Malistrae
2013-03-05, 06:22 PM
So, I finally put together a group for rpging after years of trying and I will be running a V:TM chronicle next week. I came here to ask for your help and opinions. I chose the Masquerade because it is the only rpg which I have in my native tongue (no nWOD game has been released here yet and my players are not exactly good in english).
I intend to run a chronicle based on the 'New York by Night' supplement but I decided to advance the setting to 2013 february. Ofc, the metaplot (which I like, btw) ended in 2004, so I decided to alter it.
My idea is that everything leading to the Gehenna happened (Red Star, Ravnos Antediluvian, etc.) but the main event never started. The Red Star disappeared around the end of 2004, and no other antediluvian awakened.
Naturally, this caused an uproar in the vampire community, so I will examine each sect's reaction in more detail.
The Camarilla received a huge morale boost, since its official policy of disregarding the Book of Nod as fables was apparently justified. The elders relaxed a little and everything continued as in the past.
The Sabbat was not so lucky. The apparent failure of the prophecies led to an ideological break in the sect which eventually resulted in two large camps, opposed to each other.
The first one was called the Gehennists, hardliners who believed that the Gehenna was still approaching, the antediluvians were still awakening and the Sabbat should not change their beliefs or their policies. This faction was mostly composed of Elders, ultraconservatists, fanatical zealots and almost all of the Lasombra (most of them were only in it to conserve their existing power, ofc).
The other faction was called the Reformists. They believed that the Sabbat needed to change. While they still accepted the existence of the antediluvians, they believed Ravnos was the last remaining one. In their opinion, the Sabbat should crush the Camarilla and establish themselves as masters of mankind, instead of concerning themselves with the apparently not-existing Gehenna. Neonates, antitribu and most Tzimisce belonged to this camp.
The final straw came in late 2005 when Zacharias Sikorsky was revealed. Each faction wished the new regent to be from their flock, the conflict of interests became too great and the quarell erupted into a full-scale civil war.
The Camarilla profited greatly from this chaos, retaking several lost territories.
The Black Hand was torn, for the first time in history. The majority supported the Gehennists but a lesser, but still significant fraction joined the other side.
For the first two years, the Gehennists were mostly winning thanks to their superior experience and the Black Hand. They were further aided by the mysterious deaths of Tzimisce elders (such as Radu and Széchenyi Jolán) fighting in the other camp. This all changed in 2007.
The Gehennists' leadership, confident in their victory, gathered as a large conclave in Madrid on March 15, choosing the site to honor the late Moncada. However, they were not prepared for the depths of betrayal one of their own could commit in the name of ambition. Polonia, marginalized long ago for his failure in New York, struck a secret deal with the Reformists: in exchange for the deaths of Charles VI and the other Gehennist leaders in Madrid, he would be granted de facto power over the Lasombra and made the right-hand of the new regent. He planned the assassination with great stealth, seeding the Gehennist palace with well-placed and hidden explosives. At the stroke of midnight, the war conference and the building they were in disappeared in a blast of smoke and fire.
Decimated by the death of their leaders, the Gehennists were brought to heel by 2008.
However, in 2005, none could have foreseen who would sit in the regent's throne at last. It was Vykos.
The assassinations of fellow elders, Polonia's betrayal was all engineered by Vykos, who had become the absolute leader of the Reformists by 2008.
And IT has a plan: to create a new Constantinapole, a new First City, made of flesh, bone and blood, covering the whole world.
The Current situation:
The New Sabbat has been quiet since the end of the civil war. Vykos is the current regent and it has been busy consolidating its power base and reforming the Sabbat's internal hierarchy.
Polonia is in an extremely unfortunate position, since his fellow Lasombra detest him for his betrayal and would gladly kill him if not for the regent's favor he currently holds.
New York's nightlife changed little in the last decade. The prince issue is still unresolved, so a council of primogens has been ruling the city since Calebros' abdication. The players are Camarilla neonates, who met each other in their first Elysium. The primogens rule with an iron hand, but there are many contenders for the throne. Furthermore, New Sabbat activity is on the rise throughout the world: several smaller cities have been lost and the traitor ex-archbishop of Milan was found crucified in his own villa. There has also been talk of Sabbat operations in the East Coast. Polonia intends to reclaim his city.
So, what do you guys think?
I intend to run a chronicle based on the 'New York by Night' supplement but I decided to advance the setting to 2013 february. Ofc, the metaplot (which I like, btw) ended in 2004, so I decided to alter it.
My idea is that everything leading to the Gehenna happened (Red Star, Ravnos Antediluvian, etc.) but the main event never started. The Red Star disappeared around the end of 2004, and no other antediluvian awakened.
Naturally, this caused an uproar in the vampire community, so I will examine each sect's reaction in more detail.
The Camarilla received a huge morale boost, since its official policy of disregarding the Book of Nod as fables was apparently justified. The elders relaxed a little and everything continued as in the past.
The Sabbat was not so lucky. The apparent failure of the prophecies led to an ideological break in the sect which eventually resulted in two large camps, opposed to each other.
The first one was called the Gehennists, hardliners who believed that the Gehenna was still approaching, the antediluvians were still awakening and the Sabbat should not change their beliefs or their policies. This faction was mostly composed of Elders, ultraconservatists, fanatical zealots and almost all of the Lasombra (most of them were only in it to conserve their existing power, ofc).
The other faction was called the Reformists. They believed that the Sabbat needed to change. While they still accepted the existence of the antediluvians, they believed Ravnos was the last remaining one. In their opinion, the Sabbat should crush the Camarilla and establish themselves as masters of mankind, instead of concerning themselves with the apparently not-existing Gehenna. Neonates, antitribu and most Tzimisce belonged to this camp.
The final straw came in late 2005 when Zacharias Sikorsky was revealed. Each faction wished the new regent to be from their flock, the conflict of interests became too great and the quarell erupted into a full-scale civil war.
The Camarilla profited greatly from this chaos, retaking several lost territories.
The Black Hand was torn, for the first time in history. The majority supported the Gehennists but a lesser, but still significant fraction joined the other side.
For the first two years, the Gehennists were mostly winning thanks to their superior experience and the Black Hand. They were further aided by the mysterious deaths of Tzimisce elders (such as Radu and Széchenyi Jolán) fighting in the other camp. This all changed in 2007.
The Gehennists' leadership, confident in their victory, gathered as a large conclave in Madrid on March 15, choosing the site to honor the late Moncada. However, they were not prepared for the depths of betrayal one of their own could commit in the name of ambition. Polonia, marginalized long ago for his failure in New York, struck a secret deal with the Reformists: in exchange for the deaths of Charles VI and the other Gehennist leaders in Madrid, he would be granted de facto power over the Lasombra and made the right-hand of the new regent. He planned the assassination with great stealth, seeding the Gehennist palace with well-placed and hidden explosives. At the stroke of midnight, the war conference and the building they were in disappeared in a blast of smoke and fire.
Decimated by the death of their leaders, the Gehennists were brought to heel by 2008.
However, in 2005, none could have foreseen who would sit in the regent's throne at last. It was Vykos.
The assassinations of fellow elders, Polonia's betrayal was all engineered by Vykos, who had become the absolute leader of the Reformists by 2008.
And IT has a plan: to create a new Constantinapole, a new First City, made of flesh, bone and blood, covering the whole world.
The Current situation:
The New Sabbat has been quiet since the end of the civil war. Vykos is the current regent and it has been busy consolidating its power base and reforming the Sabbat's internal hierarchy.
Polonia is in an extremely unfortunate position, since his fellow Lasombra detest him for his betrayal and would gladly kill him if not for the regent's favor he currently holds.
New York's nightlife changed little in the last decade. The prince issue is still unresolved, so a council of primogens has been ruling the city since Calebros' abdication. The players are Camarilla neonates, who met each other in their first Elysium. The primogens rule with an iron hand, but there are many contenders for the throne. Furthermore, New Sabbat activity is on the rise throughout the world: several smaller cities have been lost and the traitor ex-archbishop of Milan was found crucified in his own villa. There has also been talk of Sabbat operations in the East Coast. Polonia intends to reclaim his city.
So, what do you guys think?