Waiting in abundance and in tremendous variety for the adventure seekers in York are the Non Player Characters. From a clutch of lepers begging for coin on the street to the pagentry and pomp of London's decadent court, players will be watched by pairs of eyes they may not have counted on. NPCs exist to help bring a greater sense of the populace within the setting, accountability or witnesses for Player Character's actions in a public enviroment, and are employed to stimulate storylines between and for Player Characters. NPCs are not manufactured to enable Player Characters to suddenly be endowed with godlike knowledge of events they have not investigated, they act as garnish on the plate served in York. Below you will find an alphabeticaly listed host of NPCs to draw upon and have set against you by STs and Players alike.
Devius Sanguine (or "Devius Blood" as he is now calling himself) recalls little of his life as a mortal. He was surely involved in the theatre, but depending on what day you ask, he might explain that he was the disgraced son of the Emporer or a bandit prince or an assassin who did use the theatre as a disguise. Probably none of these tales are true. What is known is that Devius's flair for the melodramatic caught the attentions of a Malkavian named Thespiadorius Magnificentorius, who deemed him a worthy talent and embraced him. The two travelled together in a caravan of actors and performers until Devius was deemed of age, whereupon the two had a most marvellous arguement complete with swords drawn and insults hurled upon each other's families, and they went their separate ways. Sanguine decided early on that travel was simply not for him, and so he journeyed to Paris, the city of melodrama, and convinced the Ventrue Princes to support his theatre society, the Lamiae. Here, vampires could gather for entertainment more suitable to their tastes without fear of mortals.
Alas, when Ancus Marcius, a powerful Ventrue, decided that the Malkavian had too many unscrupulous dealings (and Ancus only knew about a third of them), he decided to do away with the entire lot of Malkavian ghouls and the theatre. Devius was away, else he would have been slain as well. When Devius returned, his beloved Jermaine and his Lamiae Society were gone, fire and sword having taken them away. Sanguine vowed revenge and followed Ancus all the way to York to do murder upon him. Alas, when he arrived, Ancus had already been slain by he called Dragen Milosovich, a Tzimsce Elder.
His revenge stolen, his life ruined, he wandered lost for a time, until he finally impressed the Prince, Julian DeLyonesse, in the War of Richmond. The Prince proclaimed him the Royal Court Troubadour, and he has stayed in the Lion's Hold ever since.
The Ventrue commander of the Royal Forces under Mithras. Once a staunch supporter of Mithras's polices and declarations from Edward II's throne. Barrington has recently been sent northward toward York to "assist" Julian DeLyonesse in keeping control over the Scottish border, and to take over those duties that are necessary to better preserve "peace in England".
The Sire of Julian DeLyonesse who sleeps in the catacombs beneath the Lion's Hold on a shrine specially made for the Ventrue Lord. Only two people thus far have seen the sleeping man in a golden suit of full armor with cermenoial sword clasped over his breast. Julian alone knows how to find him though the maze of tunnels left when the Romans departed from Eboracum. A roving Garou packed claimed sucess in ambushing a Ventrue entourage headed towards London, spearheaded by Leonardo. The Elder Ventrue's wounds were harsh enough to force him back to the Lion's Hold of York and place him into a Torporous sleep that none can to confess having seen him awaken from. To date the Leonardo has been unconscious for 25 years. Julian tends his Sire with a religious dedication. His Sire is placed on a golden pyre, in the bottom most portion of the Lion's Hold, with generous gifts bestowed upon the sleeping form every year on the anniversary of Julian's embrace and Leonardo's fall. Leonardo is actually Uther Pendragon, this fact still remains unknown to Julian. Knowledge of this relation to Mordred would disturb the Prince greatly.
Adopted Childe of Antonio DeCasas, who has been going abroad more and more of late. A young Lasombra ancillae, who craves more power. He is arrogant and brash, and fairly capable, but is not so talented as the de'Medicis or other young ancillae who rose quickly in the Lasombra ranks. Embraced about three centuries ago by D'Blois, Luc was chosen for his enormous ambition and manipulative ways. When D'Blois was murdered, Luc opted to enter the household of DeCasas with his sibling, Tomas, thinking that it would be wise to gain the protection and guidance of so powerful a Lasombra. Luc has since regretted the decision but continues to stay with Antonio for unknown reasons. He is a tall and rather aristocratic looking fellow with long blond hair, who might be more attractive if he would lose the perpetual sneer and bitter gleam to his eye. Luc has been given a great deal of freedom of late, and he tends to handle much of the intra-clan courier missions, running to and from Canterbury and York.
Michael of Maroniet was the third son of a pretty noble in an area now controlled by Charles Warwick. Born blind in his left eye, he was treated all his life as a joke. When his father died and Michael's oldest brother took control of Maroniet, Michael became akin to the court jester, often beaten by his older brothers as a form of amusement. Michael quietly took the abuse, hoping that one day he would have a chance to rise up against them. The chance came in the form of Lord Charles "Blackthorn" of Warwick. The constantly expanding fiefdom of Warwick had its eyes set on Maroniet, so Michael went to Blackthorn and offered his assistance in the attack. Michael's knowledge of the militias, people and nobility made the victory nearly bloodless for Charles's army. Blackthorn, seeing that Michael was smart and clever, ghouled him and kept him for his own uses. Michael is essentially a bookworm. He also has a network of spy and takes care of the more formal political matters in Court. Early in his vampiric lifetime Michael found that he could only drink the blood of young girls. However, he is also quite fond of older women (15 and over). Michael has never really had a stable relationship. He tends to jump from woman to woman, not caring what destruction he causes. When Charles took Warwick's domain as his own, he carelessly abanondoned Michael in York. Julian has since taken to altering Michael's loyalties, so much so that Michael's fealty to DeLyonesses has become unwavering. Formal papers concerning Michael adoption into the house of DeLyonesse have been drafted up and signed. For all intensive purposes, Michael is one of Julian's two heirs.
The big bad power behind the throne of England and an all around Ventrue of magnamous proportions.
A Cappadocian traitor, Petra was the first to disrupt Bloody Mary Eaton's dream of harmony between clans. Seduced by the Setite's, Petra staked Mary, but was unable to kill her because of Petra's love for Mary. Mary still searches for Petra, and intends to destroy her.
Adopted childe of Antonio DeCasas, and a Lasombra who is soon to be released from "neonate" status. He used to oversee the daily workings of the York Minster cathedral and worked directly with Antonio's spy network. A deal crafted between Antonio and Vienodelle, complimented with some underhanded scheming worked by the Medici finds Tomas given to the Tuscan Duchess presently to serve under her directions, while Diego DeCasas tries to pick up where Tomas was informed to break off. Under the Medici's care, Tomas has begun to loose some of the vibrant charms and innocence that hallmarked him in Antonio's mind and could be cause for worry for the Lasombra Elder in the future, should changes continue within the neonate.
A rumored Toreador warrior maiden. From the far east, Sangeeta is the essence of the Toreador warrior - as she strikes terror into her enemies hearts, reads their thoughts and actions, to more easily slices them to ribbons not by brute force but by avoiding their blows and delivering many small quick ones of her own. Dedicated to Mary Eaton's long term goal of Vampric unification as well, she is a current resident of the Dancing Lady.
Unbeknownst to all but a few Lasombra, John was born over a century ago in the hills outside Paris, called Jean-Paul St. Denis. He was a pious man of a family of some station, and as such easily gained entrance to the clergy, quickly rising up in their ranks. When Antonio DeCasas met him, he was about to be appointed to as an Abbot. At that time, DeCasas had been recently re-converted to Christianity, and the vampire had come to Paris seeking a new mission for his God. He discovered after much spying and searching, Jean-Paul was just the mortal he needed to begin his service to the Christ. While at first the monk was more than a little frightened of the vampire, he quickly realized that Antonio sought redemption and served God, and agreed to become his ghoul. The two established the St. Peter-Of-The-Sword monastary outside Paris, and dedicated themselves to the eradication of heresy and the conversion of all beings. Jean-Paul found a true friend in the ancient Roman, and gladly drank of his blood to gain a greater lifespan and strength. When DeCasas was finally called to York, he agreed to fake his own death and journey with him. With the enormous power the Lasombra held in the church, it was a simple matter to gain Jean-Paul a new identity and eventually even grant him the Archbishopric of the city. Now, called John Baptiste, the two work together to strengthen the Church of Christ in this land still all-too-over run with pagans and atheists. John Babtiste appears to be a man in his late forties or early fifties, though very healthy. His face reveals a certain gentleness to the man, though he has learned much of the ways of politics and manipulations from his Dark Friend.
Enjoying the position as Lord Mayor over York for 5 years now, Lawrence absolutely loves his job. He is deeply endebted to Julian DeLyonesse for preserving his family's name and honor concerning some bad contractual agreements that fell through due to a sinking merchant ship which the Mayor had invested heavily in. Mortal strings concerning the courts and government on a daily basis are regulated by the Lord Mayor. Those cases of interest to the Prince are made known to Julian. Lawrence is also a Retainer to the Prince, having been ghouled one year prior to becoming Lord Mayor.
Gerald is a rotund man with a large belt for lots of keys. Life is good as Lord Sheriff with his carousing bunch of constables who help break up any disputes within the walls of York, leaving the military to focus on what it needs to do, defend York. He has known Julian Delyonesse for as long as he could remember. Memories have been implanted into the Lord Sheriff to make the man believe that the two grew up together. Gerald enjoys locking folks up on the pilories or in the stocks as much as he enjoys making use of the prisons of York. His fondness for Julian is evident, especially when drinking far too much. Ghouled to the Prince around his 27th birthday, Gerald seeks to make the streets of York safe for those under the Lion's decrees.
At this time, only those characters who have Fae Lore would know of the Fay NPC's listed below, unless the STs have entwined them into a Storyline your Character is in.
A Sidhe of vast power, and the "DeathLord" of the Seelie Court. He acts as the judge and executioner for the Queen, and has taken an interest in the death of Duke Elandrion. He was recently wounded severely by the iron teeth and claws of a strange Nosferatu, and returned to Avalon to heal. A dark man who wears black, black, black, and seethes with eldritch power.
Chauncey is a Redcap unseelie who has come to York on behalf of some of the Fay of Avalon with a mission to keep an eye on their interests and protect them. At the moment, this includes the Brujah named Mordred Pendragon. Chauncey is a big, redheaded, thuggish fellow who loves to fight and offend, but has flashes of insightfulness and niceness that make him rather confusing to those who live long enough to get to know him.
A "Grump" Sluagh with considerable power in the Dark Court of Avalon. He seeks to bring the old ways back and bring the Dark Court to power in the Isles. Gibbon has two guises: his mortal seeming is of an older, balding, toothless, slightly greenish man with a slight paunch on his otherwise skinny frame; while his fay seeming is much more serpentine and repulsive.
Legends and sightings of the Black Monk are found across Europe. Some say he is from Germany, others from Scotland. He has been seen in Rome in teh company of cardinals; in the south of France, with heretics; and in the falls of Paris' University, debating philosophy with students. Appearing as a normal monk of middle years, the Black Monk corrupts through the suggestion of heresies to vulnerable folk. It is said that he led a group of children away from their homes, promising them that they had been chosen to enter Paradise; the children disappeared and were never seen again. He is often attended by swarms of rats, and plauge follows in his footsteps.
