Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines/WMG

The Malkavian Player Character is just fucking with people

To this day, I'm not sure if the player character is meant to be genuinely unable to communicate with anyone save through rhyme or just taking the piss at everyone around him. Given the player character DOES communicate clearly several times in the game, there's actual in-game evidence he's just screwing with people. Given he acts like no one with real mental illness does while Malkavians like Jeanette and Theresa are much more traditionally Malkavian, it makes sense that the PC is just pretending to be a off-beat poet of lunacy.

• It is said that powerful Malkavians often act more insane than they really are.
• His/her mental instability could easily be "idee fixe that he/she can communicate only through lunatic poetry".
• Better idea: the Malk PC is fucking with you. This would explain his Mind Screw Purple Prose Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness and the "Tell the the guy playing me" answer to Beckett.

Deb of Night is actually a vampire

Deb seems unphased by all the weirdos that call in and effortlessly deflects masquerade breaches like Andrei and the fledgling left in the bathroom. It's not a stretch to imagine she's a Toreador whose job is to make all potential masquerade breaches seem ludicrous.

• Since no one ever sees her, she could even be a Nosferatu who has a nice voice and gets a kick out of trolling the general public.
  • Might also explain why she immediately went to commercial after Andrei called, she knew what it was all about and had to spread the news.

Deb of Night is a Ghoul

What vampire would do something that can easily be pawned off to a minion?

The Hotel Serial Killer is Theresa and Jeanette's father.

We know that Theresa and Jeanette were molested by their father, which drove them to insanity. We also have a ghost of a young woman pointing out the monster's various crimes. I think this is the real Jeanette. That's why Theresa is so interested in getting the pendant and why Jeanette wants to throw it in the ocean. It's their father.

• Nope, the children who died at the hotel were a boy and a girl named Tiffany and Ed Jr. and both were killed in ways that preclude coming back as a vampire (beheaded and "chopped up like firewood." Good theory but Jossed by material found in the hotel.
  • Still, it explains their motives toward this other abusive father pretty well.
  • Who says the twins were his only victims?

Mandarin works for the Technocracy.

The game explicitly features vampires (obviously), werewolves, wraiths (Hell Hotel), demons (Hengeyokai), and hunters. It implicitly features changelings, as you can get a fae charm from Tseng. The only Old World of Darkness group not represented is the mages.

Now consider Mandarin. He certainly appears to be a regular human, but doesn't seem to be affiliated with the Society of Leopold. He treats the PC in a rather scientific manner, and has a suspiciously high-tech facility. All sings point to the Technocracy.

• • He was explicitly working for the eastern vampires, researching for how to better kill the western version. The Technocracy already knows everything he was researching.
    • Was he? Where is that spelled out in the game? Ming seems like the most likely candidate, but it seems strange that she would use such a modern approach when the most high tech thing her people use are flaming crossbows.
      • In a room in the Fu Syndicate there's an e-mail from "Priestess" giving instructions to him. With the plus patch there's some restored dialogue where you can confront Ming Xiao with this and she admits it.
  • Also the Hengeyokai is not a demon, despite what the hunter thinks. It's a Rokea, a type of Changing Breed.
    • Mummies are mentioned, but I don't recall actual demons.

Heather is a Malkavian.

After the adventure on the boat, Heather waits for the PC outside of LaCroix's tower. She then declares that she knows where you live, and, assuming you don't tell her to beat it then and there, runs off to your apartment.

Only problem is, the PC can't have the Skyline apartment at that point. It's only given to him directly after the conversation with Heather. Therefore, either LaCroix tipped her off to where the PC would be living in about ten minutes (and why would LaCroix of all people even bother speaking to a lowly ghoul?), or Heather herself is a Malkavian, able to perceive what's about to happen five minutes before it happens. She isn't really a ghoul, you just think she is so she can drink your delicious, way more powerful than a vamp of your age should be blood on demand.

• Alternatively, when she went to the player's old apartment and found some guys moving the PC's stuff. When she asked them what was going on, one of the workmen explained the situation, and might have been willing to give her a lift to the Skyline place.
• Heather can't be a vamp. You have the option of feeding from her on several occasions, and you would notice if she wasn't human.
• You only get the Skyline appartment if you play as a Ventrue. As a member of other clans you can get a suite at the Tremere chantry, and other places I can't recall. This troper has always played with Heather showing up at the old appartment in Santa Monica - so Heather just stalks you to find out where you live for a while. The Lacroix-Skyline thing is just a glitch in the plotline.
  • You get the Skyline apartment if you're a Toreador, at least. I think Tremeres get a place at the Tremere chantry, Nosferatu in the Warrens, and everyone else the Skyline apartment (but Ventrues slightly earlier in the storyline).
  • The Skyline is accessible to the Ventrue, Toreador, Malkavian, Brujah and Gangrel clans. Obtaining it depends on how courteous you are towards the Prince and how good you are at following his orders. After you've built up sufficient brownie points, you get the Skyline apartment. Tremere and Nosferatu will never get access to Skyline no matter what, but Tremere will get one in the Chantry by telling Max about the Gargoyle in Hollywood and then destroying it for him without revealing his connection to it to Isaac. The Nosferatu will get a sewer den right underneath the Venture Tower after completing Chinatown.
    • Really it's more likely that Jack clued Heather in on where you live, considering the amount of Chessmastering he does throughout the game.

Mr. Ox is Leland Gaunt from Needful Things.

Mr. Ox is a creepy owner of a small shop, professing to sell odds and ends. He makes offhand remarks about claiming souls. Any attempts to attack him are futile, as he'll vanish in a puff of smoke. In exchange for one of his items, he sends the PC off on a "prank", which directly results in the death of the prankee. Remind you of anyone?

Jeanette and Therese are (or at least were) not the same person. And Jeanette isn't a Malkavian.

So, the game leads the player to believe that Voerman is a Malkavian with a particularly bad case of split personality. Yet, the backstory she gives you when her personalities are "fighting" implies that they used to be two separate persons. So I see only two possibilities:

Either Therese or her dad killed Jeanette when she entered their bedroom and saw her with their dad. This obviously caused a strong psychological shock to her. Her weakened personality obviously led her to become a Malkavian and, out of guilt, Therese recreated her sister's personality. The story comes full circle with the fight between the two personalities, an echo of the original murder.

Or

Therese felt guilty that she was her dad's "favorite" and/or that she has an overall better standard of living than her sister (she does seem to mother Jeanette). Thus, she redeemed herself by dedicating part of her personality to her sister, and the real Jeanette is living somewhere else.

Some people will probably argue that the same logic can be used to claim that Jeanette is the insane one, but since she slept with her father and apparently enjoyed it, Therese was already close to insanity. Plus, considering this game's tendency to take the players by surprise, it would actually fit in pretty nicely to make Jeanette, depicted as someone despicable even among vampires, the sane one.

• They are definitely the same person when the player meets them, whether or not they where ever two separate people is another matter.
  • Well, in their office there is a picture of what I assume is their father and two little girls, making it likely that they were two seperate people at one point.
• There is an interview with one of the writers where he says he researched how split personalities develop in real life, and applied that to Jeanette/Therese: She created the other personality to help cope with her father's sexual abuse, and becoming a Malkavian turned that fracture in her mind Up to Eleven. As for the painting, I figured it was something she commissioned more recently to help reinforce the split.

You're a lot more powerful than you think you are

You start off as the standard weak childe, but by the end of the game, you are a 'roided out force of nature. By the end of the game, you have crushed far older vampires, destroyed demons, annihilated and entire order of hunters,massacred ancient Kui Jin, and generally left a trail of destruction thirty feet wide all over LA. The answer to this is that Cain turned you rather than your "sire." After turning you, he set you in bed with your sire as a set up, then watched the ensuing chaos as a brand new second generation vampire ran around.

• At least one of the writers claims that this was the original intention and that Cain sired you /for/ Jack because he approved of Jack's scheme. In the official continuity this is jossed becoz the Cain who hangs out with Jack is actually a malk, but the game continuity differs from the mainline continuity (esp. w/r/t LA politics) enough that they're probably separate continuities.
  • Well, the writers always give a Shrug of God when anyone asks them if the Cabbie is supposed to be Caine or not...
    • Hang on, if you were 2nd Generation, then why do you have a clan weakness? Those were only implemented on the 3rd Generation downward, as punishment for killing the 2nd Generation.
• If you want to compare the game to how the PnP game works, there's already in-game proof that your character is much less removed from Caine than anyone else in town; no 13th generation vampire has fifteen bloodpoints. This would put you at 8th generation, which gels well with the fact that LaCroix can't dominate you; most Princes are usually 8th or 9th generation. It also makes Jeanette/Therese really freaking scary. Go on, play a Ventrue and try to dominate Therese. See what happens.
  • If you try to reject some of the main storyline missions given to you by LaCroix, he WILL dominate you into doing them anyway quite successfully. This, along with remarks given by the Tzimitze boss when you battle him at the Hallowbrook Hotel, suggest you actually jump up a few generations at some point.
    • Assuming the cab-driver is Caine, perhapse he gives the PC a power boost. The tabletop games say that he has New Powers as the Plot Demands.
    • Dominate is also why you say "Nines" killed Grout, which is canon.
  • One fan theory involves the player diablerising vampires at some point after Jack explains it to you; I remember someone suggesting the Chang brothers, but there are a few different opportunities for it to happen.
    • It can't be the Chang Brothers. Apart from the fact that taking down two experienced Kuei-Jin is already pretty badass, Kindred cannot diablerise Kuei-Jin, only other Kindred. Also it's unlikely that the PC is diablerising, because doing so leaves an obvious mark in one's aura. Any vampire with Auspex would see it and you'd end up hunted down long before Griffith Park.
    • Perhaps you were sort of diablerising without anyone (even you) noticing because of the Odious Chalice. It fills with spilled blood, you've spilled the blood of LOTS of enemies, some of them very powerful vampires like Andrei, the Sherif, etc. With that artifact acting as a smokescreen, you could have killed and drunk from more "Elders" than most Sabbat, you don't get ALL their powers of course, bit enough of it seeps through that you are significantly more than a mere "fledgeling" by the end.
  • There's a pretty simple at hand for why you can resist Domination at the end: Determination. The Pn P rulebook says that if you are determined enough, even as a normal human, you can resist being dominated. That, or you spent a Willpower point off-screen.

In addition to the above, your powers as a 2nd Generation vampire include Savescumming

• One of the powers granted by 2nd Gen is the ability to create a save point and load it everytime you die, making you almost unkillable.

The other 2nd gen vampires were killed by nullifying there savepoints ala Chrono Cross. Caine therefore has a fuller version of this power, making him essentially unsuprisable in his role as the cabby.

Grout was the one who brought Bach to LA.

In his final recording, Grout mentions that he made a "Faustian bargain", though he never specifies the details or who he made it with. It's likely that Grout got in touch with Bach, somehow pointing him in the direction of LaCroix in a way that supposedly wouldn't also expose him as a vampire. This also may explain why he simply hid in his mansion rather than getting the hell out of Dodge - he figured that Bach would take out LaCroix before he had the chance to do anything. Unfortunately, he didn't count on how LaCroix had him killed or Bach figuring things out and setting his house on fire. As for why he didn't get any forewarning from the voices? Well, Malkavian voices aren't exactly renowned for always being correct or honest...

• • This troper thinks Grout might have done that without his own knowledge. If the player reads Bach's journal, it tells how he was hunting Grout and searching for the vampire's lair. So Bach might have ended up in L.A because of the hunt.
    • The above is definitely the case, in Bach's journal he's shocked that LaCroix is there at all, and thinks LaCroix is following HIM. He was hunting Grout from the beginning.

Jack is Captain Jack Sparrow.

The anarchs tell you Jack used to be a pirate.

• They actually look alike, too. Hilariously, Smiling Jack came first.
  • Both characters were based on real-life pirate captain Calico Jack, so...

Meta: Troika Games was forcibly closed to uphold the Masquerade.

Asking Mercurio about Troika Games in the endgame gets you the info "RPG company in Irvine...they're working on some secret project...Camarilla are worried that they know too much." If Le Croix is willing to sabotage a restaurant for snubbing his business dealings via a bad review, then its possible that he or his successor (Strauss?) would be willing to do much more against a small company that's an active threat to vampiric seclusion.

• Of course, White Wolf continues to exist, but they're canonically owned by Pentex, so that makes sense.

The story of the game IS the Gehenna. But it's not what the Vampires thought.

The Vampires you meet who tell you about the Gehenna all seem to believe that it will mean the end of all Vampires, but at no point is there any proof that this is what the Gehenna is supposed to be, not to mention Jack and Caine seem very relaxed about this whole thing.

Now think about what the player character does throughout the game. Killing many powerful vampires who have ruled over the World of Darkness for centuries, bringing down several organizations, ending years-long feuds, stealing important artifacts, having huge fights which may well draw attention to the existence of vampires, etc... it's obvious that by the end of the game, this is the end of the World as Vampires know it and pretty much the entire Vampire society will have to be completely re-organized after centuries of living the same way, not to mention the thin blood have an advantage and are a new threat to the other vampires. And that, my friends, is what the Gehenna is really about: it's not the end of Vampires, it's the beginning of a new era for them.

• • One detail I remember from sourcebooks that gels well with this; by the time the game takes place, at least two Camarilla princes in sizable, semi-important cities are caitiff. Lots of old-school elders freak out just thinking about it.

Chunk the security guard is Chunk from The Goonies

After his adventures with the other Goonies Chunk grew up and ended up moving to LA with dreams of becoming a cop. Failing the entrance exam he became a security guard instead. They do both have a similiar trait in telling stories which are most likely untrue. As to where Sloth is? Perhaps he was actually a Nosferatu or maybe a thinblood decended from Nosferatu. He probably lives in the Warrens and convinced Gary to get LaCroix to give Chunk a relatively harmless job on the front desk.

The werewolf the PC faced was a metis

Okay, I admit this might sound a bit reaching, but remember, Troika knew enough of Werewolf lore to have a Rokea, and culturally correct term for it,too. So, it would make sense they knew the werewolf the PC faced was a metis. It makes also sense in canon, most tribes of garou let the metis do the dirtiest jobs that no one likes. Like patrolling almost alone near a vampire. The werewolf's anger also makes sense if it was a metis, since most young metis are very easily frenzied. Also, it stays in its war-form after death (yes I know the Rokea does too).

• Considering the werewolves were just tracking down who the hell set fire to their forest (that'd piss off any Garou), that's not really much evidence...but staying in Crinos upon death is a dead giveaway. Yes, that werewolf was metis.

LaCroix is lying about his identity

His French pronounciation is not convincing, but when he calls you his Wunderkind he pronounces it correctly. There are any number of reasons why a German vampire might want to hide what they had been involved in in three or more major wars, for example, or perhaps his knowledge of history allowed him to concoct a history with Napoleon which would make him appear older and by implication more powerful than he really is.

• Given how old some vampires are, it's possible he has had several adopted nationalities. Psuedoangloamerican being his most recent.
• Another thing to consider: LaCroix mentions that he was born in Calais, France. Calais is located near what is now the Belgian border. Also, he says that his sire was a Belgian noble. Belgium was part of the French Empire under Napoleon, but the people around that area had been speaking Germanic languages for a while before that. (And German is one of Belgium's official languages (along with Dutch and French).) Assuming he's not bullshitting, it's possible that he picked some German up from being around speakers in his childhood or from his sire.

Beckett was informed about what's really in Ankaran Sarcophagus.

He did seem very intent on you not openning it when he runs up to you late game, but we know that there's no ancient vampire in there. Beckett, having not given in to the sense of doom everyone else in the rest of the game, seems like a unlikely sort to suddenly convert to that belief this late. Also there's nothing about the Sarcophagus itself that seems likely to change his mind. So I reckon either Jack or Caine/Cabbie/whoever decided he didn't want Beckett to die and told him what was going to happen if the Sarcophagus was opened, but also made sure he wouldn't tell anyone else, through threats, pursausion, bribes etc. Beckett has taken to the PC enough by this point that he does give him the warning not to open the thing, but is unable to say why.

As a human, Therese suffered from undiagnosed Dissociative Identity Disorder.

It was always open to debate about whether or not Therese and Jeanette were ever seperate people, but my theory is that because Therese was being sexually abused by her father, she ended up with Dissociative Identity Disorder and created her Jeanette personality. Since Jeanette was always more open sexually than Therese, it made it possible for her to deal with it. Since in D.I.D, it is suggested that the different personalities have some interaction with each other and are viewed by the main personality as being a seperate person, it's possible that the Jeanette personality was viewed by Therese as her "sister." When Therese mentions being "separated" from Jeanette, she could mean that after her father's death she was being treated for the disorder. After being embraced as a Malkavian, the split between Therese and Jeanette came back and was even stronger than it was when she was human.

• • Interesting note to this, Therese is clear damaged, she is clearly hurt by the abuse, but too messed up to realise it. Jeanette,not so much. If you look at Jeanette and her reactions, she seems far more insincere with her emotions. It is possible Therese also created Jeanette to serve as the last shred of her independence and to rebel against her abuse. Hence, Jeanette is never truly sorry, and only takes what she wants. Therese on the other hand has empathy towards other people, and a want to be loved.

In any ending where the Ankaran Sarcophagus is opened, LaCroix isn't actually killed.

The LaCroix that died in the explosion was actually a ghoul LaCroix was possessing as a decoy. While the player was ascending the tower, the real LaCroix escaped by helicopter. He had intended to kill the ghoul after the sarcophagus was opened before returning and claiming whatever was inside, but when he saw the bomb Jack placed in it he immediately told his pilot to take him as far away from LA as possible so he could find a place to hide from the Camarilla and the Anarchs. Again, this only applies to endings where the sarcophagus is opened. In the Camarilla and Kuei Jin endings, the actual LaCroix is the one that's present.

LaCroix killed Bach's grandfather accidentally

LaCroix is clearly not a very strong vampire, nor a very smart one. So killing a trained hunter of a hunter organization basically made to kill vampires sounds very out of character for him. It is however possible he accidentally caused Bach the 1st's death, and started the cycle of hunts.

• • Aside from the possibility that LaCroix is just plain lying about the whole story, it could just be that Bach's grandfather was a really crappy hunter.
    • Bach himself definetly has a huge hate on LaCroix specifically, so atleast there is evidence it could have happened.

The Kuei-jin ending isn't actually a Downer Ending.

They chain you to the sarcophagus and drop you into the ocean, yes. Perfect recipe for And I Must Scream, since vampires don't need to breathe and can't decompose, and Ming Xiao probably stuck to her word closely enough to drop you some place deep enough for the sun to not be a problem underwater. Stuck forever...or at least, until you wriggle free/break free/wait for the chains to rust off (going into voluntary torpor if necessary to conserve blood), swim underwater back to shore, subsisting on fish blood. Probably not back in California, but not totally dead, at least.

Really, the only actual danger is that a Rokea will spot you.

• You're tied right down all over your body. You aren't getting out by yourself. Sure, the chains will rust, but that will take years before they are too weak to hold you. You'll be in torpor long before that and you've no way to come out of it. You're down there till Gehenna.

The longer a Ghoul remains a Ghoul, the more "sane" they can act. Except a Malk's Ghoul. They just go nuttier with time.

Take Mercurio, Knox and Romero. They all seem relatively level headed individuals who can converse with you normally.

Compare and contrast with Heather's personality, and its a little disturbing how devoted a "new" Ghoul is. After a "Honeymoon" period, its possible she can become "normal" in personality again.

Also, when Heather is a Malk's Ghoul, her conversations are....interesting to say the least.

Based on Clan, Ghoul's will actually gain some of their Master's bloodline gifts and traits

Just based on how crazy Heather seems to become as a Malk's Ghoul, the beating Mercurio survived as a Ventrue's Ghoul, Romero's assumed sharp eyed and quick gunning skills to Patty's very annoyingly snobbish and fashion focused barbs is because they are Toreador Ghouls.

Though I shudder to think what Knoxx or a Nosferatu Heather Ghoul will end up getting.

• This is very much the case in the original RPG, though the traits and disciplines Ghouls obtain are massively toned-down compared to those of their masters, and take some time to develop. As such, Knox and Heather (as Ghouled by a Nosferatu PC) won't become hideous, or even especially ugly: they simply become intensely disturbing to mortals for one reason or another. All the same, I'd still attribute Patty's snobbery to her own character traits.
  • Although Knox, getting regular Nosferatu blood, will eventually start to look as bad as his master. A fact that the developers seemed to have taken into account, as Knox's in-game model has a rash on the skin around his neck. It's starting...

• • I don't get why sending Patty to be eaten by Pisha, drained dry by Vandal or executed by you on the spot is evil and drains Humanity then. She's not innocent, she knows about Vampires and has been told repeatedly to shut up, and is such a Jerkass to you and Too Dumb to Live because she'd insult YOU, a vampire, if you don't tell what she wants to hear and letting her leave just means she'd blab on her travels, making her an even WORSE problem as she can tell more people the more she moves.

• • • Because, no matter how annoiying Patty is, no matter how much does she break the Masquerade, she has not attacked you or even planning to. Even worse, she isn't really sane when she speaks to you. Patty has been driven insane by her addiction to vitae, and as such, is not fully responsible for what she is saying. And lastly, no matter if she knows about vampires, you are volunterary sending a person to their death on the premise it's convinient for you to do so. Humanity is all about being the bigger man and trying to find answers to problems that do not involve killing somone.

• Hmmm. Good point. Wonder why the very convinient option of just giving Patty some of your blood never comes up though....
  • Because first, she might not take it, being blood bound to another vampire and second, that would be a temporary fix at best. She need regular blood to stay a ghoul and do you really want her hanging around you now?
    • By Caine! That would test the patience of a saint! (PS, can vampires die by suicide hanging?)

The more powerfull a vampire, the more effect their blood has when creating Ghouls.

The reason Heather is so devoted is because your are unknowingly a rather strong vampire and thus, a few sips is enough to make her your virtual love slave while other Ghouls can discuss their master with nonchalance.

• If they are going by the source RPG, no, that's not what happens, it's a matter of how many times they've fed from you (three times is obsessively in love). But those with low Willpower scores can be affected faster. Heather likely has maybe 4 Willpower (6/7 is human average).

Most Vampire's are lousy judge's of each other's power levels

Unless they are doing something obviously impressive like juggling dumpsters or outrunning a speeding locomotive, most Vamps probably can't tell if the Vamp sitting across a table from them is a fledgling they haven't met yet or Caine himself.

Which would go a long way to explaining why certain enemies don't do the "smart" thing and RUN! when faced with you.

• I think it might have something to do with the fact that most of the vampires who decide to pick a fight with you don't possess Auspex as a clan discipline, or aren't proficient at it to get some idea of your power: Andrei, as a Tzimisce elder, does, which is why he freaked out during the second encounter with the PC.

• • Hmmm, yeah, Andrei did say something about "potent smelling blood" coming from the PC despite being drench in the gore of pretty much all the Sabbat in LA (supposedly).

So again, Andrei, a Tzimisce ELDER (with all the experience that implies) who at least has a clue by Auspex, 6th sense or some Tzimisce discipline, STILL is dumb enough to leap into battle against you.

You've invaded his base, slaughtered his guys, seem inexplicably powerful and not once does he even try to parley or beg for mercy.

• • • 2nd Theory. Being Evil Destroys Your Reality Senses.
    • Andrei is a Tzimisce Elder indeed, meaning incredibly arrogant. The idea of backing down to a mere neonate...unthinkable!
    • The same Neonate that kicked his ass in Kingsway already?
    • From the sourcebooks, Tzimisce tend to be quite territorial due to their clan weakness of only being able to sleep if they have a handful of soil from their home nearby. There's a clan-specific flaw that the Tzimisce must make a willpower roll every time someone enters their haven to not go into frenzy and attack the intruder.
• Oh, so Andrei wasn' stupid so much as compelled to fight the PC to the death. Makes sense I suppose. Deep in enemy territory, his army dead, base invaded. No other move left but a defiant last stand.

The Slaughter on the Elizabeth Dane was a "Mistake"

Whoever the puppet master (Jack or Cabbie being my bet) of the whole debacle probably didn't intend for a ship full of innocents to get killed.

After all, killing an innocent, even by accident, even if its just a worthless bum, would cost a vampire a bit of their Humanity, and a shipload of innocents dead by their hands would probably be enough to let the Beast take over.

My guess is there really WAS something in the Ankharan Sarcophagus, a genuine sleeping ancient that woke up hungry and killed the whole crew.

The Masterminds(s)? who instigated the whole thing by telling an archaeologist where to find it and such, would have been paying more attention to its progress and reacted faster because they knew more and could guess how things had gone wrong and went in to stop the Ancient before it reached Santa Monica where all hell would break lose.

Their original plan was probably to swap the Ancient out with the C4 when the ship unloaded, "something" woke it up though so the swap probably happened on the Dane.

In fact, that Ancient might even be the odd looking Corpse/Mummy sitting besides Jack at the End with a stake in it to paralyze it.

• Jack might not want to wipe out the whole crew, but who can know with Cabbie? Indeed if Cabbie really is Caine the whole crew could get killed by attacking him, what with the sevenfold curse and all.

Vampires actually do a lot of "Good" in the world.

While Vampires are monsters, they don't always have to act like Evil Monsters.

As a point of fact, the CAN'T always act like Evil Monsters without losing themselves to the Beast within.

So routinely doing "Good Deeds" might actually be a sort of insurance against turning into a mindless animal, or a calculated measure for when a Vampire knows he's about to do something horrific, he needs to do something benevolent first to help mitigate his sins.

This might even mean that Therease (a crazy, split personality Malkavian) might have been genuinely interested in hosting Charity Events because Vandal, perhaps under her orders, drains victims dry in the blood clinic.

She NEEDS to do "charity" because of how she gets her blood, being unable to control Vandal's violent blood lust or her own issues and having to drink blood poured into a glass due to some Malkavian Mental trauma or other.

Same with Pisha, since her feeding is lethal, she probably has to do a lot of off screen Pet the Dog to stay sane.

• She is VERY obviously on the Path of Death and the Soul based on her dialogue and the fact most Nagaraja are on that Path of Enlightenment.

Vampires lose Humanity only with personal INTENT to harm innocents.

While randomly shooting people on the streets would make you lose Humanity, if your Ghoul, under no orders from you, suddenly guns down people who look at you funny, will NOT make you lose Humanity.

"Accidentally" causing death probably doesn't count, so either Jack is exaggerating the dangers of losing your Humanity or his definition of "Accidentally" is open to interpretation.

• Exactly how the original RPG does things. Also you can often avoid losing Humanity by feeling really awful about what you've done.
  • In the tabletop, it's easier to lose humanity the higher it is. At 6 accidental killing no longer counts while at 3 shooting someone in the face for annoying you doesn't count (although torturing them for the same does) - don't bother trying for Humanity 10.

You becoming a Vampire wasn't part of ANYONE's plan in the game

Jack's plan of using the Sarcophagus to incite the Cam and Kuei into tearing each other to pieces while the Anarchs could be persuaded to stand back via his influence doesn't NEED you for it to work.

The fact that you became a vampire at all is probably some plot by some elder no one has even met yet....

Malkav, Father of all Malkavians, is either having one very fitful slumber, or is actually awake and actively mind screwing his children

• Kinda. By the RPG his body died millenia ago, but he put his mind into, well, the minds of all his childer. At the same time. But not by controlling them. Like most things Malkavian, it's complicated.

Mr. Ox is something from Demon: The Fallen

He clearly isn't with any of the mage factions, and everyone (Bar Orpherus, who has an unclear place in canon)

• • He could easily be a Nephandus. Seems about right with his creepy 'road to hell' speech and gathering of weird artefacts.
  • Alternatively he could be a part of one of the East Asian mage traditions.
    • He could also be a very creepy Akashic Brother or a Marauder.

Damsel is a Toreador, not a Brujah

She does sort of look like female version of a Male PC Toreador and also looks a bit like VV (an Anarch Toreador Stripper in Hollywood).

• She never said she was Brujah and claims to be all about "Passion!", something Toreadors tend to focus on. (Though unclear if referring to self or the Anarch Movement)
  • Passion is a key Brujah trait and NOT a Toreador one. So you're flat out wrong.
    • Both clans can be described as passionate. Toreador because they care a great deal about the superficial aesthetics of things, Brujah because they're really bad at controlling their emotions. Both are putting a positive spin on a negative trait, but Damsel definitely has trouble controlling her emotions, thus Brujah. Nines would come across as incredibly impatient and short-tempered if you hadn't had to pass by Damsel and Skelter to talk to him.

Vandal is a Combat Sadomasochist

• If you go to the 6th floor Skyline Apartment, check the bed room closet for a call girl's journal. Vandal's appointment noted to bring pliers and blowtorch....

The Creeper is the Sheriff

Totally insane theory, but they are both trench-coat wearing bat monsters who have flesh-warping powers.

L.A Becomes Camarilla Territory

All the endings have something in common, Lacroix dies, which is apparently the only thing that the cab driver and Jack wanted. It’s safe to assume that Strauss takes control of the Camarilla after that, with him on top of the organization I doubt the Camarilla won’t send help, and I also doubt that Nines Rodriguez could win against the hierarchical type of commanding that Strauss uses. The most probable situation would be Nines and the rest of the Anarchs getting killed.

• Unlikely unless the Player fully supports the Camarilla.
• If the player is Pro Anarch, Strauss would be daunted be the prospect of facing someone who just wiped out the Kuei Jin and Lacroix in in one night.
  • Of course, but it makes me wonder since Lacroix was being used as a long term joke for whatever reason, being reassigned to Anarch territory without the needed support to take over by the Camarilla. I believe that with help from any regular old Camarilla on top that wants to throw a bone, not even our lovely PC could stand a chance. Besides, the Tremere clan not helping themselves out of a difficult situation? Hm, doesn't sound too Tremere.
    • Even if Lacroix was a joke, wiping out the Kuei-Jin in one night is still impressive and it might become more a question of "Is throwing a bone really worth it?" when it comes to the cost of taking LA from the PC/Anarchs. Also, the Tremere ARE helping themselves by being cordial with the PC. Friendly relations with a inexplicably powerful fledgling is hardly bad for them.
      • True enough, but it also depends on what do you believe is the cause of the PC’s incredible power. If it’s by generation, if it’s because of Cain’s (or Malkavian thinking himself Cain’s) help, etc… If it’s the second theory, then you better brace yourself for what’s to come, because the only that the cab driver apparently wanted was killing Lacroix; he’s not going to be behind you during all your immortal life.
• Its also possible that the Player and Strauss have cordial relations and can smooth tensions over, effectively making L.A. a seperate "nation" so to speak. This 3rd option is hinted at in Bloodline Clan Quest Mods.
  • It would be a somewhat ideal ending. However, with Anarchs such as Damsel and Camarilla people like Lacroix, it is unlikely.
    • Its quite possible. Might even become tradition due to the PC's actions. Anarch Damsels gets to rant. Camarila Lacroixs gets to act like Lacroix and the PC gets to kill them. The Anarchs get a place to call home and the Camarila gets a place to exile and execute their troublesome "Princes" without getting their hands dirty. Seems like a win-win. ^_^
      • Except that vampires don't do win-win. With a (very) few exceptions the Camerilla Elders run their unlives as a zero-sum game. Accepting the Anarchs wouldn't even occur to most Elders. That said the Camarilla in America is fighting off a massive Sabbat push on the East Coast at the time the game is set, they don't have resources to throw after a city that was somewhat of a liability anyway and is unlikely to launch any attacks on other Camarilla cities, at least not for a while. So I'd guess if the city goes Anarch it stays Anarch. Kuei-Jin, that would be a different matter. They will attack other cities.

• The canon truth is that L.A falls under thin-blood Anarch control. Gehenna the Final Night makes this clear. Jenna Cross runs the L.A thin-bloods with Smiling Jack as some-born again Gehenna/Caine believer.

A Ghoul's Behaviour Changes With Proximity To Their Master.

We never see Knoxx, Mercurio, Patty or Paul with their Master, only Heather with the PC, so its entirely possible that something makes Ghouls act certain way with their Master. Would explain why Heather seems so devoted around you.

• Doesn't even need to be mystical. Ghouls are obsessively in love with their Domitor, so yeah, they are going to act differently.

The Blood Bond between Master and Ghoul Works Both Ways

Even if its just affection for a "pet" or property, if anything happens to a Ghoul, the Master will not be pleased...

• Not according to the source RPG, but a nice guy will obviously feel nice toward their servants.

Zerg Rush tactics using Ghouls is suicidal for most Vampires trying it.

Skelter mentions that Ghouls are a weakness, and despite the rather obvious advantages of having a small army of slavishly loyal, quasi-immortal, super human minions, he may have a point above and beyond the Player Punch factor of losing Ghouls.

Ghouls develop an addiction to blood sooner or later and will track you down from their death bed across a city if they have to.

This:

1) Makes you rather easy to find. And kill. 2) A "few" ghouls draining your blood is easy to take, a small horde of blood thirsty super humans who may or may not decide to take a little extra sips from your veins will drain all but the strongest vampires dry. 3) In the grand scheme of things, blood used to fuel a ghoul might be more efficiently used to empower YOU.

The No-Alignment Ending Is The Real One

I’ve been speculating, talking about it here and there, and I finally came with a conclusion after reading different comments on the matter.

Everything about the game, the way the PC behaves, and how this ending is the only one always available, make me believe that the real ending (if I can refer to it as such) is the PC leaving L.A; sick of being handled like a puppet by everyone they met.

And, let’s face it, raising the middle finger to all kindred society (literally and figuratively) is perfect. It’s a perfect social suicide, according to World of Darkness.

Patty's Problem.

• Vampires can still make mistakes. Be it deciding to fight you, opening a box full of C4 or turning the WRONG person into a Ghoul. Patty might actually be that mistake. Unlike Mercurio, Knoxx, Vandal, Romero, etc. Patty shows no signs of being a Badass. Possibly excusable because the Toreador choose her for qualities similar to small, annoying, yappy pet toy dogs.
• Even by measure of devotion, Heather, a random girl turned Ghoul out of mercy because she was dying in a hospital, is even MORE devoted to you than Patty. Evidenced by the fact that when Heather is told to go, depriving her of your presence, she is either heartbroken or has to convinced she dreamed it all, at no point that Heather hint at trying to find other Vampires for Vitae, unlike Patty who exclaims: "I wouldn't drink your blood if you were the last vampire!". This may have been an unthinking emotional outburst, but it still shows that Blood Bond or not, Patty considers other Vampires for a Vitae fix.
• Skelter, and by extension, the Anarchs, know about Patty, the don't have a rule against it as "one of their boys" have a Ghoul named Paul (who lived in a much nicer apartment than the one LaCroix started you up in, and the bar the Anarchs hung around in BTW) and not ONE of them decided to adopt Patty for their own. This speaks very badly for Patty when all the Vampires of a city don't want you.

The Malkavian isn't a vampire at all.

He/She is actually a Marauder who believes he/she's a vampire. He/She clearly knows a thing or two about Kindred, which is why the pocket dimension created from her delusion resembles the Masquerade universe greatly. It also explains the fact that the fledgeling is limited to three clan disciplines, has eighteen blood points and can plow through supernatural monsters easily. These are all simply misunderstandings of Kindred society. It also explains the bizarre coincidences that happen, like a wereshark being in chinatown or the cult of zombie-making vampires, and other generally insane things being treated nonchalantly, like the SUN NOT RISING. It also totally explains why no mages appear in the game. They all got murdered by the PC's paradox before the game even started.

Prepared, Most Vampires CAN Walk About in Daylight.

In a manner similar to a deep sea diver, or astronaut, vampires can wear suits that protect them from the normally lethal (to them) environments. Spray on flesh tone latex or even just industrial strength sunblock with special filtering contacts and even something to protect their mouths like a film of plastic could totally eliminate the need to worry about daylight and allow vamps to operate 24/7.

• Well it's not brought up in the game because the sun never rises, but in the Pn P system, vampires fall asleep supernaturally during the day. Kind of a defense mechanism to prevent them doing something stupid like walking outside.
• Damn. Can't they feed some Kine a lot of coffee then feed on the Kine?
• Falling asleep as a defense mechanism seems dangerous. If you fall asleep out of doors, you'd roast under the sun, have Hunters dusting your helpless self or some other ignoble end happen that you could have easily handled if awake.
  • Agreed, but in fairness, it isn't called the CURSE of Caine for nothing.
• Hmmm....come to think of it, why don't Hunters stage the majority of their operations during the day? Going after vampires at night seems stupid.
  • This is a similar point to come up in Blade. It's probably that vampires are just so experienced hiding during the day that night really is the only time they're vulnerable. Plus, even a weak kindred probably has a home or apartment with a lock. Try breaking into one of those in broad daylight.
  • Also, vampires experience fear frenzy when exposed knowingly to sunlight or fire. However, given the fact that you can wield a FLAMETHROWER with no ill effect, this might not be a problem in Bloodlines.
    • Maybe its just the PC. He/she is inexplicably powerful after all, might mean some fire/fear resistance.
      • To sum up the Pn P game system: You don't get forced into sleep during the day, you just get really, really tired. You can stay awake if you need to, say, run away, it's just hard. Hunters do go after Kindred during the day but they have to find their Haven first, which is why they hide them well. The only way for a vampire to survive at all in the sun is lots of Fortitude (which still only lasts a minute at most) or very heavy clothing (so much that you can't see).
      • Not too sure about the 'can't see' part. Video cam and goggles set up inside a modified deep sea diving suit and the Vamp is good to go. Looks like a Big Daddy but fashion crime is probably better than frying.

Win or Lose, the Anarchs are DOOMED. Their BEST option is Stalemate.

Obviously if they lose, they will be no more, but if by some miracle (like a super neonate leading them to victory) they win, the Anarchs will find themselves "promoted" from The Resistance into the ones actually in charge, the very people they fight fang and fist against.

• A funny and ironic (literally) He Who Fights Monsters situation.
  • Possible, but not invitable. LA became the first Anarch Free State in 1944 and stayed as a city of free Kindred with no-one in charge (except of small areas, like Issac) until the Kuei Jin invaded in the late 1990s. If they do He Who Fights Monsters it will take a couple of centuries or so. And the Old World of Darkness doesn't have a couple of centuries...

One of the most favored vacation spots for Vampires is the poles during the 6 months or so of "Night"

• So.....30 Days of Night was a Sabbat raiding party?

One of the least favored places is the poles during the 6 months of "Day"/

Vampires could make a legitimate fortune working in underground, underwater, or outer space industries.

• Without the need to breathe, (and potentially interested in silver for Were-Pest reasons) ability to do by hand what most kine would require heavy machinery, and extra sharp vampire senses could make mining a very profitable venture for vampires.
• Ditto underwater. Simply wearing lead shoes would likely allow a vampire to simply walk from the shore towards things like ship wrecks for salvage, oil rigs to setup/repair communication cables, etc.
• The cold, dark vaccum of outer space is probably not going to hurt a Vamp, and as long as the vamp pays attention to where the sun is and has adequate blood supplies stocked up, Space Vampire Astronauts could rule the stars!

The Werewolves in Griffith Park not attacking the city despite their hatred of vampires is actually Fridge Brilliance.

• So, if an Antediluvian was actually rising in the middle of Los Angeles, you'd think a lot of spiritually aware beings like Mages, Werewolves, Demons etc. would be flooding in from all places to put down the superpowerful Entropy Spirit/Wyrm Incarna/Earthbound etc. However, we're told that Werewolves have camped literally just outside Hollywood in Griffith Park, and aside from LaCroix setting fire to the place, seem content to ignore Kindred. As spiritually aware beings, you'd think the sheer Wyrm taint of an Antediluvian would have driven them to attack LaCroix's building WAY before the PC. The reason for this, of course, is that there is not Antediluvian, and hence, they don't care what the leeches are up to. Hence, Fridge Brilliance.

Part of the reason why Malkavians are so nutty is they have a tendancy to Embrace lunatics in the same way Ventrue go for the rich and powerful. Possibly even with "guidance" from their primogen Malkav.

One of the secret shames of the Tremer Clan is that they DO go after Dn D geeks.

Vamps Blood Rape.

Sort of like Mind Rape, force feeding a mortal vamp blood to make a personal ghoul seems entirely possible.

• Vandal, owned by Therese, does not seem to have volunteered to become a Ghoul by how bitter he is but then again, he might have tried to rape/kill her so...
• Also, Knoxx tried to run when he first saw Bertram so the initial dose of Vamp blood was probably force fed.
• Skelter was probably just joking about the Pope being his Ghoul but IF this was true....that sure is one powerful puppet with lots of influence and money.
• 3 sips of blood (like 3 shots of whiskey?) taken right then and there could be enough to make them so slavishly obedient a Vamp could order them to jump off a cliff to preseve the Masquerade so it would be hard to tell how often this happens.

The Pc Had Sex With Heather

Its highly likely (if male or bi) that the PC had sex with Heather. As a Ghoul, Heather would do ANYTHING asked of her and despite Mercurio saying Vampires don't/won't/can't have sex if asked, he stills says that Jeanette (a Vampire) was rumored to have sex with other associates (possibly even you!).

• So if for nothing else other than force of habit, curiosity to see how it goes, and juvenile fantasy left over from being alive, Heather is a Love Slave and a Blood Slave.

Yuki's Bad Japanese.

• Its possible that Yuki was not from Japan, juset went to Japan to become a Demon Hunter, that would explain her horrible Japanese.
• Yuki Sensei/Family/Order was not originally Japanese, they just went there to hunt Demons. Hence, bad Japanese.

Yuki and PC will have more adventures together! (assuming they did not meet a bad end)

• Yuki has already shown remarkable restraint for a Hunter by NOT trying to kill the PC on sight. If the PC assisted in killing the monster Yuki was hunting, she even shows up to offer her help when the PC is fighting "Ghost People". Its not that much of a stretch to see them co-operating as Kuei Jin are a pain in the ass to all Kindred.

Therese Voermann killed Jeanette along with her father.

• When you talk to them, Jeanette always comes across as a bit two-dimensional while Therese is a little more fleshed-out. Digging into it, you learned that the twins were always close, and there's that huge family picture of them showing they likely used to be two people. However, you learn that at some point Therese caught her father in bed with Jeanette instead of her; in a jealous (and squicky) rage she shot her father in the back with a shotgun. She'd have you believe this was the end of it, but in reality she also shot and killed Jeanette, either deliberately with a second shot or accidentally with the first. When she was Embraced, her Malkavian madness took shape around her grief at killing her own twin sister and manifested itself as a second personality that acted how Therese thought her sister would. That's why she seems less-developed; she's simply Therese's interpretation of what Jeanette was like and that's all Therese remembers about her.

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