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Aching Beauty
From heaven or hell, O Beauty, came you hence?
Out from your gaze, infernal and divine,
Pours blended evil and beneficence...
-Baudelaire, "Hymn to Beauty"


Amusement Park Hunting Ground
"Definitely an E ticket!"
-Julie, Brujah antitribu


Anarch Revolt
Oh, shake me
these dark commanders down!
-Rimbaud, "The Hanged Men Dance"


Anarch Troublemaker
I am the accuser and avenger of blood...
-William Blake, "The Ghost of Abel"


Arcanum Chapterhouse, Alexandria
The learned ones are the heirs of the Prophets --
they leave knowledge as their inheritance;
he who inherits it inherits a great fortune.
-Hadith of al-Bikhari


The Art of Love
I know of only one duty, and that is to love.
-Camus


The Art of Pain
No kind of sensation is keener 
and more active than that of pain;
its impressions are unmistakable.
-Marquis de Sade, 120 Days of Sodom


Ascendance
"It is our destiny, our birthright, to rule."
-Gratiano, Clan Lasombra


Bastille Opera House
It's good to keep the Sirens distracted working on
their art.  It limits their influence in the city.  Or at least
it used to, before every kindred and his sire started
frequenting the shows.
Francois Villon, Toreador


Bestial Visage
...and finally doth bring
To a perfect beast that first deformed thing.
-Pliny the Elder, Divine Weekes and Workes


Bureaucratic Overload
Create constancy of purpose toward
improvements of products and services, with
the aim to become competitive...
-Dr. Deming, "Fourteen Points for the Transformation of Management"


Chanjelin Ward
As Hannigan raised his hand to turn the knob, his
knees buckled and the room spun.  When his vision
cleared, he found himself lying in the snow with the
cold glow of pre-dawn light threatening him.


Chantry
In books that are as altars where we kneel
To consecrate the flicker, not the flame.
-Edward Arlington Robinson, "George Crabbe"


Charisma
Beauty is power; a smile is its sword.
Charles Reade


City Gangrel Connections
"Watch yourself around them.
They love the Beast."
-Democritus, Clan Ventrue


Communal Haven: Temple
No sooner is a temple built to God,
but the Devil builds a chapel hard by.
-George Herbert


Coroner's Contact
Joseph Eldred -- died of a self-inflicted
wound in his neck.  Weapon not found.
Seneca County, NY, Coroner's Inquest


Corporate Hunting Ground
"A room full of suits slaughtered
by a pack of bloodsucking thieves?
Sounds like poetic justice to me."
-Mitchell, The Headhunter


Deal with the Devil
I cut and shuffle; shuffle, cut again;
But all my shuffling, cutting proves in vain...
-Christina Rossetti, "The Queen of Hearts"


The Damned
The Beast I am lest the Beast I become!


Dirty Contract
When it comes time for business, however,
Samedi are more than happy to get their
hands dirty.


Ecoterrorists
...today you can murder land for private
profit.  You can leave the corpse for all to
see, and nobody calls the cops.
-Paul Brooks, The Pursuit of Wilderness


Elder Library
My library was dukedom large enough.
-Shakespeare, The Tempest, act II, scene 2


Elysian Fields
And oh, if there be an Elysium on Earth,
It is this, it is this!
-Thomas Moore, "The Light of the Harem"


Elysium: The Arboretum
"Go to Elysium to rinse yourself of the filth
of war.  There, none shall lay the hand of violence
upon you lest they wish to know the wrath 
of the prince."
-Sebastian Marley of Clan Nosferatu


Feral Spirit
Taxis or hikers, I'll stalk them without even thinking.
I'm miles out of my way before I even realize it.
Muricia, Ahrimane


Fetish Club Hunting Ground
Our torments may also in length of time
Become our elements.
-John Milton, Paradise Lost


Gangrel Conspiracy
In America there are factions,
but no conspiracies.
-Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America


Haven Uncovered
Come burrow through my ruins,
shed not a tear.
-Baudelaire, "The Gladly Dead"


Heidelburg Castle, Germany
Night.  Rain.  The lurid sky that lets
The spires and towers show grey silhouettes
Of an old Gothic town by distance dimmend.
-Paul Verlaine, "Night Effect"


Inbase Discotek, Frankfurt
Come to me now, you delicate Graces...
-Sappho


Infamous Warlock
I owe allegiance to the race of those
Who from the dark aspire to clarity.
-Goethe


Institution Hunting Ground
Chasing an errant swarm of bees is
nothing to following a naked lunatic
when the fit of escaping is upon him.
-Bram Stoker, Dracula


The Khabar: Community
The enemy of my enemy is my friend;
the friend of my enemy is my enemy.


The Labyrinth
But in vague ways, I most insanely yearn
To meet some lean, dwarfed, fetid, hairy thing
With loathsome skin and bulging eyes
of rheum...
-Francis Saltus, "A Courtesan's Whim"


Lazarene Inquisitor
This sadistic Inquisitor comes in and they all
scurry to the shadows.  It'll take months to get
Quira settled down again.  But try to correct him,
and you're likely to face auto-da-fe yourself.
Lachlan, Archbishop of Chicago


Letter from Vienna
The rulers of the Tremere clan,
the Circle of Seven, reside
in their chantry in Vienna.
All Tremere obey the decrees
of the Circle of Seven without question.


London Evening Star, Tabloid Newspaper
He... remarked that the smuts in London
were not so bad as they used to be
when he was a student there.
-Bram Stoker, Dracula


Madness of the Bard
Would you, could you, in the rain?
I would not, could not, in the rain.
Not in the dark; not on a train...
-Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham


Malkavian Dementia
...but why will you say that I am mad?
The disease has sharpened my senses --
not destroyed, not dulled them.
-Edgar Allen Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart"


Malkavian Derangement: Paranoia
These eyes, that now are dimm'd
with death's black veil
Have been as piercing as the midday sun
To search the secret treasons of the world.
-Shakespeare, Henry the Third, act 5, scene 2


Malkavian Game
Though this be madness,
yet there is method in't.
-Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 2, scene 2


The Mausoleum, Venice
...even the spectres have beads of sweat,
I come from the dead tomb;
my end is at this door through which
a gleam of light passes.
-Victor Hugo, "I am made of stone and marble..."


Mob Connections (VTES)
"The Mafia is an invaluable asset, make no
mistake, but their asinine belief that they
wield the true power in the city amuses me."
-Roman Alexander of Clan Gangrel


Mob Connections (Sabbat)
Collective crimes incriminate no one.
-Napoleon I, Maxims


Nosferatu Kingdom
When the eye fails to find beauty...
it commands the ody to create it or,
failing that, adjusts itself to perceive
virtue in ugliness.
-Joseph Watermark Brodsky


Opium Den
And opium dreams can roam and rove
Past that which has no bourne,
Can plumb eternity, and mourn
The emptiness of love
And satiate the soul with joys forlorn.
-Baudelaire, "The Poison"


Out of Control
I would have nobody to control me;
I would be absolute: and who but I?
-Cervantes, Don Quixote


Paris Opera House
He bankrolled the whole production.  Those
malkavians are founts of inspiration, but he's
the first to display such appreciation.
Gael Pilet, Daughter of Cacophony


Power Structure
All political structure is based on power.
-Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft


Recruitment
Follow me and I shall show you
the way to victory.
-Aurora Van Brande, Paladin of Clan Lasombra


Regenerative Blood
Though their flesh appears weak and
withered, their blood is strong.  The Stiffs
heal much faster than other Cainites.


The Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper
If ever the public was betrayed
by its press, it's ours.
-Mark Twain


Shanty Town Hunting Ground
"The desperate no longer care when
death stalks their streets.
Some think of it as a blessing."
-Nigel the Shunned, Nosferatu antitribu


Sight Beyond Sight
When you are as hunted as the few of
us that remain are, you're either alert
or you're dead.  After a few decades
of this, complete knowledge of one's
surroundings becomes instinctive.
Raful al-Zarqa, Salubri


The Slaughterhouse
Death and decay.  Death and decay.  But,
the soul survives, even in our inhuman
shells.  Comprehending the passage of the
soul through the physical cycle requires
accelerating the process whenever possible.
Anisa Marianna Lopez, Harbinger of Skulls


Society Hunting Ground
The Toreador are imprisoned by their lust
for the night life.  Like a siren, it beckons
them with promises of forbidden pleasures.


Steam Tunnels
I told myself that the owners of those
voices faced the same obstacles that
I did -- dangerous footing, complete
darkness, terrific heat -- but I knew that
I was probably deluding myself.
-William Dear, The Dungeon Master


Storm Sewers
Lakes that endlessly outspread
Their lone waters, lone and dead,
Their still waters, still and chilly
With the snows of the lolling lily.
-Poe, "Dream-Land"


The Stranger Among Us
Having unexpected guests, especially
of such outlandish nature, can ruin
the whole night, but it often brings
the best opportunities if one can
meet the challenge.
Victoria Ash, Toreador Primogen


Tabriz Assembly
Treat them as allies, but remember that the
motivations of a snake are never truly known.
Nu, True Brujah, at the second
20th-century assembly


Toy Chest Test
Toy is a national treasure.
We'd never let him go.
Preacher, Malkavian antitribu


Tribute to the Master
"All these lives I will give you, ay,
and many more and greater,
through countless ages..."
-Bram Stoker, Dracula


Twisted Forest
Now he goes along the darksome road,
Thither whence they say no one returns.
-Catallus, "Carmina"


Unnatural Disaster (VTES)
They raise and stir up hailstorms
and tempests.
-Heinrich Kramer, Malleus Maleficorum


Unnatural Disaster (Sabbat)
"I'm terribly sorry about the gas leak
in the sewers.  At least it's not
combustible, right?  Right?"
-Basil, Pander


Using the Advantage
This is a wise maxim:
"...take warning from others of what
may be to your own advantage."
-Terence, Heautontimoroumenos, act I, scene 2


Ventrue Headquarters
The Ventrue clan is organized much like a
multi-national corporation.  Each major city
has a meeting place where Ventrue may 
seek allegiance and obtain information.


Vulnerability
Race of Cain, what time will bring
The end of your torment and woes?
-Baudelaire, "Abel and Cain"


Whispers of the Nictuku
"And the bastard childer of Nosferatu still
roam the dark places of the Earth hunting
their favored cousins..."
-Tusk, The Talebearer of Clan Nosferatu


Zillah's Valley
And each night, for three nights, Zillah
drank from her Sire, though she did not
know it.  And, on the third night, Caine
announced he would marry Zillah, his 
sweetest Childe, and she agreed.
The Book of Nod