Chapter Three: The Endless Waltz: The

Transcription

Chapter Three:
The Endless Waltz: The Vampires of Manchester
“The truth is, I
like this world.
“The truth
I
You've
gotis,
dog
like this world.
racing,
You've got dog
Manchester
racing,
Manchester
United, and you've
United, and you've
got people...
got people...
billions
billionsof
of people
people
walking
around like
walking around
Happy Meals with
like Happy Meals
legs.”
Spike,
Buffy
with
legs.”the
Vampire Slayer
Spike, Buffy
the Vampire
Slayer
Manchester for the Vampires is the one true focal
heart of the North of England. As a metropolitan city of the
21st century the city has many opportunities for aspiring
Kindred. However, even though for the most part the
Kindred stalk the city as most kine view it, there are
elements that have been of mysterious and disturbing that
conform to nothing that the Kindred know. Rumours of
strange bloodlines of vampires stalking the canal tunnels,
the Cult of Mithras or the vampiric Al Ghula haunt the
Kindred in addition to their troubles related to the
continual politicking of the Covenants, as the Lancea
Sanctum try to regain their age old power in the city, and
the Ordo Dracul return from their 20 year banishment.
Manchester it seems, even for the stagnant
Kindred, is always in a state of flux, and this chapter
encapsulates this struggle and their problems.
Night brings many a being and creature to the
centre of Manchester, the Pit as it is known to both
Vampire, Mage and Lupine, as many a person is drawn to
the nocturnal delights of the city. Not a single night goes
untouched as people saunter through the array of steel,
glass, red brick and cut stone, as they look for their next
evening of pleasure under the sodium illuminated clouds.
For all intents and purposes the Kindred control
the city centre, with the Lupines never venturing in to the
city, never crossing the loop of the Manchester ring road
and the Mancunian way. The Magi on the other hand are
too few to lay claim to the inner city, however they too
maintain their influence from their hidden sanctums,
carefully protecting their influence in the museums and
universities. It is for these reasons that the Kindred often
have little dealings with the other supernaturals of the city,
fearing the crazed werewolves at the border, and the
strange will workers that hide in the shadows. Better not
deal with them than become entangled in their own plots
and dealings.
Chapter Three:The Endless Waltz: The Vampires of Manchester1
The majority of the Kindred
influence is focused upon the central
business district, located at the heart of the
city, and also the vast amount of nightclubs
that litter the city centre. There is also the
university district, however the combination
of Kindred law in the city, and the
interference of the Magi makes this area a
sort of no-mans land for the Kindred.
However those Kindred with enough
influence and power are more than able to
make use of the resources left to their
disposal by this asset.
With the dominating control of the
Chairman’s office, the Constable and his
officers ensure that no Masquerade
breeching acts occur or at least those they
don’t go unpunished. However this form of
patrol is also kept by the Magi who are also
keen to put a stop to any acts that may draw
attention to themselves. It is for this reason
that the two parties accept to keep a clear
distance and follow their rules so that no
undue attention is drawn.
The Lupine however only send into
the city centre small groups, seeking out
those spirits that will give them more clues
to the nature of the city, and it is for this
reason that the Kindred are very alert to their
presence as it always brings chaos in the city.
However, this does not mean the
Kindred have total control of the city, for
beyond the ring road the Uratha carefully
patrol their territories in the suburbs,
ensuring that the actions of Kindred, Magi,
the Pure tribes or spirit does not unsettle the
uneasy balance of spirit and material. In
order to carry out this control over their
territories the Lupines are always on the look
at for visitors at bus stops and the stations of
the Metro Link and those train stations that
are in their land.
The Kindred control over the city is
not absolute. Their constant politicking and
their nightly intrigue with the other denizens
of the city means that they will always be at
the mercy of the kine; it is they who have
domain over the city, yet are blissfully
unaware of the monsters that stalk the
shadows under their corporate towers.
Brigid and the Bull
Earliest records of vampires in
Manchester are kept by the members of the
Circle of the Crone and the Ordo Dracul.
Manchester, being a region of mystical
significance has always had vampires
present. So far they claim that the vampires
of the time, whether or not they were of the
same blood as modern clans or something
else, were venerated by the local tribes. To
the ancients British tribes in the area the
vampiric beings represented a channel to the
afterlife. It is believed that the vampires,
Lupines and mages coexisted in some
uneasy truce. Each contributed local mystics,
gods or elemental forces to be consulted or
placated.
Of course this balance of power was
destroyed with the arrival of the Romans
and the rule of the Camarilla. The area of
Manchester was soon under the command of
the legions of the Roman Empire. At the
edges of the Empire the Legio Mortuum, as
the martial arm of the Camarilla was called,
was the largest influence on the Kindred of
the area, while the other Roman vampires
learnt all they could from the native
vampires.
The main cult brought with the
Roman legions and followed by almost all
Kindred of the age was the cult of Mithras, a
blood cult that even in modern nights is still
followed by the members of the Circle of the
Crone.
However, towards the end of the
domination of the Empire brought the
influence of the Lancea Sanctum. With the
arrival of these venerators of a single god
and a dead mortal came a new faith and new
hope for mortals in a dangerous world.
The fall of the Empire the and
dissolution of the Camarilla the Kindred of
Manchester were free to follow their own
rule, and so with the arrival of the Danes,
Angles and Saxons the Kindred changed into
the feudal lords that would rule for centuries
to come.
Numerous invasions brought new
Kindred lords, the waxing and waning of the
control of clans and the proto Covenants. For
the time being the Circle of the Crone
Blood Red Brick | Brigid and the Bull
retreated from the politics of the Kindred,
leaving the fight for power to the Invictus
dukes and Lancea Bishops.
The arrival of the Normans heralded
the start of the age of chivalry. Castles were
built, churches constructed and the Kindred
lords ruled the night openly, striking fear
into the hearts of their peasants. However, as
the centuries passed by the Kindred once
more had to retreat into the shadows as the
power of the mortal church grew. But so did
the mortal population and soon more
vampires lurked in the shadows, all
representing a threat to the Masquerade.
Manchester grew with the increase
in the textile trade, and with it the nightly
lords became merchants in the shadows. The
influence of the small towns around
Manchester grew as trade increased.
However, the rapid growth of trade brought
plague and disease, and soon the vampires
of the Invictus and Lancea Sanctum began
executing vampires who were found to be
spreading the foul illness.
If plague is an impersonal threat
from within the Kindred society, then
revolutionaries are personal, an open attack
on the ideals of other Kindred. Under the
guise of the Royalists the Invictus led and
assault on the rulers of Manchester, the
Lancea Sanctum.
The following century brought
further wealth to the city, and the Kindred
brought artefacts from all about the world to
the city. The vampire population boomed,
but with crime rife on the streets the odd
drained victim was just another body to be
buried. But the idea of a few Kindred ruling
the growing masses was causing friction. It
was now that the seeds of revolution were
sown.
The Slaying of Two Dragons
In the 18th century as the world
advanced and industry and trade expanded
across the globe, with Manchester at the
heart of this trade. In to this centre of growth
came the first true lord of Manchester, the
Cardinal James Furlong. In 1745 he came
upon the city with his entourage of
Inquisitors and scourged the city of
unbelievers and feral Damned, all under the
cover of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s uprising.
Once war had passed the self claimed
Cardinal set to work moulding the city about
the churches and parishes, bringing faith to
these down trodden Kine.
As time passed the Cardinal became
aware of his alienation from the world about
him and sired Jonathan Williams, the son of
a world trader in teas and other oddments
from the east. Williams had knowledge of
the new sciences of this age and of the
peoples that were flocking to Manchester
from the colonies; he was the perfect liaison
with the masses and the neonates.
Time passed and the Second Estate
held its divine position with the support of
the Invictus. These two saw that the other
rivals where kept in place, in the dark
amongst the swelling masses. But with all
the best laid plans, rot sets in at the core.
1819, the Peterloo massacre saw the
beginning of things to come, of revolution.
For the Lancea Sanctum the lupines that
populated the fields around Manchester
were a true beast amongst men that had no
place in God’s order, and so the Cursed took
it upon their selves to persecute these
creatures of the moon. Amongst this
growing hatred kindred flocked to opposing
sides, with the Circle supporting what lupine
allies they had, and the few other kindred
acting in support out of spite for the Lancea
Sanctum.
In the massacre many men died, but
during the night the conflict still raged, with
an eventual truce being drawn up by
Williams and his troupe, with aid from the
more accepting lupines.
Science surged on in the city with
great buildings and universities being
constructed, many of which were funded in
part by Williams, a legacy that today he now
reaps.
The summer of 1839 was the start of
the upheaval of the diocese of Manchester.
With the Chartist movement in full swing
the kindred in power feared for their control
if they lost their precious pawns. But no
matter how much they aided their human
minions the true threat lay right under their
noses. In the night of the festival of
Ascension, the 24th of May, a band of
kindred neonates and Ordo members,
stormed the havens of the Primogen council
and the leaders of the Invictus and the
Chapter Three:The Endless Waltz: The Vampires of Manchester
Lancea. In a night of blood shed and
rebellion Manchester fell and out of the ashes
rose the new council of equality, inspired by
their colonial cousins the Carthians had
arrived in Manchester and at their head was
Williams.
For the next few decades this new
group took a grip of Manchester, fearing
reprisal from their fallen masters. The Ordo
and the Circle heeded this new group seeing
how many of their own youth flocked to its
banner, both covenants realised the benefit
of siding with this sizable political group.
Over time the Lancea Sanctum
recovered and played by the rule of this new
equality, accepting the benefits of the open
climate yet acknowledging the safety gained
by this new method of rule. Only the
Invictus truly suffered, bolstered only by
those who tired of the parliamentary games
and sort more direct means to power.
The Prince, or Chairman, as
Williams was known, took advantage of the
method of equal rights, setting rivals against
each others throats, perfecting the trade of
boons and votes, but always holding over all
parties the fear of the unheard masses if any
single one strayed too far from their given
position.
The Primogen council in turn
evolved, acting as board members, one from
each covenant and clan, all with equal say in
the ruling of the city. However this peaceful
game of favours and blackmail can last only
so long.
Rumours of revenge spread through
the Lancea Sanctum, seeking to reforge old
alliances, that the unclean be put back under
the heel of God. The Invictus also hungered
for power and saw that the time was ripe for
them to take the stage. Murders and battles
rage during the nights of the Second World
War, only quelled by luck.
In one night's bombing of the city
the raging fires killed the uprising. Many
kindred died in the blaze as buildings and
homes where destroyed by the incendiary
bombs. However, Williams survived,
secreted away from the devastation. When
the dust cleared he quickly went about
rounding up the surviving neonates and
ancillae, quickly reforming the Carthians to
deal with any snap attacks from the other
covenants.
The resulting expansion of the city in
the following years renewed aggression
between the kindred and the lupine, leading
to the uneasy borders drawn up around the
city centre. Even today the borders are
reviewed each year with packs accepting the
cordial manner of these Carthian vampires.
The last attempted uprising took
place during the recession of the 1980’s. As
unemployment rose the police was hindered
ever more, and under the guise of unrest and
riots the Ordo fabricated the means to attack
the very heart of the Carthian movement. In
1983 their plans came to a head, as they
pursued a running battle across the face of
Manchester. Many on both sides were put to
final death. It was only through the
intervention of the Lancea that the tables
turned and the Carthians and their old
enemies obliterated the Ordo in a weekend
of fires and street battles.
The result of this attempted coup is
the exemption of the Ordo Dracul covenant
from any voting rights for 50 years, and no
presence in the Chamber (Primogen
Council). For many of the sects this is a
blessing as for the past 20 years all have been
making effective use of this power over the
Ordo.
Blood on the Streets
The Kindred of Manchester, like all
Kindred, must meet in the shadows and
conspire and make deals. Where do they go
to feed on their prey in seclusion and view
the latest collection by one of Manchester’s
up and coming artists?
The Kindred of Manchester exist in
the very ‘Pit’ of the city, the very centre of
the region, surrounded by suburbs and the
network of motorways. It would be false to
believe that the Kindred control everything
that exists in the central city, but they are the
largest group and so exert the largest
influence. However, the Kindred are unsure
why the werewolves do not venture further
into the city and only maintain a territory
about the city. The wizards know more and
they aren’t telling anyone. The Ordo Dracul
thinks they know what is going on but really
this is just pomp and hot air and they are
none the wiser. The Kindred have a sense
Blood Red Brick | The Slaying of Two Dragons | Blood on the Streets
that they have a hold on something
important, but they have no idea what it that
they have and whether it good or bad.
Tomb of Steel
The city centre is neatly cut in two
by the central Market Street, leading from
Piccadilly Gardens and the train station, up
to Deansgate and the River Irwell. To the
north of this division is the Northern
Quarter, filled with specialist shops and all
manner of modern and industrial period
buildings, this area of the city is a network of
interweaving streets, filled with trendy bars
and cafes, clubs and music venues, quirky
clothes stores and eclectic shops. For these
reasons the area is dubbed the ‘creative
quarter’, as new business break into the
market, bands perform their first gigs and art
galleries. It can be easy to see how the most
perspicacious Daeva, intrigued Mekhet or
predatory Gangrel can easily make himself at
home.
Sitting between Salford and China
Town is the business district of the city, with
the Town Hall and the city library sat in the
middle. Not far from these are the upmarket
fashion stores, wine bars and banks, with the
central police station a stones throw away.
GAP, Versace, Vivienne Westwood and
other leading brand stores, plus the
accompanying clone coffee houses line the
streets, loomed over by towering office
blocks and Victorian constructions. It is into
this world that the Ventrue extend their
talons, plucking the ripest of mortals;
lawyers, architects, bored wives of the rich,
plying their disciplines on the weak minded
and greedy.
China Town however is an area off
limits. Not only do the Kindred have trouble
with wizards and sorcerers, as they do in any
other part of the city, but the Kindred of the
city must deal with those elements of their
kind that they do not quite understand, and
so it is out of fear, hate, misunderstanding
and reluctance that the Kindred of the city
are barred from China Town. Rumours
persist of an elder of the East, while others
speak of the strange spirits that ripple across
the mosaics and the statues.
Just between Piccadilly Gardens and
the university district is the bright, dazzling
and spirited area of Canal Street. This street
along the canal between Oxford Road and
Piccadilly Station is a stretch of clubs
catering for the gay and lesbian residents of
the city, also featuring massage parlours and
a variety of shops and boutiques for any
sexual preference. It is this predilection for
seduction and exploration of sexuality that
draws the Kindred of the city here in their
droves, a prime Rack with easy pickings.
Intrigued students, domineering women and
beckoning men make this section of the town
perfect feeding grounds for those Kindred of
a more social manner, able to make promises
that the Blood can definitely fulfil.
Running along the River Irwell is Deansgate,
lined on either side by classy wine bars,
franchised pubs, cafes and clubs, filled with all
manner of middle class men seeking a women to
lie with, students on another pub crawl and high
powered business men and women drinking away
their stress. The road leads all the way from the
looming monolith of the Beeton Tower, past the
Great Northern shopping centre, filled again with
more nightclubs, gyms and strip bars, and
towards the cathedral and the Urbis centre and the
Printworks.
The Circle
One
of
the
most
recent
developments within the city has been the
acquirement of the Circle Club by
Spokesman Rain, the head of Elysium, and
his childe, Danny Bacchus.
The Circle club is a gathering point
for much of the media, arts and marketing,
where networking is carried out and deals
are made. Rumours of course run rampant in
this bar and not just between the mortals.
The Circle Club, or just the Circle as
its members prefer to call it, is located under
the Barton Arcade shopping centre. The
Barton Arcade itself is a construction of
Victorian steel and glass, yet below lurks the
exclusive bar. It’s location in the very heart
of the city is attractive to many business men
and media moguls who wish to launch their
latest show or film or instillation, the club
being mere minutes from train stations,
hotels, restaurants and studios, all of which
give pretty discounts to the refined member
of the club (especially considering the
membership fees that have to paid in order
to join this club).
The entrance of the club is very
elusive, a simple black door that leads out
onto a dark side alleyway behind the shops
and stores on St Ann’s Square. The door
itself is only noticeable due to the two
bouncers on guard and the tempting gold
circle that blazes on the front door.
Upon entering the club members
follow the steeps down until they come to
the front desk where their membership cards
are scanned and their belongings can be
safely secured in the cloak room. Members
then go down a further small flight of steps
and into the club.
The club is a cool combination of
dark tiled floors, slate covered bar, red tiled
walls and stark back lighting of the booths.
Glass tables stand ready for patrons to order
meals, and a DJ booth pumps out soothing
chilled out tunes. All about on the walls
HDTV’s beam a montage of images and
news onto the screen, while a host of
cameras gaze upon all who walk into the bar.
The very control of this location has
brought the Spokesman and his childe a fair
amount of favours and respect, with the club
offer a safe haven in the very heart of the city
and protected by the interests of influential
mortals. However it is this link to the mortals
that makes the club even more important, it
is a place to gather favours and play the
Danse Macabre.
From the location of the Circle
Spokesman rain is able to run a monthly
court for the Board of Directors and those
Kindred who are able to receive an invitation
to be heard by the Directors.
Morgue
Unknown to many of the
Kindred of the city save for Spokesman
Rain and Danny Bacchus and select
members of the Nosferatu Clan, the
Circle Club still maintains some
entrances that lead to the unused
canals beneath the city, dating back to
when the area occupied by the club
was the morgue of the prison that
stood above it.
Now years later this entrance
allows those of the Nosferatu Clan to
attend Elysium without worry of
breaching the Masquerade. However
this presence of this entrance presents
problems of it own if it were to be
abused by those who know of it, or
those who discover it.
As an interesting aside there are
some Kindred who claim to have
noticed the activity of ghosts within the
club. How true these sightings are is
unknown, and rumour that Spokesman
Rain wishes to keep quiet.
However, in addition to being run as
a location for Elysium the club is also used as
the start of a hunting ground looked after by
the Spokesman, a sign of his power over the
inner city. Some of the Directors speak of
how dangerous such flagrant acts are, but
the Spokesman assures them time and again
that if it were not for how he ran the club
many of their new acquisitions would
instead be under the control of others, and
that they are lucky that he has not called
upon favours from them.
Urbis
The Urbis centre is a strange
building of glass topped with what is
commonly called the ‘stinger’, a bee like
edifice that strikes out in to the sky from the
cheese slice of glass, tipped with a burning
red light.
The centre is in fact a museum
located in the Millennium quarter of the city,
facing out onto the Cathedral gardens and
over looking the menagerie of buildings; the
Triangle, the Printworks, Selfridges, and the
newest wing of the Arndale shopping centre.
The Urbis is right at the heart of the city,
where the old meets new, religion meets
progress and capitalism, and people of every
colour and creed gather.
The museum is unusual simply for
the fact that it does not display items that are
more than a century old, if that. Instead the
museum is a display of everything that
modern
culture,
running
exhibitions
detailing life in other cities, fabricating mock
rooms and homes from these cities so that
visitors may sample what life is like in places
half the world away.
Blood Red Brick | The Circle | Urbis
At the top of this building is the
location of another location of Elysium, one
run on a more frequent timetable than that of
the Circle Club, this Elysium is that of the
Chairman’s Office.
Here on the four floors, with the city
as a backdrop, surrounded by glass so that
no one could hide from the Chairman’s gaze,
Kindred can attempt to draw the Chairman’s
interest to matters of concern that may be
overlooked by the Board of Directors. Of
course there is a greater chance that the
presenting Kindred may in fact have the
audience of the Spokesman or the
Chamberlain.
The Urbis centre is the usual location
for presentations of new Kindred to the city
but also for some of the more important and
elaborate affairs of the Board of Directors as
it is here that the Board convenes with the
Chairman and business is carried out,
allocating hunting grounds, the Constable’s
patrol, the starts and ends of investigations
critical to the well being of the domain.
The Refuge
Dominating the southern portion of
the city centre, facing onto the corner of
Whitworth street and Oxford road, is the
Meridien Palace hotel, otherwise known
even today as the Refuge.
The Refuge, or Refuge Assurance
building as it was originally known, was
built between 1891 and 1910, and built from
terra cotta bricks to match the rest of the
local buildings. At the corner of Whitworth
Street the hotel boasts a grand turreted gable
entrance, while above the main entrance
stands a magnificent neo-Gothic clock tower,
a true landmark of Manchester.
As a listed building the hotel mixes
both modern styles with classic themes,
making the building have an ageless
character. It is here that the Ventrue Director,
and elder of the Invictus, Natalia Kerkoft
holds her bi weekly meetings.
Rumour has it that she had
originally been an investor in the design of
the hotel, and that there are many secret
rooms and floors dispersed throughout the
structure. However with 252 rooms who
would notice that there were a few more
hidden about.
Director Kerkoft, or as she prefers,
Lady Advisor Kerkoft, maintains a haven in
the building and from here runs her
meetings with those of her Covenant and
clan that wish to receive her advice, ear and
backing. However it is also a well known fact
that she may not be the only Invictus that
claims a haven within the building and some
suggest that it may be a dynastic House
where Kerkoft is preparing her protégé.
Hangman’s
The Hangman’s club is located in the
old Great Northern warehouse, located
down on Deansgate, a renovated listed
building that now stands as a semi used
shopping centre, housing a few clubs and a
cinema.
The construction site of the
warehouse was critical, as it stood next to the
old Central train station, now also renovated
and is the GMEX conference centre.
The Hangman’s club sits on the top
floor away from the other clubs and shops.
The entrance is easily spotted due to large
neon ‘Hanged Man’ that stands outside of
the bar. Inside the bar the décor is no better.
Gaudy red neon lights illuminate the bar and
the undersides of the leather seats. All
surfaces are either dark leather or
unpolished dark marble. With the red
lighting and limited pure white light in the
bar the interior is dark, ominous and is
considered chic and desirable, a place for the
elite of the city to gather. Hangman’s is in
direct contrast to the ultra gothic, taxidermist
haven, Negresco.
The manger of the bar, John
Gardner, is a rather pompous egocentric
man who simply wishes to see the famous
and rich frequent the bar. Gardner is often at
the club on the busiest nights. Dishing out
the drinks to soap stars, football players and
singers he attempts to share some of their
limelight. He is always trying to ensure his
club is ahead of all others in the city. It
always has the latest DJs, the best new
bands, even hosting wine tasting events and
movie nights for new directors. Little does he
know is that he is simply a puppet for
Spokesman Rain who operates a well
managed ‘blood bar’.
Whitworth Hall
The main bus route through
Manchester, down which sits the University
of Manchester, is a very busy artery of the
city. One of the key buildings along the route
in the university district is Whitworth hall.
Whitworth hall is attached to the
original university buildings and itself was
also one of the original buildings. These
buildings also connect to more modern
constructions that are in keeping with the
style of the former buildings. These newer
sections form the Manchester Museum.
Whitworth hall has stood for more
than a hundred years and holds numerous
administration offices, and host weddings,
banquets and is also the location for the
university graduation ceremonies.
The age of the building means that
there is a lot of superstition linked to it. Staff
claim to hear things at night when working
late, or seeing shadows moving about in the
café which resides within the Christie
Library. Of course some of this is nonsense,
and some of it is true. It is no surprise than
some of these rumours are due to the
Kindred that use the buildings.
Within the cellar of Whitworth hall
is one of the havens and offices of
Chamberlain Odans. The Chamberlain and
his entourage of ghouls and Kindred
assistants operate from here, filing away
reports and notes from the meetings of the
Board of Directors. It is also from here that
all the main records of trials and Carthian
resources are kept.
Odans does not only use this
building for his offices, but also makes use of
his ghouled university staff to organize
meetings and Elysium events. But Odans is
not limited to using this location for the
Carthians. Odans, unknown to most
members of the Carthians, holds a dual
membership as he is also an Acolyte of one
of the Circle of the Crone cults. For this
reason Odans has cultivate links and
influence over the adjoining museum, for the
cult that he is a member of venerates the
Egyptian Goddess Isis.
Due to the nature of the buildings
Odans maintains a high level of security that
act in unison with the university guards, and
is further supplemented by those fellow
Acolytes who take watch over the buildings.
As part of the Chairman’s
administration of the city the city and the
suburbs are divided up into domains that are
held by each of the members of the Board of
Directors. Some of these sub domains are
entire areas of Manchester while others are
sections dotted about the city and even fall
within the domain of other Kindred.
Currently the city of Manchester has
domains. The Prefect Arken of the Carthians
holds the largest domain which covers
almost all of the centre of the city and then
some. This entire area is primarily managed
by the Prefect of the Carthians, who has in
turn allocated sub districts to each of the
Carthian members of the Board of Directors
so that all Clans are represented in this all
encompassing domain. This large Carthian
domain follows all of the laws of the city and
enforces only a few more, such as the
restriction of hunting within university and
student areas of the city. Of course not every
single Clan has a Carthian Director, in which
case the Prefect has nominated a Carthian
officer to act in that position. This means that
while the Prefect is the overall controller of
the Carthian domain, the domain has been
distributed between the Directors; Max Neils
the Daeva Priscus, Priscus Stewart of the
Mekhet, Priscus Collins of the Gangrel, and
two more officers; Patrick Falcon of the
Ventrue and the Nosferatu called ‘Nails’,
named so for her frightening claws.
The other Covenants have also been
given domains. The Invictus Judex Lord
Peter Hawkins and the Viscountess Natalia
Kerkoft hold sizable domains to the west and
south of the city respectively. Under the
rules of the Carthians there is the right to
pursue religious beliefs as the Kindred feel
fit, and for this reason the domains of the
Lancea Sanctum are littered about the city
Whitworth Hall | The Administration
and are not entire sections of the city but
locations of worship and study. In much the
same way the Circle of the Crone are also
allocated locations that are for their rituals
and observances. The key law with all these
religious domains is that they must adhere to
the laws of the domains that they lie within
and the owners of those encapsulating
domains must also ensure the safety of those
domains and the travel of those Covenant
members to the edges of the domains. Of
course the banned status of the Ordo Dracul
means that they have no official domain and
their members must operate in secret in
whatever domain they can find refuge. The
final domain that is not held by any
Covenant is the small section of central
Manchester that is China Town, and this area
is given over to the Eastern Kindred and is
subject to now laws except that of the
Masquerade, such is their deal with the
Chairman.
Within each of the Covenant
domains the rules of the city have been
further augmented. While all Kindred are
allowed to hunt within the Carthian Domain
and make their havens within its limits, the
same cannot be said for the domains of the
Invictus. These domains are exclusive to the
Invictus and those who have successfully
applied for havens there. More often than
not the Lancea Sanctum domains lie within
the domains of the Invictus, while those of
the Crone are predominantly within the
Carthian domain, but there are exceptions.
The Carthian Central District
As it can be imagined the central
district of Manchester that is run by the
Carthians, covering the areas between
Salford and Withington, and stretching out
to the north east towards Oldham, and the
south west towards Trafford, have been
sliced
up
between
the
Carthian
administrators. Priscus Collins of the
Gangrel has taken charge of the areas of
Moss Side, Stretford and Levenshulme, and
actively takes a hand in the manipulation of
the street gangs that roam these regions.
Patrick Falcon, though not a member of the
Board of Directors, has shown himself to be a
formidable opponent and capable manager
of his area. Falcon oversees the centre of
Manchester along with the Priscus Max
Neils. The north east of the city is given over
to the Mekhet, Priscus Stewart, while the
canals and underground tunnels are the sub
domain of the Nosferatu, ‘Nails’.
Each follows the laws of the city as
laid down by the Carthians, the Chairman
and the Board of Directors. However, it is
not beyond any of the administrators to
abuse their position. But it is mutual
suspicion of each other that ensures none of
them overstep their mark.
The Duchy of Kerkoft
The Duchy is the name given to the
domain of the Alder Lady, Viscountess
Natalia Kerkoft, and Director representing
the interests of the Invictus. Her domain lies
to the south of the city centre and covers the
areas of Withington, Didsbury, Heaton Moor
and Stockport.
The primary reason why she claims
these areas as her domain are for the level
autonomy that it offers, and the particular
locations that fall within its boundaries.
There are botanical gardens, manor houses,
art galleries and affluent families, while
Stockport offers more advantages that she
cannot claim from the Manchester city
centre.
Within
Kerkoft’s
domain
the
Kindred who have been given haven within
it must attend her monthly meetings and pay
their tribute to her in whatever form that she
deems, be it money, blood etc.
One key location within the Duchy
of Kerkoft is the Georgian manor house of
Fletcher Moss, and the associated botanical
gardens. Here Kerkoft holds key Invictus
meetings and offers the location on rare
occasions as a location for Elysium. The
Spokesman Rain has is always aware of the
offer and is watched by the Chamberlain to
ensure that he does not offend the
Viscountess.
The Duchy of Hawkins
To the north east of the Manchester
city centre are the city centre of Salford, and
the towns of Eccles and Swinton come under
the jurisdiction of the Judex Lord Peter
Hawkins of the Invictus. This allocation of a
second Duchy to the Invictus is not just
another way of placating the Invictus, but
also to drive a wedge between the two most
powerful Invictus lords of the city. Two
Duchies means two rivals to the Invictus
throne. However, there are some who fear
that this will one day backfire on the
Chairman.
The Duchy of Hawkins is very much
like the Duchy of Kerkoft, but with a few
differences. The most significant is that
Hawkins allows members of other
Covenants to make to their haven with his
domains. He also only requires the members
of the Invictus, who make their haven within
his domain, to meet him on a regular basis.
The main focal points of the Duchy
of Hawkins are the Renaissance style Eccles
library, medieval manor house of Wardley
Hall and the equally majestic Tudor mansion
of Ordsall Hall, where it was rumoured that
the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was planned.
Ordsall Hall is also the location of
one of the most prominent haunting in the
city, the White Lady, who appears in the
Great Hall, or Star Chamber as it is also
known as. For these reasons Ordsall hall is
also the location for a number of Crone
rituals which Hawkins allows (some
believing that Hawkins is in fact a Crone
sympathizer and wishing to bring about
some form of alliance what with the
resurgence of such beliefs in modern nights.
Sermons of the Damned
The Bishop Michael Kenner keeps
close ties to both the Carthians and the
Invictus. Unlike his predecessors Kenner is
keen to make good of the relative peace that
exists and the openness of faith that the city
allows. Not all the Lancea Sanctum are
happy with the situation, with some voicing
that the Lancea should be more martial in
their approach and root out all the heathens
and heretics.
Within the city the city the Lancea
Sanctum maintain a number of places of
worship. Some of these are disused churches
in various suburbs. Others are small chapels
that have been made in the basements of
houses or offices. These ‘Parishes’ as they are
known are situated in all domains of the city
and are open ground for those Kindred who
wish to attend.
The Abbey of the Fallen
Of all the Parishes in Manchester
there are a number that are of most
importance to the Lancea Sanctum. In
particular there is the Abbey of the Fallen.
The Abbey, located in the basement of an old
electronics factory out toward Oldham the
Abbey is unknown except to the most
trusted of the Sanctified. The Abbey is
protected at all times by a number of
ghouled guards who patrol the area under
the guise of a private security team. The
interior of the factory is still as it was when it
was first abandoned and stripped of any
salvageable machinery. The basement of the
building is very different. In the largest
section of the basement is the Abbey. The
Abbey itself is almost like a small temple
formed from layers of draperies of red
material. A number of walls of these curtains
must be passed until they reach the heart of
the Abbey. At the centre sits the altar, a
recovered piece from a 14th century church.
The altar is simple in its adornment, with a
chalice, a knife, and two burning braziers.
There are also a number of pillars from
which shackles hang for any sacrifices to
God. The decoration of the Abbey
emphasises Bishop Kenner’s stance on the
Requiem and the Lancea Sanctum faith. The
Abbey reflects the mystery that the Kindred
must maintain, while also being majestic,
venerating God while new comers to the
Abbey are rightly overwhelmed.
The Administration | The Hunters Hall | Ganglands | Moss Side
Temples of the Beast
The Circle of the Crone, just like the
Lancea Sanctum, operates in a city where
faith is separate to politics. The Circle
maintains a small number of temples, the
majority within the Carthian domains, with
just a single temple residing within the
Duchy of Hawkins.
The temples of the Circle of the
Crone are kept by one of three cults that
form the Circle of the Crone in Manchester.
Within the city is the Magus Gregor, the
oldest and most respected member of the
Circle. Gregor and his cult follow a faith
based upon the veneration of Cernunnos.
The temples of Cernunnos reflect this Celtic
horned god by being decorated by animal
skins, skulls and roughly hewn stone. These
temples are often situated towards the edges
of the city in an area that is less urbanized.
The temples are decorated in earthy colours,
and in the air there is thick with the stench of
blood.
The other cult with in the Circle of
the Crone in Manchester is the cult dedicated
to Hathor. Led by Priestess Bethany Eringer,
a member of the Daeva, and supported by
Carthian, Chamberlain Odans. The Cult of
Hathor is ecstatic in its faith, with rites that
focus on sex and the drinking of communal
blood. The cult seeks to find enlightenment
by finding a different state of consciousness.
The cult has many resources available due to
the membership it attracts and the high
ranking officials that are allied to it. This
means the temples of the cult are far grander
and reflect their debauched rituals. Their
altars are adorned with statues of cats, with
the chambers decorated in the paintings of
Hathor with dark curtains adorning the
ceilings and walls. However, the gaudy
décor does not hide the more vile elements
of the temple. In adjacent rooms there are
shackles and benches upon which the
depraved acts of the cult can be performed.
Unlike the other cults, the well connect
members of the cult of Hathor are able to
ensure the security of the temples and have
them located in prominent buildings. For
example one temple of the cult is under a
block of flats maintained by a cooperative.
This temple has ghouls within the families
that live in the flats, and the open space in
the middle of the building allows for the cult
to perform open air rituals under the guise
that they are friends of the hippies that live
the flats.
The final cult that operates in the city
is closely allied with the Cult of Hathor is the
Cult of Mithras. The cult follows more
traditional Roman practices, ignoring
concepts that suggest that Mithras was in
fact the first vampire. But then that is what
the leaders of the Cult of Mithras want their
Chorus and outsiders to think. The Roman
cult was predominantly followed by soldiers
and made its way to Manchester, with signs
of its following being found on the remains
of the fort that was built where Manchester
would stand.
The Cult of Mithras is a cult
dedicated to blood, places of darkness and
sacrifice. The cult attempts to usurp power
over the over cults within the Circle while
ensuring that their darker goal comes to
fruition. The cult must maintain a low profile
however as its beliefs and practises are
considered heretical by the Lancea Sanctum.
The temples of the Cult of Mithras
are of course known only to a few their
location within the city rumoured but not
confirmed. None of the Covenants know
where the temples are or whose domains
they fall within.
The main temple of the cult of
Mithras is located deep below ground in an
unused and drained section of the canals
under the streets of Castlefield, close to the
original Roman fort. Here the members of
the cult found remains of the old Roman
Mithraic temple, adorned with images of
lions, bulls and serpents. In the centre is the
sacrificial circle where a bull, or person, is
suspended above the Acolyte and bathes in
the flowing blood from the offering. Some
rumour that is through these rituals in this
temple that the cult is able to manifest their
blood magic that is able to control the very
fires of a person’s soul.
The Hunters Hall
The Hunter’s Hall is the name given
to the primary temple maintained by the
Cult of Cernunnos. Located outside of the
domains of all Covenants the temple is
located in the hillside near the stone circle at
Cheetham Close, north past the town of
Bolton. Access to the site is dangerous as the
area is notorious for Lupines; however those
Acolytes in the know are able to take a path
that has been provided for them through the
territory of the werewolves. Here the Magus
Gregor has a temple located deep beneath
one of the cairns that dots the landscape, and
within is a true pagan temple devoted to the
hunt. The temple is dark save for the small
amount of light provided by candles. The
temple itself is a network of connected
chambers, where the main chamber is large
enough to hold a dozen or so Kindred about
a roughly cut stone altar. The rest of the
temple is adorned in abstract carvings and
skulls of deer and other animals. The air of
the temple reflects the nature of the location,
pungent with the smell of woad, blood, and
burning herbs. The area about the site is
filled with a haunting atmosphere and a
sense of the closeness to the spirit world and
the gods, and for this reason the Circle has
guarded this site from wizard, werewolf and
Dragon.
Ganglands
The west of Manchester city centre is
rife with crime and unrest. A region rebuilt
since the Victorian times into a suburban
wasteland, punctuated by concrete towers,
discarded waste, blocks of run down terrace
housing, gun crime and gang warfare, the
area is riddle with drugs, crime and the
unfortunate deaths of the young caught up
in their unfortunate circumstances.
Moss Side
Moss Side sits to the west of
Manchester, south of the district of Hulme.
The area is a purpose built council estate that
only in recent years has begun to undergo
regeneration in an attempt to tackle the
sources that lead the youth of the area to
dabble in drugs and crime. The suburb is
notorious in British culture for the number of
deaths that occur due to the rampant gun
crime that comes with the drugs trafficking,
and also is well known for the number of
riots that have occurred in the past, in
particular the race riots of 1981 and the ever
constant turf wars of the gangs throughout
the 90’s and on into recent years. Moss Side
is a maze of terrace homes, council house
towers and dingy roads line with shops
protected by steel shutters and mesh.
Abandoned cars lie burnt out by the bored
youth, and homes are fearful of the gangs
that patrol the streets at night. Needles fill
the back alleyways where teenagers take
heroin and coke, while collections of flowers
sit where the latest shooting took place.
Though even with this amount of
crime and fear the community here has a
tight knit feel, wary of outsiders, and even of
the police whom they feel persecuted by.
This is unsurprising when we consider that
over 30% of the population is AfroCaribbean, with the population mainly
consisting of peoples of Somali and Asian
descent. However it is also notable that close
to 40% of the population in the district have
no qualifications.
The area also did boast the home of
the Manchester City Football club, but since
2002 the club has moved to its new residence
in Sport City on the other side of
Manchester, and since then the area where
the Maine Road football stadium stood is
now a wasteland surrounded on all sides by
terrace homes.
With the amount of crime within the
area; drugs, guns, theft, prostitution, rackets,
it is easy to see why a number of Kindred
choose to make havens in the area so best to
look after the financial businesses in crime.
What with the amount of drug dens and
burnout homes, or homes that just will never
be sold, it is easy for a vampire to swoop in
and Dominate the current residents or squat.
Though if current police and council trends
continue the Kindred of the area should
taken advantage of the offerings before they
disappear.
The Administration | The Hunters Hall | Ganglands | Moss Side
Ash
What could be worse to a
vampire than a vampire hunter, an
elder may ask. A human driven by
revenge or morals to seek out the
Damned and send them to final death
is a dangerous person, as they do not
have to sleep during the day, and their
conviction allows them to press on
against the Disciplines granted by the
blood to the Kindred.
Though what if the reason for
hunting the Kindred was not faith,
vengeance, hatred or fear, but lust.
Lust for their blood?
In Moss Side this is the case. A
gang operating out of this suburb
actively hunts Kindred with the aim of
using them as blood bags just as any
vampire would use a human. They
hunger Kindred vitae like any other
addicted ghoul, though the difference
being that they harvest the blood from
their victim, gaining all the benefits
and none of the problems of the blood
bond.
To the Kindred they are the
worst kind of addict. They don’t just do
anything they can to get their next hit.
Instead they find their dealer and
squeeze him for every last once that he
has.
Worse still is what these
wayward gang ghouls do with the
drained corpses of the Kindred they
capture. Through a little hard work and
just the right equipment, skilled
members cut the ash remains of the
Kindred with raw cocaine. The new
mixture they call Grey, an addictive
drug slowly filtering onto the market,
the effects being that of coke but with
the added sensation of the Kiss. Of
course the next high up is Kindred
Vitae and the last thing any vampire
needs is a bunch of crack heads eyeing
them up as their next hit.
Hulme
The area north to Moss Side is
Hulme, another suburb that again is filled
with council flats and terrace housing.
However this was not always the case. In the
past Hulme was a the location for many
cotton mills, and due to this success many
homes for the workers had to built quickly,
leading to overcrowding and shoddy
construction. With the end of the World
Wars these slum homes were removed in
favour of the stark and grim concrete towers,
favoured by the need for fast and modular
construction of these so called cities in the
sky.
Recent years have been favourable
on the suburb though, as funding has come
in from both the universities and also the
Common Wealth games, leading to the
redevelopment of leisure centres, the
construction of new office space and new
luxurious apartments. However this comes
at a price, as the suburb is only a stone’s
throw from areas such as Moss Side,
Trafford Park, Streford and Ardwick,
making residents in this area potential
targets for criminals on the streets. Much like
Moss Side these districts of Manchester offer
a lot of resources to the enterprising
Kindred, be those contacts among the gangs,
pimps, dealers in weapons and prime targets
for their blood thirsty needs.
The Student South
To the south of Manchester many of
the townships and suburbs have become the
favoured location for the student population
to live. Also included in this area is the
sensitive area of Rusholme, the ‘Curry Mile’,
and it is for this reason the Kindred in this
part of the city must conduct their business
with extra care.
Mindful of the danger that hunting
of the student population would cause the
areas of Fallowfield, and those areas near
halls of residences are off limits to all
vampires (of course this doesn’t stop the
hungry or the desperate), and so it is these
areas that see a greater deal of policing by
Constable Ihram’s officers. As for the area of
Rusholme, the presence of vampires of Asian
descent means that particular care is taken to
accommodate their beliefs and natures, and
so this stretch of the city is given over to
those Kindred that understand their mortal
people best. It also acts as a way to keep tight
tabs on those Kindred that the Lancea
Sanctum wishes to have no dealings with,
such as those of the Iblic creed and the Crone
vampires who follow the mysticism of India
and South Asia.
The Kitab Si’lat
During Ramadan the Kitab Si’lat
resurfaces in the hands of a young
Crone neonate. This book, legend
would have, is able to command
angels, demons, Jinn and other spirits
of the world, including those that
created the first vampire, the al’ghul.
The Lancea Sanctum, keen to
put down this heresy, send their own
coterie to the representatives of the
Iblic Creed to hunt down the demonic
text, while at the same time the Ordo
Dracul also begin to make moves over
the nights of fasting to recover the lost
text.
However to the surprise of
many the Chairman is in no rush to be
involved in the Covenant dispute, and
some of the Circle of the Crone have
heard
whispers
of
wizards
also
investigating this legendary book.
The Backbone
To the east of Manchester lie the
boroughs of Oldham and Tameside, the
landscape slowly rising to meet the spine of
Britain, the mountain range of the Pennines.
It is no surprise that these regions are lightly
populated by the Kindred as the Lupines of
the region gather at the edges of the city as
the suburbs give way to towns, villages and
the wild mountain countryside.
The Administration | The Student South | The Backbone
Tameside is named after the River
Tame that cuts through the area, the region
coming into being as a Metropolitan area in
the 70’s, and so unlike the other boroughs is
not names after any pre-existing town or
city, forming from nine towns. Due to the
proximity to the Pennines Tameside boasts
some of the most beautiful scenic views, the
towns bearing the marks of the industrial
revolution as they provided agriculture and
weaving.
Though for all it beauty and historic
merit the borough is not unlike any other
area of Greater Manchester in the 21st
century. Towns and estates fear change and
the unknown as burglary, drugs and crime
spread from the city, partly helped by the
disenfranchised youth who tire of the dreary
towns.
Oldham, lying to the north of
Manchester, extends to the moors of the
Pennines, and like Tameside, has had to cope
with change with the end of the industrial
revolution. Many of the buildings are run
down and in need of repair, and the town it
self is lacking in hope and progress as the
gangs and thieves encroach upon their lives.
Worse still this feeling on isolation and
seclusion has allowed racial tensions to boil,
leading to the Oldham riots, the worse racial
violence to occur in Britain, all part of the
2001 ‘Summer of Violence’ as it was dubbed
by the media. It is this mixture of racial
hatred, extremism by groups such as the
BNP, and the myth of racial ‘no-go’ areas,
that makes the area of Oldham a powder keg
of tension.
For the braver Kindred and
accomplished Gangrel Tameside and
Oldham still offer many of the advantages
that the city centre does, though without the
strict control of the Chairman. There are
many council estates and run down houses
and slums that would make ideal havens for
Kindred seeking to be away from the
attention of the However in return the
vampires must deal with more dangerous
foes, such as the Lupines who patrol the
mountainside and towns, and other stranger
creatures that stalk the night.
The Old City
To the north west of Manchester,
across the River Irwell is the city of Salford.
Before the advent of the Industrial
Revolution Salford was the governing city of
the region. However with rise and fall of the
British Empire, and closure of factories the
area was hit with decline, a shadow of its
former grandeur before the coming of
industry. The terraced housing and cramped
streets, home to the work force that attended
the factories, gave way to more modern
constructions. Now towering concrete
council flats loom over the gothic spire of the
cathedral, and the city centre is deprived due
to the dominance of the nearby city of
Manchester.
Salford however does have an
advantage. It’s cheap. In recent years the
area about the Ship Canal and the docks is
undergoing a dramatic regeneration, as new
luxury apartments are constructed, the
presence of museums such as the Imperial
War Museum and the Lowry Centre for arts.
And the future seems to get even brighter
with the plans for the BBC to move its UK
branch to the city. However with this influx
of money only those able to afford the rent
and life style will gain, while those in the
deteriorating towers and crumbling estates
will be eventually made to move on for the
lucrative professionals drawn to this new
‘Media City’.
For a Kindred Salford is a place to
make investments. Time being on their side,
the hard work of entrenching themselves in
the newly growing establishments will allow
them in the future to harvest a host of
contacts and allies. There are even Kindred
that believe that is Salford does rise to
prominence once more that the Chairman of
Manchester may well have relinquish power
over Salford to another Prince, something
that all Covenants are keen to exploit, the
Lancea Sanctum in particular, wishing to
bring back the glory days of before the
Peterloo Massacre. To the Kindred of Greater
Manchester Salford is the centre of the new
gold rush, and already tension is high
between those already claiming territory in
the area and those now seeking to carve a
better
unlife
for
themselves.
The influence of the Kindred of
Manchester can be felt at all strata of society.
Unlike many cities where there are tenuous
claims over domains, Manchester has a rigid
and well managed system of administration
zones and Duchies, all of which mean that
the Kindred know exactly who they are
accountable to at any one time. The concept
of domains being formally recognized, with
all the associated red tape and paper work,
means that unlike any other city Kindred
know exactly what to expect if they break the
rules. However, such a system can only be
run in conjunction with the elected
representative system of government that the
Kindred of Manchester operate under. The
elected representative system of government
was introduced by the Carthian, Jonathan
Williams. Williams usurped power from his
sire, the then Prince and Cardinal of the city.
The concept of the representative system was
that all Covenants and Clans would have a
say in the operation of the city, and in
essence replace a Primogen council with a
group that was more approachable and
accountable to those Kindred they represent.
Under the rules laid out by the
Carthian majority the city is managed by the
Board of Representatives. The Board consists
of the elected representatives for each Clan
and Covenant, and is overseen and kept in
order by the Chairman, who acts as a referee
while ensuring that filibustering does not
hinder the administration of the city.
Ultimately the Chairman can break
stalemates, intervene in arguments and
makes the decisions of the Board law.
However, the Chairman has other powers
beyond acting as manager of these arguing
elected officials.
The members of the Board are
selected by what ever means seems ft for the
Clan and Covenant. The Chairman is not
about to enforce Carthian laws within
another Covenant, only that there is a form
of representation for all. This form of council
means that it is possible that a Clan can hold
more than one seat by also holding a number
of Covenant seats, while the reverse is true
for a Covenant. In Manchester this occurs,
where the majority of seats are held by the
Carthians and the Ventrue.
The Chairman does not operate
alone, he has a number of Kindred who fulfil
the decrees of the Board of Representatives.
The Chairman is firstly aided by the
Chamberlain. The Chamberlain is in charge
of ensuring all the documents and
paperwork is kept up to date and that it has
been distributed to all the appropriate
officials. The Chamberlain is both accountant
and lawyer in one, ensuring that there is
always some form of record to support the
actions and demands of the Chairman and
the Board. He is also the one who is turned
to when fights break out over territory and
feeding rights, since he will surely have a
piece of paper neatly filed away that will
settle the dispute.
The laws of the city are enforced by
one man, the Constable. The Constable sees
to it that all new Kindred to the city are
identified and made known to the Board.
This also includes those Kindred newly
created without the permission of the
Chairman. The Constable is also in charge of
identifying breaches of the Masquerade and
preventing any further transgressions and
eliminating any threat to the Kindred that
arise due to these breaches. The Constable is
free to use deputies to aid in these tasks,
however the deputies themselves must be
accepted by the Board. One of the most
important jobs of the Constable in
Manchester is to ensure that the Free Rights
of Passage are maintained. Due to the
overlapping nature of the domains, Kindred
are allowed safe passage between domains
of their Covenant and the Carthians. To the
east of Manchester lie the boroughs of
Oldham and Tameside, the landscape slowly
rising to meet the spine of Britain, the
mountain range of the Pennines. It is no
surprise that these regions are lightly
populated by the Kindred as the Lupines
claim these areas outside of the city as theirs.
If it is the Constable who maintains
the law of the Board of Representatives it is
the Spokesman who ensures that the
Kindred population of the city is aware of all
that has been decreed by the Board, of
elections and votes being held, and forums
Kindred Politics
where Kindred may speak to the Board and
the Chairman. The Spokesman wields a great
responsibility and can easily abuse his
power, forgetting to invite certain Kindred,
not informing others of changes in domain
boundaries and laws.
The position of
Spokesman does not just cover the role of
Herald in traditional domains, but also
covers the role of Master of Elysium, and so
the Spokesman has the ability to make and
break the reputation of Kindred in the city.
He arranges the location for Elysium,
organises the security with the Constable
and sends the invites. However, the role of
Master of Elysium is at odds with many of
the other roles in the Covenants, leading to
conflict of interests between the Spokesman
and Covenant officials.
The other role, not widely known to
the Kindred, a role that is called upon only
by the Chairman is the Lictor. The Lictor is
the personal assassin of the Chairman and
the identity of the Lictor is known only to the
Chairman and the Chamberlain. The Lictor
has the right to break all rules of the city in
order to maintain them and bring rogue
Kindred to justice. Of course the Lictor is
dangerous and operates beyond the rules of
other Kindred and could be seen as being a
lose cannon under control of a single person.
The Fourth and Fifth
Traditions
The Carthian rule of Manchester
has lead to many freedoms. Kindred
have the freedom of speech, freedom
of religion and belief, and the freedom
to not be persecuted by others for their
choice of Covenant. These freedoms
are much like the freedoms the mortals
have in a democracy.
However there are those who
will turn a blind eye to these and the
traditions themselves. For this reason
the Chairman has the right to preserve
the Kindred of the city by any means
possible. The Fourth Tradition means
that when the 3 Traditions of the
Kindred are at risk the Chairman can
empower others to break all freedoms
of mortals, and their laws, to ensure
that the Traditions are maintain.
More
drastic
is
the
Fifth
Tradition, where the Chairman gives
Kindred the right to break all Traditions
in order to protect them. This means
that in times of strife the Chairman
may allow individuals to sire, breach
the Masquerade, and consume the
blood of fellow Kindred in the course of
restoring all of the traditions and
bringing to justice those that have put
the Kindred at risk.
The Carthians
The Carthians have been in power
now for almost 200 years. In all that time
Chairman Jonathan Williams has held his
position in order to allow the Carthians to
assume their supremacy over the other
Covenants after the events of the Peterloo
Massacre. Immediately the oppressed
majority of Kindred, the proto-Carthians,
swept into power and instituted a new form
of rule that allowed the Carthians to gain
allies in all Covenants.
The open acceptance the Carthians
have of other groups has meant that many of
the other Covenants often battle each other
for support of the Carthians. Ultimately the
Carthians have set themselves up at the top
of the pecking order with the other
Covenants fighting for their attention. This
has translates into the boons that the
Chairman hands out as gifts and rewards to
Kindred, further gaining the support of
Kindred regardless of their Covenant or
Clan. This further erodes the control of a
Covenant over a Kindred member as they
see the benefits of conforming to the rules of
the Carthians who are more than happy to
allow duel membership.
This constant battling for Carthian
support and boons has led to a form of
stability where the democratic system lends
itself to this constant power play, something
that the Board of Representatives, regardless
of Clan and Covenant, have taken advantage
of. Even the Invictus recognise the system as
beneficial method of control the more
anarchic neonates.
The Carthians currently enjoy the
stability of their democracy, but is clear that
the government that has allowed them to
flourish is now stagnating and acting against
the interests of their Covenant, with the
Board of Representatives seen as nothing
more than a puppet assembly for the tyrant
Chairman.
Structure
Williams as Chairman can no longer
play an active role in Carthian politics in
order to appear impartial. The Carthians are
currently lead by Prefect Arken. As Prefect,
Arken ensures that the Carthians participate
in Kindred politics as much as possible,
discussing
current
issues,
organizing
Carthian funds, voting on issues affecting the
Carthians and ensuring that members
support on another.
But life for the Carthians is not all
about being in a collective. Prefect Arken
represents the democratic status quo. He is
keen on progress, but at a rate so that it
creeps in to Kindred society rather than
shaking the foundations. The Prefect sees the
future of the city as freedom from a
Chairman who has become paranoid and
jealous of power, and seeks to have the role
of Chairman finally pass to another, finally
allowing the Kindred of the city to once
more have hope in politics and a sense of
control of those who represent their interests.
The Prefect motivates the Carthians by
holding frequent gatherings so that he can
gauge the mood of the collective so that he
can better advise the Chairman of the mood
of the Carthians while also being able to
understand how best to manoeuvre the
Chairman out of power.
But there are those that want change
to come quicker. Julia Reinhart represents
this faction. Julia is a strong proponent of
proportional representation. He is seeking a
new method of government for the city
where instead of a Board of Representatives
there is instead a new form of Parliament
where Kindred have a greater say in the
running of the city and the reigns of power
are not in the hands of the select few.
The other opponents within the
Carthians are the Anarch Syndicates. These
small collectives of Carthians are a loud
minority and participate in terrorist acts
against the Invictus and the greater Carthian
community. Often these Anarchs try to show
the extent of the oppression. The syndicates
will cause minor breaches in the Masquerade
and embrace without permission, all in the
attempt to draw out the real nature of the
Chairman’s government.
Within the Carthians there is a good
mix of Kindred from all Clans while the
majority hail from the Daeva and Mekhet
Clans. The presence of the Daeva acts in the
interest of the Covenant as they inspire other
Clans to follow the Carthian way and join in
their gatherings. The presence of the Mekhet
suits the needs of the Clan more than others
as they are free to pursue their own studies
and form their own cults and covens without
the restrictions and control of large religious
and occult bodies that form the Covenants of
the Crone, Lancea or Ordo.
The structure of the Carthians is
fairly simple. There are those elected officials
who act as organisers and then there is the
Mob. The Mob itself is broken down into the
different political and social factions and
coteries. One of the most prominent groups
in the city is the Night Doctors.
The Night Doctors currently hold the
undisputed position of the most preeminent
scholars on Kindred physiology. The Night
Doctors have achieved this position in part
by reputation but also by opportunity. Since
the exile of the Ordo Dracul from the city
and the personal interests of the Chairman
have meant that the Night Doctors have
access to the best researchers, neonates and
funding and have the open society where
they can showcase their research. Other
minor groups that exist focus on modern
technology and the use of it with Kindred
abilities, creating new
and strange
disciplines.
Carthian Politics
The Carthians follow the simple
policy of divide and conqueror. With the
other Covenants bickering over votes,
feeding grounds, territory and attention the
Carthians are able to highlight the benefits of
their method of government, of the open
political system that allows for Kindred of all
ages to have a say. But there is growing
discontentment with the control that the
Kindred Politics
Chairman exerts over the city. Opposition to
allowed to directly level his power against
those who would speak out against him, for
if he did then it would destroy the carefully
designed system of rule that he has managed
for over a hundred years. Instead the
Chairman is now planning to move against
these groups for the benefit of the Carthians,
while allowing those others the changes that
they wish. Change must come, but slowly to
ensure that the Carthians take full advantage
of it first. Of course this won’t be easy with
the Carthians so close to tear each other
apart, as once they sense the first taste of
power then there will be no stopping the
onslaught. Fortunately the Chairman has an
ally in the Myrmidon Duncanson, and
together they try to ensure tempers are
released and the Carthians act in unison for
the Covenant as a whole. But if need be the
Myrmidon and the Chairman are not above
making use of the Lictor to remove
firebrands to keep the status quo.
the Chairman is quite open as he is not
However, if the tactics of the
Invictus against the other Covenants is
considered underhand then when they are
odds against each other the fights become
even bloodier. Though they may show
difference in public the Invictus are not
against the eliminating rivals. Though
hierarchy is everything to the Invictus both
Hawkins and Kerkoft allow for this type of
sport, hoping to ensure that those that
remain are the perfect soldiers for their coup.
Currently the Invictus are following
the path laid out by Kerkoft, hoping that the
seeds of chaos will take root and that the
Carthian rule will crumble. It may not be an
out right take over but it may be just enough
to swing support behind the Invictus. And,
though the elder Invictus would not want to
admit it, the system of government that the
Carthians currently peddle is very useful for
fooling the neonates into thinking they have
some form of freedom.
The Invictus
Structure
The Invictus are clearly divided into
three groups. There are those that support
Kerkoft, those that support Hawkins, and
those who simply want to replace both and
get their hands on power. But fortunately the
Covenant as a whole has a single unifying
goal, to finally take charge of Manchester.
Most of the Invictus elders are happy to say
that the Lancea Sanctum have neither the
numbers, faith or political savvy to take
control of the city, and that the alliance that
the unspoken support the Invictus has for
the Second Estate if it were to make a move
for the throne is simply lip service. The
Invictus would sooner see the Lancea
Sanctum stabbed in the back. The Dark Ages
are over and so is the Lancea Sanctum,
something which the Carthians have proved
more than once. Instead the Invictus have
already begun a plan to erode the politic
power base of the Carthians with the aid of
the exiled Ordo Dracul. Together they are
already offering the resources to the anarchs
within the city, while to others they have
enticed them with offers of power and blood.
If anything the Carthians is filled with plenty
of fools who would sell out their Covenant.
The Invictus are formally lead by the
Good Alder Lady Natalia Kerkoft. As the
current eldest and most respect and feared of
the Invictus she is the leader by default. She
holds the title of Viscountess until her elder
awakes from slumber and it her time to enter
torpor. Kerkoft is a stickler for formalities,
titles and protocol, all of which reaffirm the
difference between the Invictus and the
rabble Carthians. But Kerkoft is not the
undisputed leader of the Invictus, due to
Carthian cunning. In a snub against her the
Chairman allowed for her subordinate Judex
Hawkins to claim domain. This very act
meant that the Invictus were divided
between two domains and the Invictus as a
whole could make a choice of which domain
to hold allegiance to and who to listen to.
Judex Hawkins of course has not
squandered this opportunity, and has made
slow moves to undermine Kerkoft while
enticing neonates to the Covenant while
painting Kerkoft as a tyrant in waiting.
Hawkins is now equal to Kerkoft in all ways
within the Invictus except for the fact that he
was given his domain, rather than taken it.
Below Hawkins and Kerkoft is a
number of Kindred of lesser titles who serve
to function as their Whips, messengers,
Knights and other secondary roles who form
each elders own personal courts that act like
With respect to the other Covenants,
the Invictus treat them as contemptible fools
at most. Superstition and magic is of little
interest to the Invictus in these nights,
however there are those few within the
Covenant that do take the time to study
these arcane arts within the Guilds. There are
4 major Guilds within the city. Each claims a
particular field of knowledge for it’s own but
two are act as rival schools on the subject of
Kindred lore and Disciplines, and often
engage in inter school competition, where
one of these Guilds is in fact a Invictus Order
of Knights, the Order of the Angel, named
after the Angle Stone of the arch angel
Michael that stands in the Cathedral.
The Order of the Angel represents
Invictus faith, and transcends the teachings
of the Lancea Sanctum and instead focuses
on concepts of Hermetic arts and bits and
pieces of Cruác that they have learnt. The
The Lancea Sanctum
The Lancea Sanctum are the fallen
rulers of the city, and act as subservient as
possible to the Carthians in order to regain
some portion of the power they once held.
Overall the Lancea Sanctum has resigned
itself to acting as the conscience of the
Chairman and the Carthians. Meanwhile
they try to support the Invictus while not
appearing to act as rebels.
The Lancea Sanctum falls into two
parties. There are those that are led by the
Bishop Michael Kenner who follow a policy
of status quo, waiting in the wings while the
Carthians and other Covenants tear holes out
of each other. However, the presence of the
Carthians has been both a blessing and a
curse. Kindred are now freely able to pursue
whatever faith they wish. But just as Lancea
Sanctum are allowed their converts and to
freely express their beliefs, then so are the
other Covenants. What was once a war of
claws and fangs is now a war of tongues as
small duchies, models of the society that
either would impose upon the city in time. It
is now only a matter of when these two
forces will be forced into conflict with each
other, with the Carthians sat in the middle.
Order keeps these practices secret from all
but those who have survived to make the
middle ranks of their Order out of fear of
reprisal from the Circle of the Crone.
The influence of Kerkoft and
Hawkins is of course not eternal, and a large
proportion of their influence has been
through inheritance from older members of
their Covenant who currently slumber.
Kerkoft and Hawkins care for three other
elders as part of the cyclic dynasty of the
Invictus. Kerkoft currently looks after Jonas
Hewitt, the Marquis of Manchester, and
Baroness Claudia Estabelle. This House of
the Blue Rose has been in Manchester ever
since Medieval times. Hawkins holds the
dynasty of Lucius Vesey, Duke of
Manchester, and an elder, who after the
English Civil war held the city of Manchester
for a brief period.
Kenner fights for the souls of the Kindred of
the city.
However, some see this as a soft
approach to the situation, arguing that
politics and modern trappings and luxuries
are making the Kindred weak, and exposed
before the hunters that stalk their streets. At
the head of this group of militant Kindred is
Priestess Amanda Heath. Heath not only acts
as the second authority amongst the Lancea
Sanctum, but also the Nosferatu as she acts
as their representative on the Board.
Heath is in direct opposition to both
Kenner and the Carthians and even the
Invictus, seeing all opposing parties as weak
and without faith, having turned their backs
on the teachings of Longinus. Her
ceremonies and rituals are bloody affairs,
claiming to truly acknowledge the birthright
of all vampires. Many of the city Inquisitors
act on behalf of Kenner and also are offered
to the Chairman in times of need, but there
are those few Inquisitors that are more stern
and follow Heath and her rulings.
Out of fear a growing proportion of
Sanctified are attending the chapels led by
Heath, while the majority still go to those
that are led by Kenner.
Kindred Politics
Structure
The two sides of the Lancea Sanctum
are organized in similar ways. Both rely on a
number of subservient priests who tend to
the masses and direct them in rituals and
congregations on a daily basis. It is typical
for most small groups of Sanctified to be led
by a priest. These groups then attend larger
congregations once a week and another once
The Circle of the Crone
The Circle of the Crone has not been
the most active Covenant in Manchester.
Simply there are those Kindred of the
Covenant that are recognised as elders and
have accepted the seat in the Council of
Primogen, or now, on the Board of
Representatives. In the past the Acolyte
representative has been a low ranking
member who sits in the seat on behalf of the
elders. In some respects this position is seen
as something of a punishment as the Acolyte
finds that they are removed from daily
rituals and so fall behind within the internal
power plays within the Covenant.
However, currently this has all
changed with the reawakening of Magus
Gregor of the Cult of Cernunnos. But Gregor
has risen above the divisions within the
Covenant and has delegated ritual
observances to his pupils while he takes a
more prominent role in Kindred politics.
This has surprised both members of his own
cult and those of the Cult of Hathor, who are
more than happy for the elder to cause
trouble for the other covenants.
The Circle of the Crone is now been
growing in numbers for the last 10 years
with Gregor taking full advantage of the
Carthian government and Elysium to
promote the teachings of the Crone and how
much more accepting the Covenant is while
not wanting to impose themselves on the
running of the city. This stance has
impressed many Carthians who have tired of
organised religion in their mortals lives and
are seeking a spirituality that is more
fulfilling.
a month where the Bishop or Priestess leads
the service. So in effect the Lancea Sanctum
operates something of a cell like system
where small groups are responsible for their
own faith, something which is of course
tested by their elders.
Heresy is of course something which
can worm itself into the Covenant with
converts and such a fractured organisation,
and so the Inquisitors police the masses,
rooting out any heretics and questionable
rituals and belief.
Both the Cult of Hathor and the Cult
of Cernunnos have good dealings with one
another, aiding in the acquisition of temples
and the removal of sacrificial victims. But
this does not mean that there are not rivalries
between the two cults. The Cult of
Cernunnos sees the Cult of Hathor as
modern upstarts who have latched onto old
teachings as an excuse for debauchery and
power. This is not far wrong, as the Cult of
Hathor has only existed since Victorian times
and performs rituals that focus on sex and
blood. This in contrast to the Cult of
Cernunnos that has been about since the
before the arrival of the Romans, resurfacing
after the invasion of Saxons after the Romans
left the British Isles.
Of course this rivalry between the
cults can lead to open violence and fights for
artefacts and temples, however Gregor tries
to keep this to a minimum as any sign of
internal strife would have Sanctified
crusaders at their doorstep. It is for this
reason that the two cult actively seek out the
darker elements of their Covenant for fear of
giving the other Covenants reason to start a
witch hunt.
Structure
The Circle of the Crone has different
structures for each of the cults that form the
Covenant in Manchester. Each is led by their
respective high priest or priestess, who is in
turn aided in their studies and rituals by a
number of pupils. With their students the
high priests lead the gatherings of their cult,
which come together at auspicious times of
the month, while small groups are led in
their rituals by those students of the high
priests.
Though the Circle of the Crone is
officially recognised its members are not so
open of their affiliation with the Covenant,
and if they were to admit to being part of
any Covenant they are just as likely to say
that they are Carthian or unaligned, with a
few able to even claim membership to the
Invictus. This secrecy is both a blessing and a
curse. It is known that Kindred are free to
join the Cults, but first they must find the
The Ordo Dracul
The Ordo Dracul occupies a very
strange position within the city. Officially the
Covenant is banned from voting in matters
of government. They can claim no seats on
the Board of Representatives and members
who openly claim to be of the Ordo Dracul
are watched carefully. This is what happens
when a Covenant tries to take charge
without following the rules of democracy.
Officially only a few of the Ordo
Dracul are open about their allegiance and
they are not often seen at Elysium. Others
assume any survivors of the failed coup have
now left the city or now hide in plain sight as
members of the Carthians or unaligned.
But things have got better for the
Ordo in recent months as reinforcements
from other cities have arrived, unknown to
the Carthians who have been keeping
anarchs under control.
The main aim of the Ordo Dracul is
to re-establish their Covenant within
Manchester and from there hope to take
control of the city as their Covenant grows.
However, many of those in hiding
think that the Chairman had other reasons
for banning them from the city, and so see
the reacceptance of their Covenant as
unlikely. Either way the Ordo Dracul has a
lot of ground to make up and so have no
resorted to making the most of their time in
hiding, allying with the Invictus, hoping that
they can fill the gap that the Lancea Sanctum
have left.
right people to talk to. But this level of
secrecy ensures that the Covenant is able to
observe these Kindred and assess if they are
suitable candidates or simply wasting their
time, or worse.
Other than the high priest for each
cult, there are few formal roles within the
Covenant, with most Acolytes switching
roles frequently and the Chorus attending to
their needs when asked.
Structure
The Ordo Dracul within the city is
nothing more than a loose collection of
coteries that cling together for support.
Meetings are few and infrequent as they fear
larger gathering will attract the officers of the
Chairman. For now they seek solitary
research while trying to understand the
situation within the Kindred politics. Power
has well and truly been wrenched from their
grasp and now they must cling to each little
piece that drops in their laps.
But the Covenant does have the
advantage of anonymity, operating in the
shadows and peddling favours to those that
need them. They are the spies in the plain
sight and they are now just simply biding
their time and gathering their resources so
that they might finally rise back into power.
Within the city there are a few who
can claim titles of some form, even while in
hiding. Conner McDoan, a Gangrel, holds
the position of Kogaion and is also the
highest ranking member of the Covenant in
the city, as he is the most accomplished in
the Coils of the Dragon, and is also a
member of the Sworn of the Dying Light.
McDoan holds the position of Master of the
Dying Light, having presented a curious
thesis on the study of the ley lines of
Manchester, a document that apparently has
been found duplicated in the hands of
mages.
Other than McDoan there are no
other elders within the city and he has
focused on gathering more recruits and
building a new Academy for the Order.
McDoan has even been heard to say that the
banning and breaking of the Covenant in the
city is possibly just what was required for
Kindred Politics
the Ordo Dracul to grow both spiritually and
physically.
The
democratic
nature
of
Manchester means that Clan and lineage has
little or no meaning unless you are a member
of the Invictus. Ideas not blood hold power
in the city.
The Daeva
The Daeva of the city are the second
largest clan in the city, which is now surprise
considering the large importance of the
media and music scene to the city. More than
likely each club in Manchester will be visited
by one of their clan during the night as they
stalk the Rack for prey.
Even though Spokesman Rain would
like to think he his the highest ranking clan
member in the city and that the clan must
jump when he tells them to, he is very much
mistaken. The idea of a unified Daeva clan is
a fallacy. The Daeva hierarchy is not
controlled by the Chairman or the
Spokesman, but it is very much dominated
by the rumour mill of the Elysium and the
biting tongues of the Harpies.
The Gangrel
The area about Manchester is the
perfect hunting grounds for the clan of
beasts. However, the presence of werewolves
in the same areas makes hunting problematic
and fraught with danger. And so for this
reason the inner city is the main hunting
grounds of the Gangrel. No one knows
exactly why the lupines don’t penetrate
further into the centre of the city, but the
Gangrel are happy to it stay that way.
Fortunately Manchester boast some of the
So if the Daeva are so anarchic and
backstabbing then how does Max Neils
become the Priscus of the city and so
represent the clan on the Board? It comes
down to influence and being a lesser pain in
the ass. Neils is simply considered less
annoying than Spokesman Rain, and Neils at
least seems to be more capable in
manipulating the Carthian chain of
command to aid his fellow clan members. It
explains why a lot of Daeva have cushy
havens.
In general the Daeva are lone wolves
when hunting, but as a group they enjoy
gathering to socialize, even if it is for a game
of who’s the bigger bad ass, who got into
what clubs, and who has the juiciest bit of
information.
Within the Daeva the changing of
Covenant is the most common, facilitated by
knowing fellow clan members who are
already members of the Covenant they wish
to join. This of course benefits the Carthians
since the Daeva enjoy using the democratic
system to show just how involved they are in
‘party’, and what better way to show that
than by converting your clam mates.
At the end of the day the Clan as a
whole allows for inter-Covenant meetings
but essentially this is only because the Daeva
of the opposing clans have personal
business. At the end of the day they are
Vampires first and belong to a Covenant
second. The fact they actually have
something in common just makes it easier to
know who you’re dealing with.
largest inner city green spaces and find these
areas plentiful for feeding, along with the
fun that comes with hunting in the crime
filled suburbs like Moss Side, Longsight and
Hulme. Hunting these areas allows the
Gangrel to be more vicious since no-one
misses the dead gangsters that plague the
streets with guns, knives and drugs.
The Gangrel is the smallest clan in
the city, and loosely held together and
evenly distributed through the covenants,
with their elders generally found amongst
the Circle of the Crone, Carthians and Ordo
Dracul. All these Covenants offer the
Gangrel the means to express themselves
fully while not requiring them to be the most
sociable of Kindred.
The Gangrel are dangerously
protective of their territory, and show their
clan mates only the smallest amount of
respect, as one wolf does to another. Thus
hierarchy is inherent within the Gangrel, and
often there are mistakes where one insults
The Mekhet
The Mekhet are the most populous
clan of the city and so have some form of
organization. The majority of the Mekhet fall
within the Covenants of the Carthians and
the Circle of the Crone. Both Covenants offer
what the Mekhet desire for freedom and
pursuit of secrets and power from the
shadows.
Because of this disposition for
gathering pieces of information and being
drawn together out of a need for freedom,
the sense of clan often transcends a Mekhet’s
alliance to a Covenant. The Mekhet are well
known to gather together to exchange
knowledge and to teach others skills in
return. However, there is a definite distrust
of the Mekhet and for this reason the Mekhet
meet in secret as no one wants their
Covenant to think they are talking to the
wrong sorts.
The Nosferatu
The Nosferatu of the city a not so
numerous compared to the Mekhet and
Daeva, but they are not without influence.
The Nosferatu are typically found within the
ranks of the Carthians, Ordo Dracul and
Circle of the Crone. They seek the accepting
nature of the Carthians, the philosophy of
the Dragons so that they might overcome the
fear they cause in others, or to understand
their beast and the very nature of being a
vampire.
Much like the Mekhet the Nosferatu
gather together out of the need to speak with
others who do not suffer from the fear they
cause, those that understand themselves. But
being the monstrous creatures that they are
The Clans
another. Bartholomew Kollins represents the
Gangrel on the Board simply because no
other will and he has taken it upon himself
to represent their interests, ensuring that
appropriate measures are taken to preserve
the Gangrel hunting grounds.
A number of the Mekhet, being the
masters of secrets and shadows and so are
able to create, manipulate and influence
society through the creation of secret
societies, and a small number are controlled
by Mekhet Kindred. In particular, one
Carthian Mekhet is in charge of a flourishing
cult that is devoted to the study of Hermetic
arts, all the while the Mekhet vampire is
using this cult to further his work within the
realm of dream manipulation. A Circle of the
Crone Mekhet instead has a cult of mortals
devoted to his own brand of philosophy and
taste of a unique drug. But no matter the cult
the aim of all of these is power over mortals
and other Kindred.
The Priscus of the clan is Carl
Stewart. Stewart has been in the favour of
the Chairman for since the Peterloo
Massacre, and is considered a master of the
alchemical arts and history. Some find it
interesting way he has not found a position
within the Ordo Dracul or the Circle of the
Crone. But amongst the Mekhet, Stewart is
considered a master of the arts and
deserving of respect, no matter their Clan
allegiance.
the Nosferatu are quick to anger and so
rivalries at meeting can quickly escalate.
These rivalries extend to the
claiming of territory in the areas of the city
that no Covenant or clan would want to
claim, and the sewers and underground
canals beneath the city. These tunnels are
extensive and winding and so there are
rumours that the numbers of the Nosferatu
have been underestimated.
Typically the hunting grounds of the
Nosferatu and the Gangrel overlap, leading
to some fights between clans. Mainly the
Nosferatu seek out the homeless and
gangsters that litter the inner city and the
crime infested suburbs.
The Priscus for the clan, Priestess
Amanda Heath, has taken the position by
cowing others of her clan. She welcomes
those who wish to have their issues heard by
the Board, but expects them to approach her
in manner fitting of beasts that accept the
| the Gangrel | THE MEKHET | the Nosferatu
glory of God. Of course many Nosferatu
would rather seek out their Covenant
The Ventrue
It is no surprise that the majority of
the Ventrue are Invictus. And so it is also no
surprise that the Ventrue are pissed that they
have to accept the dominance of a Mekhet
who hides behind democracy. The Ventrue
see this state of affairs as unacceptable.
Those Ventrue who are among the Carthians
are seen as turncoats, while those Carthians
see their Invictus brothers as old guard fools.
Thus the Ventrue are a divided.
Leading the loyalist faction is Judex
Hawkins who is the Priscus for the clan,
however this is a position won out of
Manchester sits at a sort of
crossroads to the North. You may think that
itinerant vampires, nomads, may need to
stop off in Manchester and present
themselves. But then this isn’t the USA,
Russia or even some countries in Europe. It
The Carthians
All of the major train stations lie
within the Carthian Central District and so
any nomad seeking to stay in Manchester for
any period of time must seek out the
Chamberlain and petition for shelter.
Kindred needing to stay for a few nights as
part of their journey are given the hospitality
of the Carthians. A temporary haven is
allocated and feeding grounds overseen by
the Constable Ihram are given. The visitor is
invited to Elysium and to even present what
they know of other cities. All of this is of
representative rather than be prostrate before
Heath in the name of God.
manipulation and boons. The revolutionary
faction is led by Patrick Falken, a well
spoken and savvy businessman who has
allies amongst the Lancea Sanctum and
Acolytes.
Patrick Falken may be a Carthian,
but he does follow the general line of
Ventrue philosophy, and so seeks to clip the
claws of the Chairman and make full use of
the Carthian structure and so control the
Covenant while still ensuring that there is an
illusion of democracy.
Invictus gatherings are frequent
affairs, and are more like a gentleman’s club.
Favours are traded, boons given out,
territory and herd loaned and rented. All for
the benefit of the Ventrue.
only takes a couple of hours to travel to
Manchester from most major cities in
England, either by train or by car. In reality
nomads have little need to go into cities and
instead keep to the smaller towns and the
outer suburbs of a city. However this doesn’t
mean that travel between cities is safe.
Various groups lay claim to the stretches that
lie between the cities, and not many are well
understood. The main advantage then of
travelling to a city like Manchester is the
potential safety and the chance at a new
start.
course the Carthian ploy to spread their
philosophy beyond the confines of
Manchester.
The Carthians are keen to show that
they are accepting of visitors, even those of
other Covenants, however they do not want
their hospitality to be abused. If a visiting
Kindred wishes to stay longer than a week
then the visitor is expected to contribute to
the Carthians, either in money or favours.
The visitor may need to teach a Discipline,
acts as a messenger to another city or even
eliminate potential threats to the Carthians.
Of all the Carthians Spokesman Rain takes
the most interest in using this network to
further his own influence.
Those Kindred wanting to stay in the
city, no matter their clan or Covenant, have
to present themselves to the Chamberlain,
and then the Chairman. Once they have been
presented the Kindred then give their case
for why they would be a benefit to the city.
This is then given to the Board to consider
and vote upon. If successful the Kindred
joining the city is offered the same
hospitality of the Carthians as any visitor is
The Lancea Sanctum
If the Carthians are the most
welcoming of Covenants, then the Sanctified
are the most insular and paranoid. Every
Kindred to visit the city may potentially a
heretic. The inquisitors and Ositary look out
for visitors and watch them keenly, watching
where they go, who they talk to and what
this leads to. It only takes a few unwatched
Kindred to lead to a full scale insurgency of a
group of Belial’s Brood, or even the danger
of VII.
Visitors that head directly to one of
the parishes of the Lancea Sanctum are often
direct there by their fellows in other cities,
and often these visitors are members of the
Lancea Sanctum.
Visitors who come direct to the
Lancea Sanctum first must acknowledge the
divine right of the Sanctified in Manchester.
They ask for the blessing of the attending
The Circle of the Crone
As the smallest official Covenant in
Manchester they are the least capable of
providing for visitors. A travelling Acolyte is
more than likely going to pass straight
through the city and miss any resident
Acolytes, or more likely end up in the arms
of the Carthians or Invictus. Fortunately the
Carthians laws makes the situation less
dangerous than expected, with the same sort
of hospitality being offered as would be
offered to other Carthians.
If lucky a visiting or immigrant
Acolyte will be directed towards the local
cult, but then it is a choice of which to go to.
offered, but only until they have found their
own haven, at which point they must
contribute to the Carthians to clear their
debt. After this the Kindred are free to follow
the policies of their Covenant while
respecting those of the city and the
Chairman and the Board. However, breaches
by immigrant Kindred are not taken lightly.
priest and then they are asked to confess
their sins to the priest.
Once these initial welcoming rites
have been finished and the visitors is offered
the hospitality of the Lancea Sanctum and
allowed to join in communion with the
members of the Covenant. However, visitors
are not allowed to outstay their welcome.
Those Kindred who wish to stay for more
than a few days must of course then be
presented to the Chairman and the Board of
Representatives.
Meanwhile,
as
the
newcomer’s situation is considered the
Lancea Sanctum take the opportunity to test
the Kindred and make use of him, a small
price to pay for their hospitality.
If the newcomer is welcomed by the
Lancea Sanctum then the Archbishops and
Priests of the city can help in their petition to
join the city. Of course this is the perfect time
to hand over any heretics to the Constable.
Lancea
Sanctum
messengers,
itinerant priests, receive a more pleasant
welcome. However in recent years a number
of these travelling ministers and inquisitors
have never been seen again.
The Cult of Hathor is always open to visitors
and jump at the chance to indulge them in
their vices and grand rituals. If however the
visitor finds the Cult of Cernunnos they are
welcomed, but there is much more suspicion
and the visitor is kept from engaging in
rituals with the cult, the Magus being elitist
and distrustful of other cults.
Those immigrant Acolytes must
choose to either one of the cults or must be
part of the Covenant but not participate with
any of the cults and instead remain alone in
their faith. Within Manchester almost a sixth
of the Acolytes are independent and so
gather for friendly discussions. Those
visiting Acolytes that follow distasteful
beliefs are often shunned and offered any
help during their stay. If things are truly bad
then even the local Acolytes wont pass up an
opportunity to sacrifice a Kindred and spill
vitae in the name of the gods.
The lay of the land
Presentation to the Chairman and
the Board for the Acolyte is not as easy as it
is for other Covenants unless they have the
support of one of the cults of the city. If they
do not have this support then the Acolyte
will have to find a patron within another
The Invictus
So the Carthians are the welcome all
and make an effort to show how beneficial
their way of government is. The Lancea
Sanctum and Acolytes have less trust to
visiting Kindred. But the Invictus are the
worst combination of these three. They open
their arms and acknowledge the visitor
before firmly letting them know where they
stand, who is in charge and who they must
obey. The Invictus quickly put their foot
down to ensure that the local Invictus show
their dominance, but they are careful to
show the appropriate etiquette to elders who
arrive.
Presentation at the courts of the
Invictus elders is the priority of all visiting
Invictus. Visitors of other Covenants merely
need to show the right respect and they will
be directed towards the appropriate
Covenant. This attitude towards visitors is to
show that like the Carthians they can be
lenient and tolerant. However, if the visitor
The Ordo Dracul
Manchester is not usually where a
travelling Dragon will stay very long. Maybe
just one night somewhere on the outskirts of
the city where they are unlikely to be
spotted. Those that do come to Manchester
on purpose are in the city to help bolster and
aid those Dragons that exist in hiding in the
city.
But what of the Dragons that are
picked up by the other Covenants? What
becomes of them? The Acolytes turn them
away, seeing them as more trouble than they
are worth. The Lancea Sanctum see them as
godless depraved animals and will sooner
have their head on a stake than let them go
Covenant or have a good word put in for
them from someone who lives in the city that
they have travelled from. However, this
Kindred’s word cannot be trusted and so
many Acolytes must offer their services to
the Carthians in order to gain favour.
is known for being a trouble maker then the
Invictus, if they can get away with it, will
take matters into their own hands.
Itinerant Invictus Kindred, typically
travelling knights and messengers are all the
hospitality at the disposal of the Invictus
lords. Both Lord Hawkins and Viscountess
Kerkoft hold courts for visitors, calling all
Invictus Kindred to welcome the visitor and
listen to their news from other cities. Of
course this is all pomp and a chance for the
Invictus lords to show their power and
influence. But with two Invictus courts a
visiting Invictus could unwittingly snub one
court by only visiting the other.
If there is one thing neither Kerkoft
or Hawkins have time for are those Invictus
who believe that they can come to the city to
lead a war against the Carthians. These
visitors are not only displaying their desire
to lead the Invictus, but also suggesting the
incompetence of the current Invictus lords.
Often these visitors are just led into the
hands of a anarchic Carthians who take great
delight in showing this Invictus the error of
his ways.
free. The Carthians give the Dragon a stiff
warning but kindly drop them off at the city
limits so that they can continue their journey,
while the Invictus see an opportunity to
either win points with the Carthians or keep
quiet and turn the Dragon into one of their
pawns.
Those Dragons that expect to stay in
the city must find a home in amongst once of
the other Covenants, keeping their true
allegiance secret. This is especially true of the
Sworn and high ranking members of the
Order who are most likely capable of
bringing the Ordo Dracul back to power.
Kindred of other Covenants who are
met by any Dragons are made to believe that
they are talking to either a Carthians or
Unaligned Kindred, but such situations often
allow for the Dragons to spread
disinformation.
The lay of the land
.
“[H]ere the
human spirit
“[H]ere the
becomes
human
spirit
becomes
perfect,
perfect,
and at
and
at the same
the same time
time brutalised,
brutalised, that
that civilisation
produces
its
civilisation
marvels and that
produces its
civilised man
marvels
returns and
to that
the
savage.”man
civilised
Count Alexis de
returns to the
Tocqueville, 1840
The city of Manchester is home to 2.6 million
kine, with a further 7 million in the suburbs and districts
about the city centre. This means Manchester can easily
accommodate 80, with anywhere up to 150 Kindred in the
Greater Manchester region. It would be impossible to
describe the entire population of the city but we can look
at the key players of the city, those who have the most at
stake in the city and call all the shots. However we will
briefly describe the collectives of vampires that gather in
the city and the types of things they get up to.
For each of the Kindred presented here numerous
plot hooks will be suggested and will be obvious the
types of conflicts that are present and be used to drive a
plot for a story or an entire chronicle. But if you have
ideas for your chronicle which conflict with what has
been described here then by all means just change the
characters in this chapter to suit your needs. If however
there are characters not detailed here, such as those who
support the Carthian Parliamentary Revolution of Oscar
Reinhart then by all means fill in the blanks, or even let
your players fill these roles. After it is your game, so
make Manchester your city.
savage.”
Count Alexis de
Tocqueville,
The Office of the Chairman
The position of Chairman is a precarious one. On
the one hand you wish to see the Carthians stay in power
and so ensure that Carthians ideals are followed in the
domain. But on the other hand you want to stamp out any
possible opposition to democracy in place. Of course
these policies are polar opposites and so the
Chairman is always in danger of hypocrisy.
He must always ensure his use of influence
always appears to be in the benefit of
maintaining democracy rather than looking
like a tyrant. Of course there are those that
can see past this and are already working to
undermine his power and seek to reduce the
Chairman’s position to nothing but a
figurehead role.
The
Chairman
maintains
the
democratic system by managing the city
with a small select group of Kindred who
perform all the hard work for the Chairman.
The individuals make up the Chairman’s
Office. It would be wrong to think that all of
the Kindred that act behind the throne
actually see eye to eye with the Chairman’s
policies, but the power and influence it
provides more than makes up for having to
follow the policies of the Carthians.
Chairman Jonathan Williams
Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1794
Apparent Age: 30s
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3,
Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2,
Stamina 5
Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation
3, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (History of
Science) 3, Investigation 3, Medicine
(Biochemistry)
3,
Occult
(Vampire
physiology, Vampire Lore) 3, Politics
(Manchester, Carthians) 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Drive 2, Stealth
(Streets, Crowds) 2, Weaponry 3
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression 2,
Intimidation (Stare down) 3, Persuasion
(Kindred) 3, Socialize 2, Streetwise 2,
Subterfuge 4
Merits: Contacts (Historians, Biochemists) 2,
City Status (Manchester) 5, Clan Status 3,
Covenant Status (Carthians) 4, Haven:
Location 3, Size 4, Security 4, Herd 2,
Language (Latin, Arabic, French) 3,
Resources 4, Retainer (Ghouled) 3
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Temperance
Vice: Envy
Health: 10
Initiative: 5
Defence: 2
Speed: 9
Blood Potency: 6
Disciplines: Auspex 3, Celerity 3, Obfuscate
3, Resilience 3, Theban Sorcery 2
Theban Sorcery Rituals: Blood Scourge (1),
Crown of Thorns (1, see Lancea Sanctum
page 194)
Derangements: Fixation
Vitae/ per turn: 15/3
Appearance: Jonathan is almost 6 foot tall, he
tends to wear immaculate suits and has a
goatee and moustache. His features are stern
and angular, and his eye tells a tale of great
pain, of a constant nagging pain in his soul.
Jonathan also has a limp in his right leg and
has a walking cane to aid him.
Jonathan Williams was the son of an
entrepreneur and grew up in Liverpool, but
also spent a fair amount of time being taken
around the world by his parents, spending
time in India, China and Africa.
When Jonathan was old enough he
was sent to study at Cambridge, choosing to
study the classics and history and religion,
even participating on archaeological digs.
However, it was now that Jonathan was
consumed by his own greed. He returned
home, now a graduate and returned to his
father business, only to sell him out and have
him murdered in order to inherit the
company.
Murder did not rest easy with
Jonathan, and consuming himself in his
business was not enough, though he was
accumulating a large number of artefacts
from all over the world, his passion for the
exotic and mysterious could not stop him
sinking into depression. Jonathan began
visiting church in order to find some sort of
redemption. Over a series of evenings
Cardinal James Furlong could see promise in
this man if he could make him confess his
sins and have him accept the embrace as a
form of purging of his mortal sins. Jonathan
accepted the offer and was embraced before
the parish of the Lancea Sanctum. The
Cardinal hung from a cross for 3 evenings,
which at the end of Jonathan was drained
and fed blood from a cut to the Cardinal’s
stomach.
Williams’
world
spanning
knowledge and understanding of the
modern world was an asset to the Cardinal
and the Sanctified of the city. His knowledge
of the sciences and of trade allowed the
Cardinal to obtain relics from the far reaches
of the world and amass wealth and influence
in the modern industrial world.
As the years passed Jonathan could
see that he had sold his soul for a new life,
but a life amongst monsters, something that
did not rest well with his education. The
Peterloo Massacre of 1817 proved to
Jonathan that as mortal society was changing
so Kindred society also needs to change.
Inspired by the mortal revolution taking
place he found like-minded Kindred in
amongst all strata and Covenants. The seeds
of the Manchester Carthian Movement were
born.
At the head of the Carthian
Movement, now an underground collection
of disenfranchised neonates and ancillae,
Jonathan led the Ascension Day Revolution.
On the evening of the 24th of May 1839,
Ascension Day, Jonathan and his Carthians
and allies within the Ordo Dracul stormed
the havens of the Primogen and the Lancea
Sanctum, dragging their bodies out into the
streets, fire consuming their dead flesh.
Over the next few years the
Covenants fought for dominance, however
the Carthians had the advantage of numbers.
The Carthians in these early years were
reckless and vindictive, seizing any
opportunity to stake another corrupt elder
out in the sun. But in time the Carthians
formed a sort of council, a collective of
leaders with Jonathan acting as arbitrator of
the discussions. This council then grew and
votes were held for the first time in 1854,
blessed by the acting Archbishop of the
Lancea Sanctum in Manchester.
In addition to creating this new
senatorial style form of government
Jonathan, now the Chairman of Manchester,
researched heavily into Kindred lore and set
up a series of laboratories to test the Kindred
physiology. The reason is a deep secret of the
Chairman, as he soon developed stigmata, a
curse laid down upon him by his sire the
dead Cardinal. It took time to develop but as
the years past the Chairman took more and
more time to perform his research to seek a
way to overcome this curse. He learnt the old
arts of alchemy, stole texts from the Acolytes
of the Crone and the Dragons. Jonathan also
ploughed vast amounts of into chemical
companies, funding research into blood. His
research even now continues.
Jonathan’s more radical experiments
have involved the use of his only childe,
Nathaniel Radcliffe, a street urchin and thief
who now is locked away in a secret lab in
Manchester asylum. Nathaniel is often fed,
injected and treated with new serums and
concoctions of vitae, as Nathaniel is also
subject to Jonathan’s curse. Jonathan has also
gone as far as stealing an experimental vitae
tank from the Ordo Dracul and studied the
text of the Kitab Si’lat, finding reference to
the Ghul vampires and the group of
vampires known as the Tremere.
Now, ever since the bomb of ’96,
Jonathan fears that he is losing control of
Manchester, having become entrenched in
his role of Chairman. He has become a
hypocrite, seeking to impose rules and
democracy that he himself seeks to
circumvent in order to maintain his precious
status quo so that he might finally find the
cure that he is seeking. But with both
Carthian anarchs, power hungry Invictus
and vengeful Dragons out for his blood time
is ticking.
Currently the Chairman maintains
influence in both the university research into
leukaemia and other blood diseases, while
also wielding temporal power amongst the
very people who donate money to these
institutions. Jonathan also has ties to the
local laboratories of Astra Zeneca and
smaller companies that are focused upon the
pharmaceutical industry. The Chairman,
through his ghouls, is also a major patron of
the museums of the city, allowing his
collections to be shown to the public, while
also holding private showings for those few
mortals that are have interest in the occult
and obscure. It is during these private
showing that the Chairman often finds a
chance to acquire new ghouls and resources.
And so with these resources the Chairman is
able to give everything that young neonates
need, and so is able to gain the votes he
requires. Of course this is the aim of the
Chairman, to appear as a charitable mentor
to the Carthians.
Goals: Status Quo
Ultimately the Chairman and his
allies who make up his office seek to
maintain the status quo, for the greater good
of the Carthians, whether they like it or not.
Sometimes the reason outweighs the
methods. At least that is the view of the
Chairman. Democracy keeps all of the
Damned happy, and perpetuates the idea of
freedom, though all the power is in the
hands of the few Carthians and Board
members who the Chairman can direct.
What They’ve Got
Between
the
Chairman,
the
Constable, Spokesman and Chamberlain the
Chairman and his office have a great deal of
influence at all strata. Boons can be trade for
changes in policy, fear and direct the voting
of the neonates, and a well placed spy can
bring all the blackmail material required to
end one Kindred’s aspirations while making
another’s come true. Though the office is few
in number their contacts and allies form a
complex web across a number of Covenants.
However in recent years the growing
resentment of a portion of the Carthians has
led to his office being tied up in red tape,
processing more and more paperwork in
order to keep up with the demands of the
Board of Representatives and their voters.
The Fourth and Fifth Freedoms
The office of the Chairman does not
rule without official authority. A set of laws,
known well only to those Carthian lawyers
and Representatives on the Board, are
known as the ‘Fourth and Fifth’. Under these
laws and the Traditions the officers of the
Chairman have the authority of the city to do
what is required to maintain the Traditions
and the safety and security of the Kindred of
the city.
These additional laws can of course
allow the Chairman if he so wishes to veto
the wishes of the Board and make decrees
without their consent. However, in almost
100 years the Chairman has never had to
make such a ruling, and no one wishes to be
the one who allows for a tyrant to come to
power. Of course there are those in the
Carthians and other Covenants who are
actively seeking to find a way for the Board
to gain the influence to remove these
emergency powers from the Chairman.
Of course the Chairman, on behalf of
the Board, is in charge of the Constable and
his officers, and the Lictor. However, this
control is open to abuse and so there are
rumours that a number of final deaths that
have been at the hands of the Lictor at the
command of the Chairman. The Chairman,
and the Chamberlain and the Constable
must be careful to ensure that all executions
and judgements ordered by the Chairman
and the Chamberlain have the appropriate
paperwork to back up these rulings.
Ultimately the Chairman is seen by
most as fair but tough, exactly how the
Carthians like it, as they have all the benefits
of accessible boons and favours while not
having to worry that other Covenants will
take advantage of this charity, while the
Chairman stamps out any such actions that
put the Carthians and the rest of the domain
at risk.
Chamberlain David Odans
Clan: Ventrue
Covenant: Carthian/Circle of the Crone
Embrace: 1805
Apparent Age: 20s
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
3, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Law) 3,
Investigation 3, Crafts (Painting, Forgery) 3,
Occult 2, Politics (Manchester, Carthians) 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Drive 3, Firearms
(Rifles) 2, Weaponry 3
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Empathy 2,
Expression 3, Intimidation (Blackmail) 4,
Persuasion (Kindred, Fast Talk) 4, Socialize
3, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Allies (City Hall, University Deans)
2, Contacts (Police investigators, City
planners, Old Boys network) 3, City Status
(Manchester) 3, Clan Status 2, Covenant
Status (Carthians 2) (Circle of the Crone 3),
Haven: Location 2, Size 2, Security 2, Herd 2,
Language (Latin, Italian) 2, Resources 4,
Retainer (Ghouled) 2
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 6
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Sloth
Health: 8
Initiative: 6
Defence: 2
Speed: 10
Blood Potency: 4
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Cruác 3,
Dominate 3, Majesty 1, Resilience 3, Vigor 2
Cruác Sorcery Rituals: Rigor Mortis (1),
Taste of Knowledge (1, Circle of the Crone
page 204), Cheval (2), Maiden Skin (2, Circle
of the Crone page 205), Beloved Deodand (3,
Circle of the Crone page 206)
Devotions: Iron Muscles (Carthians book,
page 201)
Derangements: Melancholia, Suspicion
Appearance: David is over five and a half
feet tall, with shoulder length hair and a
heavy set frame. He dresses somewhat
anachronistically, almost Victorian, and
enjoys smoking and playing with his lighter
with his well manicured hands.
Chamberlain David Odans was born
in London to a banker, and so was brought
up by his father with the intention of
following in the family business. However,
Odans attended King’s College London and
it was here that Odans’ became aware of the
things that lurked in the shadows. He
attended medical autopsies, séances, lectures
on ghosts and the dead and the strange
things found in Egypt.
This interest in Egypt brought Odans
into the company of a gentleman’s club, but
also a cult, one focused on the acquisition of
power and money. This Cult of Thoth,
preached knowledge and power above all
other things.
In a few more years Odans was
married to the daughter of one of the
wealthy officials of the club, and travelled to
Manchester to oversee business for his new
family there. He was a skilled banker, but
also had a keen mind and was a proficient
lawyer. But it was his sin, his participation in
the cult that lead to him being picked out by
the vampire priest, Tigerus Arkwright.
Arkwright need resources and power and
was to sire as it was a gift from the Cardinal
to do so. Odans would be the perfect childe.
It would the chance to give a sinner a new
life in the grace of God, a chance for them to
confess their sins.
Odans was Embraced, and his first
kill was his equally sinful wife. Odans hated
what he had become. His first nights were
painful but as they past and he came to
know what he was. Odans pretended to
listen to his sires patronising rhetoric, his
talk of God and redemption and of
Longinus, but knew that there must be more,
that God was not the source of vampirism,
that older cultures in the world had
vampires exist amongst them.
With Williams, the seeds of the
Carthian Movement in Manchester were
sown, and Odans sort to be free from the
oppression of the Lancea Sanctum. But while
Williams courted the Ordo Dracul, Odans
found allies amongst the few young Kindred
who also sort the mysteries of the old ways.
They were few but they were the Circle of
the Crone. There were rumours of elders but
they had not been seen in years, the last true
gathering having taken place before the siege
of Manchester during the Civil War. It was
with these few that the Cult of Hathor was
born and the Circle of the Crone was spoken
of once more.
After the events of Ascension Day
uprising Odans took the position of
Chamberlain. It allowed him the ability to
take an active role in the new Kindred
society that was forming, but also remain
autonomous enough to lead his growing
cult.
As the years past the cult grew, aide
in part by the new order that tolerated the
beliefs that were now resurgent with the
coming of modern technology. The world
wars and the atomic bomb had shown
people the God was truly dead and that the
old gods must hold power of these new
times. But as his cult grew so the old elders
came out of the wood work. Now no longer
in fear of the Lancea Sanctum Magus Gregor,
and elder of terrible age and power. Odans
knew that he could not compete against the
knowledge and power of this monster, and
so stepped down as head of the Circle of the
Crone and allowed this revered elder to lead
the Covenant into the new century. But with
this relinquishment of power came
competition as the Magus reformed his Cult
of Cernunnos.
Now after so many years Odans
fears that all that the Carthians and the Circle
of the Crone have built will fall. He sees the
Chairman becoming more of a despot every
year and so now acts behind the scenes,
taking the Chairman’s decrees and executing
them in such a way to soften the blow and to
ensure that the Carthians do not cry out that
their head of state is now a King. Odans
struggles each night to ensure that the
Chairman remains a symbol of democracy
and so stave of revolution, for the fall of the
Carthians would allow barbarians to tear
down
the
Crone.
Chamberlain David Odans
Spokesman Mathew Rain
Clan: Daeva
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1876
Apparent Age: Mid 20s
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
4, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Academics (Opera) 2, Crafts
(Piano, Composing) 2, Investigation 2,
Politics (Manchester, Carthians) 2
Physical Skills: Brawl 3, Drive 2, Larceny 2,
Stealth 3, Weaponry 2
Intimidation 2, Persuasion 2, Socialize
(Smooth talker) 3, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Contacts (Clubs, Media types,
Private Investigator) 3, City Status
Status (Carthians) 3, Haven: Location 3, Size
3, Security 3, Herd 3, Language (Latin,
French) 3, Resources 4, Retainer (Ghouled) 2
Willpower: 4
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Greed
Health: 8
Initiative: 6
Defence: 4
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 4
Disciplines: Auspex 2, Celerity 3, Dominate
2, Majesty 4, Vigor 3, Resilience 2
Devotions: Husk (Carthians book, page 191)
Appearance: Spokesman Mathew Rain is
slender and pale. He is almost 6 foot tall and
has short blond hair that is swept back. He is
immaculately dressed and also takes as
much care with his own hygiene. He is often
dressed in the most up to date styles,
adopting menacing business suits, brogues
and a smile of a shark.
Spokesman Rain was born the
illegitimate child of a dancer at a theatre in
Paris. He spent much of his early life
watching his mother perform on stage and
then teach others. He of course grew up as a
stage hand and later to a more active role in
the promotion of the shows of the theatres
where his mother worked.
However, Mathew had higher
aspirations, and sought to leave the theatre.
His achieved this through blackmail and
bribery. But worst was to come. When he
discovered that his father was none other but
the owner of the theatre he exacted his
revenge for all his years, and his mothers, of
being treated as slaves. He brutally beat his
father before taking what money he could
find before leaving for England.
In England, in particular Stratford,
Mathew, now adopting the full name of
Mathew Rain, was able to find a place
amongst the theatres in that large town.
However, his business prowess and social
acumen caught the attention of his sire to be,
Silas Arken. Arken had need of a young man
who was more keenly aware of the emerging
new media and more connected to the real
world. Also Rain reminded Arken of himself
when things were much simpler.
Sometime after Rain’s embrace, he
and Arken fled to Manchester to embrace the
emergent modern ideals that the Carthians
were promoting, while in the South of
England they had to deal with conservative
Invictus lords or stuffy Sanctum priests. It is
in Manchester amongst the still young
Carthian society that both Rain and Arken
were able to carve out their positions in
Kindred society. But it has been more recent
that sire and child have clashed as Rain seeks
out ever more power while Arken has
mellowed and wishes to see the Carthian
dream remain and expand beyond the
borders of Manchester. This has meant at
time their goals have matched, while others
they
have
been
in
opposition.
Spokesman Mathew Rain
Constable Ihram
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Circle of the Crone
Embrace: 1147
Resolve 4
Stamina 3
4, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Arabia, Persia) 4,
Crafts
(Writing)
2,
Investigation
(Masquerade Breaches, Murder Scenes) 4,
Occult 3, Politics (Manchester, Carthians) 2
Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 4, Drive 2,
Firearms 2, Larceny 2, Stealth 3, Weaponry
(Swords) 3
Intimidation (Physical Intimidation) 3,
Persuasion 2, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 3
Merits:
Contacts
(Police,
Private
Investigator, Islamic Priests) 3, City Status
Status (Circle of the Crone) 2, Fighting
Finesse (Scimitar) 2, Haven: Location 2, Size
2, Security 3, Language (Syrian, Arabic,
Italian) 3, Resources 2, Retainer (Ghouled) 3
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 3
Virtue: Justice
Vice: Gluttony
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 4
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 6
Disciplines: Auspex 3, Cruác 4, Dominate 4,
Protean 4, Resilience 3, Vigor 3
Cruác Sorcery Rituals: All most all.
However it is suggested that these rituals
embody an Eastern Persian theme.
Appearance: Ihram wears concealing long
robes much like any Muslim or Indian man
who walks the streets of Rusholme in the
south of Manchester. His beard is dark and
long, and his eyes are now intensely blue,
both the effect of his age and thickness of
blood. His hands are gnarled with age and
his nails are long and cracked.
Ihram was born in the north of what
today would be Iraq. He was raised to in a
family of priests, but not of Allah and Islam,
but of Zoroaster. His embrace was one of
vengeance upon his family. It was a painful
lesson of humility. Cursed by the unknown
Ghul, Ihram began his initiation into the
mystery cult of Ereshkigal, the goddess of
the Netherworld. With this cult, and within
Baghdad, Ihram was taught many secrets
and magics, including the powerful blood
sorcery of the Kindred. However, though
this time was one of peace and knowledge, it
was not to last.
In 1258 Baghdad was sacked by a
force that also included the Mongols, and
with them their own strange mystics and
creatures of the night. The cult of Ereshkigal
was broken and scattered as the city fell and
its treasures looted. Ihram fled west, to
Egypt and the Holy Lands, once more
disguised as a priest of Allah. He is
rumoured to have only stayed in a city for a
few decades before moving on. Always he
tried to keep to himself, and if failing
proclaimed himself a cousin to the Lancea
Sanctum. His journeys brought him to the
heart of the Venetian Republic and from
there to the coast of Spain and then to
England.
Ihram did not arrive in Manchester
until 1822, travelling from the city of
London. His appearance in Manchester was
simply put down to the influx of foreigners
from the Arabian world, and so he was
overlooked by the current leader of
Manchester Kindred, Cardinal Furlong.
However it soon became apparent that this
strange Gangrel was not just a foreigner, but
a true elder. The Cardinal offered Ihram
domain, which he politely refused, stating
his true desire was to further his studies of
the Blood and understand Allah better. The
Cardinal, though repulsed by the Islamic
faith, at least thought the this was at least
better than the foul teachings of the Crone.
It was only with the fall of the
Lancea Sanctum in Manchester that Ihram
was finally able to reveal his true nature. He
accepted the position of Constable from the
Chairman in 1947, realising that though he is
no politician that the current climate within
the Kindred of Manchester allows for
himself, and those like him within the Circle
of the Crone, to openly follow their own
faith.
Unlike other elder Crone Acolytes,
Ihram has remained alone in his studies,
rather than seeking to build a cult. He has
offered tuition to others on rare occasions,
and has acted as a councillor for the two
rival Crone cults. But there are those who
still think he has an agenda beyond seeking
Golconda.
Constable Ihram
Ellen Ling - The Lictor
Clan: Mekhet - Morbus
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1984
Resolve 4
Stamina 3
3, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Computer 2, Crafts (Forgery)
2, Investigation (Masquerade Breaches,
Kindred) 3
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Grapple)
4, Drive 3, Firearms (Pistol) 3, Larceny 3,
Stealth (Shadowing) 3, Weaponry (Stakes,
Tonfa) 3
Social
Skills:
Intimidation
(Physical
Intimidation, Torture) 3, Persuasion 2,
Streetwise (Manchester, Gangs) 3, Subterfuge
3
Merits: Contacts (Gangsters, Drug Dealers)
2, City Status (Manchester) 1, Covenant
Status (Carthian) 2, Fighting Finesse (Tonfa)
2, Fighting Style (Kung Fu) 3, Haven:
Location 1, Size 1, Security 3, Language
(Japanese) 1, Meditative Mind 1, Resources 2,
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Wrath
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 5
Speed: 13
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Auspex 3, Cachexy 3, Celerity 3,
Obfuscate 3, Vigor 2
Derangements: Bulimia
Diseases: HIV, Influenza, Herpes, Syphilis,
Gonorrhea, Chlamydia
Equipment: Tonfa – Damage 2(B), Size 2,
Durability 2, Defence +1 in close combat only
Appearance: Ellen Ling is typically dressed
in functional clothing. Dark military jackets,
combat boots and fitted clothing allows for
Ellen to conceal weapons such as stakes and
knives. She is very pale skinned and has
short cropped black hair that reveals her
almond shaped eyes, eyes that have been
tainted yellow by the plagues that infest her
body.
Ellen Ling was born in Bristol to a
wealthy family who made their money in the
electronics industry and banking. However,
Ellen took advantage of this life of luxury,
slumming it with the students and ravers,
taking drugs and injecting herself with
heroin. It was by this means that she
contracted AIDs, and was soon ostracized by
her family and friends for fear of catching
the disease.
Ellen’s life was one of squalor and so
she was a fitting meal for her sire, a foul
Kindred who had been infecting and
spreading the disease about the city. One
night in another warehouse rave Ellen was
attacked and left for dead, her sire put to
final death by the Kindred of the city while
her body was overlooked, her sires blood
spattered on her lips and giving her life.
It did not take long for Ellen to
realise the danger that she was in as she
spoke to independent vampires within the
city. It seemed only the Nosferatu had the
time for her, but even they did so out of
reluctance.
Ellen arrived in Manchester after
years of persecution by her own kind. In
Manchester hiding would be easier for her,
and over the next few years she dedicated
herself to training and defence, hunting only
those humans and Kindred that were riddled
with disease.
It soon became apparent to the
Chairman that Ellen was a desperate
creature and could be used for his benefit.
Soon enough Ellen was given sanctuary
within the city, only known to the Chairman
and the Constable. Her official position of
Lictor, the city assassin, was put into action
immediately, hunting down other virus
carrying Kindred, heretics and potential
revolutionaries.
Ellen Ling | The Lictor
The Carthians - A
Initiative: 6
Defence: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 5
3, Majesty 4, Obfuscate 3, Vigor 4
Republican Parliament
Prefect Simon Arken
Clan: Daeva
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1714
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
5, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (History, Law,
Linguistics) 4, Crafts 2, Investigation
(Carthian intrigue, Kindred) 3, Occult
(Carthian Rites) 2, Politics (Scandals, Bribery)
3
Physical Skills: Brawl (Clawing) 3, Drive 2,
Firearms (Rifle) 2, Larceny 3, Stealth (Streets,
Silent Movement) 3, Weaponry (Swords) 4
Intimidation
(Threats,
Blackmail)
4,
Persuasion (Speeches) 4, Streetwise 2,
Socialize (Elysium master, Bar Hopping)
Subterfuge 3
Merits: Contacts (City Councillors, News
Reporter, Land developers) 3, City Status
Status (Carthian) 4, Fighting Finesse (Sabre)
3, Haven: Location 3, Size 4, Security 4, Herd
3, Language (German, Spanish) 2, Resources
4, Retainer (Ghouled) 4
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Temperance
Vice: Gluttony
Health: 8
Appearance: Prefect Simon Arken is well
muscled man, obviously embraced for his
wealth and connections. He his ruddy faced,
moustached and has a prominent devils
peak hair line. He tends to wear fancy
clothing, cravats, spats and a smoking jacket.
Simon Arken is a keen observer and
commenter on Carthian politics and Elysium
functions. His awareness and organization of
the Covenant means that his word can easily
make or break the reputation of a member. It
is also his word within the Board of
Representatives that can cause large changes
for individual Kindred of the Covenant. For
these reasons the Prefect is a well respected
figure, but this position is not one that is
bought but gained through popularity and a
vote. For the last 70 years Simon Arken has
held the position of Prefect after the
Chairman stepped down from the position
as he assumed his role of head of the city.
Simon Arken comes from Oxford.
He was in line to inherit from a long line of
Lords but was instead embraced in a
moment of passion by Lady Elizabeth
Ashfall.
Embraced into the Invictus, Simon
tired of their out dated method of
governance and society. He had a desire to
leave the over bearing woman and
orchestrated her demise and final death at
the hands of her opponent within the
Invictus.
Fleeing to Manchester the Simon met
Williams and together with David Odans
they orchestrated the fall of the Lancea
Sanctum. Following the end of Cardinal
Furlong’s reign Williams and Arken
organized the first Caucus of the Carthians,
and with Odans the first government was
formed. Williams acknowledged Arken’s
ability to act as spokesman for the Carthians
and the elected elite, and so Arken began to
formalize and arrange the social events of
the Carthians of Manchester.
Over the years Arken has moved
from being a master of Elysium and Whip,
and taken the elected position of Prefect,
replacing Williams who formally took the
position of Chairman. It has been this
rearrangement of power that has led to the
current situation for the Carthians and the
Prefect.
Goals: Democracy
The Prefect now stands in the tricky
situation of either working for the Chairman
and ensuring the Carthian dominance of the
city, or instead upholding the ideals that
were formed over a hundred years ago so
that the Carthians do not collapse. Simon is
quite aware that there is a very vocal part of
Carthians who want to see the Chairman
removed as he is a dictator. So the Prefect
attempts to balance these issues, offering the
Chairman alternatives so that he can rule but
while still giving the impression of
democracy. However this has become more
difficult over recent years and so the Prefect
seeks to have the Chairman restricted,
removing some of his executive powers.
What They’ve Got
The Prefect of course does not
operate alone. His main allies are Patrick
Falken, a well respected member of the
Carthians and potential future Boardman or
Carthian figure of authority, Chamberlain
Odans, who carefully releases information to
the benefit of Carthians so that appropriate
action can be made to alleviate issues before
they occur. The Prefect also is helped by the
Myrmidon Duncanson, who acts as judge
and councillor to the Carthians and so is
privy to many of the issues the electorate
have with city and the Chairman and the
Board.
Opposing the Prefect are a small
number Kindred. The Prefect’s child, the
Spokesman Mathew Rain, is a constant thorn
in his side as Rain takes full advantage of the
power wielded by the Chairman. Arken also
must deal with the vocal anarch syndicates,
small groups of Kindred who fight for self
governance and a Communist state. Finally
there is Julia Reinhart, a rising Carthian who
argues that the Chairman and Board are a
corrupt elected minority that should instead
all be elected to power in a new
representative
parliament.
Prefect Simon Arken
Myrmidon Estabelle Duncanson
Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1774
Resolve 4
Stamina 3
5, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Classics, English,
Art) 4, Crafts (Forgery, Painting, Sculpting)
3, Investigation (Riddles, Artefacts) 3, Occult
(Kindred, Spirits, Cults) 4, Science 2
Larceny (Concealing stolen goods) 3, Stealth
(Shadowing, Crowds) 3, Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Empathy (Lies,
Motives) 3, Intimidation (Bluster) 2,
Persuasion 3, Socialize 3, Subterfuge (Cons,
Misdirection) 3
Merits: Contacts (Art dealers, Historian) 2,
Covenant Status (Carthian) 3, Haven:
(Greek, Latin) 2, Resources 4, Retainer
(Ghouled) 3, Unseen Sense 3
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Envy
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 4
Disciplines: Auspex 4, Celerity 3, Majesty 3,
Devotions: Husk (Carthians page 191),
Quicken Sight
Derangements: Obsessive Compulsion (she
must undo every button and button it again)
Appearance: Estabelle wears classic cuts,
almost Victorian in style. She wears bustle
skirts, jackets and lace. She has deposed of
using hats in order to look somewhat
modern. Estabelle has strawberry blonde
hair in ringlets and freckles. Her eyes are a
clear jade.
Estabelle is the daughter of a doctor,
and so was expected to marry a young
doctor or surgeon. Estabelle was raised in
Edinburgh and was able to have a well
rounded education. However, Ellen was also
something of a rebel and with her friends
engaged in dubious occult practices. In
particular she joined the cult of the Golden
Gate, worshippers of old Egyptian gods.
It was this link that led to her
embrace and she became part of the Invictus.
She organized her husband’s death so that
she would inherit his family’s wealth. But
ultimately their conservative practices led
her to leave the Covenant, and travelled to
York where she joined the Ordo Dracul for a
brief time. However, her views conflicted
with theirs and so her only choice was to
move on and join the Carthians of
Manchester.
Estabelle’s arrival in Manchester and
conversion to the new Carthians was seen as
proof of their philosophies. Estabelle initially
acted as an intermediary between the
Carthians and the Ordo Dracul and Circle of
the Crone. This eventually led to Estabelle
assuming the position of Myrmidon after the
last Kindred in the position met final death
at the hands of the Lancea Sanctum.
In the last 50 years Estabelle has
been busy ensuring that the Carthians
remain a stable organisation while furthering
her own personal research into the occult.
This has led to her uncovering a number of
mystery cults in Manchester, in particular
one that is based upon Mithraic rites. She is
also keenly aware of the Chairman’s own
research and that he is being overbearing
with his powers.
Ultimately the Myrmidon is seeking
to remove and replace the Chairman and the
Spokesman, potentially with high end
members of the Carthians or even the Ordo
Dracul.
Myrmidon Duncanson
Patrick Falken
Clan: Ventrue
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1836
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
3, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (British History,
Law) 3, Computer 3, Investigation (Business
Reports) 3, Science 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 3, Drive 2, Larceny
(Lock Picking) 3, Firearms 2
Social Skills: Empathy (Lies) 3, Intimidation
(Veiled Threats, Black Mail) 3, Persuasion 3,
Socialize (Bars, Old Boys Network) 3,
Subterfuge 4
Merits: Allies (Hacker) 1, Contacts
(Construction, PI, Hacker) 3, City Status
Status (Carthian) 2, Fresh Start 1, Haven:
Location 2, Size 3, Security 3, Inspiring 4,
Language (Latin, French) 2, Resources 4,
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Pride
Health: 8
Initiative: 6
Defence: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Auspex 1,
Dominate 3, Majesty 2, Vigor 2, Resilience 3
Devotions: Body of Will, Veridical Tongue
Derangements: Depression
Appearance: Patrick has is about 5’ 10’’ and
has short curly brown hair clipped short. He
always tends to wear suits when working or
he can be seen wearing more casual jackets
and polo neck shirts when at Elysium or not
working. He has very pinched features, grey
eyes and almost visible fangs. He is neither
slender or heavily built.
Patrick Falken was born in the early
Victorian period, brought up in the West
Country, his father was an influential
engineer and so Patrick was expected to go
to university and follow his father’s
profession. He was tutored at the
Manchester Mechanics Institute and it was
after his graduation he was picked out for
embrace by the Ventrue Caleb Amber, a
priest of the Lancea Sanctum. However
Caleb was amongst those who met Final
Death during the Carthian uprising, and so
Patrick was easily converted to the Carthian
cause and initially protected and instructed
by Jonathan Williams.
Patrick’s Ventrue urges to gather
power were tempered by the Chairman’s
need for a student who was capable of
comprehending the new sciences that were
emerging. Patrick was the Chairman’s eyes
onto this new world.
After 30 years under William’s wing
Patrick was considered a fully fledged
member of the Carthian society and he soon
gained a reputation for understanding and
manipulating the new industries that were
appearing in the city of Manchester. One of
these would be the computer.
Patrick Falken has made enemies of
a number of Kindred within the city, in
particular the Bishop Michael Kenner, his
grand sire who came to Manchester after the
death of the Cardinal. The Bishop has taken
great offence to Falken’s Carthian Atheist
agenda, especially due to the blood relation
that they share.
Patrick has one obvious weakness
that he keeps utter secrecy regarding, his
love for a mortal woman, Sophia Andrews.
Sophia is a doctor of humanities at the
university.
Patrick Falken
Julia Reinhart
Clan: Daeva - Toreador
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1956
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
3, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Art History,
Classics) 3, Crafts (Painting) 3, Investigation
(Art Forgeries) 2, Politics 2
Firearms 2, Larceny (Lock Picking, Safe
Cracking) 3, Stealth 2
(Black Mail) 2, Persuasion (Seduction) 3,
Socialize (Bars) 3, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Drug Dealers, Art Dealer) 2,
Contacts (Art Galleries, Historian, Forger) 3,
Covenant Status (Carthian) 2, Haven:
Location 2, Size 2, Security 3, Herd 3,
Resources 3, Retainer (Ghouled), Striking
Looks 4, Unseen Sight 3
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 6
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Gluttony
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 3
3, Majesty 3, Vigor 3
Devotions: Husk (Carthians book, page 191),
Quicken Sight
Derangements: Bulimia
Appearance: Julia is an average height and
slender, her hair an auburn red, her eyes an
unusual blue. She tends to wear modern
close fitting jackets and short skirts and
boots. She wears a pendant that has the
picture of her husband who died in the
army. Her face is calm and almost porcelain
like in complexion.
Julia was born in York to Irish
immigrants. She was brought up by her
grandmother and she has always had a sense
of the supernatural about her, her
grandmother helping her develop this family
trait.
She was eventually married off to a
army serviceman at the age of 17. While her
husband was away on service she
maintained the family business of running
the antique shop, and made quite a name for
herself and her keen eye for fakes and
originals. This eventually got the attention of
Max Neils who immediately was infatuated
with her. Over the next few years Julia bore a
child and her husband died in duty. Julia
was whisked away in her grief by Max, and
enamoured by her beauty in grief he
embraced her.
Julia relocated to Manchester to be
with her sire. She believed they were in love
but over the years this soon evaporated as
Max turned his attention to another interest.
Julia now is a prominent Harpy
within the Elysium of the city, and is
especially influential amongst the Carthian
neonates and those Kindred who are tired of
the current political situation.
Goals: Proportional Representation
Julia is the leader of a faction of
Carthians who have tired of the elder, elite
minority be in charge of the decisions made
for the city. Instead they want to see this
apparently elected board to be replaced by a
parliament where the members are elected to
represent new domains that would be setup.
This would allow for power to be distributed
evenly and for the neonates of the city to
have more of a voice.
To achieve this goal Julia would first
need to replace the current Prefect, and then
with the power of the majority of the other
Covenants, see the position of the Chairman
reduced to nothing but a figurehead and
arbiter in the parliament.
What They’ve Got
Julia leads a coterie of revolutionary
Carthians. The coterie includes the Gangrel,
Adam Leasonby, the Ventrue Mizuki Xin,
the Mekhet, David Walters, and the Lancea
Sanctum Daeva, Chris Godfrey.
So far Julia has support from about a
third of the Carthians and also support
within the Lancea Sanctum, however
without support within the other Covenants
she has little hope of pushing her agenda
forward. However, things may change if the
Invictus see the benefit of the supporting
these
troublesome
Carthians.
Julia Reinhart
Nails
Clan: Nosferatu
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1867
Apparent Age: Older than 50?
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
1, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Crafts (Engineering) 3,
Investigation (Architecture) 2, Occult
(Manchester, Hermetic Arts) 3, Politics 2
Physical Skills: Brawl (Night fighting) 4,
Larceny
(Lock
Picking)
3,
Stealth
(Shadowing, Move in Shadows) 4, Survival
(Underground) 3, Weaponry (Staff) 3
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Intimidation
(Stare Down) 3, Streetwise 3
Merits:
Contacts
(Health
Inspector,
Homeless Man) 2, City Status (Manchester)
2, Covenant Status (Carthian) 2, Haven:
Location 1, Size 1, Security 3, Resources 1,
Retainer (Ghouled Dogs) 1
Willpower: 7
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Wrath
Health: 8
Initiative: 6
Defence: 3
Speed: 13
Blood Potency: 4
Nightmare 4, Obfuscate 4, Vigor 3, Resilience
3
Devotions: Body of Will
Derangements: Paranoia
Appearance: Nails as he is known is tall and
stocky, his skin blotchy and scaly. His
clothes are of course tattered and his mouth
is almost always covered in dry gore.
Nails has been in the city of
Manchester since the turn of the century,
feeling here after the fall of the Carthians in
Nottingham. Nails was welcomed to the city
by the Chairman as they needed a vampire
of his kind capable of navigating the
underground canals and tunnels of
Manchester, to act as the Carthian voice of
the Nosferatu. Nails readily accepted.
Nails is a self claimed sheriff of the
undercity, giving domain to those Kindred
who sought safety in the tunnels, regardless
of Covenant. Nails is also one of the few
Kindred who has semi-frequent run ins with
the other types of denizens of the undercity,
such as the shambling men made of body
parts, the twisted wolf men, degenerate
sorcerers and skulking Fae creatures.
Priscus Bartholomew Kollins
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1722
Resolve 4
Stamina 5
3, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics (Battle Tactics) 2,
Investigation
3,
Medicine
(Makeshift
Treatments) 2, Politics 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 3 (Lifting Weights),
Brawl (Boxing) 3, Drive 3, Firearms (Rifles) 3,
Larceny (Pickpocket) 2, Stealth (Move
Silently) 2, Weaponry (Sword) 4
Social Skills: Animal Ken 3, Intimidation 4,
Socialize 2, Streetwise (Gangs) 2, Subterfuge
3
Merits: Barfly 1, Brawling Dodge 1, Contacts
(Police, Gangs) 3, City Status (Manchester) 4,
Clan Status 3, Covenant Status (Carthian) 3,
Fighting Style (Boxing) 4, Haven: Location 2,
Size 2, Security 2, Iron Stamina 3, Inspiring 4,
Language (German) 1, Resources 2, Retainer
(Ghouls, dogs and men) 3
Willpower: 8
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Justice
Vice: Greed
Health: 10
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 5
Disciplines: Animalism 4, Auspex 1, Protean
4, Vigor 4, Resilience 3
Devotions: Instantaneous Transformation,
Partial Transformation, Rhino’s Hide
(Carthians page 197)
Derangements: Narcissism, Sanguinary
Animism
Appearance: Bartholomew is grim looking,
unshaven, his head bearing a cropped mow
hawk. His eyes are like that of a wolf,
assessing his opponents and staring down
his lesser. He often adopts functional
clothing, such as a leather jacket, jeans and tshirt.
Kollins served in the British army
having been brought up in South Africa to a
family of farmers. It was during his time in
the army, serving in the American colonies.
It was here that he was on patrol. He was a
captain in charge of a platoon of men who
were hunted down by the native vampires of
the area. Bartholomew was lucky to escape,
but he was changed. He awoke the next
night thirsty and slaked his thirst on the
bodies of his injured men.
Kollins eventually found his way
back to the British Isles after a short period in
New England. It was there that he came to
meet others of his kind and he was taught
about his Kindred nature and his Gangrel
inheritance.
Returning to England Bartholomew
brought with him thoughts of revolution and
democracy. It was only in Manchester that
he found like minded Kindred, the Carthian
domain of Chairman Williams.
In modern nights Kollins acts as an
advisor to the Gangrel in general, acting as a
voice of reason while not patronizing like
those of the Clan who belong to other
Covenants. Also as Priscus, Kollins tries not
to interfere with the Requiems of his Clan.
Priscus Bartholomew Kollins
Kollins’ primary concern is one of
harmony with his own Beast. He knows that
this can only be achieved through testing
himself, yet not denying his own nature,
making Kollins seemed inhuman at times,
and more than human at others.
Additionally Kollins has no time for
fools, and is not above hunting other
Kindred in order to teach a lesson to these
ignorant vampires.
Kollins’ other role within the
Covenant is one of law enforcement, often
being called upon to organise security for
caucuses and Elysium. This often brings him
into conflict with the Constable and
Spokesman, but often he must bite his
tongue and accept that his position in such
matters is one of service not command.
Priscus Max Neils
Clan: Daeva - Toreador
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1811
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
5, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Philosophy) 3,
Crafts (Sculpture) 3, Investigation 4, Occult 3,
Politics (Bribery, Elections) 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 3, Drive 3, Firearms 2,
Larceny 3, Stealth (Silent Movement) 3,
Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Empathy (Lies, Motives) 3,
Expression (Acting, Opera) 3, Intimidation
(Scandals) 3, Persuasion (Seduction, Good
Listener) 4, Socialize (Bars) 3, Subterfuge
(Misdirection) 3
Merits: Allies (Prostitute, News Reporter) 2,
Ambidextrous 3, Contacts (City Councillor,
Club Owner) 2, City Status (Manchester) 3,
Clan Status 3, Covenant Status (Carthian) 4,
Fast Reflexes 2, Herd 3, Haven: Location 3,
Size 3, Security 2, Language (Latin, Spanish)
2, Resources 4, Retainer (Ghouled) 3, Striking
Looks 2
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Lust
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 4
3, Majesty 4, Vigor 2
Devotions: Husk
Derangements: Irrationality
Appearance: Max Neils has a slim figure,
olive complexion. His eyes are dark and
brooding and he only seems to give of any
other hint of emotion when he is performing
for his peers.
Max was born in northern Spain.
From an early age he was aware of things
beyond the human world as his father was
part of a cult of hedge wizards, and so Max
was able to sneak about to see their rituals
where he saw his mother participate in ritual
sex.
Max would never have a normal
outlook on life, always seeking the more
decadent experiences, ever more perverse
pleasures.
Max, through lots of effort, sacrifice
and bribery eventually landed a part in a
play in the local theatre, and it was here that
his career as an actor began. He even made
his way to Barcelona where he took part in
opera. It was here that Max met his sire to be,
the seductive Isabella. Over the course of a
number of months Isabella bent Max’s will to
her own, ghouling him and eventually
embracing him.
Initially a member of the ruling
Lancea Sanctum, simply due to his sire’s
affiliation, Max grew tired of their ways. He
disliked their veneration of Longinus and
their need to convert all Kindred to their
Priscus Max Neils
ways. Max had been taught to seethe world
differently to these God fearing vampires,
and he felt compelled to stand against their
crusade.
But the revolution never came, and
Max fled across the waters to England,
originally finding shelter in the domain of
Bristol before heading north to Manchester
where he joined the growing Carthian
Movement. That is not to say that his entry
to the domain of Manchester was not an easy
one, as members of the Lancea Sanctum
learned of his true identity and began a
witch hunt against him.
Max has always been one of the
strongest supporters of revolution and
progress of Kindred supporters. Through his
work Max rose through the ranks of the
Daeva, himself being a member of a
prominent
and
renowned
bloodline.
However this has brought him into direct
conflict with the Invictus Daeva elder,
Tabitha Gao, and Spokesman Rain.
Max is obsessive about theatre and is
currently involved in a intimate relationship
with
an
actor.
Priscus Lawrence Stewart
Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Carthian
Embrace: 1798
Resolve 3
Stamina 4
3, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics (Law, Philosophy,
European History) 4, Crafts (Forgery,
Watches) 3, Investigation (Books) 3, Occult
(Kindred, Ghosts) 3, Politics 1
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Drive 2, Firearms 2,
Larceny (Theft) 3, Stealth 4, Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Intimidation 3,
Persuasion 2, Streetwise (Fences) 2,
Subterfuge (Lying, Misdirection) 3
Merits: Allies (Book Dealer, Antique Dealer)
2, Contacts (Book Collector, Banker,
Historian) 3, City Status (Manchester) 2, Clan
Status 3, Covenant Status (Carthian) 4,
Disarm 2, Eidetic Memory 2, Haven:
(Latin, French, Arabic, Italian) 4, Resources 3,
Willpower: 7
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Envy
Health: 9
Initiative: 8
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 5
3, Obfuscate 4
Devotions: Cleansing Impression (Carthians
page 192), Message in a Bottle (Carthians
page 191), Quicken Sight
Derangements:
Irrationality,
Obsessive
Compulsion
Appearance: Lawrence is 5’ 7’’, unkempt
hair, worn clothes and glasses. He has
stubble and dark rings around his eyes. He is
often seen carrying a suitcase filled with
papers and books.
Lawrence was born in Cambridge.
His father was a stone mason and was
brought up with the expectation that he
would follow the same trade. However this
did not happen, as Lawrence found his
calling as a watch maker. But he did get
introduced to the local Masonic lodge. It was
through his involvement here and his knack
for understanding the esoterical, Lawrence
rose through the ranks of the lodge and came
to the attention of the Mekhet Invictus
Kindred, Gael Richter. Gael was a French
occultist and acted as the local Prince’s seer
and advisor. But with the age of new
sciences Gael needed a new student and a
person that could help Gael’s understanding
of the world that was coming into being.
Lawrence was embraced in a
traditional Invictus ritual, and followed his
sire in his research of the Kindred condition,
joining the Invictus Cambridge Guild of the
Esoteric Arts. They adopted methods more
akin to Hermetic arts, leading to conflict with
members of the Lancea Sanctum.
However, Lawrence could not stand
the stifling environment maintained by the
Invictus. He had higher ideals than just
power, and it took the betrayal of his sire to
Priscus Lawrence Stewart
the Lancea Sanctum to seal Lawrence’s
desire to leave Cambridge and the Covenant.
Lawrence fled to Manchester, on the
trail of the work of John Dee, and discovered
that the Carthians had already taken over the
domain. Lawrence presented himself to the
fledgling government and over the course of
a decade him was accepted into the ranks of
the Carthians.
Over
the
following
decades
Lawrence gained the respect of the other
Kindred in the Covenant, particularly those
interested in the occult, as Lawrence started
a form of guild devoted to the Hermetic arts.
Thus Lawrence became the head of a small
cadre of Carthians dedicated to investigating
the supernatural. This group evolved into
the more modern PPI (Paranormal
Phenomena Investigation bureau).
His position as head of the PPI has
led to Lawrence attaining the position of
Mekhet Priscus, primarily due to his crossCovenant presentations on matters of the
supernatural. However, this position has led
to very open conflict with those Kindred of
the Ordo Dracul, the Lancea Sanctum and
the Circle of the Crone. But these troubles
pale in comparison to the outright warfare
that would occur between these Covenants.
Due to the potential conflict with his
enemies in other Covenants, and with other
entities that inhabit the city, Lawrence
maintains a low profile, holding infrequent
gatherings of the Clan, with most
communications operating by a pyramid
system.
More recently Lawrence acquired a
sizable portion of the Ordo Dracul library
after their chapter house was eliminated
after the failed coup during the Poll Tax
Riots. Lawrence is aware that there are many
Kindred who would seek to obtain the
information contained within these texts, be
it historical reports, snippets of information
regarding disciplines and the Coils, and the
location of potential Dragon Nests.
The Circle of the Crone The Cults of Cernunnos
and Hathor
Magus Gregor
Clan: Nosferatu
Embrace: 34 BC – maybe?
Apparent Age: Ancient
Resolve 5
Stamina 4
2, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics (Roman History,
Celtic Mythology) 4, Crafts (Wood Carving)
4, Investigation 3, Medicine 3, Occult
(Kindred, Spirits, Ghosts, Werewolves,
Demons) 5
Physical Skills: Brawl 4, Stealth 4, Survival
(Woodland) 3, Weaponry 3
Social Skills: Animal Ken 3, Expression
(Oration) 4, Intimidation (Stare down) 4,
Subterfuge 3
Merits: Allies (Human Cultist) 1, Altar 2,
Contacts
(Werewolf,
Paranormal
Investigator) 2, City Status (Manchester) 4,
Clan Status 4, Covenant Status (Circle of the
Crone) 4, Haven: Location 1, Size 2, Security
4, Language (Latin, Celtic, Norse, French) 4,
Resources 1, Retainer (Ghouled) 4, Temple 4
Willpower: 9
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Pride
Health: 9
Initiative: 8
Defence: 4
Speed: 14
Blood Potency: 6
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Auspex 4, Cruác
5, Dominate 3, Majesty 3, Obfuscate 4, Vigor
3, Resilience 3
Cruác Sorcery Rituals: Rigor Mortis (1),
Taste of Knowledge (1, Circle of the Crone
page 204), Cheval (2) , Imperious Call (2,
Circle of the Crone page 201), The Hydra’s
Vitae (2), Maiden Skin (2, Circle of the Crone
page 205), Succulent Buboes (2, Circle of the
Crone page 206), Beloved Deodand (3, Circle
of the Crone page 206), The Metamorphosis
of Spilt Blood (3, Circle of the Crone page
42),Rain (3, Circle of the Crone page 207),
Servant from the Hidden Realms (3, Circle of
the Crone page 201), Veiled Curse (3, Circle
of the Crone page 202), Blood Price (4), A
Child from the Stones (5, Circle of the Crone
page 209), Feeding the Crone (5)
Devotions: Arcane Sight, Veridical Tongue
Derangements: Paranoia, Vocalization
Appearance: The Nosferatu known as
Magus Gregor is a foul looking creature,
with lipless teeth, a pointed nose, bright
green eyes and sallow taught skin, blotchy
with dark veins showing. His head is
covered in a few strands of grey hair that are
matted against his scalp.
Gregor is largely a little known elder
of the Circle of the Crone. What is known
comes from those few other elders that have
Magus Gregor
also been awake during the same periods as
Gregor.
Gregor is known to be at least 1000
years old, perhaps more, and if his own tales
are to believed, then Gregor could well be
one of the oldest Kindred to exist in
Manchester, even in the entire of the British
Isles. Gregor Has been found referred to in
the tomes maintained by the Lancea Sanctum
and the Invictus, and has been seen almost
all over Britain.
What is known (well recorded) is
that Gregor is one of the Brigante tribe that
existed in the Manchester area when the
Romans arrived. Gregor was embraced
before their arrival and was one of the tribal
priests who attended to the dead. He fed on
the blood of their dead and dying and was
considered to be one of their gods.
Gregor has been documented having
a role in various periods of the Dark Ages,
and then was not seen for almost 200 years
and then documented during the Tudor
period, in particular coming into conflict
with those Kindred who were following the
Hermetic teachings of John Dee. These
Kindred would go on to join the group that
would form the Ordo Dracul.
After spreading his teachings
amongst those Acolytes, Gregor returned to
torpor to once more to hide from those of the
Lancea who would hunt him down. Gregor
would then next return to Manchester in the
1600s where he once more guided the
Acolytes of the city, redirecting them in their
study, and also ending their current schism
and infighting.
Gregor only returned to activity
during the last 30 years. His return to the
Acolytes came with the renewed interest in
other faiths and philosophies. It also came in
time to see the Ordo Dracul fall from a
position from power within the city while
the Crone themselves were enjoying the
openness the rule of the Carthian Chairman
allowed. This has led to many conflicts with
the Lancea Sanctum, and so Gregor often
acts as the spiritual leader of the Acolytes,
instead allowing for one of his students to sit
on the board as his political representative.
More recently Gregor has become
more aware of a growing issue within the
city, the madness of the spirits and the
gathering of the dark entities that he has not
seen since the days of Rome, the Strix. He
fears their gathering numbers in the city.
Gregor has always been aware of the
importance of Manchester and the curious
network of ley lines that spread like a spider
web across the city. But Gregor is also aware
that over time these lines have moved and
have been broken. And worse, in Gregor’s
long sleep he has heard the dreams of
whatever it is that exist within the city, ready
to awake.
Haruspex Michelle Quinn
Clan: Gangrel
Embrace: 1826
Resolve 4
Stamina 4
3, Composure 5
Mental Skills: Academics (Theology,
Mathematics) 3, Investigation (Enigmas) 2,
Occult (Kindred, Scrying, Spirits) 4, Science 2
Physical Skills: Brawl (Blind Fighting) 2,
Stealth (Move Silently) 2, Survival 2
Social Skills: Empathy (Lies, Motives) 4,
Expression 3, Intimidation (Stare down) 3,
Persuasion 2, Socialize 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Cult) 3, Altar 1, Contacts
(Bookshop, Hedge Witch) 2, City Status
Status (Circle of the Crone) 3, Danger Sense
3, Inspiring 4, Language (Latin, Norse,
Celtic) 3, Meditative Mind 1, Resources 4,
Retainer (Ghouled) 2, Unseen Sense 3
Willpower: 9
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Hope
Vice: Sloth
Health: 9
Initiative: 8
Defence: 3 (0 due to blindness)
Speed: 9
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Auspex 5, Cruác
4, Majesty 2, Protean 4, Resilience 3
Cruác Sorcery Rituals: Drops of Destiny (1,
Circle of the Crone page 204), Taste of
Knowledge (1, Circle of the Crone page 204),
Cheval (2) , Imperious Call (2, Circle of the
Crone page 201), The Hydra’s Vitae (2),
Maiden Skin (2, Circle of the Crone page
205), Succulent Buboes (2, Circle of the Crone
page 206), Beloved Deodand (3, Circle of the
Crone page 206), The Metamorphosis of Spilt
Blood (3, Circle of the Crone page 42), Touch
of the Morrigan (3), Servant from the Hidden
Realms (3, Circle of the Crone page 201),
Taste of Destiny (3, Circle of the Crone page
207), Blood Price (4)
Devotions: Arcane Sight
Derangements:
Obsessive
Compulsion,
Vocalization
Physical Flaw: Blindness (-2 dice to all rolls
relying on sight)
Appearance: Michelle is a slender pale
woman, often seen robed into pale blue
dresses. She is blind and so in public (and
she often does not leave her haven) wears
shades and carries a walking cane. However,
in her role of Haruspex, she often appears
naked except for the ritual purple robes she
wears as a member of the cult of Hathor. She
has red hair that fall in curls onto her
shoulders.
Michelle Quinn was born in
Sheffield, the daughter of steel workers.
From an early age she was able to see the
spirits of the world around her. The
lumbering, sooty machine spirits of the
factories, the cackling red-eyed fiends of hate
and malice, the sensual and glistening
entities of lust. The spirits knew that she
could see them and plagued her dreams and
then her waking hours.
Michelle then heard the spirits of
envy, the green nebulous sprits, filling her
father’s head with cruel words, making him
paranoid and protective of his wife. He
Haruspex Michelle Quinn
raged against those that looked at Michelle’s
mother in any manner not to his liking. And
although Michelle tried to calm her father all
she could do was look on as the spirits drove
her father mad.
Then one night in a fit of rage her
father took a pair of scissors to her mother,
slashing her throat and then turned on
Michelle, gouging out her eyes. Her father
then slit his own throat.
Michelle, now blind was taken in by
the workhouse, and though blind she could
still hear the chattering of the spirits. She was
considered by others as a seer, capable of
seeing the true nature of others and what
urges directed them, or would soon
dominate their lives. It was these abilities
that drew the attention of the Circle of the
Crone and her sire, the Richard Mortin.
Michelle quickly gained a reputation
amongst her Covenant, developed her
abilities to shapeshift into forms that have
greater senses. Her use of disciplines allowed
her new senses, able to read thoughts, leave
her body and even ride the senses of others.
So Michelle became the city
Haruspex, guiding the Acolytes with her
visions and interpretation of the things the
spirits would whisper to her, became a
prominent figure, and one targeted by the
Lancea Sanctum of the domain.
Fleeing Sheffield Michelle was
arrived in Manchester, offered refuge by
David Odans. However, she found her place
amongst the cult of Cernunnos, aiding the
interim Hierophant, the Vala, Caleb Fallen.
In modern nights Michelle is a
respected elder of the cult, with a troupe of
Adhvaryu, attendants, who aid her in her
rituals and act as her eyes, ears and teeth.
Vala Desdemona
Clan: Daeva
Embrace: 1924
Apparent Age: Mid teens
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
4, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Egyptian History,
Classics)
3,
Investigation
(Egyptian
Artefacts) 3, Occult (Egyptian Lore, Kindred
Lore) 3, Politics 2
Physical Skills: Athletics (Ballet) 3, Brawl 2,
Larceny 3, Stealth 2, Weaponry (Sword) 3
Social Skills: Empathy (Counselling) 3,
Expression (Singing) 3, Intimidation (Veiled
Threats) 2, Persuasion (Inspiring Speeches,
Seduction) 3, Socialize (Bars, Balls, Formal
Events) 3, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Cult leader, High Society) 2,
Altar 2, Contacts (Drug Dealer, Theatre
Owner) 2, City Status (Manchester) 3, Clan
Status 2, Covenant Status (Circle of the
Crone) 3, Fast Reflexes 2, Haven: Location 4,
Size 4, Security 3, Herd 4, Language
(Egyptian, Greek, Latin) 3, Resources 4,
Retainer (Ghouled) 2, Striking Looks 4,
Temple 2
Willpower: 4
Humanity: 6
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Wrath
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 4
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Auspex 2, Celerity 3, Cruác 3,
Dominate 3, Majesty 4, Vigor 2
Circle of the Crone page 204), Fires of
Inspiration (1, Circle of the Crone page 204),
Pangs of Proserpina (1), Cheval (2),
Imperious Call (2, Circle of the Crone page
201), Maiden Skin (2, Circle of the Crone
page 205), Soul’s Work (2, Circle of the Crone
206), Final Service of the Slave (3, Circle of
the Crone page 206), The Metamorphosis of
Spilt Blood (3, Circle of the Crone page 42),
Tiamat’s Offspring (3, Circle of the Crone
207), Touch of the Morrigan (3), Servant from
the Hidden Realms (3, Circle of the Crone
page 201)
Devotions: Arcane Sight, Quicken Sight
Derangements: Manic-Depression
Appearance: Desdemona is a small petite
girl, almost Lolita, with dark long hair that
hangs down her back, almond shaped eyes,
and pale skin. She tends to wear flattering
dresses, some very expensive, and her
makeup is also exceptionally striking. In her
role of Vala, a priestess of the Kindred cult of
Hathor, Desdemona is often seen naked
during rituals, wearing simple sheer gowns,
and jewellery and headdresses that are
appropriate for her spiritual role. Her back is
adorned with a tattoo of hieroglyphs.
Desdemona was born in New York.
Her father was a pianist and her mother a
cellist, and they were committed to bringing
their daughter up as a dancer, just as her two
older sisters were. Desdemona, or Cloe as
Vala Desdemona
she was known then, was a dedicated
student of ballet, but she also sought the
darker attractions of Coney Island. It was
through her friendship with the other
teenagers that frequented the island that she
came into contact with a group of teenagers
who were dabbling with the occult. Tarot
cards, Ouija boards, anything that they could
get their hands on. This eventually began to
focus on the mysteries of Egypt following the
uncovering more tombs in the desert.
Cloe still practiced ballet, attending
practice and getting roles on Broadway
theatre. However, she soon came to the
attention of the Daeva Harpy, Vernon Reade,
a theatre goer and gangster. He became
obsessed with Cloe, in love with her. But her
embrace would lead to tragedy, with Cloe
killing her family in a fit of frenzy, and
eventually Vernon became bored with her.
Cloe was struck with despair and
found herself looking for meaning to her life
with the very things that she had toyed with,
and so she found her way into the Circle of
the Crone, travelling to London to escape her
past and to discover more about the
vampiric condition and the lore of the
Egyptians. This of course brought her into
conflict with those elder vampires of the Old
World, and especially those members of the
Lancea Sanctum as she began to question the
very origin of the rituals of Theban sorcery.
Hunted
and persecuted Cloe
escaped to Manchester, finding the Circle of
Crone weak but growing as both mortals and
Kindred seek to find other answers in the
post war period. Together with the
Chamberlain, Desdemona, as she had
become known, founded the Cult of Hathor,
and acted to protect the other members of
the Circle of the Crone while supporting the
religious freedom advocated by the
Carthians.
However, Desdemona’s dominance
over the other members of the Covenant
came to the end with the re-emergence of
Magus Gregor, bringing the Cult of Hathor
into direct competition with the Cult of
Cernunnos.
Desdemona currently is the head of
the Cult of Hathor, acting as their spiritual
leader. She maintains the appearance of
difference to the elder Magus Gregor, but
does not accept his teachings, thinking them
to be flawed, even incorrect, and she has
often clashed with him on spiritual matters.
But this never stops the two working in
union when threatened by the Sanctified or
the Ordo Dracul, or even Belial’s Brood.
Ultimately Desdemona’s goal is to retake
command of the Circle of the Crone and
eliminating other cults.
The Invictus - A Tale of
Two Domains
The Advisor, the Good Alder Lady,
Natalia Kerkoft, Viscountess of South
Language (Russian, German, Italian) 3,
Resources 5, Retainer (Ghouled) 4, Torpor
Connection 3
Willpower: 7
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Temperance
Vice: Pride
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 13
Blood Potency: 7
Dominate 5, Majesty 2, Obfuscate 3, Vigor 4,
Resilience 3
Devotions: Body of Will, Veridical Tongue,
The Message (Lords Over the Damned page
109)
Derangements: Hysteria (Rubies), Suspicion
Manchester
Clan: Ventrue
Covenant: Invictus
Embrace: 1664
Resolve 5
Stamina 3
3, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics (European
History, Russian History) 3, Investigation 3,
Politics (Bribery, Intrigue, Scandals) 4
Physical Skills: Brawl 3, Drive 3, Firearms
(Rifle) 2, Stealth 3, Survival (Cold Climates)
2, Weaponry (Swords) 3
Social Skills: Animal Ken (Wolves, Dogs) 3,
Empathy (Motives) 4, Intimidation (Black
Mail, Torture) 4, Persuasion 3, Socialize
(Balls, Formal Events) 4, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Allies (City Hall Planning,
Environmental Health Office) 2, Contacts
(Construction,
News
Paper
Editor,
Councillor, Banking, Police Inspector) 5, City
Status (Manchester) 4, Clan Status 4,
Covenant Status (Invictus) 4, Fighting Style:
Two Weapons 4, Haven: Location 5, Size 5,
Security 4, Herd 3, House Membership 3,
Appearance: Natalia is tall and European
looking, with red hair, green eyes, a heart
shaped face, and a voluptuous body. She
tends to dress in formal dresses, but with a
modern twist. She favours natural materials,
and has a number of leather boots and furs
to wear. She also wears a locket which
contains the picture of her dead lover.
Natalia was the daughter of a
courtesan of the Russian Tsar. Her father was
a provincial Boyar. She was born at the start
of the Romanov rule over Russia, and during
this time and her father served in one of the
80 government departments.
Russia continued to grow and her
father’s wealth increased and Natalia, his
Lady Kerkoft
only daughter, was to be married at the age
of 18. Her marriage was to be one of
convenience and would bring more power to
her father. And for this reason the Ventrue
lord, Semyon, embraced her. He could see
the influence that she would have over her
husband, and so after their first 5 years of
marriage Semyon made her one of the
Kindred.
Over time Natalia would disappear
from court, her husband growing old and
then dying of an unknown illness. She would
ghoul her own grand children and assume
the position of a relative, always
manipulating the family so that they
followed the goals of the Ventrue. But of
course this would not continue forever.
The formation of the Russian Holy
Synod brought mortal inquisitors and
hunters, and the Kindred of Moscow hid in
the dark belly of the city from these fire
brandishing hunters. Natalia fled, her sire
using her as bait for the hunters. She escaped
their torches and stakes and went west, and
arrived in Vienna, Austria.
The Hapsburg family still held
power over Austria, and the Empress Maria
Theresa still ruled. Here there was safety
from hunters, deep in the heart of Europe. It
was also here that Natalia as a member of the
Invictus, made enemies of Ordo Dracul who
claimed domain in the city of Vienna, and it
was here, as one of the few ancillae. The
Thirty Year’s War has come and gone,
leaving the Covenants split and many
Kindred elders dead. Many Invictus had
died during the conflict and so Natalia was
welcomed to the city. However she was also
seen as potential trouble to the grow Ordo
Dracul of the city. One act of particular note
was Natalia’s own investigation and
elimination of those Dragons who sought to
influence the Austrian princess destined to
be the French Dauphine.
Natalia followed the Dauphine to
France and into the heart of the old and
twisted courts of the Kindred of Versailles.
These
Invictus
were
decadent
and
debauched, involved in bloody orgies and
oblivious to the growing resentment
amongst the neonates of Paris. Natalia could
sense history about to repeat itself. Though
this time it would the difference of power,
not religion, which would fuel these rebels
and their revolution.
Natalia, sickened by the elders of the
French court, sought to gather more militant
members of the Invictus in order protect the
elders while rooting out the weak and
feeding them to the anarchs. If the Maria
Antoinette had said “Let them eat cake”,
then the anarch neonates could have their
cake too. But at the same time Natalia
wished to see the French royal family
remain.
It
would
require
careful
manipulation. But it failed.
Natalia fled France as the revolution
took hold, her plans had been undone and
turned against her. The fires of revolt had
been let loose without guidance. She crossed
the waters to England and to the North.
In Manchester she found the Diocese
of Salford at the height of its power. Cardinal
James Furlong held dominance over the
domain and the Lancea Sanctum but as a low
ancillae of the city and the Invictus Natalia
could once more see the signs of revolution.
This time her plans for power would not fail.
She acted in secret and quietly. She
understood how the Ordo Dracul operated
after her time in Vienna and through them
she fed the anarchs the information they
needed. Homes, names, weaknesses.
On the night of Ascension in 1839
Natalia looked on as her plan came to
fruition. The Lancea Sanctum fell, with the
Invictus ready to move in. But something
happened they did not expect. The anarchs
got organized. Rather than descending into
infighting and petty squabbles these anarchs
had a plan. Dumbstruck, and unable to
mobilize quick enough, Natalia just sat back
and watched these Carthians claim the city
with their Dragon and Acolyte allies.
Over the following 100 years Natalia
has worked with this new Kindred
government, trying to work with the
democratic republic that has sprung up.
Initially the Invictus were quickly out
manoeuvred, only claiming one seat, but as
the years rolled by, and neonates became
ancillae, and ancillae became elders, Natalia
was able to cultivate more influence, and
was able to claim one or two of the Priscus
seats.
Goals: Imperial Rule
Natalia simply wants to replace the
entire democracy with a new Imperial
Invictus government. She is completely
aware that the old days of fiefs and
kingdoms are over and that the only way to
return to anything close to that form of rule
is to subvert the current model. Such a play
for power requires a number of things to
happen first. The very idea of democracy
must be shown to be a falsehood. For this to
come to light the Board of Representatives
should be shown to be nothing more than a
bunch of corrupt officials, or worse, puppets
of the Chairman. In addition the system
needs to be shown as weak, and that
democracy and the red tape associated with
it need to be exposed as hindering the
protection of the Kindred of the city.
What They’ve Got
Natalia has allies amongst the
Lancea Sanctum who seek to reclaim lost
glory, and those amongst the Ordo Dracul
who want to be allowed back into the city.
Then there are those Carthians, so tired with
their dreams being manipulated and abused,
that they wish to tear down the government
in the hope of replacing it with something
greater. Natalia just gives them the tools to
do the first bit.
This of course would all be so much
easier if Natalia had total dominance over
the Invictus of the city. But instead she must
compete with the Ventrue Priscus, Judex
Hawkins. In a clever move the Chairman
granted the Invictus a new domain to the
north of the city, granting it to the Judex, and
so splitting the Invictus in two.
Natalia also has to deal with the
Japanese vampire Shironawa Tetsuro.
Tetsuro is a Nosferatu of the Burakumin
bloodline, and he came into conflict with
Natalia in the 1860s in Japan. Natalia had a
vested interest in seeing the fall of the
Shogunate Japan and making money from
the new regime. Tetsuro of course was an
agent of the local Kindred population and
also the head of the vampire Ninja that
worked to ensure the stability of the
vampiric Shogunate empire. Natalia struck
out at Tetsuro, eliminating the one thing that
was of importance to him, his mortal legacy.
In a single night Tetsuro’s family were
murdered, declared traitors and their graves
desecrated.
Tetsuro would have his revenge in
during the 80s, when he orchestrated the
murder of Natalia’s mortal lover. Ever since
then Natalia and Tetsuro have been bitter
enemies, with Tetsuro now residing in the
city and benefitting from the protection of
the Chairman while only being an unaligned
vampire.
Natalia is also in near constant
conflict with Max Neils, as both wage war in
the field of media and news.
Natalia Kerkoft’s full title is The
Advisor, the Good Alder Lady Natalia
Kerkoft, Viscountess of South Manchester.
She is the formal head and representative of
the Invictus and is also the head of the Inner
Circle and is Meister of the Guild of
Advisors, a sort of political training
collective for her Invictus students.
Lady Kerkoft
The Advisor, the Good Lord, Judex
Peter Hawkins, Viscount of the North
Blood Potency: 5
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Celerity 3,
Dominate 4, Majesty 3, Vigor 3
Devotions: Hounds of Blood (Lords Over
the Damned – Ventrue page 110), The
Knights Example (Invictus page 213),
Veridical Tongue
Derangements: Bulimia, Inferiority Complex
of Manchester
Clan: Ventrue
Covenant: Invictus
Embrace: 1673
Resolve 4
Stamina 3
5, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Poetry, Classics)
4, Crafts 2, Investigation 3, Politics (Kindred,
Invictus) 4
Physical Skills: Brawl (Dirty fighting) 3,
Drive 3, Firearms (Rifles) 3, Stealth
(Buildings) 3, Weaponry 4
Social Skills: Empathy 3, Expression
(Oration) 3, Intimidation (Black Mail) 3,
Persuasion (Bribery, Seduction) 4, Socialize 4,
Streetwise (Drug Dealers) 3, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Drug Dealer, Gangster, Law
Firm Partner) 3, Contacts (Black Market,
Photographer) 2, City Status (Manchester) 4,
Clan Status 4, Covenant Status (Invictus) 3,
Disarm 2, Fighting Style: Two Weapons 4,
Haven: Location 3, House Membership
(Invictus page 187) 3, Size 4, Security 3,
Language (Latin, Spanish) 2, Resources 4,
Retainer (Ghouled) 3, Speaker for the
Eclipsed
(Invictus
page
188),Torpor
Connection 3 (Invictus page 187)
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 6
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Sloth
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 4
Speed: 12
Appearance: Peter is boyish looking,
standing only 5’ 8’’, with choppy fashionable
hair. He is handsome and looks like he
should be a member of the Daeva. He tends
to wear clothes so that he fits in with the
latest trends. He also wears a wedding ring
and has a brand on his right shoulder.
Peter was born in England, the son
of a Lord and so was involved in high
society. He was an expert manipulator of his
family’s finances and influence in court. But
first Peter and his family had to suffer under
the rule of Cromwell and his Reformation.
The Hawkins family had always been loyal
to the monarchy, and with the restoration of
the royal family Peter became and common
face in the court of Charles II.
His embrace, another low noble,
began to mentor him, and Peter became
more and more prominent in court, but then
his sire orchestrated his downfall. Peter was
cast out of court after being found in
possession of material considered traitorous.
But his sire to be offered him a way out,
power to alter his fate. And so Peter accepted
the Embrace and joined the Ventrue and the
Invictus. But in doing so Peter also murdered
his wife, draining her.
Since those days Peter eventually left
the city of London and headed to Reading
and there explored his vampiric nature. He
looked on as Charles II attempted to bring
Catholicism back to Britain, and during that
time faced the growing might of the Lancea
Sanctum. In time Charles was succeeded by
James II and then by Anne and the George I.
For a short period he journeyed to the
colonies in the Americas before returning to
England and to Oxford, joining the court
there and obtaining a position as Meister of
the Guild of Arts and obtaining a seat on the
Inner Circle of the Primogen.
Peter’s exodus from Oxford in 1865
was in response the changes taking place in
Manchester, with the Ventrue lord, and head
of the Invictus, Lady Margret Moore,
offering Peter a position within the city.
Peter accepted the offer and relocated to
Manchester, the Lady having already gained
the allegiance of Natalia Kerkoft.
Peter over the next few decades
gained the trust of Moore and became her
successor to her House while she entered
torpor, while Natalia set about establishing
her own house.
In recent years Peter has taken to
making use of both the Invictus political
structure and the Carthian Republican
Democracy. Peter is aware that both offer the
illusion of power to those below the
Chairman, the Board of Representatives and
the Inner Circle and it was here that he
caught the attention of his future mentor.
In recent years Peter has taken
charge of the Moor House and grown in
power to rival Kerkoft. More importantly, in
recognition of his position and little respect
he holds for the Carthian Board, Peter has
been given rights to his own domain. This he
gladly accepted as it was an obvious snub to
Kerkoft and also cemented his position as the
Ventrue Priscus, as this acceptance allowed
him to gain the trust and support of those
Carthian and Crone Ventrue.
Peter for the moment is more than
happy to see the status quo maintained, even
going as far to allow the current democracy
of the city fall into tyranny and effectively
Invictus control. Peter happily supports the
actions of the Chairman, but is also keen to
help their Carthian ideals just to antagonize
Kerkoft. Ultimately Peter wishes to see
Invictus control but his alone.
To facilitate his role as Priscus, and
that of professional judge, the Judex, Peter is
often welcoming and polite to all who attend
his court and come before the Board. He is
keen to win over the hearts and minds of the
city
and
take
control
quietly.
JUDEX Hawkins
Councillor, Lady Tabitha Gao,
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Celerity 2,
Dominate 3, Majesty 4, Ortam 5 (Bloodlines:
the Legendary)
Derangements: Hysteria, Paranoia
Favoured Scent: Virtuous men
Meister of Harpies, Meister of the
Guilkan
Clan: Daeva – Gulikan (Bloodlines: the
Legendary)
Covenant: Invictus
Embrace: 1734
Resolve 3
Stamina 2
5, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2,
Crafts 2, Investigation (Court Intrigue) 3,
Medicine (Natural Remedies) 3, Occult 2,
Politics 4, Science (Herbalist) 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 3, Larceny 3, Stealth
(Hide in Crowds) 3, Weaponry 2
Social Skills: Empathy (Emotion, Lies) 4,
Expression
(Singing,
Speeches)
3,
Intimidation (Veiled Threats) 4, Persuasion
(Satire, Seduction) 3, Socialize (Bars, Dress
Balls) 4, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Club Owner, Gossip
Columnist) 2, Contacts (Newspaper Editor,
Pimp) 3, City Status (Manchester) 3, Clan
Status 3, Covenant Status (Invictus) 2,
Haven: Location 4, Size 4, Security 4, Herd 4,
House Membership (Invictus page 187) 4,
Language (Latin, Arabic, Hebrew) 3,
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 6
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Envy
Health: 7
Initiative: 6
Defence: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 4
Appearance: Tabitha is tall, at least 6 foot
tall, and is slender and tanned. Not
surprising as she has Asian heritage. She has
long black straight hair, almond shaped eyes
and long nails, almost talons. She tends to
wear simple gowns that are adorned with
lots of gold and precious stones. However,
what is curious, is that some may consider
her beautiful, but not beautiful enough for
Daeva standards. But then she is not just a
Daeva, but a Guilkan, a Daeva bloodline
more obsessed with scents that looks.
Tabitha was born to a master
jeweller in Iran. She was expected to be
married off to a wealthy husband, but her
father was also keen for her to be well
educated so that she would be an assest to
her husband and their joined families.
The wedding, on her 17th birthday,
was a success and the marriage was a
pleasant one. That was until she was picked
out in a crowd by her sire to be, Hilal. It was
in the packed bizarre that Hilal found her
scent and followed her. Over the coming
months he watched her, befriended her, gave
her perfumes and gifts. Tabitha, then known
as Siata, fell for Hilal’s charms, and more
importantly his vampiric attraction.
Tabitha fell completely for Hilal,
becoming his student and mortal aide, and
once they had fled her home city she was
prepared for her embrace.
For the next few decades Tabitha
stayed close to her sire, travelling to Istanbul,
Baghdad, Cairo and India. It was at height of
the industrial that Siata completed her
training and made her way to England and
the heart of industry where she could gain
an understanding of the new chemical
techniques being used, and also find her own
domain. She travelled to Manchester and
was welcomed by the local Invictus and
Carthians, but she was careful to hide her
heritage and bloodline.
During her time in Manchester
Tabitha has slowly established her own
house but has only revealed her lineage to
only a couple of students, her own secret
guild of the Gulikan.
Within the Invictus Tabitha is a
respected Harpy. Her connections and
appeal with all Kindred meant that she was a
natural choice for the position of Head of
Elysium and Spokesman, but after 30 years
she stood down as she accepted the title of
Lady and Councillor on the Invictus Inner
Circle. Since then she has been a constant
frustration to the current Spokesman, and
happily sits on the sidelines watching
Kerkoft and Hawkins attempts to outmanouver each other. All the while Tabitha
is simply watching for the moment to strike
while gaining the respect of the bored and
disenfranchised Invictus and Carthians.
Tabitha is more wary of the Crone
Acolytes, the priests of the Lancea Sanctum,
and more importantly the Ordo Dracul, who
all have a greater grasp on the intricacies of
blood
sorcery.
Lady Gao
Councillor, Lord Ralph Kendall, The
Disciplines: Animalism 3, Nightmare 4,
Derangements: Delusional Obsession
Vile Tongue, Meister of the Guild of
Secrets
Clan: Nosferatu
Covenant: Invictus
Embrace: 1822
Resolve 3
Stamina 4
2, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Computer 2, Investigation
(Crime Scene) 2, Occult (Ghosts, Kindred) 3,
Politics 3
Physical Skills: Athletics (Climbing) 3,
Brawl (Grapples) 4, Drive 3, Larceny (Lock
Picking, Pickpocketing, Safe Cracking) 3,
Stealth (Move Silent, Move in Shadows) 4,
Survival 3, Weaponry (Knives) 3
(Physical Threats, Tortures) 4, Streetwise 3,
Subterfuge 3
Merits: Allies (Black Market Trader, Bent
Copper, Drug Addict, Ghostly Scholar) 4,
Brawling Dodge 1, Contacts (Fortean
reporter, Homeless Shelter, Taxi driver) 3,
Covenant Status (Invictus) 2, Haven:
Location 1, Size 2, Security 3, Resources 2,
Retainer (Ghouled hounds) 2
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Wrath
Health: 9
Initiative: 9
Defence: 2
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 3
Appearance: Ralph is heavily built, his eyes
are bleak beady thing sunken into his skull,
his face almost like a mask of clay, pock
marked flesh that quickly shifts between his
emotions.
Ralph was born in Manchester, and
grew up in the busy factories where he
would work making linen or other wares
that would be traded around the world.
Ralphs family were not well off, living in
squalor in a run down house. His father was
a gangster, participating in a protection
racket. However things got worse when he
was just 7 when his father never came back
one night. His mother suffered, both in her
health and her sanity, and his siblings did
not fare much better.
Ralph fled his family home and
found his way into a group of young
criminals, surviving by pickpocketing, theft
from market stalls, or just hounding the rich
on the streets. Ralphs survived like this for
many years, working his way up the ranks
until the fateful night when he and his gang
came face to face with the inhuman monster
that made its home in the graveyard of one
of the churches.
Following a night’s good haul Ralph
and his gang were sat in the graveyard
looking through their booty, dishing out the
money, when they were suddenly set upon
by a man. Shock made way for fear as they
looked on as this filthy beast tore through
the gang. Bones broke, necks snapped and
blood flowed.
Ralph fled with his the others only to
be chased through the graveyard and
trapped, confronted by this blood drinking
man. His long hair concealed his mouth of
fangs and sallow skin. His nails were all
cracked and caked in filth. In a split second it
was upon the gang, Ralph knocked to one
side and winded as the fiend tore at the
throats of Ralphs friends. And then there, in
the pitch black of night, Ralph found his
courage and picked up a nearby shaft of
wood and lunged at the murderous creature.
But it was too quick. It caught Ralph’s wrist
and snapped it before biting into the meat of
Ralph’s neck.
Ralph then awoke to find himself in
a cold, dank chamber, sat on the grimy stone
floor with the man-beast before him. Ralph
then saw the body of the young woman
before him, dead and bloody. His mouth
tasted of blood, and was sticky. And so
Ralph learnt of his true nature that night
with is sire, Maggot Morgan, as it named
itself.
Since then Ralph learnt that his sire
was the one of a number of enforcers
amongst the Invictus who worked with the
Sanctified of the city. However there was
then the Carthian takeover, and amongst the
dead was Ralph’s sire. After this time Ralph
has aspired to never overlook the weak and
has sought to rule with an iron fist, by fear.
Over the next century Ralph
perfected his skills, built a reputation of fear
and terror amongst his own clan and
covenant, working initially as a Knight of the
Invictus before assuming his own position
on the Inner Circle.
Ralph is of course keen to take
control of the entire covenant, thinking that
the politics of the other members of the Inner
Circle is weak. He also wishes to exact
revenge upon the Carthians, in particular the
Chamberlain who killed his sire in order to
obtain the books that he kept.
Ralph is also something of an oddity
in the Invictus, as he is one of the more
knowledgeable amongst the covenant on
matters of the occult, in particular ghosts.
Ralph has been the one many of the covenant
turn to when they have been plagued by the
ghosts of their past, be it victims or family.
There are even rumours that Ralph has had
dealings with the Ordo Dracul on this
matter, even leading coteries into the tunnels
of Manchester to places that should not be,
returning with artefacts thought destroyed
hundreds
of
years
ago.
Lord Kendall
The Lancea Sanctum - The
Lost Crusade
Speed: 10
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Animalism 2, Dominate 4,
Majesty 2, Resilience 2, Theban Sorcery 3
Derangements: Avoidance, Narcissism
Theban Sorcery: Blood Scourge (1), Hauberk
of Blood (1, Lancea Sanctum page 194), Liar’s
Plague (2), Blandishment of Sin (3), Blood
Fire (3, Lancea Sanctum page 197)
Bishop Michael Kenner
Clan: Ventrue
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum – Westminster
Creed
Embrace: 1737
Resolve 5
Stamina 4
5, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Church History,
Bible Studies) 3, Crafts (Calligraphy) 2,
Investigation (Enigmas) 3, Occult (Kindred,
Theban Sorcery) 3, Politics 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Stealth 3, Weaponry
(Morning Star) 4
Social Skills: Animal Ken (Hounds) 3,
Empathy 3, Expression (Bible Readings) 4,
Intimidation 3, Persuasion (Inspiring) 3,
Socialize 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Church Priest) 1, Contacts
(Devoted member of mass, God-fearing
entrepreneur) 2, City Status (Manchester) 3,
Clan Status 2, Covenant Status (Lancea
Sanctum) 4, Haven: Location 2, Size 2,
Security 3, Inspiring 4, Language (Latin) 1,
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Sloth
Health: 9
Initiative: 6
Defence: 2
Appearance: Michael Kenner is rotund,
balding, with steely cold eyes and a beard of
greying blond hair. He typically wears
casual clothes typical of any other middle
aged member of the community, but in
meetings of the covenant he wears the red
and black vestments that are associated with
the position of Archbishop. Michael had
wrapped about his left hand a rosary
necklace.
Michael was born in Manchester, the
son of a sailor. His mother worked at a
bakery and so Michael and his siblings
helped out, carrying sacks of flour, making
deliveries, and generally helping out in the
bakery. He grew up to take over the business
and was well respected both in church and
in the local community. However, this was
marred by the fire that swept through the
street and destroyed his home and killed his
wife and family. He sought answers within
his Catholic faith. Frustrated he turned to
alcohol and crime to support his addiction.
Michael was not forgotten. His pain
and search for answers was watched by his
sire to be, a member of the Ordo Dracul,
Hugo Johannas. But within the Ordo Dracul
Michael could find no answers. His sire
thought his personal quest might be the
drive required for Michael to achieve great
things within the covenant. Instead Michael
turned to the Lancea Sanctified. Inspired by
the Cardinal’s words Michael found his faith
once more, learning about the need for pain
and despair to test the faith of Man. It was
also at this time that Michael learnt that the
fire was no accident, but an act of arson.
Michael could not the sit back and accept
this and so set out to find the arsonist in
order to get justice. Following his
investigation Michael cut a bloody trail
through the underbelly of Manchester
society.
On the streets Michael became
synonymous with the urban legend of the
“Bloody Priest”. His victims were found
brutally disfigured, there faces cut with
strange Latin verses from the Bible. His
actions became known amongst the
Sanctified and soon he came to the attention
of the Cardinal who took too Michael under
his wing. His rage and fury had to be
tempered and focused on furthering the
goals of the Lancea Sanctum. Michael was
offered all the tools to further his revenge in
exchange for becoming one of the Cardinal’s
Crusaders.
Following his vengeance Michael
continued to rise in power within the
covenant, being promoted to the position of
paladin and the personal body guard of the
Cardinal, before becoming a deacon and
finally a priest.
When the Carthian uprising came
Michael and his flock defended themselves
from attack. After the night of fire and blood
Michael emerged from hiding in the sewers
to discover that the Cardinal was dead, put
to final death and betrayed by his child,
Jonathan Williams. And so began the enmity
that Michael and Jonathan share, though
they were once friends that are now bitter
rivals.
Ever since the Ascension Day
uprising Michael has led the Sanctified from
the front, seeing off rivals who he saw as
weak and more concerned with their own
power. Michael declared himself Bishop and
then Archbishop without opposition.
Michael accepted that for the short term the
Carthians had control and that attacking
them directly would win no favours with the
neonates while allowing the Ordo Dracul
and Crone Acolytes to gain support from the
godless revolutionaries. Even their old
Invictus allies had taken the chance to
divided the Sanctified domain. Michael
knew that the only way back to power was
to swallow their pride and win the hearts
and souls new generation of Kindred.
Goals: Help Others Save their own Souls
More recently Michael has had to
once more defend his position from more
militant priests of the covenant. If anything
Michael’s policies concerning the city have
become more conservative, hoping to win
back the trust of his old allies while
removing the Acolytes and Dragons from the
city. Michael is aware that the nights of old
are gone and that undisputed rule is not
possible in this faithless age. He knows that
his covenant must simply act as guides and
council to others.
What They’ve Got
Michael has a collection of devoted
Kindred who are his students and guardians.
These ‘Paladins of the Red Cross’ are
dedicated warriors and scholars. His flock
also consists of other Kindred who are less
martial, and there are even those who come
from the Invictus and Carthian covenants, a
good sign that Michael’s words are
penetrating into the greater Kindred society.
Michael also has a secret collective of
crusaders, known as the ‘Chosen of the
Archangel Michael’, after a vision that the
Archbishop had before the Angel Stone.
These warriors, inquisitors, crusaders and
deacons are those trusted enough to spread
the word of Longinus while enacting the will
of God on Kine and Kindred. These warriors
find the heretics and threats to the Sanctified
and bring them to justice before God.
Bishop Kenner
Priscus, Mother Amanda Heath
Clan: Nosferatu
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum – Belial’s Brood
Embrace: 1746
Apparent Age: ?
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
4, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics (Biblical History,
Heresies) 3, Investigation 3, Occult (Christian
Lore) 3, Politics 2
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Larceny 2, Stealth 3,
Survival 3, Weaponry (Knives) 3
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Intimidation (Stare
down) 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Allies (Church Priest, Doomsday
Cult Leader) 2, Contacts (Charity Collector,
Cultist) 2, City Status (Manchester) 2, Clan
Status 3 Covenant Status (Lancea Sanctum)
2, Language (Latin, Spanish, French) 3,
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 3 (6) (Effect of being a member of
the Mercy Seat faction of Belial’s Brood)
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Greed
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 4
Disciplines: Majesty 3, Nightmare 4,
Obfuscate 4, Theban Sorcery 2, Vigor 2
Theban Sorcery: Blood Scourge (1), Crown
of Thorns (1, page 194 Lancea Sanctum),
Curse of Babel (2)
Investments (page 128 Belial’s Brood): Beast
Sense, Fire in the Head, Undying Beast
Appearance: Amanda Heath is thin, almost
skeletal, with no hair whatsoever and skin
that is thin, paper like, and taught across her
bones and muscles. She tends to wear
concealing cloaks of many layers of thin
fabric. She has no hair and her fangs and
visible at all times. During rites she is
adorned in the black and violet vestments of
her office, almost appearing as some foul
perversion of a nun.
Amanda was born in the north of
Spain, the daughter of farmers in the
mountains of the Pyrenees. Her father could
not afford her a substantial dowry, and so
she, being the youngest of the daughters was
given to the local convent.
It was here, out in the shadows of
the Pyrenees that she was picked out for her
devotion to the Holy Ghost. Her sire to be,
‘The Word of the Other World’, came to her
and ravaged her, destroying the connection
between her mind and her mortal body,
before embracing her.
In the caves of the mountains
Amanda found her self amongst the strange
carved churches and chapels of the Cathars.
It was here that she felt the Call and felt the
power of the church and the perverse energy
of the sanctum. The place resonated with the
power of the Adversary.
Unknown to her sire she began to
research more and more about the
Adversary and the recorded dealings with
the Brood. She rose in prominence within the
domain, becoming a deacon of the Sanctified.
Sister Amanda was now in a position to
learn more about the origins of the Lancea
Sanctified and understand the flaws of the
faith. She had become one of the Mercy Seat,
or Faustians. Unknown to her elders she was
now teaching small pieces of Gnostic
Christianity. Her teachings emphasised their
position as the wolves of the mortal material
world, emphasising only those of true faith
will move beyond this world.
Over time her teachings sculpted the
domain into once of vengeful killers,
vampires of faith trapping sinners in the
material world, catching them in a net of
their own vice. These simple Kindred
believed they were testing mortals, not
trapping them in the realm of the Adversary.
Of course Amanda gathered to her a covey
of Kindred, not all were members of the
Lancea Sanctum, making the secrecy of the
covey easier to maintain.
However, it was never to last, and as
once of her covey was singled out by
Sanctified Inquisitors she worked quickly to
have a group of Sanctified neonates targeted
as the source of the corruption.
Seeking to retain her safety and to
continue her Pursuit, Amanda left Barcelona
and headed north, via France and then onto
England and to Manchester. Word of the
new republic had reached her ears, the
democracy of Manchester was the perfect
place to sow the seeds of corruption,
especially as the usurper Carthians had
already done the hard work by eliminating
the Cardinal of Manchester.
Since she has been in Manchester
Amanda has risen in position, and is now a
Priest of the Lancea Sanctum, taking
advantage of the Westminster Creed and its
focus on faith over material glory. She has a
growing covey and has also a small coterie of
Sanctified and Carthian neonates who have
taken to heart her Gnostic teachings.
Amanda now just waits for the best
moments to throw into their midst the tablet
from the caves so that this coterie can
become it’s own covey (and in turn a device
of distraction and chaos within the city).
Amanda now works to hinder the
return of the Lancea Sanctum to power while
bringing about a state of total chaos in the
city. The anarchic coteries of the Carthians,
the war mongering Invictus, the insidious
Dragons and righteous Sanctified provided
the perfect melting pot for such a situation.
One needs only to stoke the fires enough,
offer temptation and fuel their greed and
vice, and their precious tower will fall.
Amanda and her covey maintain a
haven near a resonant, a location that is filled
with the power of the Demiurge. The site is
that of an old workhouse, a place in one
week 40 people died at the hands of a
religious fanatic. Their bodies were found
rotting in the basement of the workhouse,
their bodies bearing cuts that spelled out in
Latin verses from the Book of Revelations.
Priscus Mother Heath
Father Victor Luncean
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum
Embrace: 1832
Resolve 3
Stamina 4
3, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Crafts (Motoring) 3,
Investigation 3, Occult 2, Politics 2
Physical Skills: Athletics (Running) 3, Brawl
(Wrestling) 4, Drive 3, Firearms 2, Larceny 2,
Survival 3, Stealth 3, Weaponry 3
(Physical Threats, Torture) 3, Persuasion 2,
Socialize (Bars) 3, Streetwise (Gangs) 3,
Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Gangster, Biker Gang Leader)
2, Barfly 1, Contacts (Trucker, Evangelical
Priest) 2, City Status (Manchester) 1,
Covenant Status (Lancea Sanctum) 2,
Fighting Style: Boxing (4), Haven: Location 1,
Size 3, Security 2, Language (Latin) 1,
Resources 2, Retainer (Ghouled) 1, Strong
Back 1, Stunt Driver 3,
Willpower: 5
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Temperance
Vice: Wrath
Health: 9
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 10
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Animalism 4, Protean 4,
Resilience 3, Theban Sorcery 2
Devotions: Partial Transformation
Theban Sorcery: Blood Scourge (1), Vitae
Reliquary (1), Sinner Song (1, page 196
Lancea Sanctum)
Derangements: Narcissism, Phobia (Silver)
Appearance: Victor is about 6’ 2’’ and is
stocky and broad shouldered. He has a stern,
scarred face, short crop hair and the look of a
man from the military. He wears functional
clothing but underneath his body is heavily
scarred, seared by fire, cut by flails, shredded
by his own claws.
Victor was born in Lincoln, his
parents having arrived from South Africa as
servants to a wealthy landowner. Victor’s
youth was tough and he was brought up as a
determined Christian, resilient and self
reliant. His father, amongst the black
population, acted as the local priest and so
Victor learnt the Bible, sung hymns, and
attended to the chapel.
Victor’s married and he continued to
work with his father at the chapel. His wife
bore him three children but things would
soon take a turn for the worse. One night a
man, an aristocrat or businessman, raped his
daughter and beat his wife while Victor was
cleaning and repairing the chapel. Enraged
Victor sought out the man that very night,
and believing he had found him, beat the
man to death.
The next day it came to light that a
young man had died, and worse, it seemed
he was not the rapist. Victor could not consol
himself, he had committed a sin in an act of
rage. So Victor chose to flee his family,
seeking out the slums of the city and joined a
gang. He thought death would come quick
to him, and he prayed for God to strike him
down. His prayers were answered, but not
by God but by one of the Damned.
Victor had been watched by a priest
of the Lancea Sanctum, and Victor had been
chosen for his dedication to Christ, but also
his devotion to enacting God’s will upon
sinners. Victor was approached by his sire to
be, Deacon Ben Knight, who over the next
few months taught Victor the first few pieces
of Sanctified doctrine, and that there is
purpose beyond the mortal life. Victor clung
to the idea that there are those who are the
wolves of God, herding the sheep into his
glory, or punishing those who have turned
from his divinity. Certain of Victor’s desire
to leave his mortal life, Ben revealed his
Kindred nature, and Victor, at first horrified,
realised the divine nature of Ben and the
Kindred.
Victor was brought before the
Sanctified of the city and in their church
Victor and Ben were ritually flogged, their
skin flayed. Then before the gathered
congregation Ben drained Victor and
embraced him.
Victor awoke to a new life. He had
been blessed with a second life, a divine
mission, a dark angel had been born. In the
church, lying next to him the drained body
of a man. This was Victor’s first kill.
Since Victor’s embrace he has been
one of the foot soldiers of the city. He
quickly rose to position of an enforcer, a
crusader. He was a weapon of the Sanctified,
seeking out members of the Brood, heretics,
and those Kindred who broke the laws of the
Traditions. Furthermore he and his fellows
would engage in acts of war against the
other covenants, assassinating elders,
destroying coteries and terrorizing neonates
into joining the Sanctified.
Victor rose in prominence and
obtained the position of Deacon, his sire now
a priest of the city. But with this rise in
power and influence came new enemies
within the covenant. In particular the ruling
Bishop of the city was not a hardliner
compared to Father Knight, and Knight was
gaining greater influence in the city to the
point that Knight’s opinions and commands
were followed while the Bishop’s were
largely ignored. The Bishop had to end the
Sanctified aggression to the other covenants,
and so in secret Knight and his militant
faction were hunted down by those within
the Ordo Dracul who had been waiting for a
chance to take revenge on the war
mongering Father Knight.
Victor survived the attacks, but
could not afford to stay in the city and in
1955 moved to the city of Manchester and
was given the position of Deacon.
Victor was disgusted by the Kindred
of the city, and the usurper Chairman
Williams. For the Bishop this was exactly
what he needed, a weapon to use to gain the
respect and allegiance of the Kindred of the
city.
Since Victor’s arrival he has been
promoted to the position of Father, and has
also gained the nickname of ‘Red River
Victor’ as he has been always quick to call
Bloodhunts and lead them. This has often led
to conflict with the Constable, both
politically and religiously, and the two
Invictus Lords as they have at times denied
Bloodhunts from passing into their domains.
Victor is a passionate priest, hunter,
and crusader. He sees all mortals as
misguided flock, and his rhetoric and
savagery inspire many of the neonates of the
city, being drawn to Victor’s divine wrath.
Victor prays to his dead family each
night in his private haven, and wears on his
left leg a painful binding that cuts him
deeply, a reminder that though he may never
age he is not beyond pain or death.
Father Victor Luncean
Sister Rebecca Castle
Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Lancea Sanctum
Embrace: 1981
Resolve 3
Stamina 2
2, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2,
Investigation 3, Politics (Lancea Sanctum) 3
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Drive 3, Larceny
(Lock Picking) 3, Stealth 3
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Intimidation (Black
Mail) 2, Persuasion 1, Socialize 1, Subterfuge
2
Merits: Allies (Lawyer) 1, Contacts
(Dominatrix, Psychologist) 2, City Status
Status (Lancea Sanctum) 1, Haven: Location
2, Size 2, Security 2, Herd 3, Resources 2,
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Gluttony
Health: 7
Initiative: 6
Defence: 3
Speed: 10
Blood Potency: 2
3, Theban Sorcery 1
Reliquary (1)
Appearance: Rebecca is 5’ 8’’, she has an
hour glass figure, with long brown hair that
is tied back tightly in a pony tail, giving her a
pointed, pinched, appearance. She tends to
wear power suits, leather jackets and high
heeled boots. She also has a tendency to
stomp around during congregations crack a
stick against her boots.
Rebecca moved to Manchester from
Coventry, taking a job in with a law firm,
specializing in business law and real estate.
Her life was monotonous, filled with a
continual drag of paper work, constant
bickering and backstabbing with colleagues.
Her embrace by Peter Strauss of the
Invictus was a simple one. He required a
new student and ally in the modern age.
Technology was evolving, money was
shifting hands quicker, and Peter needed
someone who had a head for this brave new
world. But Peter did not get what he had
bargained for. Rebecca had a need to
understand what she was, what meaning
there was to her life before her embrace and
after it. She felt more alive than ever and she
desired to know why she was cursed in life
and death.
Rebecca joined the Sanctified,
ritually flogged before the Bishop. She was
drawn by the answers that the faith provided
her, and their divine crusade made sense to
her eyes.
For the last 10 years Rebecca has
been a Deacon of the Sanctified, effectively
the equivalent of a Invictus whip, except her
mission is one of faith rather than power.
Rebecca is a dedicated member of
the Sanctified, and has gathered her own
small coterie who follow the Bishop’s words
and decrees, seeking to hound the heathens
of the Crone, the unbelievers of the
Carthians and Invictus, and the twisted
philosophies of the Ordo Dracul.
In private Rebecca is self assured
with her vampiric nature. She enjoys it,
revels in it, to the point that she sees the
powers bestowed on vampires as just gifts
for the curse they bear, the divine purpose
they follow. Rebecca indulges in her desires,
enjoying sadomasochistic romps, stealing
secrets from the pillows of her lovers.
Sister Rebecca Castle
The Ordo Dracul - The
Watching Wyrm
Zahred Zilber a.k.a. Grand Wyrm
Zackarius Silverman, Questing Adept
of Wild, Burning Hunger,
Parliamentarian of the Sworn of
Mysteries,
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Ordo Dracul - Carthian
Embrace: 1633
Resolve 3
Stamina 4
3, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Philosophy,
Secret Societies) 4, Investigation (Enigmas,
Experiments) 2, Occult (Kindred, Alchemy,
Ghosts) 4, Politics 4, Science 3
Larceny (Concealing Stolen Goods) 3, Stealth
3, Survival 2
Social Skills: Animal Ken 3, Empathy 2,
Intimidation 3, Persuasion (Inspiring) 3,
Subterfuge 4
Merits: Contacts (Museum Curator, Book
Dealer, High Society Socialite) 3, City Status
Status (Carthian) 1, Covenant Status (Ordo
Dracul) 3, Crucible Ritual 3 (Ordo Dracul,
page 202), Fontal Ritual 2 (Ordo Dracul page
202), Haven: Location 2, Size 3, Security 4,
Language (Latin, Greek) 1, Mind of the
Devouring Worm 3 (Ordo Dracul page 204),
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 5
Virtue: Temperance
Vice: Sloth
Health: 9
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 6
5, Resilience 3, Theban Sorcery 2, Spoiling 2
Reliquary (1), Sinner Song (1, page 196
Lancea Sanctum)
Fontal Rituals: Feast of Blood (Ordo Dracul
page 211)
Blood Solutions: Eyes Blood (Ordo Dracul
page 207)
Coils: Blood 3, Banes 1, Beast 2
Derangements:
Narcissism,
Phobia
(Avoidance)
Appearance: Zahred, or Zacharius, is about
5’ 9’’, with short cropped brown hair,
stubble, brooding eyes, and pale skin. He is
slim and taught, tending to wear casual suits,
shirts and well polished shoes.
Zahred was born in Romania to a
family of professional soldiers. His ability
and strength eventually earned him the title
of captain. It was in the dark shadows of the
Carpathian mountains that Zahred met his
end in the cold castle of his lord, defending
his lands from the invading Transylvanians.
This was not the end for Zahred, and he
awoke the next night, buried with his allies
in a mass grave. He crawled out from the
ground and was met by his sire, Thadeus.
Thadeus was a mendicant monk of the
Lancea Sanctum, and a Gangrel, and had
been chosen by God. Zahred took in this
knowledge and accepted that he had died for
some greater good.
Over the next few decades Zahred
was instructed in the lore of the Lancea
Sanctum, he himself becoming a warrior
monk. However, it was in Venice that
Zahred witnessed the horror of the depraved
Sanctified, and in disgust turned on his
covenant and fled to the wilderness,
travelling as a member of the Invictus, acting
as a messenger of the Lords, for the next
number of decades.
By the late 18th century Zahred had
arrived settled in Milan. Milan was a
growing centre of research, such as autopsy,
astronomy and alchemy. It was here that
Zahred found the Ordo Dracul. Unknown to
the bickering courts of the Invictus and
Lancea Sanctum, the Ordo Dracul was
lurking in the shadows, gathering in covens
to discuss their findings and discoveries. The
chapter house of Milan was large, and
boasted members from other covenants, and
it was inevitable that the Ordo Dracul would
reveal their presence.
It was here amongst these like
minded individuals that Zahred discovered
what he sought most, freedom from this
curse. He studied the arts of physics,
biology, alchemy and the occult. Here in
secret he learnt more about his curse than
any Sanctified book could ever reveal.
Zahred rejoined the Sanctified,
returning to them as an honoured priest, one
who had overcome great tribulation in his
wonderings. He rose to a position of trust
within the covenant while other Dragons did
so within the Invictus. However their
attempt was thwarted and the Ordo Dracul
was driven from Milan back to Venice, while
Zahred took flight north, taking a ship to
England, arriving in Hull from where he
then went onwards to York.
Far from London or the diocese of
Salford, Zahred was able to gather more
Dragons together and continue their pursuit
of The Great Work. Of course there was the
publication of ‘Dracula’ and the Ordo Dracul
was revealed to the other covenants. In York
Zhared took the initiative and command of
the Covenant within the city, establishing the
York chapter house.
With Zahred established as head of
the academy of York, an adept of Wild,
Burning Hunger, Grand Wyrm and a
member of the Oracles of the Sworn of
Mysteries,
Zahred
was
the
elected
Parliamentarian, a position bestowed upon
him before Lisette, the youngest of Dracula’s
brides. As the years passed Zahred stepped
down from his position and devoted more
time to his studies and those of his students.
With the fall of the Ordo Dracul in
Manchester Zahred has now taken it upon
himself to act as Oracle to the remains of
Manchester’s Dragons, and has assumed the
identity of a younger vampire in order to
infiltrate the city and bring the Ordo Dracul
back to prominence.
Grand Wyrm Zahred Zilber
Zahred acknowledges his vampiric
condition and is well practiced in matters of
philosophy and alchemy, the very tools he
needs to teach and discover the secrets of
Kindred
enlightenment.
Before
other
Kindred he assumes a lesser role, informing
them from the shadows rather than ruling
over them like the priests of the Acolytes and
the Sanctified. However, Zahred knows the
meaning of change, and has come to
Manchester to teach the meaning of it to the
city.
Oliver Valt, Adept of the Bloody
Terror, Companion of the Sworn of
the Axe
Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Ordo Dracul - Unaligned
Embrace: 1947
Resolve 4
Stamina 4
2, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Crafts 2, Investigation (Crime
Scenes) 2, Occult 2
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Kick
Boxing) 3, Drive 2, Larceny 2, Stealth 3,
Survival 2, Weaponry 2
(Torture) 3, Socialize 2, Streetwise 2,
Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Homeless Shelter) 2, Brawling
Dodge 1, Contacts (Beat Cop, Homeless
Man) 2, Clan Status 1, Covenant Status (Ordo
Dracul) 2, Crucible Ritual (Ordo Dracul page
202) 3, Fighting Style: Boxing 3, Fleet of Foot
2, Haven: Location 1, Size 1, Security 2,
Resources 2
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Wrath
Vice: Fortitude
Health: 9
Initiative: 6
Defence: 4
Speed: 13
Blood Potency: 3
5, Resilience 2, Vigor 3
Appearance: Oliver is a brutal, monster of a
man. He is 5’ 8’’ but of a heavy build, matted
shoulder length hair, grizzled features. His
eyes are a luminous green and he is always
filthy from living on the streets.
Oliver was born to a family of
immigrants to Manchester. WWI was over
and he had seen the war ravage Europe. He
came with his family to Manchester, hoping
for a better life. But working conditions were
still disgraceful, and Oliver soon found
himself in the cramped conditions of the
slums. When war broke out once more
Oliver would have been conscripted,
however Oliver sought to escape the ravages
of war by hiding out in the streets and slums
of the city. It was here that he was embraced,
by accident.
Destruction should have been the
consequence of his embrace, but with the
bombing of England, the Kindred population
had been greatly reduced and so Oliver was
accepted into the city by Chairman Williams.
He needed people who could keep the peace
and Valt was one of these. The war had led
to chaos in the city as some elders met their
final death at the hands of Nazi bombs.
As the years rolled on, Valt was
promoted and became a respected officer of
the city. However it was in the 70s that Valt
met had his undoing, and was used as a
pawn within the Chairman’s plots, and setup
for causing the final death of one of the
priests of the city. This allowed the
Chairman to move in on the domain of the
Lancea while diverting their attention to an
apparent Carthian traitor.
Valt, outcast, found refuge amongst
the Ordo Dracul and within their chapter
house found safety and a mentor. Valt learnt
the secrets of the Ordo, the mysteries of the
Coils. However the Grand Wyrm of
Manchester had plans to remove the
Chairman from power. The Chairman and
the Grand Wyrm had been conducting a
shadow war, battling for occult resources
and texts. However the Ordo Dracul had
been gathering soldiers under it’s banner. He
trained in the arts of mesmerism, and
worked to train his body, becoming a
Companion of the Sworn of the Axe.
Valt was one of those Kindred on the
front line during the Poll Tax uprising. The
Chairman mobilized the Carthians and the
Oliver Valt
Ordo Dracul met the resistance of these
Kindred and allies within the Lancea
Sanctum.
The Ordo Dracul were crushed, their
chapter house attacked and destroyed, with
their research materials removed and
confiscated by the Bishop and the Chairman.
Valt went into hiding, a blood hunt was
called against him and so he fled to York.
Valt returned to Manchester years
later, remaining as an outsider, keeping a
low profile and trying to remain undetected
by the Lictor or Constable of the city. He has
since been mobilizing the remaining
Dragons of the city, training new members of
the Sworn of the Axe. Valt has also acted as
sheppard for the Dragons of the city, setting
up a secure chapter house ready for the
arrival of Zahred Zilber.
Oliver has a enmity towards the
Bishop and the Chairman and wishes to see
both fall before the Ordo Dracul.
Lauren Esten, Castellen and Seer of
the Sworn of Mysteries
Clan: Daeva
Covenant: Ordo Dracul - Carthian
Embrace: 1987
Apparent Age: Early 20s
Resolve 3
Stamina 2
4, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics 2, Crafts
(Photography) 2, Investigation 2, Occult 1,
Politics 1
Larceny (Concealing Stolen Goods) 2, Stealth
(Clubs and Crowds) 2
3, Persuasion (Seduction) 2, Socialize (Clubs,
Student Parties) 3, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Contacts (Club DJ, Journalist) 2, City
Status (Manchester) 1, Clan Status 1,
Covenant Status (Carthian) 2, Covenant
Status (Ordo Dracul) 2, Haven: Location 3,
Size 3, Security 4, Herd 3, Resources 3,
Retainer (Ghouled) 2, Striking Looks 2
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 6
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Pride
Health: 7
Initiative: 6
Defence: 3
Speed: 10
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Celerity 3, Dominate 3, Majesty
3, Vigor 3
Derangements: Narcissism
Appearance: Lauren is 5’ 4’’, voluptuous,
and has platinum white hair cut in a short
bob. She tends to wear revealing, stylish
clothing, featuring leather, pvc or some other
sexy materials. She has a round, heart
shaped face and seductive eyes.
Lauren arrived in Manchester as a
student
at
Manchester
Metropolitan
University. Already she was a wild young
person, getting drunk almost nightly,
indulging in drugs and having many sexual
encounters. This contrasted her conservative
parents, both of whom were respected
professionals in their fields. Lauren was
treated as the black sheep of her family.
It was during one of these drug
fuelled parties that Lauren was spotted by
her sire to be, the Dragon, Kristen Byres.
Kirsten was entranced by Lauren, and
desired this young vibrant person in her
Requiem. Kristen, obsessed with Lauren,
embraced her that night, without the
permission of either the Grand Wyrm or the
Chairman. Lauren was kept from the other
Kindred of the city. She learnt of their ways
and became Kristen’s lover.
With the Ordo Dracul mobilizing for
a takeover of the city, Kristen introduced
Lauren, and so Lauren was in turn
introduced to the Chairman as a newly
Lauren Esten
embraced childe who was seeking induction
into the Carthians. This suited the needs of
the Grand Wyrm as he needed a insider
within the Carthians.
The fall of the Ordo Dracul, the final
death of her sire, the banning of the
Covenant from the city, led to Lauren
remaining as a Carthian within the city while
in secret meeting with those Ordo Dracul
still within the city. As a result she has
become the Castellen of the Covenant, with
the Dragons meeting at clubs owned by her.
Since the banning of the Ordo
Dracul, Lauren his grown in reputation
amongst the Carthians of the city, well
known for the Blood parties that she holds.
She is notorious for pushing the laws of the
city to their limit.
Lauren has in fact been helping to
gather the Ordo Dracul together so that they
once more be officially accepted within the
city. She has learnt what little she can of the
Coils and occult rites that her peers were
aware of. Her training has thus been
somewhat limited before the arrival of
Zahred Zilber.
Lauren has also been an active
Carthian, organizing locations for Elysium
and providing herds for feeding. But behind
this has been gathering secrets ready for the
return of the Ordo Dracul.
With the return of Zahred Zilber
Lauren has been officially named as
Castellen, and as such she has now been
setting up a new chapter house for the
Dragons and providing space for havens and
new laboratories. Because of her active role
in Covenant and city politics, or at least
social life, she has been made a Seer of the
Sworn of Mysteries. As a result she has been
tasked to learn what she can about the
Carthians and the Chairman. This has led
her to make allies within the Invictus
ancillae, those desperate for her insider
knowledge of the Carthians, unaware of her
position
within
the
Ordo
Dracul.
Vincent Landen, Kogaion and Master
Fontal Rituals: Arcane Vitae (Ordo Dracul
page 210)
Coils: Blood 3, Banes 2, Beast 2, Soul 1 (Ordo
Dracul page 175)
Derangements: Fixation, Paranoia
of the Dying Light, Illuminus of
the Wild Burning Hunger
Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Ordo Dracul
Embrace: 1864
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
4, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Academics (Religion, Secret
Societies) 4, Investigation 3, Occult (Spirits,
Ley Lines) 4, Politics 2, Science 2
Stealth 3
Social Skills: Expression 2, Intimidation 3,
Persuasion 3, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Contacts (City Council Planner,
Mortal Mystic) 2, Covenant Status (Ordo
Dracul) 3, Crucible Ritual 3 (Ordo Dracul,
page 202), Fontal Ritual 2 (Ordo Dracul page
202), Haven: Location 1, Size 2, Security 4,
Language (Latin, Greek, Arabic, French) 4,
Mind of the Devouring Worm 3 (Ordo
Dracul page 204), Resources 4, Retainer
(Ghouled) 4
Willpower: 8
Humanity: 3
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Gluttony
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 4
4, Protean 2, Resilience 3
Devotions: Quicken Sight, Sample the Earth
(Ordo Dracul page 200)
Appearance: Vincent is skinny, with a mess
of dark hair, a constant, distant look, and
wears simple clothes that look slept in and
heavily worn. He wears a small pendant
which doubles for dosing.
Vincent was born in Scotland,
Edinburgh. His father died in the army and
so he and his mother lived with his
grandmother and grandfather, a judge.
Vincent, was brought up with an expectation
to also become a lawyer, and he was
inducted into Edinburgh University and it
was here that he also followed his
grandfather’s example and joined the
Masons. It was within the Masons that he
learnt of various occult matters, and his
interest in law waned. He would begin going
to locations in the city renowned for
paranormal activity. After a number of such
attempts he caught his first view of a ghost
and from there he came into near contacts
with other such beings. Then he found
vampires.
One night Vincent was in the
autopsy laboratories of the university,
hoping to see one of the ghosts that were
rumoured to walk the halls. But instead he
KoGaion Vincent Landen
came across a number of Kindred, in a
medical manner, feeding on a person
strapped to a surgery table. Filled with a mix
of fear and curiosity Vincent stood still,
struck by the monstrosity of the act. The
feeding Kindred spotted him and kidnapped
him.
After a number of nights being
interrogated and psychologically broken the
Dragons learnt more about Vincent and how
he would be of value to their Covenant. So
rather than kill him they released him back
out into the world and watched him.
Vincent would go on to graduate
from university but was also making in
roads into other occult societies. It was now
that the Ordo Dracul returned to Vincent
and inducted them into their group and after
a number of years as a ghoul Vincent was
embraced.
Following his embrace Vincent
moved to Manchester in order to escape any
issues associated with his past life, but also
to promote the Dragon concept of change. In
Manchester Vincent would involved himself
with the occult societies that were present, in
particular the Hellfire club.
Over time Vincent moved up the
ranks of the Dragons, eventually becoming
on a Journeyman of the Sworn of the Dying
Light. His work brought him into much
conflict with other supernatural entities, but
his particular specialty was with dealing
with spirits, and in particular their tie to the
Kindred Beast.
However, then came the Poll Tax
riots and the Ordo Dracul were driven out of
the city. Vincent remained, going into
hiding, gathering up what documents he
could while the Dragons fought on the
streets. With the Dragons driven from the
city Vincent took it upon himself to become
the new Kogaion.
In recent years Vincent has been the
unofficial head of the Covenant in secret. He
still maintains the maps of all the ley lines,
the Wyrm Nests and locations of paranormal
activity. For this reason Vincent wishes to see
the Chairman and the Lancea Sanctum fall,
since between the two of them the files kept
by the Ordo Dracul have been destroyed or
hidden. Worse is that there are a few
individuals within the Carthians that are
some form of paranormal investigation
organization, and so have been turning up at
Wyrm Nests. For this reason he has begun
studying the arts of alchemy so that he might
be able to level curses against these
intruders. However, the arrival of Zahred in
the city has thrown his plans out of shape as
he now must acknowledge the command of
and
elder
Dragon.
The Unbound - Lurking in
the Shadows
Tetsuro a.k.a. The Endless Scream
Clan: Nosferatu - Burakumin
Covenant: Unaligned
Embrace: 1733
Apparent Age: Unknown
Resolve 4
Stamina 4
1, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Philosophy,
Shinto) 4, Investigation (Bodies) 3, Occult
(Shinto, Ghosts) 4, Politics 3
Physical Skills: Brawl (Tai Chi) 4, Larceny 3,
Stealth 4, Survival 2, Weaponry (Katana) 4
Social Skills: Intimidation 4, Streetwise
(Yakuza, Triads) 3, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Allies (Shinto Priest) 1, Contacts
(Buddhist Priest, Yaukza gang leader) 2,
Haven: Location 3, Size 3, Security 3,
Language (Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese)
3, Resources 2, Retainer (Ghouled) 2
Willpower: 7
Humanity: 3
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Gluttony
Health: 9
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 5
Disciplines: Auspex 2, Getsumei 5,
Nightmare 4, Obfuscate 3, Vigor 4
Derangements:
Depression,
Obsessive
Compulsion (Counting Grains of Rice)
Appearance: Tetsuro is 5’ 8’’, his body is thin
and skeletal, with dark skin that is withered.
He wears a burgundy kimono and what
remains of his hair is tied back in a pony tail.
He wears a small jade pendant, apparently a
talisman against evil and curses.
Tetsuro was born into a family of
butchers in the south of Japan. He had a
humble life in the town where he worked
with his father. But it was his affinity with
the Shinto faith, and his father’s desire for
his son to be accepted as a priest, that caught
the attention of the local Burakumin. His sire
to be presented himself to Tetsuro as an
ancestor spirit, and that he needed Tetsuro’s
help. This of course involved Tetsuro
becoming the Burakumin’s ghoul, and
eventually being embraced.
As one of the unclean Tetsuro was
already used to the prejudice against him,
and this was nothing new being a
Burakumin. Instead he kept to the shadows,
learnt from his ancestor, kept watch over his
own family, and studied the arts of the
blood, ghosts, the dead, Shinto and the
Disciplines.
As the century rolled on the English
and the Americans arrived and change was
sweeping the nation. Tetsuro had moved to
Tokyo in order to pursue his own research
while pushing for change within the Kindred
politics. However, he would have to deal not
just with enemies from within Japan, but
those who had just arrived. One of whom
was Natalia Kerkoft.
Natalia was in Japan on a visit to
learn more about the strange country, and
also to ensure the safety of her investments.
The local Kindred treated her like a lord. In
exchange for more influence in the west
Natalia was allowed to conduct her business
as she saw fit, including stealing priceless
artefacts from Kindred, in particular Tetsuro.
However, Tetsuro did get his revenge. He is
the one who killed her mortal lover.
In the early 20’s, along with other
migrants, Tetsuro travelled to England. He
was brought with the migrants who believed
him to be a form of ancestor spirit, and in
Manchester he was buried in the basement of
the Buddhist temple. Tetsuro knew that for
himself and his kind, freedom from the
prejudice could only be obtained in the West,
Tetsuro
and it be here that he would be able to grow
his influence.
In modern nights Tetsuro is still
known to a few mortal priests and family
elders as an ancestor spirit. They make
frequent sacrifices to appease the vampire
while he protects them and their families.
Though Japanese, Tetsuro now resides in the
Buddhist temple in China Town, as it is
frequented by many people of Eastern
Oriental lineage. This allows the Burakumin
to exert a great influence over them while
being free from the interference from the
other Kindred of the city. This exclusivity
over China town was granted to Tetsuro by
the Chairman in exchange for the Burakumin
refraining from interfering in city politics.
This of course doesn’t stop Tetsuro resuming
his vendetta against Kerkoft.
Derangements: Depression
Perses Rachael Witten
Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Unaligned – Invictus – Circle of
the Crone – Cult of Mithras
Embrace: 1991
Resolve 3
Stamina 3
4, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Academics (Roman History,
Persian History) 3, Investigation 3, Medicine
2, Occult (Mithraism) 4
Stealth 3, Weaponry 3
Social Skills: Empathy 2, Expression
(Oration) 2, Intimidation 2, Persuasion 1,
Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Allies (Cult Leader) 1, Contacts
(Manchester Historian, Sewer Engineer) w,
City Status (Manchester) 1, Covenant Status
(Circle of the Crone) 2, Covenant Status
(Mithraic) 5, Haven: Location 2, Size 2,
Security 3, Herd 2, Language (Latin) 1,
Willpower: 6
Humanity: 4
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Pride
Health: 8
Initiative: 7
Defence: 3
Speed: 12
Blood Potency: 3
Disciplines: Auspex 3, Celerity 2, Culter
Mithras 4 (Mythologies page 22), Cruác 2,
Obfuscate 3
Circle of the Crone page 204), Fires of
Inspiration (1, Circle of the Crone page 204),
Pangs of Proserpina (1), Cheval (2),
Imperious Call (2, Circle of the Crone page
201), Maiden Skin (2, Circle of the Crone
page 205), Soul’s Work (2, Circle of the Crone
206)
Appearance: Rachel is 5’ 4’’ and has jet black
hair and tends to wear functional clothing,
such as jeans, boots, dark shirts and silver
pendants bearing Mithraic emblems. She is
not particularly beautiful but dresses well to
appear enticing and commanding of her cult.
Rachel was born in Lincoln, the
second eldest of 3 children. Her father, a
police officer worked hard to get her into
university, hoping that she might join the
force as a forensics officer. Family life was
harsh, and she grew to hate her father and
the way he had treated her and her siblings.
At university she led a quiet life,
studying night and day. Those few times she
did let her hair down she would indulge in
drugs, coke being her preferred narcotic. It
was during one of these blow outs that she
witnessed what she thought was a person,
some fiend, drinking the blood of another
person at the party. In the morning Rachel
thought nothing of it until the student was
reported missing. Rachel was drawn into the
investigation, at first as a witness, but then as
her own detective. She found the blood stain,
and knew it was evidence that the person
that was missing had been there. But there
was more to be found. Rachel delved into the
mystery and uncovered photos taken that
night. The blurring. What puzzled Rachel
Persus Rachel Witten
was why this had not been mentioned in the
police reports that she had obtained.
Eventually the investigation was
shelved, but Rachel did not give in. She was
obsessed but the police prevented her from
further investigation.
Rachel eventually graduated and
joined the police force in London, but she did
not stop in her work piecing together what
she could from that night. She had learnt of
the existence of something else in the world,
and she had been seeing their signs in
society. Vampires. What she was unaware of
was that they too had been watching her.
Rachel was pursued one night,
stalked back to her home and cornered. The
looming monster, known simply as Red
King, embraced her, turned her, and
revealed to her the secret world of the
Kindred. She awoke in robes of linen,
mummified and her organs removed.
As a Mekhet Rachel was inducted
into their secret society, learned the lost
history of the Kindred, all under the streets
of London. She became knowledgeable in
Kindred lore and became a member of the
Circle of the Crone. However her studies led
her into the arms of the Cult of Mithras. Her
desire to understand more of the world led
her to the dark caverns of the order, and in
the dark.
Since her initiation into the Mithraic
cult Rachel has been tasked with discovering
more of the lost temples and fighting for
their possession. In particular she has been
sent to Manchester, where with the
Carthians in power, and the Lancea Sanctum
and Crone fighting for the soul of the
Kindred of the city the Mithraic cult can take
back what is theirs.

Chapter Three: The Endless Waltz: The

Transcription

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