[V5] Blood and Roses
BLOOD AND ROSES
At the turn of the 20th century, Portland was known as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world. It was unsanitary and violent, with a number of syndicates competing with each other for control. Violence was a common thing, but what few people knew was that much of the blood stained the hands of three powerful women.
Three sisters were born and raised within saloons and bordellos, being the offspring of a failed prospector turned criminal and a working girl whose glory days were gone. The girls were exposed to the gritty and violent life surrounding their father's empire from an early age, and it didn't take long before they were part of it themselves.
The oldest daughter was Isabella. She was violent and ruthless, always roughing up larger men with a crooked smile on her face. She never spent a day without her knuckles being bruised. The second daughter was Beatrice. She was calculating and wise, spending her days with books and numbers and tried not to get her hands dirty. She loved to help her father keep tabs on what people knew and owed. The third and youngest daughter was Eleonora. She was beautiful and social, always acting innocent and prude to mask her inner darkness.
After their father's passing, the three sisters became the queens of the underworld, and together they shaped Portland like potters shape clay. Isabella became feared as a violent and intimidating enforcer, always charging headfirst into battle where she broke skulls with her brass knuckles. Beatrice managed the operation, keeping tabs on economics and information, and was the brains behind every move. Eleonora was the face who charmed her way into high society and made police look the other way.
In the early 20th century, Isabella was captured, tortured, and thrown from the docks. Her attackers thought that she had died, but her heart was still beating, and a lone Kindred took pity upon her. He had watched her for a while, impressed by her brutality. But because he wasn't allowed to sire a childe, he disappeared from Portland without a chance to welcome her into the night. Isabella quenched her thirst on the people who had killed her, and then returned to her sisters as a Kindred of the Brujah Clan.
After months of research, Beatrice uncovered the truth of Kindred; that they were living in a world of darkness where true power existed for the one who could claim it. Inspired by her sister's newfound immortality, she set out in the world to find her own Embrace, returning later as a Kindred of the Tremere Clan.
Eleonora was the only one of the sisters who didn't want to leave the sun for an eternity of painful hunger. She left them both in 1912 to work as an actress for motion pictures in Hollywood, and she later got engaged to a businessman from Chicago. But as she noticed herself grow older while knowing that her sisters remained the same, she returned to them as a Kindred of the Lasombra Clan.
They ruled Portland together for decades while maintaining the Masquerade, and soon began to be approached by various factions having learned about them from interactions in Portland or from their respective sires. With older and more powerful vampires trying to assert control over the sisters, they found that while united, nothing could stand in their way.
But as time passed, their union began to falter. With no one in Portland to cross them, Isabella was missing the bloodshed. She had read about the Great War with curiosity, and once the Second World War was in full swing, she traveled to Europe to hunt and fight. Beatrice and Eleonora didn't see her again for a long time, hearing stories about how she had embraced her Beast and fought in Germany and the Soviet Union in the 40s, in Vietnam in the 60s and 70s, and finally in Kuwait and Iraq in the 90s.
Meanwhile, Beatrice and Eleonora kept working together, with Eleonora as the Baroness of Portland and Beatrice as her right hand woman. It was first after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the emergence of the Second Inquisition when Beatrice began to reevaluate her position on the Anarchs and how to manage their domain. She fell in line with the Ivory Tower and helped them overthrow the Anarchs in Portland, forcing her own sister to retreat underground. As the new Princess of Portland, Beatrice declared war upon her sister, blaming the Anarchs' carelessness as a lure for the Second Inquisition.
The war continued for a while, ending only when Eleonora staked Beatrice in the summer of 2013. The Camarilla took Beatrice's body to a secret location still in Portland while the Anarchs took control. Around the same time, Isabella returned to Portland as a hardcore member of the Sabbath, declaring herself Bishop and taking control over all Sabbath sympathizers in the city.
Now it is 2019, and though Beatrice is still in torpor, the war between the three sisters is still ongoing, with Baroness Eleonora and Bishop Isabell fighting each other for control---often taking advantage of political tensions to hide their war under the guise of protests and riots---while trying to suppress the Camarilla and prevent Beatrice from awakening. The stake in her heart was cursed with foul magic, but some Camarilla believe that there are those even within their own faction who want to retain Beatrice's torpor for the sake of their own greed and influence.
Which side will you choose?
This is a game of Vampire: the Masquerade (Fifth Edition) based in Portland. After reading the story above which gives the background to the conflict between the factions in the region, each player will decide which faction to belong to. Depending on the number of players in the game, there could be three coteries at the same time, each roleplaying independently. Depending on the actions taken by these coteries, they may partake in stories of their own or clash with each other.
The game will be a combination of Storyteller- and Player-driven narratives. This means that you're encouraged to take your own initiatives to progress the scenes and explore new stories. To avoid being locked down by passive or reactionary players, try to get a post in every day if able to, and work with your coterie to give everyone an opportunity to shine as well as explore their own goals and motivations.
As the Storyteller, I will set the scenes and portray the SPCs, but I may at times ask you to narrate aspects of the scene yourself. I encourage that you participate in the world building as long as you don't roleplay a character that isn't your own, and don't make assumptions about scenes and situations that you're not in control of. You may also PM me with ideas for details that can be used to expand the worldbuilding surrounding your own character and their story.
I am not American and I have never been to Portland. I have a friend from Oregon who consults me to make sure that I portray things as accurately as possible. If you find that my depictions or roleplay is out of touch, don't hesitate to bring it up with me. My goal is to be respectful in my approach and believable in my storytelling.
Finally, read RPoL's guidelines for Adult games. The World of Darkness can be a disturbing setting, and I think it's important to explore the horror of this setting while being respectful to each other. I want to avoid gratuitous or glorified racism, homo- or transphobia, sexual violence, unnecessary cruelty towards children and animals, and torture. While I acknowledge that these are things that exist in real life and can be used to highlight the horrors of the world, make sure to address the topics respectfully. If your Beast makes you do monstrous things, you can approach that as a player without becoming a monster yourself.
Your character belongs to the 13th Generation and was Embraced at some point between summer 2013 and today. Your sire can't be any of the sisters.
Finally, this is my first time storytelling Vampire: the Masquerade, so there will be a bit of a learning curve starting up. I appreciate your patience when I try to learn the game. I will leave invitations up for some days so take your time writing an application that sells me on you and your character. An RTJ without effort usually means a player who isn't invested.
