Do you hear the roars and fires in the night?

Of course you do, it’s always like this in

The City of a Hundred Steeples.

Montréal is a city unlike any other. Its long history and distinguished heritage date back
more than three-hundred-fifty years and give it a European essence that’s unique in North
America. Although the city is one of the world’s most modern, its past defines it. Many of
its buildings were built in the 19th century – or earlier – and, to this day, cast their long
shadows from the past into the present. A city of living history, Montréal witnessed the
birth of two countries and the end of French colonial presence in North America. It is an
island city located on the Saint Lawrence River and is home to just over three million
people, despite only a million or so living on the island proper, and serves not only as one
of Canada’s leading metropolises, but also holds the title of the second-largest French-
speaking city in the western world.
Not only is Montréal a cultural center, but it is also a financial and industrial one. Four of
Canada’s largest banks have headquarters in Old Montréal, with the city shores granting
refuge and settlement to the largest inland ports in the world. The island houses a number
of industries, primarily oil refineries like Suncor Energy because of its proximity to the
Saint Lawrence Seaway. Montréal has also become the site of more than half of the
Canadian aeronautical industries and other high-income businesses like Sutera and IRT
Tech.

Yet, if things are so grand… why do the streets pool with blood?

The global financial crisis that began in 2007 dragged much of the world economy into
recession, and Canada was not spared. Although the effects on Canada were milder than
on the United States and in Europe, the Canadian recession of 2008–09 was still severe
enough to generate sharp declines in output and employment and to require significant
responses by Canadian policy-makers. Leaving many of the leading industries to relocate
or downsize, contributing to a high unemployment and crime rate while also resulting in
an increase in the number of people living in poverty that remains even to the present
day. Street violence, criminal activity, and even eco-terrorism have grown to an all time
high – leaving the fantastic metropolis in a bundle of muted chaos.

Of course… that’s all on the surface.

Nonetheless, Montréal is still a good city to be a glutton. Good food. Good sex. Good
drugs. Good art. Whatever you want to indulge in, you can drag back to your den, curl
up, and hide away from the biting cold winter or the bustling summers. Everything’s
hearty. From the warm, rich, gravy-slathered foods to the robust push for labor rights.
The island’s an ideal place to castle up.

That is, if you’re alive.

If you’re Damned and take the time to breathe, you can see your breath. Joints lock in
the cold air. They beg your body to stop, to feed, to enjoy the warmth of prey. The Beast
screams for you to indulge, to gorge, to hibernate. But that’s impossible.

Because in Montréal, you are the prey… and will forever be the prey – in life… and in
death.

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What are the Chronicles of Darkness?

The Chronicles of Darkness, formerly known as the World of Darkness or (informally) the
New World of Darkness, is a modern horror setting and storytelling game that uses the
Storytelling System. It presents an image of the modern world "through a looking glass
darkly": more dangerous, less caring, and filled with monsters and aberrations of both
the human and inhuman varieties. The Chronicles of Darkness focuses on settings relating
to the modern gothic genre and brooding yet sometimes existential themes of survival,
fear of the unknown, the nature and morality of man, and the powers of the supernatural.

The core of the Chronicles of Darkness is more akin to a creative writing session through
the form or medium of roleplay. As a player in the Chronicles of Darkness, you explore
the story and help to weave a tale through a character you create. Your character is your
means to engage with the world around you, creating an atmosphere and plotline that
involves and intrigues everyone at the table. With a troupe of characters, you essentially
push a story through your actions.

This game isn’t much like Dungeons and Dragons, whereas you are an adventurer who
joins a party and quests for experience – loot – and power (though you will be receiving
plenty of that in the Chronicles of Darkness). Instead, these stories focus on human
mortals who are thrust into supernatural circumstances that are way beyond their realm
of control, often resulting in death or being transformed into monsters themselves. These
stories are about men, women, and children with aspirations – personalities – virtues –
and most importantly, flaws, and how they react to the world with those quirks. You most
likely won’t be a chivalrous hero in the story – a gritty Anti-hero at best – but instead a
fully fleshed-out human being who has been dragged into the gut-wrenching World of
Darkness involuntarily; a person who will do anything to survive the horrors of the night.
A person who will most likely never be the same again.
 What is Vampire: the Requiem?
Vampire: The Requiem is a tabletop role-playing game developed by Justin Achili (2004)
and Rose Bailey (2013) and released in 2004 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of
several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. A major departure
from the more power and heroics-oriented games of the era, Vampire: the Requiem is a
game of personal gothic-horror. It is the successor to the parent and the most popular of
all the World of Darkness games, Vampire: the Masquerade – created by Mark Rein-
Hagen and released in 1991 - which was the genesis of almost all the major ideas people
associate with White Wolf.

In Vampire: the Requiem, the players assume the role of vampires – immortal beings
cursed with an unquenchable thirst for blood and a deadly vulnerability to sunlight –
creatures forever bound to their inner Beast (the animal urges of hunger, fear and rage).
It is a game of personal horror, as the characters are continually forced to walk a moral
tightrope between their need to survive and the horrific means by which they ensure it.

What is the setting of this Chronicle?

The chronicle is set in the large metropolis of Montréal, Canada, where many supernatural
creatures lurk and lay domain in the dread of night. The story revolves around a group
of young mortals attending the Montréal International Fireworks Festival who are violently
thrusted into the city’s slice of darkness and are forced to deal with its elements – with
backstories to justify their traits, skills, and talents. The plot of the story will focus on
major elements and themes such as: The loss of innocence, the retention of humanity,
social subterfuge, the longing for stability, the erosion of self-control, and the struggle
for power and dominance.

What do I need in order to play?

I, as the Storyteller, have the Vampire: the Requiem 2e core rulebook and the Chronicles
of Darkness 2e core rulebook and most of the other supplements as PDF’s to build and
provide a fully fleshed-out world for you all. I will provide character sheets and teach any
new players the rules and how to construct a character in compliance with house rules
that I will establish during session zero – a session where we all sit down, talk about what
we wish to get out of this experience, what sort of stories you all would be interested in
participating in outside of the main plot, create our characters, and finalize the
relationships that those characters possess.
What I request from you, the player, is a willingness to explore boundaries and eagerness
to develop a fairly well-crafted story with your peers. This game is essentially a creative
writing exercise through roleplay and is heavily based on relationships with the world,
non-player characters, and the players themselves. To also possess an aspiration and
goal to create and experience drama through your characters and the situations you put
yourselves into – as Mary Sue and perfect hero type characters do not survive well in the
World of Darkness and, well frankly, they’re just boring – and the confidence to act and
project yourself through the world will assist immensely as well. You should be
comfortable roleplaying vocally, as your voice will personify your character – which also
colloquially means that you have to possess a microphone.

A Roll-20 account is also important, as that is the medium through which we will
communicate. Discord is also required.

Anything else I should know?

If you are interested in joining the Chronicle, reply to this thread and maybe even tell me
a bit about yourself: Your experiences with tabletop roleplay, experiences with the
Chronicle of Darkness or World of Darkness in general (this includes games such as
Vampire: The Masquerade / Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: the Apocalypse /
Werewolf: the Forsaken, Mage: the Ascension / Mage: the Awakening, etc). Are you new
to the World of Darkness? What interested you about the setting? What do you hope to
gain from this? Other questions are also welcome, though you only need reply to the
thread showing interest – these questions are to help me get a better grasp of my players
and to tailor the story for your amusement, though not required if you don’t feel
comfortable sharing.

I will only take a maximum of three or four player characters for the Chronicle. I will most
likely be running different chronicles in the future – so there will be plenty of opportunities
to join in!

Sessions, in general, should be around three to five hours. A time will be discussed and
deliberated in session zero, which should only be an hour or two on average. My Timezone
is -5:00 GMT, which is Eastern Standard Time. I will do my best to mediate and decide
on a time that fits everyone, though we all have lives – including me.

Lastly, have fun! I will do my upmost best to ensure that you are enjoying yourself in the
chronicle, if you aren’t then that is a major failing on my part to which I only plead for
forgiveness and attempt to make amends.
If you have any further questions, please detail them below in your response! I will try
to get back to you as fast as I can! Thank you for reading and taking an interest in my
proposition! I hope you and I can be able to craft wonderful stories together!

-Essence