Vampire

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Kindred in the Twin Cities
Theme

“The object of power is power” – George Orwell, “1984”

In the mortal world, while many desire power over their enemies, circumstances, et al, the human mind and soul is tempered by things such as legacy, love, children, higher purpose, faith in a high existence, duty, and righteousness. There are mortals who seek power for their own sake, but even the most vicious and grasping of those latter beings who desire power above else, fall prey to the great equalizer of time.

Remove that restriction, and you have Kindred society. There are those who have the same lofty and selfless goals as mortals, love, legacy, faith in God, but they, by the very nature of not placing the acquisition and retention of power above all else, are ‘weaker’ some would say, than those in which their safety and their ability is paramount. One cannot exist in a such an atmosphere without either becoming isolated to helplessness, being disposed of as foolish, or joining in the pursuit. Power crosses all clans and beliefs and upbringings; if one can use a term such as ‘hero’ to a Kindred, it would be those who successfully starve off the corruption for as long as possible.


Mood

“The Game is the Game” – Omar Little, “The Wire”

The mood of the setting is reflected in its theme. Everyone knows the Jihad is destructive and designed to frustrate both stubborn idealist and grasping tyrant alike. The Camarilla can be seen as the guiltiest protector of the Jihad, or the last bastion of mitigating civility which protects all the uninvolved for as much as possible. It all depends on what part of the playing field you stand. Even the Sabbat plays it part, while the Anarchs struggle to shake off the yoke and replace it with their own. There is a knowing understanding between the players, that all of the facets of the political biosphere of vampires lends itself to the perpetration of the Game. But once in, you are always in – and the only escape is death and judgement.

Demographics
Please note: these are publically acknolwedged clans IC. This is not OOC. Someone may be lying.

PC NPC
Ahrimanes: (0) (0) OPEN
Assamites: (0) (3) OPEN
Brujah: (0) (9) OPEN
Caitiff: (0) (0) OPEN
Cappadocians: (0) (0) OPEN
Daughters of Cacophony: (0) (0) OPEN
Follower of Set: (0) (0) OPEN
Gangrel: (2) (1) OPEN
Giovanni: (1) (0) OPEN
Lamia: (0) (0) OPEN
Lasombra: (0) (0) OPEN
Lhiannan: (0) (0) OPEN
Malkavian: (2) (8) OPEN
Nosferatu: (1) (3) OPEN
Ravnos: (0) (0) OPEN
Salubri: (0) (0) OPEN
Samedi: (0) (0) OPEN
Toreador: (3) (9) OPEN
Tremere: (3) (11) OPEN
Tzimisce: (1) (1) OPEN
Ventrue: (0) (12) OPEN

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Approved Books
These books are currently being used:

Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Ed
V20 Companion
V20 Lore of the Clans
V20 Lore of the Bloodlines
V20 Rites of the Blood
V20: Ghouls & Revenants
V20 The Hunters Hunted II
V20 Anarchs Unbound
V20: The Black Hand

While there is nothing to say that other books cannot be used, these will be on a case by case basis, and very rare.
Staff

Staff: Jormungandr

I do not keep a schedule of times when I am on, as outside interests fluctuate too much to do so; however, as other players can testify, I am on a good 30 hours a week and have done so for the past 7 years.

I do not schedule scenes even when requested. The exception to this is major set piece confrontations, court meetings, and balls and parties that I have been asked to help with. This I do to make sure I do not burn out and is necessary. I keep tracks of all scene requests and will run them in the order of when I received them. If I feel because of either a backup of scene requests, or other non-game related situations that actions have, I will delay actions by antagonists. I try not to penalize PCs for not being able to be on all the time, but sometimes due to flow and the attention of other PCs, I will need to stop waiting on other PCs to be online.

I can sometimes talk online but my primary focus is telling stories and running scenes.

Additional Coding & Tips
1. Have a plan: Your character should have a goal. Just being a particular clan or having a particular discipline or having knowledge doesn’t necessary ensure you will be included. Have a plan that requires other Kindred or just your clan mates. Have something to do when staff is doing things with other people.

2. If you don’t have a plan, have a reason to talk to other Kindred. There is no requirement that you have to play a Kindred of great ambition, or violent outbursts, but you have to have a reason to talk to other Kindred. The Elysium is a place of safety and conversation, and sometimes you will be savaged verbally. But be willing to speak to others and you will be included with the flow of the story.

3. Killing other vampires is the last resort. Destroying another Kindred is the last resort, not only because it is difficult and dangerous, but also because if you get the reputation, the other Kindred will decide you may choose them next. Either make it your option or be really sneaky about doing it.

4. Choose your grudges carefully. Kindred can be cruel verbally and physically. However, Kindred exist a long time and today’s enemy is tomorrow’s ally. If you must declare, even privately, that you will not rest until that person is destroyed, make sure it is someone who really deserves it. Kindred who cannot move on from minor offenses will get a poor reputation.

5. Keep track of places, names, and events: Kindred politics and existence can be described as Byzantine. Those who fail to keep track of facts are doomed to fall for conspiracies and cons. Staff will not keep track for you, since it may be another PC plotting against you. A simple Word document with notes or something more elaborate will not only prevent you from being caught out, but also will get you in the mood of the jihad.

Staff Philosophy
I believe that Vampire is the most natural sphere to be on a MUSH. While the game system is made for tabletop and LARPing, Vampire has the unique ability to be able to be active when no staffer is nearby. Every PC has to decide whether that other NPC or PC is actually their friend, their enemy, or out for themselves.

Vampire staff is not here to be the antagonist; we are here only to reflect the world’s reactions to your actions. You are the protagonists of the story; without your agency, without your decisions, Fulcrum does not exist. While some of the NPCs are antagonists, they are not here to ‘win’ against you, but like in most good fiction, be the obstacles to your own hero, in the Campbellian sense. Since this is a game of personal horror, the stories can vary from great plots against the Authorities to personal angst over the friendly neighbor who may have seen too much.

To re-iterate, this sphere doesn’t penalize you because you did something IC staff doesn’t like – if it is hidden, if no one in the world can find out about it, you won’t be ICly penalized for it. However, NPCs will react to you, even if no PCs are involved. This is not competing against a PC – this is doing what staff should do – provide a realistic reaction of the world around you, mortal and immortal, to what you do. It is always the belief of this Vampire staff that the greatest engagement and fun comes when players understand that their actions can change the world. However, that means, the world may sometimes not like the change. Reactions aren’t OOC lessons.

I do not win if you fail, likewise I do not win if you succeed. I only win if you feel your actions are done in a believable world where you have agency.

From years ago, to now ...
1685: Legends of Wichasa Oíyokpaza begin in the Lakota and Dakota communities. There is some mystery but the Garou know what this man was.

1839: Haakon and his Thegn arrive from crossing the great lakes, and of hearing the new settlement at Pig’s Eye, stop at the tavern. Haakon decides the location as the area near the place where the great river is no longer navigable is a place to claim his own kingdom.

1875: Haakon grants permission for the first Kindred to live here permanently, and in fact grants it to two. The Ventrue entrepreneur Colby Dunbar, and his childe, Major Creighton Clark, formerly of the US 4th Calvary Regiment, build a three story mansion in downtown Minneapolis.

1883: Wichasa Oíyokpaza, whose real name is Wahkan Birdshead, asks permission to build a Tremere holding here in the small city of Saint Anthony. He informs Prince Haakon that he is being hunted by the Wendigo and it could be dangerous.

1891: At this time, the mysterious Gulliver Jones is granted permission to stay, along with his assistant Quentin King and the Malkavians set up shop in the Mill District.

1902: Ibrahim Traore arrives in Saint Paul, driving one of the first automobiles. Creighton Clark relinquishes his position as Ventrue leader. During the same year, James Harden Younger of the James-Younger gang, fakes his suicide at the command of his sire.

1914: After choosing to support Bulgarian voivodes in the Second Balkan War, the exiled Decebel Marcu arrives with a personal train. It is not known why he chose the north shore of Lake Minnetonka, but he did. He refuses to meet with Haakon.

1915 – 1922: The Monsters War - over seven years, Marcu and the Camarilla, led by Prince Haakon, fight a shadow war through the streets of the Twin Cities. Haakon directs Creighton Clark to take control of the police because of the vozhd Marcu keeps sending against the holds of the Camarilla.

1922: Kenneth Salt, a Toreador elder from Europe, negotiates a peace treaty, Upon meeting, a five day bacchanalia is held at the Commodore Bar and Hotel. At the end, Haakon and Marcu show a unity that is surprising as it is politically stabilizing.

1925: Victor “Irish” Williams arrives with a small band of fellow Kindred, including Rodolfo Cruz and Maria Flores Rivera from New Orleans. Williams is named elder, because James Younger refuses to continue as such.

1971 -1973: the Ventrue Hassan Edwards and the Brujah Eric “Big Cat” Hall have a conflict over criminal territories for over eighteen months. Kenneth Salt at the behest of the Prince, negotiate the I-94 treaty, splitting Minneapolis into north and south for their business opportunities.

1992: In the wake of the American intervention of Somalia, Abdi the Lion arrives in Somali town. His presence is unknown to most Kindred until 2015.

2014: Current day

NB: This is only publicly acknowledged history. What actually happened, or if more things happened, are not publicly known.

NPCs
Prince Sheriff
Haakon Jim Younger
Clan: Gangrel Clan: Brujah
Haakon.jpg Sheriff Younger.jpg


Seneschal Keeper of Elysium
Daniel Thomas Jessie Taylor
Clan: Ghoul Clan: Toreador
Daniel Thomas.webp Jessie Taylor.webp


Ventrue Primogen Ventrue Whip
Ibrahim Traore Creighton Clark
Ibrahim Traore.webp Clark.jpg


Tremere Regent (former) Tremere Whip
Wahkan Birdshead '
Wahkan Birdshead.jpg


Brujah Primogen Brujah Whip
Irish Williams Tommie King
Irish Williams.webp Tommie KIng.jpg


Toreador Primogen Toreador Harpy
Ken Salt Maureen Moore
Ken Salt.jpg MaureenM.jpg


Malkavian Primogen Malkavian Whip
Gulliver Jones ?
Gulliver Jones.jpg


Nosferatu Primogen Nosferatu Whip
Rassmussen ?
Rassmussen.jpg
Banu Haqim Primogen Banu Haqim Whip
Abdi the Lion ?
Abdi the Lion.jpg