The Second Inquisition

The Second Inquisition (SI) is the modern war on vampires, waged by mortal institutions who know far more than they should.

  • Born in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when digital leaks and surveillance exposed traces of Kindred society.

  • Intelligence agencies, religious organizations, and private contractors joined forces to hunt the undead.

  • Unlike the medieval Inquisition, this one is armed with satellites, biometric data, drones, and special forces.

The First Inquisition burned vampires with faith and fire. The Second hunts them with algorithms and airstrikes.

How It Formed

  • 2004: NSA and allied agencies noticed irregular communication flagged by Echelon/PRISM. Some vampires had grown careless with email, text, and digital footprints.

  • 2007: Operation FIRSTLIGHT — a coordinated strike on suspected supernatural entities, sponsored by NATO intelligence. First verified “vampire kills” by joint task forces.

  • 2010s onward: The Vatican (Society of St. Leopold) reactivated, working with secular agencies. Global counterterrorism resources quietly diverted to “anti-blankbody operations.”

Tools of the Hunt

  • Digital Surveillance: Vampires who leave digital traces are easy prey.

  • Biometrics: Kindred show anomalies — cold bodies, no breath, no reflection in some cases.

  • Special Weapons: Incendiary munitions, UV lamps, high-caliber firearms, drones.

  • Front Companies: Contractors like SAD (Special Affairs Division) and other shell groups funnel resources quietly.

Why They’re So Dangerous

  • Scale: They have governments’ budgets and manpower.

  • Coordination: Information shared between agencies worldwide.

  • Public Cover: Every raid is written off as counterterrorism or organized crime. Mortals never suspect the truth.

  • No Masquerade Concerns: Unlike Kindred, the SI doesn’t need to hide its methods — the human world accepts their cover stories.

Impact on Vampire Society

  • Camarilla Response:

    • Pulled inward. Declared a “digital Masquerade” — forbidding social media, online banking, and digital communication.

    • Cities now more paranoid, Princes enforce secrecy with Final Death.

  • Anarch Response:

    • Some fight back with street-level warfare.

    • Others try to exploit mortal chaos — often ending in their own ashes.

  • Sabbat Response:

    • Largely absent; many have vanished east to fight their crusades. The SI takes them out when they show themselves.

Tactics & Operations

  • Operation ANTIGEN (U.S.): Joint NSA/CIA/FBI anti-vampire task force. Tracks Kindred through financial crimes, organized crime links, and digital chatter.

  • Society of St. Leopold (Vatican): Holy zealots with modern weapons. Exorcists turned commandos. Still bless bullets and wield relics.

  • Firstlight: NATO’s ongoing shadow program against supernatural threats, with vampires as primary targets.

Examples of Their Work

  • London, 2012: Entire Kindred court wiped out in coordinated raids. The Camarilla still hasn’t recovered.

  • Vienna, 2018: Tremere Chantry destroyed by an airstrike. Centuries of blood sorcery erased in one night.

  • Constant strikes: Safehouses, havens, and mortal institutions infiltrated, compromised, or eliminated.

Theme & Tone

The SI makes clear:

  • Vampires are not untouchable.

  • Mortals are not ignorant cattle — given the right tools, they are the most terrifying hunters of all.

  • The Masquerade is not vanity; it is a shield against annihilation.