Vampire List

The following are the available canon characters that you can choose from.

You may also create a vampire of your own. Neonates are a wonderful excuse to know very little about the setting; elders will happily show you the ropes - as cruelly or gently as you like, because everyone’s roleplay cup of tea for preference is brewed under different strengths! You can still choose a vampire from this list if you’re less familiar with Vampire the game, the characters that require steeper learning curves have bold notes (in brackets) after their descriptions. stating what canon knowledge you will need for reference.

 

What is canon?

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It’s just another word for “official”. Used quite often in fan fiction to differentiate between the official storyline in which the fan fiction is based on. For example in Harry Potter it is considered canonical for Hermione Granger to be quite a clever, bookish witch of non-magical heritage, who is sorted into Gryffindor. It is less canonical for her to strike Harry hard across the face in the opening Sorting scene, demand to be recognised for the pureblood she secretly is, before striding to rival House table Slytherin.

Meanwhile, if protagonist Harry Potter were to break from his accepted "canon", he could transfigure his iconic lightning-bolt scar into a pentagram, move to Slytherin House, and go by the name "Vampire" because he loves the taste of human blood.

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When you are confirmed as a player and have paid your first instalment (or bought your ticket outright) you will be able to fill in a character selection form. We go through human character applications first, and get those 30 players out the way; they then begin the process of creating a human character around their designated power. Meanwhile, for the majority of participants who will be playing vampires, you will be in the second wave. In this wave, there will be a form with a 1-5 preference list where you can enter your top choices, in order, of the canon vampires that you want to roleplay - if you even want one of these. You can also indicate whether you just want your own character. You can also do a mix, e.g. I want Lucita de Aragon as my first choice character, Meerlinda as my second choice character, but my third, fourth and fifth choices are all my “Own Character”. There will be five boxes you can type into.

Own characters have the same limitations as canon vampires - no 4th Generation Methuselah, that is: no really ancient, highly powerful individuals who are themselves the childer of the “Antediluvian” vampires - and they must realistically fit into the world. They must be organic to the setting; we can help you with this. Please don’t be afraid of feedback, it is very common that we have to adjust “own characters” and their backstories so they appear real in the World of Darkness and our version of the setting. They cannot contradict existing canon or be too closely tied to any canon vampire, who have their own stories and chronology too, which interacts in an already complex web.

For a handful of the characters on this page we have included motivations for why they might attend the auction in their description, but every character chosen to create this list has plenty. The page was just getting rather long!

If you are playing a canon vampire you must maintain the original history of that character, though you can put your own spin on their emotional landscape and your own delivery during the game itself. They must adhere to the stereotype at least for their personality or clan, within reason, for example an elder Tremere loyalist is not going to be spouting clan secrets or offering up their blood for anything - unless they are severely mentally compromised, which could feasibly occur under some “human powers” for influence.

In cases where there is no pre-existing life for the vampire (Lugoj, Velya, Tyler etc) before the Anarch Revolt, we have worked to create one that offers a primer for the events they will go onto drive.

If this is all nonsense to you, just get in touch with us - we can have some good one-to-one with you to figure out where you’re at and what you know (or don’t know), and help you get to grips with a fantastic character that will really let your imagination stretch and also let you enjoy yourself. You can contact me (Orion) directly through the email icon in the website footer, or find me on Facebook:

The Vampire Menu

Ordered alphabetically by the vampire’s best known name

Abetorius

Tremere Elder

As Meerlinda's direct progeny and one of the most powerful members of your clan, you preside over the clan's interests in the Middle East. You were first sent to the region in the 12th century by none other than Tremere himself. Upon arriving in the region, you were initially based in Constantinople under the tentative patronage of the Michaelite Toreador. Michael's own childe, Pakourianis the Dove, was fascinated by your Gargoyle slaves. You expanded the clan's interests beyond the Byzantine Empire into Asia over the following several centuries (a matter which likely elevated you into the secretive Inner Council of Seven), and this remains your primary political interest - clan dynamics and the expansion of clan power are paramount.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Constantinople By Night, familiarity with Clan Tremere’s bitchcraft and, ideally, the Dark Ages supplement "House of Tremere" which covers Ceoris, the headquarters of the Tremere clan and their continuing struggle against Clan Tzimisce.)

Motivation

Omens can be interpreted in many ways, the day of the Black Sun - or Black Dawn as some refer to it - heralded both calamity and promise. A bastion of your own power and influence, the day that Constantinople fell was one of extreme upheaval for you. It was in the wake of these shifting tides that whispers reached you of strange kine appearing throughout Europe, each blessed with peculiar traits that could not be written off as the meddling of some other entity.

Perhaps you looked into this matter, or perhaps such rumours seemed too spurious for you; preoccupied as you were with the expansion of clan Tremere’s influence. Whatever may have been the case, Claudius Giovanni has done the work for you it seems; almost all surviving supernatural mortals have been gathered in one place, and you are cordially invited. Many of the powers they display are akin to disciplines practised by the other clans - some of which are beneath your notice. There are some, however, that intrigue you.

The Apprentice has untold potential as an acolyte of Blood Sorceries - capable of learning far more expediently than any you might have trained or witnessed before. This comes with it’s own foibles of course - particularly in a power structure that is wary of sudden growth that puts elders at risk. The Bane will surely be a focal point for all clans that practise sorcery - the power to instantly destroy the effects of your art cannot be ignored.

Adana de Sforza

Brujah Elder

Confident, powerful and resourceful, you possess a Brujah's affinity for the struggle against impossible odds. With an iron-clad will and fire burning brightly in your soul, you are one of the most influential Brujah active in the world today. Perhaps it is your integrity and honour as a person, but you are respected across divisions of ideology, clan and even age. Charismatic and politically able, you embody the best traits of your clan: you are a leader and a mentor to the masses - but you have proven yourself as a good sire, too. Eleanor de Valois is your direct childe, Embraced this century, and honed to political perfection. You have a good relationship and she has easily found her feet in this world, in no small part to your credit. No one would argue that any of these Black Sun mortals would be in good hands with you, far more than so many of these vultures present.

Motivation

Few things are as vexing as potential wasted. You have watched mortals throughout the ages fall to superstition and fearful violence, and as the centuries pass it is only worsening. Like many elders, you caught wind of the appearance of supernaturally gifted kine appearing sometime before the auction, though you may or may not have had the information to link that with the event of the eclipse nearly seventy years ago. They represent a glowing opportunity for both you and your clan - these gifts could help guide Cainite society on the correct path if they are presided over by responsible sires.

With your own talents for inspiration and oratory wit, many of these empowered kine might suit your tastes. You have already proven yourself an excellent sire after all - who better than to claim those with the most potential? You are wary of those who would claim these kine for their own benefit alone. Many would see these powers twisted, corrupted and used only to continue interclan squabble or craven attempts to grab power through blackmail and extortion. You are loath to let this happen. Perhaps rather than a specific ability, you are looking for a strength of character. Someone who would respond well to your mentorship, and possesses an inner fire capable of influencing others as you do:  with integrity and forthrightness. 

The Trueseer’s ability cuts through attempts to hide and disguise one’s true self; forcing those nearby to present themselves as they truly are. Similarly, the Inquisitor will make it hard for those who oppose you to hide what is truly in their hearts. Finally there is the Prophet - for one as interested and invested in the shape of Cainite society as you, it could be intoxicatingly intriguing to be able to glimpse certain paths the future might take, or see the truth of the present or past in order to act with wisdom.

Alexia Theusa

Cappadocian Elder

You were born in Athens in 400 BC. There you fell in love with a slave of your father, despite your high status and despite you both knowing that they had no future together. It was a painful decision to come to; eventually with no way out, you decided to kill yourselves, fearing discovery, hoping to be reunited in the afterlife. However, while your love died under the effects of poison, you never had the chance, for you were interrupted and dragged away by your father's guards. You were exiled for the attempt of shaming your family and were cast out, lost, alone. You once more tried to commit suicide. By some strange fate, on that night you had a vision of your love. He begged you to live, telling you that he would be reborn as the emperor of a golden city. Hope is a tender thing, persistent and niggling; it was enough. You went on, travelling the known world in search of this fabled place.

During your travels, you learned much of the dark arts and took to studying the Underworld, hoping to use this knowledge to determine when your mate would return. After you lost even that hope, you decided to travel back to Greece to die.

Your plan was thwarted(!) by an encounter with Byzar, a powerful vampire who claimed the colony of Byzantium as his domain. Intrigued with your understanding of death and your unwavering loyalty to your lost heart, the vampire fell in love himself and offered you the gift of unlife - as a means of enduring the ages to await the rebirth of your lover, although he hoped that you would forget him after two or three centuries and love him instead. His plan did not work, as the Embrace only deepened your obsession with your lost life and love. You forced your own sire into torpor in 196 CE when you allied yourself with Mi-ka-il and the Trinity in Constantinople, securing yourself a place as an Imperial physician.

Motivation

You fled the city during the Fourth Crusade, but even this was many years ago now. You are old, but unlike so many vampires time has not ceased in its meaning for you. You are bitter about your Clan's passivity and stagnation. Perhaps you are only able to be so active, so proactive, because in some remarkable twist of fate, you have maintained your love for your first - and only - flame. A rare tale among vampires. Now, on the underworld’s whisper that your mate has reincarnated in truth, into a human born on the day the Black Sun, you will let nothing stand in your way from attending this auction.

(This vampire requires canon knowledge of Constantinople by Night, Clan Cappadocian and Bitter Crusades. You may decide the gender of Alexia’s fabled lover.)

Alexus Simocatta

Elder Tzimisce

You were a talented scholar in life in Constantinople, where you also acted as an illustrator and architect. Although your position weakened during the Iconoclast controversy, you were an influential figure and worked on a myriad of respected projects. During one of the works you supervised, unfortunately, a collapsed scaffolding led to a long fall onto a stone floor, and resulted in your untimely death.

Fate had other ideas; you were saved through the blood of the Keeper of the Faith, a powerful Tzimisce elder who believed you to be too useful to die. Though you worked in the Library of the Forgotten with “her”, you never felt at home in the underground crypts, yearning for the open skies and glittering towers of the city. As a result, you were retained to act as an agent of both your sire and the Dracon, your own ancient vampiric grandsire, free to leave the library. You were sent into the Holy Land following the upheaval of the Crusades in order to report back to The Keeper of any recent developments. You have cultivated a network of spies and informants that stretched over the whole of the Middle East.

This assignment saved you from the massacres of the Fourth Crusade and the sacking of Constantinople. You continue to correspond with your sire remotely, who to your relief, also survived.

Motivation

Your home lies in ruins, your old way of life changed indefinitely after the sacking of Constantinople. Due to your nature as an itinerant seeker of knowledge, you escaped this fate - but you have not escaped the rumours of devil-cursed mortals imbued with alarming abilities. Whether your sire is in attendance at this auction or not - there are several human prospects that might pique your interest, and those that you could potentially help your allies obtain.

As someone that values hidden lore and information, no doubt both the Expositor and Inquisitor would be of interest to you; both would make extremely effective spies since people just can’t help but say more than they should when around them. For the purpose of destabilising a nation, you would need to look no further than the Plague - a suitable candidate for your life on the move. One must also consider; do you truly desire a childe of your own as you yearn to lead a life that is (to many) free from being locked in one place? It might be more advantageous to assist your sire securing another progeny - someone to take up the tasks that you find are not to your taste. It could leave you more freedom than you might otherwise achieve, if you could gift your sire a new ‘project’.

Ambrogino Giovanni

Cappadocian Elder

You are the direct childe of Lady Constancia, Priestess of Bones, and a powerful necromancer, even in life. Born a bastard to the Giovanni family, you gained the notice of the family elders only through your own hard-earned efforts. Years ago, you experienced an intense vision of yourself becoming a god, an experience which would fuel a goal that has become your driving force ever since, stoking the flames of an already healthy ego.

When Clan Cappadocian began Embracing members of the Giovanni family, you were one of the few chosen for it. As such, you are one of the rare Giovanni whose blood descends from Cappadocius himself and not Augustus Giovanni. Meanwhile, Claudius has come under scrutiny by Japheth recently, as well as under the eye of several key Cappadocians who predate the Giovanni family’s entry into the clan. They frown on the auction going public without their permission. You’ve managed to convince them that it is within the wider parent clan’s interests that you attend - whether Claudius wants you to or not.

Anatole 

Malkavian Elder

You are one of the world's most famous Malkavians almost by an accident of design; you can’t help but get into everybody's business, without really meaning to, appearing in cities, forts and courts all across the world which inevitably become the sites of some miraculous or ill-fated event. You are always at the center of prophecy, finding trouble and plot, following your visions along a perilous journey with no clear end. You lose consciousness to visions that plague you of an apocalyptic future - visions that come over you without any warning, often in the company of powerful vampires which fate puts on your path. You are a believer in this future and your ability to change it; you have to, or else all is damned.

Your travelling companion and closest friend, Lucita, swings between faith and hopelessness, but you are always the tide that carries her back to shore. You are her rock, and she is yours - Lucita also being the practical one who gets other things done and gets you out of social faux pas after you collapse from belting out a hypnotised prophecy of doom to a confused, stunned audience. You travel the world together, and she puts her faith in you, because you are still driven by a spiritual faith in God and in things to come, bolstered by your mortal life as a monk.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Clan Malkavian, the Transylvania Chronicles and ideally is for a bold, demonstrative roleplayer who isn’t shy of detail in their brief.)

Anna Comnena

Ventrue Elder

There is no one person today who would say you are not capable of overcoming setbacks - often bitter ones. Born a Byzantine princess you were named Anna Komnene - although people frequently Latinize it to Anna Comnena - and remain to this day the known author of the Alexiad, an account of the reign of your father, the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. As the eldest child of the emperor you were of considerable interest to the Ventrue, who would go onto Embrace you into the clan.

You survived the scourging of your beloved Constantinople and in time became the vampiric Prince of Nicea, no longer welcome in your homeland but resolute in moving forward with your life. However, even Nicea surrendered to the Ottomans after a long siege, in 1331, when Orhan I captured the city and the town became the capital of the expanding Ottoman emirate. There is little satisfaction to be gained from the fact that, following the true death of Constantinople in 1453, Nicea lost a great degree of its importance.

You can't even be grimly satisfied that the Ottomans failed it there. Losing things gradually is very different than suddenly and unexpectedly having a fire blaze through your life and char everything in its wake, and claim everyone in a relatively short amount of time. Most vampires and people have lived through wars, and even loss, of course. But it's not the same, is it? Tell an Elder this and they'll tell you they understand. Tell a Neonate this and they have the decency to recognise that they don't. It's why you - sometimes - tend to prefer the company of the honest.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Constantinople By Night.)

Motivation

The last two centuries have bestowed little else but loss upon you. Your homeland, your fiefdom, and countless people that once might have meant something to you. Each time you have suffered, you have managed to rebuild your life and uphold the respect of other Cainites - not only because you have been able to grasp beneficial opportunities and see make the most of your situation. Most likely the day of the Black Sun would have been little else but a portent of doom for you; heralding the atrophy of the world you had known and ruled so well. It wouldn’t have been until much later you heard it associated with the births of these so-called ‘gifted’ humans.

Perhaps securing allies and a powerful legacy will be the key to rebuilding your former glory? To recapture the same sophistication of the station that you once held. To sire one of these empowered mortals would surely elevate you, and allow you to start rebuilding your own court with a bastion of supernatural power at its center. You value honesty, but also those with the ability to truly understand the loss that you have experienced. The Witness of course would be an obvious choice, but then again perhaps the Dreamer might interest you. The ability to step into your own memories as if you could relive the glory of your homeland - to walk amongst the wealth and beauty of an empire destined for ruin. It might drive you to despair, but are you not still tempted?

Annika Giovanni

Cappadocian Ancilla

No matter where your path winds and what dark warrens your strange and dark life takes you down, always your thoughts return to Venice. The city of your childhood was all beauty and horror in equal and competing parts and you loved every sordid little bit of it. Even as a little girl, you had always had a strong stomach for the morbid and ugly parts of life. In many ways your childhood was a charmed one – you were raised in a city that might as well have been your family’s personal playground and you were afforded every luxury and privilege befitting of the Venetian elite. Although your early life could be viewed as sheltered and ideal, you learned very young that there were horrors in the world that even the thickest oak doors and most expensive guard could not keep out. It is hard to remember now when your family first took an affront to your multitude of make-believe friends, but you certainly remember meeting them.

In time, you learned to master your fear of the dead and your apprehension soon turned to fascination. When you were accompanied by your servants on rare outings to a dress fitting or social occasion, you always found a way to divert your journey towards the oldest and strangest curio shops that you could find. You had a deep and abiding desire to purchase any manuscript that you could find pertaining to the occult and the mythology of the ancient world. You learned of the ancient practice of nekyomanteía discussed by Herodotus, Plutarch and even Homer– if Ulysses could summon the spirits of the dead to divine the future then there was no telling what you might be capable of. You read about the dramatic rituals for the dead practised by the Romans and learned of Pagan sacrificial rites. You were utterly absorbed in your studies, awash in the excitement of discovery. By night in your room, you began to practise your own amalgamated art of negromanzia. You drew your ritual circles with solemn dedication and were unflinching in the act of small animal sacrifices in the name of progressing your understanding of your second sight. Gradually, you learned which rituals were useful and which were nothing but old wives and could be tossed into the hearth with derision. Little by little, your visitors started to acknowledge your presence and even to speak to you – much to your delight.

Your mother was oddly resistant to you visiting the rest of the family. You were not. The rural surroundings of Florence were beautiful and although you missed the crowded markets and the mysterious canalways of Venice, you did not miss the claustrophobic, restrictive lifestyle you had led. Your Uncle Claudius was endlessly hospitable and you found him even more charming than the cousins who came to collect you. However, no one could deny that Claudius was eccentric to the extreme. Your Uncle and most of your Florentine family slept through the day – the entire day – and went about all of their work and play during the night. Claudius’ villa was immense, full to the brim with fascinating antiques, ancient curios and wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with manuscripts that made your head spin with possibilities. Claudius was impressed by your extensive reading and education, and he often told you that you had obviously been born to live here amongst the more academic members of the family. It simply would not do to waste your sharp mind on the tiresome tasks of household accounts and Venetian merchant politics. So began your tutorship under Uncle Claudius’ close and attentive observation.

Anthemios of Tralles

Toreador Elder

((Storyteller Note: We have made him Michael’s first and oldest childe, which is a canon change.))

“One of five sons, you would go on to become a celebrated geometer and architect in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. With Isidore of Miletus, you designed the Hagia Sophia. Perhaps it was this feat that earned you the attention of one of the most famous Toreador in the world: Mi-ka-il or Micahel. In the years following your Embrace into the ranks of the beatific undead, you were responsible for the erection of many splendid buildings, until you became so influenced by your sire's pervasive delusions of godhead that your own work began to suffer. Although you tried to remedy this by bringing promising architects to your sire to receive inspiration, your buildings became more and more uniform as your own inspiration began to fade, lost in the confused shadow of his brilliant force.”

Prodigy; Jaded; Depressed; Bitter

Justinian I - also known as Justinian the Great - was the emperor of all of Byzantium, and he spoke with you and two of your brothers, you often thought, more than his own wife. Which was quite a feat really, given how obsessed he was with her. Justinian became "the emperor who never slept" for his work habits; and besides yourself, and possibly Alexander (when he'd fucked up a patient's notes), you'd never met someone capable of waking three hours before dawn because ‘they were too nervous about work’ to rest.

Justinian knew how to keep court with the people he needed around him. He wasn't a born noble - poor sod had kedgeree for blood - so he had to work twice as hard to put the fires out when they were started by older, more established patrons from the Constantinopolitan and exiled Roman aristocracy. It was probably all this political rivalry actually, which kickstarted Justinian's construction frenzy; he couldn't get enough of the capital and its buildings, he was constantly erecting monuments in it, all a means to strengthen his dynasty's prestige. You were pulled in, as you were, every time. You'd not started life as an architect, really you had no training in it at all, thanks, but you certainly ended it as one. Bitterly, it was only after managing a huge team of architects and designing these buildings that your father started talking to you like a son.

I wasn’t good enough, before, clearly.

You became the emperor’s chief architect, and his court engineer. Your older brothers were also eyeball deep in Constantinople: Metrodorus was involved in the schooling of the children at the royal court, and Olympics was Justinian's legal aid and lawyer - he was consulted for practically everything.

Unlike the mash-up mongrel man himself (again, never say this near his majesty) you and your brothers were aristocracy. You were the elite of the Byzantine elite, the bluest of blood, the candle on the sacred cake - and didn't your father like to remind you.

*

It’s so hard to place it all now, to fix your life in concrete details. When you think of Metrodorus, or even Olympius - who also came to the city to escape Father, and live his life out with you both - of their presence in your life, you don't really think of late night socials on the rooftop and talking until dawn; you don’t think of laughter and stars dragging lonely Isidore up there one night, and how much that changed your friendship for the better - not naturally. You don’t think of anything. You just close your eyes and let the distant effects of it resonate through you. You let the feeling of once having had a life wash over you, you let it play on you like the sun on closed eyes, or saltwater on open wounds.

There has never, up until now been a sense of hopelessness this intense. It’s gone, whatever you were moving towards, you've lost it. The landing stage is broken, collapsed, and now your feet and arms are treading water; because there’s no going back, no swimming back to the harbour, and no inclination to swim out to sea. For the first time you stop feeling curious about the universe around you, about the pulse and beat in the world’s geometry and magic. You just feel numb.

Wait, no. That’s not exactly true.

I know when it went wrong.

I can give you the exact date.

It was the day I met Michael.

Critias

Brujah Methuselah

It is no easy thing to summarize the storied life of one of Athens’ most controversial philosophers. You lived in Greece at a time when philosophers held court as much as actors drew audiences. They would stand in theaters and upon pillars expounding their views on the world, its people, and the meaning of life and death, many an exposition turning into a raging torrent against the universe. You lived a life of many ups and downs, exciting actions and furious passions. The tales recounted here are only those you readily share with others, but you have many more stories you keep to yourself.

In your youth, you were a lover of anything beautiful or intelligent, or ideally both. At times, you would take to bed with three lovers at once, and in many a story have claimed how you bedded the Oracle at Delphi, who knew exactly what he was going to do before he did it. Where other Athenians simply had sex with their male slaves, you fell for one of yours, marrying a young man and throwing Athenian law into crisis as you expounded (repeatedly and with great elocution) how nothing in Athenian law prevented one man marrying another if one was prepared to take on the title of “wife.” Your actions resulted in laws being changed to refer to biology, much to your chagrin, and your marriage was dissolved. Nonetheless, you’d made a point and that was very much your M.O.

Beyond your adventures in bed, you would take to the wild countryside to hunt the rarest of beasts and spend your nights under the star-strewn sky, attempting to map entrails as astronomical bodies. You claim to have formed the first star map of Greece, suppressed by the ruling classes, and even named constellations in a more accurate and descriptive manner than those of Ptolemy (who you spit on to this night).

While many of your tales may be boasts, you were certainly a sophist — a teacher of “arete”, being virtue and excellence in one or more subjects such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, or mathematics. You were renowned for your intellect, your schools, and your bombastic teaching methods, to the degree your name still appears in mortal texts.

It was your skill as a sophist which drew your sire’s eventual attention.

Menele was a vampire of Clan Brujah who was already ancient in the era you lived. When he heard of a proud philosopher, he made every effort to reach Athens and listen to your wisdom. While much of it was pomp and bombast, there was intelligence to your words. Menele spent an entire night listening to you without interruption before offering the Embrace, so he might embark on an eternal voyage of philosophical discovery.

Where you would ordinarily spend weeks weighing the virtues of one path or another, you accepted Menele’s offer within minutes of it being made. You returned to Athens a vampire — a subject you didn’t keep secret — resulting in your being hunted from the city and many an Athenian being killed as they fell into your path. Soon, as a fledgling Brujah you and your sire made all haste to Cyrene, where you indulged in the Blood Bond with Menele. You had no clue that it would cloud your judgement, and Menele assumed your will was strong enough to overcome a Blood Bond’s addlement of the mind.

With you firmly as his side, Menele posed you the ultimate question of vampirism: why are we here? Menele wanted you to divorce all thought of religious meaning from Cainite existence and instead come to an informed answer of why vampires existed in a human world, and what role they should play in concert with their prey. Was it to be an eternity of hunting and hiding, or was their hope for something beyond this?

You pondered the question as you travelled to Carthage.

Doctor Archibald Streck

Brujah Ancilla

In your mortal days, you were a Prussian Junker who was a strong supporter of Emperor Frederick's expansion into Sicily. You followed your king into the Crusade and during this time some very powerful Ventrue took a shine to you, most prominently Hardestadt, who considered Embracing you himself.

It all happened differently, when a Brujah rival of Hardestadt, Marchettus, decided to rob the hated patricians of their prize and gave you the Embrace himself. Your aristocratic demeanour collapsed under the fits of rage so common to clan Brujah, and with the careful, insidious indoctrination on the part of your new sire you came to hate the false facade of civilization you once supported. You are an author, you care now about revolution and making change but have yet to find a common vampiric cause that will stoke the flames of your passion.

Dimitra

Gangrel Elder

Like most Gangrel you adore fresh air and loathe the squalid buildings that most people insist on spending their whole life within, wiling away the hours. You enjoy the rapture of the kill, natural tracking and the physics of herbalism. Your patience is rather thin however, for subjects unrelated to the wilds. You're extremely attractive to animals, which perhaps contributes to this love for the outdoors, since you’re able to move silently through the wilderness unlike so many vampires who smell alien and unnatural to these old places. You can be sadistic when it concerns your sport, though perhaps not to actually main and harm physically; you do enjoy ruffling feathers and spooking people though, giving into that sort of chase feels incredibly good. You're a glutton for it, you like the challenge of intelligent, sentient prey, but you would save the life of someone if it went too far. You just respect people who care for the chase and a good hunt - not the monsters or people who kill for the sake of it. You might mock someone for being a wet blanket about it, though.

Motivation

You are no wizened seer, cloistered in a high tower whose lot in life is to watch for signs and portents. The Black Sun was a day of wariness for you of course, but you do not believe in feeling terror for far off signs in the sky. If calamity was to come of this omen, you would simply adapt and proceed to the next hunt. You have shown many times you have the aptitude for survival. Perhaps you have come to this auction to satisfy your curiosity then toward these strange, supernatural mortals. Many will also be natural born survivors to have lasted this long, the rare breed of kine that might actually win your respect. 

You cannot resist a hunt, and is not half of the auction just a game to see how can successful ensnare their prey whilst outwitting other hunters? True, it somewhat depends on the stifling rules set by the Giovanni and their idea of commerce, but the idea of stealing a promising mortal out from under the nose of another predator is enticing. Many humans here could make excellent neonates - or at least wonderful playthings until you feel sufficiently impressed to gift them an Embrace. 

The Gorgon already possesses the hallmarks of an excellent hunter; blood running with the venom of a viper, and a paralysing glare like that of a weasel. The Hound too would be a natural choice from one hunter to another. They Prey would be an obvious selection, but you are unsure if their sensibilities would be... robust enough to deal with you. Perhaps an interrogation is in order.

Dionysius

Cappadocian Methuselah

Over the course of your long years on earth, you have proven yourself to be a man of many surprises. Born in the hills outside of Athens as the son of a successful vintner, you were in all ways the heir that your father had wanted. Seemingly born in possession of an unobtrusive personality with a handsome face and an exuberant nature, no one could have expected anything untoward about your behaviour. 

All in all, you were a perfectly average Athenian young man with your whole life in the wine trade mapped out and waiting for you. Yours was a milk and honey life until your provincial, picturesque family was destroyed during your adolescence in a manner that left you scarred beyond repair. Quite suddenly, both of your parents and your younger sister died; victims of a wasting illness that claimed them at the end of a long and arduous struggle. After caring for them at their bedsides, you had each of them buried in turn in the family plot; one after another like deadwood falling in the forest. You inherited your father's vineyard and became an incredibly affluent young man, but your riches were as ashes in your mouth. 

Mourning and in shock, you could never be satisfied with mere terrestrial wealth. Over many long nights praying to your ancestors, you developed an obsession with the underworld and soon you were setting your extensive new connections on the trail of anyone who might offer you the chance to speak to your family in the beyond. After two years of searching, you made contact with a cult devoted to Persephone – a group composed of individuals who possessed various abilities related to interacting with the underworld. So desperate were you to say a proper goodbye to your loved ones that you made the cult the heirs to your fortune. In return, they would show you a way to speak across the veil between life and death.

On your eighteenth birthday, you were given a cup of pomegranate wine mixed liberally with hemlock to drink. By that night, the cultists were already discussing – over your limp and lifeless body – how they would divide up your estate. Their surprise was complete when the young man laid out before them opened his eyes and sat up.

Boy Necromancer

Speaking with a calm confidence, you claimed to have spoken to Persephone herself during your journey into the afterlife. Persephone had sent you back to tell the leaders of the cult of her displeasure at the way in which they used the gifts she had given them to profit from the misfortune of others. 

Invigorated by your experience and the anger you felt towards the cultists, you laid a curse upon them all and bade them flee into the night; there to await whatever fates would come to claim them. So terrified were the leaders of the organisation by your apparent return from death that they did just that, scattering into the darkness. Within the next five days, all of them lay dead under inexplicable circumstances.

Thereafter, you took control of the remnants of the cult; for there could be no doubt that your powers were first among them. Your return from your deathly state and the subsequent swift execution of your curses was so impressive that the cultists were certain that your leadership must have been ordained by Persephone herself. Quickly, your fame spread through the shadows of the Grecian city-states and you were sought out by the rich and the poor alike – all of them wanting to speak to a lost father, a fallen son or a beloved grandmother. 

You turned away none who came with earnest intent, though your gift remained unpredictable at best. Sometimes, you could put yourself into a deathlike trance and return with words from a dead loved one or a meaningful message to provide the pilgrim with some solace in their grief. Other times, the power would fail you entirely. With no small measure of sadness, you would return whatever donation the seeker had brought and send them on their way. Soon enough, word of your amazing abilities spread to even the deepest reaches of the night and unto you was sent a visitor, travelling upon the commandment of Cappadocius himself.

Humanity in Death

Japheth appeared to you one night in the vineyard, mantled with a chill mist and wearing a hooded cloak of a blackness so deep it looked to have been spun from the night sky itself. When the figure approached you, you smiled broadly and without fear, speaking to him openly.

"My eyes cannot show me whether you are man or ghost; my Sight tells me that you are both and neither." 

Japeth spoke with you in the vineyard for hours upon hours that night. At the end of the discussion, you had come to understand the stranger’s nature and you accepted the offer of Japheth's Embrace – hoping to hone your necromantic powers and cheat the onset of death for as long as you possibly could. 

Though your Embrace was largely a success, the Son of Cappadocius certainly did not get the childe he had been expecting from the completion of the ritual. Your natural good cheer, compassion and optimism drew you away from Japheth's efforts to instruct you in the clan's Road of Bones. Instead, your Beast was drawn toward the tenets set forth in the Pact of Athens and you embarked on your journey along Via Humanitas without your sire at your side. Gifted as a mortal man with powers over the underworld, you saw no real reason to change who you were on account of your Embrace. 

Though your features were sallow and your frame gaunt, you were still an attractive young man and you kept many lovers; Cainite and kine alike. You offered up the wine of your vineyard for wild revelry and gave generously to the poor. Those who died penniless, you often claimed and buried at your own expense. 

You cared for the living and the dead alike, just as you had when last you drew breath. Over the course of time, other Cainites from across Greece became drawn to you in their droves. Some came to benefit from your prestigious ties of blood; others wished to associate themselves with your great good fortune; and still others, hearing of your progress upon the Road of Humanity, came to hear whatever secrets you had learned about that noble way. Within a few centuries, you found yourself surrounded by a court of devotees, hangers-on and fellow walkers upon the Road of Humanity. Through the influence you exerted over this makeshift court of Cainite, you were pronounced the Prince of Athens by popular demand. 

The Prince of Athens

To this night, you remain very much the man you were when Japheth bore you into the everlasting night. You are more subdued now with the passage of centuries, though your smile still comes easily and you are every bit the populist ruler you were when first the Cainites of Athens raised you up to your station. All Prodigals, regardless of affiliation, faith, clan or anything else, are allowed within your domain, there to engage in debate, politics, artistic endeavours or whatever pastimes they might choose, so long as they heed the code of conduct set forth in the Pact of Athens.

When the Dream fell in 1204, you lamented the loss of Michael the Patriarch – a staunch and loyal ally to Athens. Since the sacking of Constantinople, you have had to confront the fact that your remaining alliances are now old and, with all of those who went to their Final Deaths in the fall of the Dream, much outdated. You are seeking young and capable Cainites to make connections for you among the Greek Byzantine vampires, that they might begin to reestablish something of the glories of only a scant few centuries ago.

The current Kine fascination with classical philosophy and the beliefs and practices of your people warms your heart, giving you hope that great civilisations may once again lead the way and illuminate even the darkest of nights in these tumultuous times.

Though the War of Princes has not yet reached Athens and you remain a popular and well loved Prince, you are well aware that the Ottoman Empire is beginning to encroach upon your borders. You suspect that the Children of Haqim are behind this empire’s recent military success and you grieve for the siege of Constantinople, destroying what little progress had been made in the Palaeologan Renaissance there. Then again, the Ottomans strike you as a civilised and learned people – perhaps they will succeed in bringing stability to a region plagued by war and chaos? 

Since 1430, you have taken on your old confidante and partner in correspondence – Anna Comnena – as your seneschal and advisor in all matters political. Though the two of you share a passion for history and philosophy, you often find yourself butting heads when it comes to the details of your rule. Nevertheless, you both value one thing above all – independence for Greek Cainites and the ability to rule your own Domain as you see fit.

Don Cerro

Brujah Neonate

You are Udolfo Cerro de León, or simply Don Cerro, trained in the way of the ancient warrior-philosophers of Clan Brujah. You are passionate about order and integrity, believing that an absence of conflict is the only sure way for societies to really progress, as evidenced by this new era. Quiet, calm and dignified in social situations, you are flamboyantly joyful in combat. You were born, grew up and fought in medieval Spain, during the religious conflicts of the 15th century. Years of religious warfare and constant fighting had made the peasants a fractious, rebellious lot, given to using violence as the first solution for everything. You reasoned that you could bring a measure of peace to their lives by making them more afraid of you and your anger than of each other. You were right.

You were known for spreading fear among the common people as a means of forcing them to respect the law that was often forgotten amidst all the bloodshed, and in time your father's lands saw peace. It was this passion for justice that earned you the attention of your vampire sire, Helissente. She took you off your horse one night (with impossible ease for a woman) and challenged you to a duel. Realising it was a lost battle given her uncanny strength, and not being an idiot, you attempted to persuade her to stand down, that no fight was necessary. It was this very attempt which earned you an amused Embrace.

Since becoming a vampire you have been subjected to a rigorous training regimen that has developed your physical prowess far beyond anything that could have been expected. Equally, though, your sire has focussed on training your mind, teaching you about the history of Europe's mortals and vampires, and training you to see that all these brief flashes of conflict are part of larger patterns of struggle that play out over decades and even centuries.

You would likely prove to be an excellent tutor and protective mentor, never caring who gapes and gossips about your choice of childe or protege. At this point in time you have yet to Embrace any vampires. You would be considered a neonate of moderate standing, being combat-able and of positive pedigree - though your sire has made little name for herself, preferring to pour her efforts into you and staying low.

Motivation

You do not remember the day of the Black Sun - the notorious sign that the Black death was coming to its end. You were either two young to realise its meaning, or simply had yet to be born. You could be here at the Giovanni estate for numerous reasons; a gathering of such varied vampires as this could be vital to expanding your list of acquaintances and cementing your already favourable position in Cainite society. 

There is certainly a risk of chaos that comes with these curiously 'empowered' mortals. If left unchecked, they have the potential to cause no end of unrest and havoc - so you might be interested in making sure that the most dangerous ones go to responsible individuals, perhaps even to yourself.

Then again, perhaps what you want is to establish a firm legacy? Just as your excellent training and behaviour has benefited your sire, an exceptional mortal might propel your own social status beyond its current limits as a neonate. You are confident that you could make a fine mentor, and if one of these special kine were gifted in a way that you could hone or train you could truly make a name for the both of you, and see their powers turned in the service of order. On one hand, a willing, eager mortal could be just what you are looking for - the chance to give someone an opportunity to be truly great. Then again, the wildest horses must be broken, and doing so could turn a node of chaos into a shining beacon for vampire society.

Duchess of Amber

Ventrue Elder

You and your husband are the elite, powerful childer of the ancient vampire Mithras, "God King" of Britain and Monarch of the Isles of Avalon. Unfortunately you are little more than an empty, bored shell most nights, with only the smallest spark of life returning when you are hunting something. You enjoy the chase, be it for mortals or, in secret, younger vampires. You keep that dirty little thing hidden away, a hobby you and your husband indulge in when no one else is about. As a mortal, you and the duke were members of one of the oldest royal families in England. He was polished, intelligent and active – as were you - so you were both seemingly perfect candidates for Embrace by the Ventrue. In unlife however, you've both spent more time hiding your own monstrous but jaded appetites than you have attending to court matters or the expansion of your sire’s already considerable influence.

Motivation

Despite the fame and prestige of your blood, you have not been one to make yourself present at intensely political gatherings of Cainites much in the past. The apathy of your existence as a vampire is only alleviated by the thrill of the hunt, and you indulge in performing such acts with your husband only with interesting prey. When you heard of this Auction, your interest was likely only piqued at the mention of extremely abnormal humans that might be sired at this very occasion. The Black Sun itself was probably nothing more than a passing curiosity to you, as it changed very little in your lives, and certainly didn’t bring with it any excitement. 

You might be interested in the mortals present at the auction for several reasons. Firstly, there might be excitement to be gleaned from stealing a promising kine out from under the nose of another Cainite. The powers they possess might not even matter to you that much until you get to experience them for yourself. For example, upon encountering the Celebrant, you might suddenly feel a rush of emotion and veracity you had forgotten - only roused by your love of the hunt. This kine's power is almost like a drug; able to awaken an intoxicating joy and festivity that would certainly spice up unlife.

Then there is the Hound - a fascinating mortal with tracking stills unparalleled in other humans. They alone might be worth attending for… For every hunter needs a hound.

Duke of Amber

Ventrue Elder

You and your wife are as withered as a pair of mummies, both powerful childer of the Methuselah and "God King" Mithras, Monarch of Britain. While outwardly beautiful, you are emotionally dead. You are both the worst stereotype of the Ventrue and look a lot like each other. You wear moth-eaten finery that is at least three centuries out of date. However, you are the aristocracy of English vampires and you know it. Most are afraid to face you because of your age and the potency of your blood. All the challenge long ago ebbed from your life. The hunt is the only thing that quickens you. And hasn't even that gotten a little routine lately? You play the loving couple, but your affection for each other is dry as bone. The only thing that excites you both anymore - the thing that really brings a spark back into the marriage - is the hunt.

Camilla Banes

Malkavian Elder

As a child you were plagued by phantasms and a dizzying rush of visions, few of which made sense. You learned not to attach any meaning to the images and colours and sensations that others wouldn’t feel - emotional or symbolic meaning. Over time though, you learned that some of them could be prophetic, even life saving. Perhaps it was the polarising nature of the good visions and the bad, which could make you flip between the extremes of emotion - it’s hard to remember now, so many years have gone by - because your visions certainly affected your mood. Hard to stay chipper when you’re assaulted by an intimate vision of your friend’s death, or the river they’ll fall into next week and snap their ankle on the rock. You learned to school your facial expressions, but the Embrace took even that. Over time, you stopped caring that others spoke about you behind their hands, or when they shuttered their expressions. You don’t believe outright in being feared - but one part of you does.

You can be difficult or even frightening to talk to because you switch between gentle (even suffocating) mothering and violent aggression suddenly. You tried for years as a fledgling vampire to even out your behaviour, only for the Beast to make it worse. If all that trying to swallow your mood swings does is make them worse - not just for you but for others too - it seems illogical and exhausting to do that, when there’ll be no results. You’ve stopped justifying your flips in mood and you’ve decided no longer to be an apologist for your Clan’s Curse - or for yourself. Your clan - and perhaps second to it the Brujah - have to try harder than any other clan.

You were constantly masking, self-monitoring and swallowing any stray reaction or emotion in you, and ultimately it almost killed you and people you care about. No more. You’ve learned that people accept your erratic behaviour when they learn you’re a Malkavian. At least, now that you’re able to be that bit more authentic to yourself, you can focus on things that really matter - not hand holding everyone else - such as building a world that will actually last, and ride the wave of this new era.

Casmir

Tremere Elder

You specialize in the darker forms of Thaumaturgy and sacrificial magic that requires suffering and domination. You enjoy using your thaumaturgical powers to torture mortals, forcing them to do things against their will while tempting them with knowledge about the dark arts and the blackest acts of the left hand path. You are very protective of the ways of blood magic and only share them with your own blood bonded progeny, but you are in the market for a new apprentice - and for some fun. You are ceremonial, dogmatic and hold wild Gangrel in utter disdain, preferring the company of better educated and better bred individuals who know how to use chairs and doors. You can be vocal with your disdain seeing no reason to hide the fact you are better than then, a magical prodigy who has gone further into the unknown than most idiots will ever reason exists, let alone have the courage of purpose to explore.

(This character requires good knowledge of Clan Tremere.)

Motivation

Out of the many Cainites in attendance to this auction, you are one of the few that understood the importance of the day of the Black Sun. Dark sorcery and ill portents are no stranger to you, and thus you were probably quite frustrated to learn only now of the existence of these ‘blessed’ mortals. It would have been beneath your station to go travelling all over the countryside to gather them yourself, though; better now that another clan has done the work for you. Anything to justify not knowing about them before the damned necromancers.

This auction presents a unique opportunity for you; very few humans with these sorts of gifts exist, and many of them had already been purged by their own suspicious kind. Equally, you recognise the ill intentions many other clans hold towards Clan Tremere, and know that they will be clamouring to gain access to the more sorcerous human. This is wholly unacceptable; to allow other vampires a route into blood magic would be a disaster. As a result, you may look to keep the Bane out of their hands - or simply arrange an accident to befall them.

Far more enticing perhaps will be to secure one or several of these unique individuals for your own research. Some of their abilities emulate other vampiric disciplines in ways you would never otherwise have access to. Some already seem to walk the path of darker magics, and might prove irresistible. The Doll possesses the inherent ability to inflict agonising pain on others via the mutilation of their own body - something you might have witnessed in forbidden rituals and ancient lore. You might want to procure this kine and not even sire them; simply to make use of their body. On the other hand, you might wish to bid on a mortal who crackles with potential thaumaturgical gifts; the Reverb seems to be a unique conduit for power, and the Shadow is clearly in touch with something powerful and dark.

Celestyn

Tremere Elder

You were one of the earliest Tremere Embraced into the clan. A studious individual without an aversion to field work, your research greatly aided the clan in its early nights and especially now as The Omen War rages on. You were born in a village near London and given the name Calnor, the son of the seneschal of an eccentric noble. You obtained an aristocratic education and soon learned of the magi who dwelled nearby. When you stood in front of their chantry and asked to be educated in the magical arts, the mages were impressed and admitted you. It was your mentor, the magus Persigno, who gave you the name Celestyn as a reflection of your interest in celestial bodies.

Like so many of your clan's elders, yours is a deep and colourful tale, with considerable history to it. While you took his new duty seriously, you also travelled Transylvania and the region surrounding Ceoris in your spare time, cataloguing the strange night-folk surrounding the area, who you would come to understand were the Tzimisce. For your work on studying them, Etrius decided to grant you the Embrace. True to your new name, you soon undertook the project of studying how astrology interacted with the curse of vampirism, a matter you have been chasing for centuries. Around 1313, you left Ceoris for a classified quest concerning Gehenna, a quest which has brought you to this auction and to the enigmatic study of the Black Sun.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Clan Tremere to good depth and, ideally, the Dark Ages supplement "House of Tremere" which covers Ceoris, the headquarters of the Tremere clan and their continuing struggle against Clan Tzimisce.)

Edward Scott “The Black Prince"

Brujah Neonate

You originated in Cornwall, where you were a rival lord involved in dynastic struggles. During the conflict, a knight named Sir Lorence came to your castle and rather managed to gain your trust. You gave him your hospitality, your chamber’s hearth and your company. In a cruel fit, the knight killed your family and then Embraced you. This event cemented an enormous hate against elders in you for the casual disdain so many of them have of other people's lives, and how easily they can abandon their childer the moment their existence no longer suits them. You swore to yourself to watch over the interests of young vampires, and to this purpose have come to this auction - a cruel meat market at the very best, and at worst a source of play for more monstrous elders to Embrace mortals for their own greed and selfish interests. If they are to be bartered you will see to it that they have some agency in who Embraces them. You are resourceful and political, well able to talk to talk and walk the walk of the elite, having been born into it yourself. You are also no stranger to the muck and mire of the world, having first-hand experience of losing everything to another’s whim.

Eleanor de Valois

Brujah Neonate

Mediator, facilitator and trusted voice of reason. You are a philosopher of art, because you are able to see multiple angles of a single societal or political problem that others cannot, too lost as they are in their own biases and interests. You have yours, of course you do, but you don't let them get in the way with making sound decisions or seeing the larger picture. You maintain a cool reserve at all times, lest you be seen to play favourites, and your word carries weight even as a neonate, since your sire is the famous Adana de Sforza. You excel in etiquette and modern thinking but you are also a fighter, a rare and exciting combination for one so young. You are clearly one to watch, and with the patronage and protection of your Sire, it is no wonder that elders double take your presence among the young.

François Villon

Toreador Ancilla/Elder

A social chameleon and master of disguise, whether the tale involves slaying the Dragon at the side of St. George, crossing the Alps with Hannibal or watching Christ turn water to wine, you claim to have been there. Few, if ever, know the truth. What is known (and true) is that you attracted the attention of the methuselah Helena of Troy, the one and only, when she passed through the town of Paris looking for an ancient Brujah. At the time you were a linguistics scholar with aspirations to marry a noble heiress, or so you tell people, and Helena gave you more than you could ever desire. She embraced you, and from her you learned the value of constructing a colorful backstory. To that end, you've carefully crafted a litany of contradictory origins. Claiming any number of heroic (and unverifiable) deeds as your own, you've elevated yourself above the rank and file of your peers, leaving behind those with no ambition or vision. Indeed your greatest skill is to appear more powerful than you actually are.

Motivation

As an expert spinner of tales, the day of the Black Sun (or Black Dawn) certainly did not slip below your notice. An event so important as that would have naturally made it into your lexicon of things you absolutely had something to do with - even if you didn’t. In that same vein, you know without a doubt that this auction is going to be an incredibly important gathering of Cainites; it’s the perfect place for history to be made (and for you to star in it). You might not be looking to sire another childe of your own just yet - or is it time? - but procuring one of these individuals might still be a mighty arrow in your quiver if you were to ghoul them. At least it would make a fascinating tale to tell, and no doubt it would make you the talk of the court back home.

You can certainly appreciate the flair for dramatics that the Illusionist possesses; and what could be more delicious than to have the ability to vanish and appear as you will? Perhaps there are more subtle powers that might appeal to a master of disguise; the Leech for one. The ability to absorb the power and techniques of others for a limited time is hard to ignore - if you could embrace this mortal perhaps they could teach you these skills - or there might be some way to use their blood to bestow such trickster’s powers upon you too.

Finally - the Echo might just catch you off guard. You have lived so many personas and guises, perhaps all it will take to bring you crashing back down to earth is the face of someone who was once dear to you; the woman you sought to marry, perhaps Violetta, or even Helena herself. A mortal that can take the face of whoever the observer treasures the most…what a show stopping skill that could be if it was available to you…

Master Frazier

Ventrue Neonate

It is hard to miss you, with your massive build and booming voice. You sometimes intimidate without meaning to, and as a means of correcting that, you behave with exquisite politeness to all. You will readily engage in the occasional flirtation with ladies who are willing and intelligent enough. Your wit and sword are always kept razor-sharp for whatever emergency. Your jolly manner makes a good foil for your sharp wit and savvy intellect.

(This individual will go onto become an unusually approachable antitribu elder, where he will work on the Path of Honorable Accord at the Black Monastery in 1666.)

Garinol

Cappadocian Elder

Born sometime in the late 11th century, you remained the abbot of Petrin Hill Monastery (also called Strahov Abbey) in Prague during the Dark Ages. Before you converted to Christianity you were raised as a follower of the cult of Mithras in mortal life. After watching your family die of plague as a child, your fascination with morbidity began. Like most orphaned children, you were deposited in the care of the Church. There you converted to Christianity and became a monk.

Your fascination with death did not cease, however, as you would kill small animals and attempt to raise them from the dead. Though your peers had no idea in regards to your hobby, your actions did not go unnoticed. Brother Jervais, a Cappadocian, Embraced and welcomed you into the ossuary under the abbey. In time, you even made abbot. Then you became the advisor and ally of the Ventrue Prince of Prague, Rudolf Brandl, although your allegiance remained first to your Clan.

(This character appears in the old video game Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. Also features in Transylvania by Night, p. 64-65)

Geoffrey Leigh

Gangrel Elder

Born under the name Justinian in the Byzantine Empire, you were originally a noble whose holdings lay near the frontiers and you had to fight several times against the Seljuk Turks. After a disastrous battle which resulted in the death of all soldiers under his command, you refused to give up, determined to avenge the deaths of your followers by killing as many Turks as possible, before accepting your imminent death.

It was this ferocity and courage that so impressed the leader of the Turkish troops, a Gangrel in disguise. He met you personally in battle, goading you to ever greater feats of skill. When he was content with your performance, he Embraced you and left you to fend for yourself. You travelled the world afterward, changing your name only after Constantinople had been conquered. The last year has been difficult; you took time out of your life to see the last of Constantinople from a distance as the Ottomans invaded.

(Geoffrey and the Toreador Violetta are not yet lovers but in canon they become so by the end of this century; the auction might provide grounds to meet early.)

(This character goes on to become the primary Archon to his lover Violetta when she becomes Justicar. By modern nights, he becomes the Justicar himself of Clan Gangrel.)

Giuseppe Giovanni

Cappadocian Elder

Despite your prominent role in the family strongly associated with the dark arts, you became renowned for a more worldly set of skills – both in your mortal life as in your eternal existence. Though Necromancy has its uses, oh yes, you have long known the value of influencing other spheres than simply the dead… You puppet and tease mortal history through war, trade and the machinations of the nobility — a true shadow politician. These nights, you wonder if the timing of your birth had something to do with your fate; specifically your burgeoning interest in politics and diplomacy, your childhood environment having moulded your mind and ambitions to such an extent that your principles remained set in stone even in death.

You were born in the city of Venice at a time when the Republic of Venice was only just becoming the maritime empire it would one day be known for. Your parents were wealthy and important members of the infamous Giovanni family of bankers. Though you were not born into the very core of your prestigious bloodline, you were one of many grandchildren to the influential, but distant, Claudius Giovanni.

Your mother and father did not possess any of the strange skills associated with the heart of your family’s power, but they were very much involved in the politics and trade of the great city of Venice — making them indispensable to the blood. Your father himself was instrumental in funding Doge Otto Orseolo’s expeditions to increase Venetian control over the Adriatic, launching your fascination with trade and maritime political endeavours.

Early on, you wasted no time building on your rich and robust childhood education. You became fascinated with political machinations, diplomacy and the complex relationship between religious and financial empires. Though you were trained in your role as a manager of money, your family soon realised that you were more suited to the diplomatic matters that were integral to the delicate business of forming ties of usury with powerful noble houses and military empires. You could see nuances in social patterns, group dynamics and even bodily cues that others missed, and could imagine how to exploit them.

As a young man, you were responsible for consolidating Giovanni influence in both the Byzantine and Holy Roman Empires, through Venetian banks and powerful trade deals. Unbeknownst to you, your efforts laid the groundwork for the new, and secret, nocturnal connections being simultaneously built along these political pathways by the more reclusive and shadowy members of the Giovanni family. Before long, even the aloof and inaccessible Claudius Giovanni had recognised his grandson’s usefulness to the family.

Claudius thought your skills far more beneficial to the family’s fate than those of his own dull yet dependable son. Your father disappointed him; but the apple rolled far from the tree. As your grandfather Claudius recognised your absolute loyalty and devotion to the family’s name and position in society.  Not wanting to lose such a promising member of the family to the vicissitudes of mortal disease and decay, Claudius became something of a mentor to you. 

Eventually, he invited you to stay in the family’s most grand palazzo, reserved for the residence of only the most promising relatives closest to the former patriarch Augustus; a powerful man who had long since passed away but whose influence still seemed to affect your family from beyond the grave. You were not to know how literal that sentiment was until you came to live amongst the family’s inner circle.

Goratrix

Elder Tremere

You are the infamous mage responsible for creating the Ritual of Usurpation that turned the Tremere into vampires in 1022. A magnetic and ambitious Tremere, you were among those who created the first Gargoyles in 1121 before unleashing them against the attacking Tzimisce. You were also the first to experiment with the newly devised Thaumaturgy and headed a plethora of additional research projects, your mind well tailored to invention.

After Tremere diablerized Saulot and entered torpor, you were sent instead of Meerlinda to act out his will in France, an act that greatly infuriated you. You left Ceoris in 1133 but soon learned, however, that the intricate politics of Paris were more to your liking than the secluded walls of the Tremere fortress in Transylvania. While you conspire remotely against Etrius, who has since succeeded you as lord of Ceoris, you involve yourself in the politics of the french nobility.

(In the original canon by the start of the 1400s, Tremere had likely been woken by his childer due to the Anarch Revolt potentially endangering him and his clan. It is reasonable to presume that Goratrix was cast out by 1420, upon his refusal to return to Ceoris to await Tremere's summons and the inevitable punishment that would follow. In our timeline, the Anarch Revolt has not yet gained its teeth, so Tremere has not yet been woken by his childer and has not recalled Goratrix from France.)

(This character requires canon knowledge of Clan Tremere to good depth, the Transylvania Chronicles and, ideally, the Dark Ages supplement "House of Tremere" which covers Ceoris, the headquarters of the Tremere clan and their continuing struggle against Clan Tzimisce.)

Hardestadt

Ventrue Elder

You are the renowned Ventrue elder that so many flock to for safety, already an figure of power in the Holy Roman Empire all through the Dark Ages. The specific location of your origins is not known, though it is likely in or around modern Bavaria. The Fiefs of the Black Cross were a feudal monarchy among German Cainites during the Dark Ages, under your firm control. The Fiefs of the Black Cross were strong bastions of feudalism and Ventrue supremacy in medieval Europe. Following the fractured nature of the Holy Roman Empire, which covered most of the domains within the Fiefs of the Black Cross, vampire Princes within the Empire constantly schemed against each other, bowing only to your authority.

You are known as one of the harshest rulers of the period, enforcing the Silence of the Blood that seperates vampires from humans under the threat of Final Death; you want them ignorant entirely of your kind, and know this to be the only way to avoid alerting or iring the Inquisition.

You hold no singular court, instead traveling from domain to domain, using your childer as representatives. Your childe Jürgen, for example, served as your right-hand man in the Crusader States and in Livonia.

(This character requires a bold, demonstrative roleplayer with familiarity of the Camarilla and what it will become; also Dark Ages Europe and Clan Ventrue.)

Harold Tanner

Nosferatu Ancilla

Your earliest memories are of the caves beneath Nottingham, Britain, where your father worked as a tanner; the twisting sandstone passages seemed as much a home to you as the streets of Narrow Marsh and Drury Hill. By the standards of the town, your family was rich and influential and you received a top-notch education. You were a bright student and thirsty for knowledge, but as you grew older a dark side of your character began to emerge.

You did not like to have information withheld from you - even by omission - and took to sneaking around, listening at doorways and snooping where you should not. In a young child, this was seen simply as mischievousness, but as you grew it took on a more sinister aspect.

Discovered spying on your elder brother and his new wife, you were sent away to the abbey school at Westminster, where you were expected to learn discipline and restraint from the monks. Despite educational leaps and even surprising your family by taking vows to become a monk yourself, the Black Death swept into London from the continent and you fell to plague.

However, your keen mind and your ability to observe and discern the forces behind large societal activities had caught the attention of Richard de Worde, the Nosferatu spymaster of the legendary Prince Mithras, Monarch of Vampire Britain and "God King" of Avalon. De Worde, having frequently called upon your insights while he led the scholar-monks to believe he was nothing more than a wealthy, though afflicted, patron.

With the permission of the God King, De Worde took to your dying bedchamber, and Embraced you.

Having seen almost a full century as a vampire, you are finally moving out of your neonate years and becoming an ancilla. You are a font of wisdom on the goings on in London, particularly the seedy underbelly of mortal life and vampire unlife. You listen attentively and know just how to play people to get the information you desire. You never lie - telling a falsehood is completely against your morality as an information broker - but you are well versed in circumlocution, avoiding the issue at hand with clever wordplay. You are keen to keep up to date with vampire affairs, attending large scale events of the movers and shakers, to better have the upper hand of first witness compared to other information brokers.

Motivation

The events of the mid to late fourteenth century are still all too present in your memory. Having experienced the Black Death most intimately, you would of course have been witness to the day of the Black Sun, or Black Dawn as some called it. By this time, you had already been embraced, but you remember the monks of the time recording it as an omen of darker times to come. To the relief (and suspicion) of many, it instead heralded the end of the dreadful plague - as the disease burnt out after massacring a significant portion of the population.

Naturally, you knew before most about the unusual kine born upon that day. Mortals exhibiting supernatural abilities that set them apart from their peers. Mithras himself might even have claimed a couple that appeared within the domain for the court of London. The vast majority of these kine, however, have been gathered here - at the estate of Claudius Giovanni. Not only is such a gathering of unknown supernatural entities unprecedented, this will be one of the most eclectic collections of Cainites to meet in one place for a very long time. You would be the greatest fool in Europe not to attend, given your position as an information broker. Never have you had a better opportunity to soak up secrets from distant influential vampires until now.

And then there are the mortals themselves! So many are deliciously skilled in the ways of information extraction and infiltration. You could make use of the Expositor or Inquisitor in ways that should truly frighten those kindred with the deepest secrets, and the abilities of the Illusionist could be fascinating to explore; either to enhance your own powers or to groom as an unparalleled spy once they learn the art of obfuscation themselves. Even if you don't manage to secure a childe for yourself at the auction, it will be vital for your court to know exactly where each of these empowered mortals ends up. It will no doubt shift the power balance of Cainites in Europe like nothing else the Millennia has seen.

Ioan Brancoveanu

Tzimisce Elder

In the treacherous nights of the Late Middle Ages, you are known throughout the Southern Carpathians as one of the most formidable and unshakable warlords in your clan’s history. Your might, rulership and mastery of Koldunic Sorcery rivals even that of the Voivode Among Voivodes - Vladimir Rustovitch. Known as the Hammer of the Tremere, you rule over your frosty domain in the Parâng Mountains with a stern but fair judgement – petty matters of paltry cruelty and savagery are of no interest to you, as your entire focus is set on the destruction of the Usurpers who harry your land.

Though other Voivodes confront the Tremere where they meet them, it is your domain and your forces who bear the brunt of the warlocks’ wrath as they descend from their hidden lair in the mountains night by night. You have held out against these upstart invaders for centuries now, though your position becomes more precarious by the year. Many other Fiends would have ceded their land long ago and fled north but you refuse to surrender – preferring to stand and fight from your fortress rather than be forced from your own earth. Some Elders think of you as stubborn and misguided, but few among them could ever understand how deep your ties to this land truly run. 

It is strange for you to recall this now, but you were not in fact born under the shadow of the mighty Carpathian Mountains that make up your beloved home. Your people were called Magyars once and you were raised in a region known as the Etelköz, a lush valley that spread between the Volga and Dnieper rivers. In those days, the Magyars were a people formed of seven tribes each with a pair of dual rulers – the Kende who acted as a spiritual leader and the Gyula who was the war-chief. Your father was the Kende of your tribe and you were raised to respect and honour the ancient shamanic faith of your people. 

You took pride in learning the stories of the Magyarok and from a young age, you had no fear even of the lightning sent in warning by the great God of the Upper World – Isten. Storms always thrilled you and filled you with a sense of awe and wonder, as did the formidable backdrop of the Carpathian mountain ranges which you felt a strong draw towards from your earlier memories. Despite your young ambitions to become a great Táltos or shaman like your father, it soon became obvious that you possessed great skill in riding, archery and combat. 

The Magyars were a warlike people by circumstance – surrounded by Slavs, Bulgars, Vlachs, Khazars, and Székelys, it was a way of life to conduct raids and to defend Magyar lands against them when they returned in full force. You could not deny that you enjoyed the clash of metal and the dark thrill of bloodshed – you were a hot-blooded young man after all – but you could not escape the feeling that war and combat threatened to carry you irretrievably away from your true passions of ritual and faith.

Your hopes to pull away from a life of raiding and fighting were dashed when the Etelköz was invaded by the neighbouring Bulgars and Pecheneg people. Your proud and formidable people were pushed out of their homeland without warning but the seven tribes refused to be subjugated or victimised by their conquerors. A great leader named Árpád rose to unite the tribes and lead them westwards to the Carpathian basin, where they would become the victors over the local Slavic tribes and found the beginnings of the Hungarian State. Your people’s initial defeat and expulsion from the Etelköz shocked and angered you, and you were only too glad to join Árpád in his search for a new homeland for the Magyars.

Being closer to the Carpathians soothed your soul somewhat from the pain of losing your home and for many years you lived by the sword as you fought to carve out an existence for your people in the foothills of the great mountains. You had never been a bleeding heart, but you did sometimes find yourself pitying the people that you displaced in order to preserve their own culture and way of life. You fought and defended on horseback and on foot but wherever you could, you took the role that your late father had once filled as a spiritual leader. Many Slavs integrated with the Magyar practices and beliefs over time and you were soon reassured that your people’s move to the Carpathians had pleased the Gods and that they celebrated your victory here.

As your people strengthened their foundations in this new land, you rose within your tribe to become something of a dual leader in one body – both a spiritual leader and a powerful warrior who could defend his people with his own sword. You felt invigorated by your new proximity to the mountains that you had always admired, the very winds from the storms that gathered around their peaks filling you with energy and a vigour for life. You lived for many years in peace, finally able to pursue your destiny of something like the great Táltos of legend. However, your people were soon troubled by a threat darker and more horrific than any mortal invading thread.


Monstrous creatures were reported to be filling the forests around your settlements, savaging hunters and murdering women and children in their beds by night. Refusing to be chased from another home, you took up your  sword once again to face these monsters in a pre-emptive strike. Though you were armed with all the bravery and rage that any man could muster, you were not to know that you faced a threat that no human could ever hope to defeat. You still remember the pain in your chest and throat as you screamed yourself raw with pleas to the Gods, desperate to put a stop to the slaughter that you had led your men into. These immense, deformed assailants were none other than the Szlachta of the Tzimisce named Lukasz Brancoveanu whose covetous gaze had been drawn to your tribe by tales of your resilience and aptitude in battle. He had no interest in the rest of your people, however – he permitted them to be ripped limb from limb by his szlachta before your eyes as a mark of his dominance before ordering you to be carried back to his domain to begin your tenure as his ghoul.

Ignazio Giovanni

Elder Cappadocian

During your mortal life, you served as muscle for your family's less savory endeavors, and when you were taken into the ranks of the undead along with many other members of the Giovanni, your attitude changed little. As opposed to most family members, you were never a scholar nor subtle. You are a man who uses violence to reach his goals.

You became famous for working with the Lasombra princes of Venice, to whom you have close ties. You managed to gain control over the criminal activities within that city, punishing any activities that were done without your blessing.

Motivation

Matters of complex Cainite social politics are not of deep interest to you, and neither is it an area you excel in compared to other members of your family. Many present at the auction might presume that you are only here due to the fact that the Giovanni are the hosts for this particular night. You are an enforcer, not a sweet manipulator. That being said, you have your own reasons to be in attendance.

There are no doubt going to be many Cainites at this event that actively wish harm upon your allies - it will be a hotbed of clashing power dynamics. After all, why fight so hard to claim these empowered mortals if not to use them to expand your own personal empire? If blood is spilled or indecencies committed that betray the hospitality of your house, you will see them repaid with interest. Regarding these kine themselves… many of them will appeal to the more scholarly types, that much is certain. 

There are a couple, however, that display simple, raw power that is far more ‘to the point’. Even if siring one of these mortals is not of interest to you, consuming their blood will empower you so. It might help you to make it through the night whilst  nobles stand around crowning at each other. The Leper can grant considerable levels of Fortitude to those that feed upon them - perhaps this might prove an asset to your lifestyle?

Jadviga Almanova

Ventrue Elder

You are the stern rival of Hardestadt and you stand against what you feel are his damaging ideals for the future of your kind. With the Inquisition sweeping across Europe there are burgeoning thoughts (improper thoughts) from frightened, weaker vampires who think you should all turn tail and hide from mere mortals - hide and pretend not to exist, erecting a Masquerade over the supernatural before the mortals turn on vampires too. You do not hold with this insolence, believing instead in the old ways where every vampire was his or her own lord and answered to no one, standing proud and regal above the cattle.

You respect power wielded with authority, and you feel that you have both the skill and temerity to rise to a position of true leadership among your clan. You are more than willing to take risks to achieve your goals and show little respect for others not willing to do the same.

High birth and genteel breeding are not the most telling virtues, though they are important. Inner nobility and the will to command others are far more important, in your opinion. You have met many ineffectual, useless nobles and more than a few fine leaders who were born of mean station. Unfortunately for those that you command your manner of leadership is rather brutal. Servants and lackeys deserve to be beaten; control is earned through fear and force.  You seldom, if ever, give credence to the idea that limits should be applied to your behaviour - which puts you at odds with any vampire who might consider erecting a Masquerade between you and them. Why bow to sheep? Leaders deserve only the best vintage in life. A commander of men must not be afraid of spilling blood. Compassion is weakness that must be beaten out (a process that rather arouses you).

Motivation

The day of the Black Sun was truly a sign of changing times, and to your knowledge the omen was a poor one. Even as whispers circulate of withdrawing into a state of hiding from mortals, of strengthening the Silence of the blood,  you were drawn toward the auction knowing that what happened here could influence the shape of Cainite society for centuries to come.

Now that factions are starting to emerge (or at least rivalries with significant backing), the consolidation of power is all the more vital. What is more, these gifted mortals represent the very thing you disdain so much; having to hide and flee from those who surely ought to be serving vampires. To groom and embrace a childe with powers obvious to all around it would send a clear statement. They would be wasted in the hands of those wishing to keep such abilities hidden from mortals. 

You seek a subject with clear and extremely visible abilities, coupled with a certain nobility of character. Once broken and moulded to your will, they would make the perfect example of Cainite dominance, particularly since so many find their gifts all the more effective toward mundane mortals. The Fury is a risky prospect, but a source of great power were you to force their submission. Why should humans bother you if they are so easily turned to mindless rage around your new childe? Moreover, the powers of the Plague could also make a powerful bargaining chip if they fell under your control.

Jaroslav Pascek

Brujah Ancilla

You were born as the illegitimate son of a Slavic man and a nomadic woman and left for dead near what is modern Germany. You were saved by a Franciscan friar who brought you to his monastery. The monks raised you as a "collective son", all the while instilling you with shame and guilt about your mother's heritage, which they corroborated with beatings. When you had become a grown man, you were turned into a figure full of fury that you channelled into your views of Man and God. You began to notice dissonances in how the monks lived and how they should have lived according to scripture.

Soon, you became convinced that it was your duty as an honest Christian to purge and reform the Church. To this end you still wander across northern Germany, preaching your doctrine of holiness and purity to the peasants. You've just begun to realise that preaching alone will not change their ways, and in the last year you assembled a militia and swept through their villages, burning clergy you deemed impure and destroying relics they deemed false.

Your fervor and charisma earned you the attraction of the undead - indeed an entire coterie, who offered you the possibility to join them in their task to change the world. Captivated by your visitors' personal magnetism and persuasiveness, you agreed. On that night you were given the Embrace by the coterie's leader. From that moment you threw yourself fully into the world of the undead, believing to have sacrificed your own salvation to give it to others. Your coterie members pointed at vampires and declared them servants of Satan, and you would commit yourself with every means to destroy them, making the first decades of your new existence a haze of blood and gore. You are now entering into your years as an ancilla, shucking the fledgling era of being a neonate behind.

At this point the dynamic between you and your sire is one of equals. Some would call your sire, Jann Berger, a tyrant and a religious fanatic. Anyone who questioned his leadership is to be staked and left for the sun - but this is exactly as it should be.

(This character will go on to become the Justicar of Clan Brujah.)

Josef von Bauren

Nosferatu Elder

You are one of the most influential Nosferatu active in these strange nights - or at least you’re one of the most influential visible ones. Bent and twisted, your skin is covered with greenish warts which give you the appearance of a gigantic toad. You stand just a little shorter than most men, but carry your left shoulder higher as if stooped over with a hunch back. Ironically, you wear the cowl and robe of a medieval monk. You are never hasty, weighing words like precious gems; you're one to consider all the options before committing yourself, knowing the danger that can befall the reckless who rush plans. Well respected and always listened to, for you speak only when you have something important to say, you hate waste of any kind, be it gold, Cainite, or kine. You are punctual, cautious and well-mannered, and appreciate much the same traits in others.

Julia Antasia

Ventrue Elder

Prince of Frankfurt, Paragon of the Path of Humanity and former member of the Eternal Senate of Rome - your five century protectorship over the progressive free imperial city of Frankfurt has marked you out amongst Cainites as High Lord Hardestadt’s most powerful opponent within the Holy Roman Empire. You openly object to his tyrannical rule over what he calls the “Fifes of the Black Cross'' and many vampires who flee the draconian punishments of his alliance of Princes settle in your city - or in the similar sanctuary of Cologne, closely watched over by your own bloodline. The free cities of Frankfurt and Cologne in the west are so well fortified by you and your followers - who call themselves Antasians in your honour - that many of Hardestadt’s opponents say it is your strength as a leader that has pushed the fearful High Lord to expand his eastern borders. You must truly be a force to reckon with if a war with the Tzimisce is preferable to challenging the sanctity of your cities.

Born into greatness in ancient Rome almost two thousand years ago, the blood of the true Partricans runs through your ancient veins - and yet it is hard to imagine a Ventrue whose principles are further from those of the clan.  You were once an important member of the great Ventrue establishment - The Eternal Senate of Rome, a council of vampires which mirrored the Roman Senate, mainly comprised of Ventrue who influenced the human Senate - and you have witnessed firsthand how the temptations of total power corrupt your clanmates from within. A century of conflict between Rome and Carthage highlighted all the ugliest traits of your fellow Ventrue senators. You became disgusted by them as they tore each other’s throats out for the promise of more wealth or power and began to subjugate their young through increasingly frequent blood bonds.

All equality between Ventrue seeped from the Eternal Senate like the lifeblood of so many soldiers on the field of Carthage. In the wake of the battle, you watched as your beautiful Republic of Rome became just as corrupt as the Eternal Senate that ruled the night from the shadows. When you grew weary of fighting for a dream that had long since died, you turned your back on Rome and disappeared from Cainite society for centuries. In secret, you nursed your broken heart and dwelt on the problems of corruption, tyranny and injustice in Cainite society - above all within your own clan who dared to call themselves Kings. You certainly have opinions on what it means to rule. 

After many years of alternating rest and reflection, you gathered your wits and your spirits and reemerged into Cainite society. You took advantage of the feudalism that had developed in the power vacuum that the fall of the Western Roman Empire had formed - taking root in what would become the bustling economic hub of Frankfurt am Main. Here, you began to rebuild a society that reflects the very best of what the Eternal Senate once was - a sanctuary of open debate, intellectualism and equality. You believe that the Ventrue should pioneer a role as lorekeepers of Cainite history and as protectors of humanity. Word of your hatred of the blood bond and strong advocacy for equality among Cainites of all ages soon spread and your followers began to count Cainites of all clans among their number. Your cities and their resident Cainite populations have grown stronger over the centuries - staunchly opposing Hardestadt’s principles but never threatening war or expanding your borders. Your domains exist to provide sanctuary and guidance to any Cainite who has fled the tyranny of their Elders and wishes to salvage what remains of their fragile humanity. 

Motivation

The new era blooming to life around you fascinates and excites both your soul and your intellect. You cannot quite believe your own senses as you watch the art, philosophy and politics of your forgotten Rome begin to flourish once again in the enlightened cities of modern Italy. Frankfurt may not be a city of light to rival the gems of Florence and Venice, but it is a progressive free city within the Holy Roman Empire that is primed to accept the teachings of ages gone by. Wherever it is safe, you encourage your followers to travel and learn all they can of the developing world - and to bring back their findings to share with their brothers and sisters.

You feel a strong pull to reconnect with the world at the dawn of this new era. You have always been drawn to the lives and interests of the humans that you endeavour to co-exist alongside but that desire is stronger now more than ever. The spark of humanity left within you - that you have strived to nurture for all of your years on this earth - burns and aches in your chest with a keen longing that is both beautiful and humbling. You are eager to witness the changes that the return of democracy, philosophy and rational debate will bring to the European continent - and even more eager to take advantage of the impact that a freer world may have on vampire society. 

Claudius Giovanni’s invitation has drawn interest from you and your supporters as his Auction will be the largest meeting of the clans in the memory of even some of the most ancient Elders known to you. You cannot imagine a more perfect arena to engage in inter-clan diplomacy and to meet young Cainites who may be in need of your firm guidance and protection. You are keen to connect with any other Prodigals walking the Path of Humanity and wish to build more connections outside of the Holy Roman Empire - away from Hardestadt’s Fifes. 

Underneath the lure of high politics, you are deeply concerned about the reality of what is at stake at the Auction. You still hold to the spiritual beliefs of your ancestors and you remember a time when supernaturally gifted mortals were thought to be touched by the Gods. You are disturbed by the possible repercussions of vampires interfering with such fated mortals who were never meant to be theirs. Your heart aches when you consider what will become of humans who have been so utterly wrenched from their intended path - especially those who may be ‘purchased’ by the less humane of your vampire cousins. You and your supporters will do everything you can to minimise the danger that befalls these unfortunate, gifted humans - both to reduce their suffering and to control any unjust power that your enemies may gain from bidding at the Auction.

As for your own personal interest in these mortals, that very much remains to be seen. Your ancient marrow is chilled to the bone when you consider invoking the wrath of the Gods, the Fates and Jupiter only knows what else by taking one of these mortals for your own. Nonetheless… mystically charged mortals born unforeseen under the conjunction of the sun and the moon? One would have to possess a will of iron to resist.

In conclusion, you have deep concerns about the Auction. You are very worried for the fates of the humans and you do not believe vampires should be meddling with powerfully supernaturally unknowns - you have old Roman beliefs about humans chosen/gifted by the Gods. In essence, by a crude modern tongue: One must not fuck with fate. Everyone should leave the eerie individuals alone. They shouldn’t mess with the deepest rhythms of the world, the greatest of natural forces: The Moon and the Sun.

Surely, though, if the other clans will not cease their dabbling, you must enter the Auction to direct this in some way; it is your duty to ensure that these fates flow in ways that benefit your people. Surely too, it is vital Hardestadt does not gain even more power.

(This character requires a bold, demonstrative roleplayer with good familiarity of Dark Ages Europe and Clan Ventrue. Expect social antagonism/social PvP from Hardestadt. This should not be played by someone shy of confrontation and we would love someone who enjoys leaning into roleplay with strangers. A good understanding of VTM is ideal. We're unsure why this gem vanished from canon because she is certainly not dead - just forgotten by developers. By all rights she would have been at the forefront of the Anarch Revolt and is a very exciting character.)

*

Note, you have a grandchild in canon who is pretty bare bones for a concept so he can be developed, but he is the Prince of Cologne, and named Giselher, if you have a game friend who wants to be in your retinue as a character. (Dark Ages Europe, p65)

Katherine of Montpellier

Toreador Elder

Finally moving into your elder years among the undead, you are famous for your scholarly passions and intimate clan lore. Known as a vampiric scholar with unconventional views on the history of your kind, you tend to paint your Toreador progenitors with a strikingly positive light. One of your critics among your own Clan, Etienne of Poitou, once declared "Katherine accuses others of prettying history to cover its flaws, but of that particular sin, she is as guilty as any of us may be." Etienne also acknowledged, however, that your knowledge about the history of the Clan during antiquity had merit. He wouldn't be wrong. To hear you tell it, you oversaw the construction of Notre Dame and was the mistress of Dante Alighieri; you've been a mother, a spouse, a daughter, a sister, you've been beaten bloody by the same husband, then found bitter, slow vengeance in that too. You've lived a colourful life, known when to duck your head and play submissive, and when to speak up; even your old mortal home became a hot spot for Cainites to meet and share news, under your stewardship. Most recently you've dabbled in German politics but mainly became interested in the new technologies of the Renaissance.

Kara Vlaszy Lupescu

Tzimisce Elder

You are the loyal servant and diplomat to Vladimir Rustovich, and his direct childe. In life your mother was a revenant ghoul of the Vlaszy line, while your father was a warlord of the Slavs; vampirism has always been something you were aware of. When you came of age you undertook the blood oath to Vladimir Rustovitch, who was at the time just a small boyar in Hungary, and served at his side, learning the arts of war and of courtly etiquette.

As a mortal ghoul you were involved in many skirmishes with the invading Ventrue and by the time Rustovitch granted you the Embrace - well earned - you were already a force to be reckoned with. As your sire’s childe you traveled Europe as a diplomatic envoy of his, loyal to his duties ever since he became a Voivodate in clan Tzimisce. Your standing within the Vlaszy line remains high, and has continued to rocket up as his status rose, for you now serve the vampire who became the Voivode of Voivodes. Many Revenants remain eager to follow and protect you during these days.

When the Ventrue Lord Jürgen declared war on the Voivodate, you were the witness of the ceremony and returned to your sire to inform him. He sent you to counter the Ventrue influence that roared behind the Fifth Crusade.

(This character requires a good understanding of Clan Tzimisce and at least passing familiarity with Revenant lines.)

Keeper of the Faith

Tzimisce Elder

You were, are, and always will be the guardian of the Library of the Forgotten, which once dwelled in the heart of the jewel of the east: Constantinople. Sadly, the last year is the end of that city as she once was, but you were not there to see it. You left with Baron Feroux, a Gangrel Elder, during the looting of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when the library, along with the haven of the Tzimisce named Gesu was burned. You protected the books and fled, safeguarding the lost lore in your travels across Europe. Very little is known about your past except that you have always been associated with the library. A queer figure, you shuffled around in a shapeless black robe, head bowed and obscured by the deep folds of your cowl. Whether you have changed your guise now is anyone's guess, but you were presumed to be feminine only by the nature of your movements; it was hard to tell given the only glimpses vampires got of your face was one of a mass of tentacles. You may well have taken a more "friendly" form for overland travel.

As the direct childe of the Dracon, the Tzimisce Methuselah, you are respected and even feared. You grasp of the old lore is unquestioned, and though you are unlikely to share it, those who care about the crucial preservation of knowledge would grant you safe, secretive passage anywhere you wanted. It's a shame you can't take them up on it; even your own childe - Alexus Simocatta - thinks you in Constantinople still, hiding somewhere with the remains of the Library of the Forgotten. It is better that way; the current fools in the city are looking for it and you, and you would rather they look where you are certain they will not find you. Your heart might ache for the old, but the library will live on. It is vital more now than ever with the Crusades and all the plague, famine and war; society, even the most blisteringly strong of vampiric utopias, prove all too often to be brittle, easy broken things.

You were travelling the night when the dawn approached and with it, an eclipse that cloaked the world in glorious dark. The day of the Black Sun they call it. It took you by less surprise than most, and you have only shared your thoughts so far with your Gangrel companion. If you can make it to the auction and safely into Florence, this might change everything for vampire-kind. You just have to figure out what to do with the damn library in that time.

Little Taylor of Prague

Tzimisce Ancilla

It sometimes strikes as strange that even in times of war and crisis, babies are born into the world, people love each other, and lives go on, sometimes prospering despite adversity. When you think back to your past, you find it remarkable to consider that you were born, that you survived, and that you flourished in Prague. There were few cities embroiled in so much intrigue, development, and murder as yours.

As The Little Tailor you choose not to recall your mortal name, so removed are you from your living past. You remember that even amid the constant conflicts for rulership, the moving of armies and militias, and years of public executions held for the enjoyment of the masses, you learned the skill of making exquisite dolls from your aunts, who raised you. You still believe it odd that people would want such toys for their children, when crafted before the backdrop of bloodshed.

Strange or not, you prospered from your artisanal gifts, not merely crafting dolls of wood, polished stone, or even bone, but from your careful seamwork on miniature articles of clothing. The Little Tailor would pay healthy children for their hair and steal clothing from the rooms of wealthy scions, just to remake them into little simulacra that you called your dolls. They sold better than any of your aunts’ offerings, and thus you made a name for yourself as a master craftsman.

It was when plague swept through Prague that you first suffered loss. Your aunts each died, one by one, until you were left alone with their entire shop and extended business to manage. You didn’t have to worry long, however, as soon you too were cut down with the wasting sickness. No priests or physicians were going to treat you; they had no mind for the cure, and the illness was ravaging the city to the extent that infected individuals were left to die, or disposed of via other means. Such was the case with the Little Tailor; you were snatched up, thrown into a cart, and in turn tossed into a mass burial bit while still alive. You held tightly onto the doll you’d been making when you were grabbed, too weak to resist, and closed your eyes as more bodies fell upon you.

You were not the only living inhabitant of the pit. Others moaned or cried out, begging for salvation or mercy. None came. You tried to block out their cries, but found it impossible. You still hear them tonight, despite how removed you have become from mortality. It was wet and claustrophobic, but there remained air and space enough to breathe in the rot. You tried to move, and at times cleared your head and torso, but more often were pressed beneath the wriggling, dull press of the barely living – the dead sinking to the bottom.

When night came, many of the cries had died down. You were buried amid so many corpses that you could barely move. But you felt something shifting the flesh around you, burrowing its way forward. When you opened your eyes and saw a humanoid with far too many limbs, far too many eyes, and two mouths opening on either side of its face, you tried to scream, only to find your throat cut open.

The creature drank from the ragged, machined mess of your neck and was about to leave you to die, when it spotted the intricate, lifelike doll in your hands. Something — you never discovered what — must have triggered within the monster, as rather than abandon you to your death, it returned and forced the Embrace upon you. “The Pit” — as you came to view your sire — had saved you. Together, you fed on other dying people. While the Pit never left the burial site, you climbed free the following night and rejoined the people of Prague. Though you have never seen your sire since (at least, not so far as you know), you still bear nightmares of the Tzimisce creature that Embraced you. In fact, the Pit went on to inspire many of The Little Tailor’s later creations.

Lotharius

Tremere Elder

Originally a mage (and quite the magical prodigy) you accepted the Embrace from Etrius rather reluctantly, distrusting vampirism, and afterward travelled the world again, acting as a diplomat for your new clan and to hunt Salubri vampires. In 1032, you were made Pontifex of Austria and tasked to form it into a base of power for the clan.

You have reservations about vampirism, still. Born in 984 in Cologne, you were inducted to the Order of Hermes at the tender age of eight. As a mage you quickly rose through the ranks and became one of the order's youngest masters, before you started travelling the lands as a diplomat for the Order. In 1012, you befriended Etrius who introduced you to House Tremere, and the rest they say is (a rather bloody) history. Regret rarely solved anything, you just wish things could have been different. You feel the destruction of your once beautiful, burning Avatar with a keenness of loss that no amount of Cainite power will ever heal. You keep busy, stay active, and just live the nights through.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Clan Tremere to good depth.)

Lucita de Aragón

Lasombra Elder 

Finally about to enter your elder years, you are the vampiric childe of a powerful - but suffocating - Archbishop, whose faith in unlife grows darker and more rigid with each passing year. Yours is a rebellious nature; it is an open secret that you rail against you sire’s obsession just as much as you once tried to escape your mortal father and his stifling expectations of you, as the Princess of Aragón, under his monarchy, for your father was King Alfonso II.

You grew up privileged but isolated, and chafed under the weight of responsibility, having no desire to be some royal broodmare, dreaming of yourself on the open road, wind in your hair and the horse's flank turning hot under sweat. Every time you escaped the same guards dragged you back, howling and seething and with a tight feeling of panic in your throat, and in turn your father shuffled you off to confession, trusting that God and Church would engender penitence in his daughter. The fact that your confessor was a vampire made this hope a vain one.

Monçada recognized an indomitable will in you – and a fierce independence. These traits, combined with his unholy lust for you, convinced the Lasombra bishop that your Embrace was warranted. After talking with others of his clan, Monçada decided that the Lasombra would greatly benefit from this individual of high birth. After your Embrace, though, your relationship with your clan was hardly idyllic. You struggled with Monçada just as you had struggled with your mortal father, craving autonomy and freedom. Although you serve Monçada dutifully as a diplomat and a noble (you were the power behind the throne of your father's successor, King Pedro II, and were a frequent shadows in the court's machinations), you have always been more at home on the road with your only traveling companion Anatole, who inspires in you more faith in God than the degenerate Monçada ever could.

(This character requires canon knowledge of the Transylvania Chronicles.)

Lucretia Giovanni

Cappadocian Ancilla

You are the childe of Ambrogino Giovanni, serving as his loyalist and ally. As the great-great-granddaughter of Claudius Giovanni, you were born in the alpine regions between Italy and Switzerland. You were tormented by whispering voices from early on and confined into an asylum, a matter you later gained the satisfaction of vengeance for - having poisoned your parents. Even from behind the bars of the asylum you were a prize, continually sought out for the Embrace by many of the Giovanni undead family members, although Claudius drove them all away. It was Ambrogino who won the right, he being owed a boon by Augustus, a boon he used to gain the chance to Embrace you and take you on as his own progeny. On your 21st birthday, you were given the Embrace by Ambrogino Giovanni, and developed a bond with your sire. Unfortunately, no amount of freedom now can remove your upbringing. You suffer under an imminent death wish that drives you to take terrible risks in order to fulfil your desires.

Lucretia von Hardtz

Ventrue Elder

An androgynous figure and a German knight, for a long time you disguised yourself as "Brother Cristof" while riding alongside the knights of the Black Cross (a secret vampiric order within the ranks of the Teutonic Knights, named for the Black Cross of the Teutonic Order). The Order was under the sway of the Ventrue Lord Jürgen von Verden, lieutenant and childe of the mighty Hardestadt. Although Lord Jürgen was not your sire, he was your sire's liege lord and you would come to give him your loyalty too as surely as you did your sire, when the time came. You moved into the service of Jürgen von Verden, and you earned your Embrace through strict compliance with your overlord's wishes and the ruthless suppression of anyone speaking against your Lord. Built athletically, even powerfully, you exude Ventrue arrogance.

You are capable of being well spoken and pleasant, but you quickly become a bully if you do not receive swift agreement with your plans. As a military officer, you have a warrior’s disdain for those who do not follow a leader’s commands. Though not unimaginative, you are more concerned with obedience and maintaining status than with listening to ideas postulated by those you consider "young pups".

Once a devout Christian who followed the First Crusade, you treasure order, authority, and discipline. Enamoured into the precepts of chivalry, you are a firm believer in honour and duty, preferring death before the dishonour of your liege. Jürgen trained you in the art of arms and you became the mistress of the secret order within the Teutonic Knights that stood under Ventrue control.

Indeed you became Jürgen's most influential retainer, serving him directly in Magdeburg and acting as his marshal. You accompanied Jürgen in all his wars until he was assassinated on Hardestadt's orders. You have never forgiven Hardestadt and resent him for such a cowardly act. You have set your mind to never follow Hardestadt, or his ideals.

Lugoj

Tzimisce Elder

Your people may be a dying breed in these nights, but when you were a boy they ruled their lands with an iron grip all along the coast of Lithuania.  The Balts were a resilient and war-hardened people who had defended their homeland from their many enemies for centuries even before you were born. You were raised to understand that the grit and iron of generations of Baltic warriors ran through your veins, and from boyhood it had been your sole ambition to live up to this heritage.

As the son of one of your tribe’s foremost sailors and warriors, your earliest years had been steeped in the mastery of the sword, the sail and the bow. Like any young boy, you had also been taught the mythology and pagan faith of your people but your hot blood urged you to leave the finer details of religion to the druids. Their stern and authoritarian ways had always irked you as a youth but even then you knew that as the keepers of your people’s faith, they should be protected at all costs.

Now a young man, you were eager for the opportunity to deal out punishment to these fickle Christians who were so quick to convert, proselytise and condemn. When your father was killed in battle, you took up his helm with vigour and pride and proved yourself to be an excellent leader of the disorganised rabble that made up the majority of your forces. Your people rallied to you and for years you successfully defended your coastline and villages, until a force from the southeast marched on your land and destroyed the peace that you had restored.

You wish that you could claim – as so many other Cainite do – that your early vampiric years were a blur to you. Burdened with a strategist’s mind, you recall the detail of every single cruelty and obscenity that you were subject to in your fledging years under the total domination of your sire - Noriz. The Corrupter of Legions, they called him, though you knew him only as Master in those desperate nights.

Your sire had ventured to your lands with his ghouls in support of the Ruthenian invasions only because he supported Kyiv’s resistance against Byzantine influence so close to his lands. It helped that Lithuania was rich in unplundered kraina for Noriz to explore, though this was a motivation that you would only discover later. Once Noriz had sucked your homeland dry and embraced you for the tenacity you showed in battle, he dragged his new fledgling back to his domain in the Carpathian basin – far to the southeast – there to begin your education.

Malachite

Nosferatu Elder

Malachite the Chosen of Michael; Malachite the Rock of Constantinople... yours is a bittersweet tale. Born in the 9th century as a native of Constantinople, you became an Eastern Orthodox priest. There you gained a benefactor in the form of Magnus, a Lasombra elder. As a ghoul with this powerful, if mysterious, patron, you eventually rose to the rank of bishop. Unfortunately you had a public disagreement with Magnus that resulted in you earning your benefactor's ire. For wounding his pride, Magnus had you Embraced by a Nosferatu, Vasilli the Penitent Dog, a far cry from the dark lords of shadow.

Reborn as a Nosferatu, you lived in despair until you were taken under the wing of the Toreador Michael, Patriarch of Constantinople. You took the blood oath and gained the protection of Michael, becoming a servant of Michael's Dream. You took the name Malachite at this point, and also came to be known as the "Rock of Constantinople", a respected elder among the Lepers of the East.

During the Fourth Crusade, the city of Constantinople was sacked by fellow Christian crusaders (encouraged by the Venetian Doge and perhaps the Lasombra). In the chaos that ensued, Michael was diablerized by a Baali, Mary the Black. The loss of Michael devastated you and uprooted what foundations you had. You left the city for many years and searched for a new hope. You found this purpose with the Tzimisce methuselah known as the Dracon. After your meeting, you were inspired to return to Constantinople, free it from Frankish control, and return the city to its former glory.

Until very recently you've been rebuilding the warren beneath Constantinople. Now Constantinople has fallen to the Turks and you've watched your beautiful city change hands with all its Byzantine roots torn up. You've refused to leave the city again to its fate, instead taking Nosferatu from every faith and denomination into your custody while expanding the territory of your Nosferatu Kingdom deeper into the earth. You intend to work your way into these depths and craft a warren that will become home and shelter to any Nosferatu in need, bound together by your authority and stoicism. You’ve heard of the mortal children born on the day of the Black Sun (perhaps one named The Mole, in particular). A network is only as good as its eyes; forced as you are into the dark beneath Constantinople, you need eyes on top. If it's true that some of these mortals to be auctioned can even move as Gangrel, truly merged with the earth and stay aware of the world above them as they do, that is invaluable. To say nothing of those cursed (or gifted) with other powers, you need to be at this auction.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Constantinople By Night.)

Malgorzata

Tremere Elder

Born the sixth child of Romanian nobles forced into serfdom, you served as a young field worker before you were purchased by Goratrix. He sensed great power in you even then as a young girl and made you his apprentice. You became a coarser, less subtle version of your master, emulating and exaggerating his most blatant traits. By the age of 13, you had become a full mage. Your boldness and quick rise won few friends but it did earn you the admiration of the other apprentices, grudging though it may have been. It took you many decades until you were allowed to be Embraced and become a vampire, a matter you blame Etrius for delaying, which is just another reason for your bitterness in regards to him. At least you have a positive relationship with your sire, Goratrix, and you currently seek to undermine Etrius' political efforts as subtly as possible while advancing yours and your sire’s position. It is difficult with Goratrix so far away.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Clan Tremere to good depth and, ideally, the Dark Ages supplement "House of Tremere" which covers Ceoris, the headquarters of the Tremere clan and their continuing struggle against Clan Tzimisce.)

Marelle

Elder Tzimisce

In life you belonged to clan Tzimisce, a Revenant of Danislav origin. You were well known for your sage advice to vampire lords. Count Radu once sought your counsel on how to deal with a Gangrel in his territory, who used wolves to terrorize the population and incite the local Lupines against Radu. Indeed, wolves are something of your speciality.

After a failed attack on Radu's own castle, you discovered that the Gangrel was a vassal to Arnulf, a legendary Elder known for his dislike of civilization. Fearful, Radu Embraced you, hoping that you would be loyal to him in the following conflict. You began to wage war against the Gangrel with growing fanaticism. Eventually, the Gangrel relented, but you did not even care any longer, and fleshcrafted him into an abomination, tossing him near Lupine territory.

You became so bestial that your sire Radu could no longer stand the sight of you. You enjoyed tormenting other living things, and when you abducted a human infant for one of your studies, Radu at last released you from his service. Unmoved, you travelled south and pledged yourself to Yorak, the High Priest of Metamorphosis. Inspired by your experiences with Lupines, you began to focus on the experimentation with wolves.

They served as your ghouls and you crafted bizarre deformities for them, often combining the skeletons and organs of several at once. The most loyal of your creations became your servants, and the most accomplished journeyed with you to the Cathedral of Flesh to meditate on the darkness at the core of the world. To this night you are known as the 'Sculptor of Wolves' and until you witnessed the effect that the Black Sun had on your precious wolves, you could have let the world burn for all it mattered. For the first time in years you have lifted your eerie, fixed gaze from your woodland - a dark place you have been strengthening - and turned it to the creatures born on the eclipse.

María Asunción

Cappadocian Elder

You were, in life, a humble nun of the St. Isabel Chapel in the rural expanse beyond Madrid. You never knew your parents or siblings, having been dropped at the convent as a baby by a mother who could not or would not raise you. Resultantly, the only life you knew was one of faith and struggle. For all the piety and goodness in faith there also existed abuses of the body and of power. You experienced it all, and were left scarred by your experiences, but also wiser with them. You never felt grateful for the torments you endured at the St. Isabel Chapel, but still realised their value in forming you as a human being and child of God.

Regardless of the suffering you endured, your faith never wavered. When someone is born into and raised by the Church, religion becomes an unshakeable pillar that can turn a person into a fanatic. You had such moments of fanaticism. You were no firebrand or inquisitor, but you were prepared to fight for your beliefs, proselytise on street corners, and declare sinners for what they were. In the same vein, you were prepared to sacrifice your own body and abilities to treat the sick, visit the dying, and mollify the heads of state and the Church. Your faith kept you whole, and in a self-perpetuating cycle of struggle begetting faith and faith begetting more struggle, you developed a phenomenal capacity for what some vampires call “True Faith,” allowing you to rebuke the unholy with the power of your word alone.

As you aged and the nuns around you did the same, you occupied a position of prominence in the convent. For all your worldliness surrounding the body and the mind, you didn’t know the world. Yet, within your private kingdom of God, at the Chapel of St. Isabel, you were practically a queen by the time you reached the age of twenty nine. No small thing for a woman deposited as an unwanted baby on the steps of a chapel in the countryside.

The only part of your existence in this sleepy, rural slice of the world could be considered aberrant were the fever dreams and fits which would take you out for the count, coupled with painful migraines.

Occasionally, whether you were resting outside in the meadow or performing chores around the abbey’s gardens, you would be taken by fainting spells. They never lasted long, and you felt physically fit when you came around, but that wasn't what worried you. During these strange turns, you would be inundated by what you perceived to be vivid, confusing dreams. Colourful cities the like of which you had never seen, dark hallways that haunted you with foreboding, sometimes even frozen wastelands devoid of any other soul. The dreams were hazy… hard to place - even the visuals were incomplete. You could make no sense of sound or smell, and you always awoke before too long.

The Abbess took it as a sign of a religious awakening, that you were blessed with ecstatic visions from the Lord. It was a gift to nurture, and even deserving of praise. Therefore you never shamed it nor stifled it. You dutifully took to your chambers when they came, and rested afterwards in the dark, ate some cheese and dried meats, took wine or milk.

All this attention to them made the fainting spells worse, and the 'dreams' that assailed you gained focus. Soon, they appeared as fully realised sights and sounds, centering around strange incidents or events in the lives of people you could never know, folk whose tongues were alien to you. Sometimes awful creatures stalked your visions, beasts and monsters the likes of which you had never dreamed.

Markus Musa Giovanni

Cappadocian Elder

Claudius' youngest great-grandchilde, you were inducted into the clan for your acute sense of curiosity and keen intellect. Once Embraced, you proved to be an exceptional scholar, and above all else an excellent historian, a dangerous mix when combined with the Giovanni's deep-rooted sense of ambition. You take pride in your lineage as a Cappadocian and seek to prove the worth of your family line to the skeptics in the Clan. Given you were so well-regarded for your scholarly pursuits, you were actually sent to Constantinople alongside Elder Alexia Theusa to help the Latin vampires in establishing a base in the city. In the sack of Constantinople you continued to search for the Library of the Forgotten, desperate to have it survive the flames and collapse of the Byzantine empire. Your journey took you to Egypt.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Constantinople by Night and the Bitter Crusades books.)

Marchettus the Bold

Brujah Ancilla

Bold is one way of putting it. You are a volatile revolutionary who declaims the status quo continually, and with horrifying vigor. You respect only those who speak out, stand out and whose hearts burn with revolution, but yours is a fire that even other Brujah consider crass. Your descriptive turns of phrase when describing kings and other leaders is legendary. You feel all kings need to be fed the entrails of their ministers and the testicles of their heirs; they are the canker sores on the very arse of the world. These sorts of views were blasphemous during the period of time you grew up mortal - another level of breathtakingly heretic to freely voice them. You are proud to do nothing without ceremony.

Motivation

The winds of change blow wildly through the old, decaying bones of Feudal Europe. They lead right to the residence of Claudius Giovanni, and the rare mortals in his possession. It is likely that you do not have many allies here amongst the elite of Cainite society, but by God is this a good opportunity to see them quake in their shrivelled codpieces.

There are many opportunities here to use the powers of these kine to remind other Cainites of their fragile seats of power. Springing immediately to your attention might be the Celebrant or the Fury - both so promising for cutting through the performative bullshit of the upper classes, so skilled at revealing the base ferocity of Cainites. Then again the Inquisitor can pry filthy truths from tight lips with frightening ease, and then there's the Bond-Breaker. To render yourself immune from the blood bond, and to free others too is a power that you might not be able to resist. Nothing would be better suited to starting a revolution amongst your kind.

Of course, this system of commerce and owing favours to Claudius probably isn't your style, but Boons are Boons, and you have your own honour still. However the days of serfs and slaves are coming to an end (you vehemently believe), so what moral failing can truly be found in stealing a desired mortal from another vampire? If you are outbid, should petty regulations written by one flawed elder prevent you from taking what is better off in your grasp? Perhaps you don't need to sire one of these mortals at all, but merely convince them that more than one fate could await them if they just find their spines.

Meerlinda

Tremere Elder

You are the sober-minded and rational part of the Inner Council of Seven of Clan Tremere. Within the old House Tremere, you were the only woman deemed worthy by Tremere to accompany him to the highest reaches of magic. A born diplomat, you tried to solve the problem of the waning magic of the world by enacting a great ritual that would drench the primal forces from the earth itself. To this end, you made contact with several Covenants spread all across Europe to gather their support.

You were a participant of the ritual that transformed Tremere and his most trusted acolytes into vampires. A peacemaker, your main role is to make your Clan palatable to the rest of Cainite society, so that you can all finally leave this Low Clan status behind.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Clan Tremere to good depth and, ideally, the Dark Ages supplement "House of Tremere" which covers Ceoris, the headquarters of the Tremere clan and their continuing struggle against Clan Tzimisce.)

Melinda Galbraith

Toreador Elder

Considered to be one of the most dangerous vampires in the world, and notorious for your cruelty, you are the direct childe of the ancient Toreador methuselah Helena of Troy. Born in Spain, you were abducted as a mortal and forced to leave Europe by Helena, who Embraced you in the year 1143. Together you travelled to Mexico with the Conquistadores, where you waged war against the Aztecs. You chafed against the Blood Bond and her choke-hold, so when she unexpectedly vanished you used what little freedom you had to hunker down and hide, before making your own way, lost but glad to be even partly free of your sire's thrall. You don't know where she is or what happened to her, but she cannot be dead; you can feel her like a second heartbeat, hot around your mind and gnawing away at your focus. It is muted now, softer, as if she is far away. You seek a means of destroying your Blood Bond, though as yet, you don’t know if one exists that could shatter something as strong as Helena’s. The time and distance from her has given you the freedom to think these things once more - you have no intention of losing it.

Meridie de Chancie

Brujah Ancilla

You speak with a quiet authority and rarely raise your voice - so the times you do shout are all that more jarring. Your movements are equally conservative, all reflecting education, noble birth, and good upbringing. You do not tell someone what to do, but you will give your opinion, bringing up options and allowing the person to make their own choice. You value free will and academic independence. You have a sympathetic ear for those hard done by fate and society. 

(This individual will go on to become an antitribu elder, where she will develop the Path of Harmony alongside Haakon Mortensen at the Black Monastery in 1666.)

Mieczyslav

Tzimisce Elder

Handsome and bluntly spoken you believe in one thing and one thing only: power. You are a sadist who enjoys torture to a level that your students might well consider it an art - and indeed, the body's sensory organs can be elevated to such a place under pain. You use any excuse to exercise your power, given that you find your own power over others almost erotic. You thrill at putting others at your mercy and you can be dangerously patient when you have them there. One of the few things you cherish more than inflicting pain is arguing; verbal combat quickens your blood as much as any bard lost to oratory heat. Amusingly, you might even see yourself facing distraction should someone have a quick tongue and pique your interest with clever wordplay - or a dark argument. You’re drawn to drama.

Milov Petrenkov

Gangrel Elder


You do not like to chatter to non-Gangrel and those who are ignorant of the world beyond their limited existence. At the very least, you cherish well-travelled characters, people who have broadened their horizons and who see the world. If you could, you would only converse with travellers in your own clan. Alas, the time has come for the meeting of new animals; your life is at a crossroads. You don't know what to make of this new era, you fear it certainly, but this time you have no intention of being left behind, and if you can, you will ensure your clan are not left behind in the dark either. You are one of the more influential Gangrel active in these nights, you are also one of the easiest for the other clans to deal with, perhaps because though you dislike it you understand how their games work - you can politick, you’ve an oratory skill that rivals old bards, but you select your words for powerful and impact, and you hear out others’ words too… at least when they’re sensible.

Ambrosio Luis Monçada

Lasombra Elder

You are a powerful Lasombra, known for the many fingers you have sunk deep into the fat pies of the Roman Catholic Church. You are also becoming rather famous too, not for the right reasons, for your Embrace of the rebellious Princess of Aragon, Lucita, who seems no less spirited now than she was in life. She is obedient - to a point. A painfully attractive point, for all your sins. Her nature is as frustrating as it is alluring. You seek to dominate it, to tame it - that none others might look upon it or ever seek to harm her. Only you are capable - clad as you are in the riches of the Holy Spirit, you being a true channel of God's work - to elevate Lucita to a position of spiritual oneness: oneness with herself, with her future, with God, and of course, oneness with you. 

You alone are capable of absolving you both of the sin of your union to come; only with you could she know true religious ecstasy like none other, and be delivered into a place where her heart's needs would finally be met. You viewed your Embrace as God's will, and through the instrument of the Curse of Caine, you have all of eternity to do the Lord's work.

(This character requires knowledge of Clan Lasombra to good depth, and ideally the Roman Catholic Church, enough to pull off a confession realistically - although please, put as dark a spin on that as you want ;) )

Motivation

The Catholic church sweeps across the continent with the blaze of holy fire, and the degenerate amongst your kind will soon suffer for their sins. Not you, of course, as a true conduit for the Lord you are one of the few that see the mercy in this persecution. It is the same mercy that has been exacted upon many of the humans touched by the corrupting influence of the Black Sun, a heretical day that you witnessed with the knowledge of dark consequences to come. Now, the few remaining empowered kine have been gathered in this place by Claudius Giovanni, and it is your divine duty to witness their fates. If you are fortunate, your errant childe Lucita might also be in attendance.

Some amongst these kine are clearly blessed with more holy powers than others; the Cleric would spring to mind as one who can heal the crippled as Christ could. The Purge likewise can remove afflictions of the mind and soul, though the temporary peace they are able to afford a Cainite could be viewed as heretical if you believe the vampiric condition to be a curse for their sins. 

Perhaps, if Lucita is in attendance, your interest might be piqued by the Mistletoe. The ability to bring two kindred together in passion is a base, crass power and something you would prefer to see punished - but sometimes the ends justify the means. They could be the answer to bringing your childe back to your arms - for the sake of her immortal soul of course.

Octavio

Malkavian Elder

Born in the lands now called Hungary, back when Rome's legions built Aquincum, you are over a thousand years old. As a mortal you were a shaman who somehow touched upon a demon's dark heart and became suffused with madness. You hear the voice of the demon, Kupala, inside your head. You know he will arise someday to claim dominion over the Earth. You wandered the streets of Aquincum for years, attempting to warn the Romans of the demon whose heart was poisoning the land. The legions were kind enough to feed and clothe you, but paid you little heed. After you learned to speak Latin, they finally understood what you were saying, but they dismissed it as mad ravings.

You took the name Octavio since you firmly believe that eight portents will herald the awakening of Kupala and the demon's ascendancy over the world.

(This character requires canon knowledge of the Transylvania Chronicles.)

Pakourianis the Dove

Toreador Elder

In life you were an exceptionally talented painter. Following adolescence your skills were such that you came to the attention of one of the most famous Toreador in the world: Michael. Or, Mi-Ka-il. He Embraced you, and thereafter you acted as your sire's muse for paintings.

You were deeply influenced by your sire, believing him to be a literal manifestation of the archangel. When the methuselah became more and more withdrawn, you feared that he would leave without you, that he would ascend to heaven again and you became obsessed with flying hoping that you might follow him. You studied bird anatomy and worked closely together with Gregory the Wonder-Maker, who presented you with several mechanical birds that he'd made, none of which made any sense to you for how the inventor worked his magic. You tried to decipher the mechanics, without much success. Most often, you flung yourself frustrated into the ocean.

You survived the sack of Constantinople in 1204 CE, but it took a toll on your sanity. You continued your quest to learn how to fly, striving to follow Michael into heaven. Your meditations tempered your anguish, but the flight of birds, Tremere gargoyles and other winged things continued to flood your mind and fascinate you into hypnotic stupor. Together with your broodmate Paul Bathalos, you founded the Nephilim, a short-lived offshoot of the Toreador Clan that revered Michael as a literal divine figure. Now, with him dead, your life feels empty, meaningless. Has he ascended? Surely he could not have actually perished, but rather shucked his (im)mortal coil, and moved on.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Constantinople By Night.)

Motivation

In the wake of your sire’s demise and the sacking of Constantinople, the world has become colourless; still you cannot come to terms with the notion that one such as he could have suffered final death. It is hard to think of the future and what it might mean for you without him, and it is only your obsession with the notion of flight that has allowed you to keep a reasonable grasp on lucidity. With such a hyper-fixation, the day of the Black Sun was probably not of particular note - most likely you continued working through the day without realising you had not fallen into torpor as you usually would. Or perhaps you noticed it with total soul-stilled wakeful focus, wondering if this was a sign from the heavens - from God; from… Michael?

It was perhaps during vapid mental wandering that you came to consider your invitation for this Giovanni run auction. Once, you were a muse to your sire. Perhaps it is a muse that you need now to further your dreams of flight - or to simply recover your interest in existence? The Prey might interest you; a mere human but possessed of such delicate grace and the pure heart of an innocent creature. Whilst they are no closer to growing wings than you are, they are gifted with powers of transformation that might aid your quest. 

The forger is no doubt going to be a source of distaste for you. They can only create hollow copies of great work; empty and soulless. Perhaps this even fills you with a creeping dread of your own self reflection; is that too your fate without your sire? Are you simply an inferior creation? You should avoid the Echo then at all costs, lest the face of your sire stare back at you from the flesh of a mere mortal. Such a thing might throw you into a fit of despair or even rage that a creature might steal the features of an angel.

Petrodon

Nosferatu Neonate

Born as Count Alonso Cristo Petrodon de Seville, you were struck with the plague in 1348; the Nosferatu Cristo Embraced you to save your life. Although you had been exceedingly proud of his looks in life, you quickly adapted to your Nosferatu visage, understanding the need to change; if this is grief in your new condition, you do not show it often, preferring to make the best out of a difficult situation. You won't be left behind in your own life. Although just a neonate now, you are ambitious, and know you have the capacity to go far on whatever path you take. You've a mind for leadership, and have been a part of a world most Nosferatu have not. As such, you know how to talk the talk and walk the walk of the beautiful, even if your face no longer matches up.

(This character will one day go on to become the Nosferatu Justicar. For now he is just a lowly, young neonate, trying to get by.)

Pietro Giovanni

Elder Cappadocian

You are the main relay of information for the Giovanni family branch in Eastern Europe, handling matters of trade and financial expansion there. You were Embraced later in life because your skills did not reach their maturity until midlife. You truly wanted to study Necromancy but never showed any real skill in it. You also never learned of the true nature of the "family elders" until your business savvy took off. On the cusp of being relegated to the status of a merchant who never rose above mediocrity, you made several well-placed investments and trading deals in quick succession, as much from luck as skill. Your gambling on several trade routes travelling from the Middle East through Eastern Europe paid off handsomely, to everyone in the family's surprise.

It was just enough to gain the notice of the vampiric members of the family. At first you were extended the Proxy Kiss so you could more accurately be studied by the Giovanni vampires. Whether it was from the mystical qualities of the vampiric blood you imbibed or a simple opening of your mind to the possibilities of the supernatural, your interest and ability in Necromancy piqued. Your economic successes continued, though not at as high a level as before. Both of these factors, your business knowledge and your occult interest, convinced the Giovanni to fully Embrace you.

Motivation

You are a man with a gift for commerce; even if your skills in that area have not been tested quite as much since you were Embraced. Though the day of the Black Sun might have been of interest to you (with your burgeoning enthusiasm for studying occult arts) it was your clan mate Claudius that attributed this to the gifted humans appearing throughout the continent. You might even be envious that it was he who came up with the idea for this auction, rather than yourself.

Given your predilections for economics, you might have given advice to Claudius regarding the smooth running of his auction, or insight into how to reap the most reward. Certainly, it was almost by chance that you found yourself part of the secretive true inner family, and this might be a fantastic chance to prove your wit and skill in an arena that is certainly not alien to you.

Then again, this might be an excellent opportunity to invest in building up your reputation and legacy as a true pillar of the Giovanni. A powerful and well groomed childe could be the key to securing respect and a lucrative future for yourself - particularly if they have a natural affinity for necromancy or at the very least the potential to elevate your status - in the same way that marrying a first born child into a more powerful family might do. The Apprentice would make an excellent choice with their untold potential to excel in almost any field. From the business perspective, you would also be remiss not to consider the potential that the Forger might offer in terms of brokering less than legal trade deals and other such dealings.

Radu Bistri

Tzimisce Elder

You were born during the high ages of Tzimisce clan rule in Transylvania. After gaining the favour of a feudal lord, you were chosen as his ambassador to the West. Your master believed you to be a brilliant young diplomat, and he wanted an efficient informant who would report back to him. He wasn't mistaken; as a young revenant you learned that the Ventrue wanted to establish seven domains in Transylvania and a coterie of Cainites to rule it. On instructing your master of their plans, he gave you the Embrace so that you could infiltrate the council there.

You skilfully played potential princes against each other, ensuring yourself a position among the rulers of the Council of Ashes. Regularly conversing with the rulers of the other six domains, you gained a rapid reputation for diplomacy. Through you, several Tzimisce knezi were able to maintain diplomatic relations with the rest of Europe. Your authority came to be recognized by both the knezi and voivodes of your clan and the Cainites of Transylvania. You were granted the city of Bistriz in Transylvania as your domain, a reward you have held ever since.

Rafael de Corazon

Toreador Elder

You feel that the Giovanni have made a mistake in revealing their newfound vampire status to any of their extended family. There is no formal Masquerade yet, but you want it to exist and you are determined to find ways of pushing it. Hardestadt is of the mind that the Silence should be stronger; in him you might find an ally for your politics. You feel that upon the Embrace, all vampires  should sever their obvious ties to mortals, especially those who the vampire once held dear; the temptation is too great and the cost too high. What if the Inquisition soon turns on vampires? The witch hunt is but a step away from recognising that vampires dwell in the dark with all these heretics and half-forgotten hedge witches. You are not afraid to speak your truth.

Motivation

Omens of disaster may or may not be something you believe in deeply. What you do know, however, is that this auction is a nauseating show of power and influence from a family that would have done better to remain quiet for the time being. These mortals represent a very dangerous threat to your kind; beings with clear and obvious power that draws the attention of kine and Cainites like moths to a flame. You are concerned that they might very well cause untold chaos for vampire society.

It is a time for careful actions and to avoid drawing the ire of the nquisition; not to flaunt supernatural power like so many of your peers will certainly attempt to do if they procure one of these humans. It is most definitely in your interest to see these mortals go to sires that might raise them responsibility, and impress upon them the seriousness of the current climate. The human they call The Echo exists in clear contrast to your own beliefs; reminding other vampires of long lost lovers, children or friends. You fail to see how anyone could benefit from them, and would prefer to see them eliminated. 

If the worst does come to fruition (and depending on how your interactions with other Cainites might go, your views on this might be solidified throughout the course of the auction), it might be worth attempting to acquire one of these mortals that possesses the ability to hide others. You aren’t as blinded by your clanmates to this era’s promises; the Inquisition exists still, and until there is true separation between vampires and humans, you’re all in danger. If a wave of devastation is to sweep across Europe to decimate the Cainite population once more (a wise thing to presume even if it doesn’t happen), it might be in your interest to seek out the Illusionist, or perhaps even the Shadow to allow you to survive where unprepared vampires could might not. But can you ever trust such a power? If the human were loyal to you, perhaps - either they are mad or there is truly something dwelling in their shadow. You are one of the clans best suited to earning adoration from humans, and might make a suitable mentor. There will be competition with the Lasombra for that one, though.

Razkoljna

Tzimisce Elder

You are the Prince of Krakow, Poland. Born as the daughter of a Slavic chieftain, you grew up knowing exactly what was expected of you. When you came of age, you would be wedded to the strongest warrior so your tribe would benefit from having a strong leader. You would sit in the place of honour and bear him many sons.

Although you married and failed to birth your husband any children, it was a match with genuine affection, and loyalty. When your husband was given the Embrace by a Tzimisce, he shared the kiss with you, turning you into one of the undead. You adapted even faster than he to her new life as one of the undying. You and your husband soon established yourselves as the true leaders of the tribe and fed on the strongest warriors and slayed any who dared to oppose you.

When Christian missionaries came to Poland, it marked the beginning of your end. Rumours of the tribe being ruled by demons spread and one day, knights accompanied by priests came, battling against you and her tribe. Your sire fell under the swords of the invaders, but you managed to kill the rest of the attackers, only to flee the rays of the sun. You fell into a deep, damaged torpor.

After you awoke, you discovered that a bustling trade centre had grown up above you, and the world had changed. But you claimed the city as our domain and began to encourage its growth. By the time Krakow achieved prominence as the capital of Poland in 1083, you had established yourself as the ranking Cainite in the city, and now know yourself to be the oldest and most powerful immortal in the area.

Motivation

You preside over a blooming and growing region, and as one of the greatest vampires in your pocket of Europe, you would be remiss not to respond favourably to the invitation to Claudius's auction. No doubt you watched the sky on the day of the Black Sun with measured caution - having seen your fair share of change and upheaval. Now, as the centuries march on, the shape of the land is twisting all the more. Securing your future in a world where the inquisition is gaining momentum will mean fostering powerful allies and a trusted court. Perhaps at this auction you might be able to add to your court to leave you both prepared for the worst kine interference, and resolute against your own rivals.

It has been centuries since the final death of your mate, perhaps there might even be one amongst these chosen mortals that might satisfy your longing? One you can groom as a childe to become your paramour, of course depending on your personal views on accepting new blood of an outsider into your homeland. It could be exactly what your court needs. 

The Leech could make a powerful warrior, imbued with their ability to absorb the abilities of other vampires they touch, they could employ a myriad of disciplines. You might also consider the Ghost… another soul doomed to see all about them change, die and disappear whilst they labour on. Their powers are impressive, and perhaps what empathy lingers in your shriveled elder heart will find a connection to this fading spirit.

Serena

Elder Cappadocian

You are the prized Childe of the Cappadocian Elder Garinol, who stood as abbot of the Petrin Hill Monastery in Prague. In 1141, he released you from his charge so you could serve another vampire named Ecaterina the Wise, partly as payment for a boon your sire owed Ecaterina for dealing with his other, more deceitful childe, Mercurio. Mercurio has since met his Final Death following his betrayal.

After these events you parted ways with your sire and accompanied the renowned Brujah and former Crusader Knight, Christof Romuald - who you had several adventures with in Eastern Europe. You journeyed with him to Vienna and back, before becoming separated in the collapse of Vysehrad Castle. Surviving the disaster, you've gone on alone, having to presume him dead after searching for nights. Now an elder yourself, you've never found yourself able to stay in one place too long, preferring to take to the open road and make your own way independent of your cloistered, religious clan. You enjoy coterie life, but not the hivemind claustrophobia of big cities and superficial vampire graces. Eventually though, even you can get lonely. With the tale of this auction on the wind, perhaps it's time to dip your toe into Cainite affairs once again.

(This character appears in the old video game Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, if you want a playthrough! Also appears in Cults of the Blood Gods, p.143)

Motivation

You are a worldly soul - and believe that you have probably experienced more of Europe than most of the rest of your cloistered clan. More than most vampires in general, probably. It is likely you heard rumours of strangely gifted mortals some time before the events of the auction, but it is unlikely you had the chance to meet one; only the luckiest (or in some cases, unluckiest) have survived long enough to have been snapped up by Claudius Giovanni.

Despite your aversion to cities, you are well regarded and doubt that other Cainites would take issue with your claiming of a childe here. You might be curious to speak to these abnormal humans; to hear their stories and guess at the true nature of their powers. You dislike being alone - this might be an excellent opportunity to secure a childe for yourself; a unique, fascinating progeny that would no doubt make your life far more interesting for a time. You might be able to save one of these mortals from the stuffy, smothering religious leanings of many of the other elders in attendance, for a start. 

The more peculiar the power, the more it might intrigue your adventurous mind. Naturally the Shadow and the Ghost are some of the most alien out of these abnormal individuals. Then there is the Unknown - a mortal so enigmatic that even the Giovanni don't know the extent of their power, only that they seem to be immune to death. Perhaps you could be the one to uncover this mystery where they have failed.

Sophoniba

Toreador Elder

You are the famous Carthaginian noblewoman who lived during the Second Punic War, the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco. You held influence over the Numidian political landscape, convincing king Syphax to change sides during the war, and later, in an act that became legendary, you were seen to poison yourself rather than be humiliated in a Roman triumph. Your family was among the famed dyers of the city, and the vampire who would become your sire wished to obtain these secrets from them for himself - but through you. Unfortunately for him, you resisted, and in a fit of rage he drained your blood and made you his progeny in order to force it from you, along with your obedience. With the aid of your family you managed to bring him down and took his blood for yourself in diablerie, destroying him in the process.

During the Punic Wars you allied with Carthage. The fall of that city is something you still deeply regret, even more now because your own city was destroyed alongside the fabled Brujah utopia.

Symeon

V̶e̶n̶t̶r̶u̶e̶ Tzimisce Elder

Requires knowledge of Constantinople by Night, Bitter Crusade, Dark Ages Europe, Clan Tzimisce, The Obertus Revenants,The Omen Wars…

Your childe Myca Vykos may be attending your run but they will be an NPC <3

Portions of this are taken from Bitter Crusade and other White Wolf source books.

Symeon Gesudin syn Draconov, Prince of Oradea and leader of the Obertus Order. Of the vampires of Constantinople who still walk the earth, you are perhaps the closest living connection to the great Triumvirate of Methuselah who ruled The Dream for so many centuries. From your childhood, you had been intended for Antonius the Gaul - the powerful Ventrue leader who watched over the city alongside his lover Michael and his rival The Dracon. Antonius shared his love for Michael with The Dracon, who he was constantly sparring with both politically and in romantic competition. To try and bridge the divide between his two lovers, Michael came up with a plan that would be the sealing of your fate.

Michael believed that he’d found a way to heal the rift between his lovers and restore unity in the form of two boys - you and your older brother Gesu. Michael felt that you exemplified the best qualities of his lovers and, in addition, the pair of you were united on a deeply spiritual level. Each of you depended on and supported the other, as if each was half of a greater whole. Michael presented you both to Antonius and the Dracon for them to keep as their own, asking that you be raised as a symbol of unity that would ensure the success of the Dream. The two Methuselah were intrigued, possessively so; Michael’s plan seemed to have succeeded at first, and peace reigned in Constantinople.

You were raised by Antonius and groomed to be the perfect Patrician - you excelled in matters of leadership, strategy and politics and pleased your master in all of your accomplishments. Gesu thrived under the equally close but decidedly darker tutelage of the Dracon, but disaster struck when your older brother’s Embrace by his master went awry. Gesu fell into a deep torpor and for two years you were distraught, rarely leaving your brother’s bedside for fear he might slip away in his sleep. One night as you dozed by your brother’s sick bed, Gesu awoke from his torpor starving and maddened in his fledgling state. In a violent, horrifying struggle your dear older brother drew your lifesblood from you - barely managing to save you in a hurried and fear stricken Embrace.

You lived but the damage was already done. The childe of the Dracon had stolen Antonius’ precious protege out from under him and your master was enraged. Antonius refused to believe that this had not been his rival’s plan all along and he launched his deep and terrible anger against the Dracon in an all-out iconoclastic war against the Obertus order. Michael and the Dracon would grow to see Antonius as a threat to Constantinople’s stability and you would be forced to stand by and watch as your beloved master was destroyed by his own childe, Caius.

You channeled your grief into rebuilding what remained of your relationship with your brother - even though he was the elder, you had always cared for him as children when he was sick with visions and fevers. The Embrace and his long torpor had taken its toll on Gesu and he needed you now more than ever. You became your brother’s keeper, protecting him and guiding him as he took over leadership of his sire’s Obertus Order. Although spiritual matters have never been your strength, you listened carefully as your brother explained the Obertus’ principles and you came into your own as quickly as you ever did - soon leading the order alongside your brother.

When matters in Constantinople were stable, you would sometimes travel back to your homeland of Transylvania to strengthen ties with the very few Obertus Monasteries in Eastern Europe. On one such journey you came across a mortal boy living a dangerous and macabre existence under the Obertus Monk. He had originally been raised by the mage Order of Hermes but had managed to anger a rival novitiate and had been given to the Obertus Tzimisce as punishment. The boy was magically gifted and plagued with visions and fevers - he reminded you so much of your brother that you took back to Constantinople without much consideration.

The boy’s name was Myca Vykos and he would come to be your first and only childe. You had seen how the trials of the Dracon’s mentorship had taken a toll on Gesu’s mind and deep down you hoped that together you could improve upon the disaster of both of your embraces by successfully raising a fledgling together. Sadly, this was not to be. As Constantinople became more and more unstable without Antonius’ grounding, orderly presence, Gesu’s leadership of the Obertus became unpredictable and cruel. The Order and Gesu himself became increasingly inward-looking and isolated which infuriated your scholarly childe Vykos - who felt that Gesu should be more focused on protecting the city’s invaluable libraries and artefacts than on some esoteric search for the ‘Divinity Within’.

The instability in Constantinople came to a head with the Latin riots of 1185 which  shattered the peace for mortals and Cainites alike. The Genoese Lasombra Gabriella and her mortal protégé Lillian petitioned you to protect them from anti-Latin mobs, which you did. Lillian then went on to become your lover. Before you could Embrace her yourself, the unstable Gesu decided to do the same — but with a difference. As he drained Lillian of her blood, Gesu used Vicissitude to meld her to him. This so-called “Immaculate Union” is Gesu’s attempt to reunite the male and the female in order to achieve transcendence. His obsession with Vicissitude had finally broken his mind.

You were enraged by Gesu’s actions, could only see it as jealousy on your brother’s part - who did covert your attention fiercely, you saw it in how he treated Myca - but because of your genuine love for him and a fear that his insanity may lead to self destruction, you did nothing to express this anger. He seemed so close to moving over a cliff and into the unknown - truly, he looked unstable. The rift between yourself and Gesu became a dark and persistent undercurrent that threatened to destroy the Obertus altogether. Nevertheless, you continued your mutual rituals and meditations, seemingly oblivious to the dangers around, but in truth you didn’t know how to affect it. Constantinople was dying, and you felt drawn in two directions for your attention: attempt to heal Constantinople (a beast so damaged under faction conflict you don’t even know where to start) - or be there for your brother, your own blood and only extant family. During this time of turmoil, your observant young childe had continued to write and travel back and forth between Constantinople and the Old World. Vykos grew increasingly concerned that Constantinople could not survive the wars and dissidence that raged both inside its walls and at its very gates. 

Vykos eventually succeeded in convincing you that Gesu would never leave Constantinople behind. Hearing the plaintive pleas of your child  and observing his desperate work to get both of you out of the city alive moved even your breaking heart into action. In a feat of rare wit and even rarer luck, the two of you managed to escape the burning city as it was sacked at the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. You fled back to your homeland of Transylvania where you set up court in the city of Oradea, convinced by your childe that re-establishing your roots in the Old World may serve as a salve to the raw, bleeding wounds of your mind and soul.

But peace was not to be found in this place, in this ‘home’ that you barely ever knew. All around you raged the fires of the Omen Wars and you soon discovered that your clan was impossibly divided in these lands. Vykos had been maintaining correspondence with Old World Tzimisce leaders of the likes of Lugoj and Velya the Flayer. With your silver-tongued childe’s help, you would begin efforts to unify your clan against the Tremere threat but you were soon infuriated to find that the usurpers had the support of the Eastern Ventrue Lords and of Hardestaft himself. It was beyond even encroaching; the witches with their sly, cheap Ventrue support were decimating your kind. More than decimate - this was genocide.

With the Library of the Forgotten destroyed, the Obertus Order no longer had a centre around which to organise. Alongside your dedication to negotiating a peace between the warring Kolduns and Draconic Tzimisce of Transylvania, you would slowly begin to rebuild the Obertus Order within Transylvania as an homage to what you remember as the best parts of your departed elder brother’s achievements. Unfortunately, your efforts would be seen as aggressive expansions of territory by some, inspiring the ire of the Voivode of Voivodes - Vladimir Rustovich - among a few others.

The situation around Oradea is tenuous at best in current nights but you still hold the respect of many Tzimisce who’s territories lie within Transylvania’s borders. You are constantly trying to keep your balance along the fine line of negotiations within your own clan and staving off the Ventrue and Tremere ravening at your door. This requires an astonishing level of leadership and strategic awareness and on reflection, you find it grotesquely amusing that you would finally flex the skills that you learned as a Ventrue ghoul while making your bed in a nest of Fiends. 

Motivation

Very little could tear you away from your commitments in Oradea but Claudius’ Giovanni’s invitation is more than enough to fit the bill. By your recollection, this meeting of clans will be larger than any meeting of Cainites since the golden age of Constantinople and certainly as diverse. It is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture unfolding on the larger political stage of the European continent and this event seems to be the perfect opportunity to learn as much as you can about neighbouring Cainite conflicts and negotiations - all whilst having to abide by a trust and meeting under the roof which for once does not require you to extend your own hospitality.

As one might expect from your own journey to the embrace and your choice of childer, you have always found the selection of gifted mortals for embrace or ghouling highly intriguing. As your Ventrue upbringing taught you, you can often learn the most about another vampire from the mortals she chooses to protect and to share her blood with. You expect to learn even more about your potential allies and rivals when you have the opportunity to partake in a bidding war for perhaps the most promising mortal acquisitions in the history of your kind. You are also in the market for powerful individuals to aid your struggling in the Omen Wars and, even if you do not manage to claim a human for your own, you can at least try your damndest to block the efforts of the Tremere in gaining any extra leverage for them to use against your clan. 

You hope to strengthen ties with clans Gangrel and Nosferatu while attending the auction, as they are your most obvious allies against the Tremere but their support has been poorly coordinated at the very best. In your opinion, this auction can be used to all of your advantages as an opportunity to educate other Cainites about the dangers that the usurpers possess. In your heart of hearts, you long to formulate an argument that will convince Hardestadt and his lot to withdraw their devastating support of the Tremere in your country. Hardestadt has often been compared to your intended sire - Antonius - both in his style of leadership and his principles such as his dedication to the Silence of the Blood. You hope that meeting in neutral territory will give you the opportunity to make the High Lord aware of the fickleness and treachery of the Tremere and perhaps, perhaps your old allies from Constantinople will attend and aid you in your efforts.

Then again, if the Black Monarch refused to be swayed - there are always the vassals of Mithras to turn your keen attentions towards. The God King was your patron’s brood brother, after all…

Theophana

Malkavian Elder

You find entertainment in upsetting other members of your clan, going so far as to try and devalue their sense of self or stability by triggering their clan curse, and prodding at their mental wellbeing. You are legendary for your cruel appetites and obsession over insanity. You often long to delve into the minds of those around you to search for the sweetmeats of madness that might, at times, lie within. You are willing to do or say anything to extract these morsels, laughing gleefully at the delightful insanity your antics release onto the all-too-sane world. You oppose structure and order and any tempering of the mind into rigid cages and "sane" places.

Motivation

Amongst your clan you might not be heralded as a seer to the degree of some, but you know a sign of change when you see one. The day of the Black Sun was a startling curiosity - something that many of the most worldly did not predict. It was easy to prophetise that something was coming as a result of the anomaly, but few could have guessed the truth. And now Claudius Giovanni has gathered every remaining piece of the aftermath into his clutches, leaving the rest of vampire society to fight over the scraps.

If prying into reserved minds and exposing tidbits of insanity and maddening secrets is your passion, declining your invitation to Claudius’ estate would be a wasted opportunity. Not only will the place be swarming with Cainites from all over Europe (including many with delicious legends and rumours of their own for you to poke) but several of the mortals possess rather fascinating talents that align with your interests. 


Naturally, the Prophet is a candidate; and so thoroughly addled with constant involuntary visions that they already experience something akin to the Malkavian bane. The future and the truth of the past are things that frighten even the most stalwart of kindred. The Voice possesses a power that would be wasted in the arms of the toreador; you would use it to gracefully destabilise even the most level-headed Cainites. Then there is the Ghost; a soul so intriguingly tortured by their own psyche that you might love to have a conversation with them... even if they prove uninteresting as a siring prospect.

Thomas Feroux

Gangrel Elder

You were born in northern France as the only son of a minor nobleman. When you were just a boy your parents were killed by a wolf pack, and you were sent to live with your uncle, a sour and brooding man who cared little for you. You escaped spending time with him by vanishing on long hunting trips, taking to the cold creeks and the fresh of the wilds. When you turned seventeen, your uncle died and, blessedly, left you as the sole inheritor of all his family goods.

You were discontent with that life, though you tried it well. Eventually you took a pilgrimage into the Holy Land, becoming as sour and cruel as your uncle on your way, as you had to steal, lie and betray in order to finance the journey - and at times survive. Unknown to you, your parents were not killed by wolves, but by a starving Gangrel, who Embraced your mother after he drained her dry. Marie Feroux followed you ever since, watching over you as you grew. But with every dark deed you committed, she sank deeper into the claws of the Beast. Finally, when you beat a young woman to death, she lost control and fed on you in a brutal frenzy, killing you that night.

Ashamed, she embraced and buried you, and awaited for the sun laying on your makeshift grave. When you arose you found only you mother's pendant amidst a pile of ashes. Starving and unsure about what happened, you went to the inn, where you killed every last one of the attendants in a bloody frenzy, as is the way of new childer. Your confusion and anger and grief were relieved only by the fated intervention of an unassuming monk. Theoleon was a Gesudian monk from Constantinople, instructed him in the ways of the undead and he took you with him to the city.

The Divinity Within was a monastic cult within Constantinople under the supervision of the Tzimisce. They were strong promoters of the worship of icons (who often depicted famous Tzimisce) and were further tasked with maintaining the Library of the Forgotten. Vicissitude was regarded with a spiritual reverence, as the touch of God among the flesh of the damned. You would come to know the Tzimisce well, and make a life vow to protect the Obertus and the Clan for the rest of your existence, a pledge that made you one of the scion families of the city, protected in turn by the Tzimisce.

You became the head of the Gangrel scions in Constantinople, under the protection (and orders) of Gesu. With him dead, and Constantinople long gone, you have left it all behind you - but not forgotten your vows. You weren't there for the true end of Constantinople - when the Ottomans came last year. You heard about it of course, hundreds of miles away. You vanished in the year 1204, with the mysterious figure who dwelt in the Library of the Forgotten: The Keeper of the Faith.

(This character requires canon knowledge of Constantinople By Night and familiarity with Clan Tzimisce.)

The Troglodytia

Cappadocian Elder

Like a number of your contemporary clanmates who look rather deathly, you were cursed with an exceptionally vicious form of your clan's weakness upon your Embrace. Where others of your clan would normally have a deathlike pallor, you resemble a decaying corpse – a zombu. Mocking Cainites soon gave you the name "Troglodytia", which you bore with dignity, a badge of honour in spite of their comments.

You took up company with a group of Nosferatu, but your mastery of Obfuscate is not advanced enough to hide your appearance. But true to your independent, wilful self, you have made the best of your difficult life’s lot, becoming a mercenary, acting as a broker for the Cappadocians and Giovanni, procuring dead bodies for experimentation, odd herbs and alchemical ingredients, as well as strange artefacts that come to your attention. You have become a veritable black market all by your lonesome.

(It is implied that she was the ancestor, or possibly even the progenitor, of the Samedi bloodline.)

Motivation

No ripples can be made amid the black market in central Europe that are not felt by you. As one of the foremost dealers and procurers of unusual and valuable goods (often of a darkly supernatural nature) it is perhaps to your chagrin that this auction was a venture that you yourself did not cook up. Then again, you are not so much one for the spotlight as Claudius Giovanni; better to reap wealth from the shadows. You might even have passed on several rumours regarding reports of supernaturally imbued kine to Claudius himself given your contacts. Perhaps you can negotiate with him to receive a 'special rate' on his merchandise?

Regarding the merchandise themselves, a few notable mortals might pique your interest - even if you don't get a discounted rate. Nothing is more valuable than the ability to limit the powers of others - a fact your keen mind would have realised quickly - so the Blank strikes you as an incredibly worthwhile investment. If you could reserve it, measures of this mortal's blood could be sold to the other successful Cainites so they might control or curb the intensity of their new charges. With their other ability to remove memories from mortals, they might make a perfect companion for one such as yourself, whose appearance strikes fear into the hearts of humans. Similarly, the blood of the Bane will prove an extremely useful substance to many, something you could also commodify.

Tyler

Brujah Neonate

Born Patricia of Bolingbroke in England 1352, you made quick and harsh acquaintance with the injustice of authority early in your life. You were born and raised under the system of feudalism in the English countryside, helping your family to work the fields and turn the mill as efficiently as they could - lest your miserly lord send his vassals out to crack the whip. Life under these conditions had always been harsh but you had the misfortune to be born in the depths of the plague that was The Black Death. The population of your county had been cut by half and all this death had occurred off the back of a devastating famine. Perhaps some would say that your family should have felt lucky to be alive, but the likelihood of being worked to death was a very probable reality through your youth. It is hard to feel grateful when you can barely think from exhaustion.

When your family and husband were slaughtered before your eyes for daring to attempt to leave the land that you toiled, you fled to Kent and cut out a living for yourself there as a thief and vagabond - disguising yourself as a young man. You buried your grief in the beginnings of the Peasants’ Revolt that was stirring in Essex, falling in with Wat Tyler and striking up a quick and ready friendship built on mutual hatred of the status quo. Eventually, the trust between the two of you grew deep enough for you to share your real identity and the story of how you came to Kent - your friendship developed into a fiery romance as you plotted rebellion against the same hierarchy that had been responsible for the murder of your family and your were instrumental in the Revolt’s storming of the Tower of London in 1381. You learned there that you were good at killing tyrants and you watched with delight as the mighty fell to your demands But ultimately, it was with bitter grief that you also had to learn that the Lords and Princes of the land are quick to turn on their promise. Again, you had to watch as those closest to you were murdered by their oppressors - you swore that you would never be forced to stand by and stare again as you watched the blood pool from your lover’s severed head.

While awaiting execution in a filthy cell, you were visited by a man called Robin Leeland who enraged you at first for intruding upon your last night of solitude before your death. You had not called for a priest - he could only be an assailant planning to rob you of your dignity before you lost your life.  You threw yourself at him with all your rage and might - furious to have your final moments of privacy intruded upon. He caught your blows effortlessly without restraining you, seemingly not to feel your strikes at all. When you had exhausted yourself, you finally slumped onto the filthy floor and looked up to meet eyes that were warm with understanding and admiration. You felt a wash of kinship settle over you and as you began to speak with this man, your hopelessness began to melt away. You were embraced that night into the clan of rebels, agitators and individualists. You are proud to be part of the rabble and you will never look back to self pity again.

Your first meaningful act as a vampire was to travel back home to that decaying fife where you were born into serfdom. You ripped down the defences of the Lord’s castle with even less mercy than his knights had shown your family, finding the old man pissing himself and cowering in his bed. You killed him and his vassals and said goodbye to that old life for the last time. You took your lover Tyler’s name for your own and left England for the European continent and have been building a coterie of like-minded vampires ever since - united in their hatred of tyranny, oppression and hierarchy. It stung when you learned that your vampiric existence was even more subject to these evils than your life as a human, but you were not powerless against their control as a mortal and now you have all the tools you need to resist them ready and waiting at your expert disposal.

Motivation

In your seventy years as a vampire, you have learned not to trust the plans and meetings of Elders. Embraced into clan Brujah by an independent and aloof individual, you have been spared the humiliation and subjugation that many neonates must bear under the thrall of their sires – but the stories of the friends you have made have not fallen on deaf ears. You have learned of blood bonds and the weight and debt of boons – sometimes forced out of the young through obligation. You have met vampires from many clans over your travels across Europe and you have made a name for yourself as something of a visionary with your rhetoric of overthrowing tyrants. 

For some reason – despite this reputation – you have been invited to an event that will be filled with many of the archetypes that you despise. An auction suggests the exchange of valuables and you have heard that the mortals up for sale will fetch a pretty price.  You dread to think what will be up for barter when monstrous elders vie for humans with such potential – their schemes and deals cannot go unchecked. Before the auction, you plan on liaising with your allies who share similar ideologies when it comes to the plots of Elders and their tendency to use their childer like so many bargaining chips at the table. The most ruthless among them must not be allowed to throw even more neonates and ancilla into deeper debt to fund their selfish gain

Once upon a time, you might have felt grief for the humans up for sale. You might have spent the nights leading up to the auction plotting their release, granting them freedom from the tyranny of vampirism altogether. But you know now that there is no escape from the talons of your kind once you have been apprehended. The best these mortals can hope for is Embrace by a merciful sire - the worst case scenarios are unthinkable, even to you. You will do your damndest to ensure that the mortals with the most foreboding powers do not fall into the hands of the most dangerous among Claudius’ guests. You will strive to work alongside your allies to monitor the deals being made in the darkness, working together to prevent this auction from becoming yet another opportunity for the Elders to consolidate their already formidable control over vampire society.

Valerius

Ventrue Elder, Sheriff of London

In life there was no Valerius, only Walhhere, a minor Saxon noble, loyal to King Harold and happily married with three strong sons. Your people prospered and you ruled your lands well. Then came King Harold’s call. The Normans had invaded the country and each lord was expected to raise men in the country’s defense. As Walhhere you answered the call without question, marching to battle with a cool, calm, confident frame of mind - but as Valerius would you rise, entering unlife on the battlefield of Hastings, shortly after being run through by a Norman blade. You took your new name to reflect a new existence.

After a few decades spent with your vampire sire - Bindusara, a noted scholar - you pledged your sword to Mithras. For several centuries you have served as his Sheriff, keeping London free of undesirables for your Lord.

Motivation

As one of the preeminent faces of London, there was little question as to your attendance to the Giovanni's auction. Few better could act as face to the Court of Mithras, and you are old enough to know the importance of this gathering. The Black Death caused unique chaos across Europe, and in its aftermath you have witnessed the emboldening of countless kine and Cainites of lower station alike. You are aware that unrest could be brewing, and the delegation of raw power that will occur at this event is something you can't risk missing.

Yours is a station of power and dignity, and any potential threats to the domain you guard must be noted - or even neutralised. The Bond-Breaker is one such concern; in the wrong hands they could be dangerous and a conduit for civil disorder, which could easily bite you even in London. It might be prudent to bid on that one, and the court would after all be interested in researching the potential of their blood. On a more personal level, the powers of the Witness might interest you, as one that can force others to hold true to their oaths. After all, you are one to remain loyal to your pledges, and far too many Cainites are not.

Velya the Flayer

Tzimisce Elder

You are an old and experienced fiend of Transylvanian heritage, born and Embraced under the shadows of the Carpathian mountains. In many aspects you are not so very dissimilar to the other Elder Tzimisce of Eastern Europe - you are territorial and secretive and nothing is publicly known about your human origins. Though you would be considered reclusive by the standards of many other clans, you maintain more consistent correspondence and connections than is customary for an elder of your blood and age. You have no known childer and you refrain from the Tzimisce custom of raising a revenant line - thought that is not to say that you are disinterested in exploring the limits of the human condition.

The Carpathians are not only your home but also the namesake of your bloodline - The Old Clan Tzimisce also known as the Carpathians. The distinction between Carpathian/Old Clan Tzimisce and Draconic Tzimisce is often debated even within the clan but you find the concept to be particularly tiresome and arbitrary - unusual for an elder Tzimisce of your standing. But who better to snub the schism within the clan than the childe of the vampire who died as a result of its inception? Your sire Triglav was killed by his brother in the blood - The Dracon of Constantinople fame - well over 500 years ago in a battle that created a divide within the Tzimisce that still continues in the 1400s. 

Many Old Clan/Carpathian Tzimisce shun the discipline of Vicissitude and focus on Koldunic Sorcery and Animalism to connect with the earth, whereas Draconic Tzimisce excel in Vicissitude and resent that the Carpathians accuse them of being puppets to their progenitor due to their practices. Velya, you are the descendent of Triglav and a Carpathian by birth and by Embrace but you do not believe in limiting your powers by snubbing a discipline innate to your blood. You spend long nights in your Transylvanian fortress honing not only your mastery of Koldunism but also developing your understanding of your other art and passion - fleshcraft. Your frequent, gorey experiments have not gone unnoticed by the other Tzimisce, earning yourself the epithet of The Flayer. 

Motivation

Both the supernatural and the political aspects of Claudius Giovanni’s auction have proven interesting enough to have lured you away from your mountain home. As a Koldun who is deeply connected to the natural elements around you, the uncharted astronomical marvel that was the black dawn fascinated and disturbed you. A sorcerer at heart, you are deeply curious about the rumours of mortals born into great power on this day - you would love to acquire one of your own to examine both magically and… more intimately with your other talents.

As for politics, you have long grown tired of the restrictive practices of the other elders of your clan. You are not exactly progressive but you have watched your clan grow weaker over the centuries - harried by enemies on all sides and yet continuing to fight and war amongst themselves. You are not a moral man by any stretch of the imagination but you find the Tzimisce practice of subjugating and torturing one’s own childer to be tiresome and self destructive - only surveying to create generations of idiot, mind-broken children who serve no purpose apart from to render the clan even weaker. 

You have your reservations about this brave new era of light - solitary man that you are with particular hobbies - but you recognise that Claudius’ auction may be a good opportunity to consolidate connections within your clan and find a place for the Tzimisce in the Renaissance that is worth of the bloodline’s noble heritage. Your long-term Tzimisce correspondents Lugoj and Myca Vykos are bound to attend and you are interested to see what may come of such a grand meeting of vampires.

Vencel Rikard

Ventrue Elder, Prince of Buda and Pest

You were born to nobility in the dual city of Buda-Pest. The second of two sons, both of you were expected to take up arms from an early age and serve in the city militia when not out campaigning, bedecked in armour and slaying pagans on behalf of the Church and the Crown. It was a life that suited you well, as you enjoyed little more than life in the saddle, with a sword at your side, and a new village with new women to court and bed when your campaigning was done. Every day was a new adventure.

Though you developed a great reputation as a valiant and skilled warrior, you were always in the shadow of your older brother Zombar. You didn’t begrudge this — you much preferred a life of adventure and sordid activities than having to one day oversee a clutch of farms and peasants — but you did worry that with Zombar in line to inherit your father’s titles you would end up without a pot to piss in or a castle to call your own.

To alleviate your concerns, you participated in the Arab-Byzantine wars in an effort to impress an elder knight or lord and perhaps earn the hand of a wealthy daughter. Failing that, you would plunder as much as you could from the Turks. Your campaign lasted three years, and by the time you returned home you had a wagon train laden with gold and jewels.

Though your charm and prowess drew polite praise from your fellow knights, a daughter, and therefore a wife for you, was not forthcoming. You wore your baubles and captured treasures openly, and your general sense of zeal and pride put many a man off marrying their offspring to you. There was something unwholesome to Vencel Rikard. Whether it was the way you dressed yourself up, the fashion by which you conducted yourself in battle, or your reputation for bedding a new woman in every village, you never found a love beyond yourself and other nobles kept you at arm’s reach.

Siren Call

You were frustrated that you could only achieve half of what you wanted. You could have claimed any peasant woman, even a beautiful one, but you wanted an entry into another noble family so you didn’t have to rely on emptying your own coffers to support a household, a staff, horses, and the like. You therefore beseeched your brother Zombar for an introduction to King Stephen of the House of Árpád, to whom you were both loosely related, so your name might ring out in the noblest of courts and a woman could be drawn to you.

Reluctantly, Zombar did so, and overnight Vencel Rikard was the talk of Buda-Pest and beyond. Unfortunately for you, this drew attention far beyond eligible princesses and maidens. You drew the eyes of vampires within the Árpád line, who saw you and Zombar as perfect candidates for entry into the Ventrue clan.

It was Bulscu of the Árpáds who approached you both under the pretense of providing you with the greatest beauty of all. Excited, you listened closely as Bulscu spoke of a person possessed of such unearthly wonder that your heart would break to ever think of another, once you’d shared this individual’s bed. Enticed, you entered the designated bedchamber one night to “seal the deal,” and it was there that Bulscu Embraced you. You were gifted an eternity to live that night, but as for the events of that siring, you never spoke them aloud.

The Griffon of Buda-Pest

Your reputation has only grown since your Embrace. Immediately, Bulscu utilized your skills as a soldier and commander to war with the Tzimisce and expand Árpád territory for the mortal monarchy and the Ventrue of that line. You went from success to success in your campaigns, your fiery battlefield temper being an asset in the cause of intimidation, and your charm and perfect looks a boon when it came to negotiation and trade.

One of your first actions as a vampire was to beseech Bulscu for your brother’s Embrace as well. You argued that it was better to have both knights in the eternal Árpád camp than one. Pleased with his childe’s performance, Bulscu agreed to Zombar joining the Ventrue legion, but you two discovered to your horror that he’d already been Embraced by an Árpád rival known as Vladimir Rustovitch, who had long observed your performance in battle and wanted to curtail Árpád victories.

You lost something deep within yourself when you confronted your now Tzimisce brother with an ultimatum: betray your sire and join us, or I will destroy you for the Árpád line. Zombar asked for the day to consider it, but never met with you, his brother, again. Stuck between his immortal mentor and his brother’s family, he decided to greet the dawn instead of picking a side. 

There are no words that can describe that year. You went silent at the news – repressed everything instantly. You functioned, only functioned, and it was in the year after that the grief hit you, like a valve bursting. You mourn him to this day still, and swore bloody vengeance on Rustovitch.

As a mortal, you wore the lion sigil to denote your fierceness in battle. Since your brother’s Final Death, you have taken to wearing Zombar’s griffon, and have since made it your herald. You became known as the Griffon of Buda-Pest among mortals and immortals alike, with the griffon now seen by many a young Tzimisce as a dawning destruction. If you see the winged creature approaching, you turn and run or make your peace with the earth and your people before greeting your doom.

With Bulscu’s willingness to step down from Cainite politics in the 13th century, and the Árpád line only growing more resilient in the face of Tzimisce hostility, you became and still act as the Prince of Buda-Pest. Though you were young when you seized praxis, your defiance, eagerness to draw blood in combat, but cool-headed charm at the negotiating table has won you great support, even from rival Ventrue such as Hardestadt to the north-west. As one of the many Árpád Ventrue, you regularly war with the Tzimisce of the Voivodate and hold a tenuous alliance with Clan Tremere, whose territory merges with your own. You have a friendly rivalry with Hardestadt, as you both came to prominence at around the same time, but where Hardestadt rules through might and command, you do so through a mix of charm and bloodthirsty battle prowess.

Matron Violetta

Nosferatu Elder

Known as "The Matron", you are a frighteningly ugly woman whose face is often only partly hidden under the thick grey leper's cloak and hood. However, you often add to that a full face mask with ragged eye-holes and a wet smelly spot in front of your mouth. Hideous leprous scabs can be seen around your eyes. Your loathe people for all the falsities beauty provides them, knowing it’s all the luck of the draw who is privileged and who is not. You believe that the true purity of the soul can only be achieved when such unhealthy frivolities are stripped away. You get along best with the misunderstood and the outcasts, preferring the company of those who have been disillusioned with glamour and beauty and the superficial riches of the world. You see these faces as disguises built only to serve the ego and keep people in pristine isolated cages. Beauty is a mask, a deadly mask and one you'd rather pull off. You enjoy wearing your vile appearance, and would even disfigure another of their beauty so as to show them the reality of how the world treats those who don't wear the accepted mask, the standard of social beauty.

Violetta

Toreador Ancilla

All leisurely grace and warm, shuttered smiles, you tend to captivate an audience. The daughter of Spanish nobility, you flouted convention at an early age by running away and becoming an actress - quite the shock given women were not allowed on the stage in this period. Despite the sensation this caused, you became successful throughout France and Spain. Rather quickly you came to the attention of François Villon, then little more than a neonate himself. You had a whirlwind romance, a torrid love affair before Villon Embraced you. Despite the initial sire/childe relationship, you've quickly proved yourself Villon's equal, able to move politically just as well as he. You two are no longer lovers, but maintain a cordial relationship.

Unlike any vampire you’ve known, your status as a mortal was more… questionable than most. You were born with fae blood in your veins, a changeling kin. It’s the reason behind your eerie violet-coloured eyes, and perhaps the reason for your namesake too. You never asked. (You and your father had a - ah - strained relationship.) Now humans are being born with gifts that set them apart, and the masses have hunted them for it, shunned and isolated them at best or slaughtered them for fear or sport. It is difficult not to feel attached to a situation so very alike what could have been your lot in life, had your father not kept you so locked away as a girl, stifled and unstimulated, until your own gifts vanished. You doubt they’re anything like you, these mortals seem linked to a very unusual solar eclipse, but you have a knack for empathy - usually for manipulation - and right now, your own morality is drumming on your consciousness, keeping you up at dawn. You understand a great deal about the life these mortals must have lived. It’s hard not to care - and be a little curious.

(This character will go on to become the Justicar for Clan Toreador, surpassing even her sire for power. By canon, she also takes Geoffrey Leigh, the Gangrel, as her lover towards the end of the century and they will stay mated for centuries to come. Both characters are available to play and while it is not necessary to explore it, the auction might provide an opportunity for them to meet earlier.)

Vladimir Rustovitch

Elder Tzimisce

You are the epitome of nobility, even your face is saturnine and sardonic; a slight smile forever graces your countenance. You are known as tall and well built, bedecked in finery that conveys nobility without foppishness. Formerly a Bratovitch revenant, you assumed both the mantle of Cainite, the title of Voivode, and your sire's estate through diligence, might, and a modicum of treachery. You became renown even during your mortal days fighting numerous battles against the many enemies of your clan during your service, and after your sire fell in battle against werewolves, you led the campaign against both his rivals and the culprit monsters.

Motivation

As true vampiric nobility and an upstanding, ambitious member of your clan, you would have been a fool not to follow up on your invitation from Claudius Giovanni. Your life has seen pursuits both refined and bloody (sometimes both) but every pillar of leadership must secure for itself strength, and through this a stable future. Now you have claimed vengeance for your sire's killers, secured your high station within Tzimisce hierarchy and become an established elder, perhaps it is time to consider embracing a childe.

You've experienced a fair share of betrayal and treachery, and are well prepared for the strict hand that will be required in raising one of these abnormal humans as a childe of yours. It is slightly unconventional - normally you might have preferred a pick from a revenant family - but the lure of the power on display here is undeniable. Most likely you seek ambition, confidence and inner nobility - if not a subject with true noble blood. A warrior yourself, raw power may also intrigue you; the Reverb or the Fury perhaps might tempt you. 

Still more tempting is the Leper - an incredibly durable mortal with immunity to pain. Just thinking of the potential when combined with the art of fleshcrafting is irresistible; therein could lie the perfect soldier.

Wenceslas

Toreador Elder

You dislike mediocrity and will go out of your way to punish people for it, belittling, mocking and laughing at failed attempts to aspire to anything great. Pain - real pain - is the divider of men, the discriminator between those who will make anything wondrous of themselves... and those who will not. Mothers issue forth their babes in pain, and only from more anguish can anyone bring forth the most dazzling, world changing acts of art.

You intend to deliver justice to this world in the only way you know how (and the only way worth your attention): sliding your way into conversations to enthuse people to discuss their passions, hobbies, values… and of course,  their so-called achievements, so that you can swiftly destroy what ill-faith they possess for their whishwash business ideas, their wan art styles, their pathetic dreams and really their entire lives because most people have no life to write about. You delight in shredding bad authors, starving artists and low rate entrepreneurs. This world is cruel and you are doing them all a favour by kicking in their bucket before the rain comes and washes away their trite.

Motivation

You are not of an intensely mystic persuasion, so the day of the Black Sun might have been a mere passing curiosity to you - something for seers with far too much time on their hands to debate. The aftermath of the event however, is proving to be far more interesting. You knew you had to attend this auction as soon as the invitation found its way into your hands. Such a gathering of vampires of myriad class from all over Europe would be sorely deprived of your presence were you not to attend. It is your chance to critique the greatest vampires in recent memory, and they will all be gathered at the Giovanni estate.

On a more sober note; one thing these mortals all have in common is pain. They have experienced that which scarce few humans ever will, and those that will be in attendance at the auction will be the ones that emerged from these flames; stronger. Perhaps these souls are more deserving of immortality than most of the vampires crooning over them? Regardless, nothing can stop you from meeting them - you secretly long to see the affirmation of your deeply held beliefs, and perhaps even pick out the most tempered soul amongst them to become your childe. Whomever has suffered the greatest for their abilities, and has allowed it to hone them into something superior. What muse could be more worthy?

Wulfgar the Reaver

Gangrel Elder

Born and raised on Iceland, you lived his life as a warrior and sailor until your sire Embraced you during a raid and abandoned you afterwards. For many nights, you lived like a beast and eventually left Iceland, traveling across medieval Europe where you learned from the other Damned, determined to conquer the animal within you.

In Scandinavia, you learned the ways of the Road of Kings and returned to your home island, installing yourself as a protector of several villages, gifting several members your blood in exchange for ghouldom. Embracing several progeny to further populate Iceland with a vampiric presence, you eventually left the isle again, leaving it to your childer.

Motivation

Many of your clan would decline an invitation to an event such as this auction. It will be a nest of vipers without a doubt, a front for Machiavellian politics and old, superficial rivalries. That being said, you have the heart of a ruler, and a good king does not ignore great power when it is ripe for the taking. You can surely put up with the posturing of the high clans and tedious bureaucracy that comes with a formal auction, if it means securing a better foothold for your clan. To allow all of your enemies to have their pick of these gifted mortals whilst you arrogantly ignore what is offered would be foolishness.

Fortunately for you, many clans will have rather different values to yours, which might make securing your choice of these humans easier. Naturally you might be interested in humans that already possess an affinity for the earth, and those that excel at survival in the wilderness. Many of them have been forced to learn these skills after all; outcast from their hometowns and villages. In that sense, you empathise more with these humans than you might have expected to.

Both the Prey and the Mole possess a connection to something primal within themselves; the sharp instincts of a beast coupled with adept skills for making the best of the wilds. The nature of the Prey might make them more of an amusement than a realistic prospect as a childe though in your predatory eyes. As a fellow hunter, the Hound could make for a great childe and companion - their power earning you both notoriety amongst kindred wary of the gangrel's prowess as killers. Then there is the Plague. If you were of a mind to return to ways of conquest, this mortal could cause rapid instability amid towns and undesired expansion into your territories that would make even the most seasoned crusader think twice. Their odd affinity with beasts is just another reason they might catch your eye.

 
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Original Content and Game Design © Copyright 2021 Delia Drew

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