almost as old as Helena and 5th generation, she seems to have spent the entirety of it just hanging around doing art. At one point she was Prince of Veracruz (I thought that was Datura?) but this is about the height of her achievements. Her Loresheets are okay but I wonder if it would have been better to give her more boom.

Kindred Social Media Influencer

This one I'm iffy on because, really, I feel like anyone who has this Loresheet would be killed by every single other one of the Kindred who know them. I feel like many someone like Baron Victor Temple could get away with it as he's got his own massive domain but most others would do their best to destroy whoever did it. Then again, I like Gabriella so maybe I'm just being unfair. Still, when I read Warren Worthington's write-up in this book, I was thinking, "Yeah, this guy is dead and there's nothing that can save him."

Juggler

Juggler is a character that has benefited the most from being rewritten by this book, at least in terms of making him less of a joke Anarch that is an embarrassment to the Movement and more someone who caught some unlucky breaks due to the fact he was Blood Bound to Tyler who answered to Helena. "New" Juggler is a dedicated Anarch revolutionary and an actual anarchist Anarch. However, it says that Evelyn has the same basic Loresheet and I feel that's a mixed opportunity.

Lost Secrets of the Milwaukee Chantry

This is not really part of the existing Chronicle set up of LTSRR but more a way to address what is a dangling plot hook from Beckett's Jyhad Diary. Carna left in a hurry and the chantry is just sort of sitting there, waiting to be pilfered. Honestly, I can't help but think anything Carna left behind is going to be either booby-trapped or something she left behind deliberately. However, it's definitely possible you could do an Indiana Jones or The Librarians-esque adventure there.

Mark Decker

Mark Decker is a well-loved character for us old school V:TM fans and that's probably why he was made Prince of Milwaukee in Clanbook: Gangrel Revised before getting a starring role in this Chronicle. This is a pretty good one but it seems pretty limited to Milwaukee. Like the Anubi one, I feel like a Decker loresheet should be double-edged these days because he's such a lunatic repressive tyrant. It's like having a Prince Joffrey or Stannis Baratheon Loresheet--being their friend is almost as bad as being their enemy.

Maxwell

I like Maxwell, though I actually don't think that an Elder who focuses entirely on Sabbat like tactics and war is actually that smart of a Prince. Quite the opposite, taking Chicago by force has got to be the dumbest plan possible. Surely Maxwell is smart enough to know that there's invisible webs of the Jyhad going on that he's not party to? No? Oh well.

The Milwaukee Null Zone

The Milwaukee Null Zone is a plotline from the original book that I always was a bit iffy on. It has an interesting plot and some ideas but "magic doesn't work in this area" is a bit weird of a concern for anyone but Tremere or, well, mages. It would be a more interesting plot for a Mage: The Ascension game is all I'm saying. I feel like this is an interesting bit but not really worth its own Loresheet.

Modius

Modius is a character I'm glad finally has his own Loresheet and it shows that despite being the lowest Prince in America, he still WAS a Prince and had plenty of talent at maintaining it. So there's a lot of really good benefits here if someone were to pick up the patronage of a man who was hated by everyone as a traitor to his own kind. I think an Allicia Loresheet would have been better, though.

[CTPhipps]

Ready Made Characters

Rather than review these individually, I'm just going to say that I very much enjoyed the Ready Made Characters made up for this part of the book. I think they did a fantastic job establishing the characters for either gameplay or as NPCs for use in the game.

Bravo.

Final Analysis

Fantastic book!

Fantastic adventures.

It's been a long road getting from there to hear but it was worth it.

Thanks for everyone who participated.

[Baaldam]

[SIZE=20px]

However, just being around someone like Eletria is going to erode your Humanity since I'm fairly sure that if a Revised Edition existed then she would have been on a Road of some sort. Eletria is not remotely human anymore than a storm or a tiger or one of the Fair Folk. So, of course that is going to lower Marions' Humanity downward. Eletria is from frigging Sparta too where babies tossed off cliffs and chattle slavery are the norm.

Have to context your view of Eletria's mindset, since she was not a product of that kind of Sparta, but the first century of the romanized one and was so thoroughfully invested in new styles and foreign values coming from the Republic she became the target of a lynching party mob of local conservatives starting a uprising. She was very much against the cultural norms of her countryfolk even before the embrace and millenia of existence.

[Baaldam]

Loresheets
Eletria

Poor Eletria is as about an underachieving Methuselah as you can get. Despite being almost as old as Helena and 5th generation, she seems to have spent the entirety of it just hanging around doing art. At one point she was Prince of Veracruz (I thought that was Datura?) but this is about the height of her achievements. Her Loresheets are okay but I wonder if it would have been better to give her more boom.

Not really going to contest the "underachieving" sentiment, but i think Helena was already 1200+ years old at the time of Eletria's embrace, what's like almost 60% of Eletria's whole unlife. (Still older than Sejanus though )

[Lost Secrets of the Milwaukee Chantry

This is not really part of the existing Chronicle set up of LTSRR but more a way to address what is a dangling plot hook from Beckett's Jyhad Diary. Carna left in a hurry and the chantry is just sort of sitting there, waiting to be pilfered. Honestly, I can't help but think anything Carna left behind is going to be either booby-trapped or something she left behind deliberately. However, it's definitely possible you could do an Indiana Jones or The Librarians-esque adventure there.

Also possibly a bunch of stuff from Mortius or "for your eyes only" material from the Council of Seven to Victor too for extra booby-trapped wonders.

Mark Decker

Mark Decker is a well-loved character for us old school V:TM fans and that's probably why he was made Prince of Milwaukee in Clanbook: Gangrel Revised before getting a starring role in this Chronicle. This is a pretty good one but it seems pretty limited to Milwaukee. Like the Anubi one, I feel like a Decker loresheet should be double-edged these days because he's such a lunatic repressive tyrant. It's like having a Prince Joffrey or Stannis Baratheon Loresheet--being their friend is almost as bad as being their enemy.

And you just made me remember the world of hurt i'm going to deal in my own Milwaukee chronicle by deciding not to have him as prince.

(Not to mention a somewhat more competent than canon version of the Mask coterie ruling by comitee, for extra masochism. Gods, why do i make such stubborn bone-headed decisions sometimes...)

The Milwaukee Null Zone

The Milwaukee Null Zone is a plotline from the original book that I always was a bit iffy on. It has an interesting plot and some ideas but "magic doesn't work in this area" is a bit weird of a concern for anyone but Tremere or, well, mages. It would be a more interesting plot for a Mage: The Ascension game is all I'm saying. I feel like this is an interesting bit but not really worth its own Loresheet.

Have been re-reading MbN a lot of late and truth be told the matter is a little more complex than "magic doesn't work in this area" and there are some other details that would make the place also noticeable - and in fact quite advangeous if also risky, even without Lupines - to anyone with Auspex and/or Protean, meaning a number of local Gangrel, Malkavians & Toreador, not to mention individual kindred from other clans trained on either or both (like Akawa) might be aware of something, if not outright trying to exploit the benefits.

In fact, that plotline is probably what has most complicated my revision of the book from trying to follow through all crazy implications that (should) arise from the place existing as described.


Because at least one non-Tremere NPC knows of it.
What means the Anubi might know - and if they do, it changes considerably the stakes of the conflict for them and the Lupines.
But if they don't - why is that NPC being so close-mouthed about such a sensitive bit of intel, possibly risking their unlives?
Well, it paints that character in a whole new light at least, just for an example.


But i digress. Might do a separate thread to throw my thoughts on MbN and brainstorming a chronicle just to see what kind of dumpster fire comes out of all the random salient bits put together in the end.

[CTPhipps]

But i digress. Might do a separate thread to throw my thoughts on MbN and brainstorming a chronicle just to see what kind of dumpster fire comes out of all the random salient bits put together in the end.

By all means. I actually made an entire Chronicle sequel to this book's Gary section with details like Michael becoming a wight and the return of the Torch club!

[Baaldam]

The Dying Fields NPC: Robert Warrington

Basically, Robert is spoiled and thinks being "Baron of Willerton" is beneath him but is already thinking of this as a legitimate path just a few years into his Embrace. Getting strung up for human (vampire) sacrifice and barely surviving might be the best thing to happen to him. However, if he does make it back to Chicago, he could easily be a good character to rebuilt in a Masquerade breach disaster of epic proportions.

Another possible use for them as a completely hilarious one would be to have Robert Warrington, Arthur Caldwell, and Gabrielle make a Twitch channel.

Just as hilarious but more serious if you imagine Bobby Weatherbottom using that as a tool to drawn out his Camarila adversaries and distract them.

[Baaldam]

The Dying Fields NPC: Nazeera

Type: NPC

Synopsis: A non-binary Morrocan woman Embraced by one of Carna's childer. She is a Loyalist Tremere, though, which has not helped her situation in the slighest. Exiled to Willerton, she has instead devoted herself to winning back the respect of her Clan.

Analysis: One of the issues I have with Willerton is that the presence of Camarilla and Anarch vampires in the town is somewhat unnecessary. It's kind of cute that even in a town of 600 people, the Camarilla and Anarch posturing is still going on because it's so fundamental to so many Kindred identities.

Even so, I think you could probably remove the vampire NPCs of the Chronicle without significantly hurting it. The best use for them is that they are horrible sacrifices for the cult and that's kind of a waste for the well-detailed characters of both Nazeera as well as Robert Warrington.

An interesting element about "The Loyalists" is the fact that they were apparently exiled to Willerton, specifically. Given there's no reason to choose this specific location for exile unless you DID know about its weird curse, I am inclined to think that the Camarilla knows that this is a kind of roach motel for Kindred.

Basically, when you want to get rid of some Kindred but not have room for a Blood Hunt, you just exile them and say that "if you want to come back, stay in Willerton until we call for you." They never will call for you because you will be kept there until offered as a sacrifce for the Harvest God. Maybe its part of a pact between the Prince of Chicago and the Harvest God, local Kindred, Lupines, or just something Lodin was told to do some time.



At least that's how I assume it went.

Nazeera is an interesting character who expands on the House Carna plotline in the wake of the Vienna attack and provides a kind of unintentionally hilarious character. Basically, Nazeera is a cheerleader for the inclusiveness and progressiveness of the Tremere who has SPECTACULARLY bad political sense.

Basically, she decides to side with the Camarilla against House Carna, which is probably the "safe" bet but they have no reason to believe her loyalty and it's not like she brings anything to table against her grandsire. Then the Tremere Chantry in Vienna is destroyed and the Tremere Loyalists are no longer ABLE to persecute House Carna, which makes her someone who now has to fear Carna retaliation. Nazeera is also staying in the Chicago/Milwaukee area where Carna's "betrayal" is a fresh wound versus going to some place like New York where Ailsing Sturbridge might be willing to give her a fresh start.



Honestly, I think the best use of Nazeera in the game is her having tons of theories but very little information on what is REALLY going on in Willerton. Basically, she's someone that the PCs should recognize is denying the reality that even if the Tremere Pyramid were to rise again, there's no place for her in it because no one cares enough about her to want her to return. Not even Dusable, who could do with a fanatical loyalist like her but doesn't think enough of her to welcome her back to the Pyramid. I suspect because he thinks she's either working with Carna or, worse, isn't loyal to her Regent enough to follow her. Which is a Catch-22 but one that the Tremere would respect.

After all, as a Regent, you want them to obey you no matter what. It's why no one respects the Frey family in Westeros. It's not that they were loyal to the King, they weren't loyal to their Lords (The Tully's) either.

Ok, coming stupidly late to this bandwagon, but finally got around to reading Nazeera's write-up - since i'm pretty much pilphering NPCs willy-nilly for my own "Carna/BJD-hunting" chronicle - and there's a little bit i have seen no one else comment on but somehow really got my attention.

KINDRED RELATIONSHIPS:
• Carna (Resentment) Nazeera feels their ancestor spoiled everything.

• It was Carna’s fault the Tremere lost footing in the Ivory Tower.
• Carna’s actions led to the destruction of the library in Milwaukee.
• It was Carna who killed Victor,
• and heaven alone knows what happened to Mortius.

Nazeera cares about Victor's destruction? I'm sincerely shocked, since i strongly suspect not even his sire cares about Victor's final death. That Nazeera of all people would have a close association with the thuggish CIA reject that he is only makes everything feels more bizarrely out of the left field, imho.

It's spurious, kind of silly even for me to be so hang up about, but somehow got me interested in having them both in my chronicle if only to bamboozle my players with this just as much as i was.

(Yes, technically Nazeera also worried about Mortius disappearance too - but he's a major occultist, researcher and overall bigwig of the clan, so equating it to something like her admiration/respect for the DuSable comes easily enough, unlike caring for a generic middle management guy that also happens to be something of a boorish thug)

Another bit on Nazeera that caught my attention is having existed for a number of years in Marseille, the city where Carna was prince for a time. Meaning that together with its descendance, Nazeera might be familiar with much more of Carna's personal backstory than anyone, Milwaukee's clan council included, might expect or have acess to themselves.