LONDON BY NIGHT The Kindred, the kine and the place By Mitch Kelly "A Man Who Is Tired Of London Is Tired Of Life." Samuel Johnson. Disclaimer: The World of Darkness is copyrighted by White Wolf Game Studios. Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Wraith and Changeling, their associated logos and terms are Trademarks of WWGS. No infringement of any Copyright or Trademark is intended. Dedication To Mark Rein.Hagen, without whom none of this would have happened. To all those who have provided story ideas, wittingly or not: especially Dave Hoare, Al Stuart and Richard Gething. To everyone who's played in a Chronicle and whose characters have evolved into the best NPCs a Storyteller could want. You all know who you are. Thanks. Preface The city of London forms the basis of most of the Vampire chronicles I have run. The city itself needs some description, along with the people, both living and Undead, who occupy it. This description of London, especially regarding the prevailing political climate and issues of law and order is IN NO WAY designed to reflect the REAL City of London. All of these changes have been added for "Dramatic Effect". However, nearly all the locations are real. History The history of London is both long and complicated. A number of good books on the true history are available, and since London has been extremely important in the history of England as a whole, any good book on English history will give you a good priming on the subject. The Kindred history of London is also long and complicated. This is taking shape (slowly) and will either be included in a London By Night second edition, or will be a separate supplement Background London, like most of Britain, has been suffering in the grip of a terrible recession that ended in 1994, followed by two further years of "extreme Thatcherite" government. The effect of nearly twenty years of Tory government monetary and moral policy has been to make a few people very rich, and a lot of people very, very poor. Unemployment averages around one in ten, but is much, much higher in some areas. This, coupled with further union curbing legislation has lead to a general fall in the standards of working conditions and safety legislation in most jobs. In spite of this, people still fall over themselves to take any job that comes along, since benefits to those not working have been savagely cut. Still, many people joke, at least income tax has come down...This poor economic climate has put huge numbers of people on the streets, where they manage to eke out a bare existence. Charities attempt to feed these unfortunates, but many slip through the net and succumb to cold, hunger or drugs. It is often these people who become the victims of the Kindred's thirst. The National Health Service, once the pillar of the world's finest health care system, is a shadow of its former self: accident and emergency treatment is available to all, but anything routine must be Paid for, either by insurance, or direct. The police are stretched to the limit, and in many cases, affluent areas employ private security firms to patrol and keep out undesirables. Prostitution and drugs are rife on the streets, and drug gangs have moved in to carve up the city into patches which they defend vigorously. This often results in gunfights, and whilst Uzis and AK47s are not yet very common, shotguns and pistols are. The black market carries very nearly anything that anyone wants, at a price. Automatic assault weapons or powerful explosives are still rare, and require a specialised contact, but otherwise, it is simply a matter of money. Terrorism has re-emerged as a serious threat after a lull in the mid nineties. The police and the army had several major successes against the IRA and the Loyalists, who had spread their campaign to the mainland. Then, following the cease-fire in Northern Ireland, these services suffered a massive cut in funding in 1996, justified because "the threat is over". This allowed gaps in security that permitted new terrorist groups to form and wreak bloody havoc everywhere. Some of these groups are drug related, but the vast majority are associated with extremist political and religious groups of all persuasions. The occurrence of terrorism is high enough to allow the more overt acts of the Awakened to be passed off as such an incident, but it is doubtful that this can happen too many more times before something gives way. Politics The general election of 1996 resulted in a hung parliament, and now the Tories, out of power for the first time in seventeen years and smarting over their defeat, veto any new ideas that anyone has, so little seems likely to change. Extremist politicians on both the left and the right call for draconian measures: involuntary repatriation, internment, forced nationalisation and confiscation of private assets. Some people turn to these as a solution, whilst most pray for an outbreak of reasoned calm and good sense, so that everyone can at least eat. The Greens, in spite of the clean-up of London, have failed to make significant political headway, and some members now call for civil disobedience as the political tool to fulfil their policy aims. Independent and Nationalist parties in Ireland, Scotland and Wales have become ever more strident in their demands as their support becomes more and more important in the hung parliament. The major parties all court the independents, in the hope of gaining a sufficiently large majority to stamp their authority on parliament, but such is the number and diversity of the independent parties that the sides remain deadlocked. Architecture London itself is much as it is today: gleaming modern complexes next to dark, tumbledown building dating back to the time of Doctor Johnson or Dickens, a dozen styles of architecture in as many adjacent buildings. The weather is definitely changing: it seems to be cooler now, and heavy fogs blanket the capital most of the time, allowing careful vampires a chance to move in the half light that they provide. The roads have become ever more choked with traffic, and now cars can barely crawl during the day. The only improvements are to the environment, where the Camarilla, led by the Ventrue and the Gangrel have managed to achieve a clean-up of the city, with more green space, more trees and a River Thames that trout can live in all through London. The cars are still a problem, but laws restricting emissions are strict now, and tightly enforced. Many parts of the centre of the capital are fully pedestrianised, and anyone driving through them will attract a great deal of attention. Many large buildings are empty: the economic climate has left huge areas of warehouse space and offices unoccupied. Almost anything could be hidden in some of these buildings, many of which sport the concrete glacis and armoured windows made popular by IRA bomb attacks on the City. Others stand boarded and padlocked, available to anyone with a little money or few scruples. The Underground "Under, Underground, Underground! Can't live my life if I don't live underground!" The Throbs - "Underground" A few words about London's underground train network are probably useful. Covering a vast area, from right up into the county of Essex in the north to Wimbledon south, and from The Epping and Ongar in the east out to Heathrow Airport in the west, the Underground has thirteen different lines, over fifty stations and hundreds of miles of tunnels, elevated sections sidings and tracks. The Underground is a blessing to the Kindred: it allows them safe haven during the days, and even allows them to move during the day, safe from the sun. It allows them to move quickly and anonymously from one end of the city to the other, hidden among the throngs of Kine. As a result, the whole of the Underground network is considered Elysium. No single Clan claims it, nor can they restrict the free movement on it. Each Clan uses it: on an average night one can find Toreador off to parties, Brujah travelling to a punk gig, Ventrue hurrying to attend a Board meeting or Malkavians simply riding. The Nosferatu are reputed to have dug connecting tunnels from their warrens in the sewers through to the Underground, to allow them to more easily move through and observe the Underground. There are other oddities on the Underground: there are spurs of line under government buildings, running out to connect to the main rail networks or simply to allow secret passage under the city. There are entire stations, sealed off from the streets above, still mothballed for who knows what purpose. Seasoned travellers whisper of other things, less easily described and more disturbing. The Population The population has not changed very much. Most people are generally law abiding, good hearted and mind their own business. In fact, as far as the last goes, they are perhaps too conscientious, and rarely speak to anyone if they notice anything untoward. This results from the drug gangs taking revenge on those who speak out against their activities, or worse, give evidence against them. The ethnic minorities are not in general having an easy time of it. Racial attacks are up, largely due to the rabble rousing tactics of right-wing politicians. In general, people get on with their lives and try to improve their lot. This is not always the case, and some people seem bent on increasing the level of urban deprivation. Some of the most run down areas are virtual no go zones for the police and others in authority. Ironically, these are usually white areas. The Media The Media Act of 1994 meant that any news deemed by the Government to be "Private in nature or not in the public interest" is censored. This was nominally to protect people in the public eye from having their private lives exposed by the media, but in practice it allows the Government to withhold any information that they would rather no-one heard, like political scandals, corruption in high places, miscarriages of justice or gross negligence by officials. Thus, denied access to much real news, newspapers take ever stronger stands on politics, becoming more and more rabid in their condemnations of each other and any opposing point of view, whilst searching for ever more lurid items of trivia or shock to attempt to win the cut throat circulation wars. This is a further worry to the leaders of the Camarilla: since the media are now looking for any shock story, it is feared that any breach of the Masquerade will be quickly flashed world-wide. Thus, some clans are attempting to place their own people inside the newspaper world, in the hope of being able to slow down such an event, even if the cannot stop it. The visual media are even more extreme than they are now. The deregulated makes hard core pornography readily available. Multiple cable and satellite TV channels vie to outdo each other. Religion As in many hard times, people have turned to the churches. Many new, radical and previously unheard of sects have sprung up, attracting people with their messages that they alone can save the world. Fundamentalism is strong, not just from Islam, but also from the Hindu, Christian and Sikh faiths, and world-wide this has lead to clashes. The attitude of the Catholic Church in particular has not helped. The Pope, John Paul II, has become ever more dogmatic with age. The Catholic Church now preaches a policy of total obedience to Papal Doctrine, and that any deviation smacks of heresy, which will be heavily punished both in this world and the next. The Pope has further ordered a campaign of conversion throughout the world, sending Jesuit bishops to spearhead the crusade. This has inflamed the Orthodox and Protestant churches, who have overcome their internal schisms in the face of an outside threat, and has brought open warfare in parts of Asia. This Catholic campaign has been strong in London, and has lead to protests from other faiths in the newspapers, and even some limited clashes on the streets, especially where the recruitment has been in Orthodox or Islamic areas. Although the situation has been stabilised, it remains volatile, and an ill-chosen remark or act could set off the powderkeg. The Kindred feel that whilst the churches are fighting among themselves, they will not be looking for Vampires, and some see the subtle influence of the Toreador and the Ventrue behind the religious feuding that goes on. However, all acknowledge that proof of the existence of the Kindred or any other Awakened beings could unite the Christian Churches at least faster than a Second Coming. Youth Culture The youth culture of the late nineties differs only a little from that of the present. Fashion changes even more quickly now, and after the Eighties revival of the middle of the decade, things now look like this. Rap, dance music and house are still popular, especially now that huge Raves can be legally held, as a result of the Entertainment Acts. Rock, Punk and the other rebel elements continue to simmer in the background, whilst the current revival of the Gothic Movement seems peculiarly suited to the cold, fog bound streets of the capital. The latest street fashions from the design houses are a revival of the "schooldays" look, whilst the flare wearing days of the early nineties seem set for yet another burst of popularity. The fashion accessory of the moment is the gunbelt and holster, popular with rockers, rappers and goths alike. Military cast-offs are in vogue for the rock scene, whilst rappers have abandoned baggies and big hats for sharp suits, sun-glasses and walking canes. THE KINDRED A few general words: most of the Kindred courts in Britain, and especially London, are rather different from those on the continent. Although most Princes are still Ventrue, Brujah and Toreador, those of the continent tend to rule with an almost feudal style, with precise notions of status and position. In Britain, the rulers are more pragmatic: status is earned, position is what you make it, and ability counts for more than who your Sire is. That is not to say that formality, grace and deportment are lacking in these courts. Far from it. Most are at least as formal as anything in Europe, often more so, and vastly more refined than anything in America. Good manners are essential if you want a piece of the action, as the Brujah often find out. The preservation of good order often requires that nuisances are thrown out bodily. The Traditions are rigorously upheld in Britain, but since the Princes tend to be quite powerful, local interpretation is the norm. It is best to ask first. The Jyhad in London is less like a maniacal power game, and more a way of spending eternity without boredom. The main action takes place at lower levels, with Ancillia jockeying for position, backed secretly by one or more Elders. At higher levels elaborate plots develop, taking decades or centuries to come to fruition. All the powerful Kindred play to a greater or lesser extent, and the competition can become deadly and ruthless. Regardless of this, it is still a game, and it still has rules. Complex and often unclear rules, but rules nonetheless. Many outsiders have thought that this makes London weak: an easy target. Nothing could be further from the truth. When the Sabbat laid siege to the city, they expected internal division to make their work easier. As soon as the Sabbat were identified as the assailants, the Kindred of London acted as one force. Auspex and Thaumaturgy were used to trap Sabbat scouts or lure assault teams into lethal ambushes while other groups of Kindred patched the Masquerade, carrying out elaborate deceptions and ruses to fool those who might look more closely. Once a few sabbat were captured, powerful Domination and Presence, backed up with horrific torture, lead the Camarilla to the rest. Even the usual Sabbat strategy of mass Embrace did not help them. The Kindred of London hunted down the Sabbat with a terrible ruthlessness. Primogen, Elders, Ancillia and Neonates all acted in person to bring the fullest extent of their powers and assets to bear on their enemies. A few Sabbat managed to escape, the rest were annihilated Before the Sabbat siege, and other recent events, the Kindred of London numbered over seventy, but subsequent events have reduced their strength as follows: Clan Original strength Current strength Ventrue 15 11 Toreador 12 8 Gangrel 10 9 Tremere 8 7 Nosferatu 8 7 Malkavian 6 4 Brujah 10 5 Caitiff 5 4 The Brujah The Brujah are the weakest of the Clans in London. The historical reasons for this are complex, but broadly, as follows. The Brujah Clan leader had attempted to depose Gloriana twice: during the Baron's Revolt, and during the War of the Roses. Both times, Gloriana managed to keep herself on the throne, and to keep control over the ruling faction of the human nobles (and hence the King). After each of these attempts, the Brujah leader was exiled for fifty years. Finally, during the Interregnum in which Lady Jane Grey was placed on the throne of England, Gloriana was deposed - for nine nights. When she regained control, she was positively incandescent with fury. It was largely a result of her anger that Jane and her husband were executed (the Queen had been inclined to spare them, but Gloriana's Presence swayed her). In the event, all of the Brujah were exiled form London, and a Blood Hunt called against their leader. The only Brujah allowed to remain was Jonas Black. This state continued until the last century, when the Brujah were permitted to return. As a result, the Clan has a disproportionate number of younger Kindred, and now only two Elders (one of whom is the leader). This has made the Clan fractious and disorganised. They have suffered very badly in the recent crises, taking very heavy losses, largely since the young and inexperienced Kindred have not realised how much danger they have been in. The clan is weak and dispirited, but a new leader has arisen in Rocky Johns, who is on the look-out for a means of getting back at the Prince. The Gangrel The balance of power in London is held by the Gangrel. The clan has always been strong in London and the surrounding towns, and the Clan members are rather more political than is common for the Gangrel. They have not however taken to the Machiavellian dealings of the Ventrue or Tremere. The Gangrel, through their leader, broker the power of their to achieve their own distinct and different aims. Albrecht has supported the Ventrue for most of the last fifty years. The Gangrel, even more than the other Clans, were beginning to find London stifling and unhealthy. The Kine were weakening, and although feeding was easy, it was unsatisfying, and the threat of disease worried not a few Kindred. Albrecht saw a solution. In the same way that a gamekeeper or farmer will try to ensure the best and safest conditions for his charges, so, thought Albrecht, should the Kindred. By cleaning up the city, the fitter, healthier population would be better to feed upon, with less risk of disease. The political climate may have forced people onto the streets, but those streets are cleaner than they have been for two hundred years. When the Ventrue adopted Albrecht's plan, it allowed the Ventrue to clean up financially as well as physically in the Green Boom of the eighties and nineties. The Gangrel own a great many pubs, clubs and discos, and their control over the nightlife of London is surprisingly strong. This has always given them access to an ever-changing source of food, and a surprisingly good information network, as well as the muscle from the underworld connections such places have. The Gangrel have been granted the zoos and parks of London as a Clan domain. Some members hunt there, others simply use them as places to take their ease. Their main indoor meeting area is in the Imperial War Museum, although both Kew Gardens and the Natural History Museum have been used before now. The Malkavians The Children of Malkav are rare in London. They keep to themselves, except for the infrequent times when the Clan as a body decides to wreak as much havoc as possible for all the rest of the Kindred. The "Nights of Madness" are dreaded by the rest of the Camarilla, who know that at such times, the Malkavians are less respectful of rank and status even than normal. It is rare to find a Malkavian who will speak at a conclave, but they always attend, sitting together in a small group smiling smugly to one another. No one knows what they know, but no one wants to ask. The Malkavians have no leader as such, and their behaviour toward the other Kindred is such that in times of crisis they are left to fend for themselves. The Nosferatu The Nosferatu are a tightly knit group. Although said to be few in number, no one is truly certain how many Nosferatu there are living quietly in the almost endless sewer tunnels under London. Most are old, intensely private Kindred, who avoid in general even contact with their own Clan. The clean-up of London has opened up areas of sewers that were until recently too poisoned even for the Nosferatu to use. There are persistent rumours that the Clan found something in one such tunnel. No one is sure what, but even hardened Gangrel and Ventrue shudder at the rumours whispered around the tables at conclaves. The Nosferatu information gathering network is highly developed, even by the normal standards of the Clan. It is almost impossible to consider doing something without their knowledge, let alone to actually execute a plan. The clan has used this knowledge to push its own agenda forward. The information network is more important than ever: formerly, the Nosferatu controlled many of the powerful labour unions in the capital, and could paralyse the city if it wished. Now, the unions have been crippled by legislation brought in by the Tory governments (at Clan Ventrue's suggestion), and the Nosferatu stranglehold is weakened. The Toreador The Toreador are the Ventrue's only real rivals. Their business interests and controls are considerable, and the only inside threat to the government of London for fifty years came from a Toreador. The death of Martin Dean, executed for consorting with the enemies of the Camarilla and causing the deaths of several Kindred, weakened the Toreador powerbase, but temporarily united the clan behind a single leader, Elizabeth Raphael. The clan is now split again, with one faction behind Elizabeth Rapheal, and the other behind a group of younger Kindred, including James Tremayne. Tremayne is a growing power within the Toreador, and many look to him as a man who will restore Toreador fortunes. At present, his faction has many supporters, but they are individually less powerful than those in Rapheal's faction. At present, it seems unlikely that Tremayne will ever be a real threat to Rapheal, but his meteoric rise has worried several people. Tremayne has had the Toreador build up interests in areas that they have previously ignored, putting them into a position to threaten their rivals more easily. Llywellyn is known to be uneasy of Tremayne, but is unlikely to act against him overtly. The Toreador favour the West End and the South Bank, with their communal areas are in The National and Tate Galleries, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Museum of the Moving Image. Their meetings tend to be held in such places, or else in the fashion houses, usually with a floor show going on. The Tremere The Tremere Chantry is small by comparison with Birmingham, but is powerful and well respected. Its Regent is an old acquaintance of the Prince, and generally supports him. The Regent is quietly glad not to have lost more people than she has in the recent struggles. Indeed, it was pure luck that allowed almost all the Tremere to survive when the building was firebombed. The Chantry's help in the last few crises have placed the Camarilla and the Prince in their debt and it may be that this maintenance of power and increase in prestige will lead to the accomplishment of some long-held plans. Margaret Percy has also expanded the Tremere's role in the direct action policies that Llywellyn favours, placing William Peterson in a position to directly aid Llywellyn. There is speculation that the reason for this is to provide an ear close to the Prince's plans, or else to put a Clan member in a position where he can execute Tremere through Llywellyn's "Fixers". For whatever reason, the Tremere are increasing their input into the government of the city, and becoming more overtly political than they have been for over fifty years. The Ventrue The Ventrue dominate, as a result of their hold over London's financial markets and central government. This hold has been in place since the beginning of England's time as a world trading power and is as strong as ever. The only problem has been with the government in the last five or so years: the government, for whatever reason, ceased for a while to obey Ventrue orders, plunging the country into crisis and precipitating an election resulting in the current hung parliament. Some see the hand or the Toreador in this, and suspect that the Ventrue are planning their vengeance. The Clan's control over finance allows the Ventrue to buy what (and very largely whom) they want. In general, however, they are cautious, circumspect and polite in their dealings with others. This conceals the Board's absolute ruthlessness if anyone or anything it values is threatened. This lesson seems lost on those who upset the last government, and many Kindred gloomily predict that the lesson will be retaught - painfully. The Ventrue live scattered across the city, but have many havens and meeting places within the "Square Mile". Their personal property holdings alone make them among the world's richest vampires, even before the business interests and vast personal fortunes that most have are taken into account. In general, their meetings are held in the boardrooms of one of their many companies, or in the private rooms of a club, usually the Aurora or the Dreadnaught. Caitiff There are a few Caitiff in the city. They are not organised as a group, but all are members of the Camarilla. The Prince respects them for their abilities, but this respect is not general to all the Elders of the city. The Sabbat The Sabbat had until recently not attempted even to infiltrate London in the last two hundred years. The whispered tales of the fate of these last ones still bring shudders to Kindred that hear of it, but pale into insignificance when compared with the Prince's rumoured treatment of the more recent Sabbat assailants.....