The Setting

[Kerisma]

The game takes place in Levon, a fictional city in the south of France. The idea of the game is to combine things we've all learned to love, the fantasy parts of Dungeons and Dragons with the political games of Vampire: the Masquerade. As such, the game should be viewed as a fantasy world, but with a few changes. Vampire Clans are still the same and the Camarilla/Sabbat are still (im)mortal enemies, cameras and the sort are nowhere to be found and the technology will be similar to 1200's Europe. Warfare was still soldier to soldier and guns were nowhere to be found, with the church and the King as the local powers, softly underlined by the schemes of Kindred society. Levon is a rich city with many trade routes, being a coastal city it has been a center for trading for the last 500 years. There is a massive cathedral, a fort based on an island close by, a tall city wall and an inner city wall to cut off the common folk from the castle the city spreads out from. With a population of about 300.000 people, the city is considered one of the most important ones in the area and thus both Camarilla and Sabbat wants their piece of the cake.

The city power structure is mainly split up between the influence of a few elite families/factions. First and foremost is King Raul, (a human in his 40's, inherited the throne almost a decade ago now) in kinfolk society his word is law, but he does have a council of advisors, some who has bought their spot and some who's earned it, ultimately decisions made are Raul's to make. There is the House of Demiron, led by Lord Darryl (a rather fat gnome in his late 50's, his family has been running the business for over 200 years and the patronage gets taken over by the eldest son) a trade company in charge of the docks - their wealth and power comes through the fees and fares of controlling what comes in and out of the cities harbour. There is the Order of Vicente, led by General Ophelia (a particularly eloquent elven woman, rumoured to be a fantastic warrior herself - aged around 25, her rise to power was quick and effective, the knighthood rewards competence rather than family for promotions) recognized knighthood who's power and wealth comes from protecting the cities walls, borders and the local law enforcements. There is the Church of God, while Levon is not the location of the Pope, the Archbishop Julian (a dwarf in his 60's, in good shape for his age) does bring a great deal of pondus with him, he is one of the most influencial clergymen in the country and his inquisitors are known for their effectiveness. Finally the Jaded Court, no one actually knows who run the Court or who is part of the decisionmaking, but it is blatantly obvious to anyone who's lived in the city for more than a week that what they want to get, they will get. Not even Julian speaks out publicly against them, as those that do have a tendency to disappear, never to return.

On the supernatural side, the Camarilla has recently returned and found that so has the Sabbat. The war between them is what originally caused the purge 80 years back, the struggle to gain influence and wage war without attracting too much attention from the local powers that be will be a fine balance and political schemes will play a big part. Will the war once more drive the vampires out of the city or will the Sabbat this time grasp a strangle-hold of Levon and exile the Camarilla from the city? The future is yet uncertain, but what is known is that a vampire will never give up the city as long as there's a chance for power.