Let's not forget that Sister Rebecca will have some spirits. Those can do recon even if we don't have small drones available, especially since a small drone would likely have a difficult time distinguishing a vampire from a metahuman, doubly so in a crowd. (Unless the vampire is in full berserker mode.) The spirits can look for dual-natured entities and can sweep the building astrally much faster than we can physically. Downside: the spirits will probably tip our hand to the dual-natured vampires.
Completely forgot about the spirits. That will definitely be useful, but the only problem would be that they need to physically enter rooms (not manifesting) to bypass walls blocking Astral Sight. While they can scout quickly, that will put them right next to the Vampires if they find them. You are right on the drones though; they'll still be useful. They do make some noise though.
Maybe we can scout out the first 3 floors (sub-basement and Floors 1 and 2) with Spirits, just to clear them up. I'm hesitant to send them to the upper floors before we've secured the lower floors, as alerting them before we have the exits covered seems like a bad idea.
Achak's full body armor is not subtle, but it is the Barrens. When confronted with full body armor, I'm guessing most locals will come down with a severe case of shutthehellup. (The full chemical seal is also useful for keeping vampire juices at bay while I'm cracking skulls at close range.) The idea of starting at the top and working down was partly a function of not alarming the club clientele by walking in the front door in full riot gear. Even if we clear the basement first - which is a perfectly fine idea - Achak will probably leave floors 1 & 2 for SisterStake.
Sure, but I imagine climbing (even with fire escapes) is not extremely sneaky when in Full Body Armor. I do understand the idea though, so leaving Floors 1 and 2 for Stake and Sister Rebecca sounds like a good idea. My main hesitation was splitting the party up. Even with constant Matrix communication, us being at the bottom while you are busy fighting 1 vs. 1-3 seems like a good way to lose Achak.
Sister Rebecca has a solid Sneaking dice pool but we are up against vampires with Improved Hearing. Achak would want the rookie to keep her distance so she doesn't crimp his Catlike Traceless Walk style, but close enough to counterspell. (I should rename my Catlike quality to Doglike to reflect my mentor spirit.)
Works for me if it works for Pointdexter.
Sister Rebecca is not squishy by any sense of the word. She'll be fine if left alone for a bit. I only worry bout the counterspelling.
Stake isn't 100% sure of her abilities, but he would assume she can handle herself. The main reason he would want her to not be on the front line is that he doesn't want to lose their Assensing and Counterspelling by getting blindsided.
Taking mist form in the wind can be risky, but the wind will also carry the vampire at a faster pace away from the runners which would be a good defensive tactic.
Elijah (3L1) has 2 fly spys. Keep in mind that although they're small setting them loose on the dance floor leaves a lot of eyes that can potentially notice them.
There is an alley on 2 sides of the apartment.
Did I miss anything?
Sounds good then; I think you covered everything.
Revised Plan A - Assuming everything goes fairly well.1. Do a preliminary scout of the outside of the building to make sure we have the layout and exits confirmed.
2. Clear the lower levels, starting with the sub-basement. Stealth is not absolutely required here, as it is unlikely that anyone is down here.
2a. Have 3L1 use a smaller scout drone, quickly, and discreetly do a preliminary check of the lower levels before we send in people. We don't want to alert anyone, but it would be nice not to fly in blind.
2b. Ditto with Sister Rebecca's Spirits. Have them scout for Dual-Natured entities.
2c. Have Achak and Sister Rebecca enter the sub-basement together (Rebecca slightly behind) while the Roto-drone covers the exit that Stake will enter through.
3. Once the sub-basement is cleared, move onto the first floor. Attempt to remain stealthy, we do not want to startle a normal person or Vampire that will set off an alarm.
3a. Confirm with a small drone that there are no people who are out, as well as a preliminary check. Remain as stealthy as possible, we do not want a random drone to be seen whizzing about. If necessary, abandon a drone sweep and just go for physical surveillance.
3a.1 If there are people, Stake will go first to try and get them out of there; having Rebecca follow behind to Assense them to make sure they aren't a Vampire
3b. Have spirit(s) sweep the floor searching for Dual-Natured entities.
3c. Same as 2c, except we need drones covering the back exits and Stake will enter from the Main entrance; Achak remains in basement; Rebecca comes up through the basement (?)
3c.1 Since we are going to keep Matrix communications open at all times (I assume everyone has commcodes and commlinks on them), repeat 3a.1 if we come into contact with people
4. Rinse and Repeat all steps of 3 for Floor 2
5. Move towards Floors 3 and 4; taking Achak discreetly with us. Take the greatest care here when going through the rooms; they are probably close together and we don't want to inadvertently alert anyone.
5a. If we can scout with a drone, do the normal preliminary check of the rooms. Again, better to be blind than alert anyone, so if it's making too much noise or will gather attention, abandon the drone surveillance.
5b. Have a spirit scout each individual room before we enter.
5b.1 If they spot a Dual-Natured Entity, we can go in guns ready. I'm hesitant to say guns blazing, because it might be a random other Dual-Natured Entity (a normal Adept, or normal Spirit, for example)
5b.2 If they don't spot a Dual-Natured Entity, we can consider the room cleared.
5c. Achak takes point with his armor, while Sister Rebecca and Stake follow behind him.
5c.1 Keep the Optic X-2 scouting from above, and the Rotodrone on standby for quick movement to cover the bottom floor entrances.
5c.2 Also, if there are fire escapes etc, then have the Rotodrone cover those while the Optic X-2 does a general sweep of the building.
5c.3 Depending on how many spirits we have, we might want one on the outside to check for any Mistforms that try to escape.
6. Rinse and Repeat all steps of 5, but stick together as a single group this time, instead of opting to split up. These are probably sound-proofed, and we most likely eliminated the other rooms. Stealth is not absolutely required.
7. At any point if and when we encounter the Vampires, put them down with extreme prejudice.
7a. If there are innocent bystanders nearby, try to protect them, but do not go soft on the Vampires, if necessary.
7b. If we manage to catch one by surprise and are able to incapacitate, but not kill it, then we can interrogate it for some information.
7c. Keep a spirit around, but it doesn't necessarily have to help us in combat. I would rather it keep track of the Vampires if they try to Mist Form out.
Plan B - Assuming there are a ton of people on Floors 1 and 2 that we can't move.1. Do a preliminary scout of the outside of the building to make sure we have the layout and exits confirmed.
2. Clear the sub-basement. Stealth is not absolutely required here, as it is unlikely that anyone is down here.
2a. Have 3L1 use a smaller scout drone, quickly, and discreetly do a preliminary check of the lower levels before we send in people. We don't want to alert anyone, but it would be nice not to fly in blind.
2b. Ditto with Sister Rebecca's Spirits. Have them scout for Dual-Natured entities.
2c. Have Achak and Sister Rebecca enter the sub-basement together (Rebecca slightly behind) while the Roto-drone covers the exit that Stake will enter through.
3. Once the sub-basement is cleared, move onto the first floor. Attempt to remain stealthy, we do not want to startle a normal person or Vampire that will set off an alarm.
3a. If there are people, Stake will go first to try and get them out of there; having Rebecca follow behind to Assense them to make sure they aren't a Vampire
3a.1 Assuming we can't move them, here's the plan. Follow 3b and then get a Spirit to take Achak, and if possible, Sister Rebecca, to the top of the building. Proceed to step 6, then work backwards to step 5. Assuming the information is correct, the Vampires will be in the building, so this should lead to a confrontation of some sort. Stake will be on lookout on Floor 3, the drones will perform the normal step 5 and 6 overwatch.
3a.1.1 When encountering the Vampires, go to step 7, with the following exceptions. Stake will come up when he receives the signal, so Achak and Sister Rebecca should try and keep the Vampires in one spot.
3a.1.2 Should the Vampires manage to flee, Sister Rebecca and Achak should try to flush them towards Stake and keep them above the first 2 Floors.
3b. Have spirit(s) sweep the floor searching for Dual-Natured entities.
3c. We need drones covering the back exits and Stake will enter from the Main entrance; Achak remains in basement; Rebecca comes up through the basement (?)
3c.1 Since we are going to keep Matrix communications open at all times (I assume everyone has commcodes and commlinks on them), repeat 3a.1 if we come into contact with people
4. Rinse and Repeat all steps of 3 for Floor 2
5. Move towards Floors 3 and 4; taking Achak discreetly with us. Take the greatest care here when going through the rooms; they are probably close together and we don't want to inadvertently alert anyone.
5a. If we can scout with a drone, do the normal preliminary check of the rooms. Again, better to be blind than alert anyone, so if it's making too much noise or will gather attention, abandon the drone surveillance.
5b. Have a spirit scout each individual room before we enter.
5b.1 If they spot a Dual-Natured Entity, we can go in guns ready. I'm hesitant to say guns blazing, because it might be a random other Dual-Natured Entity (a normal Adept, or normal Spirit, for example)
5b.2 If they don't spot a Dual-Natured Entity, we can consider the room cleared.
5c. Achak takes point with his armor, while Sister Rebecca and Stake follow behind him.
5c.1 Keep the Optic X-2 scouting from above, and the Rotodrone on standby for quick movement to cover the bottom floor entrances.
5c.2 Also, if there are fire escapes etc, then have the Rotodrone cover those while the Optic X-2 does a general sweep of the building.
5c.3 Depending on how many spirits we have, we might want one on the outside to check for any Mistforms that try to escape.
6. Rinse and Repeat all steps of 5, but stick together as a single group this time, instead of opting to split up. These are probably sound-proofed, and we most likely eliminated the other rooms. Stealth is not absolutely required.
7. At any point if and when we encounter the Vampires, put them down with extreme prejudice.
7a. If there are innocent bystanders nearby, try to protect them, but do not go soft on the Vampires, if necessary.
7b. If we manage to catch one by surprise and are able to incapacitate, but not kill it, then we can interrogate it for some information.
7c. Keep a spirit around, but it doesn't necessarily have to help us in combat. I would rather it keep track of the Vampires if they try to Mist Form out.
Here are my concerns with these plans.
1. This is going to require a lot of coordination, and it isn't likely to be quick.
2. This might take a
lot of Spirit Services. Sister Rebecca might have to summon more mid-operation.
3. When the fight goes down, I'm not quite sure how we can keep innocent bystanders out of this. Some will unavoidably panic, which might set off the other vampires if they aren't all together.
There might be some more there, and anyone feel free to speak up if you have something to add. It gets a little convoluted and I might have missed something. Also feel free to speak up if anything isn't clear.