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Society For the Preservation of Professors
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This quest is obtained at the conclusion of The Epic of the Ankaran Sarcophagus quest. Prince LaCroix is not happy that he cannot open the coffin, and asks you to find a way inside it. He has contracted Beckett to figure it out as well, but it doesn't sound like Beckett knows much more about it when you speak to him. However, he does mention that a certain archaeologist by the name of Ingvar Johansen may know a way inside it. Unfortunately, the Society of Leopold has abducted the good professor for his own protection, so you're going to have to pay a visit to the society's headquarters to rescue the guy and tap his infinite knowledge.

If you take the sewers to the society's Malibu headquarters, then you'll emerge from a sewer pipe just below the cliff line in front of the facility's front door. If you take a cab, you'll arrive in the rocky section on the side of the building. Either way is heavily guarded. Since there is no way to talk your way into the place, a stealthy approach to entering the building is probably the safest bet. The thugs walking the perimeter carry Braddock 9mm uzis, Utica M37 shotguns, and Steyr Aug machine guns, so a direct attack can be fatal for even the most powerful vampire.

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Once you're inside the facility, you'll find that the whole place is laser trapped with explosives. To avoid taking damage from these traps, log into the 'heat sig' application on the small computer beside each one (password: soc) and change the heat signature to human instead of vampire. This will allow you to move freely through the lasers, but an unsuspecting Socity of Leopold member will set them off. If you'd rather shut them off completely, log into the 'power' application instead using the same password. Kill or sneak by the thugs just inside whichever door you entered, then make your way toward the center rooms. One of these rooms contains a journal written by Grunfeld Bach (the hunter you met way back at Dr. Grout's mansion) in which he discusses his hatred for Prince LaCroix and the kidnapping of Ingvar Johansen.

There are two doors near the front entrance of the building - one leads upstairs and another downstairs. The door leading to the basement is locked and requires a lockpick skill of 9+ to pick it. If you don't have enough skill, you need to go upstairs first to get the key.

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The upper level is once again heavily guarded, so sneaking is preferred if you can manage it. Move to the small room across from the stairs and grab the Society of Leopold Interior Key and the Vampyr Apocrypha book. The book provides a little history to the sarcophagus now being held at the Ventrue Tower. Before you go back downstairs, move to the back of the main room (if you can kill the guards) and grab the Art of the Quick-Draw by Ned Nederlander manual. Although it requires a Research feat of 10, this book will allow you to max your Firearms skill if you have four ranks already.

Using the key (or your lockpick) to reach the basement, descend the stairs and bypass or kill the three guards in your way. One of the barrels at the end of the corridor can be moved away to reveal another passage leading to yet a lower level. Follow this passage until you zone into a cavernous area with a stepped chasm that runs farther down into the earth. Make your way down the large stone steps, take out the two guards at the bottom, then move through the narrow tunnel on the other side of the chamber. The left path leads to a holding area where you'll find Ash, Issac's childe from back in the Hollywood district (if you read the newspaper on the streets of Chinatown, you'll know he was missing). You can either pick the lock to his cell (lockpick skill of 10+ required) or grab the key off one of the guards in the large chamber you'll be entering in just a minute. You don't get any Experience or anything else for releasing him, so don't go out of your way to get him out.

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The right path opens up into another larger chamber guarded heavily by vampire hunters (one of which holds the key to Ash's cell). If you need some extra firepower, shoot the explosive rockets that are lying around. The explosion will hurt or kill any hunters in the vicinity. Make note of the boat at the end of the dock, then continue moving on until you reach the door at the end of the next tunnel. Prepare for a tough battle, then zone through.

You'll enter a very large chamber, where you'll immediately witness a cutscene of Grunfeld Bach pointing a sniper rifle at you. He will inquire about LaCroix, but no matter what you say Bach will not give up Johansen without a fight. When the battle begins, Grunfeld will attempt to snipe you from a distance. Hide behind some cover and return fire at him using the 'Jaime Sue' rifle. You'll notice that each time Grunfeld is hit, he is enshrouded with some sort of holy protection. If you get him down low enough and he's within close range, Bach will even pull out a cross and temporarily blind you. Keep firing at him until he finally drops, then run up the wooden steps where he was initially standing to find Johansen locked in the building at the top.

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Dr. Johansen will tell you all about the Ankaran Sarcophagus, on the condition that you help him escape. He'll give you a history lesson on the Assyrians and eventually mention that you need a key to open the sarcophagus, but that the key was stolen from the Elizabeth Dane even before the sarcophagus was. Once you've gotten all the info you can out of him, start making your way back to the boat you noticed earlier. Just as you leave the building, however, Grunfeld crawls to the top of the stairs and sets off an explosion that gives you only one minute to escape. Quicken the pace and you should be able to make it to the boat without a problem. If your game crashes when you try to zone out on the boat, check this thread in our forums. If you chose to save Johansen, you will receive a point of Humanity when you get zone into the Downtown district.

When you arrive at the Ventrue Tower, you'll notice that something obviously took place during your absence. Debris lines the ground around the entrance to the tower, the guard inside the building is missing, and there is blood all over the floor leading up to the elevator. When you speak to the Prince, he tells you that the Sabbat tried attacking him to "claim his prize", but that he and his sheriff were able to dispose of them. These Sabbat are Diablerists, which means that they drink the blood of other Kindred in order to gain their power. They present a threat to the Masquerade and the Prince wants them wiped out. You're asked to kill their leader at the Hallowbrook Hotel, which triggers a whole new quest called Hell at the Hotel Hallowbrook. At this point, you can demand some cash from the Prince and he'll hand over $300 to find out what you learned at the Society of Leopold. Additionally, when you tell LaCroix about the missing key and the death of Grunfeld Bach, you will gain two points of Experience.