Vienna (WOD)

Vienna ("Wien" in German) is the capital city of Austria located at the Danube River. Founded as Vindobona, it is one of the major cities of middle Europe, hosting numerous international organizations, such as UNIDO and OSCE, and is the twelfth-largest city of Europe.

Vampire: The Masquerade[]

Among the vampires of the Camarilla and the Sabbat, Vienna is synonymous with a single Clan: Tremere. Before that, Vienna was the domain of the Ventrue Valerianus, who found himself in a conflict with the Tzimisce and Nosferatu of the area.^[1] In Etrius, who had returned to the chantry he had founded as a mortal magus, he found a willing ally. In exchange for protection and legitimacy, the Tremere would lend their thaumaturgical knowledge as well as their Gargoyle servants in order to defeat his enemies.^[1] After Valerianus had vanished, ostensibly after an attack by the Tzimisce, Etrius' childe Lotharius became prince and began to work to transform Vienna into a bastion of Tremere influence. Etrius planned to make Vienna unique – a city ruled not by a prince, but by a circle of Tremere puppets.^[1] He would, however, wait a long time to achieve this. Etrius installed a council nominally headed by a prince as a concession to the Camarilla after the Convention of Thorns, which lasted until the 20th century after the Great War.^[2] This "prince", however, was merely a groundskeeper for the more powerful Etrius, who delegated much of the civil administration of the Traditions to the prince in order to focus to his own duties.^[3] The main responsibilities of the prince were managing petitioners to the Council of Seven and soothing tensions between the most powerful Kindred of the city.^[3][4] After the two World Wars, the Tremere tightened their grip around Vienna, restricting the actions of every other Clan. While they have relaxed their policies, vampires who arrive in the city should have a good reason for visiting.^[2] Any visitors will be informed a short time after their arrival through ghouls that troublemaking or espionage is punishable by Final Death.^[5]

Victorian era[]

Vienna is home to an upper crust of Ventrue aristocracy and the resting place of Tremere himself. The Prince plays dangerous game by acting as a diplomat between the Tremere and Ventrue. Tremere fear the city as summons to it means that one may be called upon to justify own actions to the seven elders of the clan. Malkavians who are fascinated by the prospect of regaining one's sanity may learn from the small coterie of Malkavians who reside there. They are careful not to disturb Freud's progress, but eagerly await his latest revelations.^[6]

Modern nights[]

Modern Vienna has abolished princedom and is instead ruled by a small privy council, which is comprised of all major Clans present in the city, similar to the Primogen. Of course, their voices are seldom heard and are treated as mere suggestions.^[7] Few vampire of other Clans dwell long in Vienna. Ventrue have been present since the age of Valerianus and had their peak during the Habsburg dynasty.^[8] While Malkavians are generally looked down upon, members of the Clan whose Clan Curse is not egregiously offensive or deliberate are welcomed.^[3] The Toreador were once one of the more prominent Clans within the city, drawn to its vast art collections, but nowadays are banned from political offices through edicts of the Tremere after machinations by former council member Maria y Aragon.^[2] Brujah and Gangrel are rare. The only Clan that can act relatively unhindered by the Tremere are the Nosferatu, who rule over a hidden warren and whose nominal leader, the Pawnbroker, has an arrangement with the Tremere because of his irreplaceable skill of procuring Artifacts. He is allowed to house auctions beneath his haven at the Dorotheum where Kindred from all over the world can bid.^[9][10] Other vampires who recognize the power and prestige of Clan Tremere travel to the city in order to gain protection from their many enemies, such as the Lasombra antitribu Malaii.^[11] On occasion, large groups of Ravnos used to pass through the city, often with the goal to befool the Tremere and Ventrue.^[12] The Anarch presence of Vienna is negligible, save for the Caitiff Marc Krieger, who has a personal vendetta against the warlocks.^[13] The Sabbat has largely accepted that Vienna represents an indomitable bastion at the moment, but the Tzimisce of the Oradea League refuse to let the grudge die. They have sent one of their best agents, Jorska, to Vienna in order to keep watch on the Usurpers.^[14]

The Vienna Chantry of Clan Tremere is the heart of the Clan.^[15] It is not known if the prime chantry is actually comprised of numerous smaller chantries (like the Fortschritt Chantry founded in 1897^[16] which was built instead of the Votivkirche) or is a singular secret complex. Some of its more visible contact points have been positioned at the Ringstraße within the Inner City,^[3][4] but others include the Millennium Tower, the Hundertwasserhaus, and the towers of St. Rupert's Church. Most suspect that the Tremere deliberately cloak the exact location of the chantry through geomantic rituals or that parts of the chantry are constantly relocated throughout all the city.^[15] Within the chantry's deepest recesses, the body of Tremere himself lies in torpor, only rarely stirring. No one who enters his chamber, except for the Council of Seven, leaves alive. For this reason, when a Tremere vanishes without announcement, it is said that he was "called to Vienna".^[15]

Werewolf: The Apocalypse[]

Garou that arrive in Vienna are usually killed quickly once the night begins. The local Leeches possess strange powers and are entrenched far too strongly to allow for actions against them. The Glass Walker Tribe has nonetheless a number of Kinfolk within the city that act mainly as intelligence gatherers and corporate agents.^[17]

Mage: The Ascension[]

In nights past, Vienna was one of the bastions of House Tremere of the Order of Hermes, with its chantry founded by the still mortal Etrius in 920 CE.^[18] The Order of Hermes was expelled from the city following the Massasa War and only slowly managed to regain footholds. The vacuum was used by the nascent Order of Reason, who worked to make Vienna a safe place for the mundanes. They, too, recognized the presence of the Tremere vampires, but since these beings held to their Masquerade and even worked against other supernaturals within the city, like Lupines, the threat they posed was seen as low. When the Order of Reason became the Technocracy, steps were undertaken to safeguard all government institutions from Tremere hands. The Technocracy worked to make Vienna a center for the new United Nations and positioned six key amalgam around them to make sure no Reality Deviant would try to control them. The Symposium that administers the amalgams is mainly comprised of New World Order and Iteration X.^[19]

Two Tradition cabals are present. One is a offshoot of the Followers of Tytalus cabal of Doissetep and works with the Tremere in order to bring them back into the Order of Hermes. The Followers of Tytalus reside in a Horizon Realm in close proximity to the Tremere chantry, and most have fallen under their spell. The other are the Vedunia, a small cabal mixed with Verbena, Akashics, and Hermetics, who work to undo the geomantic rituals of the Tremere in order to free several Nodes from their grasp.^[20] At some point in the early 20th century, the city was also home to the Sons of Ether cabal that reintroduced Elias Waldmann to the rest of the Tradition, although their name and current status are both unknown.

Wraith: The Oblivion[]

The Necropolis of Vienna was originally ruled by 8 (or 10, depending on who you ask) families from Austrian nobility. Male wraiths of these families become Anacreons, while females serve as overseers of the social and artistic affairs, with the Prater as the central Citadel.^[21]

The coup of the Smiling Lord and the Grim Legion brought this system down, as Loyalists and New Stygians clashed on the streets, until the Skeletal Legion managed to win the upper hand. In the course of the fighting, Vienna has been rearranged seven domains under the control of individual Anacreons, who all claim to be the "true" Anacreon of Vienna.^[21] These are colloquially referred to as the "Seven Cities" and it is rumored the the Monitors have achieved great prominence in these various domains.^[21]

Changeling: The Dreaming[]

Vienna is part of the Commoner-dominated Galacian Confederation.^[22]

Kindred of the East[]

The few Kuei-jin that have made the journey find that the chi flow of Vienna is totally under the control of the Tremere warlocks through careful manipulation of the area's dragon nests. These and other telltale manipulations of the area's chi and feng shui puzzle the Kuei-jin to no end, as the Cainites are supposedly graceless with their blood and incapable of turning chi to their will.^[23] Some Kuei-jin that have learned of this fear that one day the Tremere will wield chi with even greater precision than the Kuei-jin or the servants of the Yama Kings themselves.^[24]

Hunter: The Reckoning[]

The Cenaculum of Vienna is headed by the "Iron Maiden" Ingrid Bauer, the new Inquisitor-General of the Society of Leopold. The Inquisitors present in Vienna know that their enemy has powers far beyond that what vampires usually express and are extra alert.^[25]

Near the end of 1888 Vienna is where the Arcanum established a third Chapter House, Roger Corwin was appointed its Chancellor. When during the 1930s German members revealed the Arcanum to the Nazi party the Viennese Chapter House took action; spiriting away anything of value, hiding it from the Nazis.^[26]

The Imbued have learned the hard way that Vienna is infested with monsters and are advised by their fellows on Hunter-net to either wait until their query leaves the city or search for something else.^[27]

Demon: The Fallen[]

Demons have formed a Court in Vienna. One of its most prominent members is the Malefactor Zipacna, who now works as a biologist in order to rectify her ancient mistake and her involvement in the creation of the Nephilim by creating a new human species that combines the best features of Man and Angel.^[28]

References[]