Let's Play VtM: Night Empire

[Hellraiser]

So the Pell-Mell queen screwed Turcov over royally. She wanted to visit the city but for some reason she's not here yet. Turcov for some reason felt uneasy when that fact was mentioned.

Why do I get the feeling Turcov arranged to have her arrival "delayed", probably with a stake to the heart?

BTW can malks have prophetic visions or was that just a lucky guess on her part?

Now that we got that bit sorted out time for the other important part...



Fucking Turcov!

E) will no doubt result in the barons' goons discovering the secret exit which will screw over our plan of fortifying it. We will gain little, if anything, by giving the squad to the Archon. He will see this as an attempt at ass-kissing which he does not like from what I can tell. Leaving the ghoul squad alone is bad period. Giving him Cripps' protection might be a good choice but if huntards are after Anthony then he may end up neck deep in shit without him.

B) Seems decent assuming the Archon won't hold a grudge. Also there is the risk of Turcov figuring out that we are smarter than we look which may make him watch Anthony's actions more closely. Unless he already knows then we lose nothing.

Using our kine connections to dig up where the huntards are at would be a good choice. Iacomo might even be pleased by that rather than view it as another sign of London Camarilla sycophancy.

 

[laclongquan]

Well, yeah. Dont we have a contact in Foreign Department that can track such thing? Didnt we use him to discover Hob got to London on one of the mysterious container by way of Kueijin?

I only mean to tell you that if we want to track the hunters, we have the mean. But my guts feeling is that this attack was orchestrated by Turcov. There might be hunters in London, there might not. but this attack is fake, one of his maneuveur to get access to Edgar without us objecting plus asskissing to Envoy. Bah, petty Ventrue trick.

EDIT: on the other hands, Mandrake sounds serious. IF this is a probe by our baron or Kindred want to test us, they wouldnt need to resort to security cameras. They are for unmanned surveillance, because they know Kine snoopers will be in serious danger and/or they dont have enough manpower. My gut feelings on the editor know some details, decided to shake the tree to see what fall down. This look like a debut Scotland Yard's subquestline.
The obvious way to detect tracks to Mandrake is prolly Nos network. Either Oscar or one of the Nos hacker can hack into editor's pcs at home or office as well as security surveillance of those areas. Either call him, or spend a day to look for Nos contact to hire them if we decide to activate this line of quest.

 

[Smashing Axe]

I only mean to tell you that if we want to track the hunters, we have the mean. But my guts feeling is that this attack was orchestrated by Turcov. There might be hunters in London, there might not. but this attack is fake, one of his maneuveur to get access to Edgar without us objecting plus asskissing to Envoy. Bah, petty Ventrue trick.

I don't think this is the case, but if it is, wouldn't a vamp with auspex easily reveal the history of their items? It seems too easily countered, and I doubt Turcov would go to this effort and risk. Attacking an archon is too ballsy a move for Turcov, especially when it's just to deprive Anthony of Edgar.

 

[laclongquan]

Chap, Turcov himself reached down and hold the item to held it up. that is called for messing up evidence, eh? You get suspicious, he pointed out that he's the first vamp touched it so obviously Auspex finger him.

And it's one stone for two birds. Edgar is good, but kissing up to Envoy is nothing to sneeze at, to a petty Ventrue's mind. Especially he means the attack to fail.

 

[Gondolin]

Damn that Turcov. :D

 

[Esquilax]

I don't think this is the case, but if it is, wouldn't a vamp with auspex easily reveal the history of their items? It seems too easily countered, and I doubt Turcov would go to this effort and risk. Attacking an archon is too ballsy a move for Turcov, especially when it's just to deprive Anthony of Edgar.

He wouldn't have to attack him directly, he could just get the word out that there's a powerful vampire at x location and let the rest sort itself out. I doubt that he attacked the man with his own troops, that's pretty dumb. While I believe that Turcov didn't have anything to do with this attempt on the Archon (all this fuss for Eddie - really?) I do however think there's something more to the Pell-mell Queen's absence. It's much more likely that there was simply an inept attempt on the Archon's life, and Turcov simply saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation by forcing us into a situation where we'd let ourselves get fucked in the ass with a smile on our face.

We need to rule C right out. Other than the fact that it's an overt show of sycophancy that I think will rub the Archon the wrong way, it is a waste of a resource. Our squad is designed for lightning-fast daytime assault ops against vampires - protecting some dude from Hunters is not what they're designed for. Cripps is also hardly suitable company for someone like the Archon.

Let's rule E out too. I'm not concerned about people finding our secret entrance as I am about Mandrake catching an even bigger lead. If he has cameras around, and he likely does, he'll now see an Archon and a huge entourage of vampires at Witanhurst. If he noticed Anthony before, the strange, robed man with an entourage of 30+ armed individuals suddenly moving in will be ten times more suspicious.

We're in a rock and a hard place here. While the Archon has shown himself thus far to be a pretty bro individual, at the same time, he demands respect from a bunch of Barons he views as incompetent (and probably rightfully so). The Archon already knows a lot about us, so I'm sure he knows that we are seen as a maverick, upstart Baron. A tactful show of respect at this point would do much to quell such suspicions, while engaging in open disagreement with the Ventrue Primogen is likely to make us seem unwilling to cooperate with our colleagues - and if we can't cooperate, then we've shown the Archon that we are of little use to the Camarilla. On that note, I vote for A) along with Storyfag's suggestion to move the squad into Witanhurst.

Even more importantly, it'll let Turcov think he's won - if we give into him now, it'll allow us to bide our time, gather allies, investigate the Pellmell Queen link further, etc. without him getting suspicious. Let Turcov win the battle; we'll win the war.

 

[Storyfag]

A) along with Storyfag's suggestion to move the squad into Witanhurst.

This, obviously

 

[laclongquan]

I dont mind moving the squad to Wittanhurst but I do mind reacting to Turcov's scheme.

If Turcov so concern about Envoy's safety, let him be the caretaker of that. We wish him joy of that.

B is more devious, I should think.

 

[SCO]

F.
Enter frenzy and attack Turcov.

...

Be a bro. Give our friend a opportunity to go up in life then. And to spy ohohohoh. And to be blood enslaved.

A.

Give mr. cripps (spy) up.

All options are shit. If we give up Fellowes we fuck up the team leadership. If we give up cripps or refuse, we hint that Fellowes is "otherwise occupied".
Which will be pretty glaring when someone ends up full of holes somewhere in the future.

I'd prefer to bring the dude to our turf but mandrake (if he watches / knows where we live, and why the fuck shouldn't he?) warns against it.

Unless you want to risk it and follow the thread urgently to fuck him up before he fucks us up at the risk of falling behind on the politics? If we can impress the envoy with our culture... eh, it would help.

Fuck it - E. No risk no gain and other platitudes

on the other hand, it's gauche to compete...

 

[laclongquan]

Wait for it, chap.

If Turcov invite Envoy into his own protection sphere, an assassination attempt at the envoy will have more than enough chance to catch Turcov next to him. And the world will forever wonder whom that that assassination aimed at.

As brilliantly said in The Shooter "You want to take all suspicions away when you shoot someone, wait till he's standing next to the President."

 

[SCO]

Also ... remember who suggested moving? Turcov pounced on that favor and left us giving a lesser favor that weakens our team... it's a trap!

Now which London baron could have a editor ghoul...
If it is Turcov behind that, he won't dare do anything really lethal for fear of being traced... I mean it would be lethal to us, but also to him.

 

[CappenVarra]

Do I sense a Prestigious Scheme of Insanity (TM) coming up, Quan? :D

But yeah, as SCO said, all the options are shit... But I think B) - go with the flow, the Archon made it clear he's not to be pampered, and we wouldn't want to impose blah blah... - is the least shitty one. Perhaps I'm naive...

EDIT: streetwise check failed, flopping to A).

 

[grotsnik]

All the options are shit.

This is what happens when ironyuri says Storyfag is a harsher Storyteller than me.

In the next update, a Tzimisce fleshcrafter will force Tony to choose between flaying Erika alive, losing all his humanity in the process, and having his entire face surgically replaced by a giant predatory vagina.

 

[ironyuri]

All the options are shit.

This is what happens when ironyuri says Storyfag is a harsher Storyteller than me.

In the next update, a Tzimisce fleshcrafter will force Tony to choose between flaying Erika alive, losing all his humanity in the process, and having his entire face surgically replaced by a giant predatory vagina.

I didn't think you'd have seen that... uh...

I'll.....

I'lll just be over here.

In the corner.

Not touching anything. *whistles*

Ps: Could the fleshcrafter fleshcraft Erika's vagina into a giant predatory vagina and graft it onto Tony? Got to do something to please the romancefags.

 

[laclongquan]

There is no need to deny your inner furryfag so much it twisted your sexuality.

Sheesh!

Do I sense a Prestigious Scheme of Insanity (TM) coming up, Quan? :D

And there's always a method to my madness, chap. It's why my scheme is

 

[Running Fox]

got to do something to please the romancefags.

I dunno, thats pretty much doing it for me, except maybe more snuff...

tzimisce fleshcrafter will force Tony to choose between flaying Erika alive

B) Refuse; make up an excuse, or laugh it off by suggesting that Iacomo is more than capable of looking after himself. You can’t fall into Turcov’s trap.

 

[Esquilax]

Put yourselves in the Archon's shoes for a minute and consider what he knows about us. He knows that we're a young, upstart Baron who was given his Barony by Turcov in the first place. Openly contradicting him in front of the Archon will make it seem as if we're a cocky shit who is biting the hand that feeds, in particular before we've been able to rally a few allies like Frank Biggs to counter Turcov's moves. If we don't make an effort to look agreeable amongst the other Barons, then it'll prove that we are unpopular because we aren't willing to cooperate - in short, everything that Iacomo has heard about us will be proven true. I doubt the Archon gives a shit about an entourage, but he does care about what Sommers has to offer to the Camarilla, especially given his tenuous position in Whitehall. We've made a good first impression on the man, let's not fuck it up.

As far as team leadership goes, yes, Eddie is a great asset, but we're going to use Operation Wistman to attack vampires in daylight. Eddie will be of no help to our boys at that time. Also, in the coming nights, we aren't going to need muscle - we're going to need information and contacts if we are to survive. Due to that, I believe Eddie will be of greater use to us closer to Iacomo and Turcov. He can perhaps put in a good word for us or two to the Archon while also getting closer to Turcov. Turcov is giving us an opportunity to spy on him, why deny it?

Also, we need to think about who to phone for the next night. I guess the default would be P) Eddie to tell him to bring the brosquad to Witanhurst and go see the Archon.

 

[SCO]

Ehhhh, correct about the daylight, but i'm not so hot on Sommers giving orders to a bunch of Neanderthals directly. You know how grunts are towards higher officers that parachute in to "command" and Sommers was apparently a very very bad officer in WWI

 

[Running Fox]

“I have to ask,” you say, slowly, placing your glass to one side on the table. “Are you the real Rannigan? Or are you simply wearing him? Forgive my discourtesy in being so upfront about it, but it’s been a very long week.”

His lopsided grin spreads further. Raising his hands high, as if in surrender, he says,

“I’m he, I’m he. I buried three shovelheads under the big oak in Ravenscourt Park in 1973. There’s a safe behind the Bosch mural in my study in Wimbledon and the key’s sewn into the inside of my secretary’s mouth. I think I have a passport somewhere. I doubt I’ll be able to convince you, but I am the one they call Terence Rannigan. Cross my heart and hope to…well, we’ve both been too close to death in recent days to joke about that, haven’t we?”

Call the Baron of Wimbeldon, Turcov's former boytoy and ask him whats there. Maybe its the vase... Something to implicate Turcov.

 

[Kz3r0]

E) Suggest instead that Iacomo stays at Witanhurst for the time being (you, obviously, would have to move out so as to avoid a conflict of interests). It’d certainly be a grand gesture, so long as you’re comfortable with the other barons’ minions being present, unsupervised, in your home...


Learn to play the game guys, if we choose E and the archon accept Turcov will lose his face, he will be forced to up the ante and invite the archon to his home instead.

 

[Excidium]

I'm going with E) too. Can't say I like it but the other options are worse.

 

[laclongquan]

E is too risky~ What if the bloody Archon choose to stay with us? He will cramp our style.

 

[Excidium]

Uh, he won't stay with us. We'll move back to our old place.

 

[Kz3r0]

E is too risky~ What if the bloody Archon choose to stay with us? He will cramp our style.

It's an insurance, if he will become our honored guest every attack against us will be seen as an attack against Venice, the other barons will not dare to touch us.

 

[Hellraiser]

E) is only a problem if we want the secret exit to remain secret. It would be wise to inform the Archon of the exit, for his own safety of course, if we are to invite him to stay. We can still fortify it, but it will only help against huntards and the Sabbat. Odds are that by the time the Archon goes away everyone in the Camarilla will know of our defenses.