Magick in Montreal (or, How does a Clanless Bring Down the Camarilla?)

Vampire: The Masquerade much?

In the mid 90's, this game was all the rage with a lot of folk I know, myself included (though I had more of a Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Mage: The Ascension. There were even a few folk who espoused Changeling: The Dreaming but in my group the other games in the World of Darkness series never really surfaced. The game was considered cool, but in all honesty never caught on with my group. We were also busy playing Rifts and Dungeons & Dragons to really get caught up in the emotional angst these games try to convey. A bit high brow, really, for teenagers.

For many years, I saw the World of Darkness with acute disdain. I sold all my books and vowed never to be an emo vampire guy. Freaking NERDS, man, amirite? I mean, what's to like about vampires hiding out sucking on people's necks. It always bothered me, that as a vampire I might one day be compelled to suck on another man's neck. Even in game, this is a bit too far for me. God love those guys who like to lick other guy's necks, but I am not one of them. Instead of conveying the sense of dread they were supposed to convey, all I get instead is some homosexual overtones. Too highbrow for teenagers, too girly for me in old age.

In 2008, our gaming group took up pen and paper role playing regularly again. When the other Gamemaster type in the group is given his choice of game, what game should he pick but World of Darkness. Oh, no...not this again.

This wouldn't be the new game, however, but the old one from the 90's with all the "dirty" books. Since then we have played in a few games run by two different GM's. Montreal 2008/2009, a short Vampire campaign set in the titular city, run by a close friend, and Space Marine 2009, a Dark Heresy based game with the players running Adeptus Astartes as characters ran by myself. After wrapping that up, we have started another World of Darkness game that is a continuation of the earlier Montreal campaign that I am calling Magick in Montreal, simply because that amuses me.

The short and small of the game thus far is this: Dave Bone (myself, natch) and his colleagues have achieved dominion over the city of Montreal, and have established a strong base of power there by uniting the various supernaturals of the domain to fight against the effects of entropy. Once a clanless vampire and the rabble of the vampiric underworld, under Bone's leadership the newly formed E-Branch is endorsed by the Canadian government, and given authority and support to act in various ways to protect the Canadian populace from supernatural threats.

Interested yet? Our game is sort of a strange mix of Forever Knight and Angel. Like all World of Darkness games I have played, it's more kin to Benny Hill with superpowers, to put it in the words of another net-goer.

Now, I should tell you why I'm posting. I need help. We have a strong team of supernaturals and a growing network of influence, but something strange has happened. Dave Bone managed to put his shattered avatar back together after journeying in the spirit world to Horizon, and overcame God's curse. He became mortal again, and in doing so awakened his Avatar. And he possessed at least one dot in each sphere. Over the last few weeks, E-Branch's true agenda has been revealed to most involved with it, including the Canadian government.

In the World of Darkness, at least the old one, the world is coming to an end. My buddy the GM has elected to run the final days campaign and even bought like every single book in the line. We have crossed Vampire, Werewolf, Mage and Wraith (it has been ruled Changeling is a little too fey for our group to be comfortable with). The various supernaturals call this force of destruction different things, but the Red Star is in the sky. Gehenna is upon us. The wyrm is risen. Oblivion ...yadda yadda yadda. It's all a result of entropic elements in the tapestry, or in layman's terms, destructive forces throughout static reality.

E-Branch must avert the cataclysm. The world must not end, for if it does, all these books are just collector's items. No, seriously. I don't want to play new World of Darkness when it's my buddy's turn again to run the game.

So the idea, so far is this: the awakened paradigm must be changed. The public view of the world must change to accept the fact that there are forces they do not and cannot understand, or for lack of a better phrase, normal folk must believe in Magick. For Dave Bone, this means Ascension.

Already the government is in on gently changing the populace's perceptions. Viral videos and other propaganda campaigns are destabilizing the paradigm with bumper stickers that say small, innocuous appearing phrases such as Vampires are real or Have you seen a ghost? Call 1-800-Ebranch. Mystic sigils designed to bring a sleeper to a closer state of awakening are beginning to trickle into media everywhere, and the Technocracy remains generally ignorant of this, as does the Camarilla. Which brings me to the problem I need help with.

Last game, we recorded E-Branch's third recorded kill of a confirmed Antediluvian. Lasombra, Gangrel and now, Tzimizce. We weren't the only ones, however...the Tzimizce Antediluvian died howling, amidst vulgar magick and laser toting werewolves, right in the middle of Times Square in New York city (E-Branch is working with multiple governments). It was recorded by hundreds of camcorders and camera phones, in its entirety.

Dave Bone and his companions cannot allow the Camarilla to cover this up - it's crucial that this information be protected with Magick, which has already been done to prevent the Delerium in all those present and also to safeguard the memories. It's had a traumatic effect on people, and Bone might be responsible for a few spontaneous awakenings in the last few days.

Now, E-Branch's enemies will make a play. Specificially, I need to know how to deal with the Camarilla.

Bone is no longer a vampire, but Montreal is his city. He was the prince before he was mortal. In any case, he is ready to announce the secession of Montreal, and perhaps Canada from the Camarilla. How will they take this?

Bone is only mortal now, but his personal bodyguard consist of some very powerful werewolves and supremely powerful vampires who share Bone's vision of paradigm shift and continued existence (basically, the player character group). The Archon of the Camarilla and the Warlord are in Montreal right now, and as we return from New York, Bone needs to be prepared to deal with a vampire onslaught attempting to stop him from doing away with the Masquerade forever.

Now the game is more like True Blood but with some Dresden Files and Red Dwarf thrown in. Hell, Bone is ready to get a True Blood like series going on HBO to help soften the paradigm. Think about it. If the government told you vampires were real and they were gonna regulate that shit, would you believe them? In the World of Darkness, the softening of the paradigm might allow those with the will and the ability to use some serious Magick to eliminate the entropic elements and restore balance to the tapestry. In game terms, I think this means eliminating a sizable portion of the vampire population, malignant were creatures and dark spirits.

How does Bone convince more and more people that this supernatural phenomena is real? How do we defeat or alternately cow/amalgamate the Camarilla? We have scattered the Sabbat to the winds. The whole reason for the existence of said organization is to protect the Masquerade. Which to all intents and purposes, is null and void. If the paradigm is not changed, the Masquerade will not matter. The vampires cannot save themselves from the Antediluvians.

However, E-Branch can.

Warhammer 40,000 Project Log

March 13th, 2010

Season: Warhammer 40,000

Army: Alpha Legion (1000)

Unit: Ravage

Yo! It’s been a bit but I’m finally finished with this new tank. My inconsistency has set me back in the project, so I’m going to fight to catch up to my self-imposed schedule I set myself to fifteen months ago.

Anyways, on to the tank!

The most noticeable difference is that this one uses Midnight Blue as the base color rather than the Storm Blue I used on Spite. Storm Blue is off the market, though I might be able to find some in someone’s unused and forgotten paint stack someday. However, I’m not really disappointed with the look. It’s definitely darker, but that’s not such a big deal really.

I varied the riveting on this one as well, with silver instead of brass rivets along the length of the hull. The contrast paid off well I think, though the look is far from uniform with Spite. Side by side the two tanks are very distinct, but not like they don’t belong to the same military force. Or at least I like to think so.

Warhammer 40,000 Project (Back) Log

October 13, 2009

Season: Warhammer 40,000

Army: Alpha Legion (1000)

Unit: Umbral Master Galean

Well it’s been quite some time since anything has left my miniatures palette, putting me months behind on the Project. I am undaunted, however, as the time I spent on the terrain has really paid off. I’ll be taking some battle pics so I’m sure those should be floating around wherever you found this blog.

Anyways, on the matter at hand – my ever-loving Chaos Sorcerer, Umbral Master Galean. Well, this was kind of an experiment, I’ll admit. I wasn’t sure which direction to go in with the Robe or the Sword on this model, so in the end I just stuck as much as possible to my color scheme.

I had originally thought of a serpent style green for the Robe, and a reddish hued power weapon for the Sword like the rest of my champions. I’m glad it came out this way, as it doesn’t look too garish in a squad. The white on the Robe and Mask sets him apart just enough.

Anyways, there he is…most of my other command will probably turn out much like him. The Umbral Stalkers are nearly completed at 1000 pts!

Warhammer 40,000 Project (Back) Log

February 6th, 2009 – October 1^st, 2009

Season: Warhammer 40,000

Army: Alpha Legion (1000)

Unit: Commander Jhevex’s Legionnaires

On this unit I again had half the squad done already, from back in ’03. The way I split my existing units meant that on most of them half the marines were already painted. I had to split them by special weapons, for you can no longer have a heavy weapon in a squad under 10 men. My original three squads were seven men, and now are ten.

These are the five men of Squad Jhevex that were already painted. Notice the Impurity Seal on Commander Jhevex’s shoulder. Most impious!!

The marine to the right of the missile launcher was a prototype I had done using a buddy’s spare marine and another buddy’s spare chaos bits, from ’02. It sat on my computer desk with a few other ‘prototype’ style models for about six months before I decide I wanted a proper army of Alpha Legion – right about the time they updated the Codex in ’03.

Another interesting story – the marine to the left of the plasma gunner I got extremely angry with while I was working on it…I don’t really remember why. Anyways, my temper could get the better of me back then…and I crushed it with my fist. My girlfriend, who saved a lot of my models I had deemed unworthy, came in to find the foolish marine in its constituent atoms. After a short dialogue concerning how not to give up on things immediately, I put that marine back together again. The only evidence that it was ever broken are the cracks across its horn, which I inked in and decided it looked pretty cool!

On the remaining five men, I wanted to emphasize the green a little more so I put a little more on the more raised areas of the models, and toned it back down with a Nauseating Blue inking.

I would not return to this project for nearly 8 months, during which time I built a new game board for us to play our games on and get a little more interest generated in the community. This has set me back almost a year on this project blog, so I will be generating more and finishing what I have begun. If I work hard enough, I will be caught up with where I want to be in the project. Yes, I’m clocking myself – and I intend to get what I had planned to get done this year completely finished.

 

Stay tuned! More to follow soon!

Warhammer 40,000 Project (Back) Log

January 23rd, 2009

Season: Warhammer 40,000

Army: Alpha Legion (1000)

Unit: Vindicator Spite

Alright, it’s time to roll out some guns!! I need some vengeance with my Alpha Legion, and I’ve decided that the best way to get that is with a Demolisher Cannon. So, this is the first of my Vindicators to roll off the pirated Imperial Armor ship – the much feared Annihilator, also known as Siege Gun 1!

Each Siege Gun will be the focal point of a detachment within the army, usually consisting of the Siege Gun itself and a 10-man Chaos Space Marine squad, such as Commander Shadax’s Legionnaires from my last blog, and a support unit such as Chosen or a Sorcerer.

Did someone just say something about Alpha Legion can’t have Vindicators?!?! I never heard such a thing… Anyways, this is actually a Space Marine Vindicator, which I got from my FLGS because he didn’t have Chaos Vindicators. In fact, I got two Space Marine Vindicators, with only a single Chaos upgrade sprue and some assorted other bits the shopkeep was able to scrounge for my project. The Umbral Stalkers (my Alpha Legion detachment) simply stole these Vindicators, because they were available and they knew how to use them. Voila! Instant Fluff.

It’s been a long time since I put a tank kit together and it really shows…I think it could have gone together better, but I didn’t spend a lot of time on it and was half watching a movie. Dreamcatcher…I had never seen it before, and that guy from Band of Brothers was in it…and that guy from Deadwood…and that guy – but I digress from the point. My last tank was a Land Raider back in ’04, so it’s been quite some time…nearly five years…since I painted a tank.

I decided to paint the vehicle in three parts: The tank, the siege ram and the cupola, with a cool marine stickin’ his head out lookin’ about. On the metal I will emphasize the Tin Bitz coloring in the scheme, and try to bring out the green on the armor plates without making it look too splotchy.

I diddled around and didn’t get much done this week, but its working. I’m going to speed it up next week, and should have this tank done in time for the next blog. It took hours to get the Nauseating Blue on evenly, and then highlighting and fixing the most glaring of my mistakes took even longer.

Siege Gun 1, Callsign Spite. Yeah, baby…this here lil’ ol’ tankerism is gonna rack up the kills come D-Day, I guarantee. Recently we played a small campaign against a friend’s DIY Space Marines (“The Infinity Watch”), and although my enemies didn’t have much in the way of armor I bemoaned my Legion, dispossessed as they were of their Infiltrate ability. How I yearned for my siege guns…

Anyway, this’ll fix all of that. It took quite some time to do the shading, all blues, greens and black. I played with it for a long time to get something like what I was seeing in my head, and I’m actually quite pleased with how it turned out. The construction was kinda botched and it’s readily apparent, but I’m not going to point it out for you! Ha!

Behold, the pristine Spite in all his shiny glory. I have a thing for tanks that are spankin’ new. The Necron and Tau trophies on the top racks are painted how I’d like to eventually paint armies for those races. I have it planned for like 4 years from now, so if I’m still alive maybe we’ll see that on my blog here eventually.

Warhammer 40,000 Project (Back) Log

(This is an old post, but I brought it here while experimenting with formatting this blog. It's included here along with a few others for continuity. I apologize if you've seen these before, if not then take a look.)

January 9^th, 2009

Season: Warhammer 40,000

Army: Alpha Legion (1000)

Unit: Commander Shadax’s Legionnaires

Welcome to my blog!! This record exists to impel my army construction and completion through threat of embarrassment by several means, including through failure to meet deadlines, crappy paintjobs, terrible innuendos and general overall malaise. We begin the year in the Warhammer 40,000 season in my game club, and that means I need a 40k army!!

I’ve been collecting and gaming for several years, but I never seem to get around to painting everything I collect. This has led to several boxed up armies that are half completed or damaged from years of storage. No more!! Starting with this project, the armies will all be completed in much less time than if I just allowed myself to stare at them for another year.

So, a 1000 point army for Warhammer 40,000 is what I need, and with last years release of Codex: Chaos Space Marines it seems a no-brainer to choose them as the first of my languishing armies to receive the treatment! Alas, after reading the codex it became clear that my army would have to change – drastically.

I started this army when the previous codex was released in 2003, around the time of Eye of Terror. I loved the pic of the Alpha Legionnaire in that book, so I collected a themed army that was my version of the Legion. In the earlier draft of the list (2003-2007) I ran these guys as a completely infiltrating team of power armor commandos. No vehicles, nobody who couldn’t infiltrate. I want to point out that the original list was created before the massive boost Infiltrate got in 4^th edition. It became much more powerful then, much to my benefit. Well, enough with that, GW says!! No more infiltrating with basic troops! Or Characters!!

So the army needed a new slate. I dreamed up a new concept, wrote a new list, got rid of several miniatures, and bought a few new ones. Instead of the infiltrating army list I had for four years, now I will possess something a few people might claim is “unfluffy” – an Alpha Legion siege brigade. Yes that’s right. No cultists. Just Vindicator tanks, baby.

These are the five members of Squad Shadax I painted back in 2003, and I will have to apologize for crappy paint jobs and blurry photography…I’m a novice with the camera and it’s an old 3.2 mega pixel. I’m going to learn how to do this right, so any suggestions you could give would be nice – I know I need a new digicam.

I had several models from different squads painted, but I’ve had to add troops and move around special weapons within units to the point I’m just building new units from scratch. These are the painted fellows that made it into this squad. I include this because for the rest of the unit I had to do some color matching – Storm Blue isn’t made anymore. I chose Nauseating Blue as the stand in color, and went to work.

Painting the units breaks down into about five phases: Nauseating Blue basecoat, Goblin Green drybrush, Mithril Silver trim, leather accessories; and tassels, horns, and eyes. After that, I paint the base and apply a lacquer coat (for that finished look, also protects my models for years of abuse and neglect). Some people don’t like the gloss lacquer; I find it to be necessary for peace of mind.

So I’m going to be using a few different materials than back in 2003 – I no longer have the material I made the basing with, so I’m going to approximate on all the new models and hope that it doesn’t look out of place with the rest of the army. No Storm Blue, no basing materials…

This pic is stage 2 and 3, respectively, on two very similar miniatures from this squad. I have to say that I think the Nauseating Blue and increased amount of Goblin Green turned out well, even if you can’t really see the green highlighting too well in my pic. I almost don’t want to proceed to stage 3 on the rest…hmm, maybe should keep that idea around for the Chosen, later on.

Adding the trim changes the look of the model a whole lot. Stage 3 is of course the most time consuming and tedious…and easy to mess up. You guys will probably catch a lot of my mistakes, but time is kind of an issue for me. Still, he looks pretty close to the old ones I painted, and that’s the goal!!

This is the finished unit, after basing and transfers have been applied. It looks great together with the old ones and without really looking at it, it’s hard to pick out which is which. Objective completed.