The Vampire Suzerain and her servants

The Duchess



Themes: Industrial fascism, paranoia, feudalism, replaceable cogs, mechanics, billowing smoke, coal, choking dust, gunpowder, soldiers, tactics, a slow grind.
Demesne: Air choked with soot. In towns the banging, clanging of industry during the day, the deathly quiet of strict curfew after darkness, punctuated by the occasional scream or sob, quickly silenced. Marching boots on cobblestone. Shuffling peasants, their heads bent low, watched over by towering guard posts and panopticons. Turning gears and the wrenching grind. The taste of oil and gunpowder. Monolithic, imposing architecture, draped with tattered banners and propaganda.

Vampiric Servants

"Loan-Fang" is a derogatory term for an unlanded vampire beholden to another for Blood Sterling. They are addressed as "Niece" or "Nephew" in the polite terminology. They are occasionally employed as spies, bounty hunters, or found leading groups of more "mundane" muscle or Bit-Bloods. Peasants who wish to stay in their good graces will address them as "Master" or "Mistress."

Kith are Vampires with a bit of Red Sterling and land. They control minor fiefs, and are little better than landlords. They are addressed as Sir, Madam, or Squire.

Kine are Vampires of society, a true bourgeoisie above "sullying" their hands with the lesser details of extracting blood and rent from the peasantry. To address Kine as anything other than M’Lord or M’Lady will earn a peasant a whipping.

The Pure Lines are Vampire high nobility, who control other vampires and large vaults of Red Sterling. They are the most powerful, most removed from day-to-day affairs. Their name is a bit of propaganda, as many claim their blood is "purer" than lesser vampires.

The Outcasts are a rumor, a scary bed-time story told to naughty Scions, of Vampires who have been completely consumed by their lust for blood and power. Depending on who you ask, they are a fairy-tale, a bit of clever propaganda (after all, the Crimson Crown is not as bad as those vampires), or a very real threat: the vampires who predated the Crimson Crown, whose stolen blood made the first Blood Sterling.

Lesser Servants

Huntsmen - Skilled hunters that help vampires out in sporting “hunts” of faeries, track runaway serfs, rebels, etc. They prefer to fight at a distance, ambushing or picking off their foes.

Bailiffs - Men with clubs who keep peasants in line, enforcers for Landlords. They prefer to fight in melee, preferably against a weak or defenseless foe. They may quickly route if faced with a “real” fight.

Powdermen - Gangsters with a bit of vampire backing that use a monopoly on gunpowder weapons to terrorize the underworld. They are versatile, fighting both at a distance with rifles before closing in on prey with their pistols. That said, they are fundamentally motivated by greed, and few is the powderman that will fight to the death.

Ghouls - People drained of all but a single drop of vampiric blood. Slaves, carrion-eaters, underclass. Literally dehumanized, they are perhaps the fate of those who don’t make rent. Mindless and rapid, they are easy to deal with at a distance or in small numbers. Their primary use is as cannon-fodder, or to overwhelm distracted enemies.

Dramcoats - Soldiers in the service of a vampiric lord, so-named for the dram of blood sterling they are paid weekly. Treated mostly as disposable cannon-fodder in the vendetta wars between vampires, they weild either a pike or a rifle and shortsword depending on their role. Their coats are frequently colored in the livery of their vampire lord, but all seem to bleed to a rust-color at the fringes over time.

Landlords - Vampiric and Non-Vampiric Squires and Lords who own property, charge rents from peasants. These lords will rarely fight their own battles, and prefer to hire bit-bloods, bailiffs, or powdermen to fight for them.

Bit-Blood - A human enforcer who gets a bit of blood from vampiric masters. Stronger, tougher, frequently led by vampires or found leading lesser humans. They are tough, disciplined foes that can be difficult to face down in a one-on-one fight. The best advice is to not fight them fair: ambush them, rally other folk against them, or cut them off from their allies.

Wisp - Collaborator humans who aspire to vampirism and rising through the ranks. Spy on their fellows, sow discord, and keep the myth of “ascending” to vampirism alive. Wisps are a cowardly lot, through and through, and will nearly always run rather than stand and fight.