DP Tool Club 17/CD_ASCQ_17_101194.iso/vrac/vampires.zip/TOREADOR.VMP

Internet Message Format | 1993-09-08 | 25KB

Date: Tue, 06 Apr 93 20:18:44 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: NYC Toreador List 1
X-Mailer: America Online Mailer

I am currently running a Vampire campaign based in New York City,
based on a struggle between the Toreador, the Ventrue and the Sabbat.
Simply put, in my scenario NYC is under control of a rogue Tremere
coterie far into decadence, a group of self-serving vampires who have
allowed the Sabbat to win large amounts of Territory. The Ventrue and
Toreador are politicallty contesting this, overtly through their
leaders, but covertly through the "Manhattan Cabal," a cell of
conspirators that plan to destroy the Prince and recalim the city.

The following is the first installment (of three) of my list of
Toreador Vampires. I have broken them down into three separate
coteries. I am not including stats, as my intention is to create a
list of personalities that can be moulded over an appropriate set of
statistics when needed. I will E-mail the others over the next few
days.

I hope you enjoy these, and please feel free to use them; I only ask
you not to pass them along without this notice.

Allen B. Ruch
[e-mail]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The New York Toreador

-When old age shall this generation waste,
    Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st
    'Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

   - John Keats, Ode to a Grecian Urn




The Toreador Clan is strong in New York City, particularly in
Manhattan. The propensity of galleries, museums, and concert halls
makes the City an ideal place for the Clan. Unfortunately, the
considerable power of the Sabbat and the increasing presence of the
Anarchs tends to put a damper on what would otherwise be a Toreador
paradise.


Santa de Luzarches

The Toreador guildhouse in New York is one of the most splendid of all
Kindred creations. Named the Santa de Luzarches in honor of its Master
Builder, the Guildhouse is actually a cathedral built under ground,
directly below the Hudson River. It was designed and built by the
thirteenth century engineer, Robert de Luzarches, the Master Builder
of the French Cathedral of Amiens. Luzarches was Embraced upon his
death by the great architect Villard de Honnecourt, and moved to the
New World in 1664 with the Duke of York's fleet. Once in New York, he
became one of the founders of the Toreador clan there, and earned the
respect of all the Kind red of the Camarilla. The Cathedral was
initiated in 1858, the same year that St. Patrick's Cathedral was
begun. The Tremere used some of their most powerful magic to engineer
a vault below the Hudson River, and the Ventrue used their political
power and creative Domination to ensure a steady, nocturnal supply of
building materials. Simply put, it was a massive undertaking,
involving many years of clan cooperation and mortal manipulation. In
Europe, or even in America today, the Camarilla would most likely see
this project as a threat to the Masquerade; but in Civil-War America
the spirit w as a bit more free. The cathedral took several decades to
construct, and it was completed in 1886 - the year the Statue of
Liberty was commemorated. The Kindred used this mortal festivity as a
cover for their own celebration: the Santa de Luzarches was unveiled
to the world, and the Toreador were hailed across the globe for their
artistic triumph. For decades after its unveiling, Toreador and other
vampires made it a the focus of an artistic pilgrimage, many even
travelling from their secure havens in France and Europe to view the
brash American's "Engulfed Cathedral." It remained a focus of Toreador
activities clear until the start of World War I, when the turbulent
events of the day put a near death to all superfluous travel. An
interesting legend is told about the Santa de Luzarches. It is said
that upon completion of his cathedral, de Luzarches dismissed his
Kindred assistants and disposed of his ghouls by stranding them in the
architecture. He then walked out into the daylight, declaring his work
on this earth to be over, and wept with joy as he was incinerated by
the sun . The Toreador saved his ashes in a crystal urn - the central
relic of the Cathedral. Legend has it that every year, upon the night
of its completion, the ghouls awake and moan for blood; t he Toreador
are said to find this charming. Santa de Luzarches is also dubbed the
"Engulfed Cathedral," and it is located between the Lincoln and
Holland Tunnel, many feet below the Earth. The entrance ways are known
only to the Toreador, with the exception of the  Ventrue and Tremere
who had assisted in its construction. In addition, a  secret network
of underground canals connects the cathedral to many Toreador havens,
and needless to say much in the way of Domination has been needed to
keep the network a secret from the mortal world - but it is a secret
well worth preserving. The Santa de Luzarches houses many great works
of art, and its stained glass windows glow with a moonlight captured
from t he above world by the magic of Luzarches' artistry. The
Toreador hold their All Hallow's Eve Ball in the Santa de Luzarches
every few years or so, and occasionally it is the site for a
Carnivale. Any mortals who are invited to attend are Dominated into
forgetting its existence and unique loc ation. With the alienation of
the NYC Tremere and the rise of the Sabbat, the Cathedral plays an
increasingly more important role in the minds of the New York
Camarilla. To the Toreador, it remains their sublime triumph, and to
the Ventrue it stands as an example of what the Kindred can accomplish
when united in the Camarilla. Sadly, many of the remaining Tremere
under St. James have forgotten its s plendor; the Prince himself calls
it "that silly Tory fancy."


The Toreador Elite

The Toreador of New York City all get along tolerably well, but
different temperaments loosely divide them up into three general
"cliques," each with a variation on haven, leader, and structure.

Duncan Capelthwaite is the undisputed leader of the Clan, but he still
has a group of "friends" which could be called his coterie. They dwell
in the Santa de Luzarches, and include among their number such
notables as Sir Robert Drinkwater, Elijah Watson, the Angel Gabriel,
Vladimir Ivanovich Zamiatin, Drella, and temporarily the Malkavian
pretenders Luther Bates and his childe Ashley in Crimson. The second
largest coterie is that of Amadeus St. Sebastian, owner of the
Galleria Desmodius. His intimates include Justainne Valjean, Anna
Livia Plurabelle, Ovid, Rachel Montaigne, and Amadeo Byron the
Malkavian. The third clique is under the wing of the socialite Sally
de Angelou, and of all the Toreador these tend to be the most
inaccessible and aloof. Though they can be often found in the
Cathedral, many use de Angelou's Studio Calliope as a haven. Her
associates include Ezra Wakefield, Zanzibar X, Lucy T albot (Raven
Blackstone), and Deke O'Neil.


- Duncan Capelthwaite The leader of the Toreador Clan is Duncan
Capelthwaite, a powerful Elder who was Embraced in thirteenth cen tury
Northumberland and came over to New Amsterdam in 1664 along with de
Luzarches. Capelthwaite is a vivacious and intense man with a good
heart and a particular passion for architecture and sculpture. He is a
master sculptor, and his sense of daring and creativity have kept his
cutting edge sharp even across eight centuries. He has a high level of
Protean Discipline, and one of his favorite artistic techniques is to
transform himself into an animal, living the experience as well as he
can, then sculpting a series of statues that capture the essence of
his chosen subject. The Santa de Luzarches is filled with his
creations, and quite a few of them have made it into private and
prestigious collections across the world. Not limited to sculpture,
however, Capelthwaite occasionally takes up a modern style of art as a
passing fancy for awhile; but the second it starts to become "common"
he vanishes from the scene. (He was one of the first impressionist
painters, an early proponent of dada, a  jazz musician in the early
century, a pop artist in the sixties, and most recently, a performance
artist.) Capelthwaite is greatly respected by all his Toreador, and
his sense of honour and his unwavering devotion to the Camarilla
places him in the good graces of the Ventrue. Unlike many Toreador, he
has staved off degeneracy and follows Camarilla politics very closely,
but he still allows his Toreador almost virtual freedom. Preferring to
keep a stable relationship with the Tremere, he has remaine d
uninvolved with the Manhattan Cabal, but he allows Amadeus to make his
own decisions. Capelthwaite has no lovers; the love of his life was
William Danzig, a young man fell in love with and Embraced in 1927.
William was murdered by the Sabbat in 1978, and Capelthwaite mourns
him to this day . It is said that it takes much to anger him, but when
his passion is aroused he is a merciless, tireless opponent. It is
whispered by the older Toreador that once he destroyed the lives of an
entire brood of French Toreador that took too many liberties with his
graciousness. . . .


- Sir Robert Drinkwater Sir Drinkwater arrived in New York in 1853 for
the World's Fair. When the Civil War Riots of 1863 broke out, his
ghouls and retainers were killed, so he decided to remain in New York
City until after the War. He returned again in 1886 for the unveiling
of the Santa de Luzarches, intending to stay for fifteen years and
return to England; but after Queen Victoria's death he decided to
remain a permanent resident. Drinkwater is an aristocrat in every
sense of the word. A patron rather than an artist, he has never tried
to hide his lack of talent behind a facade - rather he has used his
funds and skills to promote new artists in any way possible. He is not
ashamed of his position in the Clan, and although many younger
Toreador think he is a snob and a poseur, Capelthwaite values his
friendship and opinions very highly - a fact that more of the younger
vampires should recognize, if at least for their own safety.
Drinkwater dresses in the height of modern fashion, and his twinkling
eyes are the colour of flannel, a perfect match for his distinguished
grey hair. Regardless of his ashen hair, his features are those of a
shrewd man in his forties, and he radiates a sense of genteel
old-world charm which tends to catch his opponents off guard. He has
more contacts across the globe than anyone cares to count, including
mages like Winter Spinoza and Mhrryndell Willowainn,
parapsychologists, Talamasca Society representatives, Lupines and
ghosts, Sabbat double-agents; and it is even rumoured that he has
Egyptian connections of a rather interesting nature. . . . Drinkwater
treats everyone with the respect they deserve according to their
personality; he will deal with an outlandish street-punk thrasher in
the exact same respectful manner he deals with millionaire celebrities
and foreign dignitaries, provided they all return his respect and deal
with him squarely. No one has every seen him crossed, but rumours
persist that a few of his past associates have vanished mysteriously.
Sir Robert Drinkwater prefers the romantic, seductive hunt. He never
intentionally kills a vessel, instead wining and dining them into his
arms and waiting fangs. Drinkwater refuses to discuss either his age
or his Embrace. . .


- Elijah Watson Elijah Watson is an ex-slave who fought for the Union
during the Civil War. A painter of wartime horrors, he achieved a
small amount of fame in the 1860's as sort of a "Black Goya." He was
Embraced by a Southern Belle in Louisiana in 1868. After learning what
he could from her, he travelled North and finally made the
acquaintance of Sir Robert Drinkwater, an avid admirer of his
sketches. Soon after th at, he was welcomed into the Clan. Watson is a
very intense man, tending towards moodiness and depression. He has
much of his humanity intact, and his sketches reveal a tortured soul
trying to reconcile the inhumanity of both Kindred and mortals. War,
torture, and hatred form the basis of his work, and all his pieces
contain a disturbing quality can unsettle even the most jaded Kindred.
He rarely socializes, preferring the solitude of his Cathedral studio.
He usually hunts middle-aged women, drawing just enough blood to
fulfill his needs and moving on. He never intentionally kills his
prey, a nd the few times he lost himself to frenzy and murdered his
victim weigh very heavy on his soul. Elijah Watson is large and
muscular, but his face reflects a kind, but eternally brooding, soul.
He favours old-fashioned clothing from the period of his Embrace. He
eschews modern life, preferring Dixieland music and occasional rides
to the country. Other than the Dixieland, his only other real passion
is Beethoven, and he does most of his work listening to the German
composer's later symphonies. He generally gets along with the entire
clan, although he shies away from the more modern vampires.



- The Angel Gabriel There is almost nothing about this woman that is
not a mystery, including her true name. Since her Embrace in 1886 she
has never left the Engulfed Cathedral, and no one is even sure who her
Sire is; many assume it was a Toreador who fell enamored of a mortal
guest at the 1886 festivities and granted her immortality, and many
say it was Capelthwaite himself. Since that night, she has haunted the
Santa de Luzarches, a pale spectre dressed in a long white wedding
gown. It is generally considered that she is the fairest of all the
Toreador; her blonde hair tumbles to her waist, her lips are blood
red, and her eyes are pools of shimmering mercy; and her voice - which
sh e rarely uses - is as pure and lyrical as a musical instrument.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the Angel Gabriel is that she seems
completely innocent of any ostentation - she does nothing to
deliberately cultivate an air of mystery; it just seems to enshroud
her naturally. She drifts from room to room of the massive cathedral,
and her visits are almost Malkavian in their unfathomable purpose.
Sometimes she will stare for days at a centuries-old sculpture, and at
other times she will get up and inexplicably leave right in the middle
of a brilliant performance. Once, while attending a gallery of new
artwork, she completely ignored the paintings, staring instead for
hours at each frame, tra cing every line with her delicate fingers. It
is not known if she composes any art of her own; but there are quite a
few instances of new paintings, sonatas, or poems suddenly appearing
in the Cathedral with no one stepping forward to take responsibility -
unheard of to the Toreador, but the Angel Gabriel never answers any of
the questions put to her regarding these compositions. Other, less
charitable Kindred believe she is the ultimate poseur, a "Toreador
groupie" whose sole grace is her p hysical beauty; but even many of
these find themselves growing fond of her as time passes. As she never
leaves the Cathedral, she never hunts. Capelthwaite has taken it upon
himself to feed her every few days;  a practice that is emulated by
many other of the Clan. They allow her to drink of their blood
regularly; but no one is sure of her generation and so the idea of
blood bonding is tacitly left unmentioned. Cynics often wonder if she
was Embraced by an Elder, set among the Toreador to win the hearts and
Blood of the entire Clan. The Angel Gabriel, however, shows neither
knowledge nor interest in Camarilla politics. Some have expressed the
question that she may not even be aware of the source of the Blood
that feeds her; a fact that may account for the humanity and
gentleness seen in her eyes. Others suggest, half-jokingly, that she
is actually a Malkavian. In general, however, the Ange l Gabriel is
loved by the Clan and practically worshipped by some, including
Capelthwaite.



- Vladimir Ivanovich Zamiatin A quintessential "Crazy Russian,"
Vladimir is a composer who defected to America in 1962. He was
Embraced by William Danzig in 1964, and since his Sire's death in 1978
he has remained with the New York Toreador. Vlad is a cheerful and
extroverted man with a physical age of 36 and a bushy black beard. He
has the unnerving habit of laughing loudly for no apparent reason, and
true to the classic Slavic stereotype he claims every invention and
innovation to be Russian. He is a consummate chess player, and his
skills of musical composition have not faded since his death. An
admirer of Prokoviev, Shostakovich and Mahler, his own pieces are
tremendously complex and notoriously quirky. His periods of creativity
are subject to his mood swings; sometimes he spends weeks in his study
doing nothing but writing furiously, and sometimes he drops all
creative activity for a stretch of time that can last up to several
years. He is currently working on his self-proclaimed masterpiece, a
three-act opera spanning the middle ages to the present. He claims the
work will be finished in 1999, and the vampiric world is looking
forward to seeing it performed. It is tentatively c alled Sukkobov.
Vladimir has the odd habit of downing shots of vodka as he feeds, and
sometimes he invites attractive women to his lair, sloshes them on
vodka, and drains them close to the point of hospitalization. He finds
it a point of humour to only do this to women named "Mary," and after
he feeds he leaves them at the door of a physician he's previously
Dominated to deal tactfully with th e situation. When he occasionally
does kill a vessel, he often flies into a rage, shouting in Russian at
the walls and smashing his furniture. For the few days, he locks the
door to his chamber and broods in a fugue of Shostakovich and vodka -
he only emerges when the Hunger pulls him back into the world of the
Unliving. Although the whole Cathedral knows about them, Zamiatin nor
anyone else ever mentions these rages.


- Luther Bates Quiet unique among the Clan, Luther Bates is really not
a Toreador - he is a Malkavian pretender. Known all over the New York
vampire community, Bates practices a quite singular habit: every few
years he pretends he's from a different clan. His imitations are
flawless - he seems to tap into the Clan archetype in a sublime way
which gives him the illusion of being the perfect member. Although
unable to use the Disciplines of that clan (Or so at least everyone
thinks. . . ), Bates' imitation is perfect in every other way. Bates
never, even for a second, drops character - indeed, most of the
Kindred wonder if he even knows he's imitating a different clan. He
acts as a member of that clan for years, sometimes even decades, and
he even goes so far as to create an incredibly complex and detailed
history for himself. An interesting thing, however, is his name:
regardless of his incarnation, he always goes by the name of Luther
Bates. Once every few months, he spends an entire night imitating a
specific member of the Clan. These imitations are also flawless, but
always end at sunrise. Most vampires are just amused to be his target,
but a few of the more sensitive ones have been known to fly into a
rage. How he is received is dependent on the clan. At first, the
Ventrue were outraged when they found him out; but when his business
sense and political manipulations far outshone many of the other
Ventrue - not to mention winning them a few valuable contacts and a
few million dollars - they decided to ride with it. As a matter of
fact, the clan is openly happy when it is time for him to "become" a
Ventrue again, an d they welcome and humour him. (But still keep a
close watch on him) When he is in his "Toreador" phase, Capelthwaite
lays out the red carpet. Most of the Toreador think his imitation is
an a rt form in itself. (Except de Angelou, who despises him.) The
Brujah love him - they think he's a riot - and the Nosferatu tolerate
him as long as he keeps his nose clean. He never imitates the T remere
or the Gangrel. Occasionally he vanishes for a while, and there are
many ideas as to his location. Most think he is off being an actual
Malkavian; but a few chuckle, wondering if he is im itating a clan of
the Sabbat. . . . Bates' current persona is a classic Toreador. He
affects all the mannerisms of a rich artiste and dilettante, unafraid
to critique other's work as if he were a Toreador Methuselah. His
skill manifests as a painter, but none of his work is original - he
paints forgeries, forgeries as perfect as his other imitations. He
never capitalizes on these, however, because he has no care for what
kind of canvas he uses and the age of his paints, so while the style
and replication may be impeccable, any chemical tests would show them
up immediately. in addition, he affects the maddening habit of signing
his name to each one, fully insisting it's his own work! One
interesting side effect of all this: he has been a "Toreador" for
three years now, and he has Sired a childe. (No other clan but the
Brujah would allow him to do that.) That childe is Ashley in Crimson,
and she has no clue that she is not really a Toreador. . . .


- Ashley In Crimson Born Stephanie Jo Heiberger in 1970, "Ashley in
Crimson" was Sired by Luther Bates, which puts her in the singular
position of being a Malkavian rather than a Toreador - and she has no
clue. Ashley was Embraced only a year ago, but in that time she has
managed to alienate herself almost completely. A sculptor and poet in
life, she has found that death has taken away whatever creativity she
might have onc e possessed in life - and to speak charitably, that
wasn't very much to begin with. She has endeavored to become the
"ultimate Toreador," and as a result she has seriously offended each
and every one. Even her fashion affectations are obnoxious: she
dresses only in scarlets and crimsons, her long black hair hanging
Morticia-like to her waist. She wears blood-red lipstick and overdoes
her make-up, and within the first month of her Embrace, she had a
scarlet  vampire-bat tattooed on her neck - a move most Toreador found
pathetic if not outright offensive. She is pretentious, opinionated,
egotistic, and has no respect for anyone but herself. She offensively
critiques everything anybody else does, no matter how good or bad, and
she thinks that her post-death work is light-years ahead of anything
else in the world. She kills her food willfully with little regard for
self-constraint, then self-co nsciously "agonizes" over her "damned
condition." There is a very simple reason that everyone puts up with
her: they are waiting for her fall. She really thinks she's a
Toreador, and she expresses her disgust at Malkavians at every
opportunity. In a few years, Luther Bates will move on, and then. . .
The very thought of this revenge is enough to keep even her worst
enemies in e xpectant bliss. . . .


- Drella Drella is a reclusive vampire who was very recently Embraced.
His mortal name was Andy Warhol. Yes, Andy didn't really clock out
during that operation. . . a little Domination here and there, a few
faked certificates, and Andy woke up a Vampire. His Sire, Sally de
Angelou, arranged his funeral and all the deceptions needed to pull it
off; and Andy was so infatuated with the idea of being a vampire he
went right along with it. (She had to convince him not to suddenly sit
up in the casket to scare the bejeezus out of John Cale, but he
obediently stayed "dead.") Taking the name Drella, Andy spends most of
his time sitting in the Cathedral and painting. He has a few film
projects in mind, but as of now, he just enjoys being a vampire. He
rarely goes out, and when he does, dark glasses are his only disguise.
(He gets a personal kick out of all the "Oh look, a Warhol clone"
comments.) He still can't bring himself to kill, and he only draws
just enough blood to survive. (It reminds him too much of sex.) He
says that one day he'd like to let Lou Reed know that he'd forgiven
him, and to please stop embarrassing him with all the records and
shows, but for now he is quite content. The fact that he chose to hide
in the Cathedral irks de Angelou to no end: she had visions of him
becoming a socialite and entertaining guests at her Studio; sort of
like an Undead version of the Factory. Since his "departure" from her
clique, she has feigned a complete lack of interest in the "quirky
little poseur."