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.
I really like it. The stakes seem a little too high, but that also plays into her uncertain origins. It casts up a lot of fear and assumptions, which is good because it opens the character up to a number of potential “tiers” of gameplay.
Nice Discipline mix, lots of potential- plays to her strengths and the potentialities of her parentage.
Thanks! Much appreciated!
Hi, I don’t have a lot of input on the character per se, but “y Rodriguez” is a Spanish last name, the Brazilian version would be “e Rodrigues”
Much appreciated. Thanks for correcting us!
Hey guys just a note: “y Rodriguez” is a Spanish surname, not Portuguese. You can simply remove the “y” and write “Rodriguez” as “Rodrigues” in order to correct it.
In addition in the mid-1600s the African people was here as slaves, unfortunately, so it’s impossible to Marisa’s family to have had respect and to Marisa to have had freedom (including of religion) that time.
So please correct these historical mistakes in order to keep consistency and to perfect the character.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers.
Thanks for your thoughts. We do want to make the character more in line with history, like the other Anathema, and will think carefully about how to do that.
That’s right.
I’m brazillian and my surname is Rodrigues.
The better combinations are “Marisa Santos Rodrigues” or “Marisa Rodrigues dos Santos”.
Her alias “Julia Azevedo” is alright, by “Ozana” isn’t a brazillian name, “Rosana” is a common name and can be used on this case.
This character has an interesting back story but its statistics do not make it an interesting Vampire. To survive being huntd by vampires of the rank of alastors and archons and josians i would suspect she would have great Alertness traits , Amazing Subterfuge skills and a solid knowledge fount. I would give her special knowleges such as demonology , and perhaps gematria . Higuer investigation and definitely higuer wits and prception. All in all this would justify how such a physically vulnerable character remains active despite being hunted by powerful kindred
I concur: It is very difficult to see how this sheet would fits with the level of difficulty she poses those actively hunting her. How did she elude the guards as described?
Azevedo is Acevedo
Acevedo is a spanish surname, in portuguese it’s Azevedo, as in the text.
There is a lot of potential, and I am glad Brazil is getting such well deserved love!
🙂
My suggestions:
1) Drop the reference to Santos city. Since you mentioned the poor northeast of Brazil go for Recife instead. Very rich history (Dutch Invasion, Palmares, etc).
2) As everybody mentioned, fix the name and drop the “Y”.
3) I would also drop the reference to Mexico City and Shaitan! Go for Gratiano de Veronese, archbishop of Rio de Janeiro. You have already mentioned the Cathedral of Sé in São Paulo and the Path of Night. The guy “diablerized” Lasombra, he is a walking portal to the Abyss!
Like some other portuguese speakers have pointed out, the brazilian version of her name would be Marisa Santos Rodrigues(and not Rodriguez).
Also growing up at the 17th century and in a farm and being black or mixed she would most likely be a slave at the time.
The text also mentioned favelas, they are a late fenomenon here in Brazil, the first favela was built in the late 19th Century in the Morro da Providencia(Providence Hill), by soldiers who took part in the Canudos War and had nowhere else to live.
Really appreciate the feedback. We definitely want to make sure we get the facts right before we finalize her write-up. Thanks!
Maybe you can say “Senzala” or “Quilombo”.
Senzala was the place were you “stored” slaves…(so wrong say stored)
Quilombo was the name for “rebel cities of Slaves”…
A little historical correction to the comments of my fellow countrymen – while yes, the greater majority of black and mulato people in colonial Brazil were slaves, people freed through alforria – a form of manumission – also existed, not to mention folktales of slaves turned landowners – and fairer-handed slaveowners – themselves, like Chica da Silva, Chico Rei and others.
That said the matter of religion is a more complicated one, as while such traditions were followed by a number of people, a certain amount of discretion was most necessary as church investigators of the Santo Ofício – a branch of the Inquisition – were a distant but all too present reality.
As a little aside on the “is she a Baali, Angeli Atter or a follower of peculiar orixás”, i would comment of the Decani discussed in Montreal By Night and suggest taking a look at – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalu_Aye
And this event, when cultural differences took some pretty brutal turns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_Revolt
Dread Names? Is that the name of the book? When is it scheduled to be published?
White Wolf and Onyx Path haven’t done release dates in five years. You can see the project progress of “Dread Names, Red List” via the Current Projects link in the header above.
Yeah. I’ve already found it.
São Paolo is actually São Paulo, also. I am really appreciative, and also apprehensive, of material being done about Brazil.
Our history is very rich and as complicated as any large country’s.
Openly professing an African religion at that time would certainly have grave consequences. The slaves used to profess belief in christian saints to hide the worship of their orixás. They had a christian altar on display where they worshipped, and a secret altar inside where their hearts would be, a practice kept to this day. Brazil is a case study on religious syncretism, borne out of those slaves’ need to keep their faith but also to survive.
Candomblé only happened after the abolition of slavery (1888), and up until the mid to late 20th century, yes mid to late 1900s, it was still brutally oppressed,the safety of practitioners depending on the whims and goodwill of specific statesmen or priests. Even today its almost like saying you’re a satanist to a good parcel of the population, carrying all the stigma that entails in a christian majority country.
I think its needless to say that you guys have a passionate fanbase, since WW times in Brazil.
With access to these readily available fans and the all mighty internet (and OPPs commitment to a sensible portrayal of things) I hope that easily avoidable mistakes don’t mar an otherwise delightful and anticipated OWoD look at our land/history/culture.
I really appreciate the concern about our draft. We had access to some sources, but felt that it was important to reach out to fans like yourself and double-check our facts (and the approach) so we could correctly relay her character before we finalize it.
Candomblé existed even before the abolition of slavery,it was widespread after it when they started to integrate more and more with the urban centers, but various forms of african religious rites called by a variety of names, like batuque de negro for instance were practiced by the slaves in the senzalas(the slaves lodgings) or in the woods.
That’s hugely helpful to know. I suspected that might be the case, but naming conventions are contradictory and often incomplete at times. 🙂
Hello Felipe,
What existed before the abolition was each regional slave population keeping the beliefs on their national orixa.
In Africa, as far as I know and I´m no scholar, each Nation had a single main orixá. Many orixás from different nations being worshipped at the smae place and time is a characteristic of afro-religions developed in slave colonies.
Being bound to the land made, a foreign land, made africans of different nationalities more amenable of worshiping together, but it was very localized. And if the worship was going on the senzala (slave quarters) you better believe it was under the guise of worshipping catholic saints.
Candomblé as a religion, with specific rituals and dogmas only came to be after the slaves acquired their freedom and were able to interact and organize with more agency.
Yeah, Thiago, sorry to make it unclear, Candomble as a organized religion, with “terreiros” and such was a later development, what I meant to say was that the roots were already in place before, thanks for the explanation!!
Marisa sounds wonderfully versatile. Keeping her a mysterious, unknown quantity will keep players on their toes, especially the ones who read all the ST material and go into games “spoiled” to everything. I know if I was playing in a game where our group was tasked with hunting her down, the investigation and slow accumulation of clues about her past and her mission would make it feel like we were really accomplishing something instead of just doing the straightforward “Here’s your target, track him down, boss battle, onto the next one” routine. She’d also be a good fit for intrigue/espionage type stories. Marisa’s other identities remind me of the Camarilla traitor “Lucius” from the Clan Novel series, which I really enjoyed. Playing in a story where an established figure in our city’s politics turns out to not just be a traitor, but an anathema infernalist who’s playing both the Camarilla AND the Sabbat would make me all kinds of giddy. Personally I love that you’ve gone big with her with the Baali Methuselah endgame possibility (I’m a metaplot fan), but there’s plenty of wiggle room for STs and players to use Marisa in a far less world shaking capacity. She’s out to raise the eldest Baali? Since when does an infernalist tell the truth? She’s probably trying to throw us off her trail, or scare us into backing down, or pointing us toward one of her infernalist rivals, or… So yes, I do like this level of mystery/versatility. I don’t know if I’d want want every anathema character to be written up this way, but I think Marisa will be a lot of fun.
“Since when does an infernalist tell the truth?”
Muwahahahaha…
I really appreciate the use of a Josian (from Rites of the Blood IIRC). I believe that such function can bring really great stories like this one. The ramifications of this entry are really rich, Natal from Brazil and Mexico City, the Josians and the Sabbat Inquisition. I would only add one suggestion, place the generation as unknown and claim that the traits listed are only because the archons and josians can speculate her proven abilities. The idea of her being more mysterious than numerical is a lot more appealing than revealing her full traits. Thumbs up for this entry. Hope this helps.
That’s great to hear. You’ll definitely see more ties to the Josians in this book. We felt that was a great way to flesh out a chronicle even further, and deepen the setting experience.
Has the Path of Evil Revelations actually been detailed in the V20 line yet? I’ve not been able to find it in the core book or the more brimstone-scented bits of Rites of the Blood. Or is it going to be introduced in the new Red List?
The Path of Evil Revelations will be introduced in Dread Names: Red List. We’re adding it to the Appendix.
Ah, great. It’s the sort of path which disqualifies you from being a functional member of a PC party (or society in general) if you pursue it at all seriously so I guess it makes sense to keep it to an NPC supplement.
Hello,
What i dont like about this kind of books is that i cant use them in the way i should as a classical player. V20 line should be both, new material for old fans and a posdible line to play by its own. That said, why not keep it agnostic lore wise like Rites of the Blood? When you give dates above 2004 the character cant be used for classical players. Why dont just say in the last decades or something like that? This is the great mystake Justin did in his own books and was correct in RotB…agnostic in nature. I love the character, but when the world ends, it still in torpor…and as a brazilian fan, nice work! Just change the name as people said many times.
I actually like the inclusion of dates, especially if they are not too specific). It’s easy enough to change them if needed, but it helps to establish a better timeline.
As a Classic Player/STer, I’m really not seeing what you mean by “if it happened in 2004 or later, they can’t be used”. Something to keep in mind, a of 2009, Manuela Cardoso Pinto is a newly-appointed Brujah Justicar, so it makes a lot of sense to include some relative dates, and if they don’t line up, it’s very easy to simply change them for your game.
Whrn i say this is brcause Gehenna kicked in in 2004. The original goal for v20 was to celebrate clasical wod but now it started to be a line by its own. When i play the old old game informations above 2004 turns out ad useless so, or they wake up her before that or she will be in torpor and thats it. Eddy was the only one to really understand what agnostic means. A book tp be used wothout the need to change or ignore information x or y by anyone. Its no secret that now, v20 is iys your own line, little by little foward from the original goal.
Not 100% sure what you mean here, Felipe, but yes Eddy Webb is still V20 line developer and yes, V20 itself is metaplot agnostic. The line however is going to be exploring advancing the timeframe with the idea that GEHENNA, big emphasis, did not occur. At least not to the extremes of all vampires in torpor or dead.
Agree she needs slightly better stats to survive for any period on that list. Either that or she needs an alternate few dots in backgrounds to boost the talisman she wears to be some sort of mystical item which assists her.
If I had to make a single 1-point change to her sheet to give her a slightly better chance in general, it would be Obfuscate to 4 (or Obtenebration to 5) to keep her out of the hands of most average hunters.
Rituals 2 also seems a shade low for someone 200 years+ in the Dark magics business.
Awareness 4 is unusually good for a Vampire, so I like that, but as others have said it should likely be coupled with Alertness of at least 3.
Finally, 2 basic points which I don’t like from your written text.
Firstly you have referred to both strong faith and unbreakable will… But your rating is only 7 “Determined”. the text for WP on the wiki says “only a rare few, usually fanatics, have a Willpower higher than 7”.
I think she qualifies as a fanatic, and as one of the rare few, and would recommend you consider WP 8 (Controlled) for her.
Lastly: she survives an encounter in an unsprung trap with a Brujah Justicar.
“By the time Manuela was ready to strike her down, Marisa had already slaughtered the guards that stood between her and her freedom.”
For those of us that know the stats of this system, that says to us that somehow your BRUJAH JUSTICAR has worse Initiative than 6, and less Celerity than 2. Which is, frankly, laughable.
To actually ESCAPE an encounter with a Brujah Justicar I would expect something better than “She killed all the guards before the Brujah was ready to strike”. Either change the Trophy Clan, or provide a more fitting scenario in which she leaves unscathed: have her arrive and be seen perhaps… But then cloak the room in shadow as she delivers her message. Have the Justicar send in the guards to apprehend her but have them die in screaming agony in the shadows maybe. But definitely have a better reason or rationale for evading or thwarting someone of Justicar calibre.
Fully agree!! 100%
No investments? No Chimerstry, Dementation or relevant Thaumaturgy?
She’s not long for this world!
We’ll make the situation clearer in the revision and in the Storyteller chapter, too, but remember: what the Alastors know about this Anathema is what the Brujah Justicar is telling them. This is Vampire. Who’s to say that what an infernalist says is the truth? Or any other vampire?
I loved everything about her! I’m very happy that you mentioned Santos, which is the city I was born and have a very rich history (we even include Pirates. I don’t know if you found it in your researches. And the legend of Mount Serrat Saint and how her “divine powers” saved citzens against Pirate invasion is truly awesome!).
We also have some turistic place. One of them is “Lagoa da Saudade” (Lake of Saudade), that there lives some alligators, but some years ago they were removed from their because of “ecological reasons” (which is strange, since there is their habitat and everyone respected them). One of my friends used this curious history about alligators to include Mokolé in our Mage chronicle.
We have too another strange “place”: A giant rock in the middle of the beach, called “Pedra da Feiticeira” (Sorcerer’s Stone. In this case “feiticeira” is a female sorcerer). Unfortunatly, I don’t remmember a lot about her legend, but there are two curious things about it:
1. An helicopter fall down on the stone, but the stone survived intact
2. People raised an statue of the sorcerer on her tribute on the top of the stone.
You probably won’t include any of these in her background, but it’s just some curious things about my city and how happy I am to show you this! Thanks a lot for putting my city in a World of Darkness background character! All of my love for you! 🙂
Since Marisa was alive as mortal in mid-1600 Brazil Colony, it would be hard to her being from a “once-respected” family who helped to build Santos, except in a very especific situation.
An example of an afro people who was respected in that period: Henrique Dias, one of the four leaders of the Pernambucana resistance (“Insurreição Pernambucana” in Portuguese).
[An interesting note of Pernambucana resistance’s leaders: Filipe Camarão was South American native, João Fernandes Vieira was white, André Vidal de Negreiros was of white and afro heritage.]
Since it is mid-1600, they could be “Bandeirantes”, a group of Brazilian explorers who had the objective of expand Brazilian territory in wildnerness. “Bandeirantes” was respected and could get lots of gold from Portugeses. That’s a good explanation how they get status and being freed from slavery.
His misterious husband could be a “Bandeirante” too and they could have met in their travels. That could give players a hint to research about Marisa and introduce her to the chronicle.
I have my personal take of Baali in São Paulo, too. If you think that helps you, feel free to take it as you please:
-Different from the rest of the world, where Baali pose as Tremere, in Brazil, they tend to pose as Toreador, since they are understimated by other vampires.
-The Baali can act as independant cells or as organized groups, as they see as fit. As Brazil has many ethnic groups, they have too lots of bloodlines in great number, unlike other countries. So Baali has much more options of action.
-There is friction between Nergali, Molochim and Unnamed factions.
-As current events, Baali are concerned about the mortal claim of “Military Intervention”. They fear the advance of religious forces in the ranks of Secular State, since a Secular State of religious freedom fits the bill of Baali’s needs. They will use their influence in Toreador and Tremere ranks to mantain the Status Quo in Brazilian politics.
Pardon my ignorance of my own country history, but how widespread were african people among the bandeirantes? Because one of the activities they engaged were destroying quilombos, so I can’t imagine they had many people of african descent, cablocos only maybe.
Actually, there are three types of activity:
-“Entradas”, the expansion of territory by Portuguese explorer sanctioned by the Crown;
-“Bandeiras”, the private sector of “Entradas”;
-“Monções”, the explorers who bring with them weapons, equipment, slaves and goods by Tietê River.
The “Monções” are the most propense activity to attack quilombos outside Northeast Region (Nordeste), but the “Bandeiras” attack most on Northeast. Santos is Southeast.
This is awesome. Gives us a lot to think about!
Glad you like it 🙂
Keep in mind that “Bandeirantes” are respected, sometimes they were nothing but a bunch of mercenaries. They’ve became national heroes because of our strong Portuguese influence, but “Bandeirantes” are an instrument lackey of the Portugal’s Crown.
Here in Brazil, our independence was a completely different process to the US. For example, the Heir Prince of Portugal’s Crown, D. Pedro I, declarated Brazil’s Independence, BUT he turned Brazil an empire and became Emperor of Brazil. He and his royal family dismissed Portugal, who has Napoleon’s grip.
Only to give you an idea how strong Portugal became in Brazilian popular culture.
Quick question for you: Would it make sense for a character to arrive in the Southeast (e.g. Santos) as a slave, and then escape to become a rebel? Were there any named escape routes like we have (e.g. The Underground Railroad) in the U.S.?
I do not know routes, but long before the abolition of slavery in Brazil, Santos received refugee slaves and housed, so probably there was lots of routes to Santos and to their quilombos, like
-Quilombo do Jabaquara, was one of the biggest of Brazil and received 10.000 refugees from farms. Their leader was Quintino de Lacerda, an emancipated;
-Quilombo do Pai Felipe, near Mount Serrat, where Pai Felipe’s refugees didn’t accept Lacerda’s leadership;
-Quilombo do Garrafão, disguised as a distillery by José Theodoro Santos Pereira, a white man friend of Lacerda and in love with Brandina Fiúsa, a former slave.
All of those quilombos had the protection of the entire city, including the Santos’ society.
So I guess there was some route.
There is a major difference concerning “underground railroad” effect in that quilombos were local. Slaves never moved in large numbers across state borders. The same wildnerness that made travel so difficult hid them very well.
Yep, they were stealth, not a mass-scale runaway.
As a Brazilian, her name should be more like “Marissa dos Santos e Rodrigues”. It’s not Spanish, ‘Y’ would be replaced by ‘e’.
Yeah, actually it would be better to be Marisa dos Santos Rodrigues(I don’t know any people that actually add the “e” in the name)
I’m a bit confused and of two minds of this. On one hand, I like the story. But on the other, I just don’t see such a minor individual being on the Red List.
What would prompt Clan Brujah to nominate her over every other enemy of the Clan in the world?
It also kind of struck me a odd that basically no one cared that she desecrated a church and likely slaughtered everyone inside, (at the very least a large Masquerade breech that is dang likely to bring in Hunters).
I’m also a little concerned that it seems like most of the story isn’t actually about the character as much as everyone else that’s interested in her, (but I’m still not really seeing why they would be so interested in her?). More telling than showing.
I mean this as constructive criticism, rather than trying to bash the work, so let me reread it all and I’ll see if I change my mind.
😛
I think that some of your questions about her being nominated to the List will be answered when we explore, at length, how the Red List is maintained and how nominations are offered. Clan Brujah is the Trophy Clan, but adding Marisa to the List was championed by the new Brujah Justicar. It does take two Justicars to add an Anathema to the List, so we do need to amplify the personal and political motivations for Manuela to suggest her. Specifically, we’ll be highlighting Manuela’s role as a Josian and spending more time on that scene.
That’s fine, like I said, I mean that to be purely constructive criticism. It just seems like something is missing in that story, unless the goal was to kind of suggest that there is a level of corruption in the choosing, or something along those lines.
No worries! We definitely need to make the corruption in her choice clearer. We were inspired by what happened with Germaine, originally, and wanted to show that not everybody necessarily deserves to be added to the List–but some Anathema devolve afterwards because they’re being hunted.
A few notes:
Marisa and Manuela sound too close. Would it be possible to change probably Marisa’s name a bit to help avoid confusion?
I do like the mystery aspects, but I still feel it’s just lacking some how. I think that Marisa really needs to be presented as being a larger, more word-wide threat. I just can’t buy her as being worthy of being on the Red List. And when I say that, I mean in the comparative sense. She just doesn’t really come off as being close to the proverbial Top Ten. And while I like and appreciate the localized aspect, that’s also the problem, she seems more in line with a local threat than a target the entire Clan has targeted for “justice”.
More for the actual book than this manuscript, would it be possible to add a small list of possibly true/false facts and plot hooks for each of the members on the Red List. Similar to how New Orleans by Night and some other books contained City Secrets (page 50), I think this sort of thing might work really well.
I’m not particularly sold on the Baali reference/insinuation, and I kind of get the impression that she is inadvertently being set up as a dupe for something worse, but I also kind of feel like whatever that might be is probably not going to be touched on. Not sure how I feel about that, either as her being as I’ve said, Clan Brujah’s choice for the Red List or that it’s something that’s probably not going to come up later.
For someone on the Path of Evil Revelations, she seems to care about other infernalists and/or Baali cells a bit to much.
Please also do list what her actual Clan is, because that (Weakness) could actually be very pertinent for play. If she is a Baali, she probably had some difficulty doing much in the Church. Or it might be important that she has no reflection. (Note this is for STers only, there is absolutely no need to disclose her Clan or Bloodline to Players).
I also noticed she lacks a Courage Rating.
I could be wrong, but she seems less in your face and more trying to stay hidden and unknown. It might be more appropriate to drop Obtenebration by 2 ranks and Daimoinon by 1 rank, and possibly gain Presence 1, and possibly Animalism?
Brazilian fans really like to help = P
Yeah, WW was afraid to repeat the mistakes on legendary Rage Across Amazon
I never worked on Rage Against Amazon, and have no idea what you’re talking about. Matt (my developer and I) wanted to reach out to fans because this is what we do as writers and developers. I’m grateful that Onyx Path supports us and that we can do this sort of thing through Open Dev.
Also, we’re not White Wolf.
I know you are not WW. Let me to clarify. Since WW was done Rage Across Amazon, WW had abandoned entirely any setting or reference to South America better than: “a strange place with mysterious monster are here”.
So Brazilian fans are hugely happy because Onyx Path are doing more references not only to Brazil, but to South America. We’re glad.
Hello.
I tried to read all the comments as carefully as possible, so I’m sorry if I’m repeating something, but “Marisa” wasn’t a common name at all at the time in Brazil.
She should have a name like Maria or Francisca.
I suggest you guys read about Brazil’s most famous female african-brazillian historical woman, Xica da Silva.
I guess she can be an amazing inspiration for this character.
Hi! Thanks for your comment about her name. We intentionally tried to avoid common names by design, because we felt that would give her character more flavor, similar to the other Anathema and the unusual naming conventions. We are going to take another look at her first name, however, because we agree it’s too similar to Manuela.
I think that would ultimately benefit the reader and the story. I caught myself a few time in the first readings beginning to forget at times which of the two was actually being talked about, so avoiding the M&M link should really help.
As for it being a common or uncommon name, I’d actually prefer it to e an uncommon one, if not an outright additional alternate personality, meant to throw researchers of her past off a bit. Perhaps present her a Darisa or Larisa, and then add a note somewhere that what historical records still remain do not indicate such a person ever existed, well not in that area, however, there was a mention of a “Marisa Santos y Rodriguez”. . .
Or something along those lines.
We love aliases. 🙂
Well, here in São Paulo, Marisa is a common name. There a fashion store for woman that name and I know some people with that name.
Awesome! We definitely need to clarify that she was born in the South, and then escaped to the North. Hugely helpful.
The main ports to slavery ships in Brazil are: Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Recife and São Luís (Maranhão).
Santos are in Southeast, Rio de Janeiro in Southeast. She (or her family) could had being bought in Rio de Janeiro and forced to work near São Paulo and Santos. Then, she could had escaped to a quilombo.
Mandou bem, very accurate!
Portuguese 17th century names (although these are for noble women): http://heraldry.sca.org/names/portugal16.htm
Xica da Silva: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chica_da_Silva
I think I’d prefer more concrete information about her as a character, and what her motivation is. At the moment reads a bit like a role rather than a person.
I find the the human sacrifice/wanting to wake the Baali methuselah the most interesting part here and I’d like more information about how exactly she is planning to do that, why she wants to do it etc.
I think that the more concrete details you give the more you will spark people’s imaginations. I’d also only focus on the cool, over the top and dramatic information (sacrifice, ancient methuselahs and so on). As a reader I would like to know more about that, and I wouldn’t care too much about the accuracy of slave railroads and similar things
As everyone says, her name on portuguese should be “Marisa Santos e Rodrigues”.
Also, Santos in the south of Brasil, not north.
Use some of our history should be amazing, and you guys are doing a great job.
There is some cleregy that can be also used.
Pretty sure I am re-imagining the wheel here…
But this post has shown a number of passionate people who would gladly contribute in a large project. V20 has painted Brazil with very interesting colors:
1) Catedral da Sé (and the whole of São Paulo) as a center of Sabbat faith on par with Montreal.
2) An anarch coterie dedicated to the Path of Cathari.
3) Now a recently appointed Brujah Justicar in Natal, AND an infernalist anathema.
We should be thinking seriously about a bilingual Brazil By Night project!!
Why would it be corrupt to put her on the Red List? She’s an infernalist, caused a major Masquerade breach, and she claims to want to awaken Baali Methuselehs. It would probably be strange if she wasn’t on the List.
Assuming you meant me, here. What I mean by corruption was on the Justicar’s part. She only found out about infernalist in 2009, right after becoming a Justicar. Even then, all she new was that an infernalist was trying to steal some things from a church.
The Justicar tracked down a few bits of information, mainly that he had murdered her two sons, and that there was a huge gap between that point and 2009.
They then encountered her in the church, where the infernalist had already desecrated it, and then killed her troops. Ok, bad, but nothing that any common Sabbat criminal wouldn’t do. In fact, the prevailing view on the entire Sabbat is that they are infernalists.
I just don’t see any of that as even close to cause for the Justicar to campaign to have her put on the Red List. So, what I was saying is that unless is was purposefully a sign of corruption on the Justicar’s part, (like for instance a personal vendetta, maybe she killed a friend/lover/mentor in that church), it doesn’t make sense to me.
I was referring to mlvalentine’s post. “defiling one Church and conducting an unholy rite on the altar of another” goes beyond what the Sabbat would do. They go for crime that can be blamed on gangs afterward. (They’re considered to all be diablerists, not infernalists.) Plus her plan to raise Baali Methuselehs, her ability to slaughter the Justicar’s guards, and “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.”
You should make her more brazilian correcting the name Marisa Santos y Rodriguez to “Marisa Santos de Rodrigues” or (more likely) Marisa dos Santos Rodrigues.
Her alias, would sound more brasilian too if it was changed to “Rosana Vargas”.
The actual names sound more mexican than brasilian…
If she had 5 obtenebration she would by very hard for physical characters to deal with.. aka, a brujah and her goons. I’d boost her stats somewhat. She doesn’t need to be a powerhouse, just enough tools to realistically survive for any length of time a an Anathema. Perhaps a little Abyss Mysticism or Dark Thaum, or infernal investment – something that is harder for the Alistors to anticipate and counter? You have to imagine they know the ins and outs of the ‘standard’ disciplines pretty well.