Let's Play: Vampire: Bloodlines

[Kerensky287]

How about limiting it to like 3 or 4 LPs at one time, but they are considered dead after, say, a week of no updates (excluding explained absences)? That way you can get rid of the dead ones and at the same time try and hurry the current ones along.

Though I'm not trying to do your job for you.

On topic: Nice backstory, whether you made it yourself or if it was pre-written. Looking forward to seeing more of the game in action!

[DFM]

Since there seems to be some confusion, the only thing I didn't write for the last update was the speech from the man in the suit, which you can listen to in the link I posted. (As I said it's transcribed very poorly and most of it was from my failing memory) I came up with the back story for our character based on the origin you picked, and it'll affect their personality and decisions throughout the game, and I'll be actively mixing in our personal fluff with the actual in-game events to give it a MORE PERSONAL FEEL.

I'll be happy to answer any questions, and I thought I'd let you know that I've got the screenshots for the next update, just need to write the thing itself. I'll post that either tonight or tomorrow.

[Amake]

You know, you can turn on subtitles and then you wouldn't have to transcribe anything.
It would have taken more screenshots of course.

Nice backstory by the way.

[Mirai Gen]

I got a real kick out of reading that. Since I already played through the intro I knew what was going on and it was really awesome seeing someone else's play on what the main character could have been going through, especially what with the whole "don't know what a vampire is" accenting that people don't burst into ash.

Got a kick out of that and I'm sufficiently going to read the shit out of the rest of this LP.

[DFM]

This is insane. I don’t know what that madhouse was or how I got out of it alive, but I’m not having anything to do with it now that I’m out. Whoever the rube in the suit was, he’s obviously got no idea what he's started or who he's dealing with. I’d send a PMC to knock down his door and clear out this whole goddamn mess but I don’t want to deal with it ever again. I don’t think I’m even going to bother going back to the Emerald Suits, I’m going straight to the airport. I’ll phone my pilot and have the jet warming up on the runway by the time my chauffeur-

I glance down, feeling the sides of my torn, wrinkled, dirt stained black dress. No phone. No purse. No ID.

Nothing. Just a hand mirror and a few broken hair pins.

Given what I’d been doing when they kidnapped me, I suppose I was lucky I even had the dress. It was ruined, not that I cared by this point. There was a hole in it where the spike had gone through, but there wasn’t any scar. It didn’t even hurt. Must have imagined that part, then.

But then why the hole?

I don’t care. I don’t care why there’s a hole, what they were talking about, how much of this is real or what the fuck is going on. I’m out. I’m done. I’m grabbing my shit and I’m heading to Mogadishu. Or Berlin. Or Beijing or Nicaragua or Cambodia I don’t give a fuck as long as it isn’t here.

I don’t make it off the steps before I hear a rough laughing from a man who’d been smoking just out of view. He looks like a biker and smells like a hobo. He's probably both.



"Talk about a fucking show, kid! All that bullshit about a kinder, gentler Camarilla and then they just plop you out here like a naked baby in the woods. Just like them, isn't it? Hoo-wee!"

I stare at him. I'm not sure if it would take too long to throw dirt in his eyes before I run. He must pick up on the fact that alone and unarmed, my flight reflex is a hair's breathe from taking over.

"Ah... look, kiddo, this is probably a lot for you to take in, so uh, why don't you let me show you the ropes. Whaddya say?"

I blink, probably take a step or two back but I'm too busy scrunching my face in confusion to tell.

"Ropes of what? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Jack. What's important is I'm offering help. You make it back from Santa Monica with your hide and we'll trade life stories, 'kay? Till then, I got about..." He slices the air in front of him with his fingers. "...this much time. You in or out?"

"Um..." I haven't been at a loss for words since I was five. I guess he takes it as a confused acceptance of his offer. Maybe it is.

"Okay, we ain't got much time but I figure somebody should fill you in on the bare bones stuff at least, ya know. Could save your hide. The first thing is-"

He looks at me, squinting for a moment. Seems almost concerned.

"You look wobbly, kid. Have you even had a drink yet?"

"A... a drink? I think I've had more than enough drinking to last-"

He laughs, a genuine, gleefully enthusiastic laught.

"Oh man, we're poppin' a cherry here! Ha ha ha! Ah, you're gonna love this! Alright, check it out. Blood. Blood, kiddo, it's your new rack o' lamb, your new champagne- blood's your new fucking heroin, kid. Ha ha!"

"What?"

I don't know what he's talking about, but the extent I'm willing to play along with this insanity ends and drinking blood from anything.

"You're a vampire now kid, it's sort of what you do."

"I am not a vampire! Don't tell me what I am what the hell is wrong with you? This is retarded. This is insane, I'm out of here."

I turn to leave, but as soon as I do, he's already standing in front of me.



"Easy kiddo, settle down."

He shakes his head, a little disappointed and a little frustrated.

"That's a hand mirror in your pocket, right kid? Why don't you pop it out and have a look."

I mutter and dig for the mirror. If he shuts up, I don't care how stupid I look disproving that I'm a vampire. I hold the black case out in front of me, flick it open and smile at the brick wall behind me. I squint and tilt the mirror. I frown and tilt in the other direction. Jack's talking about something, but I'm not listening. How does a fucking mirror stop working?

"...benefits, too. Sharper senses, a body that can take a beating and, if you play your cards right, eternal life. That's no sure bet, but still, a chance at immortality's not a bad deal. And that's just for starters; fringe benefits for joinin' the club."

I wave a hand in front of the mirror. Touch my face. There's something obvious going on here and I'm just not putting it together.

"Well, I mean, you can still be destroyed, but forget the books and movies. Garlic? It's worthless. A cross? Pfft... shove it right up their ass. A stake? Only if it catches you in the heart, and then it just paralyzes you. Runnin' water? Ah, that's no problem. I bathe... eh, occasionally."

I tilt the mirror upside down and shake it. It seems like that might help.

"Now, a shotgun blast to the head. That... that is trouble. Fire? That's real trouble. Sunlight? Well, you catch a sunrise and it's all over kiddo, get it?"

I look up from the mirror. None of it makes sense, there's too much happening too fast. I don't know-

Somewhere in the distance there's an explosion, then the sound of automatic weapons. MAC-10's going by the firing intervals. Could be mine, but they could just as easily be anyone's. They'd been a pretty popular item. Jack snarls and it catches me off guard.

"What the fuck is this?"

He looks at me.

"Get inside the door and keep your head down, I'll find out what's going on. Meet me on the second floor"



Sounds like a plan to me. At least, the getting indoors and keeping your head down part does.



No clear rout to the second floor. There's a pile of crates and boxes in the corner, just below an overhang I can use to scramble up the next story. I'm a little out of practice when it comes to physical exertion and I catch a heel on one of the knotholes, but I manage to make it up. Jack's waiting for me and he ushers me closer, whispering.



"Stay away from the windows, it's a Sabbat raid. With all the Kindred gathered in one place, I guess they thought they'd put a little heat on the new 'prince'. Dumb, frenzied Sabbat bastards..."

"The... Sabbat?"

"Christ. I was hoping to spare you from this shit until later. The Sabbat... well, they're basically mindless bloodthirsty assholes, alright? That's all you need to know for now."

I start to say something else, but he stops me.

"Shh. Here comes a pack of them."

I get just close enough to the window to look down.





















"Jesus..."

I let it out in a hoarse whisper. Jack motions to me to come closer.

"Get down to the other side of the building and wait for me in the alley, I want to check things out from topside."

"Ah... okay." I wasn't really in a position to refuse. I duck down a flight of stairs while Jack swings out the window and disappears upwards. I reach the bottom of the stairs and burst out of the door in time to feel something rip through my stomach. By the time I hear the blast automatic fire, I'm already on the ground and clutching my side. If those were my guns, I could see the poetic end. If they weren't, I had that much more validation to die cursing my competitors. The next burst missed completely, I guess they expected me to still be standing. While they fired, I saw something large hit the ground behind them.













Two seconds after his body hits the ground near my head he explodes into flames, just like everyone and their goddamned mother seems to be doing these days. Jack crosses the alley and crouches down next to me.



"You get winged, kid? Hah! Holy shit, you did!" He moves my arm to look at the battered remains of my torso. "Look at those potholes! Ahhh..." he leans back and grins. "Those'll close up soon enough. I saw one of the Sabbat on sentry duty just across the lot, right in the middle of where we need to go. I figured it'd be good practice for you to sneak over behind him and take him out, quiet like so he doesn't yell to his buddies."

I pull myself to my feet, the wounds already noticeably smaller.

"Take him out? Are you insane-"

"Relax, kiddo. The guy's probably greener than you."

"...That's pretty green."

"Yeah, he's lucky if he even knows he's a vampire. Sabbat probably just clubbed him over the head, had him turned and dumped him here. They like to do that. Shock troops."

"Well, um... I can try."



I really wasn't sure what I was doing anymore.



There he was. Hadn't seen me yet.



I was realizing now just how vague "Take him out" really was. Should I kick him? Sucker punch him? Would that even hurt him? Maybe if I...







That went surprisingly well. The tire iron he'd been carrying hadn't burst into flames, so I pick it up and carry it in my off hand.



"Nice work, kid. The Camarilla's cleaning up the Sabbat offensive, but you should still stay inside, try to avoid catching stray bullets. There's a grate near the back of the building, should lead to some maintenance tunnels. Follow them to the warehouse near the edge of the block, I'll meet up with you there, I think there's a big nest of Sabbat inside. And be careful, could always be some holed up in the tunnels, too."

Thanks Jack. Traveling alone through a narrow tunnel of bloodthirsty undead monsters. That's really what I want to be doing now.



Every vampire I know is a goddamn asshole.


I start making my way through the tunnels, as quietly as I can. Hopefully if there are Sabbat down here, I'll at least see them before they see me. It just so happens my wish comes true.



The major difference between now and the last time I snapped the neck of a black lagoon monster is that now I had a tire iron.







I'm getting disturbingly good at this.

I move a few rooms down and run into another one of the Sabbat. This one's busy twisting some valve wheel. I edge my way across the floor to get behind him. As I pass the center of the room, the heel that'd caught on the wooden knot snaps off completely, creating a crunching sound that echoes off the tiny walls and throws me off balance so I land in a sideways heap on the cement floor. I just start to stand when he turns around and sees me. For the first time, I get a good, clear look at a Sabbat. There aren't any eyes.



He charges towards me, howling and screaming something that'd I'd never mistake for human. He raises his arm above his head and I freeze, panic, my flight reflex ready to take over again. Then I feel something.... change. My skin gets tougher. Like its made of leather. The blow from the Sabbat comes crashing down on my shoulder and I barely feel it. I swing back at him with the tire iron.



His ribs snap like plywood from the blow. He staggers sideways, howling in pain. I take the tire iron in both hands and swing upwards against his momentum, the weapon passing clean through his skull.



I still don't know what the fuck I'm doing.

[Mirai Gen]

Good writing > silly humorous commentary any day of the week.

[Amake]

Yeah it's good. Except you spelled Sabbat wrong. :p
(See, those subtitles are good for some things.)

[DFM]

It's early and I'm too tired for witty retorts but it would've been something about fighting armor piercing spikes.

[Melfice]

DFM. I'm loving this already.
And I'm fairly surprised at how well written your story is, no offense meant.

I will certainly enjoy following this thread, and any potential offspring should it keep up.

[Azisien]

I like it. I've no right to complain about the annoying lack of brightness in the pictures in a game about darkness and vampires, but there's an annoying lack of brightness in the pictures. Ah, maybe it'd be better in a dark room or something. Damn my attraction to light sources!

How old is this game, anyway?