Seattle By Night

This is an Elluiki page for the Big Group game known as VtM - Seattle by Night. This will be nicely indexed one-stop shop to learn character information, NPC information, city and history information, GM ruling information, antagonist information, etc. If it's about the game, chances are I'll index it here. This can easily function as a guide for both old and new players, though I concede that this is going to be a massive amount of information in one place.

If there is ever a discrepancy between the forum threads and this wiki, assume the wiki is accurate.

Only I, Blythe, should modify this page. No one else should make edits.

VtM: Seattle by Night is a game of gothic horror, interpersonal relationships, politics, and--you guessed it!--vampires. It is set within a fictionalized version of the city of Seattle in the year 2000. What does this mean for you? It means that if you would like to play, you will be playing a vampire, and you will be playing a vampire who lives in Seattle and is invested in the city as a resident, who will usually be part of the undead faction known as the Camarilla.

So what do you need to know to know if this game is for you? Well, read [this thread.] This thread contains the game requirements, some chargen information not found here on the wiki (like character sheet templates), and a list of all active & inactive game threads.

About the Game

You must have at least the Revised rulebook to play this game, [available for legal purchase at drivethrurpg if you don't already own it.] You should read the thread linked earlier that talks about the game requirements.

All Revised Clanbooks as well as the Sect Guides for the Anarchs & the Camarilla, are permitted additional resources. I may allow others on a case by case basis. Ask first. I am particularly picky about boks related to Thaumaturgy or sorcery, as I'm trying to avoid having to hunt through too many sourcebooks.

Types of Characters You May Play

You may play an ancilla Kindred, a neonate Kindred, a ghoul, or a mortal. You must have special permission to play an ancilla Kindred. I typically prefer you play a Venture, Toreador, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Gangrel, or Brujah. With special permission, I might permit Tremere, Caitiff, Lasombra antitribu, or a (Schismatic) Assamite. I am unlikely to allow exceptions beyond the listed clans here.

Number of Characters You May Play

You may have a maximum of two characters. If you play two characters, one of them must be a Kindred.

Statistics

We are using core character generation from the Revised VtM Core Rulebook. Please note the following: Mortals start with an extra 20 EXP, ghouls start with an extra 20 EXP, neonates start with an extra 20 ExP, and ancilla start at 75 EXP. Please private message the STs on the main forums if you need help with statistics. You will want to be mindful of houserules, listed below, while statting your character. [This post] has information on what I require for this game for ghouls and pure mortals. Revenants are not allowed.

Humanity & Paths

Upon request, I might permit you an alternative path other than Humanity, though I prefer Humanity. You'll need a good reason for not being on Humanity in your backstory, though.

Elysium: Ranks, Rules, Regulations

Seattle's current Elysium is the Seattle Central Library. It's a massive library that is typically reserved via Telucti's ghouls for regular once-a-month Elysiums some time during the first week of a month. The old Elysium, back in the late 1800s, was the library on the Occidental Block (which later became the Seattle Hotel). Telucti was never happy with the library again after the fire when it became the Seattle Hotel. The Hotel became defunct by 1961, which forced Telucti to move Elysium. He bounced from several locations, but eventually he settled on the Seattle Central Library about two years ago. (Note: For the purposes of this game's timeline, the Seattle Central Library's construction would have began in 1996, although in real life, it was built much later).

The library is eleven stories tall with brilliant reflective glass windows. It's a stunning marvel of architecture, albeit with a certain modern feel to it. It's a comfortable place, and Telucti, on Elysium nights, ensures the top two library floors are reserved for Kindred use. Several Ghouled guards ensure that kine don't come up to the 10th or 11th floors at that point. Usually a small portable stage is constructed in a larger spare area in the top floor for scheduled performances, like Brujah rants or Toreador art showings. That high up also contains offices which are sometimes co-opted for private use. It's a comfortable informal-looking Elysium, even though it's got a lot of rules.

It is generally expected to approach the Keeper and announce one's presence before general socializing. This can be as small as a quick introduction or as long as a private talk with the Keeper on the 11th floor about Clan politics, but failing to approach the Keeper is generally seen as a faux pas.

Etiquette & Rules of Elysium

- Do not approach Prince Telucti without scheduling an appointment via the Seneschal.

- Ghouls are not permitted in Elysium without the Keeper's approval

- No electronic devices whatsoever. Do not make use of any electronics already present in the library. Violating this rule will result in the violator being banned from Elysium for as long as the Prince sees fit.

- The Masquerade does not apply on Floors 10 and 11. It does, however, apply on all lower floors.

- Caitiff are forbidden in Elysium.

- Thin-Bloods are forbidden in Elysium.

- Tremere are not permitted formal requests for their clan to have a Primogen on the Primogen Council. Violators will be banned from Elysium for as long as the Prince sees fit.

- Refreshments will be provided. Blood Dolls are located on Floor 11. Do not bring your own kine for feeding. Unauthorized Kine will be slain by the Scourge.

- Christian crosses of any kind are not permitted within Elysium. First time offenders will be warned. Subsequent offenses will net increasing punishments.

Who Holds Rank/Position/Status?

If there is a ( ? ? ? ) by a position, you may create a character to apply for that position! After interest/recruitment, I will have NPCs created to fill them if no players are interested in playing these positions.

Prince - Telucti (Toreador)

Seneschal - Louis Duchamps

Primogen Council: - Dr. Rosen - Nosferatu Primogen

- Athari "Gladstone" Gorth - Toreador Primogen

- Louis Duchamps - Ventrue Primogen

- Grendel - Gangrel Primogen

- Miguel Juarez - Malkavian Primogen

- Theodore Freeman - Brujah Primogen

Other Positions: - Sean Fulton - Sheriff (PC)

- Tobias Prescott - Keeper of Elysium (PC)

- Julian Antoni - Scourge (PC)

- Regan Fleur - Harpy (NPC)

Boons & How They Work

Boons are just a system of trading favors, but they are the lifeblood (no pun intended) of the Kindred political scene. Given that time changes currency, changes culture, and changes many other things, Boons have become a pretty valuable way of tracking someone's social viability in the Court. There are three kinds of Boons.

Life Boon: If someone saves your un-life, you owe them a Life Boon. This is the largest type of Boon to owe and generally means the other Kindred has some considerable social leverage on you until the Boon is discharged. It should be noted that you need to be in immediate lethal peril for this to apply and in a place where it's actually possible to kill you for you to end up owing this sort of thing. Honestly, this is not a common boon. If your character owes this type of Boon, they're probably just trading one type of problem for another.

Major Boon: Major Boons are significant favors--this can be anything from someone sticking out their neck for you in a risky political maneuver to saving you from getting your ass kicked. Generally it means that there was a major inconvenience to the person helping you in some way or that they put themselves at risk somehow for you, but they certainly weren't risking their un-life for you.

Minor Boon: If someone offered you some support, like loaning money or an item, or timely political assistance at no inconvenience to themselves, you probably owe them a Minor Boon. These are very small, ultimately, but acquire enough of them and you can find yourself in deep trouble.

How is a boon recognized?: There are two types of boons--Acknowledged and Unacknowledged. If Acknowledged, this means a Harpy (and therefore the elders of Elysium) are tacitly confirming a Boon is owed and that there are social consequences for not paying up...or possibly more consequences than that. To ensure a Boon is Acknowledged, debtor and creditor should tell a Harpy directly (in the case of a pre-arranged favor). It is possible for a Harpy to simply directly witness someone offer an unsolicited Boon or receives viable info that such a thing occurred if not present personally and end up Acknowledging a Boon.

Unacknowledged Boons means that the Boon isn't being recognized as a legit debt, so you can risk welching on the Boon...but remember: Kindred have long memories. Pull stunts like that enough and you might find you can't get anyone to help you.

Keeping track of Boons: If you owe a Boon, I'll note it somewhere on your character sheet in a section for Boons. If you are owed a Boon, I'll note that too. I'll also note if it's Acknowledged by the Harpy or not. You should PM me if you don't see a Boon listed in your sheet.

Trading Boons: This is allowed, but ask me before you do it, and be aware your character will need to inform all parties that its pertinent to, including the Harpy in the advent of trading an Acknowledged Boon. All parties have to agree for a trade to happen. Sometimes, some trades are simply not going to be allowed for IC reasons--trades should make sense given the context of how the Boon is initially acquired.

TL;DR: It's just a way of tracking various "I owe you ones" of various degrees and whether people know you owe somebody! If you get into a situations that leaves you thinking "I think my characters owes so-and-so one," then you might owe a Boon. If you get confused, just PM me to ask. I'm going to be really laid-back about Boons between PCs but a bit more strict on Boons pertaining to GM NPCs.

Active Player Character List & Public/Private Knowledge

This will be a section that contains easy hyperlinked information to relevant posts on the forums about PCs.This section will be organized by last name/first name alphabetically. The first link will be to a character sheet. The second will be a link to public/private knowledge listings about them.

These PCs belong to their respective players; the first link leads to a character sheet that lists the name of the player. That player is the individual who created and plays the listed character.

Blythe's NPC Character List & Public/Private Knowledge

This will be a section that contains easy hyperlinked information to relevant posts on the forums about NPCs created by Blythe. This will include each NPCs thread write-up, reposted here, and it will include a link to their public/private information at the end of their blurb. This list will be in alphabetical order. If a character doesn't have a clear last name, they'll be sorted by the name they are commonly known by.

Adams, Joseph

Clan: Nosferatu

Generation: 9th

Nature: Monster

Demeanor: Monster

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Personality/History: Joseph is Kay's childe, and during her torpor between 1932 to 1982, he was actually the Nosferatu Primogen of Seattle, though he was removed after certain...psychopathic proclivities came to the fore that could not be ignored any longer. Joseph is a deviant, debauched and cruel, and his demeanor towards humans is more characteristic of a Sabbat member than a Camarilla one, but he stays in the Camarilla out of loyalty to Kay, who is the only entity he could be said to have ever truly loved. Joseph is, however, a master at Obfuscate, and he has some unpleasant skill with Potence as well, though nowhere near his mastery of Obfuscate. He is perhaps the most effective single spy in the city, though that is not reassuring given what he likes to get up to in his free time. He is, however, incredibly pragmatic, and unlike many Kindred, he generally doesn't lose his temper. He's patient and cold-blooded, and he's happy to wait until the perfect time to watch a plan unfold. He doesn't seem to frenzy, suggesting that he's either steeled his self-control or suggesting that his triggers for frenzy and provocation seem to be a little different than a normal Kindred. He was banned from Elysium by Telucti some time ago but was caught in February's Elysium spying with Obfuscate by Richard Assard, so he's being deal with by the Sheriff.

[More Information]

Duchamps, Louis

Clan: Ventrue

Generation: 9th

Nature: Autocrat

Demeanor: Curmudgeon

Sexual Orientation: Asexual

Personality/History: Louis is a bastard. Not just in the literal sense, but in a personality sort of way. Embraced some time in the late 1700s, he was originally from Paris. Many years and many clashes with different domains resulted in Louis moving to the new world. Eventually, he even moved from the east coast to the west coast...where he met Telucti. They have a very tumultuous relationship--sometimes enemies, sometimes allies, but the Prince still owes him a significant debt for saving him from Mama Kay, the Nosferatu Primogen. Louis has Embraced only one time, and that childer gave themselves to the sun. Louis has only just now recovered enough to consider Embracing again.

Personality-wise--again, he's a bastard. There is nothing cheerful or sensual that interests him. He adores nothing more than the acquisition of power and obtaining influence. He is the Seneschal of Seattle, and he'll succeed Telucti should something happen. And a good many people think Louis is not above engineering something to happen.

[More Information]

Fleur, Regan

Clan: Toreador

Generation: 11th

Nature: Curmudgeon

Demeanor: Celebrant

Sexual Orientation: Asexual

Personality/History: Always on the outside looking in. Regan is a particularly impressive fiction writer, and her name is well known for a series of romantic gothic novels. This attracted the attention of her Sire in Canada. She was never attractive. She was actually rather ugly...but her words? Those were beautiful. She could write a searing tragedy or a delicate poem and rip the emotions right out of someone's spirit. So her Sire Embraced her. Unfortunately for Regan, he eventually couldn't bear to look at her. She didn't have some magical tragedy that made her ugly. She just was ugly. It was a bitter truth, but being treated poorly, even in undeath, is what added that empathy and spark needed to make her fiction appealing. She came to Seattle at the Prince's invitation ten years ago, and she quickly established herself as one of the Harpies. She is bitter that the other influential Harpy is a Nosferatu...but she also is perhaps one of the few Toreador who don't look down on that Clan.

It doesn't change her desire to be beautiful, though. She is overweight, wears thick black glasses, has owlish eyes, and she looks a bit more muscular than any woman ought to be. Her features aren't quite symmetrical; one eyelid, the right, seems to have a droop to it. She is always wearing some manner of horrible carmine cardigan. She tends to be sharp-tongued and easily irritated, but she's exceedingly intelligent.

[More Information]

Freeman, Theodore

Clan: Brujah

Generation: 8th

Nature: Gallant

Demeanor: Gallant

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Personality/History: Ah, to be the youngest primogen in the city with the least amount of Clan members! And worse, to be blood bound to Telucti...and have everyone know it. Embraced some time just after 1850, Theodore escaped from Sabbat-controlled areas in the Southeast and made his way westward. He accumulated followers along the way who admired his drive and persistence. He is also not duplicitous in his dealings; alone of many Kindred, Theodore says what he means and means what he says.

It's well known that, for a vampire in excess of a century, Theodore is still remarkably well-connected with the mortal world and its technology, although he does hold humans in some light disdain. He has some things in common with Miguel about wanting to shepherd and protect younger Kindred...when Miguel's 'voices' aren't ruining that. Theodore is probably the most honorable Kindred that exists...but he's not exactly a human-friendly Kindred. He's rumored to have abandoned the path of Humanity. But as far as his personal philosophy goes, undeath has a hierarchy...and that hierarchy, and honor within that hierarchy, means everything. If there is no honor in it, then it is not a hierarchy he wants to be part of. Again, whether this means he's officially abandoned Humanity is hard to say. But he places a great deal of emphasis on supporting his fellow Kindred, especially his Clanmates, and he doesn't seem to be eager to associate overmuch with humans.

[More Information]

"Grendel"

Clan: Gangrel

Generation: 8th

Nature: Loner

Demeanor: Perfectionist

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Personality/History: Gangrel usually hate politics. Grendel is no exception. She's never given a date of Embrace; she mostly says vague unhelpful sentiments like "Around when the Normans came." If that were true, that would likely be a reference to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, at the very end of the Viking Age, and that would make her older than Mama Kay--in fact, it would make Grendel a Methuselah. However, Grendel is usually content to let Mama Kay claim to be her senior; she seems unperturbed by inter-clan struggle and politics. Her concern is Seattle remaining profitable hunting grounds.

Her eyes have irises like that of a great cat, and she must constantly wear boots to hide her clawed cat-like feet--the Gangrel clan weakness has clearly affected her over the years.

Her personality is that of someone obsessed with perfecting their craft--Grendel perceives herself the perfect hunter. She's made it a hobby to track human hunters and show them how pathetic their efforts to eradicate Kindred really are. She is only involved at the edge of Clan politics, but what is known is that she adamantly supports Prince Telucti in his blockade of the Tremere. When asked why, she just says, "The entire Clan owes me a debt that they never paid. And if they won't pay it, I'll take it in full from them in blood." But beyond these few things, she is a loner. Unlike most Gangrel, though, she is a surprisingly helpful Primogen, open to neonates coming to her with their needs--she does not just believe in her own perfection, but in the perfection of her clan.

[More Information]

Juarez, Miguel

Clan: Malkavian

Generation: 7th

Nature: Martyr

Demeanor: Visionary

Sexual Orientation: Unknown/questioning

Personality/History: Miguel was never very stable, but there's quite a bit known about him. He can be traced to being Embraced in Mexico some time around 1800 at San Hipolito, the fist mental hospital known in North America. He was being treated for what was described as "Religious Excitement," or as one uncovered document said about him, "a moral malaise that convinces poor Miguel that God himself talks to him." Not an uncommon affliction, but in the past, Miguel has shown an alarming ability to be quite accurate at predicting the future. He is easily hypnotized or influenced by bright color patterns and rain, but he's also extremely cagey. He's learned that others believe he's crazy, so he goes out of his way to suppress the worst of it.

That doesn't change his eerie knowledge of future events.

He's well connected to the Malkavian Madness Network. He's a good Primogen, but he's not entirely all there, so his ability to support his clan is sometimes called into question. He is a loyal person who feels that it is his duty to protect all 'innocent souls' around him...except when those same voices that whisper 'holy' things to him demand blood.

[More Information]

Kay

Clan: Nosferatu

Generation: 8th

Nature: Survivor

Demeanor: Trickster

Sexual Orientation: *sounds of a poor victim weeping and 'jesus christ no' noises* (<--totally accurate description of Kay's orientation)

Personality/History: Her origins can be traced back to Jamaica or Haiti; it's known she was on an island of some sort before heading to the United States of America. She claims her Embrace was in the 1500s; that would make her one of the oldest Kindred in Seattle--more than twice the Prince's age, to be sure.

Why she came to Seattle is anyone's guess, but it's likely because she saw a chance to carve out genuine influence for her Clan, who are normally very low on the pecking order. Mama Kay was in torpor as a punishment for blood binding the Prince from 1932 to 1982. Her best known childe is Joseph Adams, a sadistic psychopath of a Nosferatu. No one is entirely sure why she Embraced Adams.

Mama Kay loves nothing more than playing tricks with people; she's well known to be accomplished in Obfuscate, and its said that there is no such thing as a rat in all of Seattle that isn't a spy for her. She's too clever by half, and she is wholly devoted to her clan politically...rumor has it that she even would even help a Sabbat Nosferatu if she were asked. A worrisome sentiment, to be sure. She was ousted as Nosferatu Primogen by the Prince in February of 2000 after several disastrous events, socially, for her Clan. She was replaced by Dr. Rosen.

[More Information]

Leonid

Clan: Tzimisce

Generation: Unknown

Nature: Monster

Demeanor: Bon Vivant

Sexual Orientation: Unknown

Personality/History: Very little is known about Leonid. His general appearance is a man of angular and aquiline features with dark hair. He typically sports an extra eye on the back of his neck and makes no particular attempts to hide this. He talks with a hint of an accent--sometimes stronger when excited, sometimes undetectable when calm--of someone of Slavic or Eastern European descent. He seems to have been in Seattle a while and may potentially be a Sabbat member. He had two ghouls that he used to often scout out Second Circle, though one has since been stolen from him and the other's whereabouts are unknown. Currently Leonid has been captured by the Sheriff, Sean Fulton, and is being held while the Sheriff awaits the next Elysium. Leonid may have something to do with the berserk Brujah that the Sheriff and two Brujah helpers had to help out to avoid a Masquerade breach. Only Noelle Fontaine and Sean Fulton know his current whereabouts.

[More Information]

"Max"

Ghoul Type: Vassal

Domitor: Leonid

Nature: Monster

Demeanor: Trickster

Sexual Orientation: Unknown

Personality/History: A plain human man who is far more sinister than his nice but forgettable features would lead a person to believe. He has polydactyly. He seems to be looking for vampires on behalf of his domitor, and he is one of Leonid's ghouls. He was quite interested in Lyssa Greene, but her...peculiar...way of interacting with the world quickly frustrated him. No one is aware of Max's current whereabouts.

[More Information]

Moore, Mattias

Clan: Malkavian

Generation: 11th

Nature: Monster

Demeanor: Deviant

Personality/ History: Mattias Moore is an enigma that swooped into the city several decades back to make his place in Seattle. He quickly showed himself useful with a strategic mind that could pinpoint weaknesses in a person, coupled with the ability to hide, stalk, and break that mind at his leisure. He has brought several would-be Sabbat to their knees before they could take root in places he frequented. Often only reporting the results after the fact.

Unfortunately, he is not known for his sparse good deeds. Rather he is best known for turning these skills on his fellow members of the Camarilla. His is a twisted mind that obsesses over other’s darker and weaker natures. He particularly enjoys prodding ones fears and weaknesses to break them... or drive them to a frenzy. To prove and remind others that this gentle, civilized version of Kindred is just a mask to hide the monsters that lurk underneath. However, in fairly recent years, his ‘pranks’ have gotten more dangerous, and his own temper more volatile, leaving his companions wary and distrustful of even the most innocent of gestures. He left the Gilded Cage of Seattle around 1998... or perhaps he simply hid himself well. It is difficult to tell with the infamous Mattias Moore.

The man managed to gain permission to sire 14 years ago, though the childe herself was not seen in Seattle until January of 2000, effectively newly released and dumped on Seattle’s doorstep with a minimal forewarning. Little is known about his plans or motivations on the matter. Only that when it comes to Mattias, it is almost certain to be a prank only he would bray his annoying laugh at.

Rosen, Avery

Clan: Nosferatu

Generation: 9th

Nature: Monster

Demeanor: Visionary

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Personality/History: Dr. Rosen's new to the Council, only appointed as Primogen Pro Tempore to replace Kay. Very little's actually known about him, though it's common knowledge he's the creator and pioneer of the Nightmare Discipline and keeps a shady sort of Facility to practice his arts.

He is wholly disinterested in politics, which is probably why he got selected for the position of Primogen, but he takes his reputation seriously, so it remains to be seen how he'll be as a Primogen for any length of time. He has only been in Seattle the past year. His real form is a thin looking owlish Nosferatu; rumor has it he might be one of Kay's many childer, but Rosen denies this and points out that bulging eyes and a skinny frame do not relations make.

He frequently uses Obfuscate to look presentable in public and tends to pick mature looking silver-haired men as his guises. He's never attended Elysium except the one time he petitioned to reside in Seattle in January 1999. He is notoriously unsocial...but he is polite enough and seems less prone to the backstabbing of Seattle's other Nosferatu.

He hates Joseph Adams. He won't say why.

[More Information]

Telucti

Clan: Toreador

Generation: 6th

Nature: Bon Vivant

Demeanor: Architect

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Personality/History: Embraced some time between 1870 and 1880, Telucti was sired by a powerful Toreador immigrant known by the moniker of Markov. Telucti hailed from the native Duwamish Native Americans, although 'Duwamish' is a bit of a misnomer, as the Native Americans of the area were a disparate loosely organized group rather than a fully cohesive unit. Telucti has been Prince since the great fire of 1889, although his power frequently waxes and wanes.

Personality-wise, Telucti wants to built lasting and beautiful things. Power is only as useful as its usages...and being Prince of Seattle allows him significant influence and control over the city's design. He has a romantic streak in him, which sometimes leads him to foolish behavior. He's not a proper elder, although his generation is quite low, and this often means his Primogen are more experienced or wordly than him, which leads to frequent political clashing and tension. Telucti is well-known for being extremely superstitious and spiritual, and he's an absolute stickler for manners. He's also not above using his Disciplines to beguile unwary neonates into doing unsavory tasks for him.

[More Information]

"Twister"

Clan: Nosferatu

Generation: 10th

Nature: Trickster

Demeanor: Trickster

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Personality/History: Twister is Joseph's childe; he has amnesia and does not, blissfully, remember the specifics of his brutal torturous Embrace at the hands of his cruel Sire. He has a smart mouth and a curious nature. He is, unlike most Nosferatu, ambivalent about his undead curse; he doesn't remember being human, so he has nothing to lament over. He is a social creature, though, and he shares his Sire's talents at Obfuscate, though Twister is still a neonate. It is unclear if he still remains with his Sire or if he's on his own now.

[More Information]

"Wynne"

Ghoul Type: Vassal

Domitor: Formerly Leonid, Currently Alissa Gutierrez

Nature: Masochist

Demeanor: Conformist

Sexual Orientation: Unknown (although does seem to have some preference for women, though whether or not that is exclusive remains to be seen)

Personality/History: A lovely college age student, Wynne frequented Second Circle trying to look for vampires on behalf of her domitor, Leonid. She was terrified of Leonid and of her fellow ghoul, Max. She took a chance and fled with Alissa Gutierrez, and she now serves her instead. Wynne seems to know a lot about vampires for a lowly human who occasionally gets to have vampire vitae. Vampires frequenting Second Circle might recall Alissa and Wynne leaving together.

[More Information]

Sparrowhawke's NPC Character List & Public/Private Knowledge

This section is a work in progress. But NPCs listed under this section were created by Sparrowhawke on the Elliquiy forums. All credit goes to him for these specific characters. The rest of the information in the wiki, aside from this specific NPC section, is either Vampire the Masquerade canon info or was created by Blythe.

Carino, Morgan

Clan: Malkavian

Gender/Sex: Cis-male, often presents as female or non-binary, will answer to any pronouns

Sexuality: Pansexual

Nature: Martyr

Demeanor: Child

Generation: 11th

Haven: Small place in Yesler Terrace

Personality:' Morgan is almost the polar opposite of his sire, compassionate, friendly and more than a little anxious. Getting him out of his shell can be a bit of a mission, especially for other Kindred, but when he does, he can become the brightest thing in a room.

History: Morgan had a rough life as one of the kine, living out on the streets forced to do whatever he could to survive. It wasn’t much better when he was first introduced into Kindred society as a ghoul, either, his domitor, a cruel and uncaring nosferatu named Joseph, keeping him practically as a pet. He drew another kindred’s attention, however, and he was ‘stolen’ by Caim, who embraced him and took him under his wing. Since then (only a few short months ago), he has been trying to recover, under the watchful eye of his sire. He has yet to be introduced to Kindred society.

[More Information]

Felder, Milo - "Mercury"

Clan: Ventrue

Gender/Sex: Cismale

Sexuality: Closeted homosexual, demi-romantic

Nature: Penitent

Demeanor: Director

Generation: 13th

Haven: Apartment in University District

Personality: Mercury is unfailingly polite, if a little spacey for a Ventrue. He often seems lost in his own world, but he is incredibly intelligent, and savvy in the ways of money and business. He is also, however, incredibly low in self-esteem, though he covers it as best as he can.

History: Milo was the youngest child in an extremely wealthy family, faced with all of the pressure and expectation with almost none of the promise of reward at the end. There was no way to take over the position of CEO from his father when an older brother was already well on the way to doing so. After pushing himself through good grades in school and college, he dove instead into the stock market, supplementing the money from his family with investments and the like. His apparent drive and skill attracted the attention of his sire, who took him under their wing (and ghouling him in the process) for a few years before turning him.

After a few years of a controlling relationship almost as bad as his family’s, Milo quietly slipped town, moving instead to Seattle, taking on the name of ‘Mercury’ to attempt to at least make it a little harder for his sire to track him down.

Hart, Roman

Clan: Toreador

Gender/Sex: Cis Male

Sexuality: Homosexual

Nature: Monster

Demeanor: Conformist

Generation: 12th

Sire: Gladstone

Haven: House in Beacon Hill

Personality: Roman is a charming and polite individual, who has mastered the art of bedside manner despite the fact that he is rarely in charge of looking after his patients.

History: Dr. Roman Hart is one of Seattle’s most prominent emergency (and occasionally cosmetic) surgeons. He is already a night owl, due to his hectic night shifts in the hospital’s emergency department, though he has been known to dabble in cosmetic surgery as well. It was through this that he met Gladstone, becoming ghouled by the Toreador and used to try to alleviate a certain condition from time to time.

[More Information]

Hawkes, Cyneric

Clan: Ventrue

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: Homo-flexible.

Nature: Caregiver

Demeanor: Director

Generation: 11th

Haven: Loft apartment in Fremont

Personality: Cyneric is a bit of a softy for a Ventrue, though he does his best not to let anyone else know that. He presents himself as a charming and savvy individual, only letting his more caring side show with those he trusts.

History: Cyneric was born to a wealthy family, like many Ventrue. He was the only child, and with good grades in school and college, he was able to snatch the position of CEO from his father’s company quite easily when it became available. What his father wasn’t aware of was that Cyneric was somewhat more liberal than he expected. The business is still around, thriving, in fact, but going in a new direction entirely.

His sire is one of the ancilla in the city, Ailbhe Killough, though now that it has been a few years since he was turned, she has largely left him to his own devices. Cyneric has recently invested in a new bar in seattle, run by another of the city’s Neonates, Kieran Ward.

Luwood, Erasmus

Clan: Malkavian

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: ?? Who has the time

Nature: Fanatic

Demeanor: Architect

Generation: 13th

Haven: Spacious apartment in Fremont

Personality: Erasmus is constantly distracted, rarely seeming to be able to give any attention to those around him. Socialising is a low priority for him, and he seems to be vaguely annoyed whenever he has to do it for long. Despite this, he is keeping his finger on the pulse of politics in the city when he can. His main focus, however, is building machines. Most of them seem to be geared towards music, but they are all vaguely disturbing in some unseen way.

History: Erasmus came from a religious ‘family’ that can only really be called a cult. He suffered a large amount of abuse from this life, and it no doubt had an effect on his embrace. With what seemed to be Proof of the inherent flaws in his family’s ways, he fled his hometown, not once looking back. Why he would settle in a city with such an overtly religious Primogen is probably intentional, though as for why...

Killough, Ailbhe

Clan: Ventrue

Gender/Sex: Cis-female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Nature: Director

Demeanor: Rogue

Generation: 10th

Haven: House in Beacon Hill

Personality: Ailbhe is someone who likes being in control of her surroundings. She doesn’t necessarily have to be top dog (though she prefers it), but she dislikes chaos and especially hates feeling helpless. She is quite clearly someone who expects to be listened to, though at least she put in the work to gain that respect in the first place.

History: Ailbhe originally hails from Ireland, where she was first turned. She came to america to follow up on business opportunities, and decided to stick in Seattle when she met her future childe, Cyneric. She harbours a quiet attraction to him, though they have both found that a relationship in that regard simply wouldn’t work.

Locke, Alice

Clan: Brujah

Gender/Sex: Cis-female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Nature: Caregiver

Demeanor: Survivor

Generation: 12th

Haven: Apartment in Yesler Terrace

Personality: Alice is a fierce believer in protecting those who don’t have the access to resources that most have, or who live in bad situations. Mostly, she is nice and seems fairly level-headed for her clan, but can get worked up just as easily as any other Brujah if people screw with what she cares about.

History: Alice grew up in an abusive household, and for much of her life appeared to be heading in all the wrong directions. It wasn’t until her actions caused some people close to her serious harm that she saw the error of her ways. She wasn’t helping, even if she thought she was. After that she put more effort into school, turning instead to a dream of becoming a social worker, wanting to make a difference in the lives of children like herself.

Her passion for helping the underdogs of society attracted her sire, though the change wasn’t as welcomed as the brujah may have hoped it would be. It effectively killed her dream, though did nothing to her fire. For the past few decades, she has been helping everyone she can, even making a childe out of one she has helped.

Lucier, Oscaar

Clan: Gangrel

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Nature: Survivor

Demeanor: Judge

Generation: 11th

Haven: Quiet place in Ravenna

Personality: Oscaar is still quite clearly used to the structure and discipline of the military, and he comports himself as such. He struggles to find his place in Kindred society, having been thrust from not only the military but from his humanity, but he has at least found some camaraderie within his own clan.

History: Oscaar was in the military, and reached the rank of Sergeant First Class within the US army during the Vietnam war. Much to his chagrin, he is considered MIA, after being turned on the battlefield after a brutal attack that left most of his unit dead, or close enough to it that it didn’t matter. It took some work, but he eventually managed to find his way back to his home country, moving to Seattle to avoid the possibility of being recognized, and started a new unlife there.

Martien, Jameson - "Jimmy"

Clan: Brujah

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Nature: Thrill-Seeker

Demeanor: Gallant

Generation: 13th

Haven: Apartment in Yesler Terrace

Personality: Jimmy is crass, there really isn't much other way to put it. He can behave well enough when he really needs to (aka, when he's told to), but the rest of the time, he is foul mouthed and all round lacking in social grace. He's not entirely a bad guy, however, and gets along with people who don't talk down to him.

History: Jimmy grew up in a very low income area (he's still convinced that his mother named him 'Jameson' as some kind of joke), and he fell in with all the wrong kinds of people. He left school fairly early to join a gang, and took to the life like a duck to water. He met his sire, Alice, in hospital after getting in a fight that nearly killed him, and developed a relationship with her almost immediately. She is slowly helping him to 'turn his life around,' mostly through helping out the other members of his gang who need it more. He is still not exactly the 'best' person, but he tries to do a little better.

Medea, Arcadius

Clan: Nosferatu

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: Everything.

Nature: Director

Demeanor: Gallant

Generation: 12th

Haven: The Warrens

Personality: Arcadius is outwardly a very charming and friendly man. This is really only the surface of him, however, and anyone who has dug a little deeper knows that he is cunning, ruthless, and not above putting morals aside to get what he wants. He is practically obsessed with information - and money. As such, anything you get from him tends to have a price in one of the above.

History: Arcadius was a pimp before his embrace, nicer than some if only because he found it tended to make him the most money. He also traded for information in his life, meaning he was quite the catch for the Nosferatu clan. He took to the life better than most people thing he did, due to his propensity for masks and obfuscate to hide his features. In truth, he’s not bothered, he just finds it easier to deal with people when they aren’t making ‘the Nos face.’ While his main focus is collecting information with/for the Nos network, he runs a little ‘business’ of illicit voyeurism porn on the side.

Novi, Shavain

Clan: Toreador

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Nature: Masochist

Demeanor: Bon Vivant

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Generation: 13th

Haven: Apartment in Fremont

Personality: Shavain is a friendly, outgoing person who flirts with just about anyone who seems even slightly interested. He seems to still be more interested the remnant of his mortal affairs than Kindred politics.

History: Shavain was an actor and part-time model in his mortal life, and continues to work in whatever capacities allowed to him within his new limitations. Luckily for him, he was popular enough for his new ‘eccentricities’ to be accepted by his agent. He attracted his sire through his work, and he was turned only a few years ago. He has been presented into society, but his work has kept him away from social gatherings the last few months.

Pyrrah, Aurelius

Clan: Tremere

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Nature: Autocrat

Demeanor: Competitor

Generation: 10th

Haven: A shitty motel in Yesler Terrace until he can claim domain.

Personality: Aurelius’ personality far better suits someone much higher up in rank. He does his best to hide it, of course, but it is clear that he is rather narcissistic and self-centered. To be fair, it’s not that unexpected for Kindred, but for a Tremere who is seeking entrance into Telucti’s domain...

History: Aurelius was always ambitious, and a tad lacking in morals. He also had an interest in the paranormal, though it had been a largely academic pursuit until the Tremere got their hands on him. He harbours some resentment over the fact that he is bound to them, but it doesn’t stop him from acting loyally. It was a mixture of his attitude and his ambition that got him shipped off to Telucti’s domain to see what he could do for the clan there.

Roque, Maynard

Clan: Brujah

Gender/Sex: Trans-male

Sexuality: Homosexual

Nature: Rebel (Against corruption)

Demeanor: Curmudgeon

Generation: 8th

Haven: Small house in Broadview

Personality: Maynard is a strange creature, possessed of both the rage of a Brujah and the self-control of, well, not a Brujah. That isn’t to say he’s never frenzied, of course. In fact, far from moderation, he seems to exist on a delicate balance of perpetual fury and restraint. He has little patience for the conniving of other Kindred, and mostly abstains from Elysium unless there is a proper need.

History: Maynard was born Marianne Roque, an only child of a single father in Boston during the late 1880’s. His mother died shortly after he was born, so he has no recollection of her. His father was a cop, and a damn good one, both in skill and morals. When his father died on the job, Maynard wasn’t satisfied with the platitudes he was given, it was too suspicious, and he ended up dedicating much of the rest of his human life to finding out what had happened.

Eventually, he managed to discover that his father’s death had been ‘arranged’ because he was getting too close to uncovering another cop’s dirty secret. In the resulting fight to gain proof and justice for his father, he gained the attention of his sire. With his sire’s help, he managed to bring the dirty cop down, but couldn’t bear the constant misgendering any longer, so fled to Seattle. He avoids politics, having little taste for it and how Kindred act amongst each other, mostly focusing on his own business. He has sired no-one, and only even taken a ghoul very recently, of whom he is incredibly protective.

Thompson, Luke - "Warden"

Clan: Nosferatu

Gender/Sex: Cis-male

Sexuality: Asexual/Voyeur

Nature: Conformist

Demeanor: Loner

Generation: 12th

Haven: The Warrens

Personality: Warden seems to be a very quiet and moody character, though it’s mostly the embrace that has made people think that. He has a sense of humour, but rarely finds it worth expending the effort to joke around with anyone who doesn’t understand sign-language, which he is finding is most everyone. He also has an unfortunate habit of staring, which tends to make people uncomfortable. He mostly remains in his shell aside from when he is around other Nos, which has possibly given him a few more quirks than usual.

History: Warden was a private investigator in life, not entirely out of any moral guidance, but because he was good at it and it got him paid. Given his propensity for the work, it probably isn’t surprising that he got picked up by a Nosferatu and embraced about a decade ago. He may not have the usual network of contacts to feed him information, but he is skilled in going out and finding it for himself if he needs to.

Reaver, Caim

Clan: Malkavian

Gender/Sex: Physically male, agender (uses Xe/xem or It/Its pronouns, will occasionally respond to male pronouns)

Sexuality: Sex/Romance repulsed Ace/aro

Nature: Rogue

Demeanor: Deviant

Generation: 10th

Haven: Very small place in Broadview

Personality: Caim is a bit of a shit stirrer, xe follows the typical malkavian trend of prankster, enjoying prodding people from time to time. Most of xyr actual pranks are a relatively harmless, if infuriating, but well. Truly angering another Kindred rarely has positive results. Xe has little interest in the actual politics of the city, preferring to entertain xemself in other ways. Xe particularly enjoys hunting, whether it be his own meal or other prey.

History: Caim was turned about a hundred years ago, and xe remembers little about his life before the embrace, aside from the fact that it was incredibly boring and mortal. Xe has been a resident of seattle since xe was turned, only occasionally bothering to show up to Elysium or interact with others. Xe is well known for xyr ‘interesting’ personality, but xe has managed to toe the line so far. Perhaps xyr casual kinship with Grendel has managed to keep xem from the ire of the city's upper members, though xyr poor relationship with the clan primogen, Miguel, somewhat balances it out.

Only recently has xe taken a childe, who was introduced only a few months before the turn of the millennium.

No sexual things are happening with this character.

[More Information]

Underwood, Sophia - "Bellona"

Clan: Nosferatu

Gender/Sex: Cis-female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Nature: Curmudgeon

Demeanor: Bravo

Generation: 12th

Haven: The Warrens

Personality: Bellona (having taken her new name from a goddess of war), is a bit of a hardass. She doesn’t care much about the feelings of others, caring more about results and physical strength. She only respects those who have proven themselves to be on equal or higher ground, and even then it is a tenuous respect in some cases.

History: Bellona was once a mixed-martial arts fighter, who was incredibly attractive, skilled, and arrogant. Her sire noticed this, and in the spirit of some Nosferatu, decided to take her down a peg. What her sire didn’t realize is that she is also incredibly cunning and downright ruthless. Not only did she destroy her sire’s reputation in her previous city, she also managed to have him escorted to his Final Death. She moved to Seattle to try and rid herself of unpleasant memories, and was picked up by Mama Kay.

Ward, Kieran

Clan: Gangrel

Gender/Sex: Trans-male

Sexuality: Grey-asexual

Nature: Survivor

Demeanor: Director

Generation: 13th

Haven: Flat above his bar on the edge of Downtown

Personality: Eternally saddened that he did not get a snake animal trait. Kieran is very level-headed most of the time, and wholly uninterested in the politicking that goes on in Kindred society. Despite this, he’s still far more sociable than the average Gangrel, and far more business savvy. He’s a good person, and is incredibly devoted to anyone he considers a friend.

History: Kieran was studying in business when he was turned, and he would be damned (hah) if he was going to let it stop him. With the help of one of the city’s Venture (Cyneric), Kieran even managed to open his own bar, a small BDSM kink club called ‘Undertow.’ This bar takes up most of his time and effort, though he tries to get to Elysium when he can.

Additional NPCs, Retainers, Contacts, & Allies

See [this post]. Because these characters are so rarely used & are not as essential as other NPCs, I will not have them added formally to the wiki. Please see the link to get a list of them.

Locations in Seattle

If you look at the [Neghborhoods of Seattle], you can get a general idea of what locales are around, but I'll summarize just a few using Wikipedia's info. Seattle is a pretty sprawling place. I have not determined which Clans have laid 'claim' to certain domains, so if you have questions, just ask. As a note, Tremere are typically permitted Havens, but Prince Telucti is typically reluctant or outright unwilling to acknowledge formal Clan Domain for them.

(Note: You don't need to have anything like perfect knowledge. Feel free to make up locations in these neighborhoods. Just be mindful if they're residential, business, historical, etc.)

Broadview - a Seattle neighboorhood that is quiet and primarily residential. The Olypmic mountains are visible from here. It borders the Pacific ocean. A lot of farming happens here. Kindred who want things isolated should considering a haven in Broadview. It's not super densely populated. It's in the northwestern part of Seattle.

Ravenna - A Seattle neighborhood that is mostly residential, but has a healthy dollop of businesses in University Village, which is the name of a shopping mall. There's also a large and prominent cemetery that Kindred have been known to co-opt for their own use.

University District - One of the best possible locations. The University of Washington's main campus is in this area. It's got a high population, a lot of traffic, and is in central Seattle. There's also a lot of businesses here, too.

Fremont[ - A heavy traffic area again! Fremont used to be very counter culture, but nowadays it's pretty hoity-toity. Fremont tries to be preppier and better than other neighborhoods. There's a lot of high end businesses, artistry, and other things here. It's also right around Lake Union. The Prince's Haven is located somewhere in Fremont; he tends to allow Toreador to claim some Domain here.

Delridge - One of the largest areas. It probably can be easily divvied up into even smaller sections. But it's a big residential area that also contains the South Seattle Community College. It's generally not seen to be as good as the University District, though. But there's a lot of space here. It's in Southwestern Seattle.

'Beacon Hill - In the Southeastern part of Seattle! It's widely seen as one of the best places to live in Seattle. It's gone green (energy friendly), has a lot of family-friendly businesses, good schools, and lovely parks. The Masquerade is particularly hard to maintain here, as the citizens of Beacon Hill are very perceptive of anything outside the norm. But if you want to live someone really wonderful, Beacon Hill is the epitome of 'normal.' It's a mix of residential (majority of Beacon Hill) and a smattering of good businesses. No seedy things here! Toreador and Lasombra antitribu= are encouraged to make Havens here.

Downtown - The major business section of Seattle. Any business you can think of is probably located here! Not a residential area, but there are places to stay for people who can dole out enough cash.

Yesler Terrace: A subset of Downtown that is a residential area. This is a location of one of the government housing authorities...so it's the slums, essentially. Pretty much the poorest of the poor live here, but the quality of life is still generally better than other cities' ideas of slums.

The Sewers/Warrens: The sewers are the domain of the Nosferatu. Disgusting and unfit for hunting unless one wants animals, it nonetheless serves a valuable purpose: being able to travel in secret. Generally one can get most places from the sewers, but they have a tendency to flood due to Seattle's proclivity for rain. Non-Nosferatu have a hard time navigating down there without some manner of help.

Seattle Supernatural Research Facility

Located somewhere in Broadview, this place is the official haven of a Nosferatu named Dr. Antoni Rosen, who enjoys researching the fear response in mortals and Kindred. He is also the creator of a new Discipline, the Nightmare Discipline. It is generally believed that Dr. Rosen is a powerful elder, but he seems generally disinterested in politics, preferring to study fear. He believes that fear is the primal condition that connects all entities, that even the oldest and most inhuman entities can still feel fear.

The facility almost looks more like a warehouse and stands two stories high, but it has at least three underground levels. It was originally just a single small warehouse, but Dr. Rosen arrived within the past year, purchased it, and renovated it. No one knows why Dr. Rosen chose Seattle, nor why Telucti allowed him to set up shop and stay.

Dr. Rosen does not particularly socialize with his own Clan, but he is held in good standing with his Clan in Seattle. He seems to have access to a surprising amount of money for a Nosferatu, although no one is sure how, and his facility is always clean and pristine...although always peculiarly ill-lit.

The new Discipline he teaches will be considered out-of-clan for every Clan when it comes to purchase costs. See [this post] for more information about Rosen's signature Discipline, Nightmare.

Clarifications, GM Rulings & Houserules

The [FAQ] thread has several public GM rulings. I will be indexing them here when I have time, ideally in alphabetical order. For now, I'm linking to the thread. CTRL + F for a search term in the forum thread for now to see if your question has already been answered.

Clarifications

How Much Blood Does it Take To Blood Bind Someone?

There is no requirement that there be a bond in amounts of blood that do not qualify as at least 1 BP, but OOCly? If such a bond is between two PCs, they are free to decide they want a blood bond between their PCs, if the amount of blood was less than a BP. The only time I'd require a bond is if an actual quantifiable amount of BP from a Kindred got ingested. That being said, if you choose to have a 'bond' happen as a plot element, they are going to be treated like any other blood bond mechanically (including difficulty getting rid of it!) & you will be asked to update your character sheet accordingly.

Humanity Violations

Counting coup or taking body parts as trophies is at least an impassioned violation. This means its about a 4 on the hierarchy of sins on Humanity.

Recognizing Other Kindred as Kindred

It is possible to recognize other Kindred as Kindred, but generally I'll require a roll or usage of a Discipline unless something patently obvious (like a particularly egregious Flaw like Permanent Wound or the Nosferatu Clan Curse) is evident.

If a Kindred is not actively attempting to hide their nature, a perception test will reveal the lack of life signs. Typically a Perception + Alertness roll would be required. Certain things might modify the difficulty of this role, such as whether or not the Kindred has the Blush of Health, is High Humanity, has an applicable Merit or Flaw, etc.

Aura Perception will almost always reveal whether or not someone is a vampire if used successfully.

Toreador Entrancement

Does Entrancement supersede/match a blood bond?

Answer:No. The blood bond is stronger; the text of the Entrancement power implies this when it says on pg. 171 of the Core Rulebook "A wise Kindred either disposes of those she entrances after they serve their usefulness, or binds them more securely by a blood bond (made much easier by the minion’s willingness to serve).

Can I spend a WP to pull my Toreador out of entrancement?

Answer: It doesn't say in either the core rules or the Clan book that I can find. I'd be willing to allow a Toreador to spend a WP to overcome trance for a scene, but if the 'beautiful thing' is still present after a scene, they fall back into it. No more than 1 WP spent a night to avoid trance.

Willpower

If I purchase another dot of permanent WP with EXP, does this mean my temp WP also increases along with it? Say if my permanent willpower was six, but my temporary willpower was four, would using EXP to buy my permanent willpower to seven make my temporary willpower a 5 instead of a 4?

Answer:No. Temp WP expenditure and gain happens so slowly that it wouldn't really behoove me to have this. In addition, it would somewhat complicate my bookkeeping. I prefer all temp WP increases to be the result of the usage of a power or behaving according to your character's Nature.

When I roll and the difficulty is listed as 'Target's Willpower,' is the difficulty their temporary Willpower or permanent Willpower?

Answer: Permanent.

When do I regain Willpower?

Answer: It is up to you to tell me when you think you've fulfilled something regarding your character's Nature. It's not something I actively look for; with as many players as I have, I can't afford to be pro-active with this manner of bookkeeping. Instead, I'm reactive. This makes things easier for me to manage! :-)

The easiest way to do this is, when you're writing a post that you think 'fits' your character's Nature, to include a spoiler with your justification inside about why you think your character should regain WP back, and then PM me a link to that post.

Houserules

This is an index of any houserules I'm using.

Aborting Actions in Combat for Defensive Maneuvers

The core rules state it costs a WP point to abort an action in favor of a defensive maneuver in combat like Dodge, Parry, or Block. I am waiving this requirement. You may abort an action without spending WP.

Auspex - Telepathy

You may not use Telepathy 'en masse.' It is meant to be used individually. However, if another supernatural entity is aware of and is willing to allow the character access to their mind, the character using Telepathy does not have to pay the WP cost for the willing target. The difficulty against a willing target is modified. Use a difficulty of 6 or permanent WP rating, whichever is lower.

Backgrounds & Cost

I treat Background costs in EXP as being the same as Abilities--a new one is 3, subsequent costs are 'Current Rating x 2.'

Disarm

The [u][b]Disarm[/b][/u] maneuver, which is typically Dex + Melee at diff 7, is a maneuver I will permit a PC to do even if that PC isn't holding a weapon. The maneuver will still use Melee since you are relying on your knowledge of weaponry to skillfully get your opponent's weapon away from them.

Influence

For each Dot in Influence, I am going to require you select a 'group' that you have Influence with, like a specialty...except you can never use your Influence outside of those specialties. This prevents general abuse of Influence, but still lets it be effective where you need it to be. These are a little general, mostly as this is a Play-by-Post game, and I don't want to unduly limit options. I will be open to additional suggestions of categories, but these will be some examples of specialties you can pick from (highly recommend using this list)!

The local police
Arms dealers
Drug dealers
Banks
Homeless/vagrants
Catholic church
Mental health providers
Local politicians
The Theatre
Public transit
Local news outlets

To use your Influence, I'll likely ask that you make a roll to use it, like an Ability. Generally this will be Manipulation + Influence or Charisma + Influence at a Difficulty of 6. You may wonder why I don't include general medical professions--prefer to okay those on a case-by-case basis because of the sheer myriad of specialties there. Some are better or worse than others.

Resisting Frenzy By Drinking From a Willing Vessel

The Beast can be assuaged or placated if it cannot fight or flee. A character can attempt to resist frenzy if they have access to another character willing to allow them to feed. This feeding must be willing or it simply becomes another of the Beast's ravages or transgression. If a character is willing to allow a someone on the brink of frenzy (or outright frenzying) blood, then the frenzying character might have a chance to throw off its depredations.

Each point of blood offered (up to a maximum of 5 BP) allows a near-frenzying/frenzying character to make one new self-control check per BP spent with an additional 3 dice. These dice can allow a character to exceed the usual limitations on Virtues imposed by low Humanity but not exceed their maximum rating in the Virtue. Self-control botches made on these rolls count against the maximum successes acquired--each 1 removes a success in the advent of a botch. 1s on simple failures will not detract from successes, only on botches.

Willpower may never be spent to guarantee a success on these rolls.

Offering willing blood in the face of seeing a vampire frenzy is a true gift, a rarity in the world of darkness, and the selflessness of its offering its reflected in these mechanics. However, willingly offering comes with risks. If the near-frenzy vampire still fails, they may try to kill the one trying to help...and if an otherwise virtuous Kindred trying to help offers too much blood & thus finds themselves running low, they might find themselves in the same position as the one they intended to save, at the GM's discretion. (Typically speaking, a character who drops to 2 BP or less as a result of this is likely to be in some serious trouble themselves)

The character offering BP must make a conscious and informed decision to offer blood: they must know the other character is frenzying and what frenzy actually is for this rule to apply. Willing acts are not truly willing unless they are done with full understanding of the act.

Ghouls may never make this kind of specific offer to any Kindred to let them receive the bonuses. Fully blood bound Kindred can never make this offer to their domitor to let them receive the bonuses. They are considered to be compromised in their free will. Characters whose free will has been impeded (such as being ordered with Dominate to allow another Kindred to feed) won't be able to grant the re-rolls with the bonus either. You get the picture. It has to be a truly willing & informed offer. (OOCly, this prevents low Humanity Kindred from viciously hanging on by committing atrocity after atrocity in some sort of horrific cycle to get people to let them feed when they feel the Beast rising in them. Only a willing act can truly help them...and that's hard to find.)

Specialties

This is a trial run for January and February of 2018. If I don't feel this is balanced, I will revert to a different manner of doing specialties.

If you have an applicable specialty on a roll, rolled 10s no longer explode. Instead, they will count as two successes.

Example: So if you rolled 6d10 at diff 6, and you have an applicable specialty, and got a 1, 2, 6, 7, 10 and 1, you have a total of 2 successes. (The 1s take away two successes, the 10 counts as two successes, and beyond that, two numbers equaled or exceeded the difficulty, for a grand total of two successes). On rolls where a specialty does not apply, your ten is treated as one success just like any other success.

If this method looks imbalanced in gameplay, we will revert to the exploding 10s rule where rolled 1s from exploding dice still count against total successes.

Status

There is more than one type of Status in this game. There is Status (Camarilla) and Status (Clan: <insert clan you want status with here>). Generally you won't have status with Clans other than your own without good reason in your backstory.

Tremere Ritual Costs

Start with one per dot of primary path, 1EXP cost per Ritual level, although should be noted that during gameplay, I won't permit rituals to be purchased unless a suitable teacher appears (you'll have to ask me for one) or your character spends suitable time doing serious research. You must have an IC reason for new rituals.

Willpower

You may spend more than 1 WP per turn.

You may spend Willpower on things like Attack, Damage, and Soak rolls.

You may not spend multiple points of WP if it would reduce your WP to 0, though.

I reserve the right to ask you to reduce your WP expenditure, if needed, to prevent abuses of the house rule. I also reserve the right to decide that for any given individual roll to not permit WP expenditure. If I don't specify, though, this house rule is in effect.

GM Rulings

Combination Disciplines

I will not be permitting Combination Disciplines at all, folks.

Elysium

For the purposes of this game, Elysium is not 'always open.' It's only open during scheduled Court days some time during the first week of each month. It is possible, however, if the Keeper pushes for it, that the Prince will formally move to purchase the library property and keep the top two floors open more often for Elysium (or, again if the Keeper pushes for it, he can be persuaded to select a new Elysium location rather than the library and will keep the new location open more). This does mean, though, that the Keeper would be expected to maintain Elysium most nights if it were to be "always open."

EXP & How to Spend It

You may spend EXP however you like and however much you like in one go, but you must justify that you practiced what you're trying to increase in some way. You can do this with a Downtime, Flashback, or IC thread post. I may veto increases of multiple dots of something if I think it's unrealistic or too overpowered.

Final Death

For the purposes of this particular game, after much deliberation, a body will be left behind at Final Death (that will usually decay rapidly enough to render it initially unrecognizable), but Kindred corpses will still burn in sunlight. You won't be able to just leave the corpses of Kindred enemies lying publicly around for the daylight; that's going to be a possible Masquerade violation.

Media/Inventions Made after 2000

....for this game, the shoes known as crocs are going to have come out in in January 2000 and be considered super new. For, uh, reasons.

If you are really jonesing for something, but it was invented between 2000-2003 and the IC game time isn't there yet, PM me to ask if we can 'revise' history a little. After all, this is a fictional earth, a world of darkness, so details can be fudged a little. :)

If you don't see something I said was allowed to be included, PM me so we can get it listed here.

Metaplot from other game lines

Please do not assume your knowledge of other game lines applies in this game. I have new players to VtM. I also do not wish to be bound by other books whose rules I am not using. So experienced players, beware of relying too much on your knowledge of metaplot.

Necromancy and Rituals

Rituals for Necromancy will work like Thaumaturgy. You will gain a new free ritual when you gain a new dot in a Path. Subsequent rituals will, as with Thaumaturgy, cost you EXP and must be learned or researched ICly somehow.

Nosferatu & Resources

Generally I'm going to look askance at any Nosferatu with more than a 2 in Resources. Neonate Nosferatu really should have no more than 1 in Resources without a very good background justification. Be prepared to justify your stats here.

Retainers

You are responsible for statting your own Retainers & creating their sheets for me unless you see to convert an existing NPC into a Retainer. I do not have time to make each Retainer. Once you stat them and give me their background information, I will RP them for you. Be aware that if you ask me to play a cisfemale character, all sex scenes will fade to black if you expect the Retainer to be submissive sexually.

Sex

I am modifying this slightly from the core rules. Sex will be enjoyable for Kindred, but it doesn't compare to feeding. They must use the Blush of Life to be able to have any sex where they'd be 'aroused.' It requires them spending a number of Blood Points equal to (8 - Humanity Rating). Path of Enlightenment vampires must pay (8 - Self Control) or (8 - Instinct). They can produce sexual bodily fluids that look realistic (but only during the Blush of Life), but these fluids have nothing of real substance to them and quickly disintegrate or dry up once the Blush of Life is ended. It does not leave DNA evidence behind. Yes, this is meant to emphasize that Path followers have a somewhat harder time doing human things. They can, but it is costly for them.

History of Seattle

Seattle's vaunted history for in-game purposes. I've broken it into parts like it's thread on the forum for ease-of-reading.

Part 1

Settlers started appearing in Seattle in the early 1850s. It wasn't a proper city then, and the growth of the place was slower than anticipated. More people simply preferred to get raw resources or goods from the region and send those on down towards San Francisco in the south over the decades. But it did grow. Initially, there were no Kindred or supernatural entities at all within the region, and in 1869, it was formally incorporated under the name Seattle in the Territorial legislature.

So where do the Kindred come in?

It starts with a Toreador elder who is only known by the name of "Markov." Some time around 1870, this powerful elder of either Russian or East European descent started a new life for himself in the West USA, and he found the small settlement area of Seattle to his liking. He ghouled a servant nearly immediately, a member of the Duwamish tribe named Telucti. Markov had ambitions for the area, and he needed someone like Telucti who knew the area well in order to learn more about the people and consolidate power. Markov would later Embrace Telucti once he had what he needed as a reward for Telucti's loyalty. This was a mistake. Seattle was growing exponentially by the mid 1880s, and Telucti saw his chance to be free of Markov's control.

Thus the fire of 1889 happened, which destroyed 116 acres of property and land. There were no kine casualties...but coincidentally, Markov's secret haven had been located in the fire zone, and he met his Final Death. This left Telucti as the only Kindred in the area for quite some time. Telucti was a loner, more effective, and more subtle than his sire, and he began creating a network of ghouls who were unaware they'd ever partaken of his blood, although they were loyal. The 1890s were hard, and Telucti had his work cut out for him trying to rebuild from the fire. Relief came in 1897 when gold was discovered in Seattle, and it became a boom town. This brought more Kindred to the area...much to Telucti's chagrin. He could no longer remain fully isolated and working with the previous power and subtlety he'd used when dealing with Markov and rebuilding Seattle. More formal organization of the Kindred would be needed, so he quickly made his presence known to the newcomers and demanded fealty and recognition as the Prince. Telucti's generation is unknown, but at the time, he was powerful enough to demand loyalty and have it be given--he also made a quick fortune during the gold rush (and competing with the settlers of causcasian descent had been no easy task), so his influence with the kine was not inconsiderable. It is also likely that Markov was very old and strong in the blood, and he perhaps trained his neonate a little too well.

This was the beginning of Seattle's first formal domain and court. That being said, it would be a bit longer before Telucti's court resembled anything that the Camarilla would approve of.

Part 2

So who were the Kindred who arrived, exactly? Much to Telucti's dismay, they were elders. That being said, they brought wealth and prosperity in their wake. A powerful Ventrue, Louis Duchamps, had many ghouls in the railroad industry, and the 1900s saw the arrival of two transcontinental railroads. Previously, Telucti had struggled to attract the one railroad they'd had in the mid 1890s, so the population boom from increased transportation was a relief. More kine meant more prey and more security in anonymity. There was unease during this time, as Telucti had not appointed a Seneschal, handling things very directly. While this meant it was easier to access Prince Telucti and get business handled quickly, it also meant there was no safety net in the advent of something happening to him.

This left him beholden, however, to Duchamps, who wanted the well-respected Telucti out of the way in order to seize power. Duchamps found himself thwarted when he tried to have Telucti assassinated when the wily Toreador managed to foment an exceedingly unlikely alliance with a Nosferatu known as Mama Kay, who was more than eager to have a pretty member of the Clan of the Rose in her debt. Telucti negotiated some compromises, and the city's first Primogen were selected. Duchamps, in 1905, formally accepted his position as the Ventrue primogen. Mama Kay accepted status as the Nosferatu primogen that same year. The three eventually selected the Malkavian Primogen, a quiet individual named Miguel Juarez, a staunch Catholic who claimed to have frequent visions of the future and who had a surprising acumen with fighting. For a long time, the city did not formally recognize any other primogen.

Telucti spent more years in prosperity. To showcase the beauty and power of his city, which now had close to a population of a quarter million kine, he whispered in all the right ears and slid money into the right hands. in 1909, Seattle hosted its famous International Fair, which brought significant tourism and prestige to Seattle and cemented Prince Telucti's place in the Camarilla. WWI, between 1914 and 1918, wound up being an economic boom for Seattle, which produced a massive amount of warships. Surprisingly, it was the Malkavian Primogen who encouraged and profited from much of this industry rather than the Ventrue Primogen.

The Depression hit Seattle like a ton of bricks. Telucti had to deal with the city's increasing poverty. This was when Seattle ceased to be a gem for a time and became a sordid place of hopelessness, of 'Hoovervilles' and shantytowns. It was a boon for the Kindred, who found feeding easier than ever. The Nosferatu thrived particularly well in this environment, and the Clan was given permission to Embrace perhaps a bit too freely during this time. Duchamps, protesting this influence of one of the low clans, demanded that Prince Telucti give the go-ahead for more Embraces from Clan Ventrue...which was denied.

Duchamps grew suspicious about Mama Kay's skyrocketing to power, and on one fateful night in 1932, Duchamps spies discovered that Mama Kay had blood bound Telucti. Duchamps staked Mama Kay and assumed temporary control of the city. He understood now that killing Telucti would not serve his purposes; he was too popular among the younger Kindred that visited Seattle, and it was likely that Telucti's furious servants would find a way to extract vengeance. So instead...he saved Telucti, keeping him contained in a holding cell until the blood bond with Mama Kay was cleansed from Telucti's system. Duchamps considered binding Telucti to his will, but he knew that if Telucti suddenly behaved towards Clan Ventrue the way he had towards the Nosferatu, that would not be subtle and would arouse suspicion. Instead, he had Telucti's gratitude for being freed, and he saw equilibrium among city politics as the Nosferatu fell out of favor. The Malkavian Primogen was aware of the goings-on, but Miguel saw no reason to intervene. He kept his clan out of it and all the more prosperous for it.

Duchamps was content, Telucti was functioning as a powerful but still very easily manipulated young figurehead, but one matter remained during the economic depression: what would they do with Mama Kay, who was staked...but not dead?

Part 3

The effects of the economic depression lasted in Seattle until around the 1950s. Telucti worked tirelessly to try to revitalize his city. The Malkavian Primogen allied with the Prince, and soon enough, the right investments here and there let them in on the ground level of the airline business when Boeing introduced their 707 planes. The advent of airline travel meant another population boom, and another significant business meant more jobs. Seattle had found its feet again, and Telucti and Miguel found themselves quite well off. Telucti again needed to show the splendor of his city. With the right mortal manipulations, Telucti managed to encourage and invest to profit from the World Fair, the Century 21 Exposition, in 1962. This led to a huge popularity boom and led to several 'big name' attractions that are well-loved to this day, such as the Space Needle and the monorail...

...and the arrival of more Kindred. The city saw its first Brujah filter in. Their eldest, who originally hailed from Louisiana, was actually only an ancilla named Theodore Freeman. The Brujah rabble let to some initial instability, but Telucti worked with Freeman to integrate the Brujah into the city. Theodore found himself the Brujah Primogen...and found himself blood bound by Telucti, who'd learned from his mistakes with Mama Kay and understood that he needed allies to ward himself against the powerful Ventrue primogen's influence. The Gangrel arrived soon after, but this was hardly a problem for Telucti once he had the Brujah in line. Telucti, Duchamps, and Freeman managed to corral the Gangrel in line, and their eldest, a quiet blond woman of Scandinavian descent who was known only by the name of Grendel, joined the ranks of the primogen for her clan, albeit reluctantly.

The population was officially over half a million in the city. Typically the ratio of Kindred was 1:100,000, but Seattle was signficantly denser. Telucti was forced to claim much of the outlying areas outside of Seattle as part of his domain as well. But trying to claim more of the deeply forested rainy territory of the area proved dangerous...and the city experienced its first Garou attacks against the Kindred. Telucti was not well-equipped to defend against the Garou, but his strong Primogen council was. Duchamps, the Ventrue primogen, had long been lagging in popularity in the area, but his cold-blooded and downright ruthless strategies to remove the Garou from the city and claimed Kindred territories earned him considerable respect...and Telucti bowed to the wishes of the Kindred of his domain, naming Duchamps his seneschal. The attacks led to the Kindred population being thinned out, which ultimately made the survivors much safer from mortal eyes.

At this juncture, Telucti realized he needed more of a Toreador presence to bolster his position, and he made overtures to many Toreador from other cities, promising them domain and havens in return for their presence and support. This led to a slight influx of Kindred for Clan Toreador while had experienced a decline. By the 1970s, it was clear that Telucti, while not an ideal prince and not the strongest, was popular and had significant personal power. It was in the primogen council's best interests to keep him alive and ruling.

Unfortunately, this era heralded protracted violence with the Garou. The era known as the 'Garou Wars' technically began in this era. There was initial violent outbreak in the 60s as the Garou clashed with the Kindred in Seattle over territory. This was followed by a short lull as both sides sought to recover their losses and recuperate. In the 70s there's a mild flare up like the rumble before the storm, and in the mid-late 70s, it began to escalate with alarming frequency.

Part 4

The larger-scale conflict with the Garou flared at its worst in the 80s, to a point where it at least equalled the unpleasantness of the 60s but with complications with the city's expansion. It was Louis Duchamps who stamped out this conflict with the help of many of the city's Kindred. This lead to a time of relative peace and prosperity after the end of the early 80s.

What had struck many Kindred by the 80s was that no Tremere had taken up residence in the city. It was discovered that Telucti had a rather deep-set opposition to the Tremere establishing a Chantry in Seattle. He refused to grant individual Tremere any domains, and oftentimes he would find pretense to force them out of the city. His reason for this bias was unknown, but eventually his seneschal, Duchamps, changed his mind just enough...Tremere would be permitted a presence in the city and individual domains, but Telucti threatened severe retribution should the Tremere construct a chantry in Seattle. There had been Tremere lurking around the edges well before this, but after Telucti's stance softened, a few petitioned for domains, which were granted. It is widely speculated (but not proven) that Telucti deeply fears the blood-magic practices of Thaumaturgy. It is worth noting that the Tremere also have no recognized voice in the Primogen council thanks to Telucti's hostility...although the Tremere are endeavoring to change this.

These weren't the only changes the 80s brought.

As it turns out, Mama Kay was in torpor, kept in a secure location by Prince Telucti. Her one of her childer, Joseph Adams, had been serving as primogen in her place. Unfortunately, he was an absolute psychopath, barely better than a roving Sabbat member. It was decided he was simply not stable enough to be primogen, but...there was no other Nosferatu of age who had shown any worth for such a position...save one. In 1982, fifty years after that night Duchamps caught her with Telucti, Mama Kay awoke from her torpor to a world that was wholly strange and unfamiliar. Telucti and Duchamps had finally decided that fifty years was sufficient punishment for her crimes and permitted her to wake. Technology was now immensely different than 1932 as were many social customs and mores. Telucti demanded she blood bind Adams to her and keep him in line or resume her place on the primogen council. Mama Kay opted for the latter, instead removing Adam back to the warrens to have him serve as a Keeper for them, of sorts.

In 1990, the first Caitiff, vampires of poor generation, poor status, and lacking a clan, started appearing in Seattle, right around the time the tech industry really took off--big firms like Microsoft had really shaped Seattle into becoming what it was meant to be. Seattle was in a huge economic boom and was seen as a hip and worldly destination. This meant that once again, the Kindred population of Seattle was somewhat too high...and that some of Telucti's subjects had obviously been Embracing without his permission. The Prince attempted to turn a blind eye to it, but in the year 2000, he finally gave in and began seeking out someone to appoint as a Scourge to eliminate troublesome Caitiff or thin bloods. The 90s brought something else. With Telucti's unnatural hatred of the Tremere, he made strange bedfellows with a few choice renegades from Clan Lasombra, who were fleeing the hold of the Sabbat. It's unknown how long they may have actually been in Seattle, waiting for the right time to approach Telucti. These few antitribu swore loyalty to Telucti and have acted as a counterweight to the influence of the Ventrue primogen, Louis. As of yet, no one Lasombra antitribu has emerged as a dominant power for their Clan in Seattle. It is rumored that the Prince may yet even select a Lasombra antitribu to replace Louis as seneschal...but the level of insult this would be to Louis Duchamps, considering that Ventrue saved him from the clutches of Mama Kay, would be astronomical and could provoke an outright civil war. For now, Telucti openly shows interest in the few Lasombra antitribu who have made Seattle their home, and he often assigns them domains or havens near Clan Toreador's.

The year is currently 2000 in the chilly month of January, and that is where the game begins...

Inactive Characters

I won't list out inactive characters with an index here, but you can find a list of them in [this thread.]

Contact

Players are welcome to contact me off-site if need be, though PMing me is probably the most reliable method of contacting me.

Discord: Blythe#1065

E-mail: blythe@elliquiy.com

PM: [Click here]

Seattle By Night

About the Game

Types of Characters You May Play

Number of Characters You May Play

Statistics

Humanity & Paths

Elysium: Ranks, Rules, Regulations

Etiquette & Rules of Elysium

Who Holds Rank/Position/Status?

Boons & How They Work

Active Player Character List & Public/Private Knowledge

Antoni, Julian

Assard, Richard

Carr, Vanessa

Dalmar, Skye

Etta, Charlize - "Charlie"

Faust

Fulton, Sean

Gorth, Athari - "Gladstone"

Greene, Jack

Greene, Lyssa

Fontaine, Noelle

Newton, Heather

Owens, Jackson

Prescott, Tobias

Rosselini, Federico

Star, Destiny

Smythe, Remy

Von Morganstern, Julius

Winthrop, Thomas

Xiang, Junejie - "June"

Blythe's NPC Character List & Public/Private Knowledge

Adams, Joseph

Duchamps, Louis

Fleur, Regan

Freeman, Theodore

"Grendel"

Juarez, Miguel

Kay

Leonid

"Max"

Moore, Mattias

Rosen, Avery

Telucti

"Twister"

"Wynne"

Sparrowhawke's NPC Character List & Public/Private Knowledge

Carino, Morgan

Felder, Milo - "Mercury"

Hart, Roman

Hawkes, Cyneric

Luwood, Erasmus

Killough, Ailbhe

Locke, Alice

Lucier, Oscaar

Martien, Jameson - "Jimmy"

Medea, Arcadius

Novi, Shavain

Pyrrah, Aurelius

Roque, Maynard

Thompson, Luke - "Warden"

Reaver, Caim

Underwood, Sophia - "Bellona"

Ward, Kieran

Additional NPCs, Retainers, Contacts, & Allies

Locations in Seattle

Seattle Supernatural Research Facility

Clarifications, GM Rulings & Houserules

Clarifications

How Much Blood Does it Take To Blood Bind Someone?

Humanity Violations

Recognizing Other Kindred as Kindred

Toreador Entrancement

Willpower

Houserules

Aborting Actions in Combat for Defensive Maneuvers

Auspex - Telepathy

Backgrounds & Cost

Disarm

Influence