All That Glitters Is Red

A game of Vampire the Requiem: Blood & Smoke set in Edinburgh, Scotland

Story Teller: Pandorym

We used to be powerful. Great. Unmoved. The Kindred ruled the night and all within it - over a hundred and forty of us feeding, fighting, backstabbing. It was a monster's paradise.

Well, at least it was.

Then the Night of Ashes happened. December 21, 2017... an evening that we've all tried desperately to forget and the Crimson Court has brutally attempted to suppress all knowledge, memory, or mention of. On that night, the Strix attacked out of nowhere. An entire Parliament of Owls descended shrieking from the darkness and proceeded to slaughter us, killing so many of our kind the air itself became thick, clogged with bone dust and ash. We barely survived, and now only twenty-five of us remain from the seven score that once walked the night.

And now, a year later with all the chaos, grief, and paranoia that followed... the Owls are moving again. Just whispers in the dark, feathers on the ground, a shining flash of yellow peering out.

Something is coming.

And we may not survive a second time.

Player Characters (PCs)

Avery Darling, played by Pheidias
Antoine LaChance, played by Smilingbandit2
Becky Sue "Kitty" Devereaux, played by CatNosferatu

Non-Player Characters (NPCs)

The Other
Andrei von Wylinghammer
Annie Reynolds, a Harpy of the Crimson Court with a love for the concepts of royalty, wealth, and lineage. Daeva.
Archdruid Fionn MacCool, Prince of Edinburgh and leader of the Hematic Triskelion. Firm, but fair. An albino youth with striking purple eyes. Mekhet.
Dr. Artemis Hall, Fergus' doctor and capable of curing absolutely any ailment that exists. Life Mage.
Dr. Rory Sinclair, Hematologist at the Royal Infirmary. Doctor LaChance's ghoul.
Esther, a kind woman of late middle age who acts as Fergus' nanny. Elsie's ghoul.
Fergus Hudson, Elsie's mortal son. A tall muscular teenager with slightly pale skin, a compelling dark gaze, and a love for physical activity.
Fran Bow-Dagenhart
Itward, Chancellor of the Vox Populi, also known as the 'Shadow Man' due to the unsettling pall of darkness that shrouds his features. Nosferatu.
Lydia Kensington
Kitty
Pandora Aensland
Sir Sagrell, the Knight of Sorrows for the Crimson Court and the Prince's law enforcer. Duels with a majestic saber and highly enjoys a good tale. Elsie's sire. Daeva.

Covenants

Ascalon Club
Crusaders of St. Giles
Hematic Triskelion
Philosophers of the Sightless Eye
Vox Populi

Notable Locations

Edinburgh Castle, seat of the Crimson Court and a neutral Elysium for all Kindred to use for various purposes.
Mary King's Close, located on the Royal Mile in historic Old Town. Headquarters of the Vox Populi. Has a dark reputation for hauntings and murders.
Royal Botanic Gardens, headquarters of the Hematic Triskelion, mainly gathering in the Inverleith House. Located in St. Anne's Yard.
University of Edinburgh, headquarters of the Philosophers of the Sightless Eye, mainly gathering in the Ashworth Laboratories.

Histories and Legends

Night of Ashes, the horrific event that occurred on December 21, 2017 when the Parliament of Owls attacked and brought Final Death to almost every Kindred in Edinburgh.

Disciplines and Devotions

Dementation
Dominate
Majesty
Obeah

Secrets and Clues

Pandora had one of her female ghouls, Gail, infected with HIV and deliberately spread the infection to Kindred - who would then spread it to humans - at the behest of Virgil, who received authorization for this act from the former heir to the throne Lucia d'Ombro. This not only gave Erzebet a plethora of food options, but also drew new worshipers to the Sanctum as Erzebet would suggest they could get cured by the church after she fed on them. There's a new robotics company in the business center of Edinburgh - Walter Robotics - who you suspect is feeding extremely high-tech hunter gear to the Dawnguard.

An odd group of self-proclaimed hunters has appeared in the city, calling themselves the Dawnguard. They're equipped with powerful technology and weaponry, and have not a lick of mercy in them to boot. There are potential suspicions of alliance with the Strix, but there's absolutely no evidence yet.

You were told by Virgil that he had received a holy vision concerning the incoming Avian Apocalypse - specifically to seek out a charred altar of bones and blood located somewhere deep beneath the city, under the Royal Mile, Old Town's main thoroughfare.

Erzebet personally intends to deal with the new Kindred intruder in Edinburgh, Alistair Niall.

You still haven't deciphered Kitty's jargon-filled notebook of ramblings, thoughts, and numbers station recordings. You have no idea what's within, but the crazy vampire claims there's valuable info inside if you can make sense of it.

Prince Finn and other Kindred have alluded to a strange "Happiness Law" within Edinburgh, which you've discovered is likely intended to repress all knowledge and memory of the Night of Ashes. You don't know why, but your current best guess is that Prince Finn assumes everyone has PTSD and that Kindred will freak out if they recall the death and devastation.

You're very certain that Edinburgh stands on the brink of Kindred civil war, even as the Strix prepare to come kill you all. The Sanctum, the Order, and the Invictus all back the former heir to the throne, Princess Lucia, while the Carthians and the Circle back Prince Finn. Tensions are coming to a head.

All of you have had the same eerie dream, of fog, of haunted babbling, and a small female voice that spoke what sounded like prophecy. You do not know the reason or origin behind this, however.

A man named Horatio McPherson died in a seven-alarm fire, along with his entire family including children and grandchildren, a deadly combustion apparently caused by a natural gas leak. Eyewitnesses recount hearing a booming male voice shout something about Horatio dying before the flames suddenly appeared.

Just after that news broadcast, you witnessed a burst of static that enveloped all known electronic screens, lasting only for a few short seconds. While it lasted however, you witnessed a female silhouette with horns cackling with hideous glee in the depths of the static, before it just as quickly ended.