Your PM box is full (holy crud! btw) bit I was just flipping through the Guide to the Camarilla and spotted a Merit & Flaw that I think would fit my char perfectly.
Would you mind if I added:
New Arrival (1pt flaw)
Friendly Face (1 pt merit)
Lauren steals another curious glance at Valentine, almost praying that the Frenchman from the MSG Elysium will interject and break the painfully awkward reunion with Mike.
Watching the interaction between the man and the woman, James licks his lips as he sees the blood pooling from the mans head. The speed with which the woman moved and the mention of no vitae for a week makes James realize that the woman, is more than likely kindred. However, he is not quite certain what the man is. Though he is pretty certain that the man who is bleeding is a ghoul.
Hmmmm, interesting (James thinks.) Some sort of dispute. Ahhh, blood in the head, now out. If I were seeing this patient, I would be most interested in his cognitive abilities....or tastes, rather.
Yeah, sorry about that. I cleared the pm box out so that should be fixed. I'm fine with that merit/flaw combination, go ahead and add it. Are you thinking of any other changes for Lauren?
Valentine steps forward at that moment, much to Lauren's relief and extends a hand to her. "Enchanté," he says smoothly, and adjusts his lapels. "Michael here was kind enough to offer to introduce me," he continues, making Lauren's heart sink. This was not a rescue after all but more gas on the fire! "I had hoped to express an invitation to both of you at a private social club uptown." "Oi, hold up, Frenchie," Harding says stepping forward. "She's with us tonigh'!" Mazz drops his darts as well, grinning slightly with fangs exposed. Given his indifference so far, it seems more likely that the harpy is more interested in a scuffle than actually in holding onto Lauren. Valentine bristles but merely purses his lips in response. "I believe the lady might choose for herself." Three sets of eyes swivel towards Lauren.
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James sees the ghoul push himself up from the ground, groaning and subservient. "What would you have me do to make it up to you?" he says in a barely audible whisper. The black-haired wipes a spatter of blood from the back of her fist while she replies imperiously. "You will return to the subway station and wait there until the rat returns. Don't come back until you have something to show me." She glares at the man crouching on the ground. "And so help me, Trevor. If you fail me again, it will be the last time." With that, the vampire turns on her heel and stalks back into the club, brushing within a few inches of James's shadowed hiding spot as she does.
Well, you've really stepped in it now girl. I just wanted to hear the dirt on that Lugosi woman.
Caught in the middle of a showdown Lauren has to think fast. On the one hand, Valentine was the lone voice, or at least the strongest, of opposition against her being given the assignment of hunting down the bug monster. Now he suddenly wants to invite her to a 'private club'. Intriguing to say the least.
On the other hand, she's just really curious about Lugosi and sees the Harpy as a great source. Plus it wouldn't be wise to tick off a Harpy, even one who's probably on the way out. He may not have the same connections and pull in the next Prince's court, but he's still going to be a player. She also doesn't want to give him, or any Brujah, an excuse for a fight, which he's obviously itching for. Better to defuse all that and allow everyone to save face.
Boys. Boys. No need for any fuss over lil ole me.
I appreciate the invite Monsieur Valentine, and I'd be happy to join you in a few hours. I mean, it's a most intriguing offer for sure.
It's just that I can't be rude to Harding and Mazz after they asked me to hit the clubs first.
Char + Expression (10, 10, 10, 10)Um... wow. She should have asked them for their wallets or to be the new Prince of New York while she was at it.:D
And to answer your question, I was also tempted by the Sire Rivalry flaw b/c I could see her mortal magical talent being coveted by both the Assimite and Tremere (and I'd use the 2 pts to regain Linguistics and her French fluency) but I don't think it's necessary. Might be some fun RP or it could be overkill.
Long answer short, I'm fine with the char as is now. And I've edited the char sheet post above.
The less-than-warm welcome from Lauren was no real surprise, and yet it gave Mike pause enough to seem unsettled. And that time was more than enough again for the experienced Valentine to step in, and take the lead once more, just when Mike could have hoped to make some good impression at last.
When the Brujah began blatantly looking for fisticuffs, Mike tried to step in, since it was a more familiar ground, but Lauren beat him to it. His heart sank further down. Am I so pathetically useless ? A mere watcher of my own life, and no actor ? No, no, no !! And since she made such a point for herself ( you can reroll 10s, btw, CG, did you know ?), how could he hope to add anything...
Yet, the fear of being completely forgotten when he was slowly crawling his way into the spotlight made him throw caution to the wind, and the Toreador neonate could only add a pathetic "Yeah, I fear she's right, you know" to Valentine. Though it was probably not what the Ancillae wanted to hear, he would probably play along...
Watching the vampire woman walk back into the bar, James follows after her, heading back into the bar after a few moments. As the door swings open and he is enwrapped in shadow for a brief second before the light hits him when walking inside, James released his obfuscate ability, not wanting a place full of kindred and all other sorts of creatures to notice him; if indeed anyone would be trying to do so.
As he enters the bar once again, James looks for the woman again. When he sees her, he approaches. Sniffing the air as he gets in her immediate vicinity. Commenting...
Mmmmm. I can smell something quite tasty on you. Doesn't smell rather gourmet, but I suppose it will do. Can't always choose what you choose to choose all the time, especially with all the trouble going on. Fights, intrigue, politics, its a wonder a good meal can be found these days.
Yet, do I keep track? I can't remember. Perhaps I wrote it down somewhere? Hmmmm, I will have to travel back to the office and see what sort of data I collected.
James waits on the womans response. Unsure as to why he would mention blood and the smell of it, other than the fact that it's the only thing that comes to mind. His desire for conversation is usually sated with himself, but he thinks it may prove prudent to at least be somewhat sociable. He's not sure how long everyone plans on hanging out at the club, and it seems like this is the only interesting aspect so far.
James would much rather be back at his practice....if he still had one.
Sorry to take so long getting back to you guys. Busy week. So I checked out the invisible castle rolls, CG, and I think you might have put in 10 for the dice instead of 1d10. When I rerolled, however, I got this . Somebody really wants you to get four 10s, go figure. Good advice on the rerolling, Thot, but that's actually only for specialties. Check out page 117 of the VtM core book for how specialties work.
"Too right, pally," Harding says with a sneering grin. "Lady's got plans." The Brujah steps up next to Lauren, throwing a casual arm around her shoulder which is obviously supposed to draw a response from Valentine. The Toreador ancilla merely raises an eyebrow, however, and nods curtly towards Lauren and the men. "Another time perhaps."
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Across the bar, James sees the back of the black-haired woman stiffen at his comment. She turns and stares at the Malkavian with a mixture of fury and confusion. "What did you just say to me?" she hisses through clenched teeth. "Just who in the hell do you think you are?" Her fury is suddenly doused by an icy expression. "Oh, fu-... You were the little rat I heard in the alley, weren't you? Listen here you presumptuous..." Whatever else the woman was to call James is lost as the screams of fear start to drown out the loud music. The crowd shifts like a tide, making way for a stumbling figure who is staggering from the back wall, screaming soundlessly. Many are able to recognize the figure as Ephraim Wainwright, an influential Tremere in the city. The "Imp" is easily recognized by his very short stature, standing barely four feet tall, but his ugly face is twisted in agony as he staggers across the dance floor. His normally elegant Victorian gentleman's glasses fall on the ground as the music is cut, just in time for Imp to collapse into the tall table in front of Joseph and Susan with a loud clatter. "Jesus," Harding says as Mazz rushes past him towards the toppled table where a mist or smoke seems to be drifting. The crowd is pushing backwards away from the scene, not sure what's going on but disconcerted by the groans still coming from the table. When James looks around for the woman he was talking to, he finds her gone, probably escaped out the back of the club, again. Mike, meanwhile, finds his view blocked as Valentine steps forward to the edge of the crowd. As he involuntarily leans to his left for a better angle, his shoulder collides with a thin man in a jacket whom he is shocked to recognize as Richard Schaden, a man he hasn't seen since that fateful night the last time he was in the Six of One. Schaden has a harried look on his face and is pushing quickly towards the door with obviously purpose.
And the plot comes to you! OOC for Copper GriffinShow
I'm not opposed to Rival Sire but a few things come to mind. First, just recognize that Tremere blood magic and Assamite blood magic have next to nothing in common. Lauren's sire is unlikely to have anything the Warlocks could use let alone want. However, she might know something else, such as secrets stolen from human mages or something else. Alternatively, Lauren might have been targeted for Embrace by someone else (as the flaw actually reads, I think) in which case we'd need to explain how that vampire can be a credible nuisance here in New York when he's, presumably, in California where Lauren was originally Embraced. The more I think about it, I think this is a pretty doable thing, but the more details you give me the more I can start implementing it.
Upon seeing M.Schaden flee the shocking scene of a Cainite dying in front of kines -a serious breach of the Masquerade, if any, Mike nearly freezes in his track. Yet, the lost opportunities from before come back to the shore, and he decides not to waste this one, and to follow him as best he can, making good use of both his obfuscating powers, and regular stealth ability.
1) Shadowing = Dex + Stealth = [COLOR="Gray"]6,7,3,7 2) This is assuming that he does not flee in fear. That's how I understand "with obvious purpose". 3) Checked p117, you were right, MJ, of course.[/COLOR]
Lauren's reaction is much like everyone elses. Surprise. But she also instinctively reaches to the small of her back for either her gun or knife which are normally there. However, in Elysium, her hand closes on nothing.
Instead she takes the moment to slide away from Harding, after making a mental note to cut his hand off the next time he touches her, and pushes a scrambling Kine out of the way. Upon seeing "the Imp in obvious death throes her first thought is good riddance.
Her schadenfreude is short lived as the impact on the Masquerade dawns on her.
A number of quick solutions fly through her head. Terrorists maybe. But that might bring it into the news faster than a simple shooting in a bar would.
Before she can decide she notices Mike slipping out through the crowd, his eyes fixed on another figure who’s also fleeing the scene.
She doesn’t have any vested interest in keeping Jonz from final death, but she knows he has a penchant for diving in head first. She’s as surpised as anyone when she finds herself following the Toreador singer.
Mike hurries out into the frosty air outside the club and instantly the sounds of the club fade to the staccato horns and shouts of the street. He looks around and quickly spots the figure of Richard Schaden, now wearing a long coat, moving east along 20th Street. He can't see the man very well, but it looks like Richard is looking up the street either at something or someone. Behind Mike, Lauren steps out of the club and sees the Toreador hurrying towards 8th Ave. Rolls for finding Schaden in the crowd and for noting that Lauren followed you out of the club. I'm saying that two successes (difficulty 5) let's you keep a pretty good eye on Schaden but Mike isn't immediately aware of Lauren. She'll have to make her own shadowing rolls of course.
. Somebody really wants you to get four 10s, go figure.
