Part 48: XLVIII - Ecce Machina, Part II
So, now that we've basically finished up all main quest business in Chinatown, it's time to deal with the last few odds and ends strewn about Chinatown and the game in general. By the end of this update, we should be standing right before the endgame. First, there's something new in the noodle shop we stole those eyes in.
Suddenly, there's somebody there!
Whenever there's something in brackets, that means she said that in Japanese and the subtitles were kind enough to translate it for us.
What?
I am (death). I am not like all the rest. I have no vengeance for you... yet. No need for that! Who are you? O-gami Yukie (I am). I am (death), demon hunter. I come to this city for the blood of the demon that kill my master. Do not interfere, my revenge will cut through you if it has to! What demon? [Listen] I hunt hengeyôkai. My sensei killed demon that killed my family and now I take the life of his killer. I follow trail of corpses from Japan to (Los Angeles). Hengeyôkai is here and it will die here! What's a hengeyôkai? Hengeyôkai is a demon that hides in the skin of man, but it is not man. Do you know where the demon is? I know he is nearby, (umm)... I lose its trail. Do you meet hengeyôkai? How would I know if I had met one? You would know one when you see it. That helps. If I see one, I'll let you know. (Really, eh?) I appreciate your concern for my vengeance... (thank you). Do not pity hengeyôkai. It is a bad demon. The kind that make little girl into hunter. Before I go, I had a few other questions. (What?) What do you know about the Kuei-jin? They are ghost people... ghosts in dead person. I do not like Kuei-jin; I do not like demons. Excuse me. No offense taken. I had another question. (What?) Any other info you can tell me about this hengeyôkai? Hengeyôkai scent smell like... sakana, fishes. I don't know why. Maybe other demons know why. Smells don't really help me a whole lot. I'll try a different approach. See you.Well, we were already heading to Ming-Xiao about her little fling with the Fu Syndicate, might as well ask about this hengeyôkai while we're at it.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
What can I help you with? Do you know of a hengeyôkai in Chinatown? Ah yes, the hengeyôkai - Zygaena, I believe his name was. I had nearly forgotten him. Then you know him? He announced his prescence in our domain, and I granted him permission to operate. He does not act on my behalf, however, I can assure you. Where can I find him? I believe he said he operates an importing business and entertains clients at the Red Dragon.I'm not buying the whole "he doesn't work for me" thing at all.
I found out about your little project with the Fu Syndicate. You did? Interesting. Might I inquire as to who gave you that piece of information? I did a little digging in their computer files... after I trashed the place. Haha! I applaud you, Kindred. You must be a great warrior indeed. I don't get it. Why are you involved with them? I'm sorry. I thought you were aware... our people are at war. Do you think your elders would do any different? But they tried to kill me, too! Yes, I'm sure they did. Whatever. I'm outta here.I basically had to walk on eggshells during that conversation because I didn't want to risk pissing her off, because that would really throw a wrench in my plans. Anyway, I'm really wondering just how "at war" the Kindred and Kuei-jin are. Is this full blown "Sabbat of LA vs. Camarilla of LA" war? Is this "Anarchs of LA vs. Camarilla of LA" war where there's quite open hostility, but things haven't exploded into full blown combat just yet? Is this Phoney War phase levels of war?
When we head to the Red Dragon, we notice there's somebody new here.
That's a bit much to ask for some info, don't you think?
My pardons, you looked like someone who might have some interest in my product. Actually, you'd be surprised at the variety of people who fit that profile. What else do you sell? Let's just discuss your business, shall we? Do you ever do business with a guy called Zygaena? Tell me all you know. No. Anyone else, this would not be an issue. But him? No, I'm sorry, you're going to have to ask somebody else. [Domination] YOU WILL TALK TO ME OR YOU'LL FEEL MY WRATH. [Listen] How... unfortunate, but I'm afraid the individual you seek is capable of much worse. May I ask why you might wish to find him? Perhaps if I knew your reasons, I'd feel more at ease about divulging that information. He's not long for this world. Oh, you plan to kill him? Yeah, why not? Yes, that's what I wanted to hear. If that's your goal, I'd be willing to help to arrange a meeting with him. Where? I was supposed to meet him at the fish market tonight. You go in my place, but if you do, I hope your intentions are serious. He is a very serious man. After tonight, he's going to be a very dead man. Goodnight.You can also ask this guy (who seems to be some sort of handler, I guess) if he is Zygaena, and he will vehemently deny it. I guess there's nothing suspicious here.
Yes, that actually is Zygaena, and yes, you can totally just kill him right now and finish the quest, because it takes like a dozen shotgun rounds to take him down, so your character just figures "well, this dude must have been some sort of supernatural, I guess it was the Hengeyôkai in human form. Go me!". But that's not as fun. Also, we get one less experience point out of it.So, back to Yukie.
About the hengeyôkai... (Where is it?) Where...? I told him to meet me at the fish market. We can ambush him there. You want to kill hengeyôkai with me? Why?Because it gives us experience points, you silly goose, you.
Why not? If you trick me, I kill you after hengeyôkai. Is this fair for you? It's fair. Let's go. Fish Market, (let's go). See you there, demon. Yes.
And here we are at the fish market. Yukie is here, too, but she wants us to go first. Alright, I guess.
I love this visual of the two sneaking. All it needs is Silly Symphonies sneaking music.
OH NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? THIS IS TOTALLY NOT WHAT I EXPECTED!
What's so funny, asshole? You're both here: My hunter and my target. This is very convenient... hehe. I think you've been getting high on your own supply. Hehehehe hahaha heh-heh. Surprise!
AND THEN HE MORPHS INTO A BIG FUCKING SHARK THING AND THE FIGHT IS ON.
Watch Boss Fight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58FR3HX5x10
As the fight starts, Yukie goes straight into melee, which is normally your cue to hang back and shoot the shit out of the guy with the SPAS. That's what I did in the video, which I recorded in post.
I didn't do it in the regular run. I tried to take this guy on in melee. It doesn't work. Even with Fortitude 4 activated, this guy still hits like a dump truck for full aggravated damage.
If you try to go for hit-and-fade attacks, he could just as well decide to start chucking shit at you, which doesn't help matters.
After getting wailed on for a while, I snapped out of my stupidity and just laid down heavy fire with the SPAS, which worked far better.
And he ends up dead sooner rather than later.
Well, he's "fin"-ished. You probably didn't get that, did you? Defy your nature, demon, man can suffer without your help. (Goodbye). My pleasure.
And she leaves, and that's that. That was the last sidequest in the game we didn't already start. All we have left to do is bring Gary the last few items he wants and we'll be completely done with the side stuff.
Also, there's 200 bucks at the end of the room. Always welcome.
The next step is to have a talk with Wong Ho, since he's next on the hitlist for Ming-Xiao.
I talked to Zhao.
Ah, good! Did he have the information you needed? Yeah, he told me... right before the Tong cashed his check. Oh, I see. The Tong must have known that Zhao was the only one who could have told me about Kiki. It seems that his past finally came back to claim him. The past is something we always carry with us, and sometimes it is a heavy load. What do you mean? Nothing. It is not my place to say. [Persuasion] Come on... we're friends, aren't we? You can confide in me. It is something that very few people know. Many years ago, Zhao was the leader of the Tong here in Chinatown. He had a reputation as a very brutal gang leader, and he was very feared and respected. In time, Zhao came to understand that respect and fear were very different things, and one gained because of another was something devoid of honor. He left the Tong, vowing never to return to his former life. I see. But how did he know about Kiki? If a man lives for a long time in the forest, he makes friends with many wolves. Wolves know much about what happens in the forest. I understand. Thanks for telling me. I have a few more questions. Yes? How can I help you? What can you tell me about a silver-haired man? Silver-haired man? I don't know, uh... wait. There is something. I saw such a man a few nights ago... very distinctive. He was coming out of the Temple. You mean the same secret Temple that no one else is allowed to go into? Yes, the same one. The plot thickens. Do you have any idea who he is? No, I didn't recognize him. Why are you asking? Because I found out he was bankrolling the Tong. Really? Who was he? He was running some sort of secret science lab... conducting experiments. Experiments? What kind of experiments? They were looking for weaknesses in... uh, well... certain individuals. I see. Where is he now? I killed him. And I have proof that he was working with Ming-Xiao. What? How can that be? Ming-Xiao would never involve herself in something like this! I don't believe you. Believe it, Wong Ho. You were next on their list. Hmmm. I consider you a friend, and I trust your counsel. Perhaps I will think on this matter for a little while. Maybe I will speak with Ming-Xiao about it. [Persuasion] Trust me, Wong Ho. You don't want to do that. Get out of town now. I... believe you. Perhaps I will close the restaurant, get Kiki, and go away for a while. Thank you, my friend. I owe you another debt of gratitude. May the gods be with you, whatever path you decide to take. I appreciate it, Wong Ho. Take care of yourself.That netted us a Humanity gain, giving us a whopping 3 Humanity. Good thing this doesn't work like the tabletop. Actually, while we're at it, let's bring the recent Humanity talk from the thread in - this started when I falsely assumed that killing Ji Wen Ya dropped our Humanity (2 at the time) down to 1:
Vicissitude posted:
Siegkrow posted:
...wait, isn't your humanity at one?
Isn't that, y'know, dangerous?
At Humanity of 4, you're generally considered to be on a downward spiral in tabletop. That's where your perceptions of the people around you start to radically shift, and it starts to be picked up by the people you interact with. You also don't really see a need to fix your outlook anymore. You've lost that spark that makes you able to see others as you do yourself. The character can get help and start to regain that connection, but it's also easy for them to put aside the idea for their own personal desires.
Humanity 3 is where you can kill casually and feel no remorse. You need a reason to kill (aside from self defense or in combat), but almost any reason will cut it. The book also suggests that it takes a lot of mental effort (rolling/spending Willpower) to avoid just going off and indulging your urges whenever you feel them. The example is to spend WP to avoid going off to beat the shit out of someone you hate just because you hate them and damn the consequences.
Humanity 3 or lower is considered "unplayable", unless you're roleplaying a shift to a Path of Enlightenment. They're so far gone that the character would be more of a liability than an asset to their coterie.
More on Paths if interest has been piqued.
OAquinas posted:
sleepy.eyes posted:
Go for it man, I never got to play the system much but I always thought it could be fun.
I'm sure Vic will go into greater depths, but here's a "quick" rundown:
Every vampire has a Beast. Your concept of morality and "right" is all that enables you to act as an intelligent person above the base instincts that the Beast operates on. As with all things in the WoD, your morality level is on a 10-point scale.
At 10, the Beast has little sway over you unless you starve yourself.
At 0, you lose all control and you are incapable of thought beyond "Kill. Feed. Sleep." and not necessarily in that order. The character becomes a mindless NPC and is said to be lost to "Wassail."
By default every vampire starts with "Humanity" as their core morality. It's the general social contract that people are familiar with (hence the "humanity" moniker). Don't kill, don't steal, don't inflict injury, and at the very top "don't be selfish." A humanity 10 vampire puts Buddhist monks to shame, but at that level selfish thoughts can cause a loss--let alone actions.
As you go down the scale, the level of "Bad" that would cause you to lose additional humanity gets more and more egregious. From acting selfishly to hurting people with cause to hurting people without cause to killing them to killing casually to mass murder.
When you perform an action that would cause you to lose humanity, you can do a difficult roll with your conscience stat to see if you can avoid it. Success means you feel terrible about it. Failure means you've rationalized the action and lose humanity. A botch means you like the action and lose an additional point (and probably pick up a mental derangement). This system is obviously simplified in Bloodlines.
As mentioned, your humanity directly and indirectly affects a number of mechanics. To simulate being alive (heartbeat, flushed skin, etc) costs 8-humanity bloodpoints--so if you have a high humanity it's essentially free, and if you have a low level it's not worth the effort. Humanity also affects how well you can operate during the day. If you get knocked into torpor (lose all health levels but not to agg damage) humanity affects how long you sleep. 10 wakes up practically the next night. Humanity 1 sleeps the millennia away.
Now, humanity is all well and good, but it doesn't really coincide well with being a blood drinking monster. Humanity is just a code of morality, really, so what if you reject it in favor of a different morality?
You can...maybe. The process involves breaking down your sense of right and wrong and rebuilding them to fit a new code of ethics--trading your Humanity for a new Path of Enlightenment. It's only possible if you have a high willpower and when you hit humanity 3, and it actually gets easier as your morality goes lower. You don't have as many ethics left at that point, so starting from scratch isn't as much of a stretch. You can fail, especially if you don't have help from someone already on the Path you seek to follow. Failure at humanity 3 is recoverable. Failure at 1 is...bad.
Paths are not just "do whatever I want" morality. The Beast can be said to be the ultimate in self-indulgence and a total inability to avoid impulse action. The only way to stave it off is to create a system where you innately resist some actions or regard them as "Bad." There are a number of paths, but they all take a core concept and build their ethos around it--be it a stringent adherence to personal honor, enlightenment through exploring death, seeking truth through shattering others' sense of what is real, or exploring the mutability of the vampiric form.
Betraying the core conceit of each Path is akin to thoughtless murder for Humanity. They're alien mindsets adopted by monsters unable or unwilling to adhere to what shreds of mortal morality they remember. But if they manage to get onto a Path, they may have an easier time at putting more room between them and the Beast.
ulmont posted:
OAquinas posted:
Paths are not just "do whatever I want" morality.
In theory. In practice some are close to "do what I was going to do anyway."
Path of power and the inner voice, for instance, has sin ranging from "turning down an opportunity for power" (1) to "denying responsibility for your actions" (10) with "accepting defeat" in the middle (6).
Path of the beast similarly ranges from "refusing to kill to survive" (1) to "hunting with means other than your own vampiric powers" (10) with "failing to support your allies" in the middle (5).
Those....aren't that tough to stay on and certainly easier than humanity for PCs, in the main.
Tehan posted:
Yeah, VtM really assumed some level of buy-in from the players, so a lot of the things a player can sacrifice for power are things like 'the capacity to have friendships' that have no mechanical effects but are absolutely horrifying if you're living in your character's head even a little. But if you approach it as a rollplayer it's more like a free license to ditch one of the larger weaknesses of vampires.
But then again you probably shouldn't be playing horror games with rollplayers in the first place.
Vicissitude posted:
OAquinas posted:
Basic rundown
This basically hits a lot of the stuff I was going to do anyway, but might as well go deeper. Strap in, folks.
Humanity is hard to break away from. We are, after all, humans. It's as much a part of us as our eye color. Losing Humanity is a tremendous strain on the psyche. It represents a breaking apart of a character's core being. Vampires are not human, but they were born and raised as humans. Sometimes at a higher or lower point on the scale, but almost always on it somewhere near the middle. As a vampire's unlife goes on they reach certain breaking points. The first one is pretty much inevitable: someday, they're going to kill for their food. It's why that's listed as the breaking point for Humanity 6 (Accidental violation: drinking a vessel dry out of starvation). But existence will likely keep putting new situations in their way that calls for compromise.
The higher you are on the scale, the less the Beast has control over you. Maybe it's more accurate to say that you allow it less control. Your own conscience keeps it in check. As you begin to slide down, you give way to the Beast's influences. But for some people, especially those in the Sabbat or other minor sects/cults, Humanity is not conducive to survival. They do things that would make a normal, moral outlook collapse in horror. In order to save themselves from the Beast and still act in accordance with their beliefs, a new path has to be found. The Paths of Enlightenment are alternate moral codes. They can range from benevolent (Path of Redemption) and noble (Honorable Accord), to the bizarre (Paradox) and downright monstrous (Metamorphosis).
Each Path has its own variant of the hierarchy of sins. The way they're worded, it's almost impossible to maintain a 9 or 10 in the Path without complete dedication it. Even Humanity has that built in. As it's been said, 'selfish thoughts' is a pretty broad term and just part of our instincts. Of course, that just means having to rise above them. With a Path, it may be harder because the thought process is an alien one to how humans are raised. It's why a lot of them are pretty simplified for roleplaying despite being completely different from Humanity.
GrimRevenant posted:
As I recall we went into Paths a little bit earlier on in the thread, but now that we’ve met some of the more… interesting characters, it might be worth going over some more. Couple of examples:
Our buddy Andrei the Tzimisce, for example, is almost certainly on the Path of Metamorphosis, a philosophy which believes that the vampiric condition is the next evolution of humanity, and is dedicated to transcending it to find the next step. (Talking about Golconda and Path equivalents might be interesting, too?) Some of the tenets include frequent self-modification, always experimenting wherever possible, and at an advanced level, refusing to share you knowledge with or help others because it would hinder their own process of self-enlightnment. Metamorphosists tend to be… solitary, or at least surrounded people with no mouths.
“Pisha”, the Nagaraja corpse-eater, is probably on either the Path of Bones or of Death and the Soul, assuming I am remembering them rightly. Both are pretty appropriate for someone dedicated to their pursuit of Necromancy.
From a roleplaying perspective, there are enough characters who are on Paths to fairly easily rationalise a character with '0' Humanity having taken the first step onto a Path of Enlightnment, especially in light of various characters’ attempts to persuade you to their way of thinking, and some of the more interesting theories regarding our chessmaster friend.
ulmont posted:
Thesaya posted:
I, at least would love to know more. Preferably tied to characters in bloodlines paths if applicable. Otherwise, maybe some details about the most likely paths for vampires of different clans, sabbat/camarilla/anarchs and how well being on a path would be possible when being a part of those groups.
Originally, all vampires used Humanity. When the Sabbat was introduced, to answer the question "how do they all not reach Humanity 0," Paths were introduced and every Sabbat character was put on a Path. Then, with Dark Ages, Paths and Humanity were combined into "Roads." Finally, most Sabbat were moved back into low-grade Humanity and some Paths (the more offbeat ones for antagonist clans) were put in the base book.
Taking the 20th anniversary edition of Vampire the Masquerade as the main source:
Most Camarilla Kindred still use Humanity (aka "Path of Humanity"). The Sabbat paths aren't listed here, but conmmonly include the Path of the Beast (controls the Beast by accepting its urges as natural and accepting their role as a hunter among hunters), Path of Power and the Inner Voice (controls the Beast through rigorous determination and the amassing of worldly power), and the Path of Honorable Accord (harnesses the Beast through the rigorous practice of honorable and chivalrous behavior).
A bunch of Clans have their own special paths:
quote:
Path of Blood - Followed almost exclusively by Assamites, the Path of Blood governs revenge, diablerie and bringing oneself closer to the First Vampire. [Sins range from Acting against another Assamite to Killing a mortal for sustenance.]
Path of the Bones - This code governs the study of death and its relation to the vampiric state. The Giovanni are its most ardent supporters. [Sins range from Actively preventing a death to Showing a fear of death.]
Path of Metamorphosis -This uniquely Tzimisce Path operates on the principle that, as vampirism lies beyond humanity, something lies beyond vampirism. [Sins range from Exhibiting compassion for others to Postponing feeding when hungry.]
Path of Night - The Path of Night opens the vampire’s soul to eternal darkness. It is predominantly practiced by Lasombra. [Sins range from Repenting one's behavior to Killing a mortal for food.]
Path of Paradox - The Ravnos code of ethics, the Path of Paradox centers upon changing reality for the betterment of oneself. [Sins range from Embracing needlessly or out of personal desire to Embracing a woman, with the notable Failing to destroy another vampire at 6.]
Path of Typhon - Corruption and sin pave this Path’s way. It is supported by the Followers of Set. [Sins range from Refusing to aid in Set's resurrection to Pursuing one's own indulgences instead of another's.]
http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Path_of_Enlightenment
OAquinas posted:
Thesaya posted:
I, at least would love to know more. Preferably tied to characters in bloodlines paths if applicable. Otherwise, maybe some details about the most likely paths for vampires of different clans, sabbat/camarilla/anarchs and how well being on a path would be possible when being a part of those groups.
The vast majority of all vampires--camarilla, sabbat, or independent--are on Humanity. Or if they're Freakin Old, Via Humanitas (the Dark Ages equivalent). It's the default setting, and it really can't be emphasized enough how hard it is to break out of that mindset and accept an entirely new moral code. You need a very strong will (IIRC, 7+) to even attempt it. So even if you do heinous acts as a nightly occurrence and might like to see things from a different perspective, it's not a given that you can make the jump.
Camarilla is all about blending into humanity. Ergo, Paths are not encouraged since they seriously impair your ability to relate to mortal humans. That said, there are a number of Elders who are on Paths just because they are that old and removed from Humanity.
Sabbat, obviously, does not encourage humanity. They DO encourage keeping the Beast at bay, however, so it's a bit of a mushy area. Generally you'll find the range caps out at 5 or 6 for an upper limit; not much room for selfless pacifists in the Sword of Caine. Paths are definitely encouraged and frequent, if not what you'd call 'common.' Finding help transitioning can be difficult depending on the Path and practitioner.
Independent clans generally each have their own Path tailored to their gimmick. Generally the adherence levels are roughly the same as the Sabbat, though generally you'd have an easier time getting assistance in making the transition.
Rockopolis posted:
How does one boost one's Humanity or Path?
Roleplay. Officially it's 2x the rating in experience cost. But Morality is decidedly a subjective and core bit of the Vampire game, so a good ST will generally require you to have your character do "good" deeds (good being relative to their morality code) and make a conscious effort at doing better. It's hard to climb the ladder, but easy to fall down.
citybeatnik posted:
Rockopolis posted:
What atrocity do you commit for the path of redemption or one of the other less gribbly paths?
Neglecting your duty as one of God's appointed - it's basically a bizarro version of the Path of Night. It's even a Sabbat one! All be it created by embraced Jesuits. Frenzying and doing atrocious things during said time is a good thing, as it lets you understand sin better.
Then there's the Path of Cathari, that takes the Cathar heresy and goes "you know what? They're right, the physical world is a place of sin... and we're all about the physical... hrm..."
Once again, that was a lot of stuff, but we're not done just yet.
First of all, let's clean up the poster quest.
Actually, first of all, let's get some more money. By god, we'll fucking need it.
Here's an interesting option - I have no idea when this was added, but I guess it was with the most recent unofficial patch - we get an option to remove that annoying turnstile. If we pick that, leave and come back...
...it's gone! Yay! Moving on...
Next up, we drop off the squashed Odious Chalice in our mailbox while the guard standing basically right next to us just doesn't notice, leave and head back upstairs to get our next email from Gary.
Two new emails, one from Gary, one from our friend.
quote:
<Subject> World of Darkness Gold fast!
<From> gary@schrecknet.vtm
Been busy, boss? Because I heard another famous movie prop has gone missing. The throwing star of the Whirlwind from "A Touch of Xen". I'll swap it for the poster of a sweet girl, whom you certainly won't look in the eyes!
So that means she's got big tits? Or does it mean she has an ugly face? Regardless, we have the throwing star already, so this should be done quick.
quote:
<Subject> The queen
<From> a friend
Beware the black queen.
Hm, this is interesting. We haven't really established the sides yet - who is "white", and who is "black"? The only one that references the colors is "The first move", which states "The white king moves to protect his pawn." Who is the white king? I'm sure there's plenty of answers to that, but I'd like to discuss this in more depth after the game has been finished and we have all the information we can get, because these messages and their sender are one of the more fascinating topics about this game, because it's somewhat open to debate.
Here's the poster we got for the last item. Nothing special.
We drop off the throwing star in our mailbox and leave the building again.
As we leave, the quest log informs us that we have now gotten all the posters! So that's another quest off the checklist.
And as we head back up, we can see the po- ...what the fuck?
JESUS CHRIST, GARY. JESUS CHRIST, WESP. Where the fuck did you dig this up? Was this seriously something that was just buried in the game files and WESP threw it in just for the hell of it? I don't know if it's just me, but this picture just skirts the line between reality and fantasy to the point where it really freaks me the fuck out. It's not some Tzimisce abomination, it's just one change. Ugh, best get away fast. Quick, to Hollywood!
Well, actually, I go and stock up on some ammo at Larry's first. Note the amount of money - this is before I started shopping.
So, now our next stop is Isaac's place, because we actually never finished the quest regarding our research on what's going on in the house at King's Way. We were still supposed to report back to him. I only noticed it because I checked the quest log, myself.
King's Way - there was a Tzimisce. Notice I've used past tense.
Heh, heh... exceptional. Come by in a little while, I should have something for you then. I'll stop by later to pick it up. Thanks, Isaac.Of course, in this game, "later" means "after you've changed maps", so we just leave and come back.
About that gift - can I have it now? Here... and thanks again for your help earlier. And remember what I told you about LaCroix. You're good, kid; he doesn't deserve you. I'll decide that when the time comes. Goodbye, Isaac.
If LaCroix doesn't deserve Melissa, then you deserve her less, you AINO fuck.
At least the item is useful - this gives us another Persuasion boost.
This leaves us with only 3 experience points needed for 10 Persuasion. Sadly, we can't get them before we go to the Giovanni mansion since, you know, we ran out of side quests. Thankfully, we only need 9 Persuasion for what we want to do, so we got lucky there. Anyway, we have only one spot left to visit...
...Mercurio's place. I'm getting me a sniper rifle, I'm getting me a sniper rifle...
It's all I've ever dreamed about. Gimme.
GIMME!
GIMME!
GIMME! AND AMMO FOR EVERYTHING!
...totally worth it. I'm so going to have fun with these on the next few missions.
Now, we have some topics we can talk with Mercurio about that I think are new. I might be posting some duplicates, though.
I need some info.
Concerning? People. Who exactly? Gary. Gary? Sorry, name doesn't ring a bell. The Kuei-jin. Ah, you're talkin' about the Kuei-jin. Like you types, but different. Anarchs'd just about finished fighting 'em when the Camarilla came to town. Let me give you some advice - stay out of Chinatown till they've raised our flag in those parts.Thanks for the tip, but that's coming a bit late.
Places. Specifically? Hollywood. Hollywood's been good to me. Lot of my business comes from Hollywood. Guy named Isaac runs the show. Real legend. Camarilla's got no presence to speak of there. Stop by the graveyard. Good customer o' mine works it. Chinatown. I don't go down to Chinatown. Nobody who does comes back. Somethin' goin' down on there with the Kuei-jin I don't understand, nor do I need to. Stay out's the best advice I can give.Once again, a bit late, but I guess I could have asked earlier. Also, not sure how "we are at war" is hard to understand, which again makes me question the concept of this "war" that's supposedly going on and just how much "war" it involves right now.
Anyway, that's it for preparation. Next time, we're off to the Giovanni mansion and the endgame officially begins!