COMMENTARY
Of note here is that either Will or Clippy, possibly both, has sufficient field of view to see and recognize Charles Barrowill.
If they can see him, they can see everyone else here.
Which means that we can reasonably expect to have the faces of essentially every vampire and thrall here, representing a good cross-section of the upper levels of the White Court and their companions.
Thats a decent intelligence windfall.
Worth noting that unlike the Red Court, these....companions are largely here without coercion.
I dont know if I would call it uncompromised free will, because I dont know if it varies by person to person, but there's sufficient ambiguity that most people who might object hesitate to take the effort to do so.
There's a reason even someone as irascible as Dresden doesnt raise objections even when he sees them.
Charles Barrowill. Father of Connie Barrowill. Canonically based in eastern Oklahoma, where he's a big oil guy, and has a bunch of Congressmen in his pocket, and a short platoon of ghouls on his payroll.And while apparently a shit date, a.....concerned father who doesnt have the best relationship with his daughter. Not the worst, but not the best.
Most important for us is the fact that he's the father of Connie Barrowill, whose dating Irwin Pounder was a significant background event. But that is a discussion for another time.
COMMENTARY
Wasnt the smartest thing to let this go ahead. IC, but still not the smartest.
I get the impression that the elders are being characterized as a separate power block in the White Court.
People like Leinth, who are generally aloof from the day to day internal political struggles of the White Court and the risks thereof, but with enough influence to matter as a bloc when they choose to exercise it.
Going to note that Barrowill has to be drunk, or otherwise intoxicated to pick this fight.
He's House Raith, and just embarassed Lara in front of her guests. Thats gonna have personal Consequences. Not to mention that he is attempting to bully a teenager, something that earns him no cred even if he succeeds, and is fractally worse if he fails.
Nevermind that the person he's picking on came here in company of the person who dealt with a greater akuma in Chicago, which he definitely has reason to have heard of by now.
In his defense, six feet is two inches above average for a US male. Molly is just being catty
Dread Gaze is offensive use of vampire magic and is in and of itself a breach of supernatural custom towards guests.
Not to mention casus belli for Lydia to demand satisfaction.
Dresden would be tempted to light him up for it, and been justified by the letter of the law to do so.
Lara's best (social) dice pool is 13 dice before Disciplines. Dunno if she's doing the equivalent of burning a blood point for it, but its better than Lydia's Excellency-boosted dice pool, even if not by much.
Worth keeping in mind.
@DragonParadox
Pointing out that you forgot to apply this:
Lydia Merit said:
Natural Linguist (2 pt. Merit) You're especially good at understanding how people communicate. Every purchase of the Language Merit (see above, and Mage 20, Appendix II) secures two languages for you, not just one. You also get three bonus dice when making rolls based upon clear communications, typically ones employing Art, Expression, Etiquette, Leadership, and other Traits that involve "speaking their language" to impress someone else.
She should have had +3 to her social dicepools for most of this scene.
On a different point, in hindsight this plan really looks kinda stupid, doesn't it?
The talent-killers are deliberatly provoking the White Council with their actions while being a relativly weak sub-faction of the White Court.
Sure, they propably can't spare a heavy hitter to deal with you during the Red Court war, but what if they can?
What if the White Council decides that the serial-murder of Talents is threatening their substance and future and they should make an example even at the cost of taking a loss against the Reds somewhere else?
Then someone like McCoy or Joseph would kill a dozen Whamps and the conspiators lost hard.
Thats because its goal wasnt to be smart, it was to destroy the White Court.
The immediate plan of the conspirators was to do something flashy to get enough political support inside the White Court to overthrow Lara, then put their own monarch in place.
The ultimate goal of their external backers was to use them to help destroy the White Council, and that they suffer enough damage in the doing to be destroyed in turn, leaving the field open for new players.
Its not like the White Council needs heavy hitters to return the favor of going after the White Court's rank and file, and their children.
Either way it is another chink in the barriers that defend creation. Remember the White Court is part of the Oblivion War.
The White Court is NOT part of the Oblivion War. Two of their vampires are.
Lara and Thomas Raith are True Venatori, but thats all.
As far as we know, they are the only ones.
Given that she has a Dex Excellency a decent Brawl skill and Ox Body to tank hits that seems likely, though to be fair Molly does not know what Charles' skills are.
Charles canonically got beat up by a Bigfoot scion with no combat training.
Yes, he'd just spent most of his mojo on whammying an entire college dorm full of students into an orgy, but his attacker had just been comprehensively fed upon by a Whampire who was being mindcontrolled to kill him, and still managed to put him down.
Lydia would murder him before he even got into range.
The biggest question is - does Lydia needs a slave (because let's be honest, that's what Lara is offering, and that's what the woman is), and would the woman go right back to this guy if Lydia cut her loose? If the answer to the first question is no, and to the second yes, then this is essentially creating nothing but trouble for Lydia
Its a test and a lesson, combined in one.
The Raith families, generally prey on willing victims; its not that coercion doesnt exist, because it does, as Lord Raith demonstrates. But 99% of the time, fascination and sex appeal (and frankly, money) will bring lots of people into their orbit, and the sex is supposed to be mind-blowing into the bargain, ensuring repeat business.
See Thomas never lacking for sex partners, and getting messages from one night stands looking for repeats.
Add to the fact that Charles is canonically a very big oil baron in Oklahoma, with truckloads of money and plenty of politicians in his pocket. Including multiple Congressmen.
Someone like that will never lack for people willing to endure abuse for economic security.
So you have to figure if you're saving someone who actually wants to be saved.And if you're willing to invest the effort to do so, rather than just acting on impulse. Which both tells Lara Raith important things about your character, and is an oblique way of reminding Lydia that shits complicated.
Charles will probably have a....frank Discussion with Lara after whatever he imbibed clears out of his system.
Because lets be clear, he nearly died here.
