Red List: Help Us Finalize the Newest Anathema

Open Development, Vampire: The Masquerade

Hi Vampire fans!

At long last, Dread Names: Red List is nearing completion! Matt M McElroy and I are just about to finish our last pass before sending the manuscript over to editing, but we wanted to get your feedback on the newest Anathema and third infernalist on the Red List.

Our design goals for Marisa Santos y Rodriguez were to create an infernalist character that was shrouded in mystery. She could be Baali or she could be Lasombra, and her reasons for becoming an infernalist may or may not be connected to her past. As the newest member of the List, we thought that the Alastors may not have had enough time to investigate her further, and the new Brujah Justicar would have supplied the vast majority of the information about Marisa to others.

We also wanted to ensure that Marisa was different from the other two infernalists on our List, to show that the world of Vampire is still full of mystery. We drew our inspiration from Rites of the Blood, and felt that the Josians shared some similar traits to Alastors. We feel that the Josians give players and Storytellers more opportunities to connect Alastors, Archons, and Josians together in a chronicle. The other two infernalists are Dylan Bruce and Valerius Maior, who have different focal points than Marisa does. After our close and careful examination of these existing characters, we realized that what we didn’t have, was a character who was an unknown quantity, who searched for forgotten tomes and relics.

This is where we turn to you. Do you, as a Vampire Storyteller (or Player), like this level of mystery? How do you feel about the unedited draft we’re providing below for her character? Thoughts? Comments?

Marisa Santos y Rodriguez

A Brazillian native, Marisa Santos y Rodriguez is the most recent addition to the Red List. Not much is known about her, beyond what the Brujah Justicar Manuela Cardoso Pinto claimed when she first nominated her just a few years ago.

Marisa Santos y Rodriguez is rumored to have been Embraced sometime within the last two-to-three hundred years, and grew up poor in the northeast corner of Brazil among the povo de santo. Her maiden name—Santos—refers to a coastal city in São Paolo her family helped to build in the mid-1600s. Despite her family’s once-respected status, Marisa grew up on a meager farm with her grandparents after her parents died in a tragic accident. Newly-orphaned, Marisa Santos relied on the kindness of her grandparents and other members within her rural community for her survival. Though life was tough, Marisa’s spirit would not be broken, and her faith in Oludumaré was strong. She became a devout practitioner of candomblé, much to the disappointment of the many Roman Catholic missionaries who tried to convert her, and became convinced that her personal orisha would one day save her, a godlike being that watched over her, taught her, and guided her to realize her destiny. It is the promise of a great destiny, some say, that makes Marisa’s story so tragic.

While no one is alive who remembers her as a mortal, local legends still circulate about the young girl and eternal optimist. To improve her lot in life, Marisa Santos married a mysterious traveler, whose first name remains unknown, when she reached her teenage years. As Marisa Santos y Rodriguez, she fulfilled the duties of a young bride, moved to Santos in a moderately-sized house far away from the favelas, and had twins. Then, on her 25th birthday, Marisa was arrested for slaughtering her sons and offering their organs to her gods as payment for her blessings. This story is the cause of much controversy, even to this day, for many believe she was wrongfully accused because of her faith.

No one knows the truth, for Marisa spent a single night in prison, and escaped shortly afterward.

Manuela Cardoso Pinto, the Brujah Justicar, believes that to understand what motivates Marisa to act now, it’s important for Alastors to investigate the Anathema’s past to separate fact from fiction. Finding out when she was Embraced is, in the Justicar’s mind, just as important as how she escaped and whether or not she was guilty of killing her sons. It is easy, the Brujah often claims, to paint Marisa as a tragic villain and sympathize with her plight. It is much harder to assume she was guilty, for while mortals can commit unspeakable acts, it’s rare when a mother desecrates the bodies of her children in such a fashion. Too, the identity of Marisa’s husband has never been confirmed, and this leads Manuela to believe that her beloved spouse may not have been human after all.

Whether she was Embraced prior to the death of her twins or afterward, Manuela has confirmed that, so far, she can find no record of who Marisa Santos y Rodriguez’s vampiric allies were or the nature of her activities for many years. Currently, the popular theory is that Marisa vanished into the rainforest to practice her newfound powers. There, the Anathema would wait until she became a memory in the hearts and minds of the people before she could safely return. The Brujah Justicar is hoping that is not the case, however, for any hint of Marisa’s activities after her Embrace, but before the turn of the 21st century, might help unravel her dark mysteries.

Manuela first learned about Marisa Santos y Rodriguez in 2009. As the Josian and Sheriff of Natal, Manuela was tasked with hunting down a powerful infernalist to protect the artifacts and grimoires hidden away in the local Roman Catholic churches. Marisa’s identity had already been confirmed by the time Manuela got involved in the hunt, and the local Archons helped uncover precious few details about her life, hoping those facts would lead to the discovery of her sire.

Unfortunately, Manuela was unable to stop Marisa from defiling one Church and conducting an unholy rite on the altar of another. The desecration of a mortal’s holy place of worship was an act that meant little to the local Kindred, but Manuela understood how dangerous attacking a church was. Infernal deeds were sure to ignite a mob or force the locals into a state of extreme paranoia—upsetting the balance between mortal and vampire in the city she loved.

At the urging of the Prince, Manuela and her fellow Josians set a trap for the infernalist, using a ceremonial obsidian dagger and a protected vial, one that could contain the blood of a vampire, as bait. Shortly before dawn, Marisa snuck into the church where the Josians were hiding, but did not spring the trap. She claimed that she would not kill them, that it was fate who arranged their meeting, and the Camarilla would be wise to heed her warnings. When Manuela asked her what she wanted, Marisa confessed that what she desired was not in Brazil, but lying in torpor far beneath Mexico City. Like her, she claimed, the Baali Methuselahs worshipped a different god, and she had been tasked with finding them. It was her destiny, she said. And nothing—vampire, kine, or demon—would stop her. By the time Manuela was ready to strike her down, Marisa had already slaughtered the guards that stood between her and her freedom.

To this day, Manuela is not sure why Marisa revealed what she was looking for during their encounter. She continues to be puzzled by her actions, for while it’s true Marisa is an infernalist, she seemed to blend into the shadows—like a Lasombra. Could she be a Baali? Or did she belong to the Angellis Ater and is reviving that infernal faction? Why was she hunting for blasphemous tomes and infernal artifacts, unless Marisa planned on handing them over as gifts to the Baali Methuselahs she planned to resurrect?

Once Manuela discovered that Marisa might have the Book of Tobit in her possession and the bones of a dead god, the Josian realized how dangerous she was, and knew that a blood hunt wouldn’t be enough to rally other Kindred to her side. Manuela’s spies tracked the Anathema’s movements and attest she did reach Mexico City, but so far no one remembers spotting her. It has also been confirmed, however, that the great earthquake felt throughout Mexico City in 2014 was supernatural in nature. Could Marisa be the cause?

Now, the newly-appointed Brujah Justicar successfully campaigned to add Marisa to the Red List for her crimes against the fallen Josians and out of fear for what she’ll do next. Marisa Santos y Rodriguez may have been a true believer, but she has forgotten the principles of her faith far beyond what the transformation from mortal-to-vampire might have caused. Either she doesn’t realize that the evil she’s spread could still return to her eventually, or Marisa has succumbed to the touch of the infernal and is beyond reason.

Should any Alastors decide to hunt Marisa Santos y Rodriguez, they’ll no doubt be asked to collaborate with the Josians and, if necessary, send a message to the Sabbat Inquisition to warn them of the infernalist’s schemes. After all, the Baali have not been spotted since the Victorian Era. If Marisa plans to find and awaken Baali Methuselahs scattered all across the world, this act could spell the end of the Camarilla and the Sabbat combined.

Marisa Santos Y Rodriguez

Trophy Clan: Brujah

Alias: Ozana Vargas, Julia Azevedo

Sire: Unknown

Clan: Unknown (possibly Baali or the Angellis Ater Lasombra bloodline)

Nature: Deviant

Demeanor: Enigma

Generation: Ninth

Embrace: Exact date unknown. Sometime in the 17th or 18th century.

Apparent Age: Mid 20s

Physical: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4

Social: Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3

Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 4

Talents: Alertness 2, Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl 3, Empathy 2, Expression 2, Intimidation 2, Leadership 4, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 4

Skills: Animal Ken 1, Crafts 2, Drive 2, Etiquette 3, Firearms 2, Larceny 2, Melee 3, Performance 2, Stealth 4, Survival 3

Knowledges: Academics 4, Computer 2, Finance 3, Investigation 3, Law 4, Medicine 3, Occult 4, Politics 4, Science 2, Technology 2

Disciplines: Auspex 2, Celerity 2, Daimoinon 3, Dominate 4, Fortitude 2, Obfuscate 3, Obtenebration 4, Potence 2

Backgrounds: Alternate Identity 3, Contacts 2, Rituals 2, Status (Sabbat, as Ozana)

Virtues: Conviction 3, Instinct 3, Courage

Morality: Path of Evil Revelations 5

Willpower: 7

Blood Pool/Max per Turn: 14/2

Image: Marisa has dark black skin, brown eyes, and wears her hair naturally, in an Afro. She has not lost touch with her fellow Brazilians, and has adopted a signature style that speaks volumes about who she is and what she wants. Marisa wears tight, tapered jeans, high heels, and a form-fitting wrapped blouse that’s tied at the side of her waist. She wears gold jewelry and a pendant that’s hammered into the shape of an ancient demonic sigil. Though her clothing may change to fit her task, Marisa will never remove the sigil from her neck when she’s interacting with other infernalists.

Roleplaying Hints: You prefer to project an aura of mystery and go out of your way to avoid being typecast as a Kindred, Cainite, or infernalist. The minute one vampire thinks you’re easy to deal with, you’ll intentionally switch tactics to keep him on his toes. Your obsession with becoming “the” enigma of the vampire community means you’re interested in taking the path least traveled when it suits you.

Allies and Contacts: Marisa has connections to other infernalist cells in different cities across the world, but does her best not to call on them lest they be discovered by those hunter her. As Ozana she has been doing her best to make a solid reputation for herself within the Sabbat, all the better to throw suspicion off her activities. As Julia she does much the same within Camarilla cities.