Dark Chronicles (F/Any. Seeking GM. Chronicles of Darkness. VtR / WtF 2E, etc.)

[Lustful Bride]

This is an attempt to put all of my Chronicles of Darkness related ideas all into one place to take up less space on the site, and to consolidate it into one easy to find thread so it isn't cluttering up more than one thread here on E.

(Though, I also want to make it clear that I am perfectly fine playing all of this out Freeform and using the setting and systems more as guidelines for the story, rather than binding rules. Or in using Fanhacks such as the one for WtF2e, to steamline the game more).

The Copperhead Cohort.
(Werewolf the Forsaken/Wolves in the Dark FanHack))

(Currently has a fully fleshed out worldbuilding thread if you'd like to know more about the setting, its homebrew elements, and those who reside in it.)

The Appalachians and the Ozarks are the oldest mountain range in North America. Time has seen to lay them low, exposing the soft underbelly of the earth’s riches to those greedy enough to seek it out. From the first European settlers, to modern coal barons trying to drain the land of all its worth. The wealth of the mountains is bountiful to those who seek to take but can be even more to those who know to respect the power that is present deep within the land. The spirits have always been here, festering and multiplying, drawn in by human misery as much as they are by the ancient power buried beneath the mountains.

It takes a strong band of Forsaken to manage the endless tide of malicious spirits that breed like flies off of all the human suffering here. The Black Lung. The Meth Addictions. The racial intolerance and economic disparity. No one single pack could manage them all, and that's without factoring in rival packs, other supernatural beings, and the eternal threat of The Pure and their genocidal crusade against both Humanity and The Forsaken.

This is why the Uratha of the Appalachians tend to be a more hardy folk, focused on their own internal matters, patrolling their territory and ignoring the ways of the city wolves. But among them is one group, a protectorate going under a specific name "The Ashwoods", tied into a very old family that has been here since the original settlers. They have warred with the natives, and embraced them as family when they had more in common with them than with other settlers, along with embracing the gift of Luna overtime, and becoming Forsaken as they would one day take upon themselves the duty of guarding a very sacred place of power. Something important to all the Uratha, but which must be guarded against those who are unworthy and would abuse its power.

The Ashwoods have had a long and stories history with Copperhead, from before it even had that name. Few know of their lupine nature outside of the Ashwoods and their friends among the local Cherokee tribe members. After all of these years, the Uratha of the Ashwoods have become as tied into Copperhead as any other family in it, but with far more to protect than most know.

For most of its history, Copperhead County was a backwater in the Great Smoky Mountains along Tennessee’s border with North Carolina, only noticed by opportunists eager to exploit the area’s natural resources, or to use its seclusion to engage in mischief. It is a region beset by poverty, strife, crime, and conflict.

Today, things are changing—kind of. The county government has laundered millions of dirty dollars into public spending to attract new businesses to set up shop, and that money has attracted hungry new criminals in turn, both locals and outsiders.

Things are getting better for the people on top, but the lives of people on the other side of the tracks, the other side of the river, or the other side of the mountain remain the same. For every step forward the county takes into the ever-promised New South, it always seems to take two steps back into the same old shit.

Some areas are lawless, where the local PD will not even come if you call them. Others put up a veneer of being respectable and safe, in order to attract tourists and investors. Behind every shadow someone or something is hiding, waiting for you to be vulnerable, and even the kindest and most noble people you meet likely have a knife behind their back, and many skeletons in their closet.

You never know what you will find if you walk off the beaten path in Copperhead County. 

Copperhead County is a newer addition to the area. It existed in one form or another long before it was a county, from initial settlers battling it out with the Native tribes, to being an encampment for the American Civil War. It was only in the last 90 years that it really became what we see today. Originally it was two and a half counties that were mashed together for the purpose of good old Southern Gerrymandering. Part of the drive to do this was just for votes, and partly as a punishment for one particularly large family that has lived in the area since before Tenessee was even recognized as a state.

The Ashwood family (or Clan as some feel is more accurate) are outcasts for much for Copperhead County, and like to keep to themselves in their little corner of the county. They don't like making too much noise, but played a pivotal role in history for the county. During the American Civil War, while most of the state was flocking to the slavers of the South, the Ashwoods were unabashed Lincolnites.

They had long since counted Natives and Freedmen a part of their family since they had begun fully embracing their Uratha nature. Once you do battle with spirits, nightmares from beyond reality, and the living dead, it becomes harder to look down on another human being for the design of their body. This did not earn the Ashwoods any friends among the local populace, especially not with their rival family over in Michelangelo. The Ashwoods, be they human, Wolfblooded, or Uratha, would only fight for the Union, and as far as they were concerned, they were in illegally occupied territory. 

The Ashwoods spent much of the Civil War waging a guerilla campaign from the woods and hills, taking potshots at any passing Secessionist column they could find, and messing with supply lines, (especially by killing horses for the Confederate cavalry) but primarily fighting against another large family in the region known as the Ferrals.

The Ferrals were proud slave owners who flaunted their wealth whenever they could, and weren't afraid to hire muscle to impose their will on those less fortunate than them. The only ones they never managed to bully were the Ashwoods, and they saw the rise of the Confederacy as a chance to take the Ashwood lands and strip-mine it.

The Ashwoods and the Ferrals fought against each other in brutal combat that at times went beyond what normal humans were capable of, until the Union army finally came in to cleanse the South of traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators. The Ashwoods cheered, as the Ferrals screamed, losing their lands and wealth from not only the fighting, but from being unable to manage what they still owned once they lost access to their slaves. To make matters worse, the Bluecoats decided to reward the only family in the area which had been loyal to the government. The Ashwoods were given temporary control over the area until peace could be restored, and they carved out a nice chunk of land (and resources taken from the Ferrals) for themselves.

After the war, they remained loyal to the Union and the Federal government ever since. Even if they might occasionally engage in some illegal activity, they were more than happy to pay Uncle Sam his due, and serve in his army to preserve this glorious Union. The experience fighting in distant wars proved useful for the Wolf-blooded among the Ashwoods, in making sure those of them who were not Uratha could still hold their own, and if they happened to become a werewolf after their tour of duty, then those skills would be even more useful in their occasional fights with more organized enemies.

This has given the Ashwoods a reputation in Copperhead County. Ranging from being Government Lapdogs, to crazed hill folk, to dirty thieves that took Mines and lands that didn't belong to them. But in the end, they came out better than most. Their family is large, and they have the means to support themselves, even as Copperhead County slips into poverty and strife. The Ashwoods won't ever be rich, as they have many to look out for and their duties as Uratha always take priority, but they will survive.

Many in Copperhead did not forget what the Ashwoods did to them, and some of them managed to rise to positions of political influence, making sure that Ashwood lands ended up in the newly designed Copperhead County, minimizing their voting power, and forever keeping them in County that seems to always be at the back of the line for State/Federal funding.

Course that can only do so much to hurt them. The Ashwoods were always a hardy folk, who had survived fine enough on their own, and now had access to resources they didn't before. Land, mines, and even a factory that survived the war. All of it was legally theirs now (thanks to them being loyal patriots for Uncle Sam for almost as long as the country has been around), and taking it from them wasn't something their enemies could do.

The Ashwoods aren't rich, but they are able to get by and have what they need, even providing some jobs for the people of Copperhead (and some Ferrals, much to the anger of their longtime foes).

The recent push to make the county more valuable to investors and tourists also presented them with a good opportunity to call in a favor from a more distant branch of their family tree, their cousins in the Marshwood clan, who live among the nouveau riche up in Lovecraft Country (New England). With some of their money, family connections, and local pushing, the Ashwoods were able to have a new bridge and some more roads built to connect their lands with the wider American network, bringing in new workers, business, and problems.  Some are already beginning to question if the move was wise, or if it will be more trouble than it is worth.

Among those new workers coming to Copperhead is a desperate woman by the name of Rita Ortiz. In dire need of work, she came down from Baltimore Maryland, where she'd originally worked as an EMT. After hearing that Copperhead County was willing to pay way more than the usual rate for any Nurse willing to come and work in the backwoods of the County, she jumped at the chance, thinking she was about to really start hitting it big in her career.

This turned out to be a lie. The money was there, the need was there, but the space was no longer available. Conveniently Copperhead had already hired on medical staff. All some permutation of John and Jane Doe that the local mayor or Clinic administrator knew from some distant cousin no one else ever heard of.

Rita is desperate to find work, and almost contemplating working at the local bar, strip club, or even taking on janitorial work, to just have enough to pay for the motel she lives in. She bet everything on this move to Copperhead, and lost. The stress of it all had been doing horrible things to Rita's mental state. Her dreams were becoming more intense, to the point she'd caught herself thrashing about in bed, or having intrusive thoughts she just couldn't make sense of, as if an animal were thinking for her. The waking world didn't offer that much protection from whatever was going on with her body. She could have sworn that sounds were getting louder, smells were being more pronounced (to the point she could make out colognes and perfumes from a longer distance than before, or pick up on the same styles). It was made all the worse by an increased sense of aggression from Rita, and a hunger that made her feel like she needed an extra meal a day, particularly of anything meat related.

All of it acting as the initial warning signs to her blood awakening to Luna's gift, as she is on the path to becoming an Uratha. She doesn't yet know this, but she's one of the chosen of Luna, and as things are going, she may end up becoming a Cahalith, as has already been foretold by another Cahalith Seer, who will take her on as an apprentice.

One night, while walking away from a failed job interview at a retirement home (where it was clear the only nurse working there might as well have been Nurse Ratched), she witnessed a drive by shooting.

Two of the Ashwoods were strolling home from a 'job' that involved them trying to take a subtle route back home on foot, with a duffle bag full of pistols and money (as you do here in Copperhead), and had been spotted by their rivals. A car sped on past, bullets flew, and both Ashwood boys ended up on the ground, left to bleed and die.

Rita's instincts kicked in and as soon as the shooters had driven off (possibly having failed to notice Rita, or worried about more Ashwoods being about), she rushed over and began administering first aid to the men. She tore strips off her own shirt to act as bandages and used the men's belts to act as tourniquets, doing everything she could to keep them alive as she called for help.

One of the two had lost consciousness from pain, but the other had the clarity of mind to remove his and his comrade's pistols, and stashed them in the bag, before giving Rita a single order.

"Hide the bag. When the cops leave, take it to a man named 'Beaver' on 8th and Woodard. Go in the back and say Charles Ashwood sent you. The password is 'Sawdust Gunpowder'. Just make the delivery and leave. We won't forget this."

She'd stepped in it now. But she couldn't disobey, or leave the men to die. It just wasn't in her nature. So Rita did as she'd been instructed, hiding the bags in a drainage ditch, and continuing to attend to the Ashwoods until an ambulance arrived.

Curiously, the police who came seemed to be looking for a reason to pin the blame on the Ashwoods. Asking if they had attacked or tried to rape Rita (given the state of her clothes).

"Maybe a good Samaritan was helping you, miss?" One of them had said.

But Rita remained firm in her recollection of events. The two men had just been walking, when a vehicle conducted a drive by shooting on them. She repeated it firmly over and over again, even showing her Northern mentality as she asked what kind of cops they were.

Eventually the cops left along with the ambulance, and Rita was given a choice...she could just forget about the bag and leave, or risk making herself the target of reprisals in what was clearly a local criminal gang.

Rita had enough trouble not going hungry, so she opted to do as 'Charles' had told her. Spending the rest of the night wandering around with a bag full of illicit goods, until she found the location, gave the password, and left without the bag, even turning down some money that had been offered to her by 'Beaver'.

She prayed that this would be the end of it. The next day the police came to try and get her side of the story, though with less witness tampering, and suggested that she probably go back to where she came from, as it would be safer. Rita was in too much of a shock to really do anything besides sit in the motel room's shower, wondering where her life had gone wrong.

Rita was even overdue to pay her rent for the motel room, but no one came to kick her out. Then on the second day since the incident, someone came to her door.

An older gentleman in his early thirties, with a cigarillo in his mouth, a wide smile, and a predator's eyes. The way he moved told Rita he had a gun in his belt, and was very keen to speak with her.

As he entered her room, there was a scent about him, which almost put her at ease. He smelled strangely familiar, and she could see his nose twitching slightly as if he were smelling her as well. He identified himself as Samuel Trapper Ashwood. He claimed to be the older brother to the Ashwood that had lost consciousness on the night of the shooting, and cousin to Charles. The family had heard of the good deed Rita had done for them and wanted to express their gratitude.

She wasn't of their blood, she wasn't from Copperhead, she had no reason to really help those two beyond her own good heart. That kind of thing deserves a good turn, it just so happened that it also put the Ashwoods into contact with another new Uratha who would need a safe place to rest her head or run around during her first change.

"Missy, you were a godsend that night. And the Good Lord tells us to help others in need, especially when they help our Kin." He told her, smoke escaping from between his clenched teeth.

The Ashwoods had some pull in town, and had heard of Rita's little unemployment problem. So they took it upon themselves to pull a few favors, and have Rita hired on part time at Fort Alice Regional Medical Center.

"You start in a month." William told her, like it was an order, but said with the kindest voice one can imagine. It was like honey dripping out of his mouth, drawing her in.

"We made sure you get paid for your honest work, from Monday to Wednesday. 10 in the morning, to three in the afternoon. The rest of that time, you could work at a clinic my family has up. It's not too far, its just between here and Bushy Bottom. Between the mountains. We got a nice little place picked out for you miss. So you don't have to travel too far, specially not now with the new bridge all finished up." He exhaled a mouthful of smoke up into the air.

"We could sure use you, my family lives a real...rough and tumble life. We're always getting ourselves hurt and could use a caring touch. I can guarantee you that you will never go hungry. Nor will you ever have to worry about being left out in the cold. We won't shun you for skin, for your love, for your faith, or anything like that. Blood or not. You would be our Kin. The Ashwoods always look out for Kin."

He then changed his tone abit as he leaned back and considered his next words.

"Course...if none of that sounds appealing, we would understand. Northern girl like you, who would want to stay in this podunk little shit hole, right?" He smiled bitterly, before reaching into his jacket, to pull out a considerable stack of hundred dollar bills, all wrapped together in a neat plastic wrapping, and shook it once before holding it out to her.

"You can just take this money, go home up North, or anywhere you want me to drop you off. Start fresh with a nice bit of dough to help you along the way. That will be the end of it. Payment for services rendered, and no further contact from any Ashwood. So, what will it be miss Ortiz?"

The choice was solely on her. Rita had no one else but herself to blame. She should have taken the money and ran back home...it was the smarter thing to do. But Rita had made a lot of dumb decisions in her life.

Like it or not, Rita is Kin of the Ashwoods now. Not in blood, but in bond. (Though that might change, given the looks some of the Ashwood sons and daughters throw her way, and how she sometimes looks at Samuel).

Rita Ortiz is part of the Ashwood clan, a healer for them when they get hurt, and when her first change under the moon is complete, she will find herself on the path to becoming a new Seer for them, divining the dreams sent to them by Luna. It will be a difficult journey, full of horrors, pain, and peril. But in the end it will be worth it.

Despite everything that awaits her, she's actually happy this way. Nothing like a walk among the woods to give a person a new chance at life.


This whole thing was born partially out of me playing a Choose Your Own Adventure game, and creating two 'Hillbilly Clans', as it was called (and which you will find below), before deciding to combine them with the Copperhead County RPG for the Blades In The Dark system.

Eventually the more I thought about it the more I wanted to give a werewolf twist to it. I even found myselffinding ways to combine it with Werewolf The Forsaken and I really like what came o fit.

Ashwood Clan

What? Y'all wanna know about mah Clan Family?

Shoot....well...ah Guess ah could share a bit about mah family history. Hope ya'll don't mind if I play the banjo a bit while I regale ya'll with the story of the Ashwood Clan. Forgive me if I use Clan and Family interchangeably. It don't matter how distant you are on the family tree, we' all kin out here. For better and for worse. Blood in, blood out.



We're friendly enough though. We like guests, even outsiders....just don't come to the manor without askin first. We don't like uninvited guests.

Now! Lets get to the meat and potatoes about the Ashwood Family!

Location: (1).

The Appalachians: Ahh America's birthplace! Ain't it beautiful? There are still places here where a man could get lost in the woods and never be found. We've been here since the beginning. Even got a branch of the family that died off with Roanoke colony, but we also got some family that left many a blue moon ago. They live up over in Lovecraft Country I think. We see em every few years at the gatherin as we reminisce about the family and the old days.

And before any o' y'all go makin accusations, my family fought for the North, and remained true to the Union, unlike some people here who forget to respect their Uncle Sam....like those No Good, Goddamn Ferrals who turned into JOHNNY REBS!! *Proceeds to get up and actually scream out a nearby window.*

FUCK YOU FERRALS! May God Strike you Traitors down!

*Very distant cry of 'Fuck off Billy Yank' is carried on the wind.*

Ahem....now uh...where was I? Ah yes, let me get back into the music first.

Founding: (1)

The Beginning:
+7 Culture Points.

+6 Asset Points.

+5 Trait Points.

+1 Society Point.

+6 Disadvantage Points.

Yup! Been here since the first boats! We've been part of this land since before the country itself came into being, and we're damn proud of it too. Had blood which fought in every single American war. Fought the Redcoats, fought the Indians, fought outlaws, fought  traitors, fought fat cats, Pinkertons, and Strike Breakers, before fighting Krauts (twice) and commies and terrorists after that. Might even get to fight Commies again soon enough, if'n we don't end up fighting Johhny Reb again. Guess Uncle Sam needs to whip out his belt again.

Shoot, I think even cousin Eddy lost a few fingers fighting them drug wars that ain't really supposed to be happening down South.

But enough of the sad talk. You wanna hear about our Founders, don't ya?

Founders (1.)

Pioneers: -2 Disadvantage Points.

Yup, we kept records even back then. We ain't slow like some people think. They may call us Appalachian Hillbillies, but we were quite the adventurers back in the day. Some of us were even learned. We sure as shit ain't inbred. Even a few people of color in the family. We didn't care where you came from. So long as you remembered who your Kin was, and whose flag you owed your oath to when the nation was born. The nation that lets us be ourselves and be free, if we behave and don't go actin a fool.

('Cause you all is Uncle Sam's Lapdog!' *A voice yells out from the distance.)

Culture: (7)

Huh? You want to know about our Culture....well ain't you curious? Alright...it gonna take me scratchin my noggin abit, but I think I can tell you what you wanna know.

-Songs.

-Folklore.

-Literature (Told ya we aint dumb hillbillies!)

-Law

-Native Influence.

-Hierarchy. (-2 Points.)

There. That should cover it all. There is more to us than that, but if you ask any other family here, that is what they know us for....well...there are a few other things they know us for.

Assets: (6 +1 from Disadvantages).

A.. a what now? Oh! You have to forgive me I got a bit confused there. Yeah we have some ah those. We....how do you say it.. diversified. We got a lot of hats we wear, but there are a couple of big ones that keep us what you call it...solvent? Yeah. Here let me show you.

-Numbers:
Good lord told us to be fruitful and multiply.

-Weapons:
Its dangerous country out here. bad people, and worse things hide in the trees.

-Sturdy Buildings:
Gotta keep our land safe and gotta make sure those who come after us have a good home.

-Mines:
Ferrals say we took some of the mines from them. It's true. But then again, they lost the Civil War, so fuck em, they would a done the same damn thing to us.

-Infrastructure:
Unlike the Ferrals, we actually give a damn about how our lands look, that includes our roads. We ain't no DC, but we ain't Detroit neither...I think...I've never actually been there...

-Schoolhouses:
The lil tykes are our future, and educatin em keeps us better than those fucking Ferrals. I swear some of them can barely even tell you who their daddy was, let alone what the Emancipation Proclamation was!

-Industry:
I know some folk feel its bad for the critters and plants. But its helping keep our region from being impoverished, and even some Ferrals are kept from starving thanks to the paychecks we give em.

Yeah we run a tight ship here. Our founders would be damn proud of us today!

Traits: (5).

Traits? We just call that good breeding out here. Unlike some traitors who think it's a virtue to 'keep it in the family'.

-Diverse:
Even got a couple Natives and Free'd men in my family line.

-Long Lived:
You wouldn't believe the age of my Great Grandpapy. I think he's upstairs napping actuallly.

-Hardy:
Yup, real Hardy boy here. See this scar? Knife wound. Didn't even feel it.

-Agile:
I'm a real Captain America sometimes.

-Senses:
I could smell and hear you walking up before I saw you.

Are we really all that special? Heh. Guess thats why we got so many Rangers, Green Berets, and even a few Secret Service in the family. Though most of them prefer to keep living in the city than coming back home.

Society: (1 +3 from Disadvantages).

We all live in a society, even if on the margins. Of course we have a connection to them.

-Legal Recognition.
Yup. We worked with Uncle Sam, and he took care of us. This land is all ours, in writing, in blood, and in court. A few times the Fed Boys have shown up and things just seemed to go our way. Funny thing how nice your life can be if you stay loyal to your favorite uncle.

-Native Allies.
We might have fought with some local tribes in the past, but we also made peace with them, and stood by their side, and they stood with us even when the mo....even when the....when things went bad for us. We have a connection. Some of them are family and we help each other.

-On the Grid.
Ain't the strongest Wifi Signal around, and sometimes we get blackouts. Sometimes the water tastes funny. But its still pretty good out here. (Course I have to explain how Wifi works ever other week but that neither here nor there.)

-Linked.
Hope you like the new bridge and roads we built up. Nice right? Cost a pretty penny, so its good to hear people like and use them. We saved up and cut some deals for the mines. Should make selling the ore we mine easier, even if we get more city slickers than we used to.

Disadvantages (4)

-The Others. (-2 points). (Ignore the lights at night, and stay on our roads when you go out. Better yet, stay at the manor until the sun comes up).

-Rival Clan. (-1 Point).
Truth be told. I don't know who started it. Whether us or the Ferrals...but we've been killing and harassing each other since someone screwed someone else's sister and the other person shot their horse. But it ain't gonna end till they are all dead, or we are.

-Feuds. (-1 Point).
Everyone here knows us, and knows we're Uncle Sam's favorite. So that tends to lead to some tensions. If they spent as much time improving themselves as they spend hating us, they could be as well off as we are.

-Stereotyped.
Government lapdogs, its not true. We don't approve of everything the Feds do. They think we're nothing but jackboots, and people on the outside call us colonizers and injun killers. They know nothing about us and our blood. (+1 Society Point).

-Addiction.
Booze, painkillers, heroine....its all a poison, and we have a big family. We can't keep an eye on all of them. It keeps slipping in and ruining some of us. (+1 Society Point).

-Dark Secret.
Don't believe the lies the Ferrals and some of the other families tell you. Ain't no proof, and its all a myth anyway. We closed the mine down because it was running empty, and the dynamite that collapsed it went off by accident. We apologized for the miners that got caught down there. But none of them would take the money. Why do we keep guards there? Simple...its still our mine.
(+1 Society Point. +1 Asset Point).

Yeah, our lives ain't all sunshine and rainbows here. Especially not....not at night. But God is with us, and we have friends who are local, as well as friends in Washinton. It all helps us get by, and we're always getting stronger.

So why don't y'all come on by? The Ashwood Clan would love to have you for a visit. Just remember your manners here city boys and gals. Take care now, I'll see ya over yonder.

Marshwood Clan

Marshwood Clan - Family.

We can trace our family lines back to the honored, and humble, Ashwood Clan. Some time ago several of our own founders decided to split off and find their own path forward. They led us to success that makes us much more comfortable than the Ashwoods, though not nearly as numerous, or as...established as they are. We consider ourselves a more distant branch of the family tree, as we mostly do our own business. But we keep close to the Ashwoods. Blood is blood after all. As they say 'We all kin!'

We may fight and argue, sometimes, but we're kin. I just hope we remain that way.

Location: (1).

Lovecraft Country: It has an...older name. Many older names in fact. But this is what its best known as now. Lots of secrets, and lots of history can be found here. A place for old blood and ancient names. If you know where to look you can find us....or you can just ask the Ashwoods politely.

Founding: (1)

Our extended family goes back to the original settlers and pioneers. But the Marshwoods can trace their part of the family back to a more recent time.

-The Belle Epoch:
+3 Culture Points.

+3 Asset Points.

+2 Trait Points.

+4 Society Points.

+2 Disadvantage Points.

After the Civil War, a slight rift started to grow between us and the Ashwoods, it only got bigger as time went on and industrialization became a boogeyman to them for a while. We decided it was better to just go our own ways. We were still family, but we just decided to live apart and try to stay in contact. This has worked well for us, even better than it has for the Ashwoods I'd say.

Founders (1)

Old Nobility: +2 Asset Points. +1 Society Point.

Well...we may claim so but really we aren't. Nouveau riche is the more accurate term for us. We were always a bit brighter than our cousins in the Ashwoods. We could see the future better than them, and we wanted more. So we took fate by the reigns and made our own path forward. Its served us well.

Not everyone likes that about us. Not the locals, not the older (richer) families, and not even some of our cousins in the Ashwoods. But this is the path we've chosen, and we will stick to it.

Culture: (3+3 from Disadvantages).

We aren't nearly as colorful and historied as the Ashwoods. But we do have our little quirks.

-Literature:
Oh yes, we are very well ready. More well read than the Ashwoods, though we don't normally hang around the halls of academia. We have our own schools, and only send one of our own off to study abroad if they have a real talent we wish to foster.

-Folklore:
One needs to know the old tales of the land. There is power, unity, and wisdom in it.

-Rituals:
We all have our little good luck charms. The Ashwoods prefer to make their own luck through hard work, while we make luck work hard for us.

-Hierarchy: (-2 points)
Like the Ashwoods, we have internal leaders for the family. Wise old women, strong men, those most fit to lead and guide us in times of hardship. It just seems like the hard times keep going lately.

-Events:
We have the means and the money, so we like to throw parties, galas, and family get togethers when we can. Even COVID hasn't stopped that from happening. If anything I think keeping these events going has made us all healthier in the long run.

Assets: (5).

Well, I can't share all of our assets with you. But of the ones I can, you shouldn't be all that surprised. We make enough to keep us nice and happy, and to make sure our guests are happy too.

-Gold. (-2 Points):
Nothing like that shiny metal everyone loves and needs. Even the mightiest computers need a bit of gold in them for superconductors and such. That is what keeps the Marshwoods comfortable. Don't worry, it won't run out any time soon. Not like Oil, or those other modern cash makers. We aren't the biggest supplier, but we keep a steady flow going to those that want to purchase our product.

-Sturdy Buildings:
We make things to last. Just like the Ashwoods. We have to make sure our descendants are comfortable. And comfort we do provide.

-Infrastructure:
We always like to keep our home clean. You don't shit where you eat, unlike those damn Ferrals and other yokels. How would we look if we didn't pave the roads and fix the lights? We aren't destitute.

-Schoolhouses:
Educating our own helps us to make sure their minds stay on the right path, while still meeting the standards that Uncle Sam requires when he comes knocking...always with an Ashwood boy or girl along with him.

Traits: (2).

You will always know an Ashwood by the way they carry themselves, and how much they love to wave the Stars and Stripes and praise old Honest Abe. But you will know a Marshwood by our luxury, our looks, and the look in our eyes. We're not as numerous as them, not even close, so you may some repeating traits among our family here and there.

-Good Looking.
I like to say that we got all the beautiful genes, and the Ashwoods got all of the healthy ones.

-Bright.
We are very clever, aren't we? I don't mean to boast, but we must sound eloquent compared to our cousins. I know I've taken a few people off guard when they hear me speak.

Society: (5+4 From Disadvantages).

Civilization. Without it we'd be nothing more than animals. We do our part to keep the wheels of progress turning, and making sure those wheels turn for us on occassion.

-Connections (-2 Points):
Being able to always keep the Gold coming makes us many friends, and if that doesn't work then we can always drop the Ashwood name to open a few more doors. Being close to Uncle Sam's lapdog has its benefits, as well as drawbacks.

-Business:
Money makes the world go round, and it lets us return favors to the Ashwoods. How do you think they got that fancy new bridge? All part of our operation to expand the passage of resources and goods. Not to mention travel between us and them.

-Linked:
We've got to keep the goods flowing, and we love having guests! Our family is smaller than the Ashwoods, so we like to have people come over and socialize. It also helps us to meet with our cousins when its time for a celebration or just general get together.

-Imports:
Why yes, my shoes are Italian. Thank you for noticing.

-On the grid:
Unlike some, we aren't just content to live in the boonies, or in buildings still lit by candles. This is the modern age, we're allowed some creature comforts.

-Legal Recognition:
The Ashwoods badgered us so much over the years we finally caved in and made sure everything about our business, our lands, our work, was legal, and certified by Uncle Sam. Well....most things. At least it provides another stumbling block for the Lemarchands when they try to buy our lands or holdings.

-Schooling:
We send some of our few children to the best schools in the country. Sure they may come back with questionable ideas, and bring in arguments that cause us issues amongst ourselves, or with our cousins, but we bring in the money and can manage our own business without worrying too much about being taken for a ride by our competitors or coworkers. Be they over educated, or under educated.

-Online Presence:
This is the Information Age! What wonders man can come up with! Its a fun toy, and a useful tool for business. Not to mention it allows us ways to keep in touch with family members that have moved away, or even invite new people in to join the family.

Disadvantages (2).

-Dark Secret (-2 points).
If the Ashwoods knew....they would be screaming and hollering to Uncle Sam to bring his federal boys down on us. It would turn into WACO in Lovecraft Country. If the Ashwoods didn't come and kill us off themselves. I just wonder which passage from their holy book they would use to justify it?....Doesn't matter. The Gold keeps flowing. The money keeps coming in and we will be fine.

-The Others:
Enemies of the Ashwoods are enemies of ours. But we have some foes that...are of our own doing. Sometimes you need to play with fire, even if it burns you. (+2 Culture Points.)

-Rival Clan:
The Lemarchands used to be the top dog in these parts. They owned it all like robber barons and damn anyone who so much as sniffed at them wrong. Then we showed up, and we started doing their work better than they did. Now they want us exterminated, or driven into permanent poverty.

Though they have as much luck in that regard as Trump had with his idiotic insurrection, which of course they had a hand in, just to piss us and the Ashwoods off. (Oh don't even get me started on how angry that whole mess made the Ashwoods. Some of them were practically gearing up for war, ready to form militias and kill any new 'Johnny Rebs' and 'Secession Traitors' that thought it was a good idea to attack the Federal Government they worship almost as much as their own God. If they knew that the Lemarchands had a role in it, they'd probably be over here stirring up trouble, exactly what the Lemarchands wanted.)

Though even without that, we still fight with the Ferrals too. They mess with our kin, they get what's coming to them. (+1 Society Point.)

-Divided:
Sometimes we have scuffles amongst ourselves, and with our cousins. But what family doesn't have one or two fights? We still love each other, and there isn't anything we love more than beating up those that threaten our kin. Good thing there is always an outside threat for us to band together against. (+1 Society Point.)

-Fueds:
'They hate us, because they ain't us.' is the phrase I believe you city slickers use. Its true here. We are well off, and the locals hate us for it, even as we bring in the money that keeps the region from dying. Unlike the Ashwoods we don't have any local tribes to be allied to, and no GI Joes from any base or armory to have kinship with. Our only friends are of our blood, or under our employment...and the latter will stop being friends the second the money dries up. (+1 Society Point).

-Dying:
Thats just a lie the Lemarchands made up! We're doing just fine, population numbers are decreasing everywhere in the civilized world, its all relative anyway. Now forget about those lies, our family will live on. Oh, have I told you about our get togethers with the Ashwoods? They are such fun, and a great way to meet new people. Even outsiders are known to visit us on occasion and see what all the song and dance is about. Quite a few marriages happen there, perfect place for couples to meet. (+1 Culture.)

-Disintegrating:
The Lemarchands would probably crow on and on about 'globalism' and the 'miscegenation of western culture' till even their Klan loving ancestors would tell them to tone it down a bit. It's no big deal that some of our younger generation feel the need to leave. Thats how the world works. You either adapt, or you die. In the end everyone and everything fades away. What matters is that you are remembered, and that your descendants are taken care of, everything else is either inconsequential or incidental, as my brother used to say, before he moved out to California.... (+1 Society Point)

"Well, I think that about covers everything. No more question? Thats a shame. This was really enjoyable, and helped me to really put my family into perspective. You be sure to come back now, and bring your friends too! We adore guests, and we have plenty of room to spare. Honestly, I've had such a wonderful time speaking with you. Have you considered staying for a while? We'd love to have you here, welcome you as part of the family."

Members of Rita's Pack, if we go down a path of setting this in Werewolf: The Forsaken.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Samuel (Sam) Ashwood.



Auspice: Suharrahu

Tribe: Blood Talons.

Bio: Born a few weeks earlier than was expected, Sam has always been a bit of a trailblazer for the Ashwoods. Always first to step up, to take the risks, and take the punishments whenever the opportunity was presented. He could be quite the troublemaker when he was younger, and had some of it knocked out of him with an occasional whooping, which only taught him to try and be more clever, he didn't mind taking a punishment, but getting his friends in trouble tended to upset him more.

All of this taken together should have clued many in on the fact that he was a natural fit for the rare Auspice of the Suharrahu. He still remembers what it was like to watch the sun and the moon changing before his very eyes, feeing his own skin splitting open, his fangs forcing their way through his mouth.

It took three other members of the Ashwoods (and constant watch by friendly spirits) to stop him from going on a rampage into the local town. He was cleverer than most during his first change, and it was more through experience that they were able to stop him. After that initial incident, Sam has become a model member of the Ashwood family. Even if his tactics can be considered less than honorable.

It doesn't matter much to Sam. No trick is too dirty, no ruse too underhanded. All that matters is winning the day with as little casualties to his side as possible. That makes it worth being known for being lying, cheating, underhanded, no-good, backstabber. He couldn't care less.

"You can fight honorably. But fighting fair is for losers." Is a phrase he likes to use. But doesn't really care that much about honor either. He takes a great deal after his father, and even joined the Blood Talons because of him.

The senior Ashwood was supposed to have retired his position as head of the clan two years ago. But he has made the decision to stay on for five or seven more years, leading the Ashwoods a little longer, just until he is sure that Samuel has gotten his wild side out of him, sown his wild oats here and there, and is actually ready to lead the Ashwoods.

All of that is fine by Samuel. He's still got plenty of fight left in him before he's ready to even consider giving up being out in the field, fighting unbidden spirits, Kindred, and especially The Pure.

Besides, what better practice is there for leading a Clan, then being out in the field and leading his own Pack to Glory and victory?

Unlike some members of his Pack, Sam can get a little nervous when it comes to going into the center of Copperhead, to more urbanized areas, or (Luna forbid) an actual city! It overwhelms him a little, and he is more than happy to hand the reigns over to his sister Katie, or to Raymond, the Rahu of their pack and the only 'City Boy' they had. With Rita soon to join them, he is glad to have another person who can make up for his own personal weakness. He's far more at home in the backcountry and rural areas than he is anywhere else.



Katie Anne (Annie) Ashwood.



Auspice: Elodoth.

Tribe: Hunters in Darkness

Bio: Younger sister (by 5 years) to Samuel Ashwood, and his righthand wolf. He trusts her to handle things on his behalf, or on his orders. Even if she has a bit of an attitude problem, and tends to run her mouth more than she should, Katie always pulls through and isn't afraid to take a few punches. Her hot headedness is not to be mistaken for her being uncaring either. She wouldn't be second in command if she didn't take the time to look out for the others of her pack and her clan.

Her rebellious streak just refuses to end, and after her first change, she liked to use her powers to shift forms and sneak around, getting into places she wasn't meant to, discovering new nooks and crannies to hide in, hide things inside of, or get freebies off of passerby's by pretending to be an oversized dog and getting free food. Out of the members of the pack, she is tied with Raymond for being the most familiar with life outside of the Clan, and outside of Copperhead. She enjoys exploring and occasionally going to a rave or other party where she can cut loose.

But she always comes back home, and cares deeply about protecting the mountain, valleys, and paths, that the Ashwoods have made their home. She knows its secrets and she keeps them close to her heart. When asked about why she likes to go out so much, Katie will joke that she's just scouting the land around her home, and making sure no threats get too close to the heartland of the Ashwoods.


Raymond (Ray-Ray) Jones Ashwood.



Auspice: Rahu.

Tribe: Iron Masters.

Bio: When people think of a Rahu warrior, Raymond might be what most people think. He's big, he's tough, and he can handle a beating just as good as he can dish it out. But unlike most Rahu out there, Ray is actually fairly calm and level headed. Fighting is not the be all-end all for him, even if Ray is the first one to throw hands when the situation calls for it.

He fights because he protects others, and wants to keep them safe. That is what being an Uratha-Rahu means to him. Using that strength to keep people safe from things they can't understand, and which would hurt them in impossible ways if it got through to our world.

“I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

That is a quote which has always stuck with Raymond. He first read it in an old copy of Lord of the Rings when he was first brought to live with the Ashwoods when he was a boy. One of the Ashwood's seekers had sniffed out the traits of the Wolf-Blooded in his family, and decided to keep an eye on them if they happened to change....before he ended up marrying Raymond's mother, and noticing that Ray was showing the signs of being close to his First Change.

They were ready for the night Luna bestowed her blessing upon Ray, and kept him from hurting anyone, and helped him to focus his new self into something productive, turning all of that power to the protection of the balance between the world of the living, and the world of spirits. He got himself into trouble a few times by pushing the boundaries of his powers when killing Vampires without permission, but his initiative caught the eye of Samuel who was looking to put together his own Pack, and inducted Raymond into his group as their third member.

He seems to exude 'Big Brother' energy to everyone who meets him (provided they aren't an enemy). He always looks out for his pack (especially Erica, who might as well be his little sister) and other members of the Ashwoods when able to. He saves his rage and the intense impacts of his fists for anyone who threatens them.

Raymond likes to go away from the mountain now and again, sometimes head into more populated areas so he can be among humanity, and just enjoy the presence of other people. Among the pack, he and Rita are the wisest to the ways of 'City Folk'. Until Rita's arrival, Sam would defer to Raymond's judgement when dealing with threats in urban areas, as he was the most experienced, now it seems that they will share that role.

Its all fine by Raymond, he's always happy to have a new packmember to bond with. Not even blood is as thick as the bond between a pack that cares for its members.


Erica Mary-Lee Ashwood.




Auspice: Ithaeur.

Tribe: Bone Shadow.

Bio: Erica is the youngest member of the pack, and (up until Rita arrived) also the newest member. She only had her First Change two years ago. She is quite naive to the ways of the world, having even less experience with the outside than even Samuel. Everything is new and wondrous to her and Erica tends to try to make friends with people to the point that she's been specifically told to tone it down.

This behavior can be useful amongst spirits, but less so amongst humans. Necessitating Raymond to be the one to keep an eye on her so she doesn't end up doing something stupid.

She's always excited to see new things, meet new people (so Rita tends to be the target of her attention), and loves to be helpful to her pack and her clan. This makes it all the better that she is an Ithaeur, as she can provide spiritual and ritual support to the other Ashwoods when it comes to dealing with spiritual threats, and is learning directly under the Matriarch of the Ashwoods.

The fact that she is also a Bone Shadow just means she can hang out even more with Rita! (Yay!)

Despite all of this, she shares one trait in common with many other Ithaeur, in that she is possessed of just enough knowledge to get into trouble, but getting out of it requires the aid of her packmates.

Rita's own Forsaken Character Sheet.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Name Rita Ortiz                                                    Blood Soldier
Auspice Cahalith                                                  Bone Wallflower
Concept Paramedic Turned Hound of God                Lodge Lodge of the Savior

Tribe: Bone Shadows.

Intelligence    2                                    Strength    1                                  Presence          2
Wits              2                                    Dexterity    2                                  Manipulation    2
Resolve          3                                    Stamina    3                                  Composure      3

Willpower    6 / 10                      Health  8 / 8                Primal Urge 1                Essence:  7/7  Harmony: 7/10

Flesh Touchstone: The Old Gang.


Spirit Touchstone: The Lune.

-Kuruth Triggers:  Passive: Packmate takes Lethal Damage      Common: Seeing someone attack a Packmate      Specific: Hurting a packmate

Renown:

Glory: 2

Wisdom: 1

Physical Stats

Hishu (Human)
Size: 5  Speed: 8  Perception: 6  Defense: 2  Initiative Mod: 5  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Daly (Near-Human)
Strength: 2  Stamina: 4  Manipulation: 1  Size: 6  Speed: 9  Perception: 7  Defense: 2  Initiative Mod: 5  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Gauru (Wolf-Man)
Strength: 4  Dexterity: 3    Stamina: 5  Size: 7  Speed: 13  Perception: 8  Defense: 2  Initiative Mod: 6  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Urshul (Near-Wolf)
Strength: 3  Dexterity: 4  Stamina: 5  Manipulation: 1  Size: 6  Speed: 15  Perception: 8  Defense: 2  Initiative Mod: 7  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Urhan (Wolf)
Dexterity: 4    Stamina: 4    Manipulation: 1  Size: 4  Speed: 13  Perception: 9  Defense: 2  Initiative Mod: 7  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A


Experiencea N/A

Mental Skills
Academics        2
Computer          2
Crafts                1
Investigation      2
Medicine            2  "Trauma"  +1
Occult              1
Politics              1
Science            1


Physical Skills   
Brawl              1
Drive              2 "High Speed Driving" + 1
Stealth          1

Social Skills
Empathy            2
Expression        1
Persuasion        1   
Socialize            2
Streetwise        1  "Drugs" +1

Gifts and Rites

Moon Gifts:
Gibbous Moon Gifts  2

Shadow Gifts

-Ward the Wolf's Den (Glory).

-Running Silent (Wisdom).

Rites

-Messenger (*)

-Banish (*)


Aspirations.
Make a difference with her healing.

Improve the Protectorate's Standing/Position.

Balance the Human world and the Spirit world, to better both.


Merits

Contacts                  1        Dr. Anashula Nazal (Former Superior in her previous job).

Fame                      1        Saving the lives of two (Wolf-blooded) Ashwoods.

Indomitable            2        2 to a contesting dice pool or resistance trait applied against supernatural mental influence.

Languages            (Free)    English, Spanish, The First Tongue.

Pack Dynamics        3        Add your dots in this Merit minus two as bonus dice to teamwork actions, and to Resistance rolls standing in defense of your
                                        pack. Penalize rolls by the same amount when a packmate goes missing.

Song in your heart    3        Roll Presence + Expression to confer the Inspired Persistent Condition by telling tales or singing sagas.

Totem                  (Free)    "Man Eyes Weaving Webs"  'Weaver'.

The tale told by the local Forsaken, of why their land is important, and of its lost connection to Father Wolf.

The Breath of Father Wolf.

This Story is True…though there are few now who are left to tell it, and only ever in the Frist Tongue, the truest tongue ever known to the world, of which no human can ever speak. For the usurpers of the Supernal might hear tell of it, and wish to wash it away from us.

This Story Is True.

In the time before the time before, when Pangea and Atlantis lived in fluid times interchangeable, and past, present, future, were as interchangeable as the phases of the moon, there lived a magic eater. A great Old One known as the Devourer of the Wylds, who was thrown down from the Supernal Throne of Life, and impacted beneath the earthquake that one day formed the Appalachians.

It was buried deep within the earth, and there it remained with the rising and falling of Atlantis in the Supernal tides of time, until its very bones became the foundation of the mountains. Its veins became the cave networks that travel all the way to Kentucky. Its cries became the wind, and its rotting form gave birth to a land which invites all manner of mysterious beings to wander through the dark woods.

This is why the Appalachians have always been a strange and ancient place. From the age of Pangea to the modern era where unexplained lights can always be seen traveling through the woods at night.

The Devourer of the Wylds represented Life, but not in a way as we know it, from a time before we ever existed, it was a representative of Life’s desire, and need to, to devour the energy of the world to sustain itself, before it too would one day be transformed into another form of energy to in turn feed back into the cycle of life.

It was a powerful entity, that was a challenge even to the usurping Exarchs who stole the timeless thrones. They could not bring death to it, so instead they found another way of dealing with it.

The great beast was torn apart and thrown below the mountain, its spine traced the mountains, its flesh nourished the land for all things to grow from, its bite and bile would form into a terrible being of the darkness in a later time. While its eternal howls, would one day form the greatest hunter of all time. A  hunter who would be guardian to the world, and lover to a divine being who sleeps above us every night.

Urfarah would be his name. Though in the beginning, he had nothing, not even a form, not even the name which we know him by.

Urfarah was an unshapped being, existing and not existing at the same time. Shapeless, unthinking, a pure blind idiot god. But one who was also trapped in the dead heart of his predecessor’s eternal corpse.

Deep within the cave network, was the First Breath of Life. A gushing wind that refused to ever stop blowing, despite having no true source, it traveled out through the caves the way that modern breath travels through a musical instrument, and produced a howling sound, which passing humans told countless tales of, whispering stories about a god of all Wolves in Pangea. The Father Wolf.

Urfarah.

This Story is true.

Over time, the worship and belief of countless humans on the ancient, primordial, force that came from the caverns of the mountains began to have an effect. Especially as it was echoed by wild will-workers who had yet to be put down by the Usurpers.

Their collective belief, and idea of the Urfarah gave the great one a shape, a form, but the breath of the Devourer, gave him life, and it gave him a howl which could reach out into the very heavens themselves.

Many say that to this day, the breath we see from the caverns, is in fact that of Father Wolf, who breathed in the breath of the Devourer, and used it to unleash the First Howl, a sound so great that it even reached out across time, that it chases away the maladies of death, time, illness, giving the cavern and its breath, the power to make us strong long beyond our years.

Blessed be the first Breath of Father Wolf!

This Story is true.

Father Wolf was born out of the devotion, and storytelling, of the human tribes who surrounded his cave. Thus, helping establish the strange connection between werewolves and humans. But there were many other connections such as this, which would help form the bound we share with the mortal humans we are charged with protecting as we keep balance between the spirit world, and the world of living flesh.

These ancient people who gave form to father Wolf were tormented by an Idigam born of the remains of the Devourer of the Wyld. A terrible beast that loved to see the mortals suffer and hear their cries of anguish. Like pulling the wings off a fly or the legs off of a spider. For no other reason than knowing it caused them pain.

The Idigam did not hunt, it only tortured. It killed, not to feed, but to maim. It upset the balance of things, and could not be reasoned with. For you cannot reason with something that only lives to bring pain.

So, the ancient tribes cried out as one for anyone who would help them. The Sun did not answer, for it was already busy casting out the other nightkin. The stars were too far away to hear their cries. The Angels did not intervene for their ears were only for the Chosen Willworkers, and even they could only chase away the Idigam, not kill it. The dead had nothing to say, for so long as the Idigam did not come for them, it was not their problem.

It seemed as if no aid would come for them. But their cries were heard by another being, one whose eyes had already been turned to the Earth in curiosity, thanks to Father Wolf’s first howl.

Luna, the ever-changing goddess of the moon, answered their call, and descended to offer her protection.

This was the first time that Father Wolf ever saw Mother Luna, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, a beauty so divine that it stirred his mind to think beyond mere survival. She was beautiful, radiant, ethereal, and strangely in human form (so as to not scare the natives).

This strengthened his connection to the humans, that which all of his descendants share today.

Father Wolf knew little of the humans around his lands, but he had eyes to see, and a mind to understand, that Luna cared for them, as she offered her protection and the blessing of her chosen metal. Silver. Against all beings who prowl the night.

This Story is True.

Father Wolf swore the first oath of his existence as he watched Mother Luna ascend back to the heavens, and began protecting the borders between the Spirit and Flesh, hoping to one day see Luna again, as he proved himself worthy in her eyes.

It was during this time that his duties put him into conflict with his first true foe, the Idigam who had originally tormented humanity, a being that in some ways was Urfarah’s brother, and in other ways his dark shadow.

Their battle was legendary, terrible, violent. Some say that it caused the cracks in the earth that would form the Grand Canyon. Others say it was a battle of wills, rather than a physical one. Some too say that it led to the Sundering of Atlantis, but when it comes to the fate of the Willworkers, it is best left unsaid, for time and fact are oedious things to the Sorcerers and Mages.

But it doesn’t matter, only the results that came of it are important to our story.

The Idigam would be slain and have its heart devoured by Father Wolf, who would then Howl to the heavens that this kill was done in honor of Luna.

"Hear me now, beautiful pearl of the night sky. I have vanquished It who would torment your people. I do this in honor of you, most beloved of all beings of the world. From henceforth, I will ensure no other horrors such as this will reach your people ever again. Let me look upon you, even if only this once, that I might know my deed, and my oath, is worthy in your eyes.."

This Story is True.

Mother Luna heard the oath that Father Wolf declared in her honor, and she did descend from down on high, to look into the eyes of Father Wolf, and thus began their beautiful, doomed, love.

Thus would the seeds of the Forsaken Uratha be planted, as the Firstborn were made from their union, pure beings born of love, the last love that Father Wolf could give, for the dark heart of the Idigam was slowly eating him from the inside, hurting him in ways that he could not understand, making him weak, and whispering into his mind, until Mother Luna would not descend to see him anymore.

So horible was the poison eating away at his soul, that he no longer howled in honor of the Moon, his beloved bride, but instead snarled at it, sickened and rabid. Woe be to our beloved Father Wolf, may none of us know the agony of love turning to hate.

This Story is True.

Even Father Wolf's own children were not safe from his anger, as he snapped at them for the pleasure of seeing them hurt if they were to annoy him, rather than to teach them to withstand adversity, and to be strong when they had their own packs to lead. The Firstborn of Urfarah and Luna knew that this could not stand. It was only a matter of time until something broke.

The particulars are known only to those who were there, and few dared to speak of it.

Urfarah was sick, weak, old, and was unprepared whence came the attack by his own Firstborn, in a misguided attempt to spare him from the cancer of the Idigam, then came the Sundering, the creation of the Abyss, the Gauntlet, the Fallen World, our curse and then forgiveness by Mother Luna. Then came the war with our traitor siblings, The Pure, who rejected the birthright of Father Wolf, and cursed Mother Luna, who cursed us, and wanted only death for The Forsaken.

All ending in our own Oath, to forever take up the mantle of Father Wolf, and see his mission continued, as we protect the humans that Mother Luna had bestowed her blessing upon.

This is our sacred task, one we are charged with from birth to death. From the day we are born among humanity, to the night when Luna adopts us as one of her own, to when we join Fatherwolf in the Hunting lands, for all time.

This Story is True.

It is now your time. Embrace the gift of Father Wolf and Mother Luna. Howl with us.

(Yes, this is heavily inspired by Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters. I feel no shame in admitting that. :P This will be an entirely sapphic vampire focused idea. They were the best part of RE 8 and you can't deny it!  XD )

Blood of Dearest Mother.
(Vampire The Requiem)

The Requiem that all Kindred take part in upon being Embraced is a long journey to eternity. Some handle it better than others, but others become desperate for company. Any sort of interaction to keep away the immortality blues, and the knowledge that they will forever be among the damned. This is especially true for Elder Vampires, who develop all sorts of eccentric personalities as they age. Eventually many of them reach a point of power where no one is going to tell them 'No' even if their eccentricities are strange indeed. Though for some of them, their quirks have now become more acceptable in the modern age.

"Madame Roberts" as she now calls herself, is one of those 'eccentric' Elder Vampires. Born in the 1800s, she achieved the status of Eldre partly by surviving into the modern age, and partly through a few acts of Diablerie that let her attain the power she needed to secure her own survival and position. Unlike other Elders, she doesn't really want to rule the world, or build a vast empire. She just wants to live in the life which she is accustomed to and avoid the pains of loneliness.  Especially in this modern era where Sapphic love is more readily acceptable, than it used to be back in her time.

Overtime she has acquired three younger women to keep her company on these long nights (there were originally 5 but one left and one died). The oldest of her companions is from 1917, the middle one is from 1955 and the youngest of the 'sisters' was embraced in 1981.

If you earn her trust, she might tell you the truth of her life, her death, and her Embrace as a Kindred. But for the most part she prefers to live in the present and occasionally make plans for the future. She only takes part in the Danse Macabre as much as is necessary for her to keep herself and her three 'daughters' (IE: lovers, or brides if you wish) safe from the predations of other Kindred, Nightkin, or Hunters.

Sometimes this includes playing the political game, other times it involves acquiring money, precious materials, or artifacts that help keep them well off.
But for some time now, things have been blessedly peaceful for the Madame and her brides. She's even been able to indulge in one of her rare, shortened versions of Torpor, where she can blessedly sleep a few decades away and not lose centuries of time. It keeps her from feeling the Immortality Blues, and from being forced into Torpor by the Vitae, without as much of the detriments as normally occurs.  Sometimes her brides even join her for it, as they did this time at their estate.

She was last awake in 2003, and has only just woken up, along with her three Gangrel brides, to it being close to New Years Eve and 2024 is just on the horizon. They had all slept in a little longer than normal. It seems that in the twenty years since her initial sleep a number of their mortal (and even Ghoul) staff have run off and stolen things form the manor. Some of them even went so far as to purposefully damage their Haven. The Madame wants to figure out what went wrong, but first she needs to get her home fixed up, as if anyone found out that her manor wasn't up to date on its defenses they might try to take it for themselves, still thinking that she and her brides were locked away in Torpor. So she digs into the emergency funds to pay whatever it takes to get the manor repaired, and even hiring on mortal contractors who don't know of the vampiric world to expedite repairs.

Enter Alexis Cartland. A former troubled youth who managed to turn her life around after a stint in Juvie for fighting and stealing and once threatening a teacher with a knife. She managed to make something of herself and get her old temper under control, turning her old experiences to something more productive with her current job that she's managed to keep. (People tend to not want to hire anyone who had to be locked up for violent tendencies).
She's one of the staff for the 'Wicked Fixes' repair and contracting company. A group which has a crew of Handymen who were known to handle all sorts of repairs and quick fixes to homes, businesses, and more. This ranges from fixing a house, to a car, to unfreezing your computer from porn viruses, on questions asked. Sometimes this means taking on jobs which raise eyebrows, but so long as the money is good, it isn't their problem.


The Madame needs the job done quick, done right, and done without questions, so the Wicked Fixes crew is among those hired on to refurbish the manor and she wants it done at night, so that she, her 'daughters' and the remaining loyal staff can keep an eye on the work crews to make sure none of them are doing anything untoward.

Over the next three weeks the crews work tirelessly to get everything ready and become accustomed to spotting the Madame or one of her 'daughters' walking the premises or occasionally watching them and asking questions about the work they are doing. Sometimes they might even ask odd questions, such as asking how a smartphone works, or what a Wi-Fi or Netflix is. Among the crews, Alexis seems to be hitting it off well with the daughters, happily answering whatever questions they might have, sometimes even showing them what she was doing, and not batting an eye at any teasing or flirtation tossed her way. Sometimes she even teased them right back, and found herself being elevated in the eyes of the three younger Gangrels as the most fun of the crew.

By the time that they are finishing up their repairs, the crews are downright welcoming of any and all interactions with the strange (rich) nocturnal women. They aren't unkind, just odd and eccentric to the workers, with clear favorites (everyone can see Alexis is the favorite), and it is through this cordial relationship that the Wicked Fixes crew brings it to the notice of the ladies of the house that some of the damage being fixed looks like tampering and outright sabotage. Some of their work was even delayed because of damage done to things they had just finished rewiring, like the security cameras and motion lights.

This clues the vampires of the manor that someone else is planning something, and managing to sneak into their home during the daytime. Though they still need the repairs and just hope to be able to finish it before their unknown enemies try anything. Sadly their foes decide to initiate an attack on a following night while the work crews are still there. Their enemies assaulting the household openly, in hopes of killing the four women while they are still weak and without all their security measures in place.

They come out of the night like phantoms, another band of Gangrel Kindred, and begin slaughtering anyone they find. They strike hard and fast, cutting through the work crews who were still setting up lights and cameras, before moving deeper towards the manor. There is no time to move the workers to anywhere safe, and it soon turns into an open, savage brawl as the ladies of the Manor try to fend off the attackers, and the workers are caught in the middle.

In the ensuing fight several workers are killed, even as some of them try to go down swinging, especially among the Wicked Fixes crew, who use a mix of tools and some weapons they kept on them or in a vehicle to fend off the hostile Gangrel. Some of them are still clawed up, or openly being fed on, but Alexis proves to be a tougher customer, downing one of the enemy vampires with an improvised flamethrower from a propane tank and a welder, and producing a gun from her car that she uses to kill a few enemy ghouls who had come along to support hte attack ont he manor, before eventually trying to ram her car into another enemy Gangrel.

It doesn't go well for her. The Gangrel is able to tank the hit and pulls an injured Alex through her windshielf, before slamming her about like a ragdoll. She's left in agony on the ground, her intestines spilled everywhere for her bravery, and pain being the only keeping her from slipping into unconsciousness, but her little act of heroism managed to give her employers some much needed breathing room to send the enemy into retreat. The one who she'd distracted was the leader of the assaulting band, and without him continuing to lead the charge, the weaker Kindred were being slaughtered by the ladies of the household and the last holdouts of the work crews were finishing the Ghouls.

One of the daughters finds Alexis, and quickly calls for the aid of her Sire. Alex is on death's door, and even giving her some Vitae might not be enough to save her life. Even if they could save her, Alexis' actions mean she will be a target of reprisals, along with anyone she cares for. They might only be delaying her death, so the Elder Kindred makes her a proposition. To spare her and all she loves from death at the hands of the rival Kindred, if she will join their little sisterhood.

With little choice, and already feeling her life draining away, Alexis weakly agrees, and just manages to present her throat to the Madame, to accept the Embrace.

Thus begins Alex's journey into the world of the Kindred, as she becomes part of the Madame's family.

They will bring her in, teach her their ways, love her as another one of their own, as they dub her 'Fourth Sister', giving her another shot at existence, and a power unlike any she's ever held in her life. She will live forever, have immense power, and protect those she loves who would be killed because of her heroism.

On the flipside, the Elder and her three daughters would get a new member of their group with modern knowledge, and the skills to put up a fight even when she was clearly outmatched. They don't know their attackers yet, so it helps that she's an outsider they can trust to help boost their own strength.

Most importantly, she looks good enough to take to bed. The other sisters have a bet going on who will get to her first and how long it will take before she embraces a fully sapphic un-life with her new coterie mates.


Character sheet is here. I fudged some of the merit and skill numbers for the sake of the character and can't remember which ones now XD

Alexis Cartland

Name Alexis (Alex) Cartland                Concept Mechanic turned Vamp in a Carmilla like situation.      Bloodline Mabry
Clan  Gangrel                                    Mask Idealist                                                                        Covenant  Unaligned
Chronicle Blood of Dearest Mother.      Dirge Martyr                                                                        Title "The Fourth Sister"

Intelligence    2                                    Strength    2                                  Presence          2
Wits              3                                    Dexterity    3                                  Manipulation    2
Resolve          3                                    Stamina    2                                  Composure      3

Willpower    5 / 5                      Health  8 / 8                Hunger 0

Humanity: 7 / 10

Touchstone: Her "Family" (Definition subject to change)

Blood Potency: 1

Size: 5  Speed: 10  Perception: 7  Defense: 4  Initiative Mod: 5  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Experience: N/A

Mental Skills
Computer          1  'Data Retriaval'  + 1
Crafts                2    'Machine Repair'  + 1
Investigation      1


Physical Skills
Athletics          1   
Brawl              2
Drive              2
Firearms        2   
Larceny          2 
Stealth          1
Weaponry      1

Social Skills
Empathy            2
Expression        1
Persuasion        1  'Sweet Talking'  +1   
Socialise            1
Streetwise        1 
Subterfuge        1


Disciplines
Animalism        0
Protean            4
Resilience        1

Merits
Acute Senses          1        Super senses. Add Blood Potency to any roll to use senses. This includes any rolls to remember and identify sensory details.

Allies                      2  "Wicked Fixes!" Old crew of handymen/women she worked for. Some survived the attack and still consider her a friend as a vamp.

Claws of the Unholy        1      When wielding claws borne of Unnatural Aspect while in frenzy, this Merit takes effect. The weapon modifier for the claws
                                            becomes +0 aggravated. These claws ignore all armor not generated by Resilience. Drawback: You may only use
                                            Claws of the Unholy while in frenzy or riding the wave. Once purchased, this modification is not optional; the character
                                              manifests Claws of the Unholy any time she’s frenzied.


Close Family.                  1  Your character feels blood sympathy more keenly than most of her kind. Add +1 to all blood sympathy bonuses, and apply
                                        the 8-again quality to all blood sympathy rolls. As well, treat all relations as one step closer for the purposes of sympathy
                                        distances.

Distinguished Palate.      1  Discern the subtle nuances in blood and Vitae. Consider any Taste of Blood roll an exceptional success with only 1 success.

Dynasty Membership      1  Your character claims membership to a long-standing dynasty of Kindred. Her clan and city know her family’s exploits, and
                                          they often precede her. Each level of this Merit builds on the earlier abilities. New Kid (•): You’re recognized within the
                                          dynasty, but not in an influential position. Once per chapter, you may add the Clan Status of the dynasty’s most senior
                                          member to a Social dice pool instead of your own.

Aspirations:

-Protect Family.
-Defeat the Morelles.
-Make Peace With Her Fate.

VII Betrayed Houses.
(Vampire the Requiem, playing as "The Betrayed" from VII. This entire idea came from watching too much John Wick.)




"The right person in the wrong place, can make all the difference in the world."

"Seven Heavens. Seven Hells. Seven Sins and Seven Virtues. It all ends in Seven heads being collected, with a nice big VII left for us all to see."

"The writing is on the walls."

As far as most Kindred know. VIII are a myth. A scary story told to neonates to keep them in line, about mysterious kindred from the shadows who know all, see all, and never fail in hunting other vampires and collecting seven heads each time they do so. Be it the lowliest of neonate, or the most powerful of princes. They cannot be bargained or reasoned with. They will not stop until they get their targets, and there is precious little that any but the most powerful Elders can do to stop them.

VII are vampires who hunt other vampires and the five covenants of the Kindred share a common fear of them. They are the subjects of rumor and terrified speculation, leaving behind the wreckage of their Kindred victims along with the three characters that make the Roman numeral for seven. Some connection between VII and the Strix seems to exist - as when the Owls appear, the hunters of VII are not far behind - although the exact nature of this connection and whether VII hunts or serves them is unknown. More of a cult than a covenant , VII is a fanatical group of Vampires who seek to destroy every other Vampire in the world. Their name derives from the mark they sometimes leave at the scene of their attacks: the Roman numeral VII. It is not know what the group actually calls itself. No one knows how many members this group has and encounters with them should be rare. What they lack in numbers, however, they more than make up for in ferocity.

The truth of the VII goes back many centuries The members of VII believe they are the descendants of a Vampire Kingdom from ancient Ukraine that was, somehow, betrayed and destroyed by other Vampires. They believe that only by destroying all other Vampires can their Kingdom be restored. Or at least put their curse to rest once and for all.

It is rumored that members of VII do not suffer the usual potential frenzy resulting from the "Mark of the Beast" to which other Vampires are subject. Members of the clan claim they can recognize other Vampires on sight due a "Mark of the Betrayer."

But what is known about them is primarily rumor and speculation, as event he Elder Kindred have not found success in wiping out the VII once and for all. They always seem to slip away, or even outfight the mightiest of the Kindred, for each of them in a way has evolved to be a predator who lives primarily off of the lives of other predators.

Those who live and work with VII know the truth, of their ancient heritage to a betrayed king, and of the nature of the VII Houses which now have an eternal crusade against the Kindred. They each have their role to play, and each one is dedicated to fulfilling it to the best of their duties.

House Petronavich, like the Ventrue, considers itself the natural leaders of their kind.

House Semeonovic follows a religious calling in their fight against vampires, much like the Lancea Sanctum.

House Alexander is a line of predatory creatures, much like the Gangrel, who readily admit to being monsters.

House Grigorovich are also like the Gangrel and rarely stay still, driven on by a need to constantly hunt.

House Irinavici use money and power to conduct their crusade clandestinely, a combination of the tactics used by Ventrue and Nosferatu.

House Marisovich are antiquarians of the dark and sinister, living in shadow like the Mekhet and amassing knowledge like the Nosferatu.

The vampires of Dubrov are no longer around, either dead or in hiding.

For the most part, members of the VII Houses have avoided discovery by both Mortal and Immortal agents, yet now and again slip-ups happen, or a Kindred gets a good leg up on one of them. Such is the case with the cops of the 13th Precinct. The local Kindred have their fingers in deep with the government of the city, and have turned the Police Departments into a tool to maintain control over the herd, as well as root out any supernatural competition by dropping hints about them to the hunters of the 13th Precinct, who have already had experience fighting inhuman beings and covering it up.

Among the officers of the 13th Precinct's cops, is Isabelle Vasquez (normally called Izzy or Bella by her friends). It is only her second year on the force, working as a beat cop, and she's had the occasional mysterious encounter that she couldn't explain, but she's not entirely sure if she buys into the whispers of the older members of the force, about there being hosts and 'Nightwalkers' who roam the city. As far as she's concerned its all bullshit, or a ruse to cover up extra-judiciary justice, or someone being on the take with the local mobsters. Still, she likes to light a candle here and there and pray for safety when things get more spooky than normal.

In recent nights it has been getting worse, with reports of strange breakings, immolations, decapitations, the city is on edge as it means either a serial killer, or gang warfare is breaking out...or both. Something is going on, but no one can figure t out, and the Mayor is having every precinct pull double duties and patrolling at night, even in areas where they know well armed gangs have staked their claim.

It is on one of these night patrols that Izzy spots someone being tailed by multiple men who disappear as soon as she notices them, yet he knows that she saw something. The woman was very well dressed for this time of night, almost coming off like she had walked off a movie about fancy Eastern Euro gangsters even, and was being tailed by men who had the kind of walk which put Izzy's instincts on edge.

It was in the shitty part of town, where cops and even ambulances were not welcome. So she decided to go around the block and call in for another car to come and help her out, as she rounded the corner again, just as gunshots began to ring out. The well-dressed woman had retreated into an abandoned warehouse, and started shooting at the men tailing her.

Her name was Raisa Kohen Grigorovich. She is one of the Betrayed, and has been one since her embrace back in WW2, when she originally fought against the Nazis invading Ukraine. She had watched her local Synagogue being burned, and wept over the ashes late into the night, screaming to the heavens that she would be loyal to anything which would give her the power to seek vengeance. A member of House Grigorovich heard her oath, and liked her fury.

He embraced her, and made her swear to take up the fight of the Betrayed, if he helped her collect the heads of those which burned her church. So she did, and has been fighting the Kindred since that time. Tonight was no different, she had known the Kindred were following her and wanted to lead them into a Kill-Zone, but there were far more of them than she'd expected. It might have been more trouble for her, if not for the timely intervention of Isabelle. She turned on her lights and siren, while calling for backup in her area, and came out armed with a shotgun and her sidearm.

She demanded the kindred drop their weapons in the name of the law, and watched one of them turn to smoke before her eyes, as another tried to point a weapon at her, whiel flashign inhuman eyes and teeth.

Most humans would freeze up at this kind of first encounter with the supernatural, but Izzy pulled the trigger of her shotgun first and blew one of the Kindred back, before it turned into a mad three way battle. Izzy took three bullets to her body armor, but was otherwise undamaged. Raisa took some buckshot to the arm, and a few bullets to the chest, but would survive. Between the two of them, they managed to clear out several Kindred before more cop cars began pulling up.

The arrival of so many armed humans at once forced the remaining Kindred to break off, and left an injured Izzy trying to explain what she'd just encountered, and probably avoiding a psych ward only because the other members of Precinct 13 had their own scary stories, and because she had physical evidence from the bullets stuck in her vest, and her injured body.

The Kindred assassins wouldn't forget this, they'd just lost their only chance to ambush and capture one of the infamous VII, all thanks to some all thanks  to come idiot cop bitch. The chance of them finding Raisa again was nil, but the chance of them getting payback on Izzy was as certain as the rising and falling of the Sun.

Raisa, for her part, was fascinated by this human. Not many would stand their ground, and even fewer would be able to take down Kindred when not prepared for it. This alone made her a worthy candidate for future Embrace into the Betrayed, but the fact that some of the Kindred who'd jumped her had survived and fled into the night, meant that this could now be a matter of life and death, or even undeath.

Kindred were creatures of habit and emotion. Only those who could hold off their desires and actually think managed to become Elder vampires. It was inevitable that they would go after Izzy when the heat had died down, and when they made their move, so too would Raisa. A patient hunter knows when to use proper bait, and a clever hunter knows when to make a good impression.

For the next few weeks after being released from the hospital, Izzy can swear that she sees Raisa somewhere out of the corner of her eye, and even kind of longs to see her again. She has so many questions about that night, and whenever the sun goes down, she sees her even more. It all builds to a crescendo when Raisa finally makes herself known by waiting or Izzy in her own home, with a severely injured Kindred.

She has come to Izzy with a deal. The Kindred have a price on her head, perhaps even on those of her friends and family. If something isn't done, then everyone she cares for will die horribly.  But if she were to come with Raisa, then her family would be protected and those who seek her death would be punished.

Izzy would have to give up her life for an immortal un-life, full of violence and killing the undead, but she'd be doing the world a favor by punishing the guilty and the monstrous.

In the end, the choice is hers alone to make.

Isabelle (Izzy) Vasquez

Name: Isabelle (Izzy) Vasquez            Concept: John Wick by way of Blade.    Specter: Klementina.
House:  Grigorovich                    Virtue: Justice.                                  Title: "Lawbringer."
Chronicle: VII Betrayed Houses    Vice: Wrath.                                      Sire: Raisa Kohen Grigorovich.

Intelligence    2                                    Strength    2                                  Presence          2
Wits              3                                    Dexterity    3                                  Manipulation    2
Resolve          2                                    Stamina    3                                  Composure      3

Willpower  5 / 5                    Health  8 / 8                Hunger 0

Humanity: 7 / 10

Touchstone: Old Police Badge.

Blood Potency: 2

Size: 5  Speed: 10  Perception: 7  Defense: 5  Initiative Mod: 6  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Experience: N/A

Mental Skills
Academics        1
Crafts                1 
Computer          1  "Police Systems" +1
Investigation      1
Medicine            1
Occult              1


Physical Skills
Athletics          2   
Brawl              2
Drive              2
Firearms        3  "Pistols" +1   
Survival          1
Weaponry      1

Social Skills
Empathy            1
Intimidation      1
Persuasion        1   
Socialize            1
Streetwise        1  "Crime" +1
Subterfuge        1

Disciplines
Auspex        1
Celerity        1
Obfuscate    1
Protean        1


Merits
Acute Senses          1        Super senses. Add Blood Potency to any roll to use senses. This includes any rolls to remember and identify sensory details.

Distinguished Palate  1        Discern the subtle nuances in blood and Vitae. Consider any Taste of Blood roll an exceptional success with only 1 success. 

Parkour                    1      When in foot chase, subtract your Parkour from the successes needed to pursue/evade. Ignore environmental penalties to
                                        Athletics rolls equal to your Parkour rating.

Flaws

Anxiety Derangement (Due to Klementina Specter):  As Inferiority Complex, but your character’s general anxiety plagues things so badly that she suffers a -2 penalty on all rolls for the remainder of the scene, and Willpower points cannot be spent to bolster any rolls in that period.

Weakness.

A Grigorovich vampire loses one point of Willpower for every day she sleeps in a setting that she has slept in within the past 101 days.

Specters.

Klementina: Her children were lost in a winter storm, and she was never the same. She was terrified of losing her husband and the rest of her children after that, but it was they who lost her.

Benefit: Izzy can heal other Betrayed by using some of her own blood on their wounds. This will not cause Vitae addiction or the Vinculum. She can spend one more Vitae than her Blood Potency would allow, but this can only be done to heal herself or others.

Derangement: Anxiety.

The Burning.

Within every Kindred there is an eternal war between their humanity and their inner Beast. But for those among the Betrayed, this has instead been replaced by the Burning. A deep, fiery, hatred towards the Kindred. Deep in their souls, the Betrayed know that het Kindred have sinned against them, and nothing short of the utter extinction of the Vampire species will call this eternal rage within them. While Kindred always feel cold, the Betrayed feel hot.

Part rabid Beast, part broken heart, part furious avenger, the Burning is as much a curse as it is a gift. It shares many similarities to the Beast of the Kindred, such as causing them to frenzy and flee at fire or sunlight. The Burning will push a person to seek out blood, even if their mind wishes to avoid harming anyone. But it does not rob the Betrayed of humanity the way the Beast does. It instead pushes them to continue hunting and killing the Kindred.

Depending on your point of view, it is no more evil than fire. It depends on your point of view and how it is applied and controlled. But never let it go out of control, or you too will be consumed in the conflagration. Be sure to use its power to aid you in the coming nights the way all Betrayed have learned to in their eternal mission.

-Resist Coercion: When a character is subjected to physical, mental or supernatural coercion the burning may be used to resist by spending a point of Vitae to shield their mind for the rest of the scene.

-Guarding Against Betrayal: If a Betrayed ever takes conscious action to give their secrets to an outsider, their Burning will boil their Vitae within them for one (1) point of Aggravated Damage. To resist this for a scene, a character must spend a point of Willpower to resist the burning. The burning knows what is true betrayal and what is not. Such as recruiting an outsider into their order and sharing some truths with them.

-Eyes of Wrath: By spending a point of Vitae, a Betrayed may activate the "Eyes of Wrath" for the duration of a scene. Allowing them to see all Kindred within visual range as undead monsters true to their nature.  To the eyes of the Betrayed, they will look like prowling corpses with distended fangs, sunken eyes, claw like hands, and a distinct inhumanity at the level of the Uncanny Valley.

This can be of use in heavily populated areas where a Kindred might normally hide amongst the cacophony of the crowed, such as busy nightclubs, late night demonstrations/riots. Mardi Gras in the French Quarter.

A perception roll will be needed. (Wits + Socialize  or Wits + Empathy, with a penalty based on the size/activity of the crowd).

-Blood Addiction, Vinculum, & Diablerie:

The Betrayed can still become Blood Addicted to the Vitae of others if they are not careful. Some use it to compel their hunts, while others view it as a double edged sword.

The most vile thing for the Betrayed is to become enslaved to a Kindred. Better an honorable death in battle, or under the rays of the Sun, than being chained by the Vinculum. The burning provides a measure of protection against the Vinculum, but some still fall victim to it, and live a truly horrible existence as the different aspects of themselves war for dominance within their soul until the Kindred who is the dominant party of the Vinculum has been eliminated.

Diablerie is not a crime among the Betrayed, so long as it is only done to the Kindred and not to other Betrayed. They carry the same risks for it as the Kindred and carry the same marks upon their Aura for it. The practice varies between groups of Betrayed.

A New Sheriff in Town. (Werewolf the Forsaken/Wolves in the Dark FanHack)

Officer Helena Valdez was an ordinary cop, she walked her beat, she arrested perps, she filled our reports and suffered through office politics. All with the belief that he could singlehandedly make the police force better bytaking a stand againt corruption and abuse. She was a single light in a world of darkness, one which others constantly longed to snuff out and silence.

She can't go back to the city, she's made enemies, and might not realize that some of them aren't human. She couldn't deal with the politics anyway and so she went out to find her own path. Little did she know, Mother Luna had plans for her, and some Uratha and Wolf Blooded in the police force began to pull strings to get her sent somewhere that could actually do some good.

Her charges seem to just go 'poof' one day, as is typical with police, and now she's the new Sheriff in town, of some place you can barely even find on google, only on older, physical, maps.

She's been assigned to the town of Penshaw Valley, in a county that she's never even heard of and couldn't find on Google. She had to find her way there the old fashioned way and occasionally stopping to talk to anyone at a local gas station or rest stop. Eventually she found herself within Penshaw itself,  and discovers a mostly closed off town and surrounding county that isn't accustomed to people staying long in town.

They don't really know what to expect of her, and neither do any of the other surrounding towns, but Penshaw is in need of a Sheriff and Helena might be just the right woman for the job. At least that is what some members of the Lodge of the Shield think, as well as some members of the town itself who feel that she would be useful in keeping things orderly while they go about their own business.

Once she's gotten to know the town, its people, and perhaps some of its secrets, she will find that there is more to this place than meets the eye, especially once she notices that this place has gone through Sheriffs at an astonishing rate.

Come the full moon she will discover that there is much more to both the town, and herself.

Everyone will be surprised to see her survive and even thrive as time goes on. What should have once been a sacrificial lamb shall instead prove to be a She-Wolf who will take this town and make it her territory, with everyone there under her protection. Doubly so once she begins finding other Uratha to join her new pack as she begins to deputize them and turn them into a more effective force.

But as she brings peace and order she will soon find herself with new enemies to face, not all of them human, or even werewolf.

Elsewhere, in a strange, lost little town. Two voices discuss the fate of the now 'Sheriff' Valdez:

"With all the recent unpleasantness now over we can move forward as a County with a Sheriff's Department that the public can trust. This has meant a few compromises- bringing in someone from out of State means we can shoot down anyone who claims the corruption trials didn't get everyone, and she's even a minority so they can't throw the alleged connections to those militia groups at us. She might even be a lesbian which would shut those Diversity protesters up, taking on a man's job like that it's probably true.

"Best of all she's only barely qualified to hold the position and has no supporters in the local area, so we can absolutely make sure her clean sweep doesn't touch any of our little arrangements..."

---------------------------------------------------

So, this is another Forsaken idea that I've had rolling around in my mind for a little while. Being a Werewolf Sheriff, dealing with crimes both supernatural and mundane, while building up a department full of Uratha and Wolf-Blooded who might be able to stand against whatever evil h as been feeding off of the town and surrounding county.

I'm also thinking of having Helena be part of the Lodge of the Thousand Steel Teeth, which would involve her patrolling the roads and interstate highways to hunt down rogue spirits, monsters killing travelers, and whatever else might be out there.

Cue some Mad Max style vehicle combat, but with werewolves.  8-)

Part of the inspiration behind this is shows like Justified, Banshee, True Detective.

Sheriff Valdez (Cahalith Iron Master

Name: Helena Josefina Valdez.
Playbook: Cahalith.
Crew: The Penshaw Valley Sheriff's Department.
Alias: "Sheriff V". Sheepdog. Law-Wolf. "Hellhound Helen(a)"
Look: See Images to the left.
Tribe: Iron Masters.
Touchstone: Community . Helena believes in protecting her community and anyone else under her jurisdiction. She will bring honor to the badge, as a shield to protect the innocent.
Blood:Just Hunter ○ You hunt because you feel it’s the right thing to do. Great power= Great Responsibility.
Bone:Good Samaritan ○ You live to help those who cannot help themselves.

Stress: 0
Trauma: 0
Armor: 0


Cunning: 2
Glory: 1
Wisdom: 1

ACTIONS

1 Command.


1 Craft.


1 Sense.


1 Speak.


1 Track.

Playbook: Cahalith

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Cahalith - Gibbous Moon
Visionaries, storytellers, lorekeepers, and motivators
1 Command, 1 Sense

Auspice Gifts:

○ Prophetic Dreams
■ As a downtime activity, you can seek out a vision. Doing so gives you three visions of the future. You can spend one of these, and describe how it relates to the situation at hand to give yourself or a packmate +1d on their roll or to make a Gather Information roll by seeking out the vision.

Domains
Inspiration
Knowledge

Experience Question
Did you address a challenge with vision, inspiration, or glorious combat?

Tribe: Iron Masters

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Iron Masters
Clever operatives, they keep close ties with the humans they shepherd. They hunt humans and other beings that pose as them

Shadow Gift:

● Know Thy Prey (Cunning)
○ Any time you succeed on a Gather Information roll about an individual, spirits whisper to you every name that the target is known by as well as one of the following:
■ Someone that the target has a close connection with
■ Where the target lives and what possessions they have
■ A valuable secret about the target

+1 Craft

Domains
Knowledge
Shaping
Technology

Fangs in the Big Apple (VtR 2E.)

New York City. The Big Apple, the City that Never sleeps! The greatest city in the country, hell, maybe the whole world. She's been through a lot since the first stone was laid down, but she takes each of those hits and gets right back on up. It's something to be proud of, something that even the lowliest of undead monsters down in the sewers and subways can be proud of. No matter what century, what business you run, or what kind of Nightkin you are, a single truth holds even today.

'If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere'. That is a fact that few will dispute, especially among the immortal populace who prowl around at night. Especially if you are looking towards the criminal underbelly of the city that has been around since before Lady Liberty got her new green paintjob.

You'd think that the age of the Mobster would have been long since put to rest after the creation of the FBI, or the crackdowns that came in the 70s and 80s. But they are still very much around. Some of them just can't be kept down, especially when they found a way to cheat death by taking the Embrace of the Kindred.

Sure being a vampire has its downsides, but it certainly beats being worm food. The city is big enough, and populated enough in humans, and vermin (if you don't mind stray cats, dogs, and rats) that a high population of vampires exists. Even without the city's economic importance, the excess of blood to drink would be enough reason for vampires to congregate there, and fight for territory over the choicest of feeding grounds. It just happens to be that the city is too big for any one vampire to control, there is more than enough blood and money to go around for countless smaller groups to always be springing up and even putting the big players being at risk of losing their thrones.

Sometimes, just surviving to see the next night, and having enough blood to keep you going is all you can really ask for.  Some gangs may not be as powerful, they may have even lost some of their former glory, but they have stayed alive well into the 21st century and that count for something.

One of the more prominent members of the Old Guard used to hold nearly all of the Manhattan boroughs under their sway, but has fallen on harder times in the last few decades. Their star has dimmed, but it has yet to go out. They still fight on and still cling to the territories they have managed to keep permanently under their thumb. Year by year they claw back a little more of their former territory, in hopes of rising back up to the heights they fell from, and maybe even beyond it.

The 1990s were very hard times for them, between strikes by rival groups, rogue diablerists, roaming Nomadic vampires, and a crackdown by Federal agents (some of them even being vampire killers) the group's back was nearly broken. They had been suffering a death by a thousand cuts over the years until pulling back to territory they knew for a fact was secure, and digging in for the long haul for the past couple of years. But they are nearly done finally licking their wounds, and are beginning to expand operations and searching out for new members who would be willing to take on the Embrace and walk among the damned, in exchange for a chance to escape death.

They call themselves 'The Firm', in reference to some Ventrue lawyers they had when they first began their operations, but in truth they are just another criminal Syndicate, another Mafia, run by a former Capo turned Kindred Godfather.

Led by Pollione 'Uncle Paulie' De Ninno, their current holdings are on the border between Manhattan and The Bronx. The Firm has tried to adapt to an ever changing world, which means giving up some of their old habits and ideas from back in the 'glory days', so it does have women and people of color in it, as well as younger members who can better understand and handle modern technology. But the upper ranks of the Firm are full of OG Mobsters from back in the day, though they might have come from different families over time as their original groups died off or were absorbed by rivals.

They are quite the hodgepodge of different vampires, ghouls, and mortal members, looking akin to a miniature version of the American melting pot itself. Which is also reflected in how their group is made up of a real mix of different kinds of Kindred, though some are more present than others, especially the Gangrel, which really helps them in keeping their territory free of interlopers.

Technically more of the Bronx should belong to The Firm, but they are stretched as it is, and only able to send out occasional patrols deeper into the Bronx (and expeditions into Manhattan to try and steal back some old turf), which allows other groups to build up and push where they aren't wanted. But its only effective if they can actually catch intruders, and those who have turned the Bron into their own playground know how to avoid the Firm's members, and might even have people inside the Firm itself leaking information on patrols, personnel, and on potential new hires.

This is how one Maria Rosalinda Reyes ended up falling victim to an intruding Kindred on her way home from work, and sealing her fate as a Kindred, when her options were to be Embraced, or die within the next minute.

Though the fact that she was targeted by a rival Kindred is very concerning to the Firm, as she was among the list of new candidates for being Embraced. Her Sire gave her a choice as she lay dying, to either die as a human and go on to whatever afterlife exists for her, or to have a chance at eternity as one of the undead. She'd have to work for the Firm from now on, but she'd have a chance at payback, and protecting her friends and family from the same kinds of vamprie that tdid this to her.

She made her choice, and accepted The Embrace.

All her life Maria had been pulled between the straight and narrow path, and the path of wild and free criminality. Her family had worked so hard to make sure she followed the rules, even if it meant she didn't end up being much more than a wrench jockey at the local auto shop, they were pleased when she went legit and found a real niche with working with machines.

When she's in her zone there's nothing she can't fix, and it even sometimes applies to other tasks, like picking a lock, which might also be tied into a stint she pulled when she was younger. She almost got pulled into the gang life, so she knows a few tricks and signs. But her parents actually did love her and wanted to see her grow up right (which makes her Embrace more tragic), and they put her on the straight and narrow path.

The people at the garage call her 'Maria La Machina'  (Maria the Machine) because she can become hyperfocused and almost never tire out when she's doing a job, and thats how she ended up at the garage working late into the night and having to be the one to close up shop when she finally decided to head home, taking a turn down an alley she thought she knew, not knowing something was hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

She barely had a chance to actually defend herself, lasting barely a minute while being assaulted by a vampire. Her body was thrown around like a rag doll, slammed against walls, before the attacking vampire tore into her throat with savage hunger. 

Even now as one of the undead, a vampire, she still feels fear when thinking back to that attack. But now she has something to help her deal with that fear. She's got a crew, she's got powers, and she's got a second chance at setting things right.

She's just the latest set of fangs biting into the big apple, and any interlopers into the territory of the Firm better watch out, because La Machina never rests.

Maria Reyes CS

Name Maria Reyes                                        Concept Mechanic turned Mafia Vamp
Clan  Gangrel                                              Virtue Courage
Chronicle  Fangs in the Big Apple                    Vice Complacency

Intelligence    2                                    Strength    2                                  Presence          2
Wits              2                                    Dexterity    3                                  Manipulation    2
Resolve          3                                    Stamina    3                                  Composure      3

Willpower    6 / 6                      Health  9 / 9                Hunger 0

Humanity: 7 / 10

Touchstone: Her Neighborhood.

Blood Potency: 2

Size: 5  Speed: 7  Perception: 7  Defense: 4  Initiative Mod: 6  Armor: N/A  Beats: N/A

Experience: N/A

Mental Skills
Computer          1
Crafts              2  'Mechanical Repair" +1
Investigation    1
Medicine          1
Occult              1
Science              1


Physical Skills
Athletics          1   
Brawl              2
Drive              2
Firearms        2   
Larceny          2    "Lockpicking" +1
Stealth          1
Weaponry      1

Social Skills
Empathy            1
Persuasion        1   
Socialize            1
Streetwise        1  "Gangs" +1
Subterfuge        1


Disciplines
Celerity        1
Protean        1
Resilience    1


Merits
Acute Senses            1      Super senses. Add Blood Potency to any roll to use senses. This includes any rolls to remember and identify sensory details.

Distinguished Palate  1        Discern the subtle nuances in blood and Vitae. Consider any Taste of Blood roll an exceptional success with only 1 success. 

Indomitable              2        add a +2 die bonus to the dice pool to contest supernatural influence on your character’s thoughts or emotions.

From Requiem to Redemption.

Inspired by VtM Justice, and VtM Redemption, but set in Vampire The Requiem, it would follow a young woman on Christmas eve with her family having just come back from college last October, celebrating her graduation and just having a good time before she tries to join the job market and fully move out of her parent's home and start her own life.

For the past three months though she's been doing a bit of good work by participating in homeless outreach, delivering food and clothing to homeless encampments and trying to give back to the community before she (possibly) ends up leaving it for bigger and better things.

Plus, it's the holidays! A time for giving and charity, especially with how cold it has been lately. During her deliveries and work in the soup kitchens, she's repeatedly spotted a tall, gaunt, dark eyed stranger with eyes a shade of blue that she's never seen before. He's always polite, respectful, and several times kept order whenever some of the other homeless began to get rowdy.

She' seen him at the soup kitchen, at two of the alleyways where supplies are handed out, and even once while casually out walking one night. She's starting to get worried he might have a fixation on her, but he's aways been polite and respectful to her.

He's very slow and deliberate with his words, (for the same reasons Teal'c is careful to pick his words), and has a faint English accent to him whenever they spoke.

Eventually Christmas comes around and she is having a happy night with her family, enjoying some of the old classics stepping around all the guests they have, ignoring as they rifle through the family's belongings.

...wait...who...who was in her home?

There were five other people moving all around her home, idly messing with the family, stealing things they liked, sizing them all up.

It's a coterie of vampires, and sadly for our heroine, these are members of Belial's Brood. They have come because they are seeking to raise some hell and turn what should be a happy family get together into a nightmare. To slaughter everyone there and redecorate their Christmas tree in organs and body parts.

Our heroine has enough of a hold on her own mind to realize something is wrong, and makes the mistake of pulling one of her father's guns out and threatening the Vamps that they need to leave now or she will shoot them.

They laugh and one takes a step closer to her, causing our heroine to start shooting.

The vamp she shoots takes three shots to the chest without batting an eye, and mockingly scratches at it. "Ooh, that really itches."

All hell breaks loose as her younger brother has his throat torn out, her mother's eyes (the same eyes as her own) are gouged out, her father is thrown about like a rag doll, breaking his bones and cracking his skull.

The Belial vamps were going to wait until after the family had their tradition of opening 1 present for each of them before bed, before starting the slaughter, but it might as well happen now. And since our heroine wanted to spoil the fun, she's going to get the worse of it.

Her face is clawed up by a Gangrel, a Ventrue makes her shoot herself in the gut, the Mekhet among them whisper into her mind that this is all her fault and recounting her dirty secrets to her, while the Nosferatu whispers her worst fear to her.

There is no God, and what awaits her is oblivion, and with how much pain they will inflict on her, she will welcome it.

The Daeva is getting ready to make our heroine engage in grotesque acts with her own mother's corpse, when the front door is kicked in with so much strength that it slams into the Daeva.

All eyes go to the door, expecting someone to be there. But its empty. They are just staring into the open street.

While the vamps are distracted, our heroine works up the strength to lift up the pistol that she'd just used to shoot herself, and is just about to shoot the Nosferatu in the back of the head, when she notices a nearby shadow shake its head at her, and point to a different vampire instead, the weakest among the group, and nod.

Not questioning it, she does as the shadows tell her and proceeds to mag dump the pistol into the back of the vampire's head, sending it down (but not out) as it shakes from having its brains damaged just enough to knock it out of the fight.

With one of their own down they again turn to the human, only for the Ventrue to suddenly have a sword, and actual sword, punching through his heart, one radiating shadows darker than any kind of black that any of them have ever seen.

In one swift move the sword is pulled out and the Ventrue crumbles to dust, as the attacker, as our heroine's savior, doesn't waste a moment. Swift kicks, swings, and an occasional punch follow as each of the other vampires is slain before her eyes.

When it's all over, only our heroine, the vampire, who it turns out is the same homeless man she'd been seeing for a few months now, and the vampire that she'd shot in the head.

That injured Belial vamp is weakly trying to crawl away while the rescuer, steps over to it, stabs the Vampire in the lower back, hard enough to drive the sword through its body and pin it to the floor, before he kneels down and mutters a prayer, not for the foul Belial vamp, but for himself, for what he must do.

The human watches in horror, as her savior extends a set of fangs from his mouth, and proceeds to feed off of the pinned Kindred, draining it down to its very soul, in a horrifying display of diablerie.

Once he is fed, the Vampire looks about the room, and grimly states that he is sorry he could not have arrived sooner.

The Vampire who came to her aid is Sir Nathaniel of [Insert proper English title because I'm not sure what would fit.], and he gives her some of his own Vitae to save her life, before begging her forgiveness, as he picks her up to carry her away into the night.

The Belial's Brood are not one to be trifled with, save for by the brave, the righteous, or the foolhardy. They will know that a number of their own were slain tonight, and any survivor of such an event will be hunted down to be made an example of.

For as much as our heroine might want to stay and mourn her family, its best she go into hiding for now, while Nathaniel think of what to do with her, even as his Vitae calls to him and whispers into his mind that it is high time he sought an apprentice for his art. A Childer for his power.

In time he will explain all to her, and help her understand the truth of the world and of himself.

Her savior, Nathanial, was an old world Hospitaller knight who fought in the crusades for a time, before seeing the truth that the Mohammadians were not the true foe of Christendom, but those foul beings who prowl the night and prey upon the innocent.

He was nearly killed trying to fight them, and called out to God, then Allah, then anyone or anything, which would give him the power to slay these abominations. To bring fear to them as they brought fear to mankind. If they would do this for him, then he'd serve in an eternal crusade against the darkness.

What irony it would be, that his prayers would be answered by those he sought to destroy, in both his mortal life, and immortal life. A kindred of middle eastern descent, a member of an order known to him as the Khaibit had been nearby, and took him up on this oath. Having him swear it upon the martyr he held so dear, before embracing him.

"Always be careful, girl. For the devil is always listening, and he answers prayers too."

"Do you regret taking the deal?"

"No. Only that I did not know the full truth before signing my soul away."

Since then he has been a proud member of the Khaibit. Hunting Kindred and even worse things, serving in darkness, so that it might one day be as safe as the light is to mankind.

Sir Nathaniel was actually up and about for some time after the crusades. He was pretty much a vampiric Solomon Kane for a while, and got to be awake long enough to hear some plays of Shakespear live and in person.

But then came Torpor and those memories are spotty and disjointed. Even some memories of the Crusades are...spotty, and contradict what historians say happened.

He isn't sure how he ended up in the New World. Only that he was being carried along in a sarcophagus, in the tattered remains of some old clothes, clutching both his sword, and a bible which had long since rotted away in his hand, along with whatever notes he might have made for himself.

He was in a cargo ship and was carried along to a port city, where he disappeared, after devouring an unfortunate few dockworkers.

Nathaniel was in a new world, a new land, blessed only by the fact that there were some things he recognized, and the people spoke a tongue descended from his own.

He sat back, he watched, he listened, he used what he knew to help him figure out what he didn't know. As well as sometimes compelling the homeless who shared his alleyway to tell of what they knew of the world.

He is making sense of the modern world in his own way. Though he till sees things in a more antiquated fashion, such as calling certain people 'Science Witches' and 'Engine Seers'.  ;) I'm sure you can figure out what he means.

Nathan was fascinated with our heroine. She reminded him of...someone, thus why he followed her around for a while and witnessed her charity on multiple occasions. He's not sure who she reminds him of, but it was a comforting feeling, perhaps her soul was that of someone he knew in life, or in his un-life.

That is likely why he (as a Mekhet) had a prophetic dream, warning him her life was in danger. He dreamt of her surrounded on all sides by dark shadows, with the eyes of owl, and the smiles of those who partook liberally in rape and pillaging.

He tried his best to get to her, tracking her by her scent, his visions, and his incredible speed.

Now they must decide what to do next. He cannot protect her forever, but he promises to help hide her somewhere else, so she can begin a new life, and to hunt down those foul Brood members connected to the crime on her family.

Yet, our heroine doesn't want to run and hide forever. She want's vengeance, she wants an eye for an eye, and a fang for a fang!

No one should suffer like her family did, like she has, and she swears to Sir Nathaniel that no matter what, she is going to fight and kill Belial's Brood for what remains of her life.

He can either sit back and watch her do it as a mortal, or make her into a Kindred like himself, so she can at least have  real chance against them.

Nathaniel knows the look in her eyes, its one he himself has had many times, and now he realizes why she was so familiar to him, because she was like him in his youth. Maybe a part of him is still like that now...

So, he makes her a promise, to go to a church which allows the homeless to remain here for a while, sit and pray for three days and three nights. If by the end of the third night, she still wants to do this...then he will grant her request.

Nathaniel will embrace her as a Kindred, of the Mekhet Clan, and into the Khaibit. Where together the two of them can take on Belial's Brood, in whatever it might be doing, as well as punishing other Kindred who prey upon the needy.

Who knows, perhaps this chance meeting between the two of them, was divine intervention?

Friend of the Underground. (VtR)

The Nosferatu are a thing to be feared and loathed. The haunts, the living nightmares made flesh, cursed to show the worst of the beast and also the most tragic of the Kindred. They are forever damned, forced to wear the worst of the curse upon their flesh faces, to give off an aura of unease to their environment, and be pushed further and further away from humanity.

Some embrace this happily and make themselves less than human, making themselves more depraved and indulging in their inhumanity. For it is better to revel in what they are now than to pine away for what has been lost.

Others, however, refute this. They try to make the best of their un-lives and cling to hat remains of their humanity. They will fight tooth and nail to preserve the last light of their humanity from being snuffed out. Some of them enjoy sitting in the darkness and watching the joys of human beings, some will actually try to reach out to humans and try to establish a connection between themselves and the living.

Coteries of Nosferatu who think this way have a bad habit of being ostracized by other Kindred, but their attempts to reach out to humanity have sometimes blessed them with daytime allies, even as it puts the at risk.

One such Coterie has a warren in the city, beneath the local mall. First built in the 70s, the mall managed to stand the test of time for until now, where it is finally shutting down as store after store closes its doors. The mall's days are numbered, but it at least means that the Nosferatu can now access the upper floors more freely when the sun goes down.

Their leader is a Kindred who has managed to maintain an astonishingly  high humanity, known as "The Caretaker" he was a former Hippy, back before the movement became rife with drugs and used as an excuse to get high, rather than about looking for freedom and personal enlightenment.

He made the mistake of picking up a Nosferatu vampire while out in his van, and talking about life, the universe, philosophy, enough to make the vampire want to embrace him.

Caretaker doesn't like talking about those years, instead he busies himself with helping others. Such as his right-hand woman, another Nosferatu known as Mitsy, who he saved from an abusive Sire close to 7 years ago, she's not always the most well-behaved Nosferatu, but she's eternally loyal to Caretaker, and won't tolerate anyone besmirching him or trying to turn the warren against him. Her size and youth tend to cause many to underestimate her, until they feel the bite of her sharp tongue.

"Don’t you just love it when dudes get offended when you call them a boy? They’re all like “I’m a man, not a boy!” Like no, what you really are is a little bitch. I was just trying to be nice." ~Mitsy.

Together the two of them have managed to make their Warren into a safe haven for the Nosferatu who want to keep some kind of a connection to the living, as well as ensured the safety for human contacts who choose to work for these Kindred, delivering packages, stealing information, and other tasks which the Kindred cannot do in the daylight. 

Those who are considered a 'Friend of the Underground' are given special privileges by the Nosferatu, a taste of Vitae to cure ailments, some financial advice if they wish it, or a safe place to hide from the horrors outside of their warren. Yet they never offer their human allies the chance to become Kindred.

This is a cursed existence, and not something to be sought out, especially among the Nosferatu.

So, what happens when one of their allies is forcefully embraced by a different clan, and left naked and unconscious right on their doorstep?

Is it a warning?

Is it a message?

A declaration of war?

Or is someone trying to frame the Nosferatu?

It's too early to tell, but the Warren is in a bind now. One of their allies was targeted by another group of Kindred, forcefully embraced and left outside the mall. The clock is ticking and they need to figure out what to do. Thy do not abandon their friends, but harboring an unsanctioned  Kindred like this could get them all in trouble with the Prince.

City of Wolves (WtF)

Everyone knows the usual tale of a city's criminal underworld, with hapless humans under the sway or employment of immortal blood drinking monsters. While vampiric control is very common, this isn't true for every city in the world. In some humans are the sole power brokers, in others it is the mages, and rarely it will be the Uratha, the werewolves.

Our story will take place in a city where this is the case. Instead of the typical trope of vampires ruling the criminal underground of the city. Instead of a court of Kindred commanding things from the shadows, we have a Protectorate of Werewolves with their talons in various industries of the city, claiming it as their own, the wolves will now be the ones having highrise meetings to discuss ownership of the city, not the Leeches for a change. (Something I'm sure many Kindred will not approve of).

The local PD and mayor/governor know to stay out of their business. They keep things orderly. No more Drive-bys, no more dealers trying to sell smack at the playground or school yard, and most importantly they keep the supernatural world under control. If it weren't for them then Kindred would be drinking people to death, Slashers would be running riot, ghosts would be haunting valuable properties, sorcerers would be messing with lei lines and all manner of supernatural abominations might be eating those valuable voters and taxpayers.

For all that the werewolf mafia might be disliked for its power, no one can deny that they keep the peace and people in the city feel safe enough to go out at night.

It is run by a matriarch known ironically as 'Miss Lamb'. She was the wife of the previous head boss of the city, until she pulled a coup de ta against him and took full control over his organization almost seven years ago, turning the organization into a better version of itself to rock the boat less and leave less of a body count

Miss Lamb is no saint though. You cannot be one in this kind of life, and in order to keep control you have to play dirty. The only difference is that she doesn't let her group go to the excesses you would see in other criminal organizations like the Cartels.

Her organization still deals in drugs, gambling, prostitution, racketeering, smuggling, a little bit of everything, and has been able to keep itself from being bothered by the feds due to their werewolf abilities, and occasionally has bumped off a nosy reporter (or three) when threats or bribes aren't enough.

But this could also be a weakness, showing her hold over the city is not as secure as the group likes to make it seem, since she isn't willing to go as far and as fucked up as her enemies. Any number of rivals could be looking to make a play, and remove the wolf-queen from her throne.

My own initial idea is perhaps someone makes a move to hurt her directly, by taking her Wolfblooded son away, and their path manages to intersect with My Character. Be she a rural cop who was at the right place at the right time, or just an average lady mechanic who noticed muffled screams from the back of a car, and decided to take action.

Either way, her stepping in is a deciding factor in the boy's rescue and Mama Lamb remember this, especially when she smells that MC is set to become an Uratha soon. So, she makes a place for MC at the table. Skipping MC ahead of the line to be welcomed into the family and introduced to a pack which will take her in and ensure she doesn't have to do anything too dirty beyond maybe a shakedown or two. But a good heart and a furious fist are most useful when pointed at worthy foes.

These are tools Miss Lamb can use in ensuring her position is not threatened, while also bringing in someone new she can be sure of isn't among those trying to undermine her power.

The Soldier and the Seniorita (VtR2E)

(This is a reimagining of a canon character from Vampire The Requiem:  Night Horrors: Immortal Sinners. An immortal, vampiric cowboy appeals to me and so I came up with this idea thanks to a previous game and after being introduced to the concept of an Inamorata, the vampire's reborn soulmate).

Jack Cade is a name that commands fear, respect, and hate among the vampiric community. The man is an undead legend with a thousand and one tales told about him.

Cade’s presence fills the room. He’s tall and thin, but he  seems huge. His finely tailored suit smells a little musty, and he wears his long, thin hair combed back from his high forehead. His features are lined and weathered, like an ancient stone set alone in the blistering desert. He
smirks, his hand moving to adjust his bolo tie slightly before extending to you in greeting. His eyes are hungry.

Among the Kindred, one name is synonymous with American patriotism: Jack Cade, Lord of the American West, the Texan, the Immortal Soldier, the Last Gunfighter.

They say he first took up arms for the US during the Mexican-American War and has fought in every war since. They say he was tortured for nine months in the basement of a Mexican hacienda. They say he’ll break your nose for saying an unkind word about the red, white and blue. That he’ll stake you and leave you for the sun for blaspheming. They say his Vitae runs red, white and blue.

They’re not entirely wrong.

But as with all legends, a lot of the truth has been lost in the retelling, and some of it is by design form Cade, trying to make sure no one out there has a good grasp on who he is, even if it has been hard for even Jack himself to tell fact from fiction after so many nights under his own Requiem.

Vampires all across the continent speak about Jack the same way humans do about Davy Crockett. Whenever Jack comes to town, all eyes are on him, both with wonder, and suspicion, as all Vampires look to him as a proud elder of their species. 

And he hates them all. Every time he looks at another vampire, he longs to bite into their necks and drain them of all their vitae, or to stake them and leave them out for the sun. Being a vampire has only a single benefit, immortality. The only reason he doesn't indulge in his hatred of his own kind more often is because he knows it would get him killed, and for as much as Jack hates being Kindred, and hates those around him, he doesn't have the constitution for suicide that he once did...after the loss of his only love, Jack has grown cold, with very few things now making him feel a spark of life.

Long ago, Jack Cade was the son of two well off land owners in the Texas territories. He never wanted for anyting,  yet was taught to never indulge in his money, only ever to work harder to acquire more of it. For a long time Jack was the favored son in his family, until he defied the wishes of his father, because he'd actually fallen in love with the daughter of one of his family's Rancheros. Something his father found disgusting.

To Cade's father, she was not only of a lower race, but of a lower station too. Those 'people' like her were only good for fucking, not marrying. You sowed your wild oats with them and bossed them around, but you didn't actually catch feelings for them.

But Jack didn't care, he and his Maria were an item, and sometimes they could just lose entire hours staring at each other and sighing with affection. It wasn't carnal, it was something more. They completed each other in a way no one else could.

Jack loved Maria's passion, her sass, how she wasn't afraid to talk back to him if he was being an ass, or pushing too hard, but he also loved how caring she could be and how she tried to make him laugh whenever he was angry from one of his many arguments with his father. (Even before Maria and he were an item, leading to many more arguments between Jack and his father.)

Maria loved that Jack was an honest man and never liked cheating anyone (which even included her people, where the law would have always sided with him), he was willing to get his own hands dirty despite not needing to, he didn't fly off the handle when talked back to by a woman (if anything he seemed to like her fiery temper) and was fair to her people.

But the world created circumstances to break them apart. The Mexican-American war was in full swing and Jack was called upon to serve his glorious nation, and his father was coming with him, giving Jack a chance to prove himself in the Cavalry, as their horses were requisitioned by the Army, and Jack promised to return to Maria when it was all over and to make her an honest woman, even if the two of them would have to elope away from it all.

"I don't care about wealth, I don't care about color. I only care that I love you...and you love me back." He'd told her, and for a wonderful night, the two of them forgot their troubles.

But, sadly, love like that can't really last in a world of darkness, and Jack suffered through battles against the Mexicans who knew the terrain better than his own people did. His father was killed by canon shot (and couldn't be properly buried) and Jack was eventually taken as a prisoner of war by a Mexican Kindred, an ancient Spanish Conquistador who had owned the same plot of land since first laying claim to it more than a hundred years ago.

His unit had the unfortunate luck of stumbling upon it, thinking it a Mexican outpost, only to be slaughtered to almost a man, with Jack being among one of the last survivors, refusing to surrender, because he wanted to keep his promise to Maria, and return to her. The fight within him was what caught the eye of the Kindred, who decided that Jack would make a fine plaything.

The torture Jack endured every night, are the stuff of nightmares. From being degraded like an animal, drained of his blood like a cow for its milk, to being constantly mocked and having his mind toyed with by the vampire's dark powers...are things he refuses to speak of, even into the modern era.

Three terrible years passed like that, with Jack becoming a shell of what he once was, he begged for death, only for the old Spaniard Kindred to decide he wasn't done with Jack just yet. So, the old Kindred embraced him just so that he could keep torturing the Gringo as his personal toy.

Things didn't go according to plan after that.

In a rabid state Jack broke free of his bonds and managed to overpower his Sire as he caught the vampire by surprise, and diablerized him until the older vampire was nothing but a withered husk.

Committing vampiric cannibalism upon his own Sire shattered Jack's already vulnerable mind, and for the first month of his immortal life, he was little more than a human animal who cut a bloody path through Mexican kindred. He spent every night eating his fill as he before finally making his way home on some primal desire, leaving a bloody trail of innocents behind him, until he arrived to a ruined estate that had lost all its splendor and its workers, save for a scattered few....and Maria, who had stayed behind to take care of Jacks' mother.

Still rabid, and full of hate, Jack saw Maria not as his lover, but as the cause of his pain, her and her whole fucking race.

He killed the remaining Rancheros one by one, even tearing his mother's heart from her chest without barely a glance before going after Maria with his bare hands. Jack barely flinched as Maria threatened to shoot him with his own guns, and only grinned as the bullets barely harmed him now.

He grabbed her by the neck, held her down, and smiled as he began to crush her throat with his thumbs, the claws that had once been his nails were slowly digging into her flesh, and the smell of fresh blood was sending him even deeper into his frenzy.

She tried to fight, but more than anything she tried to speak to Jack, hoping to break through to the man he was.

"Why? Why!?" She begged at him, trying to call to the man she loved, but only saw the monster.

Her final words though would be like a slow dagger to Jack's heart.

"I still love you."

It was the last thing she said to him, and he didn't care, he was glad it hurt her. This was all her fault, he'd lost his father, his mother, his land, his life! All of it was gone, thanks to her!

When her neck finally snapped in his grasp, it was so gratifying, but would then bring him an agony unlike anything else in the future, and forever more.

It was only years later that it would really hit Jack, when he had no wars to distract him, no enemies to fight, and could finally look in the mirror to see the monster he'd become. The truth was worse than being burned by the sun, than being shot with thousands of bullets. Because everytime he looked into his own heart, he knew he was forever incomplete....and it was all his own fault.

Jack tried to kill himself once the reality hit him...but the Beast wouldn't let him die. The dark reflection of all Kindred wants to survive, even if the host longs to become dust.

"I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out! It doesn't want me to die, even if I do."

'Of course not, Jackie boy. You get to live with it. We want you to live with it.' The beast almost seems to whisper behind his eyes.

Now Jack is nothing more than a Shark. He has to keep moving, keep fighting, it's the only thing that gives him any purpose. War after war, enemy after enemy, he's still playing the role of the Good Soldier, because it's all he has left. Especially if it means he can fight another vampire, as it's his own way of cathartically railing against what he's become.

Then he hears tell of a band of Belial's Brood running around Texas and New Mexico, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. He has to return to his old stomping grounds as the local vampire Princes have offered a bounty for the heads of the offending Kindred, and Jack is looking to collect. He always needs a new distraction, and by killing members of The Brood, he's doing the general public a favor by removing the very worst of vampiric society, lest they continue to maim and kill for the sheer pleasure of it.

He manages to track them down to an abandoned slaughterhouse, and hides among the rafters, ready to ambush the Brood members, when a familiar scent hits his nose. He'd almost forgotten it after all these years, but it calls to him.

Imagine his shock when he sees Maria, alive and well! She's as beautiful as the day Jack murdered her, and hunting the same vampires he is. He cannot believe his own eyes, but his beloved Maria has been reborn! Her soul has returned to the world in the body of another Mexican woman, and while she may have a new name, she still has that same fire in her veins, the same beauty, the same voice, the same desire to stick up for her people, and refusal to back down from danger.

She's a police officer now, taking action where others would not, and trying to track down the Kindred responsible for this, and stop their senseless slaughter. She'd snuck into the slaughterhouse, intending on facing the vampires there, singlehandedly.

'My Maria...as stubborn as always.'

Through some sick (or merciful?) twist of the universe, the tragic lovers have another chance to be damned together, and make a heaven out of their shared hell.

It hurts Jack worse than even the kiss of the sun to see her. It's as if her mere existence causes phantom talons to dig into his heart.

It is a good pain.

More than anything else in the past hundred years, Jack feels alive! He wants more, he wants to feel her touch, wants to share in her joys, to remind her of who she was.

He won't lose her this time. And he doesn't care who he has to kill to keep her by his side, forever.

On the flipside of things, Megan Castellanos is a third generation Mexican-American. Her Spanish is functional, if a little rusty, and she's got more in common with your average Joe American than Maria back in the old west. But it is undeniable that she shares a lot of traits with Maria.

She has the same personality, same body language, and same outlook. She's just adapted to a new world where a woman like her has new opportunities. Megan became a police officer to look out for her people and actually do some good. But when a recent string of murders with a ritualistic bent to them began cropping up all over the county, no one has done a damn thing about it, and she's been actively warned away from sticking her nose where it does not belong.

So, Megan took things into her own hands, and began looking for clues, which led her to seeing the Brood in action, devouring a victim, and following them at a distance as they dragged their latest meal back to their nest, where she strapped on a stab vest, grabbed her sidearm and shotgun...and made ready to do the dumbest thing she's ever done since first becoming a cop.

"Oh yeah, Megan, let's go and kill some vampires all on our own! I'm sure you will be Jane Rambo here and get to kill them all and the whole precinct will be in awe of you and start clapping and give you the fucking key to the city!" She angrily mumbled to herself as she loaded shell after shell into her shotgun.

Megan fully expects to die in the attempt, and in most circumstances she'd have likely been killed by the five vampires who were waiting for her inside of the slaughterhouse.

But tonight, fate has dealt her a lucky hand. One of the most famous and skilled vampires in the country is watching over her, with nothing on his mind in this moment beyond ensuring her safety.

As soon as danger rears its ugly head, Jack Cade will swoop in and blow its fanged head off, before taking a bow before his one and only seniorita.

Mr. Amaranth. (VtR)

Hush hush hush

Here comes the Boogeyman!

Don’t let him get too close to you

He will catch you

If he can…

You will know of his arrival by the scent of Amaranth flowers on the wind.

The taste of it on your lips, in the blood of mortals. The way it fills your lungs and makes them heavy, despite you never needing to breathe anymore.

You will know of his eye by the rising of the hairs on your arm, making you feel a sensation you hadn't had since you were last alive. Vulnerable.

Like Prey.

You will know of his presence by the way the night feels ever darker. Even mechanical lights seem to dim just by his mere stepping into a room.

You will know of his intentions by the way he introduces himself to you.

You will know he is genuine when he offers to make a deal, by the mere fact that you continue to live, rather than disappearing to drown in his inky coils for all eternity.

Unable to breathe, but unable to die.

It isn't often that The Amaranthian shows himself to a fledgling vampire or to a mortal. But whenever he does, those who have become his chosen have gone on to do great and terrible things. One of his most infamous projects has been none other than The Unholy. The bogeywoman of all Kindred.

But its not enough. He wants more. He needs to create more. And he's found the perfect subject.

"So what are you. An Elder Vampire? A Demon? Gentry Fae?"

"Oh no dear girl. Nothing nearly as droll as all of that. I am Kindred. Jut a very old Kindred."

"What is your name?"

"You can call me Thomas, dear girl. Thomas Amarant Zayne. But who, and what, I am is nowhere near as important as what I can do. I've been wandering these nights looking for something to keep the boredom a bay when my little birdies started to whisper about some troublesome girl conducting the Amaranth without so much as a care about the consequences, yet never showing signs of the madness that comes with it."

"Oh yeah? That supposed to mean something to me?"

"No, Well...not yet, at least."

"Look if you're done with the Mr. Needful Things act, I have places to go and people to see."

"My dear. I know what is going on. I know the silly plots going on in your head. I know that you will continue to perform the Amaranth for as long as your heart's blood burns with hate towards other Kindred. All of these things, I approve of. So, do not mistake me when I say that I, my darling little epigone, am in a position to help you."

".....Okay. I'm listening."

"What if I could offer you, exactly, what your heart desires? The power to vanquish your foes, to see even the strongest of Kindred fall before you, to become a legend among the Kindred, for all time."

The Amaranthian goes by many names. Making most of them up on the spot when pressed for a name, by both victim and acolyte. His title is what others know him by and use to understand the dark stranger. Some claim him to be the original Kindred who discovered how to consume the Hearth's blood of another, and named it after himself, or his favorite flower, or the flower of a lover who was consumed (either by himself or the Kindred he devoured).

Others claim he comes from the same dark place as the Strix. Or that he is what the Strix are like in their true form.

Still, yet more say that he has no origin. No beginning, no middle no end. He simple is, and exists as a permanent, eternal, aspect of the universe. As perpetual as darkness itself.

The story changes each time he tells it, and each time another person tells it. The stories of what he does are far more credible. He is known to share his power with Kindred, Sorcerers, even Forsaken, who are able to catch his interest. What it is they do can vary greatly. Sometimes he likes the way they look, other times they enact some terrible deed that he feels should be vindicated with power. Other times they remind him of something or someone precious (or hated) and that alone is worthy of alms from him.

Some speculate that he doesn't actually care what his acolytes do with his power. He just wants to see them use it and then go on his merry way. As curious and strange as when he first arrived.

Yet, just as strange as his choice in people, is his choice of payment. From one person he asked for their tooth, another gave up their first born child, a poor Forsaken had to abandon her right eye to him. The costs of his power are as difficult to pin down as every other aspect about him.

The only uniformity is how random they feel, leading some to suspect that there really is no cost. He just does it as a formality.

But then again, who can say what he does with the things he takes?

"So....what is the price for all of this? What would I owe you?"

"Dear, silly, girl. You already paid my price. Look in the mirror next time. Look into your own eyes, and see."

"See what?"

"See."

Kin and Kindred (VtR)

This one is a bit convoluted and less solid in my mind, but I still felt like sharing it.

 I'm going to say that the old WoD version of the FBI's Special Affairs Division (SAD, before the Second Inquisition) exists within CofD. 

They are slightly more funded and manned than in WoD, but still not as strong as they need to be for the sake of the job. There are three teams of Door kickers who are prepared to do battle with Kindred in open combat, and the rest of the SAD is mostly analysts, investigators and black suits going out while still doing their regular FBI duties.

The Division primarily handles crimes of a cult-like nature, but with a vague mission statement that allows them wiggle room to investigate and combat the supernatural. Created at the order of J. Edgar Hoover, they have always been the underdog of the FBI's various departments and division, making the best of a bad situation and at times work alongside the Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit (VASCU), as muscle for the Psychic agents battling Slashers of all types.

At best they might occasionally crop up to bring down a coterie of vampires who have been overfeeding or trying to commit regular federal crimes alongside the usual spade of crimes and murder Kindred conduct in their midnight society.

At worst the Special Affairs Division are just a way for Kindred Elders to ensure no real anti-Kindred efforts to come to light as all those in the know within the Feds eventually get funneled towards the SAD.

It also takes a bit from the old 1E of Hunter The Vigil, where Task Force Valkyrie was actually a tool of various vampires Elders/factions to use against one another and not a true force for Vampiric eradication. Some of the Valkyries are even in the know about this, and choosing it as the lesser evil.

In their hearts they truly believe that they will never defeat the Kindred, and trying will only lead to mass suffering. Their efforts are more towards preserving the Masquerade by punishing the vampires who behave badly and to show the Elder Kindred that humanity can be useful as they are now. So, it is better to just focus on keeping the peace and keeping any one Kindred from being too powerful.

All for the greater good.

The two sides of SAD and TFV will clash on an unfortunate operation, setting up the events of our story on a mission gone horribly right.

The base idea itself would follow a hastily put together SAD Assault force of Suits and Door Kickers is suiting up and deploying for an operation in [Insert location on the East Coast with sufficiently old buildings for a Sarcophagus to have been buried there. Put purposefully in the New World by the English (or perhaps English Kindred) to be rid of 'something' they feared but could not kill. So, they instead buried it deep and prayed it would not awaken again, lest there be a reckoning against them. Though I can also see this happening in Chicago or in New Orleans.]

The humans have gotten credible information that an Elder Vampire is being awoken soon, one that might go rabid and cause civilian casualties, or disrupt the local Kindred power structure and lead to the vampire equivalent of a Gang War.

The mission is to go in, eliminate the mortal servants, Ghouls, and any Kindred present, then capture the Sarcophagus and start transporting it to the US Army's Biological/chemical weapon furnace. A fire so hot that it makes sure not even microbes of the worst weapons designed by mankind can survive.

It should do the job for even an Elder Vampire.

If all goes well, a bunch of Kindred and their flunkies will be dead by morning, and within a day or two a major vampiric Elder should likewise be reduced to ashes. The kind of operation that should be standard for both TFV and SAD, But never is.

They are going in at high noon and trying to take the vamps and Renfields by surprise while most of them are napping. They need to do it now because their (possibly flawed) intel says that the awakening it set to happen tonight. If they can pull it off then they can remove the Sarcophagus without the Elder being awoken.

Local police think it's just a raid on an active terror cell with IEDs and the chance of simple chlorine bombs (to justify anything 'weird' going on), and are already setting up cordons to keep civilians away from the mission site.

It won't be easy, but the SAD team leader assures the rest that Special Forces are coming to help them, they are still a ways away though, so it's up to the SAD Agents to get the job done, or at least soften the Leeches up enough for the Spec ops boys to finish the mission.

This team in particular is pumped to get it done. They've killed Kindred before, (with this even being my character's third active operation against the leeches) and they are all a little overconfident, to the point of having decorated their uniforms with an insignia that isn't really standard issue.

Their leader was the one who picked it out, and none of them know what the symbol means, but its cool looking!  (I leave the symbol details up to you, because I could not find one that I felt worked :/ . But it does have meaning and will be important later on.)

The operation is a go the second they touch down, with SAD deploying in and engaging the mortal cultists with speed and precision. Strangely the deeper they go into the building the more things begin to diverge from the plan. With SAD finding a tunnel network not on any maps and ritual rooms that force them to fight in awkward positions, losing some agents, but still pushing deeper.

Some of them begin realizing that the reason they are having such an easy time assaulting the building and tunnels is because it is designed to keep people in rather than to keep attackers out.

But by this point the sun is starting to go down, and the commotion is waking up some of the Kindred, and progress is getting slow, to the point the Agents are relieved when they hear over Comms that the Special Forces are here.

"This is TFV-6-5. We are entering the tunnels, what is your location SAD Team?"

They give their approximate location, and are told to push forward and meet up with the Valkyries at the Sarcophagus room itself, where the Valkyries will actually have the high ground over the Agents.

The Sarcophagus room is designed with defenses pointed at the sarcophagus itself, with several tables of modern devices, chemicals, etc, there, as if maybe they were actually preparing to try to kill the Elder Vampire locked away inside of it. Either by poisoning it or otherwise harming it in ways beyond just staking it in the heart and leaving it for the sun.

Something isn't right. Everyone among the surviving SAD agents can feel it in their bones, and their leader begins to panic and mutter in a language none of them can understand.

Then the doors slam open and there is the mad thundering of boots, as the high ground is taken by Task Force Valkyrie, and the passageway the Agents came in through now has Kindred there.

What ensues is pretty much The Shower Scene from The Rock.

Though the argument between SAD and TFV is different. The TFV soldiers have decided to work with the Vampires the way the US works with Anti Communist dictators, even if they are objectionably horrible people. It's for the 'greater good', to keep the peace...and because the TFV leader(s) believe that in conflict with Kindred, the US might actually lose, and with the US falling to Vampiric control, the rest of the world would soon follow and that thought has broken them, leading them to acts of appeasement.

They were willing to give the SAD agents a chance to surrender and become ghouls, since they were pretty impressive in their mission, and so many SAD operatives being killed raises too many eyebrows.

But they refuse. Better to die as free humans than forever be the puppet of a vampire.

And this is why the SAD agents are sentenced to death by those that should be their comrades in arms. They are more loyal to their oaths than to their fear of Vampires. Perhaps it was the hot blood in them, the classic Yankee Piss and Vinegar attitude, or a genuine clash of beliefs. But it turns to violence, as Kindred and Valkyries attack the SAD.

The Valkyries keep the agents pinned down while Kindred rush in to tear the agents apart.

But to the surprise of the Valks and the Kindred, the Agents don't go down as easily as they should have.

The SAD team leader is actually more than he lets on, and manages to singlehandedly drop two Kindred on his own using blood sorcery, which is made easier by all the blood shed today, and blood in bags nearby.

He knows he is doomed, but focuses on the Sarcophagus, and decided to risk it all on a gamble, grabbing another nearby agent (Who would be my character) they bolt towards it to open it up. If they are going down, they might as well go nuclear, taking down Kindred and Traitors with them.

They successfully open the sarcophagus up (thanks to the Blood Sorcery) and the lid falls to the ground with a thundering crash. Inside is a desiccated body. So old it might as well be dried wood from pre-history. They cannot even tell the sex of the vampire within it, but a careful eye can spot a little twitch of the fingers or shoulder here and there.

Those in the know are familiar with the Elder's history. The Elder is not as old as the Kindred species itself, but certainly old enough to be a threat to some of the Elders currently in power, and knowledgeable in sorceries that ensured its protection as it slept within the Sarcophagus. 

Now that their Sarcophagus is open, all hell begins breaking loose, as the Kindred and Valkyries desperately try to stop what the SAD Leader is doing.

But its already too late. Even as he and MC are perforated with bullets, he is casting a spell, that sends both his and her blood into the Elder Kindred. The two of them leaving a taste in the mouth of the Elder that jolts the creature awake, eyes focusing on the two mortals being torn apart before theri eyes, and the scene of violence all around them.

The team leader dies, falling to his knees, holding up a hand towards the Elder, and muttering something that seems to catch its attention, right before a bullet tears his head open and ends whatever he was saying to the Elder.

MC is lying on the ground, desperately trying to staunch the bleeding, and reaching a bloody hand out towards her leader. But the deed is done.

He is dead, and the Elder now lives. And they are so agonizingly hungry!

What follows is a scene of utter, one sided, carnage! The ancient vampire easily tears through those who stand before it, openly diabolizing some Kindred, and tearing out spines of foolish mortals who get too close.

The Kindred are sent into a route, while the Valkyries try to cover them, and MC wins favor with The Elder by using the last of her ammo to kill a Valkyrie and then suppress the others, forcing them to retreat out of the Sarcophagus room, as both the Traitors and Kindred move to a better position, hoping to regroup and assault the Elder while it is still weak. 

The Elder notices the symbols on the dead agents all around it and seems to get some clarity of mind now. The gnarly looking creature desperately scrambles about, looking for any other survivors, but between all the bullets going their way, and the Kindred pressing the assault, only MC has survived. Even an Elder can't do much when someone's head has been crushed or their brains lost and multiple organs destroyed.

The Elder goes over to MC, and begins cooing and stroking her face as it looks over MC's injuries, looking pleased to see that symbol on her uniform as well, and comes to a conclusion for what to do next.

MC has been chosen to be the Elder's right hand, their new Seneschal and guide them to this new world.

But first, she needs to be made into a proper Kindred, but for that to happen, she will need to be strong enough to survive till they get outside.

So, MC receives the healing Vitae of an Elder Kindred, forming a bond between the two of them, to make them able to survive the fighting to come, so that she may be truly made into the right hand of an Elder, as the Vampire sees her as the last survivor of an ancient family line that served the elder with honor.

From now on, they will not be as Master and Ghoul, not even Sire and Childer, but Kin and Kindred. As close to family as a Vampire can get.

-----

I was originally going to have the Elder be a Mekhet Khaibit but I decided instead to leave their clan and backstory vague. Even their sex and personality is left up in the air. Though I'd also be fine with either my previous idea, or a powerful, ancient, Gangrel Elder.

[Lustful Bride]

4/11/2024

Complete thread overhaul! Cleaned up things as much as I could, and added a ton of new ideas. Even if no one wants to write any of these out with me, I hope you at least enjoyed reading them and get some inspiration for your own RPs and any CofD games you might be playing.