Characters / Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines Anarchs

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The Anarchs

Brujah

"Nines" Rodriguez

Voiced by: Armando Valdes-Kennedy

LA's the school of hard knocks, so keep your friends close and your enemies in a barbecue pit.

Leader of the Anarchs in Los Angeles, Nines is a Brujah freedom fighter and product of the Depression: He loathes the Camarilla and the Kuei-Jin with a passion and believes in the continued existence of the Free State L.A., but is forced to tolerate the other factions because he hasn't got the manpower for an all-out war against both sides. Having lost his own Sire at a young age, he opposed your execution in the first place and also helps you out a couple of times during the story; Jack implies he has a soft spot for outcasts like the fledgling.

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• All There in the Manual: Beckett's Jyhad Diary establishes that his first name is Armando (same as his voice actor), and that he was born in 1922 and Embraced in 1949.
• Accent Slip-Up: A very mild case, but he'll slip into a subtle southern drawl occasionally. He briefly mentions that he'd come to L.A. as a human to escape from the Dust Bowl, which potentially places him as originally being from Oklahoma or Texas, thus explaining the slight accent that he's mostly lost in the proceeding decades.
• Badass Biker: Not as much as Jack, but he definitely plays into this aesthetic quite a bit, in both his choice of clothing and the atmosphere of his bar.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: As mentioned, he's handsome and healthy-looking, and tends to be the most straight-forward and helpful of the sect leaders early on—even lending the player a hand without asking for repayment more than once. Perhaps due to a high humanity score, he lacks the inhuman, blood-red eyes of the Sabbat Brujah seen in the game.
• Benevolent Boss: He's deeply respected and beloved within his sect; Damsel will launch into a long speech of impassioned admiration when asked about him, and Jack refers to him as the Anarchs' "hero". He, along with Strauss, is also one of the only faction leaders who will not ever betray you.
• Berserk Button: Evidently, picking on the little guy is this for him. He'll never get as vehemently and loudly angry as he does in the game's opening scene, when LaCroix is about to execute the innocent fledgling for the crimes of their sire. Even Damsel has to restrain him.
• Big Brother Instinct: Jack theorizes that he stood up for the PC in the theatre, as well as defended them from the Sabbat, because he's got a soft spot for "the little guy". Little things he does, like calling the PC "kid" and freely offering both advice and a fighting lesson, suggest Jack isn't too far from the truth. Heartwarmingly, he doesn't break this characterization even if you're extremely rude to him.
• Captain Obvious: When presenting the Werewolf head, he says that he didn't get away without a scratch. He says this while half his face is torn off and the other half is bruised.
• Cincinnatus: Implied. He mentions at Griffith Park that his predecessor was killed by the Kuei-jin and he seems largely uninterested in actually seizing power for himself, suggesting that he took up the leader role simply because one was needed at the time. Follow-up novels that continue the game's canon even note that, while he remains a highly respected member of the sect, he doesn't ever take up position as a Baron even after the Anarchs fully retake L.A..
• Commonality Connection: Like the fledgling, Nines was left without his sire. Jack posits that this is why he keeps stepping in to help you.
• Cool Old Guy: He was born in the 1920s and thus one of the older Kindred you'll meet. That said, that's only in respect to the Anarch Faction (who make up about half of the story-relevant vampiric NPCs), most of which is made up almost entirely of young vampires aside from Jack. In the grander scheme of vampirism, he's on the younger end of things and nowhere near Elder status, having been embraced less than 60 years ago. He makes a point of explaining that he's the eldest of the Anarchs not because he's particularly old (for a vampire, anyway), but because almost all Anarchs older than him have either defected or been killed in the fight against enemy factions.
• Combat Pragmatist: Who brings a grenade to a street fight? Nines does, that's who.
• Deadpan Snarker: In his introductory scene, if you claim that you could have taken the Sabbat who attacked you without his help, he offers to call them back over without missing a beat. He can also deliver some real cutting snark toward a particularly rude player after the Elizabeth Dane quest.
• Don't Call Me "Sir": He doesn't like being referred to as the leader of the Anarchs or using a title at all, really, even though he is a leader functionally. In his initial speech when you meet him at the Last Round, he pointedly says he's no one special and just happened to get wrapped up in something bigger than himself.
• Expy: Of the Anarch leader Jeremy McNeil. With elements of his chief lieutenant, Salvador Garcia.
• The Face: As the Anarch leader, he also functions as this within the sect. Bertram states that his general likability is a big problem for the L.A. Camarilla, as it does a great job of attracting people to the Anarch side of the conflict.
• Foil: To LaCroix; the two of them couldn't more more opposite if they tried. Not only do they embody the Noble Male, Roguish Male dichotomy near perfectly on a visual level, but their personalities clash exactly. LaCroix is superficially polite, but is secretly a slimy schemer with Chronic Backstabbing Disorder. Nines is outwardly gruff, but pretty consistently presented as genuine, helpful, and an all around stand-up guy who never really manipulates the player. LaCroix is generally hated or disrespected by everyone, even his own Primogen, while Nines is seen as a hero to his peers and even manages to be viewed as a valuable ally to people diametrically opposed to his values (Tung, Strauss, etc). Suffice to say, Nines makes LaCroix look bad in more ways than just his inability to retake control of L.A. from the Anarchs.
• Hot-Blooded: While he's got a much better hold on his temper than Damsel, his Brujah blood can flare up in a hurry if you're not careful what you say.
• In-Series Nickname: "Nines" is, of course, only a nickname and not his birth name, though you'll never find out the latter in-game. The Malkavian PC additionally has their own nicknames for him, usually some variant of "number for a name" and occasionally "Street Prince".
• It's Personal: Implied. He states that he was raised during The Great Depression, and watching the poor suffer while the rich carried on in luxury caused a disillusionment that followed him into unlife. He views the Camarilla as a system that upholds the same unjust and rigid power system that caused so much pain during his time as a human, and rails against them because of it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He straddles the line between this and Nice Guy, somehow. That said, he's a bit of a Deadpan Snarker and tends to be a bit gruff at times, plus can be easy to anger due to being a Brujah ^note To be fair, this may be in part because most of your dialogue options skew somewhat insulting toward him unless you choose them in a very specific order. His first line directly to you is commenting that you "look like shit" after the Sabbat attack (which he just saved you from), and it's a dead giveaway that the "Nines" met at Grout's mansion isn't him in part because he very politely excuses himself before leaving.
• Just the First Citizen: Eschews titles as part of his populist rejection of the Camarilla and the old world-style politics it represents, but he's still functionally the head of the Anarchs.
• The Leader: A mix between the headstrong and charismatic variety. He's described as a likable sort who's been able to build support for his cause through sheer force of passion and charisma, and even LaCroix, his bitter political rival, admits Nines has a certain "cretinous charm" to him.
• Local Hangout: The bar downtown he owns, The Last Round, is a dead-ringer for this trope. In this case, it's specifically the local hangout for LA's Anarchs.
• Meaningful Name: A Malkavian player can ask him "what happened to numbers one to eight", to which Nines will respond that they died. According to Beckett's Jyhad Diary he had eight siblings but none of them became Kindred and are therefore likely all dead, implying he took his name from being the 'ninth' of his family.
• The Mentor: Nines can teach basic brawling or melee skill at two points in the game if you aren't good enough at them. He'll also give you a few pieces of advice for starting out—namely, he advises you to learn how to fight, pointing out that you won't be able to talk your way out of everything. This is pretty solid advice in-universe and on a meta level, as choosing not to allocate any experience points toward combat will leave you in serious hot water by the end of the game.
• Nice Guy: Unless you manage to piss him off, he usually acts in a calm, nice and helpful manner, even despite your initial status as a Camarilla agent. This stands in direct contrast to most the other Anarchs in the game, who are initially pretty distrustful, if not downright hostile to you until you prove your loyalty. He also saves your life not once, but twice without demanding anything in return, and doesn't even seem angry with you for (accidentally) aiding in framing him for Grout's murder. He's probably up there with Beckett as one of the least manipulative vampires in the game, and given his status as a sect leader, that's a pretty solid endorsement of his character.
  • It is noticeable, however, that Nines is not on Rosa's list of people the player can trust. Whether that's because he simply has his own agenda or he's hiding something is uncertain.
    • Or she didn't include his name due to Ming Xiao pretending to be him to manipulate the Player Character.
• Not Himself: There's something obviously off about him at Grout's mansion, which is later revealed to be because it was Ming Xiao doing an unconvincing imitation of him.
• Not So Stoic: He's not typically someone who would turn his back on a fight, but even he is unnerved by the prospect of fighting werewolves. Especially pissed off werewolves.
• Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: You don't actually personally see him fight the werewolf, but given that he managed to do it without the help of giant hydraulic doors, it more than qualifies as awesome.
• Oh, Crap!: When he starts smelling smoke and realizes that someone started a fire to kill him and the player. Not because the fire itself is dangerous, but rather because the two of them are in werewolf territory.
• Older Than They Look: One of the oldest Anarchs in the city and in his early 80's at the time of the game, despite his youthful good looks.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Played with at Grout's mansion; the fact that he acts suddenly very polite near the end of your conversation is a hint toward there being something off about him in that moment. It's later revealed to be because it wasn't him at all, it was Ming Xiao pretending to be him accidentally falling back into her own speech pattern.
  • Played straight at Griffith Park. He's about as much of a tough guy as you can get, so when he starts getting nervous about the fire, you know there's something very wrong.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: The player never learns his real first name in-game. Supplementary material does give him one, however.
• Phlebotinum Analogy: He compares the Camarilla to a pyramid scheme to give the Fledgling (and the player) an idea of how their power-structure functions.
• Pineapple Surprise: He scares off a trio of Sabbat mooks who were about to kill the PC by threatening them with a grenade.
• Rage Breaking Point: In the opening scene, he hits his when LaCroix begins to imply the fate of the PC will follow that of their sire. His subsequent angry outburst requires Damsel and Skelter to step in to hold him back, and causes LaCroix to reconsider the execution to avoid a violent conflict between the Anarchs and Camarilla.
• Refuge in Audacity: How does he avoid the bloodhunt that LaCroix put out on him? By hiding in the middle of werewolf territory, as everyone would assume no vampire would be insane enough to hide there.
• Rebellious Spirit: A much more controlled and mature version of the ones Damsel and Skelter have. According to some characters, Nines was disillusioned by how the rich screwed over the poor in the '20s and '30s, especially after the Depression hit, and still carries a grudge.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Generally, he comes across this way even despite his Hot-Blooded Brujah nature. Notably, he understands that you were manipulated and doesn't seem to hold it against you that you unwittingly helped frame him for murder. He's also willing to consider an alliance with LaCroix despite not really trusting him, as long as the Camarilla actually aids in the fight.
• Rebel Leader: To a tee, complete with the charisma, the inspiring speeches, the rugged good looks, and the Rebellious Spirit.
• Remember When You Blew Up The Sun: According to Damsel and Skelter, he's told them the story of his harrowing battle with the werewolf multiple times before you show up in the Anarch ending—he even took its head for a trophy.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: If you were rude to him in your first encounter in the Last Round, your subsequent conversation after the Elizabeth Dane quest will devolve into this.
• Street Smart: He's clearly quite clever and can be downright eloquent when he wants to be but speaks casually, directly and without pretension. He—along with most Anarchs—generally avoids speaking with the Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness that Grout lampshades as so common among Camarilla Kindred.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's handsome, dark-haired, considered a hero among the Anarchs and carries himself with a passionate but confident charisma. That said, he's definitely not above dropping some snark on the Camarilla, LaCroix or even you (if you say something dumb or rude), whenever he can.
• They Call Him "Sword": He shares his nickname with the Anarch game 9mm Tag, a gun which is also commonly known as "Nines"—fitting for a self-proclaimed gunfighter like himself. May or may not be a Stealth Pun on his part, as a conversation he has with the Malkavian player and Beckett's Jyhad Diary suggests he may have taken his name from being the ninth child in his family instead.
• To the Pain: In the Anarch ending, he angrily comments he'd like to rip out Ming Xiao's heart so she can watch him squeeze the black out of it. Considering she invaded his territory, killed his predecessor, then later teamed up with his sworn enemy to frame him for murder, he's more than justified in that vitriol.
• Touché: If you're continually rude to him, Nines will eventually concede with begrudging respect that you have some real fire and backbone to be picking a fight with him in the middle of his territory and surrounded by his allies. He cautions against doing so randomly, however, as most Kindred besides himself wouldn't think twice about smoking you on the spot for it.
• Tranquil Fury: While he doesn't hesitate to snark right back to a rude fledgling, he never really raises his voice and keeps a relatively cool, if snide, demeanor when he's angry with you. He only really breaks this with his outburst in the opening scene.
• Universally Beloved Leader: In direct contrast to LaCroix, he's very well-respected by both his peers and even many of his adversaries. Save for from LaCroix, you basically never hear a single bad thing about him; Damsel says without hesitation that she'd die for him and even the largely cynical Jack views him as a "stand-up guy".
• Worthy Opponent: Bertram Tung, Mercurio, and Maximillian Strauss, all supporters of the Camarilla, can express respect for him and state that he'd make a valuable ally if vampire politics didn't get in the way.

"Smiling" Jack

Voiced by: John DiMaggio

Now you an' I maybe ain't seen eye to eye on everything - to be honest, I've made vampires deepthroat dynamite for less aggravation - but I think we understand each other, and hey! Our unlives are ours to do with as we will.

A jovial Brujah Elder who teaches you the basics of Vampire lore and the mechanics of the World of Darkness.

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• Affably Evil: He's a friendly and easy-going fellow. That said, his in-universe Humanity score is 4 (Unfeeling) and he's willing in setting up a plot that pits several factions against each other, which will result with the death of many Kindred, Kuei-Jin and Kine.
• Badass Boast: With a dash of blasphemy.
  Jack: Ah kid, I never answered to no man in life, now I sure as shit ain't takin' orders from a vampire with a suit and a funny name. And when I die again the devil's gonna hafta cut me a deal if he wants my ass!
• Badass Biker: He dresses and looks like one, even if there's little indication he is one.
• Beneath Suspicion: Did you expect that the goofball that helped you in the tutorial was behind the entire plot?
• Beware the Silly Ones: Jack is more playful and seemingly carefree than any other Kindred you'll meet in the game. He's also positively ancient by the city's standards and has the Disciplines, the amorality and especially the cunning that you'd expect from any vampire Elder.
• Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: While never completely confirmed it's been implied that in life he was "Calico" Jack Rackham.
• Big Brother Mentor: He's there to show you the ropes of being a vampire and act as the game's tutorial.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Always laughing, joking, and having the time of his life even when he's crushing the skulls of incompetent Sabbat. He's also visibly having fun breaking in the newbie if you accept his offer of a Justified Tutorial.
• The Cameo: Smiling Jack is, like Beckett, actually a member of the wider World of Darkness tabletop game.
• Chekhov's Skill:
  • His quote about having made someone deep-throat dynamite implies that he knows a thing or two about explosives...
  • Also the fact that he was a pirate, which comes in handy when he robs the Elizabeth Dane.
• The Chessmaster: Quite possibly the biggest one in the entire game. By sending in an artifact rumored to contain a slumbering Antediluvian and setting everyone in L.A. against one another, he's responsible for setting the whole plot in motion. He only fails if the Neonate sides with Strauss, who just shoves it in a warehouse to be forgotten. Even then, the PC has murdered both Lacroix and Ming Xiao for him anyway. In addition, since the Fledgling has no Sire, Jack recognizes him/her as a Wild Card and manipulates them as well.
• Cigar Chomper: During the intro and the ending. Note that as a vampire, he should be unable to enjoy smoking them, so he probably just does it to look cool or more human. Fitting, since he shares a voice actor with Bender.
• Cool Old Guy: Despite his bloodthirsty streak, he takes you under his wing and helps ease you into the weird world you've fallen into, which makes a hell of a contrast to LaCroix decapitating your sire and dumping you in the street.
• Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: He comments about having yanked someone's jawbone and rammed it into their eye socket.
• Deadpan Snarker: A lot of his dialogue consists of colorful jokes directed at the current situation and his enemies.
  Jack: Running water? No problem. I bathe... occasionally.
• Does Not Like Guns: He mentions early on that he doesn't like using guns because they're loud and ineffective at killing vampires. Except shotguns, of course. The only reason he has one is that vampires aren't the only people who slink in the alleyways of Los Angeles. Explosives, on the other hand, he has no problems with.
  Jack: But this is L.A., and that means you better be strapped.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • He expresses more contempt for the Sabbat than he even does for the Camarilla.
  • He also considers the Tzimisce to be horrifying. Given how largely unaffected he is by most of the events of the game, that should tell you something.
• Famed In-Story: The Anarchs in The Last Round are particularly in awe of Jack. Jack doesn't think much of his fame, except for the fact he's survived vampire politics.
  Skelter: (reverently) Jack is Jack, man.
• Fantastic Racism: Downplayed, as Jack is just as helpful to a Ventrue fledgling as he is to a Brujah, but Jack dismisses the prince as a "typical Ventrue asshole" and expresses blithe contempt for the clan. For contrast, the rather more bitter spiel Nines offers on the topic dresses down LaCroix while levelling his disdain squarely at the individual and the sect.
• Foil: To LaCroix. They're the Token Evil Teammate of their respective factions, but very different in their approach. LaCroix is the local leader of the "Lawful" Kindred faction while covertly breaking their tenets for his own gain and Jack is a member of the "Chaotic" Kindred faction while sticking to their principles. Jack is the one who helps you get on your feet, while LaCroix, your boss, basically dumps you on the street. LaCroix can act genial while trying to have you killed while Jack is genuinely friendly and though he does manipulate you, he needs you alive for the sake of his plot and doesn't do a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness by being happy for you if you survive the ordeal or saddened if you die. Lastly, LaCroix tries really hard to be The Chessmaster while constantly being outwitted by other people and Jack is a real chessmaster while acting goofy to avoid attracting attention.
• Fully-Embraced Fiend: Jack enjoys drinking blood and raising hell, and will cheerfully commit heinous acts to preserve his own life and freedom. That said, he's still friendly and affable, doesn't go out of his way to hurt people (even if he doesn't really care about humans one way or the other), and is generally pretty well-adjusted for a centuries-old Anarch.
• Genius Bruiser: Extremely clever and well-informed under his wild exterior.
• He Knows Too Much: Once played straight, once narrowly averted.
  • In the tutorial, he sends you to kill a couple of gangbangers who stumbled into the middle of the Sabbat raid because they've seen too much.
  • If you play a Malkavian and chat with him at the Last Round often enough, he'll express some alarm at just how much of his plan you seem to be clued into, and makes it clear that if he thought you actually understood some of the things you're babbling about, he'd be "talking to a pile of ash right now."
• Heroic Sacrifice: In the original pre-V5 continuity, he allowed himself to be killed to protect a young Thin Blood woman whom he considered the best hope for the future of the Anarch Movement and possibly The Chosen One.
• Historical Domain Character: Canonically, he's Calico Jack.
• Hot-Blooded: Subverted. Despite being a Brujah, he's shows almost no sign of anger issues and is instead very cheery. That said, there's some implication that he's being a lot more patient with you than he is with most people due to how integral you are to his plan, and if you get on his bad side (either by insulting him or by posturing for the Camarilla), that patience evaporates very quickly.
  Jack: Why don't you go back to your Prince, before I show you what we do to Cammy bitches Downtown.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: He does not have a leadership position, nor is he interested in having one, but there is no doubt that he is the most dangerous member of the Anarchs.
• I Did What I Had to Do: He encourages the Fledgling - and all new vampires, in general - to adopt this approach regarding loyalty. While you're learning the ropes, your survival is your number one priority, over personal beliefs or philosophies. And, most importantly, young vampires shouldn't be ashamed of it; the World of Darkness is one of murder and intrigue, and a Fledgling can easily get themselves killed if they don't act cautiously. However, he does caution that this shouldn't be a permanent state; once a vampire has gotten used to surviving their new condition, they need to decide where their loyalties lie.
• In-Series Nickname: The Malkavian PC calls him "Demon" on more than one occasion.
• Justified Tutorial: The Player Character is a newly-Embraced Fledgeling who's been thrown tail over teakettle into a new and hostile existence; Jack offers to show you the ropes of being a vampire.
• Karma Houdini: Regardless if his plans with the sarcophagus are thwarted or not, he gets away scot-free.
• Living Forever Is Awesome: He lists possible eternal life (or unlife as the case may be) as one of the best perks to being a vampire.
• Meaningful Name: The Malkavian name for him, "Demon", is rather fitting for a Manipulative Bastard who's trying to damn the Camarilla in L.A. into a fiery inferno via a bomb planted in the Sarcophagus.
• Moral Myopia: Claims to think about ordinary humans the way humans think about cattle: he wouldn't go out of his way to kill them for no reason, but he also doesn't particularly care one way or another if they die. This is largely in line with his in-game Humanity stat.
• Mr. Exposition: He's the tutorial of the game, showing you the basics of being a vampire. He's also your best source of information on numerous in-setting concepts, such as Blood Hunts and diablerie.
• Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie: Pirate-Biker-Vampire in his case.
• No-Sell: Attacking him during the tutorial yields no results.
  Jack: I'd be pissed if this wasn't so cute. Look at you, trying so hard!
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Oh, he has the homeless Brujah thug look down alright and doesn't mince words, but a single conversation with him displays he's actually quite intelligent. In the end, we discover he's been playing most everybody in the game for fools. Save Maximillian Strauss — no matter what option the Fledgling takes, Strauss assumes control of the Camarilla — and if the player sides with Strauss, Jack's plan fails, save for assassinating LaCroix.
• The Older Immortal: Canonically 400 years old, and stated to be the only Anarch older than Nines by quite a stretch. Unlike Strauss and Beckett, you never get that vibe off of him and the other Anarchs treat him as "one of them" despite his fame and age. (Despite this, compared to other vampires of fame, Jack is actually weak since he's just a tenth generation vamp.)
• Older Than They Look: Though he looks to be in his 40's, he's by far the oldest Anarch in the game and the only one among them actually qualifying for "Elder" status. Among the elder vampires in the game, he's also the one who least presents himself as one, despite having a good century or two on the local Prince.
• Pals with Jesus: If the cab driver Jack's chummy with isn't Caine himself, then he's still a very powerful vampire.
• Pet the Dog: He mourns your death if you open the sarcophagus, showing that he did care about you despite his manipulations. On a related note, he's also quite happy for you if you make it out alive (or at least as alive as an undead monster can be).
• The Pig-Pen:
  Jack: Running water? Ah, that's no problem. I bathe... occasionally.
• Pirate: What he used to be.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Despite his low Humanity score and lack of empathy for humans in general, Jack urges the fledgling to do what they can to preserve their own humanity and avoid killing unnecessarily if only to keep the inner Beast at bay and the Masquerade upheld.
• Red Baron: Known as "Smilin' Jack", although he never uses it himself.
• Seadog Beard: A holdover from his pirate days.
• Street Smart: He doesn't have much of an interest in formal Jyhad-type politics, but that doesn't make him any less formidable or intelligent. LaCroix found this out the hard way.
• Token Evil Teammate: He's the only Anarch Kindred that can be considered as evil. Nines is a Benevolent Boss with a sense of justice and fairness, Damsel is just angry, Skelter is a Gangrel with no animalistic mutation, implying a high Humanity score, Isaac and VV are Friendly Neighborhood Vampires, Ash doesn't even like being a vampire and Jeanette is nice and not manipulative enough. Jack, however, is an Evil Genius that hatches a plan that leads to mass murder.
• Vampires Are Sex Gods: Jeanette's "Little Black Book" gives him a full five stars. Not bad for a guy who admits to rarely bathing.
• What the Hell, Player?: Jack will call you out on editing your stats if you do it before you meet him. A Malkavian character will claim either Caine boosted their stats, or they just wanted to make the game easier.
• Your Vampires Suck: Since he takes it upon himself to teach you the basics of being a Kindred, he also informs you of which mythological weaknesses do or don't apply to your new condition, along with informing you that no, a mortal you feed from won't turn into another vampire.
  Jack: Well, you can still be destroyed but forget the books and movies. Garlic? Worthless. A cross? Pfft. Shove it right up their ass. A stake? Only if it catches you in the heart, and then it just paralyzes you. Running water? No problem. I bathe... occasionally. Now a shotgun blast to the head? That's trouble, boy. Fire? That's real trouble. Sunlight? Well, you catch a sunrise and it's all over kiddo, get it?

Damsel

Voiced by: Courtney Taylor

You wanna know what my problem is? Alright, I'll tell you what my problem is, you ready? You are my goddamn problem! Anyone who would lay it down for some cape in an ivory tower deserves what they get!

A bad-tempered, hot-blooded Brujah girl and one of Nines' henchmen. Is quite rude to start, but turns out to have a nicer persona after all, under the right circumstances. She is a devout communist.

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• Berserk Button: She's pretty easy to get heated if you mention the Camarilla in general, but can still carry on a conversation even if you play the part of the snooty Camarilla agent to a tee. However, dismissing Nines as a glorified street thug will really piss her off to the point where she will kick you out of the bar and outright refuse to speak to you again, even if you're in the middle of the plague quest and had to report to her.
• Commissar Cap: Befitting her communist viewpoints, she wears a Maoist-style cap with a star on the rim.
• Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: Her reaction to Ming Xiao's Frame-Up of Nines is a sight to behold.
  AND THAT KUEI-JIN BITCH! IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON HER I'M GOING TO TIE HER EYELASHES TO HER ASS HAIRS AND THEN BOWL HER ASS INTO A CAR COMPACTOR!!!
• Cute Bruiser: She's pretty, but she's still a Brujah, which means she's packing Super-Strength and Super-Speed.
• Chummy Commies: While she's pretty rude at times, and very pretentious, she's a member of the Anarchs, the closest thing the game has to a good faction, and eventually becomes more pleasant as time goes on.
• Dirty Communists: She's an unusual example, considering she doesn't seem to be Russian and expresses the belief that communism cannot work in human society, but she believes in every tenet of communism when applied to vampires, and while far from evil, is initially unlikable, obnoxious and dismissive, although she becomes better later on.
• Even Evil Has Standards: She believed this about LaCroix, only for it to be averted. Despite hating him and everything he stands for, even she expected him to have some scruples and is pretty shocked when you reveal he worked with the Kuei-jin.
• Fiery Redhead: Fitting for the hot-blooded Brujah clan.
• Granola Girl: Given her cap and some comments you can get out of her with the right dialogue options, she appears to be an anarcho-communist politically. Skelter compares her to an anti-Vietnam flower child, raging against the Camarilla without really understanding what it is, though he admits that she's rather tough and fierce for a hippie.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Like many Brujah, it doesn't take her much to fly into rage. The PC can even tell her something along the lines of "Did you know you have easily pressed buttons?"
• Hot-Blooded: So much so that she makes Nines seem subdued in comparison.
• Insult of Endearment: "Cammy" becomes this, if you're nice to the Anarchs and continue to report dirt on LaCroix. By their endgame, she drops the nickname altogether.
• It's Up to You: Defied. While she does give you the plague quest and you'll end up making the biggest contribution to stopping the plaguebearers, she also makes it clear that she and several other Anarchs are working toward putting a stop to it off-screen.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": While typically tough and no-nonsense, she'll speak with a lot of genuine admiration and Undying Loyalty for Nines if you ask her about him, and also considers Jack a Living Legend.
• Mood-Swinger: With a single dialog option, she can swing from "You Cammy fuck!" to "Hey, you're not so bad after all."
• My God, You Are Serious!: Her initial reaction to you approaching her with LaCroix's offer of alliance is to assume you're messing with her and get pissed off that you're using her as a source of amusement. When you insist that you're serious, she redirects her anger to LaCroix, but acknowledges that the offer really should be brought to Nines and reveals his location to you.
• No Indoor Voice: She tends to be loud due to her Hot-Blooded nature and her tendency to launch into sudden and impassioned anti-Camarilla speeches.
• Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Apparently, she and some other Anarchs had tracked down and killed another Plaguebearer while you took out Brother Kanker and Jezebel Locke.
• Old Shame: invokedIf you befriend Gary, he'll pay you for a copy of one of his old films with some tasteful nudes she did in college. He also implies she won't be happy to find out someone found them.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Will loudly complain about this trope in the Anarch endgame, considering Nines and the Player Character just survived a Werewolf attack. If you killed the werewolf she gets even more annoyed.
• Soapbox Sadie: Even she admits that she takes time to get down from her soap box. If you ever ask about what she thinks, she warns you about it before starting her rant.
• Take That!: While she has more depth than simply being a parody, she's a pretty obvious one of radical leftist college students that often don't actually understand their ideologies, as shown by both being an anarchist and supporting Maoism. (Anarchism is generally stateless communist, and as such is opposed to authoritarian single-party dictatorships.)
• Team Mom: She's the self-proclaimed "Den Mother" of the local Anarchs, and seems to hold down the fort when Nines isn't around. She's also the one you, a fledgling and possible Anarch newbie, will have to do a majority of your reporting to.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: You can very much play the plague quest as this with her, and if you continue to be rude after it's complete, she'll tell you in no polite terms to fuck off and never speak to her again. If you're a little nicer, your relationship will be more like Fire-Forged Friends.
• Tsundere: Against the PC, especially if you keep helping the Anarchs while maintaining Camarilla loyalty. The Malkavian describes her as a "candy heart with a 'fuck you' on it" (the non-crazies describe her as "a bitch, but in a good way"). If you choose the Anarch ending, however, her tone of voice actually seems to lose its aggressive edge and she seems genuinely relieved you made it out of Griffith Park alive... though she tells you not to tell anyone she said that.

Malkavian

The Voerman Twins

Voiced by: Grey Delisle

Therese Voerman, yes. I'm the proprietor of this club, and the only person in this city whose good side it's in your best interest to stay on.

— Therese

Oooh, what do we have here? Another scrumptious young plaything straight out of life and into my club? Mmm... you smell new, little boy/girl, like fabric softener dew on freshly mowed Astroturf. Oh, I'm not frightening you, am I, duckling?

— Jeanette

The Voerman Twins make up Therese Voerman, Anarch Baroness of Santa Monica, and her sister/nemesis Jeanette, a Malkavian and owner of the Asylum nightclub. The two almost never operate alone, and fill the same character sheet.

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• Abusive Parents: A very dark example in their past with Therese' father often sexually assaulting her as a child and keeping her confined in the house, so she "wouldn't get hurt" outside. It's implied this may be the reason she developed a split personality in the form of Jeanette.
• Advertised Extra: Jeanette may be on the cover, but she really only has plot relevance at the beginning of the game.
• All There in the Manual: According to Beckett's Jyhad Diary, they are the childe of Jacob/Esau, a fifth generation Malkavian Methusalah, one of the most prominent Kindred of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Ambiguous Situation: Just what the "twins" were prior to their Embrace, which one was the original and whether the other one was a real sibling or just an Imaginary Friend is kept ambiguous.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Jeanette seems like a very nice and friendly girl, for the most part. That doesn't mean, however, that she won't manipulate you into getting back at her sister by unknowingly making you destroy Therese' gallery and persuading you to give her the amulet from the haunted hotel, which Therese needed to exorcise the ghosts from said hotel. Jeanette then proceeds to throw the amulet in the ocean, thus dooming the ghosts to be trapped in the building. All of this makes Therese very pissed at both of you.
• Breakout Character: They were (and still are) easily two of the most popular characters in the game despite their comparatively limited screentime. As a result, Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition features the twins prominently in its material, with the two of them functionally (albeit not officially) replacing Anatole as the signature characters for Clan Malkavian.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Jeanette certainly fits the bill, but there's a bit of this in Therese too. If you're as hostile as you can possibly be to her — threatening to kill her, the prince, and everybody else as an alternative to doing her tasks — she will have an episode and abruptly begin screaming at her father (if the PC is male) or mother (if the PC is female), which freaks the PC out enough to dial things back to civility. Then comes The Reveal...
• Control Freak: Therese can't stand the thought of not being in control of whatever she's dealing with. A good part of her rivalry with Jeanette and Bertram is the fact that she can't stop either of them from doing what they want. Something she has in common with, and was likely caused by, her father.
• Creepy Twins: And they're the same person, to boot.
• Crocodile Tears: If you refuse to give Jeanette the pendant you took from the Oceangate Hotel, she'll turn on the waterworks and launch into a crying fit about how poorly her sister treats her and how nobody trust her with any sort of responsibility. If you stand your ground and refuse to give in, she'll get the hint and immediately switch back to her usually cheerful, manipulative demeanor, showing it was all an act.
• Daddy's Girl: A very dark take. Therese is actually proud that her sexually-abusive father loved her more than Jeanette, and her sole line about her mother is entirely hostile. She will, however, react with desperate rage at the thought of her father putting her under his heel again.
• Deathless and Debauched: A Malkavian vampire of indeterminate age, Jeanette never seems to take anything seriously, devoting herself to pursuing amusement: when she's not partying on the dancefloor or playing "pranks" on her sister Therese, she's having sex with any party that consents: men, women, mortals, vampires - she's even been carrying along a relationship with Nosferatu spy Bertram Tung and will gladly flirt with a Nosferatu player character as well. For good measure, most vampires aren't interested in sex, and some in-the-know NPCs will comment on how unusual it is for Jeanette to actually have a libido - especially Therese, who reacts with rage and disgust at the very concept especially the suggestion that it's her body too.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Therese, especially if you manage to save them both.
• Ethical Slut: To explain; vampires generally feel nothing during sex unless they have a high humanity score. Jeanette, surprisingly, manages to be able to enjoy sex and apparently does so with many people, both humans and vampires, without seemingly being terribly in touch with her human side. Both Therese and her state it's one of the ways she amuses herself, and she even rates her partners on her computer (The player, should they decide to be one of them, gets 3 stars). It's also implied, however, that she uses it as a tool for manipulation and a convenient way to piss off her prudish sister.
• Extreme Omnisexual: Jeanette is noted to have sex with many people, including Arthur, Jack, Bertram, a girl named Sarah, and even the player character! She also will flirt with even the hideous Nosferatu characters.
  Nosferatu PC: Uh, don't you find me a bit... ugly?
  Jeanette: On the inside, we're all dead meat, kitten.
• Fantastic Racism: Downplayed. Therese will show her dislike for Nosferatu for being "unclean" to most players in conversation, though this may be because her sister has been fraternizing with one behind her back and may be due to her own obsession with cleanliness. Also, if the player is a Nosferatu, she'll stop herself and beg the PC's pardon.
• Friends with Benefits: You can become this with Jeanette, but only if you let Therese be killed, and only if you slept with her before the end of their questline. If you do, dropping by the Asylum for a romp anytime for the rest of the game is entirely on the table, and she'll even send you emails asking you to visit her for that reason.
• The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: A classic case of the beautiful, sociable, yet Book Dumb sister (Jeanette) versus the intelligent, ambitious, yet frigid sister (Therese), which has devolved into social and financial sabotage against each other. The player's actions will eventually determine a winner.
• Happiness Realized Too Late: During the final confrontation between Therese and Jeanette, the Fledgling has the option of asking if there was ever a time when the sisters weren't at each others' throats. The two hesitantly explain that when they were young, their father was convinced that they would only get hurt if they left the house and forced them to to stay indoors - where they simply imagined worlds of their own. Back in the present, the two of them regretfully muse that they were so happy ruling those worlds together before they grew apart after they gain their freedom from their father's abusive clutches. It's ultimately this realization that prompts Therese and Jeanette to finally mend their bridges and take over Santa Monica together.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Therese is aiming to join the Camarilla, and will succeed unless the player saves only the Jeanette personality. Since neither the Anarchs nor the Camarilla are clear-cut heroes or villains, Therese's new allegiance doesn't change much, not even her relationship with the player.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Jeanette certainly has her issues, but she's still very friendly, outgoing and surprisingly sensitive (she comes close to tears when Therese called her a pig, for example). Furthermore, despite their estranged relationship, she still loves her sister (as shown by her reaction to Therese's optional death), in spite of Therese's open contempt for her. And with all of Therese's complaints and insults against Jeanette about being incompetent and not being good enough, she is shown to be otherwise. The reason why she destabilizes her sister's plans is not unlike a rebellious child wanting attention and recognition from their parents. Part of the concessions that Therese made to Jeanette when they finally make up is giving her more responsibilities and convince her to let Jeanette prove her worth.
  • Therese also acts quite harsh and cold to both her sister and the player character initially, but subsequent interactions reveal that she does care about them, in her own way, and her past has given her an intense need for control. When they finally decided to mend their bridges, the player recognizes Therese's sentimentality and tells Jeanette that her sister does care for her underneath her iciness and she shouldn't cause further stress onto her by ruining her plans that will benefit not only to Therese as Jeanette believes, but to her as well.
• Holier Than Thou: While arguing with Jeanette about her lifestyle, Therese's criticisms take on such an edge.
• Homage: The twins are an homage to the "Millicent and Therese" segment of Trilogy of Terror.
• Immortality Bisexuality: Jeanette is clearly equally interested in more than one gender, and it's not only because she flirts with a female player just as much a male one. A gander on her "little black book" on her laptop reveals that she'd been involved with a woman named Sarah, as well as several men... including Jack.
• In-Series Nickname: The Malkavian PC refers to them as "The Daughters of Janus" with Therese as the "Dark Daughter" and "White Mistress/Daughter" for Jeanette. They also use "Janus" to refer to their father.
• The Jekyll Is a Jerk: Though the alter Jeanette initially seems the less trustworthy and can do some pretty villainous things if the player sides against her - condemning the Ocean House Ghosts to haunt the hotel for eternity, for example - the original personality Therese is much more openly unpleasant: not only is she cold, sanctimonious, bigoted, and utterly ruthless in her pursuit of power, but she has no qualms about using the local blood bank as her personal larder and allowing her ghoul to restock it through some creatively brutal methods.
• Mascot: Jeanette is the game's main poster girl.
• Mask of Sanity: Therese projects the image of a no-nonsense Ventrue, but a confrontational fledgling can poke holes in it even before The Reveal.
• Meaningful Name: The Malkavian PC calls Jeanette and Therese the Light and Dark Daughters of Janus, respectively. This fits their clothes, the fact that Jeanette is marginally nicer than her sister, and their status as split personalities in the same body — Janus is a Roman god with two faces. Meeting Jeanette as a Malkavian has her lampshade the latter bit by saying "[they've] met the prettier face first".
• Meaningful Rename: If you successfully reconcile the sisters, the game files will refer to the united twins as 'Tourette'. Tourettes is a neurological disorder and sounds like a portmanteau of 'Therese' and 'Jeanette'.
• Mood-Swinger: Jeanette can go to openly laughing off Therese's comebacks to tearful breakdown in the span of a sentence. How much of it is genuine and how much of it is her playing it up is left uncertain.
• Ms. Fanservice: Jeanette leans heavily on the "naughty schoolgirl" aesthetic. And even though Therese is supposed to be the serious businesswoman, she still has her shirt unbuttoned fairly low. Since they share a body, they also have one another's good looks.
• Neutral No Longer: Therese curries favor with the Camarilla and is quite overt about having ambitions to leave the Anarch fold. If she remains alive or they merge, she eventually does. If only Jeanette is alive, she stays Anarch, likely because the ambition to become Prince of Santa Monica was tied to Therese only.
• Noble Demon: Therese prides herself to be this; unlike most of her "megalomaniac" peers, she always keeps her part of a bargain, unless the one she made a bargain with betrayed her first.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Therese is pretty boastful, introducing herself as "the only person in [this city] whose good side it's in your best interest to stay on." She might arguably be the most powerful person in Santa Monica, but not only is the vampire population in single digits there as Bertram mocks, there are much stronger and more influential ones in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan that would give her a run for her money, including LaCroix, Strauss, and Andrei, to say nothing of other formidable figures like Ming Xiao and Jack.
• No-Sell: If you try to Dominate Therese into giving you what you want, she reacts with frigid amusement.
• Obfuscating Insanity: Therese and Jeanette are actually a dis-associative Malkavian, so it's played straight. The subversion is that the Therese side is quite competent at acting normal - fitting in so well, rubbing shoulders with the Camarilla and acting so upper class, you'd mistake her for a Ventrue. Jeanette, on the other hand is her exact opposite, but even she is very clever in a Street Smart way and most of her Cloud Cuckoo Lander antics will cease whenever she's being dead serious and shows to be quite competent and shows the same efficiency and effectiveness as her sister; one might assume she is a Toreador. If they learn to get along, set aside their differences, and be open to new ideas by learning the strengths of the other and integrate them on their own tactics, their combined smarts make them a political force to be reckoned with, and a contender for the new Malkavian primogen.
• On a Scale from One to Ten: Check Jeanette's "Little Black Book" on her Computer when she's out of the room, and you can see the people she's had sex with. She gives them a rating from one to five stars. She gives the player character three stars if they engaged in it.
• Optional Sexual Encounter: With Jeanette. It requires staying on her good side, but will cost you the ability to save both her and Therese in their final breakdown and lead to a bad ending for the ghosts in the hotel.
• Overly Narrow Superlative: The player can describe her as the most powerful Kindred in Santa Monica, although as far as they know there are only 4 kindred in Santa Monica, including themself.
• Perky Goth: Jeanette dresses like a gothic schoolgirl with blood-red lipstick and smudged eye makeup but keeps up a bubbly, if eccentric, demeanor.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Jeanette is about as nice as a Nosferatu can expect about their hideous appearance, suggesting their looks don't matter and all vampires are just dead meat inside anyway.
  • If you choose her over Therese, Jeanette is genuinely disturbed at having to kill her sister. She comes really close to crying, too.
  • If you consistently support Therese, she will be similarly devastated (though much more low-key) about having to kill Jeanette. And she's horrified about what almost happened if you manage to get them to reconcile and she hands you the gun.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Therese is cold, reserved and professional, while Jeanette is teasing and quite emotive.
• Promiscuity After Rape: Not to Therese, but to Jeanette. The Jeanette personality was created in order for Therese to cope up with her father's sexual assaults against her. As opposed to Therese's aversion to sex, Jeanette becomes a nymphomaniac who revels having sex with both vampires and humans.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Jeanette is the red to Therese's blue.
• Secret Relationship: A non-romantic example between the two of them should the player decided to reconcile the two personalities. Therese tells Jeanette to keep up the appearance that they are still feuding as part of protecting themselves from potential enemies who are trying to undermine them and their control over Santa Monica, something Jeanette understands and complies with, even offering her own suggestions.
• Self-Made Orphan: Therese blew her dad's mind out "all over the silly clown wallpaper" with his shotgun.
• Shout-Out: The twins are based on the "Millicent and Therese" segment of Trilogy of Terror. One twin even shares the same name.
• Split Personality: The real reason why two of them share the same character sheet. Therese implies she was the "original" personality who created Jeanette to deal with her father's abuse and her sheltered lifestyle. Becoming Embraced by a Malkavian may explain why it's played so extremely.
• Split-Personality Merge: With a decent Persuasion score, you can convince the two to join forces and get along in relative harmony by making them remember of the times where they once got along and avoiding bad memories or blame games that would divide them.
• Split-Personality Takeover: Unless they're talked into reconciliation, one of the personalities will end up killing the other. Your dialogue choices determine which one survives.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Even before The Reveal, Therese is shown to be reasonable if the player is civil with her. If you manage to save both of her personalities, she becomes quite fond of you. It doesn't mean she won't hunt you down if you reveal her secret.
• The Tease: Jeanette shamelessly flirts with the player character in their first meeting, only to leave to take care of business before things go any further than that.
• The Unfavorite: Therese claims Jeanette was this to their father when he was alive, and Jeanette never tries to refute this.
• Turn Out Like His Father: Given how her father's a Control Freak who didn't let Therese let outside the house and his abuse towards her, Therese grows up to become like her father with lots of psychological issues that cranks up thanks to her Malkavian madness. Her similar intense need for control nearly destroys her relationship with Jeanette and would have been killed by her sister under the player's prompting, just like how her father was killed by her hands after having enough of his abuse. On the flipside, under the player's prompting, Therese's abuse and enmity will turn murderous and eventually kills Jeanette.
• Unknown Rival: More a one-sided one. Therese is waging a bitter struggle with Bertram Tung for control of Santa Monica. When you talk to him he has no idea why she thinks he's a rival; he has no interest in Kindred politics and the area only has four or five vampires anyway so he's fine with her declaring herself in charge. Dialogue with the twins implies Therese wants Tung dead simply to get back at her sister, who was in a relationship with him, or that Jeanette was using him as one more way to hurt Therese.
• Vampires Own Night Clubs: The Asylum. They actually live in an apartment above it.
• Vague Age: While most vampires in the game are given no specific age, most will drop hints toward what era they're from during dialogue. Therese and Jeanette are very vague about how old they are, talking about their time as a human to have been "two lifetimes" ago, but elaborating no more than that. Plus, given that they're Malkavian, they don't exactly make for the most reliable narrator, calling what little they do say into question.
• What the Hell, Hero?: If you consistently work against one of the sisters and then make her the surviving personality after the takeover, whoever you saved will chew you out afterwards. Therese claims the only reason she doesn't kill you on the spot is because she's had enough death for one day. This really proves that with all of their bickering into the point of sabotaging the other and eventually murdering each other, deep inside they really love each other.

Gangrel

Skelter

Voiced by: Phil LaMarr

Whatever, man. I choose not to submit: I signed away my rights once, and it landed my ass in a southeast Asian jungle with nothin' but an M16 and a shitload of questions. Now I'm dead, and the real hell starts. I'll be dust before I roll over and take it again.

A Gangrel and another of Nines' men. Conversation with him reveals him to be a Vietnam veteran.

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• Agent Mulder: He plays it cool, but press him on the topic and it becomes clear that he's quite invested in the lore and mysticism behind the curse of Caine and his descendants.
• Bald of Authority: Though he's second to Nines, he's still a leader of the Anarchs.
• Band of Brothers: In the Anarch ending, he begins to call the player "brother/sister" and is generally much friendlier to them, implying that he finally truly trusts that you're a dedicated Anarch and considers you a part of the team.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Quite literally, given that he's Gangrel. Low-humanity Gangrels who have frenzied before develop increasingly severe animalistic mutations—Sabbat Gangrels can pass as human even less than Nosferatu, and even Beckett has one in his inhuman-looking eyes (though he is also much older). Skelter seems to have none, meaning he must have a near-spotless humanity score and keep a strict watch on his blood-intake.
• Blamed for Being Railroaded: He becomes furious at you for your unwitting part in framing Nines for Grout's death, and will remain pissed at you for the rest of the game unless you choose the Anarch ending. Reporting Nines is, however, entirely unavoidable no matter how good your relationship with the Anarchs or Nines himself is, as you have no option to lie to LaCroix about it.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Toward Ghouls, judging by his comment after your took care of Patty. According to him, they are nothing but a weakness for vampires. It's possible considering his background, he views them as Fantastic Drug addicts.
  • Also hates the Kuei-Jin and repeatedly emphasizes that they're nothing like Kindred. Given that the Kuei-jin are in the process of invading the Free State and probably killed several of his friends, this is somewhat justified.
• Informed Attribute: Him being a Gangrel is All There in the Manual information; in-game, he is never seen using any Gangrel Discipline, doesn't show any animalistic mutations that comes packed with frenzies, nor does he ever mentions his lineage. In fact, many fans wrongly assumed he was a Brujah. This shows us that he is really good at hiding his animalistic mutations — or perhaps he doesn't have any in the first place, which is entirely possible given his relative youth and likely high humanity rating.
• In-Series Nickname: By the Malkavian PC, Helter Skelter. He gets freaked out when they use it the first time, on account of the Malk PC knowing his name before he even introduced himself.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His introduction to you is nothing but insults for being LaCroix's lackey, but he's rather helpful and informative about vampire lore once you get past them. He's also much more welcoming toward the player in the Anarch ending.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Downplayed but when asked about him, he'll express clear admiration for Jack.
• Number Two: He's second to Nines in the L.A. Anarch leadership.
• Religious Bruiser: Sort of. He's somewhat versed in biblical-vampiric lore and seems to believe in the existence of Caine and the Antediluvians to the point where he'll tell you to keep your voice down when saying Caine's name.
• Scary Black Man: While he isn't a full-on angry black man because of the lack of racial overtones in his ideology, he is from the Gangrel clan and initially has a very low opinion of you as a Camarilla errand boy and he isn't shy about being aggressive and intimidating with you for it. Choosing the Anarch ending does show him loosening up and being more friendly to the player, suggesting it was their connection to the Camarilla more than anything else that made him so prickly toward them.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Claims explicitly to have served in Vietnam.
• Warrior Poet: Once he calms down, he's capable of speaking quite eloquently about the Blood Bond and the Masquerade.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He's pretty pissed at the player for reporting seeing Nines at Grout's manor, and chews them out for it once they report back to him upon doing so.

Toreador

Isaac Abrams

Voiced by: Jim Ward

I don't fear LaCroix, nor do I give a damn about his jackboot sycophants and court jesters. Let them all come to Hollywood! It would be a battle sequence worthy of Kurosawa!

The Toreador Baron of Hollywood, and the financier of just about every single major American film made in the last few decades. He helps you in your quest to find the Nosferatu. Additionally, he's the sire of two other characters you meet in L.A.: Ash Rivers (whom he sired), and Velvet Velour (who he adopted).

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• All Love Is Unrequited: Was and is still attracted to Ash, who is no longer interested in Isaac.
• Ambiguously Jewish: Aside from his name, he both owns a jewelry store and is in involved in the film industry. And his possible henchman is a Golem-like gargoyle.
• Badass Boast: When threatened with coercion from the Camarilla, he gives the quote above.
• Been There, Shaped History: As a vampire with considerable ties to the inner workings of Hollywood, this is pretty much expected of him. He also has a very long list of famous directors and actors he's befriended and financed over the years and still laughs at the fact that "some studio suit lost in time" once told him that the only thing that Humphrey Bogart could be used for was moving furniture.
• Blamed for Being Railroaded: Downplayed, but he expresses disappointment that you're working full time for the Camarilla no matter what. It doesn't matter if you're only doing so at Damsel's insistence so that you can be an Anarch spy, actively report LaCroix's dirt to her, helped deal with the plague, and have been nothing but entirely enthusiastic for the Anarch cause; there's simply no option to declare yourself a part of the sect to him.
• Cool Old Guy: Unlike most examples in this game, he actually looks the part. Despite you being an agent of the Camarilla, he'll offer assistance in finding the Nosferatu in return for a relatively simple task and is generally polite to you as long as you are polite to him. Once you finish up the Hollywood portion of the main quest, he seems to fully respect your competency and rewards you handsomely for your efforts. He'll praise you especially highly if you're playing as a Toreador, expressing pride that the blood of his clan found "the right people". Before giving you his reward for helping find the Nosferatu, he makes sure to remind you that LaCroix doesn't deserve you before sending you on your way. Which, regardless of your sect allegiance, is true. He also, like Strauss, refers to you as "Neonate", which suggests he views you as an independent and functional part of vampiric society. ^note "Neonate" is the lifestage following "Fledgling", and is the lifestage in which vampires begin to gain independence from their sires. It's effectively the young-adulthood for vampiric society.
• Everyone Has Standards: If you meet Ash and know of his hunter troubles and tell Isaac about it, Isaac refuses to get involved because doing so would out himself as a vampire, making him their next target. It's somewhat understandable, given that he's very much a public figure and it would be pretty much upend his entire business if he had to go into hiding.
• Fantastic Racism: Predictably, he has the same distain that other clans hold for the Nosferatu, which is almost a given considering his clan. While it's mostly limited to pity and grudging respect, if the PC is a Nosferatu he still unapologetically calls them "sewer rat" right to the player's face.
• Foil: To Gary Golden. Both are or were heavily involved with the film industry. One is Camarilla and the other is Anarch. Despite being Toreador and thus finding the Nosferatu lifestyle distasteful, Isaac holds a healthy respect for Gary and the Nosferatu, and knows not to fuck with them. Gary, on his end, outwardly despises Toreadors and enjoys maliciously toying with a Toreador PC, though also pretty clearly implies there's a Green-Eyed Monster involved in said hatred.
• Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: He keeps Hollywood largely safe and clean for Kindred and mortal alike. He also saved Ash from a drug overdose because he couldn't stand losing him, and regrets how making him Kindred cost them the friendship they had before.
• Good Is Old-Fashioned: He's rather disapproving of his childers' vulgar lifestyle, and of the Hollywood pornographic industry in general.
• Hypocrite:
  • Makes some snide remarks about LaCroix forcing the Player Character to run his errands for him, then forces the player character to run his errands for him, which eventually ends up sending you to a place that can get you killed (or worse considering said place belongs to a Tzimisce), just like LaCroix has been doing to you. He will, however, apologize for it if you get on his good side. And unlike LaCroix, he never actually hoped you'd end up dead because of it, even if he didn't help you to the best of his ability.
  • Compare his Badass Boast when threatened with coercion from the Camarilla to his lack of reaction against Vampire Hunters chasing after Ash.
  • He will criticize the Camarilla and LaCroix's love of titles and hierarchy right before demanding you give tribute to his barony.
• I Love You, Vampire Son: Implied toward Ash.
• In-Series Nickname: The Malkavian PC refers to him as the "Blood Baron" but never to Isaac's face.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a little too dismissive, but otherwise is a pretty chill guy and one of the only vampires in the game who seems to function like a relatively normal person. He also apparently took VV under his wing as an "adopted" childe.
• Like a Son to Me: He states that he views Velvet as his daughter and openly uses her Affectionate Nickname.
• Parental Substitute: As VV's adopted father. They seem to have a much better relationship than the one he shares with Ash, his actual Childe.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He has no love for the Camarilla, but he also has no problem helping you repeatedly during your quest and supports a peaceful solution with the gargoyle problem if only because it massively screws over the Camarilla in L.A., especially if you tell him who the Gargoyle belonged to.
• Silver Fox: He's a Toreador, and appears to have been embraced when somewhere in his 50's.
• Smug Smiler: He sports a sly smirk at times. They're especially noticable on him, given how friendly he is and it's even lampshaded by his own Childe.
• So Proud of You: He gives a Toreador PC a particularly glowing review at the conclusion of Hollywood's primary questline, and rejoices that his clan's blood found its way into such a worthy neonate.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Can switch from "shrewish Camarilla-hating tycoon" mode to "warm-hearted father figure" in a matter of seconds. And back. It all depends on how polite you are with him, and how often you provoke him.
• Vampires Are Rich: One of the top men in Hollywood. Ash compares him to an old tree with roots in everything.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: After completing the part of the main quest that takes place in Hollywood, he'll comment that LaCroix doesn't deserve you. By the end of the game, he'll turn out to be completely correct in that regard.

Ash Rivers

Voiced by: Jay Gordon

I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for Isaac to save my life. Maybe I wanted to die. I was having fun, dammit! I was alive! Who the hell gave him the right to deny me that? I can't act anymore. I can’t love anymore. All I can do now is... fade into obscurity.

A former Hollywood star and Isaac's Childe, having been Embraced to save him from dying of a drug overdose. By the time you meet him, he's deeply tired of his vampiric unlife and surrounded by vampire hunters, so it's up to you to save his life.

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• Break the Cutie: When you meet him in the dungeons of the Society of Leopold's base, he's been tortured with fire several times.
• Clothing Switch: A way to save his life from the vampire hunters is to convince an Asp Hole customer which looks like him to swap clothes with Ash. Although Ash states that only a fool would be fooled by this, it actually works.
• Cold Ham: Ash is quietly overdramatic, as fitting for an already angsty and Toreador-embraced actor, and when you meet him he's fantasizing about a spectacular Masquerade-breaking suicide. He'll also Title Drop his own Negative Zero movie if you manage to defeat the hunters in the sewers.
• Commonality Connection: A Toreador PC can cite their shared clan when Ash demands a motive for helping him out of his predicament. Ash, however, doesn't care about "that clan crap" and still considers himself part of the Actors' Union.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: He made headlines for walking away from several high-speed car crashes unharmed, which is what sets the Society of Leopold on his trail.
• Death Seeker: When the player character meets him, Ash noticed that his club is surrounded by Society of Leopold hunters and is planning to run into them to his final death.
• Distressed Dude: If you meet him in his club, you'll find him contemplating on what to do or how to deal with vampire hunters currently surrounding his club. Later on, he's been captured in the Society of Leopold and can be freed there.
• Emergency Transformation: He was embraced by Isaac when he was overdosing on drugs. To say Ash dislikes his condition is an understatement.
• Escort Mission: His sidequest can be one of those depending of your choice^note the other alternative being convincing a look-alike to swap his clothes with him, so the Society of Leopold kills the look-alike instead of Ash, it is a lot easier but grants less money reward and a humanity loss. This escort mission requires to escort him out of the Asp Hole through sewers and hunter ambushes. He'll follow the PC and run to attack the hunters with his puny punches. Camarilla Edition and Final Nights add some Anti-Frustration Features: he can be ordered to wait behind and is given a (weak) gun to defend himself.
• Failure Is the Only Option: No matter if you help him escape via sewers, body double, or not help at all, he gets captured by the Society of Leopold. This gets averted at the Society of Leopold base though because you can choose whether to free him or not there.
• Foil: To Imalia to a certain extent. They both were nonconsensually embraced, had their lives scattered to the wind, and hate their new unlives with a passion. They both would rather have their old lives back, but whereas Ash would rather die and doesn't care about endangering the masquerade to do so, Imalia eventually learns to, if not accept her condition, work in a way that still screws over those who've taken over her spotlight and still survive.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Despite his dialogs implying that he carries a gun, he fights with his fists during his Escort Mission. This is averted in mods.
• The Hermit: What he decides to become after he's tortured and scarred by the Society of Leopold.
  Player Character: Good luck in Canada.
• I Hate You, Vampire Dad: He resents Isaac for Embracing him and taking away the spotlight he loved, his acting career and his lifestyle before becoming a Vampire. As of now, he's a Death Seeker who enjoys the idea that Isaac would be hurt that he died and would rather die first before asking Isaac for help against the hunters. Not that Isaac was willing in the first place.
• Informed Deformity: After being found in the dungeons of the Society of Leopold, he laments the loss of his face. While he does bear scars from the Society's torture, they amount to a couple of upside down crosses on his cheeks that could pass for edgy facial modifications. He's hardly as deformed as his dialogue suggests, and the majority of his handsome face is entirely intact. Also, given that he's a vampire, the scars will likely heal eventually.
• In-Series Nickname: The Malkavian PC refers to him as "the Dead Phoenix."
• Meaningful Name: Called "Dead Phoenix" by the Malkavian, it's meaningful in the facts that he's risen from his ashes as an actor to become a vampire, but it also reflects the idea that he wants to go back to ashes in the form of final death because he doesn't want to be a vampire. It may also reflect the idea of phoenixes being connected to fire, and Ash is tortured by fire when caught by the Society of Leopold. It also indicates some Medium Awareness as the Malkavian is naming him after the very dead River Phoenix.
• Perma-Stubble: As part of his old "rebellious youth" image. It's also a thing in the setting that as a Kindred, regardless of how much they change themselves (shaving, getting tattoo, a new piercing), they'll revert back to how they looked the night they died. The only exceptions is if certain types of damage is done to them via painful means.
• Shout-Out: To the "live fast, die young" bad-boy archetype in general and to River Phoenix in particular. The Asp Hole itself is based on the Viper Room, the celebrity-owned nightclub where Phoenix fatally overdosed in 1993.
• The Stoic: In contrast to the other Toreador, Ash is extremely subdued and seems to live in a permanent depressive state.
• Suicide by Cop: He's considering suicide by Vampire Hunter when the Player Character meets him, but can be talked out of it.
• Vampires Own Night Clubs: The Asp Hole, a gift from his sire.

Velvet Velour

Voiced by: Nika Futterman

Sweet Kindred, Thank you again for all you did for me. I want you to know that I meant it when I said I adored you. You made me feel that the world was not nearly as dark and desperate. I hope to see you again in my club... And in my dreams. All my love, VV.

Toreador Vampiress, Isaac's adopted Childe and owner of the Vesuvius club in Hollywood. She's not very interested in playing Jyhad, but provides a number of quests about maintaining the Masquerade.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Isaac, who acts as a surrogate sire and father-figure to her, calls her "VV". She will permit the player to do the same if she likes them enough.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: She blows a kiss at Strauss in the beginning of the game, to which he reacts with long-suffering stoicism. It's possible, if not more likely, she may just be messing with him. Certainly she seems to prefer kind player characters to mean ones.
• Berserk Button: She has three of them. Waltzing into her club as a Nosferatu, masquerade cleaning that was taken care of too loudly and killing David Hatter who she calls her friend. The first has her angrily berate you for your lack of hiding before pulling you upstairs, the second she berates you if you used guns to kill Chastity, and the third has her angrily tell you to get out of her club for murdering him.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Potentially. Toreadors are well known for using their allure to manipulate people, not helped by the fact they have Presence as a Discipline. Some fans dispute whether or not she's just manipulating the player to take care of her problems, especially how she ropes you into the second set of quests after the first.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Heavily implied as a Malkavian and supported by Gary's comments about how she was "Miss Anything For Three Hundred" before she became "Miss Velour". When pressed, she refuses to talk about it.
  Malkavian: What is your fable, doll?
  Velvet: Mmm-hmm...
  Malkavian: How come you hide your true name behind a fabric, Susan?
  Velvet: There's only one part of my body I don't want anyone entering and that's my head. That other name... never say it again. It belongs to a dead girl.
  Malkavian: Why are you hiding your past from me, doll?
  Velvet: I'm not hiding. I'm not that girl. She was flawed. She was naive. She was nobody. And now she's dead. Let the dead rest in peace. My name is VV. Show yourself out. I'd like to say a prayer for someone I used to know.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": If a Malkavian PC calls her by her real name Susan, she'll brush them off and ask that they never call her by that name again.
• Everyone Has Standards: She's a manipulative, morally questionable Toreador who runs a strip club, but if you ask her about the snuff film she'll react with disgust.
• Exact Words: The player character may say that they "took care" of the person who was leaking information about the Kindred, and Velvet assumes they killed him. Even if the player character didn't kill him, and that "took care" means that they forced him out of town.
• Femme Fatale: Not above using her charms and her meek persona to get the PC to solve her problems. How much of it is genuine is difficult to tell.
• Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Even more than Isaac, given how soft-hearted she is toward mortal and vampire alike. Probably the nicest vampire you meet in the game (or at least acts the part), unless you manage to piss her off by not being one yourself. Heck, she even feels bad about killing the vampire hunter in one of her quests.
• Has a Type: She likes kind players and will develop a crush on them if they do her quests as she asks—ie, with the least amount of fatalities possible. If you're either rude to her or are unnecessarily violent with her quests, she has zero interest in you and flatly tells you to leave her establishment once you approach her afterward.
• Heroic Seductress: If she's not a Femme Fatale, then she is this, given her tendency to weaponize her allure to protect the Masquerade as well as the other Hollywood Kindred.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Has the personality of an extremely affable prostitute, and since she is an exotic dancer, she's almost identical to the job description of the trope. The Heart Of Gold stems from her being genuinely very nice, not wanting kine or Kindred to suffer on her account, and she even begs you in her intro quest not to get innocents involved and to use only as much force as absolutely necessary.
• "I Can't Look!" Gesture: She's the only one in the courtroom who averts her eyes when your sire is executed, lending credence to the idea that her soft-heartedness is not an act.
• Immortality Bisexuality: She'll become just as enamoured with a female player as she does with a male one.
• Innocently Insensitive/Innocent Bigot: You can play it this way when she expresses her sympathy to a Nosferatu PC by exclaiming in offence that she just insulted you. She'll then apologize and express that she only meant that it must be a big adjustment to have to hide from society—something that she, as a Toreador, couldn't imagine having to live with. The bigot part comes in because, well, she is a Toreador, which is the clan that has the least favourable relationship with the Nosferatu due to their drastically contrasting lifestyles and values.
• In-Series Nickname: The Malkavian PC usually refers to her as some variation of the word "Doll". They also invert this trope by calling Velvet by her real name Susan. Velvet is less than pleased.
• Insistent Terminology:
  Player character: So, you're a stripper, huh?
  Velvet: I'm a dancer.
• Jiggle Physics: Her character model moves around a lot and has a great deal of... bounce.
• Lady in Red: She wears all-red clothing — which is to say, not particularly much — and is an unreservedly sensual and passionate character.
• Meaningful Name: Velvet is a type of soft fabric, befitting her interactions in the game. The Malkavian variations of "Doll" seem to imply she enjoys being played with. Her real name "Susan" also fits, as it means "Graceful Lily".
• Ms. Fanservice: Shares the role with Jeanette, particularly in the opening titles of the game. She also has the largest breasts in the game.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Toreador usually are well-known to particularly dislike Nosferatu (and vice-versa). Despite this, she is just as nice toward a Nosferatu PC as she is to one of any other clan; in fact, she even expresses compassion toward them, stating it must be hard for them to live hidden from the public. Though she's still a bit grumpy about it if you charge into her club and cause a big scene.
• Parental Abandonment: One of her poems reveals that she never knew her father, ran away from her mother, and her sire abandoned her.
• Purple Prose: Her love emails and poems are more than a little overdramatic. Possibly an indication of a Toreador's Creative Sterility.
• Proud Beauty: To the point of being offended if a player doesn't fall for her charms.
  Velvet: If you can't appreciate just how generous the gift of my presence is, maybe you should spend your time indulging in something more suited to your tastes... like a carnival, or perhaps a rodeo or something.
• Shaped Like Itself: Her name. "Velour" is just French for "Velvet".
• Stripperific: Goes with the job.
• That Man Is Dead: Her response to the Malkavian inspecting her past self:
  There's only one part of my body that I don't want anybody entering, and that's my head. That other name... never say it again. It belongs to a dead girl.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Depending on how well you get along she will ask you to call her either "Ms. Velour", "Velvet", or "VV" (in increasing order of affection). A very good first impression (requiring high levels of seduction and not being Nosferatu) makes you start out at the "VV" level, which she notes she doesn't let many people do.
• Tranquil Fury: A minor version if you're consistently rude to her but still do her quests. In your final conversation, she'll, in polite terms, tell you to go fuck yourself.
• Vampires Own Night Clubs: She owns Vesuvius, a Hollywood strip club with volcano theme.

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