Los Angeles by Night: Empire of Death
 
Front Prelude Characters Profiles
 
NPCs F.A.Q. Rumors Stories
 

Player Character Profiles

Episode 6 Profiles:

Name: The Horned God: Pan, Faunus, Inuus, Cernunnos, Pashupati, Satan, Baphomet, The Sorcerer
Player Name: Brian “The Yellow-Dart” Schmidt
Clan: Gangrel
Allegiance: Neo-Paganism
Status: 2 (Known)
Appearance: Part Goat, Part Man
Description: “I have always thought that a wild animal never looks so well as when s ome obstacle of pronounced durability is between us. A personal experience has intensified rather than diminished that idea.”
-Dracula, Bram Stroker

The earliest depiction of The Horned God exists in France dating back to the Old Stone Age. He was called Pashupa, Protector of Cattle, in Nepal; the Pashupatinath temple is one of the most important shrines to Hindus worldwide. Fourth century BCE Celts worshiped Cernunnos, God of the Hunt, usually shown with antlers and ram horns. Worship of Pan began in the mountainous region of Arcadia. Pan's Roman counterpart, Faunus, was a prophet king of the Latins. According to one historian, Pan is the only Greek god who died.

“'Great Pan is dead.' Even before he had finished there was a great cry of lamentation, not of one person, but of many, mingled with exclamations of amazement.”
-The Obsolescence of Oracles, Plutarch

What does death mean for a god? While in the underworld, Christians used the opportunity to vilify his image. His followers condemned by the church as witches and devil worshipers. The modern era has no use for gods of wilderness.

Great Pan is reborn. Recently he began rebuilding his circle of druids. The faithless cowards of humanity recoil in his presence. A new age is coming of heroics and blood and wild hedonism.

“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins—or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own king dom—Lucifer.”
-Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky


Name: Brother Nicholas
Player: Adam Gutschenritter
Clan: Brujah
Allegiance: Unknown
Status: 1
Appearance: White Male in late teens or early 20s. Albino with short cropped white hair, dressed in priestly garb.
Description: Legends speak of an early Spanish Monastery raided by a Sabbat pack. The leader, feeling cruel at the abbey’s resistance, embraced the whole Abbey, only to have the Abbey diablerize his pack upon rebirth. As no survivor made it out, the Abbey was lost to time. Rumors of travelers finding shelter from the sun at a mysterious Vampire Coven only to awake at night with it gone have been few and far between, but their stories of the military order of Vampire Monks have spread far and wide.

As word of the return of the Camarilla to Los Angles has spread, Brother Nicholas has arrived bringing word of the Abbey and their intent to see the West Coast remain free of Camarilla rule.



Name: John Peltier
Player: Anthony “Big Marcus T” Schutzenhofer
Clan: Ventrue Antitribu
Allegiance: Himself and whoever will help him.
Status: 2 (Known)
Appearance: White Male, Mid Twenties.
Description: Only three years after graduating from Harvard Business School John had it all. He had a high paying job at a high-end firm as a financial executive and all the benefits that came with it: women, fast cars, a penthouse, coke parties, and so much more. That all changed when he took a woeful vacation to Tijuana in 1988 when John was embraced by a Sabbat gang.

After close to two decades the Bishop called a blood hunt for the gang members for various and numerous slights. Most of the gang was killed and John was forced to flee to Los Angeles and plead for asylum, and thankfully it was granted. After a few nights in L.A. John was betrayed and nearly killed by the Scourge, whom he was helping. John knew he needed to make new friends or his life would be cut short quickly. He has since made two unlikely new friends: the Malkavian, Nathaniel, and the Acrobat Toreador, Sean.



Name: "Pops" Clarence Samson
Player: The J-man
Clan: Brujah
Allegiance: Memories, Dreams, the Dead
Status: 2 (Known)
Appearance: Thin, Black, Mid 60’s, One eye appears to have been burnt out, Faded skin
Description: Many remember Pops as a happy-go-lucky bluesman. L.A. was his home as a mortal, and much of his undead existence. He was a compassionate soldier concerned with the welfare of vampire and mortal alike. Sometimes grumpy, but he always had a story to tell or a song to play. Full of passion for what he believed in, he fought heroically to make L.A. a free state. The old man disappeared shortly after the threat of the Eastern kindred became apparent.

It is said he suffered some kind of mental breakdown and returned to New Orleans, where he had spent many of his early years as a vampire. Some sources have reported that he was destroyed in New Orleans, but was somehow revived or was replaced with an imposter. However, Camarilla licks close to the Prince of New Orleans, claim the old man did return to the Big Easy, but was driven out as a troubled madman and anarch upstart. Still others say the man was possessed, and wandered away from the city mournfully mumbling about songs.

Sightings of the former anarch freedom fighter continued through the 90’s. According to most reports his blues faded during this time and he took to studying the occult. After “The Reckoning” Pops went missing for many years.

More recently Pops has been involved in many of the skirmishes and schemes of the past few weeks, despite wanting a more peaceful, quiest, semi-retired existence. He has pointed out in a rare public appearance that only weak leaders would flee when their people were in period of turmoil. A time of chaos that could have been avoided if Pop’s original plan to destroy the infernal artifacts would have been followed.

He speaks to the dead, and he feels he knows their choice. The leader they need, in this Empire of Death.



Name: Darius "T. F." (as in The First) Washington
Player: Mank
Clan: Assamite!
Allegiance: Allah, the One True God, whose Prophet is Muhammad.
Status: 2 (Known)
Appearance: Black male in his early 30's, always appears to be gritting his teeth in determination, less contemporarily garbed than before.
Description: It has been 14 years since TF last set foot on the soil of LA, and indeed, the United States, after the Revolution, the deaths of General Z, Pops, and Prince Hannover. If asked of his whereabouts during his absence, he mentions only having had to undertake a "spiritual quest" after these events.

Having only the slightest idea of the changed political landscape of the West Coast, it appears he does not care. His return to the area is met with either (or in some cases, both) respect or fear by those who remember the Revolution; respect by those who remember how he fought...and fear that they could've been next. Undoubtedly, he left behind some with grudges against him, and without Z, Pops, and JD behind him, they will likely attempt to cash in those debts.

Whatever the case, nowadays since his return, he is always appearing to be on the move, never in the same place for too long in the city. He has the appearance of a man on a mission, and a man on the run; those who know best tend not to interfere, either because they don't want to get in his way, or to get caught in the wake of whoever might be after him.

After the death of Yulian Levov and the destruction of some of his property believed to be a demonic dungeon, rumors abound that it was actually Yulian who was the infernalist! T.F. still watches his back though, especially as various truths begin to make themselves known. Others still tend to keep clear, as it has become apparent that he is a lightning rod for Carmichael, who very much disapproves of T.F.'s actions. It may only be a matter of time before he is cast out of the city, or worse. They also know, however, that this servant of Allah is one with which you do not fuck.

During the battle with the giant demon, T.F. was attacked from the shadows by multiple unknown assailants. Burned terribly by balefire onslaught even as he attempted to destroy the demon, and unconscious even at the point of impacting the ground, the last thing most at the battle remember seeing of T.F. is the Goat Man shoving T.F.'s lifeless body into a sewer manhole. He has not been seen or heard from since. A great many believe he is dead. Few know for sure...though for anyone who might care, they are now afraid the infernalists might win this one.

Episode 5 Profiles:



Name: Sean O'Dell
Player: Stolze
Clan: Toreador
Concept: Trapeze Artist
Allegiance: None. The circus is always on the move.
Status: 1
Appearance: A handsome, well-muscled, and lithe man with flowing red hair, a testimony of his Irish ancestry. He appears to be in his late 20's.
Description: An established circus star, Sean travels the world as the centerpiece of the famous "Le Cirque Royale" carnie act. While he is most famous for his daring trapeze acts (the final act of the night), he is also an accomplished acrobat, juggler, and animal trainer.

His free and wandering spirit has made Sean reluctant to engage in the Kindred politics ? at least openly --, and thus he is rumored to hold some sympathy for the Anarchs. When asked, however, Sean usually comments that he'd rather just focus on entertaining the child in all of us with his circus acts and leave politics to the grown-ups.



Name: Nathaniel Roberts
Player: JBK
Clan: Malkavian
Allegiance: Andrew "Lefty" Carmichael
Status: 2 (Known)
Appearance: Rock Star!
Description: Embraced after a bad acid trip in the summer of ?94, Nathaniel was left for dead after his sire was killed during a battle between the Anarchs and the Sabbat. The drugs and the embrace left Nathaniel?s mind a shattered version of it?s former self. Nathaniel spent the next several years wandering in and out of LA and through Southwest.

Nathaniel learned to calm his mind by channeling his madness into visions. In the spring of ?98 he foresaw the rise of Carmichael and the peace he would bring. Andrew helped him control his drug addiction and the two became friends. Nathaniel does his best to stay away from additional mind altering substances, but the longer he does, the more his mind begins to crack?.

Episode 4 Profiles:

Name: Basir al-Isam
Player: Frank Schmidt
Clan: Probably Assamite
Allegiance: It's L. A., baby! Who the hell knows?
Status: 1 (New Arrival)
Appearance: Oddly dark skin despite Arab features. Tall and fit with an eerie intense stare.
Description: Since the early part of the decade, a flood of Assamites has poured out of the East, renouncing their clan, and begging for a seat at the Camarilla's table. These exiles come from all corners of Haquim's lands with only one thing in common: they are all Muslims.

Basir came into the West with no sire, no clan, and no allies. Luckily for him, he also came with a few advantages that the Camarilla clans had never seen before. In Greece, Basir was quickly drafted to aid in a Camarilla blood hunt for a dangerous, ancient vampire. Skill and fortune united to give Basir the killing blow and with it, a bit of honor and respect within his newly adopted society. Basir gladly accepted the role.

Now, Basir continues his travels in the West, passing through as a mercenary and monster slayer. Despite his skill and reputation, or perhaps due to it, Basir has always been treated as a novelty at best and a freak show at worse. The venom of Camarilla courts has grown tiresome for him, and he has come to L. A. like a million other runaways.



Name: Renee Oscuro
Player: Madelyn “Ovaries-Out” Boyne
Clan: Toreador, predictably
Allegiance: Santa Barbara
Status: 1 (New Arrival)
Appearance: She is not a natural blonde, but she is your fantasy.
Description: Renee’s quest to lead a petty, superficial existence has taken her gallivanting across the globe, and she never sleeps in one bed for very long. She parties with the Enquirer Elite, most tablo-vized celebrities of the moment. The failed actress left a string of sugar daddies (and mamas) in her wake when she fled to New York after the death of a close friend.

It was a number of years before her finally-realized permanence in New York City prompted several celebrities to become Dual-Coasters. Consequently, the flood of famous residents exploded the NYC club scene, incidentally coinciding with the new Disco music style. (Did anyone else ever wonder how Disco got so popular?)

Renee eventually warmed back up to California, making her first trek back for L.A. Fashion Week in Spring of 1993. Calvin Klein held a late-night runway show, inviting her as a special guest to thank her for inspiring Klein’s new Heroin-Chic line.

Renee has since made homes in California, though only at stars’ Santa Barbara houses. She has become reaccustomed to the SoCal lifestyle, and divides most her time between the twenty-something ‘Thirty Mile Zone’ party crowd and the older, private bashes of Sta. Barb.