In today’s dev diary we’ll introduce you to a few non-Camarilla Kindred you’ll meet in the game. As you might already know Seattle is primarily a Camarilla controlled city, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t non-Camarilla Kindred vying for power — or fighting to be left alone. Once again we’ve got Writer Cherish Goldstraw and Narrative Director Ian Thomas describing the profiles to you as they appear at the beginning of our story.
The Anarchs and Unbound
The unbound are all those vampires who fall outside the Camarilla. The Anarch Movement in its various forms is a subset of the unbound and their most visible manifestation. Many seek to escape from Camarilla control by hiding. But those loyal to the Movement have decided to fight back, attempting to conquer and control domains originally held by those who would claim themselves their masters.
The Anarch Movement is different in each city. Sometimes an Anarch city has a ruler called a Baron. More commonly, it’s led by gangs who each have their own territories. Some cities are currently divided between Anarch and Camarilla vampires — both sides itching to take over.
Where Camarilla vampires usually influence mortal society from the outside, Anarchs burrow deep inside. Many maintain mortal identities, perhaps even families and jobs. This makes them simultaneously more vulnerable and more secure. Vulnerable because they are in contact with their surroundings every night and are sure to make mistakes. Secure because the Anarch is never the vampire lord in a mansion on the hill. They’re the DJ in the nightclub, the terrifying cop from internal affairs, the junkie creeping outside your window.
- From 5th edition book
History of Thin-bloods in Seattle
The strength of each vampire Embraced is more dilute than that of their Sire. Thin-bloods have earned their name because their blood is seen as too distantly removed from the original progenitor, Caine. Most Kindred consider them a weakness and an embarrassment to their kind - or even a threat. Thin-bloods are not considered part of any clan, but rather the dregs of Kindred society.
Many view thin-bloods as a risk to the Masquerade due to their close ties with the mortal world, often leading to their being hunted and destroyed without a second thought. Overlooked and downtrodden, they band together in a form of resistance. Seattle acts as a haven of a sort. In this city, the weak-blooded are not destroyed out of hand. Instead, by order of Prince Campbell, they must be branded to set them apart from true vampires; only then will he allow them to remain.
Many have found shelter amongst those of Seattle's Anarchs; particularly under the watchful eye of the Brujah Katsumi, who leads one of the major Anarch groups, and has, because of her involvement with the Thin-bloods, been branded as one herself.
As newly-minted Sheriff Phyre must negotiate the delicate balance between Katsumi's people and the Camarilla - and deal with the fact that many Anarchs and thin-bloods don't respect anyone as leader. Seattle is a powderkeg and each faction waits for its opportunity. Some are more impatient than others. If Phyre is seeking Katsumi, she may find her at a bar called the Hole in the Wall with the other misfits of her cause.
Katsumi Ishizaki
Brujah Anarch Leader
Quote
“Tell the Prince I'm busy. The only blood around here is Anarch – always the way, right? I’m going to deal with it.”
Description
Katsumi is a reluctant leader, forced by circumstance to speak for one of the larger groups of Kindred that consists of anarchs, thin-bloods, and the other dregs of the city. She maintains an uneasy peace with the Court, keeping a lid on the demands and fears of her followers as best she can. You’ll find her out on the streets among those who need her most, or at one of the spaces she maintains to keep her charges out of trouble. In her mortal life, she used to be a surgeon, and while still trying to fix things, nowadays, she is now mostly doing triage.
Max Webber
Brujah Unbound
Quote
“I was a piece of shit when I was a mortal, but the Embrace changed me. It took all my fear away, and I started to figure most assholes are just scared. I saw something in Benny, I thought he might be like me…”
Description
Unusually placid for a Brujah and unusually submissive for a sire, Max is something of an anomaly. Preferring to steer clear of both the Camarilla and the Anarchs, the only Kindred Max seems to want any relationship with is his intimidating childe, Benny - the Camarilla Sheriff. While many sires would forbid their childe joining the Court without them, Max seems content to live in Benny’s formidable shadow. The strange dynamic between the two has raised many a Kindred eyebrow, but few dare raise their voices for fear of rousing the Sheriff’s ire.
Nicola “Nix” Lee
Gangrel Unbound
Quote
“These city bloodsuckers live in a whole different world. Everyone’s playing these high stakes mind games, and I can’t even beat the peg game over at the Wagon Wheel. I need to find ways to be useful if I want to survive here.”
Description
Confident, brash and not to be trifled with, Nix loves the thrill of the hunt and fights like the beast unleashed. However, her kind are not usually city-dwellers, and Nix has little patience or aptitude for navigating the intricacies of vampire politics. Nobody knows why she has suddenly appeared in Seattle, and the Camarilla are naturally suspicious, but the possibility of enticing a leashed Gangrel into their ranks is a tempting prospect.
Anarch, Thin-blood, and Ghoul Enemies
The anarchs are the first, and most numerous faction you'll be butting heads with in Bloodlines 2. While Katsumi has the respect of a large portion of the Anarchs and Thin-bloods, not all of them follow her orders. Many have taken up residence in places you’ll need to investigate or are actively working against you. That means that among the many enemies you’ll face, Anarchs will use their powers against you. And so their members are a good baseline for the kind of threats you'll face throughout the game - roving gangs of fidgeting ghouls, armed with whatever they can get their hands on, and young, opportunistic kindred too naive to see the danger in taking on an elder face-to-face.
Ghouls are a tough bunch; they can take significantly more of a beating than your run-of-the-mill human, but they aren’t much of a threat alone. It’s when they work together, some bludgeoning you about, others carving you up, that you’ll want to take them seriously, so keeping things quiet is a sensible approach. Their Kindred masters are a much more potent threat- while they’re not as skilled in their disciplines as others, they more than make up for it with hardware.
As the situation in Seattle heats up, the Anarchs become more militaristic and heavily armed—but at their core, they’ve got more humanity than most. They’ll be hesitant to shoot with their friends in the way, more receptive to manipulation, and slower to catch who’s been turned against them—all weaknesses that can be exploited.
