Scarlet Vampire
A Lonely Hope
Scene 13
In the last scene,
Hanson scored a victory and was able to capture one of Adrian’s pawns and bring
her to the Prince for questioning. After the raid, though, the city is still on
edge…
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“What the hell are
you doing here?”
Hanson was leaning contemptuously in the doorway. “Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing.” She brushed past Blaine and walked into the barely furnished apartment. It was a second floor unit in a “garden style” building, out in the middle of the suburbs. Ever since the raid, Blaine had made himself scarce. No one knew where he was hiding, and this little slice of “post-college suburban” life must have been torture to him. At least he had a lovely view of the parking lot. “No, I mean…SHIT,” he looked out into the hallway, apparently figuring half the vamps in the city were out there, waiting for him. Seeing no one, he closed and locked the door. Double locked, just to be sure. “I mean, what are you doing here? How did you find me?” Hanson was walking through the combination living room/kitchen, checking drawers and cabinets, finding the nothing she expected to. “Find you? I never lost you. Besides, you’re the one who wanted to talk. So, talk.” Truth is, she hadn’t the slightest clue where he was. At least, until one of his little girlfriends had reached out to her, told her that Blaine need to speak with her. Following her, and figuring out where she was calling, hadn’t proved much of a challenge. “Ok, right,” he paced uncomfortably, trying to get his bearings. His million- dollar smile was gone, along with the expensive suits and watches and all the trappings of casual wealth which had so defined him. “You know I wouldn’t have bothered you if it wasn’t important. But the truth is, I need your help.” “Fuck you. After that stunt you pulled at the club, you are officially on my ‘do not help’ list.” “Meagan, wait…” “You want my help, fine. Here’s my help. Stop fucking around. The Prince is pissed, and everyone is freaking the hell out. He want’s everyone brought in, to sort this all out once and for all. Marko, Dona, Adrian, everyone. Truth is, no one is looking for you. No one cares, Blaine. You get that, right? No one gives a shit if you’re hiding out in some crappy apartment. You want back to the club? Back to the city? You want a seat at the table? Then stop fucking around, and get Dona and bring her in.” “You think that’s all I want? A seat at the table?” “That’s all you ever cared about.” “And what about you? Still happy cleaning the Prince’s boots.” Hanson stopped, and stared at him coolly. “Real nice seeing you Blaine. Love the new place,” and she headed for the door. “Wait, shit. That’s not what I meant! I mean, fuck me, I meant that there’s more that I care about. You know that.” “Do I? Prove it. Bring in Dona. She’ll be protected. Otherwise, fuck off.” “I don’t know…” he said, his voice trailing off. “Yeah, tough decision. Play the last card you have left and take a risk, or leave her out there all alone but be sure you’ll keep your neck. You’re a great friend.” As Hanson began flipping the locks, she heard him sigh behind her. “I mean…I don’t know. I don’t know where she is.” She turned “You lost her?”
“No.
Someone took her.”
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The scene prompt for
this scene was
An allied Actor can get
you a Clue at personal risk…make a skill check to help them succeed.
The most logical skill
for Hanson to be recruited for is Investigation, which is her strongest skill.
After that, the Blaine/Dona connection just made the most sense.
So, Hanson and Blaine
are teaming to try up and find Dona.
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I don’t have any
particular ideas for what the Investigation will entail—probably going to her
safe house and looking for clues, but that’s about it. As I have a bit of a
blank, I turn to Covetous Poet and decide to
generate a scene with that:
Event: Something bad happens to the PC.
Action: Protect
Thing: Zealot
Plot: Unwanted Elements
Opposition: Evil Family OR Crazed Loner
Location: Hideout—I rolled again for this to
get a better idea of where the Hideout was (since I already knew it was
probably a safehouse) and got Docks.
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The two head out to
the docks area. The times were especially hard in this area, as the shipments
went to larger and more profitable ports. A few ships still came each day, but
the area around the docks was a dead zone. More homes and businesses sat
abandoned or condemned than still had occupants, and it is in one of the
abandoned buildings that Dona had taken refuge.
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Hanson and Blaine
walked through the building, flashlights glancing at every crumbled-up
newspaper, discarded piece of clothing, or used needle. The place was a mess,
and trying to figure out what was a sign of a struggle vs the throes of a
junkie would be difficult. And figuring out which struggle actually mattered
would be almost impossible.
“I can’t believe you left her here.” “It wasn’t my choice. I wanted her to come with me. But her damn martyr complex kicked in, said she couldn’t risk anyone else. I only even new about this place second hand.” “You didn’t have anyone with her? Or at least keeping an eye out for her.” “Jesus, what do you think I am? I’m just a rich kid, ok. Sure, I have money, but that only goes so far, you know. It’s not like I have a network or anything. I couldn’t risk hiring anyone. I mean, yeah, a couple of her friends would keep an eye out, but everything I heard was that she was ok. At least for a couple of nights. Then, suddenly, she was gone.”
“Gone? Maybe she
just got the hell out of here. Even a martyr can only put up with so much.”
“No. Can’t you feel it? Something happened here. I know.” “Great. You keep feeling yourself. I’m going to go downstairs. That’s where she’d have been sleeping.” Hanson crept downstairs, her flashlight focused ahead of her, scanning the cluttered basement. Nothing seemed out of place, but in one of the closets she did see a somewhat new, or at least clean, sleeping bag, and some boards. Someone had installed new hooks in the doorframe, allowing the closet to be barricaded from the inside. Dona’s nest? Her musings were interrupted by a voice, high up, calling out her name. She turned to the stairs and yelled up, asking what he wanted, when she suddenly felt cold steel slide into her back. |
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This is the Something Bad that happens to Hanson.
One of Adrian’s cultists was keeping an eye on the place. Blaine “sensed”
(thanks to his Auspex) that
something was amiss. Alarmed, he called out to Hanson, which inadvertently set
her up for the attack.
I decide the cultist is a ghoul (thus giving him a Potence of 1 and the ability to Soak damage), with a die pool equal to the Physical Threat of 7. He’s attacking Hanson with a Knife (diff 4, damage Str +1).
Attack [7] 1,8,2,10,8,6,4 4 Successes
Damage [8] 1,4,6,4,8,8,4,6 +1 for 4 Successes
Soak (dif 8) [3] 7,8,5 for 2 Successes.
Hanson takes 2 levels of damage, reducing her to Hurt and a -1 to all rolls in the future.
Round 1 Hanson spends blood to activate her Celerity. The ghoul will spend blood to boost his Strength by 1, up to 4. Hanson will also spend a point of Willpower to ignore the wound penalties.
No initiative, as this is strictly a
melee battle. Hanson can’t get to her handy collapsible baton. But, does she
have a police-style “tactical” flashlight, which can double as a club? She is
a cop, so I set the odds to 50/50
50%-- 11, Yes. So, the Ghoul is using a Knife, Hanson is
using her flashlight, and each is rolling against 4.
1st Action
Hanson [6] 6,9,7,2,6,5 for 5 Successes
Ghoul [7] 10,1,2,3,9,10,7 for
3 Successes. Hanson wins with 2.
Damage [7] 7,6,1,9,1,10,2 +1 for
3 Successes.
Soak [3] 6,7,7 The ghoul takes no
damage.
2nd Action The ghoul does not get to act in this action, thanks to
Hanson’s Celerity. Maybe he should
have split his die pools. Ah well, too late now. Rather than hit him with her
club, Hanson will take this opportunity to try and Throw him. The difficulty for this is 7.
Hanson [6] 9,3,3,9,2,9 for 3 Successes.
Damage [7] 9,3,8,5,6,9,4 +1 for 5 Successes
Soak [3] 8,4,10, the Ghoul takes 3 levels
of damage. In addition, he is Stunned
for the next round, and incapable of rolling more dice than equal to his
Stamina (3). He is also Injured and
is taking a -1 to all future rolls.
Does he drop his knife? He is a trained combatant, so this is Unlikely 35%-- 97
ABSOLUTELY NOT. Dude has a death
grip on the thing.
Will he split his actions? He knows she’s fast, but he hasn’t even hit her win one, so Unlikely—35% 16, Yes. The Ghoul will attempt a lucky break by splitting his pool
in half. So, for each Action, he will have 3 dice.
Round 2
The ghoul will spend blood to increase his Stamina and spend Willpower to
shake off being Stunned. He is still at -1. Hanson will spend blood on
Celerity and a Willpower to ignore her would penalties.
1st Action
Hanson [6] 9,4,3,10,10,4 for
5 Successes
Ghoul [3] 6,10,10 for 3 Successes.
Hanson beats him by 2.
Damage [7] 1,10,7,7,10,8,2 +1 for 5 Successes.
Soak [4] 8,8,4,9 for 3 Successes.
Ghouls takes 2 levels of damage, reducing him to Mauled and at -2. (Note: this only translates to a -1 on his next
attack, since he already lost one from the beginning of the round).
2nd Action
Hanson [6] 5,1,10,9,9,2 for
3 Successes.
Ghoul [2] 10,5 for 1 Success. Hanson
beats him by 2.
Damage [7] 10,9,6,8,9,2,7 +1 for 7 Successes.
Soak [4] 3,1,10,2 for No Successes.
The ghoul is reduced
to below Incapacitated and the
fight is over.
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The steel pierced
her, but it was the voice that chilled her bones.
“The Light will always come after the Darkness. And you will not stop the Darkness that is to come.”
Adrian left me a present. How thoughtful.
She stepped forward, feeling the blade slide out of her back, and swung the flashlight. She moved fast, with speed and power, but the babbling crazy man fought better than he looked, and moved to block her. Seeing her opening, Hanson grabbed him with her free hand and threw him across the room, sending him crashing into the rotten shelves that lined the wall. He bounced back up with a speed that surprised her, but he was limping. He twirled the knife in his hand, inviting her in. But there was something like a panic in his eyes, and he was going defensive. Hanson took his invitation, and charged at him, with the flashlight held high. In the end, it didn’t matter how tough the ghoul thought he was. Hanson was faster, and tougher. Too bad about her flashlight, though. The damn thing shattered as her blow brought her through the bastard’s head and onto the concrete. Military grade, my ass she thought, leaving the shattered remnants among the scattered bits of brain and blood of the man who had attacked her. |
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Now it’s time for
the actual meat of the scene. Hanson is looking for a Clue to help them find
Dona. The difficulty for this is based off of the Mental Threat of 3, so the difficulty is 8.
Perception + Investigate [6] 4,1,7,10,5,4 for 1 Success. Technically
it’s enough, so I’ll give Hanson the win. But just enough to lead her to the
next Scene. Had she rolled better, she might have been better prepared for
whatever is coming next.
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The man didn’t have
anything useful on him. A few crumbled dollars, a battered wallet and ID, and
a pair of car keys.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong Meagan, I’m glad you’re ok, but did you have to kill the guy?” “Not like he gave me a lot of choice.” “Well, yeah, I suppose. I mean, I wasn’t here. And I did try to warn you that something was off. But, what are we going to do now? I mean, this place is a complete mess. Do you think we can, um, what’s the term ‘canvas the neighborhood?’” Hanson dangled the keys in front of Blaine, till he batted them out his eyes. “Yes, shiny. I mean, maybe I can ask around, see if anyone at the club knows the area…”
Hanson headed up the
stairs. “Where are you going?”
She didn’t stop, or
look back at him. “He drove, dumbass. His car is nearby.”
She found it a few minutes later, and was slightly chagrined she hadn’t noticed it when they first arrived. It was a piece of crap, sure, but no one who lived here would have parked it in such an obvious spot. Not that it mattered much; she’d leave the keys inside and let the locals do with it as they wished. Inside wasn’t any prettier than the outside. Trash from fast food joints and convenience stores littered the place, as well as empty cigarette boxes and an overflowing ashtray. Clearly, Adrian’s wasn’t one of those “healthy living” type of cults. As Hanson carefully went through the car, Blaine sulked outside. “Find anything useful? Maybe an old French fry?”
“Found these,” she
handed him a couple of receipts. All from within the past week.
“Quick Shop Stop? This supposed to be
mean anything to me?”
“No. But it means
something to me. I know where Dona is.”
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Hanson, technically,
won the scene, and so gains a Victory
Point and a Clue. As this was an Investigation scene, her Opponent,
Adrian, gets to roll against the current Count (8) and gets a 10, which is a
failure, and so he does not gain a Victory
Point. Hanson is down 2 Willpower
points, and spends one blood point to
heal herself to Bruised (no penalty).
Between healing herself and the blood spent in combat, she is down to a Bloodpool of 4. The next scene prompt
is:
Plunder resources
necessary to the foe's plan. Either make a check at +2 difficulty or face a Fight
instead of a check.
We’ll see if she can
rescue Dona from the clutches of Adrian’s thugs next time!
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Victory Points
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Heat
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Hanson
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8
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Opponent
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7
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2
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Investigation &
Action Scene Count
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8
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Willpower (max 6)
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3
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Blood Pool (Max 11)
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4
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Health (Max 7)
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6
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Scene Number
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Type
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Description
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Result
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1
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Investigation
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Tail an
Actor who might have a Clue. On a check failure, face a Fight.
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Failed to Tail, succeed on Fight
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2
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Action
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Face the
foe's best warrior
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Failure
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3
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Rest
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Hanson
hunts, feeds, and heals
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N/A
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4
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Investigation
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Trick an
Actor into revealing a Clue.
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Failure
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5
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Investigation
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Waylaid
by hostile Actor
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Success
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6
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Action
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Convince
an ally of the foe to betray them
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Success
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7
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Conflict
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Suffer
betrayal by an Actor.
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Success
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8
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Rest
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Rest and
Recover
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N/A
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9
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Investigation
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Hunt
down an Actor to provide a Clue
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Success
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10
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Action
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Sabotage
a tool, etc., to betray the foes use
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Failure
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11
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Conflict
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Steal
foes possessions
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Failure
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12
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Conflict
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Eliminate
Outside Actor
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Success
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13
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Investigation
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Work
with Allied Actor to get a Clue.
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Success
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14
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Action
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Plunder
resources necessary to the foe’s plan.
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Rules and Mechanics
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