Sabbat of New York

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OOC Note: Much of this is an In-Character description of the city of New York. As such, this should be seen as what a regular member of the Sabbat in the city would know and understand of the city, whether or not it is factually true. Still, this is what a New York vampire would believe, so it is up to you (the Player) to decide how much you "buy in" to what is presented here.

The Sabbat of New York are a varied lot. As much as there are all kinds of people (and there are all sorts of kinds, given a city of nearly 8.5 million people), there is as much variety in the Cainite population. All Factions are represented, from the regular Loyalist to the rather rare Children of the Dracon. If it's a type in the Sabbat, it's represented in the Big Apple.

[ In OOC terms, a PC can be pretty much anything in the Sabbat. The world is your oyster, as they say, and the only limit is your imagination (really). ]

What is common in the city is that much of the citizens are loyal Sabbat, strong believers in the cause and proud of their city. For them, it is truly the Gem of the sect and no one can convince them otherwise. Montreal may be the soul of the Sabbat and Mexico City may be the heart, but New York! New York is the city where Cainites are made. Hell, the current Regent of the Sabbat, Radu of Bistri, made his start in the "New World" as a Bishop of New York. Sure, it's sometimes close (or is) hell on earth and Caine knows that it has fallen more than once to the Camarilla, but godammit are the Sabbat of New York proud to be New Yorkers. Many of them live and die for this city and it is the only place they would ever truly call home.

History of New York

Overview

New York has been a city of the Sabbat since practically colonial times and it's been (to the Sabbat of the city) always a Sabbat city, even with its relatively short periods of Camarilla control.

Before there was the term "the New World," the Native Americans controlled the area, particularly Mahican and Munsee tribes. For the most part, that meant Lupines and for a long time, perhaps before recorded history, what is now New York was Lupine territory. Of course, that all changed when the Europeans came. When the Dutch settled, Cainites came with them. These Cainites were, like many of the first vampires in the New World: Sabbat, vampires fleeing the tyranny of the Old World Camarillans for new land.

Like the colonists they came with, the Sabbat who came to the New World were looking for new opportunities. Among them was the woman who would be the first Bishop of the city, Ecaterina the Wise. It would be she who helped build the city, along with other members of the Sword of Caine. Many bishops came and went but it was Ecaterina who stayed and gave her blood to the city. Other bishops, like Radu of Bistri, only came to make a name for themselves before leaving for "greener pastures." For a long time, it was her who kept the city Sabbat.

New York has never been a "peaceful" city, even in consideration that most Sabbat cities are tumultuous cities. Because of its geographical importance as a port and its economic contributions to the New World, many Camarillans have tried to take the city for the Ivory Tower. Of course, the Sabbat who have lived in the city, those who really understand and love the city, have fought tooth and nail to keep the city part of the Sword of Caine. Even so, Camarillans have more than once made headway into the city, particularly through Manhattan. Try as they may, the Sabbat of the city could never truly push out the very few Camarilla who made their home in the borough. This was particularly true at the turn of the 21st century, when in 1929, a Ventrue named Michaela took a hold on Wall Street and the Tremere took up residence, though some say the Nosferatu of the Camarilla were the first to make a presence (though perhaps unknown to most).

Around the time Radu left the city at his appointment to Cardinal, an ambitious and strong-willed Cainite came to the city to replace him, a man named Francisco Domingo de Polonia. At the time, he was relatively unknown outside his clan, but that did not hold out for long. Shortly after his arrival, Polonia was made Archbishop and instantly became a rival of long-time bishop, Ecaterina. In due course, he focused his attention on making the city a bastion for the Sabbat (even if some already considered it as such). Some reviled him for his politics and militaristic viewpoints, but others saw him as a great leader, one of the greatest New York has ever seen since Ecaterina. When the Camarillans made their counteroffensive against the Sabbat at the turn of the century, it was Polonia who led the charge, not once but twice within the last few decades, more than once fighting alongside his brothers and sisters and taking the head of then-Prince Michaela and forcing the great Archon di Padua to torpor.

Curiously, Polonia was not on the front lines in the most recent attempt by the Camarilla to take control of New York from the Sabbat, when an upstart Ventrue named Damien Vanderbilt declared himself Prince and took over Manhattan while an uprising of the Followers of Set threatened other parts of the city. Some say it is because Polonia had planned for Manhattan to fall all along, considering the time in which the incursion occurred (in the midst of a burgeoning Fourth Sabbat Civil War) and how it ended (at the end of the same Civil War). The Loyalists like to think Polonia let it all happen because he didn't want to see his city burn... and let's be honest, Polonia has long seen New York as his city. Still, it was the Sabbat of the city that bled and died to route out the Camarilla and, then, the Setites and it will always be the regular Sabbat that live and "breathe" New York.

In recent nights, Ecaterina has been made Priscus of the city and Polonia is now Cardinal of the whole North American East Coast. As such, there has been a bit of a power vacuum, bishops coming and going (at least eleven in the last decade) due to the pressures of a city that never knows peace. A recent unknown Lasombra named Salvatore Maranzano (the same Maranzano of the Italian mafia) has been made Archbishop and is adamant about placing his control on a city that bows to no one. Only time will tell if he becomes successful...

Hierarchy

Below is a bit of an overview of the history on the power structure of New York, particularly as a Sabbat city (at least, according to Polonia, a man who has seen a lot of nights in New York, though not as much as now-Priscus Ecaterina):

Figure Clan Title Time Period
Ecaterina the Wise Brujah antitribu Bishop c. 1661 - 1969
Otahyoni Tzimisce Bishop ? - 1679
Livia Czerny Tzimisce Priscus 1774 - 1817
Radu of Bistri Tzimisce Bishop 1792 - 1801
Jonas Van Cortlandt Lasombra Bishop 1804 - 1862
Francisco Domingo de Polonia Lasombra Archbishop 1761 - 1999
Turlev Tzimisce Bishop 1866 - 1990
Armando Mendes Lasombra Bishop 1991 - 1999
Blaise Carême Tzimisce Priscus 1902 - 1953
Ladislav Ciorbea Tzimisce Priscus 1953 - 1977
Turlev Tzimisce Priscus 1990 - present
Void Tzimisce Priscus 1999 - present
De Marquis Lasombra Priscus 1999 - present
Símon Orozco Lasombra Bishop 1993 - present
Violet Tremain Tzimisce Archbishop 1999 - 2000
Ecaterina the Wise Brujah antitribu Archbishop 2008 - 2015
Jack A. Purfock (PC) Toreador antitribu Bishop early/mid-2000s
Nate Monroe (PC) Ventrue antitribu Bishop Mid-2000s
Martin Blank (PC) Lasombra Bishop Mid-2000s
Nick Fury (PC) Ravnos antitribu Bishop 2012 - 2013
Alejandra Maricela Devareaux Reyna (PC) Lasombra Bishop 2012? - 2013
Jorska Illyonovitch Grimaldi (PC) Tzimisce Bishop 2013
Dragomir Sibelius Grimaldi (PC) Tzimisce Bishop 2012 - 2013
Soraya Mirza (PC) Assamite antitribu Bishop 2013 - 2014
Hirune Arroki (PC) Lasombra Bishop 2014 - 2015
Jorska Illyonovitch Grimaldi (PC) Tzimisce Bishop 2014 - 2016
Jake Waters (PC) Serpent of the Light Bishop 2014 - 2016
Chief (PC) Salubri antitribu Bishop 2014 - present
Salvatore Maranzano Lasombra Archbishop 2015 - 2016
Jake Waters (PC) Serpent of the Light Archbishop 2016 - present
Jack A. Purfock Toreador antitribu Priscus mid-2000s - present
Don Medina Sidonia Lasombra Priscus 2015 - present
Ecaterina the Wise Brujah antitribu Priscus 2015 - present

Special OOC Note on the History

You might be wondering why New York has not been, at least for any noted length, and is not a Camarilla city. If one were to take the Clan Novel Saga and/or New York by Night as canon, New York in present day should actually be a Camarilla-controlled city after 2000. However, in One World by Night and Kings of New York history, this is not the case. In fact, according to the history presented in our game, New York never fell to the Camarilla. There was indeed a fight during the siege of the East Coast for control but, in the history of the game and the game's organization, Cardinal Polonia defeated the assault on (what he would say as his) city. In OOC terms, the game has been running almost consistently since prior the publication of the Clan Novel Saga as a Sabbat-controlled city and, as such, has remained Sabbat. For more information, please consult the Storytelling Staff, especially if you wish to have it involved in your PC's background.

Further Information

For more information on New York (particularly in White Wolf's World of Darkness), please see the city book, New York by Night, as well as Rage Across New York.

See Also