For those who are believers in the biblical story of creation the very first Kindred was, in fact, Cain - the third human to walk the earth no less. Cainites then have been amongst humans since the dawn of human reckoning. Legends exist for those who know where to look of Cainite rulers of human flock. Of cities - hidden, secret and mysterious - run not by human hand, but by those who prey upon kine. But, much as with their human roots, Kindred came into conflict with one another.
 
And as time progressed, this conflict became only ever more elabourate. How could it not, with beings that could spend years, decades and even centuries in planting seeds to bring to fruition their ploys. As history progressed, the wise Kindred remained out of sight, manipulating mankind and their kin from the shadows. They are the puppeteers who can influence politics from the smallest local council to maneuvering entire nations into war -- all for one purpose, for one end alone; Personal advancement.
 
Welcome to the Jyhad.
 
The Masquerade is still around, designed to protect Kindred from ever having to exist through a second purging, the likes of which was not seen since the Inquisition. After so painful a reminder of the sheer might that raw numbers can mean to beings even centuries or millennia old, the Kindred cannot afford to rule openly. But against all this stands not only the treachery so inherent to most Kindred, but also their nature itself. The Childer seeks to consume the sire - the sire seeks to devour his creator.
 
And so the first wrong gives reason for the second - the second fuels hunger for the third. Thus is fuelled the Jyhad - from slights, perceived or real, to grievances and even sheer dumb luck or misfortune.
 
In WoD: Gotham, the Kindred joining the city are Neonates; the bottom rung of the ladder. And they have a LOT stacked against them. Nothing is given to them, everything they have to claw away for themselves. They are not the only predators stalking in the night. It's not just a race about learning what you can, what you NEED to survive. It's also about figuring out how to claim your area of interest ... this is New York, there's no free lunch here. And above all - maintain the Masquerade.
 
This is Vampire the Masquerade - and this is about your personal story. It’s about the rise or fall of your character's morality - their power - their struggle to maintain humanity or falling forever to the Beast. Allegiance is yours alone to decide and control. Whether it is temporal power that you seek, or whether you seek to bridge the gap to other beings that are out there ... can you overcome enmity, or will you be the next attempted lunch for something with bigger claws or more firepower? The choices are yours.
 
ABOUT THIS GAME:
Vampire the Masquerade in WoD: Gotham is a dark, dark game, tapping on the deeper aspects touched upon in VtM. It's a game of subtlety, where a wrong word in the wrong circumstances can lead to deadly rivalry that isn't even obvious until it is too late. It's a game about perceived impotence - Neonates, in one of the greatest and most influential cities on earth - or so it would seem. Neonates have one edge over their elders - a deep understanding of the present. It’s a skill more relevant now, where history accelerates ever faster, than at any time before it.
 
It can be a game as much of diplomacy (with other Kindred and, who knows, maybe other beings that go bump in the night). It's a story of your own struggle against the beast - that famous saying "lest a beast I am, then a beast I become" holds very true. Will you succeed in holding on to your humanity - what's left of it anyway - or will you become like so many elders ... cold ... cruel ... calculating.
 
The Jyhad is inescapable - open or not. Only a fool believes that they can stay outside it. So the question is ... are you being controlled, or are you forming your own destiny?