Antagonists | ecc-dark-seattle

C W O D S E A T T L E : A N T A G O N I S T S

Vampires aren’t the only supernatural creatures to stalk the shadows of the World of Darkness. The darkness belongs to many other mysterious and horrific entities, some of whom also prey on mortals, while others exist among them or even protect them... sometimes.

If any generality can be made about these others, though, it’s that the Kindred don’t know much about them. The converse is equally true, and any interaction between the race of Caine and the other monsters who prowl the night is going to be tentative and suspicious, if not downright hostile and violent. Other entities a Kindred might encounter in and around Dark Seattle could include:

Any number of warring factions of Lupines and Shape-Shifters
Mysterious, will-working Magi and their technoligical enemies
Wrathful ghosts and their horrifying darker halves
Mystic creatures of myth and legend, tricksters and high born alike
Brutal hunters who seek to revenge themselves on behalf of the innocent
The bound corpses of kings and pharosees of ages past
The alien vampires from the mystic east vying for blood and territory
Savage demonic entities who seek to gain power in return for vile pacts

T H E R E S T L E S S D E A D

Vampires aren’t the only denizens of the World of Darkness to persist beyond the event of death. There is a Veil between the worlds of the living and dead, and any number of ghosts, spirits, shades, wraiths, and other remnants of the unquiet departed attend to their unresolved matters this side of it. Some Kindred comprehend the mysteries of wraiths, such as the necromantic Giovanni and perhaps a few macabre Tremere or enigmatic members of the True Black Hand, but even these vampires deal with the restless dead on their own terms rather than those of the ghosts themselves.

Sages, scholars, and eschatologists among the race of Caine believe that the ghosts have a complex and immortal empire of their own beyond the Veil, and that those with whom the Kindred come in contact are those somehow exiled from the realms of the Underworld. Certainly, Cainites kill enough of their vessels to create no few ghosts of their own, and it’s often a cold confrontation with reality when one discovers that he’s haunted by the shade of his last bloody conquest.

T H E A N G R Y M O B

What remains of the Inquisition — the post-medieval “hammer of witches” endowed by the Church with the means and authority to stamp out heresy and diabolism — still exists tonight, albeit in a much changed format. Tonight, the Inquisition and other vampire hunters hunt the creatures of the night with firearms as well as faith, and with an uncanny insight that makes underestimating these individuals very dangerous.

Government agencies also keep an eye on the movements of the undead, and even unaffiliated groups have a keen interest in the supernatural occupants of the world they share. These agents are all mortal — at least, so the Kindred hope — though some possess knacks or abilities that can only be described as supernatural.

T H E L U P I N E P R O B L E M

One of the reasons the Kindred keep to their urban domains is that the wilderness beyond the glow of the city lights harbors the Lupines. These savage creatures appear to be mad with rage, changing into their wolf-form seemingly at will and lashing out violently when someone rouses their ire. Some even believe they can step wholly out of the world and into a realm of moon-shadow, where vampires may not follow.

They wage an ages-old war with the Damned that few Kindred understand tonight, though they certainly comprehend the catastrophic violence the wolf-men are able to inflict. Indeed, even a young Lupine seems to be at least a match for an entire coterie or pack of vampires, so wild are they in combat, and so resilient. A few bold groups of vampires hunt Lupines for thrill or duty, but when the prey is something that has the ability to strike down even a potent elder, wiser Kindred choose the path of avoidance.

T H E M Y S T E R I O U S M A G I

As Shakespeare once said, “there are more things in heaven and earth... than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” So it is with the magi, exceptionally gifted mortals who have the ability to simply will their desires into being. In simplest terms, the magi wield “magick,” but there is more to it than that: They possess a cosmic understanding and acumen that eludes even the sorcerous Tremere and the seekers of secrets among the Followers of Set.

As Kindred understand it, the magi are mortal and thus comparatively fragile, but few wish to put to the test the incomprehensible wiles of an enlightened witch who has the power to slay a Cainite with a thought or who can summon a gout of holy fire to scorch a vampire to cinders from within. The magi seem to have various orders and schools of magick among themselves, but these distinctions are largely irrelevant to vampires, who feel that the witches see them as a sort of commodity to be collected or as a mystery to be dissected and mastered.

T H E M Y T H I C M I S C H I E F - M A K E R S

Nature spirits, faeries, the Good Folk, the Others. Whatever the local term for them is, they are the alien outsiders who have claimed dominion over the strange corners of the world since before Man was sophisticated enough to sense their passing. They are a strange confederation of legends, possessed of inscrutable goals and unknowable desires. A Kindred who crosses paths with one may depart with only a vague sense of good fortune, while the next time he earns the attention of the fae, he may lose his very identity.

If any general statement may be made about the Others, they seem to belong to two different courts of philosophy, but neither of them has any consideration for vampires, so dealings depend entirely on each creature’s caprices. Fortunately, the faeries have no overarching interest in vampiric affairs. If, by some tragedy, they take an interest, the vampires may well find themselves victims of cruel jokes or deadly vendettas.

T H E U N K N O W N

Everything Else...

Demons.

Devils.

Mummies.

Shapeshifters.

Golems.

Creations of abused science or perverted natural law.

These and more might occupy some tenebrous corner of the World of Darkness, wielding powers heretofore unseen by the Kindred or perhaps known only to cults or secret societies.

Whatever nightmare form a horror takes, it’s probably out there, seething, hating both the world of the living and the shadow world of the Damned.

Tread carefully, Kindred.