Gauntlet Rating: 5
Shroud Rating: 8-9
Banality Rating: 2-4

Murphy's Chase is a slice of Irish heaven, a refuge from the mad mad world.

Murphy's Chase is a hellhole full of violent psychopaths who start fires and howl at the moon.

Your view of Murphy's Chase tends to depend on one major factor: are you a member of the Western Concordiat, the Garou Nation and their kinfolk?

While other Fera sometimes come here, they know to tread lightly. Mages and Faeries are even more wary, and only the bravest venture to this place; word is whispered far and wide among them as to who is the law in this place. Even the undead leeches know that to come here is to court death, and the Camarilla has strict orders out to avoid the place, as do Baron Irena and her Anarchs over in Pacific Park.

All soon learn: here there be wolves. To enter is to do so at your own risk, and the wolves are keenly aware when somebody is present who does not fit.

Located in Santa Monica just two blocks inland from Ocean Avenue and the Santa Monica Pier, Murphy's Chase began its existence an authentic Irish pub run by a local Glass Walker and her pack. Though her pack has since scattered, the pub remains in Garou hands, having gained even greater significance for the Garou of Los Angeles after the fall of the Sept of the Hidden Wonder. Flocking to Murphy's Chase to regroup, recuperate, and renew their battle with the Wyrm, Murphy's Chase sees few customers these days who aren't Garou or Kinfolk; the Curse sees to that. Nobody is quite certain who owns the bar any longer, but Frank, the head manager who moved in when the old one, Jim, took off, seems to have things well in hand. On the flipside, Frank doesn't care much about mortal rules like carding.

Frank is Glass Walker kinfolk and is present most evenings, running the services at the bar. He is a tall, slightly heavy-set man in his late-40s with a long face, strong jaw, a handful of pock-marked scars on his left cheek, steely gray eyes that always seem to be in a squint, and a sparse head of reddish-brown hair stuck beneath a flat cap. He is gruff to those who do not know him but softens once they get to know him, and known for taking in hard luck cases to work for him. Frank is a no-nonsense type who generally looks the other way if there's a scuffle but won't hesitate to stare down even the toughest Garou if it looks like there might be serious damage to either the bar or one of its patrons; he is particularly protective of kinfolk. Nobody is certain who actually owns Murphy's Chase, or at least the rank and file are not; they have to assume the Sept leadership knows enough to be comfortable with it remaining a major Garou hangout. It IS known, though, that the Sept does NOT claim ownership of the bar, though they certainly will protet it.

An oft-rotating cast of other Kinfolk, largely Glass Walker, helps Frank to maintain the pub, and many of them actually live or crash there in the upper levels.

In March of 2014, the original pub burned down after a firebombing orchestrated by fomori under the control of an angry Wyrm totem trying to goad the Garou within to vengeance against the Spiral pack that betrayed it. It re-opened in late August, bigger and sturdier than before.

The front of the building faces west, across a large and usually pretty empty parking lot. It is a large, two-story building made from fitted stone blocks and oak timbers, with a ring of warmly lit old-fashioned wrought-iron lanterns around the lower half on the front and sides. Two large, sturdy, rustic, iron-bound oak doors are set deep into the stone, marking the main entrance. Each has a small, thick Spanish style window covered with heavy criss-crossing bars.

The near end of the bar is right across from the doors once inside, with the main room opening to the right. The bar runs along the the north wall, with several one-way mirrors between it and the kitchen behind it. The bar is heavy and solid, thick hardwood with a solid granite countertop that is virtually indestructible and weighs well over a ton; it needs to be able to stand up to the Garou, after all. The kitchen door swings freely, but is armor-plated and in an emergency Frank can usher the kin and non-combatants into the back and lock it solidly into place. A steel cage can roll down from the ceiling above the bar and lock in place to further seal the area away, added in late 2022.

There is one large, dingy, plate glass window at the front of the room, filled with neon signs so that it's virtually impossible to see through it unless one is right up against it. Large oak tables occupy the south corners, with booths along the south and west walls and smaller tables scattered across the main floor. The decor is stone and wood, with dim lighting.

Along the east wall there is a fancy new digital juke box that can be controlled via smart phone to bring up music, games, and other diversions. A pair of flat-screen TVs occupy high corners, though are rarely on. A hallway runs north between the kitchen and the restrooms, broom closet, and stairs; the hallway and kitchen both exit into an alley to the north that is hidden from the street by a gated fence.

Both sets of stairs have doors on them, and the basement has a second, sturdier door at the bottom of the stairs as well. The basement has a small armory hidden behind a second 'broom closet', a large storage area and freight elevator with stairs up to the street level for deliveries, and a big, sound-proofed room that Garou and kin can use for meetings, games, cooling down or working off steam.

The second floor has Frank's apartment, a number of rooms for guests and employees (some are usually empty), a bathroom for the guests, and a fire escape that goes out the back. The third floor features a large room for meetings and events, that usually goes unused, along with a few smaller room and some storage. There are also stairs to the roof where there are is a deck, a grill, a railing around the top, and some tables and umbrellas. A ladder on the east side leads down to the fire escape.

Once upon a time the pub still had some regular non-supernatural patrons, but that time is past. Now its reputation has grown too fearsome, and the presence of the Curse too pervasive, and the old diehards have all moved elsewhere. Non-locals who think to venture here soon leave, their footsteps hastened by the chill they feel up their spines as the wolves begin to gather.

The Menu: The fare used to be very sparse; in the tradition of a true Irish pub, the focus was on the alcohol, on the beer and liquor, not food. However, a small kitchen as been established and most traditonal 'pub grub' can be found at Murphy's: bowls of pork scratchings, salted crisps, and peanuts are out on the counter, as well as jars of pickled eggs. Other classic offerings include cold dishes like a ploughman's lunch and pickled cockles and mussels and hot food like steak and ale pie, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, Cornish pasties, burgers, lasagna, and chili con carne. Many of these are made using fresh, heirloom fruits and vegetables from the Green Angels, a mixed pack of Glass Walker City Farmers and Urban Primitives who have a caern in an abandoned hotel not far away. They often swing by in an old truck to deliver the goods. As a result, one can also order a salad, though it's not on the menu.

The Door Fetish: Though officially a public bar, the word is out and normal people do NOT go to Murphy's Chase. Non-Garou or Garou Kinfolk are only allowed in if known and vouched for. In fact, a subtle technofetish of some sort is secreted above the main door, and will chime if any significantly Wyrm-tainted individual or supernatural being enters beneath it, each with its own effect: There is a chime for kinfolk, a lower sound for Garou, a double-ding for Fera, and a longer bell that sounds for other supernaturals (including Mages, Mummies, Vampires, Mummies, Kuei-Jin, Demons, Changelings, Fomori, and Hsien); the supernatural chime cannot distinguish, though it does NOT pick up on hedge mages, sorcerers, kinain, ghouls, and the like. Those with Wyrm taint kick of a high sound only audible to shifters, even in homid, and an acrid smoke-like odor as if the chime is malfunctioning that both Garou and kin can detect.

MAP OF MURPHY'S CHASE