A Look at Vampire the Masquerade – Bloodlines Part 8

And now for a new instalment of my own look at Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines. At this point, this plays out like a LP archive and that is the most likely case since my commentary would only amount to fan commentary.

Before meeting with Jezebel Locke, Mark pays a visit to a woman he is seducing to become a blood-doll.

This is the lobby of Empire Hotel; home to two of Mark's targets. It looks nice.

The best way to get Jezebel's location is to ask this receptionist for her location.

Of course like any sensible person, he refuses. Then again, the person asking him is a strange pale man who is currently shirtless and appears to have pulled out all of his hair.

With Persuasion, this is easily resolved. Dementation would have done the same.

Since there are no stairs for Mark to take, the sensible thing to do is use the elevator.

Floor 5 is where she is at. Usually I make the mistake of picking Floor 6 and wind up dealing with Boris.

Room 4's logo has a key-card on it. This must be the place.

Meet Jezebel Locke and looks like she goes right down to business. There is definitely something off about her.

Another person who recognises the player character is Malkavian! I ought to start keeping score at this point.

The Ninth Circle... So that's the group behind the plague. Now Mark has a name to identify. She eventually turns hostile and attacks.

Jezebel Locke is not that tough since there are plenty of furniture to act as obstacles.

In her room is this book that Mark cannot identify at the moment.

Taking the elevator back down, Mark now goes to finish off Boris and his goons.

This whole floor belongs to Boris and happens to be a combat zone. The player is free to do whatever they want to Boris here.

Since it would be a hassle to deal with a floor filled with goons wielding firearms, Mark approaches the matter in a stealthy manner. One flaw in this segment is that everyone on this floor is primarily not hostile or suspicious to the player's presence even though it would be normal for the goons here to be suspicious of some random person wandering their place.

Inside one of these rooms is this book. Finance is not a particularly useful skill in my opinion but every little extra skill point helps.

Here is a picture that describes what Mark does to most isolated individuals on this floor. The fight with Jezebel did use up some blood so having free bodies to drain is useful.

Now we come across the first person on this floor capable of conversation.

There are several ways to get pass him using whatever builds the player uses like many situations in this game. To save up on blood, Mark uses Persuasion.

Persuasion again, blood is a valuable commodity after all.

This is Boris, crime boss. Dangerous to most people due to his connections, resources and his penchant for violence. Unfortunately for him, Mark is not most people, he is a vampire after all.

Unlike other player characters, the Malkavian has their Dementation to produce a unique solution to the quest.

It's good to be Malkavian. When in doubt, share your insanity.

With only one person left standing (Boris in this picture), Mark takes care of said survivor.

In the room are two items of note (aside from the weapons of the deceased). First is a money clip.

The second is this fancy ring.

Emerging from the hotel, it is now time to acknowledge this fact: I changed Mark's outfit during the Jezebel fight. Prior to the fight... I forgot to change into the newly bought outfit... Oops.

Before anything is to be done, Mark goes off to investigate the lead he got concerning Muddy. This door opposite the Last Round seems like a good place to start.

Looks like the lead was solid! So solid that it left a bloody mess among other things!

Take note of the person cowering on the right. He may have something to say about all this.

And he indeed does have something to say about all this since he's seen it and all.

Hmm... a deal gone wrong that ended with one party being mauled to death?

Looks like Muddy was here.

Ah... so someone managed to get away before the killer showed up.

This is why fear is not always a bad thing. It ensures we do not engage in stupid acts of bravery like fighting a strange individual who can appear out of nowhere.

Looks like what everyone was saying about the serial killer was true... The killer is a fellow vampire, one who is not afraid of breaking the Masquerade.

So the killer has a rational motive rather than being a mindless killer? Still, that must have been excruciating, being torn to pieces slowly.

Now the problem here is that this man has clearly seen a vampire and can be a risk to the Masquerade. Luckily Mark's high Persuasion skill allows him to point out the immediate danger of rambling about the super-powered monster to the authorities.

Convinced, the man runs off, vowing to never reveal what he saw here.

The immediate way up is blocked by the small fire there. Since vampires are vulnerable to fire, running through said fire amounts to suicidal behaviour. Besides, there are boxes too.

To break open these metal bars, a high Strength score or Bloodbuff is needed. 

Accompanying the mangled deceased is this car stereo and this key-card for one Luckee Star Motel. Looks like that is where Mark needs to go to track down the serial killer and the survivor.

Before we do anything, it is time to visit Vandal in Santa Monica. Mark needs to restock on bloodpacks for this next bit.

Also, it is about time Mark reported the death of Boris to Venus.

She always does this. Presumably to avoid people overhearing her conspiracy to commit murder and the success of said conspiracy.

Malkavian speech on display here.

The reward for this is a steady stream of cash from Venus. This first reward is less compared to the reward from Boris but this stream of cash is continuous and accumulates the longer the player does not visit the club.

The long run benefit is why I always pick this option. Plus the novelty of owning a nightclub is appealing to me. Picking the second option to suggest changes to the club always ends with Venus brushing off such notions though.

Remember what Damsel said about the homeless? To handle the situation of the plague spreading among them, it is time to ask the homeless about it. This lady outside the Last Round is a good place to start.

Multiple options once again but allowing for similar results. The only difference is one uses blood, the other uses money and the rest are for free.

Monsters, eh? Sounds like a lead.

Funny story here; when I tried to preemptively explore the area, I discovered that the alleyway mentioned here was blocked. Only after this lady tells the player about the alley will it open up. This is... rather illogical but I guess it was done to avoid sequence breaking.

This is Tin Can Bill. He is not looking good.

Malkavian madness time!

Twisted and ugly? Possibly a Nosferatu plague-bearer.

From this, Mark has discovered who has been spreading the plague to the homeless.

Sounds like Bill's days are numbered. Poor old Bill...

We will not let him take you back there, Bill...

The monster will pay for this, Bill...

In the screencap above is Bill's corpse but due to how dark the alley was, the screencap failed to depict his corpse properly... Oops.

Using a manhole near to where Bill was takes Mark into this sewer. It is slightly different from the main sewers in the hub world.

With Bloodbuff, Mark unlocks this door. This is followed up with a hunt for sewer rats.

Going through the right passages will eventually lead the player to this spacious area.

And we have found the plague-bearer. Also, the pair of legs above are the disembowelled remains of some poor soul who presumably found this place.

Now Mark has a name for this plaguebearer, Brother Kanker.

Brother Kanker's reason for spreading the plague to the homeless indicates that he is insane beyond reason and the cult he serves is truly dangerous to the surrounding Kine.

Another mention of the Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle and there is some apparently indirect mention of the Final Nights.

More insane rambling...

And now, the battle begins.

As mentioned in the tutorial, the yellow bar in the health bar refers to aggravated damage. This is a form of damage that takes longer to regenerate from which leaves the player character more vulnerable. This fight is tough for me because Brother Kanker hits hard with aggravated damage while Mark's Combat Defence Score was rather low even with the new clothing adding extra armor.

It was a long and tough struggle, with multiple reloads due to death, but Mark eventually slays Brother Kanker with the help of some Dementation abilities.

Investigating Brother Kanker's lair reveals this flyer lying on the ground. I apologise for the graphic image of a disembowelled corpse (even if the graphics are not realistic).

Another lead to the Brotherhood.

This leads out of Brother Kanker's lair.

The rats here are perfect to heal up from aggravated damage.

Only way out it would seem...

A nice touch on swimming in this game is how there is no oxygen meter at all. After all, the player character is a vampire so they are technically dead biologically, hence not needing to breathe. It's a nice attention to detail. 

Now to hand in some quests!

First hand-in is for Patty and a nice touch there with him voicing his thoughts on ghouls. We'll 'keep' it in mind.

Now to report to Damsel. First, Mark ought to let her know about Paul.

This is why caution is important. You never know when you'll be taking in infected blood.

Mentioning the flyer to Damsel causes her to reveal that she has seen the symbol on it somewhere around here.

Like this building for instance.

And the wall opposite a building with an open doorway. Hmm...

Why yes, I am enlightened because I have this flyer with writing on it.

Before proceeding further inside, Mark meets this human girl.

Temple... Sounds ominous...

Missing here is her reply to the second option from before that hints at what clan does the bishop come from. Still, it sounds like things are not going too well for worshippers.

Zombies?

Poor girl... All Mark can do is finish off the bishop and the cult before this gets worse.

For this bit, I always buy a Glock from Fat Larry. The reason is as follows...

Zombies! Lots of zombies!

For sneaky players, there is this movable piece of wood that hides a secret passage.

Luckily, Mark has a Glock so stealth is not required.

Eventually, Mark finds this hole on the floor he's on.

That leads to this floor.

This here is the reason why the player character cannot drink blood from the homeless or these zombies: their infected blood. It causes the player to vomit blood which locks the player in this animation, thereby opening the player to attack (like a zombie grapple).

After drinking a blood-pack and getting the shotgun ready, it is time for Mark to cleanse this temple of plague and death. Also, get some experience points as a bonus.

Does this mean he has too more truth or is it just a little bit of truth that exceeds his quota?

Ah... insane troll logic. Wait a minute, that's Mark's territory!

Brother Vick, are you referring to Gehenna by any chance?

Looks like he is not. Brother Vick seems to be the atypical doomsday prophet who happens to be a charismatic vampire of the night.

Oh... so he hates his condition and wishes to take it out on the world... I guess I know what he is now...

An edge-lord! Seriously though, he's going down for the sake of the Masquerade.

If he hated his condition, he should have simply did everyone else a favour and walked into the sunrise. Too much innocent blood is on his hands.

Bring it on, you waste of space.

Based on his abilities and mention of his charisma, it can be deduced that Bishop Vick is a Toreador vampire. The use of Celerity is another hint of this.

Combined with his shotgun and the swarm of zombies in the room, Bishop Vick is a dangerous opponent. However, Mark is a fellow vampire with his own set of skills and equipment.

Who is being controlled by a player who knows how to cheese this fight. Essentially, all I did was lure Bishop Vick into a position where Mark could take potshots at him from holes in the wall, timing it so that Mark fires his gun after Vick fires his own gun. Since Mark is avenging Paul, Hannah, Bill and all the infected here, such tactics are justifiable.

After a 'fair' victory, Mark emerges from the temple. Or rather transitions out which is nice since I do not recall an actual way off the floor Brother Vick was on.

Here is something funny; the temple of the Brotherhood is across the street from the Tremere chantry. Essentially, Strauss could have solved this problem  instantly by taking a quick stroll across the road and turned everyone inside out with some blood magic.

On that note, it is time to visit the lazy vampire mage for Mark's reward.

Now to reveal the source and receive praise for a job well done.

Or rather be asked to provide details on the bishop.

And now for Mark's reward.

Honestly from a gameplay perspective, the best reward here is the talisman. If the player chooses to help Venus, money will not be a huge problem for the player. The only reason I could think of for a player to not take the talisman is due to role-playing reasons, curiosity or naivety. Nothing wrong with choosing the money but for me, I always go for the talisman.

See, even Strauss praises Mark for his decision. There is one more matter to discuss.

Earlier there was a discussion on the Jester Prince that Mark could not continue. Now with a high Persuasion score, he may succeed.

Ah... so there is disapproval of LaCroix from the wizard king. Perhaps it hints of greater ambition?

So what this establishes is that Strauss is fundamentally loyal to the Camarilla, not LaCroix. This is an important distinction to make note of.

If the player character does not immediately turn into a sycophant and directly state that Strauss wishes to betray LaCroix, Strauss will express his approval should you make a snarky remark on his position (that I sadly did not depict here... Oops).

Now to report to Damsel.

I doubt anyone would believe the words of a madman like Mark most of the time.

Now to convince Damsel that Mark has more leanings towards Anarchs. Remember what Jack and Strauss said, it would be better to learn as much of the world around before it is too late.

To keep this conversation going in a civil manner, do not pick the one that obvious insults the Anarchs.

There is a reason I am doing this.

Will do, Damsel.

While doing all this, I realise that Mark forgot to do something...

Report back to Pisha!

Pisha gives Mark a new quest: a fetch quest for artefacts in exchange for artefacts for the player.

Like I said, equivalent exchange.

I do like these explanations on the artefacts Mark has to collect. It adds detail.

A hint of what's to come?

That is a good point. Without death, life would go on forever with no way to achieve bliss.

On that note, it is time to end this free-roaming and finally report to the Jester Prince.

Remember that police officer from before? Here he is now!

It is surprisingly nice of LaCroix to offer Chunk such a gig.

Ah... sarcasm... at least I think that is sarcasm.

Good to see LaCroix remembered to mention Mark.

Now we officially get his name. Fun fact: If you visit the art gallery from before after you complete the quest from Jeanette, you will see that there are police investigating the crime scene.

I like Chunk.As the game goes on, he does make some funny ramblings.

It took several takes to get the screencap that depicts the sign properly.

Here is the Jester- Oh right, we cannot let him hear our label of him...

Now, I will follow through with Mark's promise to Damsel and proceed to be a sycophant.

Since Mercurio was identified as the only other person Mark can trust, Mark does not betray the ghoul.

It was not a fool's errand: it was a suicide mission.

Sycophant powers, activate!

And there's a little hint of backstory on LaCroix that hints at his real age.

If Mark had bothered to watch the news report shown on the TV at the Haven, Mark would have known. Here, I picked the affirmation option to continue being a sycophant.

And now we hear of the Ankaran Sarcophagus from someone with authority in vampire society.

This sounds like a job for Mark Flavian, kindhearted madman!

First directive.

Second and third directive.

And with the additional caveat of ensuring there are no deaths.

Now role-playing a sycophant, Mark proceeds to tell him how he disregarded Nines' opinion like most people on the Internet.

Again we get advice along similar lines as Jack and Strauss. Are they absolutely sure that the Anarchs and the Camarilla are unable to make peace with each other?

Now to break away from the role of a sycophant and ask a few questions (some I skipped out on because there are too many pictures here).

Now to pick option 1.

That mention about Napoleon is now fully explained.

One thing to note is that many of the Camarilla Elders refer to LaCroix as a young upstart which implies that many of them are far older than he is. It does make you wonder...

Remember how he said that a noble Embraced him? It does make sense that a Ventrue would Embrace a fellow individual of higher class though one thing I have to wonder is what determines high class for the Ventrue's tastes (since in game, this translates to being unable to drink the blood of bums and rats).

Mentioning Beckett elicits this response.

From this, it is clear that the dislike between the two is mutual.

Asking about the Sheriff gets Mark this response.

Asking about the Camarilla. I imagine hiding would be even more difficult in this period of time than back in 2001.

There is more to the Sabbat... but that would be covering CWoD lore that I am not that familar with. So I will not say anything here.

Now to ask about the Ankaran Sarcophagus.

Antediluvians: This happens to be an important term to remember, reader. As an aside, I recommend the reader who is unafraid of minor spoilers to read up on the Week of Nightmares (I can only link the wiki page here: Week of Nightmares), it makes for a good read.

And there's the first mention of the phrase, "Don't open it!"

This is one of Chunk's ramblings. They eventually loop after a while but they are fun to listen to.

Onto Santa Monica!

Where a grateful Mercurio awaits!

Hopefully since you are now a vendor Mark can buy weapons from.

For now, he does not sell much. Later on however, he will sell a lot of weapons.

Now we end this instalment with this shot of the dinghy Mark will be using to get to the Elizabeth Dane (a reference to The Fog). For the next part, I may backtrack to some places for some things (like reporting to Damsel) before heading to the actual boat.

This post is also available on Wordpress: (https://threeheadedthoughts.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/a-look-at-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-part-8/)