Ministry

@The Ministry

Nicknames: The Serpents, Liberators, Tempters (formerly the Setites)

Sect: Primarily Independent, with a heavy presence in the Anarch Movement.

Archetypes: Cult Leader, Drug Dealer, Con Artist, Priest, Nightclub Owner, Fixer.

Description

The Ministry are a clan of tempters and liberators who preach a gospel of freedom through transgression. They believe that all beings are trapped in cages of fear, law, and morality, and they offer the key to breaking those chains. Masters of corruption, vice, and social manipulation, the Serpents use faith, desire, and forbidden knowledge to draw followers into their liberating embrace. Whether they are a charismatic priest of a back-alley church or the owner of a decadent nightclub, a Minister's goal is the same: to find your deepest desire and use it to set you "free," binding you to them in the process.

Known History

For millennia, this clan was known as the Followers of Set, a secretive cult dedicated to their dark Egyptian god and the subversion of other societies. They were viewed with fear and disgust by other Kindred. In the modern nights, recognizing the shifting political landscape, the clan undertook a massive rebranding. Shedding their overt connection to Set (at least publicly), they re-emerged as "The Ministry," a liberating faith for the oppressed masses of the final nights. Many Kindred believe this is merely a new mask for the same old serpent, a more palatable lie to sell their ancient corruption to the desperate Anarchs and outcasts.

Clan Characteristics

Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Protean

Bane: The Serpents are creatures of primordial darkness, and bright light is anathema to them. They suffer a penalty to all actions when in the presence of bright lights (stadium lights, searchlights, camera flashes). Furthermore, they take an additional level of Aggravated damage from sunlight.

Compulsion: Transgression. The vampire is overcome with an overwhelming desire to break a rule, law, or deeply held conviction—and to tempt someone else into doing the same. They will use any means necessary to lead another character astray, to "liberate" them from their chains, be it through seduction, trickery, or goading.

Views and Standing

Stereotypes: "Same old Setites, new name." "A Serpent will offer you everything you've ever wanted, and the price is always your soul." "Their faith is just a con to build a cult of addicts and sycophants." "Snakes in the grass, every one of them."

In Chicago Tonight: The Ministry has a growing, insidious presence in the city, primarily within the Anarch territories. They don't seek a Primogen seat; they build power from the ground up, establishing "churches" and cults in nightclubs, art scenes, and among the city's desperate and disillusioned. Prince Jackson views them as a useful cancer he allows to fester within the @Anarchs to keep the movement divided and weak. Most Anarchs are torn, seeing them as either manipulative parasites or the only ones offering a true alternative to @The Camarilla's tyranny.