L.A. by Night






Storyteller:Jason Carl
No. of seasons:5
No. of episodes:63
Release:2019
External links:Seasons 1-3 Season 4, Season 5
L.A. By Night is a dark tale of personal horror, inhuman conspiracy, macabre affairs, and terrifying realities of surviving in the Los Angeles night.
The original story was developed and led by World of Darkness Brand Marketing Manager Jason Carl, the chronicle's Storyteller. It stars Erika Ishii as Annabelle, B. Dave Walters as Victor Temple, Alexander Ward as Jasper, and Cynthia Marie as Nelli G. From Season Four onwards, recurring player-actors Xander Jeanneret, playing X, and Josephine McAdam, playing Eva, join the coterie as main characters. The fifth season is the final season.
As of Season Four, L.A. By Night streamed live weekly on the World of Darkness Twitch channel, on Friday nights at 8pm PST. The VODs are available on the World of Darkness YouTube channel.
Seasons One, Two, and Three aired on the Geek & Sundry channel. VODs are available on YouTube.
Setting
To the vampires who live here, Los Angeles is a city in turmoil.
Passionate and fiery, Los Angeles burns with an excitement found in no other city. It has become the center of fashion, art, entertainment — and the Anarch Movement. Fifty years ago, the streets ran red with Elder blood, and the Anarchs claimed the city for themselves. They stood poised to make it a land unparalleled in Kindred history.
For decades it has been the unliving heart of the self-proclaimed "Anarch Free States," a territory run by the Anarch Movement, ranging from the Mexican border to San Francisco and stretching as far inland as San Diego. And to hear the Anarchs tell it, the city was a model of freedom and equality to Kindred across the world. The truth is that an ever-changing cast of local leaders carved the Free States into bite-sized territories, ruled over by Barons, and that mileage on freedom and equality can vary wildly.
Despite the ill-fated Camarilla attempt at installing a Prince previously, the Ivory Tower never gave up on reclaiming Los Angeles. Turning loss into opportunity, it recently abandoned San Francisco to its encroaching enemies and moved on Los Angeles, led by Vannevar Thomas of Clan Ventrue. Meanwhile, Tara Kearney, the Baron of San Diego ever since the Anarch Revolt, turned traitor to the cause and sided with the Camarilla, catching L.A. in a pincer.
Premise
L.A. by Night follows a coterie of Vampires, unofficially referred to as the Valley Coterie, and their struggle against their Beasts, Vampire Factions, enemies both mundane and supernatural, and each other.
Main Cast and Characters
- Main article: List of L.A. by Night characters
The Storyteller creates the Chronicle, the characters, and the challenges the players experience. The Storyteller also describes the scenes, guides the story, and arbitrates the rules.
A Nosferatu part of the Valley Coterie, Jasper is an enigmatic and secretive Kindred who declines to offer much detail about his life before his Embrace. Relying heavily on his mastery of stealth, Jasper maintains his place in the Los Angeles night by helping his coterie protect their turf and his own personal Domain, a mysterious Labyrinth beneath Griffith Park.
Wealthy and influential, Victor Temple is a Ventrue who maintains the Masquerade by hiding in plain sight. Victor owns and operates The Temple of Boom, a hip hop record label, and nightclubs Maharaja and Maharani in The Valley area of Los Angeles, where he rules as Baron.
Embraced into the Brujah Clan just before the start of the Chronicle, Annabelle is plunged suddenly and violently into a new terrifying existence with monsters she does not understand and cannot trust. She maintains her human romantic relationships, including one with her coterie-mate Victor Temple's son, Mark Temple.
- Cynthia Marie as Nelli G.
Former fashion model Embraced into the Toreador Clan, Nelli G is a hidden political player for the Baron of Hollywood Issac Abrams. She also owns and operates Thorn, a chain of retail stores that specialize in various aspects of fashion, as well as a line of insect-themed perfumes including Arachnaphoria and Antsticipation.
Mysterious and cursed to be colorless, Eva is a member of House Carna of Clan Tremere. She is known among the L.A. Anarchs to perform Blood Magic in exchange for Boons. Eva resides somewhere within Griffith Park and often meets with Kindred at the Griffith Observatory.
A member of Clan Malkavian based in Santa Monica, X has personal ties to the Baron of Santa Monica, Therese Voerman and her sister, Jeanette. X is arguably Annabelle's first Kindred friend and, unbeknownst to them, offers to help out the Valley Coterie often at the behest and ulterior motives of Therese.
Episodes
- Main article: List of L.A. by Night episodes
Season 1
- Main article: L.A. by Night (Season 1)
The first season introduces the four main characters who form a coterie that live and operate in Los Angeles: Victor Temple, a Ventrue club owner as well as the founder of Temple of Boom, a hip hop record label; Nelli G, a Toreador fashionista with her own chain of retail stores called Thorne; Jasper Heartwood, a Nosferatu who operates as the enforcer of the group, and Annabelle Li, a student at Griffith College whose Clan is initially unknown, but later revealed to be Brujah. The first season revolves around introducing Annabelle to Kindred society, specifically in the art of keeping the Masquerade and the rules of the prominent Sect of the area, the Anarchs. The threat of an opposing Sect, The Camarilla, forcing its way into LA hangs in the background of every episode, leading to interesting developments, such as Victor Temple becoming Baron of the Valley, Nelli G reuniting with her Camarilla sire, Chaz Price, and Jasper Heartwood capturing a turncoat Baron, Tara Kearney, from San Diego. Annabelle eventually learns who Embraced her, a Brujah named Carver, and sees the Nosferatu who attempted to kill her while she was still human brought to Final Death by her coterie-mate Nelli G. The season ends with the coterie attending the Succubus Club event hosted by Victoria Ash.
Season 2
- Main article: L.A. by Night (Season 2)
The second season begins with a request from Eva for the coterie to assist some associates of hers, a coterie of Tremere called the Wyrd Sisters, who are seeking asylum from the political turmoil in San Diego. The coterie agree to the task in exchange for a Boon from Eva. They are successful in rescuing the Wyrd Sisters, who are trapped by invading Camarilla at The Grove parking garage, but during the conflict, Jasper decapitates the Camarilla Sheriff. This incident incites the Camarilla to declare Praxis in the city of Los Angeles. As a result of The Grove incident, Victor loses part of his Barony when the other Barons of the city strip him of Studio City and award it to another Ventrue, Fiona, Jasper is chosen by Prince Vannevar Thomas to be his new Sheriff, Annabelle becomes more radicalized to the Anarch cause and is put forth as the leader of the resistance, and Nelli G becomes increasingly antagonized by her sire Chaz, who now holds the position of Herald within the Camarilla court. The season ends with X seeking shelter in Victor's Domain due to his fear of that the Santa Monica Baron, Therese Voerman, is secretly siding with the Camarilla, and the coterie bringing Chaz Price to the Final Death.
Wondercon Special "The Happiest Place on Earth"
- Main article: L.A. by Night (Wondercon Special)
Performed in front of a live audience during Wondercon 2019, the coterie travel to Anaheim to meet with its Baron, a Caitiff named Amethyst.
Season 3
- Main article: L.A. by Night (Season 3)
The third season begins with the conflict between the Camarilla and the Anarchs heating up, literally, as Victor Temple's club, the Maharaja, is subject to a bombing during the day while the coterie are sleeping inside. The coterie learn that it was at the direction of the Scourges, Aurora and Rodrigo, two Clan Lasombra who have defected from the Sabbat to the Camarilla. The relationships between Annabelle and her boyfriend Mark, and Jasper and Eva deepen, culminating in Jasper's capture by Aurora and the coterie coming together for a rescue attempt. The season ends with a dangerous excursion into The Labyrinth beneath Griffith Park and an uneasy truce between the two battling Sects.
Season 4
- Main article: L.A. by Night (Season 4)
The fourth season begins with the coterie mostly on separate paths as the detente between the Camarilla and the Anarch has turned their hot war, cold. Annabelle reunites with her sire, Carver, Nelli G becomes Baron of Hollywood when Issac Abrams is called to the Beckoning, Victor is focusing on strengthening his Domain, and Jasper is concerned with keeping Ivory Tower vampires out of The Labyrinth. The season sees the straining of Jasper and Eva's relationship, the relationship of the coterie, and culminates in a possible breaking of the truce when the Scourge Aurora order the capture of an Anarch Thin Blood, which is thwarted by the coterie.
Winter's Teeth Crossover Special
Streamed between Seasons 4 & 5, Victor Temple and Annabelle meet with a group of Anarchs in the Twin Cities.
Season 5
- Main article: L.A. by Night (Season 5)
The fifth and final season shows the coterie completely separated from each other and no longer operating as a coterie, with Annabelle having left Los Angeles. The conflicts between the larger factions and the interpersonal differences between the coterie have to wait because the Second Inquisition prepares its assault on the city, led by the enigmatic former bishop Adrian. Each member of the coterie, along with other key players in the Los Angeles night, face off against attacks by the SI before coming together to rescue Annabelle and X who, for various reasons, have gone willingly with SI agents. The series ends with a glimpse into the intentions and possible futures of each member of the coterie, as well as for Los Angeles.
Official TTRPG Shows | L.A. by Night • Seattle by Night • Vein Pursuit • L.A. by Night Meets Winter's Teeth • NY by Night |
Product List | VTM: Winter's Teeth • VTM:Rivals • VTM: Heritage • VTM: Chapters • VTM: Blood Feud • VTM: Vendetta • VTM: Eternal Struggle |