Campaign of the Month: October 2017
Blood & Bourbon
The Hecata
“Remember, my childer
We all must ride with Charon, by and by
Know what to ask him
before you enter his boat.”
Cappadocius’ words to his childer
Genealogy
• Baron Cimitière (e. unknown, a. late 18th century)
• 8. Cletus Lee Boggs (e. late 19th century)
• 9. Buford Tebow “Mudbelly” Boggs (e. mid 20th century)
• 9. Isabelica “Sugarbelle” Calero-Pisanob (e. late 20th century)
• 9. Bobbi Jo “Mad-Dog Cherry” Boggs (e. late 20th century)
• 8. Sergio “Caruso” Putanesca (e. early 20th century)
• 9. Eriberto “Bert” Rossellini-Santoro (e. late 20th century, d. 2005)
• 9. Loriana Giovannini (e. late 18th century, d. mid 20th century)
• 10. Ludovico “Don Vico” Giovannini (e. early 20th century)
• 11. Chiafreddo “Catfish Freddy” Putanesca (e. mid 20th century)
• 11. Lucia “Lucy” Giovannini (e. late 20th century)
Kindred by Hecata Status
Hecata Status •••••
Baron Cimitière
Lineage: Unknown
Embrace: Unknown
Status: Camarilla •••••, Circle of the Crone •••••, Hecata •••••
Coterie: The Baron’s inner circle
The inscrutable Baron Cimitière is Augusto Vidal’s second great rival and a houngan in Baron Samedi’s service who leads an enormous flock among the city’s Vodouisants—Kindred and mortal. He seems to have minimal interest in becoming prince himself, yet remains steadfast in his opposition to the throne’s other two contenders.
Des Jumeaux
Ghouled: 1839 and 2008
Status: Ghouls •••• and ••
True to their joint moniker, Baron Cimitiere’s heralds are twins known as powerful houngans, collectively possessing the authority of both a houngan asogwe (high priest) and houngan sur pwen (junior priest), although amongst other circles they are regarded as fell bokor—whose sorcerous power is allegedly amplified or weakened depending upon whether the pair are close or distant, respectively. Ascertaining the truth of this rumor, is all but impossible though, as the Jumeaux (whose individual names were reputedly sacrificed to loa) are seemingly always together. Indeed, the pair have only been known to be separated once: when one of the Jumeaux vanished during the ‘40s, allegedly killed by Vidal’s agents. Although the survivor was devastated, his loss was tempered by the fact his brother reappeared in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The two claim the lost brother’s soul was reincarnated in a new body and subsequently ghouled by the Baron once he was of age to match his twin.
Hecata Status •••
Cletus Lee Boggs
Lineage: 8th gen. childe of Alegraza “Gros Mama Al” Giovannini
Embrace: 1883
Status: Hecata •••
Sindaco of Slidell, Capo of St. Tammany Parish, soldato emeritus, and Inviato of Clan Giovanni and his sire Padrona Alegraza Giovanni. Besides his insular, if iron-grip over his parish and mortally descended clan of inbred, cannibalistic rednecks, Cletus is presently known for his control over Textron, a multi-billion military-industrial company; his nominal alliance with Antoine Savoy; and his recent clashes with such notable trespassers as John Harley Matheson and Rocco Agnello. The former altercation spurred Cletus’ participation in George Vernon Smith’s 2015 trial; whereas, the latter led to Cletus hosting a soiree that included Camarilla luminaries such as Seneschal Maldonato (in spirit), Roderick Durant, Elyse Benson, and heralds of Miss Opal and Coco Duquette. A devoted ‘family man’, Cletus is also known for siring at least three childer, namely the single-blooded Buford Tebow and Bobbi Jo Boggs and double-blooded Isabelica Calero-Pisanob.
Pervis Guillaume “Lil’ Willy” Boggs
Ghouled: 1916
Status: Ghouls •••
Cletus’ clubfooted bastard who functions as the patriarch’s’ primary herald in NOLA. Current and frequent resident of the Quarter’s Italian House. One of the Boggs’ foremost necromancers who has spent decades researching potential means of creating Boggs revenants. Cannibal, necrophiliac, and serial killer by proxy. Usually accompanied by his surrogate mother-servant, Bambi Earlene Boggs—or at least her zombified remains.
The Boggs Ghouls
Ghouled: Varies
Status: Varies, mostly 0
Cletus keeps a large number of ghouls among his mortal family, the Boggs clan. Most rarely come to New Orleans and few Kindred pay any real attention to their numbers.
Ludovico “Don Vico” Giovannini
Lineage: 10th gen. childe of Innocenzo Di Santis Giovannini
Embrace: 1916
Status: Hecata •••
Don Vico is the Giovannini who many Camarilla Kindred interact with when they wish to deal with the necromancers. He’s the head of the clan in New Orleans, though not an anziano in his own right, and is thought to take orders from elders located beyond the city. He makes his domain in a historic Italianate mansion along the northern edge of the French Quarter. He’s a semi-regular presence at Antoine Savoy’s weekly parties, although the French Quarter lord doesn’t get too chummy with him—the necromancers are held somewhat in distaste by polite Camarilla society. Still, no one doubts that his interests and Savoy’s are tied up together, given Vidal’s and the Baron’s animosity towards the Giovannini clan. Somewhat unusually for a Giovannini, Vico has influence over road-based transportation networks and teamsters’ unions rather than financial institutions—Vidal has effectively boxed out the usual Giovannini-controlled banks and investment companies from New Orleans. Vico himself is a thuggish-seeming man with a fondness for luxury and an air of new money. Kine often think he’s a mob boss.
Ettore “Eddie Sistine” Bagnetto
Ghouled: 1997
Mafioso torture artist.
Malia Eliza Curry
Lineage: Unknown
Embrace: Unknown
Status: Camarilla ••, Circle of the Crone •••, Hecata •••
Coterie: The Baron’s inner circle
Among all the Baron’s followers, Malia is the the greatest servant of the loa and the most potent blood sorcerer after the Samedi houngan himself. Where Lidia Kendall serves as the Baron’s right hand in his control over the city’s gangs and criminal elements, Malia serves as the Baron’s left hand in matters of faith. She is a mambo in her own right and leads his congregations (mortal and vampiric) alongside him and sometimes in place of him. Little is known of her origins. She appeared out of nowhere during the early 20th century, some say as an immigrant from Haiti, but she has answered no questions as to her past. Her own self matters but little next to the will of Les Invisibles. She has given herself over to possession by the loa on countless occasions and sometimes there seems to be little of her original personality left. She is given frequently to trances and strange behaviors that make little sense to her covenant members: only the Baron’s presence seems able to compel her to complete lucidity. For many years, she was presumed to be a Malkavian, but she never seemed especially close to her alleged clanmates. It only recently came to light that she hailed from the same bloodline as her patron. Most presume her appearance to be a product of Obfuscate, for none have ever seen her as the rotting corpse she is underneath.
Sergio “Caruso” Putanesca
Lineage: 8th gen. childe of Alegraza “Gros Mama Al” Giovannini
Embrace: 1910
Status: Hecata •••
Sergio is one of Clan Giovannini’s most notorious hitmen and assassins in the Southern United States. He oversees the clan’s interests in mob-related criminal enterprises and contract killings (mostly mortal, but allegedly also Kindred) across the Gulf Coast. He’s frequently on the road traveling as far as Houston and Miami, but principally works out of New Orleans, Mobile, and Biloxi. He’s nicknamed “Caruso” after the famous opera singer—since “when he enters the stage, everyone goes quiet, and when he leaves, no one is left sitting.” Semi-notorious among his clan for slaying his own childe Eriberto “Bert” Rossellini-Santoro under ambiguous circumstances during Hurricane Katrina. He maintains that Bert’s final death was sanctioned by the anziani, but it’s won him little love among his clanmates.
Hecata Status ••
Chiafreddo “Catfish Freddy” Putanesca
Lineage: 11th gen. childe of Vico Giovannini
Embrace: 1946
Status: Hecata ••
Catfish Freddy is a mobster and a thug. A child of the Prohibition Era’s “good old days”, he was Embraced by Don Vico to run Clan Giovanni’s organized crime interests in the French Quarter—leg breakers, loan sharks, racketeers, and so on. It’s a task he’s handled with enthusiastic aplomb and poses as a mortal capo to run his own crew, although the bevvy of other Kindred with ties to the Mob—Rocco Agnello, Antoine Savoy, Reynaldo Gui, Will Carolla—has prevented him from making a play to kill or suborn Don Carolla. Still, Catfish seems content where he is, unlike his sister-wife and ghoul Tuccy. The two frequently abuse one another, physically and verbally. Catfish could probably put the ghoul in her place if he were inclined to, but in a warped way he enjoys the sense of home and family, and appreciates that his wife can take it and dish it back.
Tuceia “Tuccy” Giovannini-Putanesca
Ghouled: 1935
Status: Ghouls ••
The mortal wife and half-sister of Catfish Freddy, Tuccy is a Putanesca through their shared father and a Giovannini through her mother. She’s also a descendant of Loriana Giovannini, the clan’s previous don who opened the French Quarter through Maria Pascal. Tuccy considers her many-times grandmother a far superior don to Vico, who she disdains as a boorish thug. Vico seems to consider the ghoul beneath his notice, except to sneer that he’s not the one descended from a Putanesca. She practices considerable necromancy for a member of the family, and also for a ghoul, which she points to as proof of her blood’s purity. It’s made her feared as a “witch” by the clan’s other ghouls. She’s also known among them for her bold attitude towards her husband-domitor, who she constantly nags to “be a man” towards Vico and stand up to more.
Isabelica “Sugarbelle” Calero-Pisanob
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Cletus Lee Boggs
Embrace: 1987
Status: Hecata ••
Isabelica is Cletus’ sole double-blooded childe. She was born in Managua, Nicaragua as the youngest child of Miguel Calero, an American-educated Nicaraguan businessman and leader within the largest contra rebel group opposing the Sandinista government (i.e., Nicaraguan Democratic Force). Isabelica helped her father and the Giovannini (particularly the Boggs and their military-industrial puppet, Cadillac Gage) secure, manage, and manipulate the bank accounts into which money was deposited and then used to buy supplies and arms as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Her maternal ancestors were Pisonab, who taught her their family’s infamous heritage and sorcerous secrets of Aztec necromancy. Due to both her lucrative military-industrialist acumen and her necromantic aptitude, Isabelica was ghouled by a local Pisonab. Shortly thereafter, she was captured and tortured by the Sabbat-allied Sandinista and forced to drink caustic vapors which permanently maimed her vocal chords. Isabelica was rescued by allies of Cletus, flown back to Slidell (alongside her father who was called to testify before Congress), and subsequently rewarded with the Embrace from the Boggs patriarch. Since then, she has continued to deepen her financial-military connections as well as necromantic prowess, proving to be an efficacious addition to the local Giovannini.
Réginald A. Delahoussaye
Ghouled: 1990
A toothless, larynx-maimed octogenarian who currently serves as both the mayor of Pearl River and the president of St. Tammany Parish. The local son of Cajun logger and Prohibition booze-smuggler, Oscar joined the Air Force, where he served as a bomber pilot in Korea and Vietnam before retiring and becoming a somewhat successful oil man. He also worked as a narcotic smuggler, both before and after his political career, which led to his ill-fated blackmailing of the Giovannini and subsequent ghouling by Isabelica. Long-time husband to Lucile “Buttermouth” Delahoussaye who serves as his always willing, but only partially faithful, translator.
Hecata Status •
Lucia “Lucy” Giovannini
Lineage: 11th gen. childe of Ludovico “Don Vico” Giovannini
Embrace: 1994
Status: Hecata •
Don Vico’s younger childe, Lucy is known as a spoiled daddy’s girl among the Giovannini. She’s her sire’s granddaughter by several ‘greats’ and he’s quite indulgent of and protective towards her. Unlike her brother Catfish Freddy, she’s not in charge of a domain of serious interest to the clan. She was Embraced as a medical student and is nominally responsible for harvesting ghosts from local hospitals, but the Giovannini being boxed into the French Quarter has made that unfeasible—all of NOLA’s hospitals are in territory controlled by Vial and his allies. She’s still interested in studying the dead and dying within a medical environment, and frequently wheedles her sire to open some kind of healthcare clinic in the Quarter, but it’s a big enough investment that he hasn’t gotten around to it. For her part, Lucy probably doesn’t have the financial or logistical know-how to do so herself. She’s fairly sociable for her clan next to other Giovannini and has numerous contacts among the Bourbon Sanctified. It’s a rare occasion that she doesn’t show up to one of the Evergreen’s weekly parties.
Teodoro “Teddy” Vattali
Ghouled: 1994
Status: Ghouls •
Lucy’s bodyguard and chauffeur, Teddy’s an effectively retired soldato whose protection of his domitor is a form of generational penance: his family, the Vattalis, were mobsters and former rivals to the Giaconas, another mob family once backed by the Giovannini. Teddy is highly protective of his domitor and equally aggressive towards male Kindred he perceives as having a sexual interest in her, which makes his blood boil like nothing else. The fact she often reciprocates such interest has almost brought him to blows with more than one of her lovers. Teddy’s own lusts towards his domitor are largely unrequited, as between his homely features and the fact that he’s responsible for her physical protection, Lucy rarely feeds on him.
Cancro
Ghouled: Varies
Status: Ghouls 0
Many Giovannini have necromantic “pet projects”. Lucy’s is child cancer patients. She claims their combination of youth and exposure to death grants them uniquely powerful insights into the realms of the dead. True or not, she’s kept many such children as ghouls over the years, though rarely for long. It’s anyone’s guess what happens to them, but Lucy claims she doesn’t kill them. Vico obligingly procures her new ones and her other clanmates have long since stopped bothering to learn their names. Instead, they just call the kids “Cancro”—literally “Cancer” in Italian.
Hecata Status 0
Buford Tebow “Mudbelly” Boggs
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Cletus Lee Boggs
Embrace: 1944
Status: Hecata 0
Buford is the prodigal son in absentia. Buford was a decorated WWII veteran and single-blooded Embrace who left his sire, clan, and parish for reasons known only to himself and his biological grandfather. He allegedly lives an itinerant lifestyle traveling between cities, concealing his heritage, and performing as a blues honky-tonk musician. Unconfirmed rumors suggest he infrequently returns home, or at least to New Orleans to participate in Mardi Gras festivities.
Fallen Hecata
Hecata Status •
Bobbi Jo “Mad-Dog Cherry” Boggs
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Cletus Lee Boggs
Embrace: 1999
Final Death: 2016 (17 years undead)
Status: Hecata •
Bobbi Jo is (or was) Cletus’ youngest, single-blooded childe. Bobbi Jo Boggs was raised in the ‘wholesome’ family environment of the Cryin’ Bluebellies, turning tricks for the passing-by truck drivers and serving generally as a prepubescent pain-whore for the then-nascent White Reich. Despite or perhaps because of this abuse, she became a wild and feral thing, but not without cunning. That cunning and predatory drive helped her to climb the hog-candy chain of the OMC. Moreover, her “professional experience” allowed her to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge about not only the illegal drug and arms trade, but also the general criminal and transportation dealings in the region. Cletus recognized and rewarded Bobbi Jo’s usefulness by turning her into his ghoul and eventual childe after she sufficiently impressed (if chagrined) her Giovannini elders by leading the White Reich to dominate the lucrative drug and arms trade both within and across St. Tammany parish. After her Embrace, Mad Dog Cherry had continued to run the OMC and its related criminal enterprises. Recently, Bobbi Jo was firebombed by trespassing Anarchs spurred by Rocco Agnello’s capture, but she managed to evade final death. However, a mob of enraged wraiths finished what the Anarchs could not, permanently slaying Bobbi Jo during a spectral prison-break that later occurred at the Giovannini’s French Quarter manse.
Davis Jefferson Boggs
Ghouled: 2008
The White Reich’s nominal leader who was in truth ghoul and servant to Bobbi Jo. Through Davis, Bobbi Jo oversaw the OMC’s controlled drug and arms trade, or at least she did until she was firebombed nearly to final death by trespassing Anarchs spurred by Rocco Agnello. When Davis and his OMC attempted a counter-attack ‘behind enemy lines’, the enraged Boggs patriarch subsequently ordered the slaughter of the entire White Reich, all save for the now heavily scarred and emasculated Davis Boggs. With Bobbi Jo’s recent final death, Davis’ fate has become even more precarious.
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