CHILDREN OF CHAOS

By Brian-Joseph Baker (elomae@aol.com)

History

Dimitrius Peteus was the type of Ravnos that would rob a man blind and then some. He was the type man who didn't care who he crossed and made that fact blatantly clear to everyone that his path crossed. And then, during the Dark Ages, the evening would come that one of his victims would return the favor in kind. But this particular victim happened to be a Malkavian. Immediately upon realizing what Dimitrius had done to him, which had only been to steal his coin purse, the Malkavian turned his powers of Dementation on the unwitting Ravnos. But, to the dismay of the Malkavian, Dimitrius' derangement turned into his own undoing. Dimitrius turned upon the Malkavian and immediately attacked him. Before he could do a thing to stop him, Dimitrius began to diablerize the Malkavian.

When it was over, Dimitrius' perceptions of the world around him began to change. His derangement began to kick into full gear. As Dimitrius saw it, the only way to stop any other Kindred , including the Antediluvians, from doing to him what the Malkavian had done was to take their power as well. To this end, the Ravnos began pondering on how to do this. He knew of no power that could put his victims at such a disadvantage that he could continue his interests without another possible threat of reprisal. It was on this evening that he began constructing the Vertigo Discipline in his mind. The power had to have the ability to give him complete and ultimate power over his victims.

Many years would pass; during those years Dimitrius labored over the creation of Vertigo. At first, his powers began to manifest themselves subtly. But as each new power came about, it was more frightening and powerful than the last. Then the day came when he began his quest. As it turned out, at this point in history, the playing field had changed in his favor.

During this time, the Holy Roman Church began hunting down all those they believed to be enemies of the faith. A great many of these "Enemies" turned out to be Kindred of rapidly increasing age and power.

It was during this time that Dimitrius struck. His first victims would be a group of Kindred Nobility in the mountains of Italy. Apparently they had thought that by isolating themselves they could protect themselves from the coming storm. In a sense they were able to; the flaming torches of the Church never touched them.

But, one evening would come when a swarthy-skinned stranger would come to the gates of their mountain fortress and ask for shelter for the evening. During this era, hospitality was an oligation that was taken very seriously. Dimitrius would be admitted into the fortress.

When the morning light would again touch the walls of the fortress, all within were no more except their Gypsy guest. During the course of one single evening, Dimitrius went down in generation at least four times.

When night once again settled in those Italien mountains, Dimitrius gathered his things and once again moved on. This time his destination was Rome.

Over the centuries, the city of Rome has had its share of Kindred guests. But when Dimitrius entered the city, he would begin a night of terror that the Elders of the Camarilla still have yet to forget. It was on this night that Dimitrius reached the Seventh generation through diablerie. It was also on this night that the Children of Chaos were born.

Shortly after diablerizing one of Rome's noble Toreador lords, Dimitrius searched the city over for one to give his Embrace to. As he saw it, the only Kindred who deserved the right to wield the kind of power that he did would be one of his own blood. The first in his bloodline would be one of the raving mad, a street beggar.

Over the centruries that would follow, Dimitrius would Embrace many. One of the values that he would instill in his "Children " would be that of loyalty to one another. They were all part of a family, his family. When one benefited, they all benefited. When one committed a crime against another, all would take part in the destruction of the offender.

As the centuries would pass, the Children of Chaos would grow in numbers, spreading across Eastern and Western Europe like the plague. It was during this time that the Leaders of the Camarilla would make the deal that they have lived up to til this day. The Children have the right to pass through any domain so long as they abide by the laws of the local noble Kindred lord.

Progenitor

Edgar St. Claire (aka Dimitrius Peteus)

Nickname

Flakes

Appearance

The members of this bloodline come from many walks of life. Most prefer to dress in the darker colors, and tend to dress more like the Toreador, rather than the gypsy garb of their Ravnos ancestors. Blending in with the local Kindred is what the Children seem to do best.

Haven

The Children prefer to find a communal haven where all can stay at when they enter a city. Once this haven is established, at least one of them will remain in that particular city to maintain the haven in case members of the Bloodline decide to return to that city.

Background

The members of this bloodline tend to come from the streets, but this is not always the case. As the Children see it, those who have grow up on the streets have the ability to survive and thrive in some cases. They are that much stronger than the average Kindred neonate for that reason, and it is they who have the right of the Children's Embrace.

Character Creation

The Children of Chaos can have any type of concept, but most tend to lean towards that of criminals. The reason for this is because larceny of all types seem to be bred into them. The Demeanors rarely reflect their actual Natures. Mental Attributes are always primary, as are Talent Abilities. Children nearly always have the Mentor Background Trait.

Disciplines

Chimerstry, Fortitude, and Vertigo

Weaknesses

All members of this bloodline have some sort of Derangement. In fact, characters begin the game with one. The player may choose any Derangement, but the character will never be able to completely overcome it. Only through the use of Willpower can that Derangement be surpressed for a given scene.

Organization

The Children of Chaos believe themselves to be a family, and as such, they are very protective of one another. A crime against one is a crime against all in their eyes. This rule also extends within the bloodline as well. When one of the Childrem committs a crime against another, all Children in that particular city take part in his punishment, no matter what it is.

Gaining Bloodline Status

Gaining Status within this bloodline tends to be rather hard. The reason this is so is because the Children delight in creating chaos within Kindred and mortal society. The way they do this is by subtly engineering pranks that by the time they go off, only the Child who is resposible can claim credit for it. One such prank donated the sum of a certain Ventrue's bank account to the pawn of his Brujah enemy.

Quote

"I'm not crazy. I know exactly what I'm doing. By the way, pass me the blowtorch ."

Stereotypes

The Camarilla: These guys are the greatest. They sit in their musty towers and mansions waiting for their enemies to move their pawns. But what they don't know is that when we are nearby, it is rarely their enemies who are moving their enemies' pawn.

"The Children of Chaos are an odd bunch, some of these guys can get very flaky. They seem to be upholding the Traditions; I say we just leave 'em be."

-- Marx, Brujah of Boston

The Sabbat: Ok, I have to admit that sometimes these guys can be pretty cool at times. But I'll tell you this, never turn your back on one that is still moving.

"These guys just plain scare me. Of the ones I have met, they all seem to be nuts. Any group of vampires that are kookier than the Malkavians have to be up to something, and it can't be good!"

-- Malkavian antitribu of the Sabbat

The Inconnu: Old codgers, 'nuff said.

"No comment."

-- Thomas, Inconnu Monitor of New York City

What the Clans of the Camarilla Know

The Children of Chaos are a Bloodline that originates from somewhere in Eastern Europe. No one is quite certain exactly where they came from, or from which Clan they were spawned.

Current guesses tend to lean toward either the Malkavians or the Ravnos. Part of the reason most tend to believe the Malkavians were responsible is because of the inherent insanity that seems to run rampant throughout members of this bloodline, that and the fact that not even the Malkavians play pranks as lethal or engineered as those of the Children. The reason that some tend to believe that the Ravnos were responsible for this bloodline is the fact that the Children are as apt at uses the powers of Chimerstry as any of the childer of Clan Ravnos. But, the one thing that all of the Clans know is to not screw with these Kindred. The Children are a close knit group of Kindred, in some ways, a more closely knit group than even the Giovanni.

What the Children Know

The Bloodline's Progenitor, Edgar St. Claire, secretly known as the infamous Kindred, Dimitrius Peteus, was Embraced somewhere during the time of Charlemagne.

The name Dimitrius Peteus is reviled by most Camarilla Elders. The reason for this is because when the Inquisition came crashing down on the greater half of the Kindred of Europe, Dimitrius went gunning for the Kindred Elders for their Vitae, effectively lowering his generation many times throughout this period in history. His name is on the Kindred Most Wanted List that the Camarilla has been using to find and destroy kindred that have committed the most heinous crimes against Camarilla laws.

Children of Chaos each start off unlife with one derangement, this derangement can never be removed. This may be the final curse, before his untimely demise, of the Malkavian responsible for them.