For years I have been a fan of Vampire the Masquerade and have a bunch of campaign ideas, the first of these is based around the Cappadocians and Giovanni. Centuries ago, the Cappadocians were one of the 13 clans, then the Giovanni broke the larger clan and replaced it Over time they hunted down every identifiable member of the old clan.
Since then the Giovanni clan has absorbed several mortal families across the globe, though it has always treated them as second class citizens within the larger clan. Those who are not double blooded are generally of higher generation, more closely monitored and have higher tithing requirements. In other words, the giovanni treat the lesser families exactly like they claim they were treated by the Cappadocians centuries ago.
I should note that I generally think that given how much vampire blood and ghouls exist within the Giovanni family that there should be Giovanni revenants not just a family added later, the Rossellini. I also use V20 not the new 5th edition.
So the lesser families, such as the scotish Dunsirn, the american Milliner, the hispanic Pisanob or the multiple smaller italian families are not exactly happy or thriving under the helpful guidance of the main family. It stands to reason that they have some idea of what the Giovanni did to the Cappadocians. Bitterness, jealousy and perhaps one to many slights would push the elders of these lesser families over the edge. Carefully and in great secrecy the leaders of these families would probe each other’s opinions and eventually meet to plan. This is where the player characters come in.
The player characters should mostly be from these lesser families, they certainly shouldn’t be double blooded giovanni, but perhaps some of them could be from other clans. An Assamite assassin on long term contract could be a cool player character, or a brujah freedom fighter. The key is that any character not from a lesser family would need a good reason in character to be brought into the plot and the family elders able to trust them with their unlives.
The campaign would start with the players meeting with several elder Dunsirn who have heard rumours that an old lair of Lord Camden, the long dead but fabulously powerful 6th generation cappadocian, had been found in northern england. The players will have to compete with a group sent by the Giovanni proper and likely quietly dispose of these rivals.
In this lair, probably a crypt of some kind, the players will find texts and maps indicating locations throughout europe and the middle east that hold items of power or maybe a rare path of necromancy. The early part of the campaign will be travelling and exploring these ruins, crypts and lairs. Really the lesser families need some kind of edge before they strike against the main clan.
Another question that should be answered is how the Harbingers of Skulls are involved. Are the lesser families willing to work with or use the Harbingers of Skulls. While the Harbingers are technically aligned with the Sabbat, that is mostly through shared hatred of certain foes; and they are certainly interested in anyone who wants to mess with Augustus Giovanni. A meeting with representatives of the Harbingers should be super tense and have the players on edge the entire time. Even if you don’t want the lesser families to ally with the Harbingers, then consider having this meeting to build tension.
Now at some point the main clan is going to realize there is a problem. Maybe the lesser families are being too cooperative, or rumours of ancient ruins being explored is seeping out. Regardless, the main clan is going to send out coteries to figure out what is going on; at least one of these should confront the players at one of their objectives. A wild fight should break out, and depending on the results of that the main clan will start to react in different ways. Depending on if any of the giovanni escape, the main clan will suspect either the lesser families or some other clan. That outcome will affect the speed the lesser families have to act. If the Giovanni think another clan is attacking them, then the lesser families can start attacking giovanni holdings to weaken the main clan, otherwise they will have to escalate quickly.
Eventually, Augustus will have to be confronted. Even if he is the weakest 3rd gen, he is still a 3rd generation vampire with all the potential power that entails. 3rd generation characters have powers that can generally be described as “plot devices”, it will be important to determine exactly what powers the head of the Giovanni has. Even demi-god level power should be known and defined. There should probably be a specific weakness he has that will make him far easier to defeat, high gen vampires, even an entire party of them, shouldn’t be able to defeat a 3rd generation with hundreds of years of experience in a straight fight. The True Vessel is probably the easiest thing to use in this situation, Augustus could be weakened by using necromancy or other disciplines on the True Vessel. The other option is going back to the Harbingers of Skulls if you are working with them, a bunch of very old, very angry low generation vampires could certainly go toe to toe with one of the weakest 3rd generation vampires.
That fight, while the climax should not be the end of the campaign. Even with their patriarch dead, the Giovanni aren’t going to just roll over and die. Old Giovanni are still going to be fighting to save their family, it is entirely possible that counter-attacks would wipe out or nearly wipe out at least one lesser family.
Hopefully this idea interested you and you want to see more ideas for campaigns in Vampire the Masquerade or the wider world of darkness. Let me know if you like seeing ideas in established settings.
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