Edinburgh by Night

A lore blog of a VtM campaign set in a darker, more violent version of the Scottish capital

[edinburgh-by-night]

My mother told me Some day I would buy Galleys with good oars and Sails to distant shore Stand up high on the prow Noble barque I steer Steady course for the havens Hew many foe-men Hew many foe-men

All are welcome...

[edinburgh-by-night]

There’s a man in the woods… a man with grave-dirt under his nails… and honey in his voice

[edinburgh-by-night]

The Cowgate Fire of 2002

7 December 2002: Said to be Edinburgh's worst fire; where an apparent faulty fuse box sparked an inferno within the 'rabbit warren' of alleyways within the Cowgate that rapidly spread through a disused life shaft that caused the flames to reach eight storeys.

19 fire crews were needed to quench the flames, with surprisingly no reported deaths from the catastrophe.

Official records put this through as a faulty fuse box but the more nocturnal denizens of the Cowgate have different theories, thanks to many of them losing to the True Death in the blaze.

The Rabbit Warren of interconnecting alleys and smaller buildings were a complex nest for a large amount of Kindred; mainly Brujah but also some Malkavian and even a fair few Nosferatu - who all enjoyed how out of the way it was. As such, the destruction of the Warren dealt a heavy blow to the less fortunate Kindred in the city - allowing rumours to spread.

Now, with older buildings, faulty wiring is always a potential cause but the more paranoid Kindred chalk it up to anything from the Financial District (an apparent favourite tactic of theirs, and they eventually did capitalise on the aftermath), to an apparent scuffle between Brujah clans wanting to drive each other out to some even considering that the blaze was started as an early act of the Second Inquisition.

The lack of evidence has done little to quell any suspicion, even after over two decades but it is said that St Cecilia lost someone dear to them in the flames, and that has driven them to unite the understreet again - to not let such an atrocity happen again.

[edinburgh-by-night]

The Fringe Festival, known to cause Edinburgh's population to quadruple for an entire month has unwritten guidelines for residing Kindred when it arrives every August.

Performers are considered off-limits to being hunted or indeed embraced, due to the potential heat their disapperances could bring. Too many variables could be a Masquerade hazard. As such, they are protected and any Kindred that violates this rule will be punished with True Death, by decree of Camarilla elders. This protection does not, however, extend to stage crew or promotional staff.

Kindred are forbidden from participating in the Fringe Festival to entice victims. This is a performing arts festival, with many actual acts wishing to get noticed - completely going against the ethos of secrecy. Many broken Masquerade near-misses have been caused by too many bold and overly-ambitious Kindred.

Kindred are forbidden from feeding on more than three tourists for the entire month of August. There are a lot of vampires in Edinburgh and it is a tourist hotspot, but too many too quickly would eventually look suspicious.

Because of these tight restrictions, many local Kindred actually migrate away from the City Centre due to not wanting to walk on eggshells while hunting.

[edinburgh-by-night]

Edinburgh as a Kindred state is almost nominally Camarilla, ruled over by its Prince; Morgan Cruikshank.

Cruikshank is an old, miserly Tremere, basically an absentee landlord who only exerts any political power to keep the rest of the Camarilla off the city's back lest it be micro-managed to Hell.

It's thanks to Cruikshank's unwillingness to do any actually governing that has allowed the Financial District so much sway in recent years, with Buchanan actively placating him when things might end up being potential Masquerade breaches.

He's too powerful to kill for a proper power grab but his existence is a millstone for any real progress in the city, allowing its underbelly to fester into an oncoming war.

[edinburgh-by-night]

The Main Factions

The City of Edinburgh's Kindred, mostly residing in the city centre in some fashion, can be easily divided into one of the four main factions that operate amidst the metropolis.

While there are pockets of independent coteries or lone Kindred, these are the most influential and the ones making waves in the wider population, maybe even beyond.

The Financial District/The Financiers

Main clan: Ventrue

The most dominant faction in Edinburgh, largely operating around the West End. The Financiers largely control real estate and commerce within Edinburgh, with a stranglehold on the economy within the city. Disaster capitalists at heart, led by the ruthless Andrew Buchanan, and operate on Buchanan’s cold ethos of the almost zealot-like pursuit of wealth.

Student flats that no one can afford popping up everywhere? The Financiers pushed for that. Airbnbs that somehow have a suspicious turn out of guests? Financier farming front. Listed buildings suddenly catching fire, forcing new property developments? Well, some think the Financiers planned that - but can you prove it?

And if you could? You won't...

The City Trust

Main clan: Toreador

The second-most dominant faction, fanatically obsessed with the cultural identity of the city and keeping it alive, thriving and expanding. Very old money, and with plenty of it to keep the tug of war with the Financiers going, but also have a rather callous disregard for the folk history of the city and seem more concerned with the appearance of culture and relevancy rather than any substance that comes with it.

Very much stuck in the heyday of the Enlightment, when Edinburgh was a powerhouse of scientific and artistic expression, and they will damn make sure it returns to that - no matter how many bodies need to pile up to make that happen; human or Kindred.

The Vault Lords

Main clan: Nosferatu

The dark heart of the city, swarming in the remaining abandoned vaults in the city, happily picking off a lost tourist here and there to keep fed. The Vault Lords see and hear everything in the city and have no concern over the apparent petty squabbles of the Financiers and the Trust - unless it benefits them in some way. Too repugnant to trust fully and too valuable to be eradicated, the Vault Lords lord over their position like bridge trolls with very high tolls to pay for their services.

Children of the Cowgate

Main clan: Brujah

A barely-formed and shaky alliance of vampires that are tired of the escalating tensions between the Financiers and the City Trust, led by the mysterious St Cecilia.

They largely hate the Financiers because of their callous disregard of Kindred that do not fit their ideals, with many abandoned buildings in the city that once housed coteries and nests being torn away for the Financiers’ encroaching power grabs.

The City Trust are also not well-loved due to their ridiculous standards of what should be considered worthy of preservation and any folk history left in Edinburgh is being lost as a result.

Technically the largest of the factions, but due to their rather sparse and so-far directionless collective, they have not yet been considered a viable threat... yet.

[edinburgh-by-night]

So, this is very, very, very much in the earliest stages but any stream of consciousness, setting-building that won't be too spoilery for when I eventually set up the campaign will be thumped into here as I turn this into my braincrack for a while

[edinburgh-by-night]

A burgeoning turf war is looming in the underworld of the Scottish capital. The Ventrue baronies (the Financial Districts), fixated on urban expansion, are butting heads with the Toreador-led territories (the City Trust) who are attempting to preserve the city’s cultural identity by any means necessary.

Profiting off of both sides are the Vault Lords, a cabal of Nosferatu hiding within the labyrinthian catacombs of the Old Town, trading their secrets to whoever pays better.

Meanwhile, smaller coteries of mainly Brujah and Malkavians are gathering together, attempting to cooperate as the growing tensions with the Financiers and the City Trust worsen with many believing the power trips blooming from both sides is eroding Edinburgh from within.