Right, it's only a game.

Guide | Introduction

Systems

This is a tabletop Vampire: the Masquerade game run by Jessica and Chris. The game is run by a strange hybrid of 2nd edition and 3rd edition rules picked mainly by storyteller fiat. This is a purely Camarilla game, though Giovanni and Gangrel character concepts will also be considered. No bloodlines will be considered for player characters; as storytellers we do not even use bloodlines for non-player characters (with the exception of the Niktuku). Much White Wolf canon has been thrown out the proverbial window by us. Players should not assume anything. We do not feel bound by the various myths and legends surrounding Caine, nor is our game compliant with the recent events on the eastern seaboard as described in White Wolf's Clan Novels. Facts about the other supernatural races are largely untrue, though werewolves, wraiths and mages (at least) do exist and have played an active part in the game (even if the players don't know it).

The game has a strong web presence supported by two main factors. One is the webpage that you are reading now. The parts of the page that are actually about the game are all written in character, by a 125 year old Arcanum member named Julian Grey. Julian is assisted by Elizabeth Kent, his personal secretary. His immediate superior in the Arcanum is Thomas, head of the London Chapterhouse. Various stories about these three characters (and others) are told over time by the website. The second is our public forums where the characters can interact in downtime. We ask that all important actions be carried out in session, but the forums have proved very useful for running social interactions that might take place in the background of a tabletop – and bringing them to the foreground. We are looking for interested people to run NPCs on the forums.

Setting

The game is set in New York City in the year 2001. We started in December of 2000 and have been slowly lagging behind real time. Currently we are about 3 months behind and fading fast. The New York of our game is quite similar to that of the real world. Certainly it is a bit dirtier in the poor areas and a bit cleaner in the rich ones. The police are underpaid as usual, and the whores in the outer boroughs are glad to reach the age of thirty. Overall our New York City is not a very happy place. Much of the game focuses on Manhattan, center of culture and business in New York. This is where the elders of the city make their havens and where the best feeding grounds are too be found. The characters have feeding and business interests in Queens, and so the game has focused there as well. Specifically we have detailed Elmhurst-Corona in great depth and are currently expanding Long Island City. It is impossible to avoid the topic of the September eleventh tragedy. The game has not reached that point yet, but we are already considering how to deal with it. We don't want to trivialize the tragedy by making it a minor point in a game, but similarly we don't want to ignore it. We aren't yet certain how we will deal with the tragedy, but we do know that it has nothing to do with vampires.

Story

The game will be broken into three movements, each consisting of around six or seven story arcs each consisting of between four and six sessions.

The first movement involved the re-taking of New York City by the Camarilla under Prince Jan, son of the deceased Prince Pieter. Jan's reign was troubled for many reasons however. He had few allies and many enemies, as often happens to a Prince. He was also plagued by Mobea, a Gangrel elder believed to be the most powerful vampire in the city. She refused to recognize Jan and claimed Staten Island as her personal domain. When Jan sent his servants to confront her, one of the three archons supporting him was killed and Mobea survived. (And why are there three Archons in New York City? An interesting question, don't you think?) Finally, Jan attempted to rule the city as his sire had, by royal decree, when he was not powerful enough to take such an attitude. In the end the coterie realized that he was just trying to do his job as best he could. But in the end he fell. The final month of Jan's reign was marked with a series of violent encounters. Julia, Jan's sheriff, was blackmailed and neutralized by unknown parties. The Malkavian Primogen, William Pitt, a supporter of Jan, was framed for a violation of the sixth Tradition and staked as punishment. It became clear that one of Jan's remaining two archons, Celeste was not working exclusively, or perhaps at all, for the Prince. Additionally, and most importantly, the Sabbat attacked from bases on Long Island into Manhattan, taking the Lower East Side and killing about 10% of the city's vampiric population. The first movement ended with the capture of Mobea at the hands of Oliver Blackwell and the combined might of the Tremere.

The second movement began with Oliver taking Mobea to Jan's court. Oliver declared Jan unfit to rule and noted that it was he, not Jan, who finally defeated Mobea. Jan's final, faithful archon, Faida of the Nosferatu, anticipated Oliver's plans for Jan's destruction and spirited him away. Oliver declared himself Prince and called the blood hunt on Jan, as well as exiling the former sheriff Julia. Oliver granted the captured Mobea a trial by ordeal, surviving a full day exposed to the elements. The next evening found Mobea alive, but Oliver had his new sheriff, Klaus von Brauer, destroy her anyway. Oliver's rule quickly showed a different tone than that of Jan. He granted a great deal of siring rights to both elders and neonates as well as expanding feeding rights for all. Oliver also showed a preference for spectacle, having the neonates fight to decide who gained the right to sire. His reign has been referred to as 'bread and circuses,' which is a fairly accurate description so far.

The coterie members, of course, are only neonates, they have been vampires for less than six months. They do not find themselves caught up in the large scale politics of the city all the time; they have their own personal struggles to concern them. They have found some support among the elders. Parker has pledged himself to the Toreador Angel. Hannah Williams has a strange friendship with Stavros Byzantios of the Nosferatu. Cliff de Calais is privileged to be Julia d'Anjou's childe (sort of), though she has been exiled by Oliver. The Malkavian known only as “Kidd” can turn to his sire William Pitt for support, though Kidd does not want to. Tyler Kress has made his own arrangements, which are not publicly known. Ari Lefkowitz ignored his elders at his peril, and now fully serves the Tremere. And Ethan Cypress has ultimately been lost to the political game, pledging himself as surety for the safety of his mortal sister. They also pursue their own agendas: Cliff runs a free emergency medical clinic in Elmhurst. Parker and Hannah are attempting to claim domain over some of the city's criminal element. Tyler wishes to awaken his sire Xu. Ethan seeks his family's freedom from Oliver Blackwell. Kid must deal with the strange visions in his head, visions somehow relating to the coterie's great friend Nathaniel York, now passed away, and the mysterious Cathedral under the city. Most importantly the coterie has friends. Some have been lost over the course of their time in the city, like Anna, Sanchez, and Patch. But others are alive and well, like Stanislaw, Kate, Emma, Alice, Ibrahim, Clay, Zero, and Christine. In many ways these inter-personal relationships are the heart of the game.