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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Set" data-source="post: 3495931" data-attributes="member: 41584">No Elves.  There are reasons, trumped up reasons, and elves from the 'black forest' are blamed for occasional disappearances (people who disappear are, naturally, eaten by vampires), to keep the populace properly fearful and hateful towards elves.Why hate elves?  Resistant to vampiric charm.  Old enough to know what the city was like before the vampires took over.  Inspired several times by druids and priests among them to try and 'free' the city from the control of vampires, and the feud between the elves and vampires is now entrenched, with the (mostly) human populace of the city unaware of the truth of the matter, being firmly convinced that elves are evil, jealous, heathens, whatever.No religion at all would be unworkable, IMO.  Instead, there would be a 'state religion' based on the citys 'patron god.'  Said 'god' would either be an evil god, whose functioning priests are all under the thrall of the 'city elders,' or, worse, an arch-devil or demon-prince, who has no actual Clerics, but does have Adepts in his / her service, to provide limited Divine spellcasting, without any of that pesky Turn / Rebuke Undead stuff.The city itself is quite popular because it's a nest of vice and sinful pleasures, by night.  Citizens are encouraged to attend the many popular 'masked balls' and grand celebrations and galas and 'roaming parties' that traverse in gaily-clad entourage from estate to estate in high pomp.  The preponderance of masks and nocturnal parties makes it easier for the 'elders' to travel among the hoi-polloi, and for disappearances to go unremarked.  The city is a prominent sea-port, and the sorts of things that would have to be smuggled into most cities are freely available here (drugs, slaves, etc.).  And yet the city is remarkably clean and free from the sort of drug-addled street persons one would expect to see in a city of sin.  (Gosh, it's like someone comes in the night and sweeps them from the streets!)Each of the city 'elders,' often pretending to be descendents of their noble lineage (concealing their ageless nature), is a powerful vampire lord, some wizards, others priests (with private shrines concealed in their estates, for a city that officially has no competing religions), etc.  They use their powers and connections, some dating back centuries, to 'family' scattered around the globe, to control and influence shipping in the region.  Vampire spawn, or just human 'agents,' operate in other coastal cities, and relay information about rival shipping and actions.  A rival ship might find itself attacked by the various dangers of the surrounding waters.  Fair maidens draped in seaweed that rise from the waters and attract a night watchman's eye, calling him to leap overboard to her cold embrace.  Swarming rats bursting forth from a barrel, bringing disease to a crew many days from safe harbor.  A shadowy figure descending silently from the sky, leaving behind no evidence of his passing, save the savaged body of the mate found hanging from blood-soaked sails in the morning.Business is good, especially when rivals ships always seem to suffer such unspeakable tragedies on the open sea.  And so merchant caravans come instead to this city, to carry the goods that reach this port, since the other nearby port cities haven't been doing so well, helping the city to thrive, and creating plentiful work for the locals."Oh sure, people disappear, but it's not nearly like the out-of-towners say.  Don't tell me that *your* town doesn't have a thieves guild!  Doesn't every family have runaways or eccentric cousins who just pack up and leave?  It's not like there's anything *sinister* going on.  Why, I heard that in Greyport just last week, ten people were found dead on their ship.  The harbormaster says it looks like they just went insane and attacked each other with gaff hooks and belaying pins and their bare hands!  But you don't hear people slandering Greyport, do you?  They're just jealous.  Every town has a few people who disappear, and, frankly, I'm surprised that more people don't disappear, y'know, what with all those partiers up all night drinking and smoking who knows what.  Slip in the dark and the next thing you know it's in the drink with you, and the current is taking you out to sea!"This sort of city would be a perfect place to introduce PrCs like Death's Chosen (from Libris Mortis) or the Unfailing (from Hollowfaust, City of Necromancers, Sword & Sorcery) or the Moon Wraith Adepts (from Arcana; Societies of Magic, Green Ronin).  Or even multiple branches.  One 'family' might prefer using an arcane blood-ritual that allows them to create half-vampires to serve as daytime agents, another might prefer using necromantic forces to empower it's elite guardsmen with the abilities of Death's Chosen, while yet another jaded old bat trains her 'daughters' to be Duskblades, combining magic and martial skills.</blockquote>

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