Some Background for The Decline of the Empire State Chronicle
Including Notes on the Present Day Situations

The Backstory:

Prior to 1926, New York City was a battleground, torn apart periodically by the fighting between the Sabbat and the Camarilla. The Sabbat held most of the City at first - they had major holdings in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Additionally, the Sabbat held most of Harlem and "upper" Manhattan. The Camarilla, on the other hand, had major holdings in midtown Manhattan, the growing Financial District (still occasionally referred to as "Old Manhattan" in those days) and portions of Staten Island.

During this time, there were several attempts by each Sect to take all of "The Big Apple" (the newest and latest nickname of New York City back then) for their side. The Sabbat tried a massive attack against the Camarilla in 1895, but failed miserably as the Camarilla managed to kill several Sabbat Kindred who were critical to the attack. A few years later, in 1903, the Camarilla mounted a major campaign against the Sabbat, only to succeed in getting the Ventrue Elders and several other important Kindred killed in the attempt. But, even as the skirmishes went back and forth, people were still planning and plotting, trying to drive out the other Sect and take the city. In fact, back in 1925, a Toreador company performed a rather moving piece of agit-prop theatre, a piece known as Vae Victus (approximate Latin for "Way of Life" or "Way of Victory"). The performance of Vae Victus (led by Erland Valjean Berliner, the author and lead actor) led many Camarilla Kindred to openly talk about rising up against the Sabbat and making New York City theirs.

Interesting enough, a small coterie of Kindred, consisting of one Alexander von Merjenkenstein (a Dutch name pronounced Meer-ken-stine, in case you were wondering), Jacinta Montoya and Linus Brederode, had been working for some time to mobilize the Camarilla in New York City against the Sabbat. Mr. von Merjenkenstein, Ms. Montoya and Mr. Brederode were able to organize and carry out an attack against the Sabbat, using a variety of real-world government actions (such as the anti-bootlegging actions of prohibition agents) to finally drive out the Sabbat and make New York City completely Camarilla.

However, once the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the Camarilla had been assisted in some way. Shortly after rising to the Princedom of New York, Alexander von Merjenkenstein announced that he had made an arrangement with a group of Anarchs, led by one Samuel von Horton. Mr. von Horton's Anarch associates helped the Camarilla take the city (indeed, more Anarchs died in the fighting than Camarilla), and therefore, the Anarchs would be rewarded.

Prince von Merjenkenstein granted von Horton control over the Bronx - with the exception of the Marble Hill portion of that borough. Marble Hill was still to be considered Camarilla territory. In any case, Prince von Merjenkenstein granted the Anarchs the right to rule the Bronx, provided that they did not violate the Masquerade or perform any action that required the Camarilla to "clean things up." So, it came to pass that in 1926, the Camarilla finally controlled New York City - at least, up until the Great Depression of 1929.

When the Depression hit, the Camarilla lost a good portion of its grip on New York City. Thankfully, the Sabbat was not able to take advantage of the situation, mostly due to the actions of Sheriff Brederode and Scourge Montoya. However, other groups, such as the Giovanni and Assamites, were able to make subtle in-roads into New York City and actually managed to flourish (but not at the expense of the Camarilla itself) during the time of the Depression. When the Depression ended in 1940 (as World War II began), the Camarilla began asserting itself strongly, and started to "strike back" against the non-Camarilla in New York City.

In fact, around the time World War II ended, the hierarchy of New York began to change as the Camarilla began cracking down against its opponents. The former Gangrel Primogen, Thomas Jutras, died in a fight with some mobsters and was replaced by one of his dearest friends, a gentleman named Lazarus Stormbridge. The Keeper of Elysium, Benjamin Stern, was discovered to be plotting against the Prince and killed. Stern was replaced by Anya Talbot, the Ventrue who had discovered Stern's plans.

In the early 1950s, a group of Camarilla in Long Island declared themselves the "Council of Princes of Long Island," and began annoying and disturbing the Camarilla in New York City. As the mortal population in Long Island grew (in response to the post-War boom), a number of Kindred moved out to Long Island to live. The Island Kindred, however, still came into the City on occasion to hunt and feed, but openly declared that they would not live under Prince von Merjenkenstein's laws, and in some cases, openly broke them and then retreated to Long Island. Also, the "Council of Princes" sometimes fought with the Kindred in New York City, claiming that Queens and Brooklyn were rightfully part of their territories, as they were on the Island, technically. It was in one of the fights between Long Island and New York City that the Tremere Primogen, Trent Corso, was killed. Cynthia Alexander-Peterson, one of Mr. Corso's associates, took over as Regent and Primogen for the Clan. It was through her efforts that a sort of détente with Long Island was achieved - even though the détente was broken in the 1960's.

Additionally, in the 50's, a group of Brujah, led by an influential Brujah nicknamed "Spatz," attempted to "take back the Bronx." Spatz' Childe, a gentleman named Carlysle Covington, attempted to stop this battle, but was unable to convince others not to back Spatz. Eventually, Carlysle turned to the Prince for help, and begged for permission to stop his Sire "by any means necessary." Shortly after Carlysle had his audience with the Prince, Spatz was killed (by Carlysle), and the plan to remove the Anarchs from the Bronx fell apart. Around the same time that Spatz was "put down for the good of all," Agatha Vermeulen replaced the Venture Primogen, Paul Jarrow. These disturbances only added to the problems Prince von Merjenkenstein was having at the time.

Then, in the 60's, amidst all the chaos and confusion of the "Hippie Generation," several things happened that changed New York for good. First, a number of Kindred in New Jersey, mostly in Jersey City, began acting like the Kindred from Long Island had earlier. They would commute into New York City, hunt in the city, try to gain influence in the city, and all the abstain from formally submitting to Prince von Merjenkenstein or his rule. Secondly, a Malkavian named Dr. Fell arrived in the City; shortly after his arrival, Eileen Wander, the Malkavian Primogen, abdicated in favor of him. After Dr. Fell became the Malkavian Primogen, the Prince began a campaign of purging the non-New York City Camarilla from town. Scourge Montoya and Sheriff Brederode began patrolling the city, driving out any "foreign" Kindred they found.

Additionally, the Prince did his best to drive out "foreign" influences in New York City, doing his best to remove the paws of New Jersey or Long Island Kindred from important positions within the City. Most New Yorkers remember this time period as a time of many corruption investigations, anti-Mafia analysis, and other "house-cleaning" events. While these policies did remove many alien Kindred and their influences from New York City, it also drove the Giovanni, Assamites and other "independent" Clans out of New York City. Additionally, these programs reduced the effectiveness of many New Yorkers' influence and control over areas.

By the early 1970's, Prince von Merjenkenstein declared his program to be a success. Indeed, all Kindred who were not formally part of the Camarilla of New York City (excepting the Bronx) had been driven out of the City (excepting the Bronx). Many Kindred began rebuilding their small empires that had been disrupted by Prince von Merjenkenstein's policies, but not everyone was able to regain their former glories....

Of course, there were still occasions when the Kindred in New Jersey and the Council of Princes in Long Island caused trouble, but they were no longer as prevalent as they once were. In the 1977, a Toreador by the name of Michael Donavan rose to power when he covered up a serious breach of the Masquerade that resulted in the Blackout of '77. Shortly after this, the Toreador Primogen, Nathalie Tassone, abdicated in favor of Mr. Donavan. Around the same time, a Nosferatu by the name of Matsumoto Yukio became Primogen of his Clan, having used his considerable Underworld influences to help the Clan save face. Also, a Toreador named Ambrose Daniel Mallory became the Leader Harpy of the City, thus finishing the modern power structure of New York....

It was around this time that the City finally began to climb out of the economic disaster that the mortal populace had brought it to, and New York City transformed from the dark and dangerous place that it was into the friendlier and more accommodating place that it is now.

The Present Day:

New York City has been relatively peaceful for the last few years. True, there have been occasionally skirmishes with Kindred from New Jersey and Long Island (and it's rumored that Kindred in Westchester County have been periodically fighting with the Anarchs), but the city has not had major crises or significant war in some time. For the most part, Prince von Merjenkenstein is a relaxed sort of Prince, allowing people a large number of freedoms - provided that they do not endanger the Masquerade or attempt to gain control over politics.

Prince von Merjenkenstein is deadly serious when it comes to keeping the Masquerade, and his Sheriff has been known to occasionally use a "kill first, ask questions later" methodology for enforcing the Masquerade. As for politics, Prince von Merjenkenstein views the political arena as a realm that should be the Prince's alone, and he has been known to punish people who attempt to wrest control of politics (by ghouling the mayor, or bribing elected officials, for instance) severely. It has been rumored that the Prince might be softening his stance on Politics in the near future.

The Prince, his Scourge, and his Sheriff rule the city effectively, doing their best to keep things under control. For the most part, they are all "hands-on" people, preferring not to use Deputies and the like. (In fact, the Sheriff once had to kill a Deputy of his who attempted to abuse their power; the incident soured him and the Scourge on Deputies for awhile). In most cases, when something comes up that the Scourge of Sheriff cannot handle by themselves, they will call for volunteers (or, in extreme cases, draft people) to assist them. Those who assist the Scourge and Sheriff are usually well rewarded. Incidentally, it is also rumored that the Sheriff and Scourge are thinking about having permanent Deputies again in the near future.

Similarly, Anya Talbot, the Keeper of Elysium, has only established three permanent Elysiums in the city. She claims that she cannot properly secure and maintain other Elysiums. It is believed that Keeper Talbot is thinking about taking on a permanent assistant in the near future. At the moment, the three permanent Elysiums are The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the entire Lincoln Center compound, and The Oasis, a small nightclub owned by the Toreador Primogen. Keeper Talbot will, however, create occasional "temporary" Elysiums for particular gatherings. Keeper Talbot has four simple rules governing conduct in an Elysium, by the way. They are:

• All Kindred are expected to keep the Traditions and the Prince's Laws in mind while in an Elysium.
• The use of violence is prohibited within Elysium.
• The carrying of weapons is allowed within Elysium. However, the laws of the mortal populace apply within Elysium, so illegal weaponry is not permitted, as Kindred will most likely have to pass through the mortal world to enter Elysium.
• The use of Disciplines that endanger the Masquerade is forbidden within Elysium.

Prince von Merjenkenstein has decreed that the weekend of April 20 through April 22 will be a weekend of celebration, glorifying the Diamond Anniversary of the Taking of New York City. He is hosting a large party, open to all Camarilla of New York City, at a small "boutique" hotel named The New York Inn in the Financial District, near the World Trade Center. Keeper Talbot has declared the Inn an Elysium for the duration of the party. The party is open to all, but some people have specifically received invitations....