Kingston

North America

Introduction

At first glance, this town would seem an odd locale for a bloody conflict between vampires. After all, the so-called "Limestone City's" population barely reached 55,000 in the latest Canadian census; theoretically, this is less than is necessary to support a single Kindred. However, Kingston is home to two sorts of organizations that the Kindred love: universities and prisons. The universities offer easy feeding and early access to those who will someday ascend to positions of authority; the prisons provide safe feeding from a pool of potentially useful ghouls and servitors, and they also provide easy cover-ups for "mistakes." Canada's crime situation is a fraction of the States', but when criminal activities are called for, most Canadian Kindred prefer to use homegrown talent instead of importing.

Canada's pre-Confederation capital, Kingston sits at the northeast end of Lake Ontario by the St. Lawrence River. This positioning makes Kingston important in Kindred affairs for two reasons: Whoever controls Kingston can block the importing of Kindred through the Great Lakes, and the city roughly straddles the Camarilla-Sabbat border in any case. The current prince, Iain MacLaren, has a lucrative working arrangement with Lucian of Gary in regards to the ferrying of vampires down the St. Lawrence and into the States. The proceeds from this odd cargo allow MacLaren to maintain his position; that, and the occasional Kindred he diverts when desperately in need of reinforcements. Kingston also crouches by the 401 Highway, which runs from Montreal to Detroit. The city's four resident vampires are well aware of the havoc a precisely timed accident that blocks all of the westbound lanes could cause with a Kindred's night driving schedule, and they have been known to use this tactic on occasion.

The town's limited heavy industry is long gone; indeed, only the Alcan Factory remains. Apart from incarceration for criminal or academic purposes, summer tourism is the city's other main industry. However, for vampiric purposes, the colleges and prisons are quite enough.

Who's Who

There are only four Camarilla vampires in Kingston. MacLaren, a ninth-generation Ventrue, serves nominally as prince, helped tremendously by the largesse he spreads among his three "subjects." Serving as a sort of loyal opposition is Angelique Cormier, a Quebecois expatriate and 10th-generation Brujah who spends her time lobbying for Camarilla incursions into her Sabbat-dominated home province. Refusing to take part in the local political scene is Merill Olsen, a Gangrel of indeterminate generation and great age who still nurses bitterness over the removal (more than a century ago) of Kingston's designation as capital. Rounding out the quartet is, oddly enough, a Camarilla-affiliated Samedi named Driscoll, who works as a janitor on the night shift at Kingston Penitentiary. Driscoll controls access to the prisoner population, which includes such luminaries as child rapist Clifford Olson and multiple rapist/murderer Paul Bernardo. However, Kingston does have a high turnover when it comes to vampiric visitors: Periodic Sabbat assaults require frequent reinforcements, and other Canadian vampires also want to get in on the fun at Queens, the Royal Military College and the local prisons.

• -- Iain MacLaren -- The Would Be Prince
• -- Angelique Cormier -- The Loyal Opposition
• -- Merill Olsen -- Gangrel Bouncer
• -- Reg Driscoll -- Camarilla Allied Samedi