New Player Lore Guide
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WIP Article Warning! |
Welcome to The Final Nights!
Welcome! The World of Darkness is a sprawling collection of *books, lore novels, video games, and all kinds of other storytelling methods. It can feel overwhelming at times to try to consume the series. To try to assist those new to the setting, we're developing a series of pages of condensed lore. This page is a short summary of our setting that will help players understand our unique canon, and help them understand the general place of their chosen splats. After reading this page, Splat Roleplay Expectations and the Making a Character in WoD, you'll have the foundation of knowledge to enjoy The Final Nights!
Vampire: The Masquerade
Undead vampires are locked in a hierarchical battle between their "sires" (older vampires who bring new vampires into the world) and the "kine" (the normal mortal people that surround them that they must feed on to survive). All the while, a vampire must desperately cling to their fading Humanity (or one of the Paths of Enlightenment), using the memory of their mortal morals, or their newfound undead morals to restrain the ravenous, predatory Beast within. To lose this fight is to fall into permanent frenzy, becoming little more than a mindless monster to be put down by one's peers.
Kindred society is deeply fractured, and can be broadly broken up into four main pillars:
Sect:
The ideological and political factions that dictate a vampire's laws, territory, and allegiances. The Camarilla views itself as the high society of the undead, but it is effectively a brutal, neo-feudal cartel of Elders. It was founded in the 15th century to enforce the Six Traditions, the most critical of which is the Masquerade (the law requiring vampires to hide their existence from humanity). The Camarilla operates on the absolute authority of the ruling Prince. The Anarchs believe that the Camarilla is a pyramid scheme designed to keep the young perpetually beneath the boots of the old. Born out of the First Anarch Revolt and supercharged by modern rebellions, the Movement fights for the personal liberty of the individual Kindred. Contrary to the Camarilla, they are not one big organisation, but rather a loose group of so called Baronies, united by nothing but their unwillingness to fall into the Camarilla scheme of things. Not one Barony works the same as the next, and despite the name, not all conform to the stereotype of gruff, punkrock, bikergang anarchists. Anarchs still respect the concept of hiding from mortals, but they reject the Camarilla’s strict laws, punishments and social stratification. The Sabbat rejects both the Camarilla’s hiding and the Anarchs’ political idealism. They view themselves as holy soldiers of Caine. They believe that the mythical founders of the clans, the Antediluvians are sleeping gods who will eventually wake up and consume all their descendants. The Sabbat embraces the Beast rather than fighting it, usually following codes of ethics known as Paths of Enlightenment. They live in tight-knit Packs bound together by the Vaulderie, a blood ritual that can creates a Bond (called Vinculum) between all participating members and breaks any former Bonds. There are also several Independent Clans and smaller sects, who all follow their own (sometimes unachievable) goals.
The distinct lineage of blood, a Kindred’s Clan, determines their supernatural Disciplines, their specific inherent curse of their blood, and, in a lot of cases, also their alignment. The thirteen clans are generally divided by their political alignments, though individual linecrossing is common. The Camarilla Core consists of the Clans Ventrue (The Clan of Kings), Toreador (The Clan of the Rose), Tremere (The Warlocks), Nosferatu (Clan of the Hiden / The Sewer Rats) and Malkavian (Clan of the Moon / The Lunatics). Though the latter two also commonly found in the Anarchs. Brujah (Clan of Zealots, also called 'The Rabble) and more and more Gangrel (The Outlanders) build the core of the Anarchs, though neonates of almost any Clan can be found within this sects ranks. The Lasombra and Tzimisce (The Fiends) on the other hand are the founders of the Sabbat. Some Clans choose to stay wholly independent, only mingling with the sects when it fits their needs. These contain the Giovanni, Followers of Set and the Ravnos. Formerly, the Banu Haqim were an independent Clan as well, though their brand new alliance with the Camarilla encourages more and more of their number to join the Sect. The last 'Clan' on the list is not really a Clan, but more a collection of outcasts and Clanless Kindred whose discipline spread matches none of the Clans (something happening more and more in the modern nights) : the Caitiff. A part of the Caitiff population, the Thinbloods, are so far removed from Caine in Generation, that they become a midway-thing between kindred and humans (see section on Generation).
Additional to the Clans, there are countless Bloodlines: Small offshoots of clans (or former Clans whose numbers have dwindled into near nonexistence), that diverge from their main Clan through appearance, new disciplines, or differing curses.
A vampire's distance from Caine, the first vampire. The lower the generation, the thicker and more potent their blood. Kindred cannot change their generation through time or training; the only way to lower it is through the highly illegal crime of Diablerie.
The Final Nights allows players to play from Generation 10 to 16, and Generation 8 & 9 only with the Whitelist.
The social hierarchy of kindred is defined by their age, and the experience and resources they were able to amass in that time. Usually, it is also tied to Generation, with an Elder's Generation usually being lower than that of a Neonate, though of course there is always exceptions.
Fledglings are newly embraced kindred still under the direct supervision and legal responsibility (The Accounting) of their Sires. They do not have rights in a domain; if a Fledgling breaks a law, the Sire is executed alongside them.
Neonates are young kindred who have been released by their sires and recognized as independent citizens of the domain. While they have basic rights under the Traditions, they are treated as completely disposable pawns. They are the street-level muscle, sent into dangerous situations because the Elders refuse to risk their own ancient skins.
Ancillae are Kindred who have survived between one and two centuries. They understand how the game is played and are no longer easily fooled by the romantic notions of mortality, nor are they powerful enough to sit on thrones of their own, effectively making them the 'middle management'. Ancillae are dangerous because they are incredibly hungry for power. They are the ones executing the actual tactical plays of the Jyhad, looking for any mistake from an Elder that would allow them to steal a title or feeding territory.
Elders (200 to 1000 years old) are the actual rulers of domains. They occupy the offices of Prince and Primogen. They view the younger generations not as children, but as resource pools and meat shields. They have survived centuries of murderous politics, inquisitions and wars by being more ruthless than anyone else.
Methuselahs (1,000+ years old) are terrifying, semi mythical horrors. Most spend decades or centuries in Torpor, but their minds remain active. They pull the strings of whole political movements, religious cults and empires from the shadows. Methuselahs are not allowed to be played on The Final Nights.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Known to most as Werewolves, Garou are individuals who have awakened a supernatural connection to Gaia, the life and spirit of the world, gaining the power to shift between human and wolf forms. Their awareness of Gaia's suffering as both humanity and nature are corrupted by "The Wyrm", along with the supernatural force of Rage within them, drive them to resist the Apocalypse as warriors of Gaia.
Central to Garou mythology are the three forces of the Wyld, Weaver, and Wyrm. The Wyld creates from shapeless material, the Weaver brings order and longevity to chaotic creation, and the Wyrm ensures everything eventually falls apart to be made anew by the Wyld - or at least, that's how it should be. Longer ago than even the oldest Garou tales go, the Wyrm went mad in the confines of the Weaver, and lost all restraint or goodness in its work. Ever since then, it has been a corruptive, destructive force that would drown out creation and order with decay.
Cheap fast-food from factory farms? Toxic plastic shells around acidic batteries, towering to the sky in landfills? To most Garou, these are the greatest signs of the Wyrm's corruption in human society.
The battle lines are drawn starkly in the Bay Area. Most of the Garou of the region operate out of a single, embattled front: The Sept of the Western Eye. This unified sept must balance internal tribal politics while fighting a desperate, multi-front war against the Wyrm's corporate tendrils. Meanwhile, the Black Spiral Dancers, Garou who swear themselves to the Wyrm and embrace the Apocalypse, wage war in the dark and barter for souls in labs and skyscrapers as valued workers and partners of Magadon, a pharmaceutical mega subsidiary of the global conglomerate Pentex.
Garou are aware of, and frequently involved with, the countless spirits of the world from the most renowned totems, like Rat, to the minor spirits that they can bargain with or coerce. The Garou are blessed by the great spirit Luna just as much as by Gaia, with the power to transform between the form of a wolf (Lupus) and a human (Homid) - though their blessing comes with a severe weakness to wounds inflicted by silver. They can also enter the Crinos form, the war-form used in all-out battle. The crinos has great and terrible power, causing a delirious and memory-clouding fear (see Delirium below) in humans who witness it. Of course, in modern nights, it's harder than ever to escape the reach of cellhpone and surveillance cameras; taking on the crinos form is a dangerous choice, but always more dangerous for anyone in the vicinity, as keeping Rage in check during this state is not easier than in one's "natural" form.
Garou are born as Kinfolk: humans or wolves descended from werewolves. Most Kinfolk will never be Garou, but a few (and nobody is ever sure exactly who) undergo their First Change sometime during, or sometimes in the years after, puberty, almost always when overwhelmed or in grave danger. Almost every region in which Garou tread is monitored for the first sign that this change has taken place (which usually results in a great deal of blood and gore as the newly-transformed werewolf flies into a rage) at which point one or several Garou will hurry to the scene in an attempt to prevent further carnage and ensure the Cub is brought to a sept that will educate them on their duties. Of course, many kinfolk know of their heritage, and were born into the sept. For those who aren't tracked down by warriors of Gaia, the Black Spiral Dancers also seek newly-transformed Garou who may be susceptibe to the path of the Wyrm.
The World of Darkness, 2016
(For more in detail information on the recently implemented changes, and the current state of the different clans and tribes, please visit Rebase Lore Rework)
The Supernatural World is spilling into the light in 2016, to their ruin.
No longer do the mere martial brotherhoods and mercenary societies of the past stand a hopeless guard against the dark. Entire governments threaten not only Kindred society, but the Garou Nation and Middle Kingdom as well. Sectarian fracturing and hostility are a common through line of each society from the Anarch Free State to the Gaian Septs and Courts of the Kuei-Jin. This splintering has revealed new footholds for Humanity to take and fight back. Multiple cities in Europe and even smaller populations in the United States have been purged clean of Supernatural threat.
Supernatural violence is covered up as gang war, which is then cleaned up by a flurry of federal badges. At a moment's notice a Police Chief can find their big bust has this informant, or that person of interest, and find themselves overruled. Even stranger, there are rumors of inconsistencies. 'SAICs' that the field office doesn't know, investigation numbers that lead nowhere, enough to drive a Police Chief to insanity or stone cold stoicism.
The Camarilla
The Ivory Tower is reeling from an era of impressive victories in recent yearsWhile a brutal military expansion spearheaded by the Ventrue leadership managed to annex territories across the Southeastern United States, it came at the cost of catastrophic casualties, with young neonates systematically meat-grounded into the frontlines to secure material territorial gains.
This precarious situation shattered violently at the Conclave of Prague with the shocking defection of the legendary Archon Theo Bell, whose sudden rebellion resulted in the violent Final Deaths of Jan Pieterzoon and the Inner Circle powerhouse, Hardestadt. Though desperate rumors of Hardestadt's survival circulate among the paranoid, the immediate vacuum triggered a massive crisis of faith among the younger generations.
In San Francisco, the Camarilla reacts to this instability by tightening its iron grip. Moving forward under the absolute rule of a strict, staff-controlled NPC Canon Prince (a Ventrue Elder of the name of Mr. Solomon acting as the final, binding arbitrator of Ivory Tower law), the local sect project authority through gritted teeth. Surrounded by hostile Free States, the remenants of the local Sabbat and dealing with internal subversion, the San Francisco Camarilla permits members of other sects to exist on their turf only if they flawlessly adhere to the First Tradition: The Masquerade.
The Anarchs
Despite global setbacks, the Anarch Movement occupies a significantly stronger position on the West Coast than it did a decade ago. Los Angeles stands as a proud bastion of the Free States, anchoring the sect's ideology across all of California.
Because the timeline rests firmly in 2016 prior to the events of V5, The [[Convention of Thorns}} remains legally in place, even if it is completely tattered and somewhat ignored on the streets of San Francisco. Both the Camarilla and the Anarchs pay lip service to the treaty when it is diplomatically advantageous. While shadow skirmishes and block-by-block violence occur nightly, both sides actively negotiate behind closed doors to prevent local conflicts from boiling over into an all-out war that would expose them to the Sabbat or other foes, lurking in the coastal margins.
The Sabbat
The Sword of Caine is standing on the absolute brink of its Fourth Sabbat Civil War. Tensions have reached a boiling point between fanatical, traditionalist Gehenna Cultists and a massive wave of younger members who no longer believe in some, most or even everything written in the Book of Nod. This ideological conflict has caused a historic spike in individual defections to opposing sects.
In San Francisco, this schism manifests as a functional, highly volatile split between two local Sabbat elements:
The Manor
The former Tzimisce stronghold has been completely repurposed into a centralized diplomatic hotspot for Sabbat politics, local Ritae, and administrative ranks. Moving away from unhinged, mindless violence, the Manor allows for "Sabbat citizen" roleplay, navigating internal factional politics while maintaining a highly unstable, silent truce with the city's ruling Camarilla.
The Warpack
The loose, violent antagonist wing of the Sabbat. The bloodthirsty fighters of the Warpack use the Camarilla’s current weakness to launch deniable guerrilla strikes, shadow terrorism, and tactical ambushes from the dark. The Manor works tirelessly to try and keep their unhinged cousins on a tight leash, knowing one sloppy massembrace will likely shatter their sanctuary entirely.
The ancient, secretive True Black Hand still exists within V20 canon, but they are scattered, broken, and hunted. The Sabbat's elite martial wing has discovered their shadow infrastructure, moving aggressively toward a global purge of their hidden agents.
The Clans
The changing of the canon to be strictly V20 has caused massive, systematic upheavals within individual Clans and lineages, allowing players a Soft Reset / Character Retcon window to realign their histories with the V20 timeline:
The Banu Haqim Schism
Following the awakening of the Methuselah Ur-Shulgi and his bloody purge of the clan's internal heretics, a massive wave of schismatic Viziers and Banu Haqim Sorcerers have defected to the Western world. Supported heavily by the Ventrue and to the absolute dismay of Clan Tremere, the Banu Haqim have officially joined the Camarilla. They stand as the newest, most heavily distrusted outsiders of the Tower, and their local seat on the Primogen council rests on incredibly shaky ground.
The Lasombra
Clan Lasombra remains a fundamental pillar of the Sabbat's ruling elite, but their younger ranks are rapidly losing faith. While the clan has not joined the Camarilla wholesale, a significant presence of Lasombra Antitribu has grown rapidly in San Francisco. Due to this delicate political transition, there is currently no Lasombra Primogen seat in the Camarilla court, though there is talk of negotiations concerning the question whether to create one.
The Tremere Pyramid
The pre-rebase idea of an independent, shattered Tremere clan has been completely undone. The Inner Council of Seven has are hiding away in Vienna and communication is nearly impossible, though they have not been destroyed. The Pyramid stands fully restored. Chantry-aligned Warlocks are bound by default to the collective will of their elders, and their mystical clan weakness has reverted to the V20 one: skipping the first tier of a blood bond to jump straight to the second. Those trying to escape from these bindings are forced to flee to the Independent factions, the Sabbat, or risk everything by aligning with the fairly new Anarch House Carna.
The Independent Clans
The Giovanni panic quietly as the looming deadline of 2028 threatens to expire their ancient Promise of non-interference with the Camarilla, driving desperate Capos to seek early backroom alliances. Concurrently, the Followers of Set have seized absolute control of the city's supernatural black market within the Casino, establishing an independent faction that works closely together with the other Clans of Death, like the newly implemented Samedi or even the Harbingers of Skulls.
The Garou
The Garou Nation of San Francisco is no less plagued by the apocalyptic forces ripping through the world. The historic division between the urban packs of the Painted City and the wilderness guardians of the Amberglade has been forcibly dissolved out of pure survival. Now unified as a single, embattled front called The Sept of the Western Eye the local werewolves are fighting a desperate, losing war against the complete supernaturally caused decay of the Bay Area.
The Triat is completely out of balance. Magadon Corporation (the pharmaceutical tendrils of the global Wyrm revering conglomerate Pentex) hold official, iron-clad contracts with the city of San Francisco. From their downtown laboratories, corporate executives pump spiritual and chemical filth into the urban ecosystem, feeding a massive Wyrm Hive known as the Poisoned Shore nesting deep within the industrial coastlines.
Updated Terminology
The Lore Team has opted to use the modern V5 naming conventions for specific tribes and werewolf lineages. The original 90s terminology frequently appropriated realworld Indigenous identities or carried outdated, culturally insensitive connotations. To keep the server respectful and modern, please use the following updated terms in your lore and roleplay:
- Tribal Renaming: Tribes previously using appropriated Indigenous or outdated names are updated to their modern equivalents (e.g., Ghost Council instead of Wendigo).
- Crinosborn (formerly Metis): The term Metis has been completely retired for Garou born in Crinos, as it is insensitive.
Please ensure any character backstories or OOC examine panels are adjusted to reflect these cleaner naming standards!
These are indeed The Final Nights.
The Chronicles of San Francisco:
| 2025 Metaplot Timeline | ||
|---|---|---|
| Global Events | N/A | |
| Major Events | Who Killed the Messenger? | |
| Minor Events | N/A | |