#campaign diary

[ch4r4d3-scheherazade]

v// Does it always feel a bit melancholic to kill someone who ruined your life and haven't seen for 20 odd years?

v// i can't quite tell what this feeling is, and clarification from those who experience normal emotions would be appreciated.

v// i haven't thought about her in years before this week and yet. It feels. Something. It bothers me I can't name what it is.

[sabrina-aka-amelia-tepes]

the 5th night hunters and Sabbat

this night was fucked it started with banging on my coffin and the lid to be thrown open by piper as soon as i unlatched it, and the first thing she says "get up we need a attack dog" say how you really feel why don't you, the bitch knows who i am and what i can do, and just like that all my remaining good will for her gone in a single moment

im pretty sure calling your guest a fucking attack dog! breaks the rules of hospitality... by all tzimisice customs i can just kill her now right? but yeah, hunters had been stalking and tracking all the vampires that used the fount and elevator entrance to the club and raided every haven in they could fined in a single day including some sabbat havens that had been to open with their activities everyone geared up and Nossie found a location by tracking a bunch of their phones, a old abandon water desalination plant north east of the city i sent a bat like flesh servitor made of my left hand and my left eye with the gargoyle who flew ahead first to scout the location out as we arrived there was a massive bonfire that the 30+ hunters were throwing staked vampires into while others were chained to a railing and forced to watch while staked with eyes pried open the rest all happened very quickly once we got there i took my more beastly zulo form, and smashed through a brick wall with smith following close behind me, he then opening up with a hell of a lot of shooting (cos i know you care about the guns dad it was a "m249 machine gun in 5.56") Piper, Mikalal and his ghoul Wessen, went to the back of the building while Adrian and the harbinger of skulls (whose name i have forgotten he only speaks Italian and Ive only had one interaction ) went around the other side and got the bonfire put out but all the flanking was kinda pointless as hunters are human and a vampire with a belt fed machine gun just stood there laughing and shooting and killed all but 7 of the hunters in like 10-15 seconds the rest were kinda easy work after that. i was prepared to do the heavy violence again but nope i wasn't really needed after smashing through the wall after the surviving hunters had been cleared up we got to work freeing and unstakeing the vampiers they had not burnt yet. i patched up the worst of the injuries, a few chunks missing from gun fire, and some burns... basically every vampire i had met at the club got captured including Malice and Blair so yeah turns out Blair and her housemates got grabbed but blair was awake when they attacked and killed 2 with a sword but got dragged out in to the sun and badly burnt and her fucking left arm ripped off at the bicep (i fixed that with some chunks of my own flesh )

while i was actually getting to do my job and help people the rest had found some more living hunters in another building connected to 2 large dried out concrete "water tanks " one was just used as storage but the other was quite disturbing, chained to a massive concrete pillar in the middle of he room was a Wight and the outer edges of the room had 10 more vampires chained to the wall, the Wight had just enough slack in the chain get close but not enough to touch them it looks like the hunters had starved the Wight and would loosen the chain enough to let it reach the vampires on the outer wall to feed on them my best guess they had done this about 5 times already with the rotting remains and empty spaces and chains on the outer wall, i don't know why the hunters were making a super Wight... but that was dealt with by the others should also mention we found 12 very old coffins like the hunters had stolen a bunch of torpored vampires only 4 had remains in them. so some may have escaped ? (or been killed elsewhere ) looking back at it this was bound to happen with the population boom Adelaide had, from what we could gather just over 100 vampires had been killed and we managed to save 34 in a single day almost 140 vampires could have met a true death a lot of cities don't even have that many vampires in them to begin with! but Adelaide with approximately 5000 is such a risk for a mortal city, something is going to go bad and when it dose i don't know how much of the city will be left standing... after that though we found out a few of those survivors were sabbat and if a bunch of there nests were hit they would probably meet up talk then scatter so the main group and i went to go, interrupt this meeting. the sabbat were working out of a massive car wreckers and a church next door *im going to be kinda brief with this* the sabbat leader was a pack priest calling himself a bishop his name was Franklin but made the others call him Farther Ezekiel... he was meant to be building a beach head for the "Queensland" sabbat to invade Adelaide so they could bring in a real bishop but he went mad with power and started mass turning without following the proper sabbat rights and rituals, hence why the sabbat we encountered on my first night here seemed so chaotic so i challenged him to a dual to the death for his dishonor, my blackhand membership may have been given out of political niceties and boons but it still counts. his pack seamed like they were hoping for him to lose at the thought of him being "dethroned" we started to fight and he.... ripped me to shreds, chunks of my body thrown about the church, a lasombra that also has protean claws is kind hard to fight. but i followed your example and laughed my ass off as i regenerate in to my zulo form i drove my claws in to his chest and grabbed his spine from the inside, used vicissitude to fuse it , stretch it out and stake him to the ground like a Halloween decoration then i let his old pack kill him the pack then requested we "remove" all the mass turned vampires frank had made as they "are a shame on the sabbat and should be purged " as they gathered waiting to to hear from " Farther Ezekie" Mikala rolled a car bomb (transit van) he had prepared earlier in to the group of them and...

the explosion was massive and launched burning cars across the sounding area and started a bunch of fires. and my ass had to run in to that damn scrap yard with the pack to finish off the survivors, the last thing we needed was a bunch of torpord vampires getting grabbed as evidence by cops. (and sure i have my own motives of wanting the bio mass for some vicissitude work but lets not go in to that ) i so damn lucky i didn't rotschreck but before the news crews and fire trucks arrived i left with the pack to have a privet discussion away from Piper and the rest of them before sunrise i went and grabbed my coffin from Nossies's place and gave him a gift one of the Concoctions of Vitality then i wrote a note and left the other Concoction on Pipers office desk and now thanks to the money i have earned and the dominate ability i have now learned through diablerie i have a room at a near by hotel where im still staying now no one has seen malice since that night with the hunters, but it turns out a few vampires that we saved have gone missing in the time since im not sure whats going on but its not good regardless

[lysimachiastella]

Character Introductions

 ☾.✴˚˖⁺✦

Lord Morgan Branwen is a recluse who only ventures into society for the express intention of expanding his art collection. The only other thing that interests him is news of his missing friend.

☾.✴˚˖⁺✦

Samantha Church is an investigative journalist forced into writing gossip columns for a tabloid. She can’t say it out loud, but she misses the days when she hid her identity and acted as a war correspondent.

☾.✴˚˖⁺✦

Aran is an actor who entered the industry for everything but acting six years ago, when an accident left them estranged from both their memories and family. When they’re not on a movie set, Aran can be found at the biggest parties– socialising, but not making any connections.

☾.✴˚˖⁺✦

[thetzimisceshapeshifter]

So Sabrina is now "friends" with 3 Sabbat black hand paladins and all of there false sabbat have been "cleansed", and the 3 paladins are starting again, their pack priest comrade had gone a little power mad and was calling himself the archbishop of Adelaide, but was only sent to set up a beach head but has been delaying doing his job to hold on to his semblance of power. but he met his final death tonight, Sabrina walked in calming to be a Black hand member from Europe that had met with the Cardinals and Regents of the old world, while all true she met with them at a ball as a representative of Dracula and her black hand status is from a boon she got for helping one of their Archbishops with some vicissitude work (some specialty cosmetic stuff Sabrina is known for) so her stuff is all politically gained

Sabrina challenged him to a dual to true death for his position. fuck if this was a few sessions ago before she got her 5th vicissitude dot she would have died OMG but thank you horrid body and blood form... he ripped her apart... but she got to do the Hellsing Alucard laughing while regenerating in his moment of shock she grabbed his spine through his chest and turned it into a spike to impale him with. she then let the paladins execute him also at the start of the session the rest of the party also fought a Wight the hunters had chained up, wrapping things up from the end of last session

[macronsfate]

🇫🇷 #Journal De Campagne | #Campaign Diary ✍️

Nom / Name : 'His Fate' fanfiction.

Date de début / Start date : December 10th, 2016.

🇫🇷 2017 : Vivez la première campagne présidentielle du candidat Macron de l'intérieur à travers le personnage d'Helena Lefebvre, Community Manager pour le parti En Marche ! et protégée du Président en devenir, Emmanuel Macron...

Les coulisses d'une victoire politique hors du commun... 📣

📱 ... où vont se mêler mensonges, scandales et faux semblants... 🏛

... L'amour et l'amitié pourront-ils y survivre ? ❤️‍🩹💔

🇬🇧 Experience candidate Macron's 2017 presidential campaign through the eyes of Helena Lefebvre, Community Manager for the En Marche ! political movement and "little protégée" of a french President in the making ; Emmanuel Macron...

Enter the backstages of an uncommon political campaign...

... where lies, scandals and false appearances intertwine...

Can love and friendships survive this ?

'His Fate' | an Emmanuel Macron Fanfiction

》 Commencer la lecture

》 Start Diary

[sp1n0za]

(L5R) Bayushi Kaguya Campaign Diary 1: Prologue

Session summary I wrote for the L5R game I bullied my friend into running. This was mostly a prologue session to help us all get into character so not too much happened beyond us hanging out at an inn.

Most esteemed Grandmother,

I hope this letter finds you well, and that Kyuden-Bayushi has not felt too much excitement in my absence. 

We ourselves have made roost in a most bucolic region of the country, to say the least. We have taken succor in a quaint little hamlet, so small and so deeply knotted in the boughs of the Shinomen it does not even have a name. Were it not for the reassuring presence of Todo and Kuro both, I fear my courage would have cracked and shattered under the noise of this accursed forest. I had hoped some time away from home would have given me some much needed levity, and the fresh air strengthened my all-too faltering constitution; as it was during our wandering year. 

Instead I am beset every night by a soundscape I am loath to put to ink, lest it burrow and bite itself a permanent home in my ears. The leaves and boughs howl in shadows, whorling and swarming, sucking up the sounds of conversation from us three like some consuming vacuum of noise. I can’t help but fear that around every corner is still a hidden, waiting blade eager to cut my throat. The only difference being that it hides beneath the chitter and scraping of leaves and wood rather than the agitated rustling of a traitorous courtier’s robe.

The village itself has, thankfully, been somewhat less noisome. We have booked rooms at the local inn (from whence I take brush to paper and write to you these words) and while lacking in many amenities, it does possess a certain rustic charm I admit courts some fondness into my heart.

Our arrival came near the evening, and we quickly accustomed ourselves to the locality.

Among the usual, unremarkable peasants were a few characters of some note. 

The first is nothing less than a Toritaka of the Falcon. An auspicious sign from heaven, given our mission. Upon my asking, she availed us of her assistance rather quickly, and has agreed to join us in traveling to Falcon Castle. I believe she will prove a crucial asset to our goals in this place, and if all goes well may be the latchkey which opens the Falcon to the influence of the Scorpion. Whether or not the rather ambitious goals of some among the Silk and Shadow Court come to fruition, the assistance of the Falcon is non-negotiable to any effort to pull more of the Shinomen into our sphere of influence; of this I am absolutely convinced having now been here in person.

The other was, to my surprise, an exile of the Doji. The exile is self imposed, it would seem, as she seems more interested in gambling with the peasantry than the courts of proper Samurai. As I listened to her little game, I was struck by that particular aggravation which inevitably strikes when a Crane opens its mouth to caw and croak. My suspicions were confirmed when, upon being pressured by Kuro’s reconnaissance, she expressed an ability to evade scrutiny far beyond that of a peasant. It was clear to me she was here under false pretense.

I confronted the false pigeon in her room, (in doing so, I learned that the keys given to us opened not just our room, but all the guest rooms! Some plot by the duplicitous innkeep, I have no doubt) and within a few minutes I had peeled away her mask of deceit and discovered the truth of her past. I am pleased to say that, by the end, the Scorpion had gained a new agent in this lost Doji. 

We begin our journey to the Falcon’s nest come sunrise. When we arrive I hope to send you my next letter, permitted that my ink and paper do not run out by then.

Much love and affection,

Kaguya

[swiper-space]

ooc: can i just copy and paste the freaking opening that our GM did? cuz holy shit did it set the tone

for context, our GM has been doing personalized campaigns for each of our characters, all focusing on overcoming some sort of aspect from their past. this current campaign focuses primarily on Jael (:S: or Swiper) and Bakunawa, and in our last session Jael and Bakunawa had gotten kidnapped by a very targeted pirate raid

i have given GM artistic liberty for Jael's backstory, as a lot of things were vague to begin with. i gave him bullet points of what it had always been, and they ran with it. and OH boy did they run with it, and it was great and fun collaborative storytelling

and here was the opening (they sent the transcript to me afterwards) under the cut

“It’s important, before we begin, to go back a long ways. To tell the story of two boys. Young, trapped by the weight of ever crushing obligation. Brothers in shared duty and toil, if not in blood.

They were born on the industrial hellscape of a world known as Parthonas, where tyrant factory barons held ever growing debts over the lives of their workers. True, anything you could need would be provided. But at a cost in toil and sweat. Sometimes worse, were the debt not repaid in due course, or the demand too high that work alone wouldn’t cover.

Into this brutal life, two young men sold their services to the Rigwatch. Patrol and guard work, to ensure the Baron’s investments weren’t stolen or tampered with. And should the demand come, to defend the factory city with their lives.

Now, Parthonas wasn’t a Union world at the time. And this opened them up to much more frequent visits from the system’s local pirate fleets. Most could be bought off, when the Barons came together to defend their interests. Some didn’t deal well in words. So the Rigwatch would fight and die to defend their homes. Their family. And, most importantly, their Baron’s property.

It was in one of these very raids that one of the young men went missing. Presumed dead by his brother in arms. With a sense of guilt, knowing how their work helped in paying off their family’s debts, young Jael took on more work. Tried to help his brother’s family with theirs where he could. Worked himself near to death, all for a cold overlord.

Not long after, Union’s diplomatic envoys would arrive, bringing with them teams to assess the world. Scientists, of all kinds, brought change to the world. The Barons were no more under Union’s new order. People were freed of their debts. Offered new lives as technology was brought to replace outdated ideas of human labour. The factories would run by the toil of machines, guarded by Union’s own military.

And a young man would, for the first time, would be free.

Now, fast forward a decade or so. Jael, a man worn down by the weight of the world, is approached by a familiar face. An old brother in arms, back from the dead, with an offer of purpose. And with nowhere to go, the broken man agreed.

Now, serving with pirates didn’t exactly sit right to Jael. But what else did he have now? It was this new brotherhood that would give him purpose, direction. And under their leader, a man known as The Commodore to the wider worlds, they had some sense of morality. With his old brother’s support, the pair gain a reputation among the pirates. Reliable. Trustworthy. The kind of potential leaders one might leave a legacy to.

And that’s the rub. See, Union got in touch with Jael in secret. Offered him a position, support, a better purpose than looting and raiding. All he had to do was kill The Commodore. Ensure his empire fell to ruin, and help clean up the scraps left over.

A better life. A second chance. It’s a hard thing to refuse.

So, on the day the old Commodore was set to ceremony, to hand over the rulership of their pirate empire, Jael made his decision.

Boreas, his old brother, had made it clear to Jael he’d joined the pirates willingly that day back when. He had enough of living under the Baron’s heel, found his way out. It was his desertion, Jael’s taking of his family’s debt, that led to the man’s heart being taken as payment. The faulty replacement only being swapped out for something good, serviceable, once Union arrived. Resentment builds from that kind of revelation. It boils over.

With the two men alone as the Commodore unveiled their would be inheritance, Jael pulled the trigger. Shot them both from behind as they admired a monster of a machine the Commodore had kept hidden. A slumbering beast that Jael now took, barely awakened and protesting his every control. Making his way off world to meet his contact, to show the proof of his betrayal, he had made his commitment to Union.

He was assigned to a hunting unit as his training, given a new rig to pilot, and set about helping reduce the Commodore’s now warring warlords to little beyond memory.

‘Cept memories have a way of not staying in the past.

[delverschoicettrpg]

The Case of the Poisoned Well/Spring- Some Thoughts on Running Candela Obscura (Session #10)

The last time I led a game of Candela Obscura, the player characters (PCs) didn't have a good time. Hunted by a demonhost, they delved into the ruins of Oldfaire in order to stop a powerful former operative of Candela Obscura intent on a dangerous ritual likely to shear the veil (or Flare) between our world and other realms.

This villain tied into the backstories of several PCs -- stopping him was cathartic for them all, and offered closure to their storylines while acting as foreshadowing to some of the conflicts that will, I hope, shape the latter half of the campaign and its finale.

The session also had some fantastic set pieces, psychological horror, and the most fun use of bloodbending as a weapon deployed since, well, y'know...

The players loved it all, which was fantastic - but after a session so emotionally heavy and so pregnant with danger, I thought it'd be nice to have something with lower stakes to deal with, at least for the characters.

I came up with a fun little scenario:

In the village of Shrike deep into the Briddleborn Mountains, an old man ailed and died after drinking from the local well. The villagers sealed the well up and drew water from the local mountain spring. A few days later, most of them likewise fell ill. The village was forced to seek aid from Newfaire - which is where the Circle comes in.

Unlike so many of the assignments I've prepared and ran for my party, this one didn't have a villain directly responsible for the villagers' plight. Rather, a lot of it can be blamed on a series of unfortunate events and on the foolishness of a pair of smugglers who moonlight as grave robbers and looters.

The twist to the scenario was as follows: the well and the mountain spring are both fouled up, both accidentally. Some manner of dangerous bacteria has infiltrated the well - something like Legionnaires' disease, if you need to put a name on it. This is what kills the Old Man.

Meanwhile, the mountain spring's wasting disease is unethically outsourced through bleed, courtesy of the hiding spot the pair of looters use - a system of caves up the mountain, beginning with an aptly named cavemouth called by the villagers the "Demon's Maw", from which the mountain spring comes forth. The smugglers are wary of being discovered, and so hide their Oldfairen bounties in wooden chests underwater in the spring - and what a great way that is of turning that entire watersource into a bleed-y nightmare!

It was incredibly fun to let my players figure out that there was not one but two sources of disease at play here. A lot of the session went by without dice rolls, because the party has both a doctor and an occultist. With a game like Candela Obscura, I don't ask for players to roll dice unless they're doing something time-sensitive or likely to fail. An experienced doctor examining a body through an autopsy in the scenario of an RPG is unlikely to fail; when the player was asking all the right questions, I was more than happy to give her the right answers.

I also let the players improvise how they reached the village on the donkeys they stole (it's...a long story); they all came up with fun little ideas, but the occultist's bizarre behaviour gave me wonderful narrative means to reinforcing the dangers of the mountain spring. The occultist, Vanessa, picked up several dead animals, which came into play in the autopsy in a satisfying (and wholly disturbing) way.

There was some conflict, mind. The cursed artifact that was polluting the mountain spring with bleed, an emerald staff-head in the shape of a caduceus, is a sentient thing: when the party's occultist spoke with it, its initial reaction was hostile. But thanks to some excellent thinking on the player's part and some help via a Drive point from another player character, the spirit of the caduceus was mollified and agreed to undo the bleed it had caused by poisoning the mountain spring.

Through the conversation with this sentient spirit, I even teased out some clues and developments for the remainder of the campaign, and heavily hinted at one potential antagonist. All in all, a welcome session with lots of laughs (which I didn't discuss here), less personal tension, but also with the opportunity for the members of the Veritas Circle to do a great deal of good.

My point is, a session without an immediately apparent antagonist can work great for you and the players both, and you should try it after your campaign has gone through some dramatic peak or other.

If anyone wants to run this adventure, let me know - my notes are a little more extensive, and I could either work on them a little more or just post them as is.