Patron of the Ancient Arts is a quest available in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Prince LaCroix wants the fledgling to break into the Museum of Natural History and steal the Ankaran Sarcophagus without killing anyone or being seen.
Acquisition[]
This quest is given to the fledgling by Prince LaCroix after completing Calling Dr. Grout.
Walkthrough[]
Brief[]
- Go to the Museum of Natural History
- Find the office key in the storage closet.
- Go down to the first floor.
- Find the basement key.
- Enter the basement.
- (Optional) Hack the computer and disable the cameras. Password1: pterodactyl. Password2: velociraptor.
- (Optional) Destroy the cameras.
- Find the pass code to area B2.
- Find the museum workroom key. (
+1 Exp) - (Optional) Find the Fetish for Pisha. ( +1 Exp)
- Enter area B2 using the pass code "2358".
- (Optional) Hack the computers and disable the security beams. Password: platypus.
- (Optional) Slash the power box and short out the security beams.
- Enter the room where the Sarcophagus is being kept. (
+3 Exp) - Speak to Beckett.
- (Optional) Talk to him at length about mythology. (Scholarship +1, max stat. req. 3).
- (Optional) Complete the quest without killing anyone. ( +2 Exp)
- Report to LaCroix. ( +1 Exp)
- Quest Complete
Detailed[]
Travel to the Museum of Natural History. Once you're in the hall with the dinosaur, head towards the dinosaur and walk down the hall until you find a half open storage closet. Inside is the key to the downstairs offices. Take it and go back the way you came and go through the red door next to the dinosaur. Find the stairs with the tyrannosaurus rex head above them, go down the stairs to the ground floor, and turn left.
If your lockpicking skill is less than five you will need to find the basement key. Go past the office door to the museum lost-and-found room. Inside the room is the door to the security room. Enter the security room to the right, sneak past the guard and steal the key off the table. Go back to the lost-and-found room. You can hack the computer for some information about the Fetish and Dr. Johansen's visit. Use the password "iluvgabe". Leave the lost-and-found room and go into the offices to the right. Search the cubicles and take the prescription bottle in one of them. Then go into the basement.
There are cameras everywhere in the basement so be cautious when turning corners. There is one right around the door at the bottom of the stairs. There are also two guards. One patrols the halls of the basement and the other is in the security office watching the cameras. The cameras rotate back and fourth so you can sneak past them. If one sees you an alarm will go off and guards will come. There are several ways to handle the cameras.
Disable the Cameras
The cameras can be disabled by hacking the computer inside the security room. You will need a hacking skill of six to hack the computer. Auspex or Protean can be used to boost your skill by one point. Sneak past the camera around the corner and into the security room. Disable the guard with Trance or Hysteria, if you can, then disable camera1 with the password "pterodactyl" and camera2 with "velociraptor". You can now proceed without worrying about the cameras. On your way out of the security room take the Security Manual on the counter.
Sneak Past the Cameras
You can also sneak past the cameras. This is tricky but possible. In general, it is best to try to move past the camera when it has just started to pan away from you. In long hallways it can be difficult to get past them before they swing back. In this case it's best to stand up and run to the end of the hall. You won't be detected by the guards unless they actually see you. Celerity can be very useful here as can Obfuscate.
Destroy the Cameras
If you cannot hack the computer, and you cannot sneak past the cameras, you can destroy them. To destroy the cameras, shoot them with a gun. The gunshot will draw the attention of guards so be ready to run and hide before they find you. Be warned that every time you destroy a camera, a guard will spawn on the map near to your position, which in the end can be worse.
Now that you've chosen a method to get past the cameras follow the red line on the floor around the corner to the right. At the end of the hall, turn right again and go into the room at the end of the hall. Read the note on the desk to get the code for area B2 where the Ankaran Sarcophagus is being kept. Inside the desk in a gold ring and a normal watch.
Leave the small office and follow the red and green lines to the right. You should see a door with a number pad. That door leads to area B2 but there are other things that need to be done before you enter. Go into the small research lab across from the door and take the key card off the counter. ( +1 Exp). This key card will let you into the workroom that holds the Sarcophagus. There is a computer in this room which you can hack for more information about the Fetish and Dr. Johanson. The password is "ihatemyjob".
The Fetish Statue
If you're trying to retrieve the Fetish for Pisha, leave and turn left. Follow the green line to the end of the hall and turn left again. On your right, halfway down the hall, is a window looking into another lab. Break the glass and go inside. The fetish is on the counter across the room. The guards won't notice the glass breaking or stop to look at it as they pass by. Go back to the door to area B2.
Area B2[]
Enter area B2 using the code "2358". Sneak down the hall until you reach a door. Beyond that door are security beams which block your path to the Ankaran Sarcophagus. There are two ways to get past them. You can break into the security office near the door and disable the beams or slash the fuse box connected to the beams and short them out. However, if you are seen or trip the alarm by crossing the beams, you can still finish the quest without killing anyone.
Disable the Beams
Break the window and enter the security office. Sneak past the guard or distract him and hack the computer or use the password "platypus" to disable the beams. While you were using the computer another guard may have arrived outside the security office. Sneak past the guards or distract them with a Discipline.
Short Out the Beams
Go through the door and slash the fuse box next to it. This will short out the beams and they will begin turn on and off. Crouch down and make your way through the malfunctioning beams.
Dealing with the Alarm
If the guards notice you or you trip the beams, alarm will sound, but you can still finish the quest. Run through the beams to the workroom where the Sarcophagus is stored, but it will be locked, and a hostile guard will be standing across the corridor outside the security office. Stun him (by starting to feed on him, using Trance, Nightwisp Ravens or a similar Discipline), and he will drop a key card. As long as you don't kill him, you can still get the extra experience for completing the quest with no fatalities. Take the card, run to the workroom door, open it and make your way to the Sarcophagus.
Completion[]
Once you're past the beams find your way to the workroom with the Sarcophagus ( +3 Exp). When you enter the Sarcophagus is nowhere to be found. You will encounter Beckett who also came there seeking the Sarcophagus. Speak with him at length about vampire mythology to get a stat increase to scholarship. If you completed the quest with no fatalities you'll get an extra ( +2 Exp).
[Additional note] If you increase your scholarship value from 3 to 4 immediately before the conversation with Beckett, you will receive an additional point in the detailed conversation about vampire mythology despite it, bringing you to the maximum value of 5. The player can thus save 3 XP ( tested with unofficial patch 10.1)
Go to Venture Tower and tell LaCroix the bad news. He is furious and blames Gary, the Nosferatu Primogen for the theft because the Nosferatu helped him find out where the Sarcophagus was taken after the Dane and got the keys to the museum. Despite plainly wanting Gary's head to roll, LaCroix sends you to Hollywood with orders to find him, not kill him, and get him to tell you what he knows about the Sarcophagus.
Quest Complete
Items[]
- Fetish Statue
- Gold Ring
- Normal Watch
- Prescription Bottle
- Sobchak's Guide to Personal and Home Security
Quest Log[]
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