Name: Nikolai D’Angelo
Nature/ Demeanor: Fanatic/Conformist
Clan: Tremere
Generation: 9th
Age when Embraced: 33
5' 10", 168 pounds
Attributes: 3/5/7
Physical
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 4 (Lightning Reflexes)
Stamina: 2*
Social
Charisma: 1
Manipulation: 5 (Persuasive)
Appearance: 2
Mental
Perception: 5 (Insightful)
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 2
Abilities: 13/5/9
Talents
Alertness: 3
Brawl: 2
Dodge: 2
Empathy: 3
Subterfuge: 3
Skills
Etiquette: 1
Firearms: 2
Stealth: 2
Knowledge
Academics: 3 – Ancient Texts
Investigation: 2*
Linguistics: 3 (Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian)
Occult: 4 (Kindred Lore) (2 freebies)
Advantages:
Disciplines
Auspex: 2
Thaumaturgy: 3 (Path of Blood) (10 freebies)
Thaumaturgy Rituals:
1st: Wake with Evening’s Freshness, Impressive Visage (BM: SoT),
3rd Ritual a secret
2nd: Donning the Mask of Shadows (GuidetoCamarilla, pg 111), Extinguish (BM:SoT), Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion
*
3rd: Beacon of the Self (New York by Night)
Backgrounds
Generation: 5
Resources: 1 (1 freebie)
Occult Library (from
Blood Magic book): 1 (1 freebie) Adds +1 to Occult dice pool rolls
Virtues
Conscience: 2
Self-control: 4
Courage: 4
Humanity: 6
Willpower: 10 (6 freebies)
Blood Pool: 14 - 9th Generation
Merits & Flaws (5 freebie points gained total)
Acute Sense (Hearing): +1
Higher Purpose: +1 (The Dark Ages) (Gain 2 extra dice on any roll that has to do with Nikolai’s Revenge)
Nightmares (nightly Will roll, difficulty 7): -1
Prey Exclusion (entertainers, specifically singers): -1
Vengeful (against The Red Poet): -2
Repulsed by Garlic (from experience/indoctrination as a Hunter): -1
Dark Secret: -1 (the knowledge that Nikolai was a Hunter)
Enemy (Vampire Hunter cult – Brotherhood of Righteousness): -1
* Experience Earned: 14
2 spent on the Ritual of Principal Focus of Vitae Infusion, 3-02-03
4 spent on Stamina dot and 3 spent on Investigation dot, 3-28-03
2 spent on 2nd Investigation dot, 5-25-03
Equipment:
Vampire Hunter kit, standard issue.
(holy water, wooden stakes propane torch, lighters, etc)
SMG, small (MAC-10)
Shotgun, semi-auto
1 magazine silver bullets; plenty of normal ammunition
Wears Class 1 armor (reinforced clothing) most of the time, Class 3 (Kevlar vest) on 'hunts'.
Nikolai’s beloved late Victoria
Q & A
Where and when were you born and raised?
What were your parents and family like? (N/A)
What were some significant events of your young life?
What happened when you became an adult?
Nikolai D’Angelo was born in Chicago, IL in 1964. His initial experience with life was of a pretty brutish, urban world. He learned how power can be used to subjugate people and gain advantage and opportunity.
In high school, his family moved out to Los Angeles, CA. He became involved with martial arts and personal defense, while pursuing and obtaining a Communications degree, finding a counterpoint to his physical hobbies with the cerebral research of books.
When he became an adult, he supplemented his physical skills with firearms training and a proactive method of personal defense, based on perception and anticipating his opponent’s actions. He obtained a job as a professional bodyguard in LA for a variety of clients. Over time, he became very proficient in personal safety. One particular successful job (in 1991) for a youthful businessman netted Nikolai a small lifetime stipend of appreciation from a grateful client.
His skill led him to be assigned to protect an up-and-coming singer, Victoria Page.
Were you married in your mortal life? Were you in love?
Victoria and Nikolai quickly fell deeply in love ; a soul-changing love.
They planned to wed after a blissful courtship, until tragedy struck –
Their Love was not meant to be, because Darkness in the form of a legendary, fallen Toreador monster encountered the couple and was driven to exterminate their True Love. It held a centuries-old hatred of humankind’s ability to love, and struck Victoria down by using Nikolai’s own hand. Nikolai was devastated, and after finding himself framed for the murder of his Love, he eventually acquitted himself and set to the only task his blasted life had left: Revenge on the Beast he later learned is sometimes referred to as The Red Poet.
What drew your sire to you?
After many years of wandering many countries, searching for a source of power or information with which to destroy The Red Poet, he found a cult of Hunters (The Brotherhood of Righteousness), who schooled him in the arts of fighting vampires. He continued to learn about vampires, both mystical information and their weaknesses, since he hated vampires more than anything.
On a mission with the Hunters, Nikolai and 2 others were flying to America when his senses picked up something amiss. He and the other 2 Hunters started an onboard search, until after a time Nikolai realized that the other 2 were missing! His strong intuition was that a vampire was involved (confirmed when he found the 2 bodies stuffed in an overhead compartment), and he took up a defensive stance in the upstairs bar area, waiting for the inevitable.
The next thing he knew, he was in the hotel they had planned on staying at. He didn’t remember the flight, or think it was strange at all that he was alone – as far as he knew, he left the Compound alone.
When he checked in with the Hunters, they asked him about the others. He didn’t know what they were talking about. They immediately dispatched other Hunters to him.
While waiting for reinforcements, Nikolai researched Vampire activities in Knight City. He found signs of their work, and followed them to an Occult bookstore. Killing 2 birds with one stone (he was a voracious collector and reader of the Occult), Nikolai entered the store and was met by the proprietor,
Mikhail Lazrovich.
What was your embrace like?
After exchanging interests and influences (ancient texts discussion), Mikhail got across that he had been watching Nikolai. He turned the discussion to matters of the occult, and personal plans.
He escorted Nikolai into a back room, where 6 other men were. He spoke of being able to help Nikolai with his “problem.” It was revealed that they were vampires, and that the human powers that he used, even as a Hunter, would be no match for an ancient Kindred.
After a to-the-point discussion, and a matter-of-fact offer, Nikolai had to make the brutal choice of whether to become one of those he hated more than anything.
It took Nikolai but a short time to weigh the offer, with the incredible cost, before he turned his head to the side, pulled his collar back, and spoke out his last words as a human with almost a spit of grim resolve – “
Do it.”
What were some significant events of your early days as Kindred?
After becoming once-blood-bound as the Tremere Tradition dictates, Nikolai was schooled in the arts of Blood Magic. He took to it like a born Mage, quickly learning the Disciplines of power over the Blood (Thaumaturgy) and Perception (Auspex). After months of researching arcane rituals, practices, and tomes, he quickly volunteered his services for Kindred affairs. He figured that the quicker he got out “in the field”, and amongst the vampires, the more he could learn.
These tasks sent him to New York, and the Chantry of the Five Burroughs, led by Aisling Sturbridge. Nikolai had read and heard about her in his investigations into the vampire lore, and looked forward to becoming a player in her more liberal interpretations of Tremere activities. She recommended Nikolai to Eugenio Estevez, leader of the Maupassant Chantry. Within a short time, he learned the Ritual of locating vampires, and desired to assist in official investigations. He has had dealings with the Sheriff, Qadir al-Asmai, and was granted permission to tag along on some of his official duties.
So far Nikolai has not seen evidence of The Red Poet's presence in the city, even though he has tried to locate him using the Chantry’s Ritual. He was given a lock of It’s hair, long ago, by a mysterious Malkavian who first set Nikolai on this path of Hunting it. There are only 10 hairs left.
How do you view others around you?
As tools to acquire power. Over the long years of single-minded pursuit of power, Nikolai has started to forget his True Purpose. He has perverted it to the all-encompassing goal of more Power, and is dangerously close to becoming more like what he hates than he'd care to admit to himself.
More and more of his Humanity has died since that Fateful Night.
What are your long term goals?
To wreak the Vengeance of True Love on The Red Poet and avenge Victoria’s memory. He cares nothing about himself other than to accomplish this One Goal. The only reason he cares whether he lives or dies is that if he died, Victoria would not be avenged. He believes her soul cannot rest until this is done, and he carries this burden heavy, as well as massive guilt for her death (him not being able to protect her, more than any other, and his hand being the instrument of her death.)
What are your short term goals?
To acquire more and more power with which to slay his Beast.
To ingratiate himself with the Powers of Kindred society to put himself in the best position from which to gain these powers.
What are you good at? How do you use it to your advantage?
He is very Perceptive and good at manipulating people to put himself in a position to benefit from, or at the least survive. His ability to learn Vampiric powers borders on preternatural, mainly due to his incredible Will he has focused on the acquisition of power and revenge.
Why are you where you are now?
Nikolai traveled to New York for 2 main reasons:
1) It is a less Tradition-bound city, and there would likely be more opportunity there for a ‘youngster’ like he to obtain a choice position.
2) He believes The Red Poet may be somewhere in NY and in the recent upheaval, there is the chance that he may be sighted.
How do you view your existence?
Solely for the Vengeance of Victoria’s tragic death, but that has recently been subsumed by the temptation of power over the Blood.
