The Masques

Paris

Since the Camarilla came to power in France at the end of the Anarch Revolt, Francois Villon and Ivan had toyed with the idea of a secret police force to ensure the secrecy of the Blood. Everyone agreed that the Masquerade was a good idea, but for it to truly work, it would need more than seven Justicars and their Archons to enforce it. However, Villon's secret police, the Masques did not come into being until the Revolution of 1789 turned France in general and Paris particularly upside-down. Of course, Francois had no real right to create a secret police force that so obviously infringed upon the bailiwick of the Justicars and weakened the power of the Camarilla in France. But when Francois Villon was officially crowned the rightful prince of Paris in 1805, his first official, if secret decision was to breath life into the Masques to protect the Masquerade and to secure his power in Paris.

The Beginings of the Sect

The Masques already existed as a small secret police who acted on Villon's behalf since Louis XIV's era. They had no real power, be it political, or even physical. They were a small cotterie, with three major Toreador: Ivan, Aimé and Alexis. With Villon at their head, they enforced the authority of the Prince, Beatrix, and worked to enforce the Toreador Hegemony. The fact that the Masques seem to be reborn from the ashes of Villon's dissolved Anarch Coterie is not lost to him, and to the Anarchs...

In 1805, they were officialized, with the power to protect the Masquerade, the other Traditions and, of course the Camarilla. The Princes of other french cities rebelled against the Hegemony, and most of all, against this sect. Villon argued with the less passionate that the 1789 Revolution would not have happened if every Prince of the France were working together and that the Sabbat successes in the Revolution found their source at the constant bickering each Prince had with each other. The Inner Circle of the Camarilla, or the Justicar could not be everywhere, and so, Paris would be an intermediate level of power between the Inner Circle and the Princes. To the others, who wanted to hear nothing at all, and who had forgotten the La Rochelle example, Villon sent the armies of Napoleon and, behind them, the Masques to finish the work.

Even without Alexis, who gave the Masques their occult knowledge, the sect was succesful at avoiding most Sabbat infiltration and Anarch problems in the following revolutions of the 19th century, and most of all, removed most french prince's ambitions or power to further it. If the french Toreador somewhat liked the idea of the Toreador Hegemony (Villon gave them, secretly, more power and rights), the other Marquis still wanted to recover their rights, and sometimes petitionned the Justicars of even the Camarilla's Inner Circle to give them their rightful powers. The problem is that the Prince's status isn't defined in the Traditions, as Madame Guil, Toreador Justicar, reminded the Camarilla Elders, and that if Villon had the power to make himself of Eldest mong the Elders in the whole French Country, then he had the right to enforce the Traditions as per the Camarilla decision of 1743.

The 1871 Commune was a great coup against the Masques, as the Brujah and the Anarchs, who resented the Masques' power and wrath more often than others, tried to take the power in Paris. At first, they thought they could keep the power, but soon, their anarchy proved to be their undoing, as even the population make profit of it to not follow the orders from their leaders without a vote! As the forces of the parisian Elders, and the Masques were slowly winning ground into Paris, someone decided to burn official and noble buildings to slow them down. The Tuileries were burnt to the ground, and with it some of Villon's artwork, and its personal Library.

Villon's wrath knew no bounds: He declared a Blood Hunt against all the Kindred behind the Commune, and used the Masques against them. The Marquis thought they could use this country-scale Blood Hunt to show Villon's power were not as great as he wanted it to be: After all, if no one but him Blood Hunted the whole Brujah Clan, he would loose a great amount of status. Their surprise was great indeed as all the Toreador Marquis agreed to the Hunt, and as even their own Primogen followed Villon's outrageous action! They had no choice but follow, of be removed!

Some time after, the Veilleurs were created, with the same hierarchy than the masques, and separated from them, even if under them, in a strict hierarchic and jurisdictional status. Ivan resented to have to give the Veilleurs some of the resources he considered were of his personnal province (the Police), but could say nothing against it: He had no real occult knowledge, and the Masques didn't, too.

The next time the Masques were used, 20 years after, was when the Kindred of Paris and the Tradition Mages started a full-scale war, called the Traditions War. The Masques fought the Mages with surprising successes, while the Veilleurs found a way to reach a tentative peace.

The number of Masques was raised, as the Kindred population was still growing, and as Villon needed to have ears and eyes in most French cities. In the two world wars, the Masques contributed to keep the order in Paris, and even were behind the preservation of the french capital where every other major european city had been bombed beyond recognition.

One of their greatest success was in 1961, against the Assamite Clan: Villon had been the aim of a murder attempt from one of their number, and in his wrath, decided to remove all Assamite trace from Paris. In the middle of the colonial war of algeria, 200 algerian were killed while demonstrating pacificaly against the french colonial politic: The Masques had used their power to start a massive slaughter, and make profit of it to kill the Assamite hiding among their mortal pawns. Then, they succeeded to make the whole french population forget/ignore all about this event until the end of the year 1997!

Their first aknowledged failure was when, in 1968, students started a revolt that would turn to be a Brujah/Anarch revolution: The Mai 68' Revolution was first a success, and most french social class joined the students, weakening the power of the french general, and Villon's pet, De Gaulle, who would resign little time after. Villon agreed to accept once more the Brujah in Paris (to the condition they would agree to accept the Traditions and Edicts), and they would stop the revolution. (Some among the Masques wonder why they didn't used all their resources against the whole revolution, instead of just picking out the possible Sabbat infiltration within the Anarch ranks).

The Sect, Today

Raphaëla exited through the roof door, and walked under the light of the stars until she found her friend. Nicolas was looking down, in the next street, apparently deserted by all but an half dozen people.

Bonne nuit, mon ami... How are you?

Fine, I believe...

What did you find there?

Nicolas smiled.

Nosferatu... With a very powerful Obfuscate.

Raphaëla's eyes narrowed, as she tried to find the monster with her own supernatural Auspex.

oui... Where?

The monster is clever: He hides behind that lamp-post, and hidden from the lights of others by this tree. The only lights that would have illuminated him are out of service. And as people walks by him without seeing him, even when the post is not in the middle, he must use at least three Obfuscate powers working simultaneously.

I see him... I don't recognize him. He is not from Paris, and he is not a lowly Bâtard. Since when he is in our city?

I can't tell... So? What's Ivan's instruction? If you came here, I believe he does not want to kill him outright.

As we can't tell how long he is here, we can't destroy him: He is perhaps searching for the Louvre to Present himself to our Prince. Nicolas nodded.

I'm sure he is waiting for someone... Hey! He lowers his Obfuscate!

Raphaëla and Nicolas searched for potential witnesses, and the female Toreador only saw one.

You won't believe it: This one is Sabbat Ghoul: Patrice Richon, discovered when dealing with a Tzimisce fiend!

The Nosferatu is Diabolist! Look at those veins! I call for intervention.

Don't! Richon is our unknowing spy with the Fiend. Killing it would be an error... I say we wait for him to go away... There it is...

Nicolas checked his weapons, choosing the crossbow with wooden stakes, but keeping his incendiary bullets Micro-Uzi at hand reach.

"I follow the monster, and you follow me. Call reinforcements: Ivan would not like to have angry Sabbat survivors..."

The sect's power goes even beyond France's boundaries (some will say up to New Zealand, where the D.G.S.E.'s agents sabbotaged the GreenPeace's Rainbow Warrior with the success we all know!!!), and anyway, in any french city, as per the Toreador Hegemony.

Paris (and France) has a reputation of a solid power base of the Camarilla, and some will say it's because of the Elder's presence here. Ivan would answer that the Elders cause him as much problem as the anarchs, and that half his interventions to protect the Masquerade happens after some Elder failed intrigue. If it's true that french Kindred are more attached to the Masquerade, the real reason behind the solid Camarilla presence in France is the Masques themselves, who has the political and physical power to stop any Sabbat invasion in Paris, and probably in France. And to know that Kindred so powerful they can enforce Villon's interdiction of the Clan Assamite in France despite the power of this Clan is enough motivation to any Elder to clean the mess behind him.

But if France is so much protected against war-like assault from other Kindred, the said Kindred had to devise new way to further their cause, which increased the level of intrigue tenfold! Most uncontrolled (the reason for this adjective lies somewhere else in the Chronicle: Paris, la nuit...!) Sabbat members, or Assamite, or ravnos keep hidden, or infiltrate the Bâtards, or other Clans. There, the Masques are not so efficient, even if half their members are used as submarines, that is passive spy among the other Kindred, sending information to the Louvre as soon as possible.

Background Information

The Masques are constituted by only the most loyal and reliable Kindred. This limits the selection to two cases, which are perceived by others as one case: The candidate must be Toreador, or must be of Ivan's Bloodline. Either way, she must be Blood Bound to François Villon, and succeed in the 1 to 7 years of evaluation. If the candidate is mortal, she is immediately Embraced by a Toreador (if he shows some artistic potential) or by Ivan, and then Bound to Villon. If the candidate is Kindred, then she must be Blood Bond to Villon, and the evaluation time is shorter, but tighter, as the Kindred always fear infiltration.

The mission of the Masques is protecting the Masquerade, and after, upholding the other Traditions and Edicts as well. They will have some power over other Kindred when it comes to their missions, and they will be backed by the resources Ivan gave them, as well as the other Masques, Ivan and eventually Villon himself.

Philosophy

The Masques are the police of Villon. As such, they must be loyal to the extreme, and willing to sacrifice all they hold dear (sometimes even their lives) to protect Paris. The Roads of Enlightment (See The Virtues and Road chapter) found within are the Humanity and Path of Chivalry.

For them, the Traditions are something sacred. They know that the Camarilla in Paris (and in France) is strong because the Masques are there to protect it. Sometimes they must do something dirty to succeed in their mission. Most of the time it is dangerous, but they were chosen because of their dedication, and they will go very far out of their way to protect the Traditions.

Some see them as fanatics, and in a strict sense, they are fanatics. But they would answer this is the price to pay for the Masquerade, and for the unlives of all Kindred in France. They add, then, that the number of Kindred in Paris is higher than the accepted standards (1 Kindred per 100 000 Kine), and the order still reigns, and the Masquerade is still protected because of their presence...

Powers & Influence in the Mortal World

The Status, Masques is the same as D.S.T. (Police), or R.G. (Police), or D.G.S.E (Army) Rank (See: Year of the Hunter: Operation Twilight):

Status, Masques	Title	Rank DST/RG (M)	Rank DGSE (M)	Resources (M)	Army Forces (M)	Influence (M)
0	Apprenti	None	None	-	-	-
*	Masque	Agent	Aspirant	**	-	-
**	Chevalier	Inspecteur	Lieutenant	**	** (3)	*
***	Paladin	Commissair	Capitaine	***	** (15)	**
**** Seigneur	Seigneur	Commissair Divisionaire	Colonel	***	***	***
*****	Maitre	Prefet	General	****	****	****
***** *	Grand Maitre (Ivan)	Prefet (*)	General (*)	*****	***** *	***** *

(*) While the Rank remains the same, the power goes even beyong, the Grand Master having influence beyond the common imagination...

The Backgrounds with an '(M)' are given by the Masque status, and are put separately from any other Background. So, a Masque can have a Resources *** and a Resources (M) equal to **. It does not make a global Resource *****!

Note about Army Forces: The elements are always at least trained (that means Army Forces **), but their numbers are fewer for those of lower levels (number or persons in parenthesis).

Note about Influence: The influences stretches in the police or army influence, as well as in justice.

As mentioned in the Protject Twilight sourcebook, the Masques can use whatever resources of the same or less level than their own Masques Status/Rank.

The Seigneurs (Lords) are given a domain in Paris (or a greater one in France) to control. This usually takes the form of a Nightclub (complete with additionnal resources, staff, etc.), or any other domain where the Herd is plentiful. The Maîtres are given another, greater Domain (or see their domain grow in size). They usually choose a fortress-like place, where they can build up a new Chantry for the Masques (or the Veilleurs, in the case of Alexis!).

The Masques will use whatever resources they have to take over some investigations that could uncover Kindred secrets, or even any supernatural secret. In a way, they work along the Technocracy, even if the Veilleurs are the one who deal with the Mages.

Powers & Influence in the Kindred Society

In the Camarilla, the only one with the power of justice are the Justicar, and they have retainers called Archons. But the Princes also have the power over their domain, and few Princes have, like Villon, so much power over one country. so Villon decided we would need Justicar-like retainers, and so, he give Ivan the mission to create the Masques. At first, Villon thought to use it for his personnal ends, but eventually, the fanaticism of Ivan (some would say his dedication) for the Traditions, and, more important, the Masquerade, tranformed the Masques into the structure the french Kindred know, today.

The mission of the Masques is to protect the Masquerade, and, after, protect the other Traditions. They have developped contacts and influence within the french administration and army that would make the Technocracy pale with horror: The main difference with the USA is that France is a very centralised country who is under the control of the Kindred since the Christ Era. The USA were created at an age where the new Technocracy could take over the control over the isolated Kindred Princes fighting against Sabbat Archbishops. Some think the Technocracy will make profit of the European Union (and the possible internal Camarilla conflict coming from the Princes of Europe fighting to protect their resources from European control) to reverse the tendancy.

Anyway, in Paris, unless given a direct order from the Prince, a Kindred can receive orders from a Masque as if it was given by Villon himself if the Masque has equal or more Status Masque than the Kindred Paris' Status.

The Status, Masque is the trust Villon puts upon the individual, and if the reason is good enough, he will back up his follower and retaliate against the Kindred who dared disobey him. In the other hand, the Kindred can refuse (he should have a good reason), and/or can complain to the Prince, who can, if the Kindred is right, punish the Masque for abusing the trust he gave him.

There is some corruption in the system, through, as the Anarchs have no really significant status, and as the Elders hold a lot of the same status. Anarchs are treated with less respect (at least) than Elders. Also, Elders sometimes wait only for one reason to critisize Ivan and his sect, and will protect themselves from it (in a covert way, of course). The Anarchs have no such power, and sometimes fall into some intrigue designed to protect an Elder from Ivan's anger! So the Masques are seen as the cleaners of Villon (sometimes with a less polite word) at the very best, and as the fascist police of the prince by others... And the fact that Ivan sometimes recruit among the intelligence services adds to this prejudice.

Havens

The only well-known haven of the Masques is the Louvre, where part of the secret levels were designed for their use, complete with loyal ghouls, high security prisons and interrogation chambers, etc..

Ivan is known to have one of his Haven in the higher level of the Montparnasse Tower. The Masques are known to gather there, too.

Notes

The Masques come only from the Toreador Clan, and some of them are Ivan's own Childer. No matter their Status, they all have access to the following Disciplines, and will find a teacher to learn them:

   Auspex *
   Celerity
   Dominate *
   Fortitude 

   Obfuscate
   Potence
   Presence 

• Unless exception, one wanting to reach a level in Status, Masque will have to have at least the same level in Dominate (to control and erase the possible informations) and Auspex (to learn information and see through Obfuscate).

And they have, of course, easy access to any Parisian Elysium, no matter their Parisian, or Masque Status (At least 1), including the Louvre.

The new recruits are called Apprentices, and will have to act as expected by Ivan and Villon: With loyalty and talent. Kindred joining are simply cast out from the Sect if they don't succeed. The newly created Childer is simply destroyed, as they were embraced to become Masques.

Relations with the Veilleurs

It's easy, for the one who had compared Ivan's Masques and Alexis's Veilleurs, to understand what happened. When Alexis asked Villon for influence for his Veilleurs, Villon simply decided to make Alexis one of Ivan's Masters, with the following official differences

In normal time, the Veilleurs are independant from the Masque's authority.

The only moment a Veilleur can command a Masque (with a Masque Status lower or equal to his Veilleur Status + 2) when the situation (or substancial amount of it) falls into the jurisdiction of the Veilleurs (Mages, Occultism, supernatural...).

Masque with the same or greater Masque Status than the Veilleur's Veilleur Status always has the upper hand in case of conflict of opinion (other than the Veilleur's Jurisdiction).

Alexis and Ivan resents this mixed status. Alexis because he feels Ivan tries to tutor him, and Ivan because he resents the (limited) power Alexis has over the D.S.T. and the R.G. intelligence services, because he would like to know more about their strange Thaumaturgy and rituals, and because any Seigneur Veilleur can counter his own orders should the topic be of supernatural nature!

Secret Notes

Ivan creates Childer, too, but as he is Caitiff, these Childer are of the same blood. Unless the candidate has some artistic talent (in which case Ivan asks for a Toreador to embrace him), he will be embraced by Ivan, after the authorization of Villon, of course.

Normally, Ivan uses his Vicissitude to change the appearance of the new recruit before the Embrace, to allow him to start a new life, free from the last one contingencies. In some way, doing so protects the Masquerade. And the Neonate can't use his Blood to revert to his original appearance.

Lately, Ivan embraced childer with skills in technology, to help him (as they are Caitiff, too) in the creation of the Cyber Disciplines. He still has no real success.

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Members

• -- Ivan St. Martin -- Head Masque
• -- Christian -- Childe of Ivan, computer expert
• -- Raphaela Lemaire -- Enemy of the Settites
• -- Nicolas Baudine
• -- Versancia
• -- Juan Bustamonte

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Credit to the Author: https://augias.org/mask/msk_c03.htm