By Kraig Blackwelder and Steve Kenson

By Kraig Blackwelder and Steve Kenson

CONTENTS 1 TM BY KRAIG BLACKWELDER AND STEVE KENSON VAMPIRE CREATED BY MARK REIN•HAGEN 2 SAN FRANCISCO BY NIGHT CREDITS “YEAR-LONG ROAD TRIP” SPECIAL THANKS Authors: Kraig Blackwelder and Steve Kenson. Vampire Daniel “Oh my God that sucked” Barclay , for watching and the World of Darkness created by Mark Rein•Hagen. double features of dubious merit, always sharing a laugh and Storyteller Game System Design: Mark Rein•Hagen. knowing who was better at DOA3. Developer: Lucien Soulban Matt “You’re... choking... me!” Keeley, for getting jumped Editor: Michelle Lyons by everyone he knows... in restaurants, stores, bars.... Art Director: Brian Glass Jesse “Watch the damn tape already!” Scoble, for being a Layout and Typesetting: Brian Glass & Mike Chaney saving grace at work and liquoring me up good. Interior Art: Becky Cloonan, Steve Ellis, Jeff Waye, Jenni- Devinder “Yeah, but is it art?” Thiara , for turning debate fer Quick, Kalman Andrasofszky, Leanne Buckley, Matt Foster into both a fine art and a blunt instrument for bludgeoning. Front Cover Art: Michael Gaydos The Stronghold Crowd: Adam, Dac, Heather, Penn, Chris, Andy, Keith, Ross, Jessie & many more who made life in Front and Back Cover Design: Mike Chaney Guelph... interesting. © 2002 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. 1554 Litton Drive Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for Stone Moutain, blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire the Masquerade, Mage the Ascen- GA 30083 sion, Vampire and World of Darkness are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Kindred of USA the East, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Changeling the Dreaming, Kindred of the East Companion, Killing Streets, The Thousand Hells, Dharma Book Bone Flowers, Dharma Book Devil Tigers, Dharma Book Thousand Whispers, Dharma Book Thrashing Dragons, Blood Magic Secrets of Thaumaturgy, Gilded Cage, Nights of Prophecy, World of Darkness Demon Hunter X, Loom of Fate, Immortal Eyes, Mind’ s Eye Theatre, Laws of the East, San Francisco by Night and World of Darkness Hong Kong are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised. For a free White Wolf catalog call 1-800-454-WOLF. Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com; alt.games.whitewolf and rec.games.frp.storyteller PRINTED IN THE USA. CONTENTS 3 TM CONTENTS PROLOGUE: NIGHT MOVES 4 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 10 CHAPTER TWO: INTERESTING TIMES 18 CHAPTER THREE: UTOPIA LOST 32 CHAPTER FOUR: SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTS 60 CHAPTER FIVE: HONORED SHEN 76 CHAPTER SIX: STORYTELLING SAN FRANCISCO 118 4 SAN FRANCISCO BY NIGHT PROLOGUE: NIGHT MOVES 5 prologue: Night Moves All warfare is based on deception. — Sun Tzu, The Art of War “Check,” said the First Oni and Devil of Heaven “Your queen can’t protect you forever, Van Nuys,” with a trace of a smile. “You haven’t many pieces left he said. “ Sooner or later you will have to come out in play, Minister.” from behind her skirts.” Jochen Van Nuys, Minister of the West and ** * former Prince of San Francisco, studied the board Sara Anne Winder was not pleased. The Camarilla for a moment. It was true. His white pieces were had charged the newly named Prince of San Francisco certainly outnumbered by Chiu Bao’s black ones, with regaining the city from the Cathayan vampires with a growing number of captured white pieces on who’ d taken it, but so far all she possessed were his opponent’s side of the board. Chiu Bao had speculations and theories from some of the finest certainly picked up the fundamentals of chess far minds in the Camarilla about the nature and identity more quickly than Van Nuys was able to master the of her adversaries. She sighed heavily and pushed subtleties of mahjong or go . The Cathayan mandarin aside the titanium-shelled laptop and the endless was a shrewd strategist, for all his appearance as a reports and theories it contained. simple country bumpkin. Her bodyguard, Miriam, looked over from where “It’s not necessarily a matter of how many pieces she stretched, one foot held high above her head in a you have left, Mandarin, but how you deploy them.” classic ballet arch. Her black leotard sang every graceful He shifted his queen on the board, deftly removing curve of Miriam Caravaggio’ s lithe form like a his king from check and bringing a subtle smirk to serenade. She lowered her leg smoothly and assumed Chiu Bao’s face. 6 SAN FRANCISCO BY NIGHT another position, hands cupped demurely at her capable of before we can move against them. They’ ve stomach as she bent and flexed. shown that they know far too much about us already. “More reports from the Tremere?” she asked idly, It’s time we turned those tables and showed them we without missing a beat of the practice that had become are not to be trifled with.” so intrinsic, so second nature to her. Sara enjoyed “Difficult to do that while we’re penned up here,” watching Miriam train. She was so graceful, and so Miriam noted, with a pirouette and swing of her arm deadly. Winder knew full well that many mortals and that swept the window nearby and what lay beyond its a goodly share of Kindred thought the two were lovers. heavy curtains. Winder bit back a harsh retort. H er They spent much time together in the prince’s haven bodyguard was right. The Cathayans gave her a haven in the heart of Frisco’s Castro district. Winder had in the Castro, San Francisco’s famous “gay district,” a only one love, however, and that was success. Let not-so-subtle snub. By Camarilla propriety, she should them think what they wanted. have a manor on Nob Hill and free rein to run her city “More idle theories and guesswork, if that’s what as she saw fit. Under the auspices of the Cathayans you mean,” Winder replied with a note of disgust. “ and their “New Promise Mandarinate,” though, she Every fact that Luna Demain and her chantry uncover was little more than a prisoner. Still, even that could about these Cathayans spawns a hundred more be turned to her advantage. questions. They think they’ ve confirmed that the “Allow the Cathayans to become comfortable,” Cathayans do not make others of their kind through she said, as much to herself as to Miriam. “They’ll the Embrace, but they have little inkling as to how decide we aren’ t a threat while we watch, learn, and they actually do it. The report states that it might be gather information about them. And when they least a special rite, or perhaps simply killing the intended suspect it, that’s when they’ll learn the lessons that target and breathing into her mouth. They could be took the Anarchs and Sabbat centuries to understand. more fertile than we ever imagined, or they could be We aren’t going anywhere.” the victims of circumstance.“ ** * Winder stood and paced irritably. “I can’t fight a “The queen’s protection and power are war based on theories! I need facts, weapons we can considerable,” Van Nuys told his opponent, much as use against the Cathayans. And until we ascertain a tutor would lecture a schoolboy, “but it’s the their breeding capacity, the source of their strength, cooperation of all the pieces, working together — we cannot act… we mustn’t.” their moves complimenting each other — that makes “Why waste time letting the Tremere dissect and for strategy. No individual piece moves without study them?” Miriam asked, kicking one leg up to the benefiting the whole.” bar and leaning forward as she ran her hands up Chiu Bao smiled. His people had grasped this toward her toes. “ We know full well the Cathayans lesson millennia ago under the august teachings of meet Final Death just like any of us. A stake through Kung Fu Tzu… Master Confucius. the heart and a severed neck is enough.” Van Nuys slid his king to the side and safety while Miriam smiled at the memory of her last fight with he prepared to sacrifice other pieces to keep the them, snapping the necks of the Cathayan assassins monarch safe just a little while longer. Victory who tried to kill Winder. They had fought well, but demanded sacrifices; a good gambit was never actually not well enough. They hadn’t expected such a demure- what it appeared to be. looking woman to serve as prince’s bodyguard. It was ** * a good fight, almost fluid, like long ribbons sailing in The Castro was libidinous, with social freedom the wind. She appreciated their grace and sense of unlike any Dan Gemmel had known before. He motion. She was looking forward to more. couldn’t help grinning when he walked into the club The prince shook her head, however, bringing a and scanned the room, bathing in the sea of guys, lock of long blond hair across her face. She brushed considering his choice in a banquet of denim and it aside, then turned her attention back to the muscle-shirts. There wasn’t anything like this waiting laptop.

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