Index Cards

[Josh]

Faction: The Shuck Club

On the outside, the Shuck Club portrays itself as something like the Elk's Club or Masons, a group of well meaning citizens that care about the community. They hold food drives, various charity events, and even take place in the local parades. The membership is known for being made up of several locally known architects, wealthy philanthropists, and librarians who specialize in local history. They gather together, usually dressed up nicely in suits and dresses, twice a month and that's all most people know about them.

 

All of the above is true, the Club does do those things and its members do tend to be well off intellectuals. Their purpose just happens to be more occultly focused than just preserving old buildings and canned food drives. They are a old, old society with roots tracing back to the founding of the colony that would one day grow into the city it is now. The Shuck Club seeks to collect and preserve as much of the local magical lore as it can. They track and trace the histories of monsters, spirits, and other supernatural critters. When they can, they use their collective knowledge and resources to restrict or hinder the more malicious creatures and factions. They aren't warriors, and have loose ties with the Venatroi Umbrorum who they share information with occasionally.

 

Their leader, Mr. Black, is a mysterious figure to the public as a whole. He rarely shows himself at all, appearing once in a blue moon as a gentlemen in his late prime, always in a well tailored tux. A reclusive billionaire, though no one can quite decide if his money is old money or new. Even in the Club, he usually communicates briefly and often through the Club's junior leadership.

Goal: To gather and preserve local legends and lore, tracking and studying the magical and occult events of the city. Occasionally throwing up a roadblock or two to help protect the innocent.

Secret Goal:

Hidden

Obstacles: They largely have to act from a position of weakness. Neither Fae Court approves of the Club and often compete with them in the high society scene, seeking to embarrass and ostracize their members.

Resources: They possess one of the most dangerous weapons available, knowledge. They have made it their collective business to learn at least something about every creature of the night that haunts their city. They access to a great many records of their own, as well as access to a number of secret libraries and private museums. They have a number of businesses that supply them with niffy tools to hinder the supernatural, as well as a handful of bases designed by architects and engineers who knew something of magical defenses.

Weakness: They lack true firepower. They just do not have the power or the personnel to truly do battle with the evils of the city outside the realm of politics and finance. They are also mostly mortal and finding it difficult to find recruits amongst the younger generation.

Aspects: Gentlemen and Ladies Club of the Occult, Centuries of Observation, Our Enemies Outlive Us

[Josh]

Faction: Court of Old Man Thunder
 

The Summer Court of Fae that resides in Charleston is administered by Old Man Thunder, a powerful Sidhe Lord who was young when Europeans first established Jamestown. Unfortunately, he has become rather despondent in the last century or so, allowing his Court to mostly run wild, much to the disappointment of his Queen. Very little can get him to bestir himself to action, short of occasionally dancing during the frequent summer thunderstorms or responding to direct threats.

 

In his disinterest, the lesser Sidhe mostly run things. The Low Country as a whole serves as something of a mix of playground and nursery for the Summer Fae, so many of their scions can be found in Charleston. The Sidhe often intermingle with the high society of Charleston, manipulating the rich and ambitious of the city to their own ends. Competing for their parents approval or seeking to escape them (mortal or otherwise), the Changelings often find themselves in the party scene or sucked up into the crime that surrounds the rich (like art theft and fraud of all kinds). They also like to mix with artists, dancers, and other creative types, acting as patrons to the up and coming.

The Little Folk of the area are comprised of a mishmash of creatures and spirits. Anything that loves heat and passion can find a niche here. The Yunwi Tsunsdi are one of the most cohesive people among their number. They are local creatures, a miniature people that like to aid the lost. As long as you aren't rude to them, that is. They find great amusement in watching humanity, often playing pranks on them as they move oblivious to their presence.

Goal: To maintain control of their playground and nursery, to challenge their changelings, and grow in power through the longer and longer summer months.

Secret Goal:

Hidden

Obstacles: They face competition from most supernatural factions, who seek to cut in on their territory and steal it for themselves. They hold prime metaphorical real estate and its constantly threatened.

Resources: As a whole, they have quite a few powerful lords and entities that make up the Court. Out of all the supernatural powers in the city, they have the greatest number of vassals to be called to service and can call on an almost inexhaustible web of favors and obligations to defend themselves. Individually, it differs great. On their own, a particular Lord will have a strong influence over their area of interest and a number of loyal or indebted retainers to call on, but most changelings and lesser Fae are on their own and must make do with their personal power and little else. They are at their peak during the warm, summer months of the year, which is most of them in Charleston.

Weakness: Without their leader taking interest, they are largely ununited. The fickle and volatile nature of the Fae means they often act against each other instead of cooperating. They act in their own interests instead of as a Court, letting themselves be divided and conquered piecemeal. The lesser Fae find it hard to find support from above, leaving them ready prey to a number of supernatural predators that stalk the city. The changelings of the Court are often put in tough situations deliberately as tests by fire and so feel very little loyalty to the Court that spawned them.

Aspects: The Fickle and Fine, This is Our Playground!, Absent Leadership

[Josh]

Faction: The Winter Outpost
 

The Winter Court has very little influence in the city as a whole. Quite a lot of the metaphorical landscape belongs to their sister and rivals the Summer Court. Yet, there has to be a balance, so Winter's agents lurk in shadows of the Summer Court. A cadre of harden and dark monsters, they seek to observe, undermine, and frustrate their counterparts mostly in secret.

 

The members of the Winter Outpost mostly act independently. They stalk and subvert mortals favored by Summer, seeking to ruin them or turn their power towards Winter's ends. Some like to harass the Little Folk and weaker Sidhe Lords, but the big game for them is eliminating the most promising changelings. Not only does this deprive Summer of powerful agents in the future, but potentially adds that changeling power to their own.

 

Their leader is the Boo Hag, a lethal local legend in her own right. A powerful Sidhe lady who can suck the breathe out of her enemies at will, she is both deadly and clever, capable of going up against any one of the lesser Summer Lords and winning in a personal fight. She sees this venture as her chance to to gain quite a bit of influence with the greater Winter Court, and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

Goal: To undercut the Summer Court by any means necessary. And to have a good time while doing it.

Secret Goal:

Hidden

Obstacles: They have to restrain themselves (something they aren't renowned for) to keep from becoming too big of a problem and having the whole of the Summer Court unite against them. However, the biggest headaches have been coming from the Shuck Club, who often disrupt their plans. They also face competition from the Scale Gang when establishing hideouts and from the Dark Waters tribe when trying to claim places of power.

Resources: They are a group of powerful Winter Fae Sidhe, with the magic and favors that come with that. Each is individually dangerous. They have been gathering a number of mortal servants through debts and promises, and have a habit of discovering horrible secrets or creating compromising situations to ruin people's lives.

Weakness: They just don't have the numbers for outright war or conflict with any particular faction. While they can create some havoc when they have to, their greatest ally is remaining in the shadows and not drawing too much attention to themselves. Largely, the environment just doesn't favor them as a whole and they find themselves weakened most of the year.

Aspects: Here to Ruin Your Summer, Teeth in the Dark, Urgh This Weather

[Josh]

Faction: The Dark Waters
 

The origins of the Dark Waters is a highly debated subject for those who know of its existence, a debate that takes place only in brightly lit rooms and as far from the waterfront as possible. Some say it started out as a wandering animal spirit that became corrupted, others claim its a forgotten deity of a lost time, while others claim its a demon that has grown mighty on the souls of the damned. What they can all agree on is that it is very, very hungry.

 

Its influence runs through all the major waterways of the area, all draining out into the open ocean where the Waters resides. Few people truly comprehend how pervasive that is. Fishermen, dockworkers, and others whose livelihood comes from the water have been quietly paying the spirit its due over the last few years. Those that don't have a tendency to have their motors choked, their nets and crab traps wrecked, or a quick yank beneath the waves to never been seen again. Yet, those that do pay heed occasionally see more luck than they should. Increased hauls, lost cargo returned, and the sea calming around them during a storm. In their hour of need, its said that the desperate and foolish cry out by the waterside.....and sometimes they are answered. But at what cost?

 

The Dark Waters' servitors are varied, a mishmash of watery creatures that are very rarely friendly or pleasant looking. In the rivers, the servitors have a tend to appear as giant crabs. Out on the open water, they trawl under the waves as dark body sharks. And on the dark, foggy nights there is a rumor of sightings of a massive, tattered ship...

Goal: To gain influence over all of those with ties to the water and to take control of Places of Power close to the rivers and bay from the Summer Fae.

Secret Goal:

Hidden

Obstacles: Many of the cities Powers have become concerned with the growing influence and danger the Dark Water represents. It battles the Fae of Summer over control of the waters and places of power, the Scales Gang resent its growing hold of the dockworkers they exploit and the smugglers they do business with, and others with them cutting in on the dealmaking business.

Resources: They have a great deal of control over the water itself, being able to manipulate currents, cause rainfall, and even the occasional flooding. Where its presence manifests, hungry aquatic life gathers, usually in the form of sharks and other predators. It has a number of servitors, which are lesser spirits that draw on its power, that manifest differently depending on the location. They have a few human agents, who are usually busy doing oddjobs and missions for it..

Weakness: The sprit is very, very powerful in the area it has influence over, namely the water. Anywhere else, its options are limited. While it can occasionally cheat in the form of a flood, it usually has very little power on dry land itself and its servitors quickly lose steam the further they get from water as well.

Aspects: That Which Dwells Beneath the Waves, A Dark and Dangerous Power, Limited Reach

[Josh]

Faction: The Scales Gang

 

The Brackenfords are what people politely call a 'bad family' in company, otherwise referring to them as scum. The clan was founded sometime prior to the Civil War and show no signs of leaving. They spread up and down the coast, with cousins all the way down in the Everglades. Its said that if a place has a trailer park and a jail, you can find a Brackenford. They are largely despised by society at large due to a general disregard for the law or anything mildly smacking of decency. They are locked in a perpetual war with law enforcement and government, seeing as they are involved in everything from petty theft to murder.

 

Three things keep keep the family and its active criminal element, the Scales Gang, alive and active in spite of having a generational deficiency in intelligence. First off, they are shapeshifters. While not every family member is talented enough to pull off a full transformation, even those that married in are tougher than your normal person and at least twice as mean. With some training, the more talented members of the family are capable of shifting fully into alligators and have increased strength and toughness even in their human skins.

 

The second thing going for them is that they are an oddly inclusive group. They have adopted in a number of families over the last century or so, as long as they have proved their loyalty to the clan. The Brackenfords have been generous with whatever spell lets them shapeshift, sharing it with these adopted branch families, with the results varying. The gang's auxiliary members can come in all manner of reptilian shifters, mostly Nile monitors but at least one iguana.

 

Lastly, the family heads of the clan are deviously clever. While not notably inclined to intellectual pursuits, they have the cold ferocity of the reptiles they shift into. They maneuver the gang and the family as a whole to seize opportunities as they appear, ruthlessly assaulting the weaknesses of their competitors and opposition, and brutally dealing with threats that grow too close.

 

They have their fingers in most types of crime in the area, mostly in the form of extortion, smuggling, and pretty much anything that would give the ATF a fit. The younger members of the gang itself like to pursue pastimes like B&E, assault, and trafficking. Their big money comes from the supernatural world, where they hire themselves out to those in need of cheap muscle.

Goal: To gain enough magical and supernatural significance to be respected as a true power in the city and not just a crew of disposable minions.

Secret Goal:

Hidden

Obstacles: They are roughly the bottom of the supernatural totem pole. The heaviest hitters outclass them, most other factions have better intelligence to work with, and they are constantly being interfered with by the local mortal authorities. The Circus are actively cutting into their petty crime activities and the Dark Water is wrestling control of the water front from them.

Resources: They have a lot of physical muscle to throw around. Bruisers with supernatural strength that are tough and can heal fast can make a lot of trouble. Throw in access to a lot of guns, criminal networks willing to feed them info, and knowing the lay of the land, they can set up dangerous ambushes as well. Various shapeshifter forms gives them a lot of utility, including sharp enough senses to get past most forms of glamour.

Weakness: A poor reputation in mortal circles and supernatural alike means they lack political strength outside of intimidation. They don't have access to much magic outside of their shapeshifting and a few related abilities. They also lack a significant big hitter to contend with the more powerful beings in the city..

Aspects: Reptilian Shapeshifter Gang, Thugs Around Every Corner, Can't Get No Respect Around Here

[Josh]

Faction: The Circus

 

A recent emergence onto the scene, the Circus is a gang of thieves and troublemakers. The gang is made up teens, more than likely runaways and orphans, with a spark of magical talent who call themselves Carnies. Each of them have at least one spell they can do, some with more skill and range than others, but none of them are even sorcerer rank worthy. Usually, a group like this would be seen as a healthy snack for predators that hunt the have-nots of the wizarding world, but through team work and a mysterious benefactor, this group has proven itself difficult to devour.

 

They make a nuisance of themselves around major tourist and entertainment venues in Charleston and the neighboring area. Places like the Colosseum, the River Dogs' Stadium, and various places Downtown. They mostly focus on taking advantage of vanilla mortals, stealing money and valuables. The cops are constantly after them, but with their special talents they usually avoid detainment. However, they have grown bolder, moving on to breaking into stores and homes instead of their usually petty crimes. Their prey is also starting to change as they have discovered that Changelings. The fae-born, it turns out, sometimes have gifts from mommy or daddy, things like a whole lot of money or the occasional enchanted item.

Goal: To steal enchanted items, favors, and anything else they can to grow their feeble strength into something serious.

Secret Goal:

Hidden

Obstacles: They are mixed up in a various of conflicts, quickly becoming a pain for the more powerful and established factions. They are cutting in on the turf of the cities criminal inclined Changelings, not to mention the Scale Gang, and drawing the ire of the police as they do it.

Resources: Each of the members of the gang has a different magical talent. Swelling muscles conjured from nothing, sparking hands and thrown fire, and paralyzing touch make for good combat abilities, letting them act aggressively when its needed. Their true powerful, and the key to the success so far, is their more utility based talents. Someone who can veil themselves or read passwords off a keypad is far more useful than a mere bruiser.

Weakness: At the end of the day, regardless of their talents, they are still homeless teenagers. They are just on the edge of playing outside their league, lacking the firepower or resources to be anything other than a distraction for most of the supernatural world. Their growing arrogance is blinding them to the fact that they barely know their own limitations, let alone how the supernatural world works.

Aspects: Magically Power Teen Gang, Better Watch Your Pockets!, Youthfully Blind to the Consequences

[Josh]

Notable Mentions: Factions.

 

There are more factions in the city and area than listed above. They aren't, currently, the focus of the first arc (or Season) of the story and thus aren't getting fully fleshed out. This might change, depending on the Cast I pick after the ad, but for now they get a brief below.

 

The Swamp Cats: A Task Force put together to deal with the 'unusual' cases cropping up. Their members are drawn from the local PDs, Highway Patrol, Sheriff departments, as well as from the military investigative branches. They currently operate out of a building on the Air Force base. They are currently looking to do something about the Scale Gang and the Specials in particular.

 

League of Steeples: Though they don't actively call themselves this moniker, there is a quiet group of priests, pastors, rabbis, and the like in the City of Churches, actively doing their best to help those threatened by the supernatural. Even if its only to offer sanctuary or to bless holy water, they want to help and their faith is very real. More than one truly evil power finds it difficult to exert too much power in the city due to their protective presence and empowered holy grounds.

 

The Circle: There have been witches in the swamp for a very, very long time now. They mostly keep to themselves when they can. Their stronger members are reluctantly part of the White Council, though they prefer to stay out of its politics when they can. Since the conclusion of the Vampire war, they have been keeping their heads down, trading favors and potions within the city's magical community but not exerting any influence other than what's necessary to keep themselves safe.

 

Host of Spirits: There are a great deal of powerful spirits in the area. Ghosts, nature beings, animal figures, and others are all prevalent throughout Charleston. They vary in power and autonomy, but taken as a whole they are a source of great power. Its said their is a Greater Spirit that watches over them, sometimes calling on chosen mortals to act as its Host to protect them.

[Josh]

Notable Mentions: Individuals