[VtR][Mature] Born into Darkness: Arc 1

[sblock=OOC ]
Sorry for the slowness
Looks like my company is being "integrated" with another one. Hopefully the impact on my posting in the future will be minimal.

Re: Holdout
Got it. Thanks for the link. I'd forgotten.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Dominate]
Blood, I think we've mentioned this before but Dominate * does not get someone's attention. I realize it seems like it should, because Dominate requires you to get someone to look at you, but the discipline itself just doesn't provide that function.

Dominate * allows one-word commands. So you can tell someone to "freeze" or "stop!" and provided the necessary requirements are fulfilled (eye contact, they understand the language you're speaking, action isn't certain suicide, your roll beats their roll, etc) they'll follow that one command

Dominate ** Lets you give complex commands. Effectively it grants you access to a (rudimentary and uncertain) programming language for people. Generally Dominate * can be used to get someone to freeze long enough for you to start the process of using Mesmerism; but it doesn't let you get people's attention.

Dominate ** basically isn't a combat power. I'm not saying I'd never let you use it. But to work well your instructions need to be thorough and your target needs to have time to absorb them. At the very least a simple set of combat related commands would probably take 3-5 turns to implant.

In this context, I've decided that Cole is going to "enter the room and try to get eye contact with the Slasher so he can use dominate to stop it from fighting". After he realizes he can't get it's attention, he'll pull out the holdout and use it to get it's attention (in Cole's experience people look at the man with the gun).
[/sblock]

The Slasher skitters forward along the ceiling. It's above the bare bulbs that are providing illumination. The harsh light throws distended shadows along the walls. It tries to slip past Beth, first feinting to her right then to her left.
The neonate's just too fast though, which ever direction the old man moves Beth is there, meat cleaver in hand.

Archer and Cole simultaneously push past Diego into the room.
The thief hefts the knife he's just pulled from his throat, the balance is all wrong, it's going to be a tough throw. He reflexively pushes more blood into his wound, healing it further.

The Slasher jumps forward pulling another knife from somewhere and leaps forward. Her warding arms and deft speed have prevented the worse, but Beth's left with long gashes on both arms.


Cole moves forward, trying to get the Slashers' eye, but it's totally focused on Beth.
Archer half crawls half scrambles under the fray toward the counter.
Beth snarls and smacks the old man in the head with the meat cleaver.

In stopping to stab at Beth the Slasher has stopped moving, dangling by one arm. Blood from the long gash Beth's strike opened on it's head drips into it's eyes. Diego takes his throw.

[sblock=Diego Knife throwing]If you'd rolled that for MC the guy would have been out the door.
For World of Darkness Knife Throwing is Athletics plus Dex so you have five dice not six. The knife isn't balanced for throwing (at all) so that's -2.
Following the rules for Modifying Die Rolls (see post in OOC) thread you have a 10,9,10.
Since you have two 10s you reroll those. (The hits.open mechanic will do this automatically for you.)
Unfortunately you got no extra successes[/sblock]
The knife wobbles unevenly through the air, but fortune smiles on the thief and the blade slides deep into the old man's arm pit. It looses it's grip on the ceiling crashing onto the small table in front of Beth.

Cole realizes the man is reacting to threats. He's going to need to do a bit more to get it's attention. He whips out the hold out and pokes it at the Slasher's face. Finally it looks at him. He tries to exert his will commanding the primitive to "stop". But the stubborn old man resists him.

Leaps part way up onto his hands and feet, prone on the table he makes quick slashing motions at Cole's face, Beth's feet, forcing the coterie back and buying himself some space.

Archer glances around behind the counter. But he's badly distracted by the fight and doesn't see a fire extinguisher or notice anything else of interest.

Then, the slasher spastic rapid moments suddenly slow. Previously sure movements turn awkward. With a crash he tumbles from the table top to the floor, limp.

[sblock=Combat is over]You can check out the condition tracker for your character's status.
Briefly:
Beth and Diego both have 8 blood (he from healing, she from celerity) and two wounds.
Beth and Cole have also spent a willpower point.
[/sblock]
 

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"Hmph," from behind the counter Archer looked at the old man as though he was a troublemaking customer.

Without the fight distracting him Archer searched again for a fire extinguisher. And rope.

"Guess he must have been clinging to the ceiling for quite a while if he's exhausted, or his drugs have given out, already. I'd recommend we tie him up before getting down to business."

Archer looked concerned as his gaze passed over the old man's crumpled form, but it wasn't the old man he was worried about. Things were moving too fast for his liking, but on the other hand, if they hadn't hit the store that night the old man would have given word to relevant parties and destroyed potential leads.

After his spiel about subtlety he presently felt about as subtle as half 'a brick in a sock. Hypocrisy didn't sit well with him.
 
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Diego stand there rubbing his wound, they seemed strange with no blood coming from them. "And that is why I didn't want to open the door." he says quietly.
 

[sblock=Archer]Archer doesn't find a fire extinguisher anywhere behind the counter or anywhere in the room. While he's not up on local fire codes that is almost certainly a violation of some regulation.

Archer does find a big machete though. It's crude, with a wooden handle. Poking around produces a battered old calculator, an abacus, some paper, a few notebooks (tallies of things with columns for numbers, looks like inventory).

There are also some bits of a hemp-like rope lying around in one of the cabinets behind the counter, probably for bundling herbs.[/sblock]

[sblock=Beth -- Piercings]Now that you have some time to look at it there are some distinct simliarites between this Slasher and the white modern primitive looking guy who kidnapped you.
Several large piercings are virtually identical including a piece of curved black rock through the septum, a large bone through the flesh below the neck and the skin of the stomach.
The old man has a lot more, small pieces of bone embedded on his right pectoral, and virtually nothing on his left.
Your kidnapper Beth was more "balanced" with bones of various sizes and shapes sorts on both left and right sides of his chest.[/sblock]

[sblock=Cole]Cole's been to Africa, and around the world. He's met a lot of different sorts of people in his day. He hasn't met a lot of S. E. Asians, especially short mean looking ones with peircings.
But he has seen a few in the City before, traveling around with Giselle. He hasn't paid them much attention really, they just noting the basic details. Up till now they hadn't done more than add to her "exotic ambiance".

It could just be a coincidence of course.[/sblock]
 

Beth bends over and looks curiously at the primitive bastard. After a moment she reaches down and jerks the black rock free from his nose, and not the easy way.
 

The piece of polished basalt comes out with a rough tug, splattering a bit of blood onto Beth's fingers.

It's smooth and polished; irregularly shaped, large for a piercing but small enough to fit completely into her palm.

There is a small hacking sound as the old man stops breathing. There's a bit of bloody foam at the corners of his mouth, and some more where the crude knife protrudes from his armpit.
 

Beth absently licks the blood off her fingers as she inspects the rock, and then looksk curiously to the others. "So I'm guessing someone's going to be a little pissed off about this?"
 

Diego shrugs, he didn't really care. "Bastard shouldn't of stabbed me in the throat." he rasped.



[sblock=ooc] Graf, your right about the knife throwing thing, but my Dex is 4 and athletics is 2, so I should have 6 dice. Doesn't really matter, just figured I would say something in case the RG thread is wrong on my scores. [/sblock]
 

[sblock=OOC -- Only]Thanks for pointing that out. Sorry if I made a mistake, I'll check later today to see how I got that wrong.[/sblock]
 

Cole Braddock

We will deal with them when the time comes.” Answers Cole as he scans the room before looking back at the defeated Ghoul. A disappointed look scrolls across his face as the ghoul quickly spasisms and then dies. “Damn. It would have been informative if he had enlighten our current standing before passing. Any of you recognize these markings? They remind me of some of Giselle’s henchmen, but that could be just coincidence.” He asks as he inspects the corpse further. “If he will not volunteer the information we seek, then perhaps his corpse and this shop will. Mr. Archer, Mr. Diego, would you mind searching the shop’s back room? Ms. Beth and I will search out here.
 

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