Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Vampire Spotlight: Joy Tyler

"There are such fascinating perspectives to be seen in the world at large.  In people, in art and in music, and in the way life moves through the city streets.  In truth, there is a benefit to being a part of it and separate from it.  You can see it all the more clearly although at a cost of not truly being able to be touched by it."

A Chinese immigrant was born in 1734 in a large family who migrated to London in 1740.  She drew the attention of Annette Tyler as she was passing the laundry where she worked in 1751.  Jeannett employed her as a house servant before ghouling her in 1755 alongside Rahib Al-Rassam (given the name Jack) and Rachel (given the name Jessica).  She was given the name Joy although that was not her original name.  Oddly enough, her name was removed by Dominate all those years ago and so she still doesn't know what her name used to be although she does recall the other details of her family life.

Joy, Jack, and Jessica were given Tyler training in preparation for their Embrace in 1805.  For fifty years they learned the finer details of needlepoint, fencing, musical instruments, flower arranging, interior decorating, tea ceremonies, ettiquette, the meanings of flowers, several languages, eroticism, seduction, the art of making love, and a basic understanding of so many topics that they could manage a conversation with just about anyone.  They were also taught occultism and science so that they would be skilled amongst the Ordo Dracul.  They learned together, they competed with one another, and finally they were Embraced together (an act that truly exhausted Annette - she was never quite the same since).

They then spent twenty five years being taught kindred politics, their first Coil (Coil of Beasts), and slowly learned their way around the Ordo Dracul chapter house.  They had to memorise each Kindred, report back on what they had learned, and were slowly given further information to add to this.  It was an exhausting process and, strangely, Joy was more afraid by the time of her release than maybe she would have been otherwise.  After all, she had a heavy burden to bear.  Everyone had exceedingly high standards of her.

Immediately upon her release in 1830, she and her siblings chose the Ordo Dracul and all three were soon inducted into the Sworn of the Dying Light.  Many would assume that House Tyler would be the political arm of the Ordo Dracul but it had long ago been found to be more beneficial for them to be the hands of the Ordo Dracul social finesse rather than the minds behind it as their interactions kept them in the spotlight and made them more likely to be blood bound or otherwise tampered with. 

Her brother, Jack, left thirty years later for Sydney in the hope of escaping his sire's shadow.  Jessica did as was expected of her by making friends and influencing people.  Joy found herself awkard, yet skilled, amongst the courtiers but she much preferred the company of a Ventrue called Elizabeth White and a Gangrel called Edward Burton.  The three of them spent some time investigating wyrm's nests and other strange things.  It was while chasing down a reliquary in 1867 that she met the Songbird, then Kelly Sanders, and the two hit it off pretty quickly with Joy investigating the trail that Kelly left behind her.

The two played cat and mouse for three years before finally meeting for coffee in 1870.  After about another year, Kelly Sanders met with the rest Joy's coterie and asked for assistance with an incursion of True Fae that had been mounting under Queen Victoria's reign.  The coterie agreed, mostly out of a desire for adventure and new stimulation that might provide additional coils, but Elizabeth White soon became eager to wreak her revenge on the True Fae after her favored ghoul was taken away from her.

For twenty years they worked together, occasionally dealing with the changelings through Kelly Sanders, and during this time Kelly Sanders created a new persona, Dr. Kellis, who could wrangle her way through the court and help provide additional clout with the Ordo Dracul.  After all, with a piece of the Beast as camouflage, she could provide quite a convincing display of coils.  Joy and Dr. Kellis / Kelly were lovers but once the True Fae, Jack Frost, was imprisoned in 1905, Kelly's heart simply wasn't in it anymore and after supervising the first of a series of binding pledges between the Autumn Court and the new and improved Ordo Dracul coterie, Dr. Kellis slipped away leaving only a letter behind.

Joy has missed her ever since.

Apparent Age: 21
Kindred Age: 149
Clan: Daeva
Bloodline: Tyler (variant of Zelani)
Bloodline Weakness: Takes aggravated damage from blessed water.
Covenant: Ordo Dracul
Gender: Female

Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Wrath

Intelligence: 3
Wits: 3
Resolve: 3

Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 2

Presence: 3
Manipulation: 3
Composure: 3

Academic: 2
Computer: 0
Crafts: 1
Investigation: 1
Medicine: 3
Occult: 2
Politics: 3 (Ordo Dracul)
Science: 2

Athletics: 2
Brawl: 1
Drive: 1
Firearms: 1
Larceny: 0
Stealth: 2
Survival: 0
Weaponry: 2

Animal Ken: 1
Empathy: 3
Expression: 3 (Violin, Piano, Painting)
Intimidation: 1
Persuasion: 2
Socialise: 4 (High Class Kindred)
Streetwise: 2
Subterfuge: 3

Blood Potency: 4
Humanity: 7
Willpower: 5
Experience Points: 250 experience points

Merits
In this game, I use the LARP rules for merits whereby simple merits cost Total Dots x 2 while complex merits must have each level bought separately.

Encyclopedic Memory ****
Fencing ***
Social Chameleon *
Striking Looks **
Resources ***
Retainer ****
Haven Size **/* (Shared)
Haven Location */* (Shared)
Haven Security */**
Languages (Latin, Greek, Italian, English, Mandarin, French)
Allies (Medical Community) *

Devotions
Nightlife

Disciplines
Majesty 3
Serendipidity 2
Auspex 1

Coils
In my game, I have house ruled it that coils have an experience point value equal to New Tier x 7 rather than equal to All Coils + New Coil x 7.

Coil of Blood (Tier One)
Coil of Souls (Tier One)
Coil of Beast (Tier One)
Coil of the Core (Tier One)

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