Players are invited to play a character aligned with any of the organizations listed below:
White Council
Members of the White Council are properly termed “wizards.” Being a member is like having a black belt—a mark of respect and status. Wizards abide by the rules of the Council and the decrees of the Senior Council members. A wizard is obligated to represent the White Council in all treaty matters.
Some wizards become Wardens of the White Council. As enforcers/soldiers/police of the White Council they wear grey cloaks and carry special swords. They hunt down necromancers, sorcerers, and other lawbreaking spellcasters to behead them. Warden security is comprised of some of the best magical countermeasures in the world. Mortal practitioners who do not have the skill, power, or knowledge required to join the White Council by passing their standard tests are usually called hedge wizards. Some hedge wizards have very limited powers, while others have more rounded abilities. Recently, a group calling itself the Ordo Lebes (Order of the Cauldron) has begun organizing as a mutual aid and information society amongst these so-called “second class” practitioners.
Council of the 18 Tribes
Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest, like many elsewhere lived for many generations on invisible "Ley Lines" and who remained close to nature are able to manifest supernatural powers. Some tribes are better able to tap into the supernatural and each has their own identity as depicted in the animal they hold most sacred on their totem poles. Although most members of the 18 tribes are not clued in to the full potential of their heritage, of those who are, most can channel their tribe's animal spirits. Others are able to use ancient Shamanistic secrets to unlock natural magic. The 18 Tribes of the Pacific Northwest still capable of manifesting the supernatural meet in secret on Council Island (aka Mercer Island in Lake Washington).
White Court Vampires
While not as physically formidable or aggressively organized as the Red Court and lacking the raw, terrifying power of the Black Court, White Court vampires also aren’t as completely inhuman and therefore don’t suffer from the usual vampire weaknesses to as great an extent as the other Courts. Within each White Court Vampire dwells a symbiotic spirit (also called a demon) of Hunger that drives them to feed and grants them supernatural powers.
Instead of blood, White Court vampires consume psychic energies—the pure life force—generated from strong emotions like lust, fear, hatred, pain, and despair. Such victims have little pieces of life nibbled away; the spiritual damage caused by this makes them more vulnerable to the vampire’s mental allure and control. While a White Court vampire can feed on several types of emotions, the three main bloodlines of the White Court tend to stick with a single “flavor”: House Malvora feeds on fear, House Raith feeds on lust, and House Skavis feeds on pain and despair. Of those, House Raith with their strip clubs, porn movie houses, and brothels and House Malvora with their horror themed night clubs and "haunted" houses dominate the Seattle scene. Normally, they look like pale, extremely attractive humans. When using their powers, White Court vampires are surrounded by a cold wind, their features stretch, their cheekbones grow starker, their eyes turn silver and then pure white, their skin glows a luminous pearl, and their voice becomes more feral and vicious. Their blood is an unnatural pinkish hue."
Catholic Organizations
Mortals have access to the power of faith—miracle-working power, said to be related to the Almighty, which is protective and empowering. One does not have to be Catholic to have such strong faith vs. the supernatural, but the Catholic church does support a couple of organizations dedicated to protecting mortals from supernatural threats. Foremost among these are the Ordo Miles Militis Crux Crucis (The Order of the Knights of the Cross) and the Fellowship of St. Giles. Properly, the Knights of the Cross are three righteous mortals who hold one of three Holy Swords (thus, also known as Knights of the Sword). They also have a support structure within the Catholic Church which provides a base of operations, advice, coordination, and storage of the Knight’s archives on various foes. The Order is also behind the “Supernatural Witness Protection Program” found within the Catholic Church. The Knights were founded to counter the Denarians; their purpose is to save the humans who have picked up a denarius. They protect the freedom of the mortal soul. To that end, they aid any mortals under the oppression of dark forces, trying to help that person to win free of them. Saint Giles is the patron saint of lepers and outcasts. The Fellowship named after him tries to help people suffering from supernatural afflictions, especially those the Red Court has harmed—victims’ families as well as those who have been cursed into a half-vampire existence. They work against the Red Court, attempting to expose, hinder, and destroy them whenever possible. The Fellowship has developed a type of binding tattoo that is etched into the flesh of half-vampire members to help “hold the darkness inside” and warn when the bloodthirst is rising.
Mortals and Others Most mortals have no clue that the supernatural exists. There are three reasons for this:
1- Mortals tend to attack what they do not understand. Once it was with torches and pitchforks, but today it is with assault weapons and laser guided bombs. Keeping mortals ignorant of the supernatural seems to be in everyone's best interest.
2- The ancient order of the Venatori Umbrorum has not only systematically hunted down all supernatural evil doers, but has systematically destroyed texts and other knowledge of magic, especially spells which could be used to summon evil supernatural creatures.
3- Satan has sent forth demons to alter human perceptions of what has happened in the past so that humanity will be unprepared for what is to come. This includes erasing or altering history to suit Satan's needs. Some mortals are "in-the-know" or have figured out what is happening and either are or believe they are insane, or have joined an organization, such as those promoted by the Catholic church, in order to better deal with what they now know exists. Some join the ancient and non-religious order of Venatori Umbrorum to assist in hunting down supernatural evil-doers. Others manage to try to live a normal life, not aligned with any organization, in the hope that supernatural creatures will somehow overlook them, instead of viewing them as easy prey. It is not just humans who sometimes walk around with their heads figuratively in the sand. Some unaligned "Wild Fae" call Seattle home. Seattle is not generally "summery enough" for the Summer Court of the Fae and not "wintery enough" for the Winter Court, so fae who come here are generally either just passing through, or hiding from something and hoping no one will notice them.
White Council
Members of the White Council are properly termed “wizards.” Being a member is like having a black belt—a mark of respect and status. Wizards abide by the rules of the Council and the decrees of the Senior Council members. A wizard is obligated to represent the White Council in all treaty matters.
Some wizards become Wardens of the White Council. As enforcers/soldiers/police of the White Council they wear grey cloaks and carry special swords. They hunt down necromancers, sorcerers, and other lawbreaking spellcasters to behead them. Warden security is comprised of some of the best magical countermeasures in the world. Mortal practitioners who do not have the skill, power, or knowledge required to join the White Council by passing their standard tests are usually called hedge wizards. Some hedge wizards have very limited powers, while others have more rounded abilities. Recently, a group calling itself the Ordo Lebes (Order of the Cauldron) has begun organizing as a mutual aid and information society amongst these so-called “second class” practitioners.
Council of the 18 Tribes
Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest, like many elsewhere lived for many generations on invisible "Ley Lines" and who remained close to nature are able to manifest supernatural powers. Some tribes are better able to tap into the supernatural and each has their own identity as depicted in the animal they hold most sacred on their totem poles. Although most members of the 18 tribes are not clued in to the full potential of their heritage, of those who are, most can channel their tribe's animal spirits. Others are able to use ancient Shamanistic secrets to unlock natural magic. The 18 Tribes of the Pacific Northwest still capable of manifesting the supernatural meet in secret on Council Island (aka Mercer Island in Lake Washington).
White Court Vampires
While not as physically formidable or aggressively organized as the Red Court and lacking the raw, terrifying power of the Black Court, White Court vampires also aren’t as completely inhuman and therefore don’t suffer from the usual vampire weaknesses to as great an extent as the other Courts. Within each White Court Vampire dwells a symbiotic spirit (also called a demon) of Hunger that drives them to feed and grants them supernatural powers.
Instead of blood, White Court vampires consume psychic energies—the pure life force—generated from strong emotions like lust, fear, hatred, pain, and despair. Such victims have little pieces of life nibbled away; the spiritual damage caused by this makes them more vulnerable to the vampire’s mental allure and control. While a White Court vampire can feed on several types of emotions, the three main bloodlines of the White Court tend to stick with a single “flavor”: House Malvora feeds on fear, House Raith feeds on lust, and House Skavis feeds on pain and despair. Of those, House Raith with their strip clubs, porn movie houses, and brothels and House Malvora with their horror themed night clubs and "haunted" houses dominate the Seattle scene. Normally, they look like pale, extremely attractive humans. When using their powers, White Court vampires are surrounded by a cold wind, their features stretch, their cheekbones grow starker, their eyes turn silver and then pure white, their skin glows a luminous pearl, and their voice becomes more feral and vicious. Their blood is an unnatural pinkish hue."
Catholic Organizations
Mortals have access to the power of faith—miracle-working power, said to be related to the Almighty, which is protective and empowering. One does not have to be Catholic to have such strong faith vs. the supernatural, but the Catholic church does support a couple of organizations dedicated to protecting mortals from supernatural threats. Foremost among these are the Ordo Miles Militis Crux Crucis (The Order of the Knights of the Cross) and the Fellowship of St. Giles. Properly, the Knights of the Cross are three righteous mortals who hold one of three Holy Swords (thus, also known as Knights of the Sword). They also have a support structure within the Catholic Church which provides a base of operations, advice, coordination, and storage of the Knight’s archives on various foes. The Order is also behind the “Supernatural Witness Protection Program” found within the Catholic Church. The Knights were founded to counter the Denarians; their purpose is to save the humans who have picked up a denarius. They protect the freedom of the mortal soul. To that end, they aid any mortals under the oppression of dark forces, trying to help that person to win free of them. Saint Giles is the patron saint of lepers and outcasts. The Fellowship named after him tries to help people suffering from supernatural afflictions, especially those the Red Court has harmed—victims’ families as well as those who have been cursed into a half-vampire existence. They work against the Red Court, attempting to expose, hinder, and destroy them whenever possible. The Fellowship has developed a type of binding tattoo that is etched into the flesh of half-vampire members to help “hold the darkness inside” and warn when the bloodthirst is rising.
Mortals and Others Most mortals have no clue that the supernatural exists. There are three reasons for this:
1- Mortals tend to attack what they do not understand. Once it was with torches and pitchforks, but today it is with assault weapons and laser guided bombs. Keeping mortals ignorant of the supernatural seems to be in everyone's best interest.
2- The ancient order of the Venatori Umbrorum has not only systematically hunted down all supernatural evil doers, but has systematically destroyed texts and other knowledge of magic, especially spells which could be used to summon evil supernatural creatures.
3- Satan has sent forth demons to alter human perceptions of what has happened in the past so that humanity will be unprepared for what is to come. This includes erasing or altering history to suit Satan's needs. Some mortals are "in-the-know" or have figured out what is happening and either are or believe they are insane, or have joined an organization, such as those promoted by the Catholic church, in order to better deal with what they now know exists. Some join the ancient and non-religious order of Venatori Umbrorum to assist in hunting down supernatural evil-doers. Others manage to try to live a normal life, not aligned with any organization, in the hope that supernatural creatures will somehow overlook them, instead of viewing them as easy prey. It is not just humans who sometimes walk around with their heads figuratively in the sand. Some unaligned "Wild Fae" call Seattle home. Seattle is not generally "summery enough" for the Summer Court of the Fae and not "wintery enough" for the Winter Court, so fae who come here are generally either just passing through, or hiding from something and hoping no one will notice them.