Character Profile: Maxwell Phillips

Hoodie activist with political clout

“Make a difference.”

Clan: Ventrue
Covenant: Invictus

Titles: Priscus of Clan Ventrue, Regent of Lakenham (City Status 3)
Court: High

“Max”, as he is known in the Kine world, isn’t exactly the classic visual of a high-ranking Invictus, more often seen in a hoodie and jeans than a suit, and more interested in the streets than the boardroom. However, his support for social programs and insistence that society can do better has been having a positive impact on Norwich. He’s a well-known sight in the shelters and community centres of Norwich, a friendly, vocal and articulate face for those who need help and the media alike.

His Regency contains some of the more deprived parts of the city, but he’s always pushing to change that. As Clan Ventrue has tried to distance themselves from their past, he has been guiding them in a different direction, towards making the Kine world better as they go, for more reasons than just plausible deniability. While the activities of his clanmates may have provided some doubt over the years, he has always remained humble and active in the face of adversity.

Likes: Progressive social programs, street art, foosball
Dislikes: Cuts to public services, clickbait, nationalism

Rumours:

• Maxwell’s trying to make up for something he did in his past. And, looking at the amount of effort he puts into his current activities, it must have been something pretty damn bad.
• “Max” has plans for those he helps, and they aren’t as fluffy as you think.
• Maxwell, as described by the other Prisci:
• Dana: “I’m withholding judgement on that one. Something’s off.”
• Adrian: “yeah, I have a lot of admiration for the work he does. You know, he’s a good guy.”
• Sati: “his policies often seem to support his Kine politics rather than what’s in the best interests of Kindred.”
• Simone: “Priscus Phillips is playing a longer game than any of us know.”
• You’d think a Carthian sympathiser would be subtler, hm? Maybe he’s not as smart as he thinks he is...or maybe he’s just hiding in plain sight.

Character Profile: Dana Pearlman

Tech-savvy networker

“Oh yeah, I know someone who knows someone who can help with that.”

Clan: Mekhet
Covenant: Invictus

Titles: Priscus of Clan Mekhet (City Status 3)
Court: High

Priscus Pearlman doesn’t fit your idea of a typical computer geek, but you can be sure she has the know-how to make your computer dance if she needs to. She’s a big deal in the local tech entrepreneurs scene, playing their social connections with as much skill as their Internet connections through her dining club, ‘The Network’.

If you want to know something about somebody, there are worse places to start, though information flows both ways, and Priscus Pearlman certainly knows its value. You might have to pony up something she likes before she’ll tell you anything, but it’ll definitely be worth the wait. Priscus Pearlman has served as Clan Priscus for a while, a clear climber in the Invictus ranks, but that doesn't make you a Priscus. She clearly knows how things work inside Clan Mekhet. I hear it’s Masks all the way down.

Likes: Encyclopaedias, meeting new people, innovative data-mining solutions
Dislikes: Dial-up, Internet trolls, 4chan

Rumours:

• Dana seems cool, but someone launched a cyberattack on her company a few years ago. Not only did it fail, but she also hunted the person down through everyone they knew and ruined their life. Not someone you want to tangle with.
• The previous Mekhet Priscus used to have the Mask of the Nexus. Now Dana does and he has the Mask of the Ash Pile.
• Dana, as described by the other Prisci:
• Adrian: ‘oh yeah, Dana’s great! Though she got my phone number before we’d even met...’
• Maxwell: ‘an extremely useful individual’
• Sati: ‘we often agree on things, though our aims sometimes differ’
• Simone: ‘Oh, Dana. Personally, I worry about that much information being in one Kindred’s hands, but who am I to say? I’m sure she’s very responsible…’
• Dana, like Batman, has a file on every single person she knows filled with their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s hope that never falls into the wrong hands.

Character Profile: Sati Barsamian

Spiritual Huntswoman

“If you can’t keep up, you shouldn’t be in the race.”

Clan: Gangrel
Covenant: Circle of the Crone

Titles: Priscus of Clan Gangrel, Mistress of the Hunt (City Status 3)
Court: High

Priscus Barsamian, Mistress of the Arena, has made her mark on the city over the years and provided a strong voice for Clan Gangrel. It might be expected that she would find conflicts of interest in representing the Prince’s clan, but either Clan Gangrel is remarkably agreeable or they manage to stop any disputes from reaching public ears. It seems that Priscus Barsamian is a good person to have in your corner.

While she might be a little blunt, Priscus Barsamian is known for putting her points across forcefully and clearly. She is one of the longer-serving Prisci, and firmly believes that the strongest person for a job should do it. She is known to take on challengers for her role with enthusiasm, though no-one has yet managed to unseat her. Her recent campaigning against the People’s Council has provoked discussion amongst Clan Gangrel, and some suspect that she has an anti-Low-Court agenda, though it is possible that a strong belief in a meritocracy could give this appearance.

Likes: To be impressed, competitive sports, tigers
Dislikes: Weak people, excuses, reality TV

Rumours:

• There is a separate, secret arena where Gangrel brutality is tested to its limits - but it’s not advertised so they don’t have to explain where people go when they lose.
• I heard Sati was a queen in India, so why is she satisfied with obeying another Prince? There must be more to that alliance than meets the eye...
• Sati, as described by the other Prisci:
• Dana: ‘she’s tough but cool’
• Maxwell: ‘she’s very...driven…’
• Adrian: ‘nice, I guess? Well, not nice exactly, but...well, she seems OK.’
• Simone: ‘a worthy opponent or powerful ally’
• She’s building an army of Gangrel on commission from the Prince to ensure Clan Gangrel’s dominance of the city - she selects potential childer and then takes them to the woods. Whoever survives is Embraced in secret and kept in a facility on the edge of the city.

Character Profile: Adrian Spooner

Hapless Priscus bullied into the job

“Uh...uh...uh...I think so?”

Clan: Daeva

Covenant: Unaligned

Titles: Priscus of Clan Daeva (City Status 3)

Court: High/Low

How do you solve a problem like the Daeva? Well, if you’re Adrian Spooner, you go along with what they want you to do. The ongoing arguments between the more excitable elements of Clan Daeva and those who just want to get along are well-publicised, so trying to find a Priscus everyone could agree on was a challenge to say the least. Enter Adrian Spooner, a nobody with no strong opinions and an unusually malleable attitude. The Pragmatists wanted someone who wouldn’t rock the boat but they could use to advance the clan’s position in the city; the Firebrands found the idea of an Unaligned Low Courtier representing their clan to be hilariously anti-establishment. He was perfect.

Remarkably, though, the walking satire that was Adrian Spooner, new blood from nowhere, became a relatively competent and trusted Priscus. While his proclivities for spending time with the Low Court are often frowned on, the clear support he has from the groundlings and the few High Court Daeva suggest that he’ll be around for a while. So, Adrian, what is your secret? Reports suggest that he’s just extremely agreeable. Let’s hope that keeps working for him.

Likes: The smell of popcorn, Star Trek, nice quiet evenings

Dislikes: Old Spice, celery, that stupid message tone

Rumours:

• His background is a mystery. Is that because no-one has bothered to ask him, or because he has something to hide?
• It was no accident that he was chosen: he is the unwitting pawn in a Daeva game, and he’s about to take the king.
• Adrian, as described by the other Prisci:
• Dana: ‘he talks a lot, says little'
• Maxwell: ‘he’s all right’
• Sati: ‘if power is handed to you on a plate, you don’t understand what you’ve got’
• Simone: ‘may have been elected as a joke, but now he’s the one laughing’
• Who is Adrian’s sire? Does he even know?