This is, more or less, what a collection of ideas that a friend of mine and I had brought together to start up a game that sadly never quite got off the ground. I'm sure that there is some Masquerade fan out there ready to step up and tell me I'm wrong about certain things I'm about to say, but here I want to lay down a bit of information about the world I'm writing in. Chiefly that this is not Seattle as it has been shown in any product under White Wolf or Onyx Path Publishing. When we were making things, we decided to go for a wholly unique set up. That means the Prince, the Sheriff, the Scourge, all the Primogens down to the very last madcap whacky Malkavian will all be ones that have never been shown in a White Wolf story or product. That doesn't mean that there won't be cameos from folks in the overall meta plot, but Seattle itself will consist of only original vampires (and humans, and potentially other supernatural types as well).
So, if you're looking for me to have constant cameos and references to some obscure bit of minutia from one of the novels that you like - sorry, I haven't read it. Likewise if you're hear to shout "But she's not the Prince of Seattle!" at me, then you can just move right along.
This also means I'm probably going to conflict with a lot of lore as established by White Wolf. I'll try to do the best I can to remain consistent with the rule set our group plays from (the Twentieth Anniversary Edition, if you're curious), but I can't guarantee that I will always remain consistent or that I won't bend the rules to justify something that I think is a good story decision or that I think is particularly cool.
But don't worry, I don't intend to Rian Johnson things. We'll have an overall consistent tone. For the most part, anyway.
I also will admit, my knowledge of Seattle comes from research and Google-fu. I have never actually been myself. So, if I manage to get some details wrong, sorry again. Maybe just chalk it up to it being a parallel universe?
Which brings me into my coterie of main characters, who will hopefully develop in an interesting way over the course of the chronicle. They are:
The first is Ben Grayson, an 8th generation City Gangrel who defected from the Sabbat. He had a nasty reputation among the packs in Vancouver to the North, but on a night in 1996, he fled from the Sabbat and threw himself upon the mercy of the Camarilla. He now lives among the Gangrel population of Seattle, attempting to control his Beast and occasionally picking up the odd job where a little extra muscle is needed.
There is a bit more to him, of course. We shall see, over the course of the chronicle why he had become the person he was...and why he fled from it.
The second is Grace Penderghast, a 10th generation Toreador, and the only child of the Penderghast family of Seattle. Originally wanting to sing in the Seattle Opera, she has since been turned and become quite the force in Kindred society. After only having been Embraced around five years ago, Grace is still getting her bearings in the new world of the night, but she is a force to reckoned with.
The third is Anthony Wallace, a 10th generation Tremere. He was a medical student, studying at Seattle's Kindred Hospital (yes, it's a real place) when he was selected for turning by not one, but two different Tremere. He was eventually embraced by Preston Wilson, a Tremere ancilla of no small renown. Once within the Tremere, he took to Thaumaturgy like a fish to water, proving to be quite the apt pupil. Joining with a secret (though publicly accepted) society within the pyramid known as the Covenant, Anthony has taken a vested interest in discovering the secrets of Necromancy as well.
Whether or not he will gain that power remains to be seen, as does what fate awaits him within the Tremere pyramid. What is known is that, while he has some knowledge of the occult that he will put to use, Anthony is the highly analytical sort and prefers the cold hand of science to mysticism. Little good being so secular in the world of the Kindred will do for him, as he is sure to find out.
And last, but certainly not least, is Sybil Langtry. Sybil was and is a police detective operating in Seattle. Heavily medicated to keep her schizophrenia in check, Sybil was only a rookie when she first encountered the supernatural. Witness to a Kindred in the throes of a frenzy, Sybil would have been killed were it not for the intervention of a certain Gangrel. However, the damage had been done. She knew of vampiric society and this was dealt with by her sire, a Malkavian named Rowan Stantz. Both Sybil and her twin brother Samuel were embraced into Clan Malkavian, firmly entrenched as part of the 13th generation.
And now, like a pulp detective character, Sybil spends her nights going out on the town with her trenchcoat (which she's affectionately nicknamed Harriet in a bit of obfuscating insanity) on her back and a pistol at her hip. With the nickname "Weird Sybil" (which you'll do well to not say to her face), she more often than not gets called out to - as the nickname suggests - the weird cases that SPD's night shift comes across.
Now, does this mean that these will be the only four characters? Of course not. If a character leaves the story, a new one will inevitably come in and it might not even require that. It's the circle of (un)life, after all. For now, however, these four will do well enough as our protagonists. Will the coterie stick together through the trials before them? Will they shatter? What trials will they either be made or broken by?
To find out, you'll have to crack into Seattle By Night! And I'm actually going to try to set a schedule for myself this time and get up a part of it once a week, each part covering a different adventure or - in the event of more lengthy ones - more. Hopefully, you all will enjoy!
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
Please don't sue me, White Wolf. Thank you.
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