My Characters: Trinity (Mage: The Awakening)

I love subverting archetypes and stereotypes, and the New World of Darkness seems very much designed with this possibility in mind. Classic World of Darkness tends to attach a lot of metaplot baggage to its character factions, and while that does give them flavor and history, it can also be somewhat restrictive. New World of Darkness opens up many doors by reducing the races to recognizable archetypes, ones that can be interpreted in many different ways. This brings me to the first ones of the 'My Character' articles. This is a character I have used once or twice in Mage: the Awakening before, but I haven't had a chance to fully explore yet, though I would welcome the chance to do so. As always, these characters are free for anyone to use in their games, and will come with story hooks and roleplay hints.

In the vein of subverted archetypes, the Obrimos path of Mage: The Awakening is very often stereotyped as a path of paladins and holy rollers, goody-two-shoes choirboys. It's easy to see where the stereotype comes from. Obrimos specialize in Forces and Prime, literally bringing warmth and light, and utilizing the stuff of magic itself. Their inferior Arcanum is one of the most morally grey ones, Death, and the typical Obrimos tends to be driven toward a cause, or something that they strongly believe in. Trinity is here to show that not all causes are good, and light and warmth can be just as dangerous as anything else when taken to an extreme.

Background
The infamous mage Trinity, spoken about in whispers in the Consilium of Detroit and in horror stories among the Seers, began his life as a rather unassuming young man in America, who happened to have a worryingly unhealthy obsession with fire. Simon Marco was never abused as a child, was never bullied, and almost drifted through life, neither excelling or failing. The one thing that drove him, however, from his youth, was his love of fire. Fire was something he never got tired of seeing, and when his parents were out, he would stare at candles, ignite small mounds of leaves, and sometimes, even singe stray dogs and cats, just to see them yelp. To Simon, fire was a symbol of control, a symbol of a dynamic force of nature, bending knee to mankind.

As a teenager, Simon was interested in history, especially the history of warfare surrounding World War 2, where he developed yet another unhealthy obsession with the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. The idea of a bomb that could level cities and reduce people to smears of ash and carbon enraptured the young man, and as this obsession grew, he longed to see bigger and bigger things burn. He burnt his first house down at the age of sixteen, hiding and watching as the abandoned building was consumed by the flames. Since then, Simon took to wandering through the decayed and abandoned neighborhoods of Detroit, scouting out new locations, and burning down abandoned buildings. At least once, a person was sleeping inside the building, but Simon took the time to hide his involvement, and no one was ever suspicious of the teenager.

At the age of twenty seven, Simon, having finished a university degree in applied physics and having saved enough money, took what he saw as a holy pilgrimage to Nagasaki, where he explored the remains of the ruined buildings, and as something of a sacrament to his obsession, burned a house down in one of the abandoned areas.

Something happened in that moment to Simon, as he stood amidst the flames. On the horizon, he saw the nuclear flash of Fat Man as it exploded over the city. He heard the screams of terror of those caught outside, and watched the shockwave turn buildings into rubble. He heard the scream from the heart of the shattered atom, and watched as a pillar of fire and light roared up into the sky. Simon Marco had never seen anything so beautiful in his life, and could do nothing but walk into the blaze.

Waves of heat melted Simon's flesh, tearing away at his skin, hair and muscle, but he continued onward, climbing an impossibly high tower of molten fire. All around him as he climbed, and was slowly burnt alive, screaming angels serenaded him with voices that sounded like air raid sirens. Eventually, reduced to nothing more than a walking carbon shadow, with barely any substance left, he reached the top, and in his own ashes, inscribed his name on the Watchtower of the Golden Key, Awakening as an Obrimos.

Choosing the Shadow Name Trinity, after the nuclear testing ground, Trinity went along with learning the basics of Mage society. He very quickly realized that the ultimate fire he sought was inside the human soul, the fire of Awakening itself, and studied the process ferociously. His fervor and dedication made him popular among both the Silver Ladder and the Free Council, and with the help of their libraries, he quickly mastered the Arcana of Forces, and even managed to trick a Tamer of Fire into teaching him his Legacy.

It couldn't last, of course, and the Tamer cast out Trinity as soon as he realized what a monster he was. Trinity retaliated by murdering his teacher and stealing his books, firm that no one would stand in the way of his studies and experiments. He withdrew more and more from Mage society, becoming a hermit and setting up sanctums in abandoned buildings, as he studied how to trigger the Awakening in people, using methods that some would deem....invasive.

In any other city, Trinity would have been tried and killed, but Detroit had recently won a battle with the Seers, and needed every powerful mage they could get, so Trinity was tacitly accepted, though exiled from polite society. He proved his loyalty to the Free Council many times, on the rare occasions that he appeared in public, with firm commitments to spreading and sharing information, and giving some truly stomach-churning deaths to the Seers who were unfortunate enough to cross his path. Eventually equilibrium was reached. Trinity proved more useful alive than dead, and was used as a weapon by the Free Council, to be pointed at their enemies.

Today, Trinity lives as he always did, lurking in the abandoned suburbs of Detroit. Occasionally mortals disappear from the area, becoming trapped in house fires which seem to have no cause, and either dying, or using the stress of the moment to Awaken. No one in Detroit likes him, but killing him would mean acknowledging the tacit acceptance the leaders of the city have given him, and they would much prefer Trinity to be their dirty little secret.

Personality and Roleplaying Hints
Trinity is very soft spoken, and has somewhat childish mannerisms, shrinking away from loud noises and avoiding social contact. Behind his eyes, however, a ruthless sociopath works, who has one goal that he will do anything, even kill, to achieve. Trinity can lie without remorse, he can kill and watch others suffer, and firmly rationalizes it as part of the greater good. He will say or do anything to further his goals.

The possible single redeeming factor of Trinity is his genuine charity. Trinity believes fire to be the birthright of everyone, and doesn't take kindly to the idea of knowledge being suppressed or denied to people. He may be responsible for dozens of deaths, but each one was committed in the hopes that the person would arise from the flames, born again, like he was. While most others would label Trinity a serial killer, to him, it's all science, and all part of perfecting the process that will ultimately make the world a better place.

Trinity can serve as an ally or antagonist to the Chronicle, depending on the outlook of the players. He is a very firm reminder that magic can lead to hubris, and once down that slippery slope, a person, especially with magic, is capable of some seriously messed-up shit. Despite this, he is happy to help younger Free Council members, and if he finds a kindred spirit, or someone he thinks is heroic, he may even teach them in the ways of the Tamers of Fire. In a weird way, Trinity takes to heart their idea of heroism, and in his own warped way, lives up to it, standing up, uncompromisingly for what he thinks is right.

Story Hooks

•   A mage approaches the characters, introducing herself as a Tamer of Fire. She has heard about a member of her Legacy that has gone mad in the area, and seeks the aid of the locals to put the errant mage down. The Tamer is more focused on the intellectual aspect of the Legacy, and is good at motivating people, toking the fire in their hearts, but is not very good at doing battle, which is why she needs their help. She knows the clues to look for and is willing to trade both lore and favors in exchange for bringing to justice the criminal who is soiling her Legacy's good name. Is the hunt worth it, both for bringing the characters to the attention of a batshit insane serial arsonist, and the city's authorities? Are they in it because it's the right thing to do, or do they want to plunder Trinity's sanctum and steal his knowledge and artefacts? Regardless of motivations, the characters have a long road to tracking down Trinity, and a firey showdown seems inevitable.
• Seemingly improbable events and catastrophes are happening in the area, like animals made of fire stalking the streets, Ley lines being moved and mana reacting violently whenever it's used in certain areas, and it all points to one thing, Trinity has finally gone off the deep end and broken his own soul, becoming one of the Mad. As his Arcana leak out and infest more and more of the city, the Guardians and the Arrow are having a field day keeping all this under wraps, and every portent and sign points to some tremendous catastrophe in the near future. Trinity, in going Mad, has decided that there is only one way to replicate his Awakening on a large scale, and that's to simulate a nuclear blast on Detroit, and he doesn't care about how much Paradox or destruction he has to unleash. As he prepares the ritual, the clock is ticking, and the countdown to find him is reaching its end.
• New mages are Awakening all over the city, of all paths, often with strange, fire-based Nimbi. Obrimi shine with bright, passionate flames, Moroi have soot-stained auras and even Acanthi and Mastigoi create strange, smoke-like and illusory magical effects. Trinity has uncovered a new rote, one of his own creation, that traps a person inside aethereal flames until they either Awaken, or die a horrible, horrible death. The problem is that, the process is insanely traumatic, and Trinity is applying it as much as he can, to as many people as he can, resulting in dozens of hideously traumatized and unstable Mages, venting their power on anyone who will stand still. The Free Council and the Silver Ladder are naturally interested in obtaining this rite, to see if they can make it less nightmarish, but Trinity is demanding recognition and reward for the fruit of his research, and is threatening to burn down Detroit with a small army of newly Awakened mages. 

Stats (using Mage: The Awakening 1st Edition)
These can be dialed up or toned down depending on what level of threat you want him.

Trinity
Real Name: Simon Marco
Path: Obrimos
Order: Free Council
Legacy: Tamer of Fire
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 5, Composure 4
Mental Skills: History 4, Politics 2, Science (Bomb Making) 5, Medicine (Burns) 2
Physical Skills:  Melee 3, Athletics 3
Social Skills: Expression 3, Intimidation 4, Streetwise 4, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Contacts (Criminals) 3, Danger Sense, High Speech, Sanctum 3
Willpower: 7
Defense: 4
Speed: 13
Health: 8
Armor: 5 (Unseen Shield, Forces 2)
Mana: 14/5
Gnosis: 5
Arcana: Forces 5, Prime 4, Space 3, Matter 1, Spirit 1
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Wrath
Wisdom: 3 (Pyromania, Megalomania, Psychopathy)
Rotes: Forces - Nightsight (1), Aethernet (2), Unseen Shield (2), Control Fire (3), Stay the Invisible Fire (3), Firestarter (4), Radiation Blast (4), Cleansing (5), Radiation (5)
Prime - Inscribe Grimoire (1), Supernal Vision (1), Counterspell (2), Armor of the Soul (3)
Space - Angle Vision (1), Correspondence (1), Nothing Up My Sleeve (2)
Attainments: 1st - Touch the Fire, 2nd - Catch the Fire
Dedicated Magical Tool: Wooden cane with a gold handle. He bought it when he first injured his leg in an act of arson.
Nimbus: Air raid siren, waves of heat radiate from his body.

- Kephn

How to play Clan Tremere.

I am exceedingly unsubtle in my love for the Tremere of Vampire: the Masquerade. I just designed a city for them in my last post, and I even love their concepts so much, I dedicated an entire article to their nWoD counterparts, the equally cool Tremere Liches, mages who eat souls and gain eternal life. Clan Tremere is my second or third favorite clan, (as cool as they are, they cannot top the body-horrortastic Tzimisce or Baali for me) and after a brief discussion on the internet that quite shockingly didn't degenerate into a flamewar, I was somewhat disappointed to see that there are a quite vocal, and not insignificant part of the Vampire: The Masquerade community that see the Tremere as easy powergamer fodder, citing their admittedly very powerful discipline, Thaumaturgy, and their 'lack' of a true clan weakness (that one made me laugh because it's in-universe Tremere propaganda). So, I'm about to do my thing where I jump on a bandwagon and throw in my two cents about how to play the Tremere. This was inspired by a series of awesome guides by Secrets of the Masquerade, but I wanted to give my opinion, because I think that the Tremere are one of the most difficult clans to play well, even more than the usual bullshit of the Malkavians and Assamites.

Character

More than most other clans, the Tremere are defined by their character. It's a complete mistake to assume that all Tremere were magicians or occultists or scholars or whatnot before their embrace, because, quite honestly, the Tremere don't need people like that. They go for nerdy types, yes, they go for people that obviously will be able to adapt to an unlifetime of cloistered studying, because their discipline and ace in the hole requires a huge amount of commitment and study. The thing is though, the Tremere already know magic. They have a tendency to embrace people that are creative and can think outside the box, but already have enough knowledge of the box to be able to make their insight useful. A Tremere may embrace a lawyer, to help him or her weasel out of their latest inevitable breach of the Traditions. They might embrace an art-student, to see what new ways Thaumaturgy can be expressed. Now, the key to a Tremere is that, they're all people, but the Tremere structure tries, paradoxically, to mold them into perfect servants. The key to the Tremere clan, and it's psyche, is contradiction, and the struggle to be creative, free and innovative while toeing the party line and being slavishly bonded to your hidebound superiors. Every single Tremere is a human first, and it was those human qualities that the vampire was embraced for.

Weakness

People who say that the Tremere lack a true clan weakness are usually Tremere themselves. The reason for that is, while they may not have a curse passed down from Caine, like all the other clans, anyone with two brain cells and a pair of eyes can look at the Tremere and see their weakness, plain as day. To be a Tremere is to cease being an individual. To the outside world, a Tremere is a Tremere. They are backstabbing, they are untrustworthy, they are usurpers, diabolists and will funnel anything you tell them straight to their sires. Tremere, depending on the edition, have had several weaknesses, but I like the one from V20, because it incorporates them all. Firstly, Tremere are more vulenerable to blood bonds. This is universally accepted to be a good weakness, as far as I've seen, and I think it makes sense, since their entire house structure focused on heirarchy (especially if we're going from their Ars Magicka backstory). The second weakness is that Tremere automatically undergo a ritual called the Transubstantiation of the Seven as soon as they are embraced, which automatically binds them to the Inner Circle, the leaders of Clan Tremere. This simple change makes all the difference in the world, because it means that unlike every other clan, the Tremere are loyal to their founders. They are, to a certain extent, loyal to each other. Tremere have to obey their elders because they are loyal to the Clan. Tremere cannot knowingly harm their fellows unless they can convince themselves that it would be for the good of the clan. These little things mean that the Tremere have to be extra vicious, and extra rules-lawyery to get what they want from their clanmates. I'll expand on this later, but the competitive nature of the clan finds every Tremere in the situation where they want to hurt one of their own, but need to find a better way.

Finally, the main Tremere weakness, the unspoken one that has lasted through all the editions is the weakness of social censure. No one likes the Tremere, no one trusts them, not even their allies in the Camarilla. In their rise to power, the Tremere screwed over a vast majority of people, many of whom were very powerful in their own right, and the clan has hung on to existence by a string. From their origins, they destroyed many powerful Tzimisce. They devoured the Salubri, painted them as demon-worshippers and had them exterminated. They cursed the Assamites. Any of those three clans would make for pretty horrifying enemies, but altogether, without support, the nights of the Tremere are numbered. Tremere style themselves as a pillar of the Camarilla, but what they don't like to admit to themselves is that they need the Camarilla. They need friends and support, which is why they are such staunch supporters of the Ivory Tower and why they interact with vampire politics at all. If the Camarilla were to hang the Tremere out to dry, the sheer amount of enmity toward them from so many extremely dangerous people would reduce Vienna to a smoldering crater in a matter of weeks. They can't do that, of course, because the Tremere have made themselves virtually indispensable to the Camarilla, but it's a thought that exists in the head of every Tremere, especially when conflicts with other clans leads to destabilization of the local Cam.

Culture

Of all the clans, the Tremere arguably have the most culture. Any Tremere, anywhere in the world, unless they are Anarchs or Caitiff, can tell you exactly where they stand within the insular organization of Warlocks called the Pyramid. Tremere are a hierarchy that is built on absolutely brutal competition, for power, magic, lore and mentors. Tremere certainly don't have enough of all this to give to everyone, so at each rung, every Tremere from the most lowly apprentice to the highest Pontifex is getting strung along by the person one step above him or her, being made to jump through hoops just to get that one additional scrap. Picture a competitive university, the most overworked and overstressed uni students imaginable, and add in an urge to drink blood, a predatory monster living within them, and the inability to express their frustrations any way other than abusing their direct underlings. It's a complete mistake to think of the Tremere as just another vampire clique in the city, like you would for the Toreadors or the Brujah. The Tremere are constantly stressed out and competing, and they often despise other people of their level, abuse those beneath them, and are abused by the superiors they constantly need to suck up to. This really doesn't make any kind of healthy mindset, and Tremere are desperate, almost rabid for any edge over their competition. Within the clan, Thaumaturgy is very much a privilege, not a right, and a Tremere's elders will make him work for every scrap that he earns.

In kindred society, The Tremere occupy a very unique position, very often taking up rolls behind the scenes, where they act largely as consultants, though there is nothing preventing a Tremere from taking up positions like that of a Harpy or a Sheriff. The main thing that stops many Tremere from being more active participants in Camarilla society are the twofold problems of prejudice and their own bosses. As mentioned above, no one really trusts the Tremere, and no one really likes the clan of unholy mages who diablerized the nicest (probably) Antediluvian and is constantly trying to keep a monopoly on all blood magic. The second thing is that, due to their pyramidal structure, Tremere can only really take positions that are deemed appropriate by their superiors. If the Regent doesn't want you to be a Sheriff, then too bad, even if every other vampire in the city supports you. The Tremere operate as a subsect within the Camarilla, and politics within the Pyramid always supersede those without.

All of this adds up to make the Tremere one of the most insular and xenophobic group of people imaginable. More than any other vampire, a Tremere has no friends, only enemies he hasn't quite gotten around to screwing over yet. What would be unreasonable paranoia to anyone else is just par for the course for Tremere, who's elders are constantly trying to control them, who's peers are constantly trying to outmaneuver them, and who's species hates them just for being what they are. Weirdly for such an authoritarian, draconian society, Tremere are completely out for number one. They have to be. If they were anything less, they would have fallen to their enemies millenia ago. 

Thaumaturgy

One cannot speak about Clan Tremere without talking about Thaumaturgy, which is the birthright, basis of, and ace in the hole of the entire clan. Thaumaturgy is a reflection of magic in the vampiric blood. Many argue that it doesn't belong in the game or that it doesn't feel vampiric enough, but that's arguably the point. Thaumaturgy is not some natural discipline, evolved to make the vampire a better predator. It is a point by point developed system of blood magic, whose purpose is to force reality itself to alter through the expenditure of Vitae. Thaumaturgy cannot really hold a candle to True Magick, as it is static, and path based, but the sheer versatility of the discipline makes it essentially ten separate disciplines in one. This is the main thing that makes the Tremere seem very overpowered, and to a certain extent I would agree. As discussed above, however, the Tremere have to put ip with some absolutely horrible weaknesses in order to wield the Blood in such a fashion. The Tremere seem like a minmaxer's delight, as all their weaknesses are roleplay based, and all their strengths are mechanical, but it really is the onus of the GM and the player, in any game, but especially a roleplay heavy one like Vampire, to allow the character to have weaknesses and be vulnerable. I would encourage storytellers who are playing Regents of the Tremere to bully the younger ones. Make them dance for every ritual and pit them against each other without mercy.

The other thing to remember about Thaumaturgy is that nobody wants to teach it. At all. Teaching someone else Thaumaturgy inherently allows them to use one of your tricks against you, and eventually, you will run out of tricks, especially if your would-be apprentice manages to overtake you. Tremere mentors worry about this constantly, as they know that their clan is a meritocracy, and need to be seen to be giving out just enough knowledge so that their superiors don't punish them, but not so much as to make their apprentices a danger of being promoted above them. Thaumaturgy should be regulated and it should be earned by inches. Elder Tremere will come up with all sorts of excuses as to why they cannot teach, and if you have an apprentice, it's only clever to keep strining them along.

All that said, the Tremere guard Thaumaturgy so jealously because it really is the only ace they have up their sleeves. Thaumaturgy can do things that make other vampires terrified, because it literally goes against the laws of nature and undeath. Thaumaturgy can break blood-bonds. It can trace lineages. it can see if a person has EVER diablerised, even if all the telltale traces have faded, and it can be used to ward places against vampires themselves. Vampires fear this discipline because it can violate the very laws that govern the undead, and that is scary for a race of utter control freaks. Thaumaturgy is the strength of Clan Tremere, and while they may say that only they have the responsibility to use it, or that they are the only ones qualified, the truth is that, if they allowed the discipline to leak out into the Camarilla as a whole, there would be no further need for them, and when that happens, the Camarilla will discard them. 

How to Play Tremere

The meat of this article, is obviously, how to play the Tremere. I've given everyone a lot of background on their culture and their powers, but this section will get into the mind of the average Tremere. This is what you need to be thinking about. You know your status in the Pyramid, and if you're a player character, its very likely that of an apprentice. You want to advance, but you know that your fellows want to as well. You stick with them because they're the only ones you can somewhat predict. The other vampires of the Camarilla are wrapped up in their nightly drama pageant, and they all want something different, from money, to status, but at least with your fellow Tremere, it's the same thing. We want power, we want rank and we want magic. The problem is that they're thinking the exact same thing.

So you have your Prince, who treats you with disdain, but tolerates and consults with you and your Regent, who clearly sees you as a tool for his own advancement, but due to your mutual loyalty to the Pyramid, you'll serve him and he'll teach you. Hopefully he gets promoted before you become powerful enough to challenge him, because very few people are in as good a place to sabotage you as your own teacher. These two masters compete constantly for your attention and loyalty. The Prince wants everything he can get out of the Tremere, and will take advantage of any show of weakness to make you do more stuff for him because 'only you can.' Meanwhile, your Regent wants everything that he can get out of the Prince, and is happy to use you to do it. This loyalty to two masters is stressful as anything, as they both try to use you to weasel favors out of the other, but who are you going to complain to? Your fellow apprentices who'd likely tattle on you to the Regent? Other neonates of other clans? Like they'd understand, and anyway, what happens in the Pyramid stays in the Pyramid. You need to maintain a show of solidarity for the outsiders.

Say you manage to juggle these mad responsibilities, and not only does your Regent get promoted, but so do you. You're now the Regent of your own Chantry, perhaps with your own slew of apprentices to train. Perhaps you think that this is a good opportunity to get some freedom. well, you would be wrong, sir. Being Regent basically makes you the clan Primogen, which means interacting with all the other backstabbing shits in the Primogen council. You have power over your apprentices, yes, but remember that every one of them is eyeing your job, so best make sure they only get powerful enough to take it when it is well behind you, or they disappear before they get the chance. Other vampires are constantly trying to get favors from the entirety of your clan, and you need to juggle the responsibilities of a Primogen to the Prince and the Cammarilla court, your responsibilities to your apprentices, and your responsibilities to your Tremere superior, who holds you directly responsible for the power and happenings of Clan Tremere in that area.

The point of all this is that being a Tremere is a full time job. A path to incredible power, yes, but a very long path that very few can succeed at without being truly exceptional people. The average Tremere languishes at the bottom for centuries, barely ever learning Thaumaturgy or even seeing the end of the tunnel.

Some neat works of fiction to inspire Tremere characters and a Tremere game.

The Wolf of Wall Street: Bit of a weird one, as it involves no vampires at any point, but each character, especially Jordan Belfort himself, is a perfect Tremerem being a combination of a brilliant schemer, an ambitious ubermensch, a creative genius, and an utterly amoral bastard. I think this movie is a really good one to inspire an up and coming Tremere character, and Belfort's ideas about playing fair and cheating to victory are something any Tremere would secretly applaud.

The Ninth Gate: I've probably referenced this one before, but it's a really smooth, cereberal thriller about occultists fighting over a satanic grimoire, all of them trying to manipulate a luckless investigator. This is a perfect representation of a clan struggle, and how elders will treat neonates in their service.

- Kephn

My Settings: High Chantry Vienna (Vampire: The Masquerade)

I've pretty much blogged about every RPG monster that's captured my imagination, so I think it's a good time to start a new series, namely, the settings and characters I've either used in RPG's to good effect, or have just planned and designed and would like to use. These are going to be longer articles, attempting at least give you, the reader, the skeleton of the city, its politics, some notable NPC's, and perhaps some story hooks.

Bringing this in, I've been running Vampire for a very, very long time, and I've always enjoyed portraying Clan Tremere. Among clans, they've always interested me because of their contradictions. They're arguably the most structured clans, but they still look for eccentrics and free-thinkers to give them a new perspective. They're exceedingly traditional, but also highly innovative. They're vampires, but also mages, and they're tolerated by their allies, despite being a bunch of eccentric, almost openly and outright heretical mad magicians, simply because of how useful they are. I've been wanting to run an all-Tremere game for a while. The dynamic of the coterie interests me a lot because Tremere are, by definition, all loyal to their clan, but not necessarily to each other. They're a bunch of egomaniacal, back stabbing, college students, almost, and they're all fighting for the teacher's approval. There's neat politics in a game like that, and characters would have to get super vicious without ever raising a hand against each other.

Now, final thing, I don't know if White Wolf/Onyx Path has released a Vienna by Night, or if there are very good fan cities out there. I'm sure there are, but I haven't taken anything more than a cursory Google search for it. As far as i can tell, these are all my ideas, but if I am ripping something off, well, it's all fan stuff for copyrighted material anyway, so, well, the universe ticks on. Settings and characters I put up here are free for anyone to use.

Flavour, Culture and Government

Real world Vienna has a long, and storied history that I won't waffle on about here, when Wikipedia can do that job for me. In terms of Vampire: The Masquerade, however, Vienna is important for one reason, as the high chantry and seat of Tremere power. Vienna is often referred to as a Camarilla city, which is accurate in that it does follow the strictures of the Camarilla and violently rebukes the Sabbat and the Independents when it can, however, it would be more accurate to simply call Vienna a Tremere city. The Tremere own Vienna in very much the same way that the Ventrue own Britain or the Toreador own France. Other Kindred call it their home. Other Kindred even reside there in great enough numbers to challenge the Tremere on some issues. Despite this, the city speaks of Tremere influence. Everywhere you look, small markings of the Tremere make themselves known. Masonic symbolism. Great libraries and museums and other storehouses of culture, lore and history. The Tremere are all about knowledge, and in Vienna, that knowledge is accessible, at a cost.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is arguably one of the most important buildings to the vampires of Vienna, and yet one of the most untouched. While obviously unconfirmed, it is rumored that the building serves as the resting place of the fabled Lord Etrius, most beloved of Tremere himself, and first among equals of the Inner Circle. For obvious reasons, the Inner Circle do not have public domains or even walk the streets of Vienna very often, however their presence is constantly felt. Nonetheless, the building's lower depths are warded against virtually everything under the sky, it is patrolled night and day, and there is a constant aura of True Faith that microwaves any Kindred foolish enough to violate it. No Kindred, is allowed to set foot within without invitation.

Vienna is ruled by a Prince known only as the Witch-King. No other information is known about this vampire, including his or her gender, race, age, ethnicity, or even name. The Witch-King appears cloaked and masked in public and is constantly surrounded by ghouls and courtiers. Together with his seven heirs, his personal apprentices and liaisons with the primogens of the city (and possible player characters), he or she manages the day to day affairs of the city. It is whispered that the Witch-king is a direct childe of one of the Inner Circle, perhaps even of Etrius himself. Perhaps the Witch-King is exceedingly paranoid, or given that he or she never directly embraces anyone, merely 'adopting' promising Tremere as heirs, has led some to whisper that perhaps he or she isn't even merely one person.

Among the Kindred of Vienna, the dichotomy between the High and Low clans is very strongly pronounced, with the culture of each clan changed somewhat. Tremere are not viziers and court mages in Vienna, rather, they lord over the city as philosopher kings and sorcerer lords. While Vienna goes through the motions of having Primogen, and maintains the facade that any vampire in the city has a say, it is clear that the ruling class of the city are the Tremere. The power of clans in the city is decided entirely by how useful they are to the Tremere. Ventrue, despite their usual princely stereotype serve as advisors and knights of the Tremere, embracing chivalry and dignitas and emphasizing their prodigous Fortitude in protecting their masters. The Toreador are seen as 'shepherds' and warders of both the low clans and the kine, keeping the peace and pacifying the masses. Malkavians, Brujah and Gangrel are not held in such high esteem, being seen as undignified rabble, who are tolerated, though with nowhere near enough power to challenge the privileged three. Some Brujah may become enforcers and some Malkavians seers and librarians for the Tremere, but there is a certain unspoken rule based on traditions enforced for centuries. Nosferatu are the odd ones out here, being held in both high regard and high suspicion by the Tremere. The Nosferatu are the only clan that can match the Tremere in unity and in information gathering. Relations between the two are guarded and neutral, but whereas the Tremere rule the surface, the tunnels and catacombs of Vienna are very much the home turf of the Sewer Rats, and even the Witch-King hesitates to descend into their depths.

Beyond these clan relations, all important positions are held by Tremere, with the exception of Sheriff and Keeper of Elysium, which traditionally are held by the most highly acclaimed Ventrue or Toreador within the city.

 Laws of the Witch-King

1. Vienna shall adhere to the six Traditions of the Camarilla
2. Vienna, in addition, shall adhere to the oath of Clan Tremere, whether they be part of the Clan or not.
3. Thaumaturgy is a responsibility and can only be used safely by Clan Tremere. Any Kindred demonstrating Blood Magic skills will be turned over to the Witch-King for the safety of the city
4. Kindred of clans or bloodlines not belonging to one of the approved seven clans of the Camarilla must make themselves publicly known. 
5. No Kindred may set foot in St. Stephen's Cathedral, or utilize any vampiric abilities within Elysium.

Naturally, being a city of Warlocks, Vienna is an exceedingly draconian place. Vampires who breaks the laws of the Camarilla or the Tremere themselves often find, to their dismay that the Witch-King's subjects put their Auspex to good use, making getting away with crimes especially difficult. Among the Kindred, Tremere are the most likely to be familiar with mortal technology, and many would-be criminals find the city's extensive CCTV network and mortal police forces turning against them. Minor breaches and first time offenders will probably get off with a blood oath, and perhaps light torture, but major breaches can merit anything from Final Death to being used for experimentation.

Blood Magic is an exceedingly touchy subject within the city, as most would expect. Among the Tremere, Thaumaturgical study is a must, and yet the clan is exceedingly paranoid about the discipline leaking free of their clutches. The public line is that only the Tremere are qualified to dabble in the intricacies of blood sorcery, but it is crystal clear to everyone that the Tremere simply want a monopoly on the practice. Notably, the laws put any form of blood magic under the banner of Thaumaturgy, meaning that within this city, Koldunic Sorcery, Assamite and Setite Sorcery, Necromancy and any other form of kindred magic is quite illegal and liable to get a kindred dragged before the Witch King. This crime is compounded tenfold if the criminal is a Tremere who has had the audacity to teach Thaumaturgy to someone out-of-clan, and any Tremere found guilty of this can look forward to a truly horrible death, for both themselves and their student.

Tremere paranoia also limits the acceptable bloodlines of Kindred within the city to those of the Camarilla clans. this simultaneously keeps order in the city, its citizens quantifiable, and keeps track of any clans that may have sorcery inherent in their blood, such as the Tzimisce and the Giovanni. Because of their.....colorful history, the city especially keeps a watch out for any hint of surviving Salubri, as well as Assamites, Tzimisce and any of the other worryingly large amount of people the Tremere have managed to annoy in their time. The removal of the curse on Clan Assamite by Ur-Shulgi, the direct childe of Haqim worries the Witch-King immensely, as well as the rumors of Salubri joining forces with the Tzimisce against their mutual enemy, and joining the Sabbat.

Unlife in Vienna

Unlife in Vienna, like many things related to the Tremere, is an immense paradox. Innovation and tradition compete with gritted teeth, and the Tremere never seem to make up their minds on which they support. While not a technological wonderland, the Tremere support the rise of mortal science and engineering, knowing the edge that their Thaumaturgy gives them against other, more anachronistic Kindred. As a center of culture and a tourist attraction, Vienna is constantly teeming with mortals to feed on and use, however, the Tremere frown upon being too flagrant about this, as the same qualities put Vienna under the international eye.

More than other Camarilla domains, Vienna is oppressive. Everyone, Tremere, vampires, and some rumor even mortals, know their place in the hierarchy. The Witch-King rules, seldom seen but often heard, and his seven heirs form a buffer between the Tremere and the other clans. Complaints go to a vampire's Primogen, who then brings it to the appropriate heir, who, if he or she deems it important, may bring it to the Witch-King's attention. Non-Tremere Kindred, even the Ventrue and Toreador are very well aware that while they are privileged and honored, their status exists only while they are useful to the Blood Mages. Anarch presence within Vienna is very uncommon and frowned upon, though, on the very loosest of technicalities exists, and there are certainly no (openly) Tremere Anarchs. The Sabbat are completely unknown to Vienna. A combination of total, pervasive surveillance, Blood Magic, and the policing of magic and clans has made the city a totally Sabbat-free zone. Independents pass through Vienna, but often do not stay long. While the Witch-King may not be so brazen as to outright slay an envoy from Clan Giovanni or some Setite sorcerers, a tithe will be demanded, and they will be most unwelcome in the city of the warlocks. Lupines and Magi are similarly unheard of. If Kindred cannot feel safe within Vienna, where can they?

Society among the Tremere of Vienna can best be described as a truly cutthroat meritocracy. While all Tremere act in the clan's best interest, to the best of their ability, the lower on the totem pole you go, the more of a snake pit it becomes. Tremere neonates viciously compete with others for favor, for the attention of the best teachers and for access to the best lore. Mentors fight to show off their apprentices and gain further status within the hierarchy, and even the seven heirs of Witch-King are constantly under pressure to outperform their peers and prove their worthiness of the title. The Witch-King can promote or demote any Tremere within the city, and as Etrius and the rest of the Inner Council usually cannot be contacted, he or she really is the final arbiter of rank of all Tremere. The heirs have a similar level of power to promote or demote, however those who throw the privilege around too flagrantly may suffer demotion by the Witch-King themselves. The struggle for status within the clan ultimately defines the city, and every other vampire and human, whether they know it or not, is a puppet of this ruthless cold war. Clan Tremere does not attack each other directly, but there are far more ways to hurt your fellows than merely shooting or stabbing them. To a Tremere, status, knowledge and power is everything, and they are things very easily lost, or taken away.

Story Hooks

Some story hooks if you wish to set a Chronicle in this version of Vienna:

The Unmasked King
A truly malicious rumor is going around, that perhaps the Witch-King is not Tremere at all! Perhaps he or she is a simply a pretender, using Thaumaturgy and the entire clan to his or her advantage. Of course, Tremere in both the city and around the world find this a laughably desperate attempt to discredit their leader, however, there are those who hunger for the tradition of the Prince of Vienna and implied lordship over the world's Tremere, who would like to see the Witch-King's position undermined. As the rumor reaches the ears of the players, there is some proof that surfaces, that seems just too convenient to be coincidental. Are they being lured into a trap, a test of loyalty? Or is the Witch-King, and perhaps the entire upper echelons of the pyramid, infested by intruders?

Thaumaturgy Black Market
Someone has turned traitor and turned traitor hard. The Tremere are rabid to find this elusive Kindred, who simply calls himself Dresden, who not only has stolen a vast amount of occult lore and Thaumaturgical resources, but is giving them out to almost any person who will sit still. The Witch-King has declared that any Kindred found in possession of these materials will face Final Death, and by the amount of would be Thaumaturges that have been left on rooftops, it appears he isn't kidding. The characters are contacted by Dresden, who offers them tutoring in Thaumaturgy. Is it a trap? Is it some kind of Anarch plot? Or is this truly a rogue Tremere attempting to topple the hierarchy?

Father's Ire
A rumor has spread about the city, that has the local Kindred frozen in paranoia, and has given even the Witch-King pause. A member of the Inner Circle of Clan Tremere, the most powerful Warlocks in the world, walks the streets of Vienna. No one knows what he or she looks like, but there is a certainty that the elder vampire is watching, waiting, and judging to see if he or she finds the city to his or her satisfaction. As signs  of his or her displeasure mount, the city becomes ever more paranoid, and even the heirs and the Witch-King are on edge. Something is going to happen, and if the city does not meet the elder's requirements, there will be a very bloody reckoning with the Tremere's wayward childer.

- Kephn

Jurassic World or how I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Genetic Engineering.

The human race in works of science fiction recently really seem to want to go extinct. After all the endless hype for this movie, I crawled out of my hovel last night with my significant other and went to see if the people who made this movie could, like the titular park, unearth a franchise that has been untouched for almost a decade and breathe some new life into it. It's baffling, really, that after three movies in which people try to clone dinosaurs and end up causing a massacre, that people still think that not only is recreating arguably the predators that gave humanity the greatest run for its money since the dawn of time, but actually creating new monsters is a good idea. So, spoiler alert, I'm going to be looking at this movie meticulously, and I will tell you, in detail, exactly what I thought was good and what I thought was bad about it.

So, this movie takes place in a futuristic world where, even after the three humongous catastrophes that the previous Jurassic Parks were, someone with far too much money, the late great John Hammond's successor, has decided that Jurassic Park needs to be reopened, dedicating an entire island to the place, and hosting events where people can watch prehistoric monsters being fed in gigantic stadiums, guarded only by precarious fences overlooking monster pits.

That's a Great White Shark. This really feels like it violates all kinds of RSPCA regulations.

Now, immediately, I have to ask how on earth they got permission to do this. Three times, the cloning of dinosaurs has led to dozens of people dying, and it really seems like the sort of thing the government would regulate, unless this is set in some Rapture-style libertarian paradise where people with enough money can literally snub their noses at the laws nature, god and man and international law. I suppose it's a message the movie wants to rub in our faces, but it really seems like the negative publicity alone would put people off, but I digress. Without it, they couldn't have a movie, and I get that, it's cool.

So, we meet the main brains behind the park, Simon Masrani, the owner, who, not content simply to recreate dinosaurs that actually exist, but goes out of his way to combine the traits of various, already dangerous animals into essentially a super monster that they give the (intentionally?) goofy name Indominus Rex (I say intentionally, because almost every character snickers at it when they hear it for the first time.) Now, Simon is much like Hammond from the first film (something I will go on about later) being a bit of a shady corporate executive who nonetheless has the heart of a six year old. He's crazily enthusiastic about dinosaurs, and quite literally tells his main scientist to make something 'cooler'. He's helped by his much more grounded assistant and the movie's resident woman in charge control freak stereotype, Claire Dearing. She's having her two nephews visit and has sexual tension with Chris Pratt's character, Owen Grady, who is kind of like a velociraptor-taming Crocodile Dundy.

Now, I need to stop here, because almost every character in this movie is pretty much copy-pasted from the first. You have the eccentric billionaire. You have the control freak who's only interested in profit margins and the guy trying to steal their inventions to sell to the military. You have the sarcastic fanboy dickbag who's a thinly veiled audience surrogate for all the criticisms that will inevitably be leveled at this movie. You have the good-natured scientist father figure, the cynical, hormonal teenager with technical skills and the annoying, hyperactive child. Now, the next sentence is the almost exact definition of a backhanded compliment. Almost every good part of this movie is directly copied from the first one. But that's alright, I guess, because it pretty much rips off three quarters of the script anyway. The plot is almost exactly the same. Two children with parental issues come to the park. They go offroad. The giant, genetically engineered abomination breaks out and starts wrecking shit. The control freak manager morphs into the mother figure from the first movie and goes hunting with the good natured scientist. Almost plot point for plot point, beat for beat, this movie's scenes could be easily exchanged for anything that was done in the first, and quite frankly, was done better.

Do you think we should maybe make it vulnerable to the guns we use to secure the dinosaurs in the park? Nah, that sounds like work.

 Now, this is where we have to get into the sheer ineptitude of every, single, person in authority in the park. The first movie had reasons for the shit to hit the fan. There was a tropical storm. They made the mistake of hiring Newman from Seinfeld, who purposely sabotaged them. Here, these people were either very lazy, very stupid, or criminally insane. First of all, Masrani orders his lead scientist, the returning Dr. Wu to create something 'cooler' than a T-Rex. Apparently Dr. Wu graduated from the Umbrella Corporation scholarship of genetic engineering, because he interprets 'cool' to mean 3 and a half meters tall, camouflaging, superhumanly strong and smart, and best of all, bulletproof (this thing seriously takes a near point blank explosion from an RPG and barely flinches.) He also decides to make it hyper-aggressive and sociopathic, to the point of killing and eating its only sibling, and then keeps it in a pen with no roof covering, and no cameras outside to catch it if it escapes. The monster seriously escapes by lowering its body temperature to the point that thermal imaging can't detect it (loosely justified by technobabble about frogs. Not sure any kind of frog can actually do that, but whatever.), and tricking the handlers into opening the cage and letting it out. This becomes even more infuriating when you realize that all the dinosaurs have trackers implanted into them, and while it does claws its tracker out later, if even one person had the brains to just check where its tracking device said it was, it would have been clear that their pet crime against nature is still in its cage.

Naturally, the monster breaks out and goes on a killing spree, proving its total invulnerability to every weapon that the security are equipped with. Now, they loosely try to justify it by saying that it's super expensive and they don't want to kill it, but they literally have no way to even stop it. It's immune to electricity and small arms fire, and by the time they bring out the big guns, everyone is too incompetent to actually hit it with rocket launchers and a fucking minigun. The stupidity keeps piling up when Masrani is apparently the only guy out of an entire company of highly trained mercenaries who can fly a helicopter, which he naturally crashes into the Pterodactyl lair and causes an even further outbreak.

Now, in the midst of all of this, both Chris Pratt and the Newman replacement in this movie are trying to train velociraptors of all things, and release them against the Indominus. This is the first movie I've EVER seen where the solution to a giant, rampaging, man eating monster is to release MORE man eating monsters. Admittedly, the raptors do seem somewhat tamed, but they almost kill Chris Pratt earlier in the film when he falls into their cage.

Uhhhh......Polly want a cracker?

The obnoxiously and hilariously evil baddy thinks that velociraptors could be weaponized. Chris Pratt accurately points out that this is a fucking stupid idea, because releasing near-uncontrollable, flesh-eating monsters into chaotic area like a battlefield is such a mind-bogglingly silly plan that any sane person would throw it out immediately. Naturally, he gets his way, and the Indominus Rex (which apparently has raptor DNA infused with it, pulled directly out of the writer's ass) takes control of the raptor pack and sends them against the next bunch of redshirts. The idiot who wants to weaponize these things even has an absurd scene where he actually tries to reason with a raptor slowly stalking toward him.

Now, before getting eaten, the baddy actually wants to mass produce the Indominus, in raptor-sized, bulletproof form (after it's plainly shown that it cannot be tamed and is openly sadistic and lives only to cause suffering.) This is the flimsy as fuck reasoning for why the scientists made their indestructible bullshit-osaur. Now, several questions. If the scientists were already working for InGen, the Pentex subsidiary that runs this freak show, why didn't they just......have them shipped out? Why go through the song and dance of pretending to work for a theme park to secretly engineer bioweapons? If the authorities had a problem with that, they sure as fuck would have a problem with monsters being sold as entertainment. This is saying something, but InGen made this entire disaster happen entirely out of sheer stupidity. I don't say this lightly, but the Umbrella Corporation is actually more of a competently run company than these morons. The same Umbrella Corp that lets caused two public zombie outbreaks and then handed over all operations to a professional Johnny Bravo impersonator. Let that sink in for a second.

FINISH HER!

So, onward comes the climax, where Chris Pratt, with zero effort, manages to retake control of his raptor pack. They attack the Indominus with the five tame raptors, but the Indominus is an super-dinosaur abomination and slaughters the raptors. This is when Claire (who's in this movie, remember) gets the brilliant idea to release the T-Rex from the first movie, luring it with a flare, to fight the Indominus. Now, the movie draws attention to her running, and actually clearly shows the woman outpacing a T-Rex in high heels. That bit of stupidity aside, the dinosaurs all team up like the fucking super-friends to push the Indominus into the pool with the giant crocodile monster, where it gets eaten. They don't even turn on each other or the humans afterwards, and just sort of wander of, with the movie barely showing enough restraint not to have them wink at the kids.

Now, I am overstating the negatives, but this movie isn't all bad. It's just fucking disappointing. It goes on for way too long and where it's not trying to reference the original, it's literally ripping off the script. I don't usually mind sequels doing this, but this movie just rams references to the original down the viewer's throat. I get it. We both watched Jurassic Park. Apparently I got something different out of it. Part of what made the original so good was its understanding of tension and subtlety. One of my favorite parts of the original was the kids avoiding the raptors in the kitchen, and that was fucking terrifying, because it made you feel isolated, terrified, and hunted. This movie has no restraint at all, and no sense of subtlety. It beats the viewer over the head with its politics and its endless repetition that man shouldn't  be tampering in nature's domain by literally having the characters wax lyrical about it like drunk philosophy majors. It plays its hand to early and is so much weaker for it. This could have been really, really good. I wouldn't even have minded if it just ripped off the original but made it just as good. It's just this sort of half-hearted mess that devalues the idea and comes off like a pale, embarrassing copy, and reduces the dinosaurs to an almost literal joke.

Final score:

Acting: 4/5 - The movie was acted just fine, as if they were shown the original and were told 'just do that.'
Script: 2/5 - Executed realistic dialogue, but had major, major holes.
Effects: 5/5 - They were fine.
Action Scenes: 3/5 - Nothing much to say. They were fine, nothing mind blowing or vomit inducing.
Originality: 1/5 - It's pretty much a carbon copy of the original.

Overall score: 2/5

- Kephn