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speaking at once, and make his reprimand look foolish
Strip north of the bridge are not available, we'll have to
and petty. So the Prince waited, struggling to conceal his
return when we have another request."
agitation. In that achingly long moment, he noted that the
"Wait! No! Ask now!" he demanded. Frantically, he
Anarch leader was very beautiful, exactly the sort of
considered actually giving up the Strip to them. It would
woman that once delighted him, so many worlds ago. She
cause great disruptions among the powerful members of
knew she was beautiful, and yet she dressed in insolent
the city, but it might be worth it. Having his progeny owe
defiance of her beauty: all torn denim and ripped leather
a Life Boon to such scum was unacceptable. It would let
that exposed inappropriate flashes of soft, pale skin. Her
them get away with nearly anything!
dress, her demeanor, her very existence were an affront to
all the Traditions.
"Your lordship is too kind," the leader replied. "But I must
decline. Should we formulate a suitable arrangement,
As the first flickers of annoyance finally showed on the
we'll tell you. Until them, our humble thanks for lifting
Prince's face, she began. Perfect timing, he noted darkly.
Derrik's punishment." She bowed low, her false humility
"My lord Prince, regent of all the city, master of all
barely masking her derision.
Kindred," she began. She knew her flattery too. Perfect to
She had trumped him and she knew it. He held his ageless
the letter, and as insincere as a harlot's kiss.
face in a stoic mask of composure, but inside he was
"We present our petition for pardon. We ask that Clifton
screaming great oaths to the gods that had long ago
Derrik of the Brujah be pardoned for violation of the
abandoned him.
Second Tradition, for hunting in your city without
The Prince's fiery rage turned to black despair once more.
permission. For hunting on the Strip south of the
He choked down the taste of bitter bile. They had bested
Knightsbridge."
him. These upstart children had actually beaten him at his
The Prince indulged in a slight smile of satisfaction. He
own game! Was this some silly child's pastime to them? A
felt his red-hot anger turn to a warm glow of satisfaction.
mere game? How dare they? Didn't they know the stakes
"Alas, the area in contest has been ceded to Selene, and
involved?
she has suffered material loss from the Brujah's rash act,
Suddenly he felt too hemmed in: too cramped. It was as if
and so he must be punished. I cannot intervene there." The
he were again entombed beneath the imprisoning ground,
girl looked crestfallen. The Prince added offhandedly,
in his dank, fetid womb of earth.
"Though he has the forgiveness of the Prince." There! Now
the damnable Brujah could not accuse him of always
He was so careful! He was so powerful! How could it have
seeking to punish their members more than those of other
come to this? How could these mere infants make a fool of
Clans.
him like this? How would he live it down? They would pay
for the indignity.
The Anarch leader brightened considerably and said, "The
generous, forgiving Prince will be relieved to know that
Competition for status, glory and power are no abstraction
Mistress Selene has granted complete clemency." She
to the Vampiric community. They are nothing less than
produced a sheet of crisp parchment. "Here's her mark."
issues of life and death. A Vampire with low status must
content himself with second-rate hunting grounds.
The Prince's rage returned in full force as the Harpies that
Offspring are the key to Vampiric survival, but a Vampire
milled in the room murmured to themselves. What vicious
who has no status is not allowed to sire Get. A Vampire
double dealing had this crew been up to? Were they
with no offspring is unprot ected from witch-hunters,
Selene's pawns?
Diabolists, Lupine attacks, and internal political
"Very well," he said. "Punishment repealed. Now begone.
maneuvering within his Clan and the Camarilla. And if he
And cleave to the Traditions."
ages without offspring, he will have no Kindred to tap for
"Yes, my Prince," she said. "Oh, one more matter. I crave vitæ when his own blood thins.
a boon."
So, status is the key to survival, and the formula is simple.
The Prince pondered this. Why did she wish to put herself Political power means continued existence. Loss of power
into his debt? Was she that foolish? Or was she looking to means extinction.
end her Anarch ways and bend the knee to her betters?
Intrigue and Combat
"We request the right to hunt on the Strip from the north
of Knightsbridge to the pier." Ah, political intrigue. Breathes there a soul so dead she
does not thrive on the idea of subtly maneuvering to gain
"Such impertinence!" the Prince snarled. "Never." They
the upper hand through her own high cunning and low
were fools to think he would let them into prime land he
guile? Who does not respond to the allure of learning
reserved for his progeny and favored courtiers. They
someone else's rules, mastering them, and using them to
would lose face just for asking such a foolish thing. "What
triumph? From films to novels to the daily newspaper,
could you possibly do for me that could be worth that?"
political intrigue is a form of conflict rich with dramatic
"Done," she said. "We have already served your progeny
possibilities. And yet it rarely crops up in roleplaying
with a Life Boon. To secure clemency from Selene, we had
40
Vampire Storytellers Handbook
games, where the main staple of conflict is that old reliable though that Kindred may be hate the same draconian laws
standby, physical violence. that also forbid her from breeding.
Combat is simple and straightforward. Two creatures tear For the good of the race, most Vampires must be prevented [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]