Know your crypt: Louhi

Clan: Malkavian Antitribu
Generation: 5th
Embrace: 200 BC (born 292 BC)
Sire: Lerterimas
Haven: Somewhere in Finland.
Childer: Santaleous

• According to the Finnish mythology detailed in the epic poetry of Kalevala, Louhi is the queen of Pohjola, the land of coldness and evil located north of where the protagonists live. She is a powerful witch with shapechanging abilities. (In the painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela above to the right, Louhi is depicted in a winged, semi-humanoid shape battling the hero Väinamöinen.)

• The vampiric narrator of “A World of Darkness” mention Finland as “a land of darkness and fog, whose shamans travelled down the river of the dead to talk with Tuonela in her hut. The plots of the Finnish Kindred stretch back through the eons, and a far and isolated land is not necessarily controlled by weaklings. Indeed Louhi and her brood have weighed on my mind more than once over the centuries.” (Tuonela is the realm of the dead in Finnish mythology. The hut reference is weird.)

• “The vampires of Finland, conversely, gathered together in tightly-organized coteries even before the birth of civilization proper in the area; due to the large Kindred population, Lapland became known among the kine as Pohiola, the Land of Darkness.” (Lapland is a region in northern Scandinavia, largely within the Arctic Circle, streching across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The name Lapland refers to land inhabited by the Sami people, formerly called Lapp people.)

• “Finland is primarily controlled by Louhi, a fifth-generation vampire whose thaumaturgical skills rival those of the Tremere elders, now quite mad, she is rumored to be working on a great ritual to blot out the sun.” “While no such magickal rite has occurred, Kindred with knowledge of "The Land of Darkness" (as Finland is sometimes called) haven't forgotten about Louhi. As with the anarchs and the Valkyries, no one seems to have any idea what to do about the threat she poses.”

• “There are whispers among the northern Kindred that Louhi is allied with the Sabbat. For years Louhi both sided and feuded with the Brujah who ran the Soviet Union: some say her greatest heights of madness (and paranoia) coincided with the collapse of that group.”

• Louhi appear in one of the doomsday scenarios of "Gehenna" (WW 2999).

• Louhi is “an ugly old crone constantly reeking from various foul alchemical experiments, and always carrying a gnarled black staff (with various rituals on it). Her eyes are .sunken and truly unnerving.”

• She is more than a little crazy, but she see just about everything. She cackles to herself a lot, and  keep make vague prophesies that have the eerie habit of always coming true. She speak in horrific metaphors and ominous, vague terms, and say nothing straight out. “They all want to know, don't they, but only you see the reality.”

Remarkable statistics:
Attributes: Stamina, Maniupulation, Perception, Intelligence, Wits.
Abilities: Alertness, Leadership, Subterfuge, Alchemy, Occult, Spirit Lore.
Disciplines: Animalism, Auspex, Dominate, Obfuscate and Thaumaturgy, with lesser Fortitude and Protean.

Sources:
“A World of Darkness” First edition (WW 2220)
“A World of Darkness” Second edition (WW 2226)
“Gehenna” (WW 2999)

Know your crypt: Lodin (Olaf Holte)

Clan: Ventrue
Generation: 7th
Embrace: 1852
Sire: Datura
Haven: Several residences all over Chicago.
Childer: Edgar Drummond (1865), Horatio Ballard (1881), Edward Neally (1896), Tommy Hinds (1906), Al Capone (1941), Joseph Peterson (1978), Jacob Schumpeter (1981) , Kevin Jackson (1984), Bobby Weatherbottom (1984), Riggs, Brennon Thornhill (1985) and Lorraine Matthews (1987).

• Olaf Holte was born in Norway in 1824, but he migrated to Pennsylvania  in 1830 together with his family. He was enlisted and attended the military acadamy at West Point. He was praised for his command as a lieutenant in the battle of Vera Cruz in the war against Mexico.

• It was in Vera Cruz he was embraced by Datura, the Ventrue lover of Eletria, Toreador Prince of the city. The Kindred sought an american officer to control. Olaf spent 22 years in Vera Cruz.

• He came to Chicago in 1869 and presented himself as “Lodin” to the current Prince, the Brujah Maxwell.

• In 1871 Lodin replaced Maxwell as Prince: “Right before he could deal the killing blow, Maxwell transformed himself into mist and made his escape on the night winds.”

• In 1880–1913 he struggles with the Toreador Modius (childe of Annabelle Triabell) to control Chicago.

• In “Chicago by Night 1st edition” Lodin is still the Prince. All the other Ventrue in the city are descendant from him. “He bagan creating a brood to help keep him in power, but found the constant need to destroy the incompetent and the overly ambitious.” “Lodin has taken great care to teach his Get only those disciplines he thinks they need.” “Much of Lodin´s power comes from his lieutenants. They control much of the city and have divided it up according to his orders.”

• In “Chicago by Night 2nd edition”, Lodin has been destroyed in the Council Wars of 1993. That setting is all about who will be the new prince, and his childer Ballard and Capone are two of the contenders.

• “A gaunt, tall man, he has very Nordic features. Blue eyes, prominent cheekbones and blond hair.”

• “Roleplaying hints: Let a little bit of Norwegian accent creep into your voice (it is very flat, very midwestern and the vowels drag out slightly. “Yas, we can do that. But what vill you do for me?”)”

Remarkable statistics:
Attributes: Dexterity, Stamina, Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance, Perception and Intelligence.
Abilities: Etiquette, Politics and Area knowledge: Chicago.
Disciplines: Dominate, Fortitude, Presence, Protean, with lesser Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate and Potence.
Backgrounds: Contacts, Herd, Influence, Resources, Retainers and Status.

Sources:
“Chicago by Night 1st edition” (WW 2201)
“Chicago by Night 2nd edition” (WW 2203)

Know your crypt: Aisling Sturbridge

Clan: Tremere
Generation: 10th
Embrace: 1911
Sire: Lucien De Maupassant (who disappeared in 1948)
Haven: New York
Childer: None known.

• The “Regenta Prima of the Chantry of the Five Boroughs” since November of 1996. This makes her the Tremere leader of New York - boroughs are the five parts that make up New York City – Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx.

• Aisling was born in 1890 and had a catholic upbringing. She got interested in mysticism in her teens, learned herself Latin and Greek and started attending séances. In her early 20´s she traveled to London in her search for occult secrets, where she met Alistair Crowley and her Sire, who whisked her away to be Embraced in Vienna.

• During the 30´s and 40´s she and her Sire served the Tremere Inner Council in Europe, moving between different chantries, in particular Nuremberg, Warsaw, Krakow and Dresden. Her Sire suddenly disappeared in 1948 – Aisling is still searching for him in modern nights.

• Inner Councilor Meerlinda sent Aisling to America in the 50´s. After spending time in various locations, she was field-promoted to her current position after someone spread her predecessor´s ashes across Sheepshead Bay.

• Aisling is a natural linguist. She can speak, read and write Arabic, Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Portuguese, Romany, Sanskrit, Spanish and Yiddish. That is a lot of languages, but you have time when you don´t die of age.

• Unlike many other Tremere in her position, Aisling is not completely blood bound to the clan´s Inner Council.

• Special power: Locked doors and gateways tend to open at her touch.

• “Recently, some of the higher ranks have begun to watch her with growing concern. She is one of the most dynamic and popular regents, and she has a number of high placed friends in and out of the clan. She has shown no qualms about making deals with other Kindred for assistance, eschewing much of the traditional Tremere insularity.”

Remarkable statistics:
Attributes: Dexterity, Stamina, Charisma, Perception and Intelligence.
Abilities: Alertness, Dodge, Subterfuge, Academics, Investigation, Linguistics and Occult.
Disciplines: Auspex and Thaumaturgy, with lesser Celerity, Dominate, Fortitude and Obfuscate.
Thaumaturgical paths: Movement of the Mind, Path of Blood and Lure of Flames.
Backgrounds: Allies, Mentor and Resources.

Sources:
“A World of Darkness 2nd ed” (WW 2226)
“Children of the Night” (WW 2023)
“New York by Night” (WW 2411)
“Encyclopaedia Vampyrica” (WW 2440) Aisling is credited as one of the authors!
… plus Aisling is the main character in “Clan Novel: Tremere” and also appears in “Clan Novel: Brujah” and “Clan Novel: Anthology”.

Know your crypt: Huitzilopoctli

Clan: Baali
Generation: 4th
Embrace: 4500 BC
Sire: “Ashur” (suspected to really be Saulot)
Haven: A sleepy little town outside Mexico City, Mexico
Childer: Hay-Tau, Camazotz (aka “Nezahualcoyotl”;‘Coyote who fasts’), Cybele (“progeny of one of the Shaitan”), Azaneal, as well as several decoy childer.

• Shaitan was born as a slave and later Embraced in what is now referred to as the Second City. “Beautiful beyond comparison, his beauty alone elevated him in rank as a flavored servant of Ashur.” Eventually he travelled east, through Mesopotamia, met “Children of Lillith” [sic!] and learned philosophies and powers which he then taught to the other vampires in the Second City, all except the Gangrel antediluvian, who informed Ashur about Shaitans contacts with Lillith. Such contacts were forbidden, and Ashur banished Shaitan and all his followers from the Second City.Shaitan again travelled east. Now he met Baal, a demon who offered him great power and revenge on the other cainites. Shaitan took the deal.

• Shaitans original name might have been Adriel.

• Various sources state various founders of the Baali, among them Shaitan, Nergal, Moloch and “The Unnamed”. Some sources also talk about a group of vampires called “the Shaitan”.

• Since 1200 BC, Shaitan has ruled the area that is Mexico today, either in person or by proxy. During the time of the Aztec Empire he was known as Huitzilopoctli, god of fire and war – the name means ’Hummingbird on the Left’ or ‘Left-Handed Hummingbird’.

• The Sabbat Regent Melinda Galbraith is bound by blood to Shaitan. “I see them. Beyond the walls of my Haven they squabble. Little children playing foolish games. So easily they dance, puppets all …”

• “You do not talk to fools. Anyone who does not succumb to your power is not worth acknowledging, unless he has True Faith. Ignore the weak; destroy the strong.”

• “Anyone attempting to go toe to toe with Shaitan will be smashed to pulp.”

Statistics: (Note: 9 is maximum for a 4th generation vampire)
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 8, Sta 9, Cha 8, Man 9, App 0, Per 6, Int 6, Wit 7
Disciplines: Animalism 6, Auspex 9, Celerity 6, Chimestry 6, Daimoinon 9, Dark Thaumaturgy 7, Dementation 8, Dominate 9, Fortitude 7, Obtenebration 4, Presence 9, Protean 7, Potence 9, Thaumaturgy 4, Visceratika 3
Backgrounds: Alternate Identity, Allies 9, Contacts 9, Herd 9, Influence 9, Resources 4, Retainers 9, Status 9
Path of Enlightment: Path of Evil Revelations 10
Derangements: Obsession (“Shaitan feel he must corrupt all of humanity to please Baal. Naturally, he is right.”)

Sources:
“The Chaos Factor” (WW 4101)
“Encyclopaedia Vampyrica” (WW 2440)
“Clanbook: Baali” (WW 2817)
“Dark Ages Companion” (WW 2804)

Know your crypt: Etrius

In our "Know your crypt"-entries we will shed some light (not daylight though!) on the vampires of the game. It´s fun with some context around the cards we´re flipping around.

There are about 3 000 named vampires in the canonical World of Darkness lore, and many sources contradict. If you have corrections, additions or other feedback, please contact us.

As this site is Swedish, let´s start out with Etrius, one of few known Swedish vampires in the World of Darkness lore.

/Ashur


Etrius, the Loyal

Clan: Tremere
Generation: 4th (Explanation: Caine is 1st generation, the antediluvians are 3rd generation. Vampires generally considered 'methuselahs' are of generation 4 and 5.)
Embrace: No. Transformed in 1022 AD.
Sire: None, although he is the nominal childe of Tremere.
Haven: The Vienna chantry, Austria.
Childer: Mendacamina (E 1023), Lotharius (E 1030), Celestyn (E 1139), Filaereus, Anastasia, Astrid Thomas (E 1791), Peter Spizzo.

• Etrius was born 850 AD near what is now the city of Gothenburg in what is now Sweden. His father served Ansgar, the German bishop who made the first Christian mission to the area.

• The young and very pious Etrius was sent on a pilgrimage to Rome, but his party was attacked and Etrius was taken as slave. In Constantinople he was sold to someone who sensed his special talents for magic, a man called Tremere.

• Tremere was a mage and leader of House Tremere, one of the 12 great houses the Order of Hermes, a society of mortal mages in Europe during the Dark Ages. The headquarters of the house was at Ceoris, Transylvania, where Etrius was taken to learn the ways of magic.

• Etrius became Tremere´s favoured apprentice. His talents was only rivaled by those of his master and the mischievous Goratrix, who later turned traitor.

• Etrius was never Embraced. Instead he was one of eight mortal mages of House Tremere that sought power in undeath and in 1022 AD transformed themselves into vampires by means of magic. It was Etrius, Goratrix, Meerlinda, Calderon, three unnamed mages and Tremere himself. Etrius was opposing the transformation as all effects of it was not known, but followed his masters orders.

• Tremere made Etrius one of the seven members in the newly formed vampire clans Council of Seven, the top of the clans pyramidlike organization. Etrius is the councilor who oversees Eastern Europe.

• In 1133, Etrius was responsible for finding an Antediluvian for Tremere to diablerise. He found Saulot, who "died with a look of serenity that chilled Etrius to the bone." After this Tremere started to slip into torpor for long periods of time. "The reluctant vampire mage Etrius lives in fear of the future. Saulot know something none of the other vampires knew - something old, dark, wet and long buried. It frightened Etrius like nothing ever before".

•In 1189, Etrius is the Lord of Ceoris.

• Etrius wrote the "Veneficorum Artum Sanguis", literally 'The Art of Blood Sorcery', the definitive work on Hermetic Thaumaturgy.

• Etrius was originally of the 5th generation. He diablerised a 4th-generation Salubri called Mokur to reach 4th generation: ”The Tremere hunters who had captured him said the Salubri had not offered any resistance. He´d simply asked them to take him to his father.”

• “Etrius is a deep thinker, and he brings a formidably logical intellect to bear. Near any problem that confronts him becomes subject to a battery of intricate tests and feints to determine its roots and causes, after which Etrius methodically sets his subordinates to defusing it or turning it to his advantage.”

• Dieter Kleist of Clan Toreador is the blood bound chronicler of Etrius.

• Etrius appears to be in his mid 30´s. “Standing 5' 6'' tall and of average weight, Etrius has long, tawny blond hair and blue eyes. His face is slightly rounded. He prefers to wear the robes of a mage and never removes a golden chain with a blood-red stone set into a medallion given to him by Tremere when he first became a master magus.”

• In modern nights, Etrius watches over Tremere´s sleeping body in the Vienna chantry. “Etrius roams the havens of the Tremere on a slow burn, uneasy and afraid. His joy in learning, his questing curiosity, his passion for magic, and everything else that once motivated him has crumbled to ashes.
He still has nightmares of his act. The diablerie he helped Tremere commit haunts him like a specter. In the darkest hours of the night he succumbs to depression. concluding that he has crossed over an invisible line and can never cross back. Etrius suspects his act has unleashed something terrible at the heart of the vampire mystery. He doesn't know what. He doesn't know how. He just knows the look on Saulot's face, as if Saulot somehow invited the attack. As if the Antediluvian had attained Golconda and, from that mystical state of purity, willingly accepted Tremere into his soul.”

Statistics:
No statistics for Etrius has been published.

Sources:
“Clan book: Tremere” (WW 2057)
“Clan book Revised: Tremere” (WW 2357)
“Who's Who among Vampires: The Children of the Inquisition” (WW 2250)
“House of Tremere” (WW 2829)
”Transylvania Chronicles 1: Dark Tides Rising” (WW 2811)
“Transylvania Chronicles 2: Son of the Dragon” (WW 2812)
“Blood War” (WW 12400)
“Encyclopaedia Vampyrica” (WW 2440)

Note:
In these entries we will strive to not go deep into the metaplot of the World of Darkness. Things are preserved in a fuzzy, “frozen” state around 1996, before White Wolf decided that the metaplot should evolve drastically.