Planning: The Bloody Countess

[detectiveofthewest]

Hi all, so I'm putting together a plot planned for later in June (no set date yet), which is basically this: A vampire royal is going to roll into town and decide she's pretty damn tired of following the rules. Instead, she's going to start some typical vampire shenanigans, which is to say setting up shop somewhere swanky, biting people, and generally being a menace. She'll be low-key at first; her victims and those of her minions will be dismissed as the work of a serial murderer by local police. But if no one stops her, well...

It's gonna be a bad time.



So why do I care?
Because there's plenty of opportunity to torture your characters, investigate, etc.! Carmilla is a very strong, very old vampire and she can totally mind control your character or show them terrible illusions and all that jazz if you so wish (though she does have to bite them first). If your character has some pent-up angst they haven't dealt with yet, she will happily help you exploit that!

Carmilla is also not above kidnapping, harming loved ones, and murder just because. Plus her bounty might help pay the bills?

A few notes:

• Because she's royalty, I'm going to set up a McGuffin item that can be used to kill her at the end.
• This plot will include blood and violence. Not gore, but... probably a lot of blood, yeah.

I'm at the beginning stages of planning this one, so let me know if you're interested in part or all of it!

Update 6/9:

Okay, so a bit of a planning update! I'm penciling in the main confrontation with the vampire countess for around 6/20 (that's next Saturday). In the meantime, her minions will slowly begin appearing around the city and I will probably be posting a related log or two as buildup.

I'm opening it up for anyone to NPC her minions, even if not directly involved in the plot. They're mostly everyday vampire minions, nothing special. Carmilla herself can also be NPCed, though I ask that if you do have your character encounter her, you leave her alive (well, undead) and sprightly for the final confrontation. If you have any questions about this, let me know!

Planned buildup:

• Investigating vampire rumors: Open to anyone. This is entirely open for different groups to run their own lines of investigation, as a countess rolling into town will probably make waves in several different directions. For example:
  • Heiji will get involved when a dead body (the victim of a vampire minion) practically falls into his lap.
  • Apollo will be interrogating a vampire minion and probably getting wind of the plot through police connections.
  • Sasuke has connections to Hillingdon and Apollo.
  • Your character may also get wind of the news through a news article or two. Nothing front-page, of course, probably just some nut running around stabbing people in the neck...
• Getting the Vampire-killing McGuffin: Open for signups. Still plotting this out a bit. Most likely, the McGuffin will be some kind of weapon made of ash and magicked with mysterious vampire-killing mojo. My basic idea is that it'll involve going to ask an NPC fae lord to borrow his cool vampire-smiting stick. Heiji will most likely be involved in negotiations.

I'm thinking the main confrontation log will include the following threads:

Outside Vampire HQ: anyone but especially Trevor, who will be committing vehicular destruction by driving into the building. A free-for-all in which everyone shows up and possibly wonders who invited all these other nerds.

Rescuing a hostage, possibly Magra: Clara, Heiji, Eren. What it says on the tin. Vampires are not above kidnapping.

Fighting the minions: Derek, Malia, Heiji, Trevor, Sasuke, Eren, ???. Basically a free-for-all.

Fighting Carmilla: A chance to be subjected to a Vampire Rant(TM) about how vampires are totally the best and all you other guys suck. Also, staking :'). Derek, Malia, Heiji, Trevor(?), Sasuke(?), Eren(?).

Comments

[apolly]

well you already know if the police are involved then apollo's gonna hear about it either way

i'm game!! i can help be the... uh, "introducing cast" if that makes sense. whatever i just love the shining

[detectiveofthewest]

yes, excellent. hmm a weird murder goddammit is hasegawa involved in this.

anything in particular you'd like to do with apollo, maybe have him interrogate a minion and ferret out the secret vampire lair, something like that?

[apolly]

i am the #1 man for interrogation of any kind so yes i'll do the honors

[detectiveofthewest]

hopefully this one won't start spouting puns...

btw apollo, I see you still haven't treated all your friends to burgers with your fat new paycheck, why is that >8(

but yeah, this'll be fun

[apolly]

because i am paying my way for the osaka trip YOU are hosting

[detectiveofthewest]

that's silly apollo, heiji is paying for your trip!

you need your money to buy people food.

[apolly]

i'm so glad to see heiji's spending priorities are in order, including the treatment of apollo's wallet.

[detectiveofthewest]

you like it justice, don't pretend

besides would you rather blow a couple hundred bucks on a plane ticket and then more on hotels, or buy your old pal a quarter pounder

[apolly]

i can't argue that logic

[eyeforaneye]

Ties to Apollo + being a member of Hillingdon would give Sasuke cause to be interested too! He could probably be a decent victim that'd help them get info since if he heard about it he'd try to investigate alone and quickly learn his lesson.

Ah, the young and idiotic... Just so long as he doesn't. You know. Permanently expire.

[detectiveofthewest]

Yes excellent, plus it would help with tuition money, I mean I'm sure her minions are worth something, too...

How are Sasuke's magic/skills now, btw?

[eyeforaneye]

Somehow I thought you were going to suggest he file an insurance claim. I'M TALKING TO MY boss LAWYER

He's a 3 for strength and a 5 for magic; mostly what he's bumping up are his fire/lightning abilities since there are people in game that have similar powers and can help him out. With his strength it's more in the realm of quick reflexes and speed with a few jacked up hits but definitely nothing remotely close to a vampire yet, let alone a tough one.

[detectiveofthewest]

I don't think they have supernatural insurance, Sasuke...

Okay, I haven't decided how strong she'll be exactly yet, but I imagine it'll require several people anyway. Plus vampires don't have great magic, BUT she can't be killed except by some really specific thing.

I might actually have her weakened by not having drunk enough blood, because I believe most characters rn aren't too too strong.

[eyeforaneye]

Sounds good! He'll definitely do what he can to help or at least burn half the escape routes out of pure spite and supply the hunters with more pointy objects.

Sweet revenge for any initial injuries.

[crystalmethod]

so like i was saying, i'm pretty open to serving any secondary/tertiary role the plot may need to move it along, but otherwise T can snipe. or provide vehicular assistance. ye.

[detectiveofthewest]

vehicular assistance

Well, I mean. Would he conceivably drive a vehicle into a building.

[crystalmethod]

you would absolutely not have to ask him twice

[detectiveofthewest]

cackles wildly

[chosetofight]

Wanda's come to London as a hunter, even if she'll be joining the Unseelie Court soon. So, she'll be keeping her ear to the ground for anything strange, which means she's pretty likely to get involved.

[detectiveofthewest]

Sounds cool!

[warmheartedly]

Hello yes this is Clara-mun, Melly, here!

It's definitely going to be Magra Seville, Clara's granddaughter, who gets nabbed because I'm evil and think it would be a good way to get Clara involved in this. Maybe Magra gets kidnapped because of her powers or because she has particularly tasty blood but yes. Suffer. :V

Anyone else is free to notice either Magra's disappearance from school if they have connections with Redbright Institute and/or a panicking Clara who is so out of whack that she ends up doing super ghostly things due to her temperament like make things rattle, lights flicker if she's in the room. Curious to know when you guys would like for the kidnapping to happen! I can do it anytime.

[detectiveofthewest]

Sob, Clara...

Yeah, I'm pretty open timelinewise, but I think it might make sense to have it happen close to the confrontation because otherwise Clara would be worried for an extended length of time and no one wants to see ghost grandma upset :(.

(Also because really, how long would those vampires be able to keep themselves from helping themselves to a snack...)

[warmheartedly]

Whenever people ask me how I treat my poor characters, I nowadays send them this gif:



To serious! Totally cool for it to be near endgame, two days or just a day before the major confrontation? Because I definitely cannot think of a reason why they wouldn't chow down on her while they had her in their grasp and keep her alive during the feeding since they're all about not following the rules and stuff.

Also yes ghost grandma being upset is an unhappy sight. Just panicked looks and flailing everywhere. Everywhere.

[detectiveofthewest]

PERALTA! Okay, that's not his real name but yeah, go to sleep it's late!

Ghost grandma :c

Don't worry, we will get your granddaughter back safe and sound!

[livelongenough]

Henry doesn't know enough about hunting and the like to actually get involved in the plot-plot, but I'd love to offer him for helping Magra (and Clara) after the rescue. Making sure Magra's not too hurt, etc.

[warmheartedly]

Ohhhh that would be amazing, please! Clara definitely would usher her granddaughter to him, somehow, and ask him to please please see if she's fine.

Just straight him burst into his room going hello yes remember my kidnapped grandchild please look at her she is back but she was with vampires???

And now I go to bed 4:05 rxactly

[kleptofaeniac]

Will Camilla have anything stealable after her death?

I'm asking for science.

[detectiveofthewest]

Uhhhh hmm, I didn't think about that. Let's see... she probably has like... jewelry? A nice hat? A dress which will probably be ruined after someone stakes her in it?

Was there anything in particular you were looking for :V? I guess she has the limo she rolled up in.

[kleptofaeniac]

Not really, lol I just figured a crazy old royal vampire like that would bring valuable things with her for security purposes!

[detectiveofthewest]

ok, well... if there's anything in particular you'd be interested in having kenzi steal, let me know :V. As long as it isn't something outrageous, I think it'd probably be ok but it might be worth checking with the mods if you want something like... idk whatever witches want. energy fields bigger than their heads.

[kleptofaeniac]

I think some nice diamond jewelry wouldn't be too crazy? Maybe something that has some sentimental value to vampires so as to make it something of an after-plot if that sounds okay?

[detectiveofthewest]

god I have no idea what would have sentimental value to a vampire. maybe she has a collection of THE BONES OF HER ENEMIES

but yeah, diamond jewelry sounds like something she'd have!

[kleptofaeniac]

coolness! After she gets staked I'll just make a separate post with Kenzi doing the do. People can catch her if they want.

[titanocidal]

Oh-ho! If things are going down around the 20th, I'll have the time to focus on this. Yesss.

Eren'll probably just Leeroy Jenkins his way in the thick of things. Everyone likes a good staking, right? For vampire fighting, he can be wherever plot needs him most, but what I'm most interested in is the Rescue Margra stuff. It might be useful to have someone with a super strong sense of smell around to help track her.

[detectiveofthewest]

...I'll be honest with you, I hoped we'd get that last wolf in there. So in that case, why don't I pencil you in for fighting the minions, and if you have time you can throw him in the boss fight?

I'll also ask Clara-mun if she's ok with Eren helping out with Magra!

Btw, I was wondering about the werewolves and phases of the moon thing, do the wolves in UG have their transformations under control yet?

Edit: She's ok with it!

[titanocidal]

The set is complete! And that sounds great!

As for the transformations, Eren doesn't have Moonlight Jewlery yet. I'm not sure if Derek has his (I don't thiiiink so, but he might have gotten some from Kenzi). Sadly, without that, they wouldn't be able to transform or use those nifty wolf fangs of theirs. Though the werewolf page mentions that "fae are capable of magic that could help a wolf in controlling their form" so if it comes down to it, that might be an option to think about too.

[detectiveofthewest]

dammit werewolves, why don't you accessorize properly?!

let's see... but werewolves do get stronger/weaker according to the moon phase, right? maybe we could tweak things a bit so it's at least half or 3/4 full...

[titanocidal]

Ah, right. The new moon is on the 16th this month.... That's pretty close to the event date.

So magic to force the moon's phase? The effects of that could be very interesting, not just for the event, but for the city in general. Alternately, we could check with Sky about adding a potion to the items page that simulates the effects of the moon, thus giving werewolves a temporary powerup. Of course, we'd still need a witch to actually make it.

[detectiveofthewest]

Or we might be able to simply forward-date it a bit, because I doubt the log's going to be finished on the day of the 20th :). With this many people, I don't think we'll be actually done till the 24th or 25th at fastest.

[titanocidal]

Ahhhh, that is much simpler. I like that.

[detectiveofthewest]

http://www.plurk.com/p/l1t6lg btw not sure if you prefer plurk for plotting or not but I thought we could work out a bit of how the three of them end up in greenwich outside vampire HQ?

[tippytoes]

Confirming Malia in for fighting the countess, and she'll also punch a few minions while she's at it!

[detectiveofthewest]

Excellent :)

[toilandendure]

Ho ho ho!

Tal here's a werewolf in the service of a local fae lord (npc?); because of the tensions between werewolves and vampires as soon as he susses out a Big Bad having rolled into town, he might help those working towards this to appeal to his lord!

I realise I'm a little late on this, but just a thought! c:

[detectiveofthewest]

Sounds rad, anything in particular you wanted Tal to do? :)

If he's a werewolf, he'd probably be good in a fight, though if you don't want to limit yourself to punching things Tal and Heiji could go together to negotiate for the stick of vampire smiting.

[toilandendure]

Let's do some negotiating! He can be a smooth talker when he's got a goal, and I think that'd be some interesting cr!

[detectiveofthewest]

Alright, cool :)

So many wolves around lately, what's this world coming to...