ROSES OF THE NIGHT, or NIGHT BLOOMING ROSES, or PORTLAND BY NIGHT... by Deird'Re M. Brooks Portland, in the World of Darkness, is a center for the drug trade...second after Los Angeles for the West Coast... Also, the urban area is denser and larger than it is in the real world. This allows it to support a larger Kindred population as well as better fit the Gothic-Punk mold. In Northeast, there is a section often referred to as the "combat zone" by the mortals and some of the younger Kindred. This is a contested area between the prominent gangs in the area. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd is right on the edge, although it's not normally that dangerous... Two-three blocks east, on the other hand... MLKJr is a Rack-like location, filled with nightclubs and prostitutes, drug dealers and pimps...it's a favored place for the Gangrel and Brujah of the city. Southeast is far quieter, being primarily suburbs, although there are several Vietnamese and Mexican street gangs in this area. Mt. Tabor (the only volcano within a city) is off-limits to Kindred... Those who go there rarely return. Gresham, to the east of Portland is rarely visited. Those who do awaken the next evening in their havens, down three blood points instead of one (or 5 if they sleep in the earth) with no memory of events from the previous night. They also have a strong aversion to returning. Second visits find the Kindred awakening with three blood points in his system, regardless of how many he had the night before. Beaverton is claimed by the Garou, along with Tigard, King City, Tualitan, Sherwood, Carlton and McMinnville. Kindred enter at their own risk. None of these cities are highly developed, although Beaverton is home to Intel. Many people who live in these cities are kinfolk. Every year, in June, the city holds a major celebration: The Rose Festival. This event brings in tourists and is accompanied by music, rides, parades, and so on... A Queen is elected to hold court... This is a popular time for Changelings and Toreador (who feel the city is rightfully theirs...it *is* the Rose City, after all). One landmark in Northeast bears mentioning... Powell's City of Books. It covers an entire block and is two or three stories high. It was, last time I checked, the second largest bookstore in North America. They have large numbers of rare books kept in a room, as well as shelves stacked with books of every description. There is also Portlandia, a large statue gracing the Portland Building, her hand outstretched to the passersby... She is revered by the Glasswalkers as the current incarnation of the City Mother. The Kindred: Brujah The Brujah rule this city. The Prince was an outlaw in the 1800s, and has brought some of this mentality to the rule of his city. He has proven himself more than willing to exercise the right of destruction upon those who disrupt the domain more than he likes. Normally, he's quite easygoing... (don't have a name). His sire, Ajax, serves as his advisor (I created these two long before Kindred was on the air, dammit). Ajax is a contemporary of Machiavelli's. There are approximately 20 or so Brujah in Portland, some of whom openly claim "Anarch," and are lead by Susan Blackeagle. Ajax at 6th, who rarely acts, primarily advises. He's the Brujah Primogen. The Prince at 7th, who is as powerful as Lodin (more physical than mental, but that's the Clan primarily). Susan Blackeagle at 8th, she leads the Anarchs. All of the other two dozen or so Brujah are 9th-13th. Gangrel There are few Gangrel in Portland... The Elders are siblings: Lucienne de Normandy, a former Mercere of the Order of Hermes and Andrew Johannsen, a soldier from the seventeenth century. They were sired by a fifth gen Gangrel currently by the name of Bjorn Hafstead... Olga's lover (see Ventrue). Malkavian Not much done with the Malkavians. Two Malkavians are defined... Medusa Carlyle, a seemingly harmless person who doesn't believe in Vampires, and the Mailbox Slasher, who kills people for trapping letters in envelopes and dropping them into mailboxes... He then burns the letters to free the words. Fortunately, he doesn't kill *often*. Nosferatu Two elders... Alexander and Sheridan (named before Tale of the Body Thief, thank you...). Both are fairly good natured to those whom they like, but trust no one. They provide information to the Prince for a standard retainer, and otherwise stay out of politics. Alexander is an Inconnu monitor, although he has not achieved Golconda. Toreador Two broods... Alicia de la Vasquez, who is an Artiste, along with her three childer, and Vanessa White, along with her six childer, who are Poseurs. Both are seventh generation. Alicia and Ajax were lovers as mortals, and still maintain a close bond (although not a blood bond). Tremere There is no official Tremere presence...the nearest Chantry is in Seattle. There is a powerful elder (fifth generation) who went renegade from the Clan several centuries ago, who lives on Mt. Tabor (Magda). Magda killed her Sire six hundred years before and now primarily wishes solitude with her studies. She maintains close relations with Nefertia and Asherah (Mummy and Silent Strider). Magda has recently sired, and her Childe has been discovered by the Tremere spies in the Domain... One Tremere has been sent to stay with the Anarchs, and one to the loyal Camarilla. They simply watch. Ventrue Karl Wolfgang Magnus (assumed name), a methuselah of the 4th Generation, lives in Portland. He's the primary reason the Giovanni have no foothold on Portland. However, his primary Jyhad is waged against the Setites. He is believed to be an Ancilla Ventrue who enjoys playing poker with the Prince. Olga Freya'sdottar does not live in Portland, but watches events within for her own personal interest. She is attempting to cultivate several Kindred to be useful pawns in the future... She is also of the Fourth Generation, and is lover to Bjorn Hafstead, fifth Generation Gangrel (who never comes to Portland anyway). Their are two groups of Ventrue in the city... Three who were sired by Kevin Jackson (Chicago by Night) who run the Bloods. The others, a bit more traditional, are led by Henry Winthrop (eight generation), an influential Ancilla. Assamites The Assamites have little representation... There are two. One is a ninth generation rafiq who maintains several identities and works as an assassin or bodyguard for many of the Kindred in the northwest. The other is a Fida'i of the Sixth Generation who is under contract to hunt down and destroy Khesferu (see below). If he succeeds, he will be able to drop his generation to fifth via the ritual... He also possesses a ritual which will enable him to diablerize Khesferu, which will make him fourth. He has sworn an oath to destroy Khesferu's soul, and this is not only a job, but a personal matter, as Khesferu destroyed his Sire. Followers of Set There is a single temple in Portland, composed of four Setites... Their leader is Ezili (named before A World of Darkness 1st was published, dammit). She is eight generation. She is an escaped slave who was Embraced by Setites... She has since moved her... She has three Childer who work with her... They own the Crips, who frequently clash with the Bloods. Khesferu, Child of Sutekh, also lives within Portland, and conceals the Setites from detection. He also passes a Form of Corruption through the Portland Saturday Market (he has ghouls who sell there) every few months. The Setites think that Khesferu is a mortal functionary in their temple... when they remember him at all. Actually, in the first Chronicle, Khesferu was in torpor. Alas, the PCs managed to awaken him. Giovanni They have attempted to make headway, only to find every effort fail. This is Karl's doing, primarily. Ravnos A single Kumpaniya travels through two-three times a year. They are led by an elder who was once a performer within a Commeddia troupe...she calls herself Columbine. There are only five Ravnos in this kumpaniya. Bloodlines The Tremere suspect the presence of a Salubri, but there is no proof of such. There is a sixth generation True Brujah Elder (not Black Hand) who has stepped in and has watched the Brujah. She has blood bound Ajax to her. The Primogen Brujah: Ajax and Susan Blackeagle... Due to the Anarch's strength, she has enough power to be on the Primogen Council. Gangrel (either Andrew or Lucienne...whoever prefers to appear) Malkavian: Not sure...there should be one, but I never really fleshed them out... Nosferatu: Sheridan (8th or 9th gen, I don't recall) Toreador: Alicia *and* Vanessa... Tremere: Nada Ventrue: Winthrop Now, to clarify... Yes, I have two clan-members as Primogen. I don't quite see each Clan as having one Primogen...rather, the way I've run it is that in some cases (Brujah and Toreador most often) factions within a clan, if poewrful enough, will have their own representatives. I also tend to avoid many of the conventions introduced in LARP (Sherriff, Keeper of Elysium, etc) as they don't feel quite right. Mummy Only one... Nefertia, Khesferu's mortal daughter. She lives among the pagans and searches for Khesferu's presence. She cannot find him directly, but has found two of the Setites. She intends to move soon...is unaware of the Assamite's presence. Werewolf The Glasswalkers claim Beaverton, there are two packs within the city. They have a treaty with the Prince... Beaverton is theirs. There are four-five other packs in the area, primarily Glasswalker, Bone Gnawer, Child of Gaia, Uktena and Black Fury... The Sept of the Evergreen is centered near Carlton, OR and is led by Mother Kathleen, Black Fury Theurge Elder... The Sept was formed by a pack she and Asherah Walks-in-Darkness (Silent Strider Ragabash Elder) were in, although the remainder of the pack is now dead. Asherah is now known as Walks-Alone, and Kathleen has formed a new pack. The Garou defend their claimed territory with much ferocity...their kinfolk live in the area and they do not wish them to be harmed by the wars of the vampires. Asherah works with Nefertia and Magda on occasion, and Kathleen is known to maintain an understanding with the Gangrel. Mages There are two Amalgams assigned to the Portland area... One was created for the purpose of discovering and investigating supernatural occurrences. The other was created for search and destroy missions. The first is led by a New World Order mage by the name of Clive Drummond (Yes, I know...hey, I like the character). The other is led by an Apparatus of Iteration X, Destination Zero...master of Forces and Prime. He has four other mages with him, along with access to HIT Marks and Superiors as needed. There are three Cabals who travel through Portland on occasion. They are primarily Verbena/Dreamspeaker/Order of Hermes, Cultist of Ecstasy/Virtual Adepts, and Celestial Chorus. Wraith The Necropolis of Portland is ruled by Jeffrey Landon, an Anacreon of the Skeletal Lord. He commands two Gaunt Legions. There are numerous Renegades in the area, who cause serious problems for the Soul Trade. Jeffrey is about to work out a deal with the Giovanni, however... The Giovanni simply need to do two things: Release a deadly disease in a densely populated area, and assist with putting down the Renegades. In exchange, Jeffrey will assist them in moving in on the Kindred. He deals only through intermediaries as he has no desire to be enslaved by these devil Kindred. Changeling The Duchy of Roses is ruled by the Duchess Siobhan of House Fiona. Siobhan is Unseelie at the moment, which may explain Portland's slide downward from one of America's Cleanest Cities to a rather smog-filled place. Also, Alicia de la Vasquez wishes to determine what is causing her artists (actors, painters, writers, poets...) to be so drained lately... It seems Ravaging is on the rise in the Duchy of Roses (soon to be called Duchy of Thorns as Siobhan gives into her Unseelie side further and further...why is this happening?) There are four major freeholds within the city... One is within the Japanese Gardens, one is within Powell's Books (in a private area), one is a palatial residence in the West Hills, and the last is in a rather delapidated old building on Burnside...it is held by Commoners. Sabbat There is a small pack of infiltrators who have cultivated Camarilla identities in the city... I will hold out on who they are until I decide to begin a Sabbat storyline... So they can have warning and foreshadowing. Pentex Well, there is this corporation in Albany, OR called "Teledyne Wah-Chang." They make nifty materials like zirconium, niobium and hafnium, and, well... I have an article which describes them as engaging in deliberate toxic waste dumping, destroying the ecosystem... Then of course, there is the logging industry. Eco-terrorism is a common thing in Oregon of the WoD, due to this sort of thing. Also, the Setites are behind the measures to declare homosexuality, bestiality, necrophilia and other practices "abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse." They're assisting the organizations behind these proposals...for a price. Nephandi and Marauders? None at this time. Dauntain? None. Character Creation Attributes: 8/6/4 Abilities: 17/13/9 Disciplines: 4 Backgrounds: 10 Virtues: 7 Freebies: 25 (Max Flaws = 10. All Merits and Flaws *must* be justified by the character history) I tend to prefer if PCs are 9th-10th Gen, but 11th-13th is perfectly reasonable and workable. The setting is intended to focus primarily on Kindred, with some Garou interaction, with perhaps a story or two involving the others.