Fires and Floods and Devil’s Night
Chicago has suffered and survived several disasters since its founding in 1833. Often, the chaos and confusion generated by a catastrophe presents the perfect smokescreen for vampires to rid themselves of enemies or sabotage a rival’s holdings in the city. The most famous of these was the Great Fire of 1871, started by the Malkavian O’Leary. More recently, the 1992 Chicago Flood has been blamed on a weakened utility tunnel wall giving way, though rumors among the clans suggest it was a Tremere attack on the Nosferatu living belowground. Of course, disasters also create chances for the city’s Kindred to wield influence over rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. Over the last two centuries, enterprising vampires have hidden havens beneath new skyscrapers, or influenced city planners into adding extra branches off of sewer tunnels.
This knowledge can apply to other cities’ disasters as well, such as the Great Fire of London or the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
| • | Trivia Buff: Your knowledge of Chicago disasters is rock solid. You know dates and details, and have written listicles on the strange-but-true facts about the tragedies. Add two dice to Academics or Investigation rolls pertaining to the topic. |
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| • • | Old Bones: New parts of the city were rebuilt on top of the old. Perhaps you’ve studied architectural records, or maybe your old haunts were in the path of destruction. Parts of them still stand, and you know how to get into them. Once per story, you may hide in one of these places to throw off a pursuer. |
| • • • | Devil’s Night Survivor: You lived through the Great Fire and Devil’s Night, and may have participated in Lodin’s purges. Once per story, add three dice to a Social roll involving another person who survived the fire or their childer. |
| • • • • | Local Hero: You helped rebuild after disaster struck, or were one of the rescuers at the scene, and people remember you fondly for it. Once per story, you may leverage this goodwill to sway mortal opinion to your side of an issue, granting you Influence: Goodwill (•••••) for a single session, once per chronicle. |
| • • • • • | Puppetmaster: You were one of the primary orchestrators of a disaster. Work with the Storyteller to determine how you were involved and what the results were. What were your goals? Who died as a result? Who knows you were behind the tragedy? What are some of the rumors surrounding it? What did you gain from it? |