VtM: Swansong - Part 13

[@liminal_entity1331]

When I played this stage, I took almost the exact same route you did, except I talked to Mennah first and he in turn directed me to Chiara. The only thing I did differently was killing Gallagher, the lady in the firing range, by burning her alive with the failsafe. She was the E. G. (Elle Gallagher) who checked out that book on the Society's history, and the book burned along with her since she had it on her person. I still got the alternative result of being able to destroy important books though, so apparently there were still others that could have possibly been burned, but that didn't cross my mind either. Oh, and those three tanks with the turnable valves can be flushed in order to have the storage closet in that area unlocked by one of the researchers, which just serves as another safe zone for feeding. I think the auras that you can sense only lead you to identify the vampires that they belong to, and find out a little bit about what happened to them. The red aura didn't belong to E. G. but rather to a kindred that Gallagher had a hand in destroying, so following the red trail probably would have just led to Gallagher. Never did figure out who the blue aura belonged to, or where it was supposed to lead. The yellow aura, as you found out, belonged to Jara Drory, the Nosferatu head of security, who was among the kindred captured during the SI raid that Leysha investigated the aftermath of a while back. It's easy to forget the little details like that, especially when they tend to only be mentioned in notes or logs and never really get brought up in dialog. So sadly Jara's gone for good, as are a good few other kindred that were at the party; thankfully none that any of the main characters have actually met in game. Emem's upcoming stage is actually pretty laid back compared to Leysha's and Galeb's. She goes into Anarch territory to try and convince the leaders of various Anarch gangs to join her for her mission. You can leave the stage at any time you want, but for the best result you will want to find and convince the leaders first, and as always there are multiple ways to do that; you can simply persuade them, or dig up dirt on them or their rivals before talking to them to use to your advantage, among other things. It's actually pretty standard Toreador stuff, for once. I would suggest putting some points into Emem's technology skill if you haven't yet, because it will help a lot with one of the leaders. Otherwise, any of the social skills are good for the stage, as is level 2 Celerity which allows you to pickpocket a few people. Some security skill doesn't hurt either. The thing to remember about skills is that social and exploration skills can always be buffed up to two times with willpower, but knowledges cannot. Having at least two, if not three, levels in both education and deduction at this point in the game can't hurt. Galeb's not that bad. He's an Elder who is many centuries old, so he likely has a lot of things wrapped up inside him. Multiple lifetimes of lost loves, regrets, and disappointments. He most certainly has some edgelord qualities, but I think that mostly stems from the voice actor's portrayal of him. The majority of his character just comes from him being really, really old and all of the various burdens that come with it.

[@Firestata84]

Because Blush of Life sometimes gives you Hunger (A so called rouse Check is made), which, if triggered, means your character will lose control in some way (draining a victim, acting dominating towards other vampires - thereby pissing them off, harming just for the fun of it etc). And the only way to get Hunger 0 is to kill a human. So, if you are low on blood (or don´t care and want to save your blood to those awesome disciplines you can do which ALSO costs blood), you might think its unnecessary since you need to do it once every night if you want the effect. The Beckoning is basically a Doylist excuse and motivation to why new characters can get influence and prestige in a vampire community previously filled with beings who almost are demigods in power. It scales down the power level significantly. The Watsonian reason is more or less "Your progenitor vampire is summoning his clan for some kind of war in Mid East and the more potent your blood is, the more you are forced to listen". How convenient that the only one who recognizes Galeb is the person who has a crisis of faith (or rather is doing some actual thinking instead of using dumb blanket statements of good and evil), =D. Still, I feel like that was the "correct"/better choice. The game is more or less telegraphing that he will be useful later. That cutscene was most likely forced on you. So, you did most likely nothing wrong. There were, what I saw, no way downstairs - so only way to get there was being captured. And Stanford is most likely immune to dominate and/or Presence. This is why you can have 100% and still fail - even Galeb is surprised, because it "should" have worked. True faith basically allow certain humans to withstand vampiric abilities. He is probably talking about Leisha btw. Galeb is...supposed to be a complex introvert I think. the strong, intimidating silent type. The game is however doing a very poor job in making him interesting. He comes off too much as a stereotype - a very "vampery" vampire who is supposed to be mysterious, loyal, serious, cold and dominating and who controls lesser beings with a single thought. For me this falls a bit flat. A bit one-note. At least this mission is far better than Leisha's last time...

[@littlestdragonborn1583]

I actually really like Galeb, he's a vampire with a lot of regrets I think. Ended up my favourite when I played Swansong.

[@tananario]

You have more than 4 watchers. 😊

[@kramermariav]

Yeah, I'm here. So, five watchers 😊

[@elinorwinchester9067]

I’m watching! But I’ve never played any VtM games so I can’t offer any guidance. But y’all are my favorite video to have in for company while I work!

[@kimberlywolfenheart4275]

There was a panel that controls temperature and humidity in the library that you could have sabotaged to destroy the books. Also, with enough Education you can tell that the "dog" in the cage has been poisoned with silver. Why would they inject a canine with silver, hrm? And count me as a Galeb simp. He seems the most vampire-y to me.

[@TheGregXP]

I love your videos! I'm from Brazil and I am a huge fan! Please keep doing what you are doing. I simply love this game. ❤

[@LovlyHorror]

If you want me to feed the algorithm, all I'll say is that I am so excited for Robert Egger's 'Nosforatu.' I've loved all three of his previous films and it feels like he's made every single one of his movies to appeal to someone like me specifically. Plus, if he keeps putting Willem Dafoe in all of his movies, that means I keep getting two great things for the price of one.

[@Cyr-Freekraken]

I think Galeb is alright, I like all the characters and think they all show different sides to what being a vampire can be like. Galeb does just come across as a more "noble" Ventrue. I think he does have a sort of classical sense of honor and concern for others which makes him a "nicer" Ventrue perhaps. His character is limited because he's "on the job" mostly separated from his nightly life, so we get even less of a sense of him. With Leisha and Emem their stories are more tied to them, and dealing with their past, Galeb is just doing his job and I wish we got a little on his past like the other two. I don't think the Beckoning has come up before, right? Because that would have been an interesting thing to explore from the beginning for him. Also, I think you're doing a great job. On one hand I like that you aren't hyperaware of all the World of Darkness lore, because your choices feel more real; you've got that RP aspect down. On the other, I wish the game let you in more on things earlier so you knew what you were risking with some of the choices. And I 'd have preferred they gave you a few more resources, you have all these options you rarely get to use, maybe if they had implemented a difficulty system you could choose from at the beginning -maybe also giving you more prompts to do stuff and how and where- but that's a game design thing. Oh! I think the actors did make a deal with the studios within the past week!

[@Pille22]

Comment for you. ^^

[@alicetunmore3867]

I really like Galeb. He certainly has a secret heart. ❤

[@daveandgena3166]

Galeb certainly dresses nicely! I always enjoy you and Paw. I don't have a fraction of the attention span needed to play these games!

[@sekaihatsu]

Late to the party here! I don't play video games but I enjoy watching you play. This was exciting and I'm hitting play on the next part.

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

I have watched three of these Vampire The Masquerade play throughs. Super entertaining! I am not sure if they did Bloodlines but I have a way to play that one for free. The novel ones were very fun. They are more entertaining if they are read with thee-a-tar voices.

[@clanorangechicken6648]

Monster drink used to be called Hanson soda. Some of my friends would drink it, it tasted bad and i barfed

[@MavenoftheEventide]

Oh man, I grew up in Hanson soda! Was it just a California thing? I quite liked it as a kid. Do you mean the Monster energy drinks? Hanson wasn’t energy

[@clanorangechicken6648]

@@MavenoftheEventide you are right as far as i know Hanson soda was a california thing i think. the company grew to become Monster drink (and that stock soared). i am in Hemet CA near Riverside and the Mission Inn where an Ann Rice novel was set. have you been?

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

I lived for 20 years in San Diego and I remember Hanson’s. But I see it was brought by Coca Cola. I thought I saw it in Henry’s or Sprouts, but it could have been Whole Foods.

[@Miklosh_B]

Yeah, all I was thinking is that everybody hears that.

[@SplatterInker]

Urgh that portrait of the meeting is NOT 19th century clothing. 🙄 come on Swansong!! It's actually a very famous painting which they've run through a filter 😂 Dutch, 17th century, they're all men. So you were bang on with the "Pilgrims" and Rembrandt. Hilariously Faith of our Fathers is a real Catholic book written about Catholics in England when it was illegal to be Catholic there between 1559 and 1819!! 😅 Man watching that scientist woman get stabbed was so satisfying. Yeah this game constantly baffles with how much you're just supposed to intuit somehow??? Also the character motivation for that Priest made zero sense. I'm with you on Galeb Maven, I think he's got hidden depttttths. But... he is also a bit of an edgelord... like... oooh look at me I'm so broody. And I'm also not sure the game is really going to guide the player to actually *finding* said hidden depths.

[@bennymachado2201]

merely the second, damn

[@monanarts3726]

I don't usually comment because I'm usually behind by weeks if not months. Pretty neutral to Galeb tho. Leaning towards him being a reasonable fella, but that's probably mostly due to the choices you both made for him. XD

[@chavamara]

Would like to point out that the implant is embedded into their hands. How were you going to JUST TAKE Chiara's implant? She'd notice if you just ripped it out.

[@helenahanssens7308]

I don't quite know how to feel about Galeb. I don't dislike him but I do find him to be a bit dull.

[@jessicastein5155]

I vote warm fuzzy heart!

[@Crowvamp1979]

Stanford kinda looks like Robert England!

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

I thought so too!😊

[@will_the_warlord8913]

❤❤❤

[@TomatoRoll]

I would say I liked Galeb the most out of the three protagonists, but otherwise I can't say he left any impression. I remember Emem's upcoming stage being very puzzle heavy. Which I enjoyed because at this point in the game none of the skills I picked were any use and it was getting annoying.

[@JenniferFuss]

Nice playthrough. (Catching up on the series... *looks at the end* very late) I agree with Paul,... somehow Galeb gives me all the worst vibes..

[@scofisticated]

I think Galeb is kinda both. Edgelord~ish~, but there is more to him. No much, but still interesting. Definitly a grumpy old man in a hansom ass body. But he got more personality in this chapter.