General World of Darkness Discussion Thread QQ Edition

[shadowdice]

I was reading through my copy of the transylvania chronicles for a vtm story and Wow this is railroady

Author: A gangrel with brigand servants should be able to destroy all the wagons of the party and attack them for a full round even if they succeed an alertness check and steal ALL the gold they were given to pay for making a castle, you can let the coterie shine but the brigands will be driven off by Myca Vykos's retinue arriving (which is entirely by coincidence instead of Vykos playing both sides)

Also Author: Myca Vykos will offer to fund the creation of the castle in exchange for each coterie member owing him a major boon because they will not have enough money to fulfill their duty and if they don't take this offer their sires will increase the blood bond they have. (And had a spy in the construction slowing things down which the players are not allowed to suss out)

Me: What if one of the players invested a ton in resources, or they have allies and retainers to fight off the bandits? OR ARE A TREMERE WITH ALCHEMY

Author: I am not going to consider any of these options at all

despite the years, WOD has not gotten much better about this.

The first combat scenario (a bunch of archers are brigands are attacking) is the time for a Brujah to shine. Or a Toreador with Auspex to try and snipe.

 

[Dragon Fire]

Hahaha. I haven't read that far yet but ugh, what got you to write about a Gangrel vamps as a protagonist? Not that I'm complaining mind you, I'm grateful for it. From what I've seen Hyun is like a Malkavian with all her split personas. A little fucky if you ask me. Surprised we don't even get a stat sheet page for Jubal.

Edit: Oh wait, is this a different story?

 

[shadowdice]

Hahaha. I haven't read that far yet but ugh, what got you to write about a Gangrel vamps as a protagonist? Not that I'm complaining mind you, I'm grateful for it. From what I've seen Hyun is like a Malkavian with all her split personas. A little fucky if you ask me. Surprised we don't even get a stat sheet page for Jubal.

Edit: Oh wait, is this a different story?

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I was talking about an official VTM chronicle (one of their effectively campaign books)

they are all remarkably railroady and feel more like the writer wanted to make a novel (which there are VTM books of) but was told to make it into a campaign

 

[Dragon Fire]

Oh damn, my bad man. I can't read very well y'see. I haven't finished reading your story but if the sequel game ever comes out, you ever plan to write a follow-up for your story?

 

[shadowdice]

Oh damn, my bad man. I can't read very well y'see. I haven't finished reading your story but if the sequel game ever comes out, you ever plan to write a follow-up for your story?

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when it comes to the VTMB story i am fairly divided on ever making a real sequel (first because of Gehenna, second because of the mess of a timeline V5 has)

i have played around with doing VTM stories in different areas (Chicago, Miami) and have the setting written up for New Orleans and maybe a dark ages one. though i've also considered doing a different VTMB story with less AU elements and an anarch or autarkis focus.

part of the reasons for those being that writing a non-gangrel story is something i want to do.

None of those however, are necessarily dealing with the same universe as the L.A Hound story (though with some they can have the shrug of god in the form of people going "I remember things being different, and the universe is definitely fucked up now as people are saying that Ravnos don't develop animalism now and that both Salubri and Tzimisce have Dominate of all things")

my favorite explanation for V5's weirdness and retcons is "Ravnos used CHIM to retcon the Kuei-Jin out of the universe" especially as V5 moves the Week of Nightmares to be years after it was in the original universe

 

[Dragon Fire]

What vampire clan you want to write about then? Well, up to you in the end. I'm just want to hop along the ride.

 

[shadowdice]

What vampire clan you want to write about then? Well, up to you in the end. I'm just want to hop along the ride.

Click to shrink...

For Dark Ages, Toreador

For Modern Times. Lasombra, Brujah, and the bloodlines are all interesting and would necessitate very different stories.

 

[Dragon Fire]

Hmm, interesting. Why Dark Ages go for Toreador? An Auspex savvy Toreador with firearms would be too overpowered?
What about a True Brujah as the protagonist?

And how would you make it different? Aside from different type of vampire clans.

 

[shadowdice]

Hmm, interesting. Why Dark Ages go for Toreador? An Auspex savvy Toreador with firearms would be too overpowered?
What about a True Brujah as the protagonist?

And how would you make it different? Aside from different type of vampire clans.

Click to shrink...

Dark ages is a time where there is a lot of magic and vampires flirting with the idea of chivalry. Both the Byzantine Empire and France are effectively run by the toreador, so a toreador knight of any sort has a lot to play with.

True brujah are not all that interesting to me outside of the power (which can be obtained by other means).

Interesting bloodlines for a modern story (to me). Chicago has a native american brujah that made his own bloodline and a discipline that messes with the Umbra which allows for interaction with both werewolves and the spirit world. Blood Brothers are an artificial bloodline made through a fusion of Tzimisce and Tremere magic for the sabbat where if the use of Dominate and torture for mindbreak indoctrination fails, creates entities that have a lot of reasons to hate the sabbat.

Blood Brothers. Either a lot of humans fleshcrafted and mindbroken while ritualistically tortured to become a hive mind (though different books disagree on that part) of super strong super durable vampires that share senses. That or Children that vicissitude is used to artificially age them to adulthood.

My miami idea involved an elder brujah that has been in torpor since before florida was taken over by the USA waking up and embracing a new child to help acclimate with both being unnerved by the situation. It would largely involve them being involved in crime with the add on of the Elder being outspoken in the fact that she hates the current Brujah for being bomb throwing anarchists that embrace whatever is popular instead of really thinking on it, while also being openly dismissive of most of the "classical" brujah as she follows Diogenes more than any of the other schools of thoughts (humans are basically animals and societal conventions are pretenses. origin of cynicism)

New Orleans is based more upon the concept of an autarkis Lasombra that rules over the city and is directly interfacing with other supernatural factions (Faeries, mages, werewolves) and trying to make a functional faction around himself to make sure the many people he thinks want to kill him can't break through.

Blood Brothers concept is two people who are not sure who they are anymore or if any of their memories are real agreeing "Fuck the sabbat" and going on a personal vendetta on all of them that they can find while they are in Los Angeles.

 

[Dragon Fire]

Whatever the case, I hope you can write one out If you like. I can't speak much cause neither books are something I ever read. I don't think my country were big on Tabletop RPGs.

We're just learning about Warhammer 40K and that's thanks to their online mobile games.

Let's hope White Wolf gets a big celeb to endorse and geeks out over the game

Toreador Knight does sound like a fun idea. The same goes to a Brujah that wants to do things differently.

 

[Gereh]

Myca Vykos will offer to fund the creation of the castle

Click to shrink...

*sees any mention of Sasha Vykos*

*tries not to to fanboy*

*fails miserably*

SQUUEAAAL

My miami idea involved an elder brujah that has been in torpor since before florida was taken over by the USA waking up and embracing a new child to help acclimate with both being unnerved by the situation. It would largely involve them being involved in crime with the add on of the Elder being outspoken in the fact that she hates the current Brujah for being bomb throwing anarchists that embrace whatever is popular instead of really thinking on it, while also being openly dismissive of most of the "classical" brujah as she follows Diogenes more than any of the other schools of thoughts (humans are basically animals and societal conventions are pretenses. origin of cynicism)

Click to shrink...

Isn't Miami Sabbat land, unless we go V5 (fuck V5). Guess they would fit in with "human being animals" there.

 

[Dragon Fire]

*sees any mention of Sasha Vykos*

Click to shrink...

What's her whole ordeal?

 

[Gereh]

What's her whole ordeal?

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You know how every Clan has a signature character? Sasha Vykos (formerly known as Myca) is the Clan Tzimisce one.

They are basically a fuck ton of trauma in a trenchcoat. Just instead of trenchcoat it is fleshcrafted genderless body. And they are an absolute monster.

Since it would take forever to explain, because they are just so fucked up, here is a video about who they are.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9fVckd5_TE

They are also the protagonist of the Tzimisce Clan book.

 

[Dragon Fire]

I know but what's her specific charm? Beckett is a Noddist scholar. Jack is a brujah who embodies the Brujah philosophy or some shit.

What's her deal? She's a full-on evil sociopath?

 

[Gereh]

What's her deal? She's a full-on evil sociopath?

Click to shrink...

I don't think you can call her a sociopath, since a sociopath is still a human, he may be a fucked up, egoistical human, but he is still a human. I don't think you can classify Sasha Vykos as human anymore, they have become something alien.

I know but what's her specific charm?

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure I would call it charm, because that implies something positive, Sasha Vykos is utterly fascinating, the same way you can't look away from a car crash.

As what Sasha Vykos is?
They are a prolific Noddist scholar. They are Scientist and Doctor. They are (one of) the Sabbat's spiritual leader. They are on the forefront of the war against the Antediluvian. But most of all "They are a monster".

Also while they have been appearing as female for a while I use "they" since Sasha Vykos currently has no gender.

 

[Dragon Fire]

Fantastic, Tzimisce body fuckery performing beyond my expectations. Wonderful. Perhaps we should write a Vampire Tzimisce operating in cyberpunk as a ripper doc. Fucking with the human body for personal inquiries.

 

[shadowdice]

I know but what's her specific charm? Beckett is a Noddist scholar. Jack is a brujah who embodies the Brujah philosophy or some shit.

What's her deal? She's a full-on evil sociopath?

Click to shrink...

Vykos is the result of countless gambits by other people breaking a person to the point that any good intention he might have ever had has been worn away with the addition of them accepting just being fucking evil

Goratrix wants to make sure Tremere doesn't go around pounding another younger guy, so he engineers the Tzimisce capturing Vykos. Problem, it was the Constantinople Tzimisce not the voivodes (though they have their own problems).

Problem

The nominal head of the Tzimisce in Constantinople is a crazy person who forcibly embraced his brother (Myca's sire) and fleshcrafted his brother's fiance into his body to the point she died. This guy also put rules on what can be done with fleshcrafting, which Myca does not enjoy

New problem, Constantinople has Setite heretics that pursue pleasure for its own sake and summon demons. Myca goes HARD for that as only a lapsed orthodox femboy can.

Myca also gets fleshcrafted and mind controlled into a copy of Michael's boyfriend and is maybe raped even after Michael starts talking to him to have Myca be a repository of Michael's dream.

When Constantinople gets raided by crusaders (which is in another Chronicle book where You Are Not Allowed To Change History. No you aren't allowed to pay for the crusaders debt and keep them from going off course on the goal of the crusade. No you can't use disciplines on the ruler of Venice) that breaks and Myca becomes the bottom for a pagan Koldun that gets possessed by the Tzimisce Antediluvian to rape Myca's bussy so hard he is impregnated with a fleshcrafted fetus that is Dracon (his great grandsire)

As for his goal, writers kind of vary on what that is similar to what exactly the specifics of Michael's Dream or Carthage was

 

[gale]

I do hate much much WOD said "no shifting history" but the Pope having a shit load of TF does make sense in WOD due to the world state

 

[Gereh]

Also forgot to mention that Sasha Vykos was a Mage before they were embraced (back when Tremere were still with the Order of Hermes). And being embraced is canonically one of the worst things that can happen to a mage.

Also they probably hold the record for longest pregnancy ever.

 

[Dragon Fire]

Goodness.if a crippled gets embraced, will they get stronger or remain disabled forever?

 

[Imabot]

Goodness.if a crippled gets embraced, will they get stronger or remain disabled forever?

Click to shrink...

Might depend on disability. If they were paralyzed, embraced person can regain ability to walk.
Vampires dont move because of nerves sending electric signal to muscles. But by using Vitae to animate thier bodies.

But would cut off limbs regrow? Unlikely. But some Kindred could recreate it with proper disciplines.

But thus is interestin question. Why would Vampire want to embrace a cripple. Embracing is already seen as diliution and weakening of clans bloodline. So Clans are not exited about accepting a newly embraced kin, even if they were taken from a fully healthy, and capable person. Those must be done as carefully planned moves. Now imagine if clan leaders would hear that you want to embrace a cripple.

 

[shadowdice]

It has been taken both ways when it comes to being crippled pre-embrace with some not gaining functionality, some getting it back, and others using vitae to heal the injury each night

 

[Dragon Fire]

It depends on the person. If a Ventrue vampire wishes to embrace his long serving ghoul, who has done many a-contribution, maybe they will do such a thing.

With his only problem is that he is a crippled. I don't see what's the problem with that. They met the criteria needed to become a proper Ventrue, they can be embraced.

 

[shadowdice]

a lot of toriseka's art makes me think "Yeah a Tzimisce might make this"

Spoiler

 

[shadowdice]

I ended up doing a read-react through of the Los Angeles by Night Sourcebook due to starting a WC story in VTM

Spoiler: LA is a horrible place with Vampire Warlords

Little read through of the Los Angels by Night book.

The outfight opening says that "Los Angeles is a difficult city to define" with people who live there saying that it lacks culture and actual themes, tv says it is busty blondes and young movie executives (which....I can't think of the major people involved outside of actors being young there even in the 90s), the media says it is a wasteland of ghettos (I have relatives who were in the military who say it looks worse than warzones in some areas so yes) that can't stop rioting

Also fires because the government made laws against the proper way of disposing of foliage making the place one big tinderbox for a pyromaniac's wet dreams.

The writers here go "L.A is much better thought of as a collection of interdependent communities than as a traditional city. Burbank has a definable identity, as does santa monica." before admitting that the various communities and such have tons of tension and fights. Sometimes literal.

Okay, so, part of the issue here is that the book is calling L.A a city while referring to the greater Los Angeles metropolitan county. The county is a fuck ton of cities all in the same general area.

The book also notes that characters succeeding in destroying princes that oppress them (because the setting and writers NEED the prince to be an oppressive bad-wrong force) the GM/Storyteller will have the issue of having to deal with a new political system and state of a city. Oddly, the book says that you can change names and places in this book as a model for a city that "has suddenly lost its prince, most of its elders, and all of its internal structures." Which is WAY harder than you'd think. For one, L.A has not had a prince for over 40 years. The book is set in the early 90s when the American Anarch revolt was in 1944. The vampires made in that time period were "The Greatest Generation" and WW2 was still going on. The situation in L.A isn't recent, it is a half century blood cot containing innumerable diseases.

You would also need a Systematic slaughter of pretty much every power in a city to have what was just described, and be fanatical zealots so focused on murder you don't try to wrest control of the internal structures. But these are Anarch and burning shit down without thinking of the consequences of their actions seems to be the theme.

Which the writers don't seem to learn very well since we still have this plotline over 30 years later in Real Time.

Los Angeles and the rest of the Anarch Free States have indeed won their freedom. The Kindred can now exist without continually worrying about how the prince feels, and express themselves to each other without fear that they are actually talking to an agent of the primogen. But that freedom was won at a considerable price....and the price is still being paid, both in the Free States and elsewhere.

It was not enough just to kill the prince and his coterie and to chase the primogen out of Los Angeles. There will always be those who feel that they are destined to tell others how to live their unlives and who wish to govern without the consent of the governed. The Free States are a magnet for these would-be demagogues.

Click to shrink...

And I had stuff earlier but a reload ate the text. So going over from the top.

LA Overview

The book tends to talk about freedom and not having to deal with princes while also then admitting Oh Yeah, the Barons are obsessed with having as much land as possible like they were warring states China and aggressively make grabs while generally being on a Kill First Ask Questions Never binge when it comes to vampires they meet in their territory. Because that is totally different and better than the camarilla. Jeremy MacNeil, the totally not a prince, claims to not be in charge and the book says no one is in charge, but he has a secret high tech bond villain lair which is patched into every law enforcement agency in the city scanning them for any mention of the supernatural and editing it out of reports. Barons tend to have 6-25 vampire gangs that work for them due to a mixture of force and charisma (they totally aren't princes or sheriffs).

It claims that the Camarilla is worried about the Anarchs breaking the masquerade and revealing vampires to the world, which is honestly how the CIA should have learned about vampires as they had open warfare in the city, but the writers decided to blame the CIA learning about vampires on the Camarilla and Nosferatu.

Everyone wears leather, studs, shades, and go out armed. Which is just what VTM tends to be anyways

The Anarchs actively cause forest fires to kill lupines instead of it being incompetence by the government not understanding how wildfires work and are involved in the events of the 1992 riots. Any time the government is slow to act or messes up is because a vampire has dominated someone too much and really the human spirit and government can do things fast and effectively if vampires aren't involved.

Assamites failed an assassination attempt on Jeremy MacNeil and decided to not try again after he killed an elder of the clan, which...doesn't sound like the Assamites in ANY edition.

Setites face more pushback from werewolves than from other vampires and manipulate city hall.

Giovanni primarily stay in Las Vegas despite their massive ties to the mafia.

Ravnos are "don't need to be worried about persecution by princes" a drum rapidly beat throughout the book because the writers can't concieve of anything else. Also not helped that Even V5 has almost every ravnos be a shady bastard out to betray everyone. Also a religion based around diablerie and chaos.

Werewolves somehow got duped by Pentex into believing an earthquake was caused by the Uktena (native american werewolves)

Mages are mostly limited to Verbana (neopagans) that are looking at the werewolf Caerns going "How do i get access to that" Hollow Ones (equivalent to caitiff" that don't know what's going on, and technomancers that were apparently nose deep in the CIA's cocaine for so long they didn't notice LA really being a thing where anything happens.

Meanwhile, the gaming industry is run by Pentex along with a bunch of other stuff.

Road travel to the Free States has issues because nearby Princes actively try to stop people from going there, rail travel has baggage inspectors, air travel is the most popular method and Totally Not A Prince Jeremy declared LAX airport a neutral zone because he's Totally Not A Prince despite it being Crypts Sons territory, which is not all that helpful as people spawncamp to kill or diablerize people there. As such, a lot of people go through other airports. Sea travel can be set up by David Geduld for 10,000 dollars (which is in 90s money not 2020s) but only out of touch elders who aren't used to air travel....despite honestly being the best way.

Oh, and the book says that the L.A Metro will be totally safe.....why the fuck would they even say that in World of Darkness?

The History of L.A The Shota Vampire Cometh

In the 1800s, a now hundred year old London orphan that had been embraced as a 13 year old by a shotacon vampire Methuselah fled Boston due to being ridiculed at an art showing (the book flipflops on if his art is actually bad or not which doesn't fit him having some pretty absurd stats for it) and wanted to head over to China as to completely avoid other Toreador. He instead shipwrecked in California and was woken up by Californians on Christmas.

Naturally, he frenzied in a mad rage and killed everyone there until he stalked up to a chicken coup where one guy Don Sebastian, was hiding there, crying, covered in chicken shit. Christopher remembered that he needed adults to do things and made him his ghoul.

He vaguely wanted to recreate Carthage, whose ideals the writers don't really elaborate on in universe to the point where people just say Carthage and not what it stood for all that much, and started to secularize the usually convent or missionary run lands. During which, as a true Californian, Christopher snorted drugs, fucked hookers, and engaged in increasingly more extreme fetishes. Because L.A. He killed off Native Americans, destroyed religion, made brothels and gambling dens, and made a city with an absurdly high kill rate that people kept jumping into for some reason.

Because L.A

He also saw Joaquin Murietta the inspiration for Zorro and therefore Batman who WoD summarizes as just being an insane murderer when there are over a dozen stories about what might have resulted in him becoming a bandit and went "I want that" to the point of turning him into his vampire hitman.

Lucifer then whispered in Christopher's ear to remember the Carthage idea, and Christopher realized that it would be hard to have people take him seriously as a vampire shota so he turned his ghoul, Don Sebastian, into a vampire as his figurehead while opening libraries and dance academies. Because Toreador. He also dumped massive amounts of water into the sewer to artificially make a water shortage which Lucifer apparently didn't give a fuck about.

Tremere tried to overthrow Don Sebastian, so Christopher and Joaquin murdered an entire chantry with no witnesses.

Right after that the first movies were being shown which had Lucifer and Christopher have a moment of synchronicity in which they decided "I WANT THAT" and mind controlled massive numbers of directors and actors to live in LA instead of the fact that it was straight up cheaper then and had plenty of incentives.

Also, WOD being detailed in the Shotacon NTR

All his life, Christopher would get schoolboy crushes on the important men around him, desperate for a father figure to take care of him. His admiration of Joaquin Murietta caused him to "convert" that killer and arrange for the death of an unknown bandido in his place. His later crush on Clark Gable made tht bit player become a star practically overnight, and there were many other such infatuations along the way.

All of these infantile romances proved hard on Don Sebastian, who was Blood Bound to Christopher and loved him fnatically. Most of these crushes he could shrug off since they were usually mortals who would eventually die or grow old, or were new vampires who could be convieniently disposed of.

In 1943, however, a vampire appeared whom Don Sebastian could not ignore. Ventrue pressure had forced Jeremy MacNeil out of his New England home, and the immortal rebel gradually made his way across the country to Los Angeles...this heroic charismatic vampire fascinated Christopher. Not only did he find MacNeil attractive, he also felt a common bond with the Brujah and identified with MacNeil's persecution. Christopher refused to let Don Sebastian throw Jeremy out of Los Angeles and spent a great deal of time listening from the shadows as Jeremy spoke to the growing number of unhappy Kindred. Out of his long-standing fear of rejection, Christopher never made himself known to the anarch leader.

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Toreador decadence did not mix well with "Streetwise" Anarchs...leading to Don Sebastian having many issues in his reign, leading to riots and Don Sebastian realizing Christopher liked the Anarchs due to Jeremy. "Christopher embraced Jeremy's vision of a world without princes or overlords of any kind." (which isn't what goddamn happened or what Jeremy does in action).

This made Sebastian so irrationally angry that he kidnapped Jeremy and had him beaten, maybe raped as well while Christopher was out in another city. Salvador Garcia, a spanish revolutionary (i don't think it ever actually describes which group and i am disappointed at there not being a Karlist Socialist who says the economic system totally works with the Karlist monarchy) saw this and used it as a rallying point for a revolt.

The book then quotes Mao right after it says ww2 was full of bad stuff and talks about the "Glorious Revolution" where Anarchs killed off all of the existing power structures. Which is really funny when i call this place Warring States/Warlord Era California. It also ISN'T a case of the Anarchs having a great success on their own but Christopher coming back home to see all the fires, realizing his pet had pissed all over his favorite shiny, and deciding to just walk in and murder all of the old administration himself to the point that Salvador and Jeremy walked in expecting a fight and saw a house covered in blood and entrails of over a dozen kindred before deciding to lie and say they totally did all of this trust me bro.

Salvador then wrote down his manifesto and proclaimed it to the world to start the New Anarch Revolt, totally unrelated to the one before, it won't lead to a new sabbat, trust me bro.

"We, the Kindred of the Free State, do hereby declare that we and our progeny, and all Kindred who choose freedom over oppression and liberty over tyranny, of all clans and generations, have as an inherent part of their being the spiritual substance called libertas, or Free Will. We further declare that, as we have freed ourselves from the bonds of mortality, so must we free ourselves from the forces that would rob us of our libertas. Not only must we continue to struggle on our own behalf, but on behalf of our brothers and sisters who continue to be robbed of their libertas by oppression, ignorance and fear.

The Anarch Free State is the political expression of that struggle. In choosing to free ourselves from political tyranny, we have also chose to embrace our own libertas and that of our brother and sister Kindred everywhere.

For these reasons we, the Kindred of the Anarch Free State, meeting this night in solemn convocation, do hereby pledge ourselves to the following principles:

1. We declare ourselves to be free and independent, owing allegiance to no creature and no organization. (The Anarchs are an idea, not an organization, totally)
2. We declare our ability to rule ourselves, with no prince, no primogen and no other ruler other than that we choose for ourselves. (A baron is totally different and done by democracy, trust me bro)
3. We declare our kinship with oppressed Kindred everywhere and offer a home to all Kindred of all generations and clans who will agree to dwell in harmony with us. (We won't spawncamp people or kill them for trying to come into our domain, ignore what we are doing, listen to what we are saying. Your eyes decieve you).
4. We further accept our responsibility to our oppressed brothers and sisters everywhere and pledge to assist them at all times and in all places in their own struggle for the freedom that we declare to be the birthright of all Kindred, from now until the end of time. (Ignore what we said after part three)
5. We recognize our responsibility to maintain the Masquerade, and we pledge to protect and defend it. (Totally bro, trust me)
6. We establish this Status Perfectus and recognize its duty to all Kindred."

Click to shrink...

They are totally going to abide by this and actually enforce it.

I want this to be understood.

The success of the Anarch Revolt in America hinges not on the Anarchs outnumbering people, not on their skill, not on the fact that it has a nearly 400 year old Elder running the show for his politics in defiance to the claim of it being about Neonates, but because a Toreador Shota walked out of his house one day and came back to see his gimp trying to hatefuck his Idoru and decided to burn the house down.

All of this could have been avoided if a blood bonded Californian wasn't obsessed with his English Shota femboy that wanted to be dommed by the Scottish Highlander.

So, if you want to rule L.A. Attract a 300 year old shota and pet his head to control his abandomnet/daddy issues.

Spoiler: basically Christopher

The Siege of LA, Nothing Ever Happens

VTM has massive identity issues when it comes to the Camarilla. Anarchs claim that the Nosferatu and Tremere wanted to put boots on the ground and destroy L.A, which...The Tremere and Nosferatu have very different ways to do that. But the book also tries to imply that the Camarilla is a monolithic entity when the identities of the Camarilla Inner Circle if it ever was defined, is either on a file or slip of paper somewhere few people likely look at, or in the head of someone who might not even work in White Wolf anymore. It also talks about how the Camarilla were worried about the Revolt spreading to cities around the world, which gets into issues with vampire communication networks and how the culture should differ Wildly between A Bunch of Californians (native and adapted) compared to a bunch of Latvian or Norwegian vampires.

"They (the Justicars) heatedly denied rumors that they were afraid to fight the anarchs or that their masters had been involved in the uprising" there is so much Anarch glazing in the books. The Inner Circle supposedly thought about putting economic sanctions against L.A and got stonewalled by the Anarch Revolutionary Council (because they are communists) claiming they will open relations with the Japanese Gaki (who have gotten a ton of rewrites and honestly, should fucking hate the Chinese Courts but VTM Asia is a magical land. None of the Anarchs know any Gaki either). Which is called racism by the book....when the book acknowledges that most of the western nations were at war with Japan...but that is something of a misnomer as most of Europe was primarily concerned with Europe. This feels like the writers forgot that most of the world isn't America. Like, part of the inner circle is likely a bunch of French and Germans due to the makeup of the Founders and they should primarily be concerned with "Did my nation just bomb my several hundred year old ally into oblivion"

That, and Western vampires don't really know jack shit about the goings on of supernatural creatures in Asia. It is also saying that in1945, the Camarilla was worried about Japan being able to keep them in check.

1945

August 6th 1945 is when America Dropped The Sun on Japan twice. Before then, America had dropped enough bombs in Tokyo to melt people.

We also have the statement that clan loyalty totally doesn't cause any issues in the gangs and is totally different from the Camarilla.....ignore the predominance of Brujah in leadership. Ignore the fact that a lot of the Anarchs hate Ventrue and Tremere. Ignore that the very concept of the Camarilla came from a bunch of leaders in the clans coming together to say they were going to work together and give representation to the clans as a group in an area. Gang culture totally fufills all the stuff clan membership does. Ignore your lying eyes.

Oh, and when one guy claimed all of San Fernando Valley as his private territory, he was overreaching and killed. When Jeremy MacNeil reserved San Fernando Valley AND most of Central L.A as a gang free zone under his control that anyone can have a haven in, it was totally okay with only some detractors.

Remember he is a Brujah with presence and that should give the in-universe explanation instead of the book being honest.

The Sabbat went on to attack and L.A was only saved by LA suddenly being controllable (Christopher stepping in) and they had to wait until a riot to do anything in the looting which only netted them one major kill. Meanwhile, the Camarilla didn't try to fight anyone despite close to a hundred vampires dying and a good section of the city burning down.

Snake People worship the Not Snake God

L.A is a overcooked desert drug den in the middle of nowhere. Meaning it is a place loved by the Setites, a blood cult of vampires that want to destroy the world for their founder that claims to totally be a Benevolent God of Hookers and Drugs because that gives people gnostic enlightenment.

Who is Snake themed because the writers based it on Conan originally and then had to justify that with there being a connection to The Wyrm from Werewolf while not going into detail about that. Aka an Antediluvian got corrupted by an eldritch force of entropy. I ran with this when I did a gehenna campaign with Set trying to fuse with and subsume the Wyrm like how Ennoia wants to become one with the Earth/Gaia.

So, in 1944 a redheaded woman named Dawn Cavanaugh came home to see that the werewolves had burned down her Temple of Set. She set up a new one in Hollywood Hills near Griffith Park (a site of wyrm corruption) and gave Hollywood elites magical drugs in exchange for power and orgies. She promptly got a lot of favors until a younger Setite named Nicholas leaked her location to Jeremy MacNeil, who ignored the rules he had set to kill a Setite for being a Setite as even HE comprehends that having them around is a bad idea. She escaped and set up two more temples.

Meanwhile, V5 has the Anarchs ignore his example and accept almost the entire clan into their ranks.

Because V5 is insane.

Look, it isn't the Crips and Bloods

The Sabbat are still around through a very heretical vampire called Mohammed al-Muthlim (Mohammad of the Darkness) who can somehow hide that he is a Lasombra from the Anarchs. He made a gang called The Sons of the Crypt, which then got called Crypts Sons, and then Crypts which controls over a dozen communities by having large numbers of mostly black gangsters to have sects in most major cities. Because Crips. The drugs and violence attracted the interest of Reverend John Davis, a priest with the True Faith necessary to make a vampire start rolling around on the dirt screaming in pain if they can't control themselves in his presence.

This priest saw the Lasombra eating a kid and proceeded to ring up all the other gangs he knew about and tell them "Okay, so, vampires are real. The guys who you keep shooting that keep coming back are vampires, here is a stake and a cross so use the power of GOD TO BURN THE DRUG DEALING VAMPIRES" Which created The Vitae/Bloods in this universe. John was killed but the burden of leadership was taken up by Reverend Leon Cutler.

I am immensely disappointed in VTM not having a member of the Bloods be a True Faith priest with bible verses tattooed across his hands to punch and slap scars of holy texts into vampire faces.

Ventrue and Giovanni are also involved in the gangs, including some of the Blood gangs....the writers were not even trying as they outright call it Blood gangs.

Rodney King riots occured in 92 which gave Mohammed a chance to attack the Blood without managing to get any distinctive wins.

Geography of Hell Itself
The Anarch Free States are loosely 6 blocks

• Barony of the Angels (LA proper)
• Northwest Baronies; Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, San Fernando Valley, West L.A also Werewolves
• Central baronies: Crypts Sons area, El Hermandad's territory (noteably they refer to the areas by the gang instead of location) Whittier, Covina, and The Wilds
• Northeast baronies: Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank
• Southers/Coastal: Torrance, Long Beast, Huntington Beast, Anaheim, Santa Ana
• Outlying Baronies; San Diego, Fresno, San Jose

Barony of the Angels: 59 vampires, 3million+ mortals

South-Central LA is controlled my the Crypts Sons, El Hermandad has East LA, Louis Fortier has West Los Angeles through Beverly Hills. Downtown, Hollywood, and Hollywood Hills are enforced as a no gang control rule area by Totally Not Prince Jeremy who keeps it as an open hunting ground. Most of the vampires there are uninterested in fighting or bad at it.

And because it is written by people who like L.A, the important vampires live in Hollywood Hills.

We then immediately go into L.A nightlife. Which vampires have difficulty involving themselves in because gangs will choose different places people party at and violently keep anyone they don't know from entering with the exception of the area run by Not A Prince Jeremy. We then ignore that with the "A Taste of L.A" that is a general hangout Nightclub because and i quote "Most large cities have Kindred nightclubs." Crispus Attucks and Salvador Garcia made the Taste which is a combination "Coffeehouse and YMCA for kindred all over the world."

My concept of YMCA is probably very different from whatever the writers are thinking of as i generally associate that with sports. Salvador owns the Taste but has two ghouls run it. "Old time revolutionaries, Murray and Alexis date back to the 1960s when they got involved in the student activist movement in Berkley. They were part of the group that filtered down to Santa Barbara in the late 60s and helped burn the hated Bank of America in Isla Vista."

Revolutionary really just means rioting warlord in this book. The "Nightclub" is also based on European cafes which i have issues imagining as a nightclub. There is only a small stage and most of the place is tables for people to sit at...which again doesn't really sound like Nightclub to me. They reference vampire bands that have played there, such as Baby Chorus from Chicago that somehow got to L.A and back without the people pissed off at them in Chicago destroying their shit.

The Taste is treated as an Elysium but is totally not an elysium despite having all the same non-aggression agreements. Gangs also recruit from people that have just come over to the city.

Club Zombie is a former factory that a gay couple turned into a mortuary themed nightclub. Vampires presumed that the place full of open coffins and fake skeletons was a fun place to go. Louis Fortier went to them and made the couple his ghouls since vampires were going there anyways. This one is also an actual nightclub with dancing.

Vampires also hold raves in various places where "It is not considered proper to supply mortals for oneself"

Spoiler: Obligatory Blade

View: https://youtu.be/Kd6UtMo3JDw

Which is very relevant as the Raves have an issue of banning one gang resulting in them shooting it up, so you have to let all of them in while they generally shank/punch each other which can still turn into one giant brawl. How are people not being assassinated all the time here?

The Church of Our Lady Queen of the Angels has an aura of true faith. I think it is related to the Demon splatbook. The orthodox St. Sophia Cathedral is also causing discomfort for kindred. Little Tokyo has a Gaki (japanese kuei-jin) has a group of koga ninja working for her.......this never comes up in any other book Ever.

Griffith Park, which people might remember from crushing a werewolf to death with an observatory door, is the home of a Black Spiral Dancer Caern which is why L.A is perpetually terrible.

Northwest Baronies

Simi Valley has 100,000 mortals and three sabbat bikers around.

Santa Clarita has 110,000 mortals and 2 vampires which are Walter and Millie Gaspers. If you ever read my L.A Hound story you might remember me calling them vampire Martha and Jon Kent. They were turned into vampires by a Brujah that wanted to make a "perfect family" and they killed him since he assaulted them. They don't know about the existence of other vampires and are farmers that are now dealing with the fact that they can't have kids.

San Fernando Valley has 1 million mortals and 5 vampires. Vampires tend to not live there as they for some reason hate the suburbs. I will tell you know, that barely knowing who lives near you in the suburbs is normal. And a vampire could probably just have a ghoul living there who says their spouse is out on business trips most days.


Malibu has a bunch of Glass Walkers (Technowerewolves) that keep vampires out.

West Los Angeles
330,000 mortals four vampires.

The book insists that the barons of LA are nothing like the medieval barons despite being land obsessed people that are focused on the population of the area so they can extract resources and violently kill anyone that enters their borders using often mounted servants that work for them in exchange for rank and privilege. And kill people who disrespect them.

Because the Anarchists don't just become strong man politics with the strongest and best armed beating the shit out of other people.

Louis Fortier is a french vampire that, because he is french, has collected three vampire brides to blood bond to himself. He also keeps the place economically and politically stable. Noteably Santa Monica is in his domain, which....Jeannette/Therese is from a generation far closer to Caine so she can fuck him up. Also one of his brides is a Sabbat mole so he might die from that or some other plot point in the metaplot.

Central Baronies

The Definitely Not Crips rule over 1.5 million mortals and has 25 vampires on top of their massive gang. Large parts of the place has been burned down with no intent by anyone to rebuild. It includes Downey, Hollywood Park, and doesn't really refer to the communities nut landmarks like museums and the memorial Sports Arena/Memorial Coliseum

El Hermandad has 12 vampires with 810,000 mortal around in East Lost Angeles, Montebello, Pico Revera, Arcadia, Temple City etcetera. Basically they have control over usually latin areas like the Crypt Sons have historically black areas. In the one point where it translates El Hermandad, it says the term means The Brotherhood. Basically, this area is defined by black and latino gangsters trying to murder each other as vampires.

Covina's barony includes West Covina, La Puente, Baldwin Park, Duarte, Azusa and some other places. It doesn't have a baron and has 6 vampires around. A good number of them will work with El Hermandad to ensure the Crypts Sons don't take over.

Whittier has seven vampires and 400,000 mortals. It also includes Norwalk, La Habra, La Mirada, and Santa Fe Springs. They are led by Gloria Martinez (not the Milf from cyberpunk) and support El Harmandad because Latino.

The Wilds has Seven vampires and 180,000 mortals. It doesn't have gangs or a barony. It is mostly forest and desert with places like multiple Heights, Diamond Bar, and Walnut. Most groups that go here seem to diseappear but there are some gangrel.

Northeast baronies
Pasadena has 4 vampires and includes Sierra Madre, La Canada Flintridge, San Marino and a bunch of other places. It is mostly run by Edward and Vera Vignes with their butler and a Nosferatu hiding out watching the telenovela of a man being cucked by his butler. The Vignes have somehow managed to meet a werewolf leader at social functions with neither side noticing that the other is a monster.

Glendale has the evil old twin ladies Edith and Enid Blount that are serial diablerists that love torture so much they learned Vicissitude. Despite young vampires going missing and them having diablerie stains on their aura, people don't realize they are luring newbies in to eat them. Because the Anarchs all seem to have brain damage.


Burbank has 3 vampires with the most famous being Bela the malkavian that thinks he is Count Dracula. Not vlad but movie dracula.

Southern Baronies
Long Beach has 12 surfer bro vampires run by head surfer bro "Main Man" Steve Booth who is apolitical.

Torrance has 13 vampires spread across a bunch of wealthy neighborhoods. Most of them are surfers as well but have more money and work for the ventrue David Geduld who has decided he must unite all the surfer vampires under him even if he has to kill Steve so he can make Long Beach corporate.

Huntington Beach has 5 surfer vampires that like Steve but don't go to long beach since they'd have to cross a US Naval Weapons station, they don't have a leader.

Anaheim has 8 vampires divided into four man gangs between Allison Maller and Tom Weaver. They somehow have a high death rate in their followers so i am supposing the 3 followers they have each is the ones that don't constantly get killed between getting replacements....I know I'm wrong. It also has Disneyland which is treated as Elysium, but it is actually a secret base for the TECHNOMANCER NEW WORLD ORDER!!! WALT DISNEY WAS SECRETLY A GENOCIDAL WIZARD RUNING MIND CONTROL EXPERIMENTS!!! I am not making that up. They also somehow have not noticed vampires having political meetings here.

I ignore that lore in favor of Walt Disney living there as a normal wizard

Santa Ana has 7 vampires and includes Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Orange, and Tustin. Amethyst has absolute control over five vampires due to blood bonds and disciplines. She has blood bonded Tom Weaver to take over Anaheim for her.

Outlying Baronies
San Diego has 25 vampires and 2.5 million people run by Tara Kearny. She has 15 gangsters so she has the majority of vampires directly working for her. She is trying to turn Camarilla but hasn't yet because the Anarchs keep killing anyone who is Camarilla. The Anarchs are already talking about how they should invade the city and overthrow her because despite what they might say, they are a faction with political goals that refuses to let any other factions exist in peace.

San Jose has 10 vampires holding back the vampires of San Francisco from invading the Free States. They don't have a baron, meaning they are the closest to being actual anarchists and how it only really works with a small group. The winchester house is actual magic and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has actual magic artifacts.



The Clans

Spoiler: Me giving a quick summary of clans

I didn't explain vampire clans since I have talked about VTM before. Amending that, The first vampire was Caine, though Qayin might have been another way to spell it. Really, all human languages that exist and are known wouldn't have been around back then as we are dealing with a reality where Genesis or something like that happened.

VTM has played with whether or not the sisters of Cain and Abel were around as Aclima/Calomena is mentioned in a few books as a sister of Caine who might be a vampire. Abel is a wraith and part of why Caine doesn't like necromancy. Whether he had any sisters to boink or not, Caine spent time with Lilith trading his service (likely in more than a few ways) in exchange for knowledge of magic where Lilith botched the ritual and made him undead as that part wasn't Gods fault it seems. He learned multiple disciplines: Fortitude, Celerity, Potence, Presence, Dominate, Auspex, Protean, Obfuscate and likely blood magic but Lilith tried to stop him from creating more as it "Stretched his form." This is an interesting concept which isn't given much follow up in any book as the disciplines which might have come later like Chimestery, Serpentis, Obtenebration, Necromancy, and so on are mostly used by clans that would be considered evil by just about anyone with a functioning brain. Though that might be just because the writers needed ways to make other clans more distinct and based their Hats on power. Lilith is also cursed to never have reciprocal love so Caine is physically and spiritually incapable of loving her and left her BDSM bondage sex cave where she also fucked animals and cthulhu but she blames him for the bad breakup instead of the Literal Curse From God to be single...and the parts of fucking animals and genocidal werewolves.

Caine became horrifically lonely after he was alone without lilith (except maybe his likely twin sister) and saw that Abel had been replaced with Seth who got to go make babies. Not having a family, he figured out how to Embrace others into his family through draining their blood and replacing it with his. He did this at least three times, likely more, with a freakout moment when his adoptive daughter Zillah didn't want to fuck him, so he went to a shady woods witch for help. Got dateraped by the witch, turned it around on her by penetrating her deep in the heart with a wooden shaft, and went back to mind control Zillah into loving him. He later figured out this was a horrible idea and banned the practice.

His kids then said they wanted to have vampire babies of their own and made childer (some of which were without his permission) but he sighed and let his grandkids into his home. Possibly after saying "My children now" when it comes to Lilith's highly abused and possibly feral children like Ennoia (progenitor of the Gangrel) and likely Zapathasura (Ravnos). 13 of these grandkids are acknowledged by modern vampires who constitute the founder of Caines Thirteen Tribes.

All of his grandkids fucked up to the point God sent a flood which Caine looked at and said "yeah, we deserve this" and hunkered down to watch his grandkids and kids realize how screwed they were. This did not keep them from making the same mistakes and going into a civil war doing all the shit Caine told them not to do. So Caine eventually decided to leave as his house was destroyed, only coming back when he sensed his kids and wife died so he could curse all his grandkids for being massive fuckups. There are likely more than these 13 vampires that acted as founders, but people kept eating each other, backstabbing, and being general dicks.

1. Assamites: Are the Hassashin order but vampire blood mages with a caste system. Their curse includes getting darker skin as they get older. People tend to ignore this a lot despite the fact that it isn't "I get melanin" but rather "I become a goddamn Salamander from 40k" as the oldest ones have craggy black skin and burning eyes. They also have curses involving wanting to eternally suck the blood of other vampires, which is not helped by their belief that they are the chosen people who should be the only vampires to exist, and another curse that makes it so they might die from sucking on other vampires. Because they pissed off wizards multiple times
2. Brujah: Their founder was originally a nerdy guy who was emotionally deadened by the point he figured out Za Warudo and how to manipulate time. The one exception to his emotional deadening was when he encountered a Musclegirl Tomboy and frenzied to embrace her. She did not enjoy this, believed he might kill her, and later ate him. Caine let it slide while laying down the rule of "Okay, NO MORE OF THIS" Their curse is that they have an incredibly difficult time not going into violent rampages which destroy everything they love. Unfortunately, she got seduced by a probably femboy infernalist and is sealed away underneath carthage for what might be eternity
3. Cappadocian: Vampire necromancers. Their leader wanted to try and consume god while destroying the difference between life and death to rule over everything and everyone for eternity. Then he got eaten by Augustus Giovanni but managed to throw part of his soul out to not let Augustus get the full power. The Cappadocians had the curse of looking either like corpses or so deathly pale most goths would be confused, they can't mimic human skintones and such. Giovanni instead have immensely painful bites that leave people screaming in agony for the entire time. They are also incestuous mobster necromancers, bankers, and have absorbed many mortal families into their group. Oddly enough, they are fairly good to caitiff and will Adopt caitiff into the clan after bloodbonding them.
4. Gangrel: Are vampires that can turn into animals. They have multiple bloodlines as they adapt to different situations (underwater, cities, countryside) and have a blood feud with the Ravnos for many reasons. Their curse makes it so they gain animal traits as they frenzy. Game balance made it lessen so these traits slowly go away instead of being permanent. Their Antediluvian is one the Founders who everyone knows the name for, Ennoia, and she went off trying to become one with the planet to rise above the curse of vampirism.
5. Lasombra: Vampires that can control shadows. They are tied to other-dimensional forces which gets complicated as every game has its own metaphysics. Their curse makes it so they can't have reflections so being near any reflective surface can out them. Their antediluvian wants to become a living shadow merged with another dimension.
6. Malkavians: Brother of Arikel, founder of the Toreador, he is insane and all of his clan is cursed with insanity. This has had multiple issues with roleplay as people try to be Harley Quinn or Deadpool along with people who can't play consistent characters. Their power has gone through multiple revisions but they noteably have the ability to mindbreak people with their version of mind control. Their founder willingly let himself be group diablerized which made him a psychic network shared between all of his clan. In addition to Arikel he might have other siblings, though it is debated in universe if this is in reference to blood, vampirism, or the fact that he is one of the vampires that few others had issues with.
7. Nosferatu: Are ugly vampires. They have a workaround as they can disguise their appearance with objects or use of Obfuscate, a power a few others have. Their clan founder was so vain he gives Lasombra a run for its money and believed he was embraced to be an eternal lover for Zillah while also trying to flirt with Arikel and Ennoia. All of them rejected him which bruised his ego on top of a scar on his face. He wants to kill all his kids.
8. Ravnos: Subject to so many retcons and bad writing decisions including making the clan tied to the stereotypes about Gypsies/Romani that the writers decided to nuke their founder and kill off the vast majority of the clan until v5 retconned the timeline to have more survive and move the events forward in the timescale. As such I subscribe to the belief that V5 is an acid trip made into reality by their founder Zapathathustra to avoid death and fuck with people. Their curse is compulsive behaviors. They get cool powers called Chimestery which allows them to create illusions that eventually become real. V5 fucked their clan curse into being Thunder Warriors that explode if they stay still too long and fucked their discipline spread. Originally they had Fortitude, Animalism, and Chimerstry while V5 changes it to Animalism, Obfuscate, Presence. Which makes it so they are pigeonholed from more combat related roles and have to rely on sneak attacks and social manipulation.
9. Setites: They deny any relationship with caine despite the Book of Nod, a textbook on vampirism suppossedly written by caine, directly mentioning them. Their antediluvian might have eaten his predecessor like the Brujah did. They have snake powers but can be immobilized by bright lights and cook extra fast under the sun. They are vampire Slaanesh and have castes. Like the Giovanni, they accept converts, though of all clans instead of just caitiff.
10. Salubri: Are the "Good guy" vampires who are obligated by their curse to not be able to feed off the unwilling lest they burn from the inside out. They also have third eyes that open up as they learn their signature Valeren discipline which varies by the caste. Saulot, their founder, is used as vampire jesus most of the time despite also having a ton of shady stuff involved and possibly creating demon worshipping vampires. He tricked Tremere into eating him and has booted Tremere out of his own body to run the Tremere. As such, Clan Tremere, which is composed of a bunch of wizards that used vampire blood to try and become immortal when their magic grew weaker, has replaced the Salubri as a clan. They don't have a curse really in most editions outside of being partially bloodbound to force them into submission to their elders.
11. Toreador: Their founder is Arikel, who is a vampire artist who manages to be the person least involved in politics or manipulations as she walled herself off to just eternally create art. She is somehow one of the most sane vampires despite MAYBE being related to lilith and being considered the sister of the guy known for being batshit insane.
12. Tzimisce: Have you ever seen bodyhorror? That is the tzimisce. They are fleshcrafters and sorcerers who intentionally do the most bizarre stuff to try and achieve perfection. Their idea of perfection will make H.R Geiger have a throbbing hard on while he kisses the pussy lips they grafted onto their forehead. I am serious about that last part. Their founder is like ennoia in trying to spread himself across the planet, but as a virus. Retcons go back and forth on if an eldritch entity, demon, or something else corrupted the entire clan.
13. Ventrue: A clan which gets pigeon-holed into being evil even amongst the ones that go anarch because of the writers having a hateboner. Their clan name means Pot-bellied in french apparently which gives you an idea of how much the writers respect them when other clans get The Shadow or The Bulldancer or The Undead. Their founder is one which is presumed dead in most timelines and confirmed as such in a few. Their curse is to be limited in their feeding to have a trait that the person needs to be. Such as only Dark Eyed Italian Women, Only Soldiers, Only people that are afraid, or Only Rape Victims unless they are feeding on a vampire or thinblood.

So back to Hell, I mean L.A

Brujah

Ariane

• a girl born under the name Jane in Chicago and I have the eternal joy that she isn't one of the many people i've met who changed her name to Lilith. She was turned into a vampire at age 14 in 1992 (2 years ago as the book was released in 94) but is able to pass as 18 with punk makeup. She got turned into a vampire by another young anarch. She lives in Hollywood and is a goddamn genius given that she has Celerity 4 despite being a 13th gen vampire who has only been around for maybe 2 years. Her only real interest is loud music, but she dances to it doesn't play.

Crispus Attucks

• born a half African half Indian slave that fled to become a sailor calling himself Michael Johnson. He was in the mob against the british and got shot, resulting in being embraced during the Bostom Massacre. Despite being called a great orater he is also called "A fighter, not a deep thinker...he is content to remain in the Free States, acting as muscle for Jeremy." He also believes that the Anarchs are the best hope for a better world of kindred...despite all the shit happening.
• Some FUCKING HOW he has Quietus 2 which is a Assamite only ability. And i can't see them teaching it so I suspect he drank one to death. His phsycial stats are maxed, he has max brawl, and potence 3 celerity 4 fortitude 3

Steve Booth

• The Dude if the Dude was a buff surfer vampire without a beard
• He died surfing in a storm, resulting in him being turned into a vampire. He has the same vampire mom as Crisupus but this is not ever mentioned.
• His vampire mom is incredibly sad that her chasimatic surfer doesn't know anything about politics...because she is dumb and was thinking with her undead pussy. His attitude is "Can't (we) just get along and surf, you know?"
• It is only after she gave up that the situation became him having to help his vampire surfers not get turned corporate by a ventrue, accepting responsibility for his people.
• He has streetwise 4, leadership 4, and athletics 5. Also Appearance 5. His Vampire Mom sucked that surfer dry because he only wears cutt off jeans.

Salvador Garcia

• Spanish farmer anarcho-communist who got killed and turned into a vampire after agitating against the monarchy. Looking up the Mano Negra he was a part of all i see is them robbing bakeries and butchers during a famine.
• Apparently Francisco Franco was a tool of the Ventrue and he fled after losing there.
• He is straight up a terrorist attempting to form revolutionary groups in the USA and other nations. He has maxed firearms and politics.

Walter and Millie Gaspers

• Farmers from Newhall turned into vampires by an anarch they killed in revenge. They only eat animal blood. Walter's base stats are low but Walter has Computers 2, Tech 3, Animalism 3 and science 2 while Millie has Medicine 2 Computer 2, Animal Ken 3 firearms 2 along with higher base stats.
• Both have animalism and don't have the full spread of brujah disciplines
• The one wholesome part of the book

Jeremy "Not A Prince, Only Won Due To A Shota Wanting To Be Domed" MacNeil

A over 300 year old scottish nobleman and 8th generation brujah. He later fought for the Irish as well. "A strict anarchist, he fervently believes that when people are left to themselves, the strong will survice at the expense of the weak. Eventually, he believes, a cohesive society of these survivors will emerge, with each person acknowledging the equality of his brethren because it has been proven in the flame."

....He is straight up evil, ignore the book saying he has Humanity 7, fuck him.

Allison Maller

• A 15 year old hooker that ran away from an abusive family and got turned into a vampire in 85 (the book is set in 94). She had been esanguinated by a guy resulting in Salvador turning her. She secretly killed the guy who he saved her from.
• She is fighting Tom Weaver (Really Amethyst) over Anaheim.
• She still dresses in the clothes she did as a hooker

Gloria Martinez

• A gang girl from the barrio who got turned into a Manchurian agent by the Justicar Petrodon and sought out Salvador to become a vampire
• He agreed because he is obsessed with having a Latino gang and helped her take control of Whittier.

Smiling Jack

• Legally not Blackbeard for some reason
• Claims to have never been a captain of a ship
• Is a terrorist, might as well be played by Keanu Reeves
• Max Melee and Brawl for action movie scenes and knows Thaumaturgy fire magic.

Tara

• basically designed as a category traitor that wants to go camarilla
• Realizes all the talk of freedom means jack shit as anyone declaring a city for the Camarilla will get killed by Jeremy for his social experiment.
• She isn't given a backstory in the book

Tom Weaver

• Imagine if Forrest Gump was a louisanan farmboy.
• He was bloodbonded and tolt to go claim Anaheim for Amethyst, a caitiff.
• He doesn't understand the concept of people being bad.

Prof Gregory Habersohn

• Swedish Sociologist meaning he couldn't even be a psychologist focused on primitive societies.
• Expresses no opinions on the Anarchs due to the desire to be objective
• Knows telekinesis and weather control at low levels

Sir Ralph Hamilton

• London Brujah opposed to Anarchism as it will be a wedge between his clan and camarilla (he is right)
• Wants to find weakpoints in the Anarch states to destroy them
• Totally believes in class warfare and class traitors with him being the upper class
• Was involved with Setites at one point for long enough to have Serpentis 3
• Believes all women are his intellectual inferiors

Dr. Takuya Shirakawa

• Communist Extremist that could probably get Damsel gushing with how much he agrees with her
• Studied medicine at Moscow
• THE REVOLUTION IS FOR FOREVER
• Is with the idealists because they acknowledge his doctorate unlike most Anarchs
• Is a medical doctor with a higher rank in Politics than Medicine
• Is a Straight Up Stalinist. Stalin. The one who even Lenin said was goddamn insane.
• The guy who thought that plants followed Communist theories of adaptation.

Countess Andrea

• A noblewoman from Milan. Mainly acts as an icebreaker so the Idealists can talk to Anarchs
• Is a full blown Anarch because she has become a Californian

The Caitiff

Amethyst

• A 17 year old since the late 20s because of being a black prostitute from the age of 15, again, in the same book. Like the other girl sharing her backstory, she was attacked one night and drained of all her blood but came back as a vampire.
• She had no one to help her when she first became a vampire and eventually became a Prince's consort to curry favor until Anarchs kidnapped her as a hostage. The prince said no deal to the blackmail, which made it so "She swore that she would never again put her trust in princes." Turning anarch and killing him only for the Primogen to shrug and kill most of the anarchs involved.
• She became Baron of Santa Ana by killing the previous one with her gang and has been perpetuating abuse by turning people into vampires, erasing their memory, and leaving them on the street to see if they survive while blood bonding other vampires.
• Honestly she might be a Toreador Caitiff as she has Auspex, Celerity, and Presence, though she has Dominate 4 as her highest discipline.
• The Semi-official L.A podcast has a woman playing a character named Amethyst who seems to be the same person, though that is the one time in the entire gameline where they have ever raceswapped a character to White as she is African-American in this book.

Rose

• Born Meredith Brannon (Amethyst renamed her Rose) to a woman that made her be a model ever since she was a baby with constant dance, acting, and modeling lessons that likely involved severe amounts of being forced to vomit up food. She never actually went to school or had friends, eternally under the thumb of her mother to the point she realized that she wanted to murder her mother. Meredith got a chance to be a spokesperson for a clothing line which got shot down by her mother aiming for international prospects instead. She promptly snapped and left.
• Amethyst promptly turned her into a vampire and erased her memories while leaving her in a hunger frenzy that killed her mother. This happened in New Orleans which confuses me on just how far out Amethyst goes to make new vampires.
• She eventually embraced a hacker as a vampire
• She has higher self control and conscience than her sire
• She has no compunction against murder but also is intensely loyal.
• Is an auburn/redhead with green eyes

Zipper, Marc Perleman

• An asocial internet nerd in the early age of the cyberpunks (being punks that were computer enthusiasts instead of guys with weird hair or cyborg arms)
• He has hacked the Pentagon and Pentex while being a Hactivist that would make Rache Bartmoss proud due to cracking the codes of CIA slush funds
• He has an issue with bragging, which caused Rose to notice him and turn him into a vampire.
• He has the unfortunate fate of being Little brother zoned and is jealous of other guys.
• He has maxed Computer, technology, and larceny.

Malkavians

Bela

• A Bela Lugosi impersonator that got turned into a vampire that thinks he is Count Dracula
• Is a genuinely powerful vampire who can assume animal form, control animals, disappear if standing still, and has multiple forms of mind control
• Has Occult 4 which implies he knows a lot about the supernatural and Stealth 5 Intimidate 5 so he just appears out of nowhere scary enough to make people have heart attacks WITHOUT THE POWERS INVOLVED

Nosferatu

Alonzo Guillen

• A nobleman born disfigured in spain. His sister Eulalia had gone to California as a missionary and he followed after having been turned into a vampire. She was thoroughly against his attempt to spread his curse to her, refusing to take his blood even as she died.
• He went mad with grief and frenzied, killing everyone around him until he simply became too depressed to do anything. He has stayed alone for a hundred years out of guilt
• Recently, he contacted the Ventrue Butler Henry Waters out of a need for companionship and the fact that Henry, being a good butler, controlled his disgust and talked to him instead of scorning the guy
• Alonzo is trying to break the blood bond on Henry
• He still isn't a good guy as he does nothing about the serial diablerists around which doesn't fit his caregiver nature and Conscience of 5, but that might be the burnout of being at humanity 5

Toreador

Edith and Enid Blount

• turned into vampires after their Movie Exec father got turned into a Toreador and hunted by other members of the clan as sport, resulting in him killing them out of blood starvation and begging another vampire to bring them back.
• They are also evil fifty year old twin ladies that set up a serial killer mansion
• Serial diablerists that ate their dad
• There is no mention of the Tzimisce in their background but they have Vicissitude 2, so the vampire that made them might have been a Volgirre Toreador as they have the discipline, or they ate a Tzimisce.
• They're at humanity zero so they are Wights, batshit insane vampires

Victor Girard

• A conman that used to sell persian rugs, he didn't have the money managing knowledge to avoid bankruptcy though.
• He was turned into a vampire by the deceased prince Sebastian to manage L.A's business and industrial base, including throughout the buildup of ww2.
• He avoided the Anarchs durigng the revolt and walked back once the Anarchs were having issues with all the masquerade violations. They couldn't deny his offer to sweep this all under the rug.
• Wants to set things up so either Jeremy becomes prince or the Camarilla comes back so he can be in charge again.

Christopher Houghton, The Shota Vampire

Parenthesis will be my asides

Christopher started life in the slums of London in the late 17th century. When he was 10 years old, his startling good looks caught the attention fo John White, a local artist who rescued him from the gutter. White cleaned him up, taught him manners and some rudimentary art, and used him for various purposes, modeling among them (Probably got cornholed).

Christopher, who had learned never to let an opportunity pass him by, drained the older man's resources and then used him to launch himself iinto the art world of London. At a party which he insisted White take him, Christopher met Sir Matthew Ludlow, a toreador elder rcently awakened from torpor, and one of the Toreador hostages in London (either the guy diablerized to 4th gen or was sired by Arikel, but London is ruled by the vampire blood got Mithras who has a few millennia head start above Ludlow if his name isn't an alias). The old vampire was captivated by the beautiful and charming lad and began courting the boy immediately.

...On Christopher's 13th birthday, Sir Matthew, unable to control himself any longer, gave Christopher the "Gift" of unlife. ...in the late 1820s, tiring of Christopher's endless leeching off the art world without ever creating anything of his own, Sir Matthew challenged him to create a piece of art in any medium which he could show to the other Toreadors of the city. Christopher was delighted. This was just what he needed to inspire the artistic muse he knew he carried inside him....after a stunned silence, the laughter began. The work was a mess, instantly branding its creator as a poseur of the worst sort. Sir Matthew, whose position in the Toreador community had been devastated by his get's disaster (despite being a METHUSELAH), forbade Christopher to ever darken his door again. Enraged, Christopher fled form Boston, vowing to find a place where true art could be appreciated.

"Christopher looks like a cross between a 13 year old boy and an angel. He is about 5'6 with pale skin, blue eyes, and a cloud of golden hair"

Roleplay hints: "You are well aware of the depths of your powers but you can't escape the fear that others will scorn you and laugh at you. You continually prepare new hare-brained schemes to prove your worth, and you remain in hiding until that glorious day (which will never come) when you can burst forth in all your glory. If you are confronted, you will shy away, but if you are challenged or mocked, you will kill without mercy.

You are still looking for someone who will respect you and care for you, so you still occasionally get crushes (possibly on an exceptionally charismatic character). If you do, you will go to any lengths to assist the object of yoru affections although always in secret. You have all the curiosity of a 13 year old boy, and you love to spy on other Kindred of the Free States. You sometimes have the feeling that you are being manipulated by a force far more powerful than yourself. Sometimes you get ideas and have no idea where they come from, but you always act on them anyways

Click to shrink...

Joaquin Murietta

• A mass murdering bandit blood bound to Christopher
• His wife had been gang raped to death, resulting in him hunting them all down in vengeance.
• He is credited with 120 kills alongside his gang before being turned into a vampire by Christopher
• Traveled the world and likely ate other vampires to learn Quietus (Assamite blood magic) and Serpentis.
• Has Celerity 6 and superhuman firearms skill

Ventrue

Louis Fortier

• Second son of a nobleman, leading to him joining the french army where he was sent to subdue Canada. He fought in the French and Indian War (which actually had native americans on both sides) where he encountered a camp that offered hospitality to the army.
• A Shaman hypnotized the army so they could all be killed by a native american vampire who turned him into a vampire and left him there.
• He lived in New York until fleeing a sabbat raid, living in L.A afterwards where he disagreed in Sebastian's lax control of the city and people out of a sense of Noblesse Oblige.
• He stood up for Jeremy when Sebastian beat him, leading to him easily being accepted into the Anarchs during the Revolt where he fought alongside them.
• He has 3 vampire wives because french
• Actually cares about the economy isntead of siphoning cash

Catherine Du Bois

• runs a call girl/boy service for the elites, incredibly depraved
• BLonde hair, green eyes. Nothing else is said about her

Elena Gutierrez

• Daughter of a spanish diplomat and reminded Louis of his sire.
• Acts as Louis's voice in the Rants of anarchs
• Believes in the goodness of mankind and enthusiastic about helping people
• Basically Latin lover stereotype as a woman

Mariel St. John

• A sabbat plant
• Wrote a book about the French and Indian Wars to get Louis interested in her so she could spy on California
• Working with Mohammed
• Red cheeked blonde

David Geduld

• Sired by Lawrence Ballard, a Ugly Fat Bastard vampire from Chicago with relations to the giovanni and implications of incest given his feeding restriction is his family members that he makes send their children to him.
• A Bureaucratic businessman and lawyer sent to L.A as a spy but went native
• Fought alongside the Brujah against the sabbat.
• Scheming to kill Steve Booth and take over long beach
• Split between genuinely liking the Anarch cause and desire for power advancement

Jesus Ramirez

• Nicaraguan man turned into a vampire servant by a Spanish Ventrue until Brujah lead Lenninist rebels killed his sire.
• Joined El Hermandad because it is the Latino gang
• Is the voice of reason in the gang

Edward and Vera Vignes

• A couple from Boston that fled during a fight over the princehood, they were there when Christopher failed his artistic debut.
• Control Pasadena. Edward doesn't like going to rants because they are used by young punks with bad hygiene to puff themselves up. He is right about this. The man speaks the truth. Is only slightly condescending
• Vera was embraced in the same year as Edward, which implies they were married before the vampirism. He doesn't seem to really love her though and she has adapted better to the times due to not being focused on people beign inferior to her.
• Vera fell in love with their butler and mind controlled him into giving her his blood so she could be blood bonded.
• Both are skilled musicians. Though, Vera has learned telekinetic thaumaturgy and has more disciplines at higher levels than her husband. Edward has more skills than her in general though.
• Vera is scared of Edward so there might have been something going on before the becoming vampires.

Henry Waters

• A british butler from a long line of butlers. He was in his 30s when when his employer went over to America for a job, but his boss died of influenza, leading to him working for and being turned by Edward.
• He is blood bonded to Edward and in love with Vera

Setites

Dawn Cavanaugh

• Daughter of a British officer in sudan, she was taken as a slave of a Sheik when her father was killed.
• A setite saw a redheaded sixteen year old and decided to convert her. This is a thing as red hair was associated with Set. Then she was turned into a vampire as a 16 year old.
• She revels in decadence and corrupting people because she is a setite. She wants all of L.A to be corrupt...which is already a thing.
• Wants to kill Jeremy
• The Grand Temple of Set has her heart in a canopic jar, making her immune to staking.

Lasombra

Mohammed al-Muthlim

• Originally from a middle class chicago family but fell into the gangs when his father was transferred to another office.
• Converted to the Nation of Islam black separatists as a gangster and became a fanatic that changed his name.
• Then got turned into a Sabbat vampire, who killed other sabbat to infiltrate the Anarchs
• Created the Crips of this universe.
• Somehow hid his clan despite having no reflection
• Pretends to be supportive of other barons while planning to kill them

Henry Taylor (Slash)

• Raised by a single mom after his dad disappeared, he became a gangster
• Survived a Sabbat initiation ritual as a teenager and became a Mohammed's childe.
• Is absurdly proficient in firearms and fighting.
• Mainly a trigger-man for Mohammed

Ravnos

Irena

• Born in Chicago ghetto and became a migrant worker in the great depression
• Preferred to steal shit from other people IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION which made it so the shittier members of the Ravnos let her join them
• Is a generic lying stealing ravnos who swears revenge when people get back at them after being conned.
• The book says that the person who STOLE FROM PEOPLE IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION has humanity 8

There is more but it is mainly just "Oh yeah the Barons want to kill each other"

 

[Rakdos92]

How can anyone look at L.A. and its history and not conclude it's cursed in some way?

 

[shadowdice]

How can anyone look at L.A. and its history and not conclude it's cursed in some way?

Click to shrink...

The demon sourcebook has well over a dozen actual fallen angels there along with several earthbound (even more evil demons associated with the Baali),

And The Wyrm

And Setites

Oddly just some Technocracy companies but that is every city

And Pentex but that is every city

The SHEER number of demons makes it literally cursed lands due to the Earthbound

 

[Rakdos92]

snip

Click to shrink...

Some Prince after having taken a good look at L.A.: "On second thought, let's not go to Los Angeles. 'Tis a silly place."

But seriously, this city sucks donkey ass! An ocean of hypocrisy, stinking to high heaven, everyone with power over more than a handful of people seemingly turning into a deranged psychopath within a single day, the glorification of gang culture.

I'm amazed no Hunters has come and gone full: "Burn it. BURN IT!" on the city. Probably because the supernaturals would stop them.

 

[shadowdice]

In recent news, Paradox announced a new VTM book. In Memoriam.

...It has taken 7 years for them to make a book on playing Elders (Well Ancillae who are trying to fill the shoes of elders)

No Escape from the Past…

You've been dead longer than you were alive. You've witnessed the passing of every mortal from your first life—through violence, disease, or the relentless march of time—while you, undying, remain bound to this world. Your nights are haunted by the echoes of history, from the distant whispers of two centuries past to the cataclysmic World Wars and the rise of the modern era.

Embrace the mantle of the noveaux elders, the ancillae who have seized power in the absence of the true elders, who've now fallen or been beckoned away. Become a Kindred of 100, 150, or even 200 years. Detail your backstory and relive the formative trials and tribulations that forged you into the monster you are today. Command the night with the power of centuries behind you with In Memoriamfor Vampire: The Masquerade.



Features

• Dive into and take part in Kindred history through flashback with expanded Memoriam rules. (Flashbacks)
• Craft Ancilla Characters with enriched rules designed for advanced play.
• Consolidated and Streamlined Memoriam Rules featuring new variations and advanced rules for deeper character development.
• New Lore, Resources & Plotlines surrounding 11 mortal eras and 8 pivotal Kindred events.
• Six New Loresheets that link characters to significant historical moments.
• Learn more about integrating Memoriam rules into your existing stories and how to tie your characters to older events (A mechanic that even Reddit admits to not using and was ill thought out for players that aren't trying to be elders)

Click to shrink...

Some Prince after having taken a good look at L.A.: "On second thought, let's not go to Los Angeles. 'Tis a silly place."

But seriously, this city sucks donkey ass! An ocean of hypocrisy, stinking to high heaven, everyone with power over more than a handful of people seemingly turning into a deranged psychopath within a single day, the glorification of gang culture.

I'm amazed no Hunters has come and gone full: "Burn it. BURN IT!" on the city. Probably because the supernaturals would stop them.

Click to shrink...

On the gang culture part. VTM seems to just be incredibly bad at characterizing Anarchs as anything other than Gang Culture.

L.A: Gangs.

Chicago: punk gangs, more gangs, a pimp, and one 1800s socialist that no one takes seriously and is almost always the butt of a joke. Also the weird guys that are Lilith cults in V5 where they go "This is empowering" while slut-shaming and victim blaming Eve harder than some of the most hardcore misogynists. Which, some of the time I really debate if the writers are on the kool-aid as well or if it is just the fans.

New York: Gangs and former Sabbat.

And v5 is v5 where they had to retcon out "Can we feed Vitae to a baby" and have anarchs talking about how they BITE DOWN to suck blood while giving a blowjob that people somehow do not notice instead of just poking a vein with a fang.

 

[Rakdos92]

Also the weird guys that are Lilith cults in V5 where they go "This is empowering" while slut-shaming and victim blaming Eve harder than some of the most hardcore misogynists.

Click to shrink...

I really wanna see one of the less nicer Adam like, say for example, Adam from Hazbin Hotel in his Archangel form. He's not going to respond well to the cult or their demonization of Eve and him. At all.

Plus, I like the idea of a fratbro-slash-rockstar going ham on the World of Darkness.