In addition to the previous scenario I posted I had an idea for anther one I thought you guys might find interesting. Hope you like it.
Title:
To Protect… and ServeThe HookWord across the local Paranet from various sources (dreams/visions to who knows what else) say that there have been an unusual number of strange accidents in town of late, particularly in and near the Freemont Street area downtown. In the last two weeks alone the sheer variety of unlucky to outright bizarre accidents and deaths could provide fodder for a dozen
Final Destination films. ‘Net members are being advised to steer clear of that area for the foreseeable (in any context) future.
The TruthNelson ‘The Mutt’ Brinks of the White Court of Vampires can be found at The Lucky Penny, a trashy casino just off Freemont Street, in downtown LV. (See Paranet Papers expansion for details).
He has multiple roles at the Penny.
First and most obvious; he’s their sole bouncer. There are few boundaries at the Lucky Penny and visitors with enough gumption left to cross them are rare. When he does have to act, Brinks is aggressive. Survivors of his wrath are far rarer than his need to act.
Second, he considers the Penny to be his private game preserve and does not tolerate encroachment of any kind. As a Skavis, Brinks’ appetite is for deep despair. He feeds well and guards his larder jealously. He is proactive vs. perceived threats. Generally, he will be content to drive poachers and other trouble makers away. Once they leave, he’ll let them go. But if they stay inside the building, he’ll fight to the bitter end.
Third, he’s responsible for shunting those who don’t meet his preferred standard of intense despair to other members of the White Court who have other tastes. As a matter of course Brinks will do an Assessment on anyone new entering the property to see how they measure up – 1) food or potential food for him, 2) food or potential food for family, 3) threat. He has no other categories even for the most well-meaning. If you’re not in the first two categories, you get one warning and then it’s on. See below regarding what happens if he’s forced to concede*.
Fourth (and not necessarily least) he is a sort of loan shark who deals in more than just money. The type of despair he needs to feed properly doesn’t just grow on trees even in LV. Over the decades he’s found a way to help it along. He loans money to the destitute. At usury interest rates, of course. That’s nothing new. The unusual part of the deal is that, well, Brinks got rather lucky back in the 50’s. He met a practitioner (named Penny as it would happen, thus the casino’s name) who could summon and bind small creatures from the Nevernever. This woman had made a mistake of some kind when still new to her talent and was accosted by a White Council Warden and threatened with decapitation if she ever did whatever it was ever again. By the time she reached LV and Nelson the woman was an emotional wreck, which suited Brinks just fine. In assessing his catch Brinks had an inspiration almost at the level of epiphany when he realized an opportunity that might not come again for a long time. Instead of just turning the woman into brunch, he kept her alive long enough to get her to summon and bind a Gremlin to Brinks himself. Only the two of them knew its Name. Only the two of them could release it. Then Brinks ate the summoner.
Now he has complete control over a creature whose specialty is entropomancy… entropy curses on demand. When loaning money Brinks demands a sample of his victim’s blood which he gives to the gremlin, which then provides a demonstration of how it works. Nothing lethal this time… but enough to scare the target into abject submission. The message is clear: pay, or Bad Things happen. It rarely takes long for the victims to be driven so deeply into despair that they make for good dining.
Concession*Brinks’ concession will take the form of fleeing the Penny. He’ll dash to a nearby storm drain in the streets and disappear into The Tunnels making his way to help (where this is located is up to you). He’ll be very fast and all but totally untraceable. He’ll tattle in detail and demand vengeance. The Whites will send him and four (yes, 4) WCV ‘enforcers’ back to The Lucky Penny to confront the problem. This should take all of an hour of time (or one scene, whichever is shorter).
If the group is still at the Penny when he returns, it will be a heads up fight without regard for hiding the supernatural nature of those involved. The patrons after all aren’t all that ‘together’ and their stories would just come across as nut-job ramblings.
If the group isn’t at the Penny, these guys will spread out in the Freemont Street area looking for them, or anyone who has seen them. If the group has remained within the Freemont Street area (on the street or in any building – casino or merchant – along Freemont under the canopy), these WCV’s will find them. Throw them in at an appropriately inopportune moment – and the fight is on. Again, they’re not concerned with subtlety.
If the group isn’t on Freemont Street any more, at least one of their members will have been ID’d well enough to get a location on them. Pick the one you feel is the best (read juiciest) candidate to track down. It will take longer, perhaps a scene or two, but the characters will be given ‘a message’ in the form of either extensive property damage (like their dwelling or vehicle trashed up badly, etc.), or (if one is isolated from the others) ambushed via tranquilizer dart and spirited away to somewhere private where they can be tutored in proper manners concerning WC property. If they’re in a group when the Whites find them… as above, the fight goes on. Regardless, once started the fight continues until everyone on one side has been taken out in some way.
If the characters lose, each of their personal dealings with the Whites specifically will be at a -2, while all other information sources (Contacts and the like) will be at a -1 (because of the hubbub they stirred up) until the end of the scenario (or they receive a milestone upgrade whichever you prefer). If the characters win, the reverse is true; they’ll get +1 under the same condition(s).
Additional Note: Though not really intended to be an extended fight scenario it can turn into one quickly and easily. If so, in the early segments Brinks should keep up to three non-Wizard caliber characters very busy. In the later parts the additional WCV’s could give the group a very harsh time. Brinks will only fight until taken out. The later adds might actually go for the kill. This depends on how badly they’re hurt when the time comes. The more severely they’re mauled the more they feel a need for
quid pro quo… if one of their members is killed, they’ll reciprocate one-for-one when possible. It is recommended that the players be given clear notice before the scenario begins that the possibility of actual character death exists within the scenario. Whether or not that happens is entirely up to them.
Also, I recommend not having the gremlin in the scene. Dismissing, controlling or destroying this little critter would pretty much destroy Brinks. He’s already on a razor’s edge (read near suicidal in his own right), this would push him over without question. So, unless you want Brinks to be a one-time-only encounter, don’t just give the group that level of weapon… unless, of course, you want to turn Brinks into a turncoat source for them because they hold his pet gremlin captive… muahahahah!
The RosterNelson ‘The Mutt’ Brinks - In my version of this character I’ve upped Nelson’s power to make him a much bigger threat. Instead of just Incite Emotion[Despair] (which requires touch), my Nelson’s power is upgraded to its limit, Incite Emption (Despair, [At Range, Lasting Emotion, Potent Emotion]) which gives him the ability to use it as a direct mental attack on a target (instead of just a maneuver or block) and requiring the target to defend with Discipline.
Gremlin High Concept: The Thing That Steals Your Socks And Makes Your Computer Break Down
Other Aspects: Unseen Prankster, Poetic? Justice
Skills:
Good: Craftsmanship, Stealth
Fair: Conviction, Discipline, Lore
Average: Athletics, Deceit, Contacts
Stunts:
[-1] Destructive Prankster (Craftsmanship): +2 to break things with Craftsmanship.
[-1] Boosted Hexes (Conviction): All technology is treated as though it were two steps lower on the hexing table.
Powers:
[-1] Diminutive Size
[-1] Cloak Of Shadows
[-2] Ritual (Entropomancy)
Total Refresh Cost: -6
Refresh Total: -2
Other WCV NPC’s – Use standard template
Enjoy
