Ghoul Guide

Ghoul Theme: City of Fallen Angels

The Los Angeles Metropolitan, which consists of nearly 20 million intrepid souls, is recognized by the Camarilla as possessing the greatest concentration of renegade ghouls, Thin Bloods, caitiff, and abandoned childer in either North America or Europe. The West Coast has served as the final refuge for those driven from the East for over a century, yet the situation has only become catastrophically bad in the last fifteen years.

No one is quite certain when or how it began, but sometime between the chaos of Prince LaCroix’s assassination in 2004 and the Sabbat Crusade of 2012-2013, a black market took root in Los Angeles specializing in the trafficking of Kindred vitae, otherwise known as ‘Vee’, ‘V-Tay’, ‘Vita’, ‘Vitamin R’, ‘Blush’, ‘Crimson King’, and a dozen others. Most of the traffickers and dealers are not much different than their users, and whispered rumors of a ‘Red Star Syndicate’ began by opportunistic Thin Bloods with no concern for the laws of the vampire societies that callously rejected them, remains just that.

What is less mysterious is why the trafficking has exploded in recent years. Los Angeles is a city where thousands of new arrivals get off the bus (or plane) with dreams of becoming a star, each day. And yet each night, thousands more find their aspirations crushed forever. The strength, vivacity and glamour that comes from an injection of Vee (and many do inject it out of ignorance), is the difference between failure and a successful photo shoot, audition, MMA cage match, play off game, criminal heist or all night kink session. What about that bench warmer who started posting a triple double every night until he died in an untimely car wreck? He was almost Rookie of the Year!

And then there’s the eternal youth. Yeah, that. Fortunately, there’s very few who realize the truth of the immortality that Vitae offers. Virtually everyone has noticed that some celebrities just haven’t seemed to age all that much over the last ten or fifteen years. Is it clean living? Veganism? A personal trainer? Botox? Or is it V-Tay? Even those who only manage sporadic doses still come away feeling for weeks like their 20’s never ended. Even a little taste is highly pleasurable – both an intense aphrodisiac and a confidence booster. A lot of Vee can heal you from almost any near fatal injury in seconds, and keep you fighting in a way that makes PCP feel like weak tea in comparison.

What’s fueling this black market? That’s what many would like to know. It’s certain however that it’s no longer a single group (if it ever was). The line between Final Death and euphoric triumph is even more razer-edged and fine among the Kindred of Los Angeles than the kine. The Sabbat Crusade of 2012-13 means that the city has witnessed a flood of unchecked Thin Bloods, abandoned ghouls and rogue childer. There’s no Lost & Found for such unhappy creatures. When a domitor or regnant dies, more often than not, all those who depended on them are likely to be culled by their deceased master or mistress’ former vampiric associates. It’s only the fortunate, privileged protégé or pet who instead finds themselves snatched up by another and given protection.

What are these rejects to do with themselves? Most simply die. More than half of all fledglings never survive their first year after Embrace in Los Angeles. The attrition rate of ghouls driven mad with addiction and seen only as pawns or liabilities hardly endures thinking about. Confronted with such dangers, it doesn’t take long before even the densest fledgling realizes that there’s a substance in his or her veins that the wealthy and powerful will pay or do nearly anything for. Unfortunately, more than one naïve neonate has realized too late that the famous A-List celebrity (and their entourage) that they sought to take advantage of was not the prey, and they themselves were not the predator in the all too final transaction. Vampirism aside, the average recently Embraced and abandoned fledgling couldn’t begin to imagine some of the true horrors that take place in the secluded, opulent mansions of the Hollywood Hills.

More dangerously for vampiric society at large is the phenomena where abandoned or renegade fledglings and despised Thin Bloods opt to make common cause with desperate Vitae addicts. The vampire gets a servant who’ll do almost anything, and the ghoul gets their next fix. Such an unstable situation is only a little less dangerous than keeping a rabid dog on a leash.

There are even some Kindred in otherwise good standing, such as among the Camarilla or more established Anarch factions, who have given into the temptation to ‘donate’ their blood to either help pay next month’s rent for the luxury condo they can’t quite afford, or in return for some other favor…

TLDR: The Ghoul Condition

After a mortal tastes the Blood for the first time, she not only develops a thirst for it, but her physical body goes through other changes as well. As long as the Blood remains in her system, she will cease to age naturally, and whatever ailments she had – including lost limbs or even cancer – she now has the ability to heal from. New ghouls feel more vigorous, vibrant and alive than ever before – finding hidden capabilities and confidence (however misplaced) that they never suspected. Older ghouls lust for and long to recapture this initial, transient period of seamless joy.

While exploring the effects of the Blood on their physical bodies, ghouls might notice that they can peer into the world around them with more clarity, as if a blurred veil had been lifted from their eyes. Little do they realize that drinking vampiric blood comes with a heavy price – damnation.

• Benefits
  • Ghouls don’t age – They can live forever if they keep well supplied with vitae. If this were even a slightly better known fact, the vampire Sects would have a serious crisis on their cold hands.
  • Ghouls are strong – Every ghoul who drinks at least one blood point’s worth of vitae gains an automatic dot of Potence. For the average mortal character this represents going from lifting ~100 pounds (Strength 2) to being capable of lifting ~250 pounds (Equivalent to Strength 3) over night! Amazing!
  • Ghouls are tough – Unlike regular mortals, every ghoul is able to soak lethal damage with their Stamina (+Fortitude if any) at difficulty 6. In addition to healing naturally and benefiting from medical care (in a way that vampires don’t), ghouls can also spend Vitae to heal damage they have taken, just as a vampire does.
  • Ghouls have powers – In addition to being stronger, faster and more resilient than other people, particularly well fed and experienced ghouls tend to manifest strange and mysterious abilities. The beautiful model whom you literally can’t take your eyes off of. The lisping deviant with a forked, razor-sharp tongue. The LAPD officer with superhuman hearing. The goth girl who swears she can hear ghosts. The assassin that you never saw waiting for you in your office study.
  • Ghouls have domitors – A crazy charismatic/beautiful/handsome/wealthy immortal who wants to take an active interest in their career, and/or do sexy things with them, and/or help them live forever, too? Who could ask for more!? (Warning: This benefit may not apply to non-Toreador ghouls).
• Drawbacks
  • Sanity – Ghouls are often subjected to the mind and soul rending chains of the Blood Bond in addition to their ever-growing lust for their master or mistresses’ red nectar…or anyone’s, really. Not to mention, they find themselves often gripped by murderous mood swings…a Beast stirring in their soul. (Ghouls make Self-Control rolls to resist Frenzy for a wide variety of reasons, yet typically at a lower difficulty than a vampire would).
  • Ghouls have domitors… – It’s hard to practice your lines for next week’s audition when a century-old monster is making you turn tricks to lure a meal back to their reclusive haven. Nor can you win the big game or ask out the girl of your dreams, when you’re forced to spend all night protecting your new master from something called the ‘Suh-baht’. In fact, the only thing worse than having a domitor for most ghouls is the terrifying prospect of not having one, and somehow being responsible for finding your next taste of Vee all by yourself.
  • Everything Else – A ghoul’s social and professional life will often begin to crumble – either owing to the demands of all but the most unusually benevolent Domitor, or from the desperation and anxiety of finding a new ‘fix’. There’s a lot of vitae addicts in Los Angeles and very few ended up winning that Oscar or trophy like they thought they were going to.

Chargen Notes

You may have both a vampire and a ghoul alt in the vampire sphere. Normal Conflict of Interest rules apply. Use the vampire/ghoul chargen guide as a base. There are three types of ghoul PCs allowed on Liberation:

• Vassals
  • Vassals with PC Domitors
    • Ghouls with PC Domitors function the same as ever, albeit with a bevy of exciting new Merits that make them more useful to their masters, such as the Custodian and Majordomo Merits, or somewhat less useful, such as the Squeamish or Self-Preservation Flaws.
  • Vassals with NPC Domitors
    • Ghouls with NPC Domitors are in service to one of the many vampires in Los Angeles County, whatever their Clan, Sect or creed, which doesn’t happen to be a PC. There will be some collaboration with your Director on the details of this, as to which Merit or Flaw best reflects the IC justification for your long leash compared to other ghouls.
      • Note: Ghouls with NPC domitors are automatically considered to have a Conflict of Interest to being involved in any PvP or supernatural-related plot with any PC from any non-vampire/mortal sphere that they have an alt in, or recently had an alt in. Otherwise, ICA=ICC as normal.
    • You are required to take one of the following Merits or Flaws:
      • Benevolent Domitor (3 pt Merit)
      • Domitor Pariah (2 pt Flaw)
      • Groomed for Embrace (5 pt Merit)
      • Loyalty (5 pt Merit)
        
        
• Independents
  • Independents with no Domitor
    • You have either broken the shackles of your undead master or somehow avoided acquiring any in the first place. Be warned that trying to play an Independent ghoul without the Unmastered Merit is likely to be a rough, wild and possibly short ride.
      • Note: Independent ghouls are automatically considered to have a Conflict of Interest to being involved in any PvP or supernatural-related plot with any PC from any non-vampire/mortal sphere that they have an alt in, or recently had an alt in. Otherwise, ICA=ICC as normal.
    • You are required to take one of the Following Merits or Flaws:
      • Fugitive (5 pt Flaw)
      • Problem with Authority (5 pt Flaw)
      • Turncoat (4 pt Flaw)
      • Unmastered (5 pt Merit)
      • Vitae Addict (3 pt Flaw)

Ghoul Blood Pools & Disciplines

• Ghoul Blood Pools and the ramifications of Overfeeding, and even the Optional Blood Point Rules (on a case by case basis) are all used on Liberation, as taken from V20 Ghouls & Revenants pg 140 and elsewhere. A summary of these systems will eventually be presented on this page. We are still deciding the most aesthetic way for ghouls to track blood points and vitae points.
  • For Now: Assume that out of a ghoul’s 10 blood points, the first 8 are regular blood, and the last two are reserved for Vitae points. There are ways for ghouls to hold more Vitae points. Being steadily drained a point and then fed a point each day gradually replaces a ghoul’s entire blood pool with vitae…except their body will begin reconverting the vitae points back to regular blood points after your (incredibly generous) domitor stops doing this. Initially, this will mostly be handled with Director collaboration, but it will be fully coded eventually.
  • I’m generally more concerned about tracking Independent ghouls. I know that ghouls with PC Domitors and NPC Domitors will keep them at a minimum of Vitae points, barring catastrophe.
    
    
• Ghoul Disciplines are handled as such: Most every ghoul can raise their Disciplines to 1, while subsisting on at least 1 blood point’s worth of Vitae per month. Ghouls require a vampire or another ghoul to teach them how to master any supernatural expression of the blood’s mysteries beyond simply being stronger, faster and tougher than other people (Potence, Celerity and Fortitude). More rarely (usually in the case of Independent ghouls at chargen), a ghoul might spontaneously manifest a more specialized capability, such as the first dot of Presence, Obfuscate, Dominate or most commonly, Auspex. Vassal ghouls are assumed to have been taught a second dot by their domitor, from their domitor’s own Clan.
  • Ghouls subsisting on Vitae taken from vampires of the Eighth Generation and up may raise Disciplines to 1 dot with no penalties.
    • If a ghoul subsisting on Vitae taken from vampires of the Eighth Generation and up wishes to raise a Discipline to 2 dots, then he subsequently requires a number of Vitae points equal to the total sum of his Discipline dots each month to maintain his ghouled status. Failure to do so will either cost him access to his Disciplines entirely (if he subsisted on no Vitae), or prevent him from benefiting from more than one dot (if he subsisted on at least one point of Vitae). This added cost may be ‘paid’ off over the course of the month.
  • Ghouls subsisting on Vitae taken from a vampire of the Seventh Generation may raise their Disciplines to 2 dots with no further penalties. Presumably, such a ghoul would suffer similar penalties to above if they tried to raise a Discipline to 3 dots or more. It isn’t well known what being a ghoul for a Sixth Generation or lower vampire might be like. Presumably terrifying.
    
    
  • Ghoul Discipline costs are easy. All ghoul Disciplines cost 20 XP for both the first and second dot. All new ‘common’ Disciplines excepting Celerity, Fortitude or Potence require a willing teacher and a week or two of hard work. Access to ‘rare’ Disciplines, or Disciplines at 3 dots (unlikely) will be handled on a case by case basis.

Ghoul Merits & Flaws

There are many other appropriate Merits and Flaws for ghouls. However, the ones below are largely unique to them. Ghouls are not limited to 10 Merit dots, as vampires are.

Appendix A: Vampire Views on Ghouls

Camarilla Views on Ghouls

Given the wide-ranging and differing views on ghouls and their intended uses among the individual Clans of the Camarilla, it might seem impossible for there to be any common opinions on the subject. Nonetheless, the Camarilla is a Sect that often speaks through a political façade, and the topic of ghouls has been addressed from time to time.

The Camarilla’s “official” stance on the creation of ghouls is that they should be avoided at all costs. Some Princes preach that significant advances in technology and medicine over the past hundred and fifty years necessitates this centuries-old position. Cameras are found everywhere, from street lights to cell phones, and could track a ghoul’s movements day and night. Vitae could be drawn from a ghoul’s veins and studied using state-of-the-art equipment, which might substantiate a believer’s claims that vampires exist, or be utilized in experiments normally reserved for thaumaturgists and sorcerers. Even more worrisome are the expert analysts and record keepers who spend their days proving falsified birth certificates and “accidental” deaths, thereby attracting undue attention to ghouls and their masters.

In the halls of Elysium, Clan dignitaries and high-ranking members of the Sect often spin tall tales like these in order to warn higher Generation vampires of the dangers of maintaining ghouls. These stories are used as a means of instruction, however, as opposed to a final say on the matter. For, while a single ghoul is unlikely to cause significant problems for a single vampire, a dozen could potentially shatter the Masquerade. Consequently, conservative Kindred might profess that ghouls are unnecessary in the modern age to toe the party line, and a truly loyal member of the Camarilla might seek out an alternative method of finding and using servants.

Because of the intrinsic danger to the Masquerade that ghouls are thought to represent, the Camarilla’s secondary position is that if a ghoul is created, he should be maintained only as long as necessary, and then all traces of him should be destroyed. If, however, a domitor seeks to Embrace her ghoul, she must petition the local Prince of her city just as she would for any other potential childe. The Prince’s role in the creation, maintenance, and Embrace of ghouls, however, is not always simple and straightforward. Some Princes might strictly enforce the Traditions by forbidding ghouls entirely, while others might introduce new laws.

Ironically, if the Camarilla Clans actually followed any of these decrees, the entire Sect would ground to a halt. All vampires are duplicitous, and ghouls are commonly found throughout every Clan. They are, for all intents and purposes, the Sect’s worst-kept secrets. Many Kindred prefer not to reveal the details of how they maintain their havens, businesses, or households, as a weakness might be uncovered. Other masters don’t necessarily say how or why they use their ghouls, nor do they discuss what they do when they’re done with them. To pragmatic vampires within the Sect, ghouls are a tool like any other, and they can be used for a variety of purposes beyond that of a mere servant.

While it’s impossible to know precisely how many Camarilla ghouls there are and what types of servants they might be, the majority are thought to be retainers whose sole existence is to serve their domitors in order to protect the Masquerade by masking the truth of their masters’ nature during the day. Though each ghoul is, in fact, a breach of the Masquerade, this slight shift in philosophy is how some Kindred have come to accept the role of the ghoul within the Sect. After all, ghouls can do what their domitors cannot: operate in the daytime.

Public opinion in the Camarilla is that a ghoul’s worth is as a servant and nothing more. Many vassals are believed to be guards, secretaries, technologists, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals who provide their domitor with the ability to thrive and hide despite the challenges of living in the modern age. In exchange, the Clans reward their ghouls — if at all — in the manner they see fit. Some masters reward their ghouls by providing them with the financial security to live a luxurious life, while others whisper of unimaginable rewards, such as the Embrace or the secrets of blood sorcery, provided they are totally compliant.

Despite the attitude that ghouls should be barely visible and never heard, Kindred domitors tend to avoid ruling their vassals with an iron grip. The Sabbat wrongly believe this is because Camarilla masters are weak and overly sympathetic. In truth, Kindred domitors have discovered long ago that the true secret to ensuring that a ghoul performs optimally is to remember that she is human. Although, even the most well meaning vampires tend to occasionally forget that humans need to eat regularly, and that their ghouls cannot function both during the day and at night.

Sabbat Views on Ghouls

Though no one is certain how many ghouls exist among members of the Sabbat, it is a commonly held belief that Cainites maintain a fraction of the ghouls that the Camarilla does. And, of the Clans within the Sect, the Lasombra, Tzimisce, Nosferatu antitribu, and Ventrue antitribu utilize ghouls more than the rest.

Sabbat members consider themselves to be, without a shadow of a doubt, on the top of the food chain, and believe that humans are a step up from animals. Thus, many Cainites think it is disgusting and irritating to rely on mortals for any task, no matter how mundane it might be. Others believe that relying on ghouls would be the Sword of Caine’s greatest weakness, because they signal to other vampires that the Sabbat is not as independent and powerful as Cainites often profess.

In general, Sabbat ghouls are not treated as valuable assets, nor do their domitors remember they have limitations. Instead, Sabbat ghouls are often regarded with contempt, viewed to be utterly replaceable, and are often abused and misused. Their mortality rate is high, and they are often forbidden from fraternizing, even among members of their own kind. This, however, typically depended on whether or not the master had a use for her ghoul. Cainites who needed ghouls for a specific purpose often treated them better than tormented playthings to ensure they performed optimally.

Though no one knows for sure, the fact so many Sabbat ghouls don’t last longer than a few years or so is likely the reason why so many escape the first chance they get. This, to a larger extent, is a growing problem for the Sect, as some of these ghouls are thought to flee straight into the arms of their enemies or going rogue, fueled by all the cruelty, desperation and savagery taught them by their erstwhile undead masters.

Anarch Views on Ghouls

Because Anarchs don’t follow the rules of the Camarilla or toe the line for the Sabbat, they tend to be more varied in their opinions when it comes to ghouls with the exception of one, common belief: those who vocally oppose the creation of ghouls and preach how the blood bond that shackles ghouls is akin to the same restraints that the elders placed upon their childer long ago. Oppression can exist in many forms, the Anarchs claim, and the sparks that caused the Anarch Revolt could exist among ghouls, too. Ultimately, however, the service that ghouls can provide the Movement is enough for most Anarchs to put their morals on hold regarding this subject.

Unlike the Camarilla, where the treatment and maintenance of ghouls is influenced by both Sect and Clan, the influence of the Clans among Anarchs is less pronounced. In fact, many gangs tend to develop friendships with ghouls, and pretend to regard them as friends and equals. Anarch gangs also tend to share ghouls, similar to a Sabbat pack, but make it a point to treat them better than any Cainite would.

Though the Movement may profess to hold itself to a different standard than the Sects, they still tend to recruit ghouls as survival mechanisms, especially in cities such as Los Angeles and Krakow. After arriving to a new or contested area, Anarch ghouls are often charged with plotting numerous escape routes as one of their first duties. Sometimes, they are even encouraged to formulate such plans after scouting out an area ahead of the Anarchs’ arrival. In this way, the Anarch Movement is unique, for while they may not trust ghouls implicitly, they do rely on their ability to strategize to keep them safe. In addition to scouting out havens, safe houses, and escape routes, the Movement also uses its ghouls to spy on rivals and the major Sects.

Anarchs are acutely aware, however, that a security and logistics network made up entirely of ghouls comes with a heavy price. Not only do these operations require a large number of ghouls, but each and every ghoul costs blood and money to maintain. Some Anarch gangs have built up small armies of ghouls in the past, only to discover they had few resources to support them. Thus, despite their proclamations of freedom and liberty, Anarchs tend to forget that ghouls are not, and can never be, as independent as the vampire. They may be able to maneuver in the daylight, but ghouls require more than the Blood to live: they need food, shelter, and water. Once a group of Anarchs realizes the physical limitations of their ghouls, they tend to “set them free” instead of watching them suffer any longer. Occasionally, a ghoul may be Embraced, but that choice is hers and hers alone to make.

The challenges associated with maintaining a ghoul organization has led some Anarchs to seek out alternative methods of protection. Though members of the Movement tend to make decisions independently of one another, several Anarchs are beginning to reach out to ghoul organizations such as the Unmastered to hire independent ghouls for specific jobs.

Appendix B: Common Ghoul Concepts

Given all the powers and abilities that a vampire has at her disposal, it may not make sense that she needs mortals to help her. Ghouls perform a variety of roles, often several at the same time, but many of these duties require tasks only a loyal human can do during the day. When ghouls perform well, vampires take them for granted. When they don’t, however, they often ask questions that do not have easy answers. What drives a vampire to create a ghoul? Why waste precious blood? Why not lure mortals into the shadows and manipulate them with promises of gold or favors? The most ruthless and successful Kindred know exactly what they want from their thralls. For most fledglings though, learning the pros and cons of taking on ghouls for different tasks is an important learning curve which separates them from the more experienced neonates and ancilla.

Servants

Typically, ghouls are created to perform a variety of services for their domitors. It is their job to fulfill the requirements of whatever their domitor needs; this is the one thread that ties all ghouls together in some fashion. The tasks themselves can be mundane and ordinary, but the specifics usually depend on the nature of the services a vampire requires. Many vampires, for example, use ghouls as they used footmen and chambermaids in ages past to display and flaunt their position in vampire society. The more ghouls a domitor maintains, the more wealth and power a vampire appears to have — or so some vampires believe.

Though many ghouls are expected to clean up blood and pay their master’s bills, others who are cultivated into the role of a servant may not have to deal with messy or mundane tasks. Instead, these ghouls are groomed into a supervisory position to oversee other ghouls or mortals. While no vampire cleans their own clothes or dusts their own nightclubs, there are human agencies that can be hired as housekeepers who require daily interactions. A master’s ghoul might organize and supervise such activities to ensure no human employees see more than they should, while another might roll up his sleeves because his domitor wished him to scour the blood stain on the marble floor

When vampires need to dispose of a body, sometimes they enlist the help of a ghoul cleaner to do their dirty work in protecting the Masquerade or avoiding unnecessary inquiries. Despite being careful, accidents do happen more often than their masters care to admit. Sometimes, a vampire might gorge himself on a vessel and too much blood is spilt. Other times, a vampire might have killed her blood slave in a fit of anger, or needs to clean up after an impromptu feeding before she meets with her allies. The role of a cleaner requires careful maintenance for, without a strong blood bond and the use of Disciplines, terror and dread might begin to impact the ghoul in unexpected ways.

Forcing a ghoul to clean up large quantities of blood might have another unintended side effect as well. Ghouls have the ability to frenzy, just like their domitors do, and this may escalate an already tense situation. For this reason, some vampires “teach” their ghouls how to deal with the horrors of their job, and ask for their input to better use modern methods of disposing a body, human organs, and blood. On occasion, these lessons might result in the vampire teaching his ghoul how to frame someone else for murder, how to bribe the right people to look the other way, or how to make a death look like an accident.

Vampires may be creatures of the night, but they still require the trappings of a mortal life from time to time. While a few younger Generation vampires utilize their ghouls to queue up outside a tech store when a new phone is released, most domitors command their ghouls to handle more sensitive acquisitions. A good concierge would have an array of unsavory contacts to purchase advanced security systems, weapons, and explosives from, just as easily as they might buy the perfect vintage or antique set of furniture for their havens.

Most domitors task their ghouls with outfitting their havens for the simple fact that installing a few safety features could prove very difficult, even with the use of Disciplines. The location and key features of any haven should be kept hidden from prying eyes, and Bound ghouls prevent such details from being stolen by a rival. For this reason, some domitors use Bound ghouls until their havens are built and secure, and then kill them to avoid the possibility of leaked secrets. However, domitors can be persuaded to keep a temporary concierge around on a more permanent basis, since their contacts and connections take time to forge.

Protectors

If vampires only have one ghoul, most will use her to protect themselves or their havens. All vampires are keenly aware of how vulnerable they are during the day, and understand the benefits of having a ghoul that isn’t threatened by sunlight. So, no matter how secure their haven, most vampires don’t feel safe without someone they trust standing guard.

The role of the protector is so prevalent that it is not uncommon for ghouls who are assigned other tasks to also stand guard as they sleep. This is also the reason why so many vampires only task ghouls with guarding their havens after they are Bound. To a domitor, a Bound protector is not simply a matter of trust, but the difference between life and death. Without the blood bond, it would be simpler for a ghoul to turn on her master during the day. Under its effects, however, vampires know that a ghoul will protect her domitor, whether she truly wants to or not.

Sometimes, however, a vampire’s paranoia gets the better of him, and he decides the blood bond isn’t enough to guarantee the efficacy of a protector. For this reason, ghouls used in this capacity are often recruited from either a branch of the military or a well-known security firm. Other domitors prefer to protect themselves with spies or intelligence agents, as their worth is in their duplicitous natures and their ability to improvise.

Bodyguards spend most of their time protecting their domitor or their haven. They are often expected to stay quiet and alert, and tend to be competent in matters of security, weapons, and technology. Because they are often seen and not heard, bodyguards are surprisingly well informed since they often stand by the side of their domitors. Those bodyguards who pay attention during meetings might glean details of their master’s schemes and the political underpinnings of vampire society.

Bound protectors are trained to sacrifice themselves for their domitors, and will not hesitate to willingly give their lives in the line of duty. While it is rare for such a trusted servant to go rogue, those bodyguards who do are often among the best prepared to either pledge their services to a new domitor, or to protect themselves on the run.

While many bodyguards also double as drivers, this can be a unique role in its own right. Lower Generation vampires, or domitors unfamiliar with the trappings of the modern era, may require transportation to blend in with modern society. For them, cars, limousines, and planes are still new and risky to operate without help. A good driver will have quick reflexes, an excellent memory, and a working knowledge of many different types of vehicles. Some drivers double as mechanics, too, or couriers to safely transport goods and visitors from one destination to the other.

Despite how necessary they are, some domitors avoid using ghouls in such a fashion, because they believe it’s a waste of blood — especially since traveling out in the open can leave them vulnerable to attack. While it is unusual for vampires to attack one another while riding in their cars, younger vampires may use them out of habit. In such situations, a ghoul with advanced driving skills would leave her domitor’s hands free to fight or flee. Canny masters even go so far as to find look-alikes and buy duplicate vehicles to fool their attackers.

Represenatives

When a vampire has lived for a long time, he often feels his grip on reality slipping away. Many vampires become confused, because they’re mired in ancient traditions or cultural zeitgeists that no longer have any meaning in the modern era. Holding onto the past may help keep them centered and lucid, but if they revisit their memories too often, they will be out of touch with the rapid changes that are happening all around them.

Vampires who want to blend into society, who want to be seen as climbers or hobnob with politicians, require a ghoul who’s already adept in the social circles they wish to travel in. After all, a domitor cannot train a bookworm to be a social butterfly. Those traits must already exist, which is why many domitors pick a candidate from among the social elite.

For all their power, there is one thing a vampire has trouble doing, and that is moving about during the day. This wouldn’t be much of a problem, except that many businesses, institutions, universities, and other high profile organizations hold business hours from sunrise to sundown. While it is common for servants to perform services during the day, a ghoul that acts as a vampire’s face speaks for his domitor and makes appearances in his stead.

Because these ghouls are required to remain visible and connected, it is often their job to keep abreast of what schemes and atrocities happen among mortals. Then, they are encouraged to report back to their masters, whispering about the movers and shakers, potential threats, and their key weaknesses. Vampires can be quite dismissive of human politics, but the clever ones know that the signs of their rivals’ plots can often be found in the news of the day. There is only so much a vampire can glean from the headlines, however, and having someone connected to a vast social network will allow the domitor to hear interesting details happening near his domicile that might otherwise go unnoticed.

For many vampires, the industrial revolution kicked off a whirlwind of technological advances that has yet to stop. Because of how quickly the modern world moves, most vampires struggle to keep up with the basics. While computers are the obvious example, the twentieth century has seen the invention of cars, planes, cameras, televisions, refrigerators, and advanced weaponry such as machine guns and tasers. Ghoul technologists that can offer the knowledge or mastery of modern scientific advances not only help their masters survive, but they also give them a profound advantage over their enemies.

For a potential ghoul, the rewards to work for a domitor in this capacity are great. In many cases, money is no object, which allows a technologist to get his hands on cutting-edge equipment. Sometimes, a domitor might recruit a researcher working on a special prototype. Other times, a vampire might be impressed by a socialite’s ability to master a cell phone. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for technologists to fail their masters, as vampires may know they need someone who is familiar with computers, but don’t understand the nuances required to find the right candidate.

Companions

Vampires often crave companionship to make their immortality more bearable. Finding another immortal who understands their world and their desires is often a difficult proposition, because of their deceitful natures. Thus, some vampires ask permission to create a childer, while others simply do so expecting their neonate to follow their every whim and desire. The creation of a companion ghoul is, in many ways, a temporary solution for vampires seeking to lessen their loneliness of the long, dark nights ahead of them.

Some domitors regard their ghouls as part of their family — for a time. Unlike a neonate, many ghouls are shades of their former selves, for the blood their domitors give them changes them both physically and emotionally. Loyalty, for a companion ghoul, does not happen over time. Instead, it is expected of them almost immediately, and many domitors go to great lengths to ensure their companion ghouls remain by their side at all times.

Despite appearances to the contrary, the possession of a companion ghoul is not the same as a vampire having a “friend”. Many domitors feel it’s necessary to share their innermost secrets, to discuss local politics, or to rationalize their paranoia with a trustworthy individual. For most vampires, however, trust is a luxury they cannot have. Anyone who knows a domitor’s secrets, whether they be mundane worries or far-reaching concerns, has insight his enemies would kill to get. For this reason, vampires tend to be more paranoid when selecting a ghoul in this capacity, because while it’s easy to keep a servant in the dark, it’s almost impossible to control other ghouls and their domitors who encounter his trusted companion.

Ghouls that become confidantes are often put in a difficult position, as they are subject to their domitors’ ever-shifting moods. Vampires are a paranoid lot, and often turn to those who have served them faithfully for many years before considering them a confidante. However, it is not unknown for a vampire to remove the free will of a friend or lover before he confides in her. In such cases, a ghoul may engage in a strange conversation without ever knowing what she’s really talking about. Her master may cloak every sentence in metaphor and allegory, to talk about “problems at work” or issues with the “home office”. Occasionally, a domitor might wine and dine his ghoul, as if she was his lover instead of his servant.

Other ghouls, however, may willingly listen or do whatever their masters wish because they believe they’ll one day be Embraced. These confidantes are fully aware of the terrors that might await them, and they feel an uncanny sense of loyalty to their domitors and pledge their lives in service to receive their reward. Unbeknownst to these ghouls, they may not realize that their masters have no desire to “give up” a good servant in this fashion.

Some vampires like the idea of a companion, but do not relish the fact that other ghouls and vampires may attack them simply because of who their masters are. Those who are too paranoid to have a ghoul go to great lengths to hide their servants, and the sleeper agent is but one of many types of secretive ghouls that exist unbeknownst to anyone else.

To a domitor, a sleeper agent is a ghoul that can be activated when the time is right. There are many ways a domitor might shape a ghoul to perform an individual task or plan. A master might spend months screening candidates, planting commands using Dominate, or testing potential ghouls before taking the next step. Once a domitor has implanted a sleeper agent, that ghoul may live out a normal life in secrecy, without ever knowing what her true purpose is. Other masters, who err on the side of paranoia, may create such a ghoul out of desperation or fear of being attacked, and plan to activate them in a few weeks’ time.

Sleeper agents might also be used as a reserve resource when a vampire’s enemies have already destroyed all they could find. They might guard a hidden back-up haven no one knows about, or a hard drive containing their master’s deepest secrets. Many, however, are left as a last resort or a final solution when all other methods of protecting themselves have failed. It is this sort of ghoul who comes out of the shadows to avenge or free her master after his rivals have taken him down.

Appendix C: Sample Ghoul Organizations

It’s far from uncommon for independent ghouls to seek out support from other discarded toys, unlikely survivors and ruthless opportunists like themselves.

Sanguinaries

The original Sanguinaries were those ghouls who first learned to make a living in supplying human blood to willing vampire buyers. This has always been a very fraught – though often profitable – existence that continues into the modern day. These same ghouls were often rogues or renegades, and they would exchange this human blood in return for the vitae they needed to sustain their own existence.

Though the Sanguinaries may seem like an extremely secretive society, the ghouls within this organization are not connected to one another by a set of beliefs or a common mission. Comprised of entrepreneurs and opportunists, the Sanguinaries is a loose circle of vitae merchants whose clientele primarily consists of independent ghouls. They are, for all intents and purposes, a vitae bank.

According to urban legend, the first Sanguinary in Los Angeles was set up by a mysterious Anarch vampire named Katerina some twenty-five years ago. Frustrated by the ghouls’ dependence on vitae, Katerina donated several vials of her own vitae to a pair of independent ghouls who, in turn, could sell them to other ghouls. Initially, the pair began selling vials of blood in exchange for favors, but quickly increased their prices when they realized the demand for vitae was so high they could not fulfill their orders. Katerina was appalled that she had unwittingly strengthened their dependence on vitae by offering it for sale. Thus, it is commonly believed that she reluctantly withdrew back into the shadows after learning a painful lesson. Some whisper more plausibly that Katerina hasn’t been seen since because she was brutally staked and exsanguinated for her very last drop of vitae by the very ghouls she had originally sought to help.

All the same, as word began to spread, the legend of the Sanguinary outgrew its usefulness, for there was more demand for vitae than one pair of ghouls could hope to fulfill. Where there is demand, however, there is opportunity. Other independent ghouls soon filled the void by whatever means necessary, even going so far as to involve fake pharmaceutical companies and marketing campaigns, billing vitae as a new sexual enhancement or performance drug. Typically, ghoul merchants make deals with vampires in exchange for vitae, and both parties generate a hefty profit. Sometimes, especially where very weak or naïve vampires are concerned, the exchange takes on a far more permanent nature.

Though all of the Sanguinaries sell blood, vitae, or both, that is where their similarities end. Each shop is run independently of one another, which makes it almost impossible for the Sects to shut them down. Soon after one cell is eliminated, another pops up in its place in a different part of the same city. Thus, it is impossible to tell how many Sanguinaries exist or how widespread they are. It is believed, however, that the Sanguinaries are primarily concentrated in the American Southwest where Sect authority is weak.

Talons of the Black Rage

Allegedly, the Talons of the Black Rage was a secret organization of ghouls trained by the Lasombra Clan to carry out daytime raids on strategic targets. They are thought to date back to the nineteenth century, and began as a small group of mercenaries and soldiers who had been taken under the Clan’s wing. Over time, the ghouls were trained to operate in peak, physical condition and master certain Disciplines, such as Obtenebration and Potence, that would give them an edge in combat. They were also taught how to guard themselves against vampiric manipulation, which prevents the Talons from being unduly used by the Clan’s enemies.

Among those Archons or Alastors who claim the Talons of the Black Talon (or elite paramilitary units like them) still exist, a few opinions are more common than others. They are almost entirely relegated to Mexico in the modern nights, where competing Lasombra elders have found cartel kill teams (often consisting of ex-Mexican special forces) a frighteningly effective daytime weapon – especially when dealing with Tzimisce rivals and uppity shovelheads. They are expected to train hard and are expected to live short, brutal lives, but they are not suicidal. They believe they have been chosen for a higher purpose, to bring terror and death to the Lasombra’s adversaries. All too often, these ruthless sicarios are sent after Sheriffs, Primogen, and other high-ranking Kindred whose death would weaken an enemy-held city’s power structure for the upcoming invasion.

The Unmastered

The first confirmed cell of independent ghouls referring to themselves as the Unmastered was founded by Gregory Winter, Ginerva Salamanca, Enrico Sagunto, and Philip Marshall to assist independent ghouls who have recently either escaped from or were abandoned by their domitors in the wake of the collapse of Camarilla authority in Southern California after the Second Anarch Revolt.

In recent decades, the Unmastered has splintered many times over, and new groups claiming that name have arisen wherever an inchoate desire for independent ghouls to to better utilize each other’s allies and resources, combined with a faint memory of what came before has combined. All of these different groups have wildly different agendas.

One group, which calls itself the Unchained, is actively trying to forge alliances with other ghouls and ghoul networks that might share similar interests, or even Thin Bloods and abandoned fledglings. The group tends to be more inclusive of other, often more standoffish ghoul organizations.

Due to the short-lived nature of ghoul organizations, other groups frequently rise and fall or fade into the background. One such group is the Young Bloods, a vampire hunting biker gang that preys primarily upon Anarchs and nomadic Sabbat packs in the southwestern United States.

While groups such as the Young Bloods tend to be chaotic and self-serving, other organizations tend to form around a specific need or belief. Sometimes, these groups might use a legitimate business as a front, such as The Acquired Taste Company, which legally specializes in fulfilling fetishes. By night, the Las Vegas-based company employs dommes and madames in a club-like atmosphere for the benefit of its guests. By day, however, the business matches prospective ghouls with vampires seeking a specific kind of servant in exchange for vitae.

Generally speaking, there is one type of ghoul organization most vampires would likely rally to destroy out of a desire for self-preservation. That would be any ghoulish cult that carries even a whiff of doomsday paranoia, apocalyptic prophecies or infernalist dogma. It’s something of a catechism among the Sect that nothing good has ever come from independent ghouls engaging in organized (or even semi-organized) religion away from the supervision of their benevolent domitors.

In truth, most nascent ghoul organizations never amount to more than a half dozen members at once. The fragile, transitory nature of their existence means they have often been treated as minor threats in the past. Thus, the Sects and Clans tend to deal with ghoul organizations only when necessary. That policy may no longer be tenable in the coming nights, given the explosive growth of wayward, abandoned and renegade ghouls in Los Angeles.