Well, by some stroke of insanity, I've decided to share with you guys the Hunter: the Vigil chronicle I started recently. Why? I dunno. Maybe to give some of you guys inspiration or somesuch. Anyway, it takes place in Los Angeles and the surrounding area, and we have 2 main themes: The Candle Burning Down and Erosion. In other words, the two big themes of Hunter: how long can a group with little to no support hold out, and how long will it take for them to go completely insane? We have 5 characters, all Tier-1 Hunters, and new to the Vigil. Of the 5 players, only one has experience with the WoD setting (V:tR). 3 have table-top RPG experience, and one....Well, she's a newbie. We have: Luke Burchett, a near-alchoholic private investigator trying to pay for his sister's chemotherapy, and always seeming to blunder into Vigil-related cases. Luke's pretty decent at fistfights, but his real talents lie in finding obscure clues...even while drunk. Aaron Karr, a former UNMC sniper who saw one too many things in Iraq and went Section Eight. Now living on the LA streets, Aaron brings astounding marksmanship ability and an intimate knowledge of the streets to the table. Jessica Hest, an art student in college, was introduced to the Vigil when one of her paintings became a little too lifelike for her liking. Jessica has no real talents, other than an ungodly amount of knowledge about the occult, mostly gleaned from horror flicks. David "Hard-Hat" Malone is a contruction-yard worker in LA, getting his nickname from the fact that he wears his nearly 24/7. A high-school dropout, David might not be the most well-educated guy in the Cell, but he thinks fast on his feet and can tell you more about anything construction-related than anyone else: tools, electrical wiring, you name it, he knows it. Peter Ruthvyn is the grandson of a British immigrant, famous in England for being an adventrous sort who spent the majority of his life in Africa, India, and almost any other exotic location. He was introduced to the Vigil after his father, on his deathbed, told him about the "big game" his grandfather really enjoyed hunting. Peter brings to the Cell a charismatic demeanor and a crapload of cash. I'll post the first playsession later, when I have time. Hope I sparked your interest!
Storyline #1: First Blood Chapter 1 People have been turning up missing even more than usual in LA. Luke's contact in the LAPD (his cousin) decides to ask for a bit of Luke's help with the only two bodies the police have found. Luke has a reputation for "weird" cases, so this isn't too much of a stretch. Both bodies, that of a blond Caucasian woman in her mid-thirties and an African-American man in his mid-20s. The interesting feature? Both are completely exsanguinated. Not a drop of blood is left in their bodies, according to the coroner's report. Both victims are from out-of-town, with no local connections. Luke, being the smart cookie that he is, asks where they were found, and how long they've been dead. The man has been deceased for about 72 hours, while the woman's been dead for 26 or so. Luke also gets the locations as requested: both were found a few blocks from each other, and a couple of blocks away from an area known for nightclubs. Of course, Luke's player knows exactly what's going on (he's the one that's played Vampire), but thankfully keeps his knowledge IC when the other players enter the room (I had them leave, temporarily). This is where the Cell spilts up. Aaron, Jessica, and David head to check out the two spots where the bodies were found, while Luke and Peter head to one of the nearby clubs. The staff is very helpful when they learn that Luke's assisting the LAPD. The bartender reveals that both victims were at the club about two weeks ago. They left after 11, though not together. That's the last anyone's seen of them. Meanwhile, at the "crime scenes", there's very little evidence to be found. The good news is that Luke handed over his evidence kit on-loan to the other group. I permitted Jessica to use it at a reduced penalty (she had no dots in Investigate) due to her watching way too much CSI. The investigation team found out two crucial peices of information: the killings weren't committed in the places the bodies were found. They found small blood-trails leading to about the same spot. From there, they found tire tracks, which David identified as a delivery van. Now they knew where the bodies were dumped. They still lacked the location of where the victims were taken by whoever or whatever. So, they came up with.... A PLAN!!! They use Jessica as bait. With her consent, of course (she's not exactly the most...sensible of the Cell). Jessica hung around the nightclubs that the disappearances had occured around. Sure enough, at about 1:00 AM, she gets grabbed. The Cell reacts quickly enough to help Jessica, who rolled a dramatic failure on a roll to break the grapple, and suffered a pulled shoulder as a result. There's three assailants in the alley, all unarmed. Fortunantly, the Cell is armed...sort of. Aaron has a .22, Luke has a Taser and a pair of brass knuckle, and David grabs a pipe laying about. To spare you the details (I'll include those later, when they matter), one of the attackers gets killed (David made his Degeneration roll successfully after the scene), one flees when a .22 blows a hole in the wall next to his head, and one is knocked unconcious. Aaron recognizes the KOed attacker: another bum, Frank Perlmutter, whom he hangs out with sometimes. When Perlmutter comes to, Aaron "interrogates" him, and the Cell learns that the three bums were offered cash for kidnapping tourists. Desperate for cash, the homeless accepted. Perlmutter tells the Cell where they delivered the victims: an old movie theater. They were disgusted. They realized that the bums needed cash to survive, but.... They didn't do anything to Perlmutter afterwards (a nearly-cracked skull is punishment enough). They gave him cash for food and *ahem* medical bills. After the session, they planned to get to whoever, or whatever, was behind this, ASAP. And thus ends Chapter One. Hope you enjoyed! I'll post the second session soon (we just finished with #3).
They were disgusted. They realized that the bums needed cash to survive, but.... They didn't do anything to Perlmutter afterwards (a nearly-cracked skull is punishment enough). They gave him cash for food and *ahem* medical bills. After the session, they planned to get to whoever, or whatever, was behind this, ASAP.
And thus ends Chapter One. Hope you enjoyed! I'll post the second session soon (we just finished with #3).