What makes or breaks it?: A look at Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines part 2

I bid the reader welcome to the next instalment to this look into Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. If the reader is new, I bid thee welcome to this little blog of mine. Let's get started here: In the previous instalment, Mark Flavian went through a tutorial section to get a gun, a baseball bat, a tire iron, a lockpick and some experience points before going to Santa Monica.

Here is a loading screen. Take note of the mention of werewolves.

Looking at the piece of paper on the desk, Mark discerns that it is a note from Mercurio that informs him of the password to his new PC and of some extra cash in the desk drawer.

There is also this mysterious note by one M. Strauss. Seems important enough to be resolved later.

Here is that money that Mercurio mentioned. One fun feature I do like here is the item descriptions. Some of them are filled with the right amount of snarky humour to balance out the grim nature of the world around the player.

Sunrise works! Mark has e-mail access. A tip to new players; check your e-mail regularly. Some e-mails provide quests while others are interesting to read. Others are just amusing spam to read.

I deleted two e-mails here and left the more relevant ones on screen.

Don’t forget to check this fridge for some blood packs. These can be life-savers and can save players time and cash if they are in need of some spare blood. There are different kinds of blood packs available.

The Inspection feat usually highlights obtainable items with an effect similar to the one in the picture. As a Malkavian though, the effect differs and appears more often due to the Malkavian insight.

Don’t forget to read this newspaper. This is the first link to a long quest-line. Apologies if the dated image seems too graphic.

This bum always approaches the player whenever they first emerge (at least in my Unofficial Patch runs). He usually provides another opportunity to raise your Humanity stat by giving him some spare change or can be used as a quick meal.

We emerge from the alleyway into Santa Monica proper.

That does not look good. Plus according to Mercurio’s e-mail, that happens to be his place. Since Mercurio is part of the story, the player can presume that the heavily injured man is Mercurio.

This is Santa Monica proper. I am not sure if the Unofficial Patch affects the wires of those electric posts as I have read that being a Malkavian causes them to see things.

Below Mark’s Haven in the same building is Trip’s Pawnshop. Like the name suggests, this is a pawnshop where the player can purchase or sell items obtained in the world.

This is Trip. There is a reason for this name.

For Plus Patch players, I suggest picking the fourth option. It opens a new side-quest that has a decent reward for completing it.

This is the interface for buying or selling items. It is simple and does its job for the most part.

This man always starts a conversation with your player character whenever you pass him by.

That’s a very dangerous question for Kine to ask but Mark will indulge the happy man.

This is Knox. He’s quite enthusiastic about things but like all things in this game, there is more than meets the eye. He is also a ghoul, a human who has taken enough vampire blood to enhance their bodies like providing enhanced strength, enhanced reflexes and regeneration. The vampire blood also has the added bonus, for the vampire at least, of being addictive so a vampire’s ghoul will always be loyal to the vampire who gave blood to them.

Knox can be found standing under the clinic that lies across the pawnshop.

This lady will always stop the player character from going on back from the front door. Mark could use his Dementation or use the cost-effective Persuasion option. The choice is rather straightforward.

This girl is Heather Poe. She was in a car accident and is dying from all of her injuries. The player can find out about all this from a computer in the clinic

This is the only doctor in the clinic. He is currently handling a man who had been shot in the head. Unlike Doc Mitchell from Goodsprings, it is rather obvious that there is nothing he can do about it.

This is one of the fun things about being a Malkavian: Few can understand what you are saying which affects conversations in-game. It’s these many things that make the game more enjoyable.

Remember what I said about vampire blood? In this situation, the player can save Heather by giving her blood at the risk of turning her into a ghoul. On the other hand, she could die without the blood. Due to repeated runs through this game, I know what the best option is.

Turn her into a ghoul, of course! Seriously though, saving her life can net some additional benefits for the player later on and I have a soft spot for dear Heather.

Throughout the game, the player can find skill-books like this that can boost stats and feats. The Plus version of the Unofficial Patch removes them from shops to balance the game and honestly, I do not have a lot of issues with that.

This door has a name-plate on it and according to the computer records in the previous room, the only doctor that works at night here is one Malcolm St. Martin. I wonder…

Getting past a locked door with Bloodbuff, the player will notice these morphine bottles. These bottles will be important for later. Note that the player can find the keys to this room somewhere in the building.

Seems that Martin has a little secret. The first three e-mails are from a female medical student who is having a relationship with Doc Martin here. The fourth e-mail is from the Doc’s wife.

For not helping Heather, Mark will pay the cheating doctor a visit.

I like this bit because it teaches the player that exploration can be rewarded, usually with money.

Downstairs from the clinic is the Blood Bank. The person running the counter is this guy named Vandal. He’s a creep.

See what I mean? He gets worse. Vandal is the player’s main source of purchasable blood packs so speak to him whenever the player character needs a quick fix of blood.

Outside Mercurio’s apartment is this man. He is rich and alone so the player can ask him for money through persuasion or intimidation. I reloaded this bit and levelled up my persuasion so I got some cash and his watch (but took a hit to my Humanity score for mugging the guy).

At the gallery directly across from Mercurio’s place, there is this grill fence that can be pulled off. Stronger clans like the Brujah can break them by default while weaker clans will need Bloodbuff. There is a reason for this being here.

This is Mercurio’s place according to the e-mail. It looks a lot better than Mark’s Haven but at least Mark’s place has a bed.

Meet the man on the couch, Mercurio! One thing to add, I like how the Malkavian character refers to him as Mercury, the fleet footed messenger god of the Roman gods. There are a lot of allusions made by the Malkavian’s tendency to give nicknames to everyone they speak to.

The boom-boom (or rather the Astrolite) is Mark’s next objective. Seems that LaCroix needs the explosives for something but Mercurio was attacked by the thugs holding onto said explosives.

Here, Mercurio outlines the various methods available to the player. A quick tip: pick the second option here (or the option that allows the player character to offer assistance to Mercurio.

Here is why I mentioned the morphine bottles. While Mercurio is a ghoul who can regenerate from his injuries, the pain is still present. Since I am playing as a kind-hearted madman, I give him the morphine.

Here Mercurio begs the player to not tell his superiors about his failure. Players should consider his plea.

This is a walker of the night. The player character can pay them to accompany them to isolated places which allows the player character to… suck their blood.

Blackmail is so rewarding for vampires, in fiction and real-life!

From Main Street, the player can enter this garage to access the beach and the other street. Access to the 2^nd Street also includes the alleys behind the clinic.

Have a listen to this conversation. Seems the second cop has seen something that should have remained masked.

This character always approaches the player whenever they reach the beach.

Take note of what she says, especially those who have played the game before.

The Dark Father? I wonder why he seeks to get behind this person?

A chase? Top of the city? Hmm…

This is Rosa. She is a thin-blood (I will explain this later or let a character explain this) who was embraced by a Malkavian Sire. As a result of this, she gets visions and further insight into the future without being a babbling madman like Mark.

This pawn would not happen to be someone I know, would it?

I recommend players to pay her the twenty dollars that the player character offers to give her. Rosa provides a lot of foreshadowing and as a veteran player, it is always fun to connect what she is saying to future events.

What will happen in the next few nights? I wonder…

Who can Mark trust? The man on the couch and the lone wolf, eh…

Who are Mark’s foes?

Who has a job for Mark?

Don’t open it. A phrase that has plagued many discussions of this game.

And I did buy the game! Incidentally, I forgot to screen-cap one of the conversation options but the answer for that one is not satisfying so no loss.

This can be found on the beach by the water-line under the wooden pillars of the pier. There is a reason for this.

By this building on the pier is this pack of Bubble Bum. Again, there is a reason for this.

This is the corpse from the newspaper. Looking at it updates the quest in the journal which notes that no human could inflict such wounds.

Since Mark is getting hungry, I let him feed off this officer. Mark did not drain him dry.

This is Julius, another thin-blood. He is important for later.

That is an odd question to ask.

This is Cooper, another thin-blood. He thinks it is possible to be cured of vampirism so he asks the player character about it. The player has the option of conning him with the items I have been pointing out so far like the stake, the gum and the blood packs. This nets the player money and several hits to their Humanity score along with a Masquerade violation if the player tells him that the President is the head vampire. It is morbidly hilarious to do.

Like I said before, I’m role-playing a kind-hearted madman so I tell him the truth and remind him that while there is no turning back from being a vampire, it is possible to survive with such a condition. Or its equivalent in Malkavian tongue. Did I mention how much I like Malkavians?

This is E, the guy Rosa pointed out. He does have a job for Mark: Find out what happened to his thin-blood Sire and ex-girlfriend, Lily and find out what is a thin-blood.

From the beach, the only other place to see is the 2^nd Street since we have already seen most of what lies in Main Street. I probably should mention how to navigate this town later on.

This is 2^nd Street. Note the place on the left. It will be important for later. Take note of the place on the right named Foxy Boxes.

Earlier, E mentioned meeting Lily in a diner. I guess this is the diner.

Upon entering the diner, the player will notice this man to their left. I’m sure he is not going to be important… Even Auspex says…

The player can trick the cashier to think that they are the health inspector so that she gives you the usual bribe. A Nosferatu player that speaks to her will get a hilarious sequence instead.

Speaking to her again, the cashier does recall meeting Lily who the former was kind to.

This is a photo of Lily so that Mark knows how she looks like.

A bail bond for Rolf Toten… I wonder…

If the reader can recall, I mentioned deleting some e-mails. One of these e-mails was an advert for Kilpatrick’s Bail Bonds and his publicly available computer that contains records of people with bail bonds. This is the place.

This is Arthur Kilpatrick. He happens to be the key master but thankfully for this dimension, I am not the gate keeper.

Asking him about being a bail bondsman will lead to him mentioning his current bounty hunter who went missing.

This is another side-quest.

This is the Krimeputer. The player will be using this for several quests.

The records mention a car that a certain Rolf Toten owns. I wonder if it is in the parking garage I was in before I got here…

As for navigation, look for bus stop signs. They always have maps of the areas that the player can roam around. Since I have played this game often, I know most of these areas by heart.

Oh here it is. Red car.

Inside the car is a tire iron and a diary. It is rather obvious what should be taken to proceed with the quest.

The diary is an interesting read and provides a vital clue to Lily’s whereabouts. Apparently she wants to rob the blood bank in Santa Monica.

Before that, time to convince Trip to reveal his secret inventory!

Most of the guns here are useless but it is good to have the option to buy guns.

We could pick the lock ourselves or we could ask Vandal to let us in.

With a decent Persuasion and the player’s own intuition to call Vandal’s bluff with your own bluff, the door is unlocked.

Take note of the Laundry room here.

This is Phil. Phil knows things.

Like the code to a freezer and of someone inside the freezer. A female person. Hmm…

The laundry room has a hole inside that leads to the morgue. More importantly, it offers an alternate way to the blood bank by allowing the player to unlock these doors from the side Mark is on.

Freezers with a keypad? Let’s try that code…

The plot thickens.

This person has the same shirt as Lily in the picture. Looks like Mark has caught a break in his investigations. Let’s release her and see what happens next!

Oh… poor Phil. Then again, he is implied to be complicit in locking her up so I guess this is karmic penance?

By the way, I always chuckle whenever the camera pans to the player character in this scene. Their eyes always go nuts here. I presume it is an animation bug that could not be fixed before the game was released.

This part visually showcases the danger of Frenzy: Total loss of control.

Verbal confirmation! We have found her!

Now, an explanation on thin-bloods.

There is more to the thin-blood matter than this but I’ll let someone else explain it later.

I’m pretty sure that this part determines how this quest ends. Being the kindhearted madman, Mark tells Lily that E wants to see her again.

Uh… Vandal, you need to fix your priorities. By the way, there are many ways to resolve this situation here. My favourite one is the Malkavian’s way.

Laughter is the best medicine for anything. Including anger.

Despite dealing with Vandal, Mark decides to help Vandal with the loss of his prior blood doll. I picked this option because of a later quest that allows me to use this quest as a solution through additions made by the Plus Patch.

Now the key master mentioned that his previous bounty hunter, Carson, went missing and gave me the key to Carson’s place which is the same building as Mercurio’s.