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- Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines How To Side With Strauss
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It was quite a strange feeling to be nervous. After her first visit to the Cullens' house Bella had been invited to stay the night, but the fact that she'd be sleeping in a house full of vampires wasn't what stressed her nerves: It was Edward. Of course this wouldn't be the first time he watched her during the night while she was asleep. It was just, well, the first night where you stay at the house of your love, in his room, alone with him and she was excited. So it was at least a pleasant kind of nervousness, and during school the tension didn't become better, but quite worse. Edward wasn't at school like all the other Cullens and it was a wonder Bella didn't break her neck without him. It was a wonder how she had even been able to live without him for the last seventeen years and stay alive, not killing herself when she got out of bed or tripped for the hundredth time over the carpet. Finally school was over and Bella fled before Eric could catch up to her, or some other stupid jerk who wanted to invite her to some stupid party. She just wanted to stay with Edward and the last thing she needed was to tell it to one of them. When she arrived home Bella went straight to her room, stuffing a bag full of things she might need and ignoring Charlie the whole time. Every other person was just getting on her nerves. All townspeople of Forks just got on her nerves, besides Edward of course. When she looked into his eyes full of topaz, Bella was able to forget everything and seeing his beautiful marble body carried her off into the world of dreams.
The fate of Maximillian Strauss in Bloodlines was determined by the player's actions, as it was possible for the protagonist to bring him in as an ally and use him to depose Prince LaCroix. At some point in time. Strauss left Los Angeles and became the Keeper of Elysium under Prince Vannevar Thomas. Maximilian Strauss is an Elder Tremere in service of Prince Vannevar Thomas. Strauss is currently the Keeper of Elysium. 1 Biography 1.1 Background 1.2 Season One 1.3 Season Two 1.4 Season Three 2 Relationships 3 Character Information 3.1 Disciplines 3.2 Rituals 3.3 Possessions 4 Quotes 5 Trivia Predator Type: Clan Bane: Advantages and Flaws Level 1: Level 2. 16.0k members in the vtmb community. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2, Bloodlines, Redemption, and other related curios from the World of. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - Walkthrough.
Nearly flying she ran down the stairs, literally tripping over her own feet and nearly landing on her face before some strong arms caught her securely. In a split second she knew who it was: Edward, and a happy smile appeared on her face as her beloved helped her up back on her feet.
'I want an explanation!' a male voice with a French accent echoed angrily through the dark woods. 'What is the meaning of this, regent? Where have you brought us?'
'I don't know my prince. I just don't know what was wrong with the formula,' a second male, more deep and calm voice answered.
'Then find out what was wrong with it!' the voice with the accent ordered imperiously.
Finally they arrived deep in the woods where the house of the Cullens was located. Edward stopped the car and gave Bella a concerned gaze.
'Are you really sure you want to do this?' His voice implied deep concern.
'Yes I am, or else I wouldn't be here.' Bella loosened the seat belt and grabbed her bag.
'I don't want to hurt you, I'm dangerous. Bella...if something were to happen to you - I wouldn't be able to control myself anymore.' Now he looked her straight in the eyes, with his wonderful eyes and Bella was caught in a second.
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines How To Side With Strauss
'Then just don't hurt me,' she smiled and got out of the car, Edward following her.
Just a sniff of the air was enough to tell them that a human was nearby.
'We should go in this direction. Perhaps there will be some more answers than you can deliver,' the voice with the accent said snidely. 'Do you, can you imagine how much this suit and these shoes cost? They were not meant for this uncivilized environment!'
The man with the deep voice let out a long sigh.
'I am inconsolable, my prince, but if I may bring your attention back to what lies before us?' he said, pointing to a house where the lights were lit. 'I am able to spot the aura of a kine and, mhmm, interesting.'
'What?' the other man asked, impatient.
'I don't know. The aura is strange. It sparkles.'
'This is not the time to make drolleries, regent.' And without hesitation they walked further in the direction of the house.
The welcome was warm as always, and despite her excitement Bella was able to not do anything dumb or hazardous for her health. Again she was even more insecure when all of the others left, leaving her alone with Edward, and she jerked a bit as the doorbell rang.
'Who could that be?' Bella was surprised. If one of the others had forgotten something they most certainly wouldn't ring the doorbell. 'I hope not Charlie.' It would be embarrassing if her father now showed up.
'Just stay at the table, I'll open the door.' Edward stood up from the table and walked over to said door, opening it. 'May I help you?' He was a bit cold toward the visitors and his face showed no emotion like always, looking so enchanting, brooding and dangerous just like Bella loved him.
'Good evening. Yes you may.' The man who spoke was blond and his hair was styled in a rather old fashion. He had a slight French accent and wore a very expensive-looking dark grey suit. In addition he was a bit short but nonetheless he radiated authority and noblesse. The other man was taller and bald, with small round glasses and he wore a red suit with a red mantle. Something was unsettling within his presence. Their shoes and parts of their pants were dirty, like they had walked through the woods and both exchanged a strange look. The one dressed in red nodded as the smaller blond one continued.
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'This is Maximillian Strauss and I am Sebastian LaCroix, head of the LaCroix foundation, which you most certainly have heard of.' He smiled proudly and lifted his nose a bit, indicating that he was a very arrogant person.
'I'm sorry but I've never heard of this foundation,' Edward responded sincerely and LaCroix just lifted an eyebrow. 'If you need a telephone you can use my mobile.' Edward reached into his pocket and grabbed the mobile he always had to stay in contact with the others and of course Bella.
'I am a successful businessman. Don't you think I have a cell phone?' His snide tone was not overheard and Strauss cleared his throat slightly. 'Tell me, Mr... well, you didn't have the manners to introduce yourself.'
'Edward Cullen, but if I can't help you, I ask you to leave.' What did they want? They smelled human and Edward was able to sense the blood within them, but there was something unsettling.
'Mr. Cullen, yes, yes you can help us: Where are we?' LaCroix crossed his arms before his chest.
'In Forks, Washington.' These people were strange, since humans were always unable to speak properly in the presence of vampires because they look so astonishing beautiful; but this man, LaCroix, was even more strange. Edward had the urge to be nice to him and answer all his questions.
'And what are you?' The smaller one looked straight with his grey eyes into Edward's golden ones, stretching the words in a strange manner and they echoed inside his head, forcing a word out of his mouth he didn't want to say.
'Vampire.' Like in trance he mechanically responded and looked terrified as he snapped out of it. 'What? What have you done? Who are you?' Now he hissed angrily. Further back in the house, Bella flinched a bit but how could she be afraid of Edward?
'Vampire?' the taller one, Strauss, finally said pondering. 'Perhaps a new bloodline we have never heard of.' Edward looked a bit dumbfounded and then aggressive, trying to read their minds but as soon as he made contact he leapt backwards, eyes wide open and startled. LaCroix used this opportunity to walk into the house, passing the startled Edward and reaching the living room where Bella was. As Strauss passed him, he was able to follow them both with his inhuman speed, ready to defend Bella against the intruders.
'I'm warning you! Get out and I won't harm you! I'm dangerous!' Snarling, he exposed his teeth but did not bare his fangs.
'Edward? Who are they? What is happening?' Bella was baffled by what had happened and why Edward was behaving so strangely, showing these strange men what he was.
'Perhaps a new strain of the Thin Blood disease.' Still pondering Strauss eyed Edward up and down, but LaCroix had some other worries. Thin Bloods could be exterminated in a blink with less effort.
'If imbecility were a disease it would make my burden much less of a burden. He has violated the Masquerade and revealed our existence to a kine.' At least a disease could be cured, imbecility on the other hand could not.
'He used celerity, so I guess he is from a Toreador bloodline.' It was always extraordinarily interesting for a Tremere like Strauss to solve the mysteries of their existence, and of course the reason why the plague of the thin-blooded occurred so often these nights. Strauss didn't believe in the prophecies of Gehenna, the apocalypse written down in the Book of Nod from the first vampire, Caine. The biblical Caine, who killed his brother Abel.
'Judging from his behaviour and brutish manners he is a Brujah, but that doesn't matter since I have decided that he must be punished for his crime of violating the Masquerade. The local prince will without a doubt understand my interference in this matter. The kine will be exterminated.' LaCroix crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked with open scorn at Edward. Bella wasn't even there for him, since she was just a mere human and not worthy of being recognized or even addressed by the Ventrue.
Edward was angry but also confused. Who were these people? They didn't smell like Werewolves either.
'Whatever you are, go away and you won't die. Forget what you have seen here.' His eyes were now black like onyx and LaCroix just sighed, aggravated, and turned pale in the blink of a second, giving him a smug smile.
'We are 'vampires' like you chose to say. I am the Camarilla Prince of Los Angeles and you should treat to me with more respect. Else I am going to change my mind and make your death less comfortable.' Well the sheriff wasn't there but Strauss and his thaumaturgy would also do the job, slowly burning some parts of this crude thin blood and then letting him burst like he'd eaten some explosives. Maybe he'd take his head but LaCroix was a bit in two minds about that. He could get dirtier.
'Then you should know that we won't die that easily.' His fighting spirit wasn't dead and besides that he had to protect Bella, who grabbed his arm searching for something secure.
'Well, the regent could just stake you outside as we wait for the morning sun to manage this little issue,' and with a smirk he gazed to the said Tremere.
'Yes, I would be able to do that,' he said in a not very excited tone. Why should he do the dirty work for LaCroix now? The sheriff wasn't there but Strauss was not enthralled to now do these minor orders. Then again it was an order from the prince.
'But staking and sunlight won't harm you.' Bella pulled a bit at Edward's arm. 'They are not vampires if they don't know that. Sunlight just makes you sparkle like a beautiful diamond.' The disbelief on both of the Kindred's faces was easy to recognize.
'Sparkle?' At last Strauss found his voice.
'Staking won't harm you?' LaCroix said derogatorily and had to swallow a snide chuckle. 'Regent, would you be so kind as to demonstrate?'
'Sparkling in the sun?' That mere fact seemed to horrify the old Tremere.
'Yes, vampires do sparkle in the sun!' Bella was now convinced that these two weren't vampires and by no means dangerous! Edward was dangerous – of course she loved him because he looked so fantastic, screw the other things – but not these two idiots here who insulted her beloved. LaCroix just burst into laughter, as unprincely as it was, but this was the best joke he'd heard since the one about three Anarchs who walked into a bar.
'Why do you laugh? I'm a vampire and could be a furious animal!' Now Edward exposed his fangs and this stopped LaCroix's laughter.
'Could this perhaps be another abomination Clan Tremere created, like the Gargoyles?' Still he let out some stray chuckles and Strauss was staring at Edward like he was insane. 'An experiment, to mix the blood of a Malkavian together with that of a Brujah or Toreador?'
'No Prince LaCroix. I would have known that and none of those three clans do sparkle in the sun.' Strauss was now able to stop staring at Edward. 'Besides his aura does indeed sparkle and it is not the aura of a fellow Kindred. Perhaps a fairy who thinks he is a vampire?'
'But he drinks blood and he wants mine! So he is a vampire but he's so heroic, restraining the urge for it and only drinking from animals.' She looked at Edward with dreamy eyes and was just able to admire his marvelous appearance. LaCroix and Strauss on the other hand regarded him with disgust.
'How...revolting,' Strauss mumbled and sighed, shaking his bald head.
'You are not vegetarians?' Edward eyed them up and down, especially their eyes. 'Your eyes are not red, so you must drink from only animals too if you are vampires.'
'Mon dieu...' LaCroix massaged his forehead because the mere thought of drinking the low quality blood of an animal gave him the urge to hurl. 'Please regent, kill him. Kill them both.' And this was the first time Strauss had to immediately agree with the prince without any reservations. Calling upon his vitae's power, he conjured a flame onto his hand which caused Edward to stare surprised and scared. A stake and sunlight could not harm him but fire would. 'You can also feed upon the kine to replenish your blood. She's below my standard,' he said, waving bored with his hand and stepping toward a couch. A Ventrue only drank from a specific kind of human and Bella was not by any means one of them. 'Proceed,' he ordered and Strauss hurled a huge wave of flames in Edward's direction. He grabbed Bella, using his speed to dodge the fire but that was no rescue for her before the Tremere's terrible thaumaturgy. Strauss lifted his arm, extending his hand to the pair and literally ripped out Bella's blood which flowed through the air right into the open mouth of the Tremere. Edward may have been fast but Strauss was old enough to have experience with such enemies and he didn't kill the kine. She was obviously important to this creature and letting her suffer would without a doubt make him furious and less careful. He never had in mind that it would not be as he intended as Edward hugged Bella tight, looking depressed. Bella wanted to stand up, since Strauss didn't take much blood, but she tripped and fell, and was so unlucky that she broke her neck.
'Oh what have I done? Bella! This is all my fault!' Instead of being furious and attacking Strauss he was lamenting! Strauss stopped and turned his gaze to the prince who sat on the couch with a raised eyebrow. He knew this strategy of the Tremere and was no less surprised that it had failed and that Edward was, well, not upset. The Ventrue stood up, while shaking his index finger.
'This is ridiculous,' he mumbled. Never was he so disgusted, not even a human bum was able to disgust him in such a way. This petty creature could be a vampire? That was an insult even to a Nosferatu! An insult he would not take lightly, even if he got his hands dirty! It was against the noblesse oblige to leave this unanswered! LaCroix stepped toward the lamenting creature – he refused to call it a vampire! – and bumped the tip of his shoes into his side. Funny. He was as hard as rock. Perhaps another Gargoyle abomination, mixed with Brujah blood instead of from a Nosferatu.
'Look up. Look up and look into my eyes.' This time he would dominate the last of his sanity out of him, convincing Edward to run out into the bright sunlight to turn him into a pile of ash, but as Edward lifted his head he suddenly jumped at LaCroix, bringing him to the ground.
'I'm a monster! I'll show you!' he yelled and bit the surprised prince in the neck who immediately called upon his vitae to enhance his strength. Then he grabbed Edward's head and with a loud 'crack' he broke it, also ripping some flesh out of his own neck but that was a small price to pay to regain his dignity. He threw the motionless body of the creature away from him and got up, while the wound at his neck began healing.
'Burn it, regent. Burn this whole cursed house,' he spat and straightened his suit with an angry face.
'Sir?' Strauss sounded concerned.
'What?' LaCroix on the other hand sounded stressed.
'Your aura...it sparkles.' And now, for a second, the universe stood still as LaCroix felt how his body was numb and a wave of despair rose through it. He had the urge to pity himself, crying out loud for what he was: a monster. The bite! Was it like a disease and he was now becoming such an abomination as this Edward?
'No...It can't be! NOOOOO!'
His fists clenched up in the air and yelling a silent scream, Prince LaCroix sat up straight in his bed, staring at a wall in his penthouse. His hand brushed a streak of his hair back. What a terrible and gruesome dream! The prince got out of his bed, staring at the book on the bedside table. Never again would he read a book which was recommended by a Malkavian and this time Alistair Grout had gone too far! That was an insult. He snorted and grabbed the book, throwing it into the nearby chimney where the red flames awoke once again to feed upon the paper. Grout stretched his luck too far and for this, he would most certainly die for making him read the book 'Twilight' with its caricatures of vampires.
Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines remains one of the great cult classics of video game history. It is a computer RPG that bombed so hard in its initial release that it destroyed its studio. Reception of the game was also terrible due to the fact that it was a glitchy unfinished mess and was released against the megahit Half Life 2. By all accounts, the game should have drifted off into obscurity and never been thought of again.
That isn’t what happened, though. Instead, Bloodlines picked up steam via word of mouth and benefited from one of the most active modding communities on the internet. The original developers, themselves, helped create a patch that fixed many of the issues the initial release suffered from. For two decades thereafter, the game was continually added to with more fixes as well as additional content. If you choose to play Bloodlines, you shouldn’t play the original game, but indulge in its amazing patches that make it one of the best roleplaying experiences of its era.
But does it hold up? Does it have anything to offer gamers in the 21st century? Especially when the sequel, Bloodlines 2, is coming out next year? Well, given Bloodlines 2 was delayed an entire year, I would say yes. I would also say yes because the game is still fantastic. There are many horror games out there but few with the style, fashion, darkness, and humor of this game. While based on the tabletop game, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines manages to exceed its parent in creating a lived-in world of darkness (pun intended).
The premise is you are a mortal embraced by a vampire during a night of rough sex. This is actually illegal by the laws of vampiredom and your sire is immediately put to death by the snobbish vampire prince, Sebastian La Croix, who would kill you as well if not for the intervention of vampire revolutionary, Nines Rodriguez. Released into the wilds with barely an awareness of what you are, you soon become wrapped up in the complicated politics of Los Angeles’ undead nightlife.
You can choose to be one of several clans ranging from the beautiful Toreador to the hideous Nosferatu to the utterly insane Malkavians. The game doesn’t inform you that the Nosferatu are forced to avoid nearly all social encounters in the game and are shot at by humans on sight. It also doesn’t inform you that the Malkavians perceive the world “differently” and most of their speech is gibberish. They should be considered the “advanced” course of Bloodlines and best played on a second or third run.
The characters are the primary appeal of Bloodlines with all of them exaggerated but still somewhat believable. You aren’t limited to making friends with just your fellow vampires but also a bizarre and eclectic collection of weirdos ranging from gun-runner Fat Larry to beautiful Goth nightclub owner Venus to willing vampire slave Heather. The vampires are the main stars, though, with La Croix and Nines just being the beginning of the undead beings you meet. My favorites are probably vampire stripper Venus, who never quite consummates the promises her flirtations offer, and Strauss the ancient Tremere warlock who seems to be the only classic vampire in the group.
Vampire The Masquerade Clans
There are some places that Bloodlines shows its age with the Chinese vampires, known as the Kuei-Jin, being just this side of being racist caricatures. The Chinatown district of the game is also not terribly well done, having everyone speak in broken English. Also, the game very much is meant to appeal to the male gaze with every woman in the game designed to appear hyper-sexualized. Admittedly, this was an appeal to me in my teenage years and it would be a poorer vampire game if there wasn’t copious amounts of thirst (pun intended). They just should have put something in for the ladies and men who prefer men.
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines
The game allows you to play a variety of ways with your character being diplomatic, a wiseass, a cold-blooded psychopath, or some combination there. The primary mechanic of the game is deciding whether to side with the Camarlla, Anarchs, the renegade Prince, or the Kuei-Jin. These choices are something of a false dichotomy, though, because at least some of them are objectively stupid. You can be a “good” vampire who helps others or a monster who destroys lives in order to amuse themselves but most of the time you’re just trying to survive from night to night.
The combat in the game is, unfortunately, terrible. You can wield melee weapons or guns but the accuracy of the latter is ridiculously bad even if you up your firearms skill. Supplementing the combat are disciplines that are much more fun to use. Each Clan comes with three different disciplines and you can unleash them on the helpless humans or monsters you face. This is all fairly true to the tabletop game and the skill sheet for Bloodlines is a simplified version of its inspiration.
The game is great for roughly 2/3rds of its runtime before gradually going downhill. The areas of Santa Monica, Downtown, and Los Angeles are spectacular. Chinatown is a big step down with the aforementioned racism and a lot less content. Afterward, the game loses most of its social element and becomes a straight combat fest until the end. I regularly replay the first half of the game but can rarely bring myself to finish it.
The atmosphere is where the game excells and everything in the game contributes to it. The music is 90s era Goth rock and heavy metal that works well with the instrumentals. There’s clubs full of decadent patrons, dirty pawn shops, beautiful skyscrapers, dirty hovels, and even the occasional normal store. One of the best levels in the game is a haunted hotel based on the Shining and is legitimately terrifying even when you know all of its tricks.
In conclusion, Bloodlines is a flawed but awesome game that is primarily memorable for its incredible atmosphere. Los Angeles is a seedy, sexy, sinister, and supernatural-filled place that is perfect to prowl around as a monster. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about so much of the latter half of the game degenerating to bad combat. Still, if you want to be a creature of the night then few games simulate the experience better.
Vampire Bloodlines Strauss Ending
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