User blog:StrangerThings/An Exercise in Miscellany

Dear Cenobite (or whomever else might be reading this),

Recently got my hands on some V5 sourcebooks and have been meaning to do some special for the new Chronicle me and some old friends are running. I also dug up an old copy of World of Darkness: Hong Kong, and subsequently had a crazy idea for a premise. As the resident expert on crazy ideas, I was wondering if you could offer some insight/criticism regarding the cliffnotes of what I'm calling Year of the Dragon.

Basic Premise:

'''The year is 2012, some fifteen years since Robert Pedder was deposed as the “Prince” of Hong Kong by the vengeful Kuei-jin. The Quincunx thought the Middle Kingdom rid of the upstart Cainites, but come the Great Leap Outward and subsequent Week of Nightmares, their position was no longer as tenable as it once was. Now, a plan years in the making is revealed as Camille T’sien, childe of Prince Pedder, claims Praxis over Hong Kong and calls all Kindred to her banner, promising vengeance for the Jade Invasion and new domains free of sectarian politics. Her supporters are surprisingly numerous, from former Anarchs fleeing the ruins of the California Free States, enterprising ancillae of the Camarilla seeking to make a name for themselves, Independants interested in a seat at the table, and even select groups of Cathayans in the form of the Bamboo Princes, hoping to ride the oncoming wave to new heights rather than be drowned out by it.'''

'''Meanwhile, the Flame Court of Hong Kong finds itself on the back foot, cut off from the other August Courts thanks to T’sien’s machinations. Embraced natives flood the streets of Hong Kong, an entire new generation of Kin-jin made pawns and meatshields for the Ivory Tower’s advances. However, while the Kindred of the West have won the first few battles, the war is only just beginning... '''

Again, we're still in the rough draft stages and everything is still subject to change.

Having lived in Hong Kong for about a year while studying abroad, as well as a having soft spot having for anime and old Wuxia films, I always wanted to do something with the Kindred of the East but never really got the chance until now. I understand some of the rulesets at this point might be a bit outdated (I've been scouring quite a few places for info on bridging the gaps between editions, let me tell you), but given your recent posts you seem to be the right person to come to in regards in merging such things.

Also before you ask why 2012, two reasons: the first being Year of the Dragon was way two cool a title to pass up, the second being that according the current metaplot 2012 is where the bulk of the craziness really starts to go down (Convention of Prague, Beginings of the Second Inqusition, etc), so this particular event is ment to sort of exist in a vaccuum. For example, the coterie of PCs arriving in Hong Kong around this time was initially sent in by the Ivory Tower to try and take stock of the situation only to loose contact (Prague) and be thrust directly into the supernatural melting pot. Naturally that means the chronicle will probably have a... lighter(ish) tone than normal to facilitate A) a broader cast of factions/characters/paranormal entities than just the vampires and their typical intrigues, B) some old-fashioned campy martial-arts movie goodness, and C) perhaps a few winks at the camera, as with the afformentioned diversity of cast you need a moment of levity now and then to remind everyone that this is still a game, and we're all here to have fun.

I several more pages of ideas but really I just want to know what you think of the basis of all this insanity as I am exactly a veteran storyteller, and as a resident confused Caitiff chronicler I'm more used to interpreting the Ludicrousness of the Night rather than facilitating it. So please, feel free to disect my ramblings.

Regards,

StrangerThings... have happened.