ALTERNATE NEW ORLEANS BY NIGHT, 2ND ED. by Paul Strack and Stacey Lawless CHAPTER SIXTEEN: OTHER SUPERNATURAL CREATURES New Orleans is a city ruled by vampires, but other creature lurk in and around the city. For the most part, they avoid New Orleans, laying low when they are in the city, but there are many shape-shifters in the wilds of Louisiana. Note that the information in this chapter is incomplete, and is a measure of what the kindred might learn about the other creatures of New Orleans. The Garou Louisiana is hell for the Garou. They are surrounded on all sides by enemies. The Camarilla of New Orleans and the Sabbat of rural Louisiana hunted them for centuries. There are many non-Garou shape-shifters in the Bayou of New Orleans, all of whom despise werewolves. The industry of New Orleans is given over nearly completely to the Wyrm; it is not for nothing that the industrial parks of Louisiana are called Cancer Alley. As a result, there are few Garou in the area. There is one, embattled Sept in upstate Louisiana. There are virtually no Garou in New Orleans itself, not even the usual Bone Gnawers and Glass Walkers. There is a rumors of a single pack, recently come to the city from Alabama, in the desperate hope of doing something about the Wyrm infestation in this state. If this true, they are in for a desperate battle with no reinforcements. The Bastet There are still a few werecats in Louisiana, remnants of a once proud breed. They are mostly Qualmi and Pumonca, though there may be a few other tribes. The slow spread of civilization and its Wyrm controlled industry have destroyed the native people the Bastet once protected, and have pushed the Bastet themselves back into the Bayou. This has put them in conflict with the Mokol, who are fiercely territorial. The Mokol The Bayous of Louisiana are one of the last refuges of the Dragon Folk. The Mokol have lived in these swamps for as long as they can remember, and their memory is long indeed. They are incredibly powerful in battle, and fight fiercely against any intruders in their territory. They know little of the ways of modern man, however, and have yet to find a way to combat the slow draining of their homelands. The Ratkin The lack of Garou presence makes New Orleans one of the havens for Ratkin. This despised shape-shifter breed find refuge in New Orleans, and they are quite numerous. Few understand this mysterious and secretive folk. They fearfully avoid most kindred, but there are rumors that they have some ties to the Nosferatu clanhead, Virginia. They may know something of the Setites as well. Mages The vampires of New Orleans know little of Mages, and most of their interaction with them is indirect. It seems that certain Mages are also interested in the Voudou community of New Orleans, and this brings them into subtle conflict with the Tremere, Brujah and Setites. There are also rumors of Technologically oriented Mages connected to Tulane university, but little is known of them. Wraiths The wraiths of New Orleans are numerous and powerful. New Orleans is the major stronghold of the Ivory Kingdom in the New World, and New Orleans is a major trade center between that kingdom and Stygia. The Ivory Queen claims all wraiths of African descent, and those who die in the New World often pass through New Orleans on their way to Africa. As one of the few necropoli in the south not under the control of the Hierarchy, it is a site of much intrigue. Mortals Despite the huge number of vampires in the city, and occasional flagrant violations of the Masquerade, the mortals of New Orleans seem blissfully unaware of the Kindred. Many New Orleans natives are proud of their cities great heritage, but in the last few years, there has been a gradual exodus out of the city, as crime rates seem to be on the rise. The Order of St. George Though it has been quiet for many years, the Inquisitorial group founded by Father Sedella still exists. They know very well what they are fighting against, and struggle to preserve the secrecy of their organization at all costs. They have been largely successful. Only Alejandro is aware of the existence of the group. The Order of St. George views itself as a training ground for vampire hunters. They have gathered extensive information about vampires over the centuries, and are happy to share this knowledge with others. It is rumored that they keep at least one kindred captive, carefully chained, both for study and "practice". Many of modern times greatest hunters have spent some time training in New Orleans. Anyone who is likely to go "out in the field" is giving only limited information about the Inquisition itself, for fear that they may be captured. Hunters trained by the Order usually only have a vague notion of the organizations true goals. In this way, the Order protects itself from discovery. Sedella's last directive to the Order was that it not attack the Kindred in force until it could be certain of wiping the scourge from the city completely. If they failed, the retaliation against innocent mortals would be too horrible. To this end, the Inquisition has gathered volumes of data out the vampires of New Orleans. They have even exchanged information with the Arcanum, though neither organization knows much about the other. The Reavers The Reavers are the Inquisition's most successful group of hunters. This trio of hunters was put together in the 30's, inspired by the success of Nathaniel Bordruff. They were taught some of the Orders greatest secrets, including a magickal ritual that obscures Auspex, preventing the Reavers from being tracked that way. The Order originally intended to use the Reavers to finish what Bordruff has started, but then they learned of the appearance of a large vampiric army outside of New Orleans. Never having seen it's likeness, they bent all their resources to destroying it. They were largely successful, though a few escaped into rural Louisianna. Since that time, the Reavers have moved through the small towns of Louisiana, looking for the descendents of the vampire army that escaped them. Every decade or so, they find some, and put them to the torch. To prolong their battle, they have taken to capturing a few of the vampires, and using their blood to prolong their existence. The Reavers know about blood bonds, and have learned that by mixing the blood of several vampires together, and not drinking too often, they can avoid it. At the behest of the Order, the Reavers stay out of New Orleans. The Order knows enough about vampires to realize that the rural kindred and the city kindred do not get along, and the deaths of the rural kindred will not invoke a retaliation from their city kin. The Order has done it's best to keep it's deeper secrets from the Reavers, as it does with all it's hunters, but the Reavers are older and more experienced than most. The Order would be uncomfortable if they were to learn exactly how much the Reavers know about it. Voudou in New Orleans Voudou is a religion with an ancient tradition in New Orleans, dating back to the middle of the 18th century. For most if its practitioners, it is just that: a religion. It has a tangled history, and is connected with Catholicism as well, though some modern Voudouns are pushing for a more pure, African style of worship. Voudou is often lumped together with other African based slave religions, such as Santeria. Voudou has always maintained a close tie to the spirit world, and the beings they call the Loa. As a result, some Voudou practitioners have true power. It is these individuals that are of the most interest to vampires. There are two major groups of Voudou sorcerers: Houngans and Mambos, male and female priests for the Voudou community, and Bokors, independent sorcerers. Some individuals in both groups are quite skilled, with enough power to worry a vampire. Such individual would be technically Hedge Mages, though there may be a few true Mages in their number. The Voudou community of New Orleans is hotly contested. The Brujah are interested in it for its importance to the black community. The Setites and Tremere interested in it because of the power it holds. There is evidence that Mages in interested in them as well. For their part, the Voudou community wishes to be left alone. They are more aware of the supernatural than most people, and what they know often frightens them. Note: This is yet another chapter that may see some future development. Stacey and I have tossed around the idea of doing either a Rage across Louisiana, or Necropolis: New Orleans. Both would likely be rather strange: there are almost no Garou in Louisiana, and New Orleans is in the hands of the Dark Kingdom of Ivory. We'll see; there's still a good bit that can be done with the vampires.