valeria's haven

my vampire: the masquerade campaign journal

[pavukvaleria]

Goodnight! My name is Valeria and I'm starting this blog to hopefully share art and stories regarding my Vampire: The Masquerade V3 campaign. I've been running it for a year and a half so there's quite a lot of content piled up and waiting to be posted.

The campaign is called Portland Postmortem (PPM for short) and it's set in Portland, Oregon in 2015. It's a story about forging your own path amidst those who are stuck in the past. "Postmortem" refers to the Victorian fashion of photographing dead relatives posed as if they were still alive. This is a metaphor for vampires still keeping their outdated traditions, fearing their ancestors and never trying to keep up with the times even though their old ways often lead to tragedy and conflict. And there's time travel.

I'm looking forward to detailing our chronicle here and I hope the retelling is at least a little bit as engaging as the actual game

[pavukvaleria]

Working for the Camarilla

Right after they stepped into the World of Darkness, the newly formed coterie got roped into some dirty work. A good way to teach them never to breach the Masquerade by showing them how hard it is to clean things up, their mentor, Adrian, thought. Nobody yet knew what these odd jobs would unravel into.

The first task was a bit complicated. A Brujah by the name of Salem accidentally drained his date at one of the busy Burnside clubs. He was already given his last warning, his last chance to not get executed in front of the whole city for failing to keep a low profile. Adrian felt guilty - he used to mentor Salem too, and somehow missed the opportunity to instill in him some level of subtlety in these things. This time, drugs were involved, and Salem wasn't able to resist while under the influence. Now, someone needed to help dispose of the shriveled body and escort him out discreetly, hopefully before the Sheriff gets involved. Luckily, Ophelia and Ben were already starting to master their persuasion skills and kept the staff distracted while Scott, disguised as a waiter, took the body outside in a cart to burn somewhere else. Salem owed them big time. Mission number two had a tighter time constraint. A Nosferatu called in a favor: they were spotted by a mortal who freaked out at the sight and called the police. Our fledglings had to go up to that person and make them cancel the call. Fortunately, by this time Leo joined the coterie and was able to alter their memories with Dominate to convince them that what they saw was a wild animal. Suddenly, the roar of several motors pierced the still night. It looked like a gang of delinquents at first sight but they were the law in this city.

The Sheriff yelled for the four neonates to follow her. The only one of them with a car was Scott and his AMC Concord was not built for racing against a motorcycle gang. However, he managed to keep up with someone in the back of this procession and drove everybody to the Sheriff's headquarters.

Her name was Castle and she was offering them another job. Not Masqerade-related this time. They had to protect a shipment belonging to the Ventrue from anyone who might try to take it. Turns out, there was a frozen territorial dispute between the clans of Ventrue and Nosferatu that could go hot at any moment. And the shipment just so happened to arrive to a port in the disputed area. Castle didn't want any fighting to break out and ruin the peace, so she needed more people to deter potential attackers. She would provide training and weapons if necessary.

Technically, the shipment belonged to just one of the Ventrue. It was Tycho Charlemagne, Benjamin's sire. When everybody arrived at the port, he took his childe aside and gave him a task of his own...

[pavukvaleria]

First nights

Ophelia arrived to Portland by bus, in a panicked attempt to run away. She had been harassed and stalked by a self-proclaimed "fan". Last week he found her and... did something to her. She felt different but didn't really know what it was, and she really had to leave her state as fast as possible. And there she was, at a bus stop at night in an unfamiliar city with nobody to guide her through this nightmare. Then, Ophelia spotted something almost magical in a park nearby. It was a white deer, just like that landmark, and it was calling for her to follow somehow. After a bit of walking she found herself in the Old Town, in front of a vintage coffee shop.

She was not alone here. Two men were waiting for the cafe to open. She came just in time. Another man walked up and rolled up the shutter. He was just as pale as the deer that led her here. - Goodnight. Has someone recommended this place to you? Do you have your invitations? The two men handed over their cards. The pale man turned to her with a smile. - What about you? Ophelia didn't know what to answer. The real reason why she was there would sound absurd, right? The awkward silence was broken by one of the men, the one with a suit and tie. It turned out that he had two invitation cards given to him by the same person. His night was pretty strange too, to say the least. He handed one to Ophelia and vouched for her.

The pale man's name was Adrian and he belonged to clan Gangrel. The two others were Ben and Scott. Adrian was tasked with teaching neonates the ins and outs of unlife and taking care of them for the meantime. Vampires, clans, feeding, disciplines, the Masquerade, the Camarilla. They had to learn quickly if they were to survive and make their sires proud. That was the deal.

This coffee shop and its second floor would become their haven for now. Just now, the three Fledglings formed a coterie. Ophelia learned what she really was now and it felt like... freedom at last.

[pavukvaleria]

New logo alert!

Both courtesy of our Malkavian player and my lovely boyfriend @tatapnhob The new version has a bit of an Anarch vibe which I personally really like, especially since our players are all Anarch sympathizers. And it just looks cooler, more authentic. And that's the real Portland skyline!

I can't express enough how much having a catchy title and a logo for this chronicle contributed to my motivation as a GM. It really feels like I'm working on a long-term ambitious project and not just something nebulous. Coming up with a title first and foremost helped me create with more of a structure in mind and tell a coherent story (at least I hope it is).

I really appreciate my players for not only showing up to the game every other Saturday for a year and a half but also for making designs, art and stories relating to the campaign. It makes me happy to see my creation get richer lore and more inside jokes thanks to them. PPM let us bond over our shared experiences in an incredible way

[pavukvaleria]

Introduction to the Coterie

Our player characters are a group of neonates, all raised not directly by their sires but by a mysterious Gangrel named Adrian who offered them shelter. They are all very forward-thinking and like to solve conflicts peacefully (via Dominate and Presence, of course). Their coterie has been around for only about six in-game months but they made a name for themselves by unraveling secret plots made up by older vampires and not letting them wreak havoc all over the city.

Now, let's get a little more up close and personal

The slim man in the muted blue suit and red tie is Scott Mullen, if that's his real name. He came to Portland a couple of years ago to work as a private investigator but has no prior credentials, no ties to the police, no family or friends and his home looks completely un-lived in. If you didn't know him personally you'd think he never existed... or wants someone to believe that. That's right, he's just another paranoid Malkavian... or is he?

The totally stylish Tumblr girl is none other than Ophelia, the infamous video blogger. She's a self-made online star and craves every bit of attention, be it love or hate. Come to think of it, she's probably more used to provoking hate with her hot takes bordering on trolling, but that's what drives engagement. And for this Toreador, it works just the same in the Camarilla.

The middle-aged man with research papers is Leopold Blanc, PhD. He's a professor of physics in PSU who recently got a grant from a private sponsor. In exchange for a hefty sum of money he's going to create a unique device for his sire to alleviate a curse that he suffers from. Yes, his sire. Becoming a Ventrue vampire was a part of the deal, so was protection for his wife and son. It's all going as planned... for the time being.

The stylish young guy is Benjamin Myers. As in, Myers of Myers Real Estate, subsidiary of Myers Investments that belongs to his father, Harold Myers. That's all in the past though. In a hostile takeover, Ben lost ownership of his company to the only man he could call a friend, maybe even something more... He didn't realize that it was the Blood Bond between them that made him feel that way about his future sire. But he'll be back on his feet in no time.

[bunacidic]

[bunacidic]

well hi

[bunacidic]

my part of the collab with @vegetabletaxi​ , his scetch and lineart and my colours note for @vegetabletaxi : спасибо, друг! я прекрасно провел время)

[vegetabletaxi-deactivated202101]

collab with the WONDERFUL @g1g4d0d1k . he did the sketch and lineart, i took care of the colors and shading. please check him out, he’s new to the fandom and does beautiful art :)

[bunacidic]

punk bird girl

[bunacidic]