Campaign of the Month: October 2017
Blood & Bourbon
The Tremere
“When the world refuses to give,
he who makes himself a master of the world
may still take.”
Tremere’s words to his childer
Genealogy
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a. = date of arrival in New Orleans |
• 7. Elsbeth von Steinhäuser (e. mid 17th century, a. early 19th century)
• 8. Magdalena Schönborn (e. early 18th century, a. late 18th century, d. early 19th century)
• 9. Abigail Wood (e. late 18th century, l. early 19th century)
• 8. Erwin Bornemann (e. mid 19th century, l. early 20th century, a. late 20th century)
• 9. Julien Derneville (e. early 20th century, d. 2015)
• 9. Peter Lebeaux (e. early 21st century)
• 8. Jonathan North (e. mid 19th century, a. late 19th century, l. early 20th century, a. early 21st century, l. 2016)
• 9. Kyrstin Grey (e. early 21st century, a. 2016)
• 9. Matthäus Goldfeld (e. early 19th century, a. early 19th century, d. late 20th century)
• 10. Joseph “Joe” Doyle (e. mid 20th century)
• Jacob Grunewald (e. late 19th century, a. early 20th century, d. 2015)
• 12. Shelia Hendricks (e. late 20th century, a. late 20th century, l. late 20th century)
• 13. Mallory Yang (e. early 21st century, a. early 21st century)
• Marie Richet (e. early 21st century, a. early 21st century)
Tremere by Status
The Tremere grant Status within the clan in slow, carefully measured doses. Following orders to successful conclusions, triumphs of thaumaturgical research, eliminations of the clan’s enemies and efforts that advance the clan’s agenda are all rewarded, albeit in small increments. Tremere who disobey orders, engage in failed experimentation or who weaken the clan drop in Status dramatically. Considering the rigidly hierarchical nature of the Tremere and the intense competition for advancement within the clan structure, a single misstep can set a Tremere’s ambitions back literally centuries.
The Pyramid of Clan Tremere
Clan Tremere further divides its members into seven ranks. Within each rank are seven additional degrees (formally known as circles of mystery) to allow more social mobility without running out of promotions.
Acolytes: At the bottom of the pyramid (but above the ghouls and Gargoyles) are the acolytes. These are Kindred not fully released, and as such rarely gain degrees. Among the acolytes are also counted a group referred to as the Trimira. These are Kindred of other clans who have proven their loyalty and drunk Tremere blood as initiates of the Pyramid. They can never be fully part of the clan, but the warlocks are pleased to accept their loyalty and skills.
Apprentice: When officially presented as part of Kindred society, a Tremere becomes an apprentice. Many never rise higher than this, but one would be warned not to underestimate a seventh-circle apprentice. They have earned their status serving the clan and advancing their magical studies.
Magister: The title of magister (from the Latin for “teacher”) is granted to the Tremere who run their chantry and educate the apprentices under the direction of their regent. It is also a title granted to older and more distinguished members of the clan who have not sought power but instead have become trusted advisers. Magisters tend to oil the wheels of the clan, organizing training and seeing to disputes and punishments. Magister has also become a term of respect to an elder Tremere or a teacher.
Regent: The regents are each master of an entire chantry, typically making them the de facto leader of the Tremere in a given city and often a member of the primogen.
High Regent: Moving up to a national level are the high regents, who are responsible for multiple chantries. Their jurisdiction often ranges over an area the size of several American states. There are supposedly seven high regents under a pontifex, but this number can vary significantly.
Tremere in the office of high regent and above often have their own staff and household, usually basing themselves in a chantry for convenience. Many regents rankle at having their boss running a separate department in their domain, but to complain would bring their loyalty into question.
Pontifex: Pontifices oversee Tremere interests throughout entire countries. Especially significant nations may have more than one: the United States boasts five. There are always seven pontifices under each member of the Inner Council, for a total of forty-nine across the world.
Inner Councilor: Finally, the Inner Council of Seven rules the clan worldwide. These seven elders claim separate dominion over North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East. Councilors dwell within their respective domains but meet semi-periodically in Vienna, Clan Tremere’s greatest stronghold.
Local Clanmates by Rank
High Regent: Elsbeth von Steinhäuser (••••)
Regent: Erwin Bornemann (•••)
Apprentices: Peter Lebeaux (•), Joseph Doyle (0), Mallory Yang (0), Marie Richet (0)
Acolytes: Kyrstin Grey (0)
Tremere Status ••••
Elsbeth von Steinhäuser
Lineage: 7th gen. childe of Karl Schrekt
Embrace: Mid 17th century
Status: Camarilla ••••, Tremere ••••
Coterie: Cabildo ••••
The Tremere primogen and high regent of Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, Elsbeth was a German noblewoman Embraced during the Thirty Years’ War. As a fledgling, she knew no existence save ceaseless war, and those early years forged her into a hard and cruel woman who is quick to anger, slow to forgive, and who prefers using violence to solve problems: she is notorious for having climbed the Pyramid’s ranks by slaying her rivals in thaumaturgic duels. Most Kindred find they far prefer to deal with her mild-mannered right hand Erwin Bornemann. Elsbeth came to New Orleans after her childe and the chantry’s previous regent was destroyed during the 1811 German Coast uprising, a fact for which she blames Baron Cimitière as the revolt’s instigator. Elsbeth utterly loathes hoodoo and Vodoun magics, which she considers inferior to the Tremere’s hermetic arts, and desires nothing less than to eradicate the Circle of the Crone’s local presence completely. Even her allies, though, are leery at the thought of Clan Tremere totally dominating New Orleans’ occult scene. As high regent of Texas, Elsbeth has resisted repeated calls to relocate her realm’s seat to the more economically significant state, but she is periodically away from the Crescent City to attend to affairs in the Lone Star State. She is known to greatly enjoy classical music, and notorious for having supported the Ku Klux Klan to oppress the Baron’s mortal followers.
Tremere Status •••
Erwin Bornemann
Lineage: 8th gen. childe of Elsbeth von Steinhäuser
Embrace: 1850
Status: Camarilla ••, Tremere •••
Clan whip and fourth regent of the New Orleans Chantry. A nationalist intellectual and university professor who participated in the failed German revolutions of 1848-49, Bornemann was placed on the German government’s wanted list and emigrated to Gavelston, Texas, as one of the Forty-Eighters to escape persecution, and from there to New Orleans. Elsbeth von Steinhäuser found him teaching at Tulane University, and despite her background as one of the aristocrats he opposed, she was all-too sympathetic to his pan-Germanic views (having also believed the Holy Roman Empire’s weak central authority cost the German state and people much). He slowly worked his way up the Pyramid’s ranks and was transferred to Baltimore in the early 20th century, but recalled to New Orleans and named regent after his predecessor Goldfeld was called to Vienna in 1975. In contrast to his cruel-tempered sire, Bornemann is a relatively mild-handed regent who prefers to keep things running smoothly with a minimum of fuss, letting other warlocks like Von Steinhäuser or Jonathan North play the stick to his carrot when the latter approach is insufficient. His regency has seen the renegade Jacob Grunewald welcomed back into the Pyramid and his own childer Derneville and Lebeaux permitted to associate with Antoine Savoy, the latter rising to a position of some prominence. Others wonder if the regent is playing a deeper game. Either way, his place between his firmly Vidal-allied sire and Savoy-allied childer serves as a clear reminder to all of Clan Tremere’s internal unity.
Erwin Bornemann’s Homunculus
Tremere Status •
Peter Lebeaux
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Erwin Bornemann
Embrace: 2003
Status: Bourbon Sanctified •••, Camarilla ••, Tremere •
Coterie: Antoine Savoy’s inner circle
Homicide detective on NOPD and warden of the French Quarter for Antoine Savoy. Despite being a vampire, Lebeaux has seen no reason to quit the force. He uses his thaumaturgy to solve crimes and his influence among the police to further Clan Tremere’s interests, though Vidal curtails many of his activitiesoutside the Quarter. He’s also been known to bail out Kindred who run afoul of the law, though never without a price: the lawman in him dislikes seeing criminals go unpunished, even as he acknowledges the Masquerade danger in keeping vampires beyond bars. If Antoine Savoy becomes prince, it’s probable he’ll become sheriff. His allegiance is a reminder to all Kindred that while his grandsire might be a long-time ally of Vidal’s, Clan Tremere will always serve its own interests first and foremost.
Eric Tantal
Ghouled: Mid 20th century
Status: Ghouls ••
Lebeaux’s chief source of muscle. Former football player for the Fighting Irish and still enjoys catching the game.
Tremere Status 0
Joseph “Joe” Doyle
Lineage: 10th gen. childe of Matthäus Goldfeld
Embrace: 1953
Status: Camarilla •, Invictus ••, Tremere 0
A longshoreman born to a poor family of Irish immigrants, Doyle never finished high school, but learned that greased palms kept the waterfront moving and how to keep his mouth shut and his ears open. He worked his way up from the gutter as a union leader who earned a reputation as a man who looked before he leaped, took care of his people, and would not be bullied by politicians or the mob. His sire Goldfeld believed that his prudence, determination, and ability to work within the system would make him a valuable asset to Clan Tremere… and was wrong. Or perhaps only half-right. For whatever reason, Doyle proved completely unable to learn even the rudiments of thaumaturgy, dashing his hopes of advancement within the magically fixated clan. His disappointed sire encouraged his interest in temporal pursuits, where Doyle made some name for himself within the Invictus as a hitman and for his influence over the dockworkers’ union. Increasing automation and general declines in union strength has eroded Doyle’s influence from its height in the post-WWII era, though. He’s also in charge of the chantry’s physical security, which the bookish-minded Bornemann (who condescends him for his lack of education and attributes it as the cause of his thaumaturgic ineptitude) considers one of the few productive uses for him. Doyle, for his own part, usually retains a stony silence on the subject of his superior.
Mallory Yang
Lineage: 13th gen. childe of Anton Devereaux
Embrace: 2011
Status: Camarilla 0, Tremere 0
Despite her weak blood, everyone in Clan Tremere knows Yang’s pedigree: her sire Anton Devereaux was also sire to Masika St. John, the infamous developer of the Path of Technomancy. St. John and some sympathetic compatriots dramatically went renegade several years ago, defected to the Anarch Movement, and stole much of Clan Tremere’s technomantic knowledge. Devereaux disavowed his childe but was excruciatingly investigated (and many believe tortured) by the Astors, Clan Tremere’s much-feared “secret police.” Devereaux seemed to have been found loyal, as he Embraced a promising computer science student named Mallory Yang several years later. Though she was raised by a strict family of first-generation Chinese immigrants, Devereaux’s hopes that his childe would redeem their bloodline’s name appear misplaced. While Yang initially hoped to be assigned to the chantry in San Francisco or Seattle (some of the clan’s foremost centers of technomantic research), her sire miscalculated: the Pyramid wasn’t going to take a chance on St. John’s broodmate. Yang found herself transferred to New Orleans, one of the least digital cities in the United States. She could have been sent to a true Lupine-infested backwater like North Dakota, so she supposes things could be worse… but on the other hand, the New Orleans Tremere can keep a much closer eye on her. To her frustration, Bornemann appears disinterested in several proposed plans to digitize the chantry’s library. Her association with the city’s Anarchs is thought to be closely monitored.
Pho Sinh Dung
Ghouled: Mid 20th century
Status: Ghouls •
Mallory Yang’s tutor and adviser.
Marie Richet
Lineage: Unknown
Embrace: 2011
Status: Camarilla 0, Tremere 0
Coterie: Marcel’s household
One of Marcel Guilbeau’s lovers, Marie is currently in torpor in torpor after an attack by Setites.
Kyrstin Grey
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Jonathan North
Embrace: 2013
Status: Camarilla 0, Tremere 0
The ambitious but young and relatively inexperienced childe of Jonathan North, Kyrstin is an exemplar of Camarilla and Tremere breeding both—talented, academic, and dutiful. Great care was taken in her Embrace that shows through in her appearance and bearing among the Damned. Similarly great expectations have been laid upon the archon’s childe.
Fallen Tremere by Status
Tremere Status •••
Matthäus Goldfeld
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Hannah Vinicumb
Embrace: 1820
Final Death: 1975 (155 years undead)
Status: Tremere •••
Previous and fourth regent of the New Orleans Chantry. He was called to Vienna for unknown reasons in the 1970s and replaced by Erwin Bornemann.
Tremere Status ••
Magdalena Schönborn
Lineage: 8th gen. childe of Elsbeth von Steinhäuser
Embrace: 1741
Final Death: 1811 (70 years undead)
Status: Tremere ••
First regent of the New Orleans Chantry. Killed in the 1811 German Coast uprising, allegedly by agents of Baron Cimitière.
Tremere Status •
Jacob Grunewald
Lineage: Unknown
Embrace: 1880
Final Death: 2015 (135 years undead)
Status: Camarilla •, Hardline Sanctified •, Tremere •
Perhaps no Tremere in New Orleans has a more colorful past than the renegade Jacob Grunewald. Embraced into the Sabbat as one of the antitribu, Grunewald abandoned the violent sect and sought to join the Camarilla multiple times, but was always betrayed to his clanmates by the antitribu’s cursed mark and hunted by them as a Sabbat agent. After decades on the run, he came to New Orleans in the 1910s and found sanctuary among the Lancea et Sanctum. A social snub against then-Regent Goldfeld caused him to be denied admission to House Tremere, but he got along better with Erwin Bornemann, who finally brought Grunewald into the fold when he became regent in 1970. The former renegade was proud to have calmed his ways and to stand with the prince and chantry in all things. In life, Grunewald was a trader of rare and sometimes dangerous tomes, a skill he used to further his studies despite not having much to do with night-to-night chantry functions. He was also known to take in mortal “strays” at his haven outside the chantry. In 2015, he was executed by Prince Vidal for violations of the Masquerade.
Julien Derneville
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Erwin Bornemann
Embrace: 1922
Final Death: 2015 (93 years undead)
Status: Camarilla •, Tremere •
Former attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Believed disappeared by the Camarilla at large and believed murdered by his clanmates.
Extralocal Tremere
Tremere Status ••••
Abigail Wood
Lineage: 9th gen. childe of Magdalena Schönborn
Embrace: 1788
Status: Camarilla ••••, Tremere ••••
One of the earliest Tremere residents in New Orleans, Abigail Wood was a slave of precocious intellect who faced nonexistent opportunity. The city’s first regent, Magdalena Schönborn, believed she would make a loyal childe who would owe all that she was to the Tremere clan. She was correct. When Baron Cimitière came to New Orleans, Aibgail developed a close relationship with the Haitian houngan. For a time, relations between House Tremere and the Baron’s followers were cordial, if tempered by Magdalena’s decision to ally herself with Vidal (though the Baron’s feelings towards the prince were not so hardened then as they are now).
After Abigail’s sire was destroyed in the 1811 German Coast uprising and her grandsire Von Steinhäuser transferred to New Orleans, however, things could not remain the same. Von Steinhäuser believed the Baron was responsible for her childe’s death (Abigail believed him innocent) and the retaliatory measures she directed against the city’s slaves, the heart of the Baron’s power base, caused a rift with Abigail. Von Steinhäuser finally elected to transfer her to Charleston where she could still serve the clan.
In the century and a half since, Abigail worked her way up to become the Holy City’s regent and primogen. The years have not been kind to her once-cooperative spirit, and she is now a hard and cynical woman who places Tremere interests over all else, including her former people. She’s abandoned her birth name for a European one and delved into spirit-based magics of an eerie and disturbing bent that appear to have cost her much of her humanity. She’s also taken after her grandsire’s love for certámen and became high regent of the Carolinas after slaying her predecessor in a duel. It’s unknown whether she and her grandsire have reconciled—apology is not in either of their natures. Erwin Bornemann, however, has corresponded with his (senior to him) niece-in-blood. He once requested his childe Julien’s transfer to Charleston when Abigail was regent, figuring it would broaden his perspective to see how another chantry operated. Julien, a still-sometime NAACP lawyer, was bitterly disappointed by his cousin’s callous disinterest in the civil rights movement. Her association with the Baron is presumed to have long since lapsed.
Tremere Status •••
Jonathan North
Lineage: 8th gen. childe of Nathan Mendelssohn
Embrace: 1864
Status: Camarilla •••, Tremere •••
Former hound in service to Prince Vidal nearly a century ago, and (allegedly former) archon to Justicar Karl Schrekt, Magister North returned to New Orleans in 2016 following the death of several members of the chantry but was soon called away by other urgent matters in Europe. A doctor in life, he maintained his medical interests and talents across more than a century
Status: but is better known these nights for his reputation as an enforcer for clan and Camarilla both. Many speculated the arrival of the especially fearsome doctor was an overt response to the clan’s losses and a message both—though to whom was less clear. His arrival and departure both attracted significant interest within the city, as did the childe he left behind. His subsequent returns have been infrequent but noteworthy.
Rachelle Claudel
Ghouled: 1895
Status: Ghouls •••
Jonathan North’s herald and relative newcomer to New Orleans. Previous resident of the city during his stay into the 1930s.
Nicoletta Mortellaro
Ghouled: 2005
Status: Ghouls •
Italian national out of Milan who was identified and taken into Jonathan’s service just out of fashion school, Nicoletta was selected for her vanity, deftness, and deferential nature, having been raised by a physically abusive father and emotionally abusive mother. The Tremere archon initially brought Nicoletta into his service without even ghouling her and used her for various secretarial tasks, as his more dedicated servants were tied up with more important matters. Jonathan gave the fashionista his vitae after Lucille Pearson’s death and expanded her role into a personal assistant. Nicoletta found the role incredibly demanding and never fully satisfied her domitor with her performance.
Fortunately for both parties, Jonathan found a new use for her in 2013 when he Embraced Kyrstin Grey. His new childe required a ‘guardian’ and Jonathan re-purposed her serve as his stand-in and Kyrstin’s night-to-night companion. She still remains responsible for selecting both Tremere’s wardrobes. Caught between her young ‘ward’ and her Kindred master, Nicoletta finds her duties quite onerous, for Jonathan expects only the best for (and of) his childe and blames Nicoletta whenever those expectations are not satisfied. She’s managed to navigate that minefield so far, but her future remains uncertain, especially as Kyrstin grows more powerful and approaches her release.
Tremere Status 0
Shelia Hendricks
Lineage: 12th gen. childe of unknown sire
Embrace: 1970
Status: Camarilla 0, Tremere 0
Shelia was a young apprentice of little accomplishment who was transferred to New Orleans towards the end of Regent Goldfeld’s tenure. She caught the older Tremere’s interest and, it was rumored, even lusts. Rumors of impropriety between the two fueled speculation she was one of the reasons for his call to Vienna in 1975 (given the terminal nature of that punishment, many doubt that it was simple favoritism towards an apprentice alone). After Bornemann was named as Goldfeld’s replacement, he had Sheila transferred out of the chantry as part of his reshuffling of the local Pyramid. She has not had any known contact with its members since.
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by:
False_Epiphany