The Milan Chronicle, subtitled Milan by Night, is a background Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle designed and written to take place concurrently with the Raleigh Chronicle, Chicago Chronicle, New York Chronicle, Paris Chronicle, and DC Chronicle. It is played via live scenes, asynchronous posts and chats, and miscellaneous other writing, with its events informing the behavior and goals of characters involved in other games.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Theme
The themes of Milan by Night revolve around the largely political and social conflicts in one of the oldest and most traditional Camarilla cities in Europe, where change comes slowly (if it ever comes at all) and elders have held sway for untold centuries.
Themes explored in this game include:
| The Next Generation The finely calibrated scales of the future are, like the trap doors of the present, tipped by the weight of a single dropped seed. |
Elders and ancient powers maneuver the younger generations of characters to follow in their footsteps... but sometimes the children have their own ideas about the future. |
| Reap What You Sow May we get what we need and dream of what we want and run swiftly from what we deserve. |
Characters repeatedly discover that the most difficult crises are a result of actions they themselves have taken, often without thinking them through first. |
| Rotten to the Core The more elaborate and ornate a society becomes the more it whittles away with beautiful things its own foundations. |
Characters must confront the fact that even in the heart of the Camarilla strongholds, corruption and abuse by elders and traditions are inescapable. |
Plot
The Domain of Milan, Italy, under the control of the Toreador Prince Julian Augustine, is the central location and power bloc around which events of the game revolve.
Politics
Milan is one of the most ancient and powerful of Camarilla strongholds, predating the foundation of the sect itself. As home to many of the sect's heavy hitters, including its Prince and the famous Scourge Octavius Sage, it is nearly unassailable by outside forces, tolerating a few Anarchs within its borders only as long as they behave themselves in a manner befitting the ancient court and considering most Independents and low-rung groups such as Caitiff and Thin-Blooded personae non grata. Its struggles are slow, taking centuries to make measured chess moves against its only rivals, the other ancient cities such as Baghdad, London, Paris, or Rome, and machinations between the many stupendously aged Elders of the city play out on a timetable known only to them.
In recent years, the city has been severely destabilized first by the death of its Prince, Julian Augustine, followed swiftly by that of his eldest son Richard Montague, and then by the death of his bosom friend Octavius Sage only a few years afterward, a loss taken credit for by Jean Claude Danut, one of Augustine's last remaining childer. The House of Augustine and House of Sage have subsequently entered into a major feud, each accusing the other of assassinating their patriarch, and the careful patience and genteel veneer of the vampires involved has not prevented the body count from escalating. Jean Claude holds de facto power in his sire's absence, supported by the Tremere Seneschal Rupert Graves, but members of the rival House, led by Sage's eldest childe Titus Marcius, threaten to take it from him by force if necessary.
Social & Supernatural Plots
Social plots are complex and often rely on the established alliances and relationships among the vampires in residence. Among other things, the feud between the two great Houses has caused significant pathos for members of both sides, with Jean Claude Danut's relationship with Maeve Glaistig much publicized and discussed. The establishment of Marcus Vitel as Prince of Washington, DC in the Americas has caused considerably increased social and political commerce between the two cities as well, as the Lasombra's presence causes local Elders to scramble to solidify old alliances, and new groups not previously allowed into the city, such as Jimmy Francetti representing Clan Giovanni, have been able to become involved as well. The internal dramas of the many members of the Houses of Augustine and Sage make up the bulk of the dramatic social plots as each deals with the grief of their losses and the decision to pursue rebuilding, revenge, or escape in the aftermath.
The extensive upheavals in the area have also brought several unfamiliar groups of vampires into the spotlight, including emissaries from the Laibon Akunanse, the rare and politically neutral Dracul, and the long-presumed-extinct Cappadocians, each seeking to take advantage of the cracks in the city's normally impregnable and ancient armor to achieve more for their respective peoples.
Players
| Anne Myers Ginevra Bianchi Maeve Glaistig |
Annie Triplett Jacque Beaumont Jean Claude Danut Richard Montague |
Frances Rowat Jenny Ginetti |
| Kat Thomas Daniela Graff |
Jason Addison Jimmy Francetti |
John McIntosh Dominic Vaughn Titus Marcius |
| Rob Fowler Octavius Sage |