The Setting
Our Game is set as part of the World of Darkness V5 universe. Whilst our version of the U.K in the setting diverges in many ways from it's tabletop counterpart, the majority of elements remain the same. We also utilise various aspect of the Vampire lore from previous editions in order to craft a world with a realistic history, to be explored in game through various means.
Before...
The Country is divided and fractured. It is 2026, and for the last two decades the kindred world has been at war with itself, and the kine, like never before. Paradigm shift, after shift has left the UK a shell of the haven it once was for Licks. Reshaped into something far removed from what the elders of past generations could ever recognise.
The aged amongst kindred call these nights the end times, the final nights: resorting to proselytising that Gehenna is upon the Kindred world.The Camarilla has closed it's doors, and withdrawn from technology.
The Second Inquisition has blown their precious Masquerade to smithereens. Licks are hunted in their havens, interrogated for information, and left to be claimed by the sunrise. For centuries prior, the Prince of London had ruled the country with an iron fist; quelling any and all rebellion, puppeteering the country (mortal and unliving alike) from his blood-soaked throne. With his death sounded a clarion call for the safety of the Ivory Tower.Those amongst the undead that wished to survive had but two choices: withdraw into their Ivory Tower - uphold the tenets of the Camarilla at all costs, clinging to their pipe-dream traditions - or roll with the punches and try to carve out something for themselves.
What Are We To Do?
With the withdrawal of the Camarilla from the limelight, a power vacuum appeared. One which the Anarchs were more than happy to step into.
The Anarchs, as they have long called themselves, consist of those who never wished to take the knee in service to elders or sires. Calling themselves the Unbound, amongst their ranks can be counted the young, revolutionaries, disenfranchised kindred who have saw the way the world was going and jumped ship before it was too late.
They firmly believe in their own agency, and refuse to kiss the boots of any and all oppressors: be that the Camarilla, the remnants of the Sabbat, or the Inquisition. Since the convention of the Camarilla, there have been Anarchs. As the traditionalists would have it told, they have been waging war against the Camarilla, taking the fight to those in power. Whilst this is true for some, many simply existed amongst the Unbound because they had no other choice - unwanted and unwelcome anywhere else.
This new paradigm that The Anarchs find themselves living in is full with new possibilities. With the despots reeling and hiding, they are free to run the show however they see fit. No masters, No chains. They get to decide how things work now: and they'll do anything to guarantee their own safety (personal, or otherwise) in the face of this tumultuous world.
Bristol Then: The Rave of '24
The Baron of Bristol, a mysterious Brujah figurehead for the movement in this corner of the country, called a Rave. In the face of threats new and old, they beckoned all with the mind to listen to come to their domain, and decide amongst themselves what direction to take the various domains under Anarch jurisdiction. It was as much a convention for the politically minded, as it is a show of force: in denial of the Camarilla, and self-righteous Inquisition, who deem that their un-lives are worthless.
The Rave was a time for Revolt.
It was a time for change.
The Rave was as much a chance to scream into the dying of the night, as it was a chance to scope out potential threats and form allegiances. Everyone had an agenda. War was upon The Unbound.
A rallying cry for Licks of all Clans and Creed to come discuss where they wanted to go next. To take what is theirs, so that when the rubble settled they came out on top. Secure and safe. Everyone in attendance was be vying for a piece of the pie. Not everyone got what they wanted, and even fewer came out unscathed.
Despite best intentions, the Rave was a failure of immense proportions. The Baron of Bristol met their final death; Duskborn ran amok, remnants of the Sabbat sunk their perfidious fangs into the meek and the bold alike; all ending in a cacophony of gunfire, fear, and blood, when the Second Inquisition kicked down the door and set the building ablaze.
Bristol became a dead-zone, derelict, and stood as a catastrophic failure to remind the wider Anarch movement that no-one was safe from the hunters - and that it was licks that had become the prey.
Now and The Future
Following the breach of the last Rave, The Ministry has laid claim to the City of Bristol. Their connections to all forms of unlife has made sinking their illicit fangs into the underbelly of Kindred existence easier than you would expect. For the last two years, the city has been swarmed by the Second Inquisition, and with the help of various petty baronies and gangs they have been gradually been cleaning up the streets - making what was once a no-man’s land into a home for their ilk, and other licks, alike. Nothing they do is free, of course, but this act of Masquerade maintenance, and seizure of domain, has seemed more magnanimous than usual. Of course, they welcome all Kindred to join the fold, if they feel so inclined…
No Lick has survived the nights since the Rave without a movement, and even then unlife has been hard. Coteries have waxed and waned, Cainites all over have found themselves succumbing to final death or the calls of the Gehenna War. While trusting The Ministry may seem foolish to some, they have certainly done what they claim to be doing - bringing some semblance of order to Bristol and its petty Baronies. Their coup has not, as you would expect, been met with welcoming arms by all of the remaining residents of the domain - but even the most vehement of naysayers has a price; or can be made unwelcome.
And so, with things looking more stable than they have been since the death of Baron Loveless; they have opened their doors once more to the rest of the country. Inviting anyone and everyone with a claim to power - or a niche set of skills - to attend their gathering in 2027. If you have survived this long, you must be resourceful; and it is exactly these resourceful figures, coteries, and movements that the enterprising Ministry wish to talk with, trade boons with, and encourage to decide how the domain they now call their own will move forward.
They don’t exactly care to be in the limelight much longer; better to be an indispensable power behind whomever takes the throne, than to be the primary target after all. War rages still, and they are more than happy to hold a hustings for the soldiers of this next step in the Great War against kine and Camarilla.
[[We recommend that the majority of our returning players consider playing something new. While this is a Sequel, the likelihood of “plot” carrying directly over is slim - This is a new story and nights move so fast in this modern era. If you do intend to play a previous character (or whole coterie) we highly recommend considering how a movement has resculpted your character and what hellish things your kindred has done to survive the nights…]]