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Independents
The Thin Bloods
Voiced by: Margaret Tang (Lily), Greg Ellis (E.), Courtenay Taylor (Rosa), Robin Atkin Downes (Copper) and James Arnold Taylor (Julius)
We all seem to have come down with the same disease — ah, hell, who am I kiddin', we're a bad horror show alright. And we seem to be the runts — the mistakes. You types call us Thin Bloods... I say we're all equally screwed.
— E
A group of young, high-generation vampires living under the Santa Monica Pier, all of them are outcast from mainstream vampire society and on the run from the Sabbat; as such, most of them are in need of your help - with the exception of Rosa, who seems to be expecting you.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Lily might be weak by vampiric standards and more than a little bit shy, but that just makes her Beast-induced violence all the more startling.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: As the game continues, Rosa's predictions start making a disturbing amount of sense, particularly if it's not your first playthrough.
- Damsel in Distress: Lily, after being captured by Vandal.
- Dwindling Party: You can send Copper to his death, give Rosa $100 that she will use to leave town, and kill Julius or run him out of Santa Monica. If you complete their quests properly, Lily and E will eventually leave to a remote location.
- The Exile: What Julius becomes if you spare him; You make him leave Los Angeles.
- Find the Cure!: What Copper wants.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: If you choose to kill Julius instead of sparing him, the fight which ensues is technically a boss fight (Julius has his own life bar), but he'll just run in circles while trying to dodge your attacks.
- Happily Ever After: With your help, Lily and E can successfully reconcile and escape from Santa Monica alive.
- I Hate You, Vampire Dad: E initially hates Lily for Embracing him, but they reconcile following Lily's rescue.
- Lily isn't too fond of her sire, Rolf, partly for Embracing her but mostly for abandoning her in Santa Monica, though she's still not happy when he ends up dead.
- In-Series Nickname: Only E, Lily and Julius have ones by the Malkavian PC. They refer to them as "Sickling", "Flower" and "Caesar" respectively.
- Kick the Dog: If you're feeling in the mood for easy money and schadenfreude, you can trick Copper into paying for a "unicorn blood transfusion" to cure his vampirism, or a "Holy Stake" (part of a table leg) to use on the "Head Vampire." He'll ask you who the head vampire is, and any of the three possible responses all result in a Humanity loss. Telling him it's the president additionally counts as a masquerade violation.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Rosa will tell you it doesn't matter if you win the game, just that you bought it.
- Mad Oracle: Rosa, who isn't sure of what she's talking about at the best of times, let alone her babbled prophecies.
- The Mole: Julius is actually revealing Kindred's secrets to a screenwriter. When you deal with him, you can decide whether to kill or spare him.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He wasn't aware of how much of a violation of Kindred law that was at the time.
- One-Letter Name: E.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Copper will believe any lie you tell him about curing vampirism, and will pay you for it.
- Speech Impediment: Julius has a terrible stutter, though David's dialogue suggests it flares up because he's terrified of you.
- Surfer Dude: E, in personality. He speaks with an Australian accent rather than a Californian one.
- Vampire Refugee: Copper, who desperately wants to find a cure for his vampirism - even if it means killing "the Head Vampire."
- Waif Prophet: Rosa.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: E. Julius even refers to him as "the guy without a shirt."
Rolf Toten
A thirteenth-generation vampire who transformed Lily. He is a German vampire who emigrated to the United States but had to return to Europe again because his visa expired.
- The Ghost: We never see him, and we only know him from his bail information and Lily's diary.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He leaves Lily after she paid his bail to get him out of jail.
Beckett
Voiced by: Michael J. Gough
I consider myself a seeker of reluctant information; "scholar" sounds like academia — Ugh!
A legendary Gangrel scholar Shrouded in Myth, visiting Los Angeles to inspect the Ankaran Sarcophagus.
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Complete with refined accent and outfit.
- All There in the Manual: Is a protagonist of a series of books set in the Old World of Darkness, which goes a lot further into his character, stats and abilities.
- Animorphism: He first shows up in his wolf form.
- Badass Bookworm: Again, it's part of his back-story — since he's a powerful seventh generation vampire several hundred years old, which means he's an elder.
- Badass Longcoat: He's never seen in-game without his long brown trench coat (except when he's in wolf-form, that is).
- The Cameo: A famous and popular character in the tabletop The World of Darkness games.
- Cool Old Guy: Always willing to shoot the breeze with a player, particularly a very scholarly one.
- Cassandra Truth: While the game has been rife with hints by this point (if you've been paying close enough attention,) Beckett gives you the most (and only) straightforward hint that you should not open the Ankaran sarcophagus. The player can choose to ignore his warning, but it doesn't end well.
- Deadpan Snarker: He can snark with the best of them. It doesn't help that even when he's being serious, he still sounds like he's being sarcastic.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Pale as a ghost and sports long dark hair. Gives him a decidedly creepy appearance, but he's personable enough once you get to know him.
- Famed In-Story: Beckett is famous among Kindred, chiefly for being a True Neutral Seeker Archetype.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: He refuses to believe in Caine and the Antediluvians.
- Genius Bruiser: Many Gangrel are Dumb Muscle. Beckett isn't.
- Gentleman and a Scholar
- Hero of Another Story: Every time he crops up, it becomes increasingly obvious that he's pursuing the same information as you using his own means, and is just a step or two ahead of you at every turn.
- Inhuman Eye Concealers: As with his counterpart in the original tabletop game, Beckett wears sunglasses to hide the fact that he has glowing red eyes.
- Mr. Exposition: He gives out lots to the player as the story goes on.
- My Rules Are Not Your Rules: He's able to use the Protean discipline the way it works in tabletop, by turning into animals. Gameplay-wise, a Player Character can only use Protean for getting claws and eventually a warform. Speaking with Beckett about it on your first encounter if the Player Character is Gangrel will make Beckett reassure you you'll get the hang of the rest of it eventually.
- Nice Guy: He's sarcastic in personality, and he doesn't look the part, but believe it or not, Beckett is this. Rosa tells you early in the game that the only two people you can trust for certain are "the man on the couch" and the "lone wolf". Beckett's the latter.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Beckett seems scared and begs you not to open the sarcophagus, it's an Oh, Crap! moment.
- Sarcasm Failure: Both types. If a Malkavian main character shares their 'theories' on Kindred origins with him, his only response is a slightly off-balance "Can't say I've heard that one before..." His last conversation with you, after Beckett has had a chance to study the Sarcophagus, is a serious version.
- Smug Smiler: This is practically Beckett's default expression, despite being a friendly and reliable fellow.
- Sunglasses at Night: Beckett always wears sunglasses to cover up his bestial eyes, which are a permanent mark left on him from the Beast taking over once in his past.
- Totally Not a Werewolf: Beckett is a Gangrel and is skilled enough in the Protean discipline to turn into an actual wolf form (instead of the wolf-bat-man form the Gangrel PC can eventually become), that he assumes the first time you properly meet him. Non-Gangrel players can ask him if he's an actual werewolf; he'll then laugh off their inexperience and euphemistically point out that the World of Darkness' werewolves don't really take the time to introduce themselves, especially not to vampires.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: He has glowing red eyes in his normal human form, and no humans appear to notice this.
- Doubly so in the fact he can turn from a wolf into a human in front of a nearby bum, who just ignores him.
- Justified,
since those glasses are actually black enough to hide his eyes, considering all the artwork detailing him in BJD.
- Wolverine Publicity: Probably why he's in the game, despite having very little impact on the events of the plot.
Pisha
Voiced by: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Real terror is not the sight of death: it is the fear of death. What is the fear of death? Terror of the unknown. Is it these eyes you peer into? No, I am not the unknown. You and I are closer kin than you and it were.
A Nagaraja occultist found lurking in the basement of an abandoned hospital, she will trade you a number of useful items in return for rare magical artifacts. Unfortunately, if you want to gain her trust, you've got to help recapture her next victim.
- All There in the Manual: Never actually states the name of her bloodline, but anyone familiar with the setting's lore will immediately know that she is a Nagaraja. If you choose to fight her however, the name of her bloodline does appear underneath her lifebar.
- Affably Evil: Unlike most Kindred, she eats live human flesh instead of just drinking blood. (And, no, she doesn't need to kill living people for it, especially when she lives a short drive from a morgue.) Assuming, however, that you don't try to kill her, she's perfectly willing to cut a deal with you for artifacts, and she never goes back on her word.
- Ambiguously Brown: She is possibly of Indian origin, as the Nagaraja originated there. However the second artifact she gives you, the Key of Alamut, suggests she may be of Iranian ancestry.
- Badass Bookworm: While a very scholarly woman, she's a tough and dangerous foe in a fight, especially early on.
- Blood Is the New Black: She's perpetually blood-spattered due to her particular eating habits.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: She does not subscribe to the normal spectrum of morality, fitting more into one of The Paths. You can develop a rapport with her no matter your place on the humanity meter.
- Cute Monster Girl: Unlike most lady vampires in the game, her inhumanity is obvious and heavily emphasized.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Deep but still feminine and she's among the handful of outright sinister characters in the game.
- Flunky Boss: If you fight her, she summons endless zombies at you.
- I'm a Humanitarian: As a Nagaraja vampire, she has to eat fresh flesh on top of drinking blood or suffer physical degeneration. Unlike many Nagaraja, she does it to living people.
- In-Series Nickname: "The Black Widow" by the Malkavian PC.
- Lesbian Vampire: Implied, given the name she gives you came from her lover while she was alive. She doesn't obey the trope in any other way, and gives no other indication of her sexuality or indeed if she even has one at this stage.
- Meaningful Rename: After her lover.
- Necromancer: It's the Nagaraja's hat, and she uses her powers to create zombies if you fight her.
- No Name Given: Pisha isn't her real name, and she says outright she never uses the real one anymore.
- Our Vampires Are Different: She is a Nagaraja, a very rare and exotic bloodline of vampires originating from India. They're seen as bizarre and repulsive by other vampires.
- Skippable Boss: It is possible to fight her as a boss, but not necessary. Notably, she is a rare occurrence where not fighting her actually is a more profitable option, since she then becomes a quest giver and rewards you with very useful items.
- The Spock: Calm, cool, and fiercely intelligent. So calmly analytical, she's one of the few characters in the entire game who isn't startled or confused by the Malkavian PC's dialogue; in fact, after being called "Black Widow," she goes so far as to state the inaccuracies of the nickname, stating that "Mantis" would work better.
- Wrong Insult Offence: Pisha is a rare vampire who has to consume human flesh, which makes her pretty off-putting even to a regular vampire. A Malkavian player character might nickname her "Black Widow", in which case she takes no offense but explains how "Mantis" would be a better pejorative. As a Fully-Embraced Fiend well into her third century of unlife, she's worked out the existential angst long ago.
The Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle
Jezebel Locke
Brother Kanker
Bishop Vick
Voiced by: Debi Mae West (Jezebel Locke), Robin Atkin Downes (Brother Kanker) and J. Grant Albrecht (Bishop Vick)
The doors have been opened! The seals broken! And the final steps into the abyss... the terrible mysteries of the Ninth Circle...
—Brother Kanker
A cult of vampires spreading a lethal disease among the prostitutes and beggars of downtown Los Angeles, they're also known as the Plaguebearers. They're dealt with in the secondary quests "Fun with Pestilence" and "More Fun with Pestilence", and though the Anarchs apparently kill off most of the cult between the quests, you meet three leading members yourself: Jezebel Locke (a Toreador seductress infecting prostitutes), Brother Kanker (a Nosferatu infecting homeless people) and Bishop Vick (a Toreador, who runs the cult and "cares" for several dozen infected).
- Apocalypse Cult: They're dedicated to bringing around the end of the world through their supernatural plague, believing that the existence of vampires is a sign that the world is a godless hellhole anyway.
- Ax-Crazy: All of them.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Bishop Vick intends to spread his plague to the entire world as payback for his Embrace, but the CDC has managed to keep the outbreak contained in downtown Los Angeles. The Fledgling is tasked with stopping Vick and his brotherhood mainly so the CDC won't discover that vampires are behind the outbreak.
- Brotherhood of Evil: Despite having female members, they act like characters out of a pulp novel.
- Combat Pragmatist: While Jezebel and Kanker both try and fight the player directly, Vick has no scruples about keeping his distance with Super-Speed and blasting the player with buckshot while they're grappling with the infected zombies he surrounds himself with.
- Creepy Blue Eyes: Bishop Vick has pale, intense blue eyes to go with his ruin-the-world disposition.
- Depraved Bisexual: Jezebel is one of the most disturbing cases of this trope, seducing male and female characters alike in order to spread her plague to them.
- Fan Disservice: Jezebel is rather good-looking, and tries to seduce the Fledgling with a seductive, vamp-like tone. However, her dialogues while doing so are those of a Nightmare Fetishist, and way too disturbing to qualify as pleasing.
- Freudian Excuse: Bishop Vick is unique in the sense that at least he gives a reason as to why he spreads his diseases; he seems to have genuinely lost his faith in humanity and God due to his Embrace, and the only thing left to him is to hasten the end of the world.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: When Vick explains to the PC why he's spreading his plague, the fledgling has the option to say that while they understand what Vick is going through, it does not justify his actions.
- Flunky Boss: Bishop Vick is surrounded by a large number of people who have been infected by the disease and now seem very much like zombies.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: Bishop Vick also has the Celerity discipline, letting him whisk across the room before you can land a hit on him, unless the player catches him in a corner.
- Incurable Cough of Death: The disease the Brotherhood is infecting people with is this trope.
- Large Ham: All of them are happy to wax theatric about their plan to bring about the end times.
- Lightning Bruiser:
- Kanker's deceptively fast, considering his lumbering Primal Stance. A player trying to keep their distance can easily get a nasty surprise when he pounces on them.
- Vick combines the speed and agility of the Celerity discipline with the brutal firepower of a shotgun.
- Meaningful Name: Ninth Circle, as in, the Ninth Circle of Hell, said to house Cain's soul. It's also the hell for traitors, and the bishop certainly feels betrayed by the world.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much:
- Most Nosferatu are nice, at least compared to the other clans and are relatively scrawny. Brother Kanker is a monstrous Card-Carrying Villain who is built like a tank.
- Vick is a Toreador, a clan typically associated with culture and beauty, yet he lives in a filthy, delapidated crackhouse and is obsessed with spreading disease and misery.
- Not Enough to Bury: Shoot one of the crackhouse infectees in the head, and this is what is left of them afterwards.
- Obviously Evil: Vick looks rather sinister. Kanker does too, but he's a Nosferatu, so this is a given. Vick, on the other hand, is supposed to be a Toreador, but his appearance has caused some fans to mistake him for a Brujah.
- Occult Blue Eyes: Vick.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Their whole goal is to "enlighten" humans. Said enlightenment entails infection by fatal, incurable diseases.
- Optional Boss: You only face Bishop Vick if you reach the end of the Fun With Pestilence sidequest, but his Celerity-and-shotgun fighting style make him an infamously tough fight.
- Plague Master: The entire cult can infect people with a deadly bloodborne plague by bite.
- Psycho Knife Nut: Once her Depraved Bisexual seducing act fails to work, Jezebel proceeds to just assault you with a knife.
- Put Them All Out of My Misery: Vick wants to spread his disease across the world just because he was Embraced against his will, believing that vampires are "abominations" and that a world in which vampires exist is unsalvageable.
- Religion of Evil: Obviously.
- Straw Nihilist: All of them are dedicated to the downfall of society through the plague they spread, and rant about the end of the world and the pointlessness of existence.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: Jezebel and Kanker. The latter's especially, which are described as "piss yellow" by one of his victims.
- The Unfought: A fourth member is briefly mentioned by Damsel, when she informs you the Anarch have killed him offscreen.
- The Vamp: Jezebel, who specifically targets prostitutes and attempts to seduce the Fledgling upon them entering her room.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Characters who have neglected their combat skills will be hurting badly by the end of this quest series.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The doorkeeper of the crackhouse, Jumbles, who mysteriously vanishes after you complete the quest.
- Averted with the plus patch, in which he's offered a position within the Sabbat from the Lasombra and ends up getting killed by the fledgling just before the final conflict in the Library quest.
- Wolverine Claws: Brother Kanker can grow them with his Protean discipline.
- Zombie Apocalypse: A small-scale one in the ruined crackhouse — there's no point trying to kill all the zombies, because the game will just keep infinitely spawning more and more of them. The only way to get rid of them is to kill Vick. Afterward, it's said the place had to be quarantined.
The Gargoyle
- Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore
Talk? No! Always Kindred are talking, scheming, hurting others with their lies! Monsters, you all! Abominations! A curse upon the earth!
A massive stone monster created by Strauss and used as a bodyguard - up until he went rogue and hid himself inside the old Chinese theater in Hollywood. You can be sent here by Strauss or Isaac (or both) to kill him, or convince him to work for the Anarchs.
- All There in the Manual: It's only vaguely alluded to with a single line of dialogue, when he refers to Strauss as "the demon who made me, turned my flesh to stone" — in the tabletop lore, Gargoyles are, in fact, made from the dismembered body parts of other Kindred, which Tremere then remake into a being of stone through a long and complex blood ritual.
- Berserk Button: The Gargoyle, already hostile towards Kindred, is most especially infuriated by members of the Tremere clan or the slightest mention of Strauss. You can still reason with him as a Tremere, but if you tell him you are one, he will immediately attack and fight to the death.
- Boomerang Bigot: It's only talked about in the tabletop game, but Gargoyles are a bloodline of vampires created by the Tremere.
- The Brute: Kinda goes without saying.
- Damage-Sponge Boss: Blades and bullets won't help you against him. Even armed with a blunt weapon and the Rune, you need time to beat him down.
- Enemy Mine: It's possible, if difficult, to use the gargoyle's and Isaac's shared hatred of the Camarilla to convince him to ally with the Anarchs. He still despises vampires.
- Foreshadowing: Strauss's manor contains a library with a book on the creation of gargoyles.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It's very easy to piss the Gargoyle off, resulting in a boss battle.
- Immune to Bullets: Firearms don't do a thing to a being made of stone.
- Mighty Glacier: He's awfully strong, but quite slow and predictable if you stay close enough. He can sometimes dash at you if you try to take distance from him.
- Talking Your Way Out: You can try and persuade him to work for Isaac, but it's very difficult.
- Turned Against Their Masters: He wanted to be free, but Strauss is too old-fashioned to think of a gargoyle as able to take care of itself.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Since he's made of brittle stone, he's vulnerable to blunt instruments.
The Southland Slasher
Voiced by: James Arnold Taylor
Revenge. Justice. Whatever you want to call it. All I thought about is taking these evil animals, ripping them to shreds and licking their blood from my claws.
A Gangrel neonate who's been murdering ex-convicts up and down Los Angeles.
- Chekhov's Gunman: You can actually see him standing around in the Surfside Diner early in the game; while you can speak with him, notice his fangs and (if you have Auspex) see that he's a vampire, there's no guessing who he really is.
- The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Though his original motivation was once simple revenge, the Player Character can point out that the Slasher is going fast down the road of getting completely taken over by his inner Beast and becoming a mindless killer.
- Early-Bird Cameo: You can encounter him in the Surfside Diner early in the game, soon after he finished massacring the guy on the pier. You can figure out that he's a vampire if you see his fangs or use Auspex, but he won't be interested in talking to you. Attacking him, attacking humans, or breaking the masquerade around him will make him murder you dead, and you won't be able to hurt him at this point in the game.
- Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Just about all of his victims died by these means; the fourth one was lacerated with his claws, had his head torn off, and his body impaled on exposed rebar.
- Fiery Redhead: His hair is ginger, and he's constantly pissed off.
- Handwraps of Awesome: They're part of his wardrobe, and his body is a pretty potent weapon.
- In-Series Nickname: "The Shadow-Cloaked Killer" by the Malkavian PC.
- Kill It with Fire: It's possible to knock him into a fire, if you have a sledgehammer - or Potence.
- Knight Templar: Uses the Beast as an excuse to violently murder criminals, and will not hesitate to bring harm to anyone who tries to stop him.
- Manly Tears: He's a vampire so he doesn't cry actual tears, but if you manage to persuade him by asking if his family would be proud of what he's done, he'll get weepy and sob that he'll never do it again.
- My God, What Have I Done?: If you manage to persuade him, he seems to realize that his murdered family would be horrified by him if they knew what he'd done to avenge them.
- No Name Given: He's simply referred to as "The Killer", and never properly introduces himself.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: Notable in its aversion. He's one of the few Kindred in the game who will only ever call the Player "vampire" instead of using an euphemism.
- One-Winged Angel: Turns into his feral Gangrel War Form to fight you.
- Parental Abandonment: Or Sire Abandonment, the Kindred equivalent. Though his mastery of the Protean discipline outs him as a Gangrel, he doesn't know this, because he never got to know his Sire and had no one to teach them the ropes of vampire society. Note that this is actually a common Gangrel practice, members of the clan expecting the childe to survive on their own.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His killing spree is conducted against the criminals who murdered his family.
- Talking the Monster to Death: It's entirely possible to talk him into ending his rampage and moving on with his unlife.
- Vigilante Man: Considers becoming one of these after the end of his rampage. It's not a great idea for the rest of the world, though, because it means that he'll use it as an excuse to vent his rage.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Has enough skill with the Protean Discipline to assume a battle form if you fight him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- Played straight if you decided to let him go; he just never comes up again despite implying that he planned to continue killing criminals.
- Averted if you managed to persuade him off of his path of vigilantism, were Anarch-aligned, and told him to head to the Last Round after your confrontation. During the Anarch ending, he'll be posted outside their stronghold as a guard, having taken your suggestion to stop killing and join the cause.
The Giovanni
Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo (Bruno)
"Spaghetti and corpses, boss."
—Gary Golden
The American branch of the infamous family of necromancers, the Giovanni are comprised of humans, ghouls, and the rare few chosen to be Embraced and made into full-fledged vampires. Decadent, opulent and messed up beyond measure, the necromancers are a force to be reckoned with - especially when you're saddled with the task of crashing their reunion party.
- Affably Evil: From the snippets of conversation you catch, "Uncle" Bruno Giovanni seems fairly cordial, planning to Embrace and Ghoul a few of his family members to celebrate their recent success. Note that he does this while openly discussing their plans to bring about the Endless Night.
- Ambiguously Bi: Regardless of gender, having a high enough seduction stat results in Nadia being flustered and stammering when you first talk to her. Just don't try your luck with her as a female PC, since she won't respond to it.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Bruno, the Giovanni Elder presiding over the festivities.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Bruno Giovanni hopes to use the Ankaran Sarcophagus, believing it contains the souls of an ancient kingdom, to bring about the Giovanni's goal of the Endless Night and regain favor from the main family. However, Gary Golden, who helped him get the Sarcophagus, ends up betraying him by providing the fledgling with the Sarcophagus' location so they can retrieve it for Prince LaCroix. The fledgling is able to steal the Ankaran Sarcophagus from the Giovanni Stronghold and, if they chose to fight their way inside the Giovanni's mansion, kill Bruno as well. What's more is that the Sarcophagus only contained C4 explosives that would blow up whoever opened it.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: One you can mess with rather hilariously. With a high persuasion score, you can get each human member of the family to reveal their secrets. You can then betray them to each other and watch the chaos ensue.
- Dark Secret: Three of the most promising members of the family have secrets that would jeopardize their chances of being Embraced; Mira is HIV-positive as a result of sharing needles, Adam's business has just gone bankrupt, and Christopher's mother had an affair that might put his parentage into question. All three are prepared to pay handsomely for unveiling the secrets of the other two.
- Driven to Suicide: Reveal Adam's secret to the family, and he'll brokenly say he might as well hang himself now.
- Foreign-Language Tirade: Piss off Mira (either by hitting on her as a female PC or revealing her Dark Secret to the others) and she'll curse you out in Italian.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: Bruno has Celerity and makes good use of it to attack you from a distance.
- Hand Cannon: Bruno's firearm of choice when fighting the fledgling is a Desert Eagle.
- I Love the Dead: This is common within the Giovanni. Nadia admits to being turned on by the mansion's catacombs. Should you seduce her as a male PC, she'll try and talk you into having sex on the mortician's slab.
- Mook Maker: Bruno will summon guards as he fights and then resurrects them as zombies when they fall.
- Necromancer: Most of the high-ranking Giovanni are Necromancers by trade, as per the clan's unique discipline. Nadia Miliner is an apprentice necromancer, and if you're taking the persuasion route, she can be talked into taking you downstairs to tour the preparations room.
- New Era Speech: Bruno gives one of these monologues at the party, though you can't hear all of it. The full speech is given below:"I appreciate everyone's attendance here this night. It has been several years since I saw some of you. In that brief period of time, several events have seen this family fall from the good graces of the head of the family back in Italy. The American Giovanni have been through hard times, this is true. The fall of the stock market, poor investments in several once tried and true industries, the loss of many old and dear friends in Washington who served our best interests. But I promise you, that after tonight, these unfortunate mishaps will all be forgiven! The Ankaran Sarcophagus, you, ah... may have heard about its theft on the news. The truth of the matter is, it was taken on my orders. Why? It bears a great resemblance to an artifact said to contain the spirits of an entire kingdom wiped out during the time of the pharaohs. As I speak, the most accomplished of our family are preparing to harvest this bounty of souls, bringing the Giovanni family one step closer to the endless night we have toiled to bring about all these centuries! Once again, the American Giovanni are poised to make a grand return to a position of esteem. And, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I have decided to Embrace two of you, and to allow you to choose one person at this party to bestow the Proxy Kiss upon. When the others return, we shall inform Italy about our accomplishments, and commence with the embrace. Let this night be the beginning of a prosperous new century! And let us not forget to thank God for this opportunity he's provided to regain face with our honored elders. Amen!"
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Corruption, slavery, incest, and necromancy is A-OK by Giovanni standards, but homosexuality and atheism could get you excommunicated. Mira, the otherwise most personable member of the family who pays you the best for dirt on her relatives and has the most sympathetic reason for wanting to be embraced, will contemptuously call a female fledgling who flirts with her a "dyke".
- Skippable Boss: If you choose the violent way to enter the manor, you'll eventually have to fight Bruno in a boss battle. If you choose the social or the stealthy way, you won't even meet him.
- Super-Speed: Bruno has access to the Celerity Discipline, which lets him quickly move away from the fledgling to shoot at them or summon zombies.
- Time Dissonance: During his speech, Bruno refers to the many years since he last saw his extended family as a brief period of time. That "brief period of time" included The Great Depression.
- Token Good Teammate: Nadia is a shy, gentle girl that tries to keep you safe in the crypt and whose only real fault is being a Nightmare Fetishist. Compared to the rest of the Big, Screwed-Up Family she's studying with, she's practically a saint.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: It's possible to steal one of these (The Voce Del Morte) from the mansion's library and give it to Pisha.
- Torture Cellar: The preparations room, though it might not necessarily be used on living people all the time. It also leads to a massive system of catacombs filled with zombies.
- Vampire Vannabe: Downplayed in that they don't know the particulars of what they're vying for, but the human members of the family know that the ranking members are some sort of ageless supernatural entity and want to be converted.
The Cab Driver
Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo
"Where to?"
A mysterious Kindred who drives the yellow taxi that transports player character from place to place.
- Accent Slip-Up: Initially, he seems to be affecting something of an American accent, but as the game progresses, he slips back into something more European-sounding.
- Affably Evil: He terrifies the Malkavian player by his mere presence, but is otherwise surprisingly calm and polite, offering the player his perspective on the nature of the Jyhad and seemingly regretting that the "LaCroix of the world" squashed the idealism of the Anarchs.
- Almighty Janitor: The humble cab driver is really Caine.
- The Atoner: Implied. He's polite and helpful with a down-to-earth job and doesn't have a agenda regarding your choices in the end-game, letting you decide for yourself instead. If he really is Caine, then he has come a long way since the Bible days.
- Big Brother Is Watching: He seem to be observing you between driving you from place to place. For example, as a Nosferatu, you travel from place to place through the sewers instead of driving with him. Peaking out of the fence in various quest areas will reveal that he's there, watching you from his cab.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Using Auspex can show you that your inconspicuous taxi driver is a Kindred. Come the endgame, and he's the guy who Jack sends to pull you out of Santa Monica before the blood hunt kills you.
- Cryptic Conversation: The heart-to-heart the player character has with him just before the endgame. It demonstrates that he has a lot of insight into the workings and politics of Kindred society, and hints that he at the very least is something much, much greater than a mere cab driver.
- Devil's Advocate: During his last cab ride, he doesn't nudge the player toward any particular choice, merely offering counterarguments to make sure the player chooses their faction (or none at all) in full knowledge of what the choice means. Choosing the Kuei-jin will make him shrug and hint, "Your funeral."
- The Driver: He ferries your character between the different areas on the map.
- God Was My Copilot: It's all but stated that he really is Caine, progenitor of all vampires, as Rosa hints and the player character strongly suspects, specially the Malkavian PC, who feels the appropriate terror.
- Odd Friendship: With Jack. He also seems to have had some unspecific involvement in Jack's plan regarding the sarcophagus.
- Sunglasses at Night: They certainly complete his appearance.
- Vampire Vords: Only one of two vampires to speak with the classic Dracula accent.
- Vanity License Plate: His cab's license plate says "MICHAEL". Another hint to his identity.
