Halloween Hootenanny IX – Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition – Family Ties

Game summary for October 4, 2014, Family Ties adventure; present characters Alejandro Montoya (Lasombra), Annalisa Wellington (Country Gangrel), Hakim al-Bariq (Assamite antitribu), Jean-Luc Rouzier (Serpents of the Light), Matthew Hogue (Skin Dancer Theurge), and Nicolette LaRue (Risen Wraith).

The Sabbat pack rolled into Pennsboro, WV, around 2:00 a.m. and discovered there was no diesel fuel at the gas station. They drove down the street to the Motel 6, parked the bus, and Matthew used persuasion to get a free room. They began to make plans to deal with the hunters they knew to be on their tail. They debated for a while and went downstairs to go looking for farm equipment that may have fuel. Outside, they saw hunters swarming their van and fanning out around the hotel! They convinced the clerk she was in danger from the armed men, and they all ran to a rear entrance. Annalisa darted outside among some of the cars as the hunters came around the building. Matthew dropped a shroud around the door, and he and Alejandro slipped outside. Inside, Jean-Luc began draining the clerk and then killed her with the intent of raising her as a zombie, but he ran out of time before needing to get out. Outside, Alejandro animated the shadows and terrified the hunters, driving them off.

The group fled to the hardware store and were pursued by two hunters. Jean-Luc forced one to try and flee with a Discipline. Matthew transformed into crinos form and beat the other one with a safe before ripping his throat out. The group then ran to the consignment store to grab some clothes for their werewolf friend. More hunters emerged from the hardware store and began to fan out. Jean-Luc unloaded the magazine of one of the assault rifles they picked up and dropped one of the hunters and grazed another. Alejandro shot that one with a shotgun as Annalisa flew out in bat form and transformed behind them. The remaining hunters gunned down Alejandro, sending him into torpor. Matthew transformed into hispo form and charged out to drag one of the injured hunters into the shop. The man’s dying word as he laughed beneath the raging wolf was “silver.” He then pressed his revolver into Matthew’s wolf stomach and pulled the trigger. Matthew ripped him apart but was critically injured by the dreaded silver. Annalisa used celerity to drain and kill the other hunters thanks to Jean-Luc mesmerizing one with his gaze. Jean-Luc animated three of the dead hunters as zombies and sent them back toward the other hunters. Meanwhile, injured Matthew carried Alejandro off to hide. Nicolette and Hakim came back from scouting the town, and the group swooped around the block to try and steal some of the hunter cars. They had determined from the ID of one of the dead men that the group after them was some sort of government agency.

To cause a distraction, Jean-Luc summoned the ghost of a crazy old Cajun named Pierre. The two negotiated, and Pierre agreed to wreck havoc among the hunters while the team moved toward the cars. The distraction worked, and the pack got to the cars. The team found two hunters guarding the vehicles, and they gunned them down and stole the cars. They picked up Matthew and Alejandro and drove down the highway at high speed. They didn’t make it far before the cars were remotely shut down. As the team piled out, they could hear helicopters approaching.

The pack tore through the woods and came upon some old chemical storage facility. Outside was a pick-up truck, and the team was able to hotwire it and drive off. They fled down old mountain roads and ditched the car. They then hiked out through the woods and found an old house with a basement where they holed up. The group awoke the next night, safe. They had evaded the hunters. For now.