A new developer diary from Paradox Interactive provides a deep dive into The Camarilla Court of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, including a quick preview of many of the characters central to The Camarilla Court. You can read below for more information:
Dev Diary #16: Camarilla Court
The team at The Chinese Room has been hard at work, and we’re excited to show you the cast of our Camarilla Kindred this week.
Seattle has been dominated by the Camarilla for a century. It is an organisation of Vampires that has fingers in many aspects of mortal society to keep power. The Camarilla Court is under the leadership of a Prince who dictates the laws maintaining the Masquerade. Under the Prince, there are several official positions, such as Primogen who represent major clans and a Sheriff to enforce Camarilla law. Each has a place in the nightly affairs of Seattle.
Exploring the city will introduce you to these Kindred, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to and learn about them in their preferred surroundings. Phyre’s relationship with each can develop as you spend more time with them. Depending on how you play the games of vampire politics with them, they may grow to adore or abhor you.
In this diary, we’re sharing some profiles of the Kindred in Seattle’s Camarilla, provided by Writer Cherish Goldstraw and Narrative Director Ian Thomas, as if someone were describing them to you in-universe. This is the structure of the Camarilla, as you’ll learn about it at the start of the story.
In previous Diaries, you might have met some characters who are also part of the Camarilla and hold titles in it. Fletcher the Master of Elysium, Niko the Banu Haqim Primogen, Simeon “Silky” Ladock the Brujah Primogen and Mrs Thorn the Tremere Magister can be found living in Seattle too. You can find them in their respective Dev Diaries.
Ventrue, Prince
J J Campbell
Quote
“I know. I see the smile that does not reach your eyes. I see the brow that furrows, the dawn of panic. I see the tension in your shoulders, the hands that clench. Oh yes. I know. Why should my next word not end you?”
Description
Campbell is power personified. As the last century grew, he consolidated the Kindred’s hold on the streets; as the city rose, so did Weaver Tower and the Court, with tendrils into politics, business, society, and the underworld. Once Lou’s protege, it is now Campbell – urbane, perceptive, commanding – who leads Seattle into the future as Prince of the city.
Ventrue, Ex-Prince
Lou Graham
Quote
“Oh, this is ridiculous – something must be done. I know it is quite the fashion to hear a wide range of opinions, but blood under the nails is such a nuisance.”
Description
In life, Lou Graham pulled all the strings of the elite in Seattle; she had the ears of politicians, criminals, blue bloods and commoners alike. In unlife she has spent more than a century deepening that hold. She looms over Seattle as a storm cloud, a constant factor in the choices of even the most powerful Kindred despite her absence from day-to-day politics. To badmouth Lou Graham is to badmouth the city, and this city has a habit of burying its foes down deep.
Ventrue, Seneschal
Ryong Choi
Quote
“I’m not sure you grasp the situation. You will act in this as my agent, and in return you will gain both the benefits and responsibilities of that. It is not negotiable. You could, of course, refuse. But the sun is rising.”
Description
Ryong is of a new breed, a dealmaker, modern, efficient, and pragmatic. With a city under threat and with the Masquerade in tatters, Ryong is the calm centre of the chaos, negotiating, out-maneuvering, and doing everything that must be done to maintain stability. She is not afraid to cut away dead flesh if it will help save the whole.
Nosferatu, Herald
Michael “Tolly” Tolliver
Quote
“Hey, it’s the festive season; I’m just out for a stroll. I figure I bring joy to the world. And this little chat is courtesy of my selfless desire to entertain the elderly, so listen up, Nomad!”
Description
Most Nosferatu will hide themselves away from the world, but Tolly knows how little attention today’s mortals really pay to anything. The gregarious and gleeful intelligencer will be found where he’s least expected, always spinning webs for the Court, nudging this, gathering compromising information on that. Tolly knows where the bodies are buried, and has probably dug them up, critiqued their dress sense, and had a long and very pointed conversation with them about their stupid indiscretions.
Brujah, Sheriff
Benny Muldoon
Quote
“You have one night – ONE NIGHT – to sort your business and get the fuck outta Seattle. After that, it’s open season.”
Description
Benny is the attack-dog of the Court, the enforcer, the bruiser, the bone-breaker. You want him leashed up and snarling at your enemies, not biting at your heels, so get on his good side. He despises those who he sees as lesser bloodlines, and prides himself on his ability to sniff out those who are working against Seattle’s best interests. If you’re lucky, you’ll find him standing at the Prince’s side. If you’re less lucky, you’ll encounter him elsewhere.
Tremere, Researcher
Safia Ulusoy
Quote
“That’s… fascinating. Uh. You wouldn’t mind if I take a closer look? Fourteenth century, I’m almost sure… and look at these markings! Hermetic in nature, obviously! Could you just let me… oops! Sorry. I’ll clean that up.”
Description
Safia is the eager enthusiast, her attention caught by theories, facts, and the fascination of learning from both the old and the new. If the Court has questions, she is the one to find answers; her skill with thaumaturgy and her dogged research techniques have proven her worth to Seattle, no matter the current standing of her clan. Recently, she’s been investigating the city’s growing thin-blood population, a particular concern to the Court. However, her focus does tend to distract her from the more mundane world. You’ll probably find her in her lab or lost in a pile of books at the Wake the Dead coffee-bar.
Toreador, Primogen
Ysabella Moore
Quote
“The delicate brutality to pursue one special idea… all art is violence without the right canvas.”
Description
Ysabella, queen of the nightlife, stalks her way through Seattle’s society as trend-setter, bon vivant, nightclub diva, and performance artist extraordinaire. Her legendary events at the Atrium nightclub thrill and shock – the mortals flock to be part of her world. There are some in the Court who believe she treads perilously close to the edge of the Masquerade. Ysabella wields her art like a weapon – to her, self-expression is much more important than any stricture.
Nosferatu, Secret Keeper
Willem Axel
Quote
“You don’t understand, Nomad… if I took away their little black book, all their secrets… what would they have left?”
Description
Willem is the Prince’s archivist, keeping a century of secrets safe from the prying eyes of mortals and kindred alike. He’s long ago hidden himself away from Seattle’s society, unwilling to show his face on the streets, but maintains his contacts amongst the Kindred and the Court and the underworld of the city. Willem is never one to put himself forward or voice his opinion and this might lead others to overlook him or take him for granted, but he has the trades, transgressions, and debts are at his fingertips and such knowledge can be used as a knife.
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Richard Allen is a freelance writer and contributing editor for various publications. While he enjoys modern gaming, he is a retro gamer at heart, having been raised on a steady diet of Contra, Mario, and Dragon's Lair. Chat with him via @thricetheartist on Twitter.
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